Sept. 5, 2021, ET Catholic, A section by Diocese of Knoxville

September 5

| 2021

VOL 31 NO 1

He dwells among us ......................... A3 Columns ..........................................B2-3 Parish news ....................................... B4 Diocesan calendar ............................ B5 Catholic schools .......................... B7,10 La Cosecha ............................Section C

IN THIS ISSUE ORANGE WHITE, VERY B10 BIG B1 BLACK, A6 BISHOP'S Second KCHS basketball READ ALL OVER SPECIAL DAY Special needs kids, families to be feted

The East Tennessee Catholic turns 30

player will be joining Tennessee Volunteers

Chosen for the order of the priesthood Fr. Matthew Donahue becomes the 56th priest ordained for the Diocese of Knoxville By Dan McWilliams

DAN MCWILLIAMS

Joined in Christ Bishop Richard F. Stika joins his hands with those of Matthew Donahue during his ordination to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Aug. 7. Father Donahue becomes the 23rd priest that Bishop Stika has ordained. Also shown are from left, Deacon Sean Smith, Deacon Hicks Armor, and Deacon Fredy Vargas. At the far left is Father Peter Iorio, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa.

o hear Lydia Donahue tell it, it’s no wonder her son Matthew became a priest, with all of the Catholic vocation examples he has had in his life. “First is Father David Mary Engo, who is his uncle, my brother. He’s a Franciscan. That was [an influence] all his life,” she said. “Then Father James McCartney on Long Island. He was our homeschooling spiritual director. He would have Mass each week for the kids, confessions with them, and sacraments with them. “Then when we moved here to Knoxville, it was Father David Carter, Father John Dowling, and Monsignor [Pat] Garrity, who was huge in his life in making him feel part of the fraternity when he wasn’t even in seminary. [Diocesan chancellor] Deacon Sean Smith has known Matthew since we moved to the diocese, so he used to go talk with Deacon Sean. When the bishop came, we went to the bishop’s installation Mass, and we have a picture with Bishop [Richard F.] Stika and Matthew and the family. Ordination continued on page A7

Bishop Stika dedicates St. Mary-Gatlinburg’s new parish life center By Dan McWilliams

ishop Richard F. Stika dedicated the new parish life center at St. Mary Church in Gatlinburg on Aug. 22, blessing a building that will give the growing parish space for CCD classes, offices, and more. The dedication followed the 11 a.m. Mass, during which Bishop Stika addressed a church full of parishioners and tourists. “This is a very historic moment for this parish of St. Mary’s in Gatlinburg,” he said. “It’s a small parish, but it welcomes tourists probably from around the world. Today we’re going to dedicate their new parish center, which is great—they need it because of the growth of this parish, especially in CCD and functions. . . . This is a very special moment.” The new parish life center is a 3,200-square-foot single-story building that cost about $1 million. The bishop also blessed the St. Mary grotto, which was moved when the parish life center was built to a new location at the right-front of the property, and a rosary garden by the grotto. St. Mary pastor Father Antony Punnackal, CMI, concelebrated the Mass, as did Father David Boettner, vicar general and rector of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Father Moisés Moreno, associate pastor of St. Mary and of Holy Cross in Pigeon Forge and leader of the His-

panic communities at those parishes. Diocesan chancellor Deacon Sean Smith assisted at the Mass and dedication of the parish life center. Bishop Stika began his homily by referring to the story of the wedding at Cana, where Mary told the wedding workers to ‘do as He tells you,’ referring to her son, Jesus. “For many decades now, this parish of St. Mary’s in Gatlinburg has been doing just that,” the bishop said. He said the Diocese of Knoxville is “growing at a wonderful pace,

DAN MCWILLIAMS (2)

Recently completed project fulfills 5-year plan

Celebrating the life of a parish Bishop Richard F. Stika cuts the ribbon to dedicate and open the new parish life center at St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg on Aug. 22. but with many of our parishes, the churches were small because of the small Catholic population. This is a

smaller church, but, you know, it’s in the right location. Even though we’re St. Mary continued on page A13

Double blessing Bishop Stika blesses the rosary garden and also the grotto on the grounds of St. Mary Church in Gatlinburg. St. Mary pastor Father Antony Punnackal, CMI, holds the prayer book. Also taking part are, from left, Father David Boettner, Joe Barthol, and Father Moisés Moreno.

Archbishop Kurtz submits resignation to Pope Francis By WDRB.com and staff reports

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/TYLER ORSBURN

rchbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville submitted his resignation to Pope Francis on Aug. 18, which is standard in the Catholic Church when a bishop turns 75. Archbishop Kurtz turned 75 on Aug. 18, and Cecelia Price, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Louisville, said the resignation is protocol in the Code of Canon Law within the Roman Catholic Church, Louisville news outlet WDRB.com reported. “That’s actually part of the deal when you become a bishop,” Archbishop Kurtz told reporter Dakota Sherek of WDRB.com. “You know that when you reach 75, as long as your health allows you to continue to serve, that you would submit it.” In the past, bishops had to retire at 75, but Pope Francis changed that rule in 2018. Now, bishops tender a resignation, but the pope can decide whether it is accepted. Or, as Archbishop Kurtz put it, decide when is the best time to act on it, which he said is usually within a year.

Religious freedom champion In this 2018 file photo, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., then chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, speaks during a religious freedom event at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. “A diocesan bishop ... is requested to present his resignation from office to the Supreme Pontiff, who will make provisions after he has examined all of the circumstances,” Ms. Price said in a statement. Archbishop Kurtz will retain the

Sr. Regina

title of archbishop even after leaving the archdiocese, according to Ms. Price. It is customary for an archbishop to stay “until a successor is appointed by the Holy Father,” she said. Any possible replacement ap-

pointed by Pope Francis could take months. After a replacement is appointed, Archbishop Kurtz plans to continue serving as an archbishop emeritus. He also will work closely with his replacement to ensure a smooth transition. “I want to be as much of service to the next archbishop as Archbishop Kelly was to me 14 years ago. And he was a good model,” Archbishop Kurtz said. “So I had a good model to emulate, and I hope to be able to do that also.” Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, OP, served as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Louisville from 1982 until his retirement in 2007. He died in December 2011 at the age of 80. The Archdiocese of Louisville province includes the dioceses of Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Owensboro, Ky., Lexington, Ky., and Covington, Ky. Archbishop Kurtz served as the second bishop of Knoxville from 1999-2007 before being elevated to archbishop. He was succeeded in East Tennessee by Bishop Richard F. Stika. Archbishop Kurtz continued on page A15

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

T Did you know you can receive weekly cartoons and short reflections and news from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood? Visit their website, nuns for priests.org, and sign up for the FIAT newsletter. You also can learn about praying for priests and adopting them.

Prayer Intentions “We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people who are resolutely committed to this.” –– Pope Francis ”Please pray for our diocese as we begin our 34th year building the Catholic Church in East Tennessee. Please pray for all of those who work for our Church: priests, deacons, religious men and women, teachers, ministry leaders, parish and diocesan staff, and everyone whose tireless efforts help transform the lives of so many. May God continue to provide the strength that we all need to live the Gospel as Jesus intended.” –– Bishop Stika

DIOCESE PROCEDURE

FOR

KNOXVILLE

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 first, then to the bishop's office 865.584.3307, or the diocesan victims' assistance coordinator, Marla Lenihan, 865.482.1388.

he Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former safeenvironment program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”). 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 proactive 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. Education is a key element of the Safe Environment Program.

KnoxDiocese

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 criminalbackground check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the diocese. 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. The CMG Connect platform contains all three elements of the

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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. ■

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

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NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE PUBLISHER

EDITOR

Bishop Richard F. Stika Bill Brewer COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

bbrewer@dioknox.org ASSISTANT EDITOR

Jim Wogan Dan McWilliams

jwogan@dioknox.org THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC (USPS 007211) is published bi-monthly by The Diocese of Knoxville, 805 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919-7551. Periodicals-class postage paid at Knoxville, TN. Printed by the Knoxville News Sentinel. THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC is mailed to all registered Catholic families in East Tennessee. Subscription rate for others is $15 per year in the United States. Make checks payable to The Diocese of Knoxville. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC, 805 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919-7551.

A2 n SEPTEMBER 5, 2021

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DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCER

dan@dioknox.org

MULTIMEDIA REPORTER

Emily Booker Gabrielle Nolan

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TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C

He dwells among us

by Bishop Richard F. Stika

Our greatest dignity Great is the dignity of our share in the priesthood of Christ and in its different ways of participating in it Christ takes what we offer, as poor and unworthy as it is in the sight of God, and sprinkles His Precious Blood upon it and joins it to His perfect sacrifice to the Father. Now, we can rejoice as the French priest, Father Raoul Plus, SJ (1882-1958), beautifully expresses in exercising our baptismal priesthood in the Mass:

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own…” — 1 Peter 2:9

reat is our dignity. It is one of my greatest blessings as a bishop and successor to the Apostles to ordain men called by God to the priesthood—23 to date with Father Matthew Donahue’s ordination last month. But within the rite of ordination of priests we have a reminder that emphasizes the words of St. Peter quoted above that “God has made his entire holy people a royal priesthood in Christ.” What this means, then, is that it should be the greatest blessing of the lay faithful to exercise their baptismal priesthood as members of Christ’s Body, most especially in the offering they make of themselves through the anointed hands and action of the priest in the holy sacrifice of every Mass. Such is the great dignity of God’s priestly people and that of our ordained priests who in their “office of sanctifying” help us to become more and more “eucharistic” in living our lifelong Mass. Baptismal dignity. Too many Catholics, sadly, are completely unaware of an essential truth of their baptismal dignity that is crucial if one is to truly understand the Mass and “actively participate” in it. When you were baptized and anointed with holy chrism, you received the triple crown of our share in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king, united to Him who is “a priest forever,” who came into the world “to testify to the truth,” and is the “King of kings” forever (Hebrews 7:17, John 18:37, and 1 Timothy 6:15). Not only does this help us to better understand the truth about Christ, it also helps us to know our true identity in Him and how we are to live our lives as His “co-workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Prophet and king. While we will focus our attention here upon the baptismal priesthood, we should also bear in mind the prophetic and kingly share we have in Christ as well. Like that said of John the Baptist at his birth, we, too, must be “the prophet of the Most High” and “go before the Lord to prepare His way” into the hearts and lives of others by being Christ’s voice and heart of love and mercy (Luke 1:76). And we must allow Christ an ever-greater reign in our hearts if we are to be an ever-greater bearer of His peace to others and in the world about us (Revelation 5:10). Baptismal vs. ministerial priesthood. We must be careful in reflecting upon the “common” priesthood of the baptized to understand the essential and vital difference between it and the “ministerial” priesthood. For though there is but one priesthood of Christ that we all share in, there are different degrees of participating in it. Baptism enables the laity to participate in the sacred liturgy as members of Christ’s Mys-

Christ, the High Priest, we as subordinate priests; Christ, the Chief Victim, we as co-victims! But, Christ and we—total Priest, and total Victim!

tical Body—the Church, His bride. But through the sacrament of holy orders, the priest is configured to Christ, who is the head and Bridegroom of the Church and is vested with the power to be His real and living image in the sacraments He offers. This is why the Church speaks of the ordained priest as an alter Christus — “another Christ.” Living for the Eucharist. As the ordained priest lives for the Eucharist and exercises his priesthood most supremely in celebrating the Mass, so, too, must the faithful in the exercise of their baptismal priesthood. A priest is one who offers sacrifice. Even though Christ is our “great High Priest” (Hebrews 4:14) and the principal priest of every Mass, He does not want to exercise His priesthood without us. Since our baptism unites us to Christ and to His sacrifice, the action of Christ in the liturgy is an action of the whole Christ—Head and Body! As such, Christ wants us to offer ourselves in the Mass, to be not only His co-offerers but also co-victims, “through Him, with Him, and in Him.” Intention of our sacrifice. Though Christ’s bloody sacrifice upon the cross was offered once in time, His sacrifice is eternally offered to the Father in the heavenly liturgy of which our earthly Mass is a participation. His sacrifice is a sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, atonement for sin, and petition—the four ends or purposes of the Mass. We should have the same intention, not only in participating in the Mass, but also in the Mass we live. And if you forget what the four ends are, you’ll find them expressed beautifully in the Gloria of the Mass. Spiritual sacrifices. St. Peter reminds us that we are to “be built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:15). And what are these “spiritual sacrifices” but the offering we should make of our entire life, body, and soul, with all its joys and sorrows, our gifts and weaknesses, our crosses and sufferings, our families and vocation, our work and worries, our rest and our restlessness, our loneliness, prayers, and sacrifices—everything. Consider

this particular prayer over the offerings during Mass: O Lord, we bring to your altar these offerings of our service; be pleased to receive them, we pray, and transform them into the sacrament of our redemption through Christ Our Lord (Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time). Incensing the gifts. This is why during the Mass when incense is used, the faithful also are incensed along with the gifts and the altar. For each of us is a holy temple, and our heart is a spiritual altar that is mystically united with the altar of the Mass in the offering we make of ourselves. This is why the priest says, “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” And in responding, we express the purpose of our offering, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church.” The oblation of the people. During the ordination of a priest, after the laying on of hands by the bishop and the prayer of ordination, the hands of the newly vested priest are anointed with holy chrism (which is also used for baptism and confirmation) and the bishop prays, asking Christ to “guard and preserve” the priest that he “may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God.” The gifts of bread and wine are then processed up and presented to the bishop who then places them in the hands of the newly ordained priest kneeling before him saying: “Receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.” These words ought to be especially embraced in the hearts of the faithful, for it is the ordained priest of every Mass who receives your oblation and calls upon you to “Lift up your hearts!” Co-offerers and co-victims. With our gifts upon the altar, something incredible happens during the consecration when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them.

Confession as a priestly act. In the offering we bring to the altar, we should remember that we are all sinners and express King David’s desire to be reconciled with God: “My sacrifice, a contrite spirit, a humble, contrite heart you will not spurn” (Psalm 51:19). While we associate the sacrament of reconciliation with the ordained priest through whom Christ pronounces the words, “I absolve you from your sins…,” there is another perspective we should have of this much neglected sacrament. As a priest is one who offers sacrifice in atonement for sin, we also exercise our baptismal priesthood by going to confession, where the Blood of Christ shed for love of us cleanses us of our sin (cf. Hebrews 9:13). Sacrifice and sacrament. Too many Catholics think of the Mass only in respect to receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. But if we are invited to receive Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar in Holy Communion, it is because we have first been invited to participate in His sacrificial offering to the Father. Regarding this important truth of the Mass, Brother Bernardo Vasconcelos, a Portuguese Benedictine monk who died in 1932 at the age of 29, wrote the following: “Those who live the sacrament of the Eucharist should also live the sacrifice, which is its principle and source…. And if they do not live the sacrifice of the Eucharist, they easily forget the active part which they should take in the holy Mass, as co-offerers and co-victims. This is such an enormous loss to their spiritual life that it is hardly surprising if they lack that special veneration and affection which they ought to have for the holy sacrifice.” Conclusion. The counsel of Brother Bernardo should encourage us “to live the blessed Eucharist” by living “the sacrifice and the sacrament in its entirety,” and in doing so, to become the saints all of us are called to be. May it be your greatest desire, assisted by the sanctifying office of our ordained priests, to exercise your baptismal priesthood and to live your Mass as the face and hands, the heart, and the sacrifice of Christ for the love of others. As Christ is both Priest and Victim, the One who offers and is offered in every Mass, so must we be. ■

Human dignity of people in Afghanistan ‘must be respected’ Archbishop Broglio offers observations of tumultuous change in Afghan government

he “human dignity” of Afghanistan’s people “must be respected” amid the chaos in the country, the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services said Aug. 17. “The fall of Afghanistan and the departure of its elected leaders are a cause for concern because of the possible denial of human rights, particularly for women and girls,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio. The Taliban, an extremist Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan until ousted by a U.S.-led coalition nearly 20 years ago,

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C AT HO L I C

swiftly took control of the capital city of Kabul Aug. 15 after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Several other major cities have fallen to the Taliban. President Joe Biden announced in April that he would end U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan, and he gave the Pentagon until Aug. 31 to complete the withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 to 3,000 troops in that country when he made his announcement. As of mid-August, the number of U.S. troops had dropped to about 650. But since the Taliban began

taking over large swaths of the country, President Biden ordered the return of several thousand U.S. troops to secure the airport in Kabul and conduct security measures to help with the evacuation of thousands of people who want to leave the country. “My two visits to the country confirmed my impression regarding the sacrifices, even including death, made by many members of the Armed Forces and civilians striving to bring stability and peace to the people there,” Archbishop Broglio said. “At the moment, however, we

w ww.di o k no x .o rg

By Catholic News Service

can only pray for the Afghani people, support any humanitarian efforts that are in place there (especially through Catholic Relief Services), and give voice to local leadership on all sides,” he said. “Naturally, I am particularly concerned about those in the U.S. Armed Forces who continue to defend refugees and assets in the country,” the archbishop added. “We pray that there will be no violence and a peaceful departure for all of those desiring to leave.” Any hope for a peaceful deAfghanistan continued on page A15 SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 n A3

A little store with a big purpose The Paraclete carves out a niche to serve East Tennessee and beyond thanks to online sales

BILL BREWER (2)

t’s not your grandmother’s Paraclete anymore. Well, it really is, and your mother’s, too, but recent changes at the longtime Catholic retailer mean it’s also your children’s, your parish’s, your priest’s and deacon’s, and even the Baptist church down the street’s Paraclete. How The Paraclete is growing. But you would never know to look at the retail store from the outside. Changes that have taken place on the inside reveal an expanding customer base, with sales now from coast to coast and suppliers from as far away as Italy. The Paraclete is no longer just the West Knoxville Catholic gifts and books store. While many Christian book and gift sellers are struggling to stay open amid stiff online sales competition, The Paraclete is bucking the trend, and doing so in the name of seminarian education. A change in strategy accompanied a change in management in 2019, and since then Deacon Walt Otey and Sara Lauer have teamed to bring East Tennessee’s only Catholic merchandise retailer into the new age of retailing. A sure sign that the changes started in 2019 are working is The Paraclete is now turning a profit. And that is good news for the education of Diocese of Knoxville seminarians. “We’re actually starting to make a profit, even through COVID. We did it while also reducing prices. Sara has been a great asset. She does a really good job running the store. She’s very good with the customers,” Deacon Otey said. Restructuring prices is just one of many changes the store has undertaken since the fall of 2019. Without adding to its physical size, Deacon Otey and Mrs. Lauer have opened up the store interior to allow more space for customers. But they haven’t sacrificed merchandise to do that. “Probably one of the biggest changes is the change in the layout and the remodeling of the store. We were able to open it up so it is a more inviting area, less packed in. We still carry the same amount of books that were carried before. We were able to remove a lot of the bookcases from the middle of the sales floor to open that up and be able to put new fixtures in there. We’ve gone to white fixturing to give it a nice, clean, bright appearance,” Deacon Otey explained. “We just changed how it was laid out.” Mrs. Lauer has heard feedback from customers reacting to the interior redesign. “We even had somebody with a baby stroller come in and say she was not able to come in before because she couldn’t maneuver the baby stroller around. And now she is so happy. And then we have people in wheelchairs. We’ve been able to open up the floor more so it is easier to maneuver around,” she said. “Deacon took the bookcases, sliced them in half, and we pushed them up against the wall. So instead of having them in the mid-

Sales team Deacon Walt Otey is with Sara Lauer, center, and Deborah Noe behind the sales counter at the recently reorganized Paraclete Gifts and Bookstore. dle of the floor, we just pushed them up against the wall and now we have fixtures you can go around.” Deacon Otey and Mrs. Lauer purchased fixtures for the redesign at steeply reduced prices from Knoxville Center Mall after it closed and before it was razed. She pointed out that The Paraclete has regular customers from Ohio and North Carolina to buy specific items, like religiousthemed socks and holy cards. She said the most popular items The Paraclete sells are rosaries, medals, necklaces, and statues. The Paraclete is the only retailer of Catholic merchandise in East Tennessee. The nearest stores are in Nashville, Louisville, Charlotte, and Atlanta. Other differences involve the store’s product mix. “The other biggest change besides the physical layout is updating the merchandise. We’ve gone into some home-, kitchen-type gifts; serving ware. Things like water bottles, kitchen towels. One of the good things that came out of COVID was we have a local parishioner who makes masks for us. She makes them with religious symbols on them. We started that relationship selling masks, but now she’s doing things like embroidered kitchen towels and Tshirts. It gives us an opportunity to reach out to the community and use local artists,” Deacon Otey said. A local artist who makes ornaments with images of Sacred Heart Cathedral on them is now producing them for The Paraclete.

Mrs. Lauer said the store is now selling items made by other East Tennessee artisans. The store also has expanded its product lines and hours. Known by its customers for its selection of cards, books, candles, statues, rosaries, first Holy Communion and confirmation gifts, and medals, The Paraclete is working to be the sole supplier of any Catholic merchandise needed by clergy and parishes in the diocese. It now is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. “We’ve added some product lines. One of the big ones that took us a while to get is a company called Barbiconi in Rome. We are the only reseller of clergy shirts from Barbiconi. They are a favorite of a lot of the priests in the area. And any time someone went to Rome, they would tell them to buy some shirts and bring them back. After working with Barbiconi for a good amount of time, we were able to get them to authorize us as a reseller. We are the only reseller of their shirts outside of their store in Rome,” Deacon Otey said. Adding the Barbiconi line of religious apparel is quite a coup for The Paraclete. As word has spread that the East Tennessee store is the only retailer of this brand outside of Italy, sales have been escalating. “Word has definitely spread because I have priests, monsignors, seminarians from California to New Jersey ordering them. They will say ‘I just typed in Barbiconi on my computer and your web-

Point of purchase Sara Lauer and Deborah Noe assist permanent diaconate candidate Pat Nakagawa of All Saints Church with a purchase.

By Bill Brewer

site popped up. I just order them or go to Rome to get them, and it’s fantastic that you guys are carrying it,’” Mrs. Lauer noted. And the reason sales are rising is attributed to the biggest change The Paraclete has undertaken: online sales. Father David Boettner, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bishop Richard F. Stika, and Deacon Otey agreed The Paraclete had to begin offering merchandise through a dedicated website. When Bishop Stika and Father Boettner talked to Deacon Otey about reorganizing The Paraclete, online sales, which had not been available through The Paraclete, was a major consideration. “One of the biggest changes we’ve made is activating our online store. So we are now able to do Internet sales. We are shipping Barbiconi shirts all over the United States because we are the only place they can be bought except for Rome,” said Deacon Otey, who added that online sales, which have been taking place less than two years, still are low as a percentage of overall sales but are consistently growing. “And it’s absolutely proving to be successful.” Deacon Otey and Mrs. Lauer were able to contract with a Sacred Heart Cathedral parishioner, Chad Hernandez, who develops websites. And The Paraclete’s “new store” was created, allowing online shoppers access to all The Paraclete’s merchandise from anywhere. Mrs. Lauer said he created the platform and the plug-ins and all components to link creditcard payments and shipping. “We probably get two to three online sales orders a day. All of those sales are additional sales. Those are sales we would never have been able to capture before because they are from outside of our physical area and those people couldn’t come into our store, but they are now able to purchase from us online,” Deacon Otey noted. “The website is paracletecatholic.org. Click on shop and you just pick clergy shirts, candles …. Some of the churches in the diocese, instead of calling us, will just order their candles or Communion hosts off the website. I get an e-mail immediately as soon as the order comes through. I pack it up, I weigh it, I ship it out, and they get a confirmation,” Mrs. Lauer pointed out. The new website has been a tremendous asset during the COVID pandemic as consumers everywhere opted to stay at home and shop online. Mrs. Lauer pointed out that in-parish gift shops around the diocese, which had to alter their hours because of COVID, continue to be supplied by The Paraclete. Mrs. Lauer, who manages the store, said she and The Paraclete staff have been reaching out to parishes, working to build relationships so The Paraclete can be their main supplier of Catholic merchandise. And a number of priests order their church supplies and clergy apparel such as Paraclete continued on page A17

Local Catholic author Steven Dekanich to hold

book-signing at The Paraclete on Oct. 2

t took local Catholic author Steve Dekanich four decades to write his book Frame of Mind and, thanks to his wife’s support and encouragement, the book is published. Frame of Mind is a semi-autobiographical novel where Mr. Dekanich created a character, Joey Slunisky, who contends with many of the issues Mr. Dekanich has dealt with during his life. His life has been wrought with many challenges, including 19 recurrences of cancer, the loss of his first wife to cancer, a company closing down around him amid a promising

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engineering career, open heart surgery, and more. With God’s help and the support of family and friends, Mr. Dekanich is overcoming the challenges. Frame of Mind and the character Joey Slunisky were created to provide entertainment and inspiration to help individuals through their problems. This novel also talks of a dream that consistently eludes Joey, the dream to come to Oak Ridge. “The thriving human spirit doesn’t say, ‘Why me?’ It says, ‘Why not me, and what does God want me to

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learn from this and how can I use my circumstances as a testimony to His goodness?’ Job well done Joey,” said a fan of the book, Dr. Daniel M. Ibach. Mr. Dekanich will hold a book-signing for Frame of Mind at The Paraclete, 417 Erin Drive, on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Frame of Mind can be found at The Paraclete and its online store, paracletecatholic.org, or at stevendekanich.com. On stevendekanich.com, click “Purchase” and type in “The Paraclete” in Step 3, Fundraiser Option, to make sure The Paraclete receives credit. ■ TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C

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Diocese to celebrate families and children with special needs ‘Bishop’s Very Special Day’ will be held Sept. 25 on the Sacred Heart Cathedral campus; Mass to follow

he Diocese of Knoxville will host a day for families, adults, and children with special needs at the parish hall and pavilion of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Bishop Richard. F. Stika will lead the “very special day” and celebrate the 5 p.m. vigil Mass at the cathedral. The event takes place from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25. Catholics of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities, along with their family members, are invited to attend. Sister Maria Juan Anderson, RSM, who serves as executive secretary to Bishop Stika, previously directed the diocesan Office of Christian Formation and is interested in better serving the special needs community with catechesis and formation. “The Church is our mother,” she said. “We speak of the Church as our mother, and a mother cares for each of her children and loves each of her children individually and totally.” As providence would have it, Katie Helms, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Cathedral, unexpectedly met Sister Maria Juan at the Chancery, “and it seemed like the Lord was putting us together,” Sister Maria Juan said. “We want the children to see that the Lord loves them, first of all, the diocese loves them, the bishop and the Sisters love them, we all love them. They are awesome people,” Ms. Helms said. “They are valued and greatly cherished by us, by the Church, by the people of God. Each special-needs person will need a buddy, which is somebody that will walk around with them and help them.”

“We want the children to see that the Lord loves them, ﬁrst of all, the diocese loves them, the bishop and the Sisters love them, we all love them. They are awesome people. They are valued and greatly cherished by us, by the Church, by the people of God.” — Katie Helms

The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., will lead the participants in a rally, where they will perform movement and dance songs as well as skits. Other activities will include arts, crafts, games, and photo opportunities. The St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, a traveling medical van operated by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, also will be available during the event. “It’s going to be a fun time, and it’s geared toward them, not geared toward other family members or parents. They’ll be the big dogs that day,” Ms. Helms said. Parents and catechists will have a break-out session to brainstorm together with the Sisters on how the special needs community in the diocese can be better served. “I think it’s important to see what are the desires and needs of the people in our diocese, and then looking out to what’s available and bringing in to provide the best for our people here in East Tennessee,” Sister Maria Juan

said. Ms. Helms, who converted to Catholicism six years ago, works on Wednesday nights with Cathedral Kids, teaching first Holy Communion preparation. However, Ms. Helms may be most recognized as the woman who plays the bagpipes with her group, the East Tennessee Bucketeers. Special needs adults play bucket drums with her at various community events. “We’ve been in parades and things for almost 10 years around Knoxville. We have a good time,” Ms. Helms said. “We have uniforms and everything. We just try to add to community events.” Ms. Helms’ passion for working with special needs children and adults began as a 14-year-old growing up in Florida, when her grandmother suggested that she either get a job or volunteer over summer vacation. “I worked at a day-camp for specialneeds kids, and on Saturdays I worked at a swimming lesson for special needs

By Gabrielle Nolan

adults,” Ms. Helms said. “I just had a blast, and ever since then, whenever I’ve been in a church or parish that had special needs people, I just lean towards them and did what I could do to help them.” Activities will conclude at 4:30 p.m. before Mass, with a parade around the cathedral parking lot, where participants will make music with bucket drums, tambourines, maracas, and cymbals. Parishioners are invited to arrive for Mass early so that they can cheer on the parade participants. Photos with Bishop Stika will be available for participants after the Mass. “They all love the bishop,” Ms. Helms said of the special-needs community. “I hope that this event is an experience for both families, adults, and children and all connected to special needs, or at all interested in people with special needs, for them to see in action the Church, our mother, giving intentional time to this group of people and their families,” Sister Maria Juan said. The event is free, and registration is now underway at https://dioknox. org/bishops-day-registration. Learn more or volunteer by contacting Ms. Helms at BVSD2021@gmail.com. ■

Appellate judges uphold Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period Ruling is a victory for pro-life supporters and Lee administration that appealed a lower federal court decision By Matt Hadro Catholic News Agency and The East Tennessee Catholic

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full panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 5 ruled in favor of Tennessee’s mandatory 48-hour waiting period for abortions. “Every woman should have the information she needs to make the healthiest choice for everyone involved in a pregnancy,” said Denise Harle, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in favor of the law. “Many women resort to abortion because they feel it is their only choice and then regret the decision for years to come,” Ms. Harle said. “Tennessee’s law is a commonsense, compassionate, and constitutional statute that protects women, and the 6th Circuit reached the right result in upholding it.” Tennessee’s mandatory 48-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion went into effect in 2015. In October 2020, however, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled the law was unconstitutional, the first time a federal court had struck down a state waiting period for abortion. In December, Judge Friedman refused to keep the law in place after Tennessee’s attorney general appealed. The state then appealed the case to the circuit court. On Aug. 5, the full 6th Circuit court ruled 10-7 in favor of the law in Bristol Regional Women’s Center v. Slatery. “Before making life’s big decisions, it is often wise to take time to reflect. The people of Tennessee believed that having an abortion was one of those decisions. So they passed a law requiring a waiting period of 48 hours,” wrote Judge Amul Thapar, who authored the majority opinion in the case. “Although the Supreme Court upheld a similar 24-hour waiting period in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the district court said that Tennessee’s waiting period violates a woman’s right to have an abortion. We disagree and reverse,” Judge Thapar wrote. Tennessee’s law required abortionists to inform a woman during her first appointment “that numer-

Fighting for life Pro-life demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in this file photo. ous public and private agencies and services are available to assist her during her pregnancy and after the birth of her child” if she chose not to have the abortion. Barring a medical emergency, a patient was then required to wait 48 hours before the second appointment and proceeding with the abortion. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 33 states require that women receive counseling before having an abortion, as of July 1. Of these states, 26 require a waiting period before an abortion, “most often 24 hours.” Stacy Dunn, president of Tennessee Right to Life and director of the Knox County TRL chapter, welcomed the 6th Circuit Court’s ruling, saying it will save lives. “The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to reverse the federal district court and uphold Tennessee’s 48-

hour waiting period. This ruling means that the waiting period will remain law and in effect in Tennessee. This waiting-period law was the first piece of legislation for which Tennessee Right to Life advocated after the passage of Amendment 1 in 2014. It has proven effective in allowing women to take the time they need to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider the graphic and emotionally damaging effects of an abortion,” Mrs. Dunn said. She recalled that immediately after the waiting-period bill’s passage in 2015, Planned Parenthood and the other abortion facilities in Tennessee challenged the law in federal court. With no court-ordered injunction against the law, it remained in effect until 2019, when Judge Friedman ruled it unconstitutional and placed an injunction on its enforcement. Tennessee Attorney General Herb

“The duly elected members of the Tennessee General Assembly have been vindicated by this decision, but unborn children and their mothers are the real winners. Tennessee Right to Life is grateful for this decision and for all who made it possible: Tennessee pro-life voters, members of the General Assembly, Attorney General Slatery, and the members of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, who affirmed the voice of Tennessee voters in a strongly written majority opinion.” — Stacy Dunn Tennessee Right to Life

Slatery appealed Judge Friedman’s decision and asked the 6th Circuit to allow the law to be in force while awaiting court action. A three-member panel of the appeals court upheld the lower court decision and refused to lift the injunction. Mr. Slatery then asked for and received a full-panel review of the case. The Aug. 5 decision by the full 6th Circuit Court reversed the lower court ruling as well as the three-member panel decision, finding that Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period is constitutional because it does not create an undue burden for a woman. “The duly elected members of the Tennessee General Assembly have been vindicated by this decision, but unborn children and their mothers are the real winners,” Mrs. Dunn said. “Tennessee Right to Life is grateful for this decision and for all who made it possible: Tennessee pro-life voters, members of the General Assembly, Attorney General Slatery, and the members of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, who affirmed the voice of Tennessee voters in a strongly written majority opinion.” Mrs. Dunn noted that since the release of the 6th Circuit decision, there are some who believe that the opinion might be used in the upcoming Mississippi case before the Supreme Court in which Roe v. Wade may be reconsidered. “We have felt all along that this was a common-sense law that gave women time for thoughtful consideration to choose life and reduce coerced abortions. We are glad that view was upheld by the 6th Circuit and are grateful for the strongly written majority opinion, which may help other states’ pro-life laws to be upheld in the future,” Mrs. Dunn said. Will Brewer, legal counsel and director of government relations for Tennessee Right to Life, told The American Spectator that TRL is “thrilled” and “grateful” for the appellate decision. “The courts have upheld the voices of Tennessee voters and lawmakers,” he said, emphasizing that every major poll has indicated that a majority of Tennesseans support pro-life legislation. Courts continued on page A16

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Following God’s call A journey of faith with Father Matthew Donahue as he answers ‘yes’ to the priesthood

M. Elizabeth Grace, recently made her temporary vows with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. Though Father Donahue was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y., parents Neil and Lydia moved the family to Tennessee when he was 11 years old. He started serving at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut, where he eventually met then-pastor Father Patrick Garrity. “Monsignor Patrick Garrity — at the time, was only Father Garrity — came and became pastor at St. John Neumann,” he said. “We really became close; we became good friends. Talking with him and going along through that, he was another example of the priesthood in my life. That really kind of moved me to consider it.” In addition to his family and parish

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enerations of a faith-filled family inspired the Diocese of Knoxville’s newest priest, Father Matthew Donahue. “My family has always been Catholic. My grandparents, great-grandparents, as far as I can tell, they’ve always been a part of the Church,” said Father Donahue. “Growing up, my parents always went to Sunday Mass every week, and I was right there with them.” “I’d always grown up considering it or at least thinking about it, having a lot of examples of the priesthood in my life,” he added. One example was his own uncle, Father David Mary Engo, OFM, who is currently living as a Franciscan hermit in the Diocese of Helena, Mont. “He was so joyful, a very happy person. I was always intrigued by

“We really became close; we became good friends. ... He was another example of the priesthood in my life. That really kind of moved me to consider it.” — Fr. Matthew Donahue, referring to Msgr. Pat Garrity younger sisters are Brianna, Meghan, Clare, and Mary. Brianna, who now goes by Sister

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him, by his life,” Father Donahue said. Father Donahue, 26, is the oldest of five children and the only boy. His

By Gabrielle Nolan

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COURTESY OF DOROTHY CURTIS

The brotherhood of priests Top: Monsignor Pat Garrity assists Father Matthew Donahue with his priestly vestments, which is an honor bestowed by the ordinand on someone close to him. Above left: Matthew Donahue announces he is present as his ordination begins. His immediate family, including his mother, Lydia, father Neil, and his sisters were looking on. Above right: Bishop Richard F. Stika raises the chalice given to Matthew Donahue as his ordination gift by his parents at the consecration during Father Donahue’s ordination Mass. Immediately above: Priests of the Diocese of Knoxville lay hands on the head of Father Matthew Donahue as part of the rite of ordination.

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That was really a big influence on him—these were men who loved their priesthood, so all his life he grew up understanding and knowing men who loved their priestly lives.” Bishop Stika presided at Father Donahue’s priestly ordination Mass on Aug. 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Concelebrants included cathedral rector Father David Boettner, Father Peter Iorio, Father Engo, Monsignor Garrity, Father Carter, and Father Timothy Eck of the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., a classmate of Father Donahue at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Deacon Smith was deacon of the Word, and Deacon Fredy Vargas served as deacon of the Eucharist. Deacon Walt Otey and Deacon Hicks Armor were masters of ceremonies. Father Donahue’s uncle and aunt, Brian and Leslie Engo, delivered the readings. “We gather together to celebrate something very significant not only in [the Donahues’] life and their family but in Knoxville and the universal Church,” the bishop said in his opening remarks. “Let us rejoice in the gift that Matthew is to this diocese as well as the gift to the priesthood.” Before the homily, Deacon Smith called forth Mr. Donahue, who answered “present.” Father Christopher Floersh, diocesan director of vocations, then said the ordinand had been found worthy. “We now choose this, our brother, Matthew, for the order of the priesthood,” Bishop Stika said, after which the assembly responded, “thanks be to God.” The bishop began his homily with a semi-serious question. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked Mr. Donahue. “That’s not in the ritual, but it’s good to ask.” Bishop Stika entered the ordination Mass having come off a nearly two-week period in which he was present at the exhumation and later the transfer of remains of Servant of God Father Patrick Ryan of

In Communion Above left, Father Matthew Donahue’s sisters are among the first people to receive Communion from the new priest. Above center, the maniturgium and first stole presented to Father Donahue on his ordination. Above right, Father Donahue gives a blessing to his young cousin following his ordination Mass on Aug. 7. w ww.di o k no x .o rg

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The gift of priesthood Left: Ordinand Matthew Donahue lays prostrate in the sanctuary at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus during his ordination on Aug. 7. Below: Mr. Donahue occupies the first row in the cathedral before he is ordained as his family occupies the second row. His mother, Lydia, dabs tears from her eyes as she witnesses her son’s ordination. Bottom: Bishop Stika, priests, and deacons congratulate Father Donahue after his ordination.

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for centuries and the invocation of the Holy Spirit—the same Spirit that came upon Matthew at his baptism, the same Spirit that came upon him at his confirmation, that same Spirit that came upon him when he was ordained a deacon. And that same Holy Spirit, that Trinitarian presence that we pray for today, invoking the Holy Spirit, a Holy Spirit that he will invoke at the epiclesis of Mass, when he places his hands over bread and wine, asking that they be transformed by the ministry of the Church to become the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew, you are a witness of Jesus. Always remember that.” Bishop Stika asked Mr. Donahue to “be a man of prayer, be a man of sacrifice, be a martyr of charity, be a person whom others will be drawn to by your word but especially by your witness. You stand before the people of God from this day forward as another Christ. If you do that, then you will be a true priest of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior.” After the homily, the ordinand made several promises, including “to discharge the office of priesthood in the presbyteral rank, as a worthy fellow worker with the order of bishops in caring for the Lord’s flock,” “to exercise the ministry of the Word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith,” and “to resolve to be united more closely every day to Christ the high priest.” Following that, Mr. Donahue

prostrated himself as the Litany of Saints was sung. Bishop Stika then ordained him through the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination. Father Donahue was vested by Monsignor Garrity. He then took part in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, concelebrating the Mass as a new priest. At the end of Mass, Father Donahue gave blessings to his parents and to the bishop. Bishop Stika announced that a maniturgium, a cloth used to cleanse a priest’s hands during his ordination Mass and that was a gift from the bishop, embroidered by Deacon Vargas, would be given to Father Donahue’s mother. By custom, the cloth will be buried with her. A purple stole, also made by Deacon Vargas and presented to Father Donahue by Deacon Smith, was given by Father Donahue to his father. By custom, it will be buried with Neil Donahue. And Bishop Stika presented the new priest with linens to be used as Father Donahue administers the sacraments. Father Zach Griffith and Father Alex Hernandez were last year’s priestly ordinands in the diocese. Father Griffith attended Father Donahue’s ordination. “Father Zach, by decree of the diocesan bishop, you are no longer the rookie priest,” Bishop Stika said. Father Donahue said he was glad to see his ordination day come. “It was so exciting, especially after COVID, things seemed a little bleak for a while. It’s such a joyful occasion and such a day of hope

and love,” he said. “Things are always uncertain in COVID times. Having it finally appear is reassuring in many ways.” More than 30 of Father Donahue’s family attended the ordination Mass, including his sister, Sister M. Elizabeth Grace, newly professed with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. Father Donahue said he found concelebrating his own ordination Mass was “in many ways, unbelievable, but I just lived through it, so now I can believe it. But it was such a joy. It’s such an image I’ve had in my head for so long, for so many years. It’s such a blessing to finally be here and celebrate that.” The new priest, homeschooled by his mother all the way through high school, will be “going for canon law at the Gregorian University there” in Rome, “so I’m following in the footsteps of Father David Carter before me.” Father Donahue talked about his vestor, Monsignor Garrity. “He was my pastor over at St. John Neumann for many years throughout the seminary life, and we became very good friends over that time. He’s been a great pillar of the faith here in East Tennessee for many years now,” he said. Mrs. Donahue said her son considered the priesthood “pretty early on.” “It was probably always part of what he thought about, but I think it was more serious in 10th grade and then 12th grade,” she said. “He went on a retreat that Father David Carter led, and he had a real good conversation with Father David in talking about if you feel called to the priesthood, you should enter seminary and see where God is calling. So when Matthew was in 12th grade, I remember the day he came to us and said, ‘I want to enter the seminary.’” After his ordination, Father Donahue celebrated his first Mass at his home parish of St. John Neumann in Farragut. Neil Donahue, the new priest’s father, as well as Mrs. Donahue and the Farragut parish, are fully behind Father Donahue’s vocation. “I think it’s hugely important and not only to the parents but also Ordination continued on page A9

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Chattanooga. “In the last week, really these last two weeks, priesthood has been ever-present in my mind,” he said. Mr. Donahue has been in the seminary eight years, four at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis and four at the Pontifical North American College. He completed his theology studies at PNAC and is returning to Rome after his ordination to study canon law at the Gregorian University. “I think when he was 5 years old people were asking if he was going to be a priest. Seems like he’s been in the seminary for like 19 years,” Bishop Stika said. “He accepted my call to have him study in Rome moral theology, and now he has accepted my call also to study canon law because of the pastoral needs of this diocese.” The memory of Father Ryan, who died in the yellow fever epidemic in Chattanooga in 1878 while ministering to victims of the disease, “still lives on,” the bishop said. And so does his influence, having administered the sacraments to the ancestors of many of those living today in Chattanooga, he continued. “Matthew, as you come forth, I urge you to follow the example of Father Ryan,” Bishop Stika said. “And the people he ministered to I’m sure in the Chattanooga community are still around as generations have passed, people whose sins he forgave in the ministry of a priest. Because for a priest, there are ripple effects for centuries to come because of the sacramental nature and the sacramental life of a priest who gives his life for others. In the case of Father Ryan, and really in the case of all priests and bishops and deacons, there’s no greater love than to give your life for another.” A vocation and the call of a vocation “is a conversation between an individual and God, but it has to be nourished. It has to be fed,” the bishop said. “Matthew received that call. Here he is, standing before this altar of the mother church of the diocese, with a desire as he made the announcement ‘present’ to give his life for many.” The future Father Donahue “will be privileged to offer the sacrifice of Our Lord, the Eucharist,” Bishop Stika said. “In a few moments, the chalice I use will be his chalice, given to him by his parents. He will pick up that bread, and he will say, ‘This is My body, given for you.’ The bread is Jesus. He will take the cup, the chalice of salvation, and again offer that sacrifice that began at Passover so many centuries ago. ‘Take and drink all of you, for this is My blood, given for you.’ The core of the priesthood, the core of the Church—Vatican II tells us it’s the summit of everything that we are, who we are as a Church.” Father Donahue also will celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation as a priest, the bishop said. “You will be a mediator between God and man, a mediator between the Church and His people. You will forgive sins, not because you have the power, but the power, the grace, will be entrusted to you soon to reconcile people to God,” he said. “Marriages and funerals, all the beautiful sacraments that remind us that in the name of Jesus Himself you do these sacraments, not in your own name.” Father Donahue also joins “an interesting fraternity called the priesthood of Jesus Christ, in the order of Melchizedek,” Bishop Stika noted. “At one point you will pledge obedience to me and to my successors,” he added. “When a priest loses respect for his bishop because of his own personal opinions, he harms the priesthood. He harms the diocese. He harms the relationship of God to himself. Respect—it is mutual. It is life-giving, and it is so vital in the relationship between a priest and his bishop.” The ordination of a man to the priesthood “is very simple in actuality,” the bishop said, “through the laying-on of hands that has existed

