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News & Herald

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Volume 6 Number 8

MIKE KROKOS and MARY COYNE WESSLING

By

October 25, 1996

Work For A Just Society

Christians Are Called To

All

BELMONT Echoing the words of Pope Paul VI If you want peace, work for justice Bishop William G. Curlin urged participants at the diocesan Faith Doing Justice conference to work towards a just society.

"Make

certain the justice

and peace of the Lord are

in

your heart before you take

it

out into the world,"

the bishop said.

Bishop Curlin celebrated the closing liturgy at the two-day conference, held Oct. 18-19 at Belmont College. Sponsored by Catholic Social Services' Office of Justice and Peace, the meeting drew more than 100 people mostly lay leaders and focused on providing ways for participants to connect their daily lives and ministries to the social mission of the church. Event keynote speakers Sister Evelyn Mattern and Ron Krietemeyer explored how Catholics are called to social justice and political responsibility (see related stories). Sister Evelyn, former director of the Peace and Justice Office and Migrant Ministry Program in the Diocese of Raleigh, led a discussion entitled Sharing the Tradition: The Call to a Consistent Ethic of Life. Krietemeyer, director of the Office of Social Justice and Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul, centered his keynote on Applying the Teaching: The U.S. Bishops' Call to Political Responsibility Conference participants included business people, parish leaders, parents, catechists, religious educators and students. "I've been involved injustice issues for a long time. This is a renewal for me," said Colleen McDermott,

Abbey

religion teacher at Charlotte Catholic

High School. For

her, the conference

provided ideas of

how

to infuse

justice issues into her religion courses.

McDermott liked hearing speakers call Catholics to the political arena. "I believe it is important to involve teens in the political process. I've talked with my students about choosing a campaign to work for," she said. In first

McDermott' s experience of working with high school and college

students, justice issues often are the

step back to the Church.

"For some students, especially those in college, who rejected the Church structure and institution, justice were the way they could talk about their faith. And when social justice brings the students in we can

issues

See Conference, page 3

JIMMY ROSTAR

CHARLOTTE

The Indigent

Committee has faced

a

number

of crossroads since its inception in 1994, but the burial program which was

founded through its efforts has been steered toward greater financial stability and a brighter future.

social

work

professionals, funeral

home

directors and a representative from Charlotte's cemetery department in

forming the Indigent Burial Committee to study and address the problem.

Through

that coalition

an adult can be buried

and

at a cost

its

work,

of $608,

Despite a history that includes periods of uncertainty and shortages of money, the Indigent Burial Program's outlook has been given more promise thanks to an increase in funding and

which is paid directly to a funeral home and the city cemetery department. The cost for children and infants is lower, although the funeral homes and the cemeteries receive payments for those buri-

in public

als as well.

awareness.

"This

is

a face of poverty that

many

of us never encounter," said Geri King, director of the Charlotte Office of Catholic

"We know the face hunger. We know the face of

Social Services.

of homelessness. But many of us don't know the face of a family confronted with the decision of whether or not to claim the body of a loved one because they do not have the resources to bury them."

The Indigent Burial Program addresses a segment of the local population

whose needs

are urgent and acute,

At the suggestion of Thurbee, the Charlotte Office of CSS took on administrative responsibility for the project in

May

1996. The agency employs a thorough screening process to assure that

funding

The City of Charlotte continues to unclaimed bodies. Until 1994, ough, the city was also involved in rying those whose lack of financial

esources prevented a dignified internt. Upon the decision to cease such

is

designated for the truly needy.

While more than 30 applications have been received since May, the program has been involved in 15 burials during that time.

King said that the burial service hopes to meet requests for three burials per month, although that number has

the Faith Doing Justice conference Oct. 18-

Belmont Abbey.

Mecklenburg County have gone unapproved.

1995,

when

the

measure would have been disastrous, but Bishop William G. Curlin, members of the Indigent Burial Committee, and other concerned citizens offered impassioned pleas which proved influential in dissuading that decision.

With CSS at the administrative helm, the project realized an opportunity for growth. The staff has facilitated the screening process, working with individuals in the

community

to assess the

needs of applicants. In what King called "a group effort," the base of donors has broadened, with Knights of Columbus, the staff of the Catholic Center, the Benedictines at Belmont Abbey and students from Charlotte Catholic High

spoken with parish tithing communities, and said that response has been positive. Also, an anonymous donor has offered to match, dollar for dollar, any

funding that comes to gent Burial Program.

CSS

for the Indi-

While it has been helped largely from within the Catholic community, the effort is becoming an interreligious one, King said. Two Protestant churches have already funded burials, and King met with the Mecklenburg County Ministerial Association on Oct. 8. That group represents a multitude of Christian and Jewish faiths; its members have "offered full support and will do everything they can to help with fund raising and getting the word out through networking." King

See Indigent, page 2

inside Clinton, Dole

j/~

MtJ&r^

its

problems. Program administrators' requests for financial assistance from

in

city council pondered the sale of Charlotte's municipal cemeteries to private companies. The effect of such a

The program has not always enjoyed present well-being. Cases have had to be turned away because of funding

School having joined those trying to ensure that needs will be met. King has also

In addition, the service's very exist-

ence was threatened

fluctuated in previous months.

she added. 'bury

at

Program Receives Boost, Appeals To Donors burials, CSS Executive Director Elizabeth Thurbee led a group of citizens,

Staff Writer

Burial

and Light at 19

Indigent Burial By

Father George Kloster of St. Michael Church in Gastonia leads a workshop on Parishes as Communities of Salt

*

w mW7 x

Answer

News

Briefs

.

10-11

Questions Parish Profile

From

12

uscc 4-Page Supplement: Bishop 's Financial Report


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