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VOL. 50, NO. 27 • Friday, July 7, 2006

FALLRiVii~·

~ORSOUlHEAsT~ CAPECOD & THE lSLANtlS

FALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year I,

St. Anne's Church to celebrate centennial ofdl!dication July 9 By DEACON JAMES N.

DUNBAR

FALL RIVER - Standing before the awesome granite and marble church that is St. Anne's in this old mill city, one might easily imagine he or she were standing before one the great cathedral churches of Europe. . Its rounded arches, shallow exterior buttresses, carved wooden ceilings, domes, mini-domes and Corinthian columns contain elements of the Romanesque and Byzantine styles that continue to interest and draw pilgrims across the world. Visitors are literally welcomed by St. Aline, the mother of the Blessed VIrgin Mary, after whom the Church is named. Her statue at the top of the fa~ade over the main entrance is nine-and-a-half-feet tall and weighs 9,000 pounds. It is surrounded by the words "Ora pro nobis, " which in Latin means "pray for us." The letters D.O.M. also on the fa~ade stand for "Deo optimo maximo," which in Latin means 'To God, the greatest, the best." The words might well reflect the immense love and intrepid faith demonstrated by thousands ofpoor

immigrants from French Canada who literally poured into Fall River beginning in 1868 lured by the promise of "high wages" in the flourishing cotton mill industry. Their fascinating history and the vital and integral part they played not only in the religious, but cultural, domestic, industrial and political life and growth of the Fall River community from the 1860s to the present fills volumes. But how St. Anne's Parish, shepherded for most of its existence by Dominican priests and nuns, became the cradle of French Catholicism in the Diocese of Fall River, and how the beautiful house of worship designed by prominent Canadian architect Napoleon Bourassa, rose on the sacrifices of parishioners against all odds, constitute a story all its own. Drafts of two fme histories were offered with approval and good wishes by Father Marc R. Bergeron, pastor of St. Anne's, for which I am grateful. One is "A long History ofSaint Anne's Parish" writtenby Dominican Father Pierre E. Lachance in 1979. Tum to page 10 - Centennial -

MASS. GOVERNpR Mitt Romney, left, held a press conference June 28, with tr?ditional marriage supporters including Fall River Bishop George;IW. Coleman, center, and Worcester Bishop Robert McManus. (~hoto by Albert B. L'Etoile Jr., The Pilo~

Ro"ney joins religious, civic leallersurging passage I . of Marriage Amendment

GOV.

BOSTON - AweJ.mg with a Amendment, which would allow the broad array of religiow!, civic and voters of the Commonwealth to depolitical leaders, Gov. ~tt Romney termine the definition ofmarriage in urged the legislature ancl its leaders Massachusetts, were Cardinal Sean to bring the Protection qf Marriage P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., of Boston; Amendment to a ''fair vote" during Bishop George W. Coleman, ofFall the Constitutional Con~ention on River; Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester; Dr. Roberto Miranda, July 12. "It is the constitutiopal duty of Chairman, VoteOnMarriage.org; every legislator to give the Amend- Kris Mineau, president, Massachument an up or down votd during this setts Family Institute; as well as a legislative session," he s1id June 28. bi-partisan group of other Amend'The people have a ri~t to decide . ment supporters from government this issue, but they can dnly do so if and the private sector. the Legislature does its job." Also present to show their supStanding with Romney in support port for the initiative were State of the Protection of I: Marriage Tum to page 12 - Marriage II

Mass. bishops' statement on marriage -

page 12

Project R~chel helps heal those suffering the effects of abortion THE TWIN spires of St. Anne's Church have been reaching heavenward on the Fall River skyline for 100 years. This weekend the parish is celebrating the centennial of the dedication of the magnificent edifice. Celebration story on page 14. (Anchon'Gordon photo)

St. Anne's last Dominican priest recalls 'a monument to love' By DEACON JAMES N.

DUNBAR

FALL RIVER Confined to a bed at The Catholic Memorial Home, Dominican Father Pierre E. Lachance flashed a broad smile of recognition. "I'm not doing too well," he told me on a sunny day recently. "But then again, I turned 91 on

Dec. 30, 2005," he said, shrugging his shoulders and opening up the conversation. When I reminded hi~ that he was just nine years younger than St. Anne's Church building, in which he had spent much of his life, and which will mark its centennial on July 4, he managed

another grin. Anyone who had visited St. Anne's Shrine in her patron Church in the 44 years from 1958 until 2002 would still easily have recognized the tall, slim priest who heard confessions for hours on end, led the faithful at Tum to page 15 - Monument

GOR~ON STA~F

MIKE ANCHOR

NORTH DARTMOUTH Project Rachel was e'ktabli~hed in the Fall River diotese in the mid 1990s as an oQtreach to tho s e . 1 suffering ---:--" from t h e ' ~n tragedy and pain of abortio~. It is one of many ministries funded by generous donations to the Catholic Charities Appeal. Diocesan IIPro-Life Apostolate Director Marian Desrosiers said thi~ Appeal makes the work of Project Rachel possi91e.· I

"I k h d·f:& t rna es a uge 1 lerence in the ministry and it allows us to reach out to those in need. We're grateful to all those who contribute and support the annual Appeal as well as Bishop George <It W . Coleman for his strong support of.Project Rachel," she said. Desrosiers has been involved with Project Rachel since its inception and feels it continues to have a significant impact. "It's a wonderful ministry in that it shows our faith and its Tum to page 18 - Project Rachel

- A clton

Friday, July 7,2006

NEWS FROM, THE VATICAN Vatican asks Africans to prepare; for synod by discussing their faith VATICAN CITY -Catholics in Africa are being asked to spend the next two years discussing how their faith does or could contribute to reconciliation, justice and peace. In a series oflocal, national and regional gatherings, African Catholics are being aSked to discuss 32 questions related tothe status of their faith communities and their national situations in preparation for a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa. While a date for the synod has not been set, African Catholics have been asked to respond to the questionnain~ by October 2008, making it unlikely the synod would be held before 2009. The questions are contained in the "lineamenta" or outline for the synod, which was released recently at the Vatican. The first special synod for Africa was held at the Vatican in the spring of 1994 and focused, in large part, on the jnternal life of the Church, particularly the liturgy and the training and lifestyles of Church personnel. Citing new challenges and new growth in the African Church, Pope John Paul II announced in 2004 his intention to convoke a second synod. Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the decision. At a June 27 Vatican press conference, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments and a member of the synod preparatory council, said "a choice was rr~ade to focus on reconciliation, justice and peace because it is an important aspect of our lives as Christians." "Reconciliation, justice and peace in real life are interconnected," he said. The only place peace exists without reconciliation and justice, he added, is "in the cemetery, among the massacred." The preparatory document asks Catholics to look specifically at how reconciliation, justice and peace can be achieved throughdialogue and collaboration with other Christians, Muslims and followers of traditional African religions. "There is no such thing as a 'Catholic peace,' 'Muslim peace' or 'traditional African religion peace,'" the cardinal said. "When

it rains, it rains on everyone, so we must collaborate." While there was some discussion before the 1994 synod about holding the assembly in Africa, Cardinal Arinze said African Church leaders have not raiseq the question again. If the synod were held in Africa, he said, the people in the host country would be happy, but the universal Church might pay less attention to it than if it were at the Vatican. Also, he said, "it is possible, but not probable" that the pope would attend the daily sessions ofa monthlong synod in Africa, as he does with synods held at the Vatican: Cardinal Arinze said since the 1994 synod there have been positive moves toward democracy, equality and conflict resolution in South Africa, Senegal,' Ghana, Malawi and Zambia. But, he said, "the painful situation of violence and even war in Somalia, the tragedy ofDarfur and the not yet totally resolved situation in the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and, to some extent, in the Great Lakes region are causes of concern." The preparatory document said that, in addition to the increasing growth of the Catholic Church in Africa and the expansion of its, educational and health services, the synod also would look, at obstacles to evangelization posed by government regimes, war and ethnic tensions, poverty and injustice, a lack of dialogue and intolerance. Synod members, it said, "will have to give serious thought to the proclamation of the Gospel at a time when events call for an active response, faithful to what the Holy Spirit is sayingto the Church family of God in Africa in these decisive hours of history." Calling for "a fruitful, effective Christian witness in the world of politics and economy in Africa," the document emphasized the obligation of the Catholic Church to strengthen its school system in Africa and to provide the necessary religious and moral formation African laity will need to transform their countries. The document also decried c,ontinuing discrimination against women in many African countries.,

DURING A recent meeting at the Vatican, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo smiles as Pope Benedict XVI holds a copy of a law she signed abolisning the death penalty in the Philippines. (eNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)

Pope tells Philippine president 'well done' for outlawing death penalty By CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY - "Well done," Pope Benedict XVI told Philippine', President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she handed him a copy of the law she recently signed outlawing the death penalty in the Philippines. At the end of a June 26 meeting with the pope, Arroyo gave the pope a statue of Our Lady of Guidance and a copy of the law in a leather case, telling him, "These are two expressions of the faith of the Filipino people." After the pope gave her some medals, she spent a couple of moments digging in her purse before pulling out her rosary and asking Pope Benedict to bless it. Earlier in Manila, Philippines, members of the opposition parties filed an impeachment complaint against Arroyo in the House of Representatives, alleging that she has condoned political killings and violated the constitution to silence dissent. She and her supporters deny the charges. The pope and Arroyo spent about 20 minutes speaking pri'vately before the president presented the members ofher'entourage, including her son, daughterin-law and baby granddaughter. A Vatican statement on the meeting said the president discussed with the pope the abolition of the death penalty, a bill she signed June 24 before leaving for Rome. In addition to banning capital sentences in the future, the law changes the death sentences of about 1,000 prisoners to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Signing the bill, Arroyo said,

~'We celebrate life in its most meaningful way, by gathering our institutions together to repeal the death penalty law." She also thanked Congress for "expressing the moral and spiritual force" of the Filipino people. The Vatican statement said the pope and Arroyo also discussed efforts under way to reform the Philippine Constitution, "paying special attention to the poorest sectors of the population," to Christian-Muslim dialogue in the country and to efforts to reflect Christian values in the nation's laws. After Pope Benedict welcomed

Arroyo into the papal library, he asked her if she had ever been there previously. "Three times," she responded: once as a teen-ager in 1964 when her father, President Diosdado Macapagal, met Pope Paul VI; during her 1998-200 I term as vice president of the Philippines; and in 2003 as president. After her meeting with the pope, she spent about half an hour meeting with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, and then went into St. Peter's Basilica to pray in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and at the tomb of Pope John Paul II.

Pope says new liturgical music need not ignore older pieces VATiCAN CITY (CNS)The latest musical compositions of the 89-year-old former director of the Sistine Chapel Choir demonstrate how new liturgical music can be created without ignoring the centuries of Church music that came before it, Pope Benedict XVI said. In the Sistine Chapel, Msgr. Domenico Bartolucci, who directed the Sistine choir from 1956 to 1997, recently offered Pope Benedict and a select few a taste of his music and the music of the 16th-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The pieces included a special song of prayers for Pope Benedict that Msgr. Bartolucci composed shortly after the pope's election in 2005. After the performance, Pope Benedict said that having Palestrina's music and Msgr.

Bartolucci's music on the same program "confirms the conviction that sacred polyphony, particularly that of the so-called Roman school, is a heritage to preserve with care, to keep alive and to be made known." The entire Church should be able to hear that type of music, he said,'because it is part of the Church's "invaluable spiritual, artistic and cultural patrimony." Pope Benedict said, "An authentic updating of sacred music cannot take place except in the wake of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony." The pope said that in music, as in art and architecture, the Church promotes and supports "newexpressive means without denying the past - the history of the human spirit - which is also the story of its dialogue with God."

2006 II

Persecution without representation By DANIEL AVILA,

ESQ.

Has the pope issued an encyc'Hcal that blesses racial discrimination? Did the U.S. Catholic bishops release a pastoral letter applauding hate based on skin color? Or have the Massachusetts bishops been campaigning for white supremacy? . Well, no, but in the eyes of some people, the Church's support for traditional marriage is just as evil. In early June, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) accused backers of a federal marriage amendment of pushing "bigotry - pure and simple" because the amendment would limit marriage to a man and a woman. Supporters of the amendment included the U.S. Catholic bishops. In late June, the Religious Coalition for Marriage released an "open let~ ter" charging the Massachusetts Catholic bishops with "promoting prejudice" by campaigning for a similar amendment at the state level. Words hi:lVe consequences. Once advocates for same-sex marriage begin branding supporters of traditional marriage as bigots and haters, the more likely it becomes that government persecution will follow. In 2003, when creating a right to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, a divided Supreme Judicial Court mapped out how this persecution should proceed. In her majority opinion, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall cited several U.S. Supreme Court decisions dealing with racial discrimination which talked about using the power of the state to eradicate bias. This duty has been carried out in the racial context through a variety of ways. Private schools which discriminate on the basis of color have had their tax-exempt status· revoked. Businesses hav.e been heavily fined, forced to pay civil damages, or shut down. EmployDIOCESAN TRIBUNAL FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS Decree of 'Citation Since his present domicile is un: known, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite Kenneth W. Bowley Jr. to appear in person before the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River (887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on July 17,2006 at 2:30 PM to give his testimony regarding the question: IS THE GRANGRADE·BOWLEY MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDING TO CHURCHLAW? Anyone who has knowledge of the doniciIe of Kenneth W. Bowley Jr. 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 26, 2006. (Rev.) Paul F. Robinson, O. Carm.,

iC.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Denise D. Berube Ecclesiastical Notary

ees have been reprimanded, required to attend re-education programs, demoted or fIred. Government agencies have instituted intensive regulations dictating racial equality in housing, employment, social services, and a host of other contexts. The objective is to eliminate racial bias as an "intolerable evil." This approach to racial discrimination was dictated by' the vote of the people, through popularly enacted constitutional amend-

ments and civil rights legislation. The majority decided to regulate itself. That is the way

nority,' aided by jU~dges, ha's ta~en control of policy in the II marriage context. By equating what lone might call "marriage bias" with racial bias, the SJC laid the m-oundwork t: • !I lor persecutIOns to come. I In other words, the marriage doctrine of the Catholic Church, of other religions, of qther states and indeed' the federal government!! is to be treated in the Commonwealth as equal to a desire to harm Blacks, and !I thus must be regarded as an intolerable evil. rue law must discourage any preference for traditional marriage and penalize

democracy works. No such popular vote has preceded the redefinition of marriage. A mi-

those who act by it. Soon after the SJC marriage ruling, as if on cue, public school officials in Boston and Lexington informed teachers and parents about the new way the marriage debate is to be handled in the classroom for students. Teachers must promote same-sex marriage as a civic virtue, and parents must be denied any recourse. Teachers who object will be fired; parents who ask that their child not be i.ndoctrinated will be refused. Then state officials trained their sights on adoption services. Catholic agencies were told to assist adoptions by same-sex Tum to page J 5 - Persecution

