December 22, 2006

Catholic san Francisco Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

“Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

– Luke 2:10-11

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – CHRISTMAS EVE

DECEMBER 24 December 22, 2006

New Monterey bishop . . . . . . 3 Archbishop’s message . . . . . . 5

Walk for Life West Coast

Charities’ president . . . . . . . . 7

~ Page 3 ~

Commentary & scripture. 12-14

‘Feminism and Church’ . . . . . 9 Solidarity with poor . . . . . . . 11

Volunteers in U.S.

~ Page 10 ~ SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

‘Charlotte’s Web’ . . . . . . . . . 16

NEXT ISSUE JAN. 12, 2007 VOLUME 8

•

No. 38

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

On The Where You Live

by Tom Burke

Mercy Sisters on the occasion of making perpetual vows August 17, 1974. Sisters Eileen Pazmino, left, Lenore Greene, Krista Ramirez, Helen Santillan, Rosemary Sullivan, Superior General, holds symbolic silver rings, Maria Friel, Melanie O’Brien, Deborah Hull, Gloria Mary Avila. All continue today to minister in Mercy institutions.

Budding journalists Michelle Gantos, left, and Libby Brittain.

The Sisters of Mercy celebrated the 175th anniversary of the congregation’s founding at Mercy Center in Burlingame November 12th. It was the “desperate poverty and despair” of the poor in Dublin, Ireland that moved Catherine McAuley to form the order, said communications director, Liz Dossa. More than 170 people were present to help commemorate the occasion. Irish dance and a slide show telling the story of “Catherine’s faith-filled practicality and the Sisters and associates who continue in her footsteps” were highlights. The Sisters of Mercy in the Burlingame Region cover California and Arizona. There are 164 Sisters and 128 Associates in the Region ministering in teaching, pastoral care, law, spiritual direction and nursing. The Sisters sponsor Mercy Center, Mercy High

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Schools in Burlingame and San Francisco, Mercy the Pulitzer Prize of high school newspapers. This is the Retirement and Care Center in Oakland and Scripps second year the paper was nominated for the award.

Mercy Hospital in San Diego. They cosponsor Individual note went to senior, Libby Brittain, junior, Catholic Healthcare Morgan Kendall West, Mercy and sophomore, Housing and Rena Hunt. In addiEldercare Alliance. tion, The Dow Jones The Burlingame Newspaper Fund Region is part of the named Sacred Heart Institute of the Sisters journalism instructor, of Mercy of the Tracy Sena, a 2006 Americas which Teacher of the Year. includes over 4,500 The honors were members and 2,800 announced at a jourassociates who serve nalism education in North, South and conference in Central America, the Nashville on Nov. 11.

Caribbean, Guam, Congrats all around, I and the Philippines. say … No CSF This scribe, by the Congrats to the 8th grade baseball team at St. Robert Elementary December 29th or way, is a Mercy School on becoming league champions for the 3rd year in a row. January 6th. Merry A designated cheer for coaches, Joe Simpson, back left, Tony Sister hospital baby Christmas and Clifford, Walter Cuddy, Barry Timko, Rob Scarpino and team mem- Happy New Year!! . having been birthed at their Mercy bers Jacob Shiffer, middle left, Barry Timko, Ricky Rolfes, Andy . . . Remember this McAlindon, Chris Green, Ryan Simpson and Anthony Clifford, Fitzgerald facility in is an empty space kneeling left, Danny Omran, Giuseppe Scarpino, Derek Wilson, Darby, PA. I’m so without ya’!! The Danny Cuddy and Jeff Thomson. glad to have a hand in email address for promulgating the Street is good work and news of these generous and holy women burket@sfarchdiocese.org. Mailed items should be who have done so much for so many! … The sent to “Street,” One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109. Pix Broadview, student newspaper of Convent of the should be hard copy or electronic jpeg at 300 dpi.

Sacred Heart High School, has been recognized with Don’t forget to include a follow-up phone number. the Pacemaker award, an acknowledgment oft called Call me at (415) 614-5634 and I’ll walk you through it.

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December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

3

San Francisco native, Bishop Richard Garcia, named to head Monterey Diocese Sacramento Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. As a young priest, he worked in parishes Garcia, a native of San Francisco, was and, following the creation of the Diocese of named this week to succeed Bishop San Jose in 1981, he taught at the seminaries Sylvester Ryan as head of of St. Joseph and St. Patrick. the Diocese of Monterey.

He also held administrative posts and was pastor of St. The appointment by Pope Leo the Great Parish when he Benedict XVI was announced was named Auxiliary Bishop Dec. 19 in Washington, D.C. of Sacramento in 1997.

by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the For the past nine years, United States.

Bishop Garcia has served the Diocese of Sacramento in Pope Benedict had earlivarious posts including vicar er accepted the resignation general, vicar for clergy, of Bishop Ryan, 76, from vicar for Hispanic and other pastoral care of the ethnic groups, and vicar for Monterey Diocese. education and vocations.

Bishop Garcia, 59, was Bishop Ryan, a native of born in San Francisco and Bishop Richard J. Garcia attended St. Patrick and St. Joseph elementary southern California, was ordained a priest in schools. After attending St. Joseph Seminary in 1957. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Mountain View and St. Patrick Seminary in Los Angeles in 1992 and became Bishop of Menlo Park, he was ordained a priest of the Monterey in January 1992.

In a written letter of welcome, Bishop Archdiocese of San Francisco on June 15, 1973.

Ryan noted that, “Bishop Garcia’s Mexican- already, I feel it will be a wonderful place to American background has provided him serve God and all the Catholic laypeople, with deep empathy and motivation to serve clergy and religious there. I will leave with mixed emotions, because I the unique multicultural have very much enjoyed my Catholic populations that nine years in the Sacramento exist in all of our California Diocese and have made so dioceses and archdioceses. many friends. I’m so grateful Since he speaks English and to God and everyone in the Spanish fluently, he will fit diocese who has been such a well into our Anglo and big part of my life. But in Hispanic populations along this new role I hope to grow with the other cultural tradiinto what God set in motion tions and peoples who are in my life a ling time ago.” significant in both our histoBishop Garcia will be ry and our contemporary installed as Bishop of diocesan life.”

Monterey on January 30, Bishop Garcia joins Bishop Sylvester Ryan 2007 in a Mass to be held at Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino as the second Hispanic the Monterey Conference Center.

The Diocese of Monterey comprises the leader of a California diocese.

Speaking to The Catholic Herald in counties of Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Sacramento, Bishop Garcia noted, “Since I Obispo, and Santa Cruz. It has a Catholic know the Diocese of Monterey somewhat population of about 195,000 people.

Third annual ‘Walk for Life West Coast’ planned for Jan 20

By Catholic San Francisco Staff The third annual “Walk for Life West Coast” will take place in San Francisco Jan. 20, 2007. The event begins with an 11 a.m. rally at Justin Herman Plaza, on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market St, across from the Ferry Building. At 12 noon, participants will begin a walk to the Marina Green.

Dolores Meehan, one of the Walk for Life West Coast organizers, said “San Francisco Archbishop Niederauer will be joining women, men and children of all ages as they once again step out into the streets of San Francisco, proclaiming the peaceful message that ‘Abortion Hurts Women’ and

‘Women Deserve Better than Abortion.’”

Meehan added, “San Francisco is said to be the most unlikely place in the entire country to champion the ‘Culture of Life.’ And yet, this dichotomy is precisely why a new voice for life, hope and healing is being heard across the country as the Walk for Life gains more and more momentum.”

She urged people to become part of this historical movement, and “to walk for those who have no voice; walk in solidarity for those women and men who have been hurt by abortion; walk to show the world that San Francisco is indeed the city of St. Francis – a city that celebrates the choice for life.”

Archbishop Niederauer will celebrate

Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 8:00 a.m.

At the rally later in the morning, Archbishop Niederauer will be joined by other speakers including Rev. Clenard Childress, director of LEARN; Vera Lord, author of “Through the Looking Glass – The land Beyond Abortion;” Talitha Phillips of Silent No More, and Alfredo Abarca, a prolife activist. A representative from Democrats for Life also will speak at the 11 a.m. rally.

Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, will speak at the rally and participate in the walk to Marina Green.

For more information visit www.walkforlifewc.com, call (415) 586-1576 or contact the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of San Francisco at (415) 614-5533.

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

December 22, 2006

in brief

LOS ANGELES — Attendance expectations for a “Rosary at the Rose Bowl” in May won’t quite get to the 92,000-plus expected for the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl tilt between Michigan and Southern Cal. But that’s only because organizers need one of the end zones for logistics and the choir. Still, rosary organizers expect about 65,000 people to head to the venerable football stadium in Pasadena, Calif., for the three-hour event. The 65,000 figure represents 1 percent of all Catholics in Southern California. The “Rosary at the Rose Bowl” was announced in Los Angeles Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Sponsors, which include Holy Cross Family Ministries and Family Theater Productions, had been working hard well before then to reach out to Catholic groups, organizations and parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Dioceses of San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino and Fresno.

Agreement to pay $75 million in Portland sex abuse claims PORTLAND, Ore. — The Archdiocese of Portland will not need to sell off parish or school property under terms of a $75 million settlement between the archdiocese and almost 150 sex abuse claimants. The more than 100-page settlement plan was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland Dec. 18, a week after U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan stood with church officials and victims’ lawyers in a federal courthouse in Eugene to say the claims had been settled after more than three months of arduous private negotiations. Among the resolved cases is the $135 million suit that in 2004 pushed the archdiocese to become the first Catholic archdiocese or diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy. At one point last year, abuse suits against the Archdiocese of Portland added up to more than $500 million. “We do not anticipate any parish property or school property to be liquidated or contributed or collateralized to fund the joint plan,” said the judge, calling that result “the good news” of the day.

Archbishop hits immigration raids at meat plants in six states DENVER — The archbishop of Denver decried the immigration raids conducted at meatpacking plants in six states Dec. 12 by federal authorities to arrest workers in the country illegally who were suspected of participating in an identity

(CNS PHOTO/L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO)

‘Rosary at Rose Bowl’ in May aims to have 65,000 attend

Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and all Greece signs a joint declaration with Pope Benedict XVI during a meeting at the Vatican Dec. 14. The joint declaration pledged their commitment to preaching the Gospel together and working for full communion.

theft scam. “The mass arrest of unauthorized workers in Colorado and across the country this week once again puts a human face on the flaws in our immigration system, a system that needs immediate and very serious reform,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a Dec. 13 statement. The Catholic Church supports the law and respects law enforcement officers, he said. But Catholics must question why the federal action occurred so close to Christmas and on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a special day in the church, particularly for Hispanics, he said. Many of the affected workers are Hispanic. The raids were conducted at plants run by Swift & Co., a meat processor based in Greeley, Colo. Federal agents also targeted plants in Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.

Irish bishops urge government to protect women forced into sex trade DUBLIN, Ireland — The Irish Bishops’ Conference urged the government to immediately pass legislation to protect female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. In a statement released in early December, the bishops said the legislation should offer assistance to female victims and “not be used to deport them back to their countries of origin.” The bishops said, “The legislation must ensure that trafficked women are offered permits for temporary residency after they escape or are persuaded to flee from their traffickers, and this will give the women time to recover to some degree from the trauma.”

Since Ireland’s economic boom more than a decade ago, there

has been an increasing number of women working in the sex trade against their will. Ireland has not signed on to the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. Ireland is one of three countries that does not protect victims of human trafficking with residence permits.

Pope and Israeli official discuss issue of Christians in Holy Land VATICAN CITY — Meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Pope Benedict XVI raised questions regarding the situation of the dwindling Catholic population in the Holy Land, including in Bethlehem, the Vatican said. The Vatican said the pope voiced his concerns particularly in light of the approaching celebration of Christmas. The pope and prime minister met for 26 minutes Dec. 13 in a small meeting room in the back of the Vatican’s audience hall. Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh told a press conference Dec. 11 that a serious drop in Christian tourism to his town, emigration and Israel’s erection of a security fence cutting many Bethlehem residents off from jobs in nearby Jerusalem were having a disastrous impact on Bethlehem and its residents. Oded Ben-Hur, the Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, told Catholic News Service that the pope spoke about “the difficult situation of the Christian community in Bethlehem.” “The prime minister promised to do everything possible to alleviate” the community’s suffering and to ease Christians’ access to Bethlehem over the Christmas holidays, the ambassador said.

– Catholic News Service

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Catholic san Francisco Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, publisher Maurice E. Healy, associate publisher & executive editor Editorial Staff: Maurice E. Healy, editor; Evelyn Zappia, feature editor; Tom Burke, “On the Street” and Datebook

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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: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly (four times per month) September through May, except in the week following Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and twice a month in June, July and August by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, CA. Annual subscription price: $27 within California, $36 outside the state.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

Christmas Message

St Michael’s Korean Parish

‘Long awaited and unexpected’ Dear Friends in Christ, The celebration of Christmas combines the long awaited and the unexpected. Children – and the child in each grownup – look forward to the decorations, the music, the family gathering, the brightly wrapped gifts. But there is also the unexpected: what is inside that box, underneath that bow? Will the friends and relatives come home changed, with new stories to tell?

The One whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, Jesus Christ our Lord, was also long awaited and unexpected. For centuries, the prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah: Isaiah described the redeemer king; Daniel counted the time until his coming; John the Baptizer proclaimed his cousin and Lord to the world.

But Jesus was also unexpected. As people imagined him, he wasn’t supposed to be poor or humble or homeless. If he was a king, he should look like a king and act like a king!

So the innkeeper turned Mary and Joseph away. Herod hunted him down to kill him. And life in the Roman Empire went on much as usual.

Nearly twenty centuries later the Roman Empire is long gone, and we now date our calendars and tell time from the birthday of that infant who grew up to die for our sins on a cross and to be raised to the eternal life we can share. But Jesus Christ is still long awaited and unexpected. So many people long for the meaning and the love that only he can bring them. And so many of us still miss him when he

comes into our lives as he said he would, in the poor, the troubled, the strangers, the homeless, the unborn infant, the folks on the margins of our well organized lives.

This is my first Christmas as a San Francisco Catholic. It was unexpected, but it has been a gift. You are a gift from God to me. My Christmas prayer for all of us is that we will long for and find Jesus in the Eucharist, in our homes, in prayer, in our parish communities, in one another. And that we will expect and look for Christ in the least promising, least likely of our human family, where he most surely is.

May you be so blessed in the new year, that when next Christmas comes, you will have grown and changed in the life of Christ, and you will have new stories to tell of his love for you and for others through you.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

32 Broad St. San Francisco 415-333-1194 Rev. Benedict Jeongbay Pak Christmas Day Mass Schedule 8:30 a.m. (English), 10:30 a.m. (Korean) Christmas Eve Mass 8:00 p.m. (Korean) (Music Concert will begin at 6:30 p.m.)

New Year’s Masses 8:45 a.m. (English) 10:30 a.m. (Korean) Regular Sunday Mass 8:00 p.m. (Evening Mass) New Year’s Eve celebration will follow after Mass

New Year’s Day Monday, January 1, New Year’s Day 10:00 a.m

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Most Reverend George H. Niederauer Archbishop of San Francisco

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

Charitable outreach includes Christmas dinners, where ‘All are welcome’

By Catholic San Francisco Staff Christmas dinner will be served to several thousand people this year by charitable organizations in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The special Christmas meal highlights the daily efforts of St. Vincent de Paul Societies, non-profits like St. Anthony Foundation, and many parishes to help people in need. Major Christmas Day dinners events include the following: St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco A hot and delicious traditional Christmas Dinner will be served from 1 to 3 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter, 525 5th Street (at Bryant) in San Francisco. Between 500 and 900 people are expected at the open-to-all celebration. To volunteer or donate, please call Katherine McCarron at (415) 977 1270 Ext. 3003.

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County is serving its 25th annual Christmas meal for the needy at its long-established dining room at 820 B Street in San Rafael Dec.

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24, from 6 to 8 p.m., and also on Christmas Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Santa Claus joins the Christmas Day festivities. The music of carolers will enhance the Christmas Eve meal beginning as early as 7 p.m. Volunteers and donations are welcome. Call (415) 454-3303, ext. 12 for more information or to volunteer.

St. Anthony Foundation Dining Room St. Anthony Dining Room will serve its 56th annual Christmas Meal for people who are poor and homeless on Christmas Day. Hot cider and hot chocolate will be served starting at 10:30 to those who begin to line up. Christmas carolers will entertain.

Families, seniors and folks who are disabled will be served beginning at 10:30 a.m. and the general service begins at 11:30 a.m.

More than 3,000 Christmas meals will be served. Call (415) 241-2600 to volunteer.

Christmas at Padua Dining Room Padua Dining Room will serve its 33rd Christmas annual meal for the needy on Christmas Day from noon to 2:30 p.m. All are welcome. Turkey and all the trimmings will be served amid festive holiday décor.

The dining room’s annual Toy Give-Away in conjunction with Menlo Park Fire

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Department takes place on Saturday, Dec. 23 starting at 8 a.m. in the parking lot of St. Anthony of Padua Church, 3500 Middlefield, Rd. in Menlo Park where the dining room also is located. To donate, volunteer or get more information call (650) 365-9665.

Other Christmas charitable opportunities include: St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County All San Mateo County St. Vincent de Paul Society Conferences are collecting food and gifts for Christmas distribution to those in need in our community. Last Christmas, more than 8,000 people received food and 4,000 children received toys and gifts. To support these efforts please bring donations to 50 North B St. San Mateo, CA 94401 or visit our web site at svdp-sanmateoco.org.

For more information, call (650) 373-0622.

St. Anthony’s 19th Annual Curbside Donation At this annual event, St. Anthony Foundation staff members and volunteers (wearing red jackets) will be curbside at 119 Golden Gate Ave to accept donations Dec. 22-25. All donations are welcome especially socks and men’s coats, shoes, underwear, gloves, hats, raingear, blankets, sleeping bags, toys, as well as hygiene products for men and women including toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, razors and other supplies. Also accepting food items including canned soups, fruit, vegetables, whole grain cereals, pasta. Monetary donations are also welcome. Call (415) 241-2600 to volunteer or for more information. Bring items to 119 Golden Gate Ave. Dec. 22: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Dec. 23, 24 and 25: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Vallombrosa New Year’s eve retreat Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park plans a New Year’s Eve retreat led by Father Tim Meir and Jesuit Father David Robinson. Retreat begins with dinner Dec. 31 and closes after brunch Jan. 1. Call Sister Rosina Conrotto, Vallombrosa director, at (650) 325-5614 or visit www.vallombrosa.org.

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December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

7

Celia Herbert named president of Catholic Charities CYO Board of Directors Archbishop George H. Niederauer has appointed Celia Herbert to serve as president of the San Francisco Catholic Charities CYO (CCCYO) Board of Directors.

Catholic Charities CYO is the social service arm of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and is one of the largest non-profit providers of social services in the Bay Area.

Herbert assumes the presidency on Jan. 1. Clinton Reilly, the first lay Board President in CCCYO history, has served as president of the Board of Directors since 2002. He is stepping down to devote more time to his family and business.

Herbert has been a member of the Catholic Charities CYO Board of Directors since 1998, and prior to her appointment as President, most recently served as its Treasurer and Finance Chair.

Archbishop Niederauer said, “Mrs. Herbert has extensive experience in non-profit governance, and is intimately familiar with the workings of Catholic Charities CYO. We are blessed to have her leadership, and I am personally grateful that she has generously accepted this important assignment.”

A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Area’s most vulnerable. CCCYO provides services to Graduate School of Business, Herbert is a former families, children, the aging and disabled, and runs CYO Managing Director at J P Morgan where Camp and CYO Athletic programs. she oversaw the San Francisco office.

CCCYO Executive Director Brian She currently serves as a Trustee for Cahill said, “We are truly thrilled that Barclays iShares, and has previously Cecilia will be the next Board President. served on the Boards of Pacific Select Her expertise, passion and deep knowlFunds and The Montgomery Funds. edge of all of our programs are the perHerbert has also dedicated her time fect combination to lead us into our secand leadership abilities to a number of ond century of service.” other non-profit organizations, includAlong with former Archbishop ing California Pacific Medical Center, Levada, Reilly founded the Annual the Archdiocese of San Francisco Loaves & Fishes Awards Dinner and Finance Council, Schools of the Sacred created the Archbishop’s Charity Heart, Groton School and Thacher Council, both of which have raised milSchool. She resides in San Francisco lions of dollars to support CCCYO prowith her husband James Herbert and grams since 1998. their 3 children.

Cahill said, “Clint’s generosity and Celia Herbert commitment over the last ten years have As President of the Board of Directors, Herbert will oversee the $39 million organi- proved invaluable to CCCYO. I’m blessed to have zation, which supports 33 programs that help the Bay worked with such a leader.”

Reproductive health wording keeps Vatican from signing U.N. document

By Catholic News Service UNITED NATIONS — The Vatican said it could not sign the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities because of language it contains on reproductive health.

The Vatican “understands access to reproductive health as being a holistic concept that does not consider abortion or access to abortion as a dimension of those terms,” said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s nuncio to the United Nations. But, he added, “in some countries reproductive health services include abortion, thus denying the inherent right to life of every human being,” which the document affirms.

Archbishop Migliore outlined his concerns in a Dec. 13 statement.

“It is surely tragic that, wherever fetal defect is a precondition for offering or employing abortion, the same

convention created to protect persons with disabilities from all discrimination in the exercise of their rights may be used to deny the very basic right to life of disabled unborn persons,” the archbishop said.

“For this reason, and despite the many helpful articles this convention contains, the Holy See is unable to sign it,” he said.

The convention was adopted by U.N. members Dec. 13 by consensus. It aims to, among other things, guarantee rights for the world’s 650 million physically and mentally handicapped people and end discrimination against them in education, jobs and daily life.

Despite the Vatican’s problems with the document, “protecting the rights, dignity and worth of persons with disabilities remains a major concern for the Holy See,” Archbishop Migliore said. “The Holy See has consistently called for disabled individuals to be completely and

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“While there are many helpful articles in the convention, including those that address education and the very important role of the home and the family, surely the living heart of this document lies in its reaffirmation of the right to life,” Archbishop Migliore said.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

Cardinal condemns ‘revisionist history’ of Holocaust

By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore condemned “revisionist history” of the Holocaust, the systematic efforts by Nazis during World War II to do away with Jews also known as the Shoah, a Hebrew word meaning devastation or catastrophe.

The cardinal took particular exception to a Dec. 11-12 conference in Iran during which speakers “sought to diminish the scope of the Holocaust.”

Speakers at the conference in Tehran included David Duke, former U.S. leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and several authors who have been sued or arrested in Europe for denying the Nazis’ mass murder of European Jews. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has in the past denied the Holocaust ever happened.

“The Catholic bishops of the United States stand in solidarity with the universal church in condemning ‘revisionist history’ that seeks to minimize the horror of the Holocaust,” said Cardinal Keeler in a Dec. 14 statement, “We Must Remember the Shoah.”

Cardinal Keeler is episcopal moderator for CatholicJewish relations for the U.S. bishops. The statement was released in Washington.

He referred to a 2001 document of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs titled “Catholic Teaching on the Shoah.” It “stated two major reasons why grappling with the history and significance of the Shoah should be part of the central curriculum of Catholic education,” he said.

“First, the Holocaust was not a random act of mass murder but ‘a war against the Jews as the people of God, the first witness to God’s revelation and the eternal bearers of that witness through all the centuries,’” the cardinal said. “Second, future generations need to be ever vigilant so that ‘the spoiled seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism (will) never again be allowed to take root in the human heart.’”

The Vatican issued its own statement Dec. 12 on the Iranian government-sponsored conference, which was titled “Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision.”

“The past century witnessed the attempt to exterminate the Jewish people with the consequent killing of millions of Jews of all ages and social categories simply for the fact that they belonged to that people.

The Shoah (the Holocaust) was an enormous tragedy, before which one cannot remain indifferent,” the Vatican said.

“The memory of those terrible facts must remain a warning for consciences with the aim of eliminating conflicts, respecting the legitimate rights of all peoples and calling for peace and truth in justice,” the Vatican added.

“Let us take this occasion,” Cardinal Keeler said, “to renew our commitment both to remember the great irruption of evil into human history that was the Shoah and to use that memory to fight the evils that led to it.”

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Shown at the 17th annual “School of the Americas” protest at Fort Benning, GA, are participants from St. John of God Parish in San Francisco: (back row) Adrienne Plasse, Rich Lang, Sherri Maurin, Susan Fox, Mark Reedy, Norm Berryessa, (front) Becky Martinez, Danny Martinez and Judy Liteky. Other St. John of God parishioners at the protest were Dorle Gross, Linda Swan and Theresa Cameranesi. About 15,000 people demonstrated at the military base in mid November against the institute formed in 2001 to replace the School of the Americas as a training facility for military, law enforcement and civilian officials from Latin America and the Caribbean.

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December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

9

Church must show it believes women are equal, speakers say in Rome

By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — Unless the Catholic Church can show the world concrete models of male-female cooperation in positions of responsibility and decision-making, the church will continue to struggle against charges that it is chauvinistic, said Mary Ann Glendon.

The Harvard law professor and president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences said church teaching that women and men are equal, but not identical, is a healthy corrective to the feminism of the late 20th century, which, she said, promoted a “unisex society.”

Glendon and Lucetta Scaraffia, a professor at Rome’s La Sapienza University, spoke at a Dec. 15 Rome conference on “Feminism and the Catholic Church.”

Both women argued that, despite a widely held prejudice, for centuries the Catholic Church has been a key promoter of women’s dignity and equality, particularly by offering them education and through women’s religious orders, which raised up generations of strong, creative leaders.

While most people, including Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, recognize more must be done to include

Mary Ann Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard University, was named president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in 2004. She is pictured above at a Vatican conference on children earlier this year.

women in church decision-making, Glendon said, “the right things have been said at the highest levels.”

She said changes in the right direction can be seen in parishes and dioceses where “more and more priests,

inspired by recent popes and comfortable with women” are relying on their talents and working with them for the benefit of the community.

She and Scaraffia argued that in any social institution directives from the top are essential, but lasting change flows from the grass roots up.

“The problem with the church today is the lack of women in positions of responsibility at the Vatican,” Scaraffia said. “This must change and I believe it will,” she added, saying her argument “has nothing to do with the question of women priests.”

Glendon said the church “will continue to have difficulty explaining the exclusion of women from the priesthood” unless it demonstrates the seriousness of its belief that women and men are equal, but not identical, by providing examples of lay women and men and priests working together in real partnerships.

The push for women’s equality too often has led to policies that force women to be “masculine” in order to get ahead in the world or which ignore the special responsibilities of women who are mothers, Glendon said.

The more the church demonstrates its belief in women’s equality, she said, the more seriously people will take its leadership in defending the differences between men and women.

Singers and musicians from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory played to a full house for their 2006 Christmas Concert, a Festival of Light, at San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Basilica. Directing the event were Christian Bohm and Tony Gomez.

The choir of Mission Dolores under the direction of Jerry Lenk performs a Carol Service Dec. 24 at 11:30 p.m. and sings for the midnight Mass. Their voices can be heard again at the 10 a.m. Mass on Christmas morning.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

Report shows strong growth in number of volunteers in America

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien

(CNS PHOTO/MIKE CRUPI, CATHOLIC COURIER)

Although there have been “a few WASHINGTON (CNS) — They are ups and downs,” Dottie Glover said, young and old, recent college graduates both find the work satisfying, the peoand retirees, married and single. They ple they’ve met wonderful — includserve for as little as a few days or for ing the three housemates they live more than two years. They are in all 50 with in a former convent — and the U.S. states and the District of Columbia volunteer experience a rewarding one and in 108 foreign countries. Most, but that they would recommend to everynot all of them, are Catholics. one heading into retirement.

They are the more than 10,000 There have been some unforevolunteers who work full time — seen advantages as well. Two of their even if only for a short period — four children and their two grandwith the 200 organizations belonging children live nearby in New Jersey, so to the Catholic Network of Volunteer they are able to see them more freService, a clearinghouse for Catholicquently. And one surprise, according related volunteer opportunities based to Skip Glover, is “the time we have in the Washington suburb of Takoma together.”

Park, Md. “At home we have friends outside “And that doesn’t include all the and other commitments,” he said.

Registered nurse Tarry Juda, left, and volunteer Cacilda Flores help make a people volunteering locally a few “Here we do everything together. We patient comfortable at Mount Carmel House, a home for the dying in days a week, or what parishes or dioenjoy that a lot.”

Rochester, N.Y. A new study shows that volunteerism has increased ceses are doing,” noted Jim Lindsay, Dottie Glover said that seven of by 32 percent in the U.S. over the past 17 years. executive director. “The numbers the 35 volunteers placed by Mercy have gone up steadily each year.”

Volunteer Corps for the 2006-2007 The network’s 2005-2006 membership survey, released in November, confirms a trend year are over 55. But recent college graduates like Nicky Harter of Decatur, Ill., still toward increased volunteerism in the United States that was also found in a recent study make up the majority of volunteers. by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that runs the Harter, who graduated in May from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, AmeriCorps program. works at a home for those with HIV and AIDS run by AIDS Interfaith Residential Services The study, “Volunteer Growth in America: A Review of Trends Since 1974,” showed that fol- in Baltimore and lives with three other young women in a gritty Baltimore neighborhood. lowing a decline in the level of volunteerism in the United States between 1974 and 1989 the She said her Catholic faith and the volunteer experiences of many friends and relatives level has increased 32 percent in the past 17 years. The increase is being led by three groups, both contributed to her decision to give a year of volunteer service. One of six children, she the report said: teenagers 16 to 19, baby boomers between 45 and 54, and seniors over 65. hopes that she will challenge her younger siblings to think about doing the same.

“We are seeing a tidal shift in volunteering that is likely to be lifting a lot of boats in Harter, 23, chose Mercy Volunteer Corps from among dozens of other groups through the philanthropic bay,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and the online “response directory” developed by the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service Community Service. “If we do what we need to do to cultivate this shift, I think we’ll be and available at www.cnvs.org. seeing for the next generation a very strong civic participation.”

“I wanted to work in direct care with children or terminally ill adults,” she said. “You The corporation’s report found that what it called “mid-life Americans” — those ages can have a pretty big impact on a lot of people that you don’t get to know well, or you can 45 to 64 — are volunteering at the highest rate in 30 years and the number increased by have a really big impact on a few people as a daily and constant source of love and care.” nearly 30 percent between 1974 and 2005.

Another important aspect of the program to Harter was its emphasis on simple living.

Typical of that group are Skip and Dottie Glover, members of Our Lady of Peace Parish She and her housemates each get $100 a month to live on. “But it’s more of an attitude in Erie, Pa., who are four months into a yearlong commitment in Philadelphia with than a dollar amount,” she said.

Mercy Volunteer Corps. Both retired at age 62 and had “thought about volunteering for Asked if she believes her volunteer year will make a difference in the world, Harter said many years,” Dottie Glover said in a Dec. 14 telephone interview with Catholic News she feels she’s made a difference “in the lives of the people I serve” and “just by the fact Service. “It wasn’t a strange idea for us.” of giving this year of service (I) can inspire friends and family back home.”

Skip Glover now works at the Bethesda Project, which helps some 400 homeless people But that doesn’t mean the experience has been without its challenges. each day, and Dottie Glover is recreation activities coordinator at Calcutta House, a resi“I can get in a rut, and wonder, ‘Am I helping people?’” Harter said. “But then I think, dential facility for those with HIV and AIDS. even on a bad day, the way that we’re living, how can it not change the world?”

‘Baby Boomers’ are in prime time for volunteering At a White House Conference on Aging a year ago, the government-sponsored Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) unveiled a “Get Involved” campaign aimed largely at the segment of America’s population called “Baby Boomers.”

In 2006 baby boomers started turning 60 years old. The entire generation (1946-1964) is now between the ages of 42 and 60, prime ages for volunteering. Recognizing the extraordinary volunteer power among America’s 77 million baby boomers, the CNCS has developed a multiyear public service ad campaign asking baby boomers to get involved with their communities.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33.2% of all boomers (25.8 million people) volunteered for formal organizations in 2005, representing the highest rate of volunteering of any age group (and standing more than four percentage points above the national average of 29%).

Baby boomers also exhibit many characteristics that make for good volunteers.

David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, said at the White House Conference, “America’s baby boomers are an untapped resource of extraordinary proportions. They are the largest, healthiest, best-educated generation in history – and they can leave an incredible legacy through service to others.”

Boomer volunteering is highest among those who work part-time. Almost half (46.3%) of all boomers who work part-time also volunteer, compared to one-third (33.7%) of boomers who work full-time and one-quarter (24.3%) of boomers who are either unemployed or not in the labor force.

Boomers engage in very diverse volunteer activities. Direct service interests include collecting and preparing food, tutoring, teaching, and mentoring. The indirect interests that boomers typically favor include fundraising, professional and management services, and general labor.

Boomers are more apt to volunteer with more than one organization, whereas the average volunteer supports only one organization at a time. That may indicate that boomers can be attracted to volunteering in several capacities.

Strong community ties increase volunteering. Boomers who own businesses and are homeowners have higher volunteer rates – 45% and 34% respectively - than do nonbusiness owners (30%) and non-homeowners (20%). This is true even after controlling for other factors, including education levels, race and ethnicity.

Boomer women volunteer at a higher rate than boomer men. Approximately 36.9% of boomer women volunteer, compared to 29.4% of boomer men. Boomer males volunteer at a higher rate than all other male age groups.

College-educated boomers have a higher volunteer rate (49.8%) than boomers without a college education (25.7%), and non-college educated minorities volunteer at higher rates than non-college educated whites.

Baby boomers are a gregarious lot and less likely to volunteer out of a sense of duty or obligation, and more likely to volunteer as part of a social interaction.

The biggest single inducement for boomers to volunteer is being asked by someone with whom he/she has an established relationship.

Volunteering tends to peak at mid-life, around the current age of baby boomers, and then declines slightly.

The “Get Involved” campaign is being implemented in partnership with America’s nonprofit community. Many organizations have signed on as campaign supporters, including AARP, the American Red Cross, America’s Promise, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Catholic Charities, Communities in Schools, and Habitat for Humanity.

Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

11

Pope stresses solidarity with poor in talks to diplomats VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Addressing ambassadors from wealthy and developing nations, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized international solidarity with the poor and the “moral character” of all economic activity.

The pope also spoke about the AIDS crisis in Africa, pledging the church’s continuing support for those affected by the disease and endorsing a prevention policy based on sexual responsibility.

The pope spoke separately Dec. 14 to ambassadors from six countries, as he accepted their credentials. In a group talk, he said that economic and social injustices around the globe cannot help but provoke disorders and “an escalation of violence.”

In a speech to Lesotho’s new ambassador to the Vatican, the pope noted that the southern African country was facing the challenges of poverty and food shortages.

“Economic activity has a moral character, and to the degree that every person is responsible for everyone else, the wealthier nations have a duty in solidarity and justice to promote the development of all,” the pope said.

He added that in a world of globalized communications and trade this duty is “all the more evident” and the means of achieving it are more readily available.

The pope said AIDS had brought untold suffering to millions of people in Africa, including Lesotho, where approximately one in five adults is infected with HIV, the AIDS-causing virus. He said the church will continue to “do all it can to bring relief to those affected by this cruel disease, and also to their families.”

“At the same time, it is vitally important to communicate the message that fidelity within marriage and abstinence outside it are the best ways to avoid infection and to halt the spread of the virus,” he said.

The pope made a similar point speaking to the Ugandan ambassador. He said statistics confirm the practical value of a policy of AIDS prevention based on sexual responsibility and the promotion of faithfulness in marriage.

In remarks to the African diplomats and to the ambassador of Denmark, the pope emphasized that the Vatican firmly supports the Millennium Development Goals and similar efforts to distribute economic resources more fairly.

He praised Denmark for pushing for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The goals were adopted by almost 200 U.N. member nations in 2000, and seek to slash global poverty in half by 2015 by increasing richer countries’ spending on development aid for poorer nations.

At the same time, the pope urged governments that receive assistance to cultivate honesty and accountability, so that the aid ends up benefiting those who need it.

The pope returned to the theme of economic justice in remarks to the ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, a struggling republic in Central Asia. He said economic development con-

(CNS PHOTO/KAREN CALLAWAY)

By John Thavis

Assumption Sister Florence Muia displays a photo of orphans to whom she ministers in Kenya, in East Africa. She is the founder of Upendo Village, a home-based care program for HIV-positive people and their families. tains a crucial moral aspect, because it involves human dignity and the common good.

“The right to meaningful work and an acceptable standard of living, the assurance of a fair distribution of goods and wealth, and the responsible use of natural resources all depend upon a concept of growth which is not limited to merely satisfying material necessities,” he said.

In remarks to the ambassador of Mozambique, the pope said the African country today faces improved prospects after ending its long civil war. Mozambicans today enjoy political stability and significant economic progress, he said.

He also praised the Mozambican government for introducing legislation to protect the traditional family based on marriage. But he warned that tendencies were circulating throughout Africa that would empty marriage of its true meaning.

A basic element of marriage, he said, is the complementary relationship between husband and wife.

The pope also spoke to the new ambassador from Syria, encouraging the country to use its influence in the Middle East to counter terrorism and help bring an end to the “cycle of death and destruction” in the region.

Sri Lankan bishop calls Tamil refugee crisis ‘another tsunami’ COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNS) — A Sri Lankan bishop called the thousands of Tamils fleeing their homes due to the war between the Tamil rebels and government forces “another tsunami.”

“Just as what happened during the tsunami two years ago, people have fled their houses and are now living in (refugee) camps,” Bishop Joseph Swampillai of Batticaloa told Catholic News Service this week.

“We are relieved that the people are no more there (in the war-torn regions) to be killed,” he said.

The bishop said the church is supporting three new refugee camps in the Eastern province; the government opened the camps after thousands of trapped civilians fled from rebel-controlled areas to armycontrolled areas in mid-December.

Only a couple of hundred Catholics are among the thousands of refugees in those camps, the bishop said.

“It’s going to be another sad Christmas for us,” he added.

“How can you celebrate Christmas when there is so much ... suffering and problems around us?” the bishop asked.

Around 12,000 refugees, including nearly 1,000 Catholics, who fled their homes in August from the area around the

(CNS PHOTO/REUTERS)

By Anto Akkara

War-displaced Tamil refugees rest in a welfare camp in Serunuwara, Sri Lanka, Dec. 18. War between the Tamil rebels and government forces has left 80,000 people dead and more than 1 million displaced since 1983, when the rebels began demanding autonomy for areas in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. town of Mutur are still housed in schools in the town of Trincomalee.

As the fighting continued, 23 schoolchildren from Vinayagapuram on the east coast were kidnapped Dec. 18. The Tamil rebels neither confirmed nor denied involvement, but said in a statement they were investigating the incident and that if their fighters were involved they would be punished, reported the British news agency Reuters Dec. 19.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. Special

Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said Dec. 14 more than 35,000 Tamil civilians have been trapped in the ongoing war around Vaharai, an Eastern province region under the control of the Tamil rebels known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Approximately 80,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million have been displaced since 1983, when Tamil rebels demanded autonomy for areas in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Ethnic Tamils

account for 17 percent of Sri Lanka’s 19 million people, while ethnic Sinhalese account for 70 percent of the population.

Since Mahinda Rajapakse won the presidential election in November 2005 with the support of Sinhalese nationalist parties, more than 3,500 civilians, soldiers and Tamil rebels have been killed in the fighting.

The most recent round of the stop-andstart talks between the Tamil rebels and the Sri Lankan government was held in Geneva Oct. 28-29, but they collapsed without setting a date for further talks.

Dozens of civilians have been killed and many more injured in what the U.N. has described as indiscriminate shelling by both sides in recent weeks in Batticaloa.

Qintus Anthonipillai, head of the relief department of Caritas Sri Lanka, told CNS more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the undeclared war in the Tamil areas.

“There is (an) acute shortage of food and medicines in these areas,” said Anthonipillai. “We want to (get) relief to the displaced people, but our access to them is limited due to the war.”

Caroline Brennan, spokeswoman for Catholic Relief Services’ South Asia program, said the U.S. bishops’ international relief and aid agency has raised $350,000 to provide emergency relief to the war victims and those displaced by fighting.

12

Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

O Little Town of Bethlehem: A barrier wall is destroying the Palestinian Christian Community

By Elizabeth Griffin and David Snyder Just over 2,000 years ago, the Holy Family made their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem to prepare for the moment that would change history forever. If they were to take that same route today, however, a 25-foot barrier wall would greet them, armed guards, and a huge steel gate resembling those found on nuclear shelters. They could also be harassed for their identification papers, their belongings could be searched and it’s quite possible they could be turned away, never allowed to enter Bethlehem. How different the story would be.

On a recent journey to the Holy Land, we witnessed this reality and the unfathomable results it has wrought. Before this trip, the full picture of this crisis was not clear to us. What we hear and read in the U.S. media is too filtered for us to really know the whole truth or to know how much the Palestinians in Bethlehem — and throughout the West Bank and Gaza — are suffering.

Some Israel-based human rights groups agree. The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, which comprises prominent Israeli academics, attorneys, journalists and Israeli parliament members, says, “In areas where the barrier has already been built, the extensive violations of human rights of Palestinians living nearby are evident.”

In November of 2005, the birthplace of Christ was sealed off from Jerusalem — just in time for Christmas — depriving people of freedom of movement within their land, annexing entire communities and crippling the

local economy. Amid security procedures locals say are growing more and more invasive, tourists and religious pilgrims, who are the major contributors to Bethlehem’s economy, have stayed away in ever-increasing numbers. Those who do visit are encouraged by Israeli-led tour groups not to stay in Bethlehem.

Rather, they are encouraged to support the hotels on the outskirts of the city, on the other side of the barrier wall.

Faced with constant and everchanging restrictions on their movement by Israeli Defense Forces, residents of Bethlehem are finding it harder and harder to get to nearby cities like Jerusalem to work. The movement of goods and merchandise in and out of the walled-in area is completely controlled and taxed by Israeli authorities. All of these factors are contributing to an increasing unemployment rate, which the Bethlehem municipality says now stands at about 65 percent. Two millennia after the birth of Christ, this ancient, holy city is quite literally being strangled in the shadow of the barrier wall.

If it continues on its present course, the wall will eventually grow to 439 miles in length — more than four times the length of the Berlin Wall — standing as high as 26 feet in some places.

Consisting of hundreds of miles of barbed wire and thousands of tons of concrete, it is the largest infrastructure project in Israel, with a price tag to match. The United Nations estimates that the projected cost of the wall will exceed $1 billion — for which the United States is at least partially willing to pay. According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, a Palestinian nongovernmental organization that

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Please send your letters to: Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: healym@sfarchdiocese.org

(CNS PHOTO FROM REUTERS)

Guest Commentary

The Israeli security wall separates the West Bank town of Abu Dis from Jerusalem. If it continues on its present course, the wall will eventually grow to 439 miles in length — standing as high as 26 feet in some places.

tracks the barrier wall’s progress, the United States has diverted $50 million from $200 million slated for the Palestinian Authority to construct 34 high-tech, militarily secure crossings in the barrier wall.

Israel says the barrier wall will protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. Despite elaborate precautions on the part of the Israeli government, suicide bombings became a common occurrence in the restaurants and buses of Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem after the outbreak in 2000 of the second intifada. Wall proponents hope that building a physical barrier and forcing potential terrorists through designated checkpoints, like those that surround Bethlehem, will be an effective deterrent for those wishing to carry out such attacks.

Wall opponents recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, but argue that the route of the wall creates serious moral problems, and many say it masks intentions far less benign than self-protection. Critics state that the barrier wall intrudes as far as 12.5 miles into the West Bank from the Green Line — considered to be the de facto eastern border of Israel — established in 1949.

They say it encloses valuable water sources, precious farmland, and — most notably — 99 Israeli settlements on the Israeli side of the barrier.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which also closely monitors the progress of the barrier wall, more than 75 percent of the wall’s total length is being built inside the West Bank. In July 2004, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ruled that the construction of the barrier wall in Palestinian territory was “contrary to international law.” And a report released in November 2006 by Israeli advocacy group Settlement Watch states that “39 percent of the land

used by Jewish settlements in the West Bank is private Palestinian property.” According to a November 22 Washington Post article about the report, this land “includes some of the large settlement blocs inside the barrier that Israel is building to separate Israelis from the Palestinian population in the West Bank.”

Despite all of this, construction continues.

In Bethlehem, the barrier wall has created a prison-like existence for the dwindling Christian population there. The residents are beleaguered, and the merchants we spoke to feel the world does not understand their plight.

Others blame fellow Christians overseas for not doing enough on their behalf.

For us, we will continue to tell everyone we know about the present-day story of Bethlehem — a sacred place now enmeshed in concrete and barbed wire. We will continue to relay our fears about the deteriorating humanitarian situation and how it not only compromises human dignity, but also puts at risk the longterm welfare of both Palestinians and Israelis who long for a just peace. We will continue to share our stories and photographs, and we will continue to raise awareness through as many avenues as possible. And over and over again, we will be reminded of Luke 2:15, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” This Christmas season, the story of a miracle birth in a quiet manger seems impossibly distant from the little town of Bethlehem that we know today.

Elizabeth Griffin is the Director of Communications at Catholic Relief Services. She recently hosted a group of journalists on a visit to Gaza and the West Bank.

David Snyder is a freelance photojournalist who for the last nine years has documented the work of Catholic Relief Services all over the world.

December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

13

Fullness of Time

The Christmas story is true!

There is much in our families and in our world about which to be anxious, but the season of Christ’s birth puts our mind at ease and invites us to happiness. The Christmastide’s gentle warmth, even in the darkness and biting cold of winter, is unconquerable.

The carols, the decorations, the bustle of city streets are standing invitations to love one another, and in that love, to surmount difficulty.

Whether we face unwanted illness or economic hardship or simply starting again after an unrealized dream, God’s becoming man in the Christ Child renews and strengthens us.

God told Moses: “I am, who am.” The declaration is in the present tense. God is now — in the present — walking with us.

—He is in the gift given without expectation of return.

—He is the excitement of waiting upon the arrival of good friends for dinner.

—He is fidgety children anxious to return home from Mass to play.

—He is the steadfast Douglas fir standing ornamented in the hall.

—He is every aspect of the season’s joy.

Christmas also brings tranquility. It allows the silence necessary to hear God’s counsel above man’s shouting and above the inner turmoil of our minds. The Babe’s hands outstretched bid us to stop fretting over what might have been. The peace of the Christ Child is as much needed in large international matters as small personal ones.

“Then wisely [does] my soul elate/ That strife should vanish, [and] battle cease,” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his famous “Christmas Carol poem.” Never was this sentiment more yearned for than at present.

In our hearts, we now know the occupation of Iraq was a terrible mistake — not because the president was wrong to see it as an insurgent breeding ground (it is), but because one does not inspire nonviolence with violence.

With St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians clutched to his breast, our beloved Pope Benedict traveled into Muslim country for us all to reaffirm that “faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.” It is the love of the Christ Child that fortified the pope to disregard personal threat in his journey to Turkey.

It is the hope of the Christ Child that today calls upon radical Islam, and us, to forego hatred. It is the faith in the Christ Child that points toward objective truth and redeems a culture lost in relativism and material things.

The pope’s courage is a towering manifestation of love, but so is that of a mother and father who in their submission to God’s will instruct their children by the most authentic witness — their own.

God said “I am, who am,” and Christmas opens our mind to living with him in the present moment. In this way, what is intensely spiritual is made practically and individually tangible. Christ came not just to answer the restless antagonisms of competing nations, but the jealousy and self-centeredness that limits our lives and divides our families.

Three kings came from afar with precious gifts when all that was needed then, and now, is the gift of self.

So come, kneel before the Christ by showing appreciation to those close at hand Douglas W. — whether for a dinKmiec ner well made, or a home improvement well done, or simply for a hand extended or held.

What child is this? Let us hear the voice of the Christ Child in the voices of our children by learning more of their day. There is much to be shared at every age.

Yes, Christmas is a happy time because God is.

So let there be no doubt among our neighbors and our children when they search our eyes to see if we still believe. Let our actions reveal, what even a war-torn or personally troubled world must never be permitted to obscure, that we rejoice in the knowledge that the real Christmas story is true.

Douglas W. Kmiec is dean of Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

For the Journey

How can one face a life of aloneness?

We have just been in the season of joy, rejoicing in the wondrous story of the Nativity. At this time most of us think of big family gatherings, lots of fun and laughter and conversation. But this year I was reminded several times, in a way I never expected, that this is not the scene for many people.

It had to do with a new book I wrote on divorce for Catholics.

I expected I would get calls from people seeking help, perhaps on how to contact marriage tribunals or what the impact of divorce would be on their Catholic faith. Instead, the majority of responses dealt with something else very human — their pain in facing a future life “alone.”

Some of my callers who had been told their marriage had been valid and that they did not qualify for an annulment said they still were determined to remain in communion with the Catholic Church. Yet, they spoke of such incredible loneliness and a kind of fear that they would not be able to go on in that state.

While I never applied for an annulment because I never intended to remarry, I certainly could relate to their loneliness. I had — and have — been there so many times.

I tell in my book about a day I vividly remember some 20 years ago that I could label only as “a new experience.”

Coming from a large family and being the single parent of seven children, all my years until that day had been spent in the midst of people. Now I was alone when I came home from work. It was a new experience for me to be in an empty, noiseless house.

I wandered from room to room, somewhat disoriented, unable to cope with the quiet or to decide how to spend my time, even though I had much to do and there were many choices I could make. Worst of all, I suddenly visualized my coming years as an endless stream of bleak, boring, lonely days, and I was asking God, “How can I live the rest of my life alone?”

The answer, of course, is that I couldn’t. No one can.

Each of us needs relationships, commitments, interactions, friendships and closeness with others.

Without relationships, life seems sterile and we put ourselves in danger of pathological loneliness. The need for relationships is universal. The challenge of finding them is one that must be met not only by divorced persons, but also by the widowed, the young, the old and, yes, even the married.

We can see this position as a trap or as an unusual setting for a new kind of self-growth. On the positive side, we

can accept this as an opportunity to make a conscious choice to be individuals capable of standing alone and taking responsibility for our lives, while buttressed by the experiences and support of the church — and wise oth- Antoinette Bosco ers — to help us find greater meaning in our lives.

I benefited when I heard a speaker say that “uncertainty is the gate to new discoveries,” and “self-doubt is an invitation to put on a new hat.”

That is upbeat advice, good to think about as a new year begins. I hope it brings each of us a new determination to stay in charge of where we are going despite our loneliness.

Antoinette Bosco is the author of a dozen books including “One Day He Beckoned.”

Spirituality for Life

Searching for Bethlehem in the soul Nearly twenty years ago, the renowned educator, Allan Bloom, wrote a very provocative book entitled, “The Closing of the American Mind.” As its title suggests, this isn’t a book that flatters contemporary culture. Part of our mind is darkening, he suggests. Our sophistication is making us smarter but less wise. Something inside of us is narrowing. What? What’s narrowing inside of us? How are our minds closing?

His basic idea can be captured in one image, this autobiographical piece: When he was a young, undergraduate student in University, one of his professors walked into class on the first day and said this to the students: “You come here from your parochial backgrounds, full of your childish beliefs; well, I am going to bathe you in the great truths and set you free!”

Bloom wasn’t impressed. He remarks that the professor reminded him of a little boy who had solemnly informed him at age seven that there was no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. However, Bloom adds, he wasn’t bathing me in any great truths, just showing off, like the professor. But still the lesson wasn’t lost on him. From this, Bloom resolved to teach in the opposite way. He would, on the first day of his classes, walk into the lecture room, look at his

young students, and begin his class in words to this effect: “You come here with a lot of experience, already having tasted life, having been to a lot of places, and seen a lot of things, so I’m going to try to teach you how to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny again - then maybe you’ll have a chance to be happy!”

This invitation, to learn how to believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny again, is one of the many challenges of Christmas. And the challenge is not so much to come back to the innocence of a child (something we could never do, even if we tried) but to see the knowledge and maturity that we’ve gained from all our years of learning and experience not as an end but as a stage, a necessary one, on the journey to a still deeper place, wisdom, fuller maturity.

What that means is that it is not just important to learn and become sophisticated, it is equally important to eventually become post- sophisticated; it is not just important to grow in experience and shed naiveté, it is equally important to eventually find a certain “second naiveté”; and it is not just a sign of intelligence and maturity to stop believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny, it is a sign of even more intelligence and deeper maturity to start believing in them again.

An old philosophy professor of mine used to express this is a series of adages: If you ask a naive child, if she

believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny, she will say yes. If you ask bright child if she believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny, she will say no. But if you ask even a brighter child if she believes in Santa Father and the Easter Bunny, Ron Rolheiser she will say yes, for a deeper reason.

Almost everything about Christmas, from its deep real meaning to the piety and even (ironically) the commercialism we surround it with, invites us to be that third child.

But that’s not easy. To be an adult is precisely to be experienced, complex, wounded. To be an adult is to have lost one’s innocence. None of us, unless we die very young, carries the dignity of our person and of our baptism unstained through life. We fall, we compromise, we sin, we get hurt, we hurt others, and mostly we grow ever more pathologically complex, with layer after layer of emotional ROLHEISER, page 15

14

Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

NATIVITY OF THE LORD CHRISTMAS MASS AT DAWN Isaiah 62:11-12; Psalm 97:1, 6, 11-12; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:15-20 A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH IS 62:11-12 See, the Lord proclaims to the ends of the earth: say to daughter Zion, your savior comes!

Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him.

They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you shall be called “Frequented,” a city that is not forsaken.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 97:1, 6, 11-12 R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.

The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad.

The heavens proclaim his justice, and all peoples see his glory.

R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.

Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright of heart.

Be glad in the Lord, you just, and give thanks to his holy name.

R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO TITUS TI 3:4-7 Beloved:

When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE LK 2:15-20 When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

“Hodie natus est nobis Salvator mundi” Pope John Paul II delivered the following homily at midnight Mass in 1999.

For twenty centuries this joyful proclamation has burst forth from the heart of the Church. On this holy night the Angel repeats it to us … “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy... to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior” (Lk 2:10-11).

We are spiritually linked to that unique moment of history when God became man, taking to himself our flesh.

Yes, the Son of God, of one being with the Father, God from God and Light from Light, eternally begotten of the Father, became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and assumed our human nature. He was born in time. God entered history. The incomparable eternal “today” of God has become present in everyday human life.

We fall down in adoration before the Son of God. We unite ourselves in spirit to the wonder of Mary and Joseph. As we adore Christ, born in a stable, we make our own the faith, filled with astonishment, of the shepherds of that time; we feel their same amazement and their same joy.

It is difficult not to be overcome by the eloquence of this event: we remain enthralled. We are witnesses of that instant of love which unites the eternal to history: the “today” which begins the time of jubilation and hope, for “to us a son is given; and dominion is laid upon his shoulders” (Is 9:6), as we read in the text of Isaiah.

At the feet of the Word Incarnate let us place our joys and fears, our tears and hopes.

Only in Christ, the new man, is true light shed upon the mystery of human existence.

With the Apostle Paul, let us contemplate the fact that in Bethlehem “the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all” (Titus 2:11). This is the reason why on Christmas Night songs of joy ring out in every corner of the earth, in every language.

Tonight, before our eyes we see fulfilled what the Gospel proclaims: “God so

loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him... might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

His Only-begotten Son! You O Christ, are the Only-begotten Son of the living God, come among us in the stable of Bethlehem! After two thousand years, we re-live this mystery as a unique and unrepeatable event. Among all the children of men, all the children born into the world down the centuries, you alone are the Son of God: in an ineffable way, your birth has changed the course of human events.

This is the truth which on this night the Church wants to pass on to the third millennium. And may all you who will come after us accept this truth, which has totally changed history. Ever since the night of Bethlehem, humanity knows that God became Man: he became Man in order to give man a share in his divine nature.

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! … the Church greets you, the Son of God, who have come into the world to triumph over death. You have come to illuminate human life through the Gospel. … You are our hope. You alone have words of eternal life.

You who came into the world on Bethlehem night, remain with us!

You who are the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, guide us!

You who came from the Father, lead us to him in the Holy Spirit, along the path which you alone know and which you have revealed to us, that we might have life and have it in abundance.

You O Christ, the Son of the living God, be for us the Door!

Be for us the true Door, symbolized by the door which on this Night we have solemnly opened!

Be for us the Door which leads us into the mystery of the Father. Grant that no one may remain outside his embrace of mercy and peace!

“Hodie natus est nobis Salvator mundi”: it is Christ who is our only Savior!

Scripture Reflection FATHER FERGUS KERR, O.P.

Why Shepherds?

The first visitors to the infant Jesus that St Matthew mentions are ‘wise men from the East,’ the Magi, led by their astrology, and consultation via King Herod with the chief priests and scribes. No doubt Matthew assumes they came from Persia or Babylon (Iran or Iraq), perhaps priests of the Zoroastrian religion (represented today by the Parsees in India) —- perhaps signaling an ‘inter-faith’ dimension, so to speak, which culminates in the Lord Jesus’ last words —- ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matt 28:19).

According to St Luke, however, the first to visit the infant Jesus were shepherds, minding their flocks near Bethlehem. They come as a result of pure revelation. They are surrounded by the glory of the Lord, terrified, told not to be afraid, and so on, the usual circumstances for an angelic message.

‘The good news of great joy for all the people,’ they are told, is that ‘there is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’

They consulted among themselves, decided to go into the city, found Mary and Joseph and Jesus, and ‘made known what had been told them about this child’ —- at which ‘all were amazed,’ while Mary ‘treasured it all and pondered it in her heart.’

Over the centuries, obviously, Matthew’s Magi have largely eclipsed Luke’s shepherds. Indeed, if relics were the measure of fame, there is no contest. The relics of the Magi may be visited in a wonderfully embellished shrine in Cologne cathedral, where they have been since 1162 as part of the loot brought back from Italy by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

After the Reformation, the shepherds pop up in Christmas hymns, such as ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground,’ by the Irish Protestant Nahum Tate (1652-1715).

But why shepherds?

One story goes as follows. Luke, it is claimed, is the Evangelist who makes the ‘option for the poor’ his central theme.

Hitherto excluded people are now to be honored, and outsiders to be brought into the community, such as tax collectors, women, and the poor —- the first of whom, then, would be the shepherds. For, according to some Jewish writings, herdsmen were on the list of those ineligible to be witnesses in legal cases since they grazed their flocks on other people’s lands and were thus (like tax collectors) archetypal sinners.

The more classes of people the Pharisees excluded, the more inclusive Jesus looks.

Shepherds have to be brought in from the cold.

Fine —- except that, throughout the Bible, shepherds have a very positive profile.

We hear a great deal about wicked shepherds, it’s true, especially in Ezekiel, feeding themselves rather than the flock, clothing themselves with wool and slaughtering the fat sheep, and so on. But such savage cri-

tiques only confirm the importance of the shepherd imagery that applies to leaders, whose task lies in protecting and guiding their people as a shepherd tends his flock.

The Lord himself is our shepherd (Psalm 23). Among biblical ‘heroes,’ Moses, Jacob and of course David, were all literally shepherds, if not for very long, and then figuratively so, in their own histories and especially in subsequent iconography.

The shepherd symbolism is everywhere.

Why should it not seem fitting, then, to St Luke, to highlight shepherds as the ones who were divinely chosen to identify the infant Jesus, born in the city of David, near where they tended their sheep?

After all, it was to Bethlehem that the prophet Samuel came in search of a king over Israel: Jesse’s youngest son David had to be summoned, indeed, precisely from keeping the sheep (see 1 Samuel 17).

Perhaps Luke expected us to assume that, when the angel revealed the good news to them, the shepherds were out in the fields in which David once tended his family’s flock.

No great leap of imagination is required to conclude that, for Luke, shepherds were the most appropriate class of people to visit the child first —the child descended from David, who inherited the throne of David, the shepherd king, and who would, in due time, identify himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10).

In short, the revelation to the shepherds in the hills outside royal David’s city seems to embed Jesus from the beginning within this pervasive biblical shepherd imagery and symbolism.

Perhaps we need not choose between these two interpretations. The option for the poor is not incompatible with the identification of the shepherd-king —- on the contrary, ‘The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ (John 10:11).

Yet, it surely makes a difference: are the shepherds the first of the despised sinners whom Christ brings into communion with himself, or are they the heralds of the good news that the shepherd has come who will feed his flock, gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young (Isaiah 40: 13)?

The shepherds returned to their flocks ‘glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.’ What they had heard and seen was surely, in the incomparable old metaphor, the birth of the shepherd who would care for his flock throughout their lives, through the valley of the shadow of death, and even beyond, in the ‘house of the Lord for ever’ (Psalm 23).

Father Fergus Kerr is a member of the Dominican community in Edinburgh, where he teaches theology. He is the editor of New Blackfriars, the theological and philosophical review of the English Dominicans.

December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

15

Pope meets B’nai B’rith leaders, says all faiths must work for peace

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Peace will come to the Holy Land only if Jews, Christians and Muslims seek it together, Pope Benedict XVI told a delegation from B’nai B’rith International.

Representatives of the Jewish human rights organization met the pope Dec. 18 at the Vatican.

“I reiterate my unfailing hope and prayer for peace in the Holy Land,” he told them.

“Peace can only come about if it is the concern of Jews,

Rolheiser . . .

■ Continued from page 13 and intellectual complexity separating us from the little girl and little boy who once waited for Christmas in innocence and joyful anticipation. And that can be painful.

Sometimes, if we’re sensitive, the innocence of children can be like the stab of knife to the soul, making us feel as if we’ve fallen from ourselves. But, in the end, that’s an unhealthy over-idealization, the false nostalgia of J.D. Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye. We’re not meant to be children forever and innocence will always be lost.

Sometimes, more positively, we get to experience our old

TRAVEL GUIDE

Christians and Muslims alike, expressed in genuine interreligious dialogue and concrete gestures of reconciliation,” the pope said.

“All believers are challenged to show that it is not hatred and violence, but understanding and peaceful cooperation which open the door to that future of justice and peace which is God’s promise and gift,” Pope Benedict said.

The pope also told his guests he thanked God for “the remarkable transformation” in Catholic-Jewish relations since the Second Vatican Council.

The “rich heritage of faith” that Christians and Jews

share, he said, has enabled the two communities “not only to enter into dialogue, but also to be partners in working together for the good of the human family.”

“Our troubled world needs the witness of people of good will inspired by the truth, revealed on the first page of the Scriptures, that all men and women are created in the image of God and thus possess an inalienable dignity and worth,” he said.

innocence and youthful wonder vicariously in the eyes of our own children, in their joyful anticipation and gleeful celebration of Christmas. Their belief in Santa and the wonder in their eyes as they look at the baby-Jesus in the crib help us find a certain softness inside again; not at the same place where we once felt things when we were children and still believed in Santa (because that would only bring the painful stab of nostalgia) but at a new place, a place beyond where we defined ourselves as grown-up (because that’s the place where wisdom is born).

That’s also the place where Jesus is born. That’s Bethlehem in the soul.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

By David DiCerto NEW YORK (CNS) — Director Gary Winick spins magic with “Charlotte’s Web” (Paramount), a live-action adaptation of E.B. White’s beloved children’s classic and one of the best family films of the year.

Hewing fairly closely to the book, the tale centers on Wilbur (voiced by Dominic Scott Kay), a runt pig who is saved from slaughter by the love of a young girl, Fern (Dakota Fanning), a barnyard of talking animals, and the fancy web work of a sage spider, Charlotte (voiced by Julia Roberts).

While the 1973 animated version is hard to beat, Winick’s use of live action — enhanced by computer effects as in “Babe” — is charming, and the all-star voice talent, including Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Robert Redford, Reba McEntire, Cedric the Entertainer, Kathy Bates and Sam Shepard as the narrator, is obviously impressive.

Capturing the innocence of White’s fable, Winick takes care that the technowizardry never overshadows the story with its timeless themes of friendship and the bittersweet cycle of life.

To deter the farm’s owner from serving Wilbur as Christmas dinner,

Charlotte weaves adulatory adjectives over the pig’s stall, which the farmer then interprets as a miraculous sign. “Terrific” is one of them. And the same word most emphatically applies to this delightful film.

The author of Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White was a leading American essayist and literary stylist of his time. White was known for his crisp, graceful, relaxed style. “No one can write a sentence like White,” James Thurber once stated.

White’s stories ranged from satire to children’s fiction. While he often wrote from the perspective of slightly ironic onlooker, he also was a sensitive spokesman for the freedom of the individual. Other books by White include “Stuart Little” and “The Trumpet of the Swan.”

The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I — general patronage. The MPAA rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

(CNS PHOTO/PARAMOUNT)

‘Charlotte’s Web’

Dakota Fanning and a pig are pictured in a scene from the movie “Charlotte’s Web.”

Christmas programs on EWTN-TV EWTN, the 24-hour Catholic television network, will broadcast Mass at Midnight from St. Peter’s Square celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI starting at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24. The Mass of Christmas Eve from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., will air Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. Pope Benedict’s “Urbi et Orbi” message to the world will air Dec. 25 at 7 p.m., at midnight, and again Dec. 26 at 2 p.m. EWTN is carried on Comcast Digital Channel 229; RCN Channel 80; Dish Satellite Channel 261 and Direct TV Channel 422. Comcast Channel 70 in Half Moon Bay, Channel 74 southern San Mateo County.

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

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

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Pre-planning “My Funeral, My Cremation, My Way”

Evergreen Mortuary 4 5 4 5 G E A RY B O U L E VA R D a t T E N T H AV E N U E For information prearrangements, and assistance, call day or night (415) 668-0077 FD 523 www.duggansserra.com

Giving sincere and personalized care for over 50 years, and receiving the highest praise and recommendations by the families that we serve…

SULLIVAN’S

FUNERAL HOME

The Peninsula’s Local Catholic Directors… www.driscollsmortuary.com

Chapel of the Highlands

www.arthurjsullivan.com

Duggan’s Serra Catholic Family Mortuaries Duggan’s Serra Mortuary 500 Westlake Ave., Daly City FD 1098

650/756-4500

Driscoll’s Valencia St. Serra Mortuary 1465 Valencia St., SF FD 1665

415/970-8801

Sullivan’s Funeral Home & Cremation 2254 Market St., SF FD 228

415/621-4567

Funeral & Cremation Care Professionals • Licensed by the State, FD-915 ~ Paul Larson, President • Feel free to call us at (650) 588-5116 and we will send info, or go to www.chapelofthehighlands.com

• El Camino Real at Millwood Drive in Millbrae

www.duggansserra.com

The Catholic Cemeteries

◆

Archdiocese of San Francisco

www.holycrosscemeteries.com

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

TRADITION

OF

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA 94014 650-756-2060 FA I T H

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

T H RO U G H O U T O U R L I V E S .

December 22, 2006

Martin Luther King Commemorations Jan. 12. 7:30 p.m.: Celebrate Dr. King’s legacy while enjoying an evening of world class Gospel Music and entertainment at the “Love can build the Dream” Interfaith Service, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Geary and Gough Streets, San Francisco. This year’s Focus is on our Youth, and features the highly accomplished “Touch of Class Youth Choir” - Phil and Sala Burton High School - with Mr. Gregory Cole, Director of Music and Choreography. Joining them on the Program will be the very young, and very talented, E.R. Taylor Elementary School Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Myrna Bulos, their Teacher. Our Guest Speaker for the evening is the exciting and dynamic Fr. Ken Hamilton, St. Lawrence O’Toole, Oakland, who will inspire us with his message!

Admission is free and people of all faiths are welcome!

A free-will love offering will be accepted. For more information, call (415) 567-2020 x220.

January 14th, 10:30 a.m. For Sunday morning worship, join the St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish community in celebrating its 21st Annual MLK Solidarity Mass.The nationally renowned dynamic educator and speaker, Sister Eva Marie Lumas, SSS, Assistant Professor, Franciscan School of Theology, Berkeley, will bring the message, and the Inspirational Voices of St. Paul of the Shipwreck Gospel Choir will minister in song. We invite you to join us for light refreshments and fellowship in the Vestibule of the Church after Mass. People of all faiths are welcome! For more information, call (415) 468-3434.

Taize/Chanted Prayer 3rd Wed. at 7:30 p.m.: Sisters of Notre Dame Province Center, 1520 Ralston Ave, Belmont. Call (650) 593-2045 ext. 277 or visit www.SistersofNotreDameCa.org.

1st Fri. at 8 p.m.: Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan. Call (650) 340-7452; Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. Call Deacon Dominic Peloso at (650) 322-3013.

Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.: Notre Dame Des Victoires Church, 566 Bush at Stockton, SF, with Rob Grant. Call (415) 397-0113.

2nd Fri. at 8 p.m.: Our Lady of the Pillar, 400 Church St. in Half Moon Bay. Call Cheryl Fuller at (650) 726-2249.

Sundays: Gregorian Chant at the National Shrine of Saint Francis at 12:15 p.m. Mass. Visitors and locals alike are welcome to come and worship at this intimate historical treasure in the heart of North Beach 610 Vallejo Street at Columbus Avenue. For more information, please telephone (415) 983-0405.

CHRISTMAS 2006 LITURGY SCHEDULE Vigil, The Nativity of the Lord, Sunday, December 24, 2006, 3:30 p.m. Holiday Organ Recital, Dr. Christoph Tietze, Director of Music, 7:30 p.m. Caroling with the Cathedral Choirs of Boys and Girls, 8:00 p.m. – Mass, 11:30 p.m. – Caroling - Cathedral Choir, Midnight Mass, Archbishop George Niederauer, Principal Celebrant Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, 2006, Please Note: No 7:30 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day, 11:00 a.m. Mass – Cathedral Choir, Archbishop George Niederauer, Principal Celebrant, 1:00 p.m. Spanish Mass, Coro Hispano, The Cathedral will close for the day at 3:00 p.m.

The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Sunday, December 31, 2006, Regular Sunday Schedule, 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m. in English, and 1 p.m. in Spanish

2007

official directory

ORDER FORM Name City Credit Card #: Signature:

Prayer/Lectures/Trainings Jan. 6: 1st Saturday Mass at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma in All Saints Mausoleum at 11 a.m. Call (650) 756-2060.

Lights, Camera, Faith! Who says the movies have nothing to do with your faith? Join us at 7p.m at St. Pius Parish, 1100 Woodside Rd, Redwood City for a current movie and discussion focused on the 10 Commandments. For more information call (650) 365-0140 or email Kevin@pius.org. January 16: Ordinary People.

Young Adults

St. Stephen Elementary School collected more than 7,000 canned and dry food items for a recent St. Vincent de Paul Food Drive. Peter Wise of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in San Francisco said that all added up the school had provided more than 300 families with food for the holidays. Also at St. Stephen’s, its annual fashion show in November drew a sold-out house and featured celebrity models including pastor, Father Joseph Walsh and school principal, Sharon McCarthy Allen.

Chairing the event were Mary Kern, Alicia Silvia, and Julie Keith.

The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Monday, January 1, 2007, The Celebration of Eucharist at 6:45 a.m., 8 a.m., and 12:10 p.m.

The Solemnity of the Epiphany, Sunday, January 7, 2007, Regular Sunday Schedule, 3:30 p.m. - Organ Concert, 5:30 p.m. - Epiphany Lessons and Carols Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Monday, January 8, 2007, and conclusion of the Christmas Season Celebration of the Eucharist at 6:45 a.m., 8 a.m, and 12:10 p.m.

Jan. 20: Crab Feed at St. Kevin Parish in San Francisco. Tickets are $30 adults/$10 children.

Evening includes appetizers, full dinner of cracked crab. No host bar from 6 p.m. Call (415) 648-5751.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal plans events throughout the year. Information about the group’s activities can usually be found here in Datebook and always at their Web site www.sfspirit.com. First Fridays of the month are commemorated with rosary and Mass at selected churches throughout the Archdiocese usually beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, contact John Murphy at exmorte@aol.com.

Jan. 5: Charismatic First Friday Mass is at St. Anne of the Sunset, Judah & Funston, San Francisco. Rosary at 7:00 PM, Mass at 7:30 PM.

Social Justice/Family Life

in San Francisco, where we serve 1000 of the city’s most needy every day. Tours are scheduled the first Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and second Saturday at 11 a.m. every month. Phone (415) 927-1270 x3003 to reserve a spot.

Are you in a troubled marriage? Retrouvaille, a program for couples with serious marital problems, might help. For information, call Tony and Pat Fernandez at (415) 893-1005.

Information about Natural Family Planning and people in the Archdiocese offering instruction are available. Call (415) 614-5680.

Sat. at 9 a.m.: Pray the Rosary for Life at 815 Eddy St. between Franklin and Van Ness, SF. Call (415) 752-4922.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends can add to a Lifetime of Love. For more information or to register, call Michele or George Otte at (888) 568-3018.

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

Harry Schlitt presiding.

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

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

Reunions St. Stephen Parish is honoring the class of 1956, the first class to graduate from St. Stephen School.

The Parish will recognize its Golden Anniversary graduates at 4:30 p.m. Mass on Saturday, January

Interested in St. Vincent de Paul? Tour our facilities Jan. 25: The Alumnae Council of Mercy High School, San Francisco will host, “Ten Steps to Financial Fitness: What Every Woman Should Know”, a business and professional women’s mixer on Thursday, January 25, 2007, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in Rist Hall. A complimentary reception will immediately follow the presentation. Mercy High School is located at 3250 Nineteenth Avenue. For more information, please contact Nilsa Lennig at (415) 334-0525, ext. 228 or nlennig@mercyhs.org.

Office of Young Adult Ministry and Campus Ministry: Connecting late teens, 20s and 30s, single and married to the Catholic Church. Contact Mary Jansen, 415-614-5596, jansenm@sfarchdiocese.org.

Check out our Web site for a list of events around the Bay Area and download our Newsletter at www.sfyam.org. We publish a quarterly newsletter to connect college students and young adults to the Catholic Church.

World Youth Day 2008: We are offering two pilgrimages for people age 18 – 35. Pilgrimage A is 16 days and includes the “Days in the Diocese” host family stay for only $3,550. Pilgrimage B is 11 days just in Sydney for $3,300. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is working with the dioceses of Fresno, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, Monterey, Reno and Stockton. Visit www.sfyam.org.

Consolation Ministry Grief Groups meet at the following parishes.

Please call numbers shown for more information.

San Mateo County: St. Catherine of Sienna, Burlingame. Call Debbie Simmons at 650-558-1015; St. Dunstan, Millbrae. Call Barbara Cappel at 650-6927543;. Good Shepherd, Pacifica. Call Sister Carol Fleitz at 650-355-2593; Our Lady of Mercy, Daly City. Call Barbara Cantwell at 650-755-0478; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City. Call Parish at 650-366-3802; St. Robert, San Bruno. Call Sister Patricia at 650-589-2800.

Marin County: St. Anselm, San Anselmo. Call Brenda MacLean at 415-454-7650; 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. Dominic. Call Sister Anne at 415-567-7824; St. Finn Barr (Bilingual). Call Carmen Solis at 415-584-0823; St. Gabriel. Call Elaine Khalaf at 415-564-7882.

Young Widow/Widower Group: St. Gregory, San Mateo. Call Barbara Elordi at 415-614-5506.

Ministry to Parents: Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame. Call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579.

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.

ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO 2007 DELUXE DIRECTORY

of

Archdiocese San Francisco

Jan. 14: An Evening of Music and Merriment Honoring San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop John C. Wester with entertainment provided by the Stanford Harmonics and benefiting the women of Catherine’s Center, a transitional housing program.

Evening begins at 7 p.m. at Kohl Mansion on the Mercy High School campus in Burlingame. Tickets are $100 per person. Contact Heather Martin Maier at (650) 373-0637, or svdphmm@yahoo.com

17

20, 2007 and host a party in their honor in the school library. If you are a member of this class and wish to attend, please contact Nancy Crowley at (415) 664-7164 or e-mail at nancycinsf@aol.com.

Holy Angels Elementary School, class of ’57, is looking to hold a reunion in the spring. Members of the class should contact Susan Terry at (650) 348-2306 or susan5t@comcast.net or holyangelscolma.com.

Datebook

Food & Fun

St. Mary’s Cathedral

Catholic San Francisco

INCLUDES: Archdiocesan Officials and Departments, Catholic Charities, Parishes & Missions, Parish Staff Listings.

Latest E-mail Addresses, Phone Directory Yellow Pages, Mass Schedules. Schools: Elementary, High Schools, Universities & Colleges. Religious Orders, Religious Organizations, etc. . . .

Please send me

copies of the Directory Address Zip Code

Copies @ $20.00 Each: $ Includes Postage and Handling

Method of Payment: ❑ Visa ❑ Mastercard Exp. Date: ❑ Check ❑ Money Order

Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

18

Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

For Advertising Information Call: 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641 Email: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

Catholic San Francisco

classifieds Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

St. Jude Novena

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

PUBLISH A NOVENA

Cost $25

If you wish to publish a Novena in the Catholic San Francisco You may use the form below or call 415-614-5640

\

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

Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days.

Thank You St. Jude.

Never known to fail.

You may publish.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin.

Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days. O.G.

A.G.R.

Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

Name Adress Phone MC/VISA # Exp. ❑ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin ❑ Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Select One Prayer: ❑ St. Jude Novena to SH ❑ Prayer to St. Jude

Please return form with check or money order for $25 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

chimney cleaning

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin.

Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days. S.M.S.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin.

Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

J.C.

SERVICE DIRECTORY

GARAGE DOOR REPAIR

For Advertising Information Call 415-614-5642 E-mail: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

Discount

Garage Door

Repair Lic #376353

PARTY RENTALS

CHIMNEY CLEANING SPECIAL!

415- 485-4090

AUTO SALES

Construction

Wally Mooney

MORROW CONTRUCTION

Auto Broker

650-244-9255 Spells Wally 650-740-7505 Cell Phone

Specializing In Wood Fences

All Mfg. Warranty: Rebates and Special Dealer Finacing goes to Registered Owner/s

(650) 994-6892 lic. 343633

FINE SERVICE, BETTER EVENTS.

SM

TABLES SEATING LINENS SETTINGS SERVEWARE STAGING

Broken Spring/Cable?

Operator Problems?

Lifetime Warranty All New Doors/Motors

1- 800-717-PARTY

ABBEY party rents sf

If I can be of service to you, or if you know of anyone who is interested in buying or selling a home, please do not hesitate to call me . . .

COUNSELING

* Parishioner of St. Gregory’s Church, San Mateo

Do you want to be more fulfilled in love and work – but find things keep getting in the way?

Unhealed wounds can hold you back - even if they are not the “logical” cause of your problems today. You can be the person God intended.

Today

Inner Child Healing Offers a deep spiritual and psychological approach to counseling:

HOLLAND Plumbing Works San Francisco ALL PLUMBING WORK PAT HOLLAND

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• Family • Work • Depression • Anxiety

• Relationships • Addictions

Dr. Daniel J. Kugler Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Over 25 years experience

Confidential • Compassionate • Practical (415) 921-1619 1537 Franklin Street • San Francisco, CA 94109

SPIRITUAL HEALING

MIKE TEIJEIRO Realtor (650) 523-5815 m.teijeiro@remax.net

PLUMBING

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415-931-1540

REAL ESTATE

411 ALLAN STREET DALY CITY, CA 94014 FAX 415-715-6914 TEL 415-715-6900

P.O. Box 214 San Bruno, CA 94066

One Price 24 /7

CA LIC #817607

BONDED & INSURED

St. Robert’s Parish San Bruno

Painting & Remodeling

CONSTRUCTION

John Holtz Ca. Lic 391053 General Contractor Since 1980

Cahalan Construction (LIC #582766)

(650) 355-4926

Painting & Remodeling •Interiors •Exteriors •Kitchens •Baths Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting

Handyman Painting, roof repair, fence (repair/ build) demolition, carpenter, gutter (clean/ repair), skylight repairs, landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, janitorial. All purpose.

Call (650) 757-1946 Cell (415) 517-5977

●

General Repairs Clean Drains & Sewers Water Heaters ●

●

SANTI PLUMBING & HEATING

FAMILY OWNED

415-661-3707

Lic. # 663641

24 HR

BEST PLUMBING, INC. Your Payless Plumbing

LOS ALTOS VAULT & SAFE DEPOSIT CO. • • • • • • •

A private depository Safe deposit boxes of all sizes Strict and total confidentiality Secured and ample parking For your own sake we should have your business Visit our facility and judge for yourself Data bank for important & confidential records

121 First Street, Los Altos, CA 94022 Tel: 650-949-5891 • www.losaltosvault.com

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Home Care

Gydesen Const., Inc. General Contractor

LOVING CARE HOME ASSISTANCE We provide live-in & hrly home assistance.

● ●

Featuring Pressure Washing ● Repairs ● Safety Grab Bars ●

MICHAEL A. GYDESEN Lic. # 778332

Ph: 650.834.4307

(650) 355-8858

Lovingcarehomeassistance.com

Lic. # 872560

➤ Drain-Sewer Cleaning Service ➤ Water Heaters ➤ Gas Pipes ➤ Toilets ➤ Faucets ➤ Garbage Disposals ➤ Copper Repiping ➤ Sewer Replacement ➤ Video Camera & Line locate PROMPT AND UNPARALLELED SERVICE

(650) 557-1263 EMAIL:

bestplumbinginc@comcast.net Member: Better Business Bureau

Plumbing • Fire Protection • Certified Backflow

John Bianchi Phone: 415.468.1877 Fax: 415.468.1875 100 North Hill Drive, Unit 18 • Brisbane, CA 94005 Lic. No. 390254

VAULT & SAFE DEPOSIT

NOT A LICENSED CONTRACTOR

415-205-1235 Expert Plumbing Repairs

Foundations - Garage Additions Termite - Dryrot - Stucco Kitchens & Baths Office/fax: 415-386-2628 cell: 415-279-1266 Email: cairl@msn.com

NOTICE TO READERS Licensed contractors are required by law to list their license numbers in advertisments.

The law also state that contractors performing work totaling $500 or more must be statelicensed. Advertisments appearing in this newspaper without a license number indicate that the contractor is not licensed.

For more information, contact:

Contractors State License Board 800-321-2752

HANDY MAN

ONE STOP MAINTENANCE AND HANDYMAN ●

Tile ● Painting ● Carpet Bathrooms ● Kitchens ● Electrical ● Plumbing ● Fences ● Decks

●

CALL MITCH AT (650) 557-9106 ● Cell (650) 784-6544 LIC.

# 687359

December 22, 2006

Catholic San Francisco

Classifieds For Information Call: 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641 Email: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

Room For Rent Room for rent, $670/mo. including utilities, washer/dryer, Richmond district in SF, no pets.

(415) 668-2690

Voice / Piano Lessons Voice/piano lessons by former university professor.

(415) 587-8165

Piano Lessons

Caregiver F/t; P/t; On-call; 24 hr. live in. Affordable caregiver with A+ ref. 10+ yrs.

Exp. Duty Included. Lt. Housekeeping; bathing; hygiene; monitoring of meds; meal prep; personal errands. Specializing in all aspects of in-home care and support.

Call Esther: (510) 372-7237.

This is a Career Opportunity!

Commercial/Residential Licensed; bonded; insured.

New Construction/Remodeling.

All types concrete;driveway; patio; sidewalks; walkways; brick work; retaining/rock walls; flagstone; asphalt; footing; foundation; decking; roofing; all types of landscaping; new lawn; waterfalls; sprinkler systems; hauling; fences; tree service. Free estimate.

Reasonable price.

Call: (510) 672-6265 LIC #850644

– Controller Job Description –

• Generous Commissions • Minimal Travel • Excellent Benefit Package • Stong Office Support • Work in Your Community. E.O.E.

our front office. The applicant for this very important position must be able to multitask and have previous experience as a receptionist. Applicant personally performs a full range of office duties, which include but are not limited to, word processing, office supplies inventory and equipment ordering, maintaining parish census and sacramental records, and supports all staff members. The receptionist reports to the Director of Operations and must possess excellent computer and communication skills.

Serra for Priestly Vocations Please call

Please send your resume before January 14th to the following: e-mail – lori@barts.org, Fax: (650) 347-2429, Snail Mail600 Columbia Drive, San Mateo, Ca. 94402.

Archdiocese of San Francisco Fr. Tom Daly

For more information, please contact Lori at the Parish Office (650) 347-0701 Ext. 25

(415) 614-5683

Special Needs Companion Services We are looking for you.

• Honest • Generous • Compassionate • Make a Difference • Respectful

Work Full or Part-time in San Francisco – Marin County • Provide non medical elder care in the home • Generous benefit package Fax your resume to: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN 415-435-0421 Send your resume: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN Special Needs Nursing, Inc. 98 Main Street, #427 Tiburon, Ca 94920

Construction RNs and LVNs: we want you.

M & J Construction

ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO

For The Largest Publisher of Catholic Church Bulletins

PIANO LESSONS BY

CAROL FERRANDO. Conservatory training, masters degree, all levels of students.

CALL (415) 921-8337.

ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL

ADVERTISING SALES

Call 1-800-675-5051, Fax resume: 925-926-0799

Provide nursing care for children in San Francisco schools.

Full or part time.

Generous benefit package.

Send your resume to: Email: Fax: Mail:

Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN, PHN RNTiburon@msn.com 415-435-0421 Special Needs Nursing, Inc. 98 Main Street #427 Tiburon, CA 94920

CANDIDATE We are looking for a Catholic in good standing to join our staff serving the Cathedral’s community of faith.

SCOPE The Controller has the overall responsibility of the financial planning, departmental budgeting and recording for the Cathedral under the supervision of the pastor and the related finance committees, (i.e. the Regents Finance Committee and the Parish Finance Council).

Current responsibilities cover all financial processes, from data entry to reporting and planning.

KEY JOB DUTIES ● Accounts payable: processing, computer entry by dept and timely payment of bills ● Cash receipts – accurate recording and timely transfer of all funds received (includes weekly bank deposit) ● A/R tracking and billing for all departments, especially Event Center room rentals ● Bank reconciliation to General Ledger ● Monthly Balance Sheet, P/L reports to finance committees ● Sales Tax filing for Gift Shop ● Maintain ongoing tracking of restricted funds received and their usage ● Maintain overview of Capital Expenditures ● Preparation and submission of semi-monthly payroll ● Track employee sick/vacation days ● Assist in annual inventory count of Gift Shop; oversee purchasing policies ● Responsible for providing all data necessary for annual audit/review ● Prepare and submit annual reports to Archdiocese and for parish bulletin ● Asset inventory tracking and depreciation schedules ● Maintain file of office equipment contracts ● Maintain file of Bequests and estates to be received ● Heads up Annual Budget Process ● Archiving/Shredding: Archiving Financial records by Fiscal Year and disposal of past records SKILLS ● Must have great attention to detail with ability to manage and prioritize tasks ● Must be computer literate with proficiency in MS Outlook, MS Word, Excel and Quickbooks Professional or other similar software programs ● Good verbal and written communication skills ● Good organizational and filing skills ● Must be self motivated in completing tasks and be proactive in solving problems ● Able to work in open environment and interact cooperatively with other staff, possessing a positive attitude ● Experience in coordinated payroll processing preferred EXPERIENCE ● A minimum of five years accounting experience in religious or nonprofit organization is desirable ● Formal accounting at the college level

PLEASE SEND COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO: finance@stmarycathedralsf.org or mail to: Controller Position, St. Mary’s Cathedral 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Special Needs Nursing, Inc.

CLASSIFIED AD INFORMATION

Northern California's Weekly Catholic Newspaper

19

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

heaven RECEPTIONIST/DATA COORDINATOR NEEDED can’t wait St.PARISH Bartholomew Parish is in need of a full-time Receptionist for

Catholic San Francisco

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TO PLACE AN AD: By phone, call (415) 614-5642 or (415) 614-5640 or fax (415) 614-5641 or e-mail: penaj@sfarchdiocse.org; Mail or bring ads to Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109; Or by (please include credit card number & expiration date).

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20

Catholic San Francisco

December 22, 2006

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of November HOLY CROSS COLMA Alfred Weaver Adams Robyn Anne Aissa Jose Angulo Edward B. Baffico, Jr. Anna Baker Anita M. Barbitta Matthew J. Barulich, Jr. Mrs. Renee Battaion Daniel Beltran Stephen P. Bonanno Domenica “Minnie” Borg Elisa Norma Jordan Bowen Helen Patricia Brady Marie Brien Antonia L. Bruggisser Emma Bryant Margaret Mary Burns Elena Campodonico Lena L. Carolla Lena Carraro Helen Leeling Chi Mee Yuk Chow Antonina Clamucha Stephen M. Clark Alice M. Clay Terry L. Code George R. Concannon Francis P. Connich Patrick J. Cowhig Peter Cresci Rose Marie Crivello Mamie Ann Crum Nestor C. Daquigan Edythe M. Davis Alfredo F. Delemos Joseph A. Denegri Richard E. Dixon John Dixon Michael J. Dooley Elizabeth Ann Dowd Dorothy A. Dyer Mary A. Fornaciari

Evelyn Fox Andrew Freitas Concepcion B. Frutaz Madeline C. Gaggero William J. Glynn George J. Gogas Angel M. Sampayo Gomez Louise M. Gonzales Mary K. Gonzalez Thomas A. Guinasso Amparo C. Gurion Paris J. Gutierrez Sedonia T. Handy Isabel Hanrahan James F. Hanratty Esther C. Haro Gerry Hart Richard Hendrickson John Andrew Hentz Angel Hernandez Suzanne Honciano Linda A. Huddleston Vincent R. Hugli Celia C. Javier Dolores Javier Antonio Javier, Sr. Frances L. Johnson Teresa B. Keeney Edna M. Kirby Ruth Clara Kollerer Clara L. Kuntz Rev. Nicholas J. Kutulas, S.M. Haywood F. Lefler Edna Catherine Low Mary R. Luperini Eusebio Escalante Madera Fred A. Maggi John Joseph Maldonado, Sr. Erick A. Malespin Peter J. Manubay John X. Maxemin Vincent J. McGarry Armida E. McVeigh Thomas John Moher

Dione R. Montalvo Hugo R. Morales Elmo Marvin Morgan Anna Moscone Manuel M. Munoz Maria L. Nava Monica M. Neary Margaret L. Nelson Van V. Nguyen Frank A. Nieve Eduardo Norona Helen M. O’Connor John J. O’Neill James Clinton O’Rourke Juanita Omar Estanislao Orejodos Edward B. Paraventi Carmen E. Perez Elodia J. Perez Piero Perotti Anicia M. Pillazar Charles E. Poetzl David Francis Pulis Paul C. Ragghianti Edward Ramirez Frances D. Rancatore Carmel Cole Rhoades Richard F. Ristow Rinaldo F. Ritchie Rosa M. Rivera Renell Jeremiah N. Roxas Mary Ruggiero-De Renzi Juan San Mames Rudy-Raymond P. Sandico Mario C. Santos Patricia E. Schaukowitch Albert J. Schultheis Mary Ann S. Schultheis Angela R. Shea Jasmine M. Shia Paul Shinn Mary Jane Stobener Berta A. Stolle Montano Carreon Sunga

Moises A. Ticas Isam B. Totah Eugene “Gene” Udovich Vanna M. Valentini Norma T. Vattuone Mario A. Vella Bertha C. Villa Barbara Ann Washington

HOLY CROSS MENLO PARK Remedios M. Candelaria Alice L. Connolly Loris (Larry) Ferrari Wallace Joseph Garcia Helena Patricia Maholtz Charlotte L. Nasr Thomas Louis Tasso, Sr.

MT. OLIVET SAN RAFAEL John L. Bodeen Virignia G. Adabody Fred C. Ashoff Linda R. Bartholow Rose M. Cunha Dominic D. Gallagher William R. Kane Dale W. Kelly Charlotte L. Nasr Sheila T. O’Sullivan Clementina C. O’Toole Robert A. Paoli Evelyn R. Peroni Claudine “Cookie” Woeber

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY, COLMA 1st Saturday Mass – Saturday, January 6, 2007 11 a.m. – All Saints Mausoleum Chapel Rev. Thomas L. Seagrave, Celebrant Pastor, Saint John of God Parish

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

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

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

A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.