Aug. 8, 2010, ET Catholic by Diocese of Knoxville

CNS PHOTO/J. D. LONG-GARCIA

Praying about immigration Rosa Maria Soto, a parishioner from St. Augustin Church in Phoenix, addresses a crowd outside the Arizona Capitol July 28 in Phoenix. Soto was one of the leaders of an interfaith vigil praying for the defeat of Arizona’s controversial immigration law. page 8

THE EAST TENNESSEE

Volume 19 • Number 23 • August 8, 2010

The

N E W S PA P E R

of the D I O C E S E of K N O X V I L L E w w w. d i o k n o x . o r g

Casey sentenced after pleading guilty in N.C.

‘Crime of ignorance’ in Oak Ridge A vandal damages several objects at St. Mary, but parishioners and a donor help with the cleanup. By Dan McWilliams

BY DA N M CW I L L I AMS

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arishioners and staffers from St. Mary in Oak Ridge have cleaned up much of the damage caused by a vandal on the afternoon of July 16, and an anonymous donor has underwritten the cost of repairs. The vandal wrote vulgarities on the large statue of the parish patron facing Oak Ridge Turnpike, urinated in a holywater font, spilled four large containers of grease in the church cafeteria, and wrote on or damaged other statues in secluded areas outside the church. As of press time, no suspect or suspects had been arrested in the case. St. Mary pastor Father Bill McKenzie and director of religious education Karen Wilkins-Butz suspected a single person was behind the damage. “My immediate reaction is how sad it is that anyone could respond that way to faith,” said Father McKenzie, “whether it’s the acting out of a child, an adolescent, or an adult with a lack of understanding. “It’s not a crime of hate so much as a crime of ignorance.

DAN MCWILLIAMS

Ryan Butz cleans up marker scrawls on the Rachel statue at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge on July 26. The Rachel Garden sustained much of the damage caused by a vandal, who broke an Our Lady of Guadalupe statue and pulled up flowers and statues of cherubs in and around the enclosed space. RACHEL MOURNING

It’s not understanding the importance and value in the life of our community of those symbols and the important role they play in our faith life.” Ms. Wilkins-Butz’s reaction to the vandalism was likely the same as that of other parishioners’. “I was dumbfounded, but we all worked as a team to clean up what we

could, and we’re keeping the person or people who did this in prayer because obviously they’ve got issues and are upset by something.” Bishop Richard F. Stika celebrated Mass at St. Mary on July 25, the first Sunday after the vandalism came to light. “He came out on Sunday and rededicated our building

because of the violation,” said Father McKenzie two days later. “It wasn’t really a reconsecration but more of a rededication for the people to deal with the fact. He rededicated the whole place to the goodness of God.” The damage was done within a twohour window. “People had been in that area before 2 p.m. and after 4,” said the

St. Mary pastor. A parishioner found the first sign— two inches of grease across the kitchen floor—before the additional damage was discovered. That included a vulgar drawing on a side door of the cafeteria and X’s and other scrawls written across the kneeling statue of Rachel in the Rachel Garden. Oak Ridge continued on page 6

Peace Corps allows UT grad to continue helping needy Brittany Neace is training as a volunteer this summer in Mongolia and will serve two years there, teaching life skills to local residents. B Y D A N MCW I L L I A MS

er lifetime of volunteering to assist the needy led Brittany Neace to join the Peace Corps, and the recent University of Tennessee graduate is now training in Mongolia for two years of service there. “What attracted me to the Peace Corps was the idea that someone could spend two years solely helping those in need,” she said. “Not a lot of people have that opportunity in life, so for me the Peace Corps is giving me the means to be able to devote myself completely to helping others. How awesome is that? The fact that I get to do this while experiencing a whole new culture is just an added bonus.” Ms. Neace was a parishioner of Blessed John XXIII on the UT campus throughout college and of Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa as a high-schooler. “All of my life I have been involved in volunteering,” she said. “Whether it has been in school, church, or on my own, I have always been one to want to help those in need.”

COURTESY OF BRITTANY NEACE

etired priest Bill Casey, removed from ministry April 14 after admitting to the credibility of an Indiana man’s sexualabuse charges against him, pled guilty to a felony crime against nature July 28 in Marion, N.C. He was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended to two years of supervised probation. Judge Laura Powell accepted the plea in McDowell County District Court and also ordered Mr. Casey, 76, to pay a $500 fine, court costs, and an additional $150 for his transfer to Tennessee, where he must serve his probation, reported The McDowell News. The judge said Mr. Casey, who lives in Greeneville and had long served at Notre Dame Parish there, is to refrain from using drugs or controlled substances or viewing pornography. He must take part in a sex-offender program and cannot contact anyone under 18 without supervision, leave the United States during his sentence, or contact the victim or his family. Warren Tucker, 44, of Jeffersonville, Ind., came forward April 14 with his charges that the priest in the late 1970s had “sexually abused me in every way imaginable.” Mr. Casey at that time was pastor of St. Dominic in Kingsport, and Mr. Tucker was a student at the parish school. After the charges went public, Mr. Casey made his admission the same evening to Bishop Richard F. Stika regarding them, and the bishop immediately suspended Mr. Casey from ministry. He can no longer serve as a priest anywhere in the world. Following the guilty plea, Bishop Stika issued a statement, saying that the diocese has “observed and fully cooperated with the judicial process.” “When Mr. Tucker came to us this spring, I assured him of my prayers and those of the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville,” the bishop said in the statement.

Brittany Neace, a parishioner of Blessed John XXIII Parish in college and Our Lady of Fatima in high school, stands before a green backdrop in Mongolia. She will be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer Aug. 20.

NEACE IN THE PEACE CORPS

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letters to the

EDITOR

Reader: Satan wants to destroy the Church

Father Gabriele Amorth is the renowned chief exorcist of Rome. He has written two books: An Exorcist Tells His Story (Ignatius Press, 1999) and An Exorcist: More Stories (Ignatius Press, 2002). I have read both. Father Amorth points out that the devil is prompting the attacks on the Church over the pedophilia scandals. The devil “wants the death of the Church because she is the mother of all the saints,” he wrote. He noted that Satan “combats the Church through the men of the Church, but he can do nothing to the Church” because it is Christ’s. —Joe Schaad Rutledge Inmates appreciate visit from Bishop Stika

On Monday, July 12, Bishop Richard Stika received a warm welcome from the men of the Catholic community at Morgan County Correctional Complex as he made his first visit and celebrated Mass in the prison chapel. Concelebrating was Father Michael Sweeney of Blessed Sacrament. I was assisting deacon. After Mass, Father Sweeney announced that the bishop’s birthday was July 4 and led the congregation in singing “Happy Birthday” to him. The bishop then hosted a brief question-and-answer session. Everyone then attended the annual Catholic community banquet. The donated food was prepared and served by the students and instructor of the prison’s culinary-arts program. We had cake and ice cream in honor of Bishop Stika’s birthday. The prison’s sign and graphic-arts shop prepared cards and certificates of appreciation that were presented to the bishop, Father Sweeney, Sean Driscoll, Paul Beanblossom, John Cross, and me. The bishop promised to schedule a return visit during the Christmas season. ■ —Deacon Norm Amero Oak Ridge Letters should be 350 words or less and will be edited for grammar, style, clarity, and length. Submit them by e-mail or mail: news@ dioknox.org, 805 Northshore Drive Southwest, Knoxville, TN 37919. Letters to the editor reflect the opinions of their authors and not those of the editorial staff or the publisher.

Neace continued from page 1

An AmeriCorps volunteer and high school and college teachers who were Peace Corps volunteers helped steer Ms. Neace toward such programs. The Cincinnati native left for Mongolia on June 3 and is in the middle of her pre-service training. On Aug. 20 she’ll be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer. She is learning how to be a life-skills trainer with the Corps’ Community Youth Development sector, although she won’t find out her exact duties as a volunteer until five days before her swearing-in. She said she could be assigned to an Aimag Children’s Center as a social worker (aimags are provincial capitals in Mongolia). She’ll be helping local residents build capacity in a number of life skills. “‘Life skills’ are similar to what the United States calls ‘character education,’” she said. “So part of my job will be training teachers within schools how to use the life-skill books provided by Peace Corps in the hope they will be implemented within the curriculum.” The Corps’ 11 life-skill books cover communication, empathy, critical thinking, decisionmaking skills, relationships, education on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STI), self esteem, alcoholism, emotions, managing stress, and planning. “That’s not everything I will be doing,” said Ms. Neace. “I will also be teaching English, helping organize student-led organizations, community service, trainings, and many more exciting tasks.” Ms. Neace said that “children are my main concern.” “My target group is young boys. They seem to have the highest dropout rate, considering most girls tend to go on to higher education here. The children here are subjected to child labor in mines, homelessness, abuse, trafficking, and more. Children with disabilities are essentially ignored. There are only special schools for children with disabilities in Ulaanbaatar, the capital. “The main thing I am here trying to do is teach awareness of these subjects to help prevent future issues.” On the day-to-day living conditions and challenges Mongolians face, Ms. Neace said, “I could write an entire book on that subject alone” but mentioned several pressing issues. “Water conditions here are bad. They have wells where most people get their water, but the water is contaminated with fecal matter. When Mongolia was under Soviet rule, they built waste lines underground but put them over the water lines, and over time the waste lines have corroded and contaminated the water lines. So Mongolians drink this water, Neace continued on page 6

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AUGUST 8, 2010

living the

READINGS

BY FATHER JOSEPH BRANDO

The lightness of our faith Jesus tells us not to be afraid because God always provides passovers.

The span of time between Abraham and Moses was about 500 years. Yet the author of the Book of Wisdom proclaims that our fathers in faith knew the Passover was going to take place. Were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob clairvoyant? That’s not the point being made by the author, who wrote less than 100 years before Christ. The point is that the patriarchs had a deep faith. They truly believed. That means they personally knew God and experienced God’s love for his people. Whenever they got themselves into a difficult position, such as their slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel could de-

pend on God to free them. That was a given. How many times did that happen during the time of the Judges, during the period of the Babylonian captivity, and in the days of the Maccabees? The Book of Wisdom thus assured the Jews scattered throughout the Greco-Roman world that God would act soon in the same manner. If Abraham knew of the Passover, he and those who shared his faith could also know that God would send a savior to make something good come out of Israel’s difficult circumstances in the years before Christ. Today’s Gospel indicates that Jesus wanted us to have the same confident faith working in our lives. Our faith has to be lived. We believe that all good things will come to those who rely on Christ. So Jesus orders

us, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock.” Yet we do worry. If we didn’t suffer from anxieties, we would all follow the next order Jesus gives us in this passage from Luke. “Sell your belongings and give alms.” Most of us, rather, feel the weight of depression when our savings are depleted and begin to panic when hard economic times confront us. Do we not know that God is love and cares for us? We Christians should possess the light-hearted feeling of knowing that God provides passovers every time we recognize our faults and pray for deliverance. Our Savior is with us and hears us. Jesus goes on and demands that we light our lamps. He is speaking of the outward sign of our faith, which, like that of Abraham, sees the bright side. The brightest and lightest side, after all, is God’s. ■ Aug. 8, 19th Sunday in ordinary time Wisdom 18:6-9 Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-22 Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Luke 12:32-48

Assumed into heaven At the end of time, we too can follow Mary bodily into God’s presence.

ouls don’t die. They can’t. They’re spiritual and have no moving parts. Nothing about them can decay or cease to be. When Mary declared in today’s Gospel passage that her soul “proclaims the greatness of the Lord,” she was not describing a simple historic event that quickly entered into

the past. Not for Mary. Her soul is still alive and proclaims God’s greatness for all eternity. We believe that Mary maintains the position of being the only Christian human being alive in heaven body and soul*. Today’s solemnity of Mary’s assumption into heaven celebrates that fact.

There is, in the presence of God, a human being crying out, with a glorified body and soul, the greatness of the Lord. This may seem amazing. It really shouldn’t be. Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven assure us that we who share in his life are also destined eventually to share

eternal life with him body and soul. For us that will begin at the end of the world, as Paul assures us in today’s second reading. Paul also tells us, “All shall be brought to life but each one in proper order.” The “proper order” Readings continued on page 3

Aug. 15, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10 Psalm 45:10-12, 16 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 Luke 1:39-56

WEEKDAY READINGS Monday, Aug. 9: Ezekiel 1:2-5, 2428; Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14; Matthew 17:22-27 Tuesday, Aug. 10: Feast, Lawrence, deacon, martyr, 2 Corinthians 9:6-10; Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9; John 12:24-26 Wednesday, Aug. 11: Memorial, Clare, virgin, Ezekiel 9:1-7 and 10:1822; Psalm 113:1-6; Matthew 18:1520 Thursday, Aug. 12: Ezekiel 12:1-12; Psalm 78:56-59, 61-62; Matthew 18:21–19:1 Friday, Aug. 13: Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60,

63; Isaiah 12:2-6; Matthew 19:3-12 Saturday, Aug. 14: Memorial, Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest, martyr, Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32; Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19; Matthew 19:13-15; vigil Mass for the Assumption, 1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16 and 16:1-2; Psalm 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Luke 11:27-28 Monday, Aug. 16: Ezekiel 24:15-23; Deuteronomy 32:18-21; Matthew 19:16-22 Tuesday, Aug. 17: Ezekiel 28:1-10; Deuteronomy 32:26-28, 30, 35-36;

Matthew 19:23-30 Wednesday, Aug. 18: Ezekiel 34:111; Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 20:1-16 Thursday, Aug. 19: Ezekiel 36:23-28; Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19; Matthew 22:1-14 Friday, Aug. 20: Memorial, Bernard, abbot, doctor of the Church, Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 107:2-9; Matthew 22:34-40 Saturday, Aug. 21: Memorial, Pius X, pope, Ezekiel 43:1-7; Psalm 85:9-14; Matthew 23:1-12 ■

same.” Mr. Tucker said Mr. Casey abused him in Kingsport and in Greene County, as well as on trips to McDowell County and Virginia. Last September Mr. Tucker filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Casey in Marion since North Carolina has no statute of limitations on charges of childhood sexual abuse. Mr. Casey was arrested April 19 in Greene County and charged with first-degree sexual offense. Since North Caroli-

na did not have such a charge in 1977 or 1978—Mr. Tucker told the court he was unsure of the exact date—when the abuse occurred there, the charge against Mr. Casey was changed to the one on the books then: a crime against nature. The abuse occurred when Mr. Tucker was between the ages of 10 1/2 and 15, he said. The abuse to which Mr. Casey pled guilty occurred at the

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“I also apologized to him and reiterated my firm belief that the sexual abuse of minors by anyone is a travesty of the greatest magnitude and an abomination before God. “I wish to restate my apology and my commitment to continued prayers for Mr. Tucker and his family. I applaud him and other victims of sexual abuse for their bravery in coming forward to seek healing and justice. I strongly encourage all victims of abuse to do the

Bishop Richard F. Stika Publisher Mary C. Weaver Editor Dan McWilliams Assistant editor

THE EAST TENNESSEE

805 Northshore Drive S.W .

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Margaret Hunt Administrative assistant Toni Pacitti Intern

Knoxville, TN 37919-7551

The East Tennessee Catholic (USPS 007211) is published twice monthly by the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, 805 Northshore Drive S.W., Knoxville, TN 37919-7551. Periodicals-class postage paid at Knoxville, Tenn. Printed on recycled paper by the Knoxville News Sentinel Postmaster: Send address changes to The East Tennessee Catholic, P.O. Box 11127, Knoxville, TN 37939-1127 How to reach us:

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TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

he dwells

AMONG US

BY BISHOP RICHARD F. STIKA

Suffering and blessings Life’s tragedies often lead us in new directions of hope.

“You ought to be dead.” Not a day has gone by since my near-death experience last August when I haven’t recalled those words of my doctor, spoken in the blunt manner doctors are sometimes known for. He immediately followed those words with the only explanation he could come up with for my survival, a reason that ought to have been more obvious to me than to him: “I can’t explain it,” he said, “except for the power of prayer.” Does God hear our prayers, and can he bring good out of suffering and tragedy? Absolutely. And if I needed to be persuaded of this before, I sure didn’t need it after my hospitalization. Perhaps because I consider Pope John Paul II to be my spiritual mentor, I see in a very humble way a certain parallel between my near-death experience and the assassination attempt on his life in 1981. John Paul II saw his miraculous survival as a mystery of the “Divine Mercy,” and I believe that was also the case for me. Like the bullet that miraculously zigzagged around every major organ in John Paul II’s body, a number of zigzagged events undoubtedly contributed to my survival. It was May 13 when John Paul II was shot, the anniversary of the first apparition of the Blessed Mother in Fatima in 1917. It was the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15 when I was hospitalized in such dire straits last year. John Paul II attributed the altered path of the bullet to Our Lady, and I can now see how the Mother of Mercy’s maternal arm drew me away from danger at all the right moments. I had traveled to Fort

once upon

A TIME

Lauderdale to see my dear friend, retired Maronite Archbishop Francis Zayek. He was gravely ill and preparing to return to Lebanon. My spur-of-the-moment decision to visit him placed me within two and half minutes of the only hospital in the area that had the necessary equipment, trained physicians, and technicians to treat the condition I had suffered as the result of an abscessed tooth, which led to diabetic ketoacidosis and cardiogenic shock. It wasn’t even minutes that put me within the reach of death but seconds. On hand were all the right doctors, nurses, and technicians, but even then, they did not expect me to pull through. I know that as word quickly spread of my hospitalization, so many of you dropped to your knees and prayed fervently for me. For your prayers and sacrifices on my behalf, I am forever grateful. When John Paul II later visited his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca, in jail, Agca asked him, “So why aren’t you dead?” As John Paul II carried those words with him for the rest of his life, so I shall also carry those words of my doctor: “You ought to be dead.” On Aug. 22, as I was being driven to the airport for my medical flight back to Knoxville, Father David Boettner and Deacon Sean Smith, who were at my bedside during my hospitalization and were accompanying me home, looked up above the airport entrance and saw the word Jesus written across the sky. As hard as we searched, we couldn’t see the airplane we supposed had written those letters in the sky. It was the memorial of the Queenship of Mary, and I had been given another marvelous sign of the Divine Mercy in my life. I felt as though Our Lady had written that name above all names in the

BY MONSIGNOR XAVIER MANKEL

So what happened? Here’s why Sacred Heart Church became the diocese’s cathedral.

Although the CRUX of the News in announcing that Knoxville would become a diocese in September 1988 stated that Holy Ghost Church in downtown Knoxville would become the cathedral church for the new diocese, it became more and more obvious that even though the beautiful Norman Gothic Church certainly had many of the features that would lend itself to being the principal church of the diocese, there were other factors that entered in. Holy Ghost Church can comfortably accommodate only 400 persons in the nave and 40 more in the side chapels. The choir loft is rather small. The crypt (from 1926 until 2009) was somewhat unfinished and leaked from the north and south foundations because French drains were not installed when the building was erectT H E EA S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

ed. Parking at the time was quite limited, and the rectory (built in 1912 to house one priest and one housekeeper) was quite small. While the parish school (St. Joseph) had been moved five miles north to Cedar Lane in Fountain City in 1963, the original church building with classrooms on its second floor (“Bishop Byrne style”) already housed the thrift shop of the Ladies of Charity of Knoxville and the upper level had been condemned for public use. Although the beautiful photographs of the church sent to Rome in the application packet gave the appearance of a much larger building (e.g. the roof tiles, of slate, were proportionately smaller near the peak of the roof, giving the impression that the building was much larger than it is— the genius of an architect who knew his business), it just wasn’t. The lots surrounding Holy Ghost were not for sale at that time, so expansion was virtually impossible. What about venerable Immaculate Conception Church atop Summit Hill further

sky so I would never forget that Jesus had a plan he expected me to fulfill. Why did I survive? As a bishop, a successor of the Apostles, I feel I have been called in a more intense way to be an apostle of prayer, having been the miraculous beneficiary of so many prayers. I also have come to understand that my sufferings were the key that unlocked doors not only in my life but also for this diocese that otherwise might not have opened. The “mystery of Mercy” I experienced last year prepared the way for the new convent of the Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich. The loving arm of Mary that saved me from death has grown into an extension of her embrace with the establishment of another religious order in our diocese, the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary. These and so many other things that have transpired in the past year have convinced me that sufferings have purpose. Since that most special day of Aug. 15, I am reminded every time I look at a crucifix that in our earthly life we do not share so much in the resurrection of Christ as we do in his sufferings upon the cross. But because Christ redeemed suffering by experiencing all our earthly pain in his own body, I know that suffering has meaning and purpose. I pray none of us will lose sight of this most important lesson. God does bring good out of our sufferings and the tragedies of life. ■ BISHOP STIKA’S SCHEDULE These are some of Bishop Stika’s appointments: Aug. 8: 9 a.m., Mass, Sacred Heart Cathedral Aug. 11-12: meeting of bishops of Louisville, Ky., Province, Louisville Aug. 15: 11 a.m., Mass and dedication of narthex and catechetical building, Notre Dame Church, Greeneville Aug. 15: 6 p.m., Mass with Vietnamese community, Immaculate Conception Church, Knoxville Aug. 19: 5 p.m., seminarian picnic, bishop’s residence Aug. 21: Diocesan Day, Sacred Heart Cathedral ■

downtown? Virtually the same situation. Although it did seat 525 persons in the nave, it had no side chapels, no parish school (children from IC parish may attend St. Joseph School or Sunday school of religion at St. Joseph School) and only a small rectory and office. Parking was at an even greater premium than at Holy Ghost. Remember that before the announcement most of the planning needed to be kept confidential. The special team appointed by Bishop James D. Niedergeses was made up of the three episcopal vicars: from Chattanooga (Father Al Humbrecht), Kingsport (Father Bill Gahagan), and Knoxville (myself). We recommended that Sacred Heart be named the cathedral for very obvious reasons: a larger nave (it seated 600 until later renovations reduced the number by about 50 people), a school, ample parking, and acreage for expansion. Good Carl Fillauer owned the building north of the site, and he offered to lease a part of that Erin Drive property to the diocese for a chancery office. So by the day the announcement was made at a press conference in Shea Room I on the Sacred Heart Church plant, the bishopelect could announce (and he Mankel continued on page 6

www.d ioknox.org

from the bishop’s

OFFICE

Bishop Stika names two to College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council n June 17 Bishop Richard F. Stika named Father Charlie Donahue, CSP, to a five-year term with the College of Consultors. The bishop also appointed him to the Presbyteral Council to fill the place vacated by Father Joe Ciccone, CSP. Father Donahue is pastor of Blessed John XXIII Parish in Knoxville. Father Ciccone was pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Knoxville and recently began an assignment as director of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at Ohio State University. On the same date the bishop appointed Father David Boettner as an ex-officio member of the Presbyteral Council and a member of the College of Consultors. Father Boettner is moderator of the curia, a vicar general for the diocese, and rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral. Other consultors for the diocese are Father Patrick Brownell, pastor of St. Augustine, Signal Mountain; Father Pat Garrity, pastor of St. John Neumann, Farragut; Father Bob Hofstetter, pastor of Good Shepherd, Newport; Monsignor Al Humbrecht, pastor of Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy; Monsignor Xavier Mankel, pastor of Holy Ghost, Knoxville; and Father Mike Nolan, pastor of St. Dominic, Kingsport. Consultors are not elected but chosen by a bishop, and members must also be part of a diocese’s presbyteral council. Their number must be between six and 12. Among the College of Consultors’ duties are electing a diocesan administrator when a see becomes vacant (e.g., because its bishop has been reassigned); filling the role of the presbyteral council during a vacant see; and consulting when a finance officer is hired or fired. ■

Cardinal Rigali to speak at Diocesan Day on Aug. 21 iocesan Day returns this summer with Bishop Richard F. Stika and longtime friend Cardinal Justin F. Rigali scheduled to speak. Sacred Heart Cathedral will host Diocesan Day 2010 on Saturday, Aug. 21. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. The cardinal, the archbishop of Philadelphia and a member and former chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pro-Life Activities Committee, will speak twice at this year’s event. “Cardinal Rigali will give the keynote as well as an afternoon reflection on the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, with a question-and-answer period,” said Paul Simoneau, director of the Diocesan Office of Justice and Peace and the coordinator of Diocesan Day. Bishop Stika will be the homilist for the Diocesan Day Mass, which will begin at 11:30 a.m., and he will provide a reflection after lunch. Proceeds of the day will benefit Catholic Charities’ Pregnancy Help Services as well as Catholic Relief Services. Registration is $25 (lunch included) through Aug. 16. Registration after Aug. 16 costs $25 but does not include lunch. Student registration is $10. Priests and religious may attend free but must register. Register online at dioknox.org (select Events, then Event Registration) or visit bit.ly/Diocesan Day2010. For details, call Mr. Simoneau at 865584-3307. ■

Readings continued from page 2

is not difficult to discern. Mary is the high point of human spiritual development, as God readied humanity to produce a mother from whom the Son of God would be born as a human. That puts Mary first in the proper order of entering fully into eternal life body and soul. What a great privilege it is for all human beings to know Mary’s presence in heaven assures the saints they will soon follow her. Until then, her voice proclaims from heaven what John the Divine heard: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.” To the witness of John and Luke and Paul, today’s Gospel adds that of Elizabeth. In response to Mary’s Magnificat, Elizabeth prophetically declares her blessed. Mary believed the word of God and gave birth to the Word of God. If you listen for a human voice from heaven, it is Mary’s, proclaiming God’s praise. ■ Father Brando is pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg. *In 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah is taken body and soul into heaven, and in Genesis 5:24, the Scriptures say, “Then Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him.” A footnote in the New American Bible states, “In place of the usual formula, ‘Then he died,’ the change to ‘Enoch walked with God’ clearly implies that he did not die, but like Elijah was taken alive to God’s abode.” AUGUST 8, 2010

■

BY TONI PACITTI

■ The Knights of Columbus are col-

lecting aluminum cans for recycling to send monthly stipends to three seminarians. Drop cans in the collection area behind the gym. ■ When diners at The Flavors of Italy restaurant in Soddy-Daisy present a coupon found at ccetn.org, the restaurant will give 10 percent of sales to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Call 423-267-1297. ■ Knights Council 6099 will sponsor its seventh annual Summer Luau beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, at the Knights hall on Lee Highway. The event will feature a live band, food, drinks, and prizes. Tickets are $15. Call 899-9989.

St. Augustine, Signal Mountain ■ For the 21st year the parish is team-

ing up with Signal Mountain Social Services to provide new school supplies, backpacks, and $30 clothing vouchers for 90 students in Signal Mountain. Sponsorships of $70 for each student are needed. Checks should be made out to Signal Mountain Social Services and may be mailed to the organization at P.O. Box 294, Signal Mountain, TN 37377, or dropped off at the St. Augustine office. Call Mary Lee at 423-886-5982 for more details.

St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill ■ Positions are available for cate-

chists to teach pre-kindergarten youth and those in first through seventh grades and 10th grade. Contact Kathy Ross at 828-494-3838 or rossk54@ gmail.com. ■ Newcomers: Ansbeth and Lazaro Sanchez and their children, Rosa, Lazaro, and Angel; John and Alvin Clark

St. Jude, Chattanooga ■ St. Jude School registration will be

held from 7:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 5, in the family-life center gym. A used-uniform sale will take place at the same time. All items are $5, and proceeds will benefit the school. Regular classes for grades one through eight begin Monday, Aug. 9. ■ Parish youth recently helped create new pages for youth ministry on the St. Jude website, www.stjude chattanooga.org. Click Youth Groups or Youth Ministries.

St. Mary, Athens ■ Cantors and choir members are

needed for the new music ministry. Rehearsals are held after the 10 a.m. Mass on Sundays. Contact Gay Greene at gaygreene@hotmail.com or 423-284-2152 for details. ■ Volunteers are needed to teach religious education classes for first, third, fourth, and fifth grades on Sunday mornings. Teachers and substitutes are also needed for Wednesday evenings. Call Lee Ann Moates at 2631217 or the parish office at 745-4277. Cumberland Mountain Deanery

All Saints, Knoxville ■ Cub Scout Pack 630 and Boy Scout

Troop 630 will host a cookout and information night at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30, at the pavilion. To register or learn more, call Kim Uhl at 865-3867033 for Cub Scouts in grades one through five or Jeff Swanson at 5390437 for boys in grades six through 12.

Blessed Sacrament, Harriman ■ The Council of Catholic Women will

sponsor “The Golden Girls Luncheon” for women ages 70 and older at noon Tuesday, Aug. 10, at Adelaide’s in Kingston. Lunch is free for the 70and-older group and $15 for those under 70. Payments must be made by Saturday, Aug. 7. Call Gett Shooster at 865-376-7645.

St. John Neumann, Farragut ■ A veteran’s memorial is on display in the narthex next to the elevator. To include a family member who was a parishioner at the time of his or her death in military service, e-mail Rich Cataldi at cdrcataldi@tds.net or see him after 10:30 a.m. Masses on Sunday.

St. Francis of Assisi, Fairﬁeld Glade ■ The book club will meet at

10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the conference room to discuss Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Ballantine Books, 2009) by Jamie Ford. 4

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AUGUST 8, 2010

■ Anniversaries: Jim and Helen Mc-

Gonagle (64), Emery and Pat Nagy (61), George and Jean McGonagle (59), William and Mary Best (56), Ralph and Lois Taylor (53), Ben and Jackie Ryba (53), Mike and Janet Kilar (52), James and Laura Knoll (52), James and Corinne Gabriel (51), Tom and Peg Clifford (50), William and Mary Smith (30), Frank and Mary Wright (20), Tom and Denise Hanifer (5)

COURTESY OF FATHER PATRICK RESEN (2)

OLPH, Chattanooga

St. Mary, Oak Ridge ■ The Council of Catholic Women will

have a day of cards and games from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Columbus Hall. Lunch and baby-sitting will be provided. Call Kathy Morin at 865-483-3103.

St. Thomas, Lenoir City ■ The adult faith-formation committee

is sponsoring a program titled “Seven Deadly Sins . . . Seven Lively Virtues” from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Aug. 24 through Sept. 28. Kathleen Mitchell is the presenter. To register, contact her at 865-776-1223 or krmitchell730@yahoo.com. Five Rivers Deanery

Holy Trinity, Jefferson City ■ Newly elected Knights of Colum-

bus officers are Bob Rave, Grand Knight; Dave Cornell, deputy Grand Knight; Jeff Taylor, financial secretary; Mike Sulkowski, treasurer; Bob Himmelsbach, recorder; Ray Lucot, advocate; Ralph Holt, chancellor; Dennis Clark, warden; Jack McCoy, inside guard; Eric Perry, outside guard; and Bill Jurkonie, Scott Mulligan, and Stan Szalkiewicz, trustees. ■ The Council of Catholic Women will host a family picnic at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9, in the pavilion.

SISTERS VISIT Children taking part in the catechetical program at St. Catherine Labouré pose with their instructors and St. Catherine pastor Father Patrick Resen. The youngsters are (from left) Antonio Aiello, Heather Sewick, Riley Retting, Sophia Aiello, Sam Jabaley, Sarah Roberson, Vanessa Holman, Maya Blanche, and Joshua Blanche. The Dominicans are Sister Maria Joseph, OP; Sister Marie Noelle, OP; and Sister Grace Dominic, OP.

Dominicans lead catechetical program in Copperhill hree Dominican Sisters from the St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville led a summer catechesis program at St. Catherine Labouré Church in Copperhill and St. Anthony of Padua Church in nearby Blue Ridge, Ga., on July 11 and 12. Sisters Maria Joseph, Grace Dominic, and Marie Noelle conducted the event for children ages 5 to 12. The first day included a session at St. Catherine Labouré that introduced the “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” a Montessori-related program on reading and meditating on Scripture. Vespers and benediction followed. The second day began with

Sister Grace Dominic explains the vessels used at Mass to Joshua Blanche.

Mass at St. Anthony, after which children were divided into three age groups and attended three catechetical sessions. ■

Notre Dame, Greeneville ■ Bishop Richard F. Stika will dedi-

cate the parish’s new building following a bilingual Mass at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. There will be no 3 p.m. Mass in Spanish. A prime-rib lunch will be served at 1 p.m. after the dedication. Cost is $10 for adults or $5 for a child’s meal of chicken nuggets. Call the parish office at 423-639-9381 for details.

COURTESY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES PARISH

Chattanooga Deanery

St. Dominic, Kingsport ■ Karen Lewicki is the parish’s new director of religious education.

St. Patrick, Morristown ■ RCIA will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9, with a series of question-andanswer sessions. E-mail Deacon Jim Fage at djim5rivers@charter.net. ■ Students preparing to be confirmed will begin weekly classes at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11. ■ Religious-education classes for preschoolers through 10th-graders will begin Sunday, Aug. 15, in the parish center. Preschoolers meet during the 9 a.m. Mass, and other grades from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Teachers already signed up and those interested in teaching will meet Sunday, Aug. 8, following the 9 a.m. Mass. ■ Parishioners are encouraged to return their pledge cards for the Vision 2010 campaign. Smoky Mountain Deanery

Holy Ghost, Knoxville ■ Father Anthony Weis, who attended

St. Joseph School (supported by Holy Ghost Parish) before his family moved to Alabama, was ordained a priest June 6 in Birmingham, Ala.

Rosary held at shrine in New Hope Knights of Columbus from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in South Pittsburg lead a walk-around rosary May 15 at the Virgin of the Poor Shrine in nearby New Hope.

SCOTT MAENTZ

NOTES

Youths at St. Mary in Athens receive confirmation, make donation Bishop Richard F. Stika confirmed nine youths at St. Mary Church in Athens on May 19, and he presided over the moving of the tabernacle to its new location behind the altar. St. Mary youth presented Bishop Stika with a check for $533.25 for his seminarian fund. The proceeds were raised from a recent yard sale. With the bishop are (from left) Deacon Mick Spencer, St. Mary pastor Father William Oruko, AJ, director of religious education Lee Ann Moates, Juan Hernandez, Haley Ouellette, Edith Barajas, Andy Granger, Amanda Bingham, Brenda Banda, Joseph Pascarella, Trevor Guthrie, Pablo Reyes, and confirmation catechists Marty and Lou Pascarella.

Immaculate Conception, Knoxville ■ Bernadette Hunt represented the

parish at the diocesan Youth Leadership Institute held in Greeneville from July 25 through 29.

St. Albert the Great, Knoxville ■ A new parish men’s club will

launch at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, with a gathering under the pavilion featuring beer-cooked bratwurst and beverages. Club goals and the first service project will be introduced at 7 p.m. ■ Seminarian Tony Budnick will serve in the parish for two weeks beginning Thursday, Aug. 5. ■ Baptisms: Noah Alexander Barnett, son of Cheryl and Sean Barnette; Riley James Christopher Bartley, son of Shannon and Mitchell Bartley; Tavish Andrew Curry, son of Jeanie and Patrick Curry; Aliyah Marie and Jonathan Ross Lee Fox, children of Tesha and Jonathan Fox ■

COURTESY OF ANDREA YAGER

parish

Couples at St. Alphonsus attend marriage-enrichment programs Seventeen couples from St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville participated in a “Six Dates for Married Couples” enrichment program during Lent this year. Donna and Gus Gocella reviewed the Six Dates program with St. Alphonsus pastor Father Jim Harvey, pictured (center) with the Gocellas above. The couples met weekly for six weeks and then went out on individual dates. Couples attending the final date were presented a rose for their dedication to the program.

www.d ioknox.org

TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

All Saints Parish in Knoxville is celebrating its 16th anniversary with an “All Saints Coming Together” event. Volunteers are visiting the parish’s 2,400 families over the course of the month to tell them they will pray for them for one hour before the Blessed Sacrament during a week of prayer Aug. 22 through 28. The event will end Sunday, Aug. 29, with an outdoor Mass at 10 a.m. and a picnic. Parishioners should arrive by 9:30 a.m. in order to park and bring a picnic lunch as well as chairs or blankets to sit on. Parishioners who are natives of other countries are encouraged to bring a flag from their home nation. The only other Mass that weekend will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. Sign up in the back of the church for an hour of prayer. Contact the parish office at 865-531-0770 or allsaintsknox@ bellsouth.net for more information. A conference for adult women as well as girls in middle and high school is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at All Saints Church in Knoxville. Mass will be held at 9 a.m., with coffee and doughnuts afterward. The event is presented by ENDOW (Educating on the Nature & Dignity of Women), a Catholic organization created to help women discover their Godgiven dignity through the richness and authenticity of Catholic teaching. The curriculum is based on Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and draws on the work of theologians and philosophers such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Edith Stein, and Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. Separate sessions will be held for middle-schoolers and for older attendees. Cost for middle school students is $30; no charge for others. Additional $5 fee for lunch. The program is sponsored by the diocesan Office of Christian Formation. For details, contact the office at 865-584-3307. Register online at bit.ly/endow-calendar by Sept. 4. “Bowl for Life” will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, at Strike and Spare Lanes, 5700 Western Ave. in Knoxville, to raise funds for the Knoxville chapter of Tennessee Right to Life. Registration fee is $15 per person or $70 for a team of six; includes shoe rental. Contact triknox@knology.net or 865-689-1339, or visit www.triknox.org. Registration deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 15. The chapter is sponsoring a rummage sale Saturday, Aug. 14, at 3214 Tazewell Pike to benefit its political-action committee. Donations of small appliances, furniture, books, music, movies, and toys are welcome. An afternoon prayer retreat will be held at All Saints Church in Knoxville from 1 to 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18. Men and women are invited to pray and reflect with lay associates of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. For more information, call Priscilla Hales at 865-531-4537 or Louiane Lawson at 675-3818. Immaculate Conception Parish in Knoxville will sponsor the third annual Irish Fest on the Hill fundraiser from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. Music will be provided by Shamrock Road, Red-Haired Mary, and Heather and Rye. Dancers from the Drake School of Dance will perform. Admission is $5 (free for children under 12). Contact Becky Birdwell at birdwellent@bell south.net or 865-522-4844. A Trunk & Tailgate Sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, in the parking lot of St. Alphonsus Church in Crossville. Spots may be purchased for $25. Contact Pauline at 931-484-2358, extension 108, or YM38555@gmail.com. All proceeds will benefit the parish youth ministry. A Seekers of Silence Contemplative Saturday Morning will be held Aug. 7 at Blessed John XXIII Catholic Center in Knoxville. Diana Matthews will give a talk titled “The Beatitudes: Walking Forth With Untouchable Joy.” Coffee and tea will be served at 8:30 a.m.; the workshop will run from 9 a.m. to noon. Bring a bag lunch. To RSVP, call 865523-7931. East Tennessee Catholics are invited to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan from Nov. 7 through 20 TH E EA S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

