THE ARTIST & THE SAINT:
ROSARY STORIES:
St. Francis art blesses city’s public places
‘Magical,’ ‘voices of the saints’
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FFALL BOOKS: A parish’s conversion; eexcellent formation for eevangelizers in training
PPAGE A 21
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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 4, 2013
$1.00 | VOL. 15 NO. 27
Bishops ask ‘How can we help?’ in pastoral mission to San Quentin
Pope sees less ‘Vatican-centric,’ more socially conscious church
CHRISTINA M. GRAY
FRANCIS X. ROCCA
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
SEE SAN QUENTIN, PAGE 6
(PHOTO BY CHRISTINA M. GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, left, is greeted by Catholic chaplain Jesuit Father George Williams, right, at the gates of San Quentin State Prison Sept. 30 during a pastoral visit by the archbishop and eight other California Catholic bishops. Behind the archbishop is Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia.
St. Francis’ charism still a draw in modern age RHINA GUIDOS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – Up until a few weeks ago, Iliana Maldonado was a typical 20-something in the U.S. She had a steady job and income. On her days off, she went out with friends her age, regularly posting and commenting on Facebook from a Samsung Galaxy smartphone that she rarely left behind. But there was something more attractive to her than the smartphone and her group of friends. A man had entered her life. That man was St. Francis of Assisi. These days, the 21-year-old is experimenting living in a community of cloistered nuns in a Wilmington, Del., convent, embracing the life of poverty, service and community that St. Francis and his followers,
including St. Clare, began in the 12th century. If all goes as planned, she will one day be a religious sister like the rest. Her life now means no money, no cellphone, no car, no night out with her friends – only a series of prayers, manual labor, and instruction about the Franciscan way of life as a postulant with the Poor Clare sisters at the Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani. It is a vastly different way of life from the one most of us live, but it is not surprising that people today still choose to follow the more austere way of Francis, said Franciscan Father Larry Dunham, guardian of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington. Those who choose to follow St. Francis aim for lives of simplicity, with few material goods, an emphasis on serving others, communal
prayer and fraternal brotherhood with God at the center. Even though he died in 1226 and was canonized 1228, St. Francis and the charism he championed cast a long shadow in our time.
VATICAN CITY – In his latest wideranging interview, Pope Francis said that he aimed to make the Catholic Church less “Vatican-centric” and closer to the “people of God,” as well as more socially conscious and open to modern culture. He also revealed that he briefly considered turning down the papacy in the moments following his election last March, and identified the “most urgent problem” the church should address today as youth unemployment and the abandonment of elderly people. The pope’s remarks appeared in a 4,500-word interview, published Oct. 1 in the Rome daily La Repubblica, with EuSEE REFORM, PAGE 20
Respect Life Sunday is Oct. 6
Including even nonbelievers
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio embraced not just Francis’ name when he became pope this year, but also what the saint stood for. He bypassed the more luxurious papal digs at the Vatican and went to live in the nearby, simpler guesthouse where he could live near others, pray and interact with them. Like St. Francis, he speaks every chance he gets about the poor and tries to be inclusive of all – even nonbelievers. In interviews about why he took SEE FRANCIS, PAGE 20
‘We will be judged by the care we give to the most vulnerable in our midst.’ US BISHOPS’ 2013 RESPECT LIFE LITURGY GUIDE
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Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and eight other California bishops made a daylong visit to San Quentin State Prison Sept. 30 – a pastoral mission that included discussions with inmates and staff, a tour of death row and prayer inside the prison’s death chamber. The delegates left with a broad view of life at the Marin County prison and some ideas from longtime prisoners about how to help keep today’s young people from spending – or ending – their lives in prison. “I didn’t show up to school one day and no one came looking for me,” said Miguel, 32, who grew up in the Central Valley. He has been locked up since he
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . .26