November 19, 2004

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Saint Anne of the Sunset Parish seen from Parnassus Heights. Inset, former pastor Msgr. John Foudy with his sister Mary at right, and longtime parishioners Nino Cresci and Teresa Hallinan at left.

St. Anne’s celebrates 100 years of history, faith and ‘living stones’

By Jack Smith St. Anne of the Sunset Parish in San Francisco completed a year long celebration of the centenary of its founding with an anniversary Mass and gala dinner dance Nov. 7.

Mass was celebrated by San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop John C. Wester joined by Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh, Pastor Eduardo Dura, former pastors Msgr. John Foudy, Fr. Richard Deitch and Fr. Anthony McGuire, and numerous priests who grew up at St. Anne’s or have served the parish over the years.

Bishop Walsh, who served as Auxiliary Bishop in San Francisco and Bishop of Reno and Las Vegas grew up at St. Anne’s and attended the parish school. Bishop Wester was baptized at St. Anne’s and spent his early years there.

St. Anne of the Sunset is the founding parish of the neighborhood bearing the same name. Its territory, originally known as the “Outside Lands” was conveyed to the City in 1866. It consisted primarily of sand dunes with milk ranches and a few homes.

Catholics who lived in the area were served by the priests of St. Agnes Parish in the Haight, which was founded in 1893. Mass was said in the ballroom of the Old Park View Hotel on Ninth and Irving. Setting up for Mass was a challenge according to a history by now deceased parishioner Margaret Foley. “The altar was set up on the stage at the back of the hall that had accommodated the dance band of the night before,” she wrote.

On Nov. 1, 2004, Archbishop Patrick Riordan sent Fr. Joseph McCue to organize the 75 hotel Mass-goers into a parish. The original parishioners were primarily Irish or Irish-American and included some Germans and Italians.

The parish territory would extend from 4th Avenue in the East to Ocean Beach and from Golden Gate Park in the North to Sloat Blvd. At a celebration for the parish’s 25th anniversary in 1929, Archbishop Edward J. Hanna recognized the daring and faith of those who founded a parish in such a remote location. “We began near the bay and our effort was to overcome a hill and climb a mountain.

Our forefathers built until they came to this great flat, and when they came here they were supposed to be almost beyond the pale of civilization. . . . They said it was too far from the center of the city, but the city has grown from the bay to that great ocean, our sunset sea.”

By the time Hanna had spoken those words, territory had already spun off from St. Anne’s to create three new parishes; St. Cecilia, Holy Name and St. Brendan.

The first St. Anne church was built on property at Irving between Funston and 14th in 1905 on land donated by Mrs. Jane Callahan. The wood-frame church seating 450 was destroyed within a year by the “Great Earthquake” and had to be rebuilt.

In 1915, because of the great growth in the area, caused in part by displacement due to the earthquake, the church was extended 35 feet to accommodate 750 parishioners and windows and furnishings were added.

The project cost $35,000.

ST. ANNE, page 12

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Review Board . . . . . . . . . . . 3 News-in-brief. . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Interview with ‘Thérèse’ actress U.S. Bishops’ meeting ~ Page 8 ~ November 19, 2004

~ Page 18 ~

This Catholic Life . . . . . . . 6 ‘Prepared not scared’ . . . . . 9 Church renewal . . . . . . . . 11

Movie review: ‘The Incredibles’

Scripture and reflection . . . 16

~ Page 22 ~

www.catholic-sf.org

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News analysis . . . . . . . . . . 19 VOLUME 6

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No. 38

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

On The Where You Live

by Tom Burke On their toes for the beloved Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, are Natalia Barulich, a 7th grader at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School in Redwood City and Jamie Ryan, an 8th grader at Abbott Middle School in San Mateo. The young women will dance the role of Clara in the Peninsula Ballet Theatre’s production of the ballet at San Mateo Performing Arts Center next month. Both Natalia and Jamie have studied ballet for more than six years. Mighty proud are the ballerina’s folks, Maria and Johnnie Barulich and Julie and Patrick Ryan….Coming up soon – December 11th at 6 p.m. - is the annual commemoration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish complete with Mariachis and a pageant celebrating characters from the event including of course Juan Diego and the Blessed Mother. “We have Mass and then everybody is invited downstairs for goodies,” said Mary

Though now busy as administrator at St. Rita Parish in Fairfax, Father Kenneth Weare couldn’t get out of South San Francisco without the thanks of All Souls Parish where he served as a parochial vicar since his ordination to the priesthood in 2001. Joining in the farewell was Jesuit Father William Maring a well-known guest presider at All Souls and 91 years old November 13th. Standing from left: Indiana Blandon, Ruth Bretz, Ray Stupi, Ofie Albrecht, Iris Rivera, Amelia Villa, Candida Ramirez, Maureen Galeotti, Maria Lupe Mireles, Remy Riboroso.

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Most Reverend William J. Levada, publisher Maurice E. Healy, associate publisher & editor Editorial Staff: Jack Smith, assistant editor; Evelyn Zappia, feature editor; Tom Burke, “On the Street” and Datebook; Patrick Joyce, contributing editor/senior writer; Sharon Abercrombie, reporter Advertising: Joseph Pena, director; Mary Podesta, account representative Production: Karessa McCartney, manager; Tiffany Doesken Business Office: Marta Rebagliati, assistant business manager; Virginia Marshall, advertising and promotion services; Judy Morris, circulation and subscriber services Advisory Board: Jeffrey Burns, Ph.D., Noemi Castillo, James Clifford, Fr. Thomas Daly, Joan Frawley Desmond, James Kelly, Deacon William Mitchell, Kevin Starr, Ph.D., Sr. Christine Wilcox, OP. Catholic San Francisco editorial offices are located at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109. Tel: (415) 614-5640 Circulation: 1-800-563-0008 or (415) 614-5638 News fax: (415) 614-5633 Advertising: (415) 614-5642; Advertising fax: (415) 614-5641 Advertising E-mail: jpena@catholic-sf.org Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly except the Fridays after Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas and the first Friday in January, twice a month during summer by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Annual subscription rates are $10 within the Archdiocese of San Francisco and $22.50 elsewhere in the United States. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, California.

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Congratulations to San Domenico High School seniors, Meg Smith and Lindsay Bochner, on being named Commended Students in this year’s National Merit Scholarship competitions. The young women placed in the top five percent of the more than one million students entered in the campaign.

Natalia Barulich and Jamie Ryan Cervantes, music director and organist at the show were 4th graders Mikaela McKay, Danika Richmond District church since 1960. “Fine food will Camins, Clint Thomas, Chris Doran, Elijah Boronda, be served and people can bring a dish to share if they Tyler Kirejczk. Representing the 5th grade were Molly like,” Mary said. All hats off for Mary’s husband, Chawke, Chiara Lewis, and Louciano Ortega. Also Manny, who died June 10th. They would have cele- taking part was 6th grader Ben Parodi. Coordinating the brated their 52nd wedding anniversary in event was school music teacher, Kathy Holly…. Old St. August….Speakin’ of musicians, gotta’ put in a good Mary’s Cathedral says “Happy Birthday” to retired word for Laura and Paulist Father Charles Victor Flaviani who are Donovan, 89 years old featured performers tomorNovember 13th and row at the Annual Crab retired Paulist Father Ed Bash Family Dinner at Maher 82 years old Holy Name of Jesus October 30th. Both priests Parish. Laura is music have served as parochial director at St. Paul Parish vicars at the parish and still and teaches in the parish are regular presiders at school. Victor was lead weekday Mass…. It only percussionist in last year’s takes a moment to let us Archdiocesan Choir know about a birthday, Concert. In addition, they anniversary, special can both often be found achievement, or special lending backbone support happening in your life. to major events at St. Happy anniversary to longtime St. Stephen parishioners, Just jot down the basics Mary’s Cathedral. Crab Nancy and Bob Buckley shown here on their wedding and send with a follow-up day 50 years ago at St. Perpetua Church in Lafayette.

Bash chairs are Roberta phone number to On the Beach and Jackie Alcaraz.

Street Where You Live, Hungry?? Call (415) 664-8590….It was music, music, One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109. You can also fax to music at Good Shepherd Elementary School when (415) 614-5633 or e-mail, do not send attachments Opera a la Carte took the stage October 22nd. The except photos and those in jpeg please - to program is sponsored by San Francisco Opera Guild tburke@catholic-sf.org. You can reach Tom Burke and gives youngsters a taste of the art. Taking part in the at (415) 614-5634.

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November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

3

Criticism of Review Board countered by current chairperson

By Maurice Healy Dr. Suzanne McDonnell Giraudo, current chairperson of the San Francisco Archdiocese’s Independent Review Board (IRB), strongly countered criticism leveled against the IRB by Dr. James Jenkins, former chairperson, in a story in the San Francisco Chronicle Nov. 12. Dr. Giraudo made her comments in a letter sent to the Chronicle Nov. 16.

Dr. Jenkins, a psychologist who practices in the East Bay, was a founding member of the IRB and served as chairperson until the beginning of this year.

His term on the board was to have ended Dec. 31, but he abruptly resigned Oct. 15.

In his four-page resignation letter to Archbishop William J. Levada, Jenkins praised the achievements of the IRB during his tenure, but went on to level broad criticism of others.

Dr. Giraudo, also a founding member of the IRB, is a San Francisco clinical psychologist. She said, in a letter to the Chronicle, that Jenkin’s “suggestion that the IRB has bought into a ‘culture of silence,’ that its ‘independence has been compromised,’ and that the IRB could soon be reduced to ‘an elaborate public relations scheme’ is completely lacking in foundation.”

The “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” approved

by U.S. Bishops in 2002, requires every Catholic diocese in the country to have an Independent Review Board, largely composed of lay people, to review child sexual abuse policies and procedures and assess the preliminary facts gathered following allegations of abuse and make recommendations to the Archbishop.

In its initial work, the IRB of the San Francisco Archdiocese reviewed cases of priests involving allegations that were possibly subject to the Charter, although the allegations often dated back decades.

Review Board members in a July 11, 2003 story in Catholic San Francisco, said the IRB acts as a type of “Grand Jury” in considering information that has been gathered and then making a recommendation to the Archbishop regarding diocesan priests who are in the Archdiocese and possibly subject to the Charter.

This ecclesial process is different from the actions of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in April 2002, when it voluntarily turned over to local district attorneys information on allegations of child sexual abuse made against nondeceased priests and lay people serving the Archdiocese over the past 75 years.

The information included diocesan priests of the Archdiocese, religious order priests and brothers, and lay employees, many of who had long since left the priesthood or service in the Archdiocese. The IRB was apprised of the list that had been submitted to the district attorneys.

The work of the IRB also is distinct from the John Jay College statistical survey that was conducted in 2003 concerning alleged abuse by clergy, who were living or deceased, over a 50-year period, as reported in Catholic San Francisco Jan 30, 2004.

The Archdiocese’s IRB has reviewed all of the cases in which a living, diocesan priest has been accused in the past of child sexual abuse. The IRB has reviewed cases involving 17 priests of the Archdiocese. In four of these cases, they REVIEW BOARD, page 21

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Cost of care for frail and elderly Catholic religious now exceeds $1.3 million each day.

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Data obtained from the NRRO database as of March 30, 2004.

Dr. Giraudo’s letter to the Chronicle Below is the full text of a letter submitted to the San Francisco Chronicle by Dr. Suzanne McDonnell Giraudo, chairperson of the Archdiocese’s Independent Review Board.

Editor: For the past year I have served as Chairperson of the San Francisco Archdiocese’s Independent Review Board (IRB). I am responding to a Nov. 12 story based on reporter Don Lattin’s interview with Dr. James Jenkins, former chairperson, and his letter of resignation from the IRB. I have worked with Dr. Jenkins since the Board’s inception and appreciate the accomplishments of the Board during his tenure. However, his suggestion that the IRB has bought into a “culture of silence,” that its “independence has been compromised,” and that the IRB could soon be reduced to “an elaborate public relations scheme” is completely lacking in foundation.

Just three weeks ago, the Gavin Group, an independent auditing firm with many former FBI officials, conducted a weeklong audit of the compliance of the Archdiocese of San Francisco with the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Independent auditors held an extended interview with me and another IRB board member, retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Raymond Williamson. Gavin Group auditors not only stated that the operating procedures of the IRB were independent and in compliance with the Charter, but they also cited the procedures as exemplary in nature and asked my permission to use them as a model for dioceses nationwide.

Dr. Jenkins expressed his frustration that IRB “findings” on allegations of past sexual abuse made against individuals had not been made public. Currently, there is no national protocol for release of this information. The other members of the IRB agree that public announcements should be made at the appropriate time. However, reasonable minds can differ as to whether names should be released at the allegation stage or even at the stage when the IRB makes its recommendations to the Archbishop following the preliminary investigation. The role of the IRB under the Charter is not to conduct a trial or render a final “verdict.” Rather, like a Grand Jury, the IRB’s job is simply to assess the initial facts gathered by an independent investigator, and recommend whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to the next level. If there is sufficient evidence, then the work of the IRB is completed and the matter may then proceed to a full scale ecclesiastical trial conducted by canon lawyers and judges.

Given these realities the IRB was comfortable with the idea of Archbishop Levada asking the U.S. Bishops Conference to consider the establishment of a uniform policy for publishing the names of those individuals for whom the ministerial restrictions referenced in the Charter had been voluntarily accepted or imposed as a result of a canonical trial. The IRB agrees with former U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello, recently appointed to the national Independent Review Board, who said, “My concern … is balancing the protection of the public with due process for the rights of those accused.”

Dr. Suzanne McDonnell Giraudo, Ph.D Chair, Independent Review Board Archdiocese of San Francisco

4

Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

November 19, 2004 Congress. Baptists were second, with 65 House members and seven senators. According to an analysis of the data by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Government Liaison, the number of Catholic senators was unchanged at 24. But the defeat of Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and the election win of Republican Mel Martinez of Florida left the Senate numbers at 11 Catholic Republicans and 13 Catholic Democrats, compared to 10 Republicans and 14 Democrats in the 108th Congress.

in brief

Pro-life official praises appeal of Oregon assisted suicide case

SACRAMENTO — Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento has announced he is curtailing his normal work schedule because of ongoing health problems from the liver disease he has had for nearly 24 years. The bishop, who is 67, suffers from primary sclerosing cholangitis, an uncommon progressive liver disease that causes scarring near the liver that affects that organ’s function.

He was diagnosed with the disease in February 1981. In a Nov. 8 letter to diocesan leaders, the bishop said he has been hospitalized twice since mid-October because of complications from the liver ailment. The letter was also read by clergy to parishioners throughout the diocese at Masses on the weekend of Nov. 13-14. “My doctors have informed me that my condition has reached the point where active steps toward a liver transplant now need to be taken,” wrote Bishop Weigand, who has headed the diocese for nearly 11 years.

Episcopal ordination of new Los Angeles auxiliary bishop LOS ANGELES — The sanctuary of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles overflowed with people who had come from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and beyond to witness the episcopal ordination of new Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar Nov. 4. The ancient ceremony, witnessed by 3,000 clergy and laity as well as more than a dozen interfaith religious leaders, was conducted in Latin, English, Spanish and Korean.

The latter two languages acknowledged Bishop Salazar’s native country of Costa Rica as well as the significant Asian community residing within the San Pedro pastoral region which will be his responsibility. Red-uniformed junior high students from the school at St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Silverlake, where the new bishop had been pastor for 10 years, preceded the solemn entrance procession. Among those in the procession were 25 co-ordaining bishops and the principal ordaining bishop, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony.

Spokane Diocese to file for bankruptcy by end of month SPOKANE, Wash. — The Diocese of Spokane will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings by the end of November, Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane announced at a Nov. 10 press conference.

Spokane will become the third U.S. Catholic diocese under Chapter 11 proceedings, joining the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., and the Diocese of Tucson, Ariz. The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, was on the brink of a bankruptcy filing when it reached a $9 million settlement Oct. 28 with 37 alleged victims of abuse by priests. During the press conference at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Spokane, Bishop Skylstad said Chapter 11 reorganization “will provide a fair, just and equitable mechanism for the payment of valid claims” against the diocese, “while allowing us to maintain the historic mission of the Catholic Church in eastern Washington.” Approximately 125 people have said they were victims of sexual abuse by priests serving in the eastern Washington diocese, with total claims reaching tens of millions of dollars, the bishop said.

Churches fight violence with gun turn-ins, other efforts CHICAGO — In a period when murders dropped by more than 22 percent across Chicago, the police district that includes the city’s Little Village neighborhood is on pace to meet or beat the 2003 total of 37 murders. Those statistics are challenging Epiphany Parish and other

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Bishop Weigand cuts schedule as he waits for liver surgery

Residents who fled from the battle-torn Iraqi city of Fallujah receive food at a temporary camp in Baghdad Nov. 16. Thousands of residents fled Fallujah in advance of an offensive by U.S. military forces aimed at driving militants from the city.

Catholic parishes in the neighborhood to step up their efforts to bring peace to a community torn apart by gangs, substance abuse and domestic violence. Father Peter McQuinn, pastor of Epiphany for seven years, arrived to find a parish already involved in advocating against violence. Since then, the parish has expanded and continued its efforts, both on its own and in conjunction with other churches in the community, including St. Agnes of Bohemia, Our Lady of Tepeyac and Good Shepherd. Each of the churches recently hosted a gun turn-in program over four weekends.

Yale breaks ground on $50 million Catholic center addition NEW HAVEN, Conn. — St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University will be getting a $50 million 30,000-square-foot addition. At a groundbreaking ceremony for the Thomas E. Golden Jr. Catholic Center, internationally renowned architect Cesar Pelli said the new facility was “designed with much skill and love where you will find an echo to your soul.” Kerry Robinson, Yale’s director of development, credited the idea for an addition to the existing center to the vision of former Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent Jr., a 1963 Yale graduate who joined the university’s board of trustees several years ago. She said Vincent felt that because students attended lectures all day they needed an opportunity to share ideas with others. He proposed daylong conferences: morning, lunch and afternoon sessions with 25 different students at each, followed by evening forums open to all. His sponsorship of the Fay Vincent Fellowship in Faith and Culture launched a capital campaign in 2002. Since then, there has been a yearlong schedule of such fellowships at the St. Thomas More Chapel and Center. Demand for additional Catholic intellectual discourse at Yale has become so great that the center has been forced to move events off-site.

Catholics will represent largest faith group in 109th Congress WASHINGTON — Catholics will make up 29 percent of the 109th Congress when it convenes in early January, with a slight rise in the number of Catholic Republicans and a similar drop in the number of Catholic Democrats.

With 128 representatives and 24 senators identifying themselves as Catholics in a survey by Congressional Quarterly, Catholicism remains the largest single religious affiliation claimed by members of the new

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WASHINGTON — A pro-life spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops praised the Justice Department Nov. 10 for its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a decision approving Oregon’s use of federally controlled drugs in assisted suicides. “Federally controlled drugs should be used to heal and comfort patients, not to kill them,” said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, director of planning and information in the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “No patient must ever be made to feel that her life is expendable.” The petition from outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft asks the Supreme Court to overturn a decision in August by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Reversing a Clinton administration policy, Ashcroft ruled in 2001 that the use of federally regulated drugs in assisted suicides in Oregon — the only state where physician-assisted suicide is legal — was not a “legitimate medical purpose” and violated the Controlled Substances Act. Doctors who participated in those suicides could face fines or jail time or lose their right to prescribe federally controlled drugs. The state of Oregon appealed the ruling and the 9th Circuit ruled in the state’s favor.

Mexican bishops renew calls for U.S.-Mexico accord MEXICO CITY — Mexican bishops have renewed their calls for the U.S. and Mexican governments to reach an accord on legalizing the millions of undocumented aliens living and working in the United States. Speaking on the eve of yearly bilateral talks between the two countries, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City said reaching a migration accord should be a top priority for both governments. “We’ve always asked authorities to meet their obligations, and one of them is to make sure (migrants’) human rights are respected,” Cardinal Rivera told reporters Nov. 7. Following the talks, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a Mexico City press conference Nov. 9 that the Bush administration would try to convince Congress to adopt a guest worker program, “but we don’t want to overpromise.”

Pope asks people to share with needy at Thanksgiving VATICAN CITY — As people express gratitude at Thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth, they should remember to share them with the needy, Pope John Paul II said. The pope made his comments during a noon blessing at the Vatican Nov. 14, the day celebrated in Italy this year as Thanksgiving. Several hundred people standing in a light rain cheered the pontiff as he spoke from his apartment window above St. Peter’s Square. The pope said he joined in a special way with the prayers of agricultural workers as they gave thanks at harvest time.

All people should be “grateful to the Lord for what nature and human labor produce for our sustenance” and should also be “ready to share our resources with those who are in need,” he said.

Vatican conference reinforces commitment to palliative care ROME – Pope John Paul II said pain-control drugs are sometimes a necessary part of treatment for the terminally ill, but should be administered carefully and never be used to provoke a patient’s death. The pope made his remarks Nov. 12 to participants at a Vatican-sponsored conference on palliative care, the term given to treatment aimed at enhancing comfort and relieving pain during the last phase of life. The 84-year-old pope, who suffers from a neurological disorder, sat in a chair facing the more than 700 conference participants as an aide read most of his speech. The papal speech focused on a few

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

5

basic church teachings on end-of-life issues: that euthanasia is always morally wrong, that clearly disproportionate medical treatment can and should be rejected, and that use of painkillers for the dying may be acceptable and appropriate. The pope said pain-relief drugs can be used to decrease suffering during the final stages of an illness, as long as the patient’s freedom is respected. The Vatican conference brought together doctors and nurses, bioethicists, psychologists and social workers, along with representatives of nongovernmental organizations from 76 countries.

Evangelization priority of new Chinese bishop

Pope expresses closeness to Arafat’s family, Palestinians VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II expressed his closeness to the family of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and to the Palestinian people and prayed “that the star of harmony soon shine on the Holy Land.” The pope’s message followed the Nov. 11 announcement of Arafat’s death in a Paris military hospital. The pope prayed that Israelis and Palestinians soon “may live reconciled among themselves as two independent and sovereign states.” The message was written by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, and authorized by the pope, a Vatican statement said. It was addressed to Rawhi Fattuh, president of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Cardinal Sodano wrote, “to the condolences of His Holiness, I cordially adjoin my own.” Earlier, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement that Arafat “was a leader of great charisma, who loved

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ZHANJIANG, China — The new bishop of Zhanjiang said the evangelization of city residents would be a top priority. Bishop Paul Su Yongda, 49, was ordained the ordinary of Zhanjiang Nov. 9. More than 2,000 local Catholics, government officials and guests from Hong Kong, Macau and other parts of mainland China attended the ceremony, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Zhanjiang is in Guangdong, the Chinese province closest to Hong Kong and Macau. About 300 people packed into St. Victor’s Cathedral; the rest stayed outside and viewed the televised liturgy in the cathedral’s open compound. Bishop Fang Xingyao of Linyi, in Shandong province, presided at the ordination; he was assisted by several other bishops.

Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, President Ben Ali of Tunisia and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas attend the funeral of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 12. Presidents and dignitaries from more than 50 countries attended the funeral.

Ecumenists urged to look at progress toward Christian unity VATICAN CITY — Christians must not despair at their lack of unity, but must rejoice at how much closer they are to one another and must renew their commitment to continuing the ecumenical journey, Pope John Paul II said. “True ecumenism does not exist without interior conversion and the purification of memories, without a holiness of life in conformity with the Gospel and, especially, without intense and constant prayer,”

the pope said Nov. 13 during an ecumenical evening prayer service. The vespers service marked the end of a three-day Vatican-sponsored meeting celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism. The Nov. 11-13 meeting brought together 260 experts: the heads of the ecumenical committees of national bishops’ conferences; representatives of the official dialogues between the Catholic Church and other Christian communities; and 27 “fraternal delegates” officially representing the other churches.

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6

November 19, 2004

a t C h s o i

Canadian priest still at home in Redwood City parish,�

Father Desjardins said. “The people are wonderful here.� He is grateful, too, for the hospitality and fellowship of Father Randolph Calvo, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and parochial vicar, Father David Ghiorso whom he calls “great priests.�

His priesthood, he said, was probably born of the strong faith of his parents, Malvina and Eugene. “We prayed each night as a family,� he said. Though they lived a long way from the local church, his mother was unfailing in her devotion to the Mass. “She would be in her chair praying and when the church bell rang at the Consecration for the elevation of the host she would kneel.�

Father Dominique Desjardins Recalling the dawning of Vatican II, Father Desjardins said it was “a tough time in Canada� given the country’s “more conservaBecome a MENTOR for a tive� leanings. “It was not so easy there but here it homeless youth. seems no problem,� he said.

Local nonprofit seeks Personally he is satisfied with the impact of Vatican volunteers to mentor II saying the effort of “putting the Mass into languages people can understand was something marvelous.� It homeless/formerly homeless youth. helped “members of the community become closer to Make a difference, the prayer and the priest,� he said. become a mentor.

One of eight children and now at 93 the oldest of Call 415-561-4621 four surviving siblings, Father Desjardins communicates with his sister and two brothers by mail. Two older mentor@homeaway.org and now deceased brothers were also priests. He has been back to Canada but a few times since his 1971 I did it so can you! departure.

Sponsored by: “Considering I’m old enough to be dead, I’m taking John Clifford the future one step at a time,� Father Desjardins said with the throaty laugh much reminiscent of Gigi star, McGuire Real Estate Chevalier. “I’ve been happy and I am grateful.�

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Catholic San Francisco

Life

By Tom Burke He is a bit of Maurice Chevalier with a dash of Bing Crosby’s Father Chuck O’Malley from “Going My Way.� Father Dominique Desjardins says his 66 years as a priest have been “magnifiques.�

Born, raised and a priest of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, the French-speaking clergyman came to Northern California in 1971 when a thyroid condition left him unable to cope with the climate of his native Canada. He served four years in the Diocese of Oakland and from1975 – 89 as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Redwood City where he now lives in retirement. “I was freezing in Canada and needed to move to a warmer country,� Father Desjardins said. “During my last years as a pastor there I was spending most months of the winter in bed trying to warm up. Before moving to California I told all my family ‘If you die in winter I don’t come to your funeral.’�

He has liked being a priest on both sides of the border. During his more than 30 years in Canada he served as associate pastor and pastor at a half-dozen parishes as well as taught at an Archdiocesan seminary. During his soon to be three decades at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel he has served the community as presider, preacher and pastoral caregiver. While now doing much less, he continues to hear confessions and is the regular celebrant of the 7:30 a.m. Mass each Sunday.

While remembering all of his assignments with fondness, Father Desjardins said he most enjoyed parish work. “I liked being a pastor,� he said. “I’m not a very good administrator but I’m very careful.�

Though retired, he wants to stay in the picture at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. “I’m still a part of the

jclifford@mcguire.com

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The School of Pastoral Leadership invites you to a “Ceremony of Lessons and Carols�

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November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of October HOLY CROSS COLMA

James Arthur Dwan Lisa Horsman Eggiman Kenneth Gordon Ellison Blanca Sara Estrada Chris Evans Louise S. Fatimah, O.C.D.S. Eileen J. Figoni Delphina Maria Flemings Anita A. Flori Joseph E. Forman Formosa Katherine Gassenberg Fortier Brandon Paul Medina Frick Lawrence A. Frigillana Antone C. Fune William Gherardi Verneta D. Giannini Joseph A. Giarritta Irene Giomi Marina A. Gonzalez Monica L. Gotelli Regina K. Grandsaert Jeanette A. Gray Emelinda L. Guevarra Viola V. Guillory Wladyslaw Gurzynski Gertrude S. Hansen Birgit Heaney Jeffrey B. Heaney Joseph N. Heieck Dolores L. Hemmerle Harry R. Henzi Rosario Herrera Ying Chung Hung Louie R. Jenkins Doris M. Johnson Aurora L. Jundis Marlene Ann Kulp Mary L. LaFlamme Florence J. Lago Genevieve A. Livermore Theresa Po Yiu Lo Madge (Margie) Long William Loskutoff Dolores Marie Louderback Isabel B. Lozano Rose Bridget Lustenberg

Jesus Almaguer Steven M. Anderson Frank Lee Andrews, Jr. Sebastian G. Arroyo Sherry Nelson Baccelli Alizer F. Bartholomew Susan D. Basso William Joseph Beall, Sr. Josephine L. Becerra Beverly J. Bigongiari Carmen A. Bruno Madeline C. Cahill Joseph S. Caltagirone Maria G. Calvo Irene M. Canata Salvador Canjura, Jr. Consolacion F. Carrillo Pauline A. Carroll Lucrecia G. Castellanos Paulino S. Castillo, Sr. Evelyn M. Cerruti Paul J. Chavez Cotile Christiansen Nell I. Claraty Irma M. Cloonan Rosalia L. Cocjin Mary F. Cognasso Carlos A. Colorado Vivienne C. Comisky Shirley Conner Mary Cooney Alice M. Cornejo Robert Correa Eugene J. Corvi Arnold R. Covarrubias, Jr. William A. “Bud” Crackbon, Jr. Felix M. Cristobal Mary T. Crowe-Crumedy Mario D’Acquisto Pauline D’Amato Maxina N. Danner Josefina Y. Dela Rosa Elmo V. Dito Claude J. Dupas

Sandra Jean MacDonald Nadine M. MacGilvery Sarah J. M. Maciejewski Alfred J. Malvino Mary E. Manning Trinidad G. Marcos Brian G. Marshall Juanita D. Marshall Rose Esther Martin James Abraham Martinez Karen Marie Mayo Mary Louise Mazza Sarah Grace McCallin Maria A. Medal George Mendoza Flaviana B. Mendoza Pedro J. Monterola, Sr. Josephine Moore Rosario M. Morales Alfred V. Motak Roy Felise Muao Mary M. Mussen Marshall Almon Mussen Edith M. Navarro Yuk Yin Li Ning Jane A. O’Connor Virginia M. O’Hara Sofronio C. Obaob Barbette A. Oberst Judith L. Obregon Ernest S. Ow Helen Cummins Panos Raymond H. Pearsall Benjamin C. Pecson Marija Pesusic Aurora B. Pilar Lucy C. Pitocchi Margarita Ponce De Robles Violet M. Prigmore Marie L. Reese Ann M. Reid Ellen R. Robertazzi David Rosaia Jonathan Alcantara Rubio William D. Schultz, Jr. Catherine H. Shaw Mary Shickluna

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A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.

7

8

Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Internal matters behind them, bishops still face substantial agenda

(CNS PHOTO BY NANCY WIECHEC)

WASHINGTON (CNS) — With such internal matters as elections and budget out of the way, members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops went into regional meetings and executive session Nov. 16 still facing a hefty agenda.

Among the topics scheduled to be debated during the last two days of the Nov. 15-18 fall general meeting in Washington were the first national Catholic catechism intended specifically for adults; several Spanish-language liturgical texts that would formally incorporate important Latin American rituals into U.S. church services; a proposal to join a new national ecumenical association, Christian Churches Together in the USA; a plan to write a pastoral letter on marriage; and follow-up to the bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

No vote was expected on a report about how bishops should deal with Catholic public officials whose policy stands contradict Catholic teachings on fundamental issues such as abortion.

Much of the first day and a half of the meeting was devoted to the election of new USCCB leadership and approval of plans and priorities guiding the conference’s budgetary decisions.

The bishops overwhelmingly approved a series of recommendations aimed at limiting the conference’s projects to those mandated by the Vatican or the bishops themselves.

The conference “has taken on too many projects. We try to do too much,” said Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh, chairman of the bishops’ Task Force on Activities and Resources, which drafted the recommendations.

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., outgoing president of the U.S. Conference On Nov. 15, the bishops approved a $129.4 million of Catholic Bishops, raises the Eucharist during a Mass celebrated by the U.S. bishops budget for 2005 — 1.8 percent higher than the previous at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Nov. 15. year’s budget — and agreed to create an ad hoc committee to aid the church in Africa, which would collect and distribute contributions to assist the church in Africa, using staff address, Bishop Gregory called the clergy sex abuse crisis vene a national plenary council, reported that there was litand resources from a handful of offices to manage the effort. “the greatest scandal that the church in the United States tle support among the bishops for the idea of such a plenaBishop William S. perhaps has ever confront- ry council or another suggested alternative, a U.S. regional Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., ed,” but he cited several synod of bishops.

But in a series of votes Nov. 15, the bishops made clear was elected to a three-year “very healthy forces” that term as the new USCCB have resulted from the bish- that they need to spend more time in dialogue and debate president, and Cardinal ops’ handling of the scandal. among themselves about what they need to do to respond Francis E. George of Those forces include a to major issues facing the church across the nation.

The big issues they are concerned about are two generChicago was elected vice proposal to hold a plenary president. council, an evaluation of ations of disarray in evangelization and catechesis in the Bishop Skylstad, who how the bishops’ meetings U.S. church, declining Catholic participation in the had served as USCCB vice themselves work, and a Eucharist and other sacraments during that period, and the president under Bishop study of how their confer- dramatic decline in vocations to the priesthood and reliWilton D. Gregory of ence operates and how its gious life in the past three decades.

The bishops closed the first day of their fall meeting Belleville, Ill., was to take expenses might be held with a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the up his new post at the close down, he said. of the meeting.

“As I look at these three Immaculate Conception marking the 25th anniversary of Bishop Dennis M. forces at work, I am drawn their pastoral letter on racism, “Brothers and Sisters to Us.” Bishop Gregory, principal celebrant and homilist at the Schnurr of Duluth, Minn., a Members of the National Review Board, including Jane to conclude that the conferformer USCCB general sec- J. Chiles, former director of the Catholic Conference of ence as we know it today is evening Mass, focused his homily on the Gospel reading retary, was chosen as treaslikely to be a much different from Luke about Jesus’ healing of the blind man near Kentucky, are introduced at the U.S. Conference of urer-elect, a post he will take Catholic Bishops' general meeting in Washington Nov. conference five or 10 years Jericho.

“What is racism if not fundamentally a blindness?” he up at the close of the 15. The review board is leading the bishops' charge to from now,” Bishop Gregory asked.

“It is a blinding shadow so dark and damaging that November 2005 meeting. added. protect children against clergy sexual abuse.

Also elected were two Archbishop Daniel M. it keeps us from seeing Jesus in others.” new committee chairmen Buechlein of Indianapolis, Contributing to this roundup were Jerry Filteau, and 12 chairmen-elect. head of an ad hoc committee formed in 2002 to guide the Opening the meeting with the traditional president’s bishops through a proposal by a group of bishops to conPatricia Zapor and Agostino Bono.

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November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

9

Helping parents and children be ‘prepared not scared’ is workshop’s goal

By Maurice Healy It is a sunny and warm Saturday in late October. Twodozen women and men — from parishes throughout the San Francisco Archdiocese — have come to the ChanceryPastoral Center near St. Mary’s Cathedral for training as facilitators in a special parent education program to be presented through their parishes.

Along with another 150 parishioner volunteers, these mem-

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bers of the local Catholic community are giving unselfishly of their time because the cause in which they are engaged is so important – measured by their own convictions and the national statistics documenting the scourge of child sexual abuse.

For the two-dozen parishioners gathered on the Saturday in October, it was the second day of facilitator training for the “Out of Harm’s Way” parent education workshop, which was developed by the “KidWISE Institute. The workshop offers proven and effective methods of child sexual abuse prevention.

The volunteer parishioners are gathered for discussion in groups of five or six and their lively conversation carries from one group to another.

They are practicing their planned presentations to parish groups and they voice a shared enthusiasm and respect for the Out of Harm’s Way program. Their comments praise the program for being age-appropriate and progressive as kids grow older, for building self-esteem and open dialogue, for showing specific ways to deal with potential danger, and for presenting effective tactics for parents and children.

The volunteer facilitators are people like Patricia Harder, a family therapist and member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Mill Valley. She said she “jumped at the chance” to be a facilitator and “came to the program with a lot of hope and conviction.”

She said, “Kids don’t have the skills or expertise to take care of themselves and the Out of Harm’s Way program helps parents help kids.”

Rita Hayes, a teacher at St. Hillary School in Tiburon, agreed. She said, “As a soon-to-be mother, I think this is very important.”

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Among the other facilitators-in-training were Dan Faloon, St. Ignatius; Teri Pallito, St. Veronica; Sister Celine Lomeli, Sts. Peter and Paul; Cheryl Hubner, Star of the Sea; Clarice Hassan and Barbara Walcom, St. Dominic; Dede Waters and Lori Collins of Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In the next few months, these and other enthusiastic, motivated and trained individuals will serve as facilitators for the “Out of Harm’s Way” program, which is aimed at teaching children to be safe an strong. An important element of the effort is to have members of the parish community presenting the workshop.

Participants in the Out of Harm’s Way workshops will receive a 60-page Parent Guide with helpful exercises.

They will learn ways to be a helpful — not a fearful – parent, and how to make wise parenting decisions. Parents attending the Out of Harm’s Way workshops will discover the “Five P’s of Personal Safety” and the role of healthy self-esteem in keeping children safe. They will learn new ways to harness the power of open and safe communication, and they will find practical ideas for making personal safety a natural part of family life.

The Out of Harm’s Way parent education workshop to be offered at parishes offers proven and effective methods of child sexual abuse prevention, said Barbara Elordi of the Archdiocesan Department of Pastoral Ministries.

The workshop is interactive and it includes video and facilitator-led discussion and group exercises. The workshop has been designed so that parents and others will participate in a supportive atmosphere for learning while sharing the company of other parents who want to learn effective ways to protect their children from sexual predators.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Catherine’s Center offers at-risk women new hope

By Sharon Abercrombie When Carmen was released from Redwood City Jail for women in June of 2003, she didn’t make it home on time.

Instead Carmen took a 48-hour detour. She cashed a couple of bad checks, and then got high on drugs. Two months later, the 43-year old mom was living behind bars once again; this time at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla for violating her probation.

Earlier this year, Carmen walked out of jail once again. But this time there were no self-destructive side trips. This time, she truly went home. She went home to the warm, welcoming space of Saint Vincent de Paul’s Catherine’s Center, a yearlong livein rehabilitation center for women parolees located in San Mateo County.

Catherine’s Center is a non-profit ecumenically supported program co-sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of Burlingame and the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County.

Named after Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy religious order, Catherine’s Center celebrated its first anniversary in August. The Center is located at a three-bedroom “safe house” in San Mateo County and can accommodate up to six women at a time. Last month, Vicki, the first graduate, moved into her own apartment after an appreciation party and send off by residents and staff.

Carmen will follow suit in April of 2005 but right now, she isn’t in a hurry to leave. “If I could stay forever, I would,” she said, her face breaking into a dimpled smile. Still in the first few fragile months of recovery from drugs, Carmen is deeply grateful for the opportunity to be living at Catherine’s Center.

“I would never have made it otherwise,” she said. “I would have been back out on the streets. Instead, I know now I have a life and I refuse to give it up.”

In her drug addiction, Carmen is out of the norm. She didn’t get hooked until she was 28.

“I grew up in a military family, one of five kids,” she said.

“We were happy children. My mom was strict, but loving.”

When her dad was discharged in 1976, he moved the family to Alameda. “I didn’t know anything about drugs until I went

to high school,” said Carmen. Drugs were plentiful, but Carmen was too scared to use them.

After high school Carmen became a legal secretary. She didn’t have her first drink of alcohol until she turned 21. She married, had a daughter, and later divorced. She was 28 when hard drugs first entered her life. Carmen’s musician boyfriend introduced her to cocaine, “I didn’t like it, at first, but I kept on using,” she said. “ That way it was easier to sit around and socialize with him and his friends.”

Nine years and two sons later, the couple separated and Carmen moved back to Alameda. Terribly depressed, one day she was pulled over by the Alameda police and arrested for driving under the influence and for child endangerment.

“Their dad got custody of the little boys. I felt like I didn’t have a life anymore, so I started medicating the pain,” said Carmen. She spent the next nine years in and out of jail for shop lifting, and using false ID’s to cash checks. All in all, she was arrested 15 times.

During Carmen’s most recent stay in Redwood City Jail, the chaplain invited her to attend Mass. “When I talked to him, I realized I had an illness and needed help,” she said. “He asked did I want to keep hurting my family and myself? But when you’re high you don’t think about anything.” She was not ready quite yet.

Several months later while serving time at Valley State Prison for Women, Carmen began receiving letters from Christine, a friend she’d previously known in jail. “We used to make plans to get high together when we got out,” said Carmen.

But now, the tone of Christine’s letters had changed. She had gone to live at Catherine’s Center.

Christine’s letters were convincing. Carmen wrote and asked program director Lizette Lim for an application. “I knew if I went back to the streets, it would be the same thing all over again.”

Carmen will never forget the day last spring, when she got called to the chaplain’s office. As she walked down the hall she looked out the window and saw two women, Lynette Lim and Mercy Sister Marguerite Buchanan, Catherine’s Center co

director. “I skipped the rest of the way to his office,” she said.

During their initial meeting, the nun gave Carmen a copy of the Center’s handbook to read. The first question was “Who am I?” Carmen couldn’t answer it. She started crying.

Six months later, the answers are becoming clear. Carmen knows she is a beloved daughter who stands in the circle of a “very supportive family.” She is a mom who is intensely proud of her 23-year old daughter and two sons. She dotes on her granddaughter and longs to be able to spend more time with her.

She is “clean and sober” - working very hard in the program for addicts, attending sessions five days a week and graduating next month.

She is a grateful woman in recovery whose days are busy with 12-step meetings, morning meditation, centering prayer, relapse prevention, anger management classes and life skills training.

She has discovered a talent for arts and crafts. Last month, as a gift for Vicki’s going away party at the Center, Carmen covered a notebook with leather strips, to match the leather jacket Vicki wears.

For the first time in years, Carmen can begin to dream about a career, again. She hopes to open a crafts store and become a drug and alcohol counselor.

Carmen said “Thanks to the love and caring they give us here, I know now that my life is worth something.”

Catherine’s Center has a budget of $155,000 a year, which is met by fundraisers and donations to the Sisters of Mercy and to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County. It has three full-time and two part-time employees and 30 volunteers who serve as companions for the women; taking them on errands, serving as mentors and leading classes. It doesn’t take government money.

Catherine’s Center will sponsor its second annual fundraiser at 7 p.m. on January 2 at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame.

St. Francis of Assisi’s Schola Cantorum will perform and residents of Catherine’s Center will speak. Festive desserts and sparkling beverages will be served. Admission is $100. For further information contact Ms. Brown at (650) 373-0637.

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Catholic San Francisco

11

‘Church is in dire need of renewal,’ says Cardinal Dulles

By Tracy Early NEW YORK (CNS) — Cardinal Avery Dulles said in a lecture Nov. 10 that Catholics are entering the 2004-05 Year of the Eucharist with an awareness “the church is in dire need of renewal.”

Although “holy in her head and in her apostolic heritage,” the church remains “sinful in her members and in constant need of being purified,” he said.

The cardinal said many Catholics are ignorant of church teachings, and a few even reject the teachings.

“Some of the clergy are not exempt from grave and scandalous sins, as we have learned all too well in these recent years,” he said.

As a resource for renewal, he called for an emphasis on the Eucharist, and seeing in it the same marks used by the creed in describing the church as one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

Cardinal Dulles, a Jesuit theologian named to the College of Cardinals in 2001, made his comments in delivering the annual fall lecture of his McGinley professorship at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York.

Titling the lecture “A Eucharistic Church: The Vision of John Paul II,” the cardinal noted the theme of the pope’s 2003 encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” on the church and the Eucharist.

He also recalled that the Year of the Eucharist, announced by the pope last spring, began Oct. 17 and is scheduled to conclude with a Synod of Bishops dealing with the Eucharist in October of next year.

Cardinal Dulles said he was focusing on the pope’s “eucharistic ecclesiology,” but would go beyond the pontiff’s treatment to deal with all four marks of the church.

And though unity is listed first in the creed, the cardinal began his discussion with holiness because without it “all the other attributes would be valueless.”

The Eucharist is “quintessentially holy” because “Christ himself is substantially present in it” and in it performs “his supreme redemptive act,” Cardinal Dulles said.

“To be made holy by the Eucharist,” he said, worshippers must go beyond mere physical presence at Mass and “join in the church’s self-offering, entering in spirit into Christ’s own redemptive work.”

Then, as they come closer to Christ in the Eucharist, they draw nearer to each other, and better manifest the church’s unity, he said.

The cardinal said that while the church needs renewal in holiness it is today “likewise feeble in her unity.”

“She suffers from tensions among national and ethic groups and from ideological conflicts between different factions,” he said.

He said that in the Eucharist worshippers became like the many grains of wheat united in one loaf of bread or the many grapes that make the wine of the one chalice.

Cardinal Dulles said, however, that the Eucharist could not function as a “sacrament of unity” unless “a measure of unity” already exists among participants.

“If anyone were to receive this sacrament of unity while intending to remain apart from the body and its head, in a situation of heresy or schism, the meaning of the action would be contradicted by the contrary disposition,” he said.

It would be wrong, he said, if anyone were to say, “I don’t accept your pastors and doctrines, but I want to partake of your sacraments.”

Regarding catholicity, Cardinal Dulles said the Eucharist must be celebrated “in union with the local bishop, the pope and the Catholic Church throughout the world.”

He said some Catholics contend that the church was not constituted hierarchically from above but by the action of believers from below, and that every local community has the right and power to designate one of its members as presider at Mass.

But the eucharistic prayers of the Roman Missal, he said, show that “every legitimate Eucharist is celebrated in union with the

whole body of bishops and the pope, for otherwise it would be deficient in catholicity.”

In conclusion, Cardinal Dulles said the “prevalent secular and democratic culture” tricked people into thinking they did not need the kind of connections represented by that fourth mark of the church.

“But the Eucharist reminds us that grace and salvation come from on high, and that they are channeled through Christ and the apostles,” he said.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

13

St. Anne’s celebrates 100 years ■ Continued from cover

story of the San Francisco Examiner, and also had big spreads in the San Only 10 years later, the second pastor, Msgr. William O’Mahoney, saw the Francisco Call Bulletin and San Francisco Chronicle. The different accounts need for even more room, and over the next few years purchased nine adjacent estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 joined in the procession. lots at a cost of $66,000 giving the parish the entire frontage on the north side Fr. McCue also brought in San Francisco’s home-grown Holy Family of Judah St. between Funston and 14th. Work began on the current structure Sisters as the first religious to serve the parish. They performed many functions, in 1930 and was dedicated by Archbishop Hanna in 1933. It is a steel frame but primarily were responsible for administering the Sunday School McCue building with reinforced concrete walls which dominates the landscape of the established in 1908. By 1919, 500 children were enrolled in the Sunday School.

Inner Sunset. The church’s dome is 103 feet and the towers rise 164 feet above Monsignor William O’Mahoney became the second pastor in 1911, serving the pavement. The massive church seats 1,200 and cost $391,000 to build. until 1936. Longtime parishioner and parish historian, Rosemary French, collectOne of the remarkable features ed much data and interviewed a numof the church is the massive sculptber of parishioners from O’Mahoney’s ed frieze which stretches across the time. He was described as a “vigorous” front of the church. From left to man, she said. “He was driving a car right, it depicts a comprehensive when he arrived,” she said, “This was scriptural account of the whole of quite astounding to the people that a salvation history. It was designed priest would be driving a car.” and sculpted by Mission San Jose Much parish expansion Sister Justina Niemierski. occurred under his rule. “He had a By the time the current church wonderful quality of leadership . . . was ready, St. Anne’s parish had He was very decisive,” French said, grown to “4,000 souls” and had “The men would wonder what given scores of its children to priestproject ‘the boss’ had for them.” hood and the religious life.

In 1919, he laid the cornerImprovements to the church, stone for St. Anne School, which including the installation of opened its doors in 1920 with an Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, Fr. Ed Dura, mosaics, the painting of the interior parishioner and former San Francisco Human enrollment of 222 students. Msgr. and exterior, replacement of the O’Mahoney brought in the Sisters Rights Commissioner Shirley Dimapilis, roof and addition of an electronic of the Presentation to administer and Assemblyman Leland Yee hold organ continued until recent times. the school. The sisters were chaufcommendations for St. Anne’s from the City, St. Anne’s first pastor, Fr. McCue, feured from their Motherhouse at the State, and the United States Senate. is best remembered for starting a San Masonic and Turk until a convent Francisco tradition which remains to was built for them in 1924. this day, St. Anne’s Novena. The first novena in honor of the mother of Mary While O’Mahoney presided over major construction of the current was held at St. Anne on July 17, 1907. The following year, from which the nove- church, its decoration and adornment would be left to later pastors because na is usually dated, Fr. McCue affiliated the Confraternity of St. Anne in his of the Great Depression. parish with the Archconfraternity of St. Anne de Beaupre of Quebec, from Monsignor Patrick Moriarty became pastor in 1936 upon the death of which was granted the various indulgences and privileges associated with the O’Mahoney at age 75. He vigorously encouraged the growth of athletic pronovena. At the height of its popularity, the novena attracted tens of thousands grams and brought in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. In the war years, students of the faithful from throughout the archdiocese. Archbishop John J. Mitty took at St. Anne’s had a 95 percent participation rate in the purchase of U.S. part in the famous novena of 1938. Near the closing ceremonies of the nove- Savings Stamps. The Sister Helpers of the Holy Souls also began an afterna, he led a Eucharistic procession under a canopy of gold cloth through six school sewing class for the girls in support of the war effort. blocks of the Sunset. The procession ended in the schoolyard, where those folThe school grew continuously, particularly during and after World War lowing him knelt for an outdoor benediction. The event was the lead front page II. By 1945, St. Anne’s enrolment was 946 students, and in 1955 an addition to the school was completed.

Msgr. Moriarity also made improvements to the church, including the completion of its external plastering.

Msgr. John Foudy, now in retirement at Alma Via, became pastor in 1970, serving until 1990. During this period, San Francisco’s population began to decline from its peak of 850,000. Demographic and economic changes, which contin-

A portion of the church frieze

by Dominican Sister Justina Niemierski (above). Scene from the centennial Mass (right). View of St. Anne’s looking toward Golden Gate Park (far right).

Historic scenes of the annual St. Anne Novena and Eucharistic Procession.

As many as 100,000 Catholics participated at the height of the novena’s popularity. ue today, meant that Catholic families with children were moving in large numbers to the suburbs.

Despite this difficulty, St. Anne’s, as it is known today, was largely completed under Msgr. Foudy’s leadership. Mosaic shrines were added to the interior of the church, and the general decoration of the interior was completed and renewed. The exterior frieze was also refurbished.

In response to the changing face of the parish, Chinese and FilipinoAmerican clubs were established in 1973. An endowment program for the continued support of the parish school was also established.

Two highlights of the period were the 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II to San Francisco at which many St. Anne’s parishioners participated, and a 1988 visit by Mother Teresa to St. Anne Church attended by an overflow crowd.

Other improvements to the church were completed during the tenure of Fr. Richard Deitch, who oversaw the replacement of the massive tile roof and the painting of the exterior of the church. According to Rosemary French, Fr. Deitch also initiated a period of greater involvement for the laity as Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, and particularly through the improvement of the parish’s music program under the direction of Mr. Richard Davis.

Current pastor, Fr. Ed Dura, came to St. Anne from Mater Dolorosa in 1998, when former pastor Fr. Anthony McGuire was appointed to head the U.S. Bishops’ migration office in Washington D.C. Dura is a native of the Philippines.

Fr. Dura said St. Anne’s neighborhood “has been transformed from a predominantly Irish Catholic community to a diversified community composed of Filipinos, Chinese-Americans, and some Hispanics.” He said, “it is not that easy,” but the people of St. Anne are very generous and love their parish and continue to be able to support the very large physical plant built for a different era. The church, built for a capacity of 1,200 per Mass, now has a combined Mass count of 850 per weekend. “We are affected by the loss of families like other parishes in San Francisco,” he said.

The faith and devotion of the people continue to be strong, he said. Each day there is morning prayer before Mass, and many participate in a lay led Rosary before morning prayer. St. Anne’s Novena also continues, there is a holy hour twice a month, and the parish has a strong outreach through its Saint Vincent de Paul Society which still includes founding members from the 1960s.

Fr. Dura says that St. Anne’s is still the religious and spiritual center of the neighborhood, “because it represents not only the people of the past, but the people of the present.”

While St. Anne’s school, like other schools in western San Francisco, now

serves a majority of non-Catholic students, Fr. Dura demands and ensures that the school remains an apostolate of the parish. All students are taught the Catholic faith, and in addition, a Mass is held each week for different grades. “I am very insistent on that,” Fr. Dura said, “We need to let the students be more familiar with the Eucharist . . . It nourishes the students just by attending.” The Eucharist is “the center of our life as Christians and the center of our life as a parish,” he said. Fr. Dura tells parents who enroll their children in the school that the Eucharist is central to the life of the school because “it honors the death and resurrection of Jesus.” An emphasis on gathering for Eucharist “has been my philosophy since I came,” he said, “without it, I don’t believe in Catholic education.”

Fr. Dura said the parish is now “in the mode of building for the future.”

In order to do this, he said, all of the different groups in the parish need to support each other and gather together. “Gathering together begins in the Eucharist,” he said, but must continue in other forums.

“There are many positive attempts to bridge the communities,” Fr. Dura said. “On St. Patrick’s Day, not only the Irish should go, but all of us. . . . It is not only St. Patrick’s Day, it is a day of the church for everyone.” Fr. Dura said there are have been good attempts by parishioners “to attend activities other than their own activities.”

The Mass and gala Nov. 7 culminated a year of celebration for St. Anne’s parish. Researching and telling the history of the parish was a big part of that celebration. Parish trivia and history was printed in the bulletin each week.

An explanatory tour of the church was led by parishioner Ken Del Ponte with historical notes from Mrs. French, and oral histories of pioneer families have been taken and are underway. “We want to have something in place for whoever is doing the history 100 years from now,” Mrs. French said.

Other events included a weeklong ecumenical program featuring guests from other neighborhood congregations each night, a Harvest Moon Celebration

Fr. Ed Dura poses with members of St. Anne’s Chinese community at the Nov. 7 centennial dinner.

and a Filipino-American celebration. The school also hosted a reunion which gathered more than 600 alumni from classes as early as 1928. In Spring, a farewell luncheon and Mass was held in appreciation for the many years of service by the Sisters of the Presentation, who left service at St. Anne’s this year.

At the gala event, resolutions in recognition of St. Anne’s centenary were presented from the State Legislature by Assemblyman Leland Yee and from the Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. A certificate from Senator Diane Feinstein’s office was also presented.

In his homily at the Centenary Mass, Bishop Wester recognized the great history of St. Anne’s, its beautiful church, and the many vocations which grew from the parish. Bishop Wester reflected on the common urge of humanity for immortality. This is often expressed by the fear of being forgotten. “All of us want in one way or another to leave a legacy . . . so that people remember that we were here,” he said. Jesus answers this need in the Gospel by answering, “there is eternal life, and it is in this body, my body, the risen Christ’s body . . . you will live forever because of me.”

Bishop Wester said St. Anne is a “magnificent, grand church . . . but is it this building that we celebrate?” Bishop Wester said “We are the church . . . we are the bodies that form the church; the living stones.”

As St. Anne celebrates 100 years, “we are celebrating 100 years of being living stones,” he said, “and that is what gives us life.” Bishop Wester said that as living stones, our highest calling is to love one another. “We are who we are as church by falling in love with Christ and by falling in love with one another . . .

What will continue to keep this parish vital is the love we have for one another.”

The Eucharist is central to what we are, he said, “We become what we receive . . . go and live what we have celebrated.” Bishop Wester said that in the Eucharist, “we are joined with all those parishioners who have gone before us . . . and they are not forgotten.”

Members from the 9:00 and 10:30 Mass choirs joined to provide music for the centennial Mass.

14

Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Guest Commentary Suckers for ‘science’

By Wesley J. Smith The passage of Proposition 71 in California (the Stem Cell Research and Cures Act) was an acute case of electoral folly. As Californians plunged headlong into a $6 billion quagmire of debt in a quixotic quest for “miracle cures” from human cloning and embryonic stem cells, they simultaneously rejected Prop. 67, an initiative that would have added a modest tax to phone bills to keep the state’s endangered emergency rooms and trauma centers from shutting down.

This is a remarkable and disconcerting development. It wasn’t long ago that California’s trauma centers were the pride of the state and a model for the world.

In the heyday of the trauma center movement, emergency rooms throughout the state were upgraded to ensure that critically injured people could receive quality care within the “golden hour,” a 60-minute time frame that dramatically increases a person’s chances of survival. Needless to say, such centers are very expensive. Which made them politically vulnerable after the dot-com bubble burst and the California legislature’s spending binge led to a collapse of the state’s finances.

The bitter irony here is that while Californians refuse to fund treatment centers that could make the difference between people living and dying today, they are pursuing treatments and cures that, if they come at all, are likely a decade or more away. What could explain such folly? Blame the awesome power of big money, big celebrities, and big hype.

Ever since President Bush limited federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research in August 2001, Big Biotech and its partners in major universities has sought to regain the advantage. Supporters of embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning courted celebrity disease and injury victims to become the campaign’s spokespersons, who then testified before Congress and sat for softball interviews on Larry King Live and Oprah. Politically potent and wellfunded disease victims’ organizations, too, worked the halls of power, appealing to the universal human desire to alleviate suffering. Science went out the window, as advocates peddled junk biology to win the debate. And the entire campaign was funded in the millions by biotech companies and coordinated by their trade association, the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media performed terribly, often misstating or skewing the science, hyping what could be accomplished in a reasonable time frame by biotechnology, and denigrating the moral concerns of bio-skeptics as mere religious fanaticism. Minor advances in embryonic stem-cell research were touted as proof that miracle cures were on the way, creating false expectations on the part of suffering people yearning for cures. Meanwhile, advances in adult stem cell and other non-embryonic regenerative treatments were either ignored or damned with faint praise.

When President Ronald Reagan died, most of the media (with the notable exception of the Washington Post) parroted the inaccurate assertion that Reagan might have been helped by embryonic stem cells—when in reality patients with Alzheimer’s would probably be the last to benefit. Public hype reached its height, however, in the presidential election, with Senator John Edwards’s promise that a Kerry presidency would result in disabled people getting out of their wheelchairs. A close second was Ron Reagan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, in which he promised, ludicrously, that therapeutic cloning could lead to each of us having a “personal biological repair kit” available to cure our ailments at local hospitals.

Still, despite the energetic advocacy, the issues of embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning remained at an impasse at the federal level. So, frustrated biotech fundamentalists pursued money at the state level. After the advocacy campaign described above had tilled the political soil, they quietly placed Proposition 71 on the ballot.

