06.01.12

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , June 1, 2012

Corpus Christi procession is a show of gratitude

Laying down the groundwork for diocesan families

NEW BEDFORD — Catholics worldwide know that the Blessed Sacrament is not just a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, but the actual presence of His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It is this sacred reality that moves faithful to adore and venerate the Blessed Sacrament in chapels and churches all over the world. It is also that sacredness that motivates faithful to accompany the Blessed Sacrament through public streets in a solemn procession in celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi.

It is an outward display of the love and appreciation Catholics have for the Holy Redeemer.

The custom started in the early 14th century when Catholic faithful would process through towns following Mass on Corpus Christi Sunday. Through the years popes encouraged this practice, some granting indulgences to those who participated. In the mid-1500s, the Council of Trent solemnly approved and recom-

FALL RIVER — A new initiative will be launched by the Fall River Diocese in June entitled “Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth.” Hosted by St. Mary’s Parish in South Dartmouth, the three-part series was developed by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry after NFCYM recognized the important roles parents play in forming their children’s faith.

“Most of our catechetical leaders and pastors do a very good job when they bring the parents in for sacramental prep. They have the opportunity to meet with them and do an overview of the Sacraments and how important it is for them to be connected and part of the life of the parish and the Eucharist,” said Claire McManus, director of the Faith Formation Office in Fall River. “But what this initiative does is, it takes that moment of meeting with the parents and puts in the hands of the catechetical leaders the knowledge and information that has been

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

mended the Corpus Christi processions.

In 2004, during the Year of the Eucharist, Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter, Mane nobiscum Domine, advocated the procession saying, “This year let us also celebrate with particular devotion the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, with its traditional procession. Our faith in the God Who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings.”

To this day, the custom thrives in cities and towns across the globe, including in the city of New Bedford, where faithful have processed for 10 years. This year the Turn to page 13

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

support system — Bishop George W. Coleman, right, and Stonehill College President Father Mark Cregan, C.S.C. gathered with a group of Little Sisters of the Poor just prior to the Easton school’s recent commencement exercises. The Little Sisters came to the campus to support and bear witness to Mother Margaret Regina (between the bishop and Father Cregan) receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college. Dedicated to the care of the elderly poor for nearly 50 years, Sister Margaret entered the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1964. For the past 20 years, she has served her community as Provincial Superior, assuming responsibility for 12 homes for the elderly in the U.S. Eastern and Western Provinces at various times.

Doctors, medical staff pushing for contraceptives, sterilization

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — Even before the Obama Administration announced last year its intention to require all health insurance plans to cover contraceptives, abortion-pills, and sterilizations as basic care with no co-payment under the proposed new health care law, doctors and medical staff at many hospitals were pressuring women to have tubal ligations in an effort to stave off future pregnancies, something that has Catholic medical personnel and ethicists alarmed.

“The most effective measures to prevent pregnancy are the IUD and tubal ligations, and ob-gyns want to provide the most effective family planning,” said a doctor currently working in a county hospital out west, who for professional reasons has asked to remain anonymous and to whom we will refer as Gianna. “Moreover, even if the patient says she is practicing Natural Family Planning,

the physicians do not trust that the patient is actually going to abstain from sex and, to be honest, they have reason to think this. Even though all women and husbands are advised to abstain for at least six weeks until the first post-partum visit, quite a few women get pregnant again in this interval even if they are breast-feeding.”

“When a doctor informs a woman that she cannot become pregnant in the future without serious consequences to herself and her baby, having her tubes tied might seem to be the most appropriate response,” said Father Tad Pacholczyk, director of Education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, in a 2009 Anchor article.

Father Pacholczyk noted this is a direct sterilization, which is “morally unacceptable because it involves the decision to directly mutilate a healthy system of the body, one that is functioning normally and properly, Turn to page 13

Father Daniel L. Freitas, long-time Somerset pastor, dies in Florida

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

MELBOURNE, Fla. — Retired Father Daniel L. Freitas, 87, a long-time pastor of St. John of God Parish in Somerset, died May 22. Before his retirement in June of 1996, Father Freitas had been pastor at St. John of God Parish for 22 years. While there he assessed the possibility of constructing a new church

for the parish. Ground was broken in March of 1977 and the new structure was dedicated in May of 1978.

Upon his retirement he told a local newspaper, “I’d like to think that the best thing I’ve done is not to build this building, but build this community into one of more faith, with people who live a better Christian life.”

Father John A. Raposo, chaplain at Catholic Memorial Home, in an Anchor column for the Year For Priests, expressed his gratitude to Father Freitas lending his Turn to page 19

gathered about the influence of parents on the faith life of the child. That’s what makes this a little bit different.”

The initiative is relatively new and the Fall River Diocese is only the third diocese in New England to bring it to its diocesan members. The Diocese of Providence and the Diocese of Worcester presented the initiative, and McManus and Crystal Medeiros, assistant director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of Fall River, attended the sessions in Worcester.

The design of the initiative is broken into three parts; starting June 14, the “Sample Evening Parent Session” will take place.

The session will offer catechetical leaders, youth ministers, Confirmation coordinators, school leaders, priests and deacons to Turn to page 14

News From the Vatican

2

June 1, 2012

Absentee dads hinder children’s understanding of God, pope says

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Dads who are absent from their family make it more difficult for their children to understand God as a loving Father, Pope Benedict XVI said recently.

“Perhaps modern man does not perceive the beauty, grandeur and profound consolation contained in the word ‘father’ with which we can turn to God in prayer, because the father figure is often not sufficiently present in today’s world, and is often not a sufficiently positive presence in everyday life,” the pope said in a weekly general audience address.

He underscored that “the problem of a father not present in the life of the child is a big problem of our time” because it can become difficult for those children “to understand in its depth what it means to us that God is Father.”

In the U.S., more than onethird of all children live apart from their biological father.

The pope delivered his remarks to more than 20,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. His reflections, which focused on two passages from St. Paul on the Holy Spirit enabling people to call upon God with the intimate term “Abba,” continued his series on the role of prayer in the story of salvation.

In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul wrote that “As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” St. Paul also wrote to the

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Romans, “you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”

Pope Benedict noted that the familial Aramaic word “Abba” is also used by Jesus “even at the most dramatic moment of His earthly life,” thus demonstrating that He “never lost faith in the Father and always invoked Him with the intimacy of a beloved Son.” Similarly, through Baptism, every Christian also becomes a beloved son or daughter of God, “sharing by adoption in the eternal sonship of Jesus.”

In the selected passages, the pope explained, St. Paul also demonstrates that “Christian prayer is never unidirectional, from us to God.” Instead, it is “an expression of a reciprocal relationship in which it is always God Who acts first.”

Therefore, whenever we address the Father in prayer, even silently or privately, we are never alone, since “we are within the great prayer of the Church, we are part of a great symphony which the Christian community in all places and times raises to God,” he said.

It is this “prayer guided by the Spirit” that causes Christians to cry out “Abba! Father!” both “with Christ and in Christ,” Pope Benedict taught.

“It makes us part of the great mosaic of the family of God, in which everyone has an important place and role, profoundly united to all things.”

The pope concluded his address by suggesting to pilgrims that they should “learn to appreciate the beauty of being friends, or rather children, of God,” and to invoke God the Father in prayer “with the confidence and trust of a child addressing his parents who love him.”

He then led those present in the sung recitation Our Father in Latin before imparting his apostolic blessing.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 22

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large audience — Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrived to lead an audience with Christian volunteers in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Pope suffering but serene as Vatileaks investigation continues

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict is “suffering” but serene, despite the prosecution of his butler for stealing sensitive papal documents and the continuing police hunt to find any accomplices.

“He is aware of the delicate situation that the Roman curia is going through, but he is keeping up his serenity with great faith and moral superiority as you saw in yesterday’s celebrations,” papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said May 28.

Paolo Gabriele is still in custody after being charged on May 26 with the “aggravated theft” of confidential Vatican documents found in his apartment.

The 46-year-old Italian, a father of three, has worked in the Papal Household under Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. He is one of very few individuals who have daily access to the pope.

In a statement issued May 28, Gabriele’s attorney said his client would offer “the most comprehensive collaboration” in all subsequent legal proceedings.

He also said that the pope’s butler had been “very peaceful and tranquil” during their recent discussions.

Father Lombardi confirmed that the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Nicola Picardi, has now completed the first phase of the investigation into Gabriele’s activities, which resulted in the decision to bring charges.

Vatican magistrate Piero Antonio Bonnet will now carry out a second phase of the investigation to decide whether those charges should be tried in court or dropped.

While the criminal investiga-

tion continues, Father Lombardi played down speculation in the Italian media that Vatican police are about to swoop in on a wider network of conspirators, of which Gabriele is only a junior member.

“The notion that an Italian cardinal is being investigated is completely false,” said Father Lombardi. “I also categorically deny that a woman is being questioned in this case.”

The Vatican spokesman also added that it seemed both “exaggerated” and “unfounded” to ascribe recent events to power struggles within the Vatican.

The arrest of Gabriele followed several months of socalled “Vatileaks” in which numerous confidential documents about the internal workings of

the Vatican were passed on to the Italian media.

Earlier this month, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi released a new book entitled “Sua Santita” (His Holiness), which contained a series of leaked letters addressed personally to Pope Benedict XVI. The author claimed to have more than one source of information from inside the Vatican.

In April, Pope Benedict responded to the spate of leaks by establishing a special commission of three cardinals, chaired by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, to investigate their source.

Father Lombardi confirmed that cardinals are continuing their work in parallel with the ongoing police investigation.

PREPARING FOR THE FEAST — A nun irons the cloth on the Altar of the Chair before Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass on the feast of Pentecost in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 27. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

June 1, 2012

3

The International Church

Catholics in Inner Mongolia seek extra prayers during difficult time

Quake damage — People walk past a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cavezzo, Italy, May 29. The magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck northern Italy, killing at least 10 people as factories, warehouses and a church collapsed in the same region still struggling to recover from another quake nine days earlier. (CNS photo/Giorgio Benvenuti, Reuters)

Vatican publishes rules for verifying Marian apparitions

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To help bishops determine the credibility of alleged Marian apparitions, the Vatican has translated and published procedural rules from 1978 that had previously been available only in Latin.

The “norms regarding the manner of proceedings in the discernment of presumed apparitions or revelations” were approved by Pope Paul VI in 1978 and distributed to the world’s bishops, but never officially published or translated into modern languages.

However, over the past three decades, unauthorized translations have appeared around the world, according to U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The doctrinal office “believes it is now opportune to publish these ‘norms,’ providing translations in the principal languages” so as to “aid the pastors of the Catholic Church in their difficult task of discerning presumed apparitions, revelations, messages or, more generally, extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin,” the cardinal wrote in a note dated December 2011.

His note and the newlytranslated norms were published recently on the congregation’s website www.doctrinafidei.va.

Cardinal Levada wrote that he hoped the norms “might be useful to theologians and experts in this field of the lived experience of the Church, whose delicacy requires an ever-more thorough consideration.”

More than 1,500 visions of Mary have been reported around the world, but in the past century only nine cases have received

Church approval as worthy of belief.

Determining the veracity of an apparition falls to the local bishop, and the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation established the norms to guide the process.

Granting approval is never brief, with some cases taking hundreds of years. Visionaries and witnesses must be questioned and the fruits of the apparitions, such as conversions, miracles and healings, must be examined.

According to the norms, the local bishop should set up a commission of experts, including theologians, canonists, psychologists and doctors, to help him determine the facts, the mental, moral and spiritual wholesomeness and seriousness of the visionary, and whether the message and testimony are free from theological and doctrinal error.

A bishop can come to one of three conclusions: He can determine the apparition to be true and worthy of belief; he can say it is not true, which leaves open the possibility for an appeal; or he can say that at the moment he doesn’t know and needs more help.

In the last scenario, the investigation is brought to the country’s bishops’ conference. If that body cannot come to a conclusion, the matter is turned over to the pope, who delegates the doctrinal congregation to step in and give advice or appoint others to investigate.

The alleged apparitions at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina are an example of a situation in which the country’s bishops requested the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to intervene.

In that case, the congregation established an international commission in 2010 to investigate the claims of six young people who said Mary had appeared to them daily beginning in 1981.

The apparitions purportedly continue and thousands travel to the small town each month to meet the alleged seers and to pray.

Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed that the Church never requires the faithful to believe in apparitions, not even those recognized by the Church.

In his note, Cardinal Levada quoted the pope saying, “The criterion for judging the truth of a private revelation is its orientation to Christ Himself,” in that it doesn’t lead people away from Jesus, but urges them toward closer communion with Christ and the Gospel.

The cardinal also quoted from the writings of St. John of the Cross, who emphasized that God said everything He had to say in Jesus Christ — in His one and only Son and Word.

“Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending Him, by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty,” the saint wrote.

Church approval of a private revelation, in essence, is just the Church’s way of saying the message is not contrary to the faith or morality, it is licit to make the message public “and the faithful are authorized to give to it their prudent adhesion,” the pope said in his 2010 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “Verbum Domini” (“The Word of the Lord”).

HOHHOT, China (CNS) — Catholics in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region called on fellow believers to pray for them May 24, the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, during what they say is their most difficult time in recent decades. The Asian church news agency UCA News reported that Church sources told them the Catholic community in the region has faced a series of suppressive acts by authorities aimed at forcing clergy from the clandestine, or underground, Catholic community to join the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association. “It is very likely that the faithful have to quietly pass Pentecost Sunday, one of the four major Church feasts widely celebrated in China, as they did so at Easter,” a source told UCA News. To avoid arrest,

underground priests remain in hiding and cannot carry out normal pastoral work because they have refused to support the patriotic association, the source said.

Father Joseph Gao Jiangping, an underground diocesan administrator, has been confined in isolation at a detention center in Hohhot since he was taken into custody February 15.

Church sources said the priest, in his 40s, is in poor physical condition because of torture and continuous interrogation. Local officials may continue his detention with charge, “worrying that his influence among local Catholics would be enlarged, or they would incur international criticism if he is sentenced,” one source said. “On the other hand, if he is released, it would affect expansion of the official Church community.”

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- Caesarea, Palace of Herod the Great - Roman Theatre - Aqueduct - Mt. @Mukraka, Eli Jah’s - Stella Maris: Carmelite Monastery - Valley of Armageddon - Nazareth: Visit the Church of Annuniciation; Mass - Visit the Church of Mary’s Well & St. Joseph’s workshop - Cana JERUSALEM: - Mount of Olives: Church of Pater Noster; walk down the hill to the Church of Dominus Flevit; Garden of Gethsemane; visit the Cave of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary; Mt. Zion; Church of the Dormition, Room of the Last Supper; Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (cock crows); Church of the Visitation - Ein Karem en route to Emmaus - Arrival in the Ayalon Valley & Latrun - Visit to the Beit Guvrin National Park: caves of Tel Maresha - Visit West Jerusalem - Israel Museum: “Shrine of the Book”; Dead Sea Scrolls - Visit to Mount Herzi - Yad Vashem: visit Museum

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The Church in the U.S.

4

June 1, 2012

Most voters doubt Catholic institutions would shut down over mandate

Washington D.C. (CNA) — A new survey shows that while more Americans are opposing the federal contraception mandate, the majority of voters also doubt that Catholic institutions would shut down rather than comply with the rule.

According to a May 22-23 Rasmussen poll, 51 percent of voters find it unlikely that Catholic organizations would shut down rather than buy insurance to cover abortifacients, sterilizations and contraceptives, as required by the Obama Administration’s Health and Human Services mandate.

Although 43 Catholic institutions recently announced lawsuits against the federal government over the mandate, only 40 percent of voters believe it to be “somewhat likely” that institutions would actually close their doors over the issue.

Sixteen percent believe such action to be “very likely” while

17 percent think it would be “not at all likely.”

Despite this doubt, 51 percent of voters disagree that the government should force religious organizations to provide contraception coverage if it violates their beliefs. Thirty-six percent of voters support this policy even if it violates religious beliefs.

Overall support of the mandate has fallen slightly when compared to those surveyed in a February 7 poll. Of those questioned in the most recent poll, only 39 percent of voters favor the mandate as compared to the 43 percent who supported it in an earlier poll.

This new poll indicates a slight rise in women’s opposition to the mandate, with female voters now evenly split over the issue. Men still overwhelmingly disagree with the mandate, with 52 percent in opposition and 34 percent in favor.

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memorial mass — U.S. Naval Academy cadet Jason M. Davin of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., stands ready to greet worshippers arriving for the 18th annual National Memorial Mass of the Archdiocese for the Military Services at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington recently. The service, held each year near Memorial Day, honors military members who died in service and those on active duty with special prayers and songs. (CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec)

Ave Maria drops student health insurance over HHS mandate

Naples, Fla. (CNA) — Ave Maria University has become the second Catholic college to announce it will discontinue its student health insurance plan due to the Obama Administration’s contraception mandate.

In a recent statement, university president Jim Towey called the mandate “an affront to our core values.”

“Ave Maria University will not offer or pay for health insurance plans that violate our deeply-held religious beliefs,” he said.

The announcement comes amid continued controversy over a federal insurance mandate that will require employers and colleges to offer health care plans that cover contraception, sterilization and abortioncausing drugs, even if doing so violates their religious beliefs.

The mandate has been widely criticized for the threat that it poses to religious freedom.

Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable agencies have warned that they will be forced

to consider closing their doors rather than comply with the mandate and act against the beliefs.

In choosing to cut its student health insurance plan, Ave Maria is following in the footsteps of Franciscan University of Steubenville, which also recently announced that it would be dropping its student policy to avoid participating in a plan that violated Catholic teaching.

Towey said it was “regrettable” that the “long-standing tradition” of protecting religious freedom was being fiercely attacked and that college students at religious institutions would be among the “first victims.”

He explained that since its founding, Ave Maria University has offered its students an inexpensive health insurance policy, which specifically excludes coverage of products and procedures that violate Church teaching.

That changed, however, when the university was recently notified by its insurance

carrier that coverage of these objectionable “preventive care services” would soon be required despite the school’s religious opposition to them.

In addition, the insurance carrier said that university students would face a 66 percent increase in their premiums and an increase in their deductible as a result of requirements under the Affordable Care Act. “It is a sad day when Ave Maria’s students are forced to choose between enrolling in a health insurance plan that is both costly and offers morally objectionable benefits, and having no coverage at all,” said Towey.

Ave Maria filed a lawsuit seeking relief from the mandate in February. Towey said he is confident in the favorable outcome of the suit and applauded the other Catholic groups that have joined in the effort of “taking this battle to the courts.”

On May 21, a wave of new lawsuits against the mandate was announced. Forty-three Catholic dioceses and organizations across the country are filing lawsuits in 12 different jurisdictions.

Bishops from dioceses across the country have warned that the contraception mandate could threaten the valuable contribution offered by Catholic education, health care and social services in the U.S. Towey also addressed this point, explaining that Ave Maria University offers scholarships and strives to make its education as affordable as possible for students.

“At a time when the issue of the affordability of college education is at the forefront of the public debate, the federal government’s mandate is hurting the cause, not helping,” he said.

June 1, 2012

The Church in the U.S.

5

In 2012, more Americans identify as Pro-Life

what once was — A large cross is seen where St. Mary’s Catholic Church once stood in Joplin, Mo. The cross was originally atop the church, which along with the rectory, school and parish hall, was destroyed by a massive category EF5 tornado which created catastrophic destruction in the area on May 22, 2011. (CNS photo/ Eric Thayer, Reuters)

Bishop Blaire rejects claims of division over mandate suits

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif. has clarified that he is united with his fellow bishops in their efforts to oppose the threat to religious freedom posed by the federal contraception mandate.

“I stand solidly with my brother bishops in our common resolve to overturn the unacceptable intrusion of government into the life of the Church by the HHS Mandate,” said Bishop Blaire in a recent statement.

He explained that he wanted to “clarify some misunderstandings” related to his earlier comments about the mandate.

A May 22 article in America magazine quoted Bishop Blaire as having concerns about an announcement the day before that 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations around the U.S. were filing lawsuits against the federal government.

Filed in 12 different jurisdictions across the country, the lawsuits challenge a federal mandate that will require employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and abortioninducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.

Bishops from every diocese in the U.S. have spoken out against the regulation, warning that it poses a serious threat to religious liberty and could force Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable organizations to close.

Several media outlets and commentators have used Bishop Blaire’s comments to suggest division among the bishops regarding the mandate.

However, Bishop Blaire said that his comments have been misunderstood. He stressed his full support for his brother bishops in their efforts to fight the mandate and protect religious freedom.

He noted that the bishops’ administrative committee issued a statement in March committing to fight the mandate through appeals to the Obama Administration, Congress or the courts.

“I contributed to and voted for this statement, and continue to support it, including its call for legal action as was announced on Monday,” he said.

Some liberal commentators have also suggested divisions exist among the bishops because not every diocese in the coun-

try filed a lawsuit.

However, individuals involved in the strategy discussions behind the legal action explained that the initiative did not intend to have each diocese file a suit. Rather, certain dioceses were chosen to represent a wide cross-section of the concerns and interests voiced by all the dioceses in the country.

Numerous bishops from dioceses that did not file a lawsuit have spoken out in support of the legal efforts, confirming that they are represented by the actions of their fellow bishops.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who leads the U.S. bishops’ religious freedom committee, described the speculation about a lack of unity as “elements of the media looking for what they perceive to be a little, small crack in the wall.”

Speaking on EWTN’s “The World Over” with Raymond Arroyo on May 24, the archbishop said that these media reports are “missing the whole story.”

He explained that the bishops have held numerous discussions and “no one disagrees about our need to defend our religious liberty.”

Bishop Blaire believes that the recent lawsuits share the same “essential goal” as the discussions with the administration and congressional advocacy.

These efforts are all united in seeking “to defend the right of the Church to define herself and to preserve the identity and integrity of the Catholic ministries exercised through her institutions,” he said.

The bishop said he recognizes that religious freedom is critical in allowing the Church to fulfill her God-given mission.

It is “totally unacceptable” for the federal government to force Catholic institutions to violate their core beliefs, he said.

Bishop Blaire also urged efforts “to persuade others to join us in this just cause through reasoned civil and respectful discussion.”

He said that he looks forward to discussions at the upcoming meeting of the U.S. bishops’ conference in Atlanta this June, which will provide “an opportunity to agree on next steps to achieve our common and essential goal of ending this violation of religious freedom.”

Princeton, N.J. (CNA/EWTN the abortion provider Planned Parenthood News) — The number of Pro-Life Ameri- to investigate its finances. The Susan G. cans is near an all-time high, while those Komen for the Cure anti-breast cancer who self-identify as pro-choice are at a foundation also became a newsmaker record low, according to a new Gallup when it decided to suspend its grants to survey. the organization, before retreating under Results from a poll taken in early May intense pressure from abortion rights supshow that 50 percent of Americans say porters. they are “Pro-Life,” an increase of five The controversy over the HHS contrapercent since a 2009 survey. ceptive coverage mandate and its effect Forty-one percent, however, identify on Catholic organizations may also be a as pro-choice — down eight points since factor, Gallup suggested, because it high2009. lighted objections to the morning-after The change is even more dramatic since pill.

1995, when 56 percent of Americans told However, the pollster said it is unGallup they were clear whether any pro-choice while of the controversies n fact, a growing num- caused the shift in only 33 percent said ber of Americans are Americans’ selfthey were Pro-Life.

In 2012, Repub- uneasy with the unfettered, identification. licans tend to be the under-regulated and unsavory There are also most Pro-Life, with questions about 72 percent identify- abortion industry as it exists whether changes ing as such. About today.” in Americans’ self34 percent of Demolabeling will have crats are Pro-Life, consequences. as are 47 percent of independents. Fifty“While Americans’ identification as eight percent of Democrats say they are ‘pro-choice’ has waned over the past year, pro-choice, as do 22 percent of Republi- their fundamental views about the mocans and 41 percent of independents. rality and legality of abortion have held Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president and steady,” Gallup said.

CEO of Americans United for Life, said The survey found that 51 percent of that the results are “the tip of the iceberg.” Americans believe abortion is morally “In fact, a growing number of Ameri- wrong, while 38 percent say it is morally cans are uneasy with the unfettered, un- acceptable. These results are “nearly idender-regulated and unsavory abortion in- tical” to a May 2011 survey. dustry as it exists today,” she said.

Only 20 percent of Americans said that She pointed to surveys showing that abortion should be illegal in all circumseven in 10 Americans do not want tax stances, 52 percent said it should be legal dollars to fund abortion. She said there is only under certain circumstances and 25 “tremendous support for commonsense percent said it should be legal in all cirlimits on abortion” such as limits on abor- cumstances. tion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Gallup poll surveyed 1,024 U.S. Gallup’s analysis noted several abor- adults aged 18 and older from May 2-6. It tion-related controversies in the past year, claims a margin of error of plus or minus such as efforts to ban federal funding for four percentage points.

“I

6

The Anchor Christian unity and immigration

This Sunday the Church celebrates in a special way the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Jesus during the Last Supper prayed repeatedly to the Father for the Church He was founding, that the communion among His disciples would be a profound reflection of, and participation in, the communion among the three persons in the One God: “May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they may also be in Us, … [and] brought to perfection as one.” The reason was not just for their personal happiness and holiness — that “they might share My joy completely” — but also for the Church’s whole mission, so that “the world may know that You sent Me and that You loved them even as You loved Me” (Jn 17).

Our communion as believers is one of the most powerful evangelical testimonies of all, witnessing to God Who is a communion of persons in love and Who sent the Son to invite us into that loving communion. We saw the full powerful and attractiveness of this witness of communion in the early Church. “All who believed were together and had all things in common,” we read in the Acts of the Apostles. “They were of one heart and soul.” The early Christians sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to those who had need; they attended the temple together; they celebrated the Eucharist together; they ate together. The results of this mutual sacrificial love were immediate and impressive: “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-35). The ancient world had never beheld such love before. Few sacrificed even for family members; to do so joyously for those who had previously been total strangers was an irresistible witness to the type of love Jesus had been sent into the world to bring. People could not help but be drawn by the Christians’ loving communion to want to enter it.

In his fifth and last ad limina address to visiting U.S. bishops, Pope Benedict on May 18 highlighted that as the Church in our country takes up the task of the new evangelization of our culture, we must begin by examining and fostering our true loving communion with each other in God. A divided Church is in contradiction to the most basic Christian truths and message: the Communion of Persons Who is our Triune God and the “one” holy, Catholic and apostolic Church Christ established as His Bride and Body.

Speaking to the bishops of the various Eastern Churches in the United States, the pope said one of the biggest challenges to the Church in America historically has been to find a communion among the many Catholic ethnic groups present in the country. Despite the truth that in Christ there is no longer “Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26-28), in the history of the Church in the United States in some places, ethnicity was treated as more important than catholicity. “The Church in America has struggled to recognize and incorporate this diversity,” the pope noted, but went on to say that with God’s help, the Church in America “succeeded, not without difficulty, in forging a communion in Christ and in the apostolic faith that mirrors the catholicity that is an indefectible mark of the Church.” This communion, he added, “finds its source and model in the mystery of the Triune God,” in Whom “unity and diversity are constantly reconciled and enhanced.” But “preserving, fostering and advancing this gift of Catholic unity as an essential condition for the fulfillment of the Church’s mission in your country,” the pope said, is a constant challenge.

He mentioned one context in which this gift of Catholic unity is certainly being threatened: immigration. He said that the Catholic community in the United States is called “with great generosity, to welcome waves of new immigrants, to provide them with pastoral care and charitable assistance, and to support ways of regularizing their situation, especially with regard to the unification of families.”

He noted that immigration reform is “clearly a difficult and complex issue” from the civic, political, social, economic and human points of view, and he encouraged the bishops to stay involved in defense of the “just treatment and the defense of the human dignity of immigrants,” a dignity that is not dependent on legal status. But he also said that within the Church, there must be a special Christian hospitality to immigrants, something that goes beyond defending their human rights but brings them into loving communion. “The Church in America is called to embrace, incorporate and cultivate the rich patrimony of faith and culture present in America’s many immigrant groups, including … the swelling numbers of Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics.” Bringing about a “communion of cultures,” he declared, “entails more than simply respecting linguistic diversity, promoting sound traditions, and providing much-needed social programs and services. It also calls for a commitment to ongoing preaching, catechesis and pastoral activity aimed at inspiring in all the faithful a deeper sense of their communion in the apostolic faith and their responsibility for the Church’s mission in the United States.”

In some places, instead of Christian hospitality, immigrants face misunderstanding and even outright xenophobia from those who believe themselves to be Christians. And some state governments are trying, in total violation of religious freedom, to force the Church to reject undocumented immigrants rather than see in them an image of the Savior Who said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.” Nowhere is this more apparent than in the State of Alabama where last year the state legislature passed the strictest and broadest immigration law in the nation, which prohibits nearly every possible assistance to illegal immigrants living in Alabama. The bishops of the state described the consequences of the law in a letter last August to the citizens of the state: “This new Alabama law makes it illegal for a Catholic priest to baptize, hear the Confession of, celebrate the Anointing of the Sick with, or preach the Word of God to, an undocumented immigrant. Nor can we encourage them to attend Mass or give them a ride to Mass. It is illegal to allow them to attend adult Scripture study groups, or attend CCD or Sunday school classes. It is illegal for the clergy to counsel them in times of difficulty or in preparation for marriage. It is illegal for them to come to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings or other recovery groups at our churches. The law prohibits almost every activity of our St. Vincent de Paul chapters or Catholic Social Services. If it involves an undocumented immigrant, it is illegal to give the disabled person a ride to the doctor; give food or clothing or financial assistance in an emergency; allow them to shop at our thrift stores or to learn English; it is illegal to counsel a mother who has a problem pregnancy, or to help her with baby food or diapers, thus making it far more likely that she will choose abortion. This law attacks our very understanding of what it means to be a Christian, [because] the love of Christ impels us to care for the needs of all our neighbors.”

The Alabama bishops have filed a suit against the law on religious freedom grounds and were successful in securing a temporary injunction against the enforcement of many of the laws’ provisions while the case proceeds. The whole fact that such a law was passed, however, demonstrates how important it is for the Church to evangelize members of our culture as well as some within our churches that immigrants are not demons to be exorcised, or germs to be extirpated, but fellow human beings seeking a good life for themselves and their families. We’re called to treat them as we would treat Christ, even if it means eventually for the stability of our society and respect for our laws that they would have to return to their countries of origin. The chaos of our immigration laws is not an excuse to dehumanize and mistreat others whose only crime is entering our country without proper documentation in order to try to live the American dream.

Pope Benedict reminded the American bishops of “the immense promise and the vibrant energies of a new generation of Catholics,” which he said “are waiting to be tapped for the renewal of the Church’s life and the rebuilding of the fabric of American society.” The history of our nation is one of immigrants who worked to forge a national unity that made us stronger than the sum of our parts. The welcoming of immigrants into the communion of the Church, rather than weakening our nation and our churches, will strengthen both. A culture of communion and a communion of cultures promotes the community good much more effectively than disgregation and division. A divided house cannot stand.

O

June 1, 2012

Discerning the call — Part I

ver the last couple of weeks, I that best communicate to our Lord what have begun to speak about ways is going on inside our heart. And this in which all members of the Church can is fundamentally what prayer is, “the promote priestly vocations in the homes, lifting up of our hearts and minds to schools and parishes throughout our God,” as St. John Damascene explained diocese. This week, I will like to change (CCC 2559). gears slightly in order to focus more on Praying isn’t just saying the words; how an individual discerns the call in his it is speaking to the Lord, Who wants or her own life. us to enter into friendship with Him. Obviously the most important thing And like I said earlier, if this is going to to remember is that any vocation is a call be a real friendship it must be based on from God Himself. Therefore, discerning love, trust and honesty. We can’t just say a call presumes a relationship with Him. words that we don’t mean. Prayer is a Pope Benedict XVI over and over again communication where we tell God what has referred to this relationship as a we think, how we feel, what we need, “friendship with Jesus Christ.” etc., and listen to Him. The concept of a “friendship with Pope Benedict explained, “It is not Christ” might seem to some as a bit so much asking in order to satisfy our basic and to others more of an abstract own desires, but rather, to keep a lively theory. What I would like to do here is friendship with God Who ‘will give the to illustrate some of the essentials of this Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!’” relationship with a hope of providing (Angelus, July 25, 2010). “Prayer must our young people with the tools that be our first commitment, for it is the true they need path to our to properly sanctification. discern their Those who vocation.

Putting Into pray are not There are afraid, those the Deep three main who pray things that are never we can do to alone; those

By Father establish and who pray Jay Mello maintain this are saved.” friendship (General with Christ, which is ultimately a Audience, July 1, 2009). relationship of love, honesty and trust.

One great way to pray is reading These three fundamental things are the Word of God as it is found in the daily prayer, the Eucharist and frequent Bible. God speaks to His people! It is Confession. in the reading of sacred Scripture that If our vocation is a “calling” from God opens to us the mystery of our God, then we must allow ourselves to redemption and salvation. Scripture is hear His voice so that we can hear His not merely a historical account of past call. Prayer is how we primarily listen events; it is God continually speaking to the Lord’s voice. Daily prayer or to His people through the power of His conversation with God is how we best Holy Spirit. establish this friendship.

In listening to the Bible proclaimed Pope John Paul II beautifully at Mass or in our own private reading explained that “training in holiness calls of it, we can hear God speaking to us. for a Christian life distinguished above He tells us about how much He loves all in the ‘art of prayer.’ But we know all us, about what He has done for us too well that prayer cannot be taken for throughout history, and also about what granted. We have to learn how to pray, He still wants to do for us in the present as if learning this art ever anew from the moment. It is important to remember lips of the Divine Master Himself, like that God didn’t just speak hundreds of the first disciples” (NMI, 32). years ago, but He continues to speak to After we make the decision to enter each of us even today. into this friendship with God, a great Often it is easy for us to get so caught struggle for us becomes actually making up in our own lives that we forget about the time to pray. Frequently we can our rich heritage of faith. It is easy for find things that keep us occupied or we us to forget about where we have come procrastinate and never get around to from and where we are going. Reading prayer, even though our intentions for the Bible makes us aware of how God wanting to do so may be good. Making acts in the lives of those who enter into time for prayer is something that each of a relationship with Him. Reading the us must confront in our individual lives. Bible makes us aware that God is not Each day many things will occupy just some fictional character but that He our time: school, work and sports, is real and wants to speak to each of us! spending time hanging out with family In addition to reading the Bible, and friends, as well as texting, or reading about the lives of the saints is spending time on the Internet. Our Lord a great way for us to be formed in our wants us to spend time with Him too. faith. The biographies of saints such This doesn’t have to be hours spent on as St. Therese of Liseux (“Story of a our knees in the Church, though that is Soul”) or St. Augustine (“Confessions”) clearly a great place to pray. For most of are great ways for us to become us, we will need to start with something accustomed to how God can work in small, maybe saying prayers in the the everyday lives of ordinary people morning or before we go to bed. As we like ourselves. get into the routine of prayer we can Prayer is obviously a fundamental begin to increase the time, maybe up to and necessary element of establishing a 15 or 20 minutes a day. friendship with Jesus Christ and also of After we get past the first hurdle of discerning one’s vocation. actually making time for prayer, the next Father Mello is a parochial vicar at challenge is actually finding the words St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

June 1, 2012

7

The Anchor

Bishops say HHS lawsuits represent broad Catholic interest

Washington D.C. (CNA) — Bishops nationwide have voiced support for a wave of recent lawsuits against the federal contraception mandate, explaining that the dioceses that did not take legal action are represented by those that did.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta explained that the lawsuits “represent a concerted effort to exemplify the broad spectrum of Catholic institutions that are directly impacted by the HHS mandate.”

He said that while many other Catholic organizations “would certainly seek to join this legal action,” the most important actions are prayer and support for initiatives to protect religious liberty.

In a recent statement, Archbishop Gregory emphasized his full support for several recent lawsuits challenging the Obama Administration’s contraception mandate.

Forty-three Catholic dioceses and organizations across the country announced legal action against the federal government on May 21.

The lawsuits, which are being has been made as of this date.” of lawsuits, its interests are being filed in 12 dozen different jurisNow, he said, the bishops represented by the dioceses that dictions across the country, chal- must turn to the court “to pro- are filing the suits. lenge a federal regulation that tect our valuable ministries and Archbishop Gregory has writwill require employers to offer fundamental right to practice re- ten a letter that will be read at all health insurance plans covering ligion without government inter- Masses next weekend “to show contraception, sterilization and ference.” that we are in support” of the leabortion-inducing drugs, even Known for his work in the gal action taken by several dioif doing so violates their con- African American community ceses across the country, she told sciences.

CNA. ow, he said, the bishops must turn Bishops from evChivers explained ery diocese in the that Jones Day, the to the court “to protect our valuable U.S. have spoken law firm that is filing ministries and fundamental right to practice the lawsuits, has an out against the mandate, warning that religion without government interference.” office in Atlanta, and it poses a serious the archdiocese has threat to religious therefore been “part liberty and could force Catholic and for the critical leadership he of the legal strategy” behind the schools, hospitals and charitable provided in developing the Char- effort. organizations to shut down. ter for the Protection of Children The goal was not to have evThe Archdiocese of Atlanta and Young People, Archbishop ery diocese in the U.S. file a lawis not one of the plaintiffs in Gregory served as the president suit, she said. Rather, the diocesthe new lawsuits, but Archbish- of the U.S. Conference of Catho- es that did file them offer a broad op Gregory made it clear that lic Bishops from 2001 to 2004. and diverse representation of the he supported the efforts of his As the archbishop of Atlanta, concerns, situations and interests brother bishops. he will be hosting the bishops’ of dioceses across the country.

A member of the religious upcoming Spring General AsBishop George V. Murry of freedom committee for the U.S. sembly in June.

Youngstown, Ohio agreed.

Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pat Chivers, communications “The particular plaintiffs in he explained that the conference director for the Archdiocese of this lawsuit were chosen by le“has tried negotiation with the Atlanta, explained that while the gal counsel at the United States administration and legislation archdiocese is not being legally Conference of Catholic Bishwith the Congress. No resolution represented in the newest wave ops,” he explained. “They are

N

representative of dioceses and Catholic institutions across the nation.”

Bishop Murry explained that his diocese “unambiguously supports” the legal action to defend religious freedom, which “is a cornerstone of basic human rights and is necessary for the flourishing of a just society.”

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati echoed his remarks. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has not filed a lawsuit, but it is unnecessary “for every diocese to join the suits in order for them to be effective,” he said.

“The various plaintiffs reflect a broad cross-section of Catholic institutions, and together they represent the wide variety of issues, impacts, economic consequences, and divergent facts that exist among Catholic organizations nationwide,” Archbishop Schnurr observed.

He voiced support for the recently-announced lawsuits, saying that litigation has become “the only way left to fight for our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion.”

New organization mobilizes lay Catholics for public square

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — As concerns over threats to religious liberty continue to mount, a growing Catholic organization aims to help lay men and women take action to protect conscience rights and religious freedom.

Maureen Ferguson, senior policy adviser for the newlylaunched Catholic Association, said the group serves as both “a voice for Catholics in the public square” and a way to educate Catholics on important issues.

Ferguson told CNA that the association is currently focused on the defense of conscience rights, which she believes are currently facing serious threats in America.

Chief among those threats is a federal mandate issued by the Obama Administration to force employers to offer health insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-causing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.

The mandate has been widely criticized by individuals and groups across the U.S., including bishops from every diocese in the country, who warned that it threatens religious freedom and could force Catholic hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to

shut down.

Ferguson cautioned that the mandate will affect all Americans because the Church is the biggest non-government provider of education, health care and social services.

In discussing the mandate, the U.S. bishops “have repeatedly called on lay Catholics to step up to the plate” and work to defend freedom of conscience, she said.

The Catholic Association is trying to respond to bishops’ call by helping the lay faithful to speak out and act in support of religious liberty.

The organization is currently “preparing a campaign” to support the “Fortnight for Freedom” called for by the U.S. bishops from June 21 to July 4 in response to the current threats to religious liberty.

Dioceses across the country will launch initiatives aimed at prayer, education and public action for religious freedom during the fortnight.

Ferguson explained that The Catholic Association will be reaching out through television and Internet efforts, as well as a social media campaign, to mobilize Catholics throughout the two-week period.

The campaign will ask the faithful to perform one simple act per day. These acts may include writing to their Congres-

sional representative, sharing the importance of the cause with a friend or praying to St. Thomas More, the patron of religious freedom.

“This is not a conservative or a liberal organization,” said Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow for the association.

She explained that the organization is about reaching Catholics “in all walks of life,” encouraging “grassroots action” and emphasizing the “increasing need” for the lay faithful to take up their right-

ful place with the clergy in defending the most basic American freedoms.

McGuire pointed to a recent survey by D.C.-based public opinion firm QEV Analytics, which found that about half of Church-attending Catholics recall hearing a statement at Mass about the contraception mandate.

The majority of these people agreed with the bishops’ objections to the mandate and its coercion of religious organizations and individuals, she

said.

Recent polls show President Barack Obama losing support among Catholics, a voting group that he won in the 2008 election.

McGuire sees this as a sign that Catholics are realizing that his policies threaten their fundamental rights.

As people continue to see the danger of the mentality behind the mandate, they will continue “rejecting this attack on religious freedom,” she said.

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8

T

oday we’re celebrating the feast that commemorates the greatest of all mysteries within Christianity, the Most Holy Trinity. This feast always brings up the question “How do you explain the Holy Trinity?” Most of us could probably come up with the traditional formulation “The Trinity is One God, three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” if asked. OK, so we understand that, but what does that really mean? How do you explain what the formula really means and Who God is?

This is a question that has challenged some of the greatest philosophers and theologians throughout the history of Christianity. Some of the greatest minds have dwelt long and hard on this issue.

St. Thomas Aquinas dedicated a large chunk of the “Summa Theologiae,” his master work, on the questions that surround the Trinity. Many people are familiar with St. Patrick’s use of the three-leaf clover to demonstrate the relationship between the Trinity.

While these images and

June 1, 2012

The Anchor

We belong to the Holy Trinity

reflections on the Trinity are to belong. When people move attempts to help us to betinto a town you would hear ter grasp this great mystery, them say that the people made we still have to come to the them feel welcome or you realization that many of us are might hear them say that they no closer to understanding the joined their local parish to feel Trinity than we were when Jesus commanded His disciples to Homily of the Week baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Holy Trinity Son, and of the Holy Sunday Spirit” (Mt 28:19)

By Deacon The “Catechism of the John W. Foley Catholic Church” tells us that “the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of like they belonged and didn’t Christian faith and life. It is feel like outsiders. No one the mystery of God in Himwants to feel like an outsider. self” (CCC 234).

We all want to belong. Above What the Holy Trinity does all we want and need to belong show us is strength and faith to our family. When we grow in numbers. No one wants up in a happy family we are to go it alone. We all like to well set up for life. If the fambelong. We like to belong to a ily environment is less than family, to a parish, to a comhappy it may leave a scar but munity. No one is an island those scars can be healed. and we need the love, support Jesus taught us about His and friendship of others in our Father. He called His Father, family and community. Not “Abba” (Mk 14:36). In the only do we like to belong, we language at the time of Jesus, need to belong. It is not good that means, “Daddy.” His to be alone. It is for our good Father is our Heavenly Father

as well. In the second reading today, (Rom 8:14-17) Paul also refers to the Father as Abba.

Jesus also taught us about the Holy Spirit. He called the Holy Spirit the Counselor or Paraclete (Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7); in other words the Holy Spirit is interceding or mediating for us. The Holy Spirit is for us. In the second reading today, (Rom 8:14-17) Paul said the Spirit we received is not a spirit of slavery but a Spirit assuring us that we are sons and daughters of God. It is a Spirit that makes us call our Heavenly Father, “Abba.”

Because God’s family is such a happy family, God wants to share the happiness of that family with us. God invites us to belong and we enter God’s family when we are baptized. That is why in the Gospel we heard Jesus commanding that all be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). God wishes

that all belong to His family.

When we were baptized we became sons and daughters of God. That can roll off the tongue so easily, “sons and daughters of God,” but it would be good to stop to think about it. Imagine, you are sons and daughters of God! You were adopted as God’s son or daughter on the day you were baptized. We belong to God. Jesus is the Son of God, and you are also a son or daughter of God. What does that mean?

It means Jesus is your brother!

We belong. Imagine, since the day you were baptized Jesus is now your brother. His Father is also your Father, Abba. Since your Baptism you belong to the family of the Trinity. We do not think of each other often enough as sons and daughters of God, and as brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful reflection of the spiritual reality that we are in fact all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the one Father, Abba. We belong.

Deacon Foley serves at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. June 2, Jude ­­ 17,20b-25; Ps 63:2-6; Mk 11:27-33. Sun. June 3, Holy Trinity Sunday, Dt 4:32-34,39-40; Ps 33:4-6,9,18-20,22; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20. Mon. June 4, 2 Pt 1:2-7; Ps 91:1-2,14-16; Mk 12:1-12. Tues. June 5, 2 Pt 3:12-15a,17-18; Ps 90:2-4,10; Mk 12:13-17. Wed. June 6, 2 Tm 1:1-3,6-12; Ps 123:1-2; Mk 12:18-27. Thurs. June 7, 2 Tm 12:8-15; Ps 25:4-5,8-10,14; Mk 12:28-34. Fri. June 8, 2 Tm 3:10-17; Ps 119:157,160-161,165-166,168; Mk 12:35-37.

A

fter the April announcement that the Vatican was taking the Leadership Conference of Women Religious into a form of ecclesiastical receivership, appointing Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to oversee the LCWR until its statutes and program are reformed, Tom Fox, a major figure at the National Catholic Reporter for decades, had this to say: “Some of our bishops are acting like bullies, abusing the authority of their offices in the name of enforcing orthodoxy.

“Dealing with U.S. women religious, these bishops’ actions appear governed more by a desire to enforce obedience than to develop fidelity in our Sisters.

“What the bully bishops claim to be matters of ortho-

The Sisters: Two views

doxy are really matters of pashave most surprised another toral style. They are the results major Catholic literary figure, of an unwillingness among our Flannery O’Connor, about the bishops to enter into sincere post-conciliar Church she did and mutually respectful dialogue with the women. None of the issues at hand has anything to do with the Creed. They stem from the actions of a small group of misdirected

By George Weigel and fearful men determined to take ‘catholic’ out of ‘Catholic’ while judging, silencing and not live to see: demeaning those who stand in “I think probably the disunity, their way.” the near-sundering of the AmeriShortly after a corresponcan Church. I think she would dent sent me the link to this be horrified, and probably most rather intemperate comment, of all by the nuns, by what hapanother interlocutor passed pened to the Georgia nuns, to along an interview with the late the Louisiana nuns, and I guess Walker Percy, one of Amerito most of the others. They can Catholicism’s greatest completely fell apart. They were 20th-century literary talents. seduced, not by feminism — Percy was asked what would which the pope approves of, in the sense of the right of women not to be discriminated against — but by radical feminism.

Many of the nuns I know were completely seduced by it, to the point of rebelling against any sort of discipline. They began to mix up the magisterium with macho masculinism, as if the

The Catholic Difference

pope were Hemingway. I think that would horrify O’Connor more than anything.”

There’s not a whole lot of “common ground” to be found between these two readings of the post-conciliar history of women’s religious life in these United States. Either Tom Fox is right in his general view of the situation, or Walker Percy is right in his. Yet while Percy would almost certainly have agreed that there are many holy and devoted women doing great service to Church and society within the LCWR orders, Fox seems unlikely to make any such concession about the bishops who have, over three decades, raised concern about the spiritual life of those orders. If inflexibility and intellectual bullying are at work here, they’re far more prevalent on the port side of the Barque of Peter than on the starboard side.

There is also a question of demographics to be considered, in assessing these two views.

Ann Carey’s 1997 book, “Sisters in Crisis,” reported a hard fact, thoroughly supported by

the data: progressive orders of religious women don’t generate new vocations. LCWRaffiliated Sisters responded that their job was “not to grow but to be.” How one could “be” without new recruits was not explained — a reflection, perhaps, of the same cast of mind that led a recent LCWR annual assembly speaker to praise the “post-Christian” stance of some religious orders. In any case, there can be no denying that the “renewal” of women’s religious life led by the LCWR and its affiliated orders has utterly failed to attract new vocations.

The LCWR orders are dying, while several religious orders that disaffiliated from the LCWR are growing.

And this is the question that neither the LCWR nor its defenders, like Tom Fox, ever engage: If what you’ve been doing for about 40 years is so right, why do young women not find it attractive?

Walker Percy and Flannery O’Connor, however, would understand.

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

June 1, 2012

The merry, merry month of May

Friday 1 June 2012 — at The massive old maples the church on Three Mile Riv- keep sentinel on the north and er — Great Outdoors Month, west side of the house. Some by presidential proclamation. of their limbs are as big as n comes June. I reflect the trunks of ordinary maples. nostalgically on the These ancient trees are showmonth now past. May is such a fine, soft month in New England. It is a gentle Reflections of a time of transition.

Parish Priest Summer comes not suddenly but subtly.

By Father Tim I first notice May Goldrick in the maple trees surrounding the rectory property. Some were planted purposely, ing their age. Over the years, perhaps a hundred years ago, they have been damaged by in just the right spot to suit countless storms. I notice the eye of the gardener. Other the deadwood and the way trees on the property, howevthe trees have grown helterer, decided more recently and skelter all these years for lack of their own volition where of the guidance of an expert they would grow. arborist.

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The Ship’s Log

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Prayer is all

commands, by sharing books ow many times have and other resources, and we met with dear through prayer. Most of us friends who are distraught have worked hard to find just about a family member, the right books, to expose perhaps a child who has left the person to just the right the faith or a family crisis testimony, or have struggled hinging on poor decisions? with just the right argument After looking at the details, that will clinch the case — exploring the possible often to no avail. It can be harms, and coming to mystifying! grips with what is at stake, Sometimes, we will realize the conversation usually ends with a single comment: “Ah well, all we can do is pray.”

I’ve said it myself, and heard it repeatedly — usually accompanied by a deep sigh of resignation, indicating

By Genevieve Kineke both faith and a sense of helplessness.

Although there is that we’ve pressed too hard, never any harm meant by this jeopardizing the relationship line, I think we have to look or making others fret over our at it more carefully to see singularity of purpose. It’s not what we really mean when that we don’t value harmony we say it. Over the years, I in the wider circle, but that we admit that my approach to prioritize souls and know the it has been purified — in risk — here and beyond — of principle because I have living as though God doesn’t been gratified to see the exist. We want everyone to power of prayer and the know the tranquility of soul sheer ineffectiveness of that derives from God’s good operating without it. The order. key to understanding prayer I think we’ve all been is knowing how it is linked astonished to hear of the great to our mundane actions, and effects in the lives of others how grace will enlighten when they heard a moving those for whom we intercede. sermon, read a particular If you take the case of a book, or encountered just loved one who lacks faith, the right prayer card, but it is entirely fitting that the we must remember that the Christian — who knows God life-changing moment was and His desire to be known the culmination of mountains — try to show that God of prayer and sacrifice — exists. This can be done in linked inextricably to the a number of ways: personal salvific work of Jesus Christ witness, showing how at Calvary. He did the work; natural law fits with Divine

The Feminine Genius

As the sun rises on a bright morning in May, the first thing I see when I open my eyes are the wildling maples growing in the vacant lot bordering the backyard. I am told that there was once a rickety old grain store in that lot, but it has since moved to a newer building nearby. It was handily located next to the railroad tracks, but they too have fallen into disuse. This section of Dighton was once considered a farming community. I imagine the wagons of the farmers in the neighborhood coming and going in the olden days. Today, for the most part, the family farms and strawberry fields are no longer active.

He offered the only thing of merit.

Remember also, that the one preaching the sermon, the one writing the book, and the one who published the prayer were all inspired by the same Spirit — which was unleashed through prayer and sacrifice. It was Christ’s priestly prayer and the spilling of His Blood that brought about the Pentecost that we have remembered once again in our liturgical year.

We should never feel as though we’re reduced to prayer, for we begin with prayer — and persevere in prayer, which should guide our actions.

It’s not our last resort but our launching point. Many a good argument has passed over deaf ears, just as many have seen miracles without distinguishing the hand of God. Comprehension takes grace — ours did, those evangelizing today are there because of their transformation in grace, and the conversions we so ardently seek will accrue from grace as well.

We need to be careful about this phrase then, as we sigh over “all we can do.” The word “all” is key — since anything that flows from it is entirely secondary.

Ultimately, prayer is all.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books) and can be found online at feminine-genius.com.

Every May morning, the maple trees appear slightly different. They begin with tiny leaf-buds colored a shade of yellow. After a few days of warm sun, the emerging leaves are larger and have turned chartreuse in color.

Then they grow still larger and turn a darker green. You begin to see the distinctive shape of the maple leaf. If you pay close attention, by the end of May you are looking out your window at a maple tree in full leaf. The trees tell me that summer is coming. For those who have eyes to see, summer does not drop unannounced from the sky.

I enjoy looking out the window. I am not a big fan of these heavy, dark curtains which, since Victorian times, have kept the sunshine from steaming into our parlors. I crave all the sunshine I can get, even indoors. I prefer bare windows, with perhaps a pull shade for privacy when necessary. More than one visitor to the rectory has remarked in astonishment, “But Father, you have no curtains!”

I smile politely.

During May, I watched out my window as the growing things came back to life.

Last summer, I planted most of them with my own hands.

They seem to have fared well during the winter, except perhaps the topiary juniper in the green-glazed planter marking the side entrance. I planted ornamental trees and shrubs because I like to see something when I look out the window.

The first plants to stir from their winter hibernation were the herbs in the raised beds by the door. At this time of year, the herbs are thriving. So are the weeds. I enjoy herbs and they are certainly easy

to grow. Many of them are aromatic. They haven’t had their natural qualities hybridized out of them like so many modern plant varieties. Herbs are strong and vigorous and not much bothered by insect pests. Many herbs come complete with ancient legends. I appreciate the stories herbs tell. Often they have religious connotations.

My late friend Adele Grenier Simmons first alerted me to the centuries-old stories of herbs. Mrs. Simmons wrote more than 30 books and pamphlets on the subject. She owned and operated “Caprilands,” formerly an herb farm in Coventry, Conn.

After a tour of her various theme gardens and a seasonal lecture by Mrs. Simmons, her guests were invited into her old farmhouse for lunch.

The lunch, of course, featured dishes prepared with herbs.

For the sake of finicky eaters, Mrs. Simmons would not inform you what was actually in the meal you were eating until after you had enjoyed it.

Otherwise, some would never know the joy of eating dandelion greens or pansy flowers.

I once sat at Mrs. Simmons’ table with a man who was anything but a picky eater.

He had been an army survival specialist alongside none other than Eule Gibbons. The man would eat just about anything, which I didn’t mind at all until he ate the cat-o-nine tails in Mrs. Simmons’ table centerpiece. These days, with all our eating places required to post food allergy warnings, none of this would be legal.

May, as it turned out, was a merry, merry month. In comes June.

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

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June 1, 2012

Parish handyman is always at the ready to help

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

SOMERSET — When Father Raul M. Lagoa, the longtime pastor of St. John of God Parish unexpectedly died in February, it stunned all of the parishioners at the closeknit Somerset parish.

But one person who took Father Lagoa’s death particularly hard was maintenance man and sexton John Sequeira.

“It was hard for me, because I used to go out with him every Saturday night,” Sequeira said. “He had family in New Bedford and Florida, but he was a member of my family, too.”

Sequeira had seen Father Lagoa the night before his death and he didn’t notice any indication that the priest might be sick or dying.

Although he was mourning his pastor but also a close friend, Sequeira made sure to honor Father Lagoa by taking in and adopting the seven-year-old Shi Tzu he left behind.

