06.29.12

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , June 29, 2012

Rallying cry for Fortnight: ‘Defend religious freedom or lose it forever’

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

Archbishop Chaput states that the threats against religious freedom in our country are not imaginary; they’re happening right now; they’re immediate, serious and real — that unless we work hard to keep our religious liberty,

we’ll lose it. The archbishop’s final declaration stated that politics and the courts are important, but our religious NEW BEDFORD — Despite an intense heat outside, freedom ultimately depends on the vividness of our own dozens of faithful souls filled the pews of St. Anthony Christian faith — in other words, how deeply we believe of Padua Parish in New Bedford to it, and how honestly we live it. listen to Father Roger J. Landry cel“There is a great deal of complaebrate the first day of the Fortnight cency,” said Father Landry of the for Freedom with a Eucharistic holy current sentiments of Catholics as hour followed by a talk on the threats he looked around the church. “Jesus to religious liberty and freedom of began with 12; we begin with 60.” conscience.

Those 60 in attendance then made Leading off with the “Prayer their way downstairs to convene in a for the Defense of Religious room to listen to Father Landry presLiberty,” the Rosary was recited ent his talk on the threats to religious and then Father Landry offered up freedom, opening with the words: the five points made in a speech “Back in January, in a meetby Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, ing with American bishops, Pope OFM, Cap., to a group of Catholic Benedict expressed his alarm at the journalists on the eve of the attempts being made to limit what Fortnight (for a full transcript of he called ‘the most cherished of Archbishop Chaput’s speech, visit American freedoms,’ the freedom of h t t p : / / w w w. f i r s t t h i n g s . c o m / religion; the first one named in the onthesquare/2012/06/launching-theBill of Rights, the reason why the fortnight-for-freedom).

Puritans risked the dangers of the Archbishop Chaput stressed that Atlantic Ocean to come, the most religious freedom is the cornerstone RALLYING TOGETHER — Father Roger J. Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River, cherished of American freedoms — of the American experience, said launched the Fortnight for Freedom initiative at his then-parish of St. Anthony of Padua in New the freedom of religion.”

Bedford on June 21 by opening with a Eucharistic holy hour , then presenting a talk on the threats Father Landry, and that freedom of Father Landry continued, “The to religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Sixty people from different parishes across the religion is more than freedom of Fall River Diocese were in attendance. (Photo by Becky Aubut) pope said that he was distressed at worship.

Turn to page 18

Negative outcomes greater for children of same-sex parents, study says

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — Those pushing for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships have argued that such affirmation would assist those same-sex couples raising children together.

They have said that two parents of the same sex are equal to — or better than — a mother and father.

The district court judge who struck down California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman, stated there are no differences between same-sex and opposite-sex parents. In his 2010 decision, Judge Vaughn Walker listed in his “findings of fact” that “children raised by gay or lesbian parents are as likely as children raised by heterosexual parents to be healthy, successful and well-adjusted.” What’s more, he said the research supporting that conclusion is “accepted beyond serious deTurn to page 18

Father Wilson eager to preach the Good News via The Anchor

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

the priesthood he said one of his other potential callings was a career in journalism.

NEW BEDFORD — When he was initially called in “I had worked as a reporter for newspapers in junior to meet with Bishop George W. Coleman back around high and high school and at Georgetown University I was Palm Sunday, Father Richard D. Wilson, longtime pas- a reporter for The Hoya, which was the biweekly student tor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at newspaper there,” Father Wilson said.

St. James Church in New Bedford, said “From elementary school on, I had alhis foremost concern was taking over as ways a sense of my vocation (to the pastor of three parishes in Attleboro: St. priesthood), but my parents wanted me John the Evangelist, Holy Ghost, and to go to college and work a year or two St. Joseph. before I entered the seminary. It would “Then Bishop Coleman said ‘I have have been the same if I had wanted to another job for you,’” Father Wilson get married.” said. “I was surprised when he asked As he was preparing for his college me to take over as executive editor of graduation, Father Wilson wrote to The Anchor, but given my journalism newspapers to see if he could be hired background, I understood why.” as a reporter. After being turned down Noting that Father Roger J. Landry,

by The Pilot and The Quincy Sun, The who had served as the diocesan newsPatriot Ledger offered him a position as paper’s executive editor for the past a stringer (a freelance reporter). Since seven years, would be taking on the he had worked for the City of Quincy newly-merged St. Bernadette’s Parish (and would be hired again by it a month Father Richard D. Wilson in Fall River and wanted to devote more later), he could not cover stories about time to preaching and writing books, the its city government, but would cover bishop felt that Father Wilson would be a good man for events in other South Shore towns. “At the same time a the job. job opened up for a van driver for the Quincy Council on “I was not expecting it and yet it wasn’t the hardest Aging, so I worked there during the day,” he said. “I took thing the bishop has asked me to do,” Father Wilson said. senior citizens from Quincy to doctors’ appointments in Turn to page 14 In fact, before Father Wilson discerned his vocation to

News From the Vatican

2

June 29, 2012

Prayer is the surest guide for life’s troubles, pope says

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI says the life and writings of St. Paul should remind all Christians that the surest guide through the trials of life is prayer.

“Paul’s prayer invites us to contemplate the unfolding of God’s saving plan in history and to discern the signs of its presence in our own lives and in the life of the Church,” the pope said during a recent general audience.

“In our own prayer, may we praise the mystery of our election in Christ, and open our hearts and lives ever more fully to the transforming presence of the Blessed Trinity.”

Pope Benedict delivered his remarks to thousands of enthusiastic pilgrims who were gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. Continuing his weekly catechesis on prayer, he turned his attention to the “great prayer of praise and blessing” that is to be found at the beginning of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.

In it St. Paul blesses God the Father for making known “the mystery of His will,” through which God “chose us in Christ,” before the creation of the world, to be His adopted children and receive a glorious inheritance.

St. Paul reminds us, said the pope, that while “our prayers are often a request for help in our hour of need” there is also cause to give thanks to God “because we receive so many good things” from Him. Therefore, our prayer “should also be praise and, if we open our hearts, we come to realize that, despite all problems, creation is beautiful and good.”

The pope also reflected on the meaning of the phrase the “mystery” of God for Christians. He explained that for Christians this term “does not so much mean the unknown as the merciful will of God, His plan of love which was fully revealed

The Anchor www.anchornews.org

in Jesus Christ.”

Pope Benedict then outlined the key reasons given by the Apostle for giving thanks to God, starting with His “marvelous design for humankind” that calls everybody “into existence” and “to sanctity.”

“We have been in His plan and His thoughts forever,” said the pope, noting that the vocation to holiness and Communion is “part of His eternal plan, a plan which stretches over history and which includes all the men and women of the world, because the call is universal.”

St. Paul’s primary reason for giving praise to God, however, is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which was “the unique and unrepeatable event by which the Father demonstrated in a brilliant way His love for us, not just in words, but in concrete terms.”

So concrete and tangible is this divine love, Pope Benedict explained, that “it shares not only in our life, but also in our suffering and in our death.”

Finally, St. Paul looks to the future when redemption reaches its fullness and “those whom God has acquired will be completely saved.”

In giving our “yes” freely to God, said the pope, each of us can “travel this road of redemption together with Christ and thus redemption is fulfilled.”

In conclusion, Pope Benedict said that the example of St. Paul shows how in prayer “we grow in the love of God, opening the door for the Blessed Trinity to come and dwell among us, bringing us light and warmth and guiding our lives.”

The result is prayerful men and women who are “not animated by egoism, the desire to possess and the thirst for power” but by “gratuitousness, the desire to love and serve.”

In short, he said, they become people who are “animated by God,” and “only in this way can we bring light into the darkness of the world.”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 26

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things are in order — Pope Benedict XVI receives letters of credential from Eduardo Gutierrez Saenz de Buruaga, the new ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, during a meeting at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Vatican plans for Year of Faith include hymn, Mass, packed calendar

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With a hymn and a prayer, Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella presented the Vatican’s initial calendar of events for the Year of Faith, which begins with a Mass October 11 in St. Peter’s Square.

Archbishop Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, said the pope has invited as concelebrants bishops and theologians who, like the pontiff, served as members or experts at the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council.

The archbishop said he hoped about 35 “council fathers” would be able to join the presidents of national bishops’ conferences and bishops participating in the world Synod of Bishops in concelebrating the opening Mass.

During a news conference at the Vatican June 21, Archbishop Fisichella unveiled the sheet music for the official hymn for the Year of Faith, “Credo, Domine, Adauge Nobis Fidem” (I believe, Lord, increase our faith).

“I’ll spare you my musical interpretation,” he told reporters, smiling.

He also distributed copies of the official Year of Faith logo and prayer card, which features a mosaic image of Christ from the cathedral in Cefalu, Italy.

The Nicene Creed is printed on the back of the cards, with the idea that the profession of faith would become “a daily prayer, learned by heart, as it was in the first centuries of Christianity,” the archbishop said.

Archbishop Fisichella also

announced that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments had just approved prayer texts in Latin and Italian for a special “Mass for New Evangelization.” The archbishop’s office is translating the Latin text into English, Spanish and other languages and hopes to have the congregation’s approval of the translations by the time the Year of Faith opens, he said.

Pope Benedict called the Year of Faith to strengthen Catholics who go to church, reach out to those who have left but still yearn for God in their lives, offer a response to those who are searching for meaning and help those who think they do not need God, he said.

“We are not hiding the fact that there is a crisis of faith, but it is only when one becomes completely aware of a crisis that one can find ways to remedy it,” the archbishop said.

He said the pope decided it was right to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” with a year dedicated to encouraging Catholics to study, profess and demonstrate their faith.

The Vatican launched a website — www.annusfidei.va — containing information about the Year of Faith and the calendar of special events Pope Benedict will celebrate during the year.

Many of the pope’s traditional appointments, like the January 25 celebration marking the

end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the February 2 prayer with religious, will be incorporated into the Year of Faith.

But other events have been added, including a celebration April 28 during which the pope will confirm a group of young people and meet with others who recently have been or are about to be confirmed in their home countries.

On June 2, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ in most countries, the pope will lead the solemn adoration of the Eucharist and is asking every cathedral and parish to have an hour of silent contemplation before the Blessed Sacrament at exactly the same hour, Archbishop Fisichella said.

Two weeks later, June 16, Pope Benedict will preside over a celebration of the Church’s witness to the dignity and value of every human life, the archbishop said. And July 7, 2013, he will meet with seminarians and religious-order novices, who will make a pilgrimage to Rome to demonstrate “the joy of their decision to follow the Lord in serving His Church.”

The cultural events planned, the archbishop said, include a “huge concert” in St. Peter’s Square June 22, 2013. Archbishop Fisichella was not ready to reveal the conductor’s name, but he promised it was someone well-known. And, he said, the concert is likely to involve at least two orchestras and three choirs.

The Year of Faith is scheduled to conclude Nov. 24, 2013.

June 29, 2012

3

The International Church Syrian bishop says civil war not the only option

Rome, Italy (CNA/EWTN News) — One of Syria’s most senior Catholic bishops believes his country can still regain the path to peace and reform despite the armed revolt against President Bashar alAssad now entering its 16th month.

“For me there are two solutions,” Chaldean Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo told Catholic News Agency in Rome.

“We can go in the direction of a civil war in all Syria and it will be very perilous for everybody or we can go in the direction of reform with rationality, with sincerity, with determination but I think it will take some time.”

Bishop Audo is visiting the Vatican to participate in ROACO, an annual summit of Catholic aid agencies involved in supporting eastern churches. He briefed the gathering June 20 on the latest situation in Syria.

His assessment drew a distinction between the majority of the country and the area in and around the city of Homs which is at the heart of the uprising. In cities such as the capital Damascus and Aleppo “life looks like normal,” he said.

President Bashar al-Assad has promised to implement democratic reform since the beginning of the rebellion against him in early 2011.

His Ba’ath Party has ruled Syria since 1963 with his father, Hafez al-Assad, also holding the post of president for nearly 30 years before his death in 2000.

As members of the minority Alawite religion, a branch of Shia Islam, Bishop Audo believes the years of Assad rule have been stable ones for the 10 percent of the Syrian population who are Christian.

“The Christians were protected by the regime because they are a minority like him, so we can say that they were protected,” he explained.

The confessional fault line between the majority Sunni Muslim population and the minority Alawites, who have occupied most of the senior positions in Syrian society for decades, is “the heart of problems in Syria,” suggests Bishop Audo.

He now fears that if the Assad regime falls that “Christians will be the first to pay” as has happened in other countries caught up in the socalled “Arab Spring.”

“We look to Iraq, we look to Tunisia, we look to Libya, we look to Egypt and we don’t want to become a situation of anarchy or extremism,” he said.

In the meantime, he is urging Catholics around the world to continue to support the Church in Syria through prayer, staying informed and financial aid if possible.

On June 23 Pope Benedict confirmed a new Metropolitan Archbishop for the Greco- Melkite Archdiocese of Homs, Hama and Yabroud. The Synod of Bishops of the Greco-Melkite Church had

elected Bishop Jean-Abdo Arbach, B.C., to this post and the Holy Father confirmed the election, according to the Vatican website.

The new archbishop is a native of Yabroud, Syria and had been serving as a bishop caring for the

Greco-Melkite community in Argentina since 2007.

The archdiocese had been vacant since the resignation of Archbishop Isidore Battikha, B.A. in September 2010, according to catholic-hierarchy.com.

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointment: Rev. Francis J. Moy, S.J. Parochial Vicar, St. Anthony Parish, East Falmouth, and Technical Assistant, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, North Falmouth, and St. John the Evangelist Parish, Pocasset Effective, June 16, 2012

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the nomination of the Reverend Johnathan Hurrell, ss.cc., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, United States Province, and has made the following appointment:

the language jesus spoke — Israeli-Arab fourth-grade students pray in Aramaic during language class at Jish Elementary School in Jish, Israel, recently. The mostly Maronite Catholic community is trying to revive the Aramaic language that was spoken by Jesus. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)

HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGE Spiritual Director: Fr. Joseph P. McDermott, Pastor Immaculate Conception Parish 122 Canton Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

Rev. Alphonsus McHugh, ss.cc., Pastor, St. Mary Parish in Fairhaven.

Effective July 1, 2012

OCTOBER 15 - 25, 2012

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointments: Rev. Jeffrey Cabral, Technical Assistant, and residence at Good Shepherd Parish, Fall River, and St. Stanislaus Parish, Fall River, while remaining Judge of the Diocesan Tribunal Rev. Michael M. Camara, Parochial Vicar, Santo Christo Parish, Fall River Rev. David C. Deston, Chaplain, Charlton Memorial Hospital, and Technical Assistant and residence at St. Michael Parish, Fall River Rev. Peter J. Fournier, Parochial Vicar, St. Patrick Parish, Falmouth, and part-time Chaplain, Falmouth Hospital Rev. Riley J. Williams, Parochial Vicar, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Holy Ghost Parish, St. Joseph Parish, Attleboro, and part-time Chaplain, Sturdy Memorial Hospital Effective June 27, 2012 Rev. Dariusz Kalinowski, Diocesan Tribunal, and Technical Assistant and residence at St. Mary Cathedral, Fall River, and Temporary Technical Assistant at Holy Name Parish, Fall River Rev. Jay Mello, Parochial Vicar, St. Mary Parish, Mansfield Rev. William Sylvia, Chaplain Cape Cod Hospital, and Technical Assistant and residence at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis Effective July 3, 2012

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- Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee - Capernaum: visit St. Peter’s House - Tabgha: visit the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves & Fishes and the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy - Mt. of Beatitudes; Mass - Caesarea Phillipi: St. Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah - Yardenit: baptismal site on the Jordan River - Mt. Tabor: site of the Transfiguration - City of Beit Shean: visit the impressive ruins - Prophet Gideon’s Spring; Tel of Jezreel, Queen Jezebel’s summer palace - Dead Sea - Madsada: ascending mountain by cable car - Drive via Ein Gedi; stop in Qumeran, site of the Dead Sea Scrolls - Stand on the Mount of Olives - St. Stephen’s Gate to St. Anne’s Church; see the Pool of Bethseda - On to the Via Dolorosa: starting at Pilate’s Judgment Hall, “to Calvary and the Tomb” at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Visit the Western Wall (Wailing Wall); Temple Mount - Drive to Bethlehem: stand on Shepherds Field

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

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

The Church in the U.S.

4

June 29, 2012

Author of atheist blog announces that she will become Catholic

Denver, Colo. (CNA/EWTN News) — Blogger Leah Libresco, known for writing about ethics and religion from her perspective as an atheist, announced June 18 that she now believes in God and intends to enter the Catholic Church.

“For several years, a lot of my friends have been telling me I had an inconsistent and unsustainable philosophy,” the Washington, D.C.-based author of the “Unequally Yoked” blog wrote in a post announcing her intention to convert.

The 22-year-old Yale graduate says she came to believe “that the moral law wasn’t just a platonic truth, abstract and distant. It turns out I actually believed it was some kind of person, as well as truth.

And there was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living truth.”

“When I was talking to a postmodernist friend afterwards,” Libresco said to CNA recently, “I told him, ‘I guess you were right.

(The concept of) “truth” was a gateway drug.’”

“He replied, not very much in jest: ‘Told you so.’”

In recent years, the writer and researcher had — despite her atheism — developed an interest in Christian accounts of morality, developed by authors like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Alasdair MacIntyre. Her blog, “Unequally Yoked,” chronicled her engagement with Christian theological claims.

Raised in a non-religious household, Libresco explained in a biographical statement that she “met smart Christians for the first time” during college. She was “ready to cross-examine them” from her perspective as an atheist, but found there were “some big gaps in my defense of my own positions.”

“I realized I didn’t have a clear enough idea of what Christianity entailed to be able to imagine a world where it was true. I felt embarrassed and told my friends to take their best shot at convincing me.”

Through her blog, the atheist thinker looked to test her arguments against belief, seeking out

CATHOLIC WEBSITE www.pamphletstoinspire.com

“people to ask me tough questions and force me to burn off the dross in my philosophy.”

The odyssey was personal as well as philosophical, involving a romantic relationship with “one of these smart Christians.”

“I talked with deacons, priests, and Dominicans and attended RCIA classes — until I got kicked out,” she wrote in the biographical statement, composed before her conversion.

“Neither my boyfriend or I looked likely to switch teams in the near future, and, after two years of dating, we were at the point where a relationship that was incompatible with marriage seemed foolish, so, regretfully, we had to split up.”

But she continued “seriously exploring Christian claims,” in light of her own belief in philosophical concepts including objective morality. Her blog featured a “test” in which atheists and Christians swapped roles, composing answers to questions from the perspective of the opposing worldview.

Libresco’s atheism finally ended after a recent Yale alumni debate, where a friend “prodded me on where I thought moral law came from in my metaphysics.”

“I talked about morality as though it were some kind of Platonic form, remote from the plane that humans existed on. He wanted to know where the connection was.”

Pressed to define the connection between humanity and the moral order, Libresco came up short: “I don’t know. I’ve got nothing.”

Then she remarked: “I guess morality just loves me or something.”

In Monday’s blog entry, the “Unequally Yoked” author said her writings, hosted by the Patheos website, would move from the service’s “atheist channel” to its “Catholic channel.”

Libresco said she had been using the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, as well as the ancient “Breastplate of St. Patrick,” for most of her “prayer attempts.” Despite lingering “confusion” about some Catholic teachings, Libresco has begun RCIA classes at a Washington, D.C. parish.

The former atheist summed up her feelings about her announcement with a quotation from Tom Stoppard’s play “Arcadia”: “It’s the best possible time to be alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong.”

mass media — Catholic media professionals attend Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis last week during the annual Catholic Media Conference. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Defense of Church requires revival of faith, Archbishop Chaput says

Indianapolis, Ind. (CNA/ in the Hosanna-Tabor Supreme Catholics grew eager “to lose EWTN News) — While defend- Court case. themselves in America’s culture ing their freedom in public life, Such threats, he warned, could of consumerism and success.”

Catholics must also renew the push the U.S. in the direction of “These problems kill a ChrisChurch spiritually, starting in their Canada and Britain, where the tian love of poverty and zeal. They own lives, Philadelphia Arch- Church’s freedom of speech and choke off a real life of faith. They bishop Charles J. Chaput said in a action is already compromised. create the shadows that hide inJune 20 address to journalists.

The U.S. Constitution would stitutional and personal sins. And “Politics and the courts are im- prove to be nothing more than “an they encourage a paralysis that portant. But our religious freedom elegant piece of paper,” if Catho- can burrow itself into every heart ultimately depends on the vivid- lics and other citizens were not and every layer of the Church,” ness of our own Christian faith — willing to stand up for their rights, the archbishop reflected. in other words, how It is partly due to deeply we believe these problems, he he worst enemies of religious free- suggested, that his it, and how honestly dom aren’t ‘out there’ among the own Archdiocese of we live it,” the archbishop told attendees legion of critics who hate Christ or the Gos- Philadelphia “is now of the 2012 Catholic pel or the Church, or all three. The worst en- really mission terriMedia Conference — again, for the emies are in here, with us — all of us, clergy, tory in downtown Indiasecond time.” And so, religious and lay — when we live our faith too, is “much of the napolis.

In his remarks to with tepidness, routine and hypocrisy.”

Church in the rest of reporters and othour country.” er Catholic media The way forward, professionals, the Philadelphia he said. meanwhile, lies in the rediscovery But the Church’s most serious of Jesus’ true person and message Church leader observed that religious freedom “is an empty shell challenges, the Philadelphia arch- — as the basis for a faith that can if the spiritual core of a people is bishop observed, are internal and stand against assaults, from outspiritual in nature. He urged the side and within. weak.”

“The worst enemies of reli- faithful to “look honestly at the arc “We live in a world of illusions gious freedom aren’t ‘out there’ of Catholic history” in the U.S., as when we lose sight of who Jesus among the legion of critics who a guide to the deeper problems Christ really is, and what He asks hate Christ or the Gospel or the facing the Church at present. from each of us as disciples,” the “American Catholics began archbishop said, pointing out that Church, or all three. The worst enemies are in here, with us — all as an unwelcome minority,” he the “real Jesus” continues to call of us, clergy, religious and lay — recalled. “The Church built her the faithful to a “life of honesty, when we live our faith with tepid- credibility by defending and serv- heroism and sacrifice.” ing her people. She developed her ness, routine and hypocrisy.”

Only by obeying this call, will Archbishop Chaput delivered influence with the resources her Catholics “become people worthy his address on the eve of the U.S. people entrusted to her. A vast of” the religious freedom they are bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom” amount of good was done in the called to defend. campaign of prayer and advocacy, process.”

“We work best for religious “But two other things also hap- freedom by first opening our inspired by the HHS contraception mandate and other threats to pened. The Church in the United hearts to God’s will instead of our States became powerful and se- own; and loving our country and the free exercise of religion.

His remarks touched on the cure. And Catholics became less our Church; and renewing the witmandate, along with related areas and less invested in the Church ness of the Church with the zeal of concern — including efforts to that their own parents and grand- and purity and obedience of our drive the Church out of adoption parents helped to build.” own lives,” Archbishop Chaput Success and stability allowed said. and foster care, and the government’s attempt to control a reli- many clergy to fall “out of touch “That freedom, that joy, no one gious school’s self-governance with reality,” while some lay can ever take from us.”

“T

The Church in the U.S. Archbishop Lori: Church must remain ‘obstacle’ to fully secular culture

June 29, 2012

BALTIMORE (CNS) — On the eve of the feast day of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori held up the two martyrs as a source of inspiration for American Catholics during a Mass June 21 launching the U.S. bishops’ much-anticipated “Fortnight for Freedom.”

“Their courageous witness of faith continues to stir the minds and hearts of people yearning for authentic freedom, and specifically, for religious freedom,” he said.

With the hope of drawing greater attention to the weakening of religious freedoms in America, the U.S. bishops called for the Fortnight for Freedom, which lasts through July 4, to be 14 days dedicated to prayer, education and public action.

According to the parish’s sacristan, more than 1,000 people from Maryland, the District of Columbia and surrounding states attended the 7 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, which Archbishop Lori called “a monument to religious freedom.”

The basilica was America’s first Catholic cathedral, commissioned at the turn of the 19th century by America’s first Catholic archbishop, John Carroll of Baltimore.

Archbishop Lori celebrated the Mass with Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and former archbishop of Baltimore; Baltimore Auxiliary Bishops Mitchell T. Rozanski and Denis J. Madden; and about 65 priests.

In a homily that received a standing ovation, Archbishop Lori described the integrity St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher demonstrated as the king asked them to violate their personal consciences, calling the men symbols of two “inseparably linked” aspects of religious freedom — the freedom of individuals and the freedom of institutions.

The two men were martyred separately in 1535 for refusing to sign the Act of Supremacy, which repudiated papal authority and acknowledged the king of England as head of the Church.

Archbishop Lori presented St. Thomas More — a devout Catholic, husband, father and lawyer — as a symbol of the individual’s religious freedom, and St. John Fisher — bishop of Rochester in Kent — as a symbol of the religious freedom of institutions, many of which were destroyed or forced to break ties with the Catholic Church in the wake of King Henry VIII’s rupture of ecclesiastical communion with the Holy Father.

“If we fail to defend the rights of

individuals, the freedom of institutions will be at risk, and if we fail to defend the rights of our institutions, individual liberty will be at risk,” he said. “More needs Fisher, and Fisher needs More.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for the Fortnight in March in their Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty’s statement, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.” Archbishop Lori is chairman of the committee.

The statement outlined several instances of “religious liberty under attack.” Foremost among the U.S. bishops’ concerns is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate that employers, including most religious ones, provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortioninducing drugs, which Catholic teaching considers “morally objectionable.”

The mandate goes into effect August 1 for most employers, including private employers who object to providing contraception coverage. The mandate is scheduled to take effect for Church-related institutions in 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court was expected to deliver a decision on the health reform law’s constitutionality by the end of June.

Since the mandate was announced in February, the bishops have also expressed concern about its “narrow” definition of Church as a body which mostly hires and serves its own members, and exists to advance its own teachings — excluding faith-based universities, charities, hospitals and other institutions that seek to serve the common good.

“We must never allow the government — any government, at any time, of any party — to impose such a constrictive definition on our beloved Church or any church,” Archbishop Lori said.

Even if current religious liberty threats were overcome, the Catholic Church would still need to face “powerful forces which seek to prevent religious faith from exerting an appropriate and necessary influence within our culture,” he said.

“Let us remain united with our ecumenical and interfaith partners in being that obstacle,” he said.

About 40 protesters, many of them Catholic, stood outside the basilica holding a banner that read, “Bishops: We need pastors, not politicians.”

Among them was Jannette Festa, a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. She said she believes that birth control is an economic, not moral, issue.

“I’m pro-choice,” she said. “I do not think that contraception as a part of health care is a religious liberty issue.”

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The Anchor Cooperating with the grace of Christ

We applaud the conviction a week ago today of Msgr. William J. Lynn of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on a count of child endangerment. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “from 1992 to 2004, Lynn was archdiocesan secretary for clergy and responsible for investigating allegations of sexual abuse against priests.” While in this role he failed to make the police or parishioners aware of the placement of predatory priests into parishes. This was the first conviction in the United States of any cleric who did not abuse minors himself, but who allowed it to happen.

These are sad times in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, but (as you can read on page four of today’s Anchor) its leader, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM. Cap., acknowledges that the “tepidity, routine and hypocrisy” which many lived led to “the shadows which hide institutional and personal sins.” He was speaking before the Lynn verdict was announced and speaking about a wide range of problems in the Church, but his words ring true in this situation, too.

In responding to the verdict, his archdiocese stated, “This has been a difficult time for all Catholics, especially victims of sexual abuse. The lessons of the last year have made our Church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is on a journey of reform and renewal that requires honesty and hope. We are committed to providing support and assistance to parishioners as they and the Church seek to more deeply understand sexual violence, and to create an environment that is safe and welcoming to all, including past victims.”

The day after the Lynn conviction, Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University was convicted on 45 counts of sexual abuse of minors. The Sandusky scandal had a ripple effect, as did the clergy sexual abuse scandal, causing an investigation of a prestigious private school, the Horace Mann School in The Bronx, New York City.

In 2004 the United States Department of Education did a study of sexual abuse in public schools and found alarming results. Hoftstra University’s Charol Shakeshaft researched the incidents of abuse and she was quoted in Education Week about how surprised she was by the results. “[T]hink the Catholic Church has a problem? The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.”

This reality should not make the Church complacent or deny the true physical, emotional and spiritual anguish which has been inflicted upon the victims of sexual abuse by clergy or other people in the Church. The Diocese of Fall River takes seriously its responsibility to make our facilities safe environments for everyone and works hard to make this a reality.

The Church needs to continue to repent for the evil that was perpetrated in its name, which made a mockery of her call to be the Mystical Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. We applaud the many clergy and laity who reach out (either institutionally or personally) to victims, so as to help them encounter the true love of Christ. Another sign of hope and source of grace are the acts of repentance and spiritual sacrifices that many are making for the healing and continuing conversion of the Church, a task which is required of all Christians.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has taken a lead in helping to heal the Church.

June 17, at the end of the International Eucharistic Congress, which was held in scandalracked Ireland this year, he noted the connection between a true encounter of love with Christ in the Eucharist and the need to work to end abuse.

Archbishop Martin first said, “We must go away from here with a renewed passion for the Eucharist. We must go away with a renewed love for the Church. We must go away from here wanting to tell others not just about the congress, but about Jesus Christ Himself Who in giving Himself in sacrifice revealed to us that God is love. In the Eucharist we are captured into that self-giving love and are empowered to be loving people.”

He then noted, “In these days we have kept in our prayers and in our hearts all those who suffered criminal abuse within the community of Christ’s Church and all those who feel in any way alienated from the Church and who have not experienced in our Church the love of Jesus Christ. We go away from here committed to build a Church of communion and service after the model of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself Who will renew His Church. It is Jesus present in the Eucharist Who will be food for the journey of purification and renewal to which we commit ourselves.”

Archbishop Martin had to say this because people who had suffered abuse truly had not experienced in the Church “the love of Jesus Christ.” This is why even though the incidence of abuse in the Church is much less than in the public school system we should not be complacent. The public school system does not claim to represent Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church does and thus is called by her Founder to always strive to bring love, healing and true peace to the world.

We know that due to the clergy sexual abuse scandal the Church’s credibility on major issues of morality and public policy is mocked or ignored. And yet, we can look to other times in the history of the Church to know that this situation will not last forever. Msgr. Lynn was convicted on the feast day of SS. John Fisher and Thomas More. Fisher was beheaded on June 22, 1535 for failing to support the adultery of his king, Henry VIII. Unlike Lynn, Fisher made salvation of souls (his own, those of his diocese, and the king’s own soul) the priority of his life. Fisher and More gave their witness to the faith during a time in which the sins of churchmen were causing millions of people to leave Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. And yet the blood of these martyrs sowed seeds of true reform and conversion into many souls.

In our own country the attacks on the Church’s liberty, which appear to be an attempt to “kick her while she is down,” will also have the same opposite effect in the long run. However, for that “long run” to not be long after our deaths, we need to cooperate with the grace of Jesus Christ — through prayer, sacrifices and through our own personal and institutional continuing conversion, making our own what St. Paul said to the Galatians (2:20): “It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me.” If we do this, then all people will find the love and healing that they need in the Catholic Church.

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June 29, 2012

The renewal of the Church

audet Mater Ecclesia!” (Let more precisely to the faithful and the Mother Church Rejoice). These entire world the nature and encompassing are words that Blessed Pope John XXIII mission of the Church. used to address the opening of the Second Also during his opening address, John Vatican Council. Situating the council in XXIII added that, “the principal aim the context of “the deviations, needs, and of the council is that the sacred deposit the opportunities of the modern age,” Pope of Christian Doctrine should be more John XXIII sought to guide the Church effectively guarded and taught.” into a new era in its 2,000-year history.

In order to fulfill this principal aim, the The Catholic Church would enter council also needed to specify how this into a new and unforeseen time in which was to be done. It was determined by the the continuity and identity of the past council fathers that the implementation of would embrace the modern world and a this council should be done at a more local renewed sense of her mission. Trusting level. The fathers clarified and renewed that the Holy Spirit was inspiring this the concept that the local Church, gathered “aggiornamento (updating),” the Roman around the bishop and the Gospel, Pontiff referred to the council as a “New guided by the Holy Spirit, is an authentic Pentecost” which would be habitually Christian community, which manifests the associated with the conciliar assembly and One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic nature also expressed in the opening prayer of the of the Universal Church of Jesus Christ. council his hope that the Holy Spirit would Pope John XXIII envisioned a “renew its wonders in our age, as in a New renewed Church, one more faithful to its Pentecost.” divine origin and mission and one more In light of the upcoming “Year of welcoming and accessible to the modern Faith” called world. The for by our Second Holy Father, Vatican Putting Into Pope Benedict Council XVI (Oct. 11, would leave the Deep 2012 – Nov. the Catholic 24, 2013), Church very

By Father which will different from commemorate Jay Mello the way it had the 50th found it. The anniversary of perception of a the opening of the Second Vatican Council, medieval condition of Christendom, which I begin a new series on evangelization, one had still been dominant in Europe and of the key themes of this Year of Faith. throughout worldwide Catholicism, would Pope John XXIII interpreted the events seem to have been jettisoned by Dec. 8, of history from a theological point of view, 1965, the day the council concluded. namely, the presence of a providential God In the decree on ecumenism, Unitatis operating from within history, with all of Redintegratio, the council fathers its developments of different perspectives, declared, “Every renewal of the Church values, and demands. Here I think we is essentially grounded in an increase find that there is an organic relationship of fidelity to her own calling. Christ between the intellectual, cultural, social, summons the Church to continual renewal political and economic developments as she sojourns here on earth. Thus, if in and the life of the Church herself with its various times and circumstances, there evangelizing drive to make the Gospel have been deficiencies in moral conduct come alive for all people. or in Church discipline, or even in the way The context of this ecumenical council that Church teaching has been formulated was to be very different than other to be carefully distinguished from the councils, approaching the problems in the deposit of faith itself, these can and should world as well as renewing and revitalizing be set right at the opportune moment.” the image of the Church and its approach From this perspective, we can to the modern world. understand why Christians cherish a This opening address initiated a path feeling of deep solidarity with the human of pastoral renewal by making a careful race and its history. Gaudium et Spes distinction between the substance of the begins by announcing to the world, “The ancient teaching of the Church and the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the manner in which it is presented. John anxieties of the men of this age, especially XXIII situated the work and activity of the those who are poor or in any way afflicted, council in the long progress of history and these are the joys and hopes, the griefs the life of the Church down through the and anxieties of the followers of Christ. ages.

Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to The pope spoke of modern conditions raise an echo in their hearts.” of faith, the Church’s challenge of bringing For at all times, the Church has the herself up-to-date wherever required responsibility and obligation of reading and the importance of wisely organizing the signs of the times and interpreting mutual cooperation. The turn toward them in light of the Gospel, and guiding history and change is the reading of all believers in their journey of faith present realities in terms of God’s presence with Christ, in and through the Church, not absence, with fidelity to Church helping them to understand the dignity and teaching and the need to distinguish responsibilities which they have by virtue substance from form; the need for of their Baptism. discretion, judgment, doctrinal penetration In the next few weeks, I hope to show and the proper formation of consciences. how the Second Vatican Council was the The opening words of the Dogmatic springboard for a renewal of the Church Constitution on the Church, Lumen that is still very much going on today. My Gentium, set forth the theme and purpose hope is to explain that the mission of the of the program of reform envisioned by the Church is completely wrapped up in this council. “Christ is the light of the nations, idea of evangelization, of bringing the and the Church radiates this light by Gospel to every corner of the world. proclaiming the Gospel to every creature,” Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. therefore the council wished to set forth Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

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The Anchor

June 29, 2012

Supreme Knight urges Catholics to put faith first while voting

Indianapolis, Ind. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Catholic voters must demand respect for their moral convictions and the Church’s freedom in 2012 and beyond, the head of the Knights of Columbus said in a recent speech.

The faithful “must have the courage to act boldly,” by insisting that candidates “respect the integrity and mission of the Catholic Church and its institutions,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson told journalists gathered for the 2012 Catholic Media Conference in Indianapolis.

As they cast their votes, Catholics “must have the courage to tell candidates that if they want Catholic votes they will have to respect the fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching,” the head of the Catholic fraternal order said.

Anderson said the faithful should seek to “debate and vote on the full range of Catholic social teaching — including prudential issues that raise serious moral questions.”

But this can only be accomplished if Church members stop supporting “candidates who advocate policies that are intrinsically evil.”

Only by withholding the vote from unacceptable candidates, will Catholics eventually become able to “choose between candidates who are in agreement on the fundamental social teaching of the Church.”

The Supreme Knight began his address on Friday evening by

acknowledging the “sad state of today’s political environment,” characterized by “the intransigence and the partisanship” that “make the search for solutions virtually impossible.”

Catholics, he said, “are uniquely positioned to offer a solution” to this dilemma, through fidelity to the Church’s teachings.

This transformation, Anderson suggested, requires a commitment to civility in the discussion of controversial issues. Since Christians hope for the salvation even of their “most strident adversaries,” they must seek “the conversion, not the destruction” of political opponents.

Catholics can also change American society by implementing the Church’s vision of charity, which is “not simply a mechanism for the more efficient or cost-effective delivery of social services.”

Rather, it is rooted in the value of solidarity, “the Christian vision that we are our brother’s keeper.”

Alongside these commitments to civility and charity, Anderson called on U.S. Catholics to make a “consistent commitment to the social teaching of our Church” for the good of the nation.

The Supreme Knight, who was directly involved in national politics during the 1970s and 1980s, recounted his decision to leave the Reagan Administration “to serve a higher calling and to promote key elements of Catholic social teaching beyond the political realm.”

“As I told President Reagan then,” he recalled, “I believed these issues could not simply be limited to — or dismissed as — the domain of a single political party.”

During the 1980s, however, key principles of Church teaching were abandoned by a generation of Catholic politicians — the epitome of whom was New York Governor Mario Cuomo — who proclaimed themselves “personally opposed” to abortion, but unwilling to restrict it in law.

But Cuomo’s argument, Anderson noted, had a “fatal flaw,” since science proved the full humanity of the unborn child “irrespective of one’s religious conviction.” The Pro-Life movement did not seek to impose religion, but to extend the protection of innocent life found in “every civilized society.”

Nonetheless, the “Cuomo doctrine” spawned “a generation of ‘pro-choice’ Catholic politicians.”

The result, according to the Supreme Knight, “has been a political stalemate on the abortion issue for nearly three decades.”

“But there was also another effect,” he said. “Governor Cuomo’s rationale created an environment in which it became easier for candidates to dismiss other principles of Catholic social teaching.”

“So every election year many Catholic voters see their choice as between the lesser of two evils.

They face candidates who argue that while they may not be con-

Philadelphia Archdiocese apologizes after conviction in abuse case

Philadelphia (CNA/ EWTN News) — In response to the jury decision in the trial of former Archdiocese of Philadelphia official Msgr. William J. Lynn, the archdiocese has offered a “heartfelt apology” to all abuse victims and expressed commitment to child safety and “reform and renewal.”

“This has been a difficult time for all Catholics, especially victims of sexual abuse,” the archdiocese said. “The lessons of the last year have made our Church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety.”

A Philadelphia jury on Friday convicted Msgr. Lynn, the former secretary of clergy under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, on a count of child endangerment for failing to protect children from abusive priests.

Prosecutors argued that Msgr.

Lynn’s actions showed a pattern

by Church officials to cover up the abuse, but the jury found him not guilty on a conspiracy charge and a second count of endangerment.

The 61-year-old priest faces

up to seven years in prison. He was not accused of abuse himself.

“Now and in the future, the Church will continue to take vigorous steps to ensure safe church environments for all the faithful in Philadelphia,” the archdiocese said in response to the jury’s decision.

The jury deadlocked on charges of attempted rape and endangerment against Msgr.

Lynn’s co-defendant, Father James J. Brennan, who allegedly attempted to rape a 14-year-old boy in 1996.

Msgr. Lynn faced accusations that he recommended Father Brennan and then-Father Edward Avery be allowed to live or work in parishes in the 1990s even though the two showed signs they might abuse minors.

Avery, who was laicized in March 2006, pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy in 1999. He is currently serving a two-and-a-half- to fiveyear sentence in state prison.

Msgr. Lynn served 12 years as an advisor to Cardinal Bevilac-

qua and was chief investigator of clergy misconduct.

The prosecution argued that his response to claims of abuse against over 20 priests showed he focused on protecting the Church instead of children.

They said he lied to some victims and did not seek out others. The prosecutors also said he suggested to some sexually abusive priests that they may have been seduced by their accusers.

Msgr. Lynn said that prosecutors misconstrued his words and memos. He said medical experts had advised him not to seek out other possible victims because the victims might not want to discuss the abuse.

He portrayed his comments about seduction as efforts to do anything to persuade an abusive priest out of ministry and into treatment.

After the sentence was announced, Judge M. Teresa Sarmina revoked Msgr. Lynn’s bail and remanded him into custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 13.

sistent with Catholic values on all issues, they are consistent on some and that should be good enough.

But it is not good enough.”

“And as bad as this situation is, it has produced an even worse result. It has blocked the potential of Catholic social teaching to transform our nation’s politics.”

America’s political parties have been dramatically transformed in the past, Anderson noted, as in the case of the Democratic Party’s rejection of segregation during the 1960s.

At present, he suggested, a similar change in American politics is not just possible, but necessary.

The supposed “truce” between Catholics and a hostile culture — brokered by Cuomo and other “personally opposed” politicians — has been shattered by the Obama Administration, Anderson said.

“This year many Catholics sense that this ‘peaceful co-existence’ with secular culture has ended as a result of the HHS mandate,” the Supreme Knight said, pointing to the federal rule forcing virtually all employers to cover contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs in their health plans.

The mandate threatens “the autonomy and the integrity of our Church and its institutions,” and could “dramatically change the mission of the Catholic Church in the United States.”

For this reason, the contraception mandate “confronts us with a challenge which is a very different one from that of social issues such as legalized abortion. It is different

because it is a challenge to the integrity of our Catholic institutions and our own lives as Catholics.”

While the abortion issue raises questions about Catholics’ public policy choices, the mandate dispute involves a more direct threat to the Church — through the “redefinition of religion itself and the reduction of the role of religion in America’s public square.”

In light of this threat from the HHS Mandate, Anderson said, Catholic voters “should no longer accept politics as usual.”

“Catholic voters should insist that candidates measure their political platforms by Catholic social teaching — especially if those candidates are Catholics,” the Supreme Knight declared.

“Catholic voters should have the courage not to settle for anything less than this. And they should have the courage to withhold their vote from candidates who fail this test,” he advised.

The Supreme Knight urged the faithful to consult the U.S. bishops’ “Faithful Citizenship” document, which “tells us that there are some actions that are intrinsically evil and must always be opposed.”

Having formed their consciences according to these non-negotiable principles, Anderson said, Catholics must “exercise our right to vote on our own terms, as Catholics, and not on the terms of others.”

