07.06.12

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , July 6, 2012

Instilling leadership skills in diocesan youth B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff

rosary priest — A statue of Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, is part of the beautiful Rosary Walk on the grounds of Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

Rosary Priest’s mission to bring families together marks 70th year

EAST FREETOWN — The music blares as 24 candidates of the Christian Leadership Institute (CLI) lipsynch, dance and act out the words to the song alongside the CLI team leaders at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown. It’s not a talent contest; the method behind the madness is to get the kids working together in a dynamic way before settling down and launching into another workshop.

For six days teen-agers from area parishes put down their iPods and picked up their note pads to embrace the CLI philosophy of combining

Christian faith and leadership skills.

Candidates are “sponsored” by his or her parish through their pastor or director of Religious Education; no parent is allowed to be their sponsor, explained Crystal Medeiros, assistant director of the Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Fall River Diocese.

“We want some acknowledgement from a parish that the candidate is participating,” said Medeiros. “We work with a variety of young people but we want some acknowledgement from the parish that the young person is going to be willing to learn and develop their leadership skills with the Turn to page 14

Two miracle findings attributed to Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton sent to Rome

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

NORTH EASTON — Seventy years ago Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, established a ministry aimed at encouraging families to come together to pray the Rosary. Family Rosary was born and the concept spread quickly through the U.S. and across the globe. The beloved “Rosary Priest” touched the lives of millions of people by taking a pro-active approach to his great devotion to the Blessed Mother and her Son. Even 20 years after Father Peyton’s death in 1992, Family Rosary remains a vital, active, and empowering Christian ministry, a true testimony to the ongoing dedication of the men and women of the Congregation of Holy Cross and Holy Cross Family Ministries, also founded by Father Peyton, of which Family Rosary is a member.

Father Peyton’s dream didn’t end, however, with the establishment of Family Rosary. Five years later, in 1947, he expanded that vision by utilizing mass media to reach as many people as possible, creating Family Theater Productions. As innovative as he was pious, Father Peyton employed the services of radio, films, outdoor advertising and eventually the latest

media craze, television.

Sixty-five years removed from that not-so-humble beginning, Family Theater Productions, also an HCFM member, makes use of all the state-of-the-art media tools the 21st century has to offer to spread the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and invoke His mother’s intercession for the salvation of many.

“On the 70th anniversary of Family Rosary, we honor Father Peyton’s memory as we continue his mission to bring families together in Rosary prayer to fulfill his vision that the family that prays together stays together,” said Holy Cross Father John Phalen, HCFM president, in reference to the famous phrase that became one of Father Peyton’s trademark philosophies.

In honor of the two notable anniversaries, Holy Cross Family Ministries will host various events throughout the year that will be listed on its website, www. hcfm.org. The celebration began last month with the successful Family Rosary Retreat that took place at Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton.

On Oct. 1, 2001, then-Fall River Bishop Sean P. O’Malley, OFM. Cap., announced that he sought formal approval from the Vatican Congregation for Sainthood Causes to open the cause for possible canonization of the beloved priest.

The bishop also revealed he received the nihil obstat (no objection) from the Vatican congregation to open a diocesan inquiry into the sanctity of Father Peyton.

Two years later, to the Turn to page 18

WORD POWER — Frank Lucca, director of the diocesan Christian Leadership Institute, talks about the roles of being a leader to this year’s 24 candidates of the CLI program during one of the many workshops held throughout the six-day program held recently at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

Father George F. Almeida, devoted priest, passes away

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — Retired clergy at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence are in mourning over the sudden loss of friend and brother priest, Father George F. Almeida, who died June 27.

“Father Almeida was a thorough, joyful person who was deeply devoted to the Blessed Mother and was very generous with his time and ability to help in parishes all over the diocese,” said Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, a close friend and fellow resident at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence.

“He was a lot of fun and a constant companion,” agreed Father Paul E. Canuel. “We were part of the breakfast club (at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence) and he drove us

everywhere.”

Msgr. Harrington said Father Almeida had a big van that he used to transport his house mates to various events — from annual trips to see the Christmas lights at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro to more somber events like the funeral of a brother priest.

“It will be a sad funeral to have without seeing Father Almeida’s van parked outside,” he said.

The son of the late Manuel and the late Anna (Medeiros) Almeida, Father Almeida, 80, was born in Newport, R.I. He graduated from Attleboro High School in 1949. After high school, Father Almeida served his country proudly as a member of the United States Navy on the aircraft carrier USS Midway Turn to page 18

July 6, 2012 News From the Vatican Pope names U.S. archbishop to new post to aid talks with traditionalists

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to aid reconciliation attempts with traditionalist Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI has named U.S. Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia to fill a newlycreated post of vice president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei.” “The appointment of a highranking prelate to this position is a sign of the Holy Father’s pastoral solicitude for traditionalist Catholics in communion with the Holy See and his strong desire for the reconciliation of those traditionalist communities not in union with the See of Peter,” the Vatican said in a written statement.

The statement, released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees “Ecclesia Dei,” said the New York-born Dominican is a respected theologian who has devoted much time and attention to the doctrinal issues under review in current talks with the breakaway traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, led by Bishop Bernard Fellay. The society rejects some of the teachings of Vatican II as well as the modernizing reforms, especially to the Liturgy, that followed in its wake.

Archbishop Di Noia told Catholic News Service the Vatican needed to help people who have strong objections to the council see “that these disagreements don’t have to be dividing or keep us from the same Communion table.”

“It is possible to have theological disagreements while remaining in communion with the See of Peter,” he said.

“Part of what we’re saying is that when you read the documents (of Vatican II), you can’t read them from the point of view of some liberal bishops who may have been participants (at the council), you have to read them at face value,” Archbishop Di Noia told CNS. “Given that the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church, the documents cannot be in discontinuity with tradition.”

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The doctrinal office said the archbishop’s experience as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments since 2009 “will facilitate the development of certain desired liturgical provisions” in the celebration of the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine rite.

Archbishop Di Noia, who said his reassignment from the worship congregation after only three years had left him “flabbergasted,” will be replaced in that job by Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds, England, the Vatican announced.

The doctrinal congregation also emphasized that Archbishop Di Noia enjoys “broad respect” in the Jewish community, which “will help in addressing some issues that have arisen in the area of Catholic-Jewish relations as the journey toward reconciliation of the traditionalist communities has progressed.”

In addition to the highly publicized position of Bishop Richard Williamson, a traditionalist bishop who denies the Holocaust, public statements by Bishop Fellay, the society’s superior general, leave in doubt whether the society as a whole accepts the entirety of “Nostra Aetate,” the Vatican II document stating that the Jewish people cannot be blamed for the death of Jesus Christ.

“Ecclesia Dei” oversees the pastoral care of Catholics who have a special devotion to the older Latin Liturgy. Pope Benedict placed the commission under the doctrinal congregation in 2009 to better address the doctrinal issues emerging from talks between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X. U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada remains president of the commission and Msgr. Guido Pozzo continues as the commission’s secretary.

The archbishop’s appointment is significant as it dedicates additional expertise and manpower to the questions still under consideration by the Society of St. Pius X. OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 27

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Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told journalists that the new position is a sign of “the importance and delicate nature of the kind of difficulties” with which the commission is dealing and should not be seen as an indication of how things are proceeding with the society.

Questions under examination when talks began in 2009 included the concept of tradition; the post-Vatican II Roman Missal; the interpretation of Vatican II in continuity with Catholic doctrinal tradition; the themes of the unity of the Church and the Catholic principles of ecumenism; the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions; and religious freedom.

At a high-level meeting at the Vatican, Vatican officials presented Bishop Fellay with a draft document proposing a personal prelature as the most appropriate instrument for any future canonical recognition of the society, in the event doctrinal differences are resolved. Vatican officials also gave Bishop Fellay their evaluation of the society’s latest statement on those doctrinal dif-

ferences.

Following the meeting, the society said that unresolved “doctrinal difficulties” with Vatican II and the Church’s subsequent liturgical reform could lead to a “new phase of discussions” over possible reconciliation with Rome.

The talks have focused on the wording of a “doctrinal preamble” outlining what the Vatican has said are “some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity” to the formal teaching of the Church.

In a June 25 letter to SSPX bishops and priests published on the Internet, the society’s secretary general, Father Christian Thouvenot, wrote that Bishop Fellay considered the Vatican’s latest version of the preamble to be “clearly unacceptable.”

Archbishop Di Noia said his task will be to help resolve the impasse over the terms of an agreement.

“The theological dialogue has gone on for three years but now (the pope) is hoping to find the language or the modality for a reconciliation,” Archbishop Di

Noia told CNS. “We’re at the stage of finessing, to help them find a formula which respects their own theological integrity.”

“It seems to everyone that (a reconciliation) is close, but now it needs a kind of push,” he said.

When Archbishop Di Noia was undersecretary of the doctrinal congregation, he was involved with the pope’s establishment in 2009 of the personal ordinariates, special structures for former Anglicans who want to be in full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving aspects of their Anglican spiritual and liturgical heritage.

“It’s possible that (Pope Benedict) had that experience in view” when selecting him for his latest job, the archbishop said.

Blessed John Paul II named then-Father Di Noia to the No. 3 spot at the doctrinal congregation in 2002, when it was headed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

The archbishop has worked extensively with Pope Benedict, especially as a member of the International Theological Commission when the current pope was its president.

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI says that the path to real greatness in life is not found in self-promotion but in sacrificial love towards God and other people.

“Human logic,” the pope said, “often seeks self-realization in power, dominion, in powerful means.”

But the “incarnation and the cross,” he added, “remind us that full realization is found in conforming our human will to the Father, in the emptying of one’s selfishness, to be filled with love, God’s charity and thus truly become able to love others.”

Pope Benedict made his remarks during a weekly general audience before a packed Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Continuing his exploration of prayer in the story of salvation, he turned his attention to St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.

He explained to more than 7,000 pilgrims that the letter is often viewed as St. Paul’s “spiritual testament” as it was written while he was in prison, perhaps in Rome.

The Apostle “feels close to death, because he says that his life will be poured out as a libation,” and yet, noted the pope, throughout the text he “expresses the joy of being a disciple of

Christ.”

“But how can one rejoice in the face of an imminent death sentence?” Pope Benedict asked.

The answer, he said, is found at the heart of St. Paul’s letter where he pens his great “Christological hymn.” This hymn is centered on “Christ’s sentiment” which he lists as love, generosity, humility, obedience to God and the gift of oneself.

Therefore following Christ is not just a subscription to a moral code but involves “all of our existence in our way of thinking and acting.”

This is achieved through prayer which should “lead to an ever deeper knowledge and union of love with the Lord” so we are able “to think, act and love like Him, in Him and for Him,” the pope said.

Above all, this will take us towards the humility of Christ which led Him to death on the cross. This was the “highest degree of humiliation” in the Roman world where “crucifixion was the punishment reserved for slaves,” a fact testified to by ancient writers such as Cicero.

The great writers of early Christianity, the “Church Fathers,” often saw Christ’s obedience as “restoring to human nature, through His humanity” in comparison to “what had been

lost through the disobedience of Adam.”

The lesson for all people, suggested the pope, is that “man will not find himself by remaining closed in on himself” but only by “coming out of himself.”

Therefore, while Adam wanted to imitate God which “in itself it was not a bad thing,” said the pope, unfortunately he “had the wrong idea of God.” “God does not want only greatness, God is love that gives, already in the Trinity and then in creation” such that “imitating God means coming out of ourselves and gifting ourselves in love.”

Finally, the pope drew the attention of pilgrims to the fact that St. Paul recommends prayer that involves invocation and prostration with the “bending of every knee” to Jesus Christ.

This is why, said Pope Benedict, “genuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament or kneeling in prayer expresses an attitude of adoration before God, even with the body.”

It is important, therefore, not to make the gesture “out of habit and not in a hurry, but with deep awareness.”

“When we kneel before the Lord, we confess our faith in Him, we recognize that He is the only Lord of our lives,” said the pontiff.

True greatness found in humble service, pope says

July 6, 2012

The International Church

no place to call home — Syrian refugee children who fled the violence in Homs, Syria, sit outside a tent in the hillside town of Arsal, Lebanon. (CNS photo/Mohamed Azakir, Reuters)

Cardinal Schönborn: Loss of Mid-East Christians would be ‘tragedy for the region’

Washington D.C. (CNA) — World leaders and diplomats must help prevent a total loss of Middle Eastern Christianity, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna warned in a recent panel discussion in Washington, D.C. “Religious geography is mobile. And as things go, it may happen that the Near East will undergo the fate of the North African Christianity in the seventh century,” Vienna’s archbishop told listeners at the Hudson Institute. That “flourishing” North African Church, he recalled, “vanished completely.”

“It would be a deep wound for Christianity to lose the homeland, the land of origin, of Christianity, if it remained only a ‘museum’ for pilgrims,” Cardinal Schönborn said. “And it would be a tragedy for the region.”

The Austrian Church leader spoke at a roundtable, entitled “Persecuted Christians and Other Religious Minorities in the New Middle East: Formulating an Effective U.S. Policy Response,” along with Lebanese professor Dr. Habib Malik, and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention.

In his keynote remarks, the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna recalled the seventh-century Islamic conquest of Damascus, Jerusalem, Egypt, and North Africa. While Christianity disappeared from some of these regions, it survived in others up to the present day.

But new religious and political realities — including the revolutions of the “Arab Spring,” as well as the impact of the Iraq war — now threaten the Church’s survival even in countries like Syria, Iraq, and Egypt, where it persisted after the initial Muslim conquests of the seventh century.

Cardinal Schönborn’s remarks came just days after the election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s new president. Meanwhile, Syria’s ongoing conflict is increasingly seen as a civil war, while bombings and

other attacks in Iraq killed around 180 people during June 2012.

Iraq has lost more than half of its Christian population since 2003. Observers have warned that Syria and Egypt could suffer similar losses, if Christians opt to flee the sectarian violence and political pressure brought by the new Arab revolutions.

In his speech, Cardinal Schönborn advised Western politicians and diplomats to deepen their awareness of religious factors at work in the Middle East — which have been “seriously neglected,” to the detriment of vulnerable groups.

Western nations must also “insist on the importance of the secular state” for the future of the Middle East. If U.S. policymakers want to help the cause of Arab democracy, they should “help the Christians and the other minorities to breathe,” the cardinal advised.

“The Christians and other minorities in the Near East know that their only chance for survival is a secular state, with real religious freedom,” Cardinal Schönborn observed. All religions, he said, must reject theocratic ideas that lead to “totalitarianism” by identifying God’s Kingdom with the state.

He also warned political leaders “not to repeat, in Syria and elsewhere, the mistakes of Iraq,” where the unleashing of sectarian conflict led to the devastation of the Christian population.

Cardinal Schönborn concluded his remarks with a mention of the new Christian migrant-worker populations that have come to the Middle East in recent years, mostly from countries such as India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

“One million Catholics are living in Saudi Arabia — as servants, as housemaids, as workers — with no religious rights at all,” he stated.

The U.S. “has an enormous influence in Saudi Arabia,” Vienna’s archbishop pointed out. “The question of religious freedom from these large minorities should

not be forgotten on the political agenda.”

Cardinal Schönborn’s keynote speech was followed by an analysis of regional factors by Dr. Habib Malik, a Catholic scholar and human rights advocate who teaches history at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

Malik’s remarks on the “socalled ‘Arab Spring’” outlined the “very real fears being felt and expressed daily” by religious minorities, “regarding the disturbing trends and emerging ominous outcomes of this new Middle East taking shape.”

The region’s “repressive dictatorial regimes,” established and solidified during the mid-20th century, are now “collapsing like dominoes before our very eyes,” Malik noted.

But today, 18 months after this process began in Tunisia, “what remains of the anticipated ‘Spring’ is a jumble of disturbing outcomes and ominous tendencies, that resemble anything but a democratic new birth.”

Western media initially hailed the regional revolutions as the moment of emergence for a new “Facebook generation” of Arab youth, expected to promote democracy and human rights. But these activists, Malik said, failed to maintain their momentum or make a lasting political impact.

“Instead, as has happened in Egypt, the revolution was hijacked along the way,” by hardline Salafist Islamists, who were “betterorganized, better-funded, and better-motivated” than the region’s emerging liberal elements.

Now, Egypt and the rest of the region have been placed “on the precarious incline toward greater empowerment of Salafist ideology.” Throughout the Arab world, “the voice of the liberals is giving way to defiant chants of ‘Allahu Akbar.’”

“Indigenous Middle Eastern Christians do not see a ‘Spring’ anywhere in sight,” he pointed

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out. “To them, the term ‘Arab Spring’ actually sounds increasingly like a bad joke, black humor.

They see, instead, the makings of a ‘Arab nightmare’” — with dire consequences for the region and the world.

The opposition Free Syrian Army is “looking increasingly like a militant Islamist grouping” — with its long beards, kidnappings, beheadings, and Internet footage of attacks on the regime accompanied by religious chanting.

Malik believes that states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which enjoy “unwavering Western backing,” have no real interest in promoting a liberal and democratic replacement for the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Rather, the professor said, “everything they are doing there seems to be furthering a militant Sunni, Salafi, Wahhabi replacement” in Syria, “and indeed, anywhere else in the region they can manage it.”

Western powers, meanwhile, are pursuing “short-sighted policies” that play into this agenda.

Syrian Christians “are not blind supporters of the bloody regime,” but are caught between “bad or worse” options for their country’s future.

If the Middle East loses its Christians and other religious minorities, Malik warned, then “pluralism is all but dead” in the region — “and along with it, any real chances for genuine freedoms and democracy.”

The professor credited certain figures, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, for adopting a more cautious line of “pru-

dent reluctance” toward the Syrian opposition in recent weeks.

Rather than allowing radical Islamic elements to take power, the U.S. and its Western allies should “protect and preserve whatever meager freedoms already exist in parts of the Middle East, and build upon them. This means, among other things, active protection for minority rights and for pluralism.”

Potential persecutors of these communities should be put on notice “that they will be watched like a hawk by the international community.” Lebanon, an “oasis of freedom” in the region, should be “protected” and “nurtured” as a model of pluralism.

June 21 Pope Benedict addressed the situation in the Middle East in a speech to Catholic aid agencies. He took the opportunity “to reaffirm my closeness to the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in Syria, especially innocent children and the defenceless. May our prayer, our commitment and our active brotherhood in Christ, as an oil of consolation, help them not to lose sight of the light of hope in this moment of darkness, and obtain from God wisdom of heart for all in positions of responsibility so that bloodshed and violence, that only bring pain and death, may cease and give way to reconciliation, harmony and peace. Every effort should be made, including by the international community, to bring Syria out of the present situation of violence and crisis, which has already lasted a long time and risks becoming a wider conflict that would have highly negative consequences for the country and the whole region.”

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — Catholic and Orthodox leaders from Poland and Russia will issue a joint statement committing their churches to fostering reconciliation between the two historically-feuding countries.

Archbishop Henryk Muszynski, Poland’s former Catholic primate, said the text could be compared to a famous 1965 declaration by Poland’s Catholic bishops to their German counterparts; that document contained the words “we forgive and ask forgiveness.”

However, he cautioned that Polish-Russian ties had not yet “matured sufficiently” for a comparable pledge of mutual forgiveness and said it was still “very difficult to reach a common position with Russians” on historical issues.

“As Poles, we speak clearly about our sufferings from two totalitarian systems — the German Nazi and the Soviet communist — but our Russian partners don’t usually place them on the same level,” the archbishop told the Polish Catholic news agency KAI.

“As bishops, we’ll be powerless in this area until historians reach a consensus,” he said.

“We have the same Gospel and Sacraments, and we face similar challenges from the world around us — so we are close and cannot act as antagonists,” he said.

The archbishop helped finalize the appeal, to be signed in Warsaw August 17 by the Polish bishops’ conference president, Archbishop Jozef Michalik, and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Polish politicians and historians have frequently criticized Russia’s lack of public regret for mass deportations and executions that followed their country’s Soviet army occupation after World War II and for the later decades of communist oppression.

The spokesman for the Polish bishops’ conference, Father Jozef Kloch, told KAI the appeal would “mark a turning-point” by reflecting on “what happened between the two nations over centuries” and by urging a “common witness” for Europe and the world.

Catholic, Orthodox leaders to issue statement urging reconciliation

The Church in the U.S.

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July 6, 2012

Catholic Voices equips laity to speak up in public debate

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Amid misrepresentations in the media and public square, a newly-formed U.S. lay Catholic group is working to communicate the Church’s message in a way that is clear, positive and captivating.

“I think the role of the laity is to be engaged and knowledgeable and to show others the joyful, life-affirming nature of what the Church teaches,” said Kim Daniels, coordinator of Catholic Voices USA. Daniels told CNA that the organization seeks to offer “a new apologetics for the New Evangelization.”

She described Catholic Voices USA as a group of lay faithful who have come together to help the Church “make its case” in the public square.

The lay Catholics who comprise the organization “know and love the Church” and are able to speak about its teachings from their direct experience, she said.

In May, Catholic Voices held its first U.S. training session for lay Catholics, mobilizing them to “make the Catholic case” in debates, interviews and other public settings.

Catholic Voices USA is based on the British model that was started by Jack Valero and Austen Ivereigh to carry out a similar mission in the U.K. Daniels, who has a background as a religious liberty attorney, said that while the American group is still in its infancy, it has already “had a great deal of success.”

Members from the initial training class have published op-eds in secular newspapers, made television appearances and participated as speakers in local religious freeDIOCESAN TRIBUNAL FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS Decree of Citation Since his present domicile is unknown, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite Jose F. Melo to appear in person before the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River (887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on July 16, 2012 at 2:30 PM to give his testimony regarding the question: IS THE FERREIRA-MELO MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDING TO CHURCH LAW? Anyone who has knowledge of the domicile of Jose F. Melo is hereby required to inform him of this citation.

Given at the offices of the Diocesan Tribunal in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts on June 25, 2012.

(Rev.) Paul F. Robinson, O. Carm., J.C.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Denise D. Berube Ecclesiastical Notary

dom events.

Such involvement is crucial now, during the “hour of the laity,” Daniels said. “We have been called by the Church to step forward.”

People often learn about Church teaching through the media, and misunderstandings continue to exist, she noted. Therefore, “we need to be engaged” and present the “positive case for Church teaching.”

Daniels emphasized the laity’s role in showing the joyful reality of Church teaching rather than the caricature that is often used to depict it.

This is carried out through oneon-one discussions in parishes, neighborhoods and families, as well as participation in public debate and discourse, she observed, adding that “obviously, prayer is central to any of these efforts.”

“My experience is that people are eminently encouraged when they see Catholics confident in their faith engage in the public square,” said Kathryn Lopez, editor-at-large of National Review Online, who is also a coordinator of Catholic Voices USA. “The Catholic Church has a remarkable story to tell, that speaks to our deepest desires and makes life make sense,” she stressed. “If we can tell that story better, lives will be transformed.”

She explained that the Catholic Voices model seeks to help the lay faithful fulfill this mission.

“We encourage one another. We share our experience and talents.

We educate. We love one another,” she said. “This is our call as Christians, to be open to, study, love, and share the Good News.”

Lopez added that she has been “humbled” when people have approached her and told her that something she covered, mentioned or even linked to online has had “a transformative effect on their lives.”

She explained that it was not so much her own words or actions as the fact that she “was an instrument in a lifesaving process.”

The authentic witness of a Catholic life is important partly because “you never know who is looking,” she observed. Similarly, when you have “access to a public platform,” you may never know who is consuming the material you produce.

“Media can be a powerful evangelization tool,” she said, “even when it’s not explicitly Catholic.”

Lopez acknowledged that it can sometimes be tempting to become confused or discouraged by lack of feedback or negative responses.

“But that’s all going to be fine if you know your real Editor is the One Who gives you the words, too, as He brings peace to your heart,” she said.

ominous cloud — Smoke from the Waldo Canyon wildfire hovers over Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs June 26. A massive wildfire that started in the canyon, a popular hiking spot, forced the evacuation of neighborhoods in several Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Colorado Springs, as well as the cancellation of Sunday Masses at two parishes. (CNS photo/Rick Wilking, Reuters)

Catholic Charities mobilizes against growing Colorado fires

Colorado Springs, Colo.

(CNA/EWTN News) — Both evacuees and residents of the Colorado Springs area are in “utter shock and disbelief” at the major fire threatening the outskirts of the city, a local Catholic Charities official says.

Rochelle Schlortt, communications director for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said the situation is “just scary.”

“You look up and you see the smoke or you see the flames. It’s like the entire mountainside is on fire,” she told CNA. Schlortt said the city’s residents now “live in a fog of smoke,” which creates difficulties for anyone with respiratory problems, while others feel a “constant burning” in their eyes and throats.

“Smoke has literally descended and engulfed not only the Colorado Springs city but the entire El Paso county.”

More than 30,000 people have evacuated neighborhoods north and west of Colorado Springs, including parts of the Air Force Academy, to escape the Waldo Canyon Fire which began June 23. The fire has burned more than 15,000 acres, the Denver Post reported.

Colorado has suffered several major fires already this year.

Schlortt explained that the first responders to the Colorado Springs fire are the Red Cross, which is setting up shelters, and the Salvation Army, which is providing evacuees with meals. At the request of the Salvation Army, the Colorado Springs Catholic Charities affiliate is helping to prepare and deliver several hundred meals per day.

The Catholic agency is supplying food to three shelters in Colorado Springs and one near the town of Divide. Road closures mean Divide is now a 2.5-hour drive from the city.

Schlortt said that the situation is “very fluid.”

“This fire is progressing and putting people out of their neighborhoods on an hourly basis.”

Joe Mahoney, executive director of Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado, said his Pueblo-based agency is collecting money to support the Colorado Springs affiliate’s operations.

Mahoney, a former disaster response officer for Catholic Charities USA, told CNA he is heading to Colorado Springs to provide assistance in person.

Schlortt said that every relief agency in Colorado Springs is responding. Many people are donating funds, volunteering and taking others into their homes.

“The entire community is just opening their hearts,” she said.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver has offered financial and staff assistance to its Colorado Springs counterpart to respond to the fires.

The Waldo Canyon Fire forced the cancellation of Sunday Mass at two parishes, the Colorado Catholic Herald reported. The novitiate for the Order of the Holy Cross in Cascade was evacuated, as was Mount St. Francis Nursing Home.

Activities at St. Francis of Assisi Parish have been cancelled on orders of the fire department.

Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs offered prayers for those affected by the fire.

“We also pray for the firefighters and volunteers who are working hard to contain the wildfire and serve the needs of those affected,” he said. “We are grateful for your courage, generosity and sacrifice, and we are heartened to see communities rallying together during this trying time.”

The bishop led a Holy Hour of

prayer for fire victims and first responders on June 28 at 7 p.m. at downtown Colorado Springs’ St. Mary Cathedral.

Bishop James D. Conley, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver, called for prayer and charitable assistance to the victims of the multiple fires in Colorado. Schlortt also asked for prayers, saying “We need all the prayers we can get.”

Victims of other Colorado fires remain in need.

Catholic Charities of Denver is continuing to help evacuees of the High Park Fire in Larimer County in the mountains of northern Colorado. That fire, the second-largest in state history, began in a June 9 lightning strike. It burned more than 87,000 acres and over 250 homes and is still only 65 percent contained. A 62-year-old woman died in the blaze, the Denver Post reported.

Last week, the Denver charity received emergency assistance grants totaling $20,000 from Catholic Charities USA and from United Way of Larimer County. It has also contributed $10,000 of its own funds to provide food, clothing, hotel accommodations and other personal items to the victims.

It is distributing aid in cooperation with the Red Cross and United Way. It is continuing to monitor the new fire in Boulder County, which is burning 230 acres and has prompted pre-evacuation warnings to over 2,000 phone numbers.

“Should the need arise for more extensive relief assistance, Catholic Charities is prepared to respond quickly and effectively to those needs,” the Denver agency said.

Donations to support victims of the Colorado Springs fires may be made through the Catholic Charities of Central Colorado website http://ccharitiescc.org.

5 The Church in the U.S. Bishops urge Congress to fix health law flaws after high court decision July 6, 2012

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 decision upholding the health reform law makes it even more urgent for Congress to act to fix the law’s “fundamental flaws” on abortion funding, conscience protection and immigrants’ access to health care, the U.S. bishops said.

The court found that although the individual mandate in the 2010 health reform law does not pass constitutional muster under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, it can be upheld as an acceptable exercise of Congress’ taxing powers.

In a 65-page opinion announced by Chief Justice John Roberts, five members of the court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in full but limited the federal government’s right to withhold its share of Medicaid funding from states that do not expand the health program for the low-income and disabled as mandated by the law.

“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today,” said a USCCB news release issued shortly after the decision.

“The decision of the Supreme Joining Roberts in the major- health insurance, the law com- be challenged in court before it Court neither diminishes the ity opinion were Justices Ruth pels those who do not wish to is due, precluded a challenge to moral imperative to ensure de- Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, participate in a particular market- the Affordable Care Act until afcent health care for all, nor elimi- Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Ka- place to do so, the dissenters said. ter the individual mandate takes nates the need to correct (the gan, although Ginsburg differed “If Congress can reach out and effect in 2014. The majority delaw’s) fundamental flaws.” from the other four on whether command even those furthest re- cided that it did not.

Sister Carol Keehan, presi- the mandate was constitutional moved from an interstate marThe next question was whethdent and CEO of the ket to participate in er the individual mandate — also Catholic Health Asmarket, then the called a “shared responsibility he decision of the Supreme Court the sociation, said she Commerce Clause payment” — exceeded Congress’ neither diminishes the moral im- becomes a font of un- authority to “regulate commerce” was pleased that the health care law “has perative to ensure decent health care for all, limited power, or in or to impose taxes. Roberts been found consti- nor eliminates the need to correct (the law’s) (Alexander) Hamil- played the key role in deciding tutional and will reton’s words, ‘the hid- that, siding with the dissenters on fundamental flaws.” main in effect.” The eous monster whose the commerce question but with Daughter of Charity devouring jaws ... the majority on the tax question. noted that CHA had spare neither sex nor If the mandate had been oversubmitted friend-of-the-court under the Commerce Clause. age, nor high nor low, nor sacred turned, the court would have briefs urging the court to find in “The federal government nor profane,’” said the dissenting had to decide whether the entire favor of the individual mandate does not have the power to order opinion, written by Scalia. health law must fall if one section and the Medicaid expansion. people to buy health insurance ...

The decisions do not affect does — the so-called “severabil“In the coming weeks and (but) does have the power to im- other lawsuits against the health ity” issue. But the affirmation of months, we will continue work- pose a tax on those without health reform law’s requirement that the mandate made that question ing closely with our members, insurance,” the Roberts opinion most religious employers must moot.

Congress and the administration says. The mandate “is therefore provide contraceptives, includFinally, the court faced the to implement the ACA as fairly constitutional, because it can rea- ing some abortion-causing question of whether Congress and effectively as possible,” she sonably be read as a tax.” drugs, and sterilization to their could penalize states that opt out added.

Dissenting were Justices An- employees at no cost. Those of the law’s requirement to exHowever, CHA has agreed tonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, cases are still in lower courts pand their Medicaid programs. with the bishops in urging the Clarence Thomas and Samuel and have not yet reached the Su- In its early years the expansion government to expand its defini- Alito, who would have over- preme Court. is mostly funded by the federal tion of religious employers who turned the entire law as an unconBut Charmaine Yoest, presi- government, but states are exare exempt from the require- stitutional violation of the Com- dent and CEO of Americans pected to take over funding the ment to provide contraceptives merce Clause.

United for Life, said the Afford- coverage in later years. and sterilization free of charge to By forcing those who are able Care Act “forces an abortion The court ruled that the fedtheir employees. young and healthy to purchase agenda on the American people eral government cannot threaten unlike anything seen since Roe v. states with the loss of their existWade,” the 1973 Supreme Court ing Medicaid funding if they do decision that lifted most state re- not participate in the expanded Medicaid program. administration’s effort in this to head off this train wreck,” he strictions on abortion.

Criticizing the law’s “numercase as part of a broader trend. said. “We didn’t choose the tim“Unless we stop it now, this ing, we didn’t choose the fight. It ous anti-life provisions and mannarrow, governmental definition happens to occur in an election dates,” Yoest said, “Congress of what a church is will likely year, and just because it’s hap- must repeal these provisions and spread throughout our nation’s pening in an election year im- ensure that any health care law laws and policies,” he said. poses no responsibility on us to respects life.”

The opinions issued by the “Something fundamental is remain silent.” being lost in American culture Archbishop Lori was in Rome court June 28 actually involved and law,” he said. “And this loss to receive the pallium, a lamb’s four separate challenges to the of freedom does not and will not wool stole that symbolizes his constitutionality of the health reserve the common good of our leadership of an archdiocese, from form law. The court first had to nation or other nations where Pope Benedict XVI at a ceremony decide whether the Anti-Injunction Act, which says no tax can bloody religious persecutions are in St. Peter’s Basilica. under way.”

Archbishop Lori also told the group about the U.S. bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom” Website: cssdioc.org campaign, a two-week period of FALL RIVER CAPE COD TIVERTON, R.I. prayer, education and action, that NEW BEDFORD TAUNTON 1600 BAY ST. 261 SOUTH ST. REACHING OUT ended in Washington July 4 with 238 BONNEY ST. 79 BROADWAY P.O. BOX M HYANNIS 311 HOOPER ST. Mass at the Basilica of the Na508-997-7337 508-824-3624 SO. STA. 508-771-6771 401-624-9270 tional Shrine of the Immaculate 508-674-4681 Conception.

• OFFICE FOR CHILD PROTECTION • COUNSELING In response to a reporter’s • ADOPTIONS: • HOUSING COUNSELING INFANT question after his speech, the • IMMIGRATION, LEGAL EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL AND ADVOCACY PROJECT archbishop dismissed sugges PREGNANCY COUNSELING • INFORMATION/REFERRAL tions that the U.S. bishops’ • ADVOCACY FOR: • PARENT/SCHOOL CRISIS INTERVENTION campaign amounts to an inap SPANISH & PORTUGUESE SPEAKING • REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES propriate intrusion by religious • HOUSING FOR WOMEN: • BASIC ENGLISH FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNING leaders in election-year politics.

ST. MATHIEU’S • CATHOLIC CAMPAIGN FOR DONOVAN HOUSE He stressed that the bishops have HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ST. CLARE’S/ST. FRANCES’ long supported universal health • EMERGENCY SHELTERS: • BASIC NEEDS SAMARITAN HOUSE care, as long as it provides for SAMARITAN HOUSE

SISTER ROSE’S HOUSE conscientious objection and does H.O.U.S.E. FOR FAMILIES not spend federal money for SPECIAL APOSTOLATES: abortions.

SPONSORSHIP: APOSTOLATE FOR SPANISH SPEAKING SOUP KITCHEN SUPPORTIVE PERMANENT HOUSING PROGRAMS “We did everything we could COMMUNITY ACTION FOR BETTER HOUSING well in advance of this election

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Archbishop took ‘Fortnight for Freedom’ to Rome

ROME (CNS) — On the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Obama Administration’s health care law, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore warned an audience in Rome about what he characterized as the law’s threat to religious freedom.

The archbishop, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom, addressed a group called the Observatory on Religious Liberty, recently established by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the city of Rome.

Archbishop Lori, who spoke several hours before the announcement of the court’s decision, singled out the health care law’s planned “HHS mandate,” which would require the private health insurance plans of most Catholic institutions to cover surgical sterilization procedures and artificial birth control, in violation of the Church’s moral doctrines.

“Embedded in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate is an extremely narrow definition of religion put there as a litmus test to determine which religious organizations are religious enough — by the government’s definition — to deserve an exemption from providing services contrary to their teachings,” he said.

The archbishop described the

catholic social services

6

The Anchor Understanding and living the truth

Monday the Holy Father named Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg, Germany as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The city of Regensburg came to the world’s attention back in 2006, when Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech there on the topic of “Faith and Reason and the University” (he had been a professor at the University of Regensburg). What became the focus of attention in 2006 (especially in the Moslem world) was a quote that the pope had in his talk, in which an obscure Byzantine emperor commented negatively about Islam.

Archbishop Müller was bishop of Regensburg at the time of the speech (he had been appointed by Blessed John Paul II in 2002) and had chosen as his episcopal motto “Dominus Iesus” (“Jesus is Lord,” quoting Rom 10:9). He knew that the motto would also bring to mind the 2002 Instruction of the Congregation of the Faith (headed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) of the same name.

The instruction was subtitled “On the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.” Like his 2006 talk, the 2000 instruction was condemned by many at the time as being supposedly exclusivist and overly harsh. Many interpreted the document as a turning away from the openness of the Second Vatican Council, although Cardinal Ratzinger denied that rationale and said that “The intention of the present declaration, in reiterating and clarifying certain truths of the faith, has been to follow the example of the Apostle Paul, who wrote to the faithful of Corinth: ‘I handed on to you as of first importance what I myself received’” (1 Cor 15:3).

He then noted that due to confusion and errors which the Church faced, “Dominus Iesus” had to be written. Instead of turning against the council, he repeatedly harkened to what it said. “In treating the question of the true religion, the fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught: ‘We believe that this one true religion continues to exist in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus entrusted the task of spreading it among all people. Thus, He said to the Apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28: 19-20). Especially in those things that concern God and His Church, all persons are required to seek the truth, and when they come to know it, to embrace it and hold fast to it.’”

The quotation at the end of the last paragraph was taken from Dignitatis humanae, 1, the council’s document on religious liberty, which has been one of the “bones of contention” between the Holy See and the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. Pope Benedict’s nomination of Archbishop Müller to the post of prefect of the CDF means that he will be responsible for helping all people, and especially Catholics, to seek and embrace the Truth. As you can read on page two of this issue of The Anchor, the Holy See is in active dialogue with the Society of St. Pius X. However, Archbishop Müller’s naming to his new post was not greeted with applause by the society due to his occasional conflicts with the society, especially in regards to its members’ views on Judaism and the Holocaust.

The news media has also made note of Archbishop Müller’s friendship with Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., who is called “the father of liberation theology.” In a speech in Peru, the archbishop explained their intellectual connection. “I am not referring to the theology of liberation in an abstract and theoretical form, or in an ideological fashion, to praise the progressive ecclesial group. At the same time I do not even fear that this could be interpreted as a lack of orthodoxy. The theology of Gustavo Gutiérrez, independently of how you look at it, is orthodox because it is orthopractic and it teaches us the correct way of acting in a Christian fashion since it comes from true faith.”

Archbishop Müller’s personal opinions are not required beliefs for Catholics, but he does bring to mind the need to put our teachings into practice. The 20th-century author G.K. Chesterton noted, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Some folks find it easier to defend the teachings, but may not put them all into practice; while others find it easier to live out some of the demands of the Christian life, but do not make the intellectual (and spiritual) effort to understand and embrace what the Church teaches.

We need to make that dual effort — to come to understand the Truth and then to live it out. We cannot be like Pontius Pilate, who asked Jesus in the Praetorium, “What is Truth?” and then did not wait for an answer. (Of course, God was always speaking to Pilate’s heart, as He speaks to each of us. Pilate just chose to not listen to what his own heart was saying to him; he would not let the beloved Heart of Jesus touch his heart and heal him in that moment.)

As we enter into the summer months, which can sometimes lead to some lethargy (especially due to the heat and humidity — it is not exactly easy to preach or to listen to preaching in a church without air-conditioning [so the members of the diocese who do have that modern convenience should count themselves fortunate]), we ask the Lord to help us continue to grow in our understanding and in our practice of the faith. We ask the Lord to bless Archbishop Müller in his new task of promoting the orthodoxy (true teaching) and orthopraxis (true practice) of the faith. These are challenging times for the Church — but aren’t all times challenging? The devil always has an angle to try to turn us away from the path of the angels. He never rests in trying to pull us away from He Who has loved us and Who wants us to encounter true liberation in Him. May we find in “our Lord and our God,” as Doubting Thomas proclaimed the Lord Jesus on the first Divine Mercy Sunday, our way, our truth and our life. May our personal example of living the faith help to bring more people to it.

July 6, 2012

The Holy Spirit and the life of the Church

W

ith respect to the idea of the disciples are sent forth to proclaim the Second Vatican Council Good News of faith to the entire world. bringing about a “New Pentecost,” which I Pope Paul VI identified the Holy mentioned last week, it is necessary to recall Spirit as “the principal agent” and “goal that Blessed Pope John XXIII prayed that of salvation,” for He alone stirs up the the Holy Spirit would “renew Its wonders new creation, the new humanity of which in our age, as in a New Pentecost.” In this evangelization is to be the result. week’s article, I would like to reflect a bit Techniques of evangelization are on these words and their significance. good, but even the most advanced ones On the eve of His Passion, our Lord could not replace the gentle action of the Jesus Christ gathered with His Apostles in Spirit. The most perfect preparation of the the upper room and promised that after He evangelizer has no effect without the Holy was gone He would send another. Christ Spirit, without which, the most convincing would send the Holy Spirit to be with His dialectic has no power over the heart of Church as it carries out His mission. It is in man. this definitive event of Pentecost that the The chief function of the Spirit is to Second Vatican Council claims the Church witness to Jesus Christ. It is of necessary was publicly made manifest. importance to realize that the Holy Spirit The Spirit of Christ gives life to the bears this witness through men. Hence, the Church, helping her to carry out the mission testimony of the Holy Spirit assumes the of teaching and remembering the events shape of human witness. When the work of Jesus’ life. Pentecost is the definitive that the Father had given the Son to do manifestation on earth was of the mission accomplished, of Christ that the Holy Spirit Putting Into takes form in was sent on the Deep the Church that the day of is founded on Pentecost in the Apostles order that He

By Father (“Catechism might forever Jay Mello of the Catholic sanctify the Church” 756).

Church, and When we look more closely at the thus all believers would have access to the Pentecost event, we will see that the Church Father through Christ in the one Spirit. is inaugurated with the Apostles being Blessed Pope John Paul II explained, anointed with the Holy Spirit and receiving “The faith, uninterruptedly professed the power to carry out the mission of Christ. by the Church, needs to be constantly The Church, which the Spirit guides in the reawakened and deepened in the way of all truth and which He unifies in consciousness of the people of God.” This Communion and in works of ministry, He reawakening is fundamentally connected equips and directs with hierarchical and to what has been called the “New charismatic gifts and adorns with His fruits. Evangelization.”

More plainly said, everything about the The Church of the present age is called Church is intimately connected to the work upon to rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit. that was given to the Church at Pentecost The Church receives the Spirit and and has remained with her until this day. faith of the Risen Lord, but also has the This fire of the Holy Spirit is the interior responsibility and mission of bringing power given to the Apostles and the early that same Spirit and faith to all the ends of Church at the time of Pentecost for the the earth through her evangelical efforts. transmission of the faith and the teaching Jesus alone is the head of the Church and and baptizing of all nations. The New ultimately responsible for calling all men Evangelization is symbolically spoken of into communion with Himself. However, as a new Pentecost, a time which God has the work of evangelizing and bearing blessed and a time in which the Holy Spirit witness to Christ is carried out through the will abundantly out pour Its gifts upon the docility and faithfulness of the Church.

Church.

At the heart of the evangelical mission At Pentecost, the Church was is the responsibility of the Church including manifested as One, Holy, Catholic and all of her members to develop a more lively Apostolic; it was manifested as missionary, awareness of their faith. From the moment with the gift of speaking all the languages of Pentecost onward, the mission of Christ of the world, as the Good News of the love and the Spirit becomes the mission of the of God is meant for all peoples. The whole Church, for Christ told His Apostles, “As Church, as Pope John Paul II said, is only the Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” one great movement, animated by the Holy This lively awareness is accomplished Spirit, a river that goes through history to through a continual evangelization, water it with the grace of God and to make bringing the children of God into a deeper her life fruitful in goodness, beauty, justice understanding of their faith and a continual and peace. turning from sin and towards fidelity to This may all seem a bit academic, but the Gospel. The power and dynamism of the bottom line is that Church and its work Christ’s risen presence became evident are not ultimately something that we do, but in the Pentecost event. The arrival of the something that the Holy Spirit does through Holy Spirit promised by Christ brought us. We must continually open ourselves to new life, courage, and boldness to the the promptings of the Holy Spirit so that we group of disciples, making them witnesses might continue to faithfully carry out our to all the ends of the earth. The history of mission! the Church’s evangelizing mission begins Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. with Pentecost. Gathered in the Spirit, the Mary’s Parish in Mansfield.

The Anchor

July 6, 2012

7

Anderson offers ways Catholics can help bring end to political gridlock

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Catholic voters “should insist that candidates measure their political platforms by Catholic social teaching,” especially if those seeking office are Catholics, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said recently.

“Catholic voters should have the courage to settle for nothing less,” he said in a speech in Indianapolis. “And they should have the courage to withhold their vote from candidates who fail this test — even if it means at times that they will withhold their vote for both candidates for a particular office.”

“Withholding a vote may at times be the most effective vote,” Anderson said.

The head of the Knights of Columbus gave the address at the closing banquet of the Catholic Media Conference in Indianapolis. The June gathering was the annual joint convention of the Catholic Press Association and the Catholic Academy for Communications Arts Professionals.

In his speech, Anderson cited the U.S. Catholic bishops’ quadrennial statement titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” which he said “tells us that some actions are intrinsically evil and must always be opposed.”

“As Catholics, we wish we could debate and vote on the full range of Catholic social teaching — including prudential issues that raise serious moral questions. But to be able to effectively do this, we must first refuse to support candidates who advocate policies that are intrinsically evil,” he said.

Later, in response to a question emailed to him by Catholic News Service about whether his statement about “withholding” one’s vote went further than what the bishops themselves have stated in election years, Anderson cited section 36 of “Faithful Citizenship.”

“The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate,” says the section. “Such an option shouldn’t be one’s first choice, but it is a choice preferable to casting a vote for a candidate whose policies would support something intrinsically evil.”

“My point wasn’t that Catholics shouldn’t vote. They should,” Anderson told CNS in an email reply. “But I wanted to make clear that it is no longer acceptable for Catholics to justify voting for candidates whose positions include support for intrinsic evils by pointing to other, prudential issues on which that candidate may be superior to another who does not support in-

trinsic evils. vices as part of the health reform debate and make the search for “I didn’t wish to say what sort law. It says most religious em- solutions virtually impossible. of candidates Catholics should ployers, despite their moral ob- It is an environment that drives vote for,” he continued. “I want- jections, must provide insurance away from national leadership ed to make clear the sort of can- coverage of contraception, steril- many persons of intelligence didates they cannot vote for. ization and abortifacients free of and integrity.”

“And if a Catholic voter is charge to their employees. Only “Catholics are uniquely posiunable to bring himself or her- those religious employers who tioned to offer a solution to our self to vote for a current dilemma. We or those Catholics who might have an extraordicertain candidate, for whatever reastrongly disagree with a candidate narily rich tradition son, but the other on some prudential issue and would not want of social teaching candidate in that and the experience race holds positions to vote for that person, there is still no justi- that much of Amerithat cooperate with fication to vote for someone holding intrinsi- can history has been intrinsic evil,” he cally evil positions.” shaped by Cathocontinued, then, as lics,” he said. the bishops’ docu“If we are faithment says, they “may decide to fit a narrowly-drawn exemption ful to the social teaching of our take the extraordinary step of will not have to provide such Church, Catholics can truly trannot voting.” coverage. scend partisanship and transform “The point of my talk was “For those Catholics who our nation’s politics,” Anderson precisely to stress the importance might strongly disagree with a said. He offered four steps: of the reasoning in ‘Faithful Citi- candidate on some prudential is— Make “a firm commitment zenship’ 36,” he told CNS. sue and would not want to vote to civility in America’s national “Issues like abortion — or for that person, there is still no discourse.” He quoted the late the integrity and definition of justification to vote for someone Robert F. Kennedy, who said the Catholic Church under as- holding intrinsically evil posi- what the nation needs “is not sault through the HHS mandate tions,” Anderson told CNS. division” but “love and wisdom — precisely fit the definition In his address in Indianapo- and compassion toward one anof ‘intrinsically evil’ and thus lis, Anderson said he believes other.”

Catholics should not ever vote all Americans at one point or — “Build up the fabric of for candidates who support those another have “lamented the sad issues,” he said. state of today’s political enThe mandate is the require- vironment: the intransigence ment issued by the U.S. Depart- and partisanship that disfigure ment of Health and Human Ser- nearly every national policy

“F

American society through a fraternal solidarity based on personal works of charity. The relationship of giving something of one’s self to another person creates a solidarity that can unite society in profound ways,” Anderson said.

— Build a “consistent commitment” to the Church’s social teaching among U.S. Catholic voter. “The candid observer must admit that when it comes to a consistent commitment to Catholic social teaching,” Anderson said, U.S. Catholics “still have a long way to go.”

— Transform “our national politics by transcending partisanship on the basis of Catholic social teaching.”

“I cannot say how our political parties may change during the next decade if politicians take seriously Catholic social teaching,” he said, but added it could result in “a new political coalition in which Catholics would play an irreplaceable role.

This is not promoting partisan politics — it is the opposite of partisanship.”

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July 6, 2012

The Anchor

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his week’s celebration of our nation’s independence brings to mind the story about a soldier who was serving his term of duty on the battlefield. He kept getting nagging letters from his wife back home. One day, his patience completely exhausted, the soldier fired a letter back to her. “Quit nagging me,” he wrote, “and let me enjoy this war in peace.” That sounds like an absurd contradiction — but it really isn’t. There is a hint of something here about life that is worth considering.

It is difficult to know where the notion got started, but the American Dream seems to be that of being happy. When our forefathers penned the Declaration of Independence, they affirmed the right of every citizen in this land to “pursue” happiness. That is an admirable goal; but we can have some strange ideas of what constitutes happiness.

It could be that we don’t truly understand the meaning of the word and thus spend our time looking for the wrong thing. Webster’s Dictionary

‘If I but touch His clothes ...’

suggests that the word comes revelations and attempting to from an older meaning, “to be draw in their own followers fortunate, lucky or favored by through charismatic speech, all circumstance.” Happiness, in done at the expense of carits strictest definition, appears ing for the needy. Paul feels to mean a sense of well-being compelled to defend himself in based upon one’s outer situation. If that’s what we are seeking, no Homily of the Week wonder we can’t find it. There is no place on Fourteenth Sunday earth where everything in Ordinary Time is tranquil. If we can

By Deacon Arthur find any peace at all, L. LaChance Jr. we will have to find it under pressure. It’s peace in the middle of war, or no peace at all. This his prophetic role. The Gospel week’s readings demonstrate presents Jesus returning home this. from His travels. He begins In the first reading the preaching to His neighbors, but prophet Ezekiel is sent to bring no one listens to Him. Amazed the news to his own people at their lack of faith, He is that if they do not repent — if “unable to perform any mighty they do not turn back to the deeds there.” covenant with their God — Of course, the real question they are doomed. Ezekiel and is, “How do we manage to find his message are not warmly peace in a world of muddled received. St. Paul writes to confusion?” A closer look at the Church in Corinth. The these stories and we discover Christian community there was they contain significant clues a mess — false prophets were to the pursuit of happiness. challenging Paul’s authorEzekiel does not focus on beity, boasting about their own ing the unwelcome herald of

bad news. Instead of feeling frightened and weak, he knows that he goes armed by the Word of God. He has all the power in the world. St. Paul, instead of fighting with his opponents, or despairing of his situation, adopts a faith stance of humility and weakness. All he can do, he says, is “boast of my weakness,” knowing that God would give him the grace to be strong. The “thorn in the flesh” was for Paul a gift to keep him somehow aware of his insufficiency, tied to Christ and the power of His grace. In this way of weakness and reliance, Paul reveals that his happiness is “not about me,” but about God and serving God’s reign. Jesus simply departs and goes elsewhere to teach. It is easy to understand Jesus’ confidence; He knew He was right — dead right — and no matter what anyone said or did His cause would prevail.

He was at peace.

It is not what they were doing; it is whom they are

called to serve that makes the difference. Deep inside of all of us, God has placed an inner voice. It’s a quiet voice, so quiet that many of us have allowed it to be crowded out and distorted by the clatter of a noisy world. There are times, however, when every distraction needs to be shut out and that inner voice heard.

If we listen carefully, that voice will be pointing the direction, saying this is what we ought to do and what we ought to be. If we are obedient to that calling, nothing can get to us. There comes an inner confidence, which not even the shouting of a jeering world can shake, and we can weather any war in peace.

And more importantly, we don’t have to spend our lives pursuing happiness. If we know we are doing, what we ought to do and being what we ought to be, we will be filled with happiness where we are — and the elusive American Dream will be ours.

Deacon LaChance serves at Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. July 7, Am ­­ 9:11-15; Ps 85:9,11-14; Mt 9:14-17. Sun. July 8, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6a. Mon. July 9, Hos 2:16,17b-18,21-22; Ps 145;2-9; Mt 9:18-26. Tues. July 10, Hos 8:4-7,11-13; Ps 115;3-10; Mt 9:32-38. Wed. July 11, Hos 10:1-3,7-8,12; Ps 105:2-7; Mt 10:1-7. Thurs. July 12, Hos 11:1-4,8c-9; Ps 80:2-3,15-16; Mt 10:7-15. Fri. July 13, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 51:3-4,8-9,12-14,17; Mt 10:16-23.

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Religious liberty and its contemporary enemies

ndependence Day concluded the Fortnight for Freedom mandated by the U.S. bishops, a two-week period of reflection and prayer on the defense of religious liberty that began on the vigil of the liturgical memorial of St. Thomas More. In July 2012, we may be grateful that none of us faces the headsman’s axe, as More did in Tudor England. But neither should we be indifferent to, or flippant about, the 21st-century threats to religious liberty that surround us.

They have yet to bring anyone to today’s equivalent of the scaffold on Tower Hill, but they are already putting severe pressure on both believers and religious institutions.

That pressure is more subtle than it was in More’s day, and it involves a kind of governmental pincer movement. The first arm of the pincer aims to reduce religious liberty to a privacy right: a permission slip from the government to engage in certain recreational activities considered matters of personal taste. The second arm of the pincer — embodied in the Obama Administration’s

contraceptive/abortifacient tries to use the coercive power mandate (which many Cathoof the state to drive religious lic entities are challenging in conviction to the far margins court) — aims to conscript of society and public life. It is, religious institutions so that in the pungent term deployed they become virtual departby the international legal ments of the government.

Between the two arms of the pincer, religious liberty is being subjected to a slow but steady wasting disease. RecogBy George Weigel nizing that disease is essential; so is an accurate diagnosis of its causes.

What are the sources of this scholar Joseph H. H. Weiler new assault on religious free(himself an Orthodox Jew), dom in full?

“Christophobic.” That this new The pressure comes in form of bigotry has at least part from a newly-aggressive something to do with ancient American secularism that is animosities over the Churchsadly similar to its counterstate alliances of Old Europe, parts in 21st-century Europe. no one should doubt.

There, secularism is not Yet that is why its transbenign, tolerant and pluralistic, lation across the Atlantic asking only that secular views is somewhat odd: for there have free play in the public is no “established Church” square. Rather, 21st-century in American constitutional European secularism is intoler- history against which 21stant, hegemonic and anti-plucentury radical secularists can ralistic. It demands the entire wave the bloody shirt. Nonepublic square for itself and theless, contemporary Ameri-

The Catholic Difference

can secularists of the sort found in prestige law schools and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are quite like their European counterparts: they do not seek an open public square in which all points of view are welcome; they demand secularist hegemony in public life. And they are quite prepared to throw some sharp elbows in getting what they want.

How has this new cultural phenomenon gotten a beachhead in our public life? In part, by surfing waves created by over six decades of confused Supreme Court rulings in First Amendment cases — rulings that have unbalanced “free exercise” and “no establishment” in matters of religion and public life. The framers of the Constitution did not intend that their proscription of a national church (“no establishment”) should create a radically secular American public square; they intended “no establishment” to serve

the cause of “free exercise.”

The United States would build a hospitable and civil public space where differences could be engaged intelligently and tolerantly, and where all points of view were welcome. “No establishment” was the means; “free exercise” was the end.

Sixty-five years of Supreme Court rulings, however, have turned this inside out, such that “free exercise” has been reduced to a set of exceptions or exemptions within the overwhelmingly secular public space the federal judiciary has created since 1947.

Wittingly or not, the Supreme Court has often aligned itself with the hegemonic secularists and the anti-pluralists, bringing its moral authority into play on their side of the debate.

As we conclude the Fortnight for Freedom, some serious work is before us: serious cultural work, serious legal work and serious political work.

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

July 6, 2012

Wednesday 4 July 2012 — Falmouth Inner Harbor — Independence Day llow me to update my status, dear readers, as they say on Facebook. On June 27, I vacated my former rectory on the shores of the Taunton River and sailed away from the church on Three Mile River. I carried with me fond memories of the people left behind. All I asked of them was forever to remember me as loving them (to borrow a sentiment from a popular hymn). I also took with me one suitcase and a dog named Transit. Who knew his name would be so apropos to the occasion? My first weekend at St. Patrick Parish is still a blur.

When any new pastor sails into town, people naturally want to know all about him. I got right to the point that first weekend. I told everyone, in writing, who I am and what I am like. To anyone showing even mild interest in the subject, I gave that little booklet I mentioned in last week’s column, “The Care and Feeding of Your New Parish Priest.”

How I operate is all right there in black and white. It’s an operating manual. I come with instructions. There’s no need

A

Getting to the point

for guesswork. “Please keep from a previous assignment. this operating manual in a safe Then there’s a list of other types place for future reference,” it of ministries and projects I have says on the cover. I do hope undertaken, and a few words on my new parishioners follow hobbies and interests. If you are that advice. As we begin to work together in continuing the work of building God’s Kingdom, they will probReflections of a ably have to consult the Parish Priest manual more than once.

It usually takes time for

By Father Tim folks to figure me out.

Goldrick The first impression I give is often not actually who I am, once people get a regular reader of this column, to know me. There’s nothing you already know about these I can do about that. It is what things. it is.

There’s an up front and perTo begin with, there’s a sonal section on my personality recent photograph of me and my type (as I understand it), my greyhound, Transit. That way pastoral leadership style, and people will know what we look some hints about what I like to like when they see us out and see happening around me in any about on the streets of Falmouth. parish to which I am assigned.

Then there’s a page of basic There have recently been facts. These include date and many clergy transfers in the place of birth, family history, ed- Diocese of Fall River. If you ucation, and ordination. Just in have just welcomed a new priest case someone might suspect our to your own parish, here are paths have crossed somewhere some suggestions that might before, there follows a list of my prove helpful. various parish assignments over Get acquainted. Your new the years. I have a lot of mileage priest needs to be plugged in on me, so there’s a good chance to what’s going on. Introduce that someone will recognize me yourself. You will probably have

The Ship’s Log

Can’t let it go

I

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The Anchor

’m not quite sure why I’m writing this.

Maybe it’s to clear my conscience. But for some reason, I can’t let it go.

I left work yesterday and had some errands to run; more specifically picking up a few non-essential groceries and fueling up my chariot. At one end of the city where The Anchor office is, it was sunny and bright. As I drove south of the city, dark clouds seemed to come from nowhere.

My View From the Stands

By Dave Jolivet

I approached a red light and was several cars back in line when I noticed him. He was AfricanAmerican, dressed in ratty old sweat pants and a T-shirt. His hair was a mess. It was hot. It was muggy, and it was starting to rain.

The man held a tired old cardboard sign — barely legible because it was slapped together with a pen or another thin writing implement. He, like so many others in the city, was asking for food money.

In a heartbeat, the rain turned into a torrent.

This all happened within seconds, but for me it seemed like an eternity; and for him, probably like forever.

Not a soul opened a window to hand him a dollar. I was torn: Do I call him over and give him something, or wait for the next person to do it?

Someone surely will.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to be the only person in line to respond. For some selfish reason, I was

embarrassed to do it, even though I didn’t know anyone around me.

I gave him a quick glance as I rolled past when the light turned green. He was soaked, but never moved a muscle. I couldn’t look in his eyes.

I’ve encountered many people at red lights asking for help. I never know whether to believe their plea is one for food or a ploy to feed an addiction. Sometimes I give. Most times I don’t.

But this man stuck with me.

Perhaps it was the rain ... the deluge he stood in, or maybe it was everyone’s lack of compassion, including my own.

I went on to complete my transactions with a heavy heart. I thought to myself, “If he’s on this side of the street when I return, I’ll give him something.” I knew he wouldn’t be. When I drove past, I noticed him running for the cover of a grove of trees. My heart sank.

I couldn’t even offer up a prayer for him. I felt it would be too shallow a gesture at that point.

This happened yesterday, but I still feel the sting. I don’t know why. I’ll never know if he was a druggy, or just a regular Joe like me, who happened to be down on his luck.

I never know what to do in situations like that. Maybe what I need is a little more compassion and a little more courage, and let God take care of the rest.

If I wrote this to ease my conscience, it didn’t work. But I do pray he’ll be OK. I really do.

to do this more than once. Talk to him about your family, your job, and your interests. Give him your take on the strengths and weaknesses of his new parish.

Invite him to your home, or maybe out to lunch.

Help him find his way around the neighborhood.

Be patient. It will probably take your new priest some time to feel at home. He has left behind a faith community in which he had heavily invested himself. Don’t expect him to do everything perfectly, immediately, and all at the same time. Give him a chance to assess the needs of the parish and to begin to figure out how you can address those needs together. On the other hand, if he tries to do too much too soon, let him know he needs to slow down.

Be positive. Let your new priest know when he’s on the

right track by listening to lots of different people, by looking ahead to where he’s going rather than back to where he’s been, by being open to the opinions of others, by being sensitive to people’s feelings, and by not taking himself too seriously.

If you think your new priest is going off the track, let him know honestly but lovingly. Be sure to speak to him directly, not through others.

Let him be himself. Scientists have been able to clone sheep, but no priest is a clone of another. Your new priest is unique.

This is neither good nor bad. It just is. Allow him to be who he is rather than who you would like him to be. Whatever you do, don’t constantly compare your new priest to his predecessor, for better or worse. What you see is what you get. Learn to live with it.

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

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The Anchor

A quiet and steady faith

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

FAIRHAVEN — The sound of drapes being cleaned in the washing machine blends in with the children’s voices heard while playing in the backyard; a tranquil setting that sets the tone for Fairhaven resident Rhody Medeiros, whose quiet demeanor belies the generosity she bestows on St. Joseph’s Parish in Fairhaven through her volunteer efforts.

Medeiros’ earliest memories of Church were of a youth spent in Connecticut at the local parish with Mass celebrated by a pastor with a booming voice and nuns making sure the children paid attention.

“I remember kneeling in church with the nuns in back of us,” she said, as she motioned with her finger a forward poking movement that the nuns would do to a child’s back if he or she decided to slouch during Mass.

“Most of the time we wouldn’t dare. We behaved. We wanted the praise. If I got in trouble at school then I got into doubletrouble at home. Your parents backed up the nuns.”

Her parents divorced when she was four years old, and her youth was spent moving from Connecticut to Virginia and back to Connecticut.

“My mother was alone with four children. It was tough for her but she always took us to church. She always made sure we went to catechism. Faith was just always there. My grandmother was a strict Irish Catho-

lic and when I got married and When her oldest son was increased familiarity through had six children, I was a good only a few years into attending the years. “It was a good experiCatholic girl,” she said, laugh- elementary school, the family ence for them.” ing. moved to Fairhaven and estabThe late Father Ambrose ForHer mother eventually re- lished themselves at the church git was like a mentor to her oldmarried and when Hurricane just down the street from their est son, said Medeiros; so much Carol hit, said Medeiros, her home, St. Joseph’s Parish. so, that her son became a deastepfather lost his job so the “We’ve had some wonder- con at St. Joseph’s Parish. The family relocated to New influence was felt on her Bedford. Moving from a too. As the children grew, small town to a city was Medeiros became more a “big change,” said Meinvolved in the parish, deiros, but she and her teaching Faith Formation siblings adjusted. classes to the Confirma“My brother and I tion students. were extremely close. His “I tried to get across to friends and my friends them to be good. You don’t were all a group, so it have to do spectacular made it easier. He was things because you know very outgoing and I was in your heart that you’re very shy; nobody believes doing the right thing,” she that today,” she said. said. “It doesn’t have to be After she graduated a big, splashy look-whatfrom high school, MeI-did kind of thing; just deiros married and began do what’s right. Knowhaving children. Having ing that you’re doing the six children in 10 years right thing is enough of a meant there was always a reward.” baby on her hip while atMedeiros said she tending Sunday Mass at loved teaching so much St. Mary’s Parish in New that when she went back Bedford, but having so to school, she pursued many young children to teaching, earning her delook after was never an gree in her early 50s. She excuse to miss Mass, said Anchor Person of the week taught third grade for one — Rhody Medeiros. (Photo by Becky year at St. Joseph’s School Medeiros.

“It’s not. People don’t Aubut) in Fairhaven, then went on mind babies in church,” to teach English at Greatshe said. “I love to see er New Bedford Regionthe babies in church. We watch ful pastors here. My kids all al Vocational Technical High them grow up. Yes, they make worked at the rectory and would School until she retired. noise but that’s OK. If you be- answer the phone; this was beAt St. Joseph’s Parish, Mehave the way you want them to fore answering machines. When deiros in on the parish council, behave, in time they’re going to they couldn’t go, I would cover a lector, a member of a knitting mimic you and they’ll behave for them. We got to know the group that makes baptismal and also.” priests as men,” she said, of the prayer shawls, and is an extraor-

July 6, 2012

dinary minister of Holy Communion, offering her time and prayers at Our Lady’s Haven in Fairhaven.

“Some of those people, your heart breaks for them,” she said, adding she has formed attachments to many of the residents. “No one visits them.

You get so much out of it when you visit, I almost feel selfish.

I feel like I’m getting more out of it than the people I’m visiting.”

Medeiros has turned to her Catholic faith and parish community for support, like when her son was diagnosed with cancer, ultimately losing one leg due to his bones being weakened from chemotherapy; but especially when it came to her daughter, Mary Katherine.

“She was profoundly retarded,” said Medeiros. “We weren’t able to have her home. She wouldn’t eat for me; she had a hard time with her muscles and she would constantly get sick with pneumonia. Her life was a series of visits. Originally the doctors told us 10 years, but she lived to 24. She never really knew us but we would go and see her anyway. The kids were wonderful with her.”

Now retired, she concentrates on enjoying her 13 grandchildren, some of whom were playing in the backyard pool during her interview, occasionally wandering into the kitchen to get a drink.

“I look around and think how lucky we are. Our children are healthy and we’re so blessed.

My children are here all the time. They come visit us and now the grandchildren hop in,” said Medeiros, who acknowledges that with life, nothing is guaranteed as she referred to a plaque she has on her wall. “‘Remember God doesn’t give you anything that you and He can’t handle together,’ and I firmly believe that.”

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

July 6, 2012

Emotional goodbye for young Italian mother who died for unborn child Rome, Italy (CNA) — Hundreds of Italians gathered at the Church of St. Francisca Romana in Rome for the recent funeral Mass of Chiara Corbella, a young Catholic woman who died after postponing her cancer treatments in order to protect her unborn child.

At 28 years of age, Chiara was happily married to Enrico Petrillo. They had already suffered the loss of two children in recent years who died from birth defects.

The couple became popular speakers at Pro-Life events, in which they shared their testimony about the few minutes they were able to spend with their children, David and Maria, before they died.

In 2010, Chiara became pregnant for the third time, and according to doctors the child was developing normally. However, Chiara was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and was advised to begin receiving treatment that would have Chiara Corbella posed a risk to (CNA photo) her pregnancy.

Chiara decided to protect the baby — named Francisco — and opted to forgo treatment until after his birth, which took place on May 30, 2011.

Her cancer quickly progressed and eventually she lost sight in one eye. After a year-long battle Chiara died on June 13, surrounded by her loved ones and convinced that she would be reunited with her two children in Heaven.

“I am going to Heaven to take care of Maria and David, you stay here with dad.

I will pray for you,” Chiara said in a letter for Francisco that she wrote one week before her death.

The funeral Mass was celebrated by the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who recalled Chiara as “the second Gianna Beretta,” the 20th-century saint who sacrificed her life in similar circumstances to save her unborn baby.

Chiara’s spiritual director, Father Vito Amato, delivered the homily and remembered Chiara as a young woman who chose to risk her own life in order to be an example to other pregnant women, “a testimony that could save so many people,” he said.

Chiara’s husband, Enrico, said he experienced “a story of love on the cross.”

Speaking to Vatican Radio, he said that they learned from their three children that there is no difference in a life that lasts 30 minutes or 100 years.

“It was wonderful to discover this love that grew more and more in the face of so many problems,” he said.

“We grew more and more in love with each other and Jesus. We were never disappointed by this love, and for this reason, we never lost time, even though those around us said, ‘Wait, don’t be in a hurry to have another child,’” Enrico said.

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The Anchor

The world today encourages people to make wrong choices about the unborn, the sick and the elderly, he noted, “but the Lord responds with stories like ours.”

“We are the ones who like to philosophize about life, about who created it, and therefore, in the end, we confuse ourselves in wanting to become the owners of life and to escape from the cross the Lord gives us,” he continued.

“The truth is that this cross — if you embrace it with Christ — ceases to be as ugly as it looks. If you trust in Him, you discover that this fire, this cross, does not burn, and that peace can be found in suffering and joy in death,” Enrico explained.

“I spent a lot of time this year reflecting on this phrase from the Gospel that says the Lord gives a cross that is sweet and a burden that is light. When I would look at Chiara when she was about to die, I obviously became very upset. But I mustered the courage and a few hours before — it was about eight in the morning, Chiara died at noon — I asked her.

“I said: ‘But Chiara, my love, is this cross really sweet, like the Lord says?

She looked at me and she smiled, and in a soft voice she said, ‘Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet.’ In this sense, the entire family didn’t see Chiara die peacefully, but happily, which is totally different,” Enrico said.

When his son grows up, he added, he will tell him “how beautiful it is to let oneself be loved by God, because if you feel loved you can do anything,” and this is “the most important thing in life: to let yourself be loved in order to love and die happy.”

“I will tell him that this is what his mother, Chiara, did. She allowed herself to be loved, and in a certain sense, I think she loved everyone in this way. I feel her more alive than ever. To be able to see her die happy was to me a challenge to death.”

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 Email

or

waynepowers @ anchornews . org

12

July 6, 2012

The Anchor

Communicators hear how blogging is another way for Church to evangelize

she’s back — Tyler Perry and Eugene Levy star in a scene from the movie “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Lionsgate)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following is a capsule review of a movie recently reviewed by CNS. “Stella Days” (Tribeca) Change is in the air in 1950s Catholic Ireland, and a discontented parish priest (Martin Sheen) struggles to keep his flock — and himself — from spiritual exhaustion in director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s adaptation of Michael Doorley’s memoir. Ordered by his bishop (Tom Hickey) to build a new church, the pastor lights on a novel scheme to raise funds and, at the same time, engage his wandering flock: build a cinema, to be called “The Stella.” His project gains the support of a newly-arrived young teacher (Trystan Gravelle), but ignites opposition both from the bishop and from a local politician (Stephen Rea) who predicts filth and immorality will result. Antoine O. Flatharta’s script does not condemn the Church and its role in Irish society outright. But he marginalizes it, casting it as a relic of a rose-colored time in recent history. An unflattering portrayal of the Catholic Church, an adulterous relationship and some rough language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling.

Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

“Ted” (Universal) Sporadically funny, but excessively vulgar comedy charting the long-standing friendship between a slacker car rental agent (Mark Wahlberg) and the teddy bear (voice of Seth MacFarlane) his childhood wish miraculously brought to life. When their bond is tested by tensions surrounding the

wastrel’s romance with his live-in girlfriend (Mila Kunis), the partyloving plush toy proves a negative influence, despite good intentions.

MacFarlane, who also directed and co-wrote this mix of live action and computer-generated animation, endows the titular character with a foul mouth, a taste for the company of prostitutes and a love of illegal substances. Cuddly does not describe it. Occasional irreverence, a benign view of drug use, cohabitation, brief upper female and rear nudity, a same-sex kiss, much sexual and scatological humor, numerous uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection” (Lionsgate) Writer-director Tyler Perry reprises the role of Madea, the familiar, frequently mixed-up, but mostly moral force of nature in a muumuu. In one of her weaker outings, her district attorney nephew (also Perry) convinces Madea to shelter a white family (headed by Eugene Levy) after a massive corporate Ponzi scheme gone awry, leaving Levy’s falsely-suspected character not only facing fraud charges but threatened by mobsters as well. Perry plays on the well-worn theme of the cultural shock that ensues when stuffy Caucasians mingle with earthy black folks. Still, his trademark themes of respect for parents, adherence to one’s religious beliefs and selfconfidence are not to be quarreled with, any more than is his feisty heroine herself. Occasional slapstick violence as well as fleeting crass language and drug references.

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

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Blogging offers the Catholic Church one more way to evangelize for the faith while reaching new audiences, especially young people, a panel of Catholic bloggers told a packed room during the Catholic Media Conference in Indianapolis.

The panelists, which included Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, a frequent user of Twitter, agreed that while not all bloggers are official Church representatives, the relatively new but quickly growing form of communication has influenced how the Church spreads its message.

They also said during the June 22 session that blogging, like any communication tool, must be used responsibly.

Elizabeth Scalia, managing editor of the Catholic portal at Patheos.com and writer of a blog named The Anchoress, said that traditional print publications, such as diocesan newspapers, with a strong Internet presence can act quickly to clarify misperceptions about the Church in the mainstream media.

She suggested that the newspaper blogs could track a story and make corrections in real time, providing an overview of an event until publication day.

While the longevity of blogs may be short-lived, Scalia said that their impact can be long term.

“Put your stuff on the Internet and for better or worse, it’s there forever,” she said. “In a way that gives the Holy Spirit some room to work. A thing you wrote three years ago and forgot about may come up in the Google search of someone who really needs to see it, and suddenly evangelization, tailor-made for that person, happens.”

Rocco Palmo, writer of the widely-followed blog of Church news and rumors called Whispers in the Loggia, said he began blogging in 2004 “for three readers.”

Today, the cumulative hit count on Whispers is more than 23 million.

Because of the popularity of Catholic blogs, Palmo said that the Church has much to offer people involved in social media.

In particular, he cited Pope Benedict XI’s message for World Communications Day 2012, observed May 20, which emphasized the need for silence in good communications.

“It was risky because it could have been read, ‘Pope to bloggers: Shut up.’ It could have been spun that way,” Palmo said. “But it wasn’t. It struck a nerve in our (media) inundated society about when you should turn off (digi-

tal devices). It’s important to unplug.”

The pope’s message marked one of the first times that the Church’s message about technology and society was taken up after many years of perception that the Church was behind the times, he said.

Bishop Coyne said he sees himself as a missionary on the Internet.

“I approach the new social media both as a means of evangelization and I’m also trying in my own way to evangelize the new social media, to make it more of Christ, more of God, more of the good,” he said.

Although he frequently posted to his blog — online at www. thoughtsofacatholicbishop. blogspot.com — as a priest and early on after his episcopal ordination, he said he posts items less frequently in part because blogging is more of a passive medium that people must chose to visit.

“In terms of Facebook and Twitter, it’s going out,” Bishop Coyne said. “Now, granted, people have to follow you. But there is more movement (going) out there, which I think is more in keeping with (Christ’s command to) go out to all the world and spread the Good News. It’s more directive from me.”

Many in the Church, including panelists in the blogging discussion, see the Internet and social media as avenues through which the Church can reach youths and young adults. Bishop Coyne suggested that Catholics can learn from some evangelical communities, which have brought youths together through social media networks.

Deacon Greg Kandra, execu-

tive editor of One magazine and writer of the blog The Deacon’s Bench, said he started blogging in 2007 because “I really did not recognize the Church that I knew in a lot of the blogs that I was reading.

They were very partisan. A lot of them were angry.”

“One of the things that I wanted to impart was the idea that it’s a big Church and that the Body of Christ is huge,” he said. “It’s everybody from Mother Angelica to Madonna and everybody in between.”

Deacon Kandra recently decided to suspend indefinitely the ability of readers to comment on his blog posts because the comments had become “very toxic and very hateful and very argumentative.”

Nonetheless, he said, traffic to his blog has remained steady, and readers still can comment on his posts on his Facebook page. He noted that the comments were more civil because people could not do so anonymously on Facebook.

After listening to the other panelists’ remarks, Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said that the blogosphere is “marked by extraordinary freedom.”

“We need to see the positive in that,” Msgr. Tighe said. “For a lot of people who are able to express themselves and have found an arena that allows them to say things that are important, to say things that may be annoying, may be heartfelt, but things that are working for them.

“If we can go in there and keep a spirit of listening, it’s a very privileged arena for us to learn what’s going on and what people are thinking.”

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, July 8, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Kevin J. Harrington, Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Bedford

July 6, 2012

13

The Anchor

Deacons, nuns, laity and even athlete-priests to minister at Olympics

MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — Some people are simply gifted at sports; they excel at any challenge involving a ball, a stick or a physical contest nearly as soon as they turn their hands to it.

One such person is Father Geoff Hilton, a priest from Salford Diocese in the north of England, who will be serving as a chaplain to athletes competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

It was because of his sporting prowess that the former police officer from Manchester was hand-picked to become one of 16 Catholics appointed to minister to the athletes by the Olympics organizing committee.

Over the years, Father Hilton has distinguished himself as a badminton player on a national level — losing in the men’s final in Madrid when he was a seminarian at the English College in Valladolid — as a soccer and a rugby league player, and later as a rugby league referee, working in two World Cups.

Now, at the age of 55, he takes time from his duties as pastor of St. Osmund Parish, Bolton, to compete as a professional crown green bowler, a sport usually played only in the north of England.

For him, the chance to minister to athletes at the Olympic Village July 27-Aug. 12 was an opportunity too good to pass up.

“It won’t happen again in my lifetime, the Olympics coming to England, and I’m very much looking forward to it,” Father Hilton told Catholic News Service in an interview at the Red Lion bowling green in Westhoughton, near Manchester.

“I might have to give up my bowling for two-and-a-half weeks, but I can manage that,” he said.

“I am interested in most sports,” he continued, “and as a young man I was involved in a number of these sports.”

He said that he would be available throughout the Olympics for “anyone who needs spiritual support,” to celebrate Mass, hear Confessions and con-

fer blessings.

But the Church should separately also offer pastoral support to athletes who have ended their careers, he added.

“I understand how a lot of athletes suffer from depression,” he said. “It is a worry. A lot of them seem to be discarded after they finish their professional careers. People need to know that they need support when they’re no long performing at the top level.”

Overall, there will be 190 individuals to serve followers of the world’s religions at the Olympics. The number of Catholics is expected to increase to 24 when the teams of such countries as Italy and Poland bring their own representatives with them.

At the Olympic Village in London, five rooms will be set aside for Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist chaplaincies, while Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Baha’i and Jains will share a space.

Those offering pastoral care have been selected from a range of backgrounds and include priests, deacons, Sisters and lay people, who will work eighthour shifts beginning a week before the games open and up to a week after they close.

Besides athletes from all over the world, they will offer spiritual support to more than 50,000 unpaid volunteers and about 25,000 journalists.

Deacon Roger Stone, who will be ministering to the sailing and water sports on the south coast, and Frankie Mulgrew, a former stand-up comedian, who was ordained a deacon in Birmingham, England, on June 30 ahead of his priestly ordination next year are part of the pastoral team.

Mulgrew, 34, told CNS that he volunteered because, as the son of the popular British comedian Jimmy Cricket, he had spent his life with people in the public eye and had an “affinity” for them.

Servite Sister Petronia Williams, a nun based near the Olympic Park who usually works with Gypsies and Irish

Travellers will also be assisting.

Sister Petronia told CNS that she volunteered because she thought it would offer a “golden opportunity” to fulfill St. Paul’s injunction to “welcome the stranger.”

“I’m very excited,” she said.

“I presume I will be welcoming people, and I expect that some will want to pray with me before they race.

“I am looking forward to the business of meeting people from other countries and being able to welcome them and being friendly,” she said. “That’s an important part of our Christian tradition, to show hospitality and welcome.”

Father Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk of Worth Abbey, southern England, is the only Catholic priest to serve as a chaplain to the 25,000 journalists who will converge on the Olympic media center for the games. He will be assisted by a Catholic laywoman.

“I am very pleased that the Church is involved,” Father Jamison told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview.

“It (the Olympics) is a vast migration into the heart of London, and it would be quite wrong if the Church did not reach out to support those who are coming here.”

James Parker, the Catholic Church’s executive coordinator for the 2012 Olympics, said he would be serving the Paralympic Games.

“The picture on our TV screens can move rapidly from one Olympic event to another,” he told CNS. “The camera rarely covers the days and hours leading up to an athlete’s event and never fully covers how an athlete might respond to losing.

“This could mean coming last, fourth, or even winning a ‘mere silver or bronze medal’ in place of the gold,” Parker said.

“The accumulation of literally years of training and the pressure of national expectations can come crashing down on thousands of people within a very short space of time. We need to be ready to respond.”

chaplain of champions — Father Geoff Hilton, a priest of the Salford Diocese in England, is pictured at the Red Lion Crown Green Bowling Green in Westhoughton in mid-June. Father Hilton will be serving as chaplain to athletes competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (CNS photo/Simon Caldwell)

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Instilling leadership skills in diocesan youth continued from page one

hopes they go back to their parish and get involved.”

Now in its 24th year, originally CLI was seven-days long but Frank Lucca, CLI program director since 2000, said having Friday as the first day meant a rushed-to-get-there approach that had Lucca and Medeiros feeling like the candidates were losing valuable parts of the program. The adjustment made to the schedule now gives team leaders a chance to organize for the incoming candidates — a bonus, said Lucca, since every year brings a new batch of youth from across the diocese.

“No group is ever the same.

It’s a mix. We typically have a diverse population of kids from all over the diocese but this year’s group is more from Cape Cod, Fairhaven, New Bedford and Swansea kids,” said Lucca. “This group is extremely intellectual, not the most creative group but more process-oriented.”

That key word “process” is exactly what defines CLI; “It’s not a retreat but a process,” said Lucca.

“Any parish can benefit from that because we are the training ground in the ministry,” Lucca continued. “It’s important to make clear that CLI is not a retreat, though it has elements of a retreat. We’re not just talking about leadership in a local community; we’re talking about leadership done in a Christian way. We have workshops on discipleship and what it means to be a Christian disciple. How do you discern your vocation and what you’ve been called to do?

In a retreat you can share stories and experiences centered on faith and praying; here we

take that central core and add in the leadership component.”

Sixteen-year-old Carrie Kirby of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro heard about the CLI program from her sister, who attended the program four years ago. Kirby said she enjoys the team building activities — “Teamwork is the best lesson I’ve learned,” she said — and hopes to parlay the knowledge she gleans from the program to return to her parish and start a youth group.

“We tried to plan it before but it didn’t go anywhere. I can use these leadership skills to help me,” Kirby said, who not only has been listening during workshops but also learned ideas from fellow candidates who already have a youth ministry program in their parish.

“I like the idea of surveying kids to see what they want to do; I think we can do that in our parish too.”

Nineteen-year-old Jon Bernier, a member of St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea and 2007 CLI graduate, is enjoying his summer off from his studies at the University of South Carolina and being an intern for this year’s program. He credits his experience of going through the CLI program as giving him the self-reliance to pursue leadership roles.

“I got more involved at St. Dominic’s and in the youth ministry at Bishop Stang High School, where I went to high school. It helped me to become more confident and to know who I was as a person. It did plant a lot of seeds and it gave me a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t gone to CLI,” said Bernier, who became a team member on two YES! retreats, led the

This week in 50 years ago — Probably the first Pontifical Mass ever to be celebrated on Martha’s Vineyard took place when Bishop James L. Connolly dedicated the new St. Augustine Church at Vineyard Haven. Thought to be the only all-wooden church in the diocese, the structure of contemporary design included a 100-year-old bell mounted atop its peaked roof.

25 years ago — The six Catholic elementary schools of New Bedford collaborated on a float for the city’s Fourth of July parade. Its theme, “Catholic Education Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” echoed the scriptural description of Christ as “the same, yesterday, today and forever.”

freshmen retreat at Bishop Stang during his senior year and participated in plays in the North Dartmouth school’s drama club.

“I wouldn’t have done that because I wouldn’t have had enough confidence,” he said.

“Just little things like that; you might not think about it while you’re on CLI, but afterwards it sinks in after you graduate, the things that you do and the things that you’re involved in, it definitely shows.”

The candidates test the waters of leadership on a daily basis, said Medeiros. As the CLI week goes on, the candidates become responsible for the various activities that are social, liturgical or prayerful.

“For example, they will be in charge of planning an entire Liturgy — from selecting the music to selecting the readers to writing the intentions themselves,” said Medeiros, adding that the team leaders lay out the model on the first day so that the candidates can follow the template.

“A lot of them are excited to plan a Liturgy and terrified at the same time because some of them may not know how to pick music,” said Medeiros, saying that team leaders will continue to offer a lot of guidance. “The youth really try to work hard at selecting songs that fit the readings and central theme for the day. We also find that in planning the Liturgy, it helps them understand the Liturgy more. It’s not just setting up the altar, they are in charge of providing a liturgical environment for the evening.”

It is so crucial in the development of the young candidates’ faith to give them those opportunities, said Medeiros;

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich welcomed Bishop Séan P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., as parishioners celebrated the blessing and laying of the foundation stone and time capsule of the fourth church building in parish history. Father Marcel H. Bouchard, pastor, and newly-ordained Deacon David Boucher assisted the bishop at the ceremonies.

One year ago — Rev. Mr. Riley J. Williams was ordained a priest of the Fall River Diocese at St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop George W. Coleman. Father Williams spent four years studying at the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio before moving on to another four years of study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

July 6, 2012 “I wouldn’t say it’s the entire purpose behind CLI week, but it is critical because it also shows them that they have a voice in their Church and faith, that they actually can accomplish and do the things that other adults do; that they have that talent and those skills.”

Nightly “town hall” meetings are held to resolve issues and to continue to help build communication skills, and it was during a meeting that the team leaders got to hear just how special planning a Liturgy was to a candidate.

“A young man said that it was the most experience he has had at a Liturgy because he felt so much a part of it,” said Lucca. “Youth is the Church of today. My philosophy as a youth minister is every young person is part of today’s parish. The kids are involved in everything in the parish because they are today’s Church.”

One thing that Medeiros and Lucca began to see was not all parishes, for various reasons, were able to provide their youth a focal point for their leadership skills in the form of a youth group. As they recognized this, Medeiros and Lucca realized adults planned the Diocesan Youth Convention every year. Thus an idea was born — why not let the CLI graduates take over the planning of the convention?

“If we’re planning CLI and we’re training the youth to be

leaders, why not let them plan the youth convention?” said Medeiros. “Since 2006, it’s been the CLI grads of that year who plan the convention, with some assistance of previous graduates of the CLI program.”

Six years later, Medeiros continues to watch as the “final exam” of the CLI program brings all of the candidates’ hard work to fruition and reemphasizes the graduates’ roles as the young leaders of the diocese.

“I cry at the end of every youth convention because I’ve seen how green most of them are when they arrive and seen some of their struggles to find who they are as a Catholic and as a leader,” said Medeiros, “and to see them take ownership of the convention and to see them be proud of what they do, I feel like a proud mom.”

For his part, Bernier is thankful to have reaped the rewards of taking part in a program that helped shape his life and his faith.

“I encourage all parents of high school teen-agers to send their children on CLI just because it allows them to not only grow in their leadership skills but in their Christian faith as well,” said Bernier. “Those elements are combined here; you’re not just learning how to be a leader, you’re not just learning how to be a Christian — you’re learning how to be a Christian leader.”

July 6, 2012

shepherds of the flock — Pope Benedict XVI presents a pallium to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 29. The pope gave 44 archbishops the woolen pallium as a sign of their communion with him and their pastoral responsibility as shepherds. (CNS photo/Giancarlo Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)

Pope says pallium is sign of tie to Heaven and earth, Christ and pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After placing a woolen band around the shoulders of 44 new archbishops as they knelt before him, Pope Benedict XVI told them it was a reminder of their ties to Heaven and earth and of their loyalty to Christ and the successor of Peter.

“You have been constituted in and for the great mystery of communion that is the Church, the spiritual edifice built upon Christ as the cornerstone, while in its earthly and historical dimension, it is built on the rock of Peter,” the pope said during his homily on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul.

However, he added, the “Church is not a community of the perfect, but a community of sinners, obliged to recognize their need for God’s love, their need to be purified through the cross of Jesus Christ.”

Before celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict gave the archbishops from 23 countries the woolen pallium as a sign of their sharing with him authority over the faithful in their archdioceses.

The pallium is presented every year to new archbishops or those assigned an archdiocese to govern; those archbishops who do not lead an archdiocese do not receive a pallium.

The archbishops included Archbishops Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia; William E. Lori of Baltimore; Samuel J. Aquila of Denver; and William C. Skurla, who leads the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.

Among the others were four prelates from Canada, including

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Archbishop Christian Lepine of Montreal, and two from Australia, including Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane.

Two new archbishops were unable to attend the ceremony and received their palliums at home, making the final count 46 new archbishops from 24 countries, including South Korea, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica began with a fanfare of trumpets and “Tu es Petrus” sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir and the world-renowned Westminster Abbey choir of Great Britain.

The pope invited the Anglican choir to sing with the papal choir, bringing two distinctive choral styles together at an event reaffirming papal authority and Catholic bishops’ unity with him.

Anglican Father John Hall, the dean of Westminster, said he hoped the historic visit would help the Church and the Anglican Communion progress along the “long and tortuous path toward full and visible unity.”

Also present at the Mass was a delegation sent by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

The pallium ceremony saw a small but significant change this year, since it came before the start of Mass, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of the Mass or seeming to suggest that the bestowal of the pallium has the status of a Sacrament.

In his homily, the pope said SS. Peter and Paul represent a “new brotherhood” in which differences can be harmonized in unity with love for Christ. That unity extends not just among Catholics, but all believers in

Christ as they pursue full communion, he said.

“Together we are all cooperators of the truth, which as we know is one and symphonic, and requires from each of us and from our communities a constant commitment to conversion to the one Lord in the grace of the one Spirit,” he told the archbishops.

Speaking to Catholic News Service, the U.S. archbishops reflected on the deeper meaning of the ceremony.

Archbishop Chaput said because the pallium is a symbol of the relationship between the bishop and the pope, every time he puts it on, “I pray for the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and I also pray for the Holy Father and his associates as they serve the universal Church.”

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is facing a multimillion dollar debt and recent trials of priests on charges related to sex abuse, he said, so “there’s a lot of tension in our local Church, and as the archbishop I’m carrying that tension.”

Pope Benedict “actually confirmed me, in faith and also in my work as archbishop, when he placed the pallium on my shoulders today,” Archbishop Chaput said. “So it means a lot in this difficult moment in our local Church.”

Archbishop Lori, who came to Rome with nearly 100 pilgrims, said, “When we wear the woolen pallium around our neck, we are symbolizing our call and responsibility to go in search of a lost and suffering humanity and gently to lay that upon our shoulders and bring everyone as much as we can to safety and to joy, to

peace, to salvation.”

Archbishop Aquila said the pallium ceremony “keeps very much alive the consistent teaching of the Church, the consistent reflection of the Church, with the teachings of Christ Himself and of the Apostles” that all Christians are called to imitate Christ the Good Shepherd.

Afterward, at a reception for the U.S. archbishops and wellwishers, Stanton Skerjanec, a pilgrim from Denver, told CNS he thought Archbishop Aquila would preserve the values associated with his predecessor, Archbishop Chaput.

Archbishop Chaput “is one of the few outspoken bishops. He made great strides in the vocations department, in fact it was

he that made me think about a vocation” to the priesthood, the 18-year-old said.

Theresa Miller, 73, of Wyndmoor, Pa., said that she and other people in the archdiocese have faith that Archbishop Chaput “will straighten things out and it will all be right in the end.”

“It may hurt, but it’s necessary,” she said.

Bill McCarthy, who leads Catholic Charities in Baltimore, said the pallium ceremony showed the “universality of the Church and mirrors our faith and call to service.”

He said the love he felt from the pope reminded him that “seeing love and experiencing that love is what we do every day in serving those in need.”

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — Jesus Christ’s miraculous healing of the daughter of Jairus and a woman who suffered from a hemorrhage should inspire healthcare workers to care for the entire person, physical and spiritual, Pope Benedict XVI said July 1.

“In this invaluable service, one must first be professionally competent — it is a primary, fundamental requirement — but this alone is not enough,” said the pope in a Sunday Angelus address.

“This service, in fact, is first and foremost about human beings who need humanity and heartfelt attention,” he told thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square beneath a baking Roman sun.

The pope advocated that those who tend to the sick and elderly have a “formation of the heart” in addition to professional training.

He described such workers as “reserves of love” who bring “peace and hope to the suffering.”

Pope Benedict reflected upon the last Sunday’s Gospel passage of the day in which St. Matthew records how Christ twice healed not only a physical ailment but also a spiritual malady too.

“Jesus came to heal the human heart and to give salvation, and He asks for faith in Him,” Pope Benedict explained.

He focused on the words Jesus used to revive the daughter of

Jairus from deathly slumber: “Little girl, I say to you: Get up!”

The pope recalled that St. Jerome saw these words as “emphasizing the saving power of Jesus.” In effect, the fourth-fifth-century Doctor of the Church viewed Christ as saying, “Little girl, get up through Me: not on account of your own merits, but through My grace. Rise, therefore, through Me: being cured does not depend on your virtue.”

Similarly, the second episode in which a woman who had suffered a hemorrhage for many years is cured also reveals “how Jesus came to liberate the human being in its totality.”

In fact, the woman’s healing comes in two distinct phases: a physical healing followed by a deeper spiritual healing which, said the pope, “bestows the grace of God to those who are open to Him in faith.”

Both stories, he suggested, are “an invitation for us to overcome a purely horizontal and materialistic view of life.” While we ask God to cure our physical and concrete needs, he said, we should all the more ask for “an ever stronger faith, because the Lord renews our lives; and a firm trust in His love, in His providence that does not abandon us.”

Pope: Healthcare workers can learn from Christ’s miracles

CATHOLIC WEBSITE www.pamphletstoinspire.com

Youth Pages

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the future is now — The St. John the Evangelist School Robotics Activity participated in the University of Massachusetts Botfest, an exhibition where robotics enthusiasts show off their creations. One of the Attleboro school’s entries was called the “Jaguar,” a rear-wheel-drive robotic car built using Lego WeDo. The Jaguar was programmed to drive and avoid obstacles. St. John’s also entered an Artbot that draws a colorful picture of the path it takes through a maze. It uses a touch sensor to find and bounce off the walls in the maze.

keeping tabs — Every year St. Mary’s School in Taunton collects aluminum tabs that are given to the Shriners at the end of the school year. The money that is redeemed for the tabs helps in transportation of the patients for various treatments. The class that collects the most tabs is treated to a pizza party, courtesy of Brian Ratcliffe and B&F Pizza. This year’s winning class was Mrs. Jussaume’s fourth-graders who collected 200 pounds of aluminum tabs. Cal Overlock, a Shriners’ representative, congratulated the students on their efforts to help burn victims and explained how their contribution will make a difference to many people. From left: Gabriella Reis, Overlock and Rebecca Little.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs, have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews. org

July 6, 2012

winging it — Second-grade students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently released butterflies as part of a class project.

ancient transportation — The fourth- and fifth-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River went on a field trip to Plimoth Plantation to compare and contrast the Wampanoag and Pilgrim ways of life — shelter, clothing and customs. They also stopped by Plymouth Rock and the Fore Fathers Statute in town. Upon their return, the students wrote reports about their visit. Here students examined a burned-out mishoon (canoe).

pillars of the school — Students from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven participated in the annual induction ceremony of the Sacred Hearts Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. Students pledged to uphold the five Honor Society pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, citizenship and character. They will work on community and school service projects throughout the upcoming school year.

Youth Pages

July 6, 2012

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Leadership is not about you

S

everal weeks ago, an image made the rounds through Facebook. As so often is the habit of posting images of various posters and sayings, this one in particular caught my eye. The following stark white words reflected off the ebony background and are attributed to author Kevin Hall.

“Your gifts are not about you.

Leadership is not about you.

Your purpose is not about you.”

A life of significance is about serving those who need your gifts, your leadership, your purpose.

Since the rest of the team and I were making the final preparations for this year’s Christian Leadership Institute, the image and its saying resonated with me. It was the perfect summary of what we hoped this year’s candidates (and yes even past candidates) take with them as they leave Cathedral Camp every summer. After all, we are called to model our discipleship and leadership after Jesus Christ — our Servant Leader. The

phrase “Jesus is the model Yes, the team members are in disciple,” has become almost fact the “teachers” of Cathcliché. It is said so often that olic-Christian Leadership.

I cannot help but wonder The adults do not say “yes” exactly how many people hear to volunteering on team each the message. But, like every year to fulfill a need for selfcliché there is truth (or in this case Truth) to the phrase as it is described in John’s Gospel (13:12-17): “So when He had washed their feet

By Crystal Medeiros [and] put His garments back on and reclined at table again, He said to them, ‘Do you real- gratification. The men and ize what I have done for you? women who serve on team You call me “teacher” and do not do so for the bragging “master,” and rightly so, for rights. They do so for multiple indeed I am. If I, therefore, reasons ranging from a simple the Master and Teacher, have dedication to the empowerwashed your feet, you ought ment of our young Church to wash one another’s feet. to answering the call to give I have given you a model to something back. These two follow, so that as I have done reasons, along with all the for you, you should also do. others in between, point to Amen, amen, I say to you, no their love, passion and underslave is greater than his masstanding that Jesus Christ is at ter nor any messenger greater the center of our lives. than the one who sent him. If The adults who make up you understand this, blessed past, present and future CLI are you if you do it.’” teams, are the models not only During the six days spent of the saying listed above but at CLI each summer, the team also of John’s Gospel. Each echoes this Gospel message. year team members answer

the call to serve the diocese in cultivating the up-and-coming generation of servant leaders. The CLI team sacrifices not only a week’s vacation from their jobs to be with the teens for six days, but also the time it takes to prepare their workshops and meet to develop community amongst the team. Their willingness to share their gifts, their leadership and their purpose fills me with such joy because without all of these things that each team member brings to the table, CLI would fail.

But CLI is not just about the team that is put into place each year. It is about the young people who participate from year to year. Since accepting my position with the Office of Faith Formation in 2006, I have witnessed numerous CLI graduates develop their leadership skills and become an integral part of their parishes. They have gone on to receive the Pope Pius X Youth Award in appreciation for their outstanding leadership and many return to assist the current year’s CLI gradu-

ates plan the Diocesan Youth Convention. This year’s CLI team consisted of four CLI graduates — two from the ’90s and two from my first two years as a part of the program. But along with these four, each day CLI graduates from the past couple of years are invited back to assist with various interactive workshops.

Whether it is the adults or the past graduates, they all answer the call each year and understand that, “leadership is not about you.” And because of their dedication, I would like to thank the 2012 CLI team: Frank Lucca, Rose Mary Saraiva, Amanda Tarantelli, Brendan Rowley, Father David Frederici, Father Jeff Cabral, Margaret French, Becky Couet, Renee Bernier, Jon Bernier and Robert Craig.

Thank you for understanding and witnessing to our young Church that leadership is about serving the one Body of Christ. You are all blessed for it.

Crystal is assistant director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the diocese. She can be contacted at cmedeiros@dfrcec.com.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Earthquakes, oppression, floods and famine are just some of the targets of an initiative to educate undergraduates at Jesuit-run universities about the humanitarian crises such disasters cause.

The initiative is the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network, formed as a result of discussions among Jesuits about students’ enthusiasm for humanitarian efforts but also the recognition such enthusiasm needed direction.

They wanted to create a curriculum to prepare undergraduates for either a career in humanitarian work or “to fulfill everyday civic responsibilities.”

“We felt that young people’s passion for helping people wasn’t being well-channeled.

They would raise money to buy blankets or something and send them down to a crisis center, but it was an unsophisticated approach,” Jesuit Father Rick Ryscavage told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview.

Father Ryscavage is director of Fairfield University’s Center for Faith and Public Life, where JUHAN recently held its third biennial conference, bringing together faculty, staff, students and humanitarian workers from Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children and other agencies.

The conference is an attempt to organize humanitarian education in Jesuit schools worldwide through an integrated curriculum; courses offered depend on the individual strengths of the professors who teach them.

“There are some broad classes like nonprofit organization studies of nongovernmental organizations,” Father Ryscavage said.

“Then there are others that are much more focused, like a class on sexual violence. It studies more the dynamics of women being targets in war.”

The priest believes each discipline has its purpose in humanitarian studies. “Engineering is critical to humanitarian work, but not many engineers consider that type of career. Engineers are crucial when responding to earthquakes,” he explained.

Humanitarian work also has a need for students interested in business.

“I think business is necessary, because whenever there is a big emergency, there is money involved,” said Father Ryscavage.

“We need people who are good with accounting and budgeting to manage how humanitarian aid is spent.”

The humanities department also has its place in the initiative’s curriculum. Father Ryscavage said, “Sometimes fiction is

this year at Fairfield was Global Perspectives on Humanitarian Action.” One goal of the conference was for student participants to develop a strategy for a humanitarian curriculum to take back to their campuses.

Fairfield University, Fordham University and Georgetown University have already adopted the network’s model.

One French student attending the conference from Beirut, Alexandre Khouri, said he had gotten involved in the initiative through a Jesuit professor. He has since worked as an intermediary between Iraqi refugees and the police and military. The feedback, he said, has been encouraging.

“A country like India has conflicts and economic and political problems, so they have humanitarian issues that need to be taken care of in a targeted local school,” he told CNS. “A Philippines Jesuit university will be represented, and their country often faces environmental problems and conflicts between Muslims in the south and Christians in the north.”

One speaker at the conference was Evelyn Ello Hart, an Ivory Coast immigrant and a doctoral student at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., who had been helping refugees relocate to the

U.S. from Kenya, Sudan and Syria.

“They don’t have access to education or health care, and are not allowed to leave the camp,” said Ello Hart. “Hayat Muhammad was just resettled into the U.S. after 22 years in a temporary camp. How is Hayat going to have money to pay for community college classes? How can we empower Hayat?”

Ello Hart has been working with Jesuit Commons, a group of individuals, schools and institutions that help people on the margins, like Hayat.

She emphasized one Jesuit maxim — “men and women for others” — as a reason for her work.

The Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network was created with hopes that it would encourage students to pursue humanitarian work beyond college.

Hoegen is one example of the program’s success.

“Next year I will be serving as an Augustinian volunteer where I will be organizing service projects in the Los Angeles Archdiocese,” she said. “After that I plan to get my master’s in nonprofit management.”

Echoing Ello Hart, Hoegen said, “’Men and women for others’ is a key Jesuit value. It is social justice through education.”

Be Not Afraid

Initiative’s goal to educate undergraduates about humanitarian crises the best way to teach students.

Just giving statistics doesn’t penetrate students’ hearts the same way reading the memoir of a crisis survivor can.”

One Fairfield University student attending the conference, Sara Hoegen, talked about a course she took on Etruscan and Roman art and archaeology.

“It dealt with issues of human slavery and human trafficking. It was interesting to see how these problems began,” Hoegen told CNS. She became involved in JUHAN initiative after the Haiti earthquake directly affected family friends.

Courses take an interdisciplinary approach to humanitarian work, according to Father Ryscavage.

“We combined those classes with field trips to get out and see the devastation of tornadoes in Joplin (Mo.), earthquakes in Nicaragua, or the hurricane in New Orleans.”

The initiative recently received a $300,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation to do a methodology to codify learning objectives for an assessment.

“We managed to pull it off, and we’ve been very happy.

Now our task is really to make the whole model more global,” Father Ryscavage said.

The theme of the conference

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July 6, 2012

Father Almeida passes away

quality time — Families gathered for a full day of activities at the Family Rosary Retreat, which included Eucharistic adoration, a Mission Rosary, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and a Vigil Mass.

The entire day was offered in English and Spanish at Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton, sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton. It was the first of many events celebrating the 70th anniversary of Family Rosary, founded by Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton.

Family Rosary: 70 years of spreading the Gospel Message continued from page one

very day, Bishop George W. Coleman presided over a gathering of clergy and appointed lay persons at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence for Retired Priests in Fall River, to open the Trial of the holy life, the heroic practice of virtue and reputation for holiness of Father Peyton, who is buried in Easton, within the Diocese of Fall River.

Father Peyton’s life and actions are still being examined by the Vatican for evidence for his canonization. In June of 2011, a possible miracle attributed to Father Peyton’s intercession was reviewed by a tribunal in Albany, N.Y., after which the findings were sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for its review.

According to Holy Cross Family Ministries headquartered in Easton, another purported miracle was reviewed in Kampala, Uganda, and those findings were sent to Rome.

“The details of these possible medical miracles cannot be shared at this point in the process, however we can share that both were significant healings,” said Father Phalen. “The possible miracle reviewed in Albany was that of a man in his 60s who was admitted to the hospital with life-threatening multiple organ failure. His family prayed to Father Peyton and they strongly felt that he was healed through intercessory prayer. The medical community has offered information to support this belief.

“The possible medical miracle in Uganda was that of a mother and her son who were both sick, were tested for HIV, and both were found to be positive. The mother and local Holy Cross priests began to pray and a short time later they were retested and results for both were

negative for HIV.” HCFM announced in a release that the cause continues to advance when recently a Decree of Juridic Validity was granted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. This decree confirms the validity of the documentation and witness testimonies submitted by the diocesan inquiries and is an important and necessary step in the process to be designated Venerable, the next stage in the sainthood process.

Family Rosary carries on its mission in 15 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, East Africa, France, Haiti, India, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, the U.S., Uruguay, and West Africa. In 2011, it conducted more than 130 programs that included parish missions, retreats, days of reflection and presentations. According to HCFM, Father Peyton’s vision has touched the lives of 28 million people in 17 countries. The ministry continues to provide millions of free Rosaries, and conducts Rosary rallies. Through the Family Theater ministry, Father Peyton’s mission is carried on through inspiring radio and television broadcasts, movies, DVDs, billboards, and on the Internet, including a free mobile phone application with the daily Rosary and prayer of the day available at the HCFM website.

Father Peyton was first introduced to the Rosary when he was a lad growing up in County Mayo, Ireland. His father saw to it that the family prayed the Rosary together as a family each day. “Though poor, the Peytons were rich in faith,” said a HCFM statement.

Patrick Peyton emigrated to the United States and entered the Holy Cross seminary at the Uni-

versity of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. It was there when he was stricken with tuberculosis.

Gravely ill, he returned to the foundation laid down by his dad and turned to the Blessed Mother’s intercession by praying the Rosary. He made a miraculous recovery and “from that moment, he knew he was to be the one to carry out her apostolate, her ministry to bring families together for Rosary prayer, just as his family had done,” said Father Phalen.

The boy born into humble means eventually became friends with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, presidents, kings, popes and a pair of individuals who are, themselves, in the sainthood process, Blessed Pope John Paul II, and Blessed Mother Teresa. It wasn’t notoriety he sought, but rather, the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ. By any and all valid means.

Seventy years later, and 20 years after his death, Father Peyton’s mission is alive and well.

Faithful in and around the Diocese of Fall River are fortunate to have the Holy Cross Family Ministry headquarters in North Easton at 518 Washington Street.

There they can find the Father Peyton Center, a modern facility for viewing films, classes, seminars, and talks. It is also a place for daily Mass and private prayer in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary. There are also displays dedicated to Father Peyton’s life and mission and a scenic outdoor Rosary walk. Nearby, on the grounds of Stonehill College is his grave site.

For more information about Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton or any of the Holy Cross Family Ministry family members, visit www.hcfm.org.

continued from page one during the Korean Conflict. After his honorable discharge, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Ct. He went on to study at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md. and Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Albany, N.Y. He was ordained a priest for the Fall River Diocese on May 1, 1965 by Auxiliary Bishop James J. Gerrard in St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Father Almeida served as parochial vicar of St. Michael, St. Anthony of Padua, and Our Lady of the Angels parishes in Fall River; St. Anthony and Our Lady of Lourdes parishes in Taunton; Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford; and Sacred Heart Parish in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.

He was pastor of St. Elizabeth’s Parish in Edgartown from 1981 to 1988, when he became pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton. In May 1997 he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Swansea, where he served until retiring in 2001.

Father Almeida was also the Taunton area spiritual director for the Men of the Sacred Heart and chaplain for the Taunton area Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls.

Despite retiring from pastoral ministry, Father Almeida remained active in recent years, filling in at countless diocesan parishes and ministering to the military at Naval Station Newport, where he was contracted as the officiating Catholic priest at the Navy base’s Chapel of Hope.

“I don’t think there was one parish in the diocese he didn’t say Mass in,” Father Canuel said. “The day before he died he celebrated four Masses. He always carried his vestments with him along with his stuffed dog, Max. The dog only had one eye and he brought him everywhere. I think one time he was at a Confirmation and he even brought the dog in to meet the bishop.”

Father Canuel said Father Almeida had just purchased plane tickets and was preparing for a trip to visit his Navy friends in Wisconsin next month.

One of those shipmates, George Wanish of Manitowoc, Wis., was stunned to hear about his friend’s passing.

“He was a wonderful and patriotic sailor and a wonderful friend,” Wanish said. “I spoke to him on the phone just two days before he died, and was looking forward to seeing him August 15, when he would have presided at a Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Hope, located about 30 miles from our house.”

Wanish fondly noted that because he and Father Almeida shared the name George with a third shipmate aboard the USS

Midway, the future priest always referred to himself as “Big Al” to avoid confusion.

“He always signed his Christmas cards to us as Father ‘Big Al,’” Wanish said.

As part of a series published in The Anchor for the Year For Priests, the Navy veteran reflected on how a visit to Lourdes, France on Dec. 29, 1952 inspired his vocation and a lifelong devotion to the Blessed Mother.

“During my privacy in prayer, I felt Our Lady asking me to enter the priesthood, as I looked at her beautiful statue in the grotto,” Father Almeida wrote. “I didn’t think I was worthy of such a calling. As I contemplated the calling from Our Blessed Mother, however, I couldn’t refuse her request. She had said ‘yes’ to the Archangel Gabriel when she was asked to become the mother of Jesus, so I consented to her calling with great humility.”

Soon after being discharged, Father Almeida would enter the seminary.

“I went back to Lourdes in 2002 to give gratitude to Mary for my calling,” he wrote. “I was the main celebrant at the grotto on Apr. 13, 2002 at the 7:30 Mass, almost 50 years to the day I was called to the priesthood … what a jubilee!”

Tangible evidence of Father Almeida’s devotion to the Blessed Mother remains behind the Cardinal Medeiros Residence, where statues of Our Lady of Fatima and the three shepherd children she appeared to in Portugal are the center piece of a backyard garden.

Besides his brother priests, Father Almeida is survived by two sisters, Marjorie Sears of Norton and Rosemary Gabel of Florida, and a brother, James S. Almeida of Attleboro.

Father Canuel said family was important to Father Almeida and he would get together with his siblings for dinner on a monthly basis.

Sadly, one of their favorite stops was the Grist Mill Restaurant in Seekonk, which was destroyed in a fire June 24.

“I remember him telling me they needed to find another restaurant to go to,” Father Canuel said. “He was always active and lived life to the fullest everyday.”

A wake was held at Holy Ghost Church in Attleboro on July 2 and a Mass of Christian burial was celebrated by Bishop George W. Coleman on July 3 at Holy Ghost Church, with burial following at St. John’s Cemetery in Attleboro.

In lieu of flowers and for those wishing to remember Father Almeida in a special way, memorial contributions may be made to Make A Wish Foundation, Massachusetts/Rhode Island Chapter, One Bulfinch Place, 2nd Floor, Boston, Mass. 02114.

July 6, 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.

19

The Anchor Father Pavone allowed to minister outside diocese

AMARILLO, Texas (CNS) — A Vatican decree allows ProLife activist Father Frank Pavone to minister outside the Diocese of Amarillo, where he was incardinated in 2005, but he still must obtain specific permission to do so from Amarillo Bishop Patrick J. Zurek. The decree from the Congregation of the Clergy was dated May 18 and became public about a month later.

Bishop Zurek said in a statement that the congregation “has sustained Father Frank A. Pavone’s appeal of his suspension from ministry outside the Diocese of Amarillo. As a gesture of good will, I will grant permission to him in individual cases, based upon their merits, to participate in Pro-Life events with the provision that he and I must be in agreement beforehand as to his role and function,” the bishop added. The priest, who is national director of Priests for Life, also must continue his ministry as chaplain to the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, a religious order in Channing. He was appointed chaplain by the bishop.

A statement on the Priests for Life website, said the group was “happy to announce that the Vatican has upheld Father Frank Pavone’s appeal and has declared that he is not now nor has ever been suspended. Father Pavone remains a priest in good standing all over the world.” Last September, Bishop Zurek suspended the priest from ministry outside the diocese, saying he was needed for work in Texas and remained a priest in good standing in the Amarillo Diocese.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks July 7 Rev. James E. Lynch, Founder, St. Joan of Arc, Orleans, 1965 July 8 Rev. Edward Murphy, Pastor, St. Mary, Fall River, 1887 Msgr. Patrick J. O’Neill, Retired Pastor, St. Julie Billiart, North Dartmouth, 1995 July 10 Rev. Pie Marie Berard, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1938 Rev. Maurice E. Parent, Assistant, St. Michael, Swansea, 1972 Rev. John E. Morris, M.M., Retired Maryknoll Missioner, Former Assistant, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1987 Rev. Theodore M. Morin, M.S., La Salette Shrine, North Attleboro, 1987 July 12 Most Rev. Joseph P. Delaney, Bishop of Fort Worth, Texas, 2005 July 13 Rev. Arthur P. Deneault, M.S., La Salette Father, 1979

Around the Diocese 7/7

A Day with Mary will be held tomorrow 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.

7/10

Father Flavio Gillio will be presenting a series of nine lectures developing the Scriptural themes of “Communion, Alienation and Reconciliation.” The weekly lectures will be given on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and repeated at 7 p.m. in the parish center of Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster. The series will begin on July 10. On Thursday evenings Father Flavio will also present a series of six films dealing with the current situation in the Middle East. Father Flavio has taught Scripture and Hebrew for years and has also been an official tour guide in Israel. The presentations are free and all are welcome. For more information call 508-385-3252.

7/10

The Catholic Cancer Support Group at Our Lady of Victory Parish, 230 South Main Street in Centerville, will hold its next monthly meeting on July 10 at 8 p.m. with a social gathering.

Please note special time because of parish mission series. Join the group for a fun time with conversation, support and sharing of information. The support group is faith-based, but all are welcome: cancer patients, survivors, family and friends. Since the parish is running a mission series, there will not be a Mass, but attendees are welcome to attend the mission gathering which starts at 7 p.m. in the church. For more information contact Mary Lees at 508-771-1106 or the parish office at 508-775-5744.

7/13

Bishop George W. Coleman invites all 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

International Irish Tenor, Mark Forrest will be performing at Corpus Christi Parish, 324 Quaker Meetinghouse Road, East Sandwich, on July 14, 7 to 9 p.m. The acclaimed Irish Tenor, who has sung for Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa, will present an inspirational concert. For tickets and more information call 508-888-2740.

7/17

The Daughters of Isabella Hyacinth Circle will be holding its annual cookout on July 17 at the Holy Name of the Sacred Heart Parish grounds in New Bedford. The cookout will begin at 6 p.m. and there will be a meeting to follow. In case of bad weather the event will be held indoors at the parish center. If you are planning to attend call 508994-7311 so that food can be prepared. Any Catholic woman who has a desire to serve the Lord and their community while enjoying fellowship and fun is encouraged to join. For more information call 508-993-5085.

7/19

The Summer Catholic Reflections speaker series continues at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee on July 19 at 7 p.m. with Father Daniel Gerard Groody, CSC, who will speak on “One Border, One Body: Immigration and the Eucharist.” This talk will look at the integral connection between migration and the Eucharist. Father Groody is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and is currently an associate professor in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame. The series is sponsored by St. Anthony’s Parish, East Falmouth; Our Lady of Victory Parish, Centerville; and Christ the King Parish, Mashpee. For more information visit www.christthekingparish.com.

7/21

The Knights of Columbus Council No. 14947 of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North DIghton is hosting its second annual Chili Cookoff fund-raiser on July 21. It is seeking contestants to make the event as big and diverse as possible. For more information about entering, visit www.saintnicholasofmyra.org or call 508822-1425.

20

The Anchor

July 6, 2012

Pope approves Archbishop Sheen’s heroic virtues, step toward sainthood

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has approved the heroic virtues of U.S. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the Vatican announced June 28, clearing the way for the advancement of his sainthood cause.

Among the others honored in decrees announced the same day were first prelate of Opus Dei, the Canadian and Irish-American founders of two orders of religious women, a priest murdered by the Sicilian Mafia, and

154 martyrs killed during the Spanish Civil War. Archbishop Sheen heroically lived Christian virtues and should be considered “venerable,” said a decree issued by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and signed by Pope Benedict.

Before the archbishop can be beatified, the Vatican must recognize that a miracle has occurred through his intercession.

The decree came just more than 13 months after Bishop

Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., presented Pope Benedict with two thick volumes about the life of Archbishop Sheen, whose home diocese was Peoria.

Archbishop Sheen, who was born in Illinois in 1895 and died in New York in 1979, was an Emmy-winning televangelist.

His program, “Life is Worth Living,” aired in the United States from 1951 to 1957.

Last September, a tribunal of inquiry was sworn in to inves-

tigate the allegedly miraculous healing of a newborn whose parents had prayed to the archbishop’s intercession.

The Vatican also announced papal decrees approving the beatification of 158 men and women, including 156 martyrs, all but two of them Spaniards, killed during their country’s 1936-39 Civil War. Father Giuseppe Puglisi, a Sicilian priest and activist against organized crime who was killed by the Mafia in 1993, was another of the martyrs recognized.

Martyrs do not need a miracle attributed to their intercession in order to be beatified. However, miracles must be recognized by the Vatican in order for martyrs to be canonized.

Other decrees recognized the heroic virtues of eight men and women, including: — Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, the first prelate of Opus Dei. — Mother Marie-Josephte Fitzbach, founder of the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec.

— Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, the Irish-born founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, who died in New York state in 1984.

heroic virtues — U.S. Archbishop Fulton Sheen is pictured in an undated file photo. Pope Benedict XVI has approved the heroic virtues of Archbishop Sheen, declaring him “venerable” and clearing the way for the advancement of his sainthood cause. As a priest, he preached on the popular “The Catholic Hour” radio program and went on to become an Emmy-winning televangelist. (CNS photo/courtesy of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States)