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Disheartened marriage supporters reminded 'Jesus'truth will be victorious' By GAIL BESSE ANCHOR CORRESPONDENT

FALL RIVER - Gloom walked in briefly with some of the faithful to morning Mass at Holy Name Church June 15. Like thousands of people across Massachusetts, some had prayed and worked for years to bring a nowdefeated marriage protection amendment to a public vote. They'd been harassed as they gathered a portion of the 170,000 petition signatures. They'd been intimidated by having their names and addresses posted on a gay advocacy Website. .Arrogant editorials had sniffed they were "intolerant" and "prejudiced" for exercising their constitutional right to petition so citizens

could call marriage the union of a man and a woman. Their opponents knew that people would most likely approve this definition, so wellheeled gay activists and state and national Democratic Party leaders mobilized to crush

the referendum first. Yet as these Catholics stood alongside fellow marriage defenders of other faiths at the State House the day before, their hearts had gone out to the angry, misled opponents who taunted them. Then their own elected officials

Statement of Mass. bishops on ConCon vote Ignoring the will of more than 170,000 people who signed the marriage petition and blocking the people from exercising their right to vote is tragic. In the Commonwealth, our state laws provide for the process whereby the citizens have

a right to vote on a constitutional amendment. However, the leadership ofthe Democratic Party refuses to allow citizens and elected officials to vote their conscience on social issues. Theirideological positions undermine the comTum to page three - Bishops

dealt the stomach punch. Legislators who had vowed their support jumped ship instead, killing the measure for want of five votes. So that morning, marriage supporters were incredibly saddened. They thought of the youngsters who wouldn't hear about the documented health risks of homosexual behavior, and of the ones who'd be told that objecting to homosexuality was bigoted. They thought of the children who'd be deprived of a mom or a dad. And they shook their heads at the idea that "same-sex marriage" was now poised to spread nationwide. Gov. Deval Patrick planned to reTurn to page 18 - ConCon

Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Holy Family, Help us treasure the gift of marriage that reflects the love of Christ for the Church, where the self-giving love of husband and wife unites them more perfectly and cooperates in your plan for new life created in your image. Help us support men and women in their vocation of marriage, especially in difficult times when they join their sufferings to the Cross. Help us uphold the institution of marriage in our society as the place where love is nurtured and fafnily life begins. Help us acknowledge that our future depends on this love and on your providential care fbe us. Amen. Pl~ pray daily for the vocation of marriage. II

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Nihil Obslal: Reverend Mark O'Connel~ J.CD. Imprimatur: Sean Canlinal O'Malley, OFM, Cap Arr:hbishop ofBos/on May 15. 2007

Prayer campaign for marriage begins today across the state By MIKE GORDON ANCHOR STAFF

THE FIRST AMONG MANY TO COME - Members of the Class of 2007 at St. Pius X School in South

Yarmouth, left, process from the church and in a symbolic gesture, "Pass the Light," to the Class of 2008. At right, Bishop George W. Coleman presents a diploma to Estere Malley at graduation ceremonies for St. Mary's School in Mansfield. Both diocesan schools marked the first graduation class in their respective histories.

First graduating classes at tWo Catholic schools receive diplomas By MIKE GORDON ANCHOR STAFF

FALL RIVER - This year's eighth-grade graduations at St. Mary's School in Mansfield and St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth brought with them a special milestone. Each was the first graduation in their school's history. According to principals at both schools, the graduating pioneers left their mark in their respective communities and will take what they've learned academically and spiritu-

ally in Catholic schools to the challenge of high school. ''This was a historical occasion for the parish and the school," said Father George C. Bellenoit, pastor at St. Pius X Parish. ''This is the year that our middle school opened and students from Holy Trinity Regional School in West Harwich joined our school. We hope this is the first of many graduations." Father Bellenoit has a unique perspective with regards to the graduations, because he is the

former pastor ~t St. Mary's Parish in Mansfield and was instrumental in bringing the reality of that school to life. He celebrated Masses at each school as part of graduation ceremonies held June 10 and II respectively. "Catholic education is so important," said Father Bellenoit. "It has a powerful effect in forming students and giving them good academic and spiritual values. We are proud of these graduates." Tum to page 20 - Diplomas

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NORTH DARTMOUTH More than 50,000 prayer cards will be distributed this weekend in the Fall River Diocese as a multi-year national pastoral campaign on marriage by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops begins to focus locally in Massachusetts through the Massacllusetts Catholic Conference. The pastoral plan has been in formation for months and its longscheduled launching comes even as the Massachusetts Legislature in a Constitutional Convention in

Boston on June 14 voted against a citizens' initiative to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. "We certainly need to pray for marriage now more than ever," said Father Gregory A. Mathias, director of Office of Family Ministry following the recent action by the Legislature to defeat the efforts to . define marriage as a union between one woman and one man. "It's unfortunate that we are late with this effort, but better late than never. We've taken for granted what marriage is in our culture. Tum to page 13 - Campaign


JUNE

22, 2007

True believers see life of Church as seeking God's love, says pope By CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

tory, the pope said. The aim of a Church history "is not just to VATICAN CITY - True be- know the past," but to prompt relievers look at the life and history flection leading to "conversion of the Catholic Church seeking and an authentic witness of Chrissigns of God's love, rather than tian life on the part of the faithtrying to highlight the curious or fu1." being fixated by the scandalous, "Eusebius questions believers Pope Benedict XVI said. of every age regarding their way When Catholics take Church of approaching the events of hishistory seribusly, they are inspired tory, especially that of the to live lives that are more Chris- Church," he said. tian so that they, too, may add Pope Benedict said: "He asks their own evidence of God's great- us, too, what is our attitude in the ness, the pope said June 13 at his face of events in the Church? Is it weekly general audience. an attitude of interest motivated As usual, the pope began by simply by curiosity, perhaps goriding in an open jeep through St. ing in search of the sensational Peter's Square, blessing a crowd and scandalous at any cost? of about 20,000 people. Although "Or is it an attitude full of love it was just one week after a 27- and open to mystery," an attitude year-old German man jumped a that demonstrates a conviction that barricade and tried to get into the "it is possible to trace in the jeep, the security detail closest to Church's history the signs of God's the pope was not obviously love and the great works of salvastrengthened. However, the num- tion he has done," the pope said. ber ofItalian police patrolling the "This is how we want to read square's perimeter appeared to history: seeking the signs of have increased. God's love," he said. "If this is our At the end of the audience, the attitude we cannot help feeling pope offered special prayers for called to a response that is more young people who have just be- consistent and courageous, to a gun their summer vacations and, more Christian witness of life in especially, for their peers who are orderto leave signs of God's love in the middle of their final exams. for future generations." "May the Lord help you live Eusebius' approach to history this period with serenity and ex- "invites us to be in awe, to conperience his protection," the pope template in history the great - told the young people. . works of God for the salvation In his main talk, Pope Benedict of humanity and, with as much focused on the third-century energy, he invites us to the conBishop Eusebius of Caesarea, the version of life," Pope Benedict author of a 10-volume history of . said. . the Church. "Let us do everything in our Eusebius set a ."moral" stan- lives in order to leave a trace of dard for recounting Church his- God's love," he said.

Pope's new state-of-the-art stage is handicap-accessible, portable By ALICIA AMBROSIO CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI now has a new state-of-the-art stage that is handicap-accessible and portable. Pier Carlo Cuscianna, head of the Vatican's department of technical services, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the new steel and aluminum stage took more than a year to design and was used for the first time June 3 when the pope celebrated a canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square. It will be used for outdoor audiences and liturgies. The old stage required at least three days to set up and needed a crew of workers and specialized equipment. The new structure is portable and can be set up in a

matter of minutes with remotecontrol mechanisms. Four modules slide together to create a 1,076-square-foot platform covered in teak flooring. Once the base has been positioned, two side arms guided by remote control slide up 13 feet on either side of the stage. When the arms or pillars have fully extended, two wings expand to create a covering for the stage. In addition, the stage is fitted with an infrared heating system and LED lights designed and produced specially for the papal stage. The rear section of the stage has stairs and ramps that' make it handicap-accessible. The stage was built by two northern Italian-based companies. Cuscianna did not say how much the new stage cost.

HO~~ GROUND ~ U.S. f~rst lady Laura Bush views the tomb of Pope John Paull! under St. Peter's BaSIlica at the Vatican dUring a recent visit. (eNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Pope: Adults owe youths values that give foundation for their lives By CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE ROME - Adults have a debt to pay to today's young people; "we owe them real values that will provide them with a foundation for their lives," Pope Benedict XVI said. In an evening address to participants in the Diocese of Rome's annual pastoral convention, the pope said all Catholic adults have a role to play in addressing the "education emergency" found in Italy and in other developed nations. For parents, teachers and religious educators "a growing difficulty is encountered in transmitting to new generations the basic values of existence and of correct behavior," he said. "It is an inevitable emergency in a society and culture that too often makes relativism its creed. Relativism becomes a dogma in such a society. The light of truth fades, or in fact it is considered dangerous to speak of truth," because a claim of truth is seen as "authoritarian" or intolerant, he said. In response to such claims, the pope said, many schools and universities focus on transmitting information and technical skills while many parents seek to ensure their children's happiness by giving them material goods and pleasant experiences. Such a response does not and cannot satisfy the heeds of the young nor can it prepare them for a future in which they not only wiIl want jobs, but will want meaning from their lives and from their relationships, the pope said. Education must aim at "the formation of the person to give him or

her the ability to live fully and to make a contribution to the good of the community," the pope said. Pope Benedict spoke to the diocesan conference for 40 minutes, frequently departing from his prepared text, on ways to educate Catholics in the faith, in following Jesus and in giving witness to the wider society. While he emphasized the primary role of parents in transmitting God's love and the Catholic tradition to their children, he also focused on the need for young people to have relationships with other strong witnesses of faith. "Little by little as young people grow, naturally their desire\ for personal autonomy increases, which - especially in adolescence - easily becomes taking a critical distance from their family," he said. At that moment, the pope said, it is important that a priest, religious, catechist or other believing adult helps them see that they are loved by God and are important members of the Church. In addition, he said, the "intellectual curiosity" of adolescents and young adults must be taken seri-

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ously along with their generosity and idealism. While Catholic schools have an obvious role to play, the pope said, public schools do as well, especially when parents are involved in their children's education and when public school teachers and students who are Catholic behave and interact with others in a way that makes faith attractive. Pope Benedict said state schools, like other public institutions, can have a "healthy secular character" when they do not deny the existence of the transcendent and when they do not embrace "a false neutrality with respect to those moral values that are the basis of an authentic formation of the person." , In his concluding remarks, the pope urged members of the diocese to pray for vocations to the priesthood'and religious life. "In a manner that is always delicate and respectful, but also clear and courageous, we must make a specific invitation to follow Jesus to those young men and young women who appear most attracted to and fascinated by friendship with him," the pope said.

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OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

Vol. 51, No. 25 Member: Catholic Press Association. Catholic News Service

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas bythe Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue : Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 - FAX 508-675-7048, email~ theanchor@anchomews.org. SUbscription price by mall, postpaid $14.00 per year. I Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address , 'I PUBLISHER¡ Most Reverend George W. Coleman I EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry. fatherrogerlandry@anchomews.org , EDITOR David B. Jollvet davejollvet@anchornews.org Deacon James N. Dunbar jlmdunbar@anchornews.org I NEWS EDITOR , REPORTER Mike Gordon mlkegordon@anchomews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org Send l.etti:'xs to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@anchomews.org' i POSTMASTERS send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722. L ~_~~()~~.s!'~-545.{)20) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall .... River, Mass._. __ __.._._---- ....., "

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JUNE

22, 2007

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St. Mary's Education Fund to celebrate 10th Summer Event By DEACON JAMES N.

DUNBAR

MASHPEE - A grand party mix offun, food, entertainment and fundraising for scholarships to Catholic schools is on the agenda as the St. Mary's Education Fund plays host to . its annual Summer Event on July 13 at the New Seabury Country Club. ''It's our 10th anniversary holding this important night on.Cape Cod, and .we look forward to making it another success story in the history of the Education Fund which provides need-based scholarships to the students in the Diocese ofFall River, including Cape Cod and the Islands," said Jane Robin, executive fund raiser for the Fund. ''We have a wonderful social night planned that includes Dick Flavin, one ofAmerica's leading and most versatile humorists as our master ofceremonies, and entertainment by students from St. Margaret's Regional School in Buzzards Bay," Robin reported. A cocktail reception and silent auction preview is set for 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner and the auction at7 p.m. "We'll have some events under our big white tent outside, and the dinner inside," Robin added. The Summer Event historically raises approximat~ly $300,000, all proceeds benefitingSt. Mary's Education Fund, which provides scholarships for students in need of financial assistance to attend diocesan schools. Since the 1995-96 school year to the current 2006 to 2007 academic year, the Fund had raised more than $5.2 million in aid to ap-

Bishops

proximately 5,350 strudents. ''We once again celebrate the tradition of Catholic Education," said Bishop George W. Coleman in an invitational message. "As we reflect on the 10th anniversary ofSt. Mary's Education Fund Event on Cape Cod, and the many

DICK FLAVIN

accomplishments of the past, we realized how important it is to strive even more in these times of continually soaring costs to assist our schools in remaining financially self-sufficient," Bishop Coleman added. In expressing his gratitude for benefactors to the Fund, Bishop Coleman said, "It is greatly appreciated not only by me, but also by the many who have benefited to date." Flavin, Emmy Award-winning television writer and commentator, has made a serious study of humor as a strategy for leadership in busi-

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ness, in politics and every day life. It is on the speaking platform, however, that Flavin is most at home. He had delighted audiences across the country with his offbeat observations on politics and the human condition. More locally, he has written columns for the Boston Herald; has written and performed special material for the Boston Pops and Symphony Orchestras, he has taught courses on the use of humor and satire at Harvard Umversity and Brandeis University. Co-chainnan for the event are Patrick Carney and Thomas 1. Flatley. The committee includes Mary Blake, Steve and Roberta Calemmo, Janet Daley, Louis and Louise DiMeo, Thomas and Mary Doherty, Suzanne W. Downing, Mary Doyle, CatherIne Dunn, Sheila D. Feitelberg, Margaret Foley, Michael Giaquinto, . Betty Kazrnier, Phyllis M. MacNeil, Albert and Maureen Makkay, Father Michael J. McManus, Thelma Mosher, Mary Jane Poyant, and George and Mercedes Riley.

DENNIS PORT i.- Usually folks on Cape Cod who like to enjoy the sights, smell~ and sounds of a good old Polish festival have to travel west over tile bridges to New Bedford, Taunton and Fall River to whet their appetites. Not this summer. Father Marek Chmurski,a parochial vicar at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich, andi a native of Poland, is bringing a bit of his homeland to the gro,unds around Our Lady of the ~ssumption Chapel in Dennisport this Sunday. With the help and enthusiastic support of pastor Father Edward J. Healey and the parishioners, the day will be filled with Polish food, music and dancing, along with the traditional \lot dogs, arts and crafts, a silent auction and loads of entertainment. The proceeds from the day of food and fun will benefit the small town ofDomaniewice in Poland. "The monies will be used to help purchase a bus for" the Catholic elementary school tqere," said Fa-

ther Chmurski. The festival begins with a 10 Mass in the chapel. A silent auction runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Some of the auction items include gift cards to local restaurants, artwork and crafts by local talents, and a day of sailing with Father Marek Tuptynski, pastor of St. Patrick's Parish in Somerset. At noon Mr. Bubble from www.BubbleArtitst.com will amaze all ages with larger-thanlife bubbles that seem to come alive with his story telling. A puppet show is slated for 2 p.m. and at 3, the Krakowiak Polish Dancers from Boston will perform, as will various musicians playing Polish music. Also slated to perform is the Children's Choir from St. Joseph's Basilica in Webster. Capping off the feast is a drawing to award prizes of $2,000, $1,000 and $500.

For information, or to purchase raffle tickets, caU 508-4324000.

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mon good. Today, the common good has been sacrificed by the extreme individualism that subordinates what is best for children, families and society. It is obvious from the unprecedented amount of pressure that was put upon elected officials that opponents of the amendment believed that the voters of the Commonwealth would have voted in favor of the traditional definition of marriage. The pressure tactics were engineered to· insure that the will ofthe people would not prevail. The question for those elected officials who opposed allowing the marriage amendment to be voted on by the people is: do we live in acountry where people are free to vote their conscience or are we controlled by what is viewed as politically correct and by powerful special interest groups? We extend our sincere appreciation to those members of the legislature who stood finn in their support to allow the people an opportunity to exercise their right to vote on the marriage amendment. Perhaps in the future legislators will have the courage to let the people

All are invited to sample a taste ofPolana Sunday on Cape Cod

vote on an issue so important to the future of families.

Personal Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley Archdiocese of Boston

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Most Rev. George W. Coleman Diocese of Fall River

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Most Rev. Robert J. McManus Diocese of Worcester

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JUNE

22, 2007

National hot line to offer ear to priests in crisis By ANN PIASECKI CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ROMEOVilLE, m. - Franciscan Sister Mary Frances Seeley, a counselor and certified suicidologist, is heading up a plan to establish a crisis hot line specifically to address the needs of priests and religious Brothers in the grips of depression, thoughts of suicide or the everyday stresses of life. Called the Upper Room Crisis Hotline, the program is endorsed by the National Federation of Priests' Councils and is slated to begin in late summer or early fall. As a national hot line, it is intended to alleviate the emotional toll that Sister Seeley said is being paid by a majority of clergy in the postscandal era. Citing the demonization ofpriests by a growing number of the faithful in the aftennath of revelations concerning the sexual abuse of minors in the Church, the Chicago-based NFPC asked her to fashion an easily accessible, interventional buoy for clergymen seeking safe haven and a place to vent frustration without fear of reprisal. A member of the Congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Sister Seeley helped found the Crisis Line of Will County, which has operated continuously since 1976. A IS-member board of trustees made up of vowed religious, clergy and community leaders is currently raising $200,000 to seed the venture that's set to operate in an undisclosed office in Joliet. It would be staffed by volunteers from the Illinois dioceses of Joliet, Peoria, Springfield and Rockford and the Archdiocese ofChicago, along with some volunteers from border towns in Indiana and Wisconsin. In a recent interview with the Catholic Explorer, Joliet's diocesan newspaper, Sister Seeley said the concept of a crisis hot line to pr0vide counseling anonymously has earned the support ofpresidents from the University ofSt Francis in Joliet, Lewis University in Romeoville and Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, all of whom sit on a board assembled to oversee the hot line. NFPC officials were particularly

interested in providing concrete counseling solutions for clergy facing the aftermath of the unacceptable actions of a small percentage from their ranks. It has forced the vast majority of the nation's priests - more than 14,000 - to shoulder the blame for the offenders, said Sister Seeley. Sister Seeley is aware of only "30 or so" acts of suicide committed by clergy since 2000, but cautions that statistics on the matter are hard to come by. Depression and signs of mental anguish are directly linked to the scandal, she said, adding that the effects ofisolation have grown deeper in the post-scandal era. Lay Catholics now sometimes hesitate to draw an individual priest into their circle of friends. Father Richard Vega, a priest of theArchdiocese ofLos Angeles and the current NFPC president, said recent policies in the Church have significantly diminished the opportunity for clergy to "confide even in their vicars or bishops." In light of mandated reporting policies, vicars and bishops are likely to err on the side of caution, he said. As a result, it keeps emotionally disu'aught priests at bay, seeking individual resolution when grappling with a sense of "frustration or addictions" caused by a combination of undeserved shame or something as common as stress caused by the problems of administering a parish. Sister Seeley said a staff of 72 . volunteers should be able to keep the emergency help line running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. She has a four-pronged plan for the hot line. The first is making it nationally accessible by way of a yet undisclosed 800 number. Second, she intends to advertise the hot line in clergy publications and on the Internet, encouraging priests to call even if they're just seeking information or a referral. Next, the plan's design for suicide prevention relies on a method of "person-centered" counseling conducted within the realm of anonymity. Finally, Sister Seeley has devised a system that takes into consideration elderly priests.

Pastoral Associate Position Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Leominster, Massachusetts is seeking a full time Pastoral Associate. Candidates should have a background in Pastoral Ministry.

If interested please send a resume and three references to: Rev. TImothy M. Brewer

Our Lady of the Lake Parish 1400 Main Street Leominster, Massachusetts 01453 For more information please call: 978-342-2978

FIGHTING HUNG~R - The Rev. William J. Shaw, presiden~ of the National Baptist Convention USA, Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and Bishop John Bryson Chane of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington pray during the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger at the Washington National Cathedral in the nation's capital June 11. During the service participants renewed their own commitments to fight hunger and called on the president and Congress to do the same. Catholic leaders present included Bishop Ricard and Sister Mary pacey, a Sister of St. Joseph and president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Bishop Ricard, religious leaders make commitment on hunger By KAITLYNN RIELY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

go to bed hungry. Imam Mohamed Magid was one of r. those who pointed out the disparWASHINGTON - Religious ity. leaders, including Bishop John The executive director of the H. Ricard of Pensacola-TallahasVirginia-based All Dulles Area see, Fla., gathered at the WashMuslim Society, Imam Magid ington National Cathedral to retold a story about his life as a affirm their mutual commitment young man in Sudan. The people to end hunger. were suffering, he said, because Representatives from Islam, it had not rained in a long time. Judaism, Christianity and other The poor started walking to faiths joined together at the the capital, Khartoum, recent second Interfaith looking for food. He heard Convocation on Hunger to "We can't really call ourselves declare their religions' in- Christian until we see Christ, espe- about the suffering, so went tent to fight hunger and re- ciallyas he has disguised himself in to a refugee camp to help. "I couldn't believe what cruit others to join in the efthe faces of the poor and those in I saw there," the imam said. fort. need," he said. Years later,' Imam Bishop Ricard delivered Magid said, he arrived in the opening prayer, calling on the nearly 1,000 people Ricard said he hopes an end to the United States, the country present to "makC? a deeper com- poverty and hunger is not far off. that had provided the food for mitment to ending poverty on our Catholics need to be concerned the impoverished refugees in about the problem of hunger, Sudan. He thought it was imposplanet." The need to address this prob- Bishop Ricard said, because "it's sible that a person could'live in the United States and also live lem of poverty was echoed by re- the Gospel mandate." "We can't really call ourselves in poverty, but he realized he ligious leaders and anti-hunger activists through songs, readings Christian until we see Christ, es- was wrong. The second Interfaith Convoand talks during the two-hour pecially as he has disguised himself in the faces of the poor and cation on Hunger was organized service. by Bread for the World and sponThe Rev. David Beckmann, those in need," he said. The interfaith service started sored by the Interfaith Anti-Hunthe president of the Christian anti-hunger group Bread for the on the lawn in front of the Epis- ger Coordinators.. It was part of World, said he was stunned by copal Church's cathedral. There a four-day Bread for the World the diversity of the top religious .were songs and some speakers, gathering of religious leaders and and then the event moved inside; anti-hunger activists that culmileaders present. He said they have realized where the altar was decorated nated the day following the inthat, no matter what their faith, with bushels of oranges, bananas, terfaith prayer service with a day they cannot connect with their corn and other fruits and veg- of lobbying. The organizers hoped to perGod if they walk away from those etables. Many speakers touched on the suade members of Congress to who are hungry. And because religious leaders have overcome , fact that the United States - the make changes to the farm bill that their differences, solving the richest nation in the world - is would improve the quality of life problem of hunger is within their still a country where some people for the hungry and the poor. collective grasp, he said. "We know that dramatic progress with hunger and poverty is now feasible in the years ahead," Rev. Beckmann said. The Rev. William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention USA, was the featured speaker. Speaking with Catholic News Service after the event, Bishop


JUNE

22,2007

zt THE INTERNATION'AL CHURCH

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South Africa's bishops express concern over civil servants' strike

RISING TENSIONS - Hamas fighters take files from the Preventive Security headquarters after they captured it in Gaza City June 14. The headquarters, used by Fatah security forces, was one of the last Gaza City bastions of forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (CNS photo/lbraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters)

. U.N. president from Bahrain receives Path to Peace Award By CATHOLIC

NEWS SERVICE

UNITED NATIONS - Haya Rasheq Al Khalifa, the first woman elected president of the U.N. GeneralAssembly since 1969, is the 2007 winner of the Path to Peace Award. Archbishop Celestino . Migliore, apostolic nuncio to the United Nations and president of the Path to Peace Foundation, an agency established to carry out projects in support of the work of the Holy See mission to the United Nations, presented the award to AI Khalifa at U.N. headquarters in New York. ' The archbishop said AI Khalifa was being honored "for the grace.ful and determined way in which she has striven over the last year to forge 'paths to peace.'" "She is only the third woman president in 61 years, the last one serving in 1969," he added. "That alone is an achievement, and she brought to this extremely taxing position at the summit of the world's premier international body an energy that is as politically ef-

fective as it is diplomatically discreet." Archbishop Migliore said the Vatican remains "convinced more than ever that if the U.N. did not exist the world's nations would surely have to invent it or something very like it." "While not ignoring its shortcomings, we do appreciate and support the U.N.'s consistent and steady pace toward peace, human rights, humanitarian relief and development," he said. Archbishop Migliore also presented the foundation's Servitor Pacis (Latin for "servant of peace") Award to Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, and to Sister Sabina Iragui Redin, a Daughter of Charity who has been working with the poor in Rwanda for 30 years. An early June announcement on the Path to Peace Award said AI Khalifa was the unanimous choice of the foundation's board and was selected "in recognition of her dedicated efforts on behalf.of peace and development."

Kenyan inquest into death of U.S. Mill Hill priest ends NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) - The quest, ruled out the FBI suicide nearly four-yearlong inquest into theory and argued that Father Kaithe death of a U.S. priest who died ser was murdered by a third party. in Kenya in 2001 has ended, and In his submission to the inquest, presiding magistrate Maureen he said that testimony from a foOdero said .she would deliver her rensic expert and oral and physical judgment. evidence produced showed that The inquest, which ended June there is no basis to prove the priest 12, 'hac;l been' requested by the .committed suicide. Gathenji said Kenyan bishops' conference, the evidence pointed to a conspiracy infamily of Mill Hill Father John volving Julius Sunkuli, a Cabinet Kaiser and his congregation, all of member in the government of whom rejected the FBI conclusion former Kenyan President Dimiel that the priest committed suicide: Arap Moi. Father Kaiser had helped Mbuthi Gathenji, the lawyer repre- two girls who claimed to have been senting those who asked for the in- raped by Sunkuli.

At the time of her election as president of the 61 st session of the U.N. General Assembly June 8, 2006, Al Khalifa was serving as legal adviser to the royal court of Bahrain. One of the first women to practice law in her couptry, she has held a variety of posts ~ith leading law organizations of the world, including the International Bar Association, where she was vice chairwoman of the arbitration and dispute resolution committee. Al Khalifa also served as Bahrain's ambassador to France from 2002 to 2004 and as nonresident ambassador to Belgium, Switzerlaqd and Spain. At the same time she was her country's representative to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. She is currently Bahrain's representative on the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. Al Khalifa, who speaks Arabic, English and French, has presented numerous papers at legal conferences on topics such as diplomacy, international arbitration, dispute resolution and the status of women in the Middle East. The Path to Peace Award is given annually to an individual committed to the development of peace in tl!e national and international arenas. Previous winners include Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former U.N. secretaries-general; Cardinal Angelo Sodano; former Vatican secretary of state; and such former national leaders as Xanana Gusmao of East Timor, Corazon Aquino of the Philippines and Lech Walesa of Poland. Last year the award went to Grand Duchess Maria .Teresa of Luxembourg, a good-will ambassador for UNESCO since 1997.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa bent on harassing and intimidating (CNS) - Bishops in southern Africa nonstrikers should desist from their have expressed concern over the "de- bullying tactics." teriorating situation" bf a national The statement also questioned civil servants' strike in I' South Africa whether the govemment-union negoand questioned whether bargaining tiations - for eight months precedwas done in good faith. ing the strike -were conducted in "Preventing children going to good faith. school and abandoning sick patients Public servants "are a vital ele. ment in the runcan never be condoned," said a ~-"P----'--h-'Id---- ning of any state statement issued reventmg C I ren go- and should be by Archbishop in"g to school and aban- treated with the Buti Tlhagale of doning sick patients can dignity and reJohannesburg, never be condoned," said spect they depresident of the a. statement issued by serve," it said, Southern African Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of noting "a serious Catholic Bishops' Johannesburg, president of moral problem" the Southern African Catho- posed by large Conference. Bishops' Conference. pay increases "at South African schools and hospi- ....... the level of Partals have been severely affected by liament.and the executive and refusI the strike, which began June 1, and ing to pay a just salary at other levmany nurses have defied a govem- els." ment order that they 'fere essential The bishops urged all stakeholdworkers and must report to theirjobs. ers ''to return to the negotiating table Noting that the South African and find a speedy compromise and a Constitution uphold~ the right to way forward." strike, the statement' said a strike Civil servants, who have not had should be a "last resort, when all av- a significant pay increase since one enues of negotiation pave been ex- that ended a major strike in 2004, hausted." were angered after an official body The right to strike "should not en- recommended a 57 percent pay indanger lives, particularly in our hos- crease for President Thabo Mbeki. pitals, where an adequate staff must Government negotiators offered be present at all times," said the state- just over half of the 12 percent wage ment. increase demanded by the unions, "Unions, while rightfully pressing which represent about 60 percent of for a just salary, cannot ignore the the country's nearly one million civil right of others to life,'1 it said. servants. 'We therefore call for the' strike By June 13 the government upped to be carried out in a IJwful manner," its offer to 7.25 percent, which the the statement said, noting that ''those unions rejected.

lie

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ANCHOR REPORTER

The Ancho~ is seeking to hire another full-time reporter. Applicants need to possess journalism and photography skills, adequate computer skills to be trained in layout and Website activities, and deep knowledge of the practice of the Catholic faith. Those interested are l, asked to email or send a resume, several examples of their writing, and a list of references to Fr. Roger L~ndry, PO Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722, fatherrogerlaridry@anchornews.org. Compensation dependent on experience: Interviews will begin on June 27.

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6 Learning from our Catholic heroes how to be Catholic Today is the feast of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, two English martyrs who went to their death in 1535 in defense of the truth about marriage. Their example provides a fitting backdrop to evaluate the actions of Massachusetts Catholics with respect to the failure to defend the truth about marriage at last week's Constitutional Convention. The layman More and the Bishop Fisher were imprisoned and eventually beheaded because they refused to assent to the lie about marriage King Henry vm was trying to force every British subject to affirm by oath. Most British subjects capitulated, as did, shamefully, most clerics, but More and Fisher refused. Both were willing to be killed rather than betray Christ and his teaching about marriage. Fisher, like a modem day John the Baptist, lost his head for boldly pointing out that it was not lawful for Henry to marry Anne Boleyn (see Mk 6:18). More, Henry's former chancellor, in order to protect his family tried to remain silent, but once he received his death sentence, spoke plainly. The patron saint of lawyers and politicians went to the guillotine famously stating that he was the king's good servant, but God's first. The June 14 defeat of the marriage protection amendment, and the failure to garner the support of 25 percent of state legislators, indicate how radical our state's political leadership class is in comparison to the general population, as well as how little politicians respect the rights of those who voted for them to vote on something as important as the meaning of marriage. But the most ignoble aspect of the defeat was the massive betrayals by Catholics certainly legislators, but also indirectly voters and clergy - that made su<;h a setback possible. Many were simply not God's good servants at all. As is well-known, the Massachusetts Legislature is dominated by Roman Catholics: the State Senate president, the Speaker of the House, the House Majority leader, and a solid majority of the members all call themselves Catholic. Yet the Senate president and the speaker were two of the biggest opponents of the amendment, and the vast majority of Catholic legislators voted against it. One, of course, does not have to be Catholic to recognize that marrjage is the union of a man and a woman, or to be religious to grasp the harm that would come to society and especially to children through same-sex unions. Cathplics, however, are informed not just by reason but by revelation, ,and in the latter, God removes any possible doubt about the meaning of marriage and the moral qualification of samesex sexual relationships. Nevertheless, in their vote last Thursday, most Catholic lawmakers on Beacon Hill ignored both faith and reason and seemed to fear and want to please the gay lobby more than they feared and sought to please God. How is it that in a legislature dominated by Catholics, fewer than onequarter would vote in accord with what both reason and revelation teach marriage is, and allow the citizenry to have their say? How is it possible that a state where half the population is Catholic is the only one with gay marriage? Jesus calls his followers to be the salt of the earth - to prevent society from moral corruption - but it's hard to deny after this debacle that in Massachusetts our salt has lost its saltiness. Christ counts on us to be the light of the world, but it's undeniable that many Catholics in our Commonwealth have hidden the light of his teaching about love, marriage, sex and family under a bushel basket, rather than setting it proudly on a stand to enlighten others. The Lord challenges us to leaven society through our preaching and living of the Gospel, but rather than Catholics' altering society, it seems that society has been changing Catholics (Mt 5: 13-16; 13:33; 16: 11). 'This betrayal of our mission to be salt, light and leaven cannot be ascribed solely to the unfaithfulness of certain Catholic legislators. Most of them, after all, are elected and re-elected by heavily Catholic districts, where Catholic voters fail to hold them accountable to votes that reason and faith both show 'as contrary to the good of the human person. Their behavior on June 14 is a clear indication that they did not think that their Catholic constituents would care about their vote as much as the gay lobby would in the next election. In light of St. John Fisher's example, however, we must also candidly admit the responsibility of Catholic clergy as a whole for failing adequately to inform the consciences of the faithful by passing on the truths of the faith and the duties that flow from them. With regard to the issue of same-sex marriage, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Jed by the future Pope Benedict XVI, taught unequivocally in 2003 that before legislation in favor of samesex unions, "the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral." To say "gravely immoral" means that if a Catholic legislator with deliberate consent votes in favor of same-sex marriage, it is a mortal sin, which would cut off the person's communion with Christ and endanger the person's eternal salvation. The same document teaches that "clear and emphatic opposition" to same-sex unions is a moral duty for all Catholic citizens. . It can legitimately be asked, however, how many Catholics have heard these truths from their clergy. In some places, legislators and voters who support same-sex marriage - not to mention those who favor abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, cloning, xenophobia toward immigrants, vengeance toward criminals or euthanasia - have simply not been called upon to convert, in any way. While not everyone will be persuaded, mentioning among other things the truth that one would be committing a mortal sin and possibly squandering heaven might be sufficient to make those who have true Catholic faith reconsider. On the other hand, when nothing is mentioned, or when even those who notoriously depart from Church teaching on faith and morals in their public actions seem to suffer no consequences, it's no surprise that many will continue .to act contrary to the faith. And that makes possible the shameful results we all saw on June 14. St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher show laity and clergy, respectively, another way. As we learn the lessons of June 14 and regroup to persevere with Christ in the defense of marriage, we invoke their example and their intercession. They show us by their glorious deaths how important marriage is in God's plan. They teach us by their heroic lives how to be good servants of others through being God's good servants first. In short, they show all of us how to be faithful Catholics.

The Anchor ~

JUNE

22, 2007

the living word BRAZILIAN PREsIDENT LUIZ mACIO LULA DA SILVA, AT RIGHT, WALKS IN FRONT OF THE CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE IN RIo DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL. DA SILVA HAS JOINED THE CITY'S CAMPAIGN TO HAVE THE LANDMARK STATUE CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE SEVEN "NEW" WONDERS OF THE WORLD. (CNS PHOTO/SERGIO MORAES, REUTERS) ''YOU ARE THE GOD WHO WORKS WONDERS; YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN YOUR STRENGTH AMONG THE PEOPLES" (PSALM 77:14).

St. John Fisher Sixteenth-century England was a Bishop of Rochester who cautioned dangerous time and place to be a his brother bishops that such a title faithful Catholic. Remaining faithful, could never be given to the King of as the'Church of England broke England, since only the pope in away from the Catholic Church, Rome is the head of the visible meant putting into the deep, one of Church on earth. As the other the greatest examples of which was bishops leaned towards granting the provided by St. John Fisher. title, out of fear of Henry VIII who St. John Fisher was Bishop of was known for his cruelty, Bishop' Rochester, then the smallest diocese Fisher stood firm and warned them in England, and he was known for his heroic sanctity. As a very young bishop, St. John insisted on living simply, and displayed genuine love and compassion for the poor. As a talented academic, he wrote detailed refutations of the heresies being promoted by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation, and he not to capitulate due to fear. He gained a reputation as an equally wisely foresaw that the king's talented and inspiring preacher. In desired title would bring about illicit spite of all his accomplishments, meddling with the spiritual goverthough, St. John Fisher never sought nance of the Church. promotion or advancement in the After dismissing the authority of Church. the pope and arranging for his The defining moment for St. annulment to be granted by a newly John Fisher came late in life, when appointed archbishop of Canterbury, he was threatened with death, unless King Henry VIII then demanded he would renounce his faith and that all subjects take the Oath of swear an oath against his conSuccession, declaring that his science. This crisis began when marriage to Anne Boleyn was valid King Henry VIII desired to marry. ' and that the children from that his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and , marriage were the legitimate heirs to petitioned the pope to grant an the throne. By certain clauses in its annulment of his marriage to preamble, the oath also effectively Catherine ofAragon. When the declared that the pope held no annulment was denied, King Henry authority in the Church in England. began a series oflaws and decrees, Because of St. John Fisher's enacted so that his desires could be reputation for integrity and faithfulsatisfied. ness, it was crucial to Henry VIII Among the steps taken by Henry that Fisher should take the oath, VIII'was a demand that the bishops thereby removing the last real of England vote to recognize him as obstacle and challenge to Henry's the "Supreme Head of the Church in absurd claims. It was a foolish hope, England" In response, it was the however, to expect the steadfast

Bishop of Rochester to violate his conscience. St. John Fisher knew that the king's first ,narriage was valid, and that his attempted second marriage to Anne Boleyn was therefore invalid, as Christ clearly taught. He also knew that it was a sin against the faith to deny the pope's rightful and divinely established universal authority in the Church. In the end, St. John Fisher was one of only a few bishops ' who stood with Christ and the Church and refused to take the oath. Refusal to take the oath was considered high treason, punishable by death. After St. John Fisher was imprisoned in the Tower of London, the king sent agents to the bishop's residence to seize all of his property. The agents, however, were frustrated to find little more than the bishop's books. Upon discovering a locked chest in the bishop's chapel, thought to contain the bishop's riches, the agents were once again frustrated to find only a hair-shirt and two whip .cords that the saintly bishop used for mortification. After 14 months in prison, during which he was named a cardinal by Pope Paul III, St. John Fisher was finally beheaded on June 22, 1535.. Because of his integrity and his deep love for the Lord and the Church, this giant in the faith was not afraid of the ultimate consequence of martyrdom; and by his life and death, he left the Church a heroic example of putting into the deep.

Father Pignato is chaplain at . Bislwp Stang High School in North Dartmouth and is secretary to Bislwp George If. Coleman.


JUNE

22, 2007

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The Anchor ,

Lives cut much too short What began for father Paul Canuel as a mission to the people of Guaimaca, came to a close on the 6th of June when he returned to the Fall River Diocese to assume another assignment as Pastor. His time at our Diocesan Mission saw the establishment of the medical clinic, the building 9f the Marie Poussepin Center, our boarding school for young women, the renovation of the parish church (including the pews from his former parish church of St. Michael's) and other village

chapels, as well as many other pastoral projects that continue today. With gratitude in their

hearts, the parishioners bid farewell to Father Paul last week. The farewell was quickly ,overshadowed by a tragic event that took place the night of the

farewell Mass. Two young people who live in one of our villages called "La Nava," were murdered in their home. The children, Jenny, 12 years old, and her brother Carlin, 10 years old, were attacked and killed with machetes by men who intended to kill their father, Santos. He was not at home and their mother, Marta Rosa, had gone to a neighbor's. The'hour was dusk and the children and their mother had recently returned to their village from Guaimaca from the farewell celebration for Father

Church workers: Repressing Central American gangs fuels more violence By PAUL JEFFREY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras - The heavy-handed repression of youth gangs has brought more violence to Central America, said Church workers ministering to gang members. Gangs such as SaIvatrucha and 18th Street formed in the late 1990s when the U.S. government deported young people from southern California's, street gangs back to a region still reeling from the wars of the two previous decades. Amid the high unemployment and urban decay of Central American cities, the gangs blossomed and soon were widely blamed, whether they deserved it or not, for skyrocketing homicide rates and rampant drug abuse. In response, some Central American governments sent army troops into poor neighborhoods and implemented so-called "hard-hand" laws that allowed police to jail young men simply for having a visible tattoo. Prison populations soared. Such heavy-handed policies only have made the problem worse, said Virginia Alfaro, a Vincentian lay missionary from Spain who

heads the prison ministry for the Archdiocese of San Pedro Sula. ''The prisons lack even basic hygiene, and there's not even an attempt at rehabilitation. The more youth they cram into the prisons, the stronger and more violent the gangs become," said Alfaro, who has ministered in San Pedro Sula's prisons for nine years. "Repression hasn't stopped them, but instead has simply led them to change how they act. They're now more clandestine. They decided, 'If they're going to arrest us for having tattoos, fine, we won't have tattoos.' But they still belong to a gang," Alfaro told Catholic News Service. Honduran prisons are deadly places for gang members. In 2003, 68 youths were killed in a prison riot in La Ceiba. Human rights activists claim the dead were murdered in cold blood. In a similar incident, 107 young people died in a 2004 prison fire in San Pedro Sula. "If there's no effort at rehabilitation,.then there's only repression and extermination," Alfaro said. "Violence in the prisons represents a policy of the govemment just as, outside the prison, social cleansing

Father shot dead after leaving Honduran gang, building new life SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (CNS) - Henri Aguilar's entire body was marked by the tattoos he had acquired while a member ofone ofHonduras' notorious street gangs, but inside he was a new man. He had left the gang that had once claimed his allegiance, come back to the church of his childhood, gotten a steady job, married and had a baby ~l whom he name~ Genesis as a sign of his new beginnings. On May 7, Aguilar was cleaning up after working all day and planned to walk to a nearby chapel, where he was scheduled as a reader for Mass. He was taking a shower

when three masked men burst into his church-built home and shot him dead. Aguilar's killing illustrates how hard it is for young men to escape the violent gang subculture that has gripped Central America in the last decade. Once in a gang, it's almost impossible to leave. ''It's precarious. If they see that you've really had a change ofheart and become a Christian, you might be OK. I walk a narrow line. I don't walk around on the street, I don't smoke or drink, and I don't visit myoid friends," Aguilar told Catholic News Service less than a week before his death.

is state policy." . Maryknoll Father Thomas Goekler, who works in Chamelecon, a poor neighborhood on the edge of San Pedro Sula, said the state's security forces have targeted young people. "Once we began to get the kids in our neighborhood on their feet, to get them out of the gangs, to have some success, the murders continued, but rather than the gang members killing each 9~her, it was now the police who were killing the kids," he said. In a country where drug traffickers and money launderers have found many accomplices in the country's political elite, young people have become scapegoats for endemic patterns of corruption, Father Goekler said. Meanwhile, gang membership has grown in the region as gangs have o.ffered young people something they weren't getting anywhere else: a sense of mission and importance, Alfaro noted. "Inside the gangs you become someone, someone important in the neighborhood. They trust you with important tasks with which you have to comply. They give you protection," she said. "It's ironic that adolescents don't Want strict norms or discipline, but they accept the discipline of the gangs, which is very strict, and which they didn't find in their parents or family." "The future h~ only three options for many of these youth: hospitalization, imprisonment or death," Alfaro said. "They've accepted that fate and see the choice of giving their freedom or their life for their neighborhood as somettung positive. "But they don't want their kids to live the same lives. That's the moment when we can talk with them about the future, where we argue that their children need them to be present in their lives. We can work with their kids as a Way of being in ministry with them," she said.

7 Paul. Jenny was in the house when the men arrived '~d since I she would have been able to recognize them, they Icilled her violently. Her little brother, Carlin, heard something, went inside, and tried to defend his sister. He, too, was brfJtally killed. Their deaths have ~haken the tranquil village of LaNava, as II well as all of Guaimaca and neighboring towns. TPe deaths of the children have mobilized the community to stand and speak out. for justice and peace,': symbolized in the march to the l~bal mayor's office that was held tkfore the . II fu neral. Although four of the I' perpetrators have beep apprehended, everyone re~zes the need to reclaim their Iitown and the safety and security that has characterized this beautiful area. The children are tieing remembered for their joy of life, their deep faith, and their many talents. Sister Marta IIInes OP, director of the Mari~ Poussepin Center, gathered all pf the young women when she heard the news, since Jenny was a student there. Sister Marta led the group in a reflection and sharirlg session. Then together they went with the I rest of the Team to accompany Jenny's family in LJ Nava. The brutal death~ of the two

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TRAGIC ENDING - Twelveyear-old Jenny, above, and her 1O-year-old brother, Carlin, right, were brutally murdered in their home in "La Nava," part of the diocesan Mission in Guaimaca Honduras. The two had just returned from a send-off celebration for Father Paul Canuel.

children have brought an outcry from the people and a resolve to make a change. More than 2,000 people participated in the march and funeral as a demonstration of solidarity and a commitment to not let their deaths be in vain. The children have become "prophets of peace and justice" for the community. The interesting part of the experience is that their deaths are not simply two more deaths among many. Theirs will not be a headline in the newspaper amidst other murders, school shootings, or robberies. The tranquility of this peaceful town has been broken by this terrible event arid people are not content to simply ''tum the page" for more news. They have mobilized and seek to effect a change, a change among themselves. We can desire peace and we can work for justice, however these will be achieved only if we first can live peace and justice ourselves. Each of us is a component part of world peace; each of us is an active participant in making justice a reality. As we pray for Jenny and Carlin, and their family here in Guaimaca, we join others of good will who seek to bring to the world, the peace that Christ has given to us.

www.HonduranMission.org


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The Anchor ,

JUNE

22,2007

The summer message of St. John the Baptist The Solemnity of the Birth of St John the Baptist holds such prominence in the Church's liturgy that we celebrate it even on a Sunday. Because today is June 24, this celebration actually trumps the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Tune. Just as we think of Christmas

before December 25.. As in the case of our Lord, John the Baptist's parents also received word of his conception by the message of an angel. The . annunciation to the Baptist's father Zechariah in the Temple (cf. Lk 1:5-25) forms

fiery and heroic Judges led the people against their enemies, called them to repentance, and brought them back to the obedience of God's Law, so did John arise as a popular preacher on the banks of the Jordan River

~~:;1:~~EIB:~ =?ÂŁ~~en

Church's summer holiday. In fact, this solemnity's date actually bears great significance. It happens six months before the Nativity of our Lord. This calculation is based on Scriptural indications. In the sixth month of the pregnancy of the Baptist's mother Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel announced Christ's conception to Mary in Nazareth (cf. Lk 1:26). If we suppose that John was born at nine months, then on his birthday, Mary would have been three months pregnant. Therefore, Jesus was born six months after John. And, June 24 falls just about six months to the day

between angels and men, that surrounded Christ's incarnation. While we consider Jesus' birth miraculous because he was born of a virgin, John's is miraculous because he was born of a sterile woman and an old man (cf. Lk 1:18). John the Baptist's birth fits into the Old Testament tradition of miraculous and announced births, especially those of Samson (cf. Jgs 13) and Samuel (cf. ISm 1). In this way, God indicates to us that the Baptist resembles the Judges and the Prophets of Israel. Just as the

he (cf. Jn 1:30; Mk 1:7). "I baptize with water; but, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit" (In 1:26,33). John the Baptist received his name on the eighth day after his birth when his parents circumcised him according to

in order to announce a time of favor, the reality of God's mercy, and the possibility of grace and forgiveness. The Nativity of the Baptist gives us an opportunity to listen to this message once again. In the long, bright daylight oflate

(jJ,~ ~"ÂŁ~i!;.:~n ~~EE::~'E;::~s:r to proclaim a baptism of repentance to his contemporaries and to prepare the way of the Lord. And, just as the Prophets bore witness to God and to his promises, so did John bear witness to Christ as the Lamb of God (cf. Jn 1:29). He heralded our Lord's coming. He recognized him as the fulfillment of God's promises and pointed.to Jesus as one of higher rank, more worthy, and mightier than

and chanan means favor, mercy, and grace. So, the Baptist's name roughly means "God's graciousness" or "God is gracious." In other words, he found favor and grace with God. However, in the Bible a person's name also reveals one's vocation, the task that God calls one to carry out. We know that John's name and his call come from God, not from his parents, nor from any human being. For his name was given to his father Zechariah by the angel Gabriel (cf. Lk 1:13). So, God sent John the Baptist out into the wilderness, to the waters of the Jordan,

assiduous work, we hear John's distant voice as one crying in the desert. We need not delay until Advent or next Lent; St. John the Baptist's call to repentance is for you and me today. His testimony wakes us from our spiritual haze and laziness. His is a perennial summons to examine our lives and tum back to the Lord who loves us, invites us to renewed friendship, and longingly awaits our wholehearted response. Father Bissinger is parochial vicar at St. Julie Billiart parish in North Dartmouth and the assistant director ofVocations for the Diocese ofFall River.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat, June 23, 2 Cor 12:1-10; Ps 34:8-13; Mt 6:24-34. Sun, June 24, The Nativity ofJohn the Baptist, Is 49: 1-6; Ps 139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66,80. Mon, June 25, Gn 12:1-9; Ps 33:12-13,18-20,22; Mt 7:1-5. 'fues, June 26, Gn 13:2,5-18; Ps 15:2-5; Mt 7:6,12-14. Wed, June 27, Gn 15:1-12,17-18; Ps 105:1-4,6-9; Mt 7:15-20. Thurs, June 28, Gn 16:112,15-16 or 16:6b-12,15-16; Ps 106:1-5; Mt 7:21-29. Fri, June 29, Peter and Paul, Apostles, Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34:2-9; 2 Tm 4:6-8,17-18; Mt 16:13-19.

Youth is not being wasted on our young Socrates made. But let's be honest: the "Millennial" Generation; the I'm sure we can all find pieces of "Net:Generation." Though different ourselves in his observation, too. researchers (and I am by no means I believe sometimes we may give an expert in this matter) cite differkids, as they say in fairly contempo- ent "starting points" for this group, rary lingo, a "bum rap." From speaking with people around the diocese, I know that one of their preeminent concerns for pastoral planning is how to get youth more involved in their faith By Father and in their Church. Today what I'd like to do is to take David M. Andrade a brief look at what researchers are saying about the younger generation, and provide here I'm speaking about those born some thoughts for how pastoral in the late 1980s-early 1990s. planning might be able to address They've come into a different world: some of the challenges. seeing the fall of Soviet commuYou've probably heard the buzz nism; the first GulfWar; the Columterms before: the "Y" Generation; bine High School massacre; September 11 and the "War on Terror," and most recently, the VIrginia Tech massacre. Researchers agree that overCHRISTIAN PRO-LIFER all their biggest problems are rooted HELPER in pressure: both time and achieveAPOSTOLIC ment demands. Some researchers ADVISOR TRUE claim they're an apathetic, indifferRESTORER ent group, while others are stating HOLY MEDICATOR . just the opposite: this generation is ANTI-ABOKrIONIST beginning to move beyond individuONE alism to team work and civic pill'CAREGIVER THOMAS PASTERNAK LOVING I pose. From a spiritual standpoint, in I'harmocl" INSTRUcrOR many cases this generation is being INFALLIBLE 202 RockSt. SPECIALIST compared to that of the "Great Fall River I Awakening" which occurred at the CHARITABLE THERAPEUTIST end ofthe 19th century in the United ThI NIIIonII CItIloIc P1wmIc:IIlI GuIld ofthl UnIIId SIll. 508-679-1300 States: youth are searching for meanI ing and answers to the greater existential questions, but are not neces-

This is a test. This is only a test. Who said the following? "Our youth now loves luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for older people. They contradict their parents and tyrannize their teachers." Was it: a. Oprah Wmfrey b. Or. Phil c. Jerry Springer d. Other Despite what you may be thinking, it wasn't anyone of the stars of our 21 st-century talk: show glitz. Actually, it was Socrates, writing in 450 B.C. As I think back to the "old days" when I was' growing up, I am amazed by all that has - and has not - changed. We all know that kids may reflect that observation that

Seasons of

Change

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sarily looking to traditional faith groups and denominations to find them. What is crucially important to note is the impact that technology has had upon them. A recent survey of nearly 8,000 college students published in 2007 by Reynol Junco and JeannaMastrodicasain their book "Connecting to the NeLGeneration: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know about Today's College Students" showed that: - 97 percent own a computer; - 94 percent own a cell phone; - 56 percent own an Mp3 player; - 76 percent use Instant Messaging; - 15 percent of Instant Messaging users are logged on 24 hours a day/seven days a week; - 34 percent use Websites as their primary source of news; - 28 percent own a blog and 44 percent read blogs; - 49 percent download music using peer-to-peer file sharing; - 69 percent of students have a "Facebook" account; - 90 percent of college students have a "MySpace" account. The issue becomes then, how do we speak to our youth? How do we engage them? With what legacy do we provide them, and together with them, how do we form a living, breathing community of faith that

sustains them into the future? Were we to look at pastoral planning simply as a matter of closing and merging churches, of maintaining things the way they are now, all we'd be doing is "corporate downsizing." In that case, we'd have missed the boat. The legacy we'd be leaving would hardly suffice. In his book "Secularity and the Gospel: Becoming Missionaries to Our Children," Ronald Rolheiser suggests we have to move from a "maintenance" model to one of "mission;" from staying put with the ways things are as having sustained us to this point, to going forth and evangelizing to meet the challenges of modernity. Especially with our young people, we need to be speaking in a language they can understand through modes that they lize, showing Christ as central while fostering the strong sense of community for which many are looking. This is one of the central challenges of pastoral planning, and as many of the people are saying in our diocese, what we need to focus on. Admittedly, Rolheiser says this much better than I. Look for his book - you can find it on Amazon.com. I guess technology has even impacted a Baby Boomer/Gen-Xer like me. Let's continue to pray for our youth, our Church, and one another. FatherAndrade is pastor ofHoly Trinity Parish in Fall River and is director of the Office of Pastoral Planning.

