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Catholic
News & Herald
Volume 5 Number 2 * September 29, 1995
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
Msgr. McSweeney:
"I'm okay"
Catholics Asked To Help Hurricane Victims KEANE
By JO ANN
Associate Editor
—
ST. THOMAS As quickly as Hurricane Marilyn pounded the tiny island of St. Thomas, she swept back
much from
into the Atlantic, taking
the
island with her.
Damage from
the Sept. 16 storm is under assessment as relief workers converge on this wrecked tropical desstill
tination. Early evaluations note at least
eight people killed and thousands of
homes and businesses destroyed. On Sept. 17, Msgr. John
McSweeney
—
months
five
J.
into a two-
year assignment to the Diocese of the
—
U.S. Virgin Islands blessed,
anointed and
made soup and washed
diapers.
Msgr. McSweeney reports breath-
—
ing a sigh of relief after Luis a Category 4 hurricane spared the island last month. In Luis' wake, Marilyn was merely a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 70 to 80 miles an hour. Overnight, her powers intensified, reclassifying Hurricane Marilyn to Cat-
—
The 1 995 Respect an Angolan
Life
infant.
By ELIZABETH
MAYBACH
to find
it
can come through he said. "Steward-
in others. "It
are like treasure hunters, the bishop
any kind of life," is based upon the fact that Jesus Christ is alive and lives within us. Our response as Christians is not to bury the pearl deep inside and keep it there, but to let it surface and show itself. Your hands become the hands of God because He is in you." The Stewardship Day workshop consisted of three keynote speakers, including Bishop Curlin, and a selection of small group discussions intended to address the different interests and development levels of parish stewardship. "At root, stewardship is a spiritual attitude about what one has. It begins with the understanding that all that we have and all that we are is a gift, freely given by a loving God," said Sharon Hueckel, a director of stewardship in Lafayette, Indiana. "Stewardship is an attitude of responsive and responsible gratitude." Hueckel continued her ani-
because they seek to find the pearl within themselves and then go on to try
See Stewardship, page 16
Staff Writer
HICKORY
—
People scribbled notes and asked questions, spoke in agreement and chuckled in good humor. It might have sounded like lighthearted fun from outside the doors, but inside they were talking serious issues at the Second Annual Diocesan Parish Stewardship Day. Speakers used words like commitment, faith, and attitude. More than 100 people from 38 different parishes attended the seminar Sept. 22-23 at the Catholic Conference Center. It was intended to inspire and inform pastors, stewardship committee members, parish leadership and anyone else interested in stewardship.
Bishop William G. Curlin, who spoke at the Saturday session, opened his address with Jesus' parable of the
Pearl of Great Price, a pearl
resents the
which repkingdom of God. Stewards
in
ship
said,
damage, the residence of Bishop Elliott G. Thomas, bishop of St. Thomas, was destroyed by wind and rain. The bishop has since
tory suffered flood
moved
in with him. took the better part of a week for first-hand accounts to be phoned off the island. Forget about direct-dialing: As late as Sept. 21, callers to the U.S. Virgin Islands could only hear a recording: "Due to storm related damage from Hurricane Marilyn, your call cannot be completed." Days passed before cryptic messages made it to the mainland. For Msgr. McSweeney, an operator-assisted message relayed the initial word; he survived the storm. In a Sept. 25 phone interview with The Catholic News & Herald, Msgr. McSweeney reported about 600 individuals lining up for food. "There's a water shortage; we collect rainwater in It
See Hurricane, page 16
Fights To Maintain Indigent Burials
poster features a full-color photo of the Holy Father greeting
38 Parishes Participate In Stewardship Workshop
egory 3. Islanders woke to find their world in shambles. Though Msgr. McSweeney's rec-
By JO ANN
KEANE
Associate Editor
— Catholic Social
CHARLOTTE
Services is championing efforts to counteract the
1994 Mecklenburg County
decision to eliminate tax-supported pau-
per burials. Last
fall,
Bishop William G. Curlin
was incensed with
the notion of the
county's plan to disenfranchise
from indigent quick cial
call
itself
only took a for Director of Catholic Soburials.
It
Services Elizabeth Thurbee to up-
hold the bishop's mission to alleviate this travesty.
An ad hoc Indigent Burial Commit-
— with representation from support agencies and homes — tee
funeral
assist individuals tions.
Their
initial
rallied to
with no burial op-
would prosomeone who
ure with agreeing funeral to the funeral
cemetery
met the guidelines of indigence. "This program is appealing only to those with no other options," said Thurbee. A basic burial in Mecklenburg County is estimated at $1,000-$ 1,500. That doesn't include the cemetery plot or the cost of opening and closing the grave, which could easily double that amount. Thurbee' s group negotiated a $638 fig-
— $400
— covering
to the
the cost of opening
and closing a grave in the pauper section in one of the city's three cemeteries. The county's defunct pauper burial services provided $400 to the funeral home; the city did not charge to open and close its own graves. Mecklenburg County had $75,000 allocated to this program. "In discontinuing that program in July of 1994, they still maintained the responsibility to bury unclaimed bodies," said Thurbee. "But for the poor who certainly want to claim and provide a decent burial for their loved ones this is an additional indignity."
— —
"When
objective
vide the basics to bury
homes
home and $238
people apply to
plain very carefully; this
is
us,
we
ex-
a no-frills
agreement. If they have more means and want a burial with more of the amenities,
we can
suggest other possibilities,
where they could find a bit more money, allowing them to have a burial that meets their desires," said Thurbee. "We're trying to provide individuals
See Burials, page 15