with spiritual directors Fathers David Boettner, Michael Woods, and Jim Harvey. Pilgrims will visit Jerusalem, Tiberias, Nazareth, and Cana, including the Mount of Olives, the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of the Visitation, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Beatitudes. Pilgrims also may follow Jesus’ Palm Sunday route and the Via Dolorosa. Cost is $2,899 (cash) or $3,078, plus $599 in airport fees (from Atlanta), a $55 border-crossing fee, and a $25 Jordan visa fee. There is a $400 deposit. Sister Albertine Paulus, RSM, is the pilgrimage coordinator. For a brochure and registration form, contact her at 865207-4742 or smaevang@yahoo.com. The Catholic Committee of Appalachia’s annual meeting is set for the weekend of Sept. 17 through 19 at St. Patrick Church in Hinton, W.Va. This year’s event will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the committee, and its theme is “The Presence of the Divine in Creation: Reigniting Our Spiritual Tradition.” The keynote speaker is Joe Holland, a principal writer of the Appalachian bishops’ pastoral letters. CCA members will lead sessions at the meeting. To request a registration form or learn about costs, accommodations, and partial scholarships, contact CCA at 304-927-5798 or ccappal@citynet. net, or visit ccappal.org.

COURTESY OF MEGAN LOCKE

BY TONI PACITTI

Record number of KCHS athletes sign Seventeen student athletes at Knoxville Catholic High School committed May 25 to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. The number of signings, coupled with three earlier ones, is a record total for the school. From left are Phillip Roulier and Gus Rivera, soccer signees with Lincoln Memorial University; Nick Willenborg, golf, Loyola University, Chicago; Patrick Gilmartin, golf, LMU; Andrew Long, bowling, Union College; Lauren Stiles, volleyball, Tennessee Technological University; Travis Donahoo, baseball, Young Harris College; Tyler Williamson, football, Bowling Green University; and Max Herrera, soccer, U.S. Naval Academy. Also signing were Reed Bacon, football, University of Memphis; Andres Cardona, soccer, Tennessee Wesleyan College; Jack Gillespie, golf, Walters State Community College; Spencer Mackle, football, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; John Andrew McDermott, baseball, Limestone College; Kosta Nassios, soccer, Loyola in Chicago; Lydia Prevost, volleyball, Centre College; and Steven Young, tennis, U.S. Air Force Academy.

The August calendar at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga includes the start of the hospital’s 20th faith-community/parish-nursing class, which will run from Aug. 18 through a commissioning service Oct. 12. An application must be completed before the class begins. Contact Connie Blake at 423-4956163 or connie_blake@memorial.org to apply. Cancer, heart, and diabetes patients should call 495-7778, 495-7764, or 495-7970, respectively, to learn more about Memorial’s classes for them. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will be the guest speaker at the annual Celebrate Life Benefit Banquet, sponsored by the Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life and set for Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Knoxville Convention Center. For more information, contact the chapter at 865-689-1339 or trlknox@knology.net. The next charismatic Mass in the diocese will be celebrated at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, at Holy Spirit Church in Soddy-Daisy. Father Dan Whitman of Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City will be the celebrant. A healing service will follow the Mass. Another charismatic Mass is set for Oct. 24 at Holy Spirit. Call Dee Leigh at 423-842-2305 for more information.

COURTESY OF PATRICE STALEY

CALENDAR

Sacred Heart JV soccer team captures title The Sacred Heart Cathedral School junior-varsity soccer team won the recent Smoky Mountain Middle School Soccer postseason tournament title. The Eagles won four games to clinch the championship, defeating Pigeon Forge in the championship game in a penalty shootout. The teams were tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of regulation play and a 15-minute sudden-death period, but Sacred Heart won a penalty-kick shootout 5-3. Above are goalie Jack Bondi in front; (from left, first row) Alex Harold, Nate Sewell, Mike Baker, Alex Iman, and Andrew Roulier; (second row) Raphael Jones, Zeb Evans, Ryan Leach, Patrick Dobronski, Jonathon Macrae, Darian Carrera, Nate Kochanowski, and Jack Staley; and (back) Nolan McKeown, Johnathan Chavez, and coach Vahan Janoyan. Not pictured are players Drew Wells and Tony Gomez and coach Jeff Kochanowski. The JV team is made up of fifth- and sixth-graders from SHCS.

The next Marriage Encounter weekend is scheduled for Aug. 27 through 29 at the Hilton Garden Inn in West Knoxville. To register, contact John or Manuela Ptacek at 865-531-1719 or celebrate-love@earthlink.net, or visit www.loveinthesmokies.org. For more information, contact John or Anne Wharton at 423-581-1815 or ACW193@bellsouth.net. The Serra Club of Knoxville meets on second and fourth Thursdays in the Shea Room at Sacred Heart Cathedral’s office building. Meetings begin with Mass at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and a speaker at 12:30 p.m. The Serra Club of Greater Chattanooga meets on second and fourth Mondays at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Meetings begin with Mass at 11:40 a.m. celebrated by club chaplain Father George Schmidt, with lunch and a speaker following. Visit www.serra chatta.org for more details. Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) is celebrated at 1:30 p.m. each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville, at 3 p.m. on first and third Sundays at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland, and at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville. Visit www.knoxlatinmass. net for details. Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations at 3:30 p.m. Sundays at Holy Calendar continued on page 7

COURTESY OF KATHY SUMRELL

on the

OLPH class donates food for craniofacial camp The seventh-grade class at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga, as a service-learning project, recently donated food for the Craniofacial Facial Foundation’s “Dreams Can Come True” camp. The foundation provides a service to families of children with craniofacial anomalies. The camp was begun 10 years ago by Heather Henderson, a former OLPH student, as her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The seventh-graders visited each classroom and gave speeches they had written to educate other students about the foundation. More than enough food was donated to the camp by students and parishioners. Three seventh-grade students, Gabby Mullin, Margaret Raabe, and Madeline Robbins, and two eighth-graders, Dominique Lee and Marnie Wall, volunteered the entire weekend at the camp. Above, seventh-graders (back) are pictured with first-grade buddies and food collected for the camp. From left are Maverick Tucker, Kassidy Barta, Boston Eberly, and Annamarie Todd and (standing) Timothy Eubanks, Sebastian Esparza, Emily Wexler, Bobby Riesco, and Allie Dearing.

Altar Server Day in the Smokies scheduled Aug. 28 he annual Altar Server Day in the Smokies is set for Saturday, Aug. 28. Altar servers can attend Mass with Bishop Richard F. Stika as principal cele-

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brant at 3:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church in Jefferson City. A picnic at 5 p.m. and a Tennessee Smokies baseball game will follow at 6:15 at Smokies Park

in Kodak. Registration forms will be sent to all parishes. Servers interested in attending should speak to their pastor, youth minister, or altar-server coordinator. ■ AUGUST 8, 2010

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Neace continued from page 2

which leads to several health issues.” Ms. Neace received some help for her long journey from Knoxville’s campus parish. “John XXIII gave me a grant for some supplies that I needed to get to Mongolia,” she said. “It gets pretty cold here, and I needed to acquire warm clothing for my next two years. I am extremely thankful for John XXIII not only for the grant I received for Mongolia but also for the support I received during my four years at the University of Tennessee.” Ms. Neace is fulfilling the plan she had in mind as soon as she graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, which she did this May. “I was a psychology major and a musicology minor,” she said. “As to my plans after the Peace Corps, I plan to attend grad school, but I’m not sure in what area.” Ms. Neace is blogging from Mongolia. See her posts at neacegoingwithpeacetotheeast. blogspot.com. ■

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The already-loose praying hands of a smaller resin Our Lady of Guadalupe statue in the garden were broken off and placed atop the Rachel statue’s hands. Smaller cherub statues on a small wall around the garden were written on and pulled from their glued bases, and several flowers were pulled from the ground. The Guadalupe statue will be replaced, said Father McKenzie. The vulgarity on the door was removed. Nothing was damaged at St. Mary School next door, including “Our Lady of Oak Ridge,” its more than 60-year-old statue of St. Mary standing on an atom. Mrs. Wilkins-Butz’s son Ryan Butz, who is filling in on the maintenance staff of the parish this summer, cleaned the statue facing the turnpike in time for Sunday Masses on July 18. The statue’s fiberglass composition made its cleanup easier, but the concrete-and-marble composite in the Rachel statue is more resistant to cleaning. Some of the marks go into the folds of Rachel’s garments, making that job tougher. Several parishioners chipped in to help on the day the vandalism was discovered. “That day we had four,” said Ms. WilkinsButz. Other churches have shown their support of St. Mary. “I got a letter yesterday from the Jewish Alliance of Knoxville, offering their support and prayers,” said Father McKenzie. “I’ve received a couple of phone calls from local Protestant churches here. The letter from the Jewish Alliance was addressed to me and to the bishop. It was very thoughtful and really nice that they would show that kind of support and prayer.” The cost of repairing the vandalism could run $600 to $1,000. “It’s more offensive to the faith than it is expensive,” said Father McKenzie. Soon after the vandalism became public, St. Mary received good news on the financial front, following a parishioner’s call to diocesan chancellor Deacon Sean Smith. “An anonymous donor contacted Deacon Smith and conveyed to me that [he or she] would cover all the costs of repair and replacement,” said Father McKenzie. Father McKenzie made a simple suggestion for ETC readers who want to help the parish. “It’s a reminder that the greatest need is to pray. We need to pray for one another. We need to pray for individuals who are drawn to that kind of darkness. It’s not anger that we need; it’s prayer. It’s like Jesus himself said, ‘It’s mercy I desire,’ so we have to pray for [the vandal] to seek mercy and [for the parish] to offer God’s mercy and try to overcome that evil with the goodness of God’s love in our own life.” ■

life

AFTER CONFIRMATION

BY SONIA JACKSON

Meeting other Catholics Facebook makes it easier than ever for young adults to connect.

“Young adult” is an oxymoron. As with so many groups of people, the demographic category includes a mixture of traits and is definable only by age. The term is an oxymoron because adult implies maturity whereas young implies immaturity. As implied, we young adults are often summed up as adults who still have some of the visible signs of immaturity of our teen years—or we might be the opposite: we may look young on the outside but be mature beyond our years. As young adults, we sometimes feel like we’re in limbo, stuck between the excitement and promise of our degrees, resume, careers, and relationships and the stability we may seek in the future, exiting one stage of our development and entering another.

So how does the Catholic part fit in? As a young adult Catholic, I take my faith into the various parts of my life and try to allow it to guide me toward my next steps. And “try” is a necessary word since distraction occurs easily and often. Maybe if I had grown up in a more Catholic-concentrated region, maybe if I had attended a Catholic university, I’d have more to grasp onto, but I’m betting that many of us had a less-intense Catholic upbringing and that for us Catholicism falls into the edges of our conscious life. We go to church on Sunday as our parents taught us to. But is that really the reason to do it? After all, we’re adults now. It seems as though now is a good time to actively engage our faith, as adults. There’s so much more to it than the motions, more than what we were told to do. Of course, you may or may not want to “study” the faith right now. But if you don’t feel like delv-

ing into the early Church or doctrine or the lives of the saints, there’s still a lot you can do to acknowledge your Catholic identity. Maybe at the very least you could seek other young adult Catholics, just to share in our common experience as well as learn about what we don’t have in common. Speaking for myself and others I know, we are seeking each other actively. A couple of years ago, when I had just finished my degree at the University of Tennessee, I was looking for hints on where to turn to meet other Catholics my age. At the time opportunities were limited. Fortunately, now there is a place in East Tennessee for meeting other young adult Catholics. If you’re interested, visit the Diocese of Knoxville Young Adults Facebook page (bit.ly/b7pxbx), where you’ll find postings for upcoming events and maybe some people you’ll recognize from school or the community. I invite you to see what we’re up to. ■ Sonia Jackson is a member of All Saints Parish in Knoxville. She is a muralist, artist, illustrator, cartoonist, and writer. View her work at soniajackson. weebly.com and cartoons bysoniajackson.weebly.com.

Casey continued from page 2

Switzerland Inn in Little Switzerland during an overnight trip to go gem mining. Quoted by the Asheville Citizen-Times, Mr. Tucker said the abuse happened only once in McDowell County. “It happened dozens and dozens and dozens of times in Tennessee. Clergy sex abuse needs to stop. I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to that.” There were more than 50 incidents of abuse not only in Sullivan and Greene counties but also Scott and Lee counties in Virginia, Mr. Tucker told the Knoxville News Sentinel, adding that he was hopeful that Mr. Casey would be convicted and receive a jail sentence in Virginia. In his plea, Mr. Casey responded to a statement made by Mr. Tucker in the packed courtroom. “I am deeply moved by the intensity of his feelings,” he wrote. “His words have given me a truly deep awareness of how a human person can be affected by the deeds of others, especially the deeds of those who should have known better. Add to that the thought that I am the one charged as the cause of those damages. “I came to realize many years ago the wrongness of my deeds in relation to Warren

Tucker and made permanent changes in my life and conduct. I received the sacrament of reconciliation many, many years ago, and that brought some peace. But that doesn’t take away the deep remorse I feel for having done something wrong and very hurtful.” Mr. Casey said that Mr. Tucker’s “life has been very much affected, and I am truly sorry that I have caused Warren Tucker so much pain,” and that “in a heartfelt way I ask his forgiveness for any and all pain I have caused him.” “I hope that he will begin to find healing and wholeness. There is so little more that I have left to give him except that I promise that every day for the days and months I have remaining, I will pray sincerely to almighty God for Warren’s healing and wholeness, and for his family also. “Furthermore, I will use any influence I still might have, to get the message across that these things must never happen again. I am truly sorry, Warren. Forgive me.” Mr. Casey concluded the plea with an apology “for the pain that my action caused for my own beloved family, and my dear friends [and] my many neighbors and acquaintances, especially in my Church, in the

parishes where I have served, and in the region where I live. I ask their forgiveness, their prayers, and their support as we continue to face the future together. I want to be a useful member of the community where I live. “To the court, thank you for the opportunity you have given me to ask forgiveness of Warren Tucker and of all the people I have disappointed.” Mr. Tucker told the Associated Press that he received a threatening letter at his home July 24 warning him to stop his efforts against Mr. Casey. He said the letter was postmarked in northeast Tennessee. In his admission to Bishop Stika, Mr. Casey “indicated that there potentially could be other victims [from] early in his priesthood,” the bishop said at the April 15 press conference. Bishop Stika then urged any victim of abuse by a priest of the diocese to contact legal authorities. ■

Jefferson City, Mo., and most of the rest of the time packing and taking leave of his many friends in Hannibal, Mo., and the area around the Lake of the Ozarks, Ark., where he and other priests from St. Thomas Seminary had served as vacation-time substitutes in that popular place. With the help of local realestate agents, we deemed the manse on Hansmore Place suitable (it was the fourth or fifth residence to be built in that subdivision, which now has some two dozen homes). It has served the first three bishops of Knoxville—Most Rev. Anthony Joseph O’Connell, D.D. (1988-98), Most Rev. Joseph Edward Kurtz, D.D. (1999-2007), and Most Rev. Richard Frank Stika, D.D. (2009-present)—quite well. Bishop O’Connell expanded the home with a much-needed addition in the 1990s, and Bishop Kurtz expanded the

outside decks. This summer Bishop Stika moved to a residence on Westmoreland Boulevard, closer to the cathedral, and on July 30 the Sisters of Mercy of Alma moved to the house on Hansmore, making it the new St. Justin Convent. The sisters there serve the diocese in many capacities. One is a counselor with Catholic Charities, one serves as the bishop’s executive housekeeper, one directs the Christian Formation Office as well as deacon formation, and the fourth serves in our Catholic schools. I ended last time with the question: What happened? That’s what happened. Next time: Lay leadership in our formation. ■

Editor’s note: At press time the ETC learned that on Aug. 2 the Scott County, Va., grand jury had indicted Mr. Casey on additional sex-abuse charges. The charges were related to an alleged crime against Mr. Tucker that was said to have occurred at a Virginia state park in 1978.

Mankel continued from page 3

Want to try online delivery? he East Tennessee Catholic offers online delivery for those who would prefer to read a digital copy and to discontinue the print edition. If you would rather read the ETC online, visit bit.ly/subscribe-online to sign up. If you decide online delivery isn’t for you, you can return to a print subscription at any time. If you have questions, e-mail mhunt@dioknox.org. ■

Diocese of Knoxville procedure for reporting sexual abuse Anyone who has actual knowledge of or who has reasonable cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such information to the appropriate civil authorities first, then to the bishop’s office, 865-584-3307, or the diocesan victims’ assistance coordinator, Marla Lenihan, 865-482-1388.

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AUGUST 8, 2010

did) that the diocese would be established on Sept. 8, 1988, that he would be ordained our first bishop, and that his cathedral would be Sacred Heart. I have never had the opportunity to thank Fathers Gahagan and Humbrecht and their fine committees for all the work they did from the June announcement all through that long, hot, dry summer until September for the cooperation and hard work they expended to bring about such a magnificent start-up for the Diocese of Knoxville. We met at least weekly and tried to keep the priests and parish councils of all the parishes informed and involved. The Knoxville committee had the added task of selecting a residence for the bishop-elect, who himself was on the road a lot that summer, with his usual vacation in Ireland with his ordinary, Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe of the Diocese of www.d ioknox.org

Monsignor Mankel is the pastor of Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville and a vicar general for the diocese. TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

Dominicans from DOK celebrate congregation’s 150th

BY M A RI A N CHR I S T I A NA

COURTESY OF SISTER CATHERINE MARIE HOPKINS, OP

‘EXCITING TIME OF GRACE’ Sister Imelda Garrison and Sister Kathleen Marie Battersby walk about the motherhouse grounds in Nashville. Both sisters went to Chattanooga schools before joining the St. Cecilia Congregation.

enjoyed seeing two of her former pastors attend the anniversary Mass, Father Mike Nolan and Monsignor Al Humbrecht. The vibrancy of the St. Cecilia Dominicans was a topic that came up more than once in the anniversary Mass and the dinner that followed. “I remember even as a child being taught by the sisters, their joy and their excitement,” said Sister Imelda. “You always knew when it was time for them to go home. They were excited because the motherhouse is home.” The enthusiasm of the congregation “comes from God,” said Sister Kathleen Marie. “He calls them, and then I think—when you ask a sister who’s entering—the joy of the sisters, the community life, the spirit, and the community prayers together are a big draw.” ■

DAN MCWILLIAMS

the three years it took to organize the celebration. “Just watching the excitement as we built to it, you could really feel the graces,” said Sister Kathleen Marie. “We started Dec. 23, and we had a prayer vigil remembering all the sisters. Each sister called out a sister who had passed away, and you could just feel their presence and also the grace.” Sister Kathleen Marie has been at mission control for the jubilee events. “It’s been very exciting being at the motherhouse and watching it all happen, seeing the sisters work together and also remembering the sisters who built this for us. Being in the infirmary and seeing the older sisters—it’s the fruit of their work.” As a former Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishioner, Sister Kathleen Marie said she

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The St. Thomas the Apostle Ukrainian Catholic Mission celebrates Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays in the chapel at the Chancery. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307. The Community of Sant’Egidio is a Catholic lay ecclesial movement that focuses on prayer and service to the poor. Two Sant’Egidio groups regularly meet in the Diocese of Knoxville, in Knoxville and TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

he blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it” (Proverbs 10:22). In 2009 Jim and Joy Pinto of Sanctity of Life Ministries facilitated a couples’ retreat for our diocese. The retreat focused on the blessing of God’s divine, affirming love for us and how we are called to reflect that love (blessing) to others. The Pintos emphasized that, through God’s love for us and our interactions with the people we encounter daily, we learn of our own goodness. We come to know ourselves as good, lovable, and valuable through our relationships with others. Once we embrace our own self-worth, value, and dignity, we are able to bless and affirm others so that they too can embrace their value, goodness, and dignity. This month’s date challenges us to review how we bless our spouse with our love and reflect God’s love for him or her through our actions. Sneak off to a quiet dinner for two and discuss the blessing of God’s divine, affirming love for you both: ■ Share with each other the difference between blessing and cursing. ■ Take turns sharing what “the blessing of God’s divine, affirming love” means to you. ■ Discuss how certain words and actions reinforce that blessing to you. ■ Thank your spouse for a particular time in your life when his or her love reflected that blessing. ■ Discuss how you encounter God’s divine, affirming love through the sacraments. ■ Develop an action plan that will help you grow in your ability to facilitate the blessing of God’s love with each other, your family, and others. ■ Say a prayer of thanksgiving for your beloved. This topic is further explored in two books: Born Only Once (Franciscan Herald Press, 2001) by Conrad W. Baars, M.D., and The Blessing (Thomas Nelson Press, 1993) by Dr. John Trent and Gary Smalley. You can also order a CD of Jim Pinto discussing “The Divine Affirmation Blessing” at www.sanctityoflifeministries.org. ■

Youth leaders meet at Chancery to plan for YLI Members of the Diocesan Youth Ministry Advisory Council gather with adult leaders at the Chancery on July 20 for their final planning meeting for the diocesan Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) held July 25 through 29 in Greeneville. Bishop Richard F. Stika dropped in during the meeting at the Chancery. With him are (seated, from left) diocesan director of Youth Ministry Al Forsythe, Chattanooga Deanery Youth Ministry coordinator Donna Jones, youth minister Helen Brell of St. Augustine Parish in Signal Mountain, Five Rivers Deanery Youth Ministry coordinator Deacon Jim Fage, Allison Connelly, Marek Twarzynski, Megan Mahoney, Savannah Miller, and Katie West and (standing) Nicole Nabozniak, Eric Humes, Meg McCormick, and Rebecca Plank. Forty-nine participants representing teen leaders from throughout the diocese attended this year’s YLI.

Ghost Church, 1041 N. Central St. in Knoxville. Call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865-256-4880.

ENRICHMENT

God’s divine, afﬁrming love

B Y DA N M CW I L L I AMS

wo of the many St. Cecilia Dominicans who hail from the Diocese of Knoxville are taking part in the congregation’s ongoing 150th-anniversary celebration this year. Sister Imelda Garrison and Sister Kathleen Marie Battersby, both of Chattanooga, joined the majority of their 254 fellow sisters from around the world in the anniversary Mass on June 25. A graduate of Notre Dame High School, Sister Imelda made her final vows in 1995. She taught at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School in Woodbridge, Va., this past year and will teach this fall at St. John Vianney in Gallatin. Sister Kathleen Marie is a graduate of Rossville (Ga.) High School. She attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before receiving her degree in elementary education from Aquinas College in 1998. She made her final vows in 2001 and has since taught in Nashville and Murfreesboro. She received a new assignment last fall. “In the first semester I was doing some development work and then moved to the infirmary, working with our sisters there [at the motherhouse, during the second semester]. I’ll also be doing that this year coming up.” Both sisters are extremely enthusiastic about the anniversary of the congregation, a yearlong celebration that began near the end of 2009. “It’s an exciting time of grace, not only for today but also in remembering the past, as [Bishop David R. Choby] mentioned in the homily, and looking ahead to the future,” said Sister Imelda, who grew up in St. Jude Parish and attended St. Jude School. Sister Imelda said she has been helping “behind the scenes” with the anniversary events. Sister Kathleen Marie served on the jubilee planning committee for the last two of

marriage

Johnson City. For more information on the Knoxville group, call Ellen Macek at 865-675-5541. Call Father Michael Cummins at 423926-7061 for more details on the Johnson City group. Everyone is welcome to attend. Upcoming events for Catholic Singles of Greater Knoxville (40 and over) include the following: ■ Saturday, Aug. 14: “Second Saturday in the Park” at the Cove at Concord Park, 11808 S. Northshore Drive. The Air National Guard Band of the Smoky Mountains will perform a free concert

from 6 to 8 p.m. Call Janlyn at 865-660-6272. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. ■ Monday, Aug. 16: RSVP for Aug. 21 luau to Martha at 659-0383 or mcgrama@hotmail.com. ■ Wednesday, Aug. 18: Deadline to submit articles and events for the September-October newsletter. To suggest an article, contact Gail at 966-8205 or gbraunsroth@ charter.net. ■ Saturday, Aug. 21: Annual luau at Charlestown Landing, 8601 Old Carriage Court. To RSVP or volunteer for decorating or cleanup, see the contact information above. ■ www.d ioknox.org

Mrs. Christiana is coordinator of the diocesan Marriage Preparation and Enrichment Office.

from the

PARACLETE

BY BETHANY MARINAC

Books for children t seems as though everywhere I look, I see a new baby. Summertime is filled with new birthdays. This summer, for the first time, I have the privilege of being a godparent to my sister’s new baby boy. As an aunt, I get the pleasure of hugging and kissing and holding this new baby with wild abandon. Then, when I am finished with all the fun stuff, I give him back to his parents, who happily do all the other things he needs. But with this baby, I am asked to assume the responsibility of helping to guide his spiritual growth. This is an awesome responsibility. I often wonder whether I am ready for it, even though I had a hand in guiding the spiritual growth of my own three boys. I always find the help I need through reading. There are lots of books on every aspect of being a godparent and on parenting in general. But the books I go back to are children’s books. Now that my children are all grown, I find myself missing the messages in the carefully chosen and

often-read books they enjoyed so many years ago. Fortunately, the Paraclete has many children’s books to choose from. I plan to start my godson with these three: ■ Beginnings (Pauline Books & Media, 2009) by Lori Ann Watson talks of beginnings of all kinds and ends with the child’s own beginning and the love God has for him. ■ The Golden Rule (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2007) by Ilene Cooper is the story of a young boy who learns that the Golden Rule is taught to children of all religions in many ways. Then he learns how to apply it to his life. ■ Finally, Why Am I Here? (Beacon Publishing, 2009) by Matthew Kelly is the story of Max, who is learning to make good choices. I know my godson is just a baby, but reading is already a big part of his life, and stories that are read to small children often become part of the child to whom they are read. ■ Call the store at 865588-0388 or 800-3332097.