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Kentucky woman meets Missouri priest "whose stem cells saved her life By JOHN BACCALA

until more than a year later. When Collins had a series of KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Like medical setbacks, the donation all priests, Father Ken Riley's mis- was postponed to July 11; 2003, sion is to save souls. Thanks to a when Father Riley underwent the decision he made years ago, he nearly seven-hour procedure at Georgetown University Hospital also saved a life. Father Riley, pastor at St. in Washington. "I was hooked up to a machine, Bernadette Parish in Kansas City, recently got to meet the woman and basically, it was like a blood he saved nearly three years ago donation," he said. "They put a by donating his adult stem cells. needle in one arm and it runs out The surprise meeting with Lee into three tubes. "It separates the stem cells, the " Ann Collins happened during the recent Adair County (Ky.) Relay plasma and the rest of the blood for Life rally. Before that, the two byproducts and I received two of them back in my other arm,'; the had only spoken by phone. Meeting Collins face to face was priest added. ''The stem cells went "delightful," Father Riley told The into a separate bag, and then a Catholic Key, newspaper of the courier took them to the hospital YOUNG PEOPLE participate in a dramatic presentation at the High School Youth ConferDiocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. where the recipient is." ence at Franciscan Univ~r~ity in Steubenville, Ohio, in mid-June. Nearly 1,000 teen-agers With the stem-cell debate ragThree years ago Collins had from across the country took part in the recent three-day experience. (CNS photo/Mary leukemia and her doctors were ing, Father Riley said he wanted Francisca~ University) Claire Curtis, to clear up misconceptions about looking for stem-cell donors. Father Riley, already in the stem-cell research and the CathoHeart of America Bone Marrow lie Church's position on the issue. "Catholics are not anti-stem Registry's databank, was a potential match. In 1996, the priest do- cell," he said. "It makes for a good nated bone marrow to an Indiana sound bite on the news, but nothman, but the man died a few ingcoul4 be further from the truth. SPARTA, Tenn. (CNS) ---.: Following an old fam- raising,'; Father Schmit said. "I guess it was the start "Catholics are very much for months later. ily tradition, on Father Fred Schmit's first birthday of computerized fund raising." Father Riley's inspiration for stem-cell research and the treatHe later helped found the Catholic Fund Raisers his grandparents, looking fOf a sign of what the fubecoming a donor came from his ment options developed from Association, now known as the National Catholic ture might hold, placed several items representing own father, who had to have a kid- adult stem cells, placenta blood, Development Conference. "I had the privilege of various careers on one side. of the room and their umbilical-cord blood," Father ney and pancreas transplant bechairing the first meeting," he said. other. infant grandson on the cause of diabetes, and from Riley added. In 1965, Father Schmit moved to Rome to serve He crawled across the room, and the first thing ''The only time the Church is Tommy Eberle, a CathQlic school as "treasurer 'general' for the Salvatorians. "When I bdok, said Father Schmit. he picked up was a prayer second-grader he knew who had anti-stem cell is when embryonic . Just to make sure, they tried" " left for Rome we had eight semistem cells are used because we leukemia. naries with 1,000 students," he the process again. "The seqond "We"held a bone marrow drive believe that is a human life and all said. time I picked up a dollar bill," His job was to raise several for (Tommy) and I was one of the human life has dignity," he said. million dollars a year to help pay he said. : For his part, Father Riley takes donors to get on the registry," Fafor the operation of the seminarFather Schmit's destiny :was no credit for being a lifesaver, sayther Riley said. "I spent the day ies. set. Many of his 60 years ~s a there holding other people's hands ing that making a decision like In tIle early I990s, nearing repriest have been spent in chlu-ge who were less-than-liking the that was a no-brainer. tirement, he returned to the of fund raising for his order; the "If there's something I can do needle prick for a blood donation." United States and worked in parHe wasn't a match for Torniny, to help somebody else, then I want Society of the Divine Savior, ishes in Wisconsin and Virginia. but he did match the Indiana man. to do it," he said. "Let's not dilly- also known as the Salvatorians. In 1997, his order asked him Thus in his work the money ~et , Afterchis father's experience, dally; if this is something I am the prayer book. : go to St. Thomas Aquinas to ''I'm a big organ donation guru," able to do, let's do it:" Church in Cookeville to help out Although he was in admihisCollins is obviously thankful Father Riley said. "I keep telling for five months. By the time he for the decision Father Riley made tration for his order for much of people this is important." was scheduled to return to Wishis career, Father Schmit's most Father Riley is a big fan of the and prays others will make the consin and retirement, Father rewarding assignment has been bumper sticker that says, "Don't same decision. Schmit said, "I had fallen in love . as a parish priest, he told the Ten"If more people would go out take your organs to heaven, heaven with Tennessee and I wanted to nessee Register, newspaper of and register for these organ donaknows we need them here." stay here." the Nashville diocese. . In the spring of 2003, Father tions and stem-cell drives, it's When he first came to St. An"You see tangibly the eviRiley agreed to donate to Collins, amazing the difference you can drew, it had 40 families and was of what you've done,'~ he dence make," she said. although he didn't know her name served by the Salvatorian priests said of his work in parishes, 'the assigned to Cookeville, Father last eight years at St. Andrew Parish in Sparta. "You',ve SALVATORIAN FATHER Fred Schmit said. Today there are 125 brought them back, not only! to Schmit, 86, celebrates Mass at Sf: families and room to grow, with Church, but to an understanding Andrew Church in Sparta, Tenn., a new church that seats 300 of wl:tat their life's purpose is." marking the 60th anniversary of his people. Father Schmit deflected credit Family, friends and parishioordination as a priest. (CNS photo/ for the parish's growth. "I don't ners at St. Andrew gathered at do it; it's the Holy Spirit who does the church recently to help Fa- Andy Telli, Tennessee Registery it," ~e said. "I'm just here as the ther Schmit mark the 60th annimeans to furnish people with the opportunity." versary of his ordination as a priest. Father Schmit, who turned 86 today, has no plans Ordained June 11, 1946, at what is now the Ba. silica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate to retire. At his age, "there's no point in retiring," he said. Conception in Washington, Father Schmit said he "was destined to be a teacher and had prepared "I could never have the satisfying life in retirement myself for a teaching career." Instead, the that 1 have here. I wouldjust wither if I retired." He is loqking forward to continuing his service Salvatorians named him assistant director of the order's publishing department, which was its fund- to the people of St. Andrew, as long as he can find FATHER KEN Riley is pictured with Lee Ann Collins at a re- taising arm. time for his favorite pastime, golf. cent Rally for Ufe Kentucky. Three years ago the Kansas City, "My ambition is to shoot my age," Father Schmit , By 1953, he was named executive director of the t)t10. pastor donated his adult stem cells to aid Collins in her battle publishing department. "We had the very first, full- said. "I have two options, either improve my game -with leukemia. (CNS photo/courtesy of The Catholic Key) scale computer network dedicated, solely to fund or live to be 100." CATHOLI<: NEWS SERVICE

Money meets prayer in pri"est's life, but parishioners have his heart

Friday, July 7, 2006

,THE INTERNATIONAL .CHURCH . Catholic~11 can get indulgence for . praying for families'' in early July. . I VATICAN CITY (<itNS) - To encourage CathoUcs t~ attend the Fifth World Meeting ~f Families in Valencia, Spain, arid to recite , prayers with their farr{ilies, Pope Benedict XVI is offering a special spiritualgift, the Vatican said. "The gift ofa pleqary indulgence" will be given tq those who participate in the Jul)\: 1-9 meeting in Spain or who gather their own families together ill early July to pray for families, the Vatican announced June 27. i: An indulgence is a remission of the temporal puniShment deI. • served for sins. i In order to receive, the indulgence, Catholics must attend the meeting in Spain, go: to confession, receive the Eucharist and offer prayers for the intentions of' the pope. If they cannot go td Spain, the A LARGE cross, designed to guide pilgrims, is pictured next to the City of the Arts and the decree said, "they will obtain the Sciences center in Valencia; Spain. Pope Benedict XVI will visit Valencia Saturday and Sun- same plenary indulg~nce under day for the Fifth World Meeting of Families. (CNS photo/Heino Kalis, Reuters) the same conditions,", but rather

Spanish bishops. meet in special assembly, target four prioritie~ By LYNN WEHNES . CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Spain's unity has increasingly been debated following a June 18 . 'MADRID, Spain - For the referendum in Catalonia that granted . first time in 40 years, Spain's bish- more autonomy to the region. In a late June press conference, op~ met in a special assembly and targeted four priorities for the Father Martinez said the goal of nation's Catholics.. the meeting was to "make a serDuring the recent, two-day ous analysis of the political, culmeeting, the bishops focused on tural and religious situatioI) in . Christian initiation, SUl!day as a Spain." "We've always said the relakey element in Christian identity, marriage and family, and encour- tionship" between the Church and aging well-trained laypeople in the government "is formally corpublic life. The bishops also rect," Father Martinez said, "but agreed to issue a "pastoral in~truc there are many, many points on tion," although they did not which we cannot be in agreement." specify a date for it. "We have some gravely unjust At a press conference, Father Juan Martinez Camino, secretary- laws," Fath~r Martinez added. In just two years, the Spanish general and spokesman for the bishops' conference,' acknowl- government has made divorce edged the bishops believe they quicker _and easier for couples, heed to act' slowly but said that . reduced the role of Catholic edu"this plenary is going to have its cation in public schools and become the first European country consequences." . The bishops said they object to to allow homosexual people to the government's plan to replace marry and adopt children. BelReligious Education with "citi- gium and the Netherlands allow zenry education" classes "among same-sex marriages, while some other things because it sets out a other European states have detype of moral education that has cided to recognize or aredebatnot been chosen by parents," he ing recognizing civil unions besaid, adding that it is up to par- tween homosexual couples. Legislation aimed at relaxing ents to decide what moral prinabortion laws is also proposed, and ciples their 'children will follow. Father Martinez said that poten- the government gave the green tial legislation regarding abortion light for embryonic stem-cell reand euthanasia "leaves human life search in 2005, making Spain one 'totallyunprotected" and, when of a few European countries to such laws exist, doctors and oth- authoriz~ such experiments. The bishops' meeting comes as ers "should not obey these laws." While the bishops decided not Spain prepares to receive Pope to issue a document calling for Benedict XVI in Valencia July 8Spain to stay unified, they did dis- . 9 for the Fifth World Meeting of cuss the question and "the moral Families, although apart from orimplications" involved in a pos- ganizational matters the pope's sible breakup of the country, Fa- visit was not discussed, said Father Martinez. . ther Martinez said.

than going to the meeting they are to "recite as a family the Our Father, the creed and other devoted prayers" asking God to strengthen their families. Both those in Spain and those . remaining at home are to promise to "dedicate themselves generously to conforming their families ... to the holy rule of the Gospel," said the decree, which was signed by U:S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court responsible for regulations governing indulgences.

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Marital rights and responsibilities Acting on last week's editorial on the Protection of Maniage Amendment, _one subscriber E-mailed his state representative. In a succinct and straightforward manner, he stated: "I hope that you will be supportive of the fact that maniage is between am~ and woman. Secondly, it is my hope that you will not only permit the Protection of Maniage Amendment to go to a vote, butwill be supportive of placing this on the ballot. I would be greatly disappointed if the General Court uses deceptive tactics to take action to deny the placement o,fttris on the ballot." His state representative responded electronically a few hours later. "In my religious beliefs, I agree that it's trUe that maniage is between a man and a women. But this is not about our religious beliefs. It's about the Constitution of the Commonwealth which I have sworn to uphold. The Constitution protects minorities from the majority by enumemting our basic rights that cannot be voted away by the majority. The majority would and could take rights - away from many people it doesn't like. It has been deemed by the [Supreme Judicial Court] that the right to marry is a constitutional right that is common to all of our citizens regardless ofgender. I don't believe we have the right to vote on the constitutional rights of our fellow citizens. I also wonder what Jesus would make ofthis movementamong my fellow Catholics in his Church to take rights away from peo,ple. Ithink it would make him sad and he wouldn't want to have anything to do with it. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is what I believe." Unlike electJ:xl officials who send out vacuous form letters to keep all interested,constituents guessing where they stand on an issue, this legislatorcertainly deserves credit for candor. He also merits praise for taking his individual constituents' questions seriouslyand responding quickly and directly. But his reply betrays several fundamental misunderstandings about maniage, about rights, . about his constitutional duties, and aboutJesus' expectations and Catholic moral behavior. Moreover, those who have contacted their local legislators about this i~sue know that'this particular representative's misconceptions are not unique; many ofhis Beacon Hill colleagues share these confusions and cite versions of them as reasons for their current opposition or ambivalence toward the mar-riage amendment. . This is the n:ason why our reader forwarded to us a copy of this correspondence, hoping that:- as he and other subsqibers continue to contact their own legislators in preparation for the July 12 vote - this paper might provide adequaterejoindeJrS to help citizens to disabuse their senators and representatives ofthese specific misinterpretations, and to persuade them why they should vote to allow the marriage petition amendment to progress toward the 2008 ballot. We'll take the l(~gislator's assertions one-by-one. - First, he is mistaken about the foundational reason for maniage as a heterosexual institution. Maniage is not about religious belief, but biology. It's not merely the Bock of Genesis that tells us that man is created male and female, but oUr eyes and brains. For a benefit ofsociety as a whole, every culnire since the beginning -- even those who antedate Jews and Christians - has given special status to the committed union between a man and a woman and to the family that flows from that committed heterosexual union. To make maniage husband-less 01' wife-Iessis like making a woman female-less or a family person-less. Not only is it senseless, but it will confuse and hium individuals and societies. Second, Ma-ssachusetts citizens, gay or straight, have always had the right to marry. What thley have never had is the right to marry anyone they want. Citizens have been restricted, for example, from marrying one who is still wedded to another, or a minor, or their own son or daughter. Until the SJC by a one-vote majority invented it in 2003, no court,'legislature or governor - all sworn to uphold the state constitution- ever recognized a "right" or even a "permission" to marry someone ofthe same sex. Although the Massachusetts Constitution does not explicitly restrict maniage to a man and a woman, neither does it circumscribe it to two members ofthe human mce. The reason is because when -the Constitution was being penned and debated, everyone knew what maniage was; it would have been silly and superfluous to declare that you couldn't marry your horse, or your infant child or someone of the same-sex. Third, the only rights that cannot and should not be taken away are those that are "inalienable,." Rights createdby states and governments - for example, the righttodrive-路can and are taken away by those same authorities when deemed necessary. Same-sex mairiage is not an "inalienable" right: ifit were, then why would no other state in our nation, nor 99 percent ofthe coUntries in the world, nor the entirety of human history, recognize it as such? If, however, the ''right'' for people ofthe same sex to marrY each other comes from positive law, then it" Can be changed by positiye law, like acitizen initiative petition, oran overttimed court ruling, or other means. The constitution legislators swear to uphold provides these m~tns, Lastly, ifa kgislator is going to ask, ''What would Jesus do?" relative to this issue, he should recall that Jesus spoke clearly about what maniage is (cf. Mt 19). He taUght that in the beginning God made human persons male and female, not male and male orfemale and female. For this reason, he added, a man leaves his father and mother - not two fathers or two mothers - to cling, not to .whomever he wants, but to his wife. He stated furthermore that in maniage the two become one flesh, notjust in the physical contact ofsexualintercourse, but in the fusion of their flesh in a child, of which a homosexual union is naturally and obviously ilIlcapable. Finally, he said that what God has joined must never be rent asunder - and God has joined man and woman in maniage from the beginning. To believe in JesuS means to take seriously what he said and did. Jesus would not be "saddened" or ''want nothing to do with" his disciples' ''fighting to take away rights from pepple." If that were the case, then he would likewise be against his Church's fight to remove thejudicially-invented "right" to abortion, or the founding fathers' invented"'right" to own slaves, or the putative ''right'' of those in Oregon to kill themselves. Jesus obviously wants those who are truly his followers to fight against all of these pseudo-rights - including .the "right" of same-sex maniage路 in our Commonwealth - for through them, people hanD themselves and others, and n9t just in this world.

the living word

CHILDREN HOLD IMAGES OF OF

TIm SACRED HEART OF JESUS AS THEY WALK TO THE BASILICA

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE IN MEXICO CITY RECENTLY TO PRAY FOR PEACEFUL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. (CNS PHOTOffoMAS BRAVO, REUTERS)

"WE HAVE FIXED OUR HOPE ON THE LIVING GOD, WHO IS THE SAVIOR OR路ALL .MEN, ESpECIALLY OF BELIEVERS" (lTIMOTHY 4:10). .

Crucified love Jesus loved us, not because he . this famous "Sermon on the This past May, when Pope would benefit from that love;_ Mount," Jesus was teaching all Benedict XVI traveled to of us that we should .love in but only because of what it Poland, he held a special such a way that we expect would do for us. gathering with the youth in As Pope Benedict said, nothing in return. He was telling Krako,W, and one of the things crucified love describes the love us to love with a crucified love. he spoke about to the y~)Ung . of Christ who "is always Crucified love is purified of people was "crucified love." faithful, even when we are selfishness. It's a love that This address by the Holy Father lacking in faith ... ," and "who was a call and a challenge to the persists even when it is not constantly looks down on the returned, and even when it is youth to imitate the love of wounded heart of man and says: rejected. It's a love that endures Christ. I?ain and extends even to those _ 'I do not condefOlI1 you, go and Crucified love is the type of do not sin again'" (cf. love that our Lord had Jn 8:11). . for the world and for Our effort to imitate each'one of us. He loved the crucified love of us so much that he was Christ is measured by willing to die for us, to how well we love those be crucified for us. He whom we may not even loved the very particularly like people ,who were killing those who we find him. He died to save annoying or offensive,' even them. "From the those with whom we cross,'; the pope said, most disagree, and Jesus "extends his arms and who might cause the pain. It's a those who most dislike and even repeats for all eternity: '0 man, disrespect us. It is also measured love that's expressed through I give my life for you because I by how well we continue. to love the perseverance of selflove you. ", those who most need our love sacrifice and self-denial. It's a This "crucified love," which and commitment, even when love that'soot afraid to empty Christ showed on the cross, is a . they fail to love us in return. and exhaust itself. totally unselfish love. It gained As.we strive to condition our This is also the kind of love nothing for Christ, but every.hearts to have a crucified love, thing for us. It's the kind of love that the world desperately we can remember the words of needs. Most of us find it easy to .that our Lord spoke of when he the Holy Father to the young love those who love us. Somesaid, "You have heard that it people of Poland: "My friends, - . times,it doesn't even require' was said, you shall love your do not }Je afraid to lean on any effort to love the ones who neighbor and hate your enemy. 'love us. We-feel their love, and Christ! Long for Christ, as the But I say to you, love your foundation of your life! Enkindle we just instinctively love them enemies and pray for those who within you the desire to build in return. persecute you ... for if you love : . But, Jesus tells us that being your life on him and for him! those who love you, what Because no one who depends on a Christian requires more than recompense will you have? Do the crucified love of the Incarthat. It requires imitating him, not the tax collectors do the nate Word can ever lose." who loved even his enemies. same?" (Mt 5: 43-44,46). In

Friday, July 7, 2 0 0 6 . f a e

ancholS)

Thawing the frozen 'embryo myths A study funded by the Rand Corporation in 2002 determined that there are about 400,000 frozen human embryos being stored in the United States in fertility clinics. One of the chief arguments used to justify embryonic stem-cell research involves the claim that these embryos are "just going to be thrown away anyway," and therefore, that we should "get some good out of them." Perhaps Katie Couric put it most bluntly during one of her interviews in 200 I when she asked White House aide Karen Hughes this question: "Of course, many of these frozen embryos will be discarded because they won't be needed, so they'll be thrown in a dumpster anyway. Does it trouble President Bush that these things are being thrown away when they have the potential to save lives?" This widely repeated and se'du~tive argument has ensnared not only numerous commeptators and lawmakers, but also other Americans and many Catholics as well. It is worth considering

the hands of researchers who would like to harvest stem cells from them.. The second fallacy is that every embryo will be useful for providing stem cells. In the real world of laboratory science, it is often necessary to destroy 15 or 20 embryos before y.ou succeed in getting just one embryo'nic stemcell line. The process is inefficient. Hence from the 11,000 embryos mentioned earlier, one could reasonably expect just a few' hundred stem cellof these embryos are not <slated . lines. Thus the seemingly impressive number of to be thrown out; rather, "400,000 frozen embryos," according to the same Rand Corporation study, approxihides the real truth that the number of stem cell lines you mately 88 percent are being could expect to get is too small kept in storage for future to be of use in treating large family building. The actual segments of the population number of embryos that have been designated for disposal is who have various diseases. In quite small, only around 2.2 other words, vast numbers of embryos beyond those curpercent of the total. The fraction designated for rerently frozen would still be search is also quite small, required to treat d\seases, if it ever, in fact, becomes possible about 2.8 percent. Of the original 400,000 frozen to treat human diseases in the embryos, therefore, only future with embryonic stem perhaps 11,000 would actually. cells. The push to strip-mine be available for destruction at embryos that are stored in the the various fallacies and falsehoods embedded in this argument. , The first fallacy is the idea that most of the currently frozen embryos have been earmarked for destruction. In point of fact, the vast majority

Youth is not wasted on the Youk "You want me to play left At the dawn of 50 years old, But my favorites thro'ugh the field? Sure I will. and after having been a Red Sox . years all have something in "You want me to paint the fan for more than 40 of those, I common ,-- a love for the game, Green Monster? Sure I will. still have my "favorite" Red Sox an Tedy Bruschi attitude of full "You want me to bat first? tilt-full time, and the drive to players. Sure I will. I figured some day I would succeed no matter what the "You want me to bat sixth? grow up and just watch baseball obstacles. None of the afore mentioned' Sure I will. for relaxation and entertainment '''You want me to make the -wrong. favorites can top Kevin Youkilis bats? Sure I will." Through the years, my in any of these attributes. Kevin Youkilis doesn't have favorites have not usually been For me, Youk is this season's movie star looks. In fact, the club superstars. I've seen a dozen or so In the 60s it was people that look like George "the Boomer" Youk. In Orlando recently, Scott and a young kid I had to check twice to named Tony "c" make sure the Sox were • Conigliaro. . up north because I was A decade later I sure the taxi driver who enjoyed watching Rick picked us up at the airport Burleson and Bernie· was Youk. Carbo. Most likely, Kevin Many of the 80s Youkilis will never be called teams were star-studded, but my . Red Sox's MVP up to now. upon to promote a Lexus or a favorites were guys like Rich Drafted in 2001, Youk has . Gedman, Butch Hobson, and played for teams like the Lowell Cadillac. Maybe someday he'll be a spokesman for fishing lures our own Remdawg, Jerry Remy. Spinners, the Augusta Green or Coney Island hot dogs, but Lou Merloni and a young Jackets, the Sarasota Reds, the that's what Youk is - a downTrenton Thunder, the Portland Trot Nixon ranked high on my list of favorites in the 90s. And Seadogs, and the Pawtucket Red to-earth, roll-up-your sleeves, do-anything-you-want kind of in the new millennium, guys like Sox. guy. Bill Mueller and Jason Varitek "You want me to come to At the halfway point of the made the all-Jolivet favorite Boston? Sure I will. season, all Youk has done is team. "You want me to go back to drive in big runs, scorch big hits, Pawtucket? Sure I will. And as far as the historical and make outstanding plays at "You want me to come to .Sox go, Johnny Pesky has to be any position he plays. All that my all-time favorite. Boston? Sure I will. for less than $350,000 - a Don't get me wrong. It's a ",You want me to go back to bargain in any sport. Pawtucket? Sure I will." pleasure to watch players like Show me a team with 25 Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, . That scene repeated itself Youks, and I'll show you a team Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Manny five times last season. Not a no one would want to play. Ramirez, and the best Sox complaint from the Youk. Teams have a tough enough time clutch hitter of all time, Big "You want me to play third? facing just one Youkilis. Papi. And how I would have Sure I will. Comments are welcome at loved to have seen Ted Williams "You want me to play first? .davejolivet@anchornews.org. play. ~ure I will.

· . b IS ut t ~ opemng deep- f reeze salvo of a broader effort to I produce many more aoomed embryonic humans ih Petri dishes for research plurposes. Canada, for example, recently announced a new poiicy that will permit research hot only I on embryos taken out of the deep-freeze, but alsoIon freshly prepared, ne~er frozen, in-vitro fertilization ¢mbryos. Similar experimentation using fresh human embryos is also legal in a number of states throughout the Unitea States, than as long as private, ra~her I government funds. areI used to payor f the expenmepts. The third fallacy <l0ncerns the idea that when embryos will be "thrown out" I,by somebody and are going to "die anyway," that sdmehow gives others carte blJnche to I destroy those embryos for research. In point of fact, the unethical behavior of others can never condone irttmorality on our part. Somebody's imminent death, mor~over, does not create a license for us to subject them to let}tal forms of experimentation. Organs, I for example, may not be forcibly taken out of Ideath-row inmates merely because such prisoners are going to "die I anyway." The language of Katie Couric sets a misleading tone for the discussidn, by I . th at emb ryos suggestmg are mere objects, "thingsi' for our manipulation, ultimaiely little more than dumpster-~ound material. Representative Chris Smith, on the other h~nd, sets a more proper tone when he observes that it is, " . .II' highly offensive,. insensitive] and inhumane to label human embryos as excess orl!throwI away or spare." To put it simply: h~man beings are never disppsable, whether in the form of I a zygote, an embryo, a fetus, a neonate, an infant, a thild, an II adolescent, a teen-ager, an . I . adult, or a 90-year-ol~ woman. Each of us exists as al remarkable biological contiquum that extends from conception until death. Our fundamental and unique value is neverlldetermined or diminished by our stage of development! Dr. Alfred Bongiovanni df the !

University of Pennsylvania once testified at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in these words: "I am no more prepared to say that these early stages represent an incomplete human being than I would be to say that the child' prior to the dramatic effects of puberty is not a human being." As fellow human beings, human embryos ought never to be the subjects of deathdealing experiments aimed only at benefiting others. The violations here are grave enough that Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family in Rome, recently stressed how the automatic excommunication that happens when a Catholic k!,lOwingly and freely chooses an abortion should apply equally to a researcher involved in destructive embryonic research. The cardinal was quoted as saying, "To destroy the embryo is equivalent to an abortion, and the excommunication applies to the woman, the doctors, [and] the researchers who eliminate embryos." An excommunication is the heaviest spiritual sanction the Church can render. As long as it is in force, it bars the excommunicated individual from the Church community and from receiving most of the sacraments. It also places his eternal salvation in jeopardy until such time as the excommunication is lifted. HeI}ce parents must be especially attentive never to hand over their embryonic children. who are still frozen to researchers eager to extract their stem cells. Catholic scientists and politicians likewise should be especially attentive to steer clear of research or legislative efforts aimed at promoting the destructive harvesting of the youngest and most vulnerable members of the human family. Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did postdoctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

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Friday, July 7,2006

Pondering a 'galaxy' of saints.路 You can't do this in the city; there are too many distracting lights which diffuse your focus. And maybe that's a meditation for some other time. Instead, head ,:)Ot to the countryside on one of these dear summer night:: and take the time to gaze at the brilliant stars that fill the heavens. If you're like me, there will be a profound feeling of "connectedness" with God in such a moment. Wdl, in th.e long summer season of "Ordinary TIme" in our Church's Year of Grace, the season of gre:en vestments and week,end scriptural lessons taken from St. Mark's Gospel, if you can conjure up an analogy in your spiritual imagi.nation, there is a wonderful galaxy of stars to ponder, the saints whose feast days come with great frequency in the weekday liturgical calendar. Much-beloved saints, one after another, are recalled these summer days, models for US of discipleship and powerful intercessors !before the Lord, waiting only for us to ask them

for their assistanCe. Mary Magdalene'S feast will be coming soon, quite an opportunity for reflective members of our Christian faithful to address, and correct, the furor of that book and movie presently cashing in on the proverbial 15 minutes of notoriety. Grandparents will . rejoice in the coming feast of Saints Joaquim and Ann, Blessed Mother Mary's parents. Jesuits and Doniinicans will be able to continue their age-old disputations as the feast days of their founders, Ignatius of Loyola and. Doniinic, roll around. Parish priests find great inspiration in the summer season feast of their special patron, St. John Vianney, the "Cure of Ars." Remember the heroic story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyr of Auschwicz? His feast day embellishes the season. Our Maronite friends honor St. Sharbel Makhlut these days.

Homemakers have a patroness . in the summerfestival of heavenly luniinaries, as Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, the woman who "came to believe" that Jesus was th~ Messiah, is honored. Aniid this "communion of

saints" - and, by the way, this enumeration is not taxitive, for many summer season patrons and patronesses.have not been identified in this honiily - I do propose a remarkable woman of faith whose feast day comes this very week for a special mention: Blessed Kateri . Tekakwitha will be honored by our Church at the Masses celebrated on this coming Friday. The ''Lily of the

Mohawks," as she was called, was born in Ossermempm, the Native American people's name for the village in upper-state路 New York we presently call Auriesville. Kateri's birthplace is very special; on that very site, Jesuit martyrs Isaac Jogues and Rene Goupil witnessed to Christ with their blood a few years before her birth. Reared in a violent, pagan environment (does that resonate in any way with your situation and mi'ld?), this young woman eschewed the prevailing behaviors and was truly "counter-cultural" in her voluntary embrace of the evangelical counsels, including chastity. Kateri journeyed, with great difficulty to a Christian conununity of Native Americans near Montreal, and at just 24 years of age, died there, promoting, after her death, great metanoia, "renewal," among her contemporaries and subsequent

generations. I have enjoyed the privilege of visiting both her place of birth and at the beautiful Shrine of the North American Martyrs in New York and her grave in Caughhnawagam, Canada. Devotion to Blessed Kateri offers the suggestion of some reflection on reparation, a powerful theme of the popes of the 21st century, for evil inflicted upon the Native American peoples over the years, and as a challenge to imitate her courage in resisting the siren song of popular culture. Our faith, then, is enriched by the celebration in a few days' time of the blessed life of a 17th-century Indian maiden. What riches the "communion of saints" affords us these summer days!

Msgr. Harrington is a retired priest ofthe Diocese of Fall River and chaplain ofthe Fall River Fire Department. He resides at Cardinal Medeiros Residence in Fall River.

What Christianity gave .the West This Fourth of July comes during a year in which fretting about the impact on the life of the Republic of "theocons" and "theocrats" (a.k.a., "serious Christian believers") has become a blood sport - with more ~loodletting likely in the months ahead. That makes it a good moment to reflect, with British historian Michael Burleigh, on what Christianity gave the West, of which the United States is one important expression. Professor Burleigh proposes that Christianity gave the West cosmopolitanism and egalitarianism, for it recognized "neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free" as relevant social categories and thus blazed a path beyond tribalism and toward the end of slavery, that ubiquitous human institution. Modern feminism notwithstanding, Christianity also gave the world ... feminism, for St. Paul completed

his instruction.on Christian egalitarianism by reminding the Galatians that, in Christ Jesus, neither "male nor female" had a superior dignity - which, in that context and in much of the world today, means that Christianity is the great liberator of women. Christianity, as Pope Benedict reminded us recently, gave the West the idea of charity as a personal and social obligation; think of the world of cruelty graphically captured in "Gladiator" and you'll see the point. Christianity also gave the world a politically viable concept of peace, the peace that St. Augustine first defined in the fifth century as the "tranquility of order." Christianity taught that rulers were responsible, not to

Ple~se note. Th~ linchorwill

not publish on )uly 28 and August 4. 2006. The office will ;remain open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. on weekdays during that period. Th~ linchorwill return to your homes with the August 11 edition.

themselves alone (as so many rulers liked to think, then and now), but to transcendent moral norms. Would the concepts of the rule of law, and of rulers respo路nsible to the

law, have evolved in the West if, as Professor Burleigh reminds us, "the redoubtable Ambrose, archbishop of Milan ... [had n9t] tamed the Em; peror Theodosius?" Or, to cite the more familiar example, if Gregory VII had not confronted Henry II and forced him to recognize the freedom of the Church - a freedom that implies limits on state power? It seems unlikely, not least because these ideas didn't gain currency in the rest of the world until they were brought to the rest of the world by Christians. Why was this insistence on .the Church's liberty so socially, and ultimately politically, important? Because the freedom of the Church meant that the state (or some other form of concentrated political power) would not occupy every available social space that there would be room in society for other institutions and other loyalties. And that,

in turn, made both civil society and the limited, constitutional state possible. There is more. The bishops of Rome, Professor Burleigh writes, "determined how people thought of time, whether through the calculation of Easter or, from A.D. 525, how they divided human history." Benedictine monasticism gave the world a new appreciation of work and, with other religious orders, played "a vital role in reclaiming bleak regions for human habitation." Important as monastic agriculture was, however, there was still more: for "just as early Christianity had eradicated men slaying each other in arenas, so the medieval Church endeavored to create oases of peace within ~ndemic~lly violent societies." Burleigh, the Oxford don, argues that Christianity's contributions to the civilization of the West have been ignored or caricatured as "divisive, fraudulent, or oppressive" by "people with little or no historical knowledge" of the subject. (Dan Brown, call your office.) Worse, this caricature of a vibrant public Christianity as inherently dangerous for democracy is a caricature in service to the idea that secularism is the only possible "neutral" ground on which a democratic political community can conduct its life. But when, Burleigh asks, did those

arguing this case "last visit the Vendee, Auschwitz, or Vorkuta to see secular rationality in all its glory"? An increasingly godless Europe lives in a disenchanted cosmos from which even the mystery of life itself seems to have fled - hence, Europe's catastrophic fertility rates. America is Europe's child. Perhaps it is now time for the child, in an act of filial piety, to return the life-giving and freedom-sustaining gift of biblical faith to its parent while modeling "the Church in the modern world" at home.

Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Daily Readings July 8 July 9

Am 9:11-15; Ps 85:9,11-14; Mt 9:14-17 Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-

6 July 1.0

July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14

Has 2: 16,17b18,21-22; Ps 145:2-9; Mt 9:1826 Has 8:4-7,11-13; Ps 115:3-10; Mt 9:32-38 Has 10:1-3,78,12; Ps 105:2-7; Mt 10:1-7 Has 11 :1-4,8c-9; Ps 80:2-3,15-16; Mt 10:7-15 Has 14:2-10; Ps 51 :3-4,8-9,1214,17; Mt 10:1623

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!2:i,~~~,i,~uIX,,:&2qgfrk:i Ii survive. They said, 'pur purpose Here are 12 phrases a parish .is to raise funds for the church." priest dreads hearing: Now, any parish cani!certainly use 1. We've always done it this funds, but that wasn't this group's way. mission. At least, that's not what 2. We tried that once. Sunday 2 July 2006 were in one basket. It was finances is the domain of that 3. Won't work. their constitution stated. A person Homeport - At noon today, intended to pay our church other mandated consultative body skilled in group-work volunteered 4. May work elsewhere, but 182.5 days have elapsed, with mortgage. Mortgage payments fell to help. There was a i!series of - the Parish Finance Council. our parish is different. 182.5 days remaining in the year behind. It was time to move on. Let's dig deeper. Must all parish sessions. The organization 5. No time for that. Here we stand exactly halfway The parish now hosts, at no social events revolve around revisited its constitution. People 6. Never done it before. through 2006. We're charge, an Appreciation 7. Can't afford it. talked to each other.]1 In the end, heading for yet another Dinner-dance for volunthe group decided it Oidn't want to 8. We're not ready for that. busy season of parish teers. The number of be always raising fu4ds. They 9. Let's deal with it some other activities. Ladies and volunteers has surged. ' just couldn't figure out what else time. gentlemen, boys and girls People appreciate being 10. Let's break into small to do. They decided to disband. It (as they say in Disney appreciated. With all these was a sad day, but th~ parish groups or form a committee. World) it's time once new volunteers, the parish moved o n . ' , 11. People won't like it. again for an exciting is able to diversify into an In less than a yeat, another 12. Where did that idea come episode of parish array of fund-raisers. women's group formed. They from? calendar planning. If you Mortgage payments are knew how to build community. Marshall McLuhan, "The never need to plan a met. Sometimes you have They knew how to e6joy themCanadian Sage of the Elecparish calendar because things to spend money to make money. fund-raising or is there something selves while serving the needs of tronic Age," is reputed to have ' haven't changed in three decades, else? People these days want to do others. This women'~ group now . ~ remarked: "Most people live in something is amiss. more than raise funds. While We used to hold a Church flourishes. II another time, but we have to be . The Parish Pastoral Council is more than willing to serve, they raffle every four months. People Parish organizations have alive in our own time." Make also want to enjoy themselves. helpful in this task of calendar paid good money for tickets. Big shelf-lives, but they don't come sure your parish lives in our planning. The Parish Council is They want to enrich their lives. prize money was awarded. There with expiration dates1lclearly own time and not in the past. one of two parish consultative They want to experience commuwas a grand banquet at the end of marked. First there i~! the initial This means identifying current bodies required by international nity. They want to feel good about . charism, then the stnlcture, then the cycle. This cost plenty. ''The needs. You don't have to look Church law. Club" went on for years. It peaked what they are doing. the "same-old, same-bId." Lastly far. Just keep your eyes and Many·parish events are fundThere was a women's group in in the third round and then went iIi th~ lifecycle of anX group, there ears open - the engaged, raisers. Oversight of parish the parish. They struggled to steadily downhill. All our eggs comes the point to either return tomarrled couples and single the initial vision or hAng it up. people, the various ages of ''The tide comes in aftd the tide children and youth, young goes out," as they say here on the parents, those in mid-life, the Assonet River. Always keep an . active elderly, the widowed, the nt%itt,mi l:Ieading:.9~~ ,~~~tJ~nll1Jh9aY;.;p,>¥, t . eye on the tide. II frail elderly, the sick and the multi-family excUrsion to the ','" p m·vto , 'and Don't let this yearlls successful dying. Imagine together. Think beach, I tossed a bottle of to , minutes ofs¢ndingeach other event automatically tkcome a creatively. Plan accordingly. sunscreen.to the;!5ack t :iti~ff:i~o~l H~tearct~!!!~ . '. , i' . , ofiihe, "$f prograril in aeternamll(or is that ad Ifs time for another round of van and told the Kias to lather ". time' peno ame up WIQt: nauseam?). Take note.s. Evaluate. parish calendar planning. Let the ree Day is wh~,n up. Twelve.hou~s. JaterP1Y Be willing to changefUld adjust. opening prayer be: "Deliver us, 0 nine-year~old was/tirying1Jin ;;;:'we fist $e ch Qtber in;~e> "To live is to change,!, observed Lord, from the 163rd Annual pain as I tried to soothe her morning. We routinely hug and John Cardinal Newman. This . Parish Chicken BBQ." lobster-colored skin withaloe.;;;': sa " od. mo' w.did means that whatever ~tays the They'll be nobody there but v,,' . . ,,(.'. ?,'1:;ft::~ . ·,'>~;~G:::,~. ';;,,2 I was really upset.with inyself.';tk: p. f .,"" same must be dead. If it's dead, the chickens. How could I have 2) Meet the Day;is grieve its passing, bury it, and get Father Goldrick is pastor of __......._~i..._'I£:. . . wMii"we r SiQ~r", missed thefact.tll,i;lL on with the life of the' faith . St. Bernard Parish, Assonet. she hadn't put slin,. .pray~rs at . kfaSt; community. The morJ things Comments are welcome at screen on? We were andlbless those change, the less they $tay the StBernardAssonet@aoLcom. together ai!:day;:llhe " dep~ng the homer' . same. In any living thing, change Previous columns are at painful incident for my 3) Embrace the Day is the only constant. I, www.StBernardAsso'!et.org. little girl reminde9me hap~ens arQ,und that; as Christian" aftemoonover a snack II parents, being physi(after naps or school). cally present to our .Her~we pa':I~e to sit II n'tog~tlrerand;ieadY. . kids is jusrthe ruft step. Actively engagourselves for an ing with them is the reafgoal. oxe~the years. Th~plan;tllat afte1'1l,oon ()~'CO-cu~culat;, has\workedthe is to; actiVities." Unfortunately and for a wide Last fall. 170,000 Ma.,sachus<.1111 cilizens signed petilions 10 allow the people 10 vote on the schedule five short periods a . 4)Discuss the pay happens variety of reasons, as it was definition of marriage in Massachusetts. II was the with the sunscreen'and me, it daY5whenmam completely ovetfamily:dinnerti~e... L largest petition drive in stale history. can be pretty easy to be available and intensely present 5) Close the Day is when Now the Protection of Marriage Amendment to my kids. Obviously, th~se physically pr.esent to ol.lLKids, we rt?ad books together, say or (PMA) is in the hands ofthe Massachusetts , "i""'''/ . , 'H H are not the only tImes I am but emotioilally,lD.telleC'fually, sing prayers, and bless one Legislature awaiting a vote on July 12. engaged with the kids, but by and even spiritually detached. another before bedtime. The PMA must receive 50 votes in the legislature Examples of t.h;is - exbeil1g sure that I engaged No matte.r what else I have both this year and neKt year before the people will be given the opportunity to vote on marriage in 2008. amples of which Ihave been dunng these times:~I am to get done in a day, it is my guilty at one time or another usually able to stay in touch goal to be engaged with each Some state legislators are threatening to silence the voice ofthe people. They want to kill the with their needs aQ,d give them - are chitchatting on the childphysicaily, emotionally, PMA through parliamentary procedures and focused attention even on the phone while playing with the intellectually, and spiritually at back-door politics. Is this democracy? busiest of days. I scheduled kids, concentrating too much these,five junctures every day, The cilizcns of Massachusetts deserve the chance to these periods to coincide with on house projects, house' Sometimes things slip, and I protect marriage as the union ofone man and one woman -like the 45 states which already have. times when we are either cleaning, and/or working at my get distracted, like the day my computer,and the classiq reconvening after being apart, nine-year old got cooked into a Beacon Hill must hear from you today. . lobster. Over the years, example, chewing the fat on gomg in separate directions Tell your legislators that you want to after being together, or eating the sidelines of a game instead however, having this plan has vote on marriage! of cheering on my .athletes. TV, togetber.· .ftasicallywhat lfatll helped me get back on tra~~ shows and shopping can doing is called "starting off on fairlY quickly, and without similarly pull our attention the right foot" or "parting. on a experiencing too many whole Call vour lotal State RepresentaUve, as well as good note:' Chrisqan psy;. away from our kiUs. Some of family lobster bakes. Senate President Travaglini and House Speaker DIMasi chologist and author, Dr. James the things I mentioned above Heidi is an author, photogat l611J 122- 2000 with asimple message: have to get done. It's imposDobson, writes in f Deus on the rapher, andfull-time mother. , F amity magazine that, "When sible, not to mention un.> She and her husband raise" we have been apart from those healthy, to dote on our kids 24/ their five children and grow 7. However, if we review the we love, \\,e have an opportutheirfaith in Falmouth. Comments are welcome at " time we've spent with our nity to reset the mood, It all depends on the first five children and see that it conhomegrownfaith@yahoo.com.

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110

Friday, July 7, 2006

Making music for nearly 50 years at St. Anne's Parish was no pipe dream IBv DAVE JOLIVET, EDITOR

studied with Gingras. "I think he's one of the most FALL RIVER - When The Anchor asked to sit under appreciated musicians in the diocese." and chat with Nonnand Gingras, organist at St. Father Marc P. Tremblay, pastor of St. Patrick's Anne's Church for nearly 50 years, the setting was Parish, Wareham, was another ofGingras' students natural. He sat in the quiet of the magnificent edifice at St. Anne's School in the 60s. "I sang in the boys' choir in second and third on a weekday afternoon with a mere 4,600 of his closest friends - the pipes, pedals and keys of the grades," said Father Tremblay. "I grew up in a mill noble Casavant organ. Installed in the church in 1963 city and Mr. Gingras opened up an window into a and dedicated in 1964, the organ has been Gingras' world most of us inner-city kids would never have right-hand, and experienced. He gave left-hand marl for ~~~-----~;-.--~'-"-" 路-'路~r=-}.=-路='_=9.~.路-~-""""'" us a look into the nearly half a cen. <,; world ofclassical mu'. sic. tury. "Mr. Gingras could Gingras was born in Fall River have taught and played just about anyin 1927 and was where in the world, baptized at St. Anne's. yet he loved St. Anne's Parish so much, he's Since birth, music was a part been there for nearly of his life. "My 50 years. He's a true gift to the parish." mother was a piaGingras also taught nist and singer," piano at his own stuGingras told The dio on South Main Anchor. "She had Street in Fall River for a radio show on WSAR in Fall many years. Even in the years River. following Vatican II, "At age 11 I Gingras held onto began taking piano lessons, and some ofthe psalmodies in the vernacular. ''I still then I attended Prevost High enjoy singing some of the Mass parts in School.. There I , Latin," he said. Much was pianist for NORMAND GINGRAS, the organis,t at St. Anne's ofhis ~ng included the orchestra for three y(~ars. Church, limbers his fingers on the pipe organ he's thatgehre,andGingras When I graduated played for nearly 50 years at the Fall River Church. never forgot it. from Prevosl~ I at- (AnchodJolivet photo) Gingras told The Anchor that his music tended Boston is his ministry. It is a way to glorify God. University where I majored in music." He also realizes he's very fortunate to be able to Following his B.U. experience, Gingras studied at the renowned Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris play the magnifIce!1t Casavant organ perched high for two years. in the choir loft above the nave of the church. His While in the Air Force~ Gingras spent time in old friend was "built in Canada in 1963 and dediKorea, but that didn't keep himfrom his first love cated in 1964," Gingras said. The two have been - music. ''While in Korea, I played organ for an inseparable since. "Sometimes other organists will eight-man choir," Gingras recalled. "And when we come to play, and if they haven't rehearsed on this had a priest to celebrate Mass, we sang 'The Mass organ first, they can become completely lost." When asked what other types of music he enof the Angels' in Korea ofall places. It was the fIrst joys, other than that which he plays in church, time I ever played the organ." The road from and then back to the church of Gingras grinned and quickly said, "opera." ''I can recall when I was 12 years old, my mother his baptism to become the parish's organist and music director was not as the crow flies. He trekked let me go to Boston to the symphony hall to attend a from Fall River to Paris to Korea, back to Fall River performance of 'Faust.' Backthen it was all right for a young boy to travel that distance. Not today though. and many places in between. "I did get on the wrong metro and ended up goWhen Gingras returned to Fall River, he was offered the organist position at St. Patrick's Church ing to the end of the line. I had to take the subway in that city. After nearly a year-arid-a-half, the posi- back into Boston, but I got there, and I loved the performance." . tion at St. Anne's opened up. Sunday, the parish community will celebrate the Gingras said he replaced a woman who had been the organist there for many, many years; and it was 100th anniversary ofthe current St. Anne's Church an uncomfortable situation for a while with those building. Next January, Gingras will mark 50 years who were slow to accept the change. as the parish organist and music director. It's safe to say that there aren't many centenarAt St Anne's, Gingras quickly settled in, playing weekend Masses, funerals, weddings, special events ian churches in the world that have a resident muand concerts. He also served as the parish choir di- sician with a tenure half its age. Normand Gingras loves his God, music and his rector and the music teacher at St Anne's School. ''What a wonderful musician he was and still . parish, but don't be offended if, when you see him is," said Father Richard E. Degagne, pastor of St. at St. At,ne's Church, he turns his back on you. He's John Neumann Parish in East Freetown. ''I started just doing what he was born to do - provide intaking piano lessons from Mr. Gingras in second spiring, classical, and prayerful music. And if you grade right through my senior year in high school. look close enough up into the choir loft, you just ''His ability to teach was one of th~ very best in may see the joy on his face in the mirror he uses to the Fall River area for decades. I received a bach- follow the Mass. elor of music education from Lowell University, The Anchor encourages readers to nominate and I had such an advantage over other students. It others for the Person of the Week - who and was the level of preparation Mr. Gingras instilled why? Submit nominations at our E-mail address: theanchor@anchomews.org, or write to The Anin me that others didn't have." Father Degagne added that it was a joy to have chor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.

:THE PROLIFIC Casavant organ with 4,518 pipes sits high in the choir loft of St. Anne's Church in Fall River. (Anchod Gordon photo)

Centennial The other, "St. Anne Cliurch of Fall River: The First Hundred Years" by Fall River native Marc Mancini, a fonner parishionerofSt. Anne's, written in 2006, proved another excellent and valuable resource. 'S t. Anne's was born in an era of peace following the end ofthe Civil War in 1865. Fall River and other Northern mill cities became the destination for raw cotton because the South's mills had been destroyed. Humming 24 hours a day, this city's 100 or more mills created 1,900 miles of fabric a day that was sent to New York to be made into clothing. With Irish immigration slowed and mill owners seeking more workers, they looked to Canada. The stream of French Canadians into New England - and Fall

Continued from page one

River's mills - became a river. It took less than a day to travel from Canada to Fall River on the burgeoning rail service. Mill owners usually paid the $15 fare. In 1868 there were about 100 French Canadian families in Fall River. Within a year it rocketed to nearly 600 families, or about 3,000 people. It was appealing to them. Mostly farmers, they found Canada's short growing season, rocky soil and antiquated land ownership keeping them in poverty. Discord between Canadians of French and British heritage was another factor. By 1876 Azoreans, Poles, Italians, Ukrainians and Lebanese were also arriving in Fall River. Like the French Canadians, each ethnic group wanted it ownpansh church, Continued on page JJ

THE ARTWORK depicting the mysteries of the rosary seemingly soar out of sight inside St. Anne's Church in Fall River. (AnchodGordon photo)

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QUIET AND empty in this photo, upper St. Anne's Church in Fall River can seat 2,300 worshipers at one time. (Anchon'Gordon photos) Continued from page 10 with services and support in their own language. Many Catholic parishes formed and began to think:' about building their own church. The French at the time aggressively dominated the community. As the Boston Herald commented in its Aug. 17, 1890 issue: "If ... the 20,000 French Canadians ofFall River were transported to a desert island, there is not the shadow of a doubt that they would immediately undertake the construction of a city and would govern themselves wisely." The French Canadians fIrst attended St. Mary's, the future cathedral, which opened to Irish immigrants in 1855. But they neither spoke nor understood the English

language. Concerned, Archbishop Williams ofBoston, whose diocese then included all of Massachusetts, sent Father Adrien de Montaubricq to Fall River. A French missionary from Bordeaux, he had become a diocesan priest in Chicago where he had founded a parish. He celebrated Mass every Sunday at 9 a.m., at St. Mary's for the French. In 1869 he purchased land at Hunter and Wtlliarns streets and on May 15, opened a modest wooden structure that amazingly was said to hold 1,000. Most of the French resided downhill from what is now Kennedy Park. The area was called "Little Canada." Parish records show Father Montaubricq signed the sacramen-

CRUTCHES FROM those purportedly healed through the intercession of St. Anne and her daughter Mary hang on the wall behind the statue of the saints in St. Anne's Shrine.

tal forms as "the pastor." At the March 1870 blessing of the church's cornerstone, many of the hundreds attending sat on temporary staging. Because of thawed turfbeneath, the staging gave way, injuring more than 100, with 30suffering bone fractures. ' As the story goes, Father Montaubricq spontaneously called out to St. Anne for help. Since no one died in the collapse, he decided to name the church after her. yet another sour~ indicates the name ofSt. Anne's appears in 1869 Boston diocese records, implying the name had been chosen long before the accident. Within a few years Father Montaubricq returned to France because of poor health. He was replaced by another diocesan priest, Father Thomas Briscoe, an Irishborn priest who had studied in France and spoke French fluently. He proved an able administrator and builder for the dynamic faith community. But the French politicked for a French-Canadian pastor. They would accept and respect their new homeland, but not at the expense of their heritage. In 1887, Bishop Matthew Harkins became bishop of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., of which Fall River had earlier become a part in the 1870s. He was sensitive to the needs ofthe French and brought in Dominicans from France. But following a "divorce" of the Province of France from the Province of Canada, the French Dominicans returned to France. Bishop Harkins then appealed to French Dominicans in Lewiston, Maine. Three of them took charge of St. Anne's in November 1887. One of them, Father Francois, Esteva, became St. Anne's first Dominican pastor, the parish then served more than 6,000 families. As the French community spread, mission chapels and then churches served them in other sectors of the city. The fIrst was Notre Dame de Lourdes in the Flint, followed by St. Matthieu's in the North End, Blessed Sacrament in the

South End and St. John"the Baptist in the Maplewood. Father Charles Bernard Sauval, another of the original group of Dominicans, becam~1 pastor in 1891. Age 39, energetic and forward thinking, he made St. Anne's a city within a city, building a convent/school on Park, Street, a redbrick rectory/monast~ry (demolished in 1931); and Saint Anne's Hospital. But his grand plan was of a Fall River landmark, a building that would exceed in size and scope any 路the City: .11 other structure In a new St. Anne Church. Father Sauval found an architect "whose vision was equeply grand," historian Marc Mancini noted. II Napoleon Bourassa~ a French Canadian and a fervent Catholic, was a jack~of-all-trade~': a painter, architect, novelist, art critic, sculptor, journalist, poet, mqsician and author of hundreds of elegantly written letters. II He had traveled E~rope, and most of the architectunU elements seen in St. Amle's Churdh'represent . f h II an Inventory 0 w at B0urnssa admired in Europe. He had worked on gemlike churches in Montreal and Quebec. He believed the world's great art had b&n inspired by religion. , It But what-is most astonishing is that Bourassa apparently had no formal training in architecture. Although in his late 60s, he took on II the job. ' Land on South Main Street facing what was then South Park, was purchased for $19,000. To raise that, Father Sauval "sold" one-foot squares for $5 each to p楼ishioners. It would be a large church: 277 feet long, 122 feet wide; with a 90foot high ceiling. Its 47,752 square

feet had a seating capacity of2,300. His prime inspiration was the church at Sainte~Anne-de-Beaupre, just east of Quebec City, a shrine built in the late 18oos, which attracted more than a million visitors a year. Father Sauval hoped his new church would become equally as famous and successful. The church's basement, a convent and rectory were all being built at the same time, On October 6,1895, the parish's provisional church - in the basement of the church structure opened. The cost was $75,000. While Father Sauval insisted that future donations from his still-growing congregation and pilgrims would payoff the debt, Bishop Harkins wasn't so sure. He wondered if the money should not be used for the poor and unemployed. He also worried that St. Anne's would set a precedent for other growing parishes in his diocese, each of which would want an equally grand church - and even more ricWy decorated - and that he would have to fund them. I While the design called for a granite base and Vermont marble superstructure, the bishop wonderedifbrick would be cheaper. For the next seveml years' construction lay dormant. But Father Sauval never gave up. He staged bazaars, dinners, plays, retreats, musicals and other fundmising events ... and even demolished the old wooden church. It took its toll. On April 30, 1901, he suffered a stroke. He died the next day. The new pastor, Father Raymond Grolleau, was as equally supportive of the new church and apparently persuasive. In 1902 Continued on page 14

THE APPARITION of Notre Dame de Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in February of 1858 is depicted in this grotto in St., Anne's:IShrine.

Marriage

Friday, July 7,2006

"the ancho~ news briefs

Continued from page one

Reps. Phillip Travis, D-Rehoboth and VIriato Manuel deMacedo, RPlymouth. VoteOnMarriage.org---: the campaign to allow voters to decide on the definition of marriage in Massachusetts - collected over 170,000 petition signatures last fall in sUpJXlrt of the Amendment. The Secretary of the Commonwealth certified the petitions last December, moving the Amendment to the legislature where it requires the vote of 50 lawmakers this year and next year before going to the voters in 2008. The press conference comes a day after a dozen religious leaders who form the board ofthe Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry sent an open letter to Cardinal · O'Malley and the Catholic Bishops of Massachusetts, accusing them of "promoting prejudice" and impinging on their religious freedom by their suPJXlI1oftraditional marriage. ''Taking away civil marriage · rights from committed, loving gay and lesbian couples would deny us · the right to pmctice our beliefs," the .letter said. ''We respect your right to practice your faith according to your laws. We ask that you respect our faith traditions in return." The letter went on to say that signers seek to protectminorities and the "dignity ofevery soul." "By proclaiming homosexuality and same-sex unions to be universally immoral and worthy ofsecondclass status under state law, you are sending a message that our faith communities are immoral," the letter said. . The signet'S also claimed in the letter that the Catholic bishops have harmed them, their families and

Catholics "Yho support same-sex over the meaning ofmarriage should marriage. not be limited to government offiCommunity, faith leaders rally against poverty In an apparent resJXlnse to that cials. The magnitude of the issue WASHINGTON - Several hundred community and faith leaders 0 letter, at the press conference Cardi- calls for full participation by the citialong with religious activists from around the nation marched in nal 0'Malley noted that in February zens ofthe Commonwealth. We urge Washington lastweek to fight against poverty. The event celebrated 2004 religious leaders representing our legislators to let the people exerthe unveiling of'the Covenant for a New America, a faith-based over 3,000 congregations in Massa- cise their right to vote." strategy for overcoming poverty. The march and a related conferchusetts signed a statement supportMineau told the gathering, "Govence were hosted by Sojourners and Call to Renewal, a national ing traditional marriage in February ernor Romney has said all along that netWork of churches, faith-based organizations and individuals 2004. the people's voice matters, and toworking to overcome poverty in America. Twenty-three national "Among the signers were lead- day he has demonstrated that leadreligious groups and religious leaders endorsed the covenant. Among ers of the four Roman Catholic dio- ership again by focusing public atother things, the document aims to bring people from all religious cese, the Black Ministerial Alliance, tention on those in the state legislaand political backgrounds together so they can hold each other acOrthodox churches, various ture who are strategizing to deny countable for ending poverty. One goal is to develop a plan to cut Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist Massachusetts citizens the right to child poverty in half over the next 10 years. Among those endorsand Episcopalian communities, Jew- vote on marriage ing the covenant was Sister Marge Clark, a Sister of Charity of the ish congregations, the Islamic CounAccording to media reports, leg- ·Blessed Virgin Mary who is a lobbyist with Network, a national cil ofNew England and Vision New islative opponents of the AmendCatholic social justice lobby whose mission is to bring about ecoEngland Churches," he said. This is ment are considering a variety of nomic justice.Sister Clark said she was proud to sign the covenant. neither a Catholic nor a sectarian is- parliamentary procedures to avoid a " sue. It is a human issue." clear yes or no vote on the Amend'Sisters sharekDowledge with women from developing countries Romney said-that it is JXlssible ment - constitutionally known as ERIE, Pa. ~ Franciscan Sister Hellen Khisa walked excitedly into that some legislators may try to stop ''final action" by the legislature and an office of the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse with a letter adthe amendment by blocking the a requirement for all citizen-initiated dressed to her. "See, I have friends," she said with a wide grin as legislature's vote and never giving petitions, such as the Protection of she proudly displayed a letter from a fellow student she met last citizens their right to vote on the is- Marriage Amendment. semester in one of her classes at Mercyhurst College. Friends she "We know that the absence of sue. h.as, plus an education at the liberal arts college sponsored by the In 2002, then-Senate President fathers in our neighborhoods con- 'Erie Sisters of Mercy. The sisters provide room and board. Sister Thomas Birmingham adjourned a tributes to the culture of violence," , Hellen, a member of the Little Sisters of St. Francis, came from constitutional convention without a said Rev. Alexander Hurt, KingKenya last fall 'to begin work on a bachelor's degree in special vote on a legislator-initiated amend- dom Church-Brockton. ''The mareducation at Mercyhurst. Her community ministers in Kenya, Tanment to protect marriage. The Mas- riage amendment says to our comzania and Uganda. She is one of about 15 sisters in 20 years who munity, 'both mothers and fathers sachuse~ Supreme Judicial Court have benefi.tedfrom a program in which the college makes availruled in 2003 that Birmingham's matter' in the developmeilt of able two ac " scholarships each year for sisters from develop.healthy families and healthy com- ';,ing'countri~; action was not legal. ,sisters live on,the "international floor" of the The state constitution is clear that munities." ·motherhouse V{ . ere they are provided community and support. legislators have a duty to vote on is"Unelected judges have consues and trust citizens to make the jured up their own interpretation of ·Nepalese Catholic Church grows as Hindus follow examples right decision, Romney said. marriage and family," said Rev. KATMANDU, Nepal- Shopkeeper Paul Pempa Sonam became "Marriage is the foundation of Roberto Miranda, chairman, I curious about Christianity when he saw his aunt excited about her family life in our society. People of VoteOnMarriage.org. ''This amendnew faith. A couple of years later, Sonam, who was Hindu, and his many faiths and from many walks ment is the only way the people of fiancee becam¢kOhristians together. They were married soon after, of life have joined us to support Massachusetts can determine for their baptistllslEven while he was a catechumen for two years, the marriage as being only the union themselves how the society they shopkeeper never missed the weekly Mass with his fiancee at between one man and one woman," live in and contribute to should deKatmandu's Assumption Church - the first suitable church buildsaid Cardinal O'Malley. 'The debate fine marriage." ing in Nepal that was consecrated in 2000. Catechumens are given special recognition during Assumption Church's Mass - nearly half the 700 people who attend are non-Christians. Soon after Communion, the majority of those attending Mass line up in front of the altar as the priest touches people's foreheads in a special blessing. June 30, 2006 input. This consensus is based on natural law and comAs citizens, we, the Roman Catholic Bishops in mon sense. Neither the state nor religions invented Interaction aniong Korean religions helps status in North Korea Massachusetts, support the constitutional amend- marriage or determined its natural components. InSEOUL, South Korea - Interaction between South Korean religions ment on marriage that voters last fall petitioned the stead they institutionalized a reality that existed well and their counterparts in North Korea has raised the status of religions state legislature to consider. The Secretary of State before them to further the common good. In our sociin the· communist North, said the president of a South Korean priests' certified a record number of signatures from regis~ ety every person has the civil right to marry, but no organization. Father Albert Namgoong Kyoung, president of the tered voters asking to put the amendment on the person should have the right to tailor the institution of . , Uijeongbli Pries~' Association for National Reconciliation, said reli2008 ballot.. The debate over the meaning of mar- marriage to his or her personal wants. An exagger, gious groupsinNorth Korea have increased their social and political riage should not be limited to government officials ated sense of entitlement is eroding the right of socistatus because of their "economic power" from the support of South since the magnitude of the issue calls for the full ety to have a strong institution of marriage. Korean religious groups. He described Buddhist, Catholic and Protesparticipation of the public. Neither the judiciary nor ., For these reasons, we urge the legislature to give tant "foreign currency earnings" as outstanding in comparison with the legislature should substitute itselffor the sover- l:he approval necessary this year for moving forward other organizations, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency eignty of the people, especially on such a founda- the citizen-initiated marriage amendment, so that the based in Thailand. Father Namgoong, who is from the Uijeongbu diotional matter as the meaning of marriage for the people ultimately can exercise their right to vote on cese, which bordets North Korea, spoke at a June 22 seminar on the common good of society. such a crucial social and moral issue in 2008. theme "North'Korea's Religious Terrain." The Korean bishops' ComThere are those who seek to relegate our posimittee for the Reconciliation of Korean People organized the serninar, tion on marriage to the religious sphere. While we part of an annual series the committee has conducted since 2000. address the public debate about marriage as bishops, we do not seek the translation of our religious Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley Woman claiming to be ordained faces excommunication convictions into public policy. Rather, we have pro- Archdiocese of Boston OXFORD, England- A Swiss Church leader said a lay Catholic theoposed a position based on universally accessible logian faces automatic excommunication after she claimed she was moral reasoning about the content oflaw and policy , ordained to the priesthood June 24. "If she's been a Catholic before, in the Commonwealth. Our position, widely shared I she is clearly aware of the Church's discipline and knows it isn't posamong secular governments and cultures, can be Most Rev. George W. Coleman sible ... for a woman to be ordained," said Father Agnell Rickenmann, examined on the basis ofrational analysis. We speak Diocese of Fall River secretary-general ofthe Swiss bishops' conference. "Such women have out on this issue motivated by our desire to promote tried to attract publicity by provoking as many reactions as possible. the common good and in support of married couples But in acting this way she's leaving the Catholic Church, so we ourand their families. selves are not directly concerned." Monika Wyss became the first Swiss The proposed addition.to our state constitution, Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell woman to be declared a priest after a ceremony aboard a passenger prospectively defining marriage as the union be- Diocese of Springfield , ship on Lake Constance, between Switzerland and Germany. Father tween one man and one woman, is not extreme, bigRickenmann told Catholic News Service that women's ordination had oted or religiously sectarian. It reflects the deeply been "much discussed" in Switzerland since the 1970s and had caused rooted consensus in our society about what mardisagreements with the country's Protestant denominations, which ofriage is, a consensus rejected by a one-vote major- Most Rev. Robert J. McManus ficially admit female rninisters. ity of our state supreme court without the people's Diocese of Worcester •

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Bishops' statement on marriage amendment

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New QVD sets give iconic director John Ford his due II

NEW YORK (<JCNS) - The iconic American director John Ford, whose workliwas imbued with his Irish-Catholic background, gets his due with the simultaneous rellease of the "John Ford Film Collection," which has five:movies he made between 19~4 and 1964, and another, ev:en bigger, DVD boxed setl including seven of the fihits he made with his frequent star, John Wayne. I The five-movie collection includes three of His best films -"The Lost Patr61 " "The Informer," and "M~ry of Scotland" - and two others that are never less than interesting, and all are making their DVD debut. Extras are minimal - a featurette on "The Ihformer" and commentary on th~ digitally restored "Cheyenne Autumn" (anamorphic widescr~en) by Ford biographer Josepp McBride, which also has a ~intage documentary narrated by James Stewart - but print:quality is excellent on all. I ' "Cheyenne Autumn," Ford's final Western, is classified as A-I - all audienc:es. The others are A-II - adults and adolescents. None wbre rated by the Motion Pictur~! Association of America. This Ford box set ]1 was issued by Warner Home Video. II

lC~' ~\f()viile .ICa.I[)~Ulllle~ NEW YORK (CNS) - The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Superman Returns" (Warner Bros.) The world's greatest superhero triumphantly back onto movie screens in "Superman Returns" (Warner Bros.) which has the Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) returning to earth after a five-year absence to find that while some things haven't changed - archnemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is still plotting mass destruction - Metropolis has moved on without him; this in. cludes reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) who is now engaged and raising a young son. More than a special-effects extravaganza, director Bryan Singer's visually elegant film heavily lays on Christian symbolism, while balancing comic-book spectacle with emotional drama and tender romance. Some stylized action violence, including intense scenes of peril, a vicious beating, an implied past premarital encounter, and a few mildly crude expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II - adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG13 - parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. flie~

"~ater"

(Fox Searchlight)

Poignant drama set in 1938 India about the lives of women who, in accordance with Hindu tradi-

BRANDON ROUTH stars as Superman in the action-adventure movie "Superman Returns." For a brief review of this movie, see CNS Movie Capsules on this page. (CNS photo/ Warner Bros.) tion, are required - following moving, balancing heartbreak and their husbands' deaths - to live , hope as it explores the lives of the out their days as outcasts in a widows in whose humanity is resqualid widows' ashram; they in- flected the dignity of all women. clude an eight-year-old child bride Implied prostitution, a suicide, (Sarala); a young beauty (Lisa . brief drug usage, a transvestite Ray) forced into prostitution by character, some sexual references the camp's matriarch (Manorma) and a few mildly crude expreswho falls for a progressive- sions. Subtitles. The USCCB Ofminded law student (John fice for Film & Broadcasting clasAbraham); and a devout older sification is A-III - adults., The woman (Seema Biswas), tom be- Motion Picture Association of tween conscience and her faith. America rating is PG-13 - parVisually poetic with soulful per- ents strongly cautioned. Some formances, director Deepa material may be inappropriate for Mehta's film is simple yet deeply children under 13.

"Ch~yenne

Autuptn" (1964)

Western epic ofl:Indian courage in the face of the white man's neglect and broken promises in the story of a Cheyenne tribe that leaves a: squalid reservation for their homeland and an officer (Richar~ Widmark) who sympathizeSI with their . plight but whose 9rders are to bring them back. Ford's rugged locales match the grandeur of the trek even though the melo~ramatic narrati.ie falters at times. II ,

'Lost Worlds: Knights Templar,' July 10, History Channel NEW YORK (CNS) - The popularity of ''The Da Temple Mount. They did, however, establish the Vinci Code" has once again renewed interest in the w~r1d's first international banking sy.stem. The program could have included more of the Knights Templar, the warrior monks of the Crusades who have become synonymous with mystery and his- personages and history of the order rather than fotorical intrigue. Who were they? And why do they still cusing almost exclusively on its military campaigns and remarkable ,engineering feats, though the comhave such a powerful hold on our imagination? The first of a new documentary series debuting 'puter graphics used ,to recreate the marvels of Monday, July 10,9-10 p.m; EDT on cable's History Templar masonry - their impregnable stronghold Channel, "Lost Worlds," clears away the fog ofleg- in the Syrian city of Tortosa and the imposing citaend surrounding this Christian military ,order that del of Chastel Blanc - are impressive. The proplays a prominent role in' such works of gram also highlights the craftsmanship of the pseudoscholarship as ''The Templar Revelation" and Hospitalers - a rival religious military order ~ In "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." their stone fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, amazOfficially known as the Poor Knights of Christ ingly intact after so many centurie.s. In its brief treatment of their downfall, the docuand the Temple of Solomon, the Templars were founded in the 11 th century to provide safe passage mentary does, however, present a more historically . accurate picture, assigning primary responsibility for to pilgrims en rdute to the l:Ioly Land. While touching on some sensational aspects of the the Oct. 13, 1307, mass arrest of the Templars to Ternplars - their arcane initiation rituals and rumors of King Philip II of France rather than Pope Clement idolatry and sodomy - the program's overall tone is V. (In discussing these events, there are some brief sober and scholarly. And while no direct reference is , descriptions and fleeting images of torture, as well made to those aforementioned best-sellers, the assembled as an assortment of battle violence throughout.) experts correct the spurious claims in their pages. The program suggests that by shrouding themFor instance, the' round structure of Temple selves in secrecy, the Templars set themselves up Church in London, built by the Templars, does not for all kinds of misrepresentation by conspiracy theodenote a pagan significance, but mirrors the circu- rists and occult writers. lar architecture of the Church of the Holy SepulFuture topics on "Lost Worlds" include Atlantis, cher in Jerusalem. Also, as if it needs saying, the the real Count Dracula, Hitler's "supercity," ancient Templars did not discover the Holy Grail under the Egypt and early Christianity.

"The Informer" (1935)

Powerful adapt~tion ofLiam O'Flaherty's novel: about oafish Gypo Nolan 'I (Victor McLaglen), who b~trays a comrade (Wallace Fbrd) to the Black and Tans fOl the reward, then squanders I the bl.ood .money on drink trying to drown his guilty consciehce and fear

of being found out by the rebel organization. Director Ford's poetic evocation of 1922 strifetom Dublin, Ireland, builds pity for the slow-witted Gypo but only revulsion for his deeds in a tightly wound story ~f betrayal, retribution and forgiveness. Stylized violence and veiled references to prostitution. .

"The Lost Patrol" (1934) Classic desert adventure set in World War I Mesopotamia, where a British cavalry patrol shelters for the night in an abandoned oasis, then tries to survive attacks by an unseen Arab enemy. Ford turns the desperate situation into a character study of men with little in common except their uniforms under a seasoned sergeant (McLaglen) holdIng out with a few regulars and a squad of recruits, including a disgraced aristocrat (Reginald Denny), a steady conscript (Wallace Ford), a comical cockney (Billy Bevan) and a religious fanatic (Boris Karloff). Wartime violence in a context weighing personal values and group loyalties.

"Mary of Scotland" (1936) Literate adaptati(jfi of MaXwell Anderson's play recounting the political intrigues against Scotland's Catholic Queen Mary Stuart (Katharine Hepburn), driving her protector Bothwell (Fredric March) into exile and Mary to the execution block under England's Queen Elizabeth (Florence Eldridge). Ford puts a fine cast through their dramatic set-pieces, with occasional flourishes of pageantry to supply the historical atmosphere. Stylized violence and complicated motivations mak,e it unlikely fare for young children.

"Sergeant Rutledge" (1960)' Credible Western in which the black title trooper (Woody Strode) faces a court-martiaJ charged.with murder and rape. Ford tells the story in flashbacks as the court examines the evidence, with Strode coming across as a strong figure of con·siderable integrity. Stylized violence in well-treated theme of racial prejudice. Anamorphic DVD. ~-

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St. Anne's Church centennial will be celebrated on S.unday By

DEACON JAMES

DUNBAR

FALL RIVER- Talk about july Fourth celebrations~ On that holiday in 1906, Bishop William Stang, just two years after becoming the first shepherd of the new Fall River diocese, celebrated Mass formally consecrating the new St. Anne's Church on South Main .Street. On Sunday, clergy, parishioners and friends ofSt. Anne's will mark the lOOth anniversary of the blessing and dedication of the upper church at a nOon Mass celebrated by Bishop George W. . Coleman. "We chose. Sunday July 9 to celebrate the anniversary for many reasons, but principally because trying to do it on the .,Fourth of July wouldn't work out," said Father Marc R. Bergeron, the 16th pastor and only one of 0llr diocesan' priests who have ledtlu~ parish after decades of DoIIlj.nican leadership. The paris1l., which is much older than the current church, dates to 1869: 'We havdnvired the Dominicans from the?Canadian Province who lopg serv:Mhere to join with Vs, as well ~,th0se priests who .~~ve served~clj~~l~u~at St. !'i_e's oveI4~ijOCe:~eats," Father, Bergeron said. . He noted llowever, "I don't have a living predecessor who was pastor h¢r¢." . The children of the parish .·I).ave also received a special in'vitation to attl'Uld apd participate. <, Father Berg~.ron also extended an invitationt~all fonner parish'toners to "cotile back to St. Anne's for a cblY to share memol:ies and stories and to catch up . with old friends." . The Mass WiUbe followed by a.banquet at Wt\ite's of Westport. Those participa.ting in the events will receive a. copy of the 100page Centennial Souvenir Book, . which contains a newly-written history of the church written by a former parishioner, Marc Mancini, wl)o did extensive travel and research. How has the church, once described as "one for all ages" weathered the stonn? "We're like any other innerI

city parish in which the membership has greatly declined, and we're struggling to maintain the church building itself and to serve its pe.ople," Father Bergeron said.. Currently there is a major . capital campaign underway to historically renovate and develop the popular Shrine to St. Anne located in the basement church. "The feast ofSt. Anne is July 26, and a committee is looking to spiffing up and contemporizing the Novena to St. Anne and the celebration," he reported. "With the church anniversary, the capital campaign and the feast we have three major groups working and it is a very busy time for our parish." He said he was eager to greet representatives from the Dominican priests from the Canadian Province in Canada. The Order left in 1978 after 91 years leading the parish. 'They left because their mission here, we might say, was completed. They were brought in because they spoke French and to lead a parish which at the time wanted French-speaking priests." The Dominicans in the Canadian Province still speak French and continue to serve French~ speaking connnunities,·henoted. "And although more recently they have been involved in several English-speaking parishes," he said. "Coming this far south to minister to English-speaking congregations is not realistic." While there are some people who still speak French in the Fall River region, there is no longer any French immigration to the Fall River area, and "most people today speak English," Father Bergeron noted. "We are the last parish in the whole Diocese of Fall River, which has a Mass in French, and it is celebrated Sunday mornings at 8 o'clock," he noted. "It is bilingual," he said candidly. 'The Mass is in French, but we preach in English." Information regarding the centennial and tickets for the banquet can be obtained by contacting Dominican Sister Lorraine Beauchesne at the Middle Street parish office, 508-674~5651.

CONSTRUCTION MOVES along on the St. Anne's Church building on the corner of South Main and Middle Streets in Fall River circa :1905. Continued from page JJ reportedly would have held statues. Bishop Harkins gave.the go-ahead But there was no cutting of the to finish the church, marble and all. rich Byzantine elements include' The cost would be $225,000. The bold, copper-sheathed domes capaltars, pulpit, Communion rail, ping the tops of the church's' two, . pews, organ and other furnishing unique 255-foot-tall bell towers. would cost $2()()~000 more. The Byzantine architecture may Part of the agreement seems to have been inspired by facets of his~ have been that unemployed but tory that said St. Anne once lived skilled parishioners were to be given in Ephesus, near Constantinople, . preference for construction jobs. In which de,,:e1oped that style. effect, said historian Mancini, "St. In afestive,July 4, 1906ceremony, Anne's became a sort of public St. Anne's officially opened its doors works project for the parish." to the faithful. A dream conceived On July.l4,,1902, the building's decades before and delayed by budcornerstone was laid. Bourassa, getary issues, had become real. then 75, moved temporarily to Fall One of the most striking features River. A local architect and engi- was and is its gallery oflarge statues neer, Louis Destremps, was hired . sculptured by Joseph Olindo Gatton to work with him. It didn't sit well . in the richly decorated upper church with Bourassa. As soon as the that also abounded with large paintchurch's exterior was completed, ings .The lighting system was imBourassa, suffering from dizziness mense. The use of translucent winand insomnia, left Fall River. He dows with lightly applied elements would never return. originally used were replaced by In 1904, Fall Riverbecame itown stained glass in the early 19608. diocese and Bishop Stang became It had wooden appointments, inthe first bishop. While there was talk cluding the altar, altar rail and pulthat St. Anne's would become the pit. The walls were painted beige diocesan cathedral, the bishop made and white and included dozens of St. Mary's his cathedral church. light fixtures surrounded by stenTo save money, St. Anne's exte- ciled designs. A pipe organ was built by the rior was simplified. Questions still remain if the empty exterior corbels Casavant Company from Canada,

which when completed in 1963 contains 4,518 pipes. The lower church, home of the Shrine to St. Anne and the site of novenas, offered a prayerful place where heatings took place and where many of those healed left their crutches and canes as testimony of their faith and to God's love. Today, it is much visited and is the site of weekday Masses; After the glorious era ofconstruction, a litany of pastors ofSt. Anne's concerned themselves with maintenance - and financial problems., ... Then a new crisis arose. The Dominican Fathers of the Canadian Province were facing an ominous shortage of priests. In April, 1973, they announced they would be leaving within five years. In January 1978, after many decades of Dominican pastors, diocesan priests again took charge of St. Anne's, when Father John R. FoIster was appointed pastor. Father Marc R. Bergeron also a diocesan priest, succeeded him in 1994 the 16th in a long line of pastors and has served for the past 12 years. Guided tours ofthe Shrine and church are available by appointment. To arrange a visit, call the rectory at 508-674-5651.

PRACTICE THE DEVOTION OF THE FIRST SATURDAYS, . AS REQUESTED BY OUR LADY OF FATIMA

On December 10, 192~, Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia (seer of Fatima) and spoke these words: "Announce in my name that I promise to assist at the hour ofdeath with the graces necessary for the salvation oftheir souls, all those who on the first Saturday of five consecutive months shall: 1. Go to confession; 2. Receive Holy Communion; 3. Recite the Rosary (5 decades); and 4. Keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries ofthe Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me." In a spirit of reparation, the above conditions are each to be preceded by the words: "In reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." Confessions may be made during 8 days before or after the first Saturday, and Holy Communion may be received at either the morning or evening Mass on the first Saturday. Paid advertisement

THE FIRST St. Anne's Church was on Hunter and 'tJilliam streets in Fall River in 1870.

Friday, July 7. ~!OOI6

Monument·

. ·P ersecptlon

II • articles for The Anchor, be a' leader in the Fall River Clergy Continued from page one Continued from page three Association and attend convocahealing Novena's to 'the good St. return to his classical studies in tions. 'couples or get out «;>f adoptions be pushed to the margins of soAnne," and distributed food to the January 1930. He introduced healing services altogether. Zero-tolerance forced ciety and forced to pay for our needy who approached him. In 1936 he entered the Novi- at St. Anne's in 1978 and every the Boston Catholic: Charities to "sins" in myriad ways. It seemed that the priest who tiate of the Dominican Fathers at Sunday hundreds crowded into shut down the largest and oldest As if further proof of perse~ cution is needed, look at the efshowed so much love for those St. Hyacinthe in Canada and re- the basement chapel at the Shrine adoption program irt the state. These developments, com- forts at the' State House to cut who approached him had become ceived the Dominican habit, and to seek the intercession of St. synonymous with the house of took vows in 1937 on the feast of Anne, the mother of the Blessed bined with the flantng rhetoric off our right to vote on the marworship itself. Virgin Mary, for relief of their ill- of Senator Kennedy and other riage issue in' the CommonSt. Dominic. , "I had been in the presence of nesses and suffering. I rec,alled in years past how the supporters of same-~ex marriage, wealth. greeting alone of, "Come in, come Dominican priests and Sisters all Supporters of H.4617, the Many who arrived on crutches foretells the fate of those who in," from the smiling priest in the my life, so this was bound to hap- and canes were amazingly able to disagree with them 9n marriage. ' marriage amendment, are being green leather chair in the Shrine pen ... it was God's plan," he said leave them behind when they len. In the name of equality, defend- persecuted as purveyors of bias Office, was soul-lifting. Others who were helped in"amaz- ers of traditional mamage will be a~d hate. We should be punished, stoically. If you had come to the Shrine punished as severely as bigots in opponents argue, by being exHe pronounced final vows in ingly walked outon their own. on any afternoon to confess your August 1940,.and was or~ained a How many were healed of a broad array of settings if they cluded from the democratic prosins and receive the sacrament of priest on June 27,1942 by Bishop physical as well as spiritual do not give equal tteatment to cess. What a tragedy it will be if penance, you'd thank God for the James E. Cassidy in St. Mary's wounds to their souls? same-sex marriage. ' we are denied a vote, and thus special opportunity given you in Cathedral. . "There are plenty of books ... We won't be abld to send our denied any recourse against comFather Lachance. After an assignment as a records kept, and if you want to kids to a Catholic sctiool because' ing persecutions. The people The pale blue eyes and the teacher in the semip.ary and a see them they are there for the the schools will hare. to close, should have a say about whether practical wisdom of his words .preacher of spiritual conferences, viewing," Father Lachance said due to the removal of their tax- traditional marriage is a matter <;>f took most people's attention away he was sent to the missions of humbly. exempt status for propagating hate or a matter of common "I loved St. Anne's Par- "hate" and their su~sequent in- sense. from the fragility of the wheelchair-bound Dominiish and I love the church ability to survive financially. Our The legislature must meet on can then in his late 80s, who building itself. I grew up in kids will be subject to attacks, July 12. Whether the amendit. I' knew it so well. It is a ridicule, enforced r~-education, . ment then will be acted on has in his final years found his confessional ministry be- . monument to the love of and disciplinary p~(1ishment in not been determined. Calls and coming more and more one God and his lovefof" the the public schools. Vfe won't be E-mails to legislators pleading of precious encouragement people," Father Lachance able to get a job in the public sec- for a vote are increasing, but said from his bed. "I loved . tor due to our "prejbdice," and more are needed. If you have not as well as forgiving and healing. saying Mass, but especially will be unhireable at 1;00st private done so already, go online to In a 2002 interview in the in St. Anne's Church." companies afraid o~! the impact VoteOnMarriage.org to contact Shrine Office, Father He would celebrate the on business if it becomes known your legislators and to sign up . Lachance told me, "The 60 11:30 morning Mass in the they hire bigots. service for their marriage alerts. We years of my priesthood have Shrine until no longer able . agencies and other !institutions must act now - or face persebeen happy ones, oh so and confined to a wheel- . will be sued for refusing to rec- cution without representati9n. happy, and I loved serving Daniel Avila is the Associate . chair. But even after that, he ognize same-sex marriage in their the people of God and the continued to hear confes- employee and customer policies, Directorfor. Public Policy & ReChurch. And it all began sions, be a spiritual director and all state funds ~ill be shut search of the Massachusetts right here,?' he said. ' for all who sought him out, o~ i • Catholic CO!lfere1Jce.' Born in Fall River, the and concelebrate Mass daily In short, as is the ~ase for raeldest of 12 children of until illness forced him to .cial bigots, the persecution Emile RaOl~1 Lachance and take up residence in Catho~ against "marriage bigots~' will be Helena (Robitaille) lic MeII).orial Home. strong and pervasi.'ve, unless Lachance, his given name At my recent visit, I re- checked at the ballot:box. Like Sales and Service was Evariste and he was minded Father Lachance of racists, supporters of traditional for Domestic and Industrial baptized and made his first the sense of history, not marriage in Massachusetts will Oil Burn~rs ,11 Communion in the wonDOMINICAN FATHER PIERRE E. LACHANCE gloom, he talked about in 508-99'5-1631 ' drous new church he came 2000 when he said that when Montie Plumbing 2283 ACUSHNET AVENUE Saskatchewan in the frigid fron- he left the monastery in Fall River to love so well. . & Heating Jieo. NEW BEDFORD He credits his parents and rela- tier known as the "Canadian Pa- he would probably be the final Over 35 Years tives as having influenced his spiri- cific" where he served from 1956 chapter in the epoch tale of the of Satisfied Ser!vices tuallife. He also is grateful to the to 1958. Dominicans who first came to Reg. Master Plum~er 7023 Sisters at St. Anne'~ School, which Being marooned in blizzards serve the migrating French-CanaJOSEPH RAPOSA, JR. he attended, and Dominican priests several times, often stuck in his dians in this city in the 1860s. 11 at St. Anne's for fostering his reli- car or finding shelter in a cabin "I guess I was right,"'he said. 432 JEFFERSON STREET FALL RIVER 508~675-7496 gious vocation and assisting with with little heat and little food, "I'm the final page of that hisI finances to enter the Sulpician Fa- were the adventures he described. tory." thers' College in Montreal, Asked whether he missed liv"I loved my work in the misEleCtrology & Laser Hair Removal Permanent Hair Removal For Canada, in 1929. , sion," he said. "It seemed to re- ing the community life ·with as Men, Women and Teens "My youth has been filled with spond to such a need of priests to many as 60 confreres "in the monSales And Sehtice joy, love, peace, happiness and celebrate the Mass and bring the astery building attached to the I' I, Laurie A. Hazel, R.E. stability, and we were always a sacraments to the people." church, Father Lachance said, "Oh Fall River's L~rgest Reg,istered Electrologist In September 1959, Father yes. But living with the diocesan close knit family," he said. So . Display of nts much so that after a year at the Lachance received his last assign- clergy was never a problem. I pre, 256 New Boston'Road II . College of Montreal, he left when ment - to St. Anne's. served my Dominican spiritUality Fall River, MA 02720 He recalled the letter: "The to serve the Church in the Fall the Depression hit and the sagging ZENITH • SONY Phone:.508-679-6799 economy badly affected his Provincial Chapter has instituted River diocese. No confliCt at all." .I il 1196 BEDFORD ST. father's grocery store. you as spiritual moderator of pilAt the conclusion of his autoFree Consultation & Treatment FALL RIVER "Although the Dominicans had grimages to St. Anne's .... The biography written in' 2000, he for New Clients 508-673-9721 helped' pay for my tuition at the reason for this: it is imperative we summed up his life saying, "I end II college, there was no more ques- . have at the Shrine priests who this story as I said I wanted to by tion of my going back," Father speak English fluently." . giving thanks to God: Magnificat. ~t. Anne's Prayer Lachance wrote in an autobiog~ The letter made it clear that .He has blessed me more than I can "Good St.I Anne, Mother of Mary,and raphy. "I was the eldest of 11 chil- Dominican Father.Henri Laporte say through family and so many . . dren and a 12th was on the way. would remain as pastor and be people who have touched my life. Grandmother'of Jesus, Intercede for me and my So I stayed at home and began to responsible for the entire tempo- and enriched it by revealing God's II petitions. Amen." help dad in his store." ral administration. love for me. I have tried to share But "the hand of God was visBut:Father Lachance would his love with others and that has ibly at work in my life," he wrote. become involved in much more. been my joy. I have been a happy In honor pC Sister Lucia.dos Santos, With the help of a Dominican He would become director of St. priest, have always believed as a seer of Fatima, who died priest, young Evariste Lachance Anne's School, become active in profound truth the words attrib. Ii published the "Novena to St. the Charismatic Movement, give uted to Jesus by the Apostle Paul: February 13,2005, age 97. Anne on Piety" he had written, retreats and spiritual conferences, 'There is more happiness in givIi Lucia pray for us. and with the money was able to preach and lead novenas,write ing than receiving. '"

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Friday, July 7, 2006

BOY SCOUTS from Troop 37 of St. Joseph's Parish, Attleboro, pi:!rticipated in the recent Flag Day program sponsored by the Attleboro Elks Lodge. , It was held June 14at the downtown Veterans Memorial Common.

MEMBERS OF the' Quiz Bowl Team of St. Mary-Sacred Heart School, North. Attleboro, display certificates they won as first-place finishers in the annual Quiz Bowl held at St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, Hyannis.

, Diocesan seminarians find summer ass'ignments rewarding By MIKE GORDON ANCHOR STAFF

FALL RIVER - Summer is traditionally a time ofrest for students. For diocesan seminarians advancing to the priesthood, however, it's a time for continuing education and parish assignments. That opportunity is a valuable one that seminarians look fOlWard to and are enjo)'ing. , Seminarian )ay Mello is spending his summer at Corpus Christi Parish, East Sandwich. He recently completed his third year of theological studies at the Pontifical North American College in ~ome and called the summer assignment, "a great opportunity to put what you've learned into practice and get to know the diocese." He and.other seminarians assigned to parishes for the summer will experience the everyday life of a parish priest and will receive valuable mentoring as they move closer to the day they will be ordained as diocesan priests. In his previous field assignment, Mello gave daily reflections at the end of Mass, taught a mini-course on the titles of Christ, and spent one day a week at St. Luke's Hospital with chaplain Father Michael Racine. This year he will be doing the same at Cape Cod Hospital. "Hospital ministry is so necessary," said Mello. "It's important to the families, but also to the hospital staff. I'm looking fOlWard to getting to know the people at Corpus Christi and to know what their thoughts are of the Church and Christ. Although I wear cll::rical garb, I'm still one of them." Mello said life in the seminary is regimented and he has very little, control over his own schedule. "In a parish, you have to schedule your own time for a holy hour and rosary. Our work is our prayer and it's refreshing to be around God's people." A native of Fall River, Mello grew in SS. Peter and Paul Parish. He was only seven when he startSd thinking about priestly life and eventually entered a formal program in 1999. He will be ordained a transitional deacon October 5 in Rome and will be ordained a priest the following summer. Father Edward E. Correia, diocesan director of Vocations, said assignments such as these are "great opportunities because seminarians have a chance to get to know some more priests ofthe diocese and the diocese itself. They will be living here for the rest oftheir lives so the more they know about

parish life and the work of the priests, t:l)e ing God's people in a unique way. Like a and Fournier will be at St. Pius X Parish, better." . doctor helps people, it's a good fee,ling to South Yarmouth. Because life at the parish is not as struc- know that we have a special duty to help Seminarian William Sylvia is spending tured as the seminary they must make their people get to heaven. I'm very happy' for part ofhis summer serving the diocesan misown schedules and figure out how they pray that." sion in Honduras and will return toMt. Saint in the parish life. Seminarian Gregory Bettencourt is cur- Mary Seminary this fall for his third year of "Prayer plays an important role in spiri- rently completing a pastoral year at Holy theological studies. For seminarian Riley Williams his sumtual development and that is another gift that Family Parish, East Taunton. This fall he will the seminarian receives. It enriches their attend St. John Seminary in Brighton for his mer will be spent in school as he takes a seven-week course in Italian at Middlebury knowledge of what the priesthood is and the first year of theological studies. priestly journey," he added. '''This has been a great experience for me," College in Vermont. "I'm looking fOlWard "It's'a wonderful opportunitY to sit doWn said Bettencourt. ''I'm lucky because this is to it," said Williams. "It will broaden my with,a pastor and have a mentor. The pastor my home p;uish.and I've had the opportu- knowledge." Williams is preparing for his senior year helps them see what it all means and helps nity to put the things I've learned into practhem prepare for the priesthood. The beauty tice and get a feeling of what it might be like at Franciscan University of Steubenville, of having several assigiunents during sum- to be a parish priest." Ohio this fall. He is pursuing a bachelor's Bettencourt said from a spiritual aspect degree in philosophy with minors in theolmers is that each parish is a different experi-', ence," said Father Correia. his time has been well spent in prayer and ogy and Latin. . He was grateful for the assistance the' reflection. "I've experienced spiritual growth Williams has been helping out at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville and seminarians have given him in helping to . and this has been invaluable," he said. prepare vocational posters other things for When asked what the most eye-opening was grateful for the experience. "My pastor the office. '. experience has been, Bettencourt didn't need . here has given me a lot of wonderful oppor''They have been a tremendous help to much time to respond citing bringing the Eu- tunities to participate in the life of the parme,': said Father Correia. ' charist to the sick and homebound. "When ish," said Williams. "I've been able to serve Seminarian Daniel Nunes of Swansea is you arrive with the Eucharist and someone at daily and weekend Masses and I've taught beginning a pastoral year at Holy Narne of starts to cry because they love God and you . a four-week adult education class on the the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in New see how strong their faith is it renews your Vatican IT's contribution to the Church." . He was thankful for the support he's reBedford. "I'm very excited about this," said own faith. It's moving," said Bettencourt. . Bettencourt has helped with variousceived from the parishioners and said, "All Nunes. "It's nice to go from studies to a par' c o m m i t t e e s at Holy.Family including voca- the seminarians are so grateful for the supish." Nunes has been in formation for five years tion awareness and respect life. He also port and prayers we've received. We're truly and said he is looking fOlWard to putting some worked with lectors, led Bible study classes thankful." of what he's learned in to practice. ' and visited the sick. ' Williams has enjoyed the college experi"I've heard priests talk about how you can "I've enjoyed bringing Christto individu- ence and said faith is very alive at the go through the spectrum ofwhat a priest does als and families," said Bettencourt. 'The best Franciscan University. He noted that spendin one day, but I never believed it," said Nunes. thing about being in a parish is ministering to ing time in the parish is an opportunity to ''The first weekend I was here I went through the people and seeing them grow in their faith." "see the real world. it ~affIrms where I am it firsthand because there was a funeral in the, He will leave th~ East Taunton parish on. and encourages me to continue towards the moming, MaSs and then a baptism." August 31 to begin Classes on September 5. goal of becoming a priest." Seminarian Ronnie Floyd is serving for For the second summer in a row, Father Nunes spent four years at Our Lady. of Providence house offormation in Providence,' the summer at Our Lady of Guadalupe Par- Karl Bissinger will travel to parisnes throughR.I., while taking classes at Providence Col- ish in New Bedford. He will return to his out the diocese speaking about vocations at . lege. He said, "It w~ nice to spend time with third year, of theological studies at the Pon- weekend Masses. tincal North American College this fall. Father Bissinger's schedule includes: July men who also wanted to become priests. "When I was young I met a man who was Some路 seminarians do not have official . 8-9 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish,.New really in love with his priesthood and that parish assignments this summer, but are Bedford; July 15-16 at Our Lady of Mount had an impact. I look fOlWard to growing in spending the time studying. JasonBrilhante Carmel Parish, New Bedford; July 22-23 at my own vocation and being able to think will continue his studies this su~er and is Annunciation ofthe Lord Parish, Taunton;July about the priesthood without being bogged preparing to enter St. John Seminary this fall 29-30 at St. Francis Xavier Parish, Acushnet; down with studies. You can truly pray about for a year of pre-theology studies. August 5-6 at Corpus Christi Parish, East it and also serve God's people." . David Deston and Peter Fournier are Sandwich; August 12-13 at Sacred Heart ParAfter he completes the assignment, Nunes spending their summer in Omaha, Nebraska, ish, North Attleboro; and August 26-27 at Our will enter his second year of theology at Mt. participating in the Institute for Priestly Lady of Victory Parish, Centerville. Saint Mary's Seminary in Evansburg, Mary- Formation's summer program at Creighton For more information on these seminarland. He said the best part of being a semi- University. In the fall, Deston will begin a ians and vocations visit the Diocesan Voca. narian is "the knowledge that you'll be serv- pastoral year at St. Michael Parish, Fall River tions Website at www.fallrivervocations.org.

Friday, July 7, 2006

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Class sacrifices graduation trip to aid Uganda's 'invisible children' TACOMA, Wash. (CNS) Visitation School's eighth-grade' graduation trip to Victoria would have been a blast for the 13-memberclass. Whale watching, shopping and visits路 to the House of Wax, the Imax Theater and the . . 1 museum were among proVInCIa the activities scheduled for the three-day stay in' British Columbia's picturesque capital. And, of course, there was the ferry ride to and from Seattle. But a visit to the school in May by a group of students from Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma changed all that. The group was spreading the word about the tragic situation in Uganda, a nation plagued by civil war where young children are being abducted from their homes at night and forced to fight in the rebel army. Thousands ofUgandan children, known as "night commuters," attempt to escape such a fate by traveling into town each nightto sleep in bus stations and other public places, according to Invisible Children Inc., a nonprofit group based in El Cajon, Calif. The Visitation students were deeply touched as they watched theorgamtation's film,'''InvisibJe' Children: Rough Cut," a gripping documentary that higWights the issue. The next day, while searching for ways to he'lp, the students decided to sacrifice their trip and instead donate $3,193.47 to help Invisible Children Inc. provide medicine, food, blankets and other aid to the children.

It was a tough decision to cancelatriptheyhadlookedforward to all year and for which they had held several fund-raisers, the students said later. But as one girl put it: Helping' a "whole bunch of other children" in dire needfar outwel'ghe'd "m'aking us happy" , WIth a class trip. Deacon Bill Eckert, a Bellarmine Prep teacher who is coordinating, the Invisible Children's group at Bellarmine, was overwhelm~d by the gesture. He said in an interview with The Catholic Northwest Progress, Seattle archdiocesan newspaper, that the eighth-graders were "teaching the Gospel', proclaimingthe goodnews. They're teaching us a lot mpre than we can possibly teach ~em." The students said the documentary film had a great influence on them. : "It was just'sad how all this was going on, and it was just so painful to watch," said Ariel Pedraza. "We Were (thinking) that we could be able to help." Eighth-grader Olivia Hale said the documentary helped her take stock ofhow gopct we have it here. "These childreJil in Uganda have 'nothing," she said~"It's amazing that we're so 'fortunate in the United States t6 have all we do. "We want~d to donate the money, too, to say, 'Hey, if eighth-grade kids from a Catholic school can qelp Uganda, then maybe some other people will start getting involved and kind of push the govdnment ... to stop the war,'" she ~aid.

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By CHARLIE MARTIN -

In 1989, in the country of Armenia, there was an earthquake that registered 8.9 on the Richter Scale. That is a big earthquake,andithitmidmorning. Devastation was ,everywhere. In the midst of the confusion, a man left his wife and ran to the school where their son was. When he got there, he was in shock. What was a two-story school building was completely flattened. He recalled how he told his son every night that he would always be there for him, and he cried as he saw a hopeless mess in front of him. Where the school was, there was now piles of rocks, bricks, wood, dirt, metal, wires, glass, and dust everywhere. Fires were breaking out in many places. After feeljng initial despair, the dad did the only thing he could think of: he grabbed the first piece of qebris he could move and dragged it off the pile. Then

CAtHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

HIGH "High," the song'sicharacter deBeautifui dawn scribes how a "beautiful dawn Lights up the shore for me lights up the shore lifor me." The' There is nothing else in the world scene is made even more beautiful I'd rather wake up and see because he can sharJ it with some(with you) one he loves. Apparently this relaBeautiful dawn tionship has changed his life. He I'm just chasing time again had "thought I would die a'lonely ld d I I Thought I wou ie a one y man man, in endless night." Yet, "now in endless night I'm high, running ~,Id among the Refrain: stars above." But now I'm high, running wild It is true that sha{-ing love with among all the stars above another wakes us up to seeing more Sometimes it's hard.to believe you of life's beauty. Most likely, we remember me ' can't help but do sO'.IExperiencing Beautiful dawn the gift of love brings us closer to Melt with the stars again the source of all love) our God, who Do you remember the day when has put so much goodness and my journey began? beauty in creation. Where love is, Will you remember the end God is, and where GOd is, the beau(of time)? tiful will be found. 'I Beautiful dawn Consequently, tOjllive with the YC?u 're just blowing my mind joy or "high" that the song's charagain acter describes, is td be a giver of Thought I was born to endless love. In fact, don't Wait for a spenight until you shine cial romantic reiatiohship to come (Repeat refrain.) along. Rather, be available to give Will you be my shoulder when I'm caring, loving supp:brt to whomgray and older? ever you contact. II . Promise me tomorrow starts . Here are some suggestIOns on with you practical ways to put1nore love into Getting high, running wild among your life (and thus discover more all the stars above of the beautiful in our world): 'Sometimes it's hard to believe y~u Give anonymous gifts. This can remember me . really be fun. For example, anony- . Sung by James Blunt mousJy leave a cand~ bar or snack Copyright 2005 Atlantic/Bedlam on a friend's homerdbni. desk. Add James Blunt's "Beautiful" gave a kind note. Be as creative as you the British soldier turned popl can in giving smatl anonymous rock star worldwide recognition. gifts. ' ~. Currently "High," oft the same Help yourself feel loved by "Back To Bedlam" disc, is climb- spending more timellin nature. Go ing the charts and getting lots of . camping, hi~ing, rafting, beachairplay. combing or, if time r~straints don't . Like his first hit, the song ad- allow for such adventures, focus on dresses how we discover the beau- five minutes a day to enjoy sunrises tiful in life. "Beautiful" focused on or sunsets. Your creator gives all the power of physical attraction. In of nature's splendors to you with II

o~ life

unconditional love. Let nature's beauty bring you moments of peace and enhance your sense of well-being. Make the personal commitment to use the talents and interests God gave you to help others facing life's challenges. Aim for two hours a week of caring service. If you are unsure how to volunteer, talk to a teacher at school. or someone on your pastoral staff in your parish. Consider sharing love through the gift of money. Two Oitholic organizations that help tho~e in significant need are Catholic Relief Services (209 W. Fayette St., Baltimore, MD 21201)and Catholic Charities USA (l731-King St., Alexandria, VA 22314). Also, check their Websites (www.crs.org and www.catholiccharitiesusa.org) for information on how these parts of our Church bring hope and caring to many. Your financial gift would be especially valuable if you donate money that you might normally spend on yourself, perhaps for soft drinks or a new CD. Sure, you might miss the enjoyment these items bring, but you will feel better knowing that your gift of caring is helping those who are suffering.' . Resolve to smile and be courteous to everyone yOu meet. Show' how loved you feel by God by extending the warmth of your personality. ' Living with the type of "high" this song describes is a choice. Make love appear wherever and whenever you can. Your comments are always welcome. Please write to me at:' chmartin@swindiana.net or at 7I25W 200S, Rockport, IN 47635.

I told you he would save u~ ,

he went back and picked up the next thing he was strong enough to move. Shortly after, other parents began to arrive,: and the sounds of screams and wailing could be heard. :Someone saw the dad picking up boards and bricks and shouted; "What~are you '# doing? Face it. They're dead: You're wasting your time." The dad briefly stopped and said,~; (( "Are you going to help me find my son?" The answer was, "No." Then the dad returned to picking up and dragging anything he could. A little while,ilater, the fIre department arrived. A fIrefighter approached the dad and said, "Sir, I know you' are distraught. But it is too dangerous for you to be here. Go home, and we'll take care of it." The dad replied, "Are you going to help me find my son?" The'frreman looked around I

at a countryside full of broken buildings, fires, and injured people, and answered, "No." "Then leave me alone," the dad shouted, and got back to work.

By Bud Mi~ \

A little while later, a police officer approached and told the dad that he had to leave the area. It was too dangerous. There were gas leaks and fires, and aftershocks were still possible. The ground where the school was located was too unsteady, the policeman told him. He must go home. The dad simply replied, "Are you going to help me find

my son?" Once again, the answer seemed an impossibility. Heaven was, "No." 'Then leave me and freedom were out of reach. alone," he shouted, ~d got back But then God did the unimagII to work. inable: He loved us so much that Six hours passed'! Twelve he personally came to rescue us. hours. Fiftedn hours. During Jesus' ministry, there Twenty houJs of moving were frequent voices shouting, boards and ~ricks. "Go home. Stop this nonsense, Twenty-fivethours. Thirty you wandering preacher." Even ho~rs. ~i~-five hours. his own apostles tried to prevent Thlrty-elghtl~ater,the dad him from rescuing us: "Lord, if moved a he~vy piece.of they intend to kill you there, we wood and h~ard a VOice. cannot let you go to Jerusalem." He shouted, !and his son But our God has a Father's shouted bac~. "Dad, love. Ignoring all contrary we're down here!" Then voices, our Savior lifted the the dad heara his son say wood that would lead to our ' to his classmates, "Ilitol? you not rescue. Three days after all to worry. My dad pr?mlsed that seemed lost 'and hopeless, Jesus he would always be ithere for me. succeeded in saving our lives. He I told you he would ~ave us!" has told us for generations, and Thirteen children were rescued he tells us today, "I promise I that day. will always be there for you." We were all mice buried alive: And he means it. . under debris called ~in and death. Bud Miller, founder of Thi~ deadly and suft;ocating Catholic to The Core Ministries, rubble surrounded u~, and there can be contacted at seemed to be no hope. Rescue .Catholii:ToTheCore@yahoo.com. 1:1

theanc~

Project Rachel

Continuedfrom page one

fullness in action," she added. Rachel training session and 20 freedom to find forgiveness and "You see people who carry a more took part in the 2005 ses- peace within God's love and tremendous amount of pain in sions. The full day of training mercy." their hearts come to understand includes talks by doctors and Many people try to cope by the truth of mercy in their life professionals like Dr. Joanne . themselves through the years and God's forgiveness and love. Angelo of Boston, so they can and are often living in denial. You see a change of heart.' They better understand women's It's a pain that effects not just understand the gravity of what grief. one person, but is "like a spioccurred in their lives. But no Funds from the Appeal help der web," said Desrosiers. "It matter what happened, God is provide the training' for priests affeCts marriages, other chilalways merciful. We are all sin- and counselors, pays for the dren, society." ners." phone service, materials for The late Pope John Paul II For those who have been training and helps bring more wrote about abortion in his through an abortion experience awareness of the program. 1995 encyclical letter and are dealing with a sense of Father Michael Ciryak, pas- "Evangelium Vitae, " "The Gosloss or alienation and guilt there tor of St. Francis of Assisi Par- pel of Life." He said, "I.would is hope. By calling Project Ish, Swansea, participated in like to say a special word to Rachel at 508:..997-3300 they last year's training and said, women who have had an aborcan speak privately and confi- "Project Rachel is important tion. Do not give in to discourdentially with a trained profes- because one of the great aspects agement and do not lose hope. sional who understands their of the Church is reconciliation The Father of Mercies is ready pain. and healing. "It helps us as .to give you his forgiveness and Women, men and even priests to bring the compassion his peace. You will come to grandparents are welcome to of Christ to people." understand that nothing is decall for a referral to a priest He called the training and finitively lost and you will also with special training who is materials a valuable resource be able to ask forgiveness from ready to minister God's forgive- for priests and said, "Because your child, who is now living ness and grace through the sac- a priest does not have his own, in the Lord." rament of reconciliation. If . children, he does not know the Desrosiers called it one of needed, they can refer callers to struggles women go through. the most powerful passages a qualified therapist. Project Project Rachel helps us to be in she's ever read regarding 'aborRachel offers a way for people touch with those suffering from tion and said, "I have found to' move towards peace with the pain of abortion and help myself at times reading that to God, their unborn child, fami- them come to terms with those a caller because it has such a lies, the Church and them- realizations." He added that it'.s powerful impact. It's through selves. like an open door to help people that grieving process that we "Most ofthe calls we receive and "when we can help those come to healing." are from people looking for a ' who feel isolated, it can be life Father Kevin Cook of St. spiritual reconnection wjth the giving." Patrick's Parish, in Wareham, Church and with God," said Founded in 1984 by Victoria participated in the 2005 trainDesrosiers. "We receive hun- Thorn in Milwaukee, Project ing and knows about the longdreds of calls throughout the Rachel programs can be found term affects ab<;>rtion can have. year. When people see the in 140 CatholiC dioceses in the "People suffering from these phone number somewhere they United States, as well as in dio- spiritual, psychological and realize that their sin is not un- ceses in other countries. emotional effects are in need of forgivable." Its name comes froni healing. We can share with Desrosiers said that outreach Jeremiah 31:15-17, which says: them the message of mercy and can "allow them to begin the "In Ramah is heard the sound' help them come back to Christ," healing process. They can share of moaning, of bitter weeping! he said. their story and they know that Rachel mourns her children, "It requires loving patience, someone is there to listen and she refuses to be consoled be- but the reward is witnessing to understand that while abor- cause her children are no more. God's grace at work. You can tion is a grave evil, God's mercy Thus says the Lord: 'Cease your see a change come forth." extends to all. Oftentimes they cries of mourning, wipe the , Desrosiers is glad for the opneed to find the way to forgive tears from your eyes. The sor-', portunity to reach out to people themselves." row you have shown shall have and was thankful for the work Father Jay T. Maddock, pas- its reward. There is hope for of those involved 'in Project ' tor of Holy Family Parish, East your future. '" Rachel including Assistant DiTaunton, said Project Rachel is Project Rachel is "an impor- rector Jean Arsenault. "an extremely significant pro- tant ministry of the Church," "Society as a whole has' to gram and we're fortunate to said Father John J. Oliveira, understand that abortion is unhave it for people seeking rec- pastor of Our Lady of Mount natural," said Desrosiers. onciliation and peace in their Carniel Parish in New Bedford. "There is no hope in death. We hearts and with the Church." "Our parishes should be places need to be a society of life beFather Maddock completed where healing and reconcilia- cause it notoniy hurts the child, the initial training in, Project tion occur. When life is broken, but it hurts all of us." Rachel offered by the diocese Christ restores it, even out of The Project Rachel phone and said he has since been able the experiences that have weak- line is available 24-hours a day to put what he learned into ened or broken us." to people of all faiths. If you or practice. In the past few years someone you love needs help "One of the hallmarks of our D~srosiers has begun to receive call 508-997-3300. All calls are Catholic faith is forgiveness phone calls from men seeking strictly confidential. and we are a people of hope so help as well. According to the when someone find's them- director, it's usually an average selves in that situation-it's good of seVen to 10 years after the to know there is a place for abortion has happened that them to go," he said. "It focuses people seek help. on the healing power of the "Many are suffering post Lord and that is a great gift to abortion syndrome," she said. give.to those who are hurting. I "They are feeling guilt, grief, just hope the word is out there alienation and shame. We're alabout this valuable program." lowed through this ministry to More than 40 priests partici- bring them a sense of hope and pated in the initial Project understanding. We give them a

Friday, July 7, 2006

,POPE BENEDICT XVI presents a pallium to Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington during a Mass in S1. Peter's Basilica on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul. (eNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)

Pope tells archbishops evil will never defeat Christ, Church VATICAN CITY - The powers ofevil and death will never triumph over Christ and the Church :be built on the rock of Peter and [continues to fortify with his successors, Pope Benedict XVI told new archbishops from 18 countries. Though the Church and Christ are continually walking toward ,their cross, suffering and being '. tossed t<;> and fro like a small boat . on a sea whipped up "by the winds of ideologies, ... in the suffering Church, Christ is victorious," the pope said during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the feastofSS. Peter and Paul June 29. During the Mass, thepope gave the archbishops named within the previous year a pallium, a circu- . lar band of white wool marked with six black crosses. The pallium symbolizes an archbishop's authority and unity with the pope. The pope and archbishops :were dressed in brilliant red vestments, but the popewore a longer, more traditional style of the pallimo, which he reintroduced after his installation last year as bishop ofRome. Among the 27 archbishops re'Â§iving palliums were U.S. Archbishops Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, George H. Niederauer ofSan Francisco and Donald W. Wuerl ofWashington, as well as Canadian Archbishop Sylvain Lavoie of Keewatin-Le i,Pas, Manitoba ., "â&#x20AC;˘ .' '. . In his homily, the pope recalled the trials ofJob after God allowed Satan to test the man's faith. Similar trials .continue to befall Christ's faithful, and sometimes "it seems that God gives Satan too much freedom" and ~'the capacity to \Sl1akeus up IoOterfibly." , But, just as Jesus prayed for Peter, he prays for the Church and its people "that your own faith may not fail," he said. After the ceremony, Arch,Qi~hop Niederauer told Catholic ;N'~ws Service thatwhen the pope :tatked about Jesus heading toward Jerusalem for his suffering and resurrection "that road is going to be the same for us."

"We will not evade that cross, we will not evade the confrontations that come, but in Christ we will be able to carry our crosses ... and be able to keep the promise we made to Peter, the Church" and Christ, he said. Seated near the altar was a delegation representing the leader of the world's Orthodox believers, EcUIllenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, The patriarchate is based in Istanbul, Thrkey. At the end ofthe Mass the pope and the head of the delegation, Metropolitan John of Pergamon, prayed together at St. Peter's tomb beneath the basilica's main altar. The patriarch sends a delegation to the Vatican each year for the feast ofSS, Peter and Paul, the Vatican's patron saints. This year, Pope Benedict is planning to go to Turkey November 28-30 to participate in the Orthodox church's celebration of the November 30 feast of St. Andrew, patron of the patriarchate. Other guests at the pallium Mass included a 7D-memberchoir from Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., which along with the Sistine Chapel Choir and an Italian choir provided music. During the ceremony, each archbishop came up individually to the pope, bowed and knelt as the pope placed the woolen stole over his head. The pope warmly shook hands with each one and engaged in a brief conversation. Archbishop DiNardo's twin sister, Peg Riesmeyer of McMurray, Pa., said that when she saw her brother kneel for his palliUIll she "got teary-eyed" and thought how much she wished their parents, both of whom have died, could have been there. She said she always felt he was destined for great things since he "seemed to have the will, the desire, the passion to become a priest," so receiving the pallium represents "a blessed, happy fulfillment of what we always thought Dan could do and would become."

0._

Frid1iy, 3'uly·i7,2006 II

tion of Mass at 6:30 p.m. July 15. For more information call Rose Costa at 508993-4938. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

WEST HARWICH - Perpetual eucharistic adoration is held at Our Lady of Life perpetual adoration chapel. New adorers are needed. For more information call 508-430-4716. HEALING MASSES

ATTLEBORO La Salette Father Andre Patenaude will lead a healing service Sunday at 2 p.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. It will include music and the opportunity to be anointed and prayed over individually. For more information call 508-222-5410. MISCELLANEOUS

NEW BEDFORD -

Vol-

unteers are needed for the Donovan House, a transitional home for women and children. Training and ongoing support will be given. For more information call 508-999-5893. MASHPEE - The an. nual Cape Cod & the Islands St. Mary's Fund Dinner will be held July 14 at Willowbend. For information or reservations, call Jane Robin at 508-7593566. NEW BEDFORD - A tridu'um in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel beginning July 13 with a prayer service at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 4256 Acushnet Avenue. A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. July 14 and it will conclude with the celebra-

In Your Prayers July 12 2005, Most Rev. Joseph P. Delaney, Bishop of Fort Worth, Texas

Rev Arthu, P Denl::~3S, Lasol<!t,e ~athe; \~~

Be~i~~'

_____Ji~ly ;14

Rev.

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PROVINCETOWN - A day of reflection, an interfaith event for persons living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, caregivers, families and friends, will be held August 3 at St. Peter the Apostle Parish, 11 Prince Street. It is by invitation only. If you have an interest in attending please call the Office of AIDS Ministry at 508-674-5600 ext. 2295.

NORTH DARTMOUTH

- A divorced-separated support group will meet July 10 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center, 500 Slocum Road. It will include the video presentation, "What's Happening to Me." For more information call Bob Menard at 508-965-2919.

j~y carillgfamily alld sCT1!ice-family professionals

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I~he people you 'mow

~:ustom.deSiglled, personalized tributes II

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FAIRHAVEN - John Jannis will host a recital of classical vocal music Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish. Jannis is the parish music director and a music major at UMass~Da:rtmouth. Doris Sullivan will be the accompanist. For more information call 508-673-4754.

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Pastor, St. Boniface, New

1949, Rev. Edmund 1. Neenan, Assistant, Sacred Heart, Oak Bluffs 1998, Rev. Vincent F. Diaferio, Pa~tor, Holy Rosary, Fall River

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SUPPORT GROUPS

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[937, Rev. Bem.,.d St. Dom;n", Swansea 2002, Rev. Matthew F. Sullivan, SS.G~ Retired Chaplain Bristol County House of Correctiqn, Former Pa~~, St. Mary, Fairhaven

July 17 1960, Rev. William J. Smith, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton 1981, Rev. Edmond Rego, Assistant, Espirito Santo, Fall River 1997, Rev. Ernest N. Bessette, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, Attleboro

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SOCIAL EVENTS

Please pray for the following priests during the coming weeks

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NORTH EAST, Penn. Alumni, faCUlty, staff and friends of the former Saint Mary's Seminary are invited to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Redemptorist Fathers' Preparatory College and High School August 4-6 at Mercyhurst. For more information call 914-632-9805 or visit the Website at: www.northeast125.com.

port group for sJparated-divorced person~ will meet July 13 and 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the La Salette Retreat House, 1:947 Park Street. For mo~e information call 508-236-9083.

AvallablenlJwin pOpula,. ~ookBtores and from online booksellers Publlshsd by Collins (142 pp, hari!covaf). ~SBN·'0:0-o6-116145-4, $39;95

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Friday, JUly 7, 2006

NBC's Tim Russertjinds Mercy Sister an energetic local promoter By DEACON JAMES N. DUNBAR

SEVERAL MEMBERS of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville have formed a prayer group to study Pope Benedict's "Deus Caritas Est." The group meets on Thursday mornings to share thoughts and discuss the pope's first encyclical. From left: Virginia Blundell, Margaret Mullin, Holy Union Sister Jane Sell mayer, Jane Powers, Frances Gaumond, and Jeanne Costello.

CROSS OF CHRIST, Knights of Columbus Family of Councils No. 12283, of St. Bernard Parish, Assonet, recently awarded hundreds of dollars in scholarships to two' high school and two college-bound parishioners. Each year, graduates are blessed at Sunday Mass and honored at a full and complimentary family breakfast. Front row, from left: Benjamin Levesque, West Virginia University; Joanna Levesque, Bishop Stang High School; back row: Paul Levesque, Grand Knight; David Morin; Coyle and Cassidy High School; Maureen Alizio, American International College; and Carol Levesque, president, Columbiettes. (Photo by Barret Castro)

FALL RIVER - When Tun Russert, host ofNBC's ''Meet the Press" and its chief political analys!, speaks at the St. Mary's Education Fund Fall Dinner on September 28, at White's of Westport, Mercy Sister Lucille Socciarelli will be there cheering. ''Tim is my favorite topic," said the 7 I-year old religious Sister who Russert acknowledges gave him a shove on the road to his career in journalism when he was a student at Buffalo's St. Bonaventure Grade School in 1963. "I've told so many people that they ought to hear Tun's message that if they all respond his talk will be sold out," his former teacher and now a chaplain at Charlton Memorial Hospital asserted. ''They'll be hanging from the rafters." Proceeds from the 5:30 p.m. reception and dinner event, one of two yearly fund-raisers, sup. ports the St. Mary's Education Fund, which provides need-based scholarships to students at Catholic elementary and middle schools in the Fall River diocese. In the past academic year alone, the Fund provided more than $660,000 in partial tuition aid to more than 650 Students. Sister' Socciarelli, who, like Russert,hails from Buffalo, N.Y., was his seventh- and eighthgrade teacher. She has been a Mercy Sister since 1953. "I was a young Sister at the time and Tim was a very lively young man," she recalled, laughing. "He was one of, if not the brightest, most intelligent student I ever had. I always thought he would some day be President of the United States. As a result I saved so many things he wrote. They were so good that I would frequently write in the margin, 'Is

this your own work?'" She remembers taking young Tun aside and telling him, "TIm, we have to find a way to channel your excess energy." She was about to start a new school newspaper and made Tim the editor. ''He was the editor and did everything," she recalled. . She also remembers that the man whose work has been rec~gnized with numerous major

TIM RUSSERT

journalism awards and who hold 41 honorary doctorate degrees from American colleges and universities, "didn't like to diagram sentences.", Russert went on to graduate from Canisius High School in Buffalo and John Carroll University in Cleveland before earning law de~ from the ClevelandMarshall College of Law. r Sister Socciarelli says, "My efforts paid off. His newest second book, 'Faith of our Fathers,' is on The New York TImes Best Sellers' list. His first book, also a ~bestseller, 'Big Russ and Me,'

written in 2004 is wonderful ... it's a memoir all about his father," who worked two jobs and sent his four children to Catholic schools. Russert became moderator of "Meet the Press" in 1991 and since has interviewed every major figure in American politics. His oft-quoted show has become the most watched Sunday morning interview program. He is also seen on "NBC Nightly News" and the ''Today'' show, offering political commentary and on CNBC where he hosts his own weekly 'Tun Russert Show." Currently he is the senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News, which he joined in 1984. Sister Socciarelli, who has been a chaplain at Charlton since 1991, had the opportunity to meet her favorite pupil again last month during a book signing in Newton. ''Will I be at White's to hear TIm? Is the pope Catholic? Of course I' 11 be there," she told The Anchor. ' Nicholas M. Christ, chairman ofthe Fall Dinner, is grateful that Russert accepted the invitation. ''Throughout his very public career, Russert has always placed great importance on the educa- . tion he received in Catholic , schools. He is the ideal man to have on the program of an event designed to raise money to help families afford a Catholic education," the chairman said. He added, "A successful Fall Dinner is absolutely necessary if the St. Mary's Fund is going to be able to assist the increasing numbers of students looking for help with tuition costs."

Anyone interested in attending the dinner or in need ofinformation can caD the Diocesan Development Office oJ 508-6751311.

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FATHER GEORGE C. Bellenoit cel~brated his last Mass as pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Mansfield last weekend. Following the Mass, Father Bellenoit and those attending the Mass posed for this photo as a special gift to him. Following the Mass, parishioners honored and thanked him with a celebration. Father Bellenoit is now pastor of St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth. (Ph,oto by Charlene 'A. McNeil)