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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , October 4, 2013

Grammy nominee goes to bat for the Men of the Sacred Heart

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

NEW BEDFORD — There aren’t many Christian artists who have been nominated three times for a Grammy Award.

What’s more, there are even fewer who can trace their humble beginnings and the catalyst for their conversion back to a horror movie.

But singer-songwriter Marty Rotella can attest to both claims and he’ll be bringing his talent to the Fall River Diocese tomorrow to benefit the Men of the Sacred Heart.

“I sang in the original ‘Friday the 13th’ movie,” Rotella told The Anchor, referring to the 1980 film that spawned several sequels, inspired countless imitators and single-handedly created the socalled “teen slasher” sub-genre.

“I had a local band at that point and my saxophone player also worked as a movie scorer and he

Marty Rotella

had gotten the job to score it. So he asked me if I wanted to come in and sing for it.”

Rotella explained the notorious movie originally had a theme song titled “Sail Away” on which he and sister provided vocals. But when Paramount Pictures bought the rights to the $600,000 low-budget horror flick, they didn’t want to dole out additional royalties for the song.

“They cut us out but the song was used as what they call incidental music in the movie,” Rotella said. “You know, like when they’re in a diner and they put money into a jukebox and a song comes on, that’s how it’s used.

When they were around the campfire they were singing it.”

Oddly enough, Rotella considers being cut out of “one of the biggest horror films of all time” nothing short of a “blessing in disguise.”

Then just 25 years old, Rotella said he probably would have ridden the unexpected wave of success from “Friday the 13th” and gone straight to Hollywood to work on other film projects in its wake.

Despite this setback, he was soon offered a life-changing opportunity that reminded him of something out of another wellknown film: “The Godfather.”

“I was offered a six-year, $2.2 million contract, plus a house in Tahoe, so it was a $3 million deal,” Rotella said. “I would have been opening for Bill Cosby by June of 1982 in Vegas. That was exciting — it was everything I Turn to page 14

Attendees of this year’s diocesan Pro-Life Boot Camp hold vigil near Four Women Health Services in Attleboro, the only abortion clinic still in operation within the Diocese of Fall River. The youth are taught that they are called not to judge people’s heart but to pray for a conversion, not just from those seeking abortion services but from those providing the services.

Diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate at work during and beyond 40 Days for Life

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — On September 25, 40 Days for Life launched its semiannual campaign to highlight Pro-Life efforts by encouraging daily prayers and fasting among the thousands of faithful in the United States and the 19 other countries who unite in

the common cause for life.

A recent email sent out by local coordinators, along with a reminder of celebrating the campaign’s kickoff with a Pro-Life Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, highlighted the annual diocesan Pro-Life Boot Camp held at Stonehill College this

past summer, and how there was a 20 percent increase in attendance over the prior year — something of which Marian Desrosiers, director of the Pro-Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Fall River, couldn’t be more proud.

“Boot Camp went extremely well,” said Desrosiers, Turn to page 15

MCFL banquet to feature Pro-Life activist Lila Rose

By Christine Williams Anchor Correspondent

NORWOOD — Lila Rose became a ProLife activist at age 14 when she founded Live Action. She recorded phone calls placed to Planned Parenthood and later led sting operations that caught employees covering up sexual

abuse, assisting sex traffickers and giving false medical information. Her work has played a part in the movement in some states to defund the abortion giant.

Because of her success and her age, Massachusetts Citizens for Life invited her to speak Turn to page 18

Much more than just about the game

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — They’ve been a staple in spring and summer editions of The Anchor since 2006. The Pawtucket Red Sox, AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, have advertised in this publication for six seasons, offering families a safe, inexpensive, and fun experience at their cozy ball park, McCoy Stadium, just minutes over the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.

The PawSox also offer baseball fans, casual and die-hard, an excellent product on the field, having been the launching pad for such Major League greats as Roger Clemens and Nomar Garciaparra, Hall-ofFamers Jim Rice and Dennis Eckersley, and current Red Sox Dustin Pedroia, to name a small few.

Not being owned by the Boston Red Sox, the PawSox was floundering in the early 1970s, but the franchise began

a meteoric rise in popularity and integrity when, in 1977, Ben Mondor bought it and brought in Mike Tamburro as its president. The men, both faithful and devoted Catholics, dedicated themselves to transforming the franchise into a product that would be enjoyable and affordable.

“Ben and Mike worked hard to make the Pawtucket Red Sox family-friendly with family prices,” Michael Gwynn, Turn to page 18

A group of Little Sisters of the Poor share the field at McCoy Stadium with Paws, left, and Sox, right, before a game there in July.

(Photo courtesy of the Pawtucket Red Sox)

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October 4, 2013 News From the Vatican Pope calls for less ‘Vatican-centric,’ more socially conscious Church

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his latest wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis said that he aimed to make the Catholic Church less “Vatican-centric” and closer to the “people of God,” as well as more socially conscious and open to modern culture.

He also revealed that he briefly considered turning down the papacy in the moments following his election last March, and identified the “most urgent problem” the Church should address today as youth unemployment and the abandonment of elderly people.

The pope’s remarks appeared in a 4,500-word interview, published October 1 in the Rome daily La Repubblica, with Eugenio Scalfari, a cofounder and former editor-inchief of the newspaper.

Scalfari, an avowed atheist, publicly addressed the pope in a pair of articles on religious and philosophical topics over the summer, and Pope Francis replied in a letter that La Repubblica published September 11. The journalist reported that the two met in person at the Vatican September 24.

Their conversation touched on a range of topics, including economic justice, dialogue between Christians and nonbelievers, and reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

“Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers,” the pope said. “The court is the leprosy of the papacy.”

Pope Francis said that the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration at the Vatican, is not itself a court, though courtiers can be found there.

The curia “has one defect,” he said. “It is Vatican-centric.

It sees and looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, for the most part, temporal interests. This Vaticancentric view neglects the world around us. I do not share this view and I’ll do everything I can to change it.”

“The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people,” he said. “Priests, pastors and bishops who have the care of souls are at the service of the people of God.” In response to Scalfari’s opinion that “love for temporal power is still very strong within the Vatican walls and in the institutional structure of the whole Church,” and that the “institution dominates the poor, missionary Church that you would like,” Pope Francis

agreed, saying: “In fact, that is the way it is, and in this area you cannot perform miracles.”

Yet the pope offered reason for hope in the eight-member Council of Cardinals advising him on Church governance and reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, which he convened for three days of initial meetings that began October 1.

“The first thing I decided was to appoint a group of eight cardinals to be my advisers, not courtiers but wise people who share my own feelings,” he said. “This is the beginning of a Church that is not just topdown but also horizontal.”

Pope Francis called for greater commitment by the Church to the alleviation of social problems, particularly those of the young and the elderly.

“The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old,” he said. “This, to me, is the most urgent problem that the Church is facing.”

While he acknowledged that addressing economic and political problems is largely the responsibility of governments and other secular institutions, he said that such problems “also concern the Church, in fact, the Church above all because this situation wounds not only bodies but also souls.

The Church must feel responsibility for both souls and bodies.”

The pope echoed his numerous earlier calls for greater restraint on market forces.

“Personally I think so-called savage liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded,” he said. “We need great freedom, no discrimination, no demagoguery and lots of love. We need rules of conduct and also, if necessary, direct intervention from the state to correct the more intolerable inequalities.”

The pope recalled the influence on his thinking of one of his early teachers, a “fervent communist” and “courageous and honest person,” whose “materialism had no hold over me” but who raised his awareness of an “aspect of the social, which I then found in the social doctrine of the Church.”

Asked whether he agreed with the Church’s disciplining of liberation theologians during the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II, Pope Francis said that liberation theology “certainly gave a political aspect to their theology, but many of

them were believers and with a high concept of humanity.”

The pope said that the “Church will not deal with politics,” and suggested that Church leaders should not pressure Catholic office holders to take particular positions in matters of public policy.

“I believe that Catholics involved in politics carry the values of their religion within them, but have the mature awareness and expertise to implement them,” he said.

“The Church will never go beyond its task of expressing and disseminating its values, at least as long as I’m here,” the pope said, agreeing that Church leaders have “almost never” observed such limits.

“Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them,” the pope said elsewhere in the interview. “That would be enough to make the world

a better place.”

Pope Francis joked that he had been warned that his atheist interviewer might try to convert him, but the pope told Scalfari that he would not try to do likewise.

“Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense,” he said. “We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.”

The Second Vatican Council “decided to look to the future with a modern spirit and to be open to modern culture,” the pope said. “The council fathers knew that being open to modern culture meant religious ecumenism and dialogue with non-believers. But afterwards very little was done in that direction. I have the humility and ambition to want to do something.”

Pope Francis suggested that he and his interviewer shared a deep common ground of belief.

When Scalfari said that he believed in “being, that is, in the tissue from which forms, bodies arise,” the pope responded: “I believe in God, not in a Catholic God. There is no Catholic God, there is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, His Incarnation. Jesus is my Teacher and my Pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, the Light and the Creator. This is my being. Do you think we are very far apart?”

The two also voiced similar views of clericalism. Pope Francis praised Scalfari for avoiding anti-clericalism although he is not a believer, but the journalist told the pope, “I become so when I meet a clericalist.”

Scalfari said the pope smiled and replied, “It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anticlerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Church needs good catechists, who love Christ, live out the Gospel in their lives and courageously go to the margins of society to share the gift of faith with others, Pope Francis told catechists from around the world.

“Let us follow Him, imitate Him in His dynamic of love, of going to others, and let’s go out, open the doors, have the audacity to strike out new paths to proclaim the Gospel,” he said recently, in a talk that was both improvised and drawn from a text.

Seated behind a large wooden desk facing his audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, the pope joked that he was going to make just three points, “like the oldtime Jesuits used to do: one, two, three,” he said to laughter.

Many in the audience hall took notes, closely following the pope’s words. Hundreds of catechists were in Rome for a three-day international congress hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

The pope thanked them for their service to the Church and said being a catechist isn’t a job or a title, it’s a vocation, an approach to life.

It starts first with being with God, getting to know Him and conforming one’s life to the Gospel — a task that lasts a lifetime, he said.

Being close to God means praying to Him, talking with Him and letting Him “watch over you,” he said, which “warms the heart and keeps the fire of friendship

with the Lord alive.”

Not everyone, especially busy mothers and fathers, can spend a lot of quiet time in prayer before the tabernacle, where Christ is truly present, he said.

But everyone can find some way to be and stay with Jesus because, if not, “if there isn’t the warmth of God, His love, His tenderness in our heart, how can we — poor sinners — warm the hearts of others?”

The second thing catechists need to do, he said, is imitate Christ by going outside of themselves and be there for others.

Receiving the gift of faith and having Christ at the center of one’s life, “pushes us out,” compels Christians to go outside their ego and reach out “to others in Christ’s name.”

This dynamic of receiving and then giving is like the diastolic and systolic pressures at work in the bloodstream, he said. Without both of these forces at work, the catechist’s “heart stops beating, he cannot live.”

But this gift of faith must be total, 100 percent: “You don’t take a cut for yourself,” he said, “This is not a bargain.”

The third thing to do is to not be afraid of striking out into the unknown, like Jonah was when God told him to preach to the pagans in Nineveh.

Jonah’s fear, the pope said, was because “he was rigid” and thought he had the truth staying right where he was.

But “God is not afraid of the outskirts,” he said, and “is always

beyond our mindsets.”

“God is creative, He’s not narrow-minded, and for this He is never rigid,” the pope said. God “welcomes us, comes to us and understands us.”

While the Gospel does not change, catechists need to be creative and know how to change themselves, adapting themselves to the people and circumstances they encounter.

“To stay with God it’s necessary to know how to go out, to not be afraid of going out” into the world, he said.

“If catechists let themselves be taken over by fear, they’re wimps, and if catechists are laid back they end up being a statue in a museum, and we have plenty of them, right?”

When a room is closed up tight, the air gets stuffy and the people inside get sick, he said.

A similar sickness occurs when Christians are closed up within themselves, their group, their parish or their studies, he said.

But Jesus did not say, “Go and make do,” he said, “Go, I am with you.”

“This is our beauty and our strength: If we go, if we go out to bring His Gospel with love, with real apostolic spirit, with (confidence), He walks with us, goes before us.”

Even though it may seem too far away “and perhaps we are a little hesitant, in reality, He is already there. Jesus is waiting for us in the heart of that brother, in his wounded flesh, in his oppressed life, in his soul that lacks faith.”

Pope tells catechists to reach out to others in name of Christ

3 The International Church Charity must begin at parish level, Caritas head tells Canadian bishops

October 4, 2013

SAINTE-ADELE, Quebec (CNS) — Charity needs to begin face-to-face, at the local parish level, the president of Caritas Internationalis told Canada’s bishops.

“Every Christian community must have a ‘heart which sees’ the miseries which, tragically, persist around it and can attend to them,” Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of the Vatican’s charitable federation, told the bishops’ recent plenary meeting.

The cardinal, who is archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, told the story of a priest in Brazil who, during the annual Lenten campaign for the poor, wondered how many poor people attended his parish.

The priest did a survey and discovered 15 families in extreme poverty. Instead of always asking for money to help the poor, the priest realized something had to be done for the families in his own parish, the cardinal said.

The priest gathered parishioners, and one said he could offer work to one of the families. Others stepped forward with offers.

“They were organizing and it was beautiful,” said Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga.

“We need more organized pastoral reaction,” he said, noting this comes from “knowing the reality” and acting on this.

“It’s very important for the work of Caritas to start at the local level,” he said. At the same time, bishops must examine how

the Church exercises charity on a national level through episcopal conferences, and at the universal level through the Holy See. He warned the Church is “living through a time of grave crisis.”

“It’s not just an economic crisis, nor is it only a cultural crisis; nor is it a crisis of faith. Today, humankind is in danger. Today, the Body of Christ is in danger,” he said. “As Pope Francis said, ‘Our civilization has established a throwaway culture. If it’s no use, throw it away, into the garbage: children, the elderly and outsiders. This is the crisis we’re living through.’”

“The challenges we are facing are real, and sometimes daunting,” the cardinal said.

“Dear friends, the mission of Caritas Internationalis is to serve the poor, and even more the poorest of them first,” he said.

“For many people in need, Caritas is the loving face of Christ Who brings relief and comfort, respect and recognition,” he said.

“As Caritas we are called to witness His love, and we do it with enthusiasm. We know that God is love and we know and believe that He has created every single person in His image.”

“Therefore we can’t afford to lose one single person from our one human family without losing our own destiny. We would lose a brother or a sister in Christ, Who made Himself equal to all of us,” he said.

The cardinal said among the

A mother and her children hide from gunmen at Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, September 21. Kenya’s military said it had rescued most of the hostages being held captive by al-Qaida-linked militants during a standoff that killed dozens of people and injured at least 175. As Kenya began three days of mourning for the dozens of people killed in the siege on the mall, it was unclear how many more hostages may have died with the Islamist attackers buried in the rubble. (CNS photo/Siegfried Modola, Reuters)

challenges the Church faces is ensuring Caritas is at the heart of the Church and not merely a fund-raising nongovernmental organization.

Many times Caritas is “seen as a source of employment,” he said.

People have asked him, “Now that you are leading this, couldn’t you get me a job?”

But Caritas “works mainly with volunteers,” he said, noting that Spain has one of the best Caritas organizations in the world — 62,000 volunteers, organized out of 6,000 parishes.

As Spain experiences a crisis of unemployment, with millions of people out of work and austerity measures, Caritas Spain is serving a million food packages a day, he said. Donations keep rising and the agency is “the most respected institution in all Spain.”

“When there is a motivation of the people of God, Caritas is growing,” he said.

Archbishop Brendan O’Brien of Kingston, Ontario, asked the cardinal about the makeup of other Caritas organizations.

“In Canada, and perhaps in other parts of the world, while we have local Caritas organizations in each diocese, we don’t really give aid to ourselves,” the archbishop said.

Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga said part of the problem came from Caritas’ growth “as an external part of the body, and not an internal part of the body.”

He said it is important “to develop the local part of Caritas to respond to their own needs.”

Otherwise, groups might appeal to big organizations like Caritas Germany for funds rather than look after their own needs if possible.

“We cannot think the money will come from somewhere,” the cardinal said. “We are co-responsible for our own poor.”

Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia, asked the cardinal about what the bishops’ response should be when, for example, schoolchildren are taking part in fundraising drives for non-Catholic agencies that may also advocate

for “reproductive rights” in the Third World. The children may be raising money to building houses, Miller said, but we “know from other sources they (organizations) do engage in other activities.”

“I believe it is necessary to present the teachings of the Church in an adequate way, even to small children,” said Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga. He said he was confronted with a similar problem at a conference promoting social justice in Germany. A group of children came to him asking for him to sign their cards.

The first one he saw read: “I support the use of condoms.”

“Can you imagine this with small children?” he said. When he asked why they were giving him that, they replied, “For the good of humanity.”

“We think social issues should not be addressed to the small children that are preparing for the First Communion,” he said.

Instead, the teaching on the social doctrine of the Church should start “at the very beginning.”

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October 4, 2013 The Church in the U.S. Panel: Witness of ‘lived reality’ best way to defend life, Marriage

NEW YORK (CNS) — Catholics must deploy good cheer, confidence and the witness of “a lived reality” to move beyond familiar arguments and deliver compelling testimony in defense of life, traditional Marriage and religious freedom, according to speakers at a recent forum.

“We’re bullet-pointing in a narrative culture,” where people tune out arguments, but respond to powerful personal stories of Christian resolutions to complex issues, author Eric Metaxas said.

Metaxas moderated a panel discussion at Teacher’s College at Columbia University. The panel was part of an event that drew more than 300 people to hear updates on legal and cultural struggles to defend fundamental values.

The forum was based on the Manhattan Declaration, a 4,700-word joint statement signed in November 2009 by more than 140 Christian leaders, many evangelical and Catholic, pledging renewed zeal in defending the unborn, defining Marriage as a union between a man and a wom-

He recited examples of and sexual, Girgis said. an, and protecting religious “men and women like you, freedom. To date, more than Anderson said Marriage has who were minding their own public-policy consequences.

542,000 people have signed the declaration, including 52 business until they were forced When Marriage law is “reCatholic cardinals and bish- to” defend actions they made defined to make fathers opin good conscience. ops. tional,” the needs and rights of “This is a taste of what lies children suffer, he said.

“The Manhattan Declaration is a statement of Chris- ahead if we don’t act now,” “We’re at the early stages of Sears said.

“People who think tian conscience that comes the Marriage debate,” Girgis these are private matters are from our conviction said. He and Anderas people of faith e will fully render unto Caesar son urged propothat it’s our duty, nents of the tradiwhat is Caesar’s, but under no cir- tional definition of privilege and honor to bring God’s light cumstances will we render to Caesar what is Marriage to follow into the market- God’s.” the lead of the Proplace,” said Edward Life movement and T. Mechmann, didistill complicated rector of public policy for the either naive or unaware.” issues from academic treatises Marjorie Dannenfelser, pres- and books into slogans and Archdiocese of New York.

Eric Teetsel, executive di- ident of the Susan B. Anthony talking points. rector of the Manhattan Dec- List, said hope and courage are “The onus is on us to interlaration movement, said sign- necessary “at a time when life, nalize these issues. The realers of the statement rejected liberty and the pursuit of hap- ity is more complicated than “anti-life activities and will not piness are in jeopardy.” Her or- secular liberals want to think,” bless immoral partnerships. ganization is a political action Anderson said.

We will fully render unto Cae- committee that helps Pro-Life Living out Marriage is a sar what is Caesar’s, but under women get elected to Con- more attractive and compelling no circumstances will we ren- gress. tool than argument, he said.

She predicted that imple- “Same-sex marriage is only der to Caesar what is God’s.”

He said the Manhattan mentation of the Affordable plausible because for 40 years Declaration’s three primary is- Care Act will cause “the big- we’ve made a mess of Marriage sues are not the only areas of gest increase in abortion since and human sexuality.” moral concern, but present the Roe vs. Wade.”

Metaxas said the Church lost Sherif Girgis and Ryan T. the battle in the 1970s when it greatest threats in our time to Anderson, co-authors with did not draw a line in the sand the principles of the good.

Alan Sears, president of the Robert George of “What is and fight no-fault divorce.

Alliance Defending Freedom Marriage? Man and Woman: Girgis said current chalin Scottsdale, Ariz., said reli- A Defense,” said reason and lenges are “an invitation to gious liberty is under assault faith reveal the truth that Mar- double down and not give up. in chilling and unimaginable riage is more than an intense History isn’t fixed, it’s chosen.” ways, but courageous individu- emotional union. It is perma- He added, “The 20th century als who will not comply with nent, exclusive, monogamous was full of things that were edicts that dishonor life and Marriage are winning legal victories.

“W

supposed to be inevitable, such as Marxism, communism and the Equal Rights Amendment.”

Anderson and Girgis said discussing their book on more than 100 college campuses revealed a welcome openness to truth and rational argument from students across the political spectrum.

Jennifer Marshall, director of domestic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, said listeners should educate themselves about Marriage, life and religious liberty issues, pray, spread the word to their neighbors and “stand your ground. Life out the faith. Be prepared, be encouraged. You are not alone. We have great reasons for optimism,” she said.

At a prayer service before the forum, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said, “God has placed a design, plan, ardor, definition into creation and His creatures.”

“To tamper with that goes against self-evident truths and is toxic. It is pollution,” he said.

The event was sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York, DeSales Media Group of the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Knights of Columbus New York Council. It was hosted by Columbia Catholic Ministry.

A boy looks on as meals are served to residents of a Salvation Army shelter for homeless women and children in Detroit. There are 46.5 million people living in poverty in the United States. About one third are children under 18. (CNS photo/Jim West)

October 4, 2013

The Church in the U.S.

5

Religious order files HHS lawsuit; Catholic college joins another suit

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Little Sisters of the Poor and a Catholic college are the latest Catholic entities to file a lawsuit or join an existing suit against the Department of Health and Human Services over its mandate that most religious employers’ health insurance plans cover contraceptives, sterilization and some abortion-inducing drugs free of charge.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty recently filed suit in Federal District Court in Denver on behalf of the order of women religious, saying it said does not “fall within the government’s narrow exemption for ‘religious employers’” despite the fact homes run by the Sisters “perform a religious ministry of caring for the elderly poor.”

In Santa Paula, Calif., Thomas Aquinas College, a four-year

Catholic liberal arts college, announced it joined in a lawsuit refiled September 20 by the international firm of Jones Day on behalf of Archdiocese of Washington and The Catholic University of America.

Meanwhile, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled September 17 that a Michigan business must comply with the mandate even though the Catholic owner is morally opposed to such coverage.

In a statement released in Washington by the Becket Fund, Sister Loraine Marie, superior for one of the three Little Sisters of the Poor U.S. provinces, stated: “Like all of the Little Sisters, I have vowed to God and the Roman Catholic Church that I will treat all life as valuable, and I have dedicated my life to that work.

We cannot violate our vows by

participating in the government’s program to provide access to abortion-inducing drugs.”

The HHS mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act, includes an exemption for some religious employers that fit the criterion for a nonprofit organization as specified by certain sections of the federal Internal Revenue Code, namely those referring to “churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches, as well as to the exclusively religious activities of any religious order.”

The Little Sisters of the Poor do not fit the exemption. The order would have to comply with an HHS accommodation for nonexempt religious entities and provide the contraceptive coverage through a third-party administrator who must ensure that pay-

Providence College says canceling talk not about academic freedom

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) — Dominican-run Providence College said the provost’s decision to cancel a guest lecture supporting same-sex marriage is “not really about academic freedom, but rather goes to the meaning of being a Catholic college.”

“Should a Catholic college invite an outside speaker to campus, pay that person an honorarium, and give that person an unchallenged platform from which to present arguments designed to undermine a central tenet of the Catholic faith?” asked a recent statement posted by the university on its website.

John Corvino, chairman of the philosophy department at Wayne State University in Detroit, was to deliver a lecture September 26 on “The Meaning of (Gay) Marriage,” but more than a week before the talk Providence’s provost, Hugh Lena, canceled it.

In an email to faculty and staff, Lena cited university policy that requires a two-sided debate on controversial topics. He explained the event’s organizers were aware of the policy but gave the speaker who was to give a rebuttal to Corvino little time to prepare, despite having begun planning the event back in January.

The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage. Church teaching upholds the sanctity of traditional Marriage, between one man and one woman, and also teaches that any sexual activity outside of Marriage is sinful.

“It is important to note that

Providence College had originally agreed to host this speaker in tandem with another wellknown philosopher for a twosided debate of the issue of gay marriage,” the university said in its statement.

“We believe that this kind of free and fair discussion of both sides of a controversial issue would be beneficial to our community,” it said. “The event was canceled only when it became clear that this would not be the case. We would welcome a real debate about this issue on our campus and look forward to hosting an academic event that comports with our mission.”

Some faculty and students saw the decision as a violation of academic freedom, and one campus group planned a rally to take place the date the lecture would have taken place. A Facebook posting urged students to “come fight for your academic freedom” and participate in a discussion on the event’s cancellation.

News reports said history professor Fred Drogula, who is president of the Providence College Faculty Senate, planned to bring up the cancellation at the Senate’s next meeting, October 2, and discuss whether that body should issue a response.

The university said the cancellation was based on administration officials reading of “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” (“From the Heart of the Church”), an apostolic constitution issued in 1990 by Blessed John Paul II that outlines the identity and mission of

Catholic colleges and universities and provided universal norms to ensure colleges maintain these standards.

To have a one-sided presentation on same-sex marriage, it said, “would be to undermine the very nature of a Catholic college. Our interpretation (of ‘Ex Corde’) is in accord with that of the United States Bishops Conference, which has asked Catholic institutions not to provide honors or platforms for speakers who advocate for positions inconsistent with Church teaching.”

“We would welcome a real debate about this issue on our campus and look forward to hosting an academic event that comports with our mission,” the statement said.

Lena, who is also senior vice president for academic affairs, told faculty and staff in his email that event organizers were aware of the school’s policy requiring “a balanced presentation” and had had discussions with the administration as far back as January.

Nine campus departments and organizations were co-sponsoring the event and in February invited Corvino to speak on campus.

But “the event was not developed along the lines dictated by policy,” Lena said, and organizers did not have final approval from the administration before sending a campus-wide email about it.

“As such, I have made the decision to cancel the event,” he said.

ments for contraceptive services come from outside the objecting organization’s premiums.

“The Sisters should obviously be exempted as ‘religious employers,’ but the government has refused to expand its definition,” said Mark Rienzi, Becket’s senior counsel and lead counsel for the order.

“These women just want to take care of the elderly poor without being forced to violate the faith that animates their work,” he said in a statement. “The money they collect should be used to care for the poor like it always has — and not to pay the IRS.” Final rules issued by HHS June 28 extended the deadline for nonexempt religious employers to implement the mandate, setting it for Jan. 1, 2014. If those employers do not comply, they will face IRS fines.

With regard to the lawsuit joined by Thomas Aquinas College, Michael McLean, president, said in a statement that the school must “bear witness to its Catholic character by challenging measures which create a conflict between its duty to obey civil law and its duty to remain faithful to Catholic teaching.”

Jones Day refiled a suit dismissed by a federal judge in January, claiming it could not be decided until the Obama Administration issued final rules on the mandate.

Now that those rules have been issued, many Catholic and other religious employers felt they still do not go far enough to accommodate their moral objections to complying with the mandate.

Jones Day argued the HHS mandate violates “plaintiffs’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First

Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by substantially burdening their free exercise of religion without a compelling governmental interest.”

The suit seeks “a permanent injunction against enforcement” of the mandate.

In the suit filed by Autocam and Autocam Medical in Grand Rapids, the Catholic family that owns the two companies said the mandate violates their Pro-Life beliefs.

However, Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the 6th Circuit, in writing the opinion for a threejudge panel, said the requirement does not violate the family’s religious convictions nor does it violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The court also dismissed the plaintiffs claim, saying the family does not have standing to challenge the mandate.

The 1993 law prohibits the federal government from imposing a “substantial burden” on a person’s exercise of religion unless there is a “compelling governmental interest” and the measure is the least restrictive method of achieving that interest.

John Kennedy, CEO, said in a statement that he has “a right to live his faith and practice my beliefs freely, and being a good Christian to me means living my faith in all areas of my life, not just at church.”

Kennedy said that his companies — contract manufacturers for the automotive and medical industries — are now are faced with providing the coverage, dropping the health plan for their 661 employees, or refusing to provide the coverage and pay IRS fines. Paying the fines would put him out of business, he said.

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October 4, 2013

Anchor Editorial

Marching and praying for peace

We invite you to save some time on the evening of Columbus Day, October 14, to join Bishop George W. Coleman and thousands of other parishioners from across the Diocese of Fall River in participating in the annual Peace Procession and Mass. At 6 p.m. on the holiday we will step off from in front of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption (327 Second Street, Fall River) and walk to St. Anne’s Church (818 Middle Street, across the street from Kennedy Park). We walk carrying candles, accompanied by a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. While walking many of the people pray the Rosary together in English, Portuguese or Spanish. The marchers carry candles (either brought from their homes or purchased at the cathedral), reminding passers-by of our desire to have the light of Christ bring His peace into this world.

Upon arriving at St. Anne’s, the diverse congregation prays the Rosary (a second one for many of them) in five different languages and then they join with our bishop in offering the Mass for the intention of peace — peace in our homes, in our nation, and throughout the world. All are welcome to attend in this impressive occasion of the diocesan family. At the end of the Mass everyone gathered takes out handkerchiefs and wave to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima (imitating a custom from the Fatima shrine in Portugal) as she is led out of the church for her return to her home parish.

The tradition of the Columbus Day Peace Procession and Mass began in 1975, when 30,000 Catholics gathered (according to The Anchor archives) to pray for peace in Portugal, which at that time was threatened with a possible communist takeover. Since then parishioners have gathered annually to pray for peace on all levels (international, national, local and in the home), asking the intercession of Our Lady of Peace.

Earlier during the holiday weekend, Pope Francis will be leading a two-day Marian celebration at the Vatican and will be consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be coming from Portugal to Rome for that event.

Pope Francis had directed the patriarch of Lisbon to go to Fatima and entrust his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima back on May 13, which was the anniversary of Mary’s first apparition in that Portuguese town back in 1917.

Our world is in great need of peace. Today (Friday) we celebrate the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, whose “peace prayer” is one of the most beloved of prayers amongst people today (on the Day of Evangelization recently out in Attleboro, more than one person at their doors asked their visitors to pray it with them). We long for peace, in our own hearts and in our relationships with other people. However, we often lack peace because we allow other things to clog the “veins and arteries” which lead to our “spiritual hearts.”

Just as bad habits can cause ailments for our biological hearts, the “throwaway culture” which Pope Francis references on page three of this paper causes our spiritual hearts to become cold. With that coldness, we can become like ice-picks, piercing other people’s hearts. We become like the people about whom the prophet Amos complained last Sunday in our first reading, who “were not made ill by the collapse of Joseph” (Am 6:6b).

Amos was protesting against his listeners’ complacency, who did not care about the destruction of the territories of Israel which had been bequeathed to the descendants of Joseph (of “Technicolor Coat” fame, the son of the patriarch Jacob; not St. Joseph, Mary’s husband).

We are called upon by God to remember those suffering violence throughout our world, be they victims of domestic violence in their own homes, be they victims of murder or other crimes here in this country, be they victims of torture and persecution, or be they victims of war or terrorism in so many countries (Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, the Congo, the Philippines, Colombia, Mexico, Israel and Palestine — we had to look this list up on the Internet, since it is very easy in this country to never be aware of all of this suffering going on around the world [which often includes the persecution of our fellow Christians, but whatever the religion of the victims, they are human beings, created in the image and likeness of God]).

Whether or not you can come to Fall River on Columbus Day, please keep the intention of peace in your prayer and strive to live it in your hearts. When praying the Rosary, you could pray a different mystery or even each Hail Mary for a different country lacking peace.

In his September 1 Angelus address, Pope Francis said, “What can we do to make peace in the world? As Pope John [XXIII] said, it pertains to each individual to establish new relationships in human society under the mastery and guidance of justice and love.

All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace. I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity! I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.”

Whether we encounter each other in Fall River or just spiritually through our union in the Eucharist, may we build this peace.

Pope Francis’ weekly Angelus address and prayer

Brothers and Sisters, before concluding this celebration, I want to greet you all and thank you for your participation, especially the catechists that have come from so many parts of the world.

A special greeting to my brother, His Beatitude Youhanna X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. His presence invites us to pray once again for peace in Syria and the Middle East.

I greet the pilgrims who have come from Assisi on horseback, as well as the Italian Alpine Club, on the 150th

anniversary of its founding.

I greet with affection the pilgrims from Nicaragua, remembering that they and their pastors of that beloved nation are celebrating with joy the centenary of the canonical founding of their Ecclesiastical Province.

With joy we recall that yesterday, in Croatia, was beatified Miroslav Bulešić, a diocesan priest, who was martyred in 1947. We praise the Lord Who gives the unarmed strength to give testimony unto the end.

We now turn to Mary by OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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praying the Angelus.

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.

Hail Mary...

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary...

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pope Francis greets a member of an international meeting for peace recently at the Vatican. The pope met with religious, political and cultural leaders who were gathered for an annual dialogue on peace that began in 1986 with Blessed John Paul II in Assisi. (CNS photo/ L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

October 4, 2013

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here has been a lot of commentary concerning some of the ideas Pope Francis expressed in his now famous September 17 interview with Jesuit journals. But the interview allows us not only to examine the Holy Father’s ideas but to get a real glimpse of his life and personality.

Insofar as the pope teaches not just by his words but by his example, these personal disclosures may be among the most helpful takeaways of all.

We can focus on 10 of them.

First, we glimpse his life of simplicity. The interview reveals that in his study, there is a tiny desk, a few plain chairs and only four objects: a crucifix; an icon of St. Francis of Assisi; a statue of Our Lady of Luján, the patroness of Argentina; and an image of a sleeping St. Joseph. People in Buenos Aires always mentioned how simple his personal quarters were, but his austerity has become even more striking as pope.

Second, we learn how he prays. He said he recites the Breviary early every morning, celebrates Mass at 7 a.m. in the Vatican workers residence where he lives, prays the Rosary, seeks to pray mentally throughout the day, and then each night at 7 p.m. makes a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Sometimes he said he falls

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here to begin? Often I am faced with the challenge of what to write and share. As I prayed over this column, I kept hearing that small voice saying, “Be still, just listen.”

And if that wasn’t enough, the following passage made it all the more clearer: “I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this Good News” (Lk 1:19b).

We lead very busy lives and often find it difficult to take some time for ourselves, to be alone, to just sit quietly. Most of us, when faced with even the briefest moment of silence, quickly find a way to fill it with sound. Yet, it is in the silence that we hear the messages of love and reassurance that God attempts to send us on a daily basis.

One of my favorite reminders of how God tries to speak to us in the silent moments of our lives can be found in 1 Kings 19:11-13. The strong winds, the earthquake, the fire, none of these held a message, no voice came booming through.

When the earth fell silent Elijah realized that God was present, waiting in the “sheer silence” to speak to Him. In our own lives, when

Anchor Columnists A man for our times

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asleep praying in front of Jesus and assess, looking deep into myin the Eucharist. self, taking the necessary time.”

He described his prayer in this Fourth, he readily admits his way: “Prayer for me is always a shortcomings and mistakes.. “I prayer full of memory, of recolam a really, really undisciplined lection. For me it is the memory person,” he says. When he was of which St. Ignatius speaks in made a Jesuit provincial at the age the First Week of the Exercises of 36, he said, “My style of govin the encounter with the merciernment … had many faults. My ful Christ crucified. And I ask myself: ‘What have I done for Christ? What Putting Into am I doing for Christ?

What should I do for the Deep Christ?’ It is the memory of which [we] recall the

By Father gifts we have received. But Roger J. Landry above all, I also know that the Lord remembers me.

I can forget about Him, but I know that He never, ever authoritarian and quick manner of forgets me.” making decisions led me to have Third, he describes how his serious problems. The Lord has prayer aids his discernment, which allowed this growth in knowledge he defines as “to hear the things of government through my faults of God from God’s point of view.” and my sins.”

It involves “in the presence of the Fifth, we see that one of his Lord, looking at things, listening most prominent leadership traits, to the things that happen, the for good or ill, is loyalty. “When I feeling of the people, especially entrust something to someone, I the poor.” This is how he seeks to totally trust that person,” he said. make decisions.

“He or she must make a really That discernment has led him big mistake before I rebuke that to distrust his initial instincts. “I person.” This partially explains his am always wary of the first deciattitude toward some recent apsion, that is, the first thing that pointments of those who appear comes to my mind if I have to to have had checkered pasts. It is make a decision. This is usually also likely a prism with which to the wrong thing. I have to wait look at future personnel decisions.

Sixth, we behold his hunger for community. It’s what led to his decision not to live in the papal apartment. But it’s also what led him to become a Jesuit rather than a diocesan priest. “I am always looking for a community.

I did not see myself as a priest on my own. I need a community.” All Christians need community.

Seventh, we learn who one of his greatest heroes is, Blessed Peter Faber, the 16th-century Jesuit missionary to Protestant Germany.

What he admires about him, he said, is his “dialogue with all, even the most remote and even with his opponents; his simple piety, a certain naïveté perhaps, his being available straightaway, his careful interior discernment, the fact that he was a man capable of great and strong decisions but also capable of being so gentle and loving.” In Faber, we see a papal self-portrait.

Eighth, he believes all religious need to be prophets. “Being prophets may sometimes imply making waves, some say ‘a mess.’”

He has been proving he’s a Jesuit not afraid to make some noise.

Ninth, he’s a man of culture who loves literature (especially Dostoevsky, Manzoni and Gerard Manley Hopkins), music (Mozart,

Bach, Beethoven and Wagner), art (Caravaggio and Chagall) and movies (mainly Italian masterpieces). “In general I love tragic artists,” he said, “especially classical ones.” His preference for tragic art makes him unafraid to confront tragic realities.

Lastly, he reveals what he looks for and sees in others. Among those whom others easily write off, he still recognizes that God is present. “I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else — God is in this person’s life.

There is always a space in which the good seed can grow.”

And in so many ordinary people he sees a hidden “daily sanctity.” He singled out the example of his grandmother Rosa, whose will he keeps in his Breviary, and treats it like a prayer.

In all, we see an honest, humble, prayerful man of simple pleasures, a prophet unafraid to make waves, who tries to see God in others and enter into an encounter with all. He’s, in short, a man for our times.

Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River. His email address is fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

reflection reminded me that He is not only speaking to me when I sit quietly to listen, but He is also speaking to me through my work (“Echoes of Eternity: Listening to the Father”

by H. M. Helms). The key is to become accustomed to His voice, to learn to recognize it in the things we say and do. To

the morning, during our day and in the evening as we prepare to rest to spend with God. I often tell the young children and teenagers who come to our program for Faith Formation, to begin by giving Him just five minutes in the morning and again in the evening, over time increasing those moments with Him. As we begin to set aside time to be in His presence, to allow ourselves to be held, we begin to hear His voice, we begin to look forward to and cherish those moments spent in His presence.

How do I know it is truly God’s voice I am hearing? For me I know that God has spoken, and I recognize it as such, when I feel a calmness within and around me, reassuring me that I am doing the right thing; a gentle reminder that I am where I need to be at the moment, or that this is a good time to step away. In time we become attuned to the simple messages around us. That passage that seems to say exactly what we needed to hear; the words of a friend or colleague voicing what we already knew

in our hearts; or even a simple gesture from a stranger affirming that what we are doing is right. In time, we become fully aware of His voice, and begin to recognize and acknowledge it in every aspect of our lives.

The recognition of God’s voice is as varied as we are, and in time we all learn, with a little patience to recognize the “small voice” within each and every one of us. When we allow ourselves to enter into a deeper relationship with God, to recognize Him not only in our times of difficulty, but in the many blessings that surround us, we begin to truly recognize His voice. Like the sheep who know and recognize the shepherd’s voice ( Jn 10:3-5), so too will we recognize the voice of God within us and all around us. So relish the silence and listen, truly listen for His voice for He has so much to tell us.

Anchor columnist Rose Mary Saraiva lives in Fall River and is a parishioner of St. Michael’s Parish, and she is the Events Coordinator and Bereavement Ministry for the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. She is married with three children and two grandchildren. rmsaraiva@dfrcec.com.

Are you listening?

things seem to be going crazy, when nothing is turning out as planned, when chaos is the only thing we know, when we finally stop, fully stop, is when we can begin to see a way out. Think of all those frantic mornings when keys cannot be found, we search high and low, and finally something tells us stop, slow down and suddenly what seemed impossible to find is right in front of us.

God’s desire for us is to grow in our relationship with Him. He wants to be there in our times of trouble, which goes without saying, but He also wants to be a major part of the blessings and “sweet things” that happen in our lives as well. He is not Someone Who we keep at arm’s length, but rather Someone Who understands us completely; Who wants only what is good for us, and Who wants to walk beside us through thick or thin, willing to carry us when we can no longer walk.

As I read the message for the day, I was reminded to “keep listening for His voice throughout the day.” The daily

In the Palm of His Hands

By Rose Mary Saraiva

truly listen to that “small voice” within, not only seeking it out when it is convenient for us. He longs for so much more than a “by appointment only” relationship.

So how do we begin to listen? The listening comes with practice, and it is a lifetime commitment. We need to learn to quiet ourselves, to spend some time with God. Many times during homilies we will hear the presider asking us to just set aside a few minutes each day; in

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he year 1986 seems like ancient history now, but I can remember watching news reports of Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landing Voyager, their small airplane, in the Mojave Desert in California.

They had just completed a nonstop flight around the world. While this was not the first such flight, it was the first global atmospheric trip to be made without refueling.

Upon their completion of the voyage, reporters from around globe asked how they were able to endure more than nine days in a cockpit the size of a telephone booth. One of the team answered, “At times we almost gave up.

But we kept going because of the people who had helped us and the unconquerable faith that we could complete the journey.”

The question posed by those reporters is age-old.

How does one keep going in a world where the

October 4, 2013

What keeps us going roads are long, hard, and so or worry over. Patience is often dangerous? Where counseled — and abiding do we find the unconquerfaith in God’s promise of able faith that we too can deliverance. complete the journey?

This is a thought that One thing we must have needs to be remembered by to keep going is hope. all of us. If we would sucFaced with so much vioceed, then we must never lence and evil the prophet Habakkuk Homily of the Week laments in our first reading: “How long, Twenty-seventh Sunday O Lord? I cry for in Ordinary Time help / but You do not listen” (Hab Deacon Arthur 1:2). God responds L. LaChance by instructing Habakkuk to commit to writing the Divine message he is about lose hope in our Master to be given. That message is Who encourages us, helps a reiteration of the Divine us, and never abandons us. promise of protection and Another thing to help us deliverance. keep going is that we need Since ancient times, God to believe that God has has promised the people already given us what we of the covenant to be their need to continue.

God, Who would protect, In our Gospel reading we nurture, defend, and care hear the Apostles say to the for them. God reminds him Lord, “Increase our faith” and the people to whom (Lk 17:5). Jesus seems to be the vision is to be shared harsh in His response. He that there is nothing to fear tells them that, “If you have

faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

What He is giving them is greater confidence in the power of faith they already have. But they (and we) must use what we have. Because even a little bit gives us great power to accomplish God’s work. We have enough to be faithfilled disciples. We must have faith in who we are: God’s servants empowered to carry on Jesus’ saving mission.

A final thought that helps us to keep going is keeping our eyes on the goal.

Rutan and Yeager were often asked whether their flight was worth all the effort and heartbreak it cost them. In the book that described the flight, Yeager gave her answer: “Yes, it

was worth all the work and sweat and patience, worth the physical discomfort and the danger and the fear.

And it would have been worth the effort even if we had failed or lost the Voyager, or lost our lives.”

The Lord knows that for some of us the journey has been long and difficult. The desire to pull over and stop entices us. We want to go on, but some days the road seems so long.

Be reminded of God’s promise. God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the destination would be worthwhile.

God may not do what we want, but He will do what is right and best. He is the Father of forward motion. Trust Him. He will get us home. And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the arrival.

Deacon LaChance serves at Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct 5, Bar 4:5-12,27-29; Ps 69:33-37; Lk 10:17-24. Sun. Oct. 6, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Hb 1:23;2:2-4; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; 2 Tm 1:6-8,13-14; Lk 17:5-10. Mon. Oct. 7, Jon 1:1-2:2,11 (Ps) Jon 2:2-5,8; Lk 10:25-37. Tues. Oct. 8, Jon 3:1-10; Ps 130:1-4ab,7-8; Lk 10:38-42. Wed. Oct. 9, Jon 4:1-11; Ps 86:3-6,9-10; Lk 11:1-4. Thurs. Oct. 10, Mal 3:13-20b; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 11:5-13. Fri. Oct. 11, Jl 1:13-15;2:1-2; Ps 9:2-3,6,8-9,16; Lk 11:15-26.

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he humanitarian and strategic disaster of Syria should focus Catholic minds on the hard fact that there is no easy or quick path to peace in the Middle East, a very dangerous part of the world where Christians of all persuasions are at daily risk of their lives. Two recently-published books will help those eager to get beyond media sound-bites, wishful thinking, and vague pieties in order to think seriously about the realities that must be faced in a region with too little geography and too much history, where religiously-inspired passion too often leads to murder.

I’ve read a lot of books on the Middle East and its sorrows, but none quite like Lela Gilbert’s “Saturday People, Sunday People: Israel Through the Eyes of a Christian Sojourner” (Encounter Books). Gilbert, an American who came to Israel for a visit and stayed for six years, is a writer of broad human sympathies whose compassion

Middle East reality check

worth pondering for all those for the panorama of men and who would be morally serious women she describes is obvious. Yet that compassion never about the Middle East today: “Yoni loathed war and causes her to lose her grasp of realities that cannot be denied. fighting. Because he had to Such as, for example, the real- fight to save his nation’s life, ity from which her book takes he made himself into a great its title: the radical Islamist slogan, “On Saturday we kill the Jews. On Sunday we kill the Christians.”

Gilbert knows that what she calls the

By George Weigel “Islamist culture of death” kills Muslims as well as Jews and Christians, and she grieves for fighting man. But he knew, as all men of sense know, that her Muslim friends and their war today is not a practical wretched political leaderpolitical technique. He was ship. At the same time, she is philosopher enough to undera frank admirer of what the stand this truth, that so long State of Israel has accomas villains and maniacs would plished under unprecedented egg on and arm young Arabs conditions. Her narrative concludes with a citation from to destroy Israel, he would have to be a soldier; and that an introduction to the collected letters of Col. Jonathan if he had to he would die fighting for the return and for (Yoni) Netanyahu, who died peace.” rescuing hostages at Entebbe Elliott Abrams’s study, in 1976; the introduction was “Tested by Zion: The Bush written by the distinguished novelist Herman Wouk and is Administration and the

The Catholic Difference

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (Cambridge University Press), offers a detailed account of foreign policy-making as daily-grind-leavened-byhigh-drama. It ought to be required reading for diplomatsin-training around the world — not excluding the men now studying at Rome’s Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the institutional incubator of those who will represent the Holy See in nunciatures and apostolic delegations in over 180 countries.

Throughout his service in the George W. Bush Administration, Abrams pressed the strategic argument that the best thing the U.S. could do for Israeli-Palestinian peace was to disempower the men of terrorism while supporting those Palestinians who were building the civil society infrastructure of a future Palestinian state. For a while, that strategy seemed to win the day and a measure of progress was made. But then, in President

Bush’s second term, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others who imagined that a “final status” agreement could be hammered out in relatively short order won the internal argument in the U.S. government — and failed, as all such attempts to accelerate a “peace process” will fail, absent a vital, vibrant and prosperous Palestinian civil society capable of sustaining a peaceful and democratic Palestinian state.

Abrams’s book opens a window into the human dimension of high-stakes diplomacy; biographers of George W. Bush, Ariel Sharon, and others will find in “Tested by Zion” a lot of material with which to work. Above all, however, “Tested by Zion” is a work of great moral and political seriousness by a morally serious man who knows that the meaning of “morality,” especially in world politics, is not exhausted by good intentions.

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

October 4, 2013

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ne of the major changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council was the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate.

This was done to allow dioceses, where there was a need, to establish such programs. In the Diocese of Fall River, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin allowed the program to begin. The first class was ordained in 1980.

In the intervening years the program has continued to grow.

Bishop Sean P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., appointed me the director of the Permanent Diaconate for the diocese in 2003. I have served in that position with the blessing, support, and direction of the Bishop George W. Coleman, our present bishop.

In our diocese more than 80 deacons work in parishes. Some of these deacons come from other dioceses. They have retired to our area, mostly on the Cape, and assist here. Other deacons from our diocese retired or moved to other dioceses and assist there. A few of our deacons work in a diocesan position or assist in a specialized ministry. Most assist in the parishes where they have been assigned.

A deacon can read the Gospel, preach, and perform

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ack in May Pope Francis told the world, “A Christian who continually complains, neglects being a good Christian and becomes Mr. or Mrs. Whiner, no?” My inner response was a reluctant, guilty, and feint, “yes.”

After he said that, I complained (go figure) to myself, “Why is he picking on me?” But I know I’m not alone when it comes to moaning and groaning and “woe is me-ing.”

I all too often fall into the trap of worrying how am I going to afford Emilie’s college?; or why can’t I go on a great vacation like “they” did?; or how come my mechanic has my car more often that I do?

I have so many blessings, yet I often overlook them, concentrating on the blessings I think I want.

But the pope has such a simple way of expressing things the way they are, or should I say, the way the should be?

Last weekend “dawn broke over Marblehead” for me. I got the chance to appreciate many of my simple blessings ... or maybe not-so-simple blessings.

How blessed can a dad be, to have his 18-year-old pup and

Anchor Columnists Men of faith, commitment and grace Baptisms and Weddings. He is one of service to the bishop. may also conduct wake services He is assigned where the bishop and preside over burials and most needs him to serve. The officiate at Benediction. He is instruction for the ordination not able to celebrate Mass, hear ceremony for the deacon asks Confessions or Anoint the Sick. the people to consider the minThese Sacraments are reserved istry to which the deacons are to priests. called. The homily states that The permanent deacon is not the deacon will draw strength the same as a transitional deacon. Although both receive the Sacrament of Living Holy Order of Deacon, the the transitional deacon looks to ordination as a Faith priest, while a permaBy Msgr. nent deacon will always John J. Oliveira remain a deacon. A permanent deacon can be married but, if his wife dies, he cannot marry again. from the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Although we might think He will help the bishop and his otherwise, America has the most body of priests as a minister of permanent deacons than any the Word, of the altar, and of other country. Missionary coun- charity. He will make himself a tries use catechists more so than servant to all. As a minister of deacons for a variety of reasons. the altar, he will proclaim the Some of these are local custom, Gospel, prepare the sacrifice, and lack of proper opportunities for give the Lord’s Body and Blood training, as well as economic to the community of believers. reasons.

The deacon’s duty, at the The role of deacon traces its bishop’s discretion, is to bring ministry to the early Church the Word of God to believers when the Apostles desired othand unbelievers alike, to preside ers to assist them in caring for over public prayer, to Baptize, those in need. to witness Marriages, to bring The function of the deacon Communion to the dying and to

lead the rites of burial.

The deacon is consecrated for his work by the laying on of hands that comes from the Apostles and is bound more closely to the altar, an essential part of the ordination rite.

He will perform works of charity in the name of the bishop or the pastor.

From the way he goes about these duties, it is hoped that others will recognize him as a disciple of Jesus Who came to serve, not to be served.

These few paragraphs, paraphrased from the ordination instruction, summarize in a succinct manner the role of deacon in the Catholic Church.

The deacon is not a glorified altar boy, nor is he the pastor.

He does not simply vest in an alb and show up for Mass. His ministry encompasses more than that. He has prepared for more than five years to begin this ministry in a parish and in the diocese. He has studied for eight semesters. Theology, canon law, homiletics, Scripture, Church history etc., are some of the subjects studied. I am grateful to all the priests and the deacon who

9 taught these classes.

I bring this to your attention since on October 12 Bishop Coleman will have the privilege of ordaining permanent deacons at St. Mary’s Cathedral. After years of preparation and study, 15 men from varying areas of our diocese will be ordained.

These men have responded to the call of the Lord with great generosity. Along with their married life and their normal occupations, they have pledged themselves to be a witness to the Lord as a deacon. We are truly grateful to these men.

This will be the eighth class of deacons to be ordained and it is anticipated that we will begin the formation of the next class in due course. Anyone who is interested in this ministry, or has a suggestion of someone who should be considered for the permanent diaconate, should contact their pastor.

Please pray for these men as they approach their ordination day and pray for all those who serve the Church. God bless each of you.

Anchor columnist Msgr.

Oliveira is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Office.

The apples of my eye and I spent some quality deck her best friend and boyfriend time, which Denise keeps saying continue to want to spend time is over for the year. Inside, Em with her mom and old man?

Incredibly blessed!

Things we used to do as a family have not only continued, but we’ve added to the mix.

As I mentioned in last week’s episode, autumn is my favorite season,

By Dave Jolivet and last Sunday it was time to head out to the fertile farmlands of Acushnet for and Dan were doing homework.

After a couple of hours, the a bit of apple-picking. This time Danny came along. And that’s a pups were finished with their good thing, not only because he’s chores and the sun was finished a great guy, but he’s also six-feet- splashing the deck so we headed inside. plus, and the Jolivets can’t crack There was still plenty of the five-and-a-half-foot mark. time for Dan and I to partake He could reach the good apples in what’s become a Sunday that we couldn’t. afternoon ritual of jamming We had fun, but it didn’t with our guitars. I call Dan a take much time to get our fill. freak because he’s one of those Wanting to stay a bit longer, musicians who is a natural; while Emilie found a spot where we could dig our own potatoes from I’ve been playing for more than 30 years and I’m a newspaper the earth, which we did. It was editor. That tells it all. nice to get some dirt under my Regardless, we both are into fingernails that wasn’t oil-based classic rock and the blues and from searching for problems last Sunday we took a stab at under the hood of the car.

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride We got home about midafternoon on a glorious early fall and Joy,” and it was smooooth! day with the sun blazing and the We also jammed to our Sunday staples of “Free Bird,” temps in the low 70s. Denise

My View From the Stands

“Wonderful Tonight,” “Hotel California,” and others. After nearly two hours of that it was supper time!

I fired up the grill for some steak tips I was marinating in Mexican salsa all afternoon. And I sliced up our freshlyhunted potatoes, covered them with olive oil, seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese and baked them up just right. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

As I lay in bed that night, exhausted, I couldn’t help but smile and think what a great day

it had been. It wasn’t a cruise to the Caribbean or a flight to Europe. It was a great day, with great people, doing simple, yet great things.

How blessed can a man be?

Very — a wife who is a friend and two young adults who don’t have a problem spending time with us. You can’t ask for more than that.

Pope Francis is right. It’s much more enjoyable not to be Mr. Whiner — and it doesn’t take much for that to be.

Anchor columnist Dave Jolivet can be reached at davejolivet@anchornews.org.

Dan, Emilie and Denise pick apples during a journey out to Acushnet last week. Sometimes the simple pleasures are the best, echoing what Pope Francis says about refraining from complaining. (Photo

by Dave Jolivet)

10

October 4, 2013

St. Francis’ charism of simplicity, service still a draw in modern age WASHINGTON (CNS) — Up until a few weeks ago, Iliana Maldonado was a typical 20-something in the U.S. She had a steady job and income. On her days off, she went out with friends her age, regularly posting and commenting on Facebook from a Samsung Galaxy smartphone that she rarely left behind.

But there was something more attractive to her than the smartphone and her group of friends. A man had entered her life. That man was St. Francis of Assisi.

These days the 21-year-old is experimenting living in a community of cloistered nuns in a Wilmington, Del., convent, embracing the life of poverty, service and community that St. Francis and his followers, including St. Clare, began in the 12th century.

If all goes as planned, she will one day be a religious Sister like the rest. Her life now means no money, no cellphone, no car, no night out with her friends — only a series of prayers, manual labor, and instruction about the Franciscan way of life as a postulant with the Poor Clare sisters at the Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani.

It is a vastly different way of life from the one most of us live, but it is not surprising that people today still choose to follow the more austere way of Francis, said Franciscan Father Larry Dunham, guardian of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington.

Those who choose to follow St. Francis aim for lives of simplicity, with few material goods, an emphasis on serving others, communal prayer and fraternal brotherhood with God at the center.

Even though he died in 1226 and was canonized 1228, St. Francis and the charism he championed casts a long shad-

ow in our time.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio embraced not just Francis’ name when he became pope this year, but also what the saint stood for. He bypassed the more luxurious papal digs at the Vatican and went to live in the nearby, simpler guesthouse where

ers stood for besides their love for animals and nature.

At the center is embracing a life of poverty for the riches of the Kingdom of God. But when St. Francis spoke of embracing poverty, he wasn’t just addressing getting rid of the material, Father Dunham said. Poverty

He goes against the order of the world we live in, said Monica Zeballos, who belongs to the third order, the secular arm of the Franciscans.

“Our world is centered on the having, he was centered on the giving,” she said of St. Francis. “It is a challenging feat in this world.”

Postulant Iliana Maldonado sits near a statue of St. Francis outside the Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani in Wilmington, Del., recently. The 21-year-old from Guatemala is living in the community of cloistered Poor Clare nuns to see if she is called to become a nun and follow the order’s life of poverty and service as begun in the 12th century by St. Francis and his followers, including St. Clare. (CNS photo/ Tyler Orsburn)

he could live near others, pray and interact with them. Like St. Francis, he speaks every chance he gets about the poor and tries to be inclusive of all — even nonbelievers.

In interviews about why he took Francis’ name, the pope said he thought of the Italian saint when Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes embraced him and whispered, “Don’t forget the poor,” during the conclave.

By choosing Francis as his name, Cardinal Bergoglio called much attention to “el poverello de Asis,” or the poor man from Assisi, and what he and his follow-

meant getting rid of anything that harms us, including getting rid of prejudice, or of our lack of forgiveness, of our love of objects and things over people, Father Dunham said.

“He was saying, ‘Don’t let these things be your God,’” Father Dunham said.

So strict was he about changing the order of things that he didn’t want to become a priest, to be superior to anyone, or to have someone be inferior to him or others. He did his best to shun any form of hierarchy, even when it came to founding an order, Father Dunham said.

In a society that is so strict about hierarchy and one in which people strive to be and say that they are better than someone else, it’s incredible to find those who would still choose Francis, Zeballos said. Members of the third order are no less beholden to the Franciscan way of life, which asks that they seek to help and serve anyone who may need from them, she said, to be brotherly, detached from the material and to form community.

You wouldn’t think that was subversive, said Father Dunham, but in Francis’ day, and even to-

day, some of Francis’ ideas, can still be considered controversial.

It’s important to distinguish, however, that Francis didn’t condemn anyone, and he was a brother to all, the poor as well as the rich, the believers as well as the nonbelievers.

In our day, Pope Francis is embracing the same, Father Dunham said. Just as Francis chose to be a saint for all, Pope Francis chooses to be a pope for all, not a pope to the exclusion of others, Father Dunham said.

He’s reminding us to form relationships with all, to be a servant to all, not to condemn but to care for one another.

And that’s why so many — Catholic and non-Catholic, believer and nonbeliever — express a love for Francis, said Father Dunham. The saint is honored not just by Catholics, but also by Anglicans, who also follow the order of Francis. Even the nonreligious have expressed a love for him, Father Dunham said.

Donning the brown robe comes with an understanding of his ideals said Friar Manuel Aviles, 33, who lives with a Capuchin community in Washington. At first glance, he said, the medieval dress, the long brown habit is not one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing to look at it. But what’s beautiful is what it represents and to embrace it with your heart, he said.

They’re the vestments of one who begs but not for money.

“In that sense, we’re all begging for something,” he said.

“We’re begging for love, for mercy.”

He reminds himself of this as he dons the brown robe each morning.

What would Francis think of all the attention he’s getting in the modern world?

“He’d head off to a cave and go into seclusion,” said Father Dunham. “He’d say, ‘I don’t want to be king.’”

11

October 4, 2013

Pope to canonize Blessed John XXIII, Blessed John Paul II on April 27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Recognizing that Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II have widespread reputations for holiness and that years of studying their lives and actions have proven their exceptional virtue, Pope Francis announced he would declare his two predecessors saints at a single ceremony April 27.

The pope made the announcement September 30 at the end of an “ordinary public consistory,” a gathering of cardinals and promoters of the sainthood causes of the two late popes. The consistory took place in the context of a prayer service in Latin and included the reading of brief biographies of the two sainthood candidates.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, read the biographies and highlighted the “service to peace” and the impact both popes had “inside and outside the Christian community” at times of great cultural, political and religious transformation.

The testimonies of their lives, “completely dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel, shine in the Church and reverberate in the history of the world as examples of hope and light,” the cardinal said.

Blessed John Paul, known as a globetrotter who made 104 trips outside Italy, served as pope from 1978 to 2005 and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011.

Blessed John XXIII, known particularly for convoking the Second Vatican Council, was pope from 1958 to 1963; Blessed John Paul beatified him in 2000.

Asked by reporters if Pope Emeritus Benedict would participate in the canonization ceremony, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters it was possible, but given Pope Emeritus Benedict’s preference for staying out of the public eye, he could not say for sure.

The choice of April 27, which will be Divine Mercy Sunday in 2014, was not a complete surprise. Speaking to reporters traveling with him from Brazil to Rome July 28, Pope Francis said he had been considering December 8, but the possibility of icy

Pope Francis has set April 27, 2014 as the date for the canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. The two pontiffs will become saints on Divine Mercy Sunday. John XXIII is depicted in a painting from a museum in his Italian birthplace. John Paul II is shown in a composite featuring a image of him by Polish photographer Grzegorz Galazka. (CNS)

roads could make it difficult for Polish pilgrims who would travel by bus to Rome for the ceremony.

The other option, he said, was Divine Mercy Sunday, a celebration instituted worldwide by Pope John Paul. Since the beginning of his pontificate in March, Pope Francis has emphasized God’s mercy and readiness to forgive those who recognize their need for pardon. He told reporters on the flight from Brazil that Pope John Paul’s promotion of Divine Mercy Sunday showed his intuition that a new “age of mercy” was needed in the Church and the world.

Asked on the plane to describe the two late popes, Pope Francis said Blessed John was “a bit of the ‘country priest,’ a priest who loves each of the faithful and knows how to care for them; he did this as a bishop and as a nuncio.”

He was holy, patient, had a good sense of humor and, especially by calling the Second

Vatican Council, was a man of courage, Pope Francis said.

“He was a man who let himself be guided by the Lord.”

As for Blessed John Paul, Pope Francis told the reporters on the plane, “I think of him as ‘the great missionary of the Church,’” because he was “a man who proclaimed the Gospel everywhere.”

Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing the miracle needed for Blessed John Paul’s canonization July 5; the same day, the Vatican announced that the pope had agreed with members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes that the canonization of Blessed John should go forward even without a second miracle attributed to his intercession.

Except in the case of martyrdom, Vatican rules require one miracle for a candidate’s beatification and a second for his or her canonization as confirmations that the candidate really is in Heaven with God. However, the pope may set aside the rule.

12

October 4, 2013

Vatican’s new ‘Catechism’ app aims to spread faith worldwide

is important in that it provides “a possibility of using the ‘Catechism’ in a new way, and to challenge people also to use it,” he said.

Although there is no definite launch date for the “Catechism” app, it was mentioned in a recent press conference that it might be expected within a month.

During an interview with CNA, Archbishop Fisichella reflected on the need for catechesis globally, saying that those who teach the faith play a crucial role, particularly in Africa and Latin Animated characters are seen in the movie “Cloudy With Chance of Meatballs 2.” For a brief review of America. this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Columbia) He also reflected on the role of women engaged in catechesis, strongly cautioned. Some drama about the rivalry bereflecting that in “the majority in material may be inappropri- tween its two leading drivour parishes, and with generosers: freewheeling British ate for children under 13. ity, they work in order to transmit playboy James Hunt (Chris “Cloudy With a Chance of faith to the new generations.”

Hemsworth) and obsessively Meatballs 2” (Columbia) Cheerful animated com- disciplined Austrian Niki edy in which the young in- Lauda (Daniel Bruhl). Hunt’s ventor (voice of Bill Hader) dissolute ways, only someof a machine that turns wa- what muted by his marriage NEW YORK (CNS) — ter into food learns from his to high-profile model Suzy The following are capsule idol, a famed scientist and Miller (Olivia Wilde), draw reviews of movies recently corporate guru (voice of Will his relentlessly focused chief reviewed by Catholic News Forte), that the device, which competitor’s jealousy and rehe thought had been disabled, sentment, despite the burService. has continued to function and geoning of Lauda’s own low“Baggage Claim” is now producing animals key but durable romance with (Fox Searchlight) Writer-director David E. made out of menu items. To a chance acquaintance (AlexTalbert’s romantic comedy, prevent these rapidly multi- andra Maria Lara). In return, adapted from his 2005 novel, plying hybrid creatures from Lauda’s humorless Teutonic charts the amorous adventures overrunning the world, the temperament becomes the of a determined flight atten- whiz kid must return to his target of Hunt’s contempt. dant (Paula Patton) search- island-set hometown, where As the contenders spur each ing for a soul mate among he abandoned the gizmo, and other on to ever more danher passengers. With the try to shut it down for good. gerous tactics, director Ron help of two co-workers ( Jill He’s backed up on this quest Howard skillfully ratchets Scott and Adam Brody), she by his protective dad (voice up the suspense — and the arranges in-flight reunions of James Caan), his meteo- foreboding. Though the folly with a series of ex-boyfriends rologist best friend (voice of of their shared recklessness is Sunday, October 6, 11:00 a.m.

— including a record produc- Anna Faris) and by a team highlighted at the film’s clier (Tremaine “Trey Songz” of other pals (voiced by Neil max, Howard not only porNeverson), a rising politician Patrick Harris Andy Sam- trays Hunt’s sexual escapades (Taye Diggs) and a million- berg, Terry Crews and Ben- unblinkingly, but tends to aire (Djimon Hounsou) — jamin Bratt). Loosely based, glamorize them as well. Not Celebrant is Father Riley J. hoping to rekindle one of her like its 2009 predecessor, on a film for the squeamish, or Williams, parochial vicar at St. past romances. To her credit, a book by Judi and Ron Bar- those lacking in maturity and Vincent de Paul and St. John the she resists the temptation to rett, directors Cody Cameron discernment. Strong sexual Evangelist parishes in Attleboro settle for second-best, and re- and Kris Pearn’s sequel serves content — including graphic alizes that staying married is a up colorful fun while elevat- casual sexual activity, an aberbigger challenge than simply ing friendship and teamwork rant situation, and upper fegetting hitched. Despite some over egotism and re-echoing male and rear nudity — drug thematic turbulence and poor a familiar — but nonetheless use, gruesome medical imchoices, this is ultimately a valuable — message about ages, brief harsh violence, an flight worth taking, especially environmental responsibility. instance of highly irreverent as it’s that Hollywood rarity, A few bathroom-based jokes humor, an adultery theme, a film that upholds and pro- and a couple of very mild vul- about a half-dozen uses of motes the institution of mar- garities. The Catholic News profanity, frequent rough and riage. Implied nonmarital sex, Service classification is A-II crude language. The Catholic mature references, including — adults and adolescents. News Service classification is to homosexuality and con- The Motion Picture Asso- L — limited adult audience, traception, a same-sex kiss, ciation of America rating is films whose problematic coninnuendo, some crude lan- PG — parental guidance sug- tent many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picguage. The Catholic News gested. ture Association of America “Rush” (Universal) Service classification is A-III The 1976 Formula One rating is R — restricted. Un— adults. The Motion Picture Association of America racing season provides the der 17 requires accompanying rating is PG-13 — parents backdrop for this fact-based parent or adult guardian.

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — A pontifical council is preparing to launch a new app on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” in order to help promote and better expand Church teaching throughout the world.

“Catechesis is important for the Church first of all because it is the attempt we had from the beginning of our faith to put together the knowledge, the content of our faith, and the coherent witness that we should have,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

The app — which will be released first in Italian and available on mobile phones and tablets —

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6

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

CNS Movie Capsules

13

October 4, 2013

Pope names Bishop Hebda of Gaylord to be Newark coadjutor archbishop

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Gaylord, Mich., 54, to be coadjutor archbishop of Newark, N.J. As coadjutor, he would automatically succeed Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, 72, upon his retirement or death.

Canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope at age 75.

Archbishop Myers has headed the archdiocese since 2001. Archbishop Hebda, a native of Pittsburgh, was ordained bishop of Gaylord Dec. 1, 2009.

The appointment was recently announced in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

A Mass of welcome for Archbishop Hebda is to be celebrated November 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

Archbishop Myers introduced his coadjutor at a gathering of local journalists and archdiocesan employees and guests at the Newark Archdiocesan Center.

“Considering some major projects to be implemented in the archdiocese, and the fact that three of us bishops in Newark are in our 70s, I had requested a coadjutor archbishop some time ago,” he said.

Pope Francis honored his request and has honored the archdiocese, he said, “by the gift of appointing” the Gaylord bishop as coadjutor “of this great archdiocese.”

“Archbishop Hebda has served generously and with distinction as a priest in Pittsburgh, as a monsignor in Rome, and as bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord,” Archbishop Myers said.

He said the two have known each other over the years, in part from the Michigan bishop’s service at Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; then-Msgr.

Hebda began working with the council in the 1990s and was named its undersecretary in 2003. Archbishop Myers has been a consultor for the council and is now a full member.

“We have been friends and collaborators for years. I happily look forward to our increased collaboration for the benefit of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Newark, in the years ahead,” he concluded.

Archbishop Hebda said: “If you’re wondering if I am as surprised as you are by this appointment, the answer is ‘yes,’ and yet I am truly thrilled to be here to begin my service.

“I am particularly grateful for the kind words of Archbishop Myers and for the presence of the auxiliary bishops, as well as the kindness and hospitality that they have already offered to me,” he said.

The archdiocese’s four active auxiliary bishops are: Bishops Edgar M. da Cunha, Thomas A. Donato, John W. Flesey and Manuel A. Cruz.

“I am humbled by Pope Francis’ confidence in calling me to this local Church, renowned for its generous pastoral out-

reach to those who have come to these shores and its consistently passionate response to the call to live out the Gospel,” the new coadjutor said.

The four-county Newark Archdiocese has 1.5 million Catholics out of a total population of about three million people.

“I am also grateful to Pope Francis for providing me with the ‘coadjutor’s cushion,’ an opportunity to experience the vitality of this local Church and its challenges before ever being placed at the helm,” Archbishop Hebda said.

“I have known and respected Archbishop Myers for many years and welcome this opportunity to assist him as he shepherds this large and complex archdiocese.”

Archbishop Myers outlined a number of projects that will have the help of Archbishop Hebda. For example, he will take strategic roles alongside Archbishop Myers in the coming years on “Lighting the Way,” a realignment of the system of Catholic elementary schools of the archdiocese; development efforts to prepare for the future and improve some archdiocesan programs; and continued refinement and attention to parishes through the New Energies Parish Initiative.

The initiative involves the clergy and people of the archdiocese in addressing the demographic changes taking place within the churches of the four counties of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Hebda is a native of Pittsburgh who received a bachelor’s degree in government in 1980 from Harvard University and a law degree

from Columbia University School of Law in New York in 1983. He practiced law in a Pittsburgh law firm before entering the seminary.

He entered St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh in 1984 and completed his theological studies at North American College in Rome. In 1988, he was ordained to the priesthood in Pittsburgh where he served in a variety of assignments including parish ministry, tribunal work, and campus ministry. In 1990 he earned a canon law degree; six years later he was appointed to work in the Vatican at the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

He has served as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and currently serves on the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. He also serves as the episcopal liaison for the National Catholic Student Coalition. By Vatican appointment, he is a member of the executive board of Caritas International and a consultor for the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

In a recent letter to the Catholics of Gaylord, Archbishop Hebda said his appointment “brings with it the sadness of having to leave the diocese.”

He said he has “come to consider this local Church my home and will find it difficult to leave so many faith-filled parishes, schools and friends.

Anything that I know about being a bishop I learned from you — and for that I will be always thankful.”

Archbishop Hebda said he

This week in

50 years ago — Father John F. Moore of St. Joseph’s Parish in Taunton, who would later go on to become editor of The Anchor, was appointed chaplain of the Taunton area Boy Scouts, succeeding Father James F. Lyons.

Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls basketball team hands out Gatorade to his team during the final game of the annual Peace Tournament in St. Sabina’s Church gymnasium recently in Chicago.

NBA players came together to hold the second annual tournament, which allows rival gang members to battle it out on the court instead of on the streets. The first tournament, held in September 2012, is credited with helping to curb violence in the neighborhood.

(CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World)

25 years ago — A conference for grieving persons was held at the Family Life Center in North Dartmouth. Sessions dealt with the emotions of widows and widowers, those affected by suicide, and bereaved parents. An opening address was given by Ann Murray, a widow and director of the Family Life program in Norwich, Conn.

was blessed in the Gaylord Diocese with “gifted clergy, generous deacons, dedicated religious women, stellar schools, a tradition of prayerful Liturgy, a rich history of cultivating lay leadership, and an exemplary commitment to Christian charity and social justice.”

“What wasn’t to love? I would have been happy to spend the rest of my days here laboring in the vineyard at your side,” he added.

Archbishop Myers, a native of Ottawa, Ill., has headed the Newark Archdiocese since he was installed in October 2001.

He is president of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in New Jersey.

Earlier this year, he faced criticism over the archdiocese’s handling of the case of Father Michael Fugee, an archdiocesan priest who had agreed not to have unsupervised contact with minors but was found to be working with youngsters.

The priest is resigned from active ministry in May. The archbishop investigated and sought the resignation of the vicar general for mishandling the case. Archbishop Myers said the archdiocesan official’s resignation was one of several steps being taken to strengthen the archdiocese’s response to sexual abuse.

On the national level, Archbishop Myers has served on or chaired numerous U.S. bishops’ committees, initiatives and task forces: canonical affairs; shrines and pilgrimages; vocations; Hispanic affairs; and what is now called the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.

diocesan history

10 years ago — Bishop George W. Coleman celebrated a Mass honoring the beatification of Mother Teresa at St. Lawrence Martyr Church in New Bedford, the same church Mother Teresa attended Mass during her visit to the diocese in June of 1995.

One year ago — James A. Campbell, a veteran leader of development efforts for healthcare institutions and universities, was named to head the Development Office for the Fall River Diocese, succeeding Michael J. Donly, who retired after 15 years in the role.

14

October 4, 2013

Grammy nominee goes to bat for the Men of the Sacred Heart continued from page one

ever wanted. All I had to do was sign on the dotted line.”

But a young attorney hired to represent him — who worked for the same firm that represented Billy Joel — cautioned him that the deal he was about to sign was linked to organized crime.

“He told me the company I was about to sign with was Mafia-based,” he said. “He told me: ‘You’re going to sell your soul,’ and that was the beginning of my conversion. It was the first time I ever thought about my soul.”

Faced with a $3 million “offer he couldn’t refuse,” Rotella nevertheless passed on signing his life away in exchange for “fame, fortune and money.”

“He warned me that they’d own me forever and I’d have to write music for pornographic films,” Rotella said. “I told them I would never do that; but he told me I’d have to. They wouldn’t harm me because I was part of their equity, but they’d harm someone I knew to make me do it. I guess my mother’s prayers kicked in at that point.”

Being cut from a slasher film and then dodging a proverbial Mafia bullet ended up being “true blessings for me,” Rotella said.

“I gave my life to God right after that, it was really powerful because that’s when I began to notice that the songs I was writing were not coming through me anymore,” he said. “You think you’re the great writer, but all of a sudden you realize it’s not you at all. At the time I didn’t want to write about my faith or my journey to God … they just started coming out. I realized then that I was a vehicle for God to use. It really changed my life.”

Guided by God, Rotella set

out to blaze his own trail and create his own brand of what he characterizes as “uplifting music.”

Since the early 1980s he’s recorded and released more than a dozen self-produced CDs including the popular “Spirit Power” series, “Proclaim the Miracle,” “Whisper of the Wind,” and the Grammy-nominated “Passion Play” (1987), “I Wait on Tepeyac” (1988) and “There’s a Little Soul” (1992).

“People tend to think of success in today’s world as money and fame,” Rotella said. “But my music is all over the world. As a matter of fact, most people don’t even know it’s me, which I like.

About 90 non-profit organizations around the world use my music for free.”

While he admitted it’s “awesome” to be nominated for a Grammy Award, Rotella said he’s more moved by the personal stories he hears about how his music has touched someone personally.

“A bereavement group has been using some of my music and it’s been helping a lot of people,” he said. “I didn’t even think of that when I wrote and produced it.”

“There was another story about a boy who couldn’t sleep — he was losing so much sleep they were worried he might die — but they started playing some of my songs and he went right to sleep. I don’t know if that’s a good thing to admit about my music,” Rotella said, laughing.

“But it was good for him and helped him heal. Stories like that are really cool.”

An Italian-American from New Jersey, Rotella said he was always inspired to sing by Frank Sinatra, who “had one of the

for the next Sacred Heart World Congress to take place in California next year. greatest voices of all time.”

“We just put up a YouTube Having grown up in the video of us performing ‘Silent 1970s when rock ruled the airNight’ and ‘Amazing Grace,’” he waves, Rotella picked up a variety added. “We never did any muof musical influences and said he sic before except our own, but was always fond of brass-based we did a nice simple rendition acts like Chicago, Tower of Powof those songs and people have er and Earth, Wind and Fire. been really excited about it. So “That’s where my whole influwe’re busy, as you can tell.” ence of songwriting came from,” Those yet to experience a Rotella said. “You’ll hear horns Marty Rotella concert can exin a lot of my music … but some pect to see a lively show during of it is very mellow. You’ll hear a his New Bedford appearance tolittle bit of Latin influence in my morrow night. music, too.”

“It’s a mixture of my own Having just retired from music with some songs people working full-time as a public know,” Rotella said. “For examschool teacher for 31 years, Rople, one of my favorite songs in tella said he’s now devoting all the whole world is ‘You’ve Got a his time to his music ministry.

Friend.’ I throw that in there and “I taught and every weekend people like to sing it with me. I’ll and some weeknights I was travdo some songs you know, some eling and singing on the road,” he original material, along with said. “It was a tough schedule, but some songs that help people to now I sing and record full-time. I heal personally.” give a lot of retreats and do benProceeds from the concert will efit concerts like the one I’m dobenefit the Sacred Heart World ing (in New Bedford). I do a lot Apostolate and the work of the of prison ministry work, too.” local chapter of the Men of the Rotella said he has two new Sacred Heart based here in the CDs in the works — “Spirit diocese.

Power 4,” which is slated to be Even though Rotella laughed released in 2014, and “The Holy when asked if he had ever been Face of Jesus,” a devotional prayer used as a link in the game “Six chaplet.

Degrees of Kevin Bacon” — an “‘Spirit Power 3’ is my favorite association trivia challenge in of all my CDs and I think ‘4’ will which you attempt to link various be just as good or better,” Rotella talent to the industrious thespian said. “Someone asked us to rewho also used “Friday the 13th” cord a Chaplet on the Holy Face. as an early career stepping stone, We’ve done a Divine Mercy Chaplet and another one to the Sacred Heart. Not many people record chaplets and they’ve been well-received because people love to pray with song.”

Rotella said his brother — who also serves as his producer and keyboard player — is currently in the studio mixing a new theme song they just recorded

he did have one interesting tidbit to share about the young actor.

“They had an auction showing of ‘Friday the 13th’ in New York,” Rotella said. “That was the first time I saw the movie. I was invited after I sang in it. We were waiting in line to get into the theater and Kevin Bacon was in front of me. His mother was with him and he was telling her that he hoped he would make it. He was still waiting tables at the time. While we were watching the movie in the theater, they were sitting behind us and he kept telling her: ‘Don’t worry, ma.

It’s going to work out. I’m going to be OK.’ If I ever meet him again, I’ll have to ask him if he remembers that day.”

Looking back over his own career, Rotella said he has no regrets about passing on that multi-million-dollar deal.

“One night I prayed and I asked God: ‘What would have happened if I had signed that contract?’ And God is so loving, I felt Him telling me: ‘I still would have had you.’”

Marty Rotella will be performing a benefit concert tomorrow night in the parish hall of St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, 51 Duncan Street in New Bedford.

Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets will be available at the door. For more information call 508-9955235.

For more information about Marty Rotella’s music and ministry, visit www.martyrotella.com.

A nun walks the courtyard at the church and convent of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy. It is the place where St. Francis first received his miraculous calling in 1205 and where St. Clare died in 1253. The simple oratory is located just outside the walls of Assisi. (CNS photo/ Octavio Duran)

15

October 4, 2013

A teen who attended this year’s diocesan Pro-Life Boot Camp spends time with a resident of a nursing home, illustrating that Pro-Life means respect for life at all stages — from conception to natural death.

Pro-Life Apostolate at work during and after 40 Days for Life continued from page one

of the more than 90 students who attended.

“It was the hottest weekend of the entire year and not one of our youth complained about the heat. We had the honor of having six Sisters of Life of New York come,” added Desrosiers, of the request by the Sisters that four of those six attending be novitiates who would “be able to experience the camp.”

Jocelyn Trinidade and Cassandra Borges continue to be the driving force, putting forth an incredible amount of time and effort organizing the Boot Camp, said Desrosiers. Campers have to be, at the minimum, freshmen in high school to attend the camp; graduates from high school can return as junior staffers until they are 21; and this year marked a first for the camp — junior staffers over the age of 21 returned as chaperones.

Along with an array of activities, the group attended a vigil at Four Women Health Services in Attleboro, the only abortion clinic still in operation within the Diocese of Fall River. The group also planned on visiting two nursing homes and though one trip was cancelled due to no air conditioning, the young people were able to visit one home that “was pretty incredible,” said Desrosiers.

“They spoke with them [residents] in one large area,

made tissue-craft flowers for them; I saw some of them interacting in different languages, like Portuguese,” said Desrosiers. “And then they all sang a couple of songs to them. They did a beautiful job and gained so much out of it themselves; there was so much discussion afterwards.

They went going in thinking the elderly would gain so much from them, and they got so much. Overall they were happy to have the opportunity to be able to reach out to them.”

The visit brings the ProLife message full circle — from conception to natural death — and made even timelier in light of the recent physician-assisted suicide ballot question proposed a year ago in Massachusetts.

“Our young people are really taught throughout the Boot Camp that Pro-Life is about the respect, sacredness and dignity of any person at any moment throughout the entire day, even in the smallest ways,” explained Desrosiers.

Even while praying outside of the abortion clinic, the youth are always deeply moved by the experience while praying; “It’s a lot of expression of being deeply moved, sometimes sadness, but even when saddened they found an inner strength that came from Christ to keep them being the witnesses there,” said Desrosiers.

God, all things are possible,” (Mt 19:26) reads the lanyard, acting as a reminder to remain in constant prayer while adhering to the city ordinances put forth by Attleboro over the right to bear witness; no displaying of graphic images and restrictions on sign displays are just some of the rules people have to follow.

The Rosary is the recommended prayer given in the statement, and Catholic Radio in New Bedford is taking that prayer to the radio waves by running a taped piece of people praying the Rosary outside the clinic, airing every Saturday morning “so that people who are unable to attend 40 Days at the clinic can pray,” said Desrosiers.

Another collaborative effort still in the works is a banner to be displayed while keeping vigil at the clinic; “The banner will be brief in its wording and directed to her [the mother],” said Desrosiers. “We understand that she’s very fearful, most likely, and we’re trying to be very respectful of her privacy and where she’s coming from, but at the same time knowing she may not have support and feels alone, has no hope left.”

The idea is to have a number on the banner that a woman could easily memorize and send out a text message. To help maintain privacy, the text

message would come through as a non-descript email to alert people who have been trained to be ready to receive and help the woman.

“We want people to know that we’re there to offer help; we’re not there in protest,” said Desrosiers. “We’re there to extend our hand, to pray and to let the community know that there is help available. We believe women deserve better than abortion.”

On October 5, Desrosiers and Arsenault will be joining the Pro-Life representatives in the diocese at Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich for Mass, followed by a gathering to collaborate on ideas.

On October 16 at 8 a.m., Steve Karlen, the director of North American Outreach for the 40 Days for Life, will be joining the vigil outside of the clinic in Attleboro.

So many individuals and organizations have stepped up to be a part of the collaborative, and through God’s grace, every step seems to continue to lead the initiative from one phase to the next; “It’s coming from prayer,” said Desrosiers, “the collaborative and the nice part is that we’ve been able to come together with members of the Catholic community and non-Catholic community in this endeavor, and we hope to involve more.”

The youth are taught that they are called not to judge people’s heart but to pray for a conversion, not just from those seeking abortion services but from those providing the services; the doctors, nurses and staff “because we don’t want just the clinic to close, we want the conversion of their hearts so that they can be witnesses to the sacredness and dignity of life,” said Desrosiers.

And while there is talk of capping next year’s Boot Camp at 100 because anything larger may hamper the interaction among those attending, Desrosiers and her assistant director Jean Arsenault are certainly not capping their duties at the ProLife Apostolate. Before 40 Days for Life went into full swing, the two women sent out a message to the more than 400 Pro-Life representatives, as well as the clergy in the diocese, of a collaborative group putting together a mission statement and code of conduct developed for groups attending a vigil outside of the abortion clinic.

“It helps people understand why we’re there,” said Desrosiers. “Our main focus is on prayer, fasting and silent witness. It helps to be clear.”

Another tangible way the apostolate is driving the message home is the lanyard given An image of Pope Francis embracing a boy who has cerebral palsy is to those who agree to follow featured in the poster promoting the U.S. bishops’ 2013 Respect Life the mission statement. “For campaign. Respect Life Sunday is observed October 6 this year. (CNS)

16

Youth Pages

October 4, 2013

Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro recently held a luncheon for scholarship benefactors and the students who receive them. Benefactors received thank you letters from students in the mail; however they got to know each other in person as they shared lunch. Bishop Feehan 1967 alum and benefactor Ron Tondreault (center) gets to know the student recipients of the endowed scholarship he created in honor of his parents. Two Feehan students from each class receive the scholarships for each year they attend Feehan.

Students in pre-kindergarten from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford enjoy time in the computer lab.

A special Mass was celebrated in the St. Pius X Chapel at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River in honor of Bishop James L. Connolly on the anniversary of his death, September 12. Msgr. Thomas Harrington, a long-time friend of the late bishop was the celebrant. A picture of Bishop L. Connolly was donated to the school by Bishop Feehan High School president, Christopher Servant. The picture now hangs in the Bishop Connolly chapel. From left: Christopher Myron, principal of Connolly, Megan MacQueen, Paula Kelley, Sister Lisa Palazio, George dos Santos, Msgr. Harrington, and Thomas Kerrigan.

After reading about eating insects in Scholastic News, the fifth-graders at Holy Name School in Fall River used the school’s new iPads to research two of the edible insects. They then had to report what they learned back to their classmates and create a recipe with their delectable insects.

A celebration recently took place at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton in honor of a popular Chinese holiday, Mid Autumn Festival. Likened to our Thanksgiving, this holiday is a time for families to gather in appreciation of their many blessings. The popular dessert of choice is a moon pie. The CCHS international students are pictured enjoying this familiar treat.

Students at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford gathered around a life-size world to pray for peace in the world, as well as to pray for all who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

October 4, 2013

I

’m currently reading a book entitled, “Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus,” and I must admit I am somewhat dismayed and even flabbergasted by some of the study results reported.

One particular question asked of adults, in particular, caught my eye: Nearly a third of selfidentified Catholics believed in an impersonal God. That is, they are saying that God is an “impersonal force” — not One that we can actually relate to.

When asked if the God they believe in is One with Whom a person can have a relationship, only 48 percent of Catholics were absolutely certain that the God they believed in was One with Whom they could have a personal relationship. One of the conclusions reached by the study is that Mass attendance is always lower than, and goes up and down with, the percentage of those who are certain that it is possible to have a personal relationship with God! So what does that tell us? I believe that we (the Church) need to concentrate on helping Catholics develop a personal relationship with Christ. If we only concentrate

Youth Pages Pray all ways

disciples of Christ, if we don’t on what you can and can’t have a personal relationship do, we don’t present Christ with Him? If we don’t have as One to Whom we can or a relationship, then wouldn’t want to actually relate!

Pope Francis recently said, that explain why many don’t seek Him out in Word and “Yes, you have to come to know Jesus in the ‘Catechism’ Sacrament — wouldn’t it?

It would seem to me, at — but it is not enough to a very basic level, that the know Him with the mind: it is a step. However, it is necessary to get to know Jesus in dialogue with Him, talking with Him in prayer, kneeling. If you do not pray, if you do not talk

By Frank Lucca with Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, first step and a good start but you do not go with that to rectifying this situation knowledge, which He gives for any one of us, would be your heart in prayer. Know to find ways to develop this Jesus with the mind — the relationship with Christ. If study of the ‘Catechism’: we look at our purely huknow Jesus with the heart — man relationships, we come in prayer, in dialogue with Him. This helps us a good bit, to develop relationships with others by first communicating but it is not enough. There is with, then sharing with otha third way to know Jesus: it is by following Him. Go with ers what is happening in our lives. Well, shouldn’t it be the Him, walk with Him.” same with Christ? In prayer, This would seem to be a we spend time with God, getfundamental issue facing our ting to know Him better. It’s Church today. Many Cathonot only talking to Him, but lics practice the faith as best they can, but many don’t have listening as well. We speak to Him through prayer and a personal attachment to we listen to Him through Christ. I’m not sure how this His Word, through sermons, happens, but, how can we be

Be Not Afraid

Pope Francis poses with young people during a recent encounter with youth in Cagliari, Sardinia. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

17 through what others may say and share and through music.

Sometimes we can even hear Him in the silence of our hearts. Just like any relationship, a conversation goes both ways. That’s how relationships are built. In this sharing we come to know another and so it is the same with God. In meeting with my deacon mentor a few months back I was chatting with him about my prayer life and how sometimes I wasn’t sure that I was praying the right way. He told me a short story about praying that made an excellent point and which I have taken to heart.

One day a priest visited the home of a farmer. The farmer was preparing to go out to plow his fields. He shared with the priest that while he plowed, he prayed.

The priest asked if he could join the farmer in prayer. The farmer told him that it was fine, but warned the priest that he prayed in a different way. The priest and the farmer went to the field and as the farmer began to plow.

As he plows, the farmer begins to say “A A A A,” then “B B B B,” then, “C C C C.” This went on until the fields were done. When complete, the priest said to the farmer, “That was a very unusual way of praying, what were you doing.” The farmer responded, “I’m not an educated man.

I can neither read nor spell, so what I do is just say the letters and I let God put the words together.”

The point of the story?

There are many ways you can pray. We can pray in church, in the backyard, in our car, or even in the shower. We can pray rote prayers or we can just talk to God. We can pray the Liturgy of the Hours each morning and evening.

We can pray the Rosary. We can pray formally or informally. I personally like to chat with God all day long.

How about you?

Prayer can and should become a part of every moment of our lives.

If you are not already doing so, I encourage you to take time today to start the conversation — to begin to develop that personal relationship with Christ. Only then can we truly live out our calling to be His disciples.

Anchor columnist Frank Lucca is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea, and a campus minister at UMass Dartmouth. He is chairman and a director of the YES! Retreat and director of the Christian Leadership Institute. He is married to his wife of 35 years, Kristine, and a father of two daughters and a sonin-law. Comments, ideas or suggestions? Please email him at StDominicYouthMinistry@ comcast.net.

18

October 4, 2013

MCFL banquet to feature Lila Rose continued from page one

to young people at the 2010 Youth Rally, and she will be the keynote speaker at this year’s MCFL Banquet at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood on October 10.

When Rose addressed the young crowd in Boston three years ago, her passion and strong convictions were evident. She spoke eloquently in support of fighting for life, which Rose, a Catholic convert, called a “spiritual battle.” She referred to brutal Barbara Bowers the murder of the unborn as the “greatest injustice” of our time, and said she believes abortion will be illegal in the United States in her lifetime.

Now 25, Rose represents the upcoming generation of Pro-Life activists, according to MCFL’s president Anne Fox. When seasoned Pro-Lifers see young people involved in the movement, the sight is uplifting and heartening. “They are very encouraged because

they know that the work is important and will continue,” she added.

Fox said she is impressed by Rose’s commitment to the cause and called her an “inspiration.”

She hopes that hearing Rose speak will prompt Pro-Lifers to continue to use their own talents and to seek new ways of accomplishing the mission.

Although Rose has done a “tremendous service” in exposing abuses that happen at abortion Ben Levesque clinics, more work needs to be done. Many Americans still believe that Planned Parenthood is a benevolent organization, she said.

In April of this year, National Right to Life Committee conducted a survey that found that 55 percent of Americans do not know that Planned Parenthood performs abortions. Sixty-three percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the largest abortion provider in the United States — of those, 38 percent

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It’s much more than just about the game identified themselves as ProLife.

“Planned Parenthood is still very well-respected with the general public,” Fox said.

Each year, the MCFL banquet, held annually since 1974, gives Pro-Lifers the opportunity to hear a great speaker and honor locals who have distinguished themselves through their work for the cause. This year, two people from the Diocese of Fall River will be recognized — Ben Levesque of MCFL’s Greater Fall River Chapter and Barbara Bowers of MCFL’s Cape Cod Chapter.

Levesque is a relatively new member of his chapter, but this year he was one of three MCFL members in the entire state to raise the most funds.

“He’s just gone above and beyond in all of our activities,” said long-time MCFL member Bea Martins. “He gives everything to whatever we have before us.”

Last year, in the fight against physician-assisted suicide, each member of his chapter was asked to write one letter to the editor of the local newspaper.

Levesque wrote three.

Levesque has also developed memorials to the unborn and started leading the Rosary rallies for America Needs Fatima in the Fall River area.

Martins said Levesque is quiet and reserved, but when he speaks up, people listen because he makes great contributions.

She called him an “awesome person,” adding, “We are just delighted to have him be a part of our chapter.”

Martins also praised Bowers, a woman who worked as a journalist in New York and retired to Cape Cod more than seven years ago.

“The word ‘retired’ just doesn’t quite fit because she’s very, very busy,” Martins said.

She called Bowers “boisterous” and praised her decision to take over the helm of the Cape Cod Family Life Alliance.

Bowers has also contributed her talents to the Respect Life Ministry at her church, Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster. For six years, she has been instrumental in organizing fund-raising banquets for A Woman’s Concern, a statewide Pro-Life pregnancy resource organization.

Bowers is also involved in many other charitable endeavors, including a Ladies Guild, a thrift shop and a church group that provides lunches to the homeless.

continued from page one

PawSox vice president of Sales and Marketing, and a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth, told The Anchor. “Through the years, they stayed the course with that commitment. Today, the PawSox are ranked 10th in the country in attendance, among more than 300 minor league baseball clubs.” The familyoriented approach has a great deal to do with that.

People living in the Fall River Diocese are no strangers to the PawSox and McCoy Stadium. Year after year, countless diocesan parish priests and lay leaders bring hundreds of altar boys and girls, and youth groups on field trips to enjoy an afternoon or evening of baseball and fun.

And every year scores of children from St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River are given the opportunity, because of The Anchor’s relationship with the team, to attend a few games, something the children at the home wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do.

“It doesn’t go unnoticed that so many youngsters from the Fall River Diocese attend games at McCoy,” said Gwynn.

“We’re very happy to provide a place for people to go and have good, safe fun — and good baseball, too.”

One Catholic group in particular was near and dear to Mondor and Tamburro. In 2006, the Little Sisters of the Poor, based just miles from McCoy Stadium, approached the men and asked if they could, in any way, assist them with the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Pawtucket, a home that offers a continuum of care to nearly 100 low-income senior residents.

“I knew that as soon as Ben met the Sisters, he would help in any way he could,” said Gwynn. “There’s something about a nun. They are women of such admirable faith and spirituality — true agents of the Lord.”

Since the meeting with the Sisters in 2006, the team has held a fund-raiser for the efforts of the Little Sisters of the Poor each season, raising more than $130,000 to date.

“Each year we also purchase roses to send the Sisters for their home, just as an ap-

preciation for what they do,” added Gwynn. “One year, the Sisters asked Ben and Mike if they could do something about building a special ‘sports’ room for the male residents of the Jugan Residence. The team sent the field superintendent Matt McKinnon to build a room there, and when it was complete it was adorned with sports murals, including one of Jesus, wearing a Pawtucket Red Sox hat, teaching a young boy how to bat.”

Mondor died in 2010, and what he started in 1977 continues today in large part because his wife, Madeleine Mondor, another faithful Catholic, the majority owner, and Tamburro have continued to make the PawSox an important part of the local community.

This year the Sisters are hosting a fund-raiser on October 16 at the Jeanne Jugan Residence, 964 Main Street in Pawtucket, with former Boston mayor and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond Flynn.

Flynn will be sharing a message of the good works of the Little Sisters of the Poor, locally and around the world, as well as some of his experiences as Vatican ambassador.

“The Sisters are such a great organization,” added Gwynn, who is also on the advisory board for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The match of the Red Sox and religious Sisters seems like a natural. During the Boston Red Sox’ “Impossible Dream” season of 1967, fans could often see pockets of Sisters in full habit dotting Fenway Park.

Nearly 50 years later, another Red Sox team is as faithful to the Sisters as the nuns were to Red Sox all those years ago.

As they say in sports, “What goes around comes around.”

The Ray Flynn fund-raiser will start at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception, with the program of “An Insider’s View of the Vatican” beginning at 7 p.m. A special VIP reception with Flynn will be held prior to the event at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Home’s Development Office at 401723-4314 or pwdevelopment@ littlesistersofthepoor.org.

Visit The Anchor online at http://www.anchornews.org

19

October 4, 2013

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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

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

Mass.

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

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

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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

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

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

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

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

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

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

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

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

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Expostition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

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

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

Pope experienced a ‘great light’ before accepting the papacy

Vatican City (CNA/ “Then the light dissipated and on which rested the act of accepEWTN News) — In a recent I stood straight up and headed tance. I signed it ... and then on interview, Pope Francis shared to the room where the cardinals the balcony came the ‘Habemus a mystical experience he had were waiting for me and the table Papam.’” shortly before accepting the role as Bishop of Rome.

The pope recounted his experience during a recent interview Holy Name Parish will hold its Annual Harvest Festival on Octowith Eugenio Scalfari of the ber 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the parish school, 850 Pearce Italian newspaper La Repubblica Street in Fall River. Activities will include pony rides, petting published on October 1. zoo, musical entertainment, games and much more. There will be craft tables, great raffles, a silent auction, a homeWhen asked if he considered made bake sale, and great food. himself a mystic, the pope replied “What do you think?”

St. Anthony’s Church, Route 28 in East Falmouth, will have a Scalfari replied no, he did not Blessing of the Animals on October 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. All good dogs on a leash, cats and bunnies in carriers, and any pets you love believe Pope Francis was the type. are welcome. Children who do not have a pet may bring their favorite When he asked the Holy Father stuffed animal. Smithfield Farm will bring Domino the “Blessed Donkey” if he had ever had a mystical exand Dooley the horse that bows for his blessing. Children may ride the ponies after the blessings. Sponsored by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, perience, the pontiff replied that goodwill donations of a food item for St. Anthony’s Food Pantry will be he “rarely” has, but that one such greatly appreciated. For more information call 508-457-0085. experience did take place during the conclave shortly before he acSacred Heart Church, 160 Seabury Street in Fall River, will hold a chopstick raffle on October 6. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the raffle starts at 1 p.m. cepted his election as pope.

There will be more than 100 prizes worth a total of over $2,000 that can “Before the acceptance, I be won with the purchase of one pair of chopsticks. There will also be asked to be able to retire for some specials, freebies, and food available. For more information call 508-673minutes in the room next to that 0852 or 508-990-6224. with the balcony on the square.

Celebrate the beautiful feast of Our Lady of the Rosary by praying at My head was completely empty the Outdoor Rosary Walk at the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington and a great anxiety invaded me,” Street in North Easton on October 7 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Gather with he said. the group to pray the Rosary and then attend Mass following at noon.

For more info visit www.FamilyRosary.org/Events or call Holy Cross Fam“To make it pass and to relax, I ily Ministries at 508-238-4095. closed my eyes and every thought disappeared, also that of refusThe Cape and Islands Prayer Group Deanery will present a retreat on ing to accept the charge, as after October 9 and 10 at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Wareham. Sister Claire Bouchard, SSCC, will be the presenter for the retreat’s theme: all the Liturgical procedure con“Pray, Hope, Don’t Worry.” Retreat hours will be 6:30 to 10 p.m. on sents.”

Wednesday; 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, with Mass at 11 a.m. To Pope Francis shared that once register or for further information call 508-759-2737. he closed his eyes, he did not feel An Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Rally will be held at 12 noon on October 12 any more “anxiety or emotion,” in Peg Noonan Park on Main Street in Falmouth. Please come and join in but that at “a certain point a great praying for peace. light invaded me, it lasted for a St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street in Attleboro, will have its ansecond but it seemed really long.”

Around the Diocese

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Oct. 5 Rev. Jean D. Pare, O.P., Assistant Director, St. Anne Shrine, Fall River, 1999 Oct. 6 Rev. Stephen B. Magill, Assistant, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1916 Rev. Roland Brodeur, Uniondale, N.Y., 1987 Oct. 7 Rev. Caesar Phares, Pastor, St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River, 1951 Rev. Msgr. Arthur G. Dupuis, Retired Pastor, St. Louis de France, Swansea, 1975 Rev. Andrew Jahn, SS.CC., Sacred Hearts Seminary, Wareham, 1988 Oct. 8 Rev. Roger P. Nolette, Our Lady of the Assumption, Osterville, 2006 Oct. 9 Rev. Paul J. Dalbec, M.S., La Salette Shrine, Attleboro, 2000 Oct. 10 Rev. James C.J. Ryan, Assistant, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1918 Rev. Boniface Jones, SS.CC., Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1987 Rev. Joseph A. Martineau, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1990 Oct. 11 Rev. James A. Downey, Pastor, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1952

nual celebration of the Blessed Mother’s final appearance at Fatima in 1917 on October 12, the eve of the day of her apparition. It will begin with a special Mass at 6:30 p.m., celebrated and preached by Father Manuel Ferreira, a retired priest of the Diocese of Fall River and former administrator of Holy Ghost Parish. After the Mass there will be a candlelight procession with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima around the neighborhood as the Rosary is prayed. Bring your own candles or obtain them at the church. Benediction will follow in the church and refreshments will be served downstairs.

A traditional Latin Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal) will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church, Fall River, on October 20, at 6:30 p.m. The ordinary of the Mass will be the “Missa de Angelis” (Mass VIII); the propers are for the 22nd Sunday After Pentecost. Latin-English booklets will be provided. For more information, visit www.StAnneShrine.com.

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October 4, 2013

Papal beekeeper Marco Tullio Cicero, right, shows off the honeycomb covered with worker bees making honey for the winter and Pope Francis at the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome recently.

(CNS photo/Carol Glatz)

Hidden away behind pope’s summer residence is land of milk and honey

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) — Not a sound bounced off the smooth white walls and vaulted brick ceiling as a Vatican gardener hunched over a large, empty glass jar.

Two other men peered over his shoulder, waiting for the finished

product to ooze slowly from the stainless steel spout.

As the thick, dark amber flow rippled into the container, Vincenzo Scaccioni, the head of agricultural operations at the pontifical villa of Castel Gandolfo, said: “This is a historic moment.”

It was historic because it was the year’s first honey harvest for the new pope by the little known, but very busy, papal bees.

And it was lucky because there had been a drastic dip in this year’s honey production.

“Maybe we’ll get three or four

kilos (seven to eight pounds), not even,” said the Vatican beekeeper Marco Tullio Cicero, as he peeked into the stainless steel centrifuge that spun the honey from its golden honeycomb.

“As long as there’s a jar for him,” the pope, it will be enough, said Scaccioni. “It’s a limited edition,” he said with a smile.

Scaccioni oversees 26 employees who work on the villa’s 74 acres of gardens and 62 acres of farmland.

Pope Pius XI expanded the papal farm in 1930, Scaccioni said, in part to “express the universality and the fullness of the Church and countryside,” and to make use of the fertile pastures — which had been abandoned after the loss of the Papal States in 1870 — to provide fresh fare for the papal menu.

The villa’s workers raise freerange chickens, rabbits, ducks, pheasants and other fowl for meat, calves for veal, cows to provide milk and milk products like mozzarella, cheese and yogurt, and hens for eggs.

They also harvest fruit and olive orchards and vineyards, cut hayfields, tend vegetable patches and grow flowers and plants that often are used to decorate the papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican.

The aromatic herbs and flowering plants also provide an abundance of nectar for the bees, which work from dawn to dusk collecting the sweet water to turn into wildflower honey for the cold winter months.

What the pope and his closest aides do not use is sold to Vatican employees and retirees at the Vatican discount supermarket.

Scaccioni, who has a degree in agricultural science, was promoted in November from his role as botanist at the gardens inside Vatican City State, to heading the pontifical gardens and farm at Castel Gandolfo.

He said the papal farm is ready for an overhaul, and the first thing on his list is the bees, with an eye to expanding their presence and boosting their output.

The papal farm has always had bees, he said, but in recent years, they had been somewhat neglected. Also, extreme weather patterns over the past few years haven’t helped, as intense heat and unseasonal rains have cut their honey production in half.

More trouble in the mix was extensive swarming this spring.

A swarm occurs when half of the hive’s occupants fly off to find a new, roomier home, resulting in smaller families with half the workforce and double the work.

Starting from scratch, the bees spend the entire summer build-

ing new wax comb and storing reserves instead of just cranking out honey for the leader of the Universal Church.

While swarming hurt honey production this year, it also meant the bee yard doubled from eight hives to 16, positioning the papal bee business for future growth, Scaccioni said.

He said, “In about two or three years, we want to start being able to offer pollen, propolis and royal jelly,” all honeybee products that are considered to have nutritional, cosmetic or curative effects.

Helping the bees by increasing the number of hives and planting more nectar-producing plants is part of Scaccioni’s larger vision for better supporting the papal farm.

Bees are “very useful insects for agriculture,” he said, since flowers need to be pollinated for food to grow. Meat production, too, depends on hay and grains, which depend on pollination.

The role bees play in feeding the world is one that commands “deep respect,” he said.

In an era of intense, high-yield single crops dependent on petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, Scaccioni said, people are beginning to understand the importance of a more holistic, organic approach to agriculture that “benefits the plants, benefits nature” and the larger ecosystem.

Also, “bees are a symbol of industriousness, unity and a community that gives fruit,” he said.

“It is an example that the Church, deep down, is a hive, though not one that stings, but gives honey.”

Having a papal farm is still important today, Scaccioni said, because “it’s a real sign of the popes’ attention to creation, nature and the countryside.”

Blessed Pope John Paul II, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have personally visited the farm to see the animals and watch how the milk is made, he said.

Like his predecessors, Pope Francis has called on people to be guardians of creation “in a world that’s increasingly harder to protect,” Scaccioni said.

“There are many global threats and this small sign — right in the heart of the Church, at the Vatican — is more important than ever before.”

The papal beekeeper, Marco Tullio Cicero, who is named after an ancient Roman philosopher, offered his own reflection on the significance of his work.

“I have great admiration for the bees who, despite the problems they face” from the weather, pollution or disease, don’t give up, he said. “We need to value this lesson they teach us: always to press onward.”