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Relatively speaking Newly ordained Father Matthew Donahue is introduced by his uncle, Father David Mary Engo, OFM, in the parish hall at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Aug. 7. abilities.” Father Donahue described his ordination day, Saturday, Aug. 7, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as “dream-like.” “It’s a very long-expected day, but at the same time, it’s still kind of amazing when it comes,” he said. “I think ‘peaceful’ would be kind of the word I’d use most for it. “The beginning of the priestly ministry is a beautiful thing as well, so to realize I’ve made that commitment to this life in a very strong way is a beautiful thing,” Father Donahue

continued. For young men and women discerning a vocation to the religious life, Father Donahue recognizes there is often fear and anxiety. “I have to echo, I think, John Paul II — ‘Do not be afraid.’ We don’t need to hold back from it because of fear, because we don’t think we’ll be happy or something like that,” Father Donahue said. “God will lead you where he wants you to be. God will lead you into the life he thinks is best for you,” he said. “We don’t have to worry about sort of making the wrong

decision and falling into the wrong life, we don’t have to be afraid of that. We can trust — trust God and trust in His guidance.” Now that he is a priest, Father Donahue most looks forward to celebrating the Mass and being present to the people of God. “I think [priests] really are with people at some of the most important moments of their lives, and in a way that is very unique and very special,” Father Donahue said. “For me, I think that’s the priesthood – that connection to people, that relationship to other people.” “What I look forward to the most is to be there for others, to be there to support them and really to bring them to God,” he added. “To bring God to them is for me the utmost importance. And of course, the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Mass is always central to that, the most intimate moment we have with God and with his people.” Instead of immediately being assigned to a parish in the diocese, Father Donahue will return to Rome later this month to live at the Pontifical North American College, where he completed his seminary studies. Father Donahue will continue his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University for a licentiate degree in canon law, which is a three-year program. He will then return to the Diocese of Knoxville as a canon lawyer and serve in the Office of the Tribunal, with the potential to serve the diocese as a parish priest. ■

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relationships, Father Donahue found that his personal hobbies also oriented him toward learning more about God. “I’ve always loved reading,” he said. “Since I was a kid I’ve read many, many books. I really found a lot of interesting themes and ideas that can lead to God as well. That always has been a personal hobby that I enjoyed, and I do think has led to a lot of spiritual growth.” Father Donahue also enjoys nature and keeping up with science and technology. “You know, just enjoying God’s creation in a very special way, and I think there’s a lot of that in science and some of the things we can do with technology. There’s a lot of beauty and a lot of wonder about that stuff – about God’s world and about creation, and what we can learn about Him through His creation,” he said. When it became time to discern his college options, seminary seemed like the standard choice for Father Donahue. “At the time, I had taken dual credits, so I had enough availability to not only go to seminary but to dual major, as well, in psychology. So, I said, well if I can go to seminary I can try it for four years, see what happens. And at the end of it, if I want to move on to a degree in psychology, I can just switch to that,” he said. “But throughout those four years, and throughout that time, I really felt that God continued to call me to the priesthood, that the priesthood really fit with my own skills and

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Scenes from an ordination Top left: The maniturgium is placed on a table prior to ordination along with lemon slices and water to remove any excess chrism oil. Top right: At a reception for Father Matthew Donahue following his ordination, guests enjoyed a cake specially made for the Diocese of Knoxville’s newest priest. Bottom left: Deacon Sean Smith presents Father Donahue with a stole the new priest will use as part of his vestments as he begins his priesthood. At left is Father Donahue’s dad, Neil Donahue. Once he used the stole during his first Mass, Father Donahue presented it to his father, which is customary in the ordination of a priest. Bottom right: Father Donahue was presented this chalice by his parents, Neil and Lydia Donahue, as a gift for his priestly ordination. The chalice was blessed before the ordination Mass by Bishop Stika and then used during the ordination Mass. Ordination continued from page A8

the church community. St. John Neumann is a wonderful place for our seminarians, being part of it, making the young men feel part of the fraternity, the brotherhood, of priests,” Mrs. Donahue said. “I think it’s important to have that extended family, the Church at large, praying for him.” Mrs. Donahue said she was “over the moon” on her son’s ordination day. “I kept thinking back to when I first found out that I was going to TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C AT HO L I C

have a baby, I went to church. That was the first place I went to, before I told anybody else. He was our first [child]. I went to church that day. I went to Mass and have always prayed for him just to do God’s will. I used to kiss his little feet and say, ‘Go wherever God leads you’ and really pray that for all my kids.” Mrs. Donahue said she may have shed a tear “or two” when her son blessed her at the end of Mass. “Absolutely, it’s an amazing moment to see your son, but now he’s a Father, the wisdom of the Church

behind him and the wisdom of the Apostles behind him, just the whole Church that goes along with that,” she said. “It’s definitely a moment I think I felt very close to Our Lady, not in the sense that he’s Christ but just that gift of your son giving to the Church. That’s all I could focus on even during Mass was Our Lady and how that was to give your son.” Neil Donahue had one word to describe his emotions on his son’s ordination day. “I’m just so proud. There are no other words to say just how proud I

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am of him,” he said. Both parents of the ordinand are most supportive of their son’s vocation. “All you can ask of your children is to do God’s will, and he’s doing it to the utmost that he can do. He’s had this calling for a long time, and today it came to fruition. I’m just so proud of him,” Mr. Donahue said. Father Donahue is the 23rd priest ordained by Bishop Stika and the 56th priest ordained for the Diocese of Knoxville since the diocese was erected in September 1988. ■ SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 n A9

Annual Bishop’s Appeal

We are blessed that for the eighth consecutive year we have exceeded the goal for the annual Bishop’s Appeal. For 2020, our goal was $2,315,000, and together we raised $2,793,412. This is incredible, especially given that in 2020 we were hit with a COVID-19 pandemic.

Thank you for your stewardship!

This success is in no small part due to the active participation and leadership of our priests, deacons, parish staff, and volunteers who faithfully lead our in-pew appeal efforts each year.

Thank you! Thus far, the 2021 Bishop’s Appeal is starting out as another record year. As we proceed through 2021, we are extremely thankful for the blessings we have, for the ministries of the Church that are able to continue on, and for the generosity of parishioners across East Tennessee who contribute to the annual appeal. Yet, as we move forward, we cannot help but look back and recognize the outstanding efforts of our parishes during the very challenging year of 2020. Please join us in applauding our 2020 Bishop’s Appeal Honor Roll!

Honor Roll Top Ten Parishes with Highest Percentage over Goal

Top Ten Parishes with Highest Percentage of Participation

• Church of Divine Mercy, Knoxville

• Sacred Heart Cathedral, Knoxville

• Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge

• St. Anthony of Padua, Mountain City

• Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg

• St. Bridget, Dayton

• St. Alphonsus, Crossville

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• St. Ann, Lancing

• St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend

• St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend

• St. John Neumann, Farragut

• St. Jude, Helenwood

• St. Teresa of Kolkata, Maynardville

• St. Mary, Athens

• Shepherd of the Valley, Dunlap

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

Top Ten Parishes with Highest Percentage of Pledges Paid

Top Ten Parishes with Highest Total Gifts Received

• Holy Family, Seymour

• All Saints, Knoxville

• Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

• Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa

• St. Bridget, Dayton

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• Sacred Heart Cathedral, Knoxville

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. Dominic, Kingsport

• St. John XXIII, Knoxville

• St. John Neumann, Farragut

• St. John Paul II Mission, Rutledge

• St. Jude, Chattanooga

• St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville

• St. Mary, Johnson City

• St. Stephen, Chattanooga

• St. Mary, Oak Ridge

• Shepherd of the Valley, Dunlap

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

**Honor Roll and Most Improved categories are based on 2020 Bishop’s Appeal results

"As Catholic Christians, we are called to be joyful witnesses in Christ." -Bishop Richard F. Stika

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TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C

Office of Stewardship

Bishop’s Appeal Special Award

All Diocesan Priests for going above and beyond to serve your parishes during the COVID-19 pandemic

“In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” -Acts 20:35

Most Improved Greatest increase in Number of Donors from BA19 to BA20

Greatest Percent Increase over Previous Year • Blessed Sacrament, Harriman

• All Saints, Knoxville

• Church of Divine Mercy, Knoxville

• Basilica of Sts. Peter & Paul, Chattanooga

• Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge

• Church of Divine Mercy, Knoxville

• St. Bridget, Dayton

• Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga

• St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

• Sacred Heart Cathedral, Knoxville

• St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend

• St. Alphonsus, Crossville

• St. Joseph, Norris

• St. Jude, Chattanooga

• St. Jude, Helenwood

• St. Stephen, Chattanooga

• St. Therese of Lisieux, Cleveland

• Shepherd of the Valley, Dunlap

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

Greatest increase in Avg. Contribution from BA19 to BA20 • Blessed Sacrament, Harriman • Holy Ghost, Knoxville • Holy Trinity, Jefferson City • St. Anthony of Padua, Mountain City • St. Christopher, Jamestown • St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade • St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend • St. Joseph, Norris • St. Jude, Helenwood • St. Mary, Johnson City

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Saying ‘yes’

Sisters in the Diocese of Knoxville profess their vows as the RSM, FSGM communities grow By Bill Brewer

he Catholic community of women religious is growing by two Sisters who have connections to the Diocese of Knoxville. Sister Maria Juan Anderson professed her perpetual vows with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., on Aug. 16 at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw, Mich. And on Aug. 2, Sister M. Elizabeth Grace Donahue made her first profession of vows with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George at St. Mary Church in Alton, Ill. Sister Maria Juan has served as the executive secretary to Bishop Richard F. Stika since January, when she transitioned from serving as director of Christian Formation for the diocese. Sister Elizabeth Grace is a member of a Diocese of Knoxville family known for its vocations to religious life. Sister Elizabeth Grace’s brother, Matthew Donahue, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Stika on Aug. 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Bishop Stika was a concelebrant at the Mass in Saginaw during which Sister Maria Juan and four other Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma made their final vows. Cardinal Justin Rigali attended the Mass in choir and Diocese of Knoxville chancellor Deacon Sean Smith served as deacon of the Word and Eucharist. The principal celebrant and homilist was Bishop James D. Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb. The other four professing vows were Sister Miriam Fidelis Reed, RSM, Sister Maria Crucis Garcia, RSM, Sister Andrea Marie Lee, RSM, and Sister Brigid Mary Meeks, RSM. Sister Maria Juan first entered the Religious Sisters of Mercy as Amanda Rose Anderson on Aug. 1, 2012. She said taking her final vows nine years later was “so profound.” “When you realize what you were created for by God and then you make that permanent. It was a consecration – set apart for one purpose – to be holy for God alone. It is the greatest privilege of my life that He would choose me to belong to Him in this way and to be a living sign of His presence in the world,” Sister Maria Juan said. She said she was blessed to have her family in attendance at the Mass. Born in Boise, Idaho, Sister Maria Juan described herself as a cradle Catholic who attended public school. But she can point to one inspirational moment when the Holy Spirit came alive within her. “I was confirmed when I was 15. That sacrament was the pivotal point in my faith journey. The graces of the sacrament of confirmation lit a fire in my soul. From that point forward my faith has continued to grow,” she said. After high school graduation, Sister Maria Juan attended Benedictine College, a private Catholic school in Kansas. While working in Cincinnati and discerning her vocation, she met a priest who advised her to visit the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma. She knew a number of different religious communities but felt they weren’t right for her. “I knew immediately during my visit when they explained the significance of the cross they wear. When I heard that, I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” Sister Maria Juan said. Like all the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Sister Maria Juan wears a black mercy cross with a white cross inlay. She explained that the black outer cross represents the misery of mankind while the white cross inlay is the mercy of God. This mercy cross was part of the original habit of the community from 1831. It is worn around the neck and has no corpus because the Sister wearing it is to be the corpus. “Each Sister of Mercy is called to stand at the point where those two meet, where the mercy of God meets the misery of mankind,” she said. She noted that that intersection aligns with the RSM’s charisms: mercy, union, and charity. Sister Maria Juan felt her profession of final vows was especially poignant because she and the other four Sisters took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience at a time when the world is “so oversexualized and focused on money and doing whatever you want.” “What our lives show by God’s grace is that true happiness is only found through Jesus Christ,” she said.

ishop John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., was the main celebrant at the Mass and first profession of vows for Sister Elizabeth Grace and the initiation into the novitiate for novices Stacy Butler, Claire Callahan, JinYu Burnham, and Amber Robinson at St. Mary Church in Alton, Ill. Alton is where the American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George is based. The order was founded in Germany in 1869 and has had a presence in the United States since 1923. As part of the special Mass, Bishop Paprocki blessed the black veil, the crucifix, the rosary, the habits, and the white veils for the novices and for Sister Elizabeth Grace. Mother M. Mediatrix Bexten, the provincial superior for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George’s St. Elizabeth Province, questioned the postulants and led prayer. The community then welcomed the postulants. Bishop Paprocki then questioned Sister Elizabeth Grace, intoning, “My dear daughter, what do you ask of God and of His Church?” To which Sister Elizabeth Grace responded, “I ask for God’s merciful love, and a share in the life of this religious community of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.” Sister Elizabeth Grace said growing up she always had a desire to be a Sister. She comes from a family with vocations to religious life. “I think this was God’s gift to me, to draw me in a very clear way to religious life. As I got older, reading about religious life, Franciscan life specifically, made the desire burn more,” she explained. She originally believed she was called to a Poor Clare community before she knew of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. After returning from entering postulancy as a Poor Clare and attending a retreat for young women discerning their vocation in life, she began discerning a vocation with the Franciscan Sisters. She had been told about the Illinois religious order by Sister M. Clara Auer, FSGM, Vows continued on page A16

Professions of faith Top photo: Mother Mary McGreevy, superior general of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., takes Sister Maria Juan Anderson’s hands as Sister Maria Juan begins her profession of final vows. Second photo from top: Bishop Richard F. Stika and Cardinal Justin Rigali congratulate Sister Maria Juan after her profession of vows. Third photo from top: The newly professed Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma give their statement of admission to Mother McGreevy. Fourth photo from top: Sister M. Elizabeth Grace Donahue, FSGM, makes her first profession of vows before Bishop John Paprocki. Above left: Sister Elizabeth Grace and Sister M. Clara Auer, FSGM, visit with each other following the ordination to the priesthood of Sister Elizabeth Grace’s brother, Father Matthew Donahue, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Photos by Danielle McGrew, Sister John Mary Rainey, FSGM, and Bill Brewer.

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Diocese of Knoxville schools see enrollment increases Double-digit rises reported at some campuses as students, faculties, parents settle into new academic year

GABRIELLE NOLAN

Hands-on learning Students in Cathy Sompayrac’s class at St. Joseph School show their enthusiasm as the new academic year gets underway. we managed everything last year. We didn’t skip a beat. Except for a couple of days, we did pivot to at-home learning during the mandate, from March 2020 to May 2020,” Dr. Prater said. “We believed wholeheartedly, from a philosophical standpoint and for the educational, social-emotional welfare of the children, that they needed to be onsite at school rather than remote. Last year we worked very diligently

to figure out the best plan to ensure that happened. We were very successful in doing that,” she added. Since then, Dr. Prater said she has been learning of educational deficits in children during the pandemic in school districts where remote learning was prolonged. “I am happy to report that our students had minimal loss because we were onsite, we did remote learning

days periodically more as a break because we didn’t have long, extended breaks. But we never had to shut down due to illness, not once last year,” she said. She noted that word got out in East Tennessee school communities that the Catholic schools were continuing a full academic curriculum in the face of pandemic-related paralysis among some public-school districts. “When a lot of schools were closing down and we were still in, [parents] were asking those questions.” Diocesan schools picked up some students during the pandemic year, but the numbers increased significantly this summer, Dr. Prater pointed out. Not all Catholic school districts have fared as well as the Diocese of Knoxville. According to the National Catholic Education Association, enrollment in U.S. Catholic schools decreased by 6.4 percent, or more than 111,000 students, between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020. The enrollment drop accompanied the closure of 209 U.S. Catholic schools in 2020, more than double the annual number of closures, a sobering statistic that the NCEA said was fueled by the COVID pandemic. Despite that, Dr. Prater expects to Enrollment continued on page A14

DAN MCWILLIAMS (2)

iocese of Knoxville schools are reporting a healthy 7.8 percent increase in enrollment as the 2021-22 academic year gets underway, which bucks a trend among some Catholic school systems that are seeing decreasing enrollment. Leading the way among diocesan schools are St. Dominic in Kingsport, with an 18.5 percent jump, St. John Neumann in Farragut, which has seen an 11.2 percent hike over the 2020-21 school year, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga, which is enjoying a 10.7 percent rise. Sacred Heart Cathedral School is recording a modest 0.5 percent increase, but that number elevates to 25.6 percent when factoring in gains in Sacred Heart’s preschool program. Dr. Sedonna Prater, superintendent of Diocese of Knoxville schools, believes part of the reason for the healthy enrollment increases is parents recognize how well diocesan schools have performed during the COVID pandemic. While many school districts suspended academic programs as they figured out how to transition to online learning in 2020, Diocese of Knoxville schools didn’t skip a class. “Part of the reason we’ve had an increase in enrollment is the way that

By Bill Brewer

A welcome addition The new parish life center at St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg is shown at left. In addition to parish events, the new facility has rooms for religious-education classes and other functions. St. Mary’s newly blessed grotto is a favorite attraction on the church’s Gatlinburg campus. St. Mary continued from page A1

landlocked, this parish made the decision a few years ago to ‘do as He tells you.’ “For, after all, didn’t Jesus say, ‘go therefore and baptize all people,’ to teach the faith, to share the faith? And part of our ministry here at St. Mary’s and the ministry of all parishes, I think, is the ministry of welcome and hospitality, for we’re all invited by our Lord Jesus to celebrate the Eucharist, to be nourished with His most precious body and blood, the soul and divinity.” Bishop Stika congratulated the parish and its members. “This parish has had a long history and a beautiful history, especially in an area many times that has been very anti-Catholic,” he said. “I’ve got tons of stories about that because people just didn’t understand who we are and what we believe in and how we celebrate. St. Mary’s has inherited the long tradition, and it continues on.” The bishop asked Father Punnackal to stand up, after which the St. Mary pastor received a hearty round of applause from the assembly. “He’s done a lovely job, and so have all the people who have been involved in your parish, because they’re making a statement of faith [with the new building],” Bishop Stika said. “They wish to educate the children and welcome people with a tremendous gift of hospitality, especially for those of you who are tourists so that you have a place to come and once again witness the miracle of the Eucharist.” The bishop repeated one of his favorite sayings. “One of my mantras for 13 years now has been to be the face of Jesus, to be His smile, to be His hands, to be His person because that is what attracts other people to the faith,” he said. Bishop Stika told the story of a dying Hindu woman who met Mother Teresa and was afraid the future saint was going to convert her to Christianity. The woman said, “What is the name TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C AT HO L I C

“This is great. What it means is that we have a growing CCD program. That’s always how I look at it, and we always tell the tourists when we ask for their money is that this is a good thing in our town because not only does it give us some offices and take the offices out of our rectory, but it also gives us three new classrooms because we have a growing CCD program.”” — Kevin Tierney St. Mary-Gatlinburg parishioner of your God?” the bishop said. “Mother Teresa’s answer was, ‘One name is love,’ as simple as that. This parish has been doing that in a variety of different ways: outreaches to the community, to the poor, to the immigrants, to the tourists. And it has done so many wonderful things over these decades and will continue to do so, and that’s why we’re here today.” The new parish life center made the best of the land available at St. Mary, Bishop Stika noted. “As you can tell, land is not plentiful at this parish, but the [building] committee did a great job in terms of trying to fit in some space,” he said. “In the course of that they had to move a beautiful grotto, which is now in front of the church, which I’m going to bless and dedicate today.” Following the Gospel reading, the bishop gave one of the shortest homilies on record. “I’m supposed to give a homily here, so my homily is, congratulations. Continue to be good disciples and be intentional in your discipleship,” he said. After Mass, the assembly followed Bishop Stika to the left-hand rear side of the property for the blessing of the parish life center. The bishop was given the keys to the front door, which he unlocked for the procession to enter the new building. St. Mary office manager Mike Sweeney stepped to the microphone and thanked a number of people for their efforts leading to the dedication of the parish life center and the rosary garden, including Bishop Stika and his staff; architects Brewer Ingram Fuller of Knoxville; Jenkins & Stiles General

Contractors of Knoxville; parish committees; St. Mary parishioners and visitors; “and the very loving friends of Father Antony, who without their support, the completion of our new center would not have been possible.” The bishop then led the worshipers back outside to the rosary garden, which is next to a pro-life garden. The bishop blessed the rosary garden and grotto but said he will return to St. Mary to bless the pro-life garden. “I’ve decided to come back when we get the pro-life statue up, hopefully in October because that’s the month of pro-life. You all will have to come back and stand in the very same places,” he said. “Thanks to you all, thanks to my brother Knights of Columbus and to everyone who was involved in the planning, the building, and the donations. This is truly a statement of faith here in beautiful downtown Gatlinburg.” Father Punnackal said the dedication day marked “a long-cherished dream, hard work, contributions, prayer, fasting—all accomplished today, and we are so happy as a parish, and I am personally so happy that Bishop came and all these people came. It is a wonderful day, it’s a wonderful celebration, and it’s God’s blessings.” Parishioner Kevin Tierney, who was chairman of the St. Mary Church council when the project began, said the first meeting with Bishop Stika to get the project off the ground took place in November 2016, two weeks before wildfires devastated much of Gatlinburg. “This is great,” he said of the dedication. “What it means is that we have a growing CCD program. That’s always

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how I look at it, and we always tell the tourists when we ask for their money is that this is a good thing in our town because not only does it give us some offices and take the offices out of our rectory, but it also gives us three new classrooms because we have a growing CCD program.” The rosary garden is a passion of parishioner Karen Bentz and husband Bob. The family did the landscape design and made a donation to the project, Mrs. Bentz said. “I think [the garden] offers an opportunity to help other people who are not Catholic understand our faith and the way that we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary,” she said. “For me it’s the culmination of a lifelong spirituality and depending on the rosary for my growth spiritually. To bring this to our parish and our community is an incredible honor for myself and our family.” Mrs. Bentz also credited parishioner Joe Lelonek for his help with the project. “He was also very instrumental. He’s one of our business partners, and he’s also Catholic and worked very hard to develop and build the parish life center,” she said. Madeline Samec, who said she may be “possibly a new member” of St. Mary Parish soon, was the horticulturalist for the rosary garden. “It was a lot of hard work from a lot of people. They did a wonderful job. Plant selection was easy. It was a lot of fun doing the work,” she said. The basic work of the planting did not take long, she said. “We went down and got it one day, got it in the ground another day. That’s two, but we had to do the foundation of it, bringing mulch, mushroom compost, and all the other elements to make this work,” Ms. Samec said. “It took two or three weeks to get it all garden-wise correct. There was a lot of work before then: the laying of the brick, the electrical work, all the people who were involved.” ■ SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 n A13

St. Jude School gets new leadership as longtime principal retires By Bill Brewer

BILL BREWER

he 2021-22 school year has begun with new leadership at St. Jude School in Chattanooga. Longtime principal Jamie Goodhard announced last school year her intention to retire at the end of the 2020-21 academic year. Dr. Joshua Overton has been named St. Jude’s new principal. St. Jude didn’t have to look far for Mrs. Goodhard’s successor. Dr. Overton served for seven years as a middle-school science teacher at St. Jude and four years as the middle-school dean at the school on the St. Jude Parish campus. “In administration in Catholic schools you wear many hats. You just do what’s needed on a day-to-day basis, from academics to behavior to scheduling, teacher mentorships, teacher observations, just whatever is needed,” Dr. Overton said. He said he looks forward to leading St. Jude, continuing what Mrs. Goodhard has worked to accomplish. Dr. Overton grew up in Kingsport, where he met his wife while they were in high school. They both relocated to Chattanooga for jobs and were married. He said his primary goals for St. Jude are the health and safety of the students, making adequate academic achievement, and to grow the school “to be the absolute best that we can be.” “We have all the tools we need to succeed,” he said. Mrs. Goodhard had served as principal of St. Jude for 20 years and was on the faculty at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School for nine years before that. She explained that it was a good time for her to retire because she had put the time into her education vocation, and her husband was retiring, too. But while she is officially retiring as principal, she is continuing to work in administration with the Diocese of Knoxville’s 10 schools as accreditation and special projects coordinator. In this part-time position, she will be assisting diocesan schools superintendent Dr. Sedonna Prater and is occupying an office at Notre Dame High School.

Change at the top Dr. Joshua Overton has been named principal of St. Jude School in Chattanooga, succeeding retiring principal Jamie Goodhard, who will now be assisting diocesan schools superintendent Dr. Sedonna Prater on a part-time basis. “It’s great. It’s giving me a chance to do some things that I didn’t have time to do before,” Mrs. Goodhard said, enumerating her goals for her new position. “We are ready for an accreditation visit in the spring, and most recently I have been looking at our test scores over the last year to see how the pandemic has influenced achievement and mastery from our kids.” She wants to use the results from that study to plan academic instruction going forward. Dr. Prater said the selection of Dr. Overton to succeed Mrs. Goodhard reflects the leadership development program the diocesan schools office has in place. “When you talk about leadership succession,

this is an excellent example and a good model for leadership succession and planning. Jamie Goodhard has had a long and committed service record to the Diocese of Knoxville. She has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. As she was preparing for retirement and beginning to pull away from the full-time work of being a principal, she was training one of her teachers who had worked on his doctorate in education administration. Father Charlie [Burton, St. Jude Parish pastor] was in support and concurred with the decision,” Dr. Prater said. She noted that this process gave Dr. Overton time to be introduced to actual school administration and to ease into the principalship for a smooth transition. “It has been a great thing for the St. Jude community. I applaud Father Charlie and Mrs. Goodhard for their foresight and in their planning for leadership succession,” Dr. Prater said. “He [Dr. Overton] is doing a phenomenal job already. He knows the community. He knows the teachers, the staff, the students. They’re already ahead of the game in trying to continue to move the school forward.” Dr. Prater explained how she was fortunate to persuade Mrs. Goodhard to continue serving Diocese of Knoxville schools in her new position. “She can help me with the accreditation process and also in mentoring new principals. … I feel really blessed that she is going to continue sharing her wisdom and insights in helping us. It’s a huge benefit,” Dr. Prater said. The past two years have been a time of great change in diocesan schools leadership, with the additions of new principals at St. Dominic School in Kingsport, St. Mary School in Johnson City, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga, St. Mary School in Oak Ridge, Sacred Heart Cathedral School, Notre Dame High School, and St. Jude. “We have a lot of new people, and the mentoring of them falls on me. Having Jamie to help me with that is a great benefit,” Dr. Prater said, noting that the Diocese of Knoxville’s 10 schools will be going through the process of renewing their accreditation in 2022. “Jamie will be facilitating all the work with accreditation.” ■

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JIM WOGAN

Enrollment continued from page A13

Off to a good start Sister Maria Kolbe, OP, goes over notes with her seventh-grade class at St. Mary School in Oak Ridge to begin the 2021-22 academic year. to mask; if you are immunocompromised, we are encouraging you to mask,” Dr. Prater said. “And we are encouraging vaccinations. Medical professionals are telling us vaccinations are our best opportunity to protect ourselves and to protect young children who can’t be vaccinated.” She noted that diocesan schools are discussing hosting vaccination clinics for students, faculty, and possibly the public. Dr. Prater said some parents are unhappy that the diocese is not requiring that masks again be worn during school this academic year as in the last school year and noted that just as many parents or more would be unhappy if there was a mask mandate. “What we are trying to convey and will continue to convey is that we al-

ways are in partnership with families in the education of their children. We’re going to do the very best to educate them holistically, in their spiritual formation, their social, emotional, and physical development, everything. That was one of the things we had to weigh with the policies this year, not just being concerned with their physical health but also with their socialemotional development,” she said. “We listened to parents, and we listened and read all the different sides. Now that they are there with us, we just have to deliver what we’ve promised. We have to deliver the best academic program and that holistic care for the whole child. And we will continue to partner with them. I know that we will do that,” she added.

EMILY BOOKER

hear success stories from other dioceses that also elected to keep their schools fully functional during the pandemic. Caroline Carlin, principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said it’s a challenge to pinpoint one specific reason for the 51-student increase at her school. “We are seeing people move into the Chattanooga area from densely Catholic areas of the country, such as the northeast. We also have been doing some marketing, promoting our school in the community. OLPH for over 80 years has a strong reputation for Catholic education in Chattanooga, and our faculty have become great ambassadors for what we do,” Ms. Carlin said. She noted that an increase in students began in the 2020-21 academic year as parents looked for alternatives to public education as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact education. “What we’ve been delighted to see is those who came to us during the pandemic have decided to stay with us,” Ms. Carlin added. She pointed out that what little attrition OLPH saw at the end of the 202021 academic year was due to family relocations. “No one left us because of dissatisfaction,” she said. “That is what we are most proud of. Our families continue to stay with us and commit to OLPH’s excellent curriculum programs and faith-based education.” When asked how the diocese can maintain the enrollment trajectory, Dr. Prater said, “I’ve always believed the adage that people come to us for a lot of reasons. They come to us because of academics or athletics or the faith. Usually, it isn’t the first reason they come to us; it’s because we’re doing something great. But I believe it’s the faith community that keeps them there. It’s the atmosphere and community that we create. It’s the sense of belonging and how we care about the students and what we’re doing with them. Once they see that difference, that’s what keeps them there.” The Diocese of Knoxville established last month at the beginning of this school year that there would be no mandate to require students and faculty to wear masks during school as COVID-19 cases continue to be reported. The diocese is placing COVID protections for children in the hands of their parents, and Dr. Prater is encouraging students to wear masks. “If you are unvaccinated, we are strongly encouraging our families

Making a straight line Young students stand single file, per teachers’ instructions, at St. John Neumann School. www.di o k no x .o rg

Dr. Prater is confident in new leadership at seven of the diocese’s 10 schools. New principals have been named within the last two years at St. Mary in Johnson City (Becky Frye), St. Dominic in Kingsport (Darlene Lyons), Sacred Heart in Knoxville (Joan Turbyville), St. Mary in Oak Ridge (Sister Mary John Slonkosky, OP), Notre Dame High School (Kyle Schmitt), Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga (Caroline Carlin), and St. Jude in Chattanooga (Joshua Overton). Dickie Sompayrac at Knoxville Catholic High School, Bill Derbyshire at St. John Neumann, and Andy Zengel at St. Joseph are the veteran administrators. Dr. Prater also is confident the principals and faculty at all 10 schools will continue to achieve a level of excellence that is resulting in enrollment gains, especially as the schools go through reaccreditation this academic year. Mr. Zengel said in remarks to begin the 2021-22 academic year that he understands how anxious parents are as the new year gets underway. He is a parent of five children, all under age 14, and four of them attend St. Joseph. “I can honestly admit, like every other year, but especially since we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, that I’m a little nervous. When we had our meet and greet (to begin the school year), about a third of the families were wearing masks even though they’re not mandated this year. So that tells me people are still very nervous about things. But I also know that they all came to school. I think everyone — parents, students, and definitely our staff — are very hope-filled that this will be a year that we can continue handing on the Catholic faith and excellent teaching here at St. Joseph School,” Mr. Zengel said. “We want to make sure we keep everyone safe and follow our protocols. We learned a lot last year, but we also know the value of inperson education is tremendous. That’s our goal, that we are able to stay open in the midst of a pandemic, that teaching and learning continues, and whatever protocols are handed down to us by the local authorities, by Bishop Stika, we’re going to follow those, and we will endure. I don’t want to be beaten down by doubt or just too much fear. We can do some commonsense things to keep people safe, and we can continue to learn and teach,” he added. ■ TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C

Catholic Charities launches breastfeeding curriculum New program looking to increase awareness; health department and UT are partners

By Monique Derico

Program premiere Catholic Charities of East Tennessee executive director Lisa Healy and Ernestine Meiners, Knoxville Pregnancy Help Center program coordinator, attend the breastfeeding curriculum premiere. City, LaFollette, and Newcomb/ Jellico. Ernestine (Ernie) Meiners, the Knoxville Pregnancy Help Center program coordinator and a member of All Saints Church, organized the curriculum launch with the health department. “This project has been in the works for almost three years now, and it’s so exciting to finally see it rolled out,” Ms. Meiners said.

“We certainly promote breastfeeding to our clients for the many benefits it has for both the mother and infant. But there can be many barriers to breastfeeding for people of color or moms living below the poverty line,” she continued. The new courses intentionally feature Catholic Charities clients from diverse backgrounds, including Hispanic, Asian-Pacific, Black, White, Middle Eastern, and Nige-

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parture was dashed on Aug. 26 when suicide bombers detonated explosives at a Kabul airport gate, killing hundreds of civilians and a dozen U.S. military members. On Aug. 16, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops tweeted: “Let us continue to pray for all those in #Afghanistan and for peace amid conflict. #PrayTogether.” In other reaction, Bishop Declan Lang, chair of the international affairs department of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said even when situations appear hopeless, Christians should place hope “in the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we pray in the knowledge that he will never abandon the people of Afghanistan.” “Our hope can be placed in the humanitarian organizations that are continuing to offer their assistance, and the efforts to welcome and protect refugees fleeing their homes,” he said. Afghan nationals who provided translation, interpretation, security, transportation, and other vital services to U.S. troops in the last two decades have feared reprisals from Afghanistan’s Taliban, even more so now as its fighters

COURTESY OF MONIQUE DERICO/CATHOLIC CHARITIES

ust in time for World Breastfeeding Week (Aug. 1-7), Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s Pregnancy Help Center launched a new breastfeeding curriculum designed to promote breastfeeding to culturally diverse populations. The curriculum was made in partnership with the Knox County Health Department and the University of Tennessee Department of Nutrition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 84.1 percent of infants are ever breastfed, and Tennessee falls below the national average for breastfeeding initiation (75.8 percent). Also, percentages of breastfeeding initiation among women of color can be even significantly lower. The new breastfeeding curriculum consists of eight short video lessons, which all feature staff from Catholic Charities and the Knox County Health Department, as well as volunteers and Catholic Charities clients. While the curriculum was produced at the Knoxville Pregnancy Help Center, Catholic Charities clients also will use the curriculum throughout the region at the four other pregnancy help centers in Chattanooga, Johnson

Prayers for Afghanistan A U.S. Marine comforts an infant while they wait for the mother during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 21. advance around the country in the absence of the U.S. military. The New York Times reported Aug. 17 that “tens of thousands of Afghan nationals” who risked their lives to assist the U.S. military in Afghanistan “are more desperate than ever to leave.” And news reports assert that an unknown number of Americans in Afghanistan were also trying to leave the country before the Aug. 31 deadline.

Citing data from the International Rescue Committee, a global nongovernmental humanitarian relief agency, the Times said over 300,000 Afghan civilians “have been affiliated with the American mission over its two-decade presence in the country … but a minority qualify for refugee protection in the United States.” In 2006, the U.S. Congress first authorized a bipartisan humanitarian program to provide Special

“Archbishop Kurtz faithfully led our diocese during an important time in its early development. We were barely a decade old when he came here. There were fewer than 46,000 Catholics and just 39 parishes here in 2008. Archbishop Kurtz strengthened the foundation of our diocese, and I will always be grateful to him for that. We now have more than 70,000 Catholics and more than 50 parish churches,” Bishop Stika said. “We have a new cathedral. We wouldn’t have been able to do this had it not been for the early work of Archbishop Kurtz and the leadership he provided. I wish him much luck and many prayers as he begins to step away from active ministry and leadership,” Bishop Stika added. Born on Aug. 18, 1946, in Mahanoy City, Pa., Archbishop Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown on March 18, 1972. He served there for 27 years before becoming the Bishop of Knoxville in 1999. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Kurtz as the fourth archbishop and ninth bishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007. He was installed as archbishop on Aug. 15, 2007. Archbishop Kurtz was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C AT HO L I C

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Among friends Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz is joined by fellow bishops during a Mass. At left of Archbishop Kurtz is Cardinal Justin Rigali, and behind Archbishop Kurtz is Bishop James V. Johnston Jr.

“Archbishop Kurtz faithfully led our diocese during an important time in its early development. ... Archbishop Kurtz strengthened the foundation of our diocese, and I will always be grateful to him for that. — Bishop Richard F. Stika to 2013 by his peers and then served as president of the governing organization of the Catholic Church in the United States from 2013 to 2016. Archbishop Kurtz has been reflecting on his time as archbishop since submitting his resignation. “I hope that I’ve empowered and inspired leaders to take on the mind

and heart of Jesus Christ in serving others,” he said. As far as the future of the Catholic Church, he hopes to see celebration of the good, addressing the challenges it faces straight on, and a continued effort to serve people accurately in the modern world. “We do it by listening,” he said.

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rian families. “Representation truly matters, and we want our clients to feel empowered and know that breastfeeding is accessible to them as they prepare for their newborn,” Ms. Meiners said. In numerous studies, breastfeeding has been shown to have benefits that include a reduced risk of several diseases for the mother and infant, as well as reduced risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It also can stabilize high blood pressure. Catholic Charities’s new breastfeeding curriculum goes into detail about those benefits and also discusses topics ranging from breastfeeding basics and building a support system to educating employers about breastfeeding rights and weaning infants. As with its nearly 250 other courses, Catholic Charities’ PregCurriculum continued on page A16

Immigrant Visas, or SIVs, for nationals from Afghanistan and Iraq that include resettlement services and legal permanent residence for the approved principal applicants, their spouses, and children. Since the creation of the program, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services has worked with the U.S. Department of State, the Office of Refugee Resettlement and other nongovernmental organizations to provide resettlement services to some of the over 73,000 Afghan SIV holders and their families. On July 14, the White House announced the emergency relocation of Afghan SIV applicants in their final stages of processing to the United States, with the first of that group arriving July 30. Planeloads of Afghans arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., and they were then taken to Fort Lee, near Petersburg, Va. The families were pre-vetted and able to complete the immigration process safely stateside. Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Arlington, Va., is helping resettle the newcomers. ■ “We do it by our interaction with others, and, of course, we do it by being true to the truths of our faith. We don’t change our teachings every day, but we do look at the way in which they’re being heard and lived and how we can foster a fuller life of Christ in our Church,” he said. Archbishop Kurtz was diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer in 2019 and underwent several rounds of treatment at Duke Cancer Center in North Carolina. He has been in remission since January 2020. Though he said he’s feeling healthy and gets CAT scans every six months, Archbishop Kurtz believes his recent medical history could cause Pope Francis to select a new archbishop sooner rather than later. “I don’t know whether it will be weeks or will it be months, but I’m going to get up every day and do my best to serve well and kind of hold my excitement until we hear who the new archbishop will be,” Archbishop Kurtz said in the WDRB.com report. The Archdiocese of Louisville was founded as the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808, transferred to Louisville in 1841, and elevated to archdiocese in 1937. It is the oldest Roman Catholic Archdiocese west of the Appalachians. The Archdiocese covers 24 counties with more than 200,000 Catholics. ■ SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 n A15

Middle Tennessee looks to recover from record floods After historic rainfall, amount of parish and community support is ‘phenomenal’

By Katie Peterson/Catholic News Service

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enry Kersten was pacing back and forth inside his family’s home in Waverly, Tenn., Aug. 21 when he saw the backyard shed being carried off by the flood waters. His wife, Leslie, was trapped inside. “It was amazingly fast,” Mr. Kersten said. “She was trying to save some things (in the shed). We never knew the extent that was going to come because we were going by the last flood that we had two years ago.” “It started to seep into the shed and then it came so fast that she didn’t feel safe coming out,” he recalled in an interview with the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese. “She called me on the phone, told me that she loved me and our children.” “As I was pacing, I saw the shed get washed away and watched her go by,” he continued. “It took about five hours, but by God’s blessing, a former neighbor ... was able to find her.”

Lending a hand Bishop J. Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville visits with James and Patsy Bradley of Waverly, Tenn., on Aug. 24. The Bradleys said their home was destroyed by the Aug. 21 floods. Leslie Kersten, who with her family was a parishioner at St. Patrick Church in McEwen, Tenn., was one

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nancy Help Centers offer clients the opportunity to earn “baby bucks” after completing the breastfeeding curriculum. The clients can exchange the baby bucks in the baby store for supplies, including breastfeeding aids and other necessities. Clients also have the opportunity to speak with a lactation consultant and sign up to use the private lactation room at the Knoxville Pregnancy Help Center. Courts continued from page A6

Mr. Brewer underscored Mrs. Dunn’s statement that Tennessee Right to Life was pivotal in getting Amendment 1 passed, which led to the 48-hour waiting period legislation. “We brought the (waiting period) language to the legislature, asked sponsors to sponsor it, and actively lobbied in favor of it.” He pointed out — as the judge’s opinion also noted — that abortion in Tennessee has gone down 9 percent since the law was passed. “We know from first-hand accounts that there have been a number of women who have gone for their initial consultation and have had to wait 48 hours, and because of that waiting period have decided to change their minds,” Mr. Brewer said. “On a reality level, that’s what’s playing out.” TRL continues to actively support pro-life legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly, and earlier this year was successful in working to pass the Prenatal Life and Liberty Act to bring Tennessee civil law in line with its criminal code regarding unborn children. Before this legislation, a wrongful-death claim for an unborn child was only allowed for a child past the point of viability, while the criminal code recognized Vows continued from page A12

who serves in the Diocese of Knoxville as Cardinal Justin Rigali’s secretary. “Little by little, the Lord worked to bring my heart to joyfully surrender to His will! It really was providence,” she said. “My thoughts at taking vows were, ‘Lord, this is really happening! I am laying down my life into Your Hands.’ I had been asking Mary to help prepare me, and I felt much confidence in her maternal presence.” Sister Clara said the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George are excited, grateful, and humbled that five young women are entering the community, including one from the Diocese of Knoxville. “Every time a woman enters our congregation it is a joy. Having someone enter from Knoxville is a particular joy for me as I think of home and numerous sayings that come to mind, such as, ‘Home is where the heart is’; ‘There is no place like home’; ‘I left my heart in…,’” Sister Clara said. “Coming from St. Louis, Mo., as I do, St. Louis is my home. Yet Thuine, Germany, where our congregation was founded and where our motherhouse is located, is also my A16 n SEPTEMBER 5, 2021

of at least 19 confirmed deaths from the flooding that washed through Humphreys County Aug. 21 after up

“This breastfeeding curriculum is yet another great addition to our strong parenting education program throughout our pregnancy help centers,” said Sandi Davidson, Catholic Charities’ pregnancy services program leader. Since all courses are offered both in-person and virtually, pregnancy help center clients always have access to educational material, even in the remotest areas of East Tennessee. To commemorate the launch of this special cur-

to 18 inches of rain fell in the area in less than 24 hours, breaking the Tennessee record for one-day rainfall. When planning for Leslie’s funeral the morning of Aug. 24, Mr. Kersten said they chose a quote from the Gospel of Mark for the program cover: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31). “That’s Leslie’s life in a Bible verse. She loved the Church. ... The Church has been so important in our life,” Mr. Kersten said. “She was the epitome of God’s greatest commandment.” In the darkness of tragedy, Mr. Kersten still finds the light of God’s grace. “God sends his toughest challenges for his strongest soldiers,” Mr. Kersten told Nashville Bishop J. Flooding continued on page A20

riculum, the Knoxville Pregnancy Help Center hosted a private video premiere where clients featured walked the red carpet, received professional photos, and were recognized for their contributions by the Knox County Health Department and Pregnancy Help Center. The success of this curriculum launch is attributed in large part to the Knox County Health Department and their contributions, according to Catholic Charities. ■

an unborn child at any stage of development. Now in Tennessee law, a person can be charged with fetal homicide for killing a woman and her unborn child at any stage of development and can be held liable for civil charges as well. Additionally, this legislation prohibits lawsuits against doctors who fail to discover or disclose a child’s medical condition prior to the child’s birth. These “wrongful birth” and “wrongful life” lawsuits occur when the parents argue that abortion would have been preferable to birth and life and then seek monetary damages claiming the doctor’s breach of duty and omission. Tennessee Right to Life also actively supported the Unborn Child Dignity Act, which requires the burial or cremation of all fetal remains in the state of Tennessee. Mrs. Dunn called the path the 48hour waiting period law has taken since its passage “a roller-coaster ride.” The same can be said for recent pro-life initiatives in other states. A spokeswoman with Texas Right to Life said a federal appeals court ruling upholding the Texas Dismemberment Abortion Ban in August is a “long-awaited victory”

Texans are celebrating. “Anyone can see the cruelty of dismemberment abortions, ripping a child’s body apart while her heart is still beating,” said Kimberlyn Schwartz, the organization’s director of media and communication. “We’re grateful the judges recognized this horror.” The Aug. 18 ruling from the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans, upheld the state’s 2017 law, reversing previous court rulings that blocked it. It also reversed an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit upholding a block on it. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the panel’s ruling and the full court agreed to hear the case. A majority of the 14 judges who heard the case ruled in favor of Texas; three judges on the 5th Circuit recused themselves. The case is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The law was first passed and signed into law in 2017 but has never gone into effect because of court challenges. And in Indiana, a U.S. District Court judge placed a permanent injunction Aug. 10 on several Indiana pro-life laws, including those that required physicians to examine patients in person before performing abortions and said only

physicians can administer firsttrimester medication abortions. News reports said several requirements in state law were deemed unconstitutional by Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in a ruling in Whole Health Alliance v. Rokita. Judge Barker did uphold some provisions, including the requirements that only physicians can provide first-trimester aspiration, or suction, abortions and that ultrasounds must be performed before an abortion. But reports said she blocked the state’s ban on the use of telemedicine as it regards abortion — whereby doctors use an online platform to prescribe abortion-inducing mifepristone and misoprostol. She also put a stop on a requirement that second-trimester abortions must be performed in a hospital or ambulatory outpatient surgical center as well as blocked requirements that abortion providers provide state-backed information to patients on fetal pain, the beginning of life, and the mental health risks of abortion. “It’s horrible,” Right to Life of Indianapolis president Marc Tuttle told The Criterion, the newspaper of the Indianapolis Archdiocese. ■

home. And, too, Alton, Ill., our motherhouse in America, so to speak, where our provincial house is located and where both me and Sister Elizabeth Grace entered our community, is also my home.” Sister Clara said each location where she has lived and served is home, from Philadelphia to Knoxville, to Alton, as well as other places. “None of them have I ever left. They all remain home to me because my heart is always expanding. My heart is able to expand because it is beating in the Body of Christ—the Church, of which Jesus is the head. With the most sacred heart of Jesus being in the center of all life, His heart is our true home, and the opening in His heart is the threshold through which we are able to enter eternal life—heaven, our eternal home,” Sister Clara added. “Being ‘Sisters’—coming from, living within, and returning to that same heart each day—is a joy of my heart.” Sister Elizabeth Grace professed her first vows the same week her brother, Matthew, was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Knoxville. “Taking first vows in the same week as my brother was ordained

is still sinking in. What a grace from God that we could be united in laying down our lives for the Church. Watching his ordination, after just having taken vows to the Triune God, was like being renewed all over again in the joy of giving everything over to the Lord and finding that He is all that we desire, and more,” she said. Sister Elizabeth Grace now is ready to continue her service to God, His Church, and her religious community. She is teaching religion in grades second through fifth at St. Mary Elementary School in Alton. As she continues her walk of faith toward her profession of perpetual vows, Sister Elizabeth Grace understands that like her students, she also still has much to learn. But she is confident and joyful in knowing she is walking hand in hand with God. “Now I love to think about the fact that I am His Bride. Everything I do is a witness, and I pray that others will be drawn to Him through my prayers and work. And I know that there is still so much to learn, even having finished postulancy and the novitiate, so I pray for patience for myself, and the others with me,” she said.

Sister Elizabeth Grace also will have many prayers as she moves forward in her vocation. Sister Clara is among those praying for her, especially as she relates to answering God’s call. “United as we all are, in Christ— as one family—I thank God for the vocation to which He has called my ‘Sister,’ and I pray for her each day that she may persevere on the way to which the Holy Spirit—the Love of God—leads her. I pray for everyone, in fact, that we all listen for the voice of God and follow His way into our eternal home,” Sister Clara said. “Sister Elizabeth Grace entered our congregation several years ago. The formation we all experience upon entrance, throughout our novitiate, as junior professed, which is the point wherein Sister is now, will be ongoing, as it is for all of us,” Sister Clara added. “Living in union with Christ and with His merciful love, may she never sense that she has left her heart in Knoxville but that she carries it— and all who live here—with her as her heart expands and she seeks to make Christ’s merciful love visible in all her activities wherever she may be.” ■

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Cardinal injured, priest dead in Haiti earthquake More than 2,000 killed in disaster as Catholic Church responds with emergency aid

By ACI Prensa and Catholic News Service

Haiti delegation In this October 2019 photo, Bishop Richard F. Stika and Sacred Heart Cathedral priests Father David Boettner, Father Arthur Torres, Father Martin Gladysz, and Father Valentin Iurochkin host Haitian clergy who were meeting with Sacred Heart’s Haiti outreach ministry. Standing in the back row, center, is Cardinal Chibly Langlois, who was injured in the Aug. 14 Haiti earthquake. Accompanying Cardinal Langlois was Father Edwidge Carre, Father Michelet Lamarre, and Father Michenet Duportal. Also shown is Deacon Joel Livingston, who serves at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. a.m. local time, affecting all of the country, but especially the region

of Les Cayes, in the southwestern region of Haiti.

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shirts and vestments from The Paraclete. Deacon Otey, who serves as an adviser to The Paraclete, and Mrs. Lauer would like all of them to use the store. “I’ve tried to be as kind and accommodating as I can. I reach out to people all the time and say, ‘how can we help you?’ If I don’t hear from a parish, I’ll e-mail or call them. Typically, they say, ‘thank you so much for calling. We’ve been meaning to call you.’ It just proves what we say, that it’s a little store but it’s such a big purpose here. It’s more than just a store. It’s a ministry. We’re starting to see more churches reach out to us. It’s fantastic,” Mrs. Lauer said. Deacon Otey believes many, if not most, of the diocese’s 50 parishes are now using The Paraclete as a resource. He said the growth of the Catholic Church in East Tennessee has helped The Paraclete grow, but he acknowledged the challenges parishioners in Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities, and outlying areas have in driving to The Paraclete store in West Knoxville. The Paraclete’s website is helping solve that dilemma. “What I’m noticing more and more is that we’re getting increased local sales, either customers wanting their merchandise shipped or placing the order online, paying for it online, and coming into the store to pick it up. That’s an option we give,” Deacon Otey said, adding that getting the word out about The Paraclete’s services and inventory has been important. He also believes The Paraclete staff is making inroads with pastors and priests about their churches becoming Paraclete customers. “Our goal is to serve them, to make sure they’re getting what they need when they need it at the best possible price. We know parishes aren’t rolling in money,” he noted. He and Mrs. Lauer are confident that diocesan parishes, and any Catholic parish anywhere for that matter, can get what they need from The Paraclete at competitive prices. They cited Barbiconi clergy attire as an example. In addition to Barbiconi, Deacon Otey has been working with a Christian cooperative in the Holy Land to provide their products to U.S. customers of faith through The Paraclete, yet another example of the store expanding its product line. Catholic retailers, like their faithbased and secular counterparts, are looking to fill niches as a way to appeal to consumers, who increasingly are using large online retailers like Amazon. “The Amazons of the world have really made it hard on small businesses, so we have to find

Mr. Kikonda also said that the local public hospital was overwhelmed by the number of emergencies and was forced to turn away many of the injured. On the heels of the earthquake, a tropical storm battered the affected area, adding to the destruction. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked bishops across the country to take up a voluntary collection to help Haiti recover from the pair of natural disasters. Saying that Haitians are likely to experience continuing hardships from the earthquake and tropical storm that swept through the ravaged southwestern part of the country days later, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles made the request in a letter to bishops. More than 2,000 people died, more than 12,000 were injured, and hundreds more were missing. Money collected will be funneled to the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund and will be used to sup-

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ardinal Chibly Langlois, bishop of Les Cayes in Haiti and president of Haiti’s Bishops’ Conference, was injured while a Catholic priest died early in the morning of Aug. 14 after a 7.2 intensity earthquake rocked Haiti. Speaking to ACI Prensa, Catholic News Agency’s Spanish language news agency, Akim Kikonda, director for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti, said Cardinal Langlois “is hurt, but his life is not in danger.” Cardinal Langlois, 62, was created the first Haitian cardinal by Pope Francis on Feb. 22, 2014. “CRS has spoken with the priestly residence in Les Cayes, and we have reports that the house has been severely damaged. Unfortunately, we were informed of three fatalities, one priest and two employees,” Mr. Kikonda said. Mr. Kikonda also reported to ACI Prensa that “all of CRS personnel are safe and sound, but unfortunately one of our employees’ wife died, and his baby is gravely injured.” The earthquake happened at 8:30

Faith-based fashion The Paraclete has apparel prominently displayed in its store and online, including the popular Barbiconi line of clergy wear. The store’s most popular items are rosaries, necklaces, prayer cards, books, and statues. that niche we can serve that they can’t,” Deacon Otey said, adding that while Amazon does offer Catholic-based merchandise, especially books, there are niches that Amazon can’t offer. “You can’t go to Amazon and buy Barbiconi,” he said, noting that consumers can even buy Communion hosts from Amazon, “but not cheaper than what you can from The Paraclete.” And there’s another factor to consider with some online sales. Deacon Otey pointed out that candles are prevalent in every church, but there aren’t a lot of stores that offer them. Online retailers are an option, but because candles in bulk are heavy, shipping them can be expensive. He said churches are thrilled when they have a resource like The Paraclete, where they can buy candles without having them shipped. Mrs. Lauer described how Paraclete customers tell her they would rather purchase from The Paraclete than Amazon because of the Paraclete’s customer service and its mission. “We like to tell our customers that you are contributing to an important ministry: the education of seminarians,” she said. “That’s the message that really needs to be the strongest message — to fund seminarian education. No one is getting rich working here. The Paraclete’s sole purpose is to fund seminarian education. But we want to do it and still be a good deal to the customers. We want it to be a win-win,” Deacon Otey added. Deacon Otey is confident that the emerging giant online retailers like Amazon and eBay won’t supplant small stores like The Paraclete in offering Catholic merchandise to customers because the giants don’t offer personalized service. “We serve a niche that they cannot, not only in just products but in relationships. If someone needs a medal for a particular friend who is suffering for some reason and

they want to know what medal they should buy, they’re not going to get that on Amazon. They want that personal touch that people like when they are buying this type of merchandise. Do we lose sales to Amazon? Absolutely. But by trying to fill the niche that we see as ours, as best we can we’ll minimize that,” he said. And Mrs. Lauer and he agree that regardless of the success and growth of online sales, The Paraclete will always have a brick-andmortar presence in the diocese, most likely where it is now at 417 Erin Drive on the campus of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, because customers still like to browse through merchandise.

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Mrs. Lauer and Deacon Otey emphasize that they can fill any order a parish, or priest, or layperson might have, whether vestments, clerics, candles, paschal candles, Communion hosts, rosaries, medals, holy cards, statues, books, or child-friendly merchandise. And they insist on Paraclete merchandise being reasonably priced. As The Paraclete has evolved, so has its customer base. The Catholic store now counts among its customers Russian and Greek Orthodox churches as well as Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist churches. “We’re adding accounts,” Mrs. Lauer said, noting that she is seeing customers from other faiths who say, “we use that, too, in our services.” She emphasized that the Paraclete gets many customers who are not Catholic but need to purchase an item for someone who is Catholic, such as a first Holy Communion gift. “That’s where we come in. We can really give that customer service and just help them. A lot of customers will say, ‘I’m not Catholic, but my friend is, or my husband’s mother is.’ They come in and they have no idea what to get and they need guidance. You can’t do that on Amazon,” she said. “We’re trying to build those relationships as well. I had a gift shop in Florida reach out to us, asking if she could start a relationship with us and if she could just send me a list of a few items she needs and if I could just ship them to her. I said absolutely.” ■

. ʹʹ – . ͵ͳ, 2021

With God, all things are possible!

With these words as our prayer,

Knoxville will again join hundreds of other cities for our eighth and largest 40 Days for Life campaign ever from Sep 22 to Oct 31, 2021. Our witness is prayerful, peaceful, and law-abiding. Since 2007… … 1,000,000 volunteers have participated in 40 Days for Life campaigns … 18,855 babies have been saved during 40 Days for Life vigils … 221 abortion workers have quit after experiencing conversions … 112 abortion facilities have closed their doors … 40 Days campaigns in over 1000 cities and 64 countries to date 40 Days for Life features three components:

1. PRAYER AND FASTING 2. COMMUNITY OUTREACH 3. PEACEFUL VIGIL Stand for life in a peaceful public witness outside of

PLANNED PARENTHOOD 710 N. Cherry St. Knoxville, TN Sep. 22-Oct. 31

CONTACT Paul Simoneau – Diocese of Knoxville psimoneau@dioknox.org Lisa Morris

lccte@bellsouth.net

Information@40days.com

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Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are Lumen Christi Award finalists

ister María Imelda Quechol and Sister Eloísa Torralba Aquino, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” who serve in Chattanooga, have been selected as finalists for Catholic Extension’s Lumen Christi Award. The Lumen Christi Award is Catholic Extension’s highest honor given to people “who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve.” Each year, Catholic Extension dioceses across the country submit nominations for the award. From these nominees, several finalists are selected, followed by the recipient. “They remind us that faith is still a relevant force in our society and culture. They remind us that there is so much energy and generosity in our Church. They

remind us that there are people willing to sacrifice for the good of others. These humble heroes of our Church are sources of hope for us and our country,” said Father Jack Wall, Catholic Extension president. “This year, 34 dioceses submitted nominations for this award, each of which celebrate the humble heroes who are having a powerful impact on others through their actions, leadership, and faithfulness,” Catholic Extension said in a statement. “Seven of these nominees have been chosen as award finalists and will receive $10,000 to support and enhance their ministry. From among these finalists, the 2021-22 Lumen Christi Award recipient will ultimately be selected and given a $25,000 grant, along with an additional $25,000 grant for the nominating diocese,” Catholic Ex-

Sr. Imelda and Sr. Eloísa

tension added. “During this past year in which many of our schools, church buildings, and places of business ‘went dark,’ we are reminded that the light of Christ never went out in our midst. The stories of

port the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Haitian Catholic Church as well as efforts of Catholic Relief Services and possibly Catholic Charities USA. The USCCB said in a news release Aug. 20 that if the money collected cannot be distributed in Haiti, funding will be used for other emergency relief where it is needed most as determined by the bishops’ Committee on National Collections. Pope Francis is sending nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help the Haitian people who are struggling in the quake’s aftermath and the global pandemic. The Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development said in a communique released Aug. 24 that the pope had decided to send “an initial contribution” of $235,000 (200,000 euros) to assist the earthquake victims during this “emergency phase.” In addition to at least 2,200 people who died and the more than 12,000 others who were injured, nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed, according to local authorities. The papal donation is meant to be “an immediate expression” of Pope Francis’ “feeling of spiritual closeness and paternal encouragement” for the people there. The money will be distributed, in collaboration with the Vatican’s nunciature in Haiti, to those dioceses most affected by the disaster, the dicastery said. It will add to the aid being sent throughout the Catholic Church thanks to efforts led by bishops’ conferences and numerous charitable organizations. In October 2019, Cardinal Langlois visited the Diocese of Knoxville and met with Bishop Richard F. Stika and Cardinal Justin Rigali. Cardinal Langlois also met with Father David Boettner, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart

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Haiti outreach ministry Cardinal Chibly Langlois of Haiti celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral during a visit to the Diocese of Knoxville in October 2019. Cardinal Langlois was injured in the Haiti earthquake on Aug. 14. of Jesus, and members of Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Haiti outreach ministry to show his and his country’s appreciation. Cardinal Langlois celebrated Mass for Sacred Heart Cathedral School students and delivered the keynote address at a banquet marking the 20th anniversary of Sacred Heart’s Haiti ministry. Cardinal Langlois wanted to personally thank the Sacred Heart community for its two-decade support of Haiti. He encouraged the community to continue supporting the small Caribbean nation beset by political and economic strife. The cardinal, who has studied in Rome and has traveled around the world representing Haiti and its needs, is president of the Haitian bishops conference. Cardinal Langlois was named bishop of Les Cayes in 2011 before Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals. Scores of diocesan volunteers have donated their time, talents, and money to assist the Haitian people over

the past 20 years, routinely visiting the rural, poverty-stricken area. However, political and social unrest has prevented Sacred Heart mission trips to Haiti for more than three years. In welcoming Cardinal Langlois to the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop Stika remarked how the Haiti ministry at the cathedral has for the past 20 years served the people of BoucanCarré, a town outside of the capital city of Port-au-Prince that parishioners early in the ministry identified as the area they wanted to assist. The bishop noted how the ministry has helped in the construction of school and clinic facilities for Boucan-Carré as well as aid for the people of the area. “He’s a historic figure. He’s the very first cardinal from Haiti. So it’s a historic visit. Haiti is the poorest country in the world,” said Bishop Stika, who concelebrated with Cardinal Rigali at the Sacred Heart School Mass. Bishop Stika was impressed at how engaging Cardinal Langlois was with the students.

these Lumen Christi Award finalists show us the many places and ways that the light of Christ has been shining brightly all along,” Catholic Extension continued. The Diocese of Knoxville has been recognized with five Lumen Christi Award finalists over the years, more finalists than any other diocese in the United States has had. Former Hispanic Ministry director Lourdes Garza was twice a finalist. The Glenmary priests and brothers; Sister Mariana Koonce, RSM, former medical director of the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, and Jim Romer of St. Christopher Parish in Jamestown were each finalists once. Read more about Sister Eloísa and Sister Imelda at www.catholicextension.org/lumen-christiaward/lumen-christi-awardfinalists/. ■ He described the cardinal as very serene and very much aware of the Church around the world, especially in his native country, and Haiti’s need for any assistance other countries can give. Bishop Stika said Cardinal Langlois is very appreciative of the support Haiti has received from sources such as the Sacred Heart Haiti outreach ministry. “For many there, it is the difference in life and death. Haiti has been so damaged by earthquakes, hurricanes; the government is unstable,” Bishop Stika said at the time. “As a side issue, he (Cardinal Langlois) was unable to go back right away because it was dangerous for him to get to his home diocese. He postponed his return for a few days. The government is really unstable.” Bishop Stika explained that Cardinal Langlois flew to Tennessee from Rome and visited with two Haitian priests in the Diocese of Nashville. They then drove over to Knoxville, marking Cardinal Langlois’ first visit to the Diocese of Knoxville. The bishop also pointed out that other parishes, like Immaculate Conception, have Haiti ministries and that Sacred Heart partners with St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Tabb, Va., and St. Anselm Parish in St. Louis in assisting the people of Boucan-Carré. Haiti outreach leaders at Sacred Heart have led Knoxville Catholic High School students on mission trips to Boucan-Carré. Cardinal Langlois told Cardinal Rigali he was grateful for the time Cardinal Rigali has spent in Haiti. Cardinal Langlois asked for continued prayers for Haiti so that economic and political conditions there will improve as he praised the ongoing relationship between the parishioners of Sacred Heart and the people of Haiti. ■

Christian legal group decries conditions for Afghan religious minorities, urges aid By Catholic News Agency

Christian legal group is warning of deteriorating conditions for Afghanistan’s religious minorities, and pushed for an immediate international response. “The harrowing prospects for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, compounded by a deepening humanitarian crisis, are forcing thousands of Afghan men, women, and children into displacement within the country, and compelling many more to seek escape from persecution and oppression,” said Giorgio Mazzoli, legal officer at the United Nations for ADF International, in an Aug. 24 statement. “The unfolding situation on the ground requires an immediate, robust, and coordinated response from the international community, whereby respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is considered as an absolute prerequisite for a credible peace and reconciliation process,” he stated. Militants with the Taliban, an Islamic extremist group, seized

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control of Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul on Aug. 15. The group’s rapid advance came as many Afghan civilians and U.S. citizens sought to leave the country before the complete withdrawal of U.S. and other forces. The Taliban previously controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, imposing a strict interpretation of Sharia law. The playing of musical instruments, among other things, was banned, and girls were not permitted to go to school. Afghanistan is more than 99 percent Muslim, with the majority being Sunni. There are small groups of Christians, estimated to total between 10,000 and 12,000 people, including about 200 Catholics. Buddhists, Hindus, and Bahá’ís also reside in the country, along with one Jewish man. Many of the nation’s religious minorities, Mr. Mazzoli said, are converts from Islam—a crime punishable by death under Sharia law. Many Christians suffered harassment and intimidation even before the Taliban takeover. Converts to Christianity are the frequent target of Islamic extremist groups. ■ w ww.di o k no x .o rg

TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C

In Brief CHI Memorial Hospital names chief operating of�icer CHI Memorial Hospital has named Dr. Rhonda Adams Scott as its new market chief operating officer and president of CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga. As COO, Dr. Scott, who is a registered nurse, will lead efforts to optimize quality, safety, and the patient experience in partnership with physicians, and maximize clinical operations to deliver value to the community, CHI Memorial said in a statement. “She will serve alongside the CHI Memorial executive leadership team as a partner and advocate, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability, and successfully navigating the organizational evolution to achieve operating, financial, and service excellence outDr. Scott comes, thereby strengthening CHI Memorial’s brand as the regional adult acute care provider of choice,” CHI Memorial stated. Dr. Scott has more than 22 years of administrative leadership experience in large, complex health systems. Most recently, she served as the COO and executive vice president of Grady Health Systems in Atlanta, a Level 1 trauma center with 953 licensed beds, employing more than 7,200 people, with more than $1 billion in total revenue. Under her leadership, Grady Health Systems received national recognition for clinical care and patient satisfaction, which resulted in Grady receiving the prestigious Press-Ganey Success Story Award. “The majority of her experience aligns perfectly with CHI Memorial’s current journey,” said Janelle Reilly, market chief executive officer for CHI Memorial. “She has a strong reputation of mentoring leaders who have progressed to advanced positions within health care, and fosters a collective purpose to fulfill our vision and extend the healing ministry of the Church.” Dr. Scott and her husband, Thomas, who are from Chattanooga, have two sons, Thomas Lee Scott II of Houston and David J. Scott of Birmingham, Ala.

Richard Buhrman, St. Jude parishioner and Chattanooga lawyer dies after brief illness Chattanooga attorney Richard W. Buhrman, 80, passed away on Aug. 9 after a brief illness. Mr. Buhrman was born in Chattanooga, where he attended public schools and the University of Chattanooga, graduating in 1963 with an honors degree in English and a second major in mathematics. As a battalion commander in Army ROTC and a distinguished military graduate, he received a regular Army commission upon graduation from college. His active duty was deferred while he attended Duke Law School on a scholarship, and then served three years active duty as a captain during the VietMr. Buhrman nam War. Mr. Buhrman was actively practicing law at the Buhrman Law Firm in Chattanooga, the firm he founded in 1974, with his son, John, until his death. He was a member of St. Jude Church, where he served as chairman of the parish council and was a lector and eucharistic minister. He also was Scoutmaster of Troop 172, BSA, sponsored by St. Jude Church. He received several Scouting awards, including the Silver Beaver, the St. George Religious Award, and the Vigil Order of the Arrow. He was a past president of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, a member and past president of the Serra Club of Chattanooga, and Knights of Columbus Council 8576 and Assembly 1084. He served on the board of directors of the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation of East Tennessee and Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Mr. Buhrman received the Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award from the Chattanooga Bar Association in 2010 and also received the 2020 Outstanding Service Award for exemplary service to the community of Chattanooga from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ward and Margaret Buhrman, and his brother Lawrence. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Judith A. Buhrman; and three children, Tom (Vivian) Buhrman of Durham, N.C., Audrey (Craig) Davis of Hillsborough, N.C., and John (Julie) Buhrman of Chattanooga; and five grandchildren, Graham Buhrman, Rosemary Buhrman, Cameron Buhrman, Sadie Buhrman, and Ryan Davis. The family was holding a private funeral service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Memorial donations can be made to the Margaret Whiteside Buhrman Scholarship at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic names new executive director, projects assistant By East Tennessee Catholic

he St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic has named Martin P. Vargas as its executive director. Mr. Vargas has an extensive background in business and has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee. “Martin is energized to lead St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic as its new executive director. His unique background includes leadership success with a No. 1 Fortune 500 company, nonprofits, and entrepreneurial start-ups,” said Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, the physician who serves as medical director for the mobile clinic. “Throughout his career, Martin’s work focused on supply-chain and Internet technologies. At Walmart, he led the systems development and implementation of the global perishable platform and distribution systems, which successfully expanded an international supply chain, driving $15 billion in sales and supporting 360 stores at Walmart in Mexico.” Mr. Vargas also participated in several business startups, including as a founding team member of Vcommerce.com, a venture capitalbacked supply-chain technology company that raised $54 million and handled $1 billion in annual ecommerce transactions. “God has blessed me with many gifts and allowed me to share them freely and ‘be the change you want to see,’” Mr. Vargas said. Sister Mary Lisa said Mr. Vargas feels called by God to create positive change in others’ lives through his volunteer work in local and national organizations, including Indiana University and the University of Tennessee Latino alumni associations, All Saints Parish, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Diocese of Knoxville Catholic Committee on Scouting. A native of Indiana, Mr. Var-

Martin P. Vargas

gas earned a bachelor’s degree in international finance and accounting from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee with a focus on logistics and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Mr. Vargas’ family marks two joyous milestones right now. His son, Leonardo, graduated from Knoxville Catholic High School in May and Sr. Mary Luke has begun his freshman year studying fire protection and safety engineering technology at Eastern Kentucky University. And he and his wife, Ellen, will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in October. Also joining the St. Mary's Legacy Clinic is Sister Mary Luke Feldpausch, who is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., religious community. Sister Mary Luke is serving the Diocese of Knoxville’s medical ministry as a clinic assistant and will also serve as a special projects volunteer for the clinic. ■

Ladies of Charity receive Walmart community grant The Ladies of Charity of Knoxville have received a $2,000 local community grant from Walmart Foundation. Five days a week, the Ladies of Charity Emergency Assistance Program provides immediate assistance with food, clothing, and other resources to needy individuals and families in the Knoxville community. “We are grateful for the generosity of Walmart and sincerely appreciate Bryan Spears, manager, and Alec Salem, operations manager at the Walmart Neighborhood Market #3959 at 3120 McKamey Road in Knoxville, for facilitating this grant on our behalf. Grant monies will be used to stock our food pantry,” the Ladies of Charity said in a statement. “Ladies of Charity Knoxville is proud of our mission to serve, and we hope that Walmart takes pride in knowing how much this grant will mean to others. On behalf of the Ladies of Charity Knoxville board, our employees, volunteers, and clients, thank you for enabling us to continue to be the ‘helping hand’ to those in need.” ■

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C AT HO L I C

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Mark Spalding, who visited victims of the Waverly flood Aug. 24. As Bishop Spalding visited flood victims at relief shelters and their destroyed homes, he brought with him a message: “You’re not alone.” “In times of profound tragedy, presence is the most important thing,” Bishop Spalding said. “No matter what crisis we face in life, just knowing another is there with you and for you, especially in our context of faith, to know that God is with us and for us as well is what people need to know.” On Aug. 20, downpours of rain hit Humphrey County, about 60 miles west of Nashville. By 8:30 a.m. the next day, the rapidly rising flood waters were crashing through Waverly, wreaking havoc on homes and businesses alike. Hundreds of homes were affected from having minor damage to being destroyed. Besides the confirmed deaths, more people were still missing as of Aug. 25. “It just came in as an influx,” said Grey Collier, public information officer for the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency. “Within just 10 to 30 minutes, people went from dry floors to having to climb in their attics.” Barbara Hooper, flood relief coordinator for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Patrick Church and conference vice president, said this was the worst flood the community has ever experienced. “This is like a tsunami in a foreign city, and we’re in a little town in Tennessee,” Mr. Hooper said. “Now, we’re seeing what they go through all the time.” Jackie Tate, a middle school language arts teacher at St. Patrick School, said the morning of the flood, she and her family were at home and had their bags packed and ready to go. They were keeping an eye on the back door where they expected to see the waters rise. But after her husband, Christian, took their dog out in the front yard and saw the rising water headed their way, he rushed inside to warn them to evacuate. The Tate family was unable to leave in their truck, so they sought

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After the rains Bishop J. Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville visits with flood victims in Waverly, Tenn., on Aug. 24, praying with them and delivering the message “You’re not alone.”

Prayers and comfort Bishop Spalding embraces Henry Kersten outside his home in Waverly, Tenn., on Aug. 24. Mr. Kersten’s wife, Leslie, was killed by the Aug. 21 floods. Also pictured is Joanne Dashiell, Mr. Kersten’s daughter. shelter at their neighbor’s home on higher ground. “We knew we might get into the flooding area, but I’ve never seen anything like that,” Tate told the Tennessee Register. The St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Patrick helped Tate and her family secure a rental property while

they wait for government aid. “They have been an absolute godsend,” Mrs. Tate said. “(St. Patrick), they’re my people.” On Aug. 24 President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Tennessee, making assistance available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to supple-

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ment state and local recovery efforts, including in Humphreys County. FEMA assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Despite the devastation experienced, victims and volunteers alike said the way the community has come together with clothing and food collections in McEwen and Waverly has been overwhelming. “The outpouring of support has been phenomenal,” Collier said. “This is what humanity is,” said Margaret Loose, family friend of St. Patrick parishioners James and Patsy Bradley, who also lost their home. “This is what the Volunteer State truly means,” added Waverly Vice Mayor Mike Goodman, referring to the state’s nickname. Mrs. Tate’s family has already benefited from the collections of food, clothing, and supplies. “It is really amazing to watch, but I’m not surprised,” Mrs. Tate said. “(This community) will give you the shirt off their back.” ■

TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C ATH OLI C