10.30.09

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , October 30, 2009

Crisis of conscience in the emergency room

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

FALL RIVER — In Washington, D.C., the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is insistently urging the inclusion of a conscience clause in the national health care reform bill. One of the reasons why they are doing so is that state laws are already beginning to force violations of the consciences of Catholic medical personnel.

One such violation occurs in

state laws requiring the dispensing of so-called emergency contraception in emergency rooms.

Eighteen states, including Massachusetts, mandate hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to issue the morning after pill, called Plan B, when a sexual assault victim requests the drug.

This pill contains high doses of an analog of estrogen, progesterone or both, the same synthetic hormones found in Turn to page 15

Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino to speak at St. Mary’s Fund Dinner

THE HAPPY HOUSE — With funds from St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset, this home was recently built in Jeremie, Haiti. The parish raises money throughout the year to assist those on the island, which is the most impoverished country in the Americas.

Pair of New Bedford parishes to share pastor

NEW BEDFORD — Parishioners of St. John the Baptist Parish in New Bedford learned of changes affecting their parish in a letter from Bishop George W. Coleman that was read and distributed at October 2425 weekend Masses.

The future of St. John’s has been under study by diocesan officials, the parish pastor and parish lay leadership since late last year in response to demographic changes that have left the parish with significantly fewer parishioners.

On the weekend of November 28-29, which is the beginning of Advent and of the Church’s new liturgical year, Father John J. Oliveira will become pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish while also retaining his current pastorate at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the city’s South End. At the same time, Father Maurice O. Gauvin, the current pastor of St. John’s, will begin another assignment.

Bishop Coleman noted that St. John’s and Mount Carmel “will continue to exist as two separate parishes; they will share a pastor, as is the case in other parishes in the diocese.”

Both parishes serve predominantly PortugueseAmerican communities and are located approximately seven-tenths of a mile apart. In fact, Father Oliveira was previously pastor of St. John’s for six years before his move to Mount Carmel in 2000.

In the letter Bishop Coleman also informed parishioners that he was accepting the recommendation of the St. John’s Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils that the parish be given additional time to try to address the serious challenges it faces.

Over the past decade, the number of parishioners at St. John’s has declined significantly mirroring demographic shifts in that part of New Bedford. As a result, parish registrations, Mass attendance, and sacramental Turn to page 18

WESTPORT — Larry Lucchi- one time as president of the Baltino, the president and chief execu- more Orioles and later the San Ditive officer of the Boston Red Sox, ego Padres during which time the will be the guest speaker at the 15th team won the pennant. annual St. Mary’s Education Fund His overall game-winning reFall Dinner on Tuesday, December cord as a baseball executive is but 1, at White’s of Westport. one measure of his success in the Proceeds from the evening sup- sport and beyond. With his vision port the St. Mary’s Educafor Oriole Park at Camden tion Fund, which provides Yards and Petco Park in need-based scholarships San Diego, he is credited to students at Catholic with helping create ballelementary and middle parks that have improved schools in the Fall River fan experience, boosted diocese. attendance, and contribLucchino has managed uted to the revitalization the daily operations of the of urban areas.

Red Sox franchise since Larry Lucchino In Boston, with the his arrival in Boston in Sox ownership group winter 2002 as part of a new Sox committed to saving Fenway Park, ownership group.

Lucchino oversaw a number of sucAs Red Sox Nation knows, it cessful renovations that provided was during his tenure that the team expanded seating, new concourse ended its 86-year championship areas, and enhanced infrastructure drought, winning the World Series while maintaining the feel and in 2004 and then again in 2007. charm of the legendary ballpark Lucchino has spent 30 years in and respecting the environs.

Major League Baseball, serving at Turn to page 19

Franciscan Friars preparing to launch first-ever Catholic radio station in diocese

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

NEW BEDFORD — Catholics within the greater New Bedford listening area will soon be able to tune into the sounds of WPMW 88.5 FM, the first-ever 24-hour Catholic radio station to originate from the Fall River Diocese.

Operated by members of the Franciscan Friary of the Immaculate in collaboration with the

congregation’s lay apostolate, the Mission of the Immaculate Mediatrix, the new Radio Cor Mariae has already received the blessing of Bishop George W. Coleman and has obtained the necessary licensing from the Federal Communications Commission for what is known as a “micro-FM” radio station.

“We have a goal to be on the air by the end of the year. We’re just waiting on some necessary ap-

provals to expand our coverage,” said Father Guardian Dominic Mary Murphy, FI, during a fundraising dinner held at the Hawthorne Country Club Sunday. “In the meantime we’re gathering all the equipment and we’re putting things together in the studio at the Marian Friary of Our Lady’s Chapel on Pleasant Street in New Bedford. Our transmitter will be located in Dartmouth and it will Turn to page 10

RADIO FRIAR — Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate Cyprian Mary, FI, fine-tunes the broadcast equipment at WPMW 88.5 FM, Radio Cor Mariae, a new 24-hour Catholic radio station to be based at the friary in New Bedford. (Photo courtesy of Friar John Mary, FI)

News From the Vatican

2

October 30, 2009

Archbishop Burke celebrates Tridentine Mass in St. Peter’s

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — The Gregorian chant of the Tridentine Mass filled the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica as U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest court, celebrated a pontifical high Mass.

The Mass marked the liturgical close of a conference in Rome on Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter, “Summorum Pontificum,” which expanded permission for the celebration of the Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine rite.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said in a statement, “The Mass represented an extraordinary event, an event authorized on the occasion of the conference.”

The cardinal declined further comment, but another Vatican official said the Mass probably was

EasternTelevision

the first pontifical high Mass using the 1962 rite to be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in almost 40 years.

The same official noted that since the publication of “Summorum Pontificum,” any priest in good standing has been able to use the 1962 rite to celebrate Mass at one of the side altars or in one of chapels of the basilica. He said there are priests who do so each morning.

Unlike a low Mass, a high Mass is sung. Calling a Mass “pontifical” means it is celebrated by a bishop, who is assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. The main text of the liturgy is the same, although the vestments, furnishings and movements are more complex at a pontifical high Mass.

The day before Archbishop Burke celebrated the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict had named him to be a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican office that oversees the nomination of bishops and the creation and governance of dioceses.

A KEY VATICAN PLAYER — Chinese pianist Jin Ju performs during a concert attended by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Middle Ages saint found answers to life with prayer, pope says

By Sarah Delaney Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — The life and writings of a 12th-century abbot remind Christians that questions about the meaning of life and God cannot be answered without prayer and contemplation, Pope Benedict XVI said.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who led the important Cistercian monastery in Clairvaux, France, from 1115 until his death in 1153, put the love of God and Jesus Christ at the center of his numerous writings, the pope said .

His example is important today because “sometimes we try to resolve fundamental questions about God and man with rationality alone,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in a sunny, windy St. Peter’s Square.

“St. Bernard reminds us that, without deep faith in God that is strengthened by prayer, contemplation and an intimate relationship with the Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries risk becoming merely intellectual exercises and lose their credibility,” Pope Benedict said.

St. Bernard is venerated as a doctor of the Church, a group of saints whose writings have been of particular importance in Catholic theology or spirituality. He is often considered “the last of the fathers,” the pope explained in his ongoing weekly catechetical reflection on theologians of the Middle Ages.

The saint was an able administrator of the abbey but was known for his deep spirituality and love for Jesus and Mary, the pope said.

This was evident through his many sermons, treatises and other documents, including the letters he exchanged with important contemporary Christian intellectuals, he said.

Because his praises of Jesus “flowed like honey,” the pope said, he earned the moniker “Dr. Mellifluous.”

St. Bernard navigated through a period of intense philosophic debate by establishing himself as a theologian dedicated to the con-

templative and mystical aspects of the Christian faith, Pope Benedict said.

Along with St. Bernard, the pope said, “we must recognize that it’s easier for man to seek and find God with prayer than with discussions.”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Boston Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Irwin.

His resignation was announced at the Vatican October 20.

Bishop Irwin is 75 years old, the age at which bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope.

Pope John Paul II named thenMsgr. Irwin an auxiliary for the Boston Archdiocese in 1996. A Boston archdiocesan priest, he was a pastor in Arlington, Mass., at the time of the appointment. He also had extensive experience in social work.

Born in Medford, Mass., Jan. 9, 1934, he was ordained a priest Feb. 2, 1960, after studies at Boston College and St. John’s Semi-

nary in Boston.

After several parish assignments from 1960 to 1968, he was assistant director of archdiocesan Catholic Charities, 1968-75. In 1970, he received a master’s degree in social work from Boston College.

He was an area director of Catholic Charities for the archdiocese, 1975-81; supervisor of a Catholic Relief Services project in Thailand, 1981-82; archdiocesan director of Catholic Charities, 1982-85; and archdiocesan secretary for social services, 1985-91.

In 1991 he was made pastor of St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Mass. In 1993 he became pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, the post he held when he was appointed an auxiliary bishop.

Pope Benedict accepts resignation of Boston Auxiliary Bishop Irwin

The Anchor

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 53, No. 41

Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org.

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Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address

PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org NEWS EDITOR Deacon James N. Dunbar jimdunbar@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza kensouza@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org

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October 30, 2009

The International Church

3

Thousands rally against Spain’s new abortion laws

HOPING FOR BETTER TIMES — Vegetable vendor Oscar Garcia is accompanied by his children, Lupita and Wilson, to the outdoor market in Copan Ruinas, Honduras, recently. He said that sales at the market have plunged by 60 percent since June 28, when President Manuel Zelaya was deposed.

Garcia moonlights as a security guard, but said he barely makes enough money to make ends meet.

(CNS photo/David Agren)

Cardinal: This might be last chance for Honduras to change politics

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — As a resolution of Honduras’ political crisis seemed yet again just out of reach, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa told Catholic News Service that this turning point for the nation might be the last opportunity to make fundamental changes and avoid a course toward Venezuelan-style politics.

In an interview in the Honduran capital, Cardinal Rodriguez described the Church’s role in mediation; explained his change of heart about ex-President Manuel Zelaya, whom he previously supported; and said he saw the fingerprints of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in aspects of the situation in Honduras.

“I think this can be a good opportunity for politicians to reflect,” the cardinal said. “I have been telling them, maybe this will be your last opportunity.

Because there are fundamental changes necessary in our country.”

On June 28, Zelaya was removed from office with the support of the congress and the supreme court, following a procedure set out in the Honduran Constitution. However, he was flown out of the country to Costa Rica, which violated the constitution.

Zelaya returned surreptitiously in September and has remained holed up in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa while negotiations continue in an effort to resolve the political impasse.

A congressionally appointed suc-

cessor, Roberto Micheletti, has been named interim president, pending a presidential election scheduled for November 29.

The role of the Catholic Church has been the subject of some criticism — and misunderstanding, according to the cardinal — since the coup, or as they call it here, the “golpe de estado,” literally, a hit on the state.

Although in early July the 11 bishops of Honduras issued a statement calling for understanding and reconciliation “beyond the interests of parties or groups,” he said, “nobody is listening to the reality.” For instance, he said, there is a perception that he and most of the other bishops are siding with Micheletti, rather than that they are supporting legal actions.

“People are not looking for the truth, but for their versions of it,” he said.

“The reality in Honduras is, there is a constitution here,” he told CNS. “Everything was done according to our laws, our constitution. But the rest of the world wants to think of things as they want it done. And this is the problem.”

Cardinal Rodriguez said the bishops’ statement “was not supporting anything (political) but trying to tell the people how to learn from the mistakes of the past.”

The cardinal told CNS he read the bishops’ statement on television “and five minutes later I was threatened with death.” Amid much colorful graffiti in Tegucigalpa related to the coup, there are many references to the cardi-

nal; the tamer comments call him a “golpista,” or coup plotter.

Years ago “I was accused of being a liberation theologian and now I am accused of being a ‘golpista,’” he noted, chuckling at the irony. “I am the same person. I have not changed, but it all depends upon the sunglasses people have ... or the reading glasses.”

He said he thought outside forces were behind some of the actions in Honduras.

The cardinal said he received a message from the bishops of Venezuela “telling me, they are going to do this, and this and this.

It was like following a menu. Every step (they followed in Honduras.)”

He said it gave merit to the observation that Honduras is “a testing point” for the kind of politics that enabled Chavez to step into power in Venezuela.

The cardinal said he first visited Venezuela in 1979, when it had a strong democracy amid a hemisphere of military dictatorships.

“But after some very corrupt governments, the political parties disappeared — like an implosion,” he said. “And so, the messiah (Chavez) came out. I think this will happen (in Honduras) if it hasn’t started already.

“So maybe this will be our last opportunity to think like a nation, to start with a national plan,” the cardinal said.

Unfortunately, he said, some people think violence is the only option. But violence leads nowhere, he said, “and so, this is our work.”

MADRID, Spain (CNS) — Tens of thousands of people rallied against legislation that would allow girls as young as 16 to have abortions without parental consent in traditionally Catholic Spain.

The nation’s Catholic bishops had urged people to participate in the mid-October rally down a major boulevard in Madrid.

In late September, the government formally approved the Bill on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy. Among other actions, the legislation would make abortion available on demand in Spain up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy as long as, at least three days before the procedure, the woman receives information about her rights and about the help she can expect to receive as a mother if she continues her pregnancy.

The measure still must be considered by the Spanish parliament.

Abortion is currently allowed in Spain for the first 22 weeks of pregnancy, but only in cases of rape, genetic defect or threats to a woman’s health.

The bishops’ Permanent

Commission said in an October 1 statement that the legislation was “a step backward, as far as defending the right to life of those who are to be born is concerned. It means a greater abandonment of pregnant mothers and irreparable damage to the common good.”

Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez Plaza of Toledo said the bill paid “little regard to sexual health” and “presented abortion as if it was a right.”

“The legislators of Europe are engaged in a kind of contradiction, claiming on the one hand they want to expand the individual rights of the people, and on the other working against other rights such as the right to be born and the right to live,” the archbishop told Catholics during a September 28 Mass.

“This law is being sent to parliament for enactment, and I expect it will gain majority approval. But this will not make it right, and future generations will judge us on laws like this,” he said.

The Catholic Church traditionally claims the loyalty of 82 percent of Spain’s 40 million inhabitants.

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the nomination of the Very Reverend Michael Kolodziel, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, Saint Anthony of Padua Province, and has made the following appointment: Reverend John M. Voytek, OFM Conv., Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, New Bedford.

Effective, November 1, 2009

4

The Church in the U.S.

October 30, 2009

Pennsylvania Episcopal church considers future following Anglican provision announcement

PHILADELPHIA (CNA) — A Pennsylvania Episcopal church which joyously greeted the announcement of a provision to assist Anglicans who wish to become Catholic could be among the first to take advantage of the Church structure put forward by Pope Benedict XVI. The Church of the Good Shepherd, an Episcopalian parish in the Philadelphia Maine Line suburbs, is an “Anglo-Catholic” parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. According to the Rosemont Journal, its liturgy is celebrated in the “high church” style reminiscent of traditional Catholic churches: with incense, elaborate vestments, and a choir that may sing in Latin.

The parish has objected to recent changes in the denomination, such as its allowing women and homosexuals to become priests and bishops.

Bishop David L. Moyer, who leads the Church of the Good Shepherd, said that for two years the parish had been praying daily for the pope’s action towards Anglicans.

“When I heard the news I was speechless, then the joy came and the tears,” he told the Rosemont Journal.

Following a Mass devoted to church unity, Rev. Aaron R. Bayles, the assistant pastor, reported that the majority of parishioners would be “on board” with the development.

He said he himself was exultant when he heard the news because he had always hoped for the unification of Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christianity. The new provision for Anglicans may be “a step in that direction,” he commented.

For 17 years the parish has refused to al-

low the local Episcopal bishop to come for a pastoral visit or confirmation. It also stopped paying its annual financial assessment to the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The diocese sued to take over the Church of the Good Shepherd’s building in 2009. It is a replica of a 14th-century English country parish that was built in 1894. The property is estimated at $7 million in value.

Bishop Moyer was made a bishop in the Traditional Anglican Communion and was one of its 38 bishops to sign an October 2007 petition asking Pope Benedict XVI for an arrangement that would unite Anglicans with the Catholic Church.

He explained that he had been defrocked for disobedience to Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison, but he remained in place.

The Church of the Good Shepherd never formally left the Episcopal Church, in part because it did not want to be evicted from its property. Bishop Moyer, who lives in a rectory on the church’s property, said he hoped to resolve the “legal quagmire” over the property before the church decides to join the Catholic Church.

While the Anglican provision will allow married Anglican priests, it would not allow married bishops. Bishop Moyers is the father of three and is waiting to hear what his status could be under the proposal.

He told the Rosemont Journal that some of his parish’s 400 members would choose to leave rather than become Catholic. Some are former Catholics who may not want to go back, while others remain loyal to the Episcopal Church.

MISSAL TEST SITE — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched this new website, www.usccb.org/romanmissal, to educate Catholics about the forthcoming English translation of the new Roman Missal, the book of prayers used for Mass. (CNS)

New translation a ‘fresh opportunity’ for renewal of liturgy, bishop says

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (CNS) — The latest English translation of the revised order of the Mass in the Roman Missal is not expected to be officially incorporated into the liturgy for at least two years, but priests and liturgists in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee received a preview of it from one of the people who has worked on the translation.

During a recent presentation to the priests at the archdiocese’s Cousins Center in St. Francis, Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D., termed implementation of the translation as “a fresh opportunity to do renewal of liturgy for your people.”

A member since 2002 of what is now the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on the Translation of Scripture Text, Bishop Cupich said that thorough catechesis would be needed to prepare people for the changes.

“We need a coordinated, massive, comprehensive introduction to the Roman Missal within the Church in this country, and presented in a way that allows Catholics throughout the country to understand what is happening and to use it as an opportunity to renew the liturgy,” he said.

Bishop Cupich reviewed the early history of liturgical language, noting that for nearly 10 centuries, Mass was celebrated in the vernacular. In the sixth century, a body of Latin hymns, prayers and rubrics were compiled and used by those who knew Latin. Five centuries later, Latin, already the language of scholarship, philosophy and science, became the language of worship.

The bishop said that “there are some schools of thought today who challenge the need for a language of the people” because they see people participating spiritually or intellectually in the liturgy.

But he refuted that, referring to the words of Pope Paul VI from 1965: The pontiff said the vernacular was “necessary to make its prayer understandable and grasped by all. The good of the faithful calls for this kind of action, making possible their active share in the Church’s worship ... (the vernacular) means that you, the faithful, so that you may be able to unite yourselves more closely to the Church’s prayer, pass over from being simple spectators to becoming active participants.”

Bishop Cupich cautioned: “This is not ‘reform of the reform’ — all that language we’re hearing from people who have an axe

to grind or who are trying to cause trouble for the Church; this is an ongoing attempt to try and have an actual translation of the Latin into vernacular. This is the first time in the history of the Church we have done this; we have to be patient with ourselves.”

The bishop explained why an accurate translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal, published in 2000, was needed.

“English is seen as the universal language. Texts throughout the world take their translations from the English,” he said. “There is concern that the English translation is as accurate as possible so that when others use it, they are not distanced from the Latin.”

“The reason we say, ‘Dominus vobiscum’ (The Lord be with you) and ‘Et cum spiri tu tuo’ (And with your spirit) as a people in response is not that we are addressing the priest who had said that; we’re addressing Christ whose presence the priest represents,” Bishop Cupich said. “We’re addressing the person of Christ. You are ordained in spirit to be Christ present. The risen Christ is there. We believe that the risen Christ was there, present.”

Noting that all other language groups use “And with your Spirit,” the bishop added, “This is an example of the nuances that were lost in the early translations. What is being proposed offers a richness that we’ve missed.”

“We hear a lot today from a lot of folks that there is a lack of belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. But I think the real problem is that people don’t really understand that Christ was truly risen; he’s active and working in our midst,” he said.

“We come together at Sunday Eucharist ... to be with the Lord, the risen one, in our midst, to renew us, to change our lives, to transform us.”

He encouraged the priests to examine the possibilities the new translation would provide.

“Just think in your imagination what we could create in this country if the bishops together decided that the catechesis for this new Roman Missal would be done within the same period of time at every parish in the country,” Bishop Cupich said. “We would create the best of renewal and enthusiasm within our Catholic Church that we haven’t seen in a long time.”

October 30, 2009

The Church in the U.S.

5

EWTN to air program on Audrey Santo’s life in November

TRAGIC END — Father Ed Hinds raises the host during his first Mass as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Chatham, N.J. The priest was found stabbed to death in the church’s rectory October 23. Police have charged a church janitor, Jose Feliciano, in the priest’s death. (CNS photo/Joe Gigli, The Beacon)

Church janitor arrested in murder of New Jersey priest

PATERSON, N.J., (CNA) — A church janitor has been arrested in the murder of a New Jersey Catholic priest whose body was found in the church rectory. The arrest caused shock and disbelief among parishioners.

On Friday Father Edward Hinds’ body was discovered in the church rectory at St. Patrick’s Church in Chatham, New Jersey.

He had been stabbed 32 times with a kitchen knife.

Authorities say the murder occurred about 5 p.m. Thursday after an argument between the priest and church janitor Jose Feliciano.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi told CNN that the two men argued over Feliciano’s continued employment. Father Hinds called 911 from his cell phone and reported he was being attacked and needed help. The call was cut off.

When the dispatch operator called back, Feliciano allegedly answered and said “everything’s fine.”

The operator was not able to trace the location of the cell phone and so was unable to send authorities.

Bianchi reported that investigators found the priest’s cell phone, bloody clothing and bloody towels at Feliciano’s home in Easton, Penn.

Parishioner Dan Langborgh, 47, said the crime was “just not believable.”

“Jose is a very nice guy who has been around for many years. He’s the last person I would have suspected,” Langborgh commented.

According to the Associated Press, Feliciano had worked at the church for 17 years and his family is part of the parish. His son is a graduate of the church’s K-8 school and his daughter is a student there.

Father Hinds, who was born in nearby Morristown, had been pastor at St. Patrick’s since 2003. He regularly walked Copper, his cocker spaniel, in the neighborhood.

Chatham, a well-off bedroom

community of about 10,000 residents, saw its last violent death in 1990. Authorities and residents initially suspected that Father Hinds had been murdered by a needy outsider.

Parishioners learned of Feliciano’s arrest on Saturday near the end of the 5 p.m. Mass.

Parishioner Juliette Peros told the Star Ledger of Newark that several people cried when the announcement was made and a woman seated behind her yelled, “Jose! No, Jose!”

The Diocese of Paterson issued a statement after Father Hinds’ death which read: “We are grieved at the loss of Father Edward Hinds, beloved pastor of St. Patrick Church in Chatham, whose life has been tragically cut short. We join together with the parishioners, families and friends of Father Hinds in prayers for the repose of his soul.

“May God grant him eternal rest.”

Bishop Tobin asks Rep. Kennedy to apologize for ‘irresponsible’ comments

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNA) — Responding to Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), who charged that the Catholic Church is promoting dissent about proposed health care legislation, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence has replied that the bishops cannot support a proposal that covers abortion. He asked the Congressman to apologize for his “irresponsible comments.”

In an interview with CNSNews. com, Rep. Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, had accused the Catholic Church of fanning “the flames of dissent and discord” because Catholic bishops declared that they will oppose the proposed health care reform un-

less it explicitly prohibits funding of abortion.

In a Friday statement published on the website of the Diocese of Providence, Bishop Tobin replied: “Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s statement about the Catholic Church’s position on health care reform is irresponsible and ignorant of the facts. But the Congressman is correct in stating that ‘he can’t understand.’ He got that part right.

“As I wrote to Congressman Kennedy and other members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation recently, the bishops of the United States are indeed in favor of comprehensive health care reform and have been for many

years. But we are adamantly opposed to health care legislation that threatens the life of unborn children, requires taxpayers to pay for abortion, rations health care, or compromises the conscience of individuals.”

The bishop called Rep. Kennedy a “disappointment to the Catholic Church” and to the citizens of Rhode Island.

“I believe the Congressman owes us an apology for his irresponsible comments. It is my fervent hope and prayer that he will find a way to provide more effective and morally responsible leadership for our state,” Bishop Tobin’s statement concluded.

WORCESTER (CNS) — The Eternal Word Television Network will tell the story of Audrey Santo, a Massachusetts woman known as Little Audrey, who was a silent soul who exhibited wounds in her hands and feet that resembled the wounds of the crucified Christ.

Johnnette Benkovic, host of “The Abundant Life,” said she was scheduled to present an hourlong program called “The Cross in Our Lives: Living in Hope and Confidence,” during the week of November 2. The program was scheduled to air at 10 p.m. November 2, 4 a.m.

November 3, 2 p.m. November 4 and 10 a.m. November 6. (All times are Eastern Standard Time.)

Information on “The Abundant Life” is available on the website www.LHLA.org.

The program will tell the story of Audrey’s life. Benkovic interviewed Linda Santo, Audrey’s mother, in the Santo home in Worcester.

The television network wanted to show, through the story of Audrey’s life, the way God uses suffering for the greater good. Benkovic said Mother Angelica, a member of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration and the founder of EWTN, used to call the Santo home from time to time and many at the network are familiar with her story.

Audrey fell into a swimming pool Aug. 9, 1987, when she was three, and was rushed to a hospital where, her family said, she was

overmedicated and lapsed into a coma.

When she came out of the coma, she couldn’t move or speak. Rather than place her in a nursing home, her family decided she would receive better care at home, where she lived until her death at age 23 in April 2007.

During that time, thousands of people from across the country and around the world made pilgrimages to the Santo home. Some considered her a “victim soul” who suffered for others or claimed that her prayers brought healing. In her home, consecrated hosts were said to ooze blood and oil and some statues reportedly bore what resembled transparent oil, bloodlike marks or sparkles.

In 1998, Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, who retired as Worcester’s bishop in 2004, established a commission to investigate these things. The first phase ended with a January 1999 report that did not substantiate any miraculous happenings, but Bishop Reilly said the family’s dedication to Audrey was “the most striking evidence of the presence of God in the Santo home.”

Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus issued a letter in September 2008, which gave diocesan recognition to an association promoting sainthood for the young Massachusetts woman. The association is known as the Little Audrey Santo Foundation; its web address is www.littleaudreysanto.org.

The Espousal Retreat House and Conference Center Directed by the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers 554 Lexington St., Waltham, MA 02452 Tel: 781-209-3120 . Fax 781-893-0291 E-mail: espousaladmin@gmail.com

November 8

Healing Anxiety and Depression – Presenter: Dr. Joseph Coyle, Christian Psychologist

November 11 Day Retreat for Women - Healthy & Holy

Under Stress – Instead of Being a Holy Terror

Presenters: Jerri Lou Buffo & Sue Gormley Nov 13-15

November 22

December 6

Life in the Spirit – Presenters: Fr. Bob Masciocchi, CSS and Team

Daybreak: Finding Peace, Healing, Resilience, & Hope – Presenter: Jacqueline M. Sitte, RN, CARN, LADC I

December 9

Day Retreat for Women - Make our Heart Your Dwelling Place – Presenters: Jerri Lou Buffo & Sue Gormley

Discovering Our True Self & Our Inner Gift- edness – Presenter: Fr. Bob Masciocchi, CSS

For further information please contact: The Espousal Retreat House 544 Lexington St., Waltham, MA 02454 Phone: (781) 209-3120 www.espousal.org or E-mail: espousaladmin@gmail.com

6

The Anchor Bridge over the Tiber

Pope Benedict’s decision to create a relatively easy and straightforward canonical pathway for Anglicans who share the Catholic faith to enter the Catholic Church is one of the most significant developments in favor of Church unity since the Protestant Reformation.

As American Cardinal William Levada, Pope Benedict’s successor as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, pointed out in a declaration last Tuesday, this decision is a “reasonable and necessary response” to the “many requests” coming from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful throughout the world who “have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church.” These petitioners wanted, he said, to “express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion.” They also hoped to do it preserving “those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith.” Through a forthcoming Apostolic Constitution, Pope Benedict is magnanimously and generously responding to these holy aspirations.

The immediate reaction on the part of those Anglican leaders who had approached the Vatican requesting that such a pathway be developed was unrestrained joy. As Archbishop John Hepworth, primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, wrote on the day of the announcement. “We are profoundly moved by the generosity of … this act of great goodness on the part of the Holy Father. He has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago. It more than matches our prayers.”

The petition on the part of certain Anglican groups, and the response on the part of the Church, is significant for several reasons.

First, it is a sign on the part of the Anglican petitioners, and a recognition by Rome, that their hope to bring the entire Anglican communion back into union with Rome is not going to happen because of recent developments in worldwide Anglicanism. As a background statement provided by CDF succinctly pointed out, in the last two decades, “some Anglicans have abandoned the tradition of conferring holy orders only on men by calling women to the priesthood and the episcopacy” and “more recently, some segments of the Anglican Communion have departed from the common biblical teaching on human sexuality … by the ordination of openly homosexual clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships.” Such a radical departure from common Christian tradition and Scripture by some segments of the Anglican communion brought other Anglicans who still believe in the authority of Scripture and tradition to a painful realization.

As Anglican Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham, England, the chairman of Forward in Faith, an Anglo-Catholic network that represents about 1,000 Anglican priests, said, “Anglicanism has become a joke because it has singularly failed to deal with any of its contentious issues.” It is “powerless to cope with the crises over gays and women bishops” and it “has been revealed to have no doctrine of its own. I personally think it has gone past the point of no return. The Anglican experiment is over.” Father Ed Tomlinson, an Anglican priest in Tunbridge Wells, England, expressed his conclusion in even starker terms. “The ship of Anglicanism seems to be going down” and he’s “grateful that a lifeboat has been sent.” He sees the Barque of Peter as that lifeboat — as do many others of his fellow Anglicans.

Catholics trying to understand just how many Anglicans may become Catholics as a result of these developments should first realize that the Anglican communion has long been divided or at least in tension in two different ways. The first division is between “high” and “low” church Anglicans, a distinction that goes back to the 17th century. Those in the high church generally stress their continuity with their Catholic roots; they emphasize a common liturgical and spiritual patrimony, tracing itself back to the early Church. Low church Anglicans, on the other hand, stress the Reformation origins of the Church of England, focusing on points of divergence with the Church prior to the 1530s; they often strip away Catholic elements of rites, ceremonies and devotions in favor of a more simplified, Protestant form of worship. The second division has often been referred to as one between “conservatives” and “liberals,” but has developed more into a distinction between those who seek to remain faithful to the constant teaching and practice of the Church for the past 20 centuries and those who are seeking to transform Anglicanism into the Politically Correct Church of England. This division generally is seen on hot-button cultural issues like whether homosexual activity should be regarded as a sin or a sacrament or whether to ordain women or active gays as priests or bishops. Those who have approached the Vatican are primarily high church and are doctrinally conservative and it is anticipated that most of those who will take advantage of the Church’s offer will come from these categories.

The new apostolic constitution is also significant because it is a real fruit of the ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans since the Second Vatican Council. As Catholic Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols and Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams stated last week in a joint declaration, the upcoming Apostolic Constitution is a recognition of the “substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past 40 years, this recognition would not have been possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.” This is a point that has escaped many in the secular media who have looked at the upcoming Apostolic Constitution as a testimony to a defeat, rather than a triumph, of ecumenism — as a declaration on the part of the Church of Rome that it’s no longer interested in dialogue but only in “poaching” members of the Church of England. Such a charge not only misses the point of the Vatican’s action, which was responding to an unsolicited request presented by leaders of Anglican groups, but also misses the point of ecumenism. The goal of ecumenical dialogue has never been merely to dialogue, but to journey together toward the truth God has revealed, to discover how much of the truth we share in common, and to seek with God’s help the unity for which not Christ prayed but urged us to pray. This dialogue has enabled Catholics and Anglicans who accept the deposit of faith to grow closer together, making such a request on the part of Anglicans and a response on the part of the Church possible.

Lastly the upcoming Apostolic Constitution is significant because it sets forth a clear paradigm of how the Church may structure reconciliation with other Christian bodies that are not yet in full visible communion, such as the Society of St. Pius X and Eastern Orthodox Churches. As Cardinal Levada said in last Tuesday’s press conference, by setting up personal ordinariates with leaders chosen from former Anglican clergy, the Catholic Church is demonstrating that she is not asking those who seek the restoration of full visible communion to abandon their authentic liturgical and spiritual patrimony. “It is the hope of the Holy Father Benedict XVI,” Cardinal Levada stated, “that the Anglican clergy and faithful who desire union with the Catholic Church will find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith. Insofar as these traditions express in a distinctive way the faith that is held in common, they are a gift to be shared in the wider Church. The unity of the Church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows.” Other groups in dialogue with the Church should “find in this canonical structure” reasons for hope that their “precious” traditions will, too, be considered a “gift to be shared in the wider Church.”

Next week we will tackle some of the questions and concerns that have been expressed in anticipation of the upcoming Apostolic Constitution.

October 30, 2009

Pulling and preaching people into the confessional

Last week, we examined one of the reasons “My children,” he preached once, “we cannot why St. John Vianney’s confessional became the comprehend the goodness of God towards us in most besieged one in the history of the Church: instituting this great sacrament of penance. If we he prayed and sacrificed so much for sinners had a favor to ask of our Lord, we should never that God, it seems, not only heard but rewarded have thought of asking him that. But he foresaw those prayers, drawing hundreds of thousands our frailty and our inconstancy in well-doing, of penitents from all over France to confess to a and his love led him to do what we should not priest who shared his own zeal to reconcile his have dared to ask.” prodigal sons and daughters.

The essence of the sacrament, he continued, While prayer should always be the first act is an encounter between God’s mercy and our of a Christian, it’s not meant to be the only ac- misery, where the love of God “heals the wounds tion. Accordingly, the patron saint of priests did of our soul.” He labored to eradicate the popular not stop at praying for sinners, but constantly Jansenist conception of an angry God, an image labored to invite, persuade, and, when the cir- that would scare people away from the sacracumstances demanded it, push and pull people ment. “The good God will pardon a repentant to take advantage of God’s great sacrament of sinner,” he countered, “faster than a mother will mercy. grab her child out of a fire.” In the sacrament, he Whenever he heard that there was someone said, “it’s not the sinner who comes back to God in need of the sacrament who was reluctant to to ask for forgiveness, but God himself who runs come, he went out in search of him. Once a wife after the sinner to make him return.” The Father who had brought her ill boy to him told him that of the prodigal son “comes after you, he pursues her husband was standing at the door, unwill- you after you have abandoned him.” Basing himing even to enter the church. The Curé of Ars self on Jesus’ words about the great eruption of left the sacristy and started calling for him by joy in heaven for one repentant sinner, St. John name, asking others to bring him to him. At the Vianney stressed, “God’s greatest pleasure is to third call, the husband entered the church and forgive us.” approached the saint, who grabbed him by the Anticipating almost verbatim some of what hand and led him Christ himself behind the altar said to St. Fauswhere there was tina a century a special confeslater about his sional normally Divine Mercy, reserved for bishhe continued, ops and priests.

“How good God He pointed to is! His good

By Father the confessional heart is an ocean Roger J. Landry and said, “Put of mercy. Even yourself there.” though we can “I don’t feel like be great sinners, it,” the husband replied. The priest looked at we should never despair of our salvation. It is so him and with loving firmness said, “Begin.” At easy to be saved!” God’s mercy is much greater that point, overcome by the supernatural force than our misery. “What are our sins,” he asked, of the emaciated cleric, the man began and the “if we compare them to God’s mercy?” This saint helped him make his first confession in 14 mercy extends not just to the past but to the fuyears. ture: “The good God knows all things. He knows On another occasion, he heard of a boatman that after you confess, you will sin again, but he who had transported a large group of penitents will pardon you. What love God has that he will but who refused to accompany them to the even voluntarily forget the future to forgive us.” church because, he told them, he was a hardBut there were times when the honey of ened sinner with no intention of changing his God’s mercy was not enough to attract people behavior. The pastor of Ars went to see him at to the sacrament. On those occasions, he didn’t his hotel room. “I have not come here to play the hesitate to resort to fire-and-brimstone to let his devotee,” the boatman said to him after opening parishioners know the consequences of sin and the door. “Leave me in peace! I am anxious to the failure to come to have sins forgiven. “Scarbe off.” St. John Vianney grabbed his hand and ing them” into the sacrament was preferable to with tender concern said, “So you do not want letting them live and die without it. He preached to have pity on your soul, my friend?” The saint about the realities of the Last Judgment and hell left, but his words continued to resonate in the just like Jesus himself frequently did before him. heart of the boatman. The following morning Sometimes he would describe what sinners were the boatman was in line for confession. doing to themselves, like carrying their souls to A third occasion shows how creative St. hell by unnecessary work on Sunday. At other John Vianney could be in trying to meet sinners times, he would beg those who refused to repent where they were and lead them back to the Fa- at least to “commit as few mortal sins as posther’s house. A young man tried to persuade his sible, so as not to add to their everlasting punishfriend to come with him to confession in Ars. ment.” Most often he would just start sobbing in The friend replied that he would accompany the pulpit, for as much as 15 minutes at a time, him, but, insofar as he had no desire or need to contemplating the fate of damned souls, and sayconfess, stated that he would go hunting while ing, “Cursed by God! Cursed by God! What a the other was in line for the sacrament. When pity!” they arrived in the village, St. John Vianney It was almost impossible not to be moved. was crossing the square. He stopped before the He would always conclude his homilies by friend, who had his rifle in one hand and the inviting his listeners to action. “If the poor leash to his hunting dog in the other. St. John people who are damned had the time that we Vianney looked at the dog and then turned to its lose,” he said once, “what good use they’d owner. “Monsieur,” he said, “would that your make of it!” He would remind them of the soul was as beautiful as your dog!” The vain words of “God does not will the death of the young man blushed. After some time reflecting sinner” and call them to take advantage of the on the saint’s words, he entrusted his gun and means they have to meet the mercy of God in pet to townspeople, entered the Church and with confession before they meet his justice at the great tears, made his confession. His conversion judgment. Most did. “Without the sacrament was so thorough that, a few years later, he him- of penance, it would be fitting to weep,” he self was captured by the Hound of Heaven and said; because of God’s love in founding the became a Cistercian monk. sacrament, however, there was an opportunity The most notable means St. John Vianney to turn those tears into joy. used to draw people to the confessional, howIn sum, St. John Vianney was not content to ever, was through regularly preaching about the remain in the confessional waiting for people to need for the sacrament in the pulpit. His custom- come, but actively went in search of Christ’s lost ary style would be to speak about God’s mercy; sheep to bring them home to God. His courawhen times warranted, however, he could also geous example of holy preaching and persistent thunder with the fierceness of an Old Testament personal invitation remain an imitable lesson for prophet. all priests and faithful today.

He would generally begin with a focus on Father Landry is pastor of St. Anthony’s what a great gift the sacrament of confession is. Parish in New Bedford.

Putting Into the Deep

October 30, 2009

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eflecting on the priesthood, I see my priestly calling as a gift given me not just 43 years ago at my baptism, but as the gift which I need to discover over and over again.

My baptismal name — Krzysztof — is the Polish version of Christopher. When I later learned that my name is derived from the ancient Greek Christophoros, it gave me not only something to reflect upon but a great love for the beautiful meaning it carries, “Christ-bearer.”

There is a special story attached to my name.

My godfather has been always full of humor, no matter how serious the occasion might be. When he brought me to be baptized at Transfiguration Parish, he well knew what response he had to make during the ceremony. Yet when the priest who baptized me, Father Krzysztof Grzyb, asked him what the baby was to be named, my godfather jokingly replied, “Whatever your name is, Father.”

So I have to say that my association with priesthood started very early. And with a priest as a namesake, I was encouraged, even “destined,” by my parents to think about priesthood in my childhood. I was an altar server,

7

The Anchor

Being a Christ bearer

I discovered another level of lector, and eventually a cantor at what the name “Christ-bearer” the Sunday Masses. means. I saw that my life would During elementary school, make sense only when it bore however, I had decided that I the marks of Christ’s death and wanted to become an airline pilot. When I was 14, my parents resurrection.

After obtaining my technical gave me permission to apply to diplomas and passing the soa military high school to start called “maturity tests,” I began training for that career. When the to prepare for the entrance physical requirements proved too examinations at the Catholic high and that dream came to an end, I entered technical school. There I met a Year For Priests great priest and catechist, Father Tymosz, whose Vocational Reflection personality and lifestyle encouraged me to think about priesthood.

By Father I strongly believe that Christopher Stanibula a vocation to the priesthood can grow only in University in Lublin, Poland. a good environment. Without Having passed the exams and a good and supportive family begun my philosophical years and community of faith, it is at the Catholic University, I almost impossible to become happened to read an article that, a priest. I suppose that many families today neglect the topics strangely enough, my mother gave me about the state of vocaof faith that were such a blesstions in the United States. ing to me in my home. Luckily The article was written by enough, my parents trusted God Father Flis in the “Przewodnik and prayed that one day I might Katolicki,” or “Catholic Guide.” become a priest.

I began to discuss with my A turning point occurred durparents and reflect on a possible ing my final year in high school calling to this apostolate.

Then, when I began more seriously to at a meeting in Czstochowa, Fadiscern a call to the priesthood. ther Flis invited me to attend a With the help of my catechist,

retreat with the candidates to SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Mich. The rest is, as they say, history.

After completing my forth year of studies and obtaining letters of recommendation, I arrived at the seminary on American soil.

During five years of theology at SS. Cyril and Methodius, I was sponsored by the Diocese of Fall River. I spent summer at the Cathedral Camp — which was full of wonderful experiences — and later I got a pastoral year assignment in Fall River. Then, two years later, I was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Sean O’Malley on June 10, 1995.

Being a priest for more than 14 years now has been quite an experience of finding meaning to my life and my faith. At one level, the sacramental life helps us to find meaning. Philosophically speaking, however, the more meaningful one’s life is, the greater the person’s existence. I have seen too many people ruin their lives because they’ve failed to find this meaning, either by lack of reflection in the light of the Gospel or simply because they undertook

too many bad decisions.

These 14 years have been for me a real faith journey. At times there have been challenges, at times discouragement, and at other times the greatest joys, sitting in the confessional, baptizing a new person for Christ, or standing at the altar of God and being humbled and honored to bring the Eucharist to God’s people.

Through me Christ says, “Take this all of you and eat it, this is my Body,” and, “Take this all of you and drink from it. This is the cup of my Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for you and for all so that sins might be forgiven. Do this in remembrance of me.”

My further studies at Weston Jesuit School of Theology have helped me to realize that the priesthood I celebrate is not mine. It was a priesthood that was fostered in that little 17thcentury Church of the Transfiguration in Poland where I grew up. So I thank God for my family and friends who supported me through those years in this great calling.

Father Stanibula is a parochial vicar at St. Anne’s Parish, Fall River.

Strengthening the heartbeat of our Catholic schools “Be it known to all who enter here that Christ is the reason for this school. He is the unseen but ever present teacher in its classes. He is the model of its faculty and the inspiration of the students.” his bold declaration is displayed in a prominent place in Catholic schools across the nation. And so it should be.

Our schools are, after all, part of the saving mission of the Church.

Their fundamental purpose is to form and educate children and young people as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. While our schools strive for academic excellence, they do so as centers of evangelization and catechesis.

The responsibility of principals and other school administrators — and, of course, teachers — is to ensure “truth in advertising” so that all who come through the doors of a Catholic school will know without a doubt that Christ is indeed the reason for that school.

My diocesan superintendent of schools identifies the preparation and ongoing formation of administrators as the most critical challenge facing dioceses and Catholic schools today. I fully agree. The faith formation, initial and ongoing, of our administrators is the most important issue for several reasons. Many poten-

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Preparation and ongoing formation of new administrators

tial new school leaders present spiritual and catechetical leaders. themselves with good academic In that capacity, according to the qualifications, but frequently National Directory for Catechehold degrees from non-Catholic sis, our principals are called to: colleges and universities. Some — recognize all members of have had only minimal theothe faculty and staff as integral logical education or catechesis, if to the faith formation program of any, since their own high school the school; years. Often enough, applicants for Catholic school principalships The Value of come with teaching or Catholic Schools administrative experience gained exclusively in public schools. Such

By Bishop individuals may be highly Richard J. Malone qualified in educational administration, but weak in their appreciation of the Church’s vision and prin— recruit teachers who are ciples for Catholic education. practicing Catholics who underThe major challenge is the stand and accept Church teaching formation of new administraon faith and morals, and who will tors who will be committed and contribute to the school’s Cathocompetent for the all-important lic identity; task of fostering an authenti— supervise the performance cally Catholic culture in our of each religion teacher; schools. Catholic school princi— provide ongoing formation pals are given a daunting agenda for faculty members; that goes beyond anything an — design a curriculum that administrator in the public sector supports the school’s catechetical is expected to deal with. Along goals; with all of the administrative — foster a distinctive Cathoresponsibilities of any principal lic community among faculty, — supervision and evaluation students and parents. of personnel, curriculum, as(National Directory for Catsessment tools and techniques, echesis, USCCB, 2005, p. 231.) federal and state education law, The Church’s vision for what to name a few — Catholic school a Catholic school administrator principals are expected to be should be is clear. And many

good things are happening.

Dioceses, often through collaboration between the diocesan schools office and catechetical office, offer professional days and other opportunities for the formation of administrators as well as teachers. In many parts of the country, regional gatherings have been an effective way of joining forces and combining resources so as to provide strong formation for new and continuing principals. Adult faith formation programs such as Echoes of Faith are used for school personnel and catechists. Parishes blessed with a well-trained, degreed and certified professional catechetical leader have a ready resource for formation of parish school personnel. There is certainly a formational role for clergy, who have benefited from significant theological education.

The National Catholic Educational Association and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership offer annual conventions and a variety of other resources for initial preparation and ongoing formation.

NCEA offers dozens of excellent publications targeted for new and continuing school administrators.

A number of dioceses are blessed with Catholic colleges

that have designed graduate programs for emerging Catholic school leadership. I am delighted with the collaboration between the Diocese of Portland and St. Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine, that has resulted in a new master of science in education degree with a Catholic School Leadership concentration, as well as a Graduate Certificate in the same. The curriculum embraces education, school leadership, and theology courses. The programs are intended for K-12 Catholic school personnel who desire to prepare for administrative roles; for current public school administrators moving to a Catholic school; and for current Catholic school administrators who want to upgrade their skills.

Some dioceses can afford to hire an assistant superintendent for catechetical formation. As a result, these dioceses are positioned to develop and implement effective programs of formation for school personnel and students.

All dioceses, however, must address the continuing challenge of providing for the all important ongoing faith formation of Catholic school personnel whose task it is to model and proclaim that “Christ is the reason for this school.”

Bishop Malone is from the Diocese of Portland, Maine.

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his week’s Gospel account by Matthew focuses on the Beatitudes. It is one of the most engaging but at the same time confusing passages in sacred Scripture.

Jesus gathers his disciples about him and begins to teach them. He speaks of how we will inherit a great reward in heaven if we follow him and live lives of holiness. That translates into sainthood for all those who choose to come after him. It sounds simple, but it really isn’t. All we have to do is reflect on the events of Holy Week and realize that Jesus is challenging us to be willing to subject ourselves to the same kinds of insults and persecutions that he endured.

This is not easy to do, especially in today’s mixed up world.

We live in a world of such great paradoxes and bizarre contradictions that making sense of such beautiful words as the Beatitudes may leave

The Anchor

October 30, 2009

How we can become ‘everyday saints’

us scratching our heads about too seldom.” These contradicwhat it all means and how we tions point up the fact that we can integrate them into our are too easily confused about lives. our values and are often made The late George Carlin, to feel inadequate when we a person we don’t usually associate with judicious or intelHomily of the Week lectual statements, All Saints Day wrote some rather penetrating observaBy Deacon tions about us and the James J. Meloni Jr. world we live in: “We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower come face to face with our viewpoints. We spend more own reality. but have less. We buy more, To sum it all up, Carlin but enjoy less. We have more offers some rash but ironic degrees but less sense. More truths in his observations knowledge but less judgment; about our lives and the society more experts, yet more probwe are part of: “These are the lems; more medicines but less times of fast foods and slow wellness.” digestion … big men and He goes on to say “…we small character … steep profspend too recklessly, laugh its and shallow relationships too little, drive too fast, get … a time when there is much too angry, stay up too late, get in the showroom window and up too tired, read too little, nothing in the stockroom.” watch TV too much and pray In the face of such contra-

dictory behavior we need to clear our minds of the confusion and realize that despite all this confusion, we are a people who have the potential to become saints regardless of the difficulties we face.

We must be ready and willing to renounce the things that cause us to turn away from Jesus, and embrace the things that bring us closer to him. As Catholic Christians, this should not come as a great surprise.

Jesus’ message is consistent regardless of how or where we encounter it.

Oscar Wilde, a 19th-century philosopher once observed: “The only difference between a saint and a sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” The point of his observation is that where God has finished with the saints, his work with sinners is not yet finished. And

that is where we come in.

Jesus’ purpose is to help us become lovers (saints).

Pain and death are necessary elements of love because love is a growing thing. Love is eternal, and so are those who love. This kind of loving goes against the grain of this world. Loving creates the ultimate paradox at which each of the beatitudes is aimed.

Sinners today often seem meek and mild and often wear the face of the apathetic person who goes with the flow.

On the other hand, lovers swim against the current.

The message this week is quite clear. The question we are left with is, “How high are we aiming?”

Deacon Meloni, from Attleboro, was in the first class of permanent deacons, ordained in 1980. Married to Anne M. (Creeden) Meloni, of Pembroke, the couple has four children and five grand children.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 31, Rom 11:1-2a,11-12,25-29, Ps; 94:12-13a,14-15,17-18; Lk 14:1,7-11. Sun. Nov. 1, All Saints Day, Rv 7:2-4,9-14; Ps 24:14ab,5-6; 1 Jn 3:13; Mt 5:1-12a. Mon. Nov. 2, All Souls Day, Wis 3:1-9; Ps 23:1-6; Rom 5:5-11 or 6:3-9; Jn 6:37-40 or 1011-1016 (Lectionary , vol, IV). Tues. Nov. 3, Rom 13:8-10; Ps 112:1-2,4-5,9; Lk 14:25-33. Wed. Nov. 4, Rom 13:8-10; Ps 112:1-2,4-5,9; Lk 14:25-33. Thur. Nov. 5, Rom 14:7-12; Ps 27:1,4,13-14. Fri. Nov. 6, Rom 15:1421; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8.

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he Norwegian Nobel Committee looked in the mirror, saw the president of the United States, and awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. One is tempted to vary Rainer Maria Rilke (“Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other”) and suggest that this was the meeting of two narcissisms.

But that, as the late Richard Milhous Nixon might have said, would be wrong. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is sufficiently enamored of its own moral superiority to ascribe its self-regarding virtues to any nominee it wishes — particularly one who will help it flog the political corpse of

Norwegian sanctimony, global folly

misunderstanding rather than George W. Bush (see “Gore, from a clash of interests; thus Al” and “Carter, Jimmy”). diplomacy is a therapeutic The astonishing announceexercise in which soothing ment of the Peace Prize — which surprised the president and may have caused him a moment’s embarrassment — was a matter of the Scandinavian left projecting what it

By George Weigel regards as its superior political morality onto the man who promised words make for peace. The “change” and “hope” without notion that “peace” might specifying the content of eihave something to do with ther. Still, it seems reasonably creating structures by which clear what the Norwegians conflict is resolved politically imagine that content to be.

— which informed the award The world of the Norweof the Peace Prize to George gian Nobel Committee is one C. Marshall, Nelson Mandela, in which conflict is born from and Frederik Willem de Klerk — is missing from the Norwegians’ view of the world these days (unless, that is, they’re giving their award to a failed multilateral institution like the International Atomic Energy Agency). Once upon a time, the Norwegian Nobel Committee also understood the linkage between human rights and peace; hence the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to heroes like Andrei Sakharov and Lech Walesa, who resisted the communist colossus with the power of moral truth. But that commitment to human rights seems to have become a

The Catholic Difference

thing of the past, too. Did the Norwegians know that, a few days before this year’s prize was announced, their 2009 awardee had stiffed their 1989 awardee, the Dalai Lama, declining to receive the nonviolent Tibetan leader at the White House for fear of aggravating a Chinese government that proclaims “human rights” a western imperialist imposition? Would it have mattered if they did?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee imagines that the president shares its worldview and, as one of its members said, it wanted to encourage Obama on his chosen path.

But what if the path of “hope” and “change” turns out to be a snare and a delusion, because those to be appeased are unappeasable? Suppose the path the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes the president to follow leads to a revival of al-Qaeda terrorism and a nuclear-armed Iran? What if diplomacy-as-therapy leads, not only to a nuclear armed Iran, but to a nuclear-armed Egypt, a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Gulf states — and a devastating nuclear war in the Middle East? Is that the path of moral rectitude and political wis-

dom? What will the Norwegian Nobel Committee see when it looks in the mirror the day after Tel Aviv, or Jerusalem, or Tehran, or Mecca, or Cairo, or Riyadh (or all of the above) is a smoldering, radioactive ruin?

The president has a golden opportunity to do something about this dangerous and willful Euro-naivete when he accepts the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in December. He could accept it in the name of a United States committed to global leadership of the sort that saved Europe from its follies three times in the 20th century. He could use the global bully pulpit to tell President Ahmadinejad and the mullahs of Iran that their vicious regime will not be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. He could call on the Chinese government, and tinpot dictators like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, to recognize that there is no peace without human rights.

If he does, the Norwegian Nobel Committee may well faint en masse; but the president will have taken a giant step toward earning his Peace Prize.

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

Burn this

Friday 30 October 2009 — What especially caught my Old Dighton Village — eve of the eye was the intended burning Eve of All Saints Day of all things Halloween, includmazing Grace Church in ing, I suppose, mediations on North Carolina intends the Christian spirituality of All to burn Bibles, music, books, Hallows’ Eve. That, after all, is and anything Halloween this weekend. The 14-member congregation will surely attract media Reflections of a attention. One tenet of Parish Priest their faith, I read in the newspaper, is that all

By Father Tim translations of the Bible Goldrick are “satanic,” except for one, the King James Version. Satanic Bible translations what “Halloween” means. This seem a bit of an oxymoron to me. column is a reflection on the The congregation also despises Mexican tradition of Todos Sanultra-radical leftist personalities tos (All Saints) and Dia de los such as the likes of Billy GraMuertos (All Souls Day.) In your ham. Really? Each to his or her face, Amazing Grace. tastes, I suppose. As for Christian Some years ago, at the beginrock music, it goes in the fire. ning of November, I happened to This may or may not be acbe in Los Angeles. I was fasciceptable, dependent upon your nated by the Day of the Dead theological horizons and your supplies everywhere on sale. I musical propensity. picked up a couple of pieces,

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The Ship’s Log

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October 30, 2009

Free in Christ

honor killings, arranged marhe case of Rifqa Bary is riages with strangers and severe troubling on many levconsequences for Muslims who els. The 17-year-old who fled leave their faith, no one in the from her Muslim family earlier justice system or child welfare this year has just been ordered departments seems to grasp back to her home, despite clear what Rifqa is facing. And each signals that the girl may be in of those three scenarios offers a grave danger. distinct possibility for a girl in The family immigrated her situation, from Sri Lanka to the United A Muslim community that States in 2000, living first in adheres closely to the teachNew York and later in Ohio, ings found in the Koran and where the father, Muhamed, the Hadith (traditions) will chose a mosque among several in the area for its strict interpretation of Islam.

Yet, having seen the positive witness of Christians at her school, in 2005 Rifqa embraced Christianity.

By Genevieve Kineke Her father was frustrated and growing in hostility, but turn to its accompanying legal whatever the Bary’s reaction structure to guide their acto their daughter’s new faith tions. This structure — called may have been, in this case it shari’a — makes it absolutely was not as important as that certain that those who stray of their Muslim community. from the practice of their faith When members of the mosque be brought back or punished. heard that Rifqa had become a Since women under shari’a are Christian, they took the matter very seriously. They intervened not free agents, it falls to their guardian — first the father or and reminded her father of his brother, then the husband — to responsibilities. That’s when make sure that those entrusted she knew that life at home was to their care fulfill their reliuntenable. She finally she fled gious obligations. for fear of her life, knowing If a woman fails in her that the penalty for apostasy obligations, either by acting in under Islamic law was death.

Since her flight, she has been a way considered immodest or by abandoning the faith, her subjected to a circus of hearbehavior is believed to dishonor ings, private and public, and her family, who must act to has encountered a virtual wall restore their name to its rightful of incomprehension about her dignity. This has led to innustatus. Despite a plethora of merable honor killings across stories world-wide concerning

The Feminine Genius

although I had no idea what they signified. One was a small papier maché skull marked on the forehead with a gold cross.

Another was a pair of papier maché candle holders, showing skeletons dressed as mariachi. A third was a little tableau of a skeleton in a business suit seated at a desk, phone off the hook, with a cat chasing a mouse heading for a mousetrap.

Mexican customs and traditions are foreign to me, being an Irish/Portuguese guy born and bred in Puritan New England. I set out to study Dia de los Muertos. I find it fascinating. I wish I knew more, but ignorance of the subject has never prevented me from writing about it.

Much is made of the preHispanic cult of death. This seems to have involved honoring some pagan god or other by

the vast Muslim world — and even in Europe and North America where large numbers of Muslims have settled.

The young women killed in the United States and Canada thus far usually exhibited behavior that was upsetting to their deeply religious families — usually by refusing to cover their hair, by wearing western clothes or dating non-Muslims.

Rifqa’s case is unique in that it doesn’t concern modesty but religion. The other unfortunate daughters were warned to change their wardrobe; Rifqa will be told to deny Christ.

Since the hearings have also brought to light the fact that the Bary family has been living in the U.S. illegally, we may never hear what happens to this brave young convert. If they are deported to Sri Lanka, she will enter the marriage already arranged for her and her faith will become her husband’s concern.

But we should all be left to consider what sort of faith so restricts its freedom of conscience, and will never consider women as equal and autonomous persons. While we pray for her courage and safety, we would do well to read more about Islam and the shari’a that follows in its wake. What kind of God does it reveal?

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books). She can be found online at www. feminine-genius.com.

offering captive slaves as human sacrifices. Figures of skulls were also sometimes carved in stone temple walls and real ones displayed in niches. Of course, the Spanish found the very thought of human sacrifice abhorrent.

Missionaries introduced All Saints and All Souls days to Mexico. It segued nicely. The native peoples and the Spanish shared an acute awareness of the reality and the eventuality of death.

The resultant hybrid is unique to Mexico. For Mexicans, the veil between the worlds of the living and of the dead is thin at this time of year. For Puritans, death meant facing fearful judgment. For Mexicans, death was accepted as a fact of life. It is the difference between Halloween terrors and All Souls/Saint Days spirituality.

It seems to me that the home-based Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico resemble a combination of a birthday party and a Thanksgiving meal. These are, respectively, occasions for honoring individual members of the family and for giving thanks to God. The difference is that the dead all have their birthday party on All Souls Day instead of on their own particular anniversary of birth. This has very ancient roots.

When the martyrs are honored on their Dies Natalis, it does not mean on the day of their birth into this world, but rather on the day of their birth into eternal life.

The dead were born into heaven on the day they died. A birthday

celebrates a life. So does the Day of the Dead. Home displays are created utilizing some of the favorite things the deceased enjoyed in this life. This might be an embroidered blouse, a farm tool, or a sombrero.

The home shrine always includes elements of earth, wind, water, and fire. The earth is represented by vegetables, fruits, and flowers. The special flower of All Souls Day is the orange marigold. The wind is represented by paper “flags,” cut with designs and strung on string. Fire is represented by a candle lighted in memory of each of the dead being honored. There is a glass of fresh water for those being honored. If one is available, a photograph of the deceased is also displayed.

The food offered consists of full meals and plenty of sweets.

Special care is taken to set out the favorite dishes of the deceased.

There are even children’s portions.

The family gathers to remember and celebrate their forbearers. The dead are with them in memory and in spirit. It’s a family reunion. Death has no more power over them. How endearing this is when compared to our frightful Halloween customs.

Perhaps some church folk in rural North Carolina will use this edition of The Anchor as kindling. Well, go head. See if I care. Burn this.

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

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Friars prepare to launch radio station continued from page one

cover most of New Bedford, Dartmouth and some of the adjacent towns. Later we hope to expand to the entire Fall River Diocese.”

Father Murphy said the station will include a mix of syndicated Catholic programming from EWTN Radio, Ave Maria Radio and Relevant Radio — all of which provide around-the-clock satellite feeds that Radio Cor Mariae will tap into — along with original local programming from within the diocese.

WPMW will also be affiliated with AirMaria.com and has garnered the support of the Catholic Radio Association.

“As soon as we get started we also plan to produce our own, locally-originated programs with priests and other contributors from the diocese,” Father Murphy said.

“The emphasis on our radio station is, of course, Catholic doctrine but also Marian doctrine since we’re a Marian order and we’re focused on devotion to Mary. That will distinguish us from other radio stations, I suppose.”

Father Murphy said the radio station will be owned by the Academy of the Immaculate, Inc., a non-profit organization under the auspices of the friary and will be

operated exclusively by the friars.

Funding for the day-to-day operations of the station will largely consist of donations and underwriting.

“We’ve raised close to $65,000 so far, but we’ve already spent a fair amount of that on equipment,” Father Murphy said. “We’re probably going to need the equivalent of $120,000 to get things running.”

According to Friar John Mary, FI, they’ve already acquired the necessary equipment to pick up the syndicated satellite feeds and to stream their signal 24-hours via their website, www.radiocormariae.com. Even after the radio station goes “live,” they will continue streaming their signal online for those outside the broadcast area.

“We have our dish, our receiver for the dish — that equipment is more or less in place,” Friar John said. “We need to get the rest of the studio equipment. The studio is now in its final planning stage and we’re ready to make final purchases to equip the studio. The next part will be equipping the tower site and transmitter (in Dartmouth) and the associated equipment needed between the two.”

While Friar John said he’s opContinued on page 13

Walk the Road to Emmaus November 6-8 at Cathedral Camp Approved by the Diocese of Fall River, an Emmaus retreat is for people who are seeking to grow in their relationship with God, regardless of their current faith level.

For information/application contact Frank Medeiros at eljeffe@aol.com, or visit www.emmausretreat.com.

October 30, 2009

Putting God’s gift of good health to work

By Michael Pare Anchor Correspondent

“She is forever baking for us,” said Lackey. “For the bazaar, our breakfast in the fall, our spaghetti supFALL RIVER — Father Paul Bernier, rector at the per….”

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, tells this Lackey-Mello is similarly impressed. simple story when he is asked to describe one of his “Her spirit of volunteerism is unbelievable,” she parishioners, 92-year-old Tillie Souza. said. “She is here for every event that we have. She beThere have been many occasions, he said, when he lieves in giving back. I wish I had the energy she has.” has entered the beautiful church only to find Souza on In St. Mary’s, Souza, who in her younger days was her hands and knees, polishing the brass rails. Typi- a member of Santo Christo Parish, and years later, St. cally, the church is dimly lit, and so Father Bernier will Louis, has found vast opportunities to demonstrate the turn on the lights. Souza will politely thank him. depth of her faith. Ask her why she volunteers so much “But I notice after I leave that the lights are turned of her time to the parish and she smiles. It is a silly off,” he said with a laugh. “Tillie doesn’t want to waste question, after all. The answer is simple. any electricity.”

“For God,” she said. “God has been very good to But that’s Souza. She is practical. She is unassum- me.” ing. And she is unabashedly dedicated to her Catholic Souza adds that God has given her good health. faith.

She sees it as a gift and she “She is a role model feels a responsibility to do as for everyone,” said Father much with it as possible.

Bernier. “Not just for people Staying home, sitting idly, her age, but for people my what kind of appreciation age and younger.” would that show? So Souza Father Bernier likens gives something back. She Souza to that Eveready Batgives of her time and her entery commercial, the one ergy. She gets out and demwhere the bunny keeps “goonstrates her Catholic faith ing and going and going.” every chance she gets.

When it comes to volunteer“He has given me good ing at St. Mary’s Cathedral, health,” she said.

Souza keeps giving and givTillie Souza is a Fall ing and giving.

River native. She and her Several days each week, husband Joseph, who died Souza reports to the cathein 1979, raised two children, dral where she often spends William and Barbara. These five or six hours per day dodays, she happily dotes on ing whatever it is that needs an extended family that into be done. When she isn’t cludes six grandchildren, six polishing the altar rail, she ANCHOR PERSON OF THE WEEK — Tillie great-grandchildren, and one may be helping with dishes Souza. (Photo by Michael Pare) great-great grandchild. in the kitchen or paperwork Family is important to in the main office. Mary Camara, who has worked at Souza — family and faith.

St. Mary’s Cathedral for most of the past decade, mar“I love my family,” she said. “I try to keep everyone vels at Souza’s unequaled work ethic and energy. together on Sundays. They come to my place.”

“She never says no,” said Camara. “She is always Father Bernier has heard of those gatherings. there to help me. There are no limitations with Tillie.

“She cooks a full meal for her family,” he said. “It’s She never stops.” just wonderful.”

And with that work ethic, said Camara, comes a It seems that whatever Father Bernier asks, Souza beautiful example of faith. Souza, said Camara, truly responds with enthusiasm. lives the message of the Gospel.

“The only time she says no is when we ask if we can “Tillie sees the good in everybody,” said Camara. help her with anything,” he said.

“She never has anything bad to say about anyone.”

In addition to the cooking and cleaning, Souza conIt isn’t difficult to find Tillie Souza and the infec- tinues to serve as an extraordinary minister of holy tious smile she carries with her. Consult the calendar of Communion. She visits two elderly parishioners at events for St. Mary’s and you will get a good sense of home on a regular basis. where she might be. For example, this past weekend, “It is so important to them that they are taking Jethe parish held its fall bazaar. And as the doors opened, sus,” she said. there was Souza, warmly greeting visitors who apAnd it is important to her, to be bringing him to proached the always popular pastry table. A steady rain them. It is another opportunity for her to give thanks to and blustery wind was not discouraging early arrivers, God and demonstrate her faith. And she doesn’t miss many of whom headed straight for the row of tables in those opportunities. the back of the hall, which were lined with goodies.

The way Souza sees it, living her faith does have Souza remains a prodigious baker. She made many its rewards. You just have to be open to recognize of the treats on display at the bazaar. She specializes in them.

Portuguese sweet rice, fudge, and brownies. Alongside “He gives you everything in return,” she said.

Souza, working the pastry table were Patricia Lackey To nominate a Person of the Week, send an email and her sister, Susan Lackey-Mello. message to FatherRogerLandry@AnchorNews.org.

DRESSED IN STYLE — Kindergartners from Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford dressed as a saint last year to mark All Saints Day. Many diocesan Catholic schools teach students that Halloween is not just about trick-or-treating. It takes its name from All Hallows Eve, the vigil of the feast of All Saints Day.

Halloween finds Catholic schools honoring all saints

By Deacon James N. Dunbar

NEW BEDFORD — Devotion to the saints, with the Blessed Virgin Mary having the highest priority, is a distinguishing mark of Catholicism.

This tradition goes back to the early generations of Christianity.

The practical faith of Christians regarding saints is a living out of the Church’s understanding of itself as a communion of saints, a fellowship of all the faithful, living and dead, called together by God and transformed in Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is a belief found already in the Apostles Creed by the late fifth century.

Halloween, observed on the night of October 31, takes its name from All Hallows (saints) Eve, being the vigil of a major Church feast of All Saints Day on November 1.

Halloween has its origin in

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October 30, 2009

pre-Christian times and there is no direct connection between this day and any Christian tradition.

Greg Dues, in his book, “Catholic Customs and Traditions,” notes that the Celts in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany, celebrated New Year’s Day on November 1. Under the influence of the Druids, a festival was held the evening before to honor Samhain, their lord of death.

This celebration ushered in the winter season, one of cold, darkness, death, and decay in nature. The time of the year was also symbolic of human death. People would start new fires in their homes, hoping the fires would rejuvenate the sun and ward off evil spirits.

It was believed that on Halloween demons and witches roamed freely to greet the season of darkness and would

threaten, scare, and play tricks on people.

It was also believed the only way to be safe was to bribe the evil spirits with treats or to pass as one of them by dressing and acting like them. It seems this is how the origin of the tradition of trick-or-treating began.

Surviving traditional practices associated with Halloween are delightful and earthy, but they are not Christian practices.

There is no reason, however, why wearing costumes and trick-or-treating should not be enjoyed by young and old alike.

But for Christians, wishing to grow in holiness and become more Christ-like, saints are role models for such a transformation, and praying to them asking their intercession was reaffirmed as a practice of the faith by the Second Vatican

Councils’ Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

With that in mind, many Catholic schools in Diocese of Fall River take positive steps to remember the saints by celebrating All Saints Day Eve. At Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford, it will be saints alive with students’ dressing up as their favorite saints “as we get to the real root of the celebration,” reported Principal Cecilia Felix.

In what she described as “an awesome night,” an All Saints program tonight prepared by third-graders will begin at 6:30 p.m., and involve the school and the entire parish community.

“Because the feast of All Saints is celebrated this year on the weekend, we won’t be in school as usual, and so we’re holding our festivities on the Friday night,” Felix explained.

Following a service in Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of

Jesus Church on Mount Pleasant Street, the “saints” will take part in a “treat in trunks” event in which they will be able to play trick-or-treat, finding treats in the trunks of cars in the church’s parking lot.

Fortified by that, the participants will gather in the church center for a party.

At Holy Name School in Fall River, an in-school celebration on October 28, accented the All Saints Eve theme, reported Principal Dr. Patricia M. Wordell.

It featured second- and third-grade students dressed as their favorite saints processing into the school auditorium to the tune of “When the Saints Come Marching In,” after which each “saint” gave an historic, thumbnail sketch of his or her patron.

“After that we sang an adaptation of the Litany of the Saints,” Wordell said.

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October 30, 2009

Movies, TV, radio honored with Gabriel Awards

DAYTON, Ohio (CNS) — Three films, including the animated feature “The Tale of Despereaux” and the biographical drama “The Express,” were honored with Gabriel Awards, given each year by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals.

Also honored was the documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” which tells the story of how women rose up to achieve peace in war-torn Liberia and help elect the African nation’s first woman president.

Actress Ann Blyth, 81, who starred in such film classics as “The Student Prince,” “Kismet,” “The Helen Morgan Story” and “The Buster Keaton Story,” was chosen to receive the Gabriels’ Personal Achievement Award.

KNOM in Nome, Alaska, won the Gabriels’ radio station of the year contest for the 17th year in the 44-year history of the awards.

This year the radio contest was split into a category for religious stations, which KNOM won, and one for secular stations, won by KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., with a certificate of merit going to WBUR in Boston.

The television station of the year prize was likewise split in two categories; the religious station prize went to Salt and Light Television based in Toronto. The secular station honors went to WCVB in Boston.

The Gabriels honor industry professionals who produce films, TV and radio programs, features and announcements that serve viewers and listeners through the positive, creative treatment of human concerns.

Statuettes were distributed October 16 to Los Angeles-based Gabriels winners, with individual diocesan communications directors making individual arrangements to honor winners based in

their respective dioceses.

TV winners were: — Entertainment, national release: “Raising the Bar,” TNT. — Entertainment, local release: “A Virginia Currents Thanksgiving,” Community Idea Stations, Richmond, Va. — Arts, national release: “From the Top at Carnegie Hall — Rhythm & Strings,” WGBH, Boston.

— Documentary, national release: Tie between “Marathon Love: The Jamie & Lynn Parks Story,” Discovery Health Channel, and “Wide Angle — Birth of a Surgeon,” WNET, New York. Certificates of merit were awarded to “Peace Warrior,” Dreamfilm Productions, North Vancouver, British Columbia, and “A Hand of Peace: Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust,” Salt and Light Television.

— Documentary, local release: “Stroke of Kindness,” New England Cable News, which also won a certificate of merit for “The Forgotten Fire.”

— Short feature, national release: “Barefoot College in India,” a segment of “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly,” WNET. — Short feature, markets 1-25: “Nativity Prep,” New England Cable News.

— Children’s, national release: “Handy Manny,” Disney Channel, with a certificate of merit for “Martha Speaks,” WGBH. — Religious, national release: “Assumptions,” Family Theater Productions.

— Religious, local release: “In Search of Miracles,” News 12, Long Island, N.Y. — News/informational, national release: “DirecTV Hometown Heroes,” DirecTV. — News/informational, local release: “A Tale of Two Brothers,” WCVB.

BOY WONDER — The young hero in the animated adventure “Astro Boy” is voiced by Freddie Highmore. For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS/courtesy of Summit Entertainment)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Astro Boy” (Summit) Set in a futuristic world where an underclass of mechanical servants wait on disdainful human masters, this charming animated adventure concerns a scientist (voice of Nicolas Cage) who, after losing his son (voice of Freddie Highmore) in a lab accident, uses the lad’s DNA to program the titular robot replica (also voiced by Highmore) but swiftly rejects his creation, leaving the superpowered but innocent boy ‘bot vulnerable to widespread prejudice and the designs of a militaristic politician (voice of Donald Sutherland) intent on using the youth’s life-giving energy source for weaponry. Director and co-writer David Bowers’ adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s globally popular comic book series, begun in 1951 and previously the basis for three TV series, is by turns amusing, exciting and poignant as it chronicles its altruistic hero’s struggle to discover his place in the world. Considerable stylized violence, some menace, and brief instances of vaguely irreverent and mildly scatological humor. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

Some material may not be suitable for children.

“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” (Universal) A strait-laced high school

student (Chris Massoglia) and his rebellious best friend (Josh Hutcherson) get mixed up in a centuries-old conflict between a race of human-friendly vampires (led by John C. Reilly) and a group of homicidal bloodsuckers known as the Vampaneze. Director and co-writer Paul Weitz’s unfocused adaptation of three novels in Darren Shan’s “Cirque du Freak” series of children’s books, which gets off to a stylish start but bogs down in a meandering plot and overlong fight scenes, offers such a bleak outlook on conventional family life that joining the community of the undead and being adopted by the traveling sideshow of the title — populated by a beardsprouting lady (Salma Hayek), a Japanese giant (Ken Watanabe) and the like — is presented as an inviting alternative. Considerable hand-to-hand and knife violence, some crude and crass language, and a pornography reference. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III — adults.

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

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“The Stepfather” (Screen Gems) Slack thriller in which a young man (Penn Badgley) suspects his divorced mother’s (Sela

Ward) seemingly affable live-in fiance (Dylan Walsh) may be a murderous psychopath. With viewers deliberately tipped off to the mystery man’s true identity from the start, director Nelson McCormick’s tedious remake of Joseph Rubin’s 1987 chillfest is as lacking in suspense as its villain is devoid of a coherent motive, while J.S. Cardone’s script implicitly endorses an incidental lesbian relationship. Benign view of homosexual acts, cohabitation, brief nongraphic nonmarital (possibly underage) sexual activity, moderate criminal violence, a half-dozen uses of profanity, and a few crude and crass terms. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Movies Online Can’t remember how a recent film was classified by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops? Want to know whether to let the kids go see it? You can look up film reviews on the Catholic News Service website.

Visit catholicnews.com and click on “Movies,” under the “News Item” menu.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, November 1 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Marc H. Bergeron, pastor of St. Anne’s Parish in Fall River

The Anchor

October 30, 2009

Friars prepare to launch radio station continued from page 10

timistic about the station’s signal eventually reaching throughout the Fall River Diocese, initially they’ll begin at a “minimum radio station level.”

“We’re pretty low on the power end, but we’ll reach most of New Bedford, Dartmouth and Westport,” he said. “Hopefully the signal will be strong enough where you can pick it up throughout the area in a car. We hope to increase our coverage area in the future using other means — we’re looking into high-definition radio and using existing transmitters on other towers.”

Father Murphy, who was assigned to be guardian of the New Bedford friary last year, will serve as the station manager for FM 88.5 and said his order works in all areas of mass media.

“We emphasize radio, television, book production, magazines — any type of media,” he

said. “We follow the charism of St. Maximillian Kolbe, whose focus was spreading the message of the Catholic faith and Marian doctrine as fast as possible to as many people as possible. He had his own radio station that reached millions.”

Friar John said he’s even more confident Radio Cor Mariae is on the right track after learning they can actually pick up their two main satellite feeds — EWTN and Ave Maria Radio — via the small and rather inefficient satellite dish they’ve recently acquired.

“Why we’re able to capture both on our single satellite dish, I don’t know,” he said. “I shared that information at a Catholic Radio Association conference last week, and some of the technical people were interested in knowing how we’re achieving that.

“I like to think it’s what the Blessed Virgin Mary wants.”

High schoolers examine the vocation of marriage

By Deacon James N. Dunbar

ing one’s desires; dehumanizing NORTH DARTMOUTH — the couple’s creative capacity to a Once upon a time it was unheard kind of internal biological technolof for young people busily per- ogy to be mastered; and a modern fecting the three r’s to think about view of marriage as a mostly private matter that concerns no one marriage.

“But today’s young people else, he pointed out.

Martin, who is married and are heavily bombarded from all has four young children, angles with issues of said those false standards sexuality and unchaste fostered by a large porrelationships, and to tion of today’s society meet the challenge we’ve are exacerbated by trends brought the teachings of that include the common the Church on marriage acceptance of infidelinto the daily lives of our ity, divorce, recognition students as they face their own sexuality and their Philip J. Martin of same-sex marriages, cohabitation and the nemany vocation choices glect of children, all of and learn the values and virtues that will make good Chris- which “have built tall barriers for tians as well as good citizens in young adults to have a real relathe modern world,” said Philip J. tionship with God, or to attain full Martin, in his third year as chair- human and Christian maturity, all man of the Religious Education of which also positively benefit the Department at Bishop Stang High good of society.”

Following directions from the School.

Teens are being impacted by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishnews media messages on beliefs, ops to all Catholic schools, Cathovalues and behavior with intrinsi- lic schools in the Fall River Diocally untrue concepts such as the cese are immersed in teaching the union of male and female being the sacraments, including matrimony. socially acceptable way of gratifyTurn to page 18

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The Baptists: Freedom is the watchword

H

istorians have isolated — but rather a testimony of the two distinct beginnings believer’s voluntary faith by of the Baptist movement: the which he has already received General Baptists, who evolved salvation; hence, infants and out of a church started by John others incapable of personal Smyth, a Puritan Separatist faith are ineligible for baptism, who rebaptized himself and his called “believers’ baptism.” exiled congregation at AmsterLikewise, Baptists recognize dam in 1609; and the Particular immersion (the dipping of the Baptists, who arose among the person in water), rather than underground London congrega- pouring or sprinkling, as the tions of the 1630s.The Genonly proper mode of baptism, eral Baptists, holding with the since immersion vividly exDutch theologian Jacob Armin- presses the meaning of baptism ius (1560-1609), believed that as a burial with Christ in the Christ died indiscriminately for waters of death and a rising all persons; the Particular Bap- with him to new life (Rom. tists, on the other hand, were 6:3-5; Col. 2:12). rigid Calvinists who held that Roger Williams (1603Christ died for the elect only.

1683) founded the first Baptist In the early decades of their coexistence, the debates between Arminian and CalThe Fullness vinist Baptists were of the Truth intense. The same debates were replayed

By Father among Baptists in Thomas M. Kocik America.

Early English Baptist authors include John Bunyan (“Pilgrim’s Prog- church in America. Educated at ress”), John Milton (Paradise Cambridge and ordained in the Lost), and Daniel Defoe (“Rob- established Church of England, inson Crusoe”).

Williams became, in turn, a The Baptist Confession Puritan (Congregationalist, still of 1678 incorporated the within the Anglican Church), Apostles’, Nicene, and AthaSeparatist, Baptist, and Seeker. nasian creeds, declaring that He left England in 1630 and all three “may be proved by sought religious freedom in most undoubted authority of the Massachusetts Bay colony, Holy Scripture and are neceswhere he was banished for his sary to be understood of all beliefs in religious liberty and Christians.” Reflecting this strict church-state separation. same impulse, the Baptists who On the basis of a Narragansett gathered in London for the inIndian deed, he took title to a augural meeting of the Baptist tract some seventy miles west World Alliance in 1905 stood of Cape Cod, settling himself in that assembly and recited in at a place the natives called unison the Apostles’ Creed.

Seekonk, which he renamed A memorable acronym for Providence. By 1639 the the key Baptist principles, most church he organized there was of which are shared with other practicing believer’s baptism, Protestants, is BAPTIST: Bibli- Williams having been rebapcal authority, Autonomy of the tized by a church member. A local church (congregationalfew months later he resigned ism), Priesthood of all believhis pastorate and resumed ers, Two “ordinances” (baphis quest for religious truth tism and the Lord’s Supper, until his death. The church understood as mere symbols), still stands on College Hill in Individual “soul competency” downtown Providence, Rhode (the God-given ability of each Island. person to know and respond to Sixteen million Americans God’s will, without coercion belong to churches affiliby any religious or civil body), ated with the Southern Baptist Separation of church and state Convention (SBC), the largest (a corollary of soul compeProtestant denomination in tency), and Two church orders the United States. Originally only (pastors and deacons). confined to the states of the old Although Baptists are histor- Confederacy, Southern Baptist ically linked to English Purichurches can now be found tanism, which was more or less throughout the nation, outnumCalvinist, their distinctive doc- bering all other churches in trine regarding baptism derives most southern and southwestfrom the Anabaptists of the ern states. The SBC supports Radical Reformation. Baptists thousands of missionaries in believe that baptism is not a home and foreign missions. means of grace — a sacrament The American Baptist

Churches in the USA (called Northern Baptist until 1950), with 1.4 million faithful, have mirrored the membership decline of the other mainline churches. To this liberal denomination belongs the First Baptist Church in Providence.

Seventh Day Baptists, counting some 50,000 members in over twenty countries, observe Saturday rather than Sunday as the Sabbath day. Their first congregation was established in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1671.

Free Will Baptists, organized in North Carolina in 1727 and in New Hampshire in 1780, are the American heirs of the English General Baptists. The issue of slavery, and later the Civil War, divided the group. In 1910 the northern Free Will Baptists merged with the Northern Baptist Convention, while those in the South maintained their separate existence until 1935.

In the 1980s and ’90s the SBC underwent a major upheaval and reorientation resulting from a strong movement to retrieve the Calvinist tradition in Baptist life. The moderates, called “liberals” by their opponents, attribute this development to the attractiveness of dogmatic certainty in an age of rapid change; the conservatives, called “fundamentalists” by their opponents, cite renewed interest in what the Bible teaches about salvation, grace, and election. (In point of fact, a strongly Calvinist undercurrent has always run just beneath the surface of traditional Baptist piety, as is evident in every Baptist’s favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace.”) Since the conservative resurgence, the SBC has become increasingly sectarian and isolationist.

By defying the tradition of baptizing infants and of never rebaptizing, Baptists have carried Protestant principles to conclusions the sixteenth-century Reformers, including Calvin, hesitated to draw. When one considers that the original Reformers preserved a sacramental view of baptism and appealed to the Church Fathers in defense of their views, there is reason to hope that efforts to recover the Reformation roots of the Baptist heritage might also move in the opposite direction, towards a more fully orbed Christian orthodoxy.

Father Kocik is a parochial vicar at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.

14 Another view of Medjugorje In response to the Catholic News Service article published recently in The Anchor regarding a rumored negative Vatican evaluation of Medjugorje, I wanted to write of my experiences in this holy place. Thirty pilgrims and I just returned a few days ago from two weeks in Medjugorje. There were so many pilgrims there, thousands, and so many wonderful priests.

Medjugorje is a microcosm of the Church. For the evening international holy Mass and for adoration there was standing room only, and about 40 to 50 priests present each evening. All Masses and adoration hours were held at the outside dome altar because of the vast crowds, 5,000 to 6,000 each evening. This is in addition to the at least five or six Masses each day in different languag-

The Anchor

October 30, 2009

Our readers respond

es. Priests spend hours hearing confessions, hundreds of people each day waiting in lines to confess. It’s what happens every time I’m in Medjugorje. It will be interesting to hear what the Vatican will declare about this most special place, but no matter what, the fruits cannot be denied. Whatever happens will be part of Our Lady’s plan. I am persevering and continuing to pray for the priests of Medjugorje, the visionaries, and all those responsible for making the decisions. As for me, Medjugorje is a most important place for our times and will play a huge role in whatever is to come.

Maureen O’Brien Attleboro Gratitude to confessor priests I had to chuckle upon reading in “Putting out into the Deep” of October 9, how on one occasion,

there was such a rush of penitents waiting to have their confession heard by St. John Vianney that the whole confessional, confessor included, went over.

That must have been a sight. On a more serious note, it must be so discouraging when so few come to the sacrament to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. I cannot imagine that confession is a popular topic for homilies, but nevertheless we need priests who will, out of love for their sheep, shepherd them towards the confessional when they have strayed. I thank all priests for their “martyrdom of waiting” in the confessional, so that when a soul, moved by grace, is ready to humbly admit its faults and be reconciled to God and the Church, it may experience, along with the confessor, great joy. May we all approach the divine physician frequently and sincerely to receive the life-saving medicine for our souls.

Christina Zajac New Bedford Catholicism is not whatever you want it to be To say that your editorials of September 4 and 11 have elicited much interest is an understatement. I note that the few unfavorable respondents appear to underestimate the long-range damage done to a generation of young Catholics, who may already reject dogma or question doctrine, and will now conclude that Catholicism is whatever you want it to be.

Bert LaForest Melbourne Beach, Fla. Looking for answers Sen. Edward M. Kennedy stood firmly on the side of the Catholic Church on a wide range of issues from immigration reform to the minimum wage dur-

ing his 47 years as a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. He also helped countless people, including my family, for which I am grateful.

At the same time, however, leaders of the U.S. Catholic Church criticized his stand on abortion. He opposed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, supported Roe v. Wade and was a chief sponsor of legislation to limit protests outside abortion clinics and to permit the use of federal funds for research projects using fetal tissue.

Mass Resistance has also revealed Ted Kennedy had a crucial role in defeating Marriage Amendment in Massachusetts Legislature — stopping people’s right to vote on this amendment.

With all due respect, how is it that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy received a Catholic funeral Mass?

I don’t understand. Some of my non-Catholic, Pro-Life friends have questioned me about this. I have no answer.

Andrea St. Germain Yarmouth Port Executive Editor Replies: See our September 18 editorial for a discussion of why Senator Kennedy was accorded a Catholic funeral Mass.

Legislators obliged to represent all constituents In the discussions of Senator Ted Kennedy and his funeral rites I believe there is an issue that has been overlooked. The United States of America has, since it’s inception, valued the separation of church and state.

This value was instituted to protect religious freedom. Senator Kennedy, representing the State of Massachusetts, was obligated to vote in the best interest of his constituents, not to impose his religious beliefs on them. He

had a long history of voting to protect and improve the lives of his constituents and the American people without regard of their race, religion, economic, or political status. I believe he did his best and only God will judge his religious-based beliefs, thoughts, and actions. I pray for mercy on his soul.

Elisabeth Pennington Mattapoisett Executive Editor Responds: If we want to posit that elected representatives are obliged to vote in the best interests of their constituents, and not just their supporters, then every representative is obligated to vote also in favor of their unborn constituents. To vote to prevent their gruesome death is not to impose his “religious beliefs” on them, but just to vote consistent with the natural law, accessible to reason, that teaches that premeditated murder of an innocent human being is always wrong.

The need for mercy and forgiveness As with many Catholics and other people of faith, I watched the funeral Mass of Senator Kennedy.

I found the Mass very moving in the sense that the forgiveness the Church offers was very relevant. We must remind ourselves that since it appears that Father Hession was Senator Kennedy’s pastor, the senator went to confession on a regular basis.

All of us sin and need God’s mercy. Some of us may need more mercy than others, but if we would wish to deny those who need more, we may find that the little mercy we need was denied us.

Ed Coye Bourne

October 30, 2009

Crisis of conscience in the emergency room continued from page one

birth control pills. The morning after pill is meant to be taken to prevent pregnancy after sexual intercourse when no contraceptive was used or when it failed.

The primary way in which the morning after pill works is to prevent ovulation, but a secondary effect of the drug is that it may thin the lining of the uterus, which could prevent an embryo from implanting, thus causing an abortion.

There are only limited circumstances when the drug can morally be given, according to Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a priest in the Diocese of Fall River and director of education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

In an interview with The Anchor, Father Pacholczyk said that a rape victim can morally take emergency contraception if she has not yet ovulated. This is permissible because the woman is entitled to protect herself from the attacker’s sperm, the continuing activity of which can be seen as an extension of the original assault. As long as the drug will work by preventing ovulation, rather than causing an abortion, its use will be permissible following sexual assault, he said.

He noted that a physician should have “moral certainty” that a woman has not yet ovulated before administering the drug.

A simple, non-invasive urine test for leutinizing hormone can contribute to achieving such certainty, along with other steps like obtaining a menstrual history, he said.

“There are circumstances where the use of emergency contraception would be morally licit for sexual assault victims,” he said. “It is reasonable to use Plan B, when requested by the woman, after appropriate testing for where she is in her cycle.”

He added that only in this limited set of circumstances, when the morning after pill would reasonably be anticipated to have a contraceptive effect, should Catholic hospitals or Catholic medical personnel in non-Catholic hospitals dispense the drug.

Father Pacholczyk recognized that such testing cannot determine with absolute certainty where in a woman is in her cycle, noting, “We don’t have absolute certainty about anything in this life, but in the presence of God, we do need the level of certitude known as ‘moral certainty’ in order to choose to act humanly.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document, “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” states, “A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential

15

The Anchor conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation, or fertilization. It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”

In 2000 the Pontifical Academy for Life released a statement on the morning after pill that voiced concerns

is about its abortifacient nature: “It is clear, therefore, that the proven ‘anti-implantation’ action of the morning-after pill is really nothing other than a chemically induced abortion. It is neither intellectually consistent nor scientifically justifiable to say that we are not dealing with the same thing,” the statement said.

Father Pacholczyk stressed that women who are sexually assaulted have the right to try to counteract the effects of an attack, but they do not have the right to end the life of an already conceived child, who

an “innocent bystander.”

State laws, such as the one in Massachusetts, force hospital workers to provide emergency contraception upon request, without allowing the physician to determine whether its use is appropriate to the medical circumstances, thereby violating that professional’s conscience, he added.

They do not allow health care professionals to verify that a woman has not ovulated before administering the drug. And the drug’s primary effect, delaying ovulation, cannot be achieved if ovulation has already occurred.

The law forces emergency room doctors to act without evaluating whether the morning after pill will

even be able to achieve its intended effect, he said. Strong medications with powerful side-effects should never be given to patients unless there are good grounds for supposing they will be effective, and physicians, not lawmakers, are the experts in this arena.

Father Pacholczyk said state legislatures are meddling in the affairs of emergency room doctors and telling them how to practice medicine.

“The state is preempting the better judgment of the physician here,” he said. “He is being pressured by the state to participate in a kind of medicine that, in certain circumstances, could be intrinsically immoral.”

16

Youth Pages

A STEP BACK IN TIME — Third-grade students from Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford recently went on a field trip to visit Plimoth Plantation. They got a chance to board a replica of the Mayflower and see how crowded it was for the Pilgrims on their ocean voyage. They also walked around the Plantation and spoke with Pilgrims and Native Americans about life in the 1600s and how different it was from today. They enjoyed feeding the goats and watching pottery being made at the Arts and Crafts Center. Students listen to a Native American describe how animals were hunted and how their skins were taken to be used for clothing and footwear.

A DEAR FRIEND — St. Joseph School in Fairhaven celebrated the canonization of St. Damien of Molokai with banners, singing, and prayer. As students and their teachers entered the gym for a prayer service, they were greeted by the banners they had made hanging overhead. Founded by the Sisters in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and still served by the priests of that community, St. Joseph School students hold St. Damien very special and close to their hearts.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED — St. Vincent’s Home recently held its 12th Annual Mission Awards Celebration in recognition of individuals who have made a significant contribution to children and youth. The seven recipients, Sonya Botelho, Dee Briand, Alison Camara, Alex Dias, Michaela Gagne, Zachary Schwartz, and Sheila Wilkins were nominated by their peers for this achievement award. Bishop George W. Coleman, Sister Rosemary Laliberte, RSM, and St. Vincent’s Executive Director Jack Weldon presented the recipients with the awards. From left: Dias, Botelho, Bishop Coleman, Sister Laliberte, Schwartz, Wilkins, Gagne, Briand, Camara, and Weldon.

October 30, 2009

SPANNING THE GLOBE — Grace Felix, a first-grader at Holy Trinity Regional School in West Harwich, shared in a special teach-and-tell project she did with her class.

Felix was born in China and shared the traditions of her native homeland with her classmates.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — Students at St. Mary’s School, Mansfield, campaign outside of the school during arrival for their favorite Student Council candidates.

ROSARY RALLY — The month of October is dedicated to praying the rosary. The students at St. Mary’s School in Taunton showed their appreciation for this beautiful devotion to our Blessed Mother through their participation in a school-wide home rosary project as well as taking part in a living rosary.

Youth Pages

October 30, 2009

Family Rosary announces 2010 ‘Try Prayer! It Works!’ contest

EASTON — Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 “Try Prayer! It Works!” contest. Open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the 15th annual national competition sponsored

by Family Rosary encourages children to express their faith through art, poetry and prose.

Each year, the “Try Prayer!

It Works!” contest attracts more than 3,000 entries from more than 50,000 participants from across the country. Children and teens from Catholic schools, parishes, home schooling and other Catholic organizations use their talent to convey their beliefs. Up to three winners are chosen per grade: first-place winners are awarded $100, while the sponsoring organization earns $200. Runners-up win Holy Cross Family Ministries products.

This year’s theme — “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together” — focuses on the faith of Servant of God Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton. Known as the “Rosary Priest,” Father Peyton (190992) created that phrase as part of his mission to strengthen families and encourage them to pray the rosary daily. The “Try Prayer! It Works!” contest asks

entrants to use creativity to depict their thoughts and feelings on how their families pray together.

“For the 100th anniversary of Father Peyton’s birth, we are excited to honor his memory and continue his mission by featuring his famous slogan in this contest,” said Holy Cross Father John Phalen, president of Holy Cross Family Ministries, parent ministry of Family Rosary. “Father Peyton understood that faith is important in helping brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers to grow together and remain strong in this modern world that is so often confusing and frightening.

How does your family pray together? What do you pray for?

How often do you pray together? Do you pray the rosary as a family? If so, how does that strengthen your family?”

The “Try Prayer! It Works!” contest is open to children in grades K-12 enrolled in a Catholic school, Religious Education program, parish or other organization. For more information or to download an application, go to www. hcfm.org/tryprayer. All entries must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2010. Questions? Call Holy Cross Family Ministries at 800-299-PRAY (7729).

I

17

Just keep walking

n Spiritual Theology class span we will have begun to we have been talking celebrate our 50th anniversary, about labyrinths. Labyrinths finished preparing for accrediare not mazes such as are tation, had IOWA testing and prevalent at this time of year.

PSATs, welcomed an accrediLabyrinths have no dead ends tation team, and tomorrow, or wrong turns. You enter and we will be in the midst of our exit from the same spot, simply freshman retreat which is the retracing your steps from the biggest retreat event of the center. There are many retreat year. Through it all, we just facilities that have a labyrinth keep walking. on their grounds, and many Your life is probably as busy people use the labyrinth as and as hectic as ours. How is it a form of centering prayer. To me, the main lesson of the labyrinth is to just keep walking.

I painted a labyrinth on the grass so my juniors could try it out. Some of

By Jean Revil the lessons they shared with me are these: — even when it seems like you’re moving that we are able to “just keep further away from God, if you walking?” These are the times stay on the path, you’re actuwhen we know that others are ally moving closer; praying us through. We count — life gives us a lot of on the prayers of others to carry twists and turns; when you’re us. How else could we possible looking for God, it’s not alcontinue to walk through the ways going to be the shortest demands, the sorrows, and the distance between two points; craziness of our lives? When — it is really good to walk the demands seem overwhelmslowly; it gives you a chance to ing we just keep walking breathe. because we are lifted by the We have hit one of the busi- prayers of others. When the sorest times of the year. School, sports, drama, and all such activities are in full swing and there are many demands on our time and our energy. At our school, in a seven-week

Be Not Afraid

row of losing a loved one envelopes us, we can keep walking because those who walk with us are lifting us to God. When our own prayer life seems dry or desperate, we count on the prayers of others to make up for what is lacking in our own.

Asking others to pray for us is a necessity. What a blessing it is to know that we can.

None of us will reach the goal of holiness and heaven alone; that’s just not how it works. We need to ask for prayers from others when we are weary or sad or overwhelmed, and we have a responsibility to carry others as well, so that when they have “life coming at them” they will be lifted up and be able to keep walking, too. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for prayer, it is a sign of faith and of love. It is by carrying each other in prayer that we are able to “just keep walking.”

Jean Revil teaches theology and is campus minister at Bishop Stang High School.

Comments welcome at: jrevil@ bishopstang.com.

18

The Anchor

High schoolers examine the vocation of marriage continued from page 13

“Here at Bishop Stang, 200 seniors — of the approximately 700-member student body — attend two semesters on ‘Christian Vocations and Moral Theology.’

The first semester deals with all the vocations which Catholics can choose, although we must admit that most of our students will be choosing to be married,” said Martin, a native of Maryland — and a Fairhaven resident — who has taught for seven years.

While a snapshot of marriage in the United States suggests the percentage of never married persons choosing the single life has

increased by 20 percent in the last 30 years, more Catholic males and females are still choosing a vocation of marriage over religious life (and for males matrimony over holy orders).

“The second semester deals extensively with morals. Both areas of study can help them in good times and in bad, with a vision that can lead them to happiness and holiness in their relationships, a message based on reason and faith,” he added.

“So talking about the vocation of marriage to high school students is practical and spiritual and

Our Lady’s Monthly Message From Medjugorje October 25, 2009

Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina

“Dear children! Also today I bring you my blessing, I bless you all and I call you to grow on this way, which God has begun through me for your salvation. Pray, fast and joyfully witness your faith, little children, and may your heart always be filled with prayer.

“Thank you for having responded to my call.”

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doesn’t come too early, but rather should be a continuous process,” said Martin.

Some of the textbooks used in the course are based on the teaching of Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body.”

Students study about gaining an understanding of the dignity of the human person and the common good; fostering a desire to emulate Christ; examining one’s call from God; social justice issues and the Christian response; examining the Trinitarian and Christological foundations of the Christian life, sexuality, chaste living, true love, infatuation, dating, chastity and homosexuality.

“We also talk about the Scriptural and traditional foundations of marriage, annulment, divorce; as well as the theology of marriage and how it is a sacrament that enables growth and holiness, spousal holiness and the stages of married and family life,” Martin told The Anchor.

“And in the unit on the foundations of moral theology we address the Commandments, Beatitudes, the virtues, and the forming of conscience, to name just a few. We accent the positive, that Church teachings are not negatives, but rather show that the Church is good, that it and all it teaches is a gift from God.” He noted that such instruction is part of the “remote” preparation for marriage, with a later “proximate” and subsequent “immediate” steps of preparation for receiving the sacrament of matrimony spelled out in Pope John Paul II’s 1981 apostolic exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” (“Of Family Partnership”), dealing with the role of the Christian family in the modern world.

“In a particular way the Church addresses the young, who are beginning their journey towards marriage and family life, for the purpose of presenting them with new horizons, helping them to discover the beauty and grandeur of the vocation to love and the service of life,” wrote Pope John Paul II, who also referred to the family “as a Church in miniature.”

Because pastoral care of the family became noticeably more prominent in dioceses and parishes following the papal exhortation, that care has made its primary task that of helping young people who can be assailed by doubts about their ability to live life-long conjugal fidelity.

Martin, who earned degrees at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and at Providence College, said the educational segment of marriage is merged with the practical application that includes the frequent reception of the sacraments of reconciliation

October 30, 2009 and holy Communion timely available and offered in a Catholic high school.

“We offer Mass before classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and every holy day by our school chaplain. There are daily opportunities for students to receive the sacrament of reconciliation during school hours. And we regularly schedule eucharistic adoration,” said Martin, who is also director of Religious Education at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford.

He said that one of the basics in learning about marriage comes from the experiences one learns from his or her own witness that Christian homes can radiate: namely a joyful, warm, welcoming and open witness to the spirit of the Gospel.

He is a product of that. His father, Deacon John Martin, was ordained a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Baltimore last spring.

Asked how students feel knowing that divorce among Catholics — although reportedly on the decline — stands at approximately 50 percent — with the greatest percentage occurring during the first three years of marriage, Martin said, “They are bothered about it. It’s all around them. Some see it in their own family settings. In our unit on challenges to married life, the students analyze factors that contribute to the dissolution of relationships and marriages, seeing how the Church’s teachings on vocations is counter-cultural, and

how Christian living brings about genuine human fulfillment and freedom.”

The interview with Martin came as the U.S. Catholic Bishops have scheduled a debate on their 57page pastoral letter on marriage at their upcoming November 16-19 meeting in Baltimore.

The letter, called “Marriage: Life and Love in the Divine Plan,” is another component in the bishops’ National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, which began in November 2004.

The vision of married life and love (in the pastoral) is meant to be a foundation and reference point for evangelization, catechesis, pastoral care, education and advocacy meant to be a commitment to ministry involving parishes, schools, and programs.

Commenting on a recent survey that showed favorable Catholic marriage statistics, Martin said, “It re-establishes the wonderful success that can be had in what we’re doing. Hopefully, we can get some of this teaching into our students’ heads before they head off to college.”

The survey showed increases in: the percentage of Catholics ages 20-54 who remain married; increases in the percentage of married adults who describe themselves as “very happy” in their marriages; a hike in first marriages among married people ages 20-59; an increase in births to married parents; and more children living with their own married parents.

New Bedford parishes to share pastor continued from page one

statistics are down and parish income has not kept pace with ordinary expenses. Necessary repairs to the almost 100-year-old church have had to be delayed.

Bishop Coleman explained to parishioners that he is asking Father Oliveira and the Parish Councils to initiate a planning process that will include “goals by which we will be able to determine if the parish can support itself in a measurable and sustainable way in the future.”

The bishop outlined these goals as follows: increase in parish membership; increase in Mass attendance; development of a plan to retire parish debt; and sponsorship of a capital campaign for critical building repairs. Benchmarks will be formulated to measure progress in each area.

“It is everyone’s hope that those goals will be met,” the bishop wrote.

If the parish is unable to reach those goals by a to-be-determined point in 2011, however, Bishop Coleman continued, “then as in similar situations it will have to close and parishioners will be welcomed to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.”

(Money collected in the capital campaign will be held in escrow and returned to donors in the event

of that happening.)

Discussion on the future of St. John’s has been ongoing since late 2008, when Father Gauvin brought in Diocesan Pastoral Planning staff to begin meeting with him and Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils.

A detailed review of the parish status was presented to all parishioners at an assembly this past spring, which Father Oliveira attending as coordinator of the Portuguese Apostolate in the diocese.

In coming to a decision on the best way to proceed with St. John’s, the bishop said he carefully considered the recommendations from the priests involved and the Parish Councils as well as feedback from the parish-wide assembly.

Bishop Coleman expressed his gratitude to Fathers Gauvin and Oliveira as well as to members of the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils for their time and commitment to the process.

The bishop concluded his letter to St. John’s parishioners with appreciation and hope-filled anticipation: “I thank all of you for your continued cooperation in this endeavor. Together, may we build a stronger Church and help to create a future of hope.”

Red Sox CEO to speak at St. Mary’s Fund Fall Dinner continued from page one

As president of each franchise, Lucchino established a team charitable foundation to strengthen its philanthropic support of the community. He is personally involved in numerous civic and charitable efforts.

E. Dennis Kelly, president and CEO of Bristol County Savings Bank and Bristol County Charitable Foundation, has agreed to again serve as the chairman of the Fall Dinner, and he thinks that Lucchino makes an ideal speaker for the event.

“The Red Sox organization has certainly had extraordinary success with Lucchino at the helm,” he said, “but beyond that, led by Lucchino, the organization has transcended the baseball field to serve an important role within the community.

As a charitable foundation, the Sox are out front. Lucchino epitomizes the ideal of giving back to the community.”

It is that sense of giving back to those in need that is at the heart of the purpose of the Fall Dinner and the St. Mary’s Education Fund it supports, Kelly explained.

The dinner is one of only two yearly fund-raising events for the St. Mary’s Fund, which within the current school year is distributing more than $605,000 in partial tuition aid to 726 students attending Catholic schools in the diocese.

“By far the majority of those students would not be in our local Catholic schools without financial assistance from the St. Mary’s Edu-

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks 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 Nov. 3 Rev. Jose M. Bettencourt e Avila, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1988 Nov. 4 Permanent Deacon O’Gara, 1990

James

19

The Anchor

October 30, 2009

M.

Nov. 5 Rev. Daniel A. Gamache, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1998 Nov. 6 Rev. Patrick S. McGee, Founder, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1933 Rev. Joseph Oliveira, Retired Pastor Our Lady of Lourdes, Taunton, 1999 Nov. 7 Rev. J. Edmond Tremblay, Retired Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1985 Nov. 8 Rev. Pacifique L. Emond, OFM, Retreat Master, Writer, Montreal, Canada, 1984

cation Fund,” said diocesan Development Director Mike Donly, who oversees the fund disbursement process.

He added that the job losses and employment uncertainty of this recessionary economy has made it harder for more and more families to afford a Catholic education for their children.

Kelly and volunteer lay committees in four areas of the diocese are now reaching out to businesses and individuals to extend an invitation to sponsor a table or purchase a

ticket for the Fall Dinner in support of tuition assistance.

Leading the area committees are, in Attleboro, Paul Lenahan; in Fall River, Nick Christ; in New Bedford, Gary Fealy; and in Taunton, Harry Rose.

Those interested in supporting the Fall Dinner or obtaining more information on the St. Mary’s Education Fund, should contact Kelly, any area committee chair, or Donly who may be reached at the diocesan Development Office at 508-675-1311.

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

ACUSHNET — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays end with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.; Saturdays end with Benediction at 2:45 p.m.

BREWSTER — Eucharistic adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday of the month, concluding with Benediction and Mass.

BUZZARDS BAY — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place First Fridays at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration. Refreshments follow.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has eucharistic adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on the first Sunday of the month from noon to 4 p.m.

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

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

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 508336-5549.

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 at the church 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 following the 8 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 5 p.m. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed at 4:45 p.m.; on the third Friday of the month from 1 p.m. to Benediction at 5 p.m.; and for the Year For Priests, the second Thursday of the month from 1 p.m. to Benediction at 5 p.m.

TAUNTON — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord Church, 31 First Street, immediately following the 8 a.m.

Mass and continues throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., concluding with recitation of the rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street, holds perpetual eucharistic adoration. 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.

Around the Diocese 10/30 11/1

The Little Theatre of Fall River will perform “Children of Eden,” tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Bristol Community College on Elsbree Street.

St. Mary’s Catholic School, 330 Pratt Street, Mansfield, will be hosting its annual open house Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Tours will be conducted throughout the afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Information sessions will take place in the gymnasium at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. All prospective students and their families are welcome to attend. For information visit the school website at www.stmarymansschool.org or call 508-339-4800.

11/1

St. Julie Billiart Parish, North Dartmouth, will host Sister M. Johanna Paruch, FSGM, who will give a presentation Sunday in the parish hall from 6-7 p.m. on “Communion of Saints.” Sister Paruch is a professor of Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

11/2

On Day of All Souls, November 2, Holy Cross Family Ministries will conduct a meditative Walk of Remembrance calling to mind deceased loved ones while praying the rosary on the Father Feeley-Father Murphy outdoor Rosary Walk. Mass will follow at noon at the chapel in the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington St., North Easton. For more information call 508-238-4095 or visit www.

HCFM.org.

11/3

508-236-9083.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry of La Salette will meet November 3, and every first Tuesday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the lounge of the Retreat Center, 947 Park Street, Attleboro. All are welcome. For information call

11/6

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet November 6, at the Parish of the Good Shepherd, 1598 South Main Street, Fall River. Following a 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Freddie Babiczuk, there will be a hot-meal in the church hall, followed by the guest speaker social worker John Rogers, who will speak about stress. Any gentleman wishing to attend may do so. for information call Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174.

11/6

St. Stephen’s Parish, 683 South Main Street, Attleboro, will have its annual Holiday Bazaar November 6 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and November 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event includes a raffle including a prize of Patriots’ tickets, booths, a kitchen, and photos with Santa.

11/7 11/7

The Corpus Christi Parish Women’s Guild will host its annual Christmas Fair November 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Parish Center, 324 Quaker Meetinghouse Road, East Sandwich. For information call 508-477-4530.

A Day With Mary will take place at Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, Fall River, November 7 from 7:50 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will include a video, instruction, a procession and crowning of Mary, Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation. For information call 508-984-1823.

11/7 11/8

Holy Trinity Parish, West Harwich, will host a Harvest Bazaar November 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the church hall, featuring “Padre’s Pies,” and entertainment from Marcus the Magician.

Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 4256 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, will hold a Harvest Fair November 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be Ma’s donuts, hot soups and food, baked goods, crafts, raffles and more.

There is plenty of parking.

11/10

The Women’s Guild of St. Mary’s Parish, 14 Park Street, North Attleboro, will sponsor a concert by Father Pat November 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Refreshments will be served. For information call 508-316-1544, 508699-2109, 508-699-7955, or 508-695-9478.

11/10

Father Dominic Legge, OP, will be leading a Theology on Tap presentation entitled, “Little White Lies: Can You Live Without Them?” at the Vineyard Restaurant, 809 Washington Street (Route 1), South Attleboro November 10 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the dioceses of Fall River and Providence.

11/13

An ECHO retreat weekend for students in grades 10, 11 and 12 will take place November 13-15 for girls, and December 11-13 for boys at the Craigville Conference Center in Centerville. For information and applications visit www.echoofcapecod.org.

11/14

Crafters are wanted for the Holy Family-Holy Name Holiday Fair, 91 Summer Street, New Bedford, on November 14. For information call 508-993-3547.

20

The Anchor

The mysterious tale (or is it tail?) of Midnight

O

ffice manager Mary Chase is so adept in her position that she can run The Anchor business affairs blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back. She’s that good.

But a recent set of Halloween circumstances has stumped the office wizard, and that hasn’t sat well with her.

In fact, it may be an office wizard who is behind the dirty deeds — probably done dirt cheap — being so close to Halloween and all.

Chase, a fan of the feline, and one who loves decorating The Anchor spread for every holiday, holy day and any day that ends in “y,” recently arrived one morning with her prized Halloween black cat, Midnight.

She couldn’t wait until the rest of the staff met Midnight, who was greeted with several polite smiles and nods — that quickly turned to rolled eyes as soon as the smiler was out of Chase’s view.

Midnight found a prominent home in Chase’s office, in full view of any visitor or staffer who graced her office with their presence.

Since leaf-peeping is another of Chase’s passions, she took an extended Columbus Day weekend journey up north, leaving Mid-

night alone with this publication’s The fifth, while not an Anchor cast of characters. staffer, but who works closely One day during Chase’s with us, expressed mock surprise holiday, Midnight found himself at Midnight’s predicament. An caged with a warning sign atactor he is not. tached, “Caution, under quarantine. Rabies!!!”

Midnight spent four days in captivity before Chase returned to work.

Her usually sunny disposition was eclipsed by the sight of her beloved

By Dave Jolivet Midnight behind bars.

Immediately she accused each of us of the dastardly deed. Just as quickly we Chase has, more than once, denied involvement, but warned questioned her co-workers about her of the dangers of a rabid cat.

Midnight’s four-day stay behind I swore he growled at me every bars. time I was near him.

I don’t know if it’s because Only one of The Anchor staff many of us watch NCIS and CSI, shares Chase’s esteem for the cat but we each handled the interrogafamily. He, too, is a cat owner, so he was seemingly off the hook.

Another staffer, a dog owner and lover, once said that if he were Noah he would have found a way to seal up the ark before Mr. and Mrs. Cat made it up the ramp.

Another, also a dog owner, has basically a take it or leave it attitude about cats — mostly leave it.

The fourth culprit in this mystery absolved his involvement, but was quick to throw his work mates under the bus.

My View From the Stands

FELINE FELON — Midnight, the official Anchor Halloween black cat inexplicably found itself caged and quarantined with a suspected case of rabies when its owner was away on the long Columbus Day weekend. No one has owned up to the deed, the staff has chalked it up to a Halloween mystery that may never be solved. (Photo by Dave Jolivet, who vehemently denies any involvement.)

October 30, 2009 tion flawlessly.

Midnight is now free and has reclaimed his position of honor in Chase’s office.

Chase is still in the dark — as dark as midnight one might say — as to how her beloved tabby became incarcerated and marked as rabid.

Perhaps The Anchor office is haunted — but more likely it’s simply occupied by several sinister employees. Or maybe they’re just pranksters.

Should one of Chase’s Santas end up behind bars in December, I’ll be leaning more toward sinister.

Well, Halloween is tomorrow, and come Monday we’ll all bid Midnight a fond farewell until next year. Only he knows who was behind the caper — and he’s not telling.

Moving on to another topic, every once in a while, I make a boo-boo in my column. It happens when I whip together a masterpiece an hour before press time.

In my column on the “Dung Beatles,” I incorrectly identified one of the participating couples as in their 30s. Since one-half of that couple is my daughter, she quickly demanded a retraction from her old man — since she felt her own father should know how old she is.

You’re right Lauren. Lauren and Steve are in fact in their 20s, albeit their late 20s. I apologize for the error and the mental anguish it caused.

Perhaps I had other things on my mind — like how to put a black cat in a quarantined cage.

Ooops, I think I just let the cat out of the bag, or the cage as it were.