Diocese of Fall River, Mass.
F riday , October 17, 2014
Editor of America, native of diocese, to return for St. Mary’s Fund benefit By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
WESTPORT — When he was appointed the editor-inchief of America two years ago — the youngest person to earn that distinction in the history of the Catholic news weekly — Father Matt Malone, S.J., was surprised, to say the least. Although already professed to the Society of Jesus, he had yet to be ordained and fully expected he’d complete his formation work at the publication and be assigned elsewhere. “Jesuits have a long tenure of formation period, and in the middle of that we undertake a regency and work full-time
in one of our apostolates, so I was here at America working on U.S. politics and foreign affairs and then I went off to London to complete my theological work,” Father Malone recently told The Anchor. Just 40 years old at the time, Father Malone admitted he was “relatively young as these things go.” “The way they explained it to me was that they wanted to skip a generation in leadership of the magazine — and it made sense,” he said. “They wanted to do it primarily for two reasons: one, they felt that there probably needed to be a fresh editorial approach that Turn to page 18
Hundreds of diocesan faithful, including Father John C. Ozug, rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral, and Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha (inset, left to right), took part in the annual diocesan Peace March last Monday. The participants walked and prayed from the cathedral to St. Anne’s Church in Fall River, where a Mass was celebrated. (Photos by Emilie and Dave Jolivet)
Two storied Taunton schools easily transition into one, successful institution of learning By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor
TAUNTON — The examples can be found in living organisms, including mankind; and the business world; sports; music; and even reliFather Matt Malone, S.J., third from left, participates in a question- gion. The concept is that of and-answer session with Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, left, during a program on the “Francis Factor” at Loyola University Mary- change. There’s a theory in land in Baltimore in March. A native of the Fall River Diocese and science that calls it the “sureditor-in-chief of America magazine, Father Malone will be the key- vival of the fittest,” or “that note speaker at this year’s St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner on survives which best adapts October 22 at White’s of Westport. (CNS photo/Tom McCarthy Jr., for survival.” Times change Catholic Review) and in order for people, places and things to keep up with the change, they too must change. It was that mind-set and World Mission Sunday, or- it teaches how to give: as an forethought that brought toganized by the Propagation of offering made to God, in the gether two storied Taunton the Faith, is a day set aside for Eucharistic celebration and for Catholic institutions of Catholics worldwide to recom- all the missions of the world” learning to form a stronger mit themselves to the Church’s (Redemptoris Missio 81). Pope John Paul II had also source of eduction and Spirimissionary activity through tual development for local prayer and sacrifice. In 2014, spoken of the Propagation students. World Mission Sunday is cel- of the Faith’s general fund of Beginning with the current support, calling this a “cenebrated on October 19. academic year that kicked-off Annually, World Mission tral fund of solidarity.” In a last month, Coyle and CassiSunday is celebrated on the message delivered on a recent dy High School and Taunton next-to-last Sunday in Octo- World Mission Sunday, the Catholic Middle School ber. As described by St. John pope said: “The offerings that joined forces to become one, Paul II, World Mission Sun- will be collected [on World Coyle and Cassidy Middle day is “an important day in Mission Sunday] are desSchool and High School DiTurn to page 15 the life of the Church because
visions. Perhaps one of the areas of most concern with the joining of high school-aged and middle school-aged students was how each age group would react and adapt to the change. “There is a new energy in the building,” Principal Kathy St. Laurent told The Anchor. That building is the high
school building which experienced extensive renovations and upgrades to accommodate the increased student population. “The younger students bring an enthusiasm and energy and the high school students have assumed a ‘big brother/big sister’ role,” St. Laurent added. “I’m proud of both groups.” St. Laurent also told The Turn to page 14
World Mission Sunday: A Eucharistic celebration for all the world
Coyle and Cassidy high school and middle school students attended a recent pep rally. The former high school and Taunton Catholic Middle School joined forces this academic year to create a new, strong, vibrant environment to provide a better opportunity for academic, social and Spiritual growth for Taunton area students.
News From the Vatican
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October 17, 2014
Be on your guard — the devil never rests, Pope Francis warns
Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — In a recent homily Pope Francis encouraged faithful to guard their hearts by doing a daily examination of conscience, saying that we if we don’t, we risk letting the devil in rather than the Lord. “Guard the heart, as a house is guarded, with a key. And then watch the heart, like a sentinel: How often do wicked thoughts, wicked intentions, jealousy, envy enter in?” the pope asked his October 10 Mass attendees. The devil, he cautioned, “never leaves that which he wants for himself,” which are our souls. Pope Francis began his reflections by turning to the day’s Gospel reading from Luke, Chapter 11, in which Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the power of demons, and in which he describes how when an evil spirit leaves a person, it comes back with more and makes the person worse off than before. Satan never leaves us alone, he said, explaining that after Jesus was tempted in the desert, “the devil left Him for a time, but during the life of Jesus he returned again and again: when they put Him to the test, when they tried to trap Him, in the Passion, finally on the cross.” “Can You do it? Let me see!” are phrases that hit home for all of us, the Bishop of Rome noted, observing how the devil not only tempts Jesus in this way, but also each of us. We need to guard our hearts, he said, otherwise “so many things enter in. But who has opened that door? Where do they enter from?” “If I do not realize (how much) enters into my heart, my heart becomes a (town square), where everything comes and goes.” It becomes “a heart without intimacy, a heart where the
Lord cannot speak and cannot even be heard,” the pope explained. He then drew attention to how in the Gospel Jesus says that “He who does not gather with Me scatters,” saying that the meaning of “gather” in this sense means “to have a gathering heart, a heart in which we know what happens.” A practice “as old as the Church, but good,” that we can perform in order to help us achieve this type of heart, he noted, is the examination of conscience. “Who of us, at night, at the end of the day, remains by himself, by herself and asks the question: what happened today in my heart? What happened? What things have passed through my heart?” the pontiff probed, saying that if we don’t do this we fail to guard our hearts well. To guard our heart is “a grace,” the pope explained, because by doing it we guard not only ourselves but also the Holy Spirit Who dwells inside of us. “We know — Jesus says clearly — that the devil always returns. Even at the end of life, He, Jesus, gives us an example of this,” the Bishop of Rome pointed out. So we must be constantly attentive to what is happening in and around us. Pope Francis concluded his homily by encouraging all to “stand in silence before ourselves and before God, and at the end of the day ask ourselves: ‘What happened today in my heart? Did anyone I don’t know enter? Is the key in its place?’” By doing this we will defend ourselves from the wickedness of the devil, and “from that which we could do if these demons, who are very clever and at the end would cheat all of us, even if they enter.”
Be sure to visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.
Alice and Jeff Heinzen of Menomonie, Wis., center, sit among other auditors as they attend a morning session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Synod fathers ask: Does the Church need to watch its language?
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In official reports of the closeddoor talks at the Synod of Bishops on the family, an emerging theme has been the call for a new kind of language more appropriate for pastoral care today. “Language appeared many, many times,” Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, the briefer for English-speaking journalists, recently told reporters, the assembly’s second working day. “There’s a great desire that our language has to change in order to meet the very complex situations” the Church faces. One bishop, whom Father Rosica did not name in accordance with synod rules, reportedly told fellow participants that “language such as ‘living in sin,’ ‘intrinsically disordered’ or ‘contraceptive mentality’ are not necessarily words that invite people to draw closer to Christ and the Church.” (“Intrinsically disordered” is a term used by the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” to describe homosexual acts.) Speaking to the synod, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin spoke of the need for new language with which to communicate with married couples. “To many, the language of the Church appears to be a disincarnated language of telling people what to do, a one-way dialogue,” the archbishop said, according to excerpts of his remarks published by the Irish bishops’ conference. “The lived experience and struggle of spouses can help find more effective ways of expression of the fundamental elements of Church teaching.” Following the same session, Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of Durban, South Africa, told Catholic News Service that “language is something we’ve overlooked for
a good while; we’ve used language that is out of touch with the way people speak today.” “In the past, it was sufficient to say to people, ‘You are going to hell if you continue this way of life.’ Hell was a reality and it was something they knew and they understood it. But if you talk about hell today, people don’t know what you are talking about,” Cardinal Napier said. “So I think the emphasis is shifting (toward), ‘how can you be in a loving relationship with Jesus, and through Jesus with your brother and sister in the Church, if you are living in this condition which separates and alienates you from Jesus?” German Cardinal Walter Kasper, whose controversial proposal to make it easier for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion has been a major topic of discussion at the synod, recently told CNS that a traditional description of such couples as practicing “perpetual adultery” is not acceptable in a pastoral context. “If you tell people who live in this way and they do it in a responsible way, tell them that adultery, permanent adultery, I think they would feel insulted and offended. We must be very careful also in our language,” Cardinal Kasper said in English. “Permanent adultery? It seems to me too strong.” Bishop Johann Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium, is not a member of the synod, but in September he published a widely read essay calling on the assembly to initiate a range of major changes in the Church, including in its language, which he argued is often “offensive” and “humiliating.” Couples living together outside of Marriage, using contraception or resorting to in vitro fertilization — all activities prohibited
by Catholic moral teaching — “deserve more respect and a more nuanced evaluation than the language of certain Church documents appears to prescribe. The mechanisms of accusation and exclusion they have the potential to activate can only block the way to evangelization,” Bishop Bonny wrote. The synod heard an example of newer language, when two nonvoting auditors told Pope Francis and the rest of the assembly that Catholic parishes should welcome same-sex couples. In their remarks, Ron and Mavis Pirola used the word “gay,” rather than “homosexual person,” which has been the preferred term in official Vatican discourse. The Pirolas may have taken their cue from the pope, who famously used the word “gay” during an inflight news conference in July 2013. The Pirolas also said much of the Church’s teaching is expressed in language that seems to be from “another planet” and “not terribly relevant to our own experiences.” Not all synod fathers have the same idea of what language the Church should adopt or discard. In remarks to the assembly, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris, one of three synod presidents appointed by the pope, denounced the “contraceptive mentality” he said leads many Catholics to think the use of artificial birth control is not a sin. Later that day, Cardinal VingtTrois told CNS that, although the Church must “find modes of expression and modes of communication that will allow it to announce the Good News so that it may be heard,” changing pastoral language does not mean changing the language in which theologians formulate Church teaching.
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October 17, 2014
Iraq has done ‘absolutely nothing’ for displaced Christians
Erbil, Iraq (CNA/ EWTN News) — An Iraqi bishop whose community is hosting more than 70,000 Christians who fled violence in Mosul and its surroundings has expressed dismay at the national government in Baghdad for failing to offer assistance. “The reality is that Christians have received no support from the central government. They have done nothing for them, absolutely nothing,” Archbishop Bashar Warda of the Chaldean Archeparchy of Erbil recently told Christian charity Aid to the Church in Need. “The central government is to blame. It has not fulfilled its commitment to the people. The government in Baghdad received a lot of help from the international community for the displaced people from Mosul and Nineveh — but there has been no sign of it here.” Archbishop Warda added that the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan — of which Erbil is the capital — had made it clear that it is unable to offer financial assistance because it had ceased receiving subsidies from the national authorities. Christians’ concerns about the Iraqi national government, and their more positive relationship with the Iraqi Kurdish government, are not new, however. The Islamic State, a militant Sunni Islamist organization,
was early this year among the statements are not enough. sistance,” given “the number rebels fighting in the Syrian There should be deeds and of refugees and displaced peoArchimandrite ple.” civil war, but it spread its op- practices,” erations to Iraq in the spring, Youkhana said. When he returned from The day prior, the bishops Iraq, Cardinal Filoni told and took control of Mosul and swaths of territory in north of Mosul — gathered across CNA that because Christians denominations after being in Iraq are unarmed, “it is necand west Iraq in June. In mid-July, the Islam- forced out of their city — as- essary that someone — in this ic State effectively expelled sembled in the Erbil suburb of case the legitimate authorithousands of Christians, Yazi- Ankawa for a meeting under ties of the country — should dis, and Shia Muslims from its the leadership of Chaldean defend minorities, especially territory, which it declared to Patriarch Sako. those most in danger.” The bishops showed their be a caliphate. Despite Cardinal Filoni’s On July 11 — one meeting with Masum week before the ul— and his delivery he reality is that Christians have to him of a message timatum which drareceived no support from the from Pope Francis — matically increased the numbers fleeing central government. They have done noth- Archbishop Warda’s Mosul — Archbish- ing for them, absolutely nothing.” comments this month op Warda had told evidence that nothing Aid to the Church in has changed in BaghNeed that the regional gov- gratitude to Iraqi Kurdistan dad. ernment of Iraqi Kurdistan “for receiving and embracing “Our people have been was welcoming the fleeing the displaced families, provid- abandoned,” he said. Christians, and that they had ing them with the necessary The bishop also charged aids,” contrasting this with that the Iraqi government a future there. “Not only is there security their statement to the national has provided assistance to here, but the government is government that “we are wait- displaced Muslims, while neprepared to listen to our con- ing for practical acts to reas- glecting the needs of displaced cerns. This became evident in sure our people, not for state- Christians, and that Muslim the present refugee crisis,” the ments of condemnation and leaders in the country “have archbishop told Aid to the denouncement.” thus far failed to unequivoIn mid-August, Pope Fran- cally condemn the violence Church in Need. “The Kurdish government has opened cis sent Cardinal Fernando carried out in the name of Filoni, a former apostolic Islam, and the ejection of all the borders to Christians.” Fewer than two weeks nuncio to Iraq, to serve as his Christians from their ancient later, on July 23, a local ab- personal envoy to the area. He Biblical homeland,” Aid to the bot, Archimandrite Emanuel spent most of his time in Er- Church in Need reported. Youkhana, wrote that “public bil, where he met with both More than 120,000 Chrisrelations” statements made by Masoud Barzani, president tians fled Mosul and other the Iraqi government — such of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Fuad towns in Nineveh province for as its statement “we are all Masum, president of Iraq. cities in Iraqi Kurdistan this According to the Kurdish summer. In total, there are more Iraqis and all Iraq is ours” — is akin to “a person who is issu- outlet “Rudaw,” Barzani told than 1.2 million internally dising bank checks but he doesn’t Cardinal Filoni that “it is the placed persons in the country. duty of the Kurdistan Regionhave a bank account.” Archbishop Warda said the “Nice words and sympathy al Government to protect and displaced Christians in his epsupport displaced Christians, archy and in Dohuk province Yazidis and other religious are increasingly concerned for and ethnic groups seeking ref- their future, after being away uge in the Kurdistan Region.” from their homes for two Barzani added, however, months now. that the regional government He reported many feel besaid. The diocese attributed the “cannot provide adequate astrayed, and are likely to emiviolence to Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group with a somewhat undefined leadership and structure. The organization is in the fifth year of a violent campaign that has included bombings, attacks on churches, assassinations and abductions in an effort to overthrow the Nigerian government and create an Islamist state. The recent raids also have displaced local government officials, throwing the region into chaos as the insurgents have taken over government buildings. The violence has forced thousands of Catholics to flee the region and has delayed the start of the school year, Father Obasogie said.
“T
Insurgents have destroyed 186 churches, Nigerian diocese says
LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) — Nearly 200 churches in the Maiduguri Diocese in northeastern Nigeria have been destroyed or razed by Boko Haram insurgents since August, a diocesan official said. Father Gideo Obasogie, director of social communications in the diocese, said in a recently released statement that violence has affected 186 churches in 14 parishes in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Some parishes lost as many as 25 churches and worship sites, Father Obasogie said. “As a Church, we are really going through a severe moment of persecution. Our ecclesiastical circumscription is facing a sharp disintegration,” the priest
grate. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the country’s Christian population has already plummeted, from about 1.5 million to 400,000. “We visit the tents every day and speak to the people we are helping and they say they would like to go back to their homes immediately,” Archbishop Warda said. “But how can you live again among the people who were your neighbors who have betrayed you?” One Catholic who left Mosul told the bishop that he had seen video footage of his neighbor, whom he had considered a friend, pulling down the cross of a former church. He also told of another Christian who left Mosul who was phoned by a former neighbor to tell him he had entered his home and had taken all his cash, giving half to the Islamic State and keeping the other half for himself. Archbishop Warda’s eparchy is coordinating food and shelter relief for the displaced, with the aid of international agencies. “Church agencies have been here helping us since day one and they remain with the people long after the headlines have moved on to something different,” he said. Aid to the Church in Need and the Knights of Columbus have given more than $1 million to aid Christians in Iraq, and substantial aid has also been provided by Caritas agencies and Catholic Relief Services. “The crisis that has hit Christians from Mosul and Nineveh is not just a shock,” Archbishop Warda concluded. “It is for us genocide. All voices have acknowledged that this is a crime against humanity.”
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The Church in the U.S.
October 17, 2014
Annual guide offers help in finding authentic Catholic colleges Manassas, Va. (CNA) — The Cardinal Newman Society’s 2015 Catholic college guide offers information about more than two dozen colleges, universities and other programs, with new features to help prospective students find a good fit. “Every year, parents tell us how the guide is setting students on a firm path for the future, whether it leads to religious vocations, Marriages or professions,” the guide’s managing editor Adam Wilson said recently. “We are thrilled to make this resource available to Catholic families for the eighth year!” “The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College” profiles 20 Catholic colleges and universities, emphasizing those that show “their faithful Catholic identity.” Profiles include an overview and information on academics, residence life, student activities and Spiritual life, as well as campus photos. The guide also examines seven international and online programs. This year’s guide adds a “Recruit Me” program to allow Catholic institutions to compete for prospective students. The institutions will compete to appeal to students who fill out a short form at the Newman
Guide website and try to convince them that their program is the best fit. Wilson said the new recruitment program helps show how the Newman Guide “makes it easy for Catholic families and students to explore a wide variety of options for faithful Catholic education, finding the institution that best suits their needs.” The book version of the guide explores unique aspects of the profiled colleges and universities. It includes financial and career development information. A free online version of the guide includes the book’s content plus 400 pages of information, videos, social media links, photos, and other information. The online version includes a chart with information about the institutions’ percentage of students and faculty members who are Catholic, the number of majors provided, and religious information like the availability of Confession and the Tridentine Latin Mass, as well as an institution’s social rules like visiting hours in dormitories for members of the opposite sex. The Cardinal Newman Society has also produced a magazine as a companion to the guide, “My Future, My Faith,” which discusses the transition from high school to college and gives advice on topics like deciding on the right college, how to write the best application essay, how to keep one’s faith in college and recommended rules for campus dating. The guide is available at the website TheNewmanGuide.com.
Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, gestures as he gives the keynote address during the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s 2014 recent national assembly in Atlanta. More than 750 Vincentians, the largest turnout in more than 13 years, attended the gathering, with some coming from as far away as Puerto Rico. (CNS photo/Lee Depkin, Georgia Bulletin)
Speaker: Feeding needy not just about food, it’s about a place at table
ATLANTA (CNS) — They came from different states. They spanned a wide range of ages. Their backgrounds were varied. But all who gathered for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s 2014 national assembly in Atlanta shared one common mission: to learn how to better serve those who most need their help. More than 750 Vincentians — the largest turnout in more than 13 years — attended the annual assembly coming from as far away as Puerto Rico. The recent conference featured workshops, committee meetings and national and local keynote speakers. Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, gave the keynote speech during a lunch. Since Bolling founded the food bank in 1979, the organization has grown to distribute more than 35 million pounds of food and grocery products each year through a network of 600 local and regional partner nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry across the state. Bolling spoke of the importance of the table, pointing out that even in the Bible, many of the stories of Jesus take place around a table. Feeding those in need is about more than just food, he said. “The table was the place to be with people. For me, more important than doing for people was to be with people,” he said. “The idea of starting a food bank was to have more of those tables — more of those places where we would meet to be with each other. To listen — to really find out more deeply what those issues were.” Bolling also said it’s important to change the public mindset about people in need.
“There’s this idea that if you’re poor, you must be a bad person. If you’re poor, you must be a bad parent. If you’re poor, you must be lazy and not want to work. Do you know that more than 50 percent of the people who come to us and need food are people who are working?” he said. “If you’re getting up every day and going to work and you’re keeping your end of the social contract, but you’re still not able to put food on the table, there’s something wrong with that.” Above all, Bolling said, it is critical to treat the poor with respect. “St. Vincent de Paul has always been a safe, welcoming place. St. Vincent de Paul has treated people with dignity. You have done the work of being with, not just for,” he said. “You’ve been conscious that we don’t know when we’re going to be serving Jesus, or when Jesus is going to be walking in that door, or if Jesus is going to be hungry or depressed or out of a job. “We don’t know who’s going to walk through that door, but we’re called to serve.” For many of those who attended the conference, the gathering was an opportunity to learn from other Vincentians. Cheryle Horan from St. Augustine, Fla., became Catholic in 2008 and has only been involved with the society for a year. “I’ve always felt a call to serve the poor. I’ve always been interested in their stories. I thought I was poor when I was growing up until I met an actual poor person, and then I realized I’m actually quite blessed,” she said. “Serving with St. Vincent de Paul, you really get to know people. You get to know their
stories. And you take away so much more than you give,” she told The Georgia Bulletin, newspaper of the Atlanta Archdiocese. Throughout the week, there were discussions about getting young people involved in the organization. A group who attended from St. John’s University in the New York borough of Queens said it’s about showing their peers the importance of what they do. “The Vincentians have a unique way of doing service that really offers dignity to the people we serve and shows we’re all equal. That’s what attracts me to the work,” said Chris Pallucio, 19. His fellow student, Shana Joseph, 19, said serving with St. Vincent de Paul allows them to connect on a deeper level. “Being a part of St. Vincent de Paul makes you a family. And the way to carry out the mission of our family is in serving others,” she said. “We’re really forming a community. Sometimes people are a little hesitant to get involved, but after their first experience, they fall in love.” John Berry, chief executive officer of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, said the assembly was a chance to show other Vincentians the important work that members are doing throughout the state. He said the group was able was able to highlight what they’ve done in the state and hopefully provide “both inspiration and practical guidance” for other groups around the country. St. Vincent de Paul Georgia marked its 100th anniversary during what was the national society’s 100th assembly.
October 17, 2014
The Church in the U.S.
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Authors of new almanac hope to save America’s Catholic heritage
A man walks past a mural of St. Francis of Assisi at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Ariz., on the eve of the saint’s feast and the day of his death. Each year the Franciscan community celebrates the “transitus” service marking the saint’s passing from earth to everlasting life. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
U.S. bishops emphasize traditional Marriage after Supreme Court action
WASHINGTON (CNS) — After the Supreme Court October 6 declined to review rulings overturning five states’ bans on same-sex marriage, several U.S. bishops criticized the court’s inaction and reiterated that according to Church teaching, traditional Marriage is a union between one man and one woman. Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said the court’s failure to review the Circuit Court decisions was “deeply disappointing.” “Marriage is not merely a human institution that can simply be redefined at will, but one established by our Creator and necessary for human flourishing. Children deserve a mother and a father who are committed to a faithful and permanent union,” he said. North Carolina Bishops Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte and Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh said in a statement: “Millions of Americans have looked to the Supreme Court to put this issue to rest by supporting Marriage as being between one man and one woman. We know from our Catholic teaching that Marriage is a permanent, faithful and fruitful covenant joining a man and a woman. It is our duty to continue to affirm Marriage in this way, and it is our hope that the Supreme Court will ultimately agree.” The Colorado Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, said the court’s failure to review the rulings was “disappointing and advances a misunderstanding of the institution of Marriage.” The statement said that the court declining “to act will have a lasting and profound effect on the family structure.” “Our desire is for people of good will to continue to grow in
the truth and joy of Marriage, so that when society begins to see the bad fruits of this decision, our families and the Church will be there as joyful witnesses of the truth about the family and human sexuality,” it added. Colorado’s bishops also said the situation shows how important it is for Catholics to be “involved in political life” and speak the truth about human sexuality, Marriage and the human person. The bishops of Indiana said it was unfortunate that the Supreme Court “did not take up the cases and respect the will of people of Indiana and other states.” In a statement by the Indiana Catholic Conference, the bishops said that although “same-sex marriage may be legal in Indiana, the Church is not obligated to solemnize such ceremonies and will not change its teaching.” Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, said that “there is still a possibility that other appeals courts will rule differently and therefore the U.S. Supreme Court will have to resolve the issue.” The Virginia Catholic Conference said the Supreme Court’s decision to decline to review the ruling that overturned Virginia’s law “reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the intrinsic nature of Marriage and represents an injustice to more than a million Virginia voters, whose decision was to enshrine the understanding of Marriage as the union of one man and one woman into our state’s constitution.” The state’s bishops said they will “continue to affirm the truth about Marriage, the lifelong union of one man and one woman, as well as its essential importance to the common good. As pastors, teachers, and faith leaders, we can do nothing less. It is
our fervent hope that the Supreme Court will reconsider this fundamental issue in the future.” On October 7, three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the bans in Idaho and Nevada violated the equal protection rights of same-sex couples to legally marry. A day later, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy temporarily blocked the ruling allowing same-sex marriages in Idaho, after state authorities requested an emergency stay. According to the Associated Press, the delay is expected to last just a few days. About five hours later, Kennedy clarified that the stay applies only to Idaho, not to Nevada, which did not request such an injunction. A statement from Bishop Randolph R. Calvo of Reno, Nev., said the appeals court decision “does not change the fact that the Roman Catholic Church has consistently taught and will uphold that Marriage is a covenant of life and love between one man and one woman which is open to procreation and is faithful and permanent in nature.” He added that Catholic teaching about Marriage “is not a judgment about persons who experience same-sex attraction, but a statement about how the Church has always understood the nature of Marriage itself.” “While the Church has been forthright in its longstanding teaching on Marriage, it has likewise taught that every person has an inherent dignity,” he added. Bishop Calvo noted that “our gay sisters and brothers — members of our families, our communities and our churches — are beloved children of God who deserve to be treated with respect, sensitivity and compassion.”
Denver (CNA) — “Is the Catholic Church good for America?” That was the question recently posed to Americans on the streets of major cities across the United States by the nonprofit advocacy group CatholicVote.org. It is also the challenge CatholicVote.org takes up its new book “The American Catholic Almanac.” “There (is) a serious deficiency or a serious lack of appreciation for the role that religion, more generally, but Catholicism, in particular, has played in the history of our country,” explained CatholicVote.org president Brian Burch in a recent interview with CNA. “If you look at the relevancy of the Catholic faith to every area of American life, there’s sports, movies, schools, Church, state. You have all these people whose Catholic faith was central to them playing a role in the development and history of American culture.” “The American Catholic Almanac” hit bookstores last week, offering 365 page-long reflections on U.S. clergy, religious and lay people who have played a role in the nation’s culture and history. The book explores the Catholic roots or influences of some of the most wellknown movers and shakers in U.S. history. Included are profiles of Catholics and prominent non-Catholics who were strongly influenced by Catholicism during their lives. Some names are familiar, such as Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Thomas Jefferson and Cesar Chavez. Others are a bit more surprising: Andy Warhol, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, and past Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. “We thought we knew what stories we were going to tell,” said co-author Emily Stimpson. “But, what we discovered was that what we knew barely scratched the surface of the American Catholic story.” One of Stimpson’s favorite stories is that of 19th century laywoman Margaret Haughery, who is remembered as “the mother of the orphans” in New Orleans. Haughery was a penniless, illiterate widow who ended up donat-
ing more than $600,000 during her lifetime to orphans in the city. “It wasn’t hard to find the Catholics who did amazing things,” Stimpson said. “But, what was shocking was how their stories haven’t been preserved. There are so many great stories that are in danger of being lost that we were able to include in this book.” “That was a great joy because these lay people deserve to be known. They’re real witnesses to the New Evangelization and to American Catholics today.” Burch’s favorite story is that of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, who lived most of his life struggling with his Catholic faith. The almanac details Hitchcock’s emotional reception of Holy Communion on his deathbed. “I don’t think you can understand his storytelling through movies without recognizing that it was related to the Catholic sensibilities that he had,” Burch said. “The sense of mystery, the sense of sin and darkness and redemption.” “That is part of the rich tapestry of the faith manifested in movie-making that he was able to give to the American public,” he added. Burch and Stimpson said they hope the book inspires modern Catholics to defend religion in the United States. “We can’t appreciate what we have when we don’t know where we come from,” Stimpson explained. “And if we can’t appreciate what we have, we’re not going to fight to preserve it. We’re not going to treasure it.” Burch said the idea for the almanac developed from watching U.S. Catholics respond to the federal contraception mandate. “We recognize that part of this fight over religious liberty is not just a question of laws and policies and court judgments, but also a part of a cultural struggle,” Burch said. “One of the best ways to recover some of this cultural inheritance is to tell stories.” “ The American Catholic Almanac” is available in stores and online. For more information, visit www. americancatholicalmanac. com.
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October 17, 2014
Anchor Editorial
Praying for peace, working for justice in our hearts
“If you want peace, work for justice.” These words of Pope Paul VI were quoted by Bishop Edgar da Cunha at the annual Mass for Peace, celebrated on Columbus Day evening at St. Anne’s Church in Fall River. The bishop stressed that achieving peace is not something that can just be wished for and then acquired. He said, “I have never met a person who does not like peace. The problem is that people don’t know where to find it.” The evening’s Mass was that of Our Lady of Peace and the bishop spoke of her as the epitome of a peaceful and peace-filled person. “Peace can only come when we open our hearts, our minds to allow the gift of peace that comes from the Lord, as it did in the life of Mary. We will have peace when we all, like Mary, take the Word of God into our hearts. When we accept God’s Word, God’s challenge, then we will have peace.” For that to happen, we need to convert, the bishop stressed repeatedly. We need to change from focusing on ourselves to focusing on the common good. Like Mary, “we need to say to ourselves, to our brothers and sisters and to the world, ‘I am the servant of the Lord.’” Quoting again from Pope Paul VI (in the 1965 encyclical, “Mense Maio,” “On prayers during May for Preservation of Peace”), Bishop da Cunha said, “Peace comes from Heaven. It will truly reign among men when we have finally proved ourselves worthy to receive this gift from Almighty God.” The bishop then added, “When we are living in peace, when we are filled with peace, then it will catch on, it will continue spreading.” The bishop then made an allusion to the current panic about Ebola and said, “We’re all afraid of contagious viruses, but maybe we can contaminate each other with the virus of peace. Peace and harmony are gifts of God that we must all pray for and work for everyday.” In Portuguese the bishop said that that evening’s peace procession and Mass were a “sign of our desire to be constructors of a more peaceful world.” He then spoke again about the conflict between our individual desires and the common good, and yet when a child is born, “you worry more for your child than for yourself. This is a gift
of peace, this motherly generosity.” The bishop then reminded the congregation that we need to have that attitude of generosity towards all people. Unfortunately, paraphrasing the “Our Father,” our attitude is often “my will be done,” not God’s will. The bishop then recalled seeing the sign carried by one of the groups in the procession (which you can see on page one of this Anchor), where St. Francis of Assisi is quoted, “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.” He then asked, “Am I ready, am I available to be an instrument of peace?” The bishop warned, “Peace will not come if we do nothing. We won’t find it if we’re not finding it inside of ourselves.” He reminded everyone earlier that they will not be able to have that inner peace if they are being exploitative, abusive or corrupt. Instead they need to learn the Lord’s justice, which always demands solidarity amongst people. The bishop quoted Psalm 119:165; “Great peace have they who love Your law, O Lord.” In other words, we will not find peace without following God’s law. Today (Friday) we celebrate St. Ignatius of Antioch. He wrote, “Take heed often to come together to give thanks to God and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith. Nothing is more precious than peace, by which all war, in Heaven and earth, is brought to an end.” Bishop da Cunha thanked the hundreds of people, together with their pastors, who gathered Monday night to pray together for peace, walking the streets of Fall River and then filling St. Anne’s Church. May the readers of The Anchor, wherever they are, join with them in praying for this intention, including within that prayer openness to the Holy Spirit, Who will point out to us those areas in our own lives where we need to change, where we need to allow God’s will (and not our own) to be done, so that Christ’s peace might be contagious in our world. As the Archangel Gabriel said to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible for God.”
Pope Francis’ Angelus address of October 12 Dear brothers and sisters, In the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus speaks to us of the answer given to God’s invitation to participate in a wedding banquet; God is represented by a king. The invitation has three fundamental characteristics: gratuitousness, amplitude, and universality. There are many who are invited, but something surprising
happens. None of those chosen decides to go to the celebration. They have other things to do. Moreover, some show indifference and even annoyance. God is good to us. He freely offers us His friendship. He offers His joy, Salvation. But so often we don’t welcome His gifts. We put our material preoccupations, our own interests, OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER
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in first place. Some of those invited even mistreat and kill the servants who bring the invitation. But despite the lack of response from those called, God’s project is not impeded. Faced with rejection from those called first, He is not discouraged. He does not cancel the celebration but rather re-extends the invitation, expanding it beyond any reasonable limits, and sends His servants to the plazas and the crossroads to gather up everyone they encounter. We’re talking about common people, the poor, the abandoned, the disinherited, even “good ones and bad ones.” Even the evil are invited, without distinction. And the banquet hall is filled with these “excluded ones.” The Gospel, rejected by some, finds a surprising welcome in so many hearts. The goodness of God does not have limits and does not discriminate against anyone. That’s
why the banquet of the gifts of the Lord is universal, universal for everyone. He gives everyone the possibility of responding to His invitation, to His call, to His path. No one has the right to feel privileged or to claim exclusivity. All of this moves us to overcome the habit of placing ourselves comfortably at the center, as the leaders of the priests and pharisees did. This shouldn’t be done. We have to open ourselves to the peripheries, recognizing as well that the one at the margins, even the one rejected and despised by society, is the object of God’s generosity. All of us are called to avoid reducing the Kingdom of God to within the limits of our “little church,” our “tiny little church.” That doesn’t work. But rather to expand the Church to the dimensions of the Kingdom of God. Within this there is a condition: to put on the wedding garment. That is, to give concrete
testimony of concrete charity to God and to neighbor. We entrust to the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin the turmoils and the hopes of so many of our brothers and sisters, excluded, weak, rejected, despised. Also those who are persecuted because of their faith. We invoke her protection over the work of the synod of bishops gathered these days in the Vatican. [After praying the Angelus:] Dear brothers and sisters, this morning in the city of Sassari, Father Francesco Zirano of the Conventual Franciscans, was beatified. He chose to be assassinated rather than to deny his faith. We give thanks to God for this priest-martyr, a heroic witness of the Gospel. His courageous fidelity to Christ was an act of great eloquence, especially for these times of brutal persecution against Christians.
October 17, 2014
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n Sunday, Pope Francis will beatify his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, the one who guided the Church when Jorgé Bergoglio was a seminarian, young priest and Jesuit religious superior. It’s multiply significant that the beatification will take place this Sunday. The Mass will conclude the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family and it was Pope Paul VI who established the Synod of Bishops in 1965. It was also he who, out of pastoral zeal to keep love truly loving within the family, wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968 describing the corruption that would come to marital love, to women and to family life through the use of contraception. It’s taking place in the month dedicated to Mary under her title of Our Lady of the Rosary; Pope Paul VI wrote four major documents on Marian devotion and sought very much to encourage families to pray the Rosary. It’s World Mission Sunday and Pope Paul VI wrote the Magna Carta on the Church’s missionary work, Evangelii Nuntiandi, the 1975 exhortation that Pope Francis has called “the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written.” It’s lastly the 40th anniversary of his first encyclical Ecclesiam Suam, describing the principles of the Church’s interaction with the modern world.
Anchor Columnist A lighthouse in turbulent seas His beatification this Sunday because he had been betrayed by therefore gives the Church today false information from the person a rich context as we seek prayerhe had placed in charge of the fully to care for the family in Liturgical reforms. light of the demands of the New The legion of Catholics Evangelization. who used contraception spoke The beatification of a pope derisively of what he wrote in recognizes his personal heroic Humanae Vitae. virtue and of at least one miracle Those who believed that he God has granted through his should have disciplined those intercession — in his case, the healing of a California child in utero in the late 1990s after Putting Into his mother was urged to the Deep abort. It’s not a beatification of his papacy, By Father although it certainly Roger J. Landry provides an opportunity to re-examine his papacy through the light of his personal holiness. teaching falsely or living in a I think in Pope Paul VI’s case, manner unworthy of the Gospel this reevaluation is important arraigned him as a weak leader. to do, because to a large degree He was criticized by right and criticism of his papacy, most of it left, by curialists and secularists, unjustified, has jaundiced opinion and basically portrayed as pusilof his person. lanimous rather than valiant. The only thing I remember of But over the course of my the pope of my first eight years seminary studies and work in the was news of his death. But when Vineyard, I have grown to see later I started to pay attention him in a much different light. to the things of the Church and He was pope during one of learn from the opinions of older the most tumultuous periods in Catholics, most of the evaluations the history of the Church. He of Paul VI I heard were negative. had to confront various crises Those who lamented the simultaneously, from the Cold Liturgical chaos after the Second and Vietnam Wars, to the asVatican Council spoke disapsassination of so many political provingly of various changes he leaders, the inhumane poverty authorized, many of which we of various parts of the world, the now know he sanctioned only hemorrhaging of vocations to
Bishops urge support of ballot casino repeal
bers are inflated. He said of casinos, “They don’t live up to BOSTON — Casino ty- their promises on jobs or revcoons assure Bay Staters that enue.” Those who want to repeal they will bring jobs and revenue here, but opponents the gaming law say casinos call their pledge a bluff. The divert money from the lottery people opposed to expanded and local businesses. In a report released Octogaming in Massachusetts, including the four Catholic ber 8, the Yes on 3 campaign bishops, urge citizens to vote noted that 20 percent of lot“Yes” on Question 3, which tery proceeds go to local cities would overturn the 2011 law and towns, but casinos return that establishes three casinos only two percent of their take and one slots parlor. Question to municipalities. Multiple 3 will appear on ballots state- studies show that when casinos open, state lottery revewide on November 4. Gov. Deval Patrick initial- nue drops by nearly a quarter, ly promised that the casino which would cost Massachulaw would bring 50,000 jobs. setts $103 million annually. Now, the Coalition to Protect Casinos are projected to disMass. Jobs, formed in opposi- tribute only $85 million in lotion to Question 3, promises cal aid. Those who support casinos 10,000 permanent jobs. “They’ve already dialed say the effect on the lottery back from the promises they would be short-lived. They made only a short while ago,” add that tax revenue will go said John Ribeiro, chairman directly to the state as well as of “Yes on 3,” adding that he municipalities and that casibelieves even the new num- nos’ host communities would By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent
receive annual payments of tens of millions of dollars. According to its opponents, expanded gambling also comes at a price — increased rates of bankruptcy, crime, divorce and suicide. A federal study shows that gambling addiction rates double within 50 miles of a casino. Casinos also draw crowds that disproportionately belong to society’s lowest income brackets. “It’s an industry that preys on the weakest among us, the people who can least afford it,” said James Driscoll, executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the public policy arm for the four bishops in the state. “The bright lights, the glitz and glamor are attractive,” he said. “The promise and excitement of instant riches in reality just doesn’t happen.” In their September 15 statement supporting Question 3, the four bishops of Turn to page 15
the priesthood and religious life, the corruption of sexual abuse that was clandestinely occurring within the Church, the sexual revolution, and the vast crisis of faith that impacted so many areas of Church teaching and life. Whereas some of his approaches can be second-guessed, he sought to do everything he could to help guide the Church through the storm. In 1972, he publicly admitted what, or better whom, he knew he was up against. “From some fissure,” he stated, “the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God. There has been an intervention of an adverse power [whose] name is the devil” and he was seeking to “disturb, to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council, and to impede the Church from breaking into the hymn of joy at having renewed in fullness its awareness of itself.” It was Satan, he said, who was ultimately behind the Liturgical “creativity” that was wreckovating churches and making the priest, rather than God, the center of the Liturgy; the lack of trust in the Church and the gullible credence given to the “first profane prophet who speaks in some journal or social movement”; the “doubt that had entered consciences by windows that should have been open to
7 the light”; and the tempests, darkness and uncertainty that was reigning in the Church and in culture. Paul VI fought the devil hard and never gave up, never lost hope, even if often he appeared weary. He saw his mission at the time of confusion to “strengthen the faith of his brethren,” the task Jesus Himself gave to Peter, with the certitude of the truths of faith, even if the seeds fell on unreceptive soil. In his testament published after his death, he said two things that all of us should ponder as we mark his beatification this Sunday. They’re as relevant today as when he wrote them facing death. Regarding the state of the Church, he said, “May she listen to a few of our words, uttered with seriousness and love for her.” And regarding the world, he added, “Do not think the Church can help it by assuming its thoughts, customs, and tastes, but rather by studying it, loving it, serving it.” His beatification is an opportunity for us to study anew his words and to study and serve the world, not by assimilating its spirit or “smoke,” but leavening it with the Spirit of the Gospel with which he lived heroically. Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.
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he theme for this year’s Mission Sunday celebration is “I will build my Church.” Annually on the next to last Sunday in October the entire Church celebrates World Mission Sunday. Its purpose is threefold — to recognize and pray for those who work as missionaries, raise funds to support mission work and to remind us of our vocation to be missionaries. The monies obtained in this collection are distributed throughout the world. A group of national directors meet in Rome, study requests and then allocate funds according to the needs of different dioceses. The collection helps: 9,000 clinics caring for the sick and dying; 10,000 orphanages providing a place of safety and shelter; 900,000 children in some of the poorest parts of the world receiving an education and the
October 17, 2014
We are all missionaries
knowledge of God’s great they be our neighbor or love; 80,000 seminarians complete strangers. This preparing for the priesthood is the informal preaching and 9,000 religious Sisters which takes place in the and Brothers in the formamiddle of a conversation, tion process. something along the lines These funds are apporof what a missionary does tioned to many dioceses but especially Homily of the Week to the 1,150 mission Twenty-ninth Sunday dioceses in Africa and Asia where the in Ordinary Time poorest of the poor World Mission Sunday receive an education By Msgr. and health care. John J. Oliveira As we assist and pray for missionaries this weekend, we should when visiting a home. Being also acknowledge our role as a disciple means being conmissionaries. stantly ready to bring the In Pope Francis’s encyclilove of Jesus to others, and cal entitled the “Joy of the this can happen unexpectGospel,” he mentions that: edly and in any place; on “Today as the Church seeks the street, in the city square, to experience a profound during work, on a journey.” missionary renewal, there is This missionary activity can a kind of preaching which be carried out at school, in a falls to each of us as a daily nursing home, or hospital as responsibility. It has to do well. We can be missionaries with bringing the Gospel to everywhere. the people we meet, whether In a recent presentation,
Pope Francis, speaking of the Church, noted that the Apostles were the first messengers of the Gospel. He said: “If the Church is born Catholic, it means that she was born to go forth, missionary. If the Apostles had stayed in the Cenacle without going out to preach the Gospel, the Church would have remained there, in that city, in that country. But they went forth. An Apostle spreads the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection.” Mother Teresa occasionally would write little thoughts on paper when she received them. She explains our responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in an interesting way. She stated that often you can see power lines running alongside the street. But, she reminds us that unless current is flowing through
them, there is no light. She suggests that the power line is you and me! The current is God! We have the power either to allow the current to flow through us and thus to generate the light of the world — Jesus — or to refuse to be used and thus to allow the darkness to spread. This Mission Sunday, let us not only support the work of the Pontifical Missionary Societies, but let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of His Spirit, so that every Christian community and each of us may be an expression of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. May each of us radiate the love of God and the light of Christ. Let us not only pray and support missionaries, but let us be missionaries ourselves. Msgr. Oliveira is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Off ice.
Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 18, 2 Tm 4:10-17b; Ps 145:10-13,17-18; Lk 10:1-9. Sun. Oct. 19, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Is 45:1,46; Ps 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thes 1:1-5b; Mt 22:15-21. Mon. Oct. 20, Eph 2:1-10; Ps 100:1b-5; Lk 12:13-21. Tues. Oct. 21, Eph 2:12-22; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 12:35-38. Wed. Oct. 22, Eph 3:2-12; (Ps) Is 12:2-3,4c-6; Lk 12:39-48. Thurs. Oct. 23, Eph 3:14-21; Ps 33:1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19; Lk 12:49-53. Fri. Oct. 24, Eph 4:1-6; Ps 24:1-4b,5-6; Lk 12:54-59.
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had never done this previously in my 70 years of living, though it is not unheard of in my own family. Several years ago, while on a visit to my family, my mother related in her comical fashion how she had awakened in the middle of the night thinking that a burglar was coming in through the kitchen window. It was my younger brother who had arrived home late after the door was locked. Now here I was at 7:30 a.m. trying to get in through a jalousie window at the rear of Dolly’s house. Dolly had accidently locked herself out
Kalaupapa, window of opportunity
of her house when leaving for managed to drag my second leg across the sill. Then I slid morning Mass. So I decided down onto a chair on the to do my very first “burglar act” in going through that window. After we removed the lower half of the parallel glass panels, we rigged up a makeshift platform and I made By Father my move. I managed Patrick Killilea, SS.CC. to get one leg across the window sill and found myself stradinside and quickly unlocked dling the sill which was not the adjacent door. I had taken exactly comfortable ... if you advantage of this window of get what I mean. However, opportunity. I luckily suffered no bodily This was the culmination of harm and with great difficulty
Moon Over Molokai
an exciting week, Kalaupapa style. On Wednesday evening we had celebrated the reopening of the renovated community pool hall with a blessing and a ribbon cutting by none other than 90-years-young, John Arruda. He had come from his home in Kauai to visit with us for a few weeks. In my prayer of blessing I reminded the billiard players that the cue sticks are to be used to play pool and not as weapons. You see we have some sturdy workers here from Topside who are descended from ancient Hawaiian warriors. After some of our present-day warriors displayed their skills at the pool table, it was time to partake of the abundant food provided pot luck style and washed down by Mr. Heineken and Miss Corona. Such a pleasant get together is indeed a window of opportunity to build our local community. The next day we hosted 72 pilgrims of the Equestrian
Order. When I first learned that equestrians were coming, I wondered if they would bring along horses. Then I learned that these generous men and women have dedicated themselves to helping the churches in the Holy Land. Bishop Silva led the pilgrimage to Kalawao and Bishop Michael Barber from California was the main celebrant of Mass and the homilist at St. Damien’s church, St. Philomena. After a delicious meal at McVeigh Hall our pilgrims left us to take to the friendly skies of Kalaupapa. As of this writing a second group of 62 Equestrians is expected to visit us on Monday. We are blessed to have these pilgrims join us for a day and they enjoy the opportunity to learn about our two saints, Damien and Marianne, through this window of opportunity which we call Kalaupapa. Aloha. Anchor columnist Father Killilea, SS.CC., is pastor of St. Francis, Kalaupapa, Hawaii.
9 Anchor Columnists In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed … and the rest is history October 17, 2014
13 October 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — Columbus Day ou know me, dear readers, I’m a great fan of history. I learned early-on that young George Washington, a stickler for honesty even as a boy, confessed to his father that he had chopped down the cherry tree. On Washington’s Birthday (he actually had a birthday before they invented this new-fangled “Presidents Day”) my teacher would decorate our classroom with profiles of Washington and cardboard pictures of cherries. The problem was that George Washington did no such thing. It’s a fabrication. So what? Why would anyone let the facts get in the way of history? Moving backward, everybody knows Christopher Columbus discovered America. Please don’t be dissuaded by the fact that he never set foot in what is now the continental United States or the fact that he died convinced he had sailed west to Asia four times. Perhaps nobody thought to inform the admiral he was not in Asia but in the “New World.” Don’t fault Columbus if he happened to be a little confused. Actually, there had been
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hose who follow the news — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — understand that something is taking place in Rome, something to do with Marriage. While synods are not that uncommon in the life of the Church, many have the impression that something extraordinary is happening, and that what the Church teaches may actually change. This is because — we are told — the Church has finally realized that its doctrine is unlivable. Men and women cannot be expected to conform to the Catholic prescriptions of chastity and fidelity. They are simply too demanding. What are those doctrines that are so challenging? The Church teaches — and has always taught — that one reserves sexual intimacy for Marriage, and that once married one stays married. Our grandmothers would have been distressed to know that these ideas were controversial, so the question must be: “What has changed in the 50 years since
sel either but its nickname. plenty of visitors to the New A man named Juan Nina World before Columbus sailed into town — the Norse, owned it. The surname Nina translates as “the little girl.” the Portuguese, the Celts, It would have been better if it and Phoenicians are among had been called by its actual the possibilities. The Native name. The carvel called the Americans themselves must have come from someplace long before other visitors began to arrive. The Ship’s Log Reflections of a Sorry, Columbus, you’ll have to get in line. Parish Priest At least in 1492, By Father Tim Columbus proved Goldrick once and for all that the world was round. Actually, everybody already knew that. It had been Nina was the Santa Clara. mathematically posited by the Columbus, then, sailed in the Greeks more than 2,000 years Santa Clara, the Pinta, and the Gellega? No. Pinta is also a before Columbus and proven nickname. We don’t know the by Aristotle 200 years after actual name of the caravel the Pythagoras. sailors called the Pinta. Pinta At least we know that can mean “pint.” Pint-sized? Columbus was the admiral of A pint of what, grog? It can a fleet of three ships — the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa also mean “the painted lady.” We will never know for sure Maria. Actually, we know what painted lady was being that the flagship, the Santa referenced. Columbus sailed Maria, was properly titled the ocean blue in the Little Santa Maria de la Immaculada Girl, The Painted Lady, and Concepción. But it was just a the Gellega. Some historileased ship renamed. The real name was La Gellega, after the cal information is better left sealed in a remote warehouse place it had been built. Does along with dangerous ancient that mean Columbus sailed artifacts. the ocean blue in the Nina, Moving forward, were the the Pinta, and the Gellega? calculations of Columbus Certainly not. The Nina was accurate in terms of the time, not the real name of the ves-
money, and supplies it would take to reach Asia by sailing west? No, Columbus was very wrong. It would have taken much longer, given that there was a whole continent in the way. The crowned heads of Portugal, Spain, and France were correct when they warned Columbus it was a cockamamie idea. He was sent on a suicide mission. At least we know Columbus was from Genoa, Italy. That’s the majority opinion, anyway. Others say no way; he was not Genovese, he was Catalan, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish, Polish, Sardinian, Norwegian, Scottish, or Corsican. I favor the Portuguese/Jewish theory of my late friend, Dr. Manuel da Silva. Nor do we know exactly what Christopher Columbus looked like. Accounts from his day say he had reddish/blonde hair (prematurely grey) light colored eyes, fair skin subject to sunburn; he was physically strong, big-boned, and some six feet or more in height, easily taller than the average man. We will probably never be able to put the ques-
Of math and man
our grandmothers’ generation?” nections in these affairs. Those who care about children must In a nutshell, the sexual acknowledge that their lives do revolution wreaked its havoc on the world, making intimacy not benefit from the disintegration of the family that has sterile and vows hollow. The accrued in the last 50 years. ability to separate sex from babies shifted the fundamental meaning of the sexual embrace from a commitment with consequences to a frivolous pastime. Après ça, le deluge. From that initial By Genevieve Kineke question, two follow. The first is, “Are these changes for the The second question is, good?” Any mere glance at the “Should the Church follow the sociological data in the last 30 years would indicate a firm no. trajectory of the world?” This Divorce rates have skyrocketed, is where most of the confusion lies, because the population sexually-transmitted diseases have multiplied, abortions have that has become accustomed proliferated, fatherless children to current trends has no colare ubiquitous, and the promis- lective memory of another way of life. In the 1992 court cuity trends among children case, “Planned Parenthood are shocking. While there is vs. Casey,” the decision given a single-mindedness among those who separate the actions noted that people “for two decades of economic and social of any individual from the developments, have organized wider drift of culture, prudent intimate relationships and people cannot ignore the con-
The Feminine Genius
made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail.” Although Catholics have cause to deplore the decision, which rejected various proposed restrictions on abortion, the ruling indeed distilled the fundamental mindset of our age: sterile, uncommitted intimacy is sacrosanct. Scripture makes clear that the Church cannot bow to secular conventions, as St. Paul cautioned: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Rom 12:2) or as Chesterton pithily remarked, “Those who marry the Spirit of this age will find themselves widows in the next.” So what do we do for a generation that insists that Church teaching is too demanding, uncharitable, and unlivable? We reject capitulation and insist on that
tions about Columbus to rest. Come to think of it, we haven’t been able to put Columbus himself to rest, either. After 14 years of illness, on 20 May 1506, aged probably 54, Columbus died and was buried in Valladolid, Spain. Modern medical doctors suspect he died of a reactive arthritis of the joints cause by intestinal infection due to food poisoning. Then his body was moved to Seville. Then his body was moved to Santo Domingo. Then his body was moved to Havana. Then his body was moved back to Spain, or maybe not. A lead box (containing bone fragments and inscribed “Don Cristobal Colon”) was discovered at Santo Domingo in 1877. Had all of Christopher Columbus been returned to Spain? Is some of Christopher Columbus still in the Dominican Republic? Is the man who first connected the Old World and the New World buried on both sides of the Atlantic? Where did he come from and where did he go? These questions remain. History must decide. Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.
transformation which makes all things possible. Just as a parent doesn’t coddle a child who finds algebra “impossibly hard,” the Church should lovingly but firmly explain the foundational principles that make authentic chastity entirely possible. Just as reviewing the groundwork for equations — the nature of constants and variables — prepares a student for success in math, reminding the faithful about Divinely revealed truth and God’s passionate love for humanity will allow them to “renew their minds” according to His purpose. And in that equation, while there is nothing so variable as the whims of man to live in a world of his own making, there is nothing so constant as Divine grace which restores him to reality, drawing him back to the love that will set him free. Anchor columnist Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman.” She blogs at feminine-genius. typepad.com.
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October 17, 2014
I
You’re doing good!
t happens every once in nickle and vent. while. And when it does, Lately I’ve been riding that it feels like it happens way too nasty current without putting up often. much of a fight. As much as Jesus The “it” of which I speak refers instructs, “Be not afraid,” and “So to that time in my life when I’m do not worry about tomorrow; swimming against the tide ... and for tomorrow will care for itself. the tide wins. Each day has enough trouble of Not to wax too philosophiits own,” I still am and I still do. cally, but to me, life is a constant Sometimes the worries about swim, more often than not, family, friends, work and the against the tide. But also more often than not, I have the ability — the arm strength, the leg kick, the breath, and the stamina to not only swim against the tide, but actuBy Dave Jolivet ally make headway. Yet, despite my best efforts, sometimes “it” happens. The nasty tide becomes an future get the upper hand. overwhelming current. The arms Sometimes looking at the burn, the legs lose their kick, the world can leave one’s head spinbreath runs out, and the stamina ning faster than the planet is ebbs and I find myself riding that rotating on its axis — the spread current to wherever it’s going, all of Ebola, mystery viruses takthe while fighting to keep my ing small ones away, shootings, head above water. beheadings, the ever-increasing I wish the current led to a refugee populations, and crooked tropical island with warm sandy politicians and policies are rambeaches, but that has yet to happant. pen in my more than half a Plus coming off watching century on earth. No, the current a “Criminal Minds” marathon usually leads to a place that’s cold didn’t help. and dark and scary. I could recently sense the Not wanting to use all of you muscles seizing and the tide as my personal psychiatrists, I’ll rushing about me. take a more casual approach But the Almighty has a way of and utilize Lucy’s shrink couch throwing out a lifeline — often from Charles Schulz’s “Charlie when and where you least expect Brown.” There the doctor “is it. Knowing this weakling was always in,” so I’ll plop down my feeling overwhelmed, the Good
My View From the Stands
Lord put a TV remote in my hand and prompted me to go surfing. I guess it’s ironic that I was being swept away by the tide and He sent me surfing! Looking for something to take my mind off things, I hopped aboard the remote and started surfing. It didn’t take long before I landed on the conclusion of one of my all-time favorite movies, “Evan Almighty.” The scene was God telling Evan, a modern day Noah, “You did good,” and together they did the “happy dance.” This movie always, and I mean always, shows me a God Who is kind, humorous, compassionate, and patient. I needed to see that again, and God, through Morgan Freeman and Steve Carell, resurrected that hope, that faith, and that optimism that “I’m doing good,” and deserve to do the “happy dance” once in a while myself. Three short minutes changed my attitude, brought back the strength in my arms, the kick in my legs, the breath in my lungs and the stamina to start the swim all over again. To all of you losing the swim against the tide right now, remember, “You’re doing good!” Take a minute and do a happy dance. You deserve it, and I’ll meet you back in the water. Dave Jolivet can be contacted at davejolivet@anchornews.org.
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October 17, 2014
Teen Malala’s Nobel prize sparks pride in Pakistani bishop Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Malala Yousafzai has received the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17 — making her the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious award and prompting local Archbishop Joseph Coutts to laud the “great honor” she’s bestowed on the country. The Pakistani teen-ager gained global attention when she was shot in the head by Taliban activists in 2012, at the age of 14, as a punishment for her public campaign for the rights of girls to be educated. She received treatment for her injuries in the United Kingdom, where she continues to reside with her family. Yousafzai has continued to campaign for global access to education. “This award is for all those children who are voiceless, whose voices need to be heard,” Yousafzai told the press following her reception of the reward. “They have the right to receive quality education. They have the right not to suffer from child labor, not to suffer from child trafficking. They have the right to live a happy life.” “Through my story, I want to tell other children all around the world that they should stand up for their rights, that they should not wait for someone else, and their voices are more powerful.” She also said she was “honored” to share the reward with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian activist known know for his work in promoting children’s rights. The announcement of Yousafzai’s reception of the award also came as “wonderful surprise” to Archbishop Coutts, who serves as shepherd of Karachi, Pakistan. “The fact that a young girl like this,” he told CNA, “a teen-
ager, has won the prize, such a prestigious international award, is a source of great pride for us, and for the country as a whole. A great honor.” Because the international community often associates Pakistan with terrorism, he said, this award “just shows that there’s the other side to a country as well, that there are people like this little girl Malala who stand up to a lot of negative things that are happening.” “It is really something wonderful that has happened,” he said. Speaking about the significance of Yousafzai sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with Satyarthi, he said: “I think the connection there is: here is this child in Pakistan who stands up so bravely for the education of women which was being threatened by a certain extremist group called the Tali-
ban. Then the other side of the country is a senior person, a man who has been also working to save children.” Child labor and abuse are issues common to both India and Pakistan, he said. “Both of (the recipients), in their own way, have been working to protect children and to work for the development of children,” he said. Established in 1901, the Nobel Prize is an international award given by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm Sweden. It is awarded yearly for achievements in peace, as well as in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature. Pope Francis was also nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Had he won, he would have been the first pontiff in history to receive the award.
Malala Yousafzai at Girl Summit 2014 in London on July 22, 2014. (CNA photo by: Russell Watkins/DFID via Flickr)
To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email: waynepowers@anchornews.org
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October 17, 2014
JPII exhibit teaches universal call to holiness Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — A state-of-the-art exhibit at the St. John Paul II National Shrine will show that the late pope’s example of holiness is for every person, not a privileged few, the shrine’s executive director said. “People can realize that they are like John Paul II in this sense. He responded to the Holy Spirit every day of his life and made his life a gift. And we are called to do the same, to make our life a gift to God and to others,” director Patrick Kelly told CNA. Along these lines, the exhibit is titled, “A Gift of Love: the Life of St. John Paul II.” The shrine is located in northeast Washington, D.C., adjacent to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The 16,000 square-foot basement exhibit will open October 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II, and houses some of his personal items and vestments, including the “iconic white cassock” from his papacy. Videos and touch-screens provide an interactive education on his world travels and major life events, including when he was shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981, where he attributed his survival to the intercession of the Blessed Mother. “He is a person that so many people saw and related to. So many people say that he touched their lives,” Kelly said. And at the exhibit, every visitor can learn from both the life story of St. John Paul II and the “major themes of his pontificate.” The exhibit tells of the tragedies faced by the young Karol Wojtyla, who lost his brother and father at a young age and suffered under Nazi occupation and the subsequent communist rule in Poland. Yet he chose “to follow the Holy Spirit” through it all, and “all these experiences he had in the past prepared him to be pope at a very unique time
in history,” Kelly affirmed. Furthermore, his teachings throughout his pontificate on “the dignity of the person, the dignity of labor, the dignity of Marriage” have a wide appeal, Kelly added. The pope canonized saints from various countries and walks of life, and a particular room of the exhibit focuses entirely on these saints. “We want people to realize that holiness is possible in their own personal circumstances. Whatever their state of life, holiness is possible,” Kelly said. Although the shrine is a “national” shrine, the exhibit focuses on the entire North American continent, he noted, adding that John Paul II “did have a very special relationship with the United States, and with all of the Americas.” “We want pilgrims to come from the entire continent to come here and make pilgrimage and ask the intercession of John Paul II,” he said. St. John Paul II’s messages to the United States centered on two themes — religious freedom and caring for the most vulnerable in society, Kelly explained. These are both featured in the exhibit. John Paul II thought the U.S. had a “good sense of religious liberty,” he continued, especially since the pope hailed from Poland, a communist bloc country where “religion was suppressed.” And as pope, he taught that “a nation is judged by how it cares” for the most vulnerable members. He recognized that the U.S. was “a leader in the world” on that issue, the shrine director said. The opening of the exhibit on October 22 will be an all-day affair, beginning at 9 a.m. with opportunities for Mass, Confession, and veneration of St. John Paul II’s relics. The current chapel will serve as a reliquary with the pope’s first-class relics.
Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 19, 11:00 a.m.
Celebrant is Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Office
Ed Oxenbould stars in a scene from the movie “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Disney)
CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (Disney) The 1972 children’s book by Judith Viorst becomes a manic comedy about the exploits of a 12-year-old boy (Ed Oxenbould) as he experiences the seemingly worst day of his life. In a departure from the book, director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Rob Lieber extend the mayhem to the boy’s parents (Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner) and siblings (Dylan Minnette, Kerris Dorsey, Elise and Zoey Vargas) so they, too, can feel what it’s like at the very bottom of the totem pole. Amid relentless physical gags, a peeing baby and a vomiting teen-ager, there’s a small lesson here in how a family pulls together in the midst of adversity. Mild family discord, some bathroom humor, references to body parts. The Catholic
News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” (Weinstein) This absorbing and provocative study of grief and its destructive effects on a young married couple ( Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy) has nothing to do with The Beatles’ 1966 hit single, apart from its borrowing of the title character’s name. The tragic death of their son has driven the duo apart. After a failed suicide bid, she retreats to the sanctuary of her childhood home, still occupied by her quirky parents (Isabelle Huppert and William Hurt), while he searches for her as well as for a way to save his failing business. Written and directed by Ned Benson, the film is one of three telling the same story from different perspectives. What emerges here is a blend of grand romance and therapy session as husband and wife seek healing and a path back to their lost love. A suicide attempt, adulterous situations, nongraphic sexual activity with brief upper female nudity, some crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating
is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. “Dracula Untold” (Universal) The world’s most famous bloodsucker gets a makeover in director Gary Shore’s awkward attempt at revisionist horror history, set in the 15th century. After refusing to hand his young son (Art Parkinson) over as a hostage to the cruel Sultan of Turkey (Dominic Cooper), the formerly savage but now peace-loving Prince of Wallachia (Luke Evans) is facing certain defeat by his Ottoman enemies. So he turns for help to a cave-dwelling vampire, hoping to share in the outcast’s superhuman strength. The terms of their deal give the ruler the powers he needs temporarily. But, while they last, he will have to resist the desperate urge to drink human blood or become undead eternally. Ambiguities aplenty shade this often ponderous story of a man driven to use evil means to accomplish the good ends of protecting his family — Sarah Gadon plays his beloved wife — and his country. And the film’s treatment of religion is equally hard to pin down, raising red flags for parents despite the script’s laudable freedom from vulgarity and the mostly bloodless nature of the numerous battle scenes. Pervasive combat violence with occasional gore, some gruesome images, brief nongraphic marital lovemaking. 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.
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October 17, 2014
I
n the current debate over gay marriage, people sometimes ask: Who should define Marriage? Democrats or Republicans in Congress? The Supreme Court? Should it be put to a referendum, allowing the majority to choose a definition? We can identify two kinds of “definitions” when it comes to Marriage. The first touches on the essence, the objective reality, or the truth about Marriage. The second involves a legal or political position, advanced through the media, judicial decisions, or other legislative means. While these secondary definitions of Marriage can be of interest, their true level of importance is properly gauged only in reference to the first and objective definition. Notable errors are sometimes made in these secondary definitions of Marriage. In the mid-1960s, to consider but one example, prohibitions existed in more than a dozen states which outlawed persons of different races from marrying one another. A white man and a black woman could fall in love in those states, but could not legally tie the knot. The Supreme Court overturned those restric-
‘Redefining’ Marriage? and erotic companionship. The tions in 1967, recognizing that institution of Marriage does not the ability to enter into Marriage doesn’t depend on the skin arise merely out of loving sentiment. It is born, rather, from color of the man and woman the depths of the commitment getting married. assumed by a man and a woman Gay marriage advocates today sometimes attempt to draw a parallel Making Sense between such mixedrace Marriage laws and Out of state laws that would Bioethics prevent two men (or two women) from getting By Father Tad married to each other. Pacholczyk They suggest that legally forbidding two men from getting married stigmatiz- as they enter into the total es those men in much the same communion of life implied in way that preventing a black man the procreation and education of children flowing from their from marrying a white woman union. To put it another way, stigmatized both of them. Yet Marriage arises organically and there is really no parallel at all spontaneously from the radibetween the two cases. While cal complementarity of a man Marriage as an objective realand a woman. ity is certainly color-blind to Sexual intimacy between the racial configuration of the spouses, it can never be “genital- men and women involves the possibility of children. No other blind,” because male-female form of sexual or erotic interacsexual complementarity stands tion encompasses this basic, orsquarely at the heart and center ganic, and complementary posof Marriage itself. sibility. Without parsing words, To see this fundamental Professor Jacques LeClercq put point about Marriage, howit this way more than 50 years ever, we have to step beyond ago: “The human race is divided the cultural clichés that suginto two sexes whose reason gest that Marriage is merely for existence is physical union an outgrowth of emotional
with a view to continuing the species.” More recently, Professor Robert P. George similarly described Marriage as “a union that takes its distinctive character from being founded, unlike other friendships, on bodily unity of the kind that sometimes generates new life.” There are many kinds of love, ranging from maternal love to brotherly love to love of friends to love of neighbor to romantic love, but only one that is proper and integral to Marriage, namely, spousal love with its inscribed complementarity and potential for human fruitfulness. Marriage teaches us that men need women and women need men and that children need mothers and fathers. In this sense, Marriage and the family represent foundational realities, not constructs that can be invented, defined, legislated, or determined by popular vote or culture. Marriage, in fact, is the “primordial first institution,” flowing out of the intimate and creative union of male and female. It precedes other societal institutions and conventions, and is essentially ordered towards creating and caring for the future in the form of the next
generation. Marriage is a given reality that we come to discover in its authentic design, not a concept for us to“define” according to our own agenda or desires. Gay marriage proponents deny these foundational truths about Marriage. Through vigorous legislative efforts, they are striving to impose a profoundly false redesign for Marriage upon society so that, in the words of Professor George, Marriage becomes “an emotional union for the sake of adult satisfaction that is served by mutually agreeable sexual play,” thereby undermining its intrinsic connection to complementary bodily union between men and women. This forced reconfiguration of Marriage is no more defensible than the efforts of those who socially or legislatively attempted to impose a notion of “racial purity” upon Marriage or society in former times. Anchor columnist 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.
Pope recalls another key anniversary in his life: his First Communion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Unable to resist telling the world about a personal event that is dear to his heart, Pope Francis said that 70 years ago to the day, he celebrated his First Communion. “They say that you shouldn’t talk about personal things, but I can’t resist the temptation,” he said at a recent weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. “Today I am so thankful to the Lord because 70 years ago I made my First Communion,” he said with a broad smile. “Let us all thank the Lord for our Baptism, all of us thank Him for our First Communion,” he said. The 77-year-old pope revealed the personal tidbit to underline what it means to enter into communion with the Catholic Church and to seek communion with Christians who belong to other confessions or traditions. This theme of Christian unity was part of the series of audience talks the pope has been giving on the nature of the Church. Leading the general audience meant Pope Francis skipped the morning session of the extraordinary Synod of
Bishops, which was meeting October 5-19 to discuss the pastoral care of families. In his catechesis, the pope lamented the long history of divisions among Christians, saying such separations “wound the Church and wound Christ,” Whose desire is “that they may all be one, so that the world may believe.” People’s efforts to share the Gospel message will be “much more credible” when all Christians show they are “able to live in communion and love each other,” the pope said. Unity was already under threat while Jesus was still with His disciples, who would argue “among themselves who was better, who was more important,” the pope said. In fact, history shows “the Church is tempted by evil, which tries to divide her, and has been marked unfortunately by serious and painful divisions”; some breaks have lasted so long it’s hard to recall all the reasons for the separation to begin with and to find possible solutions, he said. The reasons Christian communities are divided, he said, include differences in “dog-
matic and moral principles and theological concepts, pastoral differences, political motives and self-interest to the point of clashing due to resentments and personal ambition.” But one thing is certain, he said, “in one way or another, behind these lacerations there is always pride and selfishness, which are the cause of every disagreement and make us intolerant, incapable of listening and accepting those who have a view or a position that is different from ours.” What can Christians do today in light of so many divisions? he asked. Will people be resigned to the current state of affairs and give up, be indifferent, “or will we firmly believe that one can and must walk in the direction of Reconciliation and full communion?” Full communion, he said, is “everyone being able to participate together in the Body and Blood of Christ.” Catholics are called to pray for Christian unity, be open to “dialogue and encounter,” welcome what is “valid and positive that is offered us even from those who think differently
from us or who pose a different position.” The pope said, “It’s painful” to see so many divisions among Christians when they all believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Focusing on what unites Christians and not what divides them involves “concretely adhering to the truth, together with the ability to forgive, feeling a part of the same Christian family” and working together in charity helping others, he said. Let theologians debate and discuss the issues at hand and “seek the theological truth because it is a duty,” he said. “But we, we will walk together, praying for one another, doing charitable work and that is how we will build communion by walking together.” Later in the audience, the pope expressed his support of organ donation, calling it “a distinctive witness of love for others.” Pointing to the recent European day of awareness about organ donation, the pope emphasized the need to safeguard the rights of donors by ensuring “certainty of death,” given
the existence of some questions about methods of ascertaining brain death in an individual. Pope Francis asked that “abuses, trafficking and the sale (of organs) be avoided.” While riding in his popemobile to greet pilgrims at the beginning of audience, Pope Francis pointed to an exuberant young boy, who was cheering along with his classmates, all sporting orange baseball caps. The pope gestured as if to ask the boy if he wanted to go for a ride, and the boy enthusiastically agreed and tried to jump the high wooden barrier, succeeding only with the help of a Vatican guard. One of the boy’s classmates didn’t want to be left behind and the pope gestured for him to come along, too. The two boys, about eight or 10 years old, sat down behind the pope in the popemobile, hugged each other and pumped their fists in the air with excitement. The pope let them ride several laps around the square, and when he brought them back to their group, a guard insisted the boys not get down without giving the pope a kiss on the cheek.
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October 17, 2014
Storied schools combine to create one successful institution continued from page one
Anchor that the parents and faculty have made the transition in a near seamless fashion. “The parents have been wonderful,” she said. “They have been very supportive and their input is very important and we have received many positive responses from them. We also listen to their concerns and address them as quickly as possible. “The faculties from the middle school and high school have done a wonderful job. We began meeting last spring to get to know one another and plan for our new school. We ended the year with a combined week of planning and a Liturgy of thanksgiving. Over the summer, the middle school staff was frequently here setting up classrooms. We continue to meet as one faculty and separately as needed.” The high school building on Hamilton Street was a beehive of activity this past summer. Classrooms in the lower level of the school were refurbished; lockers added; rooms painted; and an improved ventilation system and new flooring were added. Middle school athletic
lockers were brought in and the main entrance was enlarged and an improved strategy for student flow throughout the day was developed. Not overlooked in all the preparation was the evercritical security system. Security cameras allow office staff to buzz-in those wishing to enter the building, and separate pick-up and drop-off points were created for each age group. There are also separate rest room facilities for each school group. The school library is now manned by a full-time staff and extensive renovations took place. Some seniors also get to stretch their legs and hike over to the former Holy Rosary parish center for selected classes. “This creates a ‘precollege’ experience for the seniors,” said St. Laurent. There, too, is a security camera “buzz-in” system. Classrooms were refurbished and the faculty has access to wireless Internet and computer connections. It didn’t take long for the combined student populations to become one Coyle and Cassidy family. “Many of our community service
students are working with middle school classes,” St. Laurent told The Anchor. “It’s important for both groups of students to have their own experience and so we try to be sure to give them that. It’s also important to come together as a community from time to time. “For example, our opening school Liturgy was amazing. The combined chorus of the middle and high school students was a true testament to the unity of our new community. We recently had our fall sports rally. The middle school students celebrated with the middle school athletes and then joined the high school rally so that we could do the school cheer and song together.” The success of the joint venture did not come without hard work, planning and cooperation. “Communication has been key,” added St. Laurent. “Throughout the summer, the administration met weekly to plan, evaluate and implement all of the changes that had to take place in order to have a smooth opening of school. These meetings have continued on a weekly basis. It is really important for all
of our constituencies to have a voice in their school. “Parents receive a weekly newsletter outlining events, activities and points of interest for middle and high school students. We have ongoing faculty advisory groups as well as student groups in order to be sure that there is open and ongoing communication. We have an amazing administrative team, faculty and staff.” Coyle and Cassidy High School’s history is another example of changing with the times. The once-St. Mary’s High School for girls that became Bishop Cassidy High School when it moved to a new, modern building in the early 60s, joined forces with the boys’ Msgr. Coyle High School in 1971 to become Coyle and Cassidy. Also in 1971, the Diocese of Fall River created a new Taunton Catholic Middle School, gathering its student body from the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the then-seven Catholic schools in the Taunton area. Both instances of change were the results of changing demographics, student populations and the need to modernize. More than four decades later both schools have again
experienced a metamorphosis prompted by the need to change with the times. And again, both schools have experienced success at the new venture. “We are very grateful to the Superintendent Dr. Michael Griffin and Assistant Superintendents Dr. Donna Boyle and Louise Kane, for their support and confidence in us,” said St. Laurent. “This is really a new beginning and a very exciting opportunity to continue the long tradition of providing Catholic education in the city of Taunton. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to be the principal of our school! What an experience. It is a busy time and every day is different. I am enjoying it very much.” And by the looks of it, so are the students and faculty of Coyle and Cassidy High School and Middle School Divisions.
Bishop da Cunha installation DVD now available The September 24 Mass of Installation of the Most Rev. Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., as eighth Bishop of Fall River is now available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. Cost of the DVD is $25.00 and includes postage cost. To order one, please send a check in that amount payable to the Office of Communications to this address: Diocesan Office of Communications, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, Mass., 02722. Kindly note Installation Mass DVD on the memo line of the check.
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October 17, 2014
Bishops urge support of ballot casino repeal continued from page seven
Massachusetts said, “While the Catholic Church views gambling as a legitimate form of entertainment when done in moderation, expanded gaming in the Commonwealth opens the door to a new form of predatory gaming. We are concerned that the Commonwealth will be forced to rely on an unstable form of revenue, depending largely on those addicted to gambling.” The proof that casino jobs and revenue are unstable lies in the events in other states. In Atlantic City, N.J., five of the 12 casinos are expected to close by the end of the year — a loss of 10,000 jobs. Closer to home, Connecticut casinos have laid workers off and closed down portions of their facilities. The bishops also pointed out that when the casino law passed three years ago, the state was in financial crisis; unemployment was at 7.4 percent. The economic climate has since improved, and employment is at 5.5 percent, below the national average of 6.1 percent. Driscoll called expanded gaming a short-term solution to the long-term challenges of unemployment. Supporters of Question 3 urge concerned citizens to get involved. Attend an event, talk with friends and donate to
the campaign. Get a bumper sticker or yard sign. Sign up to hand out literature, knock on doors or phone voters, they suggest. Erin Earnst, a Catholic from Foxboro, has been volunteering for the campaign — canvassing and placing calls. She said the majority of people she has spoken with are supportive of Question 3. Many people want to preserve the character of the state — known for its excellent institutions of higher education, phenomenal medical facilities and high-tech industry. She called casino culture “a dying industry full of broken promises” that does not blend with the Commonwealth’s strengths. Earnst said that a fundamental tenet of Catholicism is to work toward the good of others. When the casino industry openly admits that they expect a 55 percent increase in problem gambling within a 10-mile radius of a casino, that is unacceptable. In her hometown of Foxboro, that would amount to 250 individuals. “Those are my neighbors,” she said. “Why would I vote to approve something that’s going to come in and destroy families, destroy communities?” For more information, visit www.repealthecasinodeal.org.
World Mission Sunday continued from page one
tined for a common fund of solidarity distributed, in the pope’s name, by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith among the missions and missionaries of the entire world.” Every year the needs of the Catholic Church in the Missions grow — as new dioceses are formed, as new seminaries are opened because of the growing number of young men hearing Christ’s call to follow Him as priests, as areas devastated by war or natural disaster are rebuilt, and as other areas, long suppressed, are opening up to hear the message of Christ and His Church. That is why the involvement and commitment of Catholics from around the world is so urgently needed. Offerings from Catholics in the United States, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings to the Propagation of
the Faith worldwide. Mission dioceses — about 1,100 at this time — receive regular annual assistance from the funds collected. In addition, these mission dioceses submit requests to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples for assistance, among other needs, for catechetical programs, seminaries, the work of Religious Communities, for communication and transportation needs, and for the building of chapels, churches, orphanages and schools. These needs are matched with the funds gathered in each year. The world’s national directors of the Propagation of the Faith vote on these requests, matching the funds available with the greatest needs. These funds are then distributed, in their entirety, to mission dioceses throughout the world.
Extraordinary Synod of Bishops releases relatio summarizing week’s discussions
Vatican City (CNA are we capable of welcom- teaching and pastoral pracand CNS) — The Catholic ing these people, guarantee- tice, the two of which always blogosphere exploded Mon- ing to them a fraternal space go together in a new docuday after the Extraordinary in our communities? Often ment.” Synod of Bishops released a they wish to encounter a President of the Polish document summarizing last Church that offers them a bishops’ conference Archbishweek’s discussion. But while welcoming home. Are our op Stanislaw Gadecki also the relatio post disceptatio- communities capable of pro- voiced concerns, and said he nem, which means “Report viding that, accepting and hopes the final synod will disAfter Debate,” has been fod- valuing their sexual orien- cuss support of families as a der for sensational headlines tation, without compromis- whole rather than only studyclaiming a major shift in ing Catholic doctrine on the ing special cases or excepdoctrine, the report is only family and Matrimony?” tions to the traditional fama beginning, working docuWhile Cardinal Erdo said ily. “Speak about the practical ment of the Church. that same-sex unions pres- exceptions, but we also need The relatio, as it’s called, ent unspecified “moral prob- to present the truth,” Archsimply takes the topics and lems” and thus “cannot be bishop Gadecki said in an incomments made during the considered on the same foot- terview with Vatican Radio. last week of the synod and ing” as traditional Marriage, The relatio was divided attempts to summarize and he said they also can exem- into three categories that organize them into cat- plify “mutual aid to the point addressed the context and egories. The official challenges to the teaching document family, the Gospel hese are not decisions that of the synod will not of the Family and have been made nor simply how it fits into Salbe released until well after the Ordinary points of view. All the same the col- vation, and pastoral Synod of Bishops, legial path of the bishops and the in- perspectives regardwhich is scheduled volvement of all God’s people under ing irregular unions. to take place next Left open for more fall. Typically after the guidance of the Holy Spirit will discussion was also an ordinary synod, lead us to f ind roads of truth and whether divorced the pope will release mercy for all. This is the wish that and remarried Cathan Apostolic Exhor- from the beginning of our work Pope olics could receive tation regarding his Francis has extended to us, inviting Communion. conclusions after the The document will meeting of bishops. us to the courage of the faith and the serve as a starting Still, although the humble and honest welcome of the point for further disrelatio has “work- truth in charity.” cussion and reflection ing document” stathis next week. “The tus, it has received reflections put formixed reactions from several of sacrifice (that) constitutes ward, the fruit of the synodal bishops present at the syn- a precious support in the life dialog that took place in great od. Some were quick to calm of the partners.” freedom and a spirit of recipthe storm of speculations He noted that the “Church rocal listening, are intended that the Church is changing pays special attention to the to raise questions and indicate its teachings regarding ho- children who live with cou- perspectives that will have to mosexual marriage. Bishop ples of the same sex, empha- be matured and made clearer Eugène Cyrille Houndekon sizing that the needs and by the reflection of the loof Abomey, Africa, said the rights of the little ones must cal Churches in the year that language in the relatio sim- always be given priority.” separates us from the Ordiply refers to the Church’s Other bishops and car- nary General Assembly of the openness to everyone, no dinals are concerned with a Synod of bishops planned for matter where they are in lack of clarity in the docu- October 2015,” the document their journey of faith. “The ment. In an interview with reads. “These are not deciChurch open its doors to all CNA, Cardinal Raymond sions that have been made nor people — their weaknesses, Burke said the relatio as it simply points of view. All the their defects — and try to stands uses “confused” and same the collegial path of the help them, everybody, those “even erroneous” language, bishops and the involvement who have stronger virtues and he hopes the final doc- of all God’s people under the to deepen that, and those ument from this synod is guidance of the Holy Spirit who have weaknesses to try much clearer. “There’s a will lead us to find roads of to overcome that,” he told confusion with the regard to truth and mercy for all. This is CNA. the question of people who the wish that from the beginThe bishop was referring are living in de-facto unions, ning of our work Pope Francis to the document’s position or people who are attracted has extended to us, inviting us on persons with same-sex to the same sex are living to the courage of the faith and attraction and their role in together, and an inadequate the humble and honest welthe Church, which Cardi- explanation of the relation- come of the truth in charity.” nal Peter Erdo quoted in his ship of the Church to the The full text of the document opening speech to the Synod person,” he said. “I certainly can be found at: http:// Fathers Monday morning, hope that this document will press.vatican.va/content/ saying: “Homosexuals have be set aside completely, and salastampa/en/bollettino/ gifts and qualities to offer to there will be an effort made ico/2014/10/13/0751/03037. the Christian community: to present the Church’s true html
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Youth Pages
Recently the second- and third-graders at Espirito Santo School in Fall River enjoyed some hands-on science at the Museum of Science in Boston. The classes went on the trip to enhance their classroom study of weather.
Eighth-grade students at St. Francis Xavier in Acushnet used a laboratory balance to determine the mass of various objects while learning about scientific method and practicing their skills of observation and data collection in a mini-lab experiment on measurement.
October 17, 2014
Students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently enjoyed a bake sale.
Pre-kindergarten and fifth grade students from Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton recently visited an area fire station.
Students at St. Michael School in Fall River participate in a buddy system learning program.
Students from St. Pius X Middle School in South Yarmouth recently assisted with the Blessing of the Pets at Our Lady of the Highway Chapel. Students spent the day baking treats for cats and dogs and distributed them at the blessing.
Youth Pages
October 17, 2014
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Come, follow Me
ach year at Bishop Stang High School we have an all school summer reading book. This year we chose “Between the Savior and the Sea” by Bob Rice. The title gives away Peter’s struggle to follow Christ or to stay with the sea, with the life that he knew, with the life with which he was comfortable. Peter struggled with the call of Jesus to follow Him. This was what led us to choose this year’s school theme, “Come, follow Me” from the GosBy Amanda pel of St. MatTarantelli thew. Jesus’ call to leave everything behind and follow Him was not just a call to the Apostles and His disciple, it is a call He still asks each and every one of us. While the book was based on of the Gospels, it was still a novel that filled in conversations that we wouldn’t have read in the Bible. What I liked most about it was the relationship between Peter and his family. We are often told that the Apostles left everything behind to follow Jesus, but I am not sure we always grasp what that means. When you read about his wife and his daughter, you realize what it means to give up everything. He followed Jesus everywhere and left his family behind. Christ’s call to follow Him is not an easy one. It requires uncomfortable situations, major sacrifice and often a life we never imagined. As we know, though, the reward of following Christ is so much greater than we can imagine. In the book, Peter realizes this fairly quickly. After Peter and his companions bring in
Be Not Afraid
their biggest catch of fish ever, Bob Rice writes, “It was a moment that Simon always dreamed of, but now he couldn’t care less. He found something better” (14). Peter reflects on the fact that it is merely a pile of fish. I know in my life, if I really looked at what I chose over Christ, I know it’s nothing but a pile of fish. When I choose to watch TV instead of pray, when I stress out instead of relying on God, when I put more emphasis on what I want rather that what God wants for me, that is my pile of fish. This is what it means to choose to follow Christ. It often is a call for us to leave our comfort zone, to leave behind what we know, and “cast our nets out into the deep” so that we too can find something better. I have found this Prayer for Following Christ. I pray that the Lord gives us the strength to continuously respond “yes” to His call to follow Him. “Almighty God, our hope and strength, without You we falter. Help us to follow Christ and to live according to Your will. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.” Anchor columnist Amanda Tarantelli has been a campus minister at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth since 2005. She is married, a die-hard sports fan, and resides in Cranston, R.I. She can be reached at atarantelli@bishopstang.org.
A group of young Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate took part in the recent Peace March from St. Mary’s Cathedral to St. Anne’s Church in Fall River. The Sisters handed out prayer cards and medals of the Immaculate Conception to those watching from the streets. (Photo by Emilie Jolivet)
Coyle and Cassidy High School students Robert Scaramuccia and Alissa Piatelli were recently recognized as National Merit Commended Scholars. They are pictured with Kathleen St. Laurent, principal of the Taunton school.
Once again St. John’s School in Attleboro, in partnership with Bristol County Savings Bank, is offering a banking program to the students in grades two through six. The program started in September and will run until the end of the school year. Students are encouraged to continue their banking and savings throughout the summer. A representative comes to the school bi-monthly. The students are able to deposit money of any denomination into a statement savings account. Shown here is Dennis Leahy of Bristol County Savings Bank with the second-graders.
Four Bishop Connolly High School (Fall River) runners recently participated in the Bay State Invitational Meet at Franklin Park in Boston. With cross country coach Thomas Kerrigan, left, are: Elliott Pawlak, Mitchell Carter, Brendan Sasse, and Nathaniel Diniz.
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October 17, 2014
America editor, native of diocese to speak at St. Mary’s Fund dinner continued from page one
would be more appealing to a younger demographic moving forward into a new century of publishing; and secondly, I think they wanted someone who could sort of bridge two generations — the generation that had come of age with the Internet and a generation of older Catholic writers who knew how to craft a narrative. “The idea was to try to bring those two things together and to realize them as America in the 21st century, and so it fell to me.” Little did Father Malone know that within six months of taking over the editorship of America, Pope Benedict XVI would make the historic announcement that he was stepping down as pontiff and a fellow Jesuit would subsequently be named his successor. “When I came on board, we were in a pretty stable period in the life of the Church, and I thought I was going to lead America through the final years of Pope Benedict’s papacy and that would give me time to think about where America was going and what it would look like in five years,” Father Malone said. “Then Pope Benedict, with that great, courageous and humble act, set the world on fire. Ever since we’ve been going from one major event and news story to another.” Standing in St. Peter’s Square on the night they announced the election of Pope Francis, Father Malone confessed he thought he misheard the name of Cardinal Jorgé Mario Bergoglio as the new Holy Father. “I have hearing loss in my left ear and I sometimes don’t hear everything very well, and when they said his name, I remember saying: ‘I must have misheard that, because that’s the Jesuit!’” he said, laughing. “So I was as surprised as everyone else when he was elected. And then, of course, in his first Angelus when he pointed directly to Cardinal (Walter) Kasper’s book on mercy, I knew this was a different approach to the papacy. I also was very familiar with that book and its contents and its various theses, so I knew this was a different tone than what we had seen before.” For many people, their first introduction to Pope Francis would be through the pages
of America magazine in a wide-ranging and groundbreaking interview entitled “A Big Heart Open to God — A Conversation with Pope Francis,” written by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., that was first published in September 2013. “When we published the interview with Pope Francis a year ago, it dominated the news cycle for a number of days and it led every evening newscast and was on the front page of every major newspaper in the country and I had a hard time imagining another person on this planet who could actually command that kind of attention,” Father Malone said. “I think even President Barack Obama on the day after his first election wasn’t commanding that kind of attention just by virtue of what he had said, and I thought that was remarkable. I really think Pope Francis right now is the most credible person on the planet and credibility goes very far with journalists.” It’s not surprising that some of these same lifelong interests — politics, public perception and the Catholic faith — are what led Father Malone on a path to heading one of largest and most influential Catholic publications in the U.S. Born and raised on Cape Cod where he attended Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville (where he was baptized by retired Bishop George W. Coleman) and Christ the King Parish in Mashpee while growing up, Father Malone worked in politics until he ultimately entered the Society of Jesus in 2002 at age 30. Before entering the seminary, he served as founding deputy director of MassInc, an independent political thinktank in Boston, and was copublisher of CommonWealth, an award-winning review of politics, ideas and civic life. Earlier in his career he was also chief speechwriter for U.S. Representative Martin T. Meehan. “Politics was really a passion of mine from very early on along with writing,” Father Malone said. “Throughout my 20s I had written a couple of pieces here and there — I was published in The Cape Cod Times and so forth — but primarily my interest was in poli-
tics and public policy. It was really when I entered the Jesuits and I was sent to America that I began to write full-time and in a specific way.” Oddly enough, when Father Malone professed to the Society of Jesus, he thought he’d be doing something “a little more academic or more pastoral” than what he’d been doing in the secular world. “I was reluctant initially to come to America because I felt that the kind of work we do here — journalism and writing and politics — was the kind of work I had been doing,” he said. “Fortunately, I had a very wise novice master and formation director who said to me: ‘You’re being asked to do this work as a Jesuit and as a priest, so it’s fundamentally different than anything you’ve done previously.’” Although he graduated from public schools — including Falmouth High School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst — until he entered the seminary, Father Malone nevertheless understands and appreciates the value of a Catholic education. To that end, he will be returning to his hometown diocese as the keynote speaker at this year’s St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner to be held October 22 at White’s of Westport beginning with a 5:30 p.m. reception. “My niece and nephew who live with my brother in Mansfield go to Catholic school and I think that they’re getting a much better education than I ever had,” Father Malone said. “I went to fine public schools but I just think a Catholic education is more well-rounded.” In fact, Father Malone maintains that a Catholic education today is even more important than it was some 50 years ago when Catholic schools were more prevalent. “There isn’t an obvious Catholic culture, so-to-speak, as there was 40 or 50 years ago, so I think it’s a lot harder to hold onto and make sense of your faith as a young person because of that,” he said. “So by going to a school where there is a Catholic culture becomes all the more important now. In addition to the basic quality of education, it provides a space in which the student encounters everyday life within a culture that is in-
formed by Catholic/Christian values and imagination — and I think that is crucial.” Father Malone plans to address this issue at the St. Mary’s Education Fund Dinner, whose proceeds will provide need-based scholarships to students attending Catholic elementary and middle schools throughout the Fall River Diocese. “I think I’m going to talk a bit about why Catholic education is so vitally important at this moment in the life of the Church and this country from where I sit,” he said. “As the editor-in-chief of America engaged in public conversation about faith and Catholic culture, I’m going to try to spell out some of the reasons why I think, at that level, a Catholic education is so fundamentally important.” As for his ever-evolving role at America and the mission of the Catholic media, in general, Father Malone thinks it’s important to maintain a Catholic identity. “We have to remember who we are,” he said. “I think sometimes, particularly at the national level, people look at the Catholic media and it doesn’t look different enough
from our secular media in the sense of there being very clear ideological or political orientations. If people look to the Catholic media and they see one newspaper as Fox News and another as CNN and they see another as MSNBC, then we’ve really failed. We have failed to distinguish ourselves as distinctly Catholic, which transcends those secular divisions — or should, anyway.” “First and foremost, we are not journalists who happen to be Catholic, we are Catholics who happen to be journalists,” he added. “And I think that’s a fundamentally different orientation.” The annual St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner is one of two principle yearly fund-raisers to support the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which has since its inception in the early 1990s provided financial help to more than 8,000 students at Catholic elementary and middle schools in the diocese. Those interested in supporting the event or obtaining more information on the St. Mary’s Education Fund should contact Jim Campbell at the Diocesan Development Off ice at 508675-1311.
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October 17, 2014
Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17. ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at St. John the Evangelist Church on N. Main St. Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday. 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 TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m. FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow. Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m. FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday. FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel. FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory. Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday, following the 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:30 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m. MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass. NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance. NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession. NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time. NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m. OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon. SEEKONK — Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m. WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church. NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274. SEEKONK — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. 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 are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.
Because of Ebola crisis, people ‘can’t even go to church’
ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Father McDonald Nah is praying that the people of Liberia are just as resilient with the Ebola outbreak as they were following the country’s civil war more than a decade ago. Father Nah is a priest of the Archdiocese of Monrovia, Liberia, who is currently studying Catholic education administration at St. Louis University. The priest, who resides at a downtown parish, St. Nicholas, with another Liberian priest, Father Urey Patrick Mark, is expected to return to Liberia next summer after he completes his studies. Father Nah said that people in Liberia have been isolated because of the severity of the virus, especially those who have been in close proximity to someone who has died from the illness. People “can’t even go to church,” he told the St. Louis Review, newspaper of the St. Louis Archdiocese. “Usually in Liberia, when someone is sick they go around to visit with the sick. But they can’t visit them at all. It has created something they have never seen before. I was in Liberia during the war, and apart from people dying, we could visit. You could go places. But with this situation, you can’t at all.” A priest for 11 years, Father Nah has served in two Liberian parishes, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Monrovia and St. Peter Claver Church. The people of those communities have become like family to him. He personally knows 16 people who have died from the Ebola virus.
In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks 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 Oct. 22 Rev. John E. Connors, Pastor, St. Peter, Dighton, 1940 Rev. Jerome F. O’Donnell, OFM, Our Lady’s Chapel, New Bedford, 1983 Oct. 23 Chor Bishop Joseph Eid, Pastor, St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River, 1970 Oct. 24 Rev. Marc Maurice Dagenais, O.P., Retired Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1982
Around the Diocese
Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 4256 Acushnet Avenue (corner of Tobey Street) in New Bedford will host its Annual Harvest Fair sponsored by the Ladies Guild on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the parish hall. Ma’s Donuts and coffee, homemade food, baked goods and candy will be served. The fair will feature many talented crafters and vendors, books, jewelry, raffles of beautiful theme baskets, hand-made quilt and cash raffles, Chinese auction, kids game booth and more! Plenty of parking. Free admission. St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth will host Oktoberfest on October 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. The evening will include social hour with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages, entrees including German or American style dinner with homemade dessert. Studio 8 will provide the music. The event, locally catered, is sponsored by the parish’s Men’s Club at a cost of $25 per adult. Tickets are available after all Masses and in the rectory. For more information, call Jim at 508-563-1750. A Day With Mary will be held at St. Kilian’s Parish, 306 Ashley Boulevard, New Bedford on November 1 from 7:50 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is an opportunity for Reconciliation and a bookstore is available. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information, call 508-9968274. St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham will conduct a Day Of Evangelization on November 1 beginning with Mass at 8 a.m. Parishioners will go door-to-door to those registered in the parish around the local community. All volunteers are welcome to join them. For more information or to register, email Deacon David Murphy at davidmurphy@ stpatrickswareham.org or call the parish office at 508-295-2411. Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish will host its annual Holiday Fair on November 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on November 8 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the church hall, Coyle Drive off Route 152 in Seekonk. Super raffles include an Apple iPad Air, 46-inch Samsung LED smart HDTV, scratch tickets, “Kim’s Special Raffles,” famous “Baskets Galore,” and more! There will also be jewelry, hand-knit and sewn items, Christmas items, adults and kids instant win, toys, and more for sale. Enjoy home-baked goods, fudge, candy and meat pies. “Louise’s Café” will be open both days, so plan to stop by and indulge. St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford is having its annual Holiday Bazaar on November 8 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on November 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the parish hall at 1359 Acushnet Avenue (Nye Street entrance). Admission is free and the bazaar will feature homemade crafts, Chinese auction and assorted raffles, along with full-course meals, baked goods and meat pies. For more information call 508-993-1691. St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, is hosting its annual Holiday Fair on November 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on November 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fair will feature a full kitchen, crafts, bake table, white elephant table, Chinese auction, and much more. For more information contact Linda at 508-995-4166.
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October 17, 2014
The Society for THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH ... a Pontifical Mission Society Complete the coupon and submit it with a donation in the basket this weekend at church, or send to: Rev. Msgr. John J. Oliveira, P.A., 106 Illinois Street, New Bedford, MA 02745 Enclosed is my World Mission Sunday gift for the Missions ... NAME: ADDRESS: CITY:
STATE:
ZIP: