May 7, 2023, ET Catholic, A section

Fr. Patrick Ryan comes to life in new documentary

Movie focusing on the candidate for sainthood debuts at Notre Dame High School

By Gabrielle Nolan

The universal Church is about to become more acquainted with Servant of God Father Patrick Ryan now that a film exists depicting his life story.

“Father Ryan: A Higher Call” shares the tale of the Irish priest who settled in Chattanooga at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish and endured the 1878 yellow fever epidemic, ministering to the sick and dying. Father Ryan ultimately succumbed to the disease, which led to locals recognizing the priest as a hero.

The documentary/drama premiered on April 15 at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, with more than 200 people attending the screening.

Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, spoke about the connection of past and present.

“[Sts. Peter and Paul], it’s the same parish that Father Patrick

Ryan was the pastor of, and that’s my great honor to look back and see this predecessor in faith and in faith leadership and to tell his story, and hopefully to emulate it as best I can. There’s a lot that we can reflect on, and we will, but this movie is going to help situate it emotionally for us,” he said.

“I’m so grateful in particular for the gift of providence. Providence has given us a story to tell in such a beautiful way. The story of Father Ryan, who died 145 years ago. You would think that digging up history would not be very pertinent to our own times, but God in his providence allowed us to experience a global pandemic that brings events like the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 closer to us and to our understanding,” Father Carter continued.

Documentary continued on page A21

Celebrating the light of Christ

Eastertide

By Dan McWilliams

The Diocese of Knoxville welcomed nearly 300 people into the Church at Easter Vigil services on April 8, and for those entering at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bishop Richard F. Stika saluted their enthusiasm for the faith as a model for longtime Catholics to follow.

“You know, my sisters and brothers, many times I think people who are coming into the Church could put the rest of us to shame, because as adults they began to dig deeper and deeper into those things that we often take for granted: that there is a God, that there is a God who loves us, but there is a Church also that has been given to us so that we might be nourished and that we might grow,” he said at the cathedral’s vigil Mass.

According to the diocesan Office of Christian Formation, some 278 catechumens and candidates entered the Church during Easter Vigil Masses across East Tennessee.

The bishop again presided at the liturgies and services of Holy Week as the faithful filled the cathedral from the Palm Sunday Masses and the Chrism Mass to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday and the Good Friday service, and on to the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Masses.

Chrism Mass

During the annual Tuesday-of-Holy-Week liturgy on April 4, Bishop Stika called it “a great joy for us to gather together as the Diocese of Knoxville to celebrate the Chrism Mass. We gather together with priests of this diocese and deacons, but especially the priests, who will renew their priestly commitments.”

The Mass also is the time when the bishop blesses the holy oils used in the Church throughout the year and consecrates the holy Chrism.

Principal concelebrants of the Chrism Mass were Cardinal Justin Rigali, cathedral rector and vicar general Father David Boettner, vicar general and moderator of the curia Father Doug Owens, episcopal vicar for priests and dean of Five Rivers Father Michael Cummins,

and Chattanooga dean Father Michael Nolan. Three diocesan seminarians and soon-to-be priests assisted at Mass. Deacon Andrew Crabtree was deacon of the Word, and Deacons Joseph Austin and Neil Blatchford were deacons of the Eucharist.

More than 55 priests and more than 40 deacons took part in the Mass. Deacon Walt Otey of the cathedral and Deacon Hicks Armor were masters of ceremonies.

This year’s Chrism Mass was a significant one in the life of Bishop Stika.

“I was telling the priests earli-

A highly anticipated premiere The cast and crew of “ Father Ryan: A Higher Call are shown at the film's premiere. Kneeling from left: Marc Aramian, Jack Pettigrew, Father David Carter; second row standing from left: Dr. Michael Meehan, Veronica DiPippo, Maureen Pettigrew; back row: Dr. Hal Hill, Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano, and Jonah Coronis.

GABRIELLE

NOLAN

Tennessee bishops call for gun-safety measures

Leaders of the three dioceses sign letter to Gov. Lee and state General Assembly

By The East Tennessee Catholic and Tennessee Register

The leaders of Tennessee’s three Catholic dioceses—

Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, and Bishop David P. Talley of Memphis—and the Tennessee Catholic Conference have included their names on a letter to Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly urging passage of gun-safety measures.

The letter, signed by more than 100 faith leaders from across the state, was drafted by Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a newly formed, “nonpartisan statewide coalition dedicated to prioritizing gun safety and advocating for common-sense gun laws to make communities across Tennessee safer for all of us,” according to the Voices for a Safer Tennessee official website.

The letter, written in response

Sr. Regina

Praying for gun-violence victims A woman prays in front of a makeshift memorial in Nashville on March 28 by the entrance of The Covenant School the day after a mass shooting. Three children, all 9 years old, and three adults were fatally shot at the school.

to the recent tragedy at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27 when an assailant shot and killed three students, all age 9, and three adults, supports

Gov. Lee’s “investment in school safety and funding” and urges legislators to take the following steps:

n Allow authorities to temporar-

ily remove guns from those who pose a risk to themselves or others by implementing Extreme Risk laws.

n Keep guns away from dangerous people by requiring background checks on all purchases and closing the backgroundcheck loophole.

n Stop firearms from falling into the wrong hands by requiring gun owners to provide safe storage and report lost and stolen guns.

“Together, we agree on much more than we disagree and can work together to build a safer Tennessee,” the letter concludes. “Offering our collective public support will help us all do the next right thing as we heal together.”

Faith leaders and educational leaders can e-mail safertennessee@gmail.com to have their names added to the list.

Along with the letter, Voices for

Gun safety continued on page A12

How to sign up and qualify for Diocese of Knoxville’s safe-environment program

The Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former Safe Environment Program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”).

element of the Safe Environment Program

The Handmaids of the Precious Blood in 2022 celebrated their Diamond Jubilee: 75 years since their founding in 1947; 75 years of prayer and sacrifice for priests. Did you know you can receive weekly cartoons and short reflections and news from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood? Visit their website, nunsforpriests.org, and sign up for the FIAT newsletter.

May Prayer Intentions

“We pray that Church movements and groups may rediscover their mission of evangelization each day, placing their own charisms at the service of needs in the world.”

Pope Francis

“Through the intercession of Mary, the mother of God, we pray for our Catholic school students who graduate this month. We pray for their guidance and protection as they move ahead in life and that they remain close to Jesus in all that they do. For school leaders, teachers, staff, and all students, we pray for a safe and fulfilling summer. And through Mary, Queen of Peace, we pray for peace in the world. Amen.”

Bishop Stika

DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING SEXUAL ABUSE

Anyone who has actual knowledge of or who has reasonable cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such information to the appropriate civil authorities rst, then to the McNabb Center victim's assistance coordinator, 865.321.9080.

CMG Connect is a web-based platform that will assist in ensuring that all employees and volunteers who are in a position of trust with children and vulnerable adults within Diocese of Knoxville schools and parishes are trained to recognize behavior patterns of potential abusers and provide pro-active measures for preventing abuse in any context.

“Safe Haven-It’s Up to You” is a three-part video that provides vignettes of real-life situations to educate the viewer about methods of grooming, desensitization, bullying, and neglect, all of which can lead to abuse.

Each part of the video is immediately followed by a brief questionnaire to further develop understanding.

Education is a key

All clergy, employees, contracted school personnel, volunteers, members of groups and organizations over the age of 18 who work, volunteer, or participate in any capacity are required to complete the diocesan Safe Environment training and a criminal-background check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Knoxville.

In addition, the mandatory renewal training must be completed every five years and a new background check submitted before the five-year expiration of prior training.

The Diocese of Knoxville Safe Environment compliance training and renewal training is a condition of employment and for volunteer ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville.

The CMG Connect

WATCH UPDATES DioKnoxTV

platform contains all three elements of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program:

n Annual review of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Policy and Procedures Relating to Sexual Misconduct; n CMG Connect Safe Haven training program to be completed every five years; n Criminal background check to be completed every five years.

In compliance with the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program, all affiliates require that volunteers and employees complete the requirements prior to working and/or volunteering in a parish, school, The Paraclete, or through Catholic Charities and/or St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic

Go to https:// dioknox.org/safeenvironment on the Diocese of Knoxville website for more information ■

> CONTACT US AT 865.584.3307 OR bbrewer @ dioknox.org.

> FIND US AT dioknox.org.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

PUBLISHER Bishop Richard F. Stika

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Jim Wogan jwogan@dioknox.org

DIGITAL MEDIA

PRODUCER Emily Booker ebooker@dioknox.org

EDITOR Bill Brewer bbrewer@dioknox.org

ASSISTANT EDITOR Dan McWilliams dan@dioknox.org

MULTIMEDIA REPORTER Gabrielle Nolan gnolan@dioknox.org

CONTACT US 865.584.3307 VISIT US ONLINE dioknox.org | etcatholic.org

© 2023 Handmaids of the Precious Blood

He dwells among us by Bishop Richard F. Stika

A terrible beauty

In these times of growing evils and persecution, we need the protective mantle of Mary Our Mother

“Who is this that comes forth as beautiful as the Sun, resplendent as the moon, as awe-inspiring (and terrible) as bannered troops?” — Songs 6:10-11

Amother’s protective love . A protective mother may sometimes be described as something of a “momma bear.” As declared in one social media posting that caught my eye— “The most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her children.”

But the very first “posting” of this maternal instinct of fiercely protecting one’s children against evil is found within the opening pages of Scripture when God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.” And with the Latin Vulgate translation, “She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Genesis 3:15) , we can better understand why Satan fears his fate through a mother so much.

For among all mothers, there is none more beautiful, and yet so terrible to Satan, than our Blessed Mother Mary, the New Eve, “the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20)

Prayer of protection . During the first three centuries of the Church when so many of the faithful suffered terrible persecution under the Roman Empire, a beautiful prayer arose imploring the help of the “Holy Mother of God.” Known as Sub tuum praesidium “Beneath Thy Protection”—it is the oldest recorded Marian prayer, older than even the Hail Mary: “We fly to thy protection, O Holy Mother of God; do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.”

Daily protection . Out of this prayer, devotion to “Mary Help of Christians” grew, and in time became closely associated with the rosary. And given the growing persecutions and evils of our day, in 2018 Pope Francis urged the faithful to pray the Sub tuum praesidium “in the moments of spiritual turbulence,” and to pray the rosary and St. Michael Prayer daily.

But he also decreed that the memorial

of the “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church” be celebrated each year on the Mon

day after Pentecost Sunday, the day we cel

ebrate the birth of the Church.

Bringing us closer to Christ . Why does the Church urge us to recognize Mary as Our Mother and to entrust and consecrate ourselves to her immaculate heart? Because with the words of Jesus from the cross, “Behold your mother” (John 19:27) , and with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Mary became the mother of the “whole Christ”— Head and Mystical Body, the Church.

And as members of the Church, we must draw ever closer to Mary as our mother for, as Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen explained, “Only she who raised Christ can raise a Christian.” More than anyone, she can bring us closer to Christ and help us to better live our baptismal life in Him. After all, who can make our heart a better home for Jesus than His Mother and ours? This is the essence of Marian consecration.

Baptismal renewal . St. Louis de Montfort states that a correct devotion to Mary is in fact a perfect consecration to Jesus Christ because “it is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism.” This is because in making our consecration we give ourselves entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her. “Of all God’s creatures,” the saint reminds us, “Mary is the most conformed to Jesus.”

It follows, then, that “The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus.” Our consecration to Mary is summed up in this short exclamatory prayer: “I am all Thine, and all that I have belongs to Thee, O my sweet Jesus, through Mary, Thy holy Mother.”

A mother most fearsome . Because the spiritual life is one of constant spiritual battle against the Blessed Mother’s sworn enemy, the dragon who “wages war against her children” (Revelation 12:17), St. Louis de Montfort explains why we should stay particularly close to Mary:

“The most terrible of all the enemies which God has set up against the devil is His holy

Bishop Stika’s schedule of Masses and public events

These are some of Bishop Stika’s upcoming public appointments:

n Saturday, May 6, 11 a.m.: Confirmation Mass at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge

n Saturday, May 6, 4 p.m.: Mass for the Handmaids of the Precious Blood to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their arrival in the Diocese of Knoxville

n Sunday, May 7, 11:15 a.m.: Confirmation Mass at St. John XXIII Catholic Center in Knoxville

n Sunday, May 7, 4 p.m.: Mass and Sending of the Neophytes at the Cathedral of the Most

Sacred Heart of Jesus

n Wednesday, May 10, 7 p.m.: Confirmation Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa

n Thursday, May 11, 7 p.m.: Confirmation Mass at Holy Cross Church in Pigeon Forge

n Friday, May 12, 11 a.m.: St. Mary's Legacy Clinic Members of the Corporation meeting

n Friday May 12, 8 p.m.: Knoxville Catholic High School graduation

n Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m.: Notre Dame High School graduation in Chattanooga

n Tuesday, May 16-Thursday, May 18: Province meeting in Louisville

■ Tuesday, May 23, 11 a.m.: General Priest Meeting in the Cathedral Hall

n Thursday, May 25, 10:30 a.m.: Mass for the Handmaids of the Precious Blood for the conclusion of the religious order's 75th anniversary of foundation ■

Mother Mary.” And because Satan is so full of pride, he fears Mary more, in a certain sense, than God Himself because “he suffers infinitely more by being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of the Lord.”

Why Satan hates her so much . To invite Mary into our heart is to also invite the Holy Spirit as well who makes her “fiat”—her “yes” to God—grow fruitful in our heart. And there is nothing that Satan hates more than Mary’s fiat echoing in our heart, which “crushes” his efforts to turn our heart away from God with his Non serviam —“I will not serve.”

This is why he also hates the rosary so much. The famous Vatican exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), shared how during one exorcism, Satan said to him through the possessed person, “Each Ave Maria of the rosary is a blow to my face. If Christians knew the power of the rosary, it would be the end of me.” Perhaps this explains why the rosary is now being attacked as a “symbol of extremism” by pro-abortionists.

Our help in waging battle . In the Preface prayer of the Mass celebrating “Mary, Help of Christians,” the Church prays:

“For you chose the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, to be the Mother and Help of Christians, so that under her protection we might be fearless in waging the battle of faith, steadfast in holding the teachings of the Apostles, and tranquil in spirit in the storms of this world, until we reach the joy of your heavenly city.”

Making our mother happy . In the month of May, when we traditionally honor our earthly mothers, let us give even greater attention in honoring our heavenly mother. Do so by drawing ever closer to her protective mantle, consecrating yourselves to her immaculate heart, and heeding her urgent plea made at Fatima to “Pray the rosary every day.”

In doing so, you will become the “extremist” that Satan fears most!

O Mary, our most beautiful mother, crush the head of the serpent! ■

Important month set for Handmaids

The Handmaids of the Precious Blood are marking two milestones in May. On May 6, the contemplative community of nuns celebrated the 10th anniversary of its arrival in the Diocese of Knoxville. Bishop Richard F. Stika celebrated Mass with the Handmaids at their Cor Jesu Monastery in New Market, where they reside after relocating from New Mexico in 2013.

Then on May 25, the Handmaids will mark the conclusion of the 75th anniversary of their founding. Bishop Stika also will be on hand to help them celebrate this key date.

The Handmaids were founded in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., in 1947 by Father Gerald Fitzgerald, whose desire was to have nuns pray and sacrifice for the sanctification of priests. ■

As AI grows, we terminate humanities at our peril

By Greg Erlandson OSV News

Iconfess to being a literature major. My father was a literature major. Two of my children were as well. I wear my bias on my sleeve.

Literature is one of the humanities majors that I consider vital for society. It simultaneously helps us to think and communicate clearly and to reflect on our past while contemplating our future.

The humanities are a means of both selfknowledge and humility. We are not so unique in our crises, our foibles, our disasters and triumphs, as we would like to think. Yet this awareness tempers our vanities and our lusts. If we are lucky, it leads to wisdom.

The humanities are in trouble, alas. The number of Americans majoring in the humanities is in decline. Smaller colleges are doing away with them simply because of a lack of interest and profitability.

Eyebrows were raised recently when the board of Virginia’s Marymount University dumped its majors in art, economics, English, history, philosophy, theology, and religious studies, among others.

The university explained that the decision

reflected “our responsibility to prepare them for the fulfilling, in-demand careers of the future.”

This news arrives as new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) are reminding us, yet again, that the moral issues being raised by technology continue to outpace our ability to think about such issues, much less address them.

The New York Times recently published a disturbing article by Kevin Roose about a twohour conversation he had with Microsoft’s new chatbot created with advanced AI capability. In the course of the conversation, the chatbot “said it would like to be human, had a desire to be destructive, and was in love with the person it was chatting with.” It even tried to convince Mr. Roose that he should leave his wife.

Microsoft quickly went on damage control following the article, but the glimpse of AI as a would-be marriage Terminator got attention.

More frightening, however, was a column by Ezra Klein, also in the Times , about how quickly AI development is progressing with -

out any sort of grown-up oversight. While we tech mortals may think these technology developments will take decades to come to fruition, one AI expert wrote that the transformation of the world as we know it by AI will take place in years, not decades, “and there’s a real chance that it’s months.”

Mr. Klein cited a 2022 study showing that 10 percent of the experts working in the field thought AI developments could eventually wipe out humanity.

“Would you work on a technology you thought had a 10 percent chance of wiping out humanity?” Mr. Klein asked. It is a question already answered by those who helped to advance nuclear weapons.

Mr. Klein, who has been meeting regularly with people on the cutting edge of AI improvement, said these people make up “a community that is living with an altered sense of time and consequence. They are creating a power that they do not understand at a pace they often cannot believe.”

America is more Rome than Greece. We are great at building things rather than philoso -

Mr. Erlandson

Building the kingdom of Christ

Knoxville.

By Gabrielle Nolan

Margaret Merrill believes that the Knoxville chapter of Regnum Christi came into being because of the Holy Spirit.

When she moved to Knoxville, there was only one other woman in the area who was a part of Regnum Christi, an international organization that is present in 38 countries and boasts 25,000 members worldwide.

“We met and had lunch and dreamed of maybe one day having a team of our own here,” Mrs. Merrill said. “We just patiently waited, and eventually it started to grow.”

Today, there are seven active members in Knoxville, with one more discerning.

Mrs. Merrill, who is a parishioner at St. Thomas the Apostle in Lenoir City, became involved with Regnum Christi in the early 1990s when she was living in Maryland.

“I was, at that time, probably about 32 and really searching,” Mrs. Merrill said. “I wanted more in my faith… I wanted to search for holiness.”

“What I found was all this formation,” she continued. “It was just so intriguing to me to see these ladies that lived this life of prayer, and yet they were dynamic and apostolic, and they just had everything that I desired to be. So, it was very at-

tractive to me.”

‘Apostolic in my heart’

Regnum Christi “is a spiritual family and an apostolic body made up of four different vocations that all share the same Christ-centered, contemplative, and evangelizing charism.

Regnum Christi members seek to grow in a personal relationship with Christ through prayer, live holiness in their vocation and state of life, build a vibrant

community of apostles, and evangelize with Christian boldness,” according to the Catholic lay ecclesial movement’s website.

This Catholic federation, which is approved by the Holy See, consists of four vocations:

n Legionaries of Christ, who are missionary priests

n Consecrated women

n Lay consecrated men

n Lay members

Currently, only lay members reside in the Diocese of

For lay members’ vocation within Regnum Christi, there are five key elements: spiritual life, formation, apostolate, personal and communal accompaniment, and team life.

The small Knoxville team falls under the diaspora of Atlanta, which has multiple teams of men and women, as well as the Legionaries of Christ.

“We’re not large enough yet for the priests and the lay consecrated to come and support [our] section until our numbers are there,” Mrs. Merrill said. “We travel to Atlanta for anything big that maybe Regnum Christi is having.”

Legionaries of Christ will travel from Atlanta, as well, to conduct retreats, spiritual direction, or other events.

Mrs. Merrill currently serves as the Knoxville team leader, a position that runs for about three years.

“I am apostolic in my heart; I’m always and have always wanted to talk about Jesus and share Jesus with others, and Regnum Christi gives me that platform, that foundation to be able to get myself ordered enough to make beautiful things happen like speakers and retreats and things like that,” she said.

“We have to grow because we’re in the diaspora, we have to grow slowly. Initially it was

Regnum Christi continued on page A18

Walking with Purpose speaker leads evening of reflection Catholic blogger helps celebrate women's ministry at St. John Neumann Parish

By Gabrielle Nolan

Laura Phelps, a blogger and speaker with the women’s ministry Walking with Purpose, recently visited the Diocese of Knoxville for a Lenten evening of reflection at St. John Neumann Parish.

Hosted by Regnum Christi, the evening also included a soup dinner, worship music, and adoration.

Mrs. Phelps’ March 30 presentation was based on her book Sweet Cross: A Marian Guide to Suffering

“It’s based on the Blessed Mother and her virtues as told by St. Louis de Montfort,” she said. “In St. Louis de Montfort’s book, True Devotion to Mary , he highlights 10 virtues of Our Lady, so I kind of took those virtues and added a couple of my own, and each chapter focuses on a different virtue of Our Lady.”

“I think so many of us want to grow in virtue; we want to be strong, but we don’t quite know how, and we don’t really know what virtue we’re lacking,” Mrs. Phelps continued. “So, with this talk my hope is I’m going to show these women how to understand better your own sorrows, your own suffering, your own sins, and then what is the virtue you need most.”

Mrs. Phelps resides in Connecticut with her husband and four children.

“I always say first and foremost I’m a daughter of God that kind of needed to crash and burn before I realized it,” Mrs. Phelps said.

“I’m a cradle Catholic, but when I really had a personal experience of Jesus kind of breaking through my life, it’s been my mission just to share that with other people, specifically women,” she said.

In addition to her book, Sweet Cross , Mrs. Phelps has written Victorious Secret: Everyday Battles and How to Win Them

Mrs. Phelps also has spoken on The Katie McGrady Show on SiriusXM, OSV Talks , and Danielle

Bean’s Girlfriends podcast.

“Women’s struggles and sufferings and crosses are the ones that, as a woman, I relate to the most, so women really have my heart, and so that’s what I’ve really committed my life to, aside from my No. 1 vocation as wife and mom, really just to write and speak about the difference that Jesus makes in our lives and specifically in regard to our crosses and our sufferings, that we can have hope in them and we can carry our crosses well and suffer well.”

‘It’s just changed my life’

Walking with Purpose is “a Catholic women’s ministry that develops Bible studies to reach adult women, young adult women, and girls,” according to its website.

“I’d been a blogger for many years before I found Walking with Purpose, but I was kind of like a snarky mom blog,” Mrs. Phelps said.

Then one afternoon she was sitting at a table with friends having a conversation.

“We were talking about what we cook for dinner, crockpot recipes, and then suddenly it turned into this conversation about faith,” she said. “We were not all Catholic around the table, but we just had this beautiful conversation together, and when

I went home I wrote about it on my blog. I said, you know I just wish that I could do this all the

time, just sit at a roundtable with women and talk about our faith.”

A woman in her community read the blog post and introduced Mrs. Phelps to Walking with Purpose.

“I just pulled it up on the website and I was like, this is exactly what I’m looking for, you know, just this community of women,” she shared.

Mrs. Phelps then brought a Walking with Purpose group to her parish as a pastoral coordinator.

“I was just volunteering, brought it to my parish, brought the studies, invited women, it was super successful. We think 30 women registered, 50 showed up the first lesson, and by the end of the season, the end of the 22 weeks we had 160 women that

When?

Where?

Cost?

Faithful volunteers Regnum Christi Knoxville members volunteer at a Catholic Charities of East Tennessee Pregnancy Help Center. Pictured are Margaret Merrill, Carolyn Krings, Marie Ward, Kodi Schutte-Rogers, Natalie Osorio, Gloria Jenkins, Deidre Merrill, Michelle Bowen, Robin Bowen, Karen Schutte, Tara Nowell, Georgia Jenkins, and Ursula Thompson.

COURTESY

Attentive audience Participants in the Lent by Light Evening of Reflection on March 30 at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut listen to Laura Phelps

GABRIELLE NOLAN

Laura Phelps continued on page A18

Catholic Medical Association guild taking shape

Diocesan group is growing in size, elects officers, chooses patron saint

By Dan McWilliams

The new guild of the Catholic Medical Association in the Diocese of Knoxville took a step forward with an April 13 meeting at the Chancery office in Knoxville in which new officers were elected and a patron saint was chosen.

Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, medical director of the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, led the meeting and was elected president of the guild.

Dr. Phil Hanneman, a pulmonary and critical-care physician at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, was elected vice president. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville. Dr. Gail-Marie Walter, a family physician in Lenoir City and a parishioner of St. John Neumann in Farragut, was elected secretary.

Dr. Mallory Trevino, a physician with Summit Medical Group and a parishioner of the cathedral, was elected communications manager. Physician assistant Callyn Henry of the cathedral parish was elected treasurer. Father Adam Royal, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa, was named chaplain for the guild

“We’re getting to our last steps of becoming an official charter guild for the Catholic Medical Association, so being able to elect our officers and get formally established is the next step,” Sister Mary Lisa said. “Once we get our bylaws set up and get our final approval letters out, then we should be able to establish as a formal guild here in the diocese.”

Thirteen people attended the meeting at the Chancery plus a 14th via Zoom.

“I was very excited about the attendance and even more excited that there are many more people who want to be part of the guild who weren’t able to come tonight,” Sister Mary Lisa said. “I think it’s up to 35 now who are interested in being a part of the guild.”

The Legacy Clinic director, who is a physician, spoke about what the guild means for the medical community of Knoxville and beyond.

“It means a place of support, for being able to pray together and support one another in living the faith in medicine,” Sister Mary Lisa said. “It shows, I think, a strong desire to come

together as Catholic physicians and to support one another and lead one another to Jesus Christ.”

Dr. Hanneman believes the CMA guild is a good idea.

“I think it’s an exciting opportunity to bring together a lot of individuals with shared backgrounds and also with an opportunity to promote the faith and develop our faith life in that way,” he said.

Dr. Trevino said, “It’s very exciting to come together, being able to have fellowship with other Catholic physicians and health-care providers.”

“I’m with Summit Medical Group, and I knew with all the physicians we had, there had to be some Catholics among us, so I sent out the e-mail about tonight’s meeting,” she added. “Several Summit docs came who I’d never even met before, but I knew their names, so it was nice to meet together in person, put a face with a name, and realize that we’re fellow Catholic physicians.”

She laughed about being elected an officer.

“That did happen. Look for me on Facebook and Instagram,” Dr.

Trevino said. “We’ll get a Knoxville Catholic Medical Association page up and running so we can keep in touch.”

Dr. Walter is “very, very thrilled” about the guild.

“I’ve kind of been wanting this to happen here for a long time, because I’ve been communing with some Catholic women physicians on retreats in Nashville for years, but it would be very, very nice to have that local presence here,” she said. “You feel like an island sometimes, trying to be a faithful Catholic out in practice. It’s really nice to come together with other health-care providers who are wanting to be strong in their faith and wanting to just live their faith and not check it at the door when you walk in your office.”

Some of those attending the meeting were pleasantly surprised at the turnout of fellow members of the medical profession who share the same faith.

“The meeting today was certainly a good opportunity also to see that there are in fact a lot of really active Catholics out in the East Tennessee area and certainly more so than I would have realized otherwise,” Dr. Hanneman said.

Dr. Walter agreed. “Absolutely. It was nice to see all the faces in the room,” she said.

The guild during the meeting officially adopted St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962) as its patron.

“St. Gianna was an Italian pediatrician, wife, and mother who is a beautiful example of living out the faith in her vocation and her profession as a Catholic physician,” Sister Mary Lisa said. “Due to medical complications during her fourth pregnancy, she was encouraged to have an abortion but instead chose to save the life of her child. We pray to follow her example of respect and care for every human life entrusted to our care.”

St. Gianna is the patron of doctors, mothers, wives, families, and the unborn.

The guild previously held a retreat on the Eucharist led by Father Gerard Dennis Gill of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at the Chancery on Nov. 5, 2022.

For more information on the guild, e-mail Sister Mary Lisa at srmarylisa@smlcares.com . For more information on the Catho lic Medical Association, visit www. cathmed.org ■

KCHS students have medicine on their minds in new club

By Dan McWilliams

Knoxville Catholic High School junior Andrew Dreiser has a strong interest in a medical career, and he has shared his zeal for that field with many of his fellow students by starting what has become the extremely popular Irish Medicine club.

Begun in the fall, Irish Medicine already has more than 60 student members who have their eyes on a medical profession, whether as a doctor, nurse, respiratory therapist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nursing assistant, athletic trainer, EMS, or a veterinary medicine practitioner. Irish Medicine is partnered with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Covenant Health, and other local medical establishments to offer students a variety of medical-based experiences and projects.

“The idea for creating Irish Medicine was something that came to me at the end of my sophomore year,” Andrew said. “Since there were only a few weeks left of school, I decided

to wait until the start of the next school year to introduce it. I have always been very active in the medical field, and many of the student body have seen me, for example, working on the side -

lines of football games as a student trainer, and I started to get questions about how to start and become involved. This led me to really wanting to bring the club to Catholic. A few of the Knox

County schools do have healthscience programs, but unlike many of those programs, we have unique partnerships with local medical establishments to offer students experiences that generally are not commonly seen.”

Irish Medicine offers job shadowing, meeting and speaking to health-care professionals, facility tours, medical-based service projects, clinical rotations, and internships.

Because of the interest and success of the organization, Andrew, in conjunction with Knoxville Catholic, offers an after-school Advanced Medical Pathway (AMP) Health Science Academy, open only to KCHS students. The spring course is offering CPR/ AED/first aid, and basic life support.

Students who take their licensing exams through this course will be eligible to work as nursing assistants and tech and medical assistants. Course agendas have included fundamentals of medicine, basic orthopedic and cast/ splint procedures, neurology and cranial nerves, cardiology and central nervous system pharmaMed students continued on page A22

Future lifesavers Knoxville Catholic High School junior Andrew Dreiser gets an up-close look inside the Lifestar medical helicopter at KCHS. Andrew and his classmates have organized the Irish Medicine club and Health Science Academy

First officers Above: From left, Dr. Gail-Marie Walter, Dr. Phil Hanneman, Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, DO, Callyn Henry, and Dr. Mallory Trevino are the first officers of the new Catholic Medical Association guild. Below: Sister Mary Lisa, center, leads discussion during a guild meeting. Also pictured are Sister Celeste Mary Poché, RSM, and Dr. Hanneman.

DAN MCWILLIAMS

“I think it's an exciting opportunity to bring together a lot of individuals with shared backgrounds and also with an opportunity to promote the faith and develop our faith life in that way.”

— Dr. Phil Hanneman, pulmonary and critical-care physician and vice president of Diocese of Knoxville Catholic Medical Association guild

er, this is the 15th Chrism Mass that I have been privileged to be able to celebrate here in the diocese, and I look forward to many, many more,” the bishop said.

He began his homily on a somber note as he spoke of the deaths since the previous Chrism Mass of Monsignor Bob Hofstetter, Monsignor Bill Gahagan, and Father Chris Riehl.

“There’s a bit of sadness today, because there are three priests who we have lost throughout the course of this past year,” Bishop Stika said. “Monsignor Bob, who continued to be a pastor at the age of 94, and the parish in Newport still misses him greatly. Monsignor Gahagan, the one priest who seemed to retire every other year, and you know why? Because he loved the people of God. He loved being a priest. And Father Chris Riehl, who died just a few days after his 45th year. His mission was complete, just like Monsignor Bob and just like Monsignor Gahagan.”

But the bishop added a happier note.

“You know, in the month of May, we have a priest who has been living in a retirement home in Nashville, Father Paul Hostettler, who will turn 100 years of age. So, pray for him. I can’t wait to see the candles on that cake,” he said. “We are blessed, as we come together from many different parishes, different places, and different ways of life.

I’m so pleased to have the religious and the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre here. We celebrate as one Church. We celebrate Jesus, especially during the course of this Holy Week.”

Bishop Stika said that “we are surrounded by simple things.”

“Often those simple things are items that we so often take for granted, and yet those simple things have profound impact on our life. The ability to breathe: my mom suffered for many years with COPD, and I never realized the comfort of a breath without pain or without the ability to know if the next breath would have been her last,” he said. “We all know people who have serious illness, and so often they say, ‘If only I would have . . . .’ Well, life has its moments. But we are surrounded by simple things that can have a profound and powerful message, and especially that one ingredient is words themselves. Just think of the power of the spoken word. If we use it right, we can uplift, we can encourage, but if we use those words in an incorrect way, we can destroy. And for the most part, you can never take those words back. It’s like posting something on the Internet—forever and ever and ever.”

The Chrism Mass was a celebration of words, especially prayers, the bishop said. An ordination of a priest or deacon offers an opportunity for them to say one significant word, he added.

“When my brother priests and deacons were invited to come forward, they spoke a profound word: ‘present.’ And in the course of their ordination, words were spoken and responses were given, that even though in the context of maybe that ritual, of those moments, when we think they are just words, they’re profound,” the bishop said. “The words when the priest gives that absolution . . . those words spoken are profound. The words of our prayers, in which we offer them to God. How often in your life do people come up to you and say, ‘Will you pray for me?’ And it might be a spoken word, or it might be that interior intercession before God. That’s witness; that’s a witness of our faith.”

The renewal of priestly vows, which took place after the homily, offered not only a chance for the Church fathers to recommit to their promises but also a chance for those in the assembly to assure the priests of their prayers for them.

“My brother priests and I and His Eminence will renew our priestly commitment to you, my sisters and brothers, and to all those people you represent in this beautiful

diocese, this Catholic Church of East Tennessee,” Bishop Stika said. “Some have renewed those words many times and others just recently. And that’s why this Chrism Mass is so very special, because it’s one of those moments when we come together united in faith, my brother priests and I and the cardinal. That’s why it’s special for us that we should always be at a Chrism Mass until death or until illness, because we’re asking you to pray for us, and we assure you of our prayers.”

The holy oils blessed at the Chrism Mass also are “very simple,” the bishop said. He noted an exception, that while the other holy oils are blessed by him, the chrism is consecrated by the bishop breathing over it, praying that the Holy Spirit be present in it.

“Oil, not the stuff that Jed Clampett discovered on “The Beverly Hillbillies” or that which keeps the world going, but oil, olive oil,” he said. “It has such a meaning in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And in May, even the new king of England and his wife will be anointed with chrism, which comes from Jerusalem, the olive trees. And so for us, we present oil to Almighty God, to the Church, that will be used throughout the course of this liturgical year until the next Chrism Mass.

“The oil of the catechumens, which will be used for baptisms. The oil of the sick, in which we can give comfort to people who are facing illness or surgery or whatever it might be. Through this holy anointing, the prayer starts. And then the chrism, olive oil mixed with nard. That fragrance. The other two oils are actually blessed, but the chrism is consecrated as we invoke the Holy Spirit. And that oil will be used for baptisms and confirmations, but also in a few weeks, those three characters over there, Deacon Andrew—pray for him. He just lost his father since his ordination as a deacon. Deacon Neil, whose brother is a priest in the diocese, and Deacon Joseph. For in one moment, after they, too, say ‘present,’ they will present their hands, and

I will anoint those hands that later on throughout the course of their life will raise that host and the cup and say, ‘This is my body, this is my blood, given for you.’ That’s why this night is special. The profound impact of the simple nature of oil or the simple nature of words or the simple nature of just witnessing to others that Jesus is the center of our lives.”

That led the bishop to recognize seminarians Bo Beaty, Daniel Herman, and Michael Willey, who will be ordained to the transitional diaconate in June.

“How greatly blessed this diocese is. I’ve already ordained a transitional deacon, Renzo [Alvarado Suarez], who’s currently in Mexico who will be coming to us, God willing and immigration, by the end of this summer,” Bishop Stika said. “Just think of that as we celebrate the priesthood: this diocese over the next two years will have seven new priests. How blessed we are.”

The bishop gave thanks to the assembly at the end of Mass.

“Thank you for being here as we begin in the next days celebrating the gifts that Jesus has given to us: the Eucharist, His death, and His resurrection. Things are exciting here in the diocese as I travel around. We set an all-time record for the Bishop’s Appeal, and collections are up everywhere. Our school population is up everywhere, and vocations—we have a lot of new priests. . . . Things are very good here in the diocese. I’m grateful to my brother priests and deacons but especially this night to my brother priests for all their efforts, because all of the things I just mentioned would not be possible without that. And so I’m grateful to them and for their presence today.

Bishop Stika also mentioned Cardinal Rigali in his closing remarks.

“To His Eminence, in a week or two he’ll be celebrating his 88th birthday and 62 years as a priest. And in October, we’re going to have a party—he’ll have been a cardinal for 20 years. He has recovered nicely from his illness in January, so it’s always nice to have him here present in our midst,” the bishop

said. “But especially to you, my sisters and brothers, thank you, and I pray that you have a very holy and special, joy-filled, grace-filled celebration of Holy Week. God bless you all. To the Sisters . . . thanks for being here. Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre, seminarians, priests, deacons—anybody who does anything, thank you very much. Especially to the cathedral staff, who always provide us wonderful hospitality. So, blessings of this week.”

During the procession of oils at Mass, Father Michael Woods and Father Tom O’Connell as senior priests received the honor of bringing forward the chrism.

Father Woods was delighted at the opportunity, citing the many diocesan priests who filled that role in the past.

“I carried up the chrism. I have watched I want to say giants who went before me,” he said. “They choose the senior priest, and I’m 57 years ordained this year. To walk in the midst of everybody with the chrism was just such a joy and an honor.”

Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga and diocesan vice chancellor for canonical affairs, said the Chrism Mass celebrated the brotherhood that priests join when they are ordained.

“This is the time when we all get to come and celebrate together the common ministerial priesthood that we have. That’s why it’s so special for us to do that every year, and especially as we do the thing that is the heart and soul of our call, to walk with Jesus in His passion, death, and resurrection, and then proclaim Jesus Christ risen through these Holy Week liturgies,” he said.

The Chrism Mass traditionally occurs on Holy Thursday but is moved for convenience to Tuesday, Father Carter noted. Its Holy Thursday significance, on the day Christ instituted the priesthood, is connected with the mandatum, the washing of the feet on that day, he said

The novum mandatum, the new commandment, the washing of the feet, is a “commandment to love one another and to be of service, and that’s the essence of the priesthood: to serve the people of God,” Father Carter said.

Rosemary Calvert, a parishioner of St. John Neumann in Farragut, praised the Chrism Mass and the great number of priests and deacons taking part.

“The Holy Spirit is working in everyone, and it’s beautiful to see all of our priests and deacons in force and [the priests] renewing their vows,” she said. “It was an amazing number, and all standing up and celebrating the Mass at the same time is pretty powerful.”

Holy Thursday

Bishop Stika opened his homily on Holy Thursday by assuring those who by virtue of their human nature tend to worry. He said that members of religious communities and Catholics throughout the globe are praying for them.

“Maybe you think, ‘Does anyone ever really care?’ Well, let me give you this assurance: right now, in this world, there are many people who are praying for you. They might not have ever seen you. They might not know your name. They might not even know what your difficulty might be or your joy. But I know this for a fact,” he said

During his days in St. Louis, Bishop Stika served for 10 years as chaplain for the Carmelite cloistered Sisters, one of nine such communities in his home archdiocese. He also knew the city’s “Pink Sisters,” the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, are recognized for their rose-colored habits.

“They became very famous when it was announced that St. John Paul II was coming to St. Louis in January [1999]. When I was interviewed by the media, they asked, ‘Are you worried about the weather?’ I said, ‘No, because I’ve got the Pink Sisters praying about it,’” the bishop recalled. “After that, the amount Easter continued on page A10

I'm ready Bishop Stika baptizes the young catechumen as her sponsor and family offer support during the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on April 8. Some 278 catechumens and candidates entered the Catholic Church in East Tennessee at Easter.

Are you ready? A young catechumen has a pre-baptism chat with Bishop Richard F. Stika during the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on April 8.

DR. KELLY KEARSE

DR. KELLY KEARSE

DR. KELLY KEARSE (9)

Eastertide illustrated 1. Bishop Richard F. Stika breathes on the sacred chrism during the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 2. Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 3. Good Friday Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 4. Veneration of the Cross with Father David Boettner during Good Friday Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 5. Worshiping during the Chrism Mass. 6. Father Michael Woods (left) and Father Tom O'Connell bring up the chrism during the Chrism Mass. 7. Bishop Stika places the paschal candle in the baptismal font at Sacred Heart Cathedral as part of the baptism liturgy. 8. Bishop Stika baptizes a catechumen during Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 9. The faithful hold the light of Christ during Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 10. Diocese of Knoxville priests take part in the Chrism Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 11. Deacon Fredy Vargas prepares palms on Palm Sunday at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 12. Father Bill McNeeley blesses palms and begins the procession of palms on Palm Sunday at Holy Ghost Church. 13. Father Bart Okere washes the feet of the faithful at St. Henry Church in Rogersville on Holy Thursday. 14. Father Jhon Mario Garcia blesses palms on Palm Sunday on the front steps of Sacred Heart Cathedral. 15. Father Michael Cummins and Father Emmanuel Massawe, AJ, are shown with reenactors in the Living Stations of the Cross at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport. 16. Father Peter Iorio is shown with reenactors in the Living Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa. 17. Bishop Stika washes the feet of faithful at Sacred Heart Cathedral during the Holy Thursday service. 18. Father Bill McNeeley begins the Easter Vigil Mass at Holy Ghost Church. 19. Bishop Stika delivers the homily at Easter Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 20. Members of All Saints Parish perform the Living Stations of the Cross. 21. Father Martin Gladysz blesses Easter baskets. 22. Members of Holy Ghost Parish perform the Living Stations of the Cross.

GABRIELLE NOLAN (1)

DR. KELLY KEARSE (2)

BILL BREWER (3)

BILL BREWER (4)

DAN MCWILLIAMS (5)

DAN MCWILLIAMS (6)

DAN MCWILLIAMS (10)

DR. KELLY KEARSE (7)

DR. KELLY KEARSE (8)

BILL BREWER (14)

EMILY BOOKER (17)

JIM RICHMOND (18)

of prayers that came to the Sisters was enormous. There are people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. They pray for individuals, pray for nations, who kneel in adoration and prayer. That is a great consolation. In our own diocese, we have the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, a cloistered monastery in New Market, Tenn., who pray for priests throughout the world, to give us consolation, too, as we celebrate the priesthood this evening.”

Christ, being the Son of God, “knew the frailties of our human existence,” Bishop Stika said. “And His Father promised the Holy Spirit to inspire us, to carry us, to give us that push in our lives when we listen to the invitation of Jesus to build His kingdom, a message that sometimes is ignored or misunderstood.”

Jesus had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to “let this cup pass from me, but your will be done not mine,” the bishop said.

The Savior celebrated the Last Supper as a Passover meal, knowing what was to come for Him, Bishop Stika said.

“He broke the bread and gave it to His friends, His disciples, and He said, ‘Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body.’ He didn’t say, ‘This is a representation of my body’ or ‘this is a symbol of my body.’ He said, ‘This is my body, given for you.’ And He took the chalice—the same thing: ‘This is my blood, given for you. Do this in memory of me.’ And for centuries, day in and day out, in monasteries and great cathedrals, wherever it might be, it’s the same situation that we celebrate today.”

The bishop referred to the mandatum of Holy Thursday.

“It’s a symbol of charity, for when Jesus said, ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.’ And so, what’s the symbolism? The cleansing or washing of feet,” he said.

Bishop Stika washed the feet of parishioners after the homily. At the end of Mass, there was no final blessing as the altar was stripped in preparation for Good Friday.

Jesus chided his Apostles for sleeping in the garden, for not “waiting for me” even “for one hour,” the bishop said. “That’s the development of what came to be the holy hour, to spend time with Jesus.... Spending time with Jesus.

Bring to Him your worries, your sins, your joys, your sorrows— bring with you people who have asked you to pray for them.” The bishop then concluded: “The rest is history. ‘Father, it is finished. Into your hands I commend my spirit.’”

Good Friday

The Good Friday service began with a narration of the Passion of Christ, with responses by Bishop Stika and those in the assembly. In his homily, the bishop opened with a question about the word for the day: “good.”

“Let’s dig a little deeper on this Good Friday. What happened? One of the Twelve, whom Jesus chose, betrayed Jesus, sold Him for 30 pieces of silver. Why? All kinds of reasons, I guess. Eventually, he saw the horrible nature of his deed, and he was willing to give the money back, but then it was too late, and he took his own life. Does that give us something ‘good’? Peter, the impetuous leader of the Apostles, eventually the one chosen by Jesus to lead the Church, as Francis is today, a successor of Peter. ‘I don’t know the man. I have no idea who He is.’ Three times. Is that ‘good’? The Apostles, those who walked with Jesus and listened to Jesus and saw the miracles, how Jesus brought them into His own life and into the life of His Mother— they scattered. Is that ‘good’? The crucifixion, when just John, the youngest, and Mary Magdalene, and some others watched Jesus’ life leave His body. In His last hours, He was tortured beyond belief. His hands and feet were nailed to a wood cross, huge nails, painful, a spear in His side. Was that ‘good’?

But you know, in some ways, maybe God has a way to make lemonade out of lemons, as they say.”

But there was good on the original Good Friday, Bishop Stika said.

“Veronica, one of those followers of Jesus, when she saw Him carry the cross, thump-thump-thump, over those steps, took a cloth and pressed it against His face, and His image appeared on that cloth. That was ‘good.’ Simon the Cyrenian, minding his own business, either was volunteered or volunteered, who knows, to bear that heavy, heavy cross, even though maybe some people thought he was the criminal as he bore that heavy cross to Golgotha. The women of Jerusalem who cried for Jesus, is that ‘good’? Yes, for they were sad. The centurion: ‘Truly this man is the Son of God.’ A statement of faith. That was good.”

The good thief crucified with Jesus told Him: “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ A statement of faith,” the bishop said. “Maybe he never met Jesus, maybe never knew who He was, but he said to Jesus, ‘Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ A thief, a murderer, we don’t know his crime, and the one person who is assured to go to heaven: ‘this day, you will be with me in paradise.’ And that was good. Joseph of Arimathea. Tradition tells us he was a wealthy man, and he had a tomb that was unused, and he gave it to Jesus to use, a tomb normally for wealthy people. That was good.”

Good Friday “reminds us that one man died for all, and His name was Jesus. He was the son of Mary and Joseph, and that was good. . . .,” the bishop said. “We exalt the cross. We have crosses in our churches, crucifixes. We make the sign of the cross, a reminder that this one man died so that our sins, the sins of the world, can be forgiven, that we might know the love and the embrace of the Father, that eventually we might feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. This one act, this torturous act of Jesus for each and every one of us, and that is good. He died for us.”

The Church’s teaching of redemptive suffering also is important to remember on Good Friday, Bishop Stika said.

“When I suffer or you suffer or someone suffers, if they combine it with the sufferings of Jesus on that cross, it makes a difference. It gives it meaning,” he said. “It won’t let the pain go away necessarily, but it gives it meaning. We all carry

crosses, not the cross like Jesus carried. We’re not nailed to it like Jesus was, but many times our crosses are heavy. It might be disease or age or confusion or disappointment, and it can overwhelm us and overtake us and allow us to feel miserable about ourselves, and yet if we remember that phrase ‘redemptive suffering,’ it can give it meaning.”

The bishop, referring to a Sister he knew in St. Louis, Sister Marian Joseph of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, said, “I’m sure she told me at some point, ‘offer it up.’ It makes it redemptive. It makes it just like Jesus, who was willing to die, innocent as He was, for all of us. So, maybe we could make that a practice of our life, to not allow confusion or pain or uncertainty to overtake us, those crosses of life, because they’re inevitable. But there are people willing, like Simon, to help us carry that cross, not all the time. Many times we don’t share what that cross might be in our life. We can let it grind away at who we are. So, today we can call this day many names, but I think this day reminds us of the redemptive suffering that we all can bear and offer it up for another person. Give that as a gift.”

Deacon Walt Otey led the solemn intercessions at the Good Friday service, telling the congregation to stand and kneel as he did so.

The service concluded with the veneration of the cross as each member of the assembly came forward to kneel and kiss the crucifix, held by Father Boettner, cathedral associate pastors Father Martin Gladysz and Father Jhon Mario Garcia, Deacons Mike Mescall, Fredy Vargas, and Neil Blatchford, acolyte Jerry Bodie, and others. “Behold the wood of the cross, on which is hung the body of our Savior. Come let us adore,” the bishop said.