In a state the size of California, the only way to communicate effectively about politics is on television. That takes a lot of money. Proponents amassed a formidable fund that exceeded $25 million, paying for a load of television advertising. Heightening the effect was the usual pack of Hollywood celebrities, particularly Brad Pitt and the late Christopher Reeve (who taped a “Yes on 71” ad a week before he died), once again supported by patient advocacy groups.

Proponents were met in the public square by a coalition of strange bedfellows, religiously-based bioethics groups, fiscal conservatives, the Catholic church, prolifers, and some feminists and leftist environmentalists, who were able to amass a mere $400,000 campaign chest. And they were still in the game, until Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger—who had been the center of an intense political tug-ofwar over his endorsement—shrugged off his fiscal sensibilities to endorse Prop. 71.

That led to a rout. In the end, some 60 percent of Californians acted against their own best interests by passing Prop. 71, mortgaging their fiscal future to subsidize speculative and morally controversial research for medical treatments that may never materialize.

This commentary originally appeared in The Weekly Standard.

Bread for the people In the October 29 article, “Theologian Says One-Issue Voting is Foreign to Catholic Tradition,” Fordham Professor Father Thomas Kopfensteiner is quoted: “The defense of life is not always the most urgent good, either. A woman on a fixed income may choose a candidate whose platform guarantees better medical care or prescription drug coverage. A father whose son is at war may support a candidate with a plan to end the conflict. A community hard hit by job layoffs may choose a candidate with a plan to provide more immediate jobs to the area.”

One scarcely knows where to begin. People who base their votes primarily on abortion do so because they see the issue as a matter of life and death. Does Fr. Kopfensteiner not believe that death is worse than unemployment? Hitler helped bring Germany out of its depression.

Would Fr. Kopfensteiner say that Hitler’s economic program counterbalances the Holocaust? If he believes that providing jobs may be as important as protecting lives, how could he say no?

Does the fact that someone like Fr. Kopfensteiner could be hired at Fordham say something worrisome about the state of Catholic higher education?

Albert Alioto San Francisco

Not feeling good The good feeling of moral superiority obtained by voting for Bush because of his position on abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research is just that - so much good feeling that will not otherwise change anyone’s life for the better. To satisfy religious concepts, have we been seduced into casually accepting the tragic deaths of 1,200 American soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi citizens?

Chuck Cannon San Francisco

L E T T E R S

For shame I find it curious that your November 12 headline in the article on the presidential election should be “Support for marriage seen as crucial to President Bush’s election win.” Kerry voters don’t support marriage?

By implication, Kerry voters don’t think “moral values” are important?

Since when are war, living wages and health care not “moral issues?”

Years from now, historians may point to a moment in the 2004 campaign for president when the tide turned in favor of Republican George W. Bush over his Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. Now during Mr. Bush’s first four years, there

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had been a loss of jobs, an increase in the amount of people falling into poverty, a war with over 1,000 American soldiers and 100,000 Iraqis killed, no relief to the over 40 million Americans without health care insurance, tax break after tax break for the richest sector of the population, the nation going from surplus to deficit, and an encroachment on the civil liberties of Americans due to the Patriot Act. The electorate including the Catholic Church chose to ignore all of the above issues, which have a profound effect on life in this country and our presence in the world.

Instead, the electorate with the Catholic Church chose the one issue which has the least importance in the lives of most Americans and the citizens of the rest of the world - gay marriage.

That it was so easy for the Republican Party to distract the electorate from the real issues of our day is remarkable. That it was able to distract the Catholic Church is unforgivable. Every time another American soldier dies, another innocent Iraqi is killed, another worker loses his/her job, another family falls into poverty without health care, another rich person adds more wealth to his/her fortune, Catholics who voted for Bush should hang their heads in shame.

Richard Morasci San Francisco

Failure of Prop. A

George Wesolek, Archdiocesan Director of Public Policy presented a compelling case for the passage of Proposition A. (CSF – Oct. 29) This $200 million housing bond addressed three critical issues in San Francisco: Home ownership, affordable housing, and homelessness. It also had support of a popular new Mayor, business and community leaders, and religious leaders.

Why did it fail? Most San Franciscans know the City needs more home-owners. Only 35 percent of households own their own homes. The national average is 66 percent. Most San Franciscans also want affordable housing so their children can live here to raise their families. Most also know that lower income service workers, especially those who care for ailing seniors and the disabled need to live in the City, not the Central Valley. Today, 15,000 Seniors are over 85, and many will require home care services. Surely, most San Franciscans want to end chronic homelessness.

Supportive Housing with on site treatment has proven successful and was supported by many community leaders, and the Bush administration.

Proposition A failed (barely) to reach the necessary 67 percent because well intentioned proponents put three different housing concepts on an “all or nothing” basis, and required voters to approve all three with one vote! This was an improbable trifecta in a city of diverse interests. Thirty percent of the population are seniors, or adults with disabilities, and most are on limited incomes, two thirds are renters, one third are homeowners, and all are faced with rising costs.

Although virtually everyone wants to end chronic homelessness, not everyone could be expected to want more home ownership, or affordable rental housing.

These housing issues are critical to San Francisco, especially supportive housing to end chronic homelessness.

Voters should be given the opportunity to decide the merits of each with a separate bond at the next election.

Mike DeNunzio San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

15

The Catholic Difference This past June, as the great and the good gathered in Washington for President Reagan’s funeral, Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the late, unlamented Soviet Union, had a chat with the Washington Post’s Robert Kaiser. In a rhapsodic front-page article, Kaiser suggested that Gorbachev offered a “rigorous historical analysis” of the end-game of the Cold War. I beg to differ.

Fifteen years ago, on the night of November 8-9, 1989, a stunned world watched the breaching of the Berlin Wall – the symbolic centerpiece of the Revolution of 1989. On this anniversary, it’s important to understand that Mr. Gorbachev was talking nonsense when he told Kaiser, “I think we all lost the Cold War...”

Why? First, in order to keep faith with the past. Soviet communism was the worst political plague in human history. Its lethality was comprehensive: the murderous revolutionary “ethic” of Lenin and Feliks Dzerzhinskii (founder of the Cheka/KGB) was bad enough; its institutionalization in the GULAG camps, an integral part of the Soviet economy, won the Soviet regime the grisly distinction of having killed more human beings than any previous despotism. To suggest that this monstrosity and the (sometimes not-so-glorious) democracies that finally prevailed over it were both “losers” in the Cold War demeans the sacrifices of the victors and, worse, the memories of those who perished in the camps or had bullets fired into the backs of their heads in the Lubyanka prison and the killing fields of the Katyn Forest.

It’s also important to remember who won and who lost the Cold War for the sake of the present. A common trope these days has it that America was “never so united” as during the good old Cold War years. That’s not how those of us who were denounced as warmongers remember, say, the 1980s: we remember that a lot of the people now proclaiming that “we were all Cold Warriors” were nothing of the sort. They were appeasers. And it’s no accident that these same people tend to appeasement today, in the face of a new global threat to peace and freedom.

Those who told me that I should stop agitating about religious freedom in the Soviet Union because the most important thing was to prevent nuclear winter shouldn’t be allowed the luxury of asserting their retrospective fortitude in the face of a great moral and political evil. Why? Because one way they might conceivably re-examine their mistaken notions of the present is to revisit candidly their fecklessness and misjudgments in the past.

It’s just as important to remember who won the Cold War, and how, for the sake of the future. A lot of factors converged to “make” the Revolution of 1989: western re-armament policy, Soviet economic and financial incapacity, ideological pressure on the Soviet Union and its satellites, the new communications technologies. But the key to the whole business – the key to understanding why “1989” happened when it did and how it did – is to remember that Pope John Paul II ignited a revolution of conscience in east central Europe in June 1979.

Here was a case when hard power (the deployment of Pershing II and cruise missiles in western Europe) successful-

ly worked hand-in-hand with soft power (the awakened consciences of Solidarity in Poland, Civic Forum and Public Against Violence in Czechoslovakia, Lutheran congregations in Germany, George Weigel independent Baptists in Romania, and all the rest).

That the job got done without the usual twentieth century approach to great social change – mass violence – seemed a miracle. If it was, it was a miracle of conversion, as changed consciences created a distinctive kind of resistance politics that Soviet power couldn’t handle.

“1989” was completed in 1991 by the implosion of the Soviet Union. And it seemed for a moment that a new world order was at hand, with humanity freed from the great power rivalries that had riven the planet since 1914. It wasn’t to be. Yet there are important lessons to be learned from the Cold War and the moral steadfastness that produced its remarkable end-game, whose fifteenth anniversary we now mark. Learning those lessons begins with remembering who won, who lost, how, and why.

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

Family Life

God always has a plan I remember sitting at a cafe with my cousin some years ago. She was hopeless and despairing about of her personal situation. After dating her boyfriend for seven years, becoming engaged, and after buying her wedding dress, but before the invitations had been sent out, they had broken off not just the engagement but also their relationship.

I remember feeling at a loss for words to comfort her.

I’m not sure why, perhaps because of the drinks she ordered for us, something heavy on the brandy and whipped cream and light on the coffee, but I began to tell her a story about some friends from college.

For the purposes of this story, I’ll call them Tom and Jean.

Tom and Jean began dating and it quickly turned serious and they began talking about getting married. The only problem was that Tom thought he might have a vocation to the priesthood. Tom kept going back and forth between wanting to marry Jean and feeling a pull to the priesthood. Finally Jean began to lose patience and wrote Tom a letter, basically saying, look I really love you, but you need to make a decision now.

At a total loss, Tom turned for advice to a priest friend.

Tom explained his situation to the priest, how he felt confused about making a decision whether God wanted him to get married or become a priest.

His priest friend reassured him, “Tom, God has a plan for you.”

“But what if I make the wrong decision?” asked Tom. “Then God has another plan.”

A few years later, at my cousin’s engagement party (different man) we were standing with a group people and she started talking about this great story I had told her about “God has another plan.” I was surprised - first, because I had forgotten telling her this story. But I think I was mainly surprised that this story had meant so much to someone who by her own admission would say that she did not consider herself to be very religious. The words, “God always has another plan,” must have provided her with such reassurance, that she remembered them, even years later.

I know in my own life I can think of many situations

where I desired something that was just not meant to be. Perhaps the best example is the years of sadness I felt at not being able to become a mother. But now I realize that if I had, my husband and I would not have our Lynn Smith beautiful son, who came to us through adoption.

If we open ourselves to trust in God’s will, He can do great things for us.

But perhaps even more importantly, if we take wrong turns, and make bad decisions, He will never ever give up on us.

He is always ready with “another plan.”

Lynn Smith is a parishioner at St. Monica Parish and is mother of a three year old boy.

Spirituality

Unspeakable loneliness When Kim Campbell was Prime Minister of Canada she gave a very candid interview to Maclean’s magazine within which she spoke of the ups and downs of being a public figure. You are surrounded by people, she said, but sometimes you live in “an unspeakable loneliness.”

“Unspeakable loneliness.” What is that?

There is a lot of loneliness, as we know, that can be spoken about. When you are lonely in certain ways, no matter the pain, you can still put out a hand and someone will take it, hold it, offer empathy, and the loneliness itself can lead to a deeper sense of being loved and valued.

That is often the case with the loneliness you feel when you lose a loved one in death, with the loneliness you feel when you lose a special intimacy with your children as they grow up and into their own lives and interests, with the loneliness you feel as you age and lose the taut health and attractiveness of a young body and the place that gives you in the world, and even with the seemingly inarticulate loneliness you feel in adolescence, when you are so blindly driven by the need to make contact that a certain desperate loneliness is choreographed by virtually every movement of your body and attitude.

There is a loneliness that can be spoken of because its pain is greater than its shame. It drives you to your knees, but also more deeply into humanity. Nature equips you to deal with this. This kind of loneliness hurts you but it does not damage you. It can be talked about, no small thing: Anything can be borne if it can be shared.

But there is a loneliness that cannot be shared, which is “unspeakable” because it is experienced in a way that is so private and humiliating that, were you to speak of it, you would further damage an already over-fragile sense of self

that has been made so fragile by the loneliness itself.

You experience this kind of loneliness whenever you are alone in something in a way that you cannot share with anyone else because the loneliness itself feels like a private sickness, like a thing of shame, which makes you so vulnerable that any attempt to share it with someone would only make things worse and be a further humiliation.

You experience this especially in rejection, betrayal, abuse, powerlessness, and the feelings you have when you doubt your own attractiveness, intelligence, goodness, strength, and emotional stability. Not only are you then alone and outside of something or someone you want, but you are left with a wound, a humiliation, a sense of not measuringup, an insecurity, and a shame, that is only deepened should you talk of it. There is a pain that is “unspeakable”.

You experience this, “unspeakable loneliness”, in those areas of life where shame and insecurity seep in, where your relationships become one-sided, where you get walked-on, walked-away from, get dumped, suffer abuse, get bullied on the playground, are the one who is never asked out, get chosen last, are too weak to defend yourself, where your body and feelings aren’t right, where you aren’t bright enough, aren’t attractive enough, have bad skin, varicose veins, are overweight, have an over-bearing mother you are ashamed of, where you end up being the one who has to beg, who needs to ask, who has to sit by the phone hoping it will ring, where you are the one who is pushed away because you are too obsessed, too needy, too desperate, too different, too weak, too angry, too compromised, too wrapped up in some private wound, weakness, sickness, or history to be that wonderful, normal, resilient, irresistible person everyone is looking for.

Loneliness of this kind can drive you into fantasy where, in your daydreams, you get to live out what is denied you in reality. Mostly this is harmless. Sometimes though “unspeakable loneliness” produces a Father restlessness and chaos Ron Rolheiser that is suicidally painful and acts out in very bitter and destructive ways.

Nobel Prize winning novelist, Toni Morrison says: “There is a loneliness that can be rocked. Arms crossed, knees drawn up, holding, holding on, this motion, unlike a ship’s, smooths and contains the rocker. It’s an inside kind - wrapped tight like a skin.

Then there’s a loneliness that roams. No rocking can hold it down. It is alive, on its own. A dry and spreading thing that makes the sound of one’s own feet going seem to come from a far-off place.”

There is a solution to “unspeakable loneliness”: it needs to be spoken, to be shared, to be made public. To speak the unspeakable is a risk, an anguish, an irony, but, when the unspeakable is spoken, what once felt shamefully private and sick can become a badge of courage and a distinguishing mark of healthy citizenship inside the human condition.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author.

JOHN EARLE PHOTO

Cold War winners and losers

16

Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING 2 Samuel 5:1-3, Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 A READING FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL (2 SAM 5:1-3) In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: “Here we are, your bone and your flesh. In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.’” When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the Lord, and they anointed him king of Israel.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (PS 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5) R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the Lord.”

And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity.

To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS (COL 1:12-20) Brothers and sisters: Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.

He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,

the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE (LK 23:35-43) The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Spoliation – El Greco, 1579.

Scripture FATHER STEPHEN A. BARBER

New creations in a promised land Levi is going home.

Like the Israelites in Second Samuel, Levi knows, in his bones and in his flesh, in his soul’s imagination, a home awaits him. A promised home. More about Levi in a minute.

A leader-king named David promised his people a home where there would be rejoicing for everyone, a city named Jerusalem. David’s Jerusalem still stands, often held together by a thread of hope. Rejoicing, as David had imagined for his people, hardly leads headlines on CNN’s reporting in Jerusalem. Much too much a locus of terror, tears, and bloodshed, this promised city enshrouds itself still with unnecessary despair. With the passing, this morning, of Yasser Arafat, the world wonders aloud of the destiny of David’s tribes…of Palestine’s poor.

Those who set foot within the gates of Jerusalem do so with a wary eye for the abundant evidence of stalking terror.

When you consider a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, how often, of late, have you stopped to consider joining the folks who inherit this scenario? A road map was imagined by David unencumbered by the stumbling blocks we witness daily.

I remember a Rose Garden event which promised to eliminate detours to Jerusalem’s peace. So much grace needed there, only time and wisdom will heal the contours of this road map, toward a definitive day of rejoicing. Have we abandoned the promises made us by our own navigators? I hope not.

Back to Levi.

Levi has been on an unusual journey for the past twenty-three years, following his own salvific road-map…step by step…day by day…. year by year…incarcerated for exactly half of his life…so far. Levi is not his true identity, but Levi will do. His journey brought him from Vietnam to Southern California in the mid 1970’s. Like so many of his countrymen, he was caught up in an event unimaginable in its complexity.

Orange County’s potential for Levi revealed our California-kingdom at its best and at its worst. Levi, like so many saints, for a time freely chose a detour away from a promised- land. Outside the social and legal body of boundaries we often take for granted, Levi eventually aligned his life with a cohort of local occasional terrorists. Next door to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, in the shadow of the Crystal Cathedral, Levi sought-out his new citizenship speaking the language of crime. This dialect permanently scarred his victims.

Justice found him and justice has been his companion ever since.

Justice arranged his sometime stay in solitary confinement. Levi raged against the walls of his angry past. As he describes those years of darkness, “I was lost and yet it was the very best thing that could happen to me.” The Lord walked with him. Levi often spat upon the promise of a Christ who had seemingly abandoned him. He rejected the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Christ wiped away the spittle. In time, and with some wisdom, Levi found the path which now guides him home. He reprogrammed his intentions and his sit-

uatedness. He grew to enjoy his life, his time on the Lucan way, a road known by Jesus…time to learn life’s lessons, time to pray for grace-guidance, time to prepare for his promised-land. Levi will soon journey, on parole, to Southern California. Levi is preparing himself for an essential phase of his journey, one which was promised him by his Christ. A criminal, a sinner, a prisoner, a man possessed of uncommon suitability for citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ, Levi was found suitable by the State of California to rejoin free people in time to conclude this year of grace, marked by our Solemnity.

Saint Paul, a sometime prisoner, a self-confessed sinner of extraordinary measure, moves his imagination to a vision of transcendent real estate. Paul invites his citizenry to imagine a home where forgiveness, redemption, and fullness of life are pleased to dwell. Parolees and governors alike, stand to become new creations in this promised- land.

Paul’s real estate developer is Christ.

Faith in the fullness of Christ as guardian of the land suffices as a down payment.

Saint Luke includes a remarkable event in his gospel account of Jesus’ last crowning moments of suffering. A condemned man challenges Jesus to save his own life. Luke describes the man as a common criminal. Another condemned criminal interrupts him, “Have you no fear of God…we have been condemned justly…the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes...” This exchange stirs in Jesus a final outpouring of generosity. Roused by one, last occasion to reveal His authentic identity as King of the Condemned, Jesus listens keenly.

“Don’t forget about me…Jesus…take me home with you” The only person, in all of the Gospels, to address Jesus by his name hangs on a cross. A man condemned to death names Jesus. Paradise is his reward.

Levi awaits a long bus ride to his home in Orange County. He’ll probably arrive during Advent. Waiting for him there will be his mother, Thu, eighty-two years of age, and his siblings. Levi and Thu have not visited in over ten years.

Immediately after his hearing, during which he had been found suitable for parole, Levi spoke to his family on the telephone, giving them the good news.

His mother was unable to form a single word in response to the news.

Some weeks passed. Early in October Levi telephoned home to say hello. His promised release date was still several weeks away. “Where is mom?” “Oh, she is in the kitchen.” “Could you please call her to the phone?” His mother came on the line. “Hello, mom, how are you?”

“Levi, I am well…I was in the kitchen, preparing your dinner, to welcome you home, your favorite sausage and noodles…” “But mom, I may not be home with you for several weeks…I still do not know the exact date…”

“That may be, Levi, but I do not want to run out of food for you, I must stay busy getting ready…preparing…It’s what I can do, now.”

Jesuit Father Stephen A. Barber is chaplain at San Quentin State Prison.

Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

17

Year of the Eucharist

The most perfect prayer of thanksgiving Next Thursday we pause to give thanks for the many blessings God has showered on our country. It is a holiday, but for many Catholics it is also a holy day: thousands of us will go to church to offer the most perfect prayer of thanks.

It is a prayer which has many names, but among the most ancient is “Eucharist,” a word which means “thanksgiving.”

In speaking of the Eucharist, our Holy Father reminds us that at the root of an attitude of thanksgiving is the awareness of our utter dependence on God. This may seem obvious, but such dependence does not come easily to us: we live in a society which values self-reliance, and it is easy to think that we are the architects of our destiny. Many people do not go to church because they say they don’t get anything out of it. An attitude of thanksgiving reminds us that we have been “getting” all week long – our fundamental motivation for going to church should be to give, to give thanks.

Is it necessary to go to church to give thanks? Of course not. But the Thanksgiving celebration reminds us why it is good to give thanks in church. Thanksgiving Day is a family celebration; people travel great distances and make elaborate preparations so that the family can come together. When we come to church, it is also for a family gathering. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we do so in communion with fellow believers throughout the world. And the catholicity of the Church extends not only through space, but time: we are united with all those who have gone before us, and those who will come after us, in one great prayer of thanks.

More importantly – and it is an amazing truth when we stop to consider it – we unite our gratitude to the prayer of thanksgiving offered by Christ Himself. We enter into His heart, so human and so divine, and to the loving gratefulness which wells up from there to His heavenly Father. There can be no prayer of thanksgiving greater than the Eucharist, because there is no heart more loving than the heart of Christ. What a privilege to be able to unite with His perfect prayer of thanks!

Thanksgiving is at the core of Christian life; it forms the leitmotif of St. Paul’s letters, who exhorts his disciples repeatedly to give thanks. For this reason, it may be somewhat surprising that there are only three occasions in the Gospels in which we are told explicitly that Jesus gave thanks. Of course, His entire life was an expression of grateful dependence on His Father, a constant desire to do the will of the One who had sent Him. And yet, we may learn something about thanksgiving if we consider the three occasions when Jesus gave thanks: at the multiplication of loaves and fishes; at the resurrection of Lazarus; and at the Last Supper.

These three events illuminate the Eucharist we celebrate; indeed, the Mass is in one sense nothing other than the thanks offered by Jesus at the Last Supper extended through time and space so that we can enter into it. That Supper was held in the context of the Passover, a thanksgiving meal of liberation for God’s people. But now, Jesus gives thanks for liberation from death, prefigured in the raising of Lazarus and realized in His resurrection. With those first disciples, we give thanks for all the blessings we have received, but

above all for the gift of eternal life which God has bestowed on us through the death and resurrection of His Son. That victory is inseparable from the cross, and the great challenge is to learn how to give thanks for those events which do not seem to be blessings. When Jesus fed the multitude in the wilderness, they misunderstood His mission; when He raised Lazarus, his enemies became determined to have Him killed; at the Last Supper, He gave thanks on the very night He was to be handed over to torture and death. It is fairly easy to give thanks for our victories; it is much more difficult to give thanks for our failures. And yet, St. Paul tells us that when we celebrate the Eucharist we proclaim the death of the Lord – not His miracles, not His glory, but His death – until He comes again. It is one thing to mouth platitudes about “the paschal mystery,” it is something else again to give thanks when everything is obscured by the shadow of the cross.

Here again, our national celebration provides a lesson. We associate Thanksgiving Day with the pilgrims; their harvest festival became part of our country’s heritage when George Washington called for an annual day of thanks. But it was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday, and he did so in 1863, during the darkest days of the Civil War. We want to give thanks for all God’s blessings, even those which don’t look like blessings, and it is ultimately only Christ who can teach us what to be grateful for, and how to express that gratitude.

Part of a series presented by the Archdiocese of San Francisco Liturgical Commission.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

‘Thèrése’ actress transformed by chance meeting with the Saint

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(PHOTO BY CATHY JOYCE)

Lindsay Younce stars as Therese Martin – St. Therese of Lisieux.

Lindsay Younce was interviewed by Catholic San Francisco Oct. 29.

interview, they asked about my spiritual journey. At the time I was in the midst of a conversion to the Catholic Church. I think that story touched them as well, and they wanted to hire someone who had some sort of understanding of who Christ was – what it meant to have a relationship with Christ.”

Ms. Younce won the role of Thèrése and began preparing for it by reading her writings and books about the saint. “I was able to get a pretty good grasp of who Thèrése was,” she says.

“I was really thankful – looking back now – that I didn’t know anything about her before – I had no preconceived ideas. I just started reading about her with a completely open mind.”

“My opinion and perspective on her has changed in the last four years,” Ms. Younce says. “At first I didn’t quite understand her. I thought she was sort of a crybaby. When she talked about all her suffering, I didn’t see exactly what she suffered. The last few times I’ve seen the film through screenings and premieres I have gotten more insight into that – how simple she was. For some people that simplicity translates to foolishness or ridiculousness but that childlike nature made her so cherished by God.” The gift of simplicity is “something we today do not understand and do not respect,” Ms. Younce says, and so is the commitment to the contemplative life. “Often,” she says, “we think, ‘What good does it do to cloister yourself away from the world?’ Reading about Thèrése, really helped me understand: prayer is something we underestimate and they devote their lives to it. That’s how they contribute to our society and our world.”

Ms. Younce became interested in Catholicism when she was 16. “I had always thought Catholics weren’t Christians,” she says bursting into laughter. “but I had a Catholic friend in high school who was an example of a

good Christian to me. He challenged me on my misconceptions, so I started to study to prove him wrong. It was in doing that, through scripture, that I found I had a lot of unanswered questions myself.”

Ms. Younce did the film before she became a Catholic but, she says, “I had already decided to become Catholic but I had been wooed by theology, so it was a real head thing for me. Then I started to encounter Thèrése. She understood Catholic spirituality, which made my journey come full circle. She gave me strength in my own struggles, being doubted because of my age. She gave me hope that it would work out.” The next year, Ms. Younce entered the Church and added the name Thèrése as a baptismal name.

In the four years since making “Thèrése,” Ms. Younce has gotten married and earned two degrees at George Fox University in Oregon, a bachelor of arts in writing and literature, with minor in theater, and a masters in teaching.

She has also been doing college theater and plans to continue acting.

Now she is helping to promote the movie and finding that moviegoers “seemed touched by Thèrése’s story, Catholics, non-Catholics. Therese’s story speaks for itself.

It doesn’t need a lot of fanfare.”

Ms. Younce sees more than coincidence as she looks back on the chain of events that led her to the role of Thèrése – her friendship with a Catholic student, the visit of the relics to her church, a stranger’s suggestion that she audition for a film, the fact that she would play the saint whose relics she had venerated.

Smiling as she tells the story, she says, “I thought it was weird – ‘I met her, now she’s following me around.’ But I definitely think it was a providential event.”

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They seem to be an unlikely pair: Lindsay Younce, an Evangelical Protestant teenager growing up in 20th century America, and Thèrése Martin, a young nun living a cloistered life in 19th century France. Ms. Younce sees it differently. Separated by a century and by starkly different religious heritages, they shared a struggle: to be taken seriously by adults skeptical of their youthful spiritual enthusiasm.

Were they brought together by a chance or the hand of God? Lindsay Younce prefers the second explanation: “It was providential” that she should come to play the title role in “Thèrése.” the new film on the short, hidden and astonishingly powerful life of St. Thèrése of Lisieux.

“I didn’t have a hard time understanding Thèrése,” Ms Younce said in an interview. “I was in the same place as Thèrése. I started my journey into the Church when I was 16. Nobody took me seriously, because I was young. Still, I knew that it was a calling from God. So I could understand, in that respect, Therese’s situation.”

Thèrése Martin confronted opposition when, as a teenager, she begged to enter the Carmelite monastery at Lisieux in the 1880s. After local church authorities refused her request, Thèrése traveled with her father to Rome. At a papal audience, she startled Pope Leo XIII, and the Swiss Guard, with an appeal to allow her to enter the Carmelites.

The pope declined to intervene and the guards escorted her from the audience. Soon afterward, however, Thèrése did enter the Carmel at Lisieux at the unusually young age of 15. She died there nine years later of tuberculosis. She was 24 and unknown to the world outside the cloister.

That changed quickly. Within a few years of her death, Thèrése’s writings, particularly the autobiographical, “The Story of a Soul,” began to captivate the Catholic world. In 1925, just 28 years after her death, the once unknown young nun was canonized before a huge congregation in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Her autobiography “has made Thérèse known in every part of the world, even outside the Catholic Church,” Pope John Paul II wrote in his message proclaiming her a doctor of the Church in 1998. “A century after her death, Thérèse of the Child Jesus continues to be recognized as one of the great masters of the spiritual life in our time.”

Two years later, this celebrated Catholic saint was still unknown to Lindsay Younce, an 18-year-old Protestant from Vancouver, Washington, who was exploring the Catholic faith and attending daily Mass. Then in January of 2000, Thérèse’s relics were brought to the Pacific Northwest.

“They happened to be at the church where I attended Mass. That’s the first I ever heard of Thèrése,” Ms. Younce says. “At first it seemed creepy to me because it was something that was very foreign to me, but a man in the church – Concepcion was his name – noticed I didn’t know what to do.

He told me what it meant to honor a relic and how to honor a relic. It was a very strange experience but I felt grace for the first time. I felt a veil of grace that I had never felt before.”

Soon Thérèse came into the actress’s life a second time.

“I was doing a one-woman show in a small town near my hometown,” she recalls. “It was a show I had created about women in the life of Jesus – seeing his life through their eyes.” After the show, a member of the audience told her Leonardo DeFilippis’ Luke Films would be doing a film project in the area and suggested that she contact them.

“I did and I got an audition,” Ms. Younce says. “In my

(CNS PHOTO FROM LUKE FILMS)

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November 19, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

19

News Analysis

California bishops respond to losses on state ballot Ethical arguments about embryonic stem cell research, seldom heard during the campaign, almost disappeared from view after the election. So did talk about miracle cures. Instead, business issues dominated the discussions about implementing Proposition 71. As one newspaper said, the initiative has turned California into “a gold mine in the making for biomedical businesses.”

The lure is so strong that even before the election Advanced Cell Technology Inc. began planning to expand its business from Massachusetts so it can qualify for California funding. Other firms are expected to quickly follow its lead. “From a competitive standpoint, biotech companies that have a presence here ... would be at a distinct advantage to those who don’t,” economist Ross DeVol told the Sacramento Bee. “You can’t risk not having some type of representation here.”

Another opponent of the initiative, District Attorney Kamala Harris of San Francisco, also softened her opposition to changes in Three Strikes after the defeat of The impact of Proposition 71, the embryonic stem cell Proposition 66. “There are abuses, there are excesses,” she research initiative opposed by the Catholic bishops of told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There is a will for it to California, was felt quickly and forcefully after its election be reformed. It is just a matter of to what extent.” day victory – a 21st century “gold rush” by researchers With the initiative defeated, the Governor and hoping to get a share of $3 billion in public money.

Legislature should now work “to correct the injustice in The defeat of Proposition 66, which was supported by the California’s Three Strikes Law,” Ned Dolejsi, executive bishops, produced a much less certain result. The vote left the director of the California Catholic Conference, said. “The state’s tough Three Strikes sentencing law intact but its future California Catholic Conference will continue to work with cloudy. Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who led a others to help us realize a state criminal justice system that hard-hitting and expensive campaign to defeat Proposition focuses on prevention of crime, healing of victims and 66, said he would consider some changes in Three Strikes. rehabilitation of offenders,” Mr. Dolejsi said.

Catholic leaders expressed disappointment with the vot“The strong support expressed by so many for ensurers’ decisions on the two initiatives but said they would ing that third strikes are serious and violent felonies continue to support sentencing reforms and oppose embryshould spur our leadership to responsible action. onic stem cell research. The state’s bishops also Despite the fear aroused by the claims of the restated their support of adult stem cell research.

Passage of Proposition 71 touched off what one ‘Drawing stem cells from an embryo always opponents, most Californians do want the injustices to be corrected,” he said. newspaper described as a “gold rush” by winners of Proposition 66 had targeted a provision of the ballot battle. Out-of-state firms are even plan- directly kills that human embryo, and Three Strikes under which three-time felons ning to expand to California in hopes of qualifying have been sentenced to life in prison following a for research funding. killing human life is never justified . . . ’ conviction for crimes such as stealing a slice of During the election campaign most of the oppopizza. It would have required that in order to sition to the initiative focused on its cost to taxpayOver the next 10 years Proposition 71 will provide qualify for a life sentence a “third strike” must be a ers at a time of multibillion-dollar state deficits. The bishops of California joined in that criticism, but they led off about $295 million a year for embryonic stem cell research serious or violent felony. The initiative would also have their pre-election statement by saying, “Drawing stem cells in California. The money will come from a $3 billion bond removed some crimes from the list of those that would from an embryo always directly kills that human embryo, issue that will cost taxpayers a total of $6 billion in princi- be considered a third strike.

Opponents defended Three Strikes as an effective and killing human life is never justified even when the pal and interest. The bond will be paid off from the state’s general tax revenue. weapon in the war against crime. If implemented, they said, intent is to benefit other humans.”

The aftermath of Proposition 66’s defeat was quite thousands of violent criminals would be released from Following the election, Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, president of the California Catholic Conference, different. As expected, supporters of the initiative prison.

Unfazed by the election results, two professors at restated the bishops’ opposition to research that takes the pledged to continue their fight to soften the Three lives of human embryos. Bishop Blaire pointed out that the Strikes law. Unexpectedly, Governor Schwarzenegger, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento have begun bishops also opposed Proposition 71 because it diverts tax- whose television commercials helped doom the initia- pushing for an even more dramatic change in criminal payer money away from “more promising research for tive, also talked about reforming the law. Following the sentencing. Michael Vitiello and Clark Keslo are calling other diseases.” The tax money could also be better spent election, the Governor said that he would discuss for creation of a “Blue Ribbon Commission to study on health care for the state’s seven million uninsured resi- “improvements” to the law with Attorney General Bill wholesale reform of California’s criminal sentencing Lockyer, another opponent of the initiative. “If there’s scheme.” The professors say they see this as a first step dents and other public services, he said.

“We will continue to advocate for ethical and humane something wrong with it that you know needs to be toward establishing a sentencing commission panel scientific research that may provide hope and healing,” adjusted, then we should do that,” Mr. Schwarzenegger which would decide the length of prison sentences. Other states already have such commissions, they said. said.

Bishop Blaire said.

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Advent Opportunities Nov. 28 - Dec. 2: Busy Person’s Retreat at Notre Dame Province Center, 1520 Ralston Ave., Belmont across from Ralston Hall on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University. “An opportunity for women and men to take time for reflection and prayer in the midst of busy schedules.” Opens Sunday with orientation at 4 p.m. and closes Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Donation of $75 requested.

Pre-register by Nov. 15th please. Call (650) 593-2045, ext. 27 or contact www.SistersofNotreDameCA.org.

Nov. 29: An Evening with Father Ronald Rolheiser at Vallombrosa Center 250 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park 7 – 9 p.m. “An evening of input, questions and answers with famed lecturer and author.” Father Rolheiser is also a very popular columnist with Catholic San Francisco newspaper. $15. Call (650) 325-5614.

Dec. 4: Training for New Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at Marin Catholic High School, 675 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Kentfield. Sat., 9am-3: 30pm. Please pre-register at (415) 614-5585.

Dec. 4, 5: Follow the Star crèche display at St. Bartholomew Parish, Columbia Dr. and Alameda de Las Pulgas, San Mateo from 1 – 7 p.m. both days.

More than 100 Nativity scenes from around the world to be seen. Free admission. Call (650) 347-0701.

Dec. 10, 12: The Messiah in both concert and sing-along forms. The St. Mary’s Cathedral Choir will perform the Handel classic Friday at 7 p.m. at the cathedral. All are invited to a mass singing of the “wouldn’t be Christmas without it” piece Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Raphael Church, 1104 5th Ave. in San Rafael. Sing-alongers may reserve a spot and purchase a score. Tickets $15/10 for both. Call (415) 567-2020, ext. 213 for more information.

Dec. 11: Training for New Lectors at Marin Catholic High School, 675 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Kentfield. Sat., 9am-3: 30pm. Please pre-register at (415) 614-5585.

Dec. 11: The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Saturday Morning of Prayer series continues 9:30 11:30 a.m. with “Blessed are the Lowly: People who are Poor” with prayer and reflection based on the universal message of Our Lady of Guadalupe inlight of the poor.

Presenters will be Sister. Rosa Dolores Rodriguez, Director of Casa de la Cultura, a resource center for Spanish-speaking population in Pajaro (Watsonville) and Sister. Theresa Linehan, formerly a health and diabetes care provider at Casa de la Cultura. Takes place at Notre Dame Province Center, 1520 Ralston Avenue in Belmont across from Ralston Hall on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University. Information: 650593-2045 X277 or www.SistersofNotreDameCA.org.

Food & Fun Nov. 19, 20: Marian Care Center Christmas Boutique, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Great holiday items including crafts, gift baskets, foods, many homemade by retired Sisters of Mercy. Call (650) 340-7426.

Nov. 20: Annual Crab Bash Family Dinner at Holy Name of Jesus, 39th Ave. and Lawton, SF, with dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by dancing to the music of Images featuring the popular Laura and Victor Flaviani.Tickets $30adults/$10 children 5 – 10.Tables of 8 $205. Menu includes salad, pasta, French bread marinated cracked crab plus wine, coffee and punch.

Call Jackie Alcaraz at (415) 664-8590.

Nov. 20: Annual Interfaith Community Health Fair at St. Dominic Church, Bush and Steiner St., SF, 9:30 a.m.

– 4 p.m. Morning workshops will look at the impact of “violence on personal and community health.” Afternoon is dedicated to health screenings and advice from Ask the Doctor booths, social service and health insurance professionals. Call (415) 750-5683. Sponsored by St. Mary’s Medical Center and the San Francisco Giants.

Nov. 20: Holiday Boutique benefiting Mercy High School, 3250 19th Ave., San Francisco from 10 a.m.

– 4 p.m. Arts and Crafts, raffle, silent auction and more. Refreshments and Irish Coffee, too! Call (415) 334-0525, ext. 300.

Nov. 20, 21: Noel Notions, a Christmas Bazaar benefiting Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Mill

November 19, 2004

Datebook

Young Adults Office of Young Adult Ministry: Connecting late teens, 20s and 30s, single and married to the Catholic Church. Contact Mary Jansen, 415614-5596, jansenm@sfarchdiocese.org. Check out our website www.sfyam.org for a list of events around the Bay Area.

Nov. 22: On Being Catholic, On Being a Politician, a perspective by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom at regular meeting of St. Vincent de Paul Young Adult Group.

“Just show up and be part of our community.”

Meetings take place at SVDP, Steiner and Green, SF at 7:30 p.m. Contact StVincentsYAG@aol.com.

2nd and 4th Mon.: St. Vincent de Paul Young Adult Group meets. “Just show up and be part of our community.” Meetings take place at SVDP, Steiner and Green, SF at 7:30 p.m.

Thurs. at 7:30 p.m.: St. Dominic Adult Formation Series in the parish hall 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, SF. Explore the skills needed to understand the bible and help it inform daily life. Join at any time.

Contact Scott Moyer at scott@stdominics.org.

August 11-22, 2005: World Youth Day 2005 Cologne, Germany. The Archdiocese of San Francisco invites young people between the ages of 18 and 35 on this pilgrimage to Germany for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II. If you or others who want to attend are outside of this age range, please call us for other opportunities to participate.

Please contact Office of Young Adult Ministry, Mary Jansen at jansenm@sfarchdiocese.org or call 415614-5596. More information about WYD on www.sfyam.org.

Happy to help the cause is Gabe Crotti, co-principal of Archbishop Riordan High School and one of more than 100 students, faculty, staff and parents to donate blood October 7th. The campaign brings Riordan’s total to more than 300 pints for 2004, the “most of any high school in the Bay Area,” said Patty Hoppe, school PR person. On hand to facilitate the effort were staff members from Blood Centers of the Pacific. The Senior Club of St. Philip Parish, 725 Diamond St. is sponsoring a Blood Drive and Health Fair December 5th.

Call (415) 239-1729.

Valley. Enjoy homemade baked goods and other foods; salvage shop treasures, Santa’s Toy Booth and more. Takes place in school auditorium 17 Buena Vista Ave. Call (415) 388-4332.

Nov. 20, 21: Autumn Serenade, a classical concert featuring Wilfredo Pasamba on cello. Nov. 20 at St. Philip Church, 725 Diamond St., SF. Nov. 21 at St. Augustine Church, 3700 Callan Ave., SSF. Both at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $15. Call (650) 278-0256.

Nov. 20, 21: Holiday Boutique sponsored by St. Peter Parish Women’s Guild, 700 Oddstad Blvd., Pacifica, Sat. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Sun. 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. More than 25 vendors with wide variety of handcrafted gifts. Snack bar too. Pictures with Santa: Sat. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Nov. 20, 21: Holiday Boutique benefiting Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose at motherhouse behind Old Mission San Jose, 43326 Mission Blvd. in Fremont. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. both days. Ceramics, oil paintings, hand-made Afghans and more including the Sisters’ famous olive oil and homemade fruitcakes and cookies. Call (510) 657-2468.

Nov. 21: Sing-a-long to the Sound of Music at St. Stephen Parish Donworth Hall, 473 Eucalyptus Dr. near Stonestown Join the fun! Benefits work of LCA Juniors of Catholic Charities CYO. $5 per person. Please call ahead to (415) 972-1243 or info@littlechildrensaid.com.

Dec. 1: Holiday Boutique at Kohl Mansion, 2750 Adeline Drive in Burlingame, 5 – 9 p.m. Sponsored by Alumnae Association of Mercy High School, Burlingame.

More than 55 vendors will display unique holiday treasures including jewelry, clothing and decorations. Docent tours of the famed Kohl mansion at 6:30 and 8 p.m. $7 donation appreciated. Call (650) 762-1190.

Dec.1: Catholic Networking Night for job seekers and jobholders with guest speaker Meghan Rich, a certified personal coach. Takes place at St. Dominic’s Church, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, SF from 7 – 9 p.m.

Exchange ideas and brush up on job search skills.

Admission is free. Those attending are asked to bring a snack to share. Reservations are requested. Contact Connie at daura@ccwear.com or (415) 664-0164.

Dec. 3: The Nutcracker, annual Christmas Luncheon benefiting Our Lady of Loretto Parish, Novato. Also enjoy Christmas Boutique, Ramos Fizz Bar, fashion show, bingo and more. Call (415) 898-4224.

Dec. 4, 5: A Magical Christmas, 34th annual St.

Brendan Mothers’ Club Christmas Boutique benefiting the parish school. Features wide selection of holiday gifts, decorations, gourmet baskets and ornaments. Raffle, food courts, and children’s game area too. Sat. hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sun hours are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. All in church hall, 234 Ulloa at Laguna Honda Blvd., SF. Call (415) 731-2665.

Dec. 5: Holiday Fair benefiting St. Thomas More Elementary School, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., 50 Thomas More Way at Brotherhood in SF. Arts and Crafts, children’s activities, raffle, baked goods and more.

Caroling, refreshments and Santa, too! Call Anarose at (415) 337-6713.

Dec. 11: Annual Mt. Carmel Holiday Home Tour of five beautiful homes in the Redwood City Mt. Carmel neighborhood that are splendidly decorated for the season. Refreshments, entertainment, and holiday gift boutique too. Tickets $20/$25 at door.

Benefits OLMC Elementary School. Call (650) 3663802 or Joni Reicher at (650) 568-9359.

Dec. 11: Auxiliary to the de Paul Youth Club, 50th Annual Noel Ball, Venetian Room of the Fairmont Hotel, $150.00 per person. Contact Maria Melrose 922-8432 or Louise Bea 563-1685. The Auxiliary to the de Paul Youth Club supports the de Paul Youth Club and has done so for 50 years. The Youth Club provides recreation and organized sports to the youth of the parish of St. Vincent de Paul.

Shows Through Dec. 12: Festival of New One Act Plays and Performances by Dominican University and Community Players. Call (415) 673-3131 or www.dominican.edu for curtain times and ticket information.

Through Nov. 21: Cloud 9 and Top Girls, plays

by Caryl Churchill at University of San Francisco’s Campion Hall, Gill Theater. Call (415) 422-5979 for curtain times and ticket information.

Reunions Dec. 12: Sisters of Mercy, Burlingame Region invite all members, former members, and associates of the community to events celebrating the Mercy Sisters’ 150 years in California. Contact Sally O’Connell at (650) 3407437 or soconnell@mercyburl.org.

Restaurant Directory

Consolation Ministry Groups meet at the following parishes. Please call numbers shown for more information.

San Mateo County: St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame. Call (650) 344-6884; Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame. Call Louise Nelson at (650) 343-8457 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City. Call (650) 3663802; Good Shepherd, Pacifica. Call Sister Carol Fleitz at (650) 355-2593; St. Robert, San Bruno. Call (650) 589-2800. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont. Call Ann Ponty at (650) 598-0658 or Mary Wagner at (650) 591-3850.

Marin County: St. Isabella, San Rafael. Call Pat Sack at (415) 472-5732. Our Lady of Loretto, Novato. Call Sister Jeanette at (415) 897-2171.

San Francisco: St.Gabriel. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. St. Finn Barr in English and Spanish. Call Carmen Solis at (415) 584-0823; St. Cecilia. Call Peggy Abdo at (415) 564-7882 ext. 3; Epiphany in Spanish. Call Kathryn Keenan at (415) 564-7882.

Ministry for parents who have lost a child is available from Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame. Call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Young Widow/Widower group meets at St. Gregory, San Mateo. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

Information about children’s and teen groups is available from Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

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.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Review Board . . .

Mind on the Media

■ Continued from page 3

‘What’s it all about, Alfie?’

By James 0. Clifford Sr. Want to see a great double feature?

Team the.1966 film classic “Alfie” with the recently released remake. Abortion plays a leading role in both, so when the curtain comes down you’ll feel as though you’ve been in a time tunnel.

I got itchy with anticipation when I first heard that Alfie was to live again, only this time in contemporary New York instead of 1960s swinging London. How would the new film handle the horrific abortion scene of the original? More importantly, what would reviewers say?

The films chronicle the comings and goings of an English bimbo, a male bimbo who hops like a bunny from one woman to another without forming a meaningful relationship.

Abortion stalks the original from start to finish. In the early scenes, one of Alfie’s “birds” becomes pregnant. Alfie thinks abortion is the answer while the woman wants an adoption.

The unborn baby “couldn’t be bigger than my thumb” says an incredulous Alfie when the woman insists she feels kicking.

“I’ll call you next time” is the sarcastic response of the woman, who ends up keeping the baby.

Near the end of the original Alfie, a married mother of three who fell victim to Alfie’s charms goes through with an abortion — even after the seedy abortionist warns that she and Alfie would break the law and commit “a crime against the unborn child.”

The woman, three months along, screams at Alfie not to look at his aborted son. Alfie insists. Tears run down his face when he finds what he calls “a perfectly formed being.”

“I expected it to cry out,” he later tells a pal, admitting he “murdered it.”

The new movie is not the anti-abortion statement the original was, but it certainly can be regarded as “pro-life.”

In the remake starring Jude Law, there is no early abortion versus adoption

debate nor is there a blood-chilling abortion scene near the end. However, Alfie does take one of his “glorified booty calls” to an abortion clinic. The woman enters, comes out and tells him that she feels “empty.” Later we learn that she did not have the abortion but kept the baby and married Alfie’s best friend.

If you think Alfie is shallow, he is a deep thinker compared to some of the mass media’s leading film reviewers. I expected them to have a party with the abortion issue. After all, Michael Caine, in the title role in the 1966 version, went on to play a sympathetic abortionist in “The Cider House Rules,” based on the John Irving book. If you recall, Irving made a “pro-choice” speech seen by millions when that movie was honored.

How many openings do you need for a topical review?

Yet, most critics — including Roger Ebert and the Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle — were missing in action, bypassing the comparison completely. Was this because there was so much ink given recently to “Vera Drake,” which portrayed a 1950’s abortionist in a favorable light?

The news of the new Alfie made me recall other films that showed abortion as the life-ending, act that it is.

One of my favorites was “Detective Story,” made in 1951. It starred Kirk Douglas as a police officer obsessed with pursuing an abortionist.

Julie Christie was unforgettable as “Darling,” the 1965 movie for which she won an Oscar. She plays a ruthless model who has an abortion, clearly showing she is capable of destroying and rationalizing away anything blocking her road to success.

In my opinion, the most definitive prolife movie is “Inherit the Wind,” which dealt with the famous Scopes “monkey trial” of the 1920s that pitted evolution against the Biblical account of creation. It doesn’t even mention abortion. But it has this line: “ ... an idea is like a baby. It just has to be born.”

No they don’t — not today.

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concluded that the allegation was not sustained. Of the remaining 13 priests, nine have signed a memorandum, without admitting the charge, agreeing to abide by the Charter’s restrictions. The restrictions forbid such persons from identifying themselves as priests, from wearing clerical garb, and from celebrating Mass publicly or administering the sacraments.

Five priests, who are on leave with restrictions, have asked the Holy See for a canonical trial or have been referred to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

One of Dr. Jenkins’ criticisms is that the names of priests have not been made public, arguing that their identity may cause additional victims to come forward.

However, the other IRB members, while supporting the notion of making names public, point out that there are no common standards among dioceses in the nation for doing so. IRB members worry that an allegation, in the public’s eye, becomes a guilty verdict and are concerned about presenting allegations which might vary greatly in seriousness.

Dr. Jenkins, who did not disclose that he was an active member of the East Bay Voice of the Faithful, also pushed for including a clergy abuse victim on the IRB. However, IRB members did not support Jenkins’ proposal. IRB members felt there were Archdiocesan mechanisms already in place for the voices of abuse victims to be heard and that, while an abuse victim with the requisite expertise and objectivity could possibly serve on the IRB, an abuse victim should not be chosen on that basis alone.

Head of bishops’ child protection office plans to leave in February WASHINGTON (CNS) — Kathleen McChesney, who was designated by U.S. Bishops to set up the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ office to help dioceses implement child sex abuse prevention policies, plans to resign Feb. 25 after publication of the 2004 diocesan compliance audits.

Children are safer now under the church’s policies but the bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection will continue to function, McChesney said Nov. 15 to reporters covering the bishops’ general fall meeting. McChesney, 53, became the first executive director of the office Dec. 1, 2002.

McChesney, a former FBI agent, said that as of yet she has no job plans for when she leaves her current post. She told reporters that her two-year contract called for her to set up the office, conduct a diocesan compliance audit and establish ongoing procedures to assure implementation of the bishops’ policies.

These have been accomplished, she said, noting that she is staying beyond the term of her contract to finish the 2004 audits, which will be the second round of annual audits.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

Incredibly important Pro-marriage superheroes themes appeared (middle-aged boredom, temptation, fidelity), it looked worthy of James Dobson. Yes, this is a superhero action movie about the sanctity of marriage. As Mr. Incredible’s daughter Violet (voiced by Sarah Vowell) tells her little brother, “Mom and Dad’s life could be in danger. Or worse-their marriage!”

Now that we’re in a post 11/2 universe, the themes of The Incredibles look downright prescient. Early on, there’s a knock against the notion of a right to suicide, of all things.

Mr. Incredible, a blond, hawknosed powerhouse with a chest the size of a Volkswagen, flies to catch a forlorn citizen who leapt from the top of a building. But the citizen suffered a wrenched neck in the process, and as his lawyer exclaims, “He didn’t ask to be saved, he didn’t want to be saved,” so Mr. Incredible is being slapped with a wrongful-life suit.

The idea catches on, and resentful, tort-happy rescuees file so many suits against their heroes that the good guys must go into hiding. It’s a federally funded “Superhero Relocation Program.”

Fast-forward 15 years, and Mr. Incredible/Bob Parr (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) is reviewing insurance claims in a pinched fluorescent cubicle he could wear as a suit. His wife, Elastigirl/Helen Parr (deliciously voiced by Holly Hunter) is a fulltime mom. Daughter Violet is a shy teen, the kind who wants to disappear, and does — that’s her superpower. And son Dashiell (Spencer Fox) can run so fast that — well, you’ll see. That leaves baby Jack-Jack, who “doesn’t have any powers,” they say.

By Frederica Mathewes-Green How do you make a kids’ movie that adults can stand to watch — and watch over and over again, once it comes out on video?

One approach is to load it with references to pop culture, so everyone can feel fashionably knowing. But five years later those same refs will be unfashionable, and in a couple of decades incomprehensible. Or you could go for plenty of gross stuff, bathroom jokes and double-entendres. That might amuse the less-mature segments of the grownup audience, but it wears mighty thin on repetition, and makes responsible parents uncomfortable.

Is there any solution? Well, how about an enthralling plot, compelling characters, genuine humor, and a stirring message? It’s so crazy it just might work.

That’s the strategy that Pixar Studios has followed for the last ten years. From their first feature-length animation, Toy Story (1995), through A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and last year’s blockbuster Finding Nemo, Pixar has put more effort into developing complex characters and thoughtprovoking themes than many a live-action movie.

Pixar sets the bar high, and this latest film sails over it like a speeding bullet. I went expecting to screen a kids’ movie, but gradually the fact that I was watching an animation melted away. The wall of the theater melted away. As the plot unfolded, revealing unexpected dangers and surprises, it looked worthy of James Bond. And as the pro-family

S E R V I C E

If the first point will discomfort euthanasia enthusiasts, the second will do the same for nanny-schoolers. While public schools across America are eliminating honor rolls and honors classes to spare the tender esteem of low achievers, Bob Parr gripes that “They keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity.” Young Dash wants to go out for sports, but his parents have discouraged him, because his superpowers would reveal the family’s secret. And maybe it wouldn’t be fair? “Dad says our powers make us special,” he protests to his mom. “Everyone is special, Dash,” Helen says. “Which is another way of saying no one is,” Dash mutters.

Bob is dying to get back into the superhero game, and it is a sultry invitation to defeat a rebellious robot that gets him, and eventually his whole family, into trouble.

You’ll be well rewarded to learn the rest in a theatre seat, but let me make one more point about Pixar movies overall.

Most kids’ entertainment is about kids.

Pixar movies are about adults. They show children what adults are supposed to do — to be brave and self-sacrificing, to defend children even at risk to themselves, to give

even in the face of ingratitude. This is wise because, after all, children aren’t going to remain children. Just as we encourage them daily to grow in the practical skills of adulthood, they’ll need these kind of skills too if they are going to be faithful, responsible spouses and parents.

Many kids sitting in theater seats don’t have a daddy like Nemo’s, who would go to the end of the ocean to save their lives.

They don’t have a daddy like Dash and Violet’s, who can be crushed only by the thought that he has lost them, and whose strength rebounds instantly when he learns they need his help. These kids don’t have daddy-figures like Woody and Mike and Sullivan, who love and guard the children who enter their care. They don’t have a daddy like that, but one day they may be a daddy like that, or have a clear idea of the kind of future daddy they need to marry. If this is all that Pixar has done, it has done a most eminent thing.

This review first appeared in National Review Online.

Reprinted with permission.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 19, 2004

venite adoremus

N AT I O N A L S H R I N E O F S A I N T F R A N C I S O F A S S I S I The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi, located in the heart of San Francisco’s North Beach, is a place of pilgrimage for people of faith from around the world. Other than the early Missions, it is the oldest church in the state, built originally in 1849. It is both a city and state historical landmark and was the City’s first cathedral. Since its founding, the friars and staff have envisioned a music program that would both enhance liturgies and reach out to the greater community. In the past six years, the National Shrine has successfully built and nourished a music program which now can be considered among the best in the country and a key pillar of the Shrine’s unique offering to the Catholic and non-Catholic population of the San Francisco Bay Area. Both Mass and the Divine Office are carried out with authority and dignity, establishing the Shrine as a center for the celebration of the Roman Rite. Please join us as we celebrate Advent and Christmas.

The Conventual Franciscans of California wish you a Blessed Advent and Christmas Sundays at the National Shrine 12.15 PM Solemn Mass with the Schola Cantorum 3.15 PM Solemn Vespers with Schola Cantorum 4.00 PM Free Concert SUNDAY ADVENT LECTURES

TUESDAY ADVENT LECTURES

Preparing For The Nativity Christ and the Sacraments in the Franciscan Traditions Sundays from 1.45 PM - 2.45 PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER

28

Introduction Francis, Canticles of Creatures, Selected Prayers

SUNDAY, DECEMBER

12 Saint Francis and Penance Francis, Letters to the Faithful

Telling the Story: The Sights and Sounds of Christmas Tuesdays from 7.15 PM - 9.00 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER

19 St. Francis Remembered: The Saint at Greccio Selections from the lives of Francis by Celano and Bonaventure

TUESDAY,

30 -

THE

STORY

DECEMBER 7 - THE MUSIC

TUESDAY, DECEMBER

14 - THE SIGHTS

SUNDAY, DECEMBER

5 Saint Francis and the Eucharist Francis, Admonitions UPCOMING CONCERTS & SPECIAL LITURGIES

SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER Advent Carol Service 4.00 PM Carols & Readings to prepare for Christmas The Schola Cantorum, directed by John Renke WEDNESDAY,

8 DECEMBER Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 12.15 PM Solemn Mass The Schola Cantorum SUNDAY, SUNDAY,

12 DECEMBER 19 DECEMBER Christmas in the City { two performances } 4.00 PM Annual Carol Concert The Schola Cantorum, directed by John Renke

FRIDAY,

24 DECEMBER Christmas Eve at the National Shrine 4.00 PM Festival of Lessons & Carols 11.30 PM Vigil & Blessing of the Creche 12.00 AM Midnight Mass of Christmas The Schola Cantorum, directed by John Renke

FRIDAY,

31 DECEMBER New Year’s Eve at the National Shrine 10.15 PM Organ Recital by John Renke 11.00 PM Solemn Mass 12.00 AM Blessing of the City at Midnight SATURDAY,

SATURDAY,

25 DECEMBER Solemnity of the Birth of the Lord 12.15 PM Solemn Pontifical Mass The Schola Cantorum

1 JANUARY Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 12.15 PM Solemn Mass The Schola Cantorum SUNDAY,

SUNDAY,

26 DECEMBER Solemnity of the Holy Family 4.00 PM Organ Recital by David Schofield Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, San Francisco A program of Christmas music for organ

2 JANUARY Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord 4.00 PM Epiphany Carol Service The Schola Cantorum Carols & Readings celebrate the culmination of the Christmas Season

Our mission at the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi is to welcome both pilgrims and visitors from around the world and to invite them to share in the peace of God’s kingdom. We rely on YOU, our friends and visitors, for the support that we need to continue this important ministry.

610 Vallejo Street | San Francisco, CA | 415.983.0405 Church open daily 11.00 AM - 5.00 PM