“If we do, America will be a better place. I believe that as Americans and as Catholics, you and I have a responsibility to try and make this happen.”

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June 29, 2012

The Anchor

T

his week we resume this year’s Sunday readings from the Gospel of St. Mark. Last Sunday we celebrated the Nativity of St. John the Baptist with the Gospel from St. Luke. In so doing, we did not hear the readings from the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We would have heard the story from the fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel — the story of Jesus calming the sea. The disciples were very concerned. After calming the wind and sea Jesus asks, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

(Mk 4:40). This is important background to this week’s Gospel.

In contrast, this Sunday we see two examples of faith in Jesus — faith not from Jesus’ companions but from a synagogue official and a woman who have suffered much. Both have great need, and believe that Jesus can help them. The first, Jarius, is a synagogue official whose daughter is ill to the

‘If I but touch His clothes ...’

point of death. “Please come er, we have been in a crowd lay Your hands on her that near a famous or important she may get well and live.” person.

Jesus sets off with this ofFew of us would have the ficial from the group who courage to approach, never would eventually want to mind touch, the important kill Jesus. But Jarius’ faith is so strong and his need for his Homily of the Week daughter’s return to health is so great that Thirteenth Sunday he approaches Jesus. in Ordinary Time Next, we come to

By Deacon the second person of Robert Hill faith. She is a woman who has suffered from hemorrhages for 12 years. She has gone person. Yet her belief in Jeto many doctors, spent all sus and her illness, drew her that she had. “Yet she was to touch Him. not helped but only grew In typical Mark fashion, worse.” We might say that he writes, “Immediately her she was at her wit’s end. She flow of blood dried up.” did not know what to do. It Jesus knew that power had seems like she was willing gone out from Him. He to try anything to get relief. asked, “Who touched My “She had heard about Jesus, clothes?” The woman realand came up behind Him in ized what had happened. the crowd and touched His She approached Jesus in fear cloak.” She says, “If I but and trembling. She knows touch His clothes, I shall what she has done. She has be cured.” What an act of touched an important man faith! At one time or anothwhich the custom says she

should not. Nevertheless, she approached Jesus, fell down before Him and “told Him the whole truth.” Jesus recognizes her faith and says, ”Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

What an example of faith this woman is to us!

Mark now returns to the story about Jarius’ daughter.

To paraphrase the rest of the story; as Jesus is talking to the woman who had suffered for 12 years and was cured, people came from Jarius’ house to report that his daughter had died. “No need to trouble the Teacher (Jesus) any more.” Jesus says to Jarius and to us, “Do not be afraid. Just have faith.” When they arrived at the house, the Jewish form of mourning was in full progress. Jesus says to the mourners, “She is not dead — she is asleep.”

The mourners made fun of Jesus. Jesus then put the mourners out. Jesus then took Peter, James, John and the girl’s parents and went into the house. Jesus went over to the girl, took her hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you arise.” At Jesus’ word, the girl got up.

What is the message of today’s Gospel for our lives?

The story of the woman who suffered shows that we can put all our trust in Jesus no matter what we are dealing with. He hears our prayers of faith and answers them according to His holy will.

The story of Jarius tells us the outcome of faith may be different than we think.

Part of having faith in God is trusting in God’s plan for our life. Jesus is listening and wants to be invited into our lives.

Deacon Hill is retired from active ministry. He and his wife Terri reside in Mattapoisett and are members of St. Anthony’s Parish.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. June 30, ­­Lam 2:2,10-14,18-19; Ps 74:1-7,20-21; Mt 8:5-17. Sun. July 1, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Wis 1:13-15;2:23-24; Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13; 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15; Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24,35b-43. Mon. July 2, Am 2:6-10,13-16; Ps 50:16b-23; Mt 8:18-22. Tues. July 3, Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117:1-2; Jn 20:24-29. Wed. July 4, Am 5:14-15,21-24; Ps 50:7-13,16-17; Mt 8:28-34. Thurs. July 5, Am 7:10-17; Ps 19:8-11; Mt 9:1-8. Fri. July 6, Am 8:4-6,9-12; Ps 119:2,10,20,30,40,131; Mt 9:9-13.

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Social justice priorities: Life and religious liberty

t this critical moment in history, there are two social justice priorities for the Catholic Church in the United States: the defense of life at all stages and in all conditions, and the defense of religious freedom for all. During this Fortnight for Freedom, in which the U.S. bishops are calling all Catholics to pray and work for religious freedom, it’s important to reflect on the linkage between these two great causes.

As the language of the First Amendment to the Constitution indicates, religious freedom in the United States has always been understood as one of a cluster of fundamental freedoms — spheres of free thought and action essential to individual liberty and civil society. That idea of constitutionally limited government — a government that makes no theological judgments (religious freedom), that does not control the media (freedom of the press), that does not control thought and culture (free speech), and that does not occupy all the “space” in society (freedom

of assembly) — rests, philocommitment to the premise sophically, on the premise of of civil equality derives from fundamental human equality. obedience to the commands Yet the premise is counof the God of Abraham, Isaac, terintuitive. We know that all Jacob, and Jesus, in various men and women are not creforms of the Golden Rule; but ated equal in intelligence, beauty, wealth, linguistic skills, or ability to hit a curve ball. Everything we see, every day, everywhere, speaks of human inequality.

By George Weigel How, then, to sustain a constitutional order of freedom on the basis of human equality? Is equality a pious fiction, will such an argument cona noble lie we tell ourselves? vince non-believers?

In the Declaration of IndeIn his 1993 encyclical, pendence, Thomas Jefferson “Veritatis Splendor” (“The tried to solve this problem by Splendor of Truth”), Blessed reference to a fundamental John Paul II proposed an human equality, and to “selfimaginative solution to this evident” rights reflecting that problem, which is fundamenequality, that were “endowed” tal to all democracies and in us by “nature, and nature’s especially acute in democraGod.” Today, when the idea of cies soaked in the solvents of Divinely constructed “human aggressive secularism and its nature” has disappeared from companion, radical skeptiour high culture (and a lot of cism. There is a way in which our law), that argument is unall men and women, unequalder severe pressure. Jews and in-every-other-aspect-of-theirChristians can argue that their lives, are equal, the pope sug-

The Catholic Difference

gested: “Before the demands of morality all are absolutely equal,” he wrote. Everyone is equal before the demands of the fundamental moral law that we can know by reason.

What are those demands? What are those moral truths?

Lying is wrong.

Theft of what rightly belongs to another is wrong. Everyone must honor promises, vows, and legal contracts. All must be free to seek truth in the depths of conscience, without social, cultural, or governmental coercion.

And the inviolability of every innocent human life must be respected from its beginning to its end.

These fundamental moral truths can be known by anyone willing to think carefully. Recognizing them does not require any prior theological commitments (although belief in the God of the Bible certainly shortens the path toward those truths). These truths are, if

you will, built into us. We do not invent them; we discover them.

The fundamental democratic premise of the radical, inalienable, civil equality of all citizens is at the root of the American constitutional order — the American way of being a political community. That premise is no pious fiction, no noble lie. It can be “demonstrated” and defended, by reason. And that defense leads inexorably to the right to life as the primordial human right, and the right of religious freedom as the “first freedom” in the political order.

In defending religious freedom and the right to life from conception until natural death, U.S. Catholics are not just defending what is “ours.”

We defend America. We seek to give America new birth of freedom, rightly understood.

We act, not as sectarians, but as free citizens. We act on behalf of all, and on behalf of truth.

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

June 29, 2012

Wednesday 27 June 2012 — at the church on Falmouth Inner Harbor — clergy transfer day couple of weeks ago, Father Paul Fedak came to visit. I gave him “the cook’s tour.” He reports today as the next pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish. I know the people will welcome him as warmly as they welcomed me. He and I are different, of course, but we are brothers in the same priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The folks at St. Nicholas Parish were actively involved in seeing me off and preparing for Father Fedak. They set out to make the facilities as “move-in ready” as possible. The Pastoral Life Center and church were in relatively good order but we filled two dumpsters from the

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The Anchor

Crossing the bridge

house. overlooked when priests move The Knights of Columbus at from one place to another. Out St. Nicholas have, since their of sight is out of mind. I found founding, proven strongly supboxes from 40 years ago stashed portive of priests. The Knights in the attic. You have the intenarrived one recent Saturday morning to rip out some old wall-to-wall carpeting on the second floor of the rectory. I had Reflections of a long intended to do this, Parish Priest but it’s one of the many things I kept putting

By Father Tim off. It will be one less Goldrick project for Father Fedak.

When the Knights finished their work, a delegation of tion of returning to retrieve the Women’s Guild members came rest of your belongings when to provide the finishing touches. you have a little more time, The Knights also cleaned but somehow you never do. I the rectory basement of all bet rectory attics all over the the moldy junk that had accudiocese are brimming with stuff mulated down there. Rectory left behind. Maybe someday basements and attics tend to be someone will find a forgotten

The Ship’s Log

Ordinations give life to the Church

O

seminary begun at Douay, n June 23, the SS. France — later shuffled Peter and Paul Caabout, suppressed, reopened, thedral of Providence, RI and shuffled some more — opened her arms to embrace forming priests amidst the three new priests, who religious chaos of Europe. were ordained in a marvelEnglish men came to them, ous ceremony that showed and were ordained and sent the Church at her finest. back in cognito to offer the Bishop Thomas Tobin was Sacraments to their countrysupported by five fellow men whose Catholic faith bishops, scores of priests, at that time was a capital numerous joyful religious, offense. and delighted lay faithful — What were those ordinaall of whom soaked in the tions like? Were there flowers inspiring setting: the creative floral sprays, the magnificent orchestral ensemble, the full-throated choir and a Liturgy that bespoke our rich tradition.

By Genevieve Kineke One of the deepest paradoxes of our faith is that its and pomp? Crowds of wellsimple truths motivate artists wishers or lavish receptions to create magnificent and afterwards? Probably not, but often complex works, and I can imagine that the prayers the humility of our scourged were intense, of the caliber Redeemer gives life to such that few attain without persetriumphant illustrations of cution to distill the thoughts. fidelity and hope. Each is Moreover, we might include meant to be a signpost of the many ordinations in this transcendent truths that give light — those behind the meaning to our lives — that Iron Curtain, in concentrashow us the surest path in an tion camps and gulags, and uncertain world. These three anywhere that Christ’s words young men have discovered are unwelcome. Even Karol that path and heeded the Wojtyla — who became John voice that called them to Paul II — knew what it was minister to their fellow pilto study in secret and take grims. For that we rejoice.

Holy Orders in the quietest of As deeply moving as the settings.

Mass of Ordination was As Bishop Tobin remarked on this fine summer day, I concerning these young men: couldn’t help but wonder this is the day for which they about other ordinations that were born. From all eterhave taken place over the nity, they were chosen to be centuries, and in particular I configured to Christ, so that wondered about the circumthey might strengthen the stances in the 16th century

The Feminine Genius

flock and guide them safely.

Young Father Wojtyla had his challenges, and these men will have theirs. The world is no different, only the trials have taken new shape. These men embark on their mission in a time as trying as any, with political and cultural complexities threatening the flock using deft new slogans that mask ancient and exhausted lies.

And thus we return to the simple truth. There is a God, we are His, and His Son came to claim us. From the outset, the Divine plan of redemption includes a Church that would nourish, inspire, and exhort — giving witness all the while by her fidelity.

In a homily just days prior, our assistant bishop commemorated the deaths of John Fisher and Thomas More who gave their lives for this simple truth. He stressed that they didn’t die only for God, but in defense of the very Church instituted to continue His presence among us. The Church for which they died was resplendent this beautiful day, and will remain so whether decked in splendor or hidden in catacombs. Our love casts diadems about her regal neck, but our faith in Christ would honor her wherever she is found. Pray for these young men, for priests everywhere, and for ample vocations in the coming years.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books) and blogs at femininegenius.com.

treasure, if “The Antiques Road Show” ever comes to town.

On my last weekend in Dighton, parishioners hosted a combined “Celebration of Priesthood Brunch and Farewell to Father Tim.” Held in the Pastoral Life Center, it was an informal event featuring home-cooked food. It was not only my farewell but also a celebration of Father Jack Andrew’s 50th anniversary of priesthood and my 40th. It happened to be my birthday. As much as people in North Dighton like to socialize (and cook) there was little sense in having one shindig after another.

Finally, the Knights loaded my belongings in pickup trucks and over the bridge we went.

I have now, dear readers, dropped anchor in Falmouth Inner Harbor. I notice that my new quarters are more than adequate and that people here in Falmouth Village seem friendly and helpful. Some even contacted me in advance to offer a word of welcome and an offer of assistance. It’s very much appreciated.

Before reporting for duty, I had already met twice with Msgr. John Perry, my immediate predecessor at St. Patrick Parish. He gave me “the cook’s tour.” I absorbed as much information as I could, but there is no way I could remember all the details. I will be a fish out of water until I get a sense of the rhythm of life in my new parish. What I do remember is that there is a main church with a connected rectory (both renovated and expanded by Msgr. John Regan) a chapel by the sea (with 45 weddings scheduled this summer) a

number of nursing homes to care for, and a parish cemetery. There is one parochial vicar, two permanent deacons, three janitors, a secretary, a Religious Education coordinator, one priest-in-residence and three retired priests living in the neighborhood. I count eight weekend Masses and three daily Masses. There is also a nearby hospital. That should be enough to keep us occupied.

At the second meeting, Msgr. Perry and I were joined

by Father Peter Fournier, who is reporting to St. Patrick’s Parish on the same day as I. It’s a new beginning for both of us. Father Fournier was assigned to St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis upon his ordination to the priesthood just two years ago. He has never experienced a transfer. I, on the other hand, am an old hand at this sort of thing. I already know Father Fournier from our mutual involvement in the ECHO youth retreat program on Cape Cod. I’m looking forward to working with him in the parish.

When a new priest moves to a parish, people are curious to learn all about him as soon as possible. To assist my new parishioners, I distribute a little handbook entitled “The Care and Feeding of Your New Parish Priest.” It’s packed with information about me, a kind of light-hearted “operating manual.” That way, everyone begins on the same page.

In this week of clergy transitions, scenes such as these are repeating in rectories all over the diocese. Pray for your priests. I am serious.

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

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The Anchor

June 29, 2012

Fall River Diocese offers third annual Quo Vadis Days retreat

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

WAREHAM — When Jesus asked each of the original 12 Apostles to follow Him in service to others, the call was unmistakable. It wasn’t an easy decision for the men, but God’s call was clear.

Today, God still seeks men to serve Him as priests in the Catholic Church, but sometimes the call can be muffled by the sights and sounds of everyday life in the 21st century. And those sights and sounds are many and relentless.

For this reason, the Catholic Church in the United States created a Quo Vadis (“Where are you going?”) retreat experience for young men in the jubilee year of 2000 in the Diocese of Portland, Ore. Since then, the concept has spread through dioceses across the U.S., including its arrival in the Diocese of Fall River in 2010.

The retreat is a five-day camping experience allowing young Catholic men to learn more about the priesthood, while deepening their faith and gaining a better understanding of what God is calling them to do with their lives.

“The retreat provides our young men the opportunity to listen to great talks by priests and seminarians of our diocese as well as engage in discussion about different aspects of priestly life,” Father Jay Mello, assistant Vocations director and recruiter for the Diocese of Fall River, told The Anchor. “The retreat has had tremendous success in that in just after two years, there are currently three men in the application for the seminary who have attended the retreat.”

This year, the Fall River Diocese’s Quo Vadis retreat will take place at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Wareham from 10 a.m. on July 9 through 1:30 p.m. on July 13. The retreat is open to young men ages 14-18.

“This is a good opportunity to talk about how the Lord may be calling them,” said Father Kevin A. Cook, assistant di-

ocesan vocations director. “There’s an openness and a willingness to discuss in an environment like this that they won’t find anywhere else. It’s also good to know as a teen-age boy that other guys his age are taking their faith seriously.”

Young men attending the weekend can expect many activities including spiritual exercises encompassing holy Mass,

adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary; physical activities including hiking, swimming, flag football, soccer and ultimate Frisbee; sessions including talks and discussions; and as always, great food.

“The annual Quo Vadis retreat has become over the last couple of years,

Screen shot of Quo Vadis Days website at www.qvdays.org

a wonderful opportunity for the young men in our diocese to come together with other young men for a week of prayer, fraternity and discernment,” added Father Mello.

The New Testament cites several examples of when Jesus took His Apostles away from the crowds and distractions when He wanted to teach them about the Kingdom and how to bring others to His Heavenly Father.

The Quo Vadis retreat experience is a similar concept in that the young men are in a quiet and comfortable environment where they can more fully concentrate on God speaking to them, and enjoying the fellowship of like-minded individuals without the distractions of what others may say.

The Fall River diocesan Vocations Office website explains that the Lord has great plans for all His children. “Jesus’ plan for some men is to be one of His priests,” it states. “The priesthood is an indispensable, awesome and beautiful mission. Many of the Church’s greatest saints have been priests. Even though Jesus continues to call young men to this life, sometimes the world makes it difficult to hear His call.”

The Quo Vadis retreat is geared to clear up the static of the busyness of school, work and other activities.

“This is the biggest event of the year for the Vocations Office,” said Father Mello. “We are tremendously grateful for all the support from Bishop George W. Coleman and the priests of the Diocese of Fall River.”

For more information on the Diocese of Fall River’s Quo Vadis Days, visit the website at www.fallrivervocations.org and clicking on the Quo Vadis Days link; call the Vocations Office at 508-675-1311, extension 109; contact Father Mello at fatherjaymello@gmail.com, or Father Cook at frcook@holyfamilytaunton.org; or contact your pastor.

Pope reminds faithful that nothing is impossible with God

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI said June 24, during the celebration of the Birth of St. John the Baptist, that this feast day should give us hope.

“From his mother’s womb, in fact, John is the forerunner of Jesus: his miraculous conception is announced from the Angel to Mary as a sign that ‘nothing is impossible to God,’” he said to pilgrims in St. Peters Square during his midday Angelus address.

The pope was marking the solemn feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. He noted that apart from Our Lady, St. John is the only saint to have their birthday celebrated as a liturgical feast “because it is closely connected to the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.” He explained that St. John is emphasized by all four Gospel writers as the prophet who concluded the Old Testament by preparing the way for the Christ and the New Covenant.

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he,” said Jesus in the Gospel of St. Matthew.

“The Virgin Mary helped her elderly cousin Elizabeth to carry to term the pregnancy of John. She helps everyone to follow Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, whom the Baptist announced with great humility and prophetic ardor,” the pope concluded.

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The Anchor

June 29, 2012

Legal experts say HHS dispute pits government against God

Indianapolis, Ind. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The HHS contraception mandate shows the federal government asserting its own authority as a “rival” to God, legal scholars warned, as the U.S. Church began two weeks of action for religious freedom.

“Power hates a rival, and allegiance to an all-embracing, monotheistic God poses a significant threat to power,” University of Oklahoma law professor Michael Scaperlanda said during a June 21 panel discussion on religious liberty at the 2012 Catholic Media Conference in Indianapolis.

“We are told today that our nation is too diverse to be influenced by religious moral principles. But history reveals a deeper and darker reason for marginalizing religion,” Scaperlanda said.

“Simply put, the state is jealous of the rival source of authority.”

The University of Oklahoma professor offered his thoughts on the mandate, and related threats

to the free exercise of religion, alongside Canon Law Society of America President Rita Joyce, and Professor Carter Snead of the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Their remarks to journalists and other media came as the U.S. bishops began the June 21-July 4 “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign. The initiative seeks to rally Catholics against the mandate requiring religious employers to offer objectionable services, including sterilization and abortion-causing drugs.

Joyce spoke about the 23 pending lawsuits that have been filed against the mandate by 56 different plaintiffs, including many Catholic dioceses. The canon law society president is also general counsel for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, which is among the local churches suing to block the mandate.

She stressed that the Church had been forced to defend itself

by the Obama Administration’s denial of conscience rights. While the Church’s own internal laws normally require compliance with civil law, the contraception mandate forces the Church to choose between obedience to God, or to the state.

“Canon law defers to civil law in those matters where it doesn’t conflict with ‘Divine law’ — or God’s law,” Joyce said. “Civil law, here, is conflicting with our law. It’s conflicting with God’s law, with the Church’s law.”

“We do need to resist it, from a canonical point of view, because civil law here is coming in conflict with canon law.”

Snead, who specializes in public policy and bioethics at Notre Dame, stressed that the Obama Administration had not followed through on a promise to “accommodate” employers with moral objections to contraception, ster-

ilization, and abortion-causing drugs.

“This is one of the great myths of this debate. There is no accommodation,” Snead said.

Instead, he explained, the president had made a “promise to try to find some form of accommodation by August 2013” for groups with moral objections to the mandate.

“Those of you who pay attention to politics might notice that that’s significantly after the presidential election,” Snead remarked.

Even “non-cynical” observers, he said, should ask themselves why the president would wait until after the election “to resolve this very vexed controversy” that involves the “very important voter population” of U.S. Catholics.

He summed up the administration’s message to concerned Catholics: “Don’t worry about

this very serious problem that you’re concerned about; I’ll deal with it after the election’s over, in a way that I’m sure you’ll find satisfying.”

The Notre Dame professor described the mandate as a “radical form of coercion” against religious groups. He also rejected the notion that Catholics were seeking to restrict access to contraception, an objection raised by some activists who have sought to shift the debate away from religious freedom.

“The very definition of ‘coercion’ has been perverted in this debate,” Snead objected. “People are saying that it’s ‘coercion’ on the part of the religious institutions, to not pay for something that is available through other means.”

“It’s not coercion for me not to pay for something for you that violates my religious tradition.”

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June 29, 2012

The Anchor

Brooklyn bishop urges youths to witness to their peers on web

DUBLIN (CNS) — Young Catholics should be present on the web as witnesses to their peers who are searching for hope, said Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Brooklyn.

Addressing hundreds of young Irish Catholics and international pilgrims at the International Eucharistic Congress June 16, Bishop Caggiano said, “Your generation is the first to live comfortably in the virtual, electronic world.”

He said that “many people, especially young people, are searching in the electronic world for a word of hope in their troubles, a word of consolation in their fears, a word of welcome in their loneliness.”

He urged the young people to be “heralds of the word of God in the electronic world and missionaries of Christ.”

The “youth space” where Bishop Caggiano spoke held parallel events during the eucharistic congress.

Bishop Caggiano, 53, was among a number of speakers who concentrated on the theme of youth and the New Evangelization. He told the pilgrims that “since the word of God is meant to be heard by all people, our personal encounter with Christ impels us to bring His word to the whole world. This means that we are not simply listeners to God’s word, but its herald and witness.”

He said this witness “is nev-

er an easy challenge, because many times our actions do not match the words we profess in faith. For this reason, we must live lives of justice, peace, reconciliation and charity.

“Only in this way can we truly bear witness to what we have seen, heard and encountered in the Word of God,” he said.

He appealed to young Catholics to make time for prayer and silence in their daily lives.

“Coming from New York City, the city that never sleeps, silence is not easy for me either. Given the hectic pace of our lives and our ability to communicate electronically every minute of every day, silence can even be frightening.

But God needs a place where He can talk to us in our hearts.

If we are always busy, always talking, always moving, He will speak — but will we be listening?” he asked.

Bishop Caggiano told the young Catholics that he had “every confidence” that “like the great missionary saints who lived before us, you can and will bring many people to faith.”

Although only his second visit to the Ireland, Bishop Caggiano has a special connection to the country because he is titular bishop of the ancient Irish diocese of Inis Cathaig in County Clare. During a 2009 visit to Ireland he visited his titular diocese for the first time and saw the ancient monastic ruins that represent his titular see.

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strange lands — The rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland serve as the backdrop for the movie “Brave.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS/Disney/Pixar)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following is a capsule review of a movie recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (Fox) The 16th president of the United States uses his trusty ax to split a lot more than rails in this goofy mash-up of American history, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith (based on his 2010 novel). Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) vows revenge after his mother is killed by a vampire’s bite. Trained in the killing arts by a mysterious mentor (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln sets out to vanquish evil and prevent the undead-aided Confederacy from winning the Civil War. Relentless bloody violence, fleeting upper female nudity, occasional use of profanity and rough language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Brave” (Disney) A teen-age Scottish princess goes to extreme lengths to break free of custom and convention in this 3-D animated adventure, directed by Brenda Chapman and newcomer Mark Andrews.

A king and queen (voices of Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson) rule a peaceable version of medieval Caledonia. When it comes time to arrange the marriage of their rambunctious daughter (voice of Kelly Macdonald), however, she rebels and runs off to the forest. Determined to change her destiny, she

persuades a witch (voice of Julie Walters) she encounters there to cast a spell, with disastrous consequences. Her adventure teaches the royal miss the hard way that selfishness and revenge are wrong, and family, duty and honor paramount. Intense action and scenes of peril, the use of sorcery, brief rear animated nudity, some rude humor. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested, some material may not be suitable for children.

“Rock of Ages” (Warner Bros.)

Heavy-metal musical romance — set in 1987 — in which an aspiring singer (Julianne Hough), newly-arrived in Los Angeles, finds work as a waitress in a headbangers’ nightclub and falls for a bartender (Diego Boneta) in the same establishment who has show biz ambitions of his own. Plot complications involve the bar owner’s (Alec Baldwin) efforts to keep the place open, the struggle of a puritanical politician’s

wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to shut it down and the headlining appearance of a debauched megastar (Tom Cruise) whose increasingly distant relationship with reality is being exploited by his unscrupulous manager (Paul Giamatti). Director Adam Shankman’s screen version of Chris D’Arienzo’s hit Broadway paean to the glories of Reagan-era rock mixes shameless sentimentality with cheerful, consequence-free debauchery and drives home the message that religiously motivated moral conservatives are all repressed hypocrites. Negative treatment of religion, misguided values — including a frivolous view of homosexuality, acceptance of premarital sex and a comic portrayal of aberrant sexual behavior — rear and partial nudity, a couple of uses of profanity, some crude and crass language.

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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

Celebrant is Father Michael Racine, Pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet

June 29, 2012

13

The Anchor

Muslim, Christian, Jewish leaders sign joint letter against HHS mandate

ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Two dozen religious leaders have joined the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in signing an open letter he wrote to oppose the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate and urge it be retracted.

The Reverend Matthew C. Harrison issued the letter called “Free Exercise of Religion: Putting Beliefs into Practice,” which states that “no government should tell religious organizations either what to believe or how to put their beliefs into practice.”

The letter, available online at www.lcms.org/president, also objected to the narrowly-drawn exemption to the mandate, which requires most religious employers to provide free coverage of contraceptives and sterilization procedures for their workers. It added that this “incursion” by the HHS prevents the free exercise of religion.

“For the well-being of our country, we oppose the application of the contraceptive mandate to religious institutions and plead for its retraction,” it added.

Among the Catholic signers of the letter were Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom; and Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis.

The headquarters of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are based in St. Louis.

The leaders of a number of Catholic communities of women religious were among the signers, along with officials of the Orthodox Church, Evangelical Lutheran Synod, National Asso-

ciation of Evangelicals, Hispanic Evangelical Association, Presbyterian Church in America, General Council of the Assemblies of God, Islamic Society of the Washington area and others.

“As religious leaders from a variety of perspectives and communities, we are compelled to make known our protest against the incursion” by HHS “into the realm of religious liberty,” the letter stated.

“We who oppose the application of this mandate to religious institutions include not only the leaders of religious groups morally opposed to contraception, but also leaders of other religious groups that do not share that particular moral conviction,” it said.

“That we share an opposition to the mandate to religious institutions while disagreeing about specific moral teachings is a crucial fact,” it continued. “Religious freedom is the principle on which we stand.”

Reverend Harrison said in a statement that he drafted the letter “because there are moments in history where one needs to speak and stand” for basic principles. “This is one. Our First Amendment rights are on the line,” he added.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is the second largest U.S. Lutheran body. It has about 2.3 million members.

The release of the letter coincided with the start of the U.S. bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign, which ends July 4. The observance is dedicated to prayer, education and public action to help Catholics and the rest of the country understand how the federal contraceptive mandate violates religious liberty.

In the Washington area, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington issued a sim-

ilar statement May 29, saying the HHS mandate might require religiously affiliated institutions to “provide funds for health services that violate their conscience and religious beliefs.”

“We are especially concerned in the case of those institutions, such as the Archdiocese of Washington, which are self-insured,” the statement said.

Members of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington include the Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Mormon, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Sikh and Zoroastrian faith communities. The group is involved in interfaith dialogue and cooperative efforts for social and economic justice, which includes “protecting religious freedom.”

The organization called on “all interested parties to reach for higher ground in achieving both social goods: that of preserving religious freedom and that of ensuring equal provision of affordable health care.”

Father Avelino Gonzalez, ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Archdiocese of Washington, was one of the drafters of the statement.

“It was clear from the start that it was not going to be easy to reach consensus on a statement given the politically charged atmosphere,” he said, but “a long process of negotiations” resulted in a statement approved by a majority vote, he said, that addresses religious freedom concerns and the need to provide affordable health care.

The priest, who also is pastor of St. Joseph Parish on Capitol Hill, said that “having the interfaith community weigh in on this difficult and contentious debate is a significant accomplishment.”

‘Ship’s Log’ honored by CPA for Guaimaca series

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

FALL RIVER — The Society for the Propagation of the Faith recently recognized Anchor columnist Father Timothy J. Goldrick with an Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Award for his 2011 series on the Fall River diocesan mission in Guaimaca, Honduras.

The awards are presented annually to honor stories in Catholic newspapers and magazines about mission work. Father Goldrick won in the mission series category for his trilogy of “The Ship’s Log” columns in November 2011 chronicling his visit to the diocesan mission in Honduras: “I’m leaving on a jet

plane,” “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” and “Joy in the morning.”

“As a young man, I briefly considered being a foreign missionary, but quickly gave up the idea,” Father Goldrick told The Anchor. “I didn’t realize at the time that mission is an attitude more than a physical visit to a far-off place. This I have now come to believe.

“The award was actually won not by The Anchor, nor by me, nor even by the mission team, but by the parishioners of St. Nicholas Church, North Dighton, and Holy Family Church, East Taunton, who rallied around us and supported

us in the endeavor. Our vision of what it means to be Church will never be the same.”

The award was presented at the annual Catholic Press Association convention held last week in Indianapolis, Ind. The awards are named after the beloved Archbishop O’Meara of the Indianapolis Archdiocese who died in 2006.

He was known for heading Catholic relief efforts for victims of war and disasters throughout the world.

Archbishop O’Meara was on the very first board of directors for Catholic Relief Services and ultimately became the agency’s president and chairman.

silent protest — An opponent of Arizona’s immigration law, sits in the shade behind a religious memorial set up outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix June 25. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected much of the law, known as S.B. 1070. (CNS photo/Darryl Webb, Reuters)

Archbishop Gomez gives mixed response to immigration ruling

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The Supreme Court’s decision on an Arizona immigration law drew both praise and concern from the bishops’ leader on migration issues, as well as a renewed call for federal immigration reform.

“The U.S. Catholic bishops across the nation will urge their state governments to not pursue laws such as in Arizona, but rather to pursue humane reform on the federal level,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ migration committee.

On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several provisions of a rigid Arizona immigration law, while allowing another controversial provision to stand.

Archbishop Gomez was hopeful and cautious in reacting to the court’s decision in Arizona v.

United States, which arose when the federal government challenged the state’s 2010 immigration law, claiming that it was incompatible with federal law.

The court rejected much of the law, determining that the state of Arizona cannot require immigrants to carry registration papers nor allow for warrant-less arrests based solely on the suspicion that someone is an illegal immigrant.

Nor can it make it a crime for undocumented immigrants to apply for or hold a job, the court ruled.

Archbishop Gomez said that the court’s decision to strike down these provisions “reaffirms the strong role of the federal government in regulating immigration.”

However, the court allowed another part of the law to stand, while leaving the door open for future legal challenges. This provision requires state police to check the immigration status of any detained person if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the country illegally.

Archbishop Gomez said the bishops are “concerned with the court’s decision to lift the injunction” on this part of the law. They are “encouraged” that the court did not explicitly rule the provision constitutional.

He explained that this regulation “could lead to the separation of families and undermine the Church’s ability to minister to the immigrant population.”

“We stand in solidarity with our brother bishops in Arizona, as they prepare to respond to the implementation of this provision and its potential human consequences,” he said.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had submitted a “friend of the court” brief in the high-profile case, arguing in favor of a single unified approach to immigration throughout the nation rather than a “patchwork” of different policies in each state.

The bishops’ conference asserted that the Arizona law threatened important American values such as family unity, human dignity and religious liberty.

It voiced concern that such laws might criminalize the Church’s charitable aid, which is offered to all those in need, regardless of their immigration status.

Opponents of the law have also argued that it would encourage racial profiling and pose a threat to innocent children.

Archbishop Gomez emphasized the continued need for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.

“Humane enforcement of our nation’s laws are part of any solution, but enforcement by itself, unjustly administered, only leads to abuses and family breakdown,” he stressed.

“The Church will continue to stand by immigrants and their families and seek justice on their behalf,” he said.

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The Anchor

Father Wilson eager to preach Good News via The Anchor continued from page one

Boston. I worked there from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then The Patriot Ledger would call me to cover meetings at night. They’d send me to some distant town like Kingston or Sharon to cover the meeting and then I had to rush back to The Ledger to file the story by 2 a.m. Then I’d have to be back at work by 8:30 a.m.”

After honing his writing and reporting skills, Father Wilson said he eventually entered St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, where he studied for two years before thenBishop Séan P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., sent him to continue his formation at the North American College in Rome.

“While in Rome I didn’t do any newspaper reporting, but I did have a friend who had a radio show on WZBC, the Boston College radio station, and so I did an update for him every Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. The host even had a theme song written for the ‘Rich Wilson update,’” Father Wilson said, laughing.

After completing his studies, during which he earned a licentiate degree in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Father Wilson was ordained and returned to serve the Fall River Diocese. He was first appointed as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville for two years when in 2000 he became secretary to Bishop O’Malley and was also named director of the diocesan Hispanic Apostolate that same year.

Father Wilson said his journalism skills didn’t get much exercise until Archbishop O’Malley was named a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

“The Standard-Times in New Bedford was aware of my background and asked me to submit an article each day to cover the event,” Father Wilson said. “I didn’t have

a personal computer, so I’d run around to try and find a friend’s computer to use, or I’d go to an Internet café to type up and send the articles. At most of the events, I was in the congregation (having celebrated Mass at another time), so I could use a notebook. However, at the Mass of thanksgiving that Cardinal O’Malley celebrated at the North American College, I couldn’t bring a notebook into the sanctuary with me, so I had to continuously try to remember different things the cardinal said in the homily, and then right after Mass I had to make a beeline to a computer before I forgot what he said. It is thanks to my good memory that I did well in school and it helped me on this occasion, too.”

In 2004, he was appointed to become pastor of the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church, which had been formed by the joining of four parishes in the city’s South End, where he served until his new appointments this month.

While he said he’s readily familiar with news reporting, Father Wilson said he hasn’t had as much experience with editorial or commentary writing other than submitting the occasional homily reflection to The Anchor.

“In high school I wrote some commentary for the Boston College High School Eagle, so I know I’m capable of it,” he said.

“Of course, I would want to focus more on the Church issues of the day. I hope to expand on how the Church would respond to a given situation and I’d like to apply the Church’s teachings to whatever is going on in the news.”

Admitting he hasn’t developed an editorial philosophy as of yet for The Anchor, Father Wilson hopes to be guided by the Holy Spirit and let the Church’s teachings inform whatever topic is dominating the

This week in 50 years ago — Services were held in the new Our Lady of the Cape Church in Brewster on Cape Cod for the first time. Father Joseph A. Nolan, M.S., pastor, celebrated the first Mass. New Testament accounts of Our Lord’s association with the sea suggested the motif for the interior, carried out in scenes depicted in the 14 nave windows.

25 years ago — Bishop Daniel A. Cronin presided over the 40th annual Blessing of the Fleet including fishing and pleasure craft which traveled by MacMillan Wharf in Cape Cod Harbor.

Bishop Cronin offered Mass preceding the annual ceremony at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Provincetown.

news that week.

“It’s daunting because up until now I’ve only been preaching within my church and it’s only my parishioners who hear me,” Father Wilson said. “With The Anchor, everyone can now read what you’re writing, so you do open yourself up to more criticism. When you’re preaching you don’t have all your colleagues watching over your shoulder, either. I’ve been praying about that and I have to just keep reminding myself that I can’t mindread what other people are thinking. As long as I apply the Church’s teaching, I think I’ll be fine.”

Father Wilson said it’s going to be a challenge to manage his time now that he’s taking over the helm of The Anchor while also taking on three new parishes and a school in Attleboro.

“I’ll try my best to balance all four assignments,” he said. “I’m very grateful that I’ve already met with the parish staffs and they’ve all been spoken very highly of by their pastors there and I know Father Landry has spoken very highly of The Anchor staff, so I know I’m not taking on any of these jobs alone. I’m glad I’m not coming in as the Lone Ranger taking on all these tasks.”

A firm believer in the adage “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” Father Wilson said he has no immediate plans to change anything at his new parishes or at The Anchor, for that matter.

“In any assignment, you need to go in and see how it’s going before you make any changes,” he said. “As I stressed to my own parishioners in New Bedford — they have a very good priest coming in, Father Craig Pregana — and I’ve told my people if he’s got to make changes, accept them. He might see things I didn’t see and I think that’s true everywhere. I think things have been working well for

June 29, 2012 The Anchor and I’m not an expert as to what needs to be changed right now.”

Father Wilson noted the challenging context in which he is taking over The Anchor, a time in which secular and religious newspapers are facing declining readerships, due to the rise of the Internet and due to a general decline in newspapers over the last half century. He made mention of the fact that New Orleans is soon to become a major city without a daily newspaper, “a sign of the times of where print journalism is in the United States at this moment.”

“I’m thankful that Father Landry and the rest of the staff has prepared us for that inevitable transition [to the Internet],” Father Wilson said. “I think ultimately that will be the biggest challenge for us at The Anchor: how do we keep up the Church’s mission of using the mass media to promote the teachings of the faith in this changing situation? I’m very grateful The Anchor has a website and it seems to be going well, so we’ll have to build from there.

That’s the long-range plan, but I think Father Landry has already begun that for us.”

In looking at the struggles of many secular newspapers today, Father Wilson said the real challenge is how to make that transition from print to digital or online editions while still generating enough revenue to survive.

“How do you provide news via the Internet and make money on it so you can be able to pay your reporters? Even the secular media is having a hard time with that,” he said. “It’s a very challenging time, but the diocese and the Church continues to use the different types of media available to it to promote the faith. That’s why we have a diocesan newspaper — not just to

report what’s going on, but also to show how we put our faith into action.”

Father Wilson’s new assignments have also forced him to vacate his longtime position as director of the diocesan Hispanic Apostolate, a role that will also be taken on by his pastoral successor, Father Pregana. But he said he’ll still be involved with his beloved Spanish apostolate as pastor at St. Joseph’s Parish in Attleboro.

“I’ve been involved with the Spanish Apostolate for most of my priesthood,” he said. “The purpose is to help Hispanic people maintain their faith. Ultimately, it is not a matter of teaching or saying something or singing songs, it is helping people to have a special encounter with Christ, because only that will make them want to spend time with Him on Sunday.

And that means we, as the clergy, also need to be growing in a relationship with Christ. Because if we’re not on fire and it’s not motivating us, how are we going to motivate anyone else?”

Father Wilson said he now hopes to bring that same fire and passion for the Good News to the weekly readers and followers of The Anchor.

“I know many of my relatives read The Anchor faithfully and they always comment on it every week,” Father Wilson said. “They most often comment on Father Tim Goldrick’s column and on the editorials. They always tell me: ‘You’ve got to read what Father Goldrick wrote about this week.’ I do, but I’ve also told Father Goldrick that when I see his picture for the column, I begin to imagine the theme to ‘Gilligan’s Island’ and I think of the Skipper.”

Father Richard D. Wilson begins his tenure as executive editor of The Anchor with this edition.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — The Attleboro-based Bishop Feehan High School golf team secured its second straight Division One State Golf Championship title at Easton Country Club by dominating the field of competitors. The Shamrocks shot an impressive team score of 292.

One year ago — Nineteen young men from across the diocese gathered at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Wareham for the second annual Quo Vadis Days experience. The four-day event is the continuation of an effort started by the diocesan Vocations Office to help young men discern their vocation in life and perhaps answer a special calling to serve God as priests.

e-Cathechism — A woman displays the e-book version of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” on an iPad in Washington recently. The e-book version, which has been available through iTunes, Amazon and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ online bookstore, can now be browsed and read for free on the USCCB website. (CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec)

June 29, 2012

15

The Anchor

Media adviser role is positive step for Vatican, says new U.S. appointee

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The establishment of a new post of senior communications adviser is a step in the right direction to help the Vatican deal with the challenges of a sound-bite culture, said the American journalist appointed to the job.

Greg Burke, 52, was named to the newly-created position in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State and will start in July. The announcement was made on Vatican Radio June 24.

Burke, a native of St. Louis, told Catholic News Service June 25 that his job will be to help “shape the message” coming out of the Vatican and make sure everyone there “stays on message.”

It’s a role similar to the White House’s director of communications, who supplements the work of a more visible spokesperson, Burke said, as he described some of the challenges he plans to address: “What’s the message we want to get out? How do we get it out?” And how does the Vatican respond to issues getting traction in the media?

The communications strategy “sounds very simple, but its execution will be very complicated,” he said.

He will also help develop and strengthen lines of communication among the Holy See’s numerous communications outlets,

which include TV, radio, a newspaper, a book publishing house and a press office. He will work with Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the No. 3 official at the Vatican Secretariat of State, and U.S. Msgr. Peter B. Wells, assessor for general affairs.

Burke, who’s a graduate of Columbia University’s school of journalism, has spent the past 24 years based in Rome as a journalist — with the National Catholic Register, Time magazine and, for the past 10 years, the Fox News network.

While he is not an expert in PR or communications, Burke said his experience covering news events at the Vatican and throughout Europe and the Middle East means “I know what journalists are looking for and what they need, and I know how things will play out in the media.”

A good example of a past media storm that could have been avoided, he said, was during Pope Benedict XVI’s speech on Islam in Regensburg, Germany, in 2006. The pope quoted a medieval Byzantine emperor, who said the prophet Mohammed had brought “things only evil and inhuman.” The pope later acknowledged the quotation was open to misinterpretation, as he had not meant it as an endorse-

ment of the emperor’s words.

If such a speech had been restricted to a small group of scholars, there might have been no problems, Burke said, but as a talk televised to the world, “in a sound-bite, headline culture, it’s a whole different thing,” Burke said.

Burke said he has been covering the Vatican long enough “to know that no one walks in and changes things” overnight. But, he said he hopes “this post is a step in the right direction” and that he will be able to alert the right people in advance of any potential message mix-ups.

A lifelong Catholic and numerary member of Opus Dei, Burke said he wouldn’t have taken the job if he didn’t put all his faith and trust in God. Numeraries are celibate and contribute a large part of their salaries to the prelature.

When he was first approached about the new position, Burke declined, but then over the course of a week, he went with “a gut feeling” to finally accept the job.

“I had a great job at Fox, just the right mix of time in Rome and travel; I was in my comfort zone,” he said.

It took him some time to “get the courage up” and take the chance rather than risk liv-

ing with the nagging feeling he could have been able to make a difference, he said.

The appointment is likely to provoke comparisons between Burke and Joaquin NavarroValls, another Opus Dei member who served as Vatican spokesman during Blessed John Paul II’s pontificate.

Burke said that he didn’t know whether being a numerary of Opus Dei was a factor in his hiring, but he noted, “I wasn’t hired at Fox because of Opus Dei,” but rather for his knowledge and experience.

Being a native speaker of English, which is the working language of much of the global media, was perhaps a more critical factor in his favor, he said.

Despite the Vatican’s communications’ challenges, Burke said the Church “still has got a great message” that needs to get out there.

“It’s a message of spread the love, which often gets lost in a lot of the static,” he said.

While he doesn’t have “a magic wand” or feel he has all the answers, Burke said the Church’s direction should be based on being clear and open with the world.

He said a great model to emulate would be a communications’ structure similar to that of the

United Nations, whose website lists “a spokesperson on every continent with cellphone numbers in case you need an interview and free video footage.”

“That’s the direction I’d like to see. Greater openness and accountability is all positive” for any institution, organization and business, not just the Vatican, he said.

“The danger is you say nothing, it’s a closed shop,” he said, and then lies, distortions or misunderstanding can fill the media vacuum.

He grew up in St. Louis Hills, which he credits as being “maybe the best neighborhood to grow up in with small houses, small yards and big families.”

Living five minutes from his parish of St. Gabriel, the Church was a big part of community life, he said.

The middle child of six, Burke went to Jesuit-run St. Louis University high school and praised his Jesuit Latin teachers as being “great scholars, gentlemen and saints.”

Despite his all-American background, after nearly a quarter century in Rome, Burke took Italian citizenship earlier this year. That means he will be right at home at the Vatican, where Italians still far outnumber employees of any other nationality.

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Parents should be careful not to block their son’s calling to the priesthood, new Vatican guidelines on promoting vocations say.

“Even though a sense of respect for the figure of the priest is cultivated in Christian families, it is still noticeable, especially in the West, that they have a certain difficulty in accepting that their child may have a vocation to the priesthood,” said the document launched by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, head of the Congregation for Catholic Education, at the Vatican.

However, “if families are animated by a spirit of faith, charity and piety they become, as it were, an ‘initial seminary’ and they continue to offer favorable conditions for the birth of vocations.”

The 29-page document, entitled “Pastoral Guidelines for Fostering Vocations to the Priestly Ministry,” is the culmination of four years of work by the Congregation for Catholic Education. It draws together the responses received to a questionnaire issued to the universal Church in 2008.

The guidelines call on parishes to help parents become more

aware of their role as “educators in the faith so as to develop in the heart of the family the human and supernatural conditions that make possible the discovery of a priestly vocation.”

While the Church around the world is seeing an overall rise in seminarians in recent years — including in North America — Europe continues to show a slow but steady decline.

The new guidelines also identify other stumbling blocks to discerning a priestly vocation. It points to the spread of secularism, the marginalization of the priest in social life “with consequent loss of his relevance in the public square,” a lack of appreciation of priestly celibacy, including by some Catholics, the fallout from Church scandals, and the bad example of some priests who exist in a “whirlpool of exaggerated activism” that can “weaken the shine of priestly witness.”

As for fostering new vocations, the document highlights the fruitfulness of families, schools, parishes and movements rooted in prayer.

“The experience of many local churches is that young men, in large numbers, sense the call to the ministerial priesthood, es-

pecially where prayer is a constant and profound dimension of the community’s life,” it says.

As well as the family, Catholic parishes are emphasized as “the place par excellence where the Gospel of the Christian vocation is proclaimed” and “where the ideal of priestly ministry is presented.”

In this setting, priests are “crucial for openly suggesting priestly vocation to boys and young men” with the help of “a well-founded and effective educational program” that raises the question.

This role of openly suggesting a priestly vocation can also be undertaken by others in the parish and by current seminarians, since “no one is better suited to evangelize young people than young people themselves.”

Interestingly, the document suggests that a vocation to the priesthood should not be suggested “to persons who, even though they are praiseworthy in their journey of conversion, show signs of being profoundly fragile personalities.”

In terms of priestly celibacy, it states that those considering the priesthood “should see with clarity the commitments he will have to take on” and that any discern-

ment process should contribute “to healing any individual deviations from his vocation.”

Teachers in schools can also play a crucial role as they “can extend the family’s educational role by broadening cultural horizons.”

Meanwhile, the document observes that a young man’s college years are increasingly “becoming a fruitful period for

young people with regard their life choices.”

Among its many other recommendations, the guidelines note that numerous priests were “part of the group of altar boys and have served at the altar” before going to seminary. It therefore suggests that “vocation ministry for priesthood gives special attention to altar boys” when promoting the priesthood.

New Vatican guidelines: Parents should be careful not to block vocations

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

Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina “Dear children! With great hope in the heart, also today I call you to prayer. If you pray, little children, you are with me and you are seeking the will of my Son and are living it. Be open and live prayer and, at every moment, may it be for you the savor and joy of your soul. I am with you and I intercede for all of you before my Son Jesus.

“Thank you for having responded to my call.”

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

Youth Pages

16

keep on truckin’ — Eighth-grade students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently held a car wash to raise money for end-of-year activities.

that’s the spirit — As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration throughout the course of this school year, Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro recently recognized seven individuals who have taught, coached and served at the high school for a combined 240-plus years. The “Spirit of Feehan” medallion recipients, front row from left: Nancy Mowry ’71, Neil Loew, and Anne Carroll. Back row from left: Tom Maguire ’68, Robert L’Homme ’77, and Ed Gagnon. Missing from photo: Peter Galligan ’66.

June 29, 2012

on his beast behavior — Mary Rondelli and Drew Arpin, students at St. Mary’s School in Taunton, recently portrayed the “Beauty and the Beast” in the school’s production of the Disney classic.

helpful hints — Marissa Silva Robertson, a fifth-grade student at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro, recently attended an awards ceremony for the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College. She won honorable mention in the poster contest. Her poster, along with a descriptive paragraph, was in response to questions about bullying and how to help someone who is being bullied.

the stories of them — The fifth-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River recently wrote personal narratives under the guidance of Diane Finn. They also brought in photos and wrote brief biographies. Finn then bound their stories to create the published pieces. The picture shows them holding their published works.

thai treat — To enhance their studies of Asian countries and cultures, sixth-grade students at St. Joseph’s School in Fairhaven had the opportunity to share some of the recipes they found during their research.

The class enjoyed a rice dish with ham and pineapple from Thailand, a sweet vermicelli dish from Bangladesh, a fruit punch called hwachae from South Korea, and some sweet treats from Vietnam, Philippines, and Pakistan.

in the fold — The St. Mary’s School color guard, made up of seventhgrade students, honored the U.S. flag by following the rule of 13 folds before putting the flag away for the evening during Flag Day ceremonies at the Mansfield school.

Youth Pages

June 29, 2012

W

17

God is your biggest fan

hat have you learned never got to play in a game. a star. His team began to this past school year It was the end of his senior triumph. The score was soon that you can honestly say football season, and as he tied. In the closing seconds will have a lasting, positive trotted onto the practice field of the game, the young man impact on your life? Whether shortly before the big playoff intercepted a pass and ran you’ve completed middle game, the coach met him with all the way for the winning school, high school or colsome sad news; his father had touchdown. His teammates lege, there is some good exdied earlier that morning. The hoisted him onto their shoulperience that will help guide young man asked his coach ders. you to the next plan God Finally, after the has for you. Think about stands had emptied it for a moment … and and the team had left then read this moving the locker room, the story. coach noticed that There was a young the young man was boy who loved football sitting quietly in

By Ozzie Pacheco with all his heart. Practhe corner all alone. tice after practice, he The coach came to eagerly gave everything him and said, “Kid, if he could miss practice that he had. But being half the I can’t believe it. You were day. The coach put his arm size of the other boys, he got fantastic! Tell me what got absolutely nowhere. At all the gently around his shoulder into you? How did you do and said, “Take the rest of games, this hopeful athlete it?” He looked at the coach, the week off, son. And don’t sat on the bench and hardly with tears in his eyes, and even plan to come back to the said, “Well, you knew my ever played. game on Saturday.” Saturday This teen-ager lived alone dad died, but did you know arrived, and the game was not that my dad was blind?” The with his father, and the two going well. In the third quarof them had a very special young man swallowed hard relationship. Even though the ter, when the team was 10 and forced a smile, “Dad son was always on the bench, points behind, a silent young came to all my games, but man quietly slipped into the his father was always in the today was the first time he empty locker room and put stands cheering. He never could see me play, and I on his football gear. As he missed a game. This young wanted to show him I could ran onto the sidelines, the man was still the smallest do it!” coach and his players were of the class when he entered Like the athlete’s father, astounded to see their faithful God is always there cheering high school. His father conteammate back so soon. tinued to encourage him but for you. God is your biggest “Coach, please let me play. fan. When you decide to do also made it very clear that I’ve just got to play today,” he did not have to play footsomething that fits God’s said the young man. The ball if he didn’t want to. But plans, nothing can stop you. coach pretended not to hear the young man loved footYes, you may face some him. There was no way he ball and decided to hang in problems along the way to wanted his worst player in there. He was determined to your goal. But, that’s part of this close playoff game. But try his best at every practice, living in an imperfect world. the young man persisted, and and perhaps he’d get to play Never give up. With God’s when he became a senior. All finally feeling sorry for the help, you can conquer any kid, the coach gave in. “All through high school he never challenge. right,” he said. “You can go missed a practice or a game Our loving God is always but remained a bench warmer in.” reminding us to go on, ofBefore long, the coach, the fering us a hand, knowing all four years. players and everyone in the His faithful father was what is best, giving us what stands could not believe their we need and not simply what always in the stands, always with words of encouragement eyes. This little unknown, we want. God never misses a for him. When the young man who had never played before single game. was doing everything right. went to college, he decided Ozzie Pacheco is Faith The opposing team could not to try out for the football Formation director at stop him. He ran, he passed, team as a “walk-on.” EverySanto Christo Parish, Fall blocked, and tackled like one was sure he could never River. make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept The Anchor is always pleased to run him on the roster because he always put his heart and soul news and photos about our diocesan into every practice, and at the youth. If schools or same time, provided his team members with the spirit and parish Religious Edhustle they badly needed. ucation programs, The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him have newsworthy so much that he immediately stories and photos called his father. His father they would like to shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for share with our readall the college games. This ers, send them to: persistent young athlete never missed practice during his schools@anchornews. four years at college, but he org

Be Not Afraid

a job well done — Five high school students were recently honored by St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River. Three graduated from the St. Vincent’s school and two received services from the home while attending public schools in the community.

St. Vincent’s Home honors five high school graduates

Fall River — St. Vincent’s Home recently honored five high school students, three of whom graduated from St. Vincent’s High School, the other two being graduates who received services from the home while attending public high schools within the community.

The graduates and their guests were recognized with a ceremony in St. Vincent’s Chapel led by Special Education administrator, Sheila B. Wilkins, M.Ed. Graduation addresses were given by St. Vincent’s executive director, John T. Weldon, MSW and pastoral care counselor, Holy Union Sister Helen McPeak.

Through a competitive application process, four of the graduates were awarded a Make A Difference Scholarship in the amount of $750 each by Ed and Lisa Medeiros, CEO and president, respectively, of R.I.-based East Commerce Solutions, Inc. The scholarships were awarded to the students with the expectation that, despite the adversity they may have encountered in their lives and educational process, they can “make a difference” in the world through their own ac-

tions. The scholarships will be used toward the graduates’ ongoing post-secondary and vocational education.

St. Vincent’s is a multi-service, child and family-serving organization accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Services to Children and Families and fully approved by the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for both residential and therapeutic day school.

Staff provides special education, behavioral health, congregate care, community-based and in-home services to more than 390 children and youth, ages four to 21, and their families throughout Southeastern Massachusetts on an annual basis. Emphasis is on providing special education services through trauma-informed, family-centered, compassionate care while working with children and families to restore relationships and support family permanence.

For more than 127 years, St. Vincent’s has been working with children and families to preserve hope. For more information, call 508-679-8511 or visit www.stvincentshome.org.

18

The Anchor

June 29, 2012

‘Defend religious freedom, or lose it forever’

Study finds negative results for children

the concerted efforts being made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices.”

People took notes and listened intently as Father Landry explained how the government is working to draw a line between the freedom of religion and freedom of worship, adding that individuals should not have to choose between being good servants of God and good servants of our country when asking the government to respect Church teaching.

God is part of the framework of the founding documents of our country that “drew upon this conviction when they proclaimed the self-evident truth that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” said Father Landry. “The course of American’s history demonstrates the difficulties, the struggles and the great intellectual and moral resolve that were demanded to shape a society that faithfully embodied these noble principles. In that process which forged our nation’s soul, religious beliefs were a constant inspiration and driving force.”

Father Landry discussed the connection between the government’s promotion of same-sex marriage and its attempt to strip religious freedom of its meaning.

This is being done so as to acquiesce to many politicians’ “grandstanding” on the issue of same-sex marriage. The government will support religion in your place of worship, said Father Landry, but during the rest of the week they won’t “if it’s going to get in the way of that inexorable path toward the redefinition of marriage.”

“How did we get here?” he asked. “What’s really driving this?”

Radical secularism is being forced upon our culture, “and we need to face it,” said Father Landry. “For militant secularists, it’s not enough for them to live as if God doesn’t exist, but they want to compel everybody else, at least in public, to behave according to that practical atheism. They may concede the right to freedom of worship, meaning the liberty to spend one’s free time going to church, synagogue or mosque — but they want to restrict the right to genuine religious freedom, meaning the liberty to live according to one’s faith.”

This is why secularists are going after the Church’s charities, he said. Secularists hate the practice of religion more than they appreciate the charity that flows from religion and would rather shut

bate in the field of developmental psychology.”

Released early this month, a study out of the University of Texas stands that argument on its head. The New Family Structures Study by Mark Regnerus shows strong correlation between children raised by same-sex parents and various negative outcomes. Out of 40 categories, adults raised by lesbian mothers reported negative outcomes in 24 categories while adults raised by gay fathers reported negative outcomes in 19.

Compared to adult children of biological, married parents, the adult children of lesbian mothers were twice as likely to have thoughts of suicide, three times as likely to be unemployed and 10 times as likely to have been abused sexually by an adult. They were also more likely to be attracted to members of the same sex.

These outcomes come as no surprise to family advocates. Research has consistently shown that children are better nurtured by their married, biological parents. Where God’s design for family life is realized, children reap a lifetime of benefits.

Kristian Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, told The Anchor, that there is no substitute for a mother and father.

“The study affirms our longstanding position — the reason marriage should be between man and woman is because that’s the single best environment for the nurturing of children,” he said. “We are very pleased that a comprehensive, statistically significant, peerreviewed study has been done on this issue.”

He called the legal redefinition of marriage “bad public policy,” stating, “It has not only a negative effect on the children being raised in same-sex households, but it also forces this radical, flawed social agenda on all the children in Massachusetts. Now, this is taught as a normative lifestyle in the public schools.”

Some have criticized the Regnerus study. They note that respondents were asked if either parent ever had a romantic relationship with someone of the same sex.

Those who responded affirmatively were placed in either the lesbian mother or gay father categories even though they may have been raised by a single parent and most often came from a broken, heterosexual home. Out of 3,000 respondents, only two were raised from birth to age 18 by same-sex parents.

Others counter by saying that instability is common in same-sex relationships and that parenting by same-sex couples is a rare event.

No one, it seems, denies that more research should be done on

continued from page one

down Catholic Social Services, Catholic hospitals and Catholic schools instead of accepting an institution’s plea for exemption based on religious teachings.

“They would rather risk all of that rather than keep the exceptions that have always been there up until now,” said Father Landry.

Hostile secularists hate real religion, said Father Landry. They view religion as force for repression and violence, not for freedom and peace.

“That isn’t going away,” he said. “One of the reasons why that has become dominant in our true culture is, based on our worship of God, [our faith] has lost its saltiness. We have failed to really live up to our vocation to be the salt of the earth and prevent this corruption.”

Therein lies the rub, said Father Landry. Not all Catholics live out the Church’s teaching, thus the government feels that Catholics don’t mean it when they say they’re Catholics. Catholics can no longer stand on the sidelines but must take an active role in their faith and community and prove the government wrong, said Father Landry.

Rita Campoli, parishioner of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish in New Bedford, was excited to read in The Anchor that Father Landry was presenting his talk, and was inspired by his desire to have those in attendance go forth and spread the word: “I want to go forward and talk to people that I know and encourage them to not be lukewarm in their faith and to be alive and stand up in this moment,” she said.

The Borges made the two-hour presentation a family affair. Eduardo and his wife, Ann, brought their three children. A deacon candidate and member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Eduardo said that churchgoers might not be aware of what the faithful stand to lose if nothing is done.

“We think that we are ‘regular Joes’ who don’t have the tools to make a difference. The way [Father Landry] explained it, that’s not true,” said Eduardo.

His wife agreed, saying, “What I got from [Father Landry’s presentation] is that as Catholics, it’s important to speak about our faith, to come together as a Catholic community and to really stand up for what we believe in.

“The surprising thing is that people don’t get it. How is it that society doesn’t understand how important this is? It’s very difficult because as humans, we don’t want people to not agree with us, so it’s hard. What they don’t understand is that it does affect

them. If people didn’t stand up for things in the past, we wouldn’t be the society we are today.”

Darius Haghighat was able to learn more about the HHS mandate and gleaned other information from the presentation that allowed him to better understand the issues. The recent New Bedford High School graduate is bound for Stonehill College in the fall, and said that listening to Father Landry “talk about the radical secularism and the issues and the fact that they are targeting the poor in society and how to fix it, put it in perspective for me,” he said.

For his part, “I’m definitely going to raise awareness,” said Haghighat, adding that he will use Facebook and Twitter. “I’ll do my best and do my own research. I’ll see how many conversations I can start.”

One of the biggest challenges Haghighat said, one of the biggest challenges Catholics face is, “the fact that we live in liberal Massachusetts. It’s difficult to bring up topics like this when everyone doesn’t want to hear the agenda. You have to not be afraid to bring it up.”

David Murphy, a deacon candidate from St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham was impressed with the turnout and said he wants to take Father Landry’s word to heart and bring the message back to his parish.

“We can talk amongst ourselves all we want, but we need to get out there,” said Murphy. “We can be faithful and churchgoers, but we have to go beyond that now. We need to be motivated.”

Twenty-two-year-old Jocelyn Trindade said that the movement could be seen as a purification of sorts, that those who are true believers will be left standing to defend their faith.

“Just the absurdity of what is happening with our politicians; how they can get away with this. I think if this happened 20 years ago, this wouldn’t be happening. They are trying to redefine the Constitution; the politicians aren’t even logical in what they’re doing. People don’t see that, no one is seeing the truth anymore and everyone is OK with it,” said Trindade, adding that anything worth having is worth fighting for and that people should question: “Am I going to be a Catholic? Or am I going to be a Catholic in name only?”

The Fortnight for Freedom began June 21 and ends July 4. For more information on the initiative, visit the USCCB website: http://www.usccb.org/ issues-and-action/religiousliberty/fortnight-for-freedom.

continued from page one

the subject.

“Good scholarship requires more than just one study to establish reliable conclusions,” said Glenn T. Stanton, director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family. “There is a great need for additional studies with reliable samples and rigorous methodologies — as this one — so we can all gain a fuller, stronger understanding of how children fare in samesex homes in contrast with homes where most American children are reared: married, intact biological families.”

In an outline of the study’s key findings, he praised the study’s methodology. Previous studies had smaller sample sizes, relied on reporting from parents on their children’s outcomes and were conducted by advocates for homosexuals.

Also released this month, a paper by sociologist Loren Marks reviewed 59 previous studies of same-sex parenting, which have been used to show that there is no difference in outcomes for children. The paper concluded that all of the studies were “insufficient to support a strong generalized claim either way.”

In his study, Regnerus noted that nearly all research on outcomes for children show they fair significantly better when raised by their married, biological parents — something a same-sex couple can never offer.

“In short, if same-sex parents are able to raise children with no differences, despite the kin distinctions, it would mean that same-sex couples are able to do something that heterosexuals in step-parenting, adoptive and cohabiting contexts have themselves not been able to do — replicate the optimal childrearing environment of married, biological-parent homes,” he said.

In an address at the bishops’ meeting this month, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, head of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, said the Regnerus study attests to “something very basic: fathers and mothers matter, and married fathers and mothers matter for children.”

“Unfortunately, we have come to a point in Western society where the meaning of marriage is being largely eclipsed by a counterfeit version, by a false idea that marriage is just a matter of adult interests and can be manipulated as a product of arbitrary invention. However, I believe many of our young people, who have experienced firsthand the difficulties of broken families and the absence of a father or a mother, know intuitively that such an understanding of marriage cannot stand the test of time and can only lead to further disappointment and hardships,” he added.

June 29, 2012

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 347 South Street, beginning immediately after the 12:10 p.m. Mass and ending with adoration at 4 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

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

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

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has eucharistic adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508336-5549.

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

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

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

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

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The Anchor Sister Lucille Richard, SUSC

FALL RIVER — Sister Lucille Richard, SUSC, (Sister Albert Joseph) a resident of The Landmark in Fall River died June 17 at the age of 89.

She was born in Fall River in 1923, the daughter of the late Hilaire and Coelia (Bouchard) Richard. In addition to her Holy Union Sisters, her sisters, Evelyn Matton of Swansea and Doris Berube and Vivian Dion of Fall River, several nieces and nephews and grandnieces and nephews survive her.

Her brothers Albert and Joseph and sisters Violette Desmarais, Imelda Pineau, Lucienne Lacroix, Lauriette Cote, and Lauretta Gauthier predeceased her. Her brother Joseph Gerard died in infancy.

Sister Lucille was a graduate of the former Jesus-Mary Academy, Fall River. She entered the Holy Union Sisters in Fall River in 1947 and pronounced her final vows on Aug. 22, 1954. She received a B.A. in education from the College of the Sacred Hearts, Fall River.

In the Fall River Diocese, Sister Lucille taught the middle grades at St. Michael School and the former Sacred Heart School, Fall River and the former St. Anthony in Taunton.

When she retired from teaching, she used her secretarial skills at Bristol County Home Care for the

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks June 30 Rev. Simon Pease, SS.CC., Administrator, Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven, 1952 Rev. Alphonse M. Reniere, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1961 July 1 Rev. Fernando A. Veiga, CM, Vincentian Mission House, Fall River, 1993 July 2 Rev. Gerard A. Boisvert, Assistant, St. Anthony, New Bedford, 1967 Rev. Maurice H. Lamontagne, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Grace, Westport, 1996 Rev. James T. Donohue, CSC, 2006 July 3 Rev. Thomas P. Doherty, Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1942 July 4 Rev. James A. Coyle, S.T.L., Pastor, Holy Name, Fall River, 1955 Rev. Pierre E. Lachance, O.P., Rector, St. Anne Shrine, Fall River, 2006 July 5 Rev. J.F. LaBonte, Retired Assistant, Sacred Heart, New Bedford, 1943 Rev. Edward P. Versailles, M.S., La Salette Shrine, North Attleboro, 1985 July 6 Rev. Edmond Francis, SS.CC., Pastor, St. Mary, Fairhaven, 1963 Rev. Paul J. Price, SS.CC., 2006

Elderly and the Holy Union Sisters Finance Office, both in Fall River.

From 1985 until 2003 she was school secretary at St. Francis de Sales School, New York City and also Sister Lucille served as an Richard, SUSC extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and lector in St. Francis de Sales Parish. In 2003 she

joined the Holy Union Community at The Landmark, Fall River where she resided until her death. Last year, Sister Lucille celebrated her 65th anniversary as a Holy Union Sister.

All funeral arrangements took place at Holy Name Church on June 20. Burial was in St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River. Funeral arrangements were by Waring-Sullivan Funeral Home, Fall River.

Donations in Sister Lucille’s memory may be made to: The Holy Union Sisters Mission Advancement Office, P.O. Box 410 Milton, Mass., 02186-0006.

Around the Diocese 7/4

Holy Name Parish in Fall River, is sponsoring “Catholicism and Reason,” question and answer series for Catholic and non-Catholic adults. Using the theological science of apologetics, the gathering will examine many questions and show the reasonableness of the Catholic Church’s beliefs and teachings. Participants will have the opportunity to write anonymous questions about aspects of the faith they would like to know more about or have clarified. Each session will address and explain what the Church teaches on those topics. Sessions will be facilitated by Bud Miller, and will be held on consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8 p.m. at the parish center (President Avenue and Stetson Street) through August 1.

7/7

A Day with Mary will be held July 7 at St. John the Evangelist Parish, 841 Shore Road in Pocasset. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother along with Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and an opportunity for Reconciliation. There is a bookstore available during breaks. For more information call 508-996-8274.

7/8

Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville will host a Parish Mission, July 8-11. Father Michael P. Sullivan, OSA, will present the mission entitled “A Time of Grace.” The topics for each evening session, which begins at 7 p.m., will be: Sunday: To Be Born Again; Monday: The Healing Love of Jesus; Tuesday: The Call to Be Church; and Wednesday: Our Response to the Call. All are welcome. For more information call 508-775-5744.

7/11

St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth will host its Summer Family Picnic and BBQ on the church grounds on July 11 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The menu created by Chef Paul will include summer salad, cole slaw, his famous BBQ baby back ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips, watermelon and soft drinks. The sponsoring Mens’ Club will sell tickets after all Masses and at the rectory. For more information call 508-563-2488 or 508-548-1228.

7/13

Bishop George W. Coleman invites you to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the St. Mary’s Education Fund Summer Gala on Cape Cod. This year’s gala will be held at Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee on July 13 at 6 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which provides need-based scholarships to students in the diocesan Catholic schools. For tickets or more information about the gala, call 508-759-3566.

7/14

Internationally-acclaimed Irish Tenor Mark Forrest will return to Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich for a Eucharistic Night of Prayer on July 14. The program begins at 7 p.m. and includes eucharistic adoration, music, meditations, and quiet time in prayer. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to draw closer to our Lord. For more information call 508-888-2740.

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

June 29, 2012

H

GOD bless America

appy 236th birthday Did you know that our America! May God National Anthem, the “Starbless America. God bless the Spangled Banner,” actually USA. I’m getting these beloved has four verses? Allow me to phrases in print while it’s still provide the fourth: “Oh, thus legal. be it ever, when freemen shall For 236 years this great coun- stand between their loved home try has sought the help of the and the war’s desolation! Blest Almighty in times of war and di- with victory and peace, may saster, has thanked Him for our the Heav’n-rescued land praise many blessings, and has asked the Power that hath made and Him to continue to lovingly look preserved us a nation! Then condown on these 50 states. quer we must, when our cause I’m just not quite sure how it is just, and this be our motto: much longer we’ll be able to ‘In God is our trust’: And the do that. One can’t help but wonder on which future July 4 will America officially be a God-less

By Dave Jolivet country, ruled by “correctness” and sanitized of all culture, religion, star-spangled banner in triumph and values. shall wave o’er the land of the My skin crawls every time I free and the home of the brave.” think about it.

Bye-bye fourth verse ... for the Already, our beautiful Pledge sake of correctness. of Allegiance has been riddled Gone too, will be the “Mawith bullet holes fired by the rine Hymn,” which references weapons of “correctness.”

Heaven, “The Army Goes RollOn which future Fourth of ing Along,” that mentions God, July will we watch on national and the heartfelt “Navy Hymn,” television the Boston Pops a poignant musical benediction performing on the Esplanade, that invokes the Trinity. unable to provide us with such I have a feeling I won’t classics as “America,” the be watching “Pops Goes the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Fourth” any longer.

“God Bless America,” “America On which Fourth of July the Beautiful,” and the contemwill our Christian churches porary patriotic favorite, Lee be mandated to remove the Greenwood’s “God Bless the crosses from their steeples and USA”? the stained glass from their windows? The day a neighbor complains about them, I suspect.

It’s an incredibly sad (United) State of affairs when the Source of all our blessings, God Almighty, is considered politically incorrect. In my humble opinion, the phrase “politically incorrect” wouldn’t exist if we didn’t have politicians. Just a thought.

Meanwhile fellow Americans, enjoy the Fourth, and may God bless America, no matter what her government says. GOD bless America!

My View From the Stands