Jan. 23, 2011, ET Catholic by Diocese of Knoxville

CNS PHOTO/MIKE SEGAR, REUTERS

Rest in peace, Christina A woman holds a program from the funeral Mass for 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green outside St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 13. Christina was killed in the Jan. 8 shootings that left six dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. page 8

THE EAST TENNESSEE

Volume 20 • Number 10 • January 23, 2011

The

newspaper

of the D iocese of K noxville www.dioknox.org

Task force looks at making St. Joseph a regional school B Y D A N M C W I LLIAMS

Ministries Day snowy but successful Inclement weather aside, 160 take part in a day of workshops at Sacred Heart Cathedral School. By Dan McWilliams

St. Joseph continued on page 2

everal inches of snow fell in Knoxville on the morning of Jan. 8, but that didn’t stop some 160 people, not counting presenters, from participating in the annual Ministries Day at Sacred Heart Cathedral School. Bishop Richard F. Stika delivered an opening talk in the school gym before participants broke up to attend one or more of the 30-plus workshops held in four sessions during the morning and afternoon. Forty people were unable to make it to Sacred Heart, but Ministries Day drew 47 walk-in registrants. “I thought it was very successful despite the inclement weather,” said Father Richard Armstrong, assistant director of the Office of Christian Formation, who coordinated the event along with Susan Collins of Notre Dame Parish in Greene ville, Kathy DeAngelis of St. Patrick in Morristown, and Brigid Johnson of Sacred Heart. Father Armstrong was also a workshop presenter, on the topic “Eastern Catholic Prayer.” This year’s event incorporated several suggestions made on last year’s Ministries Day evaluation forms. “Some of the new additions we had this year were tracks for Hispanics and sessions on music and on Mary. These were specific recommendations from last year that we incorporated this year,” said Father Arm-

DAN MCWILLIAMS

Juan Hernandez, Hispanic ministry coordinator at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa, teaches the class “Estudio Bíblico” (Bible study) during Ministries Day on Jan. 8 at Sacred Heart Cathedral School. The class was among eight offered in Spanish at the annual event. EN ESPAÑOL

strong. “The presence of the bishop was a new addition this year. One of the highlights was a focus on the new translation of the Roman Missal and music to accompany the new Missal.” Snowy weather also greeted last year’s Ministries Day participants. After he was named Knoxville’s bishop in January 2009, Bishop Stika was assured by chancellor Deacon Sean Smith that he’d be leaving such weather behind him in Missouri. “When I came to Knoxville, Deacon Sean said, ‘You’re going to love East

Tennessee. It doesn’t have the snow and the unpredictable weather like St. Louis,’” he said. The next Ministries Day likely will be held in October, said Father Armstrong. Father Randy Stice, diocesan director of Worship and Liturgy, led the workshop “An Introduction to the New Missal” in two different sessions. Additional topics included apologetics, young adult ministry, Scripture, Catholic social teaching, liturgy, Gregorian chant, musical settings of the newly translated Mass

parts, lectio divina, and mission trips. Two double-length workshops were held, led by Dominican Sister Mary Michael Fox of Aquinas College in Nashville and Father Armstrong (“Catechist Orientation”), and Amy Roberts of Knoxville Catholic High School (“Sacraments”). Two workshops in Spanish were held in each of the four sessions. The bishop began his talk by leading the group in a prayer for vocations and recalling his year at St. AuMinistries Day continued on page 6

No ‘right or wrong’? A Knoxville family stands up to Planned Parenthood. BY MARY C. WEAVER

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

ishop Richard F. Stika has authorized a task force to look into making St. Joseph School in Knoxville the diocese’s first regional elementary school. Currently all major decisions concerning the school are made by Holy Ghost Parish. A regional-school organization would allow the other parishes that send students to the school to play a greater role in its operation. The greatest number of Catholic students at the school are from families at Holy Ghost, which founded St. Joseph. St. Albert the Great Parish in Knoxville, for the first time since its establishment in 2007, now has the second-highest number of students at the school. Immaculate Conception Parish in downtown Knoxville, for the first time since its parish school of St. Mary closed in 1970, now has the thirdhighest number of students. Additional pupils come from St. Joseph in Norris, St. Therese in Clinton, and Holy Trinity in Jefferson City. Holy Ghost operated its own parish school from 1908 to 1963, when longtime pastor Father Albert Henkel opened St. Joseph School on a campus about five miles north of the church. In 1970 the school received an influx of students when St. Mary School closed. St. Joseph, which has about 190 students, was named a National Blue Ribbon School in the fall. The bishop announced the task force in memos to priests, deacons, and diocesan staff Dec. 3 and Jan. 7. “As is most common in our diocese, our schools have ties to and are supported by a single parish,” said the bishop in the second memo. “However, St. Joseph School has been in a sense a regional school since [1970] in that it was supported by Holy Ghost and Immaculate Conception. “The broader concept of a regional school would hold a

Do you know what Planned Parenthood is teaching young people on its websites and via in-school presentations? Learn more at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27, at the Chancery office. HIDDEN AGENDA

ast October, Kym McCormick’s 16-yearold daughter Alaynna came home “crying and angry” about the mandatory presentation Planned Parenthood had given at her high school, Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville. “She said, ‘They were going to tell us about abstinence, and I listened, and not one time did they say anything about abstinence,’” Mrs. McCormick recalled in a Jan. 17 interview. Alaynna told her mother, “I’m tired of everyone treating us like animals who can’t control themselves.” One of the elements of the organization’s “abstinence program” is the concept of “outercourse”—which encompasses virtually all forms of sexual contact short of intercourse. Mrs. McCormick was aware of the history of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, and its founder, Margaret Sanger, a proponent of eugenics. But what she and Alaynna learned through extensive research provided additional shocks. The organization’s websites for children and teenagers include not only details on contraception and abortion but also how-to information on an extensive list of perversions that Hardin Valley continued on page 3

letters to the

EDITOR

Column did ‘disservice’ to music ministers

As someone who also appreciates the value of

silence, I feel compelled to comment on Ginger Hutton’s column “Space for reflection” (Jan. 9 ETC). Because I too sometimes wish for a more reflective and prayerful atmosphere during Mass, I think I understand where she is coming from in her call for a “profound and fruitful liturgical silence.” However, I believe that her characterizations of much current liturgical music as “vacuous,” “shallow,” “us-centered,” and “inferior,” does a profound disservice to those involved in music ministry. At St. Jude parish in Chattanooga, where I am a member, we are blessed to enjoy a variety of styles of musical accompaniment at our Masses, some more traditional and others more contemporary. The common thread, however, is that each and every person involved in this ministry approaches it with a thoughtful, prayerful, and even sacrificial heart. I may find music to be less vital to my faith practice than does my neighbor; however, I must remember that a song that does not resonate with me may be the doorway to rich spiritual insight for him. We are all temperamentally different yet all members of the body of Christ. Shouldn’t our faith community celebrate such differences and seek to minister in many different ways? I would encourage Miss Hutton to be thankful for those music-less Masses during which she is able to pray more deeply without impugning the talents and intentions of hard-working and dedicated music ministers, whose shared gifts may be for some “the visible sign of an invisible grace.” In our churches, our political arenas, and the world at large, may we all strive to be more gracious and compassionate toward those who experience the world differently than we do. —Tina LoTufo Hixson

Reader thanks bishop for ‘speaking out’

I want to thank Bishop Richard F. Stika for his col-

umn “Herod among us” (Jan. 9 ETC). Drawing parallels between Herod’s wanting to kill the One who is perfectly innocent and Planned Parenthood’s killing the innocence of our children is brilliant. I went to the Planned Parenthood website and was appalled yet not surprised at the way they presented things such as masturbation, homosexual behavior, and abortion as completely innocent acts. “It is too bad people feel guilty,” they are telling our teens. Thank you, Bishop Stika, for speaking out and being a shepherd to your people. —Colette Souder Maryville

Dominicans part of St. Stephen story too

As much as I appreciated your article on the

50th anniversary of St. Stephen Parish (“‘The parish with a heart’ reaches its golden jubilee,” Dec. 12 ETC), I was surprised and disappointed at your failure to recognize the role of the Dominican Sisters of the St. Cecilia Congregation of Nashville in the history. I was a young sister in that community when I was assigned to teach at St. Jude School. During that year I had the privilege of living in the same convent with Sister Mary Bernard Curran, OP, and Sister Mary Louis Baltz, OP. Sister Mary Bernard was principal and Sister Mary Louis a teacher at St. Stephen Country Day School. Every morning I watched these sisters set out for the commute from Hixson to East Brainerd, while I simply had to walk to school. This was before the days of easy access by Highway 153. I am simply dumbfounded that you overlooked their role and that of others in their religious community. I hope that you will correct this omission in the next issue of The East Tennessee Catholic. —Charlotte Barr Hixson

Young children need to go to Mass regularly

As a CCD teacher and the mother of two young

children, I know how difficult it is to take children to Mass regularly, but I also know it is one of the most important things we can do to ensure their spiritual wellbeing. It is the greatest legacy we can give them. Yes, it is difficult to “manage” young children during Mass—keeping them in the pew and somewhat quiet, so as not to disturb those around them. I’ve taken my children to Sunday Mass since they were babies, and I can assure you, I know your pain. I’ve left Mass in tears many times because of my “failure” to control their behavior. As a CCD teacher, I also know that many children rarely go to Sunday Mass. This saddens me because I truly love my religion, and I want so much to share this love with my first-graders. I can get them interested and even excited about all the wonderful things that go on in church, but if they never go, it is like reading a rave review for a play in the paper but never getting a chance to see the live performance. I recently taught a lesson on the liturgical calendar, with particular emphasis on the Lenten season, because it is so dear to me. I told them that there are wonderful things going on at church in the week preceding Easter. When I described the Tenebrae service, their eyes lit up: how the church gets darker and darker as the priest sings sad songs and the people Letters continued on page 7

JANUARY 23, 2011

living the

READINGS

BY FATHER JOSEPH BRANDO

Chloë’s people We should know how to counteract evil reports, as Paul and Jesus did.

The Christian message is one of great joy. But how do we respond when something bad happens? Today’s readings answer that question by giving us two situations in which Jesus and Paul faced devastating events. In the Gospel, Matthew begins the story of Jesus’ public ministry with the announcement that John the Baptist had been arrested. This was exceedingly bad news. The way Jesus reacted to it would be an important sign indicating how we should respond to unfavorable circumstances. What Jesus did at this juncture was radical. Presumably he was in Judea when Herod’s army arrested John. Jesus went back to tiny Nazareth in

Galilee (probably to pick up his belongings) and moved to Capernaum. Capernaum was a large town, a transportation hub of international trade. There, Matthew tells us, “Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Along with moving and preaching, Jesus started to collect the Twelve. They were men who would follow him, learn from him, share in his work, and eventually witness to his passion, death, and resurrection to the ends of the earth. Thus, bad news served as the wake-up ring of a cosmic alarm clock, calling Jesus to action. The kingdom was at hand. In the second reading Paul receives shocking news. It comes from a group Paul calls “Chloë’s people.” Most likely, they were Chloë’s servants, whom she sent to report to Paul that the church in

Corinth was breaking into competing factions. That was crushing news for Paul. What he did in response has uplifted Christians the world over for two millennia. Being on mission, Paul could do little more than write epistles. But that was what he did best. Those letters contain the most exquisite exposition of our faith about the resurrection, the Eucharist, love, and of course, Christian unity. Paul’s reaction was to pray, meditate, and communicate. His strongly emotional letters continue to challenge Christians to be one in word, action, and Eucharist. So what do we do when “Chloë’s people” knock on our door? We do what Paul and Jesus did. They sought the higher ground, enlisted people to help them, and conquered evil reports with good news. When faced with threatening situations, we can do the same. n Jan. 23, third Sunday of ordinary time Isaiah 8:33–9:3 Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 Matthew 4:12-23

The remnant An Old Testament prophecy foretells who and what we are in the Church today.

ephaniah’s prophecy in this Sunday’s first reading had been taken by the early Christians as predicting who and what they were. At a time when Judah was

getting richer economically and poorer religiously, Zephaniah railed against those who forsook God to concentrate on business, learning, or the arts. He predicted the

country would fall, and only the humble who remain faithful to God would be left on the land God gave Israel. During the time between the resurrec-

tion of the Lord and the destruction of Jerusalem, Christians saw themselves as the poor whom Zephaniah had prophesied Readings continued on page 3

Jan. 30, fourth Sunday in ordinary time Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13 Psalm 146:6-10 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 5:1-12

WEEKDAY READINGS Monday, Jan. 24: Memorial, Francis de Sales, bishop, doctor of the Church, Hebrews 9:15, 24-28; Psalm 98:1-6; Mark 3:22-30 Tuesday, Jan. 25: Feast, the Conversion of Paul, apostle, Acts 22:316; Psalm 117:1-2; Mark 16:15-18 Wednesday, Jan. 26: Memorial, Timothy and Titus, bishops, 2 Timothy 1:1-8; Psalm 96:1-3, 7-8, 10; Mark 4:1-20 Thursday, Jan. 27: Hebrews 10:1925; Psalm 24:1-6; Mark 4:21-25

Friday, Jan. 28: Memorial, Thomas Aquinas, priest, doctor of the Church, Hebrews 10:32-39; Psalm 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40; Mark 4:26-34 Saturday, Jan. 29: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 1:69-75; Mark 4:35-41 Monday, Jan. 31: Memorial, John Bosco, priest, Hebrews 11:32-40; Psalm 31:20-24; Mark 5:1-20 Tuesday, Feb. 1: Hebrews 12:14; Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32; Mark 5:21-43 Wednesday, Feb. 2: Feast, the Pre-

sentation of the Lord, Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 Thursday, Feb. 3: Hebrews 12:1819, 21-24; Psalm 48:2-4, 9-11; Mark 6:7-13 Friday, Feb. 4: Hebrews 13:1-8; Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8-9; Mark 6:14-29 Saturday, Feb. 5: Memorial, Agatha, virgin, martyr, Hebrews 13:15-17, 2021; Psalm 23:1-6; Mark 6:30-34 n

Its other seven elementary schools—St. Jude and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga, St. Mary in Oak Ridge, Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Mary in Johnson City, St. Dominic in Kingsport, and St. John Neumann in Farragut—are parish schools with student bodies largely coming from the parent parish. Father Pat Garrity, pastor of St. John Neumann, was appointed by the bishop to form and chair the task force. Father Garrity served as principal of Knoxville Catholic High School from 1985 to 1997 and now has St. John Neumann School in his charge. Operating it as a regional school “recognizes the reality

of what St. Joseph School has become,” said Father Garrity. “It doesn’t serve just one or two parishes. It probably serves a much larger number of parishes than any of our schools. We have two regional schools already, but those are the two diocesan high schools. “The high schools draw from all the parishes in their region or area, and St. Joseph has become that kind of hybrid in many ways. . . . Ideally this will broaden the scope of input for the school to the constituency it’s actually made up of.” Task-force members are Angel Brewer, Art Clancy III, and Tom Wolf of Holy Ghost; Joe Austin, Bert Benedict, and Karin

St. Joseph continued from page 1

wider base for the direction and overall responsibility for the school. We hope that this approach, unique as it is in our diocese, will help to ensure the continued quality Catholic education that has been provided to students for decades at St. Joseph School.” The task force “will review the governance and finances of St. Joseph School with the goal of bringing together additional resources” to maintain the quality of education there, the bishop wrote in the earlier memo. East Tennessee’s two Catholic high schools, Knoxville Catholic and Notre Dame in Chattanooga, are diocesan schools that draw students from many area parishes.

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

THE EAST TENNESSEE

805 Northshore Drive S.W .

St. Joseph continued on page 3

Margaret Hunt Administrative assistant Dan 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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THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC

he dwells

AMONG US

BY BISHOP RICHARD F. STIKA

Wonder in the ordinary Every vocation is a call to be an ambassador of the extraordinary.

Snow days! It amazes me how easily snow can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary by slowing everything down. As we settle into the new year and our typical routines, we would do well to take note of nature’s lesson and learn to recognize the extraordinary in the ordinary things of life, especially within our marriages and families. Of the many joys I am able to share with people as a priest and especially now as a bishop, I particularly enjoy celebrating married couples’ anniversaries with them. Recently I was at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa for Mass in a bilingual celebration of marriage, which included the renewal of wedding vows and a luncheon afterward. It was a wonderful day. I am already looking forward to two more such celebrations in the coming month: on Feb. 5 at St. Patrick Church in Morristown and on Feb. 12 at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland. I am so grateful to Marian Christiana and Karen Byrne in the Office of Marriage Prepa-

ration and Enrichment as well as to the priests and parishioners who help coordinate these beautiful celebrations. What I really enjoy about these occasions are the stories couples share with me about their marriage, with all its joys, crosses, and sorrows. If there is one thing that stands out, it is how couples have learned, despite their many years together, to find something of the extraordinary in the ordinary occasions of their married life. And the lesson for all of us, no matter our vocation, whether marriage, the single state, priesthood, or religious life, is to be an ambassador of the extraordinary—of Christ Jesus. Having recently celebrated my silver anniversary as a priest, I know how easily the familiarity and routine of dayto-day activities can cause us to become complacent and unobservant. This can even be the case in living out our faith. Over time, priests, religious, and laity alike can become complacent and take for granted the sense of awe we should have before the extraordinary and real presence of Christ under the ordinary appearance of bread and wine in the Blessed Sacrament. Likewise, couples, as ministers of Christ’s grace to each other in the sacrament of marriage, can neglect the

mystery of Christ in the gift of themselves to their spouse. Like the four seasons that mark the rhythm of life, the Church’s seasons help us mark our spiritual journey. Though we find ourselves once again in a period of time we call ordinary, we should remember that the basic structure of the Church year is that which we celebrate every seven days: the Sunday Eucharist. In marriage and in all vocations, we must learn to take the ordinary elements of life, such as the bread and wine upon the altar, and to call upon the Holy Spirit to help us transform them into the extraordinary gift of Christ. Only then do we begin truly to live out our vocation. n BISHOP STIKA’S SCHEDULE These are some of Bishop Stika’s appointments: Jan. 28: 7 p.m., Chattanooga Deanery clergy-appreciation dinner, St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Cleveland Jan. 29: 11:30 a.m., Bishop’s Gathering and Adult Recognition with Scouts, All Saints Church, Knoxville Jan. 30: 9:30 a.m., Mass in honor of St. Dominic School’s 65th anniversary, St. Dominic Church, Kingsport Feb. 2: 10:15 a.m., Mass, St. Jude Church, Chattanooga; 1:30 p.m., spiritual pep rally, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Chattanooga Feb. 4: 8:05 a.m., Mass with schoolchildren, Sacred Heart Cathedral Feb. 5: 11 a.m., celebration of marriage, St. Patrick Church, Morristown Feb. 6: 9 a.m., confirmation, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Chattanooga; 4 p.m., Vespers for World Day for Consecrated Life, Sacred Heart Cathedral n

Hardin Valley continued from page 1

can’t be mentioned in this newspaper. “Very clearly [on one of the Planned Parenthood websites], it says, ‘There is no right or wrong time to become sexually active.’ And a little bit further down, it says, ‘There are no right or wrong answers to these questions,’” Mrs. McCormick said. “I think there are a lot of parents who believe there are right and wrong answers.” Since their investigation began, the McCormicks— members of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut—have attempted to engage school and county officials in discussions about Planned Parenthood’s access to Hardin Valley Academy. It’s been frustrating, Mrs. McCormick said, because most of the officials she’s contacted will not return her calls. “Kym and Alaynna McCormick are true examples of what people can do when they stand up against the culture of death,” said Paul Simoneau, director of the diocesan Justice and Peace Office. “They have really stood up to the school system, and Alaynna is organizing other pro-life students to take a stand against Planned Parenthood.” Mr. Simoneau’s office is hosting an information ses-

sion, organized by concerned parents and pastors, at the Chancery office in Knoxville from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27. Parents, educators, all Knox County high school principals, and other citizens are invited. During the session, Alaynna will give a PowerPoint presentation she created to expose Planned Parenthood’s program for young people. The meeting has two goals, Mr. Simoneau explained: n to educate Christians about “Planned Parenthood’s obscene materials targeting our children” and n to persuade local school officials to remove the organization from the approved guestspeaker list. Mr. Simoneau said the meeting’s organizers have asked pastors of local churches to write letters to the governor, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, and the school system and also to encourage members of their congregation to attend the meeting. Bishop Richard F. Stika has written the mayor, expressing his opposition to the presence of Planned Parenthood in the school system. The organization’s “approach to ‘wellness education’ is but a thinly veiled attempt

to legitimize and promote its deadly agenda,” the bishop wrote. He noted that Planned Parenthood’s true intentions are easy to see when one visits its websites for young people, including “Teen Wire” and “Take Care Down There.” He also referred to “Planned Parenthood’s pattern of undermining parental rights and violating mandatory reporting laws for sexual abuse,” revealed via undercover videos shot in Memphis and other communities. Those incidents, he wrote, “played a significant role in our legislature’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood of the more than one million tax dollars they receive in Tennessee each year.” “Given the above, why would any parent want an organization that promotes abortion, sexual promiscuity, and the usurping of a parent’s rights to speak to his or her child about sex?” The bishop’s support and advocacy for life mean a great deal to Mrs. McCormick, she said. “Words cannot begin to say what it means to me to have the bishop step up and take a stand. What a powerful witness that is to my kids.” n

taining school, with a third concentrating on the building and grounds. The fourth group will rank the needs of St. Joseph, concentrating on “the vision of the school,” said Father Garrity. Interviewed Jan. 13, Father Garrity said he planned to call another meeting within two weeks to hear and discuss subcommittee recommendations. The task force itself is also a “recommendation body and not a decision-making body,” said its chairman. “Ultimately the committee will come up with recommendations for the structure and priorities of the school and things like that, which will be submitted to the bishop,” said Father Garrity. “The bishop just asked the

committee to come up with a recommendation for how St. Joseph’s could best serve the community as a regional school.” Father Garrity said St. Joseph can benefit from regionalschool governance in both enrollment and finances. “Ideally if you get a broader base and more people involved, more people will be interested in sending their kids to a school that provides a goodquality education,” he said. “Making it a regional school will help broaden the base of [financial] support—in other words, spread it out—so that there would be more parishes and more people interested in the success of St. Joseph.” n

St. Joseph continued from page 2

Hoover of Immaculate Conception; Rocky Smith of Blessed John XXIII in Knoxville; Elizabeth Howell, Marty Margetts, and Robin Wilson of St. Albert the Great; and St. Joseph faculty member Mollie Krueger; with Father David Boettner, a vicar general of the diocese and moderator of the curia, and Deacon David Lucheon, the diocesan finance officer, serving as ex-officio members. The task force met before Christmas and divided into four subcommittees. One subcommittee will focus on structure and governance, or “how the constituency should be represented,” said Father Garrity. Another subcommittee will look at a viable plan for a self-susTHE E A S T T E N N E S S E E C A T H OLIC

www.dioknox.org

Solemn Vespers, reception set to celebrate consecrated life

ishop Richard F. Stika will preside at solemn Vespers at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, at Sacred Heart Cathedral to mark the celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life. Pope John Paul II instituted the day in 1997 as an opportunity to pray for men and women in consecrated life. After Vespers a reception will be held in the school. Everyone is invited to attend the prayer service and reception. The events offer a chance to meet religious from several different communities serving in the diocese. The celebration is attached to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord on Feb. 2, also known as Candlemas, as it is the day on which candles are blessed, symbolizing Christ, the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has transferred the celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life to the following Sunday in order to highlight the gift of consecrated persons for the whole Church. n

Diocese offers ongoing Virtus child-protection training sessions

he Diocese of Knoxville’s program for the protection of children and youth—a three-hour seminar called “Protecting God’s Children”—is offered regularly throughout the diocese. The seminars are required for parish and school employees and regular volunteers in contact with children or vulnerable adults and are recommended for parents and grandparents. The following training sessions have

been scheduled: n St. Albert the Great Church, Knoxville, 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27 n Notre Dame Church, Greeneville, 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13 (session will be conducted in Spanish) n St. Mary Church, Johnson City, 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 18 (session will be held in St. Ann Hall). Participants are asked to donate $1 for session materials. To register, visit virtus online.org. n

Readings continued from page 2

about. After that tragic event, they were assured of it. We still recognize Jesus’ call that we be countercultural (but not anti-cultural). When the elite call people to a frivolous life of pure earthly pleasure, ignoring the poor whom society has marginalized, we begin to recognize the humble path is the way to eternal life. Paul thought so as he began to correct the Corinthians of their disunity. He saw pride as the underlying cause. Many Corinthians experienced manifestations of the Spirit, leading them to consider this a sign of their wisdom and arrogantly thinking they could do no wrong. Paul refuted that premise. He let them know that few or none of them were wise, powerful, or of noble birth. Yet they were acting as if they were. Even if they had been all of the above, those are not characteristics on which Christians should focus. Rather, God chooses the lowly and despised, those who count for nothing in the eyes of the world, and uses them to “reduce to nothing those who are something.” Jesus is the true wisdom. Jesus presents his wisdom in the Gospel. The Sermon on the Mount (the first of Jesus’ five great sermons in Matthew) begins with the beatitudes. When you look at the last verse of the beatitudes, you see the Lord’s major point, namely, “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you . . .” Being insulted is a sign that “your reward in heaven will be great.” Why? Because Zephaniah’s prophecy was correct. The meek will inherit the land because they seek only God, their last remaining hope after the smart, sophisticated, intellectual, successful society has written them off. The last remaining people are the lowly. And that is who and what we are: the Church. n Father Brando is the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg.

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.

JANUARY 23, 2011

BY DAN PACITTI

OLPH, Chattanooga

n Notre Dame High School strength

and conditioning coach Fred Eaves has implemented a free middle school weight-training program at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School that will focus on proper warm-up, speed-agility training, and Olympic weightlifting technique. Workouts will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Call Mr. Eaves at 865-335-5757 for more information.

St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill

n Six parish couples are participating

and all contestants will be recognized. Entry forms and poster paper are provided. Posters are due Sunday, Feb. 6. Call Scott Loewenkamp at 423-6361308 for details.

Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

n The parish has a goal of $2,000 for

the January collection for its twin parish of St. Pierre in Bainet, Haiti. Parishioners exceeded the same goal in a collection for St. Pierre last July, contributing $2,500.

St. Patrick, Morristown

n An international dinner will be held

those who contributed their time and talents for a Christmas-week project sponsored by the Interfaith Homeless Network and the parish council. Parishioners donated more than 680 hours for the project. n A dance for all sixth- through eighth-grade St. Jude parishioners and their Chattanooga Deanery friends is set for Saturday, Jan. 29. Cost is $10, which includes pizza and a drink. Contact youth minister Alicia Bradshaw at 423-870-8002 or bradshawa5@gmail. com for details.

Saturday, Jan. 29, in the parish center after the 5 p.m. Mass. Parishioners are asked to bring an ethnic dish. During the dinner tickets will be drawn for a quilt made and donated by parishioner Jan Keenan. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Weija Leprosarium in Accra, Ghana. Tickets cost $5 each or $10 for three and are available at the church office from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and after weekend Masses. Call the church office at 423-586-9174 for information. n At weekend Masses on Jan. 29 and 30 the Knights of Columbus will collect fishing equipment for recovering veterans at the Mountain Home VA Medical Center in Johnson City. Used and new usable rods, reels, tackle, and other fishing equipment and supplies will be collected. For more information, call Richard Hidalgo at 423-748-0782 or Bob Householder at 865- 993-0946.

Cumberland Mountain Deanery

Smoky Mountain Deanery

n The social-action committee re-

n A Mardi Gras party and silent

in the Six Dates for Catholic Couples program. For more details on the program, contact Kathy or Dave Ross at rossk54@gmail.com or 828-494-3838 or visit sclccopperhill.org/7.html.

St. Jude, Chattanooga

n The parish recently thanked all

All Saints, Knoxville

cently thanked all who supported the Christmas Giving Tree project. The committee was able to fulfill more than 1,000 requests from Catholic Charities and others needing assistance. n Dr. Ruth Queen Smith, pastoral associate at Blessed John XXIII Parish in Knoxville, will give a talk on the topic “Caveman Joins Cavewoman” from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, in the parish hall at All Saints. The men’s ministry is sponsoring the talk.

Blessed John XXIII, Knoxville

auction will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, March 4. A band will provide live music. Call Father Charlie Donahue, CSP, or the parish office at 865-523-7931 to donate goods or services or to learn more.

St. John Neumann, Farragut

Holy Ghost, Knoxville

Groves (50)

prayer service with Washington Pike United Methodist Church was hosted by Holy Ghost this year, on Jan. 19. The evening was part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Rev. Dr. Patrick C. Polis, pastor of the Methodist church, spoke at the service. A collection was made for Habitat for Humanity.

n Anniversary: Dick and Mary Ann

St. Mary, Oak Ridge

n Senior and junior high youth will

have a “Winter Blast”—dinner at the Mellow Mushroom and ice skating at the Ice Chalet in Knoxville—on Saturday, Jan. 29. The group will leave St. Mary at 4:30 p.m. and return at 10:30. Cost is $18 and includes transportation and Ice Chalet costs. For details, contact Margaret Merrill at 766-8388 or mmerrill@smcor.org.

St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City n The Knights of Columbus are

sponsoring a men’s retreat from Tuesday through Thursday, March 22 through 24, at the Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center in Maggie Valley, N.C. St. Thomas pastor Father Christian Mathis will lead the retreat. Cost is $130 and includes lodging and meals. A $25 deposit is due by Tuesday, Feb. 15. To register or learn more, contact Stu McFadden at 865-458-3911 or sjmcfadden@chartertn.net. n The Knights will host a chili dinner with seatings at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, in the family-life center. Tickets are $8 and will be sold after weekend Masses. n The parish thanked those who donated to the angel tree at Christmastime. A total of 151 children received gifts, including basic necessities, through the project. Five Rivers Deanery

Notre Dame, Greeneville

n The Knights of Columbus are spon-

soring a poster contest for youth in grades two through eight. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top posters, 4

JANUARY 23, 2011

Bishop installs Father Kuzhupil as St. Augustine pastor

BY ANDREW AND CAROL BIRD

ishop Richard F. Stika installed Father Joseph Kuzhupil as pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Signal Mountain at Mass on Jan. 9. Father Kuzhupil is a priest of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales community. He previously served as chaplain at the Alexian Brothers retirement community in Signal Mountain. He succeeds Father Patrick Brownell, a major and chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve, who deployed to Iraq this month for his second tour overseas. “Father Joseph is a long way from home

[Kerala, India], but God called him here to serve you, and he answered that call,” Bishop Stika told the congregation during his homily. “It is a reminder to us to pray for vocations.” During the ceremony several parishioners presented Father Kuzhupil with symbols of his new office. Larry Chapman, parish council president, presented Father Kuzhupil with the parish registry and, along with the bishop and Father Kuzhupil, signed the installment certificate. “The enthusiasm of the parish has been building over the past few weeks, and

with the installation of Father Joseph, we are looking forward to growing in faith together,” said Mr. Chapman. Young parishioner Emma Corcoran, 5, presented Bishop Stika with flowers, and Pat St. Charles gave him a replica of the Pieta. “Thank you for the love and warmth with which you have welcomed me,” Father Kuzhupil said at the end of Mass. The installation coincided with another milestone for Father Kuzhupil, as he celebrated the 26th anniversary of his ordination as a priest Jan. 10. n

n Parishioners held a special celebra-

pended its prayer-blanket workshops in order to reduce its inventory. n The parish will have a blessing of candles at the 8 a.m. Mass on Wednesday, Feb. 2, and a blessing of throats at the 8 a.m. Mass on Thursday, Feb. 3, the memorial of St. Blaise. n Anniversaries: Chris and Lu Theodore (60), Dave and Joanie Finnel (45)

n The CCW has temporarily sus-

Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS, stands before the altar as Bishop Stika leads the rite installing him as pastor of St. Augustine. ‘HE ANSWERED THAT CALL’

Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge

tion for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. They obtained a permit from the city to have a walking/ motorized procession with three floats coming from Holy Cross, going around the community center and through the Parkway, and coming back to Holy Cross. Snow made the group change its course to go around the community center and back to the church. The Guevara family carried the banner at the head of the procession, and Ramiro Sanchez carried a statue of the Virgin Mary, followed by people on foot singing and reciting the rosary.

St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

ANDREW BIRD

Chattanooga Deanery

COURTESY OF LOIS HUDGENS

NOTES

n The annual dinner and ecumenical

Immaculate Conception, Knoxville n The U.S. bishops’ movie Fishers

Women’s guild of St. Thomas the Apostle elects 2011 officers The women’s guild of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City recently elected 2011 officers. From left are (front row) Rosemary Stanczak, vice president; Pam Skinner, president; and Kay Sheldon, secretary; and (back row) Jacqueline Bourke, programs; Lois Hudgens, publicity; Sherrill Vasicek, membership; and Allis Hanley, programs. Not pictured are Jan Joyce, treasurer, and Lil Pendergast, immediate past president. The guild meets at 9 a.m. on fourth Mondays in the family-life center. Its fundraisers, which benefit local charities, include a fall brunch and fashion show and a spring card party. Annual dues are $15. For more information, call Pam Skinner at 865-408-9817.

of Men was shown after Masses on Jan. 9 to celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week.

Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa

n Author and speaker Dr. Scott

Hahn will give several talks and answer questions at the church on July 16. Volunteers are needed to collect tickets, sell books, assist with refreshments, and act as guides. Call Tony Hartman at 865-982-3672 or contact Angela Feltz at angelafeltz127@gmail. com to volunteer or learn more.

COURTESY OF ALLEN KELLER

parish

Sacred Heart, Knoxville

n The parish is seeking volunteers

for a sound-system ministry and hopes to find enough people to have a rotating schedule. Training on the parish system will be provided. For more information, call Faerie Pabich in the parish office at 865-558-4145.

St. Albert the Great, Knoxville

n Father Chris Michelson thanked 92

families who have pledged more than $58,000 to the parish’s rectoryaddition campaign. The goal is to break ground on the project in the spring and have the project completed before faith-formation classes begin in the fall. n

Morristown Knights’ Tootsie Roll Drive raises more than $10,000 Morristown-area citizens and businesses contributed more than $10,495 to benefit the mentally challenged during Knights of Columbus Council 6730’s annual Tootsie Roll street collections, held last fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Above, Melissa Robinson of Walmart gives $500 to the drive. Accepting for the council are fundraising chair Luis Crespo (left) and John Karwowski. Walmart gave the check as a matching response to donations by its customers. Several individuals and businesses made significant contributions to the drive, and the rest of the money was donated at street collection spots and outside Kmart, Walmart, and Food City. Half of the money will stay in the area, and the other half will be distributed to mental-health organizations statewide. “We are humbled by the response of the community to help people who are not able to help themselves,” said Mr. Crespo. The drive is not finished; additional donations may be mailed to Knights of Columbus, 2518 W. Andrew Johnson Highway, Morristown, TN 37814.

www.dioknox.org

THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC

BY DAN PACITTI

The ninth annual “Frazzled in the Vineyard” catechetical-leadership retreat will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12, in Knoxville. The retreat is sponsored by the diocesan Office of Christian Formation. The retreat master is Lee Nagel, executive director of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership. The event begins at 7 p.m. Friday in the conference room of the Super 8 hotel, 6200 Papermill Road, with a wine and cheese social after the opening reflection. The retreat will continue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Chancery. For hotel reservations, call 865-584-8511 and mention “Diocese of Knoxville” to receive the conference rate of $39.99 for a room with one king-sized bed or $49.99 for two queen-sized beds. The deadline for hotel reservations and conference registration is Tuesday, Feb. 1. To register for the conference, see a parish director of religious education or download a form at bit.ly/frazzled2011. For more information, contact Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307 or rarmstrong@dioknox.org. High school students are invited to attend the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry’s annual Sleepless! event, which will take place from 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, to 6 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Pigeon Forge Community Center. Mass will be celebrated Saturday evening, and there will be a holy hour with exposition and benediction as well as an opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Participants may take part in swimming, bowling, racquetball, basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, ultimate Frisbee, ping-pong, and a D.J. dance at the center. Cost is $25 and includes pizza. For more information, contact Deacon Dan Hosford at djh2@ comcast.net or 865-603-9682. Youth should register for the event with their parish youth-ministry coordinator. St. Dominic School in Kingsport is celebrating its 65th anniversary this school year and has two celebrations planned. Bishop Richard F. Stika will celebrate Mass at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, at St. Dominic Church, 2517 John B. Dennis Highway. After Mass the bishop and school families will go to the school at 1474 E. Center St. for a short tour, program, and lunch. A dinner–dance is set for Saturday, Feb. 19. St. Dominic pastor Father Mike Nolan will celebrate Mass at 5:30 p.m., with dinner, a short program, and dancing to follow in the parish life center. Giuseppe’s restaurant will cater the dinner, and The Has Beens band will perform. The event is for adults only. Adults inside and outside the parish are welcome to attend the dinner–dance. Cost is $25 per couple. Tickets are being sold after all Masses and may be purchased at the church office. Call 423-288-8101 or e-mail hrivnak@ chartertn.net for more information. The Council of Catholic Women at Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City will host its annual International Dinner after the 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Jan. 29. The dinner, which is free, features cuisine from around the world and focuses on the needs of developing countries. This year’s theme is “Water for Life.” The guest speaker will be Drocella Mugorewera, formerly of Rwanda and now living in Knoxville. Mrs. Mugorewera served as a member of the Rwandan parliament and as minister of lands, environment, forestry, water, and mines in the African nation. She is now a parishioner of Holy Ghost in Knoxville. For more information on the dinner, call Marlene Holt at 865-712-0959 or the Holy Trinity parish office at 471-0347. THE E A S T T E N N E S S E E C A T H OLIC

A “Caregiving for the Caregiver” seminar will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 5, in the familylife center at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City. Speaker Robert Coyne, who took care of his wife for five and a half years until her death, will discuss such topics as personal care, insurance and Social Security information, and finding time for respite. For more information, call Lil at 865458-1949 or Barbara at 458-8922. The parishes of Blessed John XXIII in Knoxville and Sacred Heart Cathedral will co-host a mission from 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, March 6 through 8, at Sacred Heart with a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria each day. Adore Ministries will conduct the mission in English, while Father Jose Robles Sanchez will conduct it in Spanish. Contact Shelly Letendre at the parish office at 865-588-0249 or ts3@comcast.net. Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Haiti Outreach Program is holding a studentsponsorship drive in February for its twin parish in Boucan-Carré, Haiti. Opportunities will be available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 5 and 12, in the school lobby, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 6 and 13, in the school cafeteria. The Knights of Columbus will serve breakfast and lunch at the Feb. 6 event. Costs are $100 to sponsor an elementary student and $200 for high school students. The Haiti Outreach Program is in its 11th year, and previous donations have helped the Haiti school increase its enrollment from 350 to 1,500. Those interested may also call 865-769-7437 or visit givehaitihope.org to become a sponsor. Father Christopher Riehl, associate pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral, will present “Sacraments: Mysteries of Faith” in seven weekly sessions, beginning with baptism Thursday, Feb. 3, in the Shea Room at Sacred Heart. Those attending should bring a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. For details, call the parish office at 865-588-0249.

COURTESY OF JOCEYLYN THOMAS

The 2011 March for Life, sponsored by the Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life, will be held Sunday, Jan. 23, in Knoxville. The event will begin with a prayer service at 2 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 3200 Kingston Pike, to mark the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Participants will march down Kingston Pike sidewalks and go past the abortion clinic on Concord Street to Tyson Park, about three-quarters of a mile. Shuttles back to the church will be available. For details, contact the TRL chapter at 865-689-1339 or trlknox@knology.net, or visit trlknox.org.

Father Kenneth Paulli, OFM, preaches the homily at the Mass celebrating the establishment of a scholarship named for him. SIENA COLLEGE PRIEST HONORED

Scholarship named for Father Paulli, son of ET couple

aul and Mary Lou Paulli of Charleston, parishioners of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Cleveland, traveled to upstate New York in the fall to celebrate an educational scholarship named for their son, Father Kenneth Paulli, OFM. Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., where Father Paulli is chief of staff, established The Father Kenneth P. Paulli ’82, OFM, Ed.D. Scholarship in honor of his 25 years as a Franciscan and the 20th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Father Paulli requested that the scholarship specifically honor his grandparents, Alfred and Lena Albano and Paul and Josephine Paulli, who were advocates of education, although none graduated from college. It was their commitment to education that encouraged Father Paulli to earn a doctorate in education, he said. The scholarship, which has already raised more than $300,000, is designated for students in financial need who value Catholic education. Father Paulli, who teaches in addition to performing his administrative role, is known as a student-centered and challenging teacher. He is an advocate of collaborative and thorough work, is compassionate to students, and exemplifies Franciscan educational values. Siena held a special Mass in Octo-

ber at St. Mary of the Angels Chapel on campus to celebrate the scholarship. More than 400 people attended, including Siena College faculty members, staff, administrators, and Paulli family members. Mr. and Mrs. Paulli lived in Westchester County, N.Y., before moving to Tennessee more than 10 years ago. Siena College president Father Kevin Mullen, OFM, and the previous four living presidents, Franciscan Fathers Kevin Mackin, William McConville, Hugh Hines, and Matthew Conlin, were all members of the scholarship honorary committee. Information about the scholarship offered by the nearly 80-yearold college outside Albany may be found at www.siena.edu/pages/1. asp. The liberal-arts school has an enrollment of roughly 3,000 students. Holy Name Province, the community to which Father Paulli belongs, is one of seven U.S. provinces belonging to the Order of Friars Minor. Holy Name is the largest, with ministries in 12 states along the East Coast. Its more than 350 priests and brothers serve in colleges, parishes, urban-ministry centers, and a variety of social ministries as well as in missions in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, East Africa, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam. n

Sister Mary Timothea Elliott, RSM, diocesan director of Christian Formation, will lead an evening of reflection titled “Psalms, the Prayers That Jesus Prayed” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 (rescheduled from Jan. 11), at Sacred Heart Cathedral. For more information, call 865-584-4528. Middle school students at St. Joseph School in Knoxville are building outdoor Stations of the Cross with the help of a volunteer expert. Each of the 14 stations will be made of wood in the form of a Celtic cross, with the scenes depicted in stained glass in the center of the cross. The faithful may sponsor a station for $100. A small plaque with the name of the person memorialized will be affixed to the station. Call the school’s Office of Advancement at 865-689-3424 to sponsor a station or learn more. Renew International’s Theology on Tap speaker series is taking place this month at the Irish Times Pub at 11348 Parkside Drive in Farragut, with a presentation at 7:30 p.m. each Sunday. Young adults in their 20s and 30s are invited. The speaker on Jan. 23 is Judi Phillips, whose topic will be “Going ‘Green’ With Your Sexuality . . . the Catholic Approach.” Paul Simoneau, director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace, will speak on “Justice and Holiness” on Jan. 30. There is no cover charge or admission fee. Drinks are the responsibility of participants. An admissions placement test for Knoxville Catholic High School is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, for current eighth-grade students. A $25 fee is due at the time of the test. Contact Barrie Smith at 865-560-0502 or bsmith@knoxvillecatholic.com to reserve a place. For the second year in a row, Bishop Richard F. Stika will host bilingual celebrations to honor married couples and their commitment to the sacrament of marriage. Each event will include Mass, an opportunity to renew Calendar continued on page 6

COURTESY OF KATHY SUMRELL

CALENDAR

OLPH soccer team wins conference championship The seventh- and eighth-grade coed soccer team at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga won the Independent School Conference championship game Dec. 3 against Belvoir Christian Academy. Coach Todd Close, pictured with his players, said that goalies Michael Quatrano and Jessica Gazick posted a shutout and that Chris Darras played excellent defense in the title game. James Teal, Joseph Enos, Michael, Madeline Robbins, and Elizabeth Ciabattone scored the goals.

COURTESY OF GEORGE LECRONE JR.

on the

Holy Spirit Scout receives Light of Christ award During Mass at Holy Spirit Church in Soddy-Daisy, Monsignor Al Humbrecht presented the Light of Christ award to Cub Scout John Blakely. With him in the photo are his Cubmaster, Jed Swiecichowski; parents, Lisa and Paul; and sister, Emma.

West Knoxville Knights council makes $3,000 donation

nights of Columbus Council 5207 in West Knoxville recently presented a $3,000 check to Sunshine Industries of Knoxville. Sunshine specializes in providing a productive work environment for people with mental handicaps. Council 5207 has raised more than

www.dioknox.org

$200,000 over the past 30 years for charities benefiting the mentally challenged in Knoxville and Tennessee. Knights Jim Caughorn and Russ Carvin presented the check to executive director Judy Wohlwend of Sunshine Industries and members of the staff. n JANUARY 23, 2011

Calendar continued from page 5

Ministries Day continued from page 1

wedding vows, and a luncheon for couples and their family and friends following the liturgy. The second of the three celebrations will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at St. Patrick Church in Morristown, and the third is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland. A commemorative certificate will be available at the luncheons for couples who register. To attend a celebration, RSVP to Karen Byrne of the diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment at 865-584-3307, extension 5739, or kbyrne@dioknox.org. Couples should provide their names, number of years married, and number of guests coming to the luncheon.

All Saints Parish in Knoxville will sponsor “The Light Weigh,” a “spiritual-growth weight-loss program,” from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. Tuesdays in the parish-hall lounge. An orientation meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 25, for a new 12-week session that will begin Feb. 1. Call Jennie at 865-705-4451 for details. The Ulster Project of Knoxville’s annual “Luck of the Irish” fundraising dinner and auction is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at The Foundry. Tickets cost $50. Call Barbara O’Brien at 865-675-1048 or visit theulsterproject.com to learn more. Jay Robinson of Robinson Real Estate will lead a workshop on the topic “How to Sell Your Home in Today’s Real Estate Market” at noon Tuesday, Jan. 25 (rescheduled from Jan. 11), in the Alexian Village Gold Room at 437 Alexian Way, Signal Mountain. Lunch and a tour of the Alexian Village campus will be held in conjunction with the workshop. Call 423886-0542 to attend. The Memorial Health Care System Foundation will hold its sixth annual Pink! Gala to benefit the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center on Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from this year’s event will be used to purchase a new Memorial Mobile Health Coach. The Party on the Moon Band will again provide dance music for the gala. Regular tickets cost $200 and patron tickets $350, and sponsorship opportunities are available. To make reservations, call 423-495-PINK (7465) or visit www.memorial.org/pink. The next “Picture of Love” engaged-couples retreat will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in the parish life center at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Chattanooga. This marriage-preparation retreat supplements couples’ marriage formation with their parish priest and is designed to help couples gain a better understanding of the joys and challenges of living the sacrament of matrimony. Cost is $135 per couple and includes meals. The retreat certificate, for those attending the entire event, is good for a $60 discount on a marriage license. To register or learn more, contact Marian Christiana of the diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana@dioknox.org. Another Picture of Love retreat will be held at St. Stephen Church in Chattanooga on June 3 and 4. The next charismatic Mass in the diocese will be celebrated at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, at Holy Spirit Church in Soddy-Daisy. Father Dan Whitman of Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City will be the celebrant. Singers and instrumentalists who would like to participate in the choir should arrive at 4. Prayers for healing will follow the Mass. Call Dee Leigh at 423842-2305 for more information. The January calendar for Memorial Health Care System includes an AARP driver-safety program for those 55 and older set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21. Call 423-495-CARE (2273) to register. A free abdominal aortic-aneurysm screening will be held weekdays Jan. 24 through 28 at Memorial Hospital, Memorial North Park Hospital, and Memorial Ooltewah. The screening is for men and women 65 and older with no previous diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm and no abdominal CT in the past five years. Registration and appointment required; call 495-6000. Cancer, heart, and diabetes patients should call 495-7778, 495-7764, or 495-7970, respectively, to learn more about Memorial’s events for them. The next Marriage Encounter weekend in the diocese is scheduled for March 4 through 6 at the Edgewater Hotel & Conference Center in Gatlinburg. For more information, contact John or Anne Wharton at 423-581-1815 or acw193@bellsouth.net or visit www. loveinthesmokies.org or wwme.org. The next Engaged Encounter weekend in the diocese will be held Feb. 11 through 13 at the Magnuson Hotel in Sweetwater. To register, call Jason or Carmen Jeansonne at 865-377-3077. For more information on Engaged Encounter, e-mail Paul or Pam Calendar continued on page 7

JANUARY 23, 2011

DAN MCWILLIAMS

Informational meetings on ENDOW, a Catholic educational program focused on helping women discover their God-given dignity through Catholic teaching, are set for 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, in the cry room at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut and 9:45 to 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, in the St. John Neumann School library. ENDOW study groups meet weekly or biweekly over an eight- to 10-week period. For more information, visit www.endowonline.com or call Lydia Donahue at 865-643-1960, Lisa Campbell at 455-4795, or Toni Pacitti at 789-0328.

Bishop Stika gave a talk to kick off Ministries Day on Jan. 8 in the Sacred Heart Cathedral School gym before those attending broke up to attend workshops. ‘BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF FAITH’

gustine Minor Seminary High School in Holland, Mich. He explained that an Augustinian priest at the school had devised an unusual way to help his students—who came from throughout the United States and Mexico—learn to function as a team. “Father was a very talented craftsman, a carpenter. So he thought one of the ways he could build a class’s identity would be to take us all out into the woods outside of Holland and teach us how to build a log cabin from scratch. . . . We spent almost an entire school year building a log cabin as they would have built one in the 1880s.” By the end of the school year, “we stayed in the cabin overnight, and it didn’t fall down,” said Bishop Stika. “Father was a very wise man because by the end of that school year, my class got to know one another.” Bishop Stika said his experience in Michigan was akin to the church in East Tennessee, which also has people arriving from far-off places who must form a community. The bishop surveyed his listeners in the gym and found a relatively small number of native-born Tennesseans in the audience. “Isn’t it amazing the number

of people here who were not born in Tennessee? It’s kind of like my class, coming from different parts of the United States and different parts of the world. How do you form a community of faith?” One way is by participating in the life of the Church, in which “a person in another part of the world whom you will never know and never meet will pray for you as an individual,” said the bishop. “For anytime the Church gathers together to pray, we pray for one another.” Building a community of faith “for some means to be out in front as a leader in a parish,” said the bishop. “For others it means not to be so public . . . and yet it is just as important, whether you’re involved in a parish or pray for a parish or whether you’re there every moment of every day at your church or you come every once in a while.” “There’s a variety of ways we contribute to a parish,” said the bishop, adding that “the worst thing that can happen in any parish is for one individual or one group to believe it’s ‘my parish.’ . . . Whatever entity you might be involved in, it’s all about Jesus, and if we ever forget that or stray from that, we’re not about

building the community of faith that we call the Roman Catholic Church.” Each prayer at Mass, whether for the needs of the Church or an individual, “becomes the prayer of Jesus,” he said. “When we pray that a diocese made up of many people from different parts of the world should try to become one in faith, it becomes the prayer of Jesus.” Bishop Stika urged his listeners to “work in your parish communities to be the face of Jesus.” “We could be the entrance to the [Church] doorway by our attitude or our personality, and sometimes we could be the block that doesn’t allow a person to come into the Church. That’s why it’s important to pray for one another, that in our weakness we might be strengthened.” The bishop closed his talk with another call to pray for priestly vocations, citing a positive statistic provided by Father Michael Cummins, the diocesan director of vocations. “Anytime you pray, pray for vocations to the priesthood,” said Bishop Stika. “Father Mike tells me we have 15 in the seminary, and there are four who have signed up for next year.” n

Prospects good for pro-life legislative success BY N A N C Y F R A Z I E R O ’ B R I E N

WASHINGTON (CNS)— With apologies to Charles Dickens, it is the best of times or the worst of times, the spring of hope or the winter of despair. That depends on whether you think the increased prolife numbers in the U.S. Congress and the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner portend a greater appreciation for and protection of human life or the rise of “the most powerful anti-choice politician in the country,” as NARAL Pro-Choice America puts it. The 112th Congress that was sworn in Jan. 5 contains up to four dozen more pro-life House members and four to six more pro-life senators than the Congress that preceded it, according to estimates from organizations on both sides of the abortion question. And the Republican “Pledge to America” outlining the party’s legislative priorities vows to “establish a governmentwide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion and subsidies for insurance coverage that includes abortion.” “This prohibition would . . . enact into law what is known as the Hyde amendment as well as ban other instances www.dioknox.org

of federal subsidies for abortion services,” the pledge says. “We will also enact into law conscience protections for health-care providers, including doctors, nurses, and hospitals.” But with a president in the White House for two more years who supports keeping abortion legal, what are the chances Republicans can deliver on their pledge? Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, thinks progress will be made. When the leadership of the House makes a pro-life promise, “it makes a lot of difference practically in getting a vote” on key pieces of legislation, Doerflinger said. In addition, he said, “the president is less likely to veto a bill if he has to veto an entire package of funding legislation” on another matter. Ready to be introduced in the new Congress or recently introduced are four pieces of legislation supported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: n the Protect Life Act, which would apply long-standing federal policies on funding and conscience rights related to abortion to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would make those policies part of permanent federal law rather than requiring them to be inserted into funding legislation each year n the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban governmental discrimination against obstetrics/gynecology residency programs that do not provide abortion training and allow health-care providers to sue a discriminating entity n the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, which would protect the rights of insurance issuers, providers, and purchasers to negotiate a health plan under the new reform law that would exclude items that are against their moral and/or religious convictions, even in the face of new federal “mandated benefits” provisions. Most of those bills received wide bipartisan support in the last Congress, Doerflinger said, and “they should receive support again even from people who say they are prochoice” because they guarantee a true choice for those who do not support abortion. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus with Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., and n

Pro-life continued on page 10

THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC

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A Hallmark valentine Paulist Productions and Betty White team up for a Hall of Fame TV movie. By Mark Pattison

Correction

he Dec. 26 ETC incorrectly gave Father Antony Punnackal’s title as parochial vicar for St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville. He is parochial administrator for the parish. n

Director of liturgy position open

S CNS PHOTO/COURTESY OF PAULIST PRODUCTIONS

WASHINGTON (CNS)—The next Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television movie will feature a couple of firsts—a rarity for the venerable TV franchise, which has logged more than 200 such movies over the decades. For one thing, Paulist Productions is getting a coproducing credit on The Lost Valentine, slated to air from 9 to 11 p.m. EST Sunday, Jan. 30, on CBS. For another, it will be the first Valentine’s Day–themed Hallmark movie. “This is pretty astounding, considering how many valentine cards they sell,” mused Paulist Father Eric Andrews, the head of Paulist Productions for the past year and a half. Father Andrews is a former pastor of Blessed John XXIII Parish in Knoxville. Hallmark Productions worked with CBS to air last year’s Christmas movie over this past year’s Thanksgiving weekend so Hallmark could devote more time to properly promote The Lost Valentine. The movie stars Betty White as the wife of a World War II soldier who left the home front for the Pacific theater on Valentine’s Day—their first wedding anniversary—and some months later was reported missing in action. Every Valentine’s Day since, White’s character has returned to the train station in a stoic vigil to wait for the man who promised to return to her. She gets some help in solving the mystery of his disappearance from a TV news reporter played by Jennifer Love Hewitt of Ghost Whisperer fame; Hewitt is listed as one of the movie’s executive producers. The Paulist connection came courtesy of Barbara Gangi, the film’s producer and a board member of Catholics in Media Associates. “I was waiting for a plane, I went to the airport gift shop, I saw this novel, and it looked like a cute little romance, set in the forties,” Gangi told Catholic News Service from her home in Burbank, Calif. She read it and loved it but promptly forgot about it. “Several years later someone brought me a script. I thought, Gee, this sounds familiar, and sure enough it turned out to be the book that I had read,” Gangi said. “I took it to Hallmark. It was the only place I shopped it. . . . They loved it. Four years later, it was a process of licensing and contracts, but it finally got made.”

