05 30 14

Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , May 30, 2014

Holy Cross Father John Phalen off to Peru after 18 years at HCFM helm

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

The two second-grade classes at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro got together to crown a statue of the Blessed Mother and adorn her feet with the roses. It is a tradition at the school, where the second-grade classes come dressed in their First Communion best and take part in a ceremony where they crown Mother Mary and have a prayer service for her during the month of May. In this picture teachers Ann Sullivan and Patricia Diamond with school director Father David Costa and principal Denise Peixoto pose with the students.

After a ‘trip and a song,’ area couple began three-decade journey of ministry to Church

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

Jeannine and Ken Pacheco were all smiles as they shared their decades of service in numerous ministries for the Fall River Diocese.

Though they have pared back their volunteer duties, the couple continues to be active around the diocese and in their parish, Our Lady of Grace in Westport. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

WESTPORT — When you’ve filled your life’s calling with various volunteer positions, it can be hard to keep track of all you’ve done, so one can forgive Jeannine and Ken Pacheco for jumping around while trying to recall their more than 30 years of bearing witness to their Catholic faith. But one thing they can agree on ­— their desire to express their devotion and being part of a number of Catholic ministries in the Fall River Diocese that began right after they married more Turn to page 14

Knights provide funds to modify van for Dartmouth woman

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

DARTMOUTH — Thanks to the charitable efforts of a local Knights of Columbus council, a Dartmouth woman was recently able to get a much-needed upgrade and modification to her main source of transportation.

Twenty-one-year-old Karysa Brayton is afflicted with a rare neurological disorder called Joubert Syndrome, characterized by the absence or underdevelopment of the cerebellum — an area of the brain that controls balance and coordination — as well as a malformed brain stem. Brayton is nonverbal and non-ambulatory, but that doesn’t stop her from doing the things she enjoys like going to the movies, hanging out at the park and attending shows.

Although the Brayton family bought Karysa a minivan when she was younger in order to transTurn to page 14

EASTON — It’s been an eventful year for Holy Cross Father John Phalen, president of Holy Cross Family Ministries headquartered in Easton.

For the last 18 years, Father Phalen led and oversaw the member ministries of HCFM, including Family Rosary, Family Theater Productions, and the Father Peyton Family Institute, in addition to ministries in 17 countries around the world.

Taking the helm from Father Phalen on July 1 will be Holy Cross Father Wilfred Raymond, the current director of Family Theater Productions in Hollywood.

Turn to page 18

Holy Cross Father John Phalen ends his 18-year term as president of Holy Cross Family Ministries headquartered in Easton to become director of Novices at the Chosita Diocese near Lima, Peru this November. Father Phalen continued the charism of founder Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, the “Rosary Priest,” who said, “The family that prays together stays together.”

Casino opponents gather second round of signatures

By Christine M. Willams Anchor Correspondent

Karysa Brayton, a 21-year-old Dartmouth resident stricken with Joubert’s Syndrome, poses outside her van with her mother, Lou Ann. (Photo by Chris Pereira)

Father Phalen will begin his new assignment as director of Novices to the Holy Cross order in the Chosita Diocese near Lima, Peru in November.

Almost lost amid the piles of boxes in his Easton office is the fact that Father Phalen also celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on April 20.

Father Phalen told The Anchor that he was drawn to the priesthood by several influences as a boy and young man.

“I came from a very religious family that prayed the Rosary,” he said. “I must admit that as a boy I tried to subvert those efforts until I realized how beautiful and powerful

FOXBORO — Theirs is a David and Goliath story, says Erin Earnst of Foxboro. The gaming industry, Goliath, has billions of dollars, lobbyists and the support of the Massachusetts Legislature, which passed the casino law in 2011.

Their opponents, David, are local volunteers with donations from citizens in Massachusetts. Earnst and more than 100 others are collecting signatures for Repeal the Ca-

sino Deal, an initiative petition that aims to put expanded gaming on the ballot this November. If the drive is successful, all voters will weigh in on whether or not casinos are in the best interest of the Commonwealth.

Two more hurdles must be cleared before the measure appears on the ballot. First, 11,485 new signatures must be gathered and turned over to the state’s attorney general

by June 18. Second, the MasTurn to page 18

News From the Vatican

2

May 30, 2014

Gift of knowledge attunes us to vision of God, pope says

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — During a recent general audience address Pope Francis spoke on the Holy Spirit’s gift of knowledge, explaining that it enlightens our human perspective and helps us to see God in the whole of Creation.

“The gift of knowledge puts us in tune with God’s gaze on things and on people” the pope reflected in his weekly general audience, continuing his catechesis on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“Through this Spiritual gift, we are enabled to see every person, and the world around us, in the light of God’s loving plan.”

Addressing the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the Roman pontiff noted that “this knowledge does not limit itself to the human knowledge of nature,” but instead “allows us to perceive the greatness of God and His love for His creatures” through Creation.

“In a sense, we see the beauty, harmony and goodness of all Creation with the eyes of God its Maker” he continued, observing that “As is clear from the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and so many other saints, the gift of knowledge gives rise to grateful contemplation of the world of nature and joyful praise of the Creator.”

Noting how “the beauty and immensity of Creation speaks to us of the Creator and invites us to worship Him,” the pope drew attention to the Bible’s account of Creation in Genesis, saying that it “underscores that God Himself was happy with His work: all was good and man was ‘very good.’”

This gift, he went on, teaches us to “exercise wise stewardship” over our resources “for the benefit of the whole human family.”

He then described how the gift of knowledge also “prevents us from restricting our vision to the persons and things of this world alone, forgetting that in their order, value and beauty they point beyond themselves to God,” Who is “their source and ultimate end.”

Seeing with the vision of God, he explained, is “a kind and respectful gaze that warns us of the danger of believing we are the total owners of Creation, disposing of it as we like and without limits.”

“Creation is not our property, and much less of just a few.

It is rather a gift that God has

given us so that we take care of it and use it with respect for the benefit of all.”

Bringing his reflections to a close, the Roman pontiff encouraged those present to ask the Holy Spirit “to help us grow in the knowledge which enables us to perceive the love with which God guides the world, to respond with gratitude and to praise Him for His infinite goodness and love.”

“May we see everything around us as God’s work, and our fellow men as brothers and sisters.”

Speaking of his then-upcoming trip to the Holy Land, Pope Francis noted how, “It will be a strictly religious trip” he explained, stating that “in first place I will meet my brother Bartholomew the First, as a homage for the 50th anniversary of the encounter between Paul VI and Athenagoras I.” “Peter and Andrew will meet again and this is beautiful! The second reason for this trip is to pray for peace on this land that suffers so much. I ask you to pray for this trip.”

Following his address Pope Francis made a series of appeals, asking attendees to pray for victims of the floods ravishing the Balkans, for Catholics in China and for the first-ever Burmese native who will be beatified May 31, in Aversa, Italy.

“My thoughts go out again to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, who have been hard hit by floods, with subsequent loss of life, numerous people displaced and extensive damage,” he stated.

“Unfortunately, the situation has worsened, so I invite you to join me in prayer for the victims and all those who are suffering from this calamity. Let our solidarity and the concrete support of the international community not be lacking to these our brothers and sisters.”

Going on, the pope noted that May 24 marked the celebration of the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians, “who is venerated with great devotion at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.”

“I ask all the faithful to pray that, under the protection of the Mother Help of Christians, Catholics in China continue to believe, to hope, to love and to be, in all circumstances, a leaven of harmonious coexistence among their fellow citizens.”

Pope Francis blesses a boy as he greets the disabled during a general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Vatican newspaper gives voice to women in the Church Rome, Italy (CNA/EWTN News) — The co-founder of a monthly insert on women’s issues in the Vatican newspaper says its pages offer a valuable platform for female perspectives in the Church.

“The monthly insert was created to give a voice to the many women who work in the Catholic Church and are unknown.

We would like them to become known and above all, allow them to be heard,” Lucetta Scaraffia recently told CNA. The professor of contemporary history at Rome’s Sapienza University co-founded the L’Osservatore Romano’s “Women, Church, World” insert in the summer of 2012, along with another lay woman, Italian journalist Ritanna Armeni.

Both women and men who are interested in women’s issues write for the four-page insert, covering topics ranging from missionary efforts in developing nations to questions regarding women in government positions. In January of 2014, the insert began to include a page dedicated entirely to the “theology of women,” as a response to Pope Francis’ call to develop this area.

“The goal of this monthly insert is that which involves women in the whole world. We search to broaden our collaborators and also to make inquiries and involve women who belong to the Church,” explained Scaraffia.

The global reach of the insert appears to be effective. “(From) outside of Italy we have received many letters, as well as proposals for collaboration — even from missionaries, from women coming from the rest of the world, and also from men writing to us with proposals for articles, asking or suggesting that we interview someone.”

One page of the insert al-

ways includes an interview with “a woman in the Catholic world whom we consider important,” noted Scaraffia. “This is not to say that she assumes a role of power,” but rather one “that has significance in the life of the Church.”

And what is the most significant issue for women in the Church today?

“I think that the most important issue for women who are in the Catholic Church is that of making themselves heard, of being heard,” Scaraffia said.

Despite the wide array of talents displayed by women in the Church, the professor of history feels that many members of the hierarchy have a long way to go in understanding how much women have to contribute. Thus she believes that it “serves the Church to listen to the words of women, the experience of women, the proposals of women.”

Scaraffia noted that recent popes have led the way in hearing the voices of women, personally and sometimes on a more institutional level.

St. John Paul II is widely known for being the first pope to dedicate a formal document to the consideration of women.

His apostolic exhortation, “Mulieris Dignitatem,” “revealed all the richness and potential richness of women in the life of the Church, and therefore recognized the necessity of their presence,” remarked Scaraffia.

She described “Mulieris Dignitatem” as “a document that gives the theoretical foundation for a Catholic feminism to the women of today, a feminism in which women do not repudiate motherhood but assume it as an important value to defend and claim.”

John Paul II, who once referred to himself as “the feminist pope,” had women collaborators.

“He wasn’t afraid of women — he made friends with them, he knew them, he embraced them.”

The current pope also displays a desire to have women visibly present in the Church, noted Scaraffia.

She referred to Pope Francis touching specifically on the problem of women experiencing being outside of decision-making roles.

The pope, she added, “has also said that frequently for women, service is confused with servitude.” Just a year into his pontificate, he has begun to appoint women to Vatican commissions which Scaraffia sees as a “very strong signal.”

But the women’s insert in L’Osservatore Romano ultimately owes its existence to Francis’ predecessor, retired pontiff Benedict XVI. “Benedict XVI had a great esteem for women and he wanted women to assimilate themselves into the life of the Church. In fact it was he who asked the director of L’Osservatore Romano to make sure that women were written about” in the newspaper, Scaraffia recounted.

“I began to write thanks to Benedict XVI, and also ‘Women, Church, World’ was born thanks to Benedict XVI who had immediately agreed to do it — he was very happy to do so.”

The professor of contemporary history knew the retired pontiff personally and describes him as “a very sweet man, incredibly spiritual and he had an absolute and total respect in his relationships with women.”

Unlike some prelates who take on “a kind of paternalistic rapport” with women, as if they were “a little inferior,” Benedict XVI “rather, did not. He had a great respect for women, great gentleness.”

“He was an exquisite man and I have a great memory of him,” she concluded.

The International Church Teen-age girl recounts terror, violence of Boko Haram attacks

May 30, 2014

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — A teen-age girl whose family members were murdered by members of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram is sharing her story in hopes that it will spur action against the Nigerian terrorist organization.

“I was in shock. I didn’t know what was happening,” 15-yearold Deborah Peters said, growing visibly emotional as she recalled witnessing the murders of her father and brother at the hands of Boko Haram militants two-and-a-half years ago.

Peters spoke recently at a discussion on Boko Haram hosted

by Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute.

The event was held in Washington, D.C., amidst a rising interest in Boko Haram, whose name translates roughly as “Western education is sinful.”

The group recently made international headlines when it abducted more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Northern Nigeria several weeks ago.

Peters, a Chibok native, described the attack on her own family three days before Christmas in 2011. She and her brother were at home when they heard shooting outside in the town. Three men knocked on the door, asking for her father, who was a Christian pastor at a nearby church. The church building had been destroyed several weeks before, but Peters said her father “didn’t give up” and had worked to rebuild it, drawing the animosity of Boko Haram.

The men “told him that he should deny his faith,” Peters said, explaining that her father “told them that he can’t deny his faith, so they told him that they were going to kill him if he didn’t.”

“But he told them that he should rather die than to go to hellfire,” she said. “So my dad

refused to deny his faith, and then they shot him three times in his chest.”

The three men then discussed whether or not they should kill her brother as well. One of the men suggested that they should spare his life, because he was young, but the others decided he might “grow up and become a pastor” like his father.

Consequently, the men also shot Peters’ brother three times and restrained her, eventually leaving her in shock with the dead bodies.

After the murders of her father and brother, Peters tried to come to the United States.

Initially, the State Department denied her visa because of her lack of relatives in the country.

However, she has since gained a visa and is currently attending school in the U.S. Peters said that she “wanted to help other people with what was happening in Nigeria” and hoped that by sharing her story, she could inspire others to “stand strong” against the violence in her home country.

Joining Peters at the Hudson Institute discussion was Emmanuel Ogebe, an international human rights lawyer and U.S.Nigerian relations expert.

Ogebe warned that Boko Haram is the “second most deadly terrorist group in the world,” after al-Qaeda, and said that the group seems to be intensifying its attacks.

“In the past they were attacking empty schools,” Ogebe said, adding that the group acted as “gentlemen terrorists” and spared the elderly, women and children.

Recently, however, “the terrorist group is more energized,” he said, speculating that the militants, encouraged by the media attention their crimes have attracted, will continue to commit acts of violence that gain high levels of attention and outcry.

Ogebe also called for a great-

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointment: Paul Kawa, C.P.A. as Chancellor and Finance Officer Effective: June 1, 2014

er response from the international community, pointing out that Boko Haram has been carrying out attacks for months without ceasing, yet Nigeria has only recently received international attention and aid.

Boko Haram’s attacks have killed thousands since 2009; human rights groups estimate they

Deborah Peters was abducted

by Boko Haram in Nigeria and survived. (Photo credit: C-SPAN through CNA)

have killed more than 1,500 in 2014 alone. The U.N. estimates that the attacks have led to more than 470,000 internally displaced persons in Nigeria.

The U.S. government has come under fire in recent years for its treatment of Boko Haram. The U.S. State Department designated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization” in November 2013, only after a lengthy campaign from human rights and religious freedom groups calling for the designation years earlier.

In addition, critics argue that the Obama Administration has downplayed the religious ideology driving Boko Haram and instead classified the group as being composed of rebels or individuals acting out against poverty.

“These are not rebels. They are anarchists, jihadists,” Ogebe emphasized. “We do not have a cure for extreme fanatical Islamism. Containment, not appeasement, is the solution.”

Boko Haram will continue

to act until they have achieved their goals for Africa, which include “an Islamist theocracy over northern Nigeria,” he warned.

“You cannot achieve that when the population is 50 percent Christian. You cannot achieve that without massive genocide.”

He added that “they want a very extreme version of Shariah law. They want public beheadings in a stadium where people can gather. They don’t want the process with a court and trials — that is too slow and boring.”

Ogebe emphasized that when dealing with Boko Haram, the conflict “must first be properly framed in the lens of global jihad.”

“We were facing an administration that was denying the religious discrimination of Christians in Nigeria,” he said, commenting on his reason for speaking out on the topic.

“We wanted to put a face to the atrocities that were going on in Nigeria.”

‘Too much blood has been shed,’ say South Sudan’s religious superiors

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — South Sudan’s religious congregations urged the country’s political leaders to ensure that the peace agreement holds, and they condemned the atrocities and violence carried out by government forces and rebel groups over the past five months.

“Too much blood has been shed in this land. Too many lives have been lost. Too much destruction has taken place. We want peace, stability and development for all citizens of our young nation,” the Religious Superiors’ Association of South Sudan said in a statement after its recent meeting in the capital, Juba.

“As your brothers and sisters, we are all mindful of each child, each woman, each man, each elderly person who has been affected by violence,” it said.

“The blood of thousands of innocent people cries for justice,” said the 75 representatives of 29 Catholic religious congregations.

They urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, Kiir’s former vice president, to work for peace and reconciliation through dialogue.

“Both government and rebel

forces must be disciplined and kept under full control,” the association said, noting that the international convention on war and human rights “must be fully observed.”

Noting that the religious congregations continue their work in “Church schools, dispensaries, hospitals and pastoral activities in dozens of parishes and missions” across the country’s seven dioceses, the association said it wished “to send a message of solidarity, peace and hope to the people of South Sudan in this time of crisis and violence.”

The association offered its prayers for victims of “this senseless violence” and said it stands “in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands” of people forced to flee their homes and “seek protection in the bushes, swamps, at U.N. bases and in the neighboring countries.” These people have lost most of their belongings, their livelihoods and opportunities and lack “what is basic for a decent life,” it said.

“We are in solidarity also with the members of the religious congregations (Brothers, Sisters and priests) who suffered harassments, narrowly escaped death and had their residences, churches, schools, hospitals and radio station attacked, looted

3

and partially destroyed in Malakal, Leer, Ayod and Renk,” the association said. It noted that local clergy and others working for the Church and religious organizations had been forced to leave their homes, parishes and communities in other parts of the country.

Noting that they “reject all violation of human rights, looting of private and public properties, and re-affirm the inviolable dignity of the human person,” the religious congregations said they “condemn all forms” of corruption, nepotism and greed.

“We cannot condone the supplying of weapons and ammunitions, the aim of which is only to destroy and kill,” they said.

Renewed clashes in the oilproducing Upper Nile state followed the May 10 signing of the peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The agreement aimed to end five months of violence that has claimed thousands of lives and forced more than one million people to flee the conflict.

While the violence began as a rivalry between Kiir and Machar, ethnic loyalties soon took root, leading one U.N. official to say in a report earlier in May that “many of the precursors of genocide” were present.

The Church in the U.S.

4

May 30, 2014

Search begins for Cardinal Francis George’s successor

Chicago, Ill. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The initial stages have started in the search to replace Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who is fighting cancer for the third time, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, papal nuncio to the U.S., told Cardinal George that the consultation process has begun, the publication recently reported.

It is expected that the process will be finished in late fall.

In March, Cardinal George revealed that after more than a year of dormancy, the cancer in his right kidney was “showing signs of new activity.”

He made the announcement in a column for archdiocesan newspaper the Catholic New World, explaining that after numerous tests, he would be entering aggressive chemotherapy over the next two months. Still he said, “this is a difficult form of the disease, and it will most probably eventually be the cause of my death.”

During a press conference, the cardinal announced that he had asked the nuncio to start the process of looking for his successor, the Catholic New World reported.

He explained at the time that “it’s just not fair to the archdiocese to have someone who may not be able to do the job as well as I be-

lieve it should be done.”

The cardinal submitted his resignation two years ago, when he turned 75, as is required by canon law. As of March, he said that he had not received a response from the pope. However, he cautioned that due to his cancer treatments, he may not be as active in the archdiocese as he would like to be.

The 77-year-old cardinal has faced cancer twice before. After being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006, he underwent a five-hour operation to remove his bladder, prostate gland and sections of his ureters, the tubes which connect the kidneys to the bladder. In August 2012, cancerous cells were discovered in his kidney and in a nodule that was removed from his liver. He underwent chemotherapy, and the cancer cells in his kidney became dormant.

Cardinal George was born in Chicago on Jan. 16, 1937 and is the first native of Chicago to become archbishop of the city. Pope John Paul II named him Bishop of Yakima in Washington State in 1990. He was appointed archbishop of Portland, Ore., on Apr. 30, 1996.

Less than a year later, on Apr. 8, 1997, Pope John Paul II named him the eighth Archbishop of Chicago.

Boy Scouts from St. Jerome’s Church in Hyattsville, Md., pray during Mass at Jesus the Divine Word Church in Huntingtown, Md., recently. The Scout troop was in Huntingtown for a weekend outing at a local park. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Catholic scholar calls graduates to ‘new moral movement’

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — Each human person bears the face of Christ and plays a unique role in history, said Catholic scholar Mary Eberstadt, calling a crowd of new college graduates to embrace Pope Francis’ desire for a “new moral movement.”

Noting Pope Francis’ call “to see in every individual before us the face of Jesus Christ or God,” she emphasized to the young men and women graduating that they “are more important than you know.”

An author and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., Eberstadt has written numerous books and articles exploring topics including American culture, secularization, and the consequences of the sexual revolution.

She delivered the commencement address to the 2014 graduates of the Catholic institution Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. Msgr. C. Anthony Ziccardi, vice president for Mission and Ministry at Seton Hall, told CNA that Eberstadt gave a “thoughtful and inspiring speech to the baccalaureate graduates.” In his introduction to her speech, he told graduates that she would “not fail to inspire us all to dedicate ourselves more fully to the intelligent and moral shaping of our future.”

In her address, Eberstadt stressed the important place the graduates hold within their families, as well as their important task as “ambassadors of the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to others.”

The 2014 graduates also

have an important role to play in the communities they now join after graduation, especially in their call to “see God in every human being,” she said.

In addition, they are part of the broader American society, and have the possibility to contribute to diversity of thought, she added, warning that an “insidious new intolerance now snakes its way into classrooms, boardrooms, newsrooms, and other places vital to the exercise of free speech.”

“This new intolerance says we must have diversity in all things — except ideas. It says we must all march in ideological lockstep — or feel the snake bite, and be taken by ambulance from the public square.”

She encouraged the crowd to bear witness to the idea that “there is no wrong side of history. There is only the wrong side of truth.”

Continuing, Eberstadt said that most of all, the newlyminted graduates are more important than they know “because of this happy fact: the most underestimated force on the planet may be the power of example, including your own example.”

Centuries from now, she said, their example will inspire those who look up to them as “a coach, a teacher, a neighbor, a friend, a grandfather or grandmother, and much more.”

“The ripples of every human action fan out too broadly and in too many directions for our limited mortal eyes to track or map,” Eberstadt mused.

She told of a priest she knows who “once prayed on his knees in snow outside an abor-

tion clinic,” inspiring a woman watching to cancel her abortion appointment, instead choosing to give birth to the child.

“All because she saw this stranger praying in the snow.

That priest, like all of you, mattered more than he knew.”

Eberstadt encouraged the graduates to “defend the defenseless — the destitute, the castaways, the throwaways — against the powerful and predatory,” proclaiming “that human beings have human dignity and that yes, human dignity means that some things are beneath human beings,” pointing to slavery, the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria and the selective abortions of girls.

Defending human dignity means everything from speaking up on behalf of the unborn to “never, ever using the word ‘illegal’ as a noun to describe a human being,” she said.

“In standing up for truths like these, in protesting politely but forcefully on behalf of them, yours are absolutely vital voices in the years ahead.”

This recognition of human dignity and empathy for all is necessary for “the new moral movement that Pope Francis seems to be calling for between the lines of his speeches,” Eberstadt said.

“As graduates of a university that stands by all these things, as foot soldiers and officers in the making of this moral movement now being born, you can be proud of your work on its behalf for all time to come — just as your family and teachers and well-wishers everywhere will never forget how proud we all are of you today,” she stated.

The Church in the U.S. U.S. government asked to defend global religious freedom

May 30, 2014

Washington D.C., (CNA/EWTN News) — The U.S. should actively promote religious liberty, a critical right that forms a foundation for a healthy society, the head of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom told members of Congress.

“This hearing is timely and important,” said Robert P. George, who is the chairman of the religious freedom commission and a professor at Princeton University. “Religious freedom remains under serious assault across much of the world.”

During a recent hearing before the House congressional panel overseeing global human rights issues, George explained that this “pivotal human right is central to U.S. history, affirmed by international treaties and obligations, and a practical necessity crucial to the security of the United States and the world.”

He stressed that “we need our government to pay attention to the violations and abuses going on abroad.”

The hearing was chaired by U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R- N.J.), who stated that religious freedom is an area of emphasis for the U.S. “because of its foundational role in the life of a free and democratic nation.”

“Religious freedom is a constant reminder to governments that their power is limited, that governments do not create rights but merely recognize them, and that a man or woman’s first duty is to his or her well-formed conscience,” the congressman said.

In his testimony, George applauded U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, which defended the value of religious freedom in American foreign policy.

He urged the U.S. govern-

ment to put these ideals into practice, keeping “the plight of persecuted persons at the forefront of foreign policy,” and never allowing it to “fall out of view” behind other policy concerns.

George spoke of the plight of people around the world who are “either victimized by their own governments” or face mob violence for their religious beliefs.

Pointing to the 2014 assessment by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, he recommended that the U.S. State Department re-designate Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan as “Countries of Particular Concern,” or “CPCs” in its annual report. He also asked that the department add Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam to that list.

He specifically highlighted

Members of the Third U.S. Infantry Regiment take part in a “Flags-In” ceremony, ahead of Memorial Day, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington. The soldiers placed American flags in front of more than 220,000 graves. In interviews with Catholic News Service, veterans said Memorial Day doesn’t stand out for them, because they always remember their fellow soldiers who died in battle.

(CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)

the religious freedom violations occurring in Pakistan, “the worst religious freedom environment for a country not designated as a CPC,” as well as Syria, where “horrible and tragic” violence has displaced millions and killed hundreds of thousands since 2011.

By law, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom exists to counsel the State Department in the creation of its annual report and in the department’s designation of CPCs. This designation enables the U.S. government to enact restrictions and sanctions on the offending nation, with the aim of improving religious freedom conditions in the country.

George criticized Republican and Democratic administrations for failing to update the list of CPCs regularly, noting that the list has been updated once in the past decade.

“Every administration needs to make these designations on a regular and, we believe, annual

5

basis,” he stressed.

Designating Countries of Particular Concern does have an impact, George said, pointing to Vietnam as an example of a nation whose treatment of religious minorities has improved after being designated as a CPC and worsened when removed from the list.

This designation can also inspire people in a nation and “can lift the spirits and encourage those human rights activists” where religious freedom and human rights more broadly are threatened, he counseled.

In addition, George recommended some revisions of U.S. law governing international religious freedom, in order to better address threats occurring in local governments or propagated by non-state actors such as Boko Haram or alQaeda.

These changes to the International Religious Freedom Act would be a “minor, limited adjustment to bring the law in line with the world,” he said.

6

May 30, 2014

Anchor Editorial

Challenging words over the Mediterranean

On the papal flight from Tel Aviv to Rome, Pope Francis held a news conference. After responding to an Italian journalist’s question about the Holy Father’s invitation to the presidents of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to come to the Vatican to pray for peace, it was now the turn for an English-speaking reporter to ask a question. Although coverage of the Holy See has been more positive since Pope Francis’ election, the English-language media still focuses on either sexual issues or the abuse scandal. So, the reporter said to the pope, “You have spoken with very strong words against the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, by priests. You have created a special commission to confront better this problem on the level of the Universal (world-wide) Church. In a practical sense: we know that in almost all the local churches there are norms which impose a strong moral and often legal duty to collaborate with the local civil authorities, in one way or another. What would you do, when ever a bishop clearly did not honor this, had not observed this obligation?”

Here at The Anchor we think that it is helpful to read the pope’s own words answering this question. He said, “In Argentina about privileged people we say, ‘He is the son of the father.’ In this problem there will not be ‘sons of the father.’

At this moment there are three bishops being investigated: under investigation, three, and one is already condemned and the punishment to give him is being weighed. There are no privileges. This abuse of minors is a crime so ugly, so.…

We know that this is a grave problem everywhere, but what interests me is the Church. A priest who does this betrays the Body of the Lord, because this priest should bring this little boy, this little girl, this young man, this young woman to holiness; and this young adult, this child trusts him and he, instead of bringing them to holiness, abuses them. And this is extremely grave! It is exactly like — I will give an analogy: it is like doing a black mass, for example. You should be bringing them to holiness and you bring him to a problem which will endure for his whole life. Soon there will be a Mass with some people who have been abused, at St. Martha’s (where the pope lives), and afterwards a meeting with them. I and them, with Cardinal O’Malley from the [sexual abuse] commission.

But about this one should go forward, forward. Zero tolerance.”

We all can read what the pope said: that three bishops are under investigation for not following these norms for dealing with clerical sexual abuse cases; that this type of abuse is analogous to participating in a black mass; and that he will be meeting soon with survivors of abuse for Mass and conversation. At the end of the press conference the Holy Father asked for prayers for himself. We definitely commit ourselves to praying for him to be guided by the Holy Spirit in this very important task.

After that question, the pope took more questions, about the Vatican Bank, reforming the Roman Curia, and the Holy See’s position on the dispute be-

tween Israel and Palestinian Authority about what will be the final status of the city of Jerusalem (since both wish to claim it as their capital). A French reporter asked him to react to Sunday’s results of the election to the European Parliament, in which many “populist” parties did well. The pope admitted that he had no time while in the Holy Land to follow the news, so asked the reporter to fill him in. After the journalist said that many “Euroskeptics” (people who would like to end the European Union or dismantle parts of it) had won, the Argentine pope said that he was not an expert on the EU, but added, “You have said a key word: unemployment. This is serious. It is serious because we are in a world economic system in which the center is money, not the human person. In a true economic system, the center must be man and woman, the human person. And today the center is money. To maintain itself and keep itself in equilibrium, this system must move forward with measures ‘of rejection.’ And babies are rejected — the birth rate in Europe is not very high!” He then recited the very low birth rates of Italy, France and Spain.

“Babies are rejected. Old people are rejected.” He then mentioned “situations of hidden euthanasia, in so many countries.” From that topic he went back to the beginning of his answer, unemployment, and quoted off the top of his head the youth unemployment rates of Italy, Spain and the southern Spanish region of Andalusia (where it is 60 percent). “This means that these is a generation of ‘neither-nor.’ They neither study nor work and this is very serious!

A whole generation of young people is thrown away. For me, this throw-away culture is extremely serious. But this is not only in Europe, it is everywhere, but in Europe one feels it more so. One compares it to 10 years ago, when [they had] the culture of ‘the good life’ (when the economy was seemingly doing well). It is an inhuman economic system. I didn’t fear to write in the exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: this economic system kills.”

The Holy Father’s answer shows that he is not a slave to one political tendency or another. Rather, he fearlessly gives witness to Christ, Who came to raise up humanity from the depravity of sin. His comments can seem from the right (criticizing euthanasia and the contraceptive/abortive culture) and the left (saying that capitalism, as it is lived right now, is anti-life). As the pope repeatedly said, the center should be the human person, because we have been formed in the image and likeness of God. Whether it be abuse someone has received inside the Church community or the degradation that our society heaps upon humanity, it all is about putting something other than the good of humanity at the center of decision-making. Let us ask Mary, as we end this month in her honor, to help us say to God, “Let it be done unto me according to Your Word,” instead of echoing the song “My Way,” which often involves figuratively steam-rolling a highway over other people’s lives.

Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli address of May 25 In this, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with President Shimon Peres, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace. I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.

All of us want peace. Many

people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. All of us — especially those placed at the service of their respective peoples — have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

www.anchornews.org

Vol. 58, No. 21

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 Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza k ensouza@anchornews.org REPORTER Rebecca Aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@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.

by our prayers.

Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment. The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace.

V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

R. For He Whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

V. Has Risen, as He said, alleluia.

R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. For the Lord has truly Risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, Who gave joy to the world through the Resurrection of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same

Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, As we prepare to conclude our celebration, our thoughts turn to Mary Most Holy, who here, in Bethlehem, gave birth to Jesus her Son. Our Lady is the one who, more than any other person, contemplated God in the human Face of Jesus. Assisted by St. Joseph, she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in the manger.

To Mary we entrust this land and all who dwell here, that they may live in justice, peace and fraternity. We entrust also the pilgrims who come here to draw from the sources of the Christian faith — so many of them are also present at this Holy Mass.

Mary, watch over our families, our young people and our elderly. Watch over those who have lost faith and hope.

Comfort the sick, the imprisoned and all who suffer. Watch over the Church’s pastors and the entire community of believers; may they may be “salt and light” in this blessed land.

Sustain all educational initiatives, particularly Bethlehem University.

Contemplating the Holy Family here in Bethlehem, my thoughts turn spontaneously to Nazareth, which I hope to visit, God willing, on another occasion. From this place I embrace with affection the Christian faithful living in Galilee and I express my support for the building of the International Centre for the Family in Nazareth.

We entrust the future of our human family to Mary Most Holy, that new horizons may open in our world, with the promise of fraternity, solidarity and peace.

May 30, 2014

T

he black mass controversy at Harvard earlier this month awakened many Catholics from spiritual somnolence with regard to devil worship and Eucharistic desecration. It’s important in its aftermath not to allow the spectacular nature of the Cambridge provocation to distract us from the ordinary lessons all of us should draw.

Since Satan’s standard stratagem is not to seduce multitudes to participate in occult rituals of Eucharistic sacrilege, but to entice us to receive Holy Communion unworthily or not at all, our response to the Harvard incident can’t be just to remain hyper-vigilant about satanists’ pilfering hosts but to become vigilant about the far more common forms of sacrilege and the widespread nonchalance by which Catholics neglect their Eucharistic Lord altogether.

Let’s begin with the latter.

How pleased Satan must be that on any given Sunday the vast majority of Catholics have been hoodwinked into believing something else is more important than coming to be with Jesus at Mass.

Many Catholics don’t behave as if they believe the Sacred Liturgy involves Jesus’ coming down upon the altar in Sacramental form.

Jesus lamented to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673 that “most” people respond to Him in the Eu-

S

he stepped from Makani Kai Air with the agility of a New England Patriots’ cheerleader and walked to Kalaupapa’s Terminal One with the grace of a Hawaiian hula dancer.

Audrey Toguchi, now 86 going on 26, credits her miraculous healing from lung cancer to the intercession of St. Damien. So she had come from her home in Aiea, Oahu on this day, May 10, 2014, to celebrate with us the feast day of St. Damien. It was on this same date in 1873 that Damien arrived here at the Hansen’s disease settlement in Kalaupapa.

When we arrived at St. Philomena’s Church in Kalawao, the location of the

Anchor Columnists Do we really treat the Eucharist as Sacred? charist with “indifference, on their tattling tongues, irreverence, coldness, sacrithat impenitent adulterers lege and scorn,” words that may come in line with their Jesus could reiterate each paramours, that shameLord’s Day. Many behave as less politicians may receive if they believe Jesus doesn’t adorned with their Planned really care that they place Parenthood pins, that those work, sleep, soccer practice, who haven’t been to Mass in cartoons, or tailgate pardecades may approach as if ties above Him on the day they were daily communiHe wants to love us to the cants, that those who aren’t extreme and bring His whole Catholic or even Chrisfamily together.

And the evil one chortles as he sees Putting Into most Catholics fall the Deep down and worship these false gods each Christian Sabbath

By Father instead of the Son of Roger J. Landry God. But if the devil sniggers over his success in duping people to tian, or who believe that all disregard the privilege of they’re receiving is a worthencountering Jesus in the less wafer of unleavened Mass, he’s probably even bread may come as if they happier in having hornwere in complete Sacraswoggled so many of those mental, doctrinal, and moral who still practice into treatcommunion with Christ and ing receiving Jesus in Holy His Body.

Communion unworthily.

In short, the father of lies Many now believe that no has convinced many faithmatter the state of their soul, ful and clergy to believe they’re “entitled” to receive that James Joyce’s famous Holy Communion as a sign witticism about the Cathoof Christian hospitality. lic Church — “Here comes No Confession needed. No everybody!” — is meant to conversion needed. No com- apply to the Communion munion of life needed. line.

Satan has beguiled laThis message is often given, ity and clergy to think that implicitly or explicitly, by unrepentant abortion doctors many Church ministers, when, are entitled to receive Jesus contrary to Church discipline, on their bloodstained hands, they scandalously invite all that remorseless gossippresent at funerals or weders may approach to receive dings to receive Communion,

regardless of whether they’re Catholic, practicing, or in the state of grace. It’s also communicated when some shepherds indicate that they would never refuse anyone Holy Communion, even though canon law requires ministers to deny when people are objectively unfit.

The failure to talk about the proper dispositions for Holy Communion — and to enforce them when those aren’t disposed defiantly present themselves anyway — communicates a message that we don’t really believe that the Eucharist is Sacred, that sacrilegious communion isn’t a big deal, and that we care more about making people feel good and superficially welcome than bringing people into a true, saving communion of life with Jesus.

Some Catholics have the attitude, “Jesus can take care of Himself,” but this resembles Judas’ perspective, not Mary’s. Rather than pleasing the One Who laments “sacrilege,” it delights the one who provokes it.

And just as satanic worship harms the false adorer, so unworthy communions harm the receiver. St. Thomas Aquinas’ Corpus Christi Sequence has some harrowing verses based on St. Paul’s words that “those who eat the Body and Blood of the

7 Lord unworthily eat and drink condemnation upon themselves” (1 Cor 11:29).

The Angelic Doctor stresses the Bread of Life becomes the bread of death for those who consume unworthily: “Both good and evil receive, but to totally different ends, one to life and the other to the tomb, death to the wicked, life to the virtuous.

Behold how different the result of a similar reception.”

In reaction to the proposed black mass at Harvard, there was an astounding response of adoration and reparation from Catholics in parishes and convents across the world. In reply to the more subtle and stock satanic subterfuges, there needs to be a rebirth of taking Jesus in the Eucharist seriously, by showing up to be in His presence each Lord’s day and by ensuring that one and others are receiving Him unto life rather than into death.

If Jesus laments the indifference, irreverence, coldness, sacrilege and scorn with which so many treat Him — and He’s speaking here not of satanists but of Catholics — there needs to be a reawakening of treating Him with precedence, piety, passion, praise and purity. In short, a renewal of treating Him as He really deserves.

Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

Miracle girl returns to Kalaupapa Kalaupapa and St. Philooriginal Hansen’s disease mena, on July 9, 2004. On settlement, St. Damien’s relic had already been placed in the that memorable day I stood center of the Sanctuary by the in the sanctuary in front of careful hands of Sister Alicia Damien, OSF, and Melie Watanuki. Quietly Audrey took her place in the church which had been twice enlarged

By Father

by Damien’s hands.

Patrick Killilea, SS.CC. Her casual blue hat may have concealed her halo but it did not Damien’s altar and had my veil her quietly peaceful face picture taken along with one or her gentle humor. It was of our young Sacred Hearts an honor to have her in our men from California. Later congregation for the celebrathat same day we both sat tion of our Mass in honor of on the back of Paul Harada’s St. Damien. pickup truck and endured the It has been almost 10 bumpy ride up to the Kauhayears now since I first visited

Moon Over Molokai

ko crater. The memory of that rocky ride is forever engraved in my mind — and on my fragile tailbone. On this day in May 2014 that same young man, Father Brian Guerrini SS.CC., joined me in celebrating Mass and gave an inspiring homily to our large and enthusiastic congregation.

After visiting Damien’s grave accompanied by the customary photo taking, we made our way slowly back to the Kalaupapa settlement where we enjoyed a hearty lunch at McVeigh Hall. Life here in Kalaupapa is simple but we do enjoy our celebrations

and our parties. It is good to celebrate our oneness in this special place.

It had indeed been a special day for all of us, residents and visitors, but now it was time for our visitors to take their leave of this sacred place.

So we gathered at our little airport, as we often do, to say our alohas to our departing friends. Audrey gave me a big hug (wow!) and then with a twinkle in her eye turned to someone standing nearby and said something in the nature of, “He loves these squeezes.”

Truthfully I do and I await her coming again. Aloha.

Anchor columnist Father Killilea, SS.CC., is pastor of St. Francis Parish in Kalaupapa, Hawaii.

8

May 30, 2014

Showing others the love and message of God

W

e have just celebrated the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven and we heard the two men dressed in white garments speak to the disciples saying, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus Who has been taken from you into Heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven.” In the meantime, we have been entrusted with revealing the presence of the Risen Christ to others by living our faith.

As we listen to the reading for this weekend, we hear that the disciples continued to pray together, that their prayer gave them strength and direction and enabled them to see and then to show the good things of the Lord.

The disciples were a very

realistic group of people.

Son, Jesus.” Jesus showed They knew that following us the presence and love in Jesus’ footsteps would of God by His words and not be an easy task. They deeds, we are called to do knew that discipleship the same. If we could pick would be filled with sufany words to remember ferings and struggles and Jesus by, they might be difficulties, but in the end this imitation of Christ Homily of the Week would bring peace, Seventh Sunday joy and happiness. of Easter The disciples had grown in

By Father faith, had followed Michael Nagle Jesus’ teachings, and now it was up to them to move the Church forward, to “This is My Body, given spread the faith. How for you. This is My Blood were they to do that? poured out for you. Do this They knew what they in memory of Me.” wanted — they wanted to Jesus is reminding us join Jesus in Heaven and that He revealed the presthey wanted eternal life. ence and the love and the And we hear Jesus tellmessage of God to us by ing us what eternal life is: the way He lived and now “Eternal life is knowing that He has entrusted the God, the only true God care of the Church to us, and the One God sent, His His directions are to do the

same — by the way we live our lives we show others the presence and love and message of God. The question is how do we do that? The answer is simple. Every day we are faced with questions that challenge us, situations that demand a response from us, people who we must interact with, and to be like Jesus we first need to be people of prayer. Prayer will enable us to tap into the powerful presence of God and to stop before we act. With God’s grace we can assess the situation, the question or the person we are dealing with, reflect on how God sees this person, how God might answer this question, how Jesus would deal with this situation and then decide on the right

decision. In taking that time to stop and reflect, we can be assured that the grace of God will enable us to make a decision that reflects the goodness, joy and presence of God. This decision will invite others to see, feel and respond to God’s invitation to them to come closer, be filled with and enjoy God’s unconditional love. May the message we hear in the Scriptures this week encourage us to show the joy of Christ’s disciples and help to spread His message of peace so that everyone will have the opportunity to move closer to the fullness of life that God wants us all to share.

May the Risen Christ’s presence lead us and guide us through life and into life everlasting.

Father Nagle is pastor of Good Shepherd Parish on Martha’s Vineyard.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. May 31, Zep 3:14-18a or Rom 12:9-16; (Ps) Is 12:2-3,4b-6; Lk 1:39-56. Sun. June 1, Seventh Sunday of Easter, Acts 1:12-14; Ps 27:1,4,7-8; 1 Pt 4:13-16; Jn 17:1-11a. Mon. June 2 Acts 19:1-8; Ps 68:2-5acd,6-7b; Jn 16:29-33. Tues. June 3, Acts 20:17-27; Ps 68:10-11,20-21; Jn 17:1-11a. Wed. June 4, Acts 20:28-38; Ps 68:29-30,33-36a,35bc-36b; Jn 17:11b-19. Thurs. June 5, Acts 22:30;23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2a,5,7-11; Jn 17:20-26. Fri. June 6, Acts 25:13b-21; Ps 103:1-2,11-12;,19-20b; Jn 21:15-19.

Pope reportedly displeased by sumptuous canonization banquet

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — A Vatican official has revealed that Pope Francis was displeased by an extravagant banquet at a Vatican office during the recent canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, Italian media are reporting.

“I can’t reveal what he said (the pope). I informed him about it and I can only say that he was not pleased, so to

speak. But I can assure you that these incidents will not happen again,” said Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the Vatican Prefecture for Economic Affairs, during an interview on the Italia 1 television network.

Photos of the event appear to depict some 150 guests — including businessmen, journalists and some Italian religious — gathered

on the veranda of the Vatican Prefecture for Economic Affairs during the April 27 canonization ceremony for a VIP banquet that reportedly cost private sponsors nearly $25,000.

Cardinal Versaldi said he was not aware of the celebration on the veranda of the prefecture and that he had only granted permission for a few people to have access to view the canonization ceremony.

Photos of the party published on the website Dagospia appear to show numerous guests including well-known Italian journalists such as Bruno Vespa, Maria Latella and Marco Carrai, who is a close collaborator of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, as well as the president of the Vatican’s Institute for Religious Works, Ernst von Freyberg.

According to L’Espresso, the pope was also displeased at how Communion was distributed on the balcony during the Mass using a regular glass cup instead of a ciborium or paten.

The photos appear to show Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo

Balda, secretary of the prefecture and member of the commission charged with overseeing the Holy See’s economic and administrative bodies, distributing Holy Communion to attendees at the banquet.

“I’m not talking about the veranda,” Msgr. Vallejo Balda said in response to questions about the banquet. “Thank God we have other problems.”

L’Espresso said that in the wake of Pope Francis’ displeasure, officials are seeking to determine who was responsible for the event, which was held on one of the verandas at the Vatican while thousands spent the night waiting to attend the ceremony.

“Like many of you, I was also surprised and outraged by this. I have immediately begun the search for an explanation, which is still in progress, and I have informed all of the chief authorities in order to try to find the person responsible for all of this, which clashes with the spirit of a canonization and especially with the style Pope Francis wanted for this celebration, one of sobriety and

participation by the people,” Cardinal Versaldi said.

L’Espresso claims the “host” and “organizer” of the banquet was Francesca Chaouqui, an Italian woman who also sits on the Vatican financial oversight commission.

The magazine also published what it said was the invitation to the event sent on behalf of the prefecture, which includes the names of the banquet’s two sponsors, identified as Assidai — the medical insurance company used by many executives — and Italian petroleum giant Medoilgas.

The report included messages allegedly from Chaouqui thanking the sponsors for the collaboration.

Chaouqui said she was not the organizer of the banquet and that the report by L’Espresso was an attempt to “discredit her” before the pope.

From the outset of his pontificate, Pope Francis has often stressed the need for austerity and has voiced his concern for the poor and those most in need, always fostering a culture of global solidarity.

May 30, 2014

25 May 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — “Star Wars” released on this date in 1977 ou know me, dear readers, I’m from the old school. I prefer to do things the way I’ve always done them. My theme song is “Tradition,” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” Tradition is the reason I never purchase things online.

I was recently tempted to suspend my traditional ways in order to use this newfangled online buying process. What I found available only online was a T-shirt. It was a black shirt with white lettering. It said, “I’m a pastor — what’s your superpower?” I hasten to add that I successfully resisted the temptation.

This, of course, prompted me to ask the question, “If I had the chance to choose a superpower, what would be?” These are the options that immediately came to mind.

Telepathy might be helpful.

With telepathy, I could read people’s minds. Anyone who deals with the public realizes that what you hear people say is not necessarily what they mean.

Nor do folks always voice what they are thinking. The printed

Y

A

h summer! What a wonderful time of year, everything is in bloom, days are longer, and the sun seems to reach into even the darkest corners of our lives. We shed the layers of winter clothes, open windows wide to let in the summer breezes, and turn our faces upwards to soak in the sun’s warming rays. There is a certain joy and happiness that permeates our days.

We are filled with a renewed sense of hope, no longer do we sit in darkness, no longer do we hide behind our closed doors and windows, huddled in blankets for warmth, we step out into the warmth and light of the sun.

When I think of how we react to the changing seasons, and how after what seems like an endless winter, we welcome the summer, I am reminded of the Apostles. June is a month of many farewells and new beginnings; we celebrate graduations, weddings and a multitude of life changing events. We also this year will be celebrating Pentecost Sunday on June 8. Like so many of us, who patiently or impatiently waited for the first

Anchor Columnists I’m a pastor — What’s your superpower? agenda is often not the actual same time. They say this was agenda. Yes, telepathy would be a superpower possessed by St. a useful superpower for any pas- Anthony of Padua, St. Amtor. Professor X, the telepath in brose of Milan, and St. Martin the comic book and film series de Porres. Think of how much “X-Men,” for example, would I could get done if there were make a good pastor, all things two of me. Why not up the considered. ante to tri-location or go for What else? Well, St. Claire of Assisi was able to envision from The Ship’s Log her convent sickbed the Reflections of a Solemn High Mass of Parish Priest Christmas while it was being celebrated in the

By Father Tim local church. She is, by Goldrick the way, the patron saint of television (a word based on the Greek for “vision broke with omnipresence? I’d from afar”). I could see and hear never again have to choose people without being physically between attending one 7 p.m. present. Wait. Maybe that would meeting and another. I could be more than I need to know. simultaneously be everywhere I Beyond that, there are also needed to be. the clairvoyant visions of future What about “omni-linand past events experienced by gualism?” Once, I was sure I St. Teresa of Avila. Then there could speak English adequately is teleportation. From “X-Men,” enough — now, not so much. we have the Catholic priest Sometimes I have to rephrase teleport with the code name my words several times and still Nightcrawler. I could only be in I can’t make myself understood. one place at a time, but at least Definitely, being able to speak all it would be a place of my own languages would be a wonderful choice. tool.

Consider bilocation. I The superpower of timecould be in two places at the travel would certainly facilitate

pastoral planning. I could just jump ahead a decade or so and see where decisions made in the present have led. Then, back I would go to the present and make suitable adjustments.

Unfortunately, according to space/time theorists, if I changed anything in the present, I would change future results. It’s best not to mess with the continuum.

Morphing would be another awesome superpower to possess.

It serves Mystique, that blue lady, quite well. I would have the ability to shift into whatever form a parishioner prefers in a pastor.

I would no longer have to just be myself but would have an infinite number of selves from which to choose. I could be “all things to all men” as St. Paul demands.

What about the superpower of weather-manipulation? In the comic book series “X-Men,” and in the subsequent films, there is a character capable of changing the weather. Her name is Storm. I would prefer a character named Sunny, but it wasn’t my choice to make. Never again would I be forced to cancel

The gift of the Spirit Spirit, giving us what we need hints of spring and summer, when we need it. In the past the Apostles, too, waited for weeks, many parishes have that first glimmer of hope. celebrated Confirmations, They stayed huddled away, and with each of these, we are locked up in their upper room reminded of the gifts that were waiting and wondering if they bestowed on each of us. For would ever be able to see the many of the ethnic parishes “Son” again. In their darkened room, they longed for light, for guidance, for the strength to face tomorrow, for the ability to live without fear and to know that everyBy Rose Mary thing would be OK. Saraiva After what must have seemed like an eternity to them, they were sent God’s Spirit, and with renewed in our diocese, there is also conviction they threw open the the feast of the Holy Ghost, which dedicates each of seven doors and once again walked Sundays to the specific gifts into the light. Their joy, their of the Spirit, serving as visible commitment evident to all reminders to the faithful of the those who witnessed their gifts. transformation and how now, Each gift is given to us filled with the Holy Spirit, freely and generously; what we reached out and spoke to all do with these gifts is totally up present in their native tongue. to us. The gifts are: wisdom, The Holy Spirit was not understanding, counsel, fortionly sent to those faithful men tude, knowledge, piety, and fear and women so many years of the Lord. We each posses ago, the Spirit is sent to each the ability to grasp and fully and every one of us. Pentecost comprehend these gifts and to reminds us that Jesus remains integrate them into our lives; among us, and is a part of our we are the soil, the seeds have very being, filling us with His

In the Palm of His Hands

been planted, the Spirit has watered them, we now need to step into the “Son” to allow them to bloom and bear fruit.

OK, great, so I have been given these gifts, but what do they all mean? Wisdom — the greatest gift of the Spirit allows us to truly value those things we believe through our faith. Understanding — different than wisdom, allows us to fully grasp our beliefs, the very essence of our faith. Counsel — it was through this gift that the Apostles were able to witness to their faith, and how many of us stand firm in our beliefs. Fortitude — is the courage to stand firm and follow through with conviction in our beliefs, even in the face of trial and adversity. Knowledge — this gift allows us to determine God’s purpose for our lives and live them accordingly. Piety — gives us the desire to worship God and serve Him out of love.

And lastly, fear of the Lord — stems from our desire to avoid offending God, and through this gift we are given the grace to do just that; and like piety,

9 Mass because of a blizzard or hurricane.

For purely selfish reasons, dear readers, I would sometimes welcome the superpower named invisibility. Then, when I am offduty, I could literally disappear.

Of all the superpowers, there is one I most desire. It’s empathy — the ability to read the hearts of others. I think of Aquaman of the “Justice League,” who shows so much empathy towards the creatures of the sea. Empathy is quite common among the saints. There are St. John Vianney and St. Pio of Pietrelcina among many others. Empathy is a necessary superpower for priests who hear Confessions.

Not to brag, but a line usually forms outside the Penance room when I am hearing Confessions.

This is due to the simple fact that I am hard-of-hearing in my left ear. I would much rather the line formed due to my renowned empathy.

When you come right down to it, dear readers, priests have no superpowers. We are just as normal as you are. That would be a good thing. Mostly.

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

the fear of the Lord arises out of love.

Each gift builds upon the other, and in time they become the very essence of our being.

People around us begin to see these gifts and virtues in the very way we live our lives. They begin to recognize the Face of Jesus reflected in our own, and sense His Spirit working in our lives. We are given these gifts not as burdens to be borne, but rather as light and guidance for our lives. With the graces we receive, the Spirit blooms outwardly lighting the way for others through us, allowing others to fully experience the life of God dwelling within us; the life of God that dwells in each and every one of us.

Let us each welcome the Holy Spirit, as the Apostles did at Pentecost, inviting Him “to renew the face of the earth,” and us as well.

Anchor columnist Rose Mary Saraiva lives in Fall River and is a parishioner of St. Michael’s Parish, and she is the Events Coordinator and Bereavement Ministry for the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. She is married with three children and two grandchildren. rmsaraiva@dfrcec.com.

10

I

t’s amazing what the color green can do for me. And I don’t mean the color of cash!

I haven’t got enough of that by which to be amazed.

For me, of all the wonderful colors the Good Lord has created, it’s green that grounds me most. Green is nature, green is calm, green can compare and contrast seemlessly with any of the other hues on, well, God’s good green earth.

In the winter, amid the snow, sleet, slush and freezing temperatures, it’s the presence of green, nature’s green, that keeps things

May 30, 2014

I’m green — but not with envy

our plants are in full bloom in perspective — there is life and that can’t help but raise the somewhere under that blanket spirits. of white stuff.

We’ve added an array of potFor the past dozen years, my deck has been a sanctuary — mostly during the spring, summer and fall.

But last year I elected to include an evergreen on my outside living room to celebrate the ChristBy Dave Jolivet mas season (see photo).

Maybe it was just psychological or just being ted plants, flowers and vegetapsycho, but it took the sting out bles on the deck as well, and it’s of a pretty nasty winter.

This spring (see other photo), the place at home I most look forward to spending time when life provides me with down time.

There are birds, bees, butterflies, and some pretty funkylooking insects sharing my deck time, but I don’t mind at all. I can’t wait for the humming birds to make their return.

Even during those days when the sun can’t fight its way past the cloud cover, green can draw the eyes downward instead of up

My View From the Stands

into the dark, gray clouds.

I went golfing last week on a day when only golfers would. It was raw and overcast with the constant threat of a rain storm in the air.

But that didn’t concern me. Strolling the lush, green course provided an afternoon of relaxation and peace — even if the game of golf is conducive to neither.

This spring, unbelievably, is nearly over, with less than a month to go until summer. But

the greens of spring will hang on until they’re covered with next winter’s snowfall.

I’m not concerned, though.

Even if winter creeps up on us faster than we’ll expect, and it will, I’ll take solace with the plethora of inside plants at the Jolivet residence, and there’s no question there’ll be another evergreen on the deck this winter.

The only question is, will I leave it there until next spring — and will the neighbors mind?

Dave Jolivet can be contacted at davejolivet@anchornews.org.

11

May 30, 2014

Dominicans turn to music, Rosary to evangelize in D.C.

Baltimore, Md. (CNA/EWTN News) — Music and the distribution of Rosaries provided an opportunity to spread the Gospel for a group of Dominicans in the heart of the nation’s capital.

“Music is such a beautiful expression of Gospel joy that it just ‘clicks’ for people,” Brother Gregory Pine, O.P., told CNA, explaining that the music is a way of “representing the attractiveness of the Gospel in another medium.”

“That attraction is just the beginning of a relationship, a dialogue, that pleases God,” he continued.

Brother Gregory was part of a group of Dominican Sisters, Brothers and priests who recently took to the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., to evangelize and spread the Easter message.

While downtown, the Dominicans sang Marian and Easter hymns, along with bluegrass and spirituals. They reached out to involve those passing by, adding names of people on the street to the song, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and enlisting help from onlookers in singing “Lean on Me” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

The religious Brothers and Sisters also greeted people walking by, offering Rosaries, pamphlets on Marian devotion, and an opportunity to pray and talk more about the Catholic faith. Priests were also available to give blessings.

“People just want joy, they want to smile,” said Sister Teresa Christi Balek,

O.P., who added that “the witness of the joy of the music” is a powerful tool for spreading the Gospel.

Handing out Rosaries also prompted conversations about Mary and Christ, she said. While on the streets, Sister Teresa was joined by Brother Athanasius Murphy, O.P., in speaking to a handful of young Muslim men about Mary, discussing the respect for Christ’s mother present in Islam and Christianity, along with similarities and differences between the two faiths. They also prayed with the young men.

While it was Brother Norbert Keliher’s “first time out” evangelizing in the streets, he said the presence of music and the Rosary provided a “doorway for evangelization.”

“People were interested in the singing,” he said, adding that “I didn’t have to sell anything,” but instead was able to have natural conversations about Mary and the Gospels. Brother Norbert added that most people he spoke to “also took Rosaries.”

Brother Gregory commented that while the “strangeness of people congregating in strange dress, singing” garnered attention, the Dominicans’ choice of song and interest in speaking to people was “received as an invitation,” especially as an invitation to join the Brothers and Sisters in prayer.

“People, I find, are very willing to share their needs with you,” he said.

Dominican Brothers and Sisters sang, evangelized, and handed out Rosaries in downtown Washington, D.C., recently. (Photo by Addie Mena/CNA)

The St. Nicholas of Myra Women’s Guild’s year-end banquet and installation of new officers was recently held at Segregansett Country Club in Taunton. Father Paul Fedak, pastor of the North Dighton parish, installed the new officers who included Millie Gedrites as president for 2014-16. Guild members are: Kay Mann, Nancy Brown, Denise Wheeler, Barbara Danforth, Betty Martin, Olive Carvalho, Jill Gurney, Millie Gedrites, Diane Brodeur, Marilyn Crawford, Maureen Dutra, Mary Rebello, Mary Corey, Annette Lopes, Kathy Costa, Thelma Sherman, Jean Noons, Jackie Charlwood, Fay Perry, Mildred Perry, Shirley Meunier, Carolyn Enos, Shirley Higgins, Martina Grover, Mary Bennett, Kathryn Bennett, Teri Carpenter, Joyce Cambra, Norma Lima, and Lucy Beauchesne.

12

May 30, 2014

Father David Guffey, C.S.C., named director of Family Theater Productions

EASTON — Father David Guffey, C.S.C., has been appointed national director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood, Calif. Founded by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the “Rosary Priest” and Catholic media pioneer, Family Theater Productions evangelizes culture by using media to entertain, inspire and educate families. Since 1947, it has produced more than 800 radio and TV programs featuring hundreds of celebrities with more than 10,000 broadcasts worldwide. Today the ministry continues their efforts in television and radio, but also reaches families with a significant presence on the Internet.

“Father David’s education and experience in film and video as well as his significant leadership experience will grow our media ministry in new, fresh ways,” said Father John Phalen, C.S.C., current president of Holy Cross Family Ministries. “We are confident that his passion for ministry through media will expand our outreach to families everywhere.”

Father Guffey, currently serves at head of production, overseeing film, television, radio and video, at Family Theater Productions in Hollywood — one of the cornerstone ministries of Holy Cross Family Ministries. Father Guffey is responsible for moving a project from development through post-production including planning the production budget and assembling and supervising the crew during filming and postproduction.

Father Guffey has numerous credits for his award-winning work in television and film. They include “Carrying On,” “You Will See,” “Finding Mary” and “Assumptions” — all with Family Theater Productions. He was also writer and director for the short film “Last Deal at the Mt. Carroll Gun Club.”

In addition, Father Guffey also spearheaded the efforts to place Family Theater Productions programs on the Internet and to create video for the Holy Cross Family Ministries’ websites. As part of

his role, Father Guffey gives many talks and retreats throughout the year as well as offers consultative support to organizations on social media and the Internet.

Father Guffey will now, as national director, be responsible for all activities of Family Theater Productions, including both the media production activities of his current role and the pastoral outreach activities. “Hollywood Prays,” the outreach efforts to young Catholics and others in Hollywood includes monthly Prayer and Pasta gatherings, RCIA classes, Going Deeper (a New Evangelization initiative), Faith and Film Bible Study, and Theology of the Body workshops as well as daily Rosary and Mass and the weekly Eucharistic Holy Hour.

“Families today all have several media devices and that’s exactly where we want to engage them,” said Father Guffey. “Staying on top of changes to reach families in a meaningful way is critical. We continue Father Peyton’s tradition of television and radio, but we also must stay on top of changes on the Internet.”

“The past few months alone we’ve more than doubled our outreach to families through YouTube, just to name one social media source. We’ll continue our media efforts and ensure we are where families are to fulfill our founder’s vision that ‘the family that prays together stays together,’” said Father Guffey.

He was ordained a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1991. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with masters of Divinity and a bachelors in American Studies. He also received a masters in Film and Television Production from Loyola Marymount University. As a student, he received the Dean’s Award for Creativity and Service at Loyola Marymount and was nominated and inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, The Jesuit Honor Society.

For information, call 800-2997729 or visit www.FamilyRosary. org / www.HCFM.org.

Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler star in a scene from the movie “Blended.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Warner Bros.)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Blended” (Warner Bros.)

That rarity of rarities, a sincere film about two families becoming one, and since it stars Adam Sandler, whose trademark is scatological gags, it’s more than a bit of a surprise. Director Frank Coraci and screenwriters Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera hew to a rigid formula now common for the genre: The problems of each of five children are dealt with individually and completely, without condescension. Frank mentions of bodily functions, light sexual banter and fleeting crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating, PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Godzilla” (Warner Bros.)

Grandiose special effects, the showcasing of strong family bonds and a few religious undertones compensate for an over-elaborate back-story and uneven tone in director Gareth Edwards’ 3-D monster movie. Fifteen years after his

mother ( Juliette Binoche) was killed in a disaster at a Japanese nuclear power plant, an American Navy officer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is still trying to convince his grieving dad (Bryan Cranston) to accept the official explanation for the catastrophe and stop obsessively pursuing his own wild theories about it. But an encounter with two scientists (Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins) working in the quarantine zone that surrounds the site of the cataclysm reveals that Dad has been on to something all along. Mayhem ensues for a number of cities, including the seaman’s hometown of San Francisco where his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and young son (Carson Bolde) come under threat. The legendary lizard of the title is only one of the outsized creatures rampaging the globe in this latest take on a sci-fi scenario that dates back to Ishiro Honda’s 1954 original. But at least the human toll they exact is portrayed in a stylized, bloodless way. Pervasive action violence with minimal gore, brief marital sensuality, a few

uses of profanity and of crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (Fox) Time travel meets a gleefully loopy version of American history in the seventh installment of the mutant-superhero series. Director Bryan Singer and screenwriters Simon Kinberg and Jane Goldman send Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back to 1973 to intercept Jennifer Lawrence’s Raven/Mystique so she can’t assassinate an evil inventor, an event that leads to the destruction of the planet by the robot Sentinels. Gun and physical violence, fleeting rear male nudity, fleeting rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating, PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, June 1, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Edward J. Healey, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich.

13

May 30, 2014

Soldiers lay down weapons for Rosaries as they pray, pay homage to Mary LOURDES, France (CNS) — It looked like any other military parade with bands playing, flags waving and thousands of men and women marching in colorful uniforms decorated with medals and ribbons.

But instead of impressive displays of tanks and trucks, troops from dozens of nations fell in line behind religious banners, a large wooden cross and a rose-strewn statue of Mary. Candles and Rosaries — not weapons or rifles — were held aloft in soldiers’ hands.

Such scenes were common during the 56th International Military Pilgrimage to the sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes May 16-18.

More than 12,000 retired and active duty military personnel, their families and compatriots from 36 nations took part in the annual encounter to pray for peace and the spiritual healing of nations and individuals. A large number taking part, and given special prominence in the many processions, were those wounded in the line of duty.

Among the military personnel tackling disabilities were about 60 retired or active duty U.S. soldiers together with another 60 caregivers, family members, chaplains and support staff.

They were participating in the “Warriors to Lourdes” pilgrimage, sponsored by the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and the Knights of Columbus. The Knights covered the costs for the wounded personnel for the May 13-19 encounter of prayer, healing and friendship in Lourdes.

“It’s really been great for those who have come with a petition in their heart — suffering in some way, and those who are helping them,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson told Catholic News Service.

With Memorial Day and foreign military operations set to wind down, “We don’t want to forget those who have sacrificed so much and still need our attention and support — our wounded warriors. So this is a way of increasing consciousness of their situation,” he said.

The Knights, the largest lay Catholic organization

in the world, began during World War I to provide their service and help — especially pastoral and educational support — for U.S. troops.

Expanding their initiatives, last year the Knights began the “Warriors to Lourdes” pilgrimage as another way to offer “spiritual support and

who have worn courageously our uniform in battles, especially during the last 12 years of these wars, and now are suffering from their wounds.

We pray for healing, patience and understanding,” he said.

The pilgrimage was open to non-Catholics who were seeking spiritual reflection

national military pilgrimage, “Servant of Christ, Servant of Peace,” Anderson said, “really strikes a chord, I think, with all of our women and men in the military and all of us who hope to support them.”

“Those men and women who sacrifice for our country really are the ones more than

U.S. Sgt. Daniel Woodley, who was wounded in Afghanistan, and volunteer Meegan Pierotti-Tietje walk in procession with other U.S. service members during a pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France May 16. About 60 wounded U.S . military personnel, together with family members and caregivers, were a part of the annual International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes. (CNS photo/ Paul Haring)

spiritual development, and these pilgrimages, we think, are a wonderful way of doing that,” Anderson said.

The week-long program provided opportunities for prayer, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, personal reflection during a Way of the Cross procession, Eucharistic Adoration and celebrating Mass.

Participants could take part in candlelight vigils to the Massabielle grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858, drink the water flowing from the Sanctuaries’ spigots and be immersed in the special baths inside chambers near the grotto.

“We come to this holy ground to pray for the intercession of our Blessed Mother,” said Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.

The prayers are for “the healing that is so necessary with our men and women

and renewal because Lourdes is regarded as a special place of prayer for many Christians, and “they, too, are in need of healing and they, too, trust in the intercession of the Blessed Mother,” the bishop said.

Attending during the larger international military pilgrimage was also important for “showing and demonstrating that we can come together to truly yearn and pray for peace,” he added.

Silent and solemn ceremonies segued into pomp and pageantry as military bands roamed the small village all hours of the day and night, belting out national anthems, marching tunes and folk songs.

The camaraderie and celebration easily crossed cultural lines as soldiers from different nations asked to have their pictures taken together and traded berets and insignia.

The theme of the inter-

anyone else who really want peace,” he said.

“Peace is a precious, but fragile” treasure, Pope Francis

said in a written message read aloud during the international opening ceremony in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X May 16.

“Soldiers have an irreplaceable role in building peace when they put themselves at the service of the people in guaranteeing order and restoring security,” said the message, written and signed on behalf of the pope by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The pope expressed his gratitude for the generous service of so many men and women and reminded them that “serving Christ inevitably leads us to serving peace, since it’s in Him that we become brothers and sisters, capable of dialogue and peace.”

The unique international gathering of armed forces from sometimes warring nations at the Sacred Marian shrine in southern France started after World War II when French, Russian, British, Belgian and U.S. soldiers celebrated Mass at the Rosary Basilica as part of a prayer for peace.

A German military chaplain and former prisoner of war was invited to attend the pilgrimage in 1947. And as more and more soldiers and countries began participating, the gathering became an official annual event in 1958 — on the 100th year anniversary of the apparitions of Mary to St. Bernadette.

In Lourdes, military chaplains find a Sacred space for healing

LOURDES, France (CNS) — Military chaplains are used to hitting the road and heading where the hurt is as they tour bases, camps and veterans clinics. But on a recent pilgrimage to Lourdes with wounded soldiers, a group of Catholic chaplains also found a Sacred space for healing.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes “is a special place for Catholics and for anyone who has faith. It’s a place where you can feel and experience prayer,” said Msgr.

Frank Pugliese, one of the chaplains on the pilgrimage.

“I think this is truly a field hospital” where people experience inner spiritual healing as they reconnect with God

and other people of faith, said the monsignor, who is the former vicar general of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and a retired military chaplain who served the naval forces for 21 years.

He is currently helping two parishes in San Diego. In Lourdes, “The healings that happen I think are amazing, not all of them physical,” he said. “People have a sense of peace, of being loved, of being able to leave behind some of the baggage that they come with. And I think that’s sometimes a more powerful healing than if someone throws away crutches,” he said.

14

May 30, 2014

A ‘trip and a song’ began couple’s 30 years of Church ministry continued from page one

than 30 years ago.

But their foray into volunteerism didn’t come from a childhood filled with youth ministries and devotions — it began quite simply with a trip and a song.

“We went to the Cape with a bunch of couples and I kept saying what a beautiful voice Ken has, and then he got up to sing with a band. I kept pressuring him that we had to get back to church and God, and Ken’s singing is what really got him back,” said Jeannine. “That is what truly got us going back to church.”

“That weekend we went to the Cape, someone said you should go to church,” recalled Ken. “We

could use you. I didn’t have the initiative, I needed something to push me to get me going,” and so Ken set about learning the songs, and began to sing at Mass; “I got the great feeling singing at the altar. They were songs that appealed to me and I couldn’t believe I was getting these people to feel good, just using my singing.”

Going on a retreat was also part of the couple’s faith journey, a retreat that Ken said he was adamantly opposed to going: “That’s wasn’t for me; I’m not hugging guys,” said Ken of the weekend retreat, “but she insisted that I go and I told her that I was going just for her and it was our

awakening. By the time I left that weekend, I was hugging chairs. I was hugging everything. I was a new man.”

That retreat was held 30 years ago, and since then the couple has created a personal laundry list of faith-filled volunteer duties in the diocese, including at their parish, Our Lady of Grace in Westport.

From teaching Faith Formation classes for more than 20 years to being part of the Couples Club that helped raise money for the parish, Ken and Jeannine freely admit they know they’ve done a lot but wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was during those first few

viding the modification.”

Pereira said the KOC first became aware of Karysa’s plight through a friend of the family.

“We found out about Karysa through members of the KOC and also through a non-profit employee who is a friend of theirs — it was a family friend who first reached out to the Knights,” he said. “They knew about the work we do in the community and they heard about this program. So they reached out to us and we were able to help them out. We were obviously thrilled to be able to do so.”

The KOC remained involved throughout the process, Pereira said, even checking in with the auto body shop that did the work on the minivan.

“We take pictures of the van and make sure it’s taken care of properly,” he added. “That’s what we were able to do in this situation and it worked out great. We were not only able to facilitate the grant which helped them, for the first time, have a modified van that is suitable for all her needs, but we also saw the whole process through.”

With the modifications complete, the minivan is now custom-fit for Karysa’s needs and is 100 percent safe for her to travel while seated in her wheelchair.

Pereira said it was a proud moment to see Karysa and her parents take delivery of the newly-upgraded minivan recently.

“It was great to see them and chat with them and they are obviously thrilled with the van,” Pereira said. “They get to use it every day and it was fantastic to be able to help them and to show that throughout the community — and not just the Knights — there are so many good, charita-

ble Catholic organizations ready to help on a daily basis.

“We were delighted and honored to help this young woman and her wonderful family.”

The Father John F. Hogan Council No. 14236 Knights of Columbus, which serves the parishes of St. Mary’s in South Dartmouth and St. Julie Billiart in North Dartmouth, was formed in 2007 and currently has 73 active members, but Pereira noted “we’re growing.”

“We’ve added about 20 members over the last two years and we have some candidates who are pending members and they just have to go through the membership process,” he said.

“We’re thankfully growing and because of our growth and interest, we’re able to help more and more people.”

Pereira said his council is also in the midst of starting a college KOC council at UMass Dartmouth and will be meeting with the campus ministry at Bishop Stang High School in the coming months to establish a Columbian Squires program at the school.

The Knights of Columbus is a Roman Catholic fraternal service organization with 15,000 councils and more than 1.8 million members in the United States. There are also more than 200 college councils.

The Knights participate in many charitable events and work with a variety of nonprofit groups to support the community. The Knights of Columbus stand for four core principles, which are charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.

For more information about the Father John F. Hogan Council No. 14236 Knights of Columbus, visit www.stmarysdartmouth. org/knights-of-columbus/.

Knights provide funds to modify Dartmouth woman’s van continued from page one

port her to doctor’s visits, family gatherings or outings, family members and caregivers would have to lift her from her wheelchair and place her in the van.

As she has gotten older, it has been increasingly more difficult to transport Karysa safely and while in the van she only had traditional seatbelts to keep her in the seat, which were less than desirable given her decreased muscle tone and strength.

With the help and support of the Father John F. Hogan Council No. 14236 Knights of Columbus, the Braytons were able to successfully apply for a $7,500 grant to make the necessary modifications to their existing handicap-accessible minivan.

“The state council of the Knights of Columbus will generally give a grant of $7,500 to help handicapped people modify and purchase vans,” said Chris Pereira, grand knight of the local KOC council. “It’s a way to help handicapped people to get around and make sure they are in a safe and secure vehicle.”

While the funds are administered on the state level, Pereira said the local council facilitates with the application process and helps to identify local families that are in need.

“We connect with the families and we sit down with them and go through the application process, we explain to them the program and we put together all that information — the information about the program, the application packet, and the individual’s information and their need — and we send it up to the state council,” Pereira told The Anchor. “When it gets approved, the state council will send us the $7,500 check, which we then give to the company that’s pro-

years of Marriage — a second Marriage for both — that thenparochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace, took notice of the busy couple and recommended they should look into becoming part of the Marriage Prep ministry. In order to be part of the team, the couple redid their vows to have their Marriage blessed in a Catholic Church, and 30 years later being part of the Marriage Prep has become one of their fondest ministries.

They began doing Marriage Prep at Our Lady of Grace, said Ken, and “we fell right into it.

We came into a good team and we liked the people we were with, and it seemed like it was a good fit. We gradually grew and went on with it in Somerset at St. Thomas More, and met with a new team there, and grew from there.”

What makes them work well as a couple is their openness, said Jeannine, especially when sharing private stories regarding abuse, either substance or physical; “We do a lot of personal sharing,” she said. “Many, many years ago, there was a little problem with amphetamines. Ken came from an alcoholic family.”

Though it’s hard to share her life with strangers, Jeannine said the couple gets “very good feedback.”

“We can do it [the talk] because we’ve been there,” added Ken. “We don’t want people to put that on the back burner, especially when you’re starting out in life. We’re talking about it because we’ve been there, done that.”

The couple was also part of the Residents Encounter Christ prison ministry when it was first conceived more than 20 years ago. As one of the first teams to be part of REC, Ken admitted having some trepidation to being around prisoners, but he said the 10 years they put into REC was an “eye-opening” experience and that the prisoners and team members were great people.

Upon meeting prisoners for the first time or during retreats, everyone is given a hug, and Ken recalled a prisoner’s reaction to being physically touched; “I am very hug conscious, and we would greet them as they came in, and one guy started crying,” he said. “I asked him why he was crying, and he told me, ‘Every one of you guys gave me a hug and I haven’t had a hug in 10 years. I never had that kind of life, this is wonderful.’”

Jeannine recalled relating a story of how her ex-husband would beat her, and when she looked up, she saw one of the

prisoners crying; “When I got done, he told me he used to beat his wife, and when he saw me up there, he realized what it was like on the other side,” she said.

After 10 years of REC, the couple said they felt “burnt-out” and the couple replaced REC with teaching Faith Formation classes. Jeannine taught for 20 years, while Ken taught for 27, only recently giving up teaching the Confirmation students at Our Lady of Grace Parish.

“That was challenging. I think the longer I taught, the more experience I got, and I tried to keep on the same level as them,” said Ken, adding that not only did the students learn from him but he learned from the students. “We taught each other. I really enjoyed it.”

Still feeling the call of “wanting to give,” Ken joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society a couple of years ago. The couple has also run Bingo at their parish, and Jeannine has been an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, though at her current position as activities director at Whaler’s Cove in New Bedford, an assisted living facility, the priests who come by help distribute Communion, though she said she’s given ashes to the residents there.

And Ken also puts his voice on display for the residents, helping volunteer his time alongside his wife; “He’s very involved with the residents,” said Jeannine of her husband who is now semi-retired.

After putting 20 years into the Marriage Prep ministry, the couple took on a leadership role, but now 30 years later, the couple admits that it’s time for them to step aside for new leadership, though they said they would make themselves available if needed.

Jeannine joked that it may seem they tell way too much about their lives, adding that Ken often tells her “you’re too open,” she said, laughing, “but that comes from being on teams for retreats.”

The years of balancing between work and volunteering may seem like a lot for some couples, but “it was our activity; it was our thing to do,” said Ken. “Some people want to go for walks and they enjoy that; we want to go and do things [for the Church].”

Even as they were talking, Jeannine mentioned that years ago they had been part of the Divorced and Separated support group in the diocese, and asked if the group was still around and who was in charge. She looked at Ken and said, “That’s something I wouldn’t mind doing.”

15

May 30, 2014

Pope urges Palestinian refugees to look to future

Pope Francis greets children from the refugee camps of Dehiyshe, Aida and Beit Jibrin at the Phoenix Center of the Dehiyshe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, West Bank. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope invites Israeli, Palestinian leaders to Rome to pray for peace

JERUSALEM (CNS) — Pope Francis invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray together at the Vatican for peace between their nations.

The pope made the announcement May 25, after praying the “Regina Coeli” at the end of Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square, in Bethlehem, West Bank.

Later in the day, arriving at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Pope Francis was greeted by Peres and by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There the pope repeated his invitation to Peres using exactly the same words with which he had invited Abbas.

