6 | BDF exposes abortion fund in health care reform act ◆ 13 | Local Catholic promotes rosary for the United States of America
Serving the Church of Phoenix Volume 28, Number 5 • May 17, 2012
The
Catholic Sun www.catholicsun.org
© 2012 The Catholic Sun • 32 pages • $1.75
Bishop to ordain new priest for the diocese June 2
Catholics voice opposition to Obama’s support for same-sex marriage
By Ambria Hammel The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will ordain Dan Vanyo to the priesthood during a 10 a.m. Mass June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. The ordination will cap off years of study at the Dan Vanyo seminary as well as pastoral work, putting what he learned into action. Fr. Paul Sullivan, director of vocations for the Phoenix Diocese, said Vanyo “has had a knack for creating community life.” “We saw this in the seminary,” he said. “The ability to bring people together will be nice to see in parish life.” Vanyo, who will begin his priestly ministry at Queen of Peace in Mesa and as a high school chaplain, is looking forward to celebrating Mass, conferring the sacrament of the sick and hearing confessions. ✴
By Joyce Coronel The Catholic Sun
National and local Catholic leaders are roundly criticizing President Barack Obama’s statement of support for same-sex marriage. He made the statement May 9 during a television interview. The Catholic Church teaches that marriage by definition is meant to be the exclusive, life-long commitment between one man and one woman and that sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful. — See catholic leaders page 23 ▶ J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN
Connie White poses for a photo with her two boys, Joshua and Isaiah. White, whose parents brought her into the United States when she was 14, felt trapped in an abusive marriage because she was an undocumented immigrant.
Scars remain
Sharing the Good News
Mother rebuilds life after domestic violence
Communications part of the new evangelization
By J.D. Long-García
By Gina Keating The Catholic Sun
The Catholic Sun
A
www.catholicsun.org
Casa Grande police officer told her she needed to go to the emergency room. She brushed it off, said she was OK. She was just worried about her kids. “Ma’am,” the officers said, leading her to a mirror. She looked at herself. “I couldn’t even see my face,” she said. Her two children saw their father pummel their mother. Isaiah, still crawling, followed his mother as she exchanged blows with her husband. Joshua, a couple years older, watched from under the kitchen table. They saw their father throw their mother against the wall. When she got up from the floor, they saw
their father break their mother’s nose with the heel of his palm. “I’ll bury you in the desert one of these days,” her husband told her, according to the police report. He grabbed his cell phone and keys and left. She turned to her two children and found Isaiah’s white pajamas soaked red. She panicked, fearing she’d accidentally hit him while defending herself. But all of the blood was hers. Connie White was one of many undocumented immigrants that, because of their legal status, feel trapped in domestic violence situations. In this case, her spouse was a U.S. citizen who regularly threatened to have her deported if she spoke up.
— See scars page 16 ▶
In a world flush with instant communication via Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram, is it any wonder Pope Benedict XVI has taken to the social media sphere to share the Good News? Last year from his iPad, the Holy Father used Twitter (@news_va_ en) to announce a new Vatican website, and has since tweeted messages to thousands of faithfilled followers. The Phoenix Diocese isn’t a stranger to the tidal wave of mass — See How the good news page 15 ▶
9 MEXICO: Travel Essay
Beauty through faith amid violence
25 Media/Arts
Movie: The Avengers
Latest superhero film redeems the rest
4 Catholics Matter: Sherry Boas
Adoptive mom welcomes life