02.15.13

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , February 15, 2013

Holy Father announces resignation from papacy

Bishop Coleman asks for prayers for Pope Benedict XVI

By Dave Jolivet, Editor and CNS Reports

staying well — Volunteer registered nurse Mary Beth Degon takes the blood pressure of a client during Christ the King Parish’s monthly blood pressure clinics in Mashpee.

Parishioner creates comprehensive Parish Nursing Program on Cape

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

MASHPEE — While growing up in Ireland, Betty Mazzucchelli knew what her calling in life would be.

“I always wanted to be a nurse. My dad was very ill when I was young. I’d come home from school and sit with him, and that what’s drew me to nursTurn to page 15

FALL RIVER — Catholics worldwide were stunned and saddened by Pope Benedict XVI’s February 11 announcement that he is resigning from his ministry as bishop of all the world’s Catholics effective February 28 (the pope’s announcement appears in its entirety on page 13).

Saying he no longer has the strength to exercise ministry over the universal Church, Pope Benedict XVI announced February 11 that he would be resigning at the end of the month after an eightyear pontificate.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” the pope told cardinals gathered for an ordinary public consistory to approve the canonization of new saints.

Pope Benedict, who was elected in April 2005, will be the first pope to resign in more

than 600 years.

He told the cardinals, “In today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by

holy father to resign — Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Mass at Nationals Park in Washington in 2008.

The pope announced February 11 that he will resign at the end of the month. The 85-year-old pontiff said he no longer has the energy to exercise his ministry over the Universal Church.

(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told journalists at a briefing that the pope’s decision was not prompted by any medical illness, but was due to a natural “decline of strength” associated with old age.

Even though the announcement had caught almost everybody by surprise, it was not a snap decision, but rather one that “had matured over the past few months,” Father Lombardi said.

The pope made his announcement in Latin from a pre-written text during a morning ordinary public consistory where a large number of cardinals were present.

When he delivered his announcement, the pope seemed Turn to page 13

Sister to highlight disturbing trend of extreme local youth poverty

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

PAGES TO PONDER — David Bereit, national director of the 40 Days for Life campaign, signs copies of the new “40 Days For Life” book he co-authored with campaign director Shawn Carney at last month’s March for Life in Washington, D.C. The book recounts true stories that were inspired by the 40 Days for Life effort and offers daily prayers and reflections that can be used during the latest Lenten campaign that began February 13. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

40 Days for Life book recounts success stories

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

ATTLEBORO — In the new book “40 Days for Life: Discover What God Has Done … Imagine What He Can Do,” co-author Shawn Carney recounts the time he met a woman outside the Four Women Health Clinic in Attleboro, expecting her to share a grief-stricken story of having had an abortion.

Much to Carney’s surprise and relief, the woman instead thanked him and gifted him with a gold medal — a personal token of pride that her son had won in the Special Olympics.

“From the look in her eyes, I could see that this medal represented all the sacrifice and struggle she had gone through over the years Turn to page 18

ATTLEBORO — Carrying an eye-opening message of neighbors, particularly students, in the clutches of poverty and hunger, Sisters of Notre Dame Sister Linda Bessom will be featured tomorrow at a program at St. Vincent de Paul Parish at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street in Attleboro.

Sister Bessom is the Faith Into Action Together coordinator for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, and serves on the Mass. Catholic Conference’s Social Policy Committee.

“Looking at homelessness statistics for 2011-12 of public school students from the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, there were 334 students experiencing homelessness in the Attleboro area,” Sister Bessom told The Anchor. “Of that number, 11 students identified

themselves as unaccompanied, meaning a person between the ages of 14 and 24 not in the physical custody or care of a parent or legal guardian and who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”

Sister Bessom added that statewide there are nearly 6,000 unaccompanied youth according to a 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

“It is also important to remember that one in every seven children is experiencing poverty in Massachusetts ($19,530 for a family of three),” she added.

Statistics from the Commonwealth reveal that homeless students are far less likely to have an adult they can talk to at school; earn good grades; participate in a sports team; and even eat breakfast in the morning.

But the percentages for home-

less students increase in areas like becoming a member of a gang; alcohol or marijuana use within that last 30 days; heroin use; experiencing feelings of sadness and hopelessness for more than two weeks; attempting suicide; having sexual contact against their will; and becoming or getting someone pregnant.

Sister Bessom told The Anchor that the Faith Into Action Together program of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless works to “engage faith communities through a faith-based reflection/ action process in the coalition’s work of direct service, education, homelessness prevention, and public policy campaigns that: protect basic safety nets for people who are poor, experiencing homelessness and those at risk; prevent homelessness, and advocate for Turn to page 18

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News From the Vatican

February 15, 2013

Vatican official thinks Philadelphia meeting will be key for families

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — The head of the Vatican council for the family believes that the 2015 gathering in Philadelphia will be an important moment for the U.S. and the world as it considers the role and meaning of the family in society.

“I believe that the world encounter in Philadelphia will be a very important moment, not only for the United States, but for the whole world,” predicted Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

The archbishop recently spoke to CNA after a Vatican press conference on the seventh World Meeting of Families that took place in Milan last year.

“We need to stress the importance of the family and Marriage because they are society’s foundation and (they) allow society to grow by founding an interconnection between generations.

“In this sense we want to show the world not only the importance of the family, but also that it’s possible and that it’s really, really good,” Archbishop Paglia stated.

He explained that the institution of Marriage is in crisis because of a new ideology of individualism.

“The ‘I’ is now more important than ‘us,’ and the individual is more important than the family,” he asserted.

“In this sense,” Archbishop Paglia remarked, “we’re putting a sort of poison in society which is destroying the love and the link between all people.”

He also stood firmly against the redefinition of Marriage, saying it “is between man and a woman from the very beginning of time, so I think it’s a very bad idea to create something which is not reality.”

Archbishop Paglia said the solution to the current situation is to

build a “new culture” that heals the “divorce between culture and family.”

“Family, in reality, supports society, but the culture has forgotten the family,” he pointed out.

“We are in a not-so-intelligent battle because we are focused on a little part of society and we’ve forgotten the bigger part,” he added.

The archbishop thinks that the most important thing is to strengthen society.

“We are cross-eyed. And so we need to conquer with the truth and the great strength of family and Marriage for our society, because God said it’s not good to be alone,” the Italian archbishop stated.

“I love all people and I would be pushing them the wrong way if I help them create something which isn’t true,” he said, referring to same-sex “marriage.”

During the press conference he spoke about how the pontifical council is organizing meetings from now until the gathering takes place in Philadelphia in 2015.

His Vatican department will present the Charter of Rights of the Family to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, as well as to the European Parliament.

The Dossis, a married couple responsible for helping families in Milan’s archdiocese, was also at the press conference to speak of the results of the last World Meeting of Families.

Francesca Dossi said that one of the conclusions from the conference was that pregnant women are not less effective in the workplace since they are more creative before they give birth.

The meeting also left many with a deeper understanding of how “Sunday is not just a day of resting, but a form of energizing our relationships, especially with family members,” she said.

food for the soul — Cooks attend Pope Benedict XVI’s general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Vatican official says ending clerical sexual abuse is long-term effort

ROME (CNS) — The Catholic Church’s efforts to prevent clerical sexual abuse and protect children around the world will be “a longterm effort,” said Father Robert W. Oliver, a Boston priest who began work February 1 as the promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

“All of us — every single person has difficulty coming to understand what this really is and how prevalent it is in our societies across the world,” said Father Oliver, whose position includes monitoring and investigating cases of priests accused of sex abuse.

When one first hears of a case of abuse, he said, “every single one of us begins with denial,” which is why the entire Church, at all levels, must make a concerted effort to educate its members about the reality of abuse and the best practices for protecting children.

Speaking at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University recently, Father Oliver said the conference that the university and several Vatican offices sponsored last year for bishops and for superiors of religious orders was an important step forward, as is the pilot project for an online prevention and child protection course being run by the Gregorian-based Center for Child Protection.

Father Oliver spoke at the university as the center presented a report on its activities over the past year.

Responding to a reporter’s question about the role of the media, especially in the United States, in forcing the Church to come to terms with the reality and breadth of the sex abuse scandal, Father Oliver said, “those who continued to put before us that we needed to confront this problem did a service” and continually reminded the Church that it had to deal with the scandal “with honesty and

transparency.”

Still, he said, in some parts of the world bishops and other Catholics are just starting to become aware of the problem and their need to enact measures to protect children and deal with allegations.

In 2011, the doctrinal congregation asked every bishops’ conference in the world to submit guidelines for assisting victims; protecting children; selecting and training priests and religious; dealing with accused priests; and collaborating with local authorities.

Father Oliver said “three-quarters” of the world’s 112 bishops’ conferences have sent in guidelines, and the doctrinal congregation has just begun responding with observations and suggestions. Most of the countries that have not yet responded are in Africa, he said.

He also told reporters that the greatest number of cases of suspected abuse reported to the doctrinal congregation in a single year was about 800 cases reported in 2004; in the last three years, he said, the number has remained steady at about 600 “from the whole world,” with most of the abuse having taken place between 1965 and 1985.

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Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, president of the directors’ committee of the Child Protection Center, said that in responding to the scandal and preventing abuse, “the road will be long and difficult because of resistance, conflicts and tensions” as well as “inertia, discouragement on the inside and attacks from the outside.”

Just in the past month, he said, the Church’s handling of abuse cases has continued to make the news, demonstrating that “unfortunately, the matter will be with us for a long time. The Church is working much more than people know, but is also the object of criticism because of its errors, its failures and the sins of the past. This is why it is extremely important to continue the work of prevention with every available means.”

While some people believe the problem of child sexual abuse afflicts society at large and others “doubt the sincerity of any commitment made by the Church,” he said, “that which gives us energy and inspiration are the words of Jesus Himself, Who taught us that the truth will make us free and Who tells us that His love for children is absolute and unconditional.”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 57, No. 6

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The International Church U.K. bishops decry advancement of ‘same-sex marriage’ bill

February 15, 2013

London, England (CNA/ EWTN News) — After a bill allowing same-sex “marriage” passed in the U.K.’s House of Commons, local Catholic bishops have warned that the legislation will have profoundly negative effects on society.

“Marriage is rooted in the complementarity of man and woman. For these reasons the Church opposes the government’s bill to re-define Marriage,” said Archbishop Peter D. Smith of Southwark February 5.

“Despite claims by supporters of the bill that the central issue is one of equality, the bill actually seeks to re-define Marriage and will have consequences for society at large.”

Late in the day February 5, the lower house of the British Parliament voted in favor of the Marriage Bill, allowing marriage for same-sex couples.

It passed by 400 to 175, and was backed by prime minister David Cameron.

The issue split the ruling Conservative Party: 127 voted in favor, 136 opposed the bill, and 35 abstained from voting on the bill. The other major British parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, were more uniformly in favor of the bill.

Archbishop Smith, who serves as vice president of the England and Wales bishops’ conference, noted that “the Catholic Church continues to support Marriage understood by society for centuries as the significant and unique lifelong commitment between a man and a woman for their mutual well-being and open to the proDIOCESAN TRIBUNAL FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS Decree of Citation Since her present domicile is unknown, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite April S. Dayton to appear in person before the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River (887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on February 27, 2013 at 2:30 PM to give her testimony regarding the question: IS THE CROCE-DAYTON MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDING TO CHURCH LAW? Anyone who has knowledge of the domicile of April S. Dayton is hereby required to inform her of this citation.

Given at the offices of the Diocesan Tribunal in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts on February 6, 2013.

(Rev.) Paul F. Robinson, O. Carm., J.C.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Denise D. Berube Ecclesiastical Notary

creation and education of children.”

He said the vote showed “the government has not thought through a number of profound problems in the bill” and that concerns over the bill need to be “fully and carefully considered” as the bill continues through Parliament.

The bill has yet to be considered by the upper house, the House of Lords. It also faces a third vote in the House of Commons before it can become law.

Stronger opposition is expected in the House of Lords.

Bishop Philip A. Egan of the Portsmouth Diocese echoed his brother bishop, telling Vatican Radio that “I am very disappointed that Parliament wishes, in an Orwellian manner, to redefine the concept of Marriage.”

“The proposed change will have catastrophic consequences for Marriage as an institution, for family life in Britain, and for all human relationships, not least among our young.”

He said the bill might lead the Church to remove itself from civil marriage: “One possible consequence of this is that the Church will be forced to withdraw from the civil registration of marriages, as in some European countries, where couples fulfill the civil requirements in the Town Hall before heading to church for Matrimony.”

The legislation was debated for six hours ahead of the vote.

Edward Leigh is a Conservative Member of Parliament, and a Catholic, who made a reasoned argument against the bill. He pointed out that Marriage is not primarily about the wedded couple, but their resulting children.

“If Marriage were solely about the relationship between two people, we would not bother to enshrine it in law, and nor would every culture, soci-

ety and religion for thousands of years have invested it with so much importance. Marriage is about protecting the future,” he said.

“Marriage is not about ‘me, me, me,’ nor about legally validating ‘my rights’ and ‘my relationships’; it is about a secure environment for creating and raising children, based on lifelong commitment and exclusivity.”

The bill allows for churches to conduct weddings for samesex couples, raising concerns over religious liberty. Less than a month ago, the U.K. government assured that “no religious organization could conduct a religious Marriage ceremony on religious premises for same-sex couples.”

Steve Baker, a Conservative Member of Parliament and a Christian, wrote that he opposed the bill out of concerns for religious freedom and pluralism. He suggest the Marriage Bill is not a way to provide for “tolerance of diverse views.”

“I am not relaxed about muddled law, democratic consent or freedom of religion — whose protection is by no means certain — and I believe strongly that defining Marriage is no business of the legislature.”

The Church of England, the U.K.’s established church, has opposed the bill. The Marriage Bill will not allow the Church of England to conduct marriages for same-sex couples, and its passage may lead to the Church’s disestablishment.

