September 10, 1999 by Catholic San Francisco

CI was a strangerand y ou

made me welcome; naked and y ou clothed me, sick and you visited me, in p risonand y ou came to see me.' (Mt 25: 35-36)

Holy Ghost Father Denis McManus is the only Catholic chaplain for the 6,000 inmates at San Quentin Prison in Marin County. Archbishop William }. Levada offered Mass at the San Quentin chapel last month. The prison was one of several visited by a delegation led by Los Angels Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala in the last few months as focus on detention ministry increases locally and statewide.

Irishtenor launches international career f rom top of school desk

Italian Catholic Federation celebrates 75 y ears during Labor Bay gathering

In this issue . . .

SPL

Everyday faith questions are focus for course

Honored

'Mother' Wright helps thousands, gives God credit

Mercy

What sets 'Christian' action apart?

Archbishop Levada:

Creating a culture of cultures

Movies: II Q X 'Dog of Flanders' looks good About the cover... Top left: Sister Marie Antoinette sings with the San Quentin choir on the occasion of Archbishop William J. Levada 's recent visit there. See story, pages 10-11. Bottom left: Among the cooks at the Italian Catholic Federation 's awards dinner were Joe Qttria (left), St. Elizabeth Parish , San Francisco , and Al Figonc, St. Vincent de Paul Parish , San Francisco. See Story on page 9. Photos by Evelyn Zappia.

Jj CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Most Reverend William J. Levada , publisher Maurice E. Healy, associate publisher Editoria l Staff: Dan Morris-Young, editor; Evelyn Zapp ia, feature editor; Tom Burke, "On the Street" and Datebook; Sharon Abercrombie , Kamille Maher reporters ; Clare Maloney, intern. Advertising Department: Joseph Pena, director; Britla Tigan , consultant; Mary Podesta , account representative; Don Feigel , consultant. Production Department: Enrico Risano , manager; Julie Benbow, graphic consultant; Ernie Grafe , Jody Werner, consultants; Laurie Maglione, intern. Business Office: Marta Rebagliati, assistant business manager; Gus Pena, advertising and subscriber services; Karessa McCartney, executive assistant. Advisory Board: Noemi Castillo , Sr. Rosina Conrotto, PBVM , Fr. Thomas Dal y, Joan Frawky Desmond, James Kell y, Fr. John Penebsky, Kevin Starr, Ph.D., Susan Winchell. Editorial offices arc located at 441 Church St., San Francisco, CA 94114 Telephone: (415) 565-3699 News fax: (415) 565-363 1 Circulation: 1-800-563-0008. Advertising fax: (415) 565-368 1 Catholic Sun Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly except the last Friday in December and bi-weekly during Lhe months of June , Jul y and August by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1595 Mission Rd., Soulh San Francisco, CA 94080-1218. Annual subscription rates are $10 within the Archdiocese of San Francisco and $22.50 elsewhere in the United States. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, California and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Catholic San Francisco, 1595 Mission Rd„ South San Francisco, CA 94080-1218 Corrections: If there is aArror in (lie mailing label affixed to this newspaper, call Catholic San Frwctscoat I-800-563-0008. It is helpful to refer tu the current mailing label. Also, please let us know if the household is receiving duplicate copies. Thank you.

Cassie Mutto (left) and Kerri Tealdi of St. Dunstan SVOP Fall's back, spring forward...Don 't know if it's the start of school or the vitamins I' m takin ' but youth is in the air and young men and women are at work all around the Arch 'diocese. The St. Vincent de Paul Society conference at St. Dunstan Parish, Millbrae has an ongoing program involving young people that includes distribution of food to needy families and preparing goody baskets for needy children. St. Dunstan Next weekend , Vincenti ans — young and older alike by Tom Burke — will be busy with bundle Sunday, an ingenious idea used to gather usable clothing and household items for the poor. New clothes are also sought , especiall y socks and underclothing. So before you have the garage sale or go chasing after the Anti ques Road Show, think about giving St. Dunstan 's or your local SVDP conference a shot at your stuff. For a conference near you, call in SF, Steve Maraccini at (415) 977-1270, ext. 3003; in Marin, Steve Boycr at (415) 454-3303; in San Mateo, (650) 343-4403. The number for St. Dunstan is (650) 871-6844. Back from a faith sharing journey to Hawaii are St. Cecilia 's pastor, Father Mike Harriman and parish youth group members John and Rob Angcay , Greg Williams, Leslie Green, Brian Martinezmoles, Frank Villanueva , Vanessa Rawls, Katie Faulkner and Anthony Bozzi . The group stayed with parishioners of Holy Rosary on Maui and brought back realizations about the importance of community and each parish's part in the Body of Christ. Father Harriman said they return ed with "a profound experience of Church" emanating from their host parish's "vibrant spirit of hospitality. "...Thanks and prayers for Franciscan Father Anthony Baumann who retires soon from the chaplaincy program at St. Mary's Medical Center. The Mission District native has been a real shot in the arm for patients and their families there for a dozen years. Father Anthony Previous service during his 55 years Baumann , O.F.M as a priest includes eight as a parochial vicar at St. Anthony, where he grew up, and seminary and high school teaching including two years at Immaculate Conception Academy and a year at the much missed and still revered Presentation Academy. Father's sister is Mission of San Jose Dominican Sister Teresa Baumann, hersel f approaching the half-century mark as a religious , and currently serving at St. Elizabeth, Oakland. Father Baumann remains busy as a keeper of books and guest rooms at St. Anthony. Hobbies include computers , bird-watching and surf fishing.... When I first joined the Archdiocese 15 years ago, there was a corps of women working at the Chancery I became very lucky and proud to know. Marie Bellesi, who was buried from St. Gabriel Church on Sept. 2, was one of them. The others, now mostly retired, were Marion Bond , Julie Petrilli , Betty Hughes, Dolores McCaffrey, Margaret Martinez, Patsy Soltau, Mary Lovi, Margaret Zipse, Marge Ward, Peg Moses and the late Nina Comer, Dolores Gallo and May York. A person I missed by a few months but who also made a long and worthy contribution was Angie Lynch. All of them always found time to be kind while doing exemplary work in finance, tribunal and secretarial capacities. If ever you wonder who 's doing the less visible work of the Church, remember these remarkable women and the

On The

women and men who continue in their tradition at 441 Church St. and in years to come on Peter Yorke Way by the cathedral....Prayers for a health y and quick recovery to John McDonnell , music director at Star of the Sea Parish. John is another whose work is done out of sight but nonetheless is an irreplaceable element of our life as Church. During Joh n 's absence, Caroline Boone, a member of the music team at Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame , has been accompanying cantor Marta Rebagliati, who says John is "dearly missed." Dorothy Bieniek, who has been making Church music on the Peninsula for almost 25 years and now directs the 11:30 Mass choir at OLA, has been covering for Caroline. Hats off to all , including pastors Msgr. Charles Durkin and Capuchin Father Michael Mahoney, for their examp le in cooperation and thoug htl'ulness. Sophie Lei Aldrich , chief operating officer of Catholic Charities, has been named to the advisory committee of the national Catholic Campaign for Human Development. In a letter to Sophie , Archbishop William J. Levada offered his "congratulations on this well deserved recognition." You don ' t have to get your checkbooks out yet, but this year 's CCHD collection is scheduled for Masses on Nov.20-21....Congrats to Jessica Jenkins, a '99 grad of Notre Dame, Belmont and now a Stanford freshman , for being named a San Mateo County People Who Care Volunteer. Also at Notre Dame, 1999 St. Julie Billiart Awards went to Amber Howard, Meghan McCarty, Kathleen Peredo, Katherine J. Windstrup, Natalia Carsc, Michelle Meyer, Esperanza Jiminez , Amanda Fabbro. St. Julie founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Nainur. .. Lourdes Libre, a Mercy High School, SF sophomore , is Jessica Jenkins champ ion in a California-Nevada Lions Club speech contest, rising through live level s ol competition and earning an $18 ,000 college scholarshi p. Hats off , too, tc coach Gail Chastain.... Juni pero Serra Hi gh School is sponsoring a soup supper this Tuesday, Sept. 14. It benefits San Bruno 's Catholic Worker House. To reserve a spot for what sounds like a very effective evening, call campus minister Lynne Mullen at (650) 345-8207, ext. 202....S pecial thanks and thank God always for grand parents , grandaunts , uncles and friends who are being blessed and honored today and this weekend at schools and parishes around the Archdiocese. There are many jokes about getting older . Bob Goodwin, former owner of Goodwin-Scannell Funerals in SF, says his grandkids call a bench at Disneyland his favorite ride - but closer to the truth is their action as friends of the young and advisors to parents. The goodness my mom brings to our house during her annual visits cannot be measured and I'm sure I'm not alone in holding older adults in very high esteem. Thanks, again, to all of you.... Students from Hol y Name of Jesus Elementary - or at least their names - will be travelli ng with a space shuttle on Oct. 14. The school is part of a Students ' Signatures in Space program. After the flight, the school receives a photo of the shuttle crew and a NASA flig ht certification that the names were indeed up there. Principal is Norcen Murphy. New pastor is Father Don D'Angelo. Thanks to Linda Cheetham for sending us the info.

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Final 'bloc ' of parishes to enter endowment effort

Cabbies blessed in revived event

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St. Boniface Church re vive d a San Francisco tradition -the Annual Blessing of the Taxica b Drivers — Sept. 1, the feast of the patron saint of cabdrivers , St. Fiacre (pronounced Fee-a-craw ). Cabbies of various religious affiliations lined Golden Gate Avenue in front of the historic church as Franciscan Friars Father Floyd Lotito (left) and Dan Lackie (above) briefly talked to drivers and performed the blessing: "May God bless you and your cab and everyone that rides in it. We ask in his name to keep you safe from harm and in good health." Said driver Rinaldo Datlag (above), "In this city it's important to get all the help I can. " The ceremony put focus on the service cab drivers provide and also drew attention to St.

Boniface 's campaign to raise funds for the plant 's

seismic retrofitting. The Tenderloin church must be upgraded to comply with seismic standards passed into law after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Donations can be made to St. Boniface Restoration Project , 133 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco , 94102. For more information call (415) 863-2395.

Papal audience

Cathedra l children 's choirs headed to Ita ly

When the choirs of boys and girls at St. Mary 's Cathedral resume rehearsals this month they will be preparing for the biggest event in their history — a singing tour of Venice, Florence, Assisi and Rome. The thirty or so children , ages 8 to 14, will travel with the Cathedral 's adult choirs to some of the most beautiful churches in the world. The highlights of the October 2000 trip will be a papal liturgy at St. Peter 's Basilica on Mission Sunday and an audience with the Holy Father. Christoph Tietze, organist and music director at St. Mary 's, expects the children to experience a broader dimension of faith . Seeing pilgrims from all over the world gathered around the Holy Father "will give the childre n memories they will never forget." Those memories will have a higher price tag than most, so the choirs will be raising funds to hel p families defray the expenses. One way the Catholic community can assist the children is to

hire them, Tietze said. "We are looking for singing engagements , especially at Christmastime," Madeleine Karnau, a teacher at Star of the Sea School and recent widow, has three children in the choirs. "I don 't know how it's going to be possible for us to make this trip," she said, "But I am trusting in God to get us there." Although the choirs need professional singing opportunities , their emphasis is not on performance but on service. The children sing about twice a month during Cathedral Masses. Tietze, who has two masters' degrees from the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, teaches the children sight-reading and voice building skills in weekl y rehearsals. The children do not need prior musical experience , only potential, an unchanged voice, and a willingness to work hard, he said. The children ' s repertoire includes Gregorian chant , Renaissance polyphony and other challenging music.

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Tietze's focus is not what the choirs can do for the children , but what the children can do for the Church. Children 's voices, when properly trained, can lead the congregation in a prayer, he said. "The innocent quality of the children 's voices is especially appropriate to sacred music. It reminds us of the reality that we are all children before God." As glorious as the choirs already sound , they could sound even better if they doubled in size, Tietze said. The children would reach their optimum sound, just in time for the most momentous singing experience of their lives. People wanting information about joining or funding the choirs may call Christoph Tietze at St. Mary 's Cathedral, (415) 567-2020, Ext. 213. (Vivian Dudro contributed to this story.)

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A second half of the parishes of the Archdiocese — "Bloc II" — will officially kick-off campai gns in the "Today's Students — Tomorrow's Leaders" Catholic school tuition endowment initiative the weekend of Sept. 25-26, according to leaders of the archdiocesan-wide effort. Back ground materials on the $30 million campaign will be distributed and in many parishes an informational video will made available to parishioners or show n in conjunction with the liturgy. The video outlines the background and goals of "Today's Students — Tomorrow's Leaders" — a campaign to set aside an endowment that will generate roughly $2 million per year indefinitely to help tarmlies meet tuition costs for elementary and secondary Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. Meanwhile , the three dozen parishes which threw their fund-raising programs into gear in late August are scheduled next week to be asking for volunteers willing to call on fellow parishioners to encourage their support. Five parishes recentl y completed a "pilot" run of the campai gn to field test the appeal . Each of the five far exceeded what had been established as "financial targets". San Francisco ' s Epiphany Parish not only exceeded its target of $243, 165 by reaching nearly $614,000, but was the recipient of an additional $500,000 matching gift. Funds raised by parishes in excess of their "financial targets" will remain in the parishes , officials explained. Parishes' "share" of the $30 million overall campaign objective is $10 million with the balance of $20 million being sought from foundations , the business community, and individuals.

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WASHINGTON (CNS) — Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington announced the appointment of Yaliya Hendi as the school' s first Muslim chaplain. Hendi , a doctoral candidate in philosop hy and comparative religions at Temple University in Philadelphia, joins the university 's campus ministry interfaith team. He will provide guidance to Muslim students, lead prayer and ritual activities arid act as a university resource on Islamic issues and practices. NEW YORK (CNS) — Catholic and other religious schools are more drug-free than public schools, said a study released Aug. 30. The National Center on Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York, which sponsored the study, said three-fourths of teen-agers in religious schools regarded their school as drug-free. Only 40 percent of those attending public schools considered their school drug-free. Teen-agers in religious schools "are at half the risk of abusing tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs as teens in a school where drugs are used, kept or sold," said the stud y.

