Nov. 5, 2010

November 5, 2010

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org S E RV I N G C H R I ST A N D C O N N EC T I N G C AT H O L I C S I N W E ST E R N N O R T H C A R O L I N A

entering into full communion with the Church, 6-7 3 well-known Catholics visit the diocese Father ﾃ］gel Espinosa de los Monteros, a Vatican expert on family values, comes to Lenoir, 5 Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a bioethicist from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, talks in Arden, 8 Dr. Scott Hahn, a Biblical scholar, bestselling author and Catholic convert, comes to Charlotte, 9

FUNDED by thE parishioNErs oF thE DiocEsE oF charlottE thaNK yoU!

Who are these Catholics?

Charlotte man ordained as eastern Catholic deacon, the first in our area, 12-13 | a closer look at icons, 13 Calendar 4

dioCese 3-11

FaiTH 2

mix 16

naTion & World 18-21

sCHools 14-15

VieWpoinTs 22-24

Call us: 704-370-3333 E-mail us: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

Our faith

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CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Basilicas Pope Benedict XVI

Meditation can help clean our consciences VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said daily meditation on the life of Christ is a good way for people to grow spiritually and remove the “trash” from their consciences.

The pope, addressing pilgrims at his weekly general audience Nov. 3, said a 13th-century French mystic, St. Marguerite d’Oingt, is an example of such spiritual self-reflection. The saint, whose writings taught readers how to meditate, saw Christ as a “mirror” that allows light into one’s soul, he said.

“In this way she was transformed, and her conscience was enlightened and cleansed – and this is something we also need. The words, the life and the light of Christ can illuminate what is good and true, and what is evil, too.

There is trash not only in the various streets of the world, but also in our consciences, in our souls. And only the light of the Lord cleans us and purifies us, showing us the right way,” he said.

He said that while at first glance the life of a medieval mystic might seem irrelevant to people today, her spiritual journey holds many lessons.

“She imagined the Lord’s life, His words and His actions, as a Book which He holds out to us, a Book to be studied and imprinted on our hearts and lives, until the day we read it from within, in the contemplation of the Blessed Trinity,” he said.

st. peter’s basilica

st. paul outside the Walls

Dedication of the churches of Sts. Peter and Paul | Feast day: Nov. 18

basilica of st. John lateran

Dedication of Basilica of St. John Lateran | Feast day: Nov. 9

This feast celebrates the dedications of two of The feast of the Dedication of the Basilica the four major basilicas of Rome, named for Sts. of St. John Lateran is celebrated by the Peter and Paul, the Vatican’s patron saints and entire Church. It marks the dedication of the symbols of the Church’s unity cathedral church of Rome by Pope and its universality.

Sylvester I in 324. This church is the St. Peter’s Basilica was cathedra (or chair) of the bishop originally built in 323 by the of Rome, who is the pope. A Latin emperor Constantine. The inscription in the church reads: basilica was constructed over “omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis VirTual 360° Tours the tomb of Peter the Apostle, mater et caput.” Translated, this of St. Peter’s Basilica the Church’s first pope. After means, “The mother and head of and St. John Lateran, standing for more than 1,000 all churches of the city and of the along with other years, Pope Julius II ordered world.” basilicas and chapels the building to be torn down The basilica was originally named of the Vatican, are due to structural concerns. The the Archbasilica of the Most Holy online at www. construction of the new church Savior. However, it is called St. John vatican.va. Click on spanned more than 200 years Lateran because it was built on “Basilicas and Papal before its completion. It was property donated to the Church by Chapels” on the dedicated on Nov. 18, 1626. It the Laterani family, and because the bottom left of the is considered the most famous monks from the monastery of St. screen. church in Christendom.

John the Baptist and St. John the St. Paul’s Basilica is located Divine served it. outside the original walls of By honoring its dedication, the Rome. It was also originally worldwide Church celebrates built by the emperor Constantine, though it communion with the See of Peter, Pope was destroyed by fire in 1823. Donations from Benedict XVI has noted. The architectural around the world made the reconstruction beauty and order of church buildings is possible. Before the completion of St. Peter’s intended to glorify God, but the real treasure of Basilica, St Paul’s was the largest church in the Church is the temple built of “living stones” Rome. The basilica was built over St. Paul’s – the faithful – “and molded within by the Holy grave, and Pope Pius IX consecrated it in 1854.

Spirit.”

— catholic News agency

For more

Your daily Scripture readings SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 7-NOV. 13 Sunday, Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5, Luke 20:27-38; Monday, Titus 1:1-9, Luke 17:1-6; Tuesday, Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17, John 2:13-22; Wednesday (St. Leo the Great), Titus 3:1-7, Luke 17:11-19; Thursday (St. Martin of Tours), Philemon 7-20, Luke 17:20-25; Friday (St. Joaphat), 2 John 4-9, Luke 17:26-37; Saturday (St. Frances Xavier Cabrini), 3 John 5-8, Luke 18:1-8

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 14-NOV. 20 Sunday, Malachi 3:19-20, Thessalonians 3:7-12, Luke 21:5-19; Monday (St. Albert the Great), Revelation 1:1-4, 2:1-5, Luke 18:35-43; Tuesday (St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Gertrude), Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22, Luke 19:1-10; Wednesday (St. Elizabeth of Hungary), Revelation 4:1-11, Luke 19:11-28; Thursday (St. Rose Philippine Duchesne), Revelation 5:1-10, Luke 19:41-44; Friday, Revelation 10:8-11, Luke 19:45-48; Saturday, Revelation 11:4-12, Luke 20:27-40

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 21-NOV. 27 Sunday, 2 Samuel 5:1-3, Colossians 1:12-20, Luke 23:35-43; Monday (St. Cecilia), Revelation 14:1-5, Luke 21:1-4; Tuesday (St. Clement I, St. Columban, Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro), Revelation 14:14-19; Luke 21:5-11; Wednesday (St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions), Revelation 15:1-4, Luke 21:12-19; Thursday (St. Catherine of Alexandria), Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23, 19:1-3, 9, Luke 21:20-28; Friday, Revelation 20:1-4, 11-21:2, Luke 21:29-33; Saturday, Revelation 22:1-7, Luke 21:34-36

the facts of faith

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Our parishes CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

Churches prepare to welcome returning Catholics

In brief

What is a basilica?

There are four “major” or papal basilicas – all of which are in Rome. Other basilicas are called “minor” basilicas.

The Diocese of Charlotte has two minor basilicas: Mary, Help of Christians Abbey (better known as Belmont Abbey), and the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville.

The Asheville basilica states on its Web site: The term dates back to the early Greek and Roman times and referred to a type of public building. In the 4th century, basilicas began to be used as places of worship. It was during this time that construction of the greatest basilicas of Rome was started. Today, the term basilica is a special designation given by the pope to certain churches because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance or significance as a place of worship.

To become a basilica, the church must have been consecrated. The liturgical rites (celebration of the Holy Eucharist, sacraments of penance and other sacraments) should also be executed in an exemplary way with fidelity to liturgical norms and the active participation of the people of God. It should also have special significance in the diocese.

St. Lawrence, with its unique dome, is the only church designed and built by the renowned Rafael Guastavino.

Because of the relationship between a basilica and the pope, basilicas have the responsibility to promote the study of the documents of the pope and the Holy See, especially those concerning the Sacred Liturgy.

Also, certain days in the liturgical year are to be celebrated with added solemnity, among them the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter (Feb. 22), the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), and the anniversary of the election or coronation of the supreme pontiff.

An outward sign and privilege that comes to a basilica is the honor and opportunity to display the seal of the papacy.

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‘Catholics Come Home’ campaign begins Dec. 17 sueann HoWell StAff WRItER

ihM lends a helping hand HIGH POINT — Parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point joined other local churches to help the local chapter of the American Red Cross with a popular annual fund-raiser, “Tour de Furniture.” The church was a rest stop for participants of the Aug. 7 cycling event, which included 10-mile, 50k, 50-mile and 100k races for cyclists of all skill levels.

Christine Zecca, who with her husband is the parish outreach coordinator, said the fund-raiser was especially important this year because the local Red Cross had become stretched thin caring for impacted residents in the wake of a tornado last March.

Dozens of homes were destroyed with a total of nearly $10 million in damages.

BARBARA CASE SPEERS | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

artist Matthew Good of hickory, pictured above in his studio, created a 30-foot wood pentaptych that was installed at st. charles borromeo church Nov. 1 during vespers for all saints Day. the “litany of the saints” pentaptych is painted in oil and features Jesus with the 34 named saints. it took him nearly a year to complete.

— annette tenny

red Mass set for Nov. 9 CHARLOTTE — Candidates elected on Tuesday now face the responsibilities of governing. To assist new and veteran legislators, the St. Thomas More Society’s Eighth Annual Red Mass and Banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at St. Ann Church.

The Red Mass provides the legal, political and law enforcement communities, as well as the public, an opportunity to reflect on the Catholic faith as it influences their work and the legislative process. Abbot Placid Solari, OSB, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, will celebrate the Mass.

A banquet will immediately follow at the St. Ann Community Center. Banquet cost is $15, paid at the door.

correction In the Oct. 22 edition, “Deacons recommit themselves to building up the house of God” misstated the location of the deacons’ annual retreat Oct. 8-10. It was held at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. We regret the error.

‘Litany of the Saints’ pentaptych installed at Morganton church BarBara Case speers CoRRESPoNDENt

MORGANTON — An empty spot in the west gallery of the sanctuary of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton had irked Father Kenneth Whittington, pastor, for years.

He didn’t know what to do with the area.

Then he met Matthew Good, a local artist.

Good, a Catholic convert who lives in Hickory, had started attending daily Mass during his lunch break at work in Morganton. It was the Mass that drew him to the Catholic faith from his Lutheran and Baptist upbringing. Church history and art particularly fascinated the developing artist, who later studied in Asheville and traveled

to Rome.

He and Father Whittington came up with the idea of creating a pentaptych – a five-part panel of pictures consisting of a centerpiece and double folding doors or wings, often used as an altarpiece.

The pentaptych for St. Charles Borromeo, they decided, would feature the Litany of the Saints: Jesus in the center, surrounded by the 34 named saints.

After nearly a year of work by Good, the Litany of the Saints pentaptych, a work of oil on wood that stretches 30 feet long, was unveiled and dedicated on All Saints Day Nov. 1, during vespers service.

The congregation of more than 200 people SAINtS, SEE page 17

CHARLOTTE — If all goes well with the “Catholics Come Home” advertising campaign set to launch Dec. 17, phones at parish offices around the diocese will be ringing off the hook during the holidays.

Parish secretaries and other staff will understandably be the first points of contact for many people coming back to the Church, as they field questions and direct returning Catholics to the appropriate resources and people.

To prepare them for the launch, about 65 parish staff from around the diocese attended a workshop Oct. 21 at the Pastoral Center in Charlotte. It was organized by Father John Putnam, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury and coordinator of the “Catholics Come Home” program.

“The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News and bring souls to Christ,” Father Putnam said. “‘Catholics Come Home’ provides us with a wonderful opportunity to reach people whom we do not see on a regular basis and invite them to get to know Christ and His Church.”

During the workshop, Bishop Peter J. Jugis of the Diocese of Charlotte welcomed the participants and encouraged them.

“Evangelization, or sharing Christ with others, is exactly what the Church is all about, and you all in the parishes are going to be on the front lines of this new evangelization effort which is called ‘Catholics Come Home,’” Bishop Jugis said.

Bishop Jugis then spoke about “Evangelii Nuntiandi,” Pope Paul VI’s 1975 encyclical about evangelization, which states that evangelization is a multifaceted process which includes not only sharing Christ’s message with others but involves people coming into conversion as they hear the message and decide they want to learn more about it.

Brion Blais, a parishioner at St. Ann Church in Charlotte and a member of the “Catholics Come Home” steering committee, stressed to the staff the HoME, see page 7

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oUR parisHes

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Diocesan calendar

In brief

ARDEN

Bishop Peter J. Jugis bishop peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the next two weeks: noV. 5 – 7 p.M. sacraMENt oF coNFirMatioN St. Vincent de Paul Church, Charlotte noV. 7 – 5 p.m. sacraMENt oF coNFirMatioN St. James Church, Concord noV. 9 – 11 a.M. presBytEral coUNcil MEEtiNG Diocesan Pastoral Center noV. 10 – 7 p.m. saCramenT oF coNFirMatioN St. Joseph of the Hills Church, Eden noV. 12 -18 u.s. ConFerenCe oF CaTHoliC BisHops meeTing Baltimore, Md. noV. 20 – 2 p.M. saCraMENt oF coNFirMatioN St. Matthew Church, Charlotte

sT. BarnaBas chUrch, 109 crEscENt hill DrivE — Natural family Planning Class, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 13. RSVP required to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at cssnfp@charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3230.

BELMONT Queen oF THe aposTles CHurCH, 503 n. main sT. — Centering Prayer Sessions, Education Building Room B, 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 15 and 22. Contact Peggy Geiger at dokgee16@gmail.com or 704-865-0898.

