Bishops: No CCHD funds go to groups that oppose Catholic Church teaching
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(PHOTO BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
By Catholic News Service
Following a memorial Mass Nov. 16 at St. Ignatius Church, students from the University of San Francisco carry crosses to the campus in a candlelight vigil in memory of six Jesuit priests and two women slain in El Salvador’s civil war 20 years ago. (See homily page 6).
BALTIMORE – Members of the U.S. bishops’ subcommittee overseeing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and donors that “no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is eligible for funding” from their domestic anti-poverty campaign. “We pledge our ongoing efforts to ensure that all CCHD funds are used faithfully, effectively and in accord with Catholic social and moral teaching,” Bishop Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., subcommittee chairman, and the five other bishops who sit on the subcommittee said Nov. 17 in a statement to the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, joined the subcommittee in its statement. The campaign has come under attack from a coalition of Catholic groups pushing for a boycott of this year’s CCHD collection the weekend of Nov. 21-22. They claim some organizations that receive funding are not in line with Church teaching. The essential mission of CCHD is “to help the poor overcome poverty,” the bishops’ statement said. By contributing to the national collection, Catholics can respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation for every disciple of Christ to help the poor, it added. “Across our nation, CCHD is helping thousands of CCHD FUNDS, page 6
USF graduate, young veterans revitalize American Legion for post-9/11 world By Michael Vick When Army Capt. Michael Gerold returned from combat in Afghanistan in 2007, he set out on a mission of a different kind: to help his fellow veterans struggling to reconnect with the lives they left behind. Gerold turned to the American Legion, the congressionally chartered veterans’ organization founded after World War I, but found the group largely unprepared for the needs of the young vets returning from tours in the Global War on Terrorism. “When I came back the American Legion had 15,000 posts in seven countries,” said Gerold, a University of San Francisco graduate. “WWII posts, Vietnam posts, Korea posts. There wasn’t one, after six years of fighting, that was an Iraq-Afghanistan-centric post.” Gerold said many fellow vets felt uncomfortable joining posts where most members fought in conflicts of decades past and shared war stories over beer in Legion lodges. So, in true military tradition, he gathered with several compatriots and blazed a new path. On Sept. 11, 2007, American Legion Post 911 was born. Since its founding, more than 500 members have joined, and Gerold has moved from post commander to state membership director for the American Legion in California. At 40, he is the youngest person to hold the post in the country. Under his leadership team, the post went from last place to first in membership in the entire state – a leap in ranking that has never been achieved in the Legion’s 91-year history in California. Gerold said one way the post has been able to attract so many young veterans is through the use of social media like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Second Life.
An older vet looks at an American Legion Post 911’s van, emblazoned with portraits of American veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The post maintains a presence on each site, but Gerold said the tools are merely a gateway, and cannot replace face-to-face contact. “Nothing replaces nor in my opinion will ever replace a handshake, a pat on the shoulder or a warm smile,” he said.
Post members have traded drinks in smoke-filled lodges for skydiving, scuba diving, snowboarding and paintball. But Gerold said the outings are just a way to draw in members and help re-establish bonds often lost when soldiers return to civilian life. What he and fellow VETERANS POST-9/11 WORLD, page 7
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Cardinal George on ‘priests’ . 3 Bishops take action . . . . . . . . 5 Sisters mark Jubilees . . . . . . 9 Archbishop’s journal . . . . . . 12 Scripture & reflection. . . . . 14
Pope on hunger: News in brief ~ Page 4 ~ November 20, 2009
Haiti Journal ‘migration trail’ ~ Pages 10-11 ~
Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Film, books, TV ~ Page 16 ~
ONE DOLLAR
Services, Classified ads . 18-19
NEXT ISSUE DEC. 4 VOLUME 11
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