AUGUST 8, 2010

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Ancient Roman prison transformed to sacred site BY C A RO L G L ATZ

VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Tradition holds that St. Peter was jailed in Rome’s maximum security Mamertine Prison before he was crucified upside down and buried on the hill where St. Peter’s Basilica was later built. Now, after recent excavations in Rome’s oldest prison, archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence supporting that belief. The prison, which lies beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters, facing the Roman Forum, was closed for the past year as experts dug up old floors and picked away plaster. They found and restored a 14th-century fresco of Jesus with his arm around a smiling St. Peter and an 11th-century fresco of Jesus with the oldest known image of the Campidoglio, Rome’s city hall, behind him. Patrizia Fortini of the city of Rome’s department of archaeological heritage led the excavation and restoration project. She told journalists July 27 they found proof that the site had been a place for venerating St. Peter by the seventh century, lending support to historical accounts that he had been incarcerated there. The prison has two levels: the upper chamber, the “Carcer,” and the lower chamber, the “Tullianum,” built in the sixth century BC. In the Tullianum, Fortini said, they found “traces of a basin that must have been where water was collected—water which, according to tradition, sprang forth after St. Peter pounded on the stone floor.” Tradition holds that after he made the water gush forth, he converted and baptized his two prison guards as well as 47 others. The stone walls had been painted, she said, but time and humidity had taken their toll. Only one small fresco remains, in a corner under the stairs. The ninth-century image, discovered in 2000, shows the outline of the hand of God emerging from a cloud as he points toward Earth. A portion of the marble column, to which tradition says Sts. Peter and Paul were chained, stands next to a simple altar. One of the most interesting finds, Fortini said, was discovering what the Tullianum had been used for in pre-Christian, pagan Rome. Scholars had believed the domed prison was a cistern or a monumentalized fountain of sorts. Instead, Fortini said it had been “an ancient place of worship” specifically devoted to a water divinity such as “a nymph of underground water.” They found ancient remnants of votive offerings to the deity—such as small burned animal bones and floral or vegetable matter—dating from between the fifth and third centuries BC. From the ancient pagan Romans to early Christians, “this place was always venerated. It never lost its sacredness,” Fortini said. It may seem odd, however, that the ancient Romans took a sacred pagan spot for venerating the life-giving and healing powers of water and turned it into a dungeon. Fortini said the underground water spring also conjured up many negative and dangerous scenarios. For example, in pagan Rome it was thought the spring provided a direct channel to the netherworld, she said. Archaeologists found an ancient borehole going five feet into the ground. The borehole “put the inhabited world into contact with the underworld and, therefore, there was the possibility of having contact with the beyond,” she said. Enemies of the Roman Empire were thrown into the watery pit of the Tullianum through a hole in the upper chamber of the Carcer. Romans believed the prisoners would be carried away or disappear into the netherworld—a fate worse than death, she said. The structure was used as a prison until the fourth century, when Pope Sylvester I officially made it place of worship and named it “San Pietro in Carcere” (St. Peter in Prison) in 314. The Church of St. Joseph was built atop the former prison complex in 1598. The project to study and restore the Mamertine Prison was a cooperative effort of Rome’s department of archaeological heritage, the Rome diocesan Committee for Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage, and the diocesan-related travel agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. After the Mamertine Prison reopened to the public at the end of June, the Opera Romana incorporated it into a new tour called “Roma Cristiana Experience,” which was presented to journalists July 27. Pilgrims hop on a minibus leaving St. Peter’s Square every 20 minutes and take a scenic route through Rome to the Mamertine Prison for a tour. The tour is meant to help people deepen their faith and recognize the site’s spiritual heritage: its successive conversions from a sacred pagan spring, to a dank place of suffering and death, and finally, after St. Peter made the waters pour forth, to a place of renewal and rebirth. ■ Copyright 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 8

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Religious leaders commend Arizona decision Bishops praise a ruling striking down parts of the state’s immigration law. By J. D. Long-Garcia PHOENIX (CNS)—Arizona’s Catholic bishops were among religious leaders who praised a July 28 ruling that blocked enforcement of the most controversial sections of the state’s immigration law a day before it took effect. They also voiced a hope “that reaction to [the] ruling will be expressed only in peaceful and legal ways.” Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and Salt Lake City Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, also expressed support of the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton that imposed an injunction against the key elements of the law, known as S.B. 1070. As the remaining portions of the law took effect July 29, protests, prayer services, and other activities were held in Phoenix. At an interfaith prayer at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders prayed that the federal government will enact comprehensive immigration reform. “We need to remember our Christian principles, the values of Jesus Christ,” Phoenix Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said in a bilingual message. “We need to understand that [immigrants] enrich our society. Our movement is about achieving human dignity for everyone on our shores. So let us not become the oppressors but instead put on the fruits of the Holy Spirit.” Many of the speakers noted the prayerful efforts of an interfaith group who held a vigil on the state Capitol lawn for 102 days. “I always had a lot of faith. We made this effort to stop the law,” said Rosa Maria Soto, who prayed with the group hours after the judge’s ruling. “But we have to keep working, we must keep nurturing our faith,” she said. “The judge stopped those aspects which would have affected us the most, but we know the fight could last years.” Margaret Wolford and other members of Pax Christi Phoenix also went to the Capitol after the ruling. She described her reaction as “cautiously optimistic.” “The judge struck down the meat of it, but there’s still a way to go,” Wolford said. “The most harmful part of this bill is the fear it’s put in our immigrant population, and also the fear of immigrants is provoked in others.” In his statement July 28,

CNS PHOTO/JOSHUA LOTT, REUTERS

from the

PROTESTING ARIZONA LAW Women carry religious items as they march July 29 in Phoenix in protest against S.B. 1070, Arizona’s controversial immigration law. A U.S. judge blocked key parts of the state law, which had gone into effect that day.

Cardinal Mahony praised the ruling. “This entire Arizona attempt to deal with various immigration issues outside federal law reveals once again the level of frustration across the country that the U.S. Congress will not deal with, the pressing issue of needed immigration reform,” he said. “Without needed congressional action, local communities and states will continue to propose stopgap measures which do not address all aspects of needed immigration reform,” he added. Bolton blocked provisions in the law that would have required law-enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of anyone stopped, made it a crime for immigrants not to carry proof of their immigration status at all times, allowed police to make warrantless arrests over suspicion of someone being in the country illegally, and criminalized the act of looking for work without the proper paperwork or hiring someone who lacks a work permit. Bolton’s injunction is preliminary, pending further judicial review of legal challenges, primarily that of the U.S. Department of Justice. A full course of legal challenges could take years. Other provisions were allowed to take effect, including one permitting lawsuits against individuals, state agencies, and political subdivisions for “adopting a policy of restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.” In his statement Bishop Wester called the ruling “the right decision.” “Any law that provides legal cover to profiling affects all members of our communities, including legal residents and citizens. It is a very slippery

slope. What is needed now is for Congress and the administration to live up to their responsibilities and address this issue by passing immigration reform.” The Arizona bishops, in a statement issued by the Arizona Catholic Conference, their public policy arm, said apprehension about the law was widespread. “We know that in practically every parish there are families who have been living with the fear and anxiety generated by S.B. 1070 that they might be torn apart,” they said. “The situation of these families might be that one parent is a citizen and that the other is not in our country legally. Or the situation might be that some children in the family are citizens and that a brother or sister is not here legally,” they said. “Our hearts go out to these families. We know them to be good people who work hard and who contribute to the economy and to the quality of life of their communities.” The bishops’ statement reiterated their support for a comprehensive federal immigration-reform law as a way of dealing with immigrationrelated problems at a national level instead of state by state. On the lawn of the state Capitol shortly after Bolton’s ruling was announced, participants in a 102-day prayer vigil there acknowledged a long road lies ahead before the law is no longer a threat. Deacon Keith Davis of St. Thomas More Parish said he was grateful “that reason prevailed. I’m hoping that the federal government will start acting. I think we can all agree to that.” ■ Copyright 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

U.S. deacon to take part in Newman’s beatiﬁcation Mass BY SIMON CALDWELL

LONDON (CNS)—An American who was healed from a crippling spinal condition after praying for the intercession of Cardinal John Henry Newman will read the Gospel and serve as a deacon when Pope Benedict XVI beatifies the cardinal in September. Deacon Jack Sullivan of Marshfield, Mass., told Catholic News Service he was asked to participate in the Sept. 19 Mass by Father Timothy Menezes, the master of ceremonies for the beatification, when the English priest recently visited the United States. “I am extremely excited that I have been asked to assist at the papal Mass as deacon, for it best reflects my simple prayer, ‘Cardinal Newman, help me to walk so that I can www.d ioknox.org

return to classes and be ordained a deacon,’” he told CNS in a July 29 e-mail. “For years I suffered as patiently as I could and was rewarded instantly by a simple prayer,” he said. “I am most grateful now that the church has seen fit to reward Cardinal Newman as he courageously followed the light of truth.” Pope Benedict will beatify Cardinal Newman, a 19thcentury theologian who founded the Oxford Movement to bring the Anglican Church back to its Catholic roots, on Sept. 19 in Birmingham, England. Father Jan Nowotnik of the Birmingham Archdiocese said that, besides proclaiming the Gospel, the deacon, with his wife, Carol, “will form part of a procession that will imme-

diately follow the Rite of Beatification when the new Blessed John Henry Newman is proclaimed.” For the first time Pope Benedict is waiving his own rules to perform a beatification instead of sending a Vatican official to conduct the ceremony. The pope has studied Cardinal Newman’s writings extensively, and in 1991 he told the U.S. bishops that the cardinal was the most important thinker on the subject of conscience since St. Augustine of Hippo. The Sullivans will spend six days in Britain around the time the pope makes his Sept. 16 through 19 visit to England and Scotland. ■ Copyright 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C