January 25, 2008

Catholic san Francisco

(PHOTO BY DAN MORRIS-YOUNG)

Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

The fourth Walk for Life West Coast calling for an end to abortion drew an estimated 25,000 participants to San Francisco’s Embarcadero on Jan. 19. See stories and photos on pages 9 and 11.

The text of Archbishop George Niederauer’s homily before the event at a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral is on page 14.

School enrollment stabilizing, but challenges remain

By Rick DelVecchio Most of the 62 Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are stable and thriving while a handful of urban schools – mostly parish schools serving low-income, ethnically diverse families —continue to cope with declining enrollment, according to an analysis of 2007-08 enrollment data.

The trend shows that the focus on marketing and fund-raising begun five years ago to attract families to Catholic schools is having an impact system-wide. But it also indicates several schools serving the neediest families are struggling to keep up.

The latest enrollment figures underscore the urgency of efforts under way in San Francisco and other (arch)dioceses throughout the country to turn to philanthropists and alumni for more of the funding needed to sustain inner-city parish schools. Along with their public school counterparts, these schools are fighting population shifts, including African-American and Latino migration from the cities to the suburbs.

Other factors include the aging of the immigrant Catholic base that sustained parochial schools through-

out most of the 20th century and the emergence of a new wave of immigrants with fewer Catholics and less able to afford a Catholic education, experts say.

“The challenge we face Church-wide is right-sizing the system,” said Christian Brother Robert Bimonte, executive director of the National Catholic Education Association’s Department of Elementary Schools. “You can’t continue to have buildings for 8 million (pupils) when we have less than 2 million.”

The Archdiocese of San Francisco, which faces an increasing demand for the limited funds it has to support parish schools, has begun its latest financial assessment of parochial schools in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. Requested by the archdiocesan Council of Priests, the study will include reports on each elementary school and will focus on parish schools. About one in five schools is hovering at or below enrollment of 200, a level where schools have difficulty balancing their budgets, administrators say.

“We’re just trying to look at the needs of each elementary school,” said archdiocesan Schools Superintendent Maureen Huntington. “Closing schools is not even in the conversation.”

Financial challenges aside, Catholic schools have a good story to tell, Brother Bimonte said. He noted the graduation rate for Catholic schools is 99 percent.

“Catholic schools have always been recognized for their academic excellence,” he said. “You don’t give up on that, which is why we hope to continue our commitment to the inner city. Because the only way out of poverty is education.”

Overall enrollment trends for local Catholic K-12 schools echo those of the public schools. Catholic enrollment in the three archdiocesan counties, including high schools, fell by 7.7 percent from 2002-03 to 200708, versus 5 percent for public schools in the three counties. In San Francisco alone, however, the 2 percent drop for Catholic schools over the five-year period was less than the 2.3 percent decrease for public schools.

The rate of falloff in Catholic elementary school enrollment increased very slightly over the past two years but is significantly less steep than it was five years ago. Huntington said the improvement is partly due to stepped-up marketing and tuition assistance. She said the department’s goal is to stop the decline.

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, page 15CS

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Lourdes events . . . . . . . . . . 3 ‘Rice Bowl’ season . . . . . . . 8

Jesuits elect new superior general Catholic Schools Week celebrated in the Archdiocese ~ SPECIAL SECTION ~ January 25, 2008

~ Page 6 ~

Archbishop homily. . . . . . 14 Vegetable ‘pirates’. . . . . . . 15

How candidates are courting Catholics ~ Page 10 ~

SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Classified ads . . . . . . . 18-19

www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 10

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No. 3

Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

On The Where You Live

by Tom Burke A mortarboard salute of the highest order for Donald Zingale, Ph.D., new president of SUNY Cobleskill. Part of the State University of New York system, the campus is “nestled between the Catskill and Adirondack ranges,� Don said in an e-mail conversation we had about his recent appointment. Don has been a member of the Board of Education for the Donald Zingale, Ph.D. Archdiocese of San Francisco for the last two years and previously served in strategic planning for Catholic schools here. “It’s been terrific to serve in both capacities,� Don said, noting that he and his wife, Lydia Cruz, a clinical registered nurse at UCSF, “will be maintaining our permanent residence in Point Richmond just across the bay from San Francisco.� Don completed undergraduate work at Brooklyn College – his hometown – later earning graduate degrees from Sacramento State and the University of Massachusetts. His doctorate is in physical education from Ohio State. Don and Lydia’s daughter, Isabella, is a 2004 graduate of

Maggie McFaddenHogue, Patrick Uland and Maria Maciel, eighth grade students at St. Philip Elementary School, were among members of the school’s Junior St. Vincent de Paul Club who made 235 sandwiches for the needy Nov. 19. Also working on the Dagwoods were eighth graders Kevin Blincoe, Michael Davis, Vanessa Lomeli, Natalia Vargas, James Welch, and seventh grader Kristian Sainz.

(PHOTO BY MICHAEL HONG)

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St. Cecilia Elementary School and is now a senior at Marin Catholic High School. Don said he’s looking forward to leading a “public system-based college not unlike the California State University campuses offering real learning for real life.�

Since 2004, Don has served as vice president for academic affairs at CSU’s California Maritime Academy. “Don has been a very valuable member of the board,� said Maureen Huntington, superintendent of Catholic Schools. “I’ve been delighted to have him as a member of the board.�... I can be quite the lamenter about not finishing my undergraduate work but I certainly can’t blame lack of opportunity or resources.

Notre Dame de Namur University offers an Evening Degree Completion program for folks just like me. You can learn all about it Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the school, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. On hand will be faculty and others to help attendees

Sweets and sweat marked Marin Catholic High School’s first “Cookies and Cram� where older students helped younger students prepare for finals.

Junior Avi Basa, left, lent his math expertise to freshmen Matt Friedman, center, and Mark Nutting.

The program, put on by the Student Activities Department, was a twoday after-school event where upperclassman took time out to tutor freshmen in preparation for their first set of finals.

LIVING TRUSTS WILLS â—?

explore available study tracks including computer and information science, psychology and liberal studies. Should you take the plunge, you’d be joining 184 people already in the program. For those with the bachelor’s work already under their belts, Notre Dame offers a Graduate Information Forum, Feb 4 at 6:30 p.m. where you can also meet faculty and get acquainted with curriculum in graduate and credential studies. Currently 514 students are taking part in the evening graduate division. “Be not afraid,� said Karen Schornstein, Notre Dame’s director of enrollment and marketing, noting that while returning to school can be daunting for adults – I’m quaking in my boots just thinking about it - much is done to allay the fear. Average age of students is “late 30s,� Karen said, with half younger and half older.

Though she’d not make any promises, school public relations person Leslie Baikie-Khavari said there would probably be cake at both information sessions. Low cal for me, please. I’m trying to lose 30 pounds this month. The goal is to expand my mind and contract my waistline. For information on one or both of the Notre Dame programs, call (650) 508-3600‌. This is an empty space without ya’!! The e-mail address for Street is burket@sfarchdiocese.org. Mailed items should be sent to “Street,â€? One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109. Pix should be hard copy or electronic jpeg at 300 dpi. Don’t forget to include a follow-up phone number. Call me at (415) 614-5634 and I’ll walk you through it.

Ruth Singleton completed her undergraduate degree at Notre Dame de Namur University in Spring 2007 at age 83.

She is currently enrolled as a graduate student there. “We all love her,� the school said.

â—?

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January 25, 2008

Church celebrating 150th anniversary of Lourdes One hundred fifty years ago the Blessed Mother appeared 18 times over a period of six months to young Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, a spot marked today by miraculous cures of the sick and visits by several million pilgrims each year.

It is estimated that eight million people will visit the famed grotto in this sesquicentennial jubilee year. Among them will be San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer.

“I am looking forward to my own first visit to Lourdes in May of this year, accompanying the Knights of Malta as they guide and assist their sick brothers and sisters in Christ in their visit to the shrine of Our Lady,” the Archbishop said. “Even if San Francisco Catholics cannot visit the shrine in person for this year’s feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, we can visit these designated shrines and churches in our own Archdiocese and pray in unity with Catholics throughout the world, taking advantage of this spiritual opportunity the Holy Father has offered us on the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous.”

In deference to the jubilee, Pope Benedict XVI has approved a plenary indulgence for Catholics who “take part in any public or private devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes,” according to Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican Court dealing with indulgences and matters of conscience.

(CNS PHOTO BY PAUL FINCH, CATHOLIC SUN)

By Tom Burke

Snow surrounds a statue of St. Bernadette near the main entrance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y.

An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due for sins committed. A plenary indulgence is the remission of all punishment.

Cardinal Stafford said the indulgence may be applied to the souls of the faithful in purgatory. The plenary indulgence may be gained daily – that is more than

once - during the appointed time.

Time constraints and details for receiving the indulgence are as follows: Pilgrims visiting the Massabielle grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette can receive the indulgence during the Lourdes Jubilee Year which runs Dec. 8, 2007, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, through Dec. 8, 2008.

Pilgrims who visit any public sanctuary, shrine or other worthy place dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes may invoke the indulgence locally between Feb. 2 and Feb. 11, 2008. Feb. 11 is the day of the first apparition as well as the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Feb. 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

Those who make the pilgrimage to Lourdes must visit the following sites, preferably in this order: the parish where Bernadette was baptized, the Soubirous family home, the Massabielle grotto, the chapel where St. Bernadette received her first Eucharist.

At each location the faithful should end their meditation by praying the Lord’s Prayer, the creed and the special jubilee prayer or a prayer to Mary.

Those visiting a local holy place dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes from Feb. 2 – 11 also should pray the Lord’s Prayer, the creed and the special jubilee prayer or a prayer to Mary.

Catholics who cannot visit Lourdes or join a communal service to Our Lady of Lourdes because of illness or other serious reason can still earn the indulgence “in their own home or wherever they are,” during those dates, Cardinal Stafford said.

In addition to the visits noted above, one must also meet the normal requirements set by the Church for all plenary indulgences, which include going to confession within a reasonable period of time, receiving the Eucharist and praying for the intentions of the pope, all in a spirit of total detachment from the attraction of sin.

Catholic San Francisco

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Local sites Among designated shrines and churches in the Archdiocese of San Francisco that may be visited in conjunction with the 150th anniversary year of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France are: SAN FRANCISCO OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH 1715 Oakdale Ave. / (415) 285-3377 Outdoor grotto is accessible 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHAPEL 3255 Folsom St. / (415) 834-1762 Statue inside church accessible 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day.

NOTRE DAME DES VICTOIRES CHURCH 566 Bush St. / (415) 397-0113 Statue inside church accessible 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. every day.

ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH 650 Parker Ave at Fulton; (415) 422-2188 Outdoor grotto on East side of church on USF campus available anytime.

ST. ANNE’S HOME 300 Lake St. / (415) 751-6510 Outdoor grotto accessible daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. from Feb. 2 – Feb. 11. Faithful are also invited to candle light rosary and procession Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

SAN MATEO COUNTY ST. RAYMOND CHURCH 1100 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 323-1755 Grotto on church grounds accessible 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. every day.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH One Notre Dame Way, San Mateo (650) 344-7622 Painted image inside church available 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. Lourdes Grotto on church grounds accessible 24 hours a day.

St. Matthew Parish is also celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes Feb. 1 – 3 with devotions, talks and prayer.

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

January 25, 2008

in brief

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of launching a liturgical “return to the past” but would like to recover some important elements that have been lost or forgotten in recent decades, the Vatican’s liturgist said. Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, made the comments in an interview Jan. 19 with Vatican Radio. He was asked about fears the pope wants to abandon the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council. “These are certainly incorrect inferences and interpretations,” Msgr. Marini said. The path of Catholic liturgy is “development in continuity,” in which change never loses touch with the Church’s living traditions, he said.

Show support for pope VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Tens of thousands of Romans filled St. Peter’s Square in a show of support for Pope Benedict XVI, three days after he canceled a university appearance because of protests. When the pope appeared at his apartment window for the noon blessing Jan. 20, he was met with a long cheer from the people in the square.

Crowd estimates ranged from 100,000 to 200,000. The Diocese of Rome had urged people to turn out in great numbers to demonstrate support for the pontiff. The crowd included political leaders, students and families, many of them carrying homemade signs. “Free to listen to you!” proclaimed one banner held aloft by university students.

Unite with sick, says pope VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Receiving Christ in the Eucharist, Catholics should in turn give their lives for others, especially those who are sick and suffering, Pope Benedict XVI said. In his message for the Feb. 11 celebration of World Day of the Sick, the pope asked Catholics to consider “the close connection that exists between the mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the plan of salvation and the reality of human pain and suffering.” World Sick Day is marked each year on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes; 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in the grotto in Lourdes, France.

Pope supports Church schools VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI said modern education is threatened by exaggerated rationalism on one hand and religious fundamentalism on the other. To fight this “educational crisis,” Church-run schools and universities

(CNS PHOTO/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ)

Asked about liturgical reform

Atonement Father James Gardiner leads evening prayer in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel at Graymoor, motherhouse of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement, in Garrison, N.Y., Jan. 18. Nearly 50 priests, religious and lay people gathered to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which was initiated as the Church Unity Octave by Father Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White, co-founders of the Society of the Atonement, in the same place Jan. 18, 1908. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed Jan. 18-25. The University of San Francisco’s annual Paul Wattson Christian Unity Lecture is scheduled Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. on the main campus, 2500 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, in the McLaren Building, Room 252. The lecture is free and open to the public and this year will feature Atonement Father James F. Puglisi, minister general of Franciscan Friars of the Atonement since 2004.

should propose a distinctly Christian perspective, even as they welcome cultural and religious diversity, the pope said. He made the comments Jan. 21 to members of the Congregation for Catholic Education meeting at the Vatican. The pope said the world today faces a double challenge: a rationalism “falsely liberated and unchained from every religious reference,” and “fundamentalisms that falsify the true essence of religion with their incitement to violence and fanaticism.”

Outlines Pauline year activities VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Dedicating 2008-2009 to reading the letters of St. Paul and rediscovering the zeal that led him to establish Christian communities throughout the Mediterranean basin, the Catholic Church also hopes to promote Christian unity, an Italian cardinal said. Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, said that if Christians seriously follow the apostle’s example of allowing Christ to work in and through them, they naturally will draw closer to one another. Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the special Pauline year, which will begin June 28, to coincide

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Editorial Staff: Dan Morris-Young, editor: morrisyoungd@sfarchdiocese.org; Rick DelVecchio, assistant editor: delvecchior@sfarchdiocese.org; Tom Burke, “On the Street”/Datebook: burket@sfarchdiocese.org; Michael Vick, reporter: vickm@sfarchdiocese.org

Parishes to be nonprofit entities PHOENIX (CNS) — The Phoenix Diocese is undertaking a comprehensive restructuring process so that its civil NEWS IN BRIEF, page 5

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HAVANA (CNS) — A decade after Pope John Paul II’s historic trip to Cuba, church officials hope a Feb. 20-26 visit from the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, will reinforce the faith of the island’s Catholics.

The itinerary planned for Cardinal Bertone is almost the same as the one followed by the late pope in January 1998, said Havana Auxiliary Bishop Juan de Dios Hernandez Ruiz, secretary-general of the Cuban bishops’ conference.

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Father James F. Puglisi, SA with the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth. In Rome, the basilica where his tomb is located will be the focal point of Catholic as well as ecumenical activities. Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo also announced Jan. 21 that a special website — www.annopaolino.org — had been launched and would be updated as events are confirmed.

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January 25, 2008

Catholic San Francisco

News in brief . . .

■ Continued from page 4

(CNS PHOTO/DARIO PIGNATELLI, REUTERS)

organization matches the one already in place canonically.

Currently, the diocese is a corporate sole — a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office occupied by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. Through July 1, Church leaders will be preparing each individual parish to become a separate, nonprofit corporation. Little will change in dayto-day parish operations, according to diocesan officials.

“While this is a civil restructuring, we cannot forget who we are as Church,” said Father Fred Adamson, vicar general and moderator of the curia.

Bishop, council tangle WASHINGTON (CNS) — The bishop of Belleville, Ill., whose finance council went to the Vatican with concerns about the source of money he used to purchase some vestments, has said he will ensure that the expenditures are covered from unrestricted funds. The finance council of the Diocese of Belleville in December asked the Vatican to look into how Bishop Edward K. Braxton used money the council members say was collected for an overseas mission fund. In a Jan. 17 statement sent to Catholic News Service, Bishop Braxton said he would meet with the finance council within a few days. “I am scheduled to meet with the finance council in the coming days to examine the question of restricted and unrestricted funds of the diocese,” he said in the statement. “It is my intention that these expenditures are paid from funds that have no restrictions on them.”

Bishop Braxton told CNS that after that meeting a fuller explanation of the situation would be made available.

Blames tribalism for violence OAKLAND, Calif. (CNS) — If the current violence in Kenya continues indefinitely, Father James Kimani Kairu won’t be able to go home again to the land his mother bought and worked hard for. “We are refugees in our own country,” the priest said Jan.15, two weeks after the results of a Dec. 27 national election set off looting, burning and killing in his homeland. Father Kairu, 37, is living at St. David Parish in Richmond while studying at the Jesuit School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. His mother, Margaret Muthoni, has been displaced from the home and little farm she bought in the 1980s from her “small salary as a primary schoolteacher” after the death of her husband. Although press reports attribute the violence to a dishonest election process, Father Kairu has a different view. In interviews with The Catholic Voice, Oakland diocesan newspaper, he said: “Even a fool will see that it is something deeper than election-rigging.

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flatten all the homes of Kikuyus,” members of the tribe to which the priest belongs.

Christian Middle East fears aired VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While many Catholics in the Middle East suffer from discrimination and may even be denied religious freedom, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged them to engage in dialogue with their Muslim and Jewish neighbors and to strengthen their bonds with other Christians. The pope met Jan. 18 at the Vatican with the Latin-rite bishops of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Somalia. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses. Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, president of the regional Latin bishops’ conference, told the pope that religious affiliation is the major point of identity in all of the countries and has a huge influence on either stability or instability. He said

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Cardinal Angelo Comastri reaches down to pet a lamb in a temporary stall set in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Jan. 17. The Italian cardinal blessed farm animals brought to the square by an association of farmers and ranchers on the feast of St. Anthony the Abbot, patron saint of the association.

there was a clear need for “a new education in openness and understanding the other, who is different because of his religion, but identical for belonging to the same homeland.”

To change prayer for Jews?

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has decided to reformulate a Good Friday prayer in the 1962 Roman Missal that was offensive to Jews, according to an Italian newspaper. The new prayer will drop all reference to the “blindness” of the Jews in refusing Christ as savior, Il Giornale reported Jan. 18. The Vatican did not officially confirm the report, but sources said privately that a rewriting of the prayer was likely and could be made public soon.

The issue arose last year when the pope liberalized use of the 1962 missal, known popularly as the Tridentine rite.

The missal contains a prayer for the conversion of Jews, recited on Good Friday. While the prayer would not be recited in most parishes, particular Catholic communities devoted to the old rite could use it in Good Friday liturgies.

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Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

New superior urges Jesuits to strengthen order’s service to poor

Jesuit Father Adolfo Nicolas takes the oath of office as superior general of the Society of Jesus at the order’s 35th General Congregation Jan. 19 in Rome. Father Nicolas, 71, moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, succeeds Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach.

ROME (CNS) — Spanish-born Father Adolfo Nicolas, the newly elected superior general of the Jesuits, called on the more than 19,000 members of his order to strengthen their service to the poor and those excluded from the benefits of economic globalization.

Father Nicolas, who had been moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, was elected superior general of the Society of Jesus Jan. 19 and celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving Jan. 20 in Rome’s Church of the Gesu.

The new superior, who said his election was “a shock,” began his homily by saying, “This is not a message for the world, but a simple reflection.”

“As Christians, as Jesuits, as people of God,” he said, Gregorian University in Rome in 1998, but his name was “we are called to serve. The more we serve, the more we withdrawn in the wake of the synod discussions. please God.” Interviewed in December about his hopes for the work Father Nicolas emphasized the Jesuits’ missionary of the General Congregation, Father Nicolas said, “I have a focus and said there are “other nations, not geographical, feeling, still imprecise and difficult to define, that there is but human, who ask our help: the poor, the marginalized something important in our religious life that needs attenand the excluded.” tion and is not getting it.

The 217 voting delegates to the Jesuit General “We have certainly been diligent in addressing our probCongregation elected Father Nicolas, 71, on their second lems whenever we have seen them,” he said, noting the ballot. He succeeds Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, 79, focus of past General Congregations, “but the uneasiness in who had asked to resign because of his age. the society and in the Church has not disappeared.”

Pope Benedict XVI was informed of the election of In the interview, with the Province Express, the newsletFather Nicolas before the Jesuits ter of the Australian Jesuits, he said, “The announced it publicly. question for us is: Is it enough that we are The election came after four days of happy with our life and are improving our prayer, silence and quiet one-on-one conservice and ministry? Isn’t there also an versations among the voting delegates, important factor in the perception of peowho were chosen to represent the more ple (‘vox populi’) that should drive us to than 19,000 Jesuits around the world. some deeper reflection on religious life Among the 225 men qualified to vote was today?

Jesuit Father John P. Fitzgibbons, vice “How come we elicit so much admirapresident for administration and acting tion and so little following?” he asked. dean for the College of Professional He concluded by telling the newsletter Studies at the University of San Francisco. that he hoped the General Congregation On loan to Jesuits’ California Province, would begin “a process of dynamic and Father Fitzgibbons was elected to the Father John P. Fitzgibbons, SJ open reflection on our religious life that General Congregation by the Wisconsin might begin a process of re-creation of the Province, his home province. society for our times, not only in the quality of our servicAnother voter was Jesuit Father Keith Abranches, the es, but also and mostly in the quality of our personal and provincial of the Gujarat Province in India, who is the son community witness to the Church and the world.” of Olivia Abranches, a member of San Francisco’s St. Jesuit Father Thomas H. Smolich, president of the Jesuit Elizabeth Parish.

Conference of the United States, told Catholic News Father Nicolas was ordained to the priesthood in Tokyo Service that Father Nicolas “is a great man. He is inspiraand is the former Jesuit provincial of Japan. He also served tional, he is holy and he represents a great bridge among as director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila. the various cultures in the Church.”

The Jesuit served as theological adviser to the Japanese Father Smolich said he had gotten to know the new genbishops attending the 1998 Synod of Bishops for Asia. eral as they both served on the commission preparing for Some Vatican officials had been surprised during the synod the General Congregation. Although Father Nicolas is 71, when the Japanese bishops and many other participants “he has the energy of a much younger man.” urged the Vatican to demonstrate greater respect for their In a Jan. 10 letter to the Jesuits, Pope Benedict asked knowledge of their local languages and cultures, particular- them to reaffirm their “total adhesion to Catholic doctrine,” ly when it came to approving the translation of liturgical particularly regarding interreligious dialogue and various texts and aspects of local culture in Catholic prayer. aspects of sexual morality.

Several Jesuits in Rome confirmed the Jesuits had wantFather Smolich said, “I do not think there was a causeed to name Father Nicolas rector of the Pontifical and-effect relationship, but we have chosen one of the pre-

REMEMBER your Church in your will.

(CNS PHOTO/DON DOLL, S.J.)

By Cindy Wooden

miere men in the society” in the field of relations between Christianity and other religions.

“He can work intimately with the pope and the Vatican on this very issue,” the Jesuit said.

“Seriously, he is one of the most intelligent and holiest men I have ever met,” Father Smolich said. “He has the breadth and depth to handle these issues.”

The resignation of Father Kolvenbach and the election of Father Nicolas was just the beginning of the General Congregation’s work. As of Jan. 19, the Jesuits had not announced an end date for the meeting, but it was expected to last at least another month and focus on questions of Jesuit identity and governance, vocations, mission and collaboration with the laity.

Born April 29, 1936, in Palencia, Spain, Father Nicolas entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1953. After earning a degree in philosophy in Spain, he was sent to Japan to study theology. He was ordained a priest in Tokyo in 1967.

After earning a master’s degree in theology from Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he returned to Japan and taught systematic theology at Sophia University in Tokyo.

From 1978 to 1984 he was director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila. From 1991 to 1993 he was rector of the program for Jesuit scholastics in Japan, and in 1993 he was appointed provincial for Japan.

Before being named moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania in 2004, he spent three years working in a poor immigrant parish in Tokyo, living with and ministering to Filipino and other Asian immigrants.

Father Nicolas speaks Spanish, Japanese, English, French and Italian.

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Catholic San Francisco

7

Group charges civility call could silence pro-life, pro-family movements WASHINGTON (CNS) — Responding to the call last November by a group of Catholics for greater civility in American political debate (see story, page 10) another group said some messages must never be silenced for the sake of civility.

“Though not all of its signers intend it, we believe the effect of the ‘Call for Civility’ would be to silence the prolife and pro-family movements,” said a Jan. 21 statement signed by nearly 100 Catholic leaders. “We oppose this effort root and branch.”

Calling civility “not the highest — or the only — civic virtue,” the signers of what they called “A Catholic Response to the ‘Call for Civility’” said justice is a greater virtue and that some are asking for civility only because of the abortion issue.

“The lack of public civility comes not from pro-lifers but from those Catholic politicians who support the right to kill innocent life in the womb and those who support defining man-woman marriage out of existence,” the statement said. “But some want to treat these politicians differently because they agree with them on important but purely prudential questions like health care and the minimum wage.”

The statement opened by questioning whether there would be a call for civility toward politicians who supported segregation, slavery, aggressive war tactics or ignoring the needs of the poor.

“We know the answer to these questions,” it said.

“There would be a justified public and not very civil call for their removal from public life.”

The 96 signers of the Jan. 21 statement — who said they were speaking “not as Democrats or Republicans but as faithful Catholics” — included university professors, doctors and nurses, authors and journalists, think-tank scholars and others, including Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life; Steve Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute; Father Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International; and Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute.

(PHOTO BY DAN MORRIS-YOUNG/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien

Several youth ministers and educators of the Archdiocese took part in a Jan. 14 afternoon seminar led by Ted Miles (top left), the religious education relationship manager and coordinator of Catholic Relief Services’ youth strategy program, based in Baltimore. The workshop title was “Engaging Youth in Global Solidarity and our Catholic Social Teaching.” Pictured with Miles are, standing from left: Kyle Lierk, Serra High School director of campus ministry; Lindsay Westby, teacher at St. Robert School; Megan Pryor Lorentz, associate director for youth ministry and catechesis in the Archdiocese’s Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry; Paul Pryor Lorentz, teacher and service coordinator at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School; Father Timothy Nguyen, associate pastor at Corpus Christi Parish, San Francisco; seated, from left: Ray O’Connor, teacher and service coordinator at Stuart Hall High School; Michael Shaughnessy, teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory; Silvia Chiesa, pastoral associate at St. Catherine Parish; Eric Morin, teacher and Christian service coordinator at Serra High School; Tami Palladino, coordinator of youth ministry for St. Charles Parish. “Ted introduced us to a pedagogy that encourages solidarity and he gave us great ideas for helping our young people create and sustain relationships in their service ministries — and in life — that promote justice,” Megan Pryor Lorentz said.

Please join us at an upcoming neighborhood meeting.

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008 Chevy’s Restaurant 3251 20th Ave. (At Stonestown Galleria) San Francisco 2:00 PM

Time:

George and Lois have been married a long time, so they know how to work together. She stays up on the news, especially all the changes in health care. So George told her to pick the plan that she thought was best.

Lois picked a Medicare Advantage plan because it offered the coverage they needed, including prescription drug coverage, for an affordable monthly premium and low copayments.