The Catholic Church and the Church of England have been joined in the opposition to the bill by British Muslims, Sikhs, and some Jews.

The Marriage Bill would only affect England and Wales.

Scotland has a similar proposal, but there is none in Northern Ireland.

patroness of miners — Fireworks are set off at the inauguration of a new statue of the Virgin of the Socavon on Santa Barbara hill outside of Oruro, Bolivia, recently. The statue of Mary and the Christ Child measures 148-feet in height and pays homage to the local patroness invoked in the protection of mine workers.

(CNS photo/David Mercado, Reuters)

Colombian priest killed in continuing trend of violence

Bogotá, Colombia (CNA/ EWTN News) — A cardinal in Colombia is mourning the recent murder of a local priest, which brings the clergy death toll in the country to 83 since 1984.

“Every murder is offensive, but the murder of a man who has dedicated his life to Christ and to the service of others causes special concern,” said Cardinal Ruben Salazar of Bogota, reacting to the murder.

Father Luis Alfredo Suarez Salazar was killed on February 2 by two unknown assailants in the northern Colombian city of Ocana. The 50-year-old priest was visiting the city on vacation before planning to return to his home Diocese of Villavicencio.

According to police reports, Father Suarez was killed while helping his sister load items into her van. The two assailants fled on a motorcycle.

The driver of the van, Hernan Torres Ramos, was also wounded in the attack and is recovering

in a local hospital.

Father Suarez’s family said that he had not been the target of any threats and was known in the community for his humanitarianism and solidarity with those in need. According to media reports, he was anxious to return to Villavicencio to continue his ministry.

Cardinal Salazar warned that the problem of violence against clergy is a common one in Colombia.

“There are many threatened priests in all regions of the country, especially where there is armed conflict,” he said.

According to data from the Colombian bishops, more than 80 priests have been killed in the last three decades, along with five religious Sisters, three religious Brothers, three seminarians, one bishop and one archbishop.

In the same period of time, 17 bishops and 52 priests have received death threats.

February 15, 2013 The Church in the U.S. Proposed rules fall short of meeting bishops’ concerns, Cardinal Dolan says

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WASHINGTON (CNS) — The new proposed rules issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding insurance coverage of contraceptives show movement but fall short of addressing the U.S. bishops’ concerns, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said in a February 7 statement.

The cardinal, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the 80-page document released February 1 by HHS concerning the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act indicates that the administration “seeks to offer a response to serious matters which have been raised throughout the past year.”

He also noted that the bishops “look forward to engaging with the administration, and all branches and levels of government, to continue to address serious issues that remain. Our efforts will require additional, careful study.”

The rules are open for a 60-day comment period and are expected to be finalized this summer.

After evaluating the proposed rules, Cardinal Dolan said in the statement that the bishops continue to stand by the statement on the HHS mandate issued by their Administrative Committee last March and affirmed by the entire body of bishops last June.

In that statement, he said, the bishops expressed concern over the mandate’s “exceedingly narrow” four-part definition of “religious employer,” one that exempted houses of worship, but left “our great ministries of service to our neighbors, namely, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the students in our schools and universities, and others in need” subject to the mandate.

Such a distinction, they said, created a “second class of citizenship within our religious community,” and weakened the federal law’s “healthy tradition of generous respect for religious freedom and diversity.”

The cardinal credited the administration for proposing to drop the first three parts of the four-part

test, which he said “might address” some of the bishops concerns but not all.

An HHS spokeswoman said February 1 no nonprofit religious institution — including churches, universities, hospitals and charities — will have to “arrange, contract, pay for or refer for” contraception insurance for employees or students who want it.

Cardinal Dolan faulted the proposed rules for maintaining an “inaccurate distinction among religious ministries,” noting that HHS “offers what it calls an ‘accommodation,’ rather than accepting the fact that these ministries are integral to our Church and worthy of the same exemption as our Catholic churches.”

He also said the proposed rules seem to “take away something that we had previously — the ability of an exempt employer (such as a diocese) to extend its coverage to the employees of a ministry outside the exemption.”

The cardinal also noted that the government would require all employees of “accommodated” ministries in religious institutions to have access to contraception coverage, noting that they “may not opt out, nor even opt out for their children.”

According to HHS, even in the case of self-insured religious entities — which includes many dioceses and colleges — employees or insured students who want contraceptive coverage will be able to arrange it through outside insurance companies, at no cost to themselves and without financial or even administrative support of the faithbased institution.

Cardinal Dolan said “gaps in the proposed regulations” make it unclear “how directly these separate policies would be funded by objecting ministries, and what precise role those ministries would have in arranging for these separate policies.”

This lack of clarity, he said, provides “the possibility that ministries may yet be forced to fund and facilitate such morally illicit activities” which the bishops would like to see changed in the final rule.

The cardinal also expressed concern that the HHS mandate “creates still a third class, those with no conscience protection at all” such as “employers sponsoring and subsidizing the coverage, insurers writing it, and beneficiaries paying individual premiums for it.”

He said the proposed rule confirms that HHS “has no intention to provide any exemption or accommodation at all” to this group.

The new proposed rules specify that no exemption will be given to “for-profit, secular employers.”

Cardinal Dolan noted that during the past year, the bishops have been assured by the administration that they will “not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage” and they “remain eager for the administration to fulfill that pledge.”

“We will affirm any genuine progress that is made, and we will redouble our efforts to overcome obstacles or setbacks,” he said.

He also noted that the bishops take seriously the invitation to submit concerns during the comments period and said they will “do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all.”

“At the same time, we will continue to stand united with brother bishops, religious institutions, and individual citizens who seek redress in the courts for as long as this

is necessary,” he added.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, attending the plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for Culture at the Vatican, spoke to Catholic News Service in Rome February 7 before the release of the bishops’ statement on the new HHS proposed rules.

He said that although the rules expand the “number of institutions that might be accommodated” by them, unresolved issues remain.

Still at stake, he said, is the “government taking upon itself the definition to decide what is religious and what is not,” which he said is a constitutional issue “that must go forward.”

He also said the issue of institutional and individual conscience needs to be further resolved and pointed out that the contraceptive mandate could lead to further requirements such as coverage of medications for assisted suicide or male vasectomies.

The cardinal said he is also troubled that a “right to free contraception” is being portrayed as a “constitutional right.”

He called it “bad precedent” if Catholic and other Church entities have to bargain with a “constitutional right to freedom of religion in order to see where we’re going to go.”

Cardinal George said the bishops’ conversation with the Obama

Administration will continue and “it’s important that it do so.” The final resolution, he added, will “probably be with the courts.”

To date, 44 lawsuits have been filed against the HHS’s contraceptive mandate, 15 by for-profit businesses and 29 by nonprofit groups such as Christian hospitals, universities and charities.

According to the website of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Catholic and other religious institutions in a number of the lawsuits, 14 for-profit plaintiffs have obtained rulings touching on the merits of their claims against the mandate and 11 have secured injunctive relief against it.

In developments on some of the other lawsuits, a federal judge January 22 dismissed a suit filed by the Diocese of Erie, Penn., calling it premature, because the HHS rules for the contraceptive coverage have not been finalized. But he dismissed the case “without prejudice,” meaning the diocese can bring the case back to court if it is not satisfied with the final rules.

In December, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the lawsuit mandate filed by the Archdiocese of New York and two other Catholic entities can move forward.

Catholic dioceses and other plaintiffs whose cases have been dismissed are appealing those decisions.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The assignment of a priest who at one time admitted inappropriately touching a teen-age boy to a new administrative post in the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., will not lead to unsupervised contact with children, an archdiocesan spokesman said.

Father Michael Fugee was named as co-director of the Office of Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests in October by Newark Archbishop John J. Myers.

Jim Goodness, archdiocesan spokesman, said that in the position Father Fugee primarily seeks out and forwards information on seminars, courses and books that night help clergy in their ministerial work. The information mostly is shared via email, Goodness said.

“It’s important to note we’re not looking at a high, prestigious position,” Goodness told CNS. The priest continues in his position as director of the archdiocese’s Office of the Propagation of the Faith, Goodness added.

Father Fugee also celebrates Mass at parishes around the archdiocese, filling in for priests on vacation or who are ill as part of

priestly duties, Goodness said.

Father Fugee continues in active ministry under a 2007 memorandum of understanding that calls for him not to have any unsupervised contact with children as long as he remains a priest, according to court records.

The memorandum was developed after a criminal trial in 2003 in Bergen County Superior Court in which Father Fugee, 52, was convicted by a jury of sexual assault by sexual contact. The jury acquitted him of child endangering.

The charges resulted from an allegation that Father Fugee inappropriately touched a teen-age boy while wrestling with him in the teen’s home and on a vacation in Williamsburg, Va. Under questioning by investigators, Father Fugee admitting touching the boy intentionally, according to a transcript of his statement. However, he later recanted, saying he lied so he could return home more quickly.

Father Fugee’s attorney appealed the conviction and an appellate court vacated the conviction, saying that the judge presiding during the trial was incorrect in allowing a portion of

the priest’s statement in which he described himself as bisexual or homosexual to be heard by the jury. The appellate court ruled the admission could have led jurors to find him guilty because of “the unfounded association between homosexuality and pedophilia.”

Rather than take the case to trial a second time, prosecutors allowed Father Fugee to enter a pre-trial intervention program for first offenders. Prosecutors also sought the memorandum, which required him to undergo counseling for sex offenders and to have no unsupervised contact with children.

Mark Crawford, New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told CNS he thought the appointment was “a horrible risk to take.”

“Regardless of what position you place him, as long as he’s allowed to wear a collar and have full faculties, then children are at risk,” he said.

Under the abuse prevention policies of most American dioceses, he would neither have been allowed to perform any ministry nor celebrate Mass in the presence of anyone.

Priest’s work prevents unsupervised contact with kids, archdiocese says

5 The Church in the U.S. U.S. Church leaders express surprise, admiration for pope’s decision

February 15, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — U.S. Catholic Church leaders who awoke to the news of Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he will retire at the end of February said they were surprised by the news but admired the pontiff’s courage and humility for making the decision.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement that the pope’s announcement “is but another sign of his great care for the Church.”

“The Holy Father brought the tender heart of a pastor, the incisive mind of a scholar and the confidence of a soul united with his God in all he did,” the cardinal said, adding: “We are sad that he will be resigning but grateful for his eight years of selfless leadership as successor of St. Peter.

“The occasion of his resignation stands as an important moment in our lives as citizens of the world. Our experience impels us to thank God for the gift of Pope Benedict,” he continued. “Our hope impels us to pray that the college of cardinals under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit choose a worthy successor to meet the challenges present in today’s world.”

Cardinal Dolan was interviewed on the NBC’s “Today” show early February 11 where he said he was as “startled as the rest of you” about the news. On SiriusXM’s Catholic Channel, he said he admires “his humility more than ever.”

Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl was similarly talking about the pope’s decision on local news radio WTOP before 8 a.m.

The cardinal said he was “very much surprised” by the announcement, noting that he had seen the pope less than a month ago and there was no indication of a possible resignation.

He said he was “just stunned” when he heard the news in the morning and when he “got a call very early from Rome confirming this.”

What does not surprise the cardinal, though, is that the pope was able to make such a decision.

“I don’t think we should be surprised,” he said, that when the pope realized he didn’t “have the strength to continue” his role he had “the humility and courage” to act on it.

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans also expressed his “great deal of admiration” for the pope, said he appreciated the pontiff’s “recognition of the health issues he

is facing” and admired “his humility in asking the cardinals to come together in prayer to select his successor.”

In Chicago, Cardinal Francis E. George echoed his fellow U.S. prelates in saying the pontiff always has put “the will of God for the good of the Church before every other consideration” and “that same resoluteness of purpose” is evident in his decision to resign.

Pope Benedict “has taught with clarity and charity what God has revealed to the world in Christ; he has handed on the apostolic faith; he has loved all of God’s people with all his heart,” the cardinal said in a statement.

“He has now shown great courage in deciding, after prayer and soul-searching, to resign his office.”

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit said that he, “like most of my fellow Catholics, woke up to the very surprising news” that the pope was resigning.

The surprise, he noted, was followed by sadness — “a sense of grief at losing his fatherly care for all us, bishops, clergy and faithful. We have come to love him very much and will miss him.”

The archbishop likened the news to what many people experience in their families when they witness a parent “grow old and decline in ability.”

“That is the sense we bring to this announcement. Our spiritual father has determined, by the best light given to him in prayer, that for the good of us all he must lay down his office,” he added.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., said he, too, was surprised “along with the rest of the world” about the resignation and was “touched by his humble admission of the strength necessary to carry on this ministry of Christ.”

“This is a decision that reflects Pope Benedict’s stewardship of his office and is a sign of his deep humility,” he said.

Bishops across the country issued statements, wrote blogs, tweeted and held news conferences February 11 to discuss the pope’s resignation.

Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla., said that with Pope Benedict’s election, the Church received a leader “with an incredible intellect, a pastor’s heart and a very patient listener.”

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory called him “a man of extraordinary wisdom and deep faith” whose “love for the Church and his own awareness of his age and loss of physical stamina led him to make this decision for the

good of the Church that he loves with all of his heart.”

“From his work as a young theologian at Vatican II to his ministry as universal pastor,” Pope Benedict “has served God and the global Christian community with intelligence, eloquence and extraordinary self-sacrifice,” said Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

“Catholics worldwide owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. He will remain in our hearts and always be in our prayers.”

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley recalled being with the pope when he met with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his visit to the United States in April 2008.

“At that meeting, the Holy Father’s pastoral care for the survivors was clearly evident, as was his commitment and determination to heal the wounds of all persons impacted by the abuse crisis and to insure that the Church continues to do all that is possible to provide for the protection of children,” he said.

Carolyn Woo, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, recalled meeting the pope just a few weeks ago.

“I was overwhelmed with how he radiated the love of God,” she said in a statement. She called him an inspiration to CRS “especially in how he has repeatedly stressed that our faith is inextricably linked to charity and social justice, which he expressed so eloquently in his encyclicals and most recently in his letter marking the season of Lent.”

Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Va., joined many others in urging Catholics and all people of good will to pray for and support the pope “as he moves forward into a new chapter in his journey of faith” and to ask the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinals during the next conclave to elect his successor.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Silver

Spring, Md., promised the pope the prayers of its members “as he prepares to leave the papacy.”

A statement from the conference thanked Pope Benedict for his “tireless service” to the Church and for “the contributions he has made as a theologian, as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and as pope. We respect his integrity in making what must have been a difficult decision to resign.”

In the remaining days of his papacy, “our thoughts and prayers are with Pope Benedict ... who has worked so hard in leading the Church, and has always been such a good friend to the Knights of Columbus,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said. He, too, urged prayers for the cardinals who will take part in the conclave.

U.S. Church leaders also expressed confidence that Pope Benedict’s legacy would long endure.

“The witness of his life and work has borne incredible fruit and will continue to do so in his retirement. His impact on the Church will be felt for generations to come,” said Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, said one of the pope’s great legacies will be “a continuing emphasis on the need for all Catholics to exercise their role as evangelizers in the world.”

“The Church will continue to be blessed by his prayer lifted up for the needs of the world, as well as by his writings which will continue to nourish the minds, hearts and souls of Catholics around the world,” he said.

Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, of

the Catholic Church’s U.S. ordinariate for former Anglicans, said Pope Benedict would be long remembered for “the largest reconciliation of Anglican groups with the Catholic Church in 500 years.”

He said members of the ordinariate would be “forever grateful” to the pope for his “pastoral concern and vision for Catholic unity. In a very personal and significant manner, he has changed our lives as he has welcomed us and our Anglican patrimony into the Catholic faith this past year.”

Others noted the significance of the pope’s decision coming during the Church’s Year of Faith.

During a morning news conference, Cardinal Wuerl stressed that the pope has “called all of us to carry out the spiritual mission of the Church” particularly in the Year of Faith.

He described the pope’s legacy as his “engagement of faith with the modern world.”

Pope Benedict emphasized that “each one of us is capable of a personal relationship with God. That is his message,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

Oblate Father Andrew Small, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, said the pope has “poured out his life in service of God, the Church and the poor.”

“He has not yet run his race to the very end. We pray for him as he enters this next stage of his life,” the priest said. “And as we do, we commit ourselves to the ongoing Year of Faith, asking that it may bring renewed energy to the mission of the Church.”

6

The Anchor May we all heed what Jesus wants of us

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI came on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, the patroness of the sick. A hymn for that feast, listed anonymously in the Roman Breviary, says, “Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high.

Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.”

Of all the days on which the Holy Father could make his momentous announcement, he did so on this feast day of the Blessed Mother, who identified herself in 1858 to St. Bernadette in Lourdes as “the Immaculate Conception,” a title which Blessed Pius IX had infallibly declared for Mary in 1854. Once again in 2013 we see Mary’s maternal concern for the successor of St. Peter and for the whole Church, as she prays for us sinners constantly, “now and at the hour of our death.”

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Sick, which is February 11, Pope Benedict quoted his immediate predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, who said when he founded this day of prayer back in 1992, that it is “a privileged time of prayer, of sharing, of offering one’s sufferings for the good of the Church, and a call for all to recognize in the features of their suffering brothers and sisters the Holy Face of Christ, Who, by suffering, dying and rising has brought about the salvation of mankind.” Given what Pope Benedict has said about his own physical frailties and about the challenges of carrying the cross of the papacy, these words take on added significance now. We think about how the pontiff has been doing this in his own life and about our need to recognize the suffering Face of Christ in the current and in the future popes’ faces. Theirs is not an easy task and they need our prayerful support.

In his message regarding the sick, the pope next called upon all of us to “draw from the infinite love of God, through an intense relationship with Him in prayer, the strength to live day by day with concrete concern, like that of the Good Samaritan, for those suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we know them and however poor they may be. This is true, not only for pastoral or healthcare workers, but for everyone, even for the sick themselves, who can experience this condition from a perspective of faith.” As we can read in the pope’s resignation announcement, his decision was the fruit of his prayer life, in which he would share with Christ the joys and challenges of his ministry as pontiff, while also speaking with the Lord about his personal physical and spiritual limitations.

The pope wrote an encyclical letter to the entire Church back 2007 about the virtue of hope, entitled “Spe Salvi.” He quoted this letter in his message for this past Monday: “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, Who suffered with infinite love.”

The Holy Father is not fleeing from his suffering. Actually, it took his characteristic humility to take the action he took, of having to be the first pope in almost 600 years to not serve as the bishop of Rome until death. As Father Landry says in the column to the right of this editorial, Pope Benedict’s service to the Church is not coming to an end. He will continue to serve the Church effectively as a man giving his life to God in prayer — something which we are all called to do, each according to our own state of life.

This past Sunday, the day before the Holy Father made his announcement, he told the English-speaking pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, “May we too listen attentively to Jesus’ words, as He calls us, like Simon Peter, to go out fearlessly and draw others to Christ. God bless you and your loved ones!” One would assume that the pope had already come to the conclusion in his prayer as to what he would say the next day to the cardinals (and ultimately to the entire world). So, reading now his Sunday greeting in this context, we understand that our following Christ fearlessly does not mean grasping onto our titles or our power. Instead, we are to cling to our relationship of love with Christ. This will give us the courage that we need to be fishers of men, whether doing so directly in a one-on-one conversation or doing so through the sacrifice of our time in prayer before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Before speaking in English, the pope had spoken in Italian to the crowd gathered with him to pray the Angelus about Jesus’ call of St. Peter to dedicate his life to fish for souls. “Dear brothers and sisters, may the Word of God revive in us and in our Christian communities the courage, confidence and enthusiasm to proclaim and witness to the Gospel. May failures and difficulties not lead [us] to discouragement: it is our task to cast our nets in faith, the Lord will do the rest. Also we trust in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles. At the Lord’s call, she was well aware of her littleness, but she answered with total confidence: ‘Behold, here I am [to do your will].’ With her maternal help, we renew our willingness to follow Jesus, Master and Lord.”

The next day, the day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Benedict revealed to us what God ultimately wanted him to do for the good of himself and the good of the Church. In the weeks ahead, which will be a new experience for all of us, may we follow his advice, deepening our relationship in love and prayer with Jesus and Mary, so that we may say “yes” to however God would like to lead us through this Lent, each with our own crosses to bear, so as to rejoice in the power of the Resurrection. As the pope said, we just need to cast the net, God will do the rest. May we trust in Him.

I

February 15, 2013

The abrupt end of Pope Benedict’s papacy

n 2010, in the book-length interview on prayer over the last two years as well as in “Light of the World,” Pope Benedict told many talks to priests, seminarians, religious Peter Seewald, “If a pope clearly realizes that and faithful, he has repeatedly stated that the he is no longer physically, psychologically, and most important thing we do as Christians for spiritually capable of handling the duties of God and others is to pray. By resigning the pahis office, then he has a right and, under some pacy in order to continue to serve the Church circumstances, an obligation to resign.” devotedly through prayer is to declare that It’s clear by his shocking declaration Monhe believes the work of prayer is even more day morning that Pope Benedict thinks he has important than the ministry of the papacy. And reached that point. if prayer is even more important than the work When he was elected on April 19, 2005, he of the successor of St. Peter, then it’s hard to introduced himself to the Church as a “simple argue that any other ministry in the Church — and humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard,” or any other human work — is more important and his genuine humility before the duties of than prayer either. There’s probably been no his office was on full display in his decision to greater illustration of the lesson Jesus taught resign.

Martha and Mary in Bethany than this.

While many of us have been more than satIt was said that perhaps John Paul II’s isfied at the level with which he was continugreatest teaching of all was his proclamaing to serve the whole Church at 85, it’s clear tion of the Gospel of redemptive suffering that he believes that the ministry of the succes- over the last years of his life. I anticipate that sor of St. Peter requires more and better than the primacy of prayer — which means the he thinks he is physically capable of giving. primacy of God’s action in us — may become Out of love for the Church, he humbly became the lasting lesson of the final years God grants the first pope in 598 years to step down.

Pope Benedict.

On a physical level, his conclusion is The last item about his statement that stuck understandable. Very few octogenarians would out to me was his reminder to all of us that have the stamina the “Supreme to fulfill the Pastor” of pope’s daily the Church is schedule of Christ, not his continuous highearthly vicar. level meetings While popes and speeches, may come and not to mention go, the Good

By Father grueling interShepherd will Roger J. Landry national travel never have an and a Liturgiinterregnum. For cal schedule Pope Benedict, awaiting him during Holy Week that has in his preaching, in his celebration of the been known to wipe out priests half his age Sacraments, and in his bearing, he was always in settings far smaller. If most pastors would focused on Jesus, not on himself. At World be physically challenged to administer a busy Youth Days, for example, he intentionally took parish in their mid-80s, how much more gruel- the focus off of the pope and had millions of ing must it be to preside over a Church of one young people drop to their knees with him in billion people? And, in Pope Benedict, we’re humble adoration of the Lord in the Eucharist. talking about a priest who’s had two strokes, a And that’s a key to understanding his starpacemaker for 20 years, prostate problems and tling resignation. some form of degenerative joint disease.

He seemed to fear that if he remained in ofAll the same, even at obviously reduced fice as his physical health gradually worsened, physical capacity, Pope Benedict was still more of the focus would be on him and his capable of leading the Church with incredible frailties than on the Lord and the Lord’s work. wisdom because of his unbelievably brilliant The mission that the Lord has entrusted to and totally undiminished mind. In one of the Church is too important, he seemed to be several interviews I gave on Monday, the jour- saying, to allow that to happen. The Supreme nalist asked what people would say his legacy Pastor needs simple and humble laborers in would be in 10 years. I responded that it’s his fields, which are ripe for the harvest. As more fitting to ask what his legacy will be in humble and simple as Pope Benedict remains, 500 years, because having him on the cathedra he no longer thought he could effectively carry of Peter was like having another St. Leo the out the work of harvesting, and so he thought Great, someone whom future generations will it was time for someone more vigorous to take likely deem a doctor of the Church. up the work, lest anything perish on the vine.

There are a few things about his decision to And as Bishop Emeritus of Rome, Pope Beneresign that are particularly striking to me. dict seems to want to vigorously to support The first is that it seems that it was not those efforts by the even more important labor his decision, but the Lord’s. He began his that he still has the strength to do, his prayer. shocking statement to the cardinals by declarAnd so while we remain shocked about his ing, “After having repeatedly examined my resignation of the papacy — Catholics, after conscience before God, I have come to the all, will always be better at celebrating a papal certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced funeral than a papal retirement party — I think age, are no longer suited to an adequate exerit’s important for us to move from grief to accise of the Petrine ministry.” ceptance and then to two other states.

Pope Benedict has long called conscience The first is gratitude for all that Pope an “organ of sensitivity” to the voice of God Benedict did in his eight years of service. It’s indicating to us what to do or avoid. While clear by his resignation because of his physical the judgments of conscience can always be infirmities — which don’t seem to the naked erroneous, Pope Benedict has been tuning his eye to be that much greater than what we’ve “organ” for so long and fighting against false observed over the past several years — that he ideas of conscience that it is highly unlikely must have been pushing himself to the limit that he would be hearing the Lord say “go” for years out of loving service of Christ and us. when the Lord was in fact stressing “continue And he accomplished so much. On all but five on.” So his decision to resign does not seem to occasions in papal history, such gratitude was be the “no” of someone who wants to quit the only able to be offered posthumously. We have burdens of the papacy but one more “yes” in a rare opportunity to thank him and to thank a lifetime of faithful fiats to what the Lord has God for him, and doing so will make us more asked of him. appreciative of our faith.

Next, by his decision Pope Benedict gave Second, it’s now the time to begin praying us perhaps his most powerful lesson about the for his successor and for the cardinals who will importance of prayer. He finished his statement elect him. Whoever he is, he will have big fishmentioning that he would “devotedly serve erman’s shoes to fill — and as Pope Benedict the Holy Church of God in the future through has made clear, a heavy burden. a life dedicated to prayer,” carried out in a Father Landry is Pastor of St. Bernadette monastery on Vatican grounds.

Parish in Fall River. His email address is Throughout his papacy in his catecheses fatherlandry@catholicpreaching.com.

Putting Into the Deep

T

he season of Lent brings fasting, prayer and many spiritual exercises that bring us face to face with sin. Penance, reconciliation, repentance, conversion are thrown together as interchangeable parts of our redemption. We learn these terms as children when we prepared for our first Reconciliation, but it is not until we experience the real effects of sin do we fully understand. My little grandniece, after making her first Confession, reported excitedly that she was the first to do her Penance. Though I was proud that the competitive gene has been safely passed onto another generation, at some point in her life she will learn that Reconciliation is more than three Our Fathers and a Hail Mary. The word is more about relationship healing than it is about debt reimbursement.

Sin and faith form the double helix of our spiritual DNA. We are strong in our faith when we are in close relationship with God. Sin damages this relationship and requires healing before we are right with God. This is genuine sin, not the faux sin that is wrapped in legalistic constructs. That kind of

7

The Anchor

February 15, 2013

Reconciling our inner beliefs

sin rides the tide of history, captures both victim and culture, science, psychology perpetrator of those horrific and sociology and lends itself acts of terrorism. Her moment to relativism. of redemption came when a Jesus came to turn us detainee asked her, “You know away from real sin. He taught everything about me, but still us that sin is not bound by you do not hate me. Why?” any man-made construct, Her response was drawn from which He demonstrated by the deep well of her Judeobreaking Sabbath laws to perform acts of true Reconciliation.

Jesus brought merciful healing to the paralytic, the blind man, the hemorrhaging woman,

By Claire McManus the leper, punctuating each healing with the announcement: Your sins are forgiven! Jesus Christian formation, and reconciles the whole person, came as a surprise to herself bringing healing to body and and the terrorist. “Everyone soul. This is the nature of true has done things in their past and authentic Reconciliation. It that they’re not proud of. I is physical and spiritual, deeply know I have, but I also know personal and profoundly God still expects me to love communal.

Him with all my heart, soul, At the Guantánamo Bay mind and strength, and to detention facility in Cuba, love my neighbor as myself. personal sin meets social sin That means you.” Her response in head-to-head combat. A brought the terrorist to tears, former interrogator working as he cried, “That’s what my for U.S. Intelligence described God says, too.” Reconciliation! the physical toll that her work In his “Exhortation on took on her, affecting her Reconciliation and Penance” whole being. She felt “defeated, Pope John Paul II wrote, frightened and tired” because “There can be no union among she could not break free from people without internal change the web of social sin that within each individual.” The

The Great Commission

Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world accomplishes this one sin at a time. The Church’s primary mission is to offer to the world the Good News that Christ came to bring Reconciliation.

Any function or activity within the Church must serve this mission, but to achieve this requires a communal examination of conscience. This is the value of the season of Lent, for we are bound together by the ashes on our foreheads so that our personal repentance will bring about Reconciliation for the world. This can only be accomplished if we face the difficult task of naming sin for what it is.

When we unwrap sin from its protective shield of ideology and politics it exposes a fault line running through the Christian world. Being a Christian requires radical love, without which there will never be a New Evangelization. The world will be reconciled when we all stand up for every person’s basic human right to life, both innocent unborn children and the inconvenient members of our society. The world will be reconciled when resources

are not wasted on weapons of destruction while poverty is allowed to fester. The world will be reconciled when all forms of discrimination, racial, cultural, religious, and gender, are recognized as sin. The world will be reconciled when violence, terrorism and torture are neither legitimized nor institutionalized.

The Church cannot engage in dialogue with the world on these issues until we collectively rid ourselves of our acceptance of sin.

Our Lenten fast should be an act of Reconciliation.

Reconciliation is not limited to the Sacrament but was entrusted to all of us so that the world will be healed. If we only confess our sins and perform acts of Penance but do not reconcile our inner beliefs with the radical message of peace and love that Jesus left for us, then the world will not change. Our Lenten fasts, when performed with sincere humility, may result in a conversion within our hearts from which we may not recover.

This may be our first experience of Reconciliation. For our Penance, say one Hail Mary and see with clarity the real effect of sin in the world.

Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

Pope Benedict’s resignation will set in motion period of transition

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While the surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is a first for the Church in centuries, it also leads to a complicated period of transition that ends in the election of a new pope.

Regulated by ancient traditions and recent rules, the period between popes — known by the Latin term “interregnum” — will begin exactly at 8 p.m. Rome time February 28, a date and time Pope Benedict stipulated in a declaration he made February 11 for when the See of Rome and the See of St. Peter will be vacant.

Normally the interregnum begins with a pope’s death and is followed by a period of mourning.

This time the pope will resign from his ministry and spend a short period of prayer and reflection at the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, before moving to a monastery at the Vatican.

The rules governing the interregnum are matters of Church law, not dogma.

The apostolic constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” confirms that as long as the Holy See is vacant, the Universal Church is governed by the College of

Cardinals, which cannot, however, make decisions normally reserved to the pope. Such matters must be postponed until the new pope is elected.

Until there is a pope, the Roman Curia — the Vatican’s network of administrative offices — loses most of its cardinal supervisors and cannot handle any new business.

The College of Cardinals is to deal solely with “ordinary business and matters which cannot be postponed.” At present, there are 209 cardinals, and all of them are asked to meet in Rome to help administer the transition period.

The College of Cardinals does this through two structures: a general congregation, in which all the cardinals are to meet daily; and a particular four-member congregation, consisting of the chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and a rotating team of three cardinal assistants.

Only those cardinals under age 80 will be eligible to vote in the coming conclave. Cardinals who are age 80 or over by the time the conclave starts are excluded from the closed-door proceedings. There will be 117

cardinal-electors when the “sede vacante” begins February 28;

by March 5, that number will be 116.

As chamberlain, Cardinal Bertone is to administer the goods and temporal rights of the Holy See until the election of a new pope.

Meanwhile, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, is charged with making preparations for a conclave to elect a new pope, and the cardinals must set the time for the conclave to start.

The word conclave comes from Latin, meaning literally “with key,” and reflects the previous tradition of locking the cardinals in an area where they would spend day and night until the new pope’s election.

On the day set for entry into the conclave, the cardinal-electors assemble in St. Peter’s Basilica to attend morning Mass.

In the afternoon, they walk in procession to the Sistine Chapel, located just to the north of St. Peter’s.

The voting may begin that afternoon with one ballot; on following days, normally two ballots are held in the morning and

two in the afternoon.

A pope is elected when he obtains a two-thirds majority, reflecting a change Pope Benedict established in 2007 that effectively undid a more flexible procedure introduced by Blessed John Paul.

According to the new rule, the two-thirds-majority rule cannot be set aside even when cardinalelectors are at an impasse.

If the cardinals are deadlocked after 13 days, the cardinals pause for a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue, then move to runoff ballots between the two leading candidates. A papal election will continue to require a majority of two-thirds of the voting cardinals.

All voting is secret, in writing, on paper ballots, which are deposited in a receptacle by each elector, then counted. Ballots are taken to any cardinals residing at the Domus Sanctae Marthae but who are too sick to come to the Sistine Chapel.

After each morning and afternoon round of voting, the ballots are burned.

By tradition but not by rule, they are burned with special chemicals to produce the black

smoke signifying an inconclusive vote, or white smoke if a new pope was elected. Due to confusion in the past as people in St. Peter’s Square tried to determine what color smoke was coming out of the Sistine Chapel smokestack, the basilica’s bell is also rung to confirm a successful election.

Once a new pope has been elected, he is asked if he accepts the office — he is encouraged but not bound to do so by the current rules — and is asked to choose a name.

Traditionally, the senior member of the cardinal deacons — currently Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, 69 — announces the successful election results from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. After the new pope has donned papal robes, he proceeds to the balcony, where he greets the public and offers his first blessing.

At a time designated by the pope, usually a few days later, he officially opens his ministry with an investiture Mass at St. Peter’s. The new pope is no longer crowned with a papal tiara, but receives a pallium, or stole, in recognition of his authority.

8

February 15, 2013

The Anchor

T

oday we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent and as we begin our Lenten journey we hear the Gospel of Luke describing Jesus’ journey into the desert for 40 days and being tempted by the devil.

For any of us who have spent time in the desert it is an incredible roller coaster of extremes in weather from extreme high temperature during the day and bone-chilling cold at night. Those types of changes can certainly play games with our minds and bodies and put us under extreme pressure. Jesus not only has to deal with the isolation of the desert but then the devil arrives and tempts Jesus to succumb to him and his power and away from His mission.

The first temptation is to turn a stone into bread when Jesus is hungry. He tells the devil, “One does not live on bread alone.” How many of

A good time to ask for forgiveness

us go on a healthy diet regime bring us happiness and securiand are tempted by our old ty? We hear stories all the time habits for sweet and unhealthy about lottery winners’ lives foods even though we know getting worse, not better. The a healthy diet is better for us? only kingdom worth having is We should remember we are fed by God’s Word and the Body Homily of the Week and Blood of Jesus First Sunday Christ. of Lent In the second temptation the devil shows

By Deacon Jesus all the kingdoms John W. Foley of the world and tells Him he can give Him the power to rule over all the kingdoms if he would the Kingdom of God. Material only worship the devil as His goods cannot buy our entrance superior. Jesus responds to the into the Kingdom of God. devil, “You shall worship the The final temptation put Lord your God, and Him alone forth by the devil to Jesus is to shall you serve.” How many of throw Himself off the highest us are tempted to spend more point of the Temple, testing money than necessary on lotGod to save Him with His antery tickets, jeopardizing our gels. Jesus tells the devil, “You financial situation, all for the shall not put the Lord, your chance to win extremely large God, to the test.” How many sums of money, hoping it will of us are living our lives on the

edge, putting material goods and social entitlements ahead of having a life of prayer and faith? When we live our lives on the edge, we test God. We need to trust God. Our every day lives are full of temptations, from the simplest temptation of an extra piece of cake for dessert to life-changing ones, such as turning way from God and risking eternal damnation and life with the devil. There are many Catholics who have fallen away or actually left the Church over the years, for many different reasons. Many of us know some people like this; do we try to help them to return to the Church and a life with Jesus? Just as the devil tempted Jesus away from God, we can “tempt” them to return, to reconcile with the

Church, and begin anew a life with Jesus Christ. The good thing to remember is that most of this is within our grasp. We need to have a strong prayer life; we need to attend Mass regularly and hear the Word of God and be fed with the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Lent is a good time to ask for forgiveness from Jesus for those times we have succumbed to temptation and not acted the way He intended us to. He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to allow us to repair and rebuild our relationship with Him for those times we have strayed off course.

He is always there for us; He never gives in to the temptation to abandon us. We should always pray that we won’t be tempted to abandon Him. Deacon Foley serves at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Feb. 16, Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86:1-6; Lk 5:27-32. Sun. Feb. 17, First Sunday of Lent, Dt 26:4-10; Ps 91:1-2,10-15; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13. Mon. Feb. 18, Lv 19:1-2,11-18; Ps 19:8-10,15; Mt 25:31-46. Tues. Feb. 19, Is 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-7,16-19; Mt 6:7-15. Wed. Feb. 20, Jon 3:1-10; Ps 51:3-4,12-13,18-19; Lk 11:29-32. Thurs. Feb. 21, Est C:12,14-16,23-25; Ps 138:1-3,7c-8; Mt 7:7-12. Fri. Feb. 22, 1 Pt 5:1-4; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 16:13-19.

W

hen did modern Catholicism begin?

The conventional wisdom says, “At Vatican II.” A sophisticated version of the conventional wisdom says, “With the mid20th century Catholic reform movements that shaped Vatican II.” In “Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21stCentury Church” (Basic Books), I suggest that even the sophisticated form of the conventional wisdom doesn’t open the lens widely enough.

The gestation of the Church being born today — the Church of the New Evangelization — began in 1878, when Pope Leo XIII was elected. Leo quietly interred Pope Pius IX’s rejectionist strategy toward all aspects of modernity and began to explore the possibility of a

A new take on modern Catholic history

new Catholic engagement with XIII. If John XXIII was the modern intellectual, cultural father of Vatican II and Pius XII and political life. Leo XIII only the Council’s grandfather, then planted the seeds. But the seeds Leo XIII (in whose pontificate he sowed — in Catholic biblical John XXIII was born) was a studies, in the renewal of Catholic philosophy and theology studies, in creating the social doctrine of the Church and opening the Church to modern historical studies — eventually

By George Weigel bore fruit.

It wasn’t easy.

There was considerable resistance to the Leonine reform and its develop- kind of great-grandfather of the ment. But the mid-20th century most important Catholic event renaissance of Catholic theology since the 16th-century Council that produced giants like Joseph of Trent.

Ratzinger and that shaped the Which brings us to another deliberations of Vatican II was point: From the vantage point of made possible in part by Leo the 21st century, and the call of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI for the Church to embrace the New Evangelization, we can see more clearly that what Leo XIII set in motion was the end of Counter-Reformation Catholicism — the Catholicism defined by the Council of Trent; the Catholicism that anyone under 50 today grew up in.

Counter-Reformation Catholicism had many accomplishments. It energized great missionary endeavors, notably in the newly-discovered Western Hemisphere. It successfully resisted the bloody-minded

Be sure to visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.

The Catholic Difference

French Revolution and the radical secularism that struck 19thcentury Europe like a tsunami, driving half the German episcopate to prison during Bismarck’s Kulturkampf and destroying the Papal States in the Italian Risorgimento (the latter, in hindsight, a blessing in disguise).

It was the Catholicism that began the evangelization of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Catholicism that refused to truckle to communism, the greatest persecutor of the Church in history. It set the institutional framework for the reform movements that were the foundation of Vatican II. But its time has now passed.

As the New Testament Church gave way to the Church of the Fathers, and that Church gave way to medieval Catholicism, which in turn gave way to Counter-Reformation Catholicism, so the Church shaped by Trent is now giving way to the Church of the third millennium — Evangelical Catholicism.

And just in time.

Counter-Reformation Catholicism “worked,” as recently as the 1950s in America, because the ambient public culture helped transmit the faith, especially in intensely Catholic environments like Boston, New

York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Milwaukee and so forth. But those days are long gone. The 21st century cultural air is toxic, anti-biblical, Christophobic.

It teaches the soul-withering notion that to do things “my way” is the summit of human aspiration and the very definition of maturity. And it regards those who hold firm to biblical religion and its moral teachings as idiots at best, irrational bigots at worst.

In this atmosphere, which is the air we breathe, CounterReformation Catholicism doesn’t work. What is needed — to live the faith, to pass on the faith and to convert the world — is a robustly evangelical Catholicism: a Catholicism of radical conversion to friendship with Jesus Christ, which is understood to confer a missionary vocation on everyone.

And so John Paul II concluded the Great Jubilee of 2000 by challenging the entire Church to leave the shallow waters of institutional maintenance (Counter-Reformation Catholicism) and, like the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, to put out “into the deep” and convert the world.

That’s Evangelical Catholicism.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

February 15, 2013

C

all it what it what you will: Nemo or the Blizzard of 2013, it was still a huge pain in the neck for thousands across the Diocese of Fall River and beyond.

Snow, measured in feet instead of inches, and winds howling at hurricane forces battered the fine folks of Southeastern Massachusetts from the Attleboros through Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Things virtually ground to a halt for one of a plethora of reasons. Work was suspended, school was cancelled, social

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The Anchor

Shelter from the storm

events became families gathered Channel 6. around a hurricane lamp actually This year, the diocesan TV talking and catching up rather Mass will celebrate its 50th anthan a soccer game here, a dance recital there, and the like.

Even Masses last weekend fell prey to the fury of the storm, preventing even the most

By Dave Jolivet heartiest of Catholics from attending.

Throughout all the postponements and cancellaniversary of offering the Sunday tions, one event stood tall — the Mass to Catholics across the diocesan TV Mass on WLNE diocese. And never, in the last half

My View From the Stands

Women in combat — Part II

and widespread cohabitation, espite the genuine no stigmas remain for singlegood will and sincere parent households — for efforts of many fine people choice is not restricted to who have worked to create abortion, but applies also to equal opportunities for men household structure and family and women in many segments arrangements. of society, it cannot be ignored With this cultural anarchy that there are more insidious — brought about deliberately ends in play by feminist by social Marxists — we ideologues. Historically, there now turn to its effects on has been a close working the military. As increasing relationship between Marxists numbers of women swelled and feminists, and thus the the ranks of all available dialectic used to outline economic history has also been applied to the evolution of culture.

Just as the workers have been encouraged to overtake those who own the means of production, leading to

By Genevieve Kineke the socialist state, when women rise up against the patriarchy, a more units, there was the reasonable peaceful, androgynous society assumption that the troops, is supposed to follow. To this who were very much a end, unrestricted access to part of the popular culture, birth control and abortion are would share the same views non-negotiable elements of about sexual activity, and liberal policies. should “fraternization” Indeed, the society in occur, it wouldn’t affect which we live would not be troop strength (meaning possible without women’s that the women wouldn’t ability to control the “means be sidelined by pregnancy, of reproduction” (to put it which is technically a courtcrudely). For decades now, martial offence in some the lives of most women — circumstances). married or not — have been For millennia, military arranged around that premise, men have been notorious for as the majority opinion in their need to work off sexual deciding the 1992 court case, frustrations, and in this regard Planned Parenthood v. Casey a particular sort of “camp indicated. Considering the follower” has been a perennial importance of the precedent fact of life. Sailors visiting of the 1973 case legalizing foreign ports and soldiers in abortion, the judges wrote: from the field have long been “An entire generation has prey to exploitation because come of age free to assume of this reality, and nothing Roe’s concept of liberty [sic] in modern times indicates in defining the capacity of that a resurgence of virtue women to act in society, and to has occurred — rather to make reproductive decisions.” the contrary. Now, with the Decades of unrestricted presence of sexually-available access to birth control and women within the ranks, the abortion have allowed situation has only become promiscuity to flourish without more complicated. Even censure. Furthermore, with beyond the acceptance of sky-rocketing divorce rates

The Feminine Genius

consentual intimate relations among the troops, there are hundreds of charges of rape and sexual violence each month — both hetero- and homosexual in nature — and the number is growing Already — given the realities of the sexual revolution — women (and homosexuals) in the military have led to sexual intrigue, jealousy, coupling and breakups, and staggering rates of pregnancy. None of this helps readiness or mobilization efforts — or morale — in fact all branches of the military have been accused of masking the true situation in order to continue the politically-correct blending of women into the ranks.

And thus, since it cannot be ignored that those pushing for expanding the roles of women in the military are the same ones who decry “cowboy diplomacy,” “the evils of patriarchy,’’ and “military aggression” around the world, is it any wonder that one is left to wonder at the end-game of deliberately creating situations that distract, disorient, and demoralize the military?

Since we know that the same feminists who insist that women are equally capable of any male task also believe that wars are caused by too much testosterone, is it unreasonable to suggest that undermining the ability to wage war would be a welcome outcome to some?

Ideology cannot be ignored — even if the rank and file are unaware of the way in which they are being used. The next piece will look at women who have actually attempted to integrate into the armed forces and what they discovered.

Mrs. Kineke writes from Rhode Island and can be found online at feminine-genius.com.

century, has Mother Nature forced the diocesan TV Mass off the airwaves.

“Through the years, we’ve always had a TV Mass ready,” John Kearns diocesan director of Communications told me.

While some may not have had power to flick the set on, the diocesan TV Mass is available on the diocesan website www.fallriverdiocese.org (open the page and scroll down to the menu choice for the Mass), making it available on smart phones and tablets, all of which can run on battery power, or making it available to diocesan faithful once the power returns.

Last weekend, however, Nemo was the architect for a TV Mass first. For the only time in 50 years, a scheduled taping of the Mass had to be rescheduled.

“Those of us involved in the weekly TV Mass Apostolate have been very fortunate with regard to big snowstorms on TV Mass taping-Saturdays,” Kearns said.

“To the best of my memory, since Msgr. Stephen Avila and I began with the TV Mass in 1988, last weekend’s blizzard marked the first time we had to postpone TV Mass tapings because of serious snow. We’ve had flurries, rain, wind, power outages, technical breakdowns and an occasional delayed celebrant, but never a blizzard.”

Way to go Nemo.

Yet, because of the forethought of the diocesan TV Mass Apostolate, TV Masses are taped a week in advance to insure its airing on the proper Sunday. “It’s always been a fear,” Kearns added. “In fact, out of concern that it might someday happen, during the winter months we schedule our taping of TV Masses to make sure we are one week ahead. So last Sunday’s TV Mass had already been recorded before last weekend. That was fortunate since more turn to the TV Mass when hazardous conditions outdoors prevent them from making it to their parish church.”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that way consistently (one may even say religiously) brings the Catholic Mass to those who can’t make it there in person.

Even as I write this column on Tuesday, weather gurus are monitoring the possibility of the convergence of two more storms headed our way for the weekend.

Regardless of what this system is named, if it comes together at all, we can rest assured there are some good folks out there ready to bring the Mass into our living rooms if need be.

“So, with accommodating priests and participants and, we hope, better weather, we’re ready to tape this Saturday,” Kearns told me. Just what a ministry is meant to do — provide shelter from the storm.

Revised and updated ...

2012-2013 Diocese of Fall River Catholic Directory ... NOW SHIPPING !!

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The Anchor

February 15, 2013

Devoted parishioner, Knight works to keep faith alive

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

WAREHAM — During the latest pilgrimage aboard the Cape Cod Bus for Life to the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. last month, it wasn’t uncommon for bus captain Richard C. Zopatti Jr. to roam up and down the aisle, making sure everyone was content and comfortable during the nearly 10hour drive.

“It’s such a big help to have Rich with me,” said Kevin Ward, president and founder of the Cape

Cod Bus for Life. “I do all the reservations and bookings year-round, but he does a lot on the actual trips to keep things moving smoothly.

He’s been the bus captain for all our trips.”

Since he started the annual bus pilgrimage to the nation’s capital at the urging of then-pastor Father Arnold Medeiros five years ago, Ward said Zopatti has been right there by his side, providing help, friendship and support.

“In the years that we’ve been running the bus, I’ve had a couple

parish: Council No. 15280, better of setbacks and was in the hospital became good friends.”

“The Knights of Columbus is known as the Father Francis Groat one point and I was able to pass an organization that doesn’t toot gan Council. The group was named things off to him,” Ward said. “He’s its own horn enough,” Zopatti said. in memory of the Holy Cross priest been a good friend and he’s done a “It has helped me grow as a young who occasionally filled in at St. Patgreat job.” rick’s Parish and was killed aboard For Zopatti, the time and effort man into the person I am today.”

As a proud fourth-degree mem- United Flight 175 that flew out of he puts into the trip is a natural extension of his faith and a labor of ber of what he referred to as “the Logan International Airport in Bosvisible arm of the Knights of Co- ton on Sept. 11, 2001. love.

“My wife and I are Stonehill “I look at this as my annual re- lumbus,” Zopatti said the organizaCollege graduates,” Zopatti treat,” he said. “It’s after Christsaid. “Father Grogan was an mas, at the beginning of the administrator there a long year, and it’s my time to recontime ago. My wife and I were nect with the Lord and make also extraordinary ministers sure I’m still there. That’s why of Holy Communion at St. I love going to the National BaPatrick’s and Father Grogan silica on that first night. It’s an would sometimes fill in at amazing experience.” our parish. Every time I saw In talking to Zopatti, it’s him at Mass, he and I and my obvious how important a role wife would chat. I heard he faith plays in his life. was taking a new post with “I try to do what I can to live the Holy Cross Fathers and my faith everyday,” he said. he was traveling to the West “I’ve got to ‘walk the walk.’

Coast to see his family on the Sometimes I’m successful with morning of September 11.” it, sometimes I’m not. But I try Although Father Grogan to do my best in life so I can wasn’t a Knight, Zopatti said meet Jesus along the way. I’m a all the members of his counfirm believer in the ‘Footprints’ cil immediately supported poem. I know there are times the suggestion and he also when Jesus carries me and I reached out to Father Groknow there are times when He gan’s sister, who told him he walks with me. And you don’t would be honored to have the know which is which. But one council named after him.

Anchor Living Stone — Richard day I’ll find out.”

C. Zopatti Jr. (Photo by Kenneth J. “It’s a great bunch of Having grown up in Walguys and the council has pole where he initially attended Souza) been growing, which is reBlessed Sacrament Parish, Zopatti moved to Wareham and tion’s well-known Assembly Color ally nice,” Zopatti said. “We try joined St. Patrick’s Parish in 1992, Corps — to which he belongs — is our best to help our pastor, Father the year he married his wife, Karen. readily familiar to Catholics from John Sullivan, and parochial vicar, Already an active member of its presence at special Masses and Father Ron Floyd, because they are the Knights of Columbus since celebrations; but there’s far more to the leaders of our church here and 1985, Zopatti transferred to the the Knights of Columbus’ mission we’re there to support them.”

Among his other duties, Zopatti local council shortly thereafter — and purpose.

“You learn how things work previously served on the parish which would lead to his meeting in an organization, how to work a council and currently is a member Kevin Ward.

“We used to have all-night project to its completion, how to of the parish finance council, aladoration back in the 1990s and I help others do things, how to build though he said he’s been trying to would relieve Rich,” Ward said. friendships and accomplish things scale back his volunteer efforts of “That’s how we got to know each with your brother Knights,” he said. late.

“I used to be a little bit more Although the first Warehamother. Later on, I joined the Knights of Columbus … down in Buzzards based council to which he trans- involved before, but I’ve been Bay, and the Wareham council ferred disbanded, Zopatti recent- helping my wife with her parents, at that time had closed and Rich ly helped form and start a new because they’re getting older,” he Continued on page 11 transferred to that council and we Knights of Columbus group for his

The Anchor

February 15, 2013 Continued from page 10 said. “But I still do whatever I can to help out.”

Father Sullivan praised Zopatti for his many contributions to the parish and for his dedication to the Knights of Columbus.

“He’s a good example of someone who remains involved not only with the local parish, but with the wider Church as well,” he said.

Even though they just got back from the March for Life a few short weeks ago, Zopatti said he and Ward are already gearing up for next year’s pilgrimage.

“We probably have a few days

of down time, but we’re already making plans for next year,” he said. “Kevin does all the day-to-day details. He organizes the trip, gets everything together and makes all the arrangements. Putting that trip together is not an easy thing to do.”

Zopatti said he’s been blessed to have the opportunity to give something back to his Church and community, and he encouraged others to consider doing the same.

“When I first got involved with the parish, that’s when I started to grow as a man and as a person of faith,” he said. “When you get active in your parish, that’s when you

start to realize things about your faith and your Church. If everyone did a little something, it would make life a lot easier. Sometimes it’s always the same group of people who do the bulk of the work and … we need to try and expand that group a little bit.”

“But you also have to know your limitations,” he added. “You can’t do everything. There was a time when I tried to do as much as possible, but you have to realize that you have to let some other people get involved also, because it takes a whole community of people to do something.”

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February 15, 2013

The Anchor

Youth gather to pray for pope, recall his loving guidance

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — A group of young adults at the Vatican called Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign “humble” and “brave,” adding that they are “impressed by the strength of his choice.”

“I have a lot of respect for his choice,” said one member of the Vatican’s youth group “San Lorenzo,” which gathered to pray the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square for the Holy Father.

“We actually do this every day,” said Cecile Delattre, a native of Paris. She explained that the group has responded to the pontiff’s call for Catholics to pray a daily Rosary during the Year of Faith.

“But today we prayed it more specifically for the pope,” she explained.

On February 11, Pope Benedict announced that he would retire from his position on February 28, due to his advanced age and declining strength.

Pointing to Blessed John Paul II’s description of the cross as a “symbol of hope,” Delattre emphasized that “we have nothing to fear because the Holy Spirit is guiding the whole thing.”

At first, she said that she could not believe the news of the resignation, which came as a total surprise.

But at the same time, she knew the decision was made “in truth with the Lord and in peace.”

Throughout his pontificate, Delattre said, the Holy Father has addressed “subjects that spoke directly to young people” in a way that was “very brave and bold.”

She speculated that the pope “must have suffered” from those that did not understand him, but she added that many young people gave the pontiff their full support.

“I saw it during this last World Youth Day when thousands knelt with him before the Blessed Sacrament,” she explained. “I felt they acknowledged that he was guiding us closer to Christ.”

“We will remember him as someone really humble and really attached to everyone,” she said.

Also with the San Lorenzo group to pray the Rosary was a first-year theology student from the

North American College in Rome.

“My first response, like that of everybody else, I’m sure, was of shock and surprise,” said Luke Doyle, noting that this is the first papal resignation in six centuries.

“But after that, I felt profound gratitude for the gift that the Church has been given in the Holy Father,” he continued.

“He’s a great man and a tremendous leader for the Church, for others, and what a great gift to have had him and his mind to lead the Church,” he reflected.

Another theology student described the mixed emotions of “sadness, but at the same time excitement.”

“This happened 600 years ago, and we don’t know exactly what happened then,” said Sean Grismer of the North American College, who voiced enthusiasm over “the mystery of what is to happen now.”

“I think one of the greatest things is the great humility he has exemplified throughout his entire papacy,” he said.

Grismer recalled seeing Pope Benedict up close during Australia’s World Youth Day in 2008.

“There was this sense of wonder and awe of this man who had taken on the responsibility of the entire Catholic Church and the entire world, and it was such a moving experience,” he said.

“Then to be sent to Rome to study here and to be just in the shade of St. Peter’s dome, to come to his Sunday Angelus and his Wednesday audiences has allowed me to see the profound humility he has,” the student explained.

According to Grismer, the resignation is “nothing more than what he has already exemplified, saying he is not able to continue on as pope, but your spiritual father if not your Holy Father.”

“It has been a great blessing to be here and be part of his legacy to see him grow and continue to love us in this different way,” he said.

“He is a father and a teacher,” the seminarian reflected, “and even though we may not understand fully now what this means, he is teaching us something great, not just about himself, but about the papacy.”

man of courage — Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful after delivering a talk at the conclusion of a Mass for the Knights of Malta in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican February 9. The pope announced February 11 that he will resign at the end of the month. The 85-year-old pontiff said he no longer has the energy to exercise his ministry over the Universal Church. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope Benedict shows signs of aging, but Vatican reports no illness

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — From the moment he was elected pope at the age of 78 in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI has kept a schedule that appeared light compared to that of Blessed John Paul II, but busy for a man who had wanted to retire to study, write and pray when he turned 75.

Announcing February 11 that he would resign at the end of the month, Pope Benedict said, “I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”

Speaking to reporters after the pope’s announcement, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters the pope was not ill, but made the decision because of his declining strength due to his age.

The pope recognized his limits with “a lucidity and courage and sincerity that are absolutely admirable,” Father Lombardi said.

Pope Benedict often has seemed tired, with large, dark

circles under his eyes during especially busy periods of public Liturgies and audiences.

In October 2011, Pope Benedict began riding a mobile platform in Liturgical processions.

At the time, Father Lombardi said it was “solely to lighten the burden” of processions, although he acknowledged the pope had been experiencing the kind of joint pain normal for a man his age. Just a few months later, the pope began using a cane to walk, although it often looks like he is carrying it, not relying on it, for support.

However, just in the past few months when celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope no longer walks all the way around the altar when using incense at the beginning of Mass; instead he raises the thurible only from the back of the altar. And at the end of a Mass February 2, the pope lost his grip on his crosier; as it fell, Msgr. Guido Marini, the papal master of Liturgical ceremonies, caught it.

When he was elected in 2005,

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, February 17, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Henry S. Arruda, Pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Taunton

he was said to have told his fellow cardinals that his would not be a long papacy like that of his predecessor, who held the office for more than 26 years.

The German author and journalist Peter Seewald asked Pope Benedict in the summer of 2010 whether he was considering resigning then, a time when new reports of clerical sexual abuse were being published in several European countries.

“When the danger is great, one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign,” he told Seewald, who published the remarks in the book, “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times.”

The pope did tell him, though, “one can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say that someone else should do it.”

In another section of the book, the pope told Seewald: “If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.”

While no pope has resigned since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, even as a cardinal Pope Benedict did not rule out the possibility.

Even before Blessed John Paul’s health became critical, reporters asked the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger whether he thought Pope John Paul could resign. “If he were to see that he absolutely could not (continue), then he certainly would resign,” he said.

February 15, 2013

Holy Father to resign as bishop of world’s Catholics continued from page one

very “composed, concentrated” and read “in a solemn manner” in keeping with the importance of what he was saying, Father Lombardi said.

Fulfilling the canonical requirement, Pope Benedict solemnly declared to the cardinals, “Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new supreme pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

It is up to the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, to make preparations for a conclave to elect a new pope.

Fall River Bishop George W. Coleman released this statement shortly after the pope’s announcement: “This morning His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to resign from his ministry as Bishop of Rome and Successor of St. Peter. He explained that, due to an advanced age, his strengths are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of his ministry.

“I recall being present in Washington, D.C., with the Holy Father during his apostolic visit to the United States in 2008. During Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium, he asked us ‘to trust in the power of grace to create a future of promise for God’s people in this country. Above all, I urge you to continue to be a leaven of evangelical hope in American society, striving to bring the light and truth of the Gospel to the task of building an ever more just and free world for generations yet to come.’

“Let us pray for Pope Benedict as he completes his ministry and for the cardinals who will elect his successor. At the same time, may we, as ‘a leaven of evan-

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The Anchor gelical hope,’ strive to ‘bring the light and truth of the Gospel to the task of building an ever more just and free world for generations to come.’”

Word of the pope’s decision spread quickly across the Diocese of Fall River, and reactions varied, but one common theme shone forth: that the move was a “courageous” one.

“I was shocked, stunned, and grateful,” Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford, told The Anchor.

“I’m grateful for the job he has done. He has been a great teacher, but he realizes he had to step down for the good of the Church.

He had the courage to make this difficult decision.”

Msgr. Oliveira mentioned that Pope Benedict witnessed the difficulties his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II experienced, and Benedict, too, led the Church through much self-sacrifice.

“While still a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger asked Pope John Paul II to retire, but stayed on when the Holy Father asked him to. This decision took a great deal of thought and compassion for the Church.”

Father Roger J. Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River, expressed his surprise and gratitude to The Anchor. “It has been an incredible grace for us as Catholics to have a living doctor of the Church occupying the cathedra of St. Peter over the last eight years. Pope Benedict has enriched us so much by his encyclicals and exhortations, by his profound homilies and his incredible question-and-answer sessions with priests, students, and even children. He has made our deep Catholic faith simple and understandable, focusing our attention on the beauty of our faith, on God’s love and our call to live in it and share it, on the roots of Christian hope, on the great treasures of the Eucharist and the Word of God. He has helped me to become a much better disciple and priest.

“I was stunned when I heard the

news this morning. I was praying in the rectory chapel before seven in the morning when my brother called. Normally when he calls that early it means either someone has died or that there has been an announcement from Rome. I answered the phone and I couldn’t believe at first that the news was true. It’s still hard for me to imagine that his pontificate is about to end. But I’m convinced that he believes in conscience that this is what the Lord is asking of him and, once more, he seeks to be obedient. Very few octogenarians would have the stamina to fulfill the pope’s daily schedule of continuous high-level meetings and speeches, not to mention grueling international travel and a Liturgical schedule awaiting him during Holy Week that has been known to wipe out vigorous priests half his age. So his conclusion is understandable. While many of us have been more than satisfied at the level with which he was continuing to serve the whole Church at 85 — most especially in his teaching office — it’s clear that he believes that the ministry of the successor of St. Peter requires more than he thinks he is physically capable of giving.

“As stunned as I personally am at the news, I can do nothing but pray for him and support him as he follows what he believes the Lord is asking of him in conscience. The pope reminded us in his statement that Jesus Christ is the Supreme Pastor of the Church and that His service as Good Shepherd will have no interregnum. And so we trust in the Lord to lead us as another takes up the burden of the papacy. As for the next step for Pope Benedict, he’s always stressed that the most important thing any Christian can do is pray, and so he will continue to serve us and the whole Church through his prayers as he becomes the first emeritus pope in six centuries.”

Father Jason Brilhante, a parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth, told The Anchor,

“I was saddened to hear the news.

I love him and he was a great pastor and teacher for the Church.

“It was a true act of humility to realize the limitations of his current physical state, and it was an act of courage to do something so unprecedented that it last occurred nearly 600 years ago. He did it for the good of the Church. This was thought through very well.

“I’m sure he’ll continue to pray for all the priests, religious and people of the Church and I assure him of my prayers for whatever he does in the future.”

Father Lombardi said after the pope steps down, he will move

to the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome. He will stay there until the renovation is completed of a cloister, set up by Blessed John Paul II, which is located inside the Vatican Gardens, he said.

The pope will then live in the cloister, called the Mater Ecclesia monastery, and dedicate his time to prayer and reflection, the Vatican spokesman said.

It was likely the pope would keep writing, he added, since the pope has mentioned many times that he has wanted to spend more time dedicated to study and prayer.

Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation announcement Dear brothers, I have convoked you to this consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of

this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new supreme pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of our supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore His Holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the cardinal fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new supreme pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, Feb. 11, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI

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The Anchor

February 15, 2013

Tale of two Easters: Holy Land Catholics, Orthodox to celebrate as one

JERUSALEM (CNS) — Ghassan Rafidi, 53, remembers enjoying celebrating Easter twice as a child in his village of Jifna.

“We had two times to celebrate and two vacations. My father’s family gave us gifts on the Greek Orthodox date, and my mother’s family on the Catholic,” said Rafidi, the son of a Catholic mother and a Greek Orthodox father.

But today the Christian community has shrunk, and it is important that the celebrations be united, he said. Employers honor vacation on only one of the celebrations, putting pressure on families to decide which to celebrate, he said.

“The Muslims always ask us how many Jesuses do we have,” he said.

There are many families like Rafidi’s, in Israel and the Palestinian territories, with members belonging to the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Protestant churches.

For the past 15 years, Catholic parishes throughout the Palestinian territories and many in Israel have been celebrating Easter on the Greek Orthodox date.

Now, following a directive from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, within two years all Eastern Catholics and the Latin Patriarchate in the Holy Land will officially adopt the Greek Orthodox Julian calendar date.

The Latin Patriarchate calls the move a “decisive step toward ecumenism.” The official

directive will take place after completion of the decree and approval by the Vatican.

“The main reason for the unification of the Easter celebration is for members of the same family, village and parish to be able to have one celebration, and one calendar, and to show the unity

because of the Status Quo, the 1852 agreement that preserved the division of ownership and responsibilities of various Christian holy sites. The parish in Tel Aviv has also received an exemption for this year since there are many foreign workers who are members of the parish.

“The Liturgy is very beautiful if done together as a family. It can’t be spiritual if it is only part of the family,” he said. During the week following Easter there are traditional holiday family visits as well, he added.

Father Ilario Antoniazzi of St. Anthony Parish in Rameh,

different days — A girl lights a candle during the Catholic Easter Vigil Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem last year. Orthodox and Catholic Christians in the Holy Land marked the Easter feast on different days because of conflicting Church calendars. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)

and enjoy the unity. We want to give a good example of unity to our non-Christian neighbors,” said the Latin Patriarchate chancellor, Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali.

The Latin-rite diocese of the Holy Land includes Israel, the Palestinian territories and Cyprus. Parishes in Jerusalem and the Bethlehem, West Bank, area will be exempt this year

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The Greek Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar and did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, which was implemented

by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to correct a miscalculation in the rotation of the earth.

Next year, Easter falls on the same day according to both calendars, so the change by decree will only be adopted in 2015.

The spirit of the holiday is lost if it is celebrated on separate dates, said Father Raed Abusahlia of Holy Family Parish in Ramallah, West Bank. Easter in the Eastern church is all of Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday, and includes special prayers during the week, he said.

Israel, has been celebrating Easter with the Greek Orthodox for 15 years; he said the date is not important.

“The most important thing is to be together on the feast, to give a good example of our love and to show that we are united in our love,” he said.

In the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, the change did not come easily for some parishioners, said Father Agapios Abu Saada of St. Elijah Melkite Catholic Cathedral, who has been pivotal in pushing for unifying the celebration.

“My experience in seeking solidarity ... was not a smooth one,” he said. “The decision was

This week in 50 years ago — While vacationing in the Far East, Mary Henchy and her daughter, Eileen, of Taunton, provided a month’s food supply to a needy family in Macao as part of the Feed-a-Family Program of Catholic Relief Services.

25 years ago — St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s parishes in Fairhaven cosponsored a workshop presented by Dr. Elaine Rendler and Paul Covino of the Center for Liturgy, Spirituality and the Arts at Georgetown University on “The Ministry of the Celebrating Community with Emphasis on Personal Presence and Hospitality.”

not unified even within the same congregation.”

He said those initially opposed to the idea were swayed by the joint religious processions during Holy Week.

“Unifying the feast is a vivid Christian testimony in a multicultural and multireligious society,” he said. “Christians in the Holy Land are a minority that keeps dividing itself to inner minorities within the minority, creating diverse subcommunities which deteriorate the goal of Christians as one unrestricted community living in a multicultural and multireligious society.”

Father Abusahlia said some of his parishioners are “a little bit disturbed” because the Greek Orthodox Easter comes so late this year: May 5.

“In the past years, we celebrated it together or with a difference of one week, so they didn’t feel it. Now it is very late, with a difference of 35 days. But we will celebrate together, it is good and important,” said he said.

The change also involves celebrating Lent and the period between Easter and Pentecost, said Bishop Shomali.

“Christmas is just Christmas and Epiphany, but when we unify the calendar (on Easter) we are unifying 90 days of the year.

It is important,” he said.

He said he would be happy to see the unified celebration adopted universally by all Christians.

“The solution is to fix one Sunday in April as the date,” he suggested.

Bishop Shomali said although the Catholics did not ask the Greek Orthodox Church to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, he expects they will do so to unite Christians for that feast.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — With a first successful season under its belt, the diocese’s RENEW program received a very positive first critical evaluation from Parish Core Communities and Small Group Leaders at participating parishes.

One year ago — Father John J. Perry, diocesan director of cemeteries, announced the three Catholic cemeteries located in New Bedford — Sacred Heart Cemetery on Mount Pleasant Street; St. Mary’s Cemetery on Kempton Street; and St. John the Baptist Cemetery on Allen Street — would all be run as a single entity under the collective title “New Bedford Catholic Cemeteries.”

Parishioner creates comprehensive Parish Nursing Program continued from page one

ing,” she said.

Mazzucchelli studied to be a nurse in England, then came to the United States and studied at Emmanuel College in Boston to pass the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. She worked as an operating nurse for 23 years, stopping briefly to open a bed and breakfast for 15 years, before continuing being a nurse as a member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod until she retired last year.

But even before Mazzucchelli officially retired, she was already planting new seeds in the area of nursing in 2007, when she approached her pastor, Msgr.

Daniel Hoye of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, and asked if there was anything she could do to become more involved in the parish.

“He said, ‘How about parish nursing,’” recalled Mazzucchelli.

Today it is estimated there are more than 6,000 practicing parish nursing programs in the United States, Canada, Australia and other parts of the world. A result of the Reverend Granger Westberg, a Lutheran minister in Illinois whose efforts to unite medicine and religion led to the creation of the parish nurse program, the program — officially developed in 1984 through the Pastoral Care Department of Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. — has roots that can be traced back even further to when churches were the important sources of healthcare, and deacons and deaconesses provided comfort and treatment.

Parish nursing has a spiritual dimension as a central part of the ministry, as well as a physical, psychological and social dimension. The focus of the practice is the faith community and its ministry. Parish nurses collaborate with pastoral staff and other ministries of the congregation to facilitate the ongoing transition of health and healing of its members. The practice believes that all persons are sacred and must be treated with respect and dignity. In response to this, the parish nurse encourages members to become more active in the management of their own personal health. The nurse also continues to embrace the spiritual, psychological, physical and social dimensions of the person as a sense of his or her own wellbeing When Mazzucchelli first agreed to fill the vacancy left by the previous parish nurse, she confessed that she didn’t know exactly what would be involved when she took the position. She

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February 15, 2013

attended the mandatory course at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River from October 2007 to May of 2008 and after graduating, immediately went to work creating a comprehensive, multi-faceted parish nursing ministry at Christ the King Parish.

She started with implementing monthly blood pressure clinics held in the parish hall, then began to add additional duties that included visits to parishioners at their homes, bedside support at hospitals or nursing homes, and offering respite care for caretakers. Parishioners make inquiries at the parish office, and Mazzucchelli is then contacted.

“We can transport people to appointments, do a little shopping for them. I’ve taken people to church,” said, Mazzucchelli, who currently has five clients she sees on a regular basis. “I also work with the senior center in Mashpee. The outreach coordinator calls me and if she has someone that she thinks needs some help, I’ll follow up on that.”

Mazzucchelli said she’s experienced “lots of people with depression; people who have lost a spouse, so a lot of grief issues. Medication management is a big thing. People take their medications but they’re not sure what the side effects are of the medication, so I go over that with them.”

“A lot of couples have issues.

One person I’m seeing right now, her husband has Alzheimer’s, so she’s dealing with that.

He does go to day care three times a week,” she said, adding that respite care given to caretakers is always deeply appreciated.

“The caretaker is very stressed,” explained Mazzucchelli. “I tell them that I have some volunteers that can spend some time, so they can go shopping or get their hair done, go out to lunch; they are so relieved to know that there is a program

like this.”

The best part is telling people it doesn’t cost them anything, said Mazzucchelli; the program is strictly voluntary. There also have been unforeseen spiritual benefits; “People who have been away from the Church have come back. One of my first experiences was with someone who lost a spouse; she just fell away from the Church and took him away also. He was the sole caretaker, so when she passed away he went through a very difficult time. It was the outreach coordinator from the senior center who connected me with this man.

“So I went to see him a number of times. I’d bring him Irish bread or some soup, and he started coming back to church. He then got involved with the food pantry; we have a tremendous food pantry here,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”

She and her volunteers have seen upwards of 50 people during the monthly blood pressure clinics, and while the clinics are not designed to replace a doctor’s care, Mazzucchelli will document the results and have clients take the forms to his or her own primary physician.

“One woman tells me I saved her life,” she said, laughing. “I tell her, ‘No I didn’t, I just put you on the right track.’ A couple of people with atrial fibrillation [irregular heartbeat] may need to be on blood thinners, so we got them off to the doctor’s to get them started.”

In 2009, Mazzucchelli, in collaboration with St. Anthony Parish in East Falmouth and Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, launched an annual Health Fair held at Christ the King Parish. Using her connections at the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, as well as other resources, Mazzucchelli was able to put together a wide-ranging list of guest speakers — from therapists, to registered nurses, to doctors and others — who presented on numerous subjects,

including diabetes, arthritis, holistic stress management, Hospice and palliative care.

She also pulled together a number of table exhibitors that showcased an extensive number of health resources available to those living in the area. Mazzucchelli recalled walking around during that first year and said, “I was amazed at the number of people who came; it was a huge success.”

Mazzucchelli has continued to add to the parish nursing ministry by making literature about the program available to parishioners. When the head usher came to her about taking part in a CPR course, Mazzucchelli helped organize it so that a number of ushers at Christ the King Parish became CPR certified. She also came up with a

step-by-step plan for the ushers to follow in case of a medical emergency.

“Since I have become parish nurse, there have been three other women who have taken the course. They’re part-timers: Marjorie Gordon, Joan Bruce, and Donna Crump,” said Mazzucchelli, adding that she also has 12 volunteers, all with nursing backgrounds, as well as lay people who help pull records.

“I knew I didn’t want it to be just a blood pressure clinic; I wanted it to be more. I wanted to be able to go into homes, hospitals and nursing homes and help parishioners,” she said, and she will be the parish nurse at Christ the King Parish for as long as she’s able. “I just hope it continues to be as successful. Health is so important.”

cape cod caretaker — Betty Mazzucchelli, a nurse and a parishioner of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, coordinates a very successful and proactive parish nursing program at the Cape Cod parish.

16

Youth Pages

letter perfect — Holy Name School in Fall River ended its Catholic Schools Week festivities with the annual Spelling Bees for grades five and six and grades seven and eight. At the conclusion of the last spelling bee, all the winning spelling bee students in kindergarten through grade eight received certificates from their teachers. Pictured are the Holy Name School Super Spellers.

saw winners — Students in grades five through eight at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro take part in a weekly activity period. Students get to choose from electives such as pottery, cooking, jewelry making, duct tape art, dancing, woodworking and book club. The students remain in their chosen activity for the entire trimester after which they can switch to a different option. Shown here is Nick Dafulas cutting the board for his bird house while Jonathan Moore looks on and helps hold the wood.

REPTILE RANGER — Celebrating Catholic School’s Week with students from all Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools, Dynoman Dinosaur shared his enthusiasm for all things dinosaurs with students from grades one through three. Students enjoyed the presentation while donning their favorite pajamas in honor of a favorite dress-down during Catholic Schools Week. Dynoman covered topics like fossils, habitats, survival, classification, and included an interactive time-line for students to explore.

February 15, 2013

right on target — St. Mary’s School in Mansfield kicked off Catholic Schools Week with a shopping trip to Target in Easton. Eighth-grade students collected money from the school community and used the funds to purchase household items as part of the Make a Home service project. Working with My Brother’s Keeper in Easton, students shopped to furnish and stock a home for a local family in need. Created by CSW coordinator Rayanne Woods, the Make a Home Project continues to provide students with hands-on experience in regards to budgeting and shopping while gaining a better appreciation of what children their age may not have.

SCIENCE GUYS AND GALS — St. James-St. John School in New Bedford was proud to acknowledge science fair winners in grades six through eight.

proclamation of faith — Representative Shauna O’Connell recently visited Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton to present an official State House Proclamation in honor of Catholic Schools Week. She reminded students how fortunate they were to be able to openly share their faith while in school. She is pictured with Teresa Lescinkas, Alexandra Nedell, Carl Valentine, and Principal Bob Gay.

February 15, 2013

R

ecently we were in New Jersey to attend the funeral of my wife’s uncle. The hotel we were staying at was supposed to be fairly close to the funeral home but with an abundance of caution we left the hotel early enough to arrive at the beginning of the wake service on time. I told my iPhone’s disembodied voice, Siri, the location of the funeral home and she immediately started to give me directions indicating that we would arrive within 15 minutes. Without a thought I followed the path planned out by Siri.

When I purchased my first GPS unit, my wife was in constant competition with the device. She’d still bring along her maps and written directions, but over the last few years, as technology improved, she became more comfortable with trusting the GPS unit. Maybe it was too soon. We headed out for the funeral home and Siri gave the turn-by-turn directions and we followed them. As you may have guessed by now, we didn’t get to the right place.

We were sent to the right address but the wrong town. No matter how many times I put in the right town, the system changed it to the wrong town.

A phone call got us back on the right path and we arrived, but late. Let’s just say that wasn’t a gleam of admiration in my wife’s eyes that night.

Youth Pages Got GPS?

Unlike a technical marvel road in our life, our internal like the GPS, unfortunately, GPS should help us decide none of us possesses a GPS which way to go as long as we for our lives. But we do have turn it on. That’s what we call access to the prompts and prayer. cues that might guide us along Unfortunately, our internal the road to our final destination.

Each and every day we reach crossroads where we have to make decisions.

Without these prompts

By Frank Lucca and cues guiding us in what to do, how do we decide which way to go? If you are in eighth grade GPS doesn’t just blurt out the for example, I’m sure you directions. But if we take the are anticipating the movetime to pray and listen, we can ment to high school next fall. make the right choice at each Which high school? If you are crossroad. graduating from high school Sometimes we may not you will have to make decilisten to our internal GPS and sions on whether you’ll attend end up on the wrong road college or not, and if college somewhere. Well, just like is what you want, then which a real GPS unit, it recalcucollege it might be? If you are lates the route to get us back leaving college this spring, on the right road. Likewise, you are deciding what career even when we head down the path to take. These are some wrong path of life, our prayer examples of major decisions and our listening for an anbut we also make hundreds of swer from God can help us get others each day. back on the right road and in I believe we all have our the right direction. own internal GPS. Let’s Each and every choice we call it God’s Prayer System. make in life leads us down a (OK, it’s corny, but I think it path. We don’t always know makes the point). Since birth, if it is the right path. That through the influence and dican be a scary thought. As rection of our parents, priests, an example, if I hadn’t gone teachers, friends, neighbors to my college, I may never and relatives, we’ve added to have ended up teaching in the map-set (values) that our Attleboro. Therefore I most internal GPS has inside it. likely would never have met When we come to any crossmy wife and therefore my two

Be Not Afraid

drawing attention — Two Bishop Connolly High School art students won awards in the 2013 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards. Yaoyi Fan received the Golden Key Award, the Globe’s highest honor, for her prolific work on her portfolio. Qianting (Cindy) Zhang won an honorable mention for her work on a personal watercolor. From left: Greg Sampl, Bishop Connolly art instructor; Yaoyi Fan; Qianting (Cindy) Zhang; and E. Christopher Myron, Principal of the Fall River school.

17 girls might not exist (aren’t you lucky girls?). If I hadn’t met my wife, I most likely would never have made a Cursillo retreat, which means I’d never be a youth minister.

It goes on and on. Our internal GPS has a million possible directions/ maps. By choosing one and starting down that path, we affect the possible upcoming roads we can take. If we just blindly take a right or a left without prayer or directions, we may not end up back on the road we wanted to be on and the path that God has intended for us.

Fortunately for us, every path can lead to the same place if we ultimately get back on the right path.

In each and every step of my life, I believe that I was guided in my decisions through prayer. I can’t imagine what life would be like today if I hadn’t followed each and every path. I’m glad that I finally listened.

In the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent this weekend, we will hear Luke’s Gospel passage (Lk 4:1-13) which recounts the temptation of Jesus in the desert. We know that we face temptations daily and that the devil’s hope is that we’ll veer off on the wrong path without checking our internal GPS. Just as with my New Jersey trip, no matter what I did I was taken down

the wrong path until I called for help. Only then did I get to the destination. When you find yourself drawn down the wrong path, pray for help. It works!

No doubt some of you may be saying, “That was quite a stretch to use a GPS system as the basis of this column this week,” but I think it gets the point across that I want to leave you with. A quote I once heard says it well, “Pray as though everything you do depends on God, and then act as though everything you do depends on you.” So start heading down that road you choose. You have the free-will to accept or reject the cues and directions along the way, given by your internal GPS. But like with my GPS, if you ignore a prompt you will go off on a wrong path until something draws you back. I hope you’ll take the time to think and listen for the internal prompts that will guide you down the right road for you. See you at the final destination!

Frank Lucca is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea. He is chairman and a director of the YES! Retreat and director of the Christian Leadership Institute. He is a husband and a father of two daughters and a son-in-law. Comments, ideas or suggestions?

Please email him at StDominicYouthMinistry@ comcast.net.

keys to success — Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro announced that Feehan students received 13 Gold Keys, 16 Silver Keys, and 25 Honorable Mentions. Artwork will be displayed at the State Transportation Building Gallery in Boston from February 13-April 20. Writing award recipients pose with their teachers at Bishop Feehan, front row from left: Andrea Vale, Colleen Fitzgerald, Marybeth Nametz, and chairman of English, Jeff Day. Second row: Elizabeth Magill, Erin Garrity, Grayce Rose, Margaret Bie, teacher Linda Tyler, and teacher Lou Gazzola.

Back row: Chris Hughes, Evan Grandfield, Austin McCarthy-Kelly, and teachers Paul Powell and Chris Kelly.

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February 15, 2013

Sister to bring message of poverty, hunger

40 Days for Life book recounts success stories

creating more affordable housing for low-income households.”

As a member of the Mass.

Catholic Conference’s Social Justice Policy Committee, Sister Bessom’s role is to bring to light advocacy/public policy issues that impact people in the Commonwealth who are experiencing poverty, homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless, so that the MCC will also adopt these particular long-term solutions as part of its legislative priorities, one of which is the unaccompanied youth problem.