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 like to try online delivery, 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. n

Actress Betty White, star of the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie The Lost Valentine, is seen on the set with Paulist Father Eric Andrews, one of the movie’s co-producers. ‘A PRETTY ASTOUNDING FIRST’

t. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City seeks a director of liturgical ministries. Responsibilities include planning and coordinating all liturgies; directing SATB adult choir, men’s choir, and hand-bell choir; coordinating parish musicians, English- and Spanish-speaking; and coordinating the development and scheduling of all liturgical ministers. Fluency in Spanish is helpful but not required. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, experience as a choral director, an understanding of the documents “Sing to the Lord” and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, basic computer skills, and proficiency in keyboards and music composition. The position is full time, with salary and benefits commensurate with qualifications. E-mail applications to Faerie Pabich, faerie@sthomaslc.com. n

Letters continued from page 2

Gangi’s partner in the production was Paulist Father Frank Desiderio, Father Andrews’ predecessor as head of Paulist Productions. Father Andrews said it was only a matter of timing that his own name is on the closing credits and not his predecessor’s. But it was also timing that led to the teaming of White and Hewitt to head the cast. White’s been on a hot streak unprecedented for most Hollywood octogenarians since the Television Critics Association gave her its lifetime achievement award in July 2009, which led first to a popular Snickers commercial, then a successful Facebook effort to have her guest host Saturday Night Live. White now co-stars in a hit cable-TV comedy, Hot in Cleveland. “She told her agent, ‘I’m not going to do any more movies. I don’t want to take the time, and I’m not going out of town,’” Gangi told CNS. “I took it to her agent [and he said], ‘She told me: “Don’t bring any more scripts.” But I’m going to give it to her because it will resonate with her.” White read the script at her agent’s insistence. “I cried when I read it,” she reported, “then I cried the next 10 times I read it. I want to do it, but don’t take me out of town too long.” The filming schedule in Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., was a compact 25 days. The chances of getting

Hewitt attached to the project, Gangi said, were “not that great because at the time she was doing Ghost Whisperer. We went back and forth and Betty came on, and Jenny’s series was canceled, so it was a matter of all these great forces coming together at once.” Talking to CNS from Paulist Productions headquarters in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Father Andrews raved about White’s performance. “She’s known for comedy, but to see her [character] grieve helpfully, to get in touch with her feelings and be able to emote about them, is just incredible,” he said. “I was a big Password fan, Father Andrews added, referring to the popular daytime game show hosted by White’s late husband, Allen Ludden. “The way he presided on television, I picked up some of those traits when I preside at Mass.” When Father Andrews told this to White on the set, “she teared up and said, ‘You don’t know how much that means to me. His birthday was a couple of days ago.’ She cried. We both cried.” CNS staff critic John Mulderig gave a hearty endorsement to The Lost Valentine, calling it “that current rarity: quality programming appropriate for all ages.” n Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

respond, until we finally have to use flashlights to see the words on our programs. One little boy asked me if I would send home some information on this. I told him I would be happy to do that. The question is, will that child’s parents take him? Is it any wonder young adults are leaving the Church in droves? You can’t love what you don’t know. n —Angela Ogle Knoxville 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.

Calendar continued from page 6

Schaffer at ceeknoxville@gmail.com or visit www. rc.net/knoxville/cee/. 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 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.knoxlatin mass.net for details. 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 noon, followed by lunch and a speaker. 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. Sister Judy Raley, SCN, will speak at the Jan. 24 meeting, and club president Mike St. Charles will speak Feb. 14. Visit www.serrachatta.org for further details. A Seekers of Silence Contemplative Saturday Morning will be held Jan. 22 at Blessed John XXIII Catholic Center in Knoxville. Asmaa Alaoui-Ismaili will give a talk titled “Islamic Perspective: Mary in the Quran.” 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 or learn more, call 865-523-7931. 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 Johnson City. For more information on the Knoxville group, call Ellen Macek at 865-675-5541. Call Father Michael Cummins at 423-926-7061 for more details on the Johnson City group. Everyone is welcome to attend.

MARY C. WEAVER

Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations at 3:30 p.m. Sundays at Holy Ghost Church, 1041 N. Central St. in Knoxville. Call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865-256-4880.

Hundreds join the bishop in praying the rosary for life On Jan. 15 Bishop Richard F. Stika led about 400 people, including this young participant, in a rosary for life. The crowd gathered along Knoxville’s Concord Street, across from an abortion clinic. See the story in the next edition. THE E A S T T E N N E S S E E C A T H OLIC

www.dioknox.org

The St. Thomas the Apostle Ukrainian Catholic Mission celebrates Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays in the chapel at the Chancery office in Knoxville. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307 for more information. n JANUARY 23, 2011

Mass of remembrance celebrated for victims of Tucson shooting B Y B E R N Z O V ISTOSKI

TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS)—More than 800 people filled St. Odilia Church and its nearby parish hall Jan. 11 to pray for the victims of the shooting spree outside a Tucson supermarket Jan. 8. Roxanna Green, the mother of slain 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, a member of the parish, looked on as Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas spoke at a special Mass to heal the community, remember those who died, and console the victims and their families. President Barack Obama and members of his Cabinet and Congress were expected to attend a much larger memorial service the following day at the University of Arizona’s basketball arena, Mc Kale Center. But the St. Odilia Mass, televised locally, was the first of the formal religious services to memorialize the victims. Many of the people who attended were St. Odilia’s parishioners, but others had no connection to the church. Law-enforcement officers, many in civilian clothes, could be seen throughout the congregation. The opening song, “Amazing Grace,” was led by the parish children’s choir, of which Christina was an enthusiastic member. “The memory of that Saturday morning will haunt all of us for a long time,” Bishop Kicanas said in his homily. “May it also prod us to treasure each moment with loved ones, to find ways to work together, despite our differences, to enhance our community. “May it also move us to commit our efforts to rid our communities of violence and all that causes and encourages it,” the bishop said. Citing the “many thoughtful, kind, supportive words from people all over the world,” Bishop Kicanas said many recognize “how this community in Tucson has pulled together so beautifully to face the tragedy that struck so unexpectedly.” The bishop said “we are grateful for the world’s concern, their solidarity, and their love. “Everyone takes pride in the bravery of Tucsonans subduing the suspect, the first responders who instantly reacted to assist those hurt, and the medical staff at University Medical Center.” Half a dozen priests and several deacons participated in the liturgy. United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcano of Phoenix spoke at the end of the Mass. She had hosted an ecumenical prayer service at Catalina United Methodist Church earlier that day, which Bishop Kicanas attended. Twenty people were shot, six fatally. The most critically wounded survivor was Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. She was holding a meeting with constituents when she was apparently targeted by the gunman. The suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, was tackled and subdued by people at the scene after firing 31 shots and attempting to reload his Glock 9 mm handgun, Tucson police said. Among the dead was U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, who had attended Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church just before stopping by to speak with Giffords, a longtime friend. “We are a community in grief,” said Bishop Kicanas, a friend of both Roll and Giffords. “We are a community in tears. We are a community struggling, questioning, wondering how such a tragic event could happen. “How could God allow such violence to be done to the innocent? How could God permit the pain and suffering felt by so many good people? Has God abandoned us? Has God looked the other way?” he asked. “Our all-good God never wills evil, never inflicts harm, never injures or hurts,” the bishop said. “Rather, our gracious God comforts and consoles us when such tragedies strike. . . . Our God stands by us, walks with us, holds us in the palm of his hand.” Listing the first names of the deceased victims, Bishop Kicanas said: “[God] knows Christina, John, Gabe, Dorwin, Phyllis, and Dorothy by name. They are God’s sons and daughters, beloved in God’s eyes. He receives them and welcomes them home.” Besides the judge and young Christina, the others killed were Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, who was Giffords’s community-outreach director, and three retirees: Phyllis Schneck, 79, Dorwin Stoddard, 76, and Dorothy Morris, 76. Referring to the injured, the bishop said God “loves and cares for each of them. He wills their full recovery.” Bishop Kicanas said that God “wills not discord, not division, not destructive words or actions. Rather, God desires that we be worthy of being called his sons and daughters by how we act and relate to one another. We are to resist evil, to live with integrity, to speak with civility and respect.” n Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

JANUARY 23, 2011

life and

DIGNITY

BY PAUL SIMONEAU

Roads for the Gospel Aided by the saints before us, we are called to prepare the way of the Lord.

There’s something about aviation that fascinates us. Perhaps it is the aviator’s ability to fly above the obstacles of the earth, which would challenge and slow our journey if attempted by land or sea. The Church has traditionally used the Latin word viator—literally “one on the way”—to describe our pilgrimage in life and the longing of the heart for the infinite that lies beyond this earthly horizon. But as Pope John Paul II sadly notes, so “many people stumble through life to the very edge of the abyss without knowing where they are going” (Fides et Ratio, “Faith and Reason,” No. 6). The expression “All roads lead to Rome,” in its historical context, highlights the scope of the Roman road system, which facilitated the spread of the empire, linking even its furthest outreaches with Rome. These roads were built not for the purpose of promoting commerce and diplomacy but for conquest. We are reminded no less than 35 times in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that our faith journey in life more often resembles a “hard battle,” with its gains and losses, than a sauntering walk (No. 407). And if battle involves life and death, this is especially true of

the catholic

our spiritual battles, which St. Paul tells us are against “principalities and powers,” against the rulers of darkness” and “the spiritual hosts of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12). If roads were so necessary for the spread of the Roman empire and for maintaining the pax Romana—the “peace of Rome”—they are no less necessary for the spread of the Gospel and for true peace in the world. “Legionary pioneers” often traveled ahead of Roman armies, building roads to support the efficient movement of troops and supplies for military campaigns (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Roman roads”). As they prepared the way for the army, so have the labors and sacrifices of saint “pioneers” prepared the way for the Church throughout the world. One need only think of the many heroes of the Church whose missionary labors and sacrifices built highways for the Gospel, beginning with the Apostles and St. Paul. Other notable figures in the Church’s history include St. Francis Xavier, St. Isaac Jogues, and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, to name but a few. In our spiritual journey we walk upon roads built by those who went ahead of us, and we must continue what they started. Even if we never leave the confines of a cloistered existence, such as that of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, it is the “little way” lived according to God’s will

DIFFERENCE

BY GEORGE WEIGEL

The chattering classes It’s time we recovered our ‘intuitive understanding of sacred space.’

Catholics once had an intuitive understanding of sacred space: to enter a church, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, was to enter a different kind of environment, one of the hallmarks of which was a reverent silence. Some of that intuition remains. But much of it has been lost. Thus, within the past few months, I have noted three habitual behaviors, not in parishes that are otherwise sloppy in liturgical practice but in those that take liturgical life seriously: 1) The demarcation between the narthex (or, as they say in AmChurchSpeak, the “gathering space”) and the body of the church (aka the “worship space”) has been severely eroded. Conversations begun in the narthex often continue when people reach the pews; new conversations are initiated in the pews. Both types sometimes continue during the choral prelude, if there is one. In any case, the new convention seems to be that in-pew conversations are quite appropriate until the processional hymn is announced. 2) The exchange of peace, which ought to be accompanied by the briefest of greetings, often becomes the occasion for a general conversational free for all. This breaks the rhythm of the liturgy of the Eucharist and is anything but conducive to the www.dioknox.org

gathering of mind and spirit appropriate to the period before the reception of Holy Communion. 3) Immediately after the conclusion of the recessional hymn, conversation, often quite loud, immediately breaks out in the pews (among those, that is, who have not already bolted for the door during the recessional). Choirs who have spent time and effort preparing a choral postlude must therefore compete with a torrent of chatter that not infrequently drowns out music that has been carefully rehearsed. This chatter is both bad liturgical form and very bad manners. Attempts to remind one’s fellow congregants of the proprieties, through a pleading glance, are met with either incomprehension or hostility. But 2011 could be the year in which the liturgical catechesis enjoined by Vatican II as part of the reform of the liturgy actually takes place—if pastors and liturgy directors see the introduction of the new English translations that will become mandatory on the first Sunday of Advent as the occasion to do what should have been done 40 years ago, and equip the saints—who have too often devolved into the liturgical chattering classes—for their part in worship. That part was beautifully defined by the fathers of Vatican II in the chapter on the Holy Eucharist of the Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: “The Church . . . earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at this mystery

that builds up the kingdom of God in surprising ways. In the Exodus account, the people of Israel did not know the way that led from slavery to freedom: they had only the map of God’s will and the compass needle of obedience. A sense of journey, of a New Exodus, was very much a part of the spirituality of the first Christians, who became known as followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2)—of Christ Jesus, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In the iconography of the Church of the East we find particular emphasis given to the Blessed Mother’s role as the Hodigitria, the one who “shows the way” (cf. CCC, No. 2674). The saints, then, are those who have gone before us, leaving a path on which we can more quickly advance in our faith journey. The Roman roads grew from the need to support battle, and the spiritual struggle begets roads for the continued spread of the Gospel as history’s borders continue to expand. The prophetic words of Zachariah, recalled in the Canticle of the Church’s morning prayer, remind us that in the mandate to “go into all the world . . .” (Mark 16:15), we must “go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77). Like the builders of the Roman roads, we must “make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!” (Isaiah 40:3). To end with a play upon the words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace . . . ,” prepare the way of the Lord. n Mr. Simoneau directs the diocesan Justice and Peace Office.

of faith, should not be there as strangers. . . . They should give thanks to God. Offering the immaculate victim, not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, they should learn to offer themselves.” That offering of self takes place through silence as well as through the “full, conscious, and active participation” the Council enjoined—a “participation,” I might add, that was not envisioned as obliterating the distinction between behavior appropriate to the parish hall and behavior fitting for the body of the church. Both our participation in the liturgy and our silence should reflect the distinctiveness of the sacred space we are privileged to share when we come into church. If there is little discernible difference in our parishes between what happens in the narthex before and after Mass and what happens in the body of the church during Mass, something is wrong. Pastors and liturgical directors have a great opportunity this year to re-educate Christ’s people in the nature of the liturgy. That education can be both direct and indirect: direct, by catechesis from the pulpit; indirect, by providing ample moments of silence within the liturgy. There is no reason why every available moment during Mass must be filled with speech or music. Surely there ought to be moments of repose when all are allowed to listen for the “still small voice” of 1 Kings 19:12. Those moments, in turn, might help remind us that sacred space is not space for chatter. n George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. THE EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC

from the

PARACLETE

BY BETHANY MARINAC

A long but enjoyable read

DEACON PATRICK MURPHY-RACEY

his month I want to focus on Pope Benedict XVI’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini (“The Word of the Lord”), promulgated on Sept. 30. Verbum Domini (Pauline Books and Media, $6.95) addresses the importance of Scripture and is meant to encourage us to the practice of lectio divina, a method of praying the Bible. (Some of you may remember that in July we discussed The Catholic Prayer Bible: Lectio Divina Edition, published last year by Paulist Press.) Although Verbum Domini is long, it is an enjoyable read. Part I explains the word of God as defined by the Church. Part II covers the word as it applies to the Church and the sacraments. Part III addresses the word as it applies to the mission of the Church. Throughout the document, the Holy Father encourages us to discover the joy of studying the word of God and how it renews the life of the Church. n

Posing above are members of the first deacon class ordained for the Diocese of Knoxville. Their ordination date was June 9, 2007, shortly before then–Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz was reassigned to the Archdiocese of Louisville. Bishop Richard F. Stika has announced that the diocese will soon begin its second program to prepare men for ordination as deacons. Information sessions will be held in all four deaneries in February and March. FIRST CLASS

Do you have a call to the permanent diaconate? The diocese invites men to attend information sessions on its new deacon-formation program. By Deacon Tim Elliott

he Diocese of Knoxville is looking for men— men who believe they may have a call to the permanent diaconate. On Oct. 28 Bishop Richard F. Stika approved a program of study for the formation of permanent deacons for the Diocese of Knoxville and directed that the program be implemented. As a result, men of the diocese will soon be able to learn more about diaconal preparation and to apply for a program of study and formation that will begin in September. In February and March information sessions will be presented in each deanery. These two-hour meetings, all held on Saturdays, will outline diocesan admission policies, the work of the deacon in the diocese, the theology of diaconal ministry, and preparation for the diaconate. Potential applicants should attend the session held in their deanery. The sessions are scheduled as follows: n 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at St. Dominic Church, Kingsport n 1 p.m. Feb. 26 at All Saints Church, Knoxville n 10 a.m. March 12 at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Cleveland n 10 a.m. March 26 at St. Albert the Great Church, Knoxville. As potential candidates will learn, deacon preparation is an intense commitment, from the application process through four and a half years of study. Those admitted to the program must commit a full weekend each month— Friday evening to Sunday afternoon—for classroom study. In addition, candidates will attend monthly Saturday morning workshops in their deanery and will have books to read and research papers to write. The entire academic program will be administered through the Diocese of Knoxville. The application process begins with requesting a letter of introduction and recommendation from one’s pastor or associate pastor. Letters should be sent to Deacon Tim Elliott, Diocese of Knoxville, 805 Northshore Drive Southwest, Knoxville, TN 37919, and must be received by April 1. Among other things, applicants must undergo psychological evaluation and must meet, along with their spouse, with a marriage counselor to assess the strength of their marriage. They will need to gather educational transcripts, THE E A S T T E N N E S S E E C A T H OLIC

letters of recommendation, a health certificate, and the necessary sacramental information. Applicants will be responsible for their own travel and books, but the diocese will underwrite all other weekend expenses, such as meals, motel accommodations, and the cost of instruction. It is critical that candidates have good, sound marriages and families. The preparation will require a lot of effort and energy. It is equally important to understand that the training is geared toward preparing candidates for their ministry as deacons—not for “jobs” in the church. We’re not creating a class of employees. One of the deacon’s charisms is that he be a voice of the Church in the marketplace. Following are the qualifications for potential candidates to the deacon-formation program for the Diocese of Knoxville. Each candidate must n be a fully initiated Catholic male in sound physical, emotional, and spiritual health. The applicant will be expected to have medical-examination forms completed by a licensed physician. The Diocese of Knoxville will make arrangements for the completion of all required psychological evaluations. n possess at least a high school diploma or equivalent n be between the ages of 31 and 61 in order to begin the program n be married or spiritually and emotionally capable of making the appropriate commitment to celibacy. If the applicant is married, the marriage must be recognized as stable. The applicant and his wife will be interviewed by a qualified marriage counselor. n be currently active in the pastoral ministry of his parish n have no canonical impediments n possess a good moral and spiritual reputation n be able to demonstrate that diaconal ministry will not be a disruption to his marital, familial, and financial responsibilities n properly respond to the diocesan Policy and Procedure Relating to Sexual Misconduct n be able to make the proper commitment to the service ministry of the Diocese of Knoxville, which includes but is not limited to faithfulness to the Magisterium, willingness to lead a life of prayer dedicated to the church, and

a spirit of obedience to legitimate authority n be able to demonstrate that he is sufficiently free of outside commitments that would otherwise prevent him from being of service. We are looking for men who believe they have a vocation, a call from God. This call is quite specific because it is a call to an ordained ministry of service. Some words from the rite of ordination of a deacon describe the fulfillment of that call: “Be configured to Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve.” Wrapped up in that calling are two interconnected questions for discernment: who am I, and what am I doing? In answering the first question, a man must ask himself honestly whether he has an inner sense that God has been calling him to a ministry of service as a deacon. This could be connected to the ministry a man is already involved in at his parish. In answering the second question, a man must ask himself whether he has been ministering in his parish and has a history of true participation. The discernment process revolves around these two questions and is intimately linked to one’s prayer life and personal spirituality. If a man has a vocational call from God, he can discern it only by conversing with God through prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him in the journey. Key to the potential deacon’s calling is active involvement in his parish. It is a requirement that a man be involved in his parish at the present time—not having been an altar boy 40 years ago or having wanted to be a priest at one time. Deacon candidates must demonstrate a sense of dedication, whether they are involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society, teach RCIA, or serve as a reader or an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. Such participation in the life of one’s parish is a sign of the call to ministry but not necessarily to the diaconate. It may simply be the way one answers the call received in baptism. n Deacon Elliott is diocesan director of the Diaconate Office and coordinator of ongoing formation for deacons. For more information, contact him at 865584-3307 or e-mail telliott@ dioknox.org. www.dioknox.org

Call the store at 865-588-0388 or 800-333-2097. Visit its Facebook page at bit.ly/paracleteknoxville.

National collection for church in Latin America set for Jan. 22-23 WASHINGTON (CNS)—The year 2010 was extraordinary “in terms of needs but also in terms of the response of Catholics all across the United States” to their fellow Catholics in Latin America and the Caribbean, said Coadjutor Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles. The archbishop, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America, said the challenges facing the church in Latin America include a shortage of clergy, strong proselytism by other faiths, migration, and a lack of resources and personnel to offer adequate religious education. The annual national Collection for the Church in Latin America is slated for the weekend of Jan. 22 and 23 this year, with the theme “Keep Faith.” Donations to the collection will support evangelization in some of the poorest parts of the church by promoting lay leadership programs and the education of seminarians and religious brothers and sisters, who help keep the faith alive in parts of the world where the majority of Catholics live. In 2010 the collection was able to distribute $7.5 million to 423 projects. Of that amount, 23 percent went to the formation of seminarians and religious, 13 percent for the formation of lay pastoral agents, 43 percent to support pastoral activities, and nearly 5 percent to construction of temporary chapels in Chile after the February 2010 earthquake there. Assistance to the church in Haiti totaled more than $1.3 million and is expected to increase substantially in 2011 to rebuild chapels, convents, churches, and houses of formation in the earthquake-stricken country. Funds from the collection in 2010 went to catechesis and Catholic communications after the January 2010 earthquake, as well as to post-trauma counseling for survivors and pastoral care. “Through our generous support for the church in Latin America, we are serving the body of Christ and are sharing communion in that same body,” Archbishop Gomez said. n Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Catholic Schools Week 2011 has ‘A+ for America’ as its theme

he 38th annual Catholic Schools Week observance is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 30, through Saturday, Feb. 5. This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: A+ for America.” The National Catholic Education Association, which sponsors the celebration, is using the theme to promote Catholic schools as an added value (“a plus”) for the nation. Schools typically celebrate Catholic Schools Week with Masses, open houses, and activities for students, administrators, faculty, school staff, the community, and families. Schools throughout the Diocese of Knoxville will celebrate the week with a number of events. Bishop Richard F. Stika will begin the week at a 65th-anniversary celebration for St. Dominic School in Kingsport on Jan. 30. See the calendar on page 5 for details. “Historically, Catholic schools are known for their high level of academic achievement, moral values, and high graduation rates,” said Karen Ristau, president of the NCEA. “What may not be as widely recognized are the outstanding successes recorded by students of low-income families and students from the inner city. That’s certainly a plus for many portions of the American population.” Catholic Schools Week is a joint project of the NCEA and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. To learn more about the week, visit www. ncea.org/news/CatholicSchoolsWeek.asp. n JANUARY 23, 2011

WIRE

CRS leader: rebuilding Haiti an unprecedented challenge B Y P E T E R F I N NEY JR.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS)—During the past 40 years—from his first engagement as a Peace Corps volunteer to his three decades spanning the globe with Catholic Relief Services—Ken Hackett has witnessed and responded to human misery. But he has never seen anything like this. As Haiti marked the first anniversary Jan. 12 of the magnitude 7 earthquake that claimed 230,000 lives, displaced more than one million people and buried the economy of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere beneath another layer of intractable debt, Hackett said the scope of the rebuilding task dwarfs anything in his experience. “In terms of challenge, this rivals anything I’ve seen in 40 years and probably supersedes it,” Hackett said before an anniversary Mass celebrated Jan. 12 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican’s humanitarian relief agency, outside the ruins of Port-au-Prince’s national cathedral. “This is really complicated.” The complexity of solving Haiti’s rebuilding crisis revolves around three major challenges, Hackett said. “The biggest challenge is getting the government to allocate land in a reasonable location so that property can be reconstructed,” he said. “The second biggest challenge is basically removing the rubble. “And the third biggest challenge is peace, stability, and . . . finding someone with a leadership vision that is going to benefit the country.” The leadership aspect of the problem is especially fraught with uncertainty, given the disputed results of the Nov. 28 presidential election in which a governing-party candidate, Jude Celestin, appeared to have made the runoff election despite low popular support. A report on the election by the Organization of American States alleges widespread fraud. “You had a government before the earthquake that was reasonably dysfunctional, inept, and somewhat corrupt—not pervasively, but there were elements of it,” Hackett said. “Then you had the earthquake and sadly, a number of government workers died. That had to do with the fact that the earthquake hit just before 5 p.m. and they were still in their offices.” Governmental red tape has affected the CRS rebuilding plan. Six days after the quake, the agency received a contract from the U.S. government to rebuild homes. It has completed about 1,300 small, sturdy homes thus far, each capable of housing five to six people. CRS wants to complete 8,000 homes by the end of 2011. The construction projects have been especially challenging because of land-title issues and the difficulty of removing massive amounts of rubble. CRS also made the tactical decision to work with families in rebuilding homes rather than dictate where and how they should be rebuilt because, Hackett said, that provides a true partnership. As for the rubble, CRS is providing handcranked crushing machines that can pulverize concrete and turn it into reusable foundation material. CRS will buy back the material from the families, and the families can sell rebar retrieved from the concrete on the secondary market. “People can use that material as the foundation on their new homes,” Hackett said. “We provide the basic frame of the home. It’s not big, but it’s a wooden frame. We provide the design and the roofing, but they have to do the work. Then they can add anything they want to the home. So they have to participate in the rubble removal,” he said. Hackett said it is important for CRS to work with families rather than, for example, bringing in bulldozers and building tract housing. “We made the decision that we’re not going to make all the decisions for the Haitians,” he said. “We could have brought in big, giant concrete removal equipment and bulldozed and then rebuilt. But we said, ‘No, they’ve got to be involved in their own future.’ If they’re not, they’re going to sit and wait for somebody to do it.” The cholera epidemic has claimed 3,760 lives and affected nearly 200,000 people since midOctober, and CRS has gone throughout the country to educate and train Haitians about proper hand-washing procedures. Hackett said the Haitian earthquake, which devastated a highly populated, poverty-stricken urban area, was far different from the Asian tsunami in 2004, which affected fishing villages along the coasts of Indonesia and Sri Lanka but did not greatly impact any major urban areas. That’s why solving the Haitian crisis has been so difficult. “People are feeling very angry, very frustrated, very let down,” Hackett said. “They’re angry at everybody—their government, the international community, the nongovernmentals, anybody who they feel should be doing more for them.” n Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 10

JANUARY 23, 2011

Beatification confirms long-held sentiment John Paul II will be beatified May 1, to the delight of millions. By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS)—The news of Pope John Paul II’s upcoming beatification was welcomed by many as a confirmation of something they already felt from the moment the shouts of “Santo subito!” (“Sainthood now!”) reverberated through St. Peter’s Square at the pontiff’s funeral. Many in the crowd were young people who had a special affinity to Pope John Paul, whose pontificate started and ended with a special greeting to young people. During his installation ceremony in 1978, the newly named pope told youths: “You are the future of the world, you are the hope of the church, you are my hope.” And his last words, reportedly delivered hours before his death, were also to youths, in response to the thousands of young people praying and singing in St. Peter’s Square. “I sought you and now you have come to me. . . . I thank you,” said the pontiff, who died April 2, 2005 at age 84. Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, founder and CEO of Canada’s Salt and Light Television, said it was no coincidence that he heard the news of the pontiff’s beatification while attending a meeting in Spain for the upcoming World Youth Day. “A thunderous, sustained, standing ovation followed the announcement,” he said in a Jan. 14 statement. The priest, national director for World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto, said the date for the beatification, May 1, is also no coincidence. Not only is it Divine Mercy Sunday, but it is also the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, known as “May Day” on secular calendars. “Communists and socialists around the world commemorate May Day with marches, speeches, and festivals,” he said, adding that it was fitting that “the man who was a unique instrument and messenger in bringing down the Iron Curtain and the deadly reign of communism and godlessness will be declared blessed” that day. Father Rosica said the announcement is “the formal confirmation of what many of us always knew as we experienced the Holy Father in action throughout his pontificate,” particularly among youths, noting that one of the pope’s gifts to the church was his establishment of World Youth Day.

CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC

from the

Pope John Paul II elevates the host during the celebration of Mass in St. Louis during his last visit to the United States in January 1999. Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late pope’s beatification on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday. ‘CHARISMA AND HOLINESS’

Tim Massie, the chief publicaffairs officer and adjunct professor of communication and religious studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., called the news of Pope John Paul II’s upcoming beatification a “morale boost,” especially for Catholics in the United States “where sex-abuse scandals, financial crises, and disagreements with church hierarchy have dramatically affected parishes, dioceses, and the faithful in the pews.” Because of the pope’s extensive travels in the United States, he said, “there are literally millions of people who were touched by his charisma and holiness.” The pope visited the United States seven times and during each visit urged Catholics to use their freedom responsibly and to preserve the sacredness and value of human life. In an e-mail to Catholic News Service, Massie said the “general public already considers John Paul II a saint, and those who saw him, listened to him, prayed with him, already believed they met a saint—not a future saint, but someone who, like Mother Teresa, lived out the Gospel message in his everyday life.” Michele Dillon, who chairs the department of sociol-

ogy at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, said she believes most American Catholics will welcome John Paul II’s beatification. She described him as the “first cosmopolitan pope for a cosmopolitan age, and his warm, energetic, and telegenic personality served him well on his many trips to all parts of the globe.” Dillon remarked that it would “be interesting to see whether his beatification, at this time of uncertain commitment among the faithful, will reignite a new spark of church engagement, especially among the generation who as teenagers turned out in force” for World Youth Day events. Dennis Doyle, University of Dayton religious-studies professor, noted that many U.S. Catholics didn’t understand the pope. “He was consistent in a way that was difficult for some people in the U.S. to understand,” he said. “But ultimately he is being beatified because he was loved throughout the world and is recognized iconically as a holy person,” he added. n Contributing to this report was Mark Pattison. Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Pro-life continued from page 6

a chief sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, said at least 77 of the 93 freshman members of the 112th Congress “are committed to defending the unborn.” Another sign of progress for those who support the pro-life cause is the appointment of some House committee chairmen who are known to oppose abortion. The Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, for example, is headed by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., who co-wrote the Stupak-Pitts amendment to eliminate abortion funding from the health reform legislation. The subcommittee

has jurisdiction over private health insurance, Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. “We need to protect human life from the unborn to the elderly,” Pitts said in December, when his subcommittee appointment was announced. He has described the health-reform legislation as “riddled with loopholes that allow taxpayer subsidies for coverage that includes abortion.” Even when no specific legislation has been introduced, heads of committees and subcommittees can raise awareness of particular issues by scheduling oversight hearings.

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At the state level too there are signs of progress. As a result of the November elections, “the number of states where pro-life legislation stands a realistic chance of enactment has substantially increased,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee. Her group has proposed model legislation for states based on Nebraska’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which prohibits abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy because of what Balch called “substantial medical evidence” that unborn children can feel pain. “Although we ex-

pect substantial resistance from abortion advocates, we believe most Americans agree in rejecting abortions that cause excruciating pain, and we look forward to protective laws being given serious consideration in a significant number of states,” she said. Other bills likely to receive consideration in some states this year would ensure that women could see ultrasounds of their babies before an abortion and allow state insurance exchanges to opt out of any abortion coverage under the federal health reform law, Balch said. n Copyright 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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