03.25.11

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , March 25, 2011

‘Do unto others’ — Almsgiving and charitable efforts for Lent

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — Jesus “looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on’” (Lk. 21:1-4).

It is within this simple and direct parable that Catholics can find the inspiration for the charitable practice of almsgiving — providing financial and spiritual support to the poor and needy — during the season of Lent.

“Lent is really that unique opportunity to take not just what we have excess of but, like the widow with her two copper coins, really give from what we have,” said Father Rodney E. Thibault, parochial administrator at St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown.

“We are only going to get out of

Lent what we put into it. When we are that joyful giver, we are going to be joyfully rewarded.”

While Catholics are known to be generous in offering monetary support for the Church’s mission year-round, it takes on a special significance during the sacrificial time of Lent and is closely connected to the practice of fasting whereby the money saved on food can benefit those who are truly hungry.

Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford, said he has provided the traditional Rice Bowls from Catholic Relief Services to the children in the parish Faith Formation classes this Lent as a way of encouraging them to forego some of their own needs while helping those less fortunate.

The collected spare change, allowances and money that otherwise would have been used to purchase food will later be sent to the New York Propagation of the Faith office to help children in various missions.

“Certainly almsgiving is Turn to page 18

LEAP OF FAITH — Promoting the new Learning-EnvironmentAccelerates-Potential Program to begin this fall at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River are, from left: Kelly Rezendes, director of Guidance; Advanced Placement Senior Will Richtmyer, a student volunteer in the program; and Shannon McGuire, director of Media and Technology. Story on page two. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

the growing church — Bishop George W. Coleman is pictured with 37 catechumens from 16 parishes across the Diocese of Fall River who were enrolled as Elect by signing their names in the Book of the Elect at the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion ceremony at St. Mary’s Cathedral on March 13. Story on page four. (Photo by Scott De Hainaut)

Trickle down cuts in government funding cause havoc for those in need B y Becky Aubut A nchor Staff

FALL RIVER — It was all there in a pie chart, spelling out where the federal cuts were going to impact state programs; and there, in the upper corner, were the words “not-for-profits,” the saviors of the people who are about to be no longer eligible for help through those programs.

“That’s us,” said Arlene McNamee, director of Catholic Social Services in Fall River.

“That’s where they are going to refer all those other people. Of course, the obvious question is, are they going to help you pay for that? The answer is no.”

She added, “Everything affects everything else. It’s not like you can take one piece of the pie out and everything stays intact. It just starts slushing all over itself, and this is a pretty slushy pie.”

That slush has many of the CSS-run programs mired down, and a few programs like St. Fran-

cis House and the Attleboro office of the mental health services shut down altogether. The generosity of the people in the diocese through Catholic Charities campaign has partially offset the federal and state funding by giving CSS $1.3 million, helping subsidize many of the programs no one else was paying for, but it is nowhere near enough to cover the continuing rising costs; so McNamee has needed to balance the CSS budget in other ways.

“Other than the federal programs, which are pretty specific about how that money gets used, some of the others that we fund use money that is pretty fluid and goes to wherever is needed to fill the holes; those programs that make money support those that don’t,” said McNamee. “I don’t like to pit programs against each other. I want people to do what they’re supposed to do and not worry about whether they are going to run out.”

Turn to page 19

Family advocates want government out of contraception business

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — As the United States Senate rejected a bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood, family advocates are speaking out about the longterm harm done by the government’s funding of contraception.

On March 9, the Senate vote was 44-56, well below the 60 votes needed for the Continuing Resolution with the attached

Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act to pass. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), is also known as the Pence Amendment.

The House had passed the measure 240-185 on February 18. The only Massachusetts elected official to vote in favor was Sen. Scott Brown.

The bill would have cut $61 billion in spending. Also on March 9, the Senate voted down

a second budget bill that would have cut $4.7 billion in spending.

The Pence Amendment would have prevented federal funding under Title X of the Public Health Service Act, a grant program for family planning and health services, from subsidizing entities that perform or provide funds to another entity that performs abortions. Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest Turn to page 20

2

The Anchor

March 25, 2011

Gifted Fall River area eighth-graders given opportunity to L.E.A.P.

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

FALL RIVER — For several years gifted students at Bishop Connolly High School have had the opportunity to become part of the Advanced Placement program, offering them a curriculum that will eventually provide college credits before they even graduate from the Fall River school. The program is currently for juniors and seniors who meet strict academic requirements.

During a meeting early in the 2010-11 academic year, several faculty and administrative representatives met to discuss the possibilities of expanding this type of program to advanced seventh-grade students, allowing them the opportunity to attend Connolly full time while completing their eighth-grade year.

At the urging of school principal E. Christopher Myron, Kelly Rezendes, director of Guidance at Connolly, accepted the challenge of researching and developing a program that could be submitted for review by the Diocese of Fall River’s Education Office.

Kelly enlisted the help of the school’s director of Media and Technology, Shannon McGuire. Together, they studied similar types of programs across the U.S. that have experienced success.

“Shannon and I studied many programs — what worked and what didn’t — and ultimately came up with the concept for our Learning-Environment-Accelerates-

Potential concept,” Kelly told The Anchor. “While it may have ideas from other programs, it is a very unique program that we’ll begin in the fall of 2011.”

“Kelly and I developed the system and wrote the philosophies,” added McGuire.

“We submitted it to Dr. George A. Milot, diocesan superintendent of schools, and to Bishop George W. Coleman. Both approved the plan, and we’re the only high school in the diocese to implement something like this.”

A recruiting session was held February 28. “We received a good amount of interest from schools in and around the Fall River area,” said Kelly. “And the interest was not just parochial schools,” said McGuire. “Several area public schools are very interested as well.” There have also been two information nights.

During the first year, the L.E.A.P. Program will accept 15 eighth-graders. Applications will be accepted until April 1, and applicants must submit school records containing their academic and personal qualities, a recommendation from their school and a character reference. Candidates must be performing in the 90th percentile in their respective schools.

Candidates will also take the Connolly entrance examination which takes place at the school tomorrow, and have a personal interview.

The 15 students who will be selected will attend Bishop Connolly High School

Fathers Kevin A. Cook and Karl C. Bissinger The Fall River Diocesan Vocation Office

in the fall, skipping their entire eighthgrade curriculum, instead enrolling in the ninth-grade honors system courses. The study load includes Western Civilization, English I Honors, Religion I, Algebra I Honors, and Biology Honors. The elective options include Foreign Language I Honors, Introduction to Art/Theater, Physical Education, and L.E.A.P. Study.

“We will begin with 15 students the first year, and we hope to increase that amount in the years to come,” said McGuire. “After their five years at Connolly, we hope that these students will have strengthened their gifts and will utilize their Connolly experience to the fullest in college and later on in life.”

“As full-time members of the Connolly student body, the eighth-graders will be eligible to participate in all the sports and extra-curricular programs available to the ninth- to 12th-graders,” added Kelly.

“Right now, our AP students must be juniors and seniors,” said Kelly. “But the L.E.A.P. students will be eligible for the AP program entering their sophomore year.”

The fact that these will be 13-year-old students in a high school environment has not been overlooked. “That these students are academically advanced shows that they have a higher than average maturity level,” said Kelly. “But they are still 13, so we are providing each student with a faculty advisor mentor and a guidance counselor to help them with the social and emotional transition from the elementary school environment to the high school level. And the size of our student population is ideal for

this type of program.”

“We’re going to closely monitor what happens next year with L.E.A.P. and we hope to grow and change and evolve the program as necessary,” said McGuire.

“Everyone around here is excited about this program, from the faculty and administration to the students. In fact the honors seniors in the AP program have been very helpful in volunteering during our open house information sessions. Next year’s seniors are going to be a big help to the new students this fall.”

“This should be a great program for those who meet the requirements,” said Kelly. “Such gifted students often don’t feel challenged enough with their current curriculum, and this will be a great challenge and learning experience for them.”

The L.E.A.P. information packet describes the innovative approach stating, “As students progress through the L.E.A.P. program, they will be challenged with modern courses ... and a vast array of Advance Placement options in all academic disciplines. In the fifth year ... students will have the skills necessary to pursue independent studies and internships.

Such opportunities provide the additional variety and flexibility necessary to meet the needs of 21st-century learners.”

Applications for L.E.A.P. close April 1. For more information contact Kelly Rezendes at krezendes@bishopconnolly. com, or Shannon McGuire at smcguire@ bishopconnolly.com, or call 508-6761071, extension 356 or 357.

March 25, 2011

News From the Vatican

3

Dancing with the saints: Retreat master says that’s the key to Lent

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The saints aren’t just people to turn to when something is lost or a situation seems hopeless; they are examples to follow in prayer and in efforts to reform and renew the Church, said the priest who was preaching Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten retreat.

Carmelite Father Francois-Marie Lethel, secretary of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, led the pope and his top aides in their Lenten reflections March 13-19.

He said his 17 talks during the week would focus on the saints and Pope John Paul II. In addition to helping Pope Benedict and Vatican officials prepare for Easter, Father Lethel said he wanted to help them prepare for the beatification May 1 of Pope John Paul.

“This beatification, which will be an event of immense importance for the Church and the entire

world, requires deep spiritual preparation involving the entire people of God and, in a particular way, the Holy Father and his closest collaborators,” Father Lethel wrote in the introduction to the retreat program handed out to participants.

The tradition of having weeklong, preached “spiritual exercises” for the pope and members of the papal household began with Pope Pius XI in 1925. But for more than 35 years it was an Advent, not a Lenten retreat.

Pope John XXIII broke the Advent tradition in 1962 when he spent a week in September on retreat to prepare for the Second Vatican Council. His successor, Pope Paul VI, made the retreats a Lenten staple in 1964 and hugely broadened the list of preachers, who almost always had been Jesuits.

Father Lethel is the first Carmelite to be chosen to preach the pope’s retreat, and three famous

Carmelites figured prominently in his meditations: SS. Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.

The three were chosen, though, not because they were Carmelites, but because of their influence on Pope John Paul, Father Lethel said in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

He told the newspaper that the late pope is an example of holiness and a reminder of how much Catholics today need the courage of the saints.

In the booklet for participants, Father Lethel wrote that two of the profiles in courage he would offer them would be St. Catherine of Siena and St. Joan of Arc. “Catherine, with her commitment to the reform of the Church profoundly wounded by the sin of its members, and Joan, in her passion and death caused in part by priests and theologians” who

ROME (CNS) — Japanese Church officials are setting up an emergency center to coordinate humanitarian aid operations in Sendai, the area most devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Bishop Martin Tetsuo Hiraga of Sendai and the diocesan chancellor, Father Peter Shiro Komatsu will be the director and vice director of the center, and a Caritas worker will be stationed there to coordinate aid work, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Clergy and laypeople from other dioceses may also join the work.

The center is expected to operate for six months.

Father Komatsu said gasoline is the most needed commodity.

“Since there is shortage of petroleum and roads are blocked by debris, we have difficulties (reaching) affected areas outside Sendai city,” he said.

Father Komatsu said March 17 that he had begun contacting several downtown parishes to find rooms for the displaced quake victims and added that the Church might offer shelter to relief workers.

Father Daisuke Narui, executive director of Caritas Japan, also attended the mid-March meeting.

“The biggest buildings in Sendai withstood the very strong earthquake. The greatest damage was caused by the tsunami. The panorama of destruction is striking.

Now we’ll have to roll up our shirt sleeves. People are expecting our help,” said.

Father Narui said he was encouraged by the enthusiasm of Japanese youth offering to help the displaced.

“Young people are continually coming to Caritas from all the dioceses to offer their availability as volunteers to bring aid to the areas most affected by the disaster,” the priest told Fides, news agency of the Vatican’s Congregation for the

Evangelization of Peoples. “This is an important sign that gives us hope for the future.”

“Today the dominant feeling is fear,” Father Narui said. “The biggest concern is that of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It is a ghost from Japanese history coming back to haunt us. But it must be said that the people are not indulging in panic; instead, they are reacting with poise and dignity.”

He said although many people had been evacuated and others were being asked to stay in their homes, “in the worst-affected areas the main problem is the lack of

food and fuel. As there is no fuel, people cannot move. And they are left feeling powerless in the face of this tragedy.”

After the magnitude 9 earthquake, reactors at the Fukushima plant were hit by explosions, and Japanese officials were working to avoid leakage of radiation. They ordered evacuations for hundreds of thousands of people.

Earlier, Bishop Hiraga told Vatican Radio that many area residents, cut off without electricity and with some phone service just restored, were unaware of the worsening situation at the Fukushima plant.

Japanese bishops to set up center to coordinate operations

disagreed with her politically and so helped her be condemned as a heretic, “give us a profound lesson on the mystery of the Church that is always holy and always in need of purification,” he wrote.

“With their voices, which are strong and dramatic, yet also sweet and maternal,” the two women saints would point retreatants toward “the urgency of conversion and holiness,” Father Lethel wrote.

The Carmelite noted that in January, Pope Benedict himself pointed to SS. Catherine and Joan of Arc as “examples of ‘strong women’ in the midst of great suffering and crises for the Church and society.”

“With these saints, the light of Christ comes to face the darkness of sin — found even within the Church — to purify it, to reform it.

Obviously this is very relevant today,” he said in an interview in the Vatican newspaper.

While the Second Vatican Council emphasized how every

The Anchor www.anchornews.org

single Catholic is called to holiness, he said, it was Pope John Paul who really made Catholics — and others — aware of the fact that people in every culture and walk of life have answered and continue to answer that call.

During the more than 26 years he was pontiff, Pope John Paul beatified 1,338 individuals and canonized 482.

For the cover of the retreat booklets, Father Lethel chose a detail from Fra Angelico’s “Last Judgment.” The selected scene, sometimes described as “the dance of the saints,” shows the holy ones holding hands and moving up toward heaven.

He said Pope John Paul’s pontificate was filled with reminders that “the saints give each other and give us a hand to guide us on the path of holiness. This is the meaning of Lenten conversion: to commit ourselves even more to engaging in this ‘dance of the saints.’”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 55, No. 12

Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas 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.

Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address

PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase m arychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza kensouza@anchornews.org REPORTER Rebecca Aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org

PoStmaSters send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.

THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.

March 25, 2011 The Church in the U.S. Report ‘puts cloud over’ Church efforts to prevent abuse, says official

4

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A recent grand jury report alleging past sexual abuse by clergy and other Church personnel in the Philadelphia Archdiocese “puts a cloud over everything” the Church is doing to prevent abuse, said Teresa Kettelkamp, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.

In the wake of the archdiocese placing 21 priests on administrative leave March 7 in its ongoing response to the grand jury inquiry, Kettelkamp said people want to know what happened, how it happened and what can be learned.

“Every bishop wants to hear how this could happen” to assure Catholics it won’t happen in their diocese, Kettelkamp told Catholic News Service March 11.

She does not attribute any failure in responding to claims of abuse to the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002 at their Dallas meeting and revised three years later. The charter and its norms are meant to put a comprehensive system in place to address

and stop abuse.

What needs to be examined, said Kettelkamp, is the extent to which dioceses are following the “spirit and the letter” of the charter.

When the Philadelphia grand jury released its report, it called for the archdiocese to “review all of the old allegations against currently active priests and to remove from ministry all of the priests with credible allegations against them.”

Among other initiatives the archdiocese pledged a re-examination of the cases of 37 priests.

The grand jury also handed down five criminal indictments against a former priest, three current priests and a former parochial school teacher. The five were in court March 14 for a preliminary hearing.

As the Philadelphia cases of alleged abuse are re-examined, Kettelkamp said it should become clear if unreported cases of abuse were the result of human failure or a weakness in the process itself.

“We have a good charter and a good audit, but we’d be foolish and irresponsible not to take a fresh look at everything we do,” she told CNS.

For starters, she noted that every diocese should be asking if it has sent every reported allegation of abuse to the local diocesan review board, and if not, why not.

Philadelphia’s grand jury report cites instances where archdiocesan review board members, who examined reported cases of abuse, found some allegations lacked sufficient evidence to justify a priest’s permanent removal. In some instances when these priests were not removed from active duty, the report showed, further allegations of abuse were made against them.

The charter’s “zero tolerance” policy calls for the permanent removal from ministry of any priest or deacon found to have abused a minor in any way — even if only once.

The policy has strong support among victims’ groups as a sign that the Church is serious about protecting children, but critics say there should be different levels of penalties for different types of child sex abuse, that a cleric who only touches a child should not be given the same penalty as a cleric who has raped numerous children.

Kettelkamp stands by the “zero tolerance” policy, especially given the current scandal.

She is confident that answers will come to light as the Philadelphia abuse cases are carefully scrutinized.

Currently, Gina Maisto Smith, the veteran child abuse prosecutor hired by the archdiocese, is leading the intensive re-examination of the cases. After her initial review, she recommended that Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali place 21 priests on administrative leave.

The cases concerned allegations ranging from sexual abuse of a minor to other incidents of what the archdiocese termed “boundary issues” — discussions or behavior by a clergyman that might indicate a pattern leading to later abuse.

The priests’ placement on leave is not a final determination, according to a press release issued by the archdiocesan communications office. The action follows “an initial examination of files looking at both the substance of allegations and the process by which those allegations were reviewed.”

In one of a number of statements he has issued in response to the report, Cardinal Rigali called sexual abuse a crime and “always wrong and always evil.”

“Many people of faith and in the community at large think that the archdiocese does not understand the gravity of child sexual abuse,” he said February 16. “We do. The task before us now is to recognize where we have fallen short and to let our actions speak to our resolve.”

Kettelkamp said she hoped that during the archdiocese’s review, “all the good work the Church has done” to combat abuse will not be completely overshadowed. She also hopes the “armies of people” involved in rooting out abuse in the Church will not give up their fight.

“On any given day there are at least 1,000 people (across the country) working on the charter,” she said, adding that the Philadelphia scandal “demoralizes so many people who have worked so hard.”

“I don’t want them to get discouraged and give up,” she added.

“They should keep on doing what they do.”

March 25, 2011

Faithful near full membership in Church

FALL RIVER — On March 13, 79 individuals, accompanied by their sponsors, gathered at St. Mary’s Cathedral to express publicly their desire to become full members of the Catholic Church.

Bishop George W. Coleman presided at the ceremony where 37 catechumens from 16 parishes across the diocese were enrolled as Elect by signing the Book of the Elect. They will be initiated as Catholics at the Easter Vigil through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Forty-two candidates for full communion in the Church were presented to Bishop Coleman.

Having already received the Sacrament of Baptism, these faithful will be fully initiated into the Catholic faith when they receive Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.

Deacon Robert LeMay, diocesan director of the Office of the Rite of Christian Instruction of Adults, presented the catechumens and candidates to the bishop by reading each name aloud.

Parish priests, members of RCIA parish teams, and family members and friends also at-

5

The Anchor

tended the ceremony as a show of support as the candidates and catechumens begin the final stage of preparation to be new members of the Catholic Church.

Deacons Bruce Bonneau and Paul Macedo assisted the bishop during the ceremony. The music was provided by Dan Davey and the St. Mary’s Parish Choir from Mansfield.

pilgrimage / tour to

“national shrines of canada”

Spiritual Director: Fr. Joseph P. McDermott, Pastor Immaculate Conception Church 122 Canton Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

May 9 - 13, 2011 5 DAYS / 4 NIGHTS for $455.00 (per person, double occupancy) (SINGLE SUPPLEMENT - $135.00)

INCLUDES: transportation via deluxe motorcoach, round trip for 4 (four) nights @ Cap de la Madeline, 4 (four) breakfasts, 1 (one) lunch, & 4 (four) dinners SHRINES consist of: SAINT ANNE de BEUPRE in Quebec, Cap de la Madeline in Three Rivers for four (4) full nights, & the ORATORY of ST. JOSEPH in Montreal; as well as side trips, including Mass & prayers @ BLESSED FATHER FREDERICK’S SHRINE, ST. JOACHIM (father of Blessed Mother) SHRINE

For further information you may contact Margaret Oliverio @ 781-762-2029 or 781-344-2073

6

The Anchor The second part of the story

On Sunday night, “60 Minutes” featured an interview with Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. It was a hard-hitting, but engaging, fair and largely positive portrayal. While certain aspects of the interview were over-hyped and over-stated — like the assertions that U.S. Catholics look to the Archbishop of New York as “the American Pope” and that Archbishop Dolan is a serious candidate for the real papacy in the next conclave — Morley Safer was on safer ground when he speculated that the American bishops elected Dolan as their conference president last November because they believed the jovial, garrulous and eloquent Big Apple prelate is the best man the U.S. Church has for the double mission of restoring the hope of besieged Catholics and presenting a compelling image of the Church to non-Catholics after the terrible sins and scandal of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

Safer predictably launched several salvos about the scandals. Archbishop Dolan responded first by describing the vomitous horror felt by so many Catholics at what the scandals show and signify: “When you think of what happened, both that a man who proposes to act in the name of God would have abused an innocent, young person, and that some bishops would have, in a way, countenanced that by reassigning abusers, that’s nothing less than hideous, that’s nothing less than nauseating.” He said that the meetings he has had with those who have suffered sexual abuse by priests have left an indelible image. “Those were some of the more difficult, wrenching, touching moments in my life.