Part of Sister Bessom’s presentation tomorrow in Attleboro will be a multi-media and discussion program. “Those attending will view the MCH’s 2012 video on interviews with unaccompanied youth and young adults experiencing homelessness,” she explained.

The video can also be viewed on Youtube at www.youtube.com/ user/EndHomelessnessMA. “Due to severe restrictions of the Department of Housing and Community Development of who can access family shelters, many families are daily being denied shelter unless and until they have first slept in places ‘not meant for human habitation,’” Sister Bessom told The Anchor. “Mass. Law Reform Institute has put together a 13-minute video ‘Give Them Shelter’ (http://youtube/cFgeTsHjYw). There is a campaign to amend the governor’s January 14 supplemental budget request to

raising her son,” Carney writes in the chapter titled “A Gold Medal.”

“But most importantly, it represented her joy, a joy she wanted to share with 40 Days for Life,” he continues. “I don’t know her name.

I hope she reads this book so that she’ll know what her gift meant to me and what it now means to so many others. I hope that her gift will give you the courage to speak up for the value of every human life.”

This is just one of the many stories — 40 of them, to be exact — that make up this inspiring collection co-authored by Carney, campaign director of 40 Days for Life, and David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life.

“Over the last five years David and I have each been to about 300 of the local 40 Days for Life campaigns and there are so many stories that you could only do justice to in a book and not in a simple email or radio interview,” Carney told The Anchor. “That’s why we decided to put the book together and right now people in our nation are looking for hope — especially on the front lines of the culture war.”

Carney said even though the Pro-Life cause seems to be facing setbacks on the national level with the recent re-election of “the country’s most pro-abortion president” and his commitment to mandate abortion coverage via health care, the book attempts to shine a light on those small victories that aren’t making the news.

“On the local level God is doing amazing things,” he said. “He’s working miracles and we wanted to share the most unbelievable, unpredictable circumstances of moms choosing life, abortion workers having conversions and leaving their jobs, and of abortion facilities going out of business. There’s a lot of good happening at the local level.”

Appropriately enough, the book was officially launched on January 21 to coincide with the second-term inauguration of President Barack Obama and on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that imposed abortion on all 50 states and has led to the death of more than 55 million children since 1973.

“We did a pre-release special on the night of the inauguration,” Carney said. “We sold about 5,000 books instantly and we had a great pre-launch. We’ve seen a great deal of enthusiasm and we’ve received a lot of great responses to the book.

People have been reading it in anticipation of this latest 40 Days for Life campaign.”

Having been involved with 40 Days for Life since its inception, Carney said he first met founder and national director David Bereit

continued from page one

amend the language in Emergency Assistance Line Item 7004-0101 to require the DHCD to provide shelter to families experiencing homelessness who are at ‘imminent risk of staying in places not meant for human habitation.’”

Sister Bessom suggested that those who would like to become involved and help people such as these, should contact their local St. Vincent de Paul Society to see what the area needs are.

“People can donate funds towards rental assistance, and first and last month’s rent,” she said. “Volunteer at shelters, Catholic Social Services, the Attleboro Area Council of Churches, food pantries and meal programs. Contact Catholic Social Services to learn who is building housing for unaccompanied youth and what the needs are. Find other shelter providers who are working with unaccompanied youth who are homeless. Find out if there are mentoring, tutoring, or job training programs for youth, at which you can volunteer and share your experiences. Collect food and clothing gift cards for your local St. Vincent de Paul.

“Everyone can make a difference in alleviating the effects of poverty and homelessness, as well as working towards ending homelessness.”

Tomorrow’s program at Holy Ghost Church begins with a 4 p.m. Mass followed by a potluck dinner at 5 p.m. The presentation is set to begin at 5:30 p.m.

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in the fall of 2004.

“My wife and I actually worked for David who was running a local Pro-Life organization in Texas,” he said. “And we saw our local abortion numbers going up so we spent one hour in prayer and from that one hour in prayer we decided to do 40 days of prayer and fasting, 40 days of community outreach, and 40 days of a non-stop, peaceful vigil outside a local Planned Parenthood abortion facility. That was the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign and it helped reduce local abortion numbers by 28 percent.”

When he and David teamed up to launch the national 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall of 2007, they were hoping to get maybe 20 or 25 cities to join in.

“We had 89 cities that first fall,” he said. “That led to a spring campaign and over the past five years we’ve held a fall and spring campaign each year and it’s now done in 481 cities in 15 different countries.”

Part of his job as campaign director for 40 Days for Life is to visit many of these 481 local sites — and the personal encounters he’s had with the many people affected by abortion over the years is what inspired the publication of the book.

“These people are not statistics and when you see the circumstances you understand them,” Carney said. “Nothing is more powerful than the human heart. It’s capable of great evil, but it’s also capable of great sanctity. We’re showing that sanctity (in the book) — we’re showing that the human heart can be turned, even at the last moment, when it’s presented with the beautiful truth: that there is hope beyond abortion and that there’s hope instead of abortion.”

Carney said he and Bereit have been moved and inspired by the many personal stories they’ve heard over the past five years and they are thrilled to be able to share those experiences with everyone.

“These are people we’ve met

on the sidewalk and we’ve seen their tears in a lot of cases,” he said.

“For them to give us permission to write about their encounters is very humbling and I think it’s going to inspire others and give perspective to what we’re fighting for in the Pro-Life movement. This is not a 40-year problem that is OK … and it’s not something we can afford 40 more years of.”

One of those better-known personal encounters is shared firsthand by the author of the book’s foreword, Abby Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood and author of “Unplanned.”

“I knew Abby for eight years when she worked at Planned Parenthood,” Carney said. “We’re the same age and we got started on the opposite sides of the fence. We used to do media interviews against one another in the local city where we lived, and yet she had a change of heart.

“Five years ago nobody would have been able to foresee Abby Johnson writing the foreword to a 40 Days for Life book, and yet she leaped at the opportunity to do it and that can only be explained by the Holy Spirit.”

And yet Johnson’s story isn’t all that unique or surprising to Carney.

“We’ve seen 75 abortion workers who have had conversions and leave their jobs — we talk about a lot of them in the book,” he said.

“Many of them you’ve never heard of, because they lead private lives.

But that’s remarkable because most people can’t think that can happen.

“The Pro-Life movement is filled with people who either used to participate in abortions, people who have had abortions, or people who have genuinely supported a woman’s right to choose abortion.

Nobody who is Pro-Life becomes pro-choice, but there are tens of thousands of people who were prochoice and are now Pro-Life, and that speaks to the truth — in the end, truth and life always overcome death and falsehood.”

While the book is organized into 40 chapters with closing reflections and prayers engineered to provide daily readings for those participating in the 40 Days for Life, Carney said it can also be enjoyed in one sitting.

“Technically, you can read one chapter a day, but most people have said they just keep going and read it through,” he said. “It’s a beautiful book and I think it will touch a lot of hearts and minds.”

For more information about the book or national 40 Days for Life campaign, visit www.40daysforlife.com.

For information about the local 40 Days for Life vigil in Attleboro, visit www.40daysforlife. com/attleboro.

February 15, 2013

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich.

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at noon. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow.

Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the chapel.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday, following the 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:30 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction.

Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Expostition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass.

The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day.

Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Every First Friday, Eucharistic Adoration takes place from 8:30 a.m. through Benediction at 5:30 p.m. Morning prayer is prayed at 9; the Angelus at noon; the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m.; and Evening Prayer at 5 p.m.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All from other parishes are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

WOODS HOLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church, 33 Millfield Street, year-round on weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No Adoration on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. For information call 508-274-5435.

19

The Anchor Four Chaplains’ love of others recalled 70 years after sacrifice

KEARNY, N.J. (CNS) — An act of valor by four men of faith 70 years ago at the height of World War II can serve as an inspiration for people today, said the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. Celebrating Mass honoring the men — known as the Four Chaplains — who gave up their lives for others as their military transport sank in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio said the men’s love of God and for others led them to make the ultimate sacrifice in service to others.

Archbishop Broglio was the main celebrant of a Mass at St. Stephen Parish in Kearny that recalled the sacrifice of Father John P. Washington, a native of Newark, on Feb. 3, 1943, and three other Army chaplains. “Father John P. Washington and his companions did not wake up on Feb. 3, 1943, and decide that they were going to be heroes,” the archbishop said. “They were men for others with the courage of their convictions long before that day dawned.”

Father Washington, along with Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, the Rev. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister, and the Rev. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister, all Army lieutenants, gave their life jackets to other panicked soldiers scurrying to abandon the Dorchester after it had been torpedoed at night by a German U-boat. The Dorchester was part of a convoy of ships heading to a U.S. base in Greenland.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Feb. 16 Rev. Alphonse J. LaChapelle, Assistant, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1983 Rev. Joaquim Fernandes da Silva, CM, 2001 Feb. 17 Rev. Louis R. Boivin, Retired, Cardinal Medeiros Residence, Former Pastor, St. Theresa, Attleboro, 2010 Feb. 19 Rev. Andrew J. Brady, Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1895 Rev. Leopold Jeurissen, SS.CC., Pastor, Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven, 1953 Feb. 20 Rev. James H. Fogarty, Pastor, St. Louis, Fall River, 1922 Rev. Raymond M. Giguere, O.P., Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1986 Rev. Thomas E. Morrissey, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton, 2006 Feb. 21 Rev. Msgr. Luiz G. Mendonca, PA, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1997 Feb. 22 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Jovite Chagnon, Founder, St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1954

Around the Diocese 2/15

St. Bernadette’s Parish, 529 Eastern Avenue in Fall River, will pray the Stations of the Cross beginning tonight and every Friday night of Lent at 6 p.m. Meditations will be taken from the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The Knights of Columbus will be serving clam cakes and chowder before and after the Stations in the parish hall and all are welcome.

2/18

St. Louis de France Parish, 56 Buffington Street in Swansea, will host weekly Centering Prayer gatherings using a Lectio Divina format. The group will meet in the family room of the main church, gathering at 5:45 p.m. every Monday in Lent beginning February 18 through March 25 (except March 18, due to schedule conflicts). Prayer begins promptly at 6 p.m. Come rest in God’s embrace. For more information contact Charles R. Demers at forums4ami@gmail.com or 508-264-5823.

2/21

An invitation is extended to join in prayer for “Building a New Culture of Life” on February 21 at 1 p.m. in St. Jude’s Chapel of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee. Prayers will consist of the four mysteries of the Rosary with meditations on each, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

2/23

A one-day retreat in Portuguese with Dionisio DaCosta, recipient of the 2012 Marian Medal, will be held February 23 beginning at 8:30 a.m. and concluding with 4 p.m. Mass at the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street, Route 138 in North Easton. Bring your own bag lunch and coffee, tea and water will be provided. To register or for more information call 508-238-4095, visit www.FamilyRosary.org/Events, or contact Dionisio DaCosta at 508-577-4583 or ddacosta48@gmail.com.

2/28

A Healing Mass will be held February 28 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford. The Mass will begin at 6:30 p.m. and includes Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will be a holy hour including the Rosary. For location information visit www.saintanthonynewbedford.com or call 508-993-1691.

3/2

A Day with Mary will be held March 2 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 235 North Front Street in New Bedford from 7:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is an opportunity for Reconciliation. A bookstore is available.

Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508-996-8274.

3/5

Community VNA Hospice and Palliative Care, 10 Emory Street in Attleboro, will offer a six-week bereavement series beginning March 5 through April 9. This community program is for anyone experiencing loss and will be held on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public, however pre-registration is required. Call 1-800-220-0110 or 508-222-0118, extension 1373, for more information or to register.

3/6

A Lenten Series for the Year of Faith, a four-week series on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and related texts, will be held at Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River. The sessions will be held the four Wednesdays of March — 6,13, 20 and 27 — from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the parish school (64 Lamphor Street). Please park in the school lot and use the main entrance. The series has been designed so that the first session will be a brief overview of the “Catechism” and its other components, as a stand-alone session for folks who cannot commit to a four-week series. The following three sessions are planned so that there will be more time for questions and discussion. For more information contact Pat Pasternak at 508-673-1284.

3/8

Have you experienced an Emmaus retreat yet? Emmaus is a retreat program for men and women (ages 20 and over) who seek to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, regardless of their present level of faith and practice. Participants will have opportunities to reflect upon themselves, their community, and their God, through a series of witness talks given by a friendly team of lay people and religious. We welcome you to share in an Emmaus weekend at the peaceful La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro on March 8-10. For more information and for an application, visit www.EmmausRetreats.com.

3/9

An Attic Treasures Sale, sponsored by the St. John Neumann Women’s Guild, will be held in the parish hall, located at 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown on March 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A Continental breakfast and hot homemade lunch will be served and the hall is wheelchair accessible. Take the Chace Road exit off Route 140.

20

The Anchor

Creation story isn’t science but reveals God’s love, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The biblical account of Creation isn’t a textbook for science, Pope Benedict XVI said. Instead, the first chapter of Genesis reveals the fundamental truth about reality: that the world is

not the result of chaos, but is born of and continually supported by God’s love, the pope said at a recent weekly general audience. In a series of Year of Faith audience talks about the Creed, Pope Benedict touched

on the description of God as “Creator of Heaven and earth.”

In an age of science and advanced technology, how are Catholics supposed to understand the Old Testament account of creation that says God created the heavens and earth in six days, and rested on the seventh? the pope asked. “The Bible isn’t meant to be a manual of natural science,” the pope told the estimated 5,000 visitors and pilgrims gathered for his audience.

“Instead it is meant to make understandable the authentic and deep truth of all things,” he said.

The creation account in Genesis reveals the fundamental truth that “the world is not a collection of opposing forces, but has its origin and steadiness in the Word, in the eternal reason of God, who continues to sustain the universe,” the pope said. The creation story also points to the fact, he said, that God has a plan for the world and for humanity, a plan that gives people “the courage to face the adventure of life with trust and hope.”

February 15, 2013