11.16.12

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , November 16, 2012

Author, journalist knows the value of Catholic education

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

SACRED GATHERING — Fifteen parishioners, mainly from St. Mary’s Parish and St. Joseph’s Parish in Fairhaven, gather at St. Joseph’s Parish in Kamalo, Hawaii as part of their pilgrimage to Moloka’i to visit where St. Damien ministered to those suffering from leprosy. Of the churches that St. Damien built, St. Joseph’s Church remains in the most original condition. The group said the trip was a truly faith-filled experience that created strong bonds of friendship.

Parishioners make pilgrimage to Moloka’i

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

FAIRHAVEN — While most people travel to Hawaii to walk on one of its pristine beaches, last month, 15 local parishioners, ranging in age from 12 to 85, chose to make a pilgrimage to Hawaii and walk in the footsteps of St. Damien of Moloka’i.

“Father Pat [Killilea], who has such a fondness for St. Damien,

suggested that the first pilgrimage for St. Mary’s should be to the Hawaiian Islands,” explained Charlie Murphy, parishioner of St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven.

Initially planned for August, the schedule was bumped to a later date when ironically Father Killilea — who was originally going to take part in the pilgrimage — was reassigned from St. Turn to page 14

WESTPORT — Although he admits he wasn’t “the greatest student,” Mike Leonard truly appreciates the opportunity he had to attend Catholic elementary and high schools in suburban Chicago where he grew up, and later Providence College, where he earned a degree in economics.

“My Catholic education informed me in a lot of ways,” Leonard told The Anchor during a phone interview from his home in Winnetka, Ill. “Within that context, there was always a sense of order — we knew what was right and wrong. I had great nuns in school who were really, really tough. They were demanding, but it didn’t bother me. You learned what was right and what was wrong and sometimes you would just try to break the law to break the law.”

Leonard, a longtime feature correspondent for the NBC “Today” show and a best-selling author, will share some of those firsthand experiences as keynote speaker for the 18th annual St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner to be held November 27

at White’s of Westport beginning with a 5:30 p.m. reception.

Proceeds from the event benefit the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which provides need-

Mike Leonard

based financial scholarships to students at Catholic elementary and middle schools throughout the Fall River Diocese.

“We had a sense of community in the Catholic schools that my friends in public schools didn’t have,” Leonard said. “We’d have

things like pancake breakfasts and CYO Sunday basketball events and other fund-raisers.

There was a sense of that parish being your community and your home. Even though we bristled sometimes under the discipline, all those demands were what made you better in life.”

For Leonard, it wasn’t only that close-knit sense of community from his Catholic upbringing that informed him later in life, but also a sense of creativity and humor.

“I think Catholics are very creative in their humor and creative in their fun, because we always had all this structure around us,” he said. “It was comforting, and it was also at times frustrating, but in the end I think it made us who we are.”

Despite having earned a degree in economics, Leonard embarked on a successful career as a filmmaker and TV journalist in 1980 when he was first hired as a feature correspondent for NBC News.

“I was working in Phoenix as a sportscaster, and I had only been in TV for a short time,” Turn to page 18

2012 Marian Medal recipients — page 12

Sister Catholic paper in NYC rises above Sandy’s flood waters

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

FALL RIVER — Catholic New York, the country’s largest Catholic newspaper, servicing the Archdiocese of New York, and The Anchor have shared a camaraderie for several years now. Matt Schiller, the New York publication’s advertising and business manager has been an Anchor friend since the 1980s when he was then employed by The Tablet, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s newspaper.

Schiller was skilled with servicing the Wang computer system, a precursor to today’s state-of-the art desktop publishing systems. The Anchor was one of a few local Catholic papers to which he would lend his expertise. He made numerous trips to the Fall River office to get The Anchor up and running. It was during those times that I first met him.

Eventually Schiller moved on to the Catholic New York, and the Wang system moved on to retirement. But through the years, Schiller and I would meet at CNS

conventions and we occasionally converse on Facebook.

When Hurricane Sandy took aim on New York City and New Jersey, I sent Schiller a Facebook message wishing him and his family the best. In the perfect storm’s aftermath, and the ensuing nor’easter one week later, I tried to contact Schiller to find out how he fared, his neighbors and the Catholic New York.

Not surprisingly, it took several days before I heard from him. In an interview with Schiller and John Woods, the Catholic New York’s editor-in-chief, The Anchor got a first-hand account of how its sister paper and some of its staff in the Big Apple fared.

Schiller lives in northern New Jersey, very close to the New York State border.

“We received some wind damage and we lost power from that Monday until Saturday,” he told The Anchor. “But we were spared the damage of the massive storm surge that caused widespread damage in Turn to page 15

much work to do — ­ A statue of St. Francis of Assisi overlooks workers cleaning up outside St. Margaret Mary Church in New York’s Staten Island. The church was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

News From the Vatican

2

November 16, 2012

Cardinal: Vatican-SSPX talks do not signal toleration of anti-Judaism

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The effort to reintegrate the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X into the Catholic Church “absolutely does not mean” that the Catholic Church will accept or support the anti-Jewish or antiSemitic positions espoused by some members of the society, said Cardinal Kurt Koch.

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, said many Jews “fear that through the eventual reintegration of a series of priests and faithful with anti-Jewish tendencies and who fundamentally reject ‘Nostra Aetate,’” the Second Vatican Council document on relations with Jews and with other religions, “the Catholic Church could give a new direction to its dialogue with Judaism.”

Addressing members of the commission, which oversees and promotes a variety of Vatican dialogues with Jews, Cardinal Koch said, “The Holy Father has charged me with presenting the question in the correct way: ‘Nostra Aetate’ is not being questioned in any way by the magisterium of the Church as the pope himself has demonstrated repeatedly in his speeches, his writings and his personal gestures regarding Judaism.”

“The Catholic Church is moving firmly on the basis of the principles affirmed in ‘Nostra Aetate,’” and Pope Benedict XVI intends to continue the Church’s dialogue with the Jewish people, the cardinal said in his speech, which was published November 7 in L’Osservatore Romano, the

The Anchor www.anchornews.org

Vatican newspaper.

“Nostra Aetate” described Christians and Jews as having a common heritage and a profound spiritual bond; it denounced any form of contempt of the Jews; it said the Jews could not be held responsible for the death of Jesus; and “it explicitly highlighted the Jewish roots of Christianity,” Cardinal Koch said.

In discussions about the SSPX and the Second Vatican Council, the cardinal said, questions also have been raised about the level of teaching authority in various council documents; the idea has been raised that because “Nostra Aetate” was a declaration and not a constitution, its content has less weight.

“On a formal level, a distinction certainly can be made” between the council’s declarations and constitutions, he said.

“Nevertheless, from the point of view of their content, they cannot be separated from each other or placed in opposition to each other.”

“Nostra Aetate,” he said, was not “an isolated meteorite that fell from Heaven,” but it flowed from the other teachings of the council, particularly the council’s reflections on the mystery of the Church.

Cardinal Koch said Pope Benedict’s full support of the teaching on Judaism adopted by the council was evident even before the council began meeting in 1962. As a student of the Scriptures, the then-Joseph Ratzinger had “a considerable familiarity with Judaism,” he said.

“The foundation of the vision of Ratzinger the theologian is that holy Scripture can be understood only as one book,” in which the history of salvation begins with God’s covenant with the Jewish people, he said.

“In the light of these theological convictions, one cannot be surprised that Pope Benedict is continuing the work of reconciliation begun by his predecessors in Jewish-Catholic dialogue.”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 44

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 Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza k ensouza@anchornews.org REPORTER Rebecca Aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@anchornews.org

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past and present — Pope Benedict XVI, right, participated in a recent prayer service in front of the tomb of St. Peter in the Vatican grottos. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Don’t be satisfied with achievements; pursue greater good, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI called on people to never be satisfied with their earthly achievements because true happiness entails seeking out the greater good.

He said people should “not be discouraged by fatigue or by obstacles born of our sins,” because striving for the greater good is demanding and cannot be built or provided by mere human effort.

During a recent general audience talk to some 20,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope spoke about “the mysterious desire for God,” which lies deep in every human heart.

Despite rampant secularization and people’s claims of being indifferent to God, an innate yearning for God “has not completely disappeared and still today, in many ways, appears in the heart of mankind.”

People always strive for happiness and a well-being that is “often far from spiritual,” and yet they are also aware there still remains a deeper yearning for

something that could truly satisfy their “restless heart,” he said.

“Every wish that arises in the human heart is echoed by a fundamental desire that is never fully satisfied,” he said.

True love pushes people to think beyond themselves, to be at the service of the other up to the point of self-sacrifice, he said.

Pope Benedict said the Church should create a “pedagogy of desire” for people of faith and for those who do not believe in God and as a way to open them up to the transcendent.

This “pedagogy” would teach or remind people to enjoy “the authentic joys of life,” such as family, friendship, helping others, solidarity with those in need and the love for learning, art and the beauty of nature, the pope said.

Not all pleasures are equal; some things eventually leave behind disappointment, bitterness, dissatisfaction or emptiness, he said. People should appreciate those things that leave behind “a positive mark, ease the soul and

make us more active and generous.” Such authentic enjoyments also create “effective antibodies against the trivialization and banality so present today,” he said.

Learning to rediscover authentic pleasures can rescue people from “the mediocrity in which they may find themselves ensnared” and it can help people ignore or reject all the things that seem attractive on the surface, but underneath “are dull or bring about addiction and not freedom,” the pope said.

Nothing can extinguish the innate desire for and ability to recognize the true good, not even after following the wrong path in life or when trapped in an “artificial paradise” or in the darkest depths of sin, he said.

God has made that ability innate in everyone and it is always open to redemption and the gift of His grace, the pope said.

The pope asked people to pray for everyone “who seeks the truth with a sincere heart, that they may come to know the joy and freedom born of faith.”

Pope sends Obama telegram with prayers that freedom, justice flourish

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama on his re-election, saying that he prayed the ideals of freedom and justice that guided America’s founders might continue to flourish.

The Vatican did not make public the full text of the pope’s telegram to Obama, which was sent via Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

“In the message, the Holy Father sent his best wishes to the president for his new term and assured him of his prayers that God might assist him in his very great responsibility before the country and the international community,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The pope also told Obama he was praying that “the ideals of liberty and justice that guided the founders of the United States of America might continue to shine” as the nation goes forward, the statement said.

In remarks to reporters, Jesuit Father Federico

Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, voiced hopes that Obama would also promote “a culture of life and religious freedom.”

It is the hope of everyone that President Obama “respond to the expectations” of the American people and “serve law and justice for the well-being and growth of every person, by respecting essential human and spiritual values and by promoting the culture of life and religious freedom, which have always been so precious in the tradition of the American people and their culture,” the priest said.

The role of president of the United States is “an immense responsibility not just for the great nation, but for the whole world, given the United States’ role on the world stage,” Father Lombardi said, expressing hopes that the president would be able to “find the best ways to promote the material and spiritual well-being of all and effectively promote integral human development, justice and peace in the world.”

November 16, 2012

3

The International Church

Decrying situation of Chinese Catholics, cardinal calls for dialogue

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Over the past five years, relations between the government of China and the Catholic Church unfortunately have been marked by “misunderstandings, accusations” and new “stumbling blocks” to religious freedom, said the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, congregation prefect, said, “Control over persons and institutions has been honed and sessions of indoctrination and pressure are being turned to with ever greater ease.”

In an article published in late October in Tripod, a publication of the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong, the cardinal, who spent nine years in Hong Kong as a Vatican diplomat monitoring the situation of the Church in China, issued a call for dialogue with China’s communist government.

He asked for the establishment of a high-level, bilateral commission of China and the Holy See, similar to the ChinaTaiwan commissions that continue to discuss issues of importance even though relations between the two are strained politically.

The Catholic community in China, he said, does not enjoy the freedom it should and it cannot move toward unity and reconciliation as long as the government appoints bishops unacceptable to the Holy See, pressures other bishops to participate in illicit ordinations and detains bishops who insist on maintaining their ties with the Vatican.

The situation also is exacerbated by misunderstandings between what Cardinal Filoni described as the “two currents” of the Catholic Church in China: one basically underground because it “did not accept compromises and political control,” and the other existing openly, but accepting government control for what he termed “existential reasons,” by which he meant its very existence.

Pope Benedict XVI, in a 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics, urged the two communities to recognize each other as Catholic and move toward reconciliation.

The pope’s letter, Cardinal Filoni said, recognized that “as a whole, the Church in China was never schismatic,” even though some Catholics accepted government control in order to ensure the survival of the Church.

China’s estimated 10 million to 12 million Catholics are divided between officially registered communities supervised by the government-controlled

Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and so-called “underground” communities that recognize only the authority of the Vatican.

Pope Benedict’s 2007 letter, Cardinal Filoni said, urged a process of reconciliation among Catholics “to eliminate prejudices, interference, divisions and connivances, hatred and ambiguity” between the two communities.

The pope’s hoped-for reconciliation “experienced difficulties” because of “external pressures on the Church itself,” presumably by the government, “but also because of misunderstandings between the two ‘currents,’” the cardinal said.

“Decades of separation had dug furrows and built walls, so that deep internal wounds inflicted on the Church are present even today.”

The healing of the Chinese Catholic community cannot proceed while the government continues to act in ways that further test and divide Catholics in the country, the cardinal said.

The Vatican insists, he said, on the Catholic Church being able to be true to its identity and its teachings in China. For that to occur, the bishops must be united among themselves and with the pope; pastors must be holy and suitable; the community must be truly “catholic” or universal by being in communion structurally and in matters of faith with the pope and other Catholics around the world; and the Church must be apostolic, which is ensured through the proper succession of bishops recognized by the pope.

Citing three specific “stumbling blocks,” Cardinal Filoni said the Chinese government and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association have increased the divisions in the past few years.

First, he said, the government-organized national assembly of Catholic representatives in 2010 “sharpened the control of the state over the Church,” pressured underground clergy to join the patriotic association, and began exercising greater control over internal Church matters. As an example, the cardinal cited the appointment of a government official as vice rector of the seminary in Shijiazhuang.

Second, he said, “rigorous control over the appointment of bishops has led to the choice of controversial candidates, who were both morally and pastorally unacceptable.”

Third, the cardinal said, the ordinations of new bishops — both those acceptable to the Vat-

ican and those the Vatican considered illicit — were marred by the participation of “illegitimate bishops” as co-consecrators, “creating a dramatic crisis of conscience” for all participants.

The situation of Catholics in China “remains serious,” Cardinal Filoni said. “Some bishops and priests have been segregated and deprived of their liberties, as the case of (Auxiliary) Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai has clearly demonstrated.”

The bishop, 45, quit the government-approved Catho-

lic Patriotic Association at his ordination July 7. Since then, he has been in “retreat” at the Sheshan Seminary, reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News.

However, a mainland bishop who is recognized by the Vatican and Beijing told UCA News he does not think Cardinal Filoni’s invitation will yield results because the government “doesn’t care about the Church or the Vatican. They never want to have sincere dialogue.”

Speaking on condition of

anonymity, he said: “The government will not make any response because its top priority is to maintain stability on the eve of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and ensure smooth transition of the state leadership.”

UCA News also reported that, as the opening of the congress neared, Chinese officials were tightening security across the country as well as in cyberspace. The congress was expected to see a once-in-a-decade power transition.

4

November 16, 2012 The Church in the U.S. U.S. bishops call for renewed view of Marriage in wake of election

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The U.S. bishops’ leader on defense of Marriage issues is calling for prayer and a “renewed culture of Marriage” in light of recent votes against preserving the meaning of the institution in four states.

“In a society marked by increasing poverty and family fragmentation, Marriage needs to be strengthened, promoted, and defended, not redefined,” said Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, who chairs the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In a November 7 statement, the archbishop explained that the previous day’s election “was a disappointing day for Marriage,” as efforts to preserve Marriage’s unique meaning in law lost narrowly after being vastly outspent by opponents.

Voters in four states were faced with ballot measures involving the definition of marriage on November 6. For the first time in U.S. history, “gay marriage” was approved by a vote of the people rather than by legislators or a court decision. Previously, Marriage as the union of one man and one woman had been affirmed by voters in 32 states.

In Maryland and Washington state, lawmakers had recently passed bills to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples.

However, opponents of both bills gathered enough signatures to put the laws before the people in a referendum before they went into effect.

Maryland voters narrowly approved the law to redefine Marriage, and while votes in Washington are still being confirmed, it is projected that the referendum succeeded there as well.

In Minnesota, voters rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have protected the definition of Marriage as the union of one man and one woman. This definition of Marriage is currently enshrined in state law, but the constitutional amendment would have given it further security.

Maine activists seeking to redefine Marriage were able to put forward a referendum to reverse the people’s 2009 vote to protect Marriage. That effort succeeded, and the state will soon begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Archbishop Cordileone voiced disappointment with the election results but emphasized that the true meaning of Marriage “cannot be redefined because it lies within our very nature.”

“No matter what policy, law or judicial decision is put into place, Marriage is the only institution that unites a man and a woman to each other and to any children born of their union,” he said. “It is either this, or it is

nothing at all.”

Every child is born from a mother and a father and has the right to be raised by them together, the archbishop said. As a result, Marriage has a unique meaning and exists for the good of children.

Emphasizing the growing problems of poverty and broken

families, he voiced hope that politicians, judges and the American people “will seek to honor this foundational and common sense truth of Marriage.”

Archbishop Cordileone thanked everyone who had given their time, energy and resources to the efforts to protect Marriage. He called for continued work to strengthen the

fundamental social institution and educate others about its importance.

“I especially call on all people to pray and to build a renewed culture of Marriage and the family,” he said. “This is a fundamental task on which the future good and stability of our society, and particularly that of our children, rest.”

so close yet so far — People exchange signs of peace through a fence along the U.S.Mexico border during simultaneous Masses held near Anapra, New Mexico. The annual Dia de los Muertos — All Souls’ Day — observance was held as a sign of solidarity and in remembrance of migrants who have died making their way across the border. The Masses were celebrated by U.S. Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., and Mexican Bishop Renato Ascencio Leon of Ciudad Juarez. (CNS photo/Brian Kanof)

Cardinal O’Malley lauds rejection of physician-assisted suicide bill

Boston (CNA/EWTN News) — Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston applauded the defeat of a Massachusetts ballot measure to legalize physician-assisted suicide, calling for more compassionate care of those who are seriously ill.

“It is my hope and prayer that the defeat of Question 2 will help all people to understand that for our brothers and sisters confronted with terminal illness we can do better than offering them the means to end their lives,” said the cardinal in a statement responding to the vote.

He said that the results show that “the people of the Commonwealth recognize that the common good was best served in defeating Question 2.”

The so-called “Death with Dignity” initiative on the November 6 Massachusetts ballot would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally-ill patients who were given six months or fewer to live.

Proponents of the measure conceded defeat early on November 7. With 96 percent of precincts counted, the initiative

was rejected by a 51-49 percent margin.

The ballot measure had been vocally opposed by Cardinal O’Malley, who led a Twitter campaign against it. He warned that the proposal failed to value and respect the lives of those who are severely ill.

The initiative was also opposed by disability rights groups, the Massachusetts Medical Association and the Boston Herald, as well as major newspapers in numerous other cities.

Critics of the measure argued that it would devalue human life and could create a “slippery slope.”

Rather than extending a compassionate and helping hand to the suffering, legalizing physician-assisted suicide could pressure those who are terminally ill to end their lives, feeling that they are a burden on society, they said.

Opponents also voiced concerns that the measure did not require family notification or the presence of a doctor. Nor did it require a psychiatric evaluation for treatable problems such as

depression.

Furthermore, critics said, the initiative would weaken palliative care efforts. They also noted that terminal diagnoses are often wrong and warned that the law could be abused by family members seeking to inherit property or money.

Cardinal O’Malley thanked all of those who worked to help share information about the problems behind the ballot measure.

“The Campaign Against Physician-Assisted Suicide brought together a diverse coalition from medical, disability rights and interfaith communities, all dedicated to ensuring that our residents were well informed about this issue,” he explained.

The cardinal stressed that society must cooperate with Hospice organizations and palliative care providers to improve the compassionate care offered to those who are terminally ill.

“Patients are best served when the medical professionals, families and loved ones provide support and care with dignity and respect,” he said.

November 16, 2012

The Church in the U.S.

5

Cardinal congratulates Obama, urges he give priority to most vulnerable

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, congratulated President Barack Obama on his re-election in a November 7 letter.

“The people of our country have again entrusted you with a great responsibility,” Cardinal Dolan said. “The Catholic bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America.”

Cardinal Dolan added the bishops pray that Obama will “help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone.”

He said, “In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant. We will continue to stand in defense of life, Marriage and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom.”

In the press release containing the text of the letter, the words “our first, most cherished liberty” were in italics. The bishops and the Obama Administration have clashed for the past year on a federal Department of Health and Human Services mandate that would require most religious employers to provide contraceptive access to their employees, allowing for few exceptions.

With 270 electoral votes needed to secure a presidential win,

Obama, a Democrat, had 303 to 206 for his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Florida’s 29 electoral votes had not been decided the morning after the election.

Four years ago, Obama, previously a U.S. senator from Illinois, received congratulations from a fellow Illinoisan — Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, then president of the U.S. bishops — when Obama became the nation’s first African-American president.

“I believe we can seize this future together — because we are not as divided as our politics suggest; we’re not as cynical as the pundits believe; we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions; and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America,” Obama said at the end of his 20-minute address to supporters at a victory rally in Chicago during the early morning hours of November 7.

“And together, with your help, and God’s grace, we will continue our journey forward, and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth,” he added.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles also congratulated Obama in a November 7 statement.

“Every political office is an expression of public trust and carries the responsibility to work for justice and the common good — not only in our own country but also in the international community. So I pray that God will

grant our president the wisdom he needs to carry out his duties, along with the virtues of honesty, courage, prudence and humility that are necessary for true public service,” Archbishop Gomez said.

“As faithful citizens, the Catholic community here in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the country stands ready to work with our president to fulfill the promise of America’s founders,” he added. “We look forward to working for a new America that is truly one nation under God, where men and women from every race, creed and national background are welcomed to live in liberty and peace as brothers and sisters.”

Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life Action, took the Obama Administration to task for its health care law and what she described as its efforts to expand access to abortion. In a November 7 statement, she said she expected state legislatures and a “Pro-Life majority” in the House of Representatives to blunt those efforts during Obama’s second term.

“Already, AUL has worked with 10 states in passing legislation to opt out of permitting taxpayer-subsidized abortion coverage through Obamacare,” Yoest said. “And we predict that the courts are going to see an ever-increasing number of lawsuits as Americans fight for their First Amendment rights of conscience.”

Care Net, an organization that promotes alternatives to abor-

tion, said it hopes Obama will honor a promise he made during his first term to make abortion “rare.”

“In 2010, President Obama talked about the importance of making abortion ‘rare.’ Sadly, the record of his administration so far has been a record of expanding abortion, said Care Net CEO Roland Warren in a statement. “Yet most American women agree: Abortion is not the best solution in an unplanned pregnancy situation.”

In other reaction November 7, National Farmers Union president Roger Johnson said Obama “has shown his dedication to rural America over the past four years, and we will continue to work with him and the administration to ensure that continues.”

United Auto Workers president Bob King said the president “stood by American workers in their darkest hour, and UAW members and citizens in communities that are part of the thriving auto industry, are grateful for his willingness to bet on us.”

“Today,” he said, “the domestic auto industry is roaring back, with investment in factories, new

workers and manufacturing returned to our country.”

“While the economy, health care and the deficit were the leading issues that voters specifically cited as most important in this election, the results also signal historic shifts in values and demographics,” said a statement from Robert Jones, founding CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute.

In focus groups conducted

by PRRI in Columbus, Ohio, the weekend before the election, “among white working-class independent voters, the participants emphasized economic issues like jobs, the deficit and taxes as their highest-ranked priorities for this election.”

Jones said early exit polls also showed Obama “won younger voters under 30 by 23 points, while Romney won seniors by 12 points. And this year, as in 2008, younger voters turned out, rivaling seniors as a proportion of the electorate.”

Another key issue in the election, he said, was the treatment of immigration and other issues important to Latino voters, “who now constitute 10 percent of all voters.”

6

The Anchor Life and death at Thanksgiving

“The hospital there, broken-down stones over there — it was like death. Then you would look out and see the mountains and the beautiful oceans, then you’d look down and death was everywhere.” These words from Fairhaven’s Lillian Desrosiers on page 14 of this edition, commenting on the scene she encountered in Moloka’i, the final home of SS. Damien and Marianne Cope, are appropriate words as we face the month of November. Our Youth Pages remind us of how the month began with the observances of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, on which we ask the intercession of the saints in Heaven and on which we ask Our Lord’s mercy upon the holy souls in Purgatory, respectively. The pilgrimage to Moloka’i reminded the people of Fairhaven of how two saints came to a place which had the beauty of nature surrounding it, but was encased in a rejection of the love of neighbor. SS. Damien and Marianne came as humble followers of Christ and came to make His loving presence more palpably felt, spiritually and physically, in the lives of the suffering exiles of Moloka’i. Into a hellish situation, these two saints and their collaborators brought the light of the Resurrection, even though they knew that they would probably never leave the island until they departed from this life.

Death comes every day. During these past weeks we have heard of those who lost their lives due to Sandy and the continued suffering which the people of the Mid-Atlantic states endured in the recent snowstorm. Guatemala and Myanmar (Burma) have suffered three earthquakes in the past two weeks, killing scores of people. Our fellow Catholics continue to be killed in bombings during Masses in Nigeria. We also have the continued deaths (often ignored and forgotten) over in the war in Afghanistan. Besides this, we have the “usual” deaths around the world and in our own country, caused by murder, cancer, heart disease, etc. They are “everyday” occurrences for us, but are the cause of great sorrow for the surviving friends and relatives and are the “moment of truth” for those who experience them.

As Father Fournier reminds us on page eight, we know neither the day nor the hour when death will come for us. As we wrote in this space last week, we thank our fellow citizens of Massachusetts for voting against “choosing” the day and hour when death will come via physicianassisted suicide. Unfortunately, too many people have chosen the day and the hour for when a baby in the womb will be killed or a small human life will be destroyed in an in vitro fertilization clinic. These deaths would make the number killed in the nature-caused and man-made disasters mentioned above look miniscule. The fact that Catholics are often the cause for these tragedies happening is a true scandal, one which future generations will have a hard time understanding how we could allow them to happen.

In the midst of all of this thought of death (also brought on by the upcoming anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, about which we can read a Fall River connection on page nine), we come to the celebration of Thanksgiving. As Claire McManus relates on page seven, this holiday reminds us of the better instincts that we have as Americans and as Catholics, who are called to work for the common good, through institutions and as individuals. It is often in the face of tragedy that we come to that realization.

President George Washington’s proclamation for Thanksgiving Day we can read on page eight. Although we often think about turkey and the “fix’ins” when considering this holiday, we must be mindful of how, from its beginning in colonial times, to Washington’s and his successors’ occasional observances of it, through to President Abraham Lincoln’s beginning of its permanent observance, Thanksgiving Day has often been celebrated as a time to thank God for not having died.

The Pilgrims in Plymouth observed Thanksgiving in 1621 after a number of their fellow colonists had died the previous winter. Washington’s proclamation mentions the Revolutionary War and Lincoln’s observance was in the middle of the Civil War. In his 1863 proclamation, Lincoln notes, “And I recommend to [our citizens] that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to [God] for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.”

What Lincoln ordered people to do back in 1863 would be a good idea for us in 2012. We are surrounded by so much natural beauty and material wealth, but death is also all around us. We celebrate Thanksgiving Day this year on the feast day of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of Church musicians. She begins three days in a row of the Church remembering martyrs for the faith.

“Black Friday” we could make some time (in between bargain-hunting) to attend Mass on the feasts of St. Clement (martyred in Rome, where he was pope, in 100 AD) and Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro (martyred in Mexico in 1927). Saturday, November 24 we remember St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions, the martyrs of Vietnam, who were killed between 1745 and 1862.

These witnesses (that’s what “martyrs” means in Greek) remind us that in the face of death, we Christians have hope, because our lives do not end here. They push us to work as they did and as the two non-martyrs (but true witnesses to Christ), Damien and Marianne, did on Moloka’i, not looking for “success” in this life, but looking to promote love of God and love of neighbor.

The saints could see the beauty which surrounded them — the most important beauty being Christ’s presence. They knew that He would never abandon them, even in the face of injustices and cultures of death.

St. Clement wrote to the Christians in Corinth, as had St. Paul a few decades beforehand.

He invoked God’s peace upon them: “The Church of God which sojourneth at Rome, to the Church of God which sojourneth at Corinth, to them who are called and sanctified in the will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you from Almighty God through Jesus Christ.” A few lines later he had to use much more forceful language with them. “You repented not of any well-doing, being ready to every good work and being adorned with a very virtuous and holy habit of life, you did all things in His fear. The Commandments and ordinances of the Lord were written on the breadth of your heart. All honor and enlargement was given to you, and then was fulfilled that which is written: — The beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and grew fat and kicked. From this came emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity.”

St. Clement was not talking about gluttony at Thanksgiving, but what he said about good people becoming too self-satisfied bonds well with President Lincoln’s admonition about our nation’s “perverseness and disobedience.” We ask Our Lord at Thanksgiving to help us turn away from the culture of death, so that we might be better prepared when death does (inevitably) come for us, prepared by having helped to build a Culture of Life and Love, modeled on Christ’s example of Love on Calvary.

I

November 16, 2012

A tremendous comeback and victory for life

’ve been a sports fan all my life and have their consciences properly and effectively, we’ve witnessed some amazing comebacks, but just seen that people can respond well. few compare to the incredible recovery that Second, the winning frame was not a was made with regard to Ballot Item 2, which moralistic one — “suicide is wrong” — but was trying to make it legal for doctors in the one drenched in true compassion for those who Commonwealth of Massachusetts to prescribe are suffering and might be tempted to end their poison for those with terminal diagnoses to kill lives. The message was that suicide is a tragedy themselves. for those who think it’s the only response to a At the end of September, a Boston Globe depression caused by a terminal diagnosis, a statewide poll showed 68 percent of likely voters tragedy for their family members and friends (as were planning to vote yes on Question 2, comsuicide always is!), and a tragedy for a society. pared to 19 percent opposed. Over the course of We focused on the fact that there were better the next month, not only was the gap closed but alternatives, like palliative care to handle the on election day, 51.1 percent voted to defeat it. pain, psychological care to treat the depression, Much of that credit goes to the Catholic and simple human loving accompaniment so Church, particularly the Archdiocese of Boston, that one doesn’t have to suffer alone. We were which raised most of the $4 million that was reable to show that life is worth living, even when quired for the campaign against Question 2 and one has a terminal diagnosis, as Victoria Regwas the fulcrum of a coordinated effort bringing gie Kennedy’s moving op-ed about the last 15 together doctors and nurses, disability advocates, months of Senator Edward Kennedy’s life gave leaders of religious groups and other groups. powerful witness.

But much of the credit for the victory also The Pro-Life movement in particular has a goes to the voters in the Diocese of Fall River. lot to learn from this. Just as suicide is always Across the cities and towns of our diocese, a tragedy, we need to convey how and why 53.8 percent of voters rejected doctor-prescribed abortion is likewise always a tragedy, for the suicide. If you look at the western side of the child, for his or her mother, father, other family bridges, from members and all Attleboro of society. We through Wareshould emphaham, Question size that there are 2 was rejected better alternatives by 57.0 percent than abortion of the electorate. to address the Even though the multiple reasons

By Father number of votes why a woman Roger J. Landry cast across the in a difficult non-Cape part pregnancy might of the diocese look at abortion comprised only 4.2 percent of the overall votes as the only way out. In an emotivist age, we cast statewide (124,922 out of 2,970,326), it should give greater voice to those women who constituted 48.6 percent of the margin of victory have made the choice for life under difficult cir(30,517 out of 62,842). cumstances and how they’re so grateful they did.

And when you look at the cities and towns We should enhance and publicize even more the across the Commonwealth that were most pre- and post-natal equivalent of palliative and against Question 2, many come from our Hospice care: the incredible work done by crisis diocese: Acushnet (63.3 percent against), Fall pregnancy centers to help pregnant women in River (63.1), New Bedford (62.5), Taunton need as well as those who have chosen to keep (59.0), Somerset (58.7), Swansea (56.7), their babies. Too often abortion is presented Raynham (56.4), Dighton (56.1) and Dartmouth moralistically as an “issue,” rather than a tragedy (55.6). North Attleboro, Fairhaven, Attleboro, impacting people in distress whom we with Yarmouth, Freetown, Mashpee, Wareham, Sand- compassion want to sacrifice to help for the wich, Westport, Dennis, Seekonk, Mansfield, long-haul. The defeat of Question 2 is a positive Rehoboth, Barnstable and Bourne all not only wake-up call for the whole movement that defeated it, but defeated beyond the statewide when faced with an alternative between lethally average of 51.1 percent opposed. unbridled autonomy and genuine compassion, This testifies to the efforts made throughout the latter can win. our diocese to get the word out, from Bishop Third, the Church in this effort, while prayColeman’s excellent audio message the weekend ing as purely as doves, was as wise as serpents. previous to the election, to the yard signs, We convened focus groups and did in-depth bumper stickers, educational materials and studies. We put together an action plan to permost importantly personal witness that helped suade secular voters and even those in favor of citizens recognize what was at stake and got physician-assisted suicide why they should opthem motivated to defeat this attempt to pretend pose Question 2. We formulated ads like the brilthat suicide is somehow “dignified” rather than liant “pharmacist” commercial to show people unmistakably tragic. that suicide by Seconal is never a dignified way On a frigid election day, with several to die. Jesus called His followers to be shrewd in dedicated lay people, I held signs for almost dealing with the things of this world (Lk 16:8) three hours on an Eastern Avenue median in Fall and in this case the Church was.

River, just outside one of the polling places. I got Finally, we need to grasp why we were trailan inkling that things were going to go very well ing 68-19 percent a month from the election and in our area. There were a handful of passersby never make the same mistake again. Polls at the who screamed insults as they passed by in their beginning of the year showed us trailing 43-37 cars, but there was an enormous outpouring of percent. At the terrible advice of the political support from people heading in both directions: consultants advising the Church, however, we many encouragingly tooted their horns, gave basically suspended all educational efforts until the thumbs-up sign, waved enthusiastically, and after Labor Day and even pulled superb edueven stopped in traffic — somewhat dangercational materials from the Internet. The other ously — to say how happy they were to see the side was able to advance its arguments when Church’s leadership on this ballot item. our side muted itself voluntarily. Few knew What happened in Massachusetts was a shot what was even on the ballot, not to mention heard round the country on election day. Few why Question 2 should be defeated. Thanks be believed that Massachusetts would defeat this to God, we had just enough time to triumph at perversion of mercy and the medical profession, the end, but we should never have been down especially after the polls predicting a blow-out as much as we were. The Church’s educational in favor. There are, therefore, many lessons to be efforts should be ongoing and never muzzled. drawn from the victory, and not just with regard And they should continue now all the more, to physician-assisted suicide. because what we’ve just won is but one imporFirst, society is not on an inexorable decline tant victory in a much larger war in defense of to the culture of death. Sometimes Christians human dignity. and Pro-Lifers can become cynical because there Buoyed by this victory, we move on to the hasn’t been a lot to cheer about in recent times, next battle! but we should never lose hope. When people Father Landry is Pastor of St. Bernadette know what’s at stake, when we’re able to inform Parish in Fall River.

Putting Into the Deep

H

appy Thanksgiving!

This holiday gives us a rare moment when our Church and nation coalesce to tell the same narrative. Family and friends gathering in thanksgiving for ritual table fellowship is almost overtly religious. This is because deeply rooted in our nation’s narrative is the symbol of a pilgrim people, journeying toward a life that was singular in purpose, yet continues to be fulfilled. Fifty years ago the Church proclaimed her mission to bring the light of Christ to all people, stating, “the Church, like a pilgrim in a foreign land, presses forward amid persecutions of the world and the consolations of God, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until He comes again.” These words from Lumen Gentium echoed the vision of the pilgrims who braved the dangerous ocean crossing to seek freedom in the New World. William Bradford, Plymouth colony’s first governor, reflected on their purpose-driven life. The pilgrims, “as the Lord’s free people joined themselves in the fellowship of the Gospel, to walk in all His ways made known, or to be made known unto them.” The pilgrims that formed the first colonies did not endure the journey and hardships in order to form a great nation, but their resolve to live the Gospel is the soul of our national identity.

“Freedom and justice for all” is the heart of our national credo. When we proclaim our credo, our faith requires justice for all. The pilgrims of 17th-century America and the Church share the belief that the ultimate desire of God is for humanity to live in brotherhood. This goal has been a challenge to church and state throughout our shared history.

When we remove the false division of secular and sacred, our country and our Church can tell the same story, and work together to bring about justice.

Christian social teaching resounds with the responsibility to promote the spiritual and physical well-being of our neighbors. When we speak the language of the secular, we call this “promoting the common good.” The common good is the point of conversion at which the Church and the nation can engage in meaningful discourse. In 1971 the World Synod of Catholic Bishops brought the Gospel out of the book and into the

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The Anchor

November 16, 2012

The vision of the Pilgrims

Locally, people suffered and world. “Action on behalf of justice and participation in the neighbors responded. Nationally, funds and resources transformation of the world were deployed. The argufully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of preaching ment between states’ right vs. the Gospel, or, in other words, federal control was rendered moot as the ocean crashed of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.”

A nation founded upon the Gospel principles of freedom and justice gives the

By Claire McManus Church a formidable partner in bringing about her mission. through the sea walls of the Social justice is not Rockaways and the Jersey inextricably bound to any Shore. We are a federation political party, and is thereof states, and we need each fore the best place to address other in times of crisis. our social and economic The Church and the nation differences in a spirit of can find common ground on non-partisan collaboration. many issues if we stick to the Justice is best delivered at the local level, which is what Gospel that launched us both.

There is a tremendous amount the principle of subsidiarity is all about. At the same time, of work to be done before we can reconcile the issues that the federal government must divide us, but when opportuhave the backs of the people caring for those in need. This came to life during the recent political debates. Even while the rhetoric about the role of government in caring for its citizens still lingered in the air, Hurricane Sandy roared into the Atlantic, demanding a showdown between local and national response.

The Great Commission

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LARGEST CRAFT FAIR IN SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS 0 R 20 OVE ITORS IB EXH

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FALL RIVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

nities arise when we can work together, we must put aside our ideology and theology and take action. The country can learn a lesson from the way in which the Church joined with secular agencies in Massachusetts to defeat the physician-assisted suicide ballot question. We worked from within by informing our own people about the dignity of the end of life, drawing upon our rich tradition of the spirituality of suffering. The theology of sacred presence in the face of deep human suffering became the common ground on which the Church formed an alliance with health care professionals. No words of theology were needed to express the sacred presence of Hospice care that brings true dignity to those facing the end

of life.

We have just emerged from another national election season, and thank God, survived without violence and anarchy.

While it is easy to place the responsibility for justice on institutions like the Church or the government, we must always remember that we are both Church and government. Justice begins with our actions. The late Basil Cardinal Hume once wrote, “The pilgrim cannot pass by the hungry masses or those who clamor for justice and the recognition of their human dignity.” When we gather at table with our family and friends this Thanksgiving let us remember that our pilgrimage continues until the Gospel is brought to light in our family and our nation.

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

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November 16, 2012

The Anchor

O

n Dec. 22, 2012 a few things will take place.

Firstly it is the beginning of winter. Second, it is three days before Christmas. Finally, it is possibly the first day of the end of the world. I don’t put much stock in that last one, one reason is because I don’t work for the History Channel, but mostly because no one knows when the end will happen, except for the Father in Heaven.

Our culture has a fascination with the end times. We like to read about it in books and magazines, we watch movies about this subject and some people make plans for the zombie apocalypse. The only things that we can say about the end times are that it will happen and that we should be ready.

In telling us about the end, Jesus is reminding us that this life on earth is temporary.

Jesus tells us of the end times not to scare us or frighten us, but because it is truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He teaches us truth and we are called to live that in that truth. When we live in the truth we live in His love. We are not meant to be looking forward with dread to the moment of

On Pilgrims and zombies — just kidding

our death. Rather we are called We all know the story of the to see the gifts that we have Pilgrims. Unsure of what the and to share them. future might hold they took In many ways we are called what they had and what was to be ready for the end. At given to them and thanked some point we all reach the end of our lives, we have all experienced Homily of the Week a loss of someone we Thirty-third Sunday love and know. Part of the grieving process in Ordinary Time is to remember the

By Father joys and the sorrows, Peter J. Fournier all the memories we have with our loved ones. It is hard to lose someone we love; it is hard to God for their bounty. They prepare for the end. It is part of were grateful for the graces of our life to deal with death and God, for the gifts and generosendings, but we who believe ity of neighbors, thankful for know it is not the ultimate end, their lives. One thing that we for we know what comes after. are able to learn from their exWe know that after death and ample is turning to God when endings there is a life, a life the future is unsure. in eternity being embraced by Our nation, under PresiGod’s love. So every day of our dent George Washington’s life we have the opportunity to first year as president, began prepare ourselves. What does the tradition of celebrating it mean to be ready? It means Thanksgiving. With the future striving to live in God’s love of the nation unsure, it is tellin the here and now, to strive ing that our nation began first and live in the grace of God. with thanking God, and asking It means being grateful for the God for His protection. Let us gifts that we have received remember some of his words from God and from others. from his proclamation: This week we celebrate “Whereas it is the duty of the holiday of Thanksgiving. all nations to acknowledge the

providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me ‘to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’ Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation, for the signal and mani-

fold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.”

One of the first acts of our nation sought to make a public act of religion by thanking God for His providence. Unsure of where the future might bring us, with the knowledge that the end will come, when it comes, we decided in the year 1789 how that as a nation we will live. We will prepare ourselves for that end by living our life; by loving God with all our heart, mind and strength. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. We share what God has given us; for that is the way we show our gratefulness; that is the way we prepare for a day that has not yet come.

Father Fournier is a Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick’s Church in Falmouth and assistant chaplain of Falmouth Hospital.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 17, 3 Jn 5-8; Ps 112:1-6; Lk 18:1-8. Sun. Nov. 18, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Dn 12:1-3; Ps 16:5,8-11; Heb 10:11-14,18; Mk 13:24-32. Mon. Nov. 19, Rv 1:1-4;2:1-5; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 18:35-43. Tues. Nov. 20, Rv 3:1-6,14-22; Ps 15:2-5; Lk 19:1-10. Wed. Nov. 21, Rv 4:1-11; Ps 150:1-6; Lk 19:11-28. Thurs. Nov. 22, Rv 5:1-10; Ps 149:1-6,9; Lk 19:41-44. Fri. Nov. 23, Rv 10:8-11; Ps 119:14,24,72,103,111,131; Lk 19:45-48.

P

The crisis of a second Obama Administration

resident Obama’s reelection and the prospect of a second Obama Administration, freed from the constraints imposed by the necessity of running for re-election, have created a crisis for the Catholic Church in the United States. In the thoughtworld and vocabulary of the Bible, “crisis” has two meanings: the conventional sense (a grave threat) and a deeper sense (a great moment of opportunity). Both are applicable to the Church in America these next four years.

The immediate threat, of course, is the HHS (Health and Human Services) mandate requiring Catholic institutions and Catholic employers to include coverage of contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortifacient drugs in the health insurance offered to their employees. The legal challenges mounted against this obvious violation of the first freedom, religious freedom, may well be vindicated. But with Obamacare now seemingly set in concrete, the Church will face a host of such implementing “mandates” and it will be imperative to contest those

that are morally unacceptable, and that what the state means by time and time again. Authentically “marriage” is wrong. If, however, Catholic health care in America the Church is forced to take this is now in mortal danger, and it is step after “gay marriage” is the going to take a concerted effort to law of the land, Catholics will save it for future generations. be pilloried as bad losers who’ve A further threat comes from the gay insurgency, which will press the administration to find some way to federalize the Marriage issue and to compel acceptance of the chimera of “gay marriage.”

By George Weigel Thus it seems important to accelerate a serious debate within American Catholicism on whether the picked up their marbles and fled Church ought not preemptively the game — and any witnesswithdraw from the civil marriage value to the Church’s withdrawal business, its clergy declining to from the civil marriage business act as agents of government in will be lost. Many thoughtful witnessing marriages for purposes young priests are discussing this of state law. dramatic option among themIf the Church were to take selves; it’s time for the rest of the this dramatic step now, it would Church to join the conversation. be acting prophetically: it would Yet another threat to the integbe challenging the state (and the rity of the Church comes from culture) by underscoring that what the re-election of a vice president the state means by “marriage” and of the United States who has what Catholics mean by “Mardeclared “transgender discriminariage” are radically different, tion” to be “the civil rights issue

The Catholic Difference

of our time;” who has openly celebrated the abortion license; who has grossly misrepresented the Church’s teaching on the life issues; and who is, in myriad ways, an ecclesial embarrassment.

So are Catholic members of the House and Senate who not only vote against truths known by moral reason, but then have the gall to justify their irresponsibility by a faux commitment to “pluralism” or, worse, by recourse to what they are pleased to call “social justice Catholicism.”

Thus pastors and bishops must continue to explain why the life issues are “social justice issues,” and indeed priority “social justice issues.” And some effective way must be found to make clear, publicly, that men and women like Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Nancy Pelosi are living an auto-defined Catholicism so incoherently that their communion with the Catholic Church is severely damaged. Absent such clarity, ill-catechized

Catholic voters will continue to misunderstand both the nature of discipleship and the responsibilities of citizenship.

As for the opportunity embedded in this crisis, it is nothing less than to be the Church of the New Evangelization, full-throttle. Shallow, tribal, institutional-maintenance Catholicism is utterly incapable of meeting the challenges that will now come at the Catholic Church from the most aggressively secular administration in American history. Only a robustly, unapologetically evangelical Catholicism, winsomely proposing and nobly living the truths about the human condition the Church teaches, will see us through the next four years.

Radically converted Christian disciples, not one-hour-a-week Catholics whipsawed by an ever more toxic culture, are what this hour of crisis, in both senses of the term, demands.

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

November 16, 2012

I

was seven years old on Nov. 22, 1963, a first-grader at St. Anne’s School in Fall River. I was in “ranks” with neighborhood friends walking home from school when I heard.

I can’t exactly remember how it came out, but I knew our President Kennedy was shot and killed.

People I saw were crying or simply had blank looks on their faces.

I was afraid. I thought the world was ending.

Once I realized it wasn’t the end of the world, I watched with my family, as the news unfolded on television. I remember watching

S

Never to be forgotten

the wake at the Rotunda, the fu49 years ago. neral with the horse that was acting Actually the Msgr.’s link up, and the sorrow on the faces of with JFK started 51 years ago on Americans and people all over the world. These are images and emotions I’ll never forget.

But I never gave much thought to what others felt at that time. I do now. I was told that

By Dave Jolivet a good friend of mine, my golf partner Msgr.

Thomas J. Harrington, was a seminarian in Washington, Inauguration Day, 1961. “I was in D.C. at that time. I learned that he D.C. as a seminarian and attended will always be a part of that story President Kennedy’s being sworn

My View From the Stands

At the exact moment we need it

ometimes you just hear exactly what you need to at the most fitting time. A couple of weeks ago someone very special to me shared with me a message that was so relevant to that specific moment in time that I couldn’t help but smile as the words flowed from his mouth. He told me that he’d been listening to Joel Osteen’s Sunday message and that the gist of it came down to the fact that our lives often seem to be a series of “nos”— the setbacks, the opportunities lost or taken for granted, the disappointments.

However, it is only after that seemingly neverending string of “nos” that God provides us with a “yes” and that our waiting and praying and hoping has not been in vain after all; we just needed the patience and the good faith to trust that there was something greater in store for us and that at the right time, it would find us.

Curious, I took to Google — I will admit that Google is my friend even in matters of Scripture — and lo and behold I stumbled upon a familiar example of the constant doorshut-in-face scenario. As Technicolor images of dramatics flashed before my eyes, I realized that the Joseph whose story I had fallen in love with on stage was the very Joseph who had been tested and challenged in the ways of faith just as Joel Osteen was saying we all would be. Joseph from Canaan, commonly known as the interpreter of dreams, was his father Jacob’s favorite and he indicated so by donning him with a Technicolor coat.