— Commemoration Mass for all who have died in service to their country and for all victims of war, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 — Commemoration Mass for all who have lost infant children before or at birth, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 — Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Class (RCIA), 10-11:15 a.m. every Sunday. Call Cam tracy at 704-53-0654.

CHARLOTTE Campus minisTrY, 9408 saNDbUrG roaD — Wednesday Dinners, 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, open to all college students. Visit www.sco.uncc.edu/catholic. sT. JoHn neumann CHurch, 8451 iDlEWilD roaD — Bereavement Ministry presents “the Most Wonderful time of the Year?” Parish Hall, 7 p.m. Nov. 8 — the Holy Sacraments Q&A: Holy Eucharist, Parish Hall, 9:30-11 a.m. or 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 — Call to Conversion: through the Life of St. John Neumann, presented by father Jerry Brinkmann, C.Ss.R., offered in English and Spanish, supper at 6 p.m., sessions at 7 p.m.

Nov. 15-18. Call 704-536-6520. sT. maTTHeW CHurCH, 8015 ballaNtyNE coMMoNs pKWy. — Christian Coffeehouse, NLC Banquet Room, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 5 — St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11

note to readers our nexT issue will be published friday, Nov. 19.

Hispanic Conference focuses on family life

GASTONIA

This week’s spotlight: remembering our Children Bilingual mass

sT. miCHael tHe arCHangel CHurCH, 708 sT. miCHael’s lane — Natural family Planning Class, 9:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Nov. 6. RSVP required to Batrice Adcock, MNS, RN, at cssnfp@ charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3230.

roCK Hill — the Respect Life offices of the dioceses of Charlotte and Charleston will co-sponsor a special bilingual Mass Nov. 13 for families who have experienced the death of a child, “Remembering our Children.” the Mass will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the oratory in Rock Hill, S.C., 434 Charlotte Avenue, followed by a reception at the Pope John Center. families who have experienced the death of a child are invited. Call 704-370-3229 for details.

GREENSBORO

sT. paTriCK CaTHedral, 1621 DilWorth roaD E. — Eucharistic Adoration, following the 12:10 p.m. Mass concluding with Benediction at 6 p.m. Wednesdays sT. peTer CHurCH, 507 s. tryoN st.

— Jewish Catholic Dialogue Group, 5 p.m. Nov. 14. this year’s theme is “Life Cycles: How Each faith Celebrates.”

Call Ann Weber at 704-364-9850 or Gail Breen at 704522-1495. sT. THomas aQuiNas chUrch, 1400 sUthEr roaD — Anointing of the Sick, 11 a.m. Mass Nov. 6. If transportation is needed contact annettemorales@carolina.rr.com or 704-549-1607.

— Catholic Coffee House: “S.t.A. Café,” Aquinas Hall, 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 9. to reserve a table of six, call 704-549-1607.

— Unemployed Support Group, Aquinas Hall, 10 a.m. Mondays. Contact Steve Basinski at jbas@carolina.rr.com or 704-456-7434. sT. VinCenT de paul CHurCh, 6828 olD rEiD roaD — Bereavement Workshop, 9-11:45 a.m. Nov. 6

— St. Matthew “yoU”niversity: “Different Paths for Different folks” Mini Seminar, explores the history and prayer method associated with Ignatian, Benedictine and franciscan spirituality, NLC Room 239-241, 9:45-11:30 a.m.

Dec. 4. RSVP required to Michael Burck at 704-541-8362, ext. 4.

— Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group (CCWG) Reflection: “Spiritual Poverty and Material Wealth, Material Poverty and Spiritual Wealth”, presented by father thomas Kessler, 9 a.m. Mass, 10 a.m. presentation Nov. 8. Contact Linda Granzow at jlgranzow@windstream.net or 704847-7872.

— Welcome Home for Returning Catholics, welcome Catholics who have been away from the Church, program offers a one on one companion to walk with the returning individual as they journey the path to full communion with the body of Christ. Contact Julie Jahn at urblessed@carolina.rr.com or 704-560-9202.

— the Ladies Ancient order of Hibernians Meeting, 7 p.m. third Wednesday of each month. they welcome Irish-Catholic women who are interested in sharing their Catholic faith, Christian charity and the traditions of the Irish people. Contact Mary Herbert at mherbert@ carolina.rr.com or 704-231-9546.

BarBara Case speers CoRRESPoNDENt

sT. pius x CHurCH, 2200 N. ElM st.

— Coping with grief during the holidays, Kloster Center, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Nov. 14. Register with parish office at 336272-4681 or Marge Birge at 336-288-8779.

— Coffee talk for Adults, Kloster Center Youth Room, 10:2011:10 a.m. Sundays

HENDERSONVILLE immaCulaTe ConCepTion ChUrch, 208 sEvENth avE. W. — Catholic Divorce Support Group, Meeting Room 1, 5 p.m.

Nov. 7 — “I told You So: Examine our Lives and Christ’s Role,” St. francis Room, 6-8:30 p.m. Nov. 14 — Potluck Parish Dinners, St. francis Room, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesdays. Bring a main dish, vegetables or dessert.

Contact Barbara Morgan at morganbarb52@gmail.com or 828-808-4069.

KERNERSVILLE HolY Cross chUrch, 616 s. chErry st.

— Anointing of the Sick, 10 a.m. Nov. 6 — Coffee with Christ, Commons, 10-11 a.m. Sundays. Contact Bob Hoover at 336-769-3755.

MAGGIE VALLEY liVing WaTers reFleCTion CenTer, 103 liVing WaTers lane — fire in the Mountains Western Region Conference: “We Live as We Pray,” 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Nov. 13

WINSTON-SALEM HoLY fAMILY CHURCH, 4820 Kinnamon Road — Charismatic Prayer Group, Chapel, 7:15 p.m. Mondays — Eucharistic Adoration, Curlin Center, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. thursdays is yoUr parish or school hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Calendar is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org or fax to 704-370-3382.

scout helps parish ‘go green’ WAYNESVILLE — Girl Scout Katie Finegan recently earned the highest honor in Scouting, the Gold Award, after making “green” improvements to her parish, St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville.

In her project, “A Touch of Green for St. John’s,” Finegan repainted and reused materials to repair benches, picnic tables and a bulletin board. She also designed recycling bins for paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, plastic and steel, and she installed solar landscape lighting for two dimly-lit stairways.

The parish community helped fund her project through donations, and Father Larry LoMonaco, pastor, helped pay for the rest using the church’s maintenance fund.

Besides improving the church facilities, Finegan used the project as a way to educate fellow parishioners on the ease and importance of being “green.”

Environmental efforts like this are a passion for Finegan, she said. She is now a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Asheville studying engineering, and she hopes to work with renewable energy in the future.

— Katie Finegan

benedictine history on stage BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College’s Abbey Players will present “The Benedictine Monologue Project” at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1. Directed by Jill Bloede, the free performance is a series of dramatic monologues showcasing Benedictine men and women from the rich history of the order that founded Belmont Abbey College. Throughout the past 1,500 years, countless men and women who have followed the Rule of St. Benedict have achieved sainthood. To RSVP, go online to www.bac.edu – click on “Event Calendar” and navigate to the Dec. 1 event.

youth retreat held NovEMbEr 5, 2010 volUME 20 • NUMbEr 1

1123 s. CHurCH sT., CHarloTTe, n.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org 704-370-3333 puBlisHer: the Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

ediTor: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org

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November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church in Kernersville hosted brothers from the Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts (OATH) and sisters from Alliance of the Holy Family Int’l (LIHM) for a youth retreat for more than 45 youths and parents Oct. 3. The retreat focused on the importance of practicing one’s faith, prayer and reconciliation. All participants enjoyed music, games, skits, group discussions and a living rosary. Also, during their visit the brothers and sisters consecrated a number of families and homes.

— Mario a. rojas

LENOIR — The J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir usually features off-Broadway performances, musicians, singers and comedians.

But on Oct. 10, the stage was transformed

by Father Julio C. Dominguez, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Lenoir, for the “Centro Católico De Evangelización Hispana,” or “Hispanic Catholic Center for Evangelization.”

More than 200 people gathered to hear headlining speaker Legionaries of Christ Father Ángel Espinosa de los Monteros,

who works with the Pontifical Council for the Family at the Vatican and is a wellknown author and international lecturer on marriage and family values.

Father Espinosa de los Monteros spoke on “Defending Love,” “Take Your Young” and “Life in Your Hands.”

Born in Puebla, Mexico, in 1966, Father Espinosa de los Monteros became a priest in 1994. He studied philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and holds a degree in moral theology from Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome, with a study in bioethics.

Father Dominguez said, “One of the biggest problems the Hispanic community

faces is they lose their sense of family when they leave all their relatives in Mexico and come to America. In America, the husband and wife both have to work hard to support the children, and the children are taken care of by strangers, not their family.”

He added, “Parents also get too concerned over material things and they need to take responsibility for their actions.

Father Espinosa de los Monteros has much experience in family values and young people. He will tell the young people: their life is in their hands and they need to decide what they want do with their life.

Life is all about Christian values.”

Weaving a spiritual experience Black Mountain artist wins award for handwoven chasuble sallY sCHoen SPECIAL to tHE CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

ASHEVILLE — Weaver Susan Vezina of Black Mountain, a parishioner at St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa, has captured second place in the Professional Garments category of the Blue Ridge Fiber Show.

The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville is hosting the show, which is sponsored by the Western North Carolina Fiber/Handweavers Guild. This international, biennial celebration of fiber arts opened Oct. 2 and will run through Nov. 28.

Vezina’s winning entries, a chasuble and stole titled “Pentecost,” are woven with fine 100 percent cotton yarns.

The primary yardage is of deep wine yarns crossed with bright red. This makes for a supple fabric with an iridescent look. The center of the chasuble is a panel with a stripe of yellow orange flanked by orange on each side. The matching stole has the same colors in narrower stripes. From a distance one sees the color changes, while up close one is able to see more detail in the weaving.

Liturgical weaving is one of Vezina’s specialties. This is the third chasuble and matching stole she has made on commission for a priest friend in Florida. She has made numerous stoles, including one for her older brother, Jesuit Father Stephen Rowntree, who is a professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Vezina began her liturgical weaving after WEAVING, see page 17

PHoto PRoVIDED BY SALLY SCHoEN

susan vezina of black Mountain, a parishioner at st. Margaret Mary church in swannanoa, won second place in the professional Garments category of the blue ridge Fiber show sponsored by the Western North carolina Fiber/handweavers Guild. the weaver’s winning entries, a chasuble and stole titled “pentecost,” are woven with fine 100 percent cotton yarns.

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CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Entering into full communion with the Church

Make sure you plan ahead for your ‘heavenly journey’ JoaniTa m. nellenBaCH CoRRESPoNDENt

RCIA classes begin the “great journey of spiritual awakening” – for everyone involved rYan murraY CoRRESPoNDENt

RYAN MURRAY | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

the baptismal font at st. pius X church in Greensboro is bathed in natural light.

The Rite of Christian Initiation, or RCIA, is “a learning and loving process in which conversion of the heart brings you to Jesus Christ whom God has sent for the salvation of all,” as stated on the Diocese of Charlotte’s Web site.

For those who coordinate RCIA programs throughout the diocese as well as those who have or who are currently going through the initiation, RCIA means that and so much more.

“We try to meet each person where he or she is spiritually and therefore, reflective of the early Church, candidates and/or catechumens may be in the process for a couple of years,” said Loretta Fitzgerald, coordinator of RCIA at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro. “The faith of the candidates and catechumens continues to be a source of inspiration to the rest of the community and to me, personally.”

To become a member of the Catholic Church, adults must go through RCIA to have a better understanding of the faith, learn what it means to be Catholic and to actively participate in the faith. The overall goal of the process is full communion, which means “full, conscious and active participation” in the Eucharist and the whole life of the Catholic faith community (cf. 14 Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).

“One of the most common reasons people have given for their interest in the Catholic faith is their attraction to the Eucharist,” Fitzgerald noted. “After some 20 years of ministering with some great folks in the process, I’m always touched by their reverence and desire to fully participate in the Eucharist.

Just as God created each of us as individuals, each person has his or her own faith journey when going through RCIA. For some going through RCIA, the journey can last months. For others, it can endure longer.

“I went through RCIA twice,” said author Georgianna Penn, a parishioner at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. “By the second year of it, I was then able to tie my head to my heart and vice versa and commit to a new, more structured way to live my spiritual life.”

Penn was so moved by her RCIA experience and transition to the Catholic faith that she wrote a book about her personal journey, entitled “The Many Languages and Peace of God, My Journey to Christ through the 12 Gifts of Grace.”

“The book is about my faith journey

“The Holy Spirit is the sole agent of conversion, but everyone is an instrument of conversion.”

and when I went through RCIA,” Penn said. “It was a time in my life for lots of personal healing and as I began healing from the inside out, I began writing about it.

The book refers to the many gifts that God has given me along the way like hope, faith, gratitude, community and family, and that if we know our limitations – while embracing these beautiful gifts of — Dr. cris villapando grace – we can live Diocesan director for faith a whole and holy life.” formation programs Not only is RCIA an individual faith journey, it can also be an awakening for others, no matter what their ages.

“RCIA is a great journey of spiritual awakening for many,” said Tracy Earl Welliver, pastoral associate at St. Pius X. “People begin to see not only religion in a new way, but also life in general.”

The experiences of individuals going through RCIA are not only special for those going through the program, but for those who oversee and coordinate the program as well.

“I have been involved with RCIA now for 18 years and every year is special in its own way,” Welliver said. “One of the greatest RCIA experiences for me was having my father come through the process and be baptized at 75 years of age.”

The first step in being able to actively participate in the Eucharist and Catholic faith community is being able to express the faith to others in a variety of ways. Although people go through the program for various reasons, being able to express their faith is a gift from God. “People approach us for many different reasons,” said Jim McCullough, director of religious education for Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. “We want people to pick up on the excitement, joy and wonder of Christianity and the Catholic Church and spread that to others.”

Throughout the diocese, those being welcomed are truly sharing their excitement

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SUEANN HoWELL | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

bishop peter J. Jugis addresses parish staff from churches around the Diocese of charlotte on oct. 21. they gathered to learn more about the “catholics come home” campaign which will begin Dec. 17 with a series of tv commercials aimed at encouraging catholics who have been away from the faith to return to the church.

PHoto CoURtESY of tRACY WELLIVER

bishop Emeritus William G. curlin baptizes harold Welliver, father of st. pius X pastoral associate tracy Earl Welliver, in 2003.

HOME: From page 3

with others, according to Dr. Cris Villapando, the diocesan director for faith formation programs.

“The diocese is growing and those who are going through or have completed RCIA are really getting fully into this faith,” Villapando said.

“They are becoming an inspiration to ‘cradle Catholics’ or those who may have become apathetic. They truly are an inspiration to others when they share their stories.”

The completion of RCIA is truly just the beginning, however.

“Those who have completed RCIA are not just acquiring a new label of ‘Roman Catholic,’” Villapando said.

“The Holy Spirit is the sole agent of conversion, but everyone is an instrument of conversion. My dream is for every single member of the diocese to realize that he or she is an instrument of conversion and if we can keep that in our hearts, the diocese will continue to grow both in ways that can be measured as well as ways that can only be measured by God and His Son Jesus Christ.”

importance of seeking a more intimate connection when communicating with people.

Citing a verse from Colossians 3:12-15, Blais encouraged them to “put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.”

This approach is evident in the “Catholics Come Home” campaign, which features a welcoming message in television spots to help encourage Catholics to return to the faith. The ads will air Dec. 17 – Jan. 23 on major networks and cable channels during prime-time slots to reach as many viewers as possible in the Charlotte, Triad and Asheville markets.

“Advent and Lent have always been times of renewal, when we think about the Lord’s coming both at Christmas and at the end of time’” Father Putnam said about how the campaign was timed.

“There are many who have been away from the Church and the practice of faith, so this is

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ConTaCT Your parisH oFFiCe for more on how you can help the “Catholics Come Home” campaign. a way to invite them to ask the Lord to come into their hearts again,” he added.

“As a convert to Catholicism, I treasure the gift that I have received in the Church. When someone abandons his or her faith, all of us should feel the loss. We are members of the Body of Christ, and when some are missing, we are all the worse for it,” he said.

The total cost of the campaign is budgeted at approximately $270,000.

The campaign’s success will be measured by using online surveys as well as coordinating with the diocesan Development Office to measure Mass attendance.

“We will also ask for observations from the parishes,” Father Putnam said.

In his closing remarks at the Oct. 21 workshop, Blais told the staffs, “Whether we like it or not, we are going to be in conversations (after this campaign airs).

The Lord wants us to do His work, so we should have the attitude that we will pour out ourselves for every person we meet. Ask for the mind of Christ.”

BRYSON CITY — You’re taking a trip, so you save some money, plan your itinerary, collect maps, decide what to pack and buy your ticket. There’s another journey that everyone makes, and we hope we’ll all arrive at the same destination. We make spiritual preparations, but what about all those other details?

“Planning for Your Heavenly Journey,” two seminars held Oct. 13 and 27 at St. Joseph Church in Bryson City, offered advice on planning for a journey that Father Shawn O’Neal, pastor, said, “We don’t like to think about; we all think we have more to do.”

“Fear of death is normal, and it’s honest when we confront our fears,” said Father O’Neal. “St. Paul reflects that the spirit yearns to be united with the body in heaven.

God gives us the strength to persevere. Part of the strength is in helping to plan, so that our choices are honored.”

Other speakers at the Oct. 13 program included Gene Schweizer, a home health social worker with WestCare Home Health and Hospice in Sylva; Barbara Barker, a St. Joseph parishioner employed in registration and administration at Swain County Hospital in Bryson City; and Mary Herr, former regional faith formation consultant for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.

Herr emphasized that it gives one peace of mind to take care of everything possible in advance and makes things much easier for family members. Make a list of your important documents, bank accounts, insurance policies, investments, safe deposit box and where you keep the key.

To ensure your Catholic beliefs are respected, fill out a “Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death as Set Forth in the Right to a Natural Death Act” (available from most hospitals). To learn more about Church teaching, read the U.S. bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” online at www.usccb.org/meetings/2009Fall/docs/ ERDs_5th_ed_091118_FINAL.pdf.

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oUR parisHes

Now serving Charlotte and Greensboro

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Famous bioethicist speaks in Arden suzanne KonopKa CoRRESPoNDENt

704-549-4010 336-665-5345

Give the gift of lifetime memories The Diocese of Charlotte invites you to

Explore the BEST OF IRELAND with Father Jim Solari

breathtaking countryside — traditions of our Catholic faith — legends of her people

April 4 – 14, 2011 Join us as we explore the spectacular countryside of Ireland and learn of our faith traditions at its holy sites. With Mass celebrated daily by Father Jim, and a professional, fulltime tour escort to handle all of your needs, your days will be filled with spiritual enrichment as well as Irish folklore, music and merriment!

Highlights include: • • • • • • • • • • •

spectacular Cliffs of Moher; Galway Bay area Knock – Mass at church of heavenly apparition Croagh Patrick – St. Patrick’s holy mountain Kylemore Abbey; Holy Cross Abbey - true Cross relic Bunratty Folk Park and Castle - festive medieval banquet!

Killarney and spectacular Ring of Kerry drive Blarney stone and woolen mill; Wicklow hand weavers Glass artists at Waterford Crystal Factory Rock of Cashel – spectacular anthropological site Beautiful Glendalough – 6th century monastic site of St. Kevin Dublin – full tour including famous Trinity College Book of Kells, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, O’Connell Street, shopping -- PLUS much more!

Price: Early discount price $2,849 from Charlotte (after 12/29/10, $2,949) includes airfare, most meals, first class hotels, all tours and admission fees to sites. Airport taxes/fees, tips and insurance are extra.

For a brochure with complete details, call Cindi Feerick at (704) 370-3332 or Pentecost Tours at (800) 713-9800.

ARDEN — What better way to complete Respect Life Month than to address endof-life issues? On Oct. 31 almost 150 people gathered at St. Barnabas Church in Arden to hear Father Tad Pacholczyk, Ph.D, present “Ethical Decision Making in End of Life, Compromised States and PVS (Persistent Vegetative States).”

Every October the St. Barnabas Respect Life Committee invites a guest priest to speak. “This year’s goal,” said Deborah Scott, committee chairperson, “was to focus on end-of-life issues.”

The primary focus of Father Pacholczyk’s talk was to navigate the challenges of making correct end-of-life decisions: “How do you know when you’ve reached the point where you have to decide – should we do a particular intervention or not?” he asked.

He noted, “A person has a moral obligation to use ordinary or proportionate means of preserving his life” – specifically, “proportionate to the needs of this patient, in this bed, at this moment, with problems x, y and z.”

He encouraged the audience to designate a health care surrogate and to talk with their families about their wishes, and not just rely on living wills.

He stressed Church teaching that prohibits the removal of feeding tubes, saying, “Food is more basic than medicine.” Nutrition and hydration, with some exceptions, constitute care – not treatment – as a truth of natural law.

Many of his points were illustrated when Father Pacholczyk described the well-known case of Terri Schiavo. He said the term “persistent vegetative state,” used to label

SUzANNE KoNoPKA | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

Father tadeusz pacholczyk presented a talk on end of life decision making oct. 31 at st. barnabas church in arden. a priest of the diocese of Fall river, Mass., Father pacholczyk is an expert in science, bioethics and faith matters. as director of education at the National catholic bioethics center in philadelphia, he has written and traveled extensively to promote the sanctity of life.

learn more For more inFormaTion about father Pacholczyk and the Church’s teaching on end-of-life issues, go to www.ncbcenter.org.

Schiavo and dismiss her continued care as fruitless, is pejorative – patients should never be called “vegetables.”

In Father Pacholczyk’s final comments he said, “Dying well is a stepping stone into the true life God has prepared for us. So this should be a venture in hope for us, to the extent that we can lift it up for those around us. Indeed, a source of blessing.”

Sunday, Nov. 7, is a special day of prayer for our departed loved ones. Each year, the first Sunday of November marks a special day to remind us of the importance of praying for our beloved dead, and also provides an opportunity to pray for the faithful departed.

Following All Saints Day and All Souls Day, Cemetery Sunday carries special significance for a Catholic, and a plenary indulgence can be gained by prayerful visitation of cemeteries. Anytime during Nov. 1-8, the faithful can gain an indulgence by visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed souls. (An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven….” See Catechism of the Catholic Church 1471-1479) Cemetery Sunday provides a tangible reminder to all the faithful of us of the importance of Catholic cemeteries and the value of prayer. The faithful are invited

to take time out of their busy days, visit a Catholic cemetery and say prayers for their loved ones.

Catholic cemeteries in the Diocese of Charlotte include: n Holy Family, Clemmons: Sandy Arend, 336-778-0600, ext. 204 n Sacred Heart, Salisbury: 704-633-0591 n St. Helen, Spencer Mountain: 704-375-4339 n St. James the Greater, Concord: Nick Parette, 704-786-0781 n St. Matthew, Charlotte (columbarium and plots at Forest Lawn Cemetery): Antoinette Usher, 704-543-7677 The following Charlotte area cemeteries have designated Catholic areas: n Sharon Memorial Park, Charlotte: 704-537-5011 n Forest Lawn East, Matthews: Karen Reardon or Robert Murphy, 704-846-1068 n North Lake Memorial Gardens, Huntersville: 704-875-0757

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Dr. Scott Hahn leads day of reflection at St. Thomas Aquinas sueann HoWell StAff WRItER

Visit a Catholic cemetery this Sunday morgan CasTillo INtERN

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

CHARLOTTE — Internationally renowned Biblical scholar, author and Catholic convert Dr. Scott Hahn addressed more than 700 participants on a one-day retreat at St. Thomas Aquinas Church Oct. 30.

Over the course of the six-hour retreat, Hahn gave three talks to educate and inspire the people gathered.

The first talk, “First Comes Love,” focused on how the idea of the family can be used to explain Catholic theology on the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The second talk, “Swear to God,” focused on the sacraments and Hahn’s explanation of how they are based in Scripture and can be linked to the early Church.

His third talk, “Hope For Hard Times,” inspired participants to rely on the Bible to deal with difficulties, to get through them and even rejoice in them.

Marie Funderburk, 76, is a long-time parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas and special events ministry team member who helped prepare the food for the day’s

reflection and listened in on the talks.

“This was most impressive,” Funderburk said. “Dr. Hahn was very articulate. He helped us realize that difficult times have always been with us but we can get through them. We will get through them.”

Father Remo DiSalvatore, OFM Cap., pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, helped bring Hahn to Charlotte.

“He taught people more about their faith, about the truths of the faith and the teaching of the Magisterium. He inspired people to want to live their faith more authentically,” Father Remo said.

Participants came from all over the Southeast. Some were non-Catholics who have read Hahn’s books and wanted to learn more about the Catholic faith.

“The people who came had such enthusiasm,” said Dina Wilson, pastoral administrative assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas and chairperson of the special events ministry who helped coordinate the retreat. “Dr. Hahn has such an excitement about the faith. It was a joyful day.”

“He was able to bring the truth of the Catholic faith to everyone in a loving way,” Father DiSalvatore added.

PHoto PRoVIDED BY DINA WILSoN

pictured from left are Dr. scott hahn; Dina DeFabo Wilson, chairwoman of the special Events Ministry; and Father remo Disalvatore, oFM cap., pastor of st. thomas aquinas church in charlotte.

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charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

St. John Neumann hosts international youth ministry team sueann HoWell StAff WRItER

CHARLOTTE — It’s hard to keep teenagers’ attention these days. Modern technology tends to monopolize a lot of their free time, so when you have the chance to break through the noise, it has to be good.

NET Ministries, an international young adult Catholic outreach effort, has what it takes to capture teens’ attention and imaginations. Working in small teams, they crisscross the country leading middle school and high school youth retreats.

St. John Neumann Church hosted a NET team in Charlotte Oct. 22-24 for a fall youth retreat. More than 30 teenagers participated in the weekend of activities.

“The weekend was a great success,” said Father Pat Hoare, pastor of St. John Neumann Church.

“Our teens responded positively to the NET team and I believe the retreat helped them to increase their faith and their knowledge of their own importance in spreading the Gospel message,” he said.

The mission of NET Ministries is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ through a

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In brief Members of the NEt Ministries team perform an opening skit “at the Movies” during the fall youth retreat at st. John Neumann church in charlotte oct. 23. pictured (from left) are team members John holdvogt, chris Warren, Emily lapointe, Nick Welter and connie Flores.

learn more neT minisTries is online at www.netusa.org.

Ministry participants travel the country for nine months leading retreats like the one at St. John Neumann Church. Check out their travel blog at www.netusa.org.

personal witness of faith; invite young people to live for Christ; form young people in Christian character through the study and practice of their faith; and equip youth workers and young adults with the ministry skills needed for evangelization.

Jasmine Pasimio, a NET team member from Kansas, made the nine-month commitment to travel the country leading retreats.

“We’ve been on the road about a month now,” Pasimio said Oct. 23. “We started in Michigan, then went to West Virginia, and now we’re here.”

“The theme for this particular retreat is ‘The Adventure.’ The idea is to get the teens to view their faith as an adventure,

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November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

SUEANN HoWELL | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

rather than something to take for granted or something to just go through the motions,” she explained.

The NET team reaches out to the teens through skits, talks, prayer and breakout sessions. Adoration, Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation are key components of the retreat experience as well. Breakout sessions for the adult youth ministers give them encouragement in their work with the youth.

“I was especially impressed by the members of the NET team. These are young men and women on fire for the faith and with a real desire to spread the Good News,”

Father Hoare said.

“The NET Retreat was the best I have ever experienced before and I have been a youth minister for five years,” said Irene Kilzer, youth minister at St. John Neumann. “The church communities supported it as well, with our parish council, Spanish community, ladies Bible study, and others helping with all the meals.”

Father Hoare summed up NET Ministries’ work: “The whole experience gives me great hope for an increase in religious and priestly vocations. I can definitely see the Holy Spirit at work!”

our lady of the highways marks feast day THOMASVILLE — Parishioners of Our Lady of the Highways celebrated their namesake’s feast day Sept. 26 with a bilingual Mass and multicultural feast in the parish hall featuring foods from the Philippines, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Dominican Republic, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Panama and Guatemala. The community also enjoyed entertainment by two Mexican dance groups (one of which is pictured above) and a disc jockey.

— Debbie bourguet

rcia institute held

rosary rally at st. Mark HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church in Huntersville hosted one of 5,958 rosary rallies across the U.S. Oct. 16, sponsored by America Needs Fatima, to offer reparation for the sins and offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to fervently pray for the conversion of the U.S.

GREENSBORO — About 28 RCIA coordinators from three dioceses attended the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Institute hosted

by St. Paul Church in Greensboro Oct. 15-16.

The institute was led by Father Ron Lewinski, former director of worship for the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Rita Ferrone, an author who has written on the RCIA program.

— Dr. cris v. villapando

belmont abbey college names two new positions

WE WElcoME your parish’s news. E-mail items to Editor Patricia Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.

BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College has appointed David Targonski as director of development and stewardship, and Mary Worthington as special projects coordinator, as the fast-growing Catholic college steps up its

fundraising activities.

Between 2005 and 2009, Belmont Abbey College was the fastest-growing college of all North Carolina independent colleges and universities.

Since 2004, the college’s enrollment has more than doubled and today, enrollment is at an alltime high as the college continues to expand on three campuses.

As a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Targonski’s major responsibility will be to build on the college’s fund-raising results. He was most recently director of advancement for the Cardinal Newman Society, and also provided fundraising management for the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., as well as for several Catholic colleges and religious congregations.

Targonski was also previously director of sales at EWTN, where he created the marketing plan for EWTN’s launch on DISH Network.

A Charlotte native, Worthington will work

with the college’s Office of the President on coordinating fundraising efforts.

She has a background in fundraising and media relations, and most recently was development associate for Honor Inc., a family-centered organization in Columbia, S.C., and a freelance correspondent for the Catholic News Herald.

coat drive a success BREVARD — Parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard recently collected 550 gently used coats as part of the parish’s “Operation Warm.” This ministry is active every other year and has distributed more than 2,000 coats since it was started in 2004. Coats are donated by parishioners, their friends and their family members over a period of four months.

— Dorice Narins

— Mariella buscaglia

St. Gabriel Church 3016 Providence Rd. Charlotte

FRIDAY, Nov. 19 – 4 - 8pm SATURDAY, Nov. 20 – 9 am - 8pm SUNDAY, Nov. 21 – 8 am - 2pm The Artesanias Pachamama, a non-profit women’s cooperative in Manazo, Peru, brings handmade 100% Alpaca wool and Pima cotton sweaters, and beautiful indigenous crafts – all of designs and colors reflecting the vibrant nature of these women who live in one of the poorest and most remote regions of the Andes altiplano. The proceeds of their annual sales help empower them to be self-sufficient and support their families and community.

See us at: www.perusweaters.org or YouTube: Artesanias Pachamama, Peru.

Info: directorartesaniapachmamausa@yahoo.com

BEGINNING SPANISH

Learn Spanish by listening and repeating at home or in your car.

Booklet and CD Send check or money order for $23.40 to; Carlos Rangel – PO Box 234 – Fletcher, NC 28732 Translations fantastico23@att.net

Debut Season of Concert Series to

Open with Celtic Music Sunday, November 7, 4 pm St. Ann Catholic Church, 3635 Park Road, Charlotte

St. Ann Catholic Church is most pleased to support the area's outstanding performance artists by presenting a Sunday afternoon concert series entitled Gaudium Musicae. Our debut season of four concerts will include classical guitar, antiphonal brass, gifted youth and children's voices, and will open with Celtic music.

Please join us on Sunday, November 7, at 4 p.m. for an exciting hour of Celtic music with the highly acclaimed and superbly entertaining duo Earl's Chair.

Tickets: adult $12; adult subscription $40; student $8; student subscription $25; children 12 and under are free.

For info, tickets or to sponsor a performance: St. Ann business office -- 704-523-4641, ext. 221

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November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews 13

from the cover

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

‘To you, O Lord’

Charlotte man ordained as Eastern rite deacon, the first in western North Carolina Patricia L. GuiLfoyLe eDItor

CHARLOTTE — “Axios! Axios! Axios!”

As the congregation proclaimed those words – “He is worthy!” – Matthew Hanes, an archives associate for the Diocese of Charlotte, was ordained a deacon in the Eastern Catholic Church Oct. 30.

Father Deacon Matthew’s ordination is a first for western North Carolina, and for the local Ukrainian Greek Catholic community, St. Basil the Great Mission, which meets weekly in the chapel at Charlotte Catholic High School.

What is the eastern catholic church?

During the rite of ordination to deacon, Bishop John Bura lays his hands on the candidate and prays for the Holy Spirit to descend upon him. Matthew Hanes kneels before the Holy Table, or altar, placing his hands in the form of a cross on the altar and touching his forehead to his hands.

The Eastern Catholic Church, which includes the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and recognizes the primacy of the pope, but their liturgical celebrations follow the Orthodox tradition (loosely referred to as the Byzantine rite). There are 22 Eastern Churches in full communion, but the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the largest.

The Church is led by Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Lubachinvsky, major archbishop of Lviv. Worldwide, Ukrainian Greek Catholics number about 6 million, forming the largest particular Catholic Church after the majority Roman rite.

St. Basil the Great Mission is part of the eparchy (or diocese) of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio. The eparchy, established by Pope John Paul II in 1983, encompasses parishes from Ohio and Pennsylvania to Florida.

Father Deacon Matthew said he was drawn to Eastern Christianity while at Duke Divinity School pursuing his master’s degree in theology. He attended a Divine Liturgy (Mass in the Eastern Church) for the first time in 2005.

“I was captivated by it, and after witnessing the role the deacon played I was inspired immediately,” he said.

In 2007 he met with Father Mark Shuey, pastor of St. Basil Mission and St. Nicholas Mission in Raleigh. Two years later, he transferred officially through the canonical process and

then applied to become a deacon with Bishop John Bura, apostolic administrator of the eparchy. Father Mark and a deacon assisted him in his studies and training.

more online

ordained subdeacon, then deacon

onLine at www.charlottediocese.org/interactive:

His years of preparation culminated with his ordination Oct. 30, celebrated by Bishop John. Joining in the celebration was Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte, Father Mark and Father Sean Labatt from Columbia, S.C. Raleigh parishioner Buenaventura Yupanqui was also ordained a deacon, and Michael Tyndall was ordained a subdeacon.

The ceremony began with all three men being ordained

by Bishop John as lectors and then as subdeacons at the start of the Divine Liturgy.

In that ritual, Hanes received tonsure – that is, the bishop clipped his hair in the form of a cross – and was vested in a short chasuble. Following a ritual handwashing by the bishop, as the final step in his ordination to the subdiaconate, Hanes was vested with an orarion (stole) and a sticharion (“robe of salvation,” similar to an alb), and the congregation proclaimed “Axios!”

Following the epistle from Acts, the Gospel and homily and the Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer), the rite of ordination to deacon began. After prostrating himself before the Holy Table (altar) three times, Hanes processed around the Holy Table three times, kissing its four corners and reverencing the bishop each time. Then he knelt before the Holy Table, placing his hands in the form of a cross on the altar and touching his forehead to his hands.

Bishop John then laid his hands on him and prayed, “Master, fill this your servant Matthew whom you have permitted to enter upon the diaconal ministry with all faith, love, power and holiness, through the inspiration of your holy and life-creating Spirit.”

Father Deacon Matthew’s orarion, which had crisscrossed his shoulders, was loosened and placed only over his left shoulder, as everyone proclaimed again, “Axios!”

Shifting the orarion to his left shoulder, with the front

— View a slideshow from the diaconate ordination, explaining each step of the rite within the Divine Liturgy.

A closer look at icons

— Learn more about the eastern Catholic faith, and how it fits into the universal Church.

Icons are not just pretty religious art. They are sacred representations – painted prayers or hymns – of Jesus, Mary, saints or angels designed to help us draw closer to God. As a visual Gospel, icons were also useful teaching tools when most people could not read.

Study it carefully, for everything in an icon is “written” purposefully, stressing the figure’s spirituality instead of being a mere portrait.

For example, large eyes symbolize holiness, as eyes are the windows to the soul; mouths, most often the means by which we sin, are disproportionately small. Christ, the saints and the angels all have halos, and angels have wings because they are messengers. Icons of Christ express the Incarnation, icons of Mary depict her as “Theotokos” (“God-bearer”), and icons of the saints show their openness to the Holy Spirit.

Color is also meaningful. Gold represents heaven’s radiance; red, divine life; blue, human life; onLine at www.newadvent. and white, the pure essence of org/cathen/07620a.htm: God. Icons of Christ depict Him — read an engaging play-bywith a red undergarment and a blue outergarment: God made play of the Second Council of man. In icons of Mary, she wears Nicaea, the Church’s 200-year a blue undergarment with a red fight against the Iconoclasts, outergarment: a human given and how two courageous gifts by God. empresses saved the icons.

Icons were not always accepted as part of our worship experience, despite their widespread use by the earliest Christians. In the eighth and ninth centuries, “Iconoclasts” confused iconography with idol worship and fought to eradicate nearly all visual representations of the Divine. Priests and monks were exiled, jailed or killed if they refused to destroy icons, and churches and monasteries were ransacked, despite protests from successive popes.

In 787, the Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Second Council of Nicaea declared that icons are to be venerated as a way of honoring the figures depicted, not adored or worshipped themselves. As St. Basil the Great explained, “The honor shown the image passes over to the archetype.” However, it still took another 55 years for the Iconoclasts to be defeated and the icons returned to churches on the first Sunday of Lent, Feb. 19, 842 – a date celebrated ever since as the “Feast of Orthodoxy.”

part of it draped over his left arm, demonstrated his new role as deacon. In the Eastern Church, deacons lead the people in prayer and direct the priest during the Divine Liturgy, holding their orarions high.

Father Deacon Matthew will assist at the Divine Liturgy and foster the growth of St. Basil. Unlike Roman rite deacons he cannot perform the sacraments, but because St. Basil has only visiting priests, he will likely lead Divine Services – including vespers and Typica services (a communion service).

Father Deacon Matthew sees his new role in the Divine Liturgy and with the mission as a calling from the Holy Spirit.

“The deacon in the Divine Liturgy invites the people to Holy Communion in some translations saying, ‘Approach with the fear of God, with faith and with love.’ That’s how I feel about the diaconate,” Father Deacon Matthew said, “because in serving at God’s Holy Altar I must serve in fear and awe, for the deacon is to mirror the heavenly angelic choirs who minister before the Almighty and Most Holy Trinity. At the same time I approach with thankfulness this vocation of deacon. This vocation is a gift from the Lord and not anything I earned or merited, and certainly not something I, a sinner, deserve.

“To be given an opportunity to intimately participate in this heavenly liturgy in such an incredible way is something I find both humbling and intensely joyful.”

experience the Divine Liturgy the Divine LiturGy of St. John chrySoStom is usually celebrated twice a month at St. Basil mission. the congregation worships each Saturday at 5 p.m. in the chapel at Charlotte Catholic high School, 7702 Pinevillematthews road, Charlotte. on the other Saturdays, there is a typica service (communion service). in november, Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Nov. 13 and Nov. 27. on Nov. 6 and Nov. 20, there will be a typica service.

In the first step to becoming a deacon, Hanes (head bowed) is first ordained to the order of lector, or reader, at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. He receives tonsure – that is, Bishop John clips his hair in the form of a cross – and he is vested in a short chasuble.

Before he can become a deacon, Hanes is ordained a subdeacon. He is vested with an orarion (stole) and a sticharion (alb), and the congregation proclaims “Axios!”

Later, his orarion will be placed over his left shoulder, a visual symbol of a deacon. The gold-colored vestments symbolize the rich gifts of the Holy Spirit.

During his ordination to deacon, Hanes prostrates himself before the altar. Next to him is fellow deacon candidate Buenaventura Yupanqui.

One of the first duties the new deacon must perform is to place himself at the altar while Bishop John prays during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, guarding in his hands the Holy Gifts, or Holy Communion.

Father Deacon Matthew’s orarion, which had crisscrossed his shoulders, is now draped over his left shoulder. He holds it up high in his right hand, leading the people in prayer and directing the priest during the Divine Liturgy.

In front of him are three of the four icons on stands separating the sanctuary from the congregation, or choir.

The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator, (“Christ the All-Powerful”), circa the sixth century, is now at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai. In the half-length image, Christ holds the New Testament in his left hand and makes the gesture of teaching with his right.

PeoPLe are WeLcome to attend any of these services, which are conducted in english and are mostly sung.

According to canon law, Catholics can fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending Divine Liturgy.

St. baSiL miSSion is online at: stbasil.weebly.com.

and don’t miss this!

Did you know?

Why do Eastern Catholic churches not feature statues, as Roman Catholic churches do? The ancient Greek culture had a rich tradition of statuary, but for pagan or idol worship. Early Christians there believed the three-dimensional representations were too sensual – placing too much emphasis on the human rather than the divine – so they prohibited statues and allowed only flat-panel or bas relief images.

Early Christians in Rome, however, did not feel the same way, so statues became popular means of devotion.

— Patricia Guilfoyle

Our schools

14

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

Making math and music fun

KaTHleen HealY sCHmieder CoRRESPoNDENt

living rosary formed at sacred heart SALISBURY — Students at Sacred Heart School in Salisbury joined together Oct. 22 for a living rosary.

Sister Ana Celestial, O.P., dean of students, coordinated the tribute for all schoolchildren, facility, families and parishioners to take part along with Father John Putnam and Father Benjamin Roberts. It was a beautiful way to say the prayer to Mary and all showed their love to her with colorful flowers. They asked Mary to continue to pray for Sacred Heart School and all of the Catholic schools in the diocese.

— bill Washington

HENDERSONVILLE — A groundbreaking took place Oct. 19 at Immaculata School in Hendersonville, blessing the site for a new preschool and center for children with autism.

The Grotto Pre-School and the administrative offices for the St. Gerard House for autistic children will be located next to the school. The site will also have four classrooms for Immaculata School pre-kindergarten and middle school, and the space will double as meeting space for the parish in the evenings.

There will be an additional six rooms for specialized child development as well as an outdoor play court and nine offices for the St. Gerard House administration.

“This is one more step in God’s work in what He wants us to do,” said Father Nick Mormando, pastor of Immaculate

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

For more info sT. gerard House, 718 oakland St. in Hendersonville, serves autistic children and their families. to learn more about its mission, call 828-693-4223 or go online to www. stgerardhouse.com.

Conception Church.

The Grotto ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) Pre-School works with children and their families to provide assessments and education regarding autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, developmental delays and behavioral health needs.

Established in March 2010, services are provided to families at a minimal cost.

St. Gerard House offers evaluations, training and more to assist autistic children

KAtHLEEN HEALY SCHMEIDER | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

Father Nick Mormando and caroline long blackwell break ground oct. 19 at the site for a new building for immaculata school in hendersonville. the building will house immaculata’s pre-kindergarten, the Grotto preschool, and the administrative offices for st. Gerard house for autistic children. in the background, Father John salvas blesses the lot, as (from left) Father Wilbur thomas, vicar forane of the asheville vicariate; caroline long blackwell’s mother; and builder Ken Gaylord look on during the groundbreaking.

Christ the KingCatholic High School Status Meeting Come and Be a Part of Making It a St. Mark Catholic Church Reality!

Msgr. Kerin Parish Center A new Catholic High School Planned to Open North of Charlotte in August 2011

or contact Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Admissions 704-370-3273

Knights name essay contest winners

CHARLOTTE — Students from Charlotte Catholic High School and Holy Trinity Middle School will represent the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools instrumental music program as participants in the N.C. Association of Independent Schools Honor Band in November.

Students selected from Charlotte Catholic are Avery Faucette, Ann Harouny, Lindsay Russell, Angela Small and Bridget Wasowski.

Faith Kressner and Hayley Russell were chosen to represent Holy Trinity.

The honor band includes talented musicians in grades 8-12 who attend N.C. independent schools. The event was held Nov. 4 at Charlotte Country Day School. Dr. William Malambri, director of bands at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., was the guest conductor.

HENDERSONVILLE — The Knights of Columbus Council 7184 in Hendersonville announced the winners of its eighth annual essay contest at Immaculata School Oct. 27.

The contest, co-sponsored with Blue Ridge Assembly 2130, challenges students to write on a patriotic theme chosen by the Knights and school staff. This year students wrote about a patriotic symbol of their choice: the Statue of Liberty, the American flag, the Lincoln Memorial or the Liberty Bell. The top three winners from each grade received commemorative medals and cash awards.

Winners are: sixth grade: Archie Case, Mead Krowka and Brooklyn Porter; seventh grade: Jonathon Simonds, Emma Shock and Eric Congdon; and eighth grade: Mary Kate Allen, Ellen Murray and Reece Kelsch.

— John remensnyder

Second grade’s annual ‘Math Night’ Yes, math can be fun! Betsy Pruitt, a second-grade teacher at St. Michael School in Gastonia, hosted a Math Night for all of her students and their families oct. 26. During this 12th annual event, Pruitt and her kitchen crew served 120 plates of her homemade spaghetti, then everyone scattered throughout the school to participate in 25 math games that involved measuring, estimating, counting, playing cards for number problems, adding and totaling money.

Remembering Our Children A Memorial Mass for those touched by the loss of a child Sponsored by the Diocese of Charleston- Family Life Office and the Diocese of Charlotte- Respect Life Office Hosted by the Oratory in Rock Hill

If you have lost a child at any age for any reason, consider joining us for prayer, reflection and fellowship.

14750 Stumptown Rd. Huntersville Thursday, November 18th 7:00pm

For more information and registration materials Visit www.ChristTheKinghs.com

Macs student-musicians chosen for honors band

— barbara russell

PHoto PRoVIDED BY PAt BURR

and their families.

Construction is expected to begin this month and be finished by late spring 2011.

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In brief

Parish school breaks ground on centers for autistic children

In brief

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

9:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Oratory SUEANN HoWELL | CAtHoLIC NEWS HERALD

Enjoying a bit of the opera St. Patrick School in Charlotte hosted an opera Express performance of “the Billy Goats Gruff” for students and faculty of St. Patrick, St. Ann and our Lady of the Assumption schools oct. 26. opera Express is the educational touring company of opera Carolina. this production teaches about dealing with bullies and how showing kindness can make a bully become a friend.

434 Charlotte Avenue -- Rock Hill, SC Followed by a talk from Kelly Buckley, author of “Gratitude in Grief” For more information, contact the Diocese of Charlotte Respect Life Office

704-370-3229

Mix

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November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

‘the calling’ this absorbing documentary focuses on the struggles involved in responding to a religious vocation as it follows a young male novice and a mother superior, both of whom belong to a small community called the Family of Jesus the healer. When the group’s founder relocates them from tampa, Fla., to peru to serve that country’s poor, both the newcomer and the veteran find it increasingly difficult to balance their calling with family ties and obligations back home.

While the ultimate decisions made by the people filmmaker David ranghelli chronicles vary, this remains both an uplifting story for a general audience and an excellent tool for vocations. cNs: a-ii (adults and adolescents), Mpaa: not rated

betty anne Waters, a rhode island catholic, spent years working to free her wrongly imprisoned brother, and her efforts became the inspiration for the new movie “conviction.”

CNS | CHRIStIAN CoULSoN

Ensemble drama that shuttles among the lives of nine africanamerican women, most prominently a successful but emotionally isolated business executive (Janet Jackson), her harried assistant (Kimberly Elise) and a lovelorn nurse (loretta Devine). adapted by writer-director tyler perry from Ntozake shange’s 1974 play, “For colored Girls Who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is Enuf,” this downbeat exploration of societal ills is studded with verbally impressive, but sometimes dramatically distancing poetic set pieces. a graphic rape, a scene of abortion, nonexplicit nonmarital sex, fleeting nudity, incest, sex abuse and homosexuality themes, frequent crude and crass language. cNs: o (morally offensive), Mpaa: r

‘paranormal activity 2’ Unnerving skin-crawler in which a prosperous california couple (sprague Grayden and brian boland) and the husband’s teenage daughter by a previous marriage (Molly Ephraim) try to protect the latest addition to the family, a 1-year-old boy, from the malignant designs of a demon. Director tod Williams extends the franchise that began with 2009’s “paranormal activity” by telling a related story that, like its predecessor, avoids gratuitous gore but that also tones down the original’s excess of sexual themes and vulgar language. occasional intense but stylized violence, some profanity. cNs: a-iii (adults), Mpaa: r

From page 5

on tV

In theaters

‘For colored Girls’

WEAVING:

Woman who got imprisoned brother freed still helps prisoners marK paTTison CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic woman whose efforts to free her wrongly imprisoned brother became the inspiration for the new motion picture “Conviction” still advocates for the cause of prisoners whenever she gets a chance.

Betty Anne Waters, who runs a bar in Bristol, R.I., got her high school diploma, a college degree, and a law degree so she could represent her brother Kenny in the appeal of his murder conviction.

Waters no longer practices law, but she pitches in wherever she can.

Speaking a mile a minute in the thick New England accent that reflects her upbringing in nearby Ayer, Mass., she said, “I help the New England Innocence Project with cases. And I go into New York to help change (criminal justice) policies and go to legislatures to get statutes changed and to get DNA preserved, and I speak against the death penalty. Things like that.”

Waters spelled out what it took just to earn her law degree. “(Kenny) was convicted in 1983. I didn’t go back to school until 1986; he had lawyers at that time,” she said. “I started part time in 1986, I had two little children. It took 12 years, but I graduated.”

By the time Waters got her sheepskin, DNA testing had grown more commonplace – and reliable. DNA evidence was what overturned Kenny’s conviction for murder and robbery.

He was serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole.

Waters, 56, said her expectation was that, within a few days of Kenny’s release from prison, “I thought we’d get back to my house and settle down and lead a normal life.”

SEE ‘CoNVICtIoN,’ see page 17

‘Conviction’ WHen Her BroTHer (Sam Rockwell) is convicted of a brutal murder and imprisoned for life, a working-class Massachusetts woman (Hilary Swank), who dropped out of high school, completes her undergraduate degree and struggles to finish law school and gain admission to the bar, all in an attempt to clear him. As her suspicions focus on one of the arresting officers (Melissa Leo), she gains the help of a fellow law student and newfound friend (Minnie Driver) as well as that of a famed attorney (Peter Gallagher).

her parish in Clermont, Fla., dedicated its new church. She wanted to make an altar cloth but, after talking to the pastor, began with creating a stole. It was needed for Palm n Wednesday, Nov. 10, 10-11 p.m. Est Sunday and the discussion took place just (EWtN) “pakistan’s christians.” this special weeks beforehand. focuses on the catholic church in pakistan, Normally, Vezina says, she works rather covering recent issues in that country slowly. “I could never be a production such as progressive islamicization and the weaver, or support myself. I’d be homeless persecution and killing of catholics falsely and starving,” she laughs. accused of blasphemy.

“Once I made the sample for the red stole I n thursday, Nov. 11, 12:30-2:15 p.m. Est (tcM) put the yarn on the loom, wove all weekend “Fighting Father Dunne” (1948). inspirational and by Tuesday had finished most of the sewing. We did the fitting and I delivered tale of a catholic priest (patrick o’brien) the finished stole on Friday. Later I tried to in 1905 st. louis who starts a residence weave a sample of the pattern again and it for homeless boys, then struggles to find took me three days to get it right,” she says. adequate funding as his efforts expand in “For me liturgical weaving is a very rehabilitating a growing number of youths, spiritual experience. I get lost in the one of whom (Darryl hickman) proves process,” she adds. “The altar cloths I incorrigible. Directed by ted tetzlaff, the subject is certainly worthy and the treatment wove required many yards of fabric – the sincere. (cNs: a-i – general patronage), Mpaa: Pentecost chasuble was woven in 15-yard not rated) n Friday, Nov. 12, 10 p.m. Est (EWtN) “sabeth: blessed Elizabeth of the trinity.”

Explore the life, spirituality, and writings of blessed Elizabeth of the trinity, a carmelite nun and noted spiritual director, who left a legacy of outstanding spiritual guidance in her letters and retreat guides. rebroadcast saturday, Nov. 13, 2 p.m. Est. n Monday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Est (telecare) “Fall General assembly of the U.s. conference of catholic bishops.” telecare, the television station of the Diocese of rockville centre, N.y., presents live coverage of the Usccb’s annual general assembly in baltimore. coverage of the gathering’s public sessions concludes tuesday, Nov. 16, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Est. some sessions will also be broadcast on EWtN. n Wednesday, Nov. 17, 10-11p.m. Est (EWtN) “project amazon: a New commandment.” this reality-style show follows 20 americans into the heart of the brazilian jungle as they seek to serve God by ministering to the caboclos indians.

griTTY YeT TouCHing, director tony Goldwyn’s fact-based drama – set in a hardscrabble environment, its dialogue studded with vulgarities – celebrates its heroine’s dedication and determination. But it also shows the toll her crusade takes on her family. some gruesome crime scene images, brief rear nudity, a suicide theme, some profanity and crass language.

Cns: l (limited adult audience, film contains problematic content many adults would find troubling) mpaa: r

n “Karol: a Man Who became pope” (EWtN): Many shattered dreams will mark the start of his journey from worker, to poet and teacher. a journey full of encounters that eventually leads Karol to become a priest and finally, in 1978, to become the man we all now know as pope John paul ii. it will air: part 1: Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.; saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. part 2: Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m.; saturday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m.

SAINTS: From page 3

gasped in delight when they glimpsed Good’s work for the first time.

“We have no actual pictures of these saints, so I used descriptions of how they dressed, taken from historical records and research,” Good said later.

“Each saint is a particular person in my life. These living people are saints to me, family members, friends and Father Kenneth Whittington and Father Robert Ferris (who helped Good prepare to be received into the

pieces. It took more than a week to put the yarn on my loom and required two warps, one for the chasuble sides and another for the center panels and stole. The entire project took about four months.

“Weaving comes very naturally and many of my relatives worked in the textile industry. My father was a textile chemist and worked in the field his whole career. I began sewing at age 10 and was always attracted to fabrics with the look of handwoven. In the mid-’90s I purchased my first floor loom, a little 26-inch Harrisville loom I still have.

Today I mostly weave on a 40-inch wide Toika, built in Finland, that is computer controlled.

“I still have to do the design, threading, and throw the shuttle but the computer tells the loom what shafts to raise to produce the design. A single foot pedal controls the raising and lowering of the shafts during the weaving.

“A big help for an aging weaver’s body,” she adds with a grin.

She weaves and makes priests’ and deacons’ stoles on commission and can be contacted through St. Margaret Mary Church.

church).”

The personalities of each saint are brought majestically to life with color and brilliance on the five six-foot wood panels, bringing a sense of peaceful warmth as their faces look down upon the faithful.

Good’s goal, he said, was bring to life the faith of the patriarchs, martyrs, popes, prophets, all the beloved, faithful of God, and how they can enrich our lives.

Father Whittington said he was happy to see the artwork grace the once-bare spot in the church’s sanctuary.

“It is a great gift to inspire all generations and to have the prayers of many saints in our parish is a blessing,” Father Whittington said.

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

‘CONVICTION’: From page 16

But the calls kept coming in, she said.

As a result, Waters said, “the one person I called, and trust most, was Barry Scheck from the Innocence Project. He knows some people in Hollywood.”

The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing.

She said Scheck told her, “Betty Anne, you know they’re going to make a movie about you.” They resolved to make a deal to tell their — betty anne story rather than Waters have their story told without Worked to free Waters’ input. her brother from A Hollywood prison. He died six friend of Scheck’s months after being bought the rights exonerated. to it.

“The most important thing was that he died free.”

17

The film project itself took nine years from start to screen, but after all that time, Waters said, “it took 35 days to make the movie.”

Hollywood being Hollywood, some liberties had to be taken with the story to condense 17 years into a couple of hours.

Something the movie “Conviction” doesn’t say is that Kenny died six months after his release. “But he had a lot of life.

It was the best six months in his life,” Waters said. “The most important thing was that he died free.”

Learn the Language of True Love

7

The Truth and Meaning of Sexuality, Love & Family

Online Course Begins Jan 3, 2011 Visit www.FamilyHonor.org today and register!

Our nation 18

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Michigan religious order set to buy John paul ii cultural center WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Michigan religious order experiencing rapid growth since its formation in 1997 is planning to buy the 10-year-old Pope John Paul II Cultural Center across the street from the Catholic University of America. The Ann Arbor-based Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist signed a purchase agreement with the Archdiocese of Detroit to buy the 100,000-square-foot center in Washington, D.C., and use it as a house of study for its members. No purchase price for the 12-acre property was disclosed.

Its proximity to the well-established Dominican House of Studies and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception makes it an attractive site, said a spokeswoman for the order.

“I firmly believe God drilled that hole.”

Greg hall Houston Catholic man who helped save the Chilean miners

personnel files released in california abuse cases SAN DIEGO — More than 10,000 pages of material were made public following a California court order Oct. 22 to release documents from the Dioceses of San Diego and San Bernardino related to past cases of improper sexual conduct of 48 priests.

Documents posted at www.bishopaccountability.org included letters and other information detailing complaints about the priests and the dioceses’ responses. None of the priests in question remains in the dioceses; only six are still living.

A 2007 settlement between the dioceses and 144 plaintiffs who sued over allegations of sexual abuse by priests included an agreement to turn over the priests’ personnel documents, subject to the review of retired Judge William C. Pate, acting for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

The San Diego diocese also agreed to pay out more than $182 million to 133 plaintiffs for complaints against priests and several religious orders serving there. The San Bernardino diocese paid out $15 million for 11 cases.

pope names Miami’s auxiliary bishop to lead orlando, Fla., diocese WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Benedict XVI has named Auxiliary Bishop John G. Noonan of Miami to head the Diocese of Orlando, Fla. He succeeds Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, who was installed June 1 to head the Miami archdiocese. He will be installed Dec. 16.

— catholic News service

CNS | CoURtESY of ANGELICA HALL

owner Greg hall of Drillers supply international is pictured at the site of the collapsed san Jose mine in the atacama Desert near copiapo, chile, in october. the catholic parishioner from the houston area said faith played a role in his company’s successful plan to drill down to reach 33 trapped miners. “i firmly believe God drilled that hole,” he said following their rescue.

Houston man who helped miners sees hand of God in rescue JonaH dYCus CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

HOUSTON — Greg Hall was preparing to serve as an acolyte for Mass at Christ the Redeemer Church when an associate contacted him about a “banging on the pipe.”

It was Day 17 after the Chilean mine collapsed on 33 miners. A representative from Drillers Supply International – a company owned by Hall and his wife Angelica – was updating the deacon-in-training on the task assigned to the company’s crew: drilling through more than 2,000 feet of rock down into the gold and copper mine.

“At that time, we thought we were just drilling to try to get a video feed to let (the miners’) families know they had perished,” Greg Hall said. “Then we found out that all 33 of them were alive.”

Moments after serving at Mass in Houston, Hall headed for the airport and left for the San Jose mine in the Atacama Desert.

Days after the drilling was completed, all of the miners were methodically extracted from

the mine Oct. 13.

“I talked to a lot of people, and this was the most challenging drill I have done in 25 years,” Hall, now back home, told the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the GalvestonHouston Archdiocese. “Talking to my peers, it was the most technologically challenging hole they ever heard of.”

“I firmly believe God drilled that hole,” he said.

Once Hall arrived in Chile, the Chilean government had requested he devise an alternate plan to get the miners out. Initial rescue efforts proved unsuccessful, including the miners trying and failing to escape through a ventilation shaft.

“I just took what resources were available in the country to draw from very quickly, went through a series of scenarios, and came up what was known as ‘Plan B,’” Hall said. “They had asked me not to publish the information at that time because no one wanted to get any hopes up because people didn’t believe we could do it. In fact, maybe I didn’t believe we could do it.”

Once Plan B was put into motion, the

Drillers Supply International crew had gotten down almost 1,969 feet when the drilling rig came to a halt with just 131 more feet to go.

“The tool was hopelessly stuck, and I was totally out of answers,” Hall recalled.

It was at that critical moment when Hall realized he wasn’t powerless after all.

“I could pray, and I started praying very hard,” he said. “Soon after that, we started getting a little leeway and (the drill) started moving again.”

In Chile, the tall Texan (6-feet-7-inches) proved to be a man of action, not complacent to stand on the sidelines. And at his home parish, Hall’s pastor said the third-degree Knight of Columbus is a great man of faith, not one to stay in the pews, either.

“What we have known for years at Christ the Redeemer, the world is now coming to know – and that is, if you need help, Greg Hall is the man to call,” Father Sean Horrigan said. “It’s a great testament to Greg’s dedication to serve others that he and his team were able to contribute to the work of so many in Chile.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Under persistent criticism from activists as well as questions from some bishops, leaders of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development have established “stronger policies and clearer mechanisms” to guide how grants are awarded to poverty-fighting groups and to strengthen oversight of how funds are spent.

Made public Oct. 26, the plan places greater emphasis on the Catholic identity of the 41-year-old program and renews the U.S. bishops’ commitment to fight poverty in all its forms, said Bishop Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., chairman of the bishops’ CCHD subcommittee.

THe CCHd ColleCTion will “There were those who were be taken in our diocese concerned that renewal in some way Nov. 20-21. for commentary might mean moving away from a about the importance priority of helping the poor achieve of the collection, see page 23. greater self-sufficiency. There is a reaffirmation that the CCHD will continue to have a priority for the poor and in helping the poor to help themselves. That has not changed,” Bishop Morin said.

A 15-page document outlining the changes, “The Review and Renewal of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development,” provides a “road map for the renewal” of the program and aligns itself with the five priorities the bishops established for 2008-2011, especially on emphasizing the life and dignity of the human person, recognizing cultural diversity and strengthening marriage and family life.

CCHD has been under fire since 2008 from critics who claim the program has lost its way by funding organizations that joined coalitions taking positions contrary to Catholic teaching on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Bishop Morin apologized for the program’s lapses recently, and noted that five of the 270 organizations funded in 2008-2009 had lost their awards for violating grant guidelines.

read more

nanCY Frazier o’Brien CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the U.S. bishops, including Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte, gather in Baltimore for their 2010 fall general assembly Nov. 15-18, discussions will be devoted primarily to internal matters, but a few policy discussions are expected.

For Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, the meeting will be his last one as president. If the conference follows past practice, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., will succeed him.

On the agenda for public discussion by the U.S. Bishops is a proposed agreement on mutual recognition of baptism by the Catholic and four Protestant churches.

The common agreement, which requires an up or down vote by the bishops and cannot be amended, was drawn up over the past six years by a team of scholars from the USCCB, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.

Calling baptism “the sacramental gateway into the Christian life,” the agreement says it “is to be conferred only once, because those who are baptized are decisively incorporated into the body of Christ.”

To be mutually recognized by the five churches, the baptismal rite must use water and the Trinitarian

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School Annual Admission Open House Event Kindergarten – Grade Eight Tuesday, November 16 5-7 pm 605 Barbee Avenue, High Point

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Internal matters expected to dominate bishops’ fall agenda

CCHD outlines ‘renewal’ plan dennis sadoWsKi CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

In brief

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Eagle’s Nest/Pre-K Thursday, November 18 4-6 pm 4145 Johnson Street, High Point

Tour the Campus Visit Classrooms Meet parents and our highly qualified faculty Come see firsthand what makes IHM so special!

• Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School has offered quality education at an affordable price to families of the TRIAD since 1947.

• We are looking forward to breaking ground for a new education center in the very near future.

• Our mission is to recognize the giftedness of each student in a nurturing, supportive environment.

We are committed to Faith,Tradition and Excellence!

For additional information please visit our website IHM-School.com or call (336) 887-2613

formula, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” the document states.

The bishops also will vote on whether to draft a policy statement on physician-assisted suicide. If they agree to do so, the actual document will come before them at a later meeting.

They also will be asked to approve the 2011 USCCB budget, George the 2012 assessment on dioceses to support conference work, a timeline for evaluation of the conference reorganization and a one-year break between the present and the next planning cycle. pope Another topic of discussion names likely will be the new report Cardinal on review and renewal of the George to Catholic Campaign for Human economic Development, which calls for council. See “stronger policies and clearer page 20. mechanisms” to guide how grants are awarded to poverty-fighting groups and strengthen oversight of how funds are spent. (See related story at left.)

Among oral reports expected to be presented are the Church’s response following the earthquake in Haiti, ways to integrate new media into diocesan communications structures, and World Youth Day.

more

Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

Executive Director: Elizabeth Thurbee (704) 370-3227 Associate Director: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3250 Refugee Office: Cira Ponce (704) 370-3262 Family Life: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3228 Justice and Peace: Joseph Purello (704) 370-3225 OEO/CSS Murphy Satellite Office (828) 835-3535 Charlotte Region: 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Area Director: Elizabeth Thurbee (704) 370-3262 Western Region: 50 Orange Street, Asheville, NC 28801 Area Director: Michele Sheppard (828) 255-0146 Piedmont-Triad: 627 W. Second St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Area Director: Diane Bullard (336) 727-0705 Greensboro Satellite Office (336) 274-5577

For information on specific programs, please call your local office.

www.cssnc.org

Providing help. Creating hope. Changing lives.

Our world

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CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

In brief Death toll mounts from disasters in indonesia WASHINGTON, D.C. — A double dose of natural disasters led Catholic agencies working in Indonesia to mount several efforts to provide emergency services to victims last week. The disasters – a magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake Oct. 25 that triggered a tsunami that swamped coastal villages in the remote Mentawai Islands off of the west coast of Sumatra, and the eruption of a volcano on Java beginning Oct. 26 – claimed more than 400 lives and displaced thousands of people.

Authorities reported the tsunami killed 408 people and that at least 400 people remained missing Oct. 29, four days after 10-foot waves washed away homes and other structures up to 2,000 feet inland.

“Entire villages were swept away,” Xaverian Father Silvano Zulian, a missionary priest who has lived in the Mentawai Islands for more than 30 years, told MISNA, the missionary news service. “The toll is destined to rise by the hour.”

‘New evangelization’ theme for 2012 synod VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has chosen “new evangelization” as the theme for the next world Synod of Bishops in 2012. The pope said the topic reflects a need to re-evangelize in countries where Christian faith and practice have declined, and where people “have even moved away from the Church.” He recently created the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization and has made it a theme of his pontificate.

pope names U.s. cardinal to economic council VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has named Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago to the international Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See. The cardinal-members of the council meet regularly with the pope to help oversee the economic management of the Vatican. It was established by Pope John Paul II in 1981 to advise him on the Vatican’s ailing finances that he inherited from his predecessors, and it is led by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

— catholic News service

Traditional pilgrim rituals await pope at Santiago de Compostela

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Dozens killed, injured in Baghdad cathedral attack

Carol glaTz CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

Pope urges leaders to work together for peace CNS | MIGUEL VIDAL, REUtERS

pilgrims wait in line in late July to enter the cathedral in santiago de compostela, spain. pope benedict Xvi has said he is heading to spain Nov. 6-7 as a pilgrim, and the trip will give him the opportunity to participate in the most popular foot pilgrimage in Europe, the “camino,” or journey, to santiago de compostela.

Carol glaTz CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — A deadly militant siege of a Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday was a “savage” act of “absurd violence,” Pope Benedict XVI said.

The Oct. 31 attack on 100 Catholics gathered in the cathedral for Mass left 58 people dead and 75 injured. The dead included two young priests, Fathers Tha’ir Saad and Boutros Wasim, whose funerals were held Nov. 2.

“I pray for the victims of this absurd violence, which is even more savage because it struck defenseless people, gathered in God’s house, which is a house of love and reconciliation,” the pope said.

He urged authorities and all people of good will to work together for peace in the Middle East. While peace may be a gift of God, “it is also the result of efforts by people of good will and national and international institutions,” he said.

In a Nov. 2 telegram to Baghdad, the pope said, “I renew my appeal that the sacrifice of these brothers and sisters of ours may be seeds of peace and of true rebirth and so that all those who have at heart reconciliation and a coexistence marked by fraternity and solidarity would find reasons and strength to work for good.”

Armed militants wearing explosives stormed the cathedral Oct. 31 as an estimated 100 faithful were attending Mass. First they set off a car bomb across the street, killing two people in front of the Baghdad Stock Exchange. Then they stormed the cathedral, killing another two people, according to reports.

The militants, who said they were part of the Islamic State of Iraq – a group with suspected ties to al-Qaida – held parishioners and priests hostage in the hopes of leveraging the release of prisoners from their network. The terrorists demanded prisoners linked to al-Qaida be set free from detention in Iraq and Egypt and they threatened to blow up the cathedral if military forces attempted to break the siege.

After a standoff that lasted hours, Iraqi forces stormed the cathedral and the ensuing firefight and a series of explosions killed 58 people and injured 75.

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph

VATICAN CITY — When Pope Benedict XVI heads to Spain Nov. 6-7, he will follow some of the traditional rituals that pilgrims engage in when visiting the popular pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela.

It will be his first time to visit the ancient pilgrimage city and Barcelona, where he will consecrate the partially completed Church of the Sagrada Familia, or Holy Family.

“He’s very happy to go (to Compostela) because it’s something he has wanted very much,” said the Vatican’s chief spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi.

Before becoming pope, “he and his brother also once talked about them going together, but it never happened,” said Father Lombardi.

Though he will not have walked the miles of roadsides and pathways other Compostela pilgrims travel when going on foot or by horse, the pope will still carry out some

K EA K SE! N S PEE OU H EN Is your child struggling with P O

Academic Social or Behavioral Issues?

Join Us Saturday, Nov. 13th CNS | tHAIER AL-SUDANI, REUtERS

residents place iraqi national flags on coffins during a funeral Nov. 2 at the syrian catholic cathedral in baghdad, iraq.

Dozens of hostages, including two young priests, were killed when security forces raided the cathedral oct. 31 to free worshippers being held by militants wearing explosives.

III Younan was in Canada when the blasts occurred. In an e-mail to CNS Nov. 1 while he was en route to Baghdad, he criticized the lack of security for Christian places of worship and called on “Iraqi parties to overcome their personal and confessional interests and look for the good of the Iraqi people who have elected them.”

“Christians are slaughtered in Iraq, in their homes and churches, and the so-called ‘free’ world is watching in complete indifference, interested only in responding in a way that is politically correct and economically opportune, but in reality is hypocritical,” said the patriarch, who served as bishop of the New Jersey-based Syrian-rite diocese in the U.S. and Canada from 1995 until his election as

patriarch in 2009.

Iraqi bishops had just participated in a special Synod of Bishops Oct. 10-24 with the pope in Rome.

The synod drew attention to the dangers facing Christians in the Middle East – including kidnappings for ransom, bombings of churches, and a general lack of security – making life so precarious for the vulnerable Christian community that about half have fled for safer destinations in the past seven years.

At least one bishop raised the question of systematic attacks as part of a “plan” to drive all Christians from the Middle East.

The cathedral and four other churches were also the target of a string of bombings in 2004.

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

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of the traditional pilgrimage rituals at the cathedral.

The pope will walk through the cathedral’s Holy Door, which was opened at the start of the year. The feast of St. James, July 25, fell on a Sunday this year, making 2010 a holy year. Tradition holds that the remains of the apostle St. James the Greater – Santiago in Spanish – are buried in the city’s cathedral.

The pope will head to the crypt and pray at the apostle’s tomb and he will embrace a statue of St. James, another pilgrim tradition.

Finally, the pope will incense the cathedral in an unusual method particular to the Santiago church. A giant incense burner, about the size of an adult human being, hangs from a rope wrapped around a double pulley in front of the main altar.

At special pilgrim Masses and events, the

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Follow the visit live eWTn Will air live coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to Spain Nov. 6-7, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Et, Wednesday, Nov. 6, with the pope’s arrival in Santiago de Compostela, followed by his visit to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela at 8 a.m. Et, and the celebration of Mass at 11:30 a.m. Et. on thursday, Nov. 7, coverage begins with Mass at the Church of the “Sagrada familia” (Holy family) at 4 a.m. Et, followed by the Angelus in the outdoor square.

incense burner is swung across the church in a trajectory similar to that of a trapeze performer in a circus.

The burner is called a “botafumeiro” in Galician, the Spanish dialect spoken in Santiago de Compostela, and it means “smoke thrower.” In medieval times, its function was not just liturgical. It was also filled with perfumes to deodorize the smells from the hordes of unwashed pilgrims who traveled great distances.

Seeking Catholic School Principal for 2011-12 school year St. Thomas More School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is an essential ministry of the Catholic Community of St. Thomas More.

The school was founded in 1964, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The current enrollment is 400 students in grades Pre-K through 8th.

Qualifications: • The candidate must be an experienced school leader, inspiring and committed to advancing/enriching the school’s mission in an environment that cultivates faith formation, technology advancement and promotes academic excellence to students.

• The candidate must be a practicing Catholic with strong Catholic values, seeking an exceptional opportunity to build upon the success of the school and must have demonstrated successful experience in spiritual leadership, school finances and institutional advancement.

• The candidate must have a Master’s Degree in Education or a related field, with a minimum of three years experience as a Principal and a North Carolina Principal License, or eligibility for a North Carolina License.

• The candidates must have superior communication and interpersonal skills and be knowledgeable in current areas of learning, teaching and professional development.

Send a cover letter stating interest and qualifications for the position, a current resume, and a statement of educational philosophy, along with salary requirements and 2 or 3 references including names, addresses, e-mails and phone numbers by mail to: Principal Search Committee 940 Carmichael Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Or by email to: STMprincipalsearch@st-thomasmore.org Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

920 Carmichael St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514

ViewPoints

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CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

Percent of U.S. high school students who say at least once in the past 12 months they have: public schools

Batrice Adcock

Natural Family Planning empowers women

A

re you pro-life? Do you realize that all forms of hormonal birth control are abortifacient?

Some forms, including the IUD, are primarily abortifacient, due to the fact that breakthrough ovulation occurs and there is nowhere for the embryo to implant; the uterus has become a hostile environment, rather than the safest place on earth for the baby.

Many more abortions occur as a result of hormonal birth control as compared to the number of surgical abortions. And, what’s more, contraception fails.

As much as 50 percent of pregnancies now are unplanned, and half of these pregnancies are terminated through abortion.

Contraception, it seems, is the root of an anti-life mentality.

Do you want to make a huge impact on building a culture of life? Help women understand that their fertility is something to be cherished and protected rather than suppressed and potentially damaged through the use of artificial contraception.

How are couples to go about being responsible parents without using contraception? By using Natural Family Planning, called NFP for short.

The modern methods of NFP are just as effective as the birth control pill, and they present a true method of family planning. They allow for involvement of both spouses and can be used to achieve pregnancy as well as postpone it.

The Church’s teachings on responsible parenting are liberating and freeing. They empower women and couples. Modern NFP is effective and practical, and it leads to happier and healthier marriages.

It’s time women embrace real feminism and expect that their spouses respect their bodies and their health. batricE aDcocK, MSN, RN, is the program director for Catholic Social Services’ Natural family Planning Program for the Diocese of Charlotte. You can reach her at bnadcock@charlottediocese.org. for more about NfP, go online to www.cssnc.org/ naturalfamilyplanning.

Help CCHD and help people break the cycle of poverty

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

Bullying problem by the numbers Bully Problem religious private schools

been bullied in a way that was seriously upsetting

47% 48% 49%

Nearly half of high school students in public schools and religious private schools say they have been bullied, teased or taunted in a way that was seriously upsetting.

Rico De Silva

We are all called to be saints

W

hile teaching a CCD class recently to a group of third- and fourthgraders, I shocked them when I said we are all called to be saints. One 53% hit a person out of anger student let out a loud “What?!” and the 47% incredulous blank stares on the others confirmed he spoke for the entire class. mistreated someone 21% I was telling the kids about the life because he/she belonged of St. Francis of Assisi, and how God’s 23% to a different group plan for us is to accomplish our unique From a 2009-2010 study that included responses from 43,321 high school students nationwide. mission in life with His help and then The margin of error is less than 1 percent. enjoy Heaven with Him forever.

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics ©2010 CNS The students’ reaction reminded me that perhaps we don’t hear often enough about our essential purpose in life: our call to holiness.

