December 3, 2010

Hold firm to shared apostolic faith, pope says in unity plea

Catholic san Francisco

By Cindy Wooden

(PHOTO BY ARNE FOLKEDAL/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Archbishop George Niederauer confirms Ryan McGrath during confirmation rites for 35 eighth grade students at a special Mass at St. Brendan Church in San Francisco Nov. 20. Sponsoring Ryan was his uncle, retired Marine Sgt. Bobby Gomez. See more photos from the Mass at catholic-sf.org.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – To promote Christian unity, Catholics and Orthodox must hold firm to the faith handed down by the apostles and witness together to the Gospel as the good news humanity is seeking, Pope Benedict XVI told Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

“By generously offering their lives in sacrifice for the Lord and for their brethren, the apostles proved the credibility of the good news that they proclaimed to the ends of the known world,” the pope said in a written message delivered Nov. 30 to the patriarch in Istanbul.

The pope’s message was carried to Patriarch Bartholomew by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who led a Vatican delegation to a celebration of the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, the patriarchate’s patron saint.

St. Andrew, the first disciple, is celebrated as patron saint by the patriarchate and many other churches in both the East and Western world. To mark the occasion each year, the Vatican sends a delegation to celebrate with Patriarch Bartholomew at the headquarters of the Orthodox Church in Fanar, Istanbul, which the pope himself visited in 2006.

Archbishop George Niederauer and San Francisco Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Gerasimos were in Istanbul for the feast day, as part of a 12-day trip to Rome, Athens and Istanbul to foster ecumenical relations. The archbishop and the metropolitan and the ecumenical delegation they were leading attended the Divine Liturgy in honor of St. Andrew at St. George Cathedral. The trip was to include a visit with Patriarch Bartholomew and a stop at the Vatican for an audience with the pope.

The pope said marking an apostle’s feast day should be POPE’S UNITY PLEA, page 4

Young sisters reinvigorate campus ministry

Pope’s remarks in book open new chapter in condom debate

By Valerie Schmalz It’s easy to get lost among the 30,000 students at San Francisco State University.

But a small group of Catholics, led by an innovative, relatively new order of young Catholic nuns, is raising the profile of Catholic campus ministry – setting up tables in the center of campus each week, chalking on the sidewalks and pathways, and holding weekly dinners and on-campus Bible classes with pizza – known as “Scripture Bites.”

“We’re small but we’re growing,” said SF State sophomore Katie Ortega, who moved from the San Fernando Valley, and is active in SF State’s Newman Center, under the guidance of St. Thomas More Campus Ministry administrator Msgr. Labib Kobti.

Students go on hikes, bowl, play soccer and just hang out with each other.

Monthly Masses in the Cesar Chavez Student Center often draw hundreds of students happy to have an opportunity to attend Mass on campus. The Catholic student group also volunteers with the Missionaries of Charity at their soup kitchen and their AIDS hospice. Each year the Newman Center organizes a Peace Day, with each participant singing a song, reading a poem or otherwise sharing their ideas of peace in a lunch time event that attracts students between classes.

“Honestly I went for the pizza first – the free food on Thursdays,” said senior Kyle Schlehner. “They really opened my heart and mind to God and what he has to teach. That is when I became more involved in my faith.”

By John Thavis VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a new book, Pope Benedict XVI said the use of condoms may be a sign of moral responsibility in some specific situations when the intention is to reduce the risk of AIDS. The pope addressed the issue in the book-length interview, “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times,” which was released Nov. 23. The Vatican newspaper published excerpts from the book Nov. 20, including the comments on condoms.

In the book, the pope repeated what he said during a trip to Africa last year, that “we cannot solve the problem (of AIDS) by distributing condoms.”

Focusing exclusively on condoms damages human sexuality, making it “banal” and turning it into a kind of “drug,” he said.

But the pope went on to say that in particular cases – he mentioned prostitutes – condom use may be justified as a first step toward taking moral responsibility for one’s actions.

Here is the key passage as translated in the English edition of the book. The pope was asked whether it POPE’S REMARKS IN BOOK, page 7

Sisters of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity Msgr. Kobti is enthusiastic about the women religious of Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. Its young, often pants-clad novices and women religious have invigorated SF State’s campus ministry, he says. They are also a “great, great help” at St. Thomas More Parish where the 8 p.m. Sunday Mass attracts many students.

“It’s a really inclusive group. Everyone feels welcome,” said Sister Sara Postlethwaite, who “tables,” setting up tables in the SF State quad and handing out flyers once or twice a week with the students. “Everyone looks out for the other one.”

The Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity is a contemplative-active community. Their charism is prayer and ministry of the Word, so they spend time in community prayer, including the rosary and prayerful meditation on Scripture called SISTERS REINVIGORATE, page 15

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION On the Street. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SF pot club plan stopped . . . . . . . 6 California’s golden gift . . . . . . . . 12 New words on the abuse crisis . 13 Feast of Immaculate Conception 14

CCCYO project helps families in Canal District ~ Page 6 ~ December 3, 2010

Parish volunteers serve poor ~ Page 10 ~

Women religious, clergy Datebook of events . . . . . . . . . . . 17 discuss new alliances Classified ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ~ Page 11 ~ www.catholic-sf.org

ONE DOLLAR

VOLUME 12

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No. 37

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Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

On The

Serving up the grub at the annual San Mateo Pro-Life Dinner were Maria Healy, Jenna McCormick, Nicole Dermenjian, Madeline McNamara, and Alicia McNamara.

Also lending a hand but unavailable for the photo was Sebastian Alarco. “These students were outstanding helpers in every way!” said, dinner chair, Vicki McNamara.

Where You Live

By Tom Burke

Sister Alice said she is “the last of the Mohicans” as all of her siblings are now dead, the late Sister Mary Felix and Sister Ida Marie of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange among them. Sister Alice’s sister, Anne Montgomery O’Hara, matriarch of the O’Hara mortuary family in San Francisco and also a nurse, died in 2001. Sister Alice likes her new digs at Marian Oaks and promises to continue her prayers for all who ask and even those who don’t. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve God and the people of God,” Sister Alice told me. Sister Alice’s address is Marian Oaks, 2750 Adeline Dr., Burlingame 94010…. Joseph Marchetti, a longtime Vincentian and leader of St. Vincent de Paul Society work in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, was Bishop William Justice and Joseph Marchetti recently honored with the annual Ozanam Award from Mercy Sister Alice Montgomery entered religious life SVdP of San Mateo County. San Francisco Auxiliary in 1941. “April 15 - tax day - is my birthday,” Sister Alice Bishop William J. Justice presented the plaque. Also told me over the phone from her rooms at the new Marian recognized were Martin Duda, of Our Lady of the Pillar Oaks at the Mercy Sisters’ Motherhouse in Burlingame. Parish who was recognized for his service with St. Anthony What has been the secret of her long life – she’s now 92? Mission in Pescadero; Maureen O’Connor, president of “I don’t know,” she said. “Being German Holy Angels Parish SVdP Conference in probably helped but certainly prayer and Colma, and SVdP board member Charley hard work.” Hard work has been a guiding McLaughlin, long-time treasurer of St. force of Sister Alice’s ministry, though she Anthony Parish Conference in Menlo is quick and adamant to share any credit Park. Tony Rouse, chief financial officer from successes. She was a pioneer in bringfor SVdp San Mateo, received a special ing prenatal and birth services to Native Ozanam Service Award for his 35 years American babies and mothers in Arizona. as a Vincentian volunteer. Tony, a St. “We’d go to the reservations and pick up Matthew’s parishioner, has made over babies in need,” Sister Alice recalled, noting 10,000 home visits to bring comfort to how lucky the children were to be airlifted Peninsula neighbors in need. More than back to St. Joseph Hospital in Phoenix 450 people attended the award ceremonies. and a staff of “positively wonderful doctors Sister Alice Montgomery, Visit www.svdp-sanmateoco.org.... Baking and nurses.” Expanded services to pregnant and breaking bread were hallmarks Sept.

RSM Native American women and their babies 9 when students from San Francisco’s Notre grew from the visits. “We worked together. I did nothing on Dame des Victoires School and St. Mary’s Chinese Day my own,” the never-looking-for-praise religious said.” The 18 School kneaded dough for the needy. The sessions taught years in Phoenix defined Sister Alice’s nursing career, she the boys and girls the steps in getting a loaf of bread into said. Raised in Ferndale and Eureka and one of 11 children, the oven and out. Thanks to King Arthur Flour Co. who sponsor the classes and supply the supplies, said principals, Mary Ghisolfo of NDV, and St. Mary’s Nancy Fiebelkorn.

The bread, baked from scratch, went home with each little LIVING TRUSTS WILLS PROBATE baker and also to St. Anthony Foundation and senior center, Lady Shaw. Students learned the process from a MICHAEL T. SWEENEY King Arthur representative whose lesson was projected onto ATTORNEY AT LAW 782A ULLOA STREET Bilingual Staff SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127 Information and Referrals ● Care Coordination

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a large screen. “It was like being part of a Food Network program,” said Sharon Hupf, NDV vice-principal. More than 120,000 youngsters have benefited from the Life Skills Bread Baking program, Sharon told me. In an essay shared with this column, NDV eighth grader, Julianne Cravotto said, “I know what the bread will mean for St. Anthony’s.

I know what the bread will mean to their guests. Hunger is not debatable; yet if we try, as a community, we can help.”…

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December 3, 2010

Catholic San Francisco

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In new book, pope addresses sex abuse, “new intolerance” ROME (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI’s book-length interview is certain to spark global attention, and not only for his comments suggesting that condom use might be acceptable in some circumstances.

In the 219-page book, “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times,” the German pontiff spoke candidly on the clerical sex abuse scandal, relations with Islam, papal resignation and the “threatening catastrophe” facing humanity.

The wide-ranging interview was conducted by German writer Peter Seewald, who posed questions in six one-hour sessions last summer. The book was to be released Nov. 23 at the Vatican, but ample excerpts were published three days earlier by the Vatican newspaper.

The book reveals a less formal side of the pope, as he responds simply and directly on topics as diverse as the joy of sex and the ban on burqas. Much of the conversation focuses on the pope’s call for a global “examination of conscience” in the face of economic disparity, environmental disasters and moral slippage.

The pope repeatedly emphasized that the church’s role in a largely broken world is not to impose a “burden” of moral rules but to open the doors to God. Even before the book’s release, media attention centered on the pope’s remarks on condoms in AIDS prevention. While repeating his view that condoms cannot be the only answer to the AIDS epidemic, the pope allowed that in some specific cases – for example, that of male prostitutes – use of a condom could be a step toward taking moral responsibility for one’s actions.

An entire chapter and parts of others were dedicated to the clerical sex abuse scandal. The pope called it “a great crisis” that left him “stunned by how wretched the church is, by how much her members fail to follow Christ.”

“It was really almost like the crater of a volcano, out of which suddenly a tremendous cloud of filth came, darkening and soiling everything, so that above all the priesthood suddenly seemed to be a place of shame,” he said.

He expressed optimism about the

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

By John Thavis

Pope Benedict XVI leaves after concelebrating a Mass with new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 21.

church’s recovery from the scandal, saying God continues to raise up Catholic saints. But he also said he understands why some Catholics, particularly victims, have responded by leaving the church in protest.

“It is difficult for them to keep believing that the church is a source of good, that she communicates the light of Christ, that she helps people in life – I can understand that,” he said.

The pope said media coverage of the abuse scandal was partly motivated by a desire to discredit the church. But he added that the church must be “grateful for every disclosure” and said the media could not have reported in this way “had there not been evil in the church.”

The pope pointed to the church’s new rules and policies on sex abuse, but he appeared to acknowledge that more might have been done. He noted that in 2002, the Vatican and U.S. bishops established strict norms to curb sex abuse in U.S. dioceses.

“Would it have been Rome’s duty, then, to say to all the countries expressly: Find out whether you are in the same situation?

Maybe we should have done that,” he said.

(The pope) expressed optimism about the church’s recovery from the (abuse) scandal…But he also said he understands why some Catholics, particularly victims, have responded by leaving the church in protest.

The pope said that in responding to sex abuse allegations against the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the late Mexican Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, “unfortunately we addressed these things very slowly and late.” The allegations were eventually substantiated and the order has been placed under Vatican leadership for a period of reform.

Pope Benedict said Father Maciel remains for him “a mysterious figure,” one who lived an immoral and twisted life but who built up his religious order with dynamism – a “false prophet” who nevertheless had a “positive effect.” As for the future of the Legionaries, the pope said it was basically sound but needed corrections that do not destroy the enthusiasm of its members.

The pope was asked if he considered resigning in the face of such burdens as the sex abuse crisis. He responded: “When the danger is great one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign.” But he added that if a pope is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of the

papacy, he has a right and perhaps an obligation to resign.

The pope spoke candidly of his age and health, saying his schedule of meetings and trips “really overtaxes an 83-yearold man.”

“I trust that our dear Lord will give me as much strength as I need to be able to do what is necessary. But I also notice that my forces are diminishing,” he said.

The pope laughed when Seewald suggested that he looked good enough to be a fitness trainer, and said he has to conserve energy during his busy days. Asked whether he uses an exercise bicycle a doctor had given him, the pope replied: “No, I don’t get to it at all – and don’t need it at the moment, thank God.” He said he spends his free time reading, praying and sometimes watching DVDs – typically with religious themes – with members of the papal household.

Much of the book dealt with the pope’s strategy for presenting the church’s message in a largely skeptical world. The essential problem today, he said, is that the prevailing model of economic and social progress that leaves out God, and thus omits the ethical aspect.

Impending climactic disaster actually provides an opportunity to evangelize and promote moral decisions, he said.

The problem, though, is that populations and countries seem unwilling to make sacrifices – which is where the church can make a difference, he said.

It is urgent to “bring the question about God back into the center,” he said. “The important thing today is to see that God exists, that God matters to us and that he answers us.”

He said the church can do this only if its own members live the faith in their daily lives. He said that simple task should be the priority today, rather than embarking on major initiatives like a third Vatican Council.

The pope said the church’s task is threatened by a “new intolerance” that would limit religious expression in the name of non-discrimination, for example in banning the display of crucifixes in public schools, or in condemning specific church teachings.

NEW POPE BOOK, page 16

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

December 3, 2010

in brief

Pope welcomes Advent with prayer for life VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the beginning of Advent with a prayer for life and a defense of the human embryo. The pope presided over an evening prayer service at the Vatican Nov. 27, part of a worldwide pro-life vigil. He said it was an appropriate initiative to launch Advent, the liturgical period in which the church prepares to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In a homily, he said the church’s teaching against abortion comes from its teaching about the dignity of every human life and its concern that the unborn is most vulnerable to “the selfishness of adults and the clouding of consciences. There are cultural tendencies that seek to anesthetize consciences with spurious arguments,” the pope said.

Regarding the human embryo, the pope said science itself has demonstrated the embyro’s autonomous capacity of interaction with the mother, the coordination of its biological processes, the continuity of its development and its complexity as an organism. “It’s not a question of a collection of biological material, but of a new living being, dynamic and marvelously ordered, a new individual of the human species,” he said.

Vatican: China ordination opens “painful wound” VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has condemned the illicit ordination of a bishop in China, saying the first ordination since 2006 of a bishop in China without papal approval has “seriously wounded” communion with Pope Benedict XVI. Beijing authorities, by forcing other bishops to participate

Pope’s unity plea . . .

■ Continued from cover a “strong summons” to all Christians “to renew their fidelity to apostolic teaching,” a topic that has become increasingly important in ecumenical dialogue as disagreements increase over what are essential points of faith and what modern adaptations are permissible or even necessary.

In the modern world, the pope wrote, it is especially important for Christians to work more closely in sharing the Gospel and in presenting Christ “as the answer to the deepest questions and spiritual aspirations of the men and women of our day.”

While Cardinal Koch joined the ecumenical patriarch’s

in the ceremony, have gravely violated “freedom of religion and conscience,” the Holy See said in a statement.

Under close surveillance from local government officials, Father Joseph Guo Jincai was ordained bishop of Chengde Nov. 20. Some of the eight ordaining bishops who laid their hands on Father Guo had been detained by government officials in the days before the ordination in an effort to force them to participate, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.

More than 100 Catholics and dozens of government officials attended the ordination Mass in the rural town of Pingquan. The village was surrounded by about 100 uniformed and plainclothes police. Cameras were banned, and mobile phone signals were blocked.

Bishop Guo is the first bishop illegitimately ordained since Pope Benedict issued his letter to Chinese Catholics in 2007.

The papal letter strongly criticized the limits placed by the Chinese government on the church’s activities, but on several key issues, including the appointment of bishops, it invited civil authorities to a new and serious dialogue.

Mission Dolores prayer service for DREAM Act Young Adults of Mission Dolores Parish will hold an interfaith prayer service Dec. 4 from 6-7 p.m. at Old Mission Dolores, 3321 16th St. at Dolores Street in San Francisco, to support the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act. “The purpose of this service is to let our immigrant brothers and sisters know that we care about them and that the American dream is for everyone who wishes to attain it,” said Gustavo Torres, development director at Mission Dolores School.

The proposed federal legislation would give young adults who lack legal residency the chance to become legal residents and eventually citizens if they go to college or join the military.

The law, which has been the subject of growing demonstrations by students on University of Texas campuses since early November, would apply to people who were brought to the United States by their parents as minors.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have said they would bring the measure to a

vote as a stand-alone bill before the 111th Congress adjourns in December, leading to a flurry of activity across the country to round up votes in Congress.

The bill has long enjoyed bipartisan support in both houses but has repeatedly gotten hung up in procedural maneuvers or been defeated along with legislation to which it was attached.

celebration in Istanbul, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, celebrated the feast with Catholics and Orthodox in the Orthodox cathedral of Astana, Kazakhstan.

Cardinal Bertone gave the homily and then presented Kazakhstan’s Christian leaders – Catholic Archbishop Tomasz Peta and Orthodox Metropolitan Alexander – with fragments of the relics of St. Andrew.

The cardinal said the church leaders had asked Pope Benedict for a part of the relics, which are housed in Amalfi, Italy, to “underline our common veneration of the apostles.”

Cardinal Bertone was in Kazakhstan to represent the Vatican at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Vatican Radio spoke to Dublin, Ireland, Bishop Brian Farrell,

secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, before the Vatican delegation’s departure for Turkey, to learn more about the joint celebration and the common witness of the two churches in that majority Muslim nation.

The bishop said the East-West meeting “is the logical outcome” of efforts made in the 1970s and 1980s to express the communion that already exists between the two churches by celebrating the feast days of each other.

“We’ll be discussing how we will both institute the new ad hoc commission that will have to develop a new paper on the role of the Bishop of Rome in the first millennium,” the bishop added. “Also this year I would say the focal point of the visit will be a reflection on our shared or common witness … especially here in Europe.”

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Worshippers pray during a weekly Korean Mass at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Woodbury, N.Y., Nov. 28. With tensions escalating between North Korea and South Korea, the congregation prayed for peace in the region.

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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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December 3, 2010

Discernment Retreat set for Jan 14-16 St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, 320 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, will host its annual Discernment Retreat Jan. 14-16. The retreat, an invitation for men who may feel a possible call to the priesthood and want to learn more from priests and seminarians, will be led by a recent St. Patrick’s graduate, Father Joseph Kim of the Diocese of San Jose.

The retreat will include conferences and vocation panels, personal and communal prayers, social and faith sharing and an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance. Participants will meet and spend time with priests and seminarians, receive tools and tips on how to discern the priesthood properly and have a chance to meet with other men who are discerning a possible vocation.

For more information contact your diocesan vocations director or the seminary’s Discernment Retreat Office at (650) 325-5621, ext. 101 or 401.

Catholic San Francisco

5

“BELIEVE” St. Brendan School presents its 40 Annual Christmas Boutique and Carnival for kids.

Starts with Champagne Preview Dec 3rd and continues with handcrafted gifts, incredible raffle prizes, food court specialties and our ever-popular kid’s carnival on Dec. 4th and 5th at St. Brendan Church Hall and Parish Center, 940 Laguna Honda Blvd., San Francisco, Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All proceeds benefit the students of St. Brendan School.

Bring the Whole Family! Free admission and parking.

Contact Maureen at (415) 602-9165. th

Fighting trend, dioceses Prop 8 hearing will be working to boost marriage televised on C-SPAN WASHINGTON – Despite a recent Pew Research Center survey that found a growing number of Americans – now 39 percent, up from 28 percent in 1978 – think marriage is becoming obsolete, family ministers across the country say they believe marriage remains a strong institution. And they’re taking steps to keep it that way.

“That (survey) says that over 60 percent agree that marriage is not becoming obsolete,” said Bill Boomer, executive director of the Department of Marriage and Family in the Cleveland Diocese. “The majority of first marriages still last. It is still possible to be married for a lifetime.” Professional ministers such as Boomer, while not buoyed by the survey’s results, told Catholic News Service that they believe marriage will survive, but he acknowledged they must come up with ways to impress upon young generations the important role marriage plays in society. They also say the Catholic Church’s view that marriage can only exist between one man and one woman is important to share with modern-day culture. “If we don’t get that message out, that Christian message out, the next few years, our culture will have succeeded in defining marriage for us,” said Lorrie Gramer, co-director of the Family Life Office in the Diocese of Rockford, Ill.

Oral arguments over the constitutionality of Proposition 8, scheduled for Dec. 6, will be televised on C-SPAN, by order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The two-hour hearing, to begin at 10 a.m. in the San Francisco courtroom of the appellate court, will be shown live.

The appeal, filed by proponents of the voter-approved Prop. 8, followed the ruling made last August by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughan Walker in San Francisco that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marriage and that Prop. 8, a 2008 constitutional amendment that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, discriminated on the basis of sex and sexual orientation and violated the right to choose one’s spouse.

The appeals court kept California’s ban on same-sex marriage in force pending the appeal. Prop. 8 overturned a California Supreme Court ruling that had allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry. Supporters of Prop. 8, such as the California Catholic Conference, believe that “marriage, as instituted by God, is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman joined in an intimate community of life and love,” said Ned Dolejsi, the group’s executive director.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

Catholic Charities CYO works toward better futures for Canal District families Families who turn to Catholic Charities CYO’s Canal Family Support receive educational assistance and enrichment activities that support the cultural, physical and social development of youth in San Rafael’s Canal District. The Mendez family is just one of the many participants of Canal Family Support’s Kids Club who have seen a change for the better because of this support.

CCCYO’s Advent Season of Caring Tina Mendez enrolled her son, Will, in Kids Club after being referred by a school counselor. She immediately began to see changes in his behavior – changes that were welcome after Will’s challenging past.

Will had been raised by his father who became abusive and aggressive due to his personal struggle with alcohol.

Tina was able to earn custody of Will, and his father was incarcerated, but Will still faces formidable challenges from these recent upheavals in his life. When he started school he became distracted and hypersensitive. He was bullying other kids and began seeing a counselor who referred him to Catholic Charities CYO. Kids Club provided Will with structure, discipline and guidance while he began to grow and socialize with his peers. During the time Will attended the program he built strong relationships with both staff and fellow participants and looked forward to attending the program each and every day after school. Meanwhile, his mother was struggling with her own health problems and became unable to work consistently. Will attended Kids Club for a year and half before he was unable to continue due to financial difficulties.

“When Will was attending Kids Club, his attention span improved and he seemed happier. When he was no longer able to go, his old behavior of restlessness and aggression returned,”

Catholic Charities CYO’s Canal Family Support Program provides educational assistance and enrichment activities that support the cultural, physical and social development of youth in San Rafael’s Canal District.”

Tina said. “Will didn’t have a place to go after school so he would come home and watch television without doing his homework. Tina, a monolingual Spanish speaker, felt helpless because she couldn’t help him with his homework.

Carlos Garcia, program director at Canal Family Support, and his team of staff and volunteers provided intensive outreach to Tina, helping her develop a financial plan that

would help bring Will back to Kids Club. He returned this past summer and is already back on track to a hopeful future.

“Will is a student with tremendous leadership potential,” Carlos said. “It gives us all hope that he will have a strong future and we are glad to have him back.” Even though Will struggles on a daily basis, his familiarity with the program and the limits and boundaries that are set for him, have clearly eased his anxiety and have helped him focus.

Canal Family Support provides Will with safe, supervised and appropriate activities including homework help, individual tutoring and enrichment classes. These activities help him build self-esteem and give him the skills and confidence that will help him participate and contribute fully in our community.

Catholic Charities CYO’s work at Canal extends to the entire family. The Canal Family Support Program provides additional assistance to families through one-on-one meetings, parent-education workshops and information and referral services which facilitate access to counseling and outside resources – all of which are aimed at helping families gain and maintain self-sufficiency and healthy family functioning.

The multi-cultural staff is sensitive to a spectrum of ethnic backgrounds and is dedicated to helping support parents and their children. Tina is now able have the opportunity to take English classes and work and provide for her family, while Will attends Kids Club.

The Mendez family is just one of many families who are working toward a future of self-sufficiency.

The Mendez’s story is the first in a series from Catholic Charities CYO’s Advent Season of Caring campaign. This holiday giving campaign shares intimate stories of the clients we serve and the ways in which their lives have been changed for the better, because of our work and the generosity of our loyal supporters. For ways you can help, visit www.cccyo. org/seasonofcaring or call Marti Sullivan at (415) 972-1291.

Archdiocese, public schools, city supervisor join forces to halt pot club

By Valerie Schmalz The San Francisco Board of Appeals overturned a medical marijuana club’s permit to open on Taraval Street, responding to city Supervisor Carmen Chu, the superintendent of public schools, Catholic high schools, local churches and more than 4,000 residents who had signed petitions, sent letters and testified against the proposed pot club.

An official of the Archdiocese of San Francisco hailed the Nov. 17 decision as an example of local government at work, praising District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu for her persistence on the part of the Sunset neighborhood. George Wesolek, director of the Archdiocese Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, wrote in an e-mail, “Thanks to Supervisor Chu for your persistence and ability to listen to the people and schools of the neighborhood. You are definitely a bright example of local government at its best.”

The Planning Commission had approved the Bay Area Compassion Health Center medical marijuana dispensary May 20. In overturning the permit, the Board of Appeals

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acted on appeals filed by Canaan Tutoring Center Service and Chinese Gospel Church. In her testimony, Chu said the planning commission had provided inadequate translation for the many Chinese residents who came to testify. “Individuals were not able to respond to comments that were disparaging including ones that said they did not understand,” said Chu. She also said the planning report was “flawed” and referred to a code section that did not exist.

San Francisco public schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia sent a representative to read a letter opposing the permit, saying the dispensary would be a “popular draw for students at Lincoln High School” many of whom are over 18 and could then resell to younger students, particularly because the pot club planned to offer “edibles.” Garcia said the permit was in “clear violation of the spirit of the ordinance” barring pot clubs within 1,000 feet of a public school.

St. Ignatius College Preparatory, Mercy High School San Francisco and the Archdiocese of San Francisco all presented letters or testimony opposing the dispensary, citing

the number of schools, after-school tutoring centers, dance schools, and churches in the immediate area.

In arguing for the dispensary, applicant Greg Schoepp said that the Sunset needed a source of medical marijuana, and said his family’s 50-plus years owning Crown Lock and Hardware made them security experts. He said the dispensary would have cameras, reinforced windows and a security guard.