He also urged Israel to stay on the “path of dialogue, reconciliation and peace,” saying “there is simply no other way.”

“The right of the state of Israel to exist and to flourish in peace and security within internationally recognized borders must be universally recognized,” the pope said. “At the same time, there must also be a recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to a sovereign homeland and their right to live with dignity and with freedom of movement.”

Pope Francis also echoed Peres’ and Netanyahu’s words, in their speeches of welcome, condemning the previous day’s shootings at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, where three people, including two Israeli citizens, were killed.

The pope arrived in Israel on the last leg of a May 24-26 trip which also included Jordan and the Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Earlier in the day, en route to the Bethlehem Mass, he made an unscheduled stop to pray before a controversial separation wall, built by Israel over Palestinian protests on West Bank land. The pope unexpectedly stopped the vehicle and alighted, then walked over to the graffiti-covered structure and rested his forehead against it in silence for a few moments.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, later confirmed that the pope had been praying as he stood against the wall.

Father Lombardi told journalists the stop was a very important symbol of the pope’s understanding of the significance of the wall and was a manifestation of his identification with the suffering of the people, even though he made no mention of the wall in his spoken statements.

The spokesman also told journalists no date had been set for the prayer session in Rome, but that he hoped it would be soon. Father Lombardi said as far as he knew no pope had ever issued a similar invitation.

Peres’ term of office as president expires in July.

Meeting with Palestinian leaders in Bethlehem, Pope Francis voiced his sympathy with “those who suffer most” from the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a situation he called “increasingly unacceptable.”

During a speech to Abbas and other dignitaries in the presidential palace, the pope decried the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s “tragic consequences,” including “insecurity, the violation of rights, isolation and the flight of entire communities,

conflicts, shortages and sufferings of every sort.”

“In expressing my closeness to those who suffer most from this conflict, I wish to state my heartfelt conviction that the time has come to put an end to this situation which has become increasingly unacceptable,” he said.

The pope said lasting peace would require the “acknowledgement by all of the right of two states to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.”

“Each side has to make certain sacrifices,” Pope Francis said, calling on Israelis and Palestinians alike to “refrain from initiatives and actions which contradict the stated desire to reach a true agreement.”

The pope also expressed his concern for Palestinian Christians, who he said contributed “significantly to the common good of society” and deserved accordingly to be treated as “full citizens.”

Christians make up an estimated one percent of the 4.5 million people living under the Palestinian authority.

The pope voiced hopes that an eventual agreement between the Vatican and the Palestinian Authority on the status of Catholics would guarantee religious freedom, since “respect for this fundamental human right is, in fact, one of the essential conditions for peace, fraternity and harmony.”

His words echoed his remarks the previous day in Amman, Jordan, where he called for religious freedom throughout the Middle East, including respect for the right to change one’s religion.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — Pope Francis told young Palestinian refugees to look to the future and to always work and strive for the things they wanted.

“Remember that violence cannot be defeated by violence; violence can only be defeated with peace — with peace, effort and dignity to move the nation forward,” he told those who greeted him during a 20-minute visit at the Dehiyshe Refugee Camp’s Phoenix Cultural Center.

As Pope Francis arrived he was warmly welcomed by the center directors and representatives of the camp. He entered the center flanked by a boy and a girl in traditional dress. A large white chair was brought out immediately so he could sit inside the main hall.

Children wearing white caps and shirts held up signs in English and Arabic with slogans such “I’ve never seen the sea” and “I want freedom of worship.”

Speaking in Spanish, which was translated into Arabic by a Franciscan father, Pope Francis said he had understood the children’s English words, and the Arabic had been translated for him.

“I understand what you are telling me and the message you are giving me,” he said.

“Don’t ever allow the past to determine your life, always look forward. But do and act and strive for the things you want.”

A boy from the camp wel-

comed the pope in the name of all the children and told him that the camp was a symbol of Palestinian suffering.

“We Palestinian Christians and Muslims believe in one God, Who created the world, and we were created not to fight and be divided but to be united,” said the boy, whose name was not released. “We children of Palestine have not lost hope for the future, and your visit to Bethlehem strengthens our feeling that we must have peace even though we are living under the oppressive occupation of our country. We appreciate all the values you represent, and we would like to live in peace and dignity in our land and our country.”

He told the pope that the Palestinians were in need of his prayers and support to rid themselves of the occupation.

The children sang a song of brotherhood and unity in Italian, then sang a song of longing for their land in Arabic.

“We send you peace from the land of our ancestors,” they sang.

After they finished the pope complimented the children on their singing, and they presented him with a large carved olivewood arm and hand grasping a key, symbolic of the homes they lost. “May God bless you, and I ask that you pray for me,” Pope Francis said. As he walked out, the pontiff stopped to shake the hands of the children, spending a few moments with them.

Visit The Anchor online at www.anchornews.org

16

Youth Pages

May 30, 2014

Damien Council Knights of Columbus awards scholarships

Hawaii Day was celebrated in the kindergarten class at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford in honor of St. Damien. The celebration included receiving leis, eating at a luau and attending a beautiful prayer service. Sister Muriel Ann Lebeau, SS.CC., coordinated this fun and educational experience.

Mattapoisett — Damien Council No. 4190 Knights of Columbus recently awarded 10 $500 scholarships to deserving area students. Funds for the scholarships were raised from middle school dances held throughout the past school year, as well as other council fund-raising activities.

Directing the scholarship program was Grand Knight Al Fidalgo and the Scholarship Committee including chairman Jim Grady, Jim Alferes, Jim Hubbard, Carl Junier, and Jason Mello.

Scholarships were awarded to the following students: — Kyle T. Beauregard of Mattapoisett, Old Rochester Regional High School, who will attend Wentworth Institute of Technology.

— Rachael C. Chandler of Marion, Old Rochester Regional High School, who will attend Stonehill College.

— Sarah R. Dupont of Fairhaven, Fairhaven High School, who will attend Univer-

sity of Massachusetts Boston.

— Courtney L. Girouard of Fairhaven, Fairhaven High School, who will attend Husson University.

— Alissa A. Grace of Marion, Old Rochester Regional High School, who will attend Northeastern University.

— Jonathan D. Keeney of Fairhaven, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, who will attend Bristol Community College.

— Meagan L. Medeiros of Acushnet, Fairhaven High School, who will attend University of Rhode Island.

— Emma R. Robidoux of Fairhaven, Fairhaven High School, who will attend University of New England.

— Kaitlyn E. Sethares of Marion, Old Rochester Regional High School, who will attend University of Vermont.

— Alexandra B. Xifaras of Fairhaven, Fairhaven High School, who will attend Suffolk University.

Second-grade students at St. John the Evangelist School and Parish in Attleboro recently celebrated their First Communion.

Two Coyle and Cassidy High School (Taunton) students, Alissa Piatelli and Robert Scaramuccia, have met the requirements to enter the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program. These high performers have shown outstanding academic potential. Piatelli and Scaramuccia scored in the top three percent of the 1.5 million students taking the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

From left: Robert Gay, principal; Piatelli; and Scaramuccia.

Nearly 200 students representing the five Catholic elementary schools of the New Bedford Deanery recently gathered for their fourth annual track meet. Schools participating in the event included: St. James-St. John, Holy Family-Holy Name, and All Saints Catholic School of New Bedford; St. Francis Xavier of Acushnet; and the host team St. Joseph of Fairhaven.

St. Michael School in Fall River recently enjoyed a family night at Driscoll Ice Skating Rink, also in Fall River.

Students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfield recently celebrated their First Communion.

May 30, 2014

Youth Pages

Eighth-grade students and their parents recently hosted a spaghetti dinner at All Saints Catholic School in New Bedford to help defray the cost of their graduation week activities.

17

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth held a fund-raiser to benefit local food pantries. Stang’s National Honor Society members collected money from each student who wanted to buy a “non-uniform day.” Donations were for the benefit of the Chapel of the Annunciation. Additionally, all NHS members donated and collected boxes of cereal for St. Anthony of Padua Church, New Bedford. The students provided neighborhood food pantries with more than 600 boxes of cereal and more $1,000 in donations.

Two sixth-grade students from Holy Name School in Fall River sit among the seven-plus boxes of books that were donated as a result of their book drive.

The books will be given to People Incorporated to be distributed to needy families and shelters.

Pre-kindergarten students at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton recently enjoying the fifth- and fourth-grade science projects.

Kindergarten students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford watch a recently-hatched baby chick.

The middle school students at St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth have discussed social issues such as poverty and hunger throughout the world. They recently completed a “Read to Feed” program to raise awareness and money for Heifer International.

Sixty students raised $1,490 for this program.

The students pictured were top fund-raisers, bringing in more than $600.

The third-grade class at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro recently dressed in biography costumes. The students gave a biography presentation of famous person from Boston including: JFK, Anne Hutchinson, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, Norman Rockwell, and many others.

Staff members, along with the team mascot “Blades” from the Boston Bruins, celebrated a Spirit Day at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven. Students and faculty cheered for the Bruins and participated in hockey drills and competed in a Bruins trivia contest. Children in grades Pre-k through eight were offered a visit to the school as part of a prize package won by STEM Coordinator Misti Nordstrom, who has utilized the Bruins I.C.E. School curriculum integrated into a variety of STEM lessons she conducts with students in grades one through eight.

She was recently selected as the Boston Bruins Teacher of the Month for her efforts. Students wore their favorite Bruins attire and brought in canned goods to support Damien’s Pantry in Wareham.

18

May 30, 2014

Holy Cross Father John Phalen to move on to Peru mission continued from page one

the Rosary is.”

Also playing a hand in laying the foundation of a religious vocation were two uncles. “I had two uncles who were Jesuit priests,” Father Phalen told The Anchor. “I grew up in Connecticut, and my uncles would vacation there with us. I saw that they were not only good and holy priests, but they also knew how to have a good time and have fun. I saw them as real people, a side of them that people don’t often get to see.

It made a great impression on me.”

Father Phalen said he visited several orders and fell in love with the family spirit of the Holy Cross Congregation.

“I spent time with them and during conversations they felt free to argue if the occasion arose. It was like being home.

They were themselves.”

He also said that the Holy Cross Congregation was involved in home and foreign mission work, which appealed to the young man. “I was attracted to both, and the Holy Cross Congregation had both.”

As a newly-ordained Holy Cross Father, he “wanted to be a good priest, a faithful priest,” he said. “I originally wanted to be an English professor, but one thing lead to another and in 1971 I went to Peru, to a mission the order was just beginning there, and I got to love the culture and the people. When I returned to Notre Dame in Indiana, I saw the need for priests who could minister to the Latino Catholics.”

In 1996, Father Phalen was named, temporarily for six months, as the interim president of HCFM. “It was decided that I would stay on after that, and here I am 18 years later. It’s been a wonderful 18 years, filled with great opportunities for me. I can say I’ve been changed by it, and I’m grateful to have been able to continue the work of Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, who had such a devotion to the Blessed Mother and Christ through the Rosary.

“I remember I was once asked by Father Peyton that if given the chance, would I ‘continue his work when I’m gone.’ I was thrilled that he asked me that and thrilled to say yes. But I was quickly told, ‘Don’t get too excited, he

asks everyone that.’ I guess he wanted to be sure the mission continued.”

Father Phalen continued, “I’ve been privileged to be able to continue his work, and I’ve no question that Father Peyton is guiding us and I’m indebted and closer to him for it.”

Father Phalen told The Anchor that there have been many changes over that last two decades. “One exciting thing is that there are now 35 Holy Cross Brothers, Sisters and priests involved in HCFM across the world. We are all working together, and I’m very excited by it.

“In my position, I do a great deal of traveling and I’m finding the Holy Cross charism in other countries now. Our missions are becoming more in tune with the Holy Cross mission of Father Peyton in different cultures.

“And some of the most noticeable changes are the technological changes,” he added.

Father Peyton was a pioneer in the faith with the use of radio and television in the 1940s and 50s. “I’m happy to say that we’re continuing the footprint of Father Peyton utilizing today’s technologies: the Internet, Twitter, Facebook and websites.”

He shared that through the years his heart has been touched by the faith of the people he’s encountered across the world. “We give retreats and talks and rallies across the world,” he said. “And we try to define to people what they can do with their relationship with God, but what I find is that through their devotion to the Rosary they are already contemplating Christ in the Rosary, although they wouldn’t call it that.

“They are simple people who have great confidence and trust in the power of the Rosary and the intercession of the Blessed Mother. They’re able to talk about their sufferings through the Sorrowful Mysteries, and they’re able to share their joys through the Glorious Mysteries. The faithful may not know it but they nourish us as well. We are encouraged by them.”

Another encouraging change that has occurred over the last 18 years has been the branching out in Peru. “We now have an Institute for Family there, and we provide

social services for the people there. We help with addiction, family counseling, and teaching parenting skills. We know that not everything can be solved by praying the Rosary.

We have to be there to help as well.”

Father Phalen told The Anchor that he is going to miss the great people he’s come to know in this diocese and those he works with. “I’ve loved my ministry here,” he said. “I’ve worked with order members and hundreds of lay people.

I feel good about what we’ve done here, and I’ve always had great support. I know that Servant of God Father Peyton will become a saint for families some day.”

Father Phalen also told The Anchor that he’s excited about his new venture to Peru. “Everything that’s happened to me in the past has been leading up to this mission assignment as director of Novices,” he said. “I spent five years as an assistant director of Novices in New York, I’ve worked with Latino Catholics and know the culture and the people, and through all the traveling I’ve done, I know the Holy Cross setting around the world. That helps.”

He will be working with novices from Chile, Peru, Mexico and Brazil. “I’m very confident in my Spanish, but now I’m going to have to work on my Portuguese,” he added.

“In February of 2015 we’ll begin a year-long orientation for the novices that will include retreats, getting to know the congregation, the founder, the charism and the constitutions of being in the Holy Cross Congregation.”

Father Phalen’s duties as HCFM president will end June 30 and he will take a sabbatical until his November start date in the Chosita Diocese. “I’m not going to travel far during my sabbatical,” he told The Anchor. “With all the traveling I’ve done, it’s not something I need to do.

I will take a retreat for myself and I will work on my Portuguese.”

Father Phalen said he sees good things continuing for Holy Cross Family Ministries.

“Father Willy is a go-getter,” he said. “He’s a man of faith and believes in the power of the Rosary, and that’s so important in this position. He’s going to do a great job.”

Casino opponents gather more signatures continued from page one

sachusetts Supreme Judicial Court must rule against the attorney general and find that the ballot initiative is constitutional.

Attorney General Martha Coakley rejected the petition last fall. The petition’s supporters approached the courts, and the SJC granted an injunction that allowed the signature drive to continue. The campaign collected 72,901 signatures — nearly 4,000 more than necessary to move the initiative forward.

Now, the SJC needs to rule on the petition’s constitutionality by July 9 so that the Secretary of State can begin printing ballots.

Coakley has argued that overturning the casino law would take away the applications for casino licenses, which, in her estimation, are property. Casino opponents say that the casino law itself says that the applications and licenses for casinos are revocable and, therefore, not guaranteed contracts.

The expanded gambling law legalizes three resort casinos and one slot parlor. Its supporters claim casinos will create thousands of jobs and bring in hundreds of millions of new tax dollars. The law appropriates 25 percent of casino revenue and 40 percent of slots revenue to go back to the state and local communities. Each casino license bid starts at $85 million.

Opponents have been working to repeal the law and fighting battles in individual cities and towns that have voted on hosting a casino in their own backyards.

Earnst said that the fight was “brought right to our front door” in Foxboro. She and other members of the community organized and successfully stopped a proposal from going forward.

She also lives a mile from Plainville where another casino has been proposed, but this time she and members of other surrounding communities have no say in that proposal.

“The threat of a license being awarded there is something of great concern to our community,” she said, adding that she had met with residents of Wrentham and North Attleboro who were also concerned.

Just a few weeks ago, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation refused changes in traffic flow outside the project’s site. As it stands now, anyone exiting a casino there could not turn left — in the direction of Plainville. Instead, they would be forced to take a right — toward Wrentham and Foxboro.

Opponents say casinos create economic blight, tear families apart, increase rates of divorce, bankruptcy and suicide. A federal study shows that gambling addiction rates double within 50 miles of a casino. Casinos also draw crowds that disproportionately belong to society’s lowest income brackets.

“The gambling industry is really designed to foster addiction,” Earnst said. “It preys on the most vulnerable people in our community.”

She maintains that casinos are bad for the entire state.

“Whether it’s a mile from our home or 50 miles away, it’s something that we feel strongly is not good for our state. Any perceived benefits are just outweighed by the negative impacts,” she said.

“We can do much better in our state.”

As a Catholic, Earnst said she sees it as an issue of social justice. She felt compelled to get involved in the local fight and to oppose casinos statewide.

John F. Ribeiro of Winthrop, chairman of the Repeal the Casino Deal and a Catholic, said that the Church needs to lead the way in opposition to casinos.

“We need to stop kind of sitting on the sidelines and treating our faith more as a hobby than as an active piece of who we are,” he said.

He added that the time to get rid of the casino law is before the licenses are granted.

“Once it’s here, it only gets bigger and gets a stronger foothold,” he said.

Ribeiro said that anyone who would like to sign the petition can print it out at www.5signatures.com and mail it to the address on the petition by June 9. For more information on assisting the signature drive or to request to receive a petition by mail, visit www.repealthecasinodeal. org.

19

May 30, 2014

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

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

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

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at St. John the Evangelist Church on N. Main St. Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

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

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

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.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

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

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

SOUTH YARMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Pius X Parish, 5 Barbara Street, on Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., from March 13 to April 10. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will also be offered at this time.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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

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

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

Deacon Vincent P. Walsh

West Harwich — Deacon Vincent Patrick Walsh of Holliston formerly of West Harwich, died on Good Friday, April 18 at Milford Regional Hospital surrounded by his loving family. He was 90 years of age.

Born in Dorchester, the son of the late Edward and Honora C. (O’Holleron) Walsh, Deacon Walsh graduated from Boston Latin School and Boston College and attended Boston College Law School. He was employed by the New England Telephone Company for 44 years and retired as the Cape Cod Repair Manager in 1984. A World War II Veteran, he served as a Staff Sergeant in the Philippines and Japan.

In 1980, Deacon Walsh was ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church. He was the Catholic Chaplain in Hendry County Correctional Institute in La Belle, Fla. from 1993 — 1998.

He was one of the founders and was the president emeritus of the Family Pantry, Inc. of Cape Cod. He was chaplain of the Charismatic Prayer Group, the Celebrate Life Committee and the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

His beloved wife of 39 years, Doris Milloy Walsh pre-deceased him. He was the brother of the late Father Paul T. Walsh,

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks May 31 Rev. Vincent A. Wolski, OFM Conv., Pastor, Holy Cross, Fall River, 1964 June 1 Rev. James A. Ward, Former Pastor St. Peter, Provincetown, 1911 June 3 Most Rev. James J. Gerrard, DD. Auxiliary Bishop of Fall River 1959-1976, Retired Pastor St. Lawrence, New Bedford, 1991 Rev. Luis A. Cardoso, Retired, Former Pastor, St. Michael, Fall River, 2011 June 4 Rev. Louis J. Terrien, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1920 Rev. Jose P. d’Amaral, Parochial Vicar, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1949 Rev. George Daigle, Pastor, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1979 June 5 Very Rev. Thomas J. McLean, V.F. Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis, 1954 Rev. Msgr. Louis Prevost, Retired Pastor , St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1970 Rev. Msgr. Edmond R. Levesque, Retired, Former Pastor, St. Anthony, New Bedford, 2011 June 6 Rev. Cornelius J. Keliher, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1993

Edward J. Walsh and Mary E. Walsh. He is survived by his daughter, Maureen W. Carchidi and son John T. Walsh of Lutz, Fla. He is also survived by his sisters Rita A. Walsh of Milton, and Eleanor C. Doherty of Quincy, his four grandchildren, one great grandson and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated April 29 at Holy Trinity Church. Burial followed

in the National Cemetery in Bourne.

Memorial gifts in Deacon Walsh’s memory would be greatly appreciated and may be sent to Xaverian Brothers High School Scholarship Fund 800 Clapboardtree Street, Westwood, Mass., 02090.

Morris, O’Connor and Blute Funeral Home 678 Main Street, Harwich Center, was in charge of the arrangements.

Around the Diocese The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet on June 6 at the Chapel of St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street in Fall River. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Karl Bissinger, a hot meal catered by White’s of Westport will be served in the school hall across the street. The guest speaker is Rev. Dr. Robert P. Lawrence, pastor emeritus of the First Congregational Church in Fall River, who will bring a replica of the Titanic and give a special presentation about the Titanic. The Mass is open to the public. Guest men interested in joining for dinner should contact Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174.

The Pro-Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Fall River will be sponsoring its fourth annual Pro-Life Boot Camp at Stonehill College in Easton from July 1113. Registration forms for campers, junior staffers and chaperones are available from the apostolate and must be completed and returned by June 20.

For registration or more information, call 508-675-1311 or email jean@plrachel. com.

The Fall River area Bereavement Group of the Fall River Diocese meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. through June 24 at St. Joseph Parish, 1335 North Main Street in Fall River. For more information, contact Rose Mary Saraiva at the Office of Faith Formation at 508-678-2828, extension 27, or email rmsaraiva@dfrcec.com.

The New Bedford area Bereavement Group of the Fall River Diocese meets on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary Parish, 783 Dartmouth Street in South Dartmouth. For more information, contact Beni CostaReedy at beni@stmarysdartmouth.org or call 508-992-7505.

Courage, a support group for people with same-sex attractions, will meet at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue in East Taunton. For more information, please call Father Richard Wilson at 508-226-1115.

Divorced and separated individuals who need to meet or for support can contact the diocesan support system by calling facilitators Rob Menard at 508-965-2919 or Joanne Dupre at 508-965-9296. For related questions, call the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation at 508678-2828.

20

May 30, 2014

For Peruvian-born artist, Holy Spirit Source of all her inspiration KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

(CNS) — Some artists rely on muses for creativity. Then there is Clorinda Chavez Galdos Bell, who receives inspiration from the source of all inspiration — the Holy Spirit.

Bell relies heavily on her deeply-rooted Catholic faith each time she picks up a brush to put paint to canvas. And that faith has never failed to inspire.

A native of Cuzco, Peru, Bell has been plying her talent since age 11, when her father and brothers first noticed she had “the gift.”

Since that discovery, the 41-year-old artist who now lives and works in the Diocese of Knoxville, has worked to refine the skill needed to create works of art in the Cuzco style unique to Peru. In fact, Bell is recognized as one of the first women to master the almost strictly male Cuzco School of Religious Art style.

Her creative efforts earned her a special showing recently at the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in Nashville.

She also has had other exhibits, including at Atlanta’s Eucharistic Congress, the Peruvian Consulate in Washington and Knoxville’s Emporium Center as her particular style attracts public attention.

“My inspiration for painting is God and the Virgin Mary. For a reason, God gave me this talent. And I feel called to paint these images,” Bell told The East Tennessee

Catholic, Knoxville’s diocesan publication.

“These images” are richlydetailed oil paintings of Jesus, Mary with the Infant Jesus, saints, angels and other religious icons painted in gilded, detailed colors featuring gold leaf and a tooling effect in relief. Bell incorporates a special gold paint made from a closely-guarded secret family

taught his brand of artistry to the faithful in the Andes Mountain region that is now Peru and Bolivia.

As the number of artists who embraced the Bitti technique rose and signature styles were added, such as

by Quechua painter Diego Quispe Tito, these artists formed the Cuzco School of Religious Art and continued

But it was almost unheard of for a female to engage in such a discipline.

“In my family, usually the men work outside the home and the women are in the kitchen. But I always felt I wanted to do this, so I started when I was 11. I just picked up a brush and started painting,” she said.

Her father, who was an ag-

Peruvian-born artist Clorinda Chavez Galdos Bell stands in front of some of her 30 paintings recently on display at the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in Nashville. Bell said she relies heavily on her Catholic faith each time she picks up a brush to put paint to canvas. (CNS photo/Rick Musacchio, Tennessee Register)

recipe. It serves as the trademark relief of the Chavez Galdos clan.

Bell explained that the Cuzco style has been handed down among families for generations and is inherent in that region of Peru.

It was introduced to Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, by an Italian artist who was a Jesuit priest, Father Bernardo Bitti, in the 16th century. He used his art for religious education and

to spread the faith through this new Catholic ministry.

The art form has been gaining in popularity. A painting from one of the Cuzco School artists, Ignacio Chacon, was even featured on a 2006 U.S. Postal Service Christmas stamp.

Bell’s father and brothers inherited the technique and applied the family’s own style. As she watched them growing up and toyed with painting, her talent emerged.

ricultural engineer, noticed the budding artist’s gift and encouraged it. But as she grew older, her father insisted that she attend college if she was to continue painting. She agreed and graduated from the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco with a degree in education.

And while she is a teacher by profession, her calling is art.

Her paintings, which are available to the public, line the walls of the Knoxville

home she shares with her husband, Aaron Bell, and their five-year-old son, Benjamin. As she gains acclaim for her work, she is asked to sell more of her art.

She and Aaron Bell met while he was traveling in Peru. After a long-distance relationship was formed, they were engaged and then Married in 2006, when she left Peru to join her husband in east Tennessee. They were Married in Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Cuzco.

As a pioneering female in the male-dominated Cuzco School of Religious Art, Bell has influenced other women in the art. Her younger sister, Mari, has shown talent and has joined her brothers in painting for the family studio in Peru.

Now, with the siblings separated by age and location, they work independently.

And they hope to continue passing on their “gift” to the next generation.

Young Benjamin Bell already is showing signs of artistic talent and has a child’s easel and paint from his father and mother.

“My family and I are heirs and successors to this wonderful style of art and are selftaught,” she said. “The Cuzco School began as evangelism through art and facilitated the spread of the new faith.

Art greatly supported the educational presentations of the monks and priests and were instrumental in the transformation of belief by the Quechua people from the worship of God in the form of the sun or Mother Earth to the more traditional Catholic faith.

“I am Catholic and my entire family in Peru is Catholic. The Church is my influence.”

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@ anchornews.org