February 4, 2005

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Pope’s Lenten message

(CNS PHOTO BY LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER, BAYOU CATHOLIC)

A teenager receives the cross of ashes at St. Joseph CoCathedral in Thibodaux, La., last year. Ash Wednesday, Feb. 9 this year, marks the start of the penitential season of Lent in the Latin-rite church. The season calls Christians to prayer, fasting, repentance and charity.

The following is Pope John Paul II’s Lenten message.

Dear brothers and sisters!

1. Each year, the Lenten season is set before us as a good opportunity for the intensification of prayer and penance, opening hearts to the docile welcoming of the divine will. During Lent, a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. This is done primarily by listening to the word of God more devoutly and by practicing mortification more generously, thanks to which it is possible to render greater assistance to those in need.

This year, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to bring to your attention a theme which is rather current, well illustrated by the following verse from Deuteronomy: “Loving the Lord ... means life to you, and length of days ...” (30:20). These are the words that Moses directs to the people, inviting them to embrace the covenant with Yahweh in the country of Moab, “that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him” (Dt 30:19-20). The fidelity to this divine covenant is for Israel a guarantee of the future: “that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to

your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give to them” (Dt 30:20).

According to the biblical understanding, reaching old age is a sign of the Most High’s gracious benevolence. Longevity appears, therefore, as a special divine gift.

It is upon this theme that I would like to ask you to reflect during this Lent, in order to deepen the awareness of the role that the elderly are called to play in society and in the church, and thus to prepare your hearts for the loving welcome that should always be reserved for them.

Thanks to the contribution of science and medicine, one sees in society today a lengthening of the human life span and a subsequent increase in the number of elderly. This demands a more specific attention to the world of so-called “old” age, in order to help its members to live their full potential by placing them at the service of the entire community. The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful, especially in the ecclesial communities of Western societies, where the problem is particularly present.

2. Human life is a precious gift to be LENTEN MESSAGE, page 6

Iraqi church officials laud country’s free election

By Carol Glatz ROME (CNS) — Every Iraqi who cast a vote on Jan. 30 amid continued chaos and violence showed that democracy will win over terrorism, said a top Iraqi church official.

“This is a big lesson to terrorism, a great message that says we are not afraid” of terrorists and “we will rebuild our country,” said Father Philip Najim, the Rome-based representative of the Chaldean-rite Baghdad Patriarchate.

The greater-than-expected voter turnout is “a positive sign” as it marks a turning point in Iraq’s future, he said.

“It shows the whole world how educated the Iraqi people are and that we are capable

of reaching freedom and democracy,” the Iraqi-born priest told Catholic News Service Jan. 31.

Even if polling in some places proved less than perfect, “the most important thing is that the people went; they went despite the violence, the fear and terrorism,” he said.

Millions of Iraqis cast their votes Jan. 30 in the country’s first democratic election in decades. They voted for a 275-member transitional National Assembly that will eventually choose a new government that will, in turn, elect the country’s president and prime minister.

But despite clamped-down security and a daylong ban on most traffic, some 44 people were killed Jan. 30 after insurgents carried

out a string of attacks and suicide bombings.

Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad condemned those who used violence to express their opposition to the vote.

Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad told Vatican Radio Jan. 31 he was partially satisfied with the election process.

“On the one hand I am certainly satisfied because it means we are going forward with democracy and freedom; but on the other hand, I am not satisfied because not everyone participated,” he said.

Early exit polls suggested that in some parts of Iraq a substantial percentage of Sunni Muslims did not vote. More than 62

percent of Iraq’s population is Shiite Muslim, while 34 percent is Sunni Muslim, a different branch of Islam.

Under Saddam Hussein, power was generally in the hands of the Sunni minority.

If too many Sunnis opted out of elections, “we will have some difficulties” in forging a united country, said Bishop Warduni.

But most Catholic leaders said they were optimistic a fully democratic process would benefit the whole country no matter what group obtains a majority in the transitional assembly.

Chaldean Archbishop Djibrail Kassab of Basra told Asianews that “Christians, like all Iraqis, just want a government, a constitution and a democracy.”

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Society of Helpers. . . . . . . . . 3 Evangelization concert . . . . . 5 Family of CYO refs. . . . . . . . 9 Editorial and letters . . . . . . 12 ‘Agents of salt and light’ . . . 14

News-in-brief

Tsunami aid effort

Asian and Pacific Catholics

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~ Pages 10-11 ~

~ Page 18 ~

February 4, 2005

SIXTY CENTS

Culture & Society . . . . . . . 15

www.catholic-sf.org

‘Weeping Camel’ review. . . 17

VOLUME 7

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No. 4

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

On The Where You Live

by Tom Burke Home for all the holidays and holy days have been Marie and Mel Annuzzi, lifetime parishioners of St. Kevin’s and who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Bernal Heights church October 30th. “It doesn’t seem like 60 years,” Marie told me. “It’s been good.”

Marie and Mel were married Mel and Marie Annuzzi at St. Kev’s November 1, 1944 and raised their sons, Paul and Mel in the neighborhood.

In addition, Marie has served as parish secretary since 1967.

Longtime friend Father Jack O’Neill, presided at the Mass with concelebrants including retired St. Kevin pastor, Father Jim O’Malley, as well as pastor, Father Craig Forner and parochial vicar, Father Dan Carter. In additional goins’ on at St. Kevin’s, the parish named its two halls for Marie “who has worked officially for the parish since 1967 but contributed so much more in volunteer hours.” and Father O’Malley, who served as pastor from 1967 – 93. “Please join me in wishing Ad Multos Annos – many more years – to these two marvelous people,” Father Forner said. Just down the road from St. Matt’s, St. Bartholomew Parish goes “Back to the Gym” March 13th with a special liturgy remembering its earliest years and the people who have helped it through its start and into more recent times. The community – now celebrating its 50th anniversary – is in search of “vintage vestments and church accessories,” said Barbara Syme, a member of the Back to the Gym committee. Barbara and her husband Robert, who died in 1994, helped found St. Bart’s in 1955 and raised their four children there. “For our first eleven and a half years we celebrated Mass in the school gym,” Barbara said. “We are in search of vestments, candlesticks and other church items from that time.” Also serving on the committee are founding members Liz Giovannetti, Mary Beth Singleton, Mary Bona and Ann and Dudley Desler. A recent “founding members lunch” drew more than 75 St. Bart’s originals. “More than anyone expected,” Barbara said. If you’d like to help, Barbara can be reached at (650) 343-6156….Friends and family gathered to pray and be proud of Msgr. Alvan

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Enjoying retirement are brother priests, Father Joe O’Connell, ordained in 1951, and Father Bill O’Connell, this year celebrating his 50th year as a priest. Father Joe, former pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Mill Valley, Sacred Heart in San Francisco and St. Dunstan in Millbrae, celebrates Mass each Sunday with the Religious of the Sacred Heart at their Oakwood facility in Atherton. He also helps out at Our Lady of the Pillar Church in Half Moon Bay. Father Bill, former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Belmont, assists at St. Peter Parish in Pacifica where he is also a former pastor.

Huering, who commemorated his 60th year as a priest that Lent is soon with us and opportunities for the season will January 16th with a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Gregory be announced as you let us know about them in Datebook.

Parish in San Mateo where he has often presided. He has also Getting an early start is St. Pius Parish welcoming Jesuit helped at St. Mark’s, St. Catherine’s and St. Matt’s. Father Tom Allender for a Parish Mission February 7, 8, 9 “Congratulations to a true beacon of light and God’s servant, 10. He’ll also preach at all Masses February 5, 6. Father and here’s to many more years,” said Barbara Fox who helped Allender – a San Francisco native and brother of Jesuit Father plan the event. Barbara and her husband Steve will be married Ray Allender, now at Bellarmine Prep - will speak on a 35 years February 21st. Steve is a deacon candidate and will theme of Processing Our Guilt. Call (650) 361-1411. At be ordained June 19th by Archbishop William J. Levada at Vallombrosa Center, it’s a Lenten Day of Centering Prayer St. Mary’s Cathedral. Msgr. Heuring is retired from the February 12th and Be My Valentine, a celebration of friendArchdiocese of Dubuque where ship and love, February 14th. he served for 41 years. He came Call (650) 325-5614. Ash to San Mateo in 1985 to be near Wednesday brings together the family including his mom, who Catholic Professional and died at age 100 in 1989, and sisBusiness Club and all who’d ters Joan O’Rourke and like to join ‘em at San Francisco Alberta Heuring with whom he City Club, 155 Sansome St. now resides. Also at the Mass from 7 – 8:30 a.m. Morning were siblings Wilhelmine includes a breakfast spread and Hansen, Bernard O’Rourke talk featuring San Francisco and Joe O’Rourke plus many Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius nieces and nephews.

Wang. Call (415) 614-5579 or Concelebrants included Msgr. go to www.cpbc-sf.org. Tickets Robert McElroy, pastor of St. Msgr. Alvan P. Heuring presides at 60th anniversary Mass. are $20 for members and $27 for non-members….The email Gregory’s, retired Msgr.

Edward McTaggart, and Msgr. Bruno Peschiera, Parochial address for Street is now burket@sfarchdiocese.org. As this vicar, Father Paul Warren, served as master of ceremonies. continues to be but an empty space without you, please jot it Deacon Fred Iskander assisted. Also adding to the day were down and get those items in here??!! All the rest is the same. more than 600 cookies homemade by Msgr. Al’s family for the Mailed items should be sent to “Street,” One Peter Yorke reception. While we’re at it, happy birthday to Msgr. Heuring Way, SF 94109. Pix should be hard copy or electronic at 300 who was 89 years old just a few weeks ago….Remember dpi. You can reach me at (415) 614-5634. Thank you!!!

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Editorial Staff: Jack Smith, assistant editor; Evelyn Zappia, feature editor; Tom Burke, “On the Street” and Datebook; Patrick Joyce, contributing editor/senior writer; Sharon Abercrombie, reporter

Pilgrimage Tour to Europe 15 Days, June 8 - 22, 2005

Advertising: Joseph Pena, director; Mary Podesta, account representative Production: Karessa McCartney, manager; Tiffany Doesken Business Office: Marta Rebagliati, assistant business manager; Virginia Marshall, advertising and promotion services; Judy Morris, circulation and subscriber services Advisory Board: Jeffrey Burns, Ph.D., Noemi Castillo, James Clifford, Fr. Thomas Daly, Joan Frawley Desmond, James Kelly, Deacon William Mitchell, Kevin Starr, Ph.D. Catholic San Francisco editorial offices are located at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109. Tel: (415) 614-5640 Circulation: 1-800-563-0008 or (415) 614-5638 News fax: (415) 614-5633 Advertising: (415) 614-5642; Advertising fax: (415) 614-5641 Advertising E-mail: jpena@catholic-sf.org Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly except the Fridays after Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas and the first Friday in January, twice a month during summer by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, California.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Catholic San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014 If there is an error in the mailing label affixed to this newspaper, call 1-800-563-0008. It is helpful to refer to the current mailing label.

Fr. Jack Russi, S.M., chaplain at Archbishop Riordan High School will be leading an adult pilgrimage-tour to France and Spain with visits to Marian Shrines. The tour will start out in Paris, go to Bordeaux, then to St. Jean de Luz, Lourdes, Our Lady of the Pillar in Saragossa Spain, Barcelona and visit the shrine of the ‘Black Madonna’ in Montserrat Spain.

Please contact Fr. Jack at 415-586-9399.

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DONATE YOUR OLD AUTO To help St. Denis Catholic High School in Uganda Father Joseph tells us 60% of his students are orphans from AIDS and need your love and help!

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Audit Levy Protest

JOAN C. RODMAN ATTORNEY & CPA TAX ● CONSERVATORSHIP ● TRUSTS

February 4, 2005

Catholic San Francisco

3

Departure of two Sisters of the Society of Helpers recalls history

By Sharon Abercrombie Two remaining members of the Society of Helpers (formerly known as the Society of Helpers of the Holy Souls), an international women’s religious community that pioneered many ministries in the Bay Area, are leaving San Francisco. Sisters Maria de La Cruz Aymes and Sister Veronica Donlon will close the doors of their Lincoln Ave. convent for the last time, shortly after observing the 100year anniversary of the religious community’s presence in San Francisco on Feb. 6.

A special Eucharistic celebration is scheduled for 3 p.m. at St. Anne of the Sunset Church, 850 Judah St., with Archbishop Francis Hurley of Anchorage as celebrant. A reception will follow in the parish hall.

The decision to leave the Archdiocese has been a difficult one, according to both nuns. “This is home,” said Sister Veronica, who has lived in San Francisco since 1969.

“But there are no new vocations,” she added in her soft, Scots accent.

Explained Sister Maria, “We are not

young. We can’t continue the work we have been doing here.”

The two nuns will relocate to Chicago, where there is a larger representation of Helpers. The community currently has 700 members throughout the world in Latin America, Africa, India, Hungary, Croatia, and Japan.

Sister Veronica and Sister Maria De La Cruz have collectively served in the Bay Area for a total of 108 years. Sister Veronica, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, has served as a quiet, gracious mainstay, working as superior and official hostess for Helpers who have come to the City for community meetings, retreats and vacations.

Her dad was a gardener for the Helpers. She grew up regarding them as family.

Sister Maria de La Cruz was sent to San Francisco in 1953 by her superiors. Here, she became involved in writing the wellknown “On Our Way” religious education texts for children and served in several religious education capacities for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Sister Maria de La Cruz, visitor Samuel from Hong Kong, Sisiter Susanne Trueba, and Sister Veronica Donlon.

Sister Maria with Pope John Paul II.

Two other remaining Helpers in the Bay Area, – Sister Ascension Higuera and Sister Laetitia Bordes will continue to hold the energy of their community with their respective works as a volunteer for a Hispanic family service agency in San Jose and as an ESL teacher in San Bruno.

Sister Laetitia explained that her community has always “just gone in and done what has needed doing.”

Eugenie Smet founded the community in 1856 in Paris, France, to help “the most abandoned on earth”— those who were not being reached through traditional Catholic venues, said Sister Maria. Throughout its history, the helpers have established services, which no other group sponsors. “We’ve

“A Doctor’s Confession to San Francisco . . . ” And why, despite all, I still do what I do . . .

Dear friend,

C

onfessions are tough. Real tough. But, sometimes a confession can set the record straight, and I want to give credit where credit is due. Before I talk about my confession, though, let me say a few other things first.

Let me start by explaining the photo in this letter. You know, when I meet people in town they usually say, “Oh, yeah, I know you, you’re Dr. Leung. I’ve seen your advertisment with that picture of you and the cute little baby.”

Well, I’m the guy on the right.

Years ago something happened to me that changed my life forever. Let me tell you my story.

“Back then I was a student just about ready college, when my younger brother developed a painful leg condition known as ‘sciatica.’ In his case it came on suddenly. The pain in his leg was so intense that he couldn’t walk without limping, and sometimes he couldn’t straighten his legs to put on his socks. I remember him telling me it felt like someone was stabbing his leg with a screwdriver. He was afraid that he would be confined to a wheelchair if the disability continued. It all happened so fast, one week he was competing as an athlete at the national level and the next week he could barely take care of himself. He was devastated.

After considering surgery (that was the only option, according to the surgeon) he decided against it. I remember feeling so helpless, I wish there was something I could do for him. It was a very scary time . But there’s more . . .

A friend of mine convinced me to have my brother give their doctor a try. This new doctor did an exam, took some films, and then ‘adjusted’ his spine. He told me that the adjustment didn’t hurt, it actually felt good. He got relief, and he can use his legs again. Oh, did I mention that this doctor is a chiropractor? It worked so well for my brother, and I’m so impressed with the other ‘miracles’ I see in this doctor’s office, that

I eventually go to chiropractic school myself.

And that’s how it happened!”

Now for my son Rion (pronounced Ryan), who is the baby in the photo. He’s not old enough to know how chiropractic works, but he loves to get his spine adjusted. Along with making sure that his spine develops properly, spinal adjustments keep Rion’s immune system working at its best. Rion rarely gets sick. That seems like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference to him. It seems like only a new puppy will be able to keep up with his energy.

It’s amazing how life is, because now people come to see me with their sciatica problems.

Also they come to me with their headaches, Forty-eight million Americans no longer migraines, chronic pain, neck pain, shoulder/ have health insurance, and those who do have arm pain, whiplash from car accidents, backfound that their benefits are reduced. That’s aches, ear infections, asthma, allergies, numbwhere chiropractic comes in. Many people find ness in limbs, athletic injuries, just to name a that they actually save money on their health few. care expenses by seeing a chiropractor. Another Several times a day patients thank me for way to save . . . studies show that a chiropractor helping them with their health problems. But may double your I can’t really take immune capacity, the credit. My Here’s what some of my patients had to say: naturally and withconfession is that “Body building takes toll on my neck and back. out drugs.

I’ve never healed Dr. Leung keeps me tuned up so I can be at my best.”

The immune anyone of any(Daryl Gee, marketing rep. for nutritional supplements) system fights colds, thing. What I do is the flu, and other perform a specific “No more migranes and no more neck pain!” sicknesses. So you spinal adjustment (Petra Anderson) may not be to remove nerve running off to the pressure, and the “I feel better than I have in a long time!” doctor as much. body responds by (Cathy Cheung, CPA) This is especially healing itself. We important if you are self-employed. And an get tremendous results. It’s as simple as that! entire week of care in my office may cost what Being a chiropractor can be tough, because you could pay for one visit elsewhere. there’s a host of so-called experts out there.

You Benefit from an Amazing Offer – Look, They tell people a lot of things that are just it shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg to correct plain ridiculous about my profession. But the your health. You are going to write a check studies speak for themselves, like the Virginia to someone for your health care expenses, you study that showed that over 90% of patients may as well write one for a lesser amount for who saw a chiropractor were satisfied with chiropractic. When you bring in this advertisement their results. That’s just incredible!

always been free-lance,” said the tiny, 86year old nun.

The Helpers began by doing home nursing of the sick poor, and providing religious education for public school children.

Throughout their long history, the helpers have attracted physicians, teachers, nurses and social workers as members and volunteers.

The community’s original charisma included not only the most abandoned on earth, but also the faithful departed, who languish in Purgatory while being purified for heaven. But after Vatican II, the community changed its name from Helpers of the Holy Souls to The Society of Helpers, SOCIETY OF HELPERS, page 7

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4

Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

February 4, 2005

in brief (CNS PHOTO FROM REUTERS)

Death penalty opponents strategize ways of limiting its application WASHINGTON — Opponents of the death penalty recognize they’re fighting a battle on many fronts, rejoicing in piecemeal victories such as a state’s decision to impose a moratorium on executions while the fairness of capital punishment is reviewed. They’re waiting to see how the Supreme Court rules in a case currently being reviewed over whether it should be possible to impose capital punishment for crimes committed by juveniles. In Kansas and New York, they’re trying to convince legislators to let their death penalty laws wither away, rather than fix technical problems that led both states’ supreme courts to overturn the laws last year. Andy Rivas, who follows death penalty-related issues for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Catholic organizations around the country are working on new statewide moratoriums, fighting to keep states without the death penalty from adopting new laws allowing it and pushing for a ban on juvenile executions. Others, such as an American Bar Association committee, are laying the groundwork for longer-term approaches, including trying to figure out how to word a law that would exempt mentally ill people from the death penalty.

A Holocaust survivor places a candle near the monument for victims of fascism during a ceremony at AuschwitzBirkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Jan. 27. World leaders and elderly survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops. Set up in 1940 by the occupying Nazis, Auschwitz was initially a labor camp for Polish prisoners but gradually grew into a death factory for European Jews.

Israeli, Vatican reps to resume negotiations in mid-February VATICAN CITY — Israeli and Vatican representatives expect to resume stalled negotiations in mid-February on a series of thorny issues regarding the legal and financial status of church institutions in the Holy Land. The meeting will come a month after Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote two sharply worded letters complaining of an apparent “lack of commitment” on the part of the Israeli government in their negotiations with the Vatican. In his letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, posted on the USCCB Web site, Bishop Skylstad asked the U.S. government to intervene with Israel to help get the talks moving again. A scheduled Vatican-Israeli meeting in midJanuary was postponed for a month, a development that the Vatican did not necessarily see as negative.

HELPLINES FOR CLERGY/CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS 415-614-5506 This number is answered by Barbara Elordi, Archdiocesan Pastoral Outreach Coordinator.

This is a secured line and is answered only

by Barbara Elordi.

415-614-5503 If you wish to speak to a non-archdiocesan employee please call this nunmber. This is also a secured line and is answered only by a victim survivor.

Church and state leaders mark anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

NEW YORK — A Cuban priest said in a New York lecture that the primary responsibility of the church in his country at this stage was the “evangelization of culture” in the broadest sense of contributing to the ethical values underlying a “way of life.” Msgr. Carlos Manuel de Cespedes GarciaMenocal, one of two vicars general of the Archdiocese of Havana, said the Cuban church lacked the strength to “change the direction of social events.” But he said that by using “respectful dialogue as our only weapon” the church could “make Catholic ethics present as a gift, not imposed.”

Speaking on the Bronx campus of Jesuit-run Fordham University Jan. 26, Msgr. De Cespedes said that although other churches exist in regions of Cuba the Catholic Church is the only nongovernmental institution that is present throughout the country and has been throughout its history.

OSWIECIM, Poland — Church leaders joined heads of state in commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where more than a million mostly Jewish civilians were killed during World War II. “The silence of Auschwitz-Birkenau’s victims impels us to uphold and order the upholding of the dignity of each human being,” Jewish-born Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris said in a speech during the Jan. 27 commemorations. “We are summoned to consider the past and think about the future, so we will stay conscious of the responsibility we carry,” he said. The 78-year-old French church leader, whose mother died in an Auschwitz gas chamber, spoke during the international ceremony on the site of the former German-run camp.

German bishops say country still needs cleansing, dialogue on Shoah

(CNS PHOTO BY PETER FINNEY JR., CLARION HERALD)

Jesuit Father Richard C. Hermes pours holy water on the forehead of Jaykob Angel during his baptism. His mother, Serena, decided to continue her pregnancy after seriously considering an abortion last April. She was three months pregnant and suffering from diabetes when she drove to a Metairie, La., abortion clinic on Holy Saturday. Father Hermes was praying with a group of students from New Orleans' Jesuit High School that day at the clinic and counseled the mother. Jaykob was born Nov. 23 and on Jan. 16 the priest baptized him in the high school's chapel.

Cuban priest says church’s role in Cuba is to evangelize culture

BONN, Germany — Germany’s Catholic bishops said that 60 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, their country still faces a “long road of cleansing and dialogue.” “Our nation has needed a long time to face responsibility for the monstrous crimes committed by Germans in Germany’s name — even now, the mechanisms for erasing it from our memory are still at work,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement issued Jan. 25 in Bonn. “It is our nation’s fault that Auschwitz was made possible, because few of us had the courage to resist. Our church must also take co-responsibility, recognizing the long tradition of anti-Judaism among Christians and within the church,” said the statement, published to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Heads of state and church leaders gathered Jan. 27 on the site of the German-run camp, where more than 1.1 million mostly Jewish inmates were killed during World War II.

Cardinal says ecumenism must focus on being faithful to Christ ROME — If the search for Christian unity is a search to fulfill Christ’s will, then ecumenism must focus on becoming more faithful to Christ and his teaching, said Cardinal Walter Kasper.

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, presided Jan. 25 over a prayer service marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. During his homily at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the cardinal said, “Jesus Christ is not only the foundation, but also the aim of our ecumenical commitment. In him we will be one.”

Cardinal Kasper said Christians must ask themselves if strengthening faith in Christ is still the focus of their ecumenical efforts and if they are doing enough to ensure faith is not eroded “by so-called liberal interpretations, which call themselves progressive, but are really subversive.” Cardinal Kasper said he believes ecumenical progress will come from greater attachment to the Scriptures, a commitment to living the Christian faith and an increased love for the church as the body of Christ.

Jesuit astrophysicist says science enrich spiritual world, too Report says racial divisions remain can VATICAN CITY — The alarm clock rings, you turn on the in South African Catholicism bedside light, you walk to the bathroom, turn on the shower — CAPE TOWN, South Africa — More than a decade after the end of apartheid, racial divisions remain in the South African church, said the justice and peace department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Post-apartheid South Africa faces the threat that racial division will be institutionalized, “not only in the local and national social and economic structures, but also in the religious practice of South Africans,” said a justice and peace report given to the bishops for discussion at their Jan. 26-Feb. 2 plenary meeting in Pretoria. “We must all still work hard to rid our society of the vestiges of racial division, especially in the cultural and economic spheres,” it said. “Our findings, after two years of investigation, are an important challenge to the church to clean up what’s happening within it,” said Zukile Tom, who coordinates the justice and peace department’s democracy and reconciliation program in Pretoria. The 31-page report, based on the program’s findings, urges the bishops to actively address racism throughout southern Africa

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all of these things revolve around physics. “Physics focuses on the makeup and behavior of matter, of the material world, of physical reality,” said Jesuit Father Bill Stoeger, a Vatican scientist. But another reality is that most students tend to avoid physics, thinking it too difficult or nerdy a subject. The lack of young people getting into the field prompted the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to designate the year 2005 as the International Year of Physics in the hopes of revamping physics’ image from frumpy to fun. “It’s also celebrating some landmark discoveries made over the past 100 years,” said Father Stoeger, a staff astrophysicist at the Vatican Observatory in Tucson, Ariz. The year 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Albert Einstein’s major breakthroughs in special relativity, quantum mechanics and Brownian motion — theories that radically changed the way people see the world, and, say some physicists, the way people see God. – Catholic News Service

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

5

By Jack Smith An audience of more than 900 people packed the auditorium at Archbishop Riordan High School for the Fifth Annual Chinese Evangelization Concert Jan. 15. The concert is organized, performed and written by Chinese young adults and youth from throughout the Bay Area. It is sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco Chinese Ministry program and was coordinated this year by Sts. Peter and Paul parishioner Dr. Titus Tang.

Holy Name of Jesus parishioner Cecilia Cham, one of the organizers and a main singer for the concert, said the purpose of the event is “spreading the Gospel to the people around you.� The concert attracts Catholics and nonCatholics alike. “People find it not only inspiring, but entertaining, and it successfully attracts non-Catholics to listen to a priest and to songs about the spiritual life,� Cham said.

The format included performed and sing-a-long music, prayer, dance, skits, and short reflections by St. Anne parochial vicar Father Daniel Nascimento and Salesian Father Denis Kong. Fr. Kong, who lives in Hong Kong but grew up at Sts. Peter and Paul, also led a follow-up workshop on Sunday for those interested in learning more about the Catholic faith.

This year’s theme was “Fly Joyfully,� and the concert featured a theme song composed and arranged by the young adult performers themselves and performed by their band “Evangelium.� The 24 year old Cham became involved with “Evangelium� four years ago when someone asked her if she wanted to be a female vocalist in a band. “I thought it

was going to be a church choir with a bunch of older people,� she said. Cham was surprised when she arrived for the first meeting and “saw the band instruments and everybody was my own age.�

Cham said the group practices at least twice a month and up to three times a week depending on the work. The group also performs at other events, and this year added a smaller group called “Treble Ensemble.�

Cham said the performers and organizers, which include parishioners from Sts. Peter and Paul, Holy Name and St. Monica in San Francisco; Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City; Oakland’s St. Leo; and St. Clare in San Jose, have become good friends. The work also gives them a strong sense of purpose. “Working for evangelization gives me an opportunity to do something important and different from my career,� Cham said.

After some song and prayer, which got the young bustling audience’s attention, the performers announced the deeper purpose of the concert. “When we finish the concert, you will know why we fly joyfully,� they said.

One person who was so moved by the Evangelization Concert is Pak Leung of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Union City. He became involved with the first Evangelization Concert in 1999 when he was unwittingly recruited by his parish to help out. “I didn’t know what an evangelization concert was,� Leung said. “Ever since the first one, I was attracted by this event. It started the fire in my heart and I cherish that.�

As an organizer, Leung works hard to bring that fire to others. The organizers distribute promotional flyers at Chinese shopping malls and parishes with large

/PERATION 2ICE "OWL ! ,ENTEN 4RADITION

(PHOTO BY JACK SMITH)

Annual evangelization concert aims to spread Christian joy

Natalia Khaw, Noel Sun, Candice Ng, Pauline Ng and Iris Cheung perform at the Sixth Annual Chinese Evangelization Concert.

power of Christ and the Christian values of respect, faithfulness, and finding your true self in living for others.

Sister Maria Hsu, director of Ethnic Ministries for the Archdiocese is grateful for the many organizers and performers. “The really worked their muscles out,� she said. In addition to publicizing, organizing and performing, the volunteers work throughout the year to raise funds to put on the production through lunches, selling Christmas cards and soliciting some regular generous donors. “All of them are volunteers. None are really professionals, but they treat the concert and themselves like professionals and they do a professional job.� Sister Maria is encouraged to see so many young people use their free time for evangelization.

Chinese communities. They also ask former attendees to invite their friends.

About 40 percent of those who attend are non-Catholic, and the evangelical mission of the concert is also directed at many Catholics who are baptized but don’t go to church, Leung said.

In order to reach the broadest community with the message of the Gospel, Cham, Leung and the other organizers “discuss how to present the concert and how to pick themes that are relevant to people in their real life where we can touch their heart,� Cham said. A script writer then prepares draft skits, “and then the whole team tries to make it as interesting as possible.� Skits this year focused on tensions in family, relationships and career in the lives of young people and demonstrated the healing

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

Lenten Regulations for 2005

Archbishop to celebrate Marriage Mass Feb 12

ABSTINENCE Everyone fourteen years of age and older is bound to abstain from meat on ASH WEDNESDAY, the FRIDAYS of Lent and GOOD FRIDAY. FAST Everyone eighteen years of age and older but under the age of sixty is also bound to fast on ASH WEDNESDAY and GOOD FRIDAY. On these two days, the law of fast allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food during the day, so long as this does not constitute another full meal. Drinking liquids during the day is permitted.

When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. In doubt concerning fast or abstinence, a priest assigned to pastoral ministry or confessor should be consulted. In the spirit of penance, the faithful should not lightly excuse themselves from this obligation.

Special Note for March 25th: Due to the observance of Good Friday, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is transferred to Monday, April 4th.

Archbishop William J. Levada will celebrate the Archdiocese of San Francisco Anniversary Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Feb. 12 at Noon. The Mass is held annually on World Marriage Day to honor couples who are celebrating 25 and 50 or more years of marriage.

Couples within the first ten years of their marriage also are invited in order to “encourage them as a church community,” said Chris Lyford, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Archdiocese. He said supporting couples during the first three to seven years of marriage is particularly important because it is “the period

when most challenges come, as well as the most cases of divorce.”

“In affirming the truth and beauty of God’s plan for marriage in the lived context of husband and wife, we can choose to affirm the timelessness of our faith, as well as honor those couples whose lives of sacrifice have made present to our very community, the unconditional love of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Couples will have an opportunity to renew their vows during the Mass and a reception will follow. Couples, their friends, family and supporters are invited.

For more information call 415 614-5680.

Lenten message . . .

upon the heritage of those who preceded him, and that his future depends definitively on how the cultural values of his own people are transmitted to him, then the wisdom and experience of the elderly can illuminate his path on the way of progress toward an ever more complete form of civilization.

How important it is to rediscover this mutual enrichment between different generations! The Lenten season, with its strong call to conversion and solidarity, leads us this year to focus on these important themes which concern everyone.

What would happen if the people of God yielded to a certain current mentality that considers these people, our brothers and sisters, as almost useless when they are reduced in their capacities due to the difficulties of age or sickness? Instead, how different the community would be, if, beginning with the family, it tries always to remain open and welcoming toward them.

4. Dear brothers and sisters, during Lent, aided by the word of God, let us reflect upon how important it is that each community accompany with loving understanding those who grow old. Moreover, one must become accustomed to thinking confidently about the mystery of death, so that the definitive encounter with God occurs in a climate of interior peace, in the awareness that He “who knit me in my mother’s womb” (cf. Ps 139:13b) and who willed us “in his image and likeness” (cf. Gn 1:26) will receive us.

Mary, our guide on the Lenten journey, leads all believers, especially the elderly, to an ever more profound knowledge of Christ dead and risen, who is the ultimate reason for our existence. May she, the faithful servant of her divine Son, together with Sts. Ann and Joachim, intercede for each one of us “now and at the hour of our death.”

My blessing to all!

Pope John Paul II

Pope hospitalized with breathing problems VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II was taken to a Rome hospital late Feb. 1 with severe breathing problems caused by an inflammation in his throat, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters in a statement issued at midnight.

The pope, 84, came down with the flu Jan. 30.

About 10:50 p.m. Feb. 1 he was rushed to the Gemelli hospital for what Navarro-Valls called “acute laryngeal tracheitis and a crisis of laryngeal spasms.”

When he arrived there he did not need intensive care treatment and was admitted to his 10th-floor room where he has stayed on previous hospital visits, Navarro-Valls said.

Because of advancing Parkinson’s disease, Pope John Paul has chronic difficulty breathing, complicating the possible effects of the flu and the inflammation of his throat. Laryngeal spasms make breathing more difficult.

Navarro-Valls had announced earlier Feb. 1 that the pope had canceled scheduled meetings that day and his Wednesday general audience the next day. He said then that the flu was running its natural course.

In his final public appearance before he was hospitalized, the pope came to his apartment window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to lead the Sunday noon Angelus Jan. 31. His voice was hoarse, but it did not stop him from greeting visitors in the square below.

■ Continued from cover loved and defended in each of its stages. The commandment “You shall not kill” always requires respecting and promoting human life, from its beginning to its natural end. It is a command that applies even in the presence of illness and when physical weakness reduces the person’s ability to be self-reliant. If growing old, with its inevitable conditions, is accepted serenely in the light of faith, it can become an invaluable opportunity for better comprehending the mystery of the cross, which gives full sense to human existence.

The elderly need to be understood and helped in this perspective. I wish, here, to express my appreciation to those who dedicate themselves to fulfilling these needs, and I also call upon other people of good will to take advantage of Lent for making their own personal contribution. This will allow many elderly not to think of themselves as a burden to the community, and sometimes even to their own families, living in a situation of loneliness that leads to the temptation of isolating themselves or becoming discouraged.

It is necessary to raise the awareness in public opinion that the elderly represent, in any case, a resource to be valued. For this reason, economic support and legislative initiatives, which allow them not to be excluded from social life, must be strengthened. In truth, during the last decade, society has become more attentive to their needs, and medicine has developed palliative cures that, along with an integral approach to the sick person, are particularly beneficial for long-term patients.

3. The greater amount of free time in this stage of life offers the elderly the opportunity to face the primary issues that perhaps had been previously set aside, due to concerns that were pressing or considered a priority nonetheless.

Knowledge of the nearness of the final goal leads the elderly person to focus on that which is essential, giving importance to those things that the passing of years do not destroy.

Precisely because of this condition, the elderly person can carry out his or her role in society. If it is true that man lives

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ARCHDIOCESE OF PORTLAND IN OREGON BANKRUPTCY

YOU MAY HAVE A CLAIM AGAINST THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PORTLAND • If, while you were under the age of 18, you had sexual contact with or were sexually touched by a Catholic priest, employee, volunteer, or other person working for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon or for a Catholic Parish/School served by the Archdiocese1; or • If you believe the Archdiocese is responsible for anything that caused you injury or harm at any age; or • If the Archdiocese owes you any money; or • If you assert a right to payment from the Archdiocese, whether or not you know the amount owed, and whether or not the right to payment is disputed, matured, secured, legal, equitable, or contingent on the happening of some future event; or • If you assert a right to an equitable remedy (e.g., the right to require the Archdiocese to either do or not do something) which would result in the Archdiocese owing you money for its failure to do as required, whether or not the right is disputed, matured, secured, legal, equitable, or contingent upon the happening of some future event.

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Alliant International University Program is approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Alliant is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

On July 6, 2004, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland in Oregon, and successors, a corporation sole, also known as the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (the “Archdiocese”) filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. If you have a claim, you must file a proof of claim by April 29, 2005 (the “Claims Bar Date”). If you have a claim and you do not file a proof of claim by that date, your claim may be discharged. If your claim is discharged, you will be forever prevented from asserting your claim against the Archdiocese.

For more information, or to receive a long form Notice of Claims Bar Date and Proof of Claim Form, call the toll-free number listed below, or write to: Archdiocese of Portland Case, c/o Claims Agent BMC Group, P.O. Box 921, El Segundo, CA 90245-0921, or visit the website set forth below.

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Catholic San Francisco

7

Society of Helpers . . .

■ Continued from page 3 because of widespread, sometimes humorous misunderstandings about the order’s work. “We would get envelopes addressed ‘To the Holy Souls’ and people would ask us, ‘Do you help only the people who are holy?’” said Sister Laetitia.

“There are such different meanings for Holy souls all over the world,” she continued. So to take into account and to honor all the diverse cultural interpretations, the community decided the most universal point of reference needed to be the Communion of Saints. “We help the dead by helping the living,” she said.

The presence of the Society of Helpers dates to Feb. 13, 1905 when Mother St. Bernard and M. de l’Ange Gardien arrived in San Francisco. Archbishop Patrick Riordan had asked the Helpers to make a foundation to help the Paulists care for the Chinese poor. The Sisters, who already had two houses in New York and St. Louis, were eager to take on a third mission in California. Most of the Sisters who had come to the Unites States were from France or Italy – much warmer climates than the Northeast and Midwest of the United States.

They began sewing classes for children, formed a Spanish-speaking women’s meeting at Lobos Square, an Italian women’s meeting; organized religious education classes at Immaculate Conception and Notre Dame de Victories parish; organized the first party at Pine Street for Japanese women and children; organized a French club for girls; a meeting for black women and children at their convent; and taught the first group of adult converts who were confirmed in their chapel by Archbishop Hanna.

They visited hospitals, detention centers, jails, and relief homes for poor women, established centers for Japanese and blacks. They formed support groups for public school teachers, a guild for the blind, a home nursing agency, and opened the first senior center. as well as apostolic centers for teens.

They initiated the West Coast Leadership CCD Course at Dominican College, and established ‘We Are Not Alone,’ an ecumenical organization to visit, comfort and help the aged in residential care centers.

Sister Ascension Higuera, attentive to her community’s charism to make inroads into unexplored areas of need, became a full-time volunteer union organizer for Cesar Chavez during the 1970’s. Although, today she is officially retired, Sister Ascension volunteers full time at Sacred Heart Community Service Center in San Jose. Her loyalty to the United Farm workers continues. She sends out correspondence with the official Cesar Chavez stamp. “It is my way of continuing indirectly to remind people of the UFW achievements in the realms of worker rights and social justice.

Sister Ascension worked alongside Sister Laetita in organizing efforts for several years. Meanwhile, Sister Laetitia Bordes wrote a book, “Our Hearts Were Broken” about oppression in Central America. In May 1982, she went on a fact-finding mission to Honduras to find out why 32 women, who had fled death squads in El Salvador after Archbishop Oscar was assassinated, had disappeared.

Sister Maria, was doing Helper work before she even heard of the community. She grew up in Mexico during the persecution of Catholics when all religious instruction and outward signs of religion were outlawed under penalty of prison, exile or death. She saw for herself what the oppres-

Sister Mercedes Reygadas (above) with children at summer camp in 1954.

Members of the first community (right) of the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls in San Francisco (c. 1929).

sion meant. One day, when traveling from Mexico City to her family’s hacienda, she saw countless laymen strung up on telephone poles along the railroad lines. Known as the Cristeros, those loyal to Christ, they had protested against the government’s anti-Catholic laws.

Sister Maria’s parents opened their home to hide priests and religious. She concluded, “teaching about Christ and going to church must be very important if people are ready to die for it.”

This realization became the bedrock of her determination to be a catechist and eventually a religious. As a child, she rounded up street children and organized her own catechism classes, according to Jesuit Father Francis J Buckley of the University of San Francisco.

In 1938, she entered the American novitiate of the Helpers in Chappaqua, New York. In 1954, Sister Maria de la Cruz was assigned to the United States to replace a Helper in San Francisco as supervisor of catechetics in the Archdiocesan department of education. She soon saw that

too many children were crowed into classes with ill –prepared teachers.

So she began writing her own instructions. A few years later, she connected with Johannes Hofinger, a prominent catechetical teacher at the University of Notre Dame, who helped refine her ideas. She went on to author the “On Our Way” books. From 1976-81, Sister Maria and Father Francis Buckley co-authored the Lord of Life series of Catholic schools and parish religious education programs.

Sister Maria served as religious education supervisor for the Archdiocese from 1956-1966. She also served on a Catechetical synod of bishops in 1977, where she met a Polish Cardinal who later became Pope John Paul II. “I worked elbow to elbow with him for a month.”

Retreat Directory

VALLOMBROSA CENTER Conferences and Meetings Retreats and Spirituality Programs FEBRUARY 12 “A Lenten Day of Centering Prayer” Carol Fowler (An Introduction to Christian Contemplation) 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. $35 (lunch included) This introduction to Centering Prayer includes both instruction and practice in meditation techniques that foster contemplative prayer in your everyday life. Facilitator Carol Fowler received her formation in Centering Prayer under the direction of Thomas Keating, OCSO.

FEB 25 - 27

In the Footsteps of Thomas More Silent Retreat for Members of the Legal Profession - Fr. Thomas Weston, S.J.

MAR 4 - 6

On Pilgrimage with Ignatius Silent Retreat for the Knights of Columbus - Fr. Joseph J. Fice, S.J.

MAR 11 - 13

Women at the Center of God’s Mystery Silent Lenten Retreat for Women - Fr. Robert Scholla, S.J.

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FEBRUARY 13 “Building Strong Families” Tim & Popie Stafford 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

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Christ’s Passion: Moving Our Hearts to Praise God’s Glory Silent Retreat for Men (Palm Sunday) - Fr. Thomas Carroll, S.J.

Feb. 11 – 13 A Retreat for Men & Women “Grace breaking in: to seek a holy way of life” Fr. Peter Sanders, Orat. & Team

MAR 24 - 27

The Staffords will focus on ways we can strengthen our families by living out basic values of our faith as detailed in their book, Never Mind the Joneses: Building Core Christian Values in a Way That Fits Your Family.

They have been married for 27 years and have three grown children.

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Feb. 18 – 20 A Silent Retreat for Women “Set your Heart on Higher Realms” Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.

APR 1 - 3

Who Does Jesus Say That I Am? Silent Retreat for Men - Fr. David Haschka, S.J.

Feb. 25 – 27 A Silent Retreat for Women “The Beatitudes” Fr. Gerald Barron, OFM. Cap.

FEBRUARY 14 “Be My Valentine” 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

a t C h s o i

Woodside Priory’s creative priest

Th

lic

“I work at night a lot and put Country Western music on,” he said. “I spend a lot of time on weekends especially when I’m working on the clock.”

Father Martin spends several months each year designing and building a grandfather’s clock that is auctioned for benefit of the school.

His hands are on every step and stitch of the masterworks, which stand about seven and a half feet tall.

He has completed 20 of the special timepieces with another in the

By Tom Burke works. “They are auctioned annually and go for a lot of bucks,” he said, Benedictine Father Martin Mager lives every moment as quick to note his gratitude for the a gift. “I think the idea of seizing the day is an important generosity of the school’s parents Father Martin shown with his photographs at the Woodside Priory campus one,” Father Martin said. “Seeing each day and time as a and supporters. The highest price gift has been very important to me as well as using it as best paid so far for a “Father Martin Clock” is $21,000 with the with John Gilbert who has made some of the finest classical guitars in the world. That is my pride and joy and I use as I have been able.” others having the gavel go down at bids not much lower.

The New Jersey native attended Father Martin said it takes about it to help accompany our Taize Prayer services each month Benedictine schools in his home state 100 hours to build each clock. “No two and some school liturgies.”

Father Martin’s handiwork is also present in the as well as St. Anselm College in New are the same. I design them as I build Hampshire before entering religious them. You have to see what the wood Benedictines’ chapel. “We added on to the chapel and needed life. He was ordained in 1963 and has wants to do and I get some ideas from pews but didn’t have much money. Someone suggested I make served at the Benedictines’ Woodside pictures of old clocks.” They are made some pews so I did.” He said it was a most daunting task, takPriory since 1975. from “expensive woods” including ing a year to shape the church furnishings including an ambo and other pieces. “The pews are nine feet wide and very heavy.”

“I’ve done a number of different mahogany, black walnut and cherry.

Often on the detail alone, Father Martin always rememthings here,” Father Martin said with a “I have visitation rights for the smile. “I’ve been a teacher and adminclocks and everything I make,” he bers some help he received along the way. “A student asked istrator and college counselor helping said laughing. He even makes serv- me what I was doing and I offered him the chance to help. He kids get into schools and choose the ice calls. “A guy in San Francisco was very interested even giving up a Saturday to pitch in. We right schools.” He now serves as chaphas three of my clocks and when one spent the day assembling the pews and, when we were done, lain and alumni liaison. stopped I went up and started it for signed one together. His parents told me later that he considered that one of the best days of his high school career.”

“I love teaching the kids at the him.”

“Woodworking has a spiritual element to it,” Father Priory,” he said. “They are really good Also among his creations are students and want to learn. They are Mountain Dulcimers, a stringed Martin said. “Wood is a live thing. It’s fabulous to work generous and just good kids.” instrument of the guitar and banjo with and it’s all natural.”

“This has been a good life,” Father Martin said. “I like A popular refuge for the 70-year-old family. He has built 20 of them and priest is his woodworking shop tucked Father Martin in his workshop retreat. all but one are now being played what I do and I get a chance to do so many things I never away among the buildings dotting the throughout the country. “My first thought I would, including getting to California. Religious life has been a very good thing for me. I’m very happy. I hope Portola Valley campus. “I come here as often as I can,” he said, hangs on a wall in my sister’s house in New Jersey.” noticeably at home among his chisels, saws and other tools.

He is especially proud of his personal guitar. “I made it to spend the rest of my days here. I’m here for the long haul.”

Life

Update: Diverse experiences of three recently ordained priests Archbishop William J. Levada ordained three priests for the Archdiocese of San Francisco last June at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

As an update to this story, Catholic San Francisco asked the three new priests to comment on their ministry.

“This parish is a treasure in so many ways,” said Father Ulysses D’Aquila, a parochial vicar at Mission Dolores Parish in San Francisco. The new priest said he’s busy every day presiding at Mass, helping prepare couples for marriage and welcoming people to the Church with RCIA. “I am grateful for it all. I spend a lot of time preparing my homilies. I think they are a very important part of the ministry.” Father D’Aquila learned to speak Spanish while living with his family in Spain and said it has well equipped him for ministry at the “big multicultural parish.”

Father Andrew Johnson serves as parochial vicar at St. Brendan Parish and as chaplain at Laguna Honda Hospital. “I def-

initely enjoy the parish very much,” he said.

“The people are supportive and inspiring.

I’m also glad for my time at Laguna Honda where the need for pastoral care is great and I am grateful and happy to help.” Father Johnson will be 75 years old in March. “I thank God first thing every morning for my vocation. It is truly a gift.”

Father Linh Nguyen welcomes worshipers after Sunday Mass at St. Pius Parish in Redwood City where he is a parochial vicar. “I was little nervous when I arrived here but the people have given me a real sense of being at home,” he said. Father Nguyen’s parents recently returned to Vietnam after almost a year in this country and the new priest is also on his way to his homeland. During his three-week stay he will celebrate Mass with his immediate and wider family that includes, he derscribes as seven siblings, almost three dozen nieces and nephews and “uncountable cousins.”

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Three generations of CYO soccer referees Family of refs teach more than the rules It was a typical fall soccer day—damp, windy and cold—with four soccer games underway, parents drinking coffee, stamping their feet and yelling encouragement.

On one West Sunset field, CYO soccer coordinator Dave Lopez pushed back his baseball cap, frustrated.

“Where’s the referee on this game? I need a referee.”

A few minutes later, the game had a referee: San Francisco dentist Erich Habelt was running down the field, a yellow and black splash among a sea of blue and white uniformed 4th graders.

Dr. Habelt, father of three, is the second of three generations of San Francisco soccer referees and part of the cadre of referees and coaches who give of their time, talent and energy to create a Christian sports environment for CYO youth.

“They’ve been lifesavers,” Lopez says of the Habelt family’s commitment.

Their generosity is something that motivates most referees. “Most of the people we have reffing, they’ve played in the program and they’re coming back and helping out,” says Lopez, CYO soccer chair.

Unlike some of the elite soccer leagues in the area, CYO is a participation league where, in accordance with Christ’s teaching, every child is welcome, says Lopez, a St. Brendan Elementary teacher and father of four boys. Referees must be in high school or older.

“We have kids who are not going to be able to play at any other time—they get to play with their teammates.”

In San Francisco, nearly 12,000 children play sports through the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization.

About 1,200 boys on 88 teams, grades 3-8, play CYO fall soccer, with all games centralized at two Sunset fields, West Sunset and Beach Chalet. More than 200 referees officiate in CYO basketball, soccer, volleyball, track and cross-country events.

Referees not only ensure the rules are followed but they also teach, says Marty Rea, director of archdiocesan CYO programs. Rea calls the Habelts’ three generations of service “truly impressive.”

The Habelt referees include Austrian-born grandfather Konrad, 71, Erich, 47, and Christian, 16, and Thomas, 14.

Konrad—after more than 30 years as a referee and 65plus as a player and coach—is scaling back. He officiates on the smaller fields of the 3rd and 4th grade soccer games. But, Lopez says Konrad is “great” when he needs a ref in a pinch.

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CYO refs Thomas, Erich, Christian and Konrad Habelt.

I’ll say, Mr. Habelt I need you for two games. He’ll take off his shirts and take out his whistle.”

Erich Habelt officiates for CYO most autumn Saturdays and in the winter for the girls’ games, which include parish teams but are under the aegis of City College of San Francisco.

Refereeing is a hands-on way for the Habelts to practice their Catholic faith, “be a person for others,” says Erich. All four Habelts have taken the rigorous 50-hour referee course demanded by the non-sectarian Viking soccer league, and Erich teaches a three-hour training course to CYO referees each year. Thomas has begun refereeing the Viking games and plans to start with CYO when he is in high school next year.

“We are helping the kids instead of just blowing the whistle—you want to help them grow as better ball players,” says Erich, who emigrated to the states with his parents in 1962 from Austria, where Konrad says “we were poor as mice in the church.”

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Americans at age 4, and played semi-pro in Austria. He started coaching his two boys, Erich and Konrad, while they were students at Holy Name Elementary. As his boys grew up, Konrad turned to refereeing. Erich began refereeing soon after. Both have been officiating for more than 30 years.

A key part of being a good referee is explaining to the players the reason for a call. For instance, a common call, Erich’s Dad Konrad says is “offside” when offensive players are closer to the goal than either the ball or two defenders. Many players and even some coaches don’t totally understand this rule.

That is why as a referee, a lifetime of playing soccer helps, says Konrad. “First you got to play it, you don’t just ref it.”

“It’s about helping the kids to understand the game,” says Thomas, an 8th grader at St. Cecilia Elementary School, “Showing them what to do and how to do it, rather than these serious calls.”

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

February 4, 2005

Catholic San Francisco

11

CATHOLIC AGENCIES REPORT ON TSUNAMI AID EFFORTS CRS OFFICIAL TOURS

At Catholic hospital, Indonesian tsunami victims try to find healing

Survival kits including soap, blankets, sleeping mats and cooking utensils are distributed by Catholic Relief Services in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

MEDAN, Indonesia (CNS) — At St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, tsunami survivors try to find healing.

Some, like Muchtar, a 32-year-old man with his right leg amputated at his thigh, search for physical and emotional healing.

Others, keeping watch at bedsides, wait for family members to recover and try to deal with the loss of additional relatives.

Medan, capital of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, was not as devastated by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis as neighboring Aceh province, but some from Aceh made their way there. The Archdiocese of Medan has said that all tsunami victims can be treated at archdiocesan hospitals free of charge; it is just one of their many efforts to help keep victims from getting lost in the shuffle of recovery efforts.

Muchtar, who uses only one name, lost eight family members, including his wife and two children, in the Dec. 26 disaster. The waves carried him more than three miles. A tree that rammed him broke his leg in several places.

Hospital officials said his condition is serious and that he might not survive. Though clearly weak, he said he wanted to tell his story.

“I thought it was the end of the world,” he said, recalling the moment when the wave crashed through his village, Lhok Nga. “So many people were screaming, ‘The wave, the wave.’

“My neighbors carried me back to my village, but when we get back, everything was gone,” he said.

One of his sisters, Sumiana, was in Meulaboh when the disaster hit. They lost several siblings.

“For me, it is my fate and I accept it, but my sister is still scared,” Sumiana said as she waited by Muchtar’s bedside.

In a nearby bed, Muhamad Usman, 23, had a broken leg and cuts, scars and bandages covering most of his body.

With his younger brother at the foot of his bed, Usman said he watched the sea swallow another brother and sister.

“We did not have time to run. We tried, but the wave came too fast,” said Usman, who was in Banda Aceh when the

(PHOTOS BY KARL BROBL/CRS)

A volunteer college student helps distribute boxes of school supplies and uniforms in a Catholic school in Southern India.

Ramadan and Rafindi sit amongst the rubble in Bonda Aceh. Rafindi lost his parents and his siblings.

Mr.Arul who lost his wife and children asks CRS official Jim DeHarpporte for “only prayers.”

tsunamis hit. He said his teenage brother and 10-year-old sister were killed because they went to the beach to collect fish washed up by the first wave.

Usman said his mother and father also died in the Dec. 26 disaster. The bodies of his father and sister were found; the bodies of his mother and brother were not.

St. Elizabeth’s treatment of tsunami victims is part of archdiocesan efforts to help those who might not be spotted by international aid agencies.

The archdiocese enrolled some 200 children from Aceh in archdiocesan schools, free of charge. On Jan. 26, the archdiocese sent 12 seminarians to Meulaboh with food and clothing to distribute to survivors. Archdiocesan workers also will operate a community kitchen on the grounds of a mosque.

“This is important because it shows the Muslims that we are one of them; we are Indonesians. It promotes interreligious understanding and brings us closer,” said Coadjutor Archbishop Anicetus Sinaga of Medan, who is heading the archdiocesan relief effort.

Archbishop Sinaga said the archdiocese, which does not have its own Caritas office, was not in a position to respond to the disaster with the wide-scale effort of an international nongovernmental organization. But what it can do, he said, is dispatch workers to areas the big agencies cannot reach.

The archbishop said many of the victims are not in the big refugee camps; they are scattered in small villages or living with relatives. They, too, need services and are in danger of not being helped, he said.

“It is very easy to come to Banda Aceh with lots of money and serve the people there. But it’s another thing to serve those who are hidden. And only we, the Indonesians, know where they are,” he said.

The archbishop said he toured Aceh province Dec. 28, shortly after the disaster.

“I was very shocked; that a single life was saved was a miracle,” he said.

LOCAL DIOCESES AID TSUNAMI VICTIMS Catholics in the Bay Area have given well over $1 million for aid and recovery to victims of the December Tsunami in Southeast Asia. The total number is impossible to estimate since many parishes and organizations have sent donations and proceeds from second collections directly to aid agencies. Other parishes and agencies have sent dona-

(CNS PHOTOS BY PAUL HARING)

An Indonesian woman and child wait on a Jesuit Refugee Service boat with other displaced tsunami survivors Jan. 24 off Sumatra. One month after the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis, JRS was preparing to return displaced people to their home island of Aceh.

tions through the dioceses of Oakland and San Jose and the Archdiocese of San Francisco which have sent all funds to Catholic Relief Services. Catholics in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are estimated to have given nearly $600,000 to relief agencies and nearly $400,000 has been pledged in each of the dioceses of Oakland and San Jose.

Tsunami survivors take up residence in the church at St.Vincent Home in Maggona, Sri Lanka, Jan. 25. One month after the deadly tsunamis, the Catholic orphanage was housing 350 people in five halls and the church.

Volunteers dig a mass grave on Indonesia's tsunamistricken Aceh island off the northern tip of Sumatra Jan. 25.A team from Jesuit Refugee Service along with civic volunteers were the first recovery workers to arrive on the island following the Dec. 26 tsunamis. Most of the island's surviving inhabitants were evacuated to Sumatra days after the disaster. More than half of the population perished in the killer waves.

(CNS PHOTOS BY PAUL HARING)

Jim DeHarpporte has spent most of his 30 years with CRS in South and Southeast Asia. He wrote this as he was returning from a visit to India and Indonesia to help CRS respond to the tsunami disaster. Jim is currently based in San Diego as CRS West Coast Regional Director.

The departure room at the Indonesia’s Banda Aceh airport was crowded, smoky and heavy with humidity as I awaited my departure for the capital city, Jakarta.

From the hats and t-shirts, it was easy to see that most of the passengers, like myself, were aid workers or volunteers from international humanitarian agencies and local Indonesian organizations. Some people were still wearing facemasks and I wondered if they had simply forgotten to remove them after visiting the devastated town, where the smell of rotting flesh had yet to leave the air, our skin, our minds.

It had been three weeks since an earthquake on the Indian Ocean floor sent a tsunami roaring onto the Indonesian coast like a dark cloud on a clear Sunday morning. In the northern province of Sumatra, the estimated death toll numbered more than 100,000; people continued to find bodies in collapsed houses and buildings. The roads, once arteries for the living and bustling communities, were now lined with mass burial sites and plastic bags filled with corpses.

It is hard to find words to describe the devastation. It looks as if a giant scrapper came along and cleared everything in its path – family, community, history. The bridge leading out of town had become twisted metal. I was told that 90 percent of the road that winds along this coast for more than 100 miles was destroyed; it will take years to reconstruct. The few lone buildings more than two miles inland stand like pioneer outposts in an apocalyptic wilderness.

One day I came across a couple trying to salvage their vehicle from a swamp with the help of an elephant. They had lost their daughter and had, themselves, been swept away in the waves. Sima, the mother, was pulled under several times but somehow reemerged each time long enough to take a breath. She had clung to a log for her life. They had given up hope of finding their daughter even though 100 bodies remained in the nearby swamp. They could not go in to look; the mud was waist deep.

When I visited the only Catholic Church in Banda Aceh, the priest, Fr. Ferdinand Severi, told me that 350 Catholics had been living here, many of whom were of Chinese origin and ran small businesses. Last Sunday, only six of them were at Mass. The small Catholic high school nearby was a Ushaped building that, like a basket, had collected those swept into its bosom.

The debris was six feet high and bodies continued to be found within it.

Much of the city was abandoned. The shops and offices that had withstood the disaster were now closed or boarded up where the waters had ripped off the doors. Their owners were among those lying in mass graves, lost to the sea, or in flight far from the city in fear of another tsunami. We could feel aftershocks almost every night as if an evil giant, still in slumber, was about to wake at any moment.

But the earthquake and tsunami had not gutted the entire town. A few residential sections far enough from the ocean had survived. In these areas life was returning. Catholic Relief Services had established a base of relief operations and, similar to its efforts in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, would provide food, family kits, clean water and sanitation, shelter, trauma counseling, and the means for the restoration of livelihoods. Recovery will take years.

One of the striking effects of this disaster is the powerful wave of compassion and love from people all over the world. I was particularly moved by the story of a priest from a poor parish in Southern India who came to deliver a bag of small bills totaling 90,000 rupees, or about $2,000, donated by his parishioners.

But people here will never be the same. It’s hard to understand why so many had to die. The count is now over 220, 000, making this an event with few parallels in human history. I wonder if the death toll would have been as high if people were not living in such vulnerable conditions. I try to imagine our world if a similar level of resources that we have seen with this emergency could be applied toward development aid and policies that would foster stronger communities.

Preparing to return home, my mind went back to Arul Mani, whom I met on the beach in Nagappattinam, India. He lost his wife and two of his four children, and was beyond consolation. He said the only thing he wanted from us was our prayers. “Only prayers,” he repeated. I told him, and the others I met on this trip, that people throughout the world are praying for them. I pray also that we sustain the bond of compassion and engagement the world has shown these past three weeks. I pray for an end to poverty and injustice, and that every citizen on earth comes to enjoy the dignity and respect that each one deserves as their birthright, as sons and daughters of God.

By Stephen Steele

(CNS PHOTO BY ANTO AKKARA)

DEVASTATION IN INDIA, INDONESIA

12

Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Torture and the Human Person

No respect It is really sad that as the world watches the birth of Democracy in Iraq, we see it disappearing here in the city of St. Francis.

No longer is there a voice on the Board of Supervisors for the many thousands of San Franciscans who believe in the sanctity of human life, not a single voice.

No longer do you have the freedom to express your opinion, without harassment, in the form of “Walk For Life.” No longer is Democracy alive and well in San Francisco.

John “Scotty” Thomas San Francisco

By Gerald D. Coleman, S.S.

Everybody’s church

The Senate confirmation hearings of Alberto Gonzales revealed that torture now is an American problem.

Since the founding of this country, cruel and unusual punishment has been both illegal and wrong. The State Department annualy issues a report grading countries on their human rights’ performance.

Yet a Red Cross report about U.S. abuses at Guantanamo Bay names the mistreatments used as “a form of torture [which] cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment.”

This language, in my opinion, is much too polite and obfuscated. The abuses that have taken place at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib in Iraq, and in Afghanistan are nothing other than “torture.” It is immoral to stand by and not speak out about this. The use of torture is a moral and public outrage.

Until 9/11, the U.S. government and military has stood by the “Convention Against Torture” and the Geneva Conventions. Five days after 9/11, however, Vice-President Cheney spoke of the need now to “work … on the dark side… It’s going to be vital for us to use any means at our disposal … to achieve our objective.”

The Bush administration then loosened rules governing interrogation of prisoners. White House counsel Gonzales received a memo from Assistant Attorney General Bybee with this guidance: the President is within his legal limits to permit “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment of prisoners.

For such treatment to be considered torture, the pain inflicted must be “equivalent in intensity to pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death.”

What treatments were (or are) considered acceptable? Waterboarding (a prisoner strapped down and made to believe he may be drowned), drugs (sodium pentothal), stress (standing for long periods, isolation up to a month, hooding, removal of clothing, exploiting fears: e.g., the use of vicious dogs), placing the prisoner naked in hot or very cold small and darkened rooms, and the use of yelling, loud music, and light control.

In Senate hearings Jan. 6, Gonzales said that he and the Administration oppose torture in any form. Three years ago, however, Gonzales wrote a memo to the President describing aspects of the Geneva protocols as “quaint” and “obsolete.” The President then judged Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan not to be deserving of prisoner-of-war status or the protections of the Geneva Conventions. The President wrote, “The war on terrorism … requires new thinking in the law of war…” Gonzales claims that the White House no longer abides by previous Presidential statements in this regard.

To the question “Do you approve of torture?” Gonzales replied, “Absolutely not,” but qualified his answer by distinguishing between “prisoners of war” and “terror suspects,” indicating that the Geneva Conventions apply only to “prisoners of war.” Gonzales stated this same position in his Memorandum For The President on Jan. 25, 2002.

This position amounts to only a relative attitude toward the use of torture, a stance absolutely in conflict with Catholic moral teachings and values.

Vatican Council II’s Church in the Modern World condemns “all offenses against life itself” and includes “violations of the integrity of the human person, such as … physical and mental torture.” (no. 27) These offenses are judged as “criminal” as they debase the human person, including the perpetrators, and violate the imago Dei (image of God) in every human individual.

In his Oct. 23, 1974 message “Human Rights and Reconciliation,” Pope Paul VI declared that a person’s right to life is basic and inalienable and is “grievously violated … by widespread torture.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also teaches that it is a “scandal” to establish laws and social structures which lead to the decline of morals (no.

2286) and explicitly names torture which only satisfies hatred and violates the respect and dignity owed every human person. (no. 2297) Specifically, the Catechism demands that all “non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely” and that “actions deliberately contrary to the law of the nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions.” (no. 2313) From a moral point of view, then, human dignity is an intrinsic value which is absolute. Torture intends to deny persons this dignity and is thus never permissible under any circumstances. Torture is an intrinsically immoral act.

Pope Paul VI stated the point clearly in Populorum Progressio (1967): “The church cannot accept violence… Violence always provokes violence and irresistibly engenders new forms of oppression and enslavement.” (no. 37) Catholics and all persons of good will must adhere to the summary teaching in the Vatican’s Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004): the “prohibition against torture as a principle … cannot be contravened under any circumstances.” (no. 404)

Congratulations on the excellent article on St. Mary’s Cathedral in last week’s Catholic San Francisco (Jan. 21). It was masterfully done, and I have enjoyed reading and re-reading it throughout this past week. I loved the scope and the depth of the article, from the history of all the Cathedrals, to the detail in designing and constructing this one, to the “look” at each corner and detail inside and out, and especially the focus on the building as the gathering place for all the people of the Archdiocese.

Congratulations again, and my most sincere thanks for a job well-done.

JoAnn Norris Petaluma

Sulpician Father Gerald Coleman is a moral theologian and former rector at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park,

God’s chocolate factory

I wish there could be a way to express what the beauty of the Catholic Church and the worship upon entering has done for me.

More than colored candy, for sure, but there was something awesome about going into that factory with Charlie and his Grandfather. Remember how wide-eyed Charlie was? Room after room after room after room the doors opened and each room was more beautifully exciting than the one before. Charlie and his Grandfather saw such beauty in all of them.

As we had experienced in our Christian faith, Charlie and his Grandfather had known real love within their family.

They had real love in their home; they were poor but they had real love. They had a most loving family.

However, at the factory both Charlie and his Grandfather shared a new experience that was amazing. They had found the Golden Ticket. The interesting thing is you, as a viewer of the movie, become very aware that there was such a lack of color before they went into the factory.

After they followed Willie Wonka into the factory it seemed that color just burst through every place they looked. There was joy and amazement at every turn.

God has not changed, however, I have changed so much. I had missed the beauty in worship. I had missed all the beauty more than I ever knew. Now it is like a bit of heaven to have such beauty, such color, and such music in worship.

We have found the Golden Ticket!

Terry Fenwick Half Moon Bay

L E T T E R S

I am always trying to stand, straddling the Tiber, one foot on one side of the Tiber with the Protestant friends of my past worship experience and the other foot on the other side of the Tiber in Rome.

I was thinking that becoming a Catholic reminded me a lot of Willy Wonka and Charlie and the Chocolate factory. If you have seen the movie, you will remember when the gates were opened Willy Wonka came out to greet everyone. It was such an exciting time! Everyone who had the “Golden Ticket” went in with Willie Wonka. Do you remember the music and beauty and color? It was delicious.

Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers.

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

Dressing up

I would like to register a complaint about persons attending Mass and Catholic functions in models of dress which are inappropriate and distracting. In particular, I refer to the current practice of young women wearing blouses high and pants low so as to expose the midriff and various accoutrements thereto including piercings and tattoos. While such dress may make a statement outside of Mass or be effective for attraction, I feel it distracts from the statement of the Mass which is Christ’s sacrifice and love for his community and the main attraction which is Christ truly present on the altar.

People get all spruced up for dog shows and horse racing and the Sunday attire of our Protestant friends puts ours to shame.

Why not give to God the respect He deserves in dressing appropriately.

Janiece Duronslet Daly City

Agatha third century feast – Feb. 5 As with other early Christian martyrs, Agatha’s story is legendary not factual. The Sicilian-born virgin supposedly was martyred during the Crosiers persecution of Emperor Decius, who ruled 249-51.

She was sent to a brothel to force her to repudiate a vow of chastity, but she remained steadfast and her breasts were cut off. Healed when St. Peter appeared to her in prison, she died a few days later from further torture. Her saintly cult spread, and she was added to the Roman Canon of the Mass about 600.

Saints for Today

© 2005 CNS

February 4, 2005

Catholic San Francisco

13

The Catholic Difference For twenty years, David Barrett’s “Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission” (available in the quarterly International Bulletin of Missionary Research) has offered a numerical cornucopia to anyone interested in pondering the state of Christianity, and indeed of religious belief, throughout the world. Even for the statistically-challenged (like me), two large conclusions jump out from Dr. Barrett’s 2005 table.

The first is the good news: as a global phenomenon, Christianity is by no means withering away under the assault of modernization; the only exception is Europe, where Christian decline is the rule. The not-so-good news, from the point of view of Matthew 28.19 and the “Great Commission” (“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ...”), is that Christianity’s impressive absolute growth in the last century is not matched by its relative growth: Christianity claims a slightly smaller percentage of world population today than it did in 1900.

Of the 6.4 billion people on Planet Earth, some 2.1 billion, or 33.1 percent, are Christians of one sort or another.

As there were only some 558 million Christians in the world in 1900, the absolute growth of Christianity is, as I say, impressive. But because world population has grown at a somewhat faster pace than Christianity, Christianity’s relative position has slipped a bit since 1900, when Christians represented some 34.5 percent of world population.

David Barrett divides the Christian world into what he calls “ecclesiastical megablocs.” Of the world’s 2.1 billion Christians, 1.1 billion are Catholics, 375 million are Protestants, 219 million are Orthodox, and 79 million are Anglicans. 34 million are “mar-

ginal Christians” (who believe in a revelation in addition to the Bible or who have off-brand views on Christ or the Trinity – Jehovah’s Witnesses, Swedenborgians, Theosophists, Mormons, etc.). The remaining 426 million – the second largest “megabloc” – are “Independents,” which Barrett defines as those Christians “separated from, uninterested in, and independent of historic denominational Christianity” (think of the explosive growth of house churches and new micro-denominations in Africa and Latin America). 59 percent of the world’s Christians live in cities, a dramatic change from 29 percent in 1900.

Europe, including Russia, still claims the largest absolute number of Christians (531 million); but Europe is also the only continent where Christian numbers are declining now and will likely decline for the foreseeable future. Latin America claims the second largest number of Christians (511 million), while Africa (2.36 percent growth per year) and Asia (2.64 percent growth per year) are the fastest growing parts of the Christian world. Indeed, Christian growth in Africa is nothing short of astonishing: there were 8.7 million African Christians in 1900; there are 389 million African Christians today; and Barrett projects almost 600 million African Christians by 2025 (when Europe’s Christian population will have fallen to 513 million).

Many of the numbers, then, are encouraging: 54.3 percent of the world’s population was unevangelized in 1900, compared to 27.9 percent today. Yet for all that growth, the implementation of the “Great Commission” seems to have stalled. By 2025, world population will be 7.8 billion, with a total Christian population of 2.6 billion – a very, very modest relative growth of 0.05

percent over the next quarter-century. Meanwhile, the world Islamic population is expected to climb from 1.3 billion to 1.8 billion – almost certainly because of higher birthrates rather than conversions, but the fact George Weigel remains that Christianity is growing at a decidedly slower pace than the other great world religion with global, culture-forming claims and ambitions. What would happen, though, if China opens itself to Christian mission in the next quarter-century?

In addition to these big picture numbers and trends, the Barrett “Status of Global Mission 2005” report is chock-full of interesting detail. Did you know that giving to Christian causes will reach $340 billion this year? Or that 440 million computers are in “Christian use”? Or that 68.4 million Bibles will be distributed in 2005 (up from 25 million in 1970)? Or that you are reading one of the world’s 43,000 Christian periodicals? Or that there are 2.3 billion monthly listeners to Christian broadcasting?

All of which amounts to a very complex story, replete with promise but also with danger.

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

Guest Commentary

Prayer-chain e-mails with miracles attached Today I received an e-mail from an apparent acquaintance who is quite impressed with my spiritual life. I know this because he said so in the e-mail. Well, OK, he wrote: “Your quest for spiritual enlightenment is clear, Robert.”

The fact that my name is Dan is of little consequence, it seems to me, as the e-mail did in fact end up in my Yahoo mailbox. I did notice that the e-mail also had been forwarded to roughly 392 others at the same time, so the minor name snafu is totally understandable.

What confuses me a little is that I have received the same e-mail in recent days from two other people I actually do know by name. (Only one of them called me Robert.)

In a nutshell, the e-mail tells you that if you repeat this particular prayer and then send it along to eight people, and I quote here, “You will receive a miracle tomorrow.” It’s called the “8 Second Prayer,” and the whole process is known as the “8 in 8.”

The apparent acquaintance mentioned earlier must have misread the instructions — or figured that if eight people could generate a miracle, 392 or so would have the miracle machine clanging like crazy.

That seemed kind of piggy to me, but it’s hard to be too judgmental about apparent acquaintances who are only encouraging you to recite a simple prayer that will provide, just maybe, the Power Ball Lotto numbers.

However, I have some reservations about prayer-chain e-mails that promise miracles. So first I tested the prayer for length. Sure enough, it timed out at eight seconds on the nose, although I could stretch it to 10 seconds if I dawdled around with some of the punctuation.

Second, it is attributed to Bishop T.D. Jakes. “Hah!” I cackled after a little Internet research. No such bishop. But I had made the mistake of limiting my miracle-e-mail investigation to Catholic circles. I totally forgot I had in the past bumped into T.D. Jakes while channel-surfing. He is a very popular, Pentecostally oriented preacher and seems to be a one-man industry. He drives a new Mercedes, lives in a million-dollar home, sells tons of books and is featured on some killer Web sites.

Maybe there is something to this “8 in 8” thing, and it does make one think of the “Magic Eight Ball.” You know

the one. You shake it, and it will mysteriously float answers for your most intimate queries of the universe, insightful responses like, “No way” or “Go for it!”

Whether this e-mail has anything to do with Dan Morris T.D. Jakes or the Magic Eight Ball, I guess you can’t go too far off base by praying: “Lord, I love you and I need you. Come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home and my friends, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

And if it makes you wake up looking for a miracle, maybe that’s miracle enough. Because God’s love for us is just that. You know?

Dan Morris is former editor of Catholic San Francisco.

Spirituality

‘Get behind me Satan!’

When you read the lives of the saints, especially in some older books, you can get the impression that they lived in a different world. Many of them describe physical encounters with Satan within which they would, literally, get beaten up by him. Satan, it seemed, was forever lurking under a bed, in a basement, in a stairwell, or in some dark corner, just waiting to pounce on them and beat them up. They had to be careful not to venture naively into dark places; though, conversely, there were times when they readied themselves and went deliberately, to the desert, to openly do battle with him.

And, in that fight, they had a great weapon, simple oneline mantras: “Get behind me, Satan!” “Satan, leave this room!” “Satan, leave me alone!” That brought guaranteed results. He left them in peace for a while, though they emerged somewhat scraped and bruised from the encounter.

Such language sounds pretty esoteric and even superstitious to us. Not many of us have ever had Satan pop up from under our beds or from some dark place and begin to beat us up. Or have we?

Who or what is Satan? Believers today are split as to whether or not they believe that Satan is an actual person or simply a symbol for a venomous power that can overwhelm you, strip you of moral strength, and leave you precisely with the feeling of having been beaten up. Either way, whether we believe that Satan is an actual person or simply a symbol for malevolence, temptation, and lack of moral strength, the encounters that the saints describe happen to us too in our rational, agnostic lives just as surely as they happened to pious believers in former times.

Satan, scripture tells us, is the prince of jealousy, bitterness, paranoia, obsession, and lies. Few things in life torment us and beat us up as badly as these. They lurk in every dark corner, come out from under our beds at night, generally threaten us, darken our days, dampen our joys, and make us anxious as to what might lie around the corner. We just word things differently.

We speak of being “obsessed”, while the saints speak of being “possessed”. It’s just a difference of words.

Satan, however we choose to conceive of that power, is harassing us all the time and we, like the saints of old, need to learn the mantra: “Get behind me, Satan!”

Where are we harassed and beaten up by Satan? Here are some, everyday, examples: Every time our minds and hearts begin bitterly replaying, like cassette tapes, old conversations, old wounds, old rejections, and old injustices, so that everything inside of us wants to scream: “This isn’t fair!” “How dare he say that!”

“How can she do that, after all I did for her!” “I hate those people!” “Why do I always get cheated?”, we are being tormented by Satan and need to say: “Get behind me, Satan!”

There will be no joy, goodness, or moral strength in our lives until those obsessions leave us alone.

Every time we feel a deep emptiness inside and our world feels flat and empty of meaning because we are obsessed with someone or something we can’t have, we need to pray: “Get behind me, Satan!” Heartaches, especially over frustrated love, might well speak of romance, but they also bespeak satan in that they drain the joy out of life and deaden all of our manageable loves. Satan doesn’t come at us like a demon with a

pitchfork, standing before fire and smoke, he torments us in a frustrated, pathologically-restless, romantic fantasy that has us in near-suicidal depression and comes upon us in dark stairwells, at parties, and right Father within our own beds.

Ron Rolheiser Indeed, any time we have trouble falling asleep at night because some memory, some disappointment, some lost love, some wrongturn taken, or some obsession won’t let go and give us enough calm to sleep, Satan is harassing us, right in own beds, and we need, like the saints of old, to say: “Get behind me, Satan!”

Satan is alive and well, still tormenting us in our beds, in basement rooms, in dark stairwells, and in broad daylight as we travel to work. We call his presence: obsessions, heartaches, restlessness, jealousy, emptiness, fear, paranoia, old hurts, insomnia, chaos, and other names. Like the saints of old, we need at times when we feel strong enough to wrestle with him openly in the desert, but we need too, whenever our fears and obsessions begin to beat us up, to say the ancient prayer: “Get behind me, Satan!”

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher, and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.

JOHN EARLE PHOTO

Christianity, by the numbers

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Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16 A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH (IS 58:7-10) Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.

His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear.

Lavishly he gives to the poor; his justice shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.

R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (PS 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9) R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.

Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just.

Well for the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.

R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.

He shall never be moved; the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (MT 5:13-16) Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS (1 COR 2:1-5) When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Scripture FATHER GERARD O’ROURKE

Ordinary agents of salt and light We continue in the Gospel reading of the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time with verses from the “Sermon on the Mount” in the Gospel of Matthew. As we read or listen to this great sermon it is vital for us to notice that it was spoken to a cross section of ordinary people. It was not delivered by Jesus to scholars, academics, spiritual leaders, specialists, or exceptional people of any kind. St. Matthew tells us that Jesus spoke his great words “to the crowds” and his disciples who gathered around him.

So as one of the “crowds” it is good for us to listen to his words; to let them into our hearts and to accept them as spoken to each and every one of us, personally. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks to us for the most part in declaratory language. It is a very empowering kind of speaking. It is a way of speaking that lifts us up. It arouses us. It enlivens us. It trusts us. It includes us. It is the kind of language that inspires us and opens up for us the pathway to action in our lives.

“You are the Salt of the Earth!” “You are the light of the world!” This is the language that was spoken by Jesus to the crowds of people on that hillside in Galilee years ago.

It was a wonderful scene overlooking the Lake of Galilee that Jesus loved so well. It was a crowd full of people of Galilee of the Gentiles. It was therefore diverse, multi-cultural, multi-religious, interspersed with secular and pagan people. It was a crowd of the poor and the rich; literate and illiterate; townspeople and rural people and of course just the curious checking things out. And of course he was surrounded by a group of his new disciples, among them newly chosen apostles eager to hear his every word.

Yet here is Jesus speaking to all of these people in startling declaratory language. It challenged them then and now us to actually take it seriously; not heavily serious! But seriously in that his words are worth listening to and to pay personal attention to them. It is the kind of language that is worth taking on in our lives. It is the worthwhile language to get us up in the morning to live and to enliven our lives.

You are the “Salt of the Earth!” When you and I take on this challenge in our lives it is like living your life with a new flavor and distinction to it. Instead of dragging ourselves grudgingly through life or showing up half asleep or uninterested we begin to live our lives with a new aliveness and alertness.

What is also shaken up in our lives is our penchant for boredom or being bored with our

faith. There is nothing boring or bored about someone like the Son of God declaring to you and to me “You are the Salt of the earth!”

This is Jesus placing his trust in us. He is trusting that we can live useful, empowering, even blessed lives in our world today.

As salt is an essential ingredient in the food we eat to sustain us, so too are we essential in the eyes of Jesus, our Savior, to bring his spirit into our world today.

The Gospel reading and the Isaiah reading also emphasize and incorporate the idea of light. “You are the light of the world.” The people who heard this must have been astounded. Light was a very scarce product in those days. Today light is always available to us. Then it was very precious and scarce.

When Jesus told the people, “You are the light of the world,” it really brightened their vision for life. It was an enormous blessing for them because with this spiritual light they could see new ways to live; new ways to act; new ways to make a difference in their lives.

So too for us in our age today, as we take on those words of Jesus, we can easily envision new ways to let our light shine forth in our world that is starving for good deeds and inspired action. Each of us can begin to dispel the darkness and bleakness all around us. We can bring light, brightness, respect and enlightenment in the face of the gloom, cynicism and even depression that so many people have to deal with in their lives. Yes we can bring light into many peoples lives with our concern, our compassion, our generosity and our healing.

What Jesus is asking of us is to be a light for others. We do not need perfect sight for this. In fact, some of the most luminous beings we happen to know are full of spiritual light and wisdom and are not able to see.

So too can we be a light, a spiritual light, for others, including those who are troubled people. We can live up to the challenge of Jesus for us all in the concluding words in the Gospel reading - “Your light must shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly father.”

As we head into Lent this week, these words are a great challenge for us all.

May you have a blessed Lent.

Father Gerard O’Rourke is Director Emeritus of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Prayer for this Sunday Lord, when it is dark and we can’t see, when we fumble about trying to feel our way, to feel anything; when there is no meaning in our lives and all is tasteless and flat; then, because you love us and want to infuse in us your own bountiful life, you say to us: “ Share your bread with the hungry. Shelter the oppressed and the homeless. Clothe the naked.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.” “ You are the light of the world.”

Teach us to give, a little at first, then all we have.

Let your glorious brightness and your savor for life be in us in every task we undertake; for every person we meet.

- Center for Liturgy, St. Louis University Isaiah – Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1509, from the Sistine Chapel (left).

February 4, 2005

Catholic San Francisco

15

Culture & Society

He held these truths reflected the faith in American exceptionalism and goodness so prevalent in the United John Courtney Murray is the most sig- States after World War II, a faith that failed nificant Catholic theologian the church in to confront the dangers that hubris poses for the United States has ever produced. From the world’s leading economic, cultural and his birth in l904 until his death in l967, military power. Finally, Murray’s public Murray occupied a unique role in bringing philosophy presupposed a natural law episthe Catholic tradition to America’s aca- temology; today people scoff at the notion demic, political and cultural leadership and of natural law in public discourse. How, in identifying the pivotal role the American then, can Murray’s writings continue to experiment in democracy could have for provide a substantial contribution to public the church’s doctrine on society and the theology in the United States? state. He was editor of Theological Studies FIVE PROPOSITIONS and an associate editor of America; a proMurray framed a series of penetrating fessor at the Jesuit school of theology in questions about the future of the American Woodstock, Md., and at Yale University; democratic experiment and, from the an advisor to John F. Kennedy during his Catholic tradition, pointed a direction for campaign for the presidency; and the answering those questions that is still valid American theological expert designated to in the present moment. Specifically, he participate in the drafting of the Second asserted that: Vatican Council’s “Declaration on 1. The American experiment in democracy Religious Freedom.” rests primarily upon a moral consensus Murray’s writings on religious liberty rooted in the transcendent rights of the provided a prism through which the human person.

Catholic communiJohn Courtney ty could fully recMurray firmly oncile both its docbelieved that the dis‘Murray asserted that trinal heritage and tinction between its dedication to the morality and law principle that no American democracy was crucial to formgovernment should ing a just society, seek to restrict or rested upon a religiously and that most aspiraimpose religious tions of morality faith upon its citi- informed vision of the were entirely outside zens. His piercing the realm of law and and precise treat- dignity of the human the state; but he ments of questions believed with equal ranging from the person and the role of the fervor that governdangers of secularment was an inherism to the role of ently moral enterethics in interna- community in enhancing prise. He rejected tional affairs to the the notion that the relationship of law that dignity.’ heart of the and morality dazAmerican republic zled readers with lay in a balancing of their insight, breadth and elegance. And his conflicting interest groups or in the maxiefforts to forge a civil conversation across mization of individual autonomy for its citithe religious and intellectual divides that zens. Murray asserted that American democcharacterized American society after World racy rested upon a religiously informed War II established him as a powerful form- vision of the dignity of the human person and ative influence in the culture of the United the role of the community in enhancing that States. It was no exaggeration for Time dignity. The founders of the nation, he promagazine to designate Murray and posed, had recognized precisely this reality Reinhold Niebuhr as the primary architects when they affirmed that the basis for erecting of a renewed role for religion in American the new nation lay in a series of human rights public life at mid-century, a role that recog- created by God and antecedent to any govnized the pluralism and freedom of the ernmental enactment. It fell to every sucUnited States as a source of moral strength ceeding generation to recognize more fully and direction. the nature and scope of these rights and to LASTING CONTRIBUTION renew the moral consensus by acknowledgYet a century after Murray’s birth, it is ing the transcendent identity both of human easy to view his writings as time-bound - rights and the human community. critically important at a vital juncture in the 2. Because the foundation for American history of Catholicism in the United States, democracy is a moral consensus, but valuable principally for their historical substantive and civil dialogue within role rather than their relevance to contemAmerican society concerning the key porary questions of theology, culture or issues of the day is necessary for politics. After all, Murray’s major writings democracy’s survival. on the question of religious liberty arose For Murray, the term democracy was from the now long abandoned Catholic substantive as well as procedural. It required teaching that at times governments in common understandings of the most basic Catholic nations had the right and even the principles of national life, of the aspirations obligation to promote Catholic doctrine at of the American people, of the way in which the expense of religious freedom for non- specific human rights are exercised. Thus Catholics. And Murray’s death in l967 pre- democracy, in Murray’s view, always cluded what could have been a monumental required substantive national dialogue, civil contribution on the role of religious free- conversation in the deepest meaning of that dom within the life of the church, the facet term. Murray certainly recognized that this of religious liberty that is now most in need dialogue could take many different forms in of clarification in Catholic thought. practice and that the democratic dialogue of Even Murray’s public philosophy, with the university setting would differ from that its classically liberal stress upon freedom, of the union hall or the neighborhood meetseems in so many ways a product of the ing or the newspaper editorial. He believed, l950’s rather than a basis for contemporary however, that depth of civil dialogue was discussion. Murray never recognized the absolutely essential for the success of the depth of the hold that race has held in American experiment, and that such diaAmerican society, nor did his public philos- logue could not be presumed, but had to be ophy grapple effectively with the question worked for assiduously in every generation. of poverty and economic deprivation in 3. American culture is warped by an American life and the world community. exaggerated dedication to technology and Murray used Catholic principles to critique material acquisition, and thus is prey to the materialism and increasing secularism the increasing instrumentalization of the of American society, but his writings often human person in the name of progress.

By Msgr. Robert W. McElroy

Murray’s reading of the religious history of the West convinced him that in every age new threats would emerge to the identity and dignity of the human person, and that human dignity could be protected only if society recognized that that dignity was inviolate because it was rooted in God. Murray believed that American culture was particularly susceptible to the allures of technology and materialism and particularly blind to the ways in which these forces diminish our humanity, by dimming and at times denying the sacred dimensions of human life. This Murray on Time – Dec. 12, 1960. diminishment could be seen in the expansion of economic thinking into all spheres of political and social life, reducing the morality of assessment of its national interest, not unithe great questions of the day to cost-benefit versalist ideals. While not espousing analysis. It was found in the unreflective Wilsonian idealism, Murray utterly rejected assent given by American society to the quest realism. He believed that the United States for progress in science and medicine without must use its great military and economic asking about the consequences and costs of power in the world, but he believed with that progress in humane terms. It was located even greater fervor that policy should be in the overwhelming preoccupation of citi- formulated with a recognition of both the zens of the United States with the acquisition American national interest and the internaof ever more material goods and ever greater tional common good. Murray held that even wealth. Murray believed that unless a funda- in his own day a genuine community of mental re-examination of America’s cultural nations existed; hence it was immoral to priorities was undertaken, the technological use the national interest as the primary worldview and materialism could destroy the prism through which to view America’s American experiment by creating a world of proper presence in the world. What was technological and material exquisiteness with needed was a careful integration of the interests of the nation state and the world a spiritual vacuum at its heart.

4. The primary challenge to religious liberty community, and a moral analysis and poliin America in the present day comes not cy formulation process that would give due from government’s establishment of weight to each. religion, but from encroaching denials of THE PROMISE OF CONTENTION Murray’s five assertions are still needed to the free exercise of religion.

Murray believed that the great genius of reinvigorate American social, cultural and the American experiment had been to political life today. Only if the foundational establish government on the principle that element of American democracy is a moral the state should never seek to advance one consensus shared broadly can politics proreligion over another. This principle had duce anything more than ever-widening been incorporated into the no-establish- splits between red states and blue states. Only ment clause of the United States if political dialogue becomes strategic and Constitution; Murray considered this clause community-building rather than tactical and a monumental contribution to the develop- destructive can substantive democracy flourish in the United States. Only if America ment of democracy in the modern era.

But Murray also believed that the other takes a religiously informed look at the domreligious clause of the Constitution, the free inance of technology and materialism in our culture will the core exercise clause, was of our national idenequally essential. tity be founded upon Religious liberty ‘Murray believed that spiritualizing rather was a freedom not than instrumentalizonly of individual ing impulses. And conscience, but of unless a fundamental only if our foreign religious action and policy can integrate religious communi- re-examination of both a dedication to ties in action. The the American founders of the America’s cultural national interest and United States had the international desired to encourage priorities was undertaken, common good will the flourishing of America’s immense religion in the new the technological military and econation as a bulwark nomic power be put to civic-mindedness and civic virtue; in worldview and materialism to proper use. John Courtney Murray’s the 20th century religion in the public could destroy the American writings still constitute an invigorating square was threatchallenge and supened by the expan- experiment . . . ’ port to the American sion of government experiment in in American society coupled with the fallacious notion that where democracy in the 21st century, because he government came in, all substantive religious thought broadly and deeply about the aspirabelief and action had to be evacuated. Murray tions of America’s democracy and about the was convinced that this inverted reading of long-term bases for their achievement. the Constitution, left unchecked, would not only deprive American society and culture of the transcendent perspective so vital to their Msgr. Robert W. McElroy is pastor of future, but would in the process rob religious Saint Gregory’s Parish in San Mateo.

Americans of their right to have anything but He is author of The Search for an a privatized religious faith.

American Public Theology: The Role 5. American foreign policy must seek to attain the international common good of John Courtney Murray (1989) and Morality and American Foreign as well as the national interest of the Policy: The Role of Ethics in United States.

Murray wrote at a time in which the International Affairs (1992). realist school was dominant in the study Reprinted with permission of America and formulation of American foreign poliPress, Inc. © 2005 All Rights cy. Rejecting the prior Wilsonian tradition, Reserved. For subscription realism asserted that every nation, and cerinformation, call 1-800-627-9533 or tainly the United States, must fashion its visit www.americamagazine.org. strategic foreign policy based upon a clear

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Catholic San Francisco

St. Mary’s Cathedral The following events are taking place at or are coordinated by the cathedral of the Archdiocese located at Gough and Geary St. in San Francisco.

Call (415) 567-2020 for more information.

March 9: Carol Williams, British concert organist, performs an exciting and unusual “classical jazz” program on the great organ of St. Mary’s Cathedral at 7 pm. Composers will include Philip Glass, William Bolcom, Dan Locklair, Giles Swayne and more! Carol Williams is well known for her delightful concerts in Balboa Park in San Diego. Suggested donation will be $10. For more information please call (415) 567-2020 ext 213 or email ctietze@stmarycathedralsf.org.

Sundays: Concerts at 3:30 p.m. Call (415) 5672020 ext. 213. Open to the public. Admission free.

Feb. 6: David Schofield, organist.

February 4, 2005 Sat. at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, call Pat at (415) 492-3331; and 1st and 3rd Wed. at 7:30 p.m. at St. Stephen Parish Center, SF, call Gail at (650) 591-8452.

Catholic Adult Singles Assoc. of Marin meets for support and activities. Call Bob at (415) 8970639 for information.

Datebook

Consolation Ministry

Food & Fun

2005

official directory

ORDER FORM Name City Credit Card #: Signature:

Class of ‘64 from Star of the Sea Academy gathered 40 years later September 26 in Millbrae.

“We had the biggest turnout we’d ever had (45 out of 69), and there were some people we literally hadn’t seen in 40 years.,” said Julie Lane now of Paso Robles. “Maureen Robertson Gonzalez gave a blessing that literally left us all with goose bumps. One of the things that stood out in everyone’s mind is the fact that the bond is still there. All in all, it was an absolute delight, and all appear excited about doing a 60th birthday gathering 2 years from now.”

Shows Feb. 11, 12, 25, 26: “Smallest of All” A musical rendition of “Song of Bernadette” at 7:30pm St. Thomas More 1300 Junipero Serra near Brotherhood Way. Donation of $10 suggested. Kids 14 & under Free.

Also playing Feb 18, 19 at 7:30pm and 20th at 2pm at St. Boniface Theater 175 Golden Gate Ave near Leavenworth. www.stmchurch.com (415) 637-1484

Respect Life/ Family Life Feb. 12: The Gospel of Life in Action, potluck dinner and presentation sponsored by Marin County Respect Life Program at St. Sebastian Church, 373 Bon Air Rd. at Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Greenbrae.

Call Vicki Evans at (415) 945-0180.

Feb. 13: Building Strong Families, a Retreat for the Entire Family sponsored by parishes of Deanery 11 at Vallombrosa Retreat Center, 250 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Facilitators are Tim and Popie Stafford. Call Laurie Coulter at (650) 366-7085; Sister Mary Keefe at (650) 368-0429; Sister Norberta Villasenor at (415) 368-8237.

TV/Radio Mon – Fri., KVTO 1400 AM, 7:30 p.m.: Catholic Radio Hour features rosary, music and commentary with Father Tom Daly.

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

Harry Schlitt presiding.

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

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

Reunions March 12: St. Cecilia Elementary, class of ’50 at the parish Collins Center. Call Doris Grimley at (415) 664-2247.

March 31: Star of the Sea Academy, classes ’39 to ’45. Contact Marie at (415) 564-2603 or Dorothy at (415) 681-1493.

We are on a Star Search for graduates of Star of the Sea Academy, Class of ‘55. A 50th Reunion is in the planning stage. Let us know where you are.

Contact Patricia Lawless Sack at 415-472-5732.You won’t want to miss this one!

Prayer/Lectures/Trainings Feb. 12: The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur continue Morning of Prayer series “Become Beatitude People” 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. “Blessed are the Persecuted: what might these words mean today?” is the focus with Marlene M. De Nardo, an educator, spiritual director and teacher at Naropa University in Oakland. Takes place at Notre Dame Province Center, 1520 Ralston Avenue in Belmont, across from Ralston Hall on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University. Call (650) 593-2045 X 277 or www.SistersofNotreDameCA.org.

Sundays of Lent: Walking with Biblical Personalities along the Path of the Enneagram: Spiritual Reflection for Lent 2005 at St. Thomas More Church in San Francisco. Claudia Devaux facilitates. $50 for entire series. Enrollment limited. Call (415) 452-9634.

Feb. 26: Training for New Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at St. Matthew Church, 675 1 Notre Dame Ave., San Mateo Sat., 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Please pre-register at (415) 614-5585.

Mar. 12: Training for New Lectors at St. Matthew Church, 1 Notre Dame Ave., San Mateo. Sat., 9 a.m - 3:30 p.m. Please pre-register at (415) 614-5585.

Single, Divorced, Separated Feb. 26: Potluck Supper at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral conference center. Sponsored by Divorced and Separated Ministry of the Archdiocese. Call Vonnie at (650) 873-4236.

Separated and Divorced support groups meet 3rd

Returning Catholics Programs for Catholics interested in returning to the Church, have been established at the following parishes: Marin County: St. Hilary, Tiburon, Mary Musalo, (415) 435-2775; St. Anselm, Ross, call (415) 453-2342; St. Sebastian, Greenbrae, Jean Mariani at (415) 4617060; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Mill Valley, Rick Dullea or Diane Claire at (415) 388-4190; St. Mary Star of the Sea, Sausalito, Lloyd Dulbecco at (415) 331-7949.

San Francisco: Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, SF, Michael Adams at (415) 695-2707; St. Philip the Apostle, 725 Diamond St. at Elizabeth/24th, SF. Call (415) 282-0141; St. Dominic, SF, Lee Gallery at (415) 221-1288; Holy Name of Jesus, SF, (415) 664-8590.

San Mateo County: St. Bartholomew, San Mateo, Dan Stensen at (650) 344-5665; St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame, Silvia Chiesa at (650) 685-8336; Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame, Dorothy Heinrichs or Maria Cianci at (650) 347-7768; St. Dunstan, Millbrae, Dianne Johnston at (650) 697-0952; Our Lady of the Pillar, Half Moon Bay, Meghan at (650) 726-4337; St. Peter, Pacifica, Chris Booker at (650) 738-1398.

St. Gregory Parish announces Catholics Returning Home, a program welcoming non-practicing Catholics back to the Church Feb. 8 and 15. Topics include Why People Leave the Church and Return, The Sacramental Church and The Christian Moral Life, Call (650) 574-8716

Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired.

Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633.

ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO 2005 DELUXE DIRECTORY

of

Archdiocese San Francisco

Feb. 8: Catholic Networking Night for job-seekers and jobholders. Employers are also invited to present job openings. Guest speaker is Maryellen Briscoe, director of Human Relations for Broadlane. Takes place at St. Dominic’s Church, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, SF from 7 – 9 p.m. Come and expand your network.

Exchange ideas and brush up on job search skills.

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

February 12: “Sail Away with LCA,” annual gala at the World Trade Club this year honoring Francie Pasquini, a longtime volunteer with Recreation Center for the Handicap, Saint Vincent de Paul Society, and LCA. Evening includes Silent & Live Auctions, seated dinner and dancing to the Joel Abramson Orchestra. Starts at 6pm. $125 per person or $1100 per table. Phone (415) 972-1243 or visit www.littlechildrensaid.com.

Feb. 12: Annual Mori Point Walk benefiting works of Kateri Tekakwitha Fund and its efforts for the poor in Guatemala. “A guided tour of beautiful Mori Point begins at 11 a.m. Fair Trade Coffee will be provided,” the group said. Sign in at Café salada, 220 Paloma Ave. at Oceana Blvd. in Pacifica at 10 a.m. Call (650) 355-8104. Cost $15.

February 13: Pianist J.R. Manolito performs at 4 p.m. as part of Concerts at St. Stephen’s. $10 donation benefits parish music ministry. Call (415) 6812444. The church is at Eucalyptus Dr. and 23rd Ave. in San Francisco.

Feb. 26: Purple and Gold Gala benefiting Archbishop Riordan High School at Hyatt Hotel in Burlingame. Call school Development Office at (415) 586-9190.

March 9: Annual Spring Luncheon and Boutique of North Marin Auxiliary of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. No-host cocktails at 11 a.m.. Luncheon at 12:15 p.m. Proceeds benefit SVDP Dining Room in San Rafael and works of SVDP Conference of St. Anthony Parish in Novato. Tickets $37 per person.

Call Gwen Johnson at (415) 883-3055.

3rd Wed.: All you can eat Spaghetti Luncheon at Immaculate Conception cafeteria, 1550 Treat St., SF. $7 per person includes salad and French bread.

All you can eat from noon on! Reservations not required. Call (415) 824-1762. Proceeds benefit St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception School.

3rd Sat.: Handicapables gather for Mass and lunch at St. Mary Cathedral, Gough and Geary St., SF, at noon.

Volunteer drivers always needed. Call (415) 585-9085.

4th Sat.: Handicapables of Marin meet at noon in the recreation room of the Maria B. Freitas Senior Community adjacent to St. Isabella Church, Terra Linda, for Mass, lunch and entertainment. Call (415) 457-7859.

California Handicapables needs volunteers including drivers, servers, donors, and recruiters of those who might benefit from the experience. Call Jane Cunningham at (415) 585-9085.

Sundays: Concerts at 4 p. m. at National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, Vallejo and Columbus, SF. Call (415) 983-0405 or www.shrinesf.org. Open to the public. Admission free.

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

San Mateo County: St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame. Call (650) 344-6884; Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame. Call Louise Nelson at (650) 343-8457 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City. Call (650) 366-3802; Good Shepherd, Pacifica. Call Sister Carol Fleitz at (650) 355-2593; St. Robert, San Bruno. Call (650) 589-2800.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont. Call Ann Ponty at (650) 598-0658 or Mary Wagner at (650) 591-3850.

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

San Francisco: St.Gabriel. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. St. Finn Barr in English and Spanish.

Call Carmen Solis at (415) 584-0823; St. Cecilia. Call Peggy Abdo at (415) 564-7882 ext. 3; Epiphany in Spanish. Call Kathryn Keenan at (415) 564-7882. St. Dominic. Call Margaret Passanisi at (415) 931-5241.

Ministry for parents who have lost a child is available from Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame. Call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579.

Young Widow/Widower group meets at St. Gregory, San Mateo. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

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

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

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

Please send me

copies of the Directory Address Zip Code

Copies @ $17.50 Each: $ Includes Postage and Handling

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

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

February 4, 2005

Music TV

17

Catholic San Francisco

Books RADIO Film

Stage

“The Story of the Weeping Camel” was released on DVD this week. While largely overlooked during its box office release, the film has been named one of the years top ten by Catholic reviewers including National Catholic Register and Phoenix Catholic Sun.

By David DiCerto NEW YORK (CNS) — In “The Story of the Weeping Camel” (ThinkFilm), a family of nomadic herders summons a musician from a far-off village to perform an ancient ritual in the hopes of coaxing a mother camel into nursing the newborn calf which she rejected at birth.

Set amid the sweeping vistas of the Gobi Desert, with a cast of nonprofessional actors, directors Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni have crafted a beautifully told tale whose message of family bonds, the importance of tradition and the centrality of love for survival is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Visually elegant and emotionally affecting, this modest gem of a movie has both the unadorned immediacy of a documentary and the contemplative poeticism of a fable. Reminiscent of Robert J. Flaherty’s 1922 “Nanook of the North,” the docudrama combines unrehearsed sequences with staged recreations to create a blend of documentary and fiction, resulting in a narrative-documentary hybrid.

The film opens in spring and follows the daily routine of a four-generation clan of sheep and camel herders (played by a family of real-life nomads), living on the windswept steppes of southern Mongolia, whose all-but-vanished way of life has remained relatively unspoiled by the encroachment of modernity —

though the film’s final image shows it to be a losing battle.

After a particularly difficult labor, one of the camels in their fold gives birth to a snow-white colt. But the joy is shortlived as the camel quickly gives its offspring the cold hump, refusing to allow the colt to nurse. The herders realize that without its mother’s milk the little camel will not survive. When their efforts to wheedle the mother into bonding with her child prove futile, the clan, in accordance with time-honored tradition, dispatches two of its youngest members to fetch a violinist who can perform an ageold musical rite which, according to legend, will jump-start the animal’s maternal instinct. Legend also holds that, if the ceremony has been successful, the plaintive tune will make the mother camel cry — thus justifying the title of the film.

Though it doesn’t sound like much of a plot, “The Story of the Weeping Camel” is a cinematic oasis in a desert of blockbuster banality. Billed by the filmmakers as “equal parts reality, drama and magic” — it delivers on all three counts.

The images of the baby camel crying for its mother’s affection as it stumbles across the barren landscape are heartrending, especially when juxtaposed with shots of the other colts coddling contently with their own mothers — the net result being, by the end of the film, the camel isn’t the only one weeping.

And while the dysfunctional dromedaries (actually, they are two-humped Bactrian camels) are the true stars of the film, their human co-stars bring an honesty and unvarnished sincerity to their mostly improvised performances. This is especially true about the wizened patriarch (Janchiv Ayurzana) and his adorable

S E R V I C E

(CNS PHOTO COURTESY THINKFILM)

The Story of the Weeping Camel

In "The Story of the Weeping Camel" (ThinkFilm), a family of nomadic herders summons a musician from a far-off village to perform an ancient ritual in the hopes of coaxing a mother camel into nursing the newborn calf that she rejected at birth. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.

great-grandson (Uuganbaatar Ikhbayar) whose contagious smile needs no translation.

Though the story takes place in an exotic locale, the thematic terrain explored — that of the love between a mother and child — couldn’t be more universal. In fact, it was the universality of the film’s underlying message which first attracted the filmmakers to the project. “It is the story of salvation,” says Falorni. “The little starving camel is each of us, estranged, unceasingly searching for protection and needing to belong.

The baby camel’s fate is visible evidence that no life is possible without love.”

While such sobering sentiments may be challenging to a world intoxicated by an inflated sense of hyper-individualism, they eloquently echo the Christian understanding of humanity’s hunger for God’s love, the divine sustenance upon which our continued existence depends. The film’s central image of a suckling babe desperately seeking the succor of its mother’s life-giving milk provides a beautiful visual for meditating on the words of Isaiah, where the prophet symbolically compares our intimate relationship with God to that of “a child that is nursed by its mother.”

Subtitles.

D I R E C T O R Y

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PAINTING & REMODELING John Holtz

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(650) 355-4926

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Painting & Remodeling

not a licensed contractor

Interiors Exteriors Kitchens Baths

CONSTRUCTION

Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting

REPAIRS & PRESSURE WASHING

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Leaks, Dryrot, Decks Mike: (650) 355-8858

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Carpentry, Cabinetry, Painting,Refinishing Floors and Furniture, Door & Window Instal.,Cement Work.

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Serving also the East Bay, Contra Costa,&Marin Counties

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415-239-8491

100 North Hill Drive, Unit 18 • Brisbane, CA 94005

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Lic. No. 390254

18

Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

Hallmark cable program highlights faith of Asian and Pacific Catholics

By Liz Quirin What is the lead actress from “Miss Saigon” doing on the Hallmark cable channel?

This Philippine born actress will host “Harmony in Faith,” a special presentation Feb. 13 on “The World of Faith and Values,” on local Hallmark cable channels.

Lea Salonga, cast in the title role of “Miss Saigon” at age 18, narrates this hour-long program about America’s fastest-growing immigrant group — Asian and Pacific Island Catholics.

The program, produced by Oblate Media and Communication Corporation with a grant from the Catholic Communication Campaign, introduces viewers to the gifts that Asian and Pacific Island immigrants bring to the American Catholic Church. It is based on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter, “Asian and Pacific Presence: Harmony in Faith.2.”

Salonga, 31, was asked to host the program because of her Catholic faith and heritage as an Asian American.

“My faith has pulled me through a lot of rough spots in my life and my career,” Salonga said.

That career began in the Philippines when she, at age 7, was cast in a production of “The King and I” in Manila. A gold record for her first album, “Small Voice,” recorded at 13, brought her more attention. She sang the voice of Princess Jasmine in the Disney animated film, “Aladdin,” which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

But the role for which she is most well known to date, is her starring role in the New York and London productions of “Miss Saigon.”

“There were nights when I was doing ‘Miss Saigon’ in London and in New York when I was waking up in cold sweats because of the pressure of the show. I was just praying, just praying that I would get through it.”

More than 350,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders arrive in the United States every year, a 48 percent increase in the past decade.

The program profiles the music, communities and deep faith of many of these Asian and Pacific Catholics, with experiences of their celebrations and their faith.

Shot on location in San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Carthage, Mo., Chicago and Washington, D.C., Harmony in Faith features profiles of the Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Korean, Kmhmu (Laotian), Samoan, Tongan and Asian-Indian communities.

Interviews with clergy and religious document their concern

Actress Lea Salonga and Oblates of Mary Father Jose Arong.

for, and knowledge of, the rich heritage the Asian and Pacific Island Catholics contribute to the faith life of the whole Church.

The program also touches on topics of first and second generation Asian and Pacific Catholics and the differing attitudes and needs of the various groups.

“Everyone in the world has different needs,” Salonga said, “and the Catholic Church has welcomed those who wish to join regardless of where they are or who they are or where they come from. It’s the one religion that unifies all these people all over the world, even as different as they might be.”

The bishops’ pastoral explains that those who know themselves as truly Christian and truly Asian “have brought

EWTN February programming EWTN will air a 90 min. special called “Healing and Miracles at Lourdes” Feb. 8 at 12:00 a.m.; Feb. 10 at 10:00 a.m.; and Feb. 12 at 5:00 p.m. The program features the history of Lourdes and the miraculous healings that have occurred there, as well as history of the shrine at Lourdes and the process of investigating the validity of miracles.

“Past the Boundary: The Journey of Fr. Tolton” is the story of how America’s first black priest overcame hate, rejection and jealousy and turned it into a journey of faith, hope and love. The half-hour special airs Feb. 15 at 1:30 a.m. and again at 3:30 p.m.

The Very Rev. William P. Casey, Superior General of the Fathers of Mercy,

Catholic San Francisco’S

Classifieds For Information Call: 415-614-5642

Fax: 415-614-5641

Email: jpena@catholic-sf.org

to us a more profound understanding of what it means to be truly Catholic. They have taught the Church in the United States the meaning of harmony; the necessity of dialogue with their cultures, with other religions and with the poor; a renewed sense of family loyalty; the unity between diverse cultures and diverse Catholic church communities; and the closeness of all God’s creation.”

With Salonga as a guide, the program moves from interview to example, from one generation to the next, from one culture to another.

The program is scheduled to air at noon, Pacific time, Feb. 13. Check your local listings for the Hallmark cable channel in your area.

will give a series of one-hour talks during a “Lenten Parish Mission” series. The topics include Sacraments, the Mass, and devotion to the Blessed Mother. Part I: Feb. 15, 11:00 a.m.; Feb 18, 1:00 a.m.; Feb. 19, 7:00 p.m.; Part II: Feb. 22, 11:00 a.m.; Feb. 25, 1:00 a.m.; Feb. 26, 7:00 p.m.

EWTN begins a new call-in show featuring Fr. Benedict Groeschel in February.

“Sunday Night: Live with Fr. Benedict Groeschel airs Sundays at 4:00 p.m. for one-

Room Needed

Clothing Alterations

Organist

Senior lady seeks small apt. or room, or small apt. bldg. Don’t drink, don’t smoke and no pets.

Must be near public transportation service.

PLEASE PHONE

CLOTHING ALTERATION AND REPAIR.

ORGANIST WEDDINGS • FUNERALS

Hemming pants, skirts and jackets.

CALL MARIA (415)643-5826

(650) 216-7942

hour. Shows are repeated Mondays at 6:00 a.m. and Saturdays at 2:00 p.m.

EWTN is carried on Comcast Digital Channel 229; RCN Channel 80; DISH Satellite Channel 261; and Direct TV Channel 422. Comcast airs EWTN on Channel 54 in the Half Moon Bay area and on Channel 74 in southern San Mateo County.

Visit website www.ewtn.com for further listings and updates.

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Prayer to St. Jude

PUBLISH A NOVENA Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

Cost $25

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

Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked.

Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen.

This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks.

M.B.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal.

You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted.

M.B.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Yearly Recitals At Clarion Hotel

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

Pray for us (3X).

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

Say prayers 3 days.

S.G.

$50 mo. once a week lesson

Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Name Adress Phone MC/VISA # Exp. Select One Prayer: ❑ St. Jude Novena to SH ❑ Prayer to St. Jude

❑ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin ❑ Prayer to the Holy Spirit

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

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

Pray for us (3X).

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

Say prayers 3 days. M.B.

St. Jude Novena

\

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

Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days.

Thank You St. Jude.

Never known to fail.

You may publish.

M.B.

Prayer For Motherhood O good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor before God and Wonder-worker of our day, I call upon thee and seek thy aid.

Thou who on earth didst always fulfill God’s design help me do the Holy Will of God. Beseech the Master of Life, from Whom all paternity proceedeth to render me fruitful in offspring, that I may raise up children to God in this life and heirs to the Kingdom of His glory in the world to come.

Amen.

T.D.P.

650-438-2846

Elderly Care Needed Elderly catholic lady needs another lady, preferably mature, but not elderly, to be at home overnight. This is not for a caregiver, but for someone to be in the home in case of emergency. There are caregivers with my sister during the day, so it is O.K. for a working woman. The home is located on 17th Avenue near Noriega. The lady we choose would have a separate bedroom and the run of the house. There is a laundry in the home, plus a parking space for use of whomever becomes a resident.

Phone Brian – (415) 752-4922

February 4, 2005

Employment Opportunities Advertising Pays!

DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL MINISTRIES Sacred Heart Church – Medford, Oregon A growing, 2,300-family Catholic Parish in Southern Orgon is seeking a full-time manager. Under the overall direction of the Pastor, this person will oversee the coordination and development of existing pastoral programs and the design of future programs. M.A. in Theology is required. Strong leadership skills, management experience and bilingual fluency (English/Spanish) are essential.

Submit resume to Search Committee, P.O. Box 560, Gold Hill, OR 97525.

Our Lady of the Snow Schools, Reno, Nevada is seeking a principal for the school year beginning July 1, 2005.

The position requires Master’s Degree in School Administration or related field and Nevada license as school administrator or eligibility for license.

Applicant must have 5 years teaching experience and be a practicing Catholic.

For more details about the position please visit the school‘s website at www.ourladyofthesnows.com.

To request an application packet, please contact Kitty Bergin, Superintendent of Catholic Schools at 777.326.9430 or by e-mail kittyb@catholicreno.org.

Deadline March 1, 2005

The Department of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco is seeking elementary principals for the 2005-2006 school year. Candidates must be practicing Roman Catholic in good standing with the Church, possess a valid teaching credential, a Master’s degree in educational leadership, an administrative credential, and five years of successful teaching experience at the appropriate level.

heaven can’t wait

Please send resume and a letter of interest by February 28th, 2005 to: Marilyn Lynch Associate Superintendent of Schools One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, California 94109 Fax (415) 614-5665 E-mail: Lynchm@SFArchdiocese.org

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL of SACRAMENTO

Serra

Position Available

for

Principal

Priestly Vocations

A Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory, secondary school established in 1876 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. Our student body of over 1,000 is both ethnically and economically diverse.

The ideal candidate will be a practicing Roman Catholic with a commitment to Catholic education as a ministry: ●

Have earned a masters degree or higher

●

Have 10 or more years experience as teacher and/or administrator

●

●

Please Call

Be a high energy leader with a passion for students, faith formation community building, character development, learning & excellence Exhibit excellent oral and written communication skills

Position Available:

Assume responsibilities July 1, 2005

Compensation:

Competitive salary with full benefits

Archdiocese of

Job Description: Contact:

(916) 733-3643 dmcvay@cbhs-sacramento.org

San Francisco

Application:

Send résumé, letter of intent, plus a short personal mission statement and description of your educational philosophy (1 page at most) to:

Fr. Tom Daly 415-614-5683

Please call for a complete Job Description

Br. George Van Grieken, FSC Christian Brothers High School 4315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95820-2727

Catholic San Francisco

ADVERTISING SALES For The Largest Publisher of Catholic Church Bulletins

This is a Career Opportunity!

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

Call 1-800-675-5051, Fax resume: 707-258-1195

19

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Special Needs Nursing, Inc. RNs or LVNs We are looking for you.

Work FULL or PART time while your children are in school.

Nurses are needed to provide specialized nursing care for children in the San Francisco Public School setting.

Generous benefit packages for generous nurses.

Fax your resume to: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN 415-435-0421 Send your resume: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN Special Needs Nursing, Inc. 98 Main Street, #427 Tiburon, Ca 94920

Special Needs Companion Services We are looking for you.

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

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

Advertising Coordinator STATUS:

Regular Full-time (with benefits), Non-exempt

REPORTS TO: Advertising Director GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Archdiocese of San Francisco is a religious non-profit organization with over 3,700 employees. This position is located in our Chancery Office at Geary and Gough. We are excited to offer a great benefit package and free parking as well. We have a wonderful team of well-spirited employees and a respect for work/life balance.

This important position serves as coordinator of the advertising and related reports and communications for the Catholic San Francisco newspaper. Responsibilities include the maintenance of records and processing of documents supporting the advertising.

The Advertising Coordinator will: ● Assist with advertising transactions including organizing sales orders for scheduling and invoicing. ● Maintain advertising account and client list database. ● Process and invoice Directory sales and classified ads. ● Maintain Accounts Receivable records for advertising. ● Provide excellent customer service regarding inquiries, rate and advertising quotes as well as general information. ● Maintain files, and provide general office support.

SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING QUALIFICATIONS: Must demonstrate a high level of organizational skills and be able to work in a fast paced, multitasked environment.

Familiarity with MS Office. Typing speed of 25 wpm preferred.

Must be able to set priorities, establish and meet deadlines, and have excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Applicants must have a minimum of 2 years experience in wordprocessing and in a professional office environment.

Detail oriented. Ability to set priorities and work indepently is expected. Proven professional experience in providing excellent customer service is essential.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Prior experience in advertising settings, or newspaper work.

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.

PLEASE SUBMIT RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO: Archdiocese of San Francisco, Office of Human Resources One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 E-mail: schmidtp@sfarchdiocese.org

20

Catholic San Francisco

February 4, 2005

Serra High School students send message to alumnus Tom Brady Serra High School students last week participated in a unique “Thank You” presentation to New England Patriot quarterback, two-time Super Bowl MVP, and Serra High School alumnus, Tom Brady.

The New England Patriot quarterback and his teammates will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in Jacksonville Sunday, Feb 6.

“Beat Philly” was spelled out by a formation of more than 300 Serra High School students on their new football field, built as part of the school’s renovation project.

Hiller Aviation Museum provided a helicopter for the photograph, which will be presented to Brady, a 1995 Serra graduate.

Serra students were thanking Brady for the donation of his 2004 Super Bowl MVP award — a Cadillac XLR, valued at over $75,000.

The auto was the grand prize in an annual raffle, which, with other prizes, raised $367,000 in support of Serra’s capital campaign.

Brady played football for four years at Serra and still holds the record for most completions. He told Varsity Football Coach, Patrick Walsh, that he has a great deal of affection for and loyalty to his former high school, and that this was a good opportunity to give something back.

The idea for the “fly over” came from Michael Peterson, who was principal during the years that Brady attended Serra High School.

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