Easter Vigil

At Masses on the night before Easter throughout the diocese, the Church welcomed its newcomers: the catechumens, who were baptized, confirmed, and received their first Holy Communion, and the candidates, who were confirmed and received their first Holy Communion

Bishop Stika started his homily at the cathedral by speaking of the universe and its constant expansion into nothingness since God gave it a “spark.”

“The only way my mind can picture it is a hand, the hand of God, who extends His hand out with that spark,” the bishop said. “You see, the authors of Genesis were

trying to explain things, like all of us, in their humanity. Why are there more fish in the sea? Why is there a sky? Why does it rain? Why does it get dark? Why? And so they were trying to place it all together, but also I believe God instilled in them a sense of some answers. . . . Genesis tells us there is a Creator. And the other readings remind us that God interacts with His people, through prophets of the human condition, through sinful people like David and Solomon, through doubters like Moses. But God continues to act.”

The bishop assured the newcomers to the Church and the others assembled in the cathedral that Jesus’ existence is confirmed by not only the biblical accounts but also by other writers of the Roman Empire.

“This miracle worker, this prophet, this rabbi, this rabble-rouser. He existed. We know by faith and also by oral tradition that He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, that His Mother was Mary. The man who taught Him how to be a man, to love Him and to love His Mother, was Joseph. And eventually there He was at the age of 30. He was a miracle worker. There are historical accounts of this written by the Romans and such. And at one moment, He was a threat, a threat to the Romans, a threat to the establishment of the Jewish people around Jerusalem. Then He died. And then He was raised by the Father, and here today are we.”

Jesus, knowing the human condition, realized that “people could stray and be frightened . . . and be hungry for something greater than food. He gave us the Eucharist. ‘This is my body’—we just heard those words a few days ago as we celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper—‘this is my blood, given for you. Do this in memory of me,’” the bishop said. “Share it. Share the Word. Share the Old Testament, the Jewish scriptures, the birth of the Church at Pentecost.

“Today is a very special night for the Church throughout the world, in big cities and small villages, in private homes and great cathedrals. And in this cathedral . . . we welcome brothers and sisters of life into our Church through baptism, reception into the Church so that they might receive the Eucharist. Confirmation, again invoking the Holy Spirit—it’s historic.”

Bishop Stika reminded the newcomers of his Rite of Election statement at the beginning of Lent, that those looking for the “perfect Church” must realize that “as soon as you join it, it’s not so perfect.”

“Remember? Nobody walked out on me when I said that because that’s true for all of us. Pope Francis tells us that the Church is like a hospital for sinners or a school for saints, as weak and as sinful that we are. We have just celebrated the death of Jesus so that we might triumph over our sins, so that we might know mercy and forgiveness, so that we might be strengthened by the Eucharist, and also that we might witness to others, and all of a sudden they wish to join us at the eucharistic table, to hear the body and blood of Our Lord is given for us for our nourishment, for our strength, and let that never be ordinary for any of us or mundane,” the bishop said.

“So, to all of you who are joining the Church today, I see hope. You’re entering into an imperfect institution that has been elevated because as St. Paul tells us, we are the body of Christ. We are the members, and Christ is the head. Stay close to Jesus. Don’t think that once you join us you don’t have to continue to study because every day more and more can be opened to us through prayer and study and witness so that we might discover more and more the beauty as a child of God and a follower of Jesus. In a few moments, we’ll celebrate baptism, confirmation, and reception into the Church. And then all of us again will renew our own baptismal promises that we make year in and year out, that probably were made for most of us when we were baptized as little children,” he concluded. ■

Easter arrives Bishop Richard F. Stika processes into the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Also processing in are Father Jhon Mario Garcia and Deacon Fredy Vargas, holding the Sacred Scripture.

JIM WOGAN

Easter blessing Bishop Richard F. Stika sprinkles holy water on people who were attending Easter Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

JIM WOGAN

Thankful for Divine Mercy

Vietnamese Catholic community marks feast day with parish celebration

By Bill Brewer

The Vietnamese Catholic community in Knoxville marked April 16 in a way befitting its namesake church. It held a parish-wide celebration in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday.

Bishop Richard F. Stika joined Father Dominic Nguyen and scores of Church of Divine Mercy members to celebrate the first Sunday following Easter, a day that focuses on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. As St. John Paul II said, “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified.”

As faithful followers around the world celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the Catholic Church, the historical significance of the day was noted by priests and bishops because on the second Sunday of Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalksa, Pope John Paul II declared that the Sunday after Easter be called Divine Mercy Sunday.

St. Faustina was a Polish nun who received visions from Jesus, including one of Jesus wearing a white garment with beams of red and white coming from His heart, which came to be known as the image of Divine Mercy.

She wrote in her diary that Jesus said, “I want the image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. … My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.”

In 2012, Bishop Stika announced the name for the diocese’s first

Vietnamese Catholic community: Divine Mercy, as well as its first priest, Father Hoan Dinh. Then, in 2013 Bishop Stika dedicated the Church of Divine Mercy, located at 10919 Carmichael Road in West Knoxville near the intersection of Lovell Road and Pellissippi Parkway.

As membership in the church continued to grow, Bishop Stika elevated Divine Mercy to a parish. And now, a second Vietnamese

Catholic community is growing within the diocese.

The St. Faustina Public Association of the Faithful has been worshiping at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga since 2019 and has regular attendance of about 200 people.

Bishop Stika has said the St. Faustina community is working to formally establish a permanent place for Mass, and he hopes the community has a church of its

Celebrating Divine Mercy

Left: Members of the Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville take to the stage to sing about the feast of Divine Mercy, their parish, and their Vietnamese heritage.

Below left: Bishop Richard F. Stika is a welcome addition to a family photo during the Church of Divine Mercy picnic on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 16.

Below right: Bishop Stika is shown with, from left, Deacon Sean Smith, Deacon Hieu Vinh, and Father Dominic Nguyen.

own by 2024. Father Nick Tran serves as chaplain and moderator for the St. Faustina community. As Bishop Stika helped Divine Mercy Parish celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with a parish picnic on the church grounds that included music and songs, he was wearing a Divine Mercy pectoral cross from his ordination. Bishop Stika spoke to the congregation, which is very grateful

Fr.

Dominic Nguyen appointed Church of Divine Mercy pastor

The East Tennessee Catholic

Bishop Richard F. Stika has appointed Father Dominic Nghia T.H. Nguyen, CRM, pastor of the Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville.

Bishop Stika made the announcement on April 21 and said the appointment was effective immediately.

Bishop Stika said he will be installing Father Nguyen as the second pastor of the Divine Mercy parish on Sunday, June 11.

“I am pleased to appoint you pastor of Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville, effective April 21, 2023. In accord with universal canon law (canon 522) and the USCCB’s final decree promulgated on September 24, 1984 (Prot. No. 3517/84/6), this appointment is for a five-year term. This five-year term may be renewed at the discretion of the Bishop of Knoxville and in consultation with your Provincial in Carthage, Missouri. Removal from this appointed office always remains at the will of the bishop (ad nutum episcope). With this letter, I also grant you the necessary faculties to fulfill this office and ministry. … Father Dominic, thank you for your willingness to serve in this new role. … Be assured of my continued prayers for you,” Bishop Stika wrote.

Father Nguyen is a member of the order of Clerics Regular Minor.

The beginning of Divine Mercy Parish goes back to the early 1990s, when an idea for a Vietnamese Catholic community in the Knoxville area was first mentioned.

The community got underway with a monthly Mass at Immaculate Conception Church before moving to Knoxville Catholic High School. Then in 2012, Bishop Stika

announced to the community that it had its first permanent priest, Father Hoan Dinh, and a name: Divine Mercy Catholic Mission, with plans to relocate to its own place of worship.

Mass times were increased from twice a month to each Sunday, with daily Masses on Tuesday and Wednesday. By this time, the community had grown from about 35 members to about 400, or some 150 families.

On Nov. 17, 2013, Bishop Stika dedicated the Church of Divine Mercy, which is located at 10919 Carmichael Road, not far from the intersection of Lovell Road and Pellissippi Parkway.

Father Nguyen has served as parochial administrator of the Church of Divine Mercy since June 2019. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 2009.

Church of Divine Mercy is the Diocese of Knoxville’s first Vietnamese Catholic community. A second Vietnamese Catholic community is being formed in Chattanooga.

Bishop Stika has celebrated Mass with the St. Faustina Public Association of the Faithful, which has been worshiping at Notre Dame High School since 2019, and has regular attendance of about 200 people.

Bishop Stika has said the St. Faustina community is working to formally establish a permanent place for Mass. Father Nick Tran serves as chaplain and moderator for the St. Faustina community. ■

Fr. Nguyen

Divine Mercy continued on page A21

Seven Sisters Apostolate is praying for priests

Lay ministry dedicated to vocations is looking to expand its prayer group

By Claire Collins

Yvonne Kidder, a parishioner of St. John Neumann in Farragut, hopes to encourage other women to join her in praying for the priests of the Diocese of Knoxville through a national organization called the Seven Sisters Apostolate.

Mrs. Kidder and six other women from St. John Neumann pray anonymously for the priesthood of their pastor, Father Joe Reed, and his needs and intentions. Every week, each woman makes a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament on one weekday, covering him in an hour of prayer every day, every week.

According to its website, “the Seven Sisters Apostolate is a call to strengthen the Church by ensuring that a holy hour is prayed each day of the week for the sole intention of a specific priest or bishop— a ‘holy wasting’ (cf. Matthew 26:8-13) or lavishing of prayer for his deeper conformity to Christ.”

The apostolate had not been something on Mrs. Kidder’s mind during her many years of faithful service to her parish and diocese. However, she recently felt the Lord had been bringing up this special intention, the priests of the diocese.

“My priests had not been on my heart. It’s just not something I was raised with, just the consciousness of them needing prayer,” Mrs. Kidder said. “Then Father Mark (Schuster) and Father Christopher (Floersh) came to St. John Neumann, and they would do these days of the week where you would come and pray for vocations. And they were such a blessing to our church. I’m like ‘OK, I’m going to start praying for vocations.’”

Father Schuster is now pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville.

At first, Mrs. Kidder intended just to pray for priests on her own. Then, more Internet research led her to the Seven Sisters Apostolate and challenged her to reach out to more people in her own parish to pray for their priests together.

One moment that was particularly striking in her discernment to start a Seven Sisters group was when the mother of a good friend shared the same apostolate with her that she had come across in her Internet research.

“This must be God’s nudging,”

AI continued from on page A3

phizing about them.

We have far fewer privacy controls or restrictions on social media than other countries, for example, and our instinct is to take a laissez-faire approach to technology, as long as it’s good for business.

But the destructive impact of social media on our children and grandchildren is not imaginary, and that is a relatively modest threat compared to what is coming down the pike.

All of which is to say that the Church and its institutions must be actively engaged in the discussion that needs to happen. Movements like transhumanism,

Gun safety continued from page A2

a Safer Tennessee hosted a “Linking Arms for Change” event in Nashville and Knoxville April 18.

The Nashville event featured people linking arms along a three-mile route from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where the victims of the school shooting were brought, to the Tennessee state capitol. The Knoxville event, which was held simultaneously, encircled Market Square in downtown Knoxville.

Supporters formed a “human chain expressing solidarity among the chorus of voices advocating for safer communities across the state through the adop-

Mrs. Kidder recalled thinking, “because here’s this random woman who I don’t know and my friend who thinks of me and says, ‘You’d be great for this.’”

She knew this was a divine invitation she could not say no to.

When asked what the prayers of Seven Sisters means to him, Father Reed responded, “When Yvonne first mentioned this project to me, it reminded me of a beautiful moment in the life of St. Benedict. St. Gregory the Great tells us in his Dialogues that, as he was nearing the end of his life, St. Benedict — who was aware that he was about to die — had some of the brethren take him to the oratory so that he could receive Holy Communion and pray. He was obviously weak at this point and was held up by the brethren so that he could stand and raise his hands in prayer, and

artificial intelligence, digital surveillance, and the weaponization of all these developments are not to be left solely to their creators and exploiters.

What the world needs now are theologians, teachers, politicians, philosophers, writers, and, yes, scientists capable of addressing the threats posed by our own inventiveness. In the face of seemingly boundless advances in bloodless, soul-less technology, we need the humanities more than ever. ■

Greg Erlandson is an award-winning Catholic publisher, editor, and journalist whose column appears monthly at OSV News. Follow him on Twitter @GregErlandson.

tion of common-sense gun-safety policies,” according to the event press release.

“Linking Arms for Change is an opportunity for Tennesseans on both sides of the political aisle to come together to honor the lives lost and impacted by The Covenant School shooting, as well as all lives lost to gun violence in our state,” said Carlie Cruse, a founding member of Voices for a Safer Tennessee.

“This is not a political issue. It’s a public-safety issue. By coming together as one, unified voice, we can channel our sorrow into action and advocacy for stronger gun-safety measures,” Ms. Cruse added. ■

that is how he died, praying and supported by his brothers. While I have no idea when I will die, I appreciate the support of the sisters, and I believe such prayers help us grow in holiness and prepare for death even as we live together in community.”

One of the women in Mrs. Kidder’s Seven Sisters group, Mary Butcher, has a very personal reason why praying for our priests is important to her.

“I had been a part of this years ago in Ohio,” Mrs. Butcher recalled. “One of my older brothers was a priest for 17 years, but he left the priesthood, and it was so traumatic for my family; it was earth-shattering. I just had so much pain in my heart because I felt like I hadn’t prayed for my brother, who was a priest, enough. I would always pray on that, ‘Please don’t let this ever happen to anybody else’s family.’”

The group’s action is simple.

“This is not a group or a meeting,” Mrs. Kidder said. “It’s not even really a community. The priest doesn’t even really know who’s praying for him. I like that, I like the simplicity of it. Father Joe knows there is a group, and that’s about it.”

They have a group-text thread where they share inspiration, reminders, and encouragement. Beyond that, however, the only other responsibility is each woman’s holy hour.

While many of the women have hours of prayer already designated in their schedules, this hour they pray for Seven Sisters is separate from their own prayer for their life and intentions. It is only to be used for the intentions of their priest.

“At first I had all these prayers that came from the website and a little routine,” Mrs. Kidder said. “But it really had grown organically to become ‘Here I am Lord,’ for him. I give this hour for him.”

This same sentiment inspired Father Reed in a moment when he wondered how he could best be praying for someone else.

“I was once praying quietly with a student before the Blessed Sacrament,” Father Reed said. “He was having a rough day. I recall telling the Lord, ‘I don’t even know what to pray for what does he need?’ A prayer immediately came to mind, ‘Lord, teach me to love each as I ought.’ I think that can be a

Apostolate continued on page A15

In prayer for priests A member of the Seven Sisters Apostolate prays for vocations. The lay ministry is a call to strengthen the Church by ensuring that a holy hour is prayed each day for a specific priest or bishop.

Eucharistic Revival gains momentum in diocese

UT-Chattanooga students participate in eucharistic procession on campus

By Jim Wogan

The Diocese of Knoxville is proving that there is more than one way to participate in the National Eucharistic Revival, a multiyear effort by U.S. bishops, who are inviting the faithful to a closer encounter and fuller understanding of what the holy Eucharist means to the Catholic Church.

The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus hosted a parish revival in April featuring Bishop Ron Hicks of Joliet, Ill. All Saints Parish hosted Dr. Timothy O’Malley in January to speak about his book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life. Many parishes in the diocese already offer eucharistic adoration and will continue to do so.

And in Chattanooga on April 12, students, clergy, and FOCUS missionaries celebrated evening Mass and then participated in a one-mile eucharistic procession on the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga campus.

“As our team was talking about what our students need here—it was a lot of, we need to go out. We need to go and talk to the other students on campus about Jesus, about our faith, about why we believe and what we believe,” said Ryan Vaughan, a FOCUS missionary at the UT-C Newman Center.

Mr. Vaughan is one of five FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionaries on the Chattanooga campus. Their presence at UT-C is supported financially by the Diocese of Knoxville, which also funds FOCUS missionaries on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus.

He said the idea for a eucharistic procession met two needs: first, fulfilling the call of U.S. bishops to emphatically remind all Catholics about the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist; and second, to engage others in discussions about the Catholic faith.

Mr. Vaughan’s FOCUS team approached Deacon Brian Gabor, a diocesan campus minister who also serves at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, and asked about organizing a eucharistic procession on the UT-C campus. With the support of Father Valentin Iurochkin, Newman Center chaplain and associate pastor of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, the wheels were in motion.

Mr. Vaughan admitted that the students had plenty of questions.

“A lot of our students asked, ‘why are we doing this?’ or said, ‘I don't know how to do this.’”

Caleb Hennigan, a member of the Chattanooga FOCUS team, spoke to students before the procession, reviewed the path they would follow, and advised them how to engage with anyone they encountered along the way.

“We love our neighbor and our desire for Jesus. Go share that with them. Start a conversation; have joy. It is Easter; we need reverence, but we also need joy—joy in the Gospel, joy in the resurrection,” Mr. Vaughan said.

Prior to the procession, Mass was celebrated by Father Iurochkin. Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, attended

in choir. Deacon Gabor read from the Gospel of Luke and offered the homily.

The Scripture reading was a perfect fit for the procession.

“The reading was the Road to Emmaus, and that is my favorite passage in the Gospels. I emphasized it in the homily for two reasons,” Deacon Gabor said. “It taught me and helped me see that Jesus is in the Old Testament. It says he explained to the two disciples where he is in the Old Testament and went through Scripture. That was a very exciting time for me years ago when I was just starting to walk a journey of faith. It just boosted me and told me that this is for real— this is for real.

“Second, the disciples didn't recognize Jesus initially when they were walking, but it was in the breaking of the bread. Those two aspects of the passage in the Road to Emmaus are my two favorites, but it goes so deep, and it is so beautiful that I don't feel like I can do it justice. I love to listen to Scripture scholars that do a wonderful job explaining it,” Deacon Gabor added.

It was also Deacon Gabor’s first eucharistic procession.

“I loved it. This is where I went to college, and it was just very awesome to walk the grounds with Jesus and the Blessed Sacrament right in front of me like that, and to see the other students stop and stare, and wonder what it was about, and hopefully they will seek, and they will find. It was an awesome experience for me to be with these wonderful young people. It was just amazing,” he said.

The 30-person procession followed a one-mile path along sidewalks from the Newman Center to Chamberlain Field, the heart of the UT-C campus. Once there, Father Iurochkin offered a brief benediction before the procession continued through campus back to the Newman Center.

Their silence was broken only when singing All Creatures of Our God and King; Alleluia, Sing to Jesus; and other familiar Catholic hymns. Students and onlookers watched the procession respectfully as it passed. Mr. Vaughan said the FOCUS ministers were ready to answer questions if they came up.

“Hopefully the vestments, the incense, and the cross all pointed to the round gold thing (monstrance) with the white thing (Eucharist) in middle, and people are going to say...what is that? Why are these people walking with that? My hope is that questions begin to stir, maybe they look it up, and they see us, or go to the basilica. It is to stir that question within them. What is going on? I have never seen anything like this.”

Led by a cross-bearer who was followed by acolytes carrying candles and incense, Father Iurochkin, fully vested and wearing a humeral veil in which to hold the monstrance and Blessed Sacrament, led the procession along uneven sidewalks, up and down stairs, and under tree-lined pathways, which eventually took the group back to the front of the Newman Center, where 13 more concrete stairs had to be climbed before the procession concluded.

The risk of a misstep was always present, and Father Iurochkin admitted that concentration was important.

“It’s exciting, and it can be tough, hard with (all) the vestments. But it is cool knowing how great your reward will be. For me, this is very important because it prepares us so that we may not only be here, inside the church, but also outside, having the opportunity to really testify our Christian faith publicly,” Father Iurochkin said.

“Sometimes it is indirectly just passing by students who are just hanging out after a hard day, and you never know what may change in their hearts. Passing by and seeing the monstrance or the crucifix, the candles, the Blessed Sacrament, you never know how Christ himself, through me in persona Christi, can change the heart of a person,” he added.

Also participating in the procession was Deacon Jim Bello, director of Christian Formation for the Diocese of Knoxville and leader of the diocesan Eucharistic Revival effort. Deacon Bello also serves at Holy Spirit Church in Soddy-Daisy.

“The parishes and ministries of the diocese are accomplishing something very special right now, and we are way ahead of schedule with what the U.S. bishops have asked,” Deacon Bello said. “Technically, we’re still in the first phase of what has been outlined—with diocesan initiatives.”

Deacon Bello noted that U.S. bishops have directed that the next phase of the three-year revival begins in June and will “foster eucharistic devotion at the parish level, strengthening liturgical life through faithful celebration of the Mass, eucharistic adoration, missions, resources, preaching, and organic movements of the Holy Spirit.”

The National Eucharistic Revival concludes with the National Eucharistic Congress scheduled in Indianapolis July 17-24, 2024. ■

JIM WOGAN (4)

Lighting the way in solemn reverence Top left: Candle-bearers lead the eucharistic procession in front of Hunter Hall on the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga campus on April 12. Top right: Father Valentin Iurochkin, associate pastor at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga and chaplain of the Newman Center on the UT-C campus, carries the holy Eucharist enshrined inside a monstrance as the eucharistic procession makes its way across campus. Bottom left: Father Iurochkin and Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Deacon Brian Gabor, and Deacon Jim Bello lead UT-C students past the Power “C” logo along Vine Street on the Chattanooga campus. Bottom right: FOCUS missionary Ryan Vaughan kneels as Father Iurochkin celebrates Mass with Deacon Gabor in the UT-C Newman Center before the eucharistic procession on April 12.

‘Messy’ and ‘joyful’

Synod's North American phase concludes with a call to mission, moves to Rome

By Gina Christian OSV News

The final document for the North American phase of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality was released April 12, capturing a process of dialogue and discernment that two participants described as “messy,” “joyful,” and unifying— like the synod itself.

“It’s amazing what comes about when ... you invoke the Holy Spirit in the conversation,” Julia McStravog, a theologian and co-coordinator of the North American team for the synod’s continental phase, told OSV News.

“The synodal approach provoked a genuine appreciation and joyfulness on the part of the people of God to be able to engage in conversation, even if they were talking about difficult issues,” team co-coordinator Richard Coll told OSV News.

Mr. Coll also serves as executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development.

Led by Catholic bishops from Canada and the United States, Ms. McStravog, Mr. Coll, and their fellow team members have now synthesized the results of synod listening sessions throughout the two countries, producing a 36-page final

document available for download at usccb.org/synod. (According to the USCCB, the Catholic Church in Mexico is participating in the global synod with the Latin American Episcopal Council, or CELAM, given its long partnership with that conference.)

The North American synod team — consisting of eight bishops, three laywomen, two priests, two laymen, and two women religious—spent

time in prayer, silence, and discussion to distill responses for inclusion in the text, which forms a response to the Document for the Continental Stage issued by the Holy See’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops in October 2022.

The final document for the continental stage from North America, along with the contributions of the six other continental assemblies, will form the basis of the Instrumentum

Laboris, the global synod’s working document, to be released by the General Secretariat in June.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, who leads the North American team with Canadian Bishop Raymond Poisson of Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier, Quebec, presented the document at the Vatican on April 12.

Launched by Pope Francis in October 2021, the multiyear synod of bishops—the theme of which is “communion, participation, and mission”—seeks to cultivate an ongoing dynamic of discernment, listening, humility, and engagement within the Catholic Church.

The North American report highlighted three key themes: the implications of baptism, communion with Christ and one another, and missionary discipleship as a living out of the baptismal calling.

“Our baptismal dignity is inseparable from our baptismal responsibility, which sends us forth on mission,” the document stated. “Every human person possesses the dignity that comes from being created in the image of God. Through baptism, Christians share in an exalted dignity and vocation to holiness, with no inequality based on race, national-

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Synod continued on page A15

JIM WOGAN Church voices Deacon Sean Smith, right, leads a meeting of the Diocese of Knoxville's Synod panel, made up of representatives from around the diocese, in September 2021.

Championing a true presentation of womanhood

Mother's Day honors mothering, which conveys ontological reality, not a biological act

From National Catholic Register

Mother’s Day, for years a holiday of little controversy, seems now like a relic destined for gender-neutral rebranding as we mark the Sunday in May that has long honored mothers in the United States.

Mother/father speak of a hopelessly antiquated binary (so we are told). Many official forms reflect this already—from passport applications to federal student loans, “father” and “mother” are replaced with “Parent 1” and “Parent 2.” Is it inevitable that we will eventually be saying “Happy Parent 1 Day”? Renaming a mother with a number for a beloved holiday is a bit on the dystopian nose.

It might take a while. The revolutionaries know it’s easier for people to shrug at gender-neutral language on a form, but harder to dismiss it on a day meant to honor their own mothers.

“Birthing Person’s Day” not only sounds ridiculous but insulting when applied to one’s own mom. After all, we’re not celebrating a lone act of a “chest-feeder” on the day of our birth. The holiday honors mothering, which (for those of us still living in a world of reality) conveys an ongoing ontological reality, not a singular biological act.

But singular acts and superficialities are all our social re-engineers can really point to. What a woman is cannot be something imbued with deeper meaning, but rather must be an aggregate of such superficialities as heels, hairdos, and spliced and fused body parts.

I won’t be the first to point out that the ones most harmed by all this are those in the formerly-known-as-marginalized class of actual womanhood. Female swimmer Riley Gaines, one of the fastest 200 butterflyers of all time at the University of Kentucky, remarkably tied, down to the hundredth of the second, Lia Thomas, a man identifying as a woman. The tie was a remarkable feat. Thomas had been an average swimmer when competing against other men but was easily dominating the women’s division. But despite Gaines’ feat, the NCAA told Gaines the trophy would go to Thomas for photo purposes.

This is enough to warrant outrage, but it was while describing having to share a locker room with him that Gaines began to break down emotionally. There was no consent sought nor given, only an insistence that the women athletes would undress in front of an exposed male. “There’s a 6-foot-4 biological man dropping his pants and watching us undress, and we were exposed to male genitalia,” she recalled. “Not even probably a year, two years ago, this would have been considered some form of sexual assault, voyeurism.”

In return for her courage in speaking out at a recent event, she was physically assaulted by a man in a dress, chased by a deranged mob

ity, social condition, or sex, because we are one in Christ Jesus.”

By virtue of their baptism, participants in the synod’s North American phase expressed “a desire for a greater recognition of, and opportunities for, co-responsibility within the Church and her mission,” with greater collaboration “among the laity and the clergy, including bishops,” the document stated. It stressed “there can be no true co-responsibility in the Church without fully honoring the dignity of women.”

An “authentic acknowledgment and respect for the gifts and talents of young people is another vital aspect of a co-responsible Church in North America,” the document further stated.

Amid “polarization and a strong pull towards fragmentation,” synod participants in North America emphasized the need to “maintain the centrality of Christ,” especially in the Eucharist.

The document candidly acknowledged that a “significant threat to communion within the Church is a lack of trust, especially between bishops and the laity, but also between the clergy in general and the lay faithful.”

The clergy sexual abuse crisis in particular has caused “major areas of tension in North America,” as have “the historical wrongs found in the residential (and) boarding schools for Indigenous people, which ... included abuse of all kinds,” according to the document.

In their introduction to the document, Bishop

Apostolate continued from page A12

fruitful prayer no matter who we are praying for.”

This is how Father Reed suggests coming to Our Lord when wanting to pray for our priests.

The apostolate has begun to grow, a group existing for each of the priests currently ministering or in residence at St. John Neumann:

Father Reed, Father Floersh, Father Michael Maples, and Father Joseph Hammond, CHS. Mrs. Kidder has even recently become the volunteer coordinator for the diocese. She hopes, however, that the apostolate spreads beyond just her own parish.

Keeping Mother in Mother's Day A mother is pictured praying while holding her baby during Ash Wednesday Mass at Jesus the Divine Word Church in Huntingtown, Md., in 2019. All mothers are honored in special ways on Mother's Day, which is May 14 this year.

screaming insults at her, and barricaded in a room for hours.

It might be tempting to point to this obvious injustice and to identify men once again as the problem and feminism the solution. But transgenderism hardly began in a vacuum.

The feminism that preceded it sold its own version of the meaninglessness of the female body. The lie told in the name of women’s liberation is that her body, in its capacity to bear and nurture life, does not reveal a more profound meaning of her nature; rather, it is merely something to harness and manipulate to make her more like a man—free to engage in sex with no consequences.

An older version of a lie cannot solve the problems presented by the newer version of that same lie.

The body of the woman speaks to the reality of human nature and the duties incumbent on us all. The woman’s body, designed with the capacity to bear life, tells the man that he can and should protect that life. Her vulnerability is his to revere in ways that speak to a responsibility each bears as potential mother and potential father. Far from this being a limitation on our freedom, it is rather a marvelous indication that we are made for one another.

The task of the re-engineer is to undo this all. One effective method is to present what is most human as utterly banal to make us perceive the world as meaningless. In her 1949 book The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir writes, “The housewife wears herself out marking time: She makes nothing, simply perpetuates the present. … Eating, sleeping, cleaning—the years no longer rise

up towards heaven, they lie spread out ahead, grey and identical. The battle against dust and dirt is never won.”

Happy Mother’s Day —another year of marking time in your fruitless endeavor!

Such is the banality of a progressive ideology that sees as slavish the call to serve. Such is the boredom of the ideologue who sees motherhood—perhaps the greatest clarion call to a life of love—and says, “Meh.”

But to all of those who still believe in the stuff of the soul, you are left to know and defend the true dignity of the stuff of life. The unsung daily work of cleaning, caring, shouldering, and comforting is not at all reducible to drudgery when seen with love, but rather is the foundational work of civilization.

Her value is not reducible to utility: The value of a good mother is in the indelible impact she has on the people in her care and how that impact reaches into eternity.

This is largely why we started Theology of Home: to refuse to cede the cultural imagination to the distortions of ideologues. But one simple shift any woman can make to aid the culture: dressing with womanly elegance. I don’t mean donning costume-like clothing from the 1950s in some sort of throwback version of womanhood.

Rather, we can, with naturalness and care, dress in a dignified manner that communicates who we know ourselves to be, how we intend to conduct ourselves, and how we expect to be treated.

The two visions of womanhood most promoted in media are either androgynous or semipornographic. Though seemingly contradictory, at their core both reflect a hatred of beauty and of the female body.

Maybe it seems like a small form of resistance, but if the revolutionaries’ latest disruption of culture is through drag and trans displays of a superficial performance of womanhood, we might at least respond with a true presentation of it.

Theirs is effective in the way that the shouting and repeating of lies might coerce compliance. Ours is effective in the way that a simple whisper of something true might prompt conversion. Happy Mother’s Day. ■

Noelle Mering is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. She is the author of “Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology” and co-author of the “Theology of Home” series. She is an editor at TheologyofHome. com and a wife and mother of six children.

ried without an annulment, and those with varying degrees of physical or mental abilities as marginalized within the Church.

Outreach and inclusion of these groups is ultimately driven at the local level by the faithful actively living out their baptism, Ms. McStravog told OSV News.

At the same time, “the bishops really took to heart the call ... to reach out to the periphery,” said Mr. Coll, who added that virtual synod sessions enabled broader participation.

Synod participants consistently articulated a longing for better formation in the faith and in Catholic social teaching, the document said.

Flores and Bishop Poisson admitted the need to “(make) efforts to listen more effectively to those from whom we have not heard, including many who have been relegated to the margins of our communities, society, and Church.” They noted their “absence” in the synodal process was “not easily interpreted but was palpably felt.”

Among those often missing from synodal sessions were priests, with bishops acknowledging their responsibility to address that lack “by example and by conveying the transparency and spiritual/pastoral fruitfulness of synodality.”

Synod participants listed women, young people, immigrants, racial or linguistic minorities, LGBTQ+ people, people who are divorced and civilly remar-

“They have so many groups in New Orleans,” exclaimed Mrs. Kidder about the city where her friend’s mother was a part of Seven Sisters. “Every church, every priest. And so that’s my goal—to have every priest in our diocese covered in prayer.”

Mrs. Butcher believes firmly in the importance of this particular apostolate.

“Priests are calvary from Calvary,” she said.

“This is so important to the Blessed Mother. The priests—these are her sons. They have such a big responsibility; they have to pray for us and watch out for us, but who prays for them? Who

The Diocese of Knoxville completed its sevenmonth Synod phase in March 2022 and submitted its report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on April 1, 2022. During the survey period, more than 4,500 people in the Diocese of Knoxville responded to Synod questions.

“We came a long way in just a short period of time,” Bishop Richard F. Stika said. “The participation of our parish leaders and leaders of other Catholic organizations in the diocese helped keep the process on track. It’s been a very good effort.”

As the synod process moves into its next phase, Mr. Coll and Ms. McStravog pointed to the need for humility and openness to God’s will.

“We don’t have all the answers, and none of this is pre-packaged,” Mr. Coll said. “You have to trust that the Spirit will be there to guide us despite the messiness—or maybe because of it.” ■

watches out for them? That’s what’s so beautiful about this Seven Sisters Apostolate.”

“These priests that we have,” she continued, “they were handpicked by our Lord and our Blessed Mother. They gave their fiats to them just like the Blessed Mother did. When they get out there, they’re responsible for our souls, but we must still be responsible for praying for them.”

For more information about the Seven Sisters and how to become a part of the apostolate, check out their website, https://sevensistersapostolate.org, or e-mail Yvonne Kidder at sevensisterknoxville@gmail.com ■

Commentary

Mrs. Mering

Synod continued from page A14

Pope: women will be Synod of Bishops voting members

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

At least three dozen women will be voting members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October, Pope Francis has decided.

In a decision formalized April 17, “the Holy Father approved the extension of participation in the synodal assembly to ‘non-bishops’ — priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, laymen and women,” the synod office said in an April 26 statement.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the synod, told reporters April 26 that about 21 percent of the synod’s 370 members would not be bishops and at least half of that group would be women.

Adding women and young people to the membership will make sure “the Church is well represented” in the prayer and discussions scheduled for Oct. 4-29 at the Vatican, the cardinal said.

“It will be a joy to have the whole Church represented in Rome for the synod,” he noted.

“As you can see, the space in the tent is being enlarged,” Cardinal Mario Grech, synod secretarygeneral, told reporters, echoing the title that had been chosen for the working document for the justcompleted continental phase of the synod.

The document said that in local and national synod listening sessions there were consistent questions about how to promote greater inclusion in the Catholic Church while staying true to Church teaching.

“The Synod of Bishops will remain a synod of bishops,” Cardinal

Grech said, but it will be “enriched” by representatives of the whole Church.

The pope’s decision to expand the categories of synod members, the April statement said, “is in continuity” with the Catholic Church’s growing understanding of the synodal dimension of the Church and “the consequent understanding of the institutions through which it is exercised.” Since the Synod of Bishops was reinstituted after the Second Vatican Council, the voting members of the synod have all been men. The membership was primarily cardinals and bishops, except for the 10 priests—and recently one religious brother—elected by the men’s Union of Superiors General.

Now, rather than the Union of Superiors General selecting 10 voting members, the office said, it will

elect only five priests or brothers. And the women’s International Union of Superiors General also will elect five Sisters or nuns.

Past synods have included women as non-voting “auditors,” a group that included many women.

Pope Francis has done away with the “auditor” category of synod participant, the Vatican said.

Instead, there will be a group of 70 non-bishop members representing “various groupings of the faithful of the people of God,” including priests, consecrated women, deacons, and laypeople from every part of the world.

The pope will choose the 70 from a list of 140 people selected by bishops and organizers of six regional groupings of bishops and by the Assembly of Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches. The six regional groups are:

n The Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean, known as CELAM;

n The Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe;

n The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar;

n The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences

n The Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania;

n The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops;

n The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Each of the seven bishops’ groups will nominate 20 people, the statement said, and “it is requested that 50 percent of them be women and that the presence of young people also be emphasized.”

In addition to the 10 religious elected by their groups of superiors and the 70 non-bishop members nominated by continental groups, Pope Francis may include “nonbishop members” among the members he appoints.

And, since the leadership of the synod secretariat will be full members, that includes Xavière Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the synod. Cardinal Hollerich added that after all the work they did preparing the synod, “it would be very unfair” to exclude them as members.

Most synod members will be bishops elected by their episcopal conference or by their Eastern Catholic bishops’ synod. The number of delegates each conference can elect depends on the size of the conference. Bishops’ conferences with more than 200 members—such as the conferences of Italy, Brazil, and the United States—will elect five members. ■

Pope preaches cooperation, not isolation, on Hungary trip

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

Paying homage to Hungary’s history, culture, and location in the heart of Europe, Pope Francis pushed against the notion that the country needed to insulate itself to protect its identity.

As expected, in his first speech in Hungary—to government leaders, civic leaders, and diplomats serving in Budapest—the pope acknowledged efforts to protect traditional values, but insisted those values include supporting European unity, welcoming migrants, and working to end the war in neighboring Ukraine.

The “passionate quest of a politics of community and the strengthening of multilateral relations seems a wistful memory from a distant past,” he said April 28 in his speech at the former Carmelite monastery that now houses the office of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

“More and more,” the pope said, “enthusiasm for building a peaceful and stable community of nations seems to be cooling, as zones of influence are marked out, differences accentuated, nationalism is on the rise, and ever harsher judgments and language are used in confronting others.”

The 86-year-old pope, who was released from the hospital April 1 after what the Vatican said was a bout of bronchitis and who frequently has been using a wheelchair or walker because of knee problems, simply used a cane when he walked the length of the ITA Airways plane to greet journalists during the two-hour flight from Rome.

He joked about his health— “weeds never die”—and, in response to a Polish journalist who thanked him for defending St. John Paul II, the pope described as “foolishness” rumors that the Polish pope was somehow involved in the disappearance in 1983 of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican resident.

Hungarian President Katalin Novák welcomed Pope Francis to a meeting with government and civic representatives and told him Hungarians expected to receive encouragement from him in their quest to

help make Europe “more peaceful, more democratic, and stronger.”

“Over the past 30 years,” she told him, Hungarian Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants have joined forces in “the ecumenism of the preservation of Christian values,” specifically regarding marriage, family life, and abortion.

In his speech, Pope Francis told those gathered that around the globe politics is showing signs of an “adolescent belligerence” that seems more about stirring up emotions than resolving problems.

“Peace will never come as the result of the pursuit of individual strategic interests, but only from policies capable of looking to the bigger picture, to the development of everyone: policies that are attentive to individuals, to the poor and to the future, and not merely to power, profit, and present prospects,” Pope Francis said.

That attention, he said, must allow room for the different countries of the European Union and the different communities within each nation to assert their own identities but not at the cost of denigrating or denying the rights of others.

Mentioning some areas of common ground with Prime Minister Orbán’s government, Pope Francis described as “ideological colonization” efforts to promote acceptance across Europe of “so-called gender theory,” which sees gender as a social construct rather than a biological fact, and “reduc-

tive concepts of freedom, for example by vaunting as progress a senseless

‘right to abortion,’ which is always a tragic defeat.”

“How much better it would be to build a Europe centered on the human person and on its peoples,” he said, pointing positively to Hungary’s pro-family policies that encourage married couples to have children.

But Pope Francis also used the words of St. Stephen, the 11thcentury king of Hungary, to draw attention to the theme of migration, a major area of difference with Prime Minister Orbán who, since 2015, has promoted a “no migrants" policy.

The sainted king, the pope said, told his people: “I urge you to show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the powerful and wealthy, or to your neighbors and fellow countrymen, but also to foreigners and all

Pope continued on page A19

Synod additions Xavière Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, speaks to Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a reporter for "La Repubblica," in the Vatican press office on April 26. The Vatican has announced Pope Francis' decision to have women and laymen as voting members of the Synod. Sister Nathalie will be one of the Synod members.

Holy Father and child Pope Francis greets a family at the Eastern Catholic Protection of the Mother of God Church in Budapest, Hungary, on April 29.

How It Works

were coming every Wednesday just to read Scripture and do Bible study. It was really amazing,” she said.

A year later, Mrs. Phelps noticed that Walking with Purpose was hiring, and she began working for them as a regional area coordinator.

“I covered a bunch of different parishes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and I would just help those women that were like me, starting the program in their parish. I would oversee that a little bit. And then after that, Lisa Brenninkmeyer, who is my mentor, friend, and founder of Walking with Purpose, she saw that I also wrote a blog, and she didn’t know that I was a writer, and so when she saw that I could write, she said, ‘Wow, I’d love for you to come write for us.’”

After blogging on the website and assisting with social media, Mrs. Phelps’ work evolved into speaking.

“I also joke I’m their best free brand ambassador because wherever I go, even if I’m not speaking for a Walking with Purpose event, I can’t not share it because it’s just changed my life and countless women across the country,” Mrs. Phelps noted.

“I love the ministry setting of women,” Mrs. Phelps said. “When I’m ministering to them at an event or something like a retreat… they’re in a place to receive. Obviously, they’re showing up, they want something, they need something whether they recognize it or not. So, that’s always a really beautiful place to start with them.”

Mrs. Phelps remarked that she has been given the gift of “oversharing.”

“I’m an open book,” she said. “When I

"I think especially women are so good at telling stories and so receptive to hearing stories. I think our best testimony, our most credible testimony to a skeptical world, is our story and that we can tell it with joy and with hope

— Laura Phelps Catholic blogger and speaker

speak, I speak very openly about the different struggles in my life because for me the hardest thing when I was going through whatever it was I was going through, the most difficult thing was feeling like I was the only one and feeling like I was alone.”

“I know that women are really, really good at putting on masks, putting filters on their pictures, and holding an expensive coffee and walking around town and acting like everything’s OK,” she continued. “And women aren’t OK, and it’s evident when I go and speak and the crowds of women that come up to me afterwards that just want to tell their story.”

“I think especially women are so good at telling stories and so receptive to hearing stories. I think our best testimony, our most credible testimony to a skeptical world, is our story and that we can tell it with joy and with hope,” she added.

To learn more about Laura Phelps and Walking with Purpose, visit lauramaryphelps. com ■

Light of Christ

just the team leader, and then as we started to grow we have what’s called a study circle. Because Regnum Christi is about forming ourselves so that we can form others, that we can go out and become disciples, apostles, and bring the Good News to the whole world,” Mrs. Merrill said.

Carolyn Krings, a parishioner at St. John Neumann in Farragut, serves the group with her natural creativity.

“I try to pull the team together to do any type of events that need creative touch or just pull us together in order to get together and just spend time with each other,” she said.

“I feel like [Regnum Christi] brought the spirit for me; the Holy Spirit was brought to me in a true and real experience that it brings such joy that you want to pass that along,” Mrs. Krings continued. “It’s a formation that I have not experienced anywhere in the Church before. But it took the qualities that I already had and showed me where my strengths were.”

Marie Ward, a parishioner at Holy Ghost in Knoxville, holds an administrative position on the team.

“I handle the checking account because we are a nonprofit organization and any type of organizing that needs to be done,” she said.

“Regnum Christi just really spoke to my heart. There just were some aspects of it that took me, I feel like, to a deeper spirituality,” Mrs. Ward said. “To me, the team, the Legionary priests that are involved, and even the support that we get out of Atlanta, it just is a beautiful example to me of what Catholicism is and about and being part of a community.”

Encountering Christ

The Regnum Christi spirituality is both contemplative and evangelizing.

“We seek to be men and women of interior life, lovers of prayer, and we recognize the primacy of God’s action in our growth in holiness and in the apostolate. … We live as missionary disciples who seek to proclaim the kingdom and bring the light of the Gospel to everyone,” according to its website.

Weekly encounters among the Knoxville group allow for spiritual discussion over the Sunday readings, and case studies are when members share where they’ve seen God in their lives recently.

“You need three to have an encounter, like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that Trinity, that sense of conversation where it’s not just between two,” Mrs. Merrill said.

“The amount of growth that comes from setting time aside each week at our encounters is just tremendous,” Mrs. Merrill said. “It’s just a game-changer when you can really dive into the Gospel and into our case studies and just hear everybody’s thoughts, and then you go to Mass on Sunday and you hear the homily; it’s so enriching in your life.”

On a larger scale, the group also hosts retreats for women and has an annual Lent by Light Evening of Reflection. Open encounters allow new women to see what Regnum Christi is about.

“We invite whoever would like to come and experience what is Regnum Christi and what are their encounters like, their encounter with Christ like, so we have times for people to come and enjoy that with us,” Mrs. Merrill said. “We’re always growing as a team; we’re

growing as sisters in Christ during encounters and just learning from one another. We try to make special times where we can open up and make sure that we remember people are new and have questions and set aside time for that.”

For future events, Mrs. Merrill said that they “are always thinking and planning when the Holy Spirit guides us, just always trying to be in that prayerful state of what He would like for us to do next.”

When formally joining the Regnum Christi Federation, the term used is “associating.” Associating can happen at a silent retreat or when a Legionary priest is visiting for a reflection.

Mrs. Krings recalled her association, where she was given a Bible, a cross, and flowers.

“There was a ceremony in with the Mass that just asked if we were freely joining,” Mrs. Krings said. “Then the women that were there, they renewed their pledge to Regnum Christi.”

In addition, the group in Atlanta hosts monthly reflections that include a Mass where new members can associate.

‘Looking for connection’

After participating in Regnum Christi for

Left: The Regnum Christi Knoxville group dines during St. John Neumann Church's Advent by Candlelight event.

Below: Margaret Merrill, right, is shown in Atlanta during a Regnum Christi reflection, where she entered into another step within Regnum Christi called Servant of the Apostles. She is shown with Father Kevin Baldwin, LC, and Peggy Lambert.

nearly two decades, Mrs. Merrill describes the national movement as a “game-changer” for her faith.

“When you are accompanied by sisters like I am, these beautiful women that are all trying to strive for holiness… it’s formed me as a young mom with young kids who was really struggling in my marriage, in my kids, just trying to figure out life. It gave me so much formation.”

Mrs. Ward desires for more individuals to take advantage of what Regnum Christi has to offer.

“It’s not known very well here within the diocese, but I have great aspirations that hopefully through some of these events… there’ll be women to hear the message,” she shared.

“It’s just been a beautiful community, the ladies that I’ve met here in Knoxville as well as the women that I’ve met in Atlanta,” Mrs. Ward continued. “It’s what the Lord envisioned, I think, for us just to be able to live each day and be able to utilize it as a tool to remain close to Him.”

Mrs. Ward believes that a lack of God in society makes individual crosses a burden for people to carry on their own.

“I know for me having other women walking this journey with me that are just open and honest with me really helps my spirituality because it’s very easy to, at least for me, to fall kind of into that victim mentality,” she said.

Mrs. Merrill noted that men also are encouraged to contact her about forming a group.

“We do not have a men’s group, but it’s on our radar,” she said. “We are already brainstorming, hoping to find ways to be able to just expose people to what Regnum Christi is and see if this is possibly your spirituality. … We would love to have a men’s group.”

“I would encourage anybody that is looking for connection to just come,” Mrs. Krings said. “You don’t have to join, you just encounter the living Lord and see if it’s something that God is calling you to. It’s not any of us calling you, it’s the Lord calling you, and it takes time.”

To learn more about Regnum Christi, visit regnumchristi.org/en

And for inquiries about the Knoxville chapter, e-mail regnumchristi.knoxville@gmail. com ■

Regnum Christi continued from page A4

PHOTOS

COURTESY OF MARGARET MERRRILL (2)

Laura Phelps

Speaking with purpose Laura Phelps speaks on the topic of suffering during the Lent by Light Evening of Reflection at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut on March 30. Mrs. Phelps is the author of “Sweet Cross: A Marian Guide to Suffering,” which was the source of her presentation

GABRIELLE NOLAN

‘An eye-opening experience’ U.S. apostolic nuncio: what the Catholic Church needs is found in the Eucharist

By Maria Wiering OSV News

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, said he is “convinced that the Church today is in need of an eye-opening experience,” similar to the experience of the two disciples who encountered Jesus along the road to Emmaus following the resurrection, but who did not recognize him until they shared a meal.

“We have seen many of our brothers and sisters leave the Church disillusioned, thinking that Christ is not the answer to their quest for happiness and meaning,” he said April 26 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

“We experience on a daily basis the hardships of living out the faith in the face of a society which is increasingly secularized and polarized. The temptation to remain stuck in the past is real; the path forward is often difficult to discern, and discouragement can set in,”

Archbishop Pierre said. “But now, as then, the Risen Christ walks with us to help us find the way. He is the way, and we recognize Him as such in the breaking of the bread. The Eucharist is the place of this encounter that grants discernment, that affords a new vision of reality, an ecclesial vision of reality.”

