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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , October 18, 2013

Bishop George W. Coleman congratulates each of the 15 newly-ordained permanent deacons during their ordination Mass at a filled St. Mary’s Cathedral on October 12. Priests, fellow deacons, seminarians, family and friends heard Bishop Coleman tell the men in his homily, “Dear candidates to the diaconate, it is essential, as you receive the order of deacon, that you be aware that you have been called by God to this ministry. God’s call is the origin of your interest in the diaconate; He will guide and strengthen you along the way of diaconal ministry; it is for His glory, not your own, that you will expend your energies in diaconal service.” (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

Pope Francis appeals to ‘Respond generously to the Holy Spirit’ on World Mission Sunday

Dear Brothers and Sisters, This year, as we celebrate World Mission Day, the Year of Faith, which is an important opportunity to strengthen our friendship with the Lord and our journey as a Church that preaches the Gospel with courage, comes to an end. From this perspective, I would like to propose some re-

flections.

1. Faith is God’s precious gift, which opens our mind to know and love Him. He wants to enter into relationship with us and allow us to participate in His own life in order to make our life more meaning-

ful, better and more beautiful.

God loves us! Faith, however, needs to be accepted, it needs our personal response, the courage to entrust ourselves to God, to live His love and be grateful for His infinite mercy.

It is a gift, not reserved for

a few but offered with generosity. Everyone should be able to experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of Salvation!

It is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians. The proclamaTurn to page 14

Acushnet youth hope ‘All’s well that ends well’ for Rwanda villagers

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

Acushnet parish about his work with the Rwandan people. “I had watched ACUSHNET — The town of a PBS special about how important Acushnet and the small, remote villag- school is to the children in Africa and es of Rwanda in eastern, central Africa I had wanted to try to find a way to have little in common — except the communicate to our students how people. The major similarity is that no blessed they were here in the U.S. and matter where one calls home, the needs try to help students elsewhere not so are the same: food, wablessed,” school secreter and shelter. For tary Karen Pimental most in Massachutold The Anchor. setts, those are necesNot too long after sities often taken for Father Leonard’s visit, granted. Not so in the Pimental and her hustiny African nation. band Tony spearheadBut for the last four ed an effort to adopt years, members of St. 10 Rwandan students Francis Xavier Parish to assist them in atand School in Acushtending high school. net have rolled up “We’re in our fifth their sleeves and have year of doing so,” addFather Leonard Kayondo made a difference in ed Pimental. the lives of their less But the Acushnetfortunate brothers and sisters half-way Rwanda relationship doesn’t end there. across the globe nearly 7,000 miles to Prior to a visit to Rwanda, Father Leontheir southeast. ard had dinner with the Pimentals and In 2009, Father Leonard Kayondo, a pastor Msgr. Gerard P. O’Connor. “We missionary priest from the Diocese of asked him what he would most miss Kabgayi in Rwanda, gave a talk at the Turn to page 18

The terrain of the Camino de Santiago ran the gamut, from rolling countryside to the top of a mountain; Laurie Larsen-Silva and her daughter Kirsten faced numerous obstacles on their pilgrimage, none more so challenging than the more barren areas of the road.

Local mother and daughter complete Camino pilgrimage

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

SANDWICH — About five years ago Laurie Larsen-Silva was relaxing at her home watching television, when she happened upon a travel program. The host of the program mentioned the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, “and he said Catholics have been doing this since the Middle Ages; it’s a very popular pilgrim-

age,” recalled Laurie. “And I thought, I’ve been Catholic all my life and I’ve never heard of it.”

The Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) is a large network of ancient pilgrimage routes stretching across Europe and coming together at the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. One of the most imporTurn to page 12

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News From the Vatican

October 18, 2013

Archbishop says synod theme shows importance of family for pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ decision to call an extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014 demonstrates how important he believes the family is and the urgency he sees in responding to problems Christian families face, said the head of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, council president, said it is obvious that the pastoral challenge of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics will be part of the synod’s discussions, just as it’s obvious they were part of his private discussions with the pope in mid-September.

“You don’t talk about a lunch without speaking of the food,” Archbishop Paglia told reporters October 10 when asked if the theme of divorced and remarried Catholics was something he discussed with the pope.

“It’s obvious with the Holy Father I spoke about these themes and I think it’s particularly important that the pope chose to make one of his first important magisterial acts the convocation of a synod on this theme,” the archbishop said.

The Vatican announced October 8 that Pope Francis called for an extraordinary synod October 5-19, 2014, to discuss the “pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.”

“This demonstrates how quick the pope is in responding to the important problems that exist in our families,” Archbishop Paglia said.

The archbishop was also asked about his reaction to Pope Francis’ statement in a September interview that the Church does not have to speak always about abortion, gay marriage and contraception — themes that are part of the Pontifical Council for the Family’s brief.

“As president of the Pontifical Council for the Family — and I emphasize ‘pontifical’ — I can only agree fully with the pontiff,” the archbishop said. “I think Pope Francis is underlining a journey we all must set out on with great wisdom, intelligence and boldness, standing alongside him.”

Archbishop Paglia spoke to reporters about preparations for the October 23-25 plenary assembly of his council and for the October 26-27 family pilgrimage to the Vatican as part of the Year of Faith.

The family pilgrimage and participants’ meetings with Pope Francis both days are designed “to say that despite everything, families are society’s most important resource, but more importantly, they are the most beautiful thing in the world,” the archbishop said.

Conventual Franciscan Father Gianfranco Grieco, a council official, also announced that in time for the plenary, the council will publish — in Spanish and Italian — a collection of 35 speeches, homilies and texts by the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio on family-related themes. The material from 1999 up until his election as Pope Francis demonstrates how his teaching method hasn’t changed, Father Grieco said.

The texts are marked by “clear, immediate and direct concepts that sensitize hearts, shake dozing consciences and provoke people’s intelligence,” he said. It’s a step-by-step process that “starts from people’s hearts, from wanting to touch hearts.”

The council, he said, will try to have French and English translations of the book available in time for the synod in 2014.

Rain falls as Pope Francis arrives to lead a recent general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Debate over reforming synod of bishops stretches back decades Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — The vision of reforming the synod of bishops, an effort undertaken

by Pope Francis, goes back to at least Pope Paul VI, who had even broader ideas for the synod, according to a leading Vatican analyst.

The synod of bishops, which acts as an advisory body to the Pope, was established by Paul VI in 1965 by the motu proprio “Apostolica sollicitudo” to “strengthen (the pope’s) union” with other bishops and to “establish even closer ties” with them.

The synod consists of a group of bishops from around the world who meet at fixed times “to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel … and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world,” according to canon law.

Members of the synod are for the most part elected by their brother bishops for a three-year term.

Benny Lai, who has covered the Vatican since 1951 and is styled in Italian “the dean of Vaticanisti,” told CNA recently that “Paul VI even considered enrolling in the (papal) conclave … the 15 bishops of the ‘board’ of the synod of bishops.”

According to Lai, who was a friend and biographer of the late Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa, the cardinal “convinced Paul VI not

to do this (only) after an hourand-a-half conversation.”

Cardinal Siri argued that “enrolling in the conclave both the cardinals, chosen by the pope, and the bishops, elected by the episcopal conferences, could lead to a ‘split,’ since cardinals do not have to meet anyone’s expectations, while the members of the synod must account for their decisions to their electors, and so could be influenced.”

It was this fear of a possible “external” influence on the conclave that led Paul VI to state definitively that “only the Sacred College (of cardinals) will elect the pope.”

While Pope Francis plans a reform of the synod of bishops, it is not expected he will go so far as to include them among the papal electors.

However, the prominence of synods could become a key theme of this pontificate. His reformation may lead to a permanent assembly of the synod of bishops, to be held in Rome, which dialogues with local Churches.

The synod of bishops first took shape during the Second Vatican Council, under the auspices of Pope Paul VI. Worried by the possibility of a lack of coordination between the Roman Church and other local Churches, he attached a preliminary note to the conciliar document on the Church, “Lumen gentium.”

In a July 1 blog post at America Magazine, Father Drew Christiansen observed that this

preliminary note taught that synods would not “prejudice the rights and privileges of the pope and the Holy See, which is why the synod has been a consultative but not deliberative body.”

Synods currently depend on papal endorsement, Father Christiansen said; their conclusions typically take the form of an apostolic exhortation issued by the pope himself.

But from the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has shown a wish for greater representation in the governance of the Church, and has indeed appointed a council of eight cardinals to advise him on curial reform.

Father Christiansen said he has also “indicated (this) council may be replaced in the years ahead by a council elected by the synod.”

The synod’s last meeting was held in 2012 and concerned the New Evangelization. Its next meeting, to discuss the family, was announced recently, and will take place in the autumn of 2014.

“This is the way in which the pope intends to promote reflection and to guide the path of the community of the Church, with the responsible participation of the episcopate from different parts of the world,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi recently said.

Father Lombardi also stressed the importance of the Church moving “as a community in reflection and prayer.”

The International Church Despite dangers, Church always assists world’s refugees, says prelate

October 18, 2013

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — Refugees and migrants pay the highest price in conflicts around the world and it is in the Catholic Church’s DNA to provide them humanitarian aid and prayerful support, according to speakers at a recent United Nations event.

The panel was held in conjunction with the U.N. High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development.

“Migrants and the populations that receive them belong to a single human family, and both enjoy the right to the goods of the earth, goods which are destined for universal enjoyment,” said Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, papal nuncio to the United Nations.

The sad situation of refugees and internally displaced people is not their fault and not of their choosing, he said.

Catholic institutions are actively engaged in helping refugees, “not because someone asked us. We’ve been doing it for centuries and will always do it, in spite of difficulties, dangers and hardships,” Archbishop Chullikatt said.

Speakers addressed the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis throughout the Middle East, while noting the Syrian situation is most prominent in the public eye.

In the past two years, violence in Syria forced at least two million people to flee the country and displaced another 4.5 million people internally, said Don Kerwin, executive director of the Center for Mi-

grations Studies in New York.

“Meeting the basic needs of refugees demands the active commitment and engagement of the international community,” he said.

Vulnerable populations, including women, children, religious minorities and unaccompanied minors require special consideration, Kerwin said.

The United States and other countries should consider resettlement for these groups and the U.S. government must re-examine terrorismrelated laws that bar admission to many Syrian refugees, without regard to mitigating circumstances.

The long-term solution to the crisis in Syria “is a ceasefire and a negotiated peace that will end the conflict between government and rebel forces,” Kerwin said. “A negotiated peace will help stabilize the region and establish the preconditions necessary to provide durable solutions to the refugee and related humanitarian crises afflicting the region.”

Najla Chadla, director of Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center, said Lebanon is the smallest country in the Middle East but has the highest number of refugees and migrants. Foreigners comprise half the population, she said.

The Christian minority is among the most vulnerable of the refugees. Many Syrian Christians are afraid to register for aid because of pervasive religious persecution and long-standing interreligious tensions in their home country.

MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — Abortions on grounds of gender are legal in Britain, the country’s top prosecutor clarified in a letter to the government. Keir Starmer, director of public prosecutions, said in a recent letter to Attorney General Dominic Grieve that the 1967 Abortion Act “does not expressly prohibit genderspecific abortions.”

In the letter, released to the media, he explained the reasons why the Crown Prosecution Service had declined to lay charges against two doctors who had agreed to arrange abortions of female fetuses because of their gen-

der. He said the Act prohibited “any abortion carried out without two medical practitioners having formed a view, in good faith, that the health risks of continuing with a pregnancy outweigh those of a termination. The only basis for a prosecution would be that the doctors failed to carry out a ‘sufficiently robust assessment’ of the risks to their patient’s health,” he said.

In September, Grieve had asked Starmer to clarify the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute the doctors amid an outcry from politicians and Church leaders who were concerned that the law had been broken.

Britain’s top prosecutor confirms gender-based abortions are legal

Refugees live in overcrowded, impoverished areas, beset by infrastructure and security problems. Shelter is limited, life is expensive, jobs, health care and education are scarce, and stress is high, Chadla said. There is competition between refugees and established migrant workers.

Lack of coordination among U.N. agencies, local and international nongovernmental organizations complicates the situation, she said.

“Caritas was present from the first days to support the refugees,” Chadla said. It operates a 24-hour aid and referral hotline, as well as shelter and winterization assistance.

Donald Rogers, Church engagement adviser for Catholic Relief Services, said his organization works closely with Caritas International, the global Catholic aid agency. It provides medical assistance, food, hygiene supplies, counseling, shelter and educational opportunities. CRS, the U.S.

bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, operates throughout the Middle East, including Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.

In Turkey, refugee camps are not a welcome concept and people refuse to register with U.N. agencies, Rogers said. CRS and other private voluntary agencies “have found it most appropriate to work with refugees who have not found their ways to camps, but are staying with families, people they know and others in a similar situation,” he said.

Grainne O’Hara, senior policy adviser to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said a “mixed migration” of people to the Middle East from Africa added to people of many nationalities already “on the move within the region.” Nonetheless, “the scale of the Syrian situation demands much of our attention” and funding is a major question, she said.

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Addressing discrepancies in funding, Archbishop Chullikatt noted, “We have money to make a military intervention, at a minimum cost of $1 million or $2 million per missile, but not to help in the humanitarian effort or to work for peace.”

He said Pope Francis’ pastoral outreach to immigrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in July and his concern for the death of more than 200 Africans migrants in a boat sinking near there October 3 underscores “the emphasis that the Catholic Church places on coming to the aid of migrants and refugees.”

Pope Francis called the Lampedusa tragedy “shameful” and the archbishop said, “The plight of the migrants on this boat is symbolic of that of the millions of migrants and refugees from every region who have to leave their countries each year to escape poverty and conflict in hopes of a better life.”

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The Church in the U.S.

October 18, 2013

Loyola Marymount abortion policy change prompts criticism

Los Angeles, Calif.

(CNA/EWTN News) — A Jesuit college in California has sparked controversy by announcing that it will stop directly covering elective abortions, but will instead offer employees a separate, unsubsidized plan to cover them.

“At the end of the day, this insurance scheme facilitates employees’ abortions,” said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which works to promote authentic Catholic identity at Catholic colleges.

“This has been billed as a compromise on insurance coverage, but in reality it’s a compromise of the faith and of LMU’s commitment to Catholic teaching — and it’s going to lead to innocent babies being killed in the womb.”

The decision was announced in a recent letter from David W. Burcham, president of Loyola Marymont University, and Kathleen Hannon Aikenhead, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

“We acknowledge that the issue of abortion is extremely complicated and encompasses varied and competing values that often leave no one happy,” the letter said.

“Nonetheless, we believe that the right to life and dignity for every human being is a fundamental part of Catholic beliefs (all other rights flow from this primary right to life and dignity), and that this vision needs to be evidenced in LMU’s policies and procedures.”

Burcham explained that, after years of paying for abortions under their insurance plans, the university had, “for the first time, been given the option to exclude elective abortions from its principal health insurance plans.”

He continued, adding that after receiving feedback from the campus community, the university decided to end coverage for elective abortions for the 2014 school year “because we take very seriously our fiduciary role as guardians of LMU and, particularly, upholding its Jesuit/Marymount and Catholic identity,

mission, history and tradition.”

He explained that the decision is in line with the Catholic and Jesuit understanding of the “core teaching on the dignity of every human being at all stages of life.”

However, the school “will continue to cover therapeutic abortions, contraception and other forms of reproductive care mandated by the State of California.”

In addition, it will facilitate access to elective abortions People hold candles in front of the chancery of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., during a prayer service through a third-party adminis- for immigration reform on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. (CNS photo/Joseph R. LaPlante, Rhode trator. These abortions will not be Island Catholic) funded by the university, but by employees who opt into the plan.

“The TPA-managed plan will cover elective abortions, for which an employee will pay a Washington D.C., adult desires and sexual needs are larly same-sex parents. slightly higher premium,” the (CNA/EWTN News) — Main- of primary concern, and the needs In addition, Anderson obletter explained. “The employee taining Marriage as a union be- of children produced by such a served that “the breakdown of will be responsible for the en- tween a man and a woman is a union are secondary. the family” in the latter half of the tirety of the cost associated with matter of social justice, said Ryan However, this understanding 20th century was accompanied this additional coverage and, Anderson, a political scholar and of Marriage is lacking, Anderson by a rise in social dysfunction, thus, no LMU dollars will be editor of the online journal Public said, as it does not take into ac- marked by a widespread number used in paying for this addition- Discourse, in a recent talk. count the needs of children, “nor of indicators ranging from school al coverage.”

Speaking to students at can it describe or define or defend” performance to crime rates to The decision — both to stop Georgetown University in Wash- the norms surrounding Marriage, decreased adult happiness. These covering elective abortions directly ington, D.C., Anderson acknowl- such as why government is in- indicators show a marked correand to offer the third-party plan edged that efforts to redefine Mar- volved in it; its restriction to two lation with fatherlessness rates in — has raised opposition from fac- riage are often characterized as people; why it is sexual; and why the home. ulty on both sides of the issue.

Mothers are always present at it should be permanent. being rooted in a sense of justice.

Anna Muraco, a sociology This understanding of Mar- a child’s birth, the scholar continHowever, he said, the case professor, told The Daily Breeze against redefining Marriage is riage “makes it more about the ued. “The question for culture is that she was disappointed with actually an argument based upon desires of adults and less about whether a father will be present, the decision, arguing that abor- justice, “precisely because Mar- children” and their needs, said and if so, for how long?” tion is a matter of equality and riage exists as the prime institu- Anderson, adding that “the con“If you redefine Marriage in the school should cover it. tion of social justice that guaran- sequence of redefining Marriage law, there will be no institution left “Don’t be surprised if some- tees and protects the rights and is that more people will think of that even holds as an idea the right where down the line there will be well-being of children.” their relationship in those terms of a child to have a relationship an attempt to restrict sterilization “If you care about social jus- and that it will produce bad social with both a mother and a father.” coverage or limits on services for tice and you care about limited outcomes, especially for children.”

Such a redefinition “holds up transgendered Americans or do- government; if you care about the But across diverse societies and in law that men and women are mestic partner benefits,” she said. poor and you care about freedom throughout history, he contended, functionally interchangeable” thus Faculty members who wel- — it’s better served by a healthy Marriage has been understood as preventing the law from teaching come the college’s decision to Marriage culture than by govern- a “comprehensive union” in which “that fathers are essential.” Rather, not fund abortions, however, also ment picking up the pieces of a man and woman become “one it “will make fathers optional,” have questions about the new broken Marriage culture.” flesh,” particularly in their ability likely compounding the alreadypolicy, due to its facilitation of Anderson, a Ph.D. candidate to create children. As a whole, in existing consequences of fatherabortions through the third-par- in political philosophy at the this understanding, “Marriage lessness in society. ty administrator.

“If you care about the poor, University of Notre Dame, is also is ordered to the comprehensive “I don’t think it makes much co-author of the book, “What Is good in the creation and raising what can we do to make it more sense,” said Christopher Kaczor, Marriage? Man and Woman: A of children.” likely that these men commit to a Loyola philosophy professor to Defense.”

This understanding is also the women that they are in relaThe Daily Breeze.

Determining Marriage’s defi- “based on the social reality that tionships with, and then take re“It’s like saying abortion is se- nition and limits is the primary children deserve a mother and a sponsibility for the children that riously wrong, I will not drive you concern of the Marriage debate, father” and that “there’s some- they create?” Anderson asked. to the abortion clinic, but wait Anderson said in his recent talk.

“The reason why the state is in thing about gender that matters” here and I’ll have my brother the Marriage business is to maxi“Everyone wants Marriage in the raising of children. drive you — and that somehow equality: we all want the govern“There is no parenting in the mize the opportunity that every gives them clean hands.” ment to treat all Marriages as abstract: there is mothering and child will be raised by a mother equal, but that begs the question there is fathering,” he said, and and a father, and preferably by the both mothers and fathers “bring mother and the father that cre— what is Marriage? ated the child,” he said.

He explained that many of different gifts” to children.

“The state wants to ensure that He pointed to studies examinthose who promote the redefinition of Marriage to include same- ing socio-economic factors, which a man and a woman commit to sex couples understand Marriage show that children raised by their each other as husband and wife, to be an intense kind of romantic biological mothers and fathers permanently and exclusively,” he relationship between sexual part- fare better than those raised by stressed, “and when this doesn’t ners. In this view of Marriage, other family structures, particu- happen, the social costs run high.”

Defense of Marriage is a social justice issue, scholar says

The Church in the U.S. Catholic Charities faces challenges from government shutdown

October 18, 2013

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — As the U.S. government shutdown continues, nonprofit aid groups such as Catholic Charities are feeling an added strain on their work at the national and local levels.

“While some may wonder what effect political disagreements in Washington, D.C., could have on people in need across our country,” explained Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, “the truth of the matter is that

uncertainty, furloughs, and limited resources at federal agencies directly hinder the vital work Catholic Charities agencies do every day.”

“The impact of this shutdown is being felt in communities across the nation,” he explained in a recent blog post.

The government shutdown began on October 1, when federal lawmakers failed to agree on spending authorization bills for the new fiscal year.

This stalemate prompted a shutdown of government ser-

Los Angeles, Calif.

(CNA/EWTN News) — Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez encouraged a gathering of thousands of teens to deepen their respect for all human life and to show society how to reach out in love and compassion to all those in need.

“Our job as Christians is to show our society a new way. A way of love. A way of welcoming and hospitality,” he said recently.

He stressed the need to defend “the sanctity and the dignity of all human life — from conception, through life until natural death.”

“We need to reach out to everyone with the helping hand of Jesus Christ — from the woman expecting a child to the handicapped and the aged. We need to be people of mercy and understanding — welcoming to everyone.”

The archbishop spoke to an audience of more than 5,000 Catholic junior high and high school students at the “Christian Service 4 Life” event at the

StubHub Center at California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif.

The event, which took place during the Church’s Respect Life Month, was co-sponsored

by Life SoCal, a Pro-Life group in southern California.

Other speakers included actor Eduardo Verastegui and 2011 Miss Delaware, Maria Cahill.

Leaders of community organizations talked to the students about how to help the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and pregnant women and their unborn children.

Archbishop Gomez lamented the loss of respect for life in the culture, evident in the problems of abortion, euthanasia, street violence, domestic violence, the neglect of the old and the sick, and other forms of indifference to suffering.

He encouraged the students to ask what Jesus wants from them and to be “a voice for the people God loves.”

“Our God loves and cares for every one He has created — especially the innocent and de-

vices deemed “non-essential,” including education programs for at-risk preschoolers, scientific research, and grants to charitable organizations.

As a result, federal workers working for “non-essential services” have been furloughed, placed on unpaid leave, until legislators can agree on spending bills.

The shutdown’s impact on aid programs — such as food stamps and the Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program

— has been mixed. Some programs are protected from the effects of the shutdown, while others are subject to a freeze in federal administration funding.

Across the country, Father Snyder said, furloughed workers are relying upon Catholic Charities to help feed their families while they are not receiving pay due to the shutdown. At the same time, funding for programs such as Meals on Wheels, initiatives to help at-risk youth, and other activities that rely upon federal grants are on hold.

“Our agencies are being forced to choose between shutting the doors to muchfenseless, those who can’t take needed programs or opening care of themselves,” he said. them at a severe loss while “Especially those lives that are waiting for government reimweak and fragile, ‘inconvenient’ bursement that may or may or a burden to others — the not ever come,” Father Snyder child in the womb, the sick and explained. the handicapped, the elderly.”

The shutdown is also afAction to protect the vul- fecting Catholic Charities afnerable is part of the Christian filiates throughout the country. mission in the world, the arch- Many of these affiliates have bishop explained. been forced to go without gov“My young friends, Jesus ernment funding during the needs you! The Church needs shutdown, while at the same you and our society needs you! time seeing increased need in We need your energy, your en- their community due to furthusiasm and your hope. You are loughed workers. the future!” he said, citing Pope Michael Burrus, executive Francis’ words of encouragement director of Catholic Chariat World Youth Day in Brazil.

Archbishop Gomez said that Jesus Christ is calling each person to be “disciples” and “missionaries” who will “go and serve others” and tell others about Him. “My young friends, Jesus is calling us to be saints! And you are never too young to answer that calling!”

The archbishop recounted the story of St. David Roldán Lara, a Mexican 19-year-old who was martyred in the antiCatholic persecutions in Mexico in the early 20th century.

The young man worked peacefully to resist the persecution, but was arrested with his friends and his parish priest. He was “smiling and joyful” even in the days before his execution by firing squad.

Archbishop Gomez described the teen-age saint as a model for youth.

“So let’s go be Christian servants for life! Go to Jesus and serve Him by your love and compassion for others. Serve Him by your witness to the Gospel of Life!” he urged, asking the Virgin Mary to help Catholics “build the culture of life in our time.”

Teach society to respect life, Archbishop Gomez tells teens

Teens attend the “Christian Service 4 Life” event. (Photo by Victor Alemán/vida-nueva.com)

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ties in the Diocese of Wichita, told the Wichita Star when the shutdown started that the organization would try its best to continue running its programs.

However, he said, “if the government is out of business, Catholic Charities cannot expect to continue to receive funds to support these programs or to pay staff to run them.”

Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C., is also facing challenges to its programs, a situation which is compounded by the city’s close relationship to the federal government.

“Due to the unique ways that D.C. is funded, we’re running into a lot of problems or funding delays that no other states or Catholic Charities are encountering,” communications director Erik Salmi told CNA. Because the budget of the nation’s capital requires congressional authorization, many of its programs and services are placed on hold during the shutdown.

Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C. is “in the midst of assessing our situation,” Salmi continued, adding that the organization has the capacity “for a short while to continue providing services.”

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October 18, 2013

Anchor Editorial

The untier of knots

Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires Eduardo Garcia told the news service Rome Reports back in August about a special devotion that Pope Francis promoted in Argentina, back before he was elected pope — that of Our Lady, Untier of Knots.

“It’s a German advocation [and] he first enthroned a depiction [of Mary under this title] at a parish. Mary Untier of the Knots is Our Lady who unties all problems in life, and frees us from the deceptions the devil bounds us to,” the auxiliary bishop said. He told the news agency that Pope Francis discovered this Marian title while in Germany in the 1980s, while he researched the works of theologian Romano Guardini. “Today, the image is honored by thousands in Argentina,” according to Rome Reports.

This past Saturday the Holy Father brought this title of Mary’s to mind when he led people in prayer (in St. Peter’s Square and throughout the world) to our Blessed Mother. He spoke of Mary’s faith and said, “The first aspect of her faith is this: Mary’s faith unties the knot of sin (cf. Lumen Gentium, 56). What does that mean? The fathers of the Second Vatican Council took up a phrase of St. Irenaeus, who states that ‘the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith’ (Adversus Haereses, III, 22, 4). The ‘knot’ of disobedience, the ‘knot’ of unbelief.

When children disobey their parents, we can say that a little ‘knot’ is created. This happens if the child acts with an awareness of what he or she is doing, especially if there is a lie involved. At that moment, they break trust with their parents. You know how frequently this happens! Then the relationship with their parents needs to be purified of this fault; the child has to ask forgiveness so that harmony and trust can be restored. Something of the same sort happens in our relationship with God. When we do not listen to Him, when we do not follow His will, we do concrete things that demonstrate our lack of trust in Him — for that is what sin is — and a kind of knot is created deep within us. These knots take away our peace and serenity. They are dangerous, since many knots can form a tangle which gets more and more painful and difficult to undo.”

The pope then gave his listeners hope. “But we know one thing: nothing is impossible for God’s mercy! Even the most tangled knots are loosened by His grace.

And Mary, whose ‘yes’ opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience, is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God, so that He can untangle the knots of our soul by His Fatherly mercy. We all have some of these knots and we can ask in our heart of hearts: What are the knots in my life?

‘Father, my knots cannot be undone!’ It is a mistake to say anything of the sort! All

the knots of our heart, every knot of our conscience, can be undone. Do I ask Mary to help me trust in God’s mercy, to undo those knots, to change? She, as a woman of faith, will surely tell you: ‘Get up, go to the Lord: He understands you.’ And she leads us by the hand as a Mother, our Mother, to the embrace of our Father, the Father of mercies.”

Just as the Archangel Gabriel told Mary, “nothing will be impossible for God,” so no knot of sin is impossible for God to untangle (and Mary works to get the cords loosened for us).

Pope Francis spoke about how Mary looks upon us and he wanted to help his listeners not fear Mary, but realize that she is always looking upon us with love and encouragement, even when we are trying to get so far away from her and her Son due to sin. “Mary’s gaze! How important this is! How many things can we say with a look! Affection, encouragement, compassion, love, but also disapproval, envy, pride and even hatred. Often a look says more than words; it says what words do not or dare not say. At whom is the Virgin Mary looking? She is looking at each and every one of us. And how does she look at us? She looks at us as a Mother, with tenderness, mercy and love. That was how she gazed at her Son Jesus at all the moments of His life — joyful, luminous, sorrowful, glorious — as we contemplate in the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, simply and lovingly.”

The pope’s remarks remind us of our own need to use our words and gestures in a loving fashion, so that we do not make any sinner (including ourselves) feel despair, but instead know that there is always love awaiting them in God’s family, the Church.

The Holy Father also reminded us to not be self-centered, thinking that Mary is only looking at us. “Mary’s gaze is not directed towards us alone.” He spoke about Mary at Calvary and at the wedding of Cana. “The gaze of Mary was fixed on Jesus.

Mary says to us, ‘Do whatever He tells you’ ( Jn 2:5). Mary points to Jesus, she asks us to bear witness to Jesus, she constantly guides us to her Son Jesus, because in Him alone do we find Salvation. He alone can change the water of our loneliness, difficulties and sin into the wine of encounter, joy and forgiveness. He alone. In the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Mary says to us: “Look at my Son Jesus, keep your gaze fixed on Him, listen to Him, speak with Him. He is gazing at you with love. Do not be afraid! He will teach you to follow Him and to bear witness to Him in all that you do, whether great and small, in your family life, at work, at times of celebration. He will teach you to go out of yourself and to look upon others with love, as He did. He loved you and loves you, not with words but with deeds.”

Pope Francis’ weekly Angelus address and prayer Dear brothers and sisters, Today, in Terragona, Spain about 500 martyrs, killed for their faith during the Spanish civil war of the 1930s, are being proclaimed blessed. Let us praise the Lord for these courageous witnesses of His and through their intercession let us supplicate [God] to free the world from all violence.

I thank all of you who came in great numbers from Rome, from Italy and from many parts of the world for this celebration of faith dedicated to Mary our Mother.

[Speaking in Spanish, the Holy Father said:]

I greet with affection the Panamanian group who are meeting today in Rome and I entrust them to the protection of Our Lady of Antigua, Heavenly patroness of this dear nation.

[Speaking again in Italian, he said] I greet the children of the Piccole Impronte [Small Prints] International Orchestra for Peace, and the National Association for Amputee and Handicapped Workers.

I greet the young people of Rome, who have recently undertaken the “Jesus at the Center” mission: always be missionaries OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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of the Gospel, every day and in every place! And I happily address a greeting also to the inmates of the prison of Castrovillari.

And now let us pray together: The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

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

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

Hail Mary...

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

Hail Mary...

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

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

Pope Francis touches the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima after entrusting the world to Mary at the end of a Mass in her honor in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican October 13. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Anchor Columnists The hidden face of inextinguishable maternal love

October 18, 2013

O

n October 15, we marked a still littleknown observance on the national calendar: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Twenty-five years ago President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month when he said, “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them.”

The observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day and Month is meant to acknowledge the loss so many parents experience — estimates are that 10 to 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriages and that one in four women will suffer a miscarriage — and to spur society to better to understand their sorrow and learn how to reach out to them.

For those infants who die after birth, there is normally a burst of compassion and solidarity. The social media erupts with prayers and condolences, churches are packed for funerals, and tears flow in downpours.

When children die before birth, however, parents often grieve alone. Influenced by an abortion culture that refuses to acknowledge the humanity of children in the womb, few

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he world if full of opposites: night and day, winter and summer, hot and cold, wet and dry, up and down ... you get the idea.

People too, sometimes unfortunately, can be opposites.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure, no privilege, to attend the ordination of 15 faithful men as permanent deacons for the Diocese of Fall River.

There was no question that, to a man, they were nervous before the Mass began. A nervousness accompanied by a great sense of excitement as well.

Since I was taking pictures at the Mass, I was able to have a great vantage point to the rear and side of the altar.

From there, I was able to witness the men as the day unfolded for them.

As the service progressed, I watched all the men transform from a state of awe

know what to say to parents who have lost what many medical personnel call simply “pregnancy material.”

Even in the Church, while bereavement ministries have grown and Pro-Life apostolates have increased care and concern for pregnant women and their children, there are very few resources for women who miscarry.

In June, I was at an academic conference and saw a friend of mine from New York.

She asked if I might have some time to talk.

Maria told me that after many years of Marriage trying to conceive a child, she discovered during a doctor’s visit that she had both conceived and miscarried.

Her emotional pain was still raw. She had sought help from many in the Church, but what she received poured salt rather than salve on her wounds. She lamented that the Church doesn’t have adequate resources or a sufficient pastoral theology to help women in her circumstances and that many of the Church’s ministers don’t seem to have the training to console and accompany families experiencing this type of grief.

I told her that I agreed with her about this huge gap in the Church’s pastoral care and asked if she might be willing to help remedy it.

I encouraged her to take

some time to pray about writing an article that could be given to those who have experienced similar grief and at the same time help all those who would seek to assist women or couples undergoing such grief to enter into their experiences. I said

Putting Into the Deep

By Father Roger J. Landry that this might be one way God would be able to bring good out of what she’s had to endure.

A couple of weeks ago Maria Grizzetti sent me an email telling me that she had acted on the suggestion. The 3,000-word essay she wrote, “The Hidden Face of Love: An Open Letter to Women (and Men) Who Have Lost Children, and Those Who Know Them,” is so well done — deeply personal, theologically profound yet accessible, and beautifully written — that I told her I wouldn’t be surprised if it were still being read in centuries.

I would urge all those who have experienced miscarriages, love those who have, or minister in the Church to read the essay, to save it and to pass it on. It can be found at http:// incarnationandmodernity.

wordpress.com/2013/10/02/ the-hidden-face-of-love-anopen-letter-to-women-andmen-who-have-lost-childrenand-those-who-know-them/ “It is critically important,” Maria wrote, “that those of us who have lived through this harsh reality, and bear its effects on a daily basis, take on the maternal and paternal mission to speak of our hidden love, a love known only in grief, so as to offer to others the olive branch that unites their grief with affection, and so becomes healing balm to the broken-hearted.”

She begins with words of condolence that so often those who have experienced miscarriages never hear.

“I am so sorry that you have lost your child. I am so sorry that death comes so suddenly.

I am so sorry that you have to face it, possibly alone. I am so sorry that our bodies play so real a role in this loss. I am so sorry that you have no words. I am so sorry that this is so tragic.

I am so sorry that your heart is pierced with so hidden a pain.

I am so sorry that life can be so very hard, and that you are paralyzed by grief. I am so sorry that so few know, and fewer still know what to say. I am so sorry that so much of what is said to you is so wrong. I am so sorry that few understand the

7

immensity of this loss. I am so sorry for you, and for those who love this child as you do.”

But she says the choice is to remain “alone in anguish” or to realize with hope “that in the very heart of that misery what we possess in its fullness, what we are seeing, is the hidden face of love.”

The death of a child, she declared, “is not the death of our maternity.”

“In this particular suffering, the suffering of child-loss, all too common as it is, the human heart is given two treasures: the fruitfulness of a brief physical maternity, and the privileged kind of love that transcends the purely physical and becomes the vision of love’s hidden face,” she declares. “It seems cruel to say to another who is in the travail of sorrow and grief, that their loss is somehow a gain. But it would be a lie not to. The harsh reality of child-loss leads us to know that love which death cannot divide, and only strengthens.”

“Beyond the seemingly squandered and endless tears” after a miscarriage, she wrote, “is the shower of grace that gives far more than the immensity of what is lost,” for the “sufferings of the present time do not compare to the glories yet to be revealed.”

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

Reported to the teacher Sunday afternoons. We’ve been and wonder, to exhibiting a doing that for months, and in countenance of peace — real the summer months with the peace. windows open. My neighbors As the men received the in my condo unit on either side Sacrament of Holy Orders, I could tell they understood fully told us they enjoyed it. Other what God was calling them to do, and they were more than happy to comply.

I left St. Mary’s Cathedral feeling really good about what

By Dave Jolivet I just experienced.

Unfortunately, leaving the cathedral also brought me back into the real neighbors in other buildings world — sometimes a complete never said anything. opposite of the inner sanctuary Well it turns out one couple of God’s house. who moved in this year didn’t For the rest of the day, I like it — except for one thing felt within the warmth of the ... they never told me. ordination. I even told Emilie Saturday, another neighbor about it. told me the couple was going Then came the opposite. to file a complaint with the I wrote, a few columns back, condo board about my music how Emilie’s boyfriend Danny ... the guitar playing and the and I jam on guitar most music Denise and I listen to

My View From the Stands

while we’re on the deck.

Evidently there was a problem that could have been resolved immediately had they just told me about it. I would have been more than happy to tone it down, or even start playing in my basement, which I’ve started to do since learning all this secondhand.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why someone would rather choose a confrontational approach, like going to tell the teacher, rather than just say, “Hey, would you mind toning it down?”

Danny and I play music not to annoy other people. Far from it. We play together because we enjoy playing together and enjoy each other’s company.

I like the fact that he and Emilie want to spend time with us, and he and I get to share a mutual love for music.

After learning that I’ll soon be hearing from the “teacher,” the warm, peaceful feeling I had leaving the cathedral that day vanished in heartbeat.

All these months, I thought there was no problem with what I was doing ... otherwise someone would have told me ... right? Wrong.

Every day we see it. On the streets driving our cars; in the supermarket picking up a few groceries; or grabbing a quick bite at a restaurant — people can be so very nice, and others can be so very nasty.

Emilie is learning that as she matures and often makes mention of it. I tell her the best that we can do is be the best person we can be.

It’s hard to do sometimes though ... while waiting to hear from the teacher.

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

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“R

emember Amalek!” These two words are inscribed on the gravestone of an anonymous Jewish man who was killed during an anti-Semitic riot in Paris in 1956.

They refer to a challenging situation the Israelites faced on their journey to the Promised Land. As this Sunday’s first reading from Exodus describes it, a fierce desert tribe called the Amalekites attacked them. While the Israelites, led by Joshua, fought back, Moses climbed a hill and prayed for his people, his arms lifted to the heavens. So long as he kept his arms uplifted, the Israelites advanced. When his arms grew tired and began to droop, Amalek’s warriors gained the advantage. Two young Levites, Aaron and Hur, began to support Moses’ arms as he continued to pray for victory — and the Israelites defeated Amalek

October 18, 2013

Never forget to be grateful and his people. tian, we sometimes need a We are in a similar reminder. In this Sunday’s situation today. A powerfamiliar Gospel parable, ful enemy is attacking us, Jesus reminds us about “the and that enemy wants to necessity to pray always, destroy our families, our without becoming weary.” parishes, our souls. We have He uses the example of a to fight back. We need men today like Moses, Aaron and Homily of the Week Hur, who will lift up Twenty-ninth Sunday their arms and pray in Ordinary Time (I’m not excluding women here, but

By Father Conrad too often praying Salach, O.F.M., Conv. has been left up to the ladies). While the task of intercessory prayer belongs first to woman whose only resource priests, it does not stop at is persistence as she badgers priests. The most importhe judge to rule in her fatant role of a husband and vor. Jesus tells us to imitate father is to pray for his wife her when we pray. So we and children — to bring see in Exodus and Luke them to God. The Bible is the power of intercessory clear: God charges men, as prayer — and praying with priests and family leadpersistence, not growing ers, to take up the role of weary, but keeping at it. prayerful intercession.

It is easy to become frusWhile prayer should be trated while trying to live second nature for a Christhe Christian life and fall-

ing short of the ideal. The temptation might be to give up and give in, feeling too weak to continue the fight for the Lord, which is really the fight for ourselves, for our own spiritual lives. We can give up — or else we can trust God, continue to pray, and do our best. Remember, it is really God Who will defeat our spiritual enemies. We just need to keep praying, trusting, and doing our part to put up the good fight.

As the Christian community, we help one another to hold up our arms in prayer.

Jesus has told us to persevere in prayer, and He will defeat the Amalekites, in whatever shape they take when they attack us.

Someone might ask, “Why pester God with so many requests, since He already knows our needs?”

Here are two reasons: The most obvious one is that Jesus has told us to “Ask, and you shall receive; knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Lk 11:9).

C.S. Lewis points out a second reason, that is, in a sense, prayer is one more way that God has given us to affect the world. I could say, “God knows I need salt on my eggs to enjoy them, so why bother picking up the shaker?” But no one would say that, because we know we have to do it to get results. The same holds for prayer. Our prayer must become as much a part of us as eating and breathing. God has designed the world so that what matters most depends on prayer. So we need to pray constantly.

Remember Amalek!

Father Salach a Conventual Franciscan friar, is the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Bedford.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct 19, Rom 4:13,16-18; Ps 105:6-9,42-43; Lk 12:8-12. Sun. Oct. 20, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ex 17:813; Ps 121:1-8; 2 Tm 3:14-4:2; Lk 18:1-8. Mon. Oct. 21, Rom 4:20-25; (Ps) Lk 1:69-75; Lk 12:13-21. Tues. Oct. 22, Rom 5:12,15b,17-19,20b-21; Ps 40:710,17; Lk 12:35-38. Wed. Oct. 23, Rom 6:12-18; Ps 124:1-8; Lk 12:39-48. Thurs. Oct. 24, Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 12:49-53. Fri. Oct. 25, Rom 7:18-25a; Ps 119:66,68,76,77,93,94; Lk 12:54-59.

I

doubt that Pope Francis has heard of Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop.

But like “Mr. Cub,” whose love for baseball led him to exclaim, “Let’s play two!” before Sunday doubleheaders in the 1950s, the pope from the end of the world seems to think that papal canonizations are better in tandem: hence the September 30 announcement that Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II will be canonized together on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014.

Predictably, the decision caused some unhappiness in some quarters.

Some Poles wanted John Paul II canonized by himself.

Some who welcomed the decision to canonize John XXIII are disgruntled that “their” pope has to share the billing with the pope they think hijacked John XXIII’s Vatican II. The aggrieved Poles should (and most will) recognize that, while John Paul II brought uniquely Polish insights and experiences to the papacy, he now belongs to the entire world Church. The aggra-

A papal canonization doubleheader

like other councils, it defined vated partisans of John XXIII no dogmas, condemned no should, but probably won’t, concede that the “John XXIII” heresies (or heretics), commissioned no catechism, wrote no they’ve have constructed in new canons into the law of the their imaginations bears little Church. Vatican II did give resemblance to the real John the Church 16 documents of XXIII, and that the charge of council hijacking is ludicrous.

In fact, it might be reasonably speculated that Pope Francis liked the idea of a papal canonization doubleBy George Weigel header precisely because it will underscore the continuity between differing magisterial “weight,” John XXIII’s intention and but it provided no interpreJohn Paul II’s authoritative tive keys to its body of teachinterpretation of Vatican II: ing. The result was 20 years Vatican II was intended to of argument, sometimes quite prepare the Church for the bitter. And in those arguments, challenges of evangelization as Pope Emeritus Benedict in late modernity, an intenXVI put it, the idea of Vaticantion realized by John Paul II’s use of the council’s teaching to II-as-rupture-with-the-past (which seemed to detach the launch the world Church into the New Evangelization of the Church of the future from its historical and doctrinal moorthird millennium. ings) contended with the idea Vatican II differed from of Vatican-II-as-developmentthe previous 20 ecumenical of-the-authoritative-traditioncouncils in that it provided of-the-Church (the tradition no authoritative keys for its providing the reference points proper interpretation. Un-

The Catholic Difference

for grasping the true meaning of the council).

At the very outset of his pontificate in 1978, John Paul II said that the full implementation of Vatican II would be the program of his papacy. He kept that pledge, providing authoritative interpretations of virtually all of the council’s documents through his own encyclicals, apostolic letters, and post-synodal apostolic exhortations. Perhaps most importantly, he called a special meeting of the world Synod of Bishops in 1985, to assess what had gone right, and what had gone not-soright, in the 20 years since Vatican II closed on Dec. 8, 1965. That synod, in turn, offered the Church a connective thread with which the various pieces of Vatican II might be woven together into a full tapestry, by describing the Church as a communion of disciples in mission. Catholicism begins with Christ (hence discipleship); those

disciples are joined in a community, a “communion,” that is different from any other association because it is the Mystical Body of Christ; that “communion” exists for mission — to spread the Gospel and offer men and women the possibility of friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The liveliest parts of the world Church today are found where Catholics have embraced this vision of a communion of disciples in mission; the dying parts of the world Church are those that cling to the false idea of Vatican-II-as-rupture. Pope Francis, who urges the Church to avoid being “self-referential” and to get about the business of spreading the healing message of the Gospel, is very much a pope of the New Evangelization, which he understands to be a fruit of Vatican II. And that’s why it’s entirely appropriate for him to canonize John XXIII and John Paul II the same day.

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

October 18, 2013

L

ast month the Catholic world snapped to attention when Pope Francis’ interview in America Magazine hit the stands. Before anyone could read the words it had been dissected by the secular press and dished out to the general public in interesting and provocative sound bites. Since the article’s release it has become the grist for every Catholic commentator’s mill. The myriad attempts at interpretation of the pope’s remarks could replace Rorschach’s ink blot test since everyone sees something different in the interview. If there was a dollar donated for every time someone said, “What Pope Francis really meant,” we could wipe away the national debt. One well-known Catholic apologist even stated that he didn’t read the pope’s interview because he already knows what he believes on the issues.

However one may try to rethink the pope’s message, he really did say that “the dogmatic and moral teachings of the Church are not all equivalent,” and that “The proclamation of the saving love of God

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his weekend I will be returning home for a grand celebration! This month of October, one of fall festivities, harvest festivals, and Halloween preparations, is the month that my grandfather, who my family refers to as our Pa, will celebrate his 90th birthday, a true feat and a testament to a life well-lived! And a life full of family, of love, and of faith at that. But for those readers with aging parents, or any individual who you may find yourself devotedly attached to by a bond of love, these celebrations can be bittersweet, for age is a funny thing. When we are children, we long to be older and live a life of sophistication, with more privileges and the part that we often forget to realize before it’s too late and we are faced with them — responsibilities.

Then, when we are older, we find ourselves wondering if we could turn back the hands of time, if just for a moment.

Maybe some of us would even settle for stopping them right where they are. It seems to me that while some could brush this off as simply wishing that the attributes of

Anchor Columnists Putting into action the plan of St. Francis

those issues? This highlights comes before moral and reliexactly the point the pope gious imperatives.” He made his statement; read the various was trying to make, that most people only hear one side of translations and approved the the Church’s teaching and text before it went to print. never get the fullness our traIt couldn’t be clearer; he said dition. This is not their fault; what he believes. it is ours.

It is not surprising that Pope Francis’ remarks hit a nerve with those people who have paid close attention to the Church’s moral teachings throughout their lives of service and commitment to

By Claire McManus the Gospel. More telling, though, is how his words are received In order to grasp what by those circulating around the pope is saying and what the periphery of the Church, loosely connected but ripe for it means for the Church we evangelization. One such per- can go back right back to the start of his papacy when he son, a young adult tenuously explained his choice of name. navigating his path through “For me, St. Francis is the the Church, remarked with annoyance, “The pope said we man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and shouldn’t focus on abortion, protects creation. He is the gay marriage and contraception but he still believes those man who gives us the spirit of peace, the poor man. How I things!” Well of course he would love a Church which is does, and what part of the poor and is for the poor.” By interview ever said that there embracing his inner Francis would be a change in the the pope wants to model for Church’s moral teachings on

The Great Commission

us the way in which each of us should be Church to the world. Pope Francis is telling the world that we, as Church, not only wish to end abortion, but also must be strident protectors of children, the elderly and the disabled. We value the lives of the unborn, and we also oppose euthanasia, and wish to end the death penalty. We not only wish to protect lives, but we also believe in the dignity of all people. So we speak out against human trafficking and all forms of slavery in the world.

We shed our political armor to stand up for immigration reform and access to adequate health care for all people. We are a Church for the poor, and so we fight ardently to eliminate poverty and end hunger and homelessness. We are a Church that exudes a Spirit of peace, and so we ask the world to seek peaceful solutions rather than resort to war.

We stand with youth to keep them away from violence, and work to eliminate guns from

9 their lives.

Pope Francis described the Church as a field hospital, a place that has “the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful.” This is a very clear departure from a Church that is a court of law, “locked up in small things, in small-minded rules.” This will require a much larger embrace of the world’s problems, but it will result in a Church that is visibly moved by its joys and sorrows. The world in which we live is complex, but at the core of each problem or issue is a human being loved by God and in need of Salvation.

The path that Pope Francis is carving out for the Church is not new, and it is not easy.

This pope, Jesuit in formation, Franciscan in spirit, is putting into action the plan set forth

by St. Francis for his first friars: “We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home any who have lost their way.”

Anchor columnist Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

To age with grace adulthood are just too overwhelming and simply burdensome at times — for as children, we are never faced with bills, loans, groceries, employment, and cannot even comprehend what it must be like to be responsible for another person, save our stuffed animals or dolls — it all relates back to something I was introduced to in high school. Beginning in my freshman year, I remember being taught about the concept that in order to recognize the Kingdom of God, to ultimately bring it to fruition, we must be as children are — unconditionally loving without skepticism and living without judgment.

And when we are children, this is easy — we know nothing else. We are innocent and trusting of those around us, and thus our purity is that which we are called to model our entire lives after because it is how God loves us. In Matthew 18:1-5, in a story entitled “The Greatest in the Kingdom,” children are even specifically designated the

greatest when the disciples questions Jesus about who that could be, who could be considered as that highly regarded in the Kingdom?

Upon which time, Jesus pulls aside a child and, making

Radiate Your Faith

By Renee Bernier him the focal point of the conversation, says, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” The USCCB offers a supporting commentary, reiterating the point that entry into the Kingdom is not about rank or power, it isn’t about success in life or the wealth we do or do not accrue, but how much we protect our inner children so that they will continue to shine through.

Perhaps a second passage will evoke an image that is familiar, one that resonates with me and is one that I recall

from my own childhood. In Luke 18:15-17, Jesus is being brought infants to bless and the disciples are confused as to His affinity for them, but again, Christ “called the children to Himself and said, ‘Let the children come to Me and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.’”

All of this is not to say that when we are children, we know what dependence is. Rather, when we are children, we may not fully recognize that, only understanding what it means to rely on others when we reach an age where we can see that which our parents do for us, the care our elders provide for us. It is only when we are older do we lose sight of that and return once more into that state of ignorant bliss.

And how often is the case made that as we enter into old age, we do become like children all over again. Now, through this message, I hope

it is evident that it is in more ways than just the obvious.

In fact, the beauty of this return to childhood is that oftentimes, the consciousness that it is happening, is missing. Without realizing it, we all will doff our adult selves. We will become unmuddled by the burdens and responsibilities of adulthood, of life, and we will don our childhood once again. The question becomes, how can we do this today? Must we wait until we too celebrate or 90th birthday to revel in Christ’s light? I don’t think we have to. Thus, I leave you with this challenge. I challenge you, each day, to find some small way that you can interrupt the seriousness of your life and break through to your childlike perspective of the world. Dust away the cobwebs of your imaginations and know the love that awaits us every day. What can we do, each day, to be more like children and to let our inner children out? What can we do, so that we age, but we age with grace?

Anchor columnist Renee Bernier is a Stonehill College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

10

October 18, 2013

The Silver Rose of Our Lady of Guadalupe recently visited St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River during its first visit to the Fall River Diocese. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the rose honors the Blessed Mother and reaffirms the Knights’ dedication to the sanctity of human life. Guarding the rose and icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe were Knights Richard Raiche, left, of Prevost Council # 12380, and Maurice Sirois, of the Fall River Council # 86. The rose made eight stops across the diocese during its nine-day journey. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

Be sure to visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org

October 18, 2013

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Knight Arthur Whittemore shows the Silver Rose of Our Lady of Guadalupe to students at St. Mary’s School in Mansfield. Whittemore is one of the caretakers of the rose during its nine-day inaugural visit to the Diocese of Fall River. After its journey through the Fall River Diocese, the rose is travelling through Rhode Island and will end up, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12, at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., the birthplace of the Knights of Columbus.

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

12

October 18, 2013

Area mother/daughter complete Camino pilgrimage continued from page one

tant Christian pilgrimages during medieval times (along with Rome and Jerusalem); the completion of a pilgrimage route could earn the pilgrim a plenary indulgence.

And while Laurie was intrigued by the Camino and did a little research on the pilgrimage, it wasn’t until Pope Benedict declared the Year of the Faith that she decided to undergo the journey.

“It popped into my head again and I thought, ‘I just feel like I’m being called to do this; it’s just tugging on my heart,’” said Laurie, a parishioner of Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich, “but I didn’t want to do it alone.”

Kirsten Larsen-Silva would soon be given leave from her position as a nanny in Washington D.C. in August when her employer moved to Germany. Living with fellow Catholics, Kirsten’s roommate had done the pilgrimage and shared with Kirsten her experiences.

“A couple of years ago, she did the last stretch of the Camino between León and Santiago, which she accomplished in 10 days! Not long after I met her and heard about her experiences, I saw Martin Sheen’s movie, ‘The Way,’ which is a beautiful, albeit romanticized, depiction of what it is like to walk the Camino,” wrote Kirsten via email from Washington, D.C. When she and her mother were talking, Kirsten said she casually mentioned to her mom about wanting to do the Camino, only to hear that her mother had already been thinking about doing it herself; “When I found out later that it had actually been a few years, I couldn’t believe how beautifully God had made all the timing work,” said Kirsten.

With her husband supporting the idea, Laurie and Kirsten set about doing some research, organizing their backpacks and flying into Paris, France about a week before they would officially begin the pilgrimage. Taking a train from Paris into St. Jean-Pied-duPort, the women were issued their credenciales from the Pilgrim Office in St. Jean.

The credencial or “pilgrim passport” is a certificate issued by the Cathedral of Santiago, Camino authorities and volunteer associations along the route, which certifies the genuine pilgrim status of the bearer. Pilgrims have their credenciales stamped at least once each day at points all along the route in order to certify that their journey to receiving the compostela (certificate of completion) meets

the conditions required by the Pilgrim Office for the granting of the compostela.

“You must have this credencial.

They’ll ask you questions, look at your passport, and issue the credencial and stress that you’re not a tourist,” said Laurie, “that you’re a pilgrim and you’re walking under the protection of St. James.”

She added, “Some people don’t do it as a pilgrimage, but as a challenge. I thought I would meet many Christians doing it because of spiritual beliefs or reasons, and everybody would be on the same page — that wasn’t the case at all.

Many of the people we met along the way were fallen away Catholics, or weren’t Catholic at all.”

The credencial is also required for access to albergues all along the route; only pilgrims can stay at albergues. Upon arrival in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, the pilgrims present the completed credencial at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago, fill in a questionnaire about why they have made the pilgrimage and then receive his or her compostela.

On the first official day of their journey, the pilgrimage almost ended before it had even begun.

“I’m not used to walking with a backpack,” confessed Laurie. “The first day was particularly grueling.”

Starting on the morning of the feast of the Assumption, the women got a late start after celebrating Mass; “Usually you start at 6:30 in the morning because you want to walk at least 20 kilometers a day and you don’t want to get stuck in the hot sun in the afternoon,” explained Laurie. “I think we left the village around quarter past nine.”

Because of the late start, Kirsten was worried about getting space in the albergue to stay the night (albergues work on a firstcome, first-serve basis) so Laurie, struggling in the heat and under the weight of her backpack, sent Kirsten ahead.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” said Laurie. “It was very hot and it was too late in the day for me to be walking. People kept passing me and asking if I was OK, and I kept saying I’m fine.

I kept trying to find some shade and people kept passing me.

[Kirsten] wasn’t feeling too well but she came back to find me on the trail and she took my pack, and we walked into the albergue together. All those people who kept passing me saw me crawl in; I thought I was going to die. This was the point where I thought, ‘What was I thinking?’”

But the women persevered.

kept thinking this is so amazing that this has been here for hundreds of years, that people have Each day the two would walk been walking the same road for five to six hours, walking roughly hundreds of years, and some of 20-22 kilometers (12.5-14 miles) these villages have barely changed. each day. Each night was spent in Everything is so organized for an albergue, meeting new people, mass production in the United reconnecting with those pilgrims States and everybody [in Spain] is already met on the path and expe- so content to just live their lives.” riencing communal living while There were additional struggles on the journey. for the two women. Two weeks “The albergues all cater to pil- into the pilgrimage, while walking grims; you cannot stay in one un- along a more desolate and open less you are a pilgrim,” said Laurie. area on the path, Laurie began to “You must present your creden- suffer from heatstroke. Sending cial. The rooms are full of bunk her daughter ahead once again, beds, most of the time it’s men Laurie continued on until she ran out of water. After finding a bush, she crawled under it for shade to try and recoup her energy. Still needing to go another two kilometers before reaching the village, she got back on her feet. Suddenly she saw Kirsten and a fellow pilgrim, a Brazilian man they had met on their first day, coming back for her.

The man was doing the pilgrimage with his wife on bicycles but after that first day, “we had lost track of him and hadn’t seen him in days,” said Laurie, of the man who took her backpack from her and biked with it back to the albergue while Laurie and Kirsten walked together.

“He and his wife had gotten sick and they fell behind, and ended up at the same village we Kirsten Larsen-Silva and her were going to stay at,” said Laumother Laurie Larsen-Silva re- rie. “He knew who we were and cently completed the Camino de helped Kirsten come back, and Santiago (the Way of St. James), helped with the water situation. an ancient pilgrimage route that That was a close call; that was culminates at the tomb of St. probably the closest call I had.”

James in Santiago de ComposKirsten also had her own tela in northwest Spain. struggles, including suffering from blisters on her feet. and women together. At night “The blisters, we treated as best you have snoring, so you bring we could. I would drain them at earplugs. You usually check-in night and try my best to rest so as around 1:30 or 2 p.m., so you can to let them heal. My right big toe get your laundry done; the maps caused me far more trouble. I have show you where they’re located, no idea what I did to it, but there but you’re kind of on your own were several days when it felt as finding one. Sometimes there’d though I had somehow bruised be only one, but some villages the muscle on top of it. Just had four or five because they were touching it would send shooting bigger. It is usually a communal pain through my foot,” said Kirstbathroom, even the showers. They en. “I would end up trying to favor were all clean. We would do our other parts of my foot. laundry on washboards. The al“One day was particularly difbergues were more than adequate.” ficult,” continued Kirsten. “It was The women would look for a long, flat stretch across the more and follow the signs bearing the arid part of the Camino, in cenconch shell, the symbol of the tral Spain. I fell behind mom and Camino path and found the sym- pretty much everyone else because bol everywhere, including town every step hurt. My only recourse fountains. The Camino literally was to pray, and to ask my guardgoes through people’s backyards ian angel to be with me and keep and properties on paths worn me company. Towards the end of down from the thousands who that day, I fell in step with a young have taken the pilgrimage. man named Shane, who hailed “It’s incredible,” said Laurie. from San Diego. He slowed his “When I was walking, I was as- pace, and I quickened mine, and tounded how beautiful Spain is. I so we ended up walking and talk-

ing together for a good four or five kilometers. It was the best gift the Lord sent me that day. Talking to people — learning about them, hearing their stories, swapping tales of our experiences on the way, and finding out what we had in common — that was the best way to endure the challenges.

I found that when this happened, I would start forgetting about how miserable I was, and remember once again what a gift it is to walk the Camino, pain and all.”

The women started their pilgrimage on August 15 in St. JeanPied-du-Port, France and finished on September 17 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, proudly waiting in line with their credenciales in hand, presenting them for the final time to receive their compostela, the certificate of completion written in Latin to signify their completing the Camino was done for religious reasons.

As they walked out of the Pilgrim Office at three o’clock, the final moment of their journey was marked by the bell of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela ringing; “It was the Hour of Mercy,” said Laurie. “We looked at each other and started to cry.

That was an amazing part of it for us, to walk out at three o’clock and have that happen.”

Laurie said the experiences made the mother-daughter connection even stronger. Kirsten is the third of her four daughters, and Laurie said she knows that the opportunity to do something of this nature may never arise again. Kirsten said the pilgrimage reinforced her faith, forcing her “to rely on the Lord more than ever, and reminded me how important it is to remember that He is my strength,” she said.

“A lot of what I learned about myself was remarkably humbling,” added Kirsten. “I feel that most of what became apparent to me were my weaknesses, and those areas in which I need very serious growth. I saw much impatience, selfishness and pride in my own heart, all of which were made starkly obvious to me once I was away from everything that was familiar. However, it was an examination of self that I very much needed, and for that, I thank the Lord. And at the same time, I believe that I was permitted to see that, in spite of my human frailty, I am capable of a great deal more than I often believe when I let myself be open to God’s grace.

The Camino forces you to push yourself past your limits. It gives you no other option, other than to give up and go home. In truth, I wanted more times than I could count to do just that. I am so glad that I didn’t.”

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October 18, 2013

‘Pro-Life comedian’ to perform benefit at La Salette Shrine

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

ATTLEBORO — Comedian Mike Williams is proud of the fact that he was adopted.

But he prefers to use the term “rescued” when describing how his mother asked her mailman — a faith-filled man — to “take my son out of this hell-hole that we live in and give him a chance at life,” he said.

“I was definitely rescued many years ago,” the 52-year-old Williams told The Anchor. “I was part of a wave that’s not as much in vogue now … but I managed to survive and thrive.”

The nationally-known comic, motivational speaker and writer has since gone on to an impressive career that has so far yielded 14 CDs, four DVDs, and six books, including the recent “Men Moved to Mars When Women Started Killing the Ones on Venus” and “Love is Not a ThreeLetter Word (A New Look at Abstinence).”

He’ll be performing at the fourth annual Celebrate Life Dinner at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro on October 26 beginning at 6 p.m. to benefit the Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center.

Currently on a 70-day tour, Williams explained how his adoption story and passion for life led him and his wife to adopt a child of their own.

“Being adopted, I always had a soft spot for adopted children and my wife did, too … so we just decided that our first kid was going to be adopted,” Williams said, adding that adoption doesn’t carry the same stigma with it as it once did.

“Back in those days, people didn’t talk about it as much,” he said. “It was almost a taboo thing; they’d whisper: ‘Oh, you know Mike, he’s adopted’ as if you were talking about the plague or something you had to be vaccinated for. Be careful, kids, you might get adopted!”

His remarkable success story and personal beliefs also led to his becoming known as a “Pro-Life comedian” — especially after the Colorado-based Focus on the Family group brought his personal story to national attention.

“I’m a comedian that just happens to be Pro-Life,” Williams said of the label. “Most comedians fall pretty much on the pro-choice side of this issue. To be honest with you, they don’t all fall that way but because the world we live in is very much that way, they choose to just go with the flow. But if you talk to a lot of them individually, you’ll find that out.”

Williams’ undeniable passion

for life shines through when he prefers to keep things “familytalks about being able to support friendly.”

“I’m not denying that people entities such as Abundant Hope.

“They try to help young girls like Richard Pryor or Eddie … to let them know there are a Murphy are amazing — or even lot of folks out there who would Chris Rock, who has one of the love to adopt a child,” he said. most brilliant minds out there “And they help these folks who — it’s just that I have chosen to would love to have a child fulfill do comedy … for any particular their dream. It’s a win-win for ev- audience,” he said. “I can walk onto a cruise ship and do what erybody.”

While he acknowledged that they used to call the ‘blue show’ asking a young girl to carry the baby to term might seem like a burden, it is a wonderful, lifeaffirming act that benefits all involved.

“It’s innately part of the American experience,” Williams said. “We have always been the folks who step up and do the right thing, even if it costs us something. Nobody thinks it’s weird at all to ask a group of high schoolers to give up two years of their lives for the Peace Corps; but yet if someone gets pregnant, they don’t want to tell them to Pro-Life comedian Mike Williams give up nine months?”

A frequent guest on Bananas Comedy Television and a daily — that’s the 11:30 p.m. show — contributor to SiriusXM satellite and do it totally clean and no one radio’s Family Comedy Channel, complains about it. But as a foulWilliams admitted he was a “late mouthed comedian, a blue comebloomer” to the comedy realm dian, I couldn’t do an afternoon and didn’t really set out to be- family show, because then there come a comedian until he was 29. would be problems.”

Williams laughed about the He cited comedians like Emo reaction of promoters after a rePhillips and Bill Cosby as two of cent college show. his influences.

“They came up to me and said “Cosby was such a great influthey were so (blankety-blank) ence on all of us,” Williams said. amazed that I was able to keep “You watch something like ‘Bill their (blankety-blank) attention Cosby — Himself ’ and that conwithout using any (blanketycert is just brilliant.”

Williams said he’s still amazed blank) swear words,” he chuckled. that he’s managed to succeed as “I said: ‘Thank you.’ I mean, how a comedian for the past quarter- do you respond to that?”

Although matters of religion century. and faith are sometimes viewed “I still can’t tell a joke,” he said, as being deathly serious or devoid laughing. “People ask me what I of humor, Williams said laughter do and when I tell them I’m a coand humor are mentioned more median they ask me to tell them a frequently in the Bible than you joke. I say: ‘I don’t tell jokes.’ Over might think. the years I’ve just learned what “There are 42 times in Scripmakes me laugh. I think I’m just ture where laughter and humor funny enough in the way that I are mentioned,” Williams said. tell things that other people find “Do you realize that is about me humorous.”

38 times more than Eucharist Peppered with musical numor Communion is mentioned? bers and sight-gag props, Williams’ show is something more That’s 42 times more than the akin to the observational comedy word Trinity is used in the Bible — Trinity is not even in the Biof Jerry Seinfeld.

“One thing is the show is go- ble. And it’s about 31 times more ing to be clean,” he said when than the word ‘hell’ is used in any asked to describe his act. “I’m not of its forms. Our theology says going to offend anyone. We can we are created in God’s image; so all go dirty, but I’m going to keep if we are created in His image and things clean. Anything you hear we laugh, then He laughs, too.”

Cautioning that he’s not a at the show you can tell the next theologian, Williams said as a day, whether you’re at work, at simple layman it just made sense home, in front of the kids, or at to him that God would want us your church or synagogue.” to be joyful and celebrate life.

While he doesn’t disparage or “I’m well-read, but I don’t have dislike so-called “blue” comedians a Biblical degree,” he said.

“But I who heavily rely on foul language do tell my wife I have a B.S. in to get a laugh, Williams simply

the Bible. It just seems to me that if God is the author of the Bible, He felt it was important enough to mention this many times.”

While he enjoys citing examples of humor found in the Bible, Williams said he avoids reading satirical or comedic works.

“I have to be very careful, because when you tend to read something and think it’s funny, you might use it,” he said. “As someone who makes his living from that, I can’t do that. I have to be original. The things I read and listen to now are so different from me that I couldn’t use any of it in my show. There’s plenty of stuff out there.”

When he’s not in the midst of a 70-day tour doing shows and talks to benefit some 38 different charitable groups and organizations, Williams lives with his family in the Dominican Republic, where he devotes much of his time doing missionary work for the people of nearby Haiti.

“It’s 90 minutes off the coast of the United States and I think it has some of the greatest poverty in this hemisphere,” Williams said. “We started trying to help in any way we can. We started working with the Haitian immigrants who came over to the Dominican Republic, and then of course after the earthquake there was a flood of them coming over.”

Williams and his family helped establish the Cups of Cold Water Project that provides food and shelter for poverty-stricken Dominican and Haitian families.

“We’ve built water purification systems for the villages, we have a feeding program, we’ve established community centers and we have a staff that we employ down there — most of them are natives,” he said. “We have a village of about 50 houses … for the poor. It’s great, we love it. We do what we can to give back.”

Once again exuding that passion and joy for life, Williams said it’s the least he can do to compensate for all the blessings he’s received.

“Let’s be honest, what we’re doing is good, but it makes us feel good, too,” he said. “We’re getting a benefit from it. I love that I get to do what I want to do in life. I get to get up everyday and know someone is going to eat today because of me. If you can look yourself in the face at the end of the day and realize you’ve lived acceptably to yourself, to your neighbors, and to your God, then you’ve been very blessed. It’s been a joy to do it.”

Nationally-known Pro-Life comedian Mike Williams will be performing at the fourth annual Celebrate Life Dinner on October 26 beginning at 6 p.m. at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro to benefit the Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center. For tickets or more information, call 508-4550425.

For more information about Mike Williams or the Cups of Cold Water Project, visit www. mikewilliamscomedy.com or www.cupsofcoldwater.com.

14

October 18, 2013

Pope calls for Catholics to be generous on World Mission Sunday continued from page one

tion of the Gospel is part of being disciples of Christ and it is a constant commitment that animates the whole life of the Church. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community” (BENEDICT XVI, Verbum Domini, 95). Each community is “mature” when it professes faith, celebrates it with joy during the Liturgy, lives charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly, leaves one’s own to take it to the “peripheries,” especially to those who have not yet had the opportunity to know Christ. The strength of our faith, at a personal and community level, can be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to spread and live it in charity, to witness to it before those we meet and those who share the path of life with us.

2. The Year of Faith, 50 years after the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, motivates the entire Church towards a renewed awareness of its presence in the contemporary world and its mission among peoples and nations.

Missionary spirit is not only about geographical territories, but about peoples, cultures and individuals, because the “boundaries” of faith do not only cross places and human traditions, but the heart of each man and each woman. The Second Vatican Council emphasized in a special way how the missionary task: that of broadening the boundaries of faith, belongs to every Baptized person and all Christian communities; since “the people of God lives in communities, especially in dioceses and parishes, and becomes somehow visible in them, it is up to these to witness Christ before the nations” (Ad gentes, 37).

Each community is therefore challenged, and invited to make its own, the mandate entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles, to be His “witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and this, not as a secondary aspect of Christian life, but as its essential aspect: we are all invited to walk the streets of the world with our brothers and sisters, proclaiming and witnessing to our faith in Christ and making ourselves heralds of His Gospel. I invite bishops, priests, presbyteral and pastoral councils, and each person and group responsible in the Church to give a prominent position to this missionary dimension in formation and pastoral programs, in the understanding that their apostolic commitment is not complete unless it aims at bearing witness to Christ before the nations and before all peoples. This missionary aspect is not merely a programmatic dimension in Christian

luminates their path and that only the encounter with Christ can give. Let us bring to the world, life, but it is also a paradigmatic makes it difficult, even for the par- through our witness, with love, dimension that affects all aspects ish community, to know who lives the hope given by faith! The of Christian life. permanently or temporarily in the Church’s missionary spirit is not 3. The work of evangelization area. about proselytizing, but the tesoften finds obstacles, not only More and more, in large ar- timony of a life that illuminates externally, but also from within eas of what were traditionally the path, which brings hope and the ecclesial community. Some- Christian regions, the number of love. The Church — I repeat once times there is lack of fervor, joy, those who are unacquainted with again — is not a relief organizacourage and hope in proclaim- the faith, or indifferent to the re- tion, an enterprise or an NGO, but ing the message of Christ to all ligious dimension or animated a community of people, animated and in helping the people of our by other beliefs, is increasing. by the Holy Spirit, who have lived time to an encounter with Him. Therefore it is not infrequent that, and are living the wonder of the Sometimes, it is still thought, that some of the Baptized make life- encounter with Jesus Christ and proclaiming the truth of the Gos- style choices that lead them away want to share this experience of pel means an assault on freedom. from faith, thus making them deep joy, the message of Salvation Paul VI speaks eloquently on that the Lord gave us. It is this: “It would be … an error appeal to all those who the Holy Spirit Who guides to impose something on the feel this calling to re- the Church in this path. consciences of our brethren.

5. I would like to encourBut to propose to their con- spond generously to the Holy age everyone to be a bearers sciences the truth of the Gos- Spirit, according to your state of the Good News of Christ pel and Salvation in Jesus in life, and not to be afraid to be and I am grateful especially Christ, with complete clarity to missionaries, to the Fidei and with total respect for free generous with the Lord.”

Donum priests, men and options which it presents … women religious and lay is a tribute to this freedom” faithful — more and more (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80). numerous — who by acceptWe must always have the ing the Lord’s call, leave their courage and the joy of prohomeland to serve the Gospel posing, with respect, an enin different lands and cultures. counter with Christ, and being But I would also like to emheralds of His Gospel. Jesus phasise that these same young came amongst us to show us Churches are engaging generthe way of Salvation and He ously in sending missionaries entrusted to us the mission to to the Churches that are in make it known to all to the difficulty — not infrequently ends of the earth. All too ofChurches of ancient Christian ten, we see that it is violence, tradition — and thus bring lies and mistakes that are emthe freshness and enthusiasm phasized and proposed. It is with which they live the faith, urgent in our time to announce a faith that renews life and and witness to the goodness gives hope. To live in this uniof the Gospel, and this from versal dimension, responding within the Church itself. It to the mandate of Jesus: “Go is important to never to fortherefore and make disciples get a fundamental principle of all nations” (Mt 28:19) is somefor every evangelizer: one can- need a “New Evangelization.” thing enriching for each particular not announce Christ without the To all this is added the fact, that a Church, each community, because Church. Evangelization is not an large part of humanity has not yet sending missionaries is never a isolated individual or private act; been reached by the Good News loss, but a gain. it is always ecclesial. of Jesus Christ. We also live in a I appeal to all those who feel this Paul VI wrote, “When an un- time of crisis that touches various calling to respond generously to known preacher, catechist or pas- sectors of existence, not only the the Holy Spirit, according to your tor, preaches the Gospel, gathers economy, finance, food security, state in life, and not to be afraid to the little community together, or the environment, but also those be generous with the Lord. I also administers a Sacrament, even involving the deeper meaning of invite bishops, religious families, alone, he is carrying out an eccle- life and the fundamental values communities and all Christian sial act.” He acts not “in virtue of that animate it. Even human co- groups to support, with foresight a mission which he attributes to existence is marked by tensions and careful discernment, the mishimself or by a personal inspira- and conflicts that cause insecurity sionary call ad gentes and to assist tion, but in union with the mission and difficulty in finding the right Churches that need priests, reliof the Church and in her name” path to a stable peace. In this com- gious and laity, thus strengthening (ibid. 60). And this gives strength plex situation, where the horizon the Christian community. And to the mission and makes every of the present and future seems this concern should also be presmissionary and evangelizer feel threatened by menacing clouds, ent among Churches that are part never alone, but part of a single it is necessary to proclaim cou- of the same Episcopal conference Body animated by the Holy Spirit. rageously and in very situation, or region, because it is important 4. In our era, the widespread the Gospel of Christ, a message that Churches rich in vocations mobility and facility of commu- of hope, Reconciliation, Com- help more generously those that nication through new media have munion, a proclamation of God’s lack them. mingled people, knowledge, ex- closeness, His mercy, His SalvaAt the same time I urge misperience. For work reasons, entire tion, and a proclamation that the sionaries, especially the Fidei Dofamilies move from one conti- power of God’s love is able to num priests and laity, to live with nent to another; professional and overcome the darkness of evil and joy their precious service in the cultural exchanges, tourism, and guide us on the path of goodness. Churches to which they are sent other phenomena have also led to The men and women of our and to bring their joy and experigreat movements of peoples. This time need the secure light that il- ence to the Churches from which

“I

they come, remembering how Paul and Barnabas at the end of their first missionary journey “reported what God had done with them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). They can become a path to a kind of “return” of faith, bringing the freshness of the young Churches to Churches of ancient Christian tradition, and thus helping them to rediscover the enthusiasm and the joy of sharing the faith in an exchange that is mutual enrichment in the journey of following the path of the Lord.

The concern for all the Churches, that the Bishop of Rome shares with his brother bishops finds an important expression in the activity of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which are meant to animate and deepen the missionary conscience of every baptized Christian, and of every community, by reminding them of the need for a more profound missionary formation of the whole People of God and by encouraging the Christian community to contribute to the spread of the Gospel in the world.

Finally I wish to say a word about those Christians who, in various parts of the world, experience difficulty in openly professing their faith and in enjoying the legal right to practice it in a worthy manner. They are our brothers and sisters, courageous witnesses — even more numerous than the martyrs of the early centuries — who endure with apostolic perseverance many contemporary forms of persecution.

Quite a few also risk their lives to remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ. I wish to reaffirm my closeness in prayer to individuals, families and communities who suffer violence and intolerance, and I repeat to them the consoling words of Jesus: “Take courage, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI expressed the hope that: “The Word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere” (2 Thes 3:1): May this Year of Faith increasingly strengthen our relationship with Christ the Lord, since only in Him is there the certitude for looking to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love” (Porta fidei, 15). This is my wish for World Mission Day this year. I cordially bless missionaries and all those who accompany and support this fundamental commitment of the Church to proclaim the Gospel to all the ends of the earth. Thus will we, as ministers and missionaries of the Gospel, experience “the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing” (PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80).

From the Vatican, 19 May 2013, Solemnity of Pentecost FRANCIS

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October 18, 2013

No gay gene?

Not for the first time, The Anchor has printed the phrase “there is no gay gene.” Of course there is not, and neither is there a “heterosexual gene.” The varying human sexualities are the result of a number of genes (some known, others not yet known) working in concert and in sequence.

The result is to produce specific enzymes and hormones which direct the development of the internal plumbing, gonads, external sexual structures, secondary sexual characteristics, brain chemistry, and myriad other features which lead a doctor to declare, “It’s a girl” or “It’s a boy.” However, along the human embryonic developmental pathway there are many potential alternate scenarios. Such alternate possibilities can make it difficult for the doctor to make her declaration with certainty. Sometimes after the declaration has been made, several years later, at puberty, a new declaration may become necessary.

It is well-known that every developing human child is at first female, then if the genes, hormones and enzymes line up in certain ways, gradual changes are worked within the embryo to change the female into a male, using the same originally female structures folded in different ways. How fragile the specific alignments are, and no wonder sometimes alternate paths occur.

This is basic human developmental embryology.

Human sexuality manifests itself along a spectrum for each of the above-mentioned developmental processes: there is internal plumbing ranging from fully female, through partially female and partially male, to fully male. Likewise for gonads, bone mass, hair distribution, hormone production, etc. We all know very girly-girls and very manly-men, and a wide range in between.

All is part of God’s amazing Creation and who are we to say that one path is better than another, when God has created them all.

Sandra M. Cortese St. John the Evangelist Parish, Pocasset Executive Editor responds: Due to the technical nature of your letter, I have asked Anchor columnist Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. to prepare a reply. It follows here: Ms. Cortese has penned an interesting letter. She has most of her facts correct. However, she states, “It is well-known that ev-

Our readers respond ery developing human child is at first female.” This is not quite correct. In humans, up to the seventh week of gestation male and female embryos are very similar, apart from their very different chromosomal makeup. That chromosomal makeup is the precise attribute, at that developmental stage, that allows us to state that a particular embryo is male instead of female, rather than disregarding the reality of chromosomal fixity and asserting that all early embryos are female.

In fact, rudiments of both the male and female reproductive systems are present in early human embryos. A bipotential gonad develops around the fourth week. Changes that will determine whether an embryo will develop the male or female phenotype/appearance begin around the seventh week of gestation. The default differentiation pathway does appear to be “female,” except for the situation in which one has male genetics — the presence of the Y chromosome, of course, ends up being critical and decisive for unleashing the developmental program that leads to a baby boy.

The breakthrough was the discovery in 1990 of the SRY gene (for “sex determining region on Y”) which turned out to be the testis determining factor, leading to the male phenotype.

The bigger potential problem in her letter, however, arises when she steps away from the scientific details and heads in the direction of theology/philosophy, and unflinchingly asserts: “Who are we to say that one path is better than another, when God has created them all?” Being born a certain way, of course, is never our fault since we have no say or control over the matter. But as she points to intersex situations, or situations of ambiguous genitalia, or to homosexual inclinations, she seems to subtly suggest that no moral judgments can be made about how such individuals might behave in

response to inner inclinations they might discover within themselves, inclinations linked to biology.

A more reasonable approach would be to suggest that these various states of intersexuality or homosexuality represent objective situations of disorder, where God in fact did not intend them from the beginning. The presence of these states can then be properly seen as manifestations or real effects of Original Sin. In the final analysis, of course, our response to the disorder of Original Sin must be to introduce a vision of moral order and discipline, so that we live in conformity with our real nature, and not in conformity with any disordered elements of our nature or associated inclinations that may be impelling us in harmful directions.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. Director of Education The National Catholic Bioethics Center Thanks and prayers I look forward to my Anchor newspaper every week. I prayed for Father Scott Carroll who died two days after he got ordained a priest. God has him in Heaven.

I sure enjoy the write-ups of Father Roger Landry. His message that God is the center of our faith was a great message.

We sure need to pray for our country. There are so many tragedies.

We are all praying for our priests. We need to let our priests know how special they are. I let our pastor, Father Rodney Thibault, know that he is very special. God bless all our priests and our Pope Francis also.

Olive Veiga Dartmouth Executive Editor Responds: We priests need both the encouragement you and other laity give us (and the words of constructive criticism which is offered at times, too).

Interpreting the Holy Bible Have you been able to interpret the Bible? Ever since I was a boy I have tried reading the Bible and have had many a times when I just couldn’t make any understanding of what I have read. I’m not the only one, many people I speak to have had the same experiences. Some of the language is hard to understand, and may leave you dumbfounded making heads or tails of what God is saying to us through the saints and Jesus Christ the Savior of mankind.

Well if you have similar setbacks reading the Holy Scriptures, not sure of what you’ve read, I have some good news for you. I have good news for all who wish to strengthen the path to a better understanding of the greatest book ever written. Right here in Fall River, at St. Bernadette Parish on Eastern Avenue, “It’s not a secret.”

Father Roger Landry, pastor, dissects the readings which we all know come from the Bible.

Father Landry makes sure all who are present understand by delivering his homily in a very unique teaching style. Father Landry makes the readings so compelling and easy to understand, and to be gratified and satisfied with his wisdom shared from the pulpit.

If you have similar misunderstandings like so many Catholics do make it your business to come to St. Bernadette Church, sit, listen and take part in one of our beautiful weekend celebrations of the Mass and Eucharist.

We as a parish family feel very fortunate in having Father Roger Landry at our holy house of God. Come see for yourselves.

Guy Gendreau St. Bernadette Parishioner Fall River Executive Editor Responds: Thank you for your encouragement to share in appreciating the Word of God. Without it, we are walking through this world blindly.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 20, 11:00 a.m.

World Mission Sunday

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

Youth Pages

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Students in grade seven at St. James-St. John School in New Bedford learn about muscles and tendons through dissection of a chicken wing.

October 18, 2013

St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro recently had its annual spaghetti dinner at Bishop Feehan High School. More than 330 families came and enjoyed a delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by the Campbell Family.

In this photo, Father David Costa leads all the students at the supper in a sign-language presentation of the Lord’s Prayer.

Students from St. Joseph’s School in Fairhaven recently participated in the Pediatric Cancer National Awareness Day by dressing in yellow and gold. Students raised more than $500 for the Go 4 The Goal Organization which offers support to children suffering from cancer. Students and faculty members wore special gold ribbons to spread awareness and show support. Many of the students said they will continue to wear their ribbons until a cure is discovered. “We plan to raise more money each year until that happens,” said Misti Nordstrom, a teacher at the school.

In celebration of Johnny Appleseed’s birthday, the fifth-graders at Holy Name School in Fall River had an “apple” day. They weighed apples, converted ounces to pounds, measured the circumference and wrote apple poems. The best part was eating the apples.

Middle School students at Holy Trinity School in Fall River recently elected new class officers. The winners of the school elections are, standing from left: Grace Dodge, president; Alyssa Medeiros, vice president; Kelsea Levrault, secretary; Matthew Borden, treasurer; seated from left, Jake Thomas, sixth-grade representative and John Abrantes, seventhgrade representative.

Guinness World Record holder, Amazing Hero Artist Rob Surette, visited students from St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Hyannis, who hosted the event in the auditorium of Pope John Paul II High School, with fellow middle school students from St. Pius X in South Yarmouth as their guests. The mission of Rob’s Amazing Hero Art is to inspire people to live lives greater than they ever thought were possible. His performance highlighted the lives of Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and Blessed Mother Teresa.

October 18, 2013

I

do not wear a cross. I do not have a cross necklace, except the one hanging from my rearview mirror … but I will get to that later. Now please do not misunderstand what I am about to write. I am not against wearing crosses or crucifixes, but it is a personal challenge for me not to wear one.

I used to wear a cross every day and it was a conversation starter for people: “What a beautiful cross you are wearing.” “Where did you get that crucifix necklace you have on?” My favorite question was asked by the guy at the sandwich shop, “Nice cross.

If Jesus were shot would you wear a gun around your neck”?

Sarcastic questions deserve sarcastic answers. “No, I’d wear a bullet. I’ll take a medium Italian sub please, everything on it.”

However, all these questions and comments got me thinking. People are asking me questions about my faith in Christ because they see a piece of jewelry around my neck. What would life have

been like for the Apostles if they wore crosses? Would they have had to put themselves out there as much if people could just see the crosses they wore? I thought of St. Peter after Christ was arrested. In the Gospel of Mark we read, “Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below.

One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, ‘You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth’” (Mk 14:66-67). Then it struck me: they knew St. Peter was a follower of Christ because they had seen him with Jesus.

Now, I know we do not have the occasion of walking around town with Jesus, following Him from city to city, but we do have plenty of opportunities to get to know Christ, to have a personal relationship with Him. That is what I wanted; for people to see me as a Christian not because of something I wore but

Youth Pages Don’t cross me because of something I said or did. I wanted to be a person who knew Christ, not just knew about Him. I wanted to be the kind of person that people talk to about their faith because they can see faithfulness in me.

Be Not Afraid

By Amanda Tarantelli This was a vast transformation moment in my life! I felt like I was a cross-wearing pagan up unto this point. I felt as if the cross was the only thing about me that proclaimed Christianity. At that moment I stopped wearing a cross because I did not feel worthy to wear it if I was not truly going to live the faith.

Again, please note that I am not saying Christians should not wear crosses. I’m saying this Christian was wearing it as an easy way out of living

Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro celebrated its first Liturgy of the year and honored the Sisters of Mercy as the foundresses of Feehan education. Feehan chaplain Father David Costa commended the Sisters on their service to education and asked students to challenge themselves to reflect the “Mercy charism” exemplified by the Sisters through the years. Front row from left: Mercy Associate and former Feehan faculty Anne Maloney; Sister Jessica Aguiar, Sister Faith Harding, Sister Rose Angela McLellan, and Mercy Associate Margaret Boucher. Back row: Mercy Associate Karen Brennan, Sister Zita Foley, Sister Patricia Harrington, Sister Rose Marie Roche, and Sister Margaret Heaney.

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

17 the truth. Also, around this time I found a quote by the famous author, Anonymous, that really made an impact on me. “Let those who know you but do not know God come to know God because they know you.” I needed to become that person!

I also should make it clear that unfortunately, every word and decision I make does not in fact, always testify to my relationship with Christ (I’m being very mindful of the fact that my last column was on humility). However, this is my goal, this is something for which I strive. There have been more conversations with people about faith than when I first stopped wearing a cross; I can see His graces in my life.

Truth be told, I do in fact wear a cross every single day.

I was sealed with the cross at my Baptism, I was sealed with the cross at my Confirmation.

Every time I walk into church, bless myself with holy water, I put on my cross. I seal myself in the name of the Father, and

of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit every time I pray. This is a cross that I can see, it is for me. This cross is not about who can see it, or whether or not I am worthy to wear it, or even a sense of selfish pride.

It is about my knowledge of eternal Salvation. It is about me knowing that Christ loved me so much that He was willing to give up His life for me, even if I was the only person on this planet.

As I mentioned, there is a cross hanging from my rearview mirror. It is a not-so-gentle reminder to the suppressed lead-footed, road-rager in me to be more patient, always wave five fingers at those motorists who cut me off, and to pray for those who do not have the luxury of being as good a driver as I am.

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.com.

Thirteen members of Bishop Connolly High School’s (Fall River) Students Against Destructive Decisions committee recently went to the Taunton Holiday Inn for District Attorney Sam Sutter’s first Underage Drinking Prevention Conference.

The juniors and seniors at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton recently attended two college mini fairs. More than 70 colleges were on hand to discuss their school’s majors, admission criteria and financial aid opportunities. Eager to make a well-informed decision, the Coyle students took full advantage of this event. Pictured is a student talking to a representative.

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October 18, 2013

Acushnet youth hope ‘All’s well that ends well’ for Rwandans continued from page one

about the U.S. and he said the water,” said Pimental. “He told us stories about his childhood trips to the well and all the dangers associated and the lack of showers. I had received an email from him probably a month after he had returned to Rwanda and he was so happy to be having his first sponge bath since returning home.”

Again, the Pimentals were spurred to action, this time with the parish’s middle school youth group that they helped organize. Father Leon-

ard was asked to come back and speak to the group of 15 teens and pre-teens in grades six through eight.

“Usually the group is very chatty,” Pimental told The Anchor. “Father Leonard spoke of when he was a child. He displayed two small water bottles.

One crystal clear and the other with dirt and leaves and twigs.

He asked which they would prefer to drink. Of course they all answered the clean one. He then told the group that the dirty one is like what the peo-

ple in Rwanda have to drink.”

Pimental said the group was very silent after that, listening intently to what Father Leonard was sharing with them about how children would have to walk for hours in the morning and evening with buckets to retrieve water from a not-so-nearby well. The size of the bucket depended on the size of the child. And the water they drew was far from clean, but it was all they had. “Father Leonard touched them,” she added. “They realized how blessed they are and immediately wanted to help.

They went home and told their parents, and they too wanted to help. They really got it.”

The group decided they could help the people there build a well. The students held a parish breakfast to raise funds. And working closely with the St. Francis Xavier Women of Grace group, the youth held a raffle for a week’s vacation in a summer home on Martha’s Vineyard, donated by one of the women.

When the dust settled, the

youth had raised the necessary $5,000.

“The group was very pleased to have reached the goal,” said Pimental. “It wasn’t about the money. They were more concerned about the actual well.

They asked ‘They’re going to get water now, right?’ All they wanted was for the Rwandan people to have access to water.”

Pimental told The Anchor that Father Leonard, who is currently part of the Pastoral Care staff at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, is traveling back to Rwanda in December and will be coordinating the well project there.

“The youth came away from this with a greater appreciation of what they have,” said Pimental. “Even at home. My son is a member of the youth group, and I never find a halffinished bottle of water around the house like I used to.”

Pimental added that the group is looking forward to hearing from Father Leonard about the well’s success sometime this spring.

As that takes place, the school’s sponsorship of 10 Rwandan students continues to remain strong.

“We heard from the mother of one of the students we’ve helped, and she told us that there was no way her son could have attended high school without the assistance they received,” relayed Pimental. “The people there are amazed that strangers are doing this for their children. As proof of the success of the program, five of the sponsored students who graduated from high school are continuing their education past high school.”

The St. Francis School children continue to raise funds for the effort and continue to make a difference in a land so far away with people who are not that much different than themselves.

Father Leonard will be speaking again at St. Francis Xavier Parish, 125 Main Street, on October 25 at 7 p.m.

He will be speaking about Rwanda and the horrific genocide that took place there in 1994.

Donations to help the parish and school assist the Rwandan people can be sent to St. Francis Xavier Parish, 125 Main Street, Acushnet, Mass., 02743, to the attention of Tony or Karen Pimental.

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October 18, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

Mass.

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

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

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cardinal O’Malley calls Christians to open hearts to life

WAshington D.C., (CNA/EWTN News) — A year-long initiative from the U.S. bishops is calling the faithful to respond to the needs of the unborn, supporting life in its most vulnerable stages.

“We are called to love and respect one another as Christ does,” said Cardinal Séan P. O’Malley of Boston, who heads the Pro-Life committee for the U.S. bishops’ conference, in a recent video.

In the video, posted online, he delivered a message for Respect Life Sunday, which took place this year on October 6 in dioceses across the country.

Respect Life Sunday kicks off Respect Life Month, the cardinal explained, as well as “a full year of programs devoted to promoting and upholding the dignity of every person’s life, from the first moment of conception to the last moment of natural death.”

The U.S. bishops’ conference has said that Respect Life Month and the following year of Pro-Life activities will take place in parishes throughout the nation, focusing on prayer and education.

The theme for the 2013-2014 program is “Open Your Hearts to Life,” the cardinal noted, “following the call given to us by Pope Francis.”

“We are called to promote a Culture of Life where people are more important than possessions and where no child is denied the right to life,” Cardinal O’Malley stressed.

“We are called to show understanding, care and concern for women in a crisis pregnancy, and

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 Most Rev. Joseph W. Regan, M.M, Retired Prelate of Tagum, Philippines, 1994 Oct. 25 Rev. Reginald Chene, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1935 Rev. Raymond B. Bourgoin, Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1950 Rev. James W. Connerton, CSC, Founder, Stonehill College, North Easton, 1988 Rev. Msgr. John J. Steakem, Pastor, St. Thomas More, Somerset, 1999

to help them choose life for their children,” he continued.

At the center of the Pro-Life cause is a reflection of Christ’s love for humanity, the cardinal observed.

“In all these ways we give witness to the presence of the Lord in our midst, and to the neverfailing love of Jesus Christ, Who loved us first, loved us last, and loves us always.”

Around the Diocese The annual Harvest Bazaar at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River will take place tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event includes cash prizes, raffles, jewelry, a Chinese auction, fish bowl, hand-crafted items, food, fun, pastry table, White Elephant table and more.

A special concert featuring Father Pat to benefit the St. Anne’s Shrine Historical Restoration Fund will take place October 20 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the shrine, South Main and Middle Streets in Fall River.

A Healing Mass will be celebrated on October 24 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford, beginning at 6:30 p.m. It will include Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will be a holy hour including the Rosary. For more information call 508-993-1691 or visit www. saintanthonynewbedford.com.

On October 25 at 7 p.m. at St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River there will be a free showing of the award-winning movie “October Baby,” detailing the moving true story of a girl who discovered she had survived an abortion and is called on a journey to open her heart to life. All are welcome.

Father André Patenaude, M.S., better known as “Father Pat” of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, will be conducting a Healing Service at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Pleasant Street in West Warwick, R.I. on October 29 at 7 p.m. For more information call 401-821-8042.

St. Nicholas of Myra Parish, 499 Spring Street in North Dighton will hold its annual Holiday Craft Fair on November 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The fair will feature many talented crafters, as well as a bake table, food from the kitchen, and the parish’s famous roll-up table.

St. John Neumann Parish’s Women’s Guild will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar in the parish hall, 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown, on November 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The one-day bazaar will feature a wide variety of booths, including assorted gift basket raffles, money raffles, home-baked goods, baked beans, a Chinese auction, lottery raffle tickets, antiques and collectibles. Admission is free.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, 235 North Front Street in New Bedford, will host its Spirit of Christmas Fair on November 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. featuring crafts, gifts, children’s corner, baked goods and the parish’s famous Polish kitchen.

An Open House for prospective students of Bishop Connolly High School, 373 Elsbree Street in Fall River, will be held November 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. All prospective students and their families are encouraged to attend this informative event. The Placement Test will be held December 7 at 8 a.m. For more information call 508676-1071.

St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis will hold its third annual Day of Reflection on November 2 in the gymnasium of the preparatory school directly behind the church on Cross Street. This year’s theme is “Following Your Faith to a Joyful Life” and features keynote speaker Claire McManus, director of the Fall River Diocesan Office of Faith Formation. All are welcome to this day of faith and fellowship which will begin at 9 a.m. with a continental breakfast and conclude with a 4 p.m.

Mass. Registration forms are available at the entrances of the church and at the Sacred Heart Chapel in Yarmouthport or by visiting www.stfrancishyannis.org.

Deadline for registration is October 28.

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October 18, 2013