Dismay over p artial-birth ruling

Asks p enance based on truth

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Auxiliary Bishop P. Francis Murphy looks over the Baltimore skyline in a photo taken earlier this year. Bishop Murphy died of cancer Sept. 2 at age 66. He was an outspoken advocate of peace and the advancement of women in the Church.

VATICANCITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul U said the act of penance he has asked the Catholic Church to undertake before the new millennium should neither express "false humility" nor deny the good the Church has done. The Church "is ever more aware that only in a continuous process of purification of its members and of its institutions can it offer the world a coherent witness to the Lord," the pope said at his Sept. 1 general audience. He added that the Church "therefore wishes to ask pardon for the sins and weaknesses of her children down the ages."

would reveal evidence from a second witness in the Guatemalan army who could confirm the military's role in the 1998 murder of Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera. Mynor Melgar, a lawyer for the office , said Sept. 2, "Although the army did not expect this," a second witness "who was a member of the armed forces" will testify. "Various people working on the Gerardi case ... have been followed , presumably by members of military intelligence who know of the existence of this witness. But, despite this harassment, we will go ahead and present it (the evidence)," Melgar added.

Condemns pa ramilitary threats

Seminary opens in Denver

Urges interreligious dialogue

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul U urged the bishops of Ivory Coast to encourage interreligious dialogue, but not to let other faiths' traditions creep into Church practice. "Traditional African religion, from which many Christians come, marks the culture of your people profoundly," the pope said Aug. 30. "However, it is essential to help the baptized establish an authentic and profound relationship with Christ which must become the effective center of their existence."

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) — An archbishop in Northern Ireland condemned paramilitary "vigilante justice" after the Irish Republican Army threatened to execute six Catholic teen-agers if they did not leave the province. Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, primate of all of Ireland, called the action "unacceptable and intolerable." "Those who receive death threats, punishment beatings and orders to leave the country are victims of injustice. Their basic human rights are being violated by private armed groups who take the law into their own hands," he said last week.

Ex-POW: new look at Vietnam

Arizona app eals exhausted

WASHINGTON (CNS) — U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Douglas "Pete" Peterson, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict, said America should take a fresh look at the Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam has changed between his assignments to Vietnam, said Peterson , a Catholic. "Vietnam isn't the nation that it was when we were engaged in that situation ," he said. At the time of the Vietnam War, 49 million people lived in both North and South Vietnam, he said. Today in the reunited country of 80 million residents , "65 percent of the people are under age 25, and 80 percent are under age 40," giving the nation very little collective memory of the war," Peterson added.

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NEW YORK (CNS) — Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York had a small tumor removed from the surface of his brain, but doctors "determined that no other areas of the body were affected," according to a Sept. 4 statement by the cardinal 's spokesman, Joseph Zwilling. The statement said the cardinal had been released earlier that day from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, and was "looking forward to return ing to the full and vigorous schedule which he has followed since becoming the archbishop of New York."It also said the cardinal would begin radiation therapy shortly. Cardinal O'Connor will be 80 on Jan. 15. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) — Officials of the Providence Diocese expressed dismay but not surprise at a federal judge's decision to void a law that bans partial-birth abortion in Rhode Island. Valerie Sistare, coordinator of the Respect Life Program, said the language in the law was modeled closely after a ban twice approved by Congress but vetoed by President Clinton.'This (case) will probably end up before the highest court in the land," said Sistare. "We shall renew our efforts to outlaw this horrendous procedure." On Aug. 20 U.S. District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, in a 65-page decision, enjoined the state from enforcing the ban, which was passed in 1996 and amended a year later.

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PHOENIX (CNS) —Arizona Gov. Jane Hull said Aug. 30 her office would not appeal the Aug. 29 decision of the Arizona Supreme Court affirming an order to send a 14-yearold girl across state lines for a late-term abortion. "I have read that there may be legal efforts under way to go to a federal court. My office is not a part of those efforts ," Hull said. The case of the girl, a ward of the state whose name has not been revealed, provoked national controversy.

Bishop 's murder case broadens

GUATEMALA CITY (CNS) — Lawyers of the Guatemala archdiocesan human rights office announced they

DENVER (CNS) — The 59 seminarians who recentl y began school at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary represented the fulfillment of a four-year dream for northern Colorado Catholics. Classes began Aug. 30 for the 55 students at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary who are studying for ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver and four who are studying for the Diocese of Fargo, N.D. Seventeen other Archdiocese of Denver seminarians are in college or completing theological studies at other institutions , bringing the total number of local seminarians to 72. The seminary was to be formally dedicated Sept. 8, with guests including Bishop Guy Bagnaid of Belley-Ars, France.

Eyes shut for 'Eyes Wide Shut '

VATICANCITY (CNS) — A Vatican official planned to attend the Venice Film Festival — a high-profile, annual showcase of the latest movies — but said he did not intend to see Stanley Kubrick 's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut," which was playing every night of the festi val. The movie , which in its European version includes an explicit orgy scene, concerns marital infidelity and a young couple's ambivalence about one another. In a review of "Eyes Wide Shut", Vatican Radio said spirituality and love were "totall y absent" from the film.

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5 _ East Timorese jump a barbwire fence into a U.N. compound in Dili to avoid gunfire from pro-Indonesian militiamen Sept. 1. Pro-Indonesian militias went on a rampaqe in East Timor a day after its historic vote on autonomy. After a relatively peaceful election day, violence returned to the territory, with militias attacking the United Nations mission in Dili, shooting indiscriminately throughout the territory and burning houses. Pope John Paul II denounced the terror campaign by pro-Indonesia militias and called for an end to the "intimidation and violence ". Among those targeted by rampaging militias was Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo , the Nobel Prize-winning apostolic administrato r of Dili, who was reportedly unharmed in an attack on his residence that left 39 people dead. He was evacuated to Darwi n, Australia Sept 7 "The militias are controlling the roads, houses are being destroyed, and people are being killed," Bishop Belo said in a statement issued through Arnold Kohen his biographer and a consultant for the Office of International Justice and Peace at the U.S. Catholic Conference. The East Timor population is 85 percent Catholic. Foreign intervention is needed to prevent mass slaughter of citizens at the hands of pro-Indonesia militias, said priests working in Dili.

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Creating a culture of cultures : a challenge for us all

inal insight that has provided many surpri ses during his pontificate, the pope offered a vision of "one America ". And this just as we Californians were voting for Prop. 187 , proposing to dig the divide between North and South deeper. At Santo Domingo he said, "On the threshold of the third Chr istian millennium and at a time when many walls and ideolog ical barriers have fallen , the Church feels absolutely duty bound to bring into still deeper spiritual union the peop les who compose this great continent and also, prompted by the religious mission which is proper to the Church, to stir among these peoples a spirit of solidarity." For this reason he asked the bishops at the Synod to reflect on America as a sing le reality by reason of our shared Christian identity, even though that was largely Catholic in the South and Protestant in the North — to use the first evangelization that we have both inherited as a vehicle of communion rather than division. Communion , not division. That 's the challenge for the ongoing development of our cultu re in the new cenAlso see stories on pages 8 and 9 tury and millennium. With the pope I am convinced thai real solidarity must have a spiritual base. Otherwise it and gratitude . But this year 's celebration , on the eve of will likely be doomed by economic rivalries and imbalthe Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 — the beginning of ances. the third millennium of Christianity, marking the 2000th a. Perhaps the ICF, and cultural and religious organi< anniversary of the incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ, K zations like it , can already begin to show a way to formthe divine Son of God — also draws our attention foring a "culture of many culture s" — purifying those eleward to the future. ments which are negative, embracing those which are Here I suggest is a challenge for the ICF and for all s positive — which will help us move in the direction Americans: What will it mean in the next century to be envisioned by our Holy Father. He said that "the deciItalian (or Italo-American) in "America" (meaning Archbishop William J. Levada addresses sion to speak of 'America ' in the singular was an attempt "America" (meaning the new world United States), or in Sept. 4 ICF banquet to express not only the unity which in some way already Columbus)? Christopher discovered by Italian explorer exists, but also to point to that closer bond which the the quinMany of us can recall Columbus Day, 1992, In his January 1999 apostolic exhortation The peoples of the continent seek and which the Church centennial (500th anniversary) of the European discovery wishes to foster as part of her own mission as she works of America by the Genovese sailor/explorer, who sailed Church in America, the pope wrote, "On Oct. 2, 1992, under the flag of their Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella of the very day marking the 500th anniversary of the first to promote the communion of all in the Lord." the Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon. This was the evangelization of America, I spoke at the opening of the moment when the seven-century long reconquest of Spain fourth general assembly of the Latin American bishops in Santo Domingo. With the aim of broadening perspecfrom the Moorish followers of Islam was completed. Some of my recollections of that Columbus Day are tives and giving impetus to the new evangelization , I statel y tall ships sailing into our harbors , protesters proposed a synodal meeting, 'with a view to increased Most Rev. William J. Levada lamenting the harm done to Native Americans and the cooperation between the different particular churches,' environment by centuries of exploitation — and bewil- so that together we might address as part of the new Archbishop of San Francisco dered Italian Apostolic Administrator, Diocese of Santa Rosa evangelization and as ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Americans in particuan expression of epislar, who seemed most copal communion of all to regret a party 'the problems relating spoiled. to justice and solidarColumbus ' disity among all the covery began an "age nations of America'." of exploration" by the Encouraged by Portuguese , French, the Latin American English, Dutch — to bishops, he called for be followed by revothe Synod to address Two special collections have been scheduled for itself to "the problutions of indepenthe Archdiocese during September. dence from the cololems of the new evanThe 20* annual Catholic Communication gelization in both nizing Europeans. Campaign will take place at Masses this weekend. Throughout this 500-year period, in cycles of ebb and parts of the same continent, so different in origin and The Campaign funds national and local media proflow, came new immigrants: from Africa (mostly slaves), history, and on issues of justice and international ecojects in line with the U.S. bishops' Strategic Plan from Europe's north, south, then east, and from Asia. nomic relations, in view of the enormous gap between for Communications. Some immigrants mingled with the Native Americans, North and South." creating mestizo populations like Mexico; others brought The annual Priests' Retirement Fund collection After the collapse of communist governments in disease and an appetite for land , practically eliminating Eastern Europe, the East-West polarity which had domwill be taken at Sept. 26. The effort currently helps the Native Americans, as here in the United States and in inated geopolitical concerns in the U.S. and Europe lost underwrite the retirements of 54 clergy of the Argentina; others marginalized them territorially and cul- force. For the pope, the gap between the rich and the Archdiocese and will support others in the future. turally, as in Canada, the Andes, Brazil and the Chaco. poor, which can almost be Perhaps it can be said that a new culture has been traced geographically as a created on this American continent, or perhaps we need gap between the North and to say many new cultures. What can be the contribution South, urgently needs to be of an Italian cultural heritage (one could substitute Irish, addressed. or Chinese, or African , or Polish, etc.) for the future of With this kind of orig-

Every year on Labor Day weekend the Italian Catholic Federation gathers for its annual convention. This year the venue was San Francisco, where the organization was founded 75 years ago at Immaculate Conception Parish by Lui gi Providenza and Father Albert Bandini. Labor Day seems an appropriate time for these children, grandchildren and great grand-children of Italian immi grant working men and their wives to mark this annual ritual. For three-quarters of a century the Italian Catholic Federation (ICF) has helped Italian immigrants deepen their faith and preserve important elements of Italian culture and language in the mel ting pot of "America". Important values of faith and family which are the heritage of these Italian immigrants and their descendants have been a great blessing for American society, and for the Church in the United States. A 75th anniversary necessarily turns our thoug hts to the past , to those who have gone before , with affection

our nation, of our continent, of our "America"? It was a question something like this that must have been running through the pope 's mind when he proposed a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for "America". This question was certainly ru nning through the minds of those of us who participated in this Synod at the end of 1997.

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What can be the contribution of an Italian cultural heritage (one could substitute Irish, or Chinese, or African, or Polish , etc.) for the future of our nation, of our continent, of our "America "?

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'Early Christian Spirit y

Intimate, every-day f aith questions to be grist fo r SPL clas s FSTB , earned a doctoral degree fro m Oxford University . He was in Rome and not available for an interview at press time. The "Earl y Christian Spirit " module will be the first half of a 12-week course on spirituality. Focusing on mysticism , a second second six-week module will be taught by Luke Buckles from the Dominican School of Theology, also pari of the Graduate Theological Union . It will also be offered on Wednesdays at the same time and location. For further information , contact SPL by calling at (415) 242-9087. Also see additional SPL offerings listed in Datebook , page 16.

