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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

Friday, February 23, 2018

Catechumens respond to Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V.’s call by expressing their desire for the Sacraments and inscribing their names in what is called the “Book of the Elect” at the recent Rite of Election held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. For the catechumens, this follows a period of study and reflection on the Word of God at their pace and with the assistance of parish instructors. More photos and information on page 20. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadeu) Artwork by Emilie Jolivet

Photo by Dave Jolivet The Anchor - February 23, 2018 1

Diocese introduces Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — A Charismatic Renewal Commission serving members of the Brazilian community within the Fall River Diocese will gather together for the first time with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., on Saturday night, February 24 for a Mass celebration at 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

“This Mass is going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal movement in the United States, which started 50 years ago in Pittsburgh,” said Irina De Lucca, secretary for the newly-formed Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission. “We’re

also going to present the new diocesan Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission at that time.

We’ll be celebrating with nuns and priests from throughout Massachusetts who are involved with the Charismatic Renewal Movement.”

While there are already existing Charismatic groups in the diocese catering to members of the English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking communities, Bishop da Cunha — a native of Brazil himself — felt the need to have a separate and distinct Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission.

“The bishop asked us to come up with a new prayer group for the Brazilian people and that’s what’s going

to be announced during the Mass,” De Lucca recently told The Anchor. “Although we (also) speak Portuguese, we’re so different. There are also differences (between the cultures) in the way they see the Charismatic movement, so I think it’s good to have Brazilians identify with other Brazilians.”

Like many of the existing Charismatic prayer groups in the diocese, the Brazilian group will be based at different locations and parishes to better serve its members.

Gilberto Marcondes will serve as the diocesan coordinator for the new Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission; Kelma Branco is the group’s Fall River area coordinator, based

at St. Mary’s Cathedral; Roselene Ferreira is the Taunton area coordinator; Nathalia Marcondes (Gilberto’s daughter) will be the Cape Cod area coordinator based in Hyannis; and Regina Amarins will serve as coordinator on Martha’s Vineyard.

“Each prayer group generally has about 20 to 30 members,” De Lucca said. “The new group is still small, because we’re just getting started, but we hope to get more people to join.”

According to its website, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal began at a retreat for college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Penn. in February 1967.

The students had spent much of the weekend in prayer, asking God to

allow them to experience the grace of Baptism and Confirmation. Some of the students that weekend had a powerful and transforming experience of God, which came to be known as “Baptism in the Spirit.”

“They went to a retreat house and they were having a birthday party for one of the students and while they were at the party, one of the members — David Mangan, went to the top floor where the Blessed Sacrament was and he started praying before the Tabernacle,” De Lucca said. “While he was praying he asked the Holy Spirit to come to him and for him to be baptized. He experienced the same feelings that the Apostles had when the Turn to page 19

Registration deadline nears for Women and Men’s Conference

FALL RIVER — The March 1 deadline to register for the 2018 Women and Men’s Conference in the Fall River Diocese is quickly approaching.

The conference will take place on Saturday, March 10, in the Ames Sports Complex on the grounds of Stonehill College in Easton.

Building on last year’s first-ever such event in the diocese, the 2018 Women and Men’s Conference will again feature nationallynoted speakers, prayer, music, Reconciliation, Adoration, and Mass. In addition, this year’s conference will include a separate track of presentations for young adult attendees, ages 18 to 30.

Speakers will be Father Dave Dwyer, CSP, who is 2

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

host of SiriusXM Radio’s “The Busted Halo Show”; Sister Marie Paul Curley, FSP, an author, blogger and multi-media producer; Father Tony Ciorra of Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University, who is a leading expert in Catholic Spirituality; and ValLimar Jansen, a Christian music singer and inspirational speaker who offered a stirring musical and dramatic presentation last year.

Doors open for the conference at 9 a.m. The program will get underway at 10 a.m. and include a midday break with lunch, and time to visit the many vendors that will be on hand.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., will be principal celebrant and homilist of a 4 p.m. Mass

to conclude the conference.

“I am looking forward to gathering with members of our diocese for our second Women and Men’s Conference,” said Bishop da Cunha. “There will be great talks from dynamic presenters, opportunities for prayer and reflection, the celebration of Mass, music, and more. In this Lenten season, the conference offers a wonderful opportunity to help us prepare for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter.”

Registration for the conference may be done online or via mail.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available. Visit www. fallriverdiocese.org or pick up a flyer at any parish in the diocese for information on cost and other details.

Mass at Cathedral to promote Culture of Life

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — In John 10:10 Jesus preached, “I came that they might have life and have it to the full.”

As is often the case, from when Christ spoke those words until today, some people don’t accept the great gift of life offered to them. On the contrary, they reject it and promote a culture where life, at any stage, is of little value.

Just last week in Parkland, Fla., a 19-year-old methodically shot and killed 17 innocent victims at a high school.

That same day, just blocks away from St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, a young man was gunned down on South Main Street in broad daylight.

With so much evil taking place on a daily basis, the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus host a yearly Culture of Life Mass around the Commonwealth to promote the gift of which Our Lord spoke so many years ago.

William Donovan of Walpole has been in the Knights of Columbus for 50 years. He is currently the Culture of Life director for the Knights in the Commonwealth.

He and others have organized a Culture of Life Mass to take place at the cathedral in Fall River on Sunday February 25 at 10 a.m. Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. will be the main celebrant.

“We hold the Culture of Life Mass to make people aware of all the little

babies aborted every week in our state and across the country,” Donovan told The Anchor. “The Supreme

but also the elderly with physician-assisted suicide and other methods.”

He said that Anderson

who wouldn’t like to see the church packed for the Culture of Life Mass,” he said. “The bishops spend

Knight, Carl A. Anderson, asked all Knights to put one day aside each year to remember the poor babies who are killed and the poor women who are victims as well.”

Donovan told The Anchor that every state council has to have a Culture of Life Director. “Carl Anderson has been the Supreme Knight for 15 years,” he said. “Before he took over, each state had a Pro-Life director, but Mr. Anderson realized it wasn’t just the unborn who were victims of the culture of death taking hold in this country,

changed the Pro-Life title to Culture of Life.

Just the change in the phrasing can make people think of the larger picture of respecting life from conception to natural death.

Donovan told The Anchor that he is hoping for a large turnout for Sunday’s Mass. “There’s not a bishop in the country

a lot of time preparing a beautiful homily promoting a Culture of Life in their diocese, state, country and the world. I hope

people will come and listen to the message of what life is worth.”

Donovan said the Knights are doing something new at this year’s Mass. “The first 100 women to enter the church for the Mass will be given a rose — a symbol of life.”

Donovan is no stranger to the Diocese of Fall River, having worked several times with Marian Desrosiers, diocesan director of the Pro-Life Apostolate and Project Rachel.

Donovan also takes part once a year praying with other Pro-Life advocates outside the abortion clinic in Attleboro.

“We are seeing more and more clinics closing, and it ’s the efforts of people who pray and are a visible presence, who are making a difference and promoting a Culture of Life.”

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

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New Saint Anne’s surgical unit offers cutting-edge technology

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — You’ll find two disparate worlds coming together on the fourth floor of Saint Anne’s Hospital’s newest building.

Named after St. Teresa of Calcutta, the state-of-theart surgical unit that occupies the 19,500-square-foot top level of what is known as Saint Anne’s Pavilion, is a combination of good, old-fashioned healing and compassion and cuttingedge robotic technology.

With a smiling portrait of the merciful saint who once visited the Fall River Diocese looking on, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., blessed and dedicated the new fourth floor unit on February 9 — appropriately enough, on World Day of the Sick.

“We are very excited to show this beautiful, new inpatient surgical unit, along with our robotic surgical technology, and our new bariatric surgery option,” said hospital president Michael Bushell. “We are also privileged to have his excellency, Bishop da Cunha, here with us today to celebrate Mass with us this morning to recognize World Day of the Sick, and to bless this new unit, dedicated to St. Teresa of Calcutta.”

“Let us ask God’s bless-

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ing on this building, erected for the care of the sick,” Bishop da Cunha prayed.

“By the grace of Your Holy Spirit, make this place a house of blessing and a center of love, where physicians practice the art of healing wisely, where nurses and aides serve the sick

with private bathrooms and showers, family seating and sleep sofas, clinician care zones and built-in computers to allow staff more time at the patient’s bedside, according to hospital president Michael Bushell.

“Our inpatient volume over the past five years has

technology that is on display here today. In addition to the operating rooms, we’ve also added recovery bays to support that additional volume.”

The newly-dubbed St. Teresa Unit is home to advanced technology such as the da Vinci robot, used for

surgeries here and they’ve all gone great. The robot doesn’t do the surgery — it just assists you. Most of the companies now just have a navigation system where you hold the instrument up and watch a screen and it will show you where the screw is going. The guy who invented this used navigation and wanted something to hold his instruments in place instead of his physician assistant or resident (having) to hold them in place, so he invented the robot.”

Dr. Kanaly performed the first ExcelsiusGPS spinal fusion procedure at Saint Anne’s in December and he noted that the guidance system has a number of advantages for patients.

“It is minimally invasive, which allows the surgeon to use much smaller incisions along the spine,” he said.

Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., Bishop of the Fall River Diocese, presided “That means less post-surover the recent blessing and dedication of a new robotic surgical unit at Saint Anne’s gical pain, less scarring, less Hospital in the city named in honor of St. Teresa of Calcutta. The 19,500-square-foot blood loss, fewer complicafloor offers 26 private patient rooms and includes two new operating rooms and five tions, and faster recovery.” patient recovery bays. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza) Saint Anne’s was also the first in Massachusetts grown 41 percent, or eight general surgery and special to offer robotic-assisted with care, where the faithpercent per year,” Bushell procedures such as hernia ful come to visit Christ in MAKO partial knee reexplained. “Our inpatient repair, colorectal, urology the person of their brothplacement surgery in 2011, and outpatient surgery and gynecology surgery; ers and sisters. Grant that followed by MAKO total the MAKO robot, used for hip replacement in 2012. volume over the last five comforted in their illness, knee and hip replacement years has grown almost 37 the patients will quickly The hospital will expand surgeries; and the Globus percent. On average, that’s regain their health and its MAKO capabilities this ExcelsiusGPS robot, which month when it begins total about an eight-percent joyfully thank You for the uses robotics and a sophisgrowth per year, so we’ve favors they have received.” knee replacement operaticated navigation system The new expansion adds added two new state-oftions. To date, more than — similar to that in a car 26 private patient rooms to the-art operating rooms to 700 MAKO procedures — to guide the surgeon in Saint Anne’s Hospital, each accommodate our robotic have been performed. performing delicate spinal “All surgical patients will procedures. be in this wing — whether Saint Anne’s Hospital is it be orthopedic surgery, the first hospital in Massa- spine surgery, general chusetts to use this innova- surgery — everything will tive technology. come to this unit,” said “This is the first robot in Christine Santos, R.N. the country that combines “We’re also going to be navigation and robotstarting a bariatric program, ics,” explained Dr. Charles and they will be coming Kanaly, medical director for here as well.”

Saint Anne’s Spine Center, According to Bushell, the during a demonstration. steady increase of inpatient “So far we’ve done a dozen Turn to page 12

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

Catholic Committee on Scouting receives Quality Diocese Award

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — The diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting recently earned the Quality Diocese Award, a designation from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which is given each year to recognize dioceses that promote and achieve a quality Catholic Scouting program.

According to the NCCS website, the distinction is “an opportunity for the NCCS to salute those dioceses who truly deliver exceptional programs to youth members at all levels of Boy Scouts of America programs. Quality programs for youth are what the NCCS continually seeks, and it is committed to supporting this goal. It is our hope that each diocese will establish annual goals to accomplish key areas of quality program delivery. Then, when a diocese earns this award, it makes a statement that they have provided their youth members with the highest quality program experience possible.”

The Quality Diocese Award is not only an award program, but also an effective assessment tool for diocesan chairmen and chaplains to evaluate how effectively their committee has delivered programs that support Catholic Scouting as Youth Ministry, and to identify areas that require improvement.

“It’s really nothing that I did,” said Michael McCormack, chairman of the Fall River Catholic Committee on Scouting.

“It’s what all the Scouts — the boys and girls —

have done this past year.

They are going out there and they’re working to further their faith. It’s really catching on and I’m excited that Scouting is giving them the opportunity to grow in their faith.”

This marks the second consecutive year that the diocesan Scouting program has earned this distinction and the Fall River Catholic Committee on Scouting was one of just five diocesan groups within the Narragansett district to achieve this honor.

“There are 11 dioceses in the region and five of those dioceses, including ours, have completed the objectives required to receive the award,” McCormack recently told The Anchor.

“There are 14 objectives given each year and we have to achieve nine of the 14 to earn the designation.”

Some of these objectives include: — Promoting and working to increase the number of religious emblems and awards presented to youth and adults; — Providing a diocesan year-end summary of activities; — Keeping each of the Catholic-sponsored units in the diocese informed of events during the year; — Conducting a religious event, such as a retreat day, day of recollection, or history-themed program; — Promoting formation of new units and retention of existing units;

— Hosting a diocesan Scout Mass with the bishop and members of the clergy; — Distributing at least twice a year a diocesan Catholic Scouting print or electronic newsletter; — Attending a Catholic regional training event or meeting, or attending the NCCS annual meeting; and — Offering

an adult leadership training program or a National Catholic Leadership Development program.

McCormack was particularly pleased to report they were currently in the process of grooming a counselor-in-training whom he described as “a real go-getter” and someone he has earmarked to become the committee’s new emblems coordinator.

“I always felt that in a leadership position, the first thing you need to do is to identify your replacement and then train them up,” McCormack said. “(This person is from) a good Catholic family. I’ve found that people who are really interested in Scouting and bringing their chil-

dren up in the faith know how important it is to evangelize and do all the things that are needed to promote it.”

With an estimated 61 units — or troops — of collective Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts within the Fall River Diocese, McCormack admitted that Scouting has been “waning over the years,” but he’s always looking for ways to increase membership and add more units. At one time, he said, it wasn’t uncommon to find at least one or all three troops active at each and every parish.

“That’s a problem that the Boy Scouts have been trying to identify,” McCormack said. “That’s why the concept now is that if you didn’t get them (interested) as Cub Scouts, when they get to be teen-agers, they find other interests. It’s easier to keep them if they’ve been in Cub Scouts. It’s a learned thing.”

McCormack credited the roughly 40 people who currently comprise the Catholic Committee on Scouting in assisting him and diocesan Scouting chaplain Father David Frederici in meeting their goals.

“Before 2016 the com-

mittee was basically — I use the word ‘defunct,’” he said. “One of the first things I asked Father Frederici was if we could get the committee reformed.”

That regrouping and revitalization led to what McCormack called “an excellent year last year” for Scouting in the diocese, so it’s no wonder they once again earned the NCCS’ attention.

They also found an important ally in Father Ted Brown, director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, who himself is an Eagle Scout.

“We actually got him to sign up for Scouting again,” McCormack said.

“So Father Ted is now an adult volunteer with the Scouting program.”

That new connection culminated with the Scouts’ bringing the Peace Light from Bethlehem to La Salette during its annual Festival of Lights this past Christmas, and McCormack said they are already planning some important events for this year at the Attleboro shrine, including a campout for the older Scouts, ages 15 and up.

“It will probably be in the fall,” he said. “During the summer you go to summer camp, but the scouting year basically starts on the first Turn to page 19

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Anchor Editorial

Lent — Part Two

Pope Francis, in his message for Lent 2018, began with a discussion of what ails contemporary society (we discussed this in our last edition of The Anchor). Under the heading, “What are we to do?” the Holy Father brings the problems of our world down to the individual level. “Perhaps we see, deep within ourselves and all about us, the signs I have just described. But the Church, our mother and teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us in the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.”

Maybe we don’t think of fasting and parting with our money as something “soothing,” but the pope endeavors in his message to show “how sweet it is to be loved by” God (to paraphrase James Taylor and Jackie Gleason) and to respond to that love with concrete actions.

Pope Francis challenged us: “By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and He wants us to live life well.” After the mention of self-deception, Pope Francis included a footnote which pointed to his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, Spe Salvi, paragraph 33.

That paragraph by the German pope is very rich, full of good food for thought about prayer. Pope Benedict wrote in 2007, “We must learn that we cannot ask for the superficial and comfortable things that we desire at this moment — that meager, misplaced hope that leads us away from God. We must learn to purify our desires and our hopes. We must free ourselves from the hidden lies with which we deceive ourselves. God sees through them, and when we come before God, we, too, are forced to recognize them. Failure to recognize my guilt, the illusion of my innocence, does not justify me and does not save me, because I am culpable for the numbness of my conscience and my incapacity to recognize the evil in me for what it is. Yet my encounter with God awakens my conscience in such a way that it no longer aims at self-justification, and is no longer a mere reflection of me and those of my contemporaries who shape my thinking, but it becomes a capacity for listening to the good itself.”

Continuing this line of thought from his predecessor, Pope Francis discussed almsgiving, which “sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbor as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine alone. How I would like us, as Christians, to follow the example of the Apostles and see in the sharing of our possessions a tangible witness of the communion that is ours in the Church. I echo St. Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for the community of Jerusalem as something from which they themselves would benefit (cf. 2 Cor 8:10). This is all the more fitting during the Lenten season, when many groups take up collections to assist Churches and peoples in need. Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God Himself. When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of His children. If through me God helps someone today, will He not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God.” Our father in faith, the patriarch Abraham, told his son Isaac, “God will proOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org

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Published bi-weekly by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $20.00 per year, for U.S. addresses.

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The Anchor - February 23, 2018

vide” (Gen 22:8). This bedrock Judeo-Christian teaching pushes us to always grow in generosity, since God will pay us back (even though He owes us nothing) with interest.

Turning to fasting, Pope Francis wrote (last autumn, when this document was released) something that speaks to the current situation of the United States.

“Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own Spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbor. It revives our desire to obey God, Who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.”

Humans often use violence to try to obtain something which is not ours. Fasting helps us to accept that nothing really is “ours”; God is the real owner of everything and everything we have is a gift, meant to be shared.

Pope Francis urged non-Catholics to join with us in praying, fasting, and almsgiving. “I would also like my invitation to reach all of you, men and women of goodwill, who are open to hearing God’s voice. Perhaps, like ourselves, you are disturbed by the spread of iniquity in the world, you are concerned about the chill that paralyzes hearts and actions, and you see a weakening in our sense of being members of the one human family. Join us, then, in raising our plea to God, in fasting, and in offering whatever you can to our brothers and sisters in need!”

Then, under the heading “The fire of Easter,” the pope reminded Catholics of our joyful duty to do all of this. “Above all, I urge the members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew.”

Pope Francis then gave an example of “[o]ne such moment of grace,” which would be the “‘24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative, which invites the entire Church community to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the context of Eucharistic Adoration. In 2018, inspired by the words of Psalm 130:4, ‘With You is forgiveness,’ this will take place from Friday, March 9 to Saturday, March 10.”

In our diocese Saturday, March 10 we are invited to come to Stonehill College for our second annual Women and Men’s Conference, where many priests will be available to hear Confessions, Eucharistic Adoration will be provided, along with many dynamic speakers, meant to help us grow in our faith and put it into practice.

Pope Francis closed by pointing us to Easter: “During the Easter Vigil, we will celebrate once more the moving rite of the lighting of the Easter candle. Drawn from the ‘new fire,’ this light will slowly overcome the darkness and illuminate the Liturgical assembly. ‘May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds’ (Roman Missal for the Easter Vigil) and enable all of us to relive the experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. By listening to God’s Word and drawing nourishment from the table of the Eucharist, may our hearts be ever more ardent in faith, hope and love.”

Daily Readings Feb. 24 — March 9

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Feb. 24, Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-2,4-5,7-8; Mt 5:43-48. Sun. Feb. 25, Second Sunday of Lent, Gn 22:1-2,9a,10-13,15-18; Ps 116:10,15-19; Rom 8:31b-34; Mk 9:2-10. Mon. Feb. 26, Dn 9:4b-10; Ps 79:89,11-13; Lk 6:36-38. Tues. Feb. 27, Is 1:10,16-20; Ps 50:8-9,16bc-17,21,23; Mt 23:1-12. Wed. 28, Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:5-6,14-16; Mt 20:17-28. Thurs. Mar. 1, Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 16:19-31. Fri. Mar. 2, Gn 37:3-4,12-13a,17b-28a; Ps 105:16-21; Mt 21:33-43,45-46.

Sat. Mar. 3, Mi 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Lk 15:1-3,11-32. Sun. Mar. 4, Third Sunday of Lent, Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3,7-8,12-17; Ps 19:8-11; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25. Mon. Mar. 5, 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Pss 42:2-3;43:3-4; Lk 4:2430. Tues. Mar. 6, Dn 3:25,34-43; Ps 25:4bc-5ab,6-7bc,8-9; Mt 18:21-35. Wed. Mar. 7, Dt 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19. Thurs. Mar. 8, Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Lk 11:14-23. Fri. Mar. 9, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:,6c11b,14,17; Mk 12:28-34.

his year marks the T 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, which was proclaimed three years after the 1945 foundation of the United Nations to give definition to the “fundamental human rights” and “fundamental freedoms” mentioned in the U.N. Charter. The motivation behind it was to counteract the barbarous acts that occurred at the time of World War II, most notoriously the Holocaust, which had justly outraged the conscience of mankind.

When St. John Paul II came to the United Nations in 1979, he called the Universal Declaration the U.N.’s “fundamental document” and “cornerstone,” said it was a “milestone on the path of the moral progress of humanity,” declared that it had “struck a real blow against the many deep roots of war,” and insisted that it “must remain the basic value with which consciences must be confronted and from which they must draw continual inspiration.”

It’s easy for Americans to take many of the rights listed in the Universal Declaration for granted, because the foundational documents of our country focus on “unalienable rights” endowed by the Creator. But for many peoples across the world, living under various forms of subjugation, the list was a watershed, covering the right to life, liberty, security, to equality before the law, to own property, to change nationality, to move within, leave and return to one’s country, to freedom of thought, conscience and belief, to change one’s religion, to work in fair conditions, to food, clothing, housing and medical care, to a basic education and to an social and international order that protects these rights.

Several of them were controversial. Communist governments opposed the right to leave one’s country.

Various Muslim countries

True versus false human rights

opposed the right to change markable annual address to the ambassadors accredited one’s religion, to equality between men and women in to the Holy See. He dedicated the vast majority of Marriage, and other rights opposed to Sharia law. South his remarks to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Africa opposed the basic Universal Declaration — to equality between races in order to sustain its then-sys- be celebrated December 10 tem of apartheid. But of the — stressing how it recognized the “inherent dignity 58 countries then pertaining to the United Nations, 48 voted in favor, with the othPutting Into ers abstaining from the vote or failing to the Deep show up.

It’s a real sign of

By Father the impact of the Roger J. Landry Universal Declaration and of the ethical and equal and inalienable progress of humanity that, rights of all members of the across the world, almost human family” as the founeveryone speaks of fundadation for freedom, justice, mental human rights that peace and integral human pertain to us by our nature development. To speak of and dignity and not by human rights, he stated, revocable state concession. “means above all to restate This progress remains even though in many places there the centrality of the human person,” because such rights are still repressive governare “premised on the nature ments, terrorist organizaobjectively shared by the tions and other entities that human race.” But he warned ignore and trample upon that when a false or “reducthese rights. Even in such tive vision of the human situations, there’s a vocabuperson” serves as the foundalary to describe the illegitition of rights claims, it opens macy and evil of such acts, the way to “injustice, social which can pave the way for inequality and corruption.” them to be overcome, as we He elaborated upon the saw with the falls of Soviet communism, apartheid, and anthropological reductionism at work in what he calls other dictatorial or inhuthe “new rights” that have mane situations.

In the last 70 years, how- been invented since the social upheavals of the 1960s. ever, particularly in the last 50, there has been, a corrup- These novel “rights,” he said, significantly stray from the tion of the principal of huvision of the human person man rights to try to elevate on which the Universal the desires of individuals Declaration of Human or groups into matters that Rights, and the other conothers must acknowledge ventions that form internaand ensure. When the term tional human rights law, are “human rights” becomes grounded. such a rhetorical catch-all, “Debatable notions of huendlessly expanded to suit the passing tastes of the age, man rights,” the pope stated, “have been advanced that are such an elastic approach at odds with the culture of can end up discrediting, many countries. Somewhat undermining and outright paradoxically, there is a risk opposing the very rights enumerated in the Universal that, in the very name of Declaration and the concept human rights, we will see the rise of modern forms of human rights itself.

This is what Pope Francis of ideological colonization by the stronger and the called attention to in the Vatican last month, in his re- wealthier, to the detriment

of the poorer and the most vulnerable.”

What Pope Francis is describing is that powerful and wealthy countries are conditioning the reception of development help on the acceptance of radical social agendas with regard to human sexuality, abortion, family structure and even basic anthropology, under the guise of new “rights.”

The pope has gone so far as to call this ideological colonization a “world war — not with weapons but with ideas.”

But this ideological bullying doesn’t have to cross international borders to be wrong and dangerous. It can also take place within countries, within their governmental, educational and employment institutions, and within culture at large.

Genuine human rights, like the right of every human being to life, are trampled to give those who are older, stronger and politically powerful the novel “right to choose” to end another’s life in the womb and even have others pay for it. The right to religious freedom is disregarded so that some may have the new “right to marry whomever they love” and force business owners against their conscience to make wedding cakes celebrating it. The right of parents to choose the education of their children is bulldozed in order to give children, through their educators, the “right” to receive “comprehensive sexual education” — including graphic descriptions of practices opposed to the moral values of the families involved — even in pre-school.

“It should be noted,” Pope Francis said, “that over the years, particularly in the wake of the social upheaval of the 1960s, the interpretation of some rights has progressively changed, with the inclusion of a number of ‘new rights’ that not

infrequently conflict with one another. It is painful to see how many fundamental rights continue to be violated today. I am thinking primarily of innocent children discarded even before they are born, unwanted at times simply because they are ill or malformed, or as a result of the selfishness of adults. I am thinking of the elderly, who are often cast aside, especially when infirm and viewed as a burden. I am thinking of women who repeatedly suffer from violence and oppression, even within their own families. I am thinking too of the victims of human trafficking, which violates the prohibition of every form of slavery.”

He went on to focus, as well, on how the “right to freedom of thought, conscience and of religion, including the freedom to change religion,” is being ignored, not just by certain fundamentalist or communist countries, but also by aggressively secular governments.

“Sad to say,” he declared, “it is well-known that the right to religious freedom is often disregarded, and not infrequently religion becomes either an occasion for the ideological justification of new forms of extremism or a pretext for the social marginalization of believers, if not their downright persecution.”

Such novel rights alienate the true, unalienable ones.

It was a powerful address in which he challenged the growing tendency to trample person’s and people’s human rights in the supposed name of human rights, which sets the tone for the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and the context for the continuation of the rights it enumerates.

It’s of interest not just to ambassadors, diplomats and leaders of nations, but to all holders of fundamental human rights.

Anchor columnist Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

The Anchor - February 23, 2018 7

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Sorting through ‘solutions’ to the HIV/AIDS pandemic

ach year human immunodeficiency virus (HIV ) infects about 50,000 people in the United States, and more than two million worldwide. Reducing the number of infections with this virus, which causes AIDS, is a high priority for public health officials. Some strategies to reach this goal, however, raise significant moral concerns.

These concerns arise when experts seek to reduce infection rates by assuming that men and women lack the freedom to change their sexual behaviors or exercise self control, when they fail to acknowledge that self-restraint is possible and morally required, especially in the face of life-threatening disease.

One strategy for trying to control the pandemic includes “pre-exposure prophylaxis,” or PrEP, which involves an uninfected person taking a daily dose of the drug Truvada, an anti-retroviral medication. When someone takes the Truvada pill each day, and

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is later exposed to HIV lack of awareness about through sex or injectable the regimen itself among drug use, it can reduce doctors and patients are the likelihood that the chief among them. But virus will establish a one top reason is the permanent infection by stigma of using PrEP. more than 92 percent.

Weinstein’s name and the While the drug can have name of his organization, side effects, it is generAHF, have become synally well-tolerated. onymous with the stigma Many activists in the gay movement have argued Making Sense that PrEP should Out of be widely available and promotBioethics ed, though other

By Father Tad activists strongly Pacholczyk disagree. AIDS Healthcare Foundation founder Michael Weinstein has surrounding PrEP use. stressed, for example, In an April Associated that there are likely to be Press article, Weinstein compliance issues. When declared that PrEP is ‘a someone is required to party drug,’ giving license take a regimen of drugs to gay and bisexual men every day in order to be to have casual, anonyprotected, he argues, it is mous sex. He’s called it a reasonable to expect that ‘public health disaster in some will fail to do so. A the making,’ as his oft2014 article in The Adrepeated argument is that vocate, a gay news outlet, the most at-risk people notes that, “When asked will not adhere to taking why so few people have a pill each day.” started PrEP, experts These compliance give plenty of reasons concerns have led some — cost, worries about researchers and clinilong-term effects, and cians to look into the

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

possibility of one-time “disco dosing,” where an individual would take the medication, in a high dose, prior to each anticipated “risky weekend.”

There are other problems with PrEP as well.

Some researchers have noted that once people start on the drug, their risk compensation changes, meaning they engage in more sex with “nonprimary partners.”

Even if PrEP reduces rates of HIV infection, as studies have suggested, the incidence of other sexually transmitted diseases may rise due to risk-compensation behaviors. PrEP can provide a false sense of security and encourage the lowering of inhibitions.

These kinds of approaches directed towards certain “at-risk populations” clearly raise concerns about sanctioning or supporting immoral behaviors. Medical professionals have raised objections of conscience when it comes to prescribing PrEP to HIVnegative men who indicate they are, or will be, sexually active with other men. They may raise similar objections to providing prescriptions for “disco dosing.” Writing such prescriptions means cooperating in, or facilitating, the evil actions of others.

Is pre-exposure prophylaxis always illicit? Not necessarily.

For example, if a medical professional were to prescribe Truvada to the wife of a man who was infected through pre- or

extramarital sexual activity, it would be for the purposes of protecting the wife from infection during marital relations, and would not involve the problem of promoting or facilitating unethical sexual behaviors.

STDs constitute a serious danger in an age where sexual behaviors are becoming ever more indiscriminate. STD outbreaks and pandemics often have their origins in unchaste behaviors and morally disordered forms of sexuality. The Centers for Disease Control notes that “men who have sex with men remain the group most heavily affected by HIV in the United States.

CDC estimates that MSM represent approximately four percent of the male population in the United States but male-to-male sex accounted for more than three-fourths (78 percent) of new HIV infections among men and nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of all new infections in 2010.”

We should not be supporting or facilitating behaviors involving multiple sexual partners.

These sexual practices, in the final analysis, are not only immoral in themselves, but also reckless and clearly contributory to the spread of STDs. Anchor columnist Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River and serves as the director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

See www.ncbcenter.org.

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smiled as I watched this little boy and his mom. She and I were sick and awaiting prescriptions. He was being really quiet as well as trying to find ways to help her.

Another bout of dizziness swept over me. I closed my eyes and leaned against a nearby pole. I heard the pharmacy assistant tell yet another ill person her health plan did not cover the medicine.

The price without insurance was in the hundreds of dollars. She replied, “That is impossible.”

More than 70 years ago Eleanor Roosevelt asked, “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” Preventing misery requires one have the eyes to recognize then do something to address another’s suffering. That recognition of another person “just like me” struggling can be enough for someone to access his/ her goodwill to guide actions for assistance.

A dramatic instance of this was one of my students who struggled academically. One day she called a fellow classmate stupid. I thought of all the times I had stepped in so no one treated her that way. In addition, in my classroom, such behavior was off-limits, period. I reacted instead of analyzing. I told her that academics were people who worked together to understand new stuff. She was now my partner. She had personal detention with me until she finished all of the assignment. Unfazed, the student laughed and said I was in for a long haul.

Even as I said them, I

Facing the impossible utes after school she had regretted my words. Full the correct answer. As I understanding of the work was probably beyond had not spoken, she calmly stated she’d try again her current skills. Yet, swapping the consequence tomorrow. I smiled and to school detention would said she had the correct answer. I watched as her not afford us the chance self-doubt was replaced by to discuss the real issue, pride in her accomplishwhich was patience with and a positive attitude towards herself.

Wrestling with God I asked God Holding on for to help me. If He His blessing guided the student to some underBy Dr. Helen J. Flavin standing of the material, I would recognize that and ment. Not wishing to take end her detention. The any chance of sullying boundary would be set, God’s gift to each of us, the gentle reminder that actions have consequences I quickly sent her on her way. given, and the student The student left my encouraged to grow acaclassroom, but poked her demically. head back in the doorway.

That first afternoon of She said, “Dr. Flavin, redetention we discussed negative labels as inhibit- member all that stuff you said at the beginning? You ing someone when one looked at something new. were right. It does feel so much better to figure God called us to be a it out.” In her two-plus people who encouraged years remaining, she never one another. That is why we never used such labels. again berated a fellow student.

In the guise of reviewing Healing was an importhe assignment, I gave her tant part of Jesus’ minwhat I hoped was a good istry. In the short time hint. A short while later, she called me over to hear that I was on antibiotics, “today’s answer.” Inwardly the daily Gospel readings I groaned. Contrary to my covered Jesus healing Siintentions, I seemed to be mon’s mother-in-law (Mk 1:29 31), a number of sick enabling her belief that who touched His cloak she would never succeed.

(Mk 6:53,56), and a deaf As she gave her anman (Mk 7:31-37). Two swer, I was speechless in aspects of Jesus’ example amazement. In an hour in healing deserve special of class she had made no mention. First is Jesus headway, but in 20 min-

recognizing all people as individuals chosen by God to receive healing.

Jesus heals the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:5-13) and the Canaanite woman’s daughter (Mt 15:21 28).

Second, Jesus guides the disciples to understand that all that is asked of them is to make a start by giving from what they have. Jesus takes their loaves and feeds the multitudes (Mk 8:1-10 and Mt 15:32-39).

Healing can be physical, emotional or Spiritual. We each are like that little boy in wanting to help, but not sure we know how. We are like the disciples in the chance to recognize what

we have to share. As I was reminded of with my student, God can work wonders with even our smallest start.

We may not be able to purchase medicine(s) for anyone, but we can pray for them. Long before “medicines” people did extra work so another person could rest and heal.

As part of our Lenten observances, let each of us choose one way to serve to reduce someone else’s suffering. In that way, we make inroads where God can continue the work of addressing what the world deems impossible.

Anchor columnist Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer and a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River.

Visit The Anchor online at http:www.anchornews.org The Anchor - February 23, 2018

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Pope Francis regularly meets with abuse victims on Fridays

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — In a conversation with Jesuits during his recent visit to Peru, Pope Francis said he regularly meets with victims of sexual abuse on Fridays, and that while the percentage of priests who abuse is relatively low, even one is too many.

When it comes to sexual abuse, roughly “70 percent of pedophiles are in the family environment, acquaintances. Then in gyms, at the pool,” the pope said in a conversation with Peruvian Jesuits, published February 15.

The meeting took place after a courtesy visit to Peruvian President Pedro Kuczynski during a threeday visit to the country, which was part of a wider visit to South America.

“The percentage of pedophiles who are Catholic priests doesn’t reach two percent, it’s around 1.6 percent. So it’s not a lot,” he said. However, Francis stressed that “it’s terrible even if it were just one of our brothers!”

“God anointed them for the Sanctification of children and adults, and he (the abusive priest), instead of Sanctifying them, has destroyed them.

It’s horrible!” he said, and underlined the importance of listening to victims and hearing directly about the suffering they’ve undergone.

To this end, he said he regularly meets with victims of abuse on Fridays, and “their process is so difficult, they are annihilated.

They are annihilated!”

For the Church, abuse is “a great humiliation,” he said. “It shows not only our fragility, but also, let’s say it clearly, our level of hypocrisy.”

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Vatican spokesman responded to the question cases,” and that this pheGreg Burke confirmed the saying sex abuse is “the nomenon has also affected pope’s comment about the greatest desolation that new and prosperous conFriday meetings, saying the Church is undergoing.” gregations, most notably in a recent statement that He recalled a time when the Peruvian-born Sodali“several times a month” was returning home in Ar- tium Christianae Vitae.

Pope Francis meets with gentina. After getting off In cases like this, “monvictims of sexual abuse the metro, he saw a couple ey is always in the middle,” either individually or in with a young toddler he said, adding that “the groups. walking down the street. devil enters through the Pope Francis, he said, When the child started to wallet.” “listens to the victims and run in his direction, the According to St. Ignatitries to help them heal father immediately yelled us, one of the first steps of the serious wounds caused for the child to come back, temptation is for wealth, by the abuses they’ve and to “watch out for the he said. “Then come vanity undergone. The and pride, but first meetings are held od anointed them for the Sanc- there is wealth. In with the utmost tification of children and adults, the new congreprivacy, in respect and he (the abusive priest), instead of Sanc- gations that have of the victims and fallen into this tifying them, has destroyed them. It’s horritheir suffering.” problem of abuse ble!” he said, and underlined the importance The pope’s these three levels of listening to victims and hearing directly are also found comments were made to Peruvian about the suffering they’ve undergone. together.”

Jesuits during his However, citrecent visit to Chile and pedophiles.” ing the Ignatian Spiritual Peru. He met privately “What shame I underexercises, the pope said with Jesuits in both coun- went! What shame!” Pope the shame experienced tries, taking questions Francis said. “They didn’t can also be a grace, and from attendees and listen- realize that I was the arch- urged his fellow Jesuits to ing to their concerns. bishop, I was a priest, and accept these experiences The conversations, pub- what shame!” “as a grace and be deeply lished in the Jesuit jourHe noted that often ashamed,” because “we nal La Civilta’ Cattolica, times abuse, particularly must love the Church with touched on a variety of in new and flourishing her wounds.” issues, and included Pope communities, is linked to Though spoken beforeFrancis’ discussion with corruption, citing three hand, the pope’s comments the Chilean and Peruvian types of abuse which often have been made public at a Jesuits. Chile and Peru are go together. time when he is under fire at the center of two major, “Abuse in these confor his reaction to accusahigh-profile cases of sexual gregations is always the tions of abuse cover-up on abuse, with abuses comresult of a mentality linked the part of Bishop Juan mitted by a Chilean priest to power, which must be Barros of Osorno, Chile. and a Peruvian layman. healed at its evil roots,” he Appointed to head the Francis met privately said, explaining that the Osorno diocese by Pope with abuse victims in various communities unFrancis in 2015, Bishop Chile, and spoke openly dergoing scandals generBarros is accused of witabout the tragedy in his ally all suffer from a deadly nessing and covering the meeting with priests and trio of “abuse of authority abuse of his longtime religious in the country.