His brothers, envious of this favoritism and Joseph’s vanity, cornered him and forced him into a well, where he would remain as they bargained with a passing caravan to sell him into slavery.

Once in Egypt, Joseph was sold again, this time to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh. While Joseph quickly moved up the ranks, he

9

The Anchor

was also the apple of someone’s eye: Potiphar’s wife. When Joseph neglected her advances, her allegations against him were such that he was imprisoned.

Years passed and Joseph revealed a gift — dream interpretation — to two prisoners, one of whom survived and went on to tell of this gift to Pharaoh, who was plagued with a foreboding dream of his own. Upon meeting with Joseph, Pharaoh was so impressed with his ability that he put him in charge of Egypt,

Radiate Your Faith

By Renee Bernier and Joseph worked hard to prepare for the famine that was expected to plight the people.

When his brothers, who had long ago abandoned him, came to Egypt to buy food and prepare for themselves against famine, they didn’t even recognize their own brother. Only through a series of tests did Joseph finally reveal himself to them. After years of separation, he blessed his brothers with courageous forgiveness, and they, alongside their father Jacob, came to settle in Egypt.

Why this story? What does Jacob have to teach us about “nos” and “yeses” and how does he connect to Joel Osteen’s message that there is always a “yes” in our future? Well, how many times was Jacob denied?

How many doors were slammed in his face? His brothers turned their back on him, their own flesh and blood. They dehumanized him and sold him into slavery, as if he were an object, a piece of currency. As he rose among the ranks in Egypt as Potiphar’s right-hand man, he was again rejected as he fielded false claims of sexual misconduct.

Imprisoned, he remained

isolated with the exception of two prisoners. But one of these prisoners would remember him by the wisdom Joseph provided in an interpretation of a dream.

It was that prisoner who would bring his name to Pharaoh, as someone who could relieve him of the anxiety his own dream was causing. And because of that prisoner, someone Joseph could not have predicted would mean anything to him later on in life, he was recognized and saved, provided with a new life.

No matter how dire a situation he was in Joseph trusted his God, he believed that there was a greater purpose for him. As people told him “no,” he kept his faith so that, despite all of the heartache and disappointment, eventually, when God so intended, someone would say “yes,” and recognize him for the man he truly was. One could even make the argument that through all of his trials and tribulations, Joseph learned the humility he so lacked in his youth, learned the value of hard work along his journey and was, in a way, more prepared for his “yes” moment. Ultimately, God gives us the stamina to persevere, to endure the hard times that can seem to be without end. And sometimes those hard times transform us into the person that we are being called to be, before we can accept our “yes” moment.

God knows if we are or are not ready for something, despite how we ourselves feel and so perhaps these moments when doors are closed, the road seems rocky, and we can’t seem to find our way are the tests of faith on the way to the moment where we are provided with everything we always wanted at the exact time we need it.

Renee lives in Swansea and is a senior at Stonehill College in Easton. She is involved with youth ministry at St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham.

into office,” Msgr. Harrington told me. “It was a very joyful day. Then I was in Washington, D.C. the day he was shot and killed, and it was as equally horrific as the inauguration had been joyful.

“I was at the Theological College as a seminarian. I was a transitional deacon at the time. On the day the president was shot I witnessed employees of the college just sitting on the ground crying.

“We attended a Mass celebrated

by Father Walter Schmitt. The rest of the day I spent in shock.”

Later, he and another deacon were approached to gather their cassocks and surplices and go outside and wait for a taxi.

“The taxi came and we got in,” he said. “The taxi brought us to the White House. We were taken to a room downstairs and told to put on our cassocks and surplices. With us there were a marine, a sailor, a solider, and member of the Air Force and the Coast Guard — all in full military dress with ceremonial rifles.”

He went on to say all of them were brought into a room with the casket of President Kennedy.

“It was a great big casket,” he recalled. “At either end was a kneeler. We two deacons knelt at the kneelers and the military personnel surrounded the casket.

They took their positions and stood at attention. The other deacon and I prayed silently at the casket.

“Next a door opened and some of the White House staff were led in. They were cooks, waiters, waitresses, and common workers.

Most of them were African-American. They all wailed in sadness as they visited the casket.” As Msgr.

Harrington was reliving the moment, I could see the tears in his eyes and feel them in mine.

“Time passed,” he continued.

“I’m not sure how long, but I think it was at least an hour. Then two other deacons and five other military personnel were led in to relieve us. We then went to another room with large red velvet chairs, where we had coffee and donuts.

“The next day, President Kennedy’s body was taken to the Capitol Rotunda for the wake. The lines stretched for city blocks. I didn’t attend that day.”

On the day of the funeral at St. Matthew’s Church, Msgr.

Harrington and others from the seminary were brought to areas along the funeral route. “I was placed near the 14th Street Bridge, and was there for hours. Then the funeral cortege approached. It was complete silence. The only sounds were the hoof beats of the big black horse without a rider.

The boots were turned backward

in the stirrups. This was followed by the caisson holding the president’s casket. Then marched his widow Jackie and brothers Ted and Bobby, who would meet the same fate only a few years later.

“Behind them were the heads of state. I don’t think any of them elected not to march. The two who stand out most in my memory were Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in very colorful dress, and the president of France, Charles de Gaulle, who towered over everyone. He had such a military demeanor about him. “Through all this, it remained very silent, and the wind blew so cold.”

Msgr. Harrington continued saying that a week later he attended a Mass at Sacred Heart Church and then went to the rectory for a brunch. “While we were there, we witnessed live on television as Lee Harvey Oswald was shot. That was the end of a crazy week. One filled with an emotional ebb and flow.

My life will forever be woven with the tragic events of that time.

“It truly was the end of Camelot. King Arthur was dead and Queen Guinevere was a widow. Despite his flaws, President Kennedy offered a new hope for this country, just as the new Pope John XXIII did in the Catholic Church during the same period.

Both of them offered an optimism.

They’ll be forever linked like that.”

Even as a tender seven-yearold, I knew things had changed in an instant. I couldn’t understand it completely. But I was to experience those surreal events a mere five years later, with the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy within a couple of months of each other in April and June of 1967.

Those deaths hurt me more than JFK’s, particularly Rev. King’s. It was still a time of prejudice and segregation in this country. I knew that, but didn’t agree with it. King was a hero of mine, and still is.

The dates of November 22, April 4, April 14 (Lincoln) and June 5 are etched in my psyche as much as September 11.

These are days, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said of Dec. 4, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, that “live in infamy.” These are days that stir up memories. Some poignant, some unpleasant. It happens to monsignors, editors, seminarians and first-graders. We’re all in this together. It’s the circle of life and the sting of death.

(I received a call from a reader who doesn’t use a computer, for the address for the MP3s for our soldiers referenced in last week’s column. Checks payable to Frontline Faith can be sent to The Frontline Faith Project, 5554 S. Peek Road, Suite 9, Katy, Texas 77450.)

The Anchor

10

To advertise in The Anchor, contact

Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org

November 16, 2012

November 16, 2012

The Anchor

Giving Thanks

Once a year — in the month of November A Thursday to reflect and to remember.

To give God thanks for the goodness around us For family, friends, and food in abundance.

For the hardy Pilgrims of that long ago Results of their labors — we’ve all come to know.

For our wonderful town — that has it all Summer, spring, winter and fall.

For all our rights in the Land of the Free.

A democracy — that works for you and for me.

By Mildred Allen, Falmouth Parishioner of St. Patrick’s

Editor’s note: Mildred Allen resides at Atria Woodbriar in Falmouth. She is 103 years old and is a longtime reader and fan of The Anchor. In September of 2003, at the two-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept.

11, 2001, Allen’s “Massacre of the Innocents,” a poem commemorating the victims, ran in The Anchor. She is a friend of Dave Jolivet, The Anchor, and many folks in the diocese, and it’s a pleasure to run her poem, and to thank her for living the faith.

Madonna Manor receives Five-Star rating

NORTH ATTLEBORO — Madonna Manor, 85 North Washington Street, has received a Five-Star rating from Medicare.gov. This is the official U.S. government site for Medicare.

Madonna Manor received a rating of Much Above Average in its overall rating, as well as in the areas of staffing and quality.

Madonna Manor serves 129 residents in a residential setting and offers long-term skilled nursing care, short-term rehabilitative care, and specialized Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

The manor is a member of the Diocesan Health Facilities, a system of five skilled nursing and rehabilitative care facilities and two community programs, sponsored by the Diocese of Fall River.

For further information on Madonna Manor or the Diocesan Health Facilities Office, visit www.dhfo.org.

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12

Bishop to award Marian Medals Sunday at St. Mary’s Cathedral

FALL RIVER — Bishop George W. Coleman will continue a 44-year tradition by awarding the Marian Medal to 79 parishioners from across the Diocese of Fall River at a ceremony Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

The tradition of recognizing laymen and laywomen for their outstanding volunteer efforts to the local Church was established in the Fall River Diocese by Bishop James L. Connolly and the awards were presented by him for the first time in 1968.

Sunday’s Marian Medal recipi-

ents will join more than 3,000 dedicated representatives of a variety of parish agencies and ministries, who have been nominated by their pastors since 1968.

The sterling silver emblem is embossed with the image of the Miraculous Medal of Mary on one side with the inscription “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” On the reverse side of the medal is the Fall River Diocese’s coat-of-arms.

A list of this year’s recipients is on this page.

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

where the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary suggested he attend high school at Assumptionist High School in Worcester, “because of the excellent quality of education it provided.”

Already with an interest in the priesthood, he attended Assumption College, entering the congregation during his second year there, and completing his novitiate in Quebec. He returned to Assumption College and following graduation, completed his theological studies in France, where he was ordained a priest in 1958.

In 1965, the Vatican appointed Father LaPlante as Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Church in Moscow, a position he held until 1968.

He returned to the Russian capital in 1979 until 1983, as chaplain of the American Embassy. “My time in Moscow was interesting and challenging,” he said. Both assignments were at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union had less-than-warm relations. In addition to ministering to Catholics in the U.S. Embassy there, he also tended to Catholics in other embassies in Moscow.

Father LaPlante also spent 25 years ministering in Quebec. His ministries there included as superior at a minor seminary; an appointment on the regional tribunal; chaplain at a rehab center; establishing a ministry to separated and divorced Catholics; and parish work.

He taught in Rome, and he has served as a campus minister at Assumption College and at Babson College in Wellesley.

He also enjoys writing religious poetry, and has written 10 mystery novels in English and French.

Dartmouth native named superior in Worcester

WORCESTER — In his nearly 55 years as a priest, Assumptionist Father Eugene LaPlante has traveled far and wide in his various ministries.

He was born in Dartmouth and moved with his family to New Bedford a few months later.

From those early days to the present, he has ministered in Rome, Moscow, Quebec, France, various locations in

Father Eugene LaPlante, A.A.

Massachusetts, and his current home in Worcester.

On November 1, Father LaPlante was named Superior for the Assumptionist Retirement Community in Worcester.

“We have 11 religious living here,” Father LaPlante told The Anchor. “We have nine priests and two Brothers.

My responsibility is to see to their needs physically, and to be a sort of spiritual father to them as well. At 80 years old, I’m one of the younger ones here.”

The appointment is for three years.

Father LaPlante told The Anchor that he attended Holy Rosary and St. Anthony’s schools in New Bedford, and that he served as an altar boy at St. Boniface Parish in the Whaling City. It was there

November 16, 2012

The Anchor First Name

2012 Marian Medal recipients Last Name

Parish

City

Deanery

Marjorie Andrews St. Theresa of the Child Jesus South Attleboro Attleboro Ernest Joseph Collamati Sacred Heart North Attleboro Attleboro Barbara Ann Craveiro Our Lady of Mount Carmel Seekonk Attleboro Humberto Faria Holy Ghost Attleboro Attleboro Michael H. Hebert St. Joseph Attleboro Attleboro George N. Kayata St. John the Evangelist Attleboro Attleboro Frederick E. Kelley St. Mary Norton Attleboro Joan Kelley St. Mary Mansfield Attleboro Donald McHoul St. Mary North Attleboro Attleboro Bernard Pearson Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Seekonk Attleboro Francoise Rogers St. Mark Attleboro Falls Attleboro Thomas Craddock St. Mary/Our Lady of the Isle Nantucket Cape Cod Jacqueline Dufresne Our Lady of the Cape Brewster Cape Cod Robert Harry Fenney Holy Trinity West Harwich Cape Cod Marian Goveia St. Peter the Apostle Provincetown Cape Cod Charles H. Kelliher St. Francis Xavier Hyannis Cape Cod Barbara A. MacKinnon St. John the Evangelist Pocasset Cape Cod Nancy McEnaney St. Joan of Arc Orleans Cape Cod June Meckel Our Lady of Lourdes Wellfleet Cape Cod William Pansire Corpus Christi East Sandwich Cape Cod Cathy Pina Our Lady of Assumption Osterville Cape Cod Mary Ellen Powers St. Elizabeth Seton North Falmouth Cape Cod Florence Remillard St. Patrick Falmouth Cape Cod Richard Reilly Christ the King Mashpee Cape Cod Paulino Rodrigues St. Anthony East Falmouth Cape Cod Nancy Ronayne Our Lady of Victory Centerville Cape Cod John Stegeman St. Joseph Woods Hole Cape Cod Constance Teixeira Good Shepherd Vineyard Haven Cape Cod Anne Marie Timmins Holy Redeemer Chatham Cape Cod Fernando L. Tuano St. Pius X South Yarmouth Cape Cod Joan Brenckle St. John the Baptist Westport Fall River Joan Burda Good Shepherd Fall River Fall River Normand A. Charest St. George Westport Fall River Mary Chaves St. Dominic Swansea Fall River Jeannine Conroy St. Bernard Assonet Fall River Emilia Creador St. Michael Fall River Fall River Manuel Costa Galego Santo Christo Fall River Fall River Barbara Anne Gerraughty Holy Name Fall River Fall River Natalie King Our Lady of Grace Westport Fall River Eleanor Kitchen SS. Peter and Paul Fall River Fall River Manuel S. Leonardo St. Anthony of Padua Fall River Fall River Alice Levesque St. Bernadette Fall River Fall River Charles Glenn MacIntyre Holy Trinity Fall River Fall River Urban Medeiros Sacred Heart Fall River Fall River Doris Pytel St. Patrick Somerset Fall River Stephen Rebello St. Mary’s Cathedral Fall River Fall River Jose Silva Espirito Santo Fall River Fall River Kathleen St. Laurent St. Thomas More Somerset Fall River Diane Tremblay St. Francis of Assisi Swansea Fall River Thomas Wrobel St. Stanislaus Fall River Fall River Elaine Yentz St. Joseph Fall River Fall River Diane Baron St. Mary New Bedford New Bedford Mary Barron St. Rita Marion New Bedford Marjorie Bourgeois St. Mary South Dartmouth New Bedford Olga Cardullo St. Francis of Assisi New Bedford New Bedford Ester Carreiro St. Julie Billiart North Dartmouth New Bedford Lillian R. Desrosiers St. Mary Fairhaven New Bedford Donald J. Fleming St. Anthony Mattapoisett New Bedford Claire Gordon St. Patrick Wareham New Bedford Mary Hadley St. Francis Xavier Acushnet New Bedford New Bedford Donald Houle Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus New Bedford Charles Johnson St. John Neumann East Freetown New Bedford Alice Leblanc St. Joseph St. Therese New Bedford New Bedford Ludmila Lyczewska Our Lady of Perpetual Help New Bedford New Bedford Monique Marshall St. Anthony of Padua New Bedford New Bedford Paul Pacheco Our Lady of Fatima New Bedford New Bedford Jacinto Pacheco Our Lady of Mount Carmel New Bedford New Bedford George Soares Immaculate Conception New Bedford New Bedford Donald Spooner St. Joseph Fairhaven New Bedford Suzanne M. Sullivan St. Lawrence Martyr New Bedford New Bedford Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church New Bedford New Bedford Judith Vasquez Alice Boivin St. Jude the Apostle Taunton Taunton William J. Breen St. Andrew The Apostle Taunton Taunton Raymond Butts St. Mary Taunton Taunton Eleanor DeMello St. Ann Raynham Taunton Elizabeth Laranjo Annunciation of the Lord Taunton Taunton Manuel Oliveira St. Anthony Taunton Taunton Barbara Rutherford Holy Family East Taunton Taunton Robert W. Sullivan Holy Cross South Easton Taunton

November 16, 2012

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The Anchor

EWTN Radio now available on iHeartRadio app

Irondale, Ala. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network is now available through iHeartRadio, the Clear Channel media company’s digital radio service that makes streaming radio available through the Internet, mobile devices and tablets.

EWTN president and chief executive officer Michael P. Warsaw said the Catholic network is “pleased” to partner with iHeartRadio in order to “proclaim the Gospel message to an ever-expanding global audience.”

“Our foundress, Mother Angelica, took the Lord’s command to carry His message to the ends of the earth seriously.

Our partnership with iHeartRadio enables us to carry on that legacy using the latest in digital technology,” Warsaw said.

iHeartRadio gives users instant access to more than 1,000 broadcast and digital-only radio stations from 150 cities.

It allows user-created custom stations for favorite artists and songs. The iHeartRadio mobile apps have been downloaded more than 125 million times, while iHeartRadio’s free service has more than 115 million listening hours each month.

App users can find the EWTN station by searching the “Live Stations” section for “EWTN Radio.” The app is available for mobile phones, the Kindle Fire, the Xbox 360 game system and Google TV. “By adding EWTN, the leading Catholic media network, to the iHeartRadio platform, we continue to enhance iHeartRadio’s offerings for users,” Brian LaKamp, president of Digital for Clear Chan-

nel Media and Entertainment, said.

“We want to be everywhere our listeners are with a variety of programming options and this agreement offers iHeartRadio users an even more interesting and diverse listening experience.”

EWTN Global Catholic Network is available in more than 200 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. Its AM and FM radio networks have a U.S. affiliate base exceeding 200 stations and a worldwide shortwave radio station. The network already streams radio through its website www.ewtn. com.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment serves 150 cities with 850 radio stations. It has 239 million monthly listeners in the U.S.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, November 18, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Edward A. Murphy, Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford

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The Anchor

Parishioners make pilgrimage to Moloka’i continued from page one

Mary’s Parish to Kalaupapa, Hawaii earlier this year.

Located on the island of Moloka’i, Kalaupapa is the location of the community of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients served by St. Damien up until his death on April 15, 1889. About 8,000 people have been exiled to the island since 1865, when King Kamehameha V, who reigned as monarch of the kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872, instituted an “Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” that forced people with leprosy or anyone suspected of having the disease to be secluded on land that was set apart. The law remained in effect until 1969, when admissions to Kalaupapa ended. The remaining patients, who have been cured but chose to stay at Kalaupapa, number in the teens and are taken care of by the national park service as well as the health department of the state of Hawaii.

St. Damien volunteered to assist the inhabitants of the island, arriving on May 10, 1873, where 816 lepers awaited him. He would spend the rest of his life ministering to those suffering with the disease, not just as a religious priest but also as caretaker to their wounds and builder of their homes and churches. St. Mother Marianne Cope would join the efforts at Kalaupapa in 1888, caring for St. Damien until his death a few months later.

“Being a nurse and a caretaker, I know what it’s like to give all and get nothing in return, actually to expect nothing in return.

Marianne and Damien gave their all; it was phenomenal to walk in their steps, be where they were, to

see the churches where they were — it was just fantastic,” said Jean Booth, parishioner at St. Mary’s Parish who along with her husband Joe, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary and used the pilgrimage as a chance to not only see Father Killilea again but to unwittingly reconnect with another priest from their past.

Father Michael Kelly, newlyappointed as priest-in-residence at St. Damien Parish in Moloka’i, was talking about his past parish assignments, when Joe made the connection that Father Kelly had been his parish priest in 1965, teaching him how to be an altar boy.

“God brought us together,” said Joe. “He had left such a lasting impression on me as a boy. It was neat to see him again.”

Mary Ann Shaw, parishioner of St. Joseph’s Parish in Fairhaven, had been hearing about St. Damien since she was young, “but I never dreamed that I would go,” she said. “I had also gone to the canonization in Rome, so when I found out about the trip, I knew I wanted to go.”

As she sat between her husband John and daughter Rebecca Robillard, both of whom also went on the pilgrimage with her, Mary Ann spoke of how emotional she became while visiting St. Philomena Church: “When I was at the church he built,” she said, “I could feel he was there; it just hit me like that.”

It was moments like that which made the story behind St. Damien and his work with those afflicted with leprosy very real. The group spoke about seeing holes in the floor of St. Philomena, where ba-

nana leaves would have been fashioned into cones and placed in the holes to act as spittoons for those who were coughing; a thoughtful gesture that allowed those who were sick to stay in church and not have to leave during Mass.

“You realize that people were actually in there,” said Lillian Desrosiers. “You see the movies and you read the books, and sometimes you wonder if it’s exactly like; but when we came in from the plane and took the bus, it was a huge graveyard. The hospital there, broken-down stones over there — it was like death.

Then you would look out and see the mountains and the beautiful oceans, then you’d look down and death was everywhere.”

“It was tragic beauty,” Joe added.

Charlie explained that they had to use a travel agent and tour group to help sponsor their trip to Kalaupapa. Twelve-year-old Charles “C.J.” Murphy was not allowed to experience Kalaupapa since one has to be 16 years of age to make the trip, so he spent the day in a Hawaiian school, said Charlie.

A special Mass was held at St. Philomena Church, not something usually allowed but Father Killilea was given permission prior to the group’s arrival.

Desrosiers was asked to be the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion while Blanche Pepin was lector for the Mass. It was during the Mass that another member of the group felt they made a connection with someone from their past.

“My granddaughter passed away in 2006 and she was a lover

November 16, 2012 of cats. It just so happened while we were in St. Philomena’s Church — they don’t have any screens, windows and doors are wide open — Father Pat was standing at the altar giving his homily, and this yellow cat came streaking through between Father Pat and the altar,” said Annette Poitras.

The screeching cat startled Father Pat, who questioned what the commotion was and Poitras happily answered, “It was my granddaughter, Rhiannon. My granddaughter came with me.”

Father Pat then said a cat had never come into the church, “but it did that day,” said Poitras.

Charlie was close to Rhiannon, he said, as well as Katie Brienzo, a young woman who was struck and killed by a car while crossing a street in Fairhaven last year. As thoughts of them and a few others from his life who had passed away filled his mind: “There was such a sense of seeing them outside the window in different forms,” said Charlie, “and when I took a picture of it, it was just bright, white light. It wasn’t lack of sleep, it was just one of those things that everyone was there and it was peaceful.”

“The highlight for me was when Father Pat allowed us to put something on the altar for the Mass and he blessed them all,” said Pepin.

The group was given a synopsis of St. Damien’s life by Father William Petrie, the newly-minted pastor of St. Damien’s Parish, and started each day with prayer using materials provided by Sister Dolores Papao. Everyone was presented with a relic — packets of dirt from the grave of St. Mother Marianne Cope — before they left. Her canonization during their trip was a happy coincidence that everyone was able to enjoy, said Charlie.

After seeing the stark reality that awaited those who were forced to live on an isolated island until they perished from a then-

incurable disease, the members of the pilgrimage have a greater appreciation for St. Damien’s sacrifice — and because of that, have a different perspective of life.

“It gives me peace. I have a very stressful life and the experience has changed a lot in my life. The stress is still there but it gives me something to think about, that there’s something more than the stress that I’m going through every day. I never knew much about Damien but when we decided to go, I learned a lot about him. The tragic story of these people who didn’t want to go to Kalaupapa, but were thrown off the ship,” said Joe. “The tragic beauty of this place; these people were condemned to live their life there.”

“I don’t know how he did it,” said Kathleen Murphy. “If it wasn’t for him, those people would have been lost.”

Having shared that experience together, new friendships have been formed. Laughter abounded during the interview, with inside jokes flying around but rarely was a story interrupted while it was being told. Father Killilea, though missed by those in the parish, said by email that he reveled being reunited with parishioners from the two Sacred Hearts parishes in Fairhaven.

Charlie said he hopes to share the group’s experiences with a presentation after Sunday Mass in the next few months.

“One thing I gained from this personally. Rebecca and I work with people with disabilities, and St. Damien is like a patron saint for people with disabilities because he spent his whole life working with people who were treated differently, held back from things, didn’t have a good label,” said Charlie. “From this missionary work, we developed good friendships. We’ve gotten a lot closer and look forward to seeing each other. From a seven-day trip, the bonds are very strong.”

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STREET ADDRESS: CITY, STATE, ZIP: NEW PARISH: doing their part — This photo was submitted by Joseph Benevides, front row, second from left.

It was taken 70 years ago in the 1942-43 school year at St. Mary’s School in Fall River. These fourthgraders are displaying War Bond Stamps that the U.S. government urged school children across the United States to buy to raise money for the war effort during World War II. The 25-cent stamps were attached to a special card, and when the card was filled it could be sent to the U.S. Treasury, who then issued a War Bond that could be cashed in after the war for the face value plus interest. These fourth-graders were students of Sisters of Mercy Sister Mary Dolarita.

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Sister Catholic paper in NYC rises above Sandy’s flood waters continued from page one

parts of New Jersey, and in New York in Staten Island, Queens, and Brooklyn.

“We were very fortunate, and in a few days my brother from Vermont came down and brought me a generator. That helped us run a few items, as well as some of my neighbors.”

Woods resides on Long Island, but he too, was spared some of the major damage neighboring communities experienced. “It was a storm with many facets,” he said.

“It ripped through certain areas leaving devastation in N.Y. and N.J. It was a natural occurrence, but through it all I witnessed communities and people rising up to assist each other.

“We were fortunate, so we were able to bring people here to our home for meals. That included family and friends, and some who were just acquaintances. But we weren’t alone in the outreach.”

Amazingly, the Catholic New York did go to press the week of Superstorm Sandy. “We were delayed by 24 hours,” said Schiller.

“Our office is located in a high rise on First Avenue right near the United Nations. We’re in midtown Manhattan, so the area didn’t experience the storm surge lower Manhattan and the boroughs did.

“We had power, but no phones.

But we did have Internet access.”

Woods said the biggest problem

to getting the paper out that week was the lack of transportation.

“Those who didn’t live nearby really couldn’t get in. The public transportation was down, and the subways were flooded.

“We had a limited crew, but we have a very motivated staff. If there was a way to get it done, we would. To me, there was never a doubt, as long as our printer had flexibility.”

Schiller told The Anchor that their printer is a daily paper, the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y. “They were very accommodating to us,” he said.

“They were up and running, and they told us as soon as they could get their publication out, they would see that ours would make it as well.

“Through all that, we were in the mail only 24 hours later than normal.”

“We ran with an abridged edition,” added Woods. “It was 32 pages instead of 36. We did what we could before the storm hit.”

Woods mentioned that a number of parishes, parishioners, and schools in the archdiocese sustained damage, but there were also any number of stories about parishes, students and faculty rallying to help those who needed it most.

“The faculty and students at Msgr. Farrell High School, in one of the hardest hit areas on Staten Island, took up a collection of

Loss of three parishioners a ‘terrible blow’ to Staten Island parish

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (CNS) — St. Charles Catholic Church in Staten Island opened its doors to local residents who lost power during Hurricane Sandy, and to the families of three parishioners who lost their lives in that deadly storm.

John K. Filipowicz, 51, and his 20-year-old son, John C. Filipowicz, were found in an embrace after they drowned when floodwaters from the hurricane rushed their home. A neighbor of the Filipowiczs and fellow St. Charles parishioner, Leonard Montalto, 53, also drowned in his Staten Island home the night Hurricane Sandy made landfall. In the week following the storm, the funerals for all three of these parishioners were held at the church.

“It’s a terrible blow to our parish,” said Joan Paolino, a Staten Island resident who often meets fellow parishioners at the church before daily Mass to pray the Rosary. “This hurricane devastated our community, but these deaths are a real tragedy. My heart breaks for their families.”

Dominican Sister Jeanine Conlon was well-acquainted with all

15

The Anchor

November 16, 2012

three men who died in the storm, but she had a special connection with John K. Filipowicz. She was one of his teachers when he attended St. Charles School in the 1960s and 1970s. “He was a cute kid, he was a great guy,” said Sister Jeanine, a pastoral associate at the Church of St. Charles. “As an adult I used to see him here.

Funny guy, funny, funny fellow.

A Marine. A strong, solid man, he came to Mass every Sunday. He’d wave to me and I’d wave back. A good parishioner.”

items that were in most need,” Woods said. “They filled four trucks with donations in one day, that were later driven away to be distributed.

“Then later on, the school established teams of about eight students each to go out into the area to help out with clean-up and even demolition. Our Catholic schools teach students to be leaders in the community, and Msgr. Farrell High School really took that message seriously.”

Similar scenarios were playing out, and still are, across the Archdiocese of New York.

Similar to Christ’s teaching Peter to trust in Him during the storm at sea in Mark 14, the staff of the Catholic New York, and the good people of the Archdiocese of New York kept their focus on Christ to overcome the raging tempest.

They still are.

Catholic Charities has established a Sandy Relief Fund to meet the short- and longterm needs of those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. To designate your contribution for this fund, visit http:// www.catholiccharitiesny.org/donate and indicate “Sandy Relief Fund” in the comments or text “SANDY” to 85944 to make a one-time $10 donation that will go directly toward

immediate relief and long term recovery efforts. If you’d like to contribute your time volunteering

to helping victims of the hurricane register online at http://www. catholiccharitiesnyvolunteer.org/.

Revised and updated ...

2012-2013 Diocese of Fall River Catholic Directory ... NOW SHIPPING !!

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This week in 50 years ago — Father Arthur G. Dupuis, director of Notre Dame Cemetery in Fall River, opened the cemetery’s new office. The red brick building would provide four rooms along with a built-in record vault for the diocesan cemetery that was established in 1888.

25 years ago — A Consultant Education Workshop was held at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown. Two sessions were offered to 20 invited attendees, both conducted by John Roberto, codirector of the Center for Youth Ministry.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Msgr. Norman J. Ferris, pastor of St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River, was elevated to the rank of chorbishop in the Maronite Rite of the Roman Catholic Church during a special Liturgy.

One year ago — Past and present parishioners of St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea celebrated the parish’s 100th anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving concelebrated by pastor Father Joseph F. Viveiros; Msgr. John A. Perry, diocesan vicar general; and other priests who have served the parish in the past.

16

Youth Pages

November 16, 2012

all treats, no tricks — Preschool students from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven enjoyed celebrating Halloween. They wore costumes, had a parade around the school, and had a party with many treats.

giving direction — The students at St. Mary’s School in Mansfield celebrated the Litany of Saints on October 31. Here, Msgr. Steve Avila speaks with St. Brendan, The Navigator.

saints among us — Students at Holy Name School in Fall River were blessed with visits from some saints. Among them were: St. Patrick, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. John Bosco, St. Mary, St. Francis, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. After the school’s Mass celebrated by Father Jay T. Maddock, center, fourth-grade teachers Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Enos posed for a picture with the visiting saints.

dressed to march — Pre-kindergarten students recently prepared to join the Halloween Parade at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton.

haunted fun — St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro held its annual Halloween Party and Haunted House. In the gym, the students of the National Junior Honor Society hosted games, face-painting and refreshments. The attendees were treated to a walk-through black room on the gym stage where they had to make their way through the maze in the dark. Student actors squirted water, tickled feet, lowered stuffed animals onto the guests’ heads and played Halloween music to make the experience scary. From left: Briana DiMarco, Caroline DiMarco, Lili Nagle (future SJE student), Ella Nagle, Katherine Zhang, and Ailey Fitzgibbons.

saint patch — Students in Mr. Noury’s sixth-grade religion class at Espirito Santo School in Fall River created pumpkin saints for the All Saints’ Day Mass. Each student selected a saint, conducted research about the saint and then designed and decorated a pumpkin to resemble the saint. The pumpkins were displayed at the foot of the altar during the school Liturgy.

November 16, 2012

I

’m not sure about you, but this is the time of year that I anticipate with excitement and at the same time don’t look forward to at all. Of course, the anticipation centers mostly on the holidays, and family time together.

What I don’t enjoy at all took place several weeks ago when we “fall back.” Although it came later than it used to, it still happened. It drives me crazy. It gets dark so early that I’m ready to get into nightclothes and prepare for bed by 5 p.m. Leaving the house now after dark, to head to class, takes extra effort.

I find myself more willing to just veg out in front of the TV and not even consider going anywhere or doing anything around the house after work since it is cold and dark out!

Don’t even get me started on snow and nor’easters! Anyone with me on this?

As a result, it’s the time of year we become more insular

Youth Pages

17

Looking forward takes some looking back and insulated from others. It’s on us and on our world. It is a dark and it gets cold. We tend time of year to remember the to cocoon more. But it can also people in our lives that have be a natural time of year to look affected us. How did that person back and to remember. Doesn’t change us? Did we help change fall have a natural connection to someone else’s life? How have I remembering? Perhaps we can been connected to others in my take this more isolated time to look within and see where we’ve been this year and to plan where we might go in the future.

There are several

By Frank Lucca days in the Christian calendar at this time of year that help us to do that. All Souls’ Day, that we family and those outside of my celebrated several weeks ago, immediate family? Did we acmarks the Christian calendar complish all that we had hoped as a day that we remember the to this year? Where has God loved ones in our lives who have been in my life this year? died. All Souls’ Day allows us to So while physically we might look back at those people. We think that this feels like an also celebrated All Saints’ Day. isolated time of year, spiritually, A day we remember the saints let’s use this time to rememof God. Each and every one of ber that we are not an isolated these people who have gone people but a connected people. before us have had an influence As Christians, we have a verti-

Be Not Afraid

they came marching in — St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro celebrated All Saints’ Day with its two first-grade classes. Denise Piette and Sally Sullivan’s first-grade classes dressed up as a saint they had chosen to study for All Saints’ Day. The 43 first-graders studied a particular saint and then stood up during the Mass and recited a few things about the saint they had studied.

holiday helpers — At the recent St. Joan of Arc School of Religion’s Annual Teen Night for the youth of the parish, more than 25 teens helped the Orleans parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society prepare 762 bags which will be filled with food to be distributed with other Thanksgiving food to various agencies on the Lower Cape.

cal connection and a horizontal connection. I once heard this explanation of how Jesus’ cross can help us better understand this vertical and horizontal connection. If you look at the cross, note the up and down post or beam that forms the vertical portion of the cross.

It points toward God, drawing a line between Heaven and earth, between God and man. This vertical beam of the cross reminds us of our need to be connected to God. The horizontal beam of the cross points out sideways in both directions, extending out to others. Jesus’ outstretched arms on the cross become for us, the greatest example of One Who came to serve.

The vertical and horizontal link goes back to the law that God gave to the people of Israel centuries ago and that Jesus

reminded people about centuries later — “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.”

So this month, while cocooning, let’s remember those who have gone before and recall those connections we have had with each other. Take the time to pray and plan for connections we are still to make in the future. Sometimes you’ve got to look back before you can look forward. Is it spring yet?

Frank Lucca is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea. He is chairman and a director of the YES! Retreat and the director of the Christian Leadership Institute.

He is a husband and a father of two daughters and a sonin-law. Comments, ideas or suggestions? Please email him at StDominicYouthMinistry@ comcast.net.

an apple a Day — Kindergarten and first-grade students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently enjoyed a hayride at a field trip to an apple orchard.

two of the best — Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, senior Michaela Delasanta, left, was recognized for her achievement in the National Achievement Scholarship Program as an outstanding Black American high school student. NASP is an academic competition established in 1964 to provide recognition for exceptional Black American high school students. At right, senior Nicholas Romero was recognized as an outstanding Hispanic high school student by the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program. Each year the board recognizes approximately 3,300 students nationwide for their outstanding abilities as a scholar.

18

The Anchor

November 16, 2012

Author, journalist knows the value of a Catholic education continued from page one

Leonard said. “I was doing a lot of stories that were featureoriented, even though the subject was a sports-related person. So it appealed to more than just sports fans and I think NBC saw that.

When they hired me I was basically told I could do what I want; so for the last 32 years I’ve been able to cover topics that I’m interested in, which is rare in this business.”

In addition to covering everything from political conventions to the Super Bowl and the World Series over the years, Leonard has displayed a unique talent for telling the extraordinary stories of ordinary people — reality TV that is truly based in reality.

“Today’s reality shows aren’t real, because when they produce them, they already have a conflict in mind,” Leonard said.

“They might suggest one of the kids take a swing at another kid — so they goad that stuff on.

They think they need to create a dramatic situation. They’re looking for these outlandish dramas that none of us ever really experience. I mean, isn’t there enough drama in our lives anyway?”

Leonard found there was plenty of drama to be had just within his own family when in 2004 he took his parents, then in their 80s, along with some of his adult children on a one-month, cross-country RV adventure that became the basis of a four-part “Today” show segment, and later a 12-part Public Television series, “The Ride of Our Lives — Roadside Lessons of an American Family,” which also spawned a New York Times bestselling book of the same name.

“My mom and dad were stuck in a rental home and realized they weren’t in walking distance to anybody, so I thought out of the blue they needed to get out and be mobile,” Leonard said. “I had an idea for getting an RV to travel and convinced all my kids to come along, too. We originally took home movies of the journey for ourselves and I turned four of those pieces into segments for the ‘Today’ show and got the offer to write the book and then did a public television series based on that.”

It’s this universal type of “everyman” tale that Leonard tells best.

“I do feature stories on ev-

eryday people in everyday situations because I think that is what is most lacking in the news these days,” he said. “I’ve done a story every year on where the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes from. It’s taken from someone’s yard and they pick the tree randomly, so I profile the person whose yard is selected.

Now they’re just regular people, so in a sense you might think they might not have a story — but everyone does.

“For 20 years that segment has demonstrated that we all have our own stories. I just go where the tree is. They’re all interesting stories and I think that’s where the reality TV show folks miss the point.”

Also an accomplished filmmaker, Leonard more recently served as executive producer of the award-winning 10-part documentary series “Catholicism,” created and hosted by Chicago priest Father Robert Barron that aired on PBS and the Bostonbased CatholicTV. Shot on location in 16 countries, the production explored the Catholic faith, its history and artistry, its beliefs and practices, through insightful spiritual commentary and stunning high-definition cinematography.

“Father Robert Barron would often come to our parish as a guest priest, maybe once a month,” Leonard said. “I thought he was very good and could really speak and one of our parishioners, a woman named Nancy Ross, was a former TV person in Charlotte, N.C., and she knew I was involved in TV as well. She arranged a meeting between us, and Father Barron told us he always had this idea to do a 10part series. At the time, I said to him you might not want me, because I’m a good storyteller but I’m not the greatest Catholic. I felt I didn’t have the proper educational credentials as a Catholic to do the series.”

Leonard said Father Barron thought it was ideal to have someone like him on board to pose some of the serious questions that needed to be answered through the documentary.

“It worked out well because at the end of many of these episodes we were able to ask some of the basic questions that all Catholics have about these sim-

Visit The Anchor online at http://www.anchornews.org

ple but very profound concepts — things like forgiveness and mercy,” he said. “To me, that was the strongest part of the series. I never was really that well versed in Catholic doctrine, but those messages of inclusion, mercy and compassion are so important in everyday life that I thought it was a fundamental instruction for people.”

Being able to travel to landmark sites in Rome, Europe and the Holy Land for the “Catholicism” series was also inspiring for Leonard.

“Just seeing the actual locations and imagining what it would have been like 2,000 years ago was profound,” he said.

Although there are no immediate plans to do a sequel or follow-up to “Catholicism,” Leonard said he hoped any future production would focus on how to put faith into action.

“I think it should show people out there doing good works, because I think after you get through the theory and the basics, you want to know it’s doable,” he said. “I learned that from doing stories on the ‘Today’ show. When you see someone doing something good, you want to go out and replicate it.

I think that can inspire more people to do it, whether they’re Catholic or not. This wonderful work of mercy and compassion is happening all over the world.”

In addition to learning about charitable works of mercy through his Catholic education, Leonard also learned a bit about the value of teamwork during his years at Providence College.

“I found that same sense of community among the Dominican family and all the kids who went there,” Leonard said, adding he also played hockey for PC under coach Lou Lamoriello.

“He won three Stanley Cups as the GM of the New Jersey Devils and he’s in the National Hockey League Hall of Fame and in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He’s a very tough and a very demanding coach, but he’s a really fair guy and I’ve stayed in touch with him over the years.”

If his Catholic elementary and high school education helped set a solid foundation for his adult life, then it was his formation at Providence College that helped him meet his career goals.

“I learned about discipline and teamwork and learned not to take any shortcuts,” Leonard said. “It helped me immensely years later as a journalist. All the priests, coaches and fellow students there really influenced me.”

And apparently Leonard had

MAN OF ACTION — This G.I. Joe series action figure, named Leonard Michaels, a/k/a “Scoop,” was actually modeled on journalist Mike Leonard by a former classmate of his who worked for the Hasbro toy company.

a bit of an influence on at least one of his fellow PC graduates — a friend who ended up working for the Hasbro toy company in Pawtucket, R.I. “I had done a couple of stories on Hasbro and I was in his office one day and he had a couple of G.I. Joe figures on his desk,” Leonard said, laughing.

“I was looking at the faces and I asked who he used as the model.

He told me they use people they know — the plant manager and other guys who work there — and he asked if I wanted to be one. I said, ‘Hell, yes.’”

It was thus that a journalist and “microwave transmission specialist” named Leonard Michaels, a/k/a “Scoop,” was introduced into the G.I. Joe action figure line in 1989 … inspired by none other than Mike Leonard.

“I told him I liked the nickname ‘Scoop,’ because I remembered in the Superman comics they used to call Jimmy Olsen ‘Scoop,’” Leonard said. “They called him Leonard Michaels — they turned my name around backwards. He had a really bad outfit: it was green and gold. I saw them in the store and was always tempted to tell people: ‘Hey, that’s me,’ but I was afraid the store manager might have me arrested.”

Leonard joked that he’s probably the only action figure who’s lived a life of “inaction.”

“The one benefit is I’ll be in

a landfill well-preserved 2,000 years from now,” he said.

Having achieved great success in life — much of which he credits to his Catholic education and upbringing — Leonard hopes the St. Mary’s Education Fund will provide others with the same opportunities he had growing up.

“Knowing you could improve the life of someone else improves your own life,” he said.

“When you throw a few stones in the pond and the ripples start — those are very real. I’ve seen people do little things that have rippled out and you never know the extent of how far those ripples go because they’ll never come back and tell you. They probably don’t even know it’s you.

“Having those scholarships available and giving those kids an opportunity is like throwing more stones into the pond and those ripples will keep colliding into each other and getting bigger and spreading. You can try to save the world or you can try to save your neighborhood; and I think providing a Catholic education is a way of providing people with an opportunity to weather the storms of life.”

Those interested in supporting the Fall Dinner or obtaining more information on the St. Mary’s Education Fund should contact the Diocesan Development Office at 508-675-1311.

November 16, 2012

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

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

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

Mass.

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

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

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Expostition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass.

The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day.

Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

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

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

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.

19

The Anchor Vatican: Family is key ally in fighting crime

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The absolute frontline in the prevention of crime is the family, a top Vatican official told members of Interpol, the international police organization. To prevent crime and violence, societies must educate citizens about their own dignity and the value of each human life, promote solidarity and instill a sense of justice in society — all values that can be learned earliest and best in the family, said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states.

The archbishop spoke to members of Interpol holding their general assembly November 5-8 in Rome. The 190 country-members of Interpol not only coordinate crime-fighting efforts, but also work together on crime prevention programs. An increase of crime, particularly brutally violent crime, around the world calls for even greater preventative actions, Archbishop Mamberti said. Prevention requires “the removal of factors which give rise to and nourish situations of injustice. In this field a primary and preventative role belongs to education inspired by respect for human life in all circumstances,” he said.

Only with the recognition of the value of each life, he said, will it be “possible to create a strong social fabric united in its fundamental values and able to resist the provocation of extreme violence. In this context, the most important place in which human beings are formed is the family. There, children experience the value of their own transcendent dignity, as they are accepted gratuitously on the basis of the stable and reciprocal love of their parents,” he said. In the family, people have their first experiences of “justice and forgiveness, which cements family relationships and acts as a foundation for the correct insertion into social life,” Archbishop Mamberti said.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Nov. 17 Rev. Henry R. Canuel, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart, New Bedford, 1980 Nov. 18 Rev. William Beston, C.S.C., 2004 Nov. 19 Rev. Msgr. Lester L. Hull, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Our Lady of the Isle, Nantucket, 1982 Rev. Philodore H. Lemay, M.S., La Salette Provincial House, Attleboro, 1990 Nov. 21 Rev. Stephen J. Downey, Retired Pastor, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1975 Rev. James F. Kenney, Retired Pastor, Corpus Christi, Sandwich, 1994 Nov. 23 Rev. James E. Smith, Retired Chaplain, Bethlehem Home, Taunton, 1962 Rev. Msgr. Christopher L. Broderick, Retired Founder, St. Pius X, South Yarmouth, 1984

Around the Diocese 11/16

“Alice in Wonderland,” adapted by Anne Coulter Martens and produced exclusively by the Dramatic Publishing Company, will be presented by the Bishop Stang Drama Department tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the John C. O’Brien Gymnasium at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. Tickets will be available at the door. For more information call 508-996-5602.

11/17

St. Jude the Apostle Parish will be having its annual Penny Sale at the Church Hall, 249 Whittenton Street in Taunton, tomorrow beginning at 6 p.m., with doors open at 5 p.m. In addition to three regular series, there will be specials, roll-ups, refreshments, a raffle on 15 turkey dinner baskets, and a money raffle with a $1,000 first prize.

11/17

St. Margaret Regional School on Main Street in Buzzards Bay will host its seventh annual Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attractions will include handcrafted jewelry, stocking stuffers, blankets, ornaments, fresh Maine wreaths, baked goods, concessions, the children’s choir singing carols, and lots of raffle items. The event is free to the public. There is plenty of parking.

11/18

On Sunday, St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish, Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford (across from Brooklawn Park), will host its seventh annual Craft/Vendor Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome. For information call 508-995-5235.

An open house for prospective students will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bishop Connolly High School, 373 Elsbree Street in Fall River. All prospective students and their families are encouraged to attend this informative event. Students interested in the innovative eighth-grade LEAP program for gifted students are also encouraged to attend. The placement exam will be held on December 1 at 8 a.m. For more information call 508-676-1071.

11/18 11/20

The Daughters of Isabella Hyacinth Circle will be holding its monthly meeting on November 20 at the Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Hall in New Bedford.

This month the group will be holding its annual Mass in remembrance of deceased members. Mass will be held at 6:30 p.m. and the monthly meeting will follow with light refreshments served. All past, present and new members of the circle are welcome to join in honoring the memory of the deceased.

11/28

The Pro-Life Prayer Groups of Holy Redeemer and Holy Trinity parishes are hosting a holy hour November 28 following the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Church, Route 28, West Harwich.

There will be Rosary and Pro-Life prayers as well as Benediction. All are invited to attend and pray for an end to abortion.

12/1

The placement exam for Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth is scheduled for either December 1 or December 8 beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 11:30 a.m. There is no pre-registration, and the testing fee is $20 payable the morning of the exam. The 10 students who take the placement exam at Bishop Stang and receive the highest scores will receive $1,000 each toward their freshman year tuition. The five students who take the placement exam at Bishop Stang and receive the highest scores on the exam will receive free new textbooks for their freshman year at Bishop Stang. For more information call 508-996-5602 extension 424.

12/1

A Day with Mary will be held December 1 at St. George Church, 12 Highland Avenue in Westport from 8 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother, with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and an opportunity for Reconciliation. There is a bookstore available during breaks. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508-996-8274.

12/1

The Catholic Women’s Club of Christ the King Parish located on The Commons in Mashpee will host its annual Christmas Bazaar on December 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature a boutique of hostess baskets, a greens table, a jewelry table, and a children’s room. For