March 20, 2009 by Catholic San Francisco

Recession hits home:

Catholic san Francisco

One man’s ordeal and call to faith

Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

A successful professional, a moneymaker for his firm, laid off through no fault of his own. On a Friday afternoon. And axed by phone no less. It happened to Ken Outzen last fall and he has been bobbing to keep his head above water ever since. Juggling a mortgage, he and his wife Kristi have two children in college and a third in high school. The couple had planned to start a small business after the kids were on the their own but have set aside those plans as Outzen looks for work outside his old industry – banking. Outzen, 53, a parishioner at St. Bartholomew in San Mateo, has decided not to deal with his crisis in silence. Instead, he is playing a part in a public effort to share information about the recession in his community and point the way to help. He was one of three people who testified at a March 8 forum on affordable RECESSION HITS HOME, page 3

(ARNE FOLKEDAL/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

By Rick DelVecchio

Delegates from Ireland’s 32 counties and four provinces carry their respective flags in the United Irish Societies of San Francisco’s 158th St. Patrick’s Day Parade. See Page 7 for more coverage.

In Africa, pope says Gospel is answer to continent’s problems YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) – Arriving in Africa, Pope Benedict XVI said the church’s message of hope and reconciliation was sorely needed by a continent suffering disproportionately from poverty, conflict and disease. At a welcoming ceremony March 17 in Yaounde, the pope said he was making his first visit to Africa to respond to the many men and woman who “long to hear a word of hope and comfort.” In Africans’ fight against injustice, he said, the church is their natural ally. “In the face of suffering or violence, poverty or hunger, corruption or abuse of power, a Christian can never remain silent,” the pope said. The 81-year-old pontiff stood on a platform at Yaounde’s airport next to Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who welcomed the pope on a hot, humid afternoon. Groups of schoolchildren sang and cheered, waving paper flags with the Vatican’s colors. The pope said he came to Africa as a pastor, not a politician, to a continent where the saving message of the Gospel needs to be “proclaimed loud and clear.” The encounter with Christianity, he said, can transform situations of hardship or injustice. He cited the regional conflicts in Africa that have left thousands homeless, destitute and orphaned, as well as human

(CNS PHOTO/FINBARR O’REILLY, REUTERS)

By John Thavis

Pope Benedict XVI greets a welcoming Cameroonian nun upon his arrival March 17 at the airport in Yaounde, Cameroon. trafficking that has become a new form of slavery, especially for women and children. “At a time of global crisis in food shortages, financial turmoil and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa suffers disproportionately: More and more of her people are falling prey to hunger, poverty and disease. They cry out for reconciliation, justice and peace,

and that is what the church offers them,” he said. “Not forms of economic or political oppression, but the glorious freedom of the children of God. Not the imposition of cultural models that ignore the rights of the unborn, but the pure healing water of the Gospel of life,” he said. In place of bitter ethnic or interreligious rivalry, the church offers the righ-

teousness and peace of the “civilization of love,” he said. The pope described Cameroon as a “land of hope,” noting that the country has accepted refugees from neighboring countries and tried to settle border disputes with patient diplomacy. Cameroon is also a “land of life, with a government that speaks out in defense of the rights of the unborn,” the pope said. In his remarks on the unborn, the pope may have been referring to a recent exchange between the Cameroonian government and a U.N. committee that monitors compliance with a convention on eliminating forms of discrimination against women. In response to a request to liberalize its abortion law, the government responded that abortion was murder and should not be elevated to a right. It was Pope Benedict’s first papal visit to Africa. As a cardinal, he visited the continent only once, attending a theological conference in 1987 in what is now Congo. Aboard the plane taking him to Africa, the pope told reporters that he considered corruption one of the continent’s biggest problems. According to the U.S. Department of State, Cameroon’s corruption level is among the highest in the world. President Biya and his Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement have retained power for 27 years, giving the POPE IN AFRICA, page 8

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION PICTURES e\ =E:

News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Philanthropy honored. . . . . . 6 Death penalty update . . . . . 11 Columns & letters . . . . 14-15

7 9^_bZÊi =k_Z[ je KdZ[hijWdZ_d] ?Yedi by John Kosmas Skinas

Sacrament of confession going strong ~ Pages 12-13 ~ March 20, 2009

Papal letter ‘from the heart’ ~ Page 17 ~

Children’s book on Christian icons ~ Pages 20 ~

SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

Scripture & reflection. . . . . 16 Datebook of events . . . . . . . 21 Find it here . . . . . . . . . . 22-23

www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 11

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No. 11

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

call a Mid-Atlantic accent, mine from Philly and the Jersey shore, of course. We have both promised to take a lunch hour in the future to seek out cheese steaks together… Hats off to Molly Krauss and Susan O’Donnell, very successful co-chairs of the recent “Night to Bond” at St. Stephen Parish and sponsored by its Women’s Guild. Thanks to Katherine Moser for the good news…. A Pallet of Praise for Sue By Tom Burke Ellefritz, art teacher at St. Pius Elementary School and recently named Art Educator of the Year by the San Mateo County Arts The results are in and the annual Commission. “Sue brings a high level of “Purple and Gold Diamond Jubilee passion and respect for the subject of art and Ball” benefiting Archbishop Riordan for her students,” said Rita Carroll, prinHigh School was a rousing success raisSue Ellefritz cipal. “She expands the students’ creativity ing $50,000 to fund tuition assistance at the San Francisco school. Television’s Sal Castaneda, a which touches all aspects of their lives.”…. Hats off and 1982 Riordan grad, handled emcee chores and 1967 alum, erasers clapped for Janet Burke, vice-principal and first George Noceti served as auctioneer eliciting bids from the grade teacher at St. Veronica Elementary School, chosen more than 300 people in attendance on items including as this year’s Most Distinguished Teacher of the Western a donated cocktail party at the Peninsula home of Sally Region by the National Catholic Education Association. and Michael Mayer. Among those helping coordinate the Janet is one of 12 teachers in the nation so honored. Janet has been an educator for 32 years and a member event were Pat and Larry Barsetti, Bonnie of the faculty at St. Veronica’s for 22 of them. and George Bonzani, and Loretta Penning. Janet’s husband is Tim Burke, admissions direcGuests included Karen and Dan Duggan, Pat tor at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. and Bill Duggan and Anne and Rick Riley. The Their children, Patrick and Lauren, have folevening helped celebrate 60 years of Marianist lowed them into the profession. “Mrs. Burke is education at Riordan. “I am always impressed an exemplary model of a true Catholic educator at what a strong Catholic faith community we and represents so many of her colleagues who are at Riordan,” said Marianist Father Tom have dedicated a lifetime to this vocation and French, president. “It makes the planning and wonderful ministry,” St. Veronica School said hard work behind a project like the jubilee ball in an announcement of the honor…. Marci so worthwhile and easy to take on. We remain Orrante Elmore was honored during Catholic ever grateful to those who support and become Janet Burke Schools Week with a Distinguished Graduate part of the Marianist tradition at Archbishop Riordan High School.” I always enjoy talking with Father Award from her grade school alma mater, St. Robert’s Tom who hails from Baltimore and with whom I’m proud Elementary School in San Bruno. Marci is still making a to share what University of Pennsylvania speech scholars difference in her home parish where she teaches religious

On The

Where You Live

Marci Orrante Elmore, left, and Yvonne Olcomendy

education, the school said, and “enjoys teaching her students to know and love God.” St. Robert’s principal, Yvonne Olcomendy, presented the honor….Eighth graders from San Domenico Schools captured second place overall in Marin County’s recent “mathletes” tournament. Students Andrew Buie, John Boyer, Will Cook, Megan Christie, Zac Mathe, Michael Spielberg, and Max Werner made up the winning team of adders and subtractors. A total of 18 public and private schools participated in the tournament held at San Jose Middle School in Novato on March 3. Thanks to Anyra Papsys, who handles public relations at the school, for fillin’ us in. “Our mathletes are athletes,” she said….This is an empty space without you! E-mail items and pictures to burket@sfarchdiocese.org. Mail items and pictures to “Street”, One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109.Pix should be hard copy or electronic jpeg at 300 dpi. Don’t forget to include a follow-up phone number. Call me at (415) 614-5634 and I’ll walk you through it.

Busy going green were sixth grade students from St. Anne of the Sunset Elementary School, shown here with chaperone, Gerry Starks, taking a break from planting new growth at Rodeo Beach. The youth were guests of the Marin Headlands outdoor education camp. Front from left: Coco Suen, Sophia Setsu, Rey Pastor, Brandon Ebba, Ashley Henning, Eileen Shi, Thao Vo, Catherine Gu, Chacrist Siriyarn, and Dylan Lee. Back from left: Tyler Chin, Brianna Hillman, Camille Wong, Preston Chu, and Gerry Starks. Thanks for the good news to teacher, Kathy Phillips. Tom White is principal. Father Raymund Reyes is pastor.

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March 20, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

Recession hits home . . .

(PHOTOS BY RICK DELVECCHIO/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

the inability to secure credit to refinance, according to a description of the U.S. Treasury Department’s $75 billion “Making n Continued from cover Home Affordable” program. “I used to be a person that helped everyhousing and property foreclosure sponsored by the St. Matthew Local Organizing one else financially,” said Outzen, who made Committee and Peninsula Interfaith Action. a healthy living working for a company that The event drew 100 people to the parish refurbishes ATMs for small banks, “and now I’m in a position of having to borrow school auditorium. Also testifying was Ana Rodriguez, who money in large amounts to make ends meet. I am being strategic said she and her with the way we husband, a house get through these painter, have been “If we trust in the Lord economic hardships, struggling finanbut it is just barely cially in the reces- and keep our faith, getting us by. sion. “Our income “We are not quite is nowhere what it we will not fail.” to the point of misswas two years ago,” ing mortgage payshe said. Jose Cabeza, the third to testify, said he ments, but if things don’t change I see how and his wife came to the United States in easy it could be for one to lose their home 1981 and worked to be able to buy a house. and everything they’ve worked so hard to But they were scammed in a string of refi- build.” Interviewed after the meeting, Outzen nancings and the house is worth less than its said he was abruptly laid off to cut costs. original value of $700,000, he said. The forum focused on the Obama Companies throughout the economy have Administration’s proposed package to help been responding to the recession by cutting as many as 9 million homeowners keep up jobs and hours to save 10 percent to 15 perwith their mortgage payments. As many cent in personnel costs, he said. I’m not unique,” he said. “There are a lot as six million families risk foreclosure in the coming years because of job cuts and of people in the same boat.” Assemblyman Jerry Hill said federal help is urgently needed for homeowners threatened with foreclosure: “We have to get the money where it belongs, and that’s in people’s pockets.”

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Ken Outzen, who lost his job in the banking industry, wants government to understand the concerns of those who are suffering because of the economic downturn: “(President) Obama’s trying to do things, the state Legislature is trying to do things, the community is trying to do things – but are they doing the right things and do they really understand the pain?”

Outzen is concerned that government should offer the right kind of help and that people in need should know how to find it. “Obama’s trying to do things, the state Legislature is trying to do things, the community is trying to do things, but are they doing the right things and do they really understand the pain?” he asked. Bill DeKay of Peninsula Interfaith Action said San Mateo County has not been hit hard by foreclosures but people are worried about making their payments and even more worried about keeping their jobs. He said the federal mortgage modification program is a welcome step. “It’s good and it’s available but how do we get individuals using it?” he asked. “It comes down to people being aware.” State Assemblyman Jerry Hill, who represents District 19, was the featured speaker at the forum.

“The main impact for me is when you hear the real stories of people who are struggling with potential homelessness, losing their jobs,” he said after the meeting. “It makes it real. “I can take that as a lesson and offer opportunities to work with the state departments that will be implementing the federal stimulus and work closely with them to make sure San. Mateo County and the Bay Area get their fair share and that it’s a fair and open process. “We have to get the money where it belongs and that’s in people’s pockets so that they can stay in their homes.” In his presentation, Outzen concluded: “We will do what it takes. In these times I know the answer lies with each of us, first individually, then as a family, collectively as a community. If we trust in the Lord and keep our faith, we will not fail.”

For more information: Use the calculator at www.FinancialStability.gov to check potential eligibility for mortgage modifications benefits. St. Matthew Parish’s Local Organizing Committee provides the following contacts for free counseling. For foreclosure counseling, (650) 473-9838. If you are having difficulty keeping up with a mortgage or face possible foreclosure, (650) 430-0139 or (650) 465-5577.

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

March 20, 2009

in brief

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI declared a year of the priest in an effort to encourage “spiritual perfection” in priests. The pope will open the special year with a vespers service at the Vatican June 19 – the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the day for the sanctification of priests. He will close the celebrations during a World Meeting of Priests in St. Peter’s Square June 19, 2010. The pope made the announcement during an audience March 16 with members of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy. He met with some 70 participants of the congregation’s March 16-18 plenary assembly, which focused on the missionary identity of the priest and his mission to sanctify, teach and govern. During this jubilee year, the pope will also proclaim St. John Vianney to be patron saint of all the world’s priests. At present he is considered the patron saint of parish priests. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of this 19th-century saint who represents a “true example of a priest at the service of the flock of Christ,” the pope said. St. John Vianney is widely known to Catholics as the Cure (parish priest) of Ars who won over the hearts of his villagers in France by visiting with them, teaching them about God and reconciling people to the Lord in the confessional.

President and Cardinal meet WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama met for half an hour March 17 with Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In brief statements the White House and USCCB said little more than that the two presidents had met for a private, 30-minute afternoon session in the Oval Office. “The president and Cardinal George discussed a wide range of issues, including important opportunities for the government and the Catholic Church to continue their long-standing partnership to tackle some of the nation’s most pressing challenges,” said the White House statement. “The president thanked Cardinal George for his leadership and for the contributions of the Catholic Church in America and around the world.” The statement from the USCCB said: “The meeting was private. Cardinal George and President Obama discussed the Catholic Church in the United States and its relation to the new administration. The meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes. At the conclusion, Cardinal George expressed his gratitude for the meeting and his hopes that it will foster fruitful dialogue for the sake of the common good,” the USCCB statement added.

Catholic san Francisco

(CNS PHOTO/HYUNGWON KANG, REUTERS)

Year of the priest declared

Cardinal warns of despotism WASHINGTON – Warning that a failure to protect conscience rights would move the country “from democracy to despotism,” Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago urged U.S. Catholics to tell the Obama administration that they “want conscience protections to remain strongly in place.” “No government should come between an individual person and God – that’s what America is supposed to be about,” said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a videotaped message on the USCCB Web site at www. usccb.org/conscienceprotection and YouTube. “This is the true common ground for us as Americans,” he added. Cardinal George was urging public comment by April 9 on an effort to rescind a regulation of the Department of Health and Human Services. The rule codifies several existing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections. HHS opened a 30-day comment period on the proposed rescission March 10. The regulation took effect two days before President Barack Obama took office.

