SEMINARIANS:
SENIORS:
HOLY DAYS:
No ‘Damascus moment,’ but many inspiring models
Rachel Yan’s career path includes Kenya, Carnegie Hall
Knowing history can draw us closer to mysteries of faith
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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES
www.catholic-sf.org
OCTOBER 18, 2013
Faithful pray rosary with archbishop near SF City Hall
$1.00 | VOL. 15 NO. 29
Gov. Brown vetoes ‘unfair’ sex abuse damages bill VALERIE SCHMALZ
VALERIE SCHMALZ
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
Thousands of Catholics walked through the city of San Francisco with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Oct. 12, singing hymns and praying the rosary, and then gathered near Civic Center for the archdiocese’s third annual rosary rally and Benediction. “Next year, everyone bring a friend and we will double our numbers,” the archbishop told the crowd at United Nations Plaza, many of whom had knelt in prayer on the pavement during the benediction blessing and prayers before the Eucharist, displayed in a gold monstrance. “We bishops are asking our people of America to pray the rosary now, now before we reach the dire dark moments the church has known in the past when she took recourse to the mother of Our Lord in the holy rosary,” Archbishop Cordileone said. He cited threats to peace and to religious liberty, marriage, the family and “the disregard for the sanctity of human life in so many different ways wherever human life might seem inconvenient, an imposition, or on the margins of society.” “This moment of history is a time of grace the Lord is giving us; yes, we could call this a grace period. A period to seek him in prayer and ask him to turn our hearts and minds back to him while there is still time,” the archbishop said. “Do not underestimate the power of the rosary.” By far the greatest number of participants were from the Latino community, who started the day with a 9:30 a.m. Spanish-language Mass celebrated by Archbishop Cordileone at St. Mary’s Cathedral, where the procession began. A close second were members of the SEE ROSARY, PAGE 21
(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone led thousands in the city’s third annual rosary rally and Benediction Oct. 12. “We bishops are asking our people of America to pray the rosary now, now before we reach the dire dark moments the church has known in the past when she took recourse to the mother of Our Lord in the holy rosary,” the archbishop said.
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a sex abuse damages bill, agreeing with opponents that it was an “unfair” extension of the statute of limitations. SB 131 would have reopened the statute of limitations against private employers for child sex Gov. Jerry abuse for a period of Brown one year, and at the same time would have forbidden lawsuits against public schools, other government agencies and the actual perpetrator of the abuse. In particular, SB 131 would have forced private schools to defend claims as much as 40 years old but would have blocked victims from suing any public school for abuse that may have occurred before 2009. “We are grateful that Gov. Brown chose to veto SB 131. It was unfair to the vast majority of victims and unfair to all private and nonprofit organizations,” said Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, president of the California Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops. “There comes a time when an individual or institution should be secure in the reasonable expectation that past acts are indeed in the past and not subject to further lawsuits,” Brown said in his Oct. 12 veto message, noting the concept of the statute of limitations dates to Roman law and was enshrined in English common law. SB 131 goes back “to the only group, i.e., private institutions, that have already been subjected to the unusual ‘one-year revival period’ and makes them, and them alone, subject to suit indefinitely,” he wrote.
World Mission Collection Sunday October 20, 2013 Do Good on Earth The priests, religious, and lay missionaries groups make it possible for the most needy to encounter Christ and his good news and thus share in the hopes of heaven.
SEE VETO, PAGE 21
INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . .26