November 14, 2003 by Catholic San Francisco

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

U.S. Bishops’ meeting takes up range of issues WASHINGTON (CNS) — Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened their fall general meeting in Washington Nov. 10 and 11 by hearing a challenge from their president to direct “the energy of the whole church” to the eradication of sexual abuse and the healing of its victims. Shortly after Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., made that call, the bishops approved the addition of one full-time and two part-time staff members in their Office for Child and Youth Protection at a cost of more than $265,000 through 2005. Failure to approve the new posts “would look like our institutional memory has been lost,” said Coadjutor Bishop Joseph A. Galante of Dallas. Documents on same-sex unions, agriculture, popular devotions, socially responsible investment, stewardship, conflict-of-interest policy and several liturgical matters received preliminary discussion Nov. 10 and 11 but were to be voted on later in the meeting. The first two days of the meeting also had an international flavor, with reports from the president of the Vietnamese bishops’ conference, a former Vatican justice and peace official, and from African bishops seeking renewed attention to the plight of their continent. Coadjutor Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland, former Vatican representative at U.N. agencies that are based in Geneva and former secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke on issues of war and peace 40 years after the encyclical “Pacem in Terris.” He said international cooperation and gathering accurate intelligence about terrorist groups are preferable to war in combating terrorism. The bishops voted Nov. 11 to change their agenda to add time for debate and a vote on a draft statement, “Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions.” The 2,000-word draft says marriage between a man and a woman is God’s plan, seen in nature and in divine revelation. Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore of Dodge City, Kan., chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Issues, introduced the agriculture document by saying that “men and women are impaled on the jagged edges of this (farming) system.” He said the document, developed and written over the past four years, was not

(CNS PHOTO BY BOB ROLLER)

By Catholic News Service

Bishops process in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Nov. 10 during an evening Mass on the first day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general meeting in Washington.

U.S. BISHOPS’ MEETING, page 7

By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Major national studies on the crisis of clergy sexual abuse of minors and the U.S. bishops’ response to it will be released next January and February. Justice Anne Burke, interim chair of the National Review Board monitoring diocesan compliance with the bishops’ program to protect children and respond to clergy sexual abuse, told the U.S. bishops that the board plans to release two major studies Feb. 27 at a press conference in Washington. They are the national study on the extent of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons since 1950 by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and the board’s consensus report on interviews with bishops, priests-abusers, victims and a wide array of profes-

sionals regarding the “causes and context” of the abuse crisis, she said. Burke, a justice of the Appellate Court of Illinois, has headed the all-lay National Review Board since the resignation last June of its chairman, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. William Burleigh, a review board member and veteran communications professional with the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, told the bishops that nearly two months before the release of the two studies the board intends to release on Jan. 6 the first annual audit of dioceses. The audit will measure diocesan compliance or failure to comply with the mandates of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The charter, adopted by the bishops in June 2002, established the review board and the policies and procedures all dioceses must ABUSE RESPONSE PLANS, page 7

(CNS PHOTO BY DAVID V. KAMBA, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD)

Bishops told of national sex abuse response plans

Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne M. Burke

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION State Supreme Court . . . . . . 3 Interfaith health fair . . . . . . 6 Greeley on “DaVinci Code” . 8 Special Section: Women Religious Jubilarians . . . 10-20

News in brief ~ Pages 4-5 ~ November 14, 2003

Chinese Evangelization Concert ~ Page 24 ~ FIFTY CENTS

Movie Review . . . . . . . . . . 22

www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 5

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No. 37

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

On The

steps of longtime faculty member, Peggy Brady, who is now devoting her time to the school’s yearbook and teaching. Please let me lead a major thanks to Peggy who was prolific in her supply of items about Notre Dame to this column. She will be missed….Students at Archbishop Riordan High School surrendered dress code pants for blue jeans in an effort that raised more than $3,000 for a breast cancer cure. A donation of $5 to the by Tom Burke Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation won them the chance to don attire rarely seen in the Rites blessing and initiating use of Notre Dame High halls of the all-boys San Francisco school, said School’s new Yvonne and Schuyler Moore Athletic Patty Hoppe, Riordan’s new Communications Pavilion took place September 12th on the Belmont cam- Director. Co-principals, Marianist Brother Jim pus. Bishop John C. Wester presided at a Mass of the Holy Dods and Marianist Father Tom French also Spirit that was prayed in the new facility with school chap- donned more casual wear for the day, Patty said. A lain, Father Stephen Howell, concelebrating. The build- tribute to Riordan family and friends who have ing’s namesakes, major donors to the campaign to raise it been affected by breast cancer and information on and parents of alumna Deanna, class of ’93, were present. detection and treatment of the disease was also on Rita Gleason, principal. thanked the couple for “their display. Patty Hoppe joins Riordan after 14 years wonderful support, generosity and encouragement which in a similar capacity with Stanford University. transformed our dreams into the reality of this magnificent She and her husband, Michael Zucker, have been facility.” Among students assisting in the liturgy were married 10 years and are the parents of 4-year old Rachel Rivera, Miranda Sulley, Christie Albar, Ana Jakob….The Social Justice Committee of St. Carrera, Jaimie Hamilton, Sarah Martinez. A clap of Andrew’s is sponsoring dialogue on the causes of the erasers for science teacher, Chris Read, recently recog- domestic violence tomorrow at the Daly City nized with Sylvan Learning Center’s 2003 Best Educator parish’s Piro Center. “We’re just getting started Award. Chris is also at the helm of several ecology orient- and hope many people will join us,” said commited projects at Notre Dame including gaining a grant that tee chair, Rissa Stella. Others coordinating the Smiles all around at Archbishop Riordan High School’s recent will bring a greenhouse to the school, said Notre Dame’s event are Carmen Babasa and Ursula Valdez. fundraiser to fight breast cancer. From left, school staffers, George Squarzon, whom we welcome as the school’s new (See Datebook) ….“Thank you, Marge Ryan,” Maria Bastianon, Maggie Lopez, Candy McDonald; Pamela Communications Coordinator. George follows in the says St. Peter Parish, Pacifica for puttin’ togeth- Jeffrey, a breast cancer survivor and mom of Riordan freshman er a “Stroll in the Zoo” for the over Mac; and faculty member Cathleen Eagleson. The slogan was 55s. Thanks, too, to Ron Bernardi for the peal of the day referring to ribbons worn by donors. his “special tour” of the “Big cats,” a bulletin note said…. Thank you and congratulations,” says St. Patrick Parish, ordained to the diaconate on October 11th. Deacon Way Larkspur to its vigil Mass song leaders “Joyful served at the Excelsior District parish as a seminarian not Noise” on the occasion of its “founding mem- long ago. Welcome here to Salesian Father Marvin Felipe bers’” – Nancy Cusack, Stephen Conner and who met the parish community at a reception October 19th, Polly Gorder - 25 years of “leading our con- and a much missed to Salesian Father Amand Oliveri, gregation.”…Margaret Anne Kerns, longtime now serving at his St. Peter and Paul Parish in North music director at Holy Angels, leads thanks to Beach where he grew up….Thanks to St. Benedict Parish “all who made the beautiful music come alive” for the Deaf for the smile that came with hearin’ that “the at the Colma parish’s recent rites commemorat- church is prayer conditioned.”…Birthdays, births, ing its patrons – the angels. Special thanks, anniversaries, marriages, engagements, new jobs and all Margaret Anne said, to pianists Laura Reyes kinds of goings-on are welcome here. Remember this is an and Tito Rangasajo, and cantors, Rosanna empty space without ya’. Send items and a follow up Gomez and Joann Kerns as well as “the vari- phone number to On the Street Where You Live, One Peter ous choirs who worked so hard on the singing.” Yorke Way, SF 94109. Fax (415) 614-5633; e-mail Recognized for their performance in National Merit Scholar Gratitude of the musical type also goes to tburke@catholic-sf.org. Do not send attachments except competitions are Notre Dame High School seniors, front from left, parishioner Helen Scurlock “for making the photos and those in jpeg, please. You can reach Tom Burke Melissa Kody, Maddie Jordan, Stella Yee, Shannon Klebe. Back cover for the organ.”… Congratulations at at (415) 614-5634…. from left, Darcy Montevaldo, Sarah Zerzan, Katie Schaukowitch. Corpus Christi to Salesian Steven Way,

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November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

State Supreme Court to hear arguments in Catholic Charities case A classic church-state battle over the state of California’s effort to redefine the legal meaning of religious institutions will come before the state Supreme Court at a specially televised session December 2. Justices will decide whether Catholic hospitals and charities are religious organizations. While the dispute involves a 1999 law requiring contraceptive prescription coverage in health plans, “This lawsuit has very little to do with health insurance and everything to do with our fundamental rights as Americans,” Martina O’Sullivan, president of Catholic Charities of California. said. “It boils down to a very simple question, “Ms. O’Sullivan said.” Under the Constitution, does the State of California have the right to tell its citizens how to practice their religion?” Catholic Charities is challenging a law requiring employers to include birth control coverage if their employee health plan includes a prescription drug benefit. While the law exempts “religious organizations,” its definition of religious organizations was written in such a way that Catholic hospitals, uni-

versities and charities do not qualify for the exemption. The law limits the exemption of those nonprofit organizations that are committed to inculcating religious values and that employ and serve primarily people who share its beliefs. That definition ignores the Catholic Church’s tradition of reaching out to help all people, not just Catholics, said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California C a t h o l i c Conference. “Healing the sick, offering charity to the poor and providing education to the young are fundamental to how Catholics practice their religion,” Mr. Dolejsi said. “We don’t ask people if they’re Catholic first.” The legislation challenged by the

History of Archdiocese to air again; VHS and DVD copies available The 30-minute television documentary “Proclaiming the Gospel,” which chronicles the 150-year history of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, will air on KRON-Channel 4 for a second time on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 a.m. Orders for copies of the

documentary, in VHS or DVD format, now are being accepted by the Archdiocese. Send your request and a donation of $20 to History Documentary, Office of Communications, Archdiocese of San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, 94109

lawsuit, the Women’s Contraception Equity Act, went into effect January 1, 2000. Catholic Charities and other Catholic institutions could avoid its requirements by hiring and serving only Catholics - or by refusing to include any prescription benefits in their health insurance policies. “In other words,” Ms, O’Sullivan said, “if we turned our back on the basic teachings of our religion and employed o n l y Catholics, provided charity and social services only to Catholics, educated only Catholics in our universities and treated only Catholics in our hospitals, we would fit the description of religious organizations exempted in the law.” Catholic Charities says the law infringes on the guarantees of religious freedom contained in the California and

U.S. constitutions. The law presents Catholic Charities with two unacceptable choices: abide by the law and violate Church teaching or refuse to offer prescription benefits and violate its moral commitment to provide a just workplace. Catholic Charities of Sacramento filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court on July 20, 2000 seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the law. After its request was rejected by that court and a state appeals court, Catholic Charities went to the state Supreme Court. On September 26, 2001, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed to hear the case. Planned Parenthood, California Abortion Rights Action League, Catholics for a Free Choice and State Senator Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) have filed “friend of the court” briefs opposing the religious exemption for Catholic Charities. Several national religious organizations filed briefs in support of Catholic Charities’ position The case, Catholic Charities, Inc. v. California Department of Managed Health Care, will be argued before the Supreme Court at 9 a.m., Tuesday, December 2 in the Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose.

To the Catholics of our Archdiocese and throughout the nation:

Thank You! For the many letters, phone calls, postcards and prayers that you have faithfully offered in support of the sanctity of life. After 8 years, history has been made! This marks the first federal restriction of an abortion procedure in 30 years. On November 5, 2003, President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Act. The struggle over partial-birth abortion is not over, and the ban faces a court challenge. But today our nation is one step closer to a culture of life.

God Bless You, The Respect Life Program of the Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns of the San Francisco Archdiocese.

Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

November 14, 2003

in brief (CNS PHOTO FROM CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO)

Parish offers ‘stop-and-go’ Masses to explain each step BALTIMORE — Why do Catholics celebrate Mass on Sunday? Why is the Mass divided into the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist? Why is the body and blood of Christ held up three times during Mass? These may seem like questions all Catholics should be able to answer about how they worship, but a surprising number cannot. To better inform the people of his parish — as well as other Catholics and even non-Catholics — about the significance and background behind the celebration of Mass, Franciscan Father John Pfannenstiel, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Baltimore, has developed a “stop-and-go” Mass in which he pauses to explain the different parts of the liturgy as they occur.

Church-going Catholics rate bishops better than a year ago WASHINGTON — A newly published poll says lay Catholics who regularly attend Mass give their bishops better marks now on their handling of clergy sexual abuse, but they are more concerned than they were a year ago about financial accountability and openness in the church. The Gallup poll, commissioned by Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, was conducted in October. Charles Zech, a Villanova University economics professor and expert in church giving patterns, reported the results in a report posted on the Internet Nov. 7 at: www.fadica.org. The new survey was directed at the 656 regular Massgoers who had responded to the same poll in October 2002, in order to track changes in attitudes and practices among the same group of people over the past year. For the 2003 survey, the pollsters were able to interview 309 of the original 656. Among the 309 interviewed twice, one of the more striking findings was a significant drop in the number who said they did not want to support an annual diocesan appeal at all or were giving money usually earmarked for the diocese to other Catholic causes.

Bishops add marriage and same-sex unions to agenda WASHINGTON — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took the first step Nov. 11 toward issuing a short teaching document on why marriage is different from same-sex unions. By unanimous voice vote the second day of their Nov. 10-13 meeting in Washington, the bishops changed their agenda to add time for debate and a vote on a draft statement, “Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions.” The debate and vote were to take place later in the meeting. Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Ga., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family, said the proposed statement is intended, “first and foremost, to help our Catholic people participate in the current social debate about marriage.” The 2,000-word draft says marriage between a man and a woman is God’s plan, seen in nature and in divine revelation. “A same-sex union contradicts the nature of marriage,” it says. “It is not based on the natural complementarity of male and female; it cannot cooperate with God to create new life; and the natural purpose of human sexuality cannot be achieved by a same-sex union.”

Pope John Paul II meets with Palestinian Christians at the Vatican Nov. 10. The pontiff condemned all forms of terrorism and said peace in the Middle East must be built on dialogue.

Bishops to look at guidelines for relations with politicians

Only Catholic Church losing clergy in U.S., researcher says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. bishops have begun work on a set of guidelines for themselves on how to handle relationships with Catholics whose actions in public life are not in accord with church teaching. The goal for the guidelines is to help bishops make distinctions between “respect for the office and approval of the officeholder . . . to distinguish between fundamental moral principles and prudential judgments on the application of those principles, between essential substance and tactics,” said Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., chairman of a new task force charged with addressing the issue. He explained Nov. 10 during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall general meeting that the task force was created after a September vote of the bishops’ Administrative Committee, at the request of Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, in response to a new Vatican document on Catholics in political life issued earlier this year. The task force is composed of the chairmen of seven major committees of the USCCB.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Among major U.S. religious bodies, the Catholic Church is the only one experiencing a decreasing number of clergy, according to Purdue University sociology professor James D. Davidson. In the current U.S. discussion over whether mandatory celibacy is a significant factor in the Catholic priest shortage, some church officials have cited clergy shortages in other denominations to argue that it is the social or cultural climate of the country that inhibits vocations, not celibacy. Davidson compared 1981-2001 trends in the Catholic Church, seven large mainline Protestant churches and three more theologically conservative churches. He found that the Catholic Church experienced a 22 percent decline in clergy, while all the Protestant churches registered gains. Even seven denominations that had declining membership in those years had more clergy in 2001 than in 1981 or 1991, he found.

Religion writer warns U.S. Church is at crossroads WASHINGTON — The U.S. Catholic Church is at a critical juncture where the only alternative to decline is transformation, religion writer Peter Steinfels said in a lecture Nov. 5 at The Catholic University of America. The one solution not possible is “business as usual,” he said. Steinfels, former editor of the lay Catholic magazine Commonweal and longtime religion correspondent for The New York Times, is author of the new book, “A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America.” His lecture was sponsored by the university’s Center for American Catholic Studies. “Today the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is on the verge of either an irreversible decline or a thoroughgoing transformation,” Steinfels said, introducing his talk with the opening sentence of his book. He went on to say that in light of the clergy sexual abuse scandal of 2002-03 he acceded to his publisher’s wish “to substitute ‘crisis’ for the word ‘future’ in my original subtitle.” He added, “However, the word ‘crisis’ in the subtitle encompasses more than some people assume. The Catholic Church here faced the stark alternatives of decline or transformation before the year 2002’s revelations and would do so even if those shocking sexual crimes had never occurred. The reasons go deeper than the scandal.”

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Bishop Gregory calls sex abuse crisis a rallying point for unity WASHINGTON (CNS) — The clergy sexual abuse crisis should be a “rallying point” for Catholics to work together to make the church and all of society safe for children, said Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The crisis also requires a major effort in the often difficult process of reconciliation with victims of abuse, he said at the opening session of the U.S. bishops’ Nov. 10-13 fall general meeting in Washington. Preventing further abuse “must be accompanied by a healing and reconciliation with those who were abused,” he said. “All of us want to keep children safe and the clergy and all church personnel free of predators,” he said in the annual presidential address at the meeting. Bishops, priests, religious and laity “need to act decisively” to see that the sex abuse policies and norms adopted in 2002 are implemented in each diocese and parish, he said.

Nuncio says market economy helps but can’t solve all problems UNITED NATIONS — Relying on a market-based economy will benefit developing countries, but “markets by themselves do not solve every social problem,” the Vatican BRIEFS, page 5

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■ Continued from page 4 nuncio to the United Nations said in New York Nov. 5. Archbishop Celestino Migliore said that governments, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, may need to play an important role in the economy to deal with problems such as poverty and unemployment. “The relationship between government and markets should be viewed as complementary rather than competitive or even antagonistic,” he said. Addressing a committee of the U.N. General Assembly reviewing trade and development issues, the nuncio said “removal of artificial restraints” could produce economic growth, but might also bring “social distortions.” Those distortions, particularly in less developed countries, may “require government measures” to alleviate the suffering of the poor, and “international trade rules should not hinder the ability of governments to adopt such measures,” he said.

Pope reiterates warning against use of embryonic stem cells

VATICAN CITY — The increasing exploitation and abuse of migrant populations require new human rights steps by states and new pastoral strategies by Catholic communities worldwide, Vatican officials said. The church will take a closer look at its own programs during the Fifth World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees, to be held in Rome Nov. 17-22. The goal of the congress will be to “examine the church’s vision of human mobility” in all its dimensions — including humanitarian and spiritual needs, as well as ecumenical and interreligious aspects, said Cardinal Stephen F. Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. At a Vatican press conference Nov. 11, Cardinal Hamao and other council officials traced the dimensions of the migrant and refugee situation today and said the church needs to take a fresh look at some of its policies. The theme of the congress is “Starting Afresh

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Supreme Court lets stand Ten Commandments ruling

Abuse of migrants needs action by Church, say Vatican officials

Florida Marlins' manager Jack McKeon is carried by team members after their World Series win in New York Oct. 25. McKeon, the oldest manager to win a World Series, attends daily Mass part of the year at St. Matthew Parish in Hallandale, Fla.

from Christ: Toward a Renewed Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees.” Participants will examine questions of material assistance, liturgy, social justice and onthe-ground experiences on every continent.

Vatican officials, local churches reach out to Muslims VATICAN CITY — The Vatican and local Catholic communities are using this year’s Ramadan as a fertile time to plant seeds of peace and reconciliation with Muslim neighbors. For the approximately 1 billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan represents the holiest month of the year. The faithful fast from dawn to dusk every day and this form of penitence, together with prayer, offers Muslims one way of getting closer to God and strengthening bonds with family and community. This emphasis on community spirit makes Ramadan an auspicious time for Christians to foster Muslim friendships, Msgr.

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Felix Machado, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, told Catholic News Service Nov. 10. “Interreligious dialogue is all about forming friendships and it’s only as a friend that one’s words can gain credibility and ensure that dialogue has a fruitful outcome,” Msgr. Machado said.

Briefs . . .

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 3 declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that ordered removal of a Ten Commandments monument from an Alabama courthouse. Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who placed the 5,300-pound stone monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery two years ago, had appealed lower court findings that the monument was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state. The high court’s refusal to hear a case says nothing about its merits. Around the country there are several other court cases at various stages of progress over the display of the Ten Commandments on government property or their use in government-sponsored historical documents.

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VATICAN CITY — Stem-cell research opens new hope for curing diseases, but such cells must never come from human embryonic tissue, Pope John Paul II told scientists at the Vatican. “Any treatment which claims to save human lives, yet is based upon the destruction of human life in its embryonic state, is logically and morally contradictory, as is any production of human embryos for the direct or indirect purpose of experimentation or eventual destruction,” the pope said Nov. 10. He made the remarks to members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which was meeting to discuss “stem-cell technology and other innovative therapies.” The pope pronounced a small part of his text and let his aide say the rest. The church’s teaching that all human life — even embryonic — must be respected and protected has placed it in opposition to researchers who use stem cells from human embryos, which are then destroyed.

Roman Curia blocks dialogue with pope, says former official ROME — An atmosphere of “centralism” in the Roman Curia has prevented direct dialogue between religious orders and Pope John Paul II, said the former president of the Union of Superiors General. In a soon-to-be-published article, Carmelite Father Camilo Maccise said the lack of opportunity to meet the pope face to face “is a subtle way of blocking space for indispensable dialogue for intraecclesial collaboration.” The Union of Superiors General is an umbrella group that represents more than 240 male religious orders worldwide. Father Maccise served as the group’s president for six years until November 2000. In a telephone interview Nov. 5 from Avila, Spain, Father Maccise said that in the 1980s it had been the norm for the union to have a direct audience with the pope every year or two. But he said the union’s last meeting with Pope John Paul was in 1990, at the end of its general assembly in Rome. Father Maccise said he fears that some criticisms in a final document drawn up by the union at that assembly may have alienated Vatican officials. — Catholic News Service

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WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY... A WAY TO CONTINUE THE MISSION OF JESUS Consider the work of Geoffrey Lakwonyero, a catechist in Uganda. Day after day, he brings the “Good News” of God’s love to traumatized child soldiers who have escaped from rebel camps - to young men like Joe. Your gift through Society for the Propagation of the Faith today helps support catechists like Geoffrey throughout the Missions as they proclaim this great “Good News.” Remembering The Society for the Propagation of the Faith in your Will will help support the proclamation of the Gospel well into the future - your own legacy of love to the poor of the Missions. ...a Pontifical Mission Society Most Rev. Ignatius C. Wang One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 • “Attn: Dept C”

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Interfaith Health Fair helps under-served community Hundreds get screenings and health advice at St. Paul of the Shipwreck The San Francisco Giants Foundation and the Giants main health care provider, St. Mary’s Medical Center sponsored a “first of its kind” Interfaith Community Health Fair at St. Paul of the Shipwreck for San Francisco’s Hunters Point neighborhood on November 1. “We’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” according to 25 year St. Paul parishioner and 43 year St. Mary’s employee Frances Sullivan. “People of color suffer from disparities in health care and African Americans suffer from those disparities more than any other group,” she said. By bringing 56 different health and other service organizations together at St. Paul’s in collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the organizers hoped to “serve the people who need the services we’re offering,” in a community with poor access to health care and very high rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses, Ms. Sullivan said. She gave great praise to fellow parishioner Cynthia Selmar, director of the Department of Public Health for her support of the event. What makes this health fair the “first of its kind,” Ms. Sullivan said, is the interfaith dimension. All of the parishes in Deanery 2 of the Archdiocese participated as well as neighboring congregations of different Christian and other faith communities, she said. Sister Mary Kilgariff, director of Community Affairs for St. Mary’s Medical Center, said her hospital’s relationship with the Giants “brings forth funding to put on health fairs and other programs in areas where it is very much needed,” each year. She also highlighted the faith based aspect of the event. The fair “provides access to health information, referrals and screening within the context of the interfaith setting . . . working together for a healthy mind, body and spirit,” she said. The day began with prayer in the church and a prayer breakfast and included worship entertainment including Gospel singing and dancing. Rita Times, president of the Bay Area Black Nurses Association set up a booth to offer free cholesterol screening. She said the purpose of cholesterol screening is to let people know what their cholesterol number is and how they are doing. “Studies show that people who know what their numbers are and what they should actually be, live longer and do better medically,” she said. Ms. Times said that African Americans have among the highest rates of stroke and heart disease and cholesterol rates and other factors are

(PHOTO BY JACK SMITH)

By Jack Smith

(l-r) Father John Heinz, St. Paul of the Shipwreck parishioners Frances Sullivan and Vera Brown and Elder David Williams of True Hope Church of God in Christ.

important indicators for those and other diseases. Her group is dedicated to bringing down those indicators through education. David Williams is an Elder with the True Hope Church of God in Christ. He appreciated the educational aspect of the fair because “a lot of us don’t take care of ourselves. We don’t know about the functioning of our bodies.” Elder Williams is recovering from a battle with prostate cancer. “When I heard cancer, that word cancer scared me,” he said. He thinks he would have benefited from the screening and education offered at the fair if it was available. “At INTERFAITH HEALTH FAIR, page 7

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November 14, 2003

U.S. Bishops’ meeting . . . ■ Continued from cover “a typical conference document” in that it offers a combination of pastoral message, statistics from various government and private research agencies, a summary of Catholic social teaching and a proposed agenda for action. On another issue, Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pa., called a proposed document on popular devotions a pastoral statement that is intended to take a “supportive and encouraging approach” to such devotions in the lives of Catholics. But the statement stresses that the practices “do not replace the liturgical life of the church; rather they extend it into daily life.” The stewardship document, introduced by Bishop Sylvester D. Ryan of Monterey, Calif., is aimed at young adults, asking them to change the world by using their gifts and skills to embrace the church’s social teachings. Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago introduced two liturgy documents — one on

Interfaith health fair . . . ■ Continued from page 6 least,” he said, “I would have known what was going on.” Dr. Daniel Wlodarczyck has been with the Southeast Health Center for 20 years. His center which employs five part time doctors, a nurse practitioner and four nurses is one of only two medical centers for an estimated 35,000 people in the area. He is

concelebrated Masses and one on the rites for Sunday worship when no priest is present — that were to come up for a vote Nov. 12. Among numerous reports given to the bishops was one on guidelines being developed on how to handle relationships with Catholics whose actions in public life are not in accord with church teaching. A task force to develop the guidelines was formed earlier this year. A finished product is not expected until after the 2004 elections. In another report, the bishop heading the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism criticized the quality of many high school catechetical textbooks currently in wide use throughout the United States. Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans said the ad hoc committee had reviewed 25 high school catechetical texts since mid-2001 and found most lacking in key doctrinal areas. He did not name any specific books or publishers, however. The bishops also heard a report Nov. 10 on plans for their 2004 special assembly in Denver, which will involve discussions of a possible plenary council of the U.S. church.

Abuse response plans . . . ■ Continued from cover meet to assure that minors are protected from sexual abuse in church environments and that allegations of abuse are dealt with promptly and adequately. William Gavin, a former FBI official and head of the Boston-based Gavin Group commissioned to audit compliance of all U.S. dioceses with the mandates of the bishops’ charter, commended the bishops for their cooperation with his audit teams as they traveled the country in the past six months to investigate how well or poorly each diocese is meeting the charter mandates. “It was difficult,” he said. “Difficult for the clergy, as it was really the first time that the laity has had such in-depth access to the problem of sexual abuse of minors within each diocese. It was difficult for the auditors, as they worked very hard to uphold the principles of a valid audit and remain sensitive to the concerns of the victims and the clergy.” He said the audits, which typically lasted

Catholic San Francisco

a week, required “comprehensive documentation” of what each diocese is doing to respond to allegations of sexual abuse, along with interviews with the local bishop, “diocesan personnel, victims, abusers, prosecutors and (diocesan) review board members.” Each diocesan audit ended with instructions if a diocese was found not in compliance with a charter mandate, recommendations if compliance with some segment of a mandate was deemed lacking, or commendations if the diocese “was determined to have addressed issues prior to the charter or had taken actions above the demands of the charter,” Gavin said. The diocesan audits had an average cost of $2,200 per auditor per audit, not counting travel costs. Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. PaulMinneapolis, chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, urged bishops to participate in a process to develop candidates for replacement of the current members of the National Review Board, saying his committee and the board will soon offer suggestions for qualifications of future replacements of current members of the board.

dedicated to working in the area because “it has the highest rates of asthma, cancer, diabetes, hypertension,” and other unmet health needs. “I wanted to work in a place that had great need,” he said. Conventual Franciscan Father John Heinz, St. Paul’s pastor, was very pleased with the turnout and response of participants. 300 people pre-registered and many more showed up on the day of the event. He hopes a similar event can be arranged in future years.

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Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

“DaVinci Code” is more fantasy than fact Reviewed by Andrew Greeley Dan Brown’s fast-paced, intricately plotted second novel deserves to be on The New York Times bestseller list. It is a skillfully written read, complete with secret codes, anagrams, elaborate technology, pagan sex orgies, sudden reversals of fortune, age-old conspiracies, pre-Christian fertility cults, the Knights Templar, Gnostic gospels, corrupt cops, brutal murders, feminist “theory” and frantic midnight rides through Paris. The battle over control of the Holy Grail in which the two protagonists (a Harvard professor and a French police cryptologist) are caught up is between the “Priory of Sion” and Opus Dei. The former has been given charge of the Holy Grail, which might reveal secrets that will severely damage Christianity. The latter has been charged by the Vatican with destroying the priory and the secrets of the Grail. The priory struggles to keep alive a religion of balance between male and female (celebrated in ritual intercourse) which Constantine crushed out of Christianity to strengthen male power. The Holy Grail is not a chalice but the memory of Mary Magdalene who was the consort of Jesus and the mother of his daughter, Sarah, whose descendents are still alive. Opus has assigned one of its supernumeraries to kill the leaders of the priory and he does so with a holy zeal, after he has scourged himself according to the customs of the group. In a secret meeting at Castel Gandolfo the Vatican has given the Opus prelate 20 million euros in bearer bonds to finance the killings. It also promised that a planned suppression of Opus would be cancelled. The hit man kills the four top officials in the priory and a nun who tries to prevent him from opening a secret compartment in the Church of San Sulpice. A captain of the judiciary police and certain other folks seem to be involved on the side of Opus. All of this is rich material, guaranteed to keep one turning the pages till the story is finished. Still, the reader must wonder how much of it is fantasy. The answer, I would argue, is that practically all of it is fantasy. Every couple of years a book comes along that promises to tell you who Jesus really was and/or how the church has hidden the “real” Jesus for 19 centuries. Somehow they do not stand up to serious historical examination.

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I am hardly a defender of Opus Dei, but I cannot imagine them setting a killer loose in a struggle against a group it considers dangerous. Nor can I imagine the Vatican picking up the tab for serial killings. As usual in such stories, the Roman curia is pictured as smooth, sophisticated schemers who will stop at nothing to preserve the power of the church. The curia is hardly all that deft and devious, save in its internal plots and conniving – like getting rid of a colleague or undoing an ecumenical council. It is in fact a fractionalized bureaucracy whose heavy-handed personnel would have a hard time conspiring themselves out of a wet paper bag. Poison and daggers were abandoned long ago. Is all this stuff anti-Catholic? In a sense it is, and I am waiting for the voice of the indefatigable Bill Donahue of the Catholic League to cry boycott. However, the worst the book will do is upset some dedicated Catholics who won’t leave the church anyhow and feed the bigotry of some hard-line anti-Catholics. For the record, the book is filled with historical inaccuracies. Bruce Boucher of Chicago’s Art Institute in an article in The New York Times Aug. 3 tore apart Dan Brown’s knowledge of Leonardo Da Vinci. Moreover, Brown’s use of the term “Vatican” is woefully inaccurate. He depicts the “Vatican” as conspiring with Constantine to suppress the Gnostic gospels in the early 4th century. However, the Vatican Hill was a disorderly cemetery at that time. The “Vatican” is also involved in the suppression of the Templars, though the headquarters of the pope at that time was the Lateran Palace (and the pope was in Avignon anyway). Brown also refers to an individual he calls the Secretariat Vaticana who has charge of papal finances. Presumably he means the secretary of state, though that official does not in fact control Vatican finances. Brown knows little about Leonardo, little about the Catholic church, and little about history. Yet something must be said about the Grail legend whose origins are not Christian and whose ambience is more heretical than Catholic. Back in the dim prehistory of Ireland, there was a spring fertility ritual (enacted on Beltane, usually May 1) in which animal blood was poured into a concave stone altar to represent the union of the male and female in the process of generating life. Later tales WE DELIVER

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grew up to explain the rite, the best known of which is the story of Art MacConn. Memories of the ritual and the story floated around in the collective preconscious of the Celtic lands in company with folk tales, myths, bits of history and cycles of legends about such folk as Arthur, Merlin, Parsifal and Tristan. Later writers like Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chretien de Troyes, Thomas Mallory, and Wolfram von Eschenbach combined this bricolage of images and myths into more systematic stories with an overlay of Christianity. However, these storytellers (excepting von Eschenbach) were tainted by the perspectives of Catharist heresy and the results were dreamy, flesh-denying, life-denying legends that violated the older, if pagan, Irish tales. The Grail is always to be sought and never found. This version persists in the work of such disparate artists as Richard Wagner, Alfred Tennyson, Fritz Lowe and Robert Bresson. In the Irish story, Art gets the magic cup and the magic princess, though, more realistically she, being an Irish woman, gets him – a happy ending! (see Jean Markale, Women of the Celts). Finally, Brown and his Harvard “symbologist” (semioticist?) are apparently unaware of the most powerful religious symbol of the mother love of God in the last 1,500 years of history, one with a profound impact on painting, music, sculpture, architecture and poetry. Surveys tell us Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the four key elements of Catholic religious identity among young people in the United States (along with concern for the poor, the action of God in the sacraments and the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist). Some feminist theologians reject the Mary symbol on the grounds that it was patriarchal in its origin. Granted that like all symbols, the Mary symbol can be and has been misused, the efforts of some writers to cancel out a millennium and a half of rich religious imagery with the shibboleth “patriarchal” (instead of purifying it) can most charitably be described as heroic. How many medieval cathedrals do they propose to destroy? One wonders nevertheless what Dan Brown’s reasons were for ignoring the Mary symbol. Fr. Andrew Greeley is a sociologist and author. Reprinted with permission, National Catholic Reporter, www.NCRonline.org

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November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

The Catholic Difference Father Shane Baxter was ordained this past summer and is now doing a fifth year of theology in Rome. One of the North American College’s nicest traditions is to invite the “fifth-year priests,” who’ve been College seminarians for four years, to be principal celebrants of the community Mass once the school year begins. At a Mass last month, Father Baxter gave a three-minute homily that neatly summarized the Catholic view of the moral life. In his distinctive Texan twang, Father Baxter confessed that he’d listened to a bit of talk radio during his summer months at home. One day he had tuned into a raucous discussion of the controversy in Alabama, where a federal court had ordered a Ten Commandments monument removed from the state Supreme Court building. The talk show host was furious: “We all need a moral code. I need a moral code. If I didn’t have a moral code, it’d be Katie bar the door. If I didn’t have a moral code, I’d be having the time of my life.” At which point Father Baxter (whose noble dome is surrounded by a receding hairline) brought down the house by saying, “I could have pulled my hair out ... if I had any hair.” He then made the crucial point: the “moral code” of the Ten Commandments isn’t something that keeps us from having the time of our lives. The Ten Commandments help us have the time of our lives. Biblical morality isn’t something imposed on us from outside by an arbitrary, willful, authoritarian God.

As Pope John Paul II said at Mt. Sinai during his jubilee pilgrimage in 2000, the “moral code” of the Ten Commandments was written on the human heart before it was written on tablets of stone. The Ten Commandments help us have the time of our lives by channeling our desires and choices down paths that satisfy the desire for goodness and happiness built into us. Father Baxter’s homily also put me in mind of something I had read a few days before, in the Office of Readings for the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius was one of St. Peter’s successors as leader of the Christian community in the city where the members of the Jesus movement were first called “Christians.” In the early second century he was being taken to Rome under guard, condemned to death by being thrown to wild animals. Along the way Ignatius wrote letters to various Christian communities, asking their support in prayer and instructing them in the faith. Ignatius also made it quite clear that he didn’t want any efforts made to save him from his fate: “I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat, and I shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread.” In his letter to the second-century Christians of Rome, Ignatius then made precisely the same point Father Baxter made

to the American seminarians of Rome, nineteen hundred years later: “My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure George Weigel light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being.” Only in heaven – only living within the light and love of the Holy Trinity – can we be the men and women we were made to be. C.S. Lewis once said that, were we to find ourselves suddenly transported to the Throne of Grace, we would probably feel a bit uncomfortable. Living with God who is Love all the way through takes some getting used to. We have to be prepared for it. The Christian life prepares us to become the kind of people who can be happy, not uncomfortable, living with God forever. The Ten Commandments help make us those kind of people. They’re intended to help us have the time of our lives – forever. George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Evangelization

Are we Christians on early retirement? As we move through the month of November we dwell on change, moving toward retirement and then the ending of life. Nature itself is in tune with us. The leaves change and at first glorify our trees with their brilliant colors and, as it were, go into retirement and then on to death. If you have had the opportunity of being at the beach as evening falls at this time of year you will have noticed that the sunset is particularly brilliant filling the sky with the most delicate and yet vivid colors and then the sun retires bringing on darkness. As in nature, human retirement, sooner or later, is followed by death. In terms of evangelization what does all this mean? Where does our faith story fit into all of this? During November our Church presents us with many reminders of the meaning of life and death beginning with the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Our Scripture readings constantly remind us of the “end times” as we bring our Liturgical Year to a close. We are reminded to live our faith life to the fullest being mindful of the reward for a life well lived and of course the opposite! We have a choice to make our Catholicism count as we relate to one another or to just keep it to ourselves and never share our faith. Which do you choose?

Recently at the end of an evangelization meeting one of the attendees handed me a quote that he had cut from a Catholic newspaper. It read: “A Christian who is not evangelizing is a Christian on early retirement.” How true! I invite you to reflect on the above statement and ask yourself if it applies to you and how you practice your Catholic Faith. Pope Paul VI tells us that, “Evangelizing is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” By definition we, you and I, are the Church. We are the Body of Christ on earth. By reason of our baptism we have made a commitment to take on the awesome task of making Christ’s Body visible on earth. If we do not do this we are not worthy of the name Catholic. A pretty scary thought! Now is the time to think about this, to review your life and to ponder whether or not you are becoming a “Christian in early retirement.” If we wish the Church to live on for generations to come we must do our share in bringing the light of faith into our world. Each of us must seek out opportunities to be an evangelizing Catholic sharing the Good News that, because of Christ’s life and death on earth for us, all is not coming to an end but to a new beginning. We know that death is not the end but the

beginning of new life, life eternal. We are reminded of this in the preface of the Mass for the Dead, when the priest prays, “Lord, for your faithful people, life is changed not ended.” We know that with the end of the liturgiSister cal year, a new year will begin to give us the Antonio Heaphy chance to start with new life all over again. Each new year we are given the chance to rise again with new life and to continually bring that life of faith to others. Let’s hope and pray that when we come to our “end times” and face our new life in eternity we will not have to admit that we took “early retirement” and opted out of our obligation to share the Good News with others. Presentation Sister Antonio Heaphy

Spirituality

A wisdom born of pain John Powell once wrote a remarkable little book entitled, Unconditional Love, the story of Tommy, a former student of his who died of cancer at age 24. Shortly before he died, Tommy came to Powell and thanked him for a precious insight he had once drawn from one of his classes. Powell had told the class: There are only two potential tragedies in life and dying young isn’t one of them. It’s tragic to die and not have loved and it’s just as tragic to die and not have expressed your love to those around you. Sometimes only death can teach us that. Sometimes, through a painful conscription, we can learn it without having to die to pay for its wisdom. Here’s an example: For 20 years, I’ve been teaching a summer course at Seattle University. One of the rituals I’ve developed during those summers is to spend the big American holiday, July 4th, with some family friends on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. This family has its own rituals and one of these is that it watches the July 4th parade from the front lawn of one of their friends’ houses. Four years ago, sitting on that lawn, waiting for the parade, I was introduced to the youngest daughter in that family. She was a senior in high school and a member of their state-winning basketball team, but she was also suffering from cancer and the debilitating chemotherapy treatments being used to combat it. Just 18 years old, weighing less than 100 pounds because of those treatments, she sat wrapped in a blanket (on a warm summer day), quiet and melancholy, while her friends, healthy and robust, drank beer and celebrated life. Things didn’t look good that day. The long-range prognosis was iffy, at best, and her body and spirit didn’t belie

that, though friends and family did. She was surrounded on every side by attention, affection, concern, the sense that everyone cared. She was very ill, but she was loved. I got to know her a little that day and somewhat more in the months and years that followed. Her family and others prayed hard for her, storming heaven for a cure. Those prayers, along with the medical treatments, did their work. She hung on, against the odds at times, slowly improved, and after many months emerged healthy, whole again, back to normal — except once you’ve stared death in the face, “normal” is never quite the same again. When she eventually returned to school, and picked up the pieces of her former life, she knew that, while things were the same again, they were also very, very different. In the wake of such an experience, ordinary life is no longer something you take for granted; there’s a deeper joy in all things ordinary and a new horizon, wisdom, maturity, and purpose that wasn’t there before. God writes straight with crooked lines and sometimes cancer, terrible as it is, gives more than it takes. Her new health is more than physical. It’s also a thing of soul, a color, a depth, a wisdom. Asked publicly by her friends if, given the choice, she would give the illness back so as to have the life she could have had without it, she replied: “No, I wouldn’t give it back. Through it I learned about love.” Like the young man in John Powell’s story, the love she experienced when she was ill taught her that there are worse tragedies in life than getting cancer. Doctors who research the human brain tell us that we use only about 10 percent of our radical brain capacity. Most of our brain cells never get activated, both because we

don’t need them and because we don’t know how to access them. The same doctors also tell us that, paradoxically, two things do help us access them: the experience of love and the experience of tragedy. Father Deep love and deep Ron Rolheiser pain, together, deepen a soul in a way that nothing else can. It also explains the wisdom that this young woman now lives out of, gently challenges her friends with, and radiates to the world. Five years ago, a young girl had her youth and dreams stolen from her by a brain tumor. There was pain, disappointment, depression, some bitterness, little hope. Everyone seemed luckier than she. That was then. Today, a radiant young woman strolls the campus of Gonzaga University, healthy, happy, and more important, wise, beyond her years, having learned at a young age what most of us learn only when we die, namely, that ordinary life is best seen against a bigger horizon, that life is deeper and more joy-filled when it isn’t taken for granted, and that love is more important even than health and life itself. Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author.

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Having the time of your life

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

2003

JUBILARIANS WOMEN RELIGIOUS Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – PBVM

Sister Grace Feldhaus, PBVM

Sister Dolora Sullivan, PBVM

Sister Ursula Lowe, PBVM

Sister Patricia Doyle, PBVM

Sister Paula Guhs, PBVM

70 years Sister Grace Feldhaus, PBVM, attended St. Agnes Elementary School and Presentation High School, San Francisco. She has served as teacher and principal at schools in Northern and Southern California and today lives at Mercy Retirement and Care Center in Oakland. Sister Dolora Sullivan, PBVM, a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Agnes Elementary School and Presentation High School, now lives at the Presentation Motherhouse in the City. She has served as teacher, principal, counselor and congregation administrator. Sister Ursula Lowe, PBVM, attended San Francisco’s Sacred Heart Elementary School and Presentation High School. She served almost four decades as elementary school teacher, principal, counselor and religion coordinator. Sister Ursula is a former Mother General of the Presentation Sisters and currently resides at the congregation’s motherhouse.

60 years Sister Patricia Doyle, PBVM, formerly known as Sister Mary Norbert, attended St. Anne of the Sunset Elementary School and Presentation High School, San Francisco. She has served primarily at Presentation High School in San Jose in teaching and administrative roles and resides in San Jose where she is active as a volunteer.

Sister Helen Griffin, PBVM

Sister Kathleen Healy, PBVM

Sister Bernice Clifford, PBVM

Sister Jacqueline Graham, PBVM

Sister Anita Torres, PBVM

Sister Denise Bourdet, PBVM

Sister Paula Guhs, PBVM, formerly known as Sister Margaret Mary, grew up in Southern California where she served for almost 40 years in elementary schools. She is a former assistant administrator of the San Francisco motherhouse and this year is on sabbatical. Sister Helen Griffin, PBVM, a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Monica Elementary and Presentation High School, has served for 42 years as a teacher in elementary schools in Northern and Southern California and New Mexico. She currently resides at the San Francisco motherhouse. Sister Kathleen Healy, PBVM, formerly known as Sister Mary Daniel, attended St. Monica Elementary School and Presentation High School in San Francisco. She has served in elementary education as teacher and principal for 24 years and for the last three decades has served as a pastoral associate at Potrero Hill’s St. Teresa Parish. Sister Bernice Clifford, PBVM, a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Monica Elementary School and Presentation High School, served as elementary school teacher and principal for 53 years including 16 years at Nativity Elementary, Menlo Park from where she retired in 1999. She currently is involved in volunteer service and lives in San Jose.

50 years Sister Jacqueline Graham, PBVM, formerly known as Sister Mary Amata, attended schools in Japan and Berkeley. She has served as a teacher in elementary schools in California and as an instructor on the environment at her congregation’s Presentation Retreat Center in Los Gatos. She currently lives in Sunnyvale. Sister Anita Torres, PBVM, serves as coordinator of the Religious Education program at Holy Angels Parish, Colma, and lives at St. Elizabeth Convent, San Francisco. She also has almost 30 years experience as an elementary school teacher in California and New Mexico. Sister Denise Bourdet, PBVM, is a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Dominic Elementary School and Presentation High School. She has worked 47 years as an elementary school teacher, most recently in Berkeley at St. Joseph the Workman School where she resides.

November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose – OP 75 years Sister Bernice Sherlock, OP, grew up in Southern California and taught in elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. She currently resides in the Dominican Sisters Care Center in Mission San Jose. Sister Maria Vanderbeck, OP, attended schools in Oregon and taught in elementary and secondary schools in Oakland and Los Angeles. She is a former Director of Postulants and Novices for her congregation and currently lives at the Dominican Sisters Care Center in Mission San Jose.

70 years Sister Irmengard Flori, OP, is a native of Germany and ministered there before coming to the United States. She currently resides at the Dominican Sisters Care Center in Mission San Jose. Sister Theresita Kammermeier, OP, attended schools in Germany before years of teaching at elementary schools in San Francisco, Oakland and other parts of the state. She currently resides at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose. Sister Mary Agnes Lanthier, OP, is a graduate of San Francisco’s Notre Dame Elementary School and Immaculate Conception Academy. She has taught in elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco and surrounding areas. Today she lives at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose and assists in the library of Queen of the Holy Rosary College. Sister Mary Thomas Lillis, OP, who attended schools in Oregon, is a former Prioress General of her congregation. She also served in administration and teaching roles at secondary schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles and today lives at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose where she is completing a history of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose. Sister Gabriel McCarthy, OP, is a graduate of Los Angeles schools. She has served as an elementary and secondary school teacher and principal in San Francisco, Oregon and Berkeley. She currently resides at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose and tutors at Queen of the Holy Rosary College. Sister Julia Perez, OP, is a graduate of schools in Texas. She has served as a teacher of primary grades at schools in San Francisco, Southern California, and Oregon. She currently resides at the Dominican Sisters Care Center in Mission San Jose.

Bottom from left: Sisters Julia Perez, Mary Joan Doran, Maria Vanderbeck, Irmengard Flori. 2nd row from left: Sisters Gabriel McCarthy, Mary Thomas Lillis, Patricia Rielly. 3rd row from left: Sisters Jane Rudolph, Irene Mary Diones, Dominic Marie Tojo, Theresa Kammermeier, Lucia Prado. 4th row from left: Sisters Celina Anaya, Mary Joseph Lyons, Agnes Lanthier, Maria de la Luz Munoz, Giulii Zobelein. 5th row from left: Sisters Mary Brennan, Rosaleen Stoiber, Catherine Marie Bazar, Julie Distel, Not pictured: Sister Bernice Sherlock.

50 years cont. Sister Rosaleen Stoiber, OP, attended schools in Southern California and has served as elementary school teacher and principal in San Francisco, Oakland and other California cities. She currently resides and teaches English at Priorato de Cristo Rey in Mexico.

60 years

Sister Dominic Marie Tojo, OP, attended schools in Japan and has served as an elementary school librarian in San Francisco, Los Altos and Southern California. She currently lives at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose.

Sister Mary Joan Doran, OP, attended schools in Oregon and has served as a secondary school teacher in the Bay Area and Southern California. She currently resides at St. Joseph Priory in Mission San Jose and assists in her congregation’s Development Office.

Sister Lucia Prado Flores, OP, attended schools in Mexico and currently resides at Priorato de Santo Domingo there.

Sister Patricia Rielly, OP, attended San Francisco’s St. James Elementary School and Immaculate Conception Academy. She has served as primary grade and secondary school teacher in San Francisco, Oakland, and Southern California. She currently resides in the Queen of Peace Community in Mission San Jose and is an assistant to the development director of her congregation.

Sister Giulii Zobelein, OP, formerly known as Sister Michael Marie, attended schools in Southern California. She has served as elementary and secondary teacher at schools in the East Bay and Southern California. She has been a missionary to Mexico and currently lives at Santa Teresita Convent in Los Angeles.

50 years

25 years

Sister Celina Anaya Trejo Gonzalaez, OP, is a native of Mexico and attended schools there. She currently lives and ministers at Priorato de la Santa Cruz in her home country.

Sister Irene Mary Diones, OP, attended schools in the Philippines and has served as an elementary school and music teacher in the East Bay, San Jose, and Los Angeles where she currently lives at St. Ignatius Convent.

Sister Catherine Marie Bazar, OP, attended schools in Los Angeles and has served in elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She currently lives at Sacred Heart Priory in Southern California and serves in Prison Ministry. Sister Mary Brennan, OP, formerly known as Sister Mary David, attended St. Monica Elementary School, San Francisco and St. Elizabeth High School, Oakland. She has taught in elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco and Southern California and is a former associate development director for Marin Catholic High School. She currently resides at St. Mary Magdalen Convent, Berkeley. Sister Mary Joseph Lyons, OP, attended San Francisco’s St. James Elementary School and Immaculate Conception Academy. She has served as teacher and principal at elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco and Southern California. She currently resides in Siena Community in Mission San Jose.

Sister Julie Distel, OP, attended schools in Southern California and was for16 years a teacher and activities director at Immaculate Conception Academy, San Francisco. She currently serves as development director for a special needs program at St. Elizabeth Elementary School, Oakland, and lives at the Immaculate Conception Priory in San Francisco. Sister Maria de la Luz Munoz Tovar, OP, attended schools in Mexico and has served there as a coordinator of Religious Education. She is the current director of the Spanish Religious Education Program at St. Anthony Parish, San Francisco and lives at the nearby Immaculate Conception Convent. Sister Jane Rudolph, OP, attended schools in the Netherlands and has taught at the elementary and secondary level at schools in San Francisco and Southern California. She currently serves as administrator of her congregation’s motherhouse in Mission San Jose.

Dominican Sisters of Corpus Christi Monastery, Menlo Park 60 years Sister Mary Gemma of St. Dominic Molinelli, OP, is a native of San Francisco and serves as her congregation’s corresponding secretary “sharing with others the fruits of her contemplation.” Sister Mary Rose of the Sacred Heart Christiansen, OP, was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The “ultimate point” of her day is when she is “in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.”

25 years Sister Maria Christine of the Cross Behlow, OP, was born in San Francisco. She currently serves the community as councilor, treasurer, and extern, praying for and with those who visit the monastery. Sister Mary Rose of the Sacred Heart Christiansen, OP

Sister Mary Gemma of St. Dominic Molinelli, OP

Sister Maria Christine of the Cross Behlow, OP

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Religious of the Sacred Heart – RSCJ

Sisters Susan Campbell, Helen Hammack, Nancy Lassotovitch

Sisters Ellen Hoffman, Augustine Flavia

Sisters Virginia Barsch, Ida Rinne, Virginia McMonagle

Sister Nancy Morris

Sisters Catherine Henry, Mary Henry

70 years

Sister Melita Attard, RSCJ, was born and attended schools in Malta. She has served most recently in pastoral ministry in San Diego and has lived since 1986 at Atherton’s Convent of the Sacred Heart, Oakwood.

Sister Mary Henry, RSCJ, earned a degree in Nursing from the Jesuits Creighton University before entering religious life. She was, at one time, director of the School of Nursing at San Francisco College for Women. She now resides at Oakwood Community, Atherton. Her sister is 60-year jubilarian, Sister Catherine Henry, RSCJ.

60 years

Sister Helen Donohoe, RSCJ, is a graduate of the San Francisco College for Women and served for 20 years as teacher and administrator at the college level and is a former director of her congregation’s Oakwood. She now resides in Atherton.

Sister Melita Attard

Sister Anne Davidson

Sister Ida Rinne, RSCJ, taught French and English at her congregation’s elementary and secondary schools in the Mid-west. She has most recently served as a pastoral minister to hospice patients and today lives at Oakwood Community in Atherton.

Sister Anne Davidson, RSCJ, has taught for many years at her congregation’s

Sister Virginia Barsch, RSCJ, holds a graduate degree from San Francisco College

Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco. She has also served as an extraordinary minister at St. Mary’s Cathedral and as chaplain at Community Hospital of San Mateo.

for Women and a doctorate from Northwestern University. She has taught at her congregation’s schools in the Mid-west and at Moorhead State University in Minnesota.

Sister Virginia, McMonagle, RSCJ, has taught at her congregation’s schools in Seattle and Southern California. She has been assistant vice president for University Relations at the University of San Diego and spends part of the year working in Haiti.

Sister Mary Gray McNally, RSCJ, is a former president of Maryville College and member of the faculty at her congregation’s schools in the St. Louis area. She resides at Atherton’s Oakwood. Sister Ellen Hoffman, RSCJ, is a former member of the faculty at her congregation’s Stuart Hall for Boys in San Francisco and for 40 years taught at Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary, also in the City. She now resides at Oakwood in Atherton.

60 years cont.

50 years

Sister Susan Campbell, RSCJ, holds a doctorate from Stanford University and is a former director of her congregation’s schools in San Francisco. She has most recently served at the Spiritual Ministry Center in San Diego. She lives at Oakwood in Atherton.

Sister Helen Hammack, RSCJ, is a former member of the faculty at Lone Mountain College and the University of San Diego. She has also served in Uganda and in retirement has been active in hospice nursing, grief counseling, and as a volunteer with AIDS programs in local hospitals.

for many years at the college level. She resides today at Oakwood in Atherton.

Sister Nancy Lassovitch, RSCJ, is a graduate of her congregation’s Convent of the Sacred Heart in Menlo Park where she later taught. She currently teaches English as a Second Language in Santa Clara public schools.

Sister Catherine Henry, RSCJ, taught for many years at her congregation’s schools in Seattle and Omaha. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from San Francisco College for Women. Her sister is 70-year jubilarian, Sister Mary Henry, RSCJ.

Sister Nancy Morris, RSCJ, is a graduate of UC Berkeley and former head of her congregation’s schools in Lake Forest, Illinois. She served at St. Raymond Elementary School, Menlo Park from 1997 until this year.

Sister Flavia Augustine, RSCJ, holds a doctorate from Catholic University and taught

November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary – SNJM 60 years Sister Mary Grace Dykzeul, SNJM, was born in Southern California later receiving an undergraduate degree in art from Holy Names College, Oakland. She taught for almost a decade at San Francisco’s St. Monica Elementary School and today assists at several Catholic schools in the Southern part of the state. Sister Mary Ehret, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Mary Bernardus, attended schools in Southern California. She is a former member of the faculty at San Francisco’s St. Joseph Elementary School, subsequently earning a degree in nursing and later taking her gifts to Peru where she helped establish her congregation’s medical missions. Today she lives at Convent of the Holy Names in Los Gatos. Sister Gemma Fisher, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Arthur Mary, is a native of Oakland and a graduate of that city’s St. Elizabeth High School. She holds a graduate degree in administration from San Jose State University and in religious education from the University of San Francisco. She is a former member of the faculty at St. Anselm Elementary School, Ross and now assists in the leadership of her congregation’s SNJM Associate Program. Sister Ethel Mary Tinnemann, SNJM, is a native of Oakland and has earned undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees from UC Berkeley. She was a professor of History for more than 30 years at her congregation’s Holy Names College and today, though retired, maintains hours at her campus office. In 1992, the San Francisco Examiner named her a “Bay Area Mover and Shaker.”

50 years Sister Margaret Campbell, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Lawrence Mary, is a graduate of Oakland’s Holy Names High School and College. She is a former member of the faculty at Marin Catholic High School and holds a postgraduate degree in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. For the last 23 years, she has taught at her congregation’s Holy Names College in Oakland. Sister Aileen Carissimi, SNJM, formerly known as Sister M. Louise Christine, grew up in Sacramento. She taught at the secondary school level for 35 years at schools including Holy Names in Oakland. Today she assists in congregation administration and teaches English in San Jose. Sister Marion Patrick Connors, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Lillian Connors, grew up in Southern California, later earning a degree from Santa Clara University. She taught for almost a decade at St. Cecilia Elementary School, San Francisco and for 20 years served her congregation as assistant in the treasurer’s office. For more than a decade she has served in the Province Development Office. Sister Noel Girard, formerly known as Sister M. James Paul, was born in San Francisco with her family later settling in Oakland. She is a former member of the faculty at St. Monica Elementary School, San Francisco, and Marin Catholic High School. Today, she is a campus minister at Holy Names High School, Oakland. Sister M. Dorothy Clare Klingler, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Mary Ann Klingler, grew up in Oakland. She is a former member of the faculty at St. Cecilia and St. Joseph elementary schools in San Francisco and today serves as director of Villa Holy Names, a retreat facility in Los Gatos. Sister Marie Kronheimer, SNJM, formerly known as Sister M. Joseph Louis, grew up in Southern California. She is a former member of the faculty at St. Anselm Elementary School, Ross and directs a tutoring enterprise she founded in Arcadia.

Front from left: Sisters Stephanie Rose Stemberger, Teresa Ann Zarnowski, Permelia Ann Weaver, Margaret Campbell, Noel Girard. Back from left: Sisters Geraldine Will, Dorothy Clare Klingler, Marion Patrick Connors, Marie Kronheimer, Aileen Carissimi.

50 years cont. Sister M. Stephanie Rose Stemberger, SNJM, formerly known as Sister Zorka Stemberger, taught at San Francisco’s St. Monica Elementary School for 22 years, semi-retiring in 1994, and earlier at the City’s St. Cecilia’s. Today, she resides at Convent of the Holy Names in Los Gatos, where she maintains the library and bakes her “famous cookies.” Sister Permelia Ann Weaver, SNJM, formerly known as Sister M. Alice Margaret, has taught locally at St. Joseph Elementary School, San Francisco, and for more than a decade at a parish school in Peru. Today, she lives in Oregon. Sister Geraldine Will, SNJM, formerly known as Sister M. Michael Joseph, has served at schools in Oakland, Hayward, and Southern California. She is a former administrator of Villa Maria del Mar Retreat House in Santa Cruz and continues there today as plant manager. Sister Teresa Ann Zarnowski, SNJM, formerly Sister M. Mildred Ann, grew up in Kansas and Oregon, and has taught locally at schools in Oakland. Today, she serves in New Jersey at a youth development center named The Nurturing Place.

Honored in memory is Sister Marian Wright who died in January of cancer Sister Marian, formerly known as Sister Mary of the Assumption, “was a teacher, one way or another, all her life,” the Sisters of the Holy Names said. She taught in formal classrooms and was a missionary in Peru for 17 years. She set up programs to bring education to migrant workers and their children and live among them in her Little School on Wheels. “In everything Sister Marian did, her deep faith, personal integrity, concern for those who needed help, respect for individuals and cultures, listening ear and warm heart were evident. She made her time on earth count.”

Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange – CSJO 75 years Sister Paula Comeau, CSJO, formerly known as Sister Mary Emmaline, has served as teacher and librarian and is a former member of the faculty at Notre Dame des Victoires Elementary School, San Francisco. She currently resides at Regina Residence in Southern California.

70 years Sister Mary Rosalia Haring, CSJO, has taught at Corpus Christi and All Hallows elementary schools, St. Mary’s Chinese School in San Francisco, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Daly City. Today, she resides in Regina Residence in Southern California. Sister Mary Benita Gionet, CSJO, is a former member of the faculty at San Francisco’s Corpus Christi and All Hallows elementary schools and St. Mary’s Chinese School. She lives today in Southern California at Regina Residence.

50 years Sister Patricia Tierney, CSJO, formerly known as Sister Anne Cecelia, has taught at schools including Notre Dame des Victoires, San Francisco. She is a former director of formation for her congregation and lives today at the community’s motherhouse. Sister Jeannette Black, CSJO, formerly known as Sister Ann Joseph, was born in Iowa and has served at All Hallows Elementary School, San Francisco. She teaches and resides today in Southern California. Sister Elena Jaramillo, CSJO, has served in El Salvador for more than a dozen years as teacher, parish sister, missionary and administrator. She is remembered for her service locally at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School in Daly City. Sister Rita Trudell, CSJO, formerly known as Sister Maria Paul, has served at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School, Daly City, Corpus Christi Elementary School, San Francisco and schools in many other parts of state as teacher and librarian. She is a former member of the Children’s Library Association. Sister Marian Madden, CSJO, formerly known as Sister James Paul, has served as teacher, principal, and counselor at schools including All Hallows, San Francisco, and facilities in Southern California where she resides at Regina Residence. Sister Mary Thomasina Ross, CSJO, has taught at schools including All Hallows, Corpus Christi, Notre Dame des Victoires, and Star of the Sea in San Francisco, and St. Eugene’s in Santa Rosa. She has most recently been caretaker for her dad during the illness that took his life in May of this year.

Front from left: Sisters Benita Gionet, Marian Madden, Paula Comeau. Middle from left: Sister Marian Schubert, Elena Jaramillo, Thomasina Ross, Rosalia Haring. Back from left: Sisters Christine Ray, Patricia Tierney, Rita Trudell, Jeannette Black

25 years Sister Marian Schubert, CSJO, is a nurse practitioner whose primary service has been in health care at hospitals including Santa Rosa Memorial. She is currently assuming responsibilities as vicepresident of sponsorship at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley. Sister Christine Ray, CSJO, is a native of North Carolina who has served in social services, pastoral care, and senior services as well as parish ministry. She is currently administrator of a program in Southern California that is “geared toward teaching construction skills to young men considered at risk.”

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – BVM

Sister Jose Forsyth, BVM

Sister Louise Friedel, BVM

Sister Osmunda Griffin, BVM

Sister Jameselle Keane, BVM

Sister Jean Agnes Phillips, BVM

Sister Julia Rynish, BVM

Sister Rosemary Sage, BVM

Sister Veronique Hennegan, BVM

Sister Realino Lynch, BVM

Sister Kathleen Newell, BVM

Sister St. Philomena Rosselli, BVM

Sister Eleanor Craggs, BVM

Sister Patricia Lynch, BVM

Sister Gloria Weigand, BVM

Sister Rita Zander, BVM

75 years

65 years

Sister Jose Forsyth, BVM, is a former member of the faculty at San Francisco’s St. Brigid and St. Paul elementary schools. Retired, she now resides at her congregation’s Mount Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

Sister Kathleen Newell, BVM, formerly known as Sister Ann Francine, taught at St. Philip and St. Paul schools in San Francisco as well as schools in Sacramento and Iowa. For more than 30 years she has served with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Sister Louise Friedel, BVM, formerly known as Sister Norma, taught at St. Brigid High School, San Francisco as well as in Petaluma. She currently lives at Caritas Center in Dubuque.

Sister St. Philomena Rosselli, BVM, taught at San Francisco’s St. Brigid and St. Thomas More schools as well as schools in Montana and Iowa. She resides today at the Mount Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

70 years Sister Osmunda Griffin, BVM, taught at San Francisco’s St. Philip Elementary School in the late 1930s and mid-1940s. She currently lives in retirement at Marian Hall in Dubuque. Sister Jameselle Keane, BVM, is a San Francisco native who entered religious life from Noe Valley’s St. Paul Parish where she served at the parish school as teacher and administrator from 1964 – 68. She also taught at the City’s St. Philip Elementary School and lives today at Marian Hall in Dubuque. Sister Jean Agnes Phillips, BVM, taught at several schools in the Archdiocese including San Francisco’s St. Brigid, Most Holy Redeemer, and St. Paul. She also served in the Department of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese and today lives at Marian Hall in Dubuque. Sister Julia Rynish, BVM, formerly known as Sister Stanislaus, is a former member of the faculty at Most Holy Redeemer Elementary School, San Francisco. She lives today at Marian Hall in Dubuque. Sister Rosemary Sage, BVM, formerly known as Sister Michael David, is a native San Franciscan who entered religious life from Noe Valley’s St. Paul Parish, later teaching at the parish school for 20 years. Now retired, she lives at the Mount Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

65 years

60 years Sister Eleanor Craggs, BVM, taught at San Francisco’s St. Paul High School and schools in San Jose as well as at schools in Southern California. She is now secretary at the Mount Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque. Sister Patricia Lynch, BVM, formerly known as Sister John Arthur, lives at San Francisco’s St. Philip Elementary School where she served as principal from 1973 – 91. She also taught at Noe Valley’s St. Paul’s. Sister Gloria Weigand, BVM, formerly known as Sister Phyllis, taught at San Francisco’s St. Brigid school as well as at schools in San Jose, Southern California, and Iowa. Sister Rita Zander, BVM, formerly known as Sister Magdalene, taught at San Francisco’s St. Philip, Most Holy Redeemer, St. Paul, and St. Brigid schools. She now lives in retirement at Wright Hall in Chicago.

55 years Sister Norma Evans, BVM, formerly known as Sister Adelaide, has served at San Francisco’s St. Paul Elementary School and taught in Southern California and Iowa. She now lives in retirement at the Mt. Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

Sister Veronique Hennegan, BVM, served at Most Holy Redeemer Elementary School in San Francisco as well as schools in states including Iowa and New York. She now lives at St. Eugene Convent in Chicago.

Sister Dolores M. Kramer, BVM, formerly known as Sister Jeanne Michele, has taught at schools in Illinois, Iowa, and New York and served on the staff of Los Altos’ Jesuit Retreat House from 1970 – 72. She currently lives at Wright Hall in Chicago.

Sister Realino Lynch, BVM, is a former member of the faculty at San Francisco’s St. Paul and St. Philip schools. She also served at schools in Stockton and Southern California. She now lives at the Mt. Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

Sister Ernestina Molinari, BVM, is a native of San Francisco and entered religious life from Noe Valley’s St. Philip the Apostle Parish. She has taught at the City’s St. Brigid, St. Thomas More and St. Paul schools. She currently resides at the Mt. Carmel Motherhouse in Dubuque.

November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – BVM Cont.

Sister Norma Evans, BVM

Sister Dolores M. Kramer, BVM

Sister Ernestina Molinari, BVM

Sister Margaret Haas, BVM

Sister Patricia McNamara, BVM

50 years Sister Margaret Haas, BVM, formerly known as Sister St. Leonard, taught at San Francisco’s St. Brigid and St. Paul schools as well as at schools in Nebraska and Iowa. She is currently a staff member of Chicago’s Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. Sister Patricia McNamara, BVM, formerly known as Sister Jane Joseph, taught at St. Paul Elementary School, San Francisco and schools in Iowa and Illinois. She is currently retired and living in Dubuque. Sister Margaret Sannasardo, BVM, formerly known as Sister Paul Joseph, taught at the City’s St. Paul and St. Brigid schools. She currently serves in parish ministry in Illinois.

40 years Sister Elizabeth Avalos, BVM, formerly known as Sister St. Augustine, taught and served as campus minister at San Francisco’s St. Paul High School. She has also served at schools in Southern California and the Diocese of San Jose where she currently holds the position of associate for human concerns.

Sister Margaret Sannasardo, BVM

Sister Elizabeth Avalos, BVM

Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity – OSF 65 years Sister Corinne Habersetzer, OSF, has taught in the schools of New Jersey and Sacramento and was an organist for many years. She served as principal of schools in the Los Angeles area for 23 years and now is treasurer of her congregation’s Mt. Alverno Community in Redwood City.

60 years Sister Martha Vega, OSF, served in early childhood education at a Sacramento facility as well as performed social work in the state’s capital city. She now serves in prayer ministry at her congregation’s Marian Residence in Southern California. Sister Monica Asman, OSF, is a founder of her congregation’s Mt. Alverno Conference Center in Redwood City, where she currently resides, as well as founder and former director of the County seat’s St. Francis Center which provides food and shelter for the needy. Sister Dolores Cota, OSF, taught for almost 30 years in the schools of Montana, Oregon, and California. She now lives in Southern California where she is active in volunteer service. Sister Miriam Provo, OSF, has served as teacher and principal in schools of Montana, Washington, and California and is a former Novice Directress for her congregation. She now lives and serves in volunteer ministry at Mt. Alverno Conference Center, Redwood City.

50 years Sister Mary James Zembal, OSF, is remembered at schools in California, Washington, and Montana, and is a former director of her congregation’s Mt. Alverno Conference Center in Redwood City where she currently resides. Sister Louis Provo, OSF, has served as a nurse at hospitals in California and other states. She is now a medical consultant at Marian Residence in Southern California where she also resides.

Seated from left: Sisters Martha Vega and Monica Asman. Standing from left: Sisters Louis Provo, Corinne Habersetzer, Mary James Zembal, Miriam Provo, Dolores Cota

Daughters of Charity of Congregation of Divine St. Vincent de Paul – DC Providence – CDP

Sister Frances Meyer, DC

Sisters of the Good Shepherd – RGS

50 years

Sister Frances Meyer, DC, grew up and attended schools in Missouri and today teaches mathematics at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School in San Francisco. Previous assignments as teacher and principal include St. Vincent de Paul in the City’s Marina District and St. Martin of Tours in San Jose.

Sister Bernie Galvin, cdp, a native of Oklahoma, is a longtime advocate of the poor here in California and previously in Louisiana and Appalachia. Sister Bernie’s San Franciscobased Religious Witness with Homeless People celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Sister Mary Joan Tubbs, RGS, attended schools in Portland, Oregon. She has served in primarily administrative roles at her congregation’s facilities in Southern California, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Missouri and presently lends support at San Francisco’s Gracenter.

Sister Bernie Galvin, cdp

Sister Mary Joan Tubbs, RGS

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Burlingame Region – RSM

Sister Mary Edwin Byrne, RSM

Sister Marie Meller, RSM

Sister Alice Montgomery, RSM

Sister Madelyn Hall, RSM

Sister Mary Francine Jackson, RSM

Sister Rita May, RSM

Sister Suzanne Toolan, RSM

Sister Mary Magdalen Hoey, RSM

Sister Paulina Simms, RSM

Sister Barbara Moran, RSM

60 years Sister Mary Edwin Byrne, RSM, taught at San Francisco’s Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School during three different assignments for almost 25 years and has lived in the Sunset District parish for 35 years. She has also taught at St. Peter’s and St. Gabriel’s in the City and St. Catherine of Siena school in Burlingame. Sister Marie Meller, RSM, formerly Sister M. Chrysostom, has taught at schools in the Archdioceses of San Francisco and Los Angeles. She has most recently served as a visitor of the elderly and sick at Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame. Sister Alice Montgomery, RSM, formerly Sister M. Pius, is a former coordinator of the Mercy Lifeline Program at St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco. She has also worked as nursing supervisor at hospitals in the City, Arizona, and Southern California. She lives today in Burlingame.

50 years

Sister Diana Petz, RSM

Sister Barbara Checkhart, RSM

Sister Marguerite Buchanan, RSM

Sister Josie Gonzales, RSM

Sister Madelyn Hall, RSM, formerly Sister M. de Montfort, is a former member of the faculty at Mercy High School, Burlingame and has also served at Mercy High School, San Francisco and her congregation’s St. Mary’s Medical Center. She resides in Burlingame. Sister Mary Francine Jackson, RSM, has served primarily in health care at her congregation’s facilities in San Francisco, Oxnard, and Phoenix. She currently serves as patient visitor at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Sister Rita May, RSM, formerly Sister M. Charles, is a surgical nurse and has served at hospitals including her congregation’s St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield. In most recent years she has been directing activities for the elderly at Marian Convent in Burlingame where she resides. Sister Suzanne Toolan, RSM, is an internationally known composer whose works, including I Am the Bread of Life and pieces she wrote for Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Francisco in 1987, are sung around the world at weekend and holy day Masses and other liturgies. Sister Suzanne also brought the sung prayer mode, Taize, to the West Coast beginning a first Friday tradition that continues 20 years later at Burlingame’s Mercy Center. Sister Suzanne’s siblings are Mercy Sisters Patricia and Mary Louise Toolan. Sister Mary Magdalen Hoey, RSM, spent 15 years teaching at elementary schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the East Bay, and Southern California. She also served as a preschool teacher at San Francisco’s Holy Family Day Home and today lives in Burlingame. Sister Paulina Simms, RSM, served as principal of San Francisco’s St. Stephen Elementary School for18 years ending in 2002. She has also served at schools in the East Bay and Southern California. She resides in San Francisco.

50 years cont. Sister Barbara Checkhart, RSM, formerly Sister M. Vianney taught primary grades for almost 30 years at schools in the Archdioceses of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the Diocese of San Diego. She has been involved in pastoral ministry since 1981 and today is chaplain at her congregation’s Mercy Hospital, San Diego.

Sister Barbara Moran, RSM, formerly Sister M. Christine, taught at San Francisco’s St. Gabriel Elementary School and Mercy High School as well as at her congregation’s Mercy High School in Burlingame. She has lectured at the college level and today is a docent of the Asian Art Museum. She lives in Burlingame.

Sister Marguerite Buchanan, RSM, is a former principal and faculty member at her congregation’s Mercy High School, San Francisco and Mercy High School, Burlingame. She has served at Burlingame’s Mercy Center as retreat leader and spiritual director since 1983. She has recently been named program director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Catherine’s Center, transitional housing for women leaving prison in San Mateo County.

Sister Diana Petz, RSM, formerly known as Sister M. Lucia, taught upper elementary school grades for 25 years, moving her focus to parish ministry in 1980. Currently, she serves as a pastoral associate with special outreach to the Latino community at St. Athanasius Parish in the Diocese of San Jose. She lives in Mountain View.

Sister Josie Gonzales, RSM, lives in Los Angeles and has served primarily in Southern California as clinical social worker, advocate for families of the incarcerated, and with the Deaf.

25 years

November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet – CSJ

Sister Antonio Shauls, CSJ

Sister St. Bernard Johnson, CSJ

Sister Robert Joseph Doucette, CSJ

Sister St. Joan Willert, CSJ

Sister Eileen Therese Prsha, CSJ

Sister Madeline Marie Butorovich, CSJ

Sister Anne Bernadette Stead, CSJ

Sister Ann Plunkett, CSJ

Sister Daniel Therese Flynn, CSJ

Sister Rose Leonard Stevling, CSJ

75 years Sister Antonio Shauls, CSJ, attended schools in Southern California, later teaching there and at schools in San Francisco and Arizona. She currently resides in the Carondelet Center Care Unit.

70 years Sister St. Bernard Johnson, CSJ, has served as teacher, administrator and superior in San Francisco, Southern California, and Washington. She lives today in the Holy Family Community in Los Angeles and serves on staff in her congregation’s finance office.

60 years Sister Robert Joseph Doucette, CSJ, attended Star of the Sea, San Francisco, later serving in the Archdiocese and at schools in the East Bay and Washington. She now lives in the St. Joseph Community in Washington and serves in parish ministry.

Sister Veronica Jones, CSJ

Sister Barbara Joan Nicewander, CSJ

Sister St. Joan Willert, CSJ, attended schools in Southern California later serving there and in the Archdiocese of San Francisco as teacher and principal. She is a former head of hospitals in Arizona and currently resides at Carondelet Center. Sister Eileen Therese Prsha, CSJ, attended schools in Southern California and served in locations including San Francisco and Sonoma. She currently resides in the Care Unit of Carondelet Center. Sister Madeline Marie Butorovich, CSJ, attended Presentation Academy in Berkeley, later serving for more than 40 years in schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, including Star of the Sea where she served for 29 years, St. Thomas the Apostle, and St. Emydius. Sister Madeline currently resides at Star of the Sea Convent in the City and tutors at the parish school. Sister Anne Bernadette Stead, CSJ, attended schools in Los Angeles and San Diego and served in San Francisco and Hawaii as well as in Washington. She currently lives in the St. Mary’s Academy Community and works with the Literacy Office of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Sister Anna Marie Gillet, CSJ

50 years Sister Ann Plunkett, CSJ, formerly known as Sister Kenneth Marie, attended St. Elizabeth High School in Oakland, later serving in schools there and in San Francisco as a teacher and librarian. She now resides in the Care Unit of Carondelet Center in Los Angeles. Sister Daniel Therese Flynn, CSJ, attended schools in Southern California, later teaching in the Los Angeles area and San Francisco. She currently teaches at Mt. St. Mary’s College Learning Center in Los Angeles. Sister Ann Faber Chang, CSJ, attended schools in Hawaii and later served in San Francisco, Southern California and her home state as teacher and administrator. She now lives in Honolulu and tutors at a local Catholic school. Sister Rose Leonard Stevling, CSJ, attended schools in Los Angeles, later teaching there, San Francisco, and at additional Southern California schools including Junipero Serra High School in Gardena where she teaches today.

50 years cont. Sister Veronica Jones, CSJ, formerly known as Sister Margaret Michael, attended high school in Iowa and Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles. She served as teacher, administrator, and counselor at schools in San Francisco and Southern California—where today she is a psychotherapist serving a middle school. Sister Barbara Joan Nicewander, CSJ, formerly Sister Barbara Joanne, attended schools in Southern California and later taught there as well as in San Francisco and the East Bay. She now resides and teaches at St. Jerome school in Los Angeles. Sister Anna Marie Gillet, CSJ, attended schools in Southern California and served as teacher, Religious Education Coordinator, and administrator in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the East Bay. She now resides at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport and serves as an instructional assistant in the parish school.

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Sisters of the Holy Family – SHF

Sister M. Eunice Malloy, SHF

Sister M. Charles McCarthy, SHF

Sister Geraldine Garbarino, SHF

Sister Rita Margaret Lowe, SHF

Sister M. Therese Martinez, SHF

Sister John Marie Samaha, SHF

Sister Marie Ann Brent, SHF

Sister Mary Helen Jathas, SHF

Sister M. Joanne Logan, SHF

Sister M. Eleanor Rizzi, SHF

70 years Sister M. Eunice Malloy, SHF, was born in San Francisco and currently lives at the congregation’s motherhouse in Fremont. Sister M. Charles McCarthy, SHF, is a San Francisco native currently living at the community’s motherhouse in Fremont.

60 years Sister Geraldine Garbarino, SHF, formerly known as Sister M. Vincent, was born in Oakland and lives today at the Sisters’ motherhouse in Fremont. Sister Rita Margaret Lowe, SHF, formerly known as Sister M. Clare, was born in the City and today lives in the congregation’s motherhouse in Fremont. Sister M. Therese Martinez, SHF, was born in Texas and today, though retired at the community’s motherhouse in Fremont, serves as a substitute teacher in elementary schools. Sister John Marie Samaha, SHF, grew up in the Mission District’s St. James Parish, and today, serves at the outreach program named for her, Sister John Marie’s Pantry, and as a pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish, Fremont.

Sister Carolyn Whited, SHF

Sister Patricia Wittman, SHF

50 years cont. Sister M. Joanne Logan, SHF, was born in Oregon and is now living at the community’s motherhouse in Fremont. Sister M. Eleanor Rizzi, SHF, was born in New Jersey, and today serves as a Child and Family Counselor in Santa Clara public schools.

50 years Sister Marie Ann Brent, SHF, formerly known as Sister M. Aloysius, grew up in Oakland and today serves as pastoral administrator of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Valdez, Alaska.

Sister Carolyn Whited, SHF, formerly known as Sister M. Jude, is a Contra Costa County native currently serving as chaplain at Corcoran State Prison.

Sister Mary Helen Jathas, SHF, formerly known as Sister M. Augustine, grew up in Oakland. Today, she is retired and living at the congregation’s motherhouse in Fremont.

Sister Patricia Wittman, formerly known as Sister M. Pius, was born in Oregon and today serves as library assistant at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park.

Carmelite Sisters of Marinwood Monastery – OCD

Sisters of the Holy Cross – CSC

Mother Anne Marie Vanni

25 years

50 years

Mother Anne Marie Vanni, OCD, is a graduate of St. Rita Elementary School, Fairfax, and Marin Catholic High School with additional studies at Dominican University of San Rafael and now serves as Prioress of her congregation’s Marinwood Monastery. Mother Vanni is grateful to the people of St. Rita’s where she was “born, raised educated and eventually received her vocation to Carmel.” Mother Vanni’s parents are Beverly and Mike Vanni of Fairfax.

Sister Elizabeth Panero, CSC, is a former member of the faculty at schools including St. Matthew, San Mateo, St. Pius, Redwood City, and St. Charles, San Francisco, and former head librarian at Moreau Library at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She said “the biggest influence” in her choosing religious life was her family’s “weekly attendance at Mass, frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, attending CCD classes every Tuesday after school.” She now lives at her congregation’s motherhouse in Indiana.

Sister Elizabeth Panero, CSC

November 14, 2003

Catholic San Francisco

Dominican Sisters of San Rafael – OP

Sister M. Benedict Sugrue, OP

Sister Margaret Mary McCarthy, OP

Sister M. Dorothy Marie Albee, OP

Sister M. Marguerite Stanka, OP

Sister M. Rosanne Van Housen, OP

Sister Joan King, OP

Sister M. Helen Bendik, OP

Sister M. Deborah Maze, OP

Sister Lucille Shea, OP

Sister M. Bernice Garcia, OP

75 years Sister M. Benedict Sugrue, OP, was a classroom teacher for more than 50 years and lives in retirement at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael.

70 years Sister Margaret Mary McCarthy, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Esther, taught at the elementary and secondary school levels and lives in retirement at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael.

60 years Sister M. Dorothy Marie Albee, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Winifred, taught for three decades until 1981 when she began service as a pastoral minister in Nevada. Today, she lives in retirement at St. Mary’s Convent in Reno.

Sister Clare Herlihy, OP

Sister Patricia Corr, OP

Sister Judith Kay Campbell, OP

Sister M. Ramona Krisha, OP

Sister M. Marguerite Stanka, OP, served for more than 50 years as librarian of her congregation’s Dominican University of California and today lives in retirement at Dominican Convent in San Rafael.

50 years Sister M. Rosanne Van Housen, OP, has served as teacher, parish sister, and retreat center staff. Today, she lives in retirement at St. Margaret Convent in San Rafael. Sister Joan King, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Jonathan, has served as middle and secondary school teacher, retreat center director, and spiritual director. Today, she directs the Personal Growth Project in Corte Madera and lives at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Convent in Mill Valley. Sister M. Helen Bendik, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Aloysius, has served as teacher, retreat center director, and campus minister. Today, she serves as a pastoral associate at St. Cecilia Parish, San Francisco and lives at the City’s St. Dominic Convent. Sister M. Deborah Maze, OP, continues in the education apostolate as teacher at St. Dominic School in Los Angeles where she also resides. Sister Lucille Shea, OP, has served as school and parish secretary and today is administrative assistant to Carmel Voyager Programs. She lives at St. Dominic Convent, San Francisco. Sister M. Bernice Garcia, OP, has served as teacher and principal as well as in parish ministry. Today, she is director of religious education at San Francisco’s St. Gabriel Parish and lives at the City’s St. Rose Convent. Sister Clare Herlihy, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Bartholomew, has served as teacher and principal and in congregation leadership. Today, she serves as a parish minister at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Vallejo and as coordinator of De Paul Women’s Resource Center.

40 years Sister Patricia Corr, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Colman, has served as teacher and director of religious education. Today, she is a volunteer hospice chaplain in Vallejo. Sister Judith Kay Campbell, OP, formerly known as Sister M. Stephanie, has served as teacher and in home care for the elderly. She is a former director of postulants and novices for her congregation. Today, she serves at St. Joseph Medical Center in Stockton. Sister M. Ramona Krisha, OP, has served as teacher, principal, and staff in a women’s addiction treatment program. Today, she lives at Kentfield Dominican Community.

Catholic San Francisco

November 14, 2003

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur – SNDdeN 70 years Sister Ann Louise Schlitt, SNDdeN, a former Provincial Superior of her congregation, attended high school in Los Angeles later studying at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, as well as Holy Names College in Oakland. She has taught at Mission Dolores Elementary School, San Francisco, and Notre Dame High School, Belmont. Sister Mary Louise Williams, SNDdeN, formerly known as Sister Bernadette Julie, graduated from Notre Dame High School in Marysville and attended Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont and Holy Names College, Oakland. She has served at Notre Dame High School in San Francisco and at schools in San Jose and Southern California. She now resides at Mercy Care and Retirement Center in Oakland.

50 years Sister Yvonne Bondi, SNDdeN, formerly known as Sister Marie Denise, graduated from Notre Dame High School, San Jose and holds a graduate degree in education from San Jose State University. She has taught at schools in San Francisco and other parts of the state and served at the Notre Dame House of Prayer in Carmel. She currently lives in Palo Alto and serves as co-coordinator of Notre Dame Associates. Sister Natalia Carrasco, SNDdeN, formerly Sister Mary Benigna, is a graduate of Notre Dame High School, San Francisco and earned an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. She taught first grade for 27 years at schools including Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont, Mission Dolores, and St. Dunstan, Millbrae. She currently serves as a tutor at Watsonville’s Casa de la Cultura. Sister Audrey McGreevy, SNDdeN, formerly known as Sister Mary Kenneth, graduated from Notre Dame High School, San Francisco and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, and the University of San Francisco. She is a former member of the faculty and counselor at Star of the Sea, San Francisco and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City. She currently serves in Catholic Charities Adult Day Care Center in San Carlos.

Seated: Sister Mary Louise Williams. Back from left: Sisters Ann Louise Schlitt, Audrey McGreevy, Roseanne Murphy, Natalia Carrasco, Yvonne Bondi. Sister Michela Sheehan is serving in the missions of Africa and was unavailable for the photo.

50 years cont. Sister Roseanne Murphy, SNDdeN, a former chair of the Behavioral Science Department of Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, earned a postgraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame after completing studies at the graduate level in Sociology and English at Stanford University. She currently serves as Director of Alumni at Notre Dame de Namur University. Sister Michela Sheehan, SNDdeN, attended Notre Dame High School, San Jose, later completing undergraduate and graduate studies at Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, and the University of Arizona. She is a former member of the faculty at St. Charles Elementary School, San Carlos. Sister Michela has been most recently in Nigeria and soon will serve in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

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November 14, 2003

Advent/Holiday Opportunities

Food & Fun

Music for Flute and Organ with Harry Bernstien and Brian Swager; Sundays: Concerts at St. Mary Cathedral at 3:30 p.m. Gough and Geary Blvd., SF. Call (415) 5672020 ext. 213. Concerts are open to the public.

Datebook

Nov. 15, 16: Boutique and Bake Sale benefiting Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, 400 Church St., Half Moon Bay. “All types of handmade items including place mats, ornaments, quilts and toys. Something for every member of the family.” Sponsored by Our Lady’s Sodality. Sat. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Nov. 15. 16: Holiday Boutique at St. Andrew Church, Southgate and Sullivan, Daly City. Sat. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Features handcrafted gifts and gently used household items. Call (650) 756-3223. Nov. 21, 22: Holiday Boutique at Marian Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame, featuring “beautiful handmade items including great gift baskets and crocheted blankets made by the Sisters.” Benefits the Mercy Sisters. Call Debbie Halleran at (650) 340-7426. Nov. 22: Annual Holiday Boutique fundraiser benefiting San Francisco’s Immaculate Conception Academy, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., in the school’s auditorium 24th and Guerrero St. “Enjoy a day of holiday shopping, refreshments including homemade baked goods, raffles and a visit with Santa,” said Liz Avila, of the ICA advisory board. Sponsored by the ICA Parents’ Guild. Nov. 22: Mercy High School, San Francisco’s annual Holiday Boutique, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the school’s McAuley Pavilion, 3250 19th Ave., across from Stonestown Galleria. “Enjoy refreshments, gift baskets, and a raffle,” said Anne Riley, of the Mercy p.m. “A wonderful way to welcome the holiday season.” Suggested donation of $10 benefits parish Parents Guild. “Families encouraged to attend.” Breakfast served 8:30 – 11 a.m. for $5. Call Hazel music ministry. Beck at (415) 334-0525, ext. 210. Dec. 13: Christmas Remembrance Prayer Service in All Saints Mausoleum Chapel of Holy Cross Cemetery, Nov. 22, 23: Mount Carmel Shop’s Noel Notions, a Colma at 11 a.m. Father John Talesfore, pastor, St. Christmas Bazaar benefiting Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Mary’s Cathedral, presiding. “Come to remember and Parish, Mill Valley. Sat. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.; Sun: 9 a.m. – be comforted.” Inspirational music and time for reflecnoon. Bake booth, toy booth, gift items, collectibles, tion. Call (650) 756-2060. antiques plus raffle. Lunch available on Saturday. Dec. 16 – 24: The beloved Filipino tradition of Nov. 22, 23: Holiday Boutique sponsored by St. Simbang Gabi will be prayed each day at 6 a.m. at Peter Women’s Guild and benefiting St. Peter Parish, 700 Oddstad Blvd., Pacifica, Sat. 9 a.m. – 3 St. Stephen Church 601 Eucalyptus Dr., SF. p.m.; Sun. 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. hand crafted items, Complimentary breakfast follows. A cooperative photographs, floral arrangements, lotions/ soaps, liturgical work of parishes including St. Stephen’s, home baked goods and more. Picture with Santa St. Gabriel’s, St. Finn Barr. “Everyone invited.” Call Manolito Jaldon at (415) 681-2444, ext. 26. Sat. 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Soup, sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers. Nov. 30: Advent Carol Service featuring the Shrine’s Dec. 6: Join Birthright of San Francisco for its Schola Cantorum at 4 p. m. at National Shrine of St. Holly and Ivy Luncheon at the Presidio Golf Club. Francis of Assisi, Vallejo and Columbus, SF. Call (415) Tickets at $45 “support Birthright in its work with 983-0405 or www.shrinesf.org. Open to the public. Dec. mothers facing unexpected pregnancies.” Special 7: Organ Recital by Larery Marietta, First presentation by florist/educator Sally Clark on “easy Congregational Church, Berkeley. and exciting arrangements for the holiday season.” Call (415) 664-9909. Dec. 6: First Saturday of the month Mass in the Nov. 15: Potluck dinner and presentation of Marin chapel of All Saints Mausoleum at Holy Cross County Respect Life Program featuring Wesley J. Smith, Cemetery, 1500 Old Mission Rd., Colma. At 11 a.m. internationally known author, attorney who advises The Father Stephen Howell, chapInternational Task Force on lain, Notre Dame High School, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Belmont, and administrator St. Vincent de Paul Society “The event is designed to educate Immaculate Heart of Mary of San Francisco desperately the community about the realities Parish, Belmont, presiding. Call needs men’s clothes for its of the Culture of Death as it relates (650) 756-2060. Vincentian Desk that serves to end of life issues, care of the more than 800 people a month Dec. 6, 7: Passport to disabled, the assault on medical most of whom are men. Items Christmas, St. Brendan Boutique ethics and more,” said Vicki Evans, most needed are pants, shirts benefiting the parish school and coordinator. Call (415) 945-0180. but not tee shirts, coats, sponsored by the Mothers’ Club. Takes place at St. Sebastian sweaters, sweat shirts, shoes, Enjoy raffles, kids’ games, food parish, 373 Bon Air Rd. at Sir belts, underwear and and wide selection of holiday gifts, Francis Drake Blvd, Greenbrae at socks. Drop off station is gourmet baskets and a new ven6 p.m. 425 4th St at Harrison, SF dor bazaar. Sat. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Nov. 15: Crab Bash and Family weekdays from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in St. Dinner benefiting Holy Name of Call (415) 202-9955. Brendan Church Hall, Ulloa and Jesus Elementary School in the Laguna Honda Blvd., SF. Call parish’s Ryan Hall at 40th Ave. and (415) 731-2665. Lawton St., SF Tickets $28/$200 Dec. 6, 7: St. Pius Gift Boutique benefiting charitable for table of eight. $10 for kids 12 and under. Begins at programs of the St. Pius Women’s Club, Items include 5:30 p.m. Menu includes all-you-can-eat cracked crab, toys, clothing, jewelry, crafts, gift baskets from 70 arti- pasta and more. Call (415) 664-8590. sans and craftspeople. Sat. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m. Nov. 16: Heart of the City, a fashion show benefit– 3 p.m. Holiday entertainment, raffle, silent auction and ing Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School delicious food, too. 1100 Woodside Rd. at Valota, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the school’s new Student Redwood City. Call (650) 364-5204. Life Center. Tickets $50 per person. Fashions by Dec. 7: A Joyous Organ Concert of Advent and Academy of Art College, Gingiss Formals, Jessica Christmas Music by Maryliz Smith, music director, McClintock. Call (415) 775-6626, ext. 765. St. Stephen Church, 601 Eucalyptus Dr., SF at 4 Nov. 20: The St. Thomas More Society, an organiza-

Catholic San Francisco

Social Justice/Family Life

Separated and Divorced Catholics Ministry of the Archdiocese invites all separated, divorced, or widowed men and women and their families and friends to a Mass of Thanksgiving, November 15th at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 3 Oakdale Ave., Mill Valley at noon. Auxiliary Bishop John C. Wester will preside. Please bring sweet or savory hors d’oeuvres to share at reception following Mass. Call Pat Harder at (415) 492-3331. tion of Catholics serving in the legal profession, hosts its annual Pastors’ Lunch. Jeanne Woodford, warden of San Quentin State Prison is featured speaker. Call Stacy Stecher at (415) 433-1400 for reservations. Dec. 8: Annual Christmas Mass and Luncheon. Winners of essay contest announced. New officers/executive committee members elected. Nov. 23: Maryknoll Alumnae Association gathers for Mass in Chinese at St. Matthew Church, El Camino Real at 9th Ave., San Mateo at 4 p.m. SF Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang will preside. Dinner and hot cider reception follows with ballroom dancing at Hyatt Regency at SF Airport. Tickets $55 per person. Call Gail Chan at (415) 392-0645. Dec. 5: Catholic Marin Breakfast Club gathers for Mass and special presentation by Archbishop William J. Levada. Now in its 10th year the morning begins at 7 a.m. in St. Sebastian Church, Bon Air Rd. and Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Kentfield. Breakfast and presentation follow in parish hall. Reservations required to Sugaremy@aol.com or (415) 461-0704 daily. Members $7, others $10. Dues $20 per year. Dec. 13: Noel Ball, an evening sponsored by the De Paul Club Auxiliary and benefiting sports programs of St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School. This 49th annual gala begins at 6 p.m. in the Fairmont Hotel’s Venetian Room. Evening includes Dinner, silent auction, and dancing to the music of Larry Lynch and the Mob. Tickets $135 per person. Call (415) 922-8432.

Performance/Auditions Admission free unless otherwise noted. Nov. 14, 15: Roaring Twenties, a modern day soto-say setting of the Bard’s A Comedy of Errors at Mercy High School, 3250 19th Ave., SF. Features talent from Mercy and other nearby schools. Curtain all dates at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 tix at $15 includes post show buffet. Tickets for other dates $8. Call (415) 334-0525. Nov. 23, 24: Peace in your heart, family, world, a concert by acclaimed singer, storyteller, Michael John Poirier, 7 p.m. at St. Gregory Church, 2715 Hacienda St., San Mateo on the 23rd; and at St. Dominic Church, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, SF on the 24th. Call (415) 614-5680 for ticket information. Sponsored by St. Gregory, St. Dominic, and the Office of Marriage and Family Life. Sundays: Concerts at 4 p. m. at National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, Vallejo and Columbus, SF. Call (415) 983-0405 or www.shrinesf.org. Open to the public. Nov. 9: Music for Bassoon and Organ with Jolene and William Davis from the University of Georgia; Nov. 16: Organ recital by Douglas Franks, First Presbyterian Church, Burlingame; Nov. 23:

Nov. 15: Understanding Domestic Violence, a film/discussion sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of St. Andrew Parish, 1571 Southgate Ave., Daly City, 2 – 4 p.m. in Piro Center. Speakers include Cherie Querol Moreno and Father Alex Legaspi, pastor. Call Rissa Stella at (650) 757-5117; Carmen Babasa at (650) 992-8707 or Ursula Valdez at (650) 756-0420.

Retreats/Days of Recollection —— Vallombrosa Center —— 250 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park. For fees, times and details about these and other offerings call (650) 325-5614. Presentation Sister Rosina Conrotto, Program Director. Nov. 30: An Evening with Ron Rolheiser, an Oblate of Mary priest and syndicated faith columnist whose work appears in Catholic San Francisco. 7 9 p.m. $15 per person. Dec. 10: An Advent Retreat, What gift did Jesus give to the Magi? Do we share it? Day includes time for private prayer, sharing, Eucharist, and reconciliation. Facilitated by Vallombrosa pastoral associate, Sister Toni Longo.

Consolation Ministry Groups meet at the following parishes. Please call numbers shown for more information. St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame. Call Elaine Yastishock at (650) 344-6884; Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame. Call Louise Nelson at (650) 343-8457 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Redwood City. Call (650) 366-3802; Good Shepherd, Pacifica. Call Sister Carol Fleitz at (650) 355-2593; St. Robert, San Bruno. Call (650) 589-2800. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont. Call Ann Ponty at (650) 598-0658 or Mary Wagner at (650) 591-3850. St. Isabella, San Rafael. Call Pat Sack at (415) 472-5732. Our Lady of Loretto, Novato. Call Sister Jeanette at (415) 897-2171. St. Gabriel, SF. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. St. Finn Barr, SF in English and Spanish. Call Carmen Solis at (415) 584-0823; St. Cecilia, SF. Call Peggy Abdo at (415) 564-7882 ext. 3; Epiphany, SF in Spanish. Call Kathryn Keenan at (415) 564-7882. Ministry for parents who have lost a child is available from Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame. Call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Young Widow/Widower group meets at St. Gregory, San Mateo. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. Information about children’s and teen groups is available from Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

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.

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November 14, 2003

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“Elf” Reviewed by Jayme George Halloween has just departed, leaving a sugary coating on the teeth and an aching in the stomach - at least for the people who really know how to celebrate the holiday. And that means it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. From Jon Favreau, the man behind the cult classic “Swingers,” comes a movie about a man who must find his place in the world, and in doing so brings the spirit of Christmas to the people around him. “Elf” is a children’s movie, something one would not expect from a cast that includes actors such as Will Ferrell, James Caan, and Bob Newhart. However, director Jon Favreau made a film that appeals as much to the inner child as it does to the actual child sitting beside you at the theatre. Any good fantasy story is built on the principle that the world created has to ring true and appear believable. This is crucial when making a movie for children because they have a knack for asking just enough questions to know when they are being fooled. In this regard, “Elf” passes the test with the greatest depiction of elf culture that has ever been made. Favreau’s vision of the North Pole is a recreation of the old classic stop-motion movies about Frosty and Rudolph that replay every year without fail. “Elf” is also the first movie to show elves making actual real-life toys, like Barbie dolls, Bob the Builder and Etch A Sketch. There are no wooden trains and rocking horses in this workshop. The whimsy of this film is enhanced by the performance of Will Ferrell, who steals the show with his character Buddy - the man who was raised by elves. Buddy’s enthusiasm for Santa Claus and all things Christmas surpasses even the most dedicated elf, and Ferrell brings an unbridled joy to the role that borders on the idiotic at times, but is never grating. There is innocence in Ferrell’s face and a glee with which he flings his massive frame around the screen that serves only to endear audiences to his childish antics. Favreau’s biggest failing is that he falls victim to the

From left - Amy Sedaris, James Caan, and Will Ferrell, stars of the holiday comedy “Elf”

latest trend in Hollywood movies - the idea that a movie no longer needs to explain or validate the actions of its characters. This time, the death of characterization takes the shape of Buddy’s father (Caan) - a man sentenced to the naughty list by a lifetime of self-absorption and neglect. By the end of the movie he has seen the error of his ways, but the audience never gets to see how or why this miraculous change took place in a matter of days. “Elf” would not be a Christmas movie if it did not address “the true meaning of Christmas,” and this it does with only a minimal amount of sappiness. The impor-

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tance of family is stressed, but the closest that the film comes to an expression of faith occurs when Santa tells a young boy that the spirit of Christmas comes from believing that Santa is out there, not from having seen him. Of course, the only thing that saves Christmas in this movie is when a crowd of on-lookers catches a glimpse of Santa flying away in his sleigh. So much for faith. Nevertheless, “Elf” will surely become a holiday classic with Will Ferrell as its saving grace, earning the film a B+.