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Swabbing the decks

infrastructure has reached surfaces on both levels (walls, maximum capacity. We sure could floors, ceilings and even closets) have been repainted or recovered. Friday 22 June 2007 - at sea Civil War cemetery on the Next, I check the lower level of use more meeting and storage space A door (previously a window) has You may be surprised, dear the church building - classproperty has been restored. I see Now, up to the church proper. been added so that visitors have readers, to know there are no rooms, library, offices, and that the church parking lot will It's clean and bright. I especially outside access to the pastor's specifications on how church function room. All the floors have soon need to be sealed and lined like the four roof windows study. The church business office buildings should be left by an out(again), but some time ago the been stripped, washed, and waxed installed over the altar by a has been relocated out of the going parish priest. It's by Carl Fuller the;janitor. predecessor. These close autoAn interior wall has living space. Carl enjoys painting so common sense, I suppose. matically at the hint of rain. been opened to make a larger Still, a checklist would the wall surfaces are Sometimes, however, the wooden dining room for ceremonial prove helpful. In anticipafresh. Furnishings are frames swell and the windows get occasions. There are comfortable tion of shippi,ng out, ~ adequate. The church Reflections of a stuck. The sanctuary is plain but furnishings. Much of it is knockinspect the physical plant <,,~p . h kitchen, though smaller tastefully appointed. There is no down furniture purchased at \<,,~ I'm leaving behind for than I would like, is unused furniture stored in the close-out sales. Some pieces were Father Mike Racine. I scrubbed and immaculate. sanctuary. found at yard sales and roadside try to see with new eyes. Special attention has been Accommodations have been flea markets (like $10 dining I stroll the grounds. paid to amenities for ,made for those with disabilities. room chairs). Major kitchen The gardens are bloompersons with disabilities. The handicapped ramp has been appliances have been replaced , ing, the lawns are trimmed and_ 1950s bathroom fixtures have mother-of-all-pot-holes was replaced with the latest lowwith energy-efficient models (I verdant, beds are covered with' been replaced with new conservarepaired. It took a hundred tons of maintenance building material. hope Mike likes the color fresh mulch, sidewalks are free tion-minded versions. Lighting fill. There is adequate parking, The church exterior has been "bisque." It was on sale.) There is from obstructions, signage is clear has been inspected for energy with more handicapped spaces resided. A prayer'chapel has been an ample supply of kitchen, bath and welcoming, external lighting efficiency and wasteful bulbs than required by law. All in all, it set up, doubling as a "cry room" and bedroom linens and of dishes, is effective, the abandoned prereplaced. The cons are that the looks ship-shape. for toddlers haviqg a bad hair day. flatware, pots and pans. The The baptismal font has been given kitchen cupboards and shelves a permanent and visible location. have been cleaned and put in A custom-made ambry has been order. The cons are that after installed for the Holy Oils. more than a century bats still live years older seemed much It seems Paris Hilton's life your faith life is at this.time or Moveable seating has been placed in the attic, and field mice in the , older; "beyond her years." is not so simple lately. The if you attend church or receive in the choir loft. The tabernacle cellar. Ask Father Bruce Neylon Although she was also very seemingly carefree heiress the sacraments: but if you do has been relocated and given about the bats. quiet and reserved, she had a not, maybe you might take known for her enjoyment of greater promi,nence. New shrines I have a list: parties, nightclubs and fashion sophistication and beauty Some time for prayer and see have been created for statues of Replace the screen door. It about her that was all her own. has found her fairy tale that God is calling you, back the Sacred Heart, the Blessed whacks you rudely on the way Both Paris and Nicky made lifestyle has caught up with to him: I have seen in the Mother, St. Joseph, and St. out; her. It is an unfortunate tale of their first Comm~nionat St. media JhafyoU; occaSionally Bernard. The heating and cooling - take out dead bushes; Martin of Tours Church in Los events; a choice of drinking make the Sign of the Cross / systems are working fine. The - move out early and call a too much, followed by another and bless yourself. Angeles. When it was time to roof is 30 years old, but has no professional cleaning company so enroll in the Confmnation choice of driving under the You know, Jesus kne\¥ leaks. Lighting here has also been that everything is sparkling; influence and then quite a bit about the replaced with the most energyremove what little there is taking the chance of "SiDlple lif~." He spoke efficient type. All burnt-out light of wall-to-wall carpeting and driving with a susoften·,about just loving x:ePlaced. Pews in bulbs have been paint the floors. There have been pended license, not God our Father and area have been the front entrance several dogs living here. Slips once but twice. The our neighbor and not removed, providing space for -happen. ' second time landed worrying about of various ushers and the business Welcome aboard, Mike. Enjoy her in Judge Sauer's material things. parish groups. The carpeting is your stay! I did. courtroom and in God is still with you holding up well., The cons are that Father Goldrick becomes prison. Paris. Your name is the church ceiling is going to need pastor of St. Joseph Parish, No. Many people may written on his heart. I painting before too long. It would Dighton on June 27. have different opinions about hope that you will find be nice if the hundred-year-old what Paris deserves from the program in ,he ni,nth grade, comfort and guidance in his window panes were reset and the legal system. Is she being everlasting and merciful Paris did not attend. . repaired: I would like to frames treated fairly or too harshly? love.... The years went by and then Sales And Service have more gathering space, but that Actually this is not the thesis one day about five or six years And then'I would probably would need to be a paved court ago, I saw Paris on the cover of this column. Actually, it is suggest that she call a priest to Fall River's Largest outside the main door - no room "What can Paris learn from of a magazi~e. When I knew talk to if she hasn't done so Display of TVs inside. We still wait to be connected her, she was a rich little girl. her lifestyle and her choices already. I would give her a to the, town water. I leave these Now she was a young woman and from the situation she has phone number of a priest that ZENITH • SONY things for my successor. and on her way to becoming I know, or suggest that she found herself in? How can she Now, off to the rectory. It's grow spiritually from what she "famous." call her pastor, if her family 1196 BEDFORD ST. small but sufficient. The two is experiencing?" attends church in another I even w~tched a couple FALL RIVER chimneys have been pointed. All 508-673-9721 For you see, I have more episodes of "The Simple location. Life," just to see what she was than a passing interest in the Altogether I would wish young heiress, for she was up to. her well. I would not expect once a student of mine. If I were to write Paris a to hear from her,but just to Seventeen years ago, when letter this is what I would say: let het know that someone Paris was nine years old, she . Dear Paris, was thinking about her and (Sept. 13-25 Total Cost: $2,990); October 5-12, 2007; and her sister Nicky enrolled : Well hello. I don't know if hoping the best for her. I October 15:-23, 2007; February 17-25, 2008; in the Christian Formation ' you will remember me, but . would tell het that I will pray April 19-27, 2008; Total Cost: $2,290 many years ago when you program for first Communion for her to embrace the RomeNenicelTuscany/Florence. preparation, where I was the made your first holy Com"simple life" of Jesus Christ, director of Religious Educamunion, I was the director of and to allow his compassion(LakeComo/Sorrento/Capri/Pompeii...) tion. the C.C.D. program that you ate love to bring her to a Contact: Nicky Hilton was seven attended. place of conversion that will Anthony Nachef, PhD (Theology) only bring goodness and years old. I remember her as a I know that you are going ' 857 W. Boylston St., Worcester, MA01606 beautiful blue-eyed child, with through a difficult time right peace to her soul. 508-340-9370 blonde hair in a pixie cut. She now, but I'm wondering if you Greta and her husband E-mail: an@catholicteachings.org was very quiet and very shy, might be looking at your life GeQrge, with their children W~bsite: www.catholicteachings.org, or and as sweet as she could be. and considering a few are members of Christ the Paris, while being only two changes. I have no idea what • www.TourOfltaly.us King Parish in Mashpee.

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Golden oldie Therese Ledoux still young at heart Bv MIKE GORDON

been blessed with a wonderful family." Ledoux was married to her husband Conrad for 49 ACUSHNEf - For 90-year-old Therese Ledoux, years before he passed away. She has 15 grandchildren education has been a life-long passion. She taught at and 26 great-grandchildren. When she's not working St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet for more than at the church or school she enjoys spending time with 30 years and was instIUmental in opening the first kin- them. Father Daniel W. Lacroix, the pastor, praised her dergarten in the area. What's more amazing still is that at age 90, Ledoux work and said, "She is a remarkable woman who is is still volunteering at the school twice a week and con- always willing to lend a helping hand. She has ;been a tinues to make an impact on the lives of young stu- bridge to many generations as well as many ministries." He said that the school awarded three $500 scholardents. . ''I love the students and the school and it keeps me ships in her honor this year. Named the Therese Ledoux active," declared Ledoux, who attends Mass daily. Stewardship Award, it will assist students going on to a A Woonsocket, RI. native, Ledoux was recently Catholic high school. "Students still remember fondly," said Father honored by the school for her dedication at a 90th birthLacroix. "She keeps going day party. A former student, Father Tom and going and is a good Washburn, now a memwitness to others what ber of the Franciscans, dedication is. You can recelebrated Mass prior to tire from work, but you don't retire from life." the party. Ledoux doesn't seem "The students presented me with cards and to have any plans to retire just yet. She just started a posters and sang a song. prayer shawl ministry They also presented me group at the parish in with a plaque and the which members knit and eighth-grade class recrochet shawls for the sick, vealed that they had dedicated their yearbook to grieving and homebound. me. It felt very special," ''We've only met once she said. so far, but we've got nine She added that it was shawls done," said "A wonderful surprise," Ledoux. ~e group has 19 to see one of her former members and it hopes to students celebrating eventually expand to benMass. "I'm always efit new mothers as well. pleased to see that they ''I think it's wonderful. It are doing good things or keeps your hands busy and successful." it feels good to help those in need." Ledoux ta~ght from 1958 to 1988 and was the Ledoux has been a lector at the parish for more first kindergarten teacher than 35 years. She was in Acushnet where she has lived for 59 years. also a Girl Scout leader for six years and a member of Although it was a lot of the parishWomen's Guild. work with 40 students in "I was a member ofthe the morning and another 40 in the afternoon, PERSON OF THE WEEK Therese Ledoux. (Photo Ladies of St. Anne for a long time," said Ledoux. Ledoux loved her work by Mike Gordon) ''We used to do fund-raisand fondly recalled teaching her grandchildren as they came through the ers for the parish and many good friendships develschool system. When she began teaching she did so in oped because of my involvement." the basement of the church because the school was not For 25 years, she has been an extraordinary minister of holy Communion and that volunteerism led to yet built. "When I retired I began to volunteer at the school her to become coordinator for bringing Communion to and I'm glad I can. I enjoy being around the students the sick and homebound. "When people receive a visit from you and receive and helping others. The good Lord has blessed me with Communion they are so happy. There is a real need good health and I try to help wherever I do." Ledoux volunteers several times a week in the of- for that ministry." Ledoux coordinates a team of 15 fice assisting with various secretarial and administra- people. "It's a great consolation to bring the Lord to the sick." tivetasks. She is also a member of the stewardship committee Asked what impactCatholic education has on young people, she said, "Catholic education makes a big dif- and Father Lacroix added, "She is a pillar of the parish." Bilt don't expect the 2006 Acushnet Woman of ference. It's important for a child because they will alI ways have a strong foundation that they can always the Year to seek praise. "I'm just trying to do the best I can," said Ledoux. "I told Father Daniel be- I come back to." She comes from a strong Catholic background and cause I had such an education I felt I had to give credits her father for that. ''He was very religious and back. I feel like I've succeeded. I hope I've made a went to Mass evCry day. He would take me to church 4i,fference." and we said the rosary together as a family. That stayed The Anchor encourages readers to nomi.nate othI . I with me and God continues to come first in my life." ers/or the Person o/the Week - who and why? SubShe passed her faith onto her five daughters and of- mit nominations at our email address: ; fered this advice for young people. "Be good to each theanchor@tuU:homews.org, or write to TheAnchor, : : other and help one another out Love your family. I've P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722. ANCHOR STAFF

Just a meat and potato (head) kind of guy Sometimes, there's a lot more to a gift than meets the eyes. Last week my youngest Jolivet expressed devotion to her dad with a Father's Day gift of Butterfinger minis, one of my many weaknesses, and a Red Sox Mr. Potato Head. Some people would think that a Red Sox Mr. Potato Head is just another interesting piece to add to my sports shrine in my Anchor office. Not me. I quickly began to decipher the symbolisms behind Emilie's wondetful gift. In the language of my FrenchCanadian ancestors, potato translates into pomme de terre, or apple of the earth. Could it be that I am the apple of my young daughter's eyes? It just

might be. The potato has the rare distinction in the world of flora of having many, many eyes. Could it be that my pre-teen offspring recognizes my wisdom and ability to see all points of view at once? That's a possibility. Wait, there's still more. Think about the potato for a moment. There are few members of the food chain more versatile than the apple of the earth. A nicely baked potato is the perfect complement to a thick juicy steak; there's not much better than a side of big old french fries with a slab of cod fish; a hefty pile of mashed spuds is the perfect place a finicky three-year-old can hide a pile of yucky green peas; and a sandwich of chourico and chips is the best duo since pb&j. In the summer, a grand dollop of ice cold potato salad can bring out the best even in an over-charred burger. The potato can also do breakfast with the best of them - a steaming heap of home fries or hash browns helps put the sizzle in a plate of eggs, bacon or sausage. And don't forget the potato chip

- a food that's perfect anywhere at anytime. Yes, the potato is the vegetablization of versatility. Perhaps my intelligent young daughter sees her old man as the personification of versatility. Yes, there can be more than meets the eye in a gift. As I write this column, I proudly glance over at my colorful Red Sox Mr. Potato Head, standing prominently on a book shelf in my office. Hmmrn. He does have noticeably big, bulging bug eyes. I wonder if it reminds Emilie of the way I look when faced with life's daily decisions. And look at that goofy grin. Is that what my youngest sees after one ~......._ of my cerebral (corny) jokes? Wow, look how big the spud's ears are. Well at least that's not me. Since I lost a slice of one ear in an operation, my sympathetic wife and child periodically remind me I only have an ear-and-a-half. Maybe that's what Emilie wants me to look like. And upon closer observation, I notice the words "Red Sox" emblazoned across Mr. Potato Head's chest are somewhat stretched by an oversized gut. Nab, that can't be. Can it? I wonder if my little gift-giver knows to mash means to reduce to a soft pulpy state by being beaten or pressured. Is this why she selected a potato for a gift? Or is it because of my half-baked schemes that oft time go awry? Maybe I'm reading to much into this. There are times when there's more to a gift than meets the eyes. But I don't think this is one of those times. Now that I think about it, my new Red Sox Mr. Potato Head is just another interesting piece to add to my Anchor office sports shrine. I think I'll go have a couple of Butterfinger minis now.

FACE-TO-FACE - Pope Benedict XVI greets a woman during a meeting with young people at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, Italy, June 17. (eNS photofTony Gentile, Reuters)


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Philadelphia council rescinds 'pro-choice city' designation "We are known as the 'City of PHILADELPHIA (CNS) Cardinal Justin Rigali thanked the Brotherly Love and Sisterly AfPhiladelphia City Council for vot- fection,'" said a statement issued ing to rescind a "troubling reso- by the center. "There is nothing lution" that had declared Philadel- loving about the assault on human life that is abortion. It is a tragic phia a "pro-choice city." "The members who supported violation of both our vulnerable today's resolution are to be com- sisters and their never-to-be-born mended for reflecting' carefully children." The original resolution was inupon this issue and showing the troduced by Councilwoman courage to revisit it," he said in a Blondell Reynolds Brown at the statement shortly after the July 14 request of Planned Parenthood. vote to rescind. "I appreciate that Brown acknowledged that the the council has considered seriresolution was passed at the reously the sensitivities of all Philaquest of a special-interest group, delphians and has rightly voted to and that PJanned Parenthood had take these sensitivities into achelped her craft the document. count." GIVE HIM A HAND - Pilgrims holding colorful cutouts surround Pope Benedict XVI during his weekly "They asked me to do it. I The vote to rescind was 13 to general audience at the Vatican June 13. (CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo) agreed with their views and I four; nine council members had agreed to introduce the resolusupported the original nonbinding she told The Bulletin, a tion," resolution June 7, while eight Philadelphia evening newspaper. members had opposed it. of the day, we have to "At the end Two of the three Catholic decide what we want the city to council members who had supWASHINGTON (CNS) - With quires that a) funds collected be used Church goods." . look like and be about." ported the designation reversed The new legislation says a bishop their votes. Vatican approval, the head of the U.S. for their intended purposes; b) funds She declined a request for Conference of Catholic Bishops has collected are not absorbed by exces- must "hear the (diocesan) finance comment from The Catholic StanAfter the first vote, Cardinal council and the college ofconsultors" Rigali had called the declaration dard & Times, Philadelphia issued national nonns governing all sive fund-raising costs." One norm flatly forbids any agree- before leasing Church-owned prop- of the city as "pro-choice"· both archdiocesan newspaper. church-related fund-raising appeals. ''Fund-raising appeals are to be ment by which the fees of a commer- erty worth more than $400,000; he "divisive and erroneous." One councilman, Deacon Juan truthful and forthright," says the open- cial firm or religious fund-raiser are must "obtain the consent" ofthose two Ramos of St. Peter the Apostle "In a city where so many set "directly or indirectly ... on a per- bodies before leasing property worth people vigorously defend life at Parish, said he was not surprised ing line of the nonns. more than $1 rnillion or when the lease every stage, proclaiming Philadel- that Planned Parenthood was beThe nonns spell out rules of trans- centage basis." Under the nonns, communities of is for three or more years. parency, accountability, procedures to phia 'pro-choice' is ,nconsistent hind the resolution. "The lanIt says a parish or other ecclesiasti- with reality," he said. "It unfairly guage of the resolution told me be followed and oversight over fund- men or women religious must have the raising campaigns by appropriate approval of their major superior and cal entity under the bishop's jurisdic- saddles those who support life at she had gotten it from one of the church authorities. the diocesan bishop to solicit funds; tion must obtain the bishop's consent all stages with this shameful la- pro-abortion activist groups," he BishopWilliamS. SkylstadofSpo- diocesan entities and other Catholic to lease property worth more than bel." said. kane, Wash., USCCB president, sent entities and organizations under the $100,000 or if the lease is one year or Although the resolution was The June 7 vote on the nonout a decree promulgating the fund- diocesan bishop'sjurisdiction need his longer. largely symbolic, he and other binding resolution 'came only raising nonns. The same day he issued approval. Communities of religious must· hours after Philadelphia was members of the council believed another decree establishing new naThe approval by the appropriate have the consent of the major supe- named the city with. the highest it sent a false message about the tional nonns for the leasing ofchurch- Church authority or authorities "is to rior and his or her council and the "ni- murder rate in the country, lead- city. owned properties. Both decrees take be given in writing with reference to hil obstat" of the diocesan bishop to ing Cardinal Rigali to chide the "This city cannot just be claseffect Aug. IS. t the purpose for which the funds are lease property worth more than $1 council for passing such a mean- sified as a pro-choice city, beThe bishops adopted both sets of being raised, the time frame and the million or for three years or more, the ingless measure in the wake of the cause there are hundreds of thounorms in November 2002. Msgr. methods to be used in raising them:' new legislation says. "Nihil obstat:' city's disturbing trends in violent sands of people in this city who Latin for "nothing stands in the way:' crime. Ronny Jenkins, USCCB associate the document says. are Pro-Life, like myself," he said. general secretary, told Catholic News It says the church authority is to means more ''I don't object" than ''I City Council President Anna C. "Council members who voted Service that the long delay between maintain oversight "through periodic consent:' Vema voted against the city's desfor it should apologize to the thouthe bishops' vote and the Vatican's review." Finally, Vatican consent is needed sands of Philadelphians they have ignation as pro-choice, saying it approval was "to allow time to intro''Annual fund-raising reports are to for a parish, diocese, religious com- offended today," he said,"and "does not respect the views of duce and discuss the two nonns with provide both financial information and munity or any other Catholic institu- tum their energies toward improv- thousands of the city's citizens religious organizations ... who would a review of the apostolic work for tion that fits the definition of public ing the quality of life and the safe- who do not agree with it." be affected." which the funds were raised," the juridic person in Church law to lease guarding of all residents." Philadelphia would have been Both sets of nonns include rules document says. out property with a market value in The Philadelphi~-based Na- the largest U.S. jurisdiction to affectinghow religious orders do busiThe fund-raising norms were excess of $5 million. tional Catholic Bioethics Center adopt such a resolution, joining ness, so the conference worked with drawn up as complementary legislaIn 1986 the U.S. bishops sought to had joined the cardinal in con- the California cities of West Holthe national organizations of men's tion to Canon 1262 of the 1983 Code cover supplementary legislation to demning the original vote. lywood, Berkeley and Santa Cruz. and women's religious superiors, he ofCanon Law, which says: ''The faith- Canon 1297 by simply cross-referencsaid. ful are to give support to the Church ing it to nonns they established under Advice The fund-raising nonns could af- by responding to appeals and accord- another canon dealing with extraordifect the way appea1s are conducted and ing to the nonns issued by the confer- nary administrative acts by a bishop, How much attention should president Bush pay funds are handled for everything from . ence of bishops." including the leasing ofdiocesan pr0pto Pope Benedict's ideas Jbout policy? parish capital campaigns to annual il Since 1977 the U.S. bishops have erty. However, that approach did not great ,..-,-.·....;"""·1:......."..'·1'8% diocesan appeals to local or national had fund-raising guidelines similar to cover the lease of property owned by deal:J;· /.t';,;ii-'~ )~·~i' fund-raising efforts by Catholic mon- the new legislation, but the new nonns . other public juridic persons in the moderate asteries, shrines or any other Church mark the first time those principles church. The new legislation closes that ·:'eftt~~~·'.~.146% amount I ' agencies or institutions that fit the defi- have been set into law in the U.S. former gap in U.S. Church law. ' nition in Church law of a "public ju- church. The gap was noted quite critically ~~~ 11.. -1 21 % ridic person." The new nonns for the leasing of in the commentary on the code pub''Fund-raising efforts are to be for Church property were also drawn up lished in 2000 by the Canon Law SononeDll~ at all .. _ I defined needs:' the new legislation as complementary legislation to the ciety ofAmerica. The 2000 commensays. code - in this case Canon 1297, tary also noted the existence ofguide- . . ...basedlllltelel>/llllll! ~wltl1.rIIldomIy ltleclId _"""'ofl,007 adlGl.~_1-l.ZOO7, It adds: ''The relationship of trust which calls for bishops' conferences lines but lack oflegislation governing Soun:l!:ZOO1~paII I . between donor and fund-raiser re- to "establish nonns for the leasing of fund raising. OZOO7CNS

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~ $C~tholic Charities Appeal ~ Correia; $200-M&M Alfred Almeida & Sons; $100-M&M Augustine Gonsalves. Holy Name: $SOO-In Loving Memory of Germaine Ferreira, Frances M. LaSalle; $IS0-M&M Joseph Reilly, M&M Mario Oliveira; $12S-Janet Britland, M&M Thomas Dunn, Jr., M&M Joseph F. Doran; $115- Theresa Ryan; $IOO-M&M Gerald Coulombe, M&M Brian Rapoza, William Keating, Jr., M&M Edward Witkowicz, Elizabeth P. Soares, M&M Raymond Greeley, Colleen Fitzsimmons. Holy Rosary: $100-M&M Wayne A. Swenson, M&M Paul Miniacci, M&M Armand Boudria. Sacred Heart: $US-M&M Shawn Geary. St. Anne: $IS0-St. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Joseph: $IS0-M&M David Levasseur; $100-M&M Florencio Serrato, ~,t. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Michael: $300-SI. Vincent de Paul Society; $IOO-M&M Steven Pereira, Anonymous, In Memory of Silvano Tavares. A Friend. St. Stanislaus: $SOO-Gail & Michael Noonan; $300-ln Memory of Pauline E. Niewola, M&M George Pereira; $2S0-John J. Polak, Jr.; $228M&M Ronald Feijo; $ISO-M&M John Japowicz, In Memory of Anne M. Polak. John Mazurek, Jr.; $100-A Smyth; $IS0-M&M George H. Friend. Cheryl Mello. Mitchell; $loo-M&M James Andrews. Santo Christo: $400-Faith FormaDr&M J. Paul Aucoin. Terence M. tion Program, SI. Vincent de Paul SoCostello, M&M Oleh B. Dutkewych, ciety; $2So-Fall River Municipal Credit Kathleen M. Eldredge, Mrs. William J. Union; $100-0ctavio & Ana Amaral, Hagerty, Timothy P. Howard, Kathleen M&M Carlos Botelho, M&M Anthony Juan, Mark P. Kelleher. William E. Carreiro. M&M Antonio Furtado, Manley, M&M Daniel McPhee. M&M Judite Medeiros, Manuel & Carmelinda Henry Welch. Medeiros, Nuno & Maria Medeiros, Dighton M&M Carlso Silva, Marino & Teresa St. Peter: $SOO-Michael & Susan Simoes. Cordeiro; $200-Joseph & Ruby Falmouth Corcoran. St. Patrick: $2,OOO-M&M Keith D. East Falmouth Bombaugh; $SOO-M&M Michael J. St. Anthony: $200-Leon Dusoe & Markow; $3S0~Dr. Robert Prendergast; Mary Fothergill; $IS0-M&M Thomas $200-Martha Hearn-Cunningham, Jane Jones; $100-Ruth Rodriguez Sacco. A. Hopewood, M&M T. Leonard East Freetown Matthews, Jr.• Anne Vieira, M&M WilSt. John Neumann: $1,800-M&M liam H. Winnett; $l20-Paul Olenick; Cornelius Murphy; $SOO-Atty. Paul & $100-Mrs. Bernard P. Lawrence, Mrs. Janet Mathieu; $400-M&M Harvey Francis W. Lipp, M&M John Lynch. Brooks; $200-M&M Jeffrey Fisher; Dr&M Walter L. McLean, M&M Rich$IS0-Peter & Nancy Saccone; $130- ard Mullen, Mrs. John Nochella. M&M Eric Johnson; $100-M&M Hyannis Michael Kelley, M&M William St. Francis Xavier: $SOO-Joseph Furtado. F. Magenwis, James Spalt; $2S0-M&M lEast Sandwich Ronald Turowetz; $IS0-Mary Walsh; Corpus Christi: $SOO-M&M John $125- Virginia A. Flaherty, Dorothy T. Lynch, Barbara E. Sullivan; $250- Tobin; $100-M&M Thomas Bache, M&M Thomas E. Fair. M&M Richard Mary T. Baker, Robert Dyka, Charles Jack, M&M James M. Koloski; $200- H. Kelliher, M&M Robert Manning, M&M James H. Brady, Patricia A. Gertrude M. McDonald, Elizabeth F. Smith, M&M Edward T. Beatty. Dorothy O'Shea, Robert Stauble. M. McFarland. John W. Smith; $150Mansfield M&M Robert H. Bangs, M&M Robert St. Mary: $2,SOO-Theresa O'Brien G. Melzer, M. Joyce Sampson; $100- & Jeff Grainger; $1,OOO-J.M. Burns, M&M Junius Hopkins, M&M Patrick M&M Robert C. Rubino; $SOO-M&M Moriarty, M&M Ronald A. Downing, Paul E. Bousquet, M&M William . M&M Joseph Carroll, Charles H. Pyne, Cooney; $400-M&M David P. Santoro; Joyce S. Bruce, Clara Mitchell, M&M $3S0-Edward Sliney, Sr.; $300-Maryse Jeffrey Wright, M&M Robert J. S. Lee; $2S0-M&M Brian Healy, Dr. Fitzpatrick, M&M Antonio R. Cambone, Robert F. Siblia, M&M Thomas F. M&M Robert E. Monahan, Jr., M&M Sullivan; $200-M&M Denis Dunn, Mrs. Mario Delvecchio, M&M Richard Hill, Paul Ethier, M&M Thomas J. Mikulis, M&M Robert E. Farrell, M&M Paul R. . M&M Joseph B. Monks, M&M Paul Feeley, Elizabeth T. Sherman, Raymond Sullivan, M&M William Mahoney, VirBarr, M&M Charles J. Miller, M&M ginia Simoni, Mary R. Wild; $150Frederick A. Twomey, M&M Robert F. M&M Robert F. Cavanaugh, M&M Kilduff, M&M Frank J. Graziano, M&M Patrick J. Farragher, Janice M. Robert L. Avila, M&M John Burns, Macomber, M&M Ronald Robertson, M&M Kevin S. Kelly, M&M John M&M Guy Tomase, M&M Bryan J. Howard, M&M Joseph Habeeb. Hill, M&M John Y. MacKinnon, M&M Fairhaven John H. McNair; $130-William J. St. Joseph: $200-M&M Robert Lawrence, JT.; $12S-M&M John DeTerra, Sr.; $100-M&M Richard Wilkinson; $100-M&M Vincent Botti, Cormier, Jonathan Foster, Gloria M&M Frederick G. Gibbs, Mary E. McGreevy. Harney, M&M John J. Holiver, Marie St. Mary: $SOO-M&M John E. McGann, William Nordberg, Helen Botelho. Sheehan, M&M Joseph Souza, Jr., Fall River Edmund & Mary Tierney, Perry Ellis, St. Mary Cathedral: $1,OOO-Bra- M&M John V. Delsignore, M&M James zilian Apostolate-Fall River Division; A. DiCorpo, M&M Daniel P. Farley, $300-Thomas Carroll; $100-Normand M&M Leonard R. Grimes, Jr., M&M Brodeur, M&M Ronald Proulx, M&M George Knight, M&M Kevin McBride, Muriel K. Murphy, M&M Ronald OlJesse Martin. Espirito Santo: $300-St. Vincent iveira, M&M David M. Thomas. de Paul Society. Martha's Vineyard Good Shepherd: $SOO-Rep. Bob Good Shepherd: $200-Stuart &

Top Five Parishes in 'each Area as of 061l4/07: Attleboro Out Lady of Mount Carmel, Seekonk $136.287.00 St. Mary, Mansfield 81.380.00 8t. John the Evangelist, Attleboro 65,476.00 81. Mark, Attleboro Falls 54.445.00 St. Mary, Seekonk 39.121.00 Cape Cod &: the Islands " St. Pius Tenth. South Yarmouth¡ $176.039.58 Christ the King. Mashpee 108.091.19 Our Lady of Victory, Centerville 98,675.00 Corpus Christi. East Sandwich 86.230.00 Our Lady of the Cape. Brewster 82.833.50 Fall River $ 62,513.00 Holy Name. FaIl River St. Thomas More, Somerset 36.174.00 St. Stanislaus. Fall River 34.883.00 St. John of God. Somerset 31.795.00 St. Patrick, Somerset 31.575.00 New Bedford S1. Julie Billiart, North Dartmouth $ 63,012.60 St. Patrick, Wareham 54,427.00 Our Lady of Mount Carmel. New Bedford 51.816.00 Immaculate Conception. New Bedford 47.585.00 St..John Neumann. East Freetown 44.855.00 Taunton S1. Ann, Raynham $ 86,122.00 St. Anthony, Taunton 42.709.00 Holy Rosary, Taunton 35.595.00 Holy Family, East Taunton 29.363.00 Annunciation of the Lord, Taunton 28.341.00 PARISHES Acushnet St. Francis Xavier: $SOO-Pierrette Lemieux; $300-Corey & Mary Cardoza; $17S-Andre & Ana Lemieux; $IS0-Marc & S\lzanne Laplante; $125Barbara Mello, Raymond & Dorothy Pepin; $120-Mark & Elaine Spinale; $loo-Joseph & Paulette Beaulieu, Edward Hammarquist, Rogerio & Maria Mendes, Nelson & Fatima Cardoso, Harold & Gloria Britton, Wayne & Janet Poitras, Charles & Anna Marshall, Sandra Holmes. Assonet St. Bernard: $13S-Joseph & Vilma Medeiros; $100-Robert & Patricia Barboza, Raymond & Pauline Thibault, Stanley & Mary Kay Janczura, Walter & Elizabeth Wmarski, Michael & Diane Kuriscak, Christopher & Janet Plonka, Brian & Elizabeth Lawton. Attleboro . Holy Ghost: $SOO-Charles Fox, Wallace Gordon; $400-Henry Pinson; $2oo-Lawrence McNally; $loo-Gaetan Collette. Annette Fanning, Florence Teixeira. St. John the Evangelist: $400M&M Thomas Castro, M&M Edward O'Brien; $300-M&M Robert Rovzar; $2S0-Robert Schwensfeir. Jr.; $120M&M Dan Ison; $100-M&M Robert J. Andrews, M&M Daniel Blake, Patricia M. Carroll, M&M John Conroy, M&M Michael Janicki, M&M Frank Marchione, Donald Pelletier, M&M James Rocha, M&M Donald Trainor, M&M Garry Wheelock. St. Stephen: $1.000-SI. Vincent de Paul Society; $IOO-John & Denise Anthony, Norman & LeeAnne Todd. Elizabeth Giard. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus: $22S-Cecile Major; $100-M&M Donald Burch, M&M Robert Dussault, Knights of Columbus-#5876. Brewster Our Lady of the Cape: $650M&M Frank Hart; $SOO-M&M Henry Blenke; $12S-M&M Leonard Reed. Buzzards Bay St. Margaret: $300-M&M Joseph DeRosiers, Madeline O'Leary; $200Elizabeth Stephens, M&M Ralph Wetherbee; $120-M&M George Reid; $110-M&M'Manuel Subda; $100M&M Richard Coyne, M&M John Hickey, M&M Paul Caldwell, Jeanne McMahon. Centerville Our Lady of Victory: $100-M&M John Mark, M&M George Sommers, Elizabeth Wallace & Jonathan Hirst. Chatham Holy Redeemer: $600-M&M Howard Whelden; $300-St. Vincent de Paul Society; $2S0-Dr&M Richard Weiler; $200-M&M Leonard S.

Karen Fuller. Mashpee Christ the King: $1,OOOcM&M Joseph Mooney; $600-M&M Robert Costello; $SOO-M&M Daniel Lindberg, Kay McNeill, M&M Martin Henry, M&M Carlton Meredith, M&M John Manton, Peter Bartek; $3S0-M&M Mark Linse; $300-M&M Paul Kranz, M&M Dwight Giddings; $2S0-M&M C. Farrell Galloway, M&M James Laughlin, M&M Edward Hanley, M&M William O'Brien; $200-M&M Carmine Marchillo, Margaret Davitt, M&M Frank Linhares; $IS0-M&M James Kaminske; $12S-M&M Paul Simonetti; $120-M&M Antonio Brum; $100M&M Thomas Stearns, Stella Citrano, M&M Lewis Newell, M&M Frank Witkus, M&M Paul McManus, Katherine Vaughn, M&M Kenneth Pedicini, M&M John Burdulis, M&M Raymond Leganowicz. Dr&M Edward Pacious, M&M Edward Dolan. Deacon&M Paul Roma, M&M Owen Kilcommins, M&M Anthony Malta, M&M Robert Tuohy, John Scanlon, M&M Ralph Wall. M&M Larry Wheatley, Mary Burridge. M&M C. Joseph Day. Claire Foley, Dr&Dr. Joseph Dorsey, M&M Michael Lahart Eileen Halligan, M&M Joseph Powers. Ruth Cornette. Mattapoisett St. Anthony: $100-M&M Raymond Cebula. M&M Robert Grant, M&M James Machado, M&M James Moran. Mrs. Francis O'Neill. New Bedford Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: $300-M&M Donald Houle; $200-Donald Buckley; $IS0-Helen McIntyre, Edith McIntyre; $100-M&M John Kavanaugh. Our Lady of the Assumption: $100-Auxilia Tavares, Pamela Turner Haywood. M&M Manuel Barros, Elizabeth Duarte, M&M Antonio Rodrigues. Our Lady of Fatima: $Soo-M&M Louis LeBlanc; $100-Jackie Ponte. Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James: $2S0-Annette L. Dwyer; $100Roger O. Desroches. St. Anthony of Padua: $100-M&M Leo Rousseau. St. Francis of Assisi: $1,ooO-Doris Garcia-In Memory of: Frank Garcia ($500)-Marty Crovello ($300)-David Gerrior ($200); $300-Rev. Kevin J. Harrington-In Memory of Donald Lawless; $2S0-M&M William Whelan III; $IS0-Women's League of St. Francis of Assisi; SUS-Judith Ann Belli, M&M David Chase; $100-M&M George Belliveau, Kathleen Treadup, M&M Rudolph Caruso, St. Francis of Assisi Men's League, M&M Peter Sullivan, Patrick & Heidi Walsh. St. John the Baptist: $200-M&M Edward Macedo, Anonymous; $150Mary Ann Lomba; $120-M&M Jose P. Brum, Jr.; $100-Holy Name Society, M&M Inocencio Santos, A Friend, M&M Silvino Arruda, M&M Joaquim Mouco, M&M Juvenal Cordeiro, AIda Medeiros, Anonymous, In Thanksgiving, M&M Jose DeFrias, M&M Luis A. Furtado, Lidia Moreira, M&M Carlos Raposo, M&M Jaime Furtado, Brian Costa, Ida Santos, Hanna Santos. St. Joseph-St. Therese: $500Anonymous; $IS0-M&M David Burr; $IOO-Anonymous, M&M Michael O'Malley, M&M Carlos Pavao. St. Lawrence Martyr: $32S-Mary Downey; $200-Suzanne Sullivan; $150M&M John Fletcher, M&M Gerard Gonneville; $100-Hannah Bruce, Lydia J. Murphy. St. Mary: $SOO-M&M Maurice Samson; $200-M&M Mark Pittman; $12S-M&M Paul H. Proulx; $100M&M Dennis Amaral, M&M James LaCroix, M&M Louis Dumont. North Attleboro Sacred Heart: $SOO-St. Vincent de Paul Society; $ISO-Stephen Daneau; $100-Donald Lacasse, M&M Andrew Bennett, Union St. Jean Baptiste/Catholic Family Life. St. Mark: $200-M&M David J. Berube, John & Eunice Cadorette,

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M&M John E. Hosa, Daniel & Christine Robinson, M&M Charles Roland, Raymond & Kelley Martin St. Gelais, M&M William J. Zarembovicz; $125Robert Greene; $100-David & Noreen Bears, Matthew & Diana Karas, Paul & Kara LaBelle, John Murray, Dennis Romero, Thomas & Linda Taylor. St. Mary: $I,OOO-M&M Patrick Fitzgi,bbons; $100-M&M James Allen, M&M Samuel Smith, M&M Jeffrey Stigliano. North Dartmouth St. Julie Billiart: $l,OOO-M&M Victor Reis; $SOO-In Memory of Joseph & Rose Arruda; $337.60-M&M Thaddeus Karcz; $200-M&M Shawn Eusebio; $IS0-M&M Melvin Levine; $12S-M&M Raymond Coderre, M&M Paul Marmelo; $100-Annette Z. Gagne, M&M William L. Cyr, M&M Michael J. Perry, Eva M. Perles, M&M Roland L. Savaria, M&M Antonio J. Santos, Inese Almeida, M&M Peter T. Dreher, Sr., Jeannine Aidala. North Easton Immaculate Conception: $200Robert Wooster; $100-Mary Rose Garfagna, M&M Gary D. Twirga, Daughters of Isabella #564, M&M Walter Chojnacki. M&M Wayne Casey, Mrs. Albert Dacey. In Memory of Elizabeth Camara, George Comeaux, Virginia Corte, Jean Amorim. Norton. St. Mary: $2S0-M&M John J. Ribeiro. Osterville Our Lady of the Assumption: $3,000-M&M Joseph Abely; $1,000M&M James J. Derba, M&M Desmond J. Heathwood, M&M John MacKinnon, M&M Paul J. Myrick; $400-Patricia Finn, Helen J. Kenney; $300-M&M Felix D'Olimpio; $2S0-M&M Peter Marks, M&M Otto Plescia; $200-M&M Richard O'Keeffe, Therese Reynolds, Virginia Worthington; $IS0-M&M William Downey, Mrs. Patrick C. Horkan, M&M Paul T. Lebel, M&M Edward A. Mason, M&M Anthony F. Milano; $125M&M George Rucker; $106-M&M Paul Beaudreau, M&M Vincent R. Byrne, M&M Edward C. Conrad, M&M Terence Dewsnap, M&M James A. Daly, M&M Paul E. Fair, M&M Bernard J. Foley, M&M David A. Hamblen, M&M Vincent B. Legendre, Evelyn & Marie Rapoza, Mrs. Paul M. Ryan. Pocasset St. John the Evangelist: $1,200M&M William G. Duserick; $300M&M Francis Van Allen; $200-Helen Farrington; $100-M&M Timothy Andrade, Monica Layton, M&M Peter F. Lynch. Provincetown St. Peter the Apostle: $400-John & Catherine Mulcahy; $300-Francis Obert; $2S0-Dick Higgins/Ralph Travis; $200-M&M Robert Cabral; $IOO-Joan Roderick, Russell Sanderson, M&M Edward Perry. Raynham St. Ann: $300-M&M Richard Labonte; $200-M&M William Reynolds. M&M Edward Whelan; $IS0-Robert McCabe; $12S-M&M William McCaffrey; $100-M&M Francis Dillon, M&M Marek Kuran, M&M Thomas Martin. Seekonk Our Lady of Mount Carmel: $1,OOO-M&M Steven Andrade, M&M Robert Bessette, M&M Richard Laporte, Dr&M Anthony R. Potenza; $SOO-M&M Kevin Harney; $300M&M Joseph Camara; $2S0-M&M John Kenyon III; $200-M&M Neil Farren, M&M George McCauley, M&M Joseph Mullen; $12S-M&M James Blythe, Luis Bolieriro, Marlene Zollo; $100-Kathleen Benson, M&M Raymond Clement, M&M James Duncan, M&M Bernard Gorman, M&M Gary Lundstrom, M&M Raymond Pelletier, M&M Robert Perreira, M&M Kenneth Rampino, Catherine Silva, M&M Nick Titone. St. Mary: $2S0-Floyd & Sheila Field; $100-Angela Robertson. Somerset


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The Anchor

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St. John of God: $1,380-Rev. Manuel P. Ferreira; $SOO-John O'Donnell; $300-M&M Arthur Carvalho; $200-M&M Carlos Tavares; $100-Richard Tavares, M&M David M. Destefano, M&M John Borges, Janice Partridge. St. Patrick: $200-M&M Michael Cote; $100-M&M Thomas Dorgan. St. Thomas More: $SOO-Barbara A. Dunn; $300-Margaret L. Dunn; $200-Atty&M Stephen C. Nadeau; $12S-M&M Roger A. Gaspar; $100Mrs. Eugene Belanger, M&M David Bulhoes, Catherine C. Connelly, Clement Dowling, Eleanor M. Mayo, M&M Daniel P. McDonald, Jane McDurman, M&M Ernest A. Mizher, M&M Thomas Quinn, Mrs. Thomas Washington, M.&M Robert M. Boucher, M&M Steven Cadorette, In Memory of Wilfred Joubert, James F. McIntyre. ·South Easton Holy Cross: $1,OOO-M&M James O'Sullivan; $2S0-M&M Steven E. Musselman; $IS0-M&M Craig Mello; $12S-M&M Daniel J. O'Reilly; $100Linda Sullivan, Barbara Toomey, Joyce Micciantuono. South Yarmouth St. Pius Tenth: $3,SOO-James Dooley; $200-Madeline McGowan; $100-Louise Lynch, Mary J. Gilmore, Marie M. Reilly, Mrs. Peter Rizzeri, . M&M Leonard Fisher, Rosemond Lippincott. Swansea St. Dominic: $100-In Memory of Catherine G. & James P. Fox, Angela F. Nystrom. St. Francis of Assisi: $SOO-M&M William Antunes; $100-M&M Raymond Laflamme, M&M William R. Bouchard, Arthur Arruda. St. Louis de France: $SOO-M&M George Blaser; $100-M&M Douglas Doane, M&M Paul Doucette. Taunton Annunciation of the Lord: $150M&M Richard Martin; $12S-M&M Fernando Medeiros; $100-M&M Jo-' seph Cambra, M&M Joseph DaPonte, Margaret Cornaglia. Holy Rosary: $SOO-M&M John Biedak; $IS0-M&M John Zak; $125Jane McManus; $100-Lydia Trow, Peter Kmiec. Immaculate Conception: $300M&M Paul LeClair, M&M Norman Belanger; $2S0-In Memory of Rev. Thomas O'Dea; $100-M&M Henry Brennan, Roland Dubois, Michael Flanagan, Catherine McGrath, Genevieve Lecuyer·. St. Anthony: $1,200-Portuguese Charismatic Renewal; $1,OOO-Holy Ghost Society; $7S0-St. Vincent de Paul Society; $SSO-A Friend, Matthew Hendricks; $SOO-Beatrice Pereira, Deacon & Regina Jose H. Medina; $300-A Friend, Natalie Baptista; $2S0-M&M Severo Alfama; $200-M&M Joseph Pimentel Youth Ministry; $IS0-Gilda Pedro; $140-M&M Manuel Oliveira; $120-M&M Jose Moitoso; $10S-M&M Francisco Fagundes; $100-M&M Peter Camara, M&M Ant6nio Chaves, M&M Manuel de Sousa, Aida A. Dias, M&M Daniel dos Santos, M&M Manuel Franco, M&M Danny Leandres, M&M Alvaro Medeiros, Tiago Resendes, M&M Vincente Camara, Rui & Joanne de Sousa, M&M Ant6nio Leite, A Friend, M&M Daniel D. Reis, Jane R. Santos. St. Jacques: $1,OOO-M&M Fred Bopp; $6SO-Grace Lopes; $3OO-In Honor of Racine & Desocgy Families; $200M&M Frederick Andrade, Jr., Michael Gauthier; $12S-Corinne Wagner; $100Doris Bird, Rev. Mr. Louis A. Bousquet, M&M Philip Brzezinski, Lucille Larivee, Claire Urbanus. St. Joseph: $SOO-M&M Robert P. Hartung, M&M Lawrence M. Masterson; $400-Philip & Carol Bois; $2S0-Larry Scanlon; $200-Anna Champney; $12S-M&M Alfred W. Baptista. Jr., Gertrude Gotham, Ann Thomas; $110-M&M Ralph G. Hodgson, Sr.; $100-M&M David Levesque, Alice Maynard" M&M Harold J. Rose, M&M Eugene L.

Gorey, M&M Michael Cabral, M&M Kenneth Alves. St. Mary: $1,OOO-Terrence L. Dorsey; $SOO-Joseph & Justine Correia; $300-Elizabeth Raposa, William' & Veronica Watson; $2S0-Joseph & Alice Quinn; $IS0-M&M Carlton A. Caron; $100-Ronald & Marylou Taurazas, Richard & Noreen Mendes, James L. Chiesa, Susan George, David & Judith Silvia. St. Paul: $2S0-Susanne Egan McGlynn; $12S-M&M Wayne 1. Pacheco, Rosemary Bettencourt; $100In Memory of Manuel O. Souza by Bertha Souza, Joan Silva, M&M John Mullen, M&M John J. Cabral, M&M . Darren Mangott, M&M Kevin Wade. Wareham St. Patrick: $600-M&M Dennis Kissell; $SOO-M&M John C. Raymond; $3S0-Chapman, Cole, Gleason Funeral Home; $200-St. Patrick's Respect Life Committee, M&M Alan Collins, Elaine Bartie; $12S-Dr. Joanne Mongeon, OCDS; $100-Joan Behan, Mrs. Andrew Dobbins. Wellfleet Our Lady of Lourdes: $600M&M Richard Synoradzki; $200M&M William Roach; $100-Maureene E. Corrigan, Kathleen McCarthy Kilmer, Atty. John F. Maher. West Harwich Holy Trinity: $1,000-Joan M. Frederici; $SOO-Julie Loomis; $200M&M Henry L. Tare; $IS0-Mrs. Paul F. Kelly; $120-M&M Joseph F. Murphy; $100-M&M Richard 1. Aimone, Helen Berger, M&M James M. Berry, M&M James Callahan, M&M Joseph Clemente, William Gable, M&M Walter Mason, Mrs'. Stanley Nowak, Thomas & Yvonne O'Connor, Mrs. Thomas 1. Sullivan, E. Joan Whitney. Westport Our Lady of Grace: $100-Doris Michaud, M&M Raymond Larner. St. George: $200-Dennis Forest; $100-M&M Carlos Ferreira. St. John the Baptist: $1,000M&M Frederic Torphy; $4S0-St. John the Baptist Women's Guild; $125M&M Carlin Lynch; $100-Antonio DaCamara, Dr&M Joseph Doerr, M&M Dennis Orsi, M&M Richard Manchester, M&M Roger Melanson, M&M Richard Cote, Sheila Kelleher, M&M Charles Manley, Thomas & Margot Patterson, M&M L. Michael Prior, Atty&M Brian Sullivan. Woods Hole St. Joseph: $2S0-John & Kathleen E. Vaughan; $IS0-Michael S. & Carol A. Larkin, Eva Marie B. & John J. Macaluso; $100-David M. & Ellen R. Chapman, James E. & Kathryn M. Johnson. BUSINESS & COMMUNITY Attleboro $1,OOO-Morin's, Inc.; $611-St. Theresa-St. Vincent de Paul Society, South Attleboro; $400-Knights of Columbus-St. John the Evangelist Council #404; $200-Supply New England; $100Castro's County Square Beverage, Inc. Fall River $3,000-Citizens- Union Savings Bank; $1,300-Sawejko Enterprises, Somerset; Venus de Milo Restaurant, Swansea; $SOO-Colonial Wholesale Beverage Corp.; $200-Jay Vee's, Inc.; $100-Somerset Floor Surfacing. New Bedford $SOO-Piping Systems, Inc., Assonet; $200-0ur Lady of Guadalupe-St. Vincent de Paul Society; $100-CabralLamoureux Funeral Home. Taunton $2,500-Taunton District Council-St. Vincent de Paul Society; $220-Knights of Columbus-St. Paul's Council #12252; $200-5t. Joseph's Holy Name Society, North Dighton; Taunton District Council of Catholic Women; Allan M. Walker Insurance Agency. National $1,7S0-Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven; $1,SOO-Rev. Arthur K. Wingate, Fall River.

Campaign

tion to the Sacrament of Matrimony," to acquaint couples in marriage preparation with the Church's perspective on marriage. "We determined that people needed more understanding about terms related to marriage and we've offered them an interpretive key about Church principals such as sacrament, covenant and marriage itself." He added, "Marriage is a sacred endowment from God and we are trying to penetrate the veil that is covering people's eyes. We should not let forces in culture steal away one's family." They also offer programs on Natural Family Planning including a four-month course on the topic. Summer seminars are available which address communication and coping skills in context ofthe Catholic vision of marriage. Marriage enrichment days are offered at Holy Cross Family Ministries in South Easton among other programs. "My husband Jerry and I have worked in the office helping couples for 25 years," said Foley. "It's something that is very dear to our hearts. There are many opportunities to enrich and strengthen one's marriage and if we gave as much to each other that we give to our jobs it would be a different world." For more information about the local Marriage Initiative call the diocesan Office of Family Ministry at 508-999-6420 or visit its Website. Volunteer opportunities are also available. For information about the national initiative visit the Website: www.usccb.org/npim.

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Nothing today has inherent meaning and marriage is the first big victim of the spirit of the age." He added, ''There is a crisis with regards to the family and we hope this endeavor will raise the consciousness of people. "We've lost a sense of the sacred and those things that are most sacred, like marriage, are most vulnerable." The prayer cards, aimed to help strengthen the institution of marriage, were sent out earlier this week by the Fall River diocesan Office of Family Ministry and coprogram director Scottie Foley said they will available in parishes as early as today. "Today is our kickoff with the prayer campaign and we hope people throughout the diocese will be using them and praying for marriage on a daily basis," said Foley. ''We have been meeting with representatives from each of the four Massachusetts dioceses' as part ofthe Massachusetts Catholic Conference's Marriage Initiative entitled ''The Future Depends on Love," and these prayer cards are going out to Catholics across the state. According to Foley, issues that have prompted this endeavor are: the rapid rise in cohabitation, the declining number of marriages, the continuing high divorce rate, same-sex marriage and national statistics indicating marriage as essential to the well-being of children, families, society and the Church. "This is a very important initiative," said Foley. ''We must not take marriage for granted. It is a gift from God." The USCCB plan aimed to bring Catholic belief into dialogue with contemporary needs. Bishops have urged parishes to become a community of hope and help for marriages and to join others in building a culture of marriage. "We are climbing up a steep hill against the prevailing culture and for many years marriage has been under attack. It has to change. Radical individualism and pragmatism are the most corrosive elements," said Father Mathias. He added, "The same sex marriage issue is only the most recent indicator that there is a crisis. Cohabitation has been a long-standing issue and they are both steps in the deconstruction of traditional marriage. It is falling apart piece by piece." Foley said that married couples need to be supported by their parish and in the workplace. "Too often meetings are scheduled that take up valuable family time," said Foley. "We should pray and eat as a family and we need to promote more family activities. It is difficult for a couple today and it's only through the daily graces from God that we are able to do the things that we do. We will continue to

reach out to married p~ople as this endeavor moves forward." All diocesan Family Life offices have been asked by the USCCB to review and enrich their Websites to include pertinent information for couples at all stages oftheir marriage life cycle. In additioq, a marriage symposium for pastoral ministers is scheduled for late September and more emphasis will be placed on education and enricmpent opportunities for married co~ples. Religious communities are being asked to join thel prayer camI' paign. In addition to the prayer cards available at local parishes it can also be found the Family Ministry Office II::Web page: www.familyfallriver:org. Also as part of the plan Scottie said the diocese is trying to highlight the numerous Pfograms available for married couples and those considering marriage. There is a long-term marriage preparation Ii program availablell for students which explores the sacramental and practical aspect~ of marriage. The Diocesan Mkrriage Preparation Program is ,~m eight-hour program offered byll'teams of married couples and a priest to those ready to marry. Engaged Encounter is a full weekeQd of marriage preparation. There I' is also a program called Preparation for Remarriage for those:: entering their second marriage. I Father Mathias recently completed a video enti'tled "IntroducII

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4; The Anchor 4;

JUNE

22, 2007

Wrestling in the shoes of Jacob The story of Father Sergio Guttierrez Benitez By PETER VUONO

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that he could meet the monthly food bill of over $1,000. There was only so much he could do on the small stipends a priests receives for Masses and other sacraments. In a metropolis of20 million people, the Diocese of Mexico City could not afford to assist. Then one day Benitezwatched pro wrestling (lueha fibre) on television. He had heard about the large sums that the wrestlers (luehadores) receivedabout $40 per bout in the 1980s. He thought that it was something he could do anonymously in order to provide much-needed revenue. His first task was to find a teacher. Pro-wrestling in Mexico was very competitive and he knew it would be very difficult to get one's foot in the FOUR OF A KIND - Chris Evans, loan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis star in a scene door. Finally, a luehador dubbed 'The from the movie "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." For a brief review of this film, see CNS Leader" volunteered to train him. For Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/20th Century Fox) one year Father Sergio was taught the art of lueha路fibre and entered the ring Story's superior sequel- with its per- Association ofAmerica rating is R -;masked under the guise of Fray sonable leads, above-average special restricted. Under 17 requires accompaTormenta, which means Brother effects, and not-taking-itself-too-seri- nying parent or adult guardian. Storm. Masked professional wrestling ously tone - makes for an engaging ''Nancy Drew" (Warner Bros.) in Mexico has deep roots Aztec culB-level adventure with a commendReasonably involving, though ture, when men donned the masks of able message about making the right strictly formulaic, yarn about a plucky jaguars and eagles to fight off invadchoices in life. Some mild innuendo teen-age detective (Emma Roberts) lC~' ing conquistadors. and crass expressions, moderate ac- who, despite her father's (Tate Fray Tormenta was eventually (Ca.lv~ulllte~ tion violence and implied nudity. The Donovan) admonition to stop "sleuth"outed" by a parishioner who recogUSCCB Office for Film & Broadcast- ing" when they move from a small nized his voice at Mass. This only NEW YORK (CNS) - The folserved, however, to bolster his popu- lowing are capsule reviews of movies ing classification is A-IT - adults and town to Los Angeles, can't resist the adolescents. The Motion Picture As- urge to unravel the mystery behind a larity and donations. recently reviewed by the Office for sociation of America rating is PG Hollywood actress's death years ago, Fray Tormenta became one of Film & Broadcasting ofthe U.S. Conparental guidance suggested. Some with the aid of a 12-year-old admirer Mexico's most beloved heroes and ference of Catholic Bishops. material .(Josh Flitter) and her shy boyfriend may not be suitable for chilluehadores. He took on the persona "Crazy Love" (Magnolia) from back home (Max Thieriot) while dren. ofa "good guy:' He was often handed Perversely engrossing documen''Hostel: Part ll" (Lionsgate) she holds her own with the bratty girls donations by the lueha fibre patrons tary charts how a married, ambulanceRepellently sadistic story of three in high school who disparage her after vanquishing the "bad guys." After 23 years in the ring, Father chasing lawyer fixated on a 20 year- American girls (Lauren German, geeky ways. Director and co-writer Sergio Guttierrez Benitez retired due old Bronx receptionist, wooed her, Heather Matarazzo and Bijou Phillips) Andrew Fleming puts a contemporary to a diabetic condition. It is unknown then had someone blind and disfigure kidnapped abroad for the deviant pur- spin on the enduring heroine (created whether any of the orphans will take her with lye in 1959 when she became pose of being slaughtered by wealthy in 1930), which Drew aficionados may engaged to another, only to marry her clients (including Roger Bart and Ri- decry, but despite Nancy's aforemenup where Father Sergio left off. Father Sergio and St. Michael's after serving 14 years in prison for the chard Burgi) at a Slovakian mansion. tioned secretive snooping and a few received no royalties from th.e movie crime. Director Dan Klores conducts Eli Roth's film has a glossy look and is other elements which follow keeps an based loosely on his life and work, but extensive on-camera interviews with not without style and even a smidgen overall innocent - if savvy - spirit, the success ofthe movie has created a the still-married couple as viewers are ofsubstance, but what might have been and allows her to operate with integdemand for personal appearances, left to evaluate if this is just a bizarre a reasonably good horror film along rity. A character presumably born out which provide needed financial help. story ofobsession and co-dependency more conventional lines instead be- of wedlock, light violence, mild innuThough he no longer wears the or one of enduring love and forgive- comes an empty, wince-inducing endo and mild disobedience ofparenmask of Fray Tormenta, he continues ness. Intermittent violent, suicidal and bloodbath. Pervasive violence and gore tal authority. The USCCB Office for to walk in the shoes of Jacob, ''who sexual references and an instance of including disemboweling, castration, Film & Broadcasting classification is would wrestle with God until day- rough language. The USCCB Office cannibalism, brief full male and female A-IT - adults and adolescents. The break" (Gen 32:24) as one ofthe ''he- for Film & Broadcasting classification roes ofdays gone by, the famous men" is A-Ill - adults. The Motion Picture nudity, much rough language and pro- Motion Picture Association of fanity. The USCCB Office for Film & America rating is PG - parental guid(Gen6:4). Association ofAmerica rating is PG- Broadcasting classification is 0 ance suggested. Some material may Peter l-llono is a specialeducation . 13 - parents strongly cautioned. not be suitable for children. morally offensive. The Motion Picture teacher in Brockton and a big od- Some material may be inappropriate mirer ofthe real Fray Tormenta. for children under 13. ''Fantastic Four: Rise oCtile Silver Surfer" (Fox) The wedding of Mister Fantastic (loan Gruffudd) and Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba) is interrupted by a cosmic force set to destroy the planet, and the pair must join with the Human Torch (Chris Evans) and the Thing (Michael Chiklis) to avert disaster, trying to dissuade the evil force's emisScheduled celebrant is sary, a silver man (voice of Laurence Father Michael Racine, Fishburne) on aflying surfboard, from chaplain at his dastardly mission, while contending with an overbearing army general St. Luke's Hospital (Andre Braugher) and duplicitous Dr. in New Bedford ENTERING THE FRAY - Jack Black stars in a scene from the Doom (Julian McMahon). Apart from 2006 movie "Nacho Libre." (eNS photo/Paramount) the elements listed below, directorTnn

During the Father's Day weekend a year ago, moviegoers spent 27 million dollars to watch the agile antics of comedian-actor Jack Black in his new movie "Nacho Libre:' Few of them know, however, that the basis for this movie was the life of a Catholic priest (known as Fray Tormenta - Brother Storm) whose life, avocation and advocacy rank him among the great heroes of Christian charity in recent decades. In 1961, 16-year-old Sergio Gutierrez Benitez, one of 18 children, roamed the streets ofMexico City. He was known as 'The Crook" to his fellow gang members, smoking grass and hanging out with pimps and prostitutes before getting hooked on drugs. When he could bear no more, he went to confession, telling the priest that he didn't deserve forgiveness. His confessorconvinced young Sergio that he should turn his life around and walk through the narrow path. Sergio did. He entered the Dominican order, studied philosophy and theology and lived in various parts ofMexico, Spain and Rome. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969. After a chance meeting with a homeless child sleeping under abridge in Veracruz, he sought permission to found an orphanage and was denied. He eventually left the Dominican Order- he had already come to the conclusion that he was not called to a life ofteaching - andjoined the Diocese of Texcoco. He soon had a flock of 14 children, seven of whom would sleep in his car at night, the other seven would, like their priest, sleep on the ground. The people of Teotihuacan, seeing his work, began to raise money for his orphanage. He was eventually able to secure St. Michael's, a 400-year-old church in Xometla, a village about an hour's journey northeast of Mexico City. His enrollment grew to over 80 children. Some were runaways, some abandoned. Others were children of prostitutes or drug addicts. Conditions remained oppressive with only one toilet and one shower among the orphans. More than 30 would sleep in a cramped 1Ix13-foot room. More than a dozen girls slept in two small rented rooms across the street. While clothing for the orphans was through donations, there was no way

""t()viile

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, June 24 at 11:00 a.ID.

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~ The Anchor

news briefs

Cardinal Keeler has surgery for fluid on brain BALTIMORE (CNS) - As Cardinal William H. Keeler underwent surgery to remove excess fluid from his brain June 18, well-wishers and fellow Catholics prayed for the 76-year-old Baltimore archbishop at a 12:10 p.rn. Mass at the Basilica ofthe National ShrineoftheAssurnption ofthe Blessed Vrrgin Mary. BaltimoreAuxiliary Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar and vicar general, told the congregation and members of the media he had celebrated Mass with the cardinal earlier that morning. He said the cardinal was optimistic about the outcome of the surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The operation - which archdiocesan officials said began around 11 :30 a.m. - was performed by Dr. Benjamin Carson, a neurosurgeon. He inserted a tube into Cardinal Keeler's brain to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid into his abdominal cavity. Head trawna the cardinal received last October in a car accident in Italy is believed to be the cause of the accwnulation of fluid in the brain ventricles, a condition known as hydroencephalus, archdiocesan spokesman Sean Caine said. Boise bishop urges Catholics to recognize Christ in every immigrant BOISE, Idaho (CNS) - Boise Bishop Michael P. Driscoll, in a pastoral statement on immigration, called on the people and parishes of his diocese "to recognize Christ in the person of every immigrant and to proclaim the Church's message of hope and welcome in our local communities." The bishop wrote, "I challenge all parishes and individual Catholics to pray for and with all those affected by this (immigration) crisis, to become educated on the reality ofimmigration in our country, to work for the creation ofajust and realistic immigration policy." He issued his pastoral June 4, three days before immigration reform legislation was stalled in the U.S. Senate.A procedural vote intended to bring the bill to a vote failed June 7. After the vote, Bishop Driscoll urged Catholics in Idaho to write their senators urging them to pass immigration reform legislation. "As Catholics, we should be supportive of immigration reform;' he told the Idaho Catholic Register, newspaper of the statewide Boise Diocese. Pope says Catholics must help Latln America spirituaUy, materially VATICAN CITY (CNS) - In the face of poverty, secularization and the spread of sects in LatinAmerica. Catholics around the world must fonn strong communities of faith ready to help them spiritual1y and materially, Pope Benedict XVI said The pope met June 14 at theVatican with members ofthe "Populonun Progressio" Foundation, which funds small development, education and health care projeets aimed at assisting poorindigenous, mixed-race and black farming communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 1992, the foundation established by Pope John P.ml n has distributed more than $20 million in grants using funding provided primarily by the Italian bishops' conference. Pope Benedictsaid that in setting up the foundation Pope John Paul wanted to assist ''those peoples whose ancestral customs were threatened by a postmodem culture" andwho risked the destruction of their ''traditions, so open to accepting the truth of the Gospel:' Vatican official says labor, trade practices should protect worker GENEVA (CNS) - Labor, trade and investmentpolicies and practices should value and protect the worker, a Vatican official told delegates at an intemationallabor conference. Global labor standards that widen worker protections "should not be considered a burden on trade agreements but rather a concrete support for hwnan rights of workers and a condition for more equitable competition on the global level," saidArchbishop SilvanoTomasi, Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva. The archbishop spoke June 13 during an annual labor conference sponsored by the UNo's International Labor Organization, meeting May 30-June 15 in Geneva. In 2006, some 195 million adults were unable to find work: and 1.4 billion people were working jobs "that did not pay enough to lift them above the $2 a day poverty line," the archbishop said. ''Much of the restlessness and many of the conflicts that torment our society are rooted in the lack ofjobs, in employment which lacks decent work conditions or living wages, and unjust economic relations;' he told the delegates. Virginia Thch shooting victim left behind message offorgiveness ARLINGTON, Va (CNS) - Mary Karen Read, a 19-year-old victim of the shootings at Vtrginia Tech in Blacksburg, aspired to be a teacher. Now she is posthwnously teaching a lesson offorgiveness in the aftetmath ofthe deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. ''When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive;' Mary had written in a small red notebook discovered by her family in her dorm room at Vtrginia Tech the day after she was killed during her French class in Noms Hall April 16. While forgiveness is probably not one of the first words that come to mind in the wake of the events that ended her life and the lives of 32 others, including the killer, it was what the college freshman believed rmding her handwritten quotes on forgiveness was not just a coincidence, but something meaningful and providential, according to Peter and Cathy Read, Mary's father and stepmother, who belong to St. Mary of Sorrows Parish in Fairfax. In fact, the quotes have brought healing to the family and many others present at Mary's funeral, where her father read them publicly.

The Anchor

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Don't forget Gulf Coast, speakers urge Catholic health leaders "

By MICHELLE

MARTIN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

community get it right' and provide Claver Church in New Orleans, • health care to all of our citizens? which is nearly all black. Its pasI' CHICAGO - The 92nd Catho- Now is the time to lif~,our national tor, Edmundite Father Michael lic Health Assembly began June 17 policy from the quick~and of racial Jacques, said that of the 2,500 famiwith a plea: Don't forget the Gulf injustice to the dry rock of human lies in his congregation, 90 percent Coast. dignity." lived below the poverty line before The annual meeting of leaders Gordon R. Wadge, the president Katrina, and virtually all of them of Catholic health care institutions of Catholic Charities!!of the Arch- lost their homes. They were dis'! opened with presentations on diocese of New Orleans, spoke of placed to 45 states. "Hope on the Gulf Coast: The what the Church has tried to do, But most have returned, and the Promise of Church." About 1,100 starting with the ons~t of Katrina. parish's Sunday collection has repeople gathered at the Marriott Catholic Charities ev~cuated all the bounded to its pre-Katrina level of Magnificent Mile in Chicago for the people in its residential programs $21,000 a week or more. event. in advance of the storm, he said, and "They are a hopeful people," The session started with a slide then he went to the Superdome, the Father Jacques said. "And we know show of photos from hurricanes shelter of last resort, to assist with God makes a way where it looks Katrina and Rita and their after- medically frail people for the dura- there is no way." maths, as the choir from St. Dor- tion of the hurricane: When it was The parish has incorporated its othy Parish on Chicago's South over, he drove home:, through darlc o~n community development corSide sang "Sometimes I Feel Like and dry streets. That was before the poration, and is working with seva Motherless Child." eral other church-based groups to levees broke. : John 1. Finan Jr., outgoing chairAfterward, he said, as the mu- build 7,000 units of affordable man of the CHA board, spoke of the. nicipal, state and federal govern- housing. They are building despite devastating effects the hurricanes ments engaged in finger-pointing, the federal Department of Housing and.the flooding that followed had one of the Catholic Charities board and Urban Development's decision wrought, and the steps Catholic members met him for lunch at the not to reopen its New Orleans ofII health care entities had taken to try first restaurant to fice to this point, nor to reopen any reopen. . . I to alleviate the suJ;fering. ''He's a Presbyterilpl businessman, public housing developments so far. Finan is president and CEO of but (he) leaned over, and he told me, But Father Jacques lamented the Franciscan Missionaries of Our 'It's not the goverriment that's going lack of action on the Part of civil Lady Health System in Baton to rebuild New Orleans. It's the authorities. . Rouge, La., the first stop for many Catholic Church.' People have a sense "Why is it we are still disevacuees from the greater New Or- of confidence in the ministries of the placed?" he asked, 21 months after leans area. Church," Wadge said. the hurricanes struck. "A nation that Last year, at the~nd of the CathoThat confidence"was borne out can't take care of itself is not a lic Health Assembly, Finan said, when Catholic inshtutions were strong democracy." many of the delegates had joined among the first to s~nd contingents Then he turned to the Catholic him in a "second line," the proces- of volunteers and dqnations of sup- health care leaders in the room and sion led by joyous music that fol- plies, and Catholic ,!,churches were said, "Please dOli't forget us. Please lows a traditional New Orleans fu- among the first neighborhood re- put us on the front burner. Please neral. The second line celebrates the sources to reopen. , help us provide adequate care for our freeing of the soul from the bonds Among them was St. Peter people, who are filled with hope." of earth and the hope of eternal life. ''The second line is a ritual of hope," Finan said when he introduced the program. "And we are bringing help and hope to those in need." Kim M. Boyle, who chairs the health care committee of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, spoke of the hope that when the health care system in New Orleans is rebuilt it will be a better, more equitable system, with more access for all people than the system that was destroyed. Before Katrina, she said, the New Orleans area had 15 hospitals with about 5,000 beds serving 1.3 million. Of those, the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, which included the now-closed Charity Hospital, had the only Level I trauma center in the city. (Level I centers have a full range of special10 Day Pilgrimage to Lourdes ists and equipment available 24" Also hours a day to care for severely injured patients.) It was the hospital Toulouse and Carcassonne in France of last resort for the poor and unin& Barcelona and Montserrat in Spain sured, most of whom were black. Half the care it provided was unNovember 1 - 10, 2007 Cost $2,679 compensated. For information and reservations: ''What is it going to take to reFather Marc P. Tremblay 508.285.4462 build the health care sector in New Msgr. John J. Smith 508.992.2602 Orleans?" she asked. "How can our aJIl!J~,,,,,

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YOUTH PAGES

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JUNE

22,2007

ONWARD AND UPWARD - Eighth-graders from St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro were all smiles as they recently participated in commencement exercises at St. Mary's Parish in Attleboro. Father David Costa celebrated the Mass and encouraged students to continue developing the gifts they have learned through their Catholic education that they may show God to others. A reception followed in the church hall. MOST VALUABLE PERSONS - Coyle and Cassidy High School students Jeremy Vincent of.Taunton and Julie Robens of East Taunton were recently named Man and Woman of the Year at the Taunton school. Louise Scanlon of Raynham presented the award during the annual Honors Night.

MIND GAMES - Fourteen Bishop Feehan High School students made it to the State Science Fair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this month where they participated with students from across the state. Front from left: Caitlyn Doucette, Ian Crawford, Patrick Vale, Casey Corkoran and Thomas Romero. Middle: Brian Claus, Emma Killion, Spencer Driscoll, Elizabeth Gingras and Kayla Holland. Back: Joe Paquette, William Clerx, Molly Clarke and Kaitlyn Gibson.

WELL URNED RECEPTION - Mothers recently enjoyed "Coffee Hour with Mom" celebrated at Holy Name School, Fall River. The event was organized by first-grade teacher Ei!een Desmarais and gave students an opportunity to share tim~ with their moms in the classroom. With them is pastor Father George E. Harrison. o

UNrrED STATES -. SERVICe

Pi:tflr" t.

A CAN DO ATTITUDE - Students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro collected canned goods to help the needy and participated in the Feinstein Foundations $1 million give away program. For each item collected $1 was donated to charity. From left: Maeve McDonagh, Madison Butkus, Grace Fay and Michael Lepore.

NICE-K - Ayla Killion, kindergarten student at St. John the Evangelist School in . Attleboro, throws a pitch during a recent Wiffle Ball game as teacher Gina Fournier looks on. Killion was serving as gym teacher for the day following the school's annual auction.


JUNE 22,2007

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YOUTH PAGES -

St. Augustinejoins the ranks of MySpace users WASHINGTON (CNS) - St. Augustine ofHippojust got a whole lot hipper. The fifth-century doctor of the Church, perhaps known best for "Confessions;' an autobiographical account of his conversion to Christianity, now has a MySpace page. Michael Dolan, the director of communications for the Augustinians of the Province of St Thomas ofVillanova, said he started the page on St. Augustine's behalf as an engaging way to introduce visitors to St. Augustine and the Augustinians. 'The focus of the page is to give people a deeper sense of who Augustine was, but also to get them engaged inAugustinian spirituality;' Dolan told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview. The popular social networking Website myspace.com allows users to post pictures and information about themselves on their personal pages. All users - and now St Augustine-can add other users to their list of friends. St. Augustine's Myspace profile can be viewed at www.myspace.com/ saintaugustineofhippo. As of the afternoon of June 12, St. Augustine had 87 MySpace friends, including two named Pope Benedict XVI; two fellow saints, Sts. George and Brigid; some guy named Josh; and Canadian singer Celine Dion. Since the site launched in early May, Dolan said the page has had about 500 hits. Most of St. Augustine's friends requested his friendship. Users can either request friendship from a user or accept a friendship. Dolan said he doesn't know the true identity of the saint's online friends and guessed they just happened upon the page or heard

about it from another venue. St Augustine's page features a picture ofthe saint and a welcoming message to visitors of the site. If the volume is turned up on the computer, St. Augustine's page will play The Who's hit ''Who are You." St Augustine is, according to his page, 42 years old, single, a Scorpio andlooking for networking and friends. His interests include praying, writing and hanging out with friends. St. Augustine is 42, Dolan said, because that was his age when he wrote "Confessions." Starting August 28 - the saint's feast daySt. Augustine will begin a Web log, or blog, about his "Confessions" on the site. The small print at the bot~ tom of the area where the blog will be promises that entries will be an English translation, even though St. Augustine wrote in Latin. His entire book should be blogged over the course of the next school year. Dolan hopes visitors to the site will include students and professors. He suggested they could post comments to the blog as part of classroom exercises. To the best of his knowledge, Dolan said, none oftheAugustinians he knows have MySpace pages. But the order seems to have embraced St Augustine's page, he said. ''People are enthusiastic and love the concept of it;' Dolan said. Has St. Augustine rejected any friend requests? A few, Dolan admitted, because the users appeared eitherinappropriate or fraudulent. But Dolan said the occasional strange friend request seems normal for MySpace. As for St Augustine's future on MySpace, Dolan said more photos, links and videos will probably be added to provide additional informationabout Augustine and the Augustinians to MySpace surfers.

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Steps toward a new beginning I!

By CHARLIE MARTIN -

CATHpLIC NEWS SERVICE

SNOW (HEY OH) All the channels that have Come to decide that the things broken down that I tried Now you brin&: it up Were in my life just to get high on I'm gonna ring, it up Just to hear you sing it out When I sit alone come get a little long Step from the road t¢ the sea to the sky But I need more than myselfthis time And I do believe thai we rely on Step from the road to the sea to (Repeat verse ItwO.) the sky (Repeat verse three.) And I do believe that we rely on Sung by Red Hot Chili Peppers When I lay it on Copyright 2006 by ",~rner Bros/ Wea ': Come get to play it on l All my life to sacrifice Waiting four years to put out a Hey oh listen what I say oh new album would end the career of some groups, but rio so for the I got your Hey oh (now) listen what I say oh Red Hot Chili Peppe~s. Fans of When will I know that I really the group did receive' a bonus for their long wait - a double disc can't go release filled with 28:: new tracks. To the well once more time to "Stadium Arcadium"ll shows that decide on When it's killing me . the group has mello\yed in their When I really see sound, but there is still plenty to All that I need to look inside like if you are a Chilis fan. Come to believe that I Currently climbing the charts better not leave as a single off the al1;mm is "Snow Before I get my chance to ride (Hey Oh)." The song shows how (Repeat verse four.) the group is changing musically. (Repeat verse three.) Its message is somewhat enigmatic too. Several critics hear a The more I see the less I know reflection on the problems with The more I like to let it go ... hey oh drug addiction that some of the Deep beneath the cover of group's members have faced. another perfect wonder While this may be tFue, I believe Where it's so white as snow that the song focuses more on those times in life w;e need to Privately divided; by a world so make new beginnings. Either we undecided And there's nowhere to go let a problem contrdl our lives or we get the help thatllcan lead to a In between the cover ofanother perfect wonder new path beyond the current pain. And it's so white as snow The song's char~cter comRunning through a field where all ments on how "the things that I tried were in my life just to get my tracks will Be concealed and there is high on." Yet, he also realizes that "I really can't go tO'the well once nowhere to go When to descend to more." Instead, he deeks a amend for friend "perfect wonder wnere it's so II

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white as snow." Like what occurs in falling snow, "all my tracks will be concealed" and new beginning becomes available. But new beginnings do not happen by magic. They emerge from acknowledging the truth. When we are lost in a serious problem, it can be difficult to recognize what is true. Apparently the song's character realizes this as he states, "But I need more than myself this time." Most of us do need help to see the full truth of suffering going on in our lives. As such, creating a new path often includes finding someone who can act as a guide. If you are ready to face what is occurring in your life, ask God to point you toward a guide who can assist you in seeing the truth of your life. You are likely to require the care and skills of a counselor trained in helping people overcome life's serious problems. Your choice to contact such a person shows that you are genuinely committed to changing your life for the better. When one's mistakes have caused much pain for others too, that truth is difficult to accept. But without this truth no new beginning can be discovered. I do not know who helped the members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers face the suffering caused by addiction. Yet, their ability to continue making hit music shows that all challenges, even addiction, can be addressed. Your comments are always welcome. Please write to me at: . chmartin@swindiana.netorat 7125W 200S, Rockport, IN 47635.