On Nov. 1, the Church celebrated one of my favorite feast days: the Solemnity of All Saints. I love it not only because represents.” He also stressed a “line often Leaders from other religious of my special devotion to some of the Carol zimmermann ignored” in the Catechism of the Catholic denominations have also been providing saints, but because it reminds me of CAtHoLIC NEWS SERVICE Church, which stresses that homosexual information for pastors and youth leaders what I could become with the help of persons must be welcomed with “respect, about how to minister to teens struggling God’s grace.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The widely sensitivity and compassion.” with their sexual identity, and they have As a part of the Communion of publicized suicide of 18-year-old Tyler The priest, book author and cultural editor Saints, we, the Pilgrim Church on condemned anti-gay bullying.

Clementi in September not only put the of the Jesuit magazine, described Church Despite these efforts, religious groups are earth, by virtue of our baptism, share spotlight on the harassment of gay teenagers traditions as “good places to start when it still suspect in some of these teen suicides, in the joy and prayers of the Church but also highlighted the possible role of comes to outreach, especially with youth – according to a poll by Public Religion Triumphant in Heaven, better known religious groups in instilling negative views and not just with gay and lesbian youth, but as All Saints. The saints love to Research Institute in partnership with about homosexuals. with all who feel excluded.”

Religion News Service. The poll, released intercede for us even more than we like The 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers He said the Church’s pro-life stance should to ask them to pray for us. They want Oct. 21, showed 72 percent of Americans University jumped to his death from the include “finding ways to protect all life, believe messages about homosexuality us to make it to Heaven and be with George Washington Bridge in New Jersey a which also means preventing suicides.” stemming from religious groups contribute God and them when we die. day after a video revealing his sexuality was Anna Mae Mayer, director of the Mercy to negative views of gays and lesbians, and The question is: Do we want to go? streamed on the Internet.

Center for Spiritual Life at Salve Regina 65 percent see a connection between these As Catholics living in today’s Clementi’s death and other recent teen University in Newport, R.I., similarly said views and the high rates of suicide among material world, we need to be reminded suicides stemming from gay bullying have university officials viewed the Clementi gay youths. of the real meaning of life. The prompted soul-searching about how this suicide as part of a broader issue of how In an Oct. 4 blog for America magazine, Baltimore Catechism taught: “We were happened and discussions about how it could students can hurt or help one another.

Jesuit Father James Martin wrote that created to know, love and serve God in be prevented.

The university, sponsored by the Sisters Catholics can “do a better job in reaching this life, and to be happy with Him in Church teaching calls homosexual acts of Mercy, hosted a Nov. 2 gathering for out to young gays and lesbians,” but he Heaven.” More recently the Church, morally wrong but affirms the dignity of students, faculty and staff called: “Our also praised the bishops’ 1997 document in “The Church in the Modern World,” those with homosexual inclinations. The Human Dignity: A Forum in Response to the restated this goal as “the universal call and successful diocesan and archdiocesan U.S. bishops specifically condemned “unjust Tragic Death of Tyler Clementi at Rutgers to holiness.” discrimination” of homosexuals in their 1997 programs for gay and lesbian Catholics.

University.”

He said the “voluminous writings of popes Today, though, the Church has to document “Always Our Children: A Pastoral The goal wasn’t to “rehash this but move and theologians on human dignity all speak compete with Facebook, Twitter and Message to Parents of Homosexual Children forward in a positive way,” Mayer said. to the great gift that every person’s life PlayStation to get this message across and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers.” to younger Catholics. And we have to concentrate even more on our true purpose, not being distracted by the daily grind of life.

Like many people, I once assumed the Catholic News Herald welcomes letters from readers. We ask that letters be Items submitted to the Catholic News Herald become the property of the that only priests and religious had the responsibility to be holy since most newspaper and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic originals of 250 words or fewer, pertain to recent newspaper content or Catholic saints in Church history had followed a formats and archives. issues, and be in good taste. religious or priestly vocation. Religious Mail: letters to the editor to be considered for publication, each letter must include the name, address achieve their sanctity by serving Catholic news Herald and daytime phone number of the writer for purpose of verification. Letters may the Church in their unique ways, or be condensed due to space limitations and edited for clarity, style and factual 1123 s. Church st. “charisms,” and also by praying for the accuracy.

Charlotte, n.C. 28203 needs of the Church. bullied, teased or taunted someone

44%

Bullying, teen suicides prompt soul-searching

Letters policy

the Catholic News Herald does not publish poetry, form letters or petitions.

E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

DE SILVA, see page 24

CaTHoliC NEWS HERALDI 23

November 5, 2010 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

D

ear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) collection will be held in our diocese during the weekend of Nov. 20-21. This collection supports works of charity and justice by funding community groups whose goals include changing policies and solving problems that keep low-income residents in poverty.

Over the years, many groups across the nation and in our own diocese have benefitted through funding from CCHD, enabling them to reach to the most vulnerable among us. In doing so, these organizations change lives for the better.

Through the help of a CCHD grant, Cooperative Christian Ministry in Cabarrus County provides a halfway house for homeless women with children, making available a safe haven while they learn self-sufficiency skills and receive job search assistance. In addition, St. Peter Church in Charlotte, another CCHD grantee, has forged a public/private partnership with a local elementary school with 85 percent of its student body below the poverty level. A CCHD grant enables parents and St. Peter parishioners to be more involved in the education of the children.

Parent involvement in all aspects of school

My own journey home

A

Rev. Monsignor Mauricio W. West life continues to increase and encourages the children in their pursuit of education.

Through CCHD, the Church is working to seek justice and reflect Catholic social teaching. A portion of our local collections remains in the Diocese of Charlotte to assist local communities fight poverty and defend the dignity of life. Please support the efforts of CCHD in breaking the cycle of poverty. Thanking you for your very kind consideration of this request, I ask that you be as generous as possible in your support of this outreach effort.

May Almighty God bless you. rEv. MoNsiGNor MaUricio W. WEst is vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte.

CCHD collection addresses roots of poverty

T

he Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the domestic antipoverty program of the U. S. Catholic bishops. It was established in 1969 to address the root causes of poverty in the United States through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education.

The CCHD philosophy emphasizes empowerment and participation. By helping the poor to participate in the decisions and actions that affect their lives, CCHD empowers them to move beyond poverty.

CCHD supports grassroots organizations as they create jobs, improve neighborhoods, train adults for employment at a living wage, and keep schools safe and enriching for children.

Each November (this year the weekend of Nov. 20-21), parishes have a second

Peggy Bowes

Mary Jane Bruton collection, giving parishioners the opportunity to provide funding for CCHD. Each year CCHD distributes national and diocesan grants to more than 250 projects based in local communities.

For instance, in our diocese funding was provided this year to 12 organizations working with the poor.

In Murphy, the Hurlburt Johnson

BRUtoN, see page 24

s a Catholic author, I hoped to someday be a guest on an EWTN program like “Bookmark” or “Women of Grace.” I never dreamed that I’d be featured on “The Journey Home.”

I first recounted my “reversion story” when a fellow writer asked if it was difficult to live my faith while serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot. I sheepishly admitted that at the time, I was at best a lukewarm Catholic. Despite my upbringing in a devout Catholic home and a Catholic school education, I lacked a solid foundation of faith. Like the seed sown on rocky ground in the Parable of the Sower, my faith had no depth – no doctrine, no Bible study, no apologetics.

My early post-Vatican II catechism taught me that I should simply love God and be a “good person.”

When I left home for college, I was finally free to do anything I wanted.

I was the “smart girl” in high school, but I quickly became the “party girl” in college. Instead of living a virtuous and holy life, I immersed myself in pop culture. I compromised my values so that my peers would like and accept me.

Ironically, I still thought of myself as a “good Catholic” because I attended Mass on most Sundays.

I was a Catholic in name only, but I had one precious possession that would save my soul — a blue crystal rosary, a First Communion gift from my parents.

During times of trouble, I’d search for my rosary in a jumbled dresser drawer.

The familiar prayers returned me to the comfort and security of childhood when faith came easily. My prayers were answered, the troubles passed, and my rosary was carelessly returned to the dresser drawer, forgotten and neglected.

This cycle continued for many years as I took no positive action to deepen my faith. It was not until I began to study the rosary that I realized the depth of its mysteries. I studied the Bible, learned to meditate, and read everything about the rosary I could get my hands on. I was especially inspired by the words of St. Louis de Montfort in “The Secret of the Rosary”: “Heaven will amend your life and save your soul if you say the Rosary devoutly every day of your life.”

The more I prayed the rosary, the deeper my faith became. I gradually became aware of and began to change my sinful practices. Heaven was indeed amending my life.

BoWES, see page 24

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CaTHoliC NEWS HERALD

DE SILVA: From page 23

Priests are ordained to sanctify the laity by offering Mass and administering the sacraments to us for our salvation.

But we can also become saints – in spite of the grind of daily life – when we bring Christ into our homes, the workplace and the social arena. That’s no easy task and

BRuTON: From page 23

Friendship House provides the only place for housing homeless men within 100 square miles and it offers job skills training.

In Charlotte, Our Lady of Consolation Church received funding to prepare for opening an adult day care center to serve low-income elderly.

In Waynesville, the Good Samaritan Clinic of Haywood County provides medical care, including social and spiritual support, to underserved adults in Haywood County.

Without this clinic, they would have little local access to medical care.

In High Point, Low Income Housing Opportunities is providing affordable housing for low-income families in a safe, drug-free environment.

Other grant recipients support projects addressing domestic violence, hunger, support for low-income pregnant women, and community public/private school partnerships.

These organizations witness to the U.S. bishops’ key themes at the heart of our Catholic social tradition: n Life and Dignity of the Human Person: All human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. Society and its structures should aim to lift up the person. n Call to Family, Community and Participation: We are social and develop in community, starting with family. We should construct our society so that all can

BOWES: From page 23

can be achieved only through prayer, the sacraments and reading the Scriptures – the same way the saints did.

Most of us will never be canonized and have the title “saint” added to our names after we die. However, if we keep life’s ultimate purpose in sight at all times, our names will be written in the Book of Life, and the Church and our loved ones will remember us as the faithful departed. rico DE silva is a member of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.

flourish and participate in the decisions that affect us. n Rights and Responsibilities: Every human person has basic inherent rights. We have a responsibility to organize our society so that everyone’s rights can be protected. n Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: Those who are weak, vulnerable and most in need deserve preferential concern. n The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers: Through work, we participate in God’s ongoing process of creation. Work has dignity and the basic rights of workers must be respected. n Solidarity: We are one family and are called to work for the common good, so that each person can flourish materially and spiritually. n Care for God’s Creation: The earth has been entrusted to us, its stewards. All of creation is interdependent. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation.

Please help continue the work of CCHD in supporting Catholic social teaching in communities by giving generously.

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | November 5, 2010

THE TRUTH OF THE EUCHARIST REVEALED …

See and Hear the Story Unfold!

A powerful, fact-based case for belief in the REAL PRESENCE in the Eucharist!

(Recorded live at Transfiguration Catholic Church, West Milton, Ohio – September 2009)

*DVD includes exclusive interview with the Investigative Team!

To order the “Science Tests Faith” DVD at the Introductory Price of $10 including shipping and handling, send payment and order to: Love and Mercy Publications, PO Box 1160, Hampstead, NC 28443

www.loveandmercy.org

Nov. 15th deadline for best prices– Call today!

Join new friends from the Diocese of Charlotte on the SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE aboard the luxurious Celebrity Summit!

February 5 – 12, 2011

Mary JaNE brUtoN is the diocesan Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

San Juan – St Croix – St Kitts – Dominica – Grenada – Tobago

Your exciting 7-night tropical cruise includes: - all meals and luxury accommodations aboard Celebrity’s beautiful Summit - coach transfers between San Juan airport and the ship - daily Mass on board the ship with our own diocesan priest - full-time escort (with minimum of 36 in our group) PLUS – Celebrity Cruise Line offers exciting optional port excursions including: deep sea fishing; golf at a first-class resort; waterfall swim; historical, quaint Caribbean villages; spectacular tropical flowers; swimming with exotic fish, corals and turtles; rainforest walk; kayaking and MORE!! Or, you may choose to spend your days beachwalking on the golden sands, exploring the shops or just relaxing on the shores of the beautiful Caribbean!

A writer friend (unbeknownst to me) sent my story to the producer of “The Journey Home,” and I was invited to be a guest on the show. My sincere hope is to inspire more Catholics to open their dresser drawers, take out their rosaries, and pray every day.

Imagine the graces that would pour down from heaven if we all did just that.

Fun, fabulous food and new friends start at just $999! All friends and family are welcome! Prices are per person (double occupancy) and INCLUDE ALL TAXES AND PORT FEES (as of 9/5/10). Airfare is extra and can be arranged by Corporate Travel Service when you register: (800) 727-1999, ext. 116

pEGGy boWEs is the author of “the Rosary Workout” and a parishioner at Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy. Her appearance on ”the Journey Home” will air Nov. 8.

EARLY BOOKING PRICES ARE GUARANTEED UNTIL NOVEMBER 15th – space is limited so book early for lowest prices and your choice of accommodations!

For info and a brochure: Cindi Feerick at the diocese: 704/370-3332 or ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org