Some of them were terribly painful and did not go well. Others I remember with gratitude. Praying together. Crying together. Those were very powerful moments that you don’t forget.” When asked if he thought the crisis was over, Archbishop Dolan replied, “In some ways, I don’t want it to be over because this was such a crisis in the Catholic Church that in a way we don’t want to get over it too easily. This needs to haunt us.”

At the same time, Archbishop Dolan said that that haunting has spurred the Church as a whole, and bishops in particular, to action. “The second story” about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, he asserted, “is the Church’s reaction” when the revelations came to light. “I think [it] has been good.

It’s been strong. It’s been rigorous.” That part of the story, the archbishop implied, does not get nearly the amount of ink as the scandals themselves have. As terrible as the undeniable evil of widespread episcopal malfeasance was, beginning in Dallas in 2002, he suggested that the U.S. bishops have shown true signs of repentance, creating a culture that not only is totally intolerant of abuse, but has fostered protocols and procedures that have made the Catholic Church what it always should have been, a leader in the protection of children.

Archbishop Dolan has been vigorous in trying to implement and proclaim this second part of the story. He’s done it in homilies, talks and interviews, in private and public meetings, in conversations with those inside and outside the Church. He has perhaps never done it quite so powerfully as he did last Friday on his blog, when he described a one-on-one encounter he had on March 11 in the Denver airport.

A 40-something-year-old man approached and asked him whether he was a Catholic priest. “Sure am. Nice to meet you,” the archbishop replied while extending his hand. The interlocutor refused to shake it. Instead he scoffed, “I was raised a Catholic and now, as a father of two boys, I can’t look at you or any other priest without thinking of a sexual abuser.”

Such insults have become somewhat common to priests who have the guts to dress in clerical garb in public places, but no matter how accustomed a priest becomes to them, being viewed as a child molester rather than an ambassador of Christ never loses its existential sting. Archbishop Dolan candidly confessed he quickly weighed various human and supernatural options about how to respond while he “staggered with shame and anger”: “Yell at him? Cuss him out? Apologize? Deck him?

Express understanding?”

Archbishop Dolan eventually replied, “I’m sure sorry you feel that way.” He decided to see, however, if he could cut through the man’s prejudice: “Let me ask you, do you automatically presume a sexual abuser when you see a rabbi or Protestant minister?” “Not at all,” the man said. “How about when you see a coach, or a Boy Scout leader, or a foster parent, or a counselor, or physician?” the prelate continued. “Of course not,” the man retorted. “What’s all that got to do with it?” “A lot,” Dolan replied, “because each of those professions has as high a percentage of sexual abuse, if not even higher, than that of priests.” “Well, that may be,” the man countered, “but the Church is the only group that knew it was going on, did nothing about it, and kept transferring the perverts around.”

“You obviously never heard the stats on public school teachers,” the archbishop observed, deconstructing a ubiquitous but false assumption. “In my hometown of New York City alone, experts say the rate of sexual abuse among public school teachers is 10 times higher than that of priests, and these abusers just get transferred around.” Dolan then took the risk of imitating the prophet Nathan’s method in bringing David to conversion by helping the king to put himself in another’s shoes. “Pardon me for being so blunt, but you sure were with me, so, let me ask: When you look at yourself in a mirror, do you see a sex abuser?” “What the hell are you talking about?,” the man protested. “Sadly,” Archbishop Dolan answered, “studies tell us that most children sexually abused are victims of their own fathers or other family members.” The man had no response. “So, I tell you what,” Dolan proposed. “When I look at you, I won’t see a sex abuser, and I would appreciate the same consideration from you.”

A little later, at the baggage claim, the man picked up the conversation, “Well then, why do we only hear this garbage about you priests?” “We priests wonder the same thing,” Archbishop Dolan replied. “I’ve got a few reasons if you’re interested.” After the man nodded affirmatively, Dolan candidly postulated three explanations. “For one, we priests deserve the more intense scrutiny, because people trust us more as we dare claim to represent God, so, when one of us do it — even if only a tiny minority of us ever have — it is more disgusting. Two, I’m afraid there are many out there who have no love for the Church, and are itching to ruin us. This is the issue they love to endlessly scourge us with. And, three, I hate to say it [but] there’s a lot of money to be made in suing the Catholic Church, while it’s hardly worth suing any of the other groups I mentioned before.”

Archbishop Dolan’s triple theory deserves pondering by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He says that the Church should be held to a higher standard — just not treated with a double-standard.

He also courageously stated the obvious, that there are certain people who hate the Church as well as others with financial motives who selectively sue the Church while not touching, for example, public school districts where abuse is far more common and institutional responses have been just as horrendous as in the Church prior to 2002. To say this is not to minimize the evil of the abuse in the Catholic Church or to be unsympathetic in any way toward those who have suffered abuse, but it is to be honest about the dynamics of the coverage of the evil of abuse in the Church while it is largely ignored everywhere else. One of the reasons why the “second part of the story” of the Church’s response to abuse hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves has been because of an unholy alliance between those who are profiting from suing the Church and those in the secular media whose radical social and moral agenda profits when the Church’s moral authority is undermined. What else would explain, for example, why accusations of abuse in the Catholic Church from decades ago generally garner front page status while fresh allegations of abuse against other religious leaders or public figures from the previous week are often buried deep within editions?

Archbishop Dolan’s Denver encounter had a happy ending. After he grabbed his luggage, the 40-something-year-old man extended his hand, which he had refused to offer before. “Thanks,” the archbishop said as he shook it. “Glad I met you.” “You know, I am thinking of the great priests I knew as a kid,” the man replied. “Shouldn’t judge all you guys because of the horrible sins of a few.” It would be nice to know whether this man responded with hope when he saw the feisty, friendly and forgiving priest he insulted at the airport described positively by Morley Safer last Sunday as the new face of the U.S. Catholicism.

March 25, 2011

John Paul II and the ‘New Evangelization’

O

Christ.” He had the sense that the moment ne of the main focuses of Pope had come to commit all of the Church’s John Paul II’s pontificate was his call for a “New Evangelization.” His point energies to a new evangelization of the entire world. “No believer in Christ, no was that, while much of the world has at institution of the Church can avoid this susome point heard the initial proclamation preme duty to proclaim Christ to all people of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in many at all times” (Redemptoris Missio, 3). areas of the world, that Gospel has been The good news of Christ must be carforgotten, and so he called for a re-evangeried forth to every person and nation so lization of the modern world. that it may penetrate the heart of every perThe pope explained that the Gospel is son and renew the human race, the pope not just another subject that we learn, as if explained. This is not a generic task, but it were no different from math or history. one that must be adapted by each genera“It is not a body of abstract truths. It is tion and culture. It is the Church’s mission the communication of the living mystery to carry forward the task of proclaiming of God (Catechesi Tradendae, 7). This the Gospel, witnessing the Gospel to all Gospel must be presented and explained creation (Ut unum sint, 89-90). This task is to each generation as if it were being the most important task of the members of proclaimed for the first time. What has happened over time is that Christians have the Church.

Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican’s taken the faith for granted and in doing so Council’s document on the Church in the have diminished the significance of the Gospel as well as the importance of living modern world, of which John Paul had a significant role in constructing, speaks according to the teachings of Christ and of the Church’s duty to meet the needs His Church. of each community. He said that in order Pope John Paul II explained that the to carry out such a task effectively, the faith, uninterruptedly professed by the Church has Church, needs to scrutinize to be constantly the signs of reawakened Putting Into the times and and deepinterpret them ened in the the Deep in the light consciousof the Gosness of the

By Father pel. Thus, in people of God language intel(Dominum et Jay Mello ligible to each Vivificantem, generation, the 2). This reChurch can respond to the perennial quesawakening is fundamentally connected to what he called the “New Evangelization.” tions that men and women ask about this The Church of the present age (and in fact, present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. We every age) is called upon to rekindle the must therefore recognize and understand fire of the Holy Spirit which was given to the world in which we live, its explanathe Church at Pentecost and has remained tions, its longings, and its often dramatic with her until this day, he explained. characteristics (Gaudium et Spes, 4).

This “fire of the Holy Spirit” is the The 40 years that followed the council interior power and conviction given to the provided many dramatic challenges in the Apostles and the early Church at the time United States as well as in the Church. of Pentecost for the transmission of the American culture and society reflect the faith and the teaching and baptizing of all diversity of the individuals within it, each nations (Mt 28:19-20). The “New Evanof which has the inalienable right to life, gelization” is symbolically spoken of as a liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This new Pentecost, a time in which God has blessed and a time in which the Holy Spirit pluralism shows itself in religious freedom, ethnic and cultural diversity and the will abundantly outpour Its gifts upon the expression of a wide variety of social and Church.

Each of the baptized is given that power moral choices. It is also a contributing factor to the privatization of religion and of the Holy Spirit at his or her Baptism; a growing sense of moral relativism in in the Sacrament of Confirmation that “fire” is “stirred into a flame” in the hearts the United States (“National Directory for Catechesis,” 23). of each of the baptized (2 Tim 1:6). It is John Paul II understood this complia misunderstanding to think that just the cated dynamic of the present age. This is bishops, priests and religious Sisters have what made him so effective, especially the role of proclaiming the Gospel. On among young people. He recognized that the contrary, each of us, by virtue of our Baptism, is called to bring the Gospel into the Gospel never changes, but the methods all areas of life — into our homes, schools and ways in which we communicate it do.

He urged all Catholics, not just bishops and workplaces.

In speaking to the American bishops in and priests, to recognize that we all share his 1987 pastoral visit to the United States, the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel.

Pope John Paul II said that the renewal Even now, almost six years after his of Catholic life that the Second Vatican death, his call for a “New EvangelizaCouncil called for is to be measured not tion” continues to be just as important primarily in terms of external structures, as when he first called for it. As society but in a deeper understanding and more effective implementation of the core vision continues to become more secular and less in accord with our Christian values, of her true nature and mission, which the it is all the more vital that we respond to council offered to the Church at the close our beloved Holy Father’s call to bring of the second millennium of the Christian Jesus Christ into every human situation, era. because Christ alone is the Way, the Truth Pope John Paul II summoned the and the Life.

Church to undertake this “New EvangeFather Mello is a parochial vicar at St. lization” of the world and invited people Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth. everywhere to “open wide the doors to

March 25, 2011

Q: I have learned today about the Washing of the Feet ceremony at Mass in my parish on Holy Thursday. To take the place of the Twelve Apostles, we are to have six gentlemen and six ladies. I would welcome your comments about this innovation. — M.R., Melbourne, Australia A: The rubrics for Holy Thursday clearly state that the priest washes the feet of men (“viri”) in order to recall Christ’s action toward his Apostles. Any modification of this rite would require permission from the Holy See. It is certainly true that in Christ there is neither male nor female and that all disciples are equal before the Lord. But this reality need not be expressed in every rite, especially one that is so tied up to the concrete historical circumstances of the Last Supper.

The universal norms of the Church that reserves this rite to men are found in the circular letter “Paschales Solemnitatis” (Jan. 16, 1988) and in the rubrics of the

W

7

The Anchor

Washing women’s feet on Holy Thursday

letter, explain its meaning as an 2002 Latin Roman Missal. evocation of Christ’s gesture of No. 51 of the circular letter service and charity to his Apostles, states: “The washing of the feet of and avoid getting embroiled in chosen men which, according to controversies that try to attribute tradition, is performed on this day, to the rite meanings it was never represents the service and charmeant to have. ity of Christ, who came ‘not to be Regarding the place and served, but to serve.’ This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained.”

A few years ago, however, the Holy See, while affirming that the men-only rule remains the norm,

By Father did permit a U.S. bishop to Edward McNamara also wash women’s feet if he considered it pastorally number of those whose feet are to necessary in specific cases. This be washed, the rubric, which has permission was for a particular remained unvaried in the new miscase and from a strictly legal point sal, describes the rite as follows: of view has no value outside the “Depending on pastoral circumdiocese in question.

I believe that the best option, as stances, the washing of feet may follow the homily.

“Paschales Solemnitatis” states, “The men who have been is to maintain the tradition and chosen are led by the ministers to explain its proper significance. chairs prepared in a suitable place.

This means preparing the rite Then the priest (removing his following liturgical law to the

Liturgical Q&A

chasuble if necessary) goes to each man. With the help of the ministers he pours water over each one’s feet and dries them.”

The number of men selected for the rite is not fixed. Twelve is the most common option but they may be fewer in order to adjust to the available space.

Likewise the place chosen is usually within or near the presbytery so that the rite is clearly visible to the assembly.

Thus, the logical sense of the rubric requires the priest, representing Christ, washing feet of a group of men taken from the assembly, symbolizing the Apostles, in a clearly visible area.

Modern variations that were alluded to by other readers — of washing the feet of the entire congregation, of people washing each other’s feet (or hands), or doing so in situations that are not visible to all — tend to undermine the sense of this rite within the concrete

context of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Such practices, by greatly extending the time required, tend to convert a meaningful, but optional, rite into the focal point of the celebration. And that detracts attention from the commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the principal motive of the celebration.

In other circumstances, such as retreats or so called para-liturgical services, it can be perfectly legitimate to perform foot-washing rites inspired by Christ’s example and by the liturgy. In such cases none of the limitations imposed by the concrete liturgical context of the Holy Thursday Mass need apply.

Father Edward McNamara is a Legionary of Christ and professor of Liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome. His column appears weekly at zenit. org. Send questions to liturgy@ zenit.org. Put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. Text should include initials, city and state.

The Fourth Phase: Toward a New Liturgical Movement

hen Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978, he attempted, first of all, to strengthen the Church’s interior life of faith, hope, and charity. In his first encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis (1979), he reaffirmed traditional Catholic doctrine on the Eucharist as both the atoning Sacrifice and the Real Presence of Jesus Christ.

Above all, he emphasized the greatness of this mystery: the human mind is “incapable of grasping and translating into words what the Eucharist is in all its fullness, what is expressed by it and what is actuated by it.”

Consequently, in the celebration of the Eucharist, “the full magnitude of the divine mystery must be respected, as must the full meaning of this sacramental sign in which Christ is really present.” While this is “the source of the duty to carry out rigorously the liturgical rules,” John Paul emphasized the interior spirit that should animate our worship: a spirit of gratitude to God the Son who, in the Eucharist, “entrusts himself to us with limitless trust, as if not taking into consideration our human weakness, our unworthiness, the force of habit, routine, or even the possibility of insult.” In order to restore this interior attitude, the pope stressed the importance of sacramental confession and reconciliation as a means of preparation for Holy Communion.

John Paul returned to the subject in Dominicae Cenae, his 1980 Lenten letter to the world’s bishops. Again, his focus was not on the liturgical rite but on eucharistic faith. He called for an

attitude of worship, permeating the Pope Benedict XVI was among liturgical celebration and extendthe first of those we might call ing beyond it. He also recalled the the post-Vatican II realists. He words of the Roman Pontifical knew the Council too intimately to that on the day of ordination the reject it, but for precisely the same bishop addresses to the new priest reason, he found himself deeply as he hands to him on the paten disturbed by what was frequently and in the chalice the bread and being carried out in its name. wine offered by the faithful and In 1975, while still a theolprepared by the deacon: “Receive ogy professor, Father Ratzinger the sacrifice to be offered on behalf of the holy people of God; recognize what you are doing, imitate what you handle, and conform your whole life to the mystery of the

By Father Lord’s cross.” As John Thomas M. Kocik Paul brought the letter to conclusion, he issued a startling plea for forgiveness for “everything which, for lamented that the liturgy was too whatever reason, through whatever often reduced “to the level of a human weakness, impatience or parish tea party and the intelliginegligence, and also through the at bility of a popular newspaper.” times partial, one-sided and errone- Ten years later, in his famous ous application of the directives of interview with the Italian journalthe Second Vatican Council, may ist Vittorio Messori, published as have caused scandal and distur“The Ratzinger Report” (Ignatius bance concerning the interpretation Press, 1985), Cardinal Ratzinger of the doctrine and the veneration pointed out “the contrast between due to this great Sacrament.” what the authentic text of Vatican While the pope was laboring II says and the way in which it has to shore up fundamental Catholic been understood and applied.” The doctrine on the Eucharist, Cardinal very idea of “creative” liturgy is Joseph Ratzinger, who in 1981 fallacious, he said, in that it treats was appointed prefect of the Conliturgy as “a show, a spectacle, gregation for the Doctrine of the requiring brilliant producers and Faith, worked in a complementary talented actors. The life of the manner to open up a renewed and liturgy does not consist in ‘pleasfrank discussion of the Church’s ant’ surprises and attractive ‘ideas’ liturgical life. A self-professed but in solemn repetitions. It cannot adherent of the Liturgical Movebe an expression of what is current ment and a profound theological and transitory, for it expresses the enthusiast for the liturgical reform mystery of the Holy.” proposed by the Council, the future The cardinal went on to critique

The Liturgical Movement

a one-sided understanding of the Council’s emphasis on actuosa participatio (most often translated as “active participation”), saying, “It was forgotten that the Council also included silence under actuosa participatio, for silence facilitates a really deep, personal participation, allowing us to listen inwardly to the Lord’s word.” He also spoke of the impoverishment of the liturgy through the neglect of the Church’s treasury of sacred music and ritual solemnity. (Case in point: Where are the parishes offering at least one sung Mass with incense every Sunday? Or when, if ever, did you last hear the Gospel sung at Mass?) “In the solemnity of worship,” Ratzinger said, “the Church expressed the glory of God, the joy of faith, the victory of truth and light over error and darkness. The richness of the

liturgy is not the richness of some priestly caste: it is the wealth of all, including the poor, who in fact long for it and do not at all find it a stumbling block.”

Previously public discussion within the Church had, by and large, been restricted to unqualified and enthusiastic praise of the liturgical reform. With Cardinal Ratzinger’s high placed criticisms, the doors opened for a more sober assessment. Indeed, the cardinal began to speak of a new Liturgical Movement, a return to sound liturgical piety and the right way of celebrating the liturgy, inwardly and outwardly.

Father Kocik, parochial vicar of Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, is editor of “Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal,” author of two liturgy-related books, and contributor to the forthcoming “T&T Clark Companion to Liturgical Studies.”

8

G

raphic images of the tragic destruction caused by the tsunami following the terrible earthquake in northern Japan a couple of weeks ago serve to remind us of the great power of water — in this case the destructive power of water — that will not be restrained. We saw pictures of cars and boats (ferries, not just pleasure craft) on the roofs of three-story buildings. There were images of huge tankers on their sides on breakwaters. And we saw cars and freight containers tossed about like so many Legos being poured out of their box.

But there is a powerful positive force in water as well. All living creatures share the common experience of thirst. We cannot live without water. Deprived of water, plants wither and die; parched earth cracks. Lack of water can cause devasta-

March 25, 2011

The Anchor

Water of life

tion, illness, and death. Once who came to the well at a a person senses thirst, he or time different from when she has already begun to be others would be there, in the dehydrated. noon-day sun and heat. She As human beings, we is a questionable member (a thirst for more than water. sinner) of what was considThe image of thirsting can ered a subordinate group (a remind us of our desires. Our Lenten journey gives us the Homily of the Week opportunity to call Third Sunday to mind our various thirsts — for love, of Lent for knowledge, for

By Marcel wisdom, for forgiveH. Bouchard ness, for support, sometimes for power and riches.

In today’s Gospel passage woman) of a despised people from St. John, where Jesus (the Samaritans). Yet she is encounters the Samaritan the one whom Jesus apwoman at the well, Jesus proaches; she is the one to promises to be the source whom He reveals himself as of living water, water that Messiah; and she is the one satisfies, that becomes a who heralds this good news fountain, that springs up to to the people in the town. eternal life.

What does this encounter Jesus teaches this promise have to share with us on our to us through His encounter Lenten journey this year? with the Samaritan woman First, the power of the wa-

ter of life. It’s even stronger that water from the rock, the gift of God to the thirsty, complaining pilgrims on their way to the Promised Land. The first reading, from Exodus, reminds us that Moses was instructed to employ the same staff he used to part the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) to strike the rock. Water flowed; it was a gift of God. It holds before us God’s care for the wandering people in the desert. It reminds us of God’s care for us, even when we feel we are lost or wandering.

Secondly, what Jesus is promising is the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift we receive in the word of Sacred Scripture, in the sacraments we celebrate, in the sacramentals we use, and in our care and concern for others. This is all because, as Paul teaches in the second reading from Romans,

“God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Finally, to be immersed in water in Baptism is a sign of death. To come up from the water symbolizes our rising to new life. The images in this Sunday’s readings remind us of our baptismal dying and rising with Christ. Part of our calling is to do what the Samaritan woman did — lead others to Jesus by witnessing to the power of the water of life. Our witness is our example of prayer, our concern for others, and the sacrifices we make for the kingdom.

So, share the gift. Let the living water spill over. Let’s use Lent to remember that we have been bathed with the water of life.

Father Bouchard is the pastor of St. Mary-Our Lady of the Isle Parish in Nantucket. He can be reached at frmhbouchard@ stmarysnantucket.org

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Mar. 26, Mi 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Lk 15:1-3,11-32. Sun. Mar. 27, Third Sunday of Lent, Ex 17:3-7; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Rom 5:1-2,5-8; Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15,19b-26,39a-42. Mon. Mar. 28, 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Pss 42:2-3;43:3-4; Lk 4:24-30 . Tues. Mar. 29, Dn 3:25,34-43; Ps 25:4-9; Mt 18:21-35. Wed. Mar. 30, Dt 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19. Thur. Mar. 31, Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Lk 11:14-23. Fri. Apr. 1, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-11b,14,17; Mk 12:28-34.

J

udging by the impassioned commentary from some Catholic quarters during recent confrontations between unionized public-sector workers and state governments, you’d think we were back in 1919, with the Church defending the rights of wage slaves laboring in sweat shops under draconian working conditions. That would hardly seem to be the circumstances of, say, unionized American public school teachers who make handsome salaries with generous health and pension benefits, work for nine months of the year, and are virtually impossible to fire even if they commit felonies. I don’t think those were the kinds of workers Leo XIII had in mind

The Church and the unions

gether. That kind of unionized in Rerum Novarum, or John selfishness smacks of organized Paul II in Laborem Exercens.

The right of workers to orga- greed, just like the pyramid schemes of Bernie Madoff and nize to advance their interests his ilk. is not in question. What is in question is the claim of organized government employees to be immunized against the sacrifices necessary to rescue America from fiscal disaster: a disasBy George Weigel ter created in no small part by irresponsible politicians pandering to public-sector Tens of thousands of innerworkers’ unions. A union that city children are being denied does not defend its own is, of a quality education today course, an absurdity. A union because of the intransigence of that defends only its own, with the teachers’ unions in concedno concern for the common ing the effectiveness — and good, is something else altomoral imperative — of voucher programs that allow underprivileged and at-risk kids to get the kind of decent, disciplined education that is unavailable in too many government-run schools: not because of lack of funding, and not because government schools “have to take everyone,” but because of union rules that protect failed teachers, reward incompetence, and make it virtually impossible for dedicated teachers to conduct the kind of classrooms that work. This is, in a word, selfishness — cruel selfishness.

It ill befits Catholic activists

The Catholic Difference

and commentators to support it.

A related moral question is raised by public-sector workers’ unions and their recent clashes with governors and legislators determined to prevent their states from going over the fiscal cliff.

It’s the same moral question that is posed to all of us by the impending crisis of federal entitlements like Social Security and Medicare: what is our responsibility, in this generation, to future generations?

Is it morally worthy of us to leave our children and grandchildren with mountains of debt because we cannot bring ourselves to reform unsustainable entitlement programs that were enacted when life expectancy was far lower than it is today?

Is it morally worthy of today’s public-sector workers’ unions to defend what one columnist described as “massive promissory notes issued to government unions when state coffers were full and no one was looking”? Is it worthy of citizens of the world’s leading democracy to mortgage the country’s future security interests and diplomatic options to the fact that the People’s Republic of China owns vast amounts of American

governmental debt in the form of Treasury bonds — and may well call our financial bluff one day when freedom’s cause is on the line?

My family benefited, once, from American trade unionism.

My grandfather and uncle were members of the United Steelworkers, back when America had a steel industry. There are many reasons why there’s little left of the once-great enterprises for which they worked: the inevitable shifts of comparative advantage in a dynamic global economy are perhaps the most important reasons. But the stupidities of both management and labor in refusing to face the facts of a rapidly changing economic environment also played their role. And the wreckage you see in once-great steel towns across the American Rust Belt bears mute witness to the human suffering that results when people can’t see beyond their own immediate and narrow interest.

Rather than acting as if this were 1919, Catholic leaders in America might begin to assert that selfishness is selfishness, with or without a union label, and that the common good requires sacrifices from all.

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

Upstairs/downstairs

24 March 2011 — at home in The Dightons — The Savannah Tour of House and Gardens ome friends invited me over for supper. The husband is a Protestant minister. As we sat in the parsonage, I casually mentioned the picture hanging above the mantel. I soon learned the painting was a hot button issue. “I can’t stand that picture,” complained the minister’s wife. “Why not replace it with something you like?” I asked naively.

“The Board of Trustees forbids me to do so.

That ugly thing was painted by a major contributor,” she answered. By the way, the couple later divorced. I bet the painting hangs there still.

No parishioners have ever taken much interest in the place in which I lived. That can be a good thing, I suppose. It can also be a bad thing.

At the parsonage of another

S

W

9

The Anchor

March 25, 2011 minister friend and his wife, we were sitting in the parlor. I could not help but notice a lifesized plaster statue of St. Joan of Arc presiding over the room.

I had no idea that Congregational ministers had so much devotion to Catholic saints. I said not a word about it. I had

learned my lesson.

I’ve been reflecting lately on rectories in which I’ve lived over the years. I can’t complain. Many have been quite comfortable. I believe a rectory should be no more than the average home in the parish — and no less. It’s the exceptions, however, that make for a more

interesting story.

Take my first rectory experience. The house was an imposing mansion atop a hill. Massive crystal chandeliers hung in several downstairs rooms.

These, I was told, had come from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. I’m six feet tall. The chandeliers were so oversized I would whack my head on them whenever I entered the room. I didn’t live in any of the rooms with the huge chandeliers. I lived in the attic. Due to the pitched roof, I had about one square yard in which I could stand upright — and that was already occupied by a television antenna upon which the housekeeper routinely hung rags to dry.

In the next assignment, I lived not in the attic but in the cellar. At least, that’s where my desk was located. I shared the room with the parish coin

The personal touch

God entrusts every human being hen we were teens, to each and every other humy brother and I once man being. But this entrusting agreed to split the price of a concerns women in a special present for our cousin, so that way — precisely by reason of we could buy her a nicer gift. To their femininity — and this in a my dismay Bill demanded that particular way determines their we buy the first sweater I got vocation” (n. 18). my hands on when we entered Pope John Paul II expanded the department store. When I further on what he referred to as disagreed, he set a time limit the feminine genius in his 1995 for our shopping expedition: no Letter to Women: “Perhaps more more than five minutes. It was horrible.

From a feminine point of view, when you’re buying a gift for someone you love, the idea is first to see what the possibilities are.

By Joan Kingsland You make the rounds of multiple stores, touching and comparing the than men, women acknowledge merchandise. You need carefully the person, because they see perto consider sizes and colors in sons with their hearts. They see relation to the tastes and look of them independently of various the individual for whom you’re ideological or political systems. buying. It’s a very personal and They see others in their greatinterpersonal activity. ness and limitations; they try to Women care about people as go out to them and help them” individuals. We have a special (n.12). capacity to observe and appreciIn the family situation, a ate another’s needs and qualities, woman is inclined to intuit whether positive or negative. the particular needs of each of This points to a core eleher children. She has a special ment of woman’s femininity: adaptability to adjust to their her capacity to nourish, value individuality. She wants to and protect the human person. nurture her children. This is a Pope John Paul II put it like this priority for her, even if she feels in his 1988 Apostolic Letter compelled to work full time for “On the Dignity and Vocation financial reasons. of Women”: “The moral and Evidence of her strong maspiritual strength of a woman ternal desire to take care of her is joined to her awareness that children is found in the results God entrusts the human being to of a 2000 National Survey of her in a special way. Of course,

Feminine Gifts

Marriage and Family Life. The vast majority of women would prefer to work less or not at all in order to be able to take care of their children. It was found that only 18 percent of married women with children said they would prefer to work full-time, in contrast to 46 percent who would prefer to work part-time and 36 percent who said that they would prefer to stay at home. Moreover, among married moms who worked full-time, nearly three-quarters said they would rather work fewer hours or not at all.

But the woman’s appreciation of the individual person goes beyond family life into the work place. St. Edith Stein said that a woman is capable of any kind of work precisely because of that special adaptability within her to others and their needs.

A woman can suppress or try to ignore her openness and tendency to take care of others, whoever they are. That, however, won’t bring her a deep sense of fulfillment.

Our gift of bringing out the best in others, of protecting them and helping them to grow, is enriching all around.

Joan Kingsland, a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi, teaches theology at Mater Ecclesiae College in Greenville, R.I. She received a doctorate from the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome.

counting machine and the copier. One day, the copier exploded. The gooey black ink splattered everywhere. At least it didn’t show on my black clerical clothes.

Time passed. I was reassigned to a house built as a rectory. I had a bedroom, bathroom, and study. The study was lined with built-in bookcases.

I loved it. The common rooms, however, were another matter.

Some years previously a pipe had burst between floors. The wallpaper was still hanging off the walls in sheets. The rectory had a lovely screened porch which could not be used due to the fact that the masonry was crumbling. I won’t even mention the infestation of bats. That rectory now sits vacant. The bats must be having a field day.

It’s all theirs.

Yet another assignment had me living back in an attic.

My space was divided into a workspace and a sleeping area.

The four replacement windows at either end of the room must have been purchased at a substantial discount. During one winter’s night storm, the windows blew out. I sleep soundly, so I never heard it. I awoke to find two inches of snow on the floor.

Then it was time to move again, this time to an old farmhouse. My office had been built over the well. The abandoned well was still un-

der the floorboards. The floor slanted so badly that I had to keep one hand on my desk or the chair would roll across the room. If I lifted my hand to answer your phone call, the next thing you would hear was the sound of me crashing into the wall.

I was assigned to yet another rectory. This one was an 1820 antique Cape. An old school house had been moved and attached to the residence. All parish meetings and classes were held in this combined house/ school. I tried to maintain some privacy in the two rooms I occupied. I was not always successful. One night, after a coffee and doughnuts Sunday, I settled into my bed for a good night’s sleep. I stuck my hand into a half-eaten jelly doughnut stashed under my pillow. I am not making this up.

Perhaps more of our parishes should have a Building and Grounds Committee composed of a small group of parishioners who have expertise in this area. Part of their responsibility could be a well-intentioned concern that the rectory was adequate.

I’m sure, dear readers, you would want your parish priest to live in an adequate house.

Do not presume. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

10

The Anchor B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff

FAIRHAVEN — She never set out to be a volunteer at St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven, but Sharon McGraw figures God had other plans. So many people, from young children in Religious Education to seniors in nursing homes, are very glad God did.

“I always said I won’t volunteer, but if I’m asked, it will be a sign,” said McGraw.

McGraw came to St. Mary’s after the birth of her second son, Roy. Trying to coordinate her husband’s schedule with the requirements of another parish’s mandatory Baptism preparation classes proved difficult, so McGraw turned to her husband’s childhood friend and pastor of St. Mary’s, Father Robert Charleton.

“Because my husband was a police officer and the godfather was an EMT, it never worked,” said McGraw. “I talked to Father Bob and asked if he’d perform the ceremony, and he said — jokingly — register over at St. Mary’s.”

When McGraw came to St. Mary’s, she said something just clicked.

“There was always this little piece missing. Maybe as a child I was so shy and didn’t reach out to other people, where as here I am an adult and connecting more,” she said.

It still took some time to get the young family into a weekly routine; that is, until McGraw’s oldest son Luke received his first Communion

March 25, 2011

Creatively spreading the Good News and shortly thereafter became McGraw eased into help- that, as she became a member an altar server. Luke began to ing at St. Mary’s Parish by of the parish council, helped ask when the family was go- volunteering to help decorate design an entire outreach proing to attend church on a more the church during the holi- gram targeting multiple groups regular basis. days, and then she began to within the parish.

“I really do credit Luke for make rosaries to be blessed “I did some research and bringing me back to a regular and distributed through the I realized that there must be routine,” said McGraw. something that we can “I didn’t want to disapdo that is simple and not point my kids. This is expensive,” said Mcmy job and I shouldn’t Graw, and the idea of deprive them of that. creating cards and then I really felt that it was distributing them among God’s way, and with local nursing homes was Luke being spiritual at a born. “It was the best young age, I really think thing to get all the kids it’s how He communiinvolved, but they didn’t cated with me.” have to go. They were McGraw spent a numstill represented by each ber of years dealing with making a card.” spiritual trust issues. The The idea pays homdeath of her great-grandage to McGraw’s late mother happened only a great-grandmother, few years after the sudwho resided in a nursden death of her granding home in Acushnet mother. McGraw was until she passed away. only 15 years old when McGraw would ride her her grandmother passed, bike to visit her, and and it left a permanent she remembers seeing mark on her psyche that the seniors gathered tocame bubbling to the gether, looking up as she surface after the tragedy walked through the door of 9/11. and then seeing their “It was so much exfaces fall when they reposure to death. I had Anchor Person of the Week — Sharon alized the visitor wasn’t to trust that everything McGraw. (Photo by Becky Aubut) for them. was going to be OK, and “I think of how imit made my faith stronportant that is because ger,” said McGraw. “I started parish. It was when she was so many people don’t have visto trust God again. I look back dropping off some newly made itors,” said McGraw. “When I at things I wrote in diaries, and rosaries at the parish rectory go to visit the nursing homes, I always maintained that good that she bumped into the par- my great-grandmother is with relationship with God, even ish’s religious director, who me.” though I didn’t have full trust approached her about being Targeting Christmas in 2009 at that time. Once I gained a first-grade Faith Formation as her first year doing the cards it back, everything has been teacher for the upcoming year. proved a challenge, between fine.”

Now in her fourth year creating 300 cards and schedteaching first grade, McGraw uling the nursing home visits, added a seventh-grade class McGraw admits it was tough. this year. Teaching not only Last Christmas was easier with allowed her to give back more McGraw simplifying the cards to her church, said McGraw, and scheduled visits; she made it opened up a creative aspect 400 cards for kids to color and

write messages, and each visiting group had at least six children, accompanied by adult volunteers, distributing cards.

“I hope that the kids will see that these are people who are still part of our community,” said McGraw. “Even though we don’t see them all the time, they are just as important and show them the same love and respect as they do with people they do see all the time. We still have to let them know that someone cares. Some of them don’t have anyone to visit, so we may be the only visitor they get all year. I hope the kids get back from it the sense that they are filled with the Holy Spirit, that they did God’s work.”

McGraw hopes to add another layer to her Easter card deliveries by singing; something a group did during its visit to a nursing home this past Christmas. Even as she finalizes the plans for each home, McGraw has had nothing but positive feedback from those who have seen the impact the visits have had on residents.

“They are saying how this is such a great thing and how they wish more people would do this,” said McGraw. “I think I get that. After we did the ones after Christmas, I would look in the obituaries and I’d see people who passed away from those nursing homes. I might not recognize their faces because there were so many people we saw but I thought, I hope we gave a card to that person. I hope they felt appreciated and they felt loved. If nothing else, they got that at Christmas.”

To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send an email to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

March 25, 2011

The Anchor

11

12

The Anchor To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at

508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org

March 25, 2011

March 25, 2011

L

ike many other dedicated sports fans across the country, I’m growing increasingly tired of the sports headlines that scream of greed, crime, cheating, and self-bravado.

I search the sports pages or websites to find uplifting stories to help restore my faith in mankind and competition. It’s not always a fruitful venture.

That’s why I so enjoy sharing feel-good stories with fellow

In Your Prayers

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks March 27 Rev. James W. Conlin, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1918 Rev. Antonio P. Vieira, Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1964 Rev. Richard W. Beaulieu, Former Diocesan Director of Education, Former Pastor, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Fall River, 2007 March 28 Rev. Alfred J. Levesque, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton, 1960 Rev. Bernard A. Lavoie, Chaplain, Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Dieudonne Masse, OFM, Retired, Montreal, Canada, 1983 Rev. Howard A. Waldron, Retired Pastor, St. Thomas More, Somerset, 1985 March 29 Rev. James H. Carr, S.T.L., Assistant, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1923 Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Moriarty, Pastor, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1951 March 30 Rev. Aime Barre, On Sick Leave, Fall River, 1963 Rev. Benoit R. Galland, USN Retired Chaplain, 1985 Rev. Lucio B. Phillipino, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 2002 March 31 Rt. Rev. Msgr. George C. Maxwell, Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1953 April 1 Rev. George A. Lewin, Pastor, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1958 Rev. Edwin J. Loew, Pastor, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1974

13

The Anchor

Some folks just don’t get it

wrestling is a serious business Anchor sports crazies.

I received nice feedback from in which some of the country’s best athletes compete against the column on the Yankees rallying around a Red Sox coach in each other. A match without a pin can be the most gruela time of need, and the one on ing seven minutes in sports. the night-and-day difference of the March 11 events in the NFL and in Japan.

Well this week, I was fortunate enough to come across a great story of triumph over what most would consider a

By Dave Jolivet disability.

Anthony Robles, a senior at Arizona State Anthony, the one-legged senior University was born without won the national championship a right leg and hip bone. That in the 125-pound weight class, would be enough for most of us defeating the defending chamto grow up without a thought pion from wrestling powerhouse of athletic competition. Not Iowa State.

Anthony. The young man was At match’s end, Anthony won on the ASU varsity wrestling 7-1 as the Penn State gymnateam. No easy feat, and there’s sium erupted into a standing no pun intended there. College

My View From the Stands

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, March 27 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Robert A. Oliveira, pastor of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in New Bedford

ovation.

Anthony knew it was his last college match and he would likely never compete at that level again, but he went out a champion in more ways than one.

Wanting to hear more about this story, I went to the azcentral.com website to get an Arizona perspective on the story. There was a fine write-up on Anthony followed by comments from readers.

I’m always intrigued by the comments section. Often the posts are as different as the news coverage on Fox and CNN. Yet, I figured what negative comments could possibly come from this great story? I underestimated the ignorance of some people.

In just a short span of comments, there were two from former college athletes who “wrestled against someone with one leg.” All three said the one-legged competitor had an “advantage” and it was “awkward” to wrestle them and their “leverage” was taken away.

Some folks just don’t get it. There may have been some tactical adjustments to make, but in no way is having three limbs an “advantage” over someone with four.

When I was a senior at Durfee High School, I was on the varsity wrestling team.

I was in the best shape of my life by far. Yet of the 21 matches in which I competed in the 126-pound class (I’m a few pounds over my wrestling

weight now), I came away looking like a pretzel in 18 of them (right Jim Wilcox?). But I loved it anyway. I could easily have complained the competition was taller than me, thereby having “leverage” advantages.

The fact was, they were better than me.

Anthony Robles didn’t win a national title because he had the “advantage” of a disability.

It sounds ludicrous just to say it. No, Anthony won because he was the best wrestler in the country. Oh, by the way, he was 37-0 this year.

Anthony Robles is a success because he took a disability and turned it into an ability — pure and simple. He’s not a one-legged champion — just a champion.

I’d bet those with the whinny posts are rooting for the NFL players and the college programs, coaches and players who violate NCAA rules.

Oh, and another thing, the two whiners were inundated with counter-comments about their child-like points of view.

Some folks do get it.

I would love to be able to write a weekly column on the fun, commendable, and inspiring world of sports, but I’m not sure I can come up with a suitable topic each week.

If any readers out there know of a story that fits this criteria, please send me an email and I’d love to follow up on it and let people know there are great things still going on out there in the wild world of sports.

I can be reached at davejolivet@anchornews.org

14

The Anchor

March 25, 2011 Marian Medal awards presentation on video

FALL RIVER — The 2010 Marian Medals Awards Ceremony is now available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $24.95.

To obtain one, please forward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, PO Box 7, Fall River, Mass. 02722. Shipping is included in the video cost.

Gail Archer is an international concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor and lecturer. Ms. Archer is a college organist at Vassar College, and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus. She serves as director of the artist and young organ artist recitals at historic Central Synagogue, New York City.

Concert to benefit ST. ANTHONY RESTORATION FUND

Concert followed by a complimentary tea

March 25, 2011

The Anchor

15

16

A clear explanation I’d like to thank Father Pacholczyk for his excellent article “Drastic Measures and Cancer

The Anchor

March 25, 2011

Our readers respond

Decisions” in the March 11 edition. Having lost my mother and my aunt to ovarian cancer and having also tested positive

The Espousal Retreat House and Conference Center Directed by the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers 554 Lexington St., Waltham, MA 02452 Tel: 781-209-3120 . Fax 781-893-0291 E-mail: espousaladmin@gmail.com

For further information please contact: The Espousal Retreat House 544 Lexington St., Waltham, MA 02454 Phone: (781) 209-3120 www.espousal.org or E-mail: espousaladmin@gmail.com

for the BRCA1 gene mutation, I have encountered some of the very difficult decisions Father wrote about. As always, Father Pacholczyk explained a complex issue with great clarity and precision and provided excellent spiritual direction. Thank you.

Joanne Bangs East Sandwich

A source of peace Your editorial “President’s abdication of his oath and constitutional responsibilities” brought great solace to me.

You express my thoughts and beliefs when Catholics are silent from pope to parish.

Because of you, I don’t feel so alone in the Church.

Priscilla Ward Harwich Question on Pastoral Planning policy It’s a tense process when members of two parishes meet together to discuss a merger, mostly because everyone recognizes the very real threat that their church, the building where

Full Academic Program Latest Technology: Smart Boards & Wireless Art, Music, Physical Education NEASC Accreditation Before & After School Care Hot Lunch Program Extracurricular & Sports Programs Family Atmosphere

Open House Tuesday, April 26th: 9AM - 11AM and 2PM - 5PM Thursday, April 28th: 4PM - 8PM

they’ve worshipped for all their lives, might close. The parishioners of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception and Notre Dame de Lourdes parishes in Fall River are now going through this difficult process.

One of the big concerns people have in a process like this is over the name of the new parish. In our case, it was clear that everyone at our first meeting in March saw the importance of our Blessed Mother. Both of our parishes are dedicated to her and all present agreed that Mother Mary should be included in the name of our new parish. The resoundingly popular choice was to combine the names of the two parishes — something along the lines of Notre Dame of the Immaculate Conception — so as to both preserve the heritage of the two churches and give praise to our Holy Mother. Just when we appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough on a difficult and tense night, it was announced that we cannot use the names of either of the old parishes, or any combination, because of some diocesan pastoral planning policy. This announcement was responded to with a fair bit of booing and jeering (some of which I must admit was my own). What sense does it make to keep the people of the two parishes from choosing the name that they want, especially when it was the only thing bringing us closer as a group?

Curtis St. Pierre Fall River Letters are welcome but the editor reserves the right to condense or edit for clarity if deemed necessary. Letters should be typed, no longer than 100 words and should include name, address, and telephone number. Letters do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of The Anchor.

Letters should be sent to: The Anchor, Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722-0007, or emailed to fatherrogerlandry@anchornews

March 25, 2011

O

n this feast of the Annunciation of the Lord my prayer is for all people, especially the youth, to live Our Lady’s example and open themselves to the Lord.

Mary’s perfect example of love is one we should all follow. Pray to Our Lady asking for her intercession whenever you are tempted by sin and truly want to return to a life of happiness and joy. It all begins with a simple yes.

Have you ever stopped, just for a moment, to think about how compassionate and forgiving God is after realizing a fault you committed over and over again? How many times can you turn back to God? Will God always forgive you? Does God’s love for you change when you mess up and fall into sin? I believe you know the answers to these questions. The beauty of God is that He is always waiting, with the joy of a Father, for your return. I like to think of it as purchasing a roundtrip ticket to a destination.

Sometimes the destination is not wisely chosen, a mistake is made that ends up hurting others and yourself. But, fear

Youth Page

17

Round-trip tickets

not: remember you still have a see if we like them first before return ticket home. Redeem it! living them. The sacraments Today, I want to share fill us with grace — a sharwith you my thoughts on a ing in God’s life. Cohabitasocial issue that is becoming tion violates the institution “common place” in America of Marriage because it lacks and throughout the world — true commitment. Cohabitacohabitation. It’s becoming tion violates the Sacrament of so popular that cohabitation Marriage because it lacks true is replacing dating. Adult men and women who move in together used to raise eyebrows. Living together outside of marriage, once considered “shackBy Ozzie Pacheco ing up” or “living in sin,” has lost its stigma and is now mainstream. Cohabitation is love, God’s love. becoming ever more popular “But what’s wrong with among young adults in their saving money by sharing teens and early 20s, and their living expenses, spending reasons for doing it are many. more time together, having But, are these reasons right, more opportunities to share just and moral? sexual and emotional intimacy Testing the marital waters without getting married? In is one of the top reasons: the end, if the relationship “Let’s try living together, doesn’t work out, there is no first, to see if we like it.” Or, messy divorce.” These are as the saying goes, “Why buy other reasons used to justify the cow when you can get the cohabitation. Are you seemilk for free?” My friends, ing where this is leading to?

Christ did not give us the If the relationship doesn’t sacraments to try them out to work out, what follows?

Be Not Afraid

Try another partner? This is appearing to be a one-way ticket to disaster. Studies have shown that cohabitation can lead to increased risk of drug abuse, higher risk of physical, emotional, and mental abuse, an unstable relationship, and higher overall rates of violence among cohabitators that may cause depression, suicide, homicide, or even death.

The number of unmarried couples living together in the U.S. has increased tenfold from 1960 to 2000. About 10 million people are living with a partner of the opposite sex. That’s about eight percent of U.S. coupled households. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that most unmarried partners who live together are the ages 25 to 34. Maybe would-be cohabitators need to rethink this game plan and get back to basics. Dating can be fun, when using right judgment. Dating builds relationships that can lead to healthy and love-filled marriages, and often do. Having faith in your relationship and a high self-esteem are the

keys to good dating and the good choice not to cohabitate.

Many of you probably know someone who is cohabitating, or you yourself may be cohabitating. Know that there are many who care for you, especially your parents, and pray for you constantly. The parental worry is not only about your physical well-being, but also your spiritual. It’s not only about your life here, but also about the life to come.

But the most important thing for you to remember is that a door will always be opened to welcome you back home.

If you are cohabitating and are looking for a way back, you still have that return ticket home. You can have as many as you want — that’s God’s infinite love. When you’re ready, redeem them.

The important thing is do it before you fall so hard that you can no longer get up again. For at that precise moment you will be given only a one-way ticket, and that leads to only one of two final destinations.

Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

18

The Anchor

‘Do unto others’ — Almsgiving and charitable efforts for Lent continued from page one

a recommended practice for Lent,” Msgr. Oliveira said.

“The concept is children helping children and allowing them to realize their many blessings.”

St. Mary’s Parish also assists with the food pantries at nearby St. Anthony of Padua and St. Joseph-St. Therese parishes.

“Even though we are in tough economic times, people remain very generous to those in need,” Msgr. Oliveira said.

“Fasting and the giving up of things are designed as opportunities for us to lose distractions in our lives,” agreed Father Ron P. Floyd, parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham. “That time is supposed to be filled with acts of charity: acts of charity to God through prayer, of course, and acts of charity to our neighbor by almsgiving.”

Father Floyd said his parish sponsors a year-round soup kitchen under the auspices of the St. Vincent de Paul Society on Wednesday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and they also support the local St. Damien’s Food Pantry on Cranberry Highway in East Wareham that is open 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

“It’s for the poor but also for the elderly and for those who just need some means of fellowship,” Father Floyd said.

“I’ve talked to poor people who have told me that people throw money at them but will never look them in the eye. I think it’s always important that charitable giving be connected to people and not connected to just fixing the problem. The Gospel tells us that poverty is a gift and an opportunity for us to love other people with more of our heart.”

While donations of food or money for the poor and hungry are common ways to exercise almsgiving during Lent, Father Thibault has suggested his parishioners sacrifice another valuable commodity this Lenten season: their time.

“I think the traditional means of almsgiving are so routine for us as Catholics,” Father Thibault said. “We need to go to the next level. And none of us wants to give up our time.

We have our schedules so fixed and with only 24 hours in a day it’s something we don’t have enough of. If we’re just giving up coffee, or candy, or cookies — we’ve all done that. But to sacrifice those things that are truly important to us, that’s what Lent is all about.”

“When we really look at

what we have, I think people can always afford to give a little more,” Father Floyd added.

“And if you can’t afford to give money, maybe you can volun-

teer at the food pantry. But it all has to be ordered to that love that God commands to us; and that’s the way we love God: through our neighbors.”

Around the Diocese 3/26

A retreat with Portuguese-speaking Catholics and Rodrigo Ferreira, director of Louvor e Gloria, will be held at the Father Peyton Center, St. Joseph Chapel, 518 Washington Street, in Easton tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ferreira will offer reflections on marriage, family and prayer and the retreat will include Mass and adoration. For more information call Holy Cross Family Ministries at 508-238-4095, ext. 2027.

3/26

The Knights of Columbus Council # 11690 of Norton is holding a baby shower for single mothers and infants the weekend of March 26-27. Donations of basic necessities for babies such as diapers, bibs, lotions, etc. will be collected for local single mothers with infants, and distributed through Birthright. Items can be dropped off at the entrance of the church at all Masses. If you have any questions, contact Joseph or Kathleen Travers at 508-212-6271.

3/27

SS. Peter and Paul School in Fall River will host its seventh annual benefit auction Sunday at White’s of Westport. Spring Auction 2011 will be held from noon to 4 p.m., with a brunch buffet served from noon to 1 p.m. The event will feature a live auction, silent auction, and children’s Chinese auction. Red Sox tickets, a Cape Cod two-night get-away package, and a Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery private tour and wine tasting are among the auction items. For tickets or more information call 508-672-7258.

4/1

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet April 1 at the Parish of the Good Shepherd, 1598 South Main Street, Fall River. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop George W. Coleman, there will be a hot meal in the church hall. The guest speaker is Bishop Coleman, Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River. Any gentleman wishing to attend may do so. Please phone Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174 for guest seat reservations or with any questions.

4/2

Espirito Santo School will host a 100-year celebration Craft Show on April 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the church hall, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. The event will include various crafters and vendors, arts and crafts for the kids, plenty of great food including malassadas and baked goods. For more information call 508-672-2229.

4/3

all donors.

The Knights of Columbus Council No. 12380 will sponsor a blood drive April 3 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Notre Dame Parish, Eastern Avenue, Fall River. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for

4/8

The Cape Cod Deanery of the diocese will sponsor a Life in the Spirit Seminar at Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster from April 8 through April 10. The seminar will meet on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Father Edward Murphy will celebrate Mass and officiate at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit on Sunday. For more information call Pam at 508-759-2737 or Charlie at 508-540-1808.

4/10

Singer and songwriter Vince Ambrosetti will bring his Lenten mission “Awaken Our Hearts” to St. John the Evangelist Parish, North Main Street, Attleboro from April 10 through April 13 beginning at 7 p.m. each night. A Christian artist with a passionate love for God, Ambrosetti has composed more than 350 songs and recorded more than 25 CDs. He sang one of his best-loved songs, “Sanctuary,” at the funeral of Blessed Mother Teresa and performed for the Venerable Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. In 2001 Ambrosetti was named Catholic Artist of the Year. For more information call 508-222-1206 or 508-226-5355.

4/28

The Lazarus Ministry of Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster is offering a six-week bereavement support program called “Come Walk With Me,” on Thursdays beginning April 28 through June 2 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the parish center. The program is designed for people who have lost a loved one within the past year. Pre-registration is required. For information contact Happy Whitman at 508-385-3252 or Eileen Birch at 508-394-0616.

March 25, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays end with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.; Saturdays end with Benediction at 2:45 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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 following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass.

Buzzards Bay — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

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

East Sandwich — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month with Benediction at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place First Fridays at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m.

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

FALL RIVER — Notre Dame Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has eucharistic adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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

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

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

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

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 21 Cross Street, beginning at 4 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 takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and confessions offered during the evening.

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.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction.

The sacrament of reconciliation is available at this time.

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

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

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and every Friday from noon to 5 p.m., with Benediction at 5 p.m.

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.

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street. The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the rosary; 8 a.m. Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. sacrament of confession; 8 p.m. Benediction.

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

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

March 25, 2011

The Anchor

Cuts in government funding cause havoc for those in need continued from page one

It doesn’t help that the most basic needs of families are about to be limited. There is talk about a huge reduction in funding to the office of Housing and Community Development, a Mass. program that provides money for developers to build low-income housing, and the only viable development corporation in New Bedford and Fall River. Losing monies provided through the Community Development Block Grant program, said McNamee, could be devastating to local families.

“People deserve a roof over their heads,” said McNamee, “and low-income housing is in keeping with the people that we serve. Housing is one way out of poverty. If someone can rent or own a house, and you can make it affordable for them, that’s good for a neighborhood; it strengthens the neighborhood if you have owners there taking care of the property.”

There are currently three properties being rehabbed, and with a few additional properties in Fall River and New Bedford already filled with families, McNamee questions the reasoning behind the cut in funding for a program that has shown to be beneficial to struggling families.

“We know the plight of poor people who are trying to find decent, affordable housing,” she said, adding that it also beautifies neighborhoods since CSS targets boarded up and abandoned properties to create brand-new buildings.

The emergency shelter system is also taking a double-hit, seeing a $32 million cut in addition to revamping its qualifying criteria. Currently more than 1,100 families in Massachusetts languish in emergency shelters, a number that hovered around 700 back in October.

“The number has gone up consistently since October, and this is a result of people losing their jobs and depleting all their resources. They get evicted because they can’t pay their rent, so they turn to the state because they have nowhere to go,” said McNamee.

Candidates for assistance already have to be extremely poor to qualify. The new criteria proposed from the state has eligibility cut to three types of groups: women of domestic violence; victims of a natural disaster; and young mothers between the ages of 18-21.

“Other than that, we are not going to house anyone else,” said McNamee.

Somewhere in those numbers, said McNamee, is a question to which no one seems to have a plausible answer: How many people are now going to be excluded?

“The need for affordable housing is huge, especially now with such huge job losses,” said McNamee, who said that even as unemployment hovers around 8.2 percent, those able to find jobs continue to struggle. “People coming back into the market are making substantially less than they were making before. You’ve got all these folks trying to readjust and may have found something, but it’s nowhere near to being able to keep up with their bill structure.”

Knowing who to include is one thing, she said, but seeing more than 60 percent of people who received assistance in the past no longer able to qualify for emergency services is difficult to imagine.

“If we eliminate them, then they just don’t count,” said McNamee.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also seeing cuts; FEMA is what food banks rely on to provide funding to stock their shelves with items to distribute among area food pantries. A proposed $1.1 billion cut to FEMA funding is on the table in Congress and, if passed, will put less on the tables of the 60 percent who live in poverty in the New Bedford and Fall River areas.

“You take those resources from food pantries and their ability to put out the food that they’re already doing gets reduced, sometimes dramatically,” said McNamee. “You’ve got this domino effect that keeps pushing all the way down to the bottom, and that’s where we all are.”

The Solanus Casey Food Pantry in New Bedford receives some money directly from FEMA, though it has never been enough, said McNamee, adding that even relying on schools and parishes has never met the increased need. In only two years, the number of households receiving donations from the Solanus Food Pantry has increased by 31.6 percent; coupled with buying 5,000 pounds of food a week on top of what is already donated, and it’s clear why the pantry continue to run low.

“Cutting with all these demands put on us,” said McNamee, shaking her head, “the food banks can’t keep up with the demands of the food pantries. If the banks can’t keep you going, what can you do?”

McNamee acknowledges that the government needs to balance the budget and its enormous deficit, but said the solutions should not be casting out the poor and displacing those that need more help.

“When the economy first collapsed, the government put out lots of money to help keep people in their homes. That’s not going to happen this time, and we’re just going to have to adjust,” said McNamee.

CSS and most of its programs are stable for now, thanks in part to contracts already in effect, but working under a government with a budget in flux due to continual resolutions that renew allocations for the budget every two weeks, has McNamee gearing up to defend her programs.

“We need to go and be an advocate so that the poor — and we know they’re going to take a hit — don’t get an astronomical or disproportionate hit,” said McNamee.

She has some allies already crying foul at Congress for the proposed budget cuts, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a recent letter by chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Stephen E.

19 Blaire lashed out at Congress for targeting the “most vulnerable people in our nation.”

“Decisions on how to allocate opportunities and burdens in setting budget priorities are more than economic policies,” wrote the bishop. “They are significant moral choices.”

“I recognize that these decisions are not easy, but poor and vulnerable people have a priority claim on our limited, although still substantive, financial resources,” he stated in his closing paragraph.

The only mitigating factor regarding shelters is that summer is coming, said McNamee. The summer season often sees people living outside in tents and sleeping in sleeping bags. But they still need to eat, she said, and what will happen when summer is over?

“We understand they have a budget issue, but do we think it’s OK for families and children to be denied access to shelter because the state has a budget problem? And that if we don’t count them, they go away? Do they think we’re going to be able to solve that problem? We can’t. We don’t have those resources,” she said.

McNamee is worried that unemployment benefits may not be renewed, adding additional families and straining her budget even tighter. It’s easy for the state to lump them into a corner to be the catch-all for those about the fall through the cracks of the budget, but it’s not as easy when you’re being backed into that corner with nowhere left to turn.

“We’ve been sharing our resources for years, long before the state was really in the business because the Church was the one who was providing this. We just only have so many resources,” said McNamee.

“I guess the question is: What do they want from us?

And I’m not really sure that even they know.”

20

The Anchor

Family advocates want government out of contraception business

continued from page one abortion provider, receives more funding under Title X than any other organization. While the money cannot directly pay for abortions, it pays for operational costs and other expenditures.

Taxpayer dollars make up more than 30 percent of their annual budget.

The bill also would have reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which prevents federal dollars from going to organizations that perform or promote abortions overseas and restored a ban on funds for the United Nations Population Fund, which supports China’s coercive population control program.

Defunding Planned Parenthood is only part of the story regarding taxpayer funding under Title X, according to the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society.

In its most recent issue of their journal The Family in America, published late last year, the group marked the 40th anniversary of the federal government’s entrée into family planning through Title X, passed in 1970. They noted the legislation’s negative social effects on women, children and families as well as a negative economic impact. They called it the beginning of the “U.S. War on Fertility.”

The center, based in Illinois, is dedicated to providing research that affirms family and religion

as the foundation of a virtuous and free society.

Robert W. Patterson, editor of the journal, wrote the lead feature, which details the dramatic decrease in the number of families that consist of married parents with children as well as the increase in single-parent households and unwed childbearing.

Over the past 40 years, the number of single-parent households and the number of unwed mothers have both tripled. By 2009, 41 percent of all babies were born to unwed mothers, and intact families had nearly disappeared from the inner city, he said.

“According to the 2000 census, the entire city of Baltimore, for example, has more households represented by single mothers with children (34,329) than married parents with children (25,717), as does the District of Columbia and the City of New Orleans. Another way of putting this is that, under Title X, the country has experienced less family planning but more disordering of families.”

Although this correlation does not prove causation, Patterson argued, “The fact that the percentages of births to unwed mothers are highest among the vulnerable populations that Title X and Medicaid target (teen-agers and minorities) does indeed suggest that federal family-planning programs are far more implicated

in the decline of the family than its promoters and defenders are willing to acknowledge.”

Republican leaders in the late 1960s, including President Richard M. Nixon, claimed that reducing fertility among the underclass was indispensable to alleviating poverty in America.

They sold Title X of the Public Health Services Act as a way to reduce “unwanted and untimely childbearing.”

“These political figures believed that the most effective way to reduce poverty was by literally reducing the number of poor people by preventing them from reproducing,” Patterson wrote. “The irony is that this industrial approach to public policy never delivered what the engineers promised.”

Title X is the first and only federal program exclusively focused on promoting birth control and reducing fertility. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which dispenses birth control at more than 4,500 centers in 75 percent of the nation’s counties.

Other federal programs dispense contraceptives as part of their work, and Medicaid began paying for contraceptives in 1972. President Barack Obama created a grant program, focused on controlling pregnancy among women under 20 years of age,

March 25, 2011 and established the Office of Adolescent Health at HSS, which has a $115 million budget.

Since its inception, the implementation of Title X has cost $12.4 billion, adjusting for inflation, Patterson said.

He acknowledged that tracking expenditures from all the different departments is “tricky.” The Heritage Foundation calculates that federal and state governments spent $1.73 billion on programs promoting birth control in 2002.

A more recent study found that birth control funding from Medicaid alone accounted for more than $1.3 billion in 2006.

Proponents argue that spending all this money saves the government money. The Guttmacher Institute claims that every dollar spent on federal family planning saves taxpayers between $3 and $4.40 in healthcare costs associated with “unplanned births and abortions.”

Patterson said the institute, founded by Planned Parenthood, is “a publicly funded advocacy organization whose affiliates are key grantees of Title X.” “Having Guttmacher researchers assess the effectiveness of the federal birth-control system is comparable to having economists of Wall Street investment firms evaluate the effectiveness of the Troubled Assets Relief Program that has poured billions of dollars into the depleted coffers of these firms,” he said.

Moreover, the findings do not represent hard data but are “estimates based upon estimates.”

And the already shaky numbers depend upon researchers “divining the private thoughts behind the measurable and empirical behavior of American women.”

“At the heart of these phantom numbers are not only questionable estimates but also the ambiguous notion of ‘unintended pregnancy,’ a theoretical construct that requires the researcher to accurately capture the subjective and often fluid feelings of individuals that may vary before conception, during pregnancy, and even years after birth,” he said.

While contraceptives and abortion have certainly lowered the birth rate, Patterson pointed out that it is not clear that the lower rate has been good for the country or even an effective strategy for combating poverty.

He added that many social problems have arisen during a time that contraception became “nearly universal among American women.” If public health organizations are genuinely concerned about promoting women’s and children’s health, they should uphold life-long marriage.

In the 1968 encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI predicted that marriages and society would suffer if the use of artificial birth control became widespread. There would be increased marital infidelity, lowered moral standards, less respect for women and abuse of power by public authorities.

It would lead man to believe he had unlimited dominion over his own body.

“Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings — and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation — need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law,” he wrote.