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Archbishop Gomez on
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A Parish Celebrates Sts. Cosmas and Damian When Is It Time to Retire? Can Women Be Deacons?
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CONTENTS
ST. ANTHONY Messenger
❘ SEPTEMBER 2013 ❘ VOLUME 121/NUMBER 4
ON THE COVER
COVER STORY
Lady Liberty calls out to immigrants: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
30 Immigration Reform Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez explains why changes are essential for the health of our country and Church. By Maureen Pratt
Composite by Jeanne Kortekamp, photos from Dreamstime: Statue of Liberty © Jun He, California border fence © Patrick Poendl
F E AT U R E S
D E PA R T M E N T S
16 To Everything There Is a Season
2 Dear Reader 3 From Our Readers
When is it time to retire? Let God help you decide. By Susan Pauk Erschen
6 Followers of St. Francis Brother John Kiesler, OFM
8 Reel Time
22 ‘As God Is My Witness’ The Catholic roots of Gone with the Wind By James Breig
Fruitvale Station
22
Who Do You Think You Are?
36 Cosmas and Damian: Healing Saints
12 Church in the News
Ten thousand pilgrims travel to Utica, New York, every September to honor the patron saints of physicians. Photos by Nancy L. Ford
20 Year of Faith Faith Prayed
28 Living Simply
44 I’d Like to Say: It’s Time for Women to Be Deacons St. Paul recognized a woman deacon. Why can’t we? By Phyllis Zagano
10 Channel Surfing
42 Editorial
36
Gay Marriage Is Not Going Away
54 Ask a Franciscan The Bible and Homosexuality
50 Fiction: It’s All Good
56 Book Corner
Would she find a way to weather life’s storms? By Kathleen Lindstrom
Pope Francis: Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio
58 A Catholic Mom Speaks You Rock, St. Clare!
44
60 Backstory
ST. ANTHONY M
DEAR READER
essenger
Walking the Talk
Publisher/CEO Daniel Kroger, OFM
We are rightly wary of people who talk a good game, but whose actions go in a very different direction. Saints show us integrity—whether anyone else is watching or not. Few people did that as wholeheartedly as Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853), founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVdP) in 1833. Their members live out compassion for Jesus’ “least ones”: women, children, and men who are hungry, thirsty, needing clothes, the sick, and people in prison (Mt 25:40). SVdP members address the entire range of human needs—everything that threatens the dignity of people created in God’s image and likeness. After training as a lawyer to please his father, Frédéric earned a doctorate in literature and taught that subject in Paris at the University of the Sorbonne. His time overlaps the last years of Victor Hugo’s famous novel Les Misérables. Frédéric urged SVdP members to show great respect for poor people, never patronizing them. He was a husband, father, a Secular Franciscan, and the author of a book on 13th-century Franciscan poets in Italy. He died on September 8 and was beatified in 1997 during World Youth Day in Paris. “Charity and justice go together,” said Blessed Pope John Paul II during that Mass. May our faith always lead us to works of charity and justice!
Chief Operating Officer Thomas A. Shumate, CPA
Director of Content Creation and Services Jennifer Scroggins
Editor in Chief John Feister
Art Director Jeanne Kortekamp
Franciscan Editor Pat McCloskey, OFM
Senior Editor Jack Wintz, OFM
Managing Editor Susan Hines-Brigger
Associate Editors Christopher Heffron Rachel Zawila
Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape
Director of Marketing, Sales, and Internet Barbara K. Baker
Advertising
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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 121, Number 4, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone (513) 241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices. U.S. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: St. Anthony Messenger, P.O. Box 189, Congers, NY 10920-0189. CANADA RETURN ADDRESS: c/o AIM, 7289 Torbram Rd., Mississauga, ON, Canada L4T 1G8. To subscribe, write to the above address or call (866) 543-6870. Yearly subscription price: $39.00 in the United States; $69.00 in Canada and other foreign countries. Single copy price: $3.95. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. Writer’s guidelines can be found at Franciscan Media.org. The publishers are not responsible for manuscripts or photos lost or damaged in transit. Names in fiction do not refer to living or dead persons. Member of the Catholic Press Association Published with ecclesiastical approval Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved.
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
FROM OUR READERS
Reaching Out to Both Camps The June issue featured Sister Simone Campbell. The July issue featured Mr. Bill O’Reilly. Now that is fair and balanced! This is just another reason why, as a longtime subscriber, I love St. Anthony Messenger. Deacon Thomas W. Starbuck Diocese of Des Moines
Saintly Sisters Congratulations! You have hit a home run twice in the July issue. Both “The O’Reilly Factor” by Rachel Zawila and Elizabeth Bookser Barkley’s “Angels on the Battlefield” are astonishingly relevant. O’Reilly keeps a moral compass for his large following, while Barkley’s article is a long-neglected history of the Civil War. O’Reilly is vilified constantly in all segments of the media in the United
What’s on Your Mind? Letters that are published do not necessarily represent the views of the Franciscan friars or the editors. We do not publish slander or libel. Please include your name and postal address. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. Mail Letters, St. Anthony Messenger 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 Fax 513-241-0399
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States. Moreover, with all the print and other productions of the 150th celebrations of the victory at Gettysburg, the stories of the sisters on the brutal and bloody battlefields are largely, and sadly, unknown. Even Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, which won a Pulitzer Prize, only mentions the Sisters of Charity three times in 836 pages. However, Ellen Ryan Jolly, LLD, did publish Nuns of the Battlefield in 1927. In the book she does outstanding research in outlining the unbelievable work of 21 orders of women who served the soldiers both of the North and of the South on the battlefields and in hospitals. In addition, she offered a catalog of their names and places of birth. These brave and caring sisters— and some who followed them—are deemed veterans as their government headstones read. Patricia Caroline Cruise Blue Ash, Ohio
Unfair and Unbalanced? The list of Bill O’Reilly’s role models in Rachel Zawila’s July article missed Howard Stern. Stern, not Blessed Mother Teresa, would explain O’Reilly’s on-air antics in pursuit of TV ratings. He can be sarcastic, rude, angry, intolerant, hurtful, and a distorter of facts. Yet Zawila posed no hard questions and meekly accepted O’Reilly’s quote that “the way I think today has its roots in my traditional home and in the strict Catholic schools I attended.” Zawila also bought the FOX News joke about being “fair and balanced” with the quote that O’Reilly is “still on a quest to make sure others get treated fairly.” Has the author watched The O’Reilly Factor? She might have then asked if preferential options for the poor were not in the theology and philosophy curricula at St. Brigid’s, Chaminade High School,
or Marist College, where he attended. John Maimone Hendersonville, North Carolina
God Bless Bill I was pleasantly surprised to see Bill O’Reilly on the July cover of St. Anthony Messenger. I’ve watched him on The O’Reilly Factor for many years. Even though he’s a bit brusque at times, I can always count on him to do fair and honest reporting of the world’s events. In our politically correct, secular times, it is refreshing to hear a political commentator proudly saying he’s Catholic. O’Reilly tackles important issues and usually has a spokesperson on the air to argue both sides. The United States desperately needs more news and media people who are not afraid to report the truth of what’s happening in our country and in our world. Another thing that O’Reilly should be praised for is the work he has done for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has encouraged his viewers to contribute toward providing these soldiers with Track Chairs. These $15,000 chairs have given amputees new lives! Thanks, St. Anthony Messenger, for such a great article. Keep up the good work! Margie Matovina Farmington Hills, Michigan
No Fan of O’Reilly’s I must lodge my disappointment with your publication of Rachel Zawila’s article on Bill O’Reilly. Surely this article fails to meet the minimum standards of quality and rigor of argument. While O’Reilly may be proud of his Catholic heritage and upbringing, his performance and example would prove to be the contrary. He bullies the guests on his show by askSeptember 2013 ❘ 3
ing questions and then interrupting before they can answer, and shouting over them as they try to respond. He belittles the government’s attempts to practice the corporal works of mercy under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.” O’Reilly’s exchange with Jon Stewart certainly was comic, but it was completely one-sided as Stewart (God bless him) verbally destroyed him. I won’t even mention O’Reilly’s personal behavior, but Zawila should have. Francis A. O’Connor Andover, Massachusetts
Women Should Be Treated Equally
needs to find peace. Candace M. Trejo Chicago, Illinois
Negative Reviews I’ve been astonished at the selections of films in Sister Rose Pacatte’s “Reel Time.” They often portray violence, include sexual images, and use inappropriate language. In the July issue, the film Now You See Me, which deals with magic, was reviewed and even received compliments from Sister Rose as a film that is challenging and entertaining. Hopefully we Catholics know that magic is a form of occultism. The Church warns the faithful against it. I hope and pray that future selections will promote family and Catholic values and not include offensive material. Maria Jakubowska Costa Mesa, California
Which Version Do You Prefer?
Editorial Saddens Reader I felt horrible when I read Jennifer Scroggins’ editorial in St. Anthony Messenger. She speaks of rape culture in our society today and it seems very one-sided and negative. Is there no goodness in her world? I see her point: everyone needs to be on their guards for many different reasons. I have six daughters and a son and I have talked to all of them about not being a victim in many different scenarios that may come up. I have a fear that my children may be hurt—just as every mother 4 ❘ September 2013
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Congratulations to Jennifer Scroggins for her July editorial, “Our Role in Rape Culture.” She brought to our attention a subject we seem to sweep under the table in our society and in our Church. It’s up to every Catholic woman to make all those around her aware of this ongoing problem. Forget our bishops and cardinals—they seem to have no interest in this matter. They never have. The few nuns working to right this wrong are condemned from the top. Perhaps Pope Francis will help. All of us men—including the clergy—must realize that, until women are equal in our Church, none of us can be equal. Arturo Martinez Hoboken, New Jersey
does. I say “they,” as I include my son as well. I also tell them to cross the street at the light and not to talk to strangers. Scroggins writes in her conclusion that “when a parish prohibits girls from serving on the altar during holy days or special occasions . . . that’s part of rape culture.” Our parish must be in a bubble because they allowed girls in the early 1990s to do the same as boys on the altar. We brought forward the question of girls serving and were given the go-ahead with no arguments. It is important to have a plan if something bad is happening. Sometimes talking and planning allow for the potential victim not to end up as a victim. This spreads to many different types of scenarios. Scroggins needs to see the glass as half full. When I read her editorial, I could very much feel the anger in her words, but I think she is confused as to why she is upset. She
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F O L L O W E R S O F S T. F R A N C I S
The Mission Charism
L
ike St. Francis, who constantly traveled “to preach peace, reconciliation, and the love of God to everyone,” Brother John Kiesler, OFM, sees the mission spirit alive and well in the volunteer candidates of Lay Mission-Helpers Association and the Mission Doctors Association. A member of the St. Barbara Province in California, Brother Kiesler teaches theology at the Oceanside Campus of California’s Franciscan School of Theology. Since 2000, he has also helped with the theological formation of candidates preparing for mission work through the aforementioned organizations. (Since 2010, he has also been a member of the Mission Doctors Association board of directors.) Lay Mission-Helpers and the Mission Doctors Association are sister organizations founded by Msgr. Anthony Brouwers of Los Angeles in 1955 and 1959, respectively. Both organizations seek to serve local churches in Latin America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia by sending over lay men and women and their families who are committed to living a simple life close to the poor.
Learn more about St. Anthony and share your story of how he helped you at AmericanCatholic.org/ Features/Anthony.
6 ❘ September 2013
PHOTOS FROM FOTOLIA: MEMORY STICK © ALEXANDER MARUSHIN, PURSE © ROBERT JANEVSKI
Brother John Kiesler, OFM
Prior to making the three-year commitment to live and work in some of the most underserved areas of the world, prospective missionaries participate in a four-month formation program that focuses on their spiritual, cross-cultural, and personal development. “I am always moved by the amazing sense that they are responding to a mysterious call of God to serve overseas,” says Brother Kiesler of the candidates. “They are very eager to serve but do so fully aware of the challenges and risks, as well as the blessings, of working in a foreign land.” Like the missionaries he nurtures, Brother Kiesler has committed himself to the “mission charism” that Francis considered so important. A former missionary among the Akimel O’Otham people of the Gila River Reservation in Arizona, Brother Kiesler studied missiology at the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands, where he received a doctorate in 1996. Since that time, in addition to his work with Lay Mission-Helpers and Mission Doctors Association, he has been active with the Franciscan Mission Union of the St. Barbara
STORIES FROM OUR READERS At Your Service
I like to keep my loose change in a small leather coin purse with a zipper, and the one I have has a little side pocket in which I keep a memory stick for saving and printing files. One day I couldn’t find the purse, and I realized I had truly lost it while out shopping. I went to the customer-service desk at Sam’s Club, and the lady I talked to said they had indeed found it out by the carts, but she could not locate it. I told her, “You may not understand this, but this is not the way St. Anthony usually works.” She smiled. She did locate it the next day, and I was reunited with my little possession. Thank you, St. Anthony. You always come through! —Michael John, Kansas City, Kansas
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
ST. ANTHONY
A Talent Revealed Anthony was already a priest when he became a Franciscan. In time, he found himself as chaplain for several friars in a hermitage in northern Italy. One day, he was asked on very short notice to preach at an ordination. Anthony spoke so well about Christ’s obedience that the friars assigned him to teach Scripture. Anthony later served as superior for a group of friars in France and then for three years as provincial minister in northern Italy. At the time of his death, he was writing sermon notes to help other preachers. —P.M.
COSIMO TURA/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Province in support of its missionaries. “The mission charism can be seen as a gift of the Holy Spirit, meant to enliven individual missionaries who are called to mission,” says Brother Kiesler. “The greatest benefit of mission work is that it is a response to a mysterious call by the Spirit to go out. As Christians, we know that it is only in God that we become who we are, and in so doing, learn of God’s mercy as well as our continual need for conversion. “A missionary is not a tourist, but journeys with others in their suffering and celebrations in order to witness God’s love and demonstrate our common humanity, often distorted by racism, nationalism, fear, and sexism,” Brother Kiesler continues. “[They] learn about different cultures and can be changed in how they view themselves, the Church, and the world. Finally, a missionary learns humility in allowing the people to teach him/her about God, the world, and self.” —Rachel Zawila
To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit AmericanCatholic.org/Features/Saintofday.
Visit laymissionhelpers.org and mission doctors.org for more information.
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Send all postal communication to: St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498
September 2013 ❘ 7
PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM
The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation. The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below. Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. To post your petition online, please visit stanthony.org, where you can also request to have a candle lit or a Mass offered; or you may make a donation to the Franciscans or sign up to receive a novena booklet.
REEL TIME
W I T H S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P
Fruitvale Station
PHOTO BY RON KOEBERER/THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
SISTER ROSE’S
Favorite Films about
Race
Relations The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013) The Help (2011) 42 (2013) Gran Torino (2008) Schindler’s List (1993)
8 ❘ September 2013
Michael B. Jordan is garnering critical acclaim—and Oscar buzz—for his role in Fruitvale Station. Winner of the 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, Fruitvale Station is a true story about the last day in the life of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a young, black man in Oakland, California. When Oscar wakes up on December 31, 2008, he is determined to make a change for the better in his life, hoping for something more than drugs and the general lifestyle of a good-natured slacker. He tries to get back his job at the local supermarket and, though he fails, he does a good turn for a customer. Oscar also decides to be a better father to his daughter, Tatiana (Ariana Neal), and a better boyfriend to her mother, Sophina (Melonie Diaz). At lunch, he takes some time by the sea to contemplate his life and turns down a drug deal. Oscar and Sophina decide to go with friends into San Francisco to celebrate the New Year, but his mother, Wanda (Oscarwinner Octavia Spencer), is worried. She tells him to take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), which he does, so he won’t drink and drive. On the way home, while he and his
friends are detained on the platform of Fruitvale Station after a confusing altercation on the train, a transit officer shoots and kills Oscar. Passengers record the event on their cell phones. Before the ambulance carrying Oscar’s body arrives at the hospital, the videos are all over YouTube. Fruitvale Station is writer/director Ryan Coogler’s debut, and it is a powerful exposé of racism, police brutality, and the role of social media in democracy and justice. Coogler seems to have given us a rather onesided view of events, including a more angelic version of Oscar than was probably true. And we get almost nothing about the transit officers involved in the shooting. Nevertheless, Fruitvale Station enters the canon of civil-rights cinema with a haunting story that will stay with you for a long time. Not yet rated, R ■ Language, violence, drugs.
Turbo Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is a snail who was born for speed. He wants to race with the Los Angeles garden team, but they St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
CNS PHOTO/DREAMWORKS
Ryan Reynolds lends his voice to DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo, about a garden snail with a need for speed.
The Way Way Back On the way to the shore for summer vacation, Duncan (Liam James), the 14-year-old son of Pam (Toni Collette), is sitting in the backseat of a restored vintage station wagon. They are traveling with Trent (Steve Carell) and his teen daughter. Pam and Trent are both divorced and exploring a new family relationship. But Trent is domineering and belittles Duncan on the trip. Duncan feels completely out of place at the beach, but the girl next door, Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), is kind. To get away Fr anciscanMedia.org
©WWBSP LLC
dismiss him. His own brother, Chet (voiced by Paul Giamatti), just wants him to stay home and be safe. But one day, Turbo gets doused with race-car fumes (noxious oxide) and develops super-snail speed. The driver of a taco truck, Tito (voiced by Michael Peña), sees Turbo in action and wants him to perform to attract people to the Mexican restaurant of his brother, Angelo (voiced by Luis Guzmán), and the shopping plaza that needs more business to survive. But Tito decides that the Indianapolis 500 is the place for Turbo, and off they go to race the current champion, Guy Gagné (voiced by Bill Hader), for the title. Turbo’s character is irrepressible, thus making for an enjoyable film for the whole family. It’s about perseverance, courage, hard work, brotherly love, and community. But there are negatives to the film, such as the lack of significant female characters, parental supervision for neither humans nor mollusks, and the allusion to the use of an illegal substance in sports to enhance performance. A-1, PG ■ Some mature themes.
from the oppressive Trent, who turns out to be a hypocrite, Duncan takes a bike and rides to a local water park where he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell), the would-be owner. Owen senses Duncan’s loneliness and gives him a job, much to the frustration of coworker Caitlin (Maya Rudolph), who is tired of putting up with Owen’s failure to grow up. The Way Way Back is filled with heart, gentle humor, and adolescent pathos played out among summer residents where the adults are needier than the kids. Allison Janney plays a wacky next-door neighbor who genuinely loves her children, but can’t stop embarrassing them. Rockwell—indeed the whole team at the water park—deserves an ensemble award for comedy. Summer ends too soon for Duncan, but both he and his mom have learned how much they love and need one another. The Way Way Back is one of my favorite films of 2013. Not yet rated, PG-13 ■ Some sexual content, drug references, language.
Toni Collette and Steve Carell lead an ensemble cast in the coming-ofage comedy-drama The Way Way Back.
Catholic Cl assifications A-1 A-2 A-3 L O
General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive
■
The Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings. See usccb.org/movies.
■
Find reviews by Sister Rose and others at CatholicMovieReviews.org.
September 2013 ❘ 9
CHANNEL SURFING
WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
UP CLOSE
Tuesdays, 9 p.m., TLC While I still haven’t forgiven The Learning Channel (TLC) for broadcasting some of the most puzzling and needless reality programs known to channel surfers everywhere, the network has taken a bold step toward television redemption with Who Do You Think You Are?, a fascinating, genealogy documentary series that was cancelled by NBC in 2012. TLC was wise to pick it up. Each episode invites a celebrity to climb the intricate branches of his or her family tree. Days of travel, exhaustive searches through archives and census records, and old-fashioned detective work lead these participants—and viewers—on a journey that is both enriching and highly entertaining. Kelly Clarkson, Chris O’Donnell, Zooey Deschanel, and Christina Applegate are just a few of the featured celebrities who delve into their familial histories. But it’s the very title of the show that packs a punch. Perhaps we live too intentionally in the present. How many of us know where we come from? Who we come from? Do we know the sacrifices our ancestors made so that we could live our lives? These are big questions, and finding the answers can be a holy undertaking. Who Do You Think You Are? inspires us to think beyond ourselves—and that’s a powerful thing. TLC, your stock is rising.
Today Weekdays, 7 a.m. Meredith Viera’s departure in 2011 wounded Today. Dismissing her replacement, Ann Curry, before she had a chance to find her footing sullied the morning news show’s reputation. And while the addition of the capable Savannah Guthrie was a solid move, the chemistry among the four primary hosts still hasn’t gained momentum. One advantage Today had over its competitors was how seamlessly it wove hard news with lively—even goofy—segments. And the ratings reflected that. First in its timeslot for years, it’s now languishing behind Good Morning America. The blogosphere is alive with rumors of a shuffling of its hosts. At this point, it’s worth considering.
Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan
PHOTO BY SIMON FANTHORPE/DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
BBC America, check local listings There’s a reason this freshman wildlife documentary series was granted a second season, (to air next year): it’s captivating television. Host Dominic Monaghan, best known from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is an avid adventurer who brings an insatiable curiosity and boundless enthusiasm to his hosting duties. Scouring the most remote corners of the globe, Monaghan spends each episode of this 60-minute series trying to find dangerous and mysterious creatures. Educational in its mission and quickly paced, Wild Things works because its host has an inborn fascination for all living things: even the creepy, eight-legged varieties. Somewhere, St. Francis is smiling.
Joel McHale hosts The Soup, E!’s long-running series that lampoons the worst in pop-culture news. 10 ❘ Sep tember 2013
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
PHOTO BY PETER KRAMER © NBC
Who Do You Think You Are?
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CHURCH IN THE NEWS
❘ BY RACHEL ZAWILA
World Youth Day 2013
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
Pope Francis embraces a young woman during the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. 12 ❘ September 2013
a half hour in prayer and entrusting the young people to Mary. One of the pope’s first stops after arriving in Brazil was at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida on July 24, where he held a Mass and prayed to Mary that “she may help all of us, pastors of God’s people, parents, and educators, to pass on to our young people the values that can help them build a nation and a world which are more just, united, and fraternal. “Young people are a powerful engine for the Church and for society,” the pope said. “They do not need material things alone; also and above all, they need to have held up to them those nonmaterial values which are the spiritual heart of a people, the memory of a people.” The next day Pope Francis visited a shantytown in Varginha, part of a slum area in northern Rio de Janeiro known for its violence. Walking with the crowds, kissing the young and old, the pope told them the Catholic Church is on their side. “No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world!” he said. “No amount of peace-building will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins, or excludes a part of itself.” On July 27, the pope met with 300 active and retired Brazilian cardinals and bishops to address the loss of Catholics in Brazil. “We need a Church capable of walking at people’s side, of doing more than simply listening to them, a Church which accompanies them on their journey,” he told them. The final day of World Youth Day, Pope Francis celebrated Mass with more than three million people on Copacabana Beach. He challenged
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
Bota Fe—“Put on faith”—was the antidote Pope Francis gave to more than one million World Youth Day pilgrims gathered on Brazil’s Copacabana Beach Thursday, July 25. “What can we do? Bota Fe. If we want to have real meaning and fulfillment, as you want and you deserve . . . put on faith.” The pope spoke at the event that was part of the weeklong World Youth Day celebration aimed at revitalizing young Catholics and the Church. Organizers estimated 400,000 pilgrims around the world had registered for the event, while Vatican officials estimated the crowd at one million for some events. Prior to his departure from Rome on July 22, Pope Francis met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, asking him to accompany the journey with his prayers, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). He then made an impromptu visit to Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, spending more than
Polish pilgrims in Rio de Janeiro cheer as Pope Francis announces that World Youth Day 2016 will take place in Krakow, Poland. attendees to take their faith into the world. “The life of Jesus is a life for others,” the pope said. “It is a life of service. . . . Be creative. Be audacious. Do not be afraid.” Following Mass, the pope announced that the next World Youth Day would be held in Krakow, Poland, in 2016. Krakow is the former episcopal see of Blessed John Paul II, who began World Youth Day in 1986.
UN Monitors Vatican’s Response to Sex-Abuse Allegations A United Nations committee concerned with children’s rights has requested the Holy See provide complete details about every accusation it has ever received of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, reported CNS. The Committee on the Rights of the Child published July 1 a list of St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
N E W S B R I E F S N AT I O N A L A N D I N T E R N AT I O N A L
CNS/TONY GENTILE, REUTERS
The director and deputy director of the Vatican bank, which is being investigated by a special papal commission, resigned July 1. The resignations came five days after the Vatican announced Pope Francis had established a fivemember commission to review the mission and activities of the bank. The commission, which has already begun its work, is part of the pope’s larger efforts to reform the central offices Ernst von Freyberg, interim genof the Church. eral director of the Vatican bank
CNS/MIKE STONE, REUTERS
Pope Francis is the most influential world leader on Twitter, with the highest number of retweets worldwide, according to a recent study. The pope is also Twitter’s second-most-followed leader of the world, behind President Barack Obama, boasting 7.2 million followers around the world. Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law July 17 a bill that prohibits abortions in the 20th week of pregnancy, requires abortion clinics to be certified as surgical centers, and increases regulations on doctors and abortion-inducing drugs. The legislation garnered national attention during a filibuster by Senator Wendy Davis of Fort Worth June 26, the last day of the first special session, thus killing the proposed bill. Perry then called a second special session and added abortion to the agenda. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law July 5 a bill that requires women who want an abortion to
issues it found lacking in the Holy See’s latest report on its compliance with international obligations set forth by the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Holy See is being asked to explain how it has responded to victims and perpetrators of abuse, provide details about its compensation Fr ancisca n Media .org
get an ultrasound of their unborn child. The law also requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of an abortion clinic. Mary Higgins Clark, whose 42 books have sold 100 million copies in the United States, has pledged $2 million to Jesuit-run Fordham University to create the Mary Higgins Clark chair in creative writing. A commission of seven international lay experts and one cleric was formed by Pope Francis July 19 to help in the reform of the Vatican’s administration and finances. Reporting directly to the pope, the commission will advise him on economic affairs, improving transparency, and enforcing accounting principles. The lay members are experts in economics, finance, management, and law and come from Spain, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malta, and France. The cleric will act as the commission’s secretary. The Marian shrine in Lourdes, France, received an official declaration June 20 from Bishop Giovanni Guidici of Pavia, Italy, that the 69th miracle has taken place there. Danila Castelli’s tumor allegedly disappeared on May 4, 1989, after she visited the baths in Lourdes. She reported her cure to the Lourdes Office of Medical Observations a short time later, which began the 23-year process to have the healing formally declared “prodigiousmiraculous” in character. Italy and the Vatican recently reached an agreement on sharing financial information that will help the two countries prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to a July 29 Vatican statement, the agreement establishes guidelines for “reciprocity, permitted uses of information, and confidentiality.” The Vatican has already signed agreements with Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia and the United States, and is currently pursuing agreements with more than 20 other countries. For more news, visit AmericanCatholic.org.
policy for abuse victims, and describe whether compensation was linked to requiring victims to sign confidentiality agreements. It is also being asked to detail cases when priests were transferred after being accused of abuse. In addition, the committee is requesting information on what the
Holy See has done to address discrimination between boys and girls in Catholic schools, whether it has “clearly condemned” corporal punishment of children, if it still labels children born out of wedlock as “illegitimate,” and how it is working to prevent child abandonment. The UN committee requires govSeptember 2013 ❘ 13
Pope Francis Releases First Encyclical
CNS/USCCB
Fewer than four months after being elected, Pope Francis released his first encyclical July 5. Lumen Fidei (“The Light of Faith”) celebrates the Christian faith as the guiding light of a “successful and fruitful life,” inspiring social action as well as devotion to God, reported CNS. The document completes a papal trilogy on the three theological virtues, following Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclicals Deus Caritas Est on charity and Spe Salvi on hope. Pope Benedict had almost completed a first draft of an encyclical on faith before his retirement in February 2013. Recognizing his predecessor’s work, Pope Francis wrote, “I have taken up his fine work and added a few contributions of my own.” “It is a fortunate coincidence that this text was written, so to speak, by the hands of two popes,” said Archbishop Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Notwithstanding the differences of style, sensibility, and accent, anyone who reads this encyclical will immediately note the substantial continuity of the message of Pope Francis with the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI.” According to CNS, the document clearly recalls the writings of Pope Benedict in its extensive treatment of the dialogue between faith and reason and its many citations of St. Augustine, while the warnings of the dangers of 14 ❘ September 2013
Popes John Paul II, John XXIII Declared Saints Pope Francis signed a decree July 5 that clears the way for the canonizations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII. According to Religion News Service, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession that involved Floribeth Mora Diaz, a Costa Rican who was suffering from a brain aneurysm, reportedly recovering after praying to the Polishborn pope, who reigned from 1978 to 2005. Pope Francis waived Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing the mirathe requirement for a cle needed for the canonization of Blessed John second miracle to be Paul II and has asked the world’s cardinals to vote credited to Pope John on the canonization of Blessed John XXIII, even in XXIII’s intercession. the absence of a second miracle. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi explained while discussions about the need for miracles and what can be defined as an acceptable miracle continue, the movement in the late pope’s cause does not indicate a general change in Church policy, reported CNS. “As we all know very well, John XXIII is a person beloved in the Church,” said Father Lombardi. “We are in the 50th anniversary year of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which he convoked. And I think none of us has any doubts about [his] virtues.” Pope John XXIII waived the second-miracle requirement himself in 1960 when he advanced St. Gregorio Barbarigo’s cause for sainthood. According to Father Lombardi, the canonization ceremony for both popes may be held by the end of this year.
idolatry, Gnosticism, and Pharisaism, along with a closing prayer to Mary and an entire section on the relevance of faith to earthly justice and peace, echo themes that Pope Francis has already touched on repeatedly during his pontificate. Lumen Fidei provides a good idea of what will be the main emphases of Pope Francis’ pontificate, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Commission for Promoting New Evangelization, who noted the encyclical repeatedly uses the three verbs Pope Francis used in his homily at Mass with car-
CNS FILE PHOTOS, JPII BY JOE RIMKUS JR.
ernments of countries that signed the convention to submit a comprehensive review of how the regulations are being implemented, as well as submit progress reports every five years. The Holy See is scheduled to appear before the committee in January 2014.
dinals the morning after his election: “Walk, build, confess.” “Pope Francis often reminds us that ‘all is grace,’” added Archbishop Müller. “This is the purpose of the encyclical letter Lumen Fidei. The light that comes from faith, from the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and in his Spirit, illuminates the depths of reality and helps us to recognize that reality bears within itself the indelible signs that the work of God is good.” “We need to return to the true basis of brotherhood,” Pope Francis writes in the encyclical. “Faith teaches us to see that every man and woman represents a blessing for me, that the light of God’s face shines on me through the faces of my brothers and sisters.” A St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
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To Everything There
16 ❘ Sep tember 2013
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
\ Is a Season
B Y S U S A N PA U K E R S C H E N
When is it time to retire? Let God help you decide.
I
was blessed. I worked for the Church. My coworkers were all fellow Christians. We had Mass available to us every day in the chapel. The two reference books that sat constantly on my desk were the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Who could ask for more? Then, one day, my world shifted. I began to hear a voice whispering in my heart: it’s time to retire. My family needed more of me. My son and daughter-in-law had blessed us with our first grandchild. My son was a paramedic/firefighter, and his wife was an ICU nurse. Their demanding schedules made traditional daycare options impractical. I could be of help to them. At the other end of the life spectrum, my 81year-old mother was experiencing serious health problems. I wanted to spend more time with her. My job often required me to spend nights and weekends visiting and working with parishes throughout our archdiocese, which meant I had gradually become much less involved in my own parish. I missed the good friends I had made when our children were in Catholic grade school. It was a bad economy and many people were out of work. Maybe there was someone who needed my job more than I did. Was someone praying to God for the job I held? I wondered if I was getting stale after 13 years in the same job. Did this important work of the Church deserve someone younger—a person with fresh eyes and new ideas? Modern technology seemed to be moving too fast for me. In the last few years I had been called upon to learn several new computer programs, introduce electronic giving into our Fr anciscanMedia.org
archdiocese, and maintain our stewardship website. Now, Facebook and Twitter were demanding my attention. And I was a woman who had never even learned how to program a VCR! All these reasons and more ran through my head. Yet I was still unsure.
In God I Trust Over 35 years ago, I had walked away from my career in a corporate advertising department to become a stay-at-home mom. It was a decision that I never once regretted. Was I being asked to walk away from a second career? I was the director of stewardship education in a major archdiocese. Pastors and parish leaders turned to me for advice and guidance. I was invited to make stewardship presentations at national conferences and for other dioceses. Did I want to give up the income that had allowed us to give generously and spend carelessly for many years? Did I want to make the financial sacrifices that would be necessary to reclaim more of my time? Did I want to walk away from this wonderful job? Did I want to go from a beautiful office in the headquarters of our archdiocese to being a woman in blue jeans, changing diapers and cooking meals for the sick? Doubts filled my head. What if my husband lost his job after I freely walked away from my good and secure one? How would we manage? Beautiful Scripture lessons that I had used for years to teach stewardship spoke to me. The opening words of Psalm 24 reminded me that the job I called mine really did not belong to me: “The earth is the LORD’s and all it holds, the world and those who live there.” Sep tember 2013 ❘ 17
Everything we have, everything we do, everything we are is a gift from God. We are called to hold our gifts with an open hand, ready to return them to God whenever and however God might ask for their return. Could I really hold the job I was claiming as my own in an open hand and offer it back to God? My husband told me to trust God. Trust, of course, is the cornerstone of good stewardship. I had been preaching it for years. We had to believe that the abundant God—who could feed thousands with only a few fish and
Embracing a Sacred Retirement
PHOTO © ELENATHEWISE/FOTOLIA
When it comes to retirement, everyone has different ideas, options, and realities. My dad, at the age of 84, still works three days a week because he loves the interaction with other people. It was something he greatly missed when he entered into a traditional retirement 20 years ago. Some friends I know will never be able to retire because of financial setbacks they have suffered throughout their lives. Others who want to work are being forced out of jobs as companies eliminate higher salaries or seek a younger, more techsavvy workforce. Whatever our individual retirement situation might be, the current economy seems to guarantee that, for most of us, retirement will mean a reduction in disposable income, and this could mean some sacrificing. The benefit of a good retirement is that it should allow us to make our lives more sacred by giving us more time to grow closer to God, to be with loved ones, and to serve others. To gain this sacred time, we must decide what we are willing to sacrifice. While we must have the financial resources to take care of our basic needs, we may have to give up some of our wants or expectations. Sacrificing cable stations, endless shopping, expensive phone packages, fancy trips, fine restaurants, or home redecorating are all options to consider. In his teaching about the birds of the air and the wildflowers in the field, Jesus promised that God would provide for all that we need (Mt 6:25–34). Jesus never promised us that we could have everything society would teach us to want.
18 ❘ Sep tember 2013
some bread—would always give us all we needed. In my role as director of stewardship education, I had often stood before others and passionately quoted these Gospel passages. They all sounded so right then. My husband and I had trusted in God. We tithed. We were active parishioners. These were stewardship decisions we personally found easy to make. However, I knew not every stewardship decision is an easy one. Even when we want to be good stewards, it is difficult to know what God is asking of us. Sometimes it appears that we are being asked to choose between two good options.
Looking for Signs When the US Catholic bishops issued their 1992 pastoral letter on stewardship, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, they knew we would all reach places along our stewardship journey where the decision to give more of ourselves or of our resources would be difficult. In the section “The Call to Stewardship,” they wrote, “Following Jesus is the work of a lifetime. At every step forward one is challenged to go further in accepting and loving God’s will.” Was Jesus calling me to take another stewardship step? Stewardship had taught me to seek out God’s will for my life. But now as I stood at a crossroads, I did not know what God’s will really was in this case. It did not matter what I wanted or what my husband or family wanted. What mattered was what God wanted. Did God want me to continue serving him through a ministry about which I was most passionate? Or did God want me to serve in some new and different way? I put the question to God: tell me what you want, Lord. I looked for signs everywhere. As with most signs, I interpreted them the way I felt on any particular day. If I had a frustrating day in the office, I took it as a sign that I should retire. Yet, when a letter of appreciation came from a pastor, I believed it was God’s way of telling me to continue in my work. I tested God. Before my morning prayers, I would ask God what he wanted and then open my Bible to find the answer. One day I read, “This is the way; walk in it” (Is 30:21). What does that mean? Continue to work? Retire? What are you trying to tell me, Lord? For weeks I would repeat the verse “This is the way; walk in it” each time I entered my office building. But somehow the issue didn’t St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
feel settled. I should have known I had not yet reached the decision that God wanted. I wrote in my prayer journal. However, I didn’t know if I was expressing God’s will through my written words or just writing my own excuses for what I secretly wanted.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? During the time that I struggled with my retirement decision, I learned a few things about planning to retire and staying on the job as an over-50 employee.
Like a Bolt of Lightning Finally, after endless weeks of this ongoing mental and spiritual debate, I sat in Mass one day, hearing the celebrant preach about our need to say yes to God. As I processed to Communion, I looked up at the ornate crucifix and whispered in complete frustration, “God, I would say yes, if you would just tell me what the question is!” When I returned to my desk after the noon Mass, the message light was blinking on my phone. A parish business manager, with whom I had worked closely for many years, asked me to call her. When I identified myself, she exclaimed in total frustration, “Some people just need to retire!” God obviously felt that it was time to hit me over the head with a baseball bat. I had demanded to know the question, and God responded. The parish manager quickly apologized for her outburst, explaining that she had been frustrated all morning with an elderly staff member who was not pulling her weight. She assured me she certainly did not mean me. But I knew that God meant me. God was calling me to retire. God was calling me to stop preaching stewardship and start living it in a new way. God was calling me to go back to living my life more simply. God was calling me to trust in him. God was calling me to reexamine my priorities and restore balance to my life. God was calling me to let go of the work that I loved so that someone else would have a chance to also know the joy and fulfillment I had known.
A Life on Loan Amazingly, once I reached this final decision, there was peace in my heart. There were no more doubts. There was no more looking for clues or trying to interpret Scripture to my own liking. Yes, walking away was difficult. There were tears. It was hard to see someone else sit in the desk that I had thought of as mine for so many years. But I was reminded that none of us really owns anything. Everything belongs to God. It is all gifts loaned to us only for a time. I now have the gift of being able to drop everything when my son calls and says they Fr anciscanMedia.org
Planning to retire Make sure you have the financial resources you will need. It is a good idea to try to live for a few months on just the income you will have after retirement to see how difficult that would be. If necessary, identify monthly expenses that you are willing to eliminate. For us, we were happy to give up restaurant meals and other conveniences that had become part of our lifestyle because we were both so busy with our jobs. Keep your plans private until you are sure this is what you want to do. Talking too freely about retirement dreams is a good way to find your name on a short list of employees who could be strongly encouraged to retire. Staying on the job Embrace every opportunity to learn new technology. Difficult as it might be, consider these opportunities as gifts from God. New knowledge is always beneficial. It’s important to mentor younger employees. It is surprising how much we can learn from the younger generations at the same time that we may be able to share with them some of our own wisdom and values. Consider options for reduced hours, job sharing, or part-time work. Some employers may welcome the opportunity to keep an older employee on at a reduced salary and work schedule. Other organizations are happy to hire older employees for parttime work. Going with God Whether you plan to retire, change jobs, or stay where you are, be sure to keep God in the employment decision. When we take the time every day to pray about our work, it is amazing the doors that God will open for us.
need a babysitter for my precious granddaughter. I have the gift of being able to sit for an afternoon and play games with my mom in an attempt to keep her mind from failing her. I have the gift of volunteering to bring ComClick here for more munion to the patients at a retirement resources. neighboring hospital. God is good. God gives us many gifts. Sometimes we need to know which ones to release so we have room in our hands for the new and better gifts God has waiting for us. A
tal Digi as Extr
Susan Pauk Erschen is a freelance writer specializing in stewardship, gratitude, and parish communications. This married mother of four lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Sep tember 2013 ❘ 19
YEAR OF FAITH
❘ BY JOYCE RUPP, OSM
Faith Prayed “To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this year.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Door of Faith, 9
F
20 ❘ September 2013
Thomas Merton has been called one of the most influential Catholic writers of the 20th century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has sold over one million copies and has been translated into more than 15 languages. Merton converted to the Catholic faith in 1938 and entered the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, four years later. During his time at the abbey, Merton traveled a path of selfunderstanding and became involved in a number of political issues, such as civil rights and the nuclear arms race. In his later years, he worked to promote East-West dialogue. In 1968, Merton traveled to the Far East, where he met with the Dalai Lama for numerous discussions. It was during this trip that Merton died.
Etty Hillisum, a young Jewish woman who died at Auschwitz, knew how faith and prayer intertwine. One day she knelt to pray. She had never knelt before. It was a powerful moment of surrender. Etty didn’t ask to be released from her situation. Instead, she gave herself over in faith, trusting that, whatever happened, God would be with her. I have come to see how I need this kind of faith to bond me daily with the heart of God. And I need prayer to keep me there. When I allow faith to hold me steady in prayer, I bring a richer and fuller awareness to liturgical worship. Likewise, when I allow prayer to hold me steady in faith, I experience the ups and downs of daily life with significantly greater peace. A
Be with Us Lord, each day you make your presence known to us in so many ways. Help us to be open to that presence. Help us to remember that, regardless of what happens, you are always at our side. In times of sorrow and times of joy, you wrap us in your tender, loving embrace. Let us be open to that embrace.
Joyce Rupp, a member of the Servants of Mary congregation, is an author, retreat leader, and spiritual director. Visit joycerupp.com to receive her free, monthly online newsletter. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
ILLUSTRATION BY JULIE LONNEMAN
aith and prayer. These sisters of my spiritual journey walk hand in hand. Faith draws me to prayer, and prayer reactivates my faith. One nurtures the other. My faith was birthed within a farming community who worshiped at a small parish church. Amid that congregation I was baptized, made my first Communion, and received Confirmation. It was not in church, however, that I learned to pray in a way that nourished and strengthened my religious faith. This took place in the schoolhouse next door. There, a young Franciscan sister taught me that prayer is about relationship. She encouraged her young students to “talk to Jesus, who is always with you.” I never comprehended this tremendous gift until my younger brother drowned at age 23. Amid the shock and grief of that death, I turned to my belief in a God who stays with us when life goes well and continues to be there when life goes miserably. I didn’t stop praying during that bleak-hearted time, because faith assured me of God’s compassionate closeness. Trappist monk Thomas Merton insisted prayer is often the best when “our hearts have turned to stone.” When we least feel like praying, it’s the very time to do so. That’s when faith takes us by the hand, lifts us up, and urges us to go to the One whose love strengthens and sustains us.
THOMAS MERTON
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A ‘ s God
The Catholic roots of Gone with the Wind.
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© 1947 BY LEONID SKVIRSKY/COURTESY OF THE GEORGIA BULLETIN; FRAME © NICKOLAY KHOROSHKOV/PHOTOXPRESS; BLOSSOMS © SANDRA GLIGORIJEVIC /FOTOLIA
Margaret Mitchell, the Atlanta-born author of Gone with the Wind, relied on her Catholic upbringing when she wrote the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
Is My Witness’ BY JAMES BREIG
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Fr anciscanMedia.org
PHOTO FROM PHOTOFEST © MGM/FRED PARRISH
HE ARCHDIOCESE of Atlanta now owns 50 percent of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. That’s like saying your local parish just found a Picasso in the cellar. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the Oscarwinning film it’s based on, and souvenirs such as dolls and collector dishes that carry images of Scarlett O’Hara and Tara, her plantation home—half of it all now belongs to the archdiocese, thanks to a bequest from Joseph Mitchell, one of the author’s nephews. The legacy might seem ironic at first glance. Mitchell—an Atlanta native who was raised Catholic—left the Church to become an Episcopalian. A more penetrating examination, however, uncovers deep roots in the faith she inherited from her parents, roots that twine throughout Gone with the Wind, which has sold more than 30 million copies since its 1936 debut. It is the epic story of an Irish Catholic plantation family in Georgia during and after the Civil War, particularly of Scarlett, the rebellious, eldest daughter. Bryan Giemza, who teaches American literature at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, told St. Anthony Messenger that “the key to understanding Mitchell is to remember that she was an Irish Catholic [with an] emphasis on both ‘Irish’ and ‘Catholic.’ Irish Catholics know how all-absorbing that identity can be.” In an interview for this article, Darden Pyron, author of Southern Daughter: The Life of Margaret Mitchell, concurred, saying that her Catholic upbringing sprang from “an intense Irish-Catholic background. [It was] way down deep” in her. He compared Catholics in Georgia to another outcast group. “Southern Catholics were like Jews: in the South but not of the South,” he says. “That sense of separateness is a classic definition of what makes for creativity.”
As the feisty and resourceful Scarlett O’Hara—the heroine of Mitchell’s novel—screen legend Vivien Leigh won the Academy Award as Best Actress for her performance.
Sep tember 2013 ❘ 23
Giemza, who recently published Irish Catholic Writers and the Invention of the American South, which includes a chapter on Mitchell, says that her dilemma as she grew up “was a familiar one for southern Catholics: Irish Catholics were seen as ‘unsouthern,’ so there was potentially some social pressure to downplay Catholicism, or perhaps to go the other way and to wear it plainly. Members of her family took both courses. As is often true of Irish Catholics, she might leave the Church and yet find that the Church never left her.”
Mitchell’s Faith Was No Fiction
CNS/COURTESY OF ATLANTA ARCHDIOCESE
Evidence of Mitchell’s faith is scattered throughout Gone with the Wind. For instance, an early scene in the novel tells how Scarlett’s mother, after praying for her family, would say the rosary. “Once you start looking for Catholicism in the novel,” Giemza notes, “you realize that it’s not just present—it’s a living presence. The family prayers and rosaries aren’t incidental details. Mitchell’s mother had a second cousin who entered the Sisters of Mercy at St. Vincent’s Convent in Savannah in 1883. [The cousin] became Sister Mary Melanie. It’s quite likely that she furnished the model for Melanie Hamilton,” a key character in the novel who provides a virtuous counterpoint to Scarlett’s misbehavior. To Pyron, “in some ways, the moral structure of the novel is very Catholic. It uses a negative model” of Catholicism—Scarlett—to make its
CNS/MICHAEL ALEXANDER, GEORGIA BULLETIN
Various editions of Gone with the Wind—including ones from Spain, Germany, Iran, Finland, and Vietnam—are part of a multimillion-dollar bequest made to the Archdiocese of Atlanta by Joseph Mitchell, Margaret Mitchell’s nephew.
of as being a Catholic. However, Mitchell makes it very clear that her heroine had a religious upbringing that played a role throughout her life. Notes Giemza, “Scarlett remains a reflexive Catholic—by her own admission she’s not a very good or worthy one—but one who admires faith in others and who resorts to prayer constantly throughout the novel. She has a Catholic imagination, and so she sees her mother always in terms of the Holy Mother. Scarlett prays all the time, but her prayers are uniformly devoted to her own desires.”
Mixed Reviews
points. “It has a clear kind of morality and immorality. Mitchell insisted that the real heroine was Melanie, not Scarlett.” At the heart of the novel, however, stands Scarlett, a major figure in 20th-century American fiction, but one who is not often thought 24 ❘ Sep tember 2013
When the book debuted in 1936, Catholic reaction varied. A reviewer for Commonweal magazine lauded it as a “magnificently vital novel” that offered a “panorama of evocative literary magic unequaled in American historical fiction. For Catholic readers it has a special meaning, a sorrowful one. . . . For it shows us how the O’Hara family . . . made shipwreck of its religious life.” Pro and con assessments appeared in AmerSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
(Far left) A young Margaret Mitchell is pictured with her mother, Maybelle Stephens Mitchell, and her brother, Stephens. (Left) Actor Barbara O’Neil, pictured in the center, played Ellen, mother to Scarlett (right) and Carreen (left). As opposed to her eldest daughter, Ellen was “driven by conscience,” Mitchell wrote.
PHOTOFEST/© MGM
ica, a weekly magazine published by the Jesuits. “One priest objected to the book’s use in a high school classroom,” Giemza says, “and another suggested that it might be ‘objectionable in parts.’” In response, Msgr. James H. Murphy of Ellicottville, New York, penned a letter to the editor to defend the novel. He called Ellen O’Hara, Scarlett’s mother, “the most beautiful character in the book . . . an embodiment of the valiant women of Scripture.” He lauded the novel for “conclusively prov[ing] that true religion is its own reward and, in time of calamity, man’s only solace.” In a private letter, Mitchell thanked Murphy for his defense. “Your answer made me very happy,” she wrote. “A number of times the character of Scarlett O’Hara has been attacked, and I have been accused of portraying ‘a bad woman’ who by her wickedness cast into disrepute virtuous Southern ladies.” Such criticism caused Mitchell to feel downhearted because she had “tried so hard to portray the wonderful women of the old South,” including those “stouthearted matrons who knew right from wrong” and “refused to tolerate Scarlett.” The novelist affirmed that Scarlett was someone whose misdeeds were meant to inspire the opposite behavior. Fr anciscanMedia.org
God and Miss Scarlett As far from virtue as Scarlett wanders in the book, the story is filled with moments that confirm her lingering faith. “Toward the end of the novel,” Giemza says, “when Scarlett clasps Melanie’s hand, ‘a flood of warm gratitude to God swept over her and, for the first time since her childhood, she said a humble, unselfish prayer.’ In that prayer, she recognizes how unworthy she is. She has earlier acknowledged that her sins might be the cause of her own downfalls and even ruinous to others.” Mitchell also contrasts Scarlett and her mother, Ellen, writing that the former “was driven by a conscience which, though long suppressed, could still rise up, an active Catholic conscience. ‘Confess your sins and do penance for them in sorrow and contrition,’ Ellen had told her a hundred times and . . . Ellen’s religious training came back and gripped her.” There has been endless speculation as to how much Scarlett is a reflection of Mitchell. Their common Catholic faith is one example of what they share. “Scarlett’s struggle with faith is more than skin-deep. I suspect this was the case for her author-creator, too,” Giemza says. “What Sep tember 2013 ❘ 25
CNS/COURTESY OF ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA
Margaret Mitchell s Gi
Joseph Mitchell, a nephew of author Margaret Mitchell, died in 2011. He left a multimillion-dollar bequest to the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
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FIRM FAITH LED a nephew of author Margaret Mitchell to donate half of the rights to her celebrated novel, Gone with the Wind, to the Archdiocese of Atlanta. “Joseph Mitchell, who made the bequest, was a longtime parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King,” says Deacon Steven Swope, who has taken on the task of overseeing the legacy, estimated to be worth between $16 million and $18 million. Mitchell asked that “special consideration be given to the Cathedral and to the poor, with the balance of the funds to be used for general religious purposes.” Indeed, plans are already under way to help finance the cathedral building fund and Catholic Charities. Swope, who retired recently as associate director of diaconate formation in the archdiocese, will oversee the bequest. As a longtime admirer of the book and the film, the deacon believes that elements of the author’s faith can be detected in both works. For example, he cites “the great dignity that she gave to the key black characters. Mammy [a slave] is portrayed as being wiser than her
Scarlett admired in her mother was her absolute certitude. Finding her own faith to be complicated and wavering, Mitchell, at the very least, seemed to recognize the preciousness of the gift of faith. “Understanding the Irish strain of Catholicism helps us to comprehend Margaret Mitchell,” Giemza continues. “Accounts of her life reflect her Click here for more on Gone generosity and dedication to with the Wind. charity and caring for others. In fact, she gave so much of herself over to fans of her book that her writing productivity came to an abrupt halt. Though it may be a loss to literary posterity, it says much about a certain kind of Catholic conscience.”
26 ❘ Sep tember 2013
masters. And Big Sam [another slave] exhibits great kindness and compassion. These two show love, wisdom, and compassion in the face of their persecution. That hearkens back to the model of Christ.” The reaction of Catholics in the Atlanta Archdiocese to the gift “has been one of awe and gratitude,” Swope notes. “The size of the bequest and the generosity of Joseph Mitchell are truly wonderful. The fact that the archdiocese now owns a 50-percent share in the rights to the novel is astounding.” Swope expects the archdiocese’s share of Gone with the Wind to produce between $100,000 and $200,000 annually for the next 20 years. The copyright to the novel expires in 2031. In addition to the rights to and income from Gone with the Wind, the archdiocese was given “tangible items that belonged to Margaret Mitchell,” ranging from furniture to autographed first editions of another Catholic novelist: southern writer Flannery O’Connor. “They are being held in a safe place for later display,” Swope says. The deacon calls Mitchell’s bequest “one that will continue to provide for the poor and the people of God.”
Legacy Lives On
now rests in the hands of the Catholic Church. What would the author have thought of that? “My instinct,” says Giemza, “is that, however strained her relationship to the Church might have been, she was a genuine ecumenicist. Even if she was critical of the Church, I don’t see any evidence that her distance from it was based in ill will. “On the contrary, if we look at her life and literature, she found much to admire in the faithful. I expect that Mitchell would care that the proceeds from her work reap a good harvest.” Darden Pyron, Mitchell’s biographer, agrees. “She wouldn’t be offended. From my judgment of her, she had no real ill feelings about the Church. She would probably have a very wry smile about it.” A
Three-quarters of a century after the book’s debut and 64 years since Mitchell’s death, half of the income generated by Gone with the Wind, which sells as many as 50,000 copies annually,
James Breig is a veteran writer for Catholic newspapers, magazines, and books. He now authors a syndicated media column for dozens of Catholic papers. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
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ike food and shelter, clothing is a basic human need. And though fashion designers may have Adam and Eve to thank for their booming industry, in God’s eyes, there are no favored labels, styles, or trends. As Matthew reminds us: “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (6:31–33). God, the ultimate designer, crafted each one of us based on the supreme model: himself. Remember that, and you’ll always be in fashion, regardless of what you wear. Here are some ways you can give back while still being fashion-forward.
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The clothes don’t make the man. It’s the man that makes the clothes. —Theophilus London
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One man’s trash
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In and out
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Savvy shopper
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Hidden gems
We all have those pieces of clothing, accessories, and pairs of shoes we bought and never wore, no longer fit into, or just don’t like anymore, yet we can’t seem to remove them from our closets. Gather all these items and your friends together and have a swap party. That purse you’ve grown tired of may be just the style your friend has been looking for. Donate the leftover items to charity, so even more people have the opportunity to find treasures in your trash.
This is a simple rule to follow: before you add any new item to your wardrobe, you must first remove an old item. Be sure to make space in your closet before you go shopping. If you find yourself unable to part with that old pair of shoes, then it might be a sign you don’t need to go shoe shopping in the first place
You’d be surprised how many designer duds are donated to your local thrift stores. Shop at stores such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent de Paul, and you may not only come away with a value find, but in the process, you’ll help fund programs in your community that support those in need.
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Before pulling out any cash or credit card, consider the social, economic, and environmental effects the clothing you want to purchase has on the earth. Visit websites like FairTradeUSA.org, GoodGuide.com, and EthicalCon sumer.org to learn which clothing companies are ranked as quality product providers, and stick to those brands on your shopping sprees.
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Think in threes Take Project 333’s (theproject333.com) challenge and put yourself on a clothing spending freeze for three months. Choose 33 items of clothing from your closet (not including workout clothes, pajamas, or in-home loungewear) to last you three months. Once you see how easy it is to survive on less, that next shopping spree might not seem so appealing. September 2013 ❘ 29
Immigration Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez explains why changes are essential for the health of our country and Church.
(Above) Archbishop José H. Gomez speaks to the media, outside the White House, after a March 8 meeting of religious leaders with President Obama to discuss the need for immigration reform.
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“
e first minister to the migrant as a human person, as our brother or sister in Christ.” Fresh from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) spring 2013 meeting in San Diego, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez spoke with St. Anthony Messenger about immigration and the role of the Catholic Church in the United States. Archbishop Gomez, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration, is one of the leading voices in the Church to speak and write about immigration, its effect on the
Church as well as the United States, and the need for comprehensive immigration reform. At the time of the interview, immigration reform legislation had survived contentious passage in the Senate, then faced a difficult, uncertain fight in the House of Representatives. As the bill entered the Senate, Gomez called it “the most comprehensive change in our immigration laws in 30 years.” As debate centered on secular issues has heated up, Archbishop Gomez and other Church leaders have framed their discussion of a path to legalization and citizenship, family unification, and other issues within a context of faith, justice, and American character and history, which, from its founding, was built by immigrants and inspired by belief in God. “For me, our national debate about immigration is a great struggle for the American spirit and the American soul,” he wrote in The Tidings, the newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
God and Country This faith-centric framing of the immigration discussion might seem at odds with the other secular voices that focus on economics, social engineering, and politics. But looking through the prism of Catholic values helps illuminate an understanding of America’s past, present, and future. A Catholic perspective looks at the history and future of the Church in America. In both ways, it shows the immediate need for comprehensive immigration reform,
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B Y M A U R E E N P R AT T
Reform
US companies encourage immigrants to come as cheap labor; our government responds with workplace raids. Families, such as 4-year-old Nelson José’s—here at a rally for justice—are caught in the middle. Fr anciscanMedia.org
Sep tember 2013 ❘ 31
CNS PHOTO/PAULA GOLDAPP, SOUTH TEXAS CATHOLIC
(Left) Father Piotr Koziel, pastor of St. Gertrude Parish in Kingsville, Texas, blesses the graves of unidentified undocumented immigrants who died nearby, after crossing the US-Mexico border. (Below) We all are brothers and sisters in Christ. Mass at Los Angeles’ Our Lady of the Angels cathedral is a living sign of how diverse we Catholics are.
CNS PHOTO BY VICTOR ALEMAN, VIDA NUEVA
especially regarding the 11.1 million current immigrants who are living here illegally. In a statement issued during the spring 2013 meeting of the USCCB, Archbishop Gomez said, “The Catholic Church in America has an important stake in the outcome of this [immigration reform] debate because we are an immigrant Church and have grown with the country for over 200 years. “Each day in our parishes, social service 32 ❘ Sep tember 2013
programs, hospitals, and schools, we witness the human consequence of a broken immigration system. Families are separated, migrant workers are exploited, and our fellow human beings die in the desert. Without positive change to our immigration laws, we cannot help our brothers and sisters. Simply put, the status quo is morally unacceptable. This suffering must end.” Archbishop Gomez is himself a United States St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
Naturalization Then and Now The US Catholic bishops, at USCCB.org, have presented a number of resources to inform the public about immigration reform. On a page in the “Issues and Actions” section, they provide background on naturalization: “Many understandably ask why these millions of unauCNS PHOTO/BRENDAN MCDERMID, REUTERS
thorized immigrants did not seek to come to the United States lawfully. Some argue that if their ancestors could do it, so should the unauthorized immigrants in our country today. “Many of our ancestors didn’t actually come here through federal ‘legal’ channels—there weren’t restrictive federal immigration laws in place at the time.” —USCCB, “Why Don’t They Come Here Legally?”
Newcomers take their Oath of Allegiance at a New York courthouse. citizen and an immigrant, the son of a physician father from Monterrey, Mexico, and a mother who was raised in San Antonio, Texas. He can trace some of his ancestry back to 1805, when what is now the state of Texas was under Spanish rule. As he spoke with St. Anthony Messenger, responding calmly and clearly to some “hot-button” questions about the Church’s involvement in the issue, he also discussed the deep personal and pastoral experiences that provide for him a unique context.
Welcoming the Immigrants With no legal status, and other obstacles, why come? The way across the border can be perilous, the lack of English language ability daunting at best. Archbishop Gomez tells St. Anthony Messenger the simple truth: “Most of the people who come from Latin America are looking for a job. They come to improve their lives, the way that immigrants came in the past.” Indeed, many Americans today can trace their roots back to other poor but hopeful people fleeing poverty and oppression, including religious persecution, in search of a better life. For them, lack of education and little or no ability to speak English were also stumbling blocks. But for them, too, determination and, often, faith provided fuel to succeed. As the United States has welcomed immigrants and benefited from their work, so has the Catholic Church. Many of today’s American Catholics can point to contributions made by their forebears in church buildings, schools, hospitals, and programs, as well as the positive Fr anciscanMedia.org
impact stemming from Catholic values active in society. This tradition has continued with the latest and largest wave of immigrants, most of whom have come from Latin America, especially Mexico, and the majority of whom are Catholic. Their large numbers have rejuvenated many parishes throughout the country and increased the overall number of Catholics in the United States. “They have a deep faith in God,” Archbishop Gomez explains. “They have Catholic values. They come here to work, which is an important value. They have a great sense of community, too. Their lives are based on community.”
Assimilating Lives Welcoming recent arrivals has long been a concern of the Church. So, too, is helping immigrants sustain and nurture their faith and encouraging them to learn skills to better assimilate and improve their lives and those of Click here for more on their loved ones, as well as their immigration and the communities. Church. Immigrants have been “a constant concern for the bishops of the United States,” explains Gomez, and there has been a strong effort to develop Hispanic ministries throughout the United States, as parishes have expanded with their numbers. At the 2013 spring bishops’ meeting, says Archbishop Gomez, there was a “decided call for the faith and spiritual support for the immigrants,” as well as helping them to “learn En-
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Hispanic Catholics in the US In the mid-to-late 20th century, immigration to the United States shifted demographically from predominantly European countries to Latin American—especially Mexican—and Asian and African peoples. The growth of the Catholic Church in the United States correlates with this shift; of the estimated 77.7 million Catholics, approximately 39 percent are Hispanic. Of these, 64 percent self-identify as Catholics who attend church services regularly. More than 50 percent of Catholics in the United States aged 25 or younger are Hispanic. Pew by pew, parish by parish, the Church has been and continues to be intricately intertwined in very personal ways among those who
glish and really become active members of our society.” The archbishop is involved with other efforts, including the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL), which, among its activities, reaches out to Latino professionals in the United States. “We have a large number of them,” he tells St. Anthony Messenger. “The challenge for these young professionals is for them to continue to practice their faith. We help them to know that the Church is a family. They can continue to practice their faith and also participate in public life.”
established roots in the United States generations ago and those who are recently arrived and are just embarking on their American journey.
Catholics in the United States Nearly 2/3 of Hispanic Catholic immigrants attend church services regularly
39% Hispanic
Catholics in the United States Aged 25 or Younger
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“We want legal immigration,” Archbishop Gomez emphasizes in our interview. But, for the estimated 11.1 million people currently living in the United States illegally, there has been no line to stand in to become legal, as there has for others, such as students or those with specific professional, artistic, or athletic skills, for example. Extreme poverty and other conditions propelled them to come to the United States, and they did so without authorization. Once here, a combination of factors, including lack of legal status, limitations with English proficiency, and low skills, opened them up to exploitation and abuse, and created an underclass of people that some have referred to as “living in the shadows.” “Most of them came here to feed their families,” says Archbishop Gomez. “If you have education and qualifications, it’s not as difficult to get a work visa. But if you come here for menial jobs, it makes it very difficult to get a work visa. Those are the people who are more vulnerable and poor. Our first concern is for them.” Welcoming the stranger, caring for the neediest in our midst, and showing respect for the dignity of each person are manifestations of Catholic faith in action. These values echo throughout Church leaders’ discussions of immigration issues, especially in questions Archbishop Gomez posed at a press conference at the June USCCB meeting. “Do we want a country with a permanent underclass, without the same rights as the majority? Do we want to continue to separate children from parents, creating a generation of young US citizens who are suspicious and fearful of their government? Do we want a nation that accepts the toil and taxes of undocumented workers without offering them St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
WOMAN: CNS/VICTOR ALEMAN, VIDA NUEVA; GIRL: CNS/NANCY WIECHEC
50+% Hispanic
Feeding Families
What About the Border?
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the protection of the law?” said Gomez. Then he provided an answer on behalf of the Catholic Church: “The answer to these questions, of course, is a resounding no.” Some weeks later, during our own interview, Archbishop Gomez returns to the Church’s role. “We are not the ones to make the decisions,” he concedes. “But we can help our government face this issue. And we can pray, through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for our government officials to find a solution.” Then he pauses and reflects on our immiFr anciscanMedia.org
CNS PHOTO/JOSEPH KOLB
OST, AMONG THE WAVES of Irish, Italian, German, and other immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, came to the United States by sea. They disembarked and were processed at one of several ports. Their countries of origin were far away, and it was less easy to maintain constant contact with family and friends left behind. The majority of today’s wave of immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America came from across the southern US border. That’s why familial and cultural ties can not only seem but actually be more immediate. The Church recognizes that the United States has the right to secure its border. And, Archbishop Gomez tells St. Anthony Messenger, there are good reasons for this: “No doubt, there is drug trafficking and violence and there is a need for vigilance. Given the reality of the world in which we live, it is important that the US have some control of the border.” But there are personal and human nuances that bring better understanding to some of the issue’s sensitivity. “I have relatives on both sides of the border,” Archbishop Gomez explains, “so for my whole life I’ve seen the relationship between both countries, especially in the border cities, and how the border doesn’t separate people from cultural and community points of view. It is important to have immigration reform that reflects the relationship between these two countries.” Besides physical means, other reforms could improve border security, too, and help lessen the number of people for whom a perilous journey northward through harsh deserts ends in death. “We have economic treaties with other countries, through NAFTA (North American Free Trade Alliance), for example,” says Gomez. “In my view, just having a realistic work visa
“Families are separated” by a “broken immigration system,” says Archbishop Gomez. “This suffering must end.” situation would help to protect the border. People who come here would be legal, have work permits, and be known by our government.” In addition, addressing the root causes of poverty and other conditions that compel people to leave their home countries to provide for their families would also lessen the strain at the border. Another concern related to personal ties and the border is the separation of families. The bishops have continued to call for reform that includes reunification of families separated by the realities of the current immigration system. Writes Gomez, “Family unity, based on the union of a husband and a wife and their children, must remain the cornerstone of our nation’s immigration system.” But with different cultures, family can mean different things. What constitutes family? Archbishop Gomez laughs softly. “That’s a good question. It would be ideal to have a more open view of the importance of community and family. But the priority is immediate family.”
grant sisters and brothers. “This country is becoming the reality of their dreams,” says Archbishop Gomez, the words coming quickly, almost eagerly. “They love this country.” Then his voice gathers strength. “We love this country.” A Maureen Pratt writes the syndicated column “Living Well” for Catholic News Service and is the author of six books, including Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness. Her website is maureenpratt.com. Archbishop José Gomez’s book is Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation (Our Sunday Visitor). Sep tember 2013 ❘ 35
COSMAS AND DAMIAN
Healing Saints (Right) 2012 was the centennial celebration of St. Anthony & St. Agnes Parish’s Sts. Cosmas and Damian Festival. Held each year on the last weekend in September, the festival features several bands playing traditional Italian songs. (Opposite page) Following several Sunday morning Masses offered in English and Italian, the Grand Procession is held through the streets of Utica, New York. Many participants, especially the young, dress as the healing saints.
Ten thousand pilgrims travel to Utica, New York, every September to honor the patron saints of physicians. PHOTOS BY NANCY L. FORD
K
nown for their miracles of healing, Sts. Cosmas and Damian have been venerated for centuries by those seeking health and tranquillity. While little is known about the “healing saints,” according to legend, Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers and skilled physicians from Syria who practiced in Cilicia (what is modern-day Turkey) in the third century. Lauded as the “moneyless ones” because they refused to accept payment for their services, they became widely known and respected for their integrity as faithful Christians. Their public proclamations of faith made them a target of Emperor Diocletian’s great persecution of Christians. The governor of Cilicia, Lysias, ordered the brothers tortured and beheaded sometime around 287. Today,
36 ❘ Sep tember 2013
the Church honors these martyrs on September 26 and recognizes them as the patron saints of many medical groups, including surgeons, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists. Here, we follow one parish’s long-standing tradition to honor Sts. Cosmas and Damian. Since 1912, St. Anthony & St. Agnes Parish in Utica, New York, has dedicated an annual feast to the saints, drawing more than 10,000 devotees from around the United States and Canada to take part in the festival full of special Masses and traditional Italian food and music. A Nancy L. Ford is a photographer based in Utica, New York. Her work has been published in numerous commercial and trade publications. Text for this story was written by Associate Editor Rachel Zawila. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
(Right) As they march, the crowd carries statues of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, along with the Blessed Mother and St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and chants hymns and prayers in English and Italian. (Below) Devotees continue a European custom, attaching money and mementos to the statues in thanks for favors received, and in prayer for continued good health.
38 â?˜ Sep tember 2013
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
(Left) Some festivalgoers have been making the annual pilgrimage to Utica for decades. The parish staff reports calls from pilgrims who have been cured of illness or disease after praying to Sts. Cosmas and Damian. (Far left) Many of the saints’ faithful followers come to the festival to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional healing.
Fr anciscanMedia.org
Sep tember 2013 â?˜ 39
(Right) Devotion to Sts. Cosmas and Damian began at the parish in 1912 by Italian immigrants. Many of the more than 10,000 festival participants have an Italian heritage. (Below) After the Grand Procession, attendees take part in a blessing of the sick. Like the saints they venerate, they show unwavering faith, even in times of suffering.
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40 â?˜ Sep tember 2013
(Right) After the blessing, pilgrims enjoy traditional Italian dancing and delicacies. The festival fosters a sense of spirituality and camaraderie among all who attend.
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EDITORIAL
Gay Marriage Is Not Going Away As states begin to lift bans on gay marriage, just how should Catholics respond? Many Catholics were taken aback when the US Supreme Court, in June of this year, struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, speaking on behalf of US Catholics, called it “a tragic day for marriage and our nation.” Plenty of Catholics readily accepted the cardinal’s hard-line assertion. Yet some Catholics were left scratching their heads, wondering how the Church could, at the same time, accept homosexuality as a Godgiven reality, yet deny homosexual persons the privilege of marriage. Is legalizing gay marriage society chipping away at Christian morality? Or is this a civilrights issue, an overdue recognition of the rights of gay people? Let’s take a closer look.
What Is DOMA, Anyway? The issue of homosexual rights, including the right to marry, has been gaining ground since the 1980s, with strong opposition from those who assess gay marriage as a threat to marriage itself. In the mid-1990s, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which stated clearly that marriage is “the union of one man and one woman.” The new law, DOMA, effectively restricted gay couples (many of whom have lived together, legal or not) from receiving a broad range of federal benefits contingent upon marital status: federally regulated health insurance, Social Security, Family and Medical Leave Act, exemption from federal taxes in the event of death, veterans’ pensions— the list of social benefits to married couples is long. These DOMA restrictions were just, say Catholic leaders. After all, the Church teaches, from Scripture, that marriage, the union of a woman and a man, reflects God’s plan for humanity. It is the foundation of 42 ❘ September 2013
Church and society. Through marriage children are born and, ideally, under the tutelage of loving parents, grow to become the future for Church and society. When the US Supreme Court struck down DOMA this summer, it meant the federal government now would recognize couples as married in states where gay marriage is legal. The bishops, beaten, noted that the arena has now become state legislatures, one at a time. Already 13 states have legalized gay marriage; 29 have banned it.
What’s a Catholic to Do? I have family, including a gay, married couple, on all sides of this issue. Population statistics, and letters to “Ask a Franciscan,” tell me that a lot of St. Anthony Messenger readers have loved ones with gay partners, too. My wife and I have known a lot of married couples, ourselves included, who feel that society is denigrating We want fully to marriage, in all manner of ways, and making it harder respect gay people. Yet for us to pass along our we are compelled to Catholic moral values to defend the Sacrament our children. Yet we’ve known gay of Marriage. couples who could teach us heterosexual couples a thing or two about taking care of each other, and our families. All of this leaves us conflicted. We want fully to respect gay people (as our Church instructs). Yet we need to—we are compelled to—defend the Sacrament of Marriage as the union of a woman and a man with hopes of raising children. Our own Pope Francis might be showing us a way through the moral and legal thicket. In Argentina in 2010, he adamantly opposed gay-marriage legislation. But he ultimately accepted a compromise in favor of civil unions that would allow for civil rights, yet not be considered marriages. Mightn’t we find a similar way to compromise within our own civil system? —John Feister St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
Lily of the Mohawks The Story of St. Kateri
Thirsting for God Daily Meditations
Emily Cavins Foreword by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. Even before Kateri Tekakwitha’s canonization on October 21, 2012, many had been inspired by the story of the young Native American mystic who lived in the Mohawk Valley during the seventeenth century. With Emily Cavins’ skill for weaving together historical facts and a compelling story, readers will discover Kateri’s path to sainthood against the backdrop of her life as a Native American in New York.
Mother Teresa Edited by Angelo D. Scolozzi, M.C.III.O.
Mother Teresa is known for her radiant smile and the joy of Christ that she brought to all she met, even in the most challenging circumstances. These daily stories and meditations in her own words point to the secret of living in that joy: simplicity, humble surrender to Jesus, thankfulness, and, above all, a heart filled with God’s love. These keys will unlock the gift of joy in every thirsting heart.
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The Miraculous Medal
Joseph, the Man Who Raised Jesus
Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle More than twenty years ago, Mother Teresa gave Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle her first Miraculous Medal, and she has never taken it off. To date, Donna-Marie has given away thousands of Miraculous Medals. But what is the Miraculous Medal—and why is it considered miraculous? Where did it come from? And why is it important for us today?
Fr. Gary Caster
You’ll learn the answers to these questions, and you’ll also discover: • The origin and history of the Miraculous Medal • How the medal got its name • The story of St. Catherine Labouré
Who was St. Joseph? Was he just a passive, incidental figure in the drama of salvation? On the contrary, in every way that Jesus needed a father, St. Joseph was there for him. And how overwhelming it must have been for Joseph to be asked to stand in the Father’s place! No man has ever been asked to do so in such an unthinkable way. Caster’s book provides a unique, in-depth presentation of Joseph from the perspective of the evangelical counsels and the theological and cardinal virtues. Each section explains one of these counsels or virtues and then shows how Joseph models them for us.
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ICON BY SUZANNE SCHLECK
It’s Time for Women to Be Deacons
44 ❘ Sep tember 2013
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
St. Paul recognized a woman deacon. Why can’t we? BY PHYLLIS ZAGANO
HERE ARE NEARLY 40,000 men ordained to serve permanently as deacons. When Pope Paul VI rejuvenated the order of deacons, he asked the obvious—or not so obvious—question: What about women deacons? Because there is no modern ruling on ordaining women as deacons, the question continues to circle the globe. The question of restoring women to the diaconate is attracting serious scholarly and internal Church discussion. The International Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith presented a study document about 10 years ago that said resolving the question was up to the “ministry of discernment” in the Church. The Chicago Tribune reported last year that Cardinal Francis George met with a pastor and his parishioners who have a woman candidate for the diaconate.
T
Scripture and the Diaconate The bedrock of Scripture provides primary evidence for any ordained ministry. As the early Church grew and spread, eventually becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine, the people of God divided Church responsibilities and tasks. Some took leadership roles as overseers, some supported the overseers, and others represented the overseers in liturgical assemblies. Now, the overseers came to be called bishops; their assistants, deacons; and, later, those who represented them, priests. In the Church today we well understand the role of bishops and priests, and we are increasingly learning more and more about the diaconate, including the fact that women were once included in it. There is only one person in all of Scripture, Phoebe of Cenchreae, who is actually called diakonos—“deacon.” She appears in Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may Fr anciscanMedia.org
require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well” (16:1–2, NSRV). Early commentary recognizes Phoebe’s role in the early Church. Origen (c. 184–253) wrote: “This passage teaches by apostolic authority that women are also appointed in the ministry of the church.” Many others, including St. John Chrysostom (347–407) and Theodoret of Cyrrhus (c. 393–457), as well as the anonymous Ambrosiaster and Pelagius, writing in the West in the fourth and fifth centuries, each recognized Phoebe as a deacon. Paul points to women serving as deacons in another Scripture text: “Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things” (1 Tim 3:8–11). Here, according to St. John Chrysostom— along with St. Clement of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Pelagius—Paul is speaking about women deacons. Even Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia (Turkey) between 392 and 428, agreed with John Chrysostom. But not everybody was happy about women deacons. Ambrosiaster was so strongly against them he said only heretics would believe it meant women deacons. Then, as now, arguments abounded. Some local councils forbade women as deacons, even while some bishops allowed them. The fact that local councils forbade women deacons gives us a very good understanding of the fact that women were indeed living and serving as deacons in various places in Christendom. As the Church grew, eventually clearly splitting between the generally Greek-speaking East and the generally Latin-speaking West, the tradition of women as deacons began to fade away. Some bishops—mostly in the East, but many in the West as well—continued to
(Opposite left) Catholic women deacons are named repeatedly in ancient documents. St. Phoebe of Cenchreae, (feast September 3), mentioned in Letter to the Romans, is illustrated here in iconographic form.
Sep tember 2013 ❘ 45
have women ordained as deacons, mostly serving in monasteries of women.
Called to Witness
Sacramental Ordination? The fact that these women and many others were called deacons (or sometimes deaconesses) may not necessarily mean they were ordained as we understand the term today. While both the East and the West have longstanding records of ceremonies for the 46 ❘ Sep tember 2013
PHOTO BY NATALIE BATTAGLIA
So, what about the women who were deacons? The second-century Didascalia Apostolorum records that the bishop is to “choose and appoint as deacons: a man for the performance of most things that are required, but a woman for the ministry of women.” Most everyone agrees that women deacons assisted at Baptisms (including anointing), instructed the newly baptized, and visited the sick. The specific admonition was, “Let a woman be devoted to the ministry of women, and a male deacon to the ministry of men.” Another part of the woman deacon’s job description was, “She is the servant of the bishop and no woman may have communication with him except through her.” There were many women in the diaconate, and both Christian and nonChristian writers wrote about them. One famous woman who we know was ordained a deacon in the West was Queen Radegund, who left her king in the middle of the sixth century and demanded to be ordained a deacon by a French bishop. The bishop did just that, and Radegund went on to found a monastery of women. There is undeniable evidence left on the tombstones of other women known in their communities as deacons. Among them, Sophia of Jerusalem is called a “second Phoebe” on her fourth-century tombstone, and Athanasia is called a deacon on her fifth-century tombstone in Delphi, Greece. Others include Anna, buried in Rome; Theodora in Gaul; and Ausonia in Dalmatia, all in the sixth century. And I could go on with literary evidence—there is plenty.
Lynne D. Mapes-Riordan, of St. Nicholas parish in Evanston, Illinois (above), is mom first, then attorney. She has inquired about ordination to the Archdiocese of Chicago. For her, and women in many dioceses, the issue is about service and fullness of the Church’s mission. making of a woman deacon, academic arguments stretching to the present question whether women ever really received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Why? Well, to some, having women ordained as deacons introduces the prospect of women ordained as priests. However, the Church states that it does not have the authority (understood to have come from Christ) to ordain women as priests. So ordaining women as deacons—especially permanently— would have no impact on the teaching that women cannot be ordained as priests. Digging into history to forestall women as deacons, as some might, brings interesting surprises. For exam-
ple, the eighth-century liturgical book of Bishop Egbert of York includes a ritual for ordaining a woman—in the West—as deacon. In fact, Egbert’s ritual book says the same prayer can be used for either a male or a female deacon. In the next century, the Gregorian ritual repeats the same prayer for either male or female deacons. Only by the 10th century does the RomanoGermanic Pontifical have separate ordination prayers for each, and by the 13th century the oft-repeated prayers for women deacons are dropped from Western liturgical books, though the prayers remained in the East. Whether the books dropped the prayers because they were no longer St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
used, or the prayers were no longer used because of a change in the way ordination was viewed, is for historians and theologians to battle out. There are opposing conclusions. Throughout Christian history, the Orthodox Churches, for the most part, retained monastic women deacons. In some places, individual priests and bishops sought to create orders of them for social services outside the monastic setting. In 2004 the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in Greece voted to restore at least monastic women as deacons and recorded serious discussion about women providing diaconal service to assist the larger Church. Also, today there are women serving as deacons in the Armenian Apostolic Church, which requires a deacon as an absolute necessity for the celebration of Eucharist to instruct the faithful, to assist the celebrant, and to read the Gospel.
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The Diaconate Returns— with Questions In the Roman Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council, 50 years ago, began to talk about deacons—male and female. The Council Fathers called for the diaconate, a “proper and permanent order” distinct from the priesthood, specifically described in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church: “At a lower level of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed ‘not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service.’ For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God” (29). Council discussions of the diaconate included bishops who rose to suggest including women. Both a Peruvian Franciscan bishop and an Italian bishop suggested women as deacons. While Vatican II did not restore women to the diaconate, it did serve as catalyst for the rejuvenation of the order. When Paul VI issued his apostolic letter Ad pascendum in 1972, he reportedly asked about the possibility of ordaining women as deacons. International Theological Commission (ITC) Fr anciscanMedia.org
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member Cipriano Vagagini composed a study that concluded ordaining women to the diaconate would be in keeping with the constant tradition of the Church. That study never became an official ITC publication, although it
tal Digi as Extr
Click here for more information on women and the diaconate.
did appear (in Italian) in 1974 in an academic journal. The debate about women deacons fell to the background when women’s priestly ordination debates took center stage. It’s a long story, but ultimately, in 1994, Pope John Paul II put that question to rest, with a sense of finality. But the question of women as deacons remained. From 1992 until 2002, the International Theological Commission sought to prepare a study document on the
diaconate, which aimed at answering— one way or the other—the question of whether women could be ordained as deacons. A 17-page draft eventually grew to over 70 pages in its original French and had two findings. First, the women who served as deaconesses (the document does not use the term “woman deacon”) are not the same as the deacons of today. Second, the question of ordaining women as deacons is something for the Church’s “ministry of discernment” to determine. The door for restoring women to the diaconate was left wide open. That door has not closed.
Women as Deacons The main thing to remember when thinking about the diaconate is the word service. The deacon is not a powerful individual, nor is the deacon a power broker. The vocation of the deacon is to serve. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “servants . . . for God’s sake.” So, the operative question becomes whether the Church needs the min-
POETRY God’s Flowers
Just a Tumbled Rock
We are God’s flowers . . . He gently unfolds our lives To bloom in His grace!
I pick up a tumbled piece of jasper, turn it over, let its cold permanence calm me, remind me of eternity.
—Jeanette Martino Land
Melancholy We leave St. Luke’s summer with salt-splashed windows in need of a good cleaning. We fear things we cannot see. We dare to drive through fog and melancholy. We learn to feel the word within which is holy.
—Kathleen Gunton
Swirls of tan and gray form a churning river in the stream—smoothed stone, a round eyeball staring hard from my open palm. Mottled stripes blur into another passage, re-emerging fluid as the streaming Milky Way on that starry night that was so magical, so innocent in all its splendor before the dawn of September eleventh.
—Bonnie J. Manion
Summer’s Song Summer weakens without a sound, but the trees still sway in defiance. “Autumn can wait,” they say in quiet unison, as they finish their tango with the last of the summer winds.