“I have his dog now, her name is SueLin,” Sequeira said. “I’ve been taking care of her since she was a puppy anyway.”

Indeed, Sequeira has spent the majority of his life at St. John of God Parish, since joining it when he first moved to Somerset in 1968.

“I wanted to join a Portuguese parish and even though this parish serves all nationalities, they keep up with the Portuguese traditions, like the annual feast,” he said. “In 1969 when Father Bento Fraga became the pastor here, he was the first one to ask me to help with the feast when we used to have it across the street.”

That initial invitation to help out has led to years of volunteer work at his beloved par-

ish, doing tasks as part of his official job and thing — help set up for Masses, clean the countless others during his “off hours.” church, shovel snow in the winter,” he said.

Sequeira soon found himself working “I do whatever Father needs. I’m pretty much part-time as sexton and maintenance man here for all the Masses. Then if we have fufor the parish under the pastorship of Father nerals or weddings, I’m here for them, too.”

Daniel Freitas, but it was when Father Lagoa

While most people are content to was first appointed pastor in 1996 that he be- sit back and enjoy their retirement years, Secame even more involved. queira wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I used to help out a bit when Father

“I don’t belong to any parish orgaFreitas was here, nizations — as far as but I was still workI’m concerned, I being then,” Sequeira long to all of them, said. “I retired when because I help them I was 62 — that was all,” he said. “Any13 years ago — and thing they need, I’m Father Lagoa asked there. I also help if I would help out open the collection around the rectory envelopes in the and church. I’ve rectory every other been here everyday week.” since. The day after Sequeira’s volI retired I started unteer efforts also working here … extend to helping and I’m still waiting with the parish’s anfor a vacation.” nual lawn party, asAlthough he sisting with collectworks as the parish ing for the Catholic maintenance man Charities Appeal, five days a week, and doing cleanup from 7 a.m. to 1 and setup work for p.m., Sequeira does the upcoming Holy plenty of volunteer Ghost Feast later this work for the parish month. outside those hours “It’s a very busy — including most parish with a lot of weekends. people and a lot of “On Saturday Anchor Person of the week organizations,” he — John Sequeira. (Photo by Kenneth and Sunday, I do a said. “But we all J. Souza) little bit of everycome together for the feast and annual lawn party to work in the kitchen, in the outdoor booths, whatever needs to be done. With the Holy Ghost Feast, I help the committee set up and clean.”

Having retired 13 years ago, Sequeira shows no sign of slowing down, either.

“I think that’s what keeps me going,” said Sequeira, who turns 75 in August.

Sequeira also credits his co-worker, Carlos, with being his “back-up” whenever needed. Both men are also responsible for taking care of the church and rectory grounds, including the elaborate landscaping outside.

“Carlos usually beats me into work every morning,” he said. “He opens up, but I usually close everything at night.”

Saying he feels humbled to have been singled out as a Person of the Week, Sequeira noted there have been many others who came before him who deserve the same recognition for their efforts.

“I owe a lot to the people I replaced,” he said. “Some have moved away, others have died, but I learned a lot from them. We’ve

been trying to get new people to take over, but so far it hasn’t been working.”

Even though he said there are many good people in the parish, Sequeira agreed it’s difficult to get younger people involved in the Church.

“They’ve got their games and the Internet to keep them busy,” he said. “They’ve got other things to do. But I hope we can get some younger people to take over.”

Father Jeffrey Cabral, who was appointed to serve as parochial administrator for the parish when Father Lagoa passed away, said Sequeira was invaluable to him when he first arrived.

“John is a very hard worker and a very active parishioner,” Father Cabral said. “He was very humble to me when I first came to the parish as the administrator. The parish was deeply grieving and in turmoil and John, not only as a parishioner but also as the maintenance guy, really showed me around and took me under his wing when I first arrived.

He loves his parish, he loves the people, and he loves his Church. He’s very deserving of this recognition.”

“When Father Cabral was assigned here he didn’t have anyone to get feedback from, so we helped him out as much as we could,” Sequeira said. “I told him whatever he needed to just ask. Father Cabral has been a blessing for us. He really adjusted to the situation and helped us during a difficult time.”

It’s clear that the work he does at St. John of God isn’t about money or filling his spare time, rather it’s about service to God and others.

“I’ve been a Catholic all my life and I love this church,” Sequeira said. “I was here when they built it (in 1978).”

Sequeira noted he’s always had a deep devotion to St. Jude, and he’s made it a point to attend the Tuesday night St. Jude Novenas every week since Father Lagoa began them years ago.

“I’ve been going to that faithfully every week; I have a great devotion to St. Jude,” he said. “Sometimes when you get a little discouraged, it’s your faith that keeps you going.”

Among Sequeira’s many duties this week, he’ll be preparing for the funeral of yet another pastor and friend who recently passed away: Father Daniel Freitas.

“Like they say, death comes in threes,” Sequeira said. “First Father Lagoa passed away this year, then Father Bento Fraga, and now Father Daniel Freitas. All three were pastors here and I miss them dearly.”

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

LET FREEDOM RING — Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia plays General Gorostieta in “For Greater Glory,” which opens nationwide today. Garcia transforms a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force to be reckoned with during Mexico’s Cristero War in the film. (Photo courtesy of ARC Entertainment)

Faith and religious freedom prevail in mesmerizing ‘For Greater Glory’

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

BOSTON — There’s a key moment near the beginning of “For Greater Glory,” the compelling new feature film opening today about the long-hidden Cristero War waged between devoted Catholics — known as “Cristeros,” or “soldiers for Christ” — and the Mexican government in the late 1920s, when the soon-tobe-recruited General Gorostieta (Andy Garcia) is turned away from attending Mass at his local church.

A retired military man who doesn’t want to make waves and someone who lacks the faith and conviction of his loving wife Tulita (Eva Longoria), Gorostieta dismisses it as just a temporary setback. At that point he believes the Mexican government will never be able to completely stop the people from practicing their faith.

By the end of the film, however, Gorostieta will undergo a complete change of heart, risking everything — including his own life — to lead the Cristeros against the Mexican army to protect the religious freedom of his family and countrymen.

With religious freedom again being challenged here in the United States nearly a century later given the Obama Administration’s proposed HHS mandate, the release of “For Greater Glory” couldn’t have been better timed.

Written by Michael Love and helmed by first-time director Dean Wright (who previously worked on the special effects for such blockbusters as “Titanic,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Chronicles of

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June 1, 2012

Narnia”), “For Greater Glory” is a sweeping epic that effectively captures the passion and perseverance of a small but devoted group of Mexican Catholics willing to risk it all to protect their God-given religious rights.

Fearing the mere presence of the Catholic Church would undermine his own authority, newly-elected Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles (Ruben Blades), a ruthless atheist, began enforcing the anti-clerical provisions of the 1917 Mexican Constitution shortly after his 1924 election, which initially led to the removal and deportation of many Roman Catholic priests.

When priests and parishioners alike began to balk, Calles took more stringent steps including the public torture and execution of any priest who disobeyed his orders.

While there was a peaceful period of resistance, a group of rag-tag rebels soon began fighting back against Mexican forces in 1927, branding themselves the Cristeros and fighting in the name of “Cristo Rey,” or Christ the King. Their battle cry was a resounding: “Viva Cristo Rey!” — “Long live Christ the King!”

Lacking the organizational or strategic skills of the well-trained Mexican army, however, the supporters of the Cristeros rebellion decided to recruit an experienced leader to help rally the troops.

Enter General Gorostieta, a man with questionable faith but with a steely determination to make sure religious freedom is preserved for future generations.

General Gorostieta ends up being inspired and motivated in his convictions through an unlikely source — a diligent and

devoted young man named José Luis Sánches del Rio (remarkable newcomer Mauricio Kuri) — who decides to join the Cristeros after witnessing the brutal murder of his beloved parish priest, Father Christopher (the great Peter O’Toole), early in the film.

What’s interesting to note is how Gorostieta and del Rio seem to be on parallel trajectories from dismissive disbelievers to faithful followers as the film progresses.

In the opening scenes, del Rio and his pal take great glee in ridiculing and mocking Father Christopher by throwing food at him and scurrying away. The patient priest responds by taking del Rio under his wing, first employing him to sweep the floors and clean the church, then offering to train him to become an altar boy.

Likewise, Gorostieta struggles with even agreeing to help the Cristeros at first, admitting he has his own problems with the Church. But through the urging of his wife and the inspiration of people like del Rio and a guntoting renegade priest named Father Vega (Santiago Cabrera), who has joined the Cristeros rebellion, Gorostieta eventually comes around.

The more time Gorostieta spends with the Cristeros, the more he becomes the resistance’s most inspiring and selfsacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his fellow Mexicans. He faces impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government, but it’s those he meets on the journey — youthful idealists, feisty renegades and, most of all, a remarkable teen-ager named

José — who reveal to him how courage and belief are forged even when justice seems lost.

With the Roman Catholic Church in disarray and without any formal support or comment from the Vatican, the Cristeros War raged on for almost two years in Mexico, leaving many martyrs in its wake. In an effort to appease President Calles, the U.S. government at one point even agreed to provide him with heavy-duty artillery — including several bomber planes — in exchange for oil drilling concessions in Mexico.

Blood for oil, indeed.

Garcia, in one of his finest roles since “When A Man Loves A Woman,” doesn’t stoop to the easy affectations that might make General Gorostieta a stereotype; instead, he makes him a likeable and somewhat conflicted man, hoping to do right by his family and do what’s ethically and morally correct in the eyes of his men. He has a subtle conversion by the film’s end that is both credible and appropriate, given all he’s gone through before.

Newcomer Mauricio Kuri is endlessly charming and appealing as del Rio, even when he’s harassing Father Christopher, and he rightfully deserves to become a breakout young star as a result of this film.

Despite limited screen time, O’Toole and Longoria also turn in solid performances as Father Christopher and Tulita, respectively; and Catalina Sandino Moreno taps into the innate vul-

nerability she used in the Oscarnominated “Maria Full of Grace” to get across the same level of angst and fear as Adriana, a woman supporting the Cristeros by serving as a would-be spy and ammunition courier for the effort.

While it certainly makes for a compelling drama — and “For Greater Glory” is nothing if not a briskly-paced actioner that never drags, even at a nearly two-anda-half-hour running time — the heart of the movie remains the unsung heroes and martyrs who put their lives on the line for their faith.

The film has already received ringing endorsements from Church officials like Cardinal Séan P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., Archbishop of Boston, who noted: “This was a very tragic time in the history of the Church in Mexico. Thousands were killed during the persecutions, and many places were left completely without priests ... I wholeheartedly recommend ‘For Greater Glory,’” and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who called the film “stunning” and encouraged all Catholics to see it via his blog.

Meticulously crafted and lovingly produced, “For Greater Glory” is a rare find among the countless films being dumped into movie theaters this summer — it’s a moving and truthful portrait of real-life heroes who don’t have to hide behind masks or spandex costumes to prove their bravery.

HIGH PRAISE — Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., Archbishop of Boston, with producer Pablo José Barroso at the New York premiere of “For Greater Glory,” the new feature film released nationwide today that tells the amazing true story of the Mexican Cristero War in which many Catholics were martyred for their faith in the 1920s. Cardinal O’Malley wholeheartedly recommended seeing this important film about religious freedom. (Photo courtesy of ARC Entertainment)

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June 1, 2012

The Anchor

Vatican says publication of ‘VatiLeaks’ letters is ‘criminal act’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Italian television journalist who set off the “VatiLeaks” controversy by releasing private letters to Pope Benedict XVI and between Vatican officials has published a large collection of leaked documents in a new book called “Your Holiness.”

In a recent statement, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, called the publication of the letters for commercial gain a “criminal act” and said the Vatican would take legal action.

“The latest publication of documents of the Holy See and private documents of the Holy Father can no longer be considered a questionable — and objectively defamatory — journalistic initiative, but clearly assumes the character of a criminal act,” Father Lombardi said.

The spokesman said the publication of the letters violates the right to privacy and the “freedom of correspondence” of Pope Benedict, the letter writers and some of the pope’s closest collaborators.

In the letters, which include accusations of corruption and financial mismanagement in the Vatican, and focus heavily on internal Italian Church matters or VaticanItalian relations, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, is particularly presented in an unfavorable light.

In late April, Pope Benedict appointed three retired cardinals to a commission to investigate the leaking of the letters.

Father Lombardi said, “The Holy See will continue to explore the different implications of these acts of violation of the privacy and dignity of the Holy Father — as a person and as the supreme authority of the Church and Vatican City State — and will take appropriate steps so that the authors of the theft, those who received stolen property and those who disclosed confidential information, using illegally ob-

tained private documents for commercial use, answer for their acts before the law.”

Nuzzi’s book was published May 17 and immediately went to the No. 1 spot on the Italian bestselling books lists.

Facsimiles of dozens of letters and notes are printed in the back of the book. But more than 100 others are quoted — in part or entirely — within the book’s chapters focusing on “corruption” in the Vatican, making donations in exchange for a personal meeting with the pope, Vatican-Italian relations, the thirst for power among curia officials, the influence of new religious orders and movements and the way Church officials handle a variety of scandals around the globe.

The reproductions include a note from an Italian television host to the pope’s personal secretary and a copy of a check for 10,000 euro (about $12,650) with a handwritten postscript saying, “When can we have a meeting to greet the Holy Father?”

The book includes what Nuzzi says is the Vatican’s decryption of a message from the Vatican nunciature in Washington passing on a request from Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George that the Secretariat of State intervene to prevent the Rome-based Community of Sant’Egidio from giving an award to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

Sant’Egidio, a lay movement involved in a variety of social issues, apparently planned to honor Quinn for abolishing the death penalty in Illinois.

The nunciature said that while Quinn is Catholic, the cardinal felt the honor was “inopportune” because of the governor’s support for gay marriage and legalized abortion and because Illinois refused to renew foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities in four dioceses.

Our Lady’s Monthly Message From Medjugorje May 25, 2012

Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina “Dear children! Also today I call you to conversion and to holiness. God desires to give you joy and peace through prayer but you, little children, are still far away — attached to the earth and to earthly things.

Therefore, I call you anew: open your heart and your sight towards God and the things of God — and joy and peace will come to reign in your hearts.

“Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Spiritual Life Center of Marian Community One Marian Way Medway, MA 02053 • Tel. 508-533-5377 Paid advertisement

back in black — Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star in a scene from the movie “Men in Black 3.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Columbia)

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

“Men in Black 3” (Columbia) Moderately fun, but ultimately forgettable third round for the well-established secret alien crime-fighting duo of Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones). In this outing, J wakes up in an alternate timeline to find that an extraterrestrial villain (Jemaine Clement) has killed K off, and begun the enslavement of humanity. So J must set the clock back — all the way to 1969 — and dissuade a younger version of K, played by Josh Brolin, from pursuing the course that would eventually lead him to his doom.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld delivers a slightly tired retread of the comedy franchise, the premise for which derives from Lowell Cunningham’s comic book “The Men in Black.” And screenwriter Etan Cohen’s dialogue makes wholly unnecessary forages into vulgar language and profanity, putting this beyond the pale for younger audiences. Frequent action violence, at least two instances of profanity, occasional crude and crass 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.

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (Fox Searchlight)

A gaggle of British retirees heads to India in search of enlightenment and excitement in this adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s 2004 novel “These Foolish Things,” directed by John Madden. An ensemble of stock characters are present: the sympathetic widow (Judi Dench); the unhappily married couple (Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy); two randy seniors (Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup); a gay man (Tom Wilkinson) searching for his childhood lover; and a meanspirited bigot (Maggie Smith) who needs a hip replacement.

They all live in a dilapidated hotel whose manager (Dev Patel)

brims with optimism. The film offers a mixed, and problematic, moral message about the twilight years, presenting them as a time for forgiveness and reconciliation, but also for cutting matrimonial ties and embracing hedonism. A benign view of premarital sex and homosexual acts, partial nudity, gruesome images of a corpse, some sexual innuendo, occasional rough language.

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is 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 3, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Edward A. Murphy, Chaplain of Morton Hospital in Taunton

June 1, 2012

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The Anchor

Procession is public witness to faith

Doctors, medical staffs pushing for sterilization, contraception

New Bedford celebration will take place on June 10 beginning at 2 p.m. at Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street.

The three-mile procession begins with Benediction at the chapel, then continues on to Our Lady of Purgatory, St. Lawrence, and St. John the Baptist churches before returning to Our Lady’s Chapel.

The procession, carrying a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament, includes hymn singing and praying the Rosary.

Children dressed as angels toss flowers along the route, and various diocesan organizations carry banners, all in a public display of their devotion to the Body of Christ.

The celebrant, under a canopy, holds the Eucharist devoutly at eye-level. He is the only person under the canopy, which protects the Blessed Sacrament literally and symbolically.

Candle-bearers and crossbearer flank the canopy. Clergy, religious, religious associations and the faithful reverently follow.

“The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life,” said Msgr. Gerard P. O’Connor, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet, one of the parishes that participate in the procession each year. “It’s extremely important that we are not afraid to publicly display our reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. It is our Lord and our God, and by taking part in the procession we show our reverence and we witness to that belief. Processions like this are quite common in Europe.”

“So many people in the community help out,” said Martha McCormack, a Franciscan Tertiary of the Immaculate and member of St. Joseph Parish in Fairhaven. “This year we have 35 florists in the Fall River/New Bedford area who are donating flowers to be used in the procession. And we have volunteers who drive vans for those who wish to participate but can’t actually walk in the procession.

They are driven to the different stations so they can pray with the walkers.”

Dennis Onofrey, a parishio-

for the sake of a contraceptive end.

Such violations are commonplace today. In the United States, an estimated 700,000 women undergo surgical tubal ligations each year.”

Gianna said many women are encouraged to get a Depo-Provera injection prior to being discharged to suppress ovulation for three months. During their follow-up postpartum visit, women are also often advised to have an IUD placed or an Implanon subdural hormone implanted.

“Other women have tubal ligations during Cesarean sections or a few days postpartum,” she said.

“Prior to this rotation, I had no idea how popular sterilization is, but I am pretty sure we are sterilizing the poor in this country, which is not far off from some of Hitler’s ideology.”

“When a woman ties her tubes to render any future sexual acts infertile, she is choosing to mutilate a key faculty of her own body because she and/or her husband do not wish to practice periodic abstinence to avoid a potentially dangerous pregnancy,” agreed Father Pacholczyk. “A tubal ligation under these circumstances would not, in fact, be for medical reasons, but instead, for reasons of marital convenience.

“We have a duty to respect the integrity and totality of our own bodies, and cutting healthy fallopian tubes in a woman’s body is never a morally defensible medical decision. One of the key errors in thinking that stands behind the decision for surgical sterilization is the belief that men and women should not really be expected to have control or dominion over their sexual drives and impulses.

So many today seem to have renounced the project of pursuing self-mastery within the domain of sexuality.”

Now finishing up her medical training, Gianna said she has been amazed at how often a doctor or member of the medical staff will suggest a woman take contraceptives without even questioning whether it aligns with her faith.

“All the women are asked about their religion, though this is primarily to identify Jehovah’s Witnesses who will refuse blood products,” she said. “Little regard is given to the Catholic or Christian faith, and I have never seen a medical provider actually ask the patient whether their Christian views were contrary to the recommended medical procedure (abortion) or treatment (contraception).”

Before going to medical school, Gianna said she thought her one obstacle to overcome was dealing with abortions.

“However, the most insidious practice that taints nearly every field in medicine is actually contraception, which in all honesty, is the slippery slope into abortion,” she said.

continued from page one

ner of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in New Bedford, is one of the many who assist each year.

“I arrive early to make sure we have the capes and the torches and the canopy and such,” he told The Anchor. He also works on traffic details during the procession.

Onofrey has a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, having captained an hour for the perpetual adoration that takes place at Our Lady’s Chapel. He has the 4 a.m. time period. He is also part of the “snow team,” that covers for those who can’t make their scheduled adoration time during periods of inclement weather. “I stay overnight when necessary,” he said.

He has been part of the perpetual adoration there for six years.

“I’m more at peace with myself since I’ve begun eucharistic adoration,” he said. “I have a greater appreciation for the sacrifice Jesus made for us and I offer it to save souls and to help those who need it.”

Onofrey said he has seen some remarkable things in the past processions. “One year we walked past a basketball court and I heard one of the boys there say ‘Those are Christians.’ I told them this was a procession with the Body of Christ, and it would be nice if they knelt when it came by. They did.”

He also mentioned that the number of participants grows each year.

Msgr. O’Connor told The Anchor that his parish enjoys attending the New Bedford procession. “We take all our altar boys and sacristans and families sign up to attend,” he said. “We have a busload that goes. We may have up to 100 people go this year, and some who don’t travel on the bus will meet us there.

They like to participate. It’s a beautiful thing.”

He encouraged all parishes to make an effort to attend the Corpus Christi procession. “The Friars of the Immaculate do it right, with reverence and majesty. This is a great witness to our beliefs and it tells others about it.”

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

continued from page one

While rotating through different specialties as part of her training, Gianna has witnessed this growing trend firsthand.

“The most obvious fields where contraception is part of the dogma of medical practice include pediatrics, family medicine, ob-gyn, and internal medicine,” she said. “In pediatrics, children as young as 11 years old have private audiences with their physician, and they obtain contraceptives and referrals for abortions without their parents’ knowledge. In fact, in the state where I live, physicians are legally obliged to not inform parents that their children are sexually active, seeking contraceptives and getting abortions. STDs are so rampant here that condoms are handed out like free candy.”

What’s more disconcerting is this is already happening even though the new Health and Human Services mandate hasn’t yet come into play.

According to an article in The Weekly Standard last month, the proposed HHS mandate will force almost all employer-provided health care plans — including those purchased by employers and employees who object on moral or religious grounds — to pay for abortifacients, contraception, and sterilizations by this August; and it will force religious institutions such as charities, universities, and hospitals to provide these services

by August 2013.

When the Obama Administration announced the rule earlier this year, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.”

“How does one balance faith with the mandates of medical practice?” Gianna said. “Quite frankly, in most fields, one cannot find a balance. For people who were trained in the era before contraception had become so rampant, there is not so much of a challenge as these folks are largely established and in private practice.

“But for those of us who are in training, the real challenge becomes finding safe programs for a Catholic, Natural Family Planningonly physician to train. There is a small handful of such programs, and even in those programs, it only means there happen to be a few older NFP-only physicians at that institution.”

Gianna said she often has to follow orders — even if they go against her own beliefs — or risk jeopardizing her career.

“You do what you are told, or you are let go,” she said.

Admitting that contraception is “not going anywhere soon,” Gianna said it is something that has been worked into the fabric of modern medicine.

“While people might under-

stand that some people find abortion uncomfortable, nobody understands why you will not prescribe the pill, which is largely touted as the preventative health measure of the century,” she said. “After all, doesn’t it decrease a woman’s risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer, not to mention unwanted pregnancy and birth defects? If a person does not prescribe the pill, she is cast as someone who is ‘endangering women’ or, even worse, violating ‘women’s rights.’”

Father Pacholczyk added that even when there may be legitimate reasons to avoid a pregnancy — such as a serious threat to the life of mother or child — married couples should practice self-discipline by using only those means of avoiding pregnancy that properly respect the gift of their sexuality and their respective masculinity and femininity.

“Practically speaking, this will entail choosing periodic abstinence during the known fertile times of the woman’s cycle as a means of avoiding a pregnancy,” he said.

“Respecting marital sexuality in this way, and refusing to compromise our sexual faculties through tubal ligations, promotes important personal virtues within marriage and properly respects the God-given and life-giving designs of our own bodies.”

Gianna said many doctors are not sensitive to the issues of faith because they have no faith of their own, or worse, they are so liberal they cannot understand why a woman would be so faithful to the Catholic Church.

“In general, if the physician is liberal, he or she does not want to remind patients of their religious rights to not have abortions or to not choose contraception or sterilization,” she said. “After all, such a physician thinks the Catholic Church is wrong and that medical institutions are right on these issues.”

Gianna continues to pray that the HHS mandate will be overturned and that God will call more faith-filled doctors to the profession.

“My other hope is that somehow, we will once again create Catholic hospitals and medical schools with residency training programs — and by Catholic I mean faithful to the magisterium, especially on these issues of life,” she said. “Unfortunately, trying to maneuver one’s way through the current very liberal system without compromising on issues of life — contraception, abortion — is virtually impossible. There is no balancing this; so one must choose the higher road and suffer the consequences, and in training one can try to choose a residency where contraception will not be part of one’s daily bread … like ophthalmology, radiology or neurosurgery.”

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Laying the groundwork for families continued from page one

meet with a sample pool of parents to engage in discussion.

“One of the first questions they ask the parents is, ‘What do you want for your child?’” said Medeiros. “Oddly enough, no one has ever asked them that, and that right away gets them to open up and talk. Then that leads right into what they want from the Church.”

The results of the National Study on Youth and Religion (NSYR) is shown during the parent session, displaying the results of a long-term study that shows the parents there is a high percentage of kids and teen-agers who want to talk about their faith, but don’t know how.

“When that piece was flashed on the screen, you heard mumblings from the parents,” said Medeiros, of the reaction of those attending the Worcester session.

Medeiros added that the overall consensus from the parents was they felt their children didn’t want to talk about or have anything to do with their faith.

The study done by NSYR and its results recognized “that parents are the primary catechists of the faith,” said Medeiros. “Unfortunately, most parents don’t have the tools to communicate their faith to their children or — for whatever reason — are lacking faith. Parishes are consistently looking at how to engage the parents.”

The second session, to be held on June 15, will have the full list of parish leaders, except parents, in attendance. The “Parish and School Leader In-Service” will offer additional tools and help identify the roles and relationships required to bring about the change that is necessary to strengthen the Catholic faith within the family.

“It’s a new vision, some might say an old vision — it’s looking at parents through new lenses. It’s really the roles in the relationship between the parish and the parents, and how to engage more and what the needs are,” explained Medeiros. “It allows for an opportunity for leaders, who don’t normally come together, to figure out how to work with parents, and seeing parents as being on the same side, addressing their individual needs.”

The third session is strictly for the 23 facilitators who were chosen from all five deaneries with the idea of eventually having all the directors of Religious Education being trained as facilitators, said Medeiros.

Dr. Sean Reynolds, the director of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, will be bringing his more than 30 years of experience in the ministry to the sessions. He ran a similar program in his archdiocese, said Medeiros: “We are

blessed to have Sean as the facilitator. He will be very engaging and have a lot of insight.”

The methodology behind the initiative is to teach parish leaders how to engage parents, offer sample sessions on how to do that, and then have those leaders take what he or she has learned and apply that knowledge to a session attended by members of his or her own parish.

“The one thing about Strong Catholic Families is, yes, as a diocese we’re bringing it in, but it really isn’t a top-down initiative,” said Medeiros. “It really is grassroots from the parish. We’re providing the tools to use, but then the parish has to lay the groundwork.”

The groundwork includes parents filling out surveys after attending a session at their parish.

The surveys allow feedback from each parent, providing the parish insight into what parents want from their parish and what he or she feels the parish is doing and not doing to provide for the family’s Faith Formation.

“The goal is for the parish to look over the surveys and see what the greatest need is — what are parents looking for — and provide that. What we would do, as an office, is go in and offer help to assist the parish in what the parents are looking for,” said Medeiros. “Each parish will be different. The goal is, once we get through this training in June, we will go and replicate these meetings in the individual parishes. It will be an on-going piece so that each parish that calls us and wants to set the meeting up, will have those surveys.”

The most common desire parents have is to see their children be grounded in positive values stemming from a strong connection to his or her Catholic Faith, said McManus, but parents sometimes forget they play a role in helping shape their child’s faith.

“Even if you send them to the best Religious Education program, the kids who seem to have the strongest foundation came from families that supported what the parishes had been giving them. We can say this but when we put up the graphs and statistics, we tell them this isn’t our opinion; this is what has been found,” said McManus. “There’s no guarantee that stuff isn’t going to happen, but the kids who had a strong foundation in faith had resources to deal with the stuff that happens in their life.”

If you would like more information about “Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth,” go to the Faith Formation website: www.

FallRiverFaithFormation.org or call Medeiros at 508-678-2828.

June 1, 2012

Religious freedom caucuses planned for every state legislature

Washington D.C. (CNA/ hospitals, schools and charitable said that a total of about 25 cauEWTN News) — Advocates of agencies to close their doors. cuses are anticipated by the end religious liberty have announced Organizers of the state caucus of this year, and nearly every plans to launch religious free- initiative said that many threats state is expected to have a caucus dom caucuses in all 50 state leg- to religious freedom begin or are by the end of 2013. islatures in order to fight against found at the state level.

The effort has drawn praise the erosion of religious liberty at These attacks include at- from a diverse group of religious the local level. tempts to require individuals to leaders, many of whom will be The caucuses will be “a focal perform health care procedures helping create and support the point for those who are working that violate their beliefs, censure caucuses. on religious free“Since the foundhe American Religious Freedom Pro- ing of our Nation, we dom in the states to direct and generate gram is helping form and support the have never before their efforts,” said caucuses, which will allow state legislators witnessed threats of Brian Walsh, executhis magnitude from tive director of the to share information and connect with reli- all levels of governAmerican Religious gious and public policy organizations as they ment,” said ArchFreedom Program at focus on threats to religious liberty. bishop William E. the Ethics and Public Lori of Baltimore, Policy Center. who chairs the U.S. Working alongside a wide of policy arguments that incorpo- bishops’ religious freedom comvariety of faith communities rate religious beliefs, and efforts mittee. “Citizens who care about and other groups, the American to weaken religious groups’ abil- this fundamental American right Religious Freedom Program is ity to choose their own leaders. must take action to protect it.”

Concerns have also been helping form and support the “Blessed by two centuries of caucuses, which will allow state voiced over the threat to reli- First Amendment protections legislators to share information gious freedom posed by a re- in the United States, Jews must and connect with religious and definition of marriage so that it speak up when the liberties public policy organizations as includes homosexual couples. In of conscience afforded their they focus on threats to religious states that have legalized “gay fellow Americans are being marriage,” lawsuits have already threatened,” added Rabbi Dr. liberty.

The caucus initiative was an- been filed against those who ob- Meir Soloveichik, director of nounced at the 2012 National ject to cooperating with them, the Straus Center for Torah and Religious Freedom Conference threatening the conscience rights Western Thought at Yeshiva in Washington, D.C. on May 24. of adoption agencies, church University.

Concerns over religious free- halls and photographers, as well “The Religious Freedom Caudom have escalated in recent as other individuals and organi- cuses will be a central tool in admonths, reaching a peak with the zations. dressing these threats to religious Walsh described the devel- rights before the courts are left Obama Administration’s federal mandate that will require em- oping caucuses as “a place for as the only recourse,” said Dr. ployers to offer health insurance religious freedom expertise to Richard Land of the Southern plans covering contraception, reside.”

Baptist Convention.

He explained that the creation sterilization and abortion-inducWalsh explained that the efing drugs, even if doing so vio- process has already begun in a fort to build caucuses has redozen states, including Colora- ceived strong support at the state lates their consciences.

The mandate has been widely do, Pennsylvania, Florida, Mis- level. criticized as an attack on reli- souri, Virginia, Kentucky, DelaThis is not “a partisan issue,” gious liberty. Catholic bishops ware, Idaho, Kansas, Tennessee, but “an American issue,” he said. from every diocese in the U.S. Oklahoma and Utah.

“Religious freedom is at the core Walsh expects these caucuses of what it means to be Amerihave spoken out against it, warning that it could force Catholic to be up and running soon. He can.”

T

This week in 50 years ago — Father Roger M. Charest, SMM, provincial superior of the Montfort Fathers in the U.S. and a native of St. Anne’s Parish in Fall River, announced the establishment of a Montfort House in Taunton at the site of the former Taunton Inn Annex to be used a residence for parish missioners and retreat masters.

25 years ago — Parishioners, friends and school alumnae of Holy Cross Parish, Fall River, met for a reunion marking the 60th anniversary of the laying of the church cornerstone. A concelebrated Mass was followed by a banquet and a highlight of the evening was a display of school and parish memorabilia.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford, was appointed director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate for the diocese by Bishop Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap. Msgr. Oliveira succeeded Msgr. John F. Moore, who directed the permanent diaconate since it was established in the Fall River Diocese in 1976.

One year ago — The first graduating class from Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis prepared to receive their diplomas. The 27 graduates entered the diocesan high school as the only students in a facility designed to accommodate 500. Pope John Paul II was the first Catholic high school opened in the Fall River Diocese in nearly 40 years.

June 1, 2012

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The Anchor

Cardinal Wuerl urges young adults to stand up for religious freedom

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Speaking to a standing-roomonly crowd of young adults, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl encouraged them to pray and stand up for religious freedom.

Such freedom is being threatened, he said, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate that would force Catholic institutions to provide employee health insurance coverage for abortioninducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, all of which are morally opposed by the Catholic Church.

“It (the threat to religious liberty) is real. It’s not hyperbole,” the cardinal said recently. “It (the HHS mandate) is the most direct challenge to our religious liberty we’ve ever faced on the federal level.”

The cardinal spoke to an estimated 250 people gathered at an Irish pub in Washington for Theology on Tap, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Young Adult Ministry.

His talk came one day after the archdiocese filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to challenge the mandate. The local lawsuit was one of 12 actions filed nationwide, on behalf of 43 Catholic institutions, including the Archdiocese of New York and the University of Notre Dame.

In Washington, The Catholic University of America and the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities, Consortium of Catholic Academies and Archbishop Carroll High School are also plaintiffs in that legal action.

“The freedom of religion is part of the DNA of being American,” Cardinal Wuerl said as he opened his talk.

He said the freedom of religion enshrined in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights

has allowed people of faith “to exercise our religion freely” in the United States. But he emphasized that religious freedom is “part of who we are, grounded in our human nature” by God, and “it’s not something the state grants us.”

“Our religious freedom is

the cardinal, who noted that previous federal laws provided exemptions that safeguarded religious groups from being forced to violate their beliefs.

“The new regulation has imbedded in this a new definition of what makes you religious enough to qualify for an exemp-

it’s what’s on tap — Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington gives a talk on threats to religious liberty during a Theology on Tap program at Ireland’s Four Fields in Washington recently.

(CNS photo/Rafael Crisostomo, Catholic Standard)

intrinsic to us — our freedom to follow Christ as we choose, our freedom to worship as we choose, our freedom to live out the Gospel,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Wuerl said the key problem of the HHS mandate is that it doesn’t allow for a meaningful religious exemption for the Catholic Church and other faith groups, which provide extensive networks of educational, health care and social service programs that serve all people.

“We are our brother’s keeper.

We are our sister’s keeper,” said

tion — you can only care for your own (denomination) and you can only hire your own.

(The mandate says if) you don’t qualify for the exemption, you must provide for all services you find morally reprehensible,” the cardinal said.

The mandate’s “radical new definition” of religious ministry poses an unprecedented threat to the religious freedom of Catholic institutions, Cardinal Wuerl said.

He said the lawsuit was filed because related religious freedom legislation is deadlocked in

at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington will celebrate the Mass, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia will be the homilist. The Eternal Word Television Network will carry the shrine Mass live.

Both national and local efforts will comprise the campaign that has been launched by the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty.

In addition to the Baltimore and Washington Liturgies, national efforts include establishment of a website at www. fortnight4freedom.org.

The

site features resources such as frequently asked questions about religious liberty, including quotes from the Founding Fathers, the Second Vatican Council and Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Masses in Baltimore, Washington to open, close Fortnight for Freedom

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Masses at well-known basilicas in Baltimore and Washington will open and close the “Fortnight for Freedom,” a special period of prayer, study, catechesis and public action proclaimed by the U.S. bishops for June 21 to July 4.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore will celebrate the opening Mass at Baltimore’s historic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 7 p.m. June 21 to kick off the Catholic Church’s national education campaign on religious liberty. The closing Liturgy will be at 12:10 p.m. July 4

Congress, and the White House in negotiations has refused to offer a meaningful exemption to religious groups.

The lawsuit is about protecting religious freedom, not about contraception, he said.

“They (contraceptives) are available, accessible and afford-

able. We’re not stopping anybody from getting contraceptives. We’re just saying, ‘Don’t make us provide them’” in violation of Catholic teaching.

Cardinal Wuerl said the U.S. Catholic bishops have supported universal access to health care for the past century. But, he added, government efforts

to provide that access must be done in a fair manner respecting the constitutional rights of people of faith.

“How you do it (provide access) makes all the difference,” he said.

When asked by a young adult what those in the audience could do to help stand up for religious freedom, Cardinal Wuerl noted how Pope Benedict XVI has called on Catholics to take up the work of the new evangelization — to deepen their understanding of the faith, to be confident in the truth of the faith, and to share it with others.

“Imagine if every one of us went out and told the story of our faith, what it means to us, how it’s impacting our lives,” the cardinal said.

After his talk, the cardinal joined the young adults in reciting a prayer for religious liberty. The audience members also were encouraged to find out more about the issue by visiting the archdiocese’s new website, www.preservereligiousfreedom. org.

Young adults interviewed afterward said they appreciated the cardinal’s message.

“Like he said, if we don’t fight for it (religious liberty), it can be stamped out,” Air Force Staff Sgt. Stephen Caruso told the Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper.

“We need to take this message to our workplaces.”

His wife, Nicole, said it is important for Catholics to be proud of their faith “and not be afraid to share it.”

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Youth Pages

history comes alive — In celebration of St. Damien of Molokai, kindergarten students at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford took part in a mini dramatization of the life of Father Damien. Noah Cabral played the part of Father Damien and Rylee Kouta played the part of Queen Liliuokalani.

saints among us — Kindergarten students at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven led the school in a prayer service to crown the Blessed Mother. The children worked hard to honor Mary through Scripture readings and songs. They memorized parts, decorated the stage, and dressed up as Mary and Joseph holding baby Jesus.

gathering results — Eighth-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River recently used homemade litmus pH strips, made from red cabbage dye. They tested solutions of baking soda, water, soapy water, orange juice, soda and vinegar to see which were acidic and which were alkaline.

June 1, 2012

playing hardball — Students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently attended a PawSox Game and were able to go out on the field to yell “Play ball.”

scenes of the city — The third-graders at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro have been studying the Attleboro community. As part of their Social Studies assessment, the students made a beautiful quilt of the Attleboro area to be displayed at the Attleboro Public Library. As a school field trip, the students will be walking through the Attleboro area to see many of the places featured on their quilt. From left: Ryan Sullivan, Michele Schremp, Olivia Baker, Emily Billard, Nicholas Roy and Matthew Corso.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth.

If schools or parish Religious Education programs, have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews.org

June 1, 2012

Youth Pages

“D

17

Be a good witness

o you swear to tell You must also be faithful in the truth, the whole your prayer life and talk every truth and nothing but the day to God. Do this alone in truth, so help you God?” With your place of prayer: “When these words a person is under you pray, go to your inner oath in a court of law, to be room, close the door, and pray a good witness — a witness to your Father in secret. And to the truth. Speaking this truth, however, is not only confined to the courtroom. The real truth needs to be revealed to the whole world. But why are

By Ozzie Pacheco we at times afraid to speak the truth? Why do we sometimes your Father who sees in secret perjure ourselves and bear will repay you” (Mt. 6:6). Part false witness? We who call of your prayer life must also ourselves Catholic, and include being faithful to the all Christians alike, are responsible to be a witness for Eucharist. Pray and celebrate Christ. “You will be witnesses as an active member of the Church. for me” (Acts 1:8).

Your life, attitude and Upon receiving the Christian example must Sacrament of Confirmation also attract people to your you became a disciple of lifestyle. They must see by Christ, and, therefore, His your example that you are witness. The question you committed to the Lord. If you may ask yourself is: “How are filled with the Holy Spirit, do I witness?” As each of then the fruit of Spirit will us is unique so will be the be visible in your life. “The answer to that question. fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, There are, however, certain peace, patience, kindness, basic principles that will generosity, faithfulness, remain the same for all of gentleness and self-control” us.

(Ga 5:22-23).

Your own spiritual life Remember, also, that the must be right with God. That conversion of a sinner, the means that you must be sure change of attitude in the heart, of your own salvation. You must know that you are saved; can only be accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Christ has done that for you.

“You will know the truth, and You can only be witness to the truth will set you free” (Jn what you have experienced 8:32). yourself. How can you speak Every message you speak and stand up for the truth unless you live and defend the as a witness for Christ must be the Word of God. Be truth?

Be Not Afraid

high honors — Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton recently held its annual Honors Night. Students from all grades were recognized for their academic accomplishments, and numerous contributions to the school community. The “Man and Woman of the Year” award, given in honor of the late Joseph Scanlon, went to Joshua McCarthy, left, and Lauren Dykas, right. They were given their award by Dr. Michael Scanlon and his mother Louise, center.

good sports — The annual Sports Banquet was recently held at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, where varsity letters and certificates of participation were distributed to all athletes. Seniors Caitlin Fereira and Peter Le were bestowed with the 2012 Female and Male Athletes of the Year Awards. Fereira was a fouryear participant in soccer, basketball and softball. Le was a fouryear participant in soccer, basketball and baseball.

college-bound — Bishop Feehan High School sophomore Katherine West, 15, secured a place at Bard College at Simon’s Rock this fall based on her outstanding academic and personal achievements The campus in Great Barrington, Mass. is home to more than 400 bright and highly-motivated students who have all begun a rigorous college education immediately after the 10th or 11th grade.

effective in your witness, read and study the Bible. Your goal as witness is to attract people to the Lord. You can only do this by the wonderful love of God. That love can only be demonstrated to others by our own life.

God wants you to be a witness because of the benefits He offers to those who receive Christ. These benefits include becoming children of God, forgiveness for their sins, experiencing the peace and love of God, receiving God’s direction and purpose for their lives and the assurance of eternal life, to name a few. But God also wants you to witness because of the benefits you will receive. Witnessing will stimulate your spiritual growth, lead you to pray and study God’s Word, and encourage you to depend on Christ. You will experience the tremendous privilege of representing Jesus to everyone you meet. I can think of no greater honor.