Corey Stein, a 21-year-old graduate of Lincoln High School and student at San Francisco State University, urged the appeals board to support the dispensary. “Please do not discriminate,” Stein said. “It gives the power to the criminals by dictating how we as a society function.”

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Pope’s remarks in book . . .

■ Continued from cover was “madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms.”

“There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward discovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality,” the pope said.

Peter Seewald, the German journalist who conducted the interview, then asked: “Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?”

The pope answered: “She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.”

The Italian translation has a slightly different wording: it uses the feminine “prostitute”, not male prostitute, and says this is an example of where condom use can be “justified.”

At a news conference Nov. 23, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the Italian translation was an error. But he added that the pope told him the question of male or female prostitute in his example was unimportant.

“I asked the pope personally if there was a serious or important problem in the choice of the masculine gender rather than the feminine, and he said no, that is, the main point ... is the first step of responsibility in taking into account the risk to the life of another person with whom one has relations,” Father Lombardi said.

“Whether a man or a woman or a transsexual does this, we’re at the same point. The point is the first step toward responsibility, to avoid posing a grave risk to another person,” Father Lombardi said.

It was the first time Pope Benedict – or any pope – has said publicly that condom use may be acceptable in some cases.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said Nov. 21 that the pope was not “reforming or changing” the church’s teaching on sexual responsibility, but rather considering an “exceptional situation” in which sexual activity places a person’s life at risk. While the pope was not morally justifying disordered sexual activity, he was saying that use of a condom to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease may be an act of moral responsibility, Father Lombardi said.

The spokesman said it would be an exaggeration to call the pope’s comments “revolutionary,” but he said they offered a courageous and important contribution to a long-debated question.

The pope’s remarks underscored a distinction made previously by other church experts: that the church’s teaching against condoms as a form of birth control is different from its position on condom use in disease prevention.

For years, Vatican officials and theologians have studied the morality of condom use to reduce the risk of AIDS. The Vatican has never proclaimed a “ban” on condom use in AIDS prevention; on the contrary, some Vatican theologians and officials have argued that for married couples in which one partner is HIV-infected, use of condoms could be a moral responsibility.

More generally, however, they have argued that promotion of condoms as the only or best answer to AIDS carries grave risks, mainly by promoting the idea that condoms guarantee “safe sex.” In that sense, the pope said on his flight to Cameroon in 2009 that rather than solve the issue of HIV/AIDS, condoms “increase the problem.” He encouraged campaigns to promote responsible sexuality instead.

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A former student of Pope Benedict XVI, Father Joseph Fessio, editor-in-chief of Ignatius Press, said the pope’s comment on condoms is “very carefully qualified.”

“It would be wrong to say, ‘Pope Approves Condoms’,” Father Fessio said. “He’s saying it’s immoral, but in an individual case the use of a condom could be an awakening to someone that he’s got to be more conscious of his actions.’’

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, writing in “On the Square,” the blog for the magazine First Things, explained: “The Church holds that condom use is morally flawed by its nature, and that, equally important, condom use does not prevent AIDS and can actually enable its spread by creating a false sense of security.”

“In the context of the book’s later discussion of contraception and Catholic teaching on sexuality, the Pope’s comments are morally insightful,” Archbishop Chaput continued. “But taken out of context, they can easily be inferred as approving condoms under certain circumstances,” he said.

Technically, Catholics are not required to agree with the pope’s comments on political and even theological issues but they do owe the pope respect, a Vatican official said.

“It is an interview, not a magisterial act, but it is still the pope speaking and he deserves respect,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

“What degree of ‘assent’ must the faithful give it?” Archbishop Fisichella asked. “Certainly ‘assent’ is not the technical term that should be used,” he said. Just like the pope himself wrote in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” the themes and the answers reflect the pope’s years of study and his pastoral concern as head of the Catholic Church, but the book is not a formal papal presentation of Catholic faith.

At the same time, in the book the pope “condenses his thinking, his concerns and sufferings over the past few years, his pastoral plan and expectations for the future. The impression one gets is that of a pope optimistic about the life of the church despite the difficulties that always accompany it,” he said.

“What emerges most strongly is a humanity that is strengthened by simplicity,” he said.

– Compiled from Catholic News Agency and Catholic News Service.

When that episode was raised by Seewald in the book, the pope seemed to bristle.

“The media coverage completely ignored the rest of the trip to Africa on account of a single statement,” he said. He said he felt “provoked” by the question, because the church does so much to care for AIDS patients.

“I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The church does more than anyone else because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering,” he said.

In the book, the pope criticized the “fixation” on condoms in AIDS prevention, but without categorically ruling out their use.

“As a matter of fact, you know, people can get condoms when they want them anyway. But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself. More needs to happen,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the secular realm itself has developed the socalled ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condoms, where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work,” he said.

The “ABC” campaign has received coverage in Vatican media in recent years. After his 2009 trip to Africa, the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published an interview with an Italian medical missionary, Brother Daniele Giusti, who said the ABC method has worked well in Uganda. He evaluated condom effectiveness in these terms: “The condom has worked in concentrated epidemics and among particular groups: prostitutes, homosexuals and drug addicts. Not so in other cases.”

It’s worth noting that in a different section of the new book, the pope defended the 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” which taught that, in the context of married love, contraception techniques, including condoms, are immoral because they close off the possibility of the transmission of life.

“The basic lines of ‘Humanae Vitae’ are still correct. Finding ways to enable people to live the teaching, on the other hand, is a further question,” the pope said. He indicated that pastors

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“We should not take the failure to live up to this high moral standard as an authoritative objection to the truth. We should try to do as much good as we can and to support and put up with each other” and create conditions for better understanding of the teaching, he said.

The pope noted that the church accepts natural regulation of conception. He said that method presupposes that couples take time for each other, and is far different from taking a pill “so that I can jump into bed with a random acquaintance.”

Theologians who advise the Vatican have underlined that it makes little sense to apply the church’s teaching against contraception to sexual acts outside of marriage, since those acts are already considered immoral.

In a 2006 interview with Catholic News Service, Msgr.

Angel Rodriguez Luno, a moral theologian at Rome’s Holy Cross University and a consultor to the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, said that “if unmarried persons do not abstain from sexual relations, or if spouses are not mutually faithful, these are sexual acts which are immoral in themselves, whether or not a condom is used.”

In that context, he said, the condom is not the issue for the church.

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Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

By José Luis Aguirre It’s common to see images of Our Lady of Guadalupe on T-shirts, watches, bracelets, key chains, paintings, murals and even tattoos.

Devotion to the patron saint of Mexico, whose feast day is Dec. 12, is strong among Latin American Catholics.

Use of those images “is an expression that brings the sacred to everyday life,” said theologian Nancy Pineda Madrid, a professor at the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College. “Having her with us is a way to feel more secure, more confident in life, especially when we have problems or are in danger.”

Father Ricardo Chavez shares that view.

He is an expert in the Guadalupe devotion, and retired this year from St. Peter Martyr of Verona

(PHOTO BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Sacred, secular images of Our Lady of Guadalupe proliferate Parish in Pittsburg. “I think any use of the image of the Virgin is based on our belief and hope that she is always with us, especially in difficult times when we feel the oppression of society or any group,” he said.

When Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the indigenous peasant Juan Diego in 1531 on a hill outside of what is now Mexico City, the community was living in very difficult times.

It was the vision and message of the mother of God that brought them hope, Father Chavez said.

“On one side the Virgin has been a religious icon and it shows the fervor and faith that people have in it since they started to worship in the 16th century. But she has also been a political symbol,” said Maria Luisa Ruiz, professor of modern languages at Saint Mary’s College of California.

OUR LADY GUADALUPE, page 9

Our Lady of Guadalupe imagery is growing and varied as Mexico’s most popular Catholic icon is invoked for religious, political and personal causes.

Our Lady of Guadalupe march Dec. 11 The Archdiocese of San Francisco’s 17th annual march in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe takes place Dec. 11, covering 12 miles from All Souls Church in South San Francisco to St. Mary’s Cathedral.

The march celebrating the patron saint of Mexico began in San Francisco in 1994 with 200 people. This year, 20,000 are expected.

Prayers for the sick and needy will again be said during the march, as well as for “a just immigration reform and for the world’s peace,” say organizers.

Participants will be accompanied by musicians, Aztec dancers, floats and young people dressed as Juan Diego and as the girl who appeared to the indigenous peasant 479 years ago near Mexico City – an Aztec princess who was, it is believed, the Virgin Mary.

Marchers are expected to reach the cathedral, with four rest stops along the way, at about 1:45 p.m. Mass will be said at 2 p.m. by Auxiliary Bishop William Justice and Father John Balleza, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Redwood City.

The march will depart from All Souls Church at 6 a.m., but participants should gather as early as 5 a.m. Transportation to All Souls will be available from the cathedral parking lot from 4:30-6:30 a.m. Transportation from the cathedral to All Souls will be available from 2:30-5:30 p.m.

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CHA head continues disagreement with bishops on health reform

By Valerie Schmalz The president of the Catholic Health Association continued her public disagreement with the U.S. bishops over whether the national health care overhaul will allow federal funding of abortion.

The U.S. bishops say the new law will fund abortion, while CHA President Sister Carol Keehan maintains that it does not include abortion and is a “good” but “not necessarily a perfect” law.

Sister Carol, a Daughter of Charity whose association represents 620 Catholic hospitals, spoke at an event in her honor sponsored by the University of San Francisco Nov. 23.

The association’s decision to support the health care overhaul was key in swaying the votes of some members of Congress who had opposed the legislation over the abortion issue. President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 into law in March.

“As far as I was concerned, if I knew in my heart that it did not fund abortion, I could not do anything but stand up for the passage of that bill for the 32 million” people who do not have health insurance, Sister Carol told about 200 women religious, students and others gathered at St. Ignatius Church for the second annual Stand 4 Conference sponsored by USF’s University Ministry.

The conference invites religious and spiritual leaders “whose actions symbolize a life of courage, commitment, and advocacy,” according to an announcement. Sister Carol was invited “to speak on the Catholic tradition that views health care as a basic human right.”

In her 30-minute presentation, Sister Carol cited Pope

Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope John XXIII on social justice, the right of all to health care and the right to life from conception to natural death.

“We are the only industrialized country that does not provide health care to all,” Sister Carol said. Nine million children are among those without health insurance, she said.

“What excuse justifies a child not having access to health care?” Sister Carol asked.

Sister Carol did not address details of the bill regarding abortion funding beyond saying that she had read the act meticulously and engaged in “18 months of almost non-stop meeting with everyone involved,” including President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress, the bishops, and others.

“We believe at CHA that we have stood for life,” Sister Carol said. “We will continue to implement this for the good of life and the good of the American people.”

The speech was in opposition to the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on health reform. Outgoing USCCB President Cardinal Francis George reaffirmed the bishops’ position on Nov. 15 when he said the health care law will fund abortion. In the same speech, Cardinal George said the disagreement created “a wound to the Church’s unity.”

An Archdiocese of San Francisco official reiterated the position of the bishops.

“I agree with Cardinal George that Sister Carol Keehan and the Catholic Health Association’s actions were a serious ‘wound to Church unity.’ This was not a minor nor benign disagreement,” George Wesolek, director of the archdiocesan Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, said in a statement Nov. 29.

“The bishops of the United States had a solid analysis of

the proposed bill and determined that it was not sufficient to keep abortion out of the health care bill. They have been proven correct,” Wesolek said. “If there had been unity, I believe that we would have a health care bill but one with a firewall against abortion and provisions for conscience protections.”

The U.S. bishops opposed the health reform bill despite decades of support for universal health care because they said it did not provide for undocumented immigrants, did not protect conscience rights and did not include an explicit ban on federal funding of abortion in the language of the Hyde Amendment.

Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has been attached annually to appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services because, following the Supreme Court’s Roe v.

Wade decision, a series of court decisions have defined abortion as medical care unless it is explicitly excluded, according to the USCCB legal analysis.

The Catholic Health Association, and many orders of women religious said the final bill and an executive order signed by President Obama would exclude any possibility of federal money going to pay for abortions.

By the nature of their office, the bishops are entrusted by God with moral authority and therefore they are the ones who speak with the authority of the Church – and their judgment in matters of faith and morality takes precedence, Cardinal George said.

In his Nov. 15 speech to the bishops’ conference at its semi-annual meeting in Baltimore, Cardinal George said: “The bishops in apostolic communion and in union with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, speak for the Church in matters of faith and in moral issues and the laws surrounding them. All the rest is opinion, often well-considered and important opinion that deserves a careful and respectful hearing, but still opinion.”

Pope, Church leaders call for guaranteed health care for all people VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI and other church leaders said it was the moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.

Access to adequate medical attention, the pope said in a written message Nov. 18, was one of the “inalienable rights” of man.

The pope’s message was read by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, to participants at the 25th

Our Lady of Guadalupe . . .

■ Continued from page 8 “The priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla used the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe as the standard for the battles of independence,” she said. “During the Mexican revolution her image was also used by Emiliano Zapata and other revolutionaries. And today, almost 500 years later, her presence remains important as it inspires political activism.”

“It became an active image used to fight for the basic rights of individuals, and marginalized groups were inspired to use it as an emblem of their struggle,” she said.

In the 1960s, the image was used to help create a more equitable workplace through Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

The founders of the United Farm Workers union used the image of the Virgin in their activism for the rights of farm workers.

“The Virgin of Guadalupe has been an icon in the peasants’ struggle,” said Juana Alicia Montoya, a former UFW member who worked with Cesar Chavez. “It symbolizes a humble woman, a farmer and is very strong.

“We look to her as a woman leader and that comes through the leadership of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the farm workers union,” Montoya said. “That spurred the Chicano to analyze our role as women…and we can have a role in the liberation of the people in the mass struggle, challenging our traditional role.”

Many people have claimed the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe as their own, Montoya said. “It does not belong only to the Catholic Church but belongs to different groups, unions, feminists, merchants – they all want to use her, even drug dealers and gangs seeking protection.”

International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry at the Vatican Nov. 18-19.

The pope lamented the great inequalities in health care around the globe. While people in many parts of the world aren’t able to receive essential medications or even the most basic care, in industrialized countries there is a risk of “pharmacological, medical and surgical consumerism” that leads to “a cult of the body,” the pope said.

Jason Stein, who works at a tattoo shop in San Francisco, has made at least 40 tattoos of Our Lady of Guadalupe in recent years, mostly on Latino men. “It’s a very popular image. The person can be Catholic, Jewish or any religion, but they request it because it is a very powerful symbol,” he said.

Stein says many of his clients want the tattoo because they believe in the tradition and want to show their devotion.

Others use it as a symbol of power, but he discounted that its use was linked to gangs.

Although the Church has not taken an official position against such tattoos, theologian Pineda Madrid says it has become a popular religious trend for people to take this sacred image into their daily lives.

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“Don’t think we are promoting the tattoos,” she said. “We respect the sacredness and are discerning about how we use the images. A soldier in the war, for instance, might have the Virgin of Guadalupe tattooed on him because he seeks her protection, but it isn’t the same with those who would use the images to do evil.”

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“The care of man, his transcendent dignity and his inalienable rights” are issues that should concern Christians, the pope said.

“Justice in health care should be a priority of governments and international institutions,” he said, cautioning that protecting human health does not include euthanasia or promoting artificial reproductive techniques that include the destruction of embryos.

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10

Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

Hand-to-hand in Christ, parish volunteers reach out to city’s hungry Wending his way through the heavy, late-afternoon traffic in San Francisco’s Excelsior District, Ben Daio executes a sharp left-turn onto San Jose Avenue with the assertiveness of a big-city cabbie. A piece of paper containing a list of a dozen names and addresses on it slides across the dash of the old black Accord; its trunk is tightly packed with bags of food.

But Daio – a wiry, middle-aged man with a ready smile, black leather jacket and baseball cap – is no cabbie. He is an accountant who works for the state, and president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s conference at Epiphany Church. As such, he is out this Monday afternoon delivering much-needed food to those on the list.

“Our main thing is to distribute bags of food to the needy,” Daio says. “We usually do it twice a month. Sometimes we can assist them with utility bills, rent, furniture – and it’s not just parishioners.”

Daio grabs a bag of food from the trunk and, walking across the narrow residential street, is immediately hailed by a tall man talking with his neighbor farther up the block.

“Hey! How you doin’?” yells the man, who, with the aid of a cane, starts limping his way toward Daio. “Good to see ya!”

Wearing a white T-shirt with a gold cross prominently displayed around his neck, the tall man is Napoleon Reese – the first on Daio’s list.

“He’s a great guy,” Reese says of Daio.

“The best!”

A member of Epiphany Church for the past 30 years, Daio began volunteering with the St. Vincent de Paul Society three years ago. He and about 10 other parishioners at his church, he says, form the chapter’s core group. In addition to distributing food to about 75 households and occasionally helping out with emergency bills, the small group manages to serve dinner to the homeless every other month at a shelter on Fifth and Bryant streets. They also transport disabled patients at Laguna Honda Hospital to Mass and other places.

“Different members do different things,” says Kathy Fourre. “One elderly lady in our parish is a big contributor, but we never even see her.”

Now in her fifties, Fourre has been seen around the neighborhood and in the church since her parents moved here when she was six. She went to Epiphany School. Ten years ago, she joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society conference.

“The thing about our conference,” she says, “is the really strong parish involvement. We can call on people who aren’t even members of the conference. We really get by with a lot of help from our friends.”

The Epiphany Church conference, like many of the Society’s parish-based groups, receives major funding with a collection taken at the church on the fifth Sunday of the month. These donations account for the bulk of the conference’s resources. The students at Epiphany School recently helped out with a drive that netted three barrels of canned food.

Members of the conference use the collection money to buy food at Costco. Then, with the help of children volunteers from Epiphany School, they bag it up in the parish hall. Mostly, the bags contain canned food – chili, corn, green beans, pasta, tomato sauce, a little meat, rice, macaroni and cheese and various kinds of canned fruit.

The food is then delivered to people who have, in their need, either called the parish or responded in person to one of the flyers displayed at the rear of the church.

“Our philosophy is that if you have too much money in the bank,” says Fourre, “you’re not doing your job.”

After dropping off the food and a $10 Safeway gift certificate with Napoleon Reese, Daio quickly makes a couple more stops in what the locals call “Indian Village,” a residential neighborhood where the streets – Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga and Otsego – are named after Native American chiefs. The first stop, at the home of a family where the

(PHOTOS BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

By Dana Perrigan

On a Thanksgiving week run in San Francisco’s Excelsior District, Ben Daio, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society conference at Church of the Epiphany, greets Bruce Wims at the curbside and drops off several bags of food.

Above, Daio looks over merchant gift coupons before heading out to distribute them to St. Vincent de Paul Society clients. Right, Daio makes a phone call on the steps of an apartment to check on the status of an appointment.

father is unemployed, reminds Daio of the time back in the late ‘80s when it took him two years to find a job.

“So I can feel what they’re going through,” he says.

The second stop is at an apartment shared by an elderly mother and daughter. The mother, who used to sell homemade pastry in the neighborhood, says Daio, recently had a stroke. Her daughter, who has been taking care of her, was laid off from her job at Macy’s.

“With the economy the way it is now,” says Daio, “it’s probably even tougher to find a job.”

And tougher, according to a just-released study, to get enough to eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed Nov. 15 that nearly 17 million families in the U.S. – about 15 percent – found it difficult to consistently put food on the table this past year.

The number of “food insecure” homes has more than tripled since the recession set in in 2006. And the use of food stamps – now used by 42,389,619 Americans – has risen 58.5 percent since 2007.

There was an 18.5 percent increase in

California, where 3,425,892 residents rely on the program.

Even before the onset of the recession, a study of hunger by the San Francisco Food Bank found that 197,000 residents didn’t have enough food to eat, and that hunger existed in every neighborhood.

“I would say that there is an increased need, but more obvious to those of us who work with the poor is a heightened sense of desperation,” says Marc Bruno, director of Vincentian Life in the San Francisco Archdiocese. “In the shelters, on the street, people are on the edge of violence.”

One of 28 conferences throughout the Archdiocese, the St. Vincent de Paul Society conference at Epiphany Church, says Bruno, represents a diverse community, both in race and age, and is an example of what the Society can be at its best.

“They’re not doing it for the wrong reasons,” says Bruno. “They really are doing it to, as our founder said so long ago, to find Christ in the faces of the poor.”

By the time Daio is down to his final two stops, the short fall day has faded into dusk.

The street lamps are coming on. The neighborhood, he says, used to be predominantly Italian.

And while there is still an Italian Federation at Epiphany Church, the Excelsior is now mostly Hispanic. It isn’t a bad neighborhood, but an informal survey taken at Epiphany revealed that safety was the top concern.

An elderly Hispanic woman answers the door at the next stop. She stands there for a moment in her pink bathrobe, her left foot heavily bandaged, leaning on her cane and smiling at Daio. Against the wall directly behind her, a large statue of Jesus stands atop an empty birdcage.

She leads Daio into the kitchen, where he leaves the food, and urges him to stay – offering him something to eat or drink.

“They want to talk to someone,” Daio says later. “Sometimes I’ll go in and stay for a while.”

The final stop is at a weathered apartment building a couple of blocks off Geneva, where an elderly woman in a flowered mumu answers the door of a second-story apartment. A TV blares behind the open door. She smiles, steps into the hallway and hugs Daio before he has a chance to put the bags down.

“Hi, Maria,” he says.

“I always give him a hug,” she says. “It’s a tradition.”

December 3, 2010

SF’s Father Tom Reilly reflects on 25-plus years of service in Africa, India

Catholic San Francisco

11

Archdiocesan women religious, clergy discuss new ways of working together

No award was given to the classmate who traveled the farthest to attend the Class of 1960 Archbishop Riordan High School reunion, but, hands down, Father Tom Reilly, whose last posts were Zambia and India, would have walked away with it.

The San Francisco native came to see his buddies of 50-plus years ago and his remaining Bay Area family members, having spent 24 years as missionary in Zambia and one in India as a member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa.

As he does whenever he has a home Father Tom Reilly, M.Afr. visit – every three or four years – Father Reilly marveled at what he had as a child in San Francisco and the riches available to Americans, compared with the African and Indian poverty.

“We had teachers prepared to teach. We had classes. We had desks. There were windows. We had lighting. A lot of this is not in Zambia,” said Father Reilly. “I was working with youth and with teachers most of my time. It was a horror story.”

He is struck, too, by the enormity of his African mission – a growing number of Catholics who cannot all be accommodated, a demand outstripping the supply of priests. Too, the society’s work in Zambia covers 13,000 square miles, incorporating 75 Catholic churches, many of them in difficult-to-reach areas.

“As a result, these places, maybe two to three times a year, are getting the sacraments,” said Father Reilly.

“That is about the best we can do given the area we have to travel, given our numbers, our ages, and then sometimes it is difficult to travel in the rainy season, even with four-wheel drive. Going off into the bush the roads are not the greatest.”

Father Reilly, 68, was doing part-time work recently in Zambia. There is one other part-time worker and three full-time priests in the community. Father Reilly – emphasizing he is speaking for himself and not the Missionaries of Africa – did not coin the term “Eucharist Famine,” but he said other missionaries have used it to describe demand outstripping the ordination of priests.

“We need to look at this. This is an issue,” he said. “I am not trying to sound like a heretic. I am telling you what is going on. We’ve got to do something here.”

Father Reilly, was the son and nephew of the proprietors of Reilly Company Mortuary, for years located at 29th and Dolores streets in San Francisco.

After his graduation from Riordan (now Archbishop Riordan) High School, he served four years in the Marine Corps and was graduated from City College.

There, while working at the recreation center for the handicapped at the old Fleishhacker Pool, he learned about the Missionaries of Africa.

He was attracted to the society because it was international, interracial and intercultural. “I think it says something to the world – we can get along together,” said Father Reilly.

He also liked the idea of community, of mutual support. The all-white robes, resembling the robes of the Algerian Arabs, certainly distinguished the society, once known as the “White Fathers.”

Father Reilly was ordained in 1978, and within a few months departed for Zambia.

Last week, after his Riordan and family reunions, he went to his next assignment – returning to Bangalore, India, for several months.

Once again, the contrast is striking. While there are more than 40 million Americans without health care, there are a half billion people in India lacking insurance, he said.

The reality and his task reminded him of Matthew 25: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Father Reilly, who has no plans to retire, said, “The Lord has been there all my life. I wouldn’t give it up for the world. The irony is that some people think I am a big martyr for having been in Zambia and to have sacrificed so much. I feel guilty because I am no martyr. I am benefitting from going to Zambia.

I am not sacrificing, really. I am gaining from it.”

(PHOTO BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

By George Raine

Sisters listen to a panel discussion at a meeting at St. Mary’s Cathedral called to join women religious and clergy in new partnerships in ministry in the Archdiocese.

By Dana Perrigan Nearly 100 women religious from 21 congregations, Archbishop George Niederauer, Auxiliary Bishop William Justice and Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy met at St. Mary’s Cathedral Nov. 18 to discuss new and creative ways that sisters and clergy can work together.

“There are so many gifts in the Church,” said Presentation Sister Rosina Conrotto, director of the archdiocesan Office of Women Religious. “We need to work on partnership. It will strengthen the life of the Church.”

Sister Rosina pointed to the work she and other Sisters of the Presentation across the country did to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. Teaming up with members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, several other sisters opened a home for prostitutes who wanted to leave the streets.

Presentation Sister Pamela Chiesa, Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy and Mercy Sister Marguerite Buchanan also offered their thoughts on the afternoon’s theme.

Pointing out the distinction between partnership and collaboration (in partnership, participants have equal power in decision-making), Sister Pamela challenged those in the audience to “commit to real conversation with each other… to invitation and hospitality.

“We have the opportunity to model successful relationships in what we do,” she said. “And when we do that, we create room for the spirit to renew us and the Church.”

Taking a personal approach, Bishop McElroy shared his experiences of partnership – first as a transitional deacon

working with a diverse staff of clergy and two Sisters of the Presentation at St. Elizabeth Church, later as secretary to Archbishop John Quinn.

“It (at St. Elizabeth) was just a wonderful experience of partnership,” he said. “Everyone had a role fostering a sense of community. It was a time that taught me what parish life could be when it is wonderfully done.”

Partnerships, he said, were also a great benefit during a crisis, and absolutely essential when taking the time to “dream together” about the future. “We can’t do that in isolation,” he said.

Sister Marguerite told those in attendance about her partnership experience with members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, helping female prison inmates make the often difficult transition back into society.

“It was wonderful to be working with an amazing group of lay people,” she said.

Following the panel discussion, the audience broke into small groups to discuss ideas for partnering. Later, suggestions were submitted, which were to be evaluated at a Council of Religious meeting near the end of the month.

Following the meeting, Sister Rosina said that she was impressed by the enthusiasm of the women religious, and gratified that all three bishops were there.

“That shows support,” she said. “It shows that they are genuinely involved – it was very affirming.”

In a follow-up meeting, the archdiocesan Council of Religious formed a committee of three sisters to meet with three pastors in an effort to further parish partnerships.

Hospice chaplains honored as “unsung healers”

By George Raine The San Francisco Interfaith Council, at its 13th annual Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast, honored hospital and hospice chaplains as “unsung healers,” although many people among the crowd of 350 seemed to prefer the word “heroes.”

These are caregivers who intersect with the ill and dying and their families at critical junctures and who, as the keynote speaker, Anthony Wagner, the retired vice president of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan put it, provide the “spiritual balm” important in healing process.

“They address patients’ issues of meaning, hope and transcendence that are often more pronounced during illness, injury, birth and death,” said Wagner, the former chief executive officer at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco and associate director at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center.

The prayer breakfast – with a sold-out, record attendance – honored 35 full-time chaplains at San Francisco facilities, seven priests and women religious among them. They are: Sister Annamarie Colapietro, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names, at Pathways Home Health & Hospice; Sister Elizabeth Johnson, FdCC, a member of the Canossian Daughers of Charity, at Laguna Honda Hospital; Father Methodius Kiwale, at UCSF; Father Martin Muruli, at St. Anne’s Home; Father Te Van Nguyen, at Laguna Honda; Sister Joan Marie O’Donnell, RSM, of AlmaVia of San Francisco, and Father Paul Zirimenya, of St. Benedict Parish for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired at St. Francis Xavier Church in San Francisco.

At the breakfast, Nov. 23 at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of San Francisco said in an interview, “At the interfaith level, chaplains reach out at great sacrifice to themselves at the very moment when patients and those who are suffering, those who are in long-term care, and their families, most need them. And they reach out with hope and spiritual support and, in our case, with a sense of Christ’s abiding presence in their lives.”

Keynote speaker Wagner, who is also chairman of the board at San Francisco’s Institute on Aging and a deacon at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, asked a rhetorical question concerning patients: “What about their spiritual needs? Are those needs as important to a person’s recovery or transition as are their physical health needs? I believe they are. Sometimes they are more important in the case of terminal illness.”

Chaplains, he said, “help patients address questions such as, ‘Why is this happening to me? What does this mean? How do I make sense of this? Where will this take me? What gives me the ability to cope? What gives me comfort? What is next?’”

Unfortunately, he added, “chaplains too often go unnoticed, and sometimes are not viewed as part of a health care team until there is a crisis. Hopefully, we can include them more at the beginning of a patient’s experience in our institutions and not at the end.”

Sister Elizabeth, of Laguna Honda, who emigrated HOSPICE CHAPLAINS, page 15

12

Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

California Catholics’ golden gift to Newman

At the end of his Nov. 17 general audience at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of threats to Christians in Pakistan and called for justice for a Catholic woman, Asia Bibi, who has been sentenced to die under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

“Over these days the international community is, with great concern, following the situation of Christians in Pakistan, who are often victims of violence or discrimination,” the pope said. “In particular, I today express my spiritual closeness to Ms. Asia Bibi and her family while asking that, as soon as possible, she may be restored to complete freedom. I also pray for people who find themselves in similar situations, that their human dignity and fundamental rights may be fully respected.”

Bibi is a Pakistani Christian who, following a discussion with some Muslim colleagues, was accused by the latter of having pronounced offensive words against the Prophet Muhammad and denounced the local imam. The imam asked the police to intervene and an investigation began which, a few days later, led to her arrest on the accusation The daughters of Asia Bibi hold a photo of violating code 295 of the penal of their mother outside their residence code, which provides for the death penalty for blasphemy. in Ittanwalai, Pakistan, Nov. 13.

Bibi, a mother of two, is believed to be the first woman sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad. She was convicted Nov. 14 by a Pakistani court.

However, Bibi’s supporters allege that she was denounced simply because she dared fetch water from a well belonging to a Muslim.

Church leaders have long charged that the blasphemy laws are being abused for personal gain and to harass non-Muslims.

The increasing number of people accused of blasphemy in Pakistan in recent months has worried Catholic and Muslim human rights groups, the Union of Catholic Asian News reported.

“The trend is increasing; it’s like an onslaught … the court has condemned a Catholic woman to death,” said Rosemary Noel, national coordinator of the Catholic Women’s Organization.

According to Ansar Burney Trust, 10 “innocent” non-Muslims have been murdered while still on blasphemy trial in Pakistan.

The blasphemy laws make an insult to the Quran an offense punishable by up to life imprisonment, while giving the death penalty to anyone convicted of insulting Prophet Muhammad.

The abuse of blasphemy laws is not limited to Pakistan, Human Rights First, a non-profit, non-partisan human rights organization based in New York and Washington D.C., said in a new report.

Blasphemy laws are intended to protect against religious defamation but “risk promoting an atmosphere of intolerance by providing a context in which governments can restrict freedom of expression, thought, and religion and can result in devastating consequences for those holding religious views that differ from the majority religion, as well as for adherents to minority faiths,” Human Rights First said.

The English-speaking world recently celebrated the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman – the great 19th century theologian, writer, poet, educator and thinker – with conferences, concerts, readings and exhibits. Because he lived a span of almost 90 years (1801-1890) and was a prolific writer, he left us a massive legacy.

It included volumes of sermons both from his Anglican and Catholic periods; several major theological pieces; an autobiography, “Apologia pro Vita Sua” (1864), which is considered a classic; books of meditations and devotions and prayers, novels, books of verses; and 32 volumes of private letters, many of which are still being discovered.

The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose marked the occasion with a symposium featuring four Newman scholars: Father Ted Ross, SJ; Father Michael Barber, SJ; Oakland Emeritus Bishop John Cummins, DD; and Father Timothy Eden, SM. Father Barber, who has spent most of his priestly life researching Newman, provided the jewel for the day, only it was a 17-ounce gold nugget. In the natural shape of a heart, the nugget was sent to Newman in 1854 with a message of support from “Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany and the Catholics of California.”

The nugget was to help defray the expenses of a lawsuit brought against Newman by the infamous Dominican apostate, Giacinto Achilli. While there are hundreds of books about Newman and countless dissertations in many languages researching the most minute details of Newman’s life, there is very little information about this gold nugget. There is an extant letter from Newman to Archbishop Alemany to thank him, telling him that such a gift served as a proof to him “that one heart and but one beats all through the Catholic Church.” Newman never cashed the gold nugget; it is currently at the London Oratory. Written inside Newman’s breviary is a notation to pray for “Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany and the Catholics of California,” where the great intellectual read it every day for approximately 45 years.

Let us, in turn, pray for his canonization.

Sister Mary Peter Traviss, OP Immaculate Conception Priory San Francisco

In secularized U.S., faith values “no longer welcome”

The tribute to the Marianists for their years of education in San Francisco and California (CSF, Nov. 19), was very much appreciated.

However, an historical correction is in order. As a graduate of St. James, allow me to explain that the Marianists first came to California in 1884 to serve at St. Mary’s School in Marysville. In 1886 the Marianist Brothers opened St. Joseph Boys’ School

(CNS PHOTO/ADREES LATIF, REUTERS)

Papal appeal for Asia Bibi

Threats to religious freedom, especially in the secularized West, were a topic of reflection and prayer in Rome Nov. 19 as Pope Benedict XVI gathered with 150 members of the College of Cardinals and 24 cardinals-designate.

The reflection covered threats to religious freedom in the Muslim world but began by noting the situation in the West. The Holy Father said that the relationship between truth and freedom is essential but today faces the great challenge of relativism, which seems to complete the concept of freedom but which actually risks destroying it and becoming an authentic “dictatorship.”

In an interview with Vatican Radio Nov. 19 on the eve of his induction into the College of Cardinals, Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl discussed his concerns about religious freedom in the world and in his own country: “There are places around the world where you simply cannot openly worship – you cannot have a Catholic Church, cannot have a Christian community openly celebrating the sacraments,” he said. “I think this is something we as a people, the people on this planet, need to be concerned about. There are places where freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are simply denied, for lots of reasons. But I’m concerned about, in our country, we’re seeing now a rewriting of how freedom of conscience is being interpreted.

It used to be we always made room for conscientious objection, we always made room for religious exemption. And now there are those that basically say freedom of religion means you can worship in your house of worship but it can’t overflow and have any impact in our culture. The religious values that are woven into the fabric of our history are no longer welcome, and I think that’s something we need to be very aware of and very alert to.”

for the parish at 10th and Howard streets in San Francisco. Following the earthquake and fire in 1906 the Brothers staffed the new St. James Grammar School and High School in the Mission District at 23rd and Fair Oaks streets. So we are celebrating Marianist Catholic education in San Francisco for over 124 years, not just 100 years.

The countless alumni of old St. Joseph and old St. James have joined with the Riordan alumni in honoring their former Marianist teachers. We Marianists are appreciative of their loyalty and gratitude as well as that of their families.

Brother John Samaha, SM Cupertino

Photo was offensive The picture you printed in Nov. 19 edition of your paper is offensive to every Catholic who truly lives their faith. A Catholic Sister and a young Catholic woman, a graduate of Catholic high school, and the staff of the Catholic paper in which this picture is printed all failed to recognize the inappropriateness of this picture for the paper and its audience. In this culture we are bombarded daily by images of scantily clad women, and our young generation is fed images of especially young girls and women that border on pornographic. Now you joined the ranks of magazines that show no respect for women’s bodies and you decided to flaunt a young, impressionable and clueless girl on your pages. Didn’t anyone ever hear about encouraging young girls to practice modesty? For goodness’ sake, wasn’t there a shawl anywhere around to drape over this girl’s shoulders, if you absolutely had to print that particular picture for your Catholic audience to see?

You owe us all an apology.

Danijela Brekalo San Mateo

L E T T E R S

Marianist education in SF began in 1884

Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers. Please: ➣ Include your name, address and daytime phone number. ➣ Sign your letter. ➣ Limit submissions to 250 words. ➣ Note that the newspaper reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

Send your letters to: Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: delvecchior@sfarchdiocese.org, include “Letters” in the subject line.

Commending Anglican converts to Catholicism

I commend the five Church of England bishops who announced Nov. 8 that they were converting to Catholicism following Pope Benedict’s invitation to disaffected Anglicans.

Radical Anglicans who support women bishops and the evil of homosexuality misinterpret the Bible and are guided by a false sense of freedom. They seek not God but their own selfish desires of power and lust.

Freedom does not rest in one’s ability to do as one pleases. “Ye shall be as gods.” This promise is quite clearly behind modernity’s radical demand for freedom. Such anarchical freedom does not redeem, but makes man a miscarried creature, a pointless being.

Those who live like this very soon clash with others who want to live the same way. The inevitable consequence of this selfish concept of freedom is violence and the mutual destruction of freedom and life. This is the direction in which the world-wide Anglican communion is now headed.

Sadly, some people want to measure the truth of the faith by modern society’s standards. They mistakenly believe that divine revelation must adapt itself to the current mentality in order to be credible, instead of the current mentality converting in the light that comes to us from on high.

The result is a stripping of the redeemer of man of his radical uniqueness and classifying him as someone who can be managed and domesticated.

Anglican traditionalists should take heart. They are always welcome back to the fullness of truth that resides, with all its pristine beauty and splendor, inside the Catholic Church. I encourage everyone – including agnostics, atheists and dissenting Catholics – who are tossed about by the waves of false doctrines, to climb aboard the bark of Peter for it will be their only safe haven in these troubling times.

Paul Kokoski Hamilton, Ontario

December 3, 2010

Catholic San Francisco

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From Rome, new words on the clergy abuse crisis (CNS PHOTO/ALESSIA GIULIANI, CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO)

On Nov. 19, the eve of the third cardinals’ assembly “In one sense you can say absolutely you could never do of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI, 150 cardinals and 24 enough to prevent such horrible things happening – the most cardinals-designate met to discuss five issues affecting the grievous breach of a trust between a priest, a spiritual father, global church, including the abuse crisis. and a child,” he said. “I always had a sense as Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the a bishop that I needed to be ever more vigiCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, lant in the matter and never take for granted said the Vatican is preparing a document for that this couldn’t happen again, and therefore all bishops’ conferences offering guidelines tried to make sure that I was a good sentinel, for a “coordinated and effective program” of a good guard watching the situation and takchild protection and for dealing with allegaing appropriate action On the other hand, I tions of clerical sexual abuse. The cardinal have to say, and I’m speaking about myself, “made some observations about the greater the bishops I know in the United States and responsibility of bishops for safeguardas I know the situation in general, I believe ing the faithful entrusted to them,” said a that every prudent measure has been taken Vatican statement issued after the meeting. to address this evil so that it doesn’t happen The statement said bishops should be again. As a matter of fact most of the cases “inspired by the words” of Pope Benedict are older. They haven’t happened in the last, and the way he has listened to victims of let’s say, 10 or even 20 years. At the same sexual abuse during his meetings with them. time I’ve tried to provide help for those who Cardinal Levada also spoke about “colcome forward to say that they have been a laboration with civil authorities and the need victim of sexual abuse by a priest. The work for an effective commitment to protecting continues but I believe that a tremendous lot U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. children and young people and for an attenof progress has been made.

Burke in Rome Nov. 22. tive selection and formation of future priests and religious,” the statement said. ome-based journalist Sandro While the cardinals were meeting at the Magister, is his column at chiesa.

Vatican, a small group of clerical sex abuse victims met with espresso.repubblica.it, wrote a Nov. 20 opinion piece titled reporters in Rome and called on the church to take further “Pedophilia. The Doubts of the Cardinals Over ‘Zero action, including releasing the names of all accused priests Tolerance.’” around the world.

“In a country like the United States of America, the transition has been made from a phase of permissiveness in dealing lso on Nov. 19, Vatican Radio interviewed one of the with the phenomenon of pedophilia, in both the civil and cardinals-designate, U.S. Archbishop Raymond Burke, ecclesiastical camps, to a phase of generalized ‘zero tolerance,’ about the abuse crisis and other topics. The prelate was asked if Puritan in spirit,” Magister concluded.

