10.26.12

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , October 26, 2012

Father Pat still in France but improving

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff ENFIELD, N.H. — When Father André “Pat” Patenaude, the “singing priest,” took ill at the original La Salette Shrine in the French Alps this past summer, a tremendous amount of love and prayers were sent his way. Diagnosed with a serious infection of the pancreas and suffering from intense pain, Father Pat was placed in a coma to alleviate his distress; he has been in the hospital in Grenoble, France, since August 10.

Keeping up with Father Pat’s progress has been Father René Butler of the La Salette Shrine in Enfield, N.H. A full timeline of Father Pat’s recuperation can be found on the shrine’s website at www.lasaletteofenfield. org.

After having two minor surgeries to remove fluid and ease pressure, Father Pat has continued to make progress. He was brought out of his deep sleep in the middle of September. Still undergoing physical therapy, Father Pat’s sister and the La

Salette priests in France are visiting him daily. He celebrated his birthday on October 20 while still in the hospital, but doctors are hoping to transfer him to a rehab center soon for more physical therapy. A group of Haitians who regularly worship at the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro made a special pilgrimage to the Shrine in Enfield to spend the day praying for Father Pat, said Father Butler, who added, “The outpouring of concern is incredible!”

The last posted update on his condition, as of press time, was October 17 and reads, in part: “He is walking with a walker but he feels very weak. He speaks clearly but his voice is also weak. His beard is growing back. He’s eating but has little appetite. Maybe it is because hospital food everywhere is the same.”

For those wishing to send Father Pat a card or message, the address is: Father André Patenaude, M.S., Missionnaires de La Salette, BP 62, 38702 La Tronche Cedex, FRANCE.

CELEBRATING VOCATIONS — Bishop George W. Coleman, center, was the celebrant of a Mass at St. Julie Billiart Church in North Dartmouth for area religious, at which several individuals were recognized for significant anniversaries. From left: Father John Sullivan; Sister Milagros dela Cruz,SNDS (25th jubilee); Bishop Coleman; Sister Marie Therese Ernou, O.P. (75th jubilee); Sister Dorothy Scesny, PBVM (50th jubilee); and Sister Catherine Donovan, RSM, diocesan Representative for Religious.

Priest from Jamaica brings Mission to La Salette

By Becky Aubut being passed around for dinner to be Anchor Staff shared by him, his parents and his three ATTLEBORO — On October 27 and siblings. He was ordained to the priest28 at the National Shrine of Our Lady hood on July 4, 1971, and founded the of La Salette in Attleboro, Father Richreligious order Missionaries of the Poor ard Ho Lung and Friends will present in Kingston, Jamaica, 10 years later.

“Praise Him!” with all proceeds of the Since its founding, MOP has received event going to aid the Holy Innocents papal and episcopal approval for their Women Crisis Center for struggling work and currently the order has more than 550 brothers serving in nine mismothers and their babies in Jamaica, and Good Shepherd Divine Mercy Cen- Father Richard sions around the world, including India, Ho Lung the Philippines and Monroe, N.C. ter for the poor in East Nairobi, Kenya.

Rhode Island resident, Pauline Born on Sept. 17, 1939 to Chinese parents who immigrated from Hong Kong to Ja- L’Heureux, was moved after hearing Father Ho maica, his family was so poor that as a child Fa- Lung’s story on TV, and has been instrumental in ther Ho Lung remembers one small cup of rice Turn to page 17

When going gets tough, Pro-Lifers keep going

A FITTING TRIBUTE — To mark Father Pat’s birthday, a group of 11 Haitians came from the Attleboro area on a pilgrimage to the La Salette Shrine in Enfield, N.H., recently to pray for him in a special way. They are pictured here after Mass, joined by Malagasy La Salette Sister Françoise. This pilgrimage was organized

by Evelyn Dubois (third from left). She and another pilgrim are holding photos of Father Pat that were placed before the altar during Adoration and again during Mass. The closing song at the Liturgy was “Prends ta guitare, mon ami,” which means “Bring your guitar, my friend.” The song goes on to say that through song we will bring love and hope and the light of Christ to the world, a beautiful tribute to the impact Father Pat’s music ministry has had on so many lives.

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent RANDOLPH — Despite some recent setbacks, the Pro-Life movement has gained ground in the place it matters most — the hearts and minds of the American people, Mary Ann Glendon, professor of law at Harvard, told those gathered at Massachusetts Citizens for Life’s annual fund-raising banquet on October 19.

The most recent polls show that an unmistakable (if slight) majority of Americans are Pro-Life and that the large majority, 75 percent, are opposed

to abortions for 95 percent of the reasons they are performed, said Glendon, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from 2008-2009.

This year’s banquet, held at the Lantana Restaurant in Randolph, marked the beginning of MCFL’s 40th year. Glendon called the current Pro-Life challenges “more sinister” than founders of MCFL ever dreamed possible.

In Massachusetts, the biggest challenges are the possible legalization of physician-assisted suicide and the destruction of human embryos for research, Turn to page 21

News From the Vatican

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October 26, 2012

Pilgrims flock to Rome to celebrate their new saints

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Wearing Native American beads and feathers, Hawaiian leis, classic Filipino shirts, or German dirndls, Catholics from around the globe gathered in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate the recognition of seven new saints.

One of the pilgrims who came to celebrate the canonization of St. Kateri Tekakawita October 21 was Blessed Sacrament Father Dana Pelotte, twin brother of the late Bishop Donald E. Pelotte of Gallup, N.M., the first American Indian bishop of the United States.

“I think the canonization will have a tremendous spiritual effect on the native peoples — I really do. Being a native person has so much spiritual beauty,” and the canonization of Kateri, the first indigenous saint of North America, will strengthen that, said the priest, whose father was of Abenaki descent.

Attending a reception sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in the Vatican Museums’ garden recently, Father Pelotte was constantly approached by American Indian pilgrims who told him of their love for his brother and how pleased he would be by the canonization. “I know he’s here in spirit with us today,” Father Pelotte told each one of them.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, told Catholic News Service that he and his fellow Native American Catholics have been praying for St. Kateri’s canonization for a very long time.

The saint was born to an Algonquin Christian mother and a Mohawk father, who died when she was young. She resisted strong pressure from the Mohawks to abandon her faith, so she could be considered a model for those facing religious persecution, the archbishop said.

St. Kateri, who died in 1680 at the age of 24, also is a model for the New Evangelization, Archbishop Chaput said. “She was a young, vibrant member of her community, but she was different from the rest of them because of her unique personal relationship

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with Jesus Christ, which is what sanctity is generally about — it’s about taking Christ seriously in a personal way, in a way that goes beyond where most of us go.”

Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihwa and Gloria Marks were two of nine patient-residents who came to the canonization from Kalaupapa, Hawaii, where the new St. Marianne Cope ministered among people with Hansen’s disease, which is commonly called leprosy.

Kahilihwa said St. Marianne left as her legacy “how she felt toward humanity,” and that her message is “never underestimate” the value of a person, no matter what their sickness is; “and don’t be afraid to challenge the unchallenged and down low.”

“I could have gone out a long time ago, but I chose to stay” to help care for older members of the community, he said.

Kahilihwa also said part of St. Marianne’s legacy is the affirmation that there is no such thing as “a leper,” because leprosy “is a disease, not a person.”

Marks, like Kahilihwa, came to Rome in 2009 for the canonization of St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, who founded the Kalaupapa community and who later was among those cared for

by St. Marianne.

“I’m really proud because (there are) two of them from the same county, the smallest county in Hawaii,” she said. “Those two put Hawaii on the map. So it’s very, very important to us.”

U.S. citizens and residents also turned out in large numbers for the canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod, a Philippine teenager and catechist who was martyred in 1672 in Guam, which is a territory of the United States.

At a thanksgiving Mass October 22 at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of Agana, Guam, called St. Pedro a wonderful model for Catholic youth. “May it never be said that we who had the privilege of witnessing the canonization of San Pedro did not make it to Heaven!” he told the pilgrims, who included many young people.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 41

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MAGNIFICENT SEVEN — Banners featuring seven new saints hang from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican October 21.

Among those canonized were St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Marianne Cope. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope proclaims seven new saints, including St. Kateri, St. Marianne

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Proclaiming seven new saints, Pope Benedict XVI said they are examples to the world of total dedication to Christ and tireless service to others.

In a revised canonization rite October 21, the pope prayed for guidance that the Church would not “err in a matter of such importance” as he used his authority to state that the seven are with God in Heaven and can intercede for people on earth.

An estimated 80,000 pilgrims from the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, Germany and Madagascar filled St. Peter’s Square for the canonization.

The pilgrims applauded the proclamation of the new saints, who included: Kateri, an American Indian who was born in the United States and died in Canada in 1680; Mother Marianne, a Sister of St. Joseph who traveled from Syracuse, N.Y., to Hawaii to care for people with Hansen’s disease and died in Molokai in 1918; and Pedro Calungsod, a teenaged Philippine catechist who was martyred in Guam in 1672.

The other new saints are: French Jesuit Father Jacques Berthieu, martyred in Madagascar in 1896; Italian Father Giovanni Battista Piamarta, founder of religious orders, who died in 1913; Sister Carmen Salles Barangueras, founder of a Spanish religious order, who died in 1911; and Anna Schaffer, a lay German woman, who died in 1925.

In his homily, Pope Benedict prayed that the example of the new saints would “speak today to the whole Church” and that their intercession would strengthen the Church in its mission to proclaim the Gospel to the world.

The pope also spoke about

each new saint individually, highlighting a special characteristic of each for Catholics today.

Pope Benedict called St. Kateri the “protectress of Canada and the first Native American saint,” and he entrusted to her “the renewal of the faith in the First Nations and in all of North America.”

The daughter of a Mohawk father and Algonquin Christian mother, St. Kateri was “faithful to the traditions of her people,” but also faithful to the Christianity she embraced at age 20.

“May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are,” the pope said.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who is of American Indian descent, told CNS, “I think many young people today are embarrassed about embracing the Catholic faith because they live in a secular culture that’s hostile toward religious experience.”

St. Kateri also “grew up in a place where there was great hostility toward Christianity,” Archbishop Chaput said.

Archbishop Gerald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec told CNS that the canonization of the first aboriginal of North America is “huge for us.” St. Kateri, he said, is an excellent model for young people of “living a simple life, faithful to the Lord in the midst of hostility.”

St. Kateri’s life and canonization show that “saints don’t have to do extraordinary things, they just have to love,” Archbishop Lacroix said.

Francine Merasty, 32, a Cree who lives in Pelican Narrows, Sask., said, “Kateri inspires me because she’s an aboriginal woman. According to sociologists, aboriginal women are at the lowest (social) strata, and

for the Church to raise up to the communion of saints an aboriginal woman is so awesome and wonderful.”

Jake Finkbonner, the 12-yearold boy from Washington state whose healing was accepted as the miracle needed for St. Kateri’s canonization, received Communion from the pope during the Mass. Jake’s parents and two little sisters did as well.

Speaking about St. Marianne of Molokai in his homily, Pope Benedict said that a time when very little could be done to treat people with Hansen’s disease, commonly called leprosy, “Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm.”

“She is a shining example of the tradition of Catholic nursing Sisters and of the spirit of her beloved St. Francis,” the pope said.

Leading a group of Hawaiian pilgrims, including nine patientresidents from Kalaupapa, where St. Marianne ministered, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said St. Marianne is “an inspiration for those who care for those most in need, which is what all Christians are called to do. Now, with universal veneration, she can inspire people around the world.”

With thousands of Philippine pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict praised St. Pedro, a catechist who accompanied Jesuit priests to the Mariana Islands in 1668. Despite hostility from some of the natives, he “displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechize his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel.”

The pope prayed that “the example and courageous witness” of St. Pedro would “inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God.”

October 26, 2012

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The International Church

Archbishop Onaiyekan named 2012 Pax Christi Peace Laureate

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, is the 2012 Pax Christi International Peace Laureate.

He is being honored for promoting understanding among people of different faiths through dialogue in Africa, particularly in his homeland of Nigeria. Most notably, he has worked to bridge relations between Christians and Muslims.

Pax Christi International officials will present the award October 31 in Brussels.

PROMOTING PEACE — Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, talks with writer Joan Desmond of the National Catholic Register during a symposium on international religious freedom. The archbishop has been named the 2012 Pax Christi Peace Laureate. (CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec)

CRS Rice Bowl program has new Internet component

BALTIMORE, Md. — Catholic Relief Services has revamped its traditional Lenten anti-hunger Operation Rice Bowl program to allow participants to register their rice bowls on the Internet as part of the campaign to feed the hungry.

The program also has a new name.

“For the past 37 years during the season of Lent, Catholics in the United States participate in a popular program called Operation Rice Bowl,” Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, said. “Today, I am announcing that we are renaming it CRS Rice Bowl.”

The rice bowl program engages almost 13,000 parishes and schools. The relief agency provides videos, stories, recipes and other materials to help those who participate understand the lives and challenges of the poor around the world.

Revisions to the program include a redesigned website accessible by cell phone and tablet. Participants can also register their rice bowls on a map. They can sign up for text messages and emailed stories and prayers in English and Spanish.

The rice bowl program’s new theme is “For Lent, For Life — What You Give Up for Lent Changes Lives.”

Woo said the theme brings “a particularly poignant focus to the season of Lent.”

“CRS Rice Bowl offers us a way we can live our faith and do our part to alleviate hunger in the world,” she said.

Catholic Relief Services has committed $150 million in private funds over the next three years to agriculture, food and nutrition programs to fight world hunger. Its pledge is part of a $1 billion pledge from InterAction, a coalition of nonprofit agencies.

Woo said Catholic Relief Services should not only commit funds but “strive for new solutions to address hunger.”

She noted the agency’s antihunger program in Lesotho, where it introduced “kitchen gardens” to provide better nutrition by helping people grow year-round vegetables and greens.

In Ethiopia, the relief agency introduced improved seeds. It helped connect farmer co-operatives to an export company that packaged their white beans and distributed them in Britain.

Twenty-five percent of CRS Rice Bowl donations stay in a donor’s diocese, while 75 percent support overseas programs.

Marie Dennis, co-president of the global organization, commended the archbishop for his “faithful witness to the Gospel of peace and reconciliation,” particularly “in an era when extremists from different religious traditions regularly claim media attention.”

“Archbishop Onaiyekan has been a consistent advocate for positive and respectful Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria and around the world,” Dennis wrote in an email from Pax Christi International’s Brussels

headquarters to Catholic News Service.

Archbishop Onaiyekan serves as co-chairman of the African Council of Religious Leaders-Religions for Peace and formerly served as cochairman of the Nigeria InterReligious Council.

Pax Christi International has presented its Peace Laureate award since 1988, honoring contemporary men and women who work for peace, justice and nonviolence in countries around the world.

In considering the pastoral care of the faithful throughout the Diocese, and given the changing demographics in the City of New Bedford and given the decline of Portuguese speaking Catholics in the City of New Bedford which have resulted in the decline in the number of parishioners at Saint John the Baptist Parish in New Bedford, and after having consulted with the Pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish in New Bedford who also serves as the Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford, and after a thorough study of the situation involving the parishioners of the two parishes with the Pastoral Planning process, and after having heard the advice of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Fall River, as the Bishop of Fall River, I hereby decree the following: That Saint John the Baptist Parish in New Bedford is united with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford, thereby suppressing the present Saint John the Baptist Parish; this unified Parish will be a personal parish serving the needs of the members of the Portuguese community residing in the territory of the former Saint John the Baptist Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish; the current Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is designated as the place of worship for the united Parish community; That the territory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish shall include the territory of the existing Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and the territory of the former Saint John the Baptist Parish; That the name of the present Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish shall remain unchanged; That the sacramental registers of Saint John the Baptist Parish are transferred to and maintained

by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish; That the temporal goods and financial obligations of Saint John the Baptist Parish are transferred to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish; That the pastoral care of the faithful of the former Saint John the Baptist Parish becomes the responsibility of the Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.

This Decree shall be effective at ll:59 p.m. on Sunday, the fourth of November in the year two thousand twelve.

In the event that anyone with canonical standing who feels injured by the provisions of this Decree, he or she may initiate a hierarchical recourse against this Decree according to the provisions of Canon 1732-1739 within ten useful clays.

Given in Fall River this twentieth day of October in the year two thousand twelve.

October 26, 2012 The Church in the U.S. Bishop calls U.S. court’s rejection of Vatican approves U.S. memorial date for Defense of Marriage Act ‘unjust’ Blessed John Paul II WASHINGTON (CNS) — “It is a matter of basic rights required to pay $363,053 in fed-

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The chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ subcommittee on Marriage described as “unjust and a great disappointment” the decision by a federal appeals court striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which says Marriage is a legal union of a man and a woman.

“Redefining Marriage never upholds the equal dignity of individuals because it contradicts basic human rights,” said San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

He issued a statement recently about a 2-1 ruling handed down a day earlier by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which said the federal marriage law was unconstitutional because it failed to give equal protection to New York spouses in same-sex marriages.

It was the second appeals court ruling to find a key provision of the 1996 federal law unconstitutional. In May, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of same-sex couples in Massachusetts, challenging what they argued was the discriminatory nature of the legislation.

The Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It defines Marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected this term to take up an appeal to rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act. There also is an appeal pending on California’s Proposition 8, a 2008 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. In February of this year, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. The panel and later the full court stayed the ruling pending appeal. On July 31, it was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his statement, Archbishop Cordileone reiterated the Church’s teaching that Marriage “is and can only be the union of one man and one woman,” and said this recognition “is grounded in our nature” and “obliges our consciences and laws.”

— the right of every child to be welcomed and raised, as far as possible, by his or her mother and father together in a stable home,” he said. “Marriage is the only institution whereby a man and a woman unite for life and are united to any child born from their union.

“The public good demands that the unique meaning and purpose of Marriage be respected in law and society, not rejected as beyond the constitutional pale.”

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, which filed arguments with the appeals court before the October 18 ruling, described the decision as “another example of judicial activism and elite judges imposing their views on the American people.”

He also said the ruling “further demonstrates why it is imperative” for the U.S. Supreme Court to review pending cases against the Defense of Marriage Act. “The American people are entitled to a definitive ruling in support of Marriage as the union of one man and one woman, as 32 states have determined through popular vote,” he said in a statement.

The 2nd Circuit ruling, written by Judge Dennis Jacobs, said it found no reason that the Defense of Marriage Act could be used to deny benefits to married gay couples.

It supported a lower court ruling in a case brought by Edith Windsor, who sued the government in 2010, because she was

eral estate tax after her partner of 44 years died.

The court ruled that DOMA prevented Windsor, who is 83, from being treated as a spouse although she and Thea Spyer were civilly married in Canada in 2007. Windsor was denied the spousal waiver from the federal estate tax after Spyer died in 2009.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote a document, “Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons,” in which it wrote, “It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.

“But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground.”

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new liturgical memorial — October 22 — has been approved for Blessed John Paul II by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

The U.S. Conference for Catholic Bishops announced recently that the congregation had approved the “optional memorial” for the late pope in the calendar for U.S. dioceses. The U.S. bishops last November approved the date for the memorial, which is the anniversary of his inauguration as pope in 1978.

The Vatican congregation’s approval was the final step to inclusion of the celebration in the liturgical calendar in the United States.

An earlier decree of the congregation had approved the celebration of a Mass of thanksgiving for Blessed John Paul during the year following his May 11, 2011, beatification, at the designation of the diocesan bishop.

The Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar require the additional approval process to inscribe a permanent observance on the calendar.

The office of readings and the Mass propers already included

prayers and readings for Blessed John Paul and are what would be used in celebrations of his feast.

Blessed John Paul was pope for almost 27 years, traveling the world, helping bring about the end of communism in his native Poland and reaching out to other faiths. He opened new paths for the Church such as the celebration of World Youth Day and other forms of outreach to young people and oversaw the creation of a new “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and a new Code of Canon Law. His “Theology of the Body,” a series of meditations on human sexuality, and 14 encyclicals and seven apostolic exhortations that followed Synods of Bishops left a body of teaching on everyday life and spirituality.

At the same meeting of the USCCB last November, the bishops approved an optional memorial for Blessed Marianne Cope, with the date to be determined.

Pope Benedict canonized St. Marianne this past Sunday, but there has been no update on the approval of her memorial. Her feast day is her birthday, January 23.

October 26, 2012

The Church in the World

Spanish youths attack Catholic school, threaten to burn priests alive

MADRID, Spain (CNA/ EWTN News) — A group of young people shouting, “Where are the priests?

We’re going to burn them at the stake,” attacked the Mary Help of Christians Salesian School in Merida, Spain, leaving one teacher wounded.

According to the Salesian Press Office in Spain, the incident occurred at 1:20 p.m. local time on October 18, when “some 100 young people entered the premises of the Mary Help of Christians Salesian School in Merida.”

Nearly 1,000 K-12 students attend the school.

“Custodial workers and some teachers at the school tried to stop the group, but 10 of them were able to gain entrance to the school building, shouting insults against the institution, pushing staff members who were in their way and attempting to disrupt the normal school day,” the Salesians said.

Principal Marco Antonio Romero told the newspaper El Mundo that the young people’s intention was to pull

down the crucifixes. “More public education and less crucifixes,” they shouted.

The attackers carried flags from the Spanish Civil War, shouted insults at the teachers and professors and tried to steal several laptop computers from classrooms, the newspaper reported.

The red, yellow and dark purple flags were the same ones used by the Republican faction, left-wing radicals and anarchists during Spain’s bloody conflict that led to the deaths of thousands of priests, seminarians, religious and laypeople between 1936 and 1939.

During the attack on the school, one teacher suffered minor wounds while trying to keep the young people from entering her classroom.

The Salesians said steps will be taken to prevent any kind of such attacks in the future and that they will be filing a lawsuit against the assailants. “This kind of conduct cannot be allowed in a constitutional state.”

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Hundreds evacuated from Lourdes due to flooding

LOURDES, France (CNA) — Flooding in southwestern France has forced hundreds of pilgrims to evacuate the Marian apparition site and nearby hotels.

Busloads of pilgrims were taken to a nearby conference hall and a sports hall while about 40 people were evacuated from their homes October 20, Radio France International reported.

The Gave River, which runs through the city where the Blessed Mother appeared several times to the peasant girl St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, burst its banks after days of heavy rain invaded the region.

A spokesperson for the Marian Sanctuary said the grotto itself is under about three feet of water and more rain is expected.

Only the basilica, which is built on higher

ground than the grotto, is still accessible.

Local officials said that the flooding is the worst the region has seen in 25 years.

More rain was forecast for the evening, while 8,000 homes in the region were without power.

The grotto is home to the site where the Blessed Mother appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette as well as a spring of water that still flows today and is heavily visited by those in search of miraculous healing. The intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes is credited with 68 certified miracles since the apparitions took place.

Six million tourists and pilgrims flocked to Lourdes in 2011.

Relics of Blessed John Paul II were set to arrive in Lourdes this week for veneration to mark the Year of Faith.

Pope sends cardinals to Syria to promote peace, show solidarity

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A papal delegation of bishops, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, will travel to the capital of war-torn Syria in late October to show solidarity with victims and encourage peace negotiations.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, made the announcement recently at the evening session of the world Synod of Bishops.

“In the certainty that the only possible solution to the crisis is a political solution, and bearing in mind the immense suffering of the population, the fate of displaced persons, and the future of that nation, it has been sug-

gested that our synodal assembly express its solidarity,” Cardinal Bertone said.

Syria’s civil war has left thousands dead and has displaced hundreds of thousands of refugees since March 2011.

The cardinal said that Pope Benedict XVI had instructed a delegation of six bishops and a priest to express, on behalf of the pope and the synod: “our fraternal solidarity with the entire population”; “our spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters”; and “our encouragement to all those involved in seeking an agreement that respects the rights and duties of all, with particular attention to the demands of humanitarian law.”

Cardinal Bertone gave no date for the trip, but said it would take place the following week, after completion of the “necessary formalities” with the papal nuncio and the “local authorities” in Damascus.

He also mentioned that the delegation would bring a “personal offering from the synod fathers as well as from the Holy See,” which the Vatican press office later confirmed would take the form of a financial contribution.

In addition to Cardinal Dolan, the members of the delegation will be: Congolese Cardinal

Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; Bishop Fabio Suescun Mutis, the military ordinary of Colombia; Bishop Joseph Nguyen Nang of Phat Diem, Vietnam; Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Vatican secretary for relations with states; and Msgr. Alberto Ortega, an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

Cardinal Dolan, chairman of the board of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, said he was “honored” that the pope had chosen to send him to Syria.

“There can be no question but that the violence in this strifetorn country is causing immense suffering,” Cardinal Dolan said, “and it is the hope of the bishops of the synod that this display of pastoral concern on the part of Pope Benedict might help draw the world’s attention even more closely to this unspeakable tragedy.”

Another synod member, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., said that one purpose of the visit will be “to look, to listen, to try to see and understand better what is going on and how the Church can be helpful.”

“But it’s also a way of saying to people that we are concerned, that we are here in solidarity with you,” said Bishop Kicanas, chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, which is aiding Syrian refugees in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

“We hope to make known to the international community what the situation is and that the international community must step up and address this very serious situation,” the bishop said.

6

The Anchor Being a leaven at the polls

One of the goals of the Year of Faith, which we have just begun, is that we deepen our appreciation of, and our living out of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (the 50th anniversary of the opening of which we have just commemorated). On Nov. 18, 1965, the council gave us the “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity,” known by its Latin name, “Apostolicam Actuositatem.”

In it, the council fathers described how the laity are called to be Apostles, bringing the message of Christ to a world which desperately needs it. At No. 2 of the document, the bishops wrote, “[The laity] exercise the apostolate in fact by their activity directed to the evangelization and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, their temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and promotes the salvation of men. Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ.”

In that paragraph, the council distinguished between direct apostolic works, where the immediate goal of the activity is evangelization, and all the other activities of the laity, where they are to be a distinct presence of Christ in the world. As Dave Jolivet recounts on page 14 of this edition, sometimes people will notice this presence, without totally understanding it, in as simple a place as the check-out line in a fast food restaurant. As our fellow Catholics were lining up to get their sandwiches of leavened bread, they were being a leaven in society, thanks to Christ, Who changes unleavened bread into His own flesh.

The council fathers continued in No. 3 of Apostolicam Actuositatem reminding the laity of the dignity which we all received at Baptism. “They are consecrated for the royal priesthood and [to be] the holy people (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10) not only that they may offer spiritual sacrifices in everything they do but also that they may witness to Christ throughout the world. The Sacraments, however, especially the most Holy Eucharist, communicate and nourish that charity which is the soul of the entire apostolate.”

As the council said, through our Baptisms, we have been consecrated by God to offer up everything that we do as a spiritual sacrifice to the Heavenly Father. Since we have all been made priests in Christ, the High Priest, our spiritual sacrifices are of a higher value than anything Anas or Caiphas offered in the temple. As such, we need the help of God’s grace to truly offer a holy and loving sacrifice to God. This is why what Father Landry has written to the right of this editorial is so important. What type of spiritual sacrifice are we offering up to the Heavenly Father if our voting is condemning a lot more innocent people to death than Anas or Caiphas ever would?

Back to Apostolicam Actuositatem 3. A few lines after the above quote, it states, “On all Christians therefore is laid the preeminent responsibility of working to make the Divine message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world.” In saying that, Vatican II was not ordering us to force people to become Christians, since this would have contradicted another of the documents of Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae, the “Declaration on Religious Freedom,” which came out a month later on Dec. 7, 1965.

That document stressed that the Church is not here to force people to come to Christ, but reminds people of the duty that they have before God to listen to Him calling to them in their hearts. “The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power” (DH, No. 1).

In the political world, Catholics, and all Christians, as we read above, are given this duty of leading the world towards salvation, one important element of which involves living out the Ten Commandments. One of the Commandments which is apparent even to many non-believers is the fifth one — “Thou shalt not kill.” Our work to defend the dignity of human life is not an imposition by us of Catholic values onto a pluralistic world.

Instead, we are following the Natural Law, working with other Christians (who often are much better than us Catholics in terms of defending human life, since they are not afraid of being labeled “puppets of the pope” [as so many Catholics are] for their good work in this regard), Jews, Moslems, and other believers and non-believers to defend human life in its weak points (at the beginning and end of life).

At No. 10 in Apostolicam Actuositatem the council fathers discussed the involvement of Catholics in the political field. “In loyalty to their country and in faithful fulfillment of their civic obligations, Catholics should feel themselves obliged to promote the true common good. Thus they should make the weight of their opinion felt in order that the civil authority may act with justice and that legislation may conform to moral precepts and the common good. Catholics skilled in public affairs and adequately enlightened in faith and Christian doctrine should not refuse to administer pubic affairs since by doing this in a worthy manner they can both further the common good and at the same time prepare the way for the Gospel.” This is a tall order for all of us, calling us to make an examination of conscience during this Year of Faith to see how well we are living out this duty.

On page 11 of this paper, we read about a lay woman who took seriously this duty, Kathleen Gilbert. Although now God has called her to enter the convent, she was an example of a lay person in the world, working to bring the truth of Christ to others. She hoped that her life as a lay woman may have “saved even one unborn child’s life, or softened the heart to the dignity of the human person, or given another a little spark of hope that set it on a path to true freedom … If I’ve done that,” she said, “well, I win.”

Unlike the forces of evil, which rejoice to see hatred and disregard for human life (think of the Emperor in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi saying “Good, good” when his supposed friend, Darth Vader, had been critically injured by Luke Skywalker), we rejoice in those little acts of love which will only be revealed to us when we are in the Heavenly Father’s presence. Kathleen Gilbert cannot see right now what power her writing as a laywoman or her prayers as a nun have in this world — but she trusts in Christ, Who tells us we can move mountains if we trust in Him. We ask Our Lord to help us, in these critical weeks before November 6 to allow our hearts to change (since, as G.K. Chesterton responded to the question of who is to blame for the ills of the world, he answered, “I am”) and to move the mountains of indifference or hostility to human life out of the hearts of others. We ask God to help us be that leaven which will help us truly grow into “being what we eat” — the Mystical Body of Christ, which always demonstrates love. Love will prevail; we just need to “give God permission,” as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would say.

S

October 26, 2012

How does God want you to vote?

t. Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great priorities and what He’s asking of His faithful early Fathers of the Church, said that, sons and daughters? In most cases, no. morally, we are our own parents. By our acHe is the Lord of life. In a choice between tions, by the choices we make in response to a candidate who recognizes that abortion is the values we prioritize, we form our charac- the massacre of innocent human beings and ter. By telling the truth we become an honest intends to work to reduce and eliminate it and person. By sacrificing unselfishly for others one who celebrates abortion as a great civil we become loving. By taking what doesn’t “right” and even wants to force Catholic indibelong to us, we become a thief. Our values, viduals and institutions to have to pay for it, is choices and actions all help to mold who we it complicated to figure out which candidate’s are and eventually they manifest who we have values God wants us to support? Similarly, become. would He want us to vote for or against candiWe are now 11 days from the election and dates and legislation that would give doctors it’s important for all of us to remember that the ability to help patients commit suicide? voting is a supremely moral action. First, to God instituted Marriage in the beginning exercise the right vote is a moral duty (“Cate- as the union of one man and one woman, as a chism,” 2240). It is one of the important ways reflection of His own image. Would He want in which we follow the commission Christ has us to support candidates who see Marriage as given us to be the salt of the earth, the light He does or those who believe that such an idea of the world, and the leaven of our culture. A of Marriage is bigoted, unconstitutional, and person who chooses not to vote is opting to needs to be redefined to embrace husband-less be profoundly and literally irresponsible, to or wife-less unions? forsake the responsibilities he or she has as God founded a Church, calls us to use a Christian and as a citizen. That’s why the our freedom to live our faith through acts of Church considers the choice not to vote a seri- charity, and wants us to be people who conous sin of omission. scientiously follow His voice. Would He want But it’s not us to support enough merely candidates who to vote. We also defend freedom need to vote of conscience as salt, light and religion or and leaven, as those who want responsible to use their ofstewards who fice to compel

By Father are striving to Catholic instiRoger J. Landry promote the tutions, priests, common good. nuns, families Like any moral and businesses action, how we vote expresses what we pri- to pay for other people to have free chemical oritize. Depending upon the values we’re ex- abortions, sterilizations, and contraception? pressing in our electoral choices, we could be The answers, for those of a well-formed voting either morally or immorally, and form- conscience, aren’t complicated. ing ourselves to be either morally better or Could a Catholic ever vote for someone morally worse. who supports abortion, doctor-prescribed Catholics are called to vote in accordance suicide, the redefinition of Marriage and atwith the truths and values of the Catholic faith, tacks on freedom of religion and the rights of according to a well-informed conscience. conscience? Only in extreme circumstances, Many Catholics today are confused about when the person abhors the evils that the canwhat the conscience is, not to mention how didate supports and votes for the candidate for to inform it and act morally in accordance reasons that the future Pope Benedict in 2004 with it. At a practical level, many people think said would be “proportionate” to the gravity that “conscience” means simply one’s own of those evils. thoughts about right or wrong, or one’s prefWhat would such issues be? They would erences about the way things ought to be, or have to be so grave as to persuade an Africanone’s gut-instinct about what one should do.

American, for example, to vote for a KKK Conscience, rather, is an organ of sensi- member or a Jew to vote for someone antitivity — like an “inner ear” within our head, Semitic, since Catholics need to be against heart, and soul — given to us by God by the evils mentioned as African-Americans which we’re able to hear His voice telling us are rightly against racism and Jews against to do or avoid something or helping us to see anti-Semitism. The justification would have whether something we did or failed to do was to be sufficient that one would feel comfortin accord with what He wanted. Conscience is able saying to the Lord at the particular judgnot an “oracle” barking out divine mandates ment, “I really believed in conscience that you but an “organ” by which we tune ourselves wanted me to support that person despite the to what God is saying to us. Just like an ear, intrinsic evils that the candidate supported behowever, this organ can lose its hearing — and cause I believed that the evils the other candieven when it can hear clearly, it can listen to date supported were objectively even worse.” and believe falsities and lies.

That’s a very high standard indeed.

Catholics are called to form their conUnfortunately today there are many candisciences to be able to hear, as clearly as pos- dates who support what God and His Church sible, God’s voice guiding us. We’re given have emphatically taught as intrinsic evils. various “hearing aids” — God’s word, the Even more unfortunate is that many Catho“Catechism” and teaching of the Magisteri- lics reflexively vote for them. To support such um, prayer, the lives of the saints and the wise candidates is to become materially complicit counsels of trustworthy men and women with in the evil they do when elected. When we well-trained consciences. But the essence of choose to vote for them, we’re prioritizing voting according to a well-formed Catholic other values — often party affiliation, or ficonscience means to be turning to the Lord nancial concerns, or a candidate’s “likeabiland asking Him, “How should I vote?” ity” — over fighting with God the real moral Voting is not a morally autonomous zone. evils the candidates support. Such votes exIt’s certainly not an area about which God press our character, or better, our lack of charis indifferent, leaving us on our own to vote acter. for whoever or whatever we “like” as if our As we prepare for November 6, let’s keep choices were amoral and inconsequential. We in mind that it’s a moral decision that will be can clearly see from the history of the Jewish considered in the election at the end of our life people how God approved of certain leaders in which we’re the candidate and God has the and political decisions and thoroughly dis- sole vote. May we prepare to cast our ballots proved of others. Our leaders matter to God. by listening for His voice in conscience and Our votes matter to God. responding in such a way that when we meet So how does God want us to vote? Do we Him face-to-face, He’ll be able to say to us, need to read lengthy tomes to discover what “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

God wants us to factor into our electoral deciFather Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette sions? Is it hard to decipher God’s values and Parish in Fall River.

Putting Into the Deep

October 26, 2012

T

his week’s Gospel tells us the story of Bartimaeus the blind beggar whom Jesus cures while on His way to Jerusalem.

It is a hot dusty day.

Jesus and His band of followers were on their way from Jericho to Jerusalem.

Bartimaeus the blind beggar was lying on the side of the road, dust swirling around him. He asks someone near him about the crowd passing by, “What’s going on?”

“It’s Jesus, of Nazareth and some of his followers.” When he heard this, he wanted Jesus to come to him but Jesus continued on His way. Bartimaeus shouted for Jesus to come over and speak to him. People in the crowd tried to interfere and stop Bartimaeus but he shouted all the louder. “Jesus, Son of David, I need to speak to

7

The Anchor

Bartimaeus wanted to see

You!” It was a wonderful experiFinally Jesus stops and ence to gather with Bishop calls Bartimaeus to Him and O’Malley, the priests and asks, “What do you want Me deacons of the diocese. We to do for you?” prayed together, we laughed People in the crowd help together; we ate together; we Bartimaeus to his feet and bring him to Jesus.

Homily of the Week I want to see, was Thirtieth Sunday his reply.

Jesus, knowing the in Ordinary Time man’s faith, cures him

By Deacon and tells him to be on John Welch his way, his faith has saved him. sang together.

Bartimaeus immediately The whole week was dedijoins the crowd following cated to the art of preaching.

Jesus.

We practiced different Years ago I attended a retypes of preaching. One of treat at the invitation of thenwhich was so powerful I Bishop Sean P. O’Malley. haven’t forgotten it to this The name of the retreat was day. We acted out the Gospel “Preaching the Just Word” that is proclaimed today (Mk presented by Father Walter 10:46-52).

Burkhard, S.J. (who has since We were given the assigndied) and Father Ray Kemp, ment and a few moments of S.J. The week-long retreat was centered on preaching. instruction and then we were

on our own. Our prep time was very short — only a few moments. The main character was played by the largest deacon in the diocese at that time.

Oh, was he convincing. He got down on the floor and pretended to beg, using his own words. Someone took the part of Jesus and others part of the jeering taunting crowd.

At first, our audience was a little skeptical when our group entered the room, but once the dialogue started, you could hear a pin drop. It was powerful.

I’d like to quote from “Fulfilled in Your Hearing” (publication #850 of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, page 25): “The more we can turn to the picture language of the

poet and storyteller, the more we will be able to preach in a way that invites people to respond from the heart as well as the mind.”

Our first reading for today reminds us to “shout with joy.” We the followers of Jesus are a joy-filled people.

But sometimes life is not joyful. Things happen: job loss; illness; mounting debt; how can we ask ourselves to be happy and joy-filled?

We must keep our eyes on the prize: Jesus, the One who makes all things new again.

If we but turn to Him and ask, instead of looking in all other directions.

As we come forward to our altar remember Jesus is calling us, just as He called Bartimaeus so many hundreds of years ago.

Deacon Welch serves at St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 27, Eph 4:7-16; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 13:1-9. Sun. Oct. 28, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jer 31:7-9; Ps 126:1-6; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52. Mon. Oct. 29, Eph 4:32—5:8; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 13:10-17. Tues. Oct. 30, Eph 5:21-33 or 122: Eph 5:2a,25-32; Ps 128:1-5; Lk 13:18-21.

Wed. Oct. 31, Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145:10-14; Lk 13:22-30. Thurs. Nov. 1, All Saints Day, Rv 7:2-4,9-14; Ps 24:1-4ab,5-6; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12a. Fri. Nov. 2, Wis 3:19; Ps 23:1-6; Rom 5:5-11; Jn 11:17-27 or 1011-1016.

I

Campaign 2012 — What kind of country do you want?

n his speech to the Democratic National Convention, nominating President Obama for a second term, former president Bill Clinton said that the choice before America was a stark one: What kind of country do you want to live in?

That’s exactly right.

Do you want to live in an America with a robust array of legally-protected civil society institutions, supported by volunteerism and charitable giving? Or do you want to live in an America in which the government occupies more and more of the public square, squeezing to the margins of our common life the voluntary associations that have long enriched our democracy?

Do you want to live in an America in which the national government recognizes that certain moral truths about the human person stand in judgment on law and public policy? Or do you want to live in an America in which utility, not dignity, is the governmen-

tal measure of the human per- rebuilt a robust and compasson? sionate culture of life? Or do Do you want to live in an you want to live in an America America that is recovering a in which an unborn child has sense of the decencies, a coun- less legal protection than a try in which moral conviction protected species of wolf in a born of biblical faith is welcomed in public life The and neither the culture nor the government Catholic deplore biblical moralDifference ity as irrational bigotry? Or do you want to live in an America in which culture and the government think of human beings as national park — an America in bundles of desires that public which the mildest criticism of policy and the public purse Planned Parenthood results in are supposed to satisfy — an your being denounced by public officials and the media?

America of Sandra Flukes?

Do you want to live in a Do you want to live in an America that respects the in- country that cherishes and alienable right to life declared protects religious freedom in in the Declaration of Inde- full? Or do you want to live in pendence — an America that a country where religious freegladly affords legal protection dom has been dumbed-down to the unborn, the radically to a “privacy” right to certain handicapped, and the elderly weekend leisure activities?

Do you want to live in an because it has rejected what economically robust America Blessed John Paul II called the “culture of death” and has in which earning a living is not

only possible, but is celebrated as a dignified expression of responsibility and self-respect?

Or do you want to live in an America in which the national government is the primary economic actor?

Do you want to live in a responsible society or an entitlement society?

Do you want to live in an America that is pioneering new ways of combining economic growth, the empowerment of the poor, compassion for the underprivileged, and fiscal responsibility, thereby setting a new path for the democracies of the 21st century? Or do you want to live in a country that spends profligately and burdens future generations with unpayable debt and the economic stagnation that sky-high debt-service causes?

Do you want to live in an America that is respected throughout the world for being just as well and strong, an

America that supports others’ quest for freedom? Or are you resigned to living in a world where jihadists murder American diplomats, tear down the U.S. flag, and raise the flag of radical Islam over U.S. embassies with impunity?

Do you want to live in an America that combines its traditional hospitality to the stranger with respect for the rule of law? Or do you want to live in a country in which demagoguery makes it virtually impossible to create sane immigration policies?

Do you do you want to live in a country that has rebuilt a public culture of civility? Or do want to live in an America in which the politically incorrect are decried as Nazis?

Stark choices, indeed.

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

8

Vocations Month

Many Catholics considering religious vocations, study finds

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — A new report shows that while a significant number of Catholics are considering religious vocations, more education and outreach are needed to foster encouragement, especially among Latino populations.

“Although many speak of priest shortages and steep declines in the number of men and women religious, the survey reveals that there is no shortage of individuals who seriously consider these vocations among never-married Catholics in the United States,” the report said.

Recently, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the release of a study on the consideration of vocations, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

The study, entitled, “Consideration of Priesthood and Religious Life Among Never-Married U.S. Catholics,” was commissioned by the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

It found that among nevermarried Catholics, 12 percent of men and 10 percent of women have considered a vocation “at least a little seriously.”

Three percent of male respondents said they have “very seriously” considered entering the priesthood or becoming a religious Brother, and two percent of female respondents said they have “very seriously” considered becoming a religious Sister.

“This is equivalent to 350,000 never-married men and more than 250,000 never-married women,” the report explained.

“Shepherding more of these individuals on the path to seeking a vocation would likely require a combination of greater outreach from the Church, encouragement from others, assistance in obtaining educational prerequisites, and dealing with other issues such as student loan debt and citizenship status,” it suggested.

The report revealed “generational differences in the consideration of vocations,” with a low point falling in the Post-Vatican II Generation, those born from 1961 to 1981, and a slight increase among those born after 1981.

Catholic education also played a significant role. Male respondents who attended Catholic high school were more than six times more likely to have considered a vocation than those who did not, and female respondents who attended a Catholic elementary school were more than three times as likely to do so as those who did not.

Participation in a parish youth group was also related to higher vocational consideration.

“Encouragement from others is also important,” the survey found. Men and women were almost twice as likely to consider a vocation if someone had encouraged them to do so.

Other positive factors in considering vocations were participation in a World Youth Day or National Catholic Youth Conference, the use of traditional media to access religious or spiritual content and knowing someone who was living a religious vocation.

Most of the adults in the sur-

vey who had considered a vocation “did so between the ages of 13 and 24,” the report said, and “one in four Catholic females who have considered becoming a religious Sister did so before they were a teenager.”

The survey found “few differences related to race and ethnicity” and said that “Hispanic respondents — male and female — are no less likely than others to say they have considered a vocation.”

However, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has warned of an “urgent” shortage in Hispanic clergy and religious. While about 35 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, “only 15 percent of the 2012 ordination class and nine percent of the 2011 religious profession class were Hispanic,” the conference said.

The study found that citizenship requirements and educational prerequisites could be challenges facing Hispanic vocations. Hispanic respondents were the least likely to report having a college degree or being enrolled in Catholic schools at any level of education.

In addition, while Hispanic respondents were “among the most likely to participate in devotional practices

and other prayer” associated with higher levels of considering a vocation, they were also “among the least likely to report that they have ever been encouraged to seek a vocation.”

“The good news is that more than 500,000 never-married men and women have seriously considered a vocation to priesthood or the religious life,” said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.

“The challenge is to pastor and guide these individuals more effectively,” he continued. “This will require greater and more consistent encouragement from others, particularly within the family, and a more urgent focus on access to Catholic education for our young people.”

October 26, 2012

October 26, 2012

Vocations Month

9

A PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS “Oh Jesus, our Good Shepherd, bless all our parishes with numerous priests, deacons, men and women in religious life, consecrated laity and missionaries, according to the needs of the entire world, which You love and wish to save. We especially entrust our community to You; grant us the spirit of the first Christians, so that we may be a cenacle of prayer, in loving acceptance of the Holy Spirit and His gifts.

Assist our pastors and all who live a consecrated life. Guide the steps of those who have responded generously to Your call and are preparing to receive Holy Orders or to profess the evangelical counsels.

Look with love on so many well disposed young people and call them to follow You. Help them to understand that in You alone can they attain to complete fulfillment. To this end we call on the powerful intercession of Mary, mother and model of all vocations. We beseech You to sustain our faith with the certainty that the Father will grant what You have commanded us to ask.�

Amen.

Vocations Month

10

Spanish bishop tells parents to not hinder son’s vocations

Madrid, Spain (CNA) — Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba, Spain called on parents to support their sons who feel they have a vocation to the priesthood and to consider it a gift from God for their families and the Church.

“Mothers and fathers, if your son says he wants to go to the seminary, don’t hinder him in any way. Don’t be responsible for hindering something from God,” the bishop said in his weekly pastoral letter.

“Don’t hold him back, for whatever excuse. If that vocational seed dries up, whose fault will it be?”

Referring to the ordination of two new priests on September 29 in his diocese, Bishop Fernandez said the event will be “an occasion to thank God for these gifts,

as well continue to pray that He send laborers, because the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few.”

This year, he noted, 25 new candidates have entered the Seminary of Cordoba — nine in the major seminary and 16 in the minor.

During his remarks, Bishop Fernandez also called on priests, catechists and teachers to talk to children and young people about a call to the priesthood with love and encourage them to be open to a vocation.

“When a child or young man is excited about his future, point out to them examples of a life of priestly service, like those of so many holy priests such as St. John of Avila or the Cure of Ars,” he added.

In his letter, Bishop Fernan-

dez touched on the new school year that has begun, the Year of Faith and the proclamation of St. John of Avila as Doctor of the Church, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization.

“These are not separate issues, but rather they all flow towards the same objective: to know and deepen in the love of God manifested in Christ and to make others participants in the full communion of the Church, under the guidance of the Magisterium and with the testimony of the saints, so that everyone might enjoy divine life on earth and for all of eternity,” he said.

October 26, 2012

October 26, 2012

Vocations Month

Pro-Life news career helps journalist discover religious vocation

Front Royal, Va. (CNA) “I never really felt any reason have a religious vocation, she — After years of working as a to fear or despair,” she said. “Any needed to look into the Carmelites, Pro-Life news reporter, a Catholic darkness we encountered just be- or as she calls them, the “Marines journalist discovered that she had came all the more reason to roll up of the Church.” a vocation to be a contemplative our sleeves and get to work shining She felt drawn to those who live nun and that God had been using light on it.” with an “emphasis” on “total union her work to prepare her to answer In December 2011, after work- with God in contemplative prayer.” the calling. ing as a journalist for three years, In this way, she said, Carmelites On October strive to “devote 14, Kathleen our whole lives Gilbert, former to being the LifeSite News contact point U.S. Bureau between HeavChief, will begin en and earth, her first year as a drawing down postulant for the the graces that Discalced Carpriests, missionmelites in Bufaries, and famifalo, N.Y. lies distribute to Although she the world.” was raised in a And al“Catholic housethough she is hold” where regiving up writligious life was ing for a living, always seen as LIFE SAVER — Kathleen Gilbert, former U.S. bureau chief for Gilbert believes “a very good LifeSite News. (CNA/John Henry Westen photo) that working in thing,” Gilbert the news was a told CNA she never felt “pushed” Gilbert began to seriously discern “brilliant way of getting to know in any particular direction and was the possibility of a religious vocawhat to pray for” in the convent. “totally free to pursue whatever I tion.

Gilbert will also take with her all wanted to become.”

She explained that she has al- the relationships she “cultivated in Early on in her life, Gilbert said ways felt “a bit of that sense of the Pro-Life world.” she wanted to be an apologist — detachment from the world,” as if Although she will no longer someone who teaches the Catholic she were an “onlooker” or “exile,” be working for the news agency, faith and defends it from misinterbut simply attributed it to being “a Gilbert hopes she can still help pretation — especially since she member of the City of God.” LifeSite as their “staff nun” who frequently “practiced” explaining However, when that feeling will be working “full-time in the Catholicism to her Presbyterian “began to gnaw,” rather than just higher echelons of power.” father.

Ultimately, Gilbert hopes that With prayers and a strong faith “tough it out” for any longer, Gilbert began to listen to the “still her work as a journalist will have formation from her family, Gilbert small voice” and made her first “saved even one unborn child’s said she “entered adulthood knowvisit to a Carmelite monastery durlife, or softened the heart to the ing that the path I chose would be ing Christmastime of last year. dignity of the human person, or my own creative response to God, “Since I had never envisioned given another a little spark of hope not just aimless self-determinathis future before, the suddenness that set it on a path to true freetion.”

Gilbert wanted to study exor- of it helped me conclude that it dom.”

“If I’ve done that,” she said, cism and demonology, but eventu- wasn’t just my own idea,” she said.

Gilbert knew that if she did “well, I win.” ally became a journalist, giving up her post-graduate studies in theology to write full time for LifeSiteNews.com, a non-profit online news site dedicated to covering stories from the culture, life and family spheres.

But that shift in plans was possible only because of the spiritual nature of her work, which was “enough to satisfy my desire to do good and, especially, fight evil,” she said.

“It was an absolutely spiritual workplace. Our daily bread is prayer,” she said. “Being able to bring such single-mindedness towards God into one’s daily work routine is a real privilege.”

As a journalist, Gilbert said she dealt with “darkness” and “occasional discouragement” because of the news she reported, but she still approached her work with a strong sense of optimism.

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12

Vocations Month

October 26, 2012

“The discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and His disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call.”

— Pope Benedict XVI, response to questions by the bishops of the United States in Washington, D.C., April 16, 2008

October 26, 2012

Vocations Month

www.fallrivervocations.org

“How does one explain the ways of God? Yet, I know that, at a certain point in my life, I became convinced that Christ was saying to me what He had said to thousands before me: ‘Come, follow Me!’ There was a clear sense that what I heard in my heart was no human voice, nor was it just an idea of my own.

Christ was calling me to serve Him as a priest.”

— Blessed Pope John Paul II, Los Angeles, Calif., September 14, 1987

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W

e hear it every day. Often six, seven, eight or more times: “And I approve this message.” The word approve holds a lot of weight. It’s used in political ads, commercials, medicine and so on.

The Church too, holds the word approve in high regards.

That which is Church-approved is considered coming from God, and we, as Catholics, feel comfortable that it is true. I say this because The Anchor is running an ad for an upcoming event at St. Anthony’s Church in New Bedford next week. The Anchor also runs a weekly paid advertisement with the purported message from Our Lady each month in Medjugorje.

I’ve received more than one phone call and letter from concerned Catholic readers that the apparitions and messages coming out of the tiny European nation is not approved by the Church. That is very true.

As Catholics, we look to the Church to help us discern if something is of God or not. It’s very important to us.

The event at St. Anthony’s

The Anchor

The message

on November 5 has one of the of all her children here on earth.

Medjugoje visionaries, Ivan He spoke of the glory of God Dragicevic, giving a witness of and how crucial the Eucharist his experiences. I don’t know and eucharistic adoration is to enough about the Medjugorje all of us. He spoke of the need happenings to make my own for a conversion of heart and the assessment, nor does my opin- importance of confessing our ion matter much in the larger sins regularly. And I approve of this message. scheme of things.

When I spoke with Ivan for What I can say is based on my having heard Ivan’s witness and having met him and conversed with him one on one. That was back in 2001 at Holy Name Church in Fall River, 11

By Dave Jolivet years to the day to the New Bedford event. It was an incredible evening of peace, prayer and hope. That an interview for The Anchor, much I do know for sure. De- he practically glowed with the nise, myself and the hundreds of peace of Christ. It was infecothers who were there that night tious. Denise and I chatted with heard absolutely nothing to con- him for quite a while, and detradict what the Church teaches spite his busy traveling schedule and the late hour, he was and professes.

Ivan spoke of the healing gracious and you could tell he power of Jesus Christ our Lord was enjoying his time with us.

Father Murphy asked me to and Savior. He spoke of the salwrite a story for a booklet he vation Jesus offers all of us. He was putting together following spoke of the Blessed Mother’s Ivan’s Holy Name visit. I was powerful intervention on behalf

My View From the Stands

October 26, 2012

glad to do it.

I’d like to share a few paragraphs from that story, to give you the feel for what people experienced that night.

“It seems that many of the folks who attended the Mass and presentation elected to grab a quick bite to eat at a local McDonald’s on the way home. I was one of the last of this unexpected ‘wave’ of customers to be served. While waiting to place my order, I heard one of the employees remark to her manager, ‘I can’t believe how many people just came through here and how long the lines were. And I can’t believe how nice they all were.’

I had to smile at her amazement.

The influence of the Blessed Mother was evident in those she touched that evening.”

And those she touched that evening touched the people working at McDonald’s that evening. It’s contagious. And I approve of this message.

I concluded my piece with this: “The session with Ivan

[interview] ended with a warm hand shake. The time was brief, but very fulfilling. Ivan transmits a peace to all around him — a peace that makes one feel at home, safe and secure. And there’s no doubt from where that peace originates — from a Mother who loves all her children, from a Mother who wants us to know her Son more fully.”

My intent is not to prove or disprove what is happening in Medjugorje. Some day the Church may approve of these appearances, as it did with Fatima, Lourdes, Knock and Guadalupe. Maybe not.

For those who do choose to go to St. Anthony’s on November 5, you can count on an evening where you will feel the presence of Jesus and His Mother. And that’s a message of which everyone can approve.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with Rosary; silent prayer at 6:40; Mass at 7 and Ivan’s witness, with a meet and greet following.

October 26, 2012

T

The Year of Faith, the New Evangelization, and me

he Church opened a new Year of Faith on October 11, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II in 1962, and the 20th anniversary of the release of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” in 1992. All three of these Church events, of course, were (are) intended to present the Catholic faith in a way that speaks to the people of today, challenging us to live it as our path to union with our Father, God in Heaven, to love it, and to spread it.

The challenge couldn’t come at a more opportune time. The Pew Survey on Religion has just revealed that the number of Americans who don’t identify with any religious denomination has increased five percent in the past five years, from 15 to 20 percent. While Roman Catholicism is the single largest de-

O

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The Anchor nomination in the country, the num- the faith, nor developed a personal ber of ex-Catholics would be the relationship with our Lord. Sin is second largest denomination, as one obviously part of the problem. in 10 Americans are fallen-away Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New Catholics. There seems to be a dra- York gave an interesting analysis matic move away from organized religion, to secularism, atheism, and new-age “spirituality” divorced from religion, which is, I’m afraid, spirituality without salvation.

Indeed, there is a SynBy Dwight Duncan od of Bishops meeting in Rome on the subject of the New Evangelization now through October 28. on the second day of the Synod. He The New Evangelization is the quoted the Venerable Archbishop Church’s name for outreach, start- Fulton J. Sheen, our “great Ameriing with its disaffected members. can evangelist,” as saying, “The first One of the problems is people who word of Jesus in the Gospel was are merely cultural Catholics, who ‘come’; the last word of Jesus was were baptized but perhaps not well ‘go.’” Cardinal Dolan continued: catechized, and haven’t really lived “The New Evangelization reminds

Judge For Yourself

Hildegard and the hierarchy

ously the need for women to n October 7, Pope pursue their unique vocation Benedict XVI prowith integrity and an appropriclaimed two new Doctors of ate amount of autonomy. the Church: John of Avila and Authority also came into Hildegard of Bingen. While play when Hildegard began the former joins over two to receive mystical visions, dozen men in that esteemed whose legitimacy she initially rank, Hildegard is only the questioned. She turned to Berfourth woman, joining Teresa nard of Clairvaux, who encourof Avila, Catherine of Siena, aged her, and later to Pope and Thérèse of Lisieux who share the honor. There are many dimensions to this wonderful medieval saint, so in this column and the next, I’d like to introduce this creative and

By Genevieve Kineke faithful daughter of the Church.

Hildegard was born Eugene III, who authorized her in 1098 to a large, German to write about the visions and noble family, and while still a even to speak publicly about child was entrusted to a nearby what they revealed.

Benedictine community to be Benedict explains the sigformed in the faith. She grew up in that small, cloistered nificance of her deference in monastery, and was asked to this matter: “This, dear friends, be its prioress in 1136. At a is the seal of an authentic Wednesday audience in 2010 experience of the Holy Spirit, dedicated to the saint, Pope the source of every charism: Benedict noted that, “She the person endowed with fulfilled this office maksupernatural gifts never boasts ing the most of her gifts as a of them, never flaunts them woman of culture and of lofty and, above all, shows comspirituality, capable of dealing plete obedience to the ecclesial competently with the organiauthority. Every gift bestowed zational aspects of cloistered by the Holy Spirit, is in fact life.” intended for the edification of Eventually, she moved her the Church, and the Church, monastery away from the adthrough her Pastors, recognizes joining male monastery, which its authenticity.” was exerting undue influence Late in her life, when she over her women, and in Binencountered the Cathars, who gen she was finally able to exsought to “purify” the Church ercise her legitimate authority. on their own, she rebuked Benedict praised her prudence them for seeking to reform in this decision — showing outward structures without that the hierarchy takes serilegitimate authority, when

The Feminine Genius

they should be seeking interior renewal based on humility and personal repentance. As in all generations, it was not that the Church could not benefit by purification, but that it begins with the members — not by tearing down the institution.

Surely her insight is just as important today as in her own time.

Pope Benedict reminds us that the extraordinary lights that God sends to particular people are not meant for their own enjoyment or private pleasure—they are entrusted to those who will share them with the entire Church.

Rather than opening new vistas of revelation, Hildegard’s visions augmented what God had already revealed through Holy Scriptures. They encompassed the principle events of salvation history in ways that brought the truths alive.

Truly, this remarkable saint knew that her gifts needed to be linked to the salvific work of Christ, which has been safeguarded over the centuries by Holy Mother Church.

As we embark on this Year of Faith, the attention given to the work of Hildegard of Bingen will help us, not only to soar towards the “living God,” but her personal witness reminds us that the visible Church is a reliable guide, our true spiritual home, and the legitimate authority in our quest for holiness.

Mrs. Kineke writes from Rhode Island, and can be found online at femininegenius.com.

us that the very agents of evangelization must first be evangelized themselves. St. Bernard said, ‘If you want to be a channel, you must first be a reservoir.’ Thus I believe that the primary Sacrament of the New Evangelization is the Sacrament of Penance … The Sacrament of Reconciliation evangelizes the evangelizers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus, Who calls us to conversion of heart, and inspires us to answer His invitation to repentance.

The answer to the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ is not politics, the economy, secularism, pollution, global warming … no. As Chesterton wrote, ‘The answer to the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ is two words: ‘I am!’”

As Pope Benedict XVI said in his apostolic letter Porta Fidei convoking the Year of Faith, “The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world. In the mystery of His death and Resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the love that saves and call us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins.”

Of course, there are plenty of reasons not to believe, to give up hope, to refuse love. But salva-

tion and sanctification do not come from that. As the pope wrote, “Only through believing does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one’s life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God.” As St. Paul wrote the Romans, “Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom 10:10).

On Sunday, two American women were canonized as saints: Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American woman born in upstate New York who converted to Catholicism in the 17th century and died at a relatively young age near Montreal, and Marianne Cope, who came to upstate New York as an infant from her native Germany and volunteered to spend the last 30-some years of her life taking care of lepers in Hawaii (initially with St. Damien of Molokai). These two heroes of our faith show that salvation and sanctification are within our reach, if we put our trust in God and His Church.

Let us embrace this Year of Faith and commit ourselves to the New Evangelization in consequence.

Dwight Duncan is a professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.

Revised and updated ...

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A senator’s record I’m writing because I want voters in Massachusetts to understand Scott Brown’s record on family planning issues and healthcare for women.

Sen. Scott Brown calls himself pro-choice, but in reality he’s voted pro-choice only once out of five times when a choice-related vote came to the Senate floor while he’s served in office.

In 2010, Brown voted in favor of an amendment that would deny women medical-abortion coverage, even if women used their own private funds to purchase health insurance.

In 2011, Brown voted in favor of a spending bill that would have eliminated the Title X family-planning program, defunded Planned Parenthood, and reinstated the D.C. abortion ban.

In 2012, Brown joined 48 antichoice senators to vote in favor of an amendment that would have allowed employers to refuse to cover birth control or any health service required under the Affordable Care Act. It would have allowed employers to deny HPV vaccines because they don’t believe in vaccines or deny maternal/prenatal care for single women because they don’t believe in Marriage out of wedlock.

Brown said his support for the Blunt amendment was “about freedom to practice your religion without government interference,” however there was no language in the amendment about specific religious beliefs and it would have given employers authority to deny women a broad array of health care services based on their conscience.

Scott Brown has been endorsed by the leading anti-choice advocacy organization in Massachusetts — Mass Citizens for Life.

Elizabeth Wicks Westport EXECUTIVE EDITOR RESPONDS: It is interesting to see a letter from a reader who uses the term “anti-choice,” apparently showing her giving a higher value to personal choices (for some) over the right to life for the defenseless. Please see Father Landry’s column on page six for good advice about voting.

Saint for the disabled In the Apr. 8, 2011, issue of The Anchor, I introduced you to Blessed Margaret of Castello, suggesting her as a role model for persons with disabilities.

On Tuesday, September 25, I was listening to the Mass on Relevant Radio, WSJW 550 AM in Providence, the newest Catholic Radio station in our area, when the celebrant offered his Mass to a person whose feast is not recorded in the Catholic Calendar, Blessed Herman. He spoke about him and I decided I wanted to learn more about him because the celebrant had mentioned that

October 26, 2012

The Anchor

Our readers respond he had numerous disabilities. So after Mass, I did a Google search and here is what I found out.

Blessed Herman lived in the 11th century in Southern Germany from 1013 to 1054. He was born to a noble family like Blessed Margaret, except that his parents treated him much differently.

Hermann was born with a cleft palate, with spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. His parents cared for him until the age of seven. Then they turned over to a Benedictine monastery to be cared for by the monks. Despite his disabilities, his difficulties speaking because of his cleft palate, and his physical disabilities, he was a genius. He studied astronomy, math, theology, history, poetry, music Arabic, Greek and Latin.

He professed his vows as a Benedictine monk at the age of 21. When he became blind, he wrote hymns and prayers.

Among the prayers he composed was the “Hail Holy Queen” and the “Alma Redemptoris Mater.”

His doctors told his parents that he would only live for five years but Herman died at the age of 41. His feast day is September 25.

Blessed Herman certainly used the gifts God gave him to compensate for his disabilities and he lives on in all of us whenever we pray the “Hail Holy Queen.”

Blessed Herman, pray for us!

You can find out more about Blessed Herman online at the website: FamilyPrayer.org.

Dennis Polselli Fall River EXECUTIVE EDITOR RESPONDS: Thank you for sharing with us some news which both informed many of us something we did not know about a prayer we pray all the time and which helped us appreciate again what good a Culture of Life can bring to the world.

Defending life and liberty For 40 years America has been waging war on the innocent unborn; and our government has recently declared war on religion.

Life and freedom of religion, which millions of Americans, from our country’s conception, have fought and died for, are precious. Sadly, however, our most basic right and fundamental freedoms are under attack — and it is up to us to do something about it.

Life and liberty are in our hands.

We can help restore legal rightto-life protection to the most vulnerable members of our human family; and we can defend religious freedom; or we can do nothing. The choice is ours. Life and liberty are in our hands.

Let us defend the right-to-life and religious freedom, as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and our U.S. Constitution by supporting leaders who support life and liberty. Now is the time for us to stand up and be

counted. If not now, then when?

Life and liberty are in our hands.

It has been said — and not without reason — that we get what we deserve from our political leaders. For we put them into office with our votes. We elected them.

On Nov. 6, 2012, we shall have another chance to vote. Will we abandon our principles and vote for candidates, based simply on political party without regard to whether they support our and our nation’s basic values?

Or will we vote, regardless of political party, for those candidates who support the first of our Declaration of Independence-described “unalienable” rights, the right-to-life, and the first of our U.S. Constitution-defined fundamental freedoms, the freedom of religion?

On November 6, let your conscience be your guide, not your accomplice. Vote for life and liberty.

Richard A. Carey Needham EXECUTIVE EDITOR RESPONDS: Again, thank you for your good advice, which also concurs well with Father Landry’s column.

Catholics need to vote Following my receipt of the September 14 edition of The Anchor, I wrote a letter to the editor which was published and you rebutted.

This afternoon I overheard a political advertisement attributed to (Elizabeth) Warren. It turned my stomach. She goes on to say that (Senator Scott) Brown at some point praised Justice Scalia and that the Justice had voted in the past against abortion. She goes on to say that many of the (Supreme Court) justices are in their 70s and very likely one or two could very well be replaced.

“Would you want a Senator who will favor the repeal of Roe v.

Wade?” This very immoral approach made my blood boil.

Now getting back to my letter and rebuttal, I feel that you totally missed my point.

My letter was for the bishop, as leader of the diocese, to point out to the faithful that there are some very grave moral issues that all voters should be aware of before going to the polls.

For the faithful there is a moral obligation to screen the candidates from a moral point of view.

When going to the polls, they should vote for candidates who profess to support these issues.

One should not vote because he is a Democrat or Republican, but for what he stands for to be the truth.

Now in my letter I mentioned nothing about the numbers attending Mass. I believe you mentioned 25 percent, which I think is on the low side from what I’ve been reading in the Register. But that is neither here nor there.

Twenty-five percent can still be a significant number. I am not certain if you are familiar with the primary results in the Fall River area where two contests were won by less than 100 votes. In nearby R.I., one contest was won by one vote.

There are some very important issues out there and Catholics in the diocese need very much to hear from their leader. To say individuals will vote opposite of what they are told is a cop out.

I think some of our liberal Catholic leaders in the north should spend time in the south. It would be a rude awakening.

Just the other night on Facebook, 93 years old, the Rev. Billy Graham said it well. As a matter of fact, what he had to say should be on the front page of The Anchor. The people in the south can easily put the liberal-minded people in the north to shame. Religious leaders in the south are not afraid to confront issues which are not moral.

Joseph H. Belanger Somerset EXECUTIVE EDITOR RESPONDS: The Billy Graham ad of which Joseph writes says, “The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren and this great nation is crucial. As I approach my 94th birthday, I realize this election could be my last. I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of Marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation, under God.” As I mentioned above, Father Landry gives a very similar statement on page six. As I said in my earlier “rebuttal,” I think that a judicious usage of the bully pulpit may be the better approach, since people in Massachusetts are often inclined to intentionally do the opposite of what the leadership of the Catholic Church proposes we do. Since our goal is to defend human life, we need to take the approach which will be most effective, even if it not be the most confrontational. In terms of your praise of the South over the North, the last century was not exactly the most moral one in that region. That being said, we are sinners, in whatever region or nation we reside, and we are all in need of repentance.

Seeking Church leadership As a practicing Catholic, I am appalled at the drift of the tone of our country’s culture so far away from the doctrines of our faith.

Specifically the trend to embed into federal law free abortion, free contraception, free “morning after pills,” gay marriage, and un-

constitutional attacks on Catholic freedom of religion. All of these items are important planks in the Democratic party’s platform and objectives of our president and almost every other Democratic candidate.

Late last spring there was a banner across the op-ed page of The Anchor clearly stating Catholics had an obligation to vote for candidates supporting these positions. The story included the statement that supporting such candidates was a form of facilitating abortion.

Why haven’t we heard a single word from the pulpit about this obligation? This is not a political question, it is a serious moral issue. Where is the courage of the Church to stand against these evils? Are they afraid to lose their tax exemptions? Is that worth abandoning our principles?

Last month The Wall Street Journal printed an article that explicitly detailed the merger of Catholic Democrat senators and representatives with the abortion cabal. It stated: “All but one of the active senators and representatives who are members of the official Catholics for Obama campaign team enjoy a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.”

Despite this, the Church is quiet.

There are days left before the election. I am asking you to take a stand against the culture of death and for our faith. I am asking this because bishops and pastors have a duty to clearly teach and instruct the faithful and it is not happening.

This is a moral issue, not politics.

William C. Henchy Brewster EXECUTIVE EDITOR RESPONDS: We here at The Anchor, which, as you know, is the official newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River, clearly call for people to keep the “non-negotiables” in mind when voting. Clergy, and fellow laity (who often are more effective — see what I wrote to Mr. Belanger above), have been reminding us of our responsibilities before God when voting. The Church does not do what it does out of fear of losing its tax exemption. It is prepared to face persecution for failing to follow the HHS regulations.

Nonetheless, our electoral goal is to have the candidates who support a Culture of Life win and we must use prudence to figure out how best to convince people to vote accordingly. However, the primary goal of the Church is the salvation of souls, so we need to also keep that in mind when dealing with this issue (or any other issue).

October 26, 2012

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The Anchor

Priest from Jamaica continued from page one

coordinating the effort to bring him to La Salette after volunteering at the mission in Jamaica for the last few years.

“In my walk with the Lord, I always looked for something where I could do this. I was really inspired when I heard him speak,” she recalled of her first trip in 2006. “So my first step was to look for groups in Massachusetts or Rhode Island that were going, and I couldn’t find any.”

Determined, she made the trip to Kingston, Jamaica by herself; “A lot of people thought I was crazy at my age to go by myself there, but I felt at peace with it,” said the 81-year old.

L’Heureux’s first assignment after arriving was at the Faith Center, a shelter for the homeless and mentally challenged.

She also helped at the Lord’s Place, a center for the elderly. At the Bethany Center, she helped bathe babies while at Jacob’s Well, L’Heureux gave a helping hand to the women housed at the shelter; “I did not expect to be greeted so enthusiastically by the three-women welcoming committee, all who called me ‘mama’ and vied for my atten-

tion. They all gave me a big hug.

This is the normal greeting for all volunteers who come to Jacob’s Well,” said L’Heureux.

Father Ho Lung’s presentations are incredible and dramatic; his most recent event in Jamaica drew more than 9,000 people, said L’Heureux. Having written more than 500 songs, his music is uplifting and engaging to all those who hear it.

“For this concert, it’s specifically to build a women’s crisis center for struggling mothers and their babies. In Jamaica, abortion is still illegal,” said L’Heureux, so Father Ho Lung created a place to help women.

“A lot of women get raped; the monastery is right at the heart of the ghetto, so they see a lot of what’s going on.

A lot of people think all of Jamaica is beautiful, a hotspot tourist destination, said L’Heureux, “and then they hear Father Ho Lung’s story.”

L’Heureux said she’s enjoyed meeting and working with volunteers from all over the world, and especially finds the Brothers singing to be uplifting. She plans to go back to Jamaica in November to continue the work

on the women’s crisis center.

“As the money comes in, they build part of in; they do their own work, all the Brothers have been taught and do it themselves,” she said of the on-going mission work.

“Some would find it hard to believe that I found so much joy among people with all kinds of disabilities and deformities,” said L’Heureux. “The invitation, ‘Come, find and serve Christ in the poor’ drew me to Kingston and it keeps me going back and motivated to do all I can to help the Missionaries of the Poor.”

For more information about Father Ho Lung’s mission, visit www.

MissionariesOfThePoor.org. To get more information on the upcoming event at La Salette, call L’Heureux at 401-568-0724 or Betty Slaney at 508520-3060.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Oct. 27 Rev. Francisco L. Jorge, Assistant, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New Bedford, 1918 Rev. Edmond L. Dickinson, Assistant, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1967 Rev. Joseph F. O’Donnell, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1990 Oct. 28 Rev. Alfred E. Coulombe, Pastor, St. George, Westport, 1923 Rev. Stanislaus Kozikowski, OFM Conv., Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1956 Oct. 30 Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, Retired Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1992 Rev. Denis Sughrue, CSC, Director of Postulancy, Holy Cross Novitiate, North Dartmouth, 2002 Nov. 1 Rev. William H. McNamara, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1924 Rev. Louis N. Blanchet, Assistant, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1927 Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Ferraz, Pastor, St. Michael, Fall River, 1944 Rt. Rev. Msgr. George F. Cain, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1953 Rev. William E. Farland, Pastor, St. Joseph, Taunton, 1987 Rev. William F. Gartland, C.S.C. Stonehill College, North Easton, 1988 Rev. John F. Sullivan, SS.CC., Retired Pastor, Holy Trinity, West Harwich, 1994 Rev. Manuel T. Faria, Retired, Catholic Memorial Homer, 1999 Nov. 2 A memento for the repose of the souls of our bishops, priests and permanent deacons not on this list Rev. Joseph S. Fortin, Founder, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1923 Rev. Michael V. McDonough, Chaplain, St. Mary’s Home, New Bedford, 1933

cross examination — Carmen Ejogo and Tyler Perry star in a scene from the movie “Alex Cross.” (CNS photo/Summit)

CNS Movie Capsule NEW YORK (CNS) — The following is a capsule review of a movie recently reviewed

by Catholic News Service.

“Alex Cross” (Summit) The titular hero (Tyler Perry) of the best-selling crime novels by James Patterson anchors an action-packed thriller, directed by Rob Cohen. Together with his partners — a tough Irish cop (Edward Burns) and a rookie (Rachel Nichols) eager to stand toe to toe with the big guys — Tyler’s character, a detective and forensic psychologist, tracks a vicious serial killer (Matthew Fox)

through the streets of Detroit.

The high-stakes game of cat and mouse becomes personal when tragedy strikes close to home, and the investigators’ search for justice is tinged by a desire for revenge. Fortunately, the strong violence is lightened by moments of humor, and the picture shows us the tender side to its protagonist, a devoted family man, as well as the role of faith in his life. Intense violence, including torture, drug use, a brief nonmarital bedroom scene with partial nudity, a few instances each of profane and rough language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 28, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Thomas McElroy, SS.CC., pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Fairhaven

October 26, 2012 Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization Evangelization must start with people’s Synod fathers call for real lives, synod members say ‘a new Pentecost’

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Communications.

VATICAN CITY The pervasive (CNS) — New presence of the digiEvangelization eftal media in the lives forts cannot succeed of modern people, unless they begin particularly the lives with the concrete of the young, means lives, cultures and the Church cannot languages of the treat social networks people whom the simply as “virtual Catholic Church is spaces less importrying to reach with tant than the ‘real’ the Gospel, said parworld,” he said. “If ticipants at the Synod of Bishops.

FRUITFUL MEETING — Cardinals and bishops leave a meeting the Gospel is not proclaimed Indonesian Bish- of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization at the Vatican also digitally, we run the op Ignatius Suharyo recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) risk of abandoning Hardjoatmodjo of because they know the local lanmany people for whom this is the Jakarta said many of the new guage.

Catholics in Indonesia were first Another consideration of the world in which they ‘live.’”

The Catholic Church, which attracted “by the way Catholics real-life circumstances that keep pray during public events such many baptized members from is used to preaching to people or as wedding feasts or funeral ser- practicing their faith was raised reaching them through texts and vices.”

by Maltese Bishop Mario Grech books, he said, must learn the lanThey react to the prayers be- of Gozo. He said the Church must guage of the new media, which cause they “are delivered in their continue to uphold Jesus’ teach- value “spontaneous, interactive vernacular mother tongue, so that ing on the indissolubility of Mar- and participatory” discourse, the they readily understand the con- riage, but it also must reach out to archbishop said.

Bishop Sarah F. Davis, vice tent, whereas before they usually those whose marriages have ended president of the World Methodist heard prayers recited in a foreign badly. language as the Muslims pray in Couples who are divorced and Council and an ecumenical delArabic,” the archbishop told mem- civilly remarried, he said, feel the egate invited to the synod by Pope bers of the synod recently.

Church’s teaching “as a weight Benedict XVI, told members, The problem, he said, comes on their heads and their hearts, “Evangelistic outreach must be inwith translations of the Mass from and find difficulties in reconciling formed and shaped by the specific the original Latin. While the Vati- themselves with the Church and needs and cultural environment of those with whom the Gospel is becan has insisted on translations be- perhaps with God.” ing as literal as possible in order to Bishops, pastors and other ing shared.”

Bishop Davis, who serves as remain faithful to the full content Catholics must take seriously paand rich implications of the Latin pal teaching that while couples in the Jamaica-based bishop of the terms, the Indonesian bishop said irregular situations “are not in per- African Methodist Episcopal a “literal translation is not always fect communion with the Church” Church, told synod members that possible, because of the diversity and may not receive the Eucharist, “creativity is needed so that in and complexity of languages.” they do love the Lord and are still meeting the needs of persons, the In Indonesia, he said, a prob- members of the Church, Bishop Gospel is not compromised.”

However, she said, in the end, lem can arise when translating “et Grech said. “it will be the evangelizers who cum spirito tuo” (“and with your He quoted Pope Benedict, who spirit”) into a local language. “The at the World Meeting of Families are placed under the microscope, word ‘spiritus’ as translated into in June, said the Church loves not the processes, not the pro‘roh’ in our language could read- such people, and “it is important grams, nor the plans developed ily evoke the idea of ‘evil spirit,’ that they should see and feel this out of this synod. People want to know that what the evangelizers thus ‘et cum spirito tuo’ means, love.” for some communities, ‘with your Another way the Church must are advertising has already worked evil spirit,’” the bishop told synod tailor its message to individuals in their lives.”

The New Evangelization must members, who laughed. is through the media, and particuWith liturgical translations, he larly through social networks such include a “robust confrontation of said, the “principle of subsidiar- as Facebook, said Archbishop ideas” that can help young people ity” should apply: The local bish- Claudio Maria Celli, president of discern the arguments and ideas ops should make the final decision the Pontifical Council for Social presented to them, he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/ EWTN News) — Mixing old with new, a progress report on the synod of bishops on the New Evangelization was delivered in Latin, the ancient language of the Church.

“Many Synod Fathers called for a new Pentecost … of seeing the action of the Church today, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, as a reflection of the energy in the early Church when the Apostles set out to bring the first disciples to the Lord,” Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., said recently.

“Many of the fathers spoke of the similarity between those early days of the Church and our moment in time today.”

The 71-year-old American cardinal is charged by Pope Benedict XVI with steering the work of the synod. Under the title of General Relator, Cardinal Wuerl guides the discussions of the 262 participants as they attempt to map out a plan for bringing the Gospel to the modern world.

Part of his job is presenting the October 7-28 synod with a summary of more than 230 formal speeches and innumerable off-the-record discussions during the synod’s first half.

First, he thanked Pope Benedict for his inspiration and guidance. At the synod’s opening session, the pope reminded participants to keep in mind that “the two great pillars of evangelization” are a commitment to “know and proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ” and to do it with love.

“It is only when we have the word inseparably lived in love that we achieve the evangelization so hoped for in this synod,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

One understanding in the synodal discussions that has emerged “very clearly,” he reported, is “the understanding that the foundation of the New Evangelization for the transmission

of the faith is above all the work of the most Holy Trinity in history.” It is because Christ gave the Church “the commission to share and make known His victory (over sin and death)” that “the Church’s primary mission is evangelization.”

The synod has also discussed ways of helping priests and bishops to be more effective evangelizers in the modern world, from doing parish work to media apostolates.

But Cardinal Wuerl emphasized that the synod wants all Catholics to fulfill their roles as witnesses for Christ.

“The synod highlighted the important role of every disciple of Christ in the mission of spreading the faith,” he said.

Laypeople must use their Godgiven gifts to evangelize with “eager dedication.”

The role of proper catechesis, or instruction in the faith, has been a hot-topic at the synod.

“A number of bishops spoke of the need to reinforce the role of the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church when dealing with all of those who are engaged in teaching the faith,” Cardinal Wuerl said. This applies “at the level of theological speculation or teaching at the elementary, secondary or university levels, and in all the expressions of catechesis.”

Sound catechesis is a big topic at the synod because the New Evangelization requires teaching the faith well to those who do not know it — children, for example — as well as presenting it anew to fallen-away Catholics who suffered inadequate or theologically-unsound catechesis.

To this end, Cardinal Wuerl said the synod has been considering how the Church can devise “a program of catechesis which is basic, complete and inspiring in the search for truth, goodness and beauty.”

October 26, 2012

Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization

19

Renewing Ireland requires giving youth hope and truth, bishops say VATICAN CITY (CNA/ EWTN News) — Ireland’s delegation to the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization presented ways to re-evangelize a country shaken by abuse scandals, undermined by poor catechesis and assaulted by secularism.

“The Church must now speak with a voice which is hopeful yet humble, confident yet compassionate, with a claim to authority that must be more evidently rooted in the Gospel and the love of Christ,” said Bishop Kieran O’Reilly of Killaloe during a recent afternoon session of the synod.

“This is the context in which the New Evangelization will take place” in Ireland, he stated.

Referring to the abuse scandals, Bishop O’Reilly said the Church in Ireland is living the “recent crises in a dramatic way.”

But he expressed hope for renewal through a 10-year pro-

gram of re-evangelization that the bishops’ conference will be implementing. It will emphasize catechesis and deep appreciation for Christ’s message.

Bishop O’Reilly also said the New Evangelization must involve a “fuller and significant biblical apostolate.”

Addressing the same synod session was the other member of the Irish delegation, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

He broached a subject pertinent to Ireland that also has broader relevance to the Englishspeaking world. The archbishop warned about “the manipulation of language and the management of information where the meaning of words is changed and manipulated for commercial, ideological or political motives.”

He said this has had an especially confusing effect upon youth.

“Young people live in a culture of relativism, and indeed,

banalization of the truth often without even being aware of it,” he said. “It is a culture which they did not create. They may not know any other culture, yet they must find Christ in the midst of this culture while they have little familiarity with the language of faith.”

While taking heart in the ardor of groups of young Catholics who have “found strength and support in events such as World Youth Day,” he said the Church must reach out to those young people who “find themselves very much alone among their classmates and fellow students and indeed may experience hostility and incomprehension as they try to find or maintain their faith in Jesus Christ.”

What is the Church doing to reach out to them? he asked.

“Where are we present among the large student population, especially for those whose basic Christian education may well have been all but superficial in either family or school?

The challenge of the New Evangelization must be marked by a robust confrontation of ideas, not in terms of ideological aggression, but in helping young people in the discernment of ideas.”

Archbishop Martin pointed out that the “culture of individualism” leaves young truth-seekers especially lonely and recommended that the Church can counteract it by creating a variety of “new ecclesial communities, not just those of the ecclesial movements, but around our parishes, which will be the building blocks of the Eucharistic communities of the future.”

PAPAL HONORS — Bishop George W. Coleman recently bestowed papal honors on six priests of the Fall River Diocese at a ceremony inside St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

Msgr. John A. Perry, former vicar general of the Fall River Diocese, was named a Protonotary Apostolic, while the other five priests were named Prelates of Honor to His Holiness. Pictured above, from left, are Msgr. Edmund J. Fitzgerald, Msgr. Barry W. Wall, Msgr.

Perry, Bishop Coleman, Msgr.

John F. Moore, and Msgr. Stephen J. Avila. Msgr. Ronald A. Tosti, right, was unable to attend the ceremony.

New Evangelization needs to reach out to young VATICAN CITY (CNA/ EWTN News) — The New Evangelization needs to reach out to young people using every means available, new and old, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles says.

“It is our mission to ask God for the grace to discover new means to reach out to young people,” Archbishop Gomez said. “We need to use all the new means of communication so that they can understand what we are talking about.”

The New Evangelization must present timeless truths in new ways, he told CNA recently during a break of the synod on the New Evangelization.

“Beautiful traditions, like the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and the time of contemplation and meditation, are very popular among young people,” he noted. “So we have to go back to that, so that they can feel, too, how important the Catholic faith is for them.”

Young people are a major focus of the New Evangelization — which is aimed at reintroducing the faith to formerly Christian countries.

Archbishop Gomez believes

the Church can accomplish this by taking action rooted in prayer.

“The first thing we need to do is to pray for them,” he said. “And then we have to come up with new, better ways to reach out to them.”

In the Los Angeles, for example, “we have specific congresses in every region of the archdiocese, and some of them try to target young people, so that they can come and participate and see how beautiful it is to know Jesus Christ. We pray for them, and entrust their needs (to God) and see that they get excited about the Catholic faith.”

That excitement is rooted not in feelings but the realization that “the Catholic faith has all the answers to all the challenges of this society,” he said. In turn, this recognition should foster “a new enthusiasm in the way that we know and practice our faith.”

Bishops at the synod say that Church-approved catechists will be instrumental in bringing people to Christ and making the New Evangelization a success.

Youth Pages

20

October 26, 2012

SCHOOL DAYS — Three-year-old students in the preschool program at St. Mary’s School in Taunton recently took a break from lunch to pose with their teachers, rear from left, Susan Fernandes, Ida Riley and Maria Miller. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza) PEER PRAYERS — Students at Holy Name School in Fall River participate in the “Prayer Partner Program.” Middle school students pair up with elementary students to learn their prayers and do projects together about their faith. Here grade eight students are meeting their prayer partners in kindergarten.

BACK TO SCHOOL — The new preschool at St. Margaret’s Regional School in Buzzards Bay is now up and running. Here students participate in a recent art session.

POLICE PRESENCE — The kindergarten class at St. Mary’s School in Mansfield received a visit from Lieutenant Sherrill of the Canton Police Department. Lieutenant Sherrill explained the role of the local police, when and how to dial 911, and gave each student the chance to sit in her patrol car.

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

CARE PACKAGES — Grade four students at St. Margaret’s Regional School in Buzzards Bay recently baked and created more than 22 boxes filled with goodies to mail to the troops overseas. The class raised all the money themselves to afford the cost of the shipping.

Youth Pages

October 26, 2012

M

y favorite movie of all time is “Dead Poets’ Society.” I try to watch it once a year. The example of Mr. Keating is one I find inspiring as he challenges his students not just to do what they need to do to be successful, but to realize that the purpose of life is more than career; it’s about such things as beauty, love and truth. It inspired me as a 17-year-old high school student and continues to inspire me as a priest. Not just to encourage others to look for beauty, love and truth which may be found in God, but to seek those things myself. Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently quoted St. Bernard of Clairvaux who said, “If you want to be a channel, you must first be a reservoir.”

We live in a great nation and have opportunities that previous generations couldn’t even imagine. Yet, I believe we struggle with why we go to school, go to work, believe we

Time to rest

I know. I also need to practice are responsible for others, etc. what I preach! My schedule, In the account of Creation found in the Book of Genesis, like yours, is crazy on the we hear that God rests on the good days. Yet, if I do not seventh day. Taking a rest is somehow find downtime, I can important, it provides us the forget the reasons why I am chance to relax and recharge assigned here to begin with. so that we are alert and I’m meant to share with others energized for the week ahead. the truth of God’s love; His It also provides us with the opportunity to appreciate what is important: God, family, beauty, etc. While life can

By Father get quite hectic, David C. Frederici particularly as we enter the final half desire for each of us; to bring of the semester, it is very His word to people in times important that you take time of trial, illness, sadness, joy, to relax, not worry about etc. If I don’t spend time with homework. It is not healthy God to nurture the gift of faith — physically, emotionally, or spiritually — to work and go to entrusted to me, if I don’t take time to appreciate beauty and school seven days a week. Be sure to take some time for God, love, I won’t have anything to family, beauty, love, etc. share with those I’ve been sent This is a message that is to minister to. easier said than done, trust me This past week I met with

Be Not Afraid

21 some of the first year nursing students at UMD. One of the messages I delivered to them was that they need to consciously put into practice times for rest and relaxation.

If it is part of their lives now as first year students, they will have a pattern in their life that will help them when they are balancing school, work and clinical experiences.

They will have a pattern that will help them when they are balancing career and family.

When I speak of rest and relaxation, I do not mean just watching TV or playing video games. I’m not opposed to these things, but our rest needs to be much more than this. We need to take time to be with loved ones and friends; to learn more about the culture you live in, perhaps even to learn about another culture; to observe the

wonders and beauty of nature (we live in one of the most beautiful spots in the world!); to appreciate art, literature, music, drama, etc. To borrow from Mr. Keating, these are the things that we live for — the reason why we work, go to school, etc. These things also point us to God Who is beauty, goodness, truth, love, etc. This brings up another important activity: go to Mass. We have the unique privilege of being able to be in the presence of God each Sunday, in fact every day! Don’t just “go to Church”; listen, participate, take some time to sit in the silence to realize and appreciate what we are so privileged to receive.

This gift of life that we have received is lived on earth only for a short time. Let us not miss the opportunities to make it count, to live it to the fullest!

Father Frederici is chaplain at UMass Dartmouth.

ic decision-making,” she said.

Such laws have “struck fear into the heart of the abortion lobby,” she added. “It is the voice of the people that they are beginning to hear, and it is the voice of the people that they most fear.”

Anne Fox, president of MCFL, said that the people of Massachusetts are beginning to oppose the most important issue on the state ballot, physician-assisted suicide.

The latest polling numbers have Question 2 with 54 percent of the

vote, dropping 14 points in a short window. “We are in the game,” she said.

Matt Hanafin, member of the MCFL board, encouraged those gathered to do everything possible to defeat physician-assisted suicide. “The day I fear most is not November 6, Election Day, but Wednesday, November 7.

That is the morning that we will all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves, ‘Did I do enough?’”

Pro-Life banquet continued from page one which receives state funding. In the case of both, advocates use the same rhetoric as pro-abortion lobbyists. They call for “choice” and “compassion,” and they often highlight cases of unusual hardship, she said.

Just as “abortion for health reasons soon became abortion on demand,” the weak safeguards that accompany assisted suicide laws disappear rapidly. In the Netherlands, there are now mobile units that administer deadly poison.

Glendon warned, “Someday that truck you hear rumbling down the street might not be the ice cream man.” If more than half of Commonwealth voters approve of Question 2 on November 6, doctor-prescribed death will be legal as of January 1.

In the case of embryonic stem-cell research, the calls for “compassion” ring hollow from researchers who hope to strike gold. “Truth be told, the priorities of researchers often have as much to do with the race for patents and profits as they do with the race for cures of dreaded diseases,” she said.

Glendon also decried the “veritable tsunami,” nation-wide, of attacks on faith communities. Such attacks hit close to home when Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston was forced to give up its adoption

services in 2006 because the religious organization could not in good conscience place children with same-sex couples.

The focus of Glendon’s ire was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to pay for health care that includes sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

Churches are exempt, but other conscientious objectors must comply or face crippling fines.

The standard religious exemption has been tossed out the window, and in its place is a narrow definition of what constitutes a religious employer.

“We are witnessing an attack on the social institutions that serve as buffers between the individual and the all-powerful state,” Glendon warned. Religious providers of education, healthcare and social services will close down or be forced to become tools of the government.

“When the government consolidates a monopoly over those essential services by weakening the intermediate associations of civil societies, they sap the lifeblood of the Pro-Life movement,” she said.

Fortunately, the Pro-Life movement knows what to do when the going gets tough, she added. Against the “ferocious opposition” of social elites and

mainstream media, the Pro-Life movement has managed to make legal advances. There are 29 states that mandate ultrasounds prior to abortions, 29 states sanction informed consent and 26 states require parental notification, including Massachusetts where MCFL was instrumental in drafting the first law of that kind.

“All of those legal accomplishments are shoehorned into the little space that the Supreme Court has left open for democrat-

This week in 50 years ago — The fourth annual Ad Altare Dei and Marian Awards ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Church in Taunton. Auxiliary Bishop James J. Gerrard presided as 108 Marian Medals and 97 Ad Altare Dei Awards were given to Boy Scouts, Explorers, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, Junior Catholic Daughters and Junior Daughters of Isabella from all parts of the diocese.

25 years ago — Bishop Daniel A. Cronin blessed the new parish center at Espirito Santo Church in Fall River. Pastor Father Luis A. Cardoso and Father Freddie Babiczuk, parochial vicar, joined the bishop and parishioners in celebrating the addition.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — The diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate’s first annual John Cardinal O’Connor Memorial Award for support of the Gospel of Life was presented to Father Gerald T. Shovelton during its Pro-Life Convention at Bishop Connolly High School.

One year ago — With barely a month remaining before the Church adopted a new, revised English translation of the Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent, parishes throughout the Fall River Diocese were busy making final preparations to welcome the updated Liturgy via a series of workshops and presentations.

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

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

ATTLEBORO — St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, 18 Baltic Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday following the 7 a.m. Mass until 4 p.m.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays 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, first Fridays 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 until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

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

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

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

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

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

The Anchor

October 26, 2012

NEW BEDFORD — Father Roman Chwaliszewski, OFM Conv., a Franciscan Friar and longtime pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Bedford, died in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, on September 29. His affiliation with the Fall River Diocese as a Franciscan Friar spanned nearly his entire priestly career of 52 years. He was 79.

Born in Chelsea on Aug. 5, 1933, son of the late Joseph and Helen (Krystofolska) Chwaliszewski, he was given the name Henry, but took the religious name Roman when he became a Franciscan friar in 1951, upon graduation from St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, N.Y. He did his Novitiate at St. Lawrence Friary, in Becket, Mass., 1951-1952. He professed his Simple Vows as a Franciscan Friar Conventual on Aug. 15, 1952, and his Solemn Vows on Aug. 15, 1955.

Father Chwaliszewski was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Christopher Weldon, at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield on May 28, 1960. Father Chwaliszewski earned a BA degree in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University in 1957. He completed Theological Studies at St. Hyacinth Seminary in 1960. He earned an MS degree in Education at Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. in 1966.

All of Father Chwaliszewski’s ministerial assignments were in high schools and parishes. For 18 years he taught at Franciscan High Schools: Bishop Ryan in Buffalo, N.Y.; Cardinal O’Hara in Tonawanda, N.Y.; St. Francis in Athol Springs, N.Y. During that period he was the principal of Cardinal O’Hara from 1976-1979.

For 33 years he worked in Franciscan Parishes: Holy Rosary in Taunton, St. Casimir in Riverside, N.J., and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in New Bedford, where he served as pastor for 29 years until his retirement in 2011.

For the past year he has been the Assistant Chaplain at the Jeanne Jugan Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Somerville.

Father Chwaliszewski founded the “Buffalo Benefactors of the Franciscan Friars” in western New York, which this year is celebrating its 50th Anniversary.

Parishioners in New Bedford honored Father Chwaliszewski with a memorable celebration of his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood in 2010.

Father Chwaliszewski’s Franciscan confreres, parishioners, students and family will fondly remember his astonishing ability in social organization. His famous “Polish Kitchen Cuisine” at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish was legendary. His former Provincial, Father Michael Kolodziej said of him: “He was always very dedicated to serving the people, whether it be in the high schools, parishes, or the nursing home.”

His present Provincial, Father

siblings, John, Mary, and Stephen Chwaliszewski, and Genevieve Salados. He is survived by a sister, Josephine Grabowski, and a brother, Chester Hollis, as well as several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grand-nephews, greatgrand nieces, and great-grand nephews.

Father Chwaliszewski’s body did lie in state at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and prayers were offered by Bishop George W. Coleman at the wake. A Franciscan Transitus also took place in the church that evening. His funeral Mass was on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis. It was concelebrated by 30 priests. Burial followed immediately in Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Bedford, at the plot of the Franciscan Friars.

Father Roman Chwaliszewski, OFM Conv., longtime New Bedford pastor, dies

James McCurry described him as a “priest’s priest, who was always available as a Confessor, and spiritual advisor to his fellow clergy and the people of God.” Father Chwaliszewski was predeceased by his parents and four

Around the Diocese 10/27

All opponents of the November 6 ballot Question #2, “Physician-Assisted Suicide,” are invited to gather for a massive stand-out tomorrow from 1 to 3 p.m. on Route 132 in Hyannis at the front of K-Mart Shopping Plaza. Please join with your signs and banners to help defeat this proposition. The rally is sponsored by Cape Cod Family Life Alliance. For more information, call Barbara Bowers at 508-385-7867 or email bgailbowers@comcast.net.

11/2

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet November 2 at the Chapel of St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street, Fall River, continuing its 65th year of activity. Following the 6 p.m.

Mass celebrated by Father Karl Bissinger, Secretary to Bishop George W. Coleman, a hot meal will be served in the school hall across the street. Father Bissinger will talk about his calling to the priesthood, and his service as secretary to the bishop. Attendance at the meal is open to any special guest. Members must notify Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174 for guest seat reservations or with any questions.

11/3

On November 3, at 10 a.m., Dr. Mary Pat Tranter, Ph.D., will offer a free presentation on “The Catholic Perspective on End-ofLife Issues” at Holy Cross Parish, 225 Purchase Street in South Easton. Dr. Tranter will discuss Catholic and non-Catholic views on physician-assisted suicide and the proposed “Death with Dignity” Act on the November ballot.

The event will be followed by a Q&A session and a complimentary luncheon and will conclude around 1 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, call 508-238-2235 or email info@holycrosseaston.org.

11/3

St. Nicholas of Myra Parish, 499 Spring Street, North Dighton, will hold its annual Holiday Craft Fair November 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 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.

11/3

St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, will host its annual Holiday Fair on November 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on November 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature a full kitchen, crafts, bake table, white elephant table, Chinese auction, and much more. For directions or more information call 508-942-5031.

11/3

“Women’s Day Retreat: Seeking the Peace of Forgiveness,” a day of inspiring talks by Allison Gingras, local Catholic writer and speaker, will be held on November 3 at the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street in North Easton. The retreat will provide information and strategies on how to bring peace and healing into your life. The day will include a Scriptural Rosary, Christian music, availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, lunch (included) and will end with Mass at 4 p.m. For information call Father Leo at Holy Cross Family Ministries at 508-238-4095, extension 2027 or register online at www.ReconciledToYou.com.

11/3

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 235 North Front Street in New Bedford, will host its “Spirit of Christmas” holiday fair on November 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will feature a variety of booths, “grandma’s attic,” children’s corner, wine by chance, delicious baked goods, gifts and the parish’s famous Polish kitchen. Santa will also be on hand from noon to 2 p.m. For more details call the rectory at 508-992-9378 or visit www.olphchurchnb.org.

11/4

At 3 p.m. on November 4, recitalist Dr. David Chalmers will perform a program of French Romantic music on the majestic pipe organ at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford for the Music at St. Anthony’s Concert Series. A freewill donation will be collected during the recital. Lunch prior to the recital is available at the church’s Christmas Bazaar.

St. Anthony’s Christmas Bazaar takes place November 3 and 4. For more information or directions, contact St. Anthony’s rectory at 508-993-1691.

11/9

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish is holding its annual Holiday Fair at the church hall, Coyle Drive off Route 152 in Seekonk, November 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and November 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Raffles will include chances to win an HDTV, Apple iPad, famous “Baskets Galore,” and more. There will be hand-knitted items, jewelry, Christmas items, almost-new items, toys, and more! Home-baked goods and fudge, candy, and meat pies will also be available and Louise’s Cafe both days.

11/12

A Five-Day Mission to Grow in the Knowledge and Practice of the Faith during the Year of Faith will be led by Father Roger J. Landry on November 12-16 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. each night at St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Avenue in Fall River. Reflections will be based on the “YouCat,” the most recent, highly engaging Catechism published

by Pope Benedict in 2011 and copies will be available at the Mission. All are welcome.

October 26, 2012

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The Anchor “SPIRITUAL VACATION / CRUISE”

To advertise in

Spiritual Director: Fr. Joseph P. McDermott, Pastor Immaculate Conception Parish 122 Canton Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

The Anchor, contact

Wayne Powers at

508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@ anchornews.org

PROPOSED ITINERARY: March 4 - 15, 2013 ~ (12 Days/11 Nights)

Amount: Starting from $2,365.00 per person, Double Occupancy

Come & join Father McDermott from Immaculate Conception Parish for an exciting presentation at 7 PM on Wednesday, NOVEMBER 7th at Colpitts World Travel, 875 Providence Highway, Dedham, MA to hear all about his upcoming Celebrity Equinox Group Cruise with Celebrity Cruises & Colpitts World Travel!

CELEBRITY EQUINOX Inclusive Features: - Round trip airfare from Boston - Round trip airport/pier transfers - 11 Night ultimate Caribbean cruise, round trip Ft. Lauderdale - Port fees & taxes included - Prepaid onboard gratuities included - Daily Mass, when possible

Day Ports of Call: - Cozumel, Mexico - Belize City, Belize - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Cartagena, Colombia - George Town, Grand Cayman

If you would like to attend, please contact Margaret Oliverio at 781-762-2029 or Donna Maclean at 781-326-7800 x320.

Refreshments & snacks will be served. Added value bonus if you attend & reserve your stateroom by Nov 7! Hope to see you there!

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The Anchor

October 26, 2012