st. anne:
encuentro:
julian:
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Parish celebrates 111th novena to Good St. Anne
Gathering urges outreach to Hispanic youth, young adults
Author provides personal guide to 14th-century mystic
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
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July 12, 2018
$1.00 | VOL. 20 NO. 14
Pope: State of Earth tomorrow depends on action today Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY – While everyone has a role and responsibility to help safeguard the planet, all governments must uphold commitments agreed upon in the Paris Accord on reducing climate change, Pope Francis said. Without concerted and immediate efforts toward sustainable development, “There is a real danger that we will leave future generations only rubble, deserts and refuse,” he said July 6. The pope made his remarks in an address to 300 people taking part in a July 5-6 international conference organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The conference, “Saving our Common Home and the Future of Life on Earth,” brought together indigenous and young activists, scientific experts, religious leaders and Vatican officials to assess the impact of Pope Fransee climate, page 9
Hope and Healing Catholic San Francisco is doing its part to promote a renewed focus on pastoral care for those suffering from mental illness, a growing topic in the church AND HEALING and nationally. This issue features the full text of the California Catholic bishops’ recent pastoral letter, “Hope and Healing.” The message states that “ministering to those who suffer from mental illness is an essential part of the pastoral care of the church.” Extra copies of the four-page section are available by email at csf@sfarchdiocese.org or by phone at (415) 614-5639. We also call readers’ attention to the commentary on Page 15 of this issue, “What religions really say about suicide.” The paper is planning additional coverage and initiatives in the coming months. A PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE BISHOPS OF CALIFORNIA ON CARING FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM MENTAL ILLNESS ADDRESSED TO ALL CATHOLICS AND PEOPLE OF GOODWILL
CALIFORNIA
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
BISHOPS OF CALIFORNIA May 2018
A Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of California on Caring for those who Suffer from Mental Illness Addressed to All Catholics and People of Goodwill 1
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Ecumenical encounter for Mideast peace
Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, right, release doves as they stand with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople outside the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy, July 7. The pope was meeting with Christian leaders for an ecumenical day of prayer for peace in the Middle East.
CSF wins Editor of the Year, 7 other national Catholic press awards Christina Gray Catholic San Francisco
Rick DelVecchio, editor and general manager of Catholic San Francisco, was recognized as Editor of the Year by the Catholic Press Association at its annual Catholic Media Conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 12-15. The Catholic Press Awards recognize the professional excellence of Catholic newspapers, magazines, newsletters and communications departments in four regions of North America including Canada. The Catholic Press Association has nearly 250 publication members and 600 individual members. The 2018 awards were based on the 2017 work of members in seven divisions including magazines and newslet-
ters, newspapers, Spanish language, communications, digital and business. In his eighth year at the helm of Catholic San Francisco, DelVecchio was one of a handful of recipients singled out for an Excellence Award, an elite division of the contest that names the best editor, writer, photographer, communications professional, social media director, advertising professional, graphic designer and publications from among all CPA members. Under his direction, Catholic San Francisco also won two first place awards, a second place award, three third place awards and an honorable mention in the 2018 press awards contest for non-weekly diocesan newspapers with a circulation of 25,001 or more. see awards, page 3
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Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
need to know NEW CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE DIRECTOR: Andrew Rivas has been named executive director of the California Catholic Conference, the state’s bishops’ voice in the public policy arena. He replaces recently retired Ned Dolejsi. Rivas is an attorney serving most recently as director, Office of Government & Community Relations, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is also a former head of the Texas Catholic Conference and policy advisor in domestic social development with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
T
111th novena to Good St. Anne
at 8:45 a.m, 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Novena he 111th novena to Good St. Anne prayers are offered, Mass is celebrated will be celebrated at St Anne of the and blessings with the relic of St. Anne Sunset Church in San Francisco, are given. The sacrament of reconcilibeginning July 18. A common question ation is always offered before and after is why is a nothe services and on Tuesday, July 24, vena nine days? the sacrament of the anointing of the Novena means sick will be offered at all three sernine; so, to say vices. On Saturday, July 21, there will I am going to be one novena celebration at 10 a.m., pray a novena followed by a eucharistic procession in means nine of the neighborhood. something – In 1911 Msgr. O’Mahoney, St Anne’s nine days, nine second pastor, invited the RedemptorJoy of Love in the Family.” This comes weeks, nine ist missionaries to preach the novena from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortarosaries. But and we have been here ever since. tion on love, marriage and family life. the question FATHER patrick Redemptorists are known as preachIn this letter the Holy Father reflects remains: Why keyes, cssr ers and evangelizers, so we have been on the situation of families in the nine? glad to preach the novena for these world today and invites us to a deeper There is no 107 years. It is an opportunity for us vision and renewed awareness of the clear answer. Redemptorists to share our charism importance of marriage and family In the church, celebrations are usually of preaching to reach the people of the life. eight days – the octave of Christmas Bay Area. In our novena we will focus on Chapor Easter. One answer is that Jesus ter 4 of the exhortation. In this section spent nine months in the womb of the ChurchOr, Goods Candles Gifts & Books Father Patrick Keyes, CSSR, a native of Pope Francis speaks ofReligious the 12 characBlessed Mother. there& is an early Milwaukee, Wisconsin, professed his first teristics of love as found in I Corinthitradition of nine days of mourning in vows in 1985 and was ordained to the ans 13, 4-7. Using Pope Francis’ reflecthe church, or nine days of prayer for priesthood in 1989. He has worked in tions we will consider the relevance, the dead. So, nine has to do with penLatino parishes in Colorado, Illinois and value and qualities of authentic love ance, with asking for a special favor. Kansas and in the redemptorist foreign and how our families can be strengthThe people of St. Anne come to the mission in the Amazon. He has a master’s ened byinthis biblical image of love. novena asking a special favor. At this 5 locations California in moral theology from Catholic TheologiThe novena begins on July 18 and year’s novena we will be asking for cal Union and a doctor of ministry in pasends on the Store: feast of Sts. Joachim and Local special favors for our families. The Your toral counseling from Fordham University. Anne. There are three services a day theme for this year’s novena is “The 369 Grand Ave., S.San Francisco,650-583-5153
VOCATIONS: The second of two meetings for men who may be hearing a call to the priesthood will be held Aug. 2, 6:15- 8:30 p.m., St. Cecilia Church, 2555 17th Ave., San Francisco. Sponsored by the archdiocesan vocations office. Refreshments provided. For information or to RSVP, contact Father Patrick Summerhays, vocation director, (415) 614-5684; summerhays.patrick@sfarch.org. PRAYER: “Novena for our Nation” is a 54-day rosary novena from Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary to Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, and date of a national rosary rally in Washington, D.C. The project invites participants to pray the rosary for 54 consecutive days, in a particular order and for particular intentions. Visit www.novenaforournation.com.
Using Pope Francis’ reflections we will consider the relevance, value and qualities of authentic love and how our families can be strengthened by this biblical image of love.
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‘HUMANAE VITAE’ 50TH: On July 25, 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical letter “Humanae Vitae.” This major piece of Catholic teaching is available on the “Humanae Vitae” page on the archdiocesan website at www.sfarchdiocese. org/hv.
Archbishop cordileone’s schedule July 12-14: Napa Institute (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Archdiocese of San Francisco, Office of Human Life and Dignity)
An awards and appreciation dinner was held June 28 at St. Mary’s Cathedral to honor the dozens of men and women who serve as volunteers in the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Restorative Justice Ministry. Pictured are service award recipients serving at San Quentin State Prison: Mike Bonnell (15 years), Walter Mallory (15), Lisa Rice (10), prison chaplain Jesuit Father George Williams, Jean Ramirez (15), Victor Perrella (15), Julio Escobar; Willis Rice (10), Roberto Becerra (25). Also pictured is Auxiliary Bishop Robert Christian, OP.
July 15: Parish visit, Church of the Assumption, Tomales July 18-19: Chancery meetings July 21-25: Vacation
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The archdiocesan Restorative Justice Ministry has created two new support groups to expand outreach to incarcerated individuals and their families, including those detained on immigration matters. The groups are led by impacted families, volunteers, parishioners and pastors at the following locations: St. Paul of Shipwreck, 122 Jamestown Ave., San Francisco. Father Dan Carter, pastor. English and Spanish Prisoner’s Family Support Group includes volunteers Desiree Pascual-Vezzali, Michael Pascual-Vezzali, Kathy O’Brien, June Donley, Deacon Larry Chatmon, Loretta Chatmon, Angela Kray, Julio Escobar. The first group meeting will be held Aug. 30, 6 p.m., at the church.
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Editorial Christina Gray, associate editor grayc@sfarchdiocese.org Tom Burke, senior writer burket@sfarchdiocese.org Sandy Finnegan, administrative assistant finnegans@sfarchdiocese.org Advertising Joseph Peña, director Mary Podesta, associate director Chandra Kirtman, advertising & circulation coordinator Production Karessa McCartney-Kavanaugh, manager Joel Carrico, assistant how to reaCh us One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Phone: (415) 614-5639 | Fax: (415) 614-5641 Editor: (415) 614-5647 delvecchior@sfarchdiocese.org Advertising: (415) 614-5642 advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org Circulation: (415) 614-5639 circulation.csf@sfarchdiocese.org Letters to the editor: letters.csf@sfarchdiocese.org
from the front 3
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
AWARDS: CSF wins Editor of the Year, 7 other Catholic press honors FROM PAGE 1
The judges noted DelVecchio’s “very impressive leadership” during an eventful 2017 that included the coverage of the nearby Wine Country wildfires, the deaths of two former archbishops and the consecration of the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “The product represents professionalism at its finest,” they wrote. Catholic San Francisco is a labor of love for those who participate in it, DelVecchio said, and he believes that comes through to judges and readers alike. “You don’t win awards like this unless you really care and without putting your passion and heart into it,” he said. He credited his staff for taking content “that could be ordinary and making it special.” “You can look at all of the awards we won this year and see that in one way or another it was because of the extra measure of care by people who love their work and do it on their own initiative and based on their own sense of what excellence means,” he said. Former CSF assistant editor Valerie Schmalz, who in March was appointed director of the archdiocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity, won first place in the category of Best Personality Profile for her story on Melissa Ohden, a woman who survived her mother’s abortion. Schmalz also took a second place for Best Feature Writing for her look at San Francisco “destination parishes” St. Dominic, St. Ignatius and Star of the Sea. Reporter Christina Gray won a first place for Best Headline for a short photo story titled: “Lenten exercises: Sisters race to support aging friars.” Gray also shared a third place award with Schmalz for Best Coverage of Immigration. In 2017, Catholic San Francisco launched a new website that earned a third place for Best Newspaper Website in its first full year. DelVecchio and Gray teamed with production manager Karessa McCartney and assistant communications director Jan Potts to create what judges called “a compelling digital product rooted in mission and reporting.” The deaths of retired Archbishop John R. Quinn on June 22, 2017, and retired Archbishop George Niederauer on May 2, were covered in special issues by the staff with special reporting and a curated selection of photos. “Farewell Archbishop Niederauer” won third place for Best Layout of Article or Column and “San Francisco’s farewell to Archbishop John R. Quinn” earned an honorable mention for Best Story and Photo Package. “In this office we see the hard work and great results of the newspaper staff on a daily basis and are happy to see this acknowledgement of the quality and impact of their efforts,” said Mike Brown, the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s director of communications. Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspa-
(Photo by John Gray/Archdiocese of San Francisco)
Catholic San Francisco staff members gathered at the Pastoral Center for a group photo on July 2. The official newspaper of the archdiocese won eight national Catholic press awards for work in 2017. From left, Joe Pena, advertising director/business manager; Christina Gray, associate editor; Rick DelVecchio, editor/general manager; Tom Burke, senior writer; Chandra Kirtman, advertising and circulation coordinator; Mary Podesta, associate advertising director. Not present were Karessa McCartneyKavanaugh, production manager; Joel Carrico, production assistant; and Sandy Finnegan, administrative assistant. Consulting photographers Dennis Callahan and Debra Greenblat also contributed to the paper’s award-winning coverage in 2017. per, falls under the archdiocesan Office of Communications, which received two awards in the contest. “Mosaic: Catholicism in the Archdiocese of San Francisco,” produced and hosted by communications manager J.A. Gray, earned a third place for Best Use of Video – Ongoing Series. The office earned an honorable mention for Best Facebook Post for a post from Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone announcing the death of Archbishop Quinn. DelVecchio manages the editorial content of the paper and the staff that develops it, but as general manager also serves as steward of the paper’s resources. The paper’s business model, now nearly 20 years old, remains vital as advertising sales and donations sustain program costs which have been substantially lowered by a reduced issue schedule and a recently completed line-by-line audit of circulation records. Contest judges noted DelVecchio’s development of a readership survey in 2015. The survey results see awards, page 6
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Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
September sessions ‘a chance for spouses to unplug, focus on one another’ Tom Burke catholic San Francisco
Out of his and his wife’s inability to find resources “designed to take healthy couples and lead them more deeply into a shared encounter with Christ,” Chris Stravitsch decided to help fill that need. He is a co-founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation, offering “formation and education in the areas of life and family,” and its “Together in Christopher J. Holiness” program, dedicated to Stravitsch, DMin “forming spouses so that they can form their families.” The program visits the Archdiocese of San Francisco for the third time Sept. 29. Chris holds a doctor of ministry degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he focused his research on the spiritual formation of couples and families. He is also a licensed marriage and family therapist. Chris is one of the day’s speakers Sept. 29: “I will be giving a talk that teaches three simple steps spouses can follow to begin or deepen their prayer life together,” he told me via email. Chris said “most spouses say they don’t know how to pray together outside of the Mass and mealtime prayers. We want them to feel more confident in their shared spiritual life.” The program can serve as refreshment for couples who have attended before and welcomes couples attending for the first time, Chris said. “What is so great about church teaching is that its principles are timeless, but we always need to hear them in new ways. We have a strong relationship with the archdiocese, for which we are very grateful, so we are happy to return as long as ‘Together in Holiness’ remains so well received by the spouses we serve.” Chris called the day “a chance for spouses to unplug and focus on their love for one another and their families with the sacraments and some wonderful talks. This is why we keep returning. We love to see spouses more in love and families growing in faith and strength.” The program, Chris said, “is for all Catholic spouses, though we are also starting to see more engaged couples around the country. Basically, it is for anyone who wants to not merely survive marriage, but thrive in it.” First offered in 2014, “Together in Holiness” has been presented in eight dioceses nationwide with three more soon to be added, Chris said. I asked Chris: What with rampant divorce, couples giving up easily, couples simply living together, can marriage be saved?
YMI ‘MAN OF THE YEAR’: Father Agnel de Heredia, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish, San Francisco, was honored as the Young Men’s Institute’s “Man of the Year” in ceremonies at the YMI Grand Council in Reno June 19-21. “Congratulations, Father Agnel on your well-deserved award!” the YMI said in a note to this column. “Father Agnel has been doing double duty serving as the YMI Grand Chaplain and the South San Francisco Council #32 chaplain for the past 17 years. He is well loved by the YMI brotherhood as he has become the spiritual leader of the organization, presiding at all our Masses and inspiring us to be better stewards. He has become a friend and confidant to the entire membership of YMI, in both times of sorrow due to sickness and death to gleeful celebrations from marriages and baptisms.” not change its nature and how beautiful and fruitful it can be today for a couple who loves each other and puts God in the center of their marriage. That is the hope that people need to see – happy, healthy, holy spouses and families who radiate the joy of the Gospel. That is why ‘Together in Holiness’ exists.”
BEEP, BEEP: Congratulations to Holy Angels School third grader Miguel Martinez, whose artwork was selected by SamTrans and the San Mateo County Office of Education to be part of the 2018 “ART TAKES A BUS RIDE” contest, “The Wild Side of Samtrans.” Miguel received recognition at ceremonies June 6 in San Carlos.
“Together in Holiness,” Sept. 29, 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m., Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 1040 Alameda de Las Pulgas, Belmont. The day includes Mass with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, eucharistic adoration, and reconciliation, $59 a couple, or $35 individual, $49/$29 until Aug. 20; childcare (2 to 12 years) available, space limited. In addition to Chris. Speakers include Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco who has studied at the Angelicum in Rome and at Oxford, and Dr. John Grabowski, a highly renowned professor at Catholic University and an expert in the magisterium of St. John Paul II. Visit www.forlifeandfamily.org/events/th18-sfca/; email hopfnere@sfarch.org. Ed Hopfner (415) 614-5547.
“Marriage is a natural, fundamental institution, raised by Christ to the level of a sacrament of the church,” Chris said. “It predates every government and every nation, and it will outlast every institution we see today. It is true that marriage as an institution is hurting in our society, but that does
Email items and electronic pictures – hi-res jpegs - to burket@ sfarch.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. Reach me at (415) 614-5634; email burket@sfarch.org.
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Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Clergy appointments announced Transitional Deacons (weekends)
Father Raymund Reyes, vicar for clergy, on behalf of Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, announced new appointments in the assignment cycle, and other changes in the presbyterate. Appointments are effective July 1, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
Rev. Mr. Kyle M. Faller, St. Robert Parish, effective Sept. 1, 2018; Rev. Mr. Ernie M. Jandonero, St. Patrick Parish, Larkspur, effective Sept. 1, 2018; Rev. Mr. Michael P. Rocha, St. Matthew Parish, effective Sept. 1, 2018.
Pastors:
Father Kazimierz Abrahamczk, SVD, All Souls Parish; Father John B. Ardis, CSP, Old St. Mary’s Parish; Father Joseph P. Glynn, CSSp, St. Dunstan Parish; Father Joseph Illo, Star of the Sea Parish, San Francisco, while remaining in the process of incardination; Father Mark G. Mazza, St. Isabella Parish, effective Jan. 1, 2019; Father Ireneo R. Ramoso, St. Cecilia Parish, San Francisco, effective Jan. 1, 2019; Father Mark V. Reburiano, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, effective Jan. 1, 2019; Father Andrew P. Spyrow, St. Raphael Parish.
Administrators
Approved Study Leave, as requested
Father Mark G. Mazza, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, effective July 1-Dec. 31, 2018; Msgr. Romulo A. Vergara, St. Cecilia Parish, San Francisco, effective July 1-Dec. 31, 2018.
Father Lawrence Vadakkan, effective July 1-Sept. 30, 2018.
Father Diarmuid C. Casey, CSSp, St. Dunstan Parish; Father Patrick J. Driscoll, Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park; Father Gabriel Flores, Spanish ministry at St. Veronica Church; Father Jerome M. Murphy, St. Sebastian Parish; Father William C. Nicholas, St. Vincent de Paul Parish; Father Mario R. Olea, SVD, All Souls Parish; Father Carl F. Schlichte, OP, St. Raymond Parish; Father Mark V. Taheny, Star of the Sea Parish, San Francisco; Father Peter O. Tieng, LRMS, St. Anne Parish; Father Lawrence Vadakkan, St. Mary’s Cathedral, effective Oct.1, 2018; Father Christopher Wetzel, OP, St. Dominic Parish;
Special Assignments
Permanent Diaconate
SAN DAMIANO RETREAT The World Will Be Saved by Beauty (Silent Retreat) with Fr. Dan Riley OFM, 7/22-27 The Beatitudes: Jesus’ 8-Step Program for Happiness (Silent Retreat) with Fr. Patrick Foley 7/27-29
Journey in Place (Women’s Spirituality) with D. Charbonneau, D. Foley, and J. Stegner, 8/10-12
Father John Luat Nguyen, OFM, UCSF Medical Center, Mission Bay, part-time; Father Celestine O. Tyowua, Laguna Honda Hospital, part-time, effective July 15, 2018; Father Arnold E. Zamora, Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, effective May 4, 2018. Deacon Joseph LeBlanc, Church of the Good Shepherd, effective May 10, 2018.
Father Demetrio L. Aguilar, SVD, St. Kevin Parish; Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP, St. Dominic Parish, effective June 5, 2018; Father Dominic DeLay, OP, St. Raymond Parish, while ministering as associate director at Stanford University; Father Luis
Christian Meditation Day with Claire La Scola, Donna Lack & June Pangelinan, 7/28
Father Patrick J. Summerhays, priest-secretary, Office of Archbishop Cordileone, effective Aug. 1, 2018, while continuing as director of vocations.
Journaling as a Spiritual Practice with Nancy Burchett, 8/25
Don’t Miss! “Welcoming Home What Our Spirit is Missing” with Sr. Joyce Rupp OSM, 9/8
Seasonal Liturgies
Marriage Prep Workshops
Seasonal Liturgies
Workshops
Departures
Father Daniel U. Asue, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA; Father Augustine Hilander, OP, St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center, Salt Lake City; Father Roland LaJoie, SM, Marist assignment outside the archdiocese, effective Aug. 5, 2018; Father Briccio Tamaro, SVD, returning to the Society of the Divine Word; Father Emmanuel F. Taylor, OP, St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center, Tucson.
St. Clare’s Retreat JULY July 27-29 Men’s & Women’s Silent Retreat (Marian): Fr. Joseph Nassal, CPPS – Mary’s Magnificat: Proclaiming the Greatness of God August Aug. 17-19 Teams of Our Lady – English Married Couples Non-Silent Retreat – Inner Peace september Sept. 7-9 Women’s Silent Retreat: Fr. Serge Propst, OP – Inner Peace Sept. 11-13 Silver Angels (Fresno), Men’s & Women’s Non-Silent Retreat – Fr. Robert Barcelos, OCD Sept. 14-16 Women’s Silent Retreat: Fr. Serge Propst, OP – Inner Peace Sept. 28-30 Women’s Silent Retreat: Fr. Serge Propst, OP – Inner Peace October Oct. 12-14 A.A. & Al-Anon Women: Colleen at (650) 714-1985 For more information 831-423-8093 E-mail: stclaresretreatcenter@gmail.com Web site: www.stclaresretreat.com
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Retirements
Father Paul E. Perry with continued residence at St. Sebastian Parish.
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In Residence
Parochial Vicars
Chaplaincy
Sabbatical Updates
Father Paul B. Arnoult, ICTE program in Rome, October through November 2018; Father Brian L. Costello, Tantur Institute, Jerusalem, effective June 1–June 30, 2018, returning to Our Lady of Loretto Parish’ Father Angel N. Quitalig, Tantur Institute, Jerusalem, effective June 1-June 30, 2018 returning to the Metropolitan Tribunal; Father John J. Sakowski, Tantur Institute, Jerusalem, effective June 1-June 30, 2018 returning to Saint Monica-Saint Thomas Apostle Parish, ICTE program in Rome, effective Jan. 1, 2019, three months.
Flores, SDB, Corpus Christi Parish, effective April 26 through Aug. 1, 2018; Father Bart K. Landry, CSP, Old Saint Mary’s Parish and also at St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish; Father Patrick J. Summerhays, St. Philip Parish, effective June 1, 2018; Msgr. Romulo A. Vergara, St. Mary’s Cathedral, effective Jan. 1, 2019.
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7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Daily Rosary: 5:30 p.m. July 14: Opening of the Solemn Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after the 7:00 a.m. Mass July 14 and 15: Daily adoration up to 6:00 p.m. July 16: Adoration up to 4:00 p.m., followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the Closing of the Solemn Exposition. The Novena will close at the 6:00 p.m. Mass on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16. If your are unable to attend, you may send your prayer intentions to: Carmelite Monastery of Cristo Rey 721 Parker Ave. San Francisco CA 94118
6 ARCHDiocesE
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Mercy, Holy Cross Sisters celebrate jubilees Sisters of Mercy who entered the community in Burlingame celebrate their years of religious life and service to the broader community on July 29 at a Jubilee Mass at the Mercy Convent Chapel in Burlingame.
70-Year Jubilarians
Sister Mary Lois Corporandy, RSM, graduated from Mercy High School, Burlingame and earned degrees in biology, chemistry and administration at San Francisco State, and a graduate degree in mathematics at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. At the sisters’ schools, Burlingame and San Francisco, she served as dean, department head, vice-principal, assistant principal, and principal retiring to Marian Life Care Center in 2012. Sister Mary Joanne De Vincenti, RSM, is former CEO at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and spent 10 years in San Diego as executive director of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. Until retiring in 2006, she served at St. Mary’s in roles including director of development. Sister Sheila Murphy, RSM, taught at schools in the San Francisco archdiocese for 40 years. She retired to Marian Life Care Center in Burlingame in 2010. Sister Mary Estelle Small, RSM, served in California classrooms. She taught elementary grades at Holy Name School, San Francisco and St. Aloysius School in Los Angeles. She also taught at the following high schools: Mercy High School, San Francisco; St. Paul’s, Santa Fe Springs; Marian, Imperial Beach; and Cardinal Newman, Santa Rosa.
60-Year Jubilarians
Sister Judy Carle, RSM, has ministered in Mercy high schools in Burlingame and San Francisco. She also served in formation work and congregational leadership and helped establish the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas in 1991. Sister Judy is a former Regional Community President in 1997. Current ministries include Dignity Health Board and coordinator for Mercy Volunteer Corps in San Francisco. Sister Kathleen Connolly, RSM, taught in elementary schools in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Bakersfield for 22 years before volunteering to minister in the Appalachian region of Western Virginia as a social worker. She helped placed refugee minors whose parents had been killed in the fighting in Sudan and other parts of Africa with foster families in the San Jose area, and taught in a St. Bakhita’s girls’ school in Narus, South Sudan. Sister Mary Brian Kelber, RSM, began her ministry in 1962 as head nurse at medical-surgical unit and nursing supervisor of pediatrics at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco. She was assistant and associate professor of medical-surgical nursing, community health, nursing ethics at USF for 34 years. Currently, she is guest lecturer in “Nursing in the Jesuit tradition” at USF. Sister Kathleen Kinney, RSM, taught in schools from San Francisco to San Diego. Her favorite school was her alma mater, Bishop Conaty High School, where she taught and was vice principal from 1984 to 2012. Sister Cecile Ley, RSM, has loved music her whole life and brought that love to all of her ministries. She taught music at three schools and the
Sister Mary Lois Corporandy, RSM
Sister Mary Joanne De Vincenti, RSM
Sister Sheila Murphy, RSM
Sister Mary Estelle Small, RSM
Sister Judy Carle, RSM
Sister Kathleen Connolly, RSM
Sister Mary Brian Kelber, RSM
Sister Kathleen Kinney, RSM
Sister Cecile Ley, RSM
Sister Mary Lorita Moffatt, RSM
Sister Rachel Torrez, RSM
Sister Amy Bayley, RSM
Sister Linda Laine, RSM
Sister Margaret Mary McBride, RSM
Sister Joyce Turnbull, RSM
Sister JoCeal Young, RSM
Sister Marilyn Zugish, CSC
Sister M. Veronique, CSC
motherhouse. She also served as chaplain to HIV and oncology patients. Sister Mary Lorita Moffatt, RSM, began ministry in elementary education at Our Lady of Angels School in Burlingame and St. Stephen’s in San Francisco where she served later as a pastoral associate. She also taught at Mercy High School, San Francisco. She was on the staff at Mercy Center in Burlingame leading retreats and coordinating programs to train spiritual directors for 24 years retiring in 2015. Sister Rachel Torrez, RSM, served in many nursing roles including chief nurse in Arizona and California. During the last 18 years of her career, she worked as a nurse practice consultant for the Board of Nursing in Phoenix. She became a spiritual director and continues this ministry in her retirement.
50-Year Jubilarians
Sister Amy Bayley, RSM, was born in San Francisco and attended Mercy High School Burlingame. She is a former principal of Mercy High School, Burlingame where she oversaw the development and restoration of the Kohl Mansion after the 1989 earthquake. She has served with Mercy Housing since 1995. Sister Linda Laine, RSM, ministered for 35 years as a teacher and administrator in schools including Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, Holy Name School and St. Peter’s in San Francisco and St Matthew School, San Mateo.
Sister Margaret Mary McBride, RSM, has ministered as a nurse in a variety of roles in hospitals, skilled nursing and home care including St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center, San Francisco. Sister Margaret currently serves with Dignity Health. Sister Joyce Turnbull, RSM, has devoted her life to teaching nursing students in programs at schools including the University of San Francisco, San Jose State and City College of San Francisco. Sister JoCeal Young, RSM, ministered in education for 32 years as a teacher and principal and is a former associate superintendent of schools in the Diocese of San Jose. She currently volunteers at Rachel’s Women’s Center. Sisters of the Holy Cross celebrating jubilees will be honored July 15 in Notre Dame, Indiana.
50 years
Sister Marilyn Zugish, CSC, taught at St. Pius School, Redwood City, and St. Matthew School, San Mateo, where she later served five years as the regional councilor for the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Sister M. Veronique (Wiedower), CSC, currently serves as president of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Sister Veronique served on the formation staff and taught music and theology at the now closed St. Joseph College Seminary in Mountain View.
outreach: AWARDS: CSF wins Editor of the Restorative Justice Ministry expands Year, 7 other Catholic press honors FROM PAGE 2
St. Anthony of Padua, 3500 Middlefield Menlo Park. Father Fabio Medina, pastor. SpanishSpeaking Prisoner’s Family Support Group includes volunteers Jose Ramirez, Carmen Ramirez, Amanda Sibirian, Walter Sibiran, Esperanza Deras, Marilinda Fajardo, Julio Escobar. A function of the Office of Human Life and Dignity, the ministry relies on volunteers who work either with families who have lost a loved one to violence, with
crime survivors, with friends and families of prisoners, with prisoner re-entry or in in-prison Catholic ministry. Meet the above volunteers at https:// sfarchdiocese.org/rjministry-masseson-behalf-of-prisoners-and-theirfamilies. To learn more about how you can get involved in the Restorative Justice Ministry, visit www.sfarchdiocese.org/ rjministry, and complete the volunteer form www.sfarchdiocese.org/rjministryvolunteer-information.
FROM PAGE 3
showed strong loyalty for the paper and an overwhelming preference for continued home delivery over digital distribution. Catholic San Francisco is one of the few diocesan papers that provides free home delivery, according to DelVecchio, who called it “an extremely valuable pastoral resource for the archdiocese.” Over the past year Catholic San Francisco has reached out to readers asking for their support in helping continue home delivery, which is sus-
tained by advertising and gift revenue supplemented by a small number of paid subscriptions. The campaign has been highly successful. “We wouldn’t have gone from 620 to almost 3,000 gifts in less than a year without people feeling they are cared for, are listened to, and are being treated well,” DelVecchio said. He said he’s “looking ahead” to continuing to improve the print product. “Our best days aren’t behind us,” he said. “We continue to think we can do it better, do different things next time and next year. The church has a future and we have a future.”
ARCHDiocesE 7
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Nigerian priest recounts religious violence Prayerful event concludes Religious Freedom Week events in archdiocese Valerie Schmalz
More than 65 Catholics crowded into the rectory at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco to hear firsthand stories of Christian persecution in Nigeria and Asia as the Archdiocese of San Francisco concluded Religious Freedom Week with prayer and discussion on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29. “It is a Christian genocide,” in parts of Nigeria, said Via Christi Society priest Father Raymond Dzungwenen Tyohemba. Recalling the kidnapping of 300 Chibok Nigerian school girls by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram in 2014 that drew world attention including former first lady Michelle Obama, Father Tyohemba said, “Many people don’t remember or do not know that all those girls are Christian.” Another 110 Christian girls were kidnapped more recently, forced to convert to Islam, and then all but one released because that young woman refused to renounce her Christian faith, he said. “I ask you to pray for her,” said Father Tyohemba, who has been in residence at St. Paul of the Shipwreck but returns to Nigeria in mid-July. While some in the international media paint the conflict in what is known as the Middle Belt of Nigeria as one between Muslim herdsmen and Christian farmers, Father Tyohemba disputed that, saying that in St. Ignatius Church Mbalom parish neighboring his Sacred Heart Parish Udei in the Diocese of Makurdi, on April 24 two priests and 17 parishioners were slaughtered by Islamists as they celebrated early morning Mass. “Why are they doing it? They want to chase the Christians away,” he said. Father Tyohemba was joined in the panel by Father Daniel Asue, parochial vicar at St. Anne of the Sunset, who also spoke of the religious persecution in Nigeria. Two other speakers spoke about Christian persecution in Asia but asked that their identities be concealed for fear of repercussions in those countries. The Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Human Life and Dignity, in cooperation with the parishes of St. Matthew in San Mateo, St. Dominic, Star of the Sea and Sts. Peter and Paul, sponsored four events of prayer and information for the June 22-29
(Photos by Debra Greenblat/Archdiocese of San Francisco, Office of Human Life and Dignity).
Religious freedom is precious, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone reminded the nearly 100 worshippers attending vespers at Star of the Sea Church in San Francisco on June 22 on the solemnity of English martyrs St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher. He said that while religious freedom faces challenges in the U.S., there is outright martyrdom in many countries around the world. Below left, St. Matthew pastor Msgr. John Talesfore preached for religious freedom in his homilies at the Spanish and English Masses June 24, the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist. Top right, people at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco joined hands in prayer for a young woman held captive in Nigeria, at the end of a June 29 panel discussion on religious freedom abroad. Below right, Via Christi Society priest Father Raymond Dzungwenen Tyohemba spoke at Sts. Peter and Paul about the impact of religious persecution in Nigeria. week established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to bring attention to the issue of religious liberty in the U.S. and around the world. Religious Freedom Week began June 22, the solemnity of English martyrs St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher. The week began with vespers celebrated by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone at Star of the Sea June 22, followed by a happy hour with young adults at a nearby restaurant. A Mass in Spanish and English was celebrated by Msgr. John Talesfore on June 24 at St. Matthew Parish in San Mateo and a Mass with St. Dominic Parish young adults was celebrated June 27 by Auxiliary Bishop Robert Christian, OP.
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The week of prayer and discussion ended with the event at Sts. Peter and Paul, and with a roomful of people holding hands in prayer, led by Father Tyohemba, for the young Nigerian Catholic woman who remains a Boko Haram captive because she has refused to renounce her faith.
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8 national/World USCCB head: Roe should not be litmus test
WASHINGTON – The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged U.S. senators July 6 not to support using the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion as a litmus test for confirming judicial nominees. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston wrote to members of the Senate, which will soon begin deliberations on President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy being left on the Supreme Court by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. The cardinal’s letter emphasizes that the USCCB “does not support or oppose confirmation of particular presidential nominees.” But he said he has “grave concerns about the confirmation process ... being grossly distorted by efforts to subject judicial nominees to a litmus test in support of Roe, as though nominees who oppose the purposeful taking of innocent human life are somehow unfit for judicial office in the United States.” “By any measure,” Cardinal DiNardo said, “support for Roe is an impoverished standard for assessing judicial ability. For 45 years, Roe has sparked more informed criticism and public resistance than any other court decision of the late 20th century.”
Court rules for pregnancy centers in free speech case
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 June 26 that a California law that placed requirements on crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion violated the First Amendment. In its decision in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, the court found that the law changes the content of the clinic’s speech “by compelling petitioners to speak a particular message,” and that the law went further than being a mere “regulation of professional conduct that incidentally burdens speech.” The state law in question is the Reproductive FACT Act, which says pregnancy centers must post notices in their facilities about where low-cost abortion services are available and also must disclose if they have medical personnel on staff. During the oral arguments March 20, some of the justices expressed concerns that the law might be about specifically tar-
senior living
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
‘Time to listen to young people’ Representatives gather June 23 during the Region II encuentro held June 22-24 in Albany, New York. The process leading to the National Fifth Encuentro in Texas in the fall aims to identify and train 20,000 new Hispanic ministry leaders and urge all of the Catholic Church’s pastoral leaders, not just Hispanics, to strengthen their outreach to Hispanic youth and young adults. “This is the time to listen to young people. ... And, without losing sight of the church’s teachings, adapt to their needs,” said Daniel Solares, a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Troy, New York. Delegates highlighted the fact that 60 percent of Catholics under age 18 are Hispanic. So the church needs to reach out to them, welcome them and prepare them to lead, they said, because young people are not only the future but the present of the church.
geting crisis pregnancy centers instead of providing information about abortion, and the decision mentions that, if the goal of the law were merely providing information about abortion to the public, that goal could be accomplished in more effective ways that do not require speakers to deliver unwanted speech.
Pope says torture is a mortal sin; Vatican urges help for drug abusers
VATICAN CITY – Calling torture a “mortal sin,” Pope Francis called on Christians to help victims of this crime against human rights. Marking the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture June 26, the pope tweeted: “Torture is a mortal sin! Christian communities must commit themselves to helping victims of torture.” The pope has spoken out many times against torture, calling it a “very serious sin.” During his visit to concentration camps in Poland in 2016, he said: “Cruelty did not end at Auschwitz, at Birkenau. Today too, people are tortured; many prisoners are tortured at once, to make them speak ... It is terrible! Today there are men and women in overcrowded prisons; they live – I’m sorry – like animals.” The Vatican also marked the U.N. International
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Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 26 with a message from Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The cardinal called for outreach and support of all those who have been caught up in the world of illicit drugs, which is run by people “without scruples, who, giving into the temptation of easy money, slow death, cut off hope and destroy so many families.”
‘Sterile hypocrisy’ behind mistreatment of migrants, pope says
VATICAN CITY – Hearts that are closed to welcoming migrants and refugees are similar to those of the Pharisees, who often would preach sacrifice and following God’s law without exercising mercy to those in need, Pope Francis said. Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees’ “insidious murmuring” is “a finger pointed at the sterile hypocrisy of those who do not want to ‘dirty their hands,’ like the priest or the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan,” the pope said in his homily July 6 during a Mass commemorating the fifth anniversary of his visit to the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. “This is a temptation powerfully present in our own day. It takes the form of closing our hearts to those who have the right – just as we do – to security and dignified living conditions. It builds walls, real or virtual, rather than bridges,” he said. According to the Vatican, an estimated 200 migrants, refugees and rescue volunteers attended the Mass, which was celebrated at the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis greeted each person present after the Mass ended. In his homily, the pope recalled his visit to Lampedusa and repeated “that timeless appeal to human responsibility, ‘Where is your brother? His blood cries out to me.’”
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Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Climate: Pope calls for action FROM PAGE 1
cis’ 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” and to discuss the best ways to act in promoting “integral ecology.” At the beginning of the meeting, children from Nomadelfia, an international community in Grosseto, Italy, performed for participants. The scientific community has developed increasingly accurate assessments in regard to the climate crisis, he said. “The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world,” he said, adding that “there is a real danger that we will leave future generations only rubble, deserts and refuse.” Humanity has the know-how and means to cooperate responsibly in safeguarding the earth, the pope said, and governments, individuals, financial institutions and religious leaders all have a responsibility and role to play. He said the 24th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP24, in Poland in December “could prove a milestone on the path set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement.” Greenhouse gas reduction “requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most,” he said, and “we cannot afford to waste time.” “A financial paradigm shift” that promotes integral human development is also needed, he said. The pope highlighted the importance of showing particular concern and
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Delio Siticonatzi, a member of the Pueblo Ashaninca in Peru, speaks at the Vatican July 5 at an international conference marking the third anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’.”
including young people and indigenous communities in environmental efforts. “It grieves us to see the lands of indigenous peoples expropriated and their cultures trampled on by predatory schemes and by new forms of colonialism, fueled by the culture of waste and consumerism,” he said. For many indigenous cultures, land “is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors.” “How much we can learn from them! The lives of indigenous peoples are a living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home,” he said.
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10 Humanae Vitae 50
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Four ways NFP is different from contraception This is the ninth and final installment in a series on the 50th anniversary of the papal encyclical “Humanae Vitae.”
O
n the 50th year anniversary of “Humanae Vitae,” let’s take a moment to consider the differences between NFP and contraception. Some people think they are essentially the same because both are used by couples who want to have sexual intercourse but who don’t want to have a baby. But it is not just the intention that determines the morality of an action – it is also the means used. How do these means differ?
Health effects
Contraception: The dr. janet smith various forms of hormonal contraception have a multitude of bad physical side effects, among them an increase of risk in breast cancer and strokes. Many women suffer from an increase in irritability and depression, weight gain and a decrease in libido. Moreover some of the hormonal contraceptives prevent an embryonic human being from implanting in his or her mother’s uterus. It is not surprising that hormonal contraception has so many bad side effects; after all, it fills a woman’s body with synthetic hormones that suppress a woman’s natural hormones. Natural family planning: NFP has no bad physical side effects. None. Nada. In fact, a woman who knows how to chart her cycles has a treasure trove of information that helps her and her physician understand any problems she may have with fertility and all the health problems that come with hormonal imbalance, most of which can be treated by changes in diet and by vitamin and mineral supplements.
(Image courtesy California Association of Natural Family Planning)
HV 50 series: Monthly schedule February 8: “The science of fertility,” Dr. Mary Davenport March 8: “One couple’s path into the Catholic Church,” Mariana Lopez and Carlos de la Torre March 29: “The great good of NFP for marriage,” Deacon Bill Turrentine April 12: “Family planning in the 21st century,” Dr. Elisa Yao April 26: “Human ecology and family planning,” Dr. Lynn Keenan May 10: “Natural methods help overcome infertility,” Valerie Schmalz May 24: “NFP ‘changed everything,’” Valerie Schmalz June 21: ‘Greatest power to move people’ in ‘hard truths of our faith,’ Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone
Relationship effects
Contraception: The availability of contraception leads many men and women to engage in sexual
relationships with persons they may not know well, they may have no intention of marrying or parenting with, and sometimes persons they don’t like. Even when they have contraceptive sex with those whom they believe they love, the use of contraception can seem to make unnecessary such conversations as “What happens if our contraception fails?” That question alone can often put a relationship in danger! Contraception facilitates cohabitation which for most is bad preparation for marriage. Natural family planning: NFP does not encourage promiscuity but requires stability. NFP fosters and requires chastity. Only mature and committed individuals can manage the periodic abstinence required by NFP. Those who have not had sex before marriage find NFP easier to use than those who have been sexually active because they have shown their love before marriage by abstaining and thus associate abstinence with love rather than deprivation. And they generally have a larger “tool kit” for showing love and affection – such as going for walks, dancing, cooking with each other, and just cuddling. All this nonsexual time together has facilitated strong communication skills which is one of the important glues for a relationship.
Social consequences
Contraception: The bad consequences of widespread contraception use are enormous, among them a great increase in, unwed pregnancy, single parenthood, abortion and divorce. Families headed by a single parent suffer more poverty and hardship than married families, and the children have many more difficulties achieving success in life and relationships. Natural family planning: Couples who use NFP almost never divorce. Imagine: almost never divorce. It is not simply using NFP that strengthens see ‘Humanae Vitae’, page 16
world 11
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Credible leadership serves others, pope tells cardinals at consistory Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY – Defending the weak or hopeless and becoming a servant to those most in need is the best promotion one can ever receive, Pope Francis told new and old cardinals. “None of us must feel ‘superior’ to anyone. None of us should look down at others from above. The only time we can look at a person in this way is when we are helping them to stand up,” he said during a ceremony in which he elevated 14 bishops and archbishops from 11 different nations to the College of Cardinals June 28. The formal ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica began with Pope Francis, wearing a miter and carrying a pastoral staff of retired Pope Benedict XVI, leading a procession of the soon-to-be cardinals – in their new red robes – while the choirs sang, “Tu es Petrus” (You are Peter). Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of Baghdad approached a microphone to give thanks on behalf of all the new cardinals who have been “called to serve the church and all people with an even greater love.” The 69-year-old patriarch, whose country has lost an estimated 1 million of what had been 1.5 million Christians over the years of war, violence by extremist militants and economic insecurity, thanked the pope for his special attention to the plight and struggle of “the tiny flock” of Christians throughout the Middle East. “We pray and hope that your efforts to promote peace will change the hearts of men and women for the better” and help the world become a more “dignified” place for all people, the patriarch said. Being made a cardinal, he noted, was not a prize or a personal honor, but an invitation to live out one’s mission more firmly dedicated to “the very end,” even to give one’s life, as symbolized by the cardinal’s color of red. Their mission, the pope said in his homily, is to remember to stay focused on Christ, who always min-
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What good is it, the pope asked, to “gain the whole world if we are corroded within” or “living in a stifling atmosphere of intrigues that dry up our hearts and impede our mission,” including those “palace intrigues” in curial offices. “But it shall not be so among you,” the Lord says, because their eyes, heart and resources must be dedicated “to the only thing that counts: the mission,” the pope said. Personal conversion and church reform are always missionary, he said, which demands that looking out for and protecting one’s own interests be stopped, so that looking out for and protecting what God cares about remains at the fore. Letting go of sins and selfishness means “growing in fidelity and willingness to embrace the mission” so that “when we see the distress of our brothers and sisters, we will be completely prepared to accompany and embrace them” instead of being “roadblocks ... because of our short-sightedness or our useless wrangling about who is most important.”
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12 faith
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Sunday readings
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time AMOS 7:12-15: Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” PSALM 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord —for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. EPHESIANS 1:3-14 OR 1:3-10: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in ac-
God’s extravagant gifts
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ere’s a moving testimonial to God’s surprising, unexpected, blessings: “I asked God for health that I might do great things, but I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy, but I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of people, but I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I got nothing I asked for, but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all people, most richly blessed.” Often times we may not even know how to ask for the right things, but God keeps giving us gifts with incredible genfather charles erosity and joyful abandon. puthota Countless blessings big and small, lavish graces, extravagant benedictions – these are lavished upon us by our God who cherishes us with an infinite love every moment of our lives. Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore sings in Gitanjali: “Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life. … Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.” Paul, too, in Ephesians sings of God’s extravagant blessings that come to us through Jesus Christ. We are blessed with “every spiritual blessing,” having been chosen “before the foundation of the world.” Through his son Jesus Christ, we have been loved, destined, redeemed, graced, forgiven, for “the glory of his praise.” We have been given the “word of truth, the Gospel of salvation,” and sealed with the
scripture reflection
God does not conform to people’s expectations, and he often presents himself and his graces in surprising ways, Pope Francis said. “God does not conform himself to preconceptions. We have to make an effort to open our hearts and minds to accept the divine reality that presents itself to us,” the pope said before praying the Angelus to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square July 8. For example, the pope said, the people of Nazareth could not understand how Jesus, a simple
MARK 6:7-13: Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Liturgical calendar, daily Mass readings
Holy Spirit. Paul persuades us from his personal experience that God has encircled us blissfully in his embrace of love and grace. We now lack nothing for our fulfillment and happiness. Such is the grandeur of God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Possessing such blessings of creation, redemption and sanctification, we are impelled to respond to the call of Christ to go out and proclaim his marvelous deeds to others in word and deed. In the Gospel, “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out.” Jesus summons and sends. This is a summary of our Christian life. Jesus calls and sends. “Come and go” is at the heart of our faith. Jesus says: Come, follow me. … come away and rest a while … remain in me as I remain in you … learn from me for I’m meek and humble of heart.” We are to learn from the master and have his mind and heart. Jesus also says: Go. He sends us out as apostles to others: Go to all the nations and preach the good news … go home and tell your friends how much the Lord has done for you. Our faith has to be shared in a common bond of love and service. As Jesus sends us out, he asks us to shed the baggage (material, emotional, ideological, prejudicial) weighing us down, so that endowed with lightheartedness and interior freedom, we might be effective sharers of his saving message. The story of Amos reminds us that being prophetic is an integral part of our apostolic calling. Inviting people to conversion, justice, and authentic forms of religion is an urgent part of the good news we share as church. Our lips and hearts are touched by the fire of God’s Word. Despite our unworthiness, even our unwillingness, as in the case of Amos, God sends us to be prophetic to others. There will be opposition and rejection, but God has called us and sent us to help and heal, comfort and release, tear down and build up, and proclaim through our lives God’s mighty love – for our times, the challenges notwithstanding. Father Charles Puthota is pastor of St. Veronica Parish, South San Francisco, and director of pastoral ministry for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
MONDAY, JULY 16: Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. IS 1:10 17. PS 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23. MT 10:34-11:1. TUESDAY, JULY 17: Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. IS 7:1-9. PS 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8. MT 11:20-24. WEDNESDAY, JULY 18: Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis. IS 10:5-7, 13b-16. PS 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15. MT 11:25-27. THURSDAY, JULY 19: Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. IS 26:7-9, 12, 16-19. PS 102:13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21. MT 11:28-30. FRIDAY, JULY 20: Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of St. Apollinaris, bishop and martyr. IS 38:1-6, 2122, 7-8. IS 38:10, 11, 12abcd, 16. MT 12:1-8. SATURDAY, JULY 21: Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor. MI 2:1-5. PS 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14. MT 12:14-21. SUNDAY, JULY 22: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, JER 23:1-6, PS 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6, EPH 2:13-18, MK 6:30-34. MONDAY, JULY 23: Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of St. Bridget, religious. MI 6:1-4, 6-8. PS 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23. MT 12:38-42. TUESDAY, JULY 24: Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Optional Memorial of St. Sharbel (Charbel) Makhloof, priest. MI 7:1415, 18-20. PS 85:2-4, 5-6, 7-8. MT 12:46-50. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25: Feast of St. James, Apostle. 2 COR 4:7-15. PS 126:1BC-2AB, 2CD-3, 4-5, 6. MT 20:20-28.
pope francis Grace comes in unexpected, surprising ways
cord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
carpenter with no formal education, could perform miracles and outdo even the scribes with his teachings. Being so familiar with Jesus’ family and modest roots, the residents go from being in awe to being incredulous at what the Lord had to say. “Instead of opening themselves up to reality, they are scandalized,” he said, because in their minds, God would never lower himself to speak through such an ordinary man. “It’s the scandal of the incarnation.” Catholic News Service
Thursday, July 26: Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13. Ps 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11. See Mt 11:25. Mt 13:10-17. Friday, July 27: Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Jer 3:14-17. Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13. See Lk 8:15. Mt 13:18-23. Saturday, July 28: Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Jer 7:1-11. Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11. Jas 1:21bc. Mt 13:2430.
opinion 13
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
The Mary of Scripture and the Mary of devotions
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here’s an axiom that says: Roman Catholics tend to adore Mary while Protestants and Evangelicals tend to ignore Mary. Neither is ideal. Mary, the mother of Jesus, has, in effect, two histories within Christian tradition. We have the Mary of Scripture and we have the Mary of devotions, and both offer something special for our Christian journey. The Mary of devotions is the more well-known, though mostly within Roman Catholic circles. This is the Mary invoked in the rosary, the Mary of popuFATHER ron lar shrines, the sorrowful rolheiser mother of our litanies, the mother with the soft heart through whom we can get the ear of God, the Mary of purity and chastity, the mother who understands human suffering, the mother who can soften the hearts of murderers, and the mother we can always turn to. And this Mary is pre-eminently the mother of the poor. Karl Rahner once pointed out that when you look at all the apparitions of Mary that have been officially approved by the church you will notice that she has always appeared to a poor person – a child, an illiterate peasant, a group of children, someone without social standing. She’s never appeared to a theologian in his study, to a pope, or to a millionaire banker. She’s always been the person to whom the poor look. Marian devotion is a mysticism of the poor. We see this, for example, very powerfully in the effect that Our Lady of Guadalupe has had on much of Latin America. In all of the Americas, most of the indigenous peoples are now Christian. However, in North America, while most of the indigenous peoples are Christian, Christi-
FATHER ROLHEISER TALKS: Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser will speak on the Eucharist Aug. 11 at St. Agnes Church, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m. and St. Pius Church, Redwood City, 1:30 p.m. Attend one or both sessions. Freewill offering accepted at each site. Sister Rosina Conrotto, PBVM, (415) 614-5535; conrottor@sfarch.org.
anity itself is not seen as a native religion, but rather as a religion brought to the native peoples from elsewhere. In Latin America, in every place where Our Lady of Guadalupe is popular, Christianity is seen to be a native religion. But piety and devotions also run the risk of theological sloppiness and unhealthy sentimentality. That’s the case too with the Mary of devotions. We’ve tended to elevate Mary to divine status (which is simply wrong) and we have far too often encrusted her in so much piety that she, the Mary of devotions, cannot possibly be the same person who wrote the Magnificat. The Mary of devotions is often so enshrined in piety, oversimplicity, and asexuality that she needs to be protected from human complexity. Still, the Mary of devotions offers us a lot vis-à-vis our spiritual journey. Much more ignored is the Mary of Scripture and the role the various Gospels assign to her. In the synoptic Gospels, Mary is presented as a model of discipleship. More simply, she’s shown to us as the one person who gets it right from the beginning. But that isn’t immediately evident. On the surface, the opposite sometimes seems to be the case. For example, on a couple of occasions as Jesus is speaking to a crowd he is interrupted and told that his mother and his family are outside wanting to speak to him. His response:
“Who are my mother and who are my brothers and sisters? It’s those who hear the word of God and keep it.” In saying this, Jesus isn’t distancing his mother from himself and his message, the opposite. Before this incident is recorded in the Gospels, the evangelists have been very careful to point out that Mary was the first person to hear the word of God and keep it. What happens here is that Jesus singles out his mother first of all for her faith, not for her biology. In the Synoptic Gospels, Mary is the paradigm for discipleship. She’s the first to hear the word of God and keep it. John’s Gospel gives her a different role. Here she’s not the paradigm of discipleship (a role John gives to the beloved disciple and to Mary Magdala) but is presented as Eve, the mother of humanity, and the mother of each of us. Interestingly, John never gives us Mary’s name, in his Gospel she is always referred to as “the mother of Jesus.” And in this role she does two things: First, she gives voice to human finitude, as she does at the wedding feast of Cana when she tells her son (who is always divine in John’s Gospel) that “they have no wine.” In John’s Gospel, this is not just a conversation between Mary and Jesus; but also a conversation between the mother of humanity and God. Secondly, as Eve, as universal mother, and as our mother, she stands in helplessness under human pain and within human pain when she stands under the cross. In this, she shows herself as universal mother but also as an example of how injustice must be handled, namely, by standing within it in a way that does not replicate its hatred and violence so as to give it back in kind. Mary offers us a wonderful example, not to be adored or ignored. Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.
Letters Medjugorje messages
Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been giving messages to six people since 1981 in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. A message for the world is given on the 25th of the month. The message is peace, rosary, Mass, confession, fasting on Fridays. Mary wants the world to love Jesus, ourselves and others. At the start of the apparitions, Communist soldiers tormented the child visionaries. At first, villagers were not getting along but the Franciscan priest told them to forgive. St. James, the village church is filled with worshippers and pilgrims. Millions come from around the world to pray. The Blessed Mother said she would give messages like never before in the history of the world. She has said: Pray until prayer becomes a joy to you; accept the good and bad of every day; pray before the cross where graces flow. In Medjugorje, the Franciscan priest spoke to us for five hours on Jesus and Mary. Sharon Perasso San Bruno
Proper burial for religious articles
Faithful disposing Many Catholics have religious articles, rosaries and missals among them, that are in bad shape or no longer wanted. It seems sacrilegious to toss them into the trash or recycle bin. Supposedly, the proper method of disposal is by burning but few people have the facilities to do so. That said, what happens to the ashes? Would it be possible for the archdiocese to set aside a Sunday to collect these worn-out, no longer wanted items and on behalf of the faithful properly dispose of these items and their remains? Thank you for considering this idea. M.C. Loftus San Francisco Editor’s note: “For anything that is blessed, i.e., rosaries, books, palms from Palm Sunday, etc., the best way to dispose of them is to bury them,” Laura Bertone, director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship, told Catholic San Francisco. “Parishioners who have
something they no longer use such as a broken rosary or items they have received from a deceased family member can either do that themselves in the backyard of their house, or they can always bring it to their parish and ask that their parish bring it to the chancery. If people want to come into the city they could stop by and bring things directly to the chancery and we would take them and then we make sure that they are properly disposed of. Parishes are always welcome bring things to the chancery and we collect them whether they are things from parishioners or things used by the church that they no longer can use.”
Priesthood and gender
I have to agree with Laurie Joyce on her stance concerning women priests (Letters, June 21). When the church calls for a special devotion for priesthood vocations, I have to shake my head in disbelief. When the church needs priests, how can it refuse to recognize the one group of Catholics that would make good priests. I have heard all the excuses the church uses to defend the all-male priesthood. There is the reason that Christ appointed only men as apostles as Laurie points out. And yet at Christ’s crucifixion, it was the women who outnumbered the men beneath the cross to witness the death of Christ. Not a great show of valor or strength on the part of the male apostles. Then there is the excuse as St. John Paul II has said that the church doesn’t have the authority to appoint women priests. Since when has the Catholic Church ever admitted it didn’t have the authority to rule on any other topic? Next is the “Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride” reasoning. Please. In the Catholic high school I attended, such explanations would have politely been called a “snow job.” I have never heard one single excuse for excluding women priests that makes sense to
me or anyone else I know. Many professions were closed off to women for many years, and there were just as many excuses given. If the Catholic Church is truly serious in making sure there are enough priests to administer the sacraments and run parishes, then it shouldn’t ignore the solution that is staring it in the face. Richard Morasci San Francisco Editor’s note: That only men can be validly ordained to the priesthood is a truth that is part of the Catholic faith and will not and cannot change, said Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Catholic News Service reported. “It gives rise to serious concern to see that in some countries there still are voices that put in doubt the definitive nature of this doctrine,” the cardinal-designate wrote May 29 in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. St. John Paul II, confirming the constant teaching and practice of the church, formally declared in 1994 that “the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the church’s faithful.” Cardinal-designate Ladaria noted that Pope Francis also has reaffirmed the teaching on an all-male priesthood, declared by St. John Paul in the document “Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.” In “The Joy of the Gospel” in 2013 he wrote, “The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion.”
Insightful article
Congratulations to Father Rolheiser for a very insightful article, “Stirring the Smoldering Ashes of Our Faith” (June 21). Mary Pecci San Francisco
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14 opinion
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Romans 13 and obedience to the law
The summer reading list
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he vacation season is an opportunity to escape TwitterWorld and do some serious reading. These books will help make your summer enjoyable, instructive, or both. he attorney general of the United States “Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerrecently proclaimed, “I would cite you the stein’s Broadway Revolution,” Apostle Paul and his clear and wise comby Todd S. Purdum (Henry mand in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the Holt): From “Showboat” (1927) government because God through “The Man of La Manhas ordained the governcha” (1965), musical comedy ment for his purposes.” was America’s most successThe White House press ful native art form, and at the secretary agreed, “It’s center of that bountiful hara moral policy to follow vest of story and song were and enforce the law.” Richard Rodgers and Oscar This appeal to the Hammerstein II. This tale of Scriptures implies that their collaboration, replete God supports the govgeorge weigel with inside-Broadway stuff, is ernment in its immigraalso laugh-out-loud funny at tion policies to separate FATHER gerald certain points. Throughout, and while acknowledgimmigrant parents D. Coleman, PSS ing their human flaws, Purdum helps us get to know from their children, of two creative geniuses who lifted the spirits of tens of prosecuting everyone millions through entertainment that didn’t appeal to who crosses the border derangement. from Mexico, and to bolster the government’s “A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles (Videnial of asylum to women fleeing domestic king): Count Alexander Rostov, sentenced by a postviolence, and families escaping gang aggresrevolutionary Soviet court to spend the rest of his life sion. in Moscow’s Metropol Hotel, is the central character The attorney general’s statement is an atin the most charming new novel I’ve read in years. tempt to manipulate the Scriptures to justify Inside the Metropol, where he’s reduced to waiting the government’s political agenda. on tables, the witty Count Rostov creates a humane This uneducated appeal to the Scriptures world of friendship, fidelity, and appreciation for the has created an unprecedented outcry from finer things of life while communist goons demolish leaders of many faith communities, including the old Russia outside the hotel’s doors. The politics Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics. The are kept in the background, however, and Towles’s National Association of Evangelicals pleaded touch is both deft and light in depicting a man who for a protection of families and condemned refuses to betray the truths about human decency the closure of asylum for immigrants fleeing with which he grew up – no matter how politically danger. incorrect they may be at the moment. The Southern Baptist Convention “declared Alexander McCall Smith, perhaps best known for that any form of nativism, mistreatment or his “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series, is also the exploitation is inconsistent with the Gospel author of four hilarious sendups of German academof Jesus Christ.” The Roman Catholic bishThe Most Requested Funeral Directors the of Francisco pretentiousness: “Portuguese Irregular Verbs, The ops classified immigration policies a “right to The Most Requested Funeral Directorsicin in the Archdiocese Archdiocese of San San Francisco Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, At the Villa of Reduced Duggan's Serra Mortuary, City Sullivan's Duggan's Serra Funeral Services, Francisco The Most in the Archdiocese ofUses SanforSan Francisco Duggan's Serra Mortuary, Daly City and andDirectors Sullivan's & & Duggan's Serra Funeral Services, San Francisco Circumstances, and Unusual Olive Oil” (AnseeRequested coleman, pageDaly 20Funeral
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chor). The misadventures of the obtusely arrogant and inept Prof. Dr. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld may remind some of certain personalities on today’s German Catholic scene; but I couldn’t possibly comment on that. “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,” by Franz Werfel (Verba Mundi): Before leaving on a flight to Australia in 2001, I asked the editor and critic Norman Podhoretz, “What are the great long novels you think I haven’t read?” He immediately named Werfel’s story of the Armenian genocide during World War I, which easily got me from Los Angeles to Sydney. The story is gripping, but above all, “Musa Dagh” is a fine study in character – especially the qualities required of leaders under grave circumstances. Which gives it a certain contemporaneity. “World War II at Sea: A Global History,” by Craig L. Symonds (Oxford University Press), offers a panoramic view of the effect of sea power on history between 1939 and 1945. Symonds’s emphasis on the merchant marines of various powers, the fragility of maritime supply chains, and the American capacity to build the shipping that made possible the logistical support for U.S. armies fighting simultaneously in Europe and Asia, adds an often-overlooked dimension to the story. Enjoy it yourself; but consider it, too, as a gift for a millennial who thinks “Midway” is just the name of a Southwest Airlines hub in Chicago. “What Will Dr. Newman Do? John Henry Newman and Papal Infallibility, 1865-1875,” by John R. Page (Liturgical Press): Drawing on a decade of Newman’s wide-ranging correspondence, Page paints a portrait of the Catholic intellectual as churchman: someone determined to remain faithful to the truth, who knew how to be constructively critical; someone who didn’t break into hives when his ecclesiastical opponents made serious mistakes; someone convinced of the capacity of history and the Holy Spirit to see the Church through stormy times. In brief, another tale for this ecclesiastical season. “American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith,” edited by Daniel Okrent (Library of America): The prologue, a mini-memoir, is worth the price of the entire book, but while admiring Red Smith’s prose about everyone from Seabiscuit to Willie Mays, don’t miss Dan Okrent’s fine introduction and its crisp analysis of what makes for great writing, about sports or anything else. And if you’ll permit, let me mention my own latest offerings: “Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II” (Basic Books) and “The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times” (Ignatius Press). The former is, I hope, entertaining, the latter, I trust, instructive. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.
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opinion 15
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
What religions really say about suicide Rachel Woodlock
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t has been a bad time for celebrity news, with several high-profile suicides bringing the difficult topic to the forefront of people’s minds, reawakening painful memories for those who have lost a friend or family member in similar circumstances. On June 5, Kate Spade, an American fashion designer, was found by her housekeeper in her Manhattan home. Her husband Andy subsequently released a statement describing her struggle with anxiety and depression, something she’d apparently worried would harm her business reputation. Just a few days later, hotel reception was called to enter the room of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain in Kaysersberg, France, after a worried friend noted Bourdain had missed both dinner and breakfast. Amid the outpouring of shock and grief in the wake of the latter’s passing, one Twitterer attempted to capture five minutes of shameful fame, surfing the waves of media interest in the celebrity chef’s demise. Quipping a last-word barb at Bourdain, he declared that religious people believe hell or purgatory is his afterworld destination – divine punishment for those who commit suicide. Many people immediately objected to such a simplistic summary of religious beliefs about suicide, including Jesuit Father James Martin, who replied that it “is usually the result of depression, which is an illness. And God does not condemn the ill,” citing John 9:3. Misrepresenting complex religious doctrine is, unfortunately, ubiquitous in our modern world; religious illiteracy is rife, particularly among journalists and public commentators.However, while we can scoff at ignorant tweets, the loved ones left behind by those who commit suicide can be haunted by the dark thought that hell is where their friend or family member now suffers in torment. It was the theme of Robin Williams’ 1998 movie “What Dreams May Come.” Based on the book by Richard Matheson, the main character arrives in heaven, after which he discovers his wife has committed suicide due to a mental breakdown caused by the loss of her children and then of her husband in separate car crashes. He is determined to undertake the impossible and rescue her from the hell in which she is keeping herself.
SCRIPTURE SEARCH
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Gospel for July 15, 2018 Amos 7:12-15 and Mark 6:7-13 Following is a word search based on the First Reading and the Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B: about the life of prophets. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle. AMOS PROPHESY SYCAMORES UNCLEAN NO MONEY STAY THERE THE DUST
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© 2018 Tri-C-A Publications www.tri-c-a-publications.com
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Williams himself sadly committed suicide in 2014; he had been struggling with mental and physical ill-health including depression, anxiety, paranoia, insomnia and the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. It is perhaps the suffering that suicide inflicts on those left behind and the forever unanswerable questions – Why? What could we have done to help? Didn’t they realize that “this too shall pass”? – that makes suicide more than simply an individual’s choice to no longer bear the pain of existence. But it is simplistic to declare that God sends all such souls to eternal damnation.
While all the great religious traditions generally proscribe suicide, they also contain nuanced views of the suicide’s fate. In the Eastern reincarnation-based traditions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, selfish suicide violates the code of ahimsa “non-violence.” All life is sacred and suicide is a type of selfmurder, which can negatively affect the soul’s rebirth. However, in some cases suicide as a result of extreme asceticism or where death is immanent is understood differently. see woodlock, page 20
archdiocese of san francisco
Praying the Rosary The rosary is prayed at the following locations on days and times specified. St. Cecilia Church, 17th Avenue and Vicente, San Francisco, Monday through Saturday, 8:35 a.m. Star of the Sea Church, Star of the Sea Church, Eighth Avenue at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Saturday 3:20 p.m.; second Sundays 3:15 p.m. for priests and vocations; Holy Rosary Society third Sundays 1 p.m., St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel; 2,000 Hail Mary Devotion, second Saturday after 8:30 a.m. Mass; Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. before the Blessed Sacrament in the church. (415) 751-0450; www.starparish.com; admin@starparish.com. Facebook: starparishsf. St. Monica Church, 24th Avenue at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. before ] 8:30 a.m. Mass. St. Gabriel Church, 40th Avenue at Ulloa, San Francisco, Monday through Friday after the 8:30 a.m. Mass. Sts. Peter & Paul Church, 666 Filbert St. across from Washington Square, San Francisco, second Sunday of the month in Cantonese, parish pastoral center, 11:30 a.m., Kelly Kong (510) 794-6117; Wednesday, 7 p.m., English, http://salesiansspp.org/. National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, 624 Vallejo St. at Columbus, San Francisco, Porziuncola Chapel, Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. followed by Chaplet of Divine Mercy. www.ShrineSF.org, info@shrinesf.org, (415) 986-4557. St. Benedict Parish for the Deaf at St. Francis Xavier Church, 1801 Octavia Street, San Francisco, rosary in sign language, all Sundays except June, July and August, 9:45-10:15 a.m.; stbenz1801@gmail.com; www.sfdeafcatholics.org. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/stbenedictparish. St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Ave., San Francisco, Monday through Friday, following the 12:05 p.m. Mass; Saturday, before the 8 a.m. Mass, (415) 422-2188. St. Kevin Church, 704 Cortland Ave., San Francisco, Fridays after 9 a.m. Mass, (415) 648-5751. St. Stephen Church, 451 Eucalyptus Drive at 23rd Avenue, San Francisco, Monday thru Saturday following the 8 a.m. Mass; info@SaintStephenSF.org. St. Elizabeth Church, 459 Somerset St., San Francisco, Monday through Saturday after 8 a.m. Mass; (415) 4680820, www.stelizabethsf.org. St. John the Evangelist Church, 19 St. Mary’s Avenue, San Francisco, Monday through Saturday at 9:30 a.m. after 9 a.m. Mass; (415) 334-4646; www.saintjohnparish.com. Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, Monday through Friday following 8 a.m. Mass, Saturday following 8:30 a.m. Mass; Sunday 7 p.m. St. Veronica Church, 434 Alida Way, South San Francisco. Monday through Saturday 7:50 a.m. St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1425 Bay Road, East Palo Alto, rosary in Spanish Sundays before 9:30 a.m. Spanish Mass; (650) 322-2152. Holy Angels Church, 107 San Pedro Road, Colma, Monday through Saturday approximately 8 a.m. following 7:30 a.m. Mass, (650) 755-0478. St. Dunstan Church, 1133 Broadway, Millbrae, Monday through Saturday, 7:40 a.m. before 8 a.m. Mass. St. Pius Church, 1100 Woodside Road, Redwood City, Monday through Saturday 7:30 a.m., Monday and Wednesday 4:40 p.m.; mary246barry@sbcglobal.net. St. Luke Church, 1111 Beach Park Blvd., Foster City, Monday through Saturday following the 8:30 a.m. Mass. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 300 Fulton St., Redwood City, Monday through Saturday, 7:50 a.m. before 8:15 a.m. Mass; (650) 366-3802; www.mountcarmel.org. St. Mark Church, 325 Marine View Ave., Belmont, Monday through Friday, after 8:30 a.m. Mass and Monday through Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening includes Perpetual Help devotion; (650) 591-5937; www.saintmarksparish.com. St. Isabella Church, One Trinity Way, San Rafael, Monday, 5 p.m. includes four mysteries, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, adoration; (415) 479-1560. St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1000 Cambridge St., Novato, Monday through Saturday after 9 a.m. Mass.
Is your parish praying the rosary?
Catholic San Francisco would like to let its readers know. If your parish has a regular praying of the rosary to which all are invited, just send the day, time, location and contact information to Tom Burke, burket@sfarch.org. The information should come from a person in authority in the parish who can be emailed for follow up and who would be responsible for contacting CSF with changes to the parish rosary schedule. Questions? Contact Tom Burke, burket@sfarch.org.
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16 community
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
obituaries Father George R. Fitzgerald, CSP
Paulist Father George Roland Fitzgerald, a former pastor of Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, died June 20, at the rectory of Newman Hall/ Holy Spirit Parish in Berkeley where he is also a former pastor. Father George R. He was 86 years old. He entered the Fitzgerald, CSP Paulist Fathers novitiate in the fall of 1958 making first promises to the Paulist community on Sept. 8, 1959, and final promises on Sept. 8, 1962. He was ordained a priest by Cardinal Francis Spellman on May 8, 1965, at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City. Father Fitzgerald held an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and graduate degrees from St. Paul’s College in Washington, D.C., and Tufts University. A sister, Alice, and her husband, Thomas Murphy, of Florida are among his survivors. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Spirit, Berkeley, June 23 with interment in the Paulist plot in Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. Remembrances may be made to the
Paulist Fathers, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, 660 California St., San Francisco 94108.
Father Pius Horvath, OSB
Benedictine Father Pius Horvath died June 23 in the Benedictine monastery of Woodside Priory in Portola Valley. Father Pius, who celebrated his 65th year as a priest on June 21, was 88 years old. Father Pius Born in HunHorvath, OSB gary, he lived his early years in the challenging time surrounding World War II. He was ordained to the priesthood at the monastery of Pannonhalma in his beloved Hungary in 1953. The Hungarian uprising of 1956 afforded Father Pius the opportunity to escape the religious suppression of the Communist government. In a journey by night he crossed the border into Austria and later went to Fribourg where he studied and mastered French and German. In 1960 he came to the United States and Woodside Priory where other Hungarians who had escaped had established a Benedictine monastery
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Sister Marianne Smith, SHF
Holy Family Sister Marianne Smith died at the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Fremont on June 21 at the age of 94. Sister Marianne entered the Sisters of the Holy Family from St. James Parish, San Francisco on July 2, 1944, at the age of 20. Sister Marianne began her minis-
try experience at Holy Family Day Home in San Francisco, where she worked in the nursery from 1946 to 1950. She then served as teacher and principal in religious education programs in parishes in the dioceses of Fresno, Los Angeles, San Jose and San FranSister Marianne cisco. She is a former Smith, SHF superior of the motherhouse in Fremont and served as director of religious education at Holy Angels Parish, Colma from 1976 to 1991. Sister Marianne returned to her initial ministry experience, serving as social worker at Holy Family Day Home from 1991 until her retirement in 2015. “What began as a temporary placement became the love of her life,” the Holy Family Sisters said. A funeral Mass was celebrated July 2 at St. Joseph Parish, Fremont, with interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. Remembrances may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Family, P.O. Box 3248, Fremont 94539 or the Sister Marianne Scholarship Fund at Holy Family Day Home, 299 Dolores St., San Francisco 94103.
‘Humanae Vitae’: Four ways NFP is different from contraception FROM PAGE 10
a marriage but it is what it takes to use NFP successfully that strength-
ens a marriage; self-discipline; commitment; communication; mutual agreement on goals; generosity; and a love for God’s gift of sexuality.
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and school. Father Pius began his long teaching career at the Priory as Latin and German teacher and head of the language department. “As a teacher he was known for his wit and subtle humor and was loved by students and faculty alike throughout his long career in the classroom,” the Benedictines said. Father Pius also provided weekend assistance in many parishes in the archdiocese and is especially remembered at St. Denis, Menlo Park and Our Lady of the Wayside, Portola Valley. A funeral Mass was celebrated June 30 in Woodside Priory Chapel. He will be interred in the village of Isza in present day Slovakia where his parents are buried. Remembrances may be made to the Woodside Priory community in care of Father Martin J. Mager, OSB, 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley 94028.
with Judy and Deacon Rick Simon & Spiritual Leaders: Fr. Tom Farrell, Sacred Heart Parish, Shawano, Tour 71023 WI Fr. Adam Bradley, St. Pius X Parish, Appleton, WI Catholic San FranciscoTour 81108
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Day 2: Sunday 10/14, INSTANBUL / THESSALONIKI Upon our arrival in Istanbul, we board our connecting flight to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city and the birthplace of Aristotle. Upon our arrival, + $559 per person* from San Francisco if paidwe by enjoy 7-5-18a brief orientation tour before checking in at our hotel Base Price: $and 3,299 + $559 per for dinner overnight. [D]person* after March 8, 2018 *Estimated airline taxes & fuel surcharges are subject to increase/decrease at ticketing (30 days prior)
Day 3: Monday 10/15, THESSALONIKI / PHILIPPI / THESSALONIKI Today, we enjoy a day trip to Philippi, a city named after Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great. Philippi was the first European town to hear the preaching of St Paul. Paul, Timothy, and Luke were able to make many converts among the Philippians, especially among those of rank. We’ll visit the legendary prison of St. Paul, the theatre, Forum and St. Lydia’s Baptistery before returning to Thessaloniki for dinner and an overnight. [B,D]
Eastern Europe Day 4: Tuesday 10/16, THESSALONIKI / KALAMBAKA This morning we have free time to explore on our own or shop in Thessaloniki. Suggestions includes: a visit to with Bishop Donald Hying either of the main squares locatedJ.on the waterfront: Platia Elefterias or Platia Aristotelous. Both areas are full of cafes and restaurants and provide an ideal environment in which to relax andpilgramage soak up the bustling activity 12 day of the city. This afternoon, we visit the Rotonda, TriumExplore Czech Republic andthe Poland phal Arch ofAustria, Galerius, the sea front and White Tower before making our way to Kalambaka to check in at our hotel and freshen up for dinner. Overnight in Kalambaka. [B,D]
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Moral differences
Contraception: Those using contraception are engaging in an act that has a natural consequence that they are doing a great deal to attempt to thwart. Those who use contraception treat fertility as a defect and put their desire for pleasure above God’s desire for souls. They want to engage in a potential lifegiving act and prevent it from being life-giving. Moreover, contraception Day 5: Wednesday 10/17, KALAMBAKA / DELPHI greatly reduces the meaning Today, we begin in Kalambaka, where weof visitthe the archiwonder of Meteora Monasteries, prominently acttectural – an act that by its very nature is perched atop soaring cliffs. Next, we set off for the city of Delphi via the National Highway. References are meant to express complete self-givto Delphi in connection with Apollo in such litingmade – and what complete erary works as the expresses Iliad, the Odyssey, and Oedipus Rex. Upon arrivalor in Delphi, we have an orientation self-giving commitment better tour of the city before checking in at our hotel for dinner and an than saying to another “I am willing overnight. [B,D] to be Daya6:parent Thursdaywith 10/18, you”? DELPHI / ATHENS Our first stop today is the ruins of The Delphi that were Natural family planning: once the famed Temple of Apollo. From there, we make a brief stop nearby sexual act is at anthe act thatTheatre, speaksthea Athenian lanTreasury, and the Castalian Spring. We continue to guage; it says: “I make a complete gift the Museum of Delphi to view some of the treasures. Housed into theyou. museum are theto Charioteer (a famous of myself I wish entwine statue), the Naxian Sphinx, and the Statue of Antinoos. myNext, lifewe completely with I our want board our motor coachyours. and make way to Athens. Upon our arrival there, we enjoy a panoramic only what is good for you. I and amawilltour, beginning with Hadrian’s Arch view of the Royal Palace, the Stadium, the Temple of Zeus, and the Theatre of Dionysius. We visit Mars Hill, the site where St Paul expounded the subject of monotheism before the pagan Greeks (this address is recorded in Acts 17:22-31). We visit the Acropolis and the museum. The Greek word “acropolis” is used in a broad sense to designate the fortified height of a city. Located on the Acropolis of Athens is the famous Parthenon (the main temple of Athena). Time permitting, we walk down to explore the Ancient Agora and the ruins of the prison where Socrates was held and ultimately carried out his death sentence by drinking hemThe Parthenon lock poison. (Please note: this pedestrian area would mean there would be a great deal of additional walking). We will proceed to our hotel to check in for dinner and an overnight. [B,D]
Day 7: Friday 10/19, ATHENS/ PIRAEUS / MYKONOS This morning, we board our ship at the Piraeus pier for an Aegean cruise. Once we set sail, our first stop is the picturesque 29 square-mile island of Mykonos, known for its narrow winding paths, windmills, and over 350 tiny chapels that beautifully paint the island’s characteristically blue and white canvas. We enjoy some free time to wander its streets, browse the many shops near the harbor, or relax and enjoy the breathtaking view. We return to the ship to set sail for Kusadasi, Turkey. [B] Day 8: Saturday 10/20, KUSADASI (EPHESUS) / PATMOS
SHORE EXCURSION - ANCIENT EPHESUS AND THE HOUSE OF VIRGIN MARY: Drive through the colorful town of Ku-
sadasi to reach Mt. Koressos. Situated in a small valley, it is here where you will visit the humble chapel which lies on the site of the little house where The Virgin Mary is believed to have spent her last days. Despite the many controversies, the Christian World still favors this belief and the site has been officially sanctioned by the Vatican for pilgrimage. Continue on to Ancient Ephesus and accompanied by your guide, walk through the Magnesian Gate which is the entrance to the ancient city of Ephe-
ing to be a parent with you.” As “Humanae Vitae” states, “God entrusted spouses with the extremely important mission of transmitting human life, whereby they perform a great service for him.” Spouses cannot create new human life without God; the male provides the sperm; the female the egg, and God provides the soul. It is God who decided to give women (as is in nature as a whole) a period of time to rest their bodies, when sus. See the most magnificent excavations in the world. new life cannot be conceived. But he St. Paul’s descriptive Letter to the Ephesians (5:21-33) dethe sacred bond between Christ and the Church claimsscribes the fertile period for himself in a beautiful comparison to that of the bond shared by a husband wife. During histhe threegreat years of residency – for the taskand ofhisbestowing in Ephesus, Paul meets 12 believers. He baptized them in gift of God’s immortal Couples holy namelife. and they received using the holy spirit. Next, we walk back to the motor coach along the Arcadian NFP respect God’s plan for Way, where Mark Anthony and sexuality. Cleopatra once rode in procession. From there, we sail to Patmos.
Ephesus Theater House of Mary Dr. Janet E. Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She is the author of “Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later” and of the “Right to Privacy” and the editor of “Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader.”
SHORE EXCURSION - ST. JOHN MONASTERY AND THE
GROTTO IN PATMOS: Depart from the port of Scala and enjoy a short drive to the village of Chora , where the monastery of St. John is built within the walls of a strong fortification. As you walk uphill towards the entrance of the monastery marvel at this magnificent structure, which was built 900 years ago . View the courtyard, the monk’s dining room and the old bakery before you visit the main church noted for its outstanding frescoes and interior decoration. Next, visit the small museum where priceless ecclesiastical treasures, books, manuscripts, mosaics, icons, splendid medieval textiles , vestments and jewelry are housed. Return to your motor coach and continue to the nearby Grotto of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of the Apocalypse above it. Walk down the steps to the Grotto of the Apocalypse. Here you will see the niches in the wall that mark the pillow and ledge used as a desk by the author of the Book of the Revelation and the crack in the rock made by the voice of God honoring the Holy Trinity. Afterwards, drive back to the port of Scala and enjoy some free time in this quaint and picturesque town.
We board the ship and set sail for Crete. Day 9: Sunday 10/21, HERAKLION (CRETE) / SANTORINI
SHORE EXCURSION - KNOSSOS PALACE & MUSEUM IN
HERAKLION: Crete is the largest and the most rugged of the Greek islands. En route from Jerusalem to Rome, St. Paul was forced to anchor here for a few weeks because of a hurricane. During his stay, he preached to the natives. Crete is also the home of the great Minoan Civilization and the mythological home of Zeus. After a short drive through the town of Heraklion the tour will arrive at Knossos excavations. Here, Sir Arthur Evan’s archaeological discoveries revealed a civilization dating back to 4000 BC, when a great empire flourished on the island of Crete. Based on the wealth of artifacts that were found, Evans theorized that this was the site of the ancient Minoan Kingdom. These findings will be viewed in detail, as your guide will lead you on a journey of discovery to learn of the sophisticated culture that flourished thousands of years ago on this island. The tour will continue to the Museum of Heraklion which houses the treasures from the findings of Knossos, Phaestos, Zakros and others less known cities.
17
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
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help wanted ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO DEPARTMENT OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TITLE: Executive Assistant REPORTS TO: Superintendent of Schools STATUS: Regular Full Time, Non-Exempt The Executive Assistant’s primary responsibility is to provide logistical support and office coordination to the Department of Catholic Schools, ensuring the installation of appropriate systems and tools for the team’s success. Specifically, the position is a benefits eligible, non-exempt employee responsible for providing assistance to the Superintendent, providing general office management, and meeting and event coordination.
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• • • • •
Screen and redirect phone calls for the superintendent Manage the superintendent’s calendar, the master calendar for the Department of Catholic Schools, and other calendars Complete the superintendent’s expense reports, reconcile statement Plan and manage all large DCS events Work with the Superintendent to plan all DCS Team Meetings, oversee the DCS budget
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE • • • • • •
Bachelor’s Degree Practicing Catholic in full communion with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church Knowledge of organization and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, including services and ceremonies Proficient with Computer skills (Microsoft Office Suite) Proficient with and have the ability to provide clear, verbal and written communications. Knowledge of and experience with principles and practices of basic office management
KEY COMPETANCIES • • • • • • •
Ability to maintain strictest confidentiality in all matters Communication skills – Professional level of written and verbal communication High level of diplomacy in dealing with individuals Highly organized with the ability to prioritize and multi-task High level of customer service orientation Attention to detail and accuracy; Problem assessment and problem solving Teamwork and an attitude of collaboration Qualified applicants should email resume and cover letter to Escobarc@sfarch.org
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
help wanted SVdP San Mateo is Hiring! Looking to enter the non-profit world and help others In need? St. Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County is now hiring a Development Coordinator to assist throughout the office as necessary. The Development Coordinator will perform administrative duties related to fundraising and will gain firsthand experience to increase the capacity of a growing non-profit organization. Please send resume and cover letter to info@svdpsm.org if you are interested. Attn: Executive Director. Stay connected to Catholic San Francisco Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
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Volunteer Gabriel Project Coordinator Needed
Want to help pregnant women? Have organizational ability and a big heart? The Archdiocese of San Francisco Office of Human Dignity is seeking a volunteer coordinator of the Gabriel Project.
Please contact Valerie Schmalz, director, at schmalzv@sfarch.org or 415-614-5571.
ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO PARISH ACCOUNTING & PAYROLL COORDINATOR CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE Parish Accounting & Payroll Coordinator The Archdiocese of San Francisco has 90 + Parishes and 30 + Parish schools. Provide timely Accountingbookkeeping support to Parishes and Parish Schools and assist in the processing of payroll. Ensure compliance with various accounting and payroll policies and procedures of the Archdiocese.
Attributes of a Successful Candidate: Must be a strong collaborator, who is customer focused and service oriented. Must be detail oriented, a “doer” but able to step back set priorities and get things done. Comfortable with systems; very good understanding of Excel, and proficient understanding and use of QuickBooks-On-Line. Customers: Pastors, elementary school principals, Controller, Payroll Manager and Chief Financial Officer Reports to: Chief Financial Officer and Payroll Manager Hours: Full time, 37.5 hour per week
Key Responsibilities: • Provide Quick-Books-On-Line (QBO) accounting support and assistance to parish and school bookkeepers and business managers. • On-going; maintain parish and school accounting structure and chart-of-accounts in QBO • Serve as a resource and trainer to bookkeepers on QBO and accounting inquiries. • Own the processing of payroll in ADP for a portion of the Parish & School Coordinated Payroll, and 2 other “payrolls” processed for the Chancery • Process payroll garnishments • Prepare and process the quarterly escheatment of payroll checks • Visit Parish schools and Parishes as necessary to assist and train bookkeepers, business managers and payroll administrators • Ensure compliance with established policies and procedures. • As necessary interact with third party accountants.
Basic Skills, Knowledge and/or Abilities • Degree in Accounting or Business • 5-7 years accounting/bookkeeping experience • Experience in processing of payroll in ADP WorkforceNow • Strong bookkeeping experience in QuickBooks • Excellent interpersonal skills • Able to initiate and carry out responsibilities independently and in a timely fashion • Respect for the values and teachings of the Catholic Church • Ability to supply (on a limited basis) own vehicle for business use, with subsequent employer mileage reimbursement Please submit resume and cover letter to: Archdiocese of San Francisco, Office of Human Resources One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, Ca 94109 Attn: Patrick Schmidt Or e-mail to: schmidtp@sfarch.org Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
18 arts & life
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
Author provides personal guide to Julian of Norwich, medieval mystic of an ‘unconditionally loving God’ Liz Dossa
Mercy Center author retreat
Mercy Center offers “Women on the Mystical Path”: a retreat with Veronica Mary Rolf and her daughter, Eva Natanya, Aug. 4-5. The Veronica leaders will Mary Rolf bring powerful contemplative practices of the mystics to bear on our daily lives. Contemplation can transform us, widening our compassion, deepening our personal relationships. Eva has studied meditation, yoga, and contemplative philosophy in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions. She has an M.A. in Christian Systematic Theology from the Graduate Theological Union and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia. This will be an inspiring retreat for women and their daughters, as well as for women friends who share a spiritual path.
“An Explorer’s Guide to Julian of Norwich (Explorer’s Guides)” by Veronica Mary Rolf. InterVarsity Press (Downers Grove, Illinois, 2018). 240 pp., $18. Author and scholar Veronica Mary Rolf delights in her subject, Julian of Norwich, the medieval mystic who was an anchoress enclosed for 25 years. Rolf’s just published book, “An Explorer’s Guide to Julian of Norwich,” brings us into the world of a woman who counsels us not just to love God, but “to clothe ourselves in the love of God.” Julian is deeply personal. She is both down-to-earth and mystical, and fascinating to so many. Her “Revelations of Divine Love,” written in both a Short and Long Text from the 1370s to her death in about 1416, is also the first book in English by a woman. A medieval woman who was considered “unlettered” because she didn’t read Latin, Julian has caught the imagination of a wide public that longs for a personal relationship with God. Most of us know her from the quotation “All Shall be Well,” which appears on bookmarks and posters. A Google search brings up meditations, daily readings, statues and novels about Julian. “I fully expect an app on your phone,” said Rolf. But concerned that it might be her strangeness that P attracts the public to Julian, Rolf wants us to know her, understand her mystical theology, and let her move us to intimate faith, not just fascination. Rolf has both a scholarly and a personal knowledge of the 14thcentury mystic. Julian has been in her life since high school. She spent years researching her previous book, “Julian’s Gospel: Illuminating the Life & Revelations of Julian of Norwich.” “When I first read Julian 40 years ago, it was the first time I heard the Gospel in a woman’s voice,” said Rolf. “But Julian has become a bit of
Women have joined men on the mystical path for centuries, but now is a time particularly in need of a woman’s perspective. Julian’s voice speaks to us across 600 years. celebrity,” she said. “I’m trying to get to the U realBJulian L in my I book. C Until A T you have studied the whole of her writings, she could be misinterpreted or too easily modernized.” Rolf wrote “The Guide” at the invitation of her publisher, InterVarsity Academic Press, to lead a young audience to understand Julian’s life and to put her writings in a historical and theological context. “The Guide” is also excellent for readers of every age who want to begin a companionship with Julian. This extraordinary woman lived during the Hundred Years War and survived the Great Plague, which devastated Julian’s community and probably her family as well. When she was near death at
the age of 30, she experienced visions of IChrist Oon the N cross S that answered her burning questions about sin, suffering and salvation. She meditated on and wrote about these “Revelations,” seeking understanding for the rest of her life. Rolf herself is a guide who knows so much about her subject that she can explain it simply. She answers basic questions about Julian: What is an anchorage? Was Julian a wife and mother? What is the significance of the hazelnut? How did Julian gain her theological knowledge? The heart of the book is Rolf’s comments on each of the “Revelations of Divine Love.” She explains each one for the impact it can have on
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our faith, choosing specific passages to highlight that she calls “Julian’s Gems.” Although Julian focuses on God’s powerful and all-embracing love, Rolf is insistent that Julian is not a simple, happy saint who always sees only the bright side of life. “She was not your little dancing flower. She had been through the worst of human suffering and she understood that Christ on the cross transforms all of it.” “Julian realizes that Christ is in the ditch of life with us,” Rolf said. “He is not judging us. There is no wrath or blame; there is only compassion for the suffering we undergo for our mistakes – personal, familial, communal or global. He is not ‘sending’ suffering. Julian’s message to our age is that God is unconditionally loving and merciful.” Rolf focuses on how the mystical dimension can illuminate our faith, if we allow it to do so. As a longtime teacher of Christian meditation, her mission is to bring the mystical experience into our lives today through the practice of contemplative prayer. Rolf even offers a chapter on making a retreat with Julian’s “Revelations.” As she begins the explanation of the “Revelations,” Rolf links them to the present. “If we examine our lives carefully, we may realize that we have had spiritual experiences of our own, revelations or sudden insights we cannot explain … These encounters with God … become powerful sources of strength in hard times – that is, if we remember them.” “Julian’s message is one of confirmation and affirmation. That is why she is so relevant to our times.” Women have joined men on the mystical path for centuries, but now is a time particularly in need of a woman’s perspective. Julian’s voice speaks to us across 600 years. It is a voice we need to hear.
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calendar 19
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
FEAST OF ST. JAMES: The saint’s patronal parish 24th and Guerrero St., San Francisco marks the occasion with a bingo night, 6 p.m., St. James School, 321 Fair Oaks St. Popcorn and nachos available for purchase; (415) 824-4232; missysundblad@yahoo.com.
FRIDAY, JULY 20 GRIEF SUPPORT: Monthly Grief Support Program, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Msgr. Bowe room. Sessions provide information on the grief process, and tips on coping with the loss of a loved one. No charge. Facilitator: Deacon Christoph Sandoval. For further details, please call Sister Elaine at (415) 567-2020, ext. 218.
SATURDAY, JULY 21 HANDICAPABLES MASS: Mass at noon then lunch, both in lower halls, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Gough Street entrance. All disabled people, caregivers invited. Please RSVP by contacting Diane Prell, activities coordinator, (415) 452-3500; www.Handicapables.com. Dates are subject to change.
SUNDAY, JULY 22 ‘COURAGE TO GRIEVE’: St Dominic Parish, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, San Francisco for eight Sundays, 3:30-5:30 p.m. This group requests a commitment of all eight weeks, not a drop-in group. A pre-group interview is required with Deacon Chuck McNeil. deaconchuck@stdominics.org. (415) 567-7824.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 29 ‘TOGETHER IN HOLINESS’: Day for married couples: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 1040 Alameda John and Claire de Las Grabowski Pulgas, Belmont. The day includes talks from experts in Catholic marriage and family life plus Mass with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, eucharistic adoration, and reconciliation, $59 a couple, or $35 individual, $49/$29 until Aug. 20; childcare (2 to 12 years) available, space limited. Speakers include Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco who has studied at the Angelicum in Rome and at Oxford, Dr. John Grabowski, a highly renowned professor at Catholic University and his wife, Claire, and Dr. Chris Stravitsch, co-founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation where a large part of the focus is on Catholic marriage. Ed Hopfner (415) 6145547. Learn more about the day in an interview with Dr. Stravitsch on Page 4 of this issue of CSF. Visit www.forlifeandfamily.org/ events/th18-sfca/; email hopfnere@sfarch.org.
SUNDAY, JULY 29 ‘HUMANAE VITAE’ MOSAIC: How is the teaching of “Humanae Vitae’ being
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SATURDAY, AUG. 4 FIRST SATURDAY MASS: Holy Cross Cemetery, 11 a.m., retired Sulpician Father Michael Strange, principal celebrant and homilist. We pray that all our beloved dead enjoy the blessed hope of the resurrection. All Saints Chapel, 1500 Mission Road., Colma, Monica Williams, (650) 756-2060; www.holycrosscemeteries.com.
THURSDAY, AUG. 9 WEDNESDAY, AUG. 1 ‘STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY’: Monthly support group for people with life threatening illness, St Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, July 3, 10 a.mnoon Msgr. Bowe room at parking lot level. Sessions offer spiritual support through word, sacrament and community as well as guidance on Catholic teaching and the preparation of health care directives for medical care. No charge. Deacon Christoph Sandoval,
4-DAY CHANT CAMP: A workshop for teachers Aug. 9-12: Children and teens love to learn to sing the Mass. The Benedict XVI Institute of the Archdiocese of San Francisco invites teachers, musicians, choir directors, and leaders of sacred music to learn all the essentials needed to lead a chant camp for young Catholics. This course is taught by Mary Ann Carr Wilson. Tuition is $395. Vallombrosa Center, 250 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, Rose Marie Wong (415) 614-5517; wongr@sfarch. org; Visit www.benedictinstitute.org.
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VOCATIONS: The Office of Vocations of the archdiocese has announced meetings for men who may be hearing a call to the priesthood, 6:15 – 8:30 p.m., St. Cecilia Church, 2555 17th Ave., San Francisco. Father Patrick Summerhays, vocation director (415) 614-5684; summerhays.patrick@sfarch.org. Refreshments provided. Contact Father Summerhays for information or to RSVP.
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FEAST OF ST. JAMES: The saint’s patronal parish 24th and Guerrero St., San Francisco marks the occasion with Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by a barbecue with items for purchase in support of the parish school; (415) 8244232; missysundblad@yahoo.com.
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lived out? Host J.A. Gray and guests Mariana Lopez and Carlos de la Torre follow up on natural family planning and discoveries in human biology that in the past 50 years have been refined and developed into a systematic treatment that is 97 to 99 percent effective. There are no drugs, no chemicals, no instruments or tools. This sciencebased regimen is frequently associated with Catholicism--and yet, most Catholics know little about it which explains why this particular application of medical science is approved by the Catholic Church. Sunday, 5:30 a.m., KPIX Channel 5. Prior episodes of Mosaic are archived on the archdiocesan website at sfarch.org/mosaic-tv.
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20 opinion
A
Catholic san francisco | July 12, 2018
The smoke over medical marijuana
comprehensive 2015 scientific review found medical marijuana to be useful only for a small number of medical conditions. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, an international team of researchers found scant evidence to support broad claims for the drug’s effectiveness. Although clinical trials showed that chronic neuropathic pain and cancer-related pain could often be treated, other forms of pain, such as those related to rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, HIV and multiple sclerosis did not show statistically significant improvement. Researchers also found inconclusive data for people with insomnia, anxiety disorders, depression, Tourette syndrome, psyfather tadeusz chosis, and sleep disorders. pacholczyk They registered concerns about medical marijuana’s significant side effects as well. Yale University researchers, commenting on the review, noted how the approval process for medical marijuana in U.S. states and jurisdictions has often been based on “low-quality scientific evidence, anecdotal reports, individual testimonials, legislative initiatives, and public opinion.” They raised concerns around the fact that medical marijuana seems to be receiving “special status” and is being “fast-tracked” for legalization, when it should instead be subject to the standard scientific verifications of the FDA approval process to assure its efficacy and safety. The Yale authors offered this corrective: “Imagine if other drugs were approved through a similar approach… If the goal is to make marijuana available for medical purposes, then it is unclear why the approval
making sense out of bioethics
process should be different from that used for other medications.” In his influential exposé “Marijuana Debunked,” Dr. Ed Gogek emphasizes how the idea of medical marijuana “didn’t come from doctors, or patient advocacy groups, or public health organizations, or the medical community. The ballot initiatives for medical marijuana laws were sponsored and promoted by pro-legalization groups.” These groups have used the medical marijuana trump card to grease the skids for the acceptance of recreational marijuana. This pincers movement has enabled them to control and reap the windfall from an extensive system of dispensaries that supply and distribute addictive substances. Even if recreational marijuana does not ultimately become legalized in a particular jurisdiction, it is well documented that medical marijuana dispensaries often end up supplying the drug not for rare, valid medical uses, but for substance abuse, similar to the situation with opioid pain medications. Yet the push for marijuana continues unabated. In May 2018, New York State Comptroller Scott Stringer, issued a report declaring that legalized marijuana in the Empire State would be a potential $3 billion market, with taxes from its sale generating a potential $436 million annually statewide, and $336 million for New York City. With such sums at play, not only are investors coming out of the woodwork, but towns and municipalities are also issuing ordinances and changing zoning laws to bring in the dispensaries. Indeed, dollar signs beckon, much as they once did for tobacco companies and plantation owners. Besides being addictive and profitable, tobacco and marijuana have other similarities. Marijuana smoke contains harmful chemicals, with ammonia, benzene, toluene, and naphthalene levels in marijuana exceeding those found in tobacco smoke. These chemical components may contribute to emphysema, bronchial irritation and inflammation. Patients with medical conditions treatable by medical marijuana can avoid these
toxic chemicals and other side effects by using more purified preparations containing only the active ingredients. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that evaluates medical issues, acknowledged that components of marijuana may have medicinal uses, and strongly recommended the development of prescription cannabinoid medicines based on those components: “If there is any future for marijuana as a medicine, it lies in its isolated components, the cannabinoids and their synthetic derivatives.” Several different cannabinoid medications have been developed in recent years, and these medicines work as well as or better than marijuana, have fewer side effects, and are less likely to be abused. These drugs also tend to be effective in the body for longer periods. Gogek notes the irony of the loud public outcry that would ensue if the FDA were to approve “a drug that had no advantage over safer alternatives, went mostly to substance abuse, increased teenage drug use, and killed people on the highways.” He concludes, “We should not be sidestepping the FDA approval process that was designed to protect us.” In sum, the reality behind medical marijuana is far from the rosy view painted by advocates. Marijuana is not “just a plant.” It is an addictive drug abused in epidemic proportions, inflicting a serious individual and societal toll. Its use as a medicine needs to be carefully regulated through standard scientific oversight and the FDA approval process, not handed over to recreational enthusiasts and opportunistic businessmen. The current practice of encouraging states and municipalities to legalize medical, and then recreational, marijuana, is, in the final analysis, neither reasonable nor ethical. Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and serves at The National Catholic Bioethics Center, Philadelphia.
Coleman: Romans 13 and obedience to the law FROM PAGE 14
life” issue, a language too often applied only to abortion and euthanasia. The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, “Separating babies from their mothers is … immoral.” During May alone, more than 700 children were separated from their parents and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency admitted that during this same period “the government lost track of 1,475 children.” “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities” is the opening verse of Romans 13. It has been misused many times in the past, for example, to defend southern slavery in the 1840s and 1850s, to legitimize Hitler and the authoritarian rule in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, to support
South African apartheid from the 1940s to the early 1990s. This misuse of the Scriptures demonstrates a woeful ignorance of Paul’s letter to the Romans. In Chapter 13, he insists that all authority comes from God and assumes that civil authorities are conducting themselves rightly and are seeking the interests of the community (verses 1-7). Paul is clear: Civil authorities are God’s agents working for the good of society (verse 4). He urged “mutual love” (verse 8) when this authority is meeting its moral commitments. Paul was aware of imperiled authority and persecutions that were taking place against Christians. He penned Romans when Nero was the Roman emperor, the civil ruler who took unscrupulous delight in pouring oil on Christians to set them on fire to light his garden at night. Paul
would never have urged obedience to this type of deranged dictator. Matthew 25 is the Magna Carta for Christian living: When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink, when I was hungry, you fed me, and when I was a stranger you took me in. Paul enshrined this mandate in Romans 13, “Owe to no one anything, except to love one another … Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (verses 8-10) Current immigration policies fail to exemplify Matthew 25, do not demonstrate love of neighbor, and misrepresent the authentic responsibilities of civic leaders. Sulpician Father Gerald D. Coleman is adjunct professor, Graduate Department of Pastoral Ministries, Santa Clara University.
woodlock: What religions really say about suicide FROM PAGE 15
In Judaism, suicide is considered a sin that means a person would be buried in a separate section of the cemetery without receiving mourning rites. Yet rabbis can exercise discretion and lift the ruling for those considered mentally unwell or where it was possible that such a person could have repented for their act immediately before death occurring. The most famous Christian suicide was Judas Iscariot, who hanged himself presumably in great remorse for having betrayed Jesus (Matthew 27:1-10). Although suicide is not explicitly condemned in the New Testament, early Christian theologians declared it a mortal sin based on the
fifth commandment “thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). But as with Judaism, and also Islam, the official Catholic catechism holds that those who are mentally unwell are not fully culpable: “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.” Other Christian churches often take a similar position. Likewise, although the Quran forbids suicide as a grave sin, saying: “Do not kill yourselves, surely God is most merciful to you” (Quran 4:29), if someone lacks the capacity to make rational decisions, in either permanent or temporary insanity, the ordinary rulings about sin no longer apply to them. Their fate is left to the mercy of God.
What all the great traditions have in common is the acknowledgement that hardship and suffering are hard-wired into this mortal existence, but there is also help, love, forgiveness and strength to sustain us. It is our secular modern world that sells the mirage that easy happiness can be had if you are beautiful or rich enough – a lie with tragic consequences for those who feel life has failed them, or they have failed life. Dr. Rachel Woodlock is an expatriate Australian academic and writer living in Ireland. This article first appeared on La Croix International, the English-website of the independent European Catholic daily La Croix.
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
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July 12, 2018
$1.00 | VOL. 20 NO. 14
INTRODUCTION
As pastors and bishops, we understand that mental health is a critical component of well-being. Therefore, ministering to those who suffer from mental illness is an essential part of the pastoral care of the Church. This letter represents a statement by Catholic pastors, in consultation with those who suffer from mental illness, their families and loved ones, health care practitioners, and other caregivers. We acknowledge and thank our collaborators patients, families, mental health professionals, and pastoral care workers – who assisted with this statement.
AND HEALING A PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE BISHOPS OF CALIFORNIA ON CARING FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM MENTAL ILLNESS ADDRESSED TO ALL CATHOLICS AND PEOPLE OF GOODWILL
CALIFORNIA
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
BISHOPS OF CALIFORNIA May 2018 A Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of California on Caring for those who Suffer from Mental Illness Addressed to All Catholics and People of Goodwill 1
HOPE AND HEALING A pastoral letter from the bishops of California on caring for those who suffer from mental illness addressed to all Catholics and people of good will
As a resource for our readers, Catholic San Francisco presents the full text of “Hope and Healing,” the California Catholic bishops’ recent pastoral letter on caring for those who suffer from mental illness. The statement, released May 1 to mark Mental Health Awareness Month, examines several facets of mental health including the current opioid crisis, suicide and addiction, and embraces the bond between science and religion. “It is time now to build bridges between science and religion, health care and pastoral care. Clergy and health care professionals, families and mental health advocates should work together to encourage a “both-and,” rather than “either-or” approach to psychological and spiritual healing. We welcome and encourage advances in science and medicine,” the bishops said. For extra copies of this special four-page pullout section, please email your name and address to csf@ sfarchdiocese.org, subject line: Hope and Healing, or call (415) 614-5639.
As pastors and bishops, we are deeply concerned with the heartbreaking prevalence of mental illness in our society and are taking action to address this tragic form of misery and sorrow Though not as apparent and familiar as general medical problems, mental illness is equally important and is uniquely challenging and burdensome. It strikes deep within the human soul, impacting and influencing a person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors; thereby affecting all aspects of a person’s life – work and rest, family life and relationships, prayer and one’s relationship with God. We need not look far to encounter our brothers and sisters who struggle with mental illness. Even those who do not have serious mental health problems can, to some extent, understand the experience of those who do: for not one of us is entirely free from periods of anxiety, emotional distress, troubling or intrusive thoughts, or strong temptations. Every human being is psychologically wounded by the effects of original sin and beset by human weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We recognize that the experience of serious or chronic mental illness is unique and should not be trivialized; yet, when we address this issue, we need to overcome an attitude of “us” and “them,” which separates us one from another. Anyone may struggle with mental health problems; some require clinical attention or special forms of assistance. Even those who attend to the needs of others, including the pastors of the Church, are “wounded healers”: each of us is imperfect before God and in need of Christ’s redemptive grace.
CHRIST CALLS US TO ATTEND TO THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM MENTAL ILLNESS AND PROVIDE HOPE AND HEALING
In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah who would bring hope to God’s people, a savior who would help them in their affliction: “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Is 41:10). Matthew’s Gospel recounts how Jesus healed countless afflictions of body, mind and spirit: “So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them” (Mt 4:24). Jesus Christ’s public life was a ministry of hope and healing. As Catholics, in imitation of our Lord, we are called to provide hope and healing to others. We profess that every human life is sacred, that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and therefore, a person’s dignity and worth cannot be diminished by any condition, including mental illness. We believe all baptized persons have unique gifts to offer and have a place in the Church, the body of Christ. Thus, we are all called to attend to those in our midst who suffer in body or mind; we pledge to work together with families and loved ones, mental health professionals, community organizations, and all individuals and institutions that engage in this important work. Persons with mental illness often suffer in silence, hidden and unrecognized by others. Consider this stark contrast: a person with a medical illness, such as cancer, will usually receive an outpouring of sympathy and support from their parish and community; a person diagnosed with see hope and healing, page H2
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‘WHOEVER SUFFERS MENTAL ILLNESS ALWAYS BEARS GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS, AND HAS AN INALIENABLE RIGHT TO BE CONSIDERED A PERSON AND TREATED AS SUCH.’ ST. POPE JOHN PAUL II
HOPE AND HEALING: A pastoral letter from the bishops of California FROM PAGE H1
a mental illness, such as depression, crippling anxiety, or bipolar disorder, frequently experiences isolation and inadequate support, often because of the unjust social stigma of mental illness.This should not be so in our civic communities and cannot be so in our Catholic communities.Those living with a mental illness should never bear these burdens alone, nor should their families who struggle heroically to assist their loved ones. We Christians must encounter them accompany them, comfort them, and help bear their burdens in solidarity with them – offering our understanding, prayers, and tangible and ongoing assistance.
THE SCOPE AND BURDEN OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN OUR SOCIETY IS ENORMOUS
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five adults in the U.S. suffered from a mental disorder over the past year and nearly 10 million American adults, one in 25, have a mental illness that is severe enough to cause serious functional impairment. Fully 20 percent of adolescents currently have, or previously had, a seriously debilitating mental disorder. Mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders are the single largest source of disability in the U.S., accounting for nearly 20 percent of all disability.i American society is seeing rising rates of depression and anxiety disproportionately impacting young people. Over the past several years, there also has been an alarming increase in the rates of suicide, among both men and women, of nearly every age group. In conjunction with this crisis of deaths by suicide, we are witnessing the staggering toll of drug overdose and alcohol-related deaths – what now are collectively called “deaths of despair.” ii These disturbing trends seriously impact individuals, families and our communities. These crises of our time represent an urgent call to all Catholics. We must respond. We also cannot neglect the grave problem of addiction and cannot forget or abandon those who struggle to free themselves from drug abuse or alcohol dependence. Addictions often go hand-in-hand with mood disorders, schizophrenia, or other mental illnesses and recovery requires attention to both problems. People wounded by heartbreaking loss, abuse, neglect, or overwhelming loneliness also can find themselves susceptible to the slavery of substance dependence or other addictive behaviors. In this context, we must acknowledge the staggering devastation of the current opioid crisis. While we should attend to all forms of addiction, it is imperative to recognize that the destructive wave of opioid dependence and overdose is the worst drug crisis our country has ever faced – both in terms of overall morbidity and mortality. Since 1999, the number of deaths by opioid overdose has quadrupled.iii Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under age 50.iv While this enormous and complex problem will not be solved by any simple or ready-made solution, we need to muster the collective will to address this crisis, motivated by our Christian desire for justice and love for our neighbor. Let us remember that there is always a way forward – there is always hope for every person – no matter how dire the circumstances may appear. Another tragic example of a widespread related problem is the epidemic of profound loneliness. v This troubling trend is exacerbated by the breakdown of families, the fragmentation of social life, and the tendency to compartmentalize our lives and become isolated through the misuse of novel technologies. This has significantly negative impacts on our physical and mental health. These social trends give greater urgency to the Church’s mission of evangelization, our work to support family life and early childhood development, and our outreach to those on the peripheries. We likewise need to give particular attention to assisting those who are single, widowed, divorced, or socially marginalized.
THOSE SUFFERING MENTAL ILLNESS SHOULD NOT BE STIGMATIZED OR JUDGED
For many people, mental illness represents an ongoing and lifelong burden. We clearly proclaim that there is no shame in receiving a diagnosis of a
psychiatric disorder and we affirm the need for education in our communities to remove the unjust prejudice and stigma often associated with mental illness. Catholics should be the first among all to witness to the truth about the dignity of every human person, so as to live in love and solidarity with our neighbor. We recognize that each of us is a “vessel of clay” (2 Cor 4:7), fragile in body and mind.Yet each of us is still loved by God our Father, always capable of being healed spiritually and filled with God’s sanctifying grace. Mental illness is neither a moral failure nor a character defect. To suffer from a psychiatric disorder is not a sign of insufficient faith or weakness of will. Christian faith and religious practice do not immunize a person against mental illness. Indeed, men and women of strong moral character and heroic holiness – from Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill to St.Therese of Lisieux, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, St. Francis of Rome and St. Josephine Bakhita – suffered from mental disorders or severe psychological wounds. As Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, who lost a family member to suicide, said: “your chemistry is not your character” and “your illness is not your identity.” It is evident that mental illness is a source of deep suffering for many. As Catholics, we have a distinctive perspective on the problem of pain: suffering is ultimately a mystery and we do not fully understand why we suffer. However, as Christians, we believe that Christ’s suffering and death on the cross gives our anguish meaning. Our Catholic faith does not promise a life free from suffering or affliction. We should not expect that prayer, Scripture reading, or the sacraments, will cure mental disorders or alleviate all emotional suffering. While the Christian faith and the sacramental life of the Church offer us the hope and the spiritual strength to endure whatever suffering God permits, we recognize that not all afflictions can be avoided and not all illnesses can be cured. So we have the duty as Christians to reach out to the sick, to accompany them and to do all we can to heal or diminish their suffering. As the body of Christ, we are called to help alleviate the burdens that stem from mental afflictions.
THE CHURCH, HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHERS SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH CARE
We the bishops call our brothers and sisters in Christ to be sources of hope, strength and healing for those that struggle with mental illness or addiction, and for their families and caregivers. We pledge to contribute to these efforts through the Church’s pastoral care, resources and charitable works of mercy. We, therefore, acknowledge and applaud a number of innovative programs launched in our parishes aimed at assisting persons with mental illness and their families. Included with this letter are links (www.cacatholic.org/ resources/mental-health) to resources and programs that serve as models for our parishes and communities. These are a good starting point. We also call upon the talents, expertise, energy and dedication of each one of you to contribute to new and creative initiatives that can address these challenging issues. How can each of us begin to take part in these efforts? Everyone has something to contribute, including those without professional or pastoral expertise in mental health care. In 2003, St. Pope John Paul II gave an address on the theme of depression. His remarks can be applied to all those who struggle with mental illness, their loved ones and those who care for them. He noted that depression “is always a spiritual trial.” By saying this, he was not denying that mental illness has biological or medical causes, which it surely does; rather, he was recognizing that mental illness also impacts our spiritual life in unique ways: “This disease is often accompanied by an existential and spiritual crisis that leads to an inability to perceive the meaning of life.” He went on to stress how both professionals and non-professionals, motivated by Christian charity and compassion, are called to help those with mental illness: “The role of those who care for depressed persons and who do not have a specifically therapeutic task consists above all in helping them to see hope and healing, page H3
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rediscover their self-esteem, confidence in their own abilities, interest in the future, the desire to live. It is therefore important to stretch out a hand to the sick, to make them perceive the tenderness of God, to integrate them into a community of faith and life in which they can feel accepted, understood, supported, respected; in a word, in which they can love and be loved.”vi All of us can contribute our unique gifts and talents to this important work. It is time now to build bridges between science and religion, health care and pastoral care.vii Clergy and health care professionals, families and mental health advocates should work together to encourage a “both-and,” rather than “either-or” approach to psychological and spiritual healing. We welcome and encourage advances in science and medicine. We also recognize that, for all its commendable achievements, science and medicine alone cannot provide us with all the solutions to the problems posed by mental illness. Indeed, science cannot answer our deepest and most perplexing human questions: “Why am I here?” “What is the purpose of life?” “Why have I suffered this loss?” “Why is God allowing this terrible illness?” These are ultimately religious questions that cannot be ignored or stifled. As St. Augustine wrote, “You have created us for yourself; 0 God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Christian faith offers sure hope that speaks to our deepest longings – that our sins can be forgiven, that we can be reconciled to God and to one another, and that even in this life, with all its adversity and pain, we can still find some measure of joy and peace. Some Christians harbor suspicions about psychiatry or clinical psychology and question their compatibility with the Catholic faith. Discernment is necessary since not all psychological approaches claiming to be “scientific” are in fact supported by sound evidence. However, good science that recognizes the life and dignity of people and the Catholic faith are never at odds. Medical science has discovered many useful treatments to help those with mental illness and Catholics should welcome and make use of these – including medications, psychotherapy and other medical interventions. At the same time, we cannot neglect the role of pastoral care and spiritual direction. The sacramental life of the Church, especially the frequent reception of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Sick and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, provide grace and spiritual strength to all who receive them, and especially to those who suffer mentally or physically. Indeed, there is a growing body of medical research that demonstrates the health benefits of practices like prayer and meditation, religious worship, active participation in faith-based activities, groups and communities, and cultivating Christian virtues like gratitude and forgiveness. These spiritual practices – while they do not entirely prevent or cure mental illness – can reduce the risk of mental health problems and can assist in recovery. viii Modern medicine is rediscovering that there is a deep connection between the body and the soul: what affects the one has profound effects on the other. Thus, communities of faith should work hand-in-hand with the medical community and scientific researchers in search of better treatments. Since all truth comes from God, the truths of science and medicine rightly understood and the truths of the Catholic faith rightly interpreted can never contradict one another. Science and faith, mental health care and pastoral care, can and should be in dialogue; we must work together. In this context, we acknowledge the significant contributions to the mental health and flourishing of individuals and society that continue to be made by the work of Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. We thank all the dedicated professionals and volunteers who contribute to mental health care in our Catholic hospitals, clinics and care facilities while recognizing that our
efforts can always be improved. Our model of healing is always Jesus Christ – the divine physician – who, with great tenderness, compassion and solicitude, draws close to us and binds up our wounds. Like Christ, we are called to tend to the whole person – body, mind and spirit.
WE MUST MEET AND ATTEND TO THOSE IN NEED WHERE THEY ARE
To reach those who struggle with mental illness, we need to bolster the role of parish communities and also move beyond our zone of comfort and familiarity. Ministries of the Church should strengthen our focus on supporting families and healthy child development – while also attending to those who are single, widowed, divorced, or alone. We look to God our Father, Jesus our Brother, and Mary our Mother as models of unconditional love and acceptance. Our efforts should diligently promote prevention and modeling of healthy living in families and communities. Where some cultures or communities repress or ignore mental health issues, we need to help them acknowledge the reality of mental illness and open themselves to the available resources for help and healing. Equally important, Pope Francis encourages Catholics not to remain securely behind the doors of our parishes, but to reach out to everyone, especially those who are marginalized and forgotten. People who suffer from severe and persistent mental illnesses are among the most misunderstood, ignored and unjustly stigmatized members of our society. For them, our communities and parishes should be places of refuge and healing, not places of rejection or judgment. Our apostolic work should always bring us to those who are on the peripheries of society: We must venture out to the margins, rather than waiting for the marginalized to come to us. This outreach should be proactive rather than reactive: Managing crises is only one component. This needs to be a ministry of presence and accompaniment – an ongoing effort to seek out and engage those who suffer wherever they are found. It is also a work of education and learning – of seeing, hearing and understanding the experiences of those who suffer. Persons living with mental illness know better than anyone else what this experience is like. They need to be more than passive recipients of the ministrations of others. Those who have progressed along the road to healing – with its many trials and hardships – are themselves called to be a resource for their neighbors. With their example, their friendship and their encouragement, they can help others to also discover joy and peace. The tremendous financial, physical and spiritual costs of promoting mental health must be borne by the entire Christian community and by all people of goodwill. We are all responsible. Despite the many individuals and institutions that provide mental health care, the mental health system in California is broken. We are failing our brothers and sisters and their families. Our jails and prisons – indeed, our city streets – are filled with individuals who suffer from mental illness. Sadly, prisons have become the nation’s largest mental health care facilities: Between 10 and 25 percent of individuals who are incarcerated today have a serious mental illness, compared to five percent of the general population.ix About one-third of homeless persons struggle with serious mental disorders. This is unacceptable. Catholics have a duty to engage in efforts to find more humane and equitable solutions. At the same time, the work of caring for the mentally ill extends beyond our institutions and facilities – whether hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities or, sadly, prisons and jails – and into our communities, parishes, neighborhoods and homes. This means rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in the lives of othersx: helping them, accompanying them, undersee hope and healing, page H4
‘I HAVE A DOGMATIC CERTAINTY: GOD IS IN EVERY PERSON’S LIFE. GOD IS IN EVERYONE’S LIFE. EVEN IF THE LIFE OF A PERSON HAS BEEN A DISASTER, EVEN IF IT IS DESTROYED BY VICES, DRUGS OR ANYTHING ELSE – GOD IS IN THIS PERSON’S LIFE. YOU CAN, YOU MUST TRY TO SEEK GOD IN EVERY HUMAN LIFE. ALTHOUGH THE LIFE OF A PERSON IS A LAND FULL OF THORNS AND WEEDS, THERE IS ALWAYS A SPACE IN WHICH THE GOOD SEED CAN GROW. YOU HAVE TO TRUST GOD.’ POPE FRANCIS
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A PSYCHIATRIST RECOUNTS THE CASE OF A MARRIED CATHOLIC WOMAN WITH SEVERAL CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, WHO HAD SUFFERED FROM BOTH LIFETHREATENING BREAST CANCER AND FROM SEVERE DEPRESSION. SHE ONCE TOLD HIM THAT, IF GIVEN THE CHOICE, SHE WOULD CHOOSE CANCER OVER THE DEPRESSION, SINCE THE DEPRESSION CAUSED HER MORE INTENSE SUFFERING. THOUGH SHE HAD BEEN CURED OF CANCER, SHE TRAGICALLY DIED BY SUICIDE RELATED TO HER SEVERE DEPRESSION.
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standing them and, thereby, showing them the love of Jesus Christ. Bishops, priests and deacons need to remain close to the real daily problems of ordinary people, to be available and always ready to assist. As Pope Francis likes to tell the clergy, “the shepherds need to smell like the sheep.” The pope speaks frequently of creating a “culture of encounter,” where we no longer pass by people in a hurry, without noticing them or recognizing how they might be struggling or suffering. It is easy to do this with those who suffer from depression or anxiety, addictions or psychological trauma, loneliness or isolation. We Christians have to get to know people, to befriend them, to listen generously to them, to walk with them. This is not because we have all the answers to their problems or can cure all of their afflictions, but simply because these encounters – these small acts of love and compassion, understanding and friendship – are precisely what people need most. Acts of love can start small with simply praying with people who are afflicted. Prayer is a powerful source of healing and peace. Some parishes are teaching teams of people in their parishes to be available to pray with people: It can make a great difference when we move from praying for people to praying with them. We recognize that these efforts on the part of clergy and laity may at times be hindered by a fear of engaging and interacting with those with a mental illness. The unpredictable or unusual behavior that individuals with untreated mental disorders may exhibit can trigger such fears, making it more difficult to acknowledge the common humanity we share. When such fears hinder us, let us recall Christ’s approach to those who were shunned or marginalized by society. The Gospel proclaims that God’s grace heals and overcomes our fears: Consider Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Consider also St. John’s words, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18). In some cases when there are safety concerns, particularly in the case of protecting children, it is reasonable for members of a congregation to assign an accompaniment until it can be determined that the environment is completely safe. However, this should not be an impediment or prevent our outreach or the loving encounter that we are called to by Christ.
THOSE IMPACTED BY SUICIDE NEED OUR COMPASSIONATE RESPONSE
Finally, we the bishops would like to address the heartbreaking tragedy of suicide, particularly among those who are young, and offer a word of consolation to the many people who have lost a loved one to suicide. Sadly, suicide is now the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults, and the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, accounting for more than 42,000 deaths per year. Behind each of these staggering numbers are families that have been deeply impacted and forever changed. We know that most deaths by suicide are associated with a severe mental illness, such as major depression, schizophrenia or bipolar illness.Xi Those who have lost a loved one to suicide – as well as those whose loved ones are homeless or imprisoned as a result of mental illness – suffer especially painful wounds and are particularly in need of our compassion and support. For reasons that are beyond our comprehension, some individuals suffer from serious mental illnesses that prove difficult to treat or impossible to cure. Such illnesses can affect not just a person’s moods and emotions, they can also constrict a person’s thinking – even to the point where the person feels entirely trapped and cannot see any way out of his or her mental anguish. Mental illness can impair a person’s capacity to reason clearly; It can adversely impact sound judgment, such that a person suffering in this way
is liable to do things, which, when not sick, he or she would never consider. Tragically, in spite of our best efforts to assist the suffering person, sometimes mental illness proves fatal. While the Church teaches that suicide is contrary to the will of God who gave us life,xii at the same time, the Church recognizes that “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to instruct us that “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”xiii Those who lose a loved one to suicide need particular care and attention, often for considerable periods of time. They have not only lost someone dear to them and are deeply grieving, their intense grief is often complicated by feelings of shame, confusion, anger or guilt. They may replay in their minds their last conversation with the loved one and wonder whether they could have done more to prevent the tragic death. Furthermore, they often feel alone and misunderstood, as though they cannot discuss this with anyone. Catholics must convey to them that we are not afraid to open this difficult conversation, that they need not feel ashamed to discuss their profound anguish and loss. While healing in these situations happens only very slowly, we must be willing to walk this long road with suicide survivors, to help console them with our unconditional friendship and with sensitive pastoral care. In closing, let us remember that Christ’s heart – a heart both human and divine – is merciful beyond measure. It is here that we place our hope. It is into Christ’s hands stretched out on the cross that we entrust our loved ones who are suffering and all who have died as a result of a mental illness. We pray that the departed may find God’s peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. We pray that the angels will one day welcome them to that place where their grief will be extinguished, where they will suffer no more. We do not know the reasons why there is so much suffering in the world. Our lives unfold according to a plan that is often mysterious and, sometimes painful. In so many situations, the meaning of events is not clear at the time they occur. We are living in a fallen, broken world; and each of us is broken to some degree. Yet we know that God never allows us to suffer alone. We believe that in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, God descended to our level: he comes to meet us in our suffering, our illness and our affliction.We profess that God walked among us as one of us: In the person of Christ, he endured our human pain with us to the end. On the cross and in his agony, our Lord suffered not just our physical afflictions, but our mental anguish as well. Out of the depths we cry to him and he reaches down into these depths to raise us up. Christ’s kingdom has not yet reached its fullness, but we know in faith that it will at the end of time. On that day, all things will be made new Just as Christ never abandons anyone, so also the Church never abandons those who suffer from mental illness. We encourage all Catholics – clergy, religious and the lay faithful – to partner with others of goodwill in this indispensable work of healing and caring for those with mental illness. Our Catholic faith provides us with this consolation and this firm hope, which strengthens our resolve: In eternity with God, every beautiful thing in our lives that is now unfinished will be completed, all the good that is scattered will be gathered together, everything that is lost will be found, all hopes that are now thwarted will be realized and all that is broken will finally be restored. California Catholic Conference, 1119 K St. Sacramento, CA, 95814. (916)-313-4000 www.cacatholic.org.
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