Archbishop Pierre spoke on “Eucharist and Ecclesial Discernment” as the 2023 presenter of CUA's annual Cardinal Dearden Lecture, which honors the late Archbishop John Dearden of Detroit, who was instrumental in implementing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council in the United States.

In the hourlong lecture, Archbishop Pierre explained how the Eucharist is “the fulcrum of ecclesial discernment" by framing his reflection within three of Jesus’ statements: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25); “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); and “I am the way” (John 14:6).

“The three go together as steps in a gradual process of ever deeper compenetration between the life of the Risen One and that of every believer,” he said. “In the Eucharist, Christ makes himself edible so that the power of his resurrection can be experienced at a personal existential level. Thus, the Eucharist becomes the place of a transformative en-

who come to you.”

Migration, Pope Francis said, is a “heated” topic in today’s world, but “for those who are Christians, our basic attitude cannot differ from that which St. Stephen recommended,” a lesson learned from Jesus, “who identified Himself with the stranger needing to be welcomed” (Matthew 25).

Pope Francis said it was “urgent” that Europe as a whole devise “safe and legal ways” for those fleeing violence, poverty, and climate change to enter its borders.

Migration cannot be stemmed by a general attitude of rejecting the possibility, he said, “but must be embraced in order to prepare for a future that, unless it is shared, will not exist.”

Fear, anger, and rigidity will do nothing to reverse the growth of secularism and a decline in the number of Catholics attending Mass, Pope Francis said; the only effective response is to give a living example of faith.

“The Church to which we must aspire,” he said, is “a Church capable of mutual listening, dialogue, and care for the most vulnerable, a Church welcoming to all and courageous in bringing the prophetic message of the Gospel to everyone.”

Pope Francis met with 1,100 bishops, priests, seminarians, religious, and catechists in the Basilica of St. Stephen in Budapest on April 28, the first day of his three-day trip to the Hungarian capital.

Dominican Sister Krisztina

counter which points the life of the believer, and the life of the Church, in a new direction.”

The connection between the Eucharist and the paschal mystery—God’s plan for salvation fulfilled by Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection, and ascension—was evident in the early Church, but was obscured over time by a heavier focus on the sacrament’s sacrificial aspect, Archbishop Pierre said.

Accounts from the early Church allow contemporary Christians “a glimpse of the original dynamic, which links Eucharist, paschal mystery, and discernment,” he said. He recalled examples from the Gospel where disciples were fearful, distressed, or disillusioned, and where Jesus heals their situation through a shared meal, foreshadowing the Eucharist.

“Christ’s salvific act is mediated through His sacred humanity, and communicated through the symbols of bread and wine that He chose to be the vehicle of such communication, and which are expressions of the creatural dimension of the human person. The symbol opens the natural to the supernatural,” he said.

The “intrinsic link between the creatural condition of man and his supernatural finality,” however, is lost in what he has observed as an emerging “tendency to understand the supernatural in a way that renders the eucharistic sacrament ethereal, removed from the most concrete aspects of the human condition, a mystery that imposes a certain distance and calls primarily

Hernády, who works with six other sisters in southeastern Hungary, told Pope Francis that decades of hardship and of communism left most people in the region with no idea that there is “a God who loves us personally and cares for us.”

“We are confronted with people’s physical and, especially, spiritual poverty every day,” she said. “My Sisters and I are working to be instruments of God through which we can show those who live there the joy of the Gospel.”

Father József Brenner, the 88-yearold brother of martyred Blessed János Brenner, told Pope Francis that, “blessed by two parents who lived a holy life,” he and both his brothers became priests.

His most important prayer intentions, he said, are for “good Christian families and good priestly vocations.”

Openness is one prescription Pope Francis had for the Catholic Church in Hungary and elsewhere.

“Prophetic receptivity is about learning how to recognize the signs of God in the world around us, including places and situations that, while not explicitly Christian, challenge us and call for a response,” the pope said.

Even in Hungary, “with its solid tradition of faith,” he said, “we witness the spread of secularism and its effects, which often threaten the integrity and beauty of the family, expose young people to lifestyles marked by materialism and hedonism, and lead to polarization regard-

for a posture of contemplation.”

“Such incomplete perspective is at the root of the ideological debate concerning the Eucharist, its weaponization in the cultural wars, and the, at times, isolated focus on eucharistic adoration,” he said.

In some Catholic circles, he said, there are tendencies toward “neo-Pelagianism,” where people “ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style of the past,” he said.

Others embrace “neo-Gnosticism,” which he called “a different shoot from the same stock,” where bodily realities are considered bad, and spiritual realities are considered good.

“The antidote to these tendencies lies in the correct integration between natural and supernatural in the economy of salvation,” he said. “The call of every human person to a profound union with God is discernible through the body, through the specific historical instantiation of being. Christ’s salvific act is mediated through His sacred humanity, and communicated through the symbols of bread and wine that He chose to be the vehicle of such communication, and which are expressions of the creatural dimension of the human person. The symbol opens the natural to the supernatural.”

Archbishop Pierre also underlined the communal aspect of the eucharistic meal.

ing new issues and challenges.”

A truly Christian response, he said, rejects both the temptation of

“The fact that the encounter with Christ happens in the context of the liturgy also points to the ecclesial character of the Eucharist. The Church draws her life from the Eucharist,” he said. “It is in the heart of the Christian assembly that it is possible to experience the victory of Christ over death. We are taken up in the dynamic of His paschal mystery as a community of believers, not as individuals. Thus, the Church becomes the sacrament of salvation, the place where an intimate knowledge of the Savior and of His will is possible.”

In identifying Himself as “the way,” Jesus provides direction for His followers, and “discerning becomes encountering,” Archbishop Pierre said. The Eucharist is the place for such an encounter, he added.

“I am convinced that many of the difficulties we encounter in the Church today, especially when it comes to discerning the way forward, and which result in division and polarization, are caused by the absurd claim to analyze reality from a lofty ideological stronghold,” he said. “The Christian is never a spectator. There is no better way to discover who Christ is than to enter into a relationship with Him.”

The answer to the question of how Christians evangelize the modern world “can only be found by evangelizing, with that openness to others that Pope Francis is asking us to have. There, in the struggle of the everyday encounter with sin, with poverty, with the challenges of indifferentism and atheism, we will find the path. The charism of the evangelizer is that of a pathfinder, of one who navigates by sight.”

That reasoning “lies behind the invitation of the pope to synodality, which is not an undercover attempt to introduce a parliamentary system. Rather, it is an exercise of communion, which expresses at its core the true way of being Church,” he said, referring to the Synod on Synodality, a three-year, worldwide discernment process that culminates in two meetings of bishops and other Church representatives at the Vatican in October 2023 and 2024.

“Synodality invites us to listen to the other, to break the barrier of isolation in order to know what the suffering of our neighbors are,” Archbishop Pierre said. “Here again the Eucharist is the north star. It leads us down the path of the Incarnation not to judge, but to love.” ■

“defeatism” and that of “a comfortable conformism” that basically says everything is fine when it is not. ■

OSV NEWS PHOTO/PATRICK RYAN, THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

Look to the Eucharist Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, gives the annual Cardinal Dearden Lecture at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on April 26. The lecture honors the late Archbishop John Dearden of Detroit, known for implementing the Second Vatican Council's teachings in the United States.

Pope continued from page A16

Good vs. evil Church exorcism becomes hot topic for film, books during this Eastertide

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

Just as Catholics worldwide commemorated Jesus’ resurrection and His triumph of good over evil on Easter Sunday, theaters across the United States were preparing for the release April 14 of the latest “supernatural horror thriller” of good versus evil with “The Pope's Exorcist.”

And bookstores around the Vatican had stocked their shelves April 11 with Fabio Marchese Ragona’s “Esorcisti contro Satana: Faccia a Faccia col Demonio” (“Exorcists against Satan: Face to Face with the Devil”), which included a brief interview with Pope Francis and pages of testimonies from exorcists and people deemed to have been possessed.

Unlike a few of his modern-day predecessors, Pope Francis has never performed any exorcisms, preferring to refer people to more experienced priest-exorcists, he told Mr. Ragona.

No one is safe from the devil, who “tries to attack everyone,” especially those who hold great responsibility in the Church or society, the pope said. “Even Jesus experienced temptation by the devil.”

The book also includes a previously unpublished commentary by the late Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, a longtime and wellknown exorcist for the Diocese of Rome who performed tens of thousands of exorcisms until his death in 2016 at the age of 91.

“I have never been afraid,” he told Mr. Ragona in 2015. “I have been just a simple instrument in the hands of God, who is the only one capable of liberating (people) from the devil.”

Even though many people, even cardinals, bishops, and priests, have shown skepticism or indifference to this ministry, he said, Jesus gave him the strength to keep going and “battle the evil one every day.”

Perhaps it was because of the priest’s well-known spiritual strength that producers of “The Pope’s Exorcist” chose Oscarwinning “Gladiator” actor Russell Crowe to play Father Amorth.

However, the film, inspired by the two memoirs written by the Italian priest, is a work of fiction, presenting “a young boy’s terrifying possession” and “a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden,” according to media-kit information by Sony Pictures

Entertainment.

It’s a mix of horror and a touch of humor with “little bits of ‘Da Vinci Code,’ even little bits of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’” Mr.

Crowe said in one online interview on April 6.

That, unfortunately, does not win points with actual exorcists.

The International Association of Exorcists, headquartered in Rome and co-founded by Father Amorth, said, “a viewing of the film’s trailer confirms, as if that were needed, not only its nature as a splatter film a genuine subgenre of horror films, but also its unreliability on such a sensitive and relevant subject.”

“As in other films, everything is exaggerated,” the association said in a March 7 communique, after the trailer was released.

Such a depiction “distorts and

falsifies what is really lived and experienced” by Catholic exorcists and “is insulting in regard to the state of suffering experienced by those who are victims of extraordinary action by the devil,” it said.

“The end result is to instill the belief that exorcism is an abnormal, monstrous, and fearful phenomenon, whose only protagonist is the devil, whose violent reactions are faced with great difficulty; this is the exact opposite of what occurs with exorcisms celebrated in the Catholic Church,” it said

The association’s president, Father Francesco Bamonte, a member of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has said

that an exorcism is a “fundamental aspect of the Church’s pastoral ministry” as it continues Jesus’ earthly ministry of driving out demons and “shattering Satan’s tyranny over humanity.”

Many films have shown an exorcist as a priest who is “nervous, tense, and afraid” when in reality he is “serene, calm, and sure” of Christ’s power to free human beings from evil, he said in a 2017 talk published on the association’s website Feb. 24.

“Another misleading aspect of these films is the presentation of the struggle between good and evil” in a way that suggests it is a fight between “a god of evil fighting against a god of good,” he said.

Sacred Scripture has revealed that “demons are angels created good by God but fallen and become evil forever by their own free choice,” he said. “Demons are infinitely inferior beings to God, and however active they are in the world with the aim of doing great harm, they cannot prevent God’s plan and His work of salvation fulfilled in Christ.”

Also misleading, he said, is “the destructive fury of the demon,” which “does not always occur in exorcisms or, at any rate, not with the virulence depicted in the movies.”

Father Bamonte said the priestexorcist is often depicted in films as if he were an independent or lonely “freelancer,” a doctor who makes house calls, dropping in “without establishing a human relationship, much less a spiritual one.”

Instead, the Catholic Church requires the priest to have permission and support from his bishop to perform the rite of exorcism; he is required to assess the situation carefully, to talk with family members and others, and to make sure it is really a case of demonic possession, which is very rare, he said

The exorcist must also help prepare and guide the person who is suffering to “acquire the inner dispositions necessary to achieve deliverance,” he added.

Father Bamonte said that “unlike in the movies, we affirm the certainty that good prevails over evil, truth over lies, love over hate, humility over pride, and this is precisely the truth made concretely visible during exorcisms.”

If Catholics do not strengthen their own faith formation or are ill-prepared in discerning fact from fiction and lies, he said, “what might initially have been a good service to the Church” in representing the ministry of exorcism on film, “becomes Satan’s usual subtle attack on the Catholic Church.” ■

Boston ‘Satancon’ prompts Catholics to respond Cardinal O'Malley counsels a balanced reaction focused on prayer and adoration

By Gina Christian OSV News

Prayer, sacramental grace, and the cultivation of virtue were Catholics’ most effective responses to a recent satanist convention in Boston—and the event itself was an opportune moment for Catholics to give witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ, pastoral experts told OSV News.

The Satanic Temple (TST), based in Salem, Mass., hosted SatanCon 2023 April 28-30 at the Marriott Copley Place in downtown Boston. With a theme of “Hexennacht (Witches’ Night) in Boston,” the TST-organized conference included lectures, panel discussions, and entertainment.

Among the scheduled presentations at the event, which organizers claimed was sold out, were “Hellbillies: Visible Satanism in Rural America,” “Deconstructing Your Religious Upbringing,” “Sins

of the Flesh: Satanism and SelfPleasure,” “Reclaiming the Trans

Body: A/theistic Strategies for Self-Determination and Empowerment,” and “Re-imagining Lilith as an Archetype for Reproductive Justice.”

TST’s website listed the event as dedicated — in a negative way — to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu “for her unconstitutional efforts to keep TST out of Boston’s public spaces.”

The agenda also included a “Sober Mass” on Sunday, April 30.

In an e-mailed response to OSV News, TST described the event as “a somber and empowering ceremony that honors all those who endured mistreatment, have been harmed, or lost due to pseudoscience and superstition in the fields of addiction and recovery.”

TST added that “there are no Catholic elements in the ceremony or SatanCon,” as TST “has its own Satancon continued on page A23

The exorcist The late Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, a longtime exorcist for the Diocese of Rome who died in 2016, poses in a 2016 photo. He was the subject of a 2017 American documentary film directed by William Friedkin titled, "The Devil and Father Amorth."

"I have never been afraid. I have been just a simple instrument in the hands of God, who is the only one capable of liberating (people) from the devil."

— Father Gabriele Amorth now-deceased

exorcist for the Catholic Church

An instrument of God The late Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, a longtime exorcist for the Diocese of Rome who died in 2016, was the subject of a 2017 American documentary film directed by William Friedkin titled, "The Devil and Father Amorth." Father Amorth is pictured here performing an exorcism on Christina in the documentary.

Be our protection A statue of St. Michael the Archangel is pictured in St. Michael's Church in New York. Prayer, sacramental grace, and the cultivation of virtue are Catholics' best response to a satanic conference that took place April 28-30 in Boston, pastoral experts say.

“It also brought out examples from our own history on how to face these trials with a spirit of Jesus Christ. What we find in the example of Father Ryan is a timeless witness to the greater love and higher call that we’ve received in Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us, to set an example,” he said.

Father Carter also mentioned that providence brought “talented storytellers to bring this story to life; they came from the film industry in Hollywood, and they’ve been able to interpret this wonderful example in such a beautiful and captivating way.”

The husband-and-wife-duo of Marc Aramian and Veronica DiPippo created the docudrama. Ms. DiPippo was the director and writer of the film, while Mr. Aramian was the producer. The couple, who moved to Chattanooga more than a year and a half ago, are parishioners at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

“I was certainly captivated by the subject matter, and I was very excited about working on it. I was particularly excited about the fact that this is somebody who is being considered for sainthood,” Ms. DiPippo said.

She noted that it was “very special” for her as a Catholic to participate in the process of depicting Father Ryan’s story, “because I think that cinema has a great power to engage people emotionally, and I’m hoping that this is going to help his cause by bringing the story to life.”

Mr. Aramian shared the story of how the project began, when he and his wife took Father Carter out to lunch.

“We said we know how to make movies, can we help with anything, maybe a little promotion for one of his events or something like that. And he said, ‘I have been praying, starting yesterday, Lord help us, how are we going to make a movie about Father Ryan?’ He said, ‘This is the hand of God.’ And so that’s how it all started,” Mr. Aramian said.

The low-budget production succeeded with the help of volunteers.

“We volunteered our time and donated our time,” Ms. DiPippo said. “We also had just two paid positions; one of them was we hired a cinematographer for one day to do the interior shoots, and then we had a graphic artist do some work at the opening of the film.”

“We knew we had to get a volunteer cast, so we started basically watching people on our way back from Communion,” she continued. “So, we were sitting there, we were kneeling in front, and after Communion we were looking at people, and my husband came across Jack Pettigrew one day.”

“So, I said, ‘Hey, we’re making a movie about Father Ryan; you kind of look like him. Would you help us? ” Mr. Aramian said.

Mr. Pettigrew, who also is a parishioner at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, said yes to Mr. Aramian’s request to play the lead role.

“When I really think back to it, I feel like yes, maybe I did possibly feel a calling (to play the role). I didn’t use to be as close to God as I am now, and I guess it’s more of a recent thing in my life, but I’ve always been Catholic. Marc asked me to play the part, and I was thrilled,” Mr. Pettigrew said.

“I was kind of excited to be on the screen at first, but I knew that you can’t really play a priest without trying to get close to God, so I spent a lot of time just in prayer to Father Ryan and just to God, basically asking for guidance for this role,” he continued. “I get pretty nerv -

Divine Mercy continued from page A11

to him for helping them organize their community into a parish.

“This is one of the great moments of pride in my life, establishing this parish, Divine Mercy. Then, we have this feast day, which is so dear to the Church, to St. John Paul, who loved the Vietnamese people,” Bishop Stika said. “So, I just want to say how proud I am of all of you. God bless you.”

Bishop Stika then hinted at officially installing Father Nguyen as the Church of Divine Mercy pastor.

“What a beautiful celebration. We have young people and not-soyoung people. We have families, the family unit. It’s just beautiful. That’s why it was a great thing to start this parish,” Bishop Stika said.

Later this year, Church of Divine Mercy will celebrate its 10th anniversary as a parish.

Bishop Stika noted that Divine Mercy hosted 400 people at Easter Mass, which illustrates the parish’s expansion.

At the parish celebration, he was asked why he chose Divine Mercy as the parish name.

“I chose Divine Mercy because in this world in which we live

ous talking to people, and being on screen it was nice not to have to say any lines, but I just kept praying the whole time, and I felt like God was there with me.”

Following the viewing of the film, Father Carter thanked the many individuals involved in the making of the film.

“If you are like me, you cannot be unmoved by this powerful example masterfully depicted for us in film,” he said. “Providence allowed us to produce this film with few resources, but lots of hopes and prayers.”

A question-and-answer session allowed Mr. Aramian and Ms. DiPippo the opportunity to speak to the premiere audience and share their story.

“I had a very long background in theater, and then I went into film and moved to Los Angeles, which is where I met Marc,” Ms. DiPippo shared. “We were working in the Hollywood film industry, which is not exactly friendly to Christians. After a while we just got tired of it and we moved to the East Coast, and we were ultimately looking for a place we

we all depend on mercy. Without mercy, where would we be? Mercy involves compassion and forgiveness. In Chattanooga, when we get that Vietnamese Catholic parish going, they’ve chosen St. Faustina. Again, a connection to mercy, which is so important. We should be merciful as God is merciful to us,” Bishop Stika said.

Deacon Hieu Vinh, who serves at Church of Divine Mercy, is excited to see the parish thriving.

“We can see that it is growing. More people are coming. Right now, at this point, our registration is about 150 families. Each family is between two and five people, so we are averaging about 500 people for weekly Mass. Many of them have not registered. If they all come together, we are looking at between 600 and 700 people,” Deacon Vinh said.

Deacon Vinh, who served as a deacon at Immaculate Conception Church in Knoxville for 13 years before joining Church of Divine Mercy, has been in his new assignment since 2020.

Bishop Stika has announced that he will formally install Father Nguyen as pastor of Divine Mercy Parish during Mass on Sunday, June 11. ■

Left:

by Crunch Entertainment.

wanted to settle down, and we just fell in love with Chattanooga.”

Ms. DiPippo said the film was also an opportunity to “talk about the beauty of the priesthood.”

“I think Father (Carter) did a brilliant job in doing that and to depict that. Hopefully it would inspire people, especially in this time when there is a lot of anti-Catholic sentiment, like back in the South in the old days. So, if there’s anybody in your family that’s kind of on the fence about the Catholic Church, my hope as a filmmaker is that this would be shared with them as a beautiful testament of the faith.”

The couple also shared that the film is currently on the film-festival circuit and has been selected for viewing at two Christian film festivals. “Father Ryan: A Higher Call” has two award nominations at the International Christian Film Festival, including nominations for best documentary and best director.

The film also has been accepted for international broadcast on EWTN.

“Its air day is on the anniversary of Father Ryan’s passing; it’s scheduled to air on Sept. 28,” Ms. DiPippo said.

On May 6, a second viewing of the film was featured at Knoxville Catholic High School in the St. Gregory the Great Auditorium. Mr. Pettigrew was present to speak to attendees about his role.

To request a viewing of the film at a school or parish, contact Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano at deacongaspar@me.com

For more information about Father Patrick Ryan and his cause for sainthood, visit frpatrickryan.com ■

A higher call Above: Veronica DiPippo and Marc Aramian, who wrote, directed, and produced the film "Father Ryan: A Higher Call," answer questions from the audience during the film's premiere at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga on April 15.

The poster for the docudrama on Father Ryan shows actor Jack Pettigrew, a parishioner at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, who portrayed Father Patrick Ryan in the film "Father Ryan: A Higher Call." The film is being distributed

COURTESY OF CRUNCH ENTERTAINMENT

GABRIELLE NOLAN

cology, respiratory care, trauma, and nursing.

During the trauma course on March 30, Andrew lined up a Lifestar helicopter to land on the Knoxville Catholic football practice field, where students were immersed in a simulated trauma response to learn emergency-medicine skills.

Andrew’s interest in a medical career goes way back, and he sees the bigger picture with his opportunities to come. He plans to major in business and political science in college while pursuing a medical degree.

“Since I was 5, I have always had a passion for the medical field, with a particular interest in emergency medicine,” he said.

“As I’ve grown older, the dream has evolved to include pursuing a business/poli-sci pre-med degree, which will allow me to focus not only on practicing medicine but also on enacting congressional reforms focused on health care. I believe that this dual approach will enable me to enact change. By combining my knowledge of the health-care industry with business acumen, I can be a voice for change and ensure that patients receive the best possible care. Additionally, I hope to use my platform to advocate for congressional reforms that address some of the systemic issues facing the healthcare industry today. In short, my childhood dream of becoming an emergency-medicine physician has expanded into a multifaceted career path that includes both practicing medicine and advocacy.”

Irish Medicine gives students a chance to meet those in the healthcare profession.

“One of the club’s offerings is the chance to interact with health-care professionals during lunch, where students can learn about their experiences and career paths,” Andrew said. “Another benefit is the opportunity to partner up with professionals for mentorship and guidance. In addition, students can participate in job shadowing, where they can ob -

serve health-care professionals in their workplace and gain insight into different specialties.”

On April 28, students lunched with a cardiovascular intensivecare unit nurse, “who shared his personal journey into the medical field and discussed nursing as a profession,” Andrew said.

The KCHS junior is pleased with the popularity of Irish Medicine.

“When starting out, I figured there would be a few students interested, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the overwhelming interest among students for the Irish Medicine club,” Andrew said. “The response was far beyond my expectations, which has made fundraising much more efficient and easier for the club. The KCHS community has warmly welcomed the club, and it has become an integral part of the community. It’s been heartening to witness the student body’s active involvement and eagerness to explore the health-care field through the club’s various offerings.”

Andrew detailed the Health Science Academy’s advantages.

“The Health Science Academy offered by the Advanced Medical Pathway is an after-school class designed for students who are passionate about pursuing a career in medicine,” he said. “The course covers the fundamentals of medicine and provides a comprehensive understanding of the various body systems, their treatments, and common diagnoses. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to work as a patient-care tech, nursing assistant, or ER tech/medical tech. Additionally, students will be licensed as Basic Life Support (BLS) Providers with the American Heart Association.

“One of the highlights of the class is the hands-on patient-care experience. Using high-fidelity patient simulators that mimic human functions, students can apply what they have learned in a real-world setting. During clinic days, students are challenged to diagnose and treat mock patients played by fellow students or man -

nequins. The course also covers topics such as ALS (advanced life support), pharmacology, and other practical skills,” Andrew said.

“As the creator of this class, I am an optometric tech and an American Heart Association Basic Life Support, CPR, and First Aid instructor. I am also an Advanced Life Support Respiratory, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Sedation, Trauma Aid, and Tennessee Naloxone provider. Many students were curious about how and when I was able to obtain these certifications, as many require CPR and BLS as prerequisites. Using the knowledge I obtained from those classes along with the work experience I had/ have, I was able to create this class to help ease one of the hurdles for students and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the field of medicine,” he added.

Having the Lifestar helicopter land at the school “was a valuable opportunity for students to witness an integral part of the healthcare system,” Andrew said.

“I believe they learned a great deal from the experience, and many were inspired to possibly pursue careers in flight medicine,” he said. “The trauma simulation, in which a group of AMP students participated, I felt went excellently. The simulation aimed to replicate an out-of-hospital emergency response, and the students gained insights into the critical nature of emergency medicine. Overall, I was very pleased with how the experience went, and I believe it was a fun but educational experience for the program.”

Andrew is grateful to Knoxville Catholic for its backing of the club he founded.

“As a junior, I have been incredibly grateful for the support that my school has provided me in starting and running my club, as well as my work in the medical field. The administration and teachers were amazing, offering their guidance and support in any areas they could,” he said.

Specifically, Andrew thanked

KCHS science department chair Tammy Walden, director of marketing and communications Pam Rhoades, academic dean Jane Walker, dean of students Ore Pumariega, English teacher Julia Weech, and school president Dickie Sompayrac for their help.

“I would like to thank all the teachers and administration at Catholic,” Andrew said. “Mrs. Walden has been by my side since day one, offering to help and mentor wherever needed. Ms. Weech for spending the time after school to help with the class. Mrs. Rhoades has gone above and beyond to set up media appearances and so many other items. Mrs. Walker has always been so kind to work with me to organize the field trips/ events for the club such as when we went to LMU or the Lifestar visit. Mr. Puma has always been open to new fundraising ideas and supporting me with teaching this new class. Finally, president Sompayrac for always having my back and allowing this club to be a part of the KCHS community.”

Andrew also saluted parents John and Heather Dreiser.

“Obviously, my parents have always been such a backbone helping in any way they could, including funding some of the early projects,” he said. “They have always been my biggest fans and advocates!”

Mrs. Walker is a big fan of Andrew.

“Andrew first approached administration in the fall about the possibility of creating this club for students interested in pursuing careers in the medical profession,” she said.

“He has followed through with surprising maturity and invigorating enthusiasm. He organizes and teaches classes that result in various certifications for basic first aid and life support. Students in the classes seem eager to respect his directives. Andrew brings a unique positive energy and sense of authority to the table. His keenness for all things medical permeates his work here. We are proud of Andrew and his true servant’s heart,” Mrs. Walker added. ■

DR. KELLY KEARSE (4)

Med students continued from page A6

PAM RHOADES (2)

3rd-grader launches ‘Kid's Bible in a Year with Teddy’ podcast

By Gabriella Patti OSV News

When he grows up, third grader Teddy Howell, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Newport, Mich., wants to be a podcaster and a priest. At 9 years old, he already has achieved one of those goals with the recent launch of his podcast: “ Kid ’ s Bible in a Year with Teddy. ”

In each 10-minute episode, released on Sundays and Wednesdays, Teddy leads his listeners in prayer and through a series of Bible verses. Teddy has been given permission by Ascension Press to use the “ Catholic Bible Chronicles ” as his reference.

Subscribers can listen to Teddy ’ s podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast hosting platforms.

If the youngster ’ s podcast sounds familiar, that s because it s inspired by Father Mike Schmitz ’ s chart-topping podcast, “ The Bible in

Satancon continued from page A20

affi rmative values and is not anti-Christian.”

Nonetheless, the conference has drawn concern and outrage from a number of Catholics. Terrence Donilon, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Boston, told OSV News that Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley counseled “a response balanced and focused on prayer.”

“We are fi nalizing a list of places throughout our whole archdiocese where we will gather in adoration and prayer,” Mr. Donilon said in an e-mailed statement just before the TST event. “All of our shrines have agreed to be a part of this and most of our monasteries. Our men and women religious will be invited to more intense prayer during that weekend.”

In addition, “many of our parishes will be opening up during the three days to prayer for adoration and Masses with this intention,” Mr. Donilon noted. “Parishes are being offered prayer cards. The Prayer of St. Michael is encouraged to be said during these times.”

Regular Mass attendance, frequent reception of the sacraments of Eucharist and reconciliation, prayer, and the use of sacramentals—such as holy water and religious medals—all form an effective strategy in “keeping the Evil One at bay,” Dominican Father Basil Cole, professor of moral, spiritual, and dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., said.

Podcasting priest-to-be Teddy Howell, who wants to be a podcaster and a priest, is inspired by Father Mike Schmitz's popular podcast, "The Bible in a Year." Teddy is a third-grader at St. Charles Borromeo Academy in Newport, Mich.

a Year (with Father Mike Schmitz). ” The priest, of the Diocese of Duluth, Minn., created the Bible podcast with Scripture scholar Jeff Cavins with the backing of Ascension. Mr. Cavins is the author of the hugely popular “ Great Ad-

“This isn’t rocket science. We’ve known how to handle this for 2,000 years,” said Father Cole, who also stressed the need for Catholics “to grow in grace and in virtue” in order to defeat evil.

Engaging in satanic worship is generally the result of a “slow and sneaky process” in an adherent’s life, he said.

“It’s caused in part by superstition, and it also starts with people wanting to commit very serious sins, like abortion, murder, and even pornography,” Father Cole said. “That allows the devil to infl uence one a little more.”

TST, which claims to “religiously object” to abortion restrictions, has created the “Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic” as well as a “religious ritual” for both chemical and surgical abortions. Named for the mother of the Supreme Court justice, the clinic claims to provide “religious medication abortion care” by mail to women in New Mexico.

While TST’s website lists seven fundamental tenets promoting “compassion,” “justice,” and “scientifi c understanding,” packaging satanism as a kind of intellectual sophistication is “a cover,” Father Cole said.

“The idea is always to get some phenomenon going in your favor—revenge, a better job,” he said. “There are a lot of poor souls looking for help, and all of a sudden, the devil comes along in some mysterious way.”

venture Bible Study Program ” and “ The Bible Timeline Learning System. ”

Although Teddy, the oldest of six children, wanted to listen to Father Schmitz ’ s podcast along with his parents, the series contains some material that isn ’ t suitable for young children, said Teddy ’ s mother, Steffi Howell.

Father Mike Schmitz gets a PG-13 rating, and Teddy was getting frustrated when we turn off Father Mike, ” Mrs. Howell said. “ He fi rst had the idea about two years ago to make his own (podcast), and it fi nally came to fruition. ”

Teddy writes his own scripts, including an intro, prayer, Bible verses he wants to highlight and a conclusion to each episode. His parents help him type it out, and he records each episode using a microphone hooked up to his father ’ s computer or his mother ’ s cellphone.

Teddy hopes to continue making podcasts, eventually becoming a podcaster priest like Father Schmitz. ■

Father Vincent Lampert, exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, told OSV News there are “two different types of satanism.”

“There are those who truly get involved in the worship of Satan, and then others who use that term, but for them, the main goal is to simply remove God from society and replace him with our own intellectual capacity,” he said, adding that TST’s Boston conference likely falls into the latter category.

Yet whether invoked as a spiritual force or as a metaphor for atheism, “the devil is an opportunist,” Father Lampert cautioned. “Directly or indirectly, he will use (any) opportunity to unravel people’s lives and society. The devil is all about brokenness, division, bitterness, resentment, and anger.”

The TST conference also can serve as a moment for Catholics to deepen their awareness of Jesus Christ’s decisive triumph over evil, and how united with Jesus the Church can “advance the kingdom of God,” explained Father Lampert.

“When Jesus was being crucifi ed, the devil believed it was his moment of victory, but it was actually the moment of his defeat,” Father Lampert continued. “We don’t have to do extraordinary things to defeat the devil. When we practice the ordinary things of our faith—Mass, reading the Bible, the sacraments—the devil is already on the run.” ■

The Assurance of Peace, Quiet Reflection, & Prayer The Columbarium