Cardinal Egan: married priests possibility not to be dismissed ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) – The possibility the Catholic Church will allow married priests shouldn’t be dismissed, New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan said March 10 during a radio interview. “It’s a perfectly legitimate discussion,” he said during a talk radio program in Albany hosted by Fred Dicker. “I think it has to be looked at.”

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Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams speaks at the National Press Club in Washington March 16. Adams said the recent murders in Northern Ireland were a “full-frontal assault on the peace process,” but he also called for perspective, saying most people condemned the violence and only a small number were responsible for it.

The pope accepted Cardinal Egan’s resignation as head of the New York Archdiocese Feb. 23. He will serve as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese until April 15 when Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee will be installed as his successor. When asked about priestly celibacy by Dicker, Cardinal Egan said he thought the subject would be coming up for discussion by the church’s hierarchy. “I’m not so sure it wouldn’t be a good idea to decide (whether priests can be married) on the basis of geography and culture, not to make an across-the-board determination,” the cardinal said. He noted that priests in the Eastern Catholic churches are allowed to be married with “no problem at all.”

Abuse costs top $436 million WASHINGTON – U.S. dioceses and religious orders spent more than $436 million in 2008 on settlements and other costs related to past sexual abuse by clergy and Church employees, a decrease of 29 percent from the $615 million paid out in the peak year of 2007. Those figures were in the information made public March 13 in the sixth annual report on implementation of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” adopted by the U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002. The report was produced under the direction of the alllay National Review Board, established by the bishops to monitor compliance with the charter. The report summarized data collected from dioceses, eparchies and religious orders for calendar year 2008 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, as well as the results of audits of most U.S. NEWS IN BRIEF, page 5

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News in brief . . . n Continued from page 4

(CNS PHOTO/ZOHRA BENSEMRA, REUTERS)

dioceses and eparchies conducted between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008. CARA found that in 2008 U.S. dioceses and eparchies received 625 new allegations of child sex abuse by clergy, but only 10 of them involved children who were under the age of 18 in 2008. Similarly, in 2008 U.S. religious orders that include priests and brothers or priests alone received 178 new credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, only three of which involved children who were minors in 2008.

Vast majority of dioceses in compliance, audit finds WASHINGTON – The latest audits assessing compliance with the U.S. Catholic bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” found nearly complete compliance among participating dioceses and eparchies, but the number refusing to participate rose from five to seven. A report released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops March 13 showed that only four of the dioceses or eparchies participating in audits between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, were found to be noncompliant with any articles of the charter. Three – the dioceses of Lansing, Mich., and Las Cruces, N.M., and the Archdiocese of San Francisco – had corrected the problems cited by auditors by the end of December, while the Diocese of Tulsa, Okla., “continues to work toward full compliance with providing safe environment training to children,” the report said. But Judge Michael R. Merz, chairman of the National Review Board, the lay advisory group under whose direction the report was produced, expressed concern in a letter to Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, that the number of bishops or eparchs refusing to participate had grown.

A displaced Sudanese family stands at their shelter at a camp for internally displaced people in El Fasher,in Sudan’s Darfur region, March 13. Nearly 5 million people are estimated to be displaced within Sudan.

dignity. “The legislation that has been put in place attempts to draw our country together in one particular vision of who we are,” said Archbishop V. James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Manitoba, president of the bishops’ conference. “If we are to be a country, a society, we need common values.” Archbishop Weisgerber said the act’s values “express what is good for the whole country.” He said, “It’s an area of our common life that touches on the value of life.” On April 24, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal of last June’s Quebec Court of Appeal ruling that put human reproduction under provincial jurisdiction. In that case the judge ruled that “only the individual safety of the participants in assisted reproduction and the children that result from it require protection.”

Well-known Sulpician dies HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. – Sulpician Father Joseph C. Martin, a noted authority and lecturer on alcoholism who cofounded Father Martin’s Ashley addiction treatment center in Havre de Grace, died March 9 at the age of 84. Earlier in his life he taught at a number of seminaries, including St. Joseph’s College in Mountain View from 1948-56. A funeral Mass was celebrated for him March 13 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Best known for his lectures on alcoholism as a disease, delivered to alcoholics and their families with a char-

Canadian reproduction act OTTAWA – Canada’s Assisted Human Reproduction Act faces an important test before the Supreme Court – and Canada’s Catholic bishops want to make sure it passes. The act prohibits or limits such activities as human cloning, surrogacy, sex selection, the sale of human eggs or sperm, animalhuman hybrids, and in vitro fertilization while promoting health, safety and human

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Mass for lay members SAN FRANCISCO – “One Body, Many Parts,” was the theme of a Mass for secular members of religious orders at St. Thomas More Church in San Francisco the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Cindy Wesley, a secular Franciscan and regional minister, secular Carmelite Linda Silverio,

and lay Dominican Gloria Escalona led the procession followed by Msgr. Labib Kobti, pastor at St. Thomas More. Father Edmund Shipp, who serves at St Veronica Church in San Francisco concelebrated. Father Shipp’s homily focused on the oneness of the Holy Spirit, giving to each as he wills. He said the charisms of the Franciscans are to help the poor, Carmelites are primarily “prayer warriors” and Dominicans are preachers of the good news of the Gospel. About 150 people attended the Mass and potluck celebration that followed. Secular Franciscan Mary Munden organized the celebration with cooperation from all the secular groups.

Controversy surrounds play SAN FRANCISCO – Two days after San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer requested Most Holy Redeemer Parish cancel a scheduled performance of a controversial play by high school students, the University of San Francisco stepped in and allowed the play, entitled “Be Still and Know,” to be performed March 8 at the university’s Presentation Theater. According to a press release, the university was asked to provide the space and believed the reason for its requested cancellation was due to the venue, not the content of the play. The play, adapted by Sacred Heart Preparatory drama director John Loschmann from the book “The God Box” by Alex Sanchez, “explores the Bible’s view on homosexuality and the struggles adolescents have with their sexual identity and their identity as Christians,” according to a news release issued by the Atherton high school, which is operated by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. The play previously had been performed at the high school’s theatre. – Catholic News Service and Catholic San Francisco.

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SCRIPTURE SEARCH Gospel for March 22, 2009 John 3:14-21 Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle B: Jesus explains the purpose for which he came. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle. MOSES SO MUST FOR GOD HE GAVE SAVED PEOPLE EXPOSED

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ismatic style and sense of humor, Father Martin was credited with saving the lives of thousands of alcoholics and addicts. He retired from active management of the center in 2003, but continued to lecture at Father Martin’s Ashley. “Today, the entire treatment community mourns the loss of an icon,” said Father Mark Hushen, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, who is president and chief executive officer of Father Martin’s Ashley. “The death of Father Martin marks the end of an era.

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

LIFTED UP SON OF MAN SO LOVED PERISH THE NAME DARKNESS SEEN

SERPENT ETERNAL LIFE THE WORLD CONDEMN LIGHT EVIL DONE IN GOD

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Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Catholic Charities CYO announces Loaves & Fishes awards San Francisco Catholic Charities CYO, the social service arm of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, will honor several individuals and organizations April 3 at the 12th annual Loaves & Fishes awards dinner, an event that benefits the more than 30 programs of Catholic Charities CYO in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties. Selected to receive Loaves & Fishes awards this year are Joan F. Madden and Richard B. Madden for outstanding philanthropic works; Children of Shelters for outstanding community organization; Most Reverend Ignatius C. Wang for outstanding service to the universal Church; and Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative of San Francisco for outstanding community partnership. Presentation of the awards by San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer will take place at the April 3 dinner, chaired by Craig and Maureen Sullivan, at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Catholic Charities CYO released a statement saying the 2009 honorees have been especially dedicated to assisting children and families in crisis, and provided the following information about the honorees. Former CEO and chairman of Potlatch Corporation, Richard Madden and his wife Joan have lived their deeply held faith through their commitment to community service and philanthropy. The Maddens are active in the Order of Malta, have assisted the poor and distressed via several pilgrimages to Lourdes and served with Malta programs here in the Bay Area, including St. Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home and the Malta Clinic at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. Joan is an Emeritus Director and the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Edgewood Center for Children and Families, a nationally recognized agency that cares for Bay Area children and families through community and residential programs. Together, the Maddens have contributed to the lives of countless others via their charitable efforts with a number of organizations, including the San Francisco Foundation, the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, the San Francisco Symphony and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. For 14 years, Children of Shelters has served as a powerful advocate for homeless youth and provided for the educational and emotional needs of over 4,000 children in the transitional shelter system in San Francisco via tutoring, college tuition assistance, and support to enhance their academic achievement and enrich their character development. The organization raises private resources to directly benefit children in various San Francisco shelters, including Compass Family Center, Hamilton Family Center, Raphael House and Catholic Charities CYOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Family Center.

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Bishop Ignatius Wang

Richard and Joan Madden

Appointed as the Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Pope John Paul II in 2002, Bishop Ignatius C. Wang is the first Catholic Bishop of Chinese ancestry and of Asian background to be appointed in the United States. He has ministered to the spiritual needs and welfare of local parishioners, especially reaching out to Catholics of all ethnicities to incorporate their languages into Church rites so that they could embrace the Church as their own. Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative (FEPCO), a partnership between Homeless Prenatal Program, Hamilton Family Center, Compass Community Services and Catholic Charities CYO, prevents homelessness by providing rental assistance to families to stave off eviction, and helping those in shelters find permanent homes. The partner agencies share

a stream of rental assistance funding from the city of San Francisco and use a standardized application process that affords a client access to funds from all four agencies. This single, streamlined intake process means fewer bureaucratic hurdles for those in need and faster action on the part of the agencies. Created by Cardinal William J. Levada, Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco, and Clint Reilly, former President of the Catholic Charities CYO Board of Directors, the Loaves & Fishes Award honors extraordinary charitable works in the community and raises vital funds for the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs that help families, children and those in need. More than $10,000,000 has been raised in support of Catholic Charities CYO through the Loaves & Fishes Awards and Dinner.

Notre Dame de Namur Sister to be honored Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont will honor Notre Dame Sister Roseanne Murphy March 21 at its annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Great Expectationsâ&#x20AC;? gala. Sister Roseanne has served at the school for more than 40 years, 37 as chair of its Psychology/ Sociology Department. She currently serves in the role of Director of Planned Giving. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sister Roseanne Murphy has touched the lives of innumerable students,â&#x20AC;? the school said in a release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many still keep in touch and treasure her as part of their lives.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see it as an honor to all the Sisters who have given up their lives to this place, not just me,â&#x20AC;? Sister Roseanne said.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the honor to work with some of the finest women in the world.â&#x20AC;? Sister Roseanne is author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Martyr of the Amazon: The Life of Sister Dorothy Stangâ&#x20AC;? which chronicles the life and murder of Notre Dame Sister Dorothy Stang, slain some three years ago in the rainforests of Brazil where she worked tirelessly among the poor. A graduate of her congregationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Notre Dame High School in Belmont, Sister Roseanne holds a post-graduate degree in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The award is presented to an â&#x20AC;&#x153;individual who has demonstrated outstanding community serviceâ&#x20AC;? and has â&#x20AC;&#x153;given selflessly of his/her time, energy and resources to improve the quality of life for others and to promote social justice,â&#x20AC;? the school said. Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia will preside at a Mass of Thanksgiving beginning the evening at 5:30 p.m. at the Westin Hotel at SFO in Millbrae.

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Catholic San Francisco

7 (PHOTOS BY ARNE FOLKEDAL/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

March 20, 2009

Delegations from the San Francisco police and fire departments were among the 140 units marching in the parade.

Go green

Melissa Sheridan, a student at St Thomas More School, and Maggie Baglin, a student at St. Cecilia School, present Auxiliary Bishop William Justice with the Irish, American and papal flags.

Performing at the Mass were the Irish Pipers.

Celtic Voices Children‘s Choir is for youngsters in grades 3 - 8 under the direction of Mary McKeever. The group specializes in music of Irish heritage. Rehearsals take place in San Francisco‘s Sunset District Wednesdays from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. For more information, contact McKeever at mairemusic@aol.com or (415) 379 - 4484.

he 158th San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade drew 200,000 spectators March 14. The parade featured 140 units, including San Francisco’s Irish Pipers and a delegation from Ireland’s Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service. Preceding the parade was a Mass at St. Patrick Church, attended by 300. Gift bearers included Minister Eamon Ryan, T.D., an Irish elected representative, and the Hon. Gerry Staunton, Ireland’s consul general in San Francisco. The United Irish Societies of San Francisco sponsored the event. The parade’s theme was “Go Green. In the parade’s newspaper Tony Bucher wrote about the significance of green in Irish history: “There is a distinct point in history, soaked in trauma, when the Irish took up green, but it became a powerful symbol of identity and national aspiration, and tribal aspiration in America and Australia.”

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Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Pope in Africa . . . country political stability but at a price. Critics say national elections have been unfair, and human rights organizations have faulted the government for restricting freedoms of speech, press, assembly and association. Last year, Biya, 76, steered a movement to lift constitutional term limits and thus allow him to run for office again in 2011. Cameroon’s bishops sharply criticized the move and appealed for the creation of conditions to allow an “effective democratic alternative” in the country. At that time, Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi, archbishop of Douala and Cameroon’s senior churchman, personally appealed to Biya not to carry out the constitutional modifications. Weeks later, riots broke out as the public reacted to the political maneuverings, high prices, high unemployment and widespread corruption. The government said 40 people died in the protests, though the opposition said the death toll was much higher. Cardinal Tumi was among the church leaders who stood near the president as he welcomed the pope at the airport. The pope later rode in his glass-walled popemobile some 20 miles into the city of Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital, past groups of well-wishers who sat in plastic chairs in front of their cinderblock homes and waved palm fronds in greeting. As the pope drew closer to the city center, the enthusiastic crowd was wall-to-wall.

(CNS PHOTO/FINBARR O’REILLY, REUTERS)

n Continued from cover

Yaounde was given a partial facelift for the pope’s arrival, and the clean-up projects included the mass demolition of illegal shops around the city’s cathedral. That prompted angry protests from the vendors, but city officials defended the move, saying it was needed to ease traffic along the main urban routes. The main purpose of the pope’s stop in Cameroon was to deliver a working document for the Synod of Bishops for Africa,

to be held in Rome next October. The pope said the synod would be a summons to all African Catholics to “rededicate themselves to the mission of the church to bring hope to the hearts of the people of Africa, and indeed to people throughout the world.” Cameroon, sometimes called “Africa in microcosm,” was chosen for the consignment of the synodal document because the country includes French- and Englishspeaking populations and approximately 200 ethnic groups. The Synod of Bishops will be the second for Africa, and its theme is “The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace.” The first African synod took place at the Vatican in 1994. In 2004, Pope John Paul announced that another

Cameroonian bishops and clergy greet Pope Benedict XVI soon after his arrival in Yaounde, Cameroon, March 17. Cameroon has been called a microcosm of Africa.

synod would be held to allow church leaders to address the continent’s changing religious, demographic, social and political scenes. For the Catholic Church, Cameroon represents an evangelization success story on a continent that has experienced an explosion of church growth over the last century. Over the last 40 years, the number of Catholics in Africa has increased from 11 percent to 17 percent of the total population; in Cameroon, Catholics today constitute 27 percent of the population, up from 23 percent 40 years ago. Africa also has the fastest growth in priestly vocations, and Cameroon, with 26 seminarians for every 100,000 Catholics, has one of the highest vocation rates on the continent.

EWTN TV airs pope’s trip to Africa

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Providing continuing coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s first trip to Africa, EWTN Catholic television will telecast the papal Mass in Angola on March 21 at 2 a.m. and an encore telecast at 11 a.m. Coverage also includes the pope’s meeting with young people, March 21 at 8:30 a.m., repeating the same day at 3:30 p.m. A Mass with local bishops airs March 22 at 2 a.m. with a repeat at 8 p.m. A meeting with Catholic movements will air March 22 at 8:30 a.m., with a repeat at 5 p.m. Pope Benedict departs from Angola for Rome March 23 and the departure ceremony will air that day at 2 a.m., repeating at 11:30 a.m. EWTN is carried 24 hours a day on Comcast Channel 229, Astound Channel 80, San Bruno Cable Channel 143, DISH Satellite Channel 261 and Direct TV Channel 370. Comcast airs EWTN on Channel 70 in Half Moon Bay and on Channel 74 in southern San Mateo County. Visit www.ewtn.com for more EWTN special programs & any updates in coverage.

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March 20, 2009

U.N. World Water Day coincides with popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trip to Africa

Catholic San Francisco

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In rural Africa, women and children spend a quarter of their time fetching water for home use.

The U.N.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Water Day is March 22, coinciding with Pope Benedict XVIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trip to Africa. The theme is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shared Water - Shared Opportunitiesâ&#x20AC;?, with a special focus on promoting peace and sustainable economic growth among countries sharing a water boundary. The Millennium Declaration signed in 2000 by 191 U.N. member nations emphasized the need for all countries to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources. The states agreed to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. Lack of safe water and adequate sanitation is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading cause of illness, according to the U.N. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.6 billion people lack even basic sanitary facilities,â&#x20AC;? said Gene Smith, executive director of the Seton Institute inDaly City, which supports clean-water projects in developing countries. According to a 2006 report from the United Nations a child dies from a water-related disease every 15 seconds, Smith said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Next to the air we breathe, nothing is more essential for

life than clean drinking water,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, children have time to attend school, women have time to earn livelihoods, fatal bouts of diarrhea are reduced, dignity is renewed. And, once water and sanitation become accessible, entire communities are able to achieve sustainable futures.â&#x20AC;? Smith said the ripple effect can be striking. He quoted from an evaluation of a Seton Institute-funded well construction project in the Kadon-Dalat province of Vietnam: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What a joy, what a happiness to finally have water! Yes, water is our main subsistence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we, the poor, old and young, mothers and children, all rejoice to have water. We use the water for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and other chores of hygiene. From now on we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to hunt for water far away, we have no need to buy water. We have it at our hands!â&#x20AC;? For information on Seton Institute programs, visit www. setoninstitute.org. Learn more about World Water Day at www.unwater.org.

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Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Catholic Schools Update on Archdiocesan family grants and scholarships By Annette Brown With the economy in the current state of instability and disarray, many of our families are experiencing serious financial constraints due to the loss of income or loss of job or increased expenses in health care insurance premiums; nearly all families are experiencing a decrease or depletion of investment income. Some families have called our schools requesting emergency assistance because they have lost their homes due to mortgage foreclosures, and must reestablish their lives in the rental housing market. These families are struggling to make the important and correct choices given their current situation, and must contend with weighing the increasing cost of Catholic school education with flat or decreasing income streams. In these times, it is important to pool our resources and help those who are most in need. The economy doesn’t spare the Archdiocese when it comes to investments and investment income. Despite conservative models of investing, the Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Leaders and other Endowments have “dipped below principal.” (See related article in Catholic San Francisco, Jan. 23, 2009.) On Feb. 6, 2009, the Finance Council recommended a special policy to spend a portion of the upcoming year earnings from the endowments. This translates into good news for our schools, as the Archdiocese is expected to be able to fund an increased amount in Tuition Assistance for Family Grants and Scholarships.

We are budgeting an additional amount to be to the third party need evaluation company that we use spent from the principal of the Catholic High School to collect the financial data from our families. The high Scholarship Fund. As this restricted fund is not an endow- school applications were due to the respective schools ment, funds can be spent for the purposes of high school in January and are currently in process. Late applications will NOT be considered. Students scholarships. This year, we will draw must live in San Mateo, San Francisco or down approximately 25% of that fund Marin Counties. We expect to announce from the principal. Our future ability to the awards to students’ families at the offer tuition assistance through fund and end of May. This is consistent with the endowment spending is dependent upon process we used to award tuition assisthe market recovery. tance for this year. For school year 2009-10, due to the We wish to thank you, the constituents decisions detailed above, and with funds of the Archdiocese of San Francisco for available from other financial aid funds, your continued generosity to our schools. we estimate that we will be able to It is because of you that generations of award just slightly more than $750,000 students and their families have and will in tuition assistance to our families on an receive a Catholic school education. If as-needed basis. While the families will you wish to find out more about the funds certainly be grateful for this relief, this Annette Brown mentioned above, or wish to inquire is still a long way from the $1M that we award in the current school year, but is much better news about a specific fund, or would like to make a donation than $150,000 in tuition assistance that we thought we to any of our scholarship funds or endowments, please were limited to at the end of January. Individual schools don’t hesitate to give me a call. also have their own scholarships and endowments that are able to contribute to financial aid to families in need of Annette Brown is Assistant Superintendent for tuition assistance. We continue to look at the resources Planning and Finance at the Archdiocese of in the Archdiocese to help our families, and must balance San Francisco Catholic Schools Dept. Contact the needs of the many in the parishes and the schools. April 15 is the deadline for submitting all information her at 415-614-5662, browna@sfarchdiocese.org.

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Catholic San Francisco

Catholic leaders in several states speak out against death penalty WASHINGTON (CNS) – Hours after the Washington state bishops urged Gov. Christine Gregoire to reduce Cal Coburn Brown’s death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the state Supreme Court stayed the condemned killer’s execution by lethal injection. The court’s 5-4 ruling March 12 rejected a lower court decision the day before and allowed Brown to join in a lawsuit challenging Washington’s lethal injection protocols. The decision is expected to delay the execution at least until August. “While our sympathies clearly and rightfully rest with the victim and her loved ones, we must not let the desire of some for retribution bind us to further violence,” the Washington state bishops wrote. Currently, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado and Maryland are among the states considering legislation to ban the use of capital punishment; Alaskan legislators recently introduced a bill to reinstate the death penalty. In New Mexico, Gov. Bill Richardson received an estimated 4,500 phone calls and e-mails over the March 14-15 weekend as he was deciding whether to sign a bill replacing the death penalty with a life sentence without parole. Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in a March 16 letter to Richardson that the full body of bishops urged him to sign the legislation. “The legislation before you would help to begin building a culture of life in our society,” Bishop Murphy wrote. “I hope and pray that you will ... make New Mexico a leader in turning away from the death penalty with all its moral problems and issues of fairness and justice.” In response to the Alaska bill, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Anchorage sponsored a talk in early March by the Rev. Carroll Pickett, a former death-row chaplain in Texas who accompanied more than 90 inmates to their deaths but eventually came to oppose capital punishment. Republican Rep. Jay Ramras of Fairbanks, co-sponsor of the bill, told the Catholic Anchor, the Anchorage archdiocesan newspaper, that the measure had “zero chance of passing the Alaska Legislature this year or next.” But he said he introduced it because he believes there are “some crimes horrible enough to merit the ultimate penalty.” In Kansas, a bill on its way to the Senate floor would repeal capital punishment for murder crimes and remove it as a sentencing option after July 1. Defendants convicted of intentional and premeditated killing in a number of circumstances – including kidnapping and an actual or intended sexual assault against a child younger than age 14 – would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The bishops of Kansas submitted written testimony in late February in support of the bill. Michael Schuttloffel, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, said the bill faces “significant obstacles” but “we’re hopeful.” In Colorado, a bill to abolish the death penalty was being touted as a way to cut costs. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Paul Weisman, a Democrat, said that with the money saved by repealing the death penalty the state could create a cold-case unit to investigate unsolved homicides. “There’s certainly a moral question, yes,” Weisman told the Denver Catholic Register archdiocesan newspaper. “But in this

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Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of Baltimore, left, joins Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in a march to Annapolis, Md., to urge lawmakers to repeal Maryland’s death penalty Feb. 25.

recession we’re also looking at whether Colorado is using its resources to the best of its ability. Should we maintain a death penalty we’ve used once in 33 years or should we try to solve some of the 1,400 outstanding murders?” Jennifer Kraska, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, said she thought the bill stood a good chance of passing, although it was unlikely to reach the House floor until late March or early April. In Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley in February proposed a capital punishment ban to members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Calling the death penalty “an expensive and utterly ineffective tool in deterring violent crime,” he urged committee members to allow his proposal to reach the floor for a vote by the full legislative body. “The death penalty is fundamentally and irredeemably incompatible with the most important foundational truths of our republic,” the Catholic governor told committee members during a hearing. The governor’s bill would replace the death penalty with

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sentences of life without parole. Although O’Malley has testified against the death penalty once before, it was the first time he had personally introduced legislation banning capital punishment. Auxiliary Bishop Martin D. Holley of Washington, an archdiocese that includes several Maryland counties, spoke in favor of the measure during the February hearing. “Our church teaches that all human life is sacred and must be protected and defended from conception to natural death,” he told lawmakers. On March 5 a closely divided Maryland Senate rejected abolishing capital punishment, but restricted the kinds of evidence permissible in such cases. By mid-March the House still had to vote on the measure. In Kentucky, several legal authorities have asked Gov. Steve Beshear to declare a moratorium on executions in the state for financial reasons. The state’s budget crisis, they said, makes it impossible for the Kentucky Public Defender System to provide the legal representation for those charged with capital crimes. Spokesman Jay Blanton said in a March 10 statement that the governor “continues to believe that the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for the most heinous and violent of offenses.” In February Florida’s state bishops urged their governor to commute the death-row sentence of Wayne Tompkins, but he was executed Feb. 13. Addressing Gov. Charlie Crist, the Florida bishops said, “In pursuing justice for victims of violent crimes, the state must not be blinded by politics that diminish human dignity and the sacredness of all life, including that of convicted criminals.” They said Florida “should join the ranks of other states which have abandoned executions because they have not been a deterrent to crime and have raised serious concerns about fairness of sentencing in the justice system.” In Tennessee, when Steve Henley was executed Feb. 4 by lethal injection, a group of anti-death penalty advocates gathered at a church and outside the prison to pray and protest. Henley’s last-minute appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and to Gov. Phil Bredesen were denied.

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Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Confession can become an experience of deliverance “T

Catholic San Francisco

he sins we commit distance us from God and, if not humbly confessed with trust in divine mercy, they go

so far as to produce the death of the soul.”

In which the weight of the past is removed from us

– Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, Vatican City, Feb. 16, 2009

And we can feel rejuvenated by the merit of the grace of God Who each time gives back the youthfulness of the heart – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Photos by Arne Folkedal Text by Rick DelVecchio xperience the Sacrament of Penance to look into the face of Christ and be reconciled with “the one in whom God shows us his compassionate heart and reconciles us fully with himself.” So Pope John Paul II exhorted the faithful 25 years ago after a Vatican synod that explored the meaning of forgiveness in a culture that sanctifies therapy but has lost the sense of sin. The sacrament was in crisis, but in the Jubilee Year of 2002 John Paul II saw hope: he noted that many young Catholics were embracing confession as the ordinary means of obtaining forgiveness for sins committed after Baptism. He encouraged pastors “to arm themselves with more confidence, creativity and perseverance in presenting it and leading people to appreciate it.” Despite predictions of the sacrament’s demise, many Catholics continue to observe it, as Catholic San Francisco photographer Arne Folkedal found in Lenten visits to Saturday afternoon confessions at three parishes in the Archdiocese of San Francisco: Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto and Church of the Epiphany in San Francisco. Catholic San Francisco thanks the pastors – Nativity’s Monsignor Steven Otellini, St. Francis’ Father Larry Goode and Epiphany’s Father Eugene Tungol – for opening their doors.

“T

he confession of one’s own sin can seem to be something heavy for the person, because it

humbles his pride and confronts him with poverty. It is this that we need: we suffer exactly for this reason: we shut ourselves up in our delirium of guiltlessness and for this reason we are closed to others and to any comparison with them.”

– Cardinal Ratzinger

Father De la Rosa hears a penitent’s confession.

At Church of the Epiphany, Father Eugene Tungol hears the confession of Joe Valerga, 84, who was baptized in the parish and has lived there all his life.

The penitent’s hands.

“I

Signs outside the confessional at St. Francis of Assisi.

n psychotherapeutic treatments a person is made

“T

to bear the burden of profound and often dangerous

hrough the

mysterium

atican officials point to a study that found 47 percent of people in Italy never went to

revelations of his inner self. In the Sacrament of Penance,

pietatis love can

confession or did so a long time ago. “We can’t

the simple confession of one’s guilt is presented with

reveal itself in the

hide that Penance is threatened in this time

confidence in God’s merciful goodness. It is important to

history of man as

of secularization,” said Monsignor Gianfranco

do this without falling into scruples, with the spirit of trust

stronger than sin”

Girotti, a Vatican official. But he stressed that

– Pope John Paul II

it remains “fundamental for salvation.”

proper to the children of God.”

– Cardinal Ratzinger

Father Roland De la Rosa, associate pastor at the Church of the Nativity.

Father Larry Goode, pastor at St. Francis of Assisi.

– Associated Press, January 2009

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Guest Commentary The honeymoon is over My personal “honeymoon” with President Barack Obama is over. As a “decline to state” voter who voted for John McCain in November, I have been watching President Obama carefully with a mixture of apprehension and hope. I voted for McCain because in conscience I could not vote for someone who appeared by his record to be so extremely anti-life and pro-abortion. Capping this for me was Obama’s answer in regard to an abortion question during the campaign where he said that he would not want to “punish his daughters with a baby.” My vote was roundly criticized and mocked by some family and many friends. They spoke glowingly of the great hope that Obama would bring to the wilderness of Washington politics. I must confess that I have been heartened by the Obama straightforward push for advancement on healthcare access, something that I feel is a human right denied to many millions of U.S. citizens. I also am heartened by his offer of friendship to the Arab speaking world by his effort to communicate with them with a sense of reasonable dialogue. I am also in favor of other initiatives regarding pressing social questions that are now, at least, on the table for discussion. My sense of apprehension and unease, however, has been around the life issues. Being pro-life and considering abortion as the preeminent social justice issue of our day, I have been warily watching President Obama’s actions on these issues. Along with others, I heard during the campaign from pro-Obama Catholics and Catholic organizations established to promote his candidacy that Obama would accomplish more than the previous administration to curtail abortions and promote life using “non-divisive” strategies. I have been eagerly looking for indications that this was indeed the case. I have not seen anything that would indicate a “pro-life” openness or even a small move in that general direction. On the contrary, I have seen just the opposite. Besides the appointments of pro-abortion staff to key positions, there have been three policy shifts by Obama that have signaled clearly where he is on the issue of life and where he intends to go. – The Mexico City Policy Obama reversed a policy that disallowed federal funds (taxpayer money) for organizations that promoted or performed abortions in the developing world. Now, the funded exportation of that American product – Abortion – will be delivered and paid for using our tax dollars, to people and cultures around the world as one of our solutions to grinding global poverty. The premise is: If abortion is the way to solve difficulties and inconviences here in the United States, it must be eagerly awaited by others to solve their problems even if their culture abhors the thought of killing their precious resource of children. – Federal Conscience Rights for Health Care Workers Also being reviewed for revocation is a policy firmly entrenching the rights of medical personnel to refuse to participate in procedures and practices that are against their moral beliefs, e.g. abortion. In attempting to reverse the recently enacted Health and Human Services regulations ensuring conscience protection, Obama has put this policy back on the table for “review” and there is the real possibility that conscience rights will be restricted and even, eventually, eliminated. – Reversal of the Ban on Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research If there is anything that clearly delineates President Obama’s intent regarding the life issues it is this reversal on embryonic stem cell research. Citing that the “majority of Americans” are in favor of this reversal, he distorts science and ethics by making embryos available for research. This is a classic “crossing the Rubicon” as it demonstrates that, in his mind, these embryos either are not human life or they are human life of such a second-class nature that they are not worthy of respect and protection. Further, at the same time, he also rescinded an executive order that provided resources for innovative forms of adult stem cell research, the type of research that is ethical and very productive in terms of scientific results. This move ominously implies an ideological mindset that is unscientific and predisposed to follow the trail of embryonic research even though there are no cures and serious problems with this kind of approach. Most distressing, is that there is no reaction from those pro-Obama Catholics and Catholic organizations that were and are apologists for Obama and his policies. These organizations – Catholics United, Alliance of Catholics for the Common Good, Network and others – provided Catholics with a scenario that painted Obama as “pro-life.” Some of them openly said that they were pro-life and would work to move policy in a pro-life direction under Obama. Where are they now? Where are there any policy initiatives that would blunt the irrevocable thrust of these Obama actions early in his presidency? The culture of death is making deeper inroads in our national policies and there is almost no response from Catholics who helped elect President Obama. It is time for them to step up to the plate. George Wesolek is director of Public Policy/ Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

A different opinion It was exciting reading Father Laput’s informative article on ‘Women and St. Paul” (CSF March 6) outlining the “important roles” of women in the early Church. However, I was shocked at his conclusion that “contemporary women in ecclesial ministries” serve “Christ and Church” with men “in mutuality and equality.” The truth is there will be no equality until women’s ordination becomes a reality. Louise Courpet Daly City

Chavez misunderstood These days the message of what the Catholic Church stands for is not taking place – not when Catholic publications have writers that promote falsehood. I’m provoked by a recent Catholic News Service story in Catholic San Francisco (‘Catholic leaders worry over Chavez victory,’ CSF Feb. 20) that is wrong as to Venezuela and Chavez. Hugo Chavez is implementing Catholic teaching in that he is applying the country’s oil profits for the benefit of the entire Venezuelan people – for the first time. Jesus said, “What you do for the poorest of our brethren, you do for me.” Chavez has risked his life – not only from threats from Venezuela’s fascist right, but by their ally in Washington, D.C., when Bush-CIA threats were recently revealed! For so noble an effort, “Catholic leaders” (in the CNS story, a bishop) should praise Chavez’ success. Why convert to Catholicism if it’s on the “wrong side” about the important subject of materialism? Randolph Montalvo San Francisco

Read it here

– before even St. Augustine’s. Soul: “Let us make man in our own image” (Gen 1:26); Flesh: “the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground” (Gen 2:7a); Spirit: “and blew into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen 2:7b). Our soul comes before we are enfleshed, as soon as God desires us to be individuals. So ditch your microscopes. You, scientists, have been defeated! Judith A. Lagowski, M.A. San Francisco

Taking Noonan to task I can’t think of a better venue than USF for Judge John Noonan’s talk on his 2005 book, “A Church That Can and Cannot Change” (CSF Feb. 27). This is because the thesis of his book can be heard out of the mouths of so many Jesuits these days. The perspective for my letter has been taken from a scholarly review of Noonan’s book by Jesuit theologian Avery Cardinal Dulles (God rest his soul), which was published in First Things Magazine (October 2005). In this article, Dulles states that the thesis of Noonan’s book seems to be that “doctrinal change is in many cases an about-face, repudiating the erroneous past teaching of the Magisterium itself.” This thesis Noonan applies to four examples; that of slavery, usury, religious freedom and divorce. The Cardinal admits that Noonan is quite knowledgeable about these four areas, and is a skilled historian, lawyer “and to some degree a theologian.” But he also warns us that “Noonan manipulates the evidence to make it seem to favor his own preconceived conclusions. For some reason he is intent on finding discontinuity…” I think the Cardinal’s coyness about Noonan’s intentions regarding “discontinuity” is really a charitable way of avoiding having to state the obvious. “Bad” Jesuits need a rationale for changing Church doctrine they don’t like, (primarily the long held Doctrines reiterated in Humane Vitae) and Noonan tries to provide it. This penchant for change on the part of Jesuits, and other priests with a Jesuit mentality, coupled with their abuse and distortion of the Church’s “conscience clause,” has decimated the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and has caused division and scandal in ranks of the laity. The remedy? As I have said in another letter on this subject, “It will be only through a profound catechesis, based solidly on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, directed by the Bishop and implemented in our Catholic schools, our RCIA classes and from the pulpit, that such divisions can be healed.” Until that happens (which probably won’t be anytime soon), I offer a companion to the admonition of St. Paul, “Beware the leaven of the Jesuits”. Robert Johnson Fairfax

L E T T E R S

Catholic San Francisco’s Happy 80th Birthday wish to Holy Names Sister Colleen Kern (CSF ‘On the Street’ March 6) was greatly enjoyed and appreciated. It resulted in another wave of warm wishes from family and friends who saw the mention in the newspaper. Thanks for the thoughtful writing. Jan Tomeo San Rafael

Solving the riddle A very interesting read is the letters to the editor about when a zygote becomes a human being. Lately, though, the topic discussion is approaching a criticism of theologians and a begging of more time to allow scientists to get it right. But science will never get it right because each and every person is a composite of soul, body and spirit. Science will never see a soul and therefore cannot put it to a test via the scientific method. To solve the riddle, one must seek the answer from the Lord God. Having anticipated the coming of this question, the Almighty gave us the answer long ago

Consider the children Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers. Please: ➣ Include your name, address and daytime phone number. ➣ Sign your letter. ➣ Limit submissions to 250 words. ➣ Note that the newspaper reserves the right to edit for clarity and length. Send your letters to: Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: healym@sfarchdiocese.org or visit our website at www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us

Support HR 182, the Child Citizen Protection Act. Please call your Members of Congress and ask them to help keep American families together and co-sponsor H.R. 182. An estimated 3.1 million U.S. citizen children have at least one parent who is undocumented. Many others have at least one parent who is a permanent legal resident who can be subject to deportation for minor legal infractions or errors while filing for a change of immigration status. Every year thousands of children are either separated from a parent who has been deported or forced into exile. Under the current law, judges are not allowed to consider the impact on minor U.S. citizen children when deciding whether or not to deport a parent. The Child Citizen Protection Act would allow immigration judges to consider whether deportation is “clearly against the best interests of a U.S. citizen child.” Sr. Sheral Marshall, OSF San Bruno

March 20, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

The Catholic Difference

Four fibs and a waffle On March 9, President Barack Obama gave my prolife mother a nasty 95th birthday president: an executive order rescinding the restrictions that President Bush had placed on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. As policy, the executive order was even more an irresponsible blank check than many had feared it would be, according to Yuval Levin, who once worked on these questions at the President’s Council on Bioethics. Nor did the executive order deign to even nod to the moral debate that has raged around this issue for years. The President tried to do that in a speech announcing the executive order. Yet the speech, containing four fibs and a waffle, was even worse. Fib One: According to the President, his executive order will “lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research.” But as Ryan Anderson quickly pointed out, “There never was a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush was, in fact, the first president in history to fund embryonic stem cell research “The Bush compromise was to order funding restrictions that prevented the further destruction of human embryos in order to obtain their stem cells. Federal funding of research using existing stem cell lines was permitted. Fib Two: President Obama claimed that the Bush compromise was a “false choice between sound science and moral values.” That is a false portrait of the choice Bush made, and of its effects; for by following the path of moral reason, President Bush pushed the science in a more fruitful direction, such that stem cells that have

the same properties as embryonic stem cells can now be obtained by morally acceptable means. Furthermore, what “moral values” inform an executive order condemning the smallest members of the human family to death? Fib Three: The President claimed that his executive order was the first step in “letting scientists...do their job, free from manipulation or coercion...” This is a favorite Obama rhetorical device: set up straw men, then huff and puff eloquently until the straw man is no more. The truth of the matter, as Ryan Anderson pointed out, is that “critics of embryo-destructive research have never been hostile to science. The dispute is not about whether stem-cell research should proceed; it is about how it should proceed.” No one who opposes the Obama policy is against listening to scientists; but since when is science absolved from moral scrutiny? Obama seems to think of scientists as secular high priests whose work cannot be questioned or subjected to the legal boundaries erected around every human activity that touches on the integrity of life. Perhaps the insightful German film, After the Truth, in which a fictional trial explores the “humanitarian” rationale for medical “experiments” under German National Socialism, should be screened in the White House theater; I’m sure the good folks at Ignatius Press will donate a DVD. Fib Four: The President promised that the research allowed by his executive order would be “scientifically worthy and responsibly conducted.” But his policy flies in the face of the current trends in stem-cell science, where the most exciting possibilities involve “induced

pluripotent stem cell” technology. IPSC technologies not only avoid embryo-destruction; they hold out the possibility of creating regenerative therapies that are patient-specific through George Weigel the re-programming of a patient’s own adult cells. The Waffle: The President vowed to oppose cloning for human reproduction; he did not say he would oppose so-called “therapeutic cloning,” in which clones are created and then destroyed for research purposes. But there’s no need for waffling if you really know the science: at the present state of research, IPSC technology looks likely to do whatever “therapeutic cloning” would do – and do it better. His claims to the contrary, neither the President’s executive order nor his speech exhibited any serious wrestling with the arguments of those who believe embryodestruction is immoral. The issues were misrepresented and the opponents’ views caricatured; the relevant science was ignored. This is change no morally reflective person can believe in – a presidentially mandated advance for the culture of death. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Of Grace and Sippy Cups

Little sips of solitude Lately, I’ve found myself dreaming of the monastic life. This came to a head one recent Saturday morning. As I fed the baby and my toddler prowled around the house in his dinosaur pajamas, I watched a PBS travelogue about a Japanese monastery. It was an ancient, prayerful space. There was incense, a pine forest whispering outside, no clutter, an absence of noise. The monks lived simply and prayed often. And oh, how I envied them. I coveted the silence of their mountain retreat, far from the tinny sound of battery-operated toys. I thought longingly of their tranquil meals, unpunctuated by toddler tantrums. Most of all, I envied them for being alone. Moms, I’m realizing, have next to no personal space. My toddler follows me from room to room like a fanatic groupie. I’m unable even to use the bathroom without him wanting to be in on the action. In such moments, I think longingly of the cloistered life, of being able to drink deeply from the well of solitude. I’d be so much more grounded if I lived in a monastery, I think. My prayer life would be so rich. I’d be so peaceful, so hap –

And there I stop, because you know what? I wouldn’t be happy. When I was young and single and discerning my calling, monastic life was never even a contender. Ever since I can recall, I’ve known that my greatest happiness would lie in engagement with the world. I’ve always wanted marriage and kids, a close nucleus of activity in the center of a broader circle of job and church and friends. Those things, I sensed, would bring me my deepest joy. And you know what? They have. I want to listen to this cloister envy, though, because it indicates a lack in my life: a lack of peacefulness, of silent attention to God. And it’s a useful reminder that even though my life is focused on taking care of others, that doesn’t mean that I can’t also take care of myself. So every now and then, on a frustrating evening when the baby is fussing and the toddler is doing everything with his dinner but eat it, I say to my husband, “I just need to take a few moments alone.” “Go ahead,” he says. And I retreat to the bedroom and close the door firmly. I settle onto the bed and look at the light blue

walls, the color of water. The sounds of dinner and tantrums come to me muffled, down the hallway. It’s a profound relief to be, for a few minutes, completely alone. Then I go back Ginny to the dining room. I Kubitz Moyer ruffle the hair of my food-stained toddler and pick up the baby and squeeze Scott’s shoulder. In those few moments of solitude, I’ve remembered how much I love my vocation, and all the people in it. No, I don’t drink deeply from the well of solitude, but I do manage a few sips every now and then. And they always refresh my soul. Ginny Kubitz Moyer is the author of “Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God.” Contact Moyer via her blog at www.maryandme.org.

Spirituality for Life

Wishful drinking and moral resiliency Daniel Berrigan once suggested, half-jokingly, that if Jesus came back today he would go into every psychologist’s office in the Western World and, using the whips and cords he used on the money-changers in the temple, drive out both the doctors and their clients with the words: “Take up your couch and walk! I’ve given you skin, you don’t need to be that sensitive!” That may be over-stated, but he has a point. Human beings are built to be resilient and resiliency is a moral obligation. We owe our resurrections to each other. Hence, I recommend a book to you. Sometimes I hesitate to recommend a book or movie because, though overall its thrust may be moral and uplifting, individual parts of it might upset those who see parts rather than essences. Such is the case with Carrie Fisher’s new book, “Wishful Drinking.” I recommend it with that cautionary note. Overall it is a moral book, uplifting and hope-filled, even if it sometimes plays fast and loose with certain things. Normally I shun books written by celebrities, particularly Hollywood celebrities, but I make some exceptions and Carrie Fisher is one of those. She has a moral

intelligence and a wit that set her apart and she flashes both in this book. The book is in essence an autobiography, the story of someone who grows up in Hollywood as the child of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, with an absent womanizing father and a fairly absent though loving mother. She achieves worldwide celebrity and becomes an icon by playing Princess Leia in Star Wars, has a failed marriage with Paul Simon, journeys through alcohol and drugs and mental illness, and lands on her feet with enough resilience, empathy, and humor to make us envious. And she chronicles this with a color and wit that can blind you to her deeper insights into life and its meaning. Like Christina Crawford’s books, Mommy Dearest and Survivor, this too is a story of surviving a Hollywood upbringing, though in Carrie Fisher’s case there is more sympathy for Hollywood than in Crawford’s. Fisher never leaves Hollywood; she just gains enough perspective so that she doesn’t need to leave it. I say the book is both moral and uplifting despite the fact that, at first glance, her treatment of religion, drugs,

and sex can appear to be careless, casual, and amoral. (Note, I say amoral, not immoral, there’s a difference.) So what is moral about the book? Well, I’m not recommending the amoral Father parts and, I suspect, Ron Rolheiser Carrie Fisher (who is incapable of writing a line on anything without inserting something witty and light-hearted) wouldn’t recommend those parts either as a moral ideal. She simply tells her story, without suggesting that her views on anything should be a moral compass. But there is something inside of her story that, I submit, should be morally normative, namely, her willingness to take up her couch and walk. ROLHEISER, page 17

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Scripture reflection

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 A READING FROM THE BOOK OF SAMUEL 1 SM 16:1B, 6-7, 10-13A The Lord said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The Lord said, “There – anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David. RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS EPH 5:8-14 Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN JN 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” – which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

DEACON BILL TURRENTINE

Dirt, spit and divine love: The story of the man born blind Could you recognize the man born blind? He was, of course, physically blind. He was also spiritually blind. Like all of us, he came into this fallen world already with an inclination to reject God in order to exalt himself. Spiritual blindness affects both the eye of reason, which can discover God through the order of creation, and the eye of faith, which sees God through divine revelation. This blind man – we never learn his name - was happy to do whatever Jesus commanded in the hopes of gaining sight. Jesus could have cured physical blindness simply by willing a cure. But Jesus wanted to use the physical cure as an example of how we all can be cured of spiritual blindness. This is more delicate because it requires us to see what we would rather avoid. We are inclined to resist our own healing and yet we can still somehow convince ourselves that we are able to see even after rejecting the light. Jesus heals the man with a mixture of dirt and spit, which represent concrete realities that we would rather not see. The dirt reminds us of the human turning away from God that has resulted in death. “You are dust, oh Man”, the priest pronounces as we are marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent, “and into dust you will return.” We are thankfully spared a liturgical encounter with spit, but spit is associated with rejection. Despite often-heroic efforts to distract ourselves, we inevitably experience the darkness of God’s absence when we turn from his light. With his blindness made visible, so to speak, by the external application of dirt and spit, the blind man goes to wash in the pool of Siloam. The name Siloam, we are told, means “sent,” an allusion to Jesus, the one sent from God. This washing symbolizes baptism. Baptism draws us into the death and resurrection of Jesus, incorporating us into the mystical body of the one who has been sent. Now sharing in his mission, we are sent to bring God’s light to others as well. The blind man returns able to see physically and spiritually. His spiritual sight deepens as he finds himself sent forth, having to witness to the truth. Questioned by his neighbors, at first he knows only that his healer is Jesus, who anointed him with clay and commanded him to wash. He then faces the hostility of the Pharisees and declares that Jesus must be a prophet since he has glorified God by healing a man born blind.

Our Lenten Journey

A blindness that helps us see By Rob Grant If there were a single Gospel story chosen to illustrate the difference between the synoptic accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the poetic writing of John, it could well be this week’s comfortably familiar account of the healing of the man born blind. Of course, all four Gospel writers talk about the many healings and miracles performed by Jesus. But while Matthew, Mark and Luke are happy to tell us the what of these events, John draws us in further to show us the who, the how and (as only the poet can) the why of these amazing events. The other writers tell us the facts of the situation. John shows us the human faces. Where the earlier Gospel writers Matthew, Mark and Luke (who didn’t actually publish their recollections until between thirty and forty years after Jesus’ death) are

concerned with informing the early Church about what Jesus did, John (whose account is dated around 90 CE) is more interested in illumining the Cosmic truth of the experience of Jesus. He holds closely to the ancient Hassidic maxim that “the truth is much too important to be limited by facts.” So what is the “truth” about this blind man? The truth is, he is not a man, not a woman, not a child, not a parent. He is humanity. Us. This isn’t to say that humanity is blind or deaf or dumb (notwithstanding the fact that as a species, there is indeed some evidence that we can at times be all of the above) but to illustrate that the blindness, deafness, dumbness has purpose not only for the afflicted person, but for all whose lives touch theirs. As John’s Gospel narrative begins, the disciples of OUR LENTEN JOURNEY, page 17

Next, the man is rejected by the Pharisees – you could say that they symbolically spat upon him. Sharing in the rejection that Jesus endures out of love for us, the man is able to see divine love at work in Jesus and he offers Jesus the worship due to God.

Others in the story prove less enthusiastic about seeing and, as a result, have trouble perceiving the truth about the man, much less the truth about Jesus. The neighbors have difficulty recognizing the man. The man’s parents are afraid to state the truth about his healing. The Pharisees not only doubt the man’s identity, but insist that Jesus is a sinner. They do not want to see the truth about their own sinfulness and so they reject the Light. Who is this unnamed man who was born blind? He represents humanity as a whole and each one of us. We all come into the world with an inclination to hide from the light. During this Lenten season especially, however, we are healed by allowing the light to illuminate the dirt and spit caused by sin; that is, death and separation from God. If we turn towards the light, it heals our deepest wounds. It enables us to begin to see God in his divine love and to be transformed into children of light. Deacon Bill Turrentine serves at St. Rita Parish in Marin.

March 20, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

Papal Letter: Pointed, personal and from the heart VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a letter to the world’s bishops, Pope Benedict XVI expressed regret that his lifting of the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops gave rise to a storm of protests and bitterness. In a direct and personal message, the pope said the controversy over Bishop Richard Williamson’s statements denying the extent of the Holocaust was “an unforeseen mishap” – one that could have been anticipated, however, by paying more attention to information easily available on the Internet. The pope said he was particularly saddened at the reaction of some Catholics who seemed willing to believe he was changing direction on Catholic-Jewish relations and were ready to “attack me with open hostility.” He thanked “our Jewish friends” who helped clarify the matter and restore a sense of trust. The Vatican published the 2,500-word letter in six languages March 12. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, called it a “unique, exceptional document” for its direct and personal style, and said it showed the pope had listened carefully to what people were saying. The pope said he was taking the unusual step of writing to the bishops because the episode had generated “a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time,” both inside and outside the church. He said his overture to Bishop Williamson and the other three bishops of the Society of St. Pius X was designed to close a wound and bring unity to the church, by lifting excommunications incurred in 1988 and opening the way to dialogue with the society. But when Bishop Williamson’s comments about the Holocaust were circulated, “it suddenly appeared as something completely different: as the repudiation of reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and thus as the reversal of what the (Second Vatican) Council had laid down in this regard to guide the church’s path,” he said. As a result, he said, “an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment.” “I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics, who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility,” he said. “Precisely for this reason I thank all the more our Jewish friends, who quickly helped to clear up the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust,” he said. The pope acknowledged something critics have pointed out: that a simple Internet search would have revealed Bishop Williamson’s views on the Holocaust and helped the Vatican anticipate the reaction. “I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news,” he said.

Rolheiser . . .

n Continued from page 15 She suffered her share of hard-knocks, as her story makes clear: an absent father, little religious or moral guidance as a child, a dangerous early iconic fame, relational failure, and a bi-polar disorder. Yet where there might be self-pity there is empathy. Where there might be bitternesss there is a mellow heart. Where there mightt be anger there is forgiveness. Where theree might be resignation there is resilience. e. Where there might be despair there is a healthy zest. And where the lights might ht have gone out there is wonderful buoyancy. cy. That’s morality too, not exactly the way clasas-

Our Lenten Journey . . . n Continued from page 16

Jesus (who have presumably heard Jesus’ teachings about the immeasurable love of God, and, even more palpably seen how compassionately he treats people), still reflexively hold the conventional religious belief that illness is God’s punishment for sin, and ask: “Lord, was it his sin, or his parents’ that caused his blindness?” Jesus, ever the defier of convention, recognizes his own need to rise above his well-intentioned but erroneous Jewish assumptions, quickly retorts: “Neither he nor his parents sinned: it is so that the works of God may be made visible through him.” Jesus reminds himself, and his somewhat dense disciples, (not to mention us, somewhat dense 21st century followers) that the blind man is not the only one with limited, distorted vision. We can so easily, in our blind acceptance of an idea of God as a vindictive punisher, be unable to see the Creator of all as having nothing but Creation’s flourishing and nourishment as His heart. Jesus challenges

CNS PHOTO/ALESSIA PIERDOMENICO, REUTERS)

By John Thavis

Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, Israel, speaks during a news conference following a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and a Jewish delegation at the Vatican March 12.

Pope Benedict said he deeply regretted another mistake: that the lifting of the excommunications was not adequately explained and gave rise to misinterpretations about the traditionalist society’s status in the church. He emphasized that the removal of the excommunications was a disciplinary measure that affects individuals. But the fact that the Society of St. Pius X has no standing in the church depends on doctrinal reasons, he said. “Until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the society has no canonical status in the church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the church,” he said. In view of the importance of the doctrinal issues still to be clarified with the society, the pope announced that

he was putting the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” which has handled reconciliation efforts with traditionalist groups, under the auspices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “This will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the popes,” he said. He underlined what Vatican officials have said in recent weeks, that for the Society of St. Pius X full communion implies acceptance of Vatican II. “The church’s teaching authority cannot be frozen in the year 1962 – this must be quite clear to the society,” the pope said. At the same time, he said, some defenders of Vatican II need to be reminded that being faithful to the council also means being faithful to the church’s entire doctrinal history, without cutting “the roots from which the tree draws its life.” After making his clarifications, the pope confronted the question: “Was this measure needed? Was it really a priority?” He answered with a heartfelt defense of his reconciliation move, saying the church cannot stop working for unity among its ranks. “That the quiet gesture of extending a hand gave rise to a huge uproar, and thus became exactly the opposite of a gesture of reconciliation, is a fact which we must accept. But I ask now: Was it, and is it, truly wrong in this case to meet halfway the brother who ‘has something against you’ and to seek reconciliation?” he said. The pope also asked whether the church could be totally indifferent about a traditionalist society that has 491 priests, 215 seminarians, six seminaries, 88 schools, two universitylevel institutes, 117 religious brothers, 164 religious sisters and thousands of lay faithful. “Should we casually let them drift farther from the church?” he said. He offered a special thought for the society’s priests, saying he did not think they would have chosen the priesthood unless they had a love of Christ and a desire to proclaim the Gospel. “Can we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical fringe, from our pursuit of reconciliation and unity? What would then become of them?” he said. The pope said he recognized that disturbing statements have often come from the society’s leadership, reflecting “arrogance and presumptuousness.” But he said he has also witnessed “an openness of hearts” among some members. He said the traditionalist society deserves the same kind of tolerance given to other members in the church. “At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown, which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the pope – he, too, loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint,” he said.

sical moral manuals always explain it, but way that Jesus would recognize. in a w I was struck by the book and recommend it because what you see in her men story is the opposite of so much of what stor we see in the world and in the church today, where everyone too easily takes tod permission to be bitter and angry and per then blames someone else for his or the her unhappiness. There is something he refreshing and morally challenging in re seeing someone with problems who se ddoesn’t need to blame those problems oon God, on the church, on her family, oon liberals, on conservatives, or on anyone else. It is healthy and moral too to see someone who can keep a sense of humor against all odds

because sometimes it is humor, and humor alone, that can deflate our pompous, over-serious egos. The second question in our old Catechisms was: Why did God make you? The answer: To know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with him in the next. There’s real wisdom in that, but existentially something might be added: Why did God make you? Because he thought you might enjoy it! Carrie Fisher gives us that answer, and it is a moral one. Jesus once challenged the church-people of his time by saying that it seems that the children of this world are sometimes more astute than are the children of light. “Wishful Drinking” would suggest that sometimes too they have a better sense of humor!

not only his followers, but the religious leaders, to admit their reverence for convention over compassion, to see their own blind spots, their clinging to unexamined and unjust assumptions of people’s worth and dignity. For the ancient world, the answer to the question “Why is there evil, blindness, death, pain” was simple: Sin causes it. John wants us to understand that one of Jesus’ revolutionary departures from common Judaic belief is his teaching that all life’s experiences – the pains, the sorrows, the joys, the ups, the downs, the deaths (even his own) – are blessings, lessons, challenges and opportunities for the love of God to shine through us in both the light and darkness of life. As only John would recount it, Jesus doesn’t accomplish this or any of his other marvels through a “Just Say No!” or a “Just See” wishful thinking approach. Jesus does it through work and through natural elements (the making of the mud paste.) As Sister Prejean so eloquently says when asked by her “Dead Man Walking” Death Row inmate if her believing is easy: “Oh no! This isn’t about easy faith. It’s about hard work.” Jesus works to make the

miracle happen, and he tells the blind man to work too, to go to the healing pool of Siloam. And so, the question for this week’s Lenten self-inventory: What blindness, what distortion of the all-embracing, all empowering love of God do we as individuals cling to? And what limitation on the limitless expression of God’s love in every man, every woman and every child do we as Church place? Perhaps the most touching detail of John’s account is the near final paragraph, where Jesus, having heard that the authorities had thrown the formerly blind man out of the temple, seeks him out to comfort him, and with that comfort reminds him that, though he is rejected by the world and its institutions, his profession of faith keeps him in the loving embrace of the God who heals.

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

Rob Grant is a 30-year veteran of parish ministry in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Holy Names University.

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

News analysis Pope’s condom comments are latest chapter in sensitive church discussion By John Thavis YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI’s declaration that distribution of condoms only increases the problem of AIDS is the latest and one of the strongest statements in a simmering debate inside the church. The pope was speaking to journalists aboard his flight to Cameroon March 17, and he was asked whether the church’s approach to AIDS prevention – which focuses primarily on sexual responsibility and rejects condom campaigns – was unrealistic and ineffective. The pope framed his answer in terms of the church’s service to those with AIDS and its efforts to promote what he called a “humanization of sexuality” that includes the elements of fidelity and self-sacrifice. The pope did not get into the specific question of whether in certain circumstances condom use was morally licit or illicit in AIDS prevention, an issue that is still under study by Vatican theologians. Lest it be taken out of context, here is the exchange that took place on the pope’s plane. The question’s premise was “The Catholic Church’s position on the way to fight against AIDS is often considered unrealistic and ineffective,” and the pope responded: “I would say the opposite. I think that the reality that is most effective, the most present and the strongest in the fight against AIDS, is precisely that of the Catholic Church, with its programs and its diversity. I think of the Sant’Egidio Community, which does so much visibly and invisibly in the fight against AIDS ... and of all the sisters at the service of the sick. “I would say that one cannot overcome this problem of AIDS only with money – which is important, but if there is no soul, no people who know how to use it, (money) doesn’t help. “One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.

Pope Benedict XVI talks to journalists as Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, stands beside him during his March 17 flight from Rome to Africa.

“The solution can only be a double one: first, a humanization of sexuality, that is, a spiritual human renewal that brings with it a new way of behaving with one another; second, a true friendship even and especially with those who suffer, and a willingness to make personal sacrifices and to be with the suffering. And these are factors that help and that result in real and visible progress. “Therefore I would say this is our double strength – to renew the human being from the inside, to give him spiritual human strength for proper behavior regarding one’s own body and toward the other person, and the capacity to suffer with the suffering. ... I think this is the proper response and the church is doing this, and so it offers a great and important contribution. I thank all those who are doing this.” The pope’s words reflected a statement he made to South African bishops in 2005, when

he noted that the church is in the forefront in the treatment of AIDS and said the “only fail-safe way” to prevent its spread is found in the church’s traditional teaching on sexual responsibility. In saying that condom-promotion programs only increase the problem, the pope appeared to agree with those who have put forward several arguments: that condoms have a failure rate and so are never completely safe; that encouragement of condom use may promote promiscuity, a factor in the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; and that reliance on condom campaigns has overshadowed more effective means of prevention, namely fidelity and chastity. There is another factor in the pope’s thinking, according to an Italian theologian, Franciscan Father Maurizio Faggioni, who has advised the Vatican on sexual morality issues. The pope sees condom campaigns as a question of cultural violence, especially in Africa, where there has

never been a “contraceptive mentality,” Father Faggioni said. The question of whether condom use in some circumstances may be morally acceptable is a separate and more difficult question, Father Faggioni told Catholic News Service. Some bishops and cardinals have argued, for example, that a married couple in which one spouse has AIDS may reasonably be expected to use condoms to prevent transmission of the deadly disease. Others have said the church’s teaching against contraception regards married couples and that, because sexual relations outside marriage are already considered immoral, discussion of condom use outside marriage is irrelevant. In 2006, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, announced that his council had handed in a 200-page study on condoms in AIDS prevention, for further development by the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation. The pontifical council’s study, the cardinal said at that time, included “an enormous rainbow” of theological and moral positions, from theologians who expressed “very rigorous” opinions against condom use even when used as a disease-preventing measure to those who held a “very understanding” perspective. The hope was that, after additional study, the doctrinal congregation or even Pope Benedict might make a pronouncement on the complex questions. But sources told CNS in mid-March that the doctrinal congregation’s action on the report has been quietly put on hold, at least for the moment. “You could say officially that it remains under study,” one source said. Another source said that after looking more closely at the question, the church experts decided it was premature for the Vatican to make a comprehensive statement on the theological and pastoral aspects of condom use.

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Percentage of Catholics down but church still largest US denomination By Chaz Muth WASHINGTON (CNS) –Reflecting an increase in people who claim no religion, a new survey shows the percentage of U.S. residents who identify themselves as Catholics has declined, but Catholicism remains the largest denomination in the country. Trinity College of Hartford, Conn., released its third American Religious Identification Survey last week. The survey also found that the U.S. Catholic population has shifted away from the Northeast toward the Southwest, the percentage of Latinos in the U.S. Catholic Church has grown and the number of U.S. residents claiming no religion has increased dramatically. Most of the Christian population growth came from people who identify themselves only as Christian, evangelical/born again, or nondenominational Christian. Stephen Schneck, director of the Life Cycle Institute at The Catholic University of America in Washington, told Catholic News Service March 10 the biggest surprise in the survey for him was the surge in the number of Americans who don’t identify with any religion. “As a trend, I think it’s accelerating at a faster rate than any of us expected,” Schneck said. “To a certain extent, it’s a trend we can expect to continue to see happen. The erosion most noticeable is with young people.” The percentage of Americans who claimed no religion has jumped from 8.2 in 1990, the year of the first American Religious Identification Survey, to 14.2 in 2001, the year of the second one, to 15 in 2008, according to the third survey, which was conducted by Trinity’s Program on Public Values between February and November 2008. Surveyors questioned 54,461 U.S. adults in the 48 contiguous states by telephone. The research methodology was identical to that used for the 1990 and 2001 surveys and questioned the adults in either English or Spanish. The margin of error was less than 0.5 percent. The percentage of Christians in the U.S. dropped from 86.2 in 1990 to 76.7 in 2001 to 76 in 2008. Ninety percent of the decline came from the non-Catholic portion of the Christian population, most significantly from the mainline Protestant denominations, which include Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Episcopalians/Anglicans. Though the number of U.S. adults who identified themselves as Catholics increased by 11.1 million since 1990, the percentage of Catholics in the general population dropped by about a point to 25 percent. Nonetheless, Catholics remain the largest religious group nationally, with 57 million people identifying themselves as members of the church. Catholics, however, are on the move, with their population shift-

ing in the U.S. away from the Northeast toward the Southwest. “The decline of Catholicism in the Northeast is nothing short of stunning,” said Barry Kosmin, a principal investigator for the 2008 survey. “Thanks to immigration and natural increases among Latinos, California now has a higher proportion of Catholics than New England.” The population shift among Catholics is the result of two factors, Schneck said. “There is an erosion of white Catholics in the Northeast and we’re seeing more Hispanic Catholics in the South and Southwest,” he said. “The future of the church in the United States is with the Latinos. It’s going to be a Latino church before long. I’m 55 and I believe the American Catholic population will have a Hispanic majority in my lifetime.” Other key findings include: – Baptists, who constitute the largest non-Catholic Christian faith, increased their numbers by 2 million since 2001, but continue to decline as a proportion of the population. – Mormons increased in numbers enough to hold their own proportionally, at 1.4 percent of the population. – The Muslim portion of the population continues to grow, from 0.3 percent in 1990 to 0.6 percent in 2008. – Numbers in Eastern religions such as Buddhism more than doubled in the 1990s, but in 2008 declined slightly, to just under 2 million. Asian-Americans are significantly apt to specify Tourmore 90404 no religious identity than other racial or ethnic groups. – Those who identify religiously as Jews continue to decline numerically, from 3.1 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2008 – or 1.2 percent of the population. Defined to include those who identify as Jews by ethnicity alone, the American Jewish population has remained stable during the past two decades. – Only 1.6 percent of Americans call themselves atheist or agnostic. However, based on avowed beliefs, 12 percent are atheist (believe there is no God) or agnostic (unsure if there is a God), while 12April percent29-May are deistic (believe a higher power but not a 10, in2009 personal God). The number of outright atheists has nearly doubled since 2001,Tour from 900,000 to 1.6 million. Twenty-seven percent of 90502 Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death. – Devotees of new religious movements, including Wiccans and self-described pagans, have grown faster this decade than in the 1990s. – The 13 states with the largest Catholic population in 2008 were California, with 10.1 million; Texas, 5.8 million; New York, 5.4 million; Florida, 3.7 million; Illinois, 3.1 million; Pennsylvania, 2.9 million; New Jersey, 2.7 million; Massachusetts, 1.9 million; Ohio, 1.7 million; Michigan, 1.5 million; Arizona, 1.4 million; Wisconsin, 1.2 million; and Maryland, 1.1 million.

Believers Report Number of U.S. adults identifying themselves with these select beliefs in millions: 1990

2008

Catholic

46.0

57.1

change

24%

Baptist

34.0

36.2

6% 10%

Mainline Protestant*

32.8

29.4

Christian (not specified)

8.1

16.8

« 109%

Evangelical or Born Again

2.2

« 295% 15%

Jewish

3.1

2.7

Buddhist

1.2

« 194%

Muslim

1.4

« 156%

No Religion

14.3

34.2

« 138%

Agnostic or Atheist

1.2

3.6

« 204%

Results based on 220,000 interviews recorded over two surveys. *Mainline Protestants include Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian/Anglican and United Church of Christ. Source: Trinity College (American Religious Identification Survey) ©2009 CNS

The survey conductors concluded that northern New England has now eclipsed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious section of the U.S., and Vermont, with 34 percent of its residents identifying themselves as having no religious affiliation, leads all other states as the least religious by 9 percentage points. “Just as with Catholic losses, it is important to note that a significant portion of the declines for these denominations has occurred through generational replacement rather than individual losses of identity,” said Mark Gray, a research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington. The biggest challenge for many religions today is attracting American youth, he said.

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Sci-fi adventure â&#x20AC;&#x153;Race to Witch Mountainâ&#x20AC;? is pleasing family fare appearances by original child stars Ike Eissinmann and Kim Richards (Tony and NEW YORK (CNS) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Devotees of Tia, respectively, from the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;70s films) who the 1970s franchise â&#x20AC;&#x153;Escape to Witch show up in cute cameo roles. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a local Mountainâ&#x20AC;? and its sequel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Return from sheriff who momentarily stops the feds, and Witch Mountainâ&#x20AC;? should be pleased with sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good-hearted waitress who helps director Andy Fickmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engaging remake, Jack and the kids make an escape. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Race to Witch Mountainâ&#x20AC;? (Disney), which There are some very funny jibes at pays loving homage to those earlier films, UFO conventions, with Garry Marshall a and with the added gloss of some 21ststandout as an eccentric UFO expert. century technology it promises to win a In the course of the story, the doubting new generation of fans, too. Seth learns that humans can be trusted after This version of the sci-fi adventure all. Jack, of course, finds redemption in centers on Las Vegas cab driver Jack Bruno selflessly helping the kids, even at the risk (Dwayne Johnson), an ex-con whose of landing back in jail. Early on, the telegrand-theft-auto days are behind him. pathic Sara had compassionately remarked Early on, he gives a lift to Alex Friedman of Jack, whose self-esteem is at rock bot(Carla Gugino), an astrophysicist discredtom, â&#x20AC;&#x153;So large outside, so small inside.â&#x20AC;? ited for espousing her theories on extraterThis being a Disney film, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even restrial activity whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there to lecture at a redemption of another sort for a vicious UFO convention. mutt the group picks up along the way. When two self-assured young teens, Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a budding romance between Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth Jack and Alex, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much as (Alexander Ludwig), materialize in his AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig and Dwayne Johnson Star in a scene from the movie exchange a kiss, so this is recommendcab, and ask to be taken to a remote loca- â&#x20AC;&#x153;Race to Witch Mountain.â&#x20AC;? The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II â&#x20AC;&#x201C; able family fare for all but young children adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG â&#x20AC;&#x201C; tion, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not long before Jack learns they who might be bothered by some scary parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. are, in fact, aliens. Their mission, inherited moments. from their parents, is to make their dying The film contains generally mild action planet habitable again in time to head off an â&#x20AC;&#x201C; attempts to find the kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spaceship, they secret government facility at the titular Witch violence with explosions and gunshots. invasion of earth by militant factions there. are pursued by a humanoid monster called the Mountain. The skeptical Jack is convinced their story Siphon, a team of federal UFO investigators Fickmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reimagining moves at a fast clip Forbes is director of the Office for is real when Sara demonstrates her telepathic headed by Burke (Ciaran Hinds in serious vil- with extremely likable lead performances and Film & Broadcasting of the and telekinetic skills and her brother his adept- lain mode), and the goons who work for Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more elaborate special effects than were, of ness at changing his body density (i.e., walking former mobster boss. course, possible in the original. There are plenti- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online through solid objects). As the group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; soon Things get even dicier when they discover ful references to the earlier films in Matt Lopez joined by Alex, to whom Jack turns for help the spaceship has been impounded in a top- and Mark Bombackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s script, most significantly, at www.usccb.org/movies. (CNS PHOTO/DISNEY)

By Harry Forbes

A childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to iconography that old and young will enjoy â&#x20AC;&#x153;PICTURES OF GOD: A CHILDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ICONS,â&#x20AC;? by John Kosmas Skinas. Conciliar Press (Ben Lomond, CA, 2009) 32 pp., $10.95. Ordering information at conciliarpress.com. Contact the author at jskinas@holytrinitysf.org.