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P.U.S.H. When you are asked to do something, and you do your best, do you sometimes feel discouraged because you feel you've accomplishment nothing? Often, what we don't realize is that our anticipated accomplishment i~n't really what we are asked to do. Allow me to share this story with you (author unknown) that will shed more light on this misperception of an intended end result. A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly, his room filled with light, and the Lord appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he worked hard from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the

unmoving rock, pushing with all decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled his might. Each night the man thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he returned to his cabin sore, worn said, "I have worked long and out, and feeling that his whole hard in your service, putting all day had been a waste. Since the man was'showing my strength to do that which you signs of discouragement, the devil decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind: "You have been pushing against that '~ rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill J!8YOZZie yourself over this? You l't are never going to move it." The man then got the have asked. Yet, after all this time, impression that the task was I have not even budged that rock impossible and that it was doomed to failure. These thoughts by half a millimeter. What is discouraged and disheartened the wrong? Why am I failing?" The man. "Why kill myself over this?" Lord responded compassionately, he thought. "I'll just put in my ''My friend, when I asked you to ,serve me and you accepted, I told time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good you that your task was to push enough." And that is what he against the rock with all your planned to do ... until one day, he strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you that I expected you' to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me wtth your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is strong and tanned, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and muscular. Through opposition you have groWn much, and your abilities now surpass that which you usM to have. Yet you haven't moven the rock. But your calling was to obey, and to push, and to exer~ise your faith and trust in me, iIj my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock." At times, wheri we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own mind to determine what God II

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wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves . mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains. When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H.! When school gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.! When people don't react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.J:I.! When people don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H.! P.U.S.H! Pray Until Something Happens. . This is my hope for you: Do what God has asked of you don't try to make more of it than his true intent. In the end you will see that you have indeed done very well and that God is well pleased with your effort. God bless. Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

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JUNE

Whatever you do, don't let the people vote

"What's been sadly overlooked since then is that 'same-sex marriage' Continued from page one stili does not exist in this once-proud peal a law that limits non-resident now?" said Bea Martins, the Fall Commonwealth," noted Ray Neary, Our state legislators, led by the River diocesan director for Catholic director of ProLife Massachusetts. weddings. But that Friday was the Feast of Citizenship, a lay-run group "In the Goodridge Decision, the court governor, speaker of the house, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fa- that encourages Catholics to partici- never established 'same-sex mar- and Senate president, have finally killed the citizen-initiated ther George Harrison explained this pate in politics. "Unless we change riage,'" he said. amendment to our state constitudevotion that Christ had inspired 5t. the legislators sitting on Beacon Hill, "It ruled that the legislature had tion regarding marriage. Why? Margaret Mary to establish. Jesus we won't make a difference," she the right to change the law, but law- Because allowing a popular vote showed the 17th-century French nun said. makers never did so because at that in 2008 on the proposed marriage Gay activists' slick and expensive time, they didn't have the votes. The amendment risked undoing for his heart burning with love and mercy for mankind, despite the incredible media campaign portrayed "same- 180 days that the court gave them the future the revolutionary pain he endures from sin and aban- sex marriage" as a civil rights issue, came and went on May 17, 2004. redefinition of marriage by our which is a false claim, she said. donment. Herein started the legal tailspin that state Supreme Judicial Court in "For now we need to pray and fast Slowly the gloom lifted from the gave us the pseudo-marriage situation 2003, enacted by a majority of exactly one judge (four-three), small congregation. Hope inched in more to request God's assistance in that exists today," Neary said. which purported to definitively, as as the pastor spoke from his heart this spiritual warfare. We need people Indeed, gay activists know there's about the similarity between these to run for office to protect our values a weak link. A bill (H1710) now be- a matter of state constitutional law, uncouple marriage from its and our children. And we need to vol- fore the legislature would redefine two scenarios centuries apart. historical and natural nexus to France had been ravaged by war unteer to do more next time," Mar- marriage to allow it "regardless of prpcreation and mother-father during all of St. Margaret Mary's tins said. gender." parenting, and make the sexes adult life; mere existence for many Kris Mineau, spokesman for The defeated amendment would ,fungible when it comes to was grim. Yet through his vision to VoteOnMarriage.org, the grassroots, have given voters a chance to consti- marriage: male-female, maleher, Jesus gave to these people, as he coalition that backed the measure, tutionally protect marriage. At least 50 male, female-female, whatever: gives to us, an image ofhis unquench- said the coalition will target flip-flop ofthe 200 legislators had to approve it they're all the same. The Book of Genesis, and able love. lawmakers and assess future options. at two successive constitutional conJesus himself, had a different ''Remember that Jesus' truth will "We are not going away;' he said. ventions for it to reach voters. take: "Male and female he created All four Massachusetts bishops be victorious," Father Harrison said: Sixty-two legislators gave the them. For this cause a man shall ''We have to remember to speak of called the vote "tragic" in a June 14 measure its first green light January leave his father and mother and be his truth and his love. Don't give up. statement issued by the Massachu- 2. But some of those left office and Speak the truth about marriage with setts Catholic Conference. 'The lead- others caved in. The June 14 vote was love. ership of the Democratic Party re- 151-45. "I was disheartened, too," he said. fuses to allow citizens and elected Laws or amendments protect mar"But we have to hope, because as St. officials to vote their conscience on riage in 45 other states, but court chalPaul assures us, "Hope will not dis- social issues," they stated. , lenges repeatedly crop up, sometimes " After the legislature ducked vot- with the help of the Gill Foundation, appoint." And we have to know that , ing on an earlier 2002 amendment, a national political group pushing gay God permits whatever happens - By Dwight Duncan' and he brings good out of it. Maybe the state Supreme Judicial Court in activism state-by-state. we'll wake up now and realize how 2003 by a four-three vote (called the "Ultimately, 'gay marriage' advomuch so many people need.to be Goodridge Decision) paved the way cates are betting that the Supreme united to his wife, and the two evangelized." for licenses to be issued to same-sex Court will impose a national 'gay shall become one flesh." After the shock subsided, mar- couples, but did not change the law marriage' rule across the country," The Massachusetts Constituriage supporters were asking, ''What to redefine marriage. said Maggie Gallagher, president of tion, originally written by John the Institute for Marriage and Public Adams in 1780, begins with a ''Y'' Vote to place Marriage Amendment on 2008 Ballot Policy. 'The only secure way to stop Declaration of Rights. (By way of "N" Vote to deny people a vote on Marriage Amendment this is with a federal constitutional contrast, a Bill of Rights had to be "X" Not voting/Absent added onto our United States amendment." Catholic Action League Director Constitution by amendment.) Its DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER C.J. Doyle praised the 45 Massachu- Article Five is a resounding Senate proclamation of what Abraham setts lawmakers who supported the Vote First Town Last Lincoln would later call "governamendment for their courage. He ment of the people, by the people, N Joan' Menard Somerset 路urged people to thank and support and for the people": "All power New Bedford N Mark Montigny them, and work to oust the others. O'Leary Barnstable N Robert residing originally in the people, ,Seven of the diocese's 21 repre- and being derived from them, the N Mark Pacheco Taunton sentatives votedYES, to let the people several magistrates and officers of vote: F. Jay Barrows, Mansfield; Rob- government, vested with authorDIOCESE FALL RIVER ' ert Correia, Fall River; James Fagan, ity, whether legislative, executive, House Taunton; Susan W. Gifford, Ware- or judicial, are their substitutes Vote First Last Town ham; John Lepper, Attleboro; Jeffrey and agents, and are at all times X Demetrius Atsalis Hyannis Perry, E. Sandwich; and Elizabeth accountable to them." Y Jay Barrows Mansfield We now have a proviso to the Poirier, N. Attleboro. N Antonio F.D. Cabral New Bedford Fifth Article added by our state Rep. Demetrius Atsalis of judges and legislators: power to N Stephen R. New Bedford Canessa Barnstable did not vote, and 13 oth- the people, except when it Y Robert Fall River Correia ers voted NO: Antonio Cabral, New comes to gay marriage, which N Steven D'Amico Seekonk Bedford; Stephen Canessa, shall be the new sacred cow, Y James H. Fagan Taunton Lakeville; Steven D' Amico, above and beyond the people's Y SusanW. Gifford Wareham Seekonk; Patricia Haddad, Somer- grasp. N Patricia Haddad Somerset Whatever you do, don't let the set; Robert Koczera, New Bedford; N RobertM. Koczera New Bedford people vote on that, because they Matthew Patrick, Falmouth; Sarah Y John A. Lepper Attleboro might do what all our ancestors Peake, Provincetown; John Quinn, N Matthew Patrick Falmouth did from time immemorial, and Dartmouth; Michael Rodrigues, N Sarah Peake Provincetown the other 49 states and the federal Westport; William Straus, Y Jeffrey D. East Sandwich Perry government have done, and all Mattapoisett; David Sullivan, Fall but a handful of foreign nations, Y Elizabeth A. Poirier N. Attleboro River; Eric Turkington, Falmouth; which is to reserve "marriage" for Quinn N John F. Dartmouth C1eon H. Turner, Dennis. N Michael J. Rodrigues Westport those types of relationships which All four senators voted NO: Joan can actually engender children N WilliamM. Straus Mattapoisett Menard, Somerset; Mark Montigny, and/or provide children with both N DavidB. Sullivan Fall River New Bedford; Robert O'Leary, a mother and a father. N Eric T. Turkington Falmouth This "consensus of humanity" Bamstable; and Mark Pacheco, TaunN CleonH. Turner Dennis view is now to be dismissed as ton.

ConCon

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22, 2007

bigotry, hatred, "homophobia." Catholic Charities won't do gay placements for adoption? Well, they must be shut down. Soon we can expect that priests, ministers, rabbis and imams who refuse to perform gay weddings will no longer qualify to solemnize staterecognized marriages - on the same logic of intolerance. Does the Catholic Church continue to teach that homosexual acts, along with adultery, masturbation and fornication, are intrinsically disordered "expressions of the vice of lust?" That biblically-rooted, natural-law voice must be silenced, shouted down or at least swamped by a culture of pervasive pornography. ' Fortunately, we still have the First Amendment, even if long ago the American Civil Liberties Union let its Gay and Lesbian Rights Project, and its Reproductive Rights Project, eclipse its Free Speech Project. It never was particularly strong on religious freedom, and certainly not the religious freedom of the Christian majority in this ,) country. Yes, we lost the battle over the proposed state constitutional amendment. The earliest a state constitutional amendment defining marriage could appear on the ballot is now 2012. But, in spite of what the media say, we're winning the war - not in Massachusetts, obviously, but throughout the country. Many states, in the wake of the Goodridge decision here, enacted their own state -constitutional amendments protecting marriage as it's always been to forbid the import of gay marriage. No other state has yet followed Massachusetts' example. Thanks to the reelection of George Bush, due in no small part to the presence of marriage on the ballot in swing states in 2004 in reaction to Goodridge, we now have a U.S. Supreme Court with new justices that will not mandate gay marriage on the nation or on unwilling states. Remember that the Fifth Article of the Massachusetts Constitution makes the people the original source, under God, 'of government and laws. We the People still have the final say. Government officials are supposed to be our servants, not our masters. Thank God for the 45 legislators who voted to let the people decide. Keep the Faith, and if they call you bigoted or benighted or old-fashioned, just Plead the Massachusetts Fifth: "Power to the People." Dwight Duncan is a professor at Southern New England School ofLaw in North Dartmouth. He holds degrees in both civil and canon law.


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The Anchor

Sister Doreen Donegan SUSC; served in Diocese of Fall River

Around the Diocese ~

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1.-_ ...._ _ ._.__..._ I Eucharistic Adoration

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ATTLEBORO - Perpetual eucharistic adoration is held at St. Joseph's Church, 208 South Main Street. For more information call 508-226-1115, FALL RIVER - Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is held weekdays following the 7 a,m, Mass at Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street. It concludes at 9 p.m. For more information call 508-679-6732.

IHealing Services ATTLEBORO -A healing service, led by La Salette Father Andre Patenaude, will be held Sunday at 2 p.m, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. For more information call 508222-5410. POCASSET - The 15th annual Mass of the Anointing of the Sick will be held Sunday at 2 p,m. at St. 10hn the Evangelist Church, 841 Shore Road. For more information call Betty Kazmier at 508563-9020.

ATTLEBORO Musician 10hn Polce will perform June 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. His "Bethany Nights" program combines prayer and music and includes audience sing-a-longs. For more information call 508222-5410 or visit the Website: www.johnpolce.com.

IMiscellaneous EAST FREETOWN - Cathedral Camp is accepting registrations for its summer program, Cathedral Camp, owned and operated by the Diocese of Fall River, is a day camp for children between the ages of four and 13. It offers four two~week sessions from June 25 to August 17. For more information call 508-7638874 or .visit the Website: www.cathedralcamp.org. MASHPEE - "From Broadway to Galway," a musical tribute to Frank Patterson, will be held tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Mashpee High School auditorium. It will feature Irish Tenor Ciaran Sheehan and is sponsored by Christ the King Parish. For more information call 508-4772837. NEW BEDFORD - Food donations are needed for families affected by the raid at the

Michael Bianco factory and can be dropped off Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the former St. Hedwig Church, 73 Division Street. For more information call 508-9929408.

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ATTLEBORO - Pro-Life advocates picket and offer prayers on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30-9 a.m. at "4 Women's Clinic," at the corner of Park and Emory streets, where abortions take place on those days. Participants are needed to pray and picket to help save the lives of unborn children. HYANNIS - The Cape Cod Pro-Life Group welcomes volunteers to pray the rosary on Wednesday mornings at 10 0' clock in front of the abortion clinic located at 68 Camp Street. WEST HARWICH - The ProLife prayer groups of Holy Trinity and Holy Redeemer parishes invite all to attend a holy hour to end abortion June 25 at 1 p,m. at Holy Trinity Parish, Route 28, Rosary will be followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

ISOdaI Events CENTERVILLE -A year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Our Lady of Victory Parish will begin July 1 with a Mass at 3 p.m., followed by a dinner at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa in Hyannis. For more information call 508-775-5744.

ISupport Groups"' NEW BEDFORD - Courage, a support group for people experiencing same-sex attraction, but strive to live the. Church's teaching on chastity, will meet June 30 at 7 p.m. in the rectory at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, 233 County Street. At the same time, Encourage, a support group for family members will meet. For more information call Father Richard Wilson 508-9929408.

FALL RIVER - Holy Union Sister Doreen Donegan, 74, also known as Sister Mary Dermott, died June 12 at the Catholic Me- . morial Home after a long illness. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of the lat~· Dermott and Mary Dolan Donegan. A graduate of Cathedral High School in New York City, she entered the Holy Union Sisters in Fall River on Aug. 22, 1951 and professed her vows on Aug. 22, 1953. She received a bachelor's degree in education from Catholic Teachers College and a master's degree in religious studies from Providence College, both in Providence, R.t Her early teaching assignments were in elemen-

Correction In last week's Anchor, a street was inadvertently omitted . from the route of the Santo Christo Parish feast solemn procession route. On Sunday, a solemn procession with the participation of several priests, civic authorities, business leaders, cultural, civic and sporting organizations will travel on Columbia, Hunter, Hope, Fountain, Division, Almond, William streets, to Broadway and Columbia streets back to the church, Almond Street was missing. The Anchor apologizes for the error.

tary schools in Maryland, New Jersey and Taunton. Locally she served as principal at Sacred Heart School in Taunton and Holy N arne School in F a I I R i ve r. She taught religion at CoyleCassidy High School in Taunton, SISTER DOREEN and was DONEGAN SUSC assistant director and then director of Religious Education for the Fall River Diocese from 1978 to 1986. During this time, Sister Doreen was active in the New England Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education, serving as executive secretary and as a member of the planning commit-

tee for several of the annual New England Congresses. She was a member of the Holy Union Sisters Provincial Council for six years: In 1986, she became director of Religious' Education at Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich, a position she held for 15 years. In 2001, Sister Doreen became a pastoral minister to the sick at Corpus Christi Parish. 111ness forced her to retire in 2004 when she moved to Fall River. She resided at the Catholic Memorial Home from November 2005 until her death. In addition to her Holy Union Sisters, she leaves two brothers, John and Dermott Donegan; and nieces and nephews. She was also the sister of the late Mary Donegan Vesia. Her Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated June 16 in St. Mary's Cathedral in Fall River. Burial was in St. Patrick's Cemetery. The Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute was in charge of arrangements.

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miYour Prayers

SERVICE... By ~aringjamily and service-jamily professionals TRUST...ln the people you know CHOICE.,. Cust{)m-desiglled. personalized tributes AFFORDABlLITY... Diglliji'ed services within a budget

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks

For over 135 years, families have turned to the Waring-Sullivan service family of compassionate professionals to guide them through life's most challenging times.

June 12 Rev. Thomas H. Taylor. Pastor. Immaculate Conception. Taunton. 1966

June 13 Rev. Edward F. Donahue. S.1.• Boston College High School. Dorchester. 1974

508-676-1933 508-999-5100

~ ,~

Waring - SullivanHomes of Memorial Tribute

www.wuring-oullh...n••-om

A Service Family Allilial< of Aft'S & Servi« COlJlOf'lrilllllmenu:lioru~ 492 Ruck Strtel, Fall Ri\'Cr. MA 02120 508-676-2454

June 14 Rev. Msgr. George E. Sullivan. Retired Pastor. St. Joseph. Fall River. 1980 Rev. Msgr. Joseph A. Cournoyer. Retired Pastor. St. Michael. Swansea. 1982 Rev. James H. Coughlin. S.J .• Fairfield University. Fairfield. Conn.• 1992 Rev. Justin J. Quinn. Chaplain, Madonna Manor. North Attleboro. Former Pastor. Immaculate Conception. Fall River. 1996

June 16

NORTH DARTMOUTH The Diocesan Divorced-Separated Support Group will meet June 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center, 500 Slocum Road. Refreshments will be available. For more information call Bob Menard at 508-6732997.

Rev. James McDermott. Pastor. St. Patrick. Somerset. 1975

June 18 Most Rev. William B. Tyler. First Bishop of Hartford. Founder of the Sandwich Mission. 1849 Rev. James M. Coffey. P.R.. Pastor. St. Mary, Taunton, 1935 Rev. Declan Daly. SS.CC., Associate Pastor. St. Joseph, Fairhaven, 1984 Rev. Henri Laporte, O.P., Former Pastor. St. Anne. Fall River. 1992

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4; The Anchor $

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Diplomas

Continued from page one

Joanne N. Riley has been principal at the Mansfield school since it opened in 2002 and said, "many dreams and efforts have come to realization with this graduating class. The students have lived out the mission of the school and are witnesses to Christ. They will make the world a better place." The St. Mary's School ceremony was held on June 11 in the church. Mass was celebrated by Bishop George W. Coleman with pastor Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, Father Thomas E. Costa Jr., and Father George E. Bellenoit concelebrating. A reception organized by seventh-graders and their parents, followed. "It was a beautiful graduation and its been an honor and a privilege for me to be at this school," said Riley. "This is a class of pioneers." She was thankful for the support of Bishop Coleman, parents and teachers through the years and said, "partnership between the school and the home is vital," to a successful education. "It's exciting to see students making day-to-day decisions using their Catholic faith and knowing they have the confidence that Jesus Christ is walking along with them each day." Graduation at St. Pius X School was held June 10 and 14 students received diplomas. Many will be going on to the new Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis or Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. Mass was concelebrated by Father Bellenoit, Msgr. John 1. Smith and Father John M. Murray. St. Pius X Principal Patricia Marmen said the eighth-grade class has "enriched the lives of all stu-

dents and staff members at the school. They're being here was a special gift to us and a wonderful experience." The middle school students transferred from Holy Trinity School last fall when that school concentrated its efforts on elementary education. "It was a very smooth transition and it was a thrill to watch them grow throughout this academic year." ''These students are who they are because of the strong impact a Catholic education has had on their lives. They will carry the light of Christ with them wherever they go. We're very proud to see them graduate and thankful to their parents for allowing us the opportunity to work with their children." Eighth-grade teacher Katherine Duvall has seen first-hand what a Catholic education can provide for students and said she enjoyed teaching the first graduating class at the South Yarmouth school. "I feel a sense of pride in seeing them graduate and its been a wonderful year," said Duvall. "It's an exciting time for them as they go forward into their future." The graduates from St. Mary's School are: Kevin James Audette, John Thomas Birmingham, Benjamin Thomas Carroll, Stefanie Chorianopoulos, Monica Leigh Cusack, Samantha Michelle Dattero, Rebekah Mary DePillo, Lucas James Paul Faasse, Jasmin Joanne Hathaway-Houston, Farah Rita Khazen, Estere Marija Tocha Malley, Austin Connor Miller, Kevin Douglas Miller, Peter O'Malley Nevers, Mary Alice Nolan, Dallas Daniel O'Brien,

Daniel Joseph Paquin, Marck Edward Pipher, Amy Lynn Pulsinelli and Stephanie Judith Smith. The graduates from St. Pius X are: Elizabeth Cavallini, Coleman

John Conway, Brianna Miranda Crimaldi, Molly Christine Geary, Michael Nikita Green, Douglas Glenn Greiner, Brendan Patrick Lawlor, Emily Ann Marie Maguire,

Brianna Mary McLaughlin; Adam Joseph Nichols, Justin Scott O'Brien, Miceala Jordan O'Rourke, John R. Thornton and Elpiniki Stamatella Yannatos.

The St. Mary's School Class of 2007, top photo, gathered for a group photo prior to its graduation ceremonies in Mansfield on June 11. Below, the St. Pius X School Class of 2007 attends a closing Mass in South Yarmouth last weekend.

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SACRAMENTAL UFE - Bishop George W. Coleman was accompanied by newly-eonfirmed adults for a group photo following a confirmation Mass for adults held at St. Mary's Cathedral in Fall River on May 20.


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