“Something similar has happened in the Church. The he thinks the Church has done enough to address the problem phenomenon of pedophilia is perceived more and more as a and prevent future cases.

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Guest Commentary

Our selective curiosity on sex scandals

By Vincent Carroll Is the Baptist ministry prone to sexual abuse against minors?

Just wondering.

After all, four young men have accused Baptist megachurch leader Bishop Eddie Long in suburban Atlanta of luring them into sex when they were teens, and it’s hardly the first time a well – known Baptist preacher has been linked to such scandal.

Yet the case has been framed in news accounts mostly as an example of possible hypocrisy: Prominent anti – gay pastor accused of having sex with male teens.

No one, meanwhile, is suggesting the Baptist ministry is a refuge for pedophiles, as is commonly said of the Catholic Church.

Is that because Baptist ministers are less likely than Catholic priests to have sex with minors? That may be the popular impression, but no one actually knows. Hard data on sexual abuse by ministers simply don’t exist, any more than they do for scoutmasters, school teachers, guidance counselors, staff at juvenile detention facilities, and other professions dealing with youth.

“Sexual misconduct appears to be spread fairly evenly across the denominations, though I stress the word ‘appears,’ “ maintains Philip Jenkins, Penn State professor of history and religious studies. “Astonishingly, Catholic priests are literally the only profession in the country for whom we have relatively good figures for the incidence of child abuse and molestation.”

Jenkins wrote those words in 2003. I asked him recently if they remained true. “Definitely,” he replied.

We do have a few clues, however, regarding possible abuse rates in other professions. For example, in a report titled “Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth” released earlier this year, a federal Bureau of Justice Statistics survey found an astonishing 10.3 percent of more than 26,000 youth held in state – operated and other large juvenile facilities complained of a “sexual incident” involving facility staff in the previous 12 months.

A few years ago, The Associated Press examined sexual abuse of students by public school teachers. Although reporters couldn’t quantify total complaints, they did discover “more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic.” Perhaps more disturbing, “The AP investigation found efforts to stop individual offenders but, overall, a deeply entrenched resistance toward recognizing and fighting abuse . . . .”

In case after case the AP examined, accusations of inappropriate behavior were dismissed,” while “deals and lack of information – sharing allow abusive teachers to jump state lines, even when one school does put a stop to the abuse.”

In other words, school districts were engaging in the same sort of institutional treatment of offenders that characterized a number of Catholic dioceses in the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, and which did so much to damage the church’s reputation.

In 2009, by contrast, a total of only six “credible” allegations were lodged against U.S. Catholic priests or deacons for sexual abuse of a minor occurring that year, according to statistics gathered by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. That’s in a church with more than 41,000 priests and 17,000 deacons. Assuming the clergy will never be staffed entirely by saints – what profession is? – this figure may be about as low as it is likely to go for such a large organization.

Obviously, some victims of sexual abuse will come forward much later, but if recent experience is any guide, most future reports won’t point a finger at today’s priests, either. Nearly 400 allegations were actually logged in 2009, but the vast majority involved incidents dating back at least 25 years, with most occurring in the 1970s. That pattern matches what the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found in 2004 in a well – respected analysis, namely that “more abuse occurred in the 1970s than any other decade.”

Reported incidents of abuse dropped rapidly afterward, particularly after the prosecutions of the notorious pedophile Father Gilbert Gauthe in Louisiana in 1985 and the former Rev. James Porter in 1993 in Massachusetts. It was during this period, as former New York Times religion reporter Peter Steinfels once explained, that most bishops revised how they handled accusations of sexual abuse, agreeing to “immediately suspend anyone reasonably suspected.”

By 2002, the single biggest year of media coverage of priest sex abuse (triggered by first – rate reporting in the Boston Globe), “it is almost certain that church authorities [had] long since ceased to ‘shuttle pedophile priests from parish to parish,’ “ Steinfels concluded. That fact was almost totally unappreciated when Steinfels wrote it in 2002, and it is rarely appreciated even today. What it means, however, is that as contemporary instances of abuse have been drying up, plaintiffs’ attorneys have had to find ways to proceed with decades – old claims, including by persuading courts to approve theories like repression of memory or going to legislatures to retroactively suspend their statutes of limitations.

Partly as a result, some of the cases themselves have taken on an increasingly surreal quality. On July 13, for example, the archdiocese of Denver took the unusual step of issuing a press release announcing that the reputation of Msgr. William Higgins, who died more than 40 years ago, remained unblemished after a plaintiff known as “Jane Doe” “voluntarily dismissed all claims” she made against him a year before.

Her story had been riddled with inconsistencies and inventions involving everything from how the alleged incident had affected her self – esteem to whether she’d ever filed other allegations of sexual abuse and submitted to therapeutic hypnosis.

It was also discovered that her lawyer, in what church attorneys told the court was witness tampering, sent an e – mail to Jane Doe’s therapist indicating that “we need” her client’s supposed recollection of the alleged abuse to occur “less than two years

state of emergency. To which it is believed necessary to react with a system that is also emergency in nature, as rapid and expedited as possible.

“An emergency system should be lifted once the critical phase has been passed. But this result seems a long way off, in the case of pedophilia.

“In short, this was the legal background to the discussion between the cardinals and Pope Benedict on “the response of the Church to cases of sexual abuse,” yesterday, Nov. 19, the vigil of the third consistory of this pontificate.

“There is reason to believe that this discussion will continue.”

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lso on Nov. 20, the depth of the pope’s grief over the abuse crisis, and the complexity of its causes and of the response to it, came to light when the Vatican newspaper published excerpts from journalist Peter Seewald’s book-length interview, “Light of the World.”

Seewald asked: “It is not only the abuse that is upsetting, it is also the way of dealing with it. The deeds themselves were hushed up and kept secret for decades. That is a declaration of bankruptcy for an institution that has love written on its banner.”

The pope replied: “The Archbishop of Dublin told me something very interesting about that. He said that ecclesiastical penal law functioned until the late 1950s; admittedly it was not perfect –there is much to criticize about it – but nevertheless it was applied. After the mid-1960s, however, it was simply not applied any more. The prevailing mentality was that the Church must not be a Church of laws but, rather, a Church of love; she must not punish. Thus the awareness that punishment can be an act of love ceased to exist. This led to an odd darkening of the mind, even in very good people.

“Today we have to learn all over again that love for the sinner and love for the person who has been harmed are correctly balanced if I punish the sinner in the form that is possible and appropriate.”

– Compiled by Catholic San Francisco.

Is the Catholic Church being watched differently and evaluated differently with regard to abuse?

Actually you have already given the answer. If you look at the real statistics, that does not authorize us to look away from the problem or to minimize it. But we must also note that in these matters we are not dealing with something specific to the Catholic priesthood or the Catholic Church. They are, unfortunately, simply rooted in man’s sinful situation, which is also present in the Catholic Church and led to these terrible results.

– Pope Benedict XVI, responding to a question from journalist Peter Seewald in the newly released book “Light of the World”

before we had to file in mid – May 2009” because of Colorado’s statute of limitations.

Similarly fraudulent or highly dubious accusations are more common than is acknowledged in coverage of the church scandals – although they should not be surprising, given the monumental settlements various dioceses have paid out over the years.

The older the case, the more difficult it is to verify or disprove – which is why we have statutes of limitations in the first place.

“Higgins was born in 1890 and died in 1967,” the lead attorney involved in the case told me. “And so I find myself defending a case where both the alleged wrongful conduct and the priest’s death occurred before I was even born.”

Yet cases of such vintage are by no means unusual. Nearly a third of abuse complaints made nationally last year involved incidents at least 40 years old.

The cost and risk of defending cases in a hostile public environment can sometimes propel the church into settlement offers to accusers with seemingly little credibility. Denver offered a settlement to a woman who accused another deceased monsignor of sexual abuse in the 1970s even though her life history – including long – standing mental illness, serious drug problems and a childhood marred by parental neglect or worse – was not one to give confidence in her reliability.

Incredibly, she rejected the offer and chose to pursue a lawsuit. When church lawyers then identified numerous falsehoods or inconsistencies in her claims of repressed memory, she turned around and sued her original attorney.

It goes without saying that there have been far too many victims of sexual abuse by clergy, that some dioceses once handled predators in inexcusable fashion, and that the bishops responsible (mostly retired or deceased) were never held accountable.

But it is equally true that many people on both the political left and right, for very different reasons, have been perfectly willing to fuel the fiction that nothing has changed and that, moreover, the church was a uniquely culpable institution. And never mind if the evidence – or lack of it – tells a different story.

Reprinted with permission from The Denver Post, where the article appeared Oct. 10. E-mail Vincent Carroll, a columnist for the paper, at vcarroll@denverpost.com.

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Catholic San Francisco

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH IS 11:1-10 On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

O God, with your judgment endow the

December 3, 2010

Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 king, and with your justice, the king’s son; he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ROMANS ROM 15:4-9 Brothers and sisters: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name.

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woman rubs a magical lamp. A genie appears. She says, “Do I get my three wishes?” The genie replies: “Sorry, due to inflation, bad global markets, subprime crisis, poverty, hunger, fierce economic competition, and loss of jobs, you can make only one wish.”

The quick thinking woman, pointing to a map, says “I want peace in the Middle East. Let these countries stop fighting with each other.” The genie says, “Those countries have been fighting for thousands of years. It will be impossible to grant such a gigantic wish.” The woman now has to settle for another wish: “In that case, you see, I am looking for the right man. You know, one who is kind and considerate, likes to cook and helps with housecleaning, is passionate and fun, and gets along with my family, who doesn’t watch sports all the time, and is faithful. Grant me this wish.” Sighing deeply, the genie says, “Lady, let’s look at that map again.”

Peace in the Middle East seems an impossible dream. Peace between the sexes at times seems even a bigger challenge. One wonders if that is because men are from Mars and women are from Venus! There are other wars besides the conventional ones: the frontier war, race war, class war, sex war, generation war, digital war.

Conflicts flare between nations and within nations. They rage within communities and families, and, not least, within the human heart.

Peace is the most desired gift in the world today.

Lack of this gift has caused enormous anxiety and chaos, robbing nations and people of their tranquil existence. Our life styles have had to be rearranged because of terrorism and insecurity.

Sadly, violence seems the preferred option for

Scripture reflection FATHER CHARLES PUTHOTA

Peace: the Messiah’s gift some to resolve conflicts. There is a desperate need for the world to revisit the biblical gift of peace, which is not merely the absence of conflict.

Peace –shalom – implies the fullness of blessings and fulfillment of the covenantal relationship.

Woody Allen is famously quoted as saying, “The lion shall lay down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep,” a reference to the promise of peace in Isaiah. Humorous as it sounds, the saying really misses the point that with the Lord’s visitation, all kinds of impossible things are promised. The lamb will hobnob with the lion – and still get plenty of good sleep.

Isaiah lists the old enemies now living in harmony: the wolf and the lamb, leopard and the kid, calf and young lion, cow and bear, the baby and the cobra, the child and the adder.

“There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy

mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord.” When the Lord comes, He will bring about cessation of hostilities and create cosmic peace.

The peace in the whole of creation is concretized in the letter to the Romans, where peace is sought between people in conflict. Paul’s prayer is: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another.” Paul’s ministry reconciles the pseudo-enmity between the chosen ones and the Gentiles. The Messiah offers new life to people of all nations, and in his person and message offers the end of enmity and insecurity.

This is a paradigm for what God in Jesus continues to do in the present world torn between religions and ideologies. It seems impossible that peace can ever come, but if people can open

A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW MT 3:1-12 John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. their hearts to the transforming and reconciling presence of Jesus, impossible things will become a reality. Justice is suggested as a visible sign of peace among peoples. God “shall judge the poor with justice” and “justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.” When justice is ensured, the gift of peace would follow.

The Gospel further concretizes the cosmic and world peace by appealing to the individual human heart. Pointing to the mightier one to come, the baptizer appeals to the individuals to repent. If they do, God in Jesus can bring about impossible things. There is a clear warning of judgment in the baptizer’s message. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Time has come.

We as individuals have to hasten to seek peace within our hearts. Repentance and conversion are a process through which God will reconcile and heal our inner conflicts. Unless there is personal transformation, the world peace cannot happen and the cosmic peace will still be elusive.

This Second Sunday of Advent, as we delve deeper into the process of conversion, we would do well to yearn for peace as the Messiah’s unique gift this season. It is peace in the whole of creation, peace among religions and nations, and peace within the human heart so torn by inner conflicts. Such a comprehensive gift of peace might seem lost forever, but if we can discern this promise in the holy baby to be born, it will become a reality. Let Advent be a tender time for such a robust readiness for peace.

Father Charles Puthota, Ph.D., is pastor of St. Veronica Parish in South San Francisco.

Understanding Mary’s Immaculate Conception

By Brother John Samaha, SM In the early months of the liturgical year we honor two special vocations in God’s plan of salvation – the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary and one of her special proteges, Bernadette Soubirous.

The solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Dec. 8, and honors the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without original sin. Feb. 11 is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the date of the first appearance of Our Lady to Bernadette. April 16 is the feast day of St. Bernadette.

In 2008 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions at Lourdes, where she identified herself to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception. In 2004 we observed the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s solemn definition of this dogma on Dec. 8, 1854. Blessed Pius IX explained that Mary was preserved from original sin by a “singular grace and privilege” given her by God “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, “Redeemer of the human race. Mary, like every other human being, needed the redemptive benefits of Christ. But in anticipation of what God did for all through Christ, she alone was preserved from original sin “from the first moment of her

conception.” As one writer asserted, hers was a “redemption by exemption.” By her Immaculate Conception she was conceived in the fullness of grace, in the state of closest possible union with God in view of her future role as the Mother of the Redeemer.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated already in the seventh century in Palestine as the Conception

by St. Anne of the Theotokos (Mother of God) on Dec. 9. The doctrine is understood differently by some Eastern Christian Churches because of a variance in their theological understanding of original sin. The observance spread west from Constantinople.

Still called the Conception of St. Anne and observed on Dec. 8, it was prominent in Naples in the ninth century; in English monasteries in the 11th century, when it was called the feast of the conception of Our Lady; and in France in the 12th century.

When the feast was introduced in France, St. Bernard of Clairvaux opposed it, igniting a controversy that endured for three centuries. Most Scholastic theologians, including St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure opposed the doctrine on the grounds that it detracted from the universality of the redemption by Christ.

But it was defended and explained with theological clarity in

the 13th century by Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan. In 1263 the Franciscans adopted the feast.

The opponents of this feast and doctrine had argued that Mary had to be touched by original sin for at least an instant, even though she was sanctified in her mother’s womb. John Duns Scotus resolved these objections by explaining that Christ can save and redeem in two ways: he can rescue from sin those already fallen; or he can preserve one from being touched by sin even for an instant. Mary was granted “redemption by exemption.”

The Council of Basel in 1439 affirmed this belief. Ten years later the Sorbonne in Paris required all its degree candidates to pledge an oath to defend the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 approved the feast with its proper Mass and Office, and in 1708 Pope Clement IX extended the feast to the universal Church and made it a holy day of obligation.

Later the Council of Trent (1545-1563) explicitly declared that Mary was exempt from the taint of original sin. From then on the belief was embraced generally and defended by all schools of theology. Many Catholic thinkers and founders of the 18th and 19th centuries promoted and expounded Mary’s Immaculate Conception with special interest and verve.

Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

■ Continued from cover “lectio divina.” Their daily ministry includes retreats, prayer groups, lay ministry formation, and talks on theology. All of the sisters study theology to prepare for the variety of apostolic work the order is exercising in 34 countries around the world. They do not wear a habit, said Sister Karla Felix-Rivera, who coordinates the campus ministry at State, “to make God accessible” being with the people as they are.

“We are one of the new faces of consecrated life in the Church,” said Sister Karla. Pope John Paul II ratified Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity as a new form of consecrated life with a decree of papal approval in April 2000.

Their priests, the associate married couples and women religious share equally in administration under the fraternity board at the motherhouse in Rome. All members profess public vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, even though the married couples do so according to their state of life. “This internal structure is unusual in the Church and can only be understood in the tradition of Vatican II, which was the founding moment and inspiration for the congregation,” said Sister Karla.

In San Francisco, there is a retreat center and house of formation in the Mission

District where 12 sisters from nine different countries are in the novitiate or in their studies at different universities around the Bay Area. The order, founded in 1962 in Majorca, Spain, has been in the Archdiocese of San Francisco for 20 years. Worldwide, there are about 1,000 members, Sister Karla said.

At the urging of then-Archbishop William Levada and Msgr. Kobti, and as part of their mission to evangelize, Verbum Dei made a commitment to the campus ministry at State, where they became active in 2006.

“It’s a very secular campus. The students need the reference point of people of faith,” said Sister Karla, a graduate of Mercy High School in Burlingame, University of San Francisco, and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley who is now studying canon law at Catholic University of America. Sister Karla says the heart of Verbum Dei’s work is “guiding people into the life of prayer.”

For senior Kiona Medina, who was looking for a way to integrate her faith into her life, the Newman Center and the Verbum Dei Fraternity brought her peace and a community. “The Newman was very crucial in that time in my life when I was learning to integrate my school life, my social life, my spiritual life into a whole person,” said Medina. “Just the fact that it was in a school; that we could get together on campus, was very powerful for me.”

The Leading Catholic Funeral Directors of the San Francisco Archdiocese

Game called due to lightning, hail St. Stephen and St. Thomas More schools were declared Catholic Charities CYO seventh-grade soccer co-champions after their Nov. 20 match at San Francisco’s Crocker Amazon Park was cut short due to lightning and hail.

(PHOTO COURTESY CONNIE D’AURA)

Sisters reinvigorate . . .

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Hospice chaplains . . .

■ Continued from page 11 from Jamaica in 1981, is devoting her life to working with the poor. “To be a chaplain” among the poor, she said, “you have to be compassionate. You have to be a caring person, a humble person, and you have to be able to accept yourself, and by acting yourself you can accept others in their suffering.”

Carmelite Father Michael Kwiecien, who is parochial vicar at St. Teresa Parish

in San Francisco and, since July 1, has been a part-time chaplain at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Francisco, was in the audience at the breakfast honoring his colleagues. At 58, being a chaplain is a new experience – he spent most of his years since ordination as a high school theology teacher – but one that seems a natural fit for him.

“Part of my learning on the job is to be attentive to what patients need,” he said.

“As I have grown older and become a better minister, it is because I have become a better listener.”

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Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

New pope book . . .

■ Continued from page 3 “When, for example, in the name of non-discrimination, people try to force the he Catholic Church to change her position on on homosexuality or the ordination of women, then that means she is no longerr allowed to live out her own identity,”” he said.

In that regard, the pope said other religions face similar pressures. He said, for example, that he saw no reason for Western countries to ban the burqa, the Islamic veil, as long as it is worn voluntarily.

On other topics, Pope Benedict had this to say: – He defended the 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” which taught that artificial contraception in marriage is morally wrong, but said the church needs to find ways to help peoplee live the teaching and show tolerance to th those who h hhave problems with it.

The pope noted that the church accepts natural regulation of conception. He said that method presupposes that couples take time for each other, and is far different from taking a pill “so that I can jump into bed with a random acquaintance.” In general, he ra said, the church has to return to the “genuinely Christian attitude” of joy, as well as discipline and responsibility, in sexuality.

– He said dialogue with Muslims has improved during his pontificate, in part because Muslim scholars accept that Islam needs to clarify its rrelation to violence and its relation tto reason.

– The pope took issue with critics of the wartime policies of Pope Pius XII, saying that he “saved more Jews X than anyone else” by quietly opening th doors to church institutions. do – He said he began distributing Communion on the tongue during papal Com Masses not because he was opposed to Ma Communion in the hand, but to “send a Com signal” about respect for the real presi ence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Pope says 2008 U.S. trip revitalized faith amid crisis VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In the new book “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times,” Pope Benedict XVI said that his 2008 trip to the United States “revitalized the positive energies of the faith” at a time when the clerical abuse scandal was back in the headlines.

“It revitalized the positive energies of the faith and touched everyone who was present. Wherever the Pope went, there were countless people, and there was a joy of being Catholic in the air that was quite incredible,” the pope said.

The pope said that at every stop he felt “joyful participation, a sense of closeness, of communion, that touched me greatly.”

Peter Seewald, the German writer who conducted the interview in July, also asked the pope if the U.S. Church has surmounted the abuse crisis.

“That might be an exaggeration,” the pope responded.

But, he said, the crisis made the U.S. Church “aware of its fragility and of the problems and sin that are present in it. This is very important. In addition, there is an internal awakening to the need to overcome all these things and to live out and embody Catholic identity in new ways in our time.”

Ordeal and forgiveness Book recounts story of a falsely accused priest “The Conspiracy: An Innocent Priest,” is an important book that tells of the personal nightmare of Msgr. William McCarthy of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., when he became a victim of false accusation.

After serving his diocese honorably for 40 years, a police detective came to his front door on Feb. 3, 2003, and said, “You have been accused of molesting two little sisters, Nora and Mary, in 1980.”

Msgr. McCarthy snapped back, “I certainly did not!”

He asked who made the ridiculous charge.

The detective later told Msgr. McCarthy that the girls’ family did not accuse him, “but two unrelated women” came to the detective’s office and did so.

On the basis of this flimsy testimony, the diocese ordered Msgr. McCarthy to leave his rectory. He was stripped of his priestly powers and publicly shamed before he could defend himself.

Msgr. McCarthy had been the pastor of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in East Hanover from 1980 to 2003.

He learned of the charge nearly three months before his planned retirement.

According to Msgr. McCarthy, the little girls he supposedly touched improperly were only 5 or 6 at the time.

He met them only once. At all times, they were in the presence of their mother. He had come to their home as their pastor to explain that no more children could be accepted that year at the parish’s overcrowded school. He never once talked to the children, much less touched them.

The chancery office explained that it had to follow the new norms issued governing allegations of molestation of children by clergy. Bishops must also report such accusations to police immediately.

It is right and just to stop the offenders, but the police usually throw out such baseless complaints if there is no evidence.

There can be no room in the priesthood for a priest who is truly guilty of child molestation. However, justice is not served if every single accusation is taken as the Gospel truth. Canon law requires that penalties should not be inflicted until the case is properly adjudicated.

It wasn’t until years later, on Oct. 30, 2007, that some semblance of peace returned to Msgr. McCarthy’s life.

An ecclesiastical tribunal, after examining all the facts, unanimously exonerated him from any wrongdoing.

Msgr. McCarthy, through the goodness of his heart, has forgiven everyone involved. There were many priests and lay people who befriended and supported him, and he speaks glowingly of them in his book.

Among them is his bishop, Arthur Serratelli, who treated him with great respect and kindness during his ordeal.

Commenting on Msgr. McCarthy’s vindication, Bishop Serratelli said in a statement: “Six years ago, allegations were made against Msgr. William McCarthy.

A church tribunal, composed of canon lawyers from

Catholic Professional and Business Club

Christmas Party Once again it’s time for our annual Christmas party at the Elks Lodge, a chance to kick off the festive season in the Catholic spirit. It’s free for members, but anyone is welcome to join us for good conversation, tasty food, and to meet other local Catholic business people and professionals.

WHEN:

Father John Catoir, head of St. Jude Media, writes a column for Catholic News Service.

SCRIPTURE SEARCH Gospel for December 5, 2010 Matthew 3:1-12 Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle A, the warnings of John the Baptist. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.

BAPTIST KINGDOM RIVER WARNED STONES CUT DOWN SANDALS

FREE for members, $20 for non-members (become a member for $45) Includes delicious appetizers and a no-host bar for “holiday cheer”

RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED, but you are welcome to: Mail your contact information & a check payable to “CPBC-ADSF” to: CPBC, Attn: John Norris, 1 Peter York Way, SF, CA 94109 or pay at the door.

Upcoming: January 12, 2010: Meet Bishop McElroy, our new Auxiliary Bishop!

www.cpbc–sf.org

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outside the diocese, concluded that it was not proven that he was guilty of the charge alleged against him.

The Holy See has determined that the case is closed.

Father “Msgr. McCarthy is a priest in good standing, John Catoir and is free to exercise his priestly ministry as a retired priest. During this very difficult time in his life, Msgr. McCarthy has been totally cooperative, faithful to his priesthood and shown a great love for the church.”

I believe that “The Conspiracy” is a must-read for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, for it provides us with some powerful spiritual reading. Msgr. McCarthy talks about the many saints and mystics who inspired him to carry his cross with courage during his own personal “dark night of the soul.” It may also be of help to readers personally in their time of need.

“The Conspiracy” is privately published, and can be obtained through Barnes and Noble.

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© 2010 Tri-C-A Publications www.tri-c-a-publications.com

Sponsored by Duggan’s Serra Mortuary 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City 650-756-4500 ● www.duggansserra.com

December 3, 2010

Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 4, 6 p.m.: Mass and reception in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, 40th St. at Balboa in San Francisco. “Lots of good food served after Mass,” a note from the parish said. Music by “Los Rondalla.”

Dec. 11, 5 a.m.: Pilgrims gather at All Souls Church, 315 Walnut Ave. in South San Francisco for a 6 a.m. departure on the Guadalupana Pilgrimage to St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. A Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral at 2 p.m. Father John Balleza, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Redwood City and chaplain to the event, will be among the celebrants. Musicians, dancers and decorated floats accompany the prayer parade.

Call (415) 333-4868 or (415) 586-4292.

Dec. 12, 5 a.m.: “Mananitas Mass” honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe at Mission Dolores Basilica, 16th St. at Dolores in San Francisco. Celebration starts in school auditorium with procession to Basilica church.

Music led by Mariachi band. Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice, formerly pastor of Mission Dolores, will preside. Father Arturo Albano, pastor, will concelebrate. Color Guard from Knights of Columbus. A light tamale and Mexican pastry breakfast with hot chocolate follows. Parking in schoolyard. Call Bob or Kati Huerta at (415) 239-9107.

Dec. 12, 2-3 p.m.: A short pro-life procession with San Mateo Pro-Life under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Pre-Born Child. Pray the rosary and process from St. Gregory Parish, Hacienda and 28th Avenue in San Mateo to Golden Gate Community Health/Planned Parenthood at 2211 Palm Ave. - about one mile. The rosary continues there and on the walk back to St. Gregory. For further information, call Jessica at (650) 572-1468.

Advent Opportunities Dec. 4, 5, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: “Follow the Star Creche Display” at St. Bartholomew Church, 600 Columbia Dr. at Alameda de las Pulgas in San Mateo. Refreshments and children’s activities, too.

Admission is free.

Dec. 5, 2 p.m.: “Christmas Concert” by choirs and musicians of St Bartholomew Parish, corner of Alameda de las Pulgas and Crystal Springs Road in San Mateo. Program features voices of parish ensembles under direction of Tim Cooney and selections including Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio and other Christmas favorites. Free will donations appreciated.

Dec. 5, 5 p.m.: “Night of the Father’s Love,” an Advent/Christmas Cantata performed by the choir of St. Veronica Church in South San Francisco – 434 Alida Way just off El Camino Real. Admission is free.

Donations to music program accepted.

Dec. 11, 9:30 a.m.: “This is the Way - Deanery Two Advent Reconciliation Service” at St. Paul of the Shipwreck Church, 1122 Jamestown Ave. at Third Street in San Francisco. Music led by “St. Paul of the Shipwreck’s Gospel Choir.” Refreshments follow service.

Dec. 13 – 16: “Harvesting God’s Gifts,” a parish retreat at St. Hilary’s, 761 Hilary Dr., Tiburon, with Dominican Father Jude Siciliano and Dominican Sister Patricia Bruno. The schedule for each day will be 8:15 a.m. Mass, 9 a.m. Scriptural Reflection and Meditation Session, 7:30 p.m. evening session of ritual and prayer. All are welcome. Call (415) 435-1122. No fee or reservation required – free will offering accepted. Visit www.Preachers’Exchange Dec. 15, 9:30 a.m.: Contemplative Day of Prayer at Santa Sabina Center, 25 Magnolia Ave, San Rafael.

Suggested offering $20. Call (415) 457-7727 or e-mail info@santasabinacenter.org.

Dec. 16, 3-5 p.m.: Free Caregiver Workshops offered by Catholic Charities CYO. Family caregivers who are caring for an older adult with memory loss and confusion, especially when challenging behaviors begin to surface. This is an opportunity to get some respite and relaxation while refreshing caregiver skills. Workshops are not for professional caregivers. Workshops are funded by the Sequoia Healthcare District in support of primary family caregivers and Aging in Place. The sessions will be offered at San Carlos Adult Day Services, 787 Walnut Street in San Carlos. Contact Michael Vargas at (650) 592-9325 or mvargas@cccyo.org Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m.: St. Charles Parish Annual Christmas Concert under the direction of Claire

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Catholic San Francisco

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Dec. 5, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Winter Faire and Pancake Breakfast, St. Thomas More School Gym, 50 Thomas More Way off Brotherhood. Purchase unique holiday decorations and gifts, baked goods, fudge, handmade knit wear, our famous infused vinegar and the world’s best peanut brittle. Enjoy a pancake breakfast and have your picture taken with Santa. For more information contact Linda Shah at (415) 218-0401 or email lp1114@aol.com

Datebook

TV/Radio Dec. 11, 9:30 a.m.: Day of Recollection and Mass heralding Simbang Gabi at Mater Dolorosa Parish, 307 Willow off Grand in South San Francisco. Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy is a featured speaker at the retreat day. Auxiliary Bishop William Bishop Robert Bishop William Justice will preside at the McElroy Justice 1:30 p.m. Mass. This year Simbang Gabi, a novena in the days before Christmas, will be celebrated in more than three-dozen parishes in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The nine days of prayer, a longtime rite of the Filipino people, also includes the making of the parol, lanterns shining in the light of Christ.

For Simbang Gabi information call Estelle Oloresisimo at (415) 595-9248 or Nellie Hizon (415) 699-7927. “A website is in the works,” Nellie said.

Giovannetti. Join the adult and children’s choirs in St. Charles newly renovated church to celebrate the rich heritage of Advent and Christmas music, carols both old and new - some for listening and some for singing along. Admission is free. An offering will be taken for the support of the music programs. St. Charles Church is located at 880 Tamarack Avenue in San Carlos. Call (650) 591-7349 x32 for more information.

Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m.: “Annual Christmas Celebration for the Divorced, Separated and Widowed of the Archdiocese of San Francisco” at St. Dominic Church, lower floor, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner St. in San Francisco. A potluck dinner, and gift collection for charity will be followed by caroling, and a possible visit from Santa. To reply and more information, contact Gail Castro, (650) 591-8452 or Vonnie McGee at (650) 873-4736.

Dec. 18 – Jan. 2: “Live Nativity Scene” at Our Lady of the Pillar Church, Kelly and Church streets in Half Moon Bay with actors in roles of the Holy Family, Wise Men, and Shepherds. For times and additional details, call Mel Schwing at (650) 726-6765 or Cesar Sanchez at (650) 823-1259.

Taize Sung Prayer: 1st Friday at 8 p.m.: Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan. Call (650) 340-7452; young adults are invited each first Friday of the month to attend a social at 6 p.m. prior to Taize prayer at 8 p.m. The social provides light refreshments and networking with other young adults. Convenient parking is available. For more information, e-mail mercyyoungadults@sbcglobal.net. Tuesdays at 6 p.m.: Notre Dame Des Victoires Church, 566 Bush at Stockton, San Francisco with Rob Grant. Call (415) 397-0113. 3rd Friday, 8 p.m.: Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, Motherhouse Chapel, 43326 Mission Blvd. (off Mission Tierra), Fremont.

For further information, please contact Dominican Sister Beth Quire at (510) 449-7554 or visit www. msjdominicans.org. Dec. 15, 7 p.m.: Santa Sabina Center, 25 Magnolia Ave, San Rafael. Suggested offering $10-20. Call (415) 457-7727 or e-mail info@ santasabinacenter.org.

are on duty in the Cathedral from April through October, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, and Sunday after the 11 a.m. Mass. The Docent Program also offers special tours and a school program. Schedule a tour at (415) 5672020, ext. 220.

St. Mary’s Cathedral – Celebrating its 40th year

Food & Fun

Gough Street and Geary Boulevard in San Francisco (415) 567-2020. Visit www.stmarycathedralsf.org

CATHEDRAL VIEWING TIMES. Open every day from the first Mass until 5 p.m.

Touring is not allowed during Mass times. Docents

MASS TIMES MONDAY – SATURDAY 6:45 a.m. – Chapel of Our Lady 8:00 a.m. – Chapel of Our Lady 12:10 p.m. – Main Cathedral

SATURDAY EVENING 5:30 p.m. (Vigil Mass) – Organ and Cantor

SUNDAY 7:30 a.m. – Organ and Cantor 9 a.m. (Gregorian Chant) – Schola Cantorum 11a.m. Cathedral Choir 1 p.m. (Español) – Coro Hispano

CONFESSIONS Monday – Friday: 11:30 a.m. – noon Saturday: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Social Justice / Lectures / Respect Life Saturdays: San Mateo Pro-Life prays the rosary at Planned Parenthood, 2211 Palm Ave. in San Mateo at 8 a.m. and invites others to join them at the site. The prayer continues as a peaceful vigil until 1 p.m. The group is also open to new membership. Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month except August and December at St. Gregory Parish’s Worner Center, 138 28th Ave. in San Mateo at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call Jessica at (650) 572-1468 or visit www.sanmateoprolife.com Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Rosary for Life 815 Eddy St. – Planned Parenthood – in San Francisco.

Dec. 5th, 10a.m.-3p.m.: St. Robert Parish “Holiday Boutique” with numerous crafters selling handmade cards, jewelry, ornaments, children’s accessories, “green” candles, and both year-round and holiday florals. Tasty treats and refreshments will be available for purchase. Boutique is in Hennessy Hall of St. Robert School, 345 Oak Ave, San Bruno at Crystal Springs Ave. Call (650) 589-2800.

Fridays at 9 a.m.: The Archbishop’s Hour on Immaculate Heart Radio, KSFB - 1260 AM, San Francisco. Enjoy news, conversation and in-depth look at local and larger Church. Program is rerun Fridays and Mondays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. - e-mail info@sfarchdiocese.org with comments and questions about faith. 1260 AM also offers daily Mass, rosary and talk on the faith. Visit www.ihradio.org Sunday, 6 a.m., KOFY Channel 20/Cable 13 and KTSF Channel 26/Cable 8: TV Mass with Msgr.

Harry Schlitt presiding.

Sunday, 7 a.m.: TV Mass on The Filipino Channel (TFC) (Channel 241 on Comcast and Channel 2060 on Direct TV. Saturday, 4 p.m.: Religious programming in Cantonese over KVTO 1400 AM, co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry and Chinese Young Adults of the Archdiocese.

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

EWTN Catholic Television: Comcast Channel 229, AT&T Channel 562, Astound Channel 80, San Bruno Cable Channel 143, DISH Satellite Channel 261, Direct TV Channel 370. For programming details, visit www.ewtn.com

Single, Divorced, Separated Information about Bay Area single, divorced and separated programs is available from Jesuit Father Al Grosskopf at grosskopf@usfca.edu (415) 422-6698.

Would you like support while you travel the road through separation and divorce? The Archdiocese of San Francisco offers support for the journey. The Separated and Divorced Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco (SDCASF) now have two ongoing support groups in the 1st and 3rd weeks of each month - St. Bartholomew Parish, 600 Columbia Dr., San Mateo, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, at 7 p.m. in the spirituality center, and in O’Reilly hall of St. Stephen Parish near Stonestown, San Francisco, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, at 7:30 p.m. Call Gail (650) 5918452, or Joanne at St. Bart’s, (650) 347-0701 for more information.

Catholic Adult Singles Association of Marin County: “We are Catholics, single or single again, who are interested in making new friends, taking part in social activities, sharing opportunities for spiritual growth, and becoming involved in volunteer activities that will benefit our parishes, our community, and one another. We welcome those who would share in this with us.” For information, call Bob at (415) 897-0639.

Holy Cross Cemetery 1500 Old Mission Rd. in Colma, (650) 756-2060 Dec. 4, 11 a.m.: First Saturday Mass in All Saints Mausoleum.

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, e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org, or visit www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us.

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* Attendants * Companions * Hospice * Respite Care Competitive Rates • Screened • Insured • Bonded

YOUR # 1 CHOICE FOR Recessed Lights – Outdoor Lighting Outlets – Dimmers – Service Upgrades • Trouble Shooting!

Since 1972 Ca License # 663641 24 Hour Emergency Service

HOLLAND Plumbing Works San Francisco

QUALITY HOME CARE SERVING THE BAY AREA SINCE 1996

Lic. #742961

Casarotti + Design

Contact: 415.447.8463

NOTICE TO READERS

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

FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP Marriage, Family, and Individual Counseling David Nellis M.A. M.F.T. (415) 242-3355 www.christiancounseling2.com

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

December 3, 2010

Catholic San Francisco

19

Catholic San Francisco

classifieds

Visit www.catholic-sf.org For website listings, advertising info & Place Classified

Ad Form OR Call 415.614.5642, Fax 415.614.5641, Email penaj@sfarchdiocese.org PUBLISH A NOVENA Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

Cost $26

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

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme 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.

M.T.

Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

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

Select One Prayer: â?‘ St. Jude Novena to SH â?‘ Prayer to St. Jude

Please return form with check or money order for $26 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme 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.

M.T.

Elderly Care Experienced Caregiver, compassionate, live-in or live-out.

Call Bolly 415-317-0850

Room for Rent Richmond district in SF, $600/month. Room for rent for working person, non-smoker, no pets, references required. Leave message at (415) 738-0555 or (415) 387-7226.

Visit us at

www.catholic-sf.org

Chimney Cleaning Summ e Speciar/Fall ls

$89

$119

$139

Automotive

Help Wanted Case Manager

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County is seeking a mature and compassionate woman to support women who have been released from jail or prison. SVdP’s Catherine’s Center is a sixto twelve-month residential program that assists women who need help with their transition to society.

SVdFs Catherine’s Center has an opening for a full-time (40 hours per week) case manager. The primary responsibility of the case manager is to provide coordinated support services and referrals to current and former residents of SVdP’s Catherine’s Center, focusing on specific transitional needs. Areas may include substance abuse and/or co-dependency recovery, psychotherapy, medical treatment, child and family reunification, housing, employment, education, and spiritual resources.

Experience in social services and in networking with community agencies preferred. College degree desired.

If you are interested, please send your resume to Suzi Desmond at SVdP’s Catherine’s Center, 50 North B Street, San Matco, CA 94401, Or email it to sdesmond@svdp-sanmateoco.org

MERCY HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN FRANCISCO LOOKING FOR A FULLTIME DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT. The Director of Advancement is responsible for developing strategy and implementing plans for fundraising to meet the school’s goals for annual, capital and endowment fundraising. The Director of Advancement is also responsible for development and maintaining relationships with parents, alumni, prospects, donors and business leaders whose commitment to the school is important for its present and future success. The Director of Advancement manages and oversees work of the Alumnae, Admissions and Communication/Public Relations personnel.

Hilltop Buick Pontiac GMC Truck

If you are interested in seeing the full job description and/or applying to this position, please contact via email Lorelei Zermani at lzermani@mercyhs.org

I P L B A !

Director of Music Ministries

• Extensive inventory means selection • Competitive pricing • Give us your bid • We can offer YOU SAVINGS! • Exceptional customer service • Easy access off I-80 at Hilltop Richmond

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.

Saint Joseph/Old Mission San JosĂŠ

Vibrant, spirited, 2800 family parish seeks accomplished, energetic, motivated Director to continue a strong, diverse music Ministry. Responsibilities include planning and coordinating music for Parish liturgies/holy days/special feasts and events/concerts, directing Adult, Filipino, Multi-Cultural and Children choral and cantor programs (serve as resource to Mandarin, Youth and K-2 choirs). Other duties comprise instructing and conducting instrumental ensembles and hand bell choir. Requires BA in Music, strong organizational and people skills, proficient in keyboard, arranging and composition, and thorough understanding of Sing To the Lord and the GIRM. Computer skills must include music and desktop publishing. Full-time position with salary and benefits commensurate with qualifications.

Email applications to Gina: ginastjoseph@yahoo.com

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Catholic San Francisco

December 3, 2010

We invite you to gather with us on Saturday, December 11th at 11:00 a.m. in All Saints Mausoleum Chapel at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Colma Msgr. John Talesfore will facilitate our Christmas Remembrance Service as you join with others to remember and share grief’s journey and be comforted.

During this holiday service, the names of those you wish to remember and your message of love may be written on ornaments made by school students. You will be invited to place your ornament on our Memory Trees during the service. These Christmas Trees represent the ongoing hope of life and will remain inAll Saints Mausoleum Chapel from December 11th until January 7th.