Interview by S.T. Georgiou, Ph.D. The following is an interview with the author of a new childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book on Christian icons, John Kosnas Skinas, a San Francisco native and graduate of Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School in Daly City. He is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. Why do you write for children? Because I have children. Along with my wife, they make me happier than Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever beenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even amid the chaos and pain that inevitably comes with living in this world. Everything I do is with my children in mind. They are a gift and a responsibility given to me by God. Through them I pray to fulfill my vocation as a human being. How can icons help children find God? They remind us of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to walk by an icon without at least making the sign of the cross or sending a short prayer up to heaven. In the text for the icon of Christ pulling

Peter out of the water I call icons â&#x20AC;&#x153;Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifepreserversâ&#x20AC;? because they give us something of God to hold onto when life gets rough. Icons, by their depiction of Biblical scenes and the lives of the saints, also give us visual examples of how to be true followers of Christ. What are the main themes in your book? Icons, like the saints, let the light of Christ shine through them. They point away from themselves and toward God. They also serve as a testament to the incarnation. Since God became someone we could see and touch, it became proper and right to make images of Him. At the same time, we must remember that every human being is made in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image. Keeping that in mind, we can do no less than treat all people like we treat icons: we respect them; we love them; we honor them; and we see God in them. There are so many icons to choose from. Why did you choose certain icons versus others? That was one of the nice surprises of working on this book. I knew certain icons would go in no matter whatâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Mary with the Christ child, the Crucifixion, the Holy Trinity image based on St. Andre Rublevâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original. Then the editor had suggestions that I would never have thought of on my own, beautiful icons of Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ark and Christ Walking on Water. I had to keep re-writing the text so it would fit with the new images, but it was worth it. Letting go of some of my original vision has led to a

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book that is so much better than it would have from Venice. When this icon was formally been if it were left solely up to me. installed, Archbishop Niederauer joined our Which icon has special significance for Metropolitan Gerasimos in blessing it. The rest of our parish is covered in you? Byzantine The Annunciation Byzan mosaics that have been crafted by a Catholic since itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from my e\ = E : S E R family parishâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Holy Trinity famil in Multepuciano, U T PIC Italy under the supervision Orthodox Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and of Orthodox iconographer because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the O Bob Andrews. Here you incarnation took place. have examples of East and Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very pro-life West message there. God We working together to create and appreciate didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just drop a tiny cre beauty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;blob of tissueâ&#x20AC;? into bea Dostoevsky said i beauty will save the Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s womb and wait be ijWdZ_d] ?Yed Z[ je KdZ[h Kosmas Skinas world; perhaps it will for it to develop. God, in w 7 9^_bZĂ&#x160;i =k_ by John one response to Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obedion day accomplish the ence, put Himself there;; th even taller task of bringing the churches together! Jesus was fully Man andd t fully God right from the beginning. How is this book ecumenically significant? S.T. Georgiou teaches the Interdisciplinary Humanities and Comparative Religion Iconography goes all the way back to at SF City College and at the Graduate the beginning of the faith, when East and West were one. At the end of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pictures of Theological Union in Berkeley. He is the Godâ&#x20AC;? thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a photo of my eldest daughter author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Way of the Dreamcatcher: holding a candle before a beautiful icon in Spirit-Lessons With Robert Lax: Poetour parish. This Byzantine mosaic with the Peacemaker-Sageâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mystic Street: Italian name of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Madonna In Tronoâ&#x20AC;? came Meditations On A Spiritual Path,â&#x20AC;? both from the Vatican Museum and was created over a three year period by a Catholic monk published by Novalis.

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March 20, 2009

Lenten Opportunities The Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought at University of San Francisco has announced its Spring Events. For full schedule, directions and more information, call (415) 422- 5200 or visit www.usfca.edu/ lanecenter. Following in the Footsteps of St. Paul, A Tuesdays of Lent series at St. Rita Church, 100 Marinda Dr. in Fairfax. Soup supper at 6:15 p.m. precedes 7 p.m. talk Contact Noelle Kostelic at (415) 456-4815 or e-mail nkostelic@sbcglobal. net. The talks commenced Feb. 24. March 24: The laity and lay preaching relevant to St. Paul with Darleen Pryds, Ph. D. March 31: Pauline Christology in New Testament hymns with Vincent Pizzuto, Ph. D. Through April 30: Adult Scripture Study focusing on St. Paul at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, St. Michael’s Hall, Alameda de las Pulgas at Ralston in Belmont. $25 fee includes materials. Sessions held Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday mornings at 9:30 a.m. Contact Marie Felix at (650) 593-6157, ext. 27 or e-mail mfelix@ihmbelmont.org March 25, 7 p.m. and March 26, 9:40 a.m.: “Hope for the World” - a reflection on Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, SpeSalvi, and the place and reasons for hope in a troubled world at St. Gabriel Church, 40th Ave. at Ulloa St.in San Francisco. Father Michael Konopik is presenter. Call (415) 731-6161. March 28, 9 a.m.: Serra Club of San Francisco, Mass at St. Gabriel Church, 40th at Ulloa in San Francisco, followed by continental breakfast. Non-members welcome. Contact: Paul Crudo (415) 566-8224 or pecrudodds@aol.com March 28, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Sister Armanda Santos, a Sister of St. Paul, will be signing her book “Facing the Apostle Paul’s Image in Art” at McCoy Church Goods, 1010 Howard Ave. in San Mateo. Call (650) 342-0924.

Sister Armanda Santos March 27, 28, April 2, 3, 4 at 7:30p.m., and April 5 at 2 p.m.: A stage adaptation of “The Grapes of Wrath” at Notre Dame de Namur University Theater, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. The tale, known by many as a book by John Steinbeck and later a film, holds a compelling mirror to today’s economic times. Its principal players are victims of foreclosure forced to make a new home in a new state. Tickets are $10 each. Contact box office at (650) 508-3456. March 31, 7 p.m.: Michael Reardon performs the Gospel of John at St. Timothy Church, 1515 Dolan Ave. in San Mateo. Directed by Patrick Lane. Free will offerings accepted. Call (650) 342-2468. Through April 5, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.: Members of San Mateo Pro-life will be praying for an end to abortion during this “40 Days for Life.” The “peaceful prayer vigil” will take place in front of Planned Parenthood, 2211 Palm Ave. in San Mateo all days during the assigned hours. “All are welcome,” said Jessica Munn, an officer of the pro-life group. Visit www.40daysforlife.com/sanmateo or e-mail fortydaysforlife@yahoo.com or call (650) 572-1468. A “prayerful presence” will also take place at Planned Parenthood, 815 Eddy Street (between Van Ness and Franklin) in San Francisco from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Interested persons may register and volunteer at www.40daysforlife.com/sanfrancisco Through April 17, 7:30 p.m.: Lectio Divina Scripture Faith Sharing: The Wednesday evenings of Lent, at Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Motherhouse - Main Parlor 43326 Mission Blvd. Fremont. For more information, please contact Dominican Sister Beth Quire at (510) 449-7554 or beth@msjdominicans.org Taize Prayer: 1st Friday at 8 p.m.: Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan. Call (650) 340-7452; young adults are invited each first Friday of the month to attend a social at 6 p.m. prior to Taize prayer at 8 p.m. The social provides light refreshments and networking with other young adults. Convenient parking is available. For information contact mercyyoungadults@sbcglobal.net. Tuesdays at 6 p.m.: Notre Dame Des Victoires Church, 566 Bush at Stockton, San Francisco with Rob Grant. Call (415) 397-0113. 3rd Friday, 8 p.m.: Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, Motherhouse Chapel, 43326 Mission Blvd in Fremont. Contact Maria Shao at (408) 839-2068 or maria49830@aol.com or Dominican Sister Beth Quire at (510) 449-7554 or beth@msjdominicans; Fridays during Lent, 7:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels Church, 1721 Hillside Rd. near El Camino Real in Burlingame. Call Liz Hannan at (650) 342-1759 Employment Support Group meets Mondays 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at St. Matthias Church, 1685 Cordilleras Rd. in Redwood City “to share emotional, spiritual, and networking support and hear job search advice from guest speakers.” There is no cost to attend. Call (650) 366-9544 for more information.

Datebook

March 29, 7:30 p.m.: San Domenico’s Orchestra da Camera, named 2008 Grand Champions at the National Orchestra Festival, will present Mahler, Mendelssohn and Brahms with players of the San Francisco Symphony. This event is open to the public at Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. Tickets are $25 - $40 (tax-deductible). Please call (415) 258-1921 or visit www.sandomenico.org/jcc.

St. Mary’s Cathedral

Trainings/Lectures/Respect Life

Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco in (415) 567-2020. Ample parking is available free of charge in the Cathedral lot for most events. Fridays during Lent: Stations of the Cross in the Cathedral, at 12:40 p.m. in English following the noon Mass, and in English and Spanish at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call the Cathedral Office at (415) 567-2020 ext. 200 April 7, 5:30 p.m.: Archbishop George Niederauer presides at the Chrism Mass where sacred oil is blessed for use in all the parishes of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Limited parking in the Cathedral lot is free, additional paid parking available at Japantown garages. For information, contact Patrick Vallez-Kelly (415) 614-5586. Sundays, 3:30 p.m.: Concerts featuring local and musical artists from around the world. Open to the public. Free will offering helps support Cathedral’s music ministry. Call (415) 567-2020, ext. 231.

April 2, 16, 23,30, 3 – 4:30 p.m.: Catholic Charities CYO San Carlos Adult Day Services is offering a Family Caregiver Mini-Sabbatical. This four part series is for family members helping an older spouse, parent or sibling, especially someone with increasing memory loss or confusion. It is an opportunity to get some respite and relaxation while refreshing care-giving skills. Topics include creating/preserving a support system for the caregiver; stress reduction techniques; communicating more effectively; improving care-giving skills and handling more challenging behaviors. $25 registration fee covers four sessions. A sliding scale and free respite care can be arranged in advance on a space available basis. For more information or to obtain a registration brochure please contact Michael Vargas by calling 650.592.9325 or email mvargas@cccyo.org. April 18, 1- 4 p.m.: “Our Family: Healthy! Peaceful! Solid!,” a workshop specifically for members of the Filipino community about the issue of domestic violence. The afternoon will feature speakers and information about available resources from the Church as well as non-Catholic and civic providers. Presentations will include the Catholic Church perspective on domestic violence as well as its effects on children. “While the focus of the event will be to serve the Filipino community, if you would like to learn more about the issue of domestic violence, please join us,” said a letter about the conference from Christopher Martinez, a senior program director with Catholic Charities CYO, a sponsor of the day. Coordinators request registration as soon as possible by calling (415) 972-1308. The workshop takes place at St. Matthew Church, One Notre Dame Ave. at 9th Ave. in San Mateo.

Tridentine Mass The traditional Latin Mass according to texts and rubrics from before Vatican II is celebrated at locations and times below. Sundays at 12:15 p.m.: Holy Rosary Chapel at St. Vincent School for Boys. For more information, call St. Isabella Parish at (415) 479-1560. First Friday: Latin High Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1425 Bay Road at Glen Way, East Palo Alto. Mass is followed by the Litany of the Sacred Heart and Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament until midnight. Confessions are heard before Mass. Low Mass in Latin is also offered every Friday evening at 6 p.m. For further information, call (650) 322-2152.

TV/Radio Sunday, 6 a.m., KOFY Channel 20/Cable 13 and KTSF Channel 26/Cable 8: TV Mass with Msgr. Harry Schlitt presiding. Saturday, 4 p.m.: Religious programming in Cantonese over KVTO 1400 AM, co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry and Chinese Young Adults of the Archdiocese. 1st Sunday, 5 a.m., CBS Channel 5: “Mosaic,” featuring conversations on current Catholic issues. 3rd Sunday, 5:30 a.m., KRON Channel 4: “For Heaven’s Sake,” featuring conversations about Catholic spirituality. KSFB Catholic Radio 1260 AM offers daily Mass, rosary and talk on the faith – visit www. ihradio.org. Mondays, 7 p.m.: Comcast channel 26 in Marin will broadcast a series of 56 half-hour videos filmed in Medjugorje. Also, NPAT channel 26 in Novato carries the same series each Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Call (707) 480-7000 for more information. EWTN Catholic Television: Comcast Channel 229; Astound Channel 80; San Bruno Cable Channel 143; DISH Satellite Channel 261; Direct TV Channel 370. For programming details, visit www.ewtn.com

Vallombrosa Retreat Center 250 Oak Grove Ave. in Menlo Park. Call (650) 325-5614 or visit www.vallombrosa.org April 4: Finding Your Calling: Your Personal Renaissance with Diane Dreher, Ph. D. The retreat offers insights from Renaissance lives, developmental psychology, and Ignatian spirituality to help discover gifts and discern new possibilities in the different seasons of life.

Food & Fun March 22, 1 – 4 p.m.: Family Bingo at OMI Senior Center, 1948 Ocean Ave. at Fairfield in San Francisco. $5 per bingo card. Sponsored by Little Children’s Aid Auxiliary. Pizza and refreshments will be available for purchase. All ages welcome. Call Mary Rotunno at (415) 310-1315 for more information. “Hooray for Hollywood,” Convent and Stuart Hall Schools of the Sacred Heart, invite you to Celebrate Spring 2009, a major annual fundraiser. Garden Luncheon and Boutique is March 27, 10 a.m. –3 p.m. at 2222 Broadway. Reservations required for Luncheon; tickets $65. Family Fest is March 28, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at 2222 Broadway. Bring the kids – it’s free! Evening Gala is March 28, 6 p.m. at Regency Theatre Grand Ballroom, 1290 Sutter Street. Reservations required; tickets $175. Visit www.celebratespring.org or call (415) 345-5825 March 28, 5:30 p.m.: “Disco Odyssey,” a St. Cecilia’s Mother’s Club Fundraiser in Durocher Pavillion, St. Cecilia Campus, 18th and Vicente in San Francisco. Fun-filled evening begins with hosted cocktail reception and silent auction followed by dinner, live auction and dancing. Music is by CJ Custom Entertainment. Tickets are $85.00 per person. Tables of 10 are available. Visit www.scfundraiser.com to view raffles, see preview of auction items. Contact Stephanie Pasini at (415) 516-2614 or Janice Calonico at (415) 309-8073. April 4, 9:30 a.m.: The Madonna del Lume Society of Sts. Peter and Paul Church is sponsoring a Pedro tournament to benefit the Blessing of the Fishing Fleet events in October. It will be held at the San Rafael Rod and Gun Club, with registration at 9:30 a.m. The $45.00 admission fee includes lunch and prizes. Contact Marie Lavin at 4l5-459-9021 for more details.” April 4, 5:30 p.m.: “The Platinum Ball - Annual Auction Dinner Dance and Grand Drawing” benefiting Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and School at San Mateo Marriott Hotel. Tickets at $100 per person include wine with dinner. Auction includes more than 500 items for bidding. Dancing

Catholic San Francisco

to 1 a.m. to music of Jack Aces. Call (650) 5936157 and ask for Gail. April 4, 10 a.m. – noon: “Eggstravaganza” for children 2 – 12 sponsored by Alumnae Council of Mercy High School, San Francisco at the school 3250 19th Ave. Morning includes Easter egg hunt, art and crafts, games. Tickets are $5/adults free. Visit www.mercyhs.org or e-mail alumnae@mercyhs.org or call (415) 334-0525, ext. 228. April 5, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Old St. Mary’s Church “on the square” in Nicasio will hosts its annual Palm Sunday Brunch at the Druid’s Hall in Nicasio. A country breakfast of farm fresh eggs, hash browns, ham, muffins and pastries, fresh fruit, coffee and tea will be served. No host bar. There will be a raffle and silent auction of fabulous prizes and gifts. All are welcome! Tickets are available at the door - $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for children (5 through 12) and children under 5 are free. Spend a day in the country and join our rural community for this wonderful event. April 17, 5:30 p.m.: Discarded to Divine Free Sneak Preview Night unites fashion with compassion at the de Young Museum. Donated clothing transformed into original couture creations will be showcased. Auction and fashion show follow May 7 with proceeds benefiting the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. For more information visit www.discardedtodivine.org April 17, 9 a.m. with 5 p.m. return: Depart for a day in Wine Country with St. Peter’s Pacifica 55 Plus Club. Includes round-trip deluxe motor coach, lunch at Negri’s Restaurant - chicken, soup, pasta, salad, bread, dessert and non-alcohol beverage - and then to Korbel Champagne Cellars and Rose Garden for escorted tour and tasting. Contact Carol Dion @ 650-504-0804. Tickets are $55 per person. May. 7, 6:30 p.m.: Discarded to Divine fashion show and auction unites fashion with compassion at Live!@888 Brannan (formerly the San Francisco Gift Center Pavilion) in San Francisco The event unites Bay Area fashion students and professional designers by transforming discarded clothing and fabric into fashionable couture items. All items will be auctioned at Discarded to Divine to raise money for the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. Visit www.discardedtodivine.org for sponsorship and ticketing information.

Consolation Ministry Grief support groups meet at the following parishes. San Mateo County: St. Catherine of Sienna, Burlingame; call Debbie Simmons at (650) 5581015. St. Dunstan, Millbrae; call Barbara Cappel at (650) 692-7543. Good Shepherd, Pacifica; call Sister Carol Fleitz at (650) 355-2593. Our Lady of Mercy, Daly City; call Barbara Cantwell at (650) 755-0478. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City; call parish at (650) 366-3802. St. Robert, San Bruno; call Sister Patricia at (650) 589-2800. Marin County: St. Anselm, San Anselmo; call Brenda MacLean at (415) 454-7650. St. Isabella, San Rafael; call Pat Sack at (415) 472-5732. Our Lady of Loretto, Novato; call Sister Jeanette at (415) 897-2171. San Francisco: St. Dominic; call Deacon Chuck McNeil at (415) 567-7824; St. Finn Barr (bilingual); call Carmen Solis at (415) 584-0823. St. Gabriel; call Monica Williams at (415) 350-9464. Young Widow/Widower Group: St. Gregory, San Mateo; call Barbara Elordi at (415) 6145506. Ministry to Parents: Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame; call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Children’s Grief Group: St. Catherine, Burlingame; call Debbie Simmons at (650) 5581015. Information regarding grief ministry in general: call Barbara Elordi at (415) 614-5506.

Special Liturgies April 4, 11 a.m.: First Saturday Mass at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, All Saints Mausoleum Chapel. Call (650) 756-2060 or visit www.holycrosscemeteries.com.

Single, Divorced, Separated Ongoing support groups for the separated and divorced take place at St. Bartholomew Parish, 300 Columbia Drive at Alameda de las Pulgas, in San Mateo, first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7 p.m. in the Spiritual Center and first and third Wednesdays of the month at St. Stephen parish hall, Eucalyptus and 23rd Ave. in San Francisco next to Stonestown Mall at 7:30 p.m. Call Gail at (650) 591-8452 or Joanne at (650) 347-0701. Catholic Adult Singles Association of Marin meets for support and activities. Call Bob at (415) 897-0639 for information.

Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired. Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633, e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org, or visit www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us.

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Book focuses on Pope John Paul II as communicator VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope John Paul II’s ability to communicate was not primarily a result of his experience as an amateur actor, but was an expression of his theology, said the authors of a new book. In his speeches and writings, whether the audience was religious or not, the late pope continually emphasized the role of Jesus Christ as both the creator of words and as the embodiment of the Word, the authors said at a round-table discussion launching the book in February. Sister Christine Mugridge, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, and Salesian Sister Marie Gannon wrote “John Paul II: Development of a Theology of Communications,” which was published by the Vatican publishing house. In his almost 27-year pontificate, Pope John Paul “was known for his communicative gifts,” the authors wrote. After analyzing both the pope’s work and his communication style, the authors concluded that a principal theme of Pope John Paul’s pontificate was “the person of Christ, who

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not only reveals/communicates the salvific plan of the Father, but reveals/communicates man to himself in the light of this divine revelation.” For Christians, all of salvation history involves social communications, including the relationship of the first disciples with Christ, the authors wrote. The disciples came to know Christ as “not only the bearer of the words of life, but as the Word of life,” they wrote. Communication of the faith is necessary in order to effectively bring others to encounter Christ and to remain in communion with Christ, the authors wrote, and studying the communications of Pope John Paul demonstrates how well he understood that. Sisters Gannon and Mugridge wrote that Pope John Paul was a model communicator whose work deserves consideration for excellence in social communications. Pope John Paul II raises the book of the Gospels at an outdoor Mass he celebrated in Poland in 1991. In his travels he visited his home country the most and preached the Gospel on six continents.

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Lic. # 872560

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

(650) 557-1263

Lila Caffery, MA, CCHT San Francisco: 415.337.9474 Complimentary phone consultation www.InnerChildHealing.com

When Life Hurts It Helps To Talk • Family • Work • Depression • Anxiety

• Relationships • Addictions

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

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

Member: Better Business Bureau

Plumbing • Fire Protection • Certified Backflow

John Bianchi Phone: 415.468.1877 Fax: 415.468.1875

TA XMAN CORTES TAX SERVICE Income Tax ● Notary Public Alan J. Cortes Ph: (415) 641-4292 3750 Mission St. (415) 641-4295 San Francisco, CA 94110 Fax: (415) 839-8501

Specializing In Wood Fences

Harpist

Sally Fletcher

Heavenly Music for Earthly Events

(650) 994-6892 lic. 343633 Hymns for Healing, Soothing Lullabies, Wedding Magic, and more…

S.B. CONSTRUCTION Specializing in Bathroom And Kitchen Remodels. * Demolition/Framing * Plumbing/Electrical * Drywall/Tile Etc. * License/Bond # 804282 * Fax # (415) 681-4438 * Cell # (650) 346-9985 * Competitive Rates *

painting and remodeling John Holtz

Ca. Lic 391053 General Contractor Since 1980

415.492.8034

www.heavenlyharpist.com

Handy Man Painting, roof repair, fence (repair/ build) demolition, carpenter, gutter (clean/ repair), kitchen/bathroom remodel, decks, welding, landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, janitorial.

Call (650) 757-1946 Cell (415) 517-5977 NOT A LICENSED CONTRACTOR

Carpet Cleaning

(650) 355-4926

Safe Non-Toxic, No Shampoo, Dry in Hours not Days

Painting & Remodeling

Commercial & Residential Serving SF & San Mateo Co. St. Charles Parishioner

•Interiors •Exteriors •Kitchens •Baths

(650) 593-5959

Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting

Roofing

Auto Service HABELT’S AUTO SERVICE

Complete Auto Repair 3865 Irving St. at 40th Ave. – Since 1964 –

415-664-1735

(415) 786-0121 • (415) 586-6748

100 North Hill Drive, Unit 18 • Brisbane, CA 94005 Lic. No. 390254

Painting

HOLLAND

Plumbing Works San Francisco

ALL PLUMBING WORK PAT HOLLAND

CA LIC #817607

BONDED & INSURED

415-205-1235

Green Handyman

S.O.S. PAINTING CO. Garage Door Repair Interior-Exterior wallpaper hanging & removal

Discount

Lic # 526818 Senior Discount

Garage Door

415-269-0446 650-738-9295

Repair Lic #376353

www.sospainting.net -Kitchen/Bath Remodel -Insulation/Weatherization -General Home Repair -

650-515-1419 CA Lic#927761 Bonded/Insured Tim@green-handyman.com

Painting BILL HEFFERON

Tax Services

ORROW

CONTRUCTION

Harpist

EMAIL: bestplumbinginc@comcast.net

BOOKS IN BALANCE

❖ 30 years experience with individuals, couples and groups ❖ Directed, effective and results-oriented ❖ Compassionate and Intuitive ❖ Supports 12-step ❖ Enneagram Personality Transformation Service, Quality, Respect 6❖ Free Counseling for Iraqi/Afghanistani Vets

(CNS FILE PHOTO BY ARTURO MARI)

By Nicole Coia

PAINTING INTERIOR, EXTERIOR All Jobs Large and Small

10% Discount: Seniors, Parishioners Call BILL 415.731.8065 • Cell: 415.710.0584

FREE ESTIMATES

NOTICE TO READERS Licensed contractors are required by law to list their license numbers in advertisments. The law also state that contractors performing work totaling $500 or more must be state-licensed. Advertisments appearing in this newspaper without a license number indicate that the contractor is not licensed. For more info, contact:

Member of Better Business Bureau

Contractors State License Board

Bonded, Insured – LIC. #819191

800-321-2752

Broken Spring/Cable? Operator Problems? Lifetime Warranty All New Doors/Motors

One Price 24 /7

415-931-1540 0% Financing Available

Maintenance Services GARIBALDI MAINTENANCE CO. Complete Janitorial – Window Cleaning Quality Service Since 1946

“Large Enough to Matter, Small Enough to Care”

FREE ESTIMATES (415) 441-2454 www.garibaldimaintenance.com

Fully Insured & Bonded

Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

CLASSIFIED RATES HELP WANTED PRIVATE PARTY 4 lines for 12.00 Each additional line $2.00 26 spaces per line

PER COLUMN INCH 25 1 time 20 2 time 3 time 15 minimum 1 inch $

$ $

Add .50¢ per column inch for website listing

Leave a space between words and/or phone numbers

CALL 415-614-5642 FAX 415-614-5641 EMAIL penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

CALL 415-614-5640 FAX 415-614-5641 EMAIL penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

Catholic San Francisco classifieds Visit www.catholic-sf.org For website listings, advertising information

Basement Room Apt for for Rent Rent 2 rooms w/bath, kitchen. Sunny, light, basement apartment, free parking for one car. $1300/mo. Household: mature, quiet, working, student. Please call 415-584-5307 before 10 pm.

$700/mo., nicely furnished, sunny, MB in house w/stairs, for one quiet adult, shared bath & kitchen. Household: mature, quiet, working, student. Near Ocean K line. Please call 415-584-5307 before 10 pm.

and Place Classified Ad Form OR Call 415.614.5642, Fax 415.614.5641,

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER!

Email penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

OFFICE SPACE Help Caregiver Caregiver AVAILABLE Wanted Needed available Approximately 2,000 to 3,500 Seeking a kind, healthy, mature lady for a live-in companion, 10 hours/week of cleaning in exchange for room and private bath. PLEASE CALL

(415) 921-8337

CERTIFIED GERIATRIC HOME AIDE, native San Franciscan, 19 yrs. exp. seeks employment with elderly woman exc. ref. 415-252-8312

PUBLISH A NOVENA Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

Cost $26

If you wish to publish a Novena in the Catholic San Francisco You may use the form below or call 415-614-5640 Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

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 $26 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X). Say prayers 3 days. M.P.L.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

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.P.L.

square feet of space (additional space available if needed) at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco (between Gough & Franklin), is being offered for lease – preferably to a non-profit entity. Space available includes 4 enclosed offices, open work area awith seven cubicles, large work room, and storage rooms on the bottom level of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Chancery/ Pastoral Center. We also have mail and copy services available, as well as meeting rooms (based on availability). Space has access to kitchen area and restroom facilities. Parking spaces negotiable. Ready for immediate occupancy with competitive terms.

For more information, contact Katie Haley, (415) 614-5556; email haleyk@sfarchdiocese.org.

Help Wanted Elementary Teacher Job Faire Saturday, March 28, 2009 Mercy High School 3250 19th Avenue San Francisco, 94132 10:00am - 1:00pm *Bring Résumés* For more information:

Please Call Mrs. Ofa Po’oi (415) 614-5668 or email:

pooio@sfarchdiocese.org

Catholic San Francisco

Help Wanted CUSTODIAN Mercy High School – San Francisco, is an allgirls college preparatory school looking for an exceptional custodian to join our team. Individual will perform routine custodial duties and other maintenance tasks as assigned. Job Requirements: • Ability to work late afternoons through evening • Knowledge of general repair and maintenance handy work • General understanding of commonly acceptable janitorial quality standards and safe work practices • Ability to speak and write English (bi-lingual a plus) Please send resume or letter of interest and a list of references to: Lorelei Zermani Director of Administrative Services Mercy High School 3250 19th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 lzermani@mercyhs.org

heaven can’t wait

Serra for Priestly Vocations Please call Archdiocese of San Francisco Fr. Tom Daly (415) 614-5683

Assistant Director of Human Resources The Archdiocese of Seattle has an opening for an Assistant Director of Human Resources. Requirements include: Bachelor’s degree; at least 3 yrs experience administering HR policies and procedures; experience analyzing/interpreting federal, state and local employment law and their application to organization; must be an active member of a Catholic parish/faith community and knowledgeable with the structures, policies and culture of the Archdiocese of Seattle; excellent communications, interpersonal, and organizational skills; ability to work occasional evenings and weekends; possession of a valid WA driver’s license and ability to travel throughout the Archdiocese. Bilingual competency preferred but not required. Competitive salary and excellent benefits.

For a complete job description, and application, visit our website: www.seattlearch.org/jobs/Chanceryjobs, or call 206-382-2070.

We are looking for full or part time

RNs, LVNs, CNAs, Caregivers In-home care in San Francisco, Marin County, peninsula Nursing care for children in San Francisco schools If you are generous, honest, compassionate, respectful, and want to make a difference, send us your resume: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN Fax: 415-435-0421 Email: info@sncsllc.com Voice: 415-435-1262

The Painted Turtle seeks 4 experienced PEDIATRIC REGISTERED NURSES (RNs or NPs) for FULL-TIME SUMMER EMPLOYMENT from late May-August 2009, who seek to make a difference in the lives of children with chronic and lifethreatening illness. Qualified candidates will have a minimum of 1-2 years pediatric nursing experience, State of California Registered Nursing License, and current CPR certification. NPs and NP students are encouraged to apply. We also need dozens of VOLUNTEER NURSES to help staff our spring/fall family weekends and our summer sessions, so if you are unable to commit to a full-time summer staff position but would still like to volunteer for a week during the summer and/or a weekend during the spring/fall, please contact me at the email address above. THANKS SO MUCH!!! :)

For more information or to apply for a staff or volunteer RN position, please send your CV/resume to Sheri Carson, Nursing Director, at sheric@thepaintedturtle.org, or via fax at 661-724-1566. Candidates may also view the job description/ requirements and apply online at http://www.thepaintedturtle.org/turtle/ staffvolunteeropportunities/medicalprofessionals.

Catholic San Francisco

March 20, 2009

Join the marching of the Red and the White Life will ever be a pledge of loyalty, Live on to honor thee, Mercy High, All hail to thee!

Mercy High School Alma Mater

Mercy High School San Francisco invites all alumnae, current and former faculty, staff and administrators to join us on April 18, 2009. Time: 4:00pm-7:00pm Location: McAuley Pavilion Drinks and Appetizers will be served

For more information, please contact Teresa Lucchese at 415-334-0525 x242 or tlucchese@mercyhs.org