— with which it means to friend Father Fernando His comments on abuse mix the internal and exter- Karadima, who was found were made in response nal forum — sexual abuse, guilty of abuse in 2011. to a question posed by a and economic messes.”

Bishop Barros has repeatPeruvian Jesuit about how Noting how he and edly denied these claims. to handle sex abuse, and Pope Emeritus Benedict Opposition to Bishop whether he had any enXVI have had to “suppress” Barros and his appointcouragement to give. various communities, ment has been relentless Speaking to the some such as the Legionaries of since his installment in 100 Jesuits present for the Christ, Pope Francis said 2015. Pope Francis faced encounter, Pope Francis there are “many painful major blow-back during

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

“G

his visit to Chile for saying the accusations against Bishop Barros were unfounded, and amounted to “calumny.”

On his flight back to Rome, Pope Francis apologized for the comment, saying he had intended to say that there was not enough evidence to convict Bishop Barros of cover-up, and that no victims had come forward with information that could prove the Chilean prelate’s guilt.

Shortly after the visit, Pope Francis tapped Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Vatican’s top man in clerical abuse appeals cases, to go to Santiago to hear victims’ testimonies. The trip also includes a stop in New York to speak with one of Karadima’s most highprofile victims, Juan Carlos Cruz, who has been among the most vocal opponents of Bishop Barros.

After Archbishop Scicluna’s appointment, reports came out indicating that before Bishop Barros’ appointment in 2015, Cruz had sent an eight-page letter detailing Karadima’s abuse to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, alleging that Bishop Barros had not only witnessed his abuse and the abuse of others, but had at times participated and covered it up.

According to reports, members of the commission had given the letter to the commission’s president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, who is said to have presented it to the pope, raising questions as to whether Pope Francis had read it and was aware of Cruz’s testimony before naming Bishop Barros to Osorno.

22 February 2018 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — feast of the Chair of St. Peter ere at St. Patrick Parish, dear readers, we have been actively seeking the dreamers and visionaries among us. It’s all part of the “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope” initiative.

Sociologically, institutions (even churches) tend to avoid dreamers and visionaries because dreamers and visionaries advocate for creative change.

Historically, dreamers and visionaries often end up ignored, resisted, excommunicated, imprisoned, or even executed. We are living in an age of ever-accelerating change.

“Rebuilding in Faith and Hope” represents an ecclesiastical culture change, a tectonic shift.

I’m so old I remember the days of parochial tribalism. Back in the day, parishes were like fiefdoms. The thought of parishes working together never occurred to anyone.

Parishes were in competition with each other. One parish’s loss was another parish’s gain. There was no sense that we were all part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River.

Worse, clergy divided into “leagues” based on primary language groups.

You had little contact with priests from other leagues.

I am not making this up.

People speak of “the good old days.” Oddly, I don’t remember them that way.

Things are different today. There is a universal call for imaginative collaboration in the task of proclaiming the Gospel.

This is the reason I’ve been working to identify, assemble, and energize the dreamers and visionaries

H

Dreaming dreams and seeing visions

among the faithful I serve. will require faith, courage, The basic questions are: and enthusiasm.

What are the strengths To begin, I appointed of our faith community? a Pastoral Planning Team What are the needs of the for this parish. Not a wider community?

How do we reach out? How can we The Ship’s Log grow the Church in Reflections of a this time and place?

Parish Priest What needs to be

By Father Tim done? Can we do it?

Goldrick Who may be willing and able to work with us?

Nine parishes have been single person declined the selected to pilot the dioc- invitation. All are parishesan process of “Rebuildioners in good standing ing in Faith and Hope.” who take an active part in St. Patrick Parish is one of community life. Here are those pilot parishes. The my dreamers and visionarway I see it, it’s a valuable ies: service this parish is being Paul DeMeo is a medicalled to provide to the cal doctor who serves on diocese and to all its 82 the Parish Pastoral Counparishes. cil.

This is the first time Tim Downs is also parishes throughout the a member of the Parish diocese have worked Pastoral Council. together at evangelizaJohn Fuller has extion since “We Care/We perience in town and Share,” the 1970s outreach state government. He is effort. That was a moda member of the Parish est project designed for Finance Council. clusters of neighborhood Ray Gagnon is a medichurches. The strategy was cal doctor, a long-time simple: 1. Get together; member of the Parish Pas2. Plan an event in each toral Council, and chairCatholic church; 3. Go man of the initial Parish out and invite all your Core Team. He frequently neighbors. It provided an advocates for persons with initial experience of coldisabilities. laboration in our common Bill Hays is an ormission. Now we are ready dained deacon who minfor more. isters here. He specializes “Rebuilding in Faith in outreach to the homeand Hope” is a much more bound and in preparing ambitious effort. The goal young parents for the is to have all parishes Baptism of their child. throughout the diocese Deacon Bill holds a docworking together on the torate in Jurisprudence.

Church’s mission of evanJane Hopewood has a gelization within the next masters degree in Business couple of years. This is a Administration. She has cutting-edge vision inbeen involved in pastoral volving bishop, clergy, and planning for decades. laity. It’s a call not only to Mary Louise Klimm is throw open the windows a Licensed Clinical Social but also to make sure the Worker specializing in church doors are always family relationships. She unlocked to everyone. It volunteers in our Marriage

preparation program.

Jim Sawyer is the past State Deputy of the Knights of Columbus.

Jan Shutten holds a masters degree in Ministry from St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. Her ministerial interests are many and varied.

Once the group had gathered together in the rectory parlor, I couldn’t just say, “Now, let’s all sit around in a circle dreaming dreams and seeing visions.”

Fortunately, the diocese is providing us with the resource of experts in strategic planning. Their job is to moderate the parishlevel discussion, listen to the assembled dreamers and then eventually open

the discussion to any and all interested parishioners.

The members of the Diocesan Commission are Fathers Jim Morse and Tim Reis, Marilyn Blanchette, and Mark Dollhopf.

Our first meeting, like that old 1940s song, accentuated the positive. The moderators didn’t even mention parish finances (our main challenge) at this early point in the process. That will come later, I’m sure, but at our initial meeting it would have turned our nascent dreams into our worst nightmares.

And so here in Falmouth we are dreaming dreams and seeing visions.

Stay tuned.

Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

11

New surgical center offers cutting-edge technology continued from page four

and outpatient procedures over the last five years at Saint Anne’s Hospital has

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allowed them to develop a “supply-and-demand issue” and that’s why they’ve

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

decided to expand and offer more services.

“The emergency depart-

ment over the last five years, volume has grown by 18 percent — on average, four percent per year. So in order to move patients through the emergency

room quickly, we’ve added a rapid assessment area that deals with less serious issues like a sore throat or an ankle sprain,” he said.

“The rapid assessment area is staffed with a dedicated nurse practitioner who will see patients a lot quicker than our current model.

We’ve also built a behavioral health suite to help with the city’s behavioral health issues. It’s a six-bay private suite with safe ceilings in a calmer environment for our behavioral health patients. In addition, we’ve also expanded our surgical services.”

Bushell praised the continued support and commitment of Steward Health Care, which invested almost $24 million to bring this project to fruition.

“None of this would have been possible without the investment of Steward Health Care and their continuing commitment to bring world-class health care to the communities they serve,” he said. “Many thanks, as well, to the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, who opened this hospital in 1906 and the entire Saint Anne’s team who have work diligently to support the project throughout.”

In addition to Bishop da Cunha, among the honored dignitaries at the unit’s blessing and dedication were Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II and State Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, who lauded Saint Anne’s ongoing commitment to the community.

“There’s no need to go to Boston to get first-class, world-class (health care) services,” he said. “We have it right here in Fall River and thanks to the investment of Steward Health Care at Saint Anne’s, we’ll be able to enjoy these services for many, many years.”

Visit us online at www.anchornews.org

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

13

A winter’s day at the beach

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ater. It’s the lifeblood of existence.

Nothing on this big blue marble can live without it. According to the U.S. Geological Survey nearly 72 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water.

The word water appears more than 400 times in the Bible, most associated with cleansing, healing and nourishment. And the cleansing,

the treadmill is my path of choice.

But on Presidents Day, despite it falling in midwinter, I opted to head out to Horseneck Beach in Westport for my daily walk.

As soon as I got out of the car, the salt air and the distant lapping of the waves on the shore gifted me with a calming effect.

After fulfilling my obligatory time and distance numbers, My View I found From a big old log which the Stands had spent

By Dave Jolivet plenty of time at sea.

My drifthealing and nourishment wood bench offered me a elements of good old H2O panoramic view of God’s are not only for the body, but country. for the mind and soul as well.

Two-foot waves, one after It’s no wonder that another, danced toward me, millions of humans across bowed, and returned from the planet migrate to vacawhence they came. Durtion spots centered around ing the few seconds when warmth and water. there was silence on the I have always found shore, I could faintly detect lakes, ponds, rivers, bays the melancholy chime of a and oceans to be sources of buoy bobbing on the swells a comfort. couple of miles from shore.

I find myself getting The sky was deep blue, busier and busier as I get the water morphed from older. When I was a young deep blue to emerald green man I thought just the opdepending on the depth. A posite would be the case. But gentle salty breeze added to not so. the ambience.

Stress, busyness and reFor those precious mosponsibilities are the norm. ments, sitting on an old log, To help burn away some there was no stress, and there of these maladies, I walk. were no responsibilities. Life During the cold months and was just a day at the beach. lousy weather conditions, Literally.

A day at Horseneck Beach in mid-winter is still a salve for the soul. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

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The Anchor - February 23, 2018

Danielle Bean joins CatholicMom.com

Veteran Catholic communicator will develop new content, including podcasts, for Catholic website that is now part of the family of Holy Cross Family Ministries

EASTON — Holy Cross Family Ministries appointed a veteran Catholic communicator to oversee CatholicMom. com, which is now part of the family of ministries founded by Venerable Patrick Peyton, the “Rosary Priest.”

Danielle Bean was named brand manager for the mission of CatholicMom.com, which includes news, information and regular contributions and postings about Catholic topics of interest to mothers and families. Her role is to continue and grow CatholicMom.com’s unique outreach and create new content, including podcasts.

“We are as delighted to welcome Danielle Bean as we were last summer to welcome Lisa Hendey and CatholicMom to our family of ministries,” said

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., president of Holy Cross Family Ministries.

“CatholicMom is reaching the 21st-century young Catholic family with faith, hope and love.

Danielle will help us enhance this important ministry with content that is relevant, informative and meaningful and pregnant with the beauty and richness of the Catholic faith.”

As brand manager, Bean is responsible for growing CatholicMom. com as a ministry and introducing it to new audiences through a variety of media, including podcasts, video and social media. She will be instrumental in nurturing and developing the CatholicMom.com community as a place that supports and encourages Catholic women from all walks of

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 February 25, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Riley J. Williams, Parochial Administrator, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Acushnet

March 4, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Jay Mello, Pastor, St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s parishes, Fall River

life in their vocations.

Among her new initiatives at CatholicMom. com, Bean will host weekly Facebook Live

Danielle Bean

events and is creating a new podcast with cohost Lisa Hendey, the founder of CatholicMom. com. “Catholic Momcast: Conversations about Faith, Family and Fun,” a 30-minute weekly show, will launch in March. It will feature interviews with leaders in Catholic ministry, as well as personal discussions on topics of interest to Catholic women — faith, family, work and relationships.

“I’m delighted that Danielle Bean joined our family at CatholicMom. com,” Hendey said. “She is a faith-filled evangelist, a gifted communicator

and a loving wife and mom. Having Danielle at our helm equips our team to create even more resources for the families, parishes and children we serve around the world.

Coupled with the priestly oversight of Father Willy Raymond, Danielle’s leadership points to a bright and innovative future for our entire community.”

Bean is former publisher and editor-in-chief of Catholic Digest. She is creator and host of “The Gist,” a weekly Catholic women’s television talk show in production of its seventh season on CatholicTV, as well as creator and host of the popular “Girlfriends” podcast.

Bean has authored several books for women, including “Small Steps for Catholic Moms,” (Ave Maria Press 2013) “Momnipotent,” (Ascension Press 2014) and “You’re Worth It!” (Beacon 2015). She is a sought-after speaker on a variety of subjects related to Catholic family life, parenting, Marriage and the Spirituality of motherhood.

Bean and her husband Dan are graduates of St. Anselm College. They have been married for 24 years and live with their

eight children in New Hampshire.

CatholicMom.com was founded in 2000 by Lisa Hendey to create a community for Catholic parents to share insights on living out their faith with their family. Through an array of contributors, CatholicMom.com provides information, activities and reflections daily.

More than 145 contributors provide fresh perspectives on a variety of topics important to parents. CatholicMom.com merged with Holy Cross Family Ministries last year. What started as one Catholic mom’s journey has grown into a rich resource for all Catholics at www.CatholicMom.com.

In the spirit of its founder, Venerable Patrick Peyton, Holy Cross Family Ministries inspires, promotes and fosters the prayer life and Spiritual well-being of families throughout the world. Its mission outreach includes family faith-based media, including social media and prayer programs, to fulfill the founder’s vision that “the family that prays together stays together.”

For more information, go to www.FatherPeyton. org, www.FamilyRosary. org and www.

FamilyTheater.org.

To become a subscriber, to renew your existing subscription to The Anchor, or to give it as a gift, contact 508-675-7151 or email subscriptions@anchornews.org The Anchor - February 23, 2018

15

For and About Our Church Youth It’s time we live what we believe

L

ike many of us, I was upset when I heard the news of a shooting at a high school in Florida. My initial thoughts were probably similar to yours: Not again!

In the hours that followed though I observed something that I found greatly troubling. I noticed that there were not as many posts on my social media newsfeed that there had been in past tragedies. The social media posts that I did read were largely political, and not in any beneficial way. I suppose we can say that people are numb to

such violence and the anger “Part of the answer.” that is being expressed is There is a deeper truth part of a shocked response here. If we think that we to the news. human beings can solve all However, we have been in this situation before and know that the rhetoric and vitriol doesn’t go away.

By Father The lines have been David C. Frederici drawn: gun control vs. mental illness.

This hasn’t been a national of these issues, can create a discussion, but two sides perfect society on our own, yelling at each other, conwe are delusional. The day demning each other and after the shootings the first failing to recognize that reading at Mass came from part of the answer probably the Book of Deuteronomy: involves both.

“If you obey the Commandments of the Lord, your God, loving Him and The Anchor is always pleased to run walking in His ways, you news and photos about our diocesan will live and grow numerous” (Dt 30:16). What are youth. If schools, parish Religious Eduthese Commandments?

Jesus says, “You shall love cation programs or home-schoolers have the Lord your God with newsworthy stories and photos they all your heart, with all your with all your mind, would like to share with our readers, send soul, and with all your strength. them to: schools@anchornews.org The second is this: You

Be Not Afraid

shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other Commandment greater than these” (Mk 12:30-31).

We can brush this aside as being naïve, but we should ask ourselves, is it true?

If humanity loved God with all our being and loved each other, would we see as much violence and hatred in the world? I suspect not. I also suspect people would be happier, more peaceful and live without fear.

Often times our declaration “that is naïve” is an excuse not to change, to blame someone else or to assume someone else will have to solve the problem.

God desires a loving relationship with each human being and in that relationship, we come to a better understanding of ourselves. When we open our hearts and minds to the Lord, to receive His

graces and healing, we find joy and peace.

At the same time, the Lord calls us to share His love with others. Letting them know of the Lord’s invitation and helping them to respond and begin the road of healing and conversion. In short, the Gospel is the solution.

Jesus’ last words in the Gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20).

It’s time that we live what we believe.

Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. George’s Parish in Westport and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College.

The 13th annual Foundation to Advance Catholic Education Winter Brunch was recently held at the Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth. Proceeds from the brunch benefit FACE in the Fall River Diocese. At left, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., greets Nolan Rodgers, a student at Holy Trinity School in Fall River. Also pictured, from the left, is Nolan’s mother, Amy Rodgers, a teacher at Bishop Stang High School; to the right of Nolan is his aunt, Tracy DeMello. In the photograph on the right, James Thompson, a student of St. Margaret Regional School, Buzzards Bay, has his face painted at the brunch. (Photos by John E. Kearns Jr.)

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The Anchor - February 23, 2018

For and About Our Church Youth

Students at Espirito Santo School’s (Fall River) crochet club along with KG Krafts and patrons spent time to crochet winter hats, scarves and throws for the homeless at Marie’s Place.

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth announced the Catholic Citizenship Essay winners, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, Father John F. Hogan Council from St. Julie Billiart Parish. From left: Sam Golden, Samantha Landry, Mary Mahoney-Pacheco, and first-place winner Allison Baptiste.

Kindergarten students at Holy Name School in Fall River made crowns with 100 items on them to celebrate the 100th day of school.

In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, Bishop Stang High School hosted the Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools Challenge. Students from All Saints (New Bedford), Holy Family-Holy Name (New Bedford), St. Francis Xavier (Acushnet), St. James-St. John (New Bedford), and St. Joseph (Fairhaven) participated in a variety of team challenges, coordinated by Stang faculty/staff and mentored by Stang students. All Saints Catholic School was the 2018 Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools Challenge winner.

St. James-St. John School in New Bedford thanked local firefighters, police officers (represented here by Chief Joseph Cordeiro), and library personnel for all they do with a Basket of Appreciation during Catholic Schools Week.

In celebration of the 100th day of school, students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro made crowns, decorated T-shirts with 100 items on them and even laced 100 Fruit Loops into necklaces. Pictured are Paula Bedard and the first-graders dressed as they might look at 100 years old.

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Pope reappoints Cardinal O’Malley to head further work of safeguarding commission

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — The Vatican recently announced that Pope Francis has reconfirmed Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., of Boston as head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, also reconfirming seven members and appointing nine new.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is an advisory body to the pope on the issue of safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse. Its first threeyear mandate concluded in December 2017 and was awaiting the pope’s confirmation of new and old members.

The new members are Benyam Dawit Mezmur from Ethiopia; Sister Arina Gonsalves, RJM from India; Neville Owen from Australia; Sinalelea Fe’ao from Tonga; Myriam Wijlens from the Netherlands; Ernesto Caffo from Italy; Sister Jane Bertelsen, FMDM from the U.K.; Teresa Kettelkamp from the U.S.; and Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo Dos Santos from Brazil.

The returning commission members are Dr. Gabriel Dy-Liacco from the Philippines; Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera from Colombia; Father Hans Zollner, S.J. from Germany; Hannah Suchocka from Poland; Sister Kayula Lesa, RSC from Zambia; Sister Hermenegild Makoro, CPS from South Africa; and Msgr. Robert Oliver from the U.S. In a statement released February 17, Cardinal O’Malley said that Pope Francis “has given much prayerful consideration in 18

nominating these members. The newly-appointed members will add to the commission’s global perspective in the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.”

In his reconfirmation of previous members, the pope has also “ensured continuity in the work of our commission, which is to assist local churches throughout the world in their efforts to safeguard all children, young people, and vulnerable adults from harm,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

According to a press release, the 16 members are made up of eight women and eight men spanning multiple disciples of international expertise in the field of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from the crime of sexual abuse.

“Representatives from several new countries will now offer their insights and experience to the commission, reflecting the global reach of the Church and the challenge of creating safeguarding structures in diverse cultural contexts,” the release stated.

The members of the commission include victims of clerical sexual abuse and parents of victims. The commission has stated that it will continue to uphold its practice of defending each person’s right to choose whether or not to disclose their experiences of abuse publicly.

“The members appointed today have chosen to not do so publicly, but solely within the commission. The PCPM firmly believes that their privacy in this matter is to be respected,” they stated.

It was announced that the commission’s new term,

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as decided at its last plenary meeting in September 2017, would begin with listening to and learning from people who have experienced abuse, their family members and others who support them.

They also affirmed that the “victim/survivor first” approach will continue “to be central” to their policies and educational programs.

“The PCPM wishes to hear the voices of victims/ survivors directly, in order that the advice offered to the Holy Father be truly imbued with their insights and experiences,” the release stated.

The first plenary meeting of the new commission will be held in April and will begin with a private meeting with people who

have experienced abuse.

They will discuss proposals of ways to continue to foster an ongoing dialogue with victims and survivors around the world.

They announced that discussions have also already been underway to create an “International Survivor Advisory Panel,” building off the experience of the Survivor Advisory Panel of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission in England and Wales.

The working group to research and develop a proposal for the ISAP has been led by Baroness Hollins, a founding member of the commission, who will lead a presentation at the April plenary session.

Goals for the panel

include studying prevention from a survivor’s perspective and being proactive in raising awareness for the need for healing and care for everyone who has suffered abuse.

According to its statement, over the last four years the commission has worked with almost 200 dioceses and religious communities around the world “to raise awareness and educate people on the need for safeguarding in our homes, parishes, schools, hospitals, and other institutions.”

“The members would like to thank all those who have embraced this call and to thank the Holy See for supporting and encouraging these efforts,” it concluded.

Pope on first Sunday of Lent: Now is the time for conversion

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — Lent is a time to face our temptations and be converted by the Gospel, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent.

His reflections were based on the passage in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert for 40 days.

Jesus goes into the desert to prepare for His mission on earth, the pope said.

While Jesus has no need of conversion Himself, He must go to the desert out of obedience to God the Father and “for us, to give us the grace to overcome temptation.”

“For us, too, Lent is a time of Spiritual ‘training,’ of Spiritual combat: we are called to face the evil one through prayer, to be able,

with God’s help, to overcome him in our daily life,” he continued.

Immediately after He is tempted, Jesus goes out of the desert to preach the Gospel, which demands conversion from all who hear it, the Holy Father said. “( Jesus) proclaims, ‘Repent, and believe in the Gospel!’ — believe, that is, in this Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand. In our life we always have need of conversion — every day — and the Church has us pray for this.

In fact, we are never sufficiently oriented toward God, and we must continually direct our mind and our heart to Him.” Lent is the time to have the courage to reject anything that leads us away from God and repent, Pope Francis noted, “but it is not

a sad time!”

“It is a joyful and serious duty to strip ourselves of our selfishness, of our ‘old man,’ and to renew ourselves according to the grace of our Baptism,” he said.

During Lent, we must listen to the call of Christ and be converted, recognizing that true happiness lies in God alone, Pope Francis said.

He concluded his address with an appeal to Mary: “May Mary Most Holy help us to live this Lent with fidelity to the Word of God and with incessant prayer, as Jesus did in the desert. It is not impossible!

It means living the days with the desire to welcome the love that comes from God, and that desires to transform our life, and the whole world.”

Diocese introduces Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission continued from page two

Holy Spirit came to them in the Bible.

“Another person named Patti Gallagher Mansfield went looking for him and found him on the top floor and experienced the same thing — her heart was beating fast, and she also had the same experience. Before this, the Catholic Church didn’t have anything close to the Charismatic experience.”

In her later book about the retreat and its impact, Mansfield would recount how some students prayed in tongues, while others “couldn’t do anything but weep,” and still others began to “laugh for sheer joy.”

The account of the weekend and the experience of the Holy Spirit quickly spread across the college campus, then to other campuses throughout the country. The Charismatic experience soon moved beyond colleges and began to have an impact on parishes and other Catholic institutions. Loose organizations and networks were formed, and Catholic Charismatic conferences were held, drawing more than 30,000 to the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind. in the mid 1970s.

The Renewal soon caught the attention of the Church, and the leaders of the movement met Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1975 as well as St. Pope John Paul II several times. In addition, several of the bishops’ conferences in various countries have written pastoral letters of encouragement and support for the Charismatic movement.

The Catholic Char-

ismatic Renewal is the largest approved ecclesial movement of the Church, estimated to have touched at least 120 million Catholics throughout the world. It is fully Catholic and also fully Charismatic, with an emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus and the gifts of the Holy Spirit as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, including the gift of tongues, healing and prophecy.

“The Charismatic Renewal movement is all about getting together and praying to the Holy Spirit and asking Him to send upon us His seven gifts — wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord,” De Lucca said.

“We sometimes pray in tongues and we sing and we administer healing on people, too. That’s pretty much what we do and that’s what the Charismatic prayer groups are all about.”

Thirty-eight-yearold De Lucca, who first emigrated to the United States from Brazil about 18 years ago, said she has been involved with Charismatic Renewal since she was very young. She and her family moved into the Fall River Diocese three years ago and she’s happy that the movement has taken root here.

Last year, De Lucca also traveled with her parents to Pittsburgh to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Catholic Charismatic Renewal at The Ark and the Dove — the retreat house where Mangan and Mansfield experienced that first Spiritual encounter.

“My parents and I went

to represent the Brazilian community here in the U.S. — we were the only ones attending and it was a gift from God,” she said.

At that celebration, De Lucca met and befriended Johnny Bertucci,

president of the Charismatic Renewal group in the United States. She has invited Bertucci to join them and Bishop da Cunha at this weekend’s Mass and is hopeful he will be in attendance.

And as the secretary for the new Brazilian Charismatic Renewal Commission, she’s opti-

mistic that it will bring greater awareness to the movement and, hopefully, encourage more people to join.

“This will be the first time the (Brazilian) groups are all gathering together,” De Lucca said.

“We get together to pray, to glorify God and to thank Him.”

Diocesan Scouting committee receives Quality Diocese Award continued from page five

of September, so maybe in October or November and we’ll go from there.

I’m looking forward to it. I know Father Brown needed to come down from the Christmas season.

“They’ve agreed basically in kind to (host) a couple of Scouting campouts at La Salette, and the (La Salette) Brothers would help the boys get their religious emblem badge. There’s a great deal of work required and it’s a difficult badge to get — it’s called the Pope Pius XII Award.”

McCormack said another thing they have been considering is a day of service at La Salette Shrine — perhaps having the Scouts assist in

cleaning up the grounds and/or setting up things like the outdoor Nativity scene in preparation for the Christmas season in November.

“Those are all things that would make for a good day of service for the Scouts,” he said.

“And I know I talk a lot about the Boy Scouts, but it’s the Girl Scouts, too. When we did the Peace Light, about 25 percent of the Scouts who showed up were Girl Scouts.”

The 2017 Quality Diocese Award from the NCCS came with a certificate suitable for framing along with a couple of well-deserved patches touting the achievement, because “Boy Scouts are

big into patches,” McCormack said.

“Our intent is that the certificate and the patches can be presented to (Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V.) at some point,” he said. “So I’m hoping that we can get to do that.”

If the past two years have been any indication, the future for Scouting in the Fall River Diocese remains bright.

“I’m excited about the future,” McCormack said.

“It’s moving along with more and more people getting involved. It’s really coming from the parents more than anything else, since the adult leaders already have enough to do. But we’ll just keep plugging away.”

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Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., presided over the annual Rite of Election on February 18 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. From left, clockwise, a catechumen signs the “Book of Elect,” Bishop da Cunha speaks to the catechumens and their sponsors, some catechumens and sponsors gathered for a group photo with the bishop. (Photos by Deacon Alan Thadeu)

Catechumens take next step towards full initiation into the Church

FALL RIVER — The Rite of Election is celebrated in diocesan cathedrals annually throughout the world on the First Sunday of Lent. It marks the beginning of the final phase of preparation for those participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — better known by the acronym RCIA — the process through which adults enter the Catholic Church.

The Rite of Election took place on February 18 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

In the context of the 20

ceremony, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. formally acknowledged the readiness of the catechumens — those who are preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) — and called them to the reception of the Sacraments, to be conferred in most cases in their own parishes during the Easter Vigil on March 31.

The catechumens responded to the bishop’s call by expressing their desire for the Sacraments and inscribing their names in what is called the “Book of

The Anchor - February 23, 2018

the Elect.” For the catechumens, this follows a period of study and reflection on the Word of God at their pace and with the assistance of parish instructors.

The Rite of Election also included the Call to Continuing Conversion for persons called candidates in the RCIA process.

Candidates are those who have been baptized in other Christian traditions who now seek to become members of the Catholic Church or baptized Catholics who had no instruction in the faith and are now preparing for Eucharist and

Confirmation.

Bishop da Cunha sought the approval from the sponsors of these candidates for

the continuation of their preparation for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

Visit The Anchor online at http:www. anchornews.org

Priesthood isn’t an assignment — it’s a mission, pope tells seminarians

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — Pope Francis recently met with the community of the Pontifical Maronite College, explaining how their seminary formation isn’t about them or even for them, but for the people they will eventually serve in their parishes and dioceses.

“The human, intellectual and Spiritual enrichment you receive in these years is not a reward for you, much less a good to be earned for your career, but a treasure for the faithful who await you in your Eparchies and to whom your life looks forward to being donated,” the pope said.

“You will not be called to exercise, even well, an assignment — it is not enough — but to live a mission, without savings, without many calculations, without limits of availability.”

Pope Francis held an audience at the Vatican with around 45 seminarians and priests of the Pontifical Maronite College in Rome, which was founded in 1584 by Pope Gregory XIII as a place of study for Catholic seminarians of the Maronite rite.

The Maronite Catholic Church traces its roots to the early Christians of Antioch, the first believers to be called Christian.

In its Liturgy, the rite still uses the Syriac language, which is a dialect of Aramaic, the same language Jesus spoke.

The rite takes its name from the fourth-century hermit St. Maron, whose way of life inspired many monks and laity to follow him, eventually resulting in the distinctive Ma-

ronite rite.

During the encounter, Pope Francis told the priests and seminarians that as pastors, they will need to listen to people a lot, and that God will “confirm you through their lives, through many encounters, through its unpredictable surprises.”

“And you, as pastors in close contact with the flock, will savor the most genuine joy when you

bend over them, making yours their joys and their sufferings, and when, at the end of the day, you can tell the Lord the love you have received and given,” he said.

Pointing to the Maronite Church’s recent celebration of St. Maron, the pope praised the monastic life of the saint, saying it shows a proper discontent with living only a moderate or me-

In Your Prayers Please Please pray pray for for these these priests priests during during the the coming coming weeks weeks

Feb. 24 Rev. Edward F. McIsaac, Retired Chaplain, Rose Hawthorn Lathrop Home, 2002 Feb. 25 Rev. Leo J. Ferreira, V.G., Pastor, St. Mary, Brownsville, Texas, 1988 Rev. William T. Babbitt, Assistant, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1998 Feb. 27 Rev. Philip Gillick, Founder, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1874 Rev. Joseph N. Hamel, Founder, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1956 Rev. John G. Carroll, Retired Pastor, St. Margaret, Buzzards Bay, 1995 Rev. Roland B. Boule, Retired Pastor, St. Anne, New Bedford, 2005

diocre faith, but wants “to love with all its heart.”

“It is by drawing on these pure sources that your ministry will be good water for today’s thirsty people,” he explained.

Our heart is like a compass: It orients and directs itself toward what it loves, Pope Francis said, quoting the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be.”

He explained that these years of study, Spiritual formation, and community life in Rome are a good time to “arrange the heart well.”

“All this you are called to live in a time not without suffering and dangers, but also preg-

nant with hope,” he said, pointing out how the people they will be called to serve will be unsettled by the instability which continues to plague the Middle East.

They “will search for, in you, pastors that console them: pastors with the word of Jesus on their lips, with their hands ready to wipe away their tears and caress suffering faces,” he continued.

“Pastors forgetful of themselves and their own interests; pastors who are never discouraged, because they draw every day, from the Eucharistic Bread, the sweet power of love that satisfies; pastors who are not afraid to ‘be eaten’ by the people, as good bread offered to brothers.”

Feb. 29 Rev. Msgr. James J. Dolan, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1980 March 1 Rev. James F. Masterson, Founder, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1906 Rev. Msgr. Peter L. Damase Robert, P.R., Pastor, Notre Dame, Fall River, 1948 Rev. John McCarthy, CSC, Stonehill College, North Easton, 2003 Rev. William W. Norton, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes Wellfleet, 2004 March 2 Rev. Antonio Berube, Pastor, St. Joseph, Attleboro, 1936 Rev. James J. Brady, Retired Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1941 Rev. Tarcisius Dreesen, SS.CC., Sacred Hearts Monastery, Fairhaven, 1952 Rev. Alphonse E. Gauthier, Pastor, Sacred Heart, New Bedford, 1962 Rev. J. Omer Lussier, Pastor, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1970 March 3 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Timothy P. Sweeney, LL.D., Pastor, Holy Name, New Bedford, 1960 March 5 Rev. James McGuire. Pastor St. Mary, New Bedford, 1850 Permanent Deacon Manuel H. Camara, 1995 Rev. James A. McCarthy, Retired Pastor, St. Patrick, Falmouth, 2007 March 6 Rev. Joseph F. McDonough, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1906 Rev. John W. Quirk, Founder, St. Joseph, Taunton, 1932 Rev. Bernard P. Connolly, S.S., St. Charles College, Maryland, 1932 Rev. Antoine Lanoue, O.P., 1996 Rev. Jerome Lawyer, C.S.C., 2006 March 7 Rev. Arthur P.J. Gagnon, Pastor, Holy Rosary, New Bedford, 1958 March 8 Permanent Deacon Victor Haddad, 2014 March 9 Rev. Msgr. Henry J. Noon, V.G., Pastor, St. James, New Bedford; Vicar General, 1934-47, 1947

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Around the Diocese St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro will host a Lenten Mission talk by acclaimed author and professor Father Peter Stravinskas titled “Creating and Sustaining Catholic Homes” on Monday, February 26 at 7 p.m. This familyoriented talk will center on the importance of having strong “domestic churches” among our families so as to strengthen the Church at large.

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet on March 2 at St. Joseph Church on North Main Street in Fall River. The celebration of Mass with host Father Jay Mello begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Following the Mass, members of the club will gather in the church hall next door for a hot meal prepared by White’s of Westport, followed by guest speaker and new member, Dan Seseske. New members are always welcome. For more information call president Norm Valiquette at 508-672-8174.

“Love - Live - Surrender,” a Lenten mission with Brett St. Gelais, will be held March 4-6 at St. Mary’s Parish, 440 Main Street in Fairhaven.

Topics will include “Epic Love,” a talk about God’s unconditional love for us on Sunday, March 4 from 7 to 8 p.m.; “Not of This World,” a look at how we can live for Christ while here in the world on Monday, March 5 from 7 to 8 p.m.; and “Total Surrender,” examining how we can truly surrender our lives to Jesus on Tuesday, March 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mission leader Brett St. Gelais has been dedicated to youth and young adult ministry for more than 12 years and has been involved with the Life Teen Catholic Youth Ministry movement for 15 years. For more information, call the parish at 508-992-7300.

All are welcome to join a Lenten Reflection called “The Journey of Faith” on Sunday March 4 at 3 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fall River. The guest speaker will be Sister Paulina Hurtado of the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation. This is a beautiful way to join your walk with Christ during this Lenten season. For more information please contact St. Anthony rectory at 508 673-2402.

The Women’s Guild of St. John Neumann Parish will sponsor an Attic Treasures Sale on Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will be held in the parish hall, located at 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown. A continental breakfast and hot homemade lunch will be served. The hall is wheelchair accessible and admission is free. Take the Chace Road exit off Route 140.

“Souper Sunday,” a fund-raiser to benefit Catholic Social Services and the Sister Rose House for the homeless of the New Bedford area will be held on Sunday, March 11 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 121 Mount Pleasant Street in New Bedford.

The event will feature an “all you can eat” menu of eight homemade soups — clam and corn chowder, French onion, minestrone, chicken noodle, kale, French pea and tomato rice — served with bread, crackers, dessert and beverage. Freewill donations will be accepted. For more information, please call 508-287-0962.

Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster, will host a Lenten Mission entitled “Ablaze: Passionately Pursuing Christ and a Life of Purpose” featuring Deacon Keith Strohm, a well-known international speaker and author on March 19-21 at 7 p.m. each night.

Deacon Strohm has helped tens of thousands of people hear the Gospel message and encounter the mercy, love and power of Jesus.

Over the course of three evenings, he will present themes on being created for a relationship with God, finding fulfillment and joy now and in eternal life later through following Jesus, and living the Kingdom life we receive in the Holy Spirit. For more information, call 508-385-3252, extension 10 or email ourladyofthecapebrewster@gmail.com.

To submit an event for consideration in The Anchor’s “Around the Diocese” listing, send the information by email to kensouza@anchornews.org

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The Anchor - February 23, 2018

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — Beginning September 14, St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 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.

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly time of Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on North Main Street.

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, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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 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 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. 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 — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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 and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.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 is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. 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 Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also 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.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m.

Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m. Mass.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual 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. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 5 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~

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.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

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

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 are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

Area Knights of Columbus give Cape Abilities $20,000 grant

ORLEANS — Each year the Knights of Columbus conducts a Charity Fund Drive (better known as the Tootsie Roll Campaign) to raise funds to assist persons of all ages with intellectual disabilities, and children with physical disabilities who have not reached their 20th birthday.

This year, across the state of Massachusetts, Knights of Columbus Councils raised more $151,000 for those with disabilities solely for this charity fund.

The Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council — spearheaded by members of the Orleans St. Joan of Arc Council #3384 gave Cape Abilities a $20,000 grant to provide multi-sensory equipment for its Day Habilitation program sites in Hyannis and the Lower Cape.

“We are excited that we are able to donate such a large sum to Cape Abilities,” said William Weil, a former Grand Knight and current trustee of the

Orleans St. Joan of Arc Knights of Columbus Council #3384. “Through their many programs, they make a profound difference in the lives of those who are least able to help themselves, so that they might learn the necessary skills to cope with the demands and

challenges of everyday life.”

“We are sincerely grateful for our longstanding partnership with the Knights of Columbus, who are dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities,” noted Rosalie Edes, president/executive director at Cape Abilities. “As

we expand our services to respond to identified needs, we have a strong focus on ensuring that we offer support that reflects best practice, and the generosity of the Knights of Columbus allows us to do just that.

We are honored to receive this gift.”

From left: Leah LaCross, Cape Abilities associate executive director of Program Operations; Marion Broidrick, Cape Abilities Board of Directors; Alik Taylor, Cape Abilities Board of Directors; Paul Flanagan, Knights of Columbus Mass. State Secretary; William Weil, K of C Orleans St. Joan of Arc past Grand Knight/Trustee; Rosalie Edes, Cape Abilities president/executive director; Bob Schwarz, Knights of Columbus Mass. State Warden; Paul O’Sullivan – K of C Mass. State Deputy, Lew Corcoran, K of C, Fall River president/district deputy; Ron Mador, K of C Orleans St. Joan of Arc Grand Knight; Nancy Noble, Cape Abilities director of Community Development; Robert Donahoe, K of C Orleans St. Joan of Arc financial secretary; and Glenn Loomis, Cape Abilities director of Day and Employment Services.

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The Anchor - February 23, 2018