—Ryan Cory 48 ❘ Sep tember 2013
istry of women ordained to the diaconate. Should women rejoin the Order of Deacons? Just how would women fit in? That, in large part, is the biggest part of the question. Since the Church has not had women as deacons in many hundreds of years, it is hard for anyone to think about what would happen if a bishop called forth a woman to serve as an ordained deacon. We know what deacons do today—at least we know what deacons do in the liturgy—but do we really know what service the deacons provide the people of God? Chances are we really do not know why we have deacons. We know that we see them from time to time in church, assisting the priest at Mass, proclaiming the Gospel, greeting the people. From time to time they seem to take the place of a priest—at a funeral or Baptism or wedding, for example. But there is so much more to the diaconate. The more than 17,000 deacons in the United States are married men, mostly, serving part-time or fulltime in a variety of ministries. Deacons are teachers, chancery officials, hospital and prison chaplains. Deacons run soup kitchens and homeless shelters. They visit the sick and homebound in their parishes. They teach catechetics. The list of services is literally endless, for they are the eyes and ears of the bishop, his right arm in dispensing charity. Women ordained as deacons would be the same. We tend to focus on the altar service of the deacons, and altar service by women is something people still argue about. But the simple fact is that a bishop would not need to have women ordained as deacons in his diocese if he did not want to. What is important is that a bishop be allowed to have women ordained as deacons if he needs them. A Dr. Phyllis Zagano’s two newest Paulist Press books are Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future (with Gary Macy and William T. Ditewig) and Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions on the Diaconate. She began her study of women in the diaconate at the request of New York’s Cardinal John J. O’Connor, for whom she was a researcher. She has written on Eastern Catholics and on the Examen for Catholic Update. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
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It’s All
Good Would she find a way to weather life’s storms? FICTION BY K AT H L E E N L I N D S T R O M
I
look up into the sky, which is a sickly green, with thick, lowlying clouds covering the world. The air is heavy, and I breathe in pea soup. I sink deeper into the lounge chair, feeling crabby, wondering why I’ve been such a shrew lately. Our apartment overlooks a marsh, which is hushed right now, as if waiting for something to happen. The silence is heavy and pervasive . . . or foreboding . . . or maybe sacred is a better word. Someone’s TV is blaring sitcom nonsense into the air—which seems sacrilegious in such a heavy silence, like selling hot dogs in Chartres cathedral. Brian joins me on the balcony, barefoot, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and holding a 3-inch-thick sandwich in his hands. He offers me a bite, and I shake my head no. He leans down to kiss me, leaving mustard on my chin— which irritates me. He sits in the chair next to mine, his feet on the ledge, tackling the sandwich and taking in
5 0 ❘ S e p t e m b e r 2 0 13
the view. A man at peace, a contented man. It makes me angry. But don’t ask me why. “Hungry?” “No!” I tell him. “I can heat up some tomato soup.” “I said no.” “You love tomato soup. With popcorn?” I give him my fiercest glare. “OK, OK. No soup. I get it.” I focus again on our view from the balcony. We chose this apartment for that very reason. It faces a marshland filled with purple wildflowers that explode in the spring and birds and night noises that pulsate with life, like
some huge heart pumping reassurance into the world. Well, that’s what it felt like back then. Now it exudes nothing but silence and the threat of a storm. I’m not feeling reassured right now.
B
rian and I moved here eight months ago, after selling a house we shouldn’t have purchased in the first place. It sat on two acres of land that were filled with trees. Needless to say, I fell in love immediately. It had a huge rock garden, koi pond, and three-car garage. One side was mostly windows, facing woods fired up with the colors of fall. “Who’s going to keep them clean?” St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
ILLUSTRATION BY MARITSA PATRINOS
Brian had asked. “Clean?” I said. “Those windows. That huge wall of glass.” “It doesn’t matter,” I (usually the practical one in this marriage) assured him. “We’ll hire a window cleaner. It shouldn’t cost much.” I lived to regret those words. The house also had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a den, hardwood floors, an enormous family room, two fireplaces. It was the house I had dreamed about as a little girl growing up in the projects, while having to share three tiny rooms with my mother and younger sister, Alice. I was so ashamed of where we lived. Fr ancisca n Media .org
When I walked home from school, I’d tell my friends I lived in that colonial house over there across the street. I’d wave goodbye and disappear into the backyard, pretending I was heading for a rear-door entrance. Then I’d peek around the corner, make sure they were gone, and hightail it in the opposite direction toward our tiny apartment on the 14th floor. “What’d Alice say?” Brian asks, pulling me back to the present while wiping mayonnaise off his T-shirt. I stare at him with accusing eyes to remind him I was the one who did the laundry, and getting rid of that stain would only add another burden to my life.
“The usual,” I tell him. “That I should think of others for a change and not always myself.” “Well, at least she’s consistent.” Alice had called earlier and hung up on me after I told her I wouldn’t be driving her to see Mom this Sunday at the Seton Care Center. I gave no reason. Just that I wanted to stay home for a change. “Then how am I going to get there?” she’d asked. “Who’s going to drive me? What will Mom think if we don’t show up?” “I don’t know,” I had replied. “Maybe you should learn to drive yourself. It’s only a half-hour away. You might enjoy it.” S e p t e m b e r 2 0 13 ❘ 5 1
“That’s just like you,” she yelled back. “You’re so selfish!” Then she hung up. I stared into the phone for several minutes, willing caller ID to light up again with my sister’s name and number. She is calling me back: she wants to apologize; she wishes we could talk about our issues; she worries that I took her words to heart. “You know I love you,” she’d reassure me. “You know you’re a good sister, a good daughter.” But the screen stayed dark and the phone grew cold in the palm of my hand. So I tossed it back into my purse, went out onto the balcony, and fell into the lounge chair to wait out the storm and a call from my sister.
M
om was admitted to Seton after she was found wandering around downtown during rush-hour traffic. She couldn’t remember her name or where she lived, but had my telephone number in her wallet. The police officer who called encouraged me to place her in
So that his work might continue...
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5 2 ❘ S e p t e m b e r 2 0 13
an around-the-clock care facility, “for her own safety.” “I know it’s hard,” he told me with kind eyes, “but maybe it’s time. It sounds like you’ve already done everything you could on your own.” Seton is one of the best facilities in the state. It has a high rating from the Department of Health, and it offers all the amenities you’d want for someone you love, including bus trips to parks, zoos, concerts, museums, and other places that would stimulate her mind and anchor her to reality. It specializes in dementia. And it’s expensive. Brian and I have good incomes, and foot most of the bill not covered by Medicare. Alice is a clerk for the county and gives what she can. Unfortunately, however, the financial burden forced us to sell my dream house at a loss. The last time we visited Mom, Mrs. Hoyt across the hall was having a bad day, screaming at the nurse to leave her alone, which upset someone a few doors down, who started crying for her mommy, which caused my own mom to moan and rub her arms up and down over and over again, with a wild look in her eyes. I am known for my soothing voice and ability to calm her down, which I was able to do by saying, “It’s OK. You’re OK. Everything’s all right.” We got her into bed with a sedative and my cooing words and then literally ran from this Tower of Babel, shaken and close to tears. After dropping Alice off at her apartment, it took me another 40 minutes on the freeway to get home. Brian met me at the door, saw the look in my eyes, and pulled me into his arms without saying a word. There, he swayed me slowly from side to side— which felt like slow dancing in some deep, peaceful place. It felt wonderful. I was a little girl again, being rocked in my mother’s arms.
N
ow I hear the muffled tinkling of Für Elise coming from inside the apartment and realize it’s my cell phone. It’s Alice. Alice is calling back. I rush through the apartment hunting for the phone, finally remem-
bering it’s in my purse. But it’s not Alice. It’s Lucy from work. “Jane? We’ve got a problem.” The client, she tells me, has canceled his meeting. It’s the last thing I want to hear. We spent several weeks and too much money putting together a presentation that would woo this client away from Corrigan Murray, the biggest PR firm in town. “He’s sorry,” Lucy says. “He’s sticking with CM. They have a ‘relationship,’ he says.” “Shi—oot!” I catch myself just in time, because Lucy is a sweet, demure mother of two, and I hope I haven’t offended her with my outburst—something she’s never heard from me before. Refined and creative, Lucy is a perfect partner in our small business. She coddles our clients when we get them, while I am all business and bluntness. I’m the one who leads them to our door; she’s the one who takes them by the hand and gently guides them into our process. She is the heart; I am the head. We are two halves forming one whole. But we’ve never socialized, and I’m not sure why. “Sorry for the language,” I say. “It’s been a bad few days.” “Don’t worry about it,” she laughs. “I have teenagers. I’ve heard a lot worse.” We rehash the bad news for several more minutes—she to assure me “it was meant to be, and things will work out,” me to promise a bolder strategy and a closer look at other markets. But my heart isn’t in it because everything seems hopeless right now. At the end of our conversation, I would normally hang up, usually without saying goodbye. But today I stay on the line. The silence lasts for a while before Lucy finally says, “Jane, is everything OK?” I struggle for words, but start to cry. Her concern has burst some internal dam, and I start babbling away about the lousy year I’ve had—having to institutionalize my mother, who really isn’t my mother anymore. Losing a house I’d longed for since I was a little girl. Having my sister call me selfish even though I bend over backward to St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
make her life easier. Alienating my husband with my bad moods and mean mouth. Having to dip into retirement funds to pay the bills. “I’ll be working until I’m 80,” I tell her. “And today a company we desperately needed dumps us for someone else. It’s the last straw! What am I doing wrong? Life shouldn’t be this hard!” Talking it out is supposed to be cathartic, but I’m feeling ashamed instead. My business partner now knows how weak I am and can’t possibly respect me. We’ll never be able to work together again. Sharing this was a bad idea, and I wonder why I get things so wrong. Instead, I hear Lucy sigh and say, “Let me tell you a story.” It seems her 15-year-old daughter, Marcie, had a crush on a boy in her history class. He was popular, and all the girls liked him. So getting his attention and dating him seemed hopeless. But one day he started to show interest in her—meeting her after class, walking her home, introducing her to his friends. Marcie was in heaven, couldn’t wait until he asked her out and made it official. But it turns out he was using her to make another girl jealous; and it worked. He dropped Marcie like a bad habit. She was inconsolable for weeks. “Then one day, she was her old self again,” Lucy relates. “I asked how she was doing, and you know what my 15-year-old daughter who wants a tattoo over-my-dead-body had to say?” “What?” I ask, trying to be polite. “She said, ‘It’s all good, Mom—the good with the bad; the light with the dark.’ She said something about light showing the way; darkness showing the stars. I have no idea where she gets this stuff. Now she has a poster hanging in her bedroom showing a sailboat emerging from a dark storm, heading into the sun. It says, ‘Storms teach you how to sail your ship.’ “And this coming from a 15-year-old who idolizes Justin Bieber. Can you imagine? Out of the mouths of babes, huh?” “Hmm,” I mumble. “I’m not exactly sure what it all means.” “I didn’t either. But it helps me Fr ancisca n Media .org
sometimes when I’m down. Maybe it can help you, too.” “Lucy,” I finally say, “I’ve got to go. Thank you for listening and for understanding.” “Hey, that’s what friends are for.”
T
he storm tonight is noisy and fierce, but short-lived. Lightning lights up the western edge of the sky, and thunder rattles our building. Rain and hail pummel our roof, sounding like tiny pebbles poured out from some big bucket in the sky. Brian and I watch from our balcony window, standing side by side, sipping coffee, silent and in awe, humbled by the fury of Mother Nature. As the storm winds down, I reach for his hand. “I don’t know what’s come over me,” I say to this man with the safe, familiar face. “I’ve been such a witch lately. I’m taking everything out on you, and it’s not fair.” He pulls me into him and kisses the top of my head. “Don’t worry about it, babe. That’s what husbands are for. Besides, you’ll be getting my bill, and it’s going to cost you plenty.” I catch the twinkle in his eye, which makes me laugh—for the first time in a long time. “I’ve got an early morning call,” he says. “So I’m hitting the sack. You coming?” “In a bit. I’m going to clean up first.” “Janie,” he says, getting serious. “Don’t worry. I love you. I’ll always have your back.” “Love you, too,” I whisper, watching him head for the bedroom, feeling lighter somehow, but not sure why.
looking for my phone. “Allie,” I say when she answers. “It’s me.” “Oh, Janie. I’m so glad you called. I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean anything that I said. It’s just so hard seeing Mom like that. And it keeps getting harder.” “I know,” I assure my little sister. “But it’s going to be OK.” A Kathleen Lindstrom is a freelance writer from Bloomington, Minnesota.
ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT 1. Sis’ sleeve is shorter. 2. The tree has an extra opening. 3. The flap on Sis’ backpack is showing. 4. Pete’s collar is white. 5. One of the kids is missing. 6. The flagpole is higher. 7. Sis’ head is blocking part of the window. 8. There is shrubbery behind Pete’s head.
A Bible Everyone Can Read and Understand
THE MESSAGE Catholic / Ecumenical Edition
A
n hour or so later, I’m sitting on our balcony and looking out over the marsh. The storm is long gone. Stars fill the night sky, like little diamonds sprinkled onto a blanket of black velvet. The temperature has dropped. The air is crisp and clean. The world is silent and still, except for crickets chirping away like gossipy neighbors, telling each other it’s safe to come out; the worst is over. It was a powerful storm, but it cleared the air. I rise from my chair and go inside
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S e p t e m b e r 2 0 13 ❘ 5 3
ASK A FRANCISCAN
❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM
The Bible and Homosexuality I am very confused about homosexuality. I know it’s a sin, but I don’t understand why society condemns this so much as compared to other sins. Not one of the four biblical passages about this comes from Jesus’ lips. He did, however, give us two great commandments: love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:30–31a, with similar passage in Mt 22:37–40). The Catholic Church’s teaching about homosexuality is not as simple as you have indicated. Having a homosexual orientation and engaging in genital, homosexual actions are not the same thing.
A person’s sexual orientation may well be involuntary (and thus not a sin in itself), or it might be chosen. A person’s actions based on that orientation, however, are certainly chosen. After the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that homosexual actions are contrary to the natural law and are closed to the gift of life (2357), it goes on to teach: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians,
to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition” (2358). The Catechism’s final section reads: “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of selfmastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection” (2359). In their 1997 pastoral message “Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Church Ministers,” the US bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family Life wrote: “Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given,
Did He Witness Mary’s Assumption? I recently read in another Catholic publication that according to one Church tradition, the apostle Thomas saw the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Is that true? Also, could you provide the titles to any current books describing some of the ancient traditions of the Catholic Church?
ANDREAS F. BORCHERT/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
If it were true, Pope Pius XII almost certainly would have cited this reference in his 1950 apostolic constitution solemnly defining the Catholic Church’s teaching on Mary’s assumption. The New Testament does not contain this story about Thomas. Some people have craved details not included in the Bible. For example, they wanted to know the names of Mary’s parents. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the Protoevangelium [pre-Gospel] of James, written around the year AD 180,
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gives these names as Anne and Joachim. St. Anne became popular with mothers praying for a successful delivery of a child. Similarly, one early tradition identifies the crucified criminal who asked salvation from Jesus (Lk 23:42) as Dismas and the other criminal as Gestas. Such a desire to name people is quite understandable, but it is clearly a mistake to invest more time and energy in such efforts than in understanding and living out the public revelation given in the Bible. Regarding your question about books describing these ancient traditions, I encourage you to invest your time and energy in studying the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, and other approved catechisms such as Believing in Jesus: A Popular Overview of the Catholic Faith by the late Father Leonard Foley, OFM.
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose.” The bishops later wrote: “God loves every person as a unique individual. Sexual identity helps to define the unique persons we are, and one component of our sexual identity is sexual orientation. Thus, our total personhood is more encompassing than sexual orientation. Human beings see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart (cf. 1 Sm 16:7). God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual. God’s love is always and everywhere offered to those who are open to receiving it.” The bishops’ complete text is available through the “human life and dignity” link at usccb.org. Gay marriage is very much in the news now. The Church understands Jesus’ teaching about a man and woman leaving their families in order to enter into marriage (Mt 19:5) as normative. Even if civil laws equate heterosexual and homosexual marriages (and they currently do in a minority of US states), that does not change the Catholic Church’s teaching on this issue.
Holy Communion without Confession I am a 79-year-old Catholic who doesn’t believe in the Sacrament of Penance. I notice that most people don’t go to Confession these days, and yet the great majority of Catholics receive holy Communion whenever they attend Mass. To me, that is a mortal sin. Why do they do that? The Catholic Church teaches that a person conscious of having committed a mortal sin must confess it before he or she receives Holy Communion (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1457). How can you be sure that most Catholics who receive Holy Communion regularly are guilty of mortal sins that they have not confessed? Fr ancisca n Media .org
The Catechism also teaches: “Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ, and progress in the life of the Spirit” (1458). According to Mark Twain, there is nothing quite so enjoyable as examining the consciences of other people. But there is also nothing more futile than that. Jesus’ command to recognize the beam in one’s own eye before worrying about the splinter in someone else’s is addressed to each of us (Mt 7:3).
I remarried a Christian man and have been attending services at several Christian churches with him. I would like to be confirmed in the Catholic Church with my daughter. Can I come back? It sounds as though your first husband is still living. Your coming back to the Catholic Church would require seeking a “declaration of nullity” for your first marriage. It was valid in civil law, but it might not have been a truly sacramental marriage. The Catholic parish where your daughter is preparing for Confirmation can provide further information. A
Father Pat welcomes your questions! Send them to: Ask a Franciscan, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or Ask@FranciscanMedia.org. All questions sent by mail need to include a selfaddressed stamped envelope. This column’s answers can be searched back to April 1996 at StAnthonyMessenger.org.
‘Can I Come Back?’ I was baptized Catholic as a child and married my first husband in the Catholic Church. We divorced but have maintained a fairly good relationship for our daughter, who is now 12 years old. Three years ago,
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S e p t e m b e r 2 0 13 ❘ 5 5
BOOK CORNER
❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW
Pope Francis: Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio His Life in His Own Words By Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti G.P. Putnam’s Sons 304 pages • $24.95 Hardcover/e-book
Pope Francis By Matthew E. Bunson, DMin Our Sunday Visitor 224 pages • $16.95 Paperback/e-book Reviewed by BISHOP ROBERT MORNEAU, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin. An author and poet, Bishop Morneau’s Not By Bread Alone: Daily Reflections for Lent 2014 will be available in November. NEXT TO LETTERS, one of the best ways to get to know someone is through structured and thoughtful interviews. In 2010, two journalists had a series of conversations with the then-cardinal of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis. This volume offers insights into the pope’s mind and heart. Supreme value is given to the dignity and greatness of every human being. Pope Francis states: “The most important thing is the person in front of you.” He says one must make people feel safe, giving them respect and compassion. Emphasis is given to the dignity of work and the fulfilling of one’s duty. It is only through dialogue and love, 56 ❘ September 2013
he says, that real growth happens. The pope stresses the significance of patience and humility, two virtues he longs to travel with. Through these interviews, we are given a portrait of a person who witnesses to these qualities: austerity, frugality, approachability, simplicity, intense spiritual life, steadfastness, charm, and a deep sense of humor. We also learn that his favorite movie is Babette’s Feast, that he has read Manzoni’s I Promessi Sposi four times, and that he admires Beethoven’s “Lenore Overture No. 3.” These interviews are engaging, informative, and inspirational. I WOULD HAVE FOUND Resignation, Conclave, Election: “Habemus Papam” a more accurate title for author Matthew Bunson’s book, which treats three major topics: Pope Benedict’s resignation, the meeting of the cardinals for the election, and aspects of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s life and ministry. The resignation of Benedict XVI astounded the world. Some interpreted this decision as an act of nobility and courage, others as an abdication of papal responsibility. Despite high emotions and a tight time frame, the transition went amazingly well. The cardinals gathered to elect a new pope. Time was spent in formal and informal dialogue, coming to know one another better and reflecting on the burning issues in the Church and world. The third part of this book, “Tu Es Petrus: You Are Peter,” focuses on Bergoglio. We learn that the key watchwords of his ministry are mercy, humility, service, and authenticity. The new pope is fond of classical music, great literature, long walks, and the opera. He was trained in the humanities, philosophy, psychology, and theology. Pope Francis was a Jesuit provincial from 1973 to 1979 during turbulent times in Argentina. He impressed people with his low-key style and simple living habits. Pope Francis is not a biography. Although we learn a bit about the new pope’s family, country, and ministry, most of the book deals with larger issues. That said, it captures well the events surrounding the pope’s election. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r
BOOK BRIEFS
More on Pope Francis Pope Francis In His Own Words Edited by Julie Schwietert Collazo and Lisa Rogak New World Library/160 pages/$12.95 A concise guide for those wanting to learn where the pope stands on issues affecting the Church.
On Heaven and Earth Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the 21st Century By Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Abraham Skorka Random House 256 pages • $22 Hardcover/Paperback Reviewed by RABBI ABIE INGBER, executive director of the Center for Interfaith Community Engagement at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Rabbi Ingber teaches theology and is recognized as a leader in interreligious dialogue. IN THE RUSH to find the measure of the first South American cardinal to ascend to the throne of St. Peter, a Spanish-language book assumed immediacy. For a number of years, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Rabbi Abraham Skorka met and recorded their conversations on their respective faiths and the challenges before them. The short book is personal and accessible. At some point you realize you are no longer reading a book; you have entered into the room with the two conversationalists where no topic is off the record, including celibacy of priests and the pedophilia scandal. In some conversations, one can even glimpse moments of almost unexpected agreement. Readers looking for commitments to interreligious dialogue will revel in how the leaders brilliantly quote from each other’s texts and traditions. Cardinal Bergoglio commits to opening the Pius XII archives; Rabbi Skorka congratulates his colleague for “trying to break old, vicious cycles.” This pre-papal-election book offers us a rare opportunity to hear the pope without the envelope of formal ecclesial writing. Near its end, Cardinal Bergoglio suggests that a truly humble attitude can change the world. In March 2013, he was given just that opportunity. Fr ancisca n Media .org
10 Things Pope Francis Wants You to Know By John L. Allen Jr. Liguori Publications/48 pages/$3.99 John L. Allen Jr., senior Vatican analyst for CNN, offers a brief introduction of the values, vision, and teachings of Pope Francis.
A Call to Serve Pope Francis and the Catholic Future By Stefan von Kempis and Philip F. Lawler The Crossroad Publishing Company 160 pages/$16.95 Photography, break-out boxes, and informative sidebars provide an in-depth look into Pope Francis’ past, present, and future.
Pope Francis The Pope from the End of the Earth By Thomas J. Craughwell Saint Benedict Press/176 pages/$22.95 Thomas J. Craughwell tells the story of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s path to becoming pope.
Pope Francis From the End of the Earth to Rome By The Wall Street Journal Staff Harper/109 pages/$9.99 The full, in-depth story of the Church’s change in direction and the man charged with leading it. —R.Z.
Books featured in this column can be ordered from
St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply 1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 800-233-3604 www.stmarysbookstore.com • stmarysbookstore@gmail.com September 2013 ❘ 57
A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS
❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER
You Rock, St. Clare!
A
s a mom of three girls—one of whom is in her teens—I am always in search of strong female role models for them to look toward as examples. You know, the kind who don’t grace the cover of the latest celebrity magazine. During my recent pilgrimage to Assisi, I found one—St. Clare. Before I went, I knew little of St. Clare, I’m sad to say. Oh, I knew she was a follower of St. Francis and founded the Poor Clares. But other than that I knew next to nothing about her life or her mission. And let’s face it, she gets quite a bit less press than her counterpart, St. Francis. But that certainly doesn’t mean she’s any less important or less worthy of praise and admiration. 58 ❘ September 2013
A Closer Look at St. Clare St. Clare was the daughter of nobility in Assisi. From her home, she would often listen to Francis preach in the courtyard outside San Rufino Cathedral. She was so taken by Francis’ words and passion that she stepped away from her comfortable life and chose to follow him. On the night of Palm Sunday in 1212, Clare left her home and the confines of the city to join Francis at the Portiuncula in the valley below Assisi. Once there, she shed the symbols of her noble life—including her hair, dress, and shoes. In the following days, Clare traveled to a Benedictine monastery in Bastia. While there, Clare’s uncle Monaldo and several knights from her family tried several times to return her to
the family home, but she would not have it. During one attempt, Clare grabbed the altar and could not be removed. Eventually, Clare went with Francis and his companions Bernard and Philip to Sant’Angelo in Panzo. After a brief time there, Clare found a home at San Damiano, where she spent the rest of her life in prayer. She was eventually joined by her mother, two sisters, and cousin among others. One story demonstrating Clare’s strong will is her reaction to a letter Pope Gregory IX issued in 1230 stating that no brother could enter the monastery as chaplain without permission. In response, Clare staged a hunger strike. Gregory soon relented. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
WHO’S YOUR SAINT?
Again, in 1247 Clare refused to accept the rule made obligatory for all enclosed women by Pope Innocent IV. Instead, she started to write her own rule.
Quite the Role Model Since I’m a married mother of four, you may wonder what the draw to Clare is for me. Despite the fact that there are times I wish I could steal away in the dark of night to live in solitude and quiet, our lives are very different. But what draws me to Clare, and what I hope my daughters will take away from her life, is her
some digging on that person. Read his or her words; study his or her life. Share what you’ve learned with others. You may inspire them to connect with their own saint.
passion and her willingness to leave behind all the comforts of her noble life—including her hair—to follow what she truly believed in. What I love about Clare is the fact that she knew exactly what she wanted, and she devoted her entire life to that call. In fact, shortly before her death, she received from Pope Innocent IV a marked-up copy of the order’s rule she had written, confirming her Rule of Life and the Privilege of Poverty. She was the first woman to have a rule approved by the Church. So what’s not to admire about St.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS
Of all the saints in the Church, who is the one with whom you most resonate? Is it the patron of your profession? Your namesake? A dear companion since your early years? Someone who calls you to act on something about which you feel strongly? By the way, did you know that St. Clare is the patroness of television? Why, you may ask? Well, it’s because when she was too ill to attend Mass, she had a vision of the distant Mass on the wall of her room. So television makes sense, right? Take some time and think about what saint to whom you feel a connection. Why is that saint important to you? Is it something that person did? Something he or she said? What your saint represents? My daughter Riley is an animal lover, so her go-to saint has always been St. Francis, just as it is for many people. Mine? St. Gianna Beretta Molla, a wife, career woman, and mom who gave up her own life for her child. Whatever saint or holy person you connect to, do
Clare, even though our lives have certainly taken very different paths? I only hope that my daughters and I may be as devoted to our callings in life—whatever they may be—and demonstrate the determination and strong will that Clare did. A
Do you have comments or suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed in this column? Send them to me at “A Catholic Mom Speaks,” 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or e-mail them to CatholicMom@FranciscanMedia.org.
PETE AND REPEAT These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two. So look and see if you can name ILLUSTRATION BY TOM GREENE
Eight ways in which they’re not the same. (Answers on page 53)
Fr ancisca n Media .org
September 2013 ❘ 59
BACKSTORY
W
e’ve certainly heard from a lot of readers, and others, in the past few months! First there were the opponents of our Sister Simone Campbell cover story from June. My phone was
busy—a lot of you were upset that she’s too liberal. I won’t go into details, except to say that broad accusations were made. Most of these callers (and e-mailers) really dislike her. Then we heard it from opponents of Bill O’Reilly, who was on the cover
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
in July. He’s too conservative for those readers who complained. (I asked some callers what they thought of the guys on our three previous covers: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict, and Jesus. There were no complaints there.) So I spent much of the past few months on the phone and responding to e-mails. We take our subscribers’ concerns seriously. I ask callers to help me understand where we came up short. Believe it or not, some of those who call have not read the article they say they detest. They just have views about the person in question and don’t go further. Some who call me—ones who even threaten to cancel—don’t even subscribe to St. Anthony Messenger! No, I’m not making this up. A caller some years ago asked, “Does anyone read these articles before you publish them?” We do. And we hope it shows that our team spends a lot of time finding the best subjects to feature and the strongest journalists and photographers/illustrators to bring you the stories. During the 24 years since I started here, we’ve always tried to show a broad range of experiences within the heart of Catholicism. In the Franciscan spirit, we work from the center but try to keep it interesting. In the cases of Campbell and O’Reilly, both interview subjects are strong Catholics, though some Catholics have big disagreements with each for various reasons. Some on each side would call the other a lesser Catholic. Pope Francis is showing us a different way to deal with one another. No name-calling allowed. If you have article ideas to suggest, we’d love to hear them. Find us on Facebook or send an e-mail to JohnFeister@FranciscanMedia.org.
Editor in Chief
60 ❘ September 2013
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
REFLECTION
eing grandparents sufficiently removes us from the responsibilities so that we can be friends. —Allan Frome
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