You see, the truth that you are witnessing to is Jesus Himself. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6).

The Holy Spirit came to provide the power for you to be a witness for Christ.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to share this wonderful gift with others?

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

award-winners — Seven students from Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth were recipients of the 2012 St. Pius X Youth Awards for the Diocese of Fall River. Front, from left: Rachel Carlowicz, Jillian McHenry, Caroline Egan, and faculty member Amanda Tarantelli. Back: Jason Bearuregard, Haley Ketschke, Rachel Roderick, and Andrew Hamel.

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June 1, 2012

Archbishop urges people of all faiths to stand for religious freedom

WASHINGTON (CNS) — After receiving the inaugural Religious Freedom Award May 24, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori encouraged people of all faiths to stand together to defend religious liberty.

“U.S. bishops and faithful Catholics in this country, numerous though we may be, cannot fight the tide of radical secularism alone,” Archbishop Lori said at the 2012 National Religious Freedom Award Dinner, held at the Georgetown Four Seasons Hotel in Washington.

“I’m here to ask for your help.

Together, we can achieve great things,” he said.

Speaking to a crowd of 300 people from many faiths who came from across the country to attend an all-day National Religious Freedom Conference, Archbishop Lori said “fighting the tide of secularism in general, and current threats to religious liberty in particular, can seem like a daunting task, (but) we know that with God, all things are possible, and we know that prayer is the ultimate source of our strength in this fight.”

The conference was titled “Rising Threats to Religious Freedom,” and it was sponsored by the American Religious Freedom Program, which is part of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Speakers representing a range of religious backgrounds, and officials from state government and advocacy groups, spoke about threats to religious freedom and conscience rights

across the United States, on the mandate is that the federal gov- Administration, on February 10, federal, state and local level, and ernment defines “which reli- finalized the mandate and also in the military. gious institutions are ‘religious announced that religious emArchbishop Lori, who chairs enough’ to merit protection of ployers could decline to cover the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Com- their religious liberty.” contraceptives if they were mormittee for Religious Liberty, When the health care legis- ally opposed to them, but that warned that the U.S. Department lation was being debated more their health insurers would have of Health and Human Services’ than two years ago, the U.S. to pay for the coverage. mandate on contraceptive cover- bishops urged that it include Obama’s announcement age “has now become the most strong conscience protections. about insurers paying the costs critical religious liberty chal- Congress passed the Patient Pro- was rejected by the bishops and lenge that we face in the United others. Archbishop States today.”

Lori said it addresses t marks, he said, “the first time that the “only a small part of The mandate “would force virfederal government has compelled re- the overall problem, tually all employ- ligious institutions to facilitate and fund a and does so inaders, even those with equately.” conscientious ob- product contrary to their moral teaching.”

The mandate’s jections, to provide “unwarranted govhealth coverage for ernment definition of contraceptives, sterilization and tection and Affordable Care Act religion,” Archbishop Lori said, abortion-inducing drugs,” he March 21, 2010, and President includes a very narrow definisaid.

Barack Obama signed it into law tion of a religious employer that It marks, he said, “the first three days later. would qualify for an exemption time that the federal government When the contraceptive man- — those employers would have has compelled religious insti- date was proposed Aug. 1, 2011, to primarily hire and serve peotutions to facilitate and fund a thousands of comments were ple of their own faith. product contrary to their moral filed by people across the coun“This exemption attacks reteaching.” try urging that Catholic institu- ligious freedom by defining it Archbishop Lori noted that tions not be forced to facilitate away — by limiting protections earlier that week, Catholic insti- or fund services that violated essentially to houses of worship, tutions had “been forced to take Church teaching. the exemption reduces the freeaction by litigation, a course no Archbishop Lori noted that dom of religion to the freedom of one desires, but a course that ap- on January 19 of this year, Pope worship,” he said. pears to be the only alternative Benedict XVI addressed a group Archbishop Lori said there left in order to seek relief from of U.S. bishops visiting the Vati- has been much misinformathis unjust federal government can, warning of growing threats tion about the issue. “This is mandate.” to religious freedom in the not about the Catholic Church On May 21, 43 Catholic dio- United States. Then, he said, the wanting to force anybody to do ceses, schools, hospitals, social next day, “as if on cue,” HHS an- anything; it is instead about the service agencies and other in- nounced religious organizations federal government forcing the stitutions filed a total of 12 law- could delay but not opt out of the Church — consisting of its faithsuits in federal court around the mandate. ful and all but a few of its insticountry challenging the HHS “Despite numerous opportu- tutions — to act against Church mandate. nities to avoid the train wreck,” teaching.”

Archbishop Lori said an es- the archbishop said, the Obama He emphasized the religious pecially problematic part of the

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freedom fight is not one the nation’s Catholic leaders sought, but instead was forced by the government’s action.

“This is not a Republican or Democratic, a conservative or liberal issue. It is an American issue,” he said.

Archbishop Lori said the principles at stake — religious liberty and the life and dignity of all human beings — are central to the Catholic faith.

Religious freedom, the first freedom in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, Archbishop Lori said, was seen as an essential part the new United States by the Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson, he noted, once said: “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.”

Archbishop Lori concluded his talk by inviting people to participate in the June 21 to July 4 “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign organized by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty.

At the dinner following the archbishop’s talk, Brian Walsh, executive director of the American Religious Freedom Program, said the program, and that day’s conference, had been organized to defend the “God-given and constitutional” right of freedom of religion.

“Religious freedom is at the core of all of our freedoms,” he said, announcing that his group would be working to establish caucuses in all 50 states to defend religious liberty.

Pope sets date to declare two new Church Doctors

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will declare St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. John of Avila as Doctors of the Church on Oct. 7 2012 at the beginning of this year’s Synod of Bishops in Rome.

“These two great witnesses of the faith lived in very different historical periods and came from different cultural backgrounds,” said the pope in a recent Regina Coeli address.

“But the sanctity of life and depth of teaching makes them perpetually present: the grace of the Holy Spirit, in fact, projected them into that experience of penetrating understanding of divine revelation and intelligent dialogue with the world that constitutes the horizon of permanent life and action of the Church.”

The title of “Doctor of the Church” is bestowed upon a saint whose writings are deemed to be of universal im-

portance to the Church. The pope must also declare the individual to be of “eminent learning” and “great sanctity.”

Other Doctors of the Church include St. Augustine, St. John Chryosostom, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Catherine of Siena.

St. John of Avila was a 16th-century Spanish priest, mystic, preacher and scholar.

Pope Benedict announced his intention to name him a Doctor of the Church at World Youth Day in Madrid last August but had not set a specific date for doing so.

St. Hildegard was a 12thcentury German nun, writer, composer, philosopher and mystic, as well as an abbess and founder of several monasteries. This month Pope Benedict formally added her to the Church’s roster of saints, extending her liturgical feast throughout the world.

“Especially in light of the

project of the new evangelization, to which the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be dedicated, and on the vigil of the Year of Faith, these two figures of saints and doctors are of considerable importance and relevance,” said Pope Benedict.

The papal declaration came on the Feast of Pentecost which marks the conclusion of Eastertide and recalls the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles after the Ascension of Christ.

“Jesus, risen and ascended into Heaven, sends His Spirit to the Church, so that all Christians can share in His Divine life and become His effective witness in the world,” said the pope.

He then prayed the Eastertide midday Marian prayer along with thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square before imparting his apostolic blessing.

June 1, 2012

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fall River — SS. Peter and Paul Parish will have eucharistic adoration on March 30 in the parish chapel, 240 Dover Street, from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

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

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

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

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

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

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 347 South Street, beginning immediately after the 12:10 p.m.

Mass and ending with adoration at 4 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m.

Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of eucharistic adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

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

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

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

19

The Anchor Father Daniel Freitas dies in Florida continued from page one

support “in my resolve to become a priest at the time.”

Father Raposo told The Anchor that he’s known Father Freitas “since forever,” as their families were friends in Terceira.

“When he came here, he was like a member of my family,” said Father Raposo. “He was a good friend and a good example of a priest. He surely influenced my decision to become a priest. I have wonderful memories of him and I’m grateful for his having been a part of my life.”

He was born in Terceira, Azores, to the late Jose L. and Maria L. (Leonardo) Freitas.

He attended Seminario d’Angra in Terceira for both high school and college studies.

Studying for the priesthood at such an early age was something for which Father Freitas was always grateful. “My parents sacrificed so much to put me through the schooling I needed,” he told a local Portuguese newspaper upon his retirement. “They, without a doubt, were the most influential people in my life.”

Following graduation from Seminario d’Angra in 1946, Father Freitas attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fall River on June 11, 1949 at St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop James. L. Connolly.

His first diocesan assignments were the summers of 1949 and 1950 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford, and Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, between which he attended Catholic University in Washing-

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks 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 June 8 Rev. John S. Czerwonka, Assistant, St. Stanislaus, Fall River, 1961

ton, D.C. He returned to Santo Christo parish as a parochial vicar from 1951 to 1972, at which time he became administrator of St. Elizabeth’s Parish in Fall River until 1974 when he went to St. John of God. His diocesan duties included spiritual advisor for the Fall River district of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, later becoming diocesan director of the society.

He also served as diocesan director of the Catholic Charities

Appeal and the annual Bishop’s Ball, and as an auditor and advocate at the diocesan Tribunal Office.

Father Freitas was an avid boating enthusiast and a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

He is predeceased by brothers Jose L. Freitas Jr., and Henrique L. Freitas.

Following a Mass at Ascension Church in Melbourne, Fla., his body was flown to the Diocese of Fall River where a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. John of God Church on May 31, followed by interment at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Somerset.

Around the Diocese 6/2

Holy Cross Family Ministries is sponsoring a Family Rosary Retreat entitled, “Closest Neighbors, Trustworthy Friends, Brothers & Sisters: Living the Beatitudes Together in Christ,” tomorrow, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton, Mass. It is a full day of activities for all members of the family and lunch is included. Day includes: keynotes by Sister Theresa Rickard, O.P. and Dr. José Fermín; eucharistic adoration; Mission Rosary; and a vigil Mass presided by Auxiliary Bishop John Dooher, D.D. The cost is $10 individual/$50 maximum for a family, including lunch. For more information or to register call 508-238-4095 or 800-299-7729 or www.FamilyRosary.org/retreat.

6/2

Troop 52 Boy Scouts will be sponsoring a car wash and yard sale tomorrow in the parking lot of St. Mary’s Church, 41 Harding Road, Fairhaven, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Troop 52’s summer trip to Camp Cachalot in July. For more information, call 508-997-1092.

6/6

The permanent deacon candidates of the Diocese of Fall River will be installed as acolytes, the final step before diaconal ordination, on June 6 at 7 p.m. by Bishop George W. Coleman.

The ceremony will be held at St. Mary’s Church, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, and all are invited to attend.

6/8

An Emmaus retreat weekend will be held June 8-10 at the La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro. Emmaus is a weekend retreat program for people who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Christ, regardless of their present level of faith and practice.

For more information call 508-646-3902.

6/14

“Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth,” an evening designed for parents and children of all ages, especially those preparing for Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation, will be held June 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish in South Dartmouth. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To register or for more information, contact your pastor, parish youth minister, or Crystal-Lynn Medeiros, assistant director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Fall River Diocese, at 508-678-2828 or email cmedeiros@dfrcec.com.

6/30

Courage, a welcoming support group for Catholics wounded by same-sex attraction who gather to seek God’s wisdom, mercy and love, will next meet on June 30 beginning at 6 p.m. For location information, call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408.

20

T

his past Memorial Day weekend was glorious weather-wise. With less than a month left in spring, the region finally got a true taste of it. And it was good.

It got the juices flowing for summer. I started thinking about all the great things that can be done in the warm weather in southeastern Massachusetts and it was invigorating. Then reality set in.

It seems each year the cost of having a good summer rises as fast as the thermometer in late July.

I thought of taking advantage of the new boat cruise being of-

The Anchor

June 1, 2012

Not getting burned this summer

fered in the area that takes people food costs. Ouch. on a three-hour tour (not to be I thought of the camping confused with the SS. Minnow thing, but past Jolivet camping and “Gilligan’s Island”) through experiences have had their share magnificent Narragansett Bay. of ups and downs ... and downs.

That would provide some great sights, many I’ve never seen, and be great fun. But the fee for four people would be around $200. Not in the budget for just a few hours of

By Dave Jolivet fun.

I thought of packing up the car and heading north, south, east, or west for a little while, but the cost for You see, we could camp in the gasoline hovers around $4 per most arid of deserts and still draw gallon — not to mention hotel and torrential rains in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t want to do that to the family, again, or to the

My View From the Stands

other campers for that matter. And the thought of sleeping on a hard rocky ground in a less-than-plush sleeping bag isn’t as appealing as it was 20 years ago. Plus Emilie and I are mosquito bait. At outdoor affairs, people sit us in one area and everyone sits as far away as possible.

Human no-pest strips, we are.

Plains and trains are out. The prices may at times look tempting, but start to multiply that by three or four, and that’s re-mortgage territory.

I admonished myself for sucking all the fun out of this summer before it even begins.

The simple summer joys are still the best.

There’s piling in the car for the short trip to Horseneck Beach in Westport for just a couple of bucks. You can’t beat laz-

ing in the sun with soda and sandwiches, listening to the Red Sox on an AM station, then cooling off by riding the waves charging the shore line. And you can’t beat a walk along the beach as the sun is extinguished by the ocean at day’s end.

It’s always a good time firing up the Red Sox grill and cooking up feast after feast. Anything cooked on a grill is a feast for me.

There’s the joy of sitting out on the deck on a sunny afternoon with the family, listening to classic rock and roll wafting from my rock speakers (speakers that actually look like rocks) cleverly nestled in the mulch. And then there’s also sitting out on the deck on a warm summer evening, listening to classic rock and roll wafting from my rock speakers.

There’s the pleasure of walks down by the nearby pond, and maybe a visit to the grounds around Battleship Cove.

Things may seem to be getting tighter every year, but that only makes the simple things all that much better. Around this neck of the woods, there is plenty of summer fun to be had — without getting burned in the wallet.

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