ADVENT:
MARTYRS’ VIGIL:
PAGES 14-16
PAGE 23
USF prayer service remembers Salvadoran Jesuits slain in 1989
A guide to activities in the archdiocese during the season of joyful waiting
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES
www.catholic-sf.org
NOVEMBER 21, 2014
$1.00 | VOL. 16 NO. 31
Bishop: Catholic defense of family means aiding migrants
Pope confirms he will visit Philadelphia in September
CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY – Migrants are among the poorest, most vulnerable people in the world, and a church committed to defending strong families must be particularly engaged in assisting migrant couples and their children, a U.S. bishop told a Vatican conference. “Across the globe, 175 million migrants seek safety and sustenance in an unknown land,” Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City told the Vaticansponsored World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants. Those who move looking for a better life for themselves and their families, as well as those forced to flee violence, persecution and war share hopes for a better future and the pain of separation from loved ones and familiar places, he said Nov. 18. Migrant parents worry about keeping their children fed, housed, healthy and finding schools for them, Bishop Wester said. “Spouses separated by migration struggle to maintain their families, and children endure feelings of abandonment, alienation and often insecurity due to their separation from parents,” even when their parents are moving SEE MIGRANTS, PAGE 20
FRANCIS X. ROCCA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
with another woman for 25 years before rejecting the lifestyle and discovering her Catholic faith. She is one of three subjects of the Courage documentary “Desire of the Everlasting Hills.” A second subject, Paul, a former international model will also be on hand to answer questions. Simpson and Paul are members of Courage, an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions and their family and friends. San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone supports Courage and the screening at the Faith Formation Conference. “The new evangelization depends upon a culture of witness both personal and public. I was reminded
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said he would attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September, making it the first confirmed stop on what is expected to be a more extensive papal visit to North America. The pope made the announcement Nov. 17 in a speech opening an interrePope Francis ligious conference on traditional marriage. “I would like to confirm that, God willing, in September 2015 I will go to Philadelphia for the eighth World Meeting of Families,” the pope said. The announcement had been widely expected, since Pope Benedict XVI had said before his retirement that he hoped to attend the Philadelphia event. Popes typically fulfill their predecessors’ publicly known travel plans, as Pope Francis did in July 2013 when he attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was in Rome for the families meeting, told Catholic News Service the announcement was “a surprise in the sense that it was announced so early; you know usually they don’t make these announcements – four months out is the typical and here we are 10 months away, and the Holy Father said he is coming to Philadelphia.” “The Holy Father has said that he’s going to be coming to Philadelphia for quite a few months,” he told Catholic News Service. “He’s been telling me that personally, but for him to announce it officially that he is coming so early is really quite an unusual thing, so it’s going to re-energize our efforts. There’s lot of enthusiasm already, but I think 90 percent of the enthusiasm’s based on the fact that the Holy Father will be with us, and now that he’s
SEE COURAGE MOVIE, PAGE 3
SEE PHILADELPHIA, PAGE 20
(CNS PHOTO/DAVID MAUNG)
A migrant handles rosaries made by other migrants which are to be given away at the Aid Center for Deported Migrants Oct. 11 in Nogales, Mexico. The center is part of the Jesuit-run Kino Border Initiative that provides food, shelter and assistance to migrants in Nogales.
Courage movie to be shown at Faith Formation Conference Nov. 21 VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
Every youth minister and high school teacher faces this problem at one time or another: One of his or her kids confides he or she identifies as gay. “They are hurt or angry or ashamed. They don’t know why they feel the same-sex attraction, or how to feel about themselves, they don’t know who they are or they feel their loved ones don’t know them,” said Rilene Simpson, who will speak at the Faith Formation Conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center Nov. 21 in conjunction with the film “Desire of the Everlasting Hills.” The screening is free and open to the public. Simpson knows all the feelings she described, because she was that teenager and went on to live
Irish Help At Home QUALITY HOME CARE SERVING THE BAY AREA SINCE 1996 San Francisco 415 759 0520 • Marin 415.721.7380 • San Mateo 650.347.6903
www.irishhelpathome.com
INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . .26