September 13, 2013

ROSARY:

MARTYR:

ST. IGNATIUS:

What makes the Marian prayer special for you?

‘Major apostolic vagabond’ beatified in Romania

Jesuit parish prepares for church building’s centennial year

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

www.catholic-sf.org

SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

$1.00 | VOL. 15 NO. 24

‘It’s wrong’: Catholics testify on clinic issue VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Catholics crowded the South San Francisco City Council chambers to oppose a Planned Parenthood clinic, but even the impassioned speech of a 13-year-old St. Augustine parishioner did not sway the majority.

“People who know the truth will know this is really a death center in camouflage,” said Jeremy Perlas, 13.

“I pray you guys make the right decision,” said San Francisco State University student Vivian Abellana,

Suffering in Congo

SEE WITNESS, PAGE 22

A boy, displaced by recent fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels, is held during a Sunday church service in Munigi village near Goma Sept. 1. Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Kindu said many communities in the area continue to suffer from the strikes committed by the M23 rebels.

Oregon priests’ trip becomes journey to human hearts ED LANGLOIS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

PORTLAND, Ore. – Four young priests serving in Oregon set out this summer for an adventure. It turned out to be an exploit, for sure, but not the one they expected.

The men left Portland by car in mid-summer, their backpacks and themselves jammed into the vehicle, pretty much like any group of 20- and 30-somethings on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, 1,200 miles away. Their Roman collars were neatly stowed away with their gear.

Father Lucas Laborde, a former campus minister and former pastor at St. SEE JOURNEY, PAGE 22

(CNS PHOTO/THOMAS MUKOYA, REUTERS)

Retired principal: ‘Miracles’ mark success of faith-filled urban Catholic school VALERIE SCHMALZ

INSIDE: BACK TO SCHOOL!

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

After 25 years, Victoria Butler cleaned out her office early in August and left St. Peter School, with a heavy heart but with confidence Christ would continue to provide for the “little bit of heaven” in San Francisco’s Mission district.

“The kids – that’s Vicki Butler our treasure,” said Butler in an interview during her last day as principal of the urban Catholic school founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1878. Because of the children and their families, Butler says miracles keep happening.

Good news at urban schools. . . 5 St. Rita: ‘Renewed excitement’ . 6 New principals, presidents . . . .16 Child’s first day in uniform . . . .18 Special section: High schools “We’re 99 percent Catholic, which is very unusual for a school nowadays – a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our children are beautiful.

They come scrubbed squeaky clean, so proud to be here,” said Butler.

Butler, a fifth-generation San Fran-

ciscan, and vice principal Mercy Sister Marian Rose Power, have been a powerhouse duo for the past quartercentury, committed to their vision of an urban Catholic school: working with Blessed Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, calling then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to account to protect their kids against the gangs, fighting a pornography store, and holding the line against the violent gangs who begin trying to recruit their children in fifth grade.

“This neighborhood is very dangerous. At night they come from under their rocks and they kill people,” Butler said.

“Vicki and Sister Marian Rose have created a Catholic educational environment for the poor of San

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INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . 28

2 ARCHDIOCESE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

What makes the rosary special for you?

In preparation for the rosary rally on Oct. 12 at Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco, Catholic San Francisco would like to publish your thoughts (in 150 words or less) in the Sept. 27 edition. Here are some possible topics: Where/when is your favorite or most frequent occasion to pray the rosary?

For instance, as a family or with a spouse, before you fall asleep or while driving or walking your dog? Is there something special about one or more of the mysteries that resonates with you? What calls to you about this prayer? Let us know – and help Catholic San Francisco spread the faith.

Send your answers to schmalzv@sfarchdiocese.org with a photo of yourself if possible. Deadline is Sept.

20. Any questions, email or call (415) 614-5646.

(CNS FILE PHOTO/MIKE CRUPI, CATHOLIC COURIER)

NEED TO KNOW RESPECT LIFE CONFERENCE: “Love Made Medicine: Christian Answers to Health Care Challenges,” a conference sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, will be held Nov. 9, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at St. Mary’s Cathedral conference center, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco.

Tickets $50, $60 after Oct. 31. Scholarships available for students. Vicki Evans, (415) 614-5533 or vevans1438@att.net.

YOUTH CONFERENCE: All youth in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are encouraged to attend the On Fire NorCal Jam on Sept. 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo. Four-thousand youth are expected from Northern California, along with the diocesan bishops, chaperones and youth ministry leaders to celebrate Mass, eat lunch, enjoy the rides and listen to speakers and musicians. hsyouthconvention.com.

SHRINE EVENING MASS ADDED: A 5 p.m.

Sunday Mass will start Nov. 3 at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, Columbus Avenue at Vallejo Street, San Francisco. Msgr. James Tarantino, archdiocesan vicar for administration and moderator of the curia, will preside. He has accepted an invitation to become a permanent part of the shrine’s ministry in addition to his recently announced contribution of his online sermons and reflections, the shrine announced.

The 5 p.m. Mass will be in addition to the 11 a.m.

Mass.

LIVING TRUSTS WILLS

SF first: Birth of a 2-parish pastoral council CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

St. Monica and St. Thomas the Apostle parishes, San Francisco, have formed a joint pastoral council to create a common vision of mutual improvement and growth.

The council, with six members from each parish named by joint pastor Father John Sakowski from volunteers who stepped forward to serve, grew out of a year of planning that culminated with a retreat Aug. 17. Led by Father David Pettingill, the retreat drew 43 participants, including clergy, deacons and the principals of the two parish schools.

Before the parish council was formed, the parishes had a successful partnership on religious education and adult education, sacramental preparation and their combined Parish School of Religion. The council expands the relationship into new areas including spirituality, K-8 education, youth ministry and attracting young families.

“We don’t know exactly where it’s going to go but it’s going to get better,” Father Sakowski told Catholic San Francisco. “And how we get there is part of the adventure, and the team we have together has the excitement of deciding how we get there.”

St. Monica was founded in 1911 and St. Thomas the Apostle in 1922. Father Sakowski sees the pastoral council as “a springboard to launch off to another 100 years and take the attributes and gifts of each parish and put them together to form a common bond.”

Father Sakowski, who has been pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle since 2010 and St. Monica since

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Father David Pettingill led a retreat Aug. 17 for the newly formed pastoral council for St. Monica and St. Thomas the Apostle parishes. Seated are St. Joseph Sister Noreen O’Connor and Father John Sakowski, pastor of both parishes.

2012, added that both parishes are financially solvent and retain their separate finance councils.

St. Joseph Sister Noreen O’Connor, pastoral associate and director of religious education at the two parishes, said the council brings together the varied generational and cultural backgrounds of the two communities.

“The whole thing is exciting,” she said. “It’s creative, and we have the staff and the people. Everybody seems to be open and receptive to wanting to do this, which is a miracle in and of itself.”

She said the goal is to create “a unified, bonded community, including the schools.”

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Publisher George Wesolek Associate Publisher Rick DelVecchio Editor/General Manager EDITORIAL Valerie Schmalz, assistant editor schmalzv@sfarchdiocese.org Tom Burke, On the Street/Calendar burket@sfarchdiocese.org Christina Gray, Content & Community Development grayc@sfarchdiocese.org ADVERTISING Joseph Peña, director Mary Podesta, account representative 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 General information: information.csf@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

ARCHDIOCESE 3

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Archbishop on immigration reform: ‘Time to act is now’ VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

“The time to act is now” to mobilize support for comprehensive immigration reform stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone told a gathering of priests and deacons.

Twenty-seven priests and deacons met at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in San Francisco on Aug. 22 to brainstorm ways to mobilize support for immigration reform at the parish level – but also to air their differences on the Senate bill supported by the U.S. bishops. St. Charles has the third-largest Spanish-speaking congregation in the archdiocese.

Forty-one percent of all archdiocesan Catholics are Latino.

With congressional elections looming next year, and the historical difficulty of passing immigration reform, Archbishop Cordileone and the U.S. bishops are urging Catholics to lobby Congress to approve comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

“We feel a sense of urgency,” said the archbishop.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, leader of the U.S. bishops on this issue, suggested a diocesan wide activity “highlighting the value of our immigrant brothers and sisters” be held anytime in September or early October. Archbishop Cordileone planned to discuss appropriate action with the archdiocesan Council of Priests at their first meeting of the 201314 year, scheduled for Sept. 12 (after the deadline of Catholic San Francisco).

In June, the U.S. Senate passed, in a bipartisan 6832 vote, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The House of Representatives is addressing each of the

(PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo, member Marisol Hernandez is pictured with her year-old son, Samuel, and St. Matthew parochial vicar Father Armando Guttierez on Sept. 6 at a rally in San Francisco calling for an end to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in San Francisco neighborhoods.

The single mother, who has been in the United States for 11 years, was detained by ICE last year because she had a prior removal order. components individually in committee, separating pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants from border security issues. An estimated 11 million people are undocumented in the U.S. “We need the people power. We need to inform the people because once they are informed they will mobilize,” said Father Elias M. Salomon, parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth Parish in San Francisco. He recounted the story of a couple from Laos who came to him for help because they were to be deported and their four young children left in the U.S. “They are separating the families, it is awful.”

“Justice is important to us and we always want to be advocates for justice,” said Archbishop Cordil-

eone. “Far too many people have been living in the country for far too long without the opportunity to regularize their status and it’s not helping anyone by keeping them in the shadows.”

Citing the Gospel admonition to “welcome the stranger,” Archbishop Cordileone said creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is a matter of justice.

“Experience shows it is really, really hard to get an immigration reform bill passed in an election year,” Archbishop Cordileone said. He noted there is ecumenical cooperation on this issue in the San Francisco Bay Area and that ability to work together on issues such as this one “is very much the ethos of San Francisco,” a city that has always been a city of immigrants.

Christopher Martinez, program director of Catholic Charities CYO’s Refugee and Immigrant Services in the archdiocese, said the clergy who met Aug. 22 brainstormed ways to implement immigration reform if it passes. Some ideas include mobilizing parish volunteers to help immigrants get the necessary paperwork together and raising funds to help immigrants pay the required fees for residency status, he said.

But another reason for the meeting was to listen to priests about their concerns, Martinez noted.

St. Anthony of Padua/Immaculate Conception pastor Father James Garcia said he thinks the immigration bill can wait.

“My basic difficulty is the empty, the untreated questions in the present form of the legislation,” said Father Garcia, pastor of a largely Hispanic parish. “I’m all for the issues of helping the people who are here to successfully complete immigration.”

However, Father Garcia said, “The real problem is our borders are not secure.” The church recognizes the right to immigrate, but also the right of government to maintain its integrity, he noted.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you . . .”- Thessalonians 1:2

PRIESTS’ RETIREMENT FUND Special Collection September 14-15, 2013

We need to provide them with adequate care and support.

The Priests’ Retirement Fund supports the retired priests of this Archdiocese. It must therefore be adequately funded and have Z\MÄJPLU[ YLZV\YJLZ MVY Z\WWSLTLU[HS TLKPJHS PUZ\YHUJL IL`VUK Medicare coverage, as well as a portion of extended care costs when the need arises.

The priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco have served the Catholic faithful in the counties of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo generously for more than 150 years. Throughout The Priests’ Retirement Fund faces challenges similar to Social our lives, from baptism to death, through good times and Security and many pension funds. There are many retired priests KPMÄJ\S[ [PTLZ V\Y WYPLZ[Z OH]L ILLU [OLYL [V JLSLIYH[L JV\UZLS today, and thanks be to God, our priests are living longer, more encourage, and bear witness to the power of God’s love for us. active lives. This places a welcome, yet increased, demand on the Priests’ Retirement Fund.

The Archdiocese is blessed to have hundreds of priests who have dedicated, in some cases, more than 50 years of their Please consider a thoughtful, generous contribution to support lives to caring for and ministering to others. Many continue to your retired priests. Your gift is but one way to thank them for serve in countless ways after their retirement.

[OLPY THU` `LHYZ VM MHP[OM\S ZLY]PJL HZ [OPZ LMMVY[ PZ H ZPNUPÄJHU[ means of support for them. You may drop your gift at your parish 6UL KVLZU»[ ILJVTL H WYPLZ[ MVY [OL ÄUHUJPHS ILULÄ[Z +\YPUN on September 14-15, or mail to: active ministry, priests receive a modest salary and room Archdiocese of San Francisco and board. Once retired, they receive a pension from the One Peter Yorke Way z San Francisco, CA 94109 Archdiocese commensurate with their years of service, and are Phone: (415) 614-5580 eligible for Social Security each month.

Email: development@sfarchdiocese.org There is, at present, an increase in the number of retired priests.

4 ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

New board prez at Catholic Charities CYO TOM BURKE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Catholic Charities CYO has announced Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone’s appointment of Simon Manning as president of the CCCYO board of directors.

Simon is an investment banker for more than 20 years and a graduate of Gonzaga University where he serves on the school board of regents. “Being a part of the CCCYO board for more than two-and-ahalf years, I’ve been impressed by the impact Catholic Charities CYO makes in our community and look Simon Manning forward to expanding the help we already provide to so many people via our ‘a hand up, not just a hand out’ philosophy,” Simon told Catholic San Francisco. “Simon is dedicated to our organization’s mission of strengthening families, building community and reducing poverty,” said Jeff Bialik, CCCYO executive director. “We are excited to benefit from his knowledge and talents as we move forward helping the most vulnerable populations in the Bay Area.”

Outgoing president is Deborah Dasovich, who has been a member of the CCCYO board since 1999. “Ms. Dasovich has given nearly 15 years of wonderful guidance and advocacy for Catholic Charities CYO. We are blessed to have had the benefit of her leadership, and – on behalf of the board of Catholic Charities CYO – we are grateful that she generously served in this important role,” said Archbishop Cordileone. During Deborah’s term, CCCYO saw the creation of Star Community Home, the city’s first emergency shelter for homeless single mothers and their children, as well as the development of a partnership with Salesforce.com Foundation that made it possible. The agency’s budget was also stabilized and fundraising efforts increased under her stewardship.

THE ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN High School class of 1953 celebrated its diamond jubilee and 60 years as Riordan alumni with a special Mass with the current student body Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption. The class of ‘53 was the first to graduate after four years at ARHS. Pictured on the Phelan Avenue steps of the school are, back row from left: Homer Potter, Jerry Clements, Raul Aguilar, Phillip Carter, George Schnapp, Harvey Bustichi; front row from left: Bob Branick, Bill Cotton, Alan Ghirardelli, Bill Gradwohl, Marianist Brother Bill Bolts, and ARHS president Joe Conti. Marianist Brothers David Betz, Jim Leahy and Tom Deasy also attended the milestone commemoration. community, pro-life, youth, and family activities.

There are more than 600 Knights of Columbus councils and 75,000 members in California.

GOOD EATS: The Traditional Latin Mass Society of San Francisco hosts an Italian luncheon Sept. 14 at 12:30 p.m. in the school auditorium of Star of the Sea Church, 4420 Geary Blvd. on Eighth Avenue, San Francisco. A Mass in the extraordinary rite will be celebrated at 10 a.m. in the parish church.

Plenty of parking behind the church and in the Laurel School parking lot both entered through the gates on Eighth Avenue. Tickets may be purchased online by visiting www.sanctatrinitasunusdeus. com for $15 or at the door $20. (415) 751-0450.

FAMILY: Cathleen and Duncan Gillies recently welcomed their new daughter Mary Elizabeth born April 22. “We love Maribeth,” the couple said in a family pix and card they sent my way. “God is great all the time.” Cathleen is a local leader in the pro-life movement and especially involved in 40 Days for Life each Lent. Duncan is longtime SFPD. A special 40 Days event gets under way Sept.

25 in San Francisco and San Rafael. Call (415) 613-8493 or visit www.40daysforlife.com/location.

NEW CENTENARIAN: Congratulations to Elizabeth Whelan on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Elizabeth has been a parishioner of South San Francisco’s All Souls Church for more than 50 years. She was born in New York, Aug. 12, 1913. Elizabeth is quite glad not to mention proud to be in good health at this point Elizabeth in her long life. “I’m pretty sturWhelan dy for a gal my age and that’s a good thing,” the birthday girl said.

CONGRATS: Marian Council 3773 Knights of Columbus, Pacifica, was honored with the Best Service Program award, the highest honor for a council, at the K of C state convention in San Diego in May. Service programs include vocations, church,

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FIBLIO: Time on the treadmill can be so long without a distraction. Many of the folks at the gym read. I’d like to join them but my book under way continues to be “The Old Man and the Sea.” I’ve been pushing through since 10th grade and I’d be a bit embarrassed to put one of my earliest incompletes on public display. I guess I could say I’m reading it again. Problem is, who reads it again?

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ARCHDIOCESE 5

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

6th grade enrollment bump good news for Catholic schools VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The numbers are still anecdotal, but many archdiocesan Catholic elementary school principals are reporting an increase in enrollment at the sixth grade level – and particularly at urban, inner-city schools – which bodes well for Catholic school enrollment down the line, a top school official says. “I’ve talked to a number of principals and they’re saying sixth grade enrollments are up,� said Maureen Huntington, archdiocesan schools superintendent.

That’s a return to a pattern that nearly disappeared with the economic downturn in 2008, she said.

Historically, many families enrolled their children in Catholic school in sixth grade, both to avoid public middle school and to prepare them academically so they could attend Catholic high school, Huntington noted.

In the past, that significant change from fifth to sixth grade could mean a jump of as much as 1,000 children across Catholic schools in the three counties. But for the past three to four years, the increase from fifth to sixth grade was very incremental, about 150 in the total school system, she said.

Stressing the school district does not yet have solid numbers to report, Huntington said the anecdotal evidence from principals is very encouraging. And it is affecting both urban schools and other Catholic schools.

For instance, All Souls school’s sixth

(PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Two fourth graders work on a computer at St. Finn Barr School, San Francisco, on Sept. 9.

Robust technology programs are a highlight at Finn Barr and the four other member schools of the Alliance of Mission District Catholic Schools. grade is bulging, principal Vince Reiner said, part of a significant increase in school enrollment overall at the South San Francisco parish K-8 school.

The Alliance of Mission District Catholic Schools, which comprises five schools in the Mission, Excelsior and Sunnyside neighborhoods of San Francisco, is seeing some very good news for those schools, said director of development Gustavo Torres. “All of our schools are experiencing great enrollment in the sixth

grade in particular. Enrollment is up in our sixth grades,� said Torres. The alliance schools are St. Finn Barr, St. Charles Borromeo, St. AnthonyImmaculate Conception, St. James School and School of the Epiphany.

The alliance schools also are looking to raise money to match a $55,000 challenge grant from the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, Torres said.

Some of the good news from the Mission Alliance schools, Torres noted: – Robust technology programs at all the schools, including iPads and document cameras at some schools – A new individualized language arts program for grades K-3 at St. James, addressing the fact that many students there are English language learners, hearing a different language at home. – St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception’s junior kindergarten enrollment is doing well, addressing the need created by new state requirements for the 2012-13 school year that children have to be 5 by Nov. 1 to start kindergarten. – St. Charles Borromeo just received a Catholic Television Network grant of 30 iPads. In the day the students use them and in the evening parents and community members learn job skills. – Most Holy Redeemer Parish, which does not have its own school, donated $18,000 to the Alliance: $6,000 each to St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception, St. Charles and St. James. – Inner-city students are receiving 90 percent scholarships to CYO Camp in Occidental or to Nature Bridge at Marin Headlands, through a grant from the Marjorie and Gilbert Rankin Trust. This gives inner-city kids what is often their first taste of outdoor education, Torres said.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

St. Rita School: New principal, ‘renewed excitement’ CHRISTINA M. GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

More than 100 students returned to St. Rita School, Fairfax, after a six-month fundraising campaign by the parish community raised enough money to keep the 56-year-old K-8 school open for another year.

The campaign, started after pastor Father Kenneth Weare announced last February that the school would close because of low enrollment and rising costs, collected nearly $700,000 – including individual gifts from anonymous donors of $200,000 and $250,000.

The school was able to pay off a

deficit from the 2012-13 school year and finance operations for 2013-14. “The families are thrilled,� said Liz Marks, a St. Rita school board member and parent of an eighth grader. “There’s a renewed excitement about the future of the school that I think even the kids are caught up in.�

Father Weare and new principal John Black are reaching out to the community that rallied to save the school to explore ways of creating a competitive niche for St. Rita, which is in a relatively remote location of Marin County. “What St. Rita is in the midst of is identifying a niche,� said Black, who (PHOTO BY CHRISTINA M. GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

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New St. Rita School principal John Black, pictured on campus Sept. 3, will be helping the school explore new models of academic distinction in an effort to boost enrollment. began his teaching career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central Africa during the early 1990s. He also served as a teacher and principal at international schools in the Honduras, the Middle East and most recently in Asia.

Father Weare said Black’s international education experience and global perspective will be vital. On the discussion table are such ideas as integrating environmental, bilingual and global education programs into the school curriculum.

Catholic-educated Black, who has more than a decade of experience as both a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools in California, Maryland and Louisiana, said that successful Catholic schools must be innovative and willing to stretch the

academic boundaries of the Catholic school model without sacrificing their core programs and values. “Academic programs should be able to broaden and deepen each student’s understanding of the world,� he said. “The whole idea of Catholicism is outward looking,� he said. “An improved global perspective only helps with that.�

Father Weare also believes that “producing global citizens� is a new educational imperative. “It’s no longer enough for an elementary school student to learn to function successfully in Marin or the Bay Area alone,� he said. “The world is getting smaller and more interconnected.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Opponents to urge governor to veto ‘discriminatory’ sex abuse damages bill VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Opponents are mobilizing to convince Gov. Jerry Brown to veto sexual abuse damages legislation that they say is discriminatory and imperils non profits, Catholic social services, private and parochial schools and poor parishes.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 131 21-8 with 10 no votes on Sept. 6. The Assembly passed it Sept. 4 by a vote of 44-15 with 19 abstentions.

The bill would open non profits and religious institutions to civil liability for alleged sexual abuse that occurred before Jan. 1, 2004, but for which victims only discovered injury after that date.

However, those abused in public schools or by someone in a government agency would not be able to sue for damages under the legislation, opponents said.

The abusers themselves would also be exempt from civil suit during the one-year waiver of the statute of limitations which would begin Jan. 1, 2014.

In addition to the Catholic organizations, nonprofits as diverse as the YMCA, Little League, Boy Scouts and private schools could face additional abuse claims. “We cannot stand silently by while the state imposes crushing financial burdens that imperil our inner-city schools, neediest parishes and social services for the poor while exempting public employers from the same level of responsibility,� San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said in a YouTube video to principals and priests before the Legislature’s final vote approving the bill.

After the bill was passed, sponsor Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, said in a press release: “I want to thank my colleagues who had the courage to stand up for the victims of sexual abuse despite intense opposition.

California must not retreat in the fight against child abuse.� “We’re going to make the best case possible to the governor about the unfairness of the law,� said Steve Pehanich, director of advocacy for the California Catholic Conference. The conference is the public policy arm of the state’s bishops.Pehanich said SB 131 “is poor public policy; it is discrimination against victims.� “There are not two classes of victims and there

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are not two classes of justice,� Archbishop Cordileone said. The Catholic Church is willing to support legislation that would impose the same standards on all, he said.

In 2003, the state of California created a one-year window that waived the statute of limitations, leading to massive settlements with victims by Catholic dioceses who encouraged anyone who might have been harmed to come forward for what it believed was a one-time event.California dioceses paid damages of more than $1 billion.

The bill would re-open a window to file claims for damages of child sexual abuse which occurred before 2004 but for which the statute of limitations has expired.

SB 131 would also lower the standard of evidence for damages and extend the time allowed for filing so that other than having turned 26 before 2003, the only prerequisite for filing a claim would be that the plaintiff “discovered the cause of his or her injuries� after Jan. 1, 2004, the California Council of Nonprofit Organizations told senators.

Since 2003, most nonprofits and the Catholic dioceses and their charities self-insure so any awards would require selling additional assets, including property, and might require shutting down agencies, officials said. Catholic Charities CYO is one of the largest providers of services to the needy in the archdiocese.

SB 131 would force private schools to defend claims that may be 40 years old but forbid victims from suing any public school for abuse that may have occurred before 2009, said the Council of Nonprofit Organizations, which includes the California Catholic Conference. “To add insult to injury, SB 131 even protects the actual abuser from being sued – the only claims that are revived are against private employers and nonprofit organizations,� said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference.

Organizations opposed include the California Police Activities League, California State Alliance of YMCAs, California Association of Private School Associations, California Association of Joint Power Authorities, Pacific Union Conference of the Seventhday Adventist Church.

LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL ALLOWING NURSE MIDWIVES TO PERFORM ABORTIONS

The California Catholic Conference is urging people to contact Gov. Jerry Brown to veto legislation that would allow nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform first-trimester aspiration abortions.

Assembly Bill 154 would change the law so that nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants, who have taken an eight-week course, could perform first-trimester abortions – and it would reclassify the procedure of abortion by aspiration (vacuum) as non-surgical.

The Assembly passed the bill 49-25, with four not voting, on Aug. 30. The Senate passed it 25-11, with three not voting, on Aug. 26.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Military archdiocese honors sainthood candidate killed in Vietnam MARK PATTISON CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – As the sainthood cause for a Vietnam War chaplain gathers momentum, the priest was remembered at a Sept. 4 memorial Mass as a man “completely dedicated to the spiritual care of his Marines.”

Father Vincent Capodanno, who died in Vietnam Sept. 4,1967, was one of the “great priest chaplains,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services in his homily at the Mass, celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

“This annual gathering is to pray for him and to recall his pastoral service as a model for chaplains and priests in general,” Archbishop Broglio said. “The cause for his canonization is not for him, but for us. Others should know of his dedication and his desire to serve others. His was a response filled with faith to the master who laid down his life for the sheep.”

(CNS PHOTO/COURTESY MARYKNOLL FATHERS AND BROTHERS)

Maryknoll Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a Navy chaplain who was killed while serving with the Marines in Vietnam, is pictured in an undated photo. He was remembered at a Sept. 4 memorial Mass in Washington as a man “completely dedicated to the spiritual care of his Marines.”

Father Capodanno, a Maryknoll priest and Navy chaplain, died in Operation Swift in the Thang Binh district of the Que Son Valley. He went among

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the wounded and dying, giving last rites. Wounded in the face and hand, he went to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machine gun and was killed.

“One way or another, directly or indirectly, we have been touched by the life and ministry of the ‘servant of God,’ Vincent Capodanno,” Archbishop Broglio said.

In his homily, he challenged all given pastoral responsibilities. “That is the constant tension in pastoral ministry: Where do I best use my time and talents, what furthers the mission? It is the mission that is central and not merely my career, or promotion, or whatever,” he said.

“To receive the Lord Jesus means to open my heart with generous love.

Anyone, young or old, who meets Jesus is inevitably destined to change and to be led to the service of others.”

To the Marine veterans gathered at the Mass, the archbishop said, “Is that not why you, fellow Marines of Father

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Capodanno, have joined us tonight?

Some of you have journeyed to be here. You cannot forget the shepherd who was there for you.” After the final blessing at Mass, a lone trumpet played “Taps.”

In the book “The Grunt Padre” – Father Capodanno’s nickname – Marine Cpl. Keith Rounseville said Father Capodanno “was jumping over my (fox) hole, all the while exposing himself to enemy machine gun fire to try and give aid to a wounded Marine. Chaplain Capodanno looked and acted cool and calm, as if there wasn’t an enemy in sight. As he reached the wounded Marine, Chaplain Capodanno lay down beside him and gave him aid and verbal encouragement and telling him medical help was on the way.”

Marine Cpl. Ray Harton also remembered how he lay wounded and bleeding from a gunshot wound to his left arm.

“As I closed my eyes, someone touched me,” he recounted for the book. “When I opened my eyes, he looked directly at me. It was Father Capodanno. Everything got still: no noise, no firing, no screaming. A peace came over me that is unexplainable to this day. In a quiet, calm voice, he cupped the back of my head and said, ‘Stay quiet, Marine. You will be OK. Someone will be here to help you soon. God is with us all this day.’”

In 2002, Father Capodanno’s canonization cause was officially opened. In 2004, the initial documentation for the cause was submitted to the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes. In 2006, a public decree of “servant of God” for Father Capodanno, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., was issued by the military archdiocese.

Recently, the archdiocese established the Capodanno Guild to raise funds and support for the sainthood cause. On Oct. 1, Archbishop Broglio said, there will be a formal opening of the cause to meet the canonical requirements.

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NATIONAL 9

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Immigration reform push builds on prayer, fasting, preaching PATRICIA ZAPOR CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – Faith-based advocacy in support of immigration reform is taking a multipronged approach as Congress resumes after the August break, with prayer and fasting being added to letter-writing and public speaking.

Over the weekend of Sept. 7 and 8, dioceses and parishes in 22 states focused on the Catholic Church’s teaching on migration in homilies and other activities.

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, in a Sept. 8 letter to the people of the archdiocese, reminded them of their roots, saying today’s immigrants may “come in good part from Asia and Latin America, but their needs are in many ways similar to those of our ancestors.”

“The church’s interest in the immigration question continues to be a combination of pastoral care and public advocacy,” Cardinal O’Malley said in the letter. “We seek to provide a welcome in our parishes, schools and social service agencies, and also to have a place in the debate about a fair and just public policy.”

Across the country in Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez issued a statement in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration that said, “Now is the time for Catholics to let their elected officials know that they support immigration reform.”

He said the immigration system is broken and “as a result, families are being broken apart and millions of people, including children, are being hurt. We need immigration reform to help our nation live up to its beautiful promise of equality and dignity for all people.”

In the New York borough of Queens, preaching at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona, Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio drew on the Scripture reading from St. Paul in which he sends the former slave Onesimus in his place to minister. The reading is a reminder of the existence of slavery in the

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A man prays during a Mass for immigration reform at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in the Corona neighborhood of the New York borough of Queens Sept. 8. modern world, Bishop DiMarzio said, explaining that immigrants who lack documentation are living in a type of servitude “because they do not have the type of freedom and rights that go along with being a productive worker in a free country. You and I know this is the heart of the problem with our immigration system.”

Speaking at the church in what he described as the

largest immigrant parish in the Brooklyn diocese, he noted that the people there know the reality of immigration in the United States. He asked them to join in prayer for “God’s help in convincing our legislators of what we know to be right and true – that every newcomer to our society deserves respect and a chance to integrate. We cannot condone illegal immigration but we ask only that an immigration system be established that allows workers to come to this country because we need them and respects them for their work.”

The four Catholic bishops of Washington state released a pastoral statement saying their call to support immigration reform is “out of respect for human dignity, a value at the heart of our discipleship in Christ, but also in keeping with the unique soul and character of America.” The statement was sent to all parishes in Washington state for publication in bulletins at weekend Masses Sept. 7-8.

“We are convinced that the overall benefits of legislation being proposed outweigh the burdens of our current system, which relegates millions to life in the shadows and subjects them to family separation, detention, and exploitation,” said Archbishop J. Peter Sartain and Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle; Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane; and Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima.

The bishops of Pennsylvania, in a Sept. 3 statement released by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, reminded people that the Catholic Church “has always provided spiritual and social services to immigrants out of a strong belief that immigrants deserve the same basic rights and freedoms owed to every child of God.”

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10 NATIONAL

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

New Mexico diocese to seek bankruptcy protection CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

GALLUP, N.M. – When Bishop James S. Wall became the bishop of the Diocese of Gallup in 2009, he knew there were festering issues regarding allegations of priest sex abuse, but not to the extent that has brought the sprawling southwestern diocese to the doors of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

At Masses throughout the diocese Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, shocked parishioners were pre-emptively read a letter from Bishop Wall that in the face of insurmountable law suits the diocese intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Bishop Wall set no date for the court filing in his letter. He could not be reached for comment.

Seven other U.S. dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of sexual abuse lawsuits.

“While some of the claims relate to times when

MUSLIM LEADER: PROTECT RELIGIOUS MINORITIES’ RIGHTS

WASHINGTON – The world’s Islamic leaders must hear stories about the persecution of religious minorities in majority Muslim countries so that such incidents are not overlooked as people “bury their own heads in the sand,” said the president of the Islamic Society of North America.

Speaking Sept. 1 at a session during the society’s 50th annual convention, Mohamed Magid said the rights of members of religious minorities must be protected around the world, much like the rights of Muslims are protected in Western nations. “People from other religions have stood together with us in interfaith movements ... to make sure that our rights will be protected,” said Magid, a Sudaneseborn Muslim. “But it also behooves us to speak up for the rights of others. Religious minorities in majority Muslim countries are being intimidated and attacked. What can we do?”

Speakers referenced various basic rights – including the rights of religious minorities living in the Muslim community to practice their faith without harassment or fear – guaranteed in the Charter of Medina, written by Muhammad in the early seventh century.

Seven other US dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of sexual abuse lawsuits. the diocese had some insurance, many relate to times when the diocese does not appear to have had insurance or the insurance is limited and not likely to cover the damages for which the diocese might be found liable,” Bishop Wall wrote. “Given the financial circumstances of the diocese, I have come to the conclusion that the only fair, equitable and merciful way to balance these obligations is by filing a Chapter 11 reorganization.”

Merritt Selleck, a parishioner at St. John Vianney Church in Gallup, told Catholic News Service he was disappointed by the announcement but felt it may be the right step to take.

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“I don’t think the bishop had much of a choice given the number of lawsuits the diocese is facing,” Selleck said.

The Diocese of Gallup in northwestern New Mexico is the poorest diocese in the U.S., said Father Tim Farrell, diocesan spokesman, and includes the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and parts of the Apache reservations.

The strategy, Bishop Wall explained in his letter, will give the diocese the opportunity to present a reorganization plan that provides for a fair and equitable way to compensate those who were sexually abused as children by church workers and ministers as well as anyone who has not yet come forward with allegations of abuse but may do so in the future.

“I firmly believe that the process of Chapter 11 is the best and only way that will allow us to work constructively with all those who suffered from the sexual abuse,” Bishop Wall said.

tion. The trustees of St. Patrick’s opted for a conservative approach, where the stone, plaster and glass are cleaned and repaired, not changed and replaced, he told Catholic News Service. The “very high level” of the work includes thorough research into original materials and drawings to ensure that the outcome reflects both the iconic stature of the building and the not-unlimited budget, Murphy said. “The trustees are sensitive to doing the essential things and not superfluous things,” he said.

USCCB COMMITTEE ECHOES POPE’S PLEA FOR SYRIA PEACE

WASHINGTON – While standing in solidarity with the church and people of Syria, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee echoed the plea of Pope Francis that the international community immediately take steps to bring peace to the war-torn country.

Meeting in Washington Sept. 10, committee members said in a statement that a political solution, rather than a military response, was needed to resolve Syria’s 30-month civil war.

“We have heard the urgent calls of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and our suffering brother bishops of the venerable ancient Christian churches of the Middle East. As one, they beg the international community not to resort to military intervention in Syria. They have made it clear that a military attack will be counterproductive, will exacerbate an already deadly situation and will have unintended negative consequences,” the statement said.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Christians, Muslims join pope in praying for peace in Syria In Istanbul, Mahmut Kurtoglu, a Muslim preacher, was asked to read parts of the Quran during a two-hour service at Santa Maria Draperis Church.

“The message is if you haven’t got a prayer, you have nothing, so God says ‘Pray, and I will answer you,’” Kurtoglu told CNS afterward.

During the prayer service, Bishop Louis Pelatre, apostolic vicar of Istanbul, told the packed church: “Peace requires a lot of effort. Engaging in war is relatively easy.

“This evening we have no weapons other than fasting and prayer,” he said from beside the 18thcentury church’s altar.

JUDITH SUDILOVSKY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

JERUSALEM – At the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane, the stone that traditionally has represented Jesus’ agony was scattered with notes in different languages – all asking for peace in Syria.

Christian leaders of the Holy Land gathered there Sept. 7, as Christians and Muslims all over the world prayed with Pope Francis for Syria.

In the West Bank and in Turkey, in Canada and the United States people gathered, responding to the papal call for prayer and fasting.

“We prayed for peace for Syria and for Egypt,” said Yusef Daher, executive secretary of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Center. “We were resisting the other call for war with a call to stop the (possible U.S. air) strike and save Syria and Egypt. Everybody was really praying.”

“There is no fear of retaliation. All the attention is focused on (the Syrian people),” he told Catholic News Service.

Following the prayers, the courtyard of the church was lit by hundreds of candles as the worshippers joined in a small candlelight procession. In front of one of the ancient olive trees, the word “peace” was spelled out with stones.

Halfway around the world, in New Orleans, people were gathered at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.

“We are far, far away from Rome yet we are connected to our Holy Father and his pleas for peace,” said New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond.

“What can we do, thousands upon thousands upon thousands of miles away from Syria and from Rome?

What can we do? We can pray,” Archbishop Aymond said. Pray for the children who have lost their lives in war and for their families and friends to have consolation, he added, and pray for world peace, not just in Syria but in other troubled parts of the world.

“Jesus said things can only be driven out, some evils can be stopped only by prayer and fasting, and that’s what we do today,” he said.

In Ottawa, Ontario, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast led a prayer vigil at St. Patrick’s Basilica that began at 1 p.m. to coincide with the pope’s vigil in St.

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

A woman prays as Pope Francis leads a vigil to pray for peace in Syria in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sept. 7.

Peter’s Square. By the 4:30 p.m. Mass, more than 1,000 people packed the basilica; others came and went throughout the day.

In his homily, Archbishop Prendergast said all involved – the Syrian regime, those fighting it and “those in the West who are intent on redressing the horrific and shameful use of poisonous gas on innocent civilians” – should pursue peace rather than “risk disgrace by starting something” they cannot finish or “risking being completely overwhelmed by war.”

Gospel for September 15, 2013 Luke 15:1-32 Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C: how God rejoices over matters we’d see as small.

The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.

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12 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Aid agencies fear refugee surge if US strikes JAMES MARTONE CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ISTANBUL – Tanil Kahiaian, a refugee from the Syrian city of Aleppo, said he is doing what he can for the others fleeing his country. He, his wife and two children escaped the Syrian war almost a year ago, and since he has watched “tens of thousands” pour into neighboring Turkey as he did.

“It is so difficult for me to see this, their poverty.

I am donating clothes from my work,” Kahiaian told Catholic News Service Sept. 8 from near his home in Istanbul’s Kumkapi district.

Kahiaian said he considered himself among the fortunate refugees here, because he came with money, was being lodged by Istanbul’s Armenian Orthodox community, and was able to quickly get a job with an Armenian clothing firm in Turkey because of his numerous languages.

“I speak Turkish and I am doing for them a lot of business in Turkish clothes with Arabic countries. But the people on the border have nothing,” he said. “If there are (air) strikes on Syria, their numbers will be more.”

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced Sept. 3 that more than 2 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in search of security since the conflict began in 2011. About a million are reportedly children.

Turkey’s government is providing basic needs and some education to an estimated 200,000 Syr-

(CNS PHOTO/UMIT BEKTAS, REUTERS)

Syrian family sits with their belongings after arriving in Turkey near a border gate Sept. 9. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced Sept. 3 that more than 2 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in search of security since the conflict began in 2011. ians in 20 different humanitarian camps along its 560-mile border with Syria. But as many as

260,000 other Syrians are living in other areas in Turkey, including Istanbul, where they often depend mostly on help from private aid groups, according to the U.N. “We are getting more and more (Syrians) by the day,” said a Christian aid group official in Istanbul, who requested anonymity due to Turkish laws that officially forbid – but tolerate – religious institutions from performing humanitarian work in the country.

The official and others involved in refugee aid efforts in Turkey and elsewhere worried that any increase in the violence in Syria, including possible U.S.-led air strikes on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, would send even more people fleeing.

“We can’t even cope with the amount of (Syrian) refugees here already,” said Bishop Louis Pelatre, apostolic vicar of Istanbul, who is familiar with Catholic aid efforts in Turkey.

In Jordan, where the UNHCR says 515,000 Syrians have sought shelter, Omar Abawi of the Catholic charity Caritas said that in the northern region of Mafraq alone, as many as 180 Syrian refugees were registering daily for aid.

Caritas in Jordan was aiding 27,000 displaced Syrian families or roughly 146,000 individuals, about 70 percent of them women and children, Abawi told Catholic News Service Sept. 7.

CARDINAL MCCARRICK: DON’T REPEAT IRAQ MISTAKES

AMMAN, Jordan– Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said he opposed U.S. military intervention in Syria, adding that he was “not in favor of going to war to make peace.”

“We made the mistake in Iraq. I hope we don’t make the mistake again in Syria,” he told Catholic News Service Sept. 5 after visiting some of the nearly half-million refugees who had fled to Jordan, Syria’s southern neighbor.

When asked what was worst, either allow Syria to use chemical weapons and do nothing or go in with limited military strikes, he quickly responded: “Neither is the proper answer.”

Cardinal McCarrick said he agreed with Pope Francis that diplomacy is the only way out of Syria’s two-and-a-half-year war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives and created 2 million refugees. The cardinal said financial and other pressures could be brought to bear on the conflicting parties rather than resorting to U.S. military might.

“We haven’t really exhausted all the opportunities. We have to get them to the table,” he said.

“We should do this. I feel very strongly about this.”

Cardinal McCarrick participated in a high-level meeting of Christian and Muslim leaders in the Jordanian capital earlier in the week. Participants addressed challenges facing Arab Christians, notably violence against their communities, which is forcing some to flee their countries.

WORLD 13

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

SCOTTISH PRELATE: CARDINAL BLOCKED ABUSE PROBE

MANCHESTER, England – A disgraced Scottish cardinal halted a plan to allow independent investigators to examine church child abuse files, said a retired archbishop.

In a letter to the British Catholic weekly The Tablet, retired Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said that Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who earlier this year admitted to acts of sexual misconduct, prevented case files from being reviewed.

Archbishop Conti’s letter, published online Aug. 23, was responding to an editorial in the weekly, which had criticized how the Scottish Catholic Church has dealt with clerical abuse cases.

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Archbishop Conti defended the record of the Scottish bishops, beginning with the introduction of robust child protection guidelines in 1999.

He then explained that as the response of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland developed over the past decade, all conference members – except one – agreed to a review of historical abuse cases.

“It was the intention of all but one member of the bishops’ conference to commission an independent examination of the historical cases we had on file in all of our respective dioceses and publish the results, but this was delayed by the objection of the thenpresident of the conference,” he wrote.

“Without full participation of all the dioceses, the

exercise would have been faulty,” wrote the archbishop, explaining why the review did not go ahead.

Cardinal O’Brien served as the conference president from 2002 until 2012, when he stepped down in preparation for his retirement.

In February, he became the focus of an international scandal. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation after three priests and one former priest accused the cardinal of making homosexual advances toward them more than 20 years earlier.

Cardinal O’Brien denied the accusations at first.

Then, in a March 3 statement, he apologized, admitting his conduct had “fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and a cardinal.”

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14 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Vatican’s new top diplomat eager for ‘quest for peace’ CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – A veteran diplomat, the Vatican’s new secretary of state, plans to put the church’s vast global diplomatic network into high gear as champions for peace.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin said Pope Francis has already injected a new impetus into the Vatican’s Secretariat of State structure and given a new push for church-led diplomacy.

The archbishop, who is currently the papal nuncio to Venezuela, will start his new role Oct. 15.

In a Sept. 6 interview with the Venezuelan Catholic newspaper, Diario Catolico, Archbishop Parolin said, “The pope’s initiatives have given the secretary of state an impetus and have also created a new diplomatic momentum.”

When asked if he would be spearheading a new diplomatic offensive for peace, he noted that it

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was a complicated question but said, “Yes, I hope that we can recoup” that drive.

“We have this great advantage in respect to other churches, to other religions: We can count on an international institutional presence through diplomacy,” he said.

Archbishop Parolin said the Vatican has to take advantage of its vast network of papal nuncios around the world and all the contacts it has with international organizations.

“They are precious instruments Archbishop that can be used to help the world,” Pietro Parolin he said.

He emphasized, however, that the Vatican’s efforts are not always publicized, but often happen quietly behind the scenes. “I wouldn’t like a diplomacy that is on the front pages, but a diplomacy that is more effective,” he said.

“We are not looking for, I believe, popularity. In all honesty, none of us wants it without an effect” that is positive.

The archbishop said the whole reason for the ex-

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istence of the Vatican’s diplomatic organization “is the quest for peace.”

“If the Holy See’s diplomatic efforts have had such importance and so much consensus around the world, now and in the past, it’s due to the fact that it goes above and beyond national interests” and pushes for “a vision of the well-being of all humanity,” he said.

Archbishop Parolin, who has nearly 30 years’ diplomatic experience, said today’s geopolitical landscape has gone from a world in which nations were clearly aligned into a few cohesive “blocs” to a world of widely divergent powers, some of which have no real national identity.

Instead of an era of greater unity and cohesiveness after the fall of the Berlin Wall, “the whole problem of terrorism was unleashed,” he said.

Now the new “wall to knock down is understanding how to bring all these different powers to an agreement and work together for the well-being of everyone,” he said, where differences are turned into a source of collaboration, not division.

He said the role of the Vatican’s secretary of state is to be a focal point of objectivity and universal values in a sea of relativistic self-interests.

Because the world is so much more complex, he said the secretary of state’s role “must be to re-invent” the never-changing and universal goal of peace and human rights in varying and widely diverse contexts.

“One must step away from this plague of relativism” and harmonize differences in a new way, he said.

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WORLD 15

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

‘Major apostolic vagabond’ beatified in Romania in jail, this beautiful elderly priest,” said Hermina Idomir, an 80-year-old Romanian Catholic professor from Brasov.

“Everyone knew of his goodness – he started the first free clinic in Bucharest, the first ambulance service.

He was a prince but preferred the poor. And the communists arrested him for writing a letter to the pope,” said Idomir, shaking her head.

Blessed Ghika is the third Romanian priest, killed by the anti-Christian dictatorship, to be beatified since 2010.

In the homily, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, described three aspects of the martyr’s exceptional “pastoral love”: He promoted the unity of Christians long before it was fashionable, served the marginalized and suffered and died at the hands of “the pitiless Stalinist regime,” as calm and devout as he had lived.

In the words of Pope Pius XI, Blessed Ghika was a “major apostolic vagabond” who, wherever he traveled, converted souls impressed by his godliness.

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

BUCHAREST, Romania – A pavilion designed for trade fairs became Eastern Europe’s biggest church when more than 10,000 people participated in the beatification of Msgr. Vladimir Ghika, tortured to death at age 80 in 1954.

Msgr. Vladimir The Aug. 31 cerGhika emony, broadcast live on Romanian TV, brought together the country’s two major Catholic rites: Latin and Byzantine, whose members use an Orthodox-style liturgy. Blessed Ghika had the unusual authority, approved

by Pope Pius XI, to celebrate liturgies in both rites.

As believers from across the country flowed into the massive, round hall, volunteers greeted each with a scarf to wear, printed with the martyr’s serene face and signature white beard.

“He was treated worse than a dog

POPE HEARS OFFICIALS’ INPUT ON VATICAN REFORM

elected him, Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said.

That reform process “will soon have another important moment with the reunion of the Group of Eight cardinals” Oct. 1-3, he said.

Pope Francis established the socalled G-8, which includes Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, in April, giving it a mandate to advise him on governing the universal church and reformed the Roman Curia, the church’s central administration at the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis met with 30 Vatican officials, including almost all of the heads of the major Vatican offices, for nearly three hours Sept. 10 to hear their questions and suggestions about his ongoing reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

The meeting was a chance for the pope to hear the “considerations and advice” of his closest collaborators in Rome, as part of the reform process recommended by the cardinals who

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Meet our 20 newest archdiocesan school leaders JOSEPH CONTI President

Archbishop Riordan High School

Conti, who for 30 years has worked in planning, architecture and construction management, has served on Riordan’s board of trustees, where he played a key role in a 2005 capital campaign as well as overseeing construction resulting from the effort. He is an active member of St. Gabriel parish and the father of twin Riordan 2007 graduates, Michael and Robert. Conti graduated from Cogswell Polytechnical College. Conti said: “My goal for Riordan is to create the best educational environment for young men; to foster their growth in the Catholic faith; to inspire service for the greater good; and to create a dynamic, inclusive community in which students and those who educate them thrive.”

VITTORIO ANASTASIO Principal

Archbishop Riordan High School

Anastasio, a 1984 Riordan graduate, holds a graduate degree in counseling psychology from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree and secondary teaching credential in physical science from San Francisco State University. He has been a member of the Riordan faculty for 25 years.

He, his wife Susan and their twin daughters live in San Francisco and are parishioners of Star of the Sea. “As a graduate of Archbishop Riordan High School, and having had the privilege to hold various positions here my entire professional career, I am acutely aware of how powerful of an impact this school-guided by the Marianist philosophy of education-can have on lives,” Anastasio said. “I am honored for the opportunity to give back and lead my alma mater as principal.”

RACHEL SIMPSON Head of School

Convent of the Sacred Heart High School

Simpson has been part of the Convent and Stuart Hall High School community since 1996 when she joined the Convent faculty as a French and English teacher.

She served as the International Language Department Chair from 1999-2008.

Simpson is a former Stuart Hall dean of studies and is known widely in the larger independent school and Sacred Heart Network circles as a remarkable educator in the field of girls’ education.

She is respected for her collaborative, compassionate, creative and forwardthinking leadership, Convent of the Sacred Heart High School said.

BRIAN SCHLAAK Head of Upper School

Woodside Priory

Schlaak holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Berkeley, a credential in social science and Spanish from UC Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in education administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.

He, his wife Thea and their son Augie attend church at both the Priory and St Agnes in San Francisco. Schlaak, a former U.S. Navy pilot, has been working in education for 20 years. He served three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. “I am blessed to be able to continue my work for the fine Benedictine Fathers of the Priory and St. Anselm Abbey in New Hampshire,” he said.

MARYANN OSMOND Interim Head of School

PATTY FLYNN ELLIOT Primary School Division Head

Osmond is a former chairwoman of the school’s board of directors and taught at Sisters of Notre Dame high schools in Salinas and San Jose. She has worked in development at the University of San Francisco and Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont.

“She provided leadership on the board in developing the Strategic Plan for the school, and looks forward to working with the faculty and staff in strengthening all that is good about Notre Dame, Belmont,” the school said.

Elliot holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from UCLA and a graduate degree in education leadership and management, as well as an administrative credential from Pepperdine University. She has srved as teacher and principal in Southern California and Marin County. Elliot says her 12 years as a student of Catholic elementary and secondary schools are responsible with shaping her values as an educator and administrator.

Notre Dame High School, Belmont

KAREN HANRAHAN President

Mercy High School, Burlingame

Hanrahan is a former president of Seton Keough High School in Baltimore and a former director of development for San Francisco’s St. Rose Academy.

She is a member of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Burlingame. “I enjoy challenges and getting my hands around issues and finding ways to make things work well,” Hanrahan said. “We need to embrace the future and deal with an evolving education system that is making us look at what and how we are teaching.”

IVAN M. HRGA Principal

Mercy High School, Burlingame

Hrga is a graduate of St. Thomas More School and Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo. He is also a former member of the faculty at Serra and schools including Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose. He and his wife Marissa are parents of Isabella, 7, and Dominic, 3, and parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Belmont.

He holds an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Arizona and a graduate degree in education from Sacramento State University.

“I am blessed, honored and humbled for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of Mercy, Burlingame,” Hrga said.

“I look forward to carrying on the hallmarks of Catholic education and the traditions of the Sisters of Mercy.”

CECILY STOCK Head of School

San Domenico School

Stock is a San Domenico graduate and the first alumna to hold the head of school post in the school’s 163 year history. Stock holds a law degree from UC Davis as well as a graduate degree from the California School of Professional Psychology. She completed undergraduate work at Santa Clara University. She has been division head of San Domenico Middle School for the last five years.

DAVE WHALEY Interim Division Head

San Domenico Middle School

Whaley is a current member of the faculty at San Domenico. He holds an undergraduate degree in biology and is currently undertaking graduate studies in an organization and leadership program at the University of San Francisco. “I am very excited to be given the opportunity to lead such an outstanding faculty as we serve San Domenico School’s mission,” Whaley said.

17

‘MIRACLES’: Christ-centered school a model of serving the poor Joseph Conti

Vittorio Anastasio

Rachel Simpson

Brian Schlaak

Maryann Osmond

Karen Hanrahan

Ivan M. Hrga

Cecily Stock

Dave Whaley

Patty Flynn Elliot

San Domenico Schools

CORRINE MUSCAT Co-principal

(PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Mercy Sister Marian Rose Power, left, and Vicki Butler were the leadership team at St. Peter School in San Francisco for 25 years. Butler has retired as principal because of health concerns, and former vice principal Sister Marian is back as development director to support new principal Gloria Galarsa.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

Muscat has been assistant principal at OLPH for the last two years, taught seventh grade there for three years and has 13 years experience in public schools. A parishioner of St. Charles, San Carlos, she holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, a multiple subject teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach and a graduate degree in school administration from Notre Dame de Namur University.

“I am passionate about the importance of providing a well rounded education to our youth,” Muscat said.

“Our Catholic principles guide us through this process. I feel blessed to have been given the role as co-principal at OLPH.”

FROM PAGE 1

Corrine Muscat

Marguerite Pini

Nancy J. Barrett

Amy Costa

Gloria Galarsa

John Black

Jeffrey Kwong

Kathleen Kraft

Sister Kathryn Keenan, SNDdeN

Sister Kathryn Camacho, SNdeN

MARGUERITE PINI Co-principal

St. Vincent de Paul School

Pini has devoted her professional career to Catholic education, and 16 years of teaching experience across multiple grades has provided her with an excellent foundation on which to build her current administrative career. A graduate of UC San Diego with a degree in theater arts, Pini also earned her teaching credential from UCSD and her master’s in leadership studies from the University of San Diego.

NANCY J. BARRETT Co-principal

St. Vincent de Paul School

Barrett is a former member of the faculty at San Francisco’s St. Paul High School and assistant principal at Holy Names High School in Oakland. She holds a graduate degree in Catholic school administration and a California secondary teaching credential from University of San Francisco and completed undergraduate work at Santa Clara University. “It is with great enthusiasm that I accept the role of co-principal at St. Vincent de Paul,” Barrett said. “I bring my previous educational experiences, my deep passion for the teaching and learning process and my lifelong commitment to Catholic education to this new position.”

AMY COSTA Principal

Our Lady of Angels School

Costa has a decade of teaching experience including three years at Our Lady of Angels and a year at Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo. Costa completed undergraduate work in history at UCLA. She holds a graduate degree in school administration,

a multiple subject credential, and an administrative credential from Notre Dame de Namur University. Costa is an alumna of OLA and Notre Dame High School, Belmont. “Having been a student and then a teacher at OLA, I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to give back to a school and parish community that has provided so much to me and my family,” Costa said. “I am at home here at OLA and there is no greater blessing.”

in the Middle East and Asia. He holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. “I am excited about joining the St. Rita family and working collaboratively with the community to promote the ideals of Catholic education while simultaneously developing a long-term plan for the school which differentiates us from other area parochial, private, and public schools,” Black said.

GLORIA GALARSA Principal

JEFFREY KWONG Principal

Galarsa brings 27 years experience as teacher and administrator to St. Peter’s. Born and raised in Union City, a child of Mexican immigrants, she is fluent in Spanish. She has been married to Leonard Galarsa for 38 years. She attended schools including UC Berkeley and CalState East Bay and holds an undergraduate degree in Mexican-American studies, a teaching credential and administrative services credential. “I am honored to be able to step into the role of principal at St. Peter School. The school is so rich in history and living witness to the mission of serving the immigrant population of the Mission District of San Francisco.”

Kwong is a graduate of St. Mary’s and later Lowell High School and Harvard University. He holds a graduate degree from UC San Diego and was a founder of a four-year Chinese language program for the San Diego public school district.“Having just returned as a volunteer at World Youth Day in Brazil, I am committed to a school-wide charismatic renewal focused on powerful music, adoration and liturgy, and a commitment to our Holy Father’s call for faith and service,” Kwong said. “We are dedicated to having our students live out these empowering words from St. Catherine of Siena, ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire!’”

JOHN BLACK Principal

KATHLEEN KRAFT Principal

St. Peter School

St. Rita School

Black brings 14 years of experience as principal at two U.S. Catholic schools and two international schools

St. Mary School

Our Lady of Loretto School

Kraft, a graduate of St. Anselm School and Marin Catholic High School, has previously taught eighth

grade at Our Lady of Loretto. “ I have been blessed to be a part of the OLL family as a teacher for the past nine years and look forward to leading us academically and spiritually toward Christ.”

SISTER KATHRYN KEENAN, SNDdeN Principal

Notre Dame School

Sister Kathryn began her career in Catholic education as a teacher at Our Lady of Angels School in Burlingame and later spent 19 years at Mission Dolores School in San Francisco. She has served at Notre Dame for the past three years as religion coordinator and assistant principal. Sister Kathryn completed undergraduate work including a teaching credential at UC Santa Barbara and a graduate degree in counseling psychology from Holy Names University, Oakland.

SISTER KATHRYN CAMACHO, SNdeN Principal

St. Paul School

Sister Kathryn has served as assistant principal at Mission Dolores School and served as principal of St. Paul of the Shipwreck in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. She holds a graduate degree in education from the University of San Francisco with an emphasis on Catholic school administration. “As a product of Catholic education myself, I realize the benefits of a quality Catholic education,” Sister Kathryn said. “I am thrilled about being a part of the St. Paul’s community.”

Francisco that has no rivals,” said Maureen Huntington, superintendent of Catholic schools, calling them “true examples of what it means to teach as Jesus did.”

“It’s been a wild adventure,” said Sister Marian, who served as principal for 10 years before Butler became principal and then was convinced by Butler to stay rather than go to Mexico as she had planned to work with the poor. “She said ‘you have the poor right here,’” Sister Marian said.

Now Butler is ill with cancer and as she explained to parents and her broad base of donors in a letter in June: “Come August, I will not be able to return to St. Peter’s. I am not looking forward to this and the separation will be very hard. It is here that I place my complete trust in Christ.”

From its founding, St. Peter School served immigrants – first Irish and Italians and today Latinos. “And that has always been the story of St. Peter, serving the immigrant, and especially the poor, the impoverished, the financially struggling,” she said.

“It’s got a foundation that does not move while they are here,” said St. Peter bookkeeper Myrna Sobaranes, who sent her three sons, now 30, 20 and 18, to the school.

Last year St. Peter raised $600,000 in donations to cover the difference between tuition paid by families and actual cost, said Sister Marian. “The children only pay $3,800 if they can afford it” but the operating cost is $5,800 per child,” she said.

“We have many that live on $17,000 – for five people. Five people on $50,000 is below the poverty line,” said Butler.

“They’ve come to this country thinking this is the land of promise – and they want their children to have better, what they don’t have.”

“Since we’ve been here many have become doctors, teachers –it’s the kind of success you want to see,” Sister Marian said.

Sister Marian returned as director of development this school year and the current principal, Gloria Galarsa chats with Butler weekly. It is time for transition to a principal who is Hispanic and fluent in Spanish, Butler said during the interview in early August. “I feel the burden of such a legacy,” said Galarsa, her voice breaking over the telephone, recalling the month Butler spent introducing her to the neighborhood, sharing all she knew about the

school. Arriving to interview at the school, Galarsa said: “When I walked in the door, I felt Jesus present here.”

Miracles are typical at St. Peter’s, Butler and Sister Marian said.

Some of the miracles: – Benefactor Fred Clark, a hedge fund manager and a “devout Catholic” who pays the Catholic high school tuition of any student who graduates with an A in conduct and a 3.0 grade point average.

– An unassuming neighborhood woman, Doris, who helped stuff envelopes and did other tasks. When she became sick and then blind, the school helped her, bringing her food from the cafeteria, feeding her cats, making sure she had Communion brought to her home. “Well, she died and when she died unbeknownst to us she’d saved all the money her family had left her –$750, 000,” Butler said, and gave it to St. Peter’s. “God’s got an immense sense of humor!”

– A man in an old raincoat, carrying a sack, “quite poverty-stricken” who appeared at the school and said: “I want to give a gift to St. Peter’s. I’ve read about you in the paper.” He wrote a check for $25,000 and disappeared.

But the “miracles” are not just those of money, Butler and Sister Marian said.

– Shortly after Butler arrived, and right after large cutbacks in the number of police officers on patrol, an eighth grader was badly beaten outside the school in 1996 for wearing sneakers in blue and white, the colors of a rival gang. When no action was taken by City Hall, Butler rallied her students and sent more than 500 letters to newly elected Mayor Willie Brown, garnering widespread publicity. The city found the funds for additional police officers, she said.

– Ten years ago, when a store with obscene sacrilegious material in the window opened up two blocks away, Butler and Sister Marian went over in the middle of the night with a stack of medals blessed by Blessed Mother Teresa– a regular visitor to St. Peter’s– and stuck them in all the nooks and crannies of the old building. “Three days later the whole store burnt, gospel truth,” said Butler.

“Our Blessed Mother took care of us,” said Sister Marian.

Butler is sad to leave, but she is leaving with faith.

“It’s so hard,” Butler said. “I got really sick and I have to leave and I don’t want to leave. But I think God is just saying, ‘it’s time, you got to go kid.’”

18 OPINION

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

LETTERS

Poverty, scandal and church priorities Back in 2005, I was asked by a priest in Rome what I thought about the sex scandal in the U.S. It seemed that his opinion was the same as mine – that all those directly or indirectly involved in this matter should be treated like any other criminal and be sent to prison. We also both agreed that “mother church” should not be sued.

I may have missed something since the “scandal” and the lawsuits broke out, but I don’t recall where or how the church is paying for all the lawsuits. I do recall being informed that the money is not being taken out from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. So where is it being taken from? I see some churches consolidating for “lack of attendance.” I see Catholic schools being closed because of people not being able to pay the tuition. What happened to all those Catholic schools that were founded by saints who wanted a good education to the “poorest of the poor”? It seems that only those families who can afford a Catholic school attend. Yes, there are scholarship programs out there for those in need, but are the schools really living up to what their founder/foundress wanted?

Maybe if the general public found out where the lawsuit monies are coming from, the victims would be less likely to want to sue. I am certainly not, in any way, minimizing how horrible this sex scandal is. A crime has been committed and those people involved in this crime should be punished. But in this punishment, should the innocent be punished as well?

What if some of the money is taken from social programs that service the poorest of the poor? I don’t know. I know that we, as church, can all tighten our belts. A business news report stated that at the end of 2010, parents spent $23 billion on purchases of electronic/ video games for their children.

I see and read that our Pope Francis is talking about the needs of the poor. I’m not a financial expert, but it seems to me that our church and our country are not poor. We just misplaced our priorities.

Angela B. Testani San Francisco Editor’s note: Insurance covered 18 percent to 34 percent of allegation-related costs to dioceses and eparchies between 2004 and 2012, according to the U.S. bishops’ 2012 “Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Young People.” Total allegation-related costs during the period were $2.24 billion.

Strengthening all church ministries depends on marriage This letter is in response to the single dad who feels hurt when the church promotes and celebrates marriage (“Families different, unexpected paths,”) letter, Aug. 25. First, let me say that I have great compassion for your position. I know how difficult it is for my husband and I to do our shared duties. You must do alone what we do together. That is very hard and I pray that God sends you generous help in all the areas where you can’t stretch any farther.

Blessings to you and your family!

I can understand why it would hurt your feelings to see the needs of others being met when yours are not but I would like to point out why I don’t think it is in your own, nor your children’s best interest to discourage the promotion, celebration and encouragement of sacramental marriage in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

I’m sure that you agree that the fact that you are a single dad is a tragedy, whether you became a single dad from divorce, being an unmarried parent or through the death of your spouse. I feel certain that you are teaching your own children that they should wait to have sex until they are married and pick someone to marry who shares their faith and sensibilities so that they don’t ever have to experience the pain of divorce. I’m sure that you don’t want your grand-

children to go through what your children have.

So how do we promote healthy. lifelong sacramental marriage if we can’t talk about it? I know in my own life I look for the ideal and hold it up as an example to strive for, both for myself and my children. Marriage is the base unit that all society is built upon and our society is bleeding out. We can’t keep going on this way and expect things to improve. And we desperately need for things to improve. We need more of everything in the church: more support for healthy marriages, more help for those in troubled marriages and more counseling services in general. We need more help and support for our divorced, widowed and single parents, immigrants, singles, college students, youth. We need more support for the disabled and mentally ill, the elderly the sick, the poor and suffering members in our community. We need more help for at-risk youth and those in prison. We need more promotion of natural family planning and more teachers to train couples in its use. We need more sidewalk counselors at the abortion clinic, more homes for unwed mothers, more crisis pregnancy centers. We need more priests and nuns and religious, and people who really pray and sacrifice for them and the world. We need more

Uplifted by Dominican spirituality

am sure many others feel likewise: Those who seek please come and see. Those who feel lost please come and find.

Marguerite Agnes Miller San Rafael

For the last 30 years I have worked, supported and associated with the Dominican friars and sisters. In Oakland it was 12 years and in San Rafael 18 years. I have followed Dominicans since I was 7 years old. I am so proud and honored to know so many wonderful, educated and dedicated men and women. Their lives of prayer, contemplation, education, mission and preaching have made my husband Vince and me better persons.

Dominicans work to sanctify the world by teaching truth, compassion and love to the sick, dying and poor. They bring Christ’s love and mercy to the needy. Their preaching is not only in word but in action and example. Their congregation centers on Christ, church, Eucharist and community. They follow the example of Dominican saints including Dominic, Catherine of Siena, St. Agnes and many others.

Much of their preaching and education is done at grass roots in the church and schools and universities such as the Dominican School of Theology and Philosophy in Berkeley. They offer retreats at Santa Sabina Center and Dominican Center in San Rafael. I think the two most outstanding gifts of these faithful men and women religious are their unique development of talents and individuality as well as their deep love and care for their elderly, retired and sick members.

I am truly grateful to witness the sign of the Dominican order and I

Proudly wearing the uniform I am a proud grandparent and a supporter of Catholic education.

Our family was elated when our first grandchild, Cecelia, was accepted as a kindergartener at St. Hilary School, Tiburon, this semester. The night before the first day of school, Cece had her bath and bedtime stories Cecelia Magri and her mother laid Biernat out her uniform for the first time. Although she had been excited and pleased when they picked up her uniform, she told her mother Kristen, “I’m not going to wear that on my first day of school.” Kristen gently explained that not only was she wearing it today, she would be wearing it for the next nine years!

The punch line is that Cece was so pleased with her first day of school and her teacher and new classmates that when she got home she refused to take her uniform off. She told Kristen, “I love my uniform and I’m going to wear it forever.”

We’ll see.

Jim Biernat Burlingame

people who offer to help at their parishes, giving their talent and treasure to build up the church. Our needs are a bottomless pit so, with our limited resources, where do we begin?

Since marriage is the building block of all society and since it is the structure under which children have the best chance of having their needs fully met and flourishing, it makes sense to start with holding up and building up the ideal. The intact faithful, fruitful and free sacramental marriage which is a source of strength and mutual support to its members and a pillar that others can lash themselves to, is the most important institution society has and must be strengthened first if society is to be restored. We should do everything in our power to keep future generations from falling into need so that more people are available to share the burdens of those whose burdens are disproportionate. Without strong marriages and families we have no hope of expanding our ministries to all those who have need. I believe that is in your best interest and in mine to build up and strengthen marriage. Please do not believe that when we celebrate marriage that you are diminished or looked down upon in any way.

Cheryl Amalu Belmont

‘Slaves to our sorrows’ To paraphrase Emily Dickinson, “Are you selfish? I’m selfish, too.

There’s a pair of us, don’t tell.” Sadly, there’s way more than a pair. We see members of a political party so removed from most Americans’ realities that they have no problem “shutting down the government” and holding our country hostage to their immoral demands to defund the Affordable Care Act. What is truly shocking is that a number of these congressmen and women call themselves Catholic.

Papa Francesco says that “the Spirit is the author of joy … joy in the Holy Spirit gives us true Christian freedom.

Without joy, we cannot become free; we become slaves to our sorrows.”

We are witnessing an unparalleled refusal to do anything remotely resembling governing on the part of those who choose to make others’ lives worse. So much for the pope’s call for us to be joyful and free instead of slaves to our sorrows. At the very moment that Francis is calling on Catholics to reach out to “the least of our brothers and sisters” and millions of Americans are about to get medical care they’ve been denied for years, some lawmakers apparently believe, “I’ve got mine, too bad about you.” I can only pray that there will be some brave soul given a nudge by the Holy Spirit who will stand up and announce that “the emperor has no clothes”; in other words, you don’t get to ignore the Gospel at every turn and “call” yourself a Catholic. “Woe to you hypocrites, blind guides.”

Sue Malone Hayes San Francisco

LETTERS POLICY EMAIL letters.csf@sfarchdiocese.org WRITE Letters to the Editor, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

NAME, address and daytime phone number for verification required SHORT letters preferred: 250 words or fewer

OPINION 19

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

(San) Franciscan values and due process for all KATHLEEN COLL

On July 8, Pope Francis made an emotional visit to a tiny Italian island, Lampedusa, a major European point of arrival for undocumented immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. In what he called a “liturgy of repentance” remembering migrants lost at sea, the pope lamented: “We have lost a sense of brotherly responsibility” to our fellow human beings who migrate in search of a better life. He later tweeted: “We pray for a heart which will embrace immigrants.

God will judge us upon how we have treated the most needy.”

As we embrace the U.S. church’s immigrant heritage and the rich diversity of our parishes, we are called to oppose policies that increase human suffering and to stand for measures that honor our common humanity. Few San Franciscans realize that over the last three years, more than 900 San Franciscans have been torn from their families and deported under the Secure Communities (S-Comm) deportation program of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Statewide, 98,000 Californians have been deported in this fashion, most with minor convictions or none at all.

Under S-Comm, local law enforcement sends the information of everyone fingerprinted directly to ICE – before they’ve even had their day in court. ICE then asks the sheriff to hold community members in jail past the time they would otherwise be released. Aspiring citizens, and some citizens, have been misidentified due to administrative errors. Some have been held for days or weeks just so they can be picked up for deportation. Even victims and witnesses to crimes have been swept up in deportation proceedings. Each one of these requests is a threat to detainees’ constitutional rights.

To ease this suffering, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for the immediate freezing of the S-Comm program and just immigration reform.

(CNS PHOTO/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI, REUTERS)

An immigrant shows a rosary received from Pope Francis during the pope’s visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa July 8. “We have lost a sense of brotherly responsibility” to our fellow human beings who migrate in search of a better life, the pope said.

California clergy and bishops have also supported a statewide TRUST Act to restrict ICE holds. The recent introduction of the Due Process for All ordinance at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, soon after the pope’s visit to Lampedusa, offers us a local opportunity to raise up the Franciscan value of care for one another that is also a broader San Francisco value.

The need for an end to local ICE holds becomes clear when we consider the human suffering they are producing here in San Francisco. When “Ivone,” an immigrant from Mexico, was violently beaten by her male partner, he falsely accused her of threatening his life. As is regular practice in these cases, both were arrested, but the San Francisco Police Department soon determined that Ivone was the victim. It was already too late for Ivone: due to an ICE “hold,” Ivone was removed from San Francisco and detained for more than eight months before her attorney won her a rare reprieve.

This fear of deportation is shared across the

boundaries of language or ethnicity. “Michelle” is an immigrant from Ireland who moved to San Francisco to help care for her sister’s newborn baby 20 years ago. She has worked continuously as a nanny, elder caregiver, gardener and painter. When she was mugged at gunpoint recently, witnesses called SFPD, but Michelle, terrified that talking with police might expose her undocumented status, fled before making any statement to the police. Public safety is compromised when immigrants fear local law enforcement.

Catholic teaching on restorative justice supports policies that promote justice with compassion for healing. Policies that prevent those accused of crimes from access to legal rights of due process and equal treatment diminish us and undermine civil liberties that protect us all.

The church teaches that the most basic moral test for a society is how we treat our most vulnerable, including both victims and prisoners, with whom Jesus stands. When women like Ivone and Michelle are afraid that by seeking help from law enforcement, they will be deported, not only is public safety threatened, but we are diminished as a community. When an offending spouse or parent struggles to overcome his substance abuse or aggression, and his loved ones seek reconciliation, the sanctity of these families and their right to remain united should be important to all of us.

The proposed Due Process for All ordinance is an example of a local policy that aligns with the church’s call for solidarity and justice for migrants. It is also an opportunity to reassert our local values as the city of St. Francis. The supervisors supporting the measure have presented us an opportunity to restore justice and codify these values as law. They deserve all our support.

COLL is a lecturer at Stanford University, a member of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission and a parishioner at St. Boniface Church.

LETTERS

Discerning Christian witness I congratulate letter writer Stephen Firenze (Aug.. 23) for strongly objecting to Tony Magliano’s twisted support of global warming as “the worst column ever written in Catholic San Francisco,” and “the disservice to readers in publishing this column.”

And I like having the editor honestly allow this dissent. At last, our attention can focus on the work of the church, so we can read more about important things like the magnificence of Christ’s passion and death, which we celebrate at every Sunday Mass.

This is the essential message Catholic San Francisco should bring us, in many of its varied ways, and from a host of informed Catholic writers like George Weigel and Father Robert Barron, who inform us wisely of things necessary to our Catholic faith.

Let’s avoid the trendy, frivolous concern for global warming, animal rights, pest control and labor issues thrown at us day and night by the monotones of the airwaves, and the screechy, politicized outcries of the liberal press. All these are far more effectively parroting the latest socialist groupthink than this paper can. Let them sink unnoticed into their own morass.

Their unrelenting attacks on the church, though, call for a strong, unified stand against destructive, legalized intrusions to our faith like homosexual marriage, abortion rights, wide acceptance of marijuana as good for everyone, and the desensitizing of our nation’s youth to the horrors of rape, violence and murder.

Most recently, our church is attacked by California’s Senate Bill 131, which allows lawsuits against the church for sexual abuse going back 40 to 50 years. Its intent to harm the church is obvious, yet we haven’t seen a word about it in Catholic San Francisco.

How about it, Catholic San Francisco?

Robert Jimenez Burlingame Editor’s note: Thank you to the writer for bringing up several good points. Concerning “dissent” among contributors, here at the paper we wouldn’t use that

term but think the exchange of ideas among faithful, well-informed Catholics is all to the good: It nourishes Catholic culture by providing a space for a diversity of views that integrates toward the unity of our faith, and all the better if it helps salve the wounds and divisions in our communion. The writer states that the threat to the church represented by SB 131, a California Senate bill that would lift the statute of limitations for one year to enable some victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue private or nonprofit employers, is a worthier topic for the paper than the threat of climate change discussed by Tony Magliano in his recent column. We’ve covered both topics prominently as examples of Catholic witness to promote the common good. SB 131 was the lead story in the paper’s June 5 edition and is covered on Page 7 of the current edition. On the issue of climate change, Catholic witness seems particularly timely to inform action because the world’s poor would suffer most if temperatures and sea levels rise. Pope Francis has spoken out about environmental changes that threaten God’s plan. “I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: Let us be ‘protectors’ of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment,” he said March 19. In his concern about the environment, Pope Francis is no eco activist: He focuses pastorally not on politics directly but on how faith can elevate politics toward justice and compassion regarding an imminent matter. His pastoral leadership on the matter would seem to warrant more Catholic witness and more encouragement and coverage of that witness in the Catholic press. Pope Benedict, in the second part of his 2005 encyclical “Deus Caritas Est,” offers a wide-ranging teaching on the church’s social doctrine and its relationship to politics. Faith infuses politics with love of God and neighbor. “Its aim is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just,” Pope Benedict writes.

A summary of the encyclical at www.ewtn.com puts the idea in everyday terms: “The Christian’s program – the program of the Good Samaritan, the program of Jesus – is ‘a heart which sees.’”

In gratitude to humble, reverent priests I would like to offer a tribute during this Year of Faith to those fine, humble priests who have been beacons of the Catholic faith for us all. They have been assiduously providing the holy sacrifice of the Mass, neither adding nor changing nor deleting any part of it. They have been models of reverence before the Blessed Sacrament and maintaining reverent silence within the church as being sacred to Our Lord. Their actions have clearly reflected a deep personal prayer life. They have instructed us in the faith, demonstrated evangelizing our Catholicism, urged us to study the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, books on saints and other inspiring literature, and encouraged us toward frequent Mass and reconciliation.

They have fostered holy devotions such as adoration, the Angelus, the rosary and the Stations of the Cross, not infrequently leading such devotions. They have inspired us by publicly proclaiming pro-life positions and upholding the sanctity of marriage and family life. All this they have done in the face of indifference by many Catholics and even clergy, and of overt hostility from our pagan society and its culture of death.

They are our present-day saints who are leading us to heaven.

We thank God for these fine priests and ask his blessings on them. And we ourselves offer them our assistance, our prayers and our gratitude.

Jessica Munn Foster City

Clarifying St. Francis Shrine history Chris Stockton’s letter (Aug. 23) correcting the original article re the “thriving parish” is correct in all aspects except for the church becoming a national shrine. The church was reopened on Feb. 28, 1998, by then-Archbishop Levada. Conventual Franciscan Father Allen Ramirez was the rector and I was appointed the chair of the board of trustees of the Church of St. Francis by Archbishop Levada.

In September 1999, the church was deemed the National Shrine of St. Francis by the archbishop in charge of shrines, who lives back East. So, the Church of St. Francis has been the National Shrine of St. Francis since September 1999, not 2005 as Chris stated.

Angela M. Alioto San Francisco

20 FAITH

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

SUNDAY READINGS

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ‘Your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’

LUKE 15:1-32 EXODUS 32:7-11, 13-14 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshipping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ “I see how stiff-necked this people is,” continued the Lord to Moses. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.” But Moses implored the Lord, his God, saying, “Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’” So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.

PSALM 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 I will rise and go to my father.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.

I will rise and go to my father.

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

I will rise and go to my father.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

I will rise and go to my father.

1 TIMOTHY 1:12-17 Beloved: I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he

considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry. I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.

Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

LUKE 15:1-32 Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having 100 sheep and losing one of them would not leave the 99 in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having 10 coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’

So the father divided the property between them.

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where

he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off,his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.

But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.

But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

The ‘prodigal mother,’ awaiting her lost children

T

he prodigal son is one of the most beloved parables in holy Scripture. The loving father’s joy at his lost son’s return is one of the most moving moments of any story. Just as compelling is the story’s cliffhanger ending, leaving the father pleading with his more faithful son to share and celebrate the joy at his brother’s return.

One interpretation I am particularly fond of puts the title in the plural – “prodigal sons.” Each son is the focus of half of the parable; first, the son who left and returned; second, the son who stayed but refused to celebrate his brother’s return. The focus on the latter as “prodigal son” would be more in line with the direction of the parable, given FATHER WILLIAM toward the Pharisees who obNICHOLAS jected to Jesus’ welcome of and fellowship with sinners.

As a matter of personal opinion, one of the more inane interpretations I have heard over the years is the idea that the story is somehow about a “prodigal father,” an interpretation that has grown in popularity in recent decades. It makes sense that

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

such a post-’60s interpretation would look to question the integrity of the father figure, who is representative of the mercy and benevolence of God, himself, who, despite our own human penchant for rationalization in the face of even a forgiving authority figure, is incapable of possessing qualities that can be considered “prodigal.”

All things being equal, however, especially in the mundane hyper-inclusivity of today, I have never heard anyone attempt an interpretation that focusses on the rather conspicuously absent “prodigal mother.” Yet, if the loving father of the parable stands metaphorically for the loving, forgiving welcome of our heavenly father, there is also to be acknowledged a mother who stands at his side, awaiting the return of her lost, wayward children.

There is a growing ministry in many parishes that works with “fallen away” Catholics who are looking to return to the faith community. Parish priests are likewise no strangers to people who are looking to reconcile whatever estrangement they have felt from the church. Such outreach, whether through individuals, formal parish programs, and even the sacrament of reconciliation, is representative of the overall ministry of holy mother church, who stands with, and in the name of Christ and his heavenly father, seeking those who are lost, while welcoming, even celebrating, when yet another prodigal child has returned home.

Just as in the parable there is the son who

remained with the father, who, though a faithful member of the household, raised a strong objection to the merciful benevolence of his father, so too, alas, does the church have individuals, faithful to the ecclesiastical household, who likewise raise objections, cause divisions, and may even, themselves, be the reason some of those estranged by the church were initially alienated. Just as the loving father interceded to bring about a renewed fraternity between the brothers, so too does holy mother church continually work for internal peace and reconciliation.

The loving, benevolent father, waited diligently for his son’s return, and interceded with the other son to rejoice at his brother’s homecoming. Holy mother, the church, awaits her lost children, rejoicing when one returns to the community of faith, making it, once again, their home. So too does our holy mother call on her faithful children to rejoice at the return of one of their brothers or sisters.

The loving mother is no more “prodigal” than is the benevolent father. With our heavenly father, mother church, too welcomes home her wayward children, calling all of us to likewise rejoice at the return.

FATHER NICHOLAS, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, is on temporary assignment as parochial vicar at St. Rose of Lima Parish, Simi Valley. His website is frwcnicholas.com.

FAITH 21

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

The value of atheists

I

n his monumental study of atheism, Michael Buckley suggests that atheism is invariably a parasite that feeds off bad religion. It feeds off bad religion, picks on bad religion and picks apart bad religion.

If that’s true, then ultimately atheists do us a huge favor. They pick apart bad religion, showing us our blind spots, rationalizations, inconsistencies, double-standards, hypocrisies, moral selectivity, propensity for power, unhealthy fears and hidden arrogance. Atheism shows FATHER RON us the log in our own eye.

ROLHEISER On our honest days, we admit that this is a needed challenge. Ideally, of course, we should be sufficiently self-aware and sufficiently self-critical to see all these things for ourselves or, barring that, be attentive enough to our own prophets to stay aware of where we’re falling short. But that’s rarely the case and, as a result, there’s invariably bad religion and this has always helped spawn negativity toward religion and atheism.

And we see this playing out at different levels: Philosophically, of course, its most powerful expression comes from the two most-famous atheists of the 19th century, Ludwig Feuerbach and Friedrich Nietzsche. Their real criticism of religion and of us, its practitioners, is not so much that belief in God is “the opium of the people” and that a focus on the next life helps keep us subjugated in this life, though they do affirm that. Rather their deeper criticism has to do with our religious actions, namely, that we use the idea of God and religion to rationalize our own desires.

For Feuerbach and Nietzsche, God did not make us in his image and likeness; but rather we’ve made God in our image and likeness. For them, God is a projection of the mind and we have perennially used that projection to morally justify and bless our own immaturity, our own will, our own fears, and our own rationalizations. As individuals and as churches, we simply use the idea of God to do whatever we want, and then call it God’s will. We are not, in the end, obedient to any power or a will beyond our own, except that religion makes it seem that we are.

In our ordinary church lives, where few, if any, ever read Feuerbach and Nietzsche, we simply meet this criticism in a different language; bad religion still gets picked apart. Inside the culture, we have people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins who keep the knives of atheism sharp and

operative. More painful for us though is the fact that bad religion gets picked upon and picked apart by many of those who are dear to us, not least our own children. More recently, a lot of that criticism has centered upon the sex abuse crisis in the church; but, everywhere within our culture, religion and our churches are being picked apart because of our inconsistencies, blind spots and moral selectivity.

Much as this criticism hurts and can seem unfair, at the end of the day, most of it is true. Moreover, our attempts to defend ourselves, our apologias, are often simply further rationalizations and further failures to admit our own shortcomings, giving our critics even more of a corpse to feed off. Defensiveness is not helpful here.

Our response to atheism and to other critics who feed off our religious faults must begin with an acknowledgement of where they are correct, even if those criticisms emanate from voices that are unfair and are, themselves, rationalizing. For example, an unfair media does not create any of our sins and shortcomings, we do.

Our response to atheism and criticism of our faith and religion should be threefold: First, we should be grateful for the challenge. We’ve never been fully faithful and we’re better off openly hearing what’s being thought of us and said of us than not hearing it. Denial is not a friend. Second, we need to acknowledge, without undue defensiveness, what’s true and resist the temptation to defend ourselves in ways that simply create more bad religion for our critics to feed upon. When we’re over-defensive before our critics, we not only cast ourselves and our churches in a bad light; worst of all, we cast God in a bad light.

Finally, and most important, the real response to bad religion is never secularism or atheism, but better religion! We need to be more consistent, both in private conscience and in church practice.

What is better religion? How do we recognize better religion? We recognize true religion in the same way as we recognize true beauty and goodness. They’re self-evident when they appear. Beauty and goodness are received more than discerned.

Nobody need tell us what’s beautiful. Beauty is ultimately received. It declares itself. The same is true for good religion.

But the reverse is also true. Bad religion also declares itself, and no amount of sincerity will ultimately hide that.

Atheism is a parasite that feeds off bad religion.

So, when, like today, atheism takes on a particularly nasty aggression, perhaps we need to examine more closely what this mirrors inside of religion.

OBLATE FATHER ROLHEISER is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

Pope Francis: Likeable and not so likeable

W

hy is Pope Francis so appealing to some and not to others?

To answer the first question, Pope Francis loves the poor and is opposed to those who can alleviate their suffering but fail to do so because of corruption. He is more than a champion of social justice. He speaks to our conscience and its spiritual yearning for true joy.

More often than not, the picture of joy the world presents (mainly materialism) leaves us empty and wondering if it can ever be FATHER EUGENE achieved.

HEMRICK In his treatise on joy, Pope Paul VI tells us we can achieve the true happiness we yearn for by being grateful for God’s wonders in our world, and especially by serving others.

Pope Francis personifies these virtues in his emphasis on solidarity. He urges us to put ourselves in the shoes of the poor and feel their pain, and to campaign against poverty and injustice. Solidarity prompts us to leave our comfort zone, to bring comfort to others. Pope Francis speaks directly to a conscience that knows deep down that this is the highest means for achieving true joy. Why? It is because Christ chose those virtues to redeem us.

One reason some Catholics are displeased with Pope Francis is that he is making them feel uncomfortable. For example, many of us have more material goods than we need. Our closets and pantries are filled to the brim. The solidarity Pope Francis calls for prompts us to do with less in order to give it to those who have less.

True, we do this at Thanksgiving time, but true solidarity asks of us to continuously give, not just at Thanksgiving time, but throughout the year. Options like this prick the conscience and create discomfort most of us would like to avoid because it calls for self-sacrifice and a change in our routine.

Dissatisfaction with Pope Francis goes even deeper than this. Some people feel religion is about God and “me,” and not about God and everyone else. To be religious is to go to church and be with God. Catholicism should be a conclave onto itself.

Pope Francis represents the theology that says, the church belongs to everyone and to follow God’s love it is important to leave the confines of the temple and minister to them – too many Catholics have been lost to evangelicals because of neglecting this principle.

Then there are those who love pomp and a church triumphant. To their dismay, Pope Francis stands for fewer church trappings and more religious substance.

In Pope Francis, we have a man who is redefining the meaning of real joy and being a true church. It is something we all yearn for, and God willing, will experience in his pontificate.

Greeting before Mass; annulment and children

Q.

We are all familiar with some of the liturgical excesses that came about after Vatican II. When the revised Roman Missal was introduced (in 2011), I seem to remember that the American bishops discussed the need for all U.S. parishes to adhere strictly to the new liturgy.

According to one article that I read, the bishops addressed the practice of inviting members of the congregation to greet those around them before the Mass begins – their feeling being that this detracted from the sign of peace, which the liturgy places just before Communion. Sadly, though, this action continues in many parishes. What is your take FATHER on it? (Walnut Creek) KENNETH DOYLE I am not familiar with the article you reference, nor am I aware of any position taken by the bishops that would discourage parishioners from greeting one another before Mass begins. On the contrary, the closest reference I could find (from the Introduction to the Order of Mass, a pastoral resource issued in 2003 by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy) speaks favorably of Mass attendees being “made welcome by representatives of the community and acknowledged informally by their neighbors.”

Such a greeting is discretionary, of course, and not a stipulated part of the ritual. I have seen it used particularly in vacation areas, to create a sense of community when those at Mass come from various distances and directions. In a normal parish setting, informal greeting and “catching up” is often done in the gathering areas of the church as people are arriving.

Such a practice should never replace the sign of peace, which has a different meaning. Its purpose is not to extend a greeting of welcome, even less to chat with friends, but to offer an expression of charity as a reminder just prior to Communion of the love of Christ that unites the eucharistic assembly.

Would you please clarify the church’s position regarding a marriage annulment’s effect on children? I have some friends who are in a second marriage. They would love to have their first marriages annulled and their present marriage blessed so that they can receive holy Communion at Mass. But they have refrained from doing so because the children of their first marriages say that an annulment would render these children illegitimate or “nonexistent.” It is a tender situation, and I believe that your reply would bring comfort and enlightenment. (Schenectady, N.Y.) Although believed by a surprising number of people, it is a myth that a church annulment renders the children of that marriage illegitimate. It does not. Legitimacy is a legal term.

It means that the father of a child is known and that the parents were legally married to each other at the time of the child’s birth.

A church annulment does nothing retroactively to change that. Canon 1137 of the church’s Code of Canon Law speaks directly to this: “The children conceived or born of a valid or putative marriage are legitimate.” (“Putative” means that the marriage was considered valid by both parties at the time they were wed.)

A church annulment has no effect in civil law – neither on legitimacy nor on other arrangements such as custody or child support. Nor does it alter the responsibility of parents toward their children.

In fact, during the annulment proceedings, the church reminds petitioners of their continuing moral obligation to provide for the proper upbringing of their children.

A church annulment simply means that certain circumstances at the time of the marriage prevented it from being a sacramental marriage forever binding.

QUESTION CORNER

A.

Q. A.

Send questions to Father Kenneth Doyle at askfatherdoyle@gmail.com and 40 Hopewell St., Albany, NY, 12208.

22 FROM THE FRONT

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

WITNESS: Catholics campaign against South San Francisco clinic FROM PAGE 1

former student body president of College of San Mateo, telling the council members at the Aug. 28 meeting “you know it is wrong.”

Following three hours of testimony, the city council voted 3-2 to uphold the planning commission decision granting the conditional use permit for a Planned Parenthood medical clinic at 435 Grand Ave. A conditional use permit is required for building uses that are not directly addressed by the existing zoning regulations. South San Francisco zoning code requires a conditional use permit for a storefront medical clinic on that section of Grand Avenue, according to a staff report.

A group of four All Souls parishioners, also known as Respect Life South San Francisco, filed an appeal to the city council to overturn the May 2 planning commission approval.

Their next step will be legal action to block the clinic, a petition for writ of mandate to be filed in San Mateo Superior Court by month’s end, said attorney Gregory Weiler.

Rosa Gomez, one of the four, said 220 letters, 2,513 signatures on petitions, and “many emails” were sent to the council.

“This is something objectionable to our residents,” All Souls pastor Father Agnel de Heredia told the council. “Do not vote for political expediency.”

“I believe the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion,” said Jaime Gonzalez, holding a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe as he spoke.

“Ultimately, the taking of human

(PHOTOS BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Protesters at Aug. 28 South San Francisco City Council meeting on a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic included, above left from top row, Jeremy Perlas, Vivian Abellana, Mary Beaudry, All Souls pastor Father Agnel de Heredia. A group of All Souls parishioners, known as Respect Life South San Francisco, appealed to the City Council to overturn a city planning commission decision approving the clinic. life is unacceptable,” 45-year St. Veronica parishioner Mary Beaudry told the council. She was one of a several dozen Catholics from parishes in the city and surrounding area who spoke.

In contrast, two of the three councilmen who voted for the clinic cited their Catholic faith.

“While my Catholic upbringing does tell me the taking of a life in any form is wrong, and that resonates greatly within me,” Councilman Mark A. Addiego said, he accepted the city planners and city attorney’s argument that the permit should only address land

use and not the effect of the storefront clinic on the neighborhood – including ongoing protests on the sidewalk outside the clinic.

Another medical facility in the city offers abortion to those who can pay, Addiego said: “I can’t stand in judgment of others.”

Councilman Richard Garbarino voted for the Planned Parenthood clinic. He said he had discussed the issue with his “confessor,” who told him, he related ‘You have to do what you’re going to do.’ “I have to uphold the law whether I like it or not,” said

Garbarino, the only one of the five council members whose term continues past November.

“I won’t stand in judgment of people who choose to use their services,” Garbarino said. Also voting for the clinic was councilman Dr. Pradeep Gupta.

Voting for the appeal, Mayor Pedro Gonzalez said the clinic was not in accord with the general plan for the downtown area and he disagreed with the city’s waiver of an environmental impact report, a requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act. Mayor pro tem Karyl Matsumoto, the second vote against the clinic, said she supported Planned Parenthood but did not want the clinic on Grand Avenue.

Shortcutting the environmental review was unlawful, Weiler said, adding “guards or cameras or crowd control or provide more parking spaces” were all items that needed to be analyzed.

Those testifying in opposition included members of All Souls, St. Veronica’s, St. Augustine, St. Bruno’s, and as far south as St. Gregory’s parish in San Mateo. A rabbi presented a letter in support of the clinic and an Episcopalian minister said her religion supported Planned Parenthood’s services for its outreach to the poor. Board members of Planned Parenthood and a handful of South San Francisco residents spoke in favor of the clinic, as did people from other parts of San Mateo County.

The All Souls parishioners who filed the appeal were Gomez, Vera Priego, Rolando Delgadillo and Teresita Valido.

JOURNEY: Priests’ road trip breakdown becomes voyage to touch hearts FROM PAGE 1

Patrick Parish in Portland, is pursuing higher studies. Father Ignacio Llorente is now pastor of St. Patrick. Father Federico Pinto serves as campus minister in Corvallis, home of Oregon State University. Father Maximo Stock is campus minister at Portland State University.

All are native Argentines and members of the St. John Society, a Catholic religious community founded in Argentina in the mid-1990s and dedicated to the New Evangelization, especially through campus ministry.

In the desert of northern Nevada, with temperatures soaring, the priests’ car broke down. The prognosis was bad. The auto could not be fixed quickly.

Instead of scuttling their trip, the determined priests decided to hitchhike. They said it was for the sake of adventure.

“Wearing our collars helped a bit, and most surely kept us out of trouble,” said Father Laborde, the senior priest of the group at age 38.

Over the next five days, they made the round trip and arrived at the Grand Canyon, which they found magnificent and powerful. But when all was done, it’s the stories they will remember about the 17 people who picked them up along the long journey: miners from Nevada, a Catholic priest, fallen away Catholics, Mormons, families on vacation and people going to work.

“Since you travel many miles together, you get to listen to a lot of real life stories, and we got to share profound conversations,” Father Laborde said. “Our goal was the Grand Canyon,

(CNS PHOTO/COURTESY ST. JOHN SOCIETY)

Fathers Lucas Laborde, Federico Pinto and Ignacio Llorente stand near the Great Salt Lake in Utah in late July. The three Oregon priests traveled from Portland to the Grand Canyon and were inspired by the warmth of the people they encountered on their journey while hitchhiking after their car broke down. but our adventure led us to discover also the landscape of many people’s hearts in a variety of circumstances: unexpected acts of kindness and trust, stories of suffering, experiences of faith, profound conversations, moments of prayer, possibly the beginning of more than one friendship.”

In Salt Lake City, the driver of an 18-wheeler pulled over to pick them up. His name was John and he was an Irish-American whose faith life had sputtered. But he was a thinker and hungry for spirituality. At one point, John asked the priests about Pope John Paul’s 1998 encyclical “Fides et Ratio” (“Faith and Reason”).

“How can you make sense of that?” the truck driver asked.

The surprised priests looked at each other, shrugged and started talking from their hearts. They told John that if he understands reason only from the scientific model, he will be missing a

lot of truths. They suggested that he embrace a broader concept of reason, a philosophical idea. That way, he could build a bridge with faith. John was elated. “That is so awesome!” he said as the miles ticked by. “You guys made my day.”

To the priests, it seemed surreal to be talking about papal encyclicals with a long haul truck driver, but they are men open to the Holy Spirit. Before he let them off, John shared some of his life’s difficulties and prayed with the quartet of young clergymen.

The trip confirmed the priests’ contention that the Catholic Church is “amazing.” Many local pastors extended hospitality.

Father Jose Sobarzo, pastor of St. Paul Church in Winnemucca, Nev., allowed the four strangers with big backpacks who claimed to be priests to stay in the parish hall at 10 o’clock one night. The vicar general of the Diocese

of Salt Lake City welcomed the priests and the diocese’s director of Hispanic ministry, Maria Cruz, connected them to a parish near the Grand Canyon.

There, they met Msgr. Bob Bussen, a marathon runner who carried the torch for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Msgr. Bussen suggested hikes around the canyon.

“Whenever we went to Catholic churches, we were warmly welcomed and assisted,” Father Laborde recalled.

“It was an experience of God’s providential care over us.”

At a gas station in Salt Lake City, the men met a young couple and a conversation began. The woman had fallen away from her Catholic faith and lost a 3-month-old baby. She seemed to be suffering. Suddenly, she asked Father Pinto: “Do you have a Bible?” He gave her his own as a gift. The priests then asked if she would like them to pray for her. She agreed and amid gas pumps, a Slurpee machine and candy bars for sale the priests encircled the woman and her husband, asking God to shower blessings upon them.

When the men returned to northern Nevada, the priests’ car was fixed and they headed back to Portland. The importance of the trip then became clear.

“God put along our way people who needed something from him,” Father Laborde said. “Had we continued on a traditional road trip, we wouldn’t have met all these people, we wouldn’t have shared faith stories and moments of prayer as we did. The fact of being dependent on God’s providence and on other people’s compassion allowed us to reach the hearts of many.”

ARTS & LIFE 23

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Searching beyond Darwin Noted philosopher challenges materialism’s reign in science JOHN BURGER CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The controversy Thomas Nagel set off a year ago when he published a slim volume called “Mind and Cosmos” is still echoing through the halls of academia. The question is: Was that the sound of a great career crashing to the ground we heard, or the first whacks of a sledgehammer against the Berlin Wall of materialist philosophy?

Nagel has taught for 33 years in one of the country’s most prestigious philosophy departments, at New York University. His essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat” became required reading for college students in the 1970s. In “Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False” (Oxford University Press, 2012), he argues that the materialist view of life cannot explain everything – that there must be something more to explain things like consciousness, intentionality and value.

“For a long time I have found the materialist account of how we and our fellow organisms came to exist hard to believe, including the standard version of how the evolutionary process works,” he writes. “The more details we learn about the chemical basis of life and the intricacy of the genetic code, the more unbelievable the standard historical account becomes. … It seems to me that, as it is usually presented, the current orthodoxy about the cosmic order is the product of governing assumptions that are unsupported, and that it flies in the face of common sense.”

His argument was greeted with a firestorm of controversy.

A soul longing for reassurance?

“Nagel’s soul longs for what he calls ‘reassuring’ explanations,” wrote Eric Schliesser, a blogger at New APPS: Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science. “...

Nagel closes his book with ‘the human will to believe is inexhaustible.’

Quoting Psalm 139, Alvin Plantinga is surely right to insist that if Nagel ‘followed his own arguments wherever they lead,’ Nagel would end up with (Christianized) theism. Some such religion is a useful adaptation for souls longing for reassurance.” Plantinga is a Christian who taught philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.

But although Nagel, who was born in Belgrade in 1937, is questioning a worldview that has no room for God, he is still a committed atheist. He writes in “Mind and Cosmos”: “I do not find theism any more credible than materialism as a comprehensive worldview. ...

But would an alternative secular conception be possible that acknowledged mind and all that it implies, not as the expression of divine intention but as a fundamental principle of nature along with physical law?”

In August, 11 months after the book debuted, Nagel responded to the criticism with a New York Times blog post. “Even though the theistic outlook, in some versions, is consistent with the available scientific evidence, I don’t believe it, and am drawn instead to a naturalistic, though nonmaterialist, alternative. …,” he wrote.

But he added that “even some theists might find this acceptable; since they could maintain that God is ultimately responsible for such an expanded natural order, as they believe he is for the laws of physics.”

Nagel, who declined to be interviewed for this story, continues to generate probing criticism in academia and the press.

Branded a heretic

“There is a sense in which the reaction to Nagel by other philosophers is more interesting than any positive contributions Nagel has to make on these big issues,” Notre Dame philosophy professor Alfred Freddoso said in a recent interview. “The very fact that such a prominent and respected philosopher has challenged the reigning orthodoxy, i.e., the materialist neo-Darwinian conception of nature,’ as he calls it, has made him literally a heretic in the eyes of many philosophers.”

Edward Feser, a Catholic philosopher in Los Angeles, has an in-depth look at Nagel and his critics on his blog. “As a philosopher he finds the scientism and materialist metaphysics to which most atheists are committed to be deeply problematic,” Feser wrote “and wants to try to find a middle ground position that affirms teleology or purpose in nature, avoids reductionism about consciousness and value, and yet does not lead to theism.”

Unlike the so-called “New Atheists,” Feser said in an email, Nagel is

Neo-Darwinian materialism, a modern blend of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and population genetics, is not enough to fully explain the origin of life and evolutionary history, says philosopher Thomas Nagel.

American social conservatism, which is associated with religion. …Here we are in the midst of the (culture) war, one big push will defeat them … then Nagel comes out with a book that’s seen as giving comfort,” Haldane said.

Two of the most prominent philosophers contesting Nagel are Daniel Dennett, co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, and Alex Rosenberg, professor of philosophy at Duke University.

“Over the years, Tom Nagel has made no secret of his visceral dislike of materialism and its ally, Darwinian thinking, but whereas some of

Nagel is ‘neither an ideologue nor unwilling to take seriously the views of theists. He is important because he gives the lie to the view that you have to embrace scientism and materialism on pain of irrationalism. I think that is why the response to his book by some of his fellow atheists has been so harsh.’

EDWARD FESER

Catholic philosopher “neither an ideologue nor unwilling to take seriously the views of theists. He is important because he gives the lie to the view that you have to embrace scientism and materialism on pain of irrationalism. I think that is why the response to his book by some of his fellow atheists has been so harsh.”

Nagel seemed ready for such a response. “Almost everyone in our secular culture has been browbeaten into regarding the reductive research program as sacrosanct, on the ground that anything else would not be science,” he writes in “Mind and Cosmos.”

Threat to academic orthodoxy

In the largely atheistic environment that prevails in academia, “it was exceedingly bad news when somebody from one of the most elite departments in the world, who is highly regarded as a philosopher, says anything that could give comfort to the religious,” said John Haldane, professor of philosophy at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, in an interview.

“I think it’s less driven by atheism than by a virulent hatred of what they would regard as traditional

his earlier attempts to disrupt the forward march of science into the mind were deft and imaginative – however mistaken – he is now reduced to dressing up anxious hunches as arguments that just can’t stand up to close examination,” Dennett said in an email.

“The last 400 years have given us a lot of reason to believe that the mind is the brain. That’s what makes arguments from first-person experience so interesting,” Rosenberg wrote in an email. “Start from something we know for certain – by conscious introspection, and validly derive the conclusion that physicalism is unintelligible. That was Nagel’s achievement in ‘What Is It Like to Be a Bat.’ But then, he realized that the puzzle he created has much wider ramifications. It’s not neuroscience vs. first-person access to the qualitative aspects of experience. It’s consciousness vs. all of science. Since Nagel is really confident in his penetration, he didn’t have a choice. He had to write a book in which he weighed the whole of science since Newton in the balance against his own hunch, or gut feeling, or intuition about how science will turn out, and decided that what introspection tells him is more

likely to be right than all the findings of science since about 1660.”

Andrew Ferguson, writing in the Weekly Standard, disputed the view that Nagel’s work is an attack on science.

“Nagel follows the materialist chain of reasoning all the way into the cul de sac where it inevitably winds up,” he wrote. “Nagel’s touchier critics have accused him of launching an assault on science, when really it is an assault on the nonscientific uses to which materialism has been put.”

‘Stimulated’ by intelligent design theory

Nagel says in “Mind and Cosmos” that he has been “stimulated” by arguments made by defenders of intelligent design theory. “Even though writers like Michael Behe and Stephen Meyer are motivated at least in part by their religious beliefs, the empirical arguments they offer against the likelihood that the origin of life and its evolutionary history can be fully explained by physics and chemistry are of great interest in themselves,” he writes. “Even if one is not drawn to the alternative of an explanation by the actions of a designer, the problems that these iconoclasts pose for the orthodox scientific consensus should be taken seriously.”

Nagel’s “latest provocative idea is that Darwinism almost certainly can’t account for what we know about life,” Behe, a professor of biology at Lehigh University and author of “Darwin’s Black Box,” said in an interview. “This includes both the fantastically sophisticated molecular machinery that has been discovered recently in cells, as well as the longrecognized abilities of the human mind. Instead Nagel argues that there must be something beyond the merely physical attributes of the universe to account for these. Consistent Darwinists find this heretical because they assume everything must be explained by matter and motion.”

Behe has no illusions about Nagel’s commitment to atheism. But, he says, “It’s great for Darwin skeptics like myself to have such an eminent intellect speak out.”

Will Nagel’s assault on the Berlin Wall of atheistic materialism lead to anything, long-term, in philosophy?

Catholic philosopher Feser thinks it will. “Mind and Cosmos,” he said, “will “contribute to undermining the conventional wisdom according to which there is only one side worth taking seriously in debates over mind, value, ultimate explanation, etc., namely the materialist side.”

BURGER is a Connecticut-based freelance writer and editor.

24 ARTS & LIFE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Nun’s book recounts journey from Hollywood to monastery VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The story of Dolores Hart’s life so far is fodder for a major motion picture.

But “Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows” (Ignatius Press, 2013) is also just a good read that kept me up to 2 a.m.

So interviewing Benedictine Mother Dolores Hart in the sunny kitchen of the renovated firehouse that houses Ignatius Press in a San Francisco neighborhood, with my 13-year-old son in tow, and the clatter of coffee cups in the background, was almost like talking to someone I already knew.

She speaks somewhat slowly, thoughtfully as someone who has spent most of her life in silence but also with the assurance of an actor, even though she left that career behind in 1963 when she entered the cloistered Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis.

Mother Dolores’ story is infused with faith, but also with some pretty frank descriptions – of a nun who whispered to her “why don’t you leave?” after she entered the Bethlehem, Conn., abbey at age 24, forgoing a successful acting career that included films with Elvis Presley, Anthony Quinn and Montgomery Clift as well as Myrna Loy and Maureen Stapleton.

Asked what she hopes readers will find in reading her autobiography, Mother Dolores said, “I hope they would take away a personal joy and a personal meaning –that it would have been worth their time, and give them some place to have faith.”

Looking back at 50 years of con-

templative life, including coping with a chronic nerve disease called neuropathy since 1997, Mother Dolores said, “If you have faith you can love and you can go through your life with the other problems.

Dolores Hart then as a young actress and now as Benedictine Mother Dolores Hart.

Dolores Hart plays a singer in Elvis Presley’s band in 1957’s “Loving You.” I would hope that it (the book) would be a medium of giving persons that.”

Today, the abbey is still traditional. The nuns chant the full Divine Office and the Mass daily and true to Benedictine hospitality, visitors are welcomed at the abbey’s guesthouse and grounds, which include a theater and organic farm.

A child of alcoholic parents, raised mostly by her grandparents in Chicago, Dolores became Catholic at age 10 because her grandmoth-

er sent her to Catholic school so she wouldn’t have to cross the streetcar tracks and little Dolores wanted to share in the delicious buns and hot chocolate the school children ate after Mass.

A career in movies was the realization of a dream, Mother Dolores said.

“I think it was very simple because my father was a look-alike for Clark Gable the year that ‘Gone with the Wind’ came out. A talent scout saw him and asked him if he would want to go to Hollywood,” she said. “And my mother went with him. My grandfather was a motion picture operator. I would go up with him to watch for daddy. At a very early age I determined that was what I was going to do – be an actor like daddy,” Mother Dolores said.

Her aunt married the actor Mario Lanza. “It was like the whole business was a family affair,” she said.

When she was chosen to star across from Elvis Presley in “Loving You” in 1957, Dolores’ brief college career at Marymount College ended and she signed a long-term contract with Hollywood producer Hal Wallis. “I had many friends, I was very fortunate,” she said, noting her one-time boyfriend and lifetime friend Richard DeNeut coauthored the book with her and her friend Maria’s father, Gary Cooper, always treated her as “kin.”

Quite disarmingly, she does not sugarcoat her life after she entered Regina Laudis, describing how hard it was to learn Gregorian chant in

Latin, and how tough it was to adjust to the loneliness of pre-Vatican II strictures that she was instrumental eventually in changing.

“The idea is you leave everything at the gate. You will be told what to do. That was the idea. You became a new person by abandoning everything and coming and learning how to really start from zero,” Mother Dolores said, recalling she cried herself to sleep for several years after entering the cloister.

“I had a wonderful friend, Sister Irene, she said. “She heard me every night” because the cell walls were thin as paper, she said. “Every morning she would say to me, ‘keep your courage, keep your courage.’

I would say I wasn’t that upset and she said, ‘that’s right.’”

In 1972 the mother superior asked her to fill a new position, dean of education, because she had “street smarts” and because she had written a letter years before criticizing the way the abbey treated its nuns.

“This is what Mother Dolores loves – to take on new challenges,” Benedictine Mother Abbess David Serna says in the book, noting Mother Dolores’ many projects, particularly working with young nuns.

“Don’t have a piano teacher give it all up. Have her teach music,” Mother Dolores explained. “Find what is excellent in a person. See if you can invest them in areas where they can be put to work. Find out what they love.”

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COMMUNITY 25

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Around the archdiocese

1

CALIFORNIA CHINESE CATHOLIC LIVING CAMP: The camp finished its 17th annual retreat Labor Day weekend at Vallombrosa Center, Menlo Park. For three days and four nights, 80 Chinese Catholic young adults from Northern and Southern California gathered to deepen their faith. The weekend includes five talks, worship led by guest speakers, vocational talks, praise and workshop night, Taize, adoration, confession and interactive competition games “to bring out the joy that God has given us for all of us to share to help them understand what it means to be ‘called to be holy,’” camp coordinator Jessica Li told Catholic San Francisco. The retreat was led by Father Reuben Chen from the Archdiocese of Dallas. Next year’s retreat will be held in Southern California. Visit https://cacclc.org.

to staff the truck before and after each weekend Mass. “All donations go to the county’s St. Vincent de Paul stores,” says Ann Olin, president of the Nativity conference and organizer of the event. “In turn, we provide vouchers to our clients to shop at any of those stores.” She added, “The project was so successful that we’ll have it again next year.”

1

2

4

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY: A truck loaded with donated toys, clothing and household items pulled away from the Menlo Park church on Aug. 26, following a collection drive sponsored by the parish’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference, conference member Mary Sullivan told Catholic San Francisco. In the photo, John Wallace, conference treasurer, is pictured with young parish volunteers. The project, known throughout the society as “Bundle Sunday,” involved advertising beforehand in the parish bulletin, arranging for one of the society’s trucks to be parked adjacent to the church on the weekend specified, and scheduling volunteers

2 3

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MERCY SISTER PROFESSES VOWS: Mercy Sister Renée Kettering, professes first vows, during a ceremony led by Sister Laura Reicks, president of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community in Farmington Hills, Mich., Aug. 4. Serving as witnesses are Sisters Rayleen Giannotti and Mary Kelly. In the second year of her novitiate, a year focusing on service, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native served at St. Peter School, San Francisco.

3

FATHER CHARLES PUTHOTA: The pastor of St. Veronica Church, South San Francisco, said the opening prayer at the Aug. 19 session of the California State Assembly in Sacramento. He is pictured with Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, assistant speaker pro tem and a parishioner at St. Veronica and St. Veronica School alum. “As we heed your call to lead through deep humility and selfless service, empower us to ensure that everyone can cherish your universal blessings and that no one will be left behind,” Father Puthota said in his prayer.

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26 COMMUNITY

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

OBITUARY

LOOKNG BACK

ALEX SIMENC, 91 – NOTED ORGANIST

(COURTESY ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO ARCHIVES)

1936: Bay Bridge Blessing

Alex Simenc, organist and choir director at Church of the Nativity, San Francisco, for more than 60 years, died July 23. He was 91.

For most of his tenure at the ethnic parish serving the Slovene, Croatian and Polish communities, Mr. Simenc performed for three Masses each Sunday (in English, Slovene Alex Simenc and Croatian) with different programs prepared for each one. His deep faith, dedication to the church and love of music inspired a remarkably loyal and equally dedicated group of choir members to partner with him through the years. In its heyday in the 1950s, the choir had more than over 50 members and performed

Political dignitaries took center stage Sept. 2 at the ceremonial opening of the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In contrast, Catholic prelates and political leaders joined hands for the blessing of the original bridge in 1936. Pictured are Cardinal Eugene Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII; San Francisco Archbishop John J. Mitty; Bishop Francis Spellman future cardinal and archbishop of New York;,San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi; Police Chief William Quinn.

on CBS radio as well as at numerous regional festivals.

Under Mr. Simenc’s tutelage, the choir mastered a wide repertoire of hymns and high Masses in Latin, Slovene, Croatian and English.

Mr. Simenc’s seasonal hymns and high Masses drew parishioners from all over the Bay Area and served as a common bond through the years.

Mr. Simenc was also responsible for creating one of the most beautiful and intricate Nativity scenes in the entire Bay Area. Using only natural elements, including moss gathered each year from the forest, he constructed an elaborate natural scene.

Mr. Simenc is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dora Simenc, and by five children, 17 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Services were held Aug. 2, followed by burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

St. Ignatius Church prepares for centennial year JIM GRAVES CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco is home to many beautiful churches, and among its most impressive is St. Ignatius. Located on the campus of the Jesuit University of San Francisco, its twin spires and dome built in the “Jesuit Baroque” style make it a notable feature of the San Francisco skyline. Its interior is impressive as well, with its high ceiling, magnificent arches and columns, impressive main and side altars and beautiful stained-glass windows and art, all of which has been well maintained through the years.

Italian Jesuits settled in the Pacific Northwest, said St. Ignatius’ pastor Jesuit Father Gregory Bonfiglio and made their way to California. The Jesuits first school in the area was established in Santa Clara in 1851. However, classes were already under way when the slow-moving mails brought a letter denying permission from the local bishop. Father Bonfiglio said, “Our joke is that our first settlement here was founded on an act of disobedience.”

The Jesuits then made their way to San Francisco, founding the first St. Ignatius Church on Market Street between Fourth and Fifth streets in 1855.

The current St. Ignatius is actually the fifth church constructed, at a site suggested by engineer John Pope and a design proposed by famous church architect Charles Devlin. The church was officially dedicated on Aug. 2, 1914, and is currently preparing for its 100th anniversary celebration.

Father Bonfiglio came to the church a year ago, after serving at Jesuit High School in Sacramento for 13 years. It was a change he was happy to make. He explained, “I love being a priest; I enjoy pastoral work. Working in a parish, I get to devote more time each week exclusively to being a priest.”

He continued, “Our church is built on a bluff, and is a prominent part of the skyline from many places in the city.

(PHOTO BY RICK DELVECCHIO/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Sacred Heart Chapel in St. Ignatius Church was donated primarily by the League of the Sacred Heart and consecrated in 1915. A restoration was completed in 2001.

It’s pretty remarkable. The church is a great symbol of God’s presence in San Francisco.”

While plant maintenance is a challenge with any historic building, St. Ignatius is structurally sound. Father Bonfiglio explained, “My predecessor (Father Charles Gagan, pastor 19942012) did a phenomenal job with restoration and renovation. We’re in really good shape.”

The parish roof, for example, had leaked since the parish’s opening.

Father Gagan initiated a successful capital campaign to repair it as well as attend to other desperately needed construction projects.

With the structure sound, Father Bonfiglio said the next major project is the repair and amplification of the church’s Kimball pipe organ, installed in 1926. The organ is “on its last legs,” he said, and the repair will actually mean replacement, salvaging some parts from the old organ.

Also, because of the church’s large

size, work will be done to improve the e sound system. For much of its history y, St. Ignatius was designated a university ity chapel. In 1994, it reverted to parish status, serving a relatively small geographic area taken from the boundaries ies of surrounding parishes. Today’s parishioners include local residents, toururists and those throughout the Bay Area ea with a Jesuit background or drawn by y the spirituality of the Jesuits.

Father Bonfiglio said the pastoral team is looking at programs to build community among the disparate groups of parishioners, as well as to foster spirituality. Father noted, “Our Jesuit ‘brand’ is a practical spirituality, appealing to many in the workaday ay y world. We’re currently developing spiriirritual programs to satisfy this need.”

Father noted that St. Ignatius is not the city’s only Jesuit parish; St. Agness in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is another.

While some come for the spirituality, others are drawn by the beauty of the church itself. Ray Frost, the parish h sacristan and caretaker for the past two wo decades, is still awed by St. Ignatius’ beauty. He said, “The church itself is so so well balanced, it has a coherent unity that is rare,” he said. “The main and side altars, the arches, stained-glass windows … they all fit together so well.” lll.”

His favorite aspect of the church is the Guadalupe altar, dedicated by Father Gagan in 1999. He remarked, “Father Gagan wanted that altar in place for the new millennium. It’s a beautiful work of art.”

Anyone visiting the church can be overwhelmed by its beauty, he contin-ued, but most important, “It’s a wonderful place to pray. It’s majestic and beautiful, but it also has an intimacy that believers find appealing.”

The church is planning events for its 100th anniversary celebration nextt summer. For information, visit the pararrish website or contact Fran Van Bergen en at fqvanbergen@usfca.edu or call (415) 5) 422-6645. www.stignatiussf.org

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

SATURDAY, SEPT. 14 ANTIQUE SALE: St. Peter Church, 700 Oddstad Blvd., Pacifica, antique and collectibles show, Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m., www.stpeterantiqueshow.com, Native American art and jewelry, books and prints, coins and silver, vintage toys. Dale or Charleene Smith, (415) 602-6702 or (415) 6026410, stpeterantiqueshow@gmail. com. Proceeds benefit parish.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 15 PARKING LOT SALE: St. Isabella Church and school, One Trinity Way, San Rafael, 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Reserve a space to sell new or used items or come look for treasures, bake sale and barbecue. Ginny (415) 479-5609 or Siobhan (415) 492-9445.

MONDAY, SEPT. 16 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;HOPE UNCORKEDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: Catholic Charities CYO evening of wine, music by David Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House Party band, and celebration benefiting Bay Area kids in need, 6:30 p.m., California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco. Tickets are $100/$75 for supporters 35 and under. Visit www.cccyo.org/hopeuncorked, call (415) 972.1246 or email mmontoya@ cccyo.org.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 29 ANNIVERSARY MASS: St. Matthew Church, One Notre Dame Ave. at El Camino Real, San Mateo. 10:30 a.m. with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone as principal celebrant. A parish Archbishop picnic follows Salvatore J. at noon in San Cordileone Mateoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Park. Visit www.stmatthew-parish.org/150th. (650) 343 1373, ext. 139.

FRIDAY, OCT. 4 ASSUMPTA AWARD GALA: An evening honoring retired San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, Archbishop San Francisco, George featuring fine Niederauer wines, gourmet cuisine, live classical and jazz music. Tickets $150. jcarrillo@ stmarycathedralsf.org; (415)

567-2020. The event also serves as the opening of the Cathedral Festival of Flowers, Oct. 4-6. www.cathedralflowers.org.

SUNDAY, OCT. 6 BENEFIT CONCERT: â&#x20AC;&#x153;When You Believe,â&#x20AC;? a musical production of Mercy High School, San Francisco and Mercy High School, Burlingame honoring Mercy Sisters Sister Suzanne Marguerite Toolan Buchanan and Suzanne Toolan benefiting Catherineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center, 4 p.m., Mercy High School, San Francisco Theatre, 3250 19th Ave., San Francisco. Limited parking is available on campus Sister Marguewith additional rite Buchanan parking on upper Junipero Serra. Tickets sold at door. Suggested donation is $10 for adults/$5 for children.

Refreshments will be provided.

Teresa Abney, (415) 334-7941 or tabney@mercyhs.org.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 19 STUDY GROUP: Don Bosco Study Group, 7-8:30 p.m., Sts. Peter and Paul Church auditorium. Don Boscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biography of St. Dominic Savio will be discussed. All are welcome to attend.

The group meets quarterly in preparation of the saintâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bicentenary of his birth in 2015. FrankLavin2comcast.net or (415) 310-8551.

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Ullery, chaplain, is principal celebrant of Mass at noon, Room C, St. Mary Cathedral Event Center, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco. Lunch follows. Volunteers are always welcome to assist in this ongoing tradition of more than 40 years. Joanne Borodin, (415) 2394865.

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GOLF: Capuchin Golf Tournament at Green Hills Country Club, 500 Ludeman Lane, Millbrae, registration 10 a.m., tee off for 18-hole scramble, noon. Tickets at $300 include greens fee, cart, lunch, beverages all day, tee prizes, cocktails and dinner at the club. Dinner-only tickets $50. Proceeds benefit the Capuchin Franciscans Charities and Programs of the Province. Bill Mason, (650) 906-1040; Roy Nickolai, (415) 760-6584; Chris Ronan, (650) 745-6330.

FRIDAY, OCT. 4 FIRST FRIDAY: The Contemplatives of St. Joseph offer Mass at Mater Dolorosa Church, 307 Willow Ave., South San Francisco, 7 p.m. followed by healing service and personal blessing with St. Joseph oil from Oratory of St. Joseph, Montreal.

SATURDAY, OCT. 5 PEACE MASS: St. Augustine Church, 3700 Callan Blvd., South San Francisco, 9 a.m.. Father Rene Ramoso, pastor, principal celebrant.

ANNIVERSARY DANCE: St. Matthew School Auditorium, 6-10 p.m. 910 S. El Camino Real, next to parish church, San Mateo. Tickets at $75 include dinner, dancing, cocktails, auction. www.stmatthew-parish. org/150th. (650) 343-1373, ext. 139.

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Lila Caffery, MA, CCHT San Francisco: 415.337.9474 Complimentary phone consultation

www.InnerChildHealing.com

CALENDAR 29

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

FRIDAY, OCT. 11

SATURDAY, OCT. 12

3-DAY FESTIVAL: “Surfin’ Safari,” St Gregory Church, 2715 Hacienda, San Mateo, Oct 11, 12, 13. Carnival rides, games, family bingo, food and entertainment for the whole family, Saturday night dinner of surf ‘n turf from 5-7 p.m. and Sunday pancake breakfast, 8-10:30 a.m. Friday 6-10 p.m., Saturday 2–10 p.m., Sunday 1-6 p.m. (650) 345-8506.

AFRICAN FAITH: “Blessed John Paul II Speaks to Africa” with Jesuit Father Stephen Nduati, 6:30 p.m., Pauline Books & Media, Redwood City. Discussion and social will follow presentation.

(215) 847-3662.

VOCATIONS RETREAT: Our Lady of New Clairvaux Trappist-Cistercian, Vina, invite single Catholic men age 35 and under to discern God’s further call for their lives to a “Life Discernment Weekend,” Oct. 11-13. Share in the monastic life for the weekend, pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the abbey church and share a meal with the monks. Conferences on how to listen; theology of vocation; monastic prayer and monks sharing their experience included. Rooms and meals provided in monastery guesthouse.

Abbey covers costs. www.newclairvaux.org; Brother Christopher, (530) 839-2161.

SATURDAY, OCT. 12

GOT LOVE?: What love is, the meaning of sex, and having great, fulfilling relationships: Expert Catholic speakers, Mass, powerful workshops, catered lunch, info tables, vendors, raffles, and confesMary Bielski sion available. Program most suited for high school through young adult age men and women. Registration is $30. Speakers include: Charlie Aeschliman, former Navy SEAL on “Commando Catholicism” and Spiritual Warfare”; Mary Bielski, national speaker and founder ALL4HIM, on “Exposing Lies, Unveiling Truth about Love, Sex and Relationships.” Day begins with Mass at 9 a.m. at Church of the Nativity just next door to Sobrato Pavilion, Nativity School, Oak Grove

U.N. Plaza, Seventh Street and Market, San Francisco. Celebration includes Marian hymns, recitation of the rosary and Benediction. Everyone is invited.

(415) 480-9725, info@rosaryrallysf. com, www.rosaryrallysf.com.

FRIDAY, OCT. 18

ROSARY RALLY: Rosary Rally with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone among prayer leaders, noon-2 p.m.,

3-DAY FESTIVAL: “County Fair and Fall Festival” Oct. 18, 19, 20, St. Dun-

PAINTING

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M.K. Painting Interior-Exterior Residential – Commercial Insured/Bonded – Free Estimates License# 974682

Tel: (650) 630-1835 Bill Hefferon Painting CA License 819191

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Serving the Bay Area for over 30 Years

SUNDAY, OCT. 20 YOUTH MASS: Calling all youth!

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is having a Youth Mass at 2:30 p.m. at St. Anne of the Sunset Church, 850 Judah St. at Funston, San Francisco.

San Francisco Bishop William Auxiliary Bishop J. Justice William J. Justice is principal celebrant and homilist.

Ynez Lizarraga, associate director for youth ministry and catechesis, LizarragaY@sfarchdiocese.org.

stan Parish, 1133 Broadway, Millbrae.

Carnival rides, games, food, drink, chili cook-off, pie eating contest, raffle, silent auction. Champagne brunch on Sunday: Friday 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday noon-10 p.m.; Sunday noon-8.

(650) 697-4730, secretary@saintdunstanchurch.org.

3-DAY RETREAT: Beginning Experience Weekend, Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos, for widowed, separated and divorced taking a step toward clo-

HOLLAND

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BONDED & INSURED

415-205-1235 Lic. 631209

ALL ELECTRIC SERVICE

ROOFING

650.322.9288 Service Changes Solar Installation Lighting/Power Fire Alarm/Data Green Energy

(415) 786-0121 • (650) 871-9227

415.368.8589 Lic.#942181

ICF POLENTA DINNER: Italian Catholic Federation Branch 173 polenta, sausage and chicken dinner at Our Lady of Angels Parish gym, 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame. No-host bar at 4 p.m., dinner at 5, wine for purchase with dinner, raffle prizes.

Adults $20, children $5 (14 and under). Bea, (650) 344-5276. RSVP by Oct. 16.

CONSTRUCTION

All General Carpentry Fences, Decks and Stairs

Remodels, Additions, Paint, Windows, Dryrot, Stucco

415.279.1266 Lic. #582766 415.566.8646

DINING HANDYMAN

John Spillane • Dry Rot • Senior & Parishioner Discounts

SVDP MASS: Celebration of the Vincentian Family and 200th anniversary of St. Vincent de Paul Society founder Blessed Frederic Ozanam’s birth, 3 p.m., St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is principal celebrant.

Event is sponsored by San Francisco Archdiocesan Council of St. Vincent de Paul Society.

mikecahalan@gmail.com

Bill Hefferon

eoin_lehane@yahoo.com

SUNDAY, OCT. 20

Cahalan Construction

Fully licensed • State Certified • Locally Trained • Experienced • On Call 24/7

• Retaining Walls • Stairs • Gates

AUGUSTINIAN PERSPECTIVE: Augustinian monk Walter Hilton is the focus of Paulist Father Terry Ryan’s talk 9 a.m.-noon, Old St. Mary’s Paulist Center, 614 Grant Ave. at California, San Francisco. Coffee and treats begin at 9 a.m. The workshop is free but free-will donations welcome. (415) 288-3844.

Call Jim at 415-665-5922 Lic#747569 SF Archdiocese Born & Raised

FENCES & DECKS

IRISH Eoin PAINTING Lehane Discount to CSF Readers

SATURDAY, OCT. 19

PLUMBING

Lic. #742961

Bonded & Insured

Ph. 415.515.2043 Ph. 650.508.1348

sure. Includes two- night stay, meals, materials. $260. Scholarships available. (650) 692-4337, sjbeginexp@aol. com, www.sanjosebe.com.

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT www.catholic-sf.org | CALL (415) 614-5642 EMAIL advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

HOME SERVICES

Interior-Exterior • wallpaper • hanging & removal

Avenue and Laurel Street, Menlo Park and continues until 4:30 p.m.

(650) 269-6279 or email info@gotlove.info for more information. www. gotlove.info/

650.291.4303

FOLLOW US AT twitter.com/catholic_sf.

Expert interior and exterior painting, carpentry, demolition, fence (repair, build), decks, remodeling, roof repair, gutter (clean/repair), landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, welding.

Italian American Social Club of San Francisco Lunch & Dinner, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

Weddings, Banquets, Special Occasions 25 RUSSIA AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO

www.iasf.com

415-585-8059

All Purpose Cell (415) 517-5977 (650) 757-1946 NOT A LICENSED CONTRACTOR

Visit catholic-sf.org for the latest Vatican headlines.

30 COMMUNITY

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Archbishop to join St. Matthew community in anniversary celebration Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone will join the parishioners of St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo, on Sept. 29 in a special liturgy celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the parish. The liturgy will kick off a week of sesquicentennial celebrations, including an old-fashioned picnic at San Mateo’s Central Park and a dinner/dance in the St. Matthew School auditorium.

In 1863, Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, the first archbishop of San Francisco, sent Father Denis Dempsey to San Mateo with the duty of establishing the first parish in San Mateo County. Mass was held at the first formal St. Matthew structure, a little wooden-steeple church. In 1900, to accommodate a growing congregation, a larger and more fire-resistant brick church was built. Earthquake safety issues forced St. Matthew in 1966 to erect its third and current church structure.

Until 1941 St. Matthew was the only Catholic parish in the city of San Mateo. Starting in that year and ending in 1956, the original geographical territory of the parish was carved into three additional

DID YOU KNOW? THE FIRST BAPTISM recorded in the St. Matthew Parish baptismal records is that of Hannah Burke on Sept. 10, 1863.

NUMBER OF BAPTISMS performed through 2011: 16,520 Churches of St. Matthew Parish: From left, the first church, at Third and Ellsworth avenues, built in 1863; second church, at the same location (1957); current church, at Ninth Avenue and El Camino Real (1966). (Photos courtesy St. Matthew Parish) parishes to serve the many Catholic families of San Mateo: St. Gregory Parish founded in 1941; St. Timothy Parish founded in 1954; and St. Bartholomew Parish founded in 1955.

St. Matthew continues today to be a vibrant center of Catholic life in San Mateo. The parish serves more than 2,400 families from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. In addition to the significant ministry of Catholic education performed through its school, the parish has over 40 other ministries, organiza-

n i a Sp

tions and clubs. The parish’s 10th and current pastor, Father Anthony McGuire, leads a team of four clergy and 11 lay staff members. Nine Masses are offered every Saturday and Sunday in a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin, reflective of St. Matthew’s multicultural faith community.

For more information on the sesquicentennial celebrations, visit www.stmatthew-parish.org/150th/ index.php.

FIRST WEDDING: John Gilchrist and Ellen Bradley, Jan. 24, 1864 NUMBER OF WEDDINGS through 2011: 3,338 NUMBER OF HOLY CROSS SISTERS who have taught at the parish school: 179 FAMOUS ALUMNUS: Merv Griffin, singer, radio/TV host and game-show creator and host, graduated in the class of 1938.

Catholic San Francisco invites you to join in the following pilgrimages SICILY • ROME • CENTRAL ITALY

Oct. 7-18, 2013

Departs Chicago 12-Day Pilgrimage with Most Rev. Donald J. Hying

$

3,299

only + $559 per person if paid by 6/29/13 (Base Price $3,399 + $559* per person after June 29, 2013) *Estimated Airline Taxes & Fuel Surcharges subject to increase/decrease at 30 days prior

Visit: Rome, Catania, Etna, Taormina, Syracuse, Florence, Assisi, Rome

EASTERN EUROPE • Germany • Austria • Hungary • Poland

Oct. 8-18, 2013 Departs San Francisco 11-Day Pilgrimage with Fr. Chris Colman

$

2,899 + $659

only

per person

(Base Price $2,999 + $659* per person after Oct. 19, 2012)

Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Wadowice, Krakow Wawel, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Czestochowa *Estimated Airline Taxes & Fuel Surcharges subject to increase/decrease at 30 days prior)

ITALY

FATIMA • LOURDES • SPAIN

Oct. 13-23, 2013

Nov. 12-22, 2013

Departs San Francisco with Fr. Frank Brawner

Departs San Francisco 11-Day Pilgrimage with Fr. Glenn Kohrman

$

2,899

only per person

($3,099 after July 12, 2013) Plus taxes + fuel $799.00

Visit: Lisbon, Fatima, Alba De Tormes, Avila, Segovia, Burgos Loyola, Lourdes

For a FREE brochure on these pilgrimages contact: Catholic San Francisco (415) 614-5640

$

if paid by 8/14/13 (Base Price $3,199 + $639* per person after Aug. 4, 2013)

Visit: Rome, Assisi, Cascia, Maoppello, Lanciano, San Giovanni, Monte Sant'Angelo, Bari, Naples, Mugnano del Cardinale

THE HOLY LAND

Nov. 12-22, 2013 Departs San Francisco 11-Day Pilgrimage with Fr. Mario Quejadas

only

(Registration as a Seller of Travel does not constitute approval by the State of California)

3,099 + $639

only per person

Please leave your name, mailing address and your phone number

California Registered Seller of Travel Registration Number CST-2037190-40

Basilica of St. Francis

$

2,999 + $699 per person

(Base Price $3,099 + $699* per person after Aug. 4, 2013) *Estimated Airline Taxes & Fuel Surcharges subject to increase/decrease at 30 days prior)

Visit: Tel Aviv, Netanya, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Tiberias, Upper Galilee, Bethlehem, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Bethany & Bet Shean

31

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

NEED USED CAR

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

CLASSIFIEDS

`

LOW INCOME, SENIOR VETERAN

VISIT www.catholic-sf.org

Needs a used car or small p/u truck for doctor appointments & errands Automatic, air conditioned, heater & radio, if possible

EMAIL advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

Please leave msg. at 415-824-1302

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO CALL (415) 614-5642 | FAX (415) 614-5641

Prayer to St. Jude

PUBLISH A NOVENA

Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

Cost $26

If you wish to publish a Novena in the Catholic San Francisco You may use the form below or call 415-614-5640 Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Name Address Phone MC/VISA # Exp. Select One Prayer: ❑ St. Jude Novena to SH

❑ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

❑ Prayer to St. Jude

❑ Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Please return form with check or money order for $26 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal.

You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted.

M.R.

Chimney Sweep & Inspection

$75

Expires 10/30/13

NOVENAS Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance.

Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked. Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen.

This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks.

C.G.

CHIMNEY CLEANING

Prayer to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal.

You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted.

M.R.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother.

Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

R.M.

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GERIATRIC HOME AIDE `

BOOKS

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(415) 947-9858

Support CSF

“125 Years of History, Ministry & Service” A book celebrating the story of Holy Cross Cemetery Books now available $20.00 Books may be purchased at the cemetery office or by mail.

If you wish to purchase by mail, please add $3.00 and send request to: Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 940l4

Be a part a growing ministry that connects the faithful in the 90 parishes of the archdiocese. If you would like to add your tax-deductible contribution, please mail a check, payable to Catholic San Francisco, to: Catholic San Francisco, Dept. W, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco CA 94109.

HELP WANTED

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY: MARIN LIFE LINK is looking for a female college or graduate student to act as social media director.

The role would involve leveraging social media technology to connect with girls who need assistance regarding pregnancy.

Must bring creativity, perseverance and leadership skills.

Please contact me with questions - Ayaland@hotmail.com

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC St. Denis Parish PRIMARY DUTIES The Director of Music Ministries for St. Denis Parish and Our Lady of the Wayside church will be responsible for all music associated with worship, religious education, social ministry, and evangelization in both locations. In addition, the Director of Music Ministries will be responsible for: 1. Coordinating and staffing all other liturgies with competent musicians.

2. Participating in planning the liturgies with the Parish Liturgy Committee and will be primarily responsible for the music selection of all regular and special celebrations.

3. Attending all of the masses to see the “culture” of each and seek input from those attending as to what type and style of music should be delivered 4. Coordinate all of the parish music ministries; 5. Plan, develop and administer the music budget for each church 6. Organize programs and rehearsals 7. Develop and execute a short and long range plan to be approved by the Pastor and the Finance Committee.

8. Provide scheduling for all music ministers (cantors, choirs organists) 9. Work with existing Choir to enhance the depth of the music and recruit more participants from the parish.

10. Maintain and enhance the existing music library 11. Create a performance evaluation methodology with input from the parishioners and pastor 12. Organization of choral ensembles, e.g., adult, youth, children’s, other.

Other Duties: 1. Training of instrumental groups ( brass, strings, guitar, etc.); 2. Presentation of choral programs or organ recitals; 3. Development of music education programs; 4. Use of liturgical dance, plays, and other art forms; 5. Production of recordings of music in the church.

(650) 854-5976 | www.denisparish.org

32

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | SEPTEMBER 13, 2013