But what really convinced her was the simple fact that her plan included a Brown & Toland doctor. That meant she could choose a doctor from among San Francisco’s finest board-certified physicians and have access to many of San Francisco’s quality hospitals.

Learn more at one of the following neighborhood meetings, or call 1.866.488.7088 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m to 5 p.m. on Friday to learn more about Brown & Toland’s contracted Medicare Advantage plans.

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8

Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

Ghanian proves Operation Rice Bowl is effective

By Ed Langlois PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) – Thomas Awiapo of Ghana, whose life was changed by Catholic Relief services’ Operation Rice Bowl, will be in the Bay Area on a speaking tour next week. Awiapo will visit San Domenico High School in San Anselmo Jan. 29, Catholic Charities of the East Bay in Oakland Jan. 30 and St. Bartholomew Parish in San Mateo Jan. 31.

Awiapo is living proof that the coins and bills Catholics stuff into cardboard rice bowls each Lent can cultivate hope out of hardship.

As an orphan in the village of Wiaga, Ghana, young Thomas survived by begging and becoming a child laborer. He would move from farm to farm, offering to work for food.

He had never even considered going to school. The idea was beyond his world — until he heard that students got lunch. School was for him, he decided.

Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency, provided the food that drew Awiapo. He sat through classes mostly for the meal of wheat and sorghum cereal and milk powder.

“The crux of the matter is that if there had not been that snack at school, which was paid for by Catholic children and adults from the U.S., my life would have been much different,” Awiapo told the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Portland Archdiocese. “I am grateful for their sacrifices.”

His village received help from CRS’ Operation Rice Bowl. During Lent, Operation Rice Bowl participants pledge to pray, fast in solidarity with those around the world who suffer from hunger, learn about the global community and the challenges of poverty overseas, and give sacrificial contributions to those in need. Many parishes and individuals take part in Operation Rice Bowl in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The annual CRS collection in the Archdiocese will take place during March 2 Masses.

Nourishment and school put Awiapo on an educational path that took him on to high school and junior college and eventually led him to begin teaching.

Today Awiapo works for CRS in the northern Ghanaian city of Tamale, and he recently toured U.S. cities on behalf of CRS and Operation Rice Bowl.

Now, it is part of his job to make sure schools in Ghana get food for lunches and snacks. He also trains community leaders throughout Ghana. Co-workers laud him for his “joyful presence.”

He knows many others from his village who went to school — because of the promise of a meal — and have since succeeded in life.

Fathers) who ran the school took notice.

One priest whom Awiapo recalled fondly gave him sandals and extra food. “They stepped in and made life better for me,” he said.

As he entered adolescence, he accepted the missionaries’ offer of courses in Christianity, and they asked him to take an exam that qualified him to attend a Catholic high school.

After high school, he went to junior college on scholarships. Then he went back to teach at his alma mater.

He thrived as a student and teacher, but had to wrestle with his past. “I had a feeling,” he said. “I was not very happy with God. Sometimes I said, ‘Why me?’ and I missed (my) parents.”

With the help of a good spiritual director, his anger subsided.

He went to the seminary for a number of years and then came to the United States to complete a master’s degree in public administration. Today he is married and is the father of three children, ages 6 through 12.

The youngsters are doing well in school.

Awiapo’s St. Bartholomew Parish appearance begins at 7 p.m. The church is located at 600 Columba Dr., San Mateo. A soup supper precedes the talk at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call (650) 3470701. The talk at San Domenico High School is at 1500 Butterfield Rd. in San Anselmo begins at 5:40 p.m.

Awiapo will be at Catholic Charities, located at 433 Jefferson St. in Oakland from 5- 6:30 p.m.

ORB has supported food security projects worldwide for more than 30 years; 75 percent of money raised supports overseas programs and one fourth remains in local dioceses.

To learn more or to download resources, visit http://orb.crs.org.

Michael Vick contributed to this story.

Awiapo was born in northern Ghana around 1969.

He’s not exactly sure when. What he knows for sure is that his parents died when he was young, age 9 or so. He does not know what disease took his parents, but he recalls them in their sickbeds. He remembers appealing to the ancestors through animal sacrifices, and then came the day he felt he was on his own in the world.

After his parents died, he lived with distant relatives.

He received one small meal per day, at best. He has never forgotten the fear that went with going to bed hungry.

He had three brothers.

Two died and the eldest is Do you have a daughter between the ages of 9 & 14? missing.

It was about three Have you ever had a panic attack? OR Have you never had a psychiatric disorder? years after his parents’ death that he saw troops Both groups may be able to participate in a Stanford University study on anxiety. of happy children headed to school and he made the Participation: a phone screen followed by 2 visits to our center for decision to join them. interviews and questionnaires. Each pair will receive $50.

Young Thomas was bright, and the Call (650) 725-5584 OR visit http://moms.stanford.edu Missionaries of Africa Questions about participating in research: 866/680-2906 (once known as the White

PAID RESEARCH FOR MOMS & DAUGHTERS

Immigration topic in Pacifica St. Peter Church in Pacifica will hold a panel discussion on immigration Jan. 29 featuring speakers from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and San Francisco Immigrant and Refugee Services.

The discussion will focus on the Catholic response to the immigration issue. The panel will meet at 700 Oddstad Blvd. from 7:30- 9 p.m. in the St. Peter Parish meeting room. For more information, call (650) 359-6313, ext. 16.

Serving the Archdiocese of San Francisco Since 1854 For information, please contact:

Sister Stephanie Still, PBVM E-mail: sstill@pbvmsf.org 281 Masonic Ave. San Francisco, CA 94118

415.422.5020

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January 25, 2008

Catholic San Francisco

9

Mass bolsters Walk for Life West Coast participants

By Tom Burke

See Archbishop Niederauer’s Walk for Life West Coast Mass homily Page 14 Emilio Moure, a national supreme director of the Knights of Columbus, put the number of Knights and family members who would be at the Walk for Life West Coast from around the country at 5,000. “This is my third walk,” said the Connecticut resident. “It’s a great opportunity to express to the entire world that we as Catholics stand in solidarity with our pope, our bishops, our clergy in respect for life.”

Mike Meisenbach is a Fourth Degree Knight from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Daly City. Meisenbach was in full Knights of Columbus attire as part of a contingent escorting and driving bishops to the day’s events. “I’m very glad to be here,” he said, noting he has been part of the Walk for Life West Coast since its beginning.

James R. Scroggin of Fresno is lead officer - State Deputy - for California Knights of Columbus. “I think the whole day is wonderful for the Knights of Columbus and wonderful for the Catholic people. We have to let people know, especially our women, that there are choices and life is the best choice. We also need to challenge those who think abortion is the best choice.”

Carmela Balderama, from Concord in the Diocese of Oakland, was at the Mass for the first time. “I came for the

(PHOTO COURTESY JAMES MCKENZIE)

The Mass preceding the Walk for Life West Coast drew more than 1,500 people to San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral in the early light of Jan. 19 representing communities from all over the Archdiocese and the country. The 8 a.m. assembly included men and women religious as well as lay women and men. Families also came to pray carrying and walking beside children from infant age to adolescence.

The Mass goers would later join some 25,000 persons taking part in the event, organized around the theme of ending abortion in the United States.

Archbishop George H. Niederauer was principal celebrant. Concelebrants included San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang, Oakland Bishop Allen Vigneron, Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh, Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire, Orange County Bishop Tod Brown, San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, and San Bernardino Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio Del Riego.

In opening remarks, Archbishop Niederauer said “life is the only choice.” In his homily, he said it is not up to anyone but God to “decide who lives and who dies” yet there are those who try. He said the Walk for Life West Coast helped “face that deadly spirit and force.”

“We must let God be God,” he said. “Jesus came for sinners - us and those who oppose us. We walk in witness not because we deserve it, but because Jesus directs us to walk with, for and in him. We walk but Jesus Christ leads the way.”

More than 1,500 Walk for Life West Coast participants attended the 8 a.m.

Mass that preceded it at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Walk for Life and wanted to come to the Mass. I think this is all a very good idea because people will be praying today and making a strong statement for life. I find it very worthy.”

Jonathan Narloch was at the Mass with friends,Jeff and Elaine from Redondo Beach. “We’re at the Mass to get spiritually prepared for the Walk for Life,” Narloch said.

The young adults are part of the pro-life movement in Southern California. “I believe this is a worthy cause,” Narloch said, “ because we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, and unborn children need people to defend them. We are here to fight for life.”

Father Frank Pavone, executive director of the national organization Priests For Life mingled among the assembly before Mass. Seen often on television and heard daily on Catholic and other radio outlets, he is widely recognized and made time for all who approached him. Father Pavone, celebrating his 20th anniversary as a priest in 2008, has headed Priests’ for Life for the past 15 years. Ordained for the Archdiocese of New York, he has within the last year established a religious order with the primary charism of praying and advocating for life.

“I have been given permission to start a community of my own, The Missionaries of the Gospel of Life,” Father Pavone said. “We will carry on the work of Priests for Life and enable priests to devote themselves to this pro-life work on a permanent basis.” The order has five seminarians studying at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.

Father Pavone, who on days leading up to Saturday’s Mass had already spoken at several prelude events to the Walk for Life, gives some 600 talks on respect life annually in almost as many parts of the country.

He called the annual Interfaith Service for Life held at the Cathedral on Jan. 18 and where he was featured speaker “a wonderful” event. “I told them we don’t have to pray for Christian unity. We have Christian unity when it comes to the fundamental fact that Jesus is the Lord of human life

and we have to give ourselves away for our weakest brothers and sisters.”

“This is my life’s work and I am not going to stop devoting my life to this until abortion ends. I believe we’re coming closer to that day and many people feel the same way. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of it because unless we defend life itself, all our other efforts for all that is good and true and just will be impeded. This is the heart and core of everything.”

He said the “fellowship of the people in the movement” along with prayer, meditation good nutrition and exercise” are the basic ingredients of his staying energized. “Being with the crowds today will be energizing and meeting everyone and seeing what they’re doing for the cause of life.”

Father Pavone praised Catholic radio’s introduction into the Bay Area market. Father Pavone is heard daily on KSFB 1260 AM on broadcasts produced by Eternal Word Television Network.

Betty McCunniff is a parishioner of St. Cecilia Parish in San Francisco where she directs the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults programs and religious education. “I’m just here as a person who wants to make a statement about what I believe. It gives people a chance to show on the outside who they are on the inside.”

Jillian Cooke, a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, is in formation with the Father Kolbe Missionaries, a secular institute for women based in West Covina. “We’ve come up here - 40 of us - to stand up for life. I believe that Christ is MASS BOLSTERS WALK, page 11

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Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

Presidential hopefuls court Catholic voters

By James Penrice They voted for Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Rejecting George W. Bush when he first sought the White House, they embraced him the second time around.

There’s a name for someone with such a diverse voting record: Roman Catholics.

Comprising about one quarter of the electorate, Catholics have become an increasingly powerful “swing vote,” with a wide-ranging list of concerns and no firm ties to any political party. Once considered a stronghold of Democratic support, today’s Catholic voter is often torn between Republican and Democratic stances on major issues.

The ambivalence of Catholic voters has not gone unnoticed by the current crop of presidential candidates—nor has the importance of the Catholic ballot. Exit polls show that since 1972, the Catholic vote has consistently paralleled the overall popular vote in presidential elections, and has played a significant role in shaping the outcome. Conventional wisdom suggests that as the Catholic vote goes, so goes the election. As a result, most presidential hopefuls are reaching out to this crucial constituency with a variety of appeals.

How Catholics vote* YEAR

DEMOCRAT

REPUBLICAN

1972

44%

54%**

1976

54%

44%

1980

42%

49%

1984

45%

54%

1988

47%

52%

1992

44%

36%

1996

53%

37%

2000

50%

47%

2004

47%

52%

*Based on major media polls since 1972 ** The percentages do not add to 100 due to third-party/write-in candidates Source: Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University One popular strategy is fairly simple with rich potential.

Most candidates track demographic trends of supporters through campaign websites, flagging certain groups for future lobbying. Candidates invite online visitors to register for e-mail updates, and to get involved in online communities based on common interests. On most websites a registrant can choose “Catholic” from a menu of personal interests, allowing the campaign to build a database of potential Catholic voters. They are then targeted for pitches geared to Catholic interests, and are invited to join others in their area to campaign in Catholic circles.

Some candidates have placed Catholics in key staff positions to lend credibility and to solicit support. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has enlisted Thomas Melady, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, to recruit Catholics for his campaign for the Republican nomination.

Melady replaced Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, who resigned as a Romney advisor in November when she was appointed as the next ambassador to the Vatican.

Another former Vatican ambassador, Ray Flynn, has been approached by New York senator Hillary Clinton for help in courting Catholic voters in her quest for the Democratic nomination.

Republican senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee has

hired Joseph Cella as an advisor for social conservative issues and faith outreach. Cella is the former president of Fidelis, a Catholic advocacy group that works to elect prolife, pro-family and pro-religious liberty candidates. Cella is also the founder and president of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast; he made sure Thompson was present and visible at the annual gathering in April.

Arizona senator John McCain has received the endorsement of Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a Catholic who dropped out of the Republican presidential race. Brownback is widely respected in Catholic and pro-life circles, and hopes to augment McCain’s appeal based on his campaign platform of upholding human dignity and the sanctity of life.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has a Catholic campaign manager, Chip Saltsman. Huckabee touts firm opposition to abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage as cornerstones of his platform. He has stated that religious principles are more important than loyalty to a political party, coincidentally echoing similar words issued recently the U.S. Catholic bishops.

While candidates such as Romney, Thompson, McCain and Huckabee bill themselves as pro-life, a natural and powerful appeal to Catholic voters, others with a prochoice record realize they need a different strategy.

Democrat John Edwards is acutely aware of the importance of the Catholic vote, and how it can hinge on the abortion issue. As John Kerry’s running mate in 2004, the former North Carolina senator lost the vice-presidency in part when Catholic voters rejected a Catholic presidential candidate with a pro-choice stance. Edwards hired former congressman David Bonior as his campaign manager, a Catholic who is a vocal pro-life advocate. Bonior believes John Kerry failed to sell his anti-war and economic justice positions to Catholic voters. He is packaging the Edwards campaign as a place for Catholics to find a haven on the Iraq war and economic policy, when pro-life candidates may seem lacking in those areas.

Hillary Clinton is taking a page from the same playbook. Her campaign has instituted a National Catholic Steering Committee, appealing specifically to Catholic concerns about health care, education peace and immigration reform. In a campaign document Clinton commends “the call by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to reform our immigration policy.”

Barrack Obama’s campaign has hosted a series of “values forums” in some of the early battle ground states, attracting Catholics and other religious groups. The Illinois senator’s efforts are typical of most candidates as they seek to attract not only Catholics, but people of all faiths. But presenting his religious appeal under an all-encompassing umbrella doesn’t mean Obama has not specifically sought Catholic support. This summer he accompanied more than 200 volunteers on a door-todoor campaign in Dubuque, Iowa, a heavily Catholic area of the critical caucus state, to build a foundation for Catholic support.

Perhaps the candidate with the widest gulf to bridge with Catholic voters is Rudy Giuliani, the only Catholic among the major contenders. The former New York mayor’s pro-choice and pro-homosexual rights positions have alienated many Catholics, reminiscent of John Kerry’s dilemma in 2004. But unlike Kerry, Giuliani distances himself from any sense of Catholic identity. Asked in Iowa if he is a traditional, practicing Catholic, Giuliani replied, “My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not-so-good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests.” He hopes his endorsement by evangelical leader Pat Robertson will appeal to all social conservatives, Catholic or otherwise.

Catholic voters have their work cut out for them in preparing for the 2008 presidential election. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in their document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: “Catholics may feel politically disenfranchised, sensing that no party and too few candidates fully share the Church’s comprehensive commitment to the life and dignity of every human being from conception to natural death. Yet this is not a time for retreat or discouragement; rather, it is a time for renewed engagement.”

How some candidates pursue Catholic vote REPUBLICANS JOHN MCCAIN Endorsed by well-known pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback

John McCain

MITT ROMNEY Enlisted help of former Vatican ambassador Thomas Melady

Mitt Romney MIKE HUCKABEE Hires Catholic campaign manager and is vocal about pro-life stance

Mike Huckabee

D E M O C R AT S BARACK OBAMA Walked streets of Catholic neighborhoods to bolster appeal

Barack Obama

HILLARY CLINTON Formed national Catholic Steering Committee for key issues

James Penrice writes from Michigan.

An earlier version of this article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor magazine.

Prominent Catholics encourage civil discourse WASHINGTON (CNS) — Charging that the debate leading up to the 2008 elections “is increasingly filled with attacks on private conduct and recriminations,” a group of prominent lay Catholics called for a “spirit of civility” in all political discussions and said the Church must be protected “from being stained by the appearance of partisan political involvement.”

Signers of the “Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate,” released on Election Day 2007, include 11 former U.S. ambassadors, former chairmen of both the Democratic and Republican national committees, a retired undersecretary-general of the United Nations, past and current university presidents, business executives, attorneys and former officeholders.

Thomas P. Melady, former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and president emeritus of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., said at a Nov. 6 news conference in Washington that a conscious decision was made not to solicit signers from among current Catholic officeholders.

Melady, a lifelong Republican, organized the effort with Timothy J. May, a senior partner of the Washington-based international law firm Patton Boggs, trustee emeritus at The Catholic University of America in Washington and a lifelong Democrat.

The statement directly confronts an issue that arose in the 2004 presidential election campaign, when some U.S. bishops said they would deny Communion to Catholic politicians who voted in opposition to church teachings on such issues as abortion or embryonic stem-cell research.

Hilary Clinton

JOHN EDWARDS Hired vocal pro-life advocate as leading campaign advisor

John Edwards

Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

11

Walk for Life West Coast floods Embarcadero

the West compared to 87 last year.

“The 4th Annual Walk for Life was a smashing success,” Evans said. “I’m very proud of everyone who served on the Walk for Life Committee. Each function was so efficiently carried out, it made bringing 25,000 or more people to San Francisco for the most peaceful demonstration in history, look easy.”

Jessen, who was barely two pounds at birth and who has “the gift of cerebral palsy,” did not begin to walk until she was three yet as an adult has completed two complete marathons of more than 26 miles.

“If abortion is primarily about a woman’s rights, then what were mine?” she asked. “I bear the marks of someone else’s decisions.”

As did the other speakers, Jessen called on participants to reach out to women who have had abortions or who might consider one, to have compassion for them, and to help them reconcile with God. In Spanish and English Jesse Romero urged the gathered walkers to look to St. Telemachus for inspiration. According to tradition, St. Telemachus is the monk credited with moving Roman Emperor Honorius to ban deadly gladiator fights as entertainment. The saint was killed after intervening in a gladiator fight in a Roman amphitheater.

A media personality and Catholic evangelist, Romero emphasized the martyred saint as an example of what one person can do when opposing “the culture of death.”

Organizers agreed that this year’s numbers significantly exceeded last year’s estimated 20,000 pariticpants. According to Vicki Evans, coordinator of Respect Life Ministry for the Archdiocese, about 120 busses brought walkers from all over

Honored during the opening program of the Walk for Life West Coast were, from left: Eva Muntean, a founder and organizer of the event; Walter and Lori Hoye, founders of the East Bay’s Issues4Life Foundation; and Dolores Meehan, also a founder and organizer of Walk for Life West Coast.

“The Walk for Life West Coast is making a difference in the perception of what our respect life ministry means,” Evans added. “We stand in solidarity with both the mother and the child. As our numbers increase, the pro-life movement is becoming empowered to accomplish what was never considered possible here. We have gotten the attention of socially-liberal San Francisco and make them question the status quo on abortion.”

Walk for Life West Coast founders and lead organizers are Dolores Meehan and Eva Muntean, both San Francisco parishioners.

“I was so inspired by the incredible number of people who participated in this year’s Walk for Life,” Meehan told Catholic San Francisco. “To look out from the stage and see so many joyful faces was simply intoxicating. The future is bright indeed.”

“The greatest personal aspect of the Walk for me was the exponential increase in local participation. I could almost physically feel the tide of change of what is to come — San Francisco restored to a city where families are welcome,” Meehan said.

She was pleased by “the reduced rancor of the protestors” from previous years. “We can only hope that it is a result of our prayers for them,” she said.

She and other organizers praised the San Francisco Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department.

The Walk for Life West Coast website carries extensive photo coverage of the event: www.walkforlifewc.com.

Before the walk, more than 1,500 people gathered at San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral for an 8 a.m. Mass. San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer, the principal celebrant, was joined at the altar by San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang, Oakland Bishop Allen H. Vigneron, Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel F. Walsh, Stockton Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown, San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone and San Bernardino Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio J. Del Riego.

Mass bolsters Walk . . .

(CNS PHOTO/GREG TARCZYNSKI)

■ Continued from page 9 in every single person. If that dignity exists in the womb, why would we want to rip that dignity away from the most innocent?”

James McKenzie, a parishioner of St. Hilary Parish in Tiburon, donates his photography skills to the Walk for Life West Coast. He grew up in St. Anne of the Sunset Parish where he was a friend of Walk for Life West Coast founder, Dolores Meehan.

“I heard Dolores speak at St. Dominic Parish and was very impressed with what she was doing. I didn’t make the first walk but really followed it closely and said the next year I’m going out to join them and take some photographs for them. I think this is what Christ wants us to do. He gave us life so we need to keep it going.”

(PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES MCKENZIE)

Bethany Kontur of San Francisco joins thousands of pro-life activists in the fourth annual Walk for Life West Coast Jan. 19 in San Francisco.

(PHOTO BY DAN MORRIS-YOUNG/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

A muscular appeal for forgiveness, repentance, reconciliation and commitment underpinned four brief preparatory talks by national pro-life leaders to nearly 25,000 people of all ages gathered at San Francisco’s Embarcadero for the fourth Walk for Life West Coast on Jan. 19.

Following the opening event at Justin Herman Plaza, the sea of pro-lifers – carrying banners and signs with messages against abortion — flowed onto the waterfront streets and walked 2.5 miles to the Marina Green.

Many participants carried children or pushed baby strollers, and thousands carried posters proclaiming “Abortion Hurts Women” and “Women Deserve Better.” Many dozens walked behind banners featuring the name of their school, parish or organization.

A group of about 200 pro-abortion activists staged a counter rally adjacent to the massive Walk for Life assembly. Some of them heckled participants as they walked.

Dr. Alveda King, niece of assassinated civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was introduced by one of Walk for Life West Coat founders and the day’s mistress of ceremonies, Eva Muntean.

In a talk peppered with calls of “Alleluia,” King told the crowd how she has “repented and asked forgiveness” of God for her own two abortions, and said that if her uncle were alive today he would combat abortion. She described two “oppressed classes” – people of color and the unborn.

In the closing address, Baptist minister Rev. Clenard Childress picked up King’s theme and proclaimed that the movement to end abortion “has its true blood lines” in the civil rights movement.

“You are God’s gift to San Francisco and to the world,” he told participants, drawing applause and cheers.

“People of like conscience and hearts must boldly go into the arena of life and say, ‘No. This is wrong,’” he said about abortion.

He directly criticized Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, claiming the Illinois senator had voted for legislation that would deny medical care to children surviving an abortion.

“We need to sound an alarm,” said the founder of the organization BlackGenocide, “and not embrace any candidate who does not have a conscience.”

“We are now living in a time when public officials dare run for public office who believe that people like Gianna should be left to die,” Childress said.

Childress was referring to Gianna Jessen, a survivor of a saline abortion performed in a Los Angeles County clinic. She had addressed the Walk for Life West Coast gathering earlier.

Jessen generated laughter and cheers when she told the crowd, “The abortionist had to sign my birth certificate. I love that.”

“I am not a victim,” she said. “I am a victor.” Later she added, “Every minute that I am alive makes hell tremble.”

(CNS PHOTO/GREG TARCZYNSKI)

By Dan Morris-Young

From 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, until 7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, an all-night eucharistic adoration took place at San Francisco’s Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in support of the Walk for Life West Coast. Many young people took part including (above) a contingent from St. Patrick Parish in Sonora, Calif., pictured here with three Salesians, from left: Sister Phuong Nguyen, Father Al Pestun of Corpus Christi Parish, San Francisco, and Sister Ann Cassidy.

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Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Part II Marriage and the family In a multi-year project called the “National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is addressing a subject that is at the core of Catholic doctrine and tradition, as well as one of the most important concerns in society today.

Through the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage (NPIM), U.S. Catholic bishops seek to communicate the meaning and value of married life for the Church and for society. In this effort, the bishops bring Catholic belief into dialogue with contemporary needs. They urge the Catholic Church to become a community of hope and help for marriages and to join others in building a culture of marriage.

The Initiative is called a work of evangelization. By both explicit proclamation and the witness of Christian life it brings the Gospel into the human situation and seeks, by the power of that Gospel, to move individuals and society to a renewed vision of marriage and the family. This outreach echoes Pope John Paul’s 1981 Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio.

Weaving together the Catholic faith tradition and its pastoral practice, the data of social science, and the experience of married couples, the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage seeks to offer guidance and resources, including a pastoral letter, in order to promote, strengthen, sustain and restore marriages.

Introducing the project in 2004, the U.S. bishops noted that most Americans understand and support marriage as the lifelong union of a man and a woman. However, they said, many struggle to connect this ideal with what they encounter in life. Because people turn to their churches to help them prepare for, grow, be sustained and healed in a marital relationship, the Catholic Church can respond to the problems as well as the possibilities presented by the current state of marriage.

Bishop J. Kevin Boland stated, “As leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States, we can help to create a positive climate that places healthy marriages at the heart of strong families, a strong nation, and a strong and holy Church. This is a pastoral moment we should seize upon.”

He added, “We do this from our doctrinal, spiritual, historical tradition, our pastoral practice, and especially from the witness and experience of married persons themselves.”

The contemporary debate about same-sex unions has produced a heightened level of public interest in the nature, purposes and value of marriage.

However, there are additional, larger forces having an impact on marriage, including the persistent high rate of divorce, the rapid rise of non-marital cohabitation, and the declining rate of marriages. On the other hand, we are seeing as well the emergence of a new social consensus that we must devote multi-disciplinary efforts to promoting and sustaining marriage as a loving, life-giving union essential to the wellbeing of children, families, and society.

U.S. bishops want to direct the many resources of the Catholic Church to the challenge of strengthening marriage as both a human institution and a Christian sacrament. They wish to: ● Offer a specifically Catholic witness to the meaning, value, and sanctity of marriage through authoritative teaching and pastoral leadership; ● Connect Catholic belief and teaching with the major issues present in marriage today and seek solutions in the light of gospel truth and values; ● Show pastoral concern for strengthening marriage at all its stages and in its many circumstances, particularly through listening to the experience of the Christian faithful; ● Collaborate with our fellow citizens who are working to promote, strengthen, and protect marriage through laws, public policies, and other social strategies that recognize the benefit of marriage to the welfare of individuals and families and to the common good of society; ● Promote more extensive and effective ministries to marriage particularly in parishes; ● Stimulate a stronger witness by couples themselves to the value of marriage; ● Encourage dioceses, national church organizations and movements to provide leadership and resources on behalf of marriage.

The NPIM has three phases: research and consultation, 2005—2007; communication, including the writing of a pastoral letter, 2007—2008; and implementation, development of pastoral resources and evaluation, 2008—2011. Because the U.S. bishops’ conference has identified marriage as one of its priority areas for action in the period of 2008—2011 there is an expectation that other committees and offices of the Conference will focus on this topic, following the lead set by the pastoral letter, according to their respective mandates and areas of responsibility.

According to the USCCB, work will continue with diocesan offices and national groups, including seminaries, colleges and universities, to promote and improve pastoral ministries that strengthen marriage and family life. There will be a particular emphasis on ministries and outreach that can take place in parishes.

Visit www.usccb.org/npim for more information and updates, as well as helpful ideas on marriage in your life and in our society.

MEH

Open letter of thanks to Archbishop We wanted to write and extend a special thanks to you, Archbishop Niederauer, and your seven brother bishops for your wonderful leadership in joining the 4th Annual Walk for Life West Coast. The witness of your prayerful and humble presence warmed the hearts of us all!

It was such a joy to walk in the midst of you and your brother bishops and to see the impact of your presence on the walkers.

So many commented on how grateful they were to you, Archbishop, for your blessing as they walked by. You are a true shepherd.

Thank you.

Your support and the support and hard work of the Archdiocese have helped to elevate this grace-filled event from a one day affair to a true movement that is influencing the culture of the San Francisco Bay Area – introducing a culture of life, hope and healing. It is no coincidence that the participation of local parishes in the Walk for Life has grown exponentially under your careful watch and encouragement.

Finally, a huge thanks to all who participated either in their presence or in prayerful support. Each and every one of you offer a unique importance to making the Walk for Life a success. May we all continue to bring the light of life, hope and healing into the dark corners of our culture through our peaceful witness as pro-life Christians.

Thank you all, and we’ll see you next year!

Dolores Meehan Eva Muntean, organizers and the whole crew at the Walk for Life West Coast

Don’t wait!

Live as you preach The pope’s message (“Reject abundance for few, misery for many”) reported in the Jan. 11 issue is a good one and certainly resonates in our affluent U.S.A. society. Would that presidential candidates dare speak to such an issue instead of sometimes pandering to narrowly defined selfinterests.

This message also applies to our institutional Catholic Church which could consider the pope’s recommendation to “live in

Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers. Please:

➣ Include your name, address and daytime phone number. ➣ Sign your letter. ➣ Limit submissions to 250 words. ➣ Note that the newspaper reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: morrisyoungd@sfarchdiocese.org

Single-issue pillorying George Weigel, the self appointed head of the Bully Brigade, now demands the public pillorying of Catholic candidates for office who are refused Communion because of their announced stand on an issue on which the Church differs.

Mr. Weigel seems to think candidates for public office are all single issue candidates, that issue being one dear to the Church and to Mr. Weigel alone. In today’s government, there are multiple issues, many of them carrying moral consequences. It is foolish for a candidate to inject a delicate issue such as abortion in the mix, thereby prejudicing his candidacy when it is not an issue on which the election might otherwise turn. The matters of war, peace, unemployment, taxes and education are all in the mind of the electorate.

To require a candidate to take a stand on what may not be a major issue in the particular election, or be publicly castigated by his bishop may ruin the candidacy and be of no benefit to the bishop.

Jerome F. Downs San Francisco

L E T T E R S

David Dion wrote an excellent inquiry in the Dec. 21 letters asking why there had not been a special collection for retired religious in either 2007 or 2006.

It was good to learn via the editor’s note that the collection will be resumed and is scheduled for Dec. 14, 2008.

However, why wait? Any of us who have noticed the absence of the collection these past two years can send our contribution directly to: National Religious Retirement Office, 3211 Fourth St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017.

Isabella Dumphy San Francisco

Send your letters to:

moderation.” Not all cuts in Church expenditures would be an unmitigated disaster. My wife grew up in Portland, Ore. and remembers when the ordinary, Archbishop Howard, could be seen (and encountered) riding about town on a municipal bus instead of driving or being chauffeured. What an effective model to live as you preach.

Jack Hitchcock San Mateo

Sketches praised

What a delight to see Francis Putulin’s sketches being honored in the Jan. 11 Catholic San Francisco.

He was a student of mine in the fourth grade back in the mid nineties at Our Lady of Mercy School in Daly City. We were holding a hobby day sharing for the students in our homeroom. Francis brought in his sketchbook to share as his hobby. I will always remember the deep impact of the beauty, detail and labor of love he put into his work. At the time as I gazed over the drawings I knew then that this wouldn’t be the last time I would see these drawings. Many thanks for bringing them back to me and for all to share.

Beth Gorman San Francisco

Disparate treatment “Barring church door was not Jesus’ message,” says archdiocesan spokesman Maurice Healy (editorial, Jan. 11), apparently unconscious of the irony of his remarks appearing so shortly after Ross Foti, a parishioner at St. Matthew in San Mateo, was not only barred but arrested at his “church door.” How can one explain the different treatment accorded to Gavin Newsom and Ross Foti?

One explanation is that Church officials are quietly in sympathy with Mr. Newsom’s pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality, anti-life views. Or, if not in sympathy, at least not as outraged by those views as they are by Mr. Foti’s forthright denunciation of these evils.

Another explanation is that Church officials don’t care about the views of either one but are only interested in what Mr. Newsom or Mr. Foti could do for them. Mr. Newsom, although his life and views are public scandals to the faithful, is a polished, photogenic, Jesuit-educated, up-and-coming politician. Mr. Foti, on the other hand, never made it to college, Jesuit or otherwise. He is just a man with no friends in high places – though maybe Church officials should be casting their eyes a little higher.

If there is another explanation for the LETTERS, page 16

January 25, 2008

Catholic San Francisco

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Guest Commentary

Lent: make time for conversion Lent is really early this year. I don’t know about you, but it seems like we just took down the Christmas tree and put away the holiday decorations.

The season of Lent is a very important time for Christians, especially Catholics. Each year the Church, in her wisdom, gives us 40 days to reflect on our relationship with God. Lent is a yearly opportunity to slow down and take stock of how we are living our faith. It is also a good time to examine our actions to determine how well we are doing in our attempts to live the Gospel message of Jesus and where we need to improve. It is a call to conversion.

Our Catholic tradition suggests that during Lent we use the disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to renew our Christian life. It is not so much doing a lot of extra things, but living our lives more deeply in Christ.

Lent is a time to give more attention to the place of prayer in our lives. Prayer is communication with God. No relationship grows unless we are willing to listen and share ourselves with the other person. God is no exception. During Lent set aside, if you don’t already, some time daily for prayer. Try to find a quiet place where you can just be with God and let God love you. You might want to read and reflect upon Scripture

and get to know the Lord better. Don’t call upon God only when you are in trouble or want something. Spend some time praising and thanking God for all your blessings.

Fasting is the second discipline of Lent. Most people think fasting is primarily something to do with food, like giving up ice cream or not eating between meals. There are other ways to fast. Only you know what type of fasting will best help your spiritual life. Might it be beneficial to fast from gossip or negative words? Or perhaps talk less and become a better listener, especially to people who could use your attention? This can be a real disciplinary challenge, especially when you have a lot on your mind, to focus on the other person and truly hear him or her.

Lastly, there is almsgiving. Surely, to give alms means donating money to a charitable cause. That is important.

However, it also means to share the precious gifts of our time and talents. Lent calls us to give of ourselves, not just our financial and material resources. Who might most benefit from your gifts and talents?

Reconciliation is also a Lenten practice. Who do you need to forgive or from whom do you need to ask forgiveness? This is a very important way to give alms and is a sacrifice pleasing

to God. Difficult? Yes. But, it can bring peace and, after all, it is what Jesus tells us to do.

During this Lent let us try to slow down, to be more reflective. Set aside regular time for the Lord. Try to raise Sister Margie our awareness of the Lavonis needs of others. Focus less on ourselves. Don’t let this be just another 40 days in the year. Use it as a time of conversion.

Holy Cross Sister Margie Lavonis is a writer/editorial assistant for the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Ind. Previous to her present ministry, she was the vocation director for her congregation.

She can be reached at mlavonis@cscsisters.org.

Her congregation website is www.cscsisters.org.

The Catholic Difference

An antidote to campaign pablum It was a very peculiar place in which to find one of the world’s most distinguished philosophers: the hard-currency bar of the Hotel Europa in Moscow, a basement dive full of cigarette smoke, appalling rock music, and East German women practicing the world’s oldest profession. Still, when someone mentions the great Polish thinker Leszek Kolakowski, that dump is the first place that comes to mind. The second is an encampment of homeless Russians at the edge of Red Square, near the multicolored onion domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral.

In October 1990, in company with a half-dozen academics and several colleagues from Washington think-tanks, I spent a week in Moscow in intense discussions with men and women who described themselves as the “democratic opposition” to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev – whom none of them regarded as a democrat. We were fomenting revolution, if of a nonviolent sort, and the days were filled with bad meals, seedy spooks in the hotel lobby, and fascinating arguments about the building-blocks of the free society.

On checking into the Europa, it was clear even to amateurs that our rooms were bugged, so we had to find a secure place to meet in the evening, debrief and plan the next day’s discussions. The hotel’s hard-currency bar (entrance to which required dollars or deutschmarks) was a convenient spot where the decibel-level was so awful that even an artful KGB bug-artist couldn’t figure out what we were discussing.

So there we met, night after night, as the venerable Dr. Kolakowski – author of one of the 20th century’s magisterial

works, the three-volume “Main Currents of Marxism” – dispensed wisdom while sipping cherry brandies and politely batting away aggressive frauleins trying to plant themselves on his lap. As remarkable as those memories are, however, walking with Leszek through the wretched tent-city that homeless Russians from the provinces had erected just outside Red Square gave me a full sense of the human decency of the man: for Kolakowski, who speaks fluent Russian, had a word of sympathy and encouragement for every one of those poor souls who tried to engage us in conversation.

I mention all of this, strangely enough, as an invitation to an antidote – an antidote to the brain numbness that descends on any thoughtful person at this point in an election cycle. The antidote is Leszek Kolakowski’s new book, “Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? 23 Questions from Great Philosophers” (Basic Books). Tired of mindless sound-bites? Disgusted with political demagoguery? Spend a few hours with Kolakowski, as he explains in plain language how some of the world’s greatest minds wrestled with the Really Big Questions: How can we know anything?

What is justice? Why is there evil in the world? What is the source of truth? Is it possible for God not to exist?

On that same visit to Moscow, a friend and I toured the three cathedrals inside the Kremlin. All of them had recently been restored to mark the millennium of Christianity among the eastern Slavs. Our guide was a young man who wanted to practice his English and who’d been hanging

around our hotel. He was good company, but a bit baffled when we got to a large restored fresco depicting the Last Supper. “Who are those men and what are they doing?” our guide asked, George Weigel in complete innocence.

Here was Soviet Man: culturally and spiritually lobotomized, unable to comprehend a great artifact of his own civilization any more than he could comprehend Afghanistan’s Bamyan Buddhas. Leszek Kolakowski, I thought, should be here. A philosopher who had, at great personal cost, broken with Marxism in his native Poland could explain to this youngster the bad ideas – the bad answers to the Really Big Questions – that had deprived him of his cultural heritage. I hope something like that has happened to my young friend since our brief meeting.

In any event, if you’re looking for an antidote to campaign pablum, have a go at “Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?” Then give it to a young friend. Or a presidential candidate. Or Chris Matthews.

George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Spirituality for Life

What if? What if? What if?

What if we all were more consistent? What if we all had wider loyalties? What if we were slower to dismiss others’ ideas? What if we took seriously the biblical idea that God’s revelation comes mostly in what is strange and foreign to us? What if we all took to heart the idea that a little learning is a dangerous thing, that a little ideology is more dangerous still, and that other peoples’ passion for truth might be just as real as our own? What if we all remembered that a heresy is a truth nine-tenth spoken?

What if the pious were to become more liberal and the liberals were to become more pious? What if those who are involved in prayer groups were to become equally as involved within social action? What if those with a passion for social action were to become equally as obsessed with private prayer and private morality? What if the pious and the liberal were to become more understanding of each other?

What if liberals were to become as known for their humility, respect of others, and personal prudence as they are known for their social concern? What if conservatives were to define family values widely enough to include the welfare of the poor and of all races? What if Evangelicals were to get serious about justice and justice groups were to get serious about Jesus?

What if liberals were to draw more prudent boundaries even as they challenge others beyond rigidity? What if conservatives were suddenly to push for a greater risk and openness even as they defend the hard-won wisdom of tradition? What

if both liberals and conservatives were able to do as Jesus did and bring out from their store the old as well as the new?

What if pro-life groups were also to become as known for their defense of the poor, ethnic minorities, the ecology and the imprisoned? What if pro-choice groups were to champion, in the name of women, the most defenseless of all groups in the world, the unborn? What if both groups were to become renowned for their gentleness, their respect of others, and their willingness to sit down and calmly discuss anything? What if these two groups began to pray together?

What if both men and women were to adopt an attitude of sympathy towards each other, recognizing, as Virginia Woolf says, that “life, for both of us, is arduous, difficult and a perpetual struggle”?

What if the Church began to challenge people to enjoy sex even as it teaches non-negotiably the value of chastity?

What if secular culture were to preach the value of chastity even as it challenges sexual repression? What if both, the Church and the world, recognized the importance of what the other is saying regarding sexuality?

What if all the Christian churches would begin to focus on the things we share in common (a common God, a common Christ, a common Scripture, a common creed, many fundamental dogmas, 2000 years of mostly-shared history) instead of upon things that separate us? What if all churches would focus as much on who is living in charity, joy, peace, patience,

long-suffering, fidelity, gentleness and chastity, as on who is dogmatically right?

What if all the agnostic on spiritual quests were able to understand the importance of involvement in Father a concrete historical Ron Rolheiser community? What if we all understood more clearly that only obedience and genuflection can save us from being slaves to the pride and wounds of our own egos? What if the churches were to become as known for their challenge to be freethinking as they are for their challenge to obedience? What if both, the churches and the emerging non-ecclesial spiritualities, were to be more self-effacing, less righteous, less judgmental?

What if theologians were to become as renowned for their children’s stories as they are for their attention to hermeneutics? What scriptural fundamentalists were to read the scriptural commentaries of Raymond Brown? What if liturgists were appreciated as much for their practical judgROLHEISER, page 16

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Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY

TIME

Scripture reflection

Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-17

‘Christianity without discipleship is … Christianity without Christ’

A READING FROM THE PROPHET ISAIAH IS 8:23—9:3 First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 27:1, 4, 13-14 R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

A READING FROM ST. PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 1 COR 1:10-13, 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,

by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. I mean that each of you is

FATHER CHARLES PUTHOTA

saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW MT 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Bob Dylan says: “Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, Bob, why are you resisting me? I said, I’m not resisting you! He said, You gonna follow me? I said, I’ve never thought about that before! He said, When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.”

Down the centuries, people have either followed or resisted Jesus. More accurately, we alternate stubbornly between these two positions. However, Jesus keeps rolling away the stones we use to entomb him, and insists on inserting himself into the thick of our lives.

The intimacy of Jesus’ incarnation and the power of his resurrection are always at work in us, drawing us at once to rootedness and transcendence. Though endowed with Jesus’ transforming presence in and all around us, we keep resisting him, a tendency demonstrated in our outright refusal at times to follow him or through our half-hearted allegiance to him.

Matthew presents an archetypal story: Jesus, walking along the Sea of Galilee, taps two pairs of brothers on their shoulders and says, “Come, follow me.” These simple fishermen—-Peter and Andrew, James and John—have never laid their eyes on Jesus before. And yet, when Jesus calls, they do not resist him.

Leaving everything—-their boats, nets, families, jobs, and old ways—-they follow him “at once.” Not seeking miracles or guarantees, they go with Jesus “immediately” and unconditionally. There is something magnetic and magical about Jesus.

Sensing a gentle power awakening them mysteriously to possibilities of fullness of life, they are ready to turn their life over to Jesus. C. S. Lewis says, “Until you have given up your self to him, you will not have a real self.” The disciples cannot possibly turn down the new life—-this new direction—-without violating their own integrity and fulfillment, peace and happiness. Everything else their hearts have been yearning for will now find meaning and orientation because of Jesus who calls them to be his disciples.

Matthew situates the call of the disciples after two events. First, Jesus comes to live “in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.” From Isaiah we know that Zebulun and Naphtali, first to fall to Assyrian invasions, came to be peopled with foreigners on account of deportations. A century before Christ, many of these gentiles were

forcibly converted to Judaism. This region—“Galilee of the Gentiles”——was always despised by the Jews of Jerusalem. Isaiah foresees light to these “people who walked in darkness”; “abundant joy”; ”great rejoicing”; and the smashing of the yoke of oppression.

Matthew sees Jesus as fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy by bringing liberty to those crushed by oppression and prejudice. By calling the first disciples from Galilee, Jesus empowers them and all those deprived of dignity. He wants his disciples to join him on this mission.

Second, Jesus calls the disciples right after he preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus again needs disciples for the kingdom enterprise, to continue and complete his mission of forgiveness and new life, which are also essential dimensions of discipleship.

After the call of the disciples, Jesus goes about doing the kingdom. He will not only teach and proclaim, but also heal and uplift people. Jesus calls the disciples to follow him, be with him and then be sent out to bring hope and build up the new community of people rooted in love and service. Dissensions in the community, as Paul warns, subvert the fellowship Jesus builds with the help of his disciples.

Every leader, such as Paul, Apollos, Cephas, has to be viewed only in relation to the centrality of Jesus Christ who calls us to follow him toward the Kingdom of the Father.

In our times, discipleship is often confused with ideology. Shockingly, some people would rather seek the right or the left than the truth.

Being disciples of Jesus cannot be hijacked by conservatives or liberals for their own vested interests. Our contemporary issues need to be guided by the centrality of Jesus and from the perspective of our discipleship that entails love, service, peace and justice. As disciples, we pledge our loyalty to the person of Jesus, not to ideologies and parties. The truth of Jesus Christ shines through our perplexities, offering us inner freedom and unity of discipleship.

Without Jesus’ vision and values, we cannot be his disciples. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”

Father Charles Puthota is parochial vicar at St. Patrick Parish, San Francisco.

Archbishop Niederauer: ‘We walk, but Jesus Christ leads the way’ Following is the text of Archbishop George Niederauer’s homily delivered the morning of Jan. 19 at St. Mary’s Cathedral at a Mass attended by hundreds of persons who would be taking part in that day’s 4th Annual Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco.

In today’s readings, the Church tells us about two vocations — Saul, the first Israelite king, and Matthew the Apostle. One story ends tragically, the other heroically.

We are told that God chooses Saul as king in Israel, and the prophet Samuel anoints him as the Lord’s choice. All next week at daily Mass we will hear about God’s rejection of Saul and his choice of David as king to replace him.

Why does God reject Saul? Saul is a sinner, but so is David.

However, Saul’s sin is pride. Not content to be king, and to leave it to God to be God, Saul ignores God’s will and disobeys his direct command. Against God’s orders he offers a sacrifice because he wishes to do so, and because the people urge him to do so. The prophet Samuel will tell him that obedience is better than sacrifice. The man who works for God must be dependable, strong enough to stand up to the people and not let them have their way when they are wrong. Saul was not able to be that kind of man.

Matthew was a sinner, a tax collector, a collaborator with the occupying Roman army, and a gouger of the poor. Tax

collectors like Matthew worked on commission; they received a percentage of what they collected. Believe me, you want your tax collector to be on salary. However, Jesus saw past the unattractive surface; he saw the possibilities within Matthew. Others did not, especially the Pharisees. We recall how impetuous and mercurial Simon Peter appears in the Gospel narratives, yet Jesus sees beneath appearances to the Rock on whom he will establish his Church.

Jesus goes to eat at Matthew’s house. The proud, self-righteous, judgmental Pharisees watch this and they disapprove.

They complain to the disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” There it is again: for the Pharisees, the worst thing about Jesus is his awful taste in people. And Jesus has not improved in 2,000 years. Here he is this morning, not just eating with sinners, but feeding them, around this altar, with his own Body and Blood. And aren’t we glad he is?

Jesus defends what he is doing by saying, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Jesus is a physician, a healer of physical, moral and spiritual illnesses. He heals, and he restores to life. We live in a time and place in which people play God, like Saul, and are unwilling to let God be God, to let God give life and end it.“No,” people now say, “we will decide who lives and who dies.” We walk today in witness

against that deadly spirit and habit and force. We take a stand and say, “Let God be God. Don’t play at being God.” So these readings are meant for our opponents in our struggle to defend, protect and respect human life, from its very beginnings to its natural end. However, these readings are meant for all of us as well. We dare not become modern Pharisees, making our own God-like lists of who is approved and who is condemned, of who is worthwhile and who is not.

We too must let God be God, and not play at being God. Jesus came for sinners, for us and also for those who oppose us.

Our divine physician, Jesus Christ, came because we needed him, not because we deserved him. We will receive Christ’s Body and Blood because we need them, not because we deserve them. Each time we receive Holy Communion we admit beforehand that we are not worthy, and we are meant to become as worthy as possible with God’s grace. We will walk today in witness not because we deserve to but because Jesus Christ call us to walk with him and for him and in him, and the unborn and the dying need us to walk with and for them, on their behalf and in their place. We walk, but Jesus Christ leads the way. We hear that same voice and those same words that the man in the tax booth heard 2,000 years ago. We hear Jesus Christ say, as Matthew heard him say, “Follow me.”

January 25, 2008

Music TV

Catholic San Francisco

Books RADIO Film

15

Stage

Richardson’s latest Picasso biography – ‘definitive’ “A LIFE OF PICASSO, VOL. 3: THE TRIUMPHANT YEARS:1917-1932,”

by John Richardson (Knopf, 592 pp., $40)

By Father Basil DePinto Definitive is a risky word to use about any historical study, but it’s hard to imagine that John Richardson’s biography of Picasso will be surpassed anytime soon.

Aside from his personal acquaintance with the artist and the ready access given by the family to Picasso’s papers, Richardson has amassed a wealth of information from secondary sources that attest to his skill as a research historian. Add to that his esthetic insight and his style as a writer, and you have an ideal presentation of the greatest painter of the 20th century.

This third volume is slightly smaller in size than the previous two, but no less hefty.

More important, there are 24 leaves of color plates (there were none in the other volumes) which richly complement the author’s magisterial accounts of the origins and contents of the pictures.

Richardson’s skill at combining the life and works is essential, since what Picasso

John Richardson and one in a series of Picasso drawings the artist titled “Mother and Child.”

painted was both a direct outcome and a reflection of his personal life. Whatever one’s view of the latter (he was certainly not a very nice man), it cannot alter his position as one of the greatest painters in history.

Many still find Picasso’s work puzzling, and Richardson is very helpful in deciphering it, in two ways. First, Picasso is always

The pirates who don’t do anything: VeggieTales movie Children’s animated adventure promotes Christian themes

have a true rivalry, with little love lost on either side, but also with a deep, if sometimes grudging, respect. Picasso is reputed to have said, “Au fond, il n’y a que Matisse,” which could mean, “In the end, there is nobody but Matisse.”Given the size of Picasso’s ego, however, it almost certainly means, “Matisse is my only rival”: high praise in this particular case.

The subtitle of the present volume, “The Triumphant Years,” covers the period of Picasso’s greatest personal notoriety. It is also the time when he collaborated with some of the most formidable talents of the modernist period. It is mind-boggling to think of all these people in the same room or workshop with Picasso: Cocteau, Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Apollinaire, just for starters.

Richardson handles this material with utter authority and great love for his subject. Sadly, the author has stated that because of his age, 83, someone else will have to finish the task of volume four. We await it with longing nonetheless and wish the author long life and good health.

A priest of the Oakland Diocese, Father Basil DePinto is a frequent commentator on the arts.

February 2008 Catholic Best Sellers The Catholic Best Sellers list for February 2008, according to the Cathlic Book Publishers Association.

HARDCOVER 1. “Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism,” George Weigel, Doubleday 2. “The Dream Manager,” Matthew Kelly, Beacon Publishing/Hyperion 3. “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light,” Mother Teresa with Brian Kolodiejchuk, Doubleday 4. “Celebration of Discipline 25th Anniversary Edition,” Richard Foster, HarperOne 5. “Technology Tools for Your Ministry,” Tim Welch, Twenty-Third Publications 6. “Rediscovering Catholicism,” Matthew Kelly, Beacon Publishing 7. “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Benedict XVI, Doubleday 8. “The Rhythm of Life,” Matthew Kelly, Beacon/Fireside 9. “Simply Christian,” N. T. Wright, HarperOne 10. “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Doubleday; Our Sunday Visitor; USCCB Publishing

By John Mulderig NEW YORK (CNS) — A trio of busboys from “The Pieces of Ate,” a piratethemed dinner theater, get the chance to experience the swashbuckling lifestyle firsthand in “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie” (Universal). The result is a breezy, computer-animated children’s adventure that promotes positive values.

The three anthropomorphized vegetable friends, timorous Elliot (voiced

by Mike Nawrocki), feckless Sedgewick and insecure George (both voiced by Phil Vischer), all long for glory as they observe the hardy adventures enacted on stage. But all remain convinced they lack the right stuff to become heroes, an assessment reinforced by their disastrous audition.

Things change quite suddenly, however, when an unusual instrument mysteriously appears in their midst. This is a “Helpseeker,” sent out by a 17th-century king in need of courageous assistance from across time. Once this device transports them to the past, the aspiring pirates find themselves swept up in an exciting but challenging exploit, one that will test their mettle.

In the temporary absence of the good king who summoned them, his evil, power-hungry brother, Robert the Terrible (voice of Cam Clarke), is bidding for control. He has kidnapped his nephew, Prince Alexander (voice of Yuri Lowenthal) and now hopes to ensnare his niece, Princess Eloise (voice of Laura Gerow). Will three gallant but hapless garden products prove a match for this schemer? Will the good king return in time to set things right?

Nawrocki, who also directed, creates a wholesome, thoroughly enjoyable

showing something or someone — he detested abstract painting. He simply views things from angles that differ from our ordinary way of seeing them. That is not unusual in painting; think of the crazily elongated limbs in El Greco’s portraits.

Secondly, Picasso to the end of his life was a master at drawing. He never lost the facility for exhibiting forms in completely conventional and recognizable shapes. But he chose to paint them so as to challenge the viewer to new and revolutionary ways of seeing.

The first volume dealt with Picasso’s early life in Barcelona and the momentous move to Paris, then the center of the art world. The volume ends in 1907, just as “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” is about to appear. This is not just another great picture, but a watershed in the history of western painting, and Richardson gives a superb account of its genesis in the early pages of Volume 2. We then get a fascinating account of cubism, which Picasso developed alongside Georges Braque. This was a true partnership with both artists committed to a common goal.

The other great name forever joined to Picasso’s is that of Henri Matisse. Here we

film. The animation sometimes lacks the depth of field of the best computer-generated offerings and there are a few inconsistencies, such as characters who manage to wield swords without having arms. But the movie conveys its message about true heroism quite effectively.

There is also a subtle but welcome Christian subtext to the film. This is made most apparent during the plot’s climax, which we will refrain from spoiling. But parents of faith will appreciate both the story line and the moral values. As for the kids, this is one serving of vegetables they’re likely to relish.

The film contains some mild bathroom references. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is AI — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

PAPERBACK 1. “The Screwtape Letters,” C. S. Lewis, HarperOne 2. “Mere Christianity,” C. S. Lewis, HarperOne 3. “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Doubleday; Our Sunday Visitor; USCCB Publishing 4. “The Great Divorce,” C. S. Lewis, HarperOne 5. “The Cross, Our Only Hope,” A. Gawrych & K. Grove, Ave Maria Press 6. “The Only Necessary Thing,” Henri J. M. Nouwen, Crossroad 7. “The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics,” C. S. Lewis, HarperOne 8. “On Christian Hope (Spe Salvi),”Pope Benedict XVI, USCCB Publishing 9. “Life of the Beloved,” Henri J. M. Nouwen, Crossroad 10. “Handbook for Today’s Catholic,” A Redemptorist Pastoral Publication, Liguori Publications CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 1. “The Stations of the Cross Coloring & Activity Book,” Maria Grace Dateno, Pauline Books 2. “Totally Lent! A Kid’s Journey to Easter 2008,” Alice Ann Pfeifer, Pflaum Publishing Group 3. “Totally Lent! A Child’s Journey to Easter 2008,” Jean Larkin, Pflaum Publishing Group 4. “Totally Lent! A Teen’s Journey to Easter 2008,” C. Broslavick & T. Pichler, Pflaum Publishing Group 5. “Tear Soup A Recipe for Healing After Loss,” P. Schwiebert & C. DeKlyen, ACTA/Grief Watch 6. “My First Missal Revised,” Maria Grace Dateno, Pauline Books 7. “The Holy Mass Coloring & Activity Book,” Ancilla C. Hirsch, Pauline Books 8. “Making Things Right Revised,” Jeannine Timko Leichner, Our Sunday Visitor 9. “Called to His Supper Revised,” Jeannine Timko Leichner, Our Sunday Visitor 10. “Handbook for Today’s Catholic Teen,” Jim Auer, Liguori Publications SPANISH LANGUAGE 1. “Madre Angélica,” Raymond Arroyo, Doubleday 2. “Novena Bíblica al Divino Niño Jesús,” Pauline Books & Media 3. “Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica,” Our Sunday Visitor; Doubleday; Gift Ed.; USCCB Publishing 4. “Rosario en Imágenes,” Pauline Books & Media 5. “Jesús de Nazaret,” Papa Benedicto XVI, Doubleday 6. “Su Amor Sobre Nosotros,” Anselm Grün, Pauline Books & Media 7. “Mis 15 Años Memory Book,” Hijas de San Pablo, Pauline Books & Media 8. “Directorio Nacional para la Catequesis,” USCCB Publishing 9. “Devocionario del Sagrado Corazón,” Pauline Books & Media 10. “Oracional Bilingüe para Niños,” Jorge Perales, Liturgical Press

16

Catholic San Francisco

Letters . . .

■ Continued from page 12 disparate treatment accorded to Mr. Newsom and Mr. Foti, the people of the Archdiocese deserve to hear it.

Mary E. Wynne Atherton

Loudest blog wins?

Archbishop Niederauer’s comment about the blogosphere being a continual recess where the loudest voice wins, was right on target. Most of the letters received by the Archdiocese demanding the Mayor of San Francisco be refused Holy Communion were likely the result of an effort organized on California Catholic Daily. “CCD” is an online forum where a critical mass of posters seem to oppose the teachings of Second Vatican Council, consider today’s Mass invalid and are disdainful of our Archbishop, his predecessor, Cardinal Levada, and just about every other bishop in the state.

As Americans, some of us find it hard to accept that the Church is not a democracy. However, I don’t think that many of us feel the decision to administer sacraments to a particular Catholic ought to be determined by a write-in campaign.

Let’s all pray that the mayor and his associates are guided by the hand of the Lord in their continuing efforts to alleviate the awful human suffering we see

Rolheiser . . .

■ Continued from page 13 ment as they are for their sense of the tradition and aesthetics? What if those who planned the liturgies in your parish understood basic human boredom and tiredness?

What if religious writers were genuinely as interested in bringing God’s consolation and challenge to the world as they are in their own reputations? What if all columnists and editorial writers simply forgot about the labels of liberal and conservative for awhile and wrote things as they appear on a given day?

January 25, 2008 daily on the streets of the City of St. Francis.

Greg Smith San Francisco

Background helped When the subject on Mr. Foti was first addressed in the letter section of Catholic San Francisco, I suggested that before making a judgment, the other side of the story should be heard.

Now, I must say thank you to Carla Peccolo Woodworth, president of the St. Matthew Pastoral Council, and to Joseph Kmak, chairman of the St. Matthew Catholic School Consultative Board for enlightening us on the differences between St. Matthew Parish and Mr. Foti.

There is no question in my mind that the parish priest acted wisely.

Oh yes, Mr. Foti has every right to foster the pro-life movement in the way he is doing, but only in front of the Planned Parenthood building — certainly not in front of the parish church, and more so, not in front of the school.

In conclusion, I would ask Mr. Foti, “What are you gaining by doing what you are doing in front of the church or school? After all, these people are already against abortion.”

Walter E. Marston San Francisco

Remember lost teens Last year, I wrote a letter regarding

What if we were all able to stretch our hearts in new ways to be open to a God and a truth that is forever beyond us? What if we all took more seriously the fact God is ineffable and all of our language about God is inadequate?

Certainly we would all be more compassionate - and considerably easier to live with!

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher and awardwinning author, is president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. His website is www.ronrolheiser.com.

setting aside June 7 as a special day of reflection for teenagers who have been killed in car accidents.

I have developed a way in which such a day can be meaningful. On that day, people might do this: if they know of a teenager who has died in a car accident, they can consider making a donation for the youth of that teenager’s parish in that teenager’s memory. I never knew Javier, the 15-year-old whom I mentioned in my previous letter, but I have donated to the youth of his parish. I have done the same for the parish of one other teenager, too.

There are already organizations that warn teenagers about drinking and driving, etc. But I believe that giving a donation as I have suggested is a quiet, effective way of remembering those teenagers.

Tom Cook San Francisco

The old ‘blame game’ At this election time one of the major issues is illegal immigration, and the old ‘blame game” is used, accusing these undocumented workers for being a drain on our social and welfare resources and for our economic problems.

This group has no power and is therefore the easiest group to attack. Immigration reform laws and approval for money to build walls are being proposed, but no one

has come up with a fair, practical and moral solution to this problem. Many ignore that the real problems we have are not caused by illegal immigrants, and that we welcomed these people when it was to our advantage and when we needed them to pick our produce, clean our homes and offices, mow our lawns and care for our children — paying them low wages to work long hours.

Once these undocumented workers worked into higher paid jobs — chefs, waiters, roofers, builders, etc., — we accuse them of not paying taxes and being a drain on our welfare resources, and we demand criminal action be taken against them. But undocumented workers do pay property taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes and it has been recorded that taxes received that did not match Social Security names amounted to billions of dollars.

I agree undocumented workers clearly gained by coming here, but America also gained from these undocumented workers and we get more than we give. These people are the stuff this country is made of, and it is their great ambition to become Americans.

If these people are good enough to pick our produce, care for our children, serve us at restaurants and build our factories, they are good enough to be citizens.

Lenny Barretto Daly City

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(415) 614-5640 Please leave your name, mailing address and your phone number California Registered Seller of Travel Registration Number CST-2037190-40 (Registration as a Seller of Travel does not constitute approval by the State of California)

January 25, 2008

St. Mary’s Cathedral The following events are taking place at or are coordinated by the cathedral of the Archdiocese located at Gough and Geary St. in San Francisco. Call (415) 567-2020 for more information.

Feb 1: 24-hour exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration begins in Our Lady’s Chapel, located behind the main altar of the Cathedral, following 8 a.m. Mass. A special Mass at 7:30 p.m. highlights the adoration, which continues through the night to conclude with morning prayer at 7:30 a.m., Saturday. For further information, or to volunteer, contact Mary Ann Eiler at (415) 567-2020, ext. 224.

Thursdays through April 17, 7:30 p.m.: Shedding Light on the Study of God: A Guided Reading of St. Thomas Aquinas. Series explores The Treatise on the Divine Nature, Part 1 of St. Thomas’ Summa Theologiæ. Each session will reflect independently on one of the Twelve Questions of the reading; Participants are welcome to attend as many or few sessions as they wish. The free series is led by Stephen C. Córdova, who teaches philosophy at the University of San Francisco and Dominican University.

Contact Cordova at cordova@usfca.edu for details. No meeting March 20.

Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m.: Pueri Cantores Festival Mass features children’s choirs from five dioceses, about 400 children in all, under the direction of Lee Gwozdz of Corpus Christi, Texas, with Bishop Ignatius Wang as principal celebrant. For information, contact Chris Tietze at (415) 5672020, ext. 213.

For Good Health Jan. 28, 6 p.m.: The Alumnae Council of Mercy High School, San Francisco will host a “Breast Health Education Workshop” in Rist Hall. All alumnae and friends of Mercy are invited to participate in a lecture and discussion on breast health. The workshop will include demonstrations, distribution of literature and complimentary refreshments. Mercy High School is located at 3250 19th Ave. For more information, contact Marguerite Rodriguez at (415) 337-7218 or mrodriguez@mercyhs.org.

Catholic Charities CYO Centennial Events Visit www.cccyo.org/events or call (415) 972-1252 March 7, 6:30 p.m.: CYO Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Dinner honoring longtime CYO official Ben Legere, CYO player and coach Bob Drucker and San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. Bob Sarlatte hosts the evening at St. Emydius Parish, Ashton and De Montfort in San Francisco.

St. Agnes Spiritual Life Center 1611 Oak St. at St. Agnes Parish, San Francisco – (415) 487-8560 or e-mail rosemary@saintagnessf.com.

Jan. 30, 7 p.m.: Join Jesuit Father Russ Roide as he considers the following: Can I learn that being a pilgrim is ok? Is having it all together an obstacle to a healthy spirituality? Find God in the mess of our lives.

Lectures Jan. 31: Thomas Awiapo, who survived poverty, hunger and a parentless existence in Africa from age 10, will speak about his experience at St. Bartholomew Parish Media Center, 600 Columba Dr., at Alameda de las Pulgas at 7 p.m. A soup supper precedes the talk at 6:30 p.m. Awiapo now works for Catholic Relief Services. Call (650) 347-0701.

Jan. 31, 7 p.m.: Dismantling Systemic Racism with speaker Angela Davis at Notre Dame de Namur University Theater, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. Tickets are Angela Davis $20/$10 students and seniors.

Visit www.ndnu.edu for more information about the Diversity Speaker Series and its presenters or call (650) 508-3718.

Jan. 31, 7 p.m.: Francis Bok, author of “Escape from Slavery,” will speak to Marin Catholic High School parents in the Performing Arts Center, 675 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Kentfield.

On Feb. 1 he will address the school student body. “Escape Francis Bok from Slavery” was one of Marin Catholic’s mandatory summer reading Feb. 9, 10 a.m.: Married couples of the Archdiocese of San Francisco have been invited by Archbishop George H. Niederauer to take part in the annual marital vow renewal Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The liturgy will pay special honor to couples marking their 25th, 50th, and longer anniversaries. A reception will follow. Registration forms are available at parishes or online at www.sffamilylife.com.

For more information, call (707) 552-3394 or e-mail cfm@sfcatholic.com.

Datebook

Catholic San Francisco

17

Vocations Do You Hear a Calling? Men ages 21-40 are invited to a Priesthood Discernment Retreat Weekend Feb.1-3 at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park. Contact the Vocations Office at (415) 614-5683 for registration form.

Register soon for room availability.

Faith Resources / Trainings / Workshops

Feb. 8, 5 p.m.: Little Children’s Aid Junior Auxiliary honors past president, Mary Male Schembri, at its 2008 Gala “Serving the Next Century” at Teatro ZinZanni, Pier 29 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Tickets are $250 and include hosted bar, dinner, wine and show. Cocktails at 5 p.m. and dinner/show from 6-10 p.m. Contact Mary Rotunno at (415) 438-5512 or mrotunno@chw.edu for information and tickets. Mary Schembri, now director of Parish and Community Response for Catholic Charities CYO, will receive the Alice Phelan Sullivan Award for her “outstanding support to LCA’s mission for many years,” the group said. From left, event co-chairs, Diane Gutierrez, Penne Tognetti, honoree Mary Schembri and co-chair Karen Sanchez-Corea. titles. The real life story tells how seven-year-old Francis sold his mother’s eggs and peanuts near his village in southern Sudan, when his life was shattered when Arab raiders murdered men and women and gathering children into a group.

Strapped to a donkey, Francis was taken north into a life of slavery under wealthy Muslim farmers. For information, call Marin Catholic Communications Director Tim Navone at (415) 464-3222.

Feb. 1, noon: Msgr.

Robert W. McElroy, pastor of St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo and author of “Morality and American Foreign Policy,” will speak on “Foundations for a Catholic Ethic of War Termination: The Case of Iraq” at the Handlery Msgr. Robert Dining Room of the W. McElroy University of San Francisco’s Lone Mountain campus, Room 100.

Lecture is free and open to public.

Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.: Dr. Eleonore Stump will deliver the 2008 Aquinas Lecture, “Thomas Aquinas and the Problem of Human Suffering,” at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology, 2301 Vine St. in Berkeley, at the corner of Arch Street. Admission is free. Call (510) 849-2030 or visit www.dspt.edu.

Feb. 17, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.: Sister Janet Ruffing speaks on Elisabeth Leseur at Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame A Catholic woman for today, Leseur found the path of lay vocation for herself a century ago and shines as a spiritual pioneer foreshadowing Vatican II. Sister Ruffing presents an afternoon of reflection and discussion. Cost $25. Call (650) 340-7474 for information.

Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.: Paul Wattson Lecture for 2008: Atonement Father James F. Puglisi will speak on “The Quest of Christian Unity: The Story of a Vibrant Past With a Bright Future for All Christians” This lecture is free and open to the public on the USF campus; most direct entrance is Golden Gate and Masonic - in McLaren Room 252. Call (415) 422-2697.

Feb. 29, noon: Jesuit Father Kurt M. Denk, a law student at the University of California, Berkeley, and associate chaplain at San Quentin State Prison, will deliver a free public lecture on “Restorative Justice and Catholic Social Thought: Challenges as Opportunities for Society, Church and Academy” at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute, Xavier Hall.

Call (415) 422.2697.

Food & Fun Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m.: San Francisco County Council of Catholic Women meet at St. Paul Church Hall. Christ Child Layette items will be on display. Margarita Mendoza from the Seton New Life Center, a prenatal clinic that provides obstetrical services to low-income women in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, will speak.All women of the Archdiocese are invited.

Refreshments will follow and then the Council’s meeting. Call Cathy Mibach at (415) 753-0234.

Jan. 29, 7 – 8:30 p.m.: Taking Your Career Pulse, Catholic Networking at St. Dominic Church in modular classroom, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner in San Francisco. Reservations requested. Admission is free. Call (415) 664-0164 or email daura@ccwear.com.

Feb. 2: Crab Cioppino Dinner benefiting Knights of Columbus at New Hall of Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, 400 Church St. in Half Moon Bay. Evening begins with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40. None sold at door. Call (650) 799-0011 or (650) 7265492.

Feb. 2, 6 p.m.: 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame

Dinner honoring graduates of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School, in school’s Student Life Center. Call (415) 775-6626 or visit www.shcp.edu.

Feb. 9, 8 p.m.: St. Paul of the Shipwreck invites all to attend the third annual Zydeco Dance (fundraiser). The dance will be located in the parish gym (corner of Third and Jamestown in San Francisco). The dance features Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic and goes until midnight (must be 21 years of age to attend). Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15. Contact church office: (415) 468-3434) or purchase at the door for $20.

Feb. 10, 12:15 p.m.: San Francisco County Council will hold its 22nd annual “Afternoon of Recollection” at Star of the Sea Church, 4420 Geary Blvd. at 8th Avenue. The afternoon will begin with Mass followed by luncheon in the school auditorium. Spiritual director for the afternoon will be Sister Eymard Flood. Price for the day and lunch is $20 For more information, call Cathy Mibach at (415) 753-0234. Deadline for reservations is Feb. 5.

Feb. 23: The Serra Club of San Francisco’s annual All You Can Eat Crab Feed at St. Anne of the Sunset’s Moriarity Hall, Funston Ave. and Judah St. in San Francisco, beginning with a nohost social at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds help continue the Serra Club’s mission to increase vocations in the Church. Tickets are $40. Call Diana Heafey at (415) 731-6379 or e-mail dheafey@sbcglobal.net. Please type Crab Feed on subject line.

Feb. 23: Columban Fathers Dinner honoring Mary Callanan at Irish Cultural Center, 45th Ave. and Sloat Blvd. in San Francisco. No-host cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $40. Call Anne Quilter at (415) 586-8017 or Pam Naughton at (415) 566-1936.

Feb. 2, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Workshop with Paulist Father Terry Ryan visiting the work and ministry of St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac known for their ministry among the poor and ill at the Paulist Center, Grant and California St. in San Francisco. Suggested donation is $25.

Call (415) 431-8590.

Feb. 23: Training for new extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion offered by the Office of Worship at Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont, 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Expert instruction offered in basic liturgical theology, spirituality and practice. Pre-registration required, $15. Call Pat Vallez-Kelly at (415) 6145586 or e-mail vallezkellyp@sfarchdiocese.org.

Feb. 23 and March 8: 1-Day Training for new lectors offered by the Office of Worship at Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont. Session I: Feb. 23, 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Session II: Mar. 8, 10 a.m.- noon. Expert instruction offered in basic liturgical theology, spirituality and practice. Pre-registration required, $20. Call Pat Vallez-Kelly at (415) 6145586 or e-mail vallezkellyp@sfarchdiocese.org.

March 8: Training for extraordinary ministers of Communion to the sick offered by the Office of Worship at Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont, 10 a.m. - noon. Pre-registration required, $5, or prior attendance at Office of Worship EM training. Call Pat Vallez-Kelly at (415) 614-5586 or e-mail vallezkellyp@sfarchdiocese.org.

Prayer Feb. 2: First Saturday Mass at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma at 11 a.m. Call (650) 7562060.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal plans events throughout the year. Information about the group’s activities can usually be found in Datebook and always at their website: www.sfspirit.com.

Feb. 1: First Friday Mass at Immaculate Conception Chapel, 3255 Folsom St., San Francisco with rosary at 7 p.m. and Mass at 7:30 p.m. For further information, contact John Murphy at exmorte@aol.com or call (415) 6651600, ext. 22.

TV/Radio Sunday, 6 a.m., WB Channel 20/Cable 13 and KTSF Channel 26/Cable 8: TV Mass with Msgr. Harry Schlitt presiding.

Saturday, 4 p.m.: Religious programming in Cantonese over KVTO 1400 AM, co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry and Chinese Young Adults of the Archdiocese.

1st Sunday, 5 a.m., CBS Channel 5: “Mosaic,” featuring conversations on current Catholic issues.

3rd Sunday, 5:30 a.m., KRON Channel 4: “For Heaven’s Sake,” featuring conversations about Catholic spirituality.

Taize/Chanted Prayer 1st Friday at 8 p.m.: Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan. Call (650) 340-7452; Young Adults are invited each first Friday of the month to attend a social at 6 p.m. prior to Taize prayer at 8 p.m. The social provides light refreshments and networking with other young adults.

Convenient parking available. For information contact, mercyyoungadults@sbcglobal.net.

1st Friday at 7:30 p.m.: Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. Call Deacon Dominic Peloso at (650) 322-3013.

Tuesdays at 6 p.m.: Notre Dame Des Victoires Church, 566 Bush at Stockton, San Francisco with Rob Grant. Call (415) 397-0113.

Arts & Entertainment March 7, 6 p.m.: Cinema Vita Film Festival at Delancey Street Theater, 600 Embarcadero in San Francisco, featuring “After the Truth,” a German film portraying a moot trial of nefarious Nazi Joseph Mengele. The event is sponsored by the Respect Life Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and other church groups and is dedicated to encouraging emerging filmmakers and showcasing movies about contemporary issues concerning life. Contact Vicki Evans at (415) 614-5533.

Through Feb. 29, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.: Black and white photos of Gene Wright at Mercy Center Art Gallery, 2300 Adeline Dr. in Burlingame.

Features photographs of San Francisco from 1949-2000. Call (650) 340-7474.

1st and 3rd Tuesdays: Noontime concerts – 12:30 p.m. - at Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, 660 California St. at Grant, San Francisco; $5 donation requested. Call (415) 288-3800.

Sundays at 3:30 p.m.: Concerts at St. Mary’s Cathedral followed by Vespers. Call (415) 5672020.

Father Anthony Michael Bozeman St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish, 1122 Jamestown Ave., San Francisco, will welcome Franciscan Father Anthony Michael Bozeman for the 19th annual Day of Prayer Celebration, Feb. 3 beginning at 10:30 a.m. Theme for the celebration will be praying for the African American family.

Father Bozeman is a nationally known preacher, revivalist and retreat leader, and is pastor at St. Joan of Arc Parish in New Orleans. For more information, call (415) 468-3434.

Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number.

Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired. Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633, or e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org.

18

Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

Interim president named at Notre Dame, Belmont

obituary

Deacon Pullon dies in native Philippines

the search of a permanent president will commence in the near future.”

Desautels has been a trustee for the past 20 years. Largely retired for the past 15 years, he is still a principal of Desautels Company.

During his active career, he focused on international and domestic finance, including aviation finance and aircraft leasing.

Greig has served NDNU as an assistant professor, professor, and dean of the School of Education and Leadership, interim vice president of finance and administration and interim vice president of development. She was president of the Faculty Senate from 1996-1999. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, a master’s from Santa Clara University, and both a master’s and doctoral degree from Stanford University.

Before coming to NDNU in 1988, Greig was a lecturer at San Jose State University and elementary and middle school teacher.

She is married and has two teenage sons.

BELMONT – The Notre Dame de Namur University Board of Trustees has officially appointed Executive Vice President and Provost Judith Maxwell Greig, Ph.D. as interim president replacing Dr. John Oblak who resigned in December.

The board also announced the election of Marc Desautels as its chairman, replacing Cressey Nakagawa who resigned earlier this month.

In a statement issued to the campus community, the board said: “It is the judgment of the board that Dr. Greig is both eminently well-qualified for this position and deserving of the full support of the University community. This February the board will meet with Acting President Greig regarding important initiatives for the interim administration. Further announcements to the University community will be made at that time.”

The Board added that “preparations for

Deacon Bartoleme Pullon, a retired deacon of the Archdiocese of San Francisco who has made his home in the Philippines for more than a decade, died Dec. 28 from cancer.

Deacon Pullon was ordained in 1979 in a class that included Deacon Jerry Friedman of St. Isabella Parish in San Rafael, the late Deacon Russ Holm of St. Hilary Parish in Tiburon and the late Deacon Thomas Merson who went on to priestly ministry serving as priest secretary to San Francisco Archbishops John Quinn and William J. Levada.

Deacon Pullon, an architect by profession, served at parishes including Holy Name of Jesus and St. Cecilia. He also served as spiritual director for the Filipino Cursillo Movement.

“I met Bart Pullon when I was spiritual director of the first archdiocesan-wide formation program for permanent deacons in 1976,” said Father William Justice, vicar for clergy. “ I also came to know him through the Cursillo Movement. He and his wife, Amada, and their family were very active in Church ministry, and in serving the Filipino community of the Archdiocese.

He was a very faith-filled man, and I remember many wonderful conversations shared over great food at family gatherings. He was loved by many, and his great spirit and trust in God was a rich legacy left to us all.”

A memorial Mass was celebrated Jan. 19 at St. Robert Church in San Bruno.

Father Justice was principal celebrant and homilist.

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Licensed contractors are required by law to list their license numbers in advertisments. The law also state that contractors performing work totaling $500 or more must be state-licensed.

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For more information, contact: Contractors State License Board 800-321-2752

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Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

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May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us. St. Jude helper of the hopeless pray for us.

Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days.

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Never known to fail.

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M.L.

19

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20

Catholic San Francisco

January 25, 2008

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of December Joan Dougherty Magdalena Montes Grace Anne Walsh HOLY CROSS John N. Duran Julius Moretti Mary Margaret Walsh COLMA Caroline H. Duris Anastasia E. Morrill Winifred D. Westerhouse Justine Abaurrea Henry J. Aguirre, Jr. Arthur A. Apostolou Dorothy H. Applegate Aurelia M. Arbini Ella Marie Arnerich Edward J. Bacciocco Alda E. Bailey Ruth A. Baldacchino Erlinda Recostodio Barraca Donato G. Benavides Emelina Bensen Oscar G. Bertram Marco Bet Frances E. Bolger Abelardo P. Bonifacio Gertrudes B. Briones Peter J. Brusati Felix G. Cadillo Mary J. Calegari Joseph P. Canale Lupe “Maggie” Carrillo Assunta Casanova Rene J. Caserta Geraldine Cavallero Jing Ru Chang Sheila A. Charles Jane Meryle Chrestenson Angela L. Clarke Lawrence S. Comyns Ernesto M. Cruz Sr. Brigid Cullen, SHF Sebastien Curutchet Dolores Salcedo Daly Margaret Lang Danielski Leo DeBernardi Elena deZordo

Rosemary Ewert Nancy Wilson Fletcher Rose V. Fraher Agles Mary Fratessa Fuapopo Fuapopo Carmen Fuentes Bruce Wayne Gaggero Eleanor M. Gee Emma Greco Herman J. Guerra Tina F. Hall Jose B. Hernandez Frederick A. Hornblower Leo B. Hyde Lucrecia Del Carmen Jimenez Cameron Elizabeth Keller John E. Kelly Cecelia E. Kennedy John G. Kronenberger Eugene P. LaFazio Dorothy W. Lee Marlene Janet Leri Soledad Blanco Leyson Henry G. Llamas Dorothy O. Maggio Lucille M. Maguire Mitcheline N. Manansala Joseph V. Mascaro Virginia M. McAtee Gene McNamara Thomas McVeigh Claudia Melton Paul J. Michelotti Frank J. Moglia Doris Molloy

Edwin P. Morris Juliana Moscardon Margaret M. Murphy Eleanor Nethers Rose Marie Nichols Mary N. Norris Edwin J. Ongerth Alice Mary Osborne Jacinto R. Padua Angela Marie Pasco Anna Pattini Elizabeth Perez Rafael A. Ponce Cipriana Porlares Mary Elizabeth Reagan Lorraine A. Reilly Catherine C. Rice Victoria A. Richardson Marianne Roberts Catherine E. Roddy Emma D. Rosa Francisco A. Ruiz Louie F. Sanguinetti Philip Scalice Cherie Ann Schueszler Elizabeth M. Symkowick Nora A. Talusig Michael Tevenan Robert H. Treseler Diosdado S. Tugado Mariano V. Valera Aurora Vallejo Carmen S. Vega Manuela Velez Tanya Rosario Vergara-Juarez Loreta Villaflor

Gregory G. Williams James W. Yepson Robert D. Yepson Hilda L. Zoph

HOLY CROSS MENLO PARK Pauline Foley Andersen Miguel Barron William “Bill” Kugler Alice Marie Whelan Lussier Robert C. Mueller Maria Thorson

MT. OLIVET SAN RAFAEL Mary Beth Healy Bacon Frances C. Bertoni Dolores Marie Brand Guido Buttafoco Hilda H. Costello Iona M. Damazio Eleanor H. Dapiran Aldo de Tomasi Philomena M. Harrs Jong Ja Kong Lucjan Krasowski Louise F. Silva Jean L. Stinchcomb Kathryn Marie Trimble

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY, COLMA FIRST SATURDAY MASS Saturday, February 2, 2008 11:00 a.m. – All Saints Mausoleum Chapel Rev. Gabriel Flores, Celebrant St. Anthony of Padua Parish

The Catholic Cemeteries Archdiocese of San Francisco www.holycrosscemeteries.com Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA 94014 650-756-2060

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Intersection of Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-323-6375

Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery 270 Los Ranchitos Road, San Rafael, CA 94903 415-479-9020

A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.