By Kamille Maher

"In the face of suffering, who is God? And what is God like?" asks the professor of a new sp irituality course to be offere d by the School of Pastoral Leadershi p beg inning this month. A Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, Mary Ann Donovan poses this and other queslions to intro duce the module she will co-teach with Franciscan Father Josep h Chinnici on Wednesdays, Sept. 22 throug h Oct. 27 , from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Riordan High School , 175 Phelan Ave. (near City College). Other themes of the six-week module , called Father Joseph Chinnici, OFM Sister Mary Ann Donovan "Early Christian Spirit ", are: How do you as a Christian make a place for yourself in life? How do you maintain your own identity and rel ate to peop le who are different from you? How do you experience Cough at Beary.San Franclaa God in the midst of a chang ing Church? Do you image God in yourself? How? 7:30 Pm,with Ctslia.1 JO-BpliMcKffutoy,c hci^GuioiM^it Sister Donovan and Father Chinnici will be "on School of Theology and loan " to SPL from the Jesuit the Franciscan School of Theology, both part of the 7:00 Pm,with Fr. Pater Sanders,Orat Both Masses with priests, deacons,andlay heattgteams Graduate Theolog ical Union in Berkeley, according to ot tfw AH___tas8 0_ SanFr_iita SPL. Joni Gallag her, assistant director of

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Mass of the Sacred Heart Friday. October 1, 1988,

Mass of the Holy Spirit satmay Qctober 2, 1888,

'We hop e we've surfaced some questions that really matter to p eop le, ... We do each have to find a way to live with each of these issues, and do it in a way that has

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integrity.' The two sp irituality experts are "brilliant , prominent , busy professors ," Gallagher said. They will use students ' own heritage in an exploration of current concern s b y taking cases from the early Christian centuries as starting points, Sister Donovan said. "We hope we 've surfaced some questions that really matter to peop le," she explained during a telephone interview. "We do each have to find a way to live with each of these issues, and do it in a way that has integrity. " She and Father Chinnici based the questions on "concerns of people we meet, " she said , noting she has noticed "a great search for meaning, for depth , for relationshi p in something that really matters." Some of the early Christians and movements that will be studied include the "desert mothers and fathers ," Gnostics , Irenaeus, medieval women and Jews , Celtic and Latin Christianity, and Greeks and Latins. Author of One Rig ht Reading ? A Guide to Irenaeus, Sister Donovan holds a doctorate in historical theology from St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. She writes about historical theology of the early Church and spirituality, and women religious. Sister Donovan will take a sabbatical during the year of 2000 to work on another book on spirituality. Father Chinnici , professor of Church history at

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Ministry

St. Antho ny 's Padu a Dining Room to celebrate silver jub ilee

By Clare Maloney Next month St. Anthon y Parish' s Padua Dining Room will celebrate 25 years of feeding and clothing its local community in Menlo Park. "Somebod y ought to care. Somebod y does," asserts an informational flier regarding the Dining Room. St. Anthony 's Padua Dining Room opened its doors to lowincome elderl y in 1974. It began by serving Sunday meals. Now the program has become full-time , serving 500 meals a day, six day s a week. It owns a van, which transports clients to and from areas far from the Dining Room. "The Dining Room has sought to provide more meals at a distance, to other shelters in the area ," commented Father Jim Garcia , pastor of St. Anthony Parish. The outreach has grown in other areas as well. Since 1993, a clothing distribution center has provided more than 1,000 patrons with clothing and bedding. Companies such as Gap, Hewlett Packard , Raychem , Canada College, and Coldwell Banker donate clothes to the center annually. Since 1993, a nurse has been available during the lunch hour for public health services. At Christmas , 10,000 gifts are collected and given to children. The Dining Room owes the bulk of its success during the past 25 years to its benefactors and volunteers. More than 140 volunteers help serve the patrons of the Dining Room and a volunteer board of directors manages it. Thanksgiving brings 200 donated turkey s from Pete 's Harbor. The Dining Room is decorated by flowers, crepe paper, candies and favors at Christmas , Easter and

Dming Room open house set Oct. 9 St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room will celebrate its 25th Anniversary on Oct. 9 with an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. "All friends of St. Anthony's are invited to attend" the event at the facility, located at 3500 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. The open house celebration will welcome guests with beverages and hord'ourves, and offer guided tours. In addition, visitors will be able to view archival documents and photos of St. Anthony's along with a video of a typical day at the facility. Guests will be given the chance to learn more about other services of St. Anthony 's, such as the free clothing boutique, stay-at-home van service and the nursing program. The celebration gives the staff and volunteers the opportunity to thank its many friends for their generous support over the past 25 years, St. Anthony volunteers said. Since 1974, the dining room has served more than 3 million meals to the less fortunate in San Mateo County. For more information , call St. Anthony's rectory (650) 365-9664, or Patti Cancilla, (650) 364-2557.

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Volunteers arrange and aid clients in an area of the Dining Room where excess food is distributed for home consumption.

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Recently, the Dining Room received a $510 ,000 donaThanksgiving, thanks to the Menlo Park Presbyterian tion fro m theWilliam Brophy Trust. "Mr. Brophy believed Church. "Without all the donations and volunteers we wouldn 't that your organization provided a wonderful benefit to the survive. Currently in the year we serve about 120,000 community and wanted to do something meaningful to help you continue your important work ," meals and without the 140 volunteers said a letter addressed to the Dining that we hav e, we couldn 't get it done ," Room from Brophy's attorney. No stipusaid Dick Cortopassi , treasurer and lations were put on the money. board member. In fac t, donations , contri Father Garcia called the donation "a butions , bequests and gifts make up 100 wonderful surprise." percent of the Dining Room 's income. Dining Room officials have already Volunteers hail from varied backpurchased a refri gerator and a freezer with grounds—students , professionals , and retirees among them. Their reasons for part of the donation. Each bears a gold helping are also diverse, but they are plaque with the inscription: "In memory united by a common motive, according of William Brophy who believed it was to Father Garcia. "They're grateful tc better to serve than to be served, that in God. Each one has their own reason and serving the least he was serving Jesus himself." The donation will also fund the this is their way of thanking God , by taklandscap ing of property—which will be ing care of his peop le," he said. Father James Garcia converted into a playground—nex t to the Volunteers perform numerous tasks: dining room. organizing donated food , preparing and On Oct. 9, Dining Room volunteers will unveil a playserying food , sorting and hang ing clothes, and helping patrons. Volunteers also arrange and aid clients in an area ground plaque dedicated to Brophy. of the Dining Room where excess food is distributed for People wanting more information may contact home consumption. St. Anthony 's rectory (650) Volunteersfind the work satisfying. "I started working herej ust 365-9664 , or Patti before I retired. I became a board member and after five or sixyears, Cancilla, Clothing Distriin 1988, 1 became the treasurer. I love this. It _ very close to my bution Center (650) heart. I enjoy doing it and I get a lot of personal satisfaction by help- 364-2557. ing others," said Cortopassi. Catkolk Travel Centre

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Honored by ICF

Mother Wrig ht: 'The Lord woke me up in the middle of the night... ' words of encourthe ICF gathering. agement and hope. "There are no big She empathized Many people app laud the good works of l's - no little you 's with the pli ght of Mary Ann Wri ght. Every day her Oakland- - we belong to the the poor because famil y. based foundation distributes dozens of bags same she was once one of food including more than 3,000 loaves of Together we stand. of them. bread to the city 's poorest neighborhoods. Divided we fall. "I can remember Every Saturday she dishes up free hot And we are going when I had no meals to up to 500 people in a downtown to stand together. I shoes on my feet," park. But Wright herself prefers to give the don 't feel worth y said the New of this beautifu l glory to a higher source. Orleans native . Her "If it wasn 't the Lord 's doing it wouldn 't feeling. I am the mother died when happen like this. What 1 can do? I can 't do richest woman in she was five. Wright nothing without him and through him all the world without spent her early things are possible," said the woman, best money. God is years working on wonderful for he known as "Mother " Wright. m < in the a farms Wright , 78, has been feeding the hungry makes sure that Louisiana countryz and clothing the need y for nearly 20 years. troubles don 't last." side. Married at 14, She asked ICF That work led to her selection as this year 's she had nine chilreci p ient of the Pope John XXIII Award, members to pray •V dren by the time she the hi ghest hono r given by the Italian for her and her was 25, and three work. Catholic Federation (ICF). more after that. Mother Wright The award was presented Sept. 4 at a "Mother " Mary Ann Wright When the family banquet at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San began helping the , found farm work moved to California they in the Francisco, during the federation 's annual needy in 1980. 'The Lord woke me up garages and basements into and tu rned and told me what he middle of the night convention. the rats and the homes they shared "with The annual ICF honor recognizes a lay wanted me to do — to feed the hungry. I " she said. roaches, woke up screaming and I never went back to person who best exemplifies the humanitarShe did domestic work for $1 an hour ian qualities of the late pope throug h sleep," she said in a recent interview. and worked in a cannery for $1.25 an hour, "I "In a way," she added with a laugh, contributions to the community. Previous often long into the night. "We had to work have not been back to sleep since." recipients include the late comedian Danny ' hard to get what we got," she said. 's used all of her For two years Wright Thomas who founded St. Jude s Children does not "forget where 1 came $236 Social Security check to buy Wri monthly ght Research Hospital in Memphis , Tenn.; and from." She embraces every person with food she cooked in her own kitchen to feed Mimi Siebert , co-founder of Delancey living on Oakland's streets. compassion and respect. The Saturday a program for drug and alcohol the hungry Street , had lost their jobs and subsequentl meals she serves in Jefferson Park , for Many , criminal rehabilitation and y treatment their homes and cars. example, are prepared and presented with vocational training in San Francisco. "Mother Wright does not only read the Wri ght 's then grown children gave her special care. "We put table cloths on the table. We word of God but lives it every day," said financial support. "It seemed like only a wrap the forks with napkins and feed them Nettie Descalso Del Nero, ICF president in little bit to give," she said. She also collected and distributed blan- with dignity." presenting the award. The grandmother of 33 and great "No person is insignificant," Wright told kets and clothing — and her aid included

grandmother of 35 instructs volunteers , "If you can 't serve the peop le like you would serve yourself or the president of the United States , then we don ' t need you to serve them." Wrig ht doesn 't limit her outre ach to local needs. Her Mary Ann Wri g ht Foundation , started in 1980 , has sent food, clothing, furnishings , books , and toys to strugg ling families in several slates as well as Mexico , Africa , Vietnam , Russia and Samoa. The Foundation has built an 18-bed transitional housing facility for homeless men in Oakland and a school in Kenya. Wright talks in schools , churches and community groups about her ministry, drawing hundreds of volunteers and supporters. Wonder Bread , the Clorox Company and Lucky Stores are also contributors. But one donor has especiall y touched Wright 's heart — a woman who sent $5 annuall y for seven years. "It was like the Widow 's Mite and it meant more to me than all of the big dollars that the people sent," she said. A member of the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ, Wright sees herself as "a servant of the Lord and a servant for his people, that 's all." "We all belong to the same family, the family of God. It ' s not about blacks, whites , reds or blues; it 's just about people. And love is the key — that 's what life is all about." (For more information or to contribute to The Mother Mary Ann Wright Foundation , call (510) 763-3111 or (510) 601-8119.) Carrie McCIish is a staff writer for The Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Oakland Diocese.

Former local ecumenist taken by death

graduate degree in elementary education from the University of San Francisco , taught in schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco including St. Vincent de Paul Elementary and St. Vincent 's Hi gh School and also served with the Department of Catholic Schools. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Anna House on Sept. 7. Remembrances may be sent to Daughters of Charity, 7733 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis , MO 63121.

By Carrie McCIish

"Sister Margaret Sister Margaret talked about ecuMary Prussing, a menism before most Sister of Charity of people knew what the Blessed Virgin the word meant ," Mary for 64 years , said Father P. Gerard died on Sept. 2 at her O'Rourk e, director community 's motherof the interfaith house in Dubuque , Iowa, where she had office of the Archdiocese where lived in retirement the late reli gious since 1995. She was 85 years old. assisted from 1987 to Sister Margaret was 1995. "She had a bom in Missouri but feeling for ecumenism became closely identiand the importance fied with San of the interfaith relaSister Margaret Mary Prussing Francisco by way of 24 tionship and made a years as a teacher of huge contribution in " business and reli gion at the now-closed those areas. St. Paul High School and almost 10 Sister Maureen said an interfaith years as a staff member with the memorial celebrating Sister Margaret 's Archdiocesan Office of Ecumenical and work and life is being planned for next Interreligious Affairs. month. "Sister Margaret had a passion for Sister Margaret also taug ht in ecumenical and interreli gious develop- Petaluma; Des Moines , Iowa and ment in the Church and was bringing Chicago, 111. She is survived by her speakers on those topics into her classes brother, Jesuit Father Charles Prussing, at St. Paul's as long as 25 years ago," of Los Angeles. A funeral Mass was celsaid Sister Maureen O'Brien , BVM, a ebrated on Sept. 6, at the motherhouse longtime principal of St. Paul's and now with burial in the community 's Mt. a pastoral associate at Visitacion Parish. Carmel Cemetery. Remembrances may "She had an uncanny ability to get lots of be made to The Sisters of Charity/BVM, people to work well together." 1100 Carmel Dr., Dubuque, Iowa 52001.

Sister Annina McDonald dies in St. Louis

Sister Annina McDonald , a native San Franciscan and a Daughter of Charity for 61 years , died at Anna House, a retirement facility for women religious in St. Louis, on Sept. 3. She was 80 years old. Sister McDonald , who held a

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Attilio Legittimo (left), chairperson of the ICF bocce ball tournament , demonstrates his technique. He is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, San Francisco. Center: Franciscan Friar Father Floyd Lotito was named reci pient of the ICF's new Mother Teresa Award; pictured with him are outgoing ICF president Nettie Descalso Del Nero — and Alex Centurioni of St. Luke Parish , Temple City, Calif. Right: Nuni Radicchi and Orlando Gatti of St. Isidore Parish , Santa Cruz, enjoy the extensive exhibit of historic materials on display in the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency.

Pride and tradition marked in Italian Catholic Federation's 75th year Story and photos by Evelyn Zappia Pride and tradition marked the 75"1 anniversary of the Italian Catholic Federation (ICF) as nearl y 2,000 delegates and guests gathered at its birthp lace, San Francisco, for its annual national convention , Sept. 3-6. A standing-room-only Mass Sept. 6 at St. Mary 's Cathedral with San Francisco's Archbishop William J. Levada as principal celebrant was a highlight of the convention. "Important values of faith and family which are the heritage of these Italian immigrants and their descendants have been a great blessing for American society, and for the Church in the United States," the Archbishop said in his homily. He challenged the ICF and all Americans to reconceptu alize North and South America as one entity, as "one America ". Archbi shop Levada was joined on the altar by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino; Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton; Bishop Tod D. Brow n of Orange; Bishop Sylvester Ryan of Monterey ; Bishop Daniel L. Ryan of Spring field, II.; Bishop Joseph M. Sartoris of Los Angeles; Bishop Phillip F. Straling of Reno; Bishop John T. Stein of Fresno; Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles; and Bishop John Wester of San Francisco.

Joining the bishops in ICF history with the in concelebrating the ICF Heritage Disp lay. Mass were Msgr. E. Hundreds of black and James Petersen, chapwhite photos and archival records were lain of the Central exhibited , documenting Council of ICF, and ICF's history as a lay Msgr. Charles J. apostolate organization Dtirkin , archdiocesan and prominent charitable ICF chaplain. force throughout the The 18,000-member world. In addition to mil210 organization ' s lions of volunteer hours active chapters are assisting the sick and primaril y located in Master of ceremonies at the elderly and others in — four . states ICF's Pope John XXII Award need, the ICF has funded California , Arizona , Dinner was Thomas Poggi. countless projects such Nevad a and Illinois. as overseas relief , Other highlights and events of the four-day convention included: college scholarships, and programs for the • The Federation 's highest honor, the developmentally disabled. Chaired by Ario Pope John XXIII Award, was presented to Gregori, the Heritage Display took over a Mary Ann ("Mother") Wri ght of Oakland year to assemble. • Also on display was "Una Stori a . (See story on adjacent page.) • Franciscan Father Floyd Lotito of St. Secreta" ("The Secret Story "), an exhibit Boniface Parish and well-known for his which documented treatment of 600,000 work in San Francisco 's Tenderloin , Italian Americans branded as enemy notabl y at St. Anthony 's Dining Room , aliens during the Second World War. The was named inaugural reci p ient of a new title derived from the conviction of many ICF honor, the Mother Teresa Award. In of the Italian Americans held in internaccepting, the priest said, "I am proud to ment camps that if they did not talk about be an Italian American and Franciscan. I the ordeal, the government would realize have always loved the people of the poor they had been , and continue to be, loy al American citizens. and have always felt close to them." • New officers were installed on the • The Grand Ballroom foyer of the last day of the gathering: Madeleine Vinci steeped was Embarcadero Hyatt Regency

Among bishopconcelebrants of the ICF Mass on Sept. 5 were Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles (left) and , at right (Ieft to right): Bishop Sylvester Ryan, Bishop Ste p hen E. Blaire , Bishop John T. Stein, Bishop Gerald R. Barnes , Bishop Joseph M. Sartoris, and Bishop John Wester.

of the Los Angeles Archdiocese , president; Steven Fuentes , Branch 163, San Mateo, firs t vice president; Michael Cannady, Branch 355, Hercules, second vice president; Carmen Kilcullen , Branch 52, Healdsburg, secretary; George Bacigalupi, Branch 243, San Francisco, treasurer; Forrest Price, Branch 261, San Diego, sergeant-at-arms; and trustees — Marge Ray, Diocese of Orange; Leonard Rossi , Branch 91, Oakland; Leroy Taddei, Branch 343, Castro Valley. • The convention unofficially started Thursday morning, Sept. 2, with a Bocce Ball tournament , chaired by Attilio Legittimo at Aquatic Park in the Marina and a Golf Tournament, chaired by Marc Valledor and "assisted" b y Msgr. Charles J. Durkin at Harding Golf Course at Lake Merced. Bocce ball winners: 1sl place — Liliano Salvetti , Elio Curletto, Tina Lucido; 2ni1 place — Tony Milosowich, Alfredo Filippazzi , Nuni Radicchi; 3rd place—Laura Picketl, Carlo Torrone, Massimo Baroni. Golf tournament winners: I s' place, Danny Framsted; 2"^ place, Harry Swinkels; 3rd place, Gino Martinucci; closest to pin, Tom Sabbadini; longest drive, Danny Framsted; special award, Jane Hurlburt ("The only woman brave enough to sign up"). • A two-day Pedro tournament was won by Dorothy Rossi.

Pope John Pan! II will go to prison By Cind y Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II will go to prison Jul y 9, 2000, and he is asking every bishop in the world to do the same. "Prisoners cannot come out for the jubilee , so we must go in ," said Msgr. Giorgio Caniato, chief of chaplains in the Italian justice ministry's department of corrections. Msgr. Caniato, Vatican-appointed coordinator for the Holy Year "Jubilee in the Prisons of the World," said Pope John Paul will celebrate Mass either in Rome's small Regina Coeli prison or in the sprawling Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of town. On the special jubilee day for prisoners, the Holy Year call to repentance, forgiveness, conversion and a commitment to justice will be addressed not only to those who are incarcerated, but to Catholics throughout the world , the monsignor said. "All Christians must make acts of conversion during the Holy Year. We cannot divide Christians into categories of those who need to convert and those who don 't," he said. It is easy to look at the jubilee day and assume its focus will be on convincing prisoners to take responsibility for their actions and work to change their lives , he said. But the Vatican celebration envisions more, said the monsignor, who has spent more than 30 years ministering in Italian prisons. Judges are called to promote justice. Prison guards are called to respect the dignity of prisoners. Chaplains are called to bring comfort and healing. And, he said, Catholic citizens are called to make an examination of conscience about attitudes toward prisoners and imprisonment and about their role in creating societies that spawn crime. "Prisoners don 't grow on a prisoner tree," Msgr.

'We cannot divide Christians into categories of those who need to convert and those who don't Caniato said. "Society has a co-responsibility. When we don't satisfy people's basic needs, we cannot be surprised that some turn to crime." Preparing tor the jubilee day, Msgr. Caniato has been in contact with bishops in 140 countries; in addition to informing them about plans for the jubilee day, he has asked for a report on prison population, a description of prison conditions and a list of the main factors seen as contributing to crime in each country. As an officer of the Italian prison system, Msgr. Caniato has an accurate count for Italy.As of Aug. 31, 1998, Italian prisons held more than 49,000 prisoners. According to Department of Justice statistics, in the United States there were more than 1.7 million people in federal, state and local prisons or jails in mid-1997. Neither Msgr. Caniato nor major human rights organizations like Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch have estimates for the worldwide prison population. However, a March 1998 British government study estimated the number at more than 8 million.

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: IIP* By Kamille Maher

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Detention ministry in the San Francisco Archdiocese and statewide is experien cing increased focus. In recent months , the Archdiocese 's Office of Detention Ministry has begun moving to the Pastoral Center/Chancery , volunteers have started bringing centering prayer to local inmates , local and state Catholic leaders have visited penitentiaries , and San Francisco 's Archbishop preside d at a Mass at San Quentin State Prison. Archbishop William J. Levada offered Mass for 150 inmates at San Quentin Aug. 8. The Archbishop 's message was "to tell the men the Church hadn 't forgotten them , he loves them , God loves them , and they are still children of

In San Quentin 's Holy Rosary Chapel, Daughter of Charity Marie Antoinette (left) and San Quentin choir members sing under the direction of Franciscan Brother Rufino Zaragoza (below) during the Aug. 8 Mass at which Archbishop Levada was principal celebrant.

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PHOTOS BY ENRICO RISANO | j !

Archbishop Levada also told the congrega- fr tion that Pope John Paul II had set aside a special day for them as part of the Jubilee Year 2000 celebration , a day to call attention to | those imprisoned around the world and unable to make a traditional pil grimage , " a day to assure them of God's love for them. " It was the second time Archbishop Levada had celebrated Mass at San Quentin , the first being Christmas Day, 1995, according to Holy Ghost Father Denis McManus , San Quentin chap lain. San Quentin inmates who are not in maximum security have the opportunity to attend weekly Mass in a chapel that seats 300 and houses the prison 's tabernacle. Death Row inmate s may participate in the liturgy once per month in a special chapel built for them about a year and a half ago. Father McManus offers Mass in that chapel each week for an average of about four men. Father McManus expects that number to increase "as the tradition grows." Death Row inmates are divided into four groups, with each group allowed to participate once per month . "For many years they (Death Row inmates) were not allowed to attend Mass at all ," the priest noted. In addition to Masses and eucharistic services , detention ministry at San Quentin includes programs supported by 100 volunteers. Catholic priests , deacons and lay persons conduct cell ministry, offer twice weekly Bible study, with about 12 inmates attending; monthly Taize prayer, to which about three dozen come; and one or two Kairos (Cursillo) programs per month , with roughly 40 participants. San Quentin chaplain for 17 years , Father McManus said that in his early days there the prison was a "very violent" 3,000-man maximum-security facility. Today it holds 6,000 men in a medium-security setting with "much less violence ," he said. When Father McManus first offered the sacra ments to San Quentin inmates, he recalled , probabl y fewer than 100 prisoners populated Death Row. Last month 537 awaited capital punishment , includi ng 10 women at another location , Chowchilla. The number fluctuates as new prisoners arrive and others leave for court hearings and other proceedings . It is Father McManus who usually ministers to Catholic Death Row inmates before they are put to death . About one-third of Death Row inmates self-identify as Roman Catholic, a number that reflects the overall Catholic population in jails and prisons throughout the state , Father McManus said. California Conference visits Detention ministry throughout the Archdiocese and the state is experiencing increased attention. The Catholic bishops of California , under the leadership of Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles who serves as liaison to prison chap lains for the California Conference of Bishops, has instituted a series of visits to state pri sons. "We need to have a Catholic presence in each institution and we don 't," the California Catholic Conference (CCC) newsletter Commentary quotes

Directed by St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Suzanne Bishop Zavala. "We need to see where we can take , Eddy's office is implementing a new model for Jabro some responsibility." outreach to victims and families of the incarincreased The CCC visits are being carried out by dozensaid. , he cerated , member-or-more delegations that include bishops Centering prayer priests , women religious and laity involved in detenOn a separate outreach to the imprisoned , practition ministry. As of the end of June , CCC delega tion s tioners of centering prayer are taking the ancient had visited five prisons: Central California Women's form of meditation to state , county and city facilities. Facility, and Valley State Prison , both in Chowchilla; About 10 centering prayer practition ers discussed California State Prison - Los Angeles County , also known as Lancaster State Prison; San Quentin; and p lans and concerns during an Aug. 11 meeting at Mercy Center, Burlingame. California State Prison - Sacramento, also known as Composed of religious and laity, the group stems New Folsom Prison. from an April centering prayer program , which trained The sixth visit is scheduled Oct. 13 at Pelican Bay new practitioners and ignited much of the current interState Prison in Crescent City. Pelican Bay is under est , according to federal court ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -""-¦¦¦¦ mikmimmmm¦"'"m"-7» [L 1[ I I immi, inn mm j mirn M I [^ Sister Mercy order to address M a r g u e r ite alleged exces- According to statistics comp iled by detention Buchanan. sive force by Centering guards and ministry director Ray McKeon, 135 lay and involves prayer inadequacies in for sitting quietly medical care religious volunteers clothed 8,523 hours during , 20 minutes and the p hysical ignore striving to plant . The the first half of 1999. distractions and Califor nia focus on God. Department of training workshops to begin undergo Volunteers Corrections operates 33 facilities. then themselves and centering prayer practicing Goal of the prison visits, the CCC newsletter statsay Advocates staff the technique. and teach inmates ed, "is to assess the needs of inmates and pastora l reduces practice studies indicate the anecdotal care providers and share any concern s with the recidivism, the occurrence of prisoners returning to California Department of Corrections, which has j ail. cooperated in facilitating the visits." Deacon Paul Moriarty has integrated the practice "These are not visits to tour the power p lant , cafeinto his chap laincy at Redwood City County Jail durteria and laundry room ," explained Charles Eddy, ing the past six months. justice advocate for the Los Angeles Archdiocese 's Sister Buchanan , a retreat director and trainer of Office of Detention Ministry . directors at Mercy Center, and a group of spiritual "The entire state (prison) system should be of conwill offe r the program to San Quentin volunteers cern to everybody," he said in a telephone interview, in October. beginning inmates noting that the Archdiocese of San Francisco "has prayer organizers are fashioning centering Local Catholic inmates in every state prison." I _JIJ I I I

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their efforts after the experience in Sacramento 's Folsom State Prison where centering prayer training has been offered for four years. Archdiocese 's program The Archdiocese 's detention ministry program provides hundreds of services for thousands of inmates each year. Recently the office began moving from Catholic Charities to the Chancery. A quantitative look shows that 60 ,993 adult and juvenile inmates attended 5,012 services during the 36-month period ending in June . According to statistics compiled by detention ministry director Ray McKeon , 135 lay and religious volunteers clocked 8,523 hours during the first half of 1999. McKeon coordinates activities of volunteers throug hout the facilities in Marin , San Francisco , and San Mateo counties. He also provide s spiritual direction for several inmates in San Quentin and in San Francisco , and "has been the closest thing to a chap lain (the San Francisco jails ) have had , " he told Catholic San Francisco. McKeon named several religious who are active in detention ministry. Jesuit Fathers Peter Togni and Michael Castor work regularly at San Quentin. Father Larry Goode, pastor of St. Finn Barr Parish works at San Francisco 's Youth Guidance Center. Father Henry Trainor of San Francisco 's St. Patrick Parish serves inmates at San Francisco County Jail No. 1, while Father Kirk Ullery, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes works at San Francsico County Jail No. 2, and Father Joe Landi of St. Cecilia Parish ministers at San Francisco County Jail No. 3. Father Randol p h Calvo , pastor of Redwood City 's Our Lady of Mt. Carmel , Jesuit Father Tennant Wright of the University of Santa Clara , and Father James Garcia , pastor of St. Anthony Parish , Menlo serve Maguire Jails in Redwood City. Park , Franciscan Father Dan Lackie of St. Anthony of Padua , San Francisco , works at Youth Guidance Center. Dominican Sister Raya Hanlon and Mercy Sisters Suzanne Toolan and Marguerite Buchanan serve San Quentin inmates. Mercy Sister Barbara Cavanaugh and Dominican Brother Mark Gorski serve San Francisco County Jail No. 8. Missionaries of Charity serve San Francisco County Jail No. 1, Youth Guidance Center, and San Quentin. Capuchin Franciscan Brother Rufino Zaragoza conducts the San Quentin choir. McKeon also listed permanent deacons who are establishing or contin uing detention ministries. Deacon Charles McNeil from San Francisco 's Sacred Heart Parish will work with San Francisco County Jail No. 8 inmates , and Deacon John Bettencourt , from San Francisco 's Most Holy Redeemer will serve San Francisco County Jail No. 2. Deacon George Salinger from Redwood City 's St. Matthias will continue to help San Quentin 's Father McManus one day per week so the priest can visit men on Death Row where only a prison-recognized chaplain is allowed. Deacon Ed Cunningham and Deacon Joe Brumbaug h also minister on a regular basis in San

Archbishop William J. Levada told inmates of San Quentin State Prison recently that he "loves them , God loves them , and they are still children of God. " Quentin. Deacon Richard Enos from Mill Valley's Our Lady of Mt. Carmel works in the Marin County Civic Center Jail; Deacon Mike Young of St. Charles Parish in San Carlos serves inmates at the New McGuire Jail in Redwood City; and Deacon Robert Kahn of Belmont 's Immaculate Heart of Mary works with a youth group at Hillcrest Juvenile Hall. Deacon John McGhee of Our Lady of Refuge Mission , will serve juveniles at La Honda Honor Camp. McKeon said parish volunteers provide important services as well. The St. Vincent de Paul Society, associated with Redwood City 's Mt. Carmel , prov ides volunteers under the direction of Deacon Paul Moriarty and his wife , Lorraine. The Communidad San Dimas has about 25 volunteers from San Francisco 's Mission District who visit San Francisco's Youth Guidance Center . Communidad San Dimas is based in San Francisco 's St. Pete r Parish , and its coordinato r is Deacon Nate Bacon. The Office of Detention Ministry is being moved administrativel y from Catholic Charities where it had been since 1992 to the archdiocesan Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns. It will continue to be located physically at Catholic Charities until a Pastoral Center/Chancery site is available next year.

Volunteers welcome in detention ministry Director of ^he Archdiocese's Office of Detention Ministry, Ray McKeon says volunteers are needed to serve as eucharistic ministers for Communion services at Mari n 's Civic Center Main Jail , the Marin Youth Facility, San Francisco County Jail No. 8, and San Mateo 's New Maguire Jail , Log Ray McKeon Cabin Ranch , and Glenwood Ranch . He also hopes to recruit graduates of the School of Pastoral Leadership or other experienced cate chists to lead RCIA programs and conduct Bible studies for inmates. Peop le interested in volunteering may call him at (415) 844-4718.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Bac k to school We are in the early weeks of the 1999-2000 school

year for the estimated 20,000 Catholic students attending public schools within the Archdiocese who will participate in Catholic reli gious education programs. Also settling into the school year are approximately 29,000 students at the 65 Catholic elementary schools and 13 Catholic hi gh schools within the Archdiocese. Classes have started too for thousands of men and women attending Catholic colleges and universities in the Bay Area. When Henry Brooks Adams said "a teacher affects eternity " he was speaking of the unforeseeable and farreaching influence that teaching may have. In Catholic education , whether in the environment of home, school or religious education class, teaching affects eternity in a more profound way. It is with sincere respect for the role that teaching can play in bringing individuals into greater communion with Jesus Christ that we extend good wishes for the school year to all students , teachers, volunteers, school princi pals, leaders and staffs . MEH

Reading this newsp aper

Some readers have suggested that we publish bi-weekly, as we do in the summer months, rather than weekly. We believe that the weekly format: 1) is appropriate given the stature and importance of Archdiocese of San Francisco; 2) assures a Catholic perspective on breaking news and provides adequate coverage of Church news; 3) supports the efforts of pastors , par ishes, schools, agencies and ministries; 4) benefits the Church through ongoing jnessages of evangelization , faith formation , spirituality, doctri ne, social responsibility and stewardship; 5) gives advertisers a more attrac tive package; and 6) allows the most efficient use of resources and highest return on fixed costs. So we have a suggestion to those people who suffer guilt because they might not have the time to read the entire newspaper: please don 't feel guilty. Just read Catholic San Francisco as you read any other newspaper. Most people walk through a newspaper and stop to read a story when their interest is raised. Catholic San Francisco readers have that same freedom. They should not feel guilty if they do not read every story of every issue. We know that even if our readers just scan the newspaper, or read one or two of our stories, there is a measurable and positive impact. MEH

AWhilebelated thank you it will be a few days late, we nonetheless want

to send along a heartfelt thank you to the men and women of law enforcement and public safety — state, county and local — who gave up all or part of their Labor Day holiday to do their best to keep us safe. These men and women see, do, and experience more in their duties than most of us can imagine. This appreciation is extended not just to those we see from our car windows, but to the support staff whose labors are largely invisible and unsung. This "support staff' also includes the spouses and families who celebrated Labor Day — and who will celebrate other holidays in the future as well — without mom, dad, uncle, aunt, brother , sister, cousin, or grand parent in their midst because he or she was on duty. Many of us are probably alive today because of their efforts last weekend. Thank you. DMY

Resp ect for Eucharist

Catholics ' forte to be sure, but I think it is important to remember certain biblical In Mexico, I have seen well-dressed events that address our beliefs. Mexican men and women kneel in the dirt In the Acts of the Apostles (8: 5-17) as the eucharistic Jesus passed them in pro- Peter and John on hearing of Phili p 's rapid cession. Wh y is it that in this diocese whole conversion of the people, immediatel y went congregations do not practice this refer- down to Samaria to confirm those who had ence, in the absence of kneelers , on clean "onl y been baptized in the name of the Lord carpeted floors at the Eucharistic Prayer? Jesus ". They then "received the Hol y Some priests h ave explained that as a Spirit ". parish famil y, kneeling takes away from our When the good bishop lays his hands sense of community for those who physical- on us at confirmation , we too receive the ly are not able to do so. This sort of thinking Holy Spirit and we are born again. seems distorted. True communion does not (Strangely, not many Bible-believing come in a unified posture , but in the Christians recognize the sacrament of conEucharist by which "really sharing in the firmation.) We further confess the Lordshi p body of the Lord , we are taken up into com- of Christ every time we look at the blessed munion with him and with one another." host at the moment of transubstantiation (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 709) during Mass by saying, "My Lord and My The Catechism, 1387, also affirms that God." We do not necessarily have to emote "bodily demeanor (gestures , clothing) uncontrollabl y and babble in ought to convey the respect, solemni- . , "tongues" while accompanied by ty, and joy of this moment when unbecoming physical contortions as Christ becomes our guest. " proof of our spiritual conversion. I Furthermore, the Appendix to the leave that as an option for those General Instruction of the Roman inclined. Suffice it to remember— Missal for the Dioceses of the United the Church has it all . States of America , n. 21 clearly Michael Jala Maran states, "the people kneel beginning San Francisco after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer, th at is, before the Kudos on your magnanimous Lord's Prayer." and intelli gent Aug. 27 editorial , Jesus is my friend and I certainl y "Pil grimage to Understanding ". do not genuflect or kneel in front of Over 10 years ago, I attended a my friends, but he is also my Lord. In workshop of Sister Jeannine the presence of the one who has loved Gramick and Father Bob Nugent. me with a love unlike any other, on They used a unique approach to the my knees I will wholeheartedly say homosexual p henomenon. like St. Francis, "M y God and my all." Listening ! While respecting Church The Lord has given us a great gift in teaching, Thomas Aquinas , and the mystery of the Eucharist, let us be "objectivel y disordered" categories, mindful of our place before the God they allowed themselves to listen who is before all. and discovered that many of the perJoseph Pulsoni sons present experienced themPacifica selves subjectivel y as quite

1 Ti JCJ

Odds are saintly

T T E E S

Corruption in the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Judas Escariot. However, that 's one out of 12. Probably the same ratio exists throughout the ages. In other words , there are 11 good or even saintl y clergymen as opposed to one who mi ght not be. C. Maguire San Francisco

Church has it all

Thomas Merton wrote in his last treatise on Buddhist monasticism, "I needn 't have come all the way to Thailand to study monasticism—the Church has it all." No doubt the good monk was desirous of enriching the rigidity and discipline of the Trappist Order even further. . As lay Catholics, we sometimes find ourselves not overly comfortable articulating our precious faith when challenged , "Are you b orn again?" Or, "Do you accept Jesus as your personal savior?" Our retort is often muted. Quoting the Bible is not

Letters welcome

Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers. Please: >* Include your name, address and daytime phone number. >¦ Sign your letter. >• Limit submissions to 250 words. *" Note that the newspaper reserves the right to edit for clarity and length. Send your letters to: Catholic San Francisco 441 Church St. San Francisco, CA 94114 Fax: (415) 565-3633 E-mail: dyoung@catholic-sf.org

Symposium in order?

"ordered" , "together", and whole. As your editorial says , the San Francisco Archdiocese has a uni que opportunity in the world to listen to 1 the lived experience of homosexual persons in this Archdiocese. How about a Symposium at USF as was had on race relations? George Seeber Daly City

Sacredness of sex

In recent issues of Catholic San Francisco you have had an article and letters regarding the decision of the CDF about the ministry of Father Nugent and Sister Gramick. I am not surprised many would be upset with the decision. Yet it saddens me that so many of those who opposed the decision were religious. To me much of the problem regarding the moral behavior of gays and lesbians is that we, within the Church, have not put forth in a clear and positive manner the magnificent teaching of God with regard to sexuality and to marriage, as expressed by God in the beginning and re-emp hasized by Jesus during his public life. From the very beginning, God made us, male and female. He told us to be fruitful and to multi ply and fill the earth. We need to remind our brothers and sisters of the sacred purpose of sex and why this purpose can only be achieved within the context of marriage. We, likewise, need to remind our brothers and sisters of the sacredness of marriage and how marriage requires the total giving of each partner, together with the assistance of God, to maintain its viability. We need to remind our brothers and sisters how the sexuality of the married couple enables them, as husband and wife, to give LETTERS, page 14

Guest Commentary

Call hate groups anything but 'Christian'

Father Gerald D. Coleman

JL he August rampage by Budlord 0. (Neal) Furrow at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles was the work of a "proud white supremacist" who heralded his shooting spree as a "wake-up call to America to kill Jews." Furrow is a member of a neo-Nazi group founded by Richard Butler in the mid-1970s. The group numbers several hundred and militantl y advocates anti-Semitism and the establishment of a white racist state. Its creed states that white people "are absolved from allegiance to... the Zionist Occupied Government [ZOG] of the U.S." since Anglo-Saxon people are the "chosen people" of the Bible, non- white people are "mud people"; and Jewish people are "children of Satan." Time magazine names this growing hatred "a new vulnerability" in the U.S. due especially to the "violent intolerance" of this type of Aryan Nation belief which has fostered in this country a "reli gion of hatred." (Time, Aug. 23, p. 26) This "religion of hatred" is a dark faith spurred by great anxiety in many quarters over the approaching millennium and especially fueled through the power of the Internet. The leaders of these groups are often referred to as "high priests " and increasingly turn to violence as a way of

bring ing about their conviction that God's "chosen people" must reign over the "mud peop le," and this cleansing must happen now before the new century. Perhaps the most dangerous organized hate group of this kind in the U.S. is "National Alliance ," founded by William Pierce. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was an admirer of Pierce. Another group, the "World Church ," led by Matthew Hale, uses the battle cry of 'RaHoWa," standing for Racial Holy War. The "Posse Comitatus" considers itself a "church ," is deeply anti-Semitic, and distrustful of any form of federal government. Common to all of these hate groups is a reli gious doctrine of Christian identity : white Aryans are the lost tribes of Israel and the true descendants of Adam and Eve. Jewish people are believed to be the spawn of Satan 's union with Eve and "must be destroyed." There is a complicated biblical story in Numbers 25:1-18 which many of these groups interpret literally and without knowledge of the scriptural context of the narrative. At the heart of the story is Phinehas (a priest) who puts to death an Israelite man because he marries a foreign woman and seemingly receives the blessing of God. Richard Kelly Hoskins has grasped on this text — and particularl y this action — in his book Vigilantes of Christendom: The Story of the Phinehas Priesthood, a "bible" for many hate groups. Hoskins urges a zealous upholding of Phinehas' act of killing by the ongoing maiming or killing of Jews, non-whites and homosexuals. Single white males "identify" with this "priesthood" by adopting the doctrine of "Christian Identity ministry " and carrying out violence and hate-based murders against the "mud people." In the week following the Furrow shooting spree, for example, the Internet was sprinkled with these types of hate messages: "Recent events should remind Jews that they are indeed an unwelcome minority in this country and should leave one and all... Let the killings begin. It should be genuinely troublesome to every true Christian that these "Christian Identity" groups call themselves Christian and adopt language such as "ministry,"

"priesthood ," "doctrine ," "creed" and "priesthood." The beliefs and actions of these hate groups are anything but Christian , especially when we authenticall y understand Christ 's universal message of peace and non-violence. Jesus even insisted that we must love our enemies. In Matthew 22:34-40 (see also Mark 12:28-34) Jesus teaches that the "whole law" is comprised of two great commandments: to love God with one 's entire heart, soul and mind , and to love one's neighbor with this same level of intensity. Jesus teaches that love of neighbor "is like" the love of God, and thus does the love of neighbor become a sure criterion for an authentic love of God. So-called Christian Identity hate groups clearly miss this critical teaching of Jesus. Finally, the text about Phineas the Priest is badl y interpreted by Hoskins and others . Phineas appears in other Old Testaments texts as well, and Christian Identity groups center only on the Numbers text and interpret it without discrimination or understanding. The sin that is condemned in this chapter of Numbers is the sin of the peop le , and not just one Israelite. At issue is the worship of the true God. Permission to kill forei gners is not the point of the passage. Intermarri age was not allowed for the Israelite for fear that true worship would be diluted. The primary biblical point of the text is, then, the worship of the true God. Wh at is not at issue is the question of racial tension, a misused point made by Christian Identity groups to falsely justif y their hateful and violent pursuits . In these final months before the millennium, all members of the Church — and all believers — are called upon to seek forgiveness for past offenses and sins. This is the thrust that these hate groups should be taking; and not fueling violence and hatred and incorrectly using the Bible to justif y their mayhem. Call these groups what you want. But don't call them Christian. Sulp ician Father Gerald D. Coleman is president and rector of St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park.

The CatholicDiff erence

Ex Corde and entanglement

George Weigel An the ongoing debate over the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, Pope John Paul IPs 1990 apostolic constitution on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities, educators who are less than enthusiastic about Ex Corde have frequently played "institutional autonomy" as their trump card. Get the university entangled with "outside authorities," they argue, and the credibility of Catholic higher education will be dealt a lethal blow. Holy Cross Father James Burtchaell, former provost of Notre Dame (and thus no stranger to the higher altitudes of educational administration) isn't persuaded. In a lengthy analysis of the Ex Corde debate in Crisis magazine, Father Burtchaell asks us to imagine the entang lements in which a fictitious Catholic university, St. Dympna 's, already finds itself: "The first outside authority to which she regularly defers is the federal government, incarnate in the departments of State, Justice, Education, Agriculture, Commerce , Defense , Energy, Health and Human

Services, Labor, and Veterans Affairs ; also the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , the Environmental Protection Agency, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Patent Office, the National Science Foundation , the National Endowments for the Humanities and for the Arts, the National Institutes of Health, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. "Washington forbids her to ask the race of applicants, but requires her to report the racial breakdown of her personnel and students; makes it worth her while to include in every employment notice the assurance that she is an equal opportunity employer; forbids her to save the trees on her campus by spraying DDT; determines and inspects the housing for her laboratory animals (which therefore costs roughly twice as much per square foot as faculty office space); requires protection of all human subjects of any funded research, subject to elaborate guidelines and reporting ; requires a minimum number of credit hours to be taken by students receiving tuition grants or guaranteed loans; and regulates the missions from the power plant.... 'The Comptroller of die Cunency regulates the faculty credit union. The Library of Congress certifies copyrights to faculty members and sets standards for book cataloguing. The U.S. Anny and the U.S. Navy decide what facilities are required by their ROTC programs on campus.... "This is, of course, only a small and suggestive samp le of the federal authorities to which St. Dympna 's defers ... In addition, St. Dympna must face the regularly recurring scrutiny of specialized accrediting agencies ... [such as] the National Association of Schools of Music, the Association of Theological Schools of the United States and Canada, the American Psychological Association, the American Chemical Society, the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation of the American Medical Association,

the Accreditation Board for Eng ineering and Engineering Technology, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.... "The National Collegiate Athletic Association feigns to regulate the amount of practice time before the beginning of each academic year, all financial adhesions, of varsity athletes, the authenticity of their academic progress , and variances in class attendance due to events away from campus... . ' "The county health department has regulations concerning burials on campus, and inspects the dining facilities. The fire inspector regularly prowls the physical plant and growls at code violations. The building inspector has to sign off on all construction projects, and the zoning people will claim a say if the campus begins to creep in any direction. The county prosecutor decides which student misbehavior will be dealt with officiall y, which unofficially, and which not at all ." As Father Burtchaell concludes, "To quote the Letter to the Hebrews, 'What more shall I say?'" St. Dympna's, like any Catholic college or university, is up to its eyeballs in "outside" entanglements. "No university is an asteroid ," he writes. "It is an organic member of a complex, very endocrine community." ¦ The "entanglement with outside authority" issue in the Ex Corde debate is the reddest of red herrings. Is the only "entanglement" a Catholic university must avoid an "entanglement" with the local church, in the person of its bishop? Why should he be thought a peculiar plague-bearer? The bishops of the United States will want to keep those questions in mind when they consider the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae once again in November.

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

On Being Catholic

Father Milton T. Walsh JJrowsing through Catholic San Francisco during the lazy days of summer, I read a statement by Sister Antonio Heaphy regarding RENEW, to the effect that living our Catholic faith finds special expression in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. A distant bell rang — didn 't I memorize these as a child? If so, they could not be "retrieved." A bit of research uncovered the traditional listing of these works, which are also described in our Catechism (#2447). As with many lists in older catechisms (rooted in the centuries before printing when memorization was the main avenue to learning), our traditional list has seven of each. The corporal works, inspired principally by chapter 25 of Matthew 's Gospel, are: 1) To feed the hungry, 2) To give drink to the thirsty, 3 To clothe the naked, 4) To shelter the homeless, 5) To visit the sick, 6) To ransom the captive, 7) To bury the dead. These seven symbolize a constellation of charitable efforts to alleviate the material needs of the poor. The seven spiritual works of mercy are: 1) To instruct

Letters . . . ¦ Continued from page 12 themselves to each other - with the possibility of making their expressed love for each other an image of themselves - a child. As we restate the sacredness of marriage and of the sexual union, then can our brothers and sisters better grasp why we maintain the wrongness of fornication , of adultery, of contraception, of abortion, as well as homosexual and lesbian behavior. It is only because we do love all people that we express the truth about God's plan for us as sexual beings. Father Ted Shipp San Francisco

Rhetoric

I find it disgusting that a person or group of people would smash windows or do any kind of vandalism to churches/synagogues. I deplore these acts at St. Mary ' s Cathedral and at the synag ogues in Sacramento. However, why do you fail to include hate crimes against the gay/lesbian community in our nation? The Church desperately needs to take responsibility for the hate crimes that take place against gay/lesbian people because of the rhetoric the Church uses when discussing gay/lesbian people. How ironic you should hold a forum to seek ways to protect your property and not look within at the responsibility that lies on your shoulders for the murder of gay men and women. Thomas J. Van Etten San Francisco

Recycl ing ideas

My friends and I are thrilled with your newspaper. Our only objection is: it comes too often, and there's hardly time to absorb all in tfiis week's news. At least during the summer we got a little more time between issues. For years we were ciying, "Why doesn't our Church give its side?" I think Catholics should recycle Catholic San Francisco among non-registered parish members. I know one disabled person with whom I leave a copy. Olivia Fisher San Francisco

Catch 22

In response to Mr. Catalano 's Aug. 27 letter where he condemned me as some kind of callused and unrepentant sinner, with a place reserved for me in hell, for the record , let it be known: I am a gay man who has been celibate for several years and not because of any Churc h teaching.

What sets 'Christian' mercy apart? the ignorant , 2) To counsel the doubtful , 3) To admonish the sinner, 4) To bear wrongs patientl y, 5) To forgive offenses willing ly, 6) To comfort the afflicted , 7) To pray for the living and the dead. Over the next several weeks, I would like to reflect with you on these spiritual works, since they are more elusive than their more straightforward corpora l cousins. In part , this is because we can give material assistance without reall y knowing those whom we help, while the spiritual works presume a personal relationshi p which can make their performance more trick y. But before ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ looking at specific kinds , we might ask, "Why works of mercy at all?" Is there something distinctivel y Christian about how — or more importantly, why — we should exercise charity toward others? We must be careful here. Sometimes I have heard people describe an act of generosity as "Christian," which strikes me as arrogant. We all know people of other faith s and some who are not reli gious in any explicit sense who are exemplary in their charity. Prescinding from religious motivations , many are moved to help others from a sense of human solidarity. They assist those in need from a spirit of good will which is fundamental to any human society. Tragedies such as the recent earthquake in Turkey rouse people almost instinctively to do something to help. For those who believe in a personal God, there is another important motivation to be merciful — the awareness that God has been merciful to us. The three great

monotheistic religions — Judaism , Islam and Christianity — prize works of mercy as a means of expressing gratitude to God for his many blessings. Charity is a form of worshi p. As one rabbi put it, we should let our good works shine before others, not so they will be grateful to us, but so that they will give glory to our Father in heaven. (Mt 5:16) Beyond this, is there a distinctively Christian motivation for our works of mercy ? I believe there is, and it is stated very simply by Jesus himself: "Whenever you did this for any of the least of these, you did it for me." (Mt 25:40) This is a passage we should interpret literall y — it is Jesus himself whom we serve when we neip mose in neea. According to Our Lord, the two great commandments are to love God with our whole being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Neither of these commandments is new; both are found in the Old Testament. What is new is that Jesus inextricably links love of God and neighbor, not only in his teaching but in his very self. In the mystery of the Incarnation, the eternal Son of God takes on our hu man nature and literally becomes our neighbor. Let us consider the word s of the great sixth-century bishop of Aries, St. Caesarius: "Christ hungers now; it is he who deigns to hunger and thirst in the persons of the poor. And what he will return in heaven tomorrow is what he receives here on earth today."

Today, the Church lives in brazen denial of the unbridled pre- and extramarital heterosexual activity. My letter was to illustrate the Church's hypocrisy in dealing with sexual matters. Just look around at how many unmarried straight Catholic couples you see living together. Where is the clamor? I am asking the Church to stop blaming gay people for the collapse of the sanctity of-marriage. The Church didn 't take responsibility in the 60s and 70s in condemning the much accepted widespread cohabitation of premarital heterosexual coup les. It was at that time the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage had been destroyed. Nobody in California is

asking the State to require the Church to marry same-sex couples. We are asking for redefinition of marriage on a secular level; it has nothing to do with any religion 's concept of same. The Church claims to welcome gay people. Once welcomed, we are driven away by the constant reminders of our "intrinsically evil" sexual acts and our state of being "objectively disordered" as human beings. Then the Church wonders why gay people don 't stay. The Church pushes away the same people it purports to court — the catch 22 of current Catholic "dogmatic reasoning." Jim Lenartz San Francisco

Sometimes I have heard peop le describe an act of generosity as "Christian, " which strikes me as arrogant.

ST . M ARY STAR OF THE

Father Milton T. Walsh is dean of students and an assistant professor of systematic theology at St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park.

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SAUSALITO This contemporary sty le church overlooking the bay was built in 1959 and dedicated by San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Merlin Guilfoy le on April 24, 1960. The first Mass here was celebrated a few weeks earlier on that year 's Holy Saturday. Architects were Arnold and Francis Constable. Well-known Bay Area artist and parishioner, John Libberton , designed the church' s processional cross, baptismal font , candlesticks at the altar and ambo. The Portu guese heritage of many original .parishioners is commemorated in a stained glass window brought from Braga, Portugal around 1955 depicting Fatima. The church is a beautiful worshi p space with excellent acoustics and invites a sense of worship and quiet for its 450-household membership. Outreach and enrichment opportunities include an interfaith food pantry, reli gious education program , music ministry, and membershi p in Southern Marin Deanery Action for Marin City.

Each year on Pentecost Sunday, the parish celebrates a Hol y Ghost Mass comp lete with a parade through Sausalito. The parish picnic is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Dunp hy Park. The parish sponsors a food booth, and many parishioners have exhibits or serve as volunteers , at Sausalito 's annual art festival. The present rectory and an earlier church built in 1919 were designed by a Mr. McCrea of Tiburon. The church building was sold in 1972 for $68,000 and remodeled as a residence which recentl y sold for more than $2 million , The moral here says pastor , Father Richard Deitch , is "to not sell assets." Pastor: Father Richard Deitch Pastor Emeritus: Father Eugene Duggan Masses: Sat.: 5 p.m.; Sun. : 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Seating capacity : 322 Founding date : 1881 Phone: (415) 332-1765

Family Life =

'Just call me Bob'

Vivian Dudro

IVJLy husband and I often find ourselves in the awkward situation of exp laining to other adults why we want our children to address them by their appropriate titles and surnames. Our reason is simple: we want our children to respect others, and if they will not be polite to their elders , they likely will not be polite to anyone else either. But how does a parent, with all due respect, object when the teacher, coach , nei ghbor or even friend of the family insists , "Just call me Bob." In an attempt to solve this social conundrum , the State of Louisiana passed a new - law last summer

requiring public school children to address teachers and school administrators with what used to be conventional formality. On the one hand , I welcome the resurrection of the public norm that was commonp lace a generation ago. But on the other hand , I tremble at the imp lication of government encroachment in this area that parents , and by extension teachers , are not fulfilling their primary duty. I realize that civilizing young peop le is no easy task. I'll never forget the shock I exp erienced the first time my eldest child defied my authority. He was only about 10 months old , and he was heading on hands and knees straight for the electrical socket. "No , no," I said sweetly yet firmly. He stopped in his tracks , turned and looked me directly in the eye, and then beelined toward his objective. There in diapered motion was proof of the Church' s teaching about original sin. We are not born innocent; a tendency to rebel is there from the start. Oozing maternal love and affection would no longer be enough , I had to admit. The will of my child needed training to choose wisely. But how to form the will of a child? To postpone answering that ticklish question , I bought outlet covers and all sorts of other "baby proofing " gadgets. Next I began reading book s and magazine articles about child raising, and I was amazed at the number of these written not by parents or grandparents but by Ph.Ds who actually believ e

that standards of behavior must not be imposed upon the young. All I can say to these so-called experts is "get real." If my children had their druthers , my three-year-old would eat peanut M&Ms for breakfast , lunch and dinner and my older son would stay up until 2 a.m. and sleep until noon. Memorizing times tables , brushing teeth, and saying "please" and "thank you " would not even be on the radar screen. Contrary to the happy image of an emancipated child conjured up by Pippi Long-tacking stories, children do not flourish without loving guidance from caring adults. The fact of their dependency is the reason childre n should respect their ciders. Truly, such honor is a form of gratitude. Unfortunatel y, being grateful and respectful to those who give us life, to those who raise us , teach us and lead us does not necessarily come naturally. It is a habit of the heart that must be ingrained at an early age. By teaching our children to address grownups, particularly those in authority, as mister and missus, or as sir and ma ' am , we have been accused of being too formal . We also have been mistaken for military personnel. But if we don 't teach our children manners, who will ? The State of California?

Vivian Dudro is the mother of four (ages three to 11) and a member of St. Mary 's Cathedral Parish.

Chaldean Rite Christians: What is their history? C2- Recently I have come to know two Chaldean Rite Christians, one from Iraq and one from India. Can you provide some history and status of the Chaldeans? (California) A. The Chaldean Churc h , oi Patri archate, ori ginated with Christians of die Eastern Syrian Church who separated from Rome at the time of the Nestorian heresy. Nestorians , who formed a large group of Christians for many years, questioned the divinity of Christ and the title Godbearer ("theotokos ") for Mary. Dealing with this controversy was the primary work of the Council of Ephesus in 431. All Chaldean Christians are Catholic :he most today. They reside traditionally for the y and / *' Turkey in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, part Iran. In recent decades a large number have emigrated to the United States. Chaldeans today are barely

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a remnant of one of the great churches of the East centuries ago. Catholic Chaldeans have been in comlome munion with the Church of Rome longer than any other Eastern church

except the Maronites. Though ancient Babylon (about 60 miles from Baghdad ) no longer exists, the head of the Chaldean Church is titled the patriarch of Bab ylon of the Chaldeans and lives in Bag hdad. (Questions f o r this j / f m aDonate il to C atnolic L harilies . column may be sent to We II qive 50% ot the sale price to ij our Father Dietzen at Box 325, ^ Peoria IL 61651; or e-mail parish and take care ot the paperwork. j j 'dietzen @)aol , com.) Copyright (c) 1999 by Catholic News Service.

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School of Pastoral Leadership

The School of Pastoral Leadership will otter its fifth year of classes beginning Sept. 21. In addition to the opportunities named below, titles include "Christianity: An Introduction to the Catholic Faith," and a course in bible study. For more information, fees and registration materials call Joni Gallagher at (415) 242-9087. Sept. 21-Oct. 26 (Tuesdays): "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home," with Jesuit Father Bernie Bush at St. Gregory Parish, 2715 Hacienda St., San Mateo from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Sept. 22-Dec. 15 (Wednesdays): 'To Comfort Those Who Mourn," a consolation ministry course promoting an awareness of grief and the needs of grieving people as well as lessons in visiting the sick with Barbara Elordi, M.A., M.F.C.C. at Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan St., SF from 7:30 -9:30 p.m. Sept. 22-Oct. 27 (Wednesdays): "Early Christian Spirituality," with Sister Mary Ann Donovan and Franciscan Father Joseph Chinnici at Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan St., SF from 7:30 9:30 p.m. Sept. 23-Oct. 28 (Thursdays): 'The History and Spirituality of Church Music," with Gerald Holbrook at St. Hilary Parish, 761 Hilary Dr., Tiburon from 7:309:30 p.m. Oct. 9: "How to Raise Good Children," a day-long parenting conference at St. Mary Cathedral, Gough and Geary St., SF with Michael Riera, Ph.D. and Dominican Sister Mary Peter Traviss.

Retreats/Days of Recollection Sept. 18: "Jubilee Women," the annual fall conference of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women celebrating the Year of the Older Person. Registration 8:30 a.m. Lunch follows 12:05 p.m. Mass with Bishop John Wester presiding. Dialogues include "Aging with Dignity," a panel presentation by distinguished experts about end ol life decisions. In SF, call Diana Heafey at (415) 731-6379; in San Mateo, call HildegardThums at (650) 726-4985. $20 fee includes lunch and materials. VALL0MBROSA CENTER 250 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park. For fees and times call (650) 325-5614. Sept. 24 - 26: "Reflections Within the Womb of God," a weekend retreat for women led by Holy Cross Father Ken Silva and a retreat team including Sister Toni Longo. Oct. 23-24: "Finding Christ Within and Without," an overnight retreat focusing on growth in Christ among the challenges of living the faith in contemporary times. Led by Father TomTimmins. MARIANIST CENTER 22622 Marianist Way, Cupertino. For fees and times, call (408) 253-6279. Sept. 14: "Meaning and Work" a look at the importance of meaning in work and how spirituality contributes to it with Mercy Sister Pat Galli. Sept 23: "Goals in Ministry: What are We trying to Achieve?" and "FacilitatingGrowth." Oct 12: "God at Work" looks at our call to cooperate in the ongoing mystery of creation. Oct. 14: "Anger: Sin or Salvation?" and "Meeting the Dark Side in Prayer." MERCY CENTER 2300 Adeline Dr., Buriingame. For fees and times call (650) 340-7474. Sept. 11: "Dreams: Uncovering Our True Nature' with Mercy Sister Marguerite Buchanan Sept. 24 - 26: "Encountering Mary: Opening to the Healing Power of the Divine" -Kathy Denison helps retreatants experience Mary as a haven of compassion rather than an unapproachable mode! of perfection. Sept. 27: "Autumn Day of Prayer" -As the crispness of Autumn is felt, Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan helps retreatants step back and reflect upon theii own harvesting.

Dec. 1-4: "A Call to Oneness, A Conference on Compassion and HIV Disease" sponsored by the Multicultural AIDS Resource Center of California. Call (415) 777-3229. 72 Hours Is an interfaith peace-building project sel to take place on Dec. 31, 1999 and Jan.1-2, 2000. People of faith are invited to mobilize their communitiesaround five specific actions including a Peace Vigil and Call to Political Leaders. For information, call (415) 561-2300,

Parish festival committees: Please get information about your upcoming festivals to Datebook as soon as possible so Catholic San Francisco can help you publicize it. Sept. 10-12: "Many Faces, One Heart," St. Peter Parish, SF, in the parish schoolyard on Alabama between 24th and 25th St. Fri, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Food, booths, games, live entertainment, fun for the whole family. Call Mercy Sister Marian Rose Power at (415) 647-8172 or 647-8662. Oct. 1-2: Our Lady ol Angels, Buriingame presents "Hats Off to 2000" a 2-day pre-New Year's Eve party for the whole family. Fri. 6 p.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. noon-11 p.m. Something for everyone including booth games, prizes and rides. Call (650) 343-4094 or (650) 375-1946.

Food & Fun Sept. 11; "Elephant Sale" sponsored by Kiwanis Club of St. Francis, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m., Stonestown Family YMCA Lot on Eucalyptus, SF. Call (415) 759-7562. Sept. 17: "Celebrating the Events of the 20th Century," a silent auction and dinner benefiting scholarship fund of Presentation Academy alumnae at Presentation Convent, 2340 Turk Blvd., SF beginning at 5:30 p.m. $35 per person. Call (415) 751-1245. Sept 20: Introductory square dance class begins, 7:30-8:45 p.m. at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, 43rd Ave. and Judah, SF. Call (415) 566-6911; (415) 2420729 ore-mail newdancer99@yahoo.com

Datebook Sept. 25: "Rock Back to the Future: The Last Gym Dance of the Millennium," at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, SF. Music by "High- Top Posse" with 50s, 60s, 70s dance and costume contests. $20 per person; 21 and over only. Call (415) 775-6626. Sept. 25: "Feast by the Light of the Autumn Moon," an evening celebrating the culinary arts of China and benefiting St. Mary's Chinese Schools and Art Center campaign. Call (415) 929-4695. Sept. 25-26: 15th Annual Sonoma Waves to Wine Tour benefiting Multiple Sclerosis Society. Two day trek begins and ends at Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa. Fee $35. Call (510) 268-0572 for details. Oct. 1: Schools ol the Sacred Heart Golf Classic at the Presidio Golf Course. $250 entrance fee includes buffet lunch from 11 a.m., shotgun .start round of golf, and dinner buffet. Call Pat Gallagher at (415) 563-2900. Oct. 2: The Fil-Am Society of St. Anne of the Sunset Parish announces its annual Fiesta Filipina, 6 p.m.11:30 p.m., includes no-host cocktails, dinner and dancing. Adults $20/Children $10. Call Jerry Motak at (415) 661-7378 or Lydia Cuiting at (415) 661-5762. Oct. 16: Annual "Lake Walk" fundraiser sponsored by Catholic Charities' Little Children's Aid Junior Auxiliary. For information , e-mail connie@synergistech.com

Reunions "Milestone Class Reunions" for Notre Dame High School, Belmont, classes 1939 through 1994, are being planned now. For information, call Donna Westwood, '64, alumnae relations director, at (650) 595-1913, ext. 351 or e-mail ndhsb.org Sept. 11: St. Robert Elementary School celebrates its 50th anniversary with Mass at 4:30 p.m. followed by buffet dinner and open house in Hennessey Hall. Alumni, former students and their families are encouraged to attend. Call the school at (650) 583-5065 or the Parish Office at (650) 589-2800. Sept. 18: Marin Catholic High School's 50th Anniversary Celebration and Gala. $19.49 ticket includes appetizers, open bar and entertainment, 6 p.m.-midnight. Call (415) 461-9434. Sept. 18: St. James School, SF celebrates the 75th anniversary of its current school building. All who attended St. James are asked to contact Marie Driscoll at (415) 642-6130 or by fax at (415) 642-9727. Sept. 25-26: 100th anniversary of UC Berkeley's Newman Hall. Events include barbecue, prayer and brunch. Call (510) 848-7812. San Francisco's Archbishop Riordan High School celebrates 50 years in 1999-2000. School is in search of alumni and Riordan memorabilia for display as well as volunteers for upcoming activities. Call (415) 586-9190. Oct. 17: "Milestone Reunion Mass and Brunch" for Notre Dame High School, Belmont, classes ot 1939, '44, '54, '59, '64, '69, '74, '79, '84, '89, '94. Call Donna Westwood, '64, alumnae relations director at (650) 595-1913, ext. 351 or e-mail ndhsb.org Nov. 6: St. Paul Elementary, Class of '54. Call Dennis Creedon at (650) 692-9979. The Class of 1950 from St. Peter's Academy and St. Peter's Boys School is planning a 50th reunion. If you were a member of that group, call Louise Johnson at (650) 358-0303 or Betty Robinson at (415) 731-6328. St.Vincent de Paul Elementary School celebrates 75 years in October. Graduates, former students, teachers are asked to call (415) 563-5949.

Social Mtice/ Respect life Sept. 14: Junipero Serra High School Soup Supper to benefit San Bruno Catholic Worker House, 6 p.m. in Serra cafeteria, 20th Ave. and Stanford St., San Mateo. $5 per person. This special evening of prayer will include presentation on Catholic Worker House and the work Serra students do there. Reserve with phone call to Campus Minister Lynne Mullen at (650) 345-8207, ext. 202. Sept. 18: Town Hall Meeting on Livable Communities with U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 10 a.m. - noon, Herbst International Exhibition Hall, Main Post, SF Presidio. Call (415) 565-3673. Oct. 23: A conference on the Catholic community's response to violence will take place at St. Mary's Cathedral, Gough and Geary St., SF followed by Mass with Archbishop William J. Levada presiding. Sponsored by Offices of Public Policy; Ethnic Ministry; Respect Life and Catholic Charities. Call (415) 565-3672.

Consolation Ministry Drop-in Bereavement Sessions at St. Mary Cathedral, Gough and Geary St., SF on 2nd and 4th Wed., 2:30 - 4 p.m. Sponsored by Catholic Charities and Mid-Peninsula Hospice. Call Sister Esther at (415) 567-2020, ext. 218. Ongoing Sessions: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish at the Parish Center, Fulton and James St., Redwood City, Thurs., 6-7:30 p.m. Call (650) 3663802. Our Lady of Angels Parish, 1721 Hillside Dr., Buriingame; 1st Mon. 7-9 p.m. Call (650) 3477768. St. Gabriel Parish, 40th Ave. and Ulloa, SF; 1st & 3rd Tues., 7-9 p.m. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. St. Hilary Parish, 761 Hilary Dr., Tiburon; 1st & 3rd Wed., 3-4:30 p.m. Call Sister Colette at (415) 435-7659. Structured 8-week Session: Our Lady of Loretto, 1806 Novate Blvd., Novate evenings or afternoons available. Call Sister Jeanette at (415) 897-2171. St. Isabella Parish, One Trinity Way, San Rafael, evenings. Call Pat Sack at (415) 479-1560. For Parents Who Have Lost a Child: Our Lady of Angels Parish, 1721 Hillside Dr., Buriingame, 2nd Mon. Call Ina Porter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579.

Children/Teen Groups: Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882. "Compassionate Friends", a non-profit organization offering friendship and support to families who have experienced the death-of a child, meet on 2nd Wed. at 7:30 p.m. St. Anne of the Sunset Parish, 850 Judah St. at Funston, SF. Call Marianne Lino at (415) 892-7969.

Young Adults Sept. 14: "Reconciliation and the Days of Atonement: Forgiveness in Jewish and Catholic Life" a Catholic and Jewish Young Adult Dialogue, 7-9 p.m., SF Jewish Community Center, California and Presidio. Call Mary Jansen at (415) 563-6503 or e-mail jansenmar @aol.com Oct. 23: Fall Fest '99: third annual day-long celebration for young adults at University of San Francisco. Speakers , workshops , Mass, dinner , dancing. Call (415) 675- 5900 for information.

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Returning Catholics Landings Program for Inactive Catholics begins for 10 weeks on Oct. 4 with St. Dominic Parish, 2390 Bush St., SF. Designed for non-practicing Catholics in small groups setting. Evening sessions. Call Father Steve Maekawa at (415) 567-7824 or Marie Macapagal-Detweiler at (415) 647-2044.

About Y2K WSSSSBSSM

Through Dec. 2: USF presents free , public onehour computer classes, with focus on possible Y2K problems , every Thursday, except Thanksgiving Day, in Harney Science Center, Room 232, at 11 a.m. Call (415) 422-6235 or email wells@usfca.edu Sept. 25: "Endings and Beginnings," an end of the century celebration for women sponsored by Catholic Women 's Network , 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.; $35 or $15 for low income; includes lunch and prayer shawl. Register in advance. Call (408) 245-8663 or e-mail cwn@catholicwomensnet.org

About Health Sept. 18: "Health Fair" at St. Rita Parish, Fairfax , 10 a.m.-4 p.m., includes blood pressure check, guest speakers, screenings. Call Madeline Testa at (415) 459-7118.

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__ Sept. 20: Mercy High School, Burlingame's annual "Courts and Sorts" for 6th, 7th, 8th grade girls and boys, 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at the school, 2750 Adeline Dr. Chance to sharpen or develop skills in volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, jazz dance, tennis, water polo, soccer. Call Cheryl Nash at (650) 343-3631.

Performance Join the Dominican College Chorus. Rehearsals are Tues. 7:30-9:30 p.m., Fall Concert, Nov. 19; Christmas Concert, Dec. 3. Call (415) 485-3275 Oct. 3: James Welsh, organist of Santa Clara University, will perform on the Schoenstein organ at St. Elizabeth Church, Somerset and Wayland, SF at 3 p.m. The artist recently recorded a CD at the church titled "Around the World in Under 80 Minutes." Admission is free. Call (415) 468-0820 Sundays in September: Concerts at St. Mary Cathedral featuring various artists at 3:30 p.m. Gough and Geary Blvd., SF Call (415) 567-2020 ext. 213. Sundays in September: Concerts at St. Francis of Assisi Shrine by various artists at 4 p.m. following sung vespers at 3 p.m. Sept. 21: Vocal and instrumental Baroque ensemble; Oct. 15: "St Francis of Assisi - A story of Encounters" with music, images, text, Columbus and Vallejo, SF Call (415) 983-0405.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns offers volunteer opportunities in social justice, respect life, advocacy and other areas. Call (415) 565-3673. Help special needs children with The Learning Tree Center, a non-profit organization that will train , supervise and provide ongoing feedback to you in a unique home-based program. Learn how to share energy, enthusiasm and acceptance. Call Arlene (415) 457-2006. Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group is looking for volunteers to provide practical and emotional support to people living with AIDS. For information, call Milton Headings at (415) 863-1581. St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mary Cathedral invites you to join them in service to the poor: (415) 563-0863. Women in Community Service, seeks people to assist women making the transition from public assistance to the workforce. Call Gwen at (415) 397-3592. Bernal Heights Neighborhood Elders Support Team helps seniors remain at home with rides, food delivery and companionship. Interested volunteers should call Lisa Lopez Coffey at (415) 206-9177. Project Linus, a group supplying special blankets for seriously ill and traumatized children, needs blanketeers to knit, crochet and quilt. Call (650) 589-6767. California Pacific Medical Center is always in need of volunteers. Call (415) 750-6038. Catholic Charities' St. Joseph Village needs volunteer facilitators for its new TGIF program. Call

Andrea Brady at (415) 575-4920, ext. 255. Volunteers are also needed for the computer lab. All levels of computer experience welcome. Call Kristen Rauda at (415) 575-4920, ext. 223. San Francisco's St. Anthony Foundation needs volunteers for its many outreach programs to the poor: (415) 241-2600. Birthright needs people to work with women faced with unplanned pregnancies. For more information, call Mary Alba at (415) 664-9909. San Mateo County's Volunteer Center: call (650) 342-0801. For San Francisco Volunteer Center, call (415) 982-8999. Laguna Honda Hospital, SF is in need of volunteers to serve as eucharistic ministers, lectors and chapel escorts at Tues. and Sun. morning Masses. Call Sister Miriam at (415) 664-1580, ext. 4-2422. Second Sat.: Handicapables gather for Mass and lunch at St. Mary's Cathedral, Gough and Geary St, at noon. Volunteer drivers always needed. Call (415) 584-5823. NCADA (National Council on Alcholism and other Drug Addictions) needs in-office and 24 hour help line volunteers to perform challenging and rewarding tasks. Training and ongoing supervision provided. Call Deacon Chuck McNeil (415) 296-9900

Prayer/Devotions For information about events sponsored by the Office of Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese, call (415) 564-7729. Sept. 25: "Introduction to Centering Prayer," 10 a.m.-3 p.m., St. Jerome Convent, 310 San Carlos St., El Cerrito. Call Coralis Salvador at (415) 543-8338. Weekdays: Radio Rosary, 7 p.m., 1400 AM KVTO, includes prayer, meditation, news, homilies. Call (415) 282-0861. 2nd Sun.: Pray for Priests,3:30 p.m. at Star of the Sea Parish, 4420 Geary Blvd. at 8th Ave., SF. Call (415) 751-0450. Centering Prayer: Mon. 7 p.m.- 8:15 p.m., Most Holy Redeemer Church, 100 Diamond St., SF. Call Sister Cathy Cahur at (415) 553-8776; Tues. 7:30 - 8:30 p.m., Star of the Sea Church, 4420 Geary Blvd., SF. Call Chuck Cannon at (415) 7528439; Sat. 10 a.m.-noon, St. Cecilia Church, 2555 17th Ave., SF. Call Coralis Salvador at (415) 753-1920.

Family Life Introductory sessions of Seton Medical Center's Natural Family Planning program will be held through this fall. The office also offers programs for youth on topics including the changes that occur during puberty and the responsibility of relationships. Health educators are also available to speak about NFR infertility, adolescent sexuality, preparing for pregnancy, prenatal loss and drug abuse in pregnancy. Call (650) 301-8896. Retrouvaille, a program for troubled marriages, has upcoming weekends. Call Lolette or Anthony Campos at (415) 893-1005.

lectures/Classes/Exhibits Sept. 21: Jesuit Father John Schlegel, USF president, will speak on "Catholic Education in the Catholic University" at monthly luncheon of St. Thomas More Society at Banker's Club, top of Bank of America Building, 555 California St. $25. For reservations, call Carroll J. Collins at (415) 781-4365. Through Nov. 14: 'The Treasury of St. Francis Assisi," includes 70 rare works of art, many from the time of the great saint, at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 34th and Clement St., SF. Tues.Sun., 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Adults $8/Seniors $6/Youth $5/under 12 free. Call (415) 863-3330. Through Oct. 31: "Behold the Woman ," a millennium celebration of Marian images from around the world, noon - 4 p.m. except Mon. and Fri., Santa Fe Institute , 2320 Dana St., Berkeley. Call (510) 543-2920. Sept. 16: Book signing by Dan Wakefield author of "How Do We Know When It's God?" 7:30 p.m. at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera and on Sept. 17 at St. Gregory Episcopal Church, 500 DeHaro at Mariposa, SF at 7:30 p.m. Call (305) 532-8141. Sept. 21: Former San Francisco Archbishop John R. Quinn speaks on "Reform of the Papacy: The True Cost of Christian Unity," at St. Raphael Parish, 1104 Fifth Ave., San Rafael, 7:30 p.m. Call (415) 454-5579. Sept.22: Unique opportunity to view 'The Treasury of St. Francis of Assisi," 6-8-p.m., California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 34th and Clement,SF.Hosted by Archbishop William J. Levada. $35 donation benefits Catholic Charities. Call (415) 844-4798. Oct. 1: Catholic Marin Breakfast Club meets for monthly Mass, breakfast and talk at St. Sebastian Church, Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and Bon Air Road, Greenbrae, 7 a.m. Speaker on Nov. 5, former SF Archbishop John R. Quinn; Dec. 3, Jesuit Father Tony Sauer, President , St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Call (415) 461-0704 for reservation and information. Oct. 1-3: "Empowered By the Spirit Confe rence" at St. Mary Cathedra) , Gough and Geary St., SF, sponsored by Office of Charismatic Renewal, Father Joseph Landi, Liaison to the Archbishop. Speakers include Father Landi, Father David Pettingill, and Father Jim Tarantino. For registration information call (415) 564-7729.

Datebook is a free listingfor parishe s, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information plume number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publicati ondate desired. Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, 441 Church St., S.F. 94114, or f a x it to (415) 565-3633.

SCRIPTURE & LITURGY Playing God in the most legitimate sense of the p hrase From the "beginning," human beings have desired to play God, or how else could the tempter h ave prevailed over the woman with the words, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil"? (Genesis 3:4-5) Today 's liturgy of the Word tells us that we have been empowered "to play God" because of what God has done to us in making us Church. There is, then, a way to play God that God himself encourages. Sirach (our first reading) amazes us with the climate it provides for our hearing of the Gospel. Written around 180 BC and translated into Greek by the author 's grandson in 130 BC the book maintains that we behave toward each other the way we hope God will treat us: "Forgive your neighbor 's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven." It goes on to make its case with inexorable logic: "Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord ? Could anyone ref use mercy to another like himself , can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath , who will forg ive his sins?" A lot has happened since these words were first heard. The heavenly Father of Jesus Christ has brought on "the kingdom of the heavens" (Matthew 's phrase for God's reign ) through the words and deeds, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and has thereby created the Church , gathered and missioned in Jesus ' Spirit. God's reign, his take-over, becomes tangible and real for us in communities of believers who give and receive forgiveness because they can. That is why Matthew devotes the whole of chapter 18 to describing Church life. Peter (chapter 16) and the Church (chapter 18) have been given the power to bind and to loose. Peter wants to know how often he can "loose " and suggests a most generous number (at least to himself) when he says;

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 27:33-28:9; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35

Father David M. Pettingill "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must 1 forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus ' reply is rooted in the incredible mercy of God's initiative: "I say to you , not seven times but seventy-seven times." The parable placed in Jesus ' mouth goes on to relate that God has exercised his extraordinary mercy to all of the community in forgiving us the enormous debt of our sin ("a huge amount"). If we are to stay gathered to each other, he expects us to use his mercy toward us as empowerment to forgive our sisters and brothers the little they have done against us ("a much smaller amount"). At all cost (the price God paid in Jesus Christ and the price we are graced to pay) God will have Church—a people gathered and missioned . To frustrate this will by our preferred separations , nourished wrath, and private furies , our wars and hostilities is to grieve God to his

core and to feel his jud gment upon the unforgiving: "So will my heavenly Father do to you unless each of you forgives your brother (or sister) from your heart." There are many types of people in our communities as there were in the Rome Paul addressed. We have people who are strong in faith, weak in faith , some easily led astray, some visionary, others myopic, some other-centered and some selfcentered. Whatever the composition of the community, we are graced to embrace them as the presence of the Lord of them all. Only the glorified Lord can embrace such contradictory elements in himself and overcome the centrifugal force that refuses to forgive and include: "None of us lives for oneself , and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.... For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." So, it 's time to play God in the most legitimate sense of the phrase. Are you ready? Let 's try some people near home— your spouse, your relatives, your neighbor, the Church. Go ahead. You can do it. RENEW 2000 questions: How have you experienced God' s forgiving love through the community? How have you shown it? What does your small community, your parish and Archdiocese, your universal Church need to do to make the Jubilee Year a year of reconciliation? _ — i ¦

Father David Pettingill directs the archdiocesan Office of Parish Life.

Celebration of the Ascension on Sunday is now permanent As mentioned briefly in last week's article on hol y days of obligation , the bishops of each ecclesiastical province in the United States can now for pastoral reasons decide whether or not to celebrate the Ascension on Sunday instead of Thursday. Archbishop Levada and the bishops of this province have selected Sunday. Many readers will recall that since 1994 the Metropolitan Province of San Francisco and the other four provinces on the West Coast have had permission for this transfer on a trial basis. Having determined the success of that "experiment" by means of evaluation forms sent to every pastor in these five provinces, the Vatican now extends the option to all the other provinces of the United States. Ecclesiastical provinces To better understand this new development , it would be good to first define an "ecclesiastical province." Most Catholics know the Church is divided into dioceses throughout the world. These dioceses are grouped together into ecclesiastical provinces, also known as "metropolitan " provinces because a metropolitan archbishop presides over each. The five West Coast provinces which participated in the experimental transfer of the Ascension to Sunday are Anchorage, Seattle, Portland (the second oldest in the country), San Francisco and Los Angeles. (California is the only state in the union with two metropolitan archbishops , Cardinal Mahony in Los Angeles and Archbishop Levada in San Francisco.) The San Francisco Province includes the dioceses of Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton , Sacramento, Las Vegas, Reno, Salt Lake City and Honolulu. (If we include the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii , the San Francisco Province may just be the largest in the world.) Transfer of the holy day to Sunday This new permission from Rome allows the bishops of each such province in the United States to decide whether to

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Father John Talesfore celebrate the Ascension on Thursday or on Sunday within their jurisd iction. While canon law had already provided this as an option, it required a vote by all the bishops for the entire country. (In 1983 the U.S. bishops actuall y did take advantage of that option in the nationwide transfer of two other holy days of obligation , the Epiphany and the Body and Blood of Christ.) Now it is probable that the Ascension will be celebrated on different days in different parts of the country. Some who are suiprised by this diversity might be interested to know that in Rome itself there exists the same variety in the cases of the Ascension and the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Vatican they are celebrated on Thursday, while they are observed on Sunday in the rest of Rome and Italy. Unity in diversity Such reg ional and historical diversity is a part of our

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history in the U.S. as well. In 1777 Pope Pius VI did attempt to bring some uniformity to the English Church by establishing a calendar of 11 holy days of obligation for England and its colonies right in the midst of the Revolutionary War. (Prior to that Catholics in the American colonies actually observed 34 holy days of obligation!) Meanwhile, French and Spanish colonies of the same Catholic faith celebrated other holy days of obligation which were maintained well after becoming part of the Union. Until 1884 our own Church in San Francisco continued to observe its own particular calendar of Spanish holy days. At that time the bishops of the United States agreed upon six holy days of obligation which were reaffirmed again in 1983. Now with the option to transfer the Ascension fro m Thursday to Sunday being decided from province to province, the matter of holy days of obligation once again provides an experience of unity in diversity. Father John Talesfore directs the Office of Worship

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Capsule movie reviews... NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule movie reviews recentl y issued by the U.S. Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting: "The Astronaut's Wife" (New Line) Thin sci-fi tale in which an astronaut (Johnny Depp) returns from a space mission which somehow went wrong, then his wife (Charlize Theron) becomes pregnant and beg ins to suspect there is something alien about him and the (wins she is carry ing. Writer-director Rand Ravich tries to siring oul the wife ' s ignorance 'of the alien connection far' too long to sustain interest in the transparent p lot and g immicky conclusion. Some intense violence , explicil sex, an attempted abortion , rough language and profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is 0 — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. "The Muse" (October) Genteel comedy in which a failing screenwriter (Albert Brooks) is forced to indul ge every pampered wish of a woman

(Sharon Stone) he believes to be a genuine muse whose insp iration will turn around his career. Co-writer and director Brooks mocks the Holl ywood value system quite amusing l y, but goes nowhere with the sill y premise beyond clever oneliners . A few instances of profanity and a flash of nudity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-I3 — parents strong l y cautioned some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. "A Dog of Flanders" (Warner Bros.) Engrossing version of the Ouida novel in which an orphaned boy in a 19th-century Flemish village is encouraged by a local painter (Jon Voight) to use his talents to become a great artist , but gives up after he loses a painting contest and is accused of maliciousl y starting a fire , Ihen faces freezing to death in a snow storm until a miracle gives him a second chance. Writer-director Kevin Brodie exp lores the poor lad' s problems and prospects , thoug h the dog he rescues from an abusive master

plays onl y a relatively small part in proceedings , which richly evoke the period and are centered in the n boy 's love of his dead Z mother and yearning "a _ for his unknown father. o Sty lized violence , some T1 73 O intense menace , an 7* lied sexual encounter imp > and a few cuss words. Z a The USCC classificaS o tion is A-II — adults _ ___ and adolescents. The MPA A rating is PG — A scene from the film "A Dog of Flanders. " The U.S. parental guidance. Catholic onference classification is A-II — adults and "Dudley Do-Right " adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America (Universal) rating is PG — parental guidance suggeste d. Live-action comedy based on the TV cartoon series created by for some easy laughs while failing to find Jay Ward in which the hopelessl y square much genuine humor in repetitive comic Canadian Mountie of the title (Brendan situations featuring Fraser 's dead pan hi gh Fraser) gels some help from his faithful jinks , corny dialogue , weak sight gags and horse in saving his dim sweetheart Nell overl y busy slapstick action. Comic (Sarah Jessica Parker) from the villainous violence, much menace and assorted SnideJy Whi p lash (Alfred Molina), who 's vul garities. The USCC classification is A-1J using a fake gold rush to fleece novice — adults and adolescents. The MPAA ratprospectors. Director Hugh Wilson settles ing is PG — parental guidance. C/l

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