October: Respect Life Month Gianna’s life proclaims God’s transforming power Twenty weeks into their third pregnancy, John and Jennifer Schmidt were on top of the world. They’d just told their two young sons — Jacob, 5, and John Paul, 2 — that there was a new baby on the way. Now, all four of them were crowded into the examining room, waiting for the sonogram to show whether the baby was a boy or a girl. Suddenly, it didn’t matter. The perinatologist first grew very quiet, then looked almost frantic. “All he told us was that something was very wrong,” said Jennifer. The Schmidts’ baby had a condition called bilateral renal agenesis. She would not develop a kidney. If she survived labor and delivery, the obstetrician said, she would die within a few hours. “I remember thinking this was just a nightmare and I’m going to wake up from this,” said Jennifer. “It just can’t be real.”
The news was grimmer still. John and Jennifer were warned that babies with this condition often go full term because they have all they need while in utero. Could Jennifer face carrying the child to full term, knowing her birth meant certain death? More than half of couples in their situation choose to have an abortion, the Schmidts were told. Or they could choose to induce delivery early. Neither, the Schmidts decided, was an option they could consider. POWER OF PRAYER Numb and confused, the couple called on Benedictine Father Brendan Rolling, for advice. A family friend from Jennifer’s time as a residence hall director at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., Father Brendan couldn’t help but hurt for the couple. “I was shocked when they told me,” he said. “It was very painful to hear there was not much the doctors could do.” GIANNA’S LIFE, page 10
Christ the Light Cathedral Dedicated Sept. 25, 2008
(PHOTO COURTESY ANGELA BOQUIN)
By Kara Hansen
Gianna Schmidt rests peacefully on the day of her birth – and death.
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Porziuncola Shrine Blessed Sept. 27, 2008 (CNS PHOTO/GREG TARCZYNSKI)
Two iconic worship spaces for Bay Area
(PHOTO BY MARTIN DELFINO)
Two houses of worship destined to draw millions of pilgrims and visitors from the San Francisco Bay Area and the world – a small chapel in San Francisco and a new cathedral in Oakland – were dedicated last week within the space of 48 hours. On Sept. 25, the much-acclaimed Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland (above) was dedicated during an afternoon rite at which Oakland Bishop Allen Vigneron presided and San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, metropolitan of the San Francisco Province, concelebrated at the altar. Four cardinals and three dozen bishops took part. On Sept. 27, the Porziuncola Shrine at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood was opened and blessed. Archbishop Niederauer was principal celebrant. Cardinal William Levada (photo at right), prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Archbishop emeritus of San Francisco, presided. Both events drew several inter-faith representatives. Speakers at both celebrations emphasized the two structures’ impact on future generations and their role in serving the wider community as well as the Catholic faithful. See Page 15 for the text of Archbishop Niederauer’s homily at the Porziuncola Shrine blessing. See Page 18 for additional coverage of the Oakland cathedral rite.
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Respect Life. . . . . . . . . . . 9-14 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
New documentary on slain missionary ~ Page 4 ~ October 3, 2008
Corpus Christi Parish renews Marian event ~ Page 5 ~
Synod on Bible to open in Rome ~ Page 8 ~
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Classified ads . . . . . . . . 22-23 Travel ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 10
•
No. 29