10.14.11

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , October 14, 2011

Choral classic to be performed at St. Anthony’s

Married women much less likely to abort children

NEW BEDFORD — If you ask Dr. David MacKenzie, music director and conductor of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, there are a few great choral works in the pantheon of classical music that standout: Mozart’s “Masses and Requiem,” Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony,” and Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem, Op. 45.”

“It’s certainly a work we feel is our responsibility to bring to the public,” MacKenzie said. “It’s also one of those works that has such a profound spiritual impact … it tends to be transformative for the listener. That’s not to belittle other works, but sometimes works were written on commission, or at the request of someone, so it’s just another work for hire. This piece had a great personal significance for Brahms.”

MacKenzie will be leading a performance of Brahms’ “Requiem” on Sunday at 3 p.m. inside the glorious and sacred confines of St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford along with Gustav Mahler’s “Adagietto,” from “Symphony No. 5 in C# Minor.”

Mounting this work on the heels of last year’s challenging debut of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” within St. Anthony’s, MacKenzie said the Brahms piece may not be as daunting on the surface, but it offers its own challenges nevertheless.

“We performed it here about 20 years ago,” he said. “It’s probably not performed as frequently as something like Mozart’s “Requiem,” but it really requires a lot of musical maturity. It’s not as vocally difficult in terms of range or register as some other works, but it is quite subtle and demanding.”

“A German Requiem” is Brahms’ largest work in any genre, and demonstrates the composer’s mastery of communicating great depth of feeling. In this work, Brahms speaks to the living with muTurn to page 14

BOSTON — Recently released data analysis shows that cohabiting women are nearly eight times more likely to have an abortion than their married counterparts.

The abortion rate among cohabiting women was 59.3, those formerly married and not cohabiting was 31.8, females who never married and were not cohabiting was 28.1 and wives was 7.7.

The analysis can be found in the study “Unintended pregnancy in the United States: incidence and disparities.” The numbers above were the abortion rates per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.

Dr. Angela Franks — a mother of four who with her husband David serves as coordinator for The Future Depends on Love, the marriage initiative launched by the four bishops of Massachusetts in 2007 — told The Anchor that marriage is a lifelong and life-giving union. Even married couples who may not recognize that reality are more naturally oriented toward the coming of new life.

“In cohabitation, the future is uncertain. If you don’t know for sure that your partner is going to be there next year, it’s hard to be able to welcome new life with generosity, whereas marriage provides stability to couples and gives them confidence that they will be successful parents,” she said. “We see from all kinds of studies that married couples are more stable and happier than cohabiting couples.”

Unfortunately, cohabitation is becoming more widespread and so are its negative effects. While divorce rates have decreased to the same rate present after World War II, the cohabitation rate has increased 14 times over since 1970.

The problem is so bad that a report put out by the Family Research Council late last year found that most teen-agers live in broken homes. Only 45 percent spend their entire childhood living with their married, biological parents.

“Increased rates of divorce and childbearing outside of marriage have turned growing up in a stable, two-parent family into an exception, rather than the rule, for young Americans,” the report states.

For couples who cohabitate and Turn to page 15

B y Kenneth J. Souza A nchor Staff

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

much anticipated guest — Faithful attend the installation ceremony for new Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai in Bkerke, Lebanon, March 25. Patriarch Rai will be visiting St. Anthony of the Desert Parish and church on October 18. (CNS photo/Reuters)

Area Maronite Catholics elated to host newly-elected Patriarch of Antioch

B y Dave Jolivet, Editor

FALL RIVER — On March 15, Maronite Catholics across Lebanon were elated by the news that Bishop Bechara Peter Rai was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All The East by the Synod of Maronite Bishops in Bkerke.

A great sense of joy and hope was shared by the more than three million Maronite Catholics in Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

That includes the more than 300 families in the greater Fall River area that are parishioners of St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River.

Adding to the jubilation is the news that His Beatitude Bechara Rai will visit the parish on North Eastern Avenue

on October 18, during the Patriarch’s first visit to the United States as the spiritual

Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai

leader of the Maronite Catholic Church.

“We are very honored to

have the Patriarch of Antioch and All The East visit our parish community,” Chorbishop Joseph F. Kaddo told The Anchor. “We will have Liturgy, the Service of the Sacred Mysteries at the church at 6 p.m. followed by a banquet honoring our Patriarch at Venus de Milo Restaurant in Swansea.”

Chorbishop Kaddo said one of the first duties of a new Patriarch is to visit all of the Eparchies. In his U.S. visit, Patriarch Rai will visit St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Boston, and will meet with U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon.

“His Excellency the Most Reverend John Mansour, Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, of which we’re a Turn to page 14

Noted educator to give presentation on raising children in these difficult times

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

HYANNIS — When James Stenson takes the stage in the auditorium at Pope John Paul II High School on October 20, at 7 p.m., for his presentation, “Raising Men and Women of Character in Difficult Times,” he will bring more than 30 years of experience helping guide families in raising their children to become responsible adults through faith-based values.

“The main job as parents is not to keep the

kids amused or keep them from wrecking the furniture,” said Stenson, “but rather their children grow up to be confident, respectful, considerate, generous men and women who are committed to living by Christian principles.”

Stenson’s career began as an educator, helping co-found two Catholic high schools in the process.

In 1969, The Heights School opened in Washington D.C., and in 1976, the Northridge Preparatory School opened its doors in Chicago. As the years Turn to page 15

News From the Vatican

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October 14, 2011

Supporting missions improves people’s lives, Vatican official says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — about Jesus, reaching out to Supporting the Church’s work them also includes concretely in missionary lands with their recognizing their human digprayers and their financial nity by supporting education, contributions, Catholics also health care and government improve the lives of the poor and social networks that proand promote dialogue, said the tect their human rights, he new prefect of the Congrega- said.

“Evangelization also protion for the Evangelization of motes ecology, helping make Peoples.

“Evangelization always known and increasing respect promotes the development of for the environment both on peoples,” Archbishop Fernan- the part of the local population do Filoni told L’Osservatore as well as on our own,” the Romano, the Vatican newspa- archbishop said.

Archbishop Filoni, who per, October 2.

“The proclamation of the served in the Vatican diploGospel brings and creates matic corps in Iraq, Jordan and the Philipsolidarity,” said the archbishop, rchbishop Filoni pines, said the Church’s acwho was apsaid all of the tivity in mispointed in May to head the Vati- baptized have a re- sion lands also promote can congrega- sponsibility for mis- can tion responsible sion; besides being a dialogue with members of othfor the Church command of Jesus, er religions. in mission terbeing blessed with the “If the Church ritories. esteemed, The Vatican gift of faith naturally is newspaper in- should lead people to it’s clear that it always will be terviewed him want to share it. able to have a about the imrole anywhere, portance of the Church’s observation of Oc- including in the Islamic world. tober as a month dedicated to I lived for a long time in the the missions. World Mission Muslim world and saw how our schools, for example, were Sunday is October 23.

Archbishop Filoni said all very often frequented by Musof the baptized have a respon- lim students, which is a sign sibility for mission; besides that their families valued and being a command of Jesus, appreciated our service. Ofbeing blessed with the gift ten,” he said, “they asked that of faith naturally should lead their children be formed in our principles of justice, truth and people to want to share it.

Sharing the good news of good.

“Esteem allows for diaGod’s love and of salvation offered through Jesus, he said, logue, and with dialogue it is helps people live with greater possible to coexist with all,” dignity and instills in them the the archbishop said.

While financial support for values they need to improve the missions is very important, their societies.

“In defending the principles he said, “we hope the generosof the Gospel, one must speak ity of Christians always will be of justice,” which many of the accompanied by a great love countries in the mission lands for the missions and by fervent daily prayer in support of misneed, he said.

While the first obligation sionaries and the proclamation of Christians is to tell others of the Gospel.”

A

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a visit from the pope — Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate an outdoor Mass in the Italian city of Lamezia Terme October 9. The pope spent one day in the region of southwestern Italy still struggling with organized crime, corruption and high unemployment. (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)

Pope condemns organized crime in southern Italy

Lamezia Terme Italy (CNA/EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI condemned the organized crime that plagues the far reaches of southern Italy during a one-day visit to the area on Sunday.

He noted the region’s beauty, but said “an often vicious criminality wounds the social fabric” and combines with unemployment to make the place “a land that seems to live in a state of constant emergency.”

The pope made his comments during a homily delivered to over 40,000 people at a public Mass in the town of Lamezia Terme in Calabria.

He urged local people not to be afraid “to live and witness to faith in the various sectors of society.” Instead, he said, they should show themselves as “strong, confident and courageous,” knowing that when they face opposition they can find inspiration in the words of St. Paul: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”

Calabria is home to the secretive Ndrangheta gang, which masterminds much of Europe’s organized crime, including money laundering, drug trafficking and racketeering. The region also has an unemployment rate of about 32 percent, four times higher than the national average.

Prior to the Mass, Mayor Gianni Speranza of Lamezia Terme told Pope Benedict how his people had to live with “unacceptable unemployment, and dramatic injustice and violence.” They “cannot allow the dominion of the mafia and organized crime to grow stronger.” He thanked the pope for his presence, saying it gave them all “courage and a voice.”

“Never give in to the temptations of pessimism and retreat in on yourselves,” urged the pope.

“Rely on the resources of your faith and your human capacities; strive to grow in the ability to collaborate, to take care of each other and the public good,” he said.

The pope also used his homily to discuss today’s Gospel, where Christ recounts the parable of the wedding guest who is thrown out of the banquet for not wearing a wedding garment. Drawing upon the thought of his sixth century papal predecessor, St. Gregory the Great, Pope Benedict explained its meaning.

“We are all invited to be

guests of the Lord, to come with faith to His banquet, but we must wear and cherish the wedding garment, charity, a life of profound love for God and neighbor,” he said.

At the conclusion of Mass, the pope prayed the midday Angelus with those in attendance.

He entrusted congregants and their region to the protection of Our Lady.

“Let us invoke the intercession of Mary for the most serious social problems in this area and the whole of Calabria,” he said, “especially those related to unemployment, young people and the protection of persons with disabilities who require greater attention from all.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI asked the international community to continue aid to the drought- and famine-stricken Horn of Africa and asked individuals to offer prayers and donate money to help save the millions facing death.

“I invited everyone to offer prayers and concrete aid for their many brothers and sisters so harshly tried, and particularly for the children, who die in that region each day because of sickness and a lack of water and food,” the pope said at the end of a recent weekly general audience.

Attending the audience were Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes and coordinates Catholic charitable giving, and Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, Somalia.

The two were joined by representatives of Catholic charities

from around the world, including the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services, and a representative of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury; they were to participate in a Vatican-sponsored meeting on the situation in the Horn of Africa.

Pope Benedict said the meeting was designed to “verify and give further energy to the initiatives aimed at facing this humanitarian emergency.”

The worst drought in six decades has hit Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, which already was suffering because of the lack of a central government and ongoing conflicts between warring clans. The drought killed crops and animals, triggering a famine which has left at least 10 million people in need of aid, according to Caritas Internationalis.

Thousands of Somalis have fled to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, placing an even greater strain on the limited resources there.

Pope pleas for aid, prayers for famine victims in Horn of Africa

3 The International Church As Mexican cartels respond to pressure, priests face death, extortion

October 14, 2011

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — Ministering in a city where crime is pervasive and murders occur at an alarming rate, Columban Father Kevin Mullins knows he’s been very fortunate.

While he has personally escaped the violence, the Australian-born priest has been touched by it through the lives of his parishioners at Corpus Christi Church in the poor neighborhood of Puerto de Anapra.

During Advent 2008, though, there was a time when parishioners and fellow priests were praying for his soul, thinking he had been killed during an attack by drug cartel gunmen.

“I have been quite lucky,” Father Mullins said in a thick Australian accent. “It was actually an Anglican minister who had a heart attack and was found in his car a few blocks away from my house.”

In Mexico, the sight of a priest slumped over in a car is not all that unusual. In 2005, Father Luis Velasquez Romero was found in his vehicle in Tijuana, handcuffed and shot six times. In 2009 a priest and two seminarians were gunned down in their car, dragged out then shot again because a relative of one of the seminarians was believed to be associated with one

of the country’s notorious drug Juarez, said he has not observed vantages,” Father Mullins said, cartels. any direct attempts by cartels to noting that the average collecSince Mexican President extort money specifically from tion from three Sunday Masses Felipe Calderon declared war churches, but that he has seen is $150. “We have not had any against the cartels in 2006 more instances where priests have extortion attempts because we than 40,000 people have been been attacked. Ironically, Father just don’t have any money to killed, including 12 priests. A Enriquez’s office was ransacked give.” survey from the Catholic Media by Mexican federal police after Father Enriquez said the ecoCenter in Mexico found that in he accused some in their ranks nomic pressures in Puerta de 2010 more than 1,000 priests of corruption.

Anapra — in clear site of the were extorted, 162 U.S. border — affect all threatened with death ince Mexican President Felipe facets of life. His bigand two kidnapped gest struggles are keepCalderon declared war against ing parishioners fed, and killed.

Prior to Calde- the cartels in 2006 more than 40,000 housed and out of the ron’s aggressive ac- people have been killed, including 12 gangs where easy montion, three priests had priests. A survey from the Catholic Me- ey beckons despite the been killed in the prethreat of death. ceding decade. The dia Center in Mexico found that in 2010 “We’re not pounding rise in clergy deaths more than 1,000 priests were extorted, the pulpit denouncing represents part of 162 threatened with death and two kid- any one group or person the cartels’ response despite knowing who napped and killed. to the growing presthey are; we are maksure exerted on them ing blanket pleas to our by both Mexico and the United “I see funeral homes, res- parishioners to stay away from States. taurants, and businesses as the the criminal elements,” Father Msgr. Rene Blanco Vega, prime targets of extortion here,” Mullins said. “Prudence can vicar general of the Ciudad he said. keep your head on your shoulJuarez Diocese, declined to disFather Mullins, who has ders.” cuss the number of priests and ministered in Cuidad Juarez for Father Mullins estimated that parishes in the diocese, saying 11 years, said he has heard of 50-60 gang-related executions he did not want to provide the incidents where other priests have occurred in his parish in cartels with information they have been approached to pay an the last three years. Men ages could use to extort money. extortion fee, but that the transi- 15-30 have been the primary “We don’t have that prob- tion of the city’s population has targets. The Australian priest lem and we don’t want it,” said made it difficult for criminals has presided at tense funeral Msgr. Blanco. to benefit. Most of the city’s Masses hoping there would be Father Oscar Enriquez, di- wealthy residents have fled the no retribution from rival gangs. rector of the Paso del Norte Hu- violence by moving to nearby “We don’t go to the cemeterman Rights Center in Cuidad El Paso, Texas. The exodus of ies anymore for services, it’s wealth has left the once-vibrant just too dangerous,” he said.

Ciudad Juarez shopping and What perplexes many pasmanufacturing districts ghost tors are the offers of financial towns with a tenuous middle support from the cartels. For class and an overwhelming lev- decades parishes received donations of money and buildings began a 48-hour session of ado- el of poverty.

“Being the poorest parish in from cartel officials with an atration before the Blessed SacCiudad Juarez has had its adtitude of resigned ignorance, rament in preparation for the

S

Brazilian city hosts world’s largest Marian procession Belém do Pará, Brazil (CNA) — On the evening of October 4, two million people began converging on the city of Belém in the northeastern state of Pará, Brazil, for the largest Marian festival in the world.

The Cirio de Nazaré procession brings Catholics from all over Brazil to show their devotion to Our Lady of Nazareth.

Pilgrims spend several hours processing through the streets of Belém, the Portuguese translation for Bethlehem.

The Brazilian bishops said in a statement released earlier this week that putting on another edition of the biggest Catholic celebration in Brazil brings them joy.

“The Cirio is the Family Feast! It is the fellowship! It is the great collective effort to ‘fill the jars with water,’ so that Jesus may turn it into wine, the new wine of peace, justice and commitment to the cause of the Gospel,” they said.

On October 5, dozens of parish groups, lay Catholic movements, and pastoral ministries from the Archdiocese of Belém

Sunday, October 9 procession.

The procession will depart from the Cathedral of Belém and make its way along a twomile route to the Shrine of Our Lady of Nazareth. At the shrine, the Virgin’s image will be on display for the thousands of faithful who come from all over Brazil to express their devotion and give thanks for graces achieved through her intercession.

The longest procession in the history of the Cirio de Nazaré was over nine hours long.

The devotion to Our Lady of Nazareth began in Portugal.

The original image belonged to the Monastery of the Virgin of Caulina, Spain, and according to a popular belief, was originally sculpted in Nazareth by Saint Joseph himself and later taken to Europe.

The history of the procession goes back to 1792, when the Vatican authorized a procession in honor of the Virgin of Nazareth in Belém do Pará.

without having to face a moral dilemma.

Msgr. Blanco maintained, however, that “it has never happened here where a church in Juarez has taken money from the cartels.”

Earlier this year, eyebrows were raised but no voices of dissension were heard when a church in Hidalgo state revealed a plaque dedicated to Herberto Lazcano Lazcano, the leader of the notorious Los Zetas drug cartel implicated in several mass murders in northeastern Mexico, who contributed generously to the building.

Lazcano reportedly was killed in a firefight in Matamoros in June, but neither Mexican nor American officials have confirmed his death.

“About three months ago, I had a woman associated with the Juarez cartel approach me offering an open checkbook to build our youth center,” Father Mullins said. “Of course, I kindly declined her offer.”

He turned down the offer despite wanting to build a youth center and basketball courts on a nearby debris-filled lot where two teens from a Confirmation class at his parish were stoned to death a few years ago.

Father Mullins has had cartel members attend Mass and, much to his relief, all declined to receive Communion, so he did not have to turn them away. If someone involved in a criminal enterprise did seek to receive Communion, Father Mullins said, he would take a deep breath and give the person a blessing instead.

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October 14, 2011 The Church in the U.S. Court weighs rights of Church to fire teacher as an exception to law

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court justices struggled October 5 with where to draw the line for what is known as a ministerial exception that exempts religious institutions from some civil laws when it comes to hiring and firing.

In the case of Cheryl Perich, who was a teacher at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School in Redford, Mich., attorneys for her, for the federal government on her behalf, and for the Church debated with the justices how to determine whether the school was allowed to fire her for threatening to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Perich had been a teacher at the school with a class load of primarily secular courses, when she went on a lengthy sick leave in 2004.

When she tried to return to work, the school declined to put her back in the classroom and urged her to resign, saying they already had hired a replacement for her. When she threatened to sue under the disabilities law, the school fired her, saying she had been insubordinate by threatening to go outside the Church’s ecclesiastical appeal procedures.

Douglas Laycock, the attorney for Hosanna-Tabor Church — the school has been closed for several years — told the justices in oral arguments that the underlying principle in the case is that “churches do not set the criteria for selecting or removing the officers of government, and government does not set the criteria for selecting and removing officers of the Church.”

Hosanna-Tabor has maintained that because Perich was what is known as a “called” teacher, having met criteria of the Church for a level of religious training and taught some religion classes, she was a ministerial employee and therefore exempt from federal laws such as the ADA. But Perich’s attorney, former acting solicitor general of the United States Walter Dellinger, said her case is not like that of a Church that removes a priest from duty, which would be protected under the min-

isterial exception. In Perich’s case, she was working at a school that was providing services available to the public, under the regulations of the state. “In that situation, it ought to be governed by the same rules,” Dellinger said.

“We know that under U.S. v.

Lee, an Amish employer has to comply with the Social Security laws,” Dellinger said. But the way Hosanna-Tabor defended firing Perich relies on interpreting the ministerial exception to allow it to fire “without recourse any employee who called noncompliance to the attention of the (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission),” which oversees the ADA. Congress has set up ministerial exceptions for the areas where a church’s internal systems should take precedence, but most courts have held that such exceptions do not apply to teachers, he said.

In a lively debate involving nearly every member of the court, the justices batted back and forth questions over how far protections for a church’s First Amendment rights may go and whether it is ever appropriate for the government to try to decide who is legitimately a minister.

“Different churches have different ideas about who’s a minister,” Chief Justice John Roberts said to Laycock. “There are some churches who think ‘all of our adherents are ministers of our faith.’ Now, does that mean that everybody who is a member of that church qualifies as a minister because that is part of the Church’s belief?”

“I don’t think it means that,” Laycock said. “I think courts have some capacity to look at what this employee is actually doing, and if he is not performing any of the functions of a religious leader, if he is not teaching the faith, then.”

But what if a church considers every member “a witness to our beliefs,” asked Roberts.

Laycock responded that “the fact that you’re expected to witness to the faith when the occasion arises doesn’t make you a minister.” But Perich clearly is consid-

ered a minister by the Evangelical Lutheran Church and therefore was subject to the Church’s policies for not seeking outside intervention in the dispute over her job.

Arguing for the U.S. Solicitor General’s office, assistant solicitor Leondra Kruger told the justices that “the freedom of religious communities to come together to express and share religious belief is a fundamental constitutional right.

But it’s a right that must also accommodate important governmental interests in securing the public welfare.” She said there was no infringement of Hosanna-Tabor Church’s freedom “by making it illegal for it to fire a fourth grade teacher in retaliation for asserting her statutory rights.”

Kruger engaged in a lengthy exchange with Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan over the point at which the government’s interests in making sure certain laws are followed takes precedence over how a church defines the ministerial role of its employees.

“I think that there is an important distinction to be made between

the government’s general interest in eradicating discrimination from the workplace and the government’s interest in ensuring that individuals are not chilled from coming to civil authorities with reports about civil wrongs,” she said.

“The government’s interest in this case is not in dictating to the Church-operated school who it may choose to teach religion classes and who it may not,” Kruger said in reply to questions from Scalia. “It is one thing and one thing only, which is to tell the school that it may not punish its employees for threatening to report civil wrongs to civil authorities.”

That interest overrides HosannaTabor’s religious tenet that encourages seeking internal resolution of disputes rather than going to court, she said.

A ruling in the case is expected by the time the court’s term ends in June.

Meanwhile, the court declined to take another case over a religious organization’s employment practices, over World Vision’s firing of three employees who the organization concluded did not believe Je-

sus Christ was the Son of God. By declining the case, the court left standing a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the decision by World Vision to fire Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg and Vicki Hulse. The three employees had submitted required statements when hired “describing their ‘relationship with Jesus Christ,’” noted the 9th Circuit ruling. “All acknowledged their ‘agreement and compliance with World Vision’s Statement of Faith, Core Values, and Mission Statement.’”

The three were fired in 2006 when World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, “discovered that the employees denied the deity of Jesus Christ and disavowed the doctrine of the Trinity,” which was incompatible with World Vision’s doctrinal beliefs.

In an August 2010 ruling, the court found that as a primarily religious organization World Vision qualifies for the ministerial exception to employment laws and may require its workers to hold religious beliefs that are compatible with its mission.

Pittsburgh bishop calls accusation made against him ‘false, offensive’

PITTSBURGH (CNS) — Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik has strenuously denied an accusation made on a website that he had sexually assaulted a student decades ago while he served at a Catholic high school in the Pittsburgh Diocese in the 1980s.

“I emphatically state that no such behavior occurred, nor any semblance of such behavior,” Bishop Zubik said in a statement released at a news conference October 5. “The accusation is false, offensive and outrageous.”

The accusation against Bishop Zubik was made public in a blog that came to the attention of the Diocese of Pittsburgh October 3, posted by a Beaver County man.

He also accused a religious Sister of molestation. In addition, he accused his pastor of violating the seal of Confession. All of the allegations have been vehemently denied.

“Given the public nature of this false accusation against me as a religious leader in southwestern Pennsylvania, I have an obligation in conscience and moreover I desire to inform you of this matter,” the bishop said.

The accuser, who is not being named because he is an alleged victim of abuse, first sent two emails August 21 to his pastor, in which he began to make a series of progressive accusations. In one of these emails, he accused Bishop Zubik of attempting to forcibly kiss him decades ago in the

chapel at Quigley Catholic High School in Baden. Then-Father Zubik served at Quigley from 1980 to 1987.

After the pastor delivered the contents of the emails, Bishop Zubik instructed the diocesan assistance coordinator, Rita Flaherty, to contact the accuser after his pastor related the contents of the emails to the bishop. The accuser did not respond to phone messages or a letter from Flaherty concerning this accusation.

Even though the accusation was received secondhand, Bishop Zubik insisted that it be turned over to the Beaver County district attorney in accord with diocesan policy. The information was received by the district attorney September 1. Bishop Zubik also directly informed the apostolic nunciature of the Holy See in the United States of the accusation at a meeting in Washington September 12. That information was then forwarded to the Vatican. In addition, the accusation has been turned over to the independent Diocesan Review Board.

The diocese had previous contact with the accuser Sept. 10, 2010, when Flaherty responded to the accuser’s allegations that he had been assaulted by two priests, one in 1979 and the other in 1989. The two priests named by the accuser had been dismissed from ministry decades ago. The accuser was offered the opportunity to meet with the bishop at that time. He said he would think

about it and only called for an appointment with the bishop in May 2011.

Bishop Zubik’s practice is to meet pastorally with any person claiming to be a victim of abuse by clergy. Bishop Zubik and Flaherty met with the accuser and his wife June 1, 2011. At that meeting, instead of discussing those accusations, the accuser asked Bishop Zubik to intercede on his behalf in the clearance process required of any person who wishes to volunteer in a Catholic parish in the diocese. The accuser was concerned that, in light of a police record against him, his liturgical service might be in jeopardy.

Bishop Zubik stated that he was unable to interfere in that process.

The accusation against Bishop Zubik that was made in late August came after the accuser was informed by his pastor that he was deemed ineligible for liturgical ministry by the Diocesan Examination Board.

Bishop Zubik said every priest fears “someone, sometime, somewhere, somehow will level a false accusation against him. That nightmare has been realized for me.”

“May I assure you that I am concerned about the welfare of my accuser. At the same time, I expect that my integrity and the integrity of the Church I lead will be respected as well,” he said in his statement.

Bishop Zubik asked for prayers for his accuser and for himself.

October 14, 2011

The Church in the U.S.

5

Bishops reissue 2007’s ‘Faithful Citizenship’ with new introduction

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new introduction to the U.S. bishops’ document on political responsibility reminds Catholics that some issues “involve the clear obligation to oppose intrinsic evils which can never be justified,” while others “require action to pursue justice and promote the common good.”

The brief Introductory Note to the 2011 reissue of “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” was signed by the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairmen of nine USCCB committees. It was approved by the bishops’ Administrative Committee at its midSeptember meeting and made public October 4.

The introduction says that “Faithful Citizenship,” one in a series of documents that have been issued before every presidential election for nearly 35 years, “has at times been misused to present an incomplete or distorted view of the demands of

faith in politics” but “remains a faithful and challenging call to discipleship in the world of politics.”

“It does not offer a voters guide, scorecard of issues or direction on how to vote,” the introduction adds. “It applies Catholic moral principles to a range of important issues and warns against misguided appeals to ‘conscience’ to ignore fundamental moral claims, to reduce Catholic moral concerns to one or two matters, or to justify choices simply to advance partisan, ideological or personal interests.”

The introduction lists six “current and fundamental problems, some involving opposition to intrinsic evils and others raising serious moral questions:” — Abortion “and other threats to the lives and dignity of others who are vulnerable, sick or unwanted.”

— Conscience threats to Catholic ministries in health care, education and social services.

— “Intensifying efforts to redefine marriage” or to undermine it as “the permanent, faithful and fruitful union of one man and one woman.”

— An economic crisis that has increased national and global unemployment, poverty and hunger, requiring efforts to “protect those who are poor and vulnerable as well as future generations.”

— “The failure to repair a broken immigration system.”

— “Serious moral questions” raised by wars, terror and violence, “particularly the absence of justice, security and peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East.”

The introduction calls the U.S. Catholic Church “a community of faith with a long tradition of teaching and action on human life and dignity, marriage and family, justice and peace, care for creation and the common good.”

American Catholics “are also blessed with religious liberty

which safeguards our right to bring our principles and moral convictions into the public arena,” it adds.

“These constitutional freedoms need to be both exercised and protected, as some seek to mute the voices or limit the freedoms of religious believers and religious institutions,” it says.

Urging Catholics to “share the message of faithful citizenship and to use this document in forming their own consciences, the Introductory Note adds that “this kind of political responsibility is a requirement of our faith and our duty as citizens.”

It is signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, USCCB president, and the chairmen of nine committees — ProLife, migration, education, communications, doctrine, domestic justice, international justice and peace, cultural diversity, and laity, marriage, family life and youth.

The document it introduces

remains unchanged since its approval by the full body of bishops at their November 2007 meeting in Baltimore. It “represents the continuing teaching of our bishops’ conference and our guidance for Catholics in the exercise of their rights and duties as participants in our democracy,” the introduction says.

The USCCB is launching a new website for “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” at www.usccb.org/issuesand-action/faithful-citizenship/.

It will offer a wide range of webbased and written materials and tools to assist pastors, parishes, Catholic organizations and individuals.

The document with the new Introductory Note will be available in print by the end of October and is already available online: www.usccb.org/issuesand-action/faithful-citizenship/ upload/Forming-Consciencesfor-Faithful-Citizenship-2011. pdf.

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The Anchor Counteracting the assault on religious freedom

The United States bishops have long spoken up in defense of religious freedom abroad when Communists, Islamicists, fundamentalist Hindus or militant secularists either in the government or among the local religious majorities have sought to restrict or suppress this most basic of human rights.

Two weeks ago, however, the U.S. bishops formed an Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty to focus specifically on attacks against freedom of religion here at home. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, established the committee in response to what he described as “the urgent need we face to safeguard religious liberty inherent in the dignity of the human person.”

In a remarkably candid September 29 letter to his brother bishops, Archbishop Dolan wrote that despite the fact that religious liberty is a “foundational principle of our country, one that has been enshrined in the United States Constitution, further enumerated in the First Amendment and explicitly extended to all U.S. citizens,” it is now “increasingly and in unprecedented ways under assault in America.”

Those strong words were just the beginning.

He specified that the attacks were coming from “an increasing number of federal government programs or policies” that infringe upon conscience and religious freedom. He named six such programs that have arisen in just the few months since the bishops last met in June.

The first comes from the new regulations from the federal Department of Health and Human Services mandating that all private insurance plans, including those for the vast majority of Church institutions, fully pay for contraception, abortifacient morning-after pills and sterilizations. As we wrote concerning these regulations in our August 12 editorial, there is a narrow religious exemption for certain non-profit religious organizations whose purpose is the “inculcation of religious values” and that primarily employs and serves those who share its religious tenets; this wording, however, would mean most Catholic institutions — like hospitals, universities, schools, and social service programs — would not qualify because they do not serve exclusively or primarily Catholics. Quoting from the president of the Catholic Health Association, Sister Carol Keehan, Archbishop Dolan said that the exemption would cover “only the parish housekeeper” and do “nothing” to protect individuals or institutions with religious or moral objections to paying for abortions, sterilizations or contraception.

The second offense is far less known. HHS is trying to force the bishops’ department of Migration and Refugee Services, as a condition of continuing to receive government contracts, to provide the “full range of reproductive services” to unaccompanied minors and trafficking victims. “We all know what that means,” Archbishop Dolan said, calling out the “reproductive services” euphemism for abortion and contraception that many abortion advocates refuse for reasons of unpopularity to make explicit. Either Church workers must violate their conscience and Church teaching to offer abortions to these young migrants and refugees or it will effectively need to get the money to continue its exemplary care for them out of the Sunday collection — something that obviously will dramatically reduce the care given to people in these desperate circumstances.

The third issue refers to a similar coercion. USAID, which is under the U.S. State Department, is now beginning to pressure Catholic Relief Services, one of the most effective disaster relief agencies in the world, to offer comprehensive HIV prevention activities, including the distribution of condoms, if it’s going to receive a penny from tax payers to do its front-line work after earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and more. As with the machinations of HHS mentioned above, the government is prioritizing passing out condoms and providing free abortions as more important than rebuilding lives in Port-au-Prince, New Orleans, Indonesia, Darfur and Somalia.

Fourth, Archbishop Dolan noted that the federal Department of Justice has “ratcheted up its attack on the Defense of Marriage Act as an act of bigotry.” We focused on this in last Friday’s editorial. The attack began in February when the Justice Department stopped fulfilling its constitutional duty to defend DOMA against constitutional challenges, but it reached a new stage in July when the department filed a brief attacking DOMA’s constitutionality, claiming that supporters of DOMA and traditional marriage can only be motivated by unconstitutional bias and prejudice. “If the label of ‘bigot’ sticks to us, especially in court, because of our teaching on marriage,” the archbishop warned, “we’ll have church-state conflicts for years to come as a result.”

Fifth, he called attention to the position that President Obama’s Justice Department took against the “ministerial exception” in a case being heard before the Supreme Court this year (see article on page four). This exception allows religious groups to choose their ministers without government interference according to their own criteria apart from normal employment laws. To attack the exception means that the government believes that it, rather than churches, should have the ultimate say as to whether people who do not meet religious criteria must be hired or can’t be fired.

Finally, Archbishop Dolan highlighted the push to redefine marriage to embrace same-sex unions that recently was passed by the New York State legislature as part of a national push. “Already, county clerks face legal action for refusing to participate in same-sex unions,” he wrote, “and gay rights advocates are publicly emphasizing how little religious freedom protection people and groups will enjoy under the new law.” Once same-sex unions become considered marriage, many of those who promoted it under the guise of tolerance become intransigently intolerant of anyone who seeks to resist, even if religious freedom or conscience claims are involved.

“As shepherds of over 70 million U.S. citizens,” Archbishop Dolan wrote to his fellow bishops, “we share a common and compelling responsibility to proclaim the truth of religious freedom for all, and so to protect our people from this assault.” He stressed that the attacks are now growing “at an ever-accelerating pace in ways most of us could never have imagined.” That’s why he wanted the bishops and the Church as a whole to begin to respond immediately because “we cannot waste time in this vital area.”

To head the new Ad-Hoc Committee, Archbishop Dolan appointed Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., who has many battle scars from his defending the Church in Connecticut from intrusions against religious liberty not only with regard to conscience and health care but also with respect to the attempt of some in the Connecticut legislature literally to have the Church surrender its organizational model in favor of a Congregationalist one. The committee will immediately begin to make alliances with other organizations, charities, ecumenical and interreligious partners to “form a united and forceful front in defense of religious freedom in our nation.” He said that the establishment of the new Ad Hoc Committee is a “new moment in the history of the conference. ... Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith and as a service provider. If we do not act now, the consequence will be grave.”

Archbishop Dolan’s letter was released to the public because, obviously, he wanted all Catholics in America to be as informed as the bishops about what is going on so that, as citizens, we, too, may form part of the “united and forceful front” in defense of religious liberty. It is a “new moment” in the history of the Church in our country that many Catholics, along with Archbishop Dolan, “could never have imagined.” It’s time for Catholics and all those who love the values of our country enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to rise up and defend those rights against those in positions of authority and movements who are trying to trample on those rights.

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October 14, 2011

What do you ask of God’s Church?

t has been a long-standing tradition believe or live the Catholic faith in his or of the Catholic Church to adminisher own life. But today, when the Sacrater the Sacrament of Baptism to infants. ment has been reduced in the underParents very naturally want to pass along standing of many to something merely their faith to their children as well as ceremonial, people don’t necessarily think their values that flow from that faith. As I of it in these terms. It is our responsibility mentioned last week, Baptism marks the as practicing Catholics to teach or remind entrance into the Catholic Church and the our family and friends about this imporbeginning of this life of faith. The Baptism tant part of our faith. of a child is a moment of great joy for a Looking at the promises made by family. parents and godparents, we see right at the Blessed Pope John Paul II often called very beginning how clear the Church is in the family the “Domestic Church,” the asking the parents and godparents a very Christian home where the child begins serious question. It is one that should not to experience the life of faith as part of be answered quickly or without prayerful a household of believers. At the celebrareflection. The priest or deacon asks the tion of a child’s Baptism, the parents and parents: godparents along with the whole Christian “You have asked to have your child community freely take upon themselves baptized. In doing so, you are acceptthe responsibility of raising the child in ing the responsibility of training him/ the faith and of providing an example of her in the practice of the faith. It will be Christian virtue. your duty to bring him/her up to keep At the very beginning of the Rite of God’s Commandments as Christ taught Baptism the priest or deacon asks the us by loving God and our neighbor. Do parents of you clearly the child two understand questions: what you are Putting Into first, “What undertaking?” name do you The priest the Deep give your then asks the child?” and godparents,

By Father then, “What “Are you Jay Mello do you ask of ready to help God’s Church the parents of for N.?” The this child in parents declare that they are seeking to their duty as Christian parents? have their child baptized in the Catholic As the rite of Baptism continues, the faith. In doing so, they also freely accept priest once again reminds the parents and the responsibilities that come along with godparents of their sacred duty: “Dear this great gift. parents and godparents: You have come In this week’s column, I would like to here to present this child for Baptism. On reflect upon the promises made by the par- your part, you must make it your constant ents and godparents at a child’s Baptism, care to bring him/her up in the practice of and the very important role that each plays the faith. See that the divine life, which in the child’s life and in his or her spiritual God gives him/her, is kept safe from the formation. The responsibility of seeing to poison of sin, to grow always stronger in it that the child practices the faith is not his/her heart. If your faith makes you ready something that ends when the child turns to accept this responsibility, renew now 18; it is a life long responsibility. the vows of your own Baptism. Reject sin; Before we even look at the promises profess your faith in Christ Jesus.” made by the parents and godparents, it is If we carefully think about these important first to say a word about the role words, we clearly see that Baptism is of godparents and the careful and prudent much more than a ceremonial rite of pasdecision that parents make it choosing sage, but that this solemn event affects not someone for their child. Obviously being only the child, but also those who speak asked to be a godparent for someone is on the child’s behalf, namely the parents a tremendous honor and privilege, but it and godparents. It is certainly painful to also comes with a sacred responsibility think that a person could stand before that one should not take lightly.

God and His Church and say yes to such a Godparents are called to play a very sacred responsibility and not fully underimportant role in a child’s spiritual life. stand it or mean it.

They should serve as role models of the Here, I immediately think of that Catholic faith, and not just as good friends scene from the “Godfather” where mafia or family members of the parents. The boss Michael Corleone agrees to be the child should be able to look to the godpar- godfather for his sister’s son. During the ent as an example of how the Church Baptism, he is being asked to profess his teaches us to live out our Catholic faith faith in Jesus Christ and to reject sin. In each day. They should not only care for a very calm and stoic way, he professes the spiritual well-being of the child but his faith, but at the very same time, there also of the parents as well. are men being killed at his command in In recognizing the importance and another location. The director does a great duties of the godparent, the Church job in showing the inauthenticity of this has provided guidelines to help parents particular godparent. choose the best possible godparents for A Baptism is one of the most importheir children. If potential godparents are tant events in the life of a child. It marks not practicing Catholics (attending Mass one’s entrance into the Church and into each Sunday) or if they are living in a our Catholic faith. In asking the parents situation that is contrary to the Gospel and godparents to make these promises, (living with someone with whom they are the Church indicates the importance of not lawfully married, for example) they the sacred responsibility of passing on our should not be considered. faith from one generation to the next. As If the godparents are to assist the parents and godparents, may we never parents in raising the child in the Catholic forget these promises that we make. faith, it obviously doesn’t make much Father Mello is a parochial vicar at sense to choose someone who does not St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

October 14, 2011

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he one who loves, sings.” This quote from St. Augustine both invites our reflection and hopefully captures our own experiences of how music and singing has the power to uplift us, such as in experiences of songs “in our head” in times of peace or joy.

These connections of music, joy, and love from daily life (whether we sing well or think that we “can’t carry a tune in a bucket!”) apply also to our invitation to encounter God more fully in the Liturgy of the Church in song.

Throughout the life of the Church, singing has been given great attention and status as a way to more properly worship God. An ancient expression (which at times has also been attributed to St. Augustine, though we do not know for sure) is that “one who sings well prays twice,” expressing how prayer is doubly effective when it is sung. As far back as

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The Anchor

To sing at Mass or to sing the Mass

significantly new structure and the fifth century we have writwording in places. In addition, ten musical scores of prayers there are clearer directives (primarily the Psalms) that that these words should not be would have been used in monchanged in any way, which will asteries to pray and give praise therefore require entirely new to God. These settings, which music settings. serve as part of the Church’s Given the changes in the patrimony that would later become more properly called “chant,” show that singing and worship truly go hand in hand.

Music in the Liturgy of ancient times was never thought of as something

By Father “extra” or added on to Joel Hastings prayer. Singing is at the very core of how the Church ought to pray. words, and thus, the need for The new translation of the new music settings, it is once Roman Missal will necessarily more emphasized that music require that new settings for is not something added on to liturgical music be produced. prayer – but it is the way we Familiar acclamations or “ought” to pray. In the General hymns, such as the “Memorial Instruction of the Roman MisAcclamation” (the verse that we sing after the words “Let us sal, while it is granted that not every word must be sung at evproclaim the mystery of faith”) ery Mass, it is stressed that on and the “Glory to God,” have

Praying the Mass Anew

Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation there should be at least some singing during Mass, with particular preference given to “those [parts] that are of greater importance and especially to those to be sung by the priest or the deacon or the lector, with the people responding, or by the priest and people together.” In particular, this passage refers to the singing of parts such as the prayers themselves, and the greetings and responses that take place throughout the Mass. Accordingly, the Church holds her own patrimony of chant, and the chant called “Gregorian Chant” as having “pride of place,” for it is by way of chant that these particular prayers, greetings, and responses can be sung without the need to change their wording to fit a fixed music melody or tempo. The music and pattern of chant takes its

shape instead according to the words themselves – and thus the text itself never has to be altered.

Given this emphasis of singing parts of the Mass itself, truly the Church is inviting us to “sing the Mass,” and not merely sing at Mass, as though music and singing is an extra.

Hopefully, as we begin using the new translation, all will be open to learning new music, unto learning to sing the Mass itself. For when we sing the Mass, we are opening ourselves to deeper encounter with the Lord, to whom the Psalms exhort us to sing a new song. Our hearts can be made ready for a deeper joy, causing greater love in the hearts of we who sing, that our prayer may be doubly affective and effective.

Father Hastings is Director of the Office of Liturgy and Worship of the Diocese of Duluth and pastor of St. Rose Parish in Proctor, Minn.

‘To give or not to give?’ — That is the marital question

n a recent column, David O’Brien, the Associate Director of Religious Education for Lay Ministry in the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama recounts the story of Agnes and Jake, devout Catholics who conceived and delivered four children during the first five years of their marriage.

Agnes described how Jake, “wanted to be a good father and husband, and he couldn’t see how that could happen if we continued to have more children. In short, he was getting a vasectomy.”

Agnes had a strong Catholic formation, and understood that married couples should not engage in sexual acts that have been intentionally blocked or “rendered infecund.” She struggled with Jake’s new stance, and dug her heels in.

She wondered how she could possibly be an authentic witness to the Gospel “if within my marriage, I was no longer open to life? How could I minister to other women and encourage them to be bold in their faith if I wasn’t living it myself? And what do I teach my children about marriage and sex when their father and I weren’t aligned?”

She went through an emotional roller-coaster: “At first, I cried. Then I yelled. Then I argued, calmly and intelligently. Then I cried some more.

I shared with my husband excerpts from Kippley’s “Sex

and the Marriage Covenant” taken recourse to contracepand the encyclical, “Humanae tion, can be permissible when Vitae.” We listened to Chris“proportionally grave reatopher West and Scott Hahn sons” exist for doing so, and in the car.” Nonetheless, her when one is earnestly “seekhusband was unchanging. ing to help the other spouse to As it became clear that Jake desist from such sinful conwould go ahead with the vaduct (patiently, with prayer, sectomy notwithstanding her charity and dialogue; although protests, Agnes confronted a question that many serious Catholics have had to contend with in their marriages. She wondered whether

By Father Tad it would still be alPacholczyk lowable for her to engage in marital relations with her husband after the vasectomy. not necessarily in that moWhen one spouse is involved ment, nor on every single in this so-called “abuse of occasion).” The “Vademecum” matrimony,” the other is and sound counselors say that placed in an awkward situaparticipation in such an act tion. A husband can struggle would not be in and of itself with a similar problem when immoral on the part of the his wife refuses to get off non-contracepting spouse, but the pill and stop contraceptthese counselors would also ing. While the contracepting say that the one trying to lead spouse is clearly doing somethe Christian life ought not to thing morally wrong, doesn’t initiate sexual relations with the non-contracepting spouse the contracepting spouse. also sin by cooperating in an Thus, while Agnes would act that the other spouse has not be obliged to facilitate made infertile? her husband’s sin, she could Pope Pius XI addressed herself, without sin, engage this issue as far back as 1930, in marital relations with him but the clearest teaching of if she thought refusal to do so the Church came in a 1997 might lead to other sins, such Vatican document called the as temptations to infidelity or “Vademecum for Confessors.” divorce, as long as she continIt notes that cooperation in the ued to seek and encourage a sin of one’s spouse, by conchange of heart and a change tinuing to engage in the mariof perspective in him. tal act when the spouse has While Agnes came to

Making Sense Out of Bioethics

understand this point in her head, she hesitated in her heart. After battling with Jake for over a year, she found herself burned out and exhausted. One night, after crying through the night, a sudden and unexpected thunderstorm came through. As she heard the intense raindrops falling, she reflected on how the raindrops were like God’s tears.

She realized that God, too, is in a kind of broken marriage, a difficult marriage with the humanity He loves. She considered how the Church, while being His spotless mystical bride, has members who are often unfaithful, hurting the Lord and blocking His lifegiving love. “And yet,” she reflected, “He never holds back. He comes to us, over and over again.” Indeed, God continues to give His body to the Church on her altars, ever

beckoning us to conversion and perfection.

Agnes decided that for the time being, if her husband sought marital relations, she would consent, while patiently seeking to convince him that his unilateral decision about the vasectomy was a mistake. She hoped to bring him to consider a reversal of the vasectomy. She sought to keep communication on the matter open and active, entrusting this painful trial in their marriage to God: “I lift up our marriage, our intimacy, and our continued conversion to God who knows our hearts.”

Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org.

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October 14, 2011

The Anchor

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s it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?

The Herodians and the Pharisees, who were political enemies, band together to discredit Jesus by posing this question. Depending on how Jesus answers, He will compromise Himself in the eyes of one political faction or another. Jesus recognizes their malice and finds a way that thwarts their evil intentions. Either answer is in one sense good and in another sense bad. In the end what is due to God is actually more important, even though Jesus recognizes the political reality of

Courage to make the right choice

His time. desire to do good things Throughout the history and to live life to the fullof the Christian movement est. Thomas Merton wrote believers have been given about this conundrum: “To choices to make. Should allow oneself to be carthey follow Christ and His teachings or Homily of the Week should they go along with the political Twenty-ninth Sunday reality of the moin Ordinary Time ment? Often in our

By Father history, Christians Leonard P. Hindsley have become martyrs for making their choice for the things of God as opposed to the ried away by a multitude things of earth. of conflicting concerns, In our own age we are to surrender to too many faced with similar dilemdemands, to commit onemas as believers. This self to too many projects, problem is based upon our to want to help everyone

in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of the age.” How often do we feel our lives pulled in too many direction with too many responsibilities and too many obligations? What happens when these conflicting desires involve the things of God? Which is more important, soccer practice or Mass; a basketball game or a Confirmation retreat; dance class or the worship of God? Because we live in an increasingly secular society that pays no atten-

tion to God and the things of God, the Catholic is often faced with making choices such as these. Frequently the choices that we face are difficult to make.

We desire to do many things, but which is more important? Sometimes we have to have the courage to say “no” to soccer practice, basketball games and dance class so that we can say a resounding “yes” to God, for, in the end, we belong to Him and must render ourselves to our Father in Heaven.

Father Hindsley is pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 15, Rom 4:13,16-18; Ps 105:6-9,42-43; Lk 12:8-12. Sun. Oct. 16, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Is 45:1,4-6; Ps 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thes 1:1-5b; Mt 22:15-21. Mon. Oct. 17, Rom 4:20-25; (Ps) Lk 1:69-75; Lk 12:13-21. Tues. Oct. 18, 2 Tm 4:10-17b; Ps 145:10-13,17-18; Lk 10:1-9.

Wed. Oct. 19, Rom 6:12-18; Ps 124:1-8; Lk 12:39-48. Thu. Oct. 20, Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 12:49-53. Fri. Oct. 21, Rom 7:18-25a; Ps 119:60,68,76-77,93-94; Lk 12:54-59.

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wo volumes recently published by Encounter Books address key issues in the New Evangelization.

The first, Marcello Pera’s “Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians,” is another effort by a distinguished public intellectual to call our civilization back to its foundational senses. Pera, a philosopher of science, is also an Italian legislator who served for several years as president of the Italian Senate. During his tenure as Italy’s third-ranking public official, he co-authored a book with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, “Without Roots,” in which Pera, the secular philosopher, and Ratzinger, the Church’s principal theologian, found a remarkable degree of agreement

The lay reform of Church and world

on the causes of Europe’s current without by the assault of Islamist jihadism, and from within by malaise, which both men traced what his friend Ratzinger, now to a profound hostility to Christian faith and a deep skepticism about moral truth.

In this sequel, Pera develops his argument that a West that has marginalized Christian truth

By George Weigel and Christian values is a West that has hollowed itself out and become an empty shell: a shell that the pope and the author of the will crack under the increasing preface to Pera’s book, calls the pressure of demographic crisis, “dictatorship of relativism.” fiscal crisis, and, ultimately, Marcello Pera is one of the political crisis. Only a renewed appreciation of what Christianity most civilized men I know. For those who have not had the pleabrings to public life, Pera proposes, will suffice to re-construct sure and honor of his friendship, to meet him in this book is to a West that is imperiled from meet a modern Ezekiel, a watchman appointed to show all with eyes to see and ears to hear the path into a more humane future.

If there is to be a reconstrucThe Post Office charges The Anchor 70 cents for notification of the Christian roots of tion of a subscriber’s change of address. Please help us Western culture, that will most reduce these expenses by notifying us immediately when likely come, not from the clergy, you plan to move. but from the Christian laity: Please Print Your New Address Below

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The Catholic Difference

fathers and mothers who raise families in the truth, men and women at work in the fields of business, culture, the arts, the academy, the media, and politics.

That was the teaching of Vatican II; that was the teaching of John Paul II in his 1990 encyclical on Christian mission, “Redemptoris Missio” (The “Mission of the Redeemer”) and the 1988 apostolic exhortation “Christifideles Laici” (“Christ’s Lay Faithful”); and that is a teaching the Church has yet to absorb.

One of the oddities of the post-Vatican II Church is that its concrete life has often inverted the Council’s teaching on the roles of bishops and priests, on the one hand, and lay Catholics, on the other, in the public square. Bishops and priests were to recover their prophetic role as teachers and formers of the Christian conscience; the laity were to be empowered by their bishops and priests to bring the

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

Gospel into the world. Yet the omnipresence of episcopal conference statements on every conceivable issue of public policy has filled much of the public “space” that was to have been shaped by the witness of a deeply catechized and formed laity, while the phrase “Catholics in public life” has come to mean the likes of Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and Joe Biden, none of whom qualifies as minimally catechized, much less deeply catechized.

In “Living the Call,” philosopher Michael Novak and businessman/ philanthropist Bill Simon challenge their fellow Catholics, lay men and women alike, to take the Council seriously, and to see in the Church a source of wisdom that can heal our broken culture and an arena of service in which the laity have many important roles to fill — including roles that will free priests and bishops from being overwhelmed by administrative tasks, to the point where their primary roles as teachers and sanctifiers become minimized.

“Living the Call” is no exercise in abstraction, however, for the authors illustrate their proposals with the examples of real-life apostles at work in the Church and the world, examples that both instruct and inspire.

Decadence and democracy can’t co-exist indefinitely. These three authors know that, and in two quite different books sketch a common way beyond decay.

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

Another country heard from

Monday 10 October 2011 — Three Mile River — 40th anniversary of “Upstairs/downstairs,” PBS series stood waiting in the drizzle of a late-September morn. Heavy equipment was on the way to demolish the abandoned rectory.

Two years previously, I had moved into the other rectory in town. It was a matter of economics.

With 14 rooms to heat and hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs required, residing in the “Grey Lady” (as Father James McClellan called the big house) made no sense. The future of the building had been discussed for decades. The resolution fell to me.

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I loved that old house but I didn’t need to live in a mansion, even a dilapidated one. I had long since arranged to have removed whatever in the house was worth salvaging. I appreci-

ated the beautiful architectural detail when I was living in the house. It will be repurposed.

Someone else will have the opportunity to enjoy it.

Back in the old days, nobody thought twice about

insulating pipes with asbestos. Now there are strict laws governing the removal of asbestos. A company specializing in hazardous materials was contacted. Careful safety procedures needed to be followed. It took the crew two days to do the job.

Before any of this could take place, months were spent obtaining the permits, permissions, and contracts required. Town officials were extremely helpful in these matters. I could not have wished for prompter, more courteous treatment than I received from them. The same applies to the company that did the actual demolition work.

Communicating life

he alignment of a few highly visible events this month provide an opportunity to consider the most important topic before us: life.

There is the death of Apple founder, Steve Jobs; there is the 40 Days for Life campaign that takes place around the country; and finally there are the “Occupy” sit-ins around the country, beginning with Wall Street, but echoed in other cities from coast to coast.

There was nonstop commentary on the singular life of Steve Jobs, whose genius helped to transform communication in recent decades, but few stopped to consider the foundational “what if?” of his life.

What if he didn’t exist? It’s not such a random existential question, considering that he was conceived out of wedlock and placed for adoption by a mother who took care to provide for his well-being.

Although he was born in 1955, since abortion was subsequently legalized, it has become a common option for many with crisis pregnancies, so that infertile couples with open hearts and the desire for a family have great difficulty in even finding babies to love.

That means that champions for life must actually become proactive in speaking out for the unborn to a world that forgets them.

In this way, a young singer named Kelly Clinger who was fighting depression recently

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pulled herself from bed for a hair appointment. While waiting, she heard two women discussing abortion, as one supported the other’s decision to end her pregnancy. Shocked and trembling, the singer realized she had to speak out, having had two abortions herself which she deeply regretted. An hour later they were all in tears, baby pictures were shared, the abortion was cancelled and they each had

an awe of the providence that put them together in a most unlikely spot.

While this wasn’t a “formal” 40 Days for Life encounter, it took place in the same time frame in which prayers for life are intensified, and used the same gentle methods of confronting those who have chosen abortion with reminders about the dignity of the unborn.

Finally, it’s nearly impossible to understand the motives of the “Occupy” protesters, being a group often more associated with anarchy than order, but there were placards there that should give one pause if human life is a priority. The signs which many held said, “People Before Profits.” Now the odds of the protesters being Pro-Life in

the usual sense of the word are slim, but at the heart of it, that is an entirely Catholic message.

In light of the Church’s firm stance on life, and the increasingly obvious fact that the abortion industry is not actually about choice but selling death, one wonders if those placards are not just as appropriate at the Pro-Life rallies gathered where the babies are brought to die. In fact, not satisfied with their current profits, the abortion industry now wants to increase them by collaborating with the federal government and forcing all citizens to contribute by means of mandatory insurance premiums.

So we must wonder how many people killed for profit by a highly-sanctioned industry had talents that would have enriched the world? How many children are lost to this world because we don’t speak out on their behalf? And what an irony that the same phone that profited Apple was in the purse of a singer, who brought it out to show to a frightened pregnant mother. With her own shaking hand, she shared pictures of her friends’ children, and their joyous faces made clear what gifts they truly are, turning that uncertain maternal heart towards life for her baby.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” and can be found online at feminine-genius. com.

And so it came to pass, that dreary morning, that the giant flatbed truck carrying the big yellow excavator rounded the corner and headed towards the rectory. The truck drove right past and kept going down the street. Good grief! The thought flashed through my mind that there had been some kind of miscommunication; that the truck was heading for the rectory in which I now live. I rushed after the truck, yelling to the driver to come back. As it turned out, he was just looking for another entrance to the property.

The huge excavator was offloaded, set in just the right position, and took an initial swipe at the building. The delicacy of the heavy equipment operator was amazing. I half expected that one good whack would bring the whole thing tumbling down.

The excavator began with the attached two-car garage in the rear of the building. This was not part of the original structure, but seemed to me to be of 1950s vintage, maybe built by Msgr. William Dolan or Father Thomas Walsh.

Men from the parish Knights of Columbus had already removed from the garage anything that might be of future use, but the garage was still filled with accumulated junk. In five minutes, the garage (and the junk) was gone. There in a big heap were out-dated catechism books, an old pamphlet rack, and cardboard stage settings left over from long-ago events.

Nobody had the heart to get rid of anything. After all, “You just never know when it might come in handy.”

I saw in the rubble an old 1920s license plate. My guess is that it belonged to the car driven by a former pastor, perhaps Father Thomas Trainor.

Father Trainor served here from 1921-1931.

Then the machine arrived at the main structure of the house.

First to go was the kitchen.

It had been a cold and drafty kitchen. Father Bob Donovan had tried to fix it up a bit with a fresh coat of paint. In the early 1990s, Father Richard Gendreau had created a laundry room out of a kitchen pantry.

All of it went down.

Then the living section was visible. Father John Cronin had done some wallpapering in the entry hall, stairwell, and dining room and installed replacement windows. In a flash, these, too, were history.

The rectory library was now exposed. I could see what was left of the shelves which in the 1970s had been filled with Msgr. Bernard Fenton’s book collection. Then they were gone.

The former rectory was reduced to a heap of rubble in less than an hour. I have never seen anything like it. The wood was carted off in five massive trucks to be recycled as fuel for an electric power plant.

By the end of the week, we had an additional 20 parking spaces or so. We sorely need them. Our numbers are growing.

I was the first to park on the new upper lot. It’s much closer to the church. It will be more convenient for persons with disabilities, once it can be paved and lined. Razing the house was the sensible thing to do.

Still, I felt sad. So many priests have lived in that house before me. I said a prayer that my predecessors would understand. There is a time to build and a time to tear down.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

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October 14, 2011

State of the unions

ight now is a sort of the Garden on opening night, but sports limbo for me. The I found the ceremony to be a bit Sox are not in the playoffs, the over the top. It’s no doubt the Bruins are just beginning a new visiting Philadelphia Flyers were season, the Patriots are one-third chomping at the bit to play the of the way through the season, B’s. The Flyers were an unwitand the Celtics are looking for ting part of the festivities. Having work. There’s not too much been swept by the Bruins in the sports stress right now, so maybe playoffs last spring, the Flyers it’s a good time for the New England sports state of the unions, since each of the big four are union-based.

Enough already with the Stanley Cup celebrations. I think we fans are

By Dave Jolivet over it, but the team just won’t let go.

It was fun watching the Bruins win the cup last June futility was shown on the jumbo and the ensuing locker-room screen as part of the ceremonies. antics, the parade through Bean Not the brightest move. The Town, and the world-wide tour Bruins lost the game. of the venerated trophy this sumThe next home game was mer. “player introduction” night when It was nice to anticipate raiseach Bruin was introduced amid ing the championship banner at spotlights, smoke, and music.

Enough.

Then, at Sunday’s Patriots game, there was the Cup, and the Bruins, parading through Gillette Stadium. The Bruins lost their next game, at home. It’s no wonder. How can they concentrate on hockey when their primary concern is where their next guest appearance will be, and the choreography involved. I get it, we won the cup. Let’s move on please.

Red Sox manager Tito Francona and the team “parted ways” nearly three weeks ago, but I’m still feeling the sting.

I was watching the American League Championship Series on television last weekend, and

My View From the Stands

there providing color commentary was good old Tito. “That’s our Tito,” I said, and then realized he’s not “ours” anymore.

Watching and listening to him brought back those pangs of high school, seeing an old beau and realizing she’s with someone else now. Ouch.

I’m going to miss Tito. He was a calming influence and fun to have around.

The New England Patriots are looking good with 11 regular season games left.

Last week’s win over the rival N.Y. Jets was sweet, but it was the week leading up to the tilt that was most impressive. Not a peep emanated from the Pats locker room regarding the Jets. They provided no bulletin board material, and they let their play do the talking. It’s refreshing not to hear the pre-game trash talk. Let the players keep the trash on the field where we can only imagine the on-field conversations.

Finally, I’m not too concerned about the NBA losing a season because of the labor dispute.

The league has changed over the years, and it seems more of an individual sport than ever. Fights on the court and in the stands have given the game a black eye.

While I look forward to college basketball season, I really wouldn’t notice much if the NBA courts remained dark and silent this season. My only concern is for the little people who will be hit in the wallet. But that’s no concern of the rich kids. Little people aren’t in a union.

MCFL announces new executive director

BOSTON — Massachusetts Citizens For Life recently announced the hiring of Edwin J. Shanahan as its executive director. He will report to MCFL President Anne Fox. Shanahan comes to MCFL with more than 30 years of government, association, and consulting experience. Most recently he was principal/lobbyist for Ed Shanahan Associates in Boston. Prior to that he was CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and executive director of the Massachusetts Rental Housing Association.

He was also deputy director, Office of Budget and Management, for the City of Boston.

He is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a BA in political science. Shanahan and his family reside in Peabody.

“We are delighted to have Ed join us in this key management role,” stated Fox. “He brings the leadership skills, political understanding, and Pro-Life beliefs that we need to deal with many issues facing the citizens of Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts Citizens For Life is the state’s oldest, largest and most prominent ProLife advocacy organization.

civil sister — A nun cares for a wounded soldier in this detail from a larger Civil War-era print. In Civil War battles, at least 300 Daughters of Charity ministered to soldiers on both sides of the war.

(CNS photo/courtesy University Archives, The Catholic University of America)

Story of sisters’ role in Civil War ‘under-told,’ archivist says

EMMITSBURG, Md. (CNS) — In the final days of June 1863, the Civil War came perilously close to home for the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg.

Days before the Battle of Gettysburg, the acres of their farmland property at the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains were used as a camp for tens of thousands of Union soldiers while their generals stayed in the former home of the order’s founder, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and planned battle strategies.

The troops moved on to fight one of the bloodiest Civil War battles just 15 miles away from the Sisters, and when the fighting ended, leaving tens of thousands dead and wounded, the Daughters of Charity were among the first civilians to arrive and care for Union and Confederate soldiers.

The Sisters provided food, water, bandages and basic medical care. They also gave spiritual solace to soldiers who requested it: praying with them, distributing religious medals, baptizing the dying and writing letters home to soldiers’

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October 14, 2011

families.

At Gettysburg and other Civil War battles, at least 300 Daughters of Charity ministered to soldiers on both sides of the war. In all, more than 600 Sisters from 12 religious orders responded to this national crisis by doing everything from bandaging soldiers in the battlefield to coordinating makeshift hospitals.

St. Francis Xavier Church in Gettysburg served as one of these improvised hospitals. The church’s vestibule became an operating room, its sanctuary was a recovery room, and the pews functioned as cots for more than 200 wounded soldiers.

The church, which is still a parish today, pays tribute to the nuns’ ministry with a stained-glass window depicting the Daughters of Charity caring for wounded soldiers.

Those who visit not only the Gettysburg church but the Emmitsburg Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are reminded right away that these spots had historical significance during the Civil War by

This week in 50 years ago — The 15th annual New England regional CCD congress was held in Portland, Maine. Bishop James L. Connolly presided at a session on the second morning for lay teachers in parish high schools while Auxiliary Bishop J. James Gerrard headed a concurrent session for discussion club leaders.

25 years ago — Seven priests from the Fall River Diocese participated in a New Pastors’ Program at Mont Marie Center in Holyoke, Mass., including Father Henry S. Arruda, Father Edward J. Byington, Father Edward E. Correia, Father Arthur T. DeMello, Father Richard R. Gendreau, Father Thomas C. Lopes, and Father William W. Norton.

signs marking Civil War trails and posted descriptions of events that took place 150 years ago.

But the general public might not be so aware that nuns were on the scene at that time providing a much-needed service.

Sister Betty Ann McNeil, a Daughter of Charity and the provincial’s archivist, said the Sisters’ unique role has been “under-told” in Civil War documentaries and publications. She attributes this gap to a lack of public relations, saying the Sisters didn’t take pictures of themselves on the battlefields or promote the work they were doing.

There is at least one public tribute to the work of these women: the Civil War Nurses Memorial in Washington near St. Matthew Cathedral. The monument, erected in 1924, is inscribed with the words: “They comforted the dying, nursed the wounded, carried hope to the imprisoned, gave in His name a drink of water to the thirsty.”

Sister Betty Ann told Catholic News Service that little is known about the role of these Sisters in

Diocesan history 10 years ago — St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet sponsored a trilogy of seminars focusing on tasks surrounding serious illness and death. The events, called “Now and At the Hour of Our Death,” presented important information concerning medical treatment, finances, death and funeral arrangements.

One year ago — St. Vincent’s Home, an institution older than the Diocese of Fall River itself, celebrated 125 years as a live-in educational facility with its primary focus being the welfare of children and their families. Initially located on North Main Street in Fall River, the home was a place of solace and hope for children whose parents were ill or deceased.

history because they simply were responding to the needs of the time, not unlike the work these Sisters continue today in caring for the sick and helping those in need.

She personally knows a lot about the work of the Sisters because she has pored through reams of handwritten documents detailing their duties during the war. Based on these accounts she edited the trilogy “Charity Afire” recounting the Sisters’ Civil War ministry in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The books were published this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. This year the shrine also opened a permanent exhibit in its visitor center showcasing the nuns’ role in the war and is in the process of restoring Our Lady of Victory statue erected by the Daughters of Charity immediately after the war. At the time, the Sisters had promised that if their land was protected from war, they would put up a statue on the property in thanksgiving. The statue, worn from more than 100 years outdoors, will be part of the Sisters’ Civil War exhibit once it is restored.

During her research, Sister Betty Ann was particularly inspired

by Sister Juliana Chatard, a young Daughter of Charity who longed to be in the field of action. Eventually this young woman, who was from the North, was sent to Richmond,

Va., and made an administrator of a soldiers’ hospital there. Sister Betty Ann quotes the Sister’s experience at St. Ann’s Military Hospital in a 2007 article for the “Vincentian Heritage Journal.”

According to Sister Juliana’s account, it was difficult to describe the routine at the military hospital because “to lay the scene truly before you is beyond any human pen.

All kinds of misery lay outstretched before us.”

Describing the 1862 Battle of Richmond, Sister Juliana said fighting during the weeklong battle started each day at 2 a.m. and ended around 10 p.m. with bombs “bursting and reddening the heavens” just yards from the hospital door. She also said the Sisters at the hospital were shaken by cannon firings and the “heavy rolling of the ambulances filling the streets bringing in the wounded and dying men. The entire city trembled as if from an earthquake with the exception of few short hours.”

As Sister Betty Ann sees it, Sister Juliana’s ministry was similar to what so many of these Sisters were doing during a time of great national turmoil.

“Her charity knew no bounds,” she said. “Her love embraced the Northern soldier who was dying as well as the Southern soldier who was thirsty.”

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The Anchor

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Courageous” (TriStar) After the tragic death of his young daughter, a devoutly Christian police officer (Alex Kendrick) convinces a group of his friends (Ken Bevel, Ben Davies, Kevin Downes and Robert Amaya) to join him in subscribing to a Bible-based resolution designed to make them better, more dedicated fathers. But a variety of circumstances, including a couple of illustrative moral quandaries, quickly put each dad’s resolve to the test. Though occasionally heavy-handed, Kendrick, who also directed and co-wrote, crafts an uplifting message movie about the dire consequences of paternal neglect and the scriptural principles of sound parenting. Some gun violence and mature themes, including drug trafficking. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Dream House” (Universal) Psychological thriller about a couple (Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz) who ditch the big city for the countryside and the perfect house in which to raise their two small daughters. But they soon discover that five years ago the previous owner gunned down his wife and two daughters in cold blood. As the new occu-

October 14, 2011 pants investigate what happened, the line between reality and the world of dreams becomes blurred. Though intriguing in some respects, director Jim Sheridan’s traditional Gothic horror film features a level of gory mayhem that severely restricts its appropriate audience. Scenes of bloody violence and terror, brief nongraphic marital lovemaking, some profanity. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“The Ides of March” (Columbia) Savvy but raw political drama about an up-and-coming press spokesman (Ryan Gosling) whose fling with an intern (Evan Rachel Wood) during a crucial Democratic presidential primary leads him to discover that the campaign manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) for whom he works and the candidate (George Clooney) in whom he deeply believes are not all they seem. With a sharp script and a powerful cast, Clooney, who also directed and co-wrote, turns in a slick adaptation of Beau Willimon’s play, “Farragut North.” While fundamentally moral in most respects, however, this study in the corrupting effects of power is studded with mature subject matter and machismo-driven vulgarities, making it inappropriate fare for all but the gamest adults.

Brief semigraphic nonmarital — and possibly underage — sexual activity, abortion and adultery themes, a suicide, an instance of blasphemy, about a half-dozen uses of profanity and pervasive rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Real Steel” (Disney) Director Shawn Levy delivers an action-packed drama — driven by computer-generated special effects and set in the not-too-distant future — about robots who box and the dysfunctional humans who train and fix them. One of the latter (Hugh Jackman) is a washed-up fighter who finds his world turned upside down by the arrival of his estranged 11-year-old son (Dakota Goyo). Before long, the two bond over an unusual ‘bot named Atom, a pugilistic underdog who, rather predictably, gets his shot at challenging the champ. Probably acceptable for older adolescents. Cartoonish action violence, references to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, a bit of crude language and some mild oaths. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 16, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Jeffrey Cabral, Promoter of Justice with the Diocesan Tribunal

October 14, 2011

I

n 1563, the year before William Shakespeare was born, a man with the oddly familiar title of Viscount Montague said: “What man is there so without courage and stomach or void of all honour, that can consent to receive an opinion and new religion by force and compulsion?” He was speaking about the Act of Uniformity, the Act of Supremacy, and the Thirty Nine Articles, the formal edicts of the Elizabethan crown concerning the “Elizabethan Religious Settlement.” Under the new rule, not attending Anglican services was punishable by ruinous fines. New forms of prayer and worship were mandated, and old rituals and doctrines removed altogether.

While Elizabeth was no radical Protestant — her goal was to keep some continuity between the old faith and the new while still incorporating some of the ideas of Protestantism — the every day religious existence of England’s population was still altered. In particular, Mass was forever changed, iconography was destroyed, death rites were reconstructed, and prayer for the dead was forbidden.

Things had changed radically since John Shakespeare, William’s father, moved to Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1553.

Under Queen Mary, John prospered and became a civic dignitary after marrying into an aristocratic — and staunchly Catholic — family. That prosperity continued for a time under Elizabeth, as he first became alderman and later, mayor of Stratford, suggest-

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Living in a world divided

ing to many scholars that he it is curious that John Shakemust have cooperated with the speare’s position continued its crown’s religious compromise. rise under Queen Elizabeth it As alderman, one of his jobs was abruptly cut short. After would have been to remove years of ascendancy, John all evidence of Catholicism Shakespeare suffers a curious from the town. Roods and frescoes were destroyed all over England during the Elizabethan Reformation, but archeological evidence and historic preservation reveals

By Jennifer Pierce an interesting fact about this stripping of the countryside. In some areas, the roods and frescoes were completely withdrawal from all public destroyed but in others they life. What accounts for this were simply white-washed withdrawal? It is difficult to over, and quotes from Scripsay, but one thing we can say ture were painted in their for certain is that his abrupt place. What motivated the withdrawal from a life chardifferent approaches to the acterized by upward mobility same royal orders? Scholar is precisely coincident with a Eammon Duffy, among othdemand for all citizens, public ers, have provided evidence officials in particular, to sign that this “white washing” was an Oath of Supremacy in order itself indicative of a surreptito continue service. In additious Catholicism, as many tion, we have on record that believed that all would one day John Shakespeare was fined be restored. Whitewash, by for “recusancy” (not attending its nature, could be removed.

Anglican services) and that While John Shakespeare was he refused to pay taxes levied in public office, whitewash on a local militia the crown was the preferred method of formed in order to suppress the renovating in Stratford. growing Catholic dissent in his Furthermore, as a public official, John Shakespeare Foyer of Charity would have been a participant Scituate, MA 02066-1499 in selecting the teachers for the Scripture-based local school. Two of the three Eucharist-centered teachers that taught during Retreats his time in office were radisince 1977 cal Catholics, one of whom, Simon Hunt, left Stratford for the continent where he received a higher education and became a Jesuit. Although

Hidden Shakespeare

Upcoming Retreats October 10 - 16 October 21 - 23 November 18 - 20 December 2 - 4 Dec. 25 - Jan. 1 For reservation or information: www.foyerofcharity.com or info@foyerofcharity.com or 781-545-1080

region.

We’ll see a theme throughout our exploration of Shakespeare: evidence that is as troubling as it is revealing, and a motif of doubling and ambiguity that is difficult to overcome.

Again, it was a sign of the times. In a period when religion was the source of executions, torture, and bloodshed, cultivating a double identity — which inevitably must have produced a double consciousness — would have been inevitable.

Though the stakes are slightly lower, we can imagine what it must have been like for the Shakespeares, living in a world divided between an old religion and a new, as we navigate a world divided along religious and secular lines. In an age where freedom of religion is mistaken for freedom from religion, we can also become divided between private and public selves.

History is funny, however, and it sometimes provides us with metaphors too perfect for us to conjure on our own.

Shakespeare was fond of writing about the “plastering” arts of sealing up reality within a thin veneer of falsehood.

We think that his imagination came ex nihilo, from a muse of genius that obviously blessed him frequently. I don’t deny that he was blest, but I also don’t think that the manner of his expressions were random. As we will discuss next time, when some renovators arrived at the home of John Shakespeare in the early 20th century, the ambiguous nature of his identity was forever tilted in a particular direction, as the restoration laborers rescued a document from behind the plaster, between the rafters of the Shakespeare family walls.

Jennifer Pierce is a parishioner of Corpus Christi in East Sandwich, where she lives with her husband Jim and two daughters.

Specializing in: Brand Name/ Foreign Auto Parts 1420 Fall River Avenue (Route 6) Seekonk, MA 02771

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October 14, 2011

Area Maronite Catholics elated to host Patriarch of Antioch

Brahms’ ‘Requiem’ coming to New Bedford

part, chose us to represent the Northern Regions of our Eparchy and welcome the official visit of His Beatitude,” said Chorbishop Kaddo.

“The people of St. Anthony’s Parish are very excited to be part of this visit,” he continued. “This is the first-ever visit to Fall River by a Maronite Patriarch. They’re elated.

“Personally, it’s a blessing for me. I first met him in 1991 at a convention in Atlanta, and in 2004 in Lebanon, but not to really talk to. Now there is this opportunity for me and my brother priests to be with him and hear from him.”

The Liturgy and banquet will be televised live by Tele Lumier and Noursat, a Christian TV station based in Lebanon. “This will be seen all over the U.S. and the world,” Chorbishop Kaddo told The Anchor.

“The Lebanon Broadcasting Company is coming over and we expect a full church, so those in the area who cannot attend and Maronites and Lebanese around the world will be able to see it on TV.” The Liturgy will be in English with some Arabic prayers and songs. “The Consecration will be in Aramaic, the language Christ spoke,” said the chorbishop. “To hear the Consecration prayed in Aramaic is like being at the Last Supper

sic of comfort and hope. He sought a universal human perspective.

From the first movement’s beautiful use of the harp to the final movement’s glorious climax of sopranos on high A (with the harps returning in a heavenly ascending line), Brahms calls on the full range of his compositional genius to give humanity a work of deep beauty and emotion. The fifth movement, composed after the premiere of the work and inserted for later performances, is perhaps the most intimate writing ever done for soprano and chorus. Brahms’ use of choral texture, harmonic energy, and rhythmic invention throughout this great work is a marvel.

Sunday’s chorus will include an amalgam of the Rhode Island College Chorus, along with local singers from the South Coast area.

“We’ve been putting together a group of singers from various choruses here in the South Coast with members of the Rhode Island College Chorus … and now they’re all coming together,” he said.

MacKenzie expressed his excitement at once again being able to present a classical music masterpiece within the sacred confines of St. Anthony of Padua Church.

“We’re so blessed to have this space and to be able to put on large-scale works inside it,” MacKenzie said. “It certainly is just such a rewarding environment for us to perform in.

To have the church filled and get the energy back from the live audience is certainly quite remarkable.”

“I have been profoundly moved to be present at some of their performances the past few years where the beauty of their music, the beauty of the genius of the composers, and the beauty of St. Anthony’s all come together to provide an aesthetic and spirituallyuplifting experience that in my life has had almost no parallel,” said Father Roger J. Landry, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish.

This performance at St. Anthony’s also has the added significance of being dedicated to F. John Adams, who served as musical director for the NBSO prior to Dr. MacKenzie.

“He was the musical director

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itself. It’s amazing.”

Chorbishop Kaddo said, in addition to area Maronite priests, Bishop George W. Coleman and priests from the Fall River Diocese have been invited to attend. “Bishop Coleman has been most gracious and helpful,” he said. “He’s accommodated anything we’ve needed.

Bishop Coleman and several priests have accepted the invitation. We’re most excited.”

The Maronite Liturgy is very similar to the Roman Catholic Liturgy, centered around the truth that Christ is true God and true Man. The Maronite liturgical prayers are simple and rich displaying scriptural tradition, with images and themes from the New and Old Testaments. At the Consecration, the celebrant tips the chalice in the four compass directions to symbolize Jesus’ shedding His Blood for the whole world.

While the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church, has its own hierarchy, and general law, it has always maintained its communion with Rome and unity with the pope Its history dates back to the fifth-century Near East in the Fertile Crescent — the areas of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel.

The Maronites were found-

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ed by St. Maron, a hermit and a holy man with many miracles attributed to his faith in God. Because of its bonds with Rome and the pope, the Maronite Church experienced periods of persecution, eventually seeking refuge in the mountains of Lebanon. Yet, the faith of its members remained strong and the Church continued to grow.

“The Maronite Church came from the mountains where the faith was preserved, and that’s what makes us simple and strong,” said Chorbishop Kaddo. “It was born out of a culture.”

Maronite faithful from the Middle East began to immigrate to the U.S. in the later stages of the 19th century, and the Church has continued to grow ever since.

Of the more than three million Maronite Catholics worldwide, two million are in the United States, which is separated into two Eparchies, or dioceses. The St. Maron of Brooklyn Eparchy is comprised of six New England states, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, based in Los Angeles, encompasses the rest of the country. “The Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon covers more area, but the Eparchy of St. Maron is more highly populated,” informed Chorbishop Kaddo, who said that someday there may be a third U.S. Eparchy added.

Maronites who don’t live near Maronite churches are permitted to worship in other Catholic churches while remaining members of the Maronite Church.

St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River was founded in 1911 with about 40 families. They worshipped at a small church on Jencks Street and moved to a larger church building on Quequechan Street in 1930.

The tight Lebanese community lost its church to a fire set by vandals on July 2, 1971.

Undaunted, the faith community built a new church, the present edifice on North Eastern Avenue, that was dedicated in October of 1978.

continued from page one

of the NBSO for many years and he actually began these cathedral concerts at St. Anthony’s Church,” MacKenzie said. “He passed away this past spring.”

Sunday’s performance will begin with an excerpt from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

The “Adagietto” is arguably Mahler’s most famous single work. It is a transformational reworking of a somber melody from the first movement of the symphony into an ethereal, transcendent song of hope, yearning, and acceptance.

Scored for just strings and harp, the music’s main musical idea subtly evolves through a magical series of sighing suspensions — chord resolutions that release tension into peacefulness. The work’s conclusion leaves the listener breathless, as the suspensions are prolonged longer and longer.

“It’s a very fitting pair with the ‘Requiem,’” MacKenzie said. “Oftentimes people think of Mahler as being bombastic with huge gestures, but this is a remarkably intimate and tender treatment of the subject of death in a purely instrumental form. But it’s also a very uplifting piece.”

Likewise, MacKenzie said Brahms’ “Requiem” is more interested in comforting the living than dwelling on the dead.

“Only in the seventh movement at the end do we hear ‘Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord,’” he said.

Featured soloists for Sunday’s concert will include soprano Kelley Nassief and New Bedford native Philip Lima.

“Lima went to New Bedford High School and has gone on to have a very solid career as an operatic singer and recitalist,” MacKenzie said. “He performed with us a couple of years ago and he’s just a superb addition and a wonderful guy with a commanding voice and a commanding presence.

His singing is so warm and so moving, he was my first choice for this piece.”

According to MacKenzie, Lima will serve a key role as the “minister” of the “Requiem.”

“On comes Lima in the third movement, who says death is inevitable, we need to face it, and here’s why,” MacKenzie said.

For more information about the concert, visit http:// www.nbsymphony.org/.

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org

October 14, 2011

15

The Anchor

Noted educator to speak at John Paul II High School Married women less likely to abort children continued from page one

progressed, Stenson stepped down from working in education and went to New York to work at the national headquarters for Opus Dei. While there, he began to glean through the knowledge he learned from parents, including spending almost 12 years as headmaster of Northridge, and put together a comprehensive list of advice. He has written books and taken speaking engagements throughout the world to help impart that knowledge onto parents on how to raise their children into becoming productive leaders of society.

“I took all the experience that I had with families that I knew, and just tried to think of who had done the best job of raising their children,” explained Stenson. “I knew dozens of people like that; their children grew up to be excellent men and women.”

His website, www.ParentLeadership. com, helps break down those ideals into separate areas of focus. Ninety percent of what’s really important in people’s lives is learned at home and establishing rules and standards that the whole family lives by is essential — it is the “power of we,” said Stenson.

“All the rules, directly or implicitly, begin with the word, ‘we’ not ‘you,’” said Stenson, on his website. “For instance, the rule for chores is not, ‘You kids must clean your room,’ but rather, ‘We all pitch in to keep this house in decent shape.’ In other words, the parents live by the rules themselves, the same ones they impose on their children. The parents live a home life as responsible, considerate adults, and they insist their kids do the same.”

It’s about thinking not about the next few weeks or the next year, said Stenson, it’s about the long-term.

“They were picturing their children as grown men and women with responsibilities, with family and a job,” said Stenson. “In other words, they saw themselves raising adults and not children. I don’t know any family that lives by all of them but you’ll see that all the rules in a great family started with the word ‘we.’”

Parents must lead and live by the standards set, not separate what is right for them and what they feel is right for the children. In those rules, the parents’ actions speak just as loudly as the words.

“Think about what your kids will be like 20 years from now and work back from that,” said Stenson. “Kids don’t come into the world with virtues, but come into the world with some beautiful things. They have a natural love for their family; have a love for life, friends and laughter. Finally, they have a love for the truth. Those are the things that have to be preserved, and they will be preserved if the children see those qualities in their parents — a love for God, a love for family and a love for life.”

In the section entitled, “The Vision of Parent Leaders,” Stenson said on his website that “[parents] have been called

by God to carry out a job, and that holy task is this: to lead their children — with daily sacrificial effort — to grow into confident, responsible, considerate,

generous men and women … being conscious of this mysterious and sacred mission, holding it always before their eyes.

[This] is what turns parents into great men and women themselves, real heroes to their children, and makes their family life together a great, rollicking, beautiful adventure.”

Integrity is a main foundation that helps build up a child when they move through their three areas of life: home, school and society.

“Integrity, as I’ve tried to explain it to parents, is related to the word ‘integer.’ It means ‘oneness’ or ‘unity.’ Unity, in this case of integrity, is unity of intention, word and action; that we mean what we say, that we say what we mean, and we keep our word,” said Stenson.

That isn’t to say there won’t be obstacles or stumbles along the way. Tough times lay ahead, from economic woes to parents having to battle the Internet and media’s influence on their children’s lives — showing your children your faith in God in times of trouble will plant permanent seeds that will bloom for them during their times of doubt.

“The stronger a background in character while growing up, the more they’ll be able to withstand that,” said Stenson.

“Kids don’t remember all the details but they remember what is important to parents. The Mass comes first, the love of God comes first, and everything else comes second. If that’s your set of priorities, things somehow work out well.”

In the area on his website, “Born to Serve, Not to Shop — Effective Parenting in a Nutshell,” Stenson places a critical spotlight on the current culture that is more concerned with the pursuit of materialistic goods instead of the pursuit of all that is good in this world.

“Parents are sometimes confused because the whole culture treats the concept of parenting as raising kids to be consumers rather than producers,” said Stenson, adding that often self-serving attitudes lead to self-destruction.

“Youngsters with a habit of thinking and acting this way are headed toward trouble later in life; substance abuse, professional problems, marital break-up, a life dominated by impulse and unrestrained egoism,” are just a few of the potential issues raised by Stenson on his site.

If a parent has high expectations for their children, then the children will pick up on that and run with it. Even if they stray and make a mistake, that mistake is a learning experience for them.

“Never forget,” added Stenson, “you have one chance — and only one — to raise your children right. Forming your children’s character and conscience is your number one priority. If you make a sacrificial effort now, while your children are still young, you can later enjoy the honor they bring you as confident, responsible, considerate men and women — who strive to pass on your values to their own children.”

Stenson’s presentation at Pope John Paul II High School is free and open to the public. For more information about Stenson or his advice, go to www.

ParentLeadership.com.

continued from page one

eventually marry, the risk of relationship breakup is still much greater than for those who forego playing house. A study from 2010 shows that those who live together before marriage are six percent more likely to divorce before they reach their 10th wedding anniversary.

The data also found a “strong association” between the reported importance of religion to participants and their decision about cohabitation. Men and women who reported that religion was “very important in their daily lives” were respectively 15 and 20 percent less likely to live together before tying the knot than those who reported that religion was “not important” to them.

In 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage to address problems like the high divorce rate, falling marriage rate and rapid rise in cohabitation.

The initiative’s website, ForYourMarriage.org, lists cohabitation as a “must have conversation” for engaged couples. It encourages cohabiting couples without children to separate before marriage “as a sign of their free, loving decision to follow the Church’s vision of marriage and sexuality” and for all cohabiting couples to seek reconciliation through the Sacrament of Confession.

The site explains, “Every act of sexual intercourse is intended by God to express love, commitment and openness to life in

the total gift of the spouses to each other.

Sexual intercourse outside of marriage cannot express what God intended.”

Anne Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told The Anchor that those in the Pro-Life movement ought to be “extremely concerned” about the erosion of marriage.

For the good of society, people need to get married, stay married and raise their children well. If couples marry for the right reasons, so many other problems are avoided, she said.

Many women who have abortions already have children. They understand that they are carrying a baby, and they also know how much effort will be involved in raising that child. If they are already raising children on their own without support, another child may seem overwhelming, Fox said.

Women who receive assistance from pregnancy resource centers often have older children as well. Sometimes they need clothing for those children as much as they do for their unborn babies, she added.

While those centers can provide a woman with some of the material necessities that they lack, the resources cannot make up for the absence of a second income, help with childcare and emotional support.

Fox said, “What it boils down to is that we can help women with baby clothes, housing and a car but we cannot provide them with a father for their children.”

16

Youth Pages

spreading warmth — Beginning last March, Bishop Connolly High School students from the French, Spanish and Portuguese Language Honor Societies began collecting used coats, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts as well as blankets to pass along to those less fortunate in the Fall River community. As the donations piled up, students helped after school to sort and box the donated items. Recently, eight huge boxes containing several hundred items were delivered to Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River. This has become an annual charitable project for the language students. Toward the end of winter, another appeal will go out to the Bishop Connolly community. From left: Susan Silvia, Foreign Language Department chairperson; Alyssa Pietraszek and Sierra Aguiar

October 14, 2011

THANKING THE TROOPS — Members of the youth group from St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven work alongside residents of The Atria, an assisted-living home for seniors, to create hand-made thank-you cards to send to troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Organized by parish member Sharon McGraw, participants wrote messages, drew pictures and used creative cutouts to decorate the cards. “Working alongside the residents of Atria to make cards for our U.S. troops allowed the children to have a hands-on experience in what it means to make a sacrifice for the sake of others,” said McGraw.

“The children gave their time and talent and in turn, demonstrated their love for their neighbor; this is what Jesus teaches so that they may experience what it means to ‘live their faith.’”

walking the walk — Parishioners from St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth recently participated in the annual Walk for Life in Boston. The group included members of the parish Life Teen group and other concerned parishioners.

HIGH ABOVE LONDON TOWN — Maire Caitlin Foley, a junior at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth, recently returned from a 22-day People to People Student Ambassador Program to Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Foley traveled with a delegation of 38 students from throughout Massachusetts and Maine. President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People during his presidency in 1956, believing that ordinary citizens of different nations could make a difference where government could not.

power to the people — St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently hosted “Alex” and “Jim” from Soren Bennick’s Power of One, an anti-bully performance for elementary school children. The Power of One is a series of skits presented by actors who use boxes, colors, and masks to vividly portray what bullying is, what can be done about it, and how every child has the power of one, the power to report bullying when they see it. With Alex and Jim are, from left, Elyse LaParle, Liam Bischoff, Eric Nelson, Emily Billard and Sofia Troy.

Youth Pages

October 14, 2011

“O

17

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us

my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Your mercy.”

For you who are familiar with this Fatima prayer, you also know how powerful a message Our Lady gives us here: We are sinners in great need of Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

Don’t be fooled, my friends: hell is real. The battle for our souls is being fought everyday.

And our loved ones need our constant prayers.

I was walking to Mass a couple of weeks ago and overheard two young sisters talking in the church parking lot about the October Rosary prayer for children we have every year.

Their discussion, as I heard it, was one of fear; “Did we miss the first Rosary?” It brought a smile to my face to see that these two sisters were not concerned about missing the Rosary prayer so much as their desire,

their wanting to participate in arrive at the point where we can this prayer. Their anxiety was “pray without ceasing,” as St. quickly dispelled when they Paul tells us to do. ran to me and asked if they had Praying the Rosary helps us indeed overlooked the praying to see the face of Jesus through of the first Rosary. “You didn’t,” Mary’s eyes. First, we meditate I said. And they walked back to their parents with a smile that only Our Lady of the Rosary could understand.

By tradition, our Catholic Church

By Ozzie Pacheco dedicates the month of October to the holy Rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. on the happy times of Jesus’ The best way to celebrate the youth in the Joyful Mysteries. month is, of course, to pray the Here, Mary helps us to discover Rosary. But this prayer can be the joy of being a follower of incorporated into our everyday Christ. When I pray the Joyprayers. That’s what Our Lady ful Mysteries I also pray for all asked of the three shepherd chil- expectant mothers, especially dren at Fatima. In this prayer, those who contemplate abortion. we ask the Virgin Mary to help Pray for them, as well, that they us to cultivate a habit of interior may see the choice they have prayer through the daily recita— life, even if it means giving tion of the Rosary. This is the the child to the care of someone object of all of our prayers: to else.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (CNS) — One year ago the Suzanne Pohland Paterno Catholic Student Faith Center at Penn State University was literally nothing more than a hole in the ground, but now a building topped with a steeple and cross stands there.

And within another year the framed-out room will house the center’s chapel.

“It is marvelous to be in this space which will soon truly become a sacred space,” said Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of Altoona-Johnstown. “Just imagine what this space will look like a few months from now when it will be filled with students celebrating their faith here.”

He made the comments after he blessed the cornerstone and the steeple cross during a recent ceremony.

The center is named for the wife of Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, in recognition of the Paterno family’s financial support of the project, but also Mrs. Paterno’s commitment to the Catholic faith and her active participation in the life of the Penn State Catholic community.

Those attending the ceremony included Paterno family members and friends; the family and friends of Frederick and Patti Fernsler, who donated the cross; students and friends of the Catholic Campus Ministry program at Penn State; and campus ministry and diocesan representatives.

In welcoming remarks Benedictine Father Matthew T. Laffey, the campus ministry director, spoke of the “privilege and blessing of working with the young students here.

“Today we take another step to fulfilling our dream of a home for Catholic students on campus,” he said.

The campus ministry program at Penn State is a collaboration of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe.

The ministry is diocesan but it is staffed by monks from the archabbey; they first arrived on campus in 1962.

Mary Kay Hort spoke on behalf of the Paterno family.

She said her mother is known for her dogged pursuit of accomplishing what she believes in. “This is a great day; it represents a generation — long dream of my mother’s.”

She added, “My mother takes her job as a Catholic mother very seriously. She has always viewed her faith as a gift, and as a gift that must be shared with others.”

The new center will give students “a place for support and growth” and “will foster and nurture the next generation of Catholic leaders,” Hort added.

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki of St. Vincent Archabbey said the center “represents Sue fulfilling her responsibility as a disciple of Christ.”

Now-retired Bishop Joseph V. Adamec of Altoona-John-

Be Not Afraid

Catholic center will soon be filled with ‘students celebrating faith’

stown presided at last year’s ground-breaking ceremony for the center and spearheaded the efforts to start the construction project during his episcopacy.

He said he hoped that by naming the center after Mrs. Paterno, students will see her “as an example of someone living our faith in the world, witnessing the values of God to our world.”

Bishop Bartchak said the message of the Catholic Student Faith Center is the same as that preached by Pope Benedict XVI during World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid in August.

“Pope Benedict accepts and understands how important it is to speak to the hearts and minds of young people,” he said. “He points out that the search for knowledge and truth is a search for God. “The pope has reminded young people that you can only discover who you are when you come to know Jesus Christ,” the bishop continued.

“Thanks be to God that for generations to come, students will find here in this center a place where they can discover their true identity by discovering the identity of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus’ public ministry is recalled in the Luminous Mysteries, or Mysteries of Light. This is where Jesus reveals to us what the Kingdom of God is like.

Mary helps us to see that light clearly so we don’t fall into darkness. God’s light is meant to fill our lives, even in our most ordinary times. When meditating on these mysteries I pray for all who do not believe in God and those who have strayed away from our Church. I pray that the Light of Christ will show them the way out of darkness and into God’s glory.

The passion and death of Jesus is told in the Sorrowful Mysteries. It is here where Mary helps us to understand this great love that God has for us and how the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus, gives us life. For all He did, I pray that all people live life to the fullest, making everyday count for something good and just. I live with the hope that, for some, Christ’s death was not in vain.

And finally, the song of victory is sung in the Glorious Mysteries. These are the stories of a heaven that awaits us, where we will share everlasting life with Jesus and Mary. During the prayer of these mysteries I ask Mary to pray for all of us, especially for families; that mothers and fathers love their children and that their children

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recognize that love.

My prayer for you this month is this: if you pray regularly, don’t stop, continue praying, especially for those who have most need of God’s mercy; and if you don’t pray regularly, or not at all, rediscover the power of prayer, get yourself a Rosary and begin with this prayer to Our Lady of the Rosary: O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of these mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the Holy Rosary. Amen.

Smile at the thought of prayer and praying, and Our Lady of the Rosary will smile along with you.

Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

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18

The Anchor

‘If you get lost, take Mary’s hand,’ cardinal tells conference

Rome (CNA/EWTN News) — Cardinal Angelo Amato told attendees at a major Marian conference in Rome that “if you get lost, take the hand of Mary and she will lead you to Jesus.”

The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints was addressing the 13th International Mariological Symposium, which concluded October 7.

“For conversion to Christ you must go to the Virgin Mary so that she leads us back to Him,” he told the delegates, adding that Mary leads us to “drink from the cool waters of Jesus Christ.”

The International Mariological Symposium is organized by the “Marianum” Pontifical Theological Faculty and takes place every two years. Its aim is to

Around the Diocese 10/15

The Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 121 Mount Pleasant Street, New Bedford, will host its annual parish bazaar tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the parish hall. The event will include baked goods, homemade food to go, jewelry booths, candy and much more. The kitchen will open at 11 a.m. For more information call 508-992-3184.

10/15

St. Bernard’s Parish, 30 South Main Street in Assonet, invites everyone to pray the Rosary for the conversion and protection of the United States of America. An informal gathering will take place on the front lawn of St. Bernard’s Church tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. and all are welcome.

10/20

The Pope John Paul II High School Parents Association invites parents across Cape Cod to spend an evening with noted Catholic author and speaker James Stenson. He will tackle the critical issue of “Raising Men and Women of Character in Difficult Times” on October 20 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at 120 High School Road in Hyannis. The event is free and open to the public. Stenson is a writer and educational consultant based in Boston. He was co-founder of The Heights School in Washington, D.C., and a founder and headmaster of Northridge Preparatory School in suburban Chicago. Using his 20 years of experience with families, he has written five books for parents.

10/22

The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Nurses is sponsoring a presentation about conquering the day-to-day challenges as an Alzheimer’s caregiver entitled, “Entering Their World, Their Reality. How Would I Feel?” at White’s of Westport on October 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The presenters will be Mal Allard, LPN and Alzheimer consultant Ellen McCabe, RN, CHPN, from Alzheimer’s Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. Morning refreshments and lunch are provided. Five nursing contact hours will be awarded. Deadline for registration is October 15. To register contact Betty at 508-678-2373.

10/22

The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, 327 Second Street, Fall River, will host its annual Harvest Festival on October 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. The event will include raffles, jewelry, sweets, chimney auction, white elephant table, and a fish bowl for children and adults. The kitchen will also be open all day. For more information or to volunteer, call 508-673-2833.

10/22

A Day of Recollection, sponsored by the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, will be held October 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Church, 240 Whittenton Street, Taunton. The day will be presented by Father Edward A. Murphy and all parish-affiliated members are welcome. To reply or for more information, contact Mary Powers, 8 Algers Avenue, or call 508-824-4452.

10/22

On October 22 Canadian musician, author and evangelist Mark Mallet will present “An Encounter With Jesus” at Corpus Christi Parish, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich from 7 to 9 p.m. Mallet has toured extensively across the U.S. over the past 12 years with his ministry. On October 24 he will talk about his book, “The Final Encounter.” Mallett unfolds a stunning picture of our times built not upon flimsy arguments or questionable prophecies, but the solid words of the Church Fathers, modern popes, and approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The end result is unequivocal: we are facing the final confrontation. All are welcome. For more information call 508-362-6395.

11/4

St. Theresa’s Christmas in the Village Bazaar will be held on November 4 from 5-8:30 p.m. and November 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the church basement on 18 Baltic Street, South Attleboro. Included will be a 50/50 Christmas cash, giant theme baskets, used books, grandma’s attic, grandpa’s tool shed, knit goods, Christmas décor, etc.

Santa will visit at the “North Pole” and there will be a village duck pond, children’s games, Christmas chance and instant raffle. The village bakery will be open and lunch or dinner will be served in the village eatery, where there will be delicious meat pies, etc.

11/12

The Women’s Guild of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville is sponsoring a Holiday Fair November 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will be hand-knit items, hand-crafted items, a gift table, jewelry table, a bake sale, a “second-hand Rose” table, and a raffle. For information call the parish at 508-428-2011.

“foster studies on the Mother of God in the context of today.”

This year’s topic for the four days of discussion was “The figure of Mary in the Context of Faith, Reason and Sentiments; Theological and Cultural Aspects of Modernity.”

Cardinal Amato told CNA that the conference not only widens the Church’s knowledge of Mariology but “serves to deepen knowledge in relation to other issues such as Christology, the Trinity, grace, anthropology or the Bible.”

“Marian studies have grown very well and are of high quality,” he said, noting the high quality of conference contributors throughout the week.

“Mary acts in the world today in many different ways,” explained Father Gian Matteo Roggio of the Marianum Pontifical Theological Faculty in remarks to CNA. He explained that whenever Christ is manifested in the Liturgy, then Mary is there too because “Mary is in Christ, she is in the Body of Christ.” Father Roggio said that Mary is also present today as a model of Christian life. “Mary acts also in the life of the believers, because she is an example.”

“The meaning of Mary is not only for the believer. Because she was a woman of freedom, she is for all men and all women,” he concluded.

The symposium culminated with the award the “René Laurentin — Pro Ancilla Domini” prize for studies in the field. It is named after the internationally renowned French priest and mariologist. This year the prize was given to the Italy-based International Association for Research in the Shrines.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Oct. 15 Rev. Msgr. Raymond T. Considine, PA, Retired Pastor, St. William, Fall River, 1996 Oct. 16 Rev. Raymond M. Drouin, O.P., Former Pastor, St. Anne, Fall River, 1987 Oct. 17 Rev. Gerald E. Lachance, M.Afr., 1984 Oct. 19 Rev. Manuel A. Silvia, Pastor, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1928 Oct. 21 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Carr, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River; Chancellor 1907-21, 1937 Rev. Francis E. Gagne, Pastor, St. Stephen, Attleboro, 1942 Rev. Walter J. Buckley, Retired Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1979

October 14, 2011

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

Brewster — Eucharistic adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass. 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 — Eucharistic adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month.

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, following the 8 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 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 8:00 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of eucharistic adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street. The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the Rosary; 8 a.m.

Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confession; 8 p.m.

Benediction.

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

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

October 14, 2011

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Movie on importance of fatherhood wows at box office

Albany, Ga. (CNA) — A low-budget film on the crucial role of fathers debuted as the number one new movie during its opening weekend in theaters across the U.S. “There is an opportunity for fathers to step up in our culture and take more of a spiritual role and to affirm and love their kids and to prepare them for what should be a Godly legacy among families,” Alex Kendrick, actor and director for “Courageous,” told CNA on October 6 “We see too many men accepting a ‘good enough’ mentality when their role is crucial to helping each child realize that God loves them.”

“Courageous,” has now ranked as the number four movie in the country, despite opening against six other movies with almost three times as many screens. The film opened on September 30 to more than 1,100 theaters across the U.S. Kendrick, who works with the Sherwood Pictures production company that also produced the 2008 hit “Fireproof,” explained that the film follows the lives of four police officers who grapple with their identity as men, fathers and societal leaders.

“We saw a correlation with the motto of law enforcement, ‘to serve and protect,’ with that of fathers and many ways he serves the family as spiritual leader protector to provide for them,” Kendrick said.

“When a father is engaged and loving his children the way he should it’s easier for them to believe that God loves them,” he added, “if they’re not engaged, it’s more difficult for them to believe that God loves them.”

“The father’s role is crucial in that regard and we wanted to remind men of that and in a larger context, remind parents of their role to love and nurture their children.”

On what served as the inspiration for the film, Kendrick said that between movies, the company goes through what they call a “season of prayer” to discern what their next step should be.

“We’ve learned that the more we seek God, the more we seek His favor, the more He tends to direct and bless us.”

The group then “delved into the Scriptures and asked ‘what does God say about fatherhood?’ and then pulled those elements out and formed our plot around that.”

Kendrick said that the movie is unique in that it was made in Albany, Ga. “You can’t get any further outside Hollywood,” he laughed, adding that the actors were also selected based on their embodiment of the film’s message.

“We look for people who resonate with the story, the purpose behind the movie,” he said. “When the movie’s over they don’t look at it as a ‘gig’ or as just a job but they expect it to change culture and glorify God.” “Those are the kind of people we look for and we’re happy to have found them. Who you see on screen in real life all believe what this movie is about and are speaking for it.”

Kendrick observed that the success of the film can be traced to the hunger many Americans have to see basic virtues portrayed in movies — a rarity in today’s cinematic culture.

“I think they respect the values presented on screen,” he said. “For many, they want these values in their own life.”

“It’s really going after that part of us that wants that higher calling, that wants that more noble life and noble standard and a life that honors God.” With a modest budget of less than $2 million, and a cast of “no-name” actors, Sherwood Pictures has been thrilled with the unexpected response to the movie.

“We take joy in doing something that requires faith and gives God the opportunity to do only what He can do,” Kendrick said. “We make the movies but God changes the heart.”

He added that the personal feedback the company has gotten from moviegoers has been astounding.

“We’re hearing so many testimonies from people all over the U.S. and Canada — hundreds and hundreds of emails and Facebook notes and things like that, even phone calls” from people relaying how touched they were by the film.

“It’s been very, very exciting to see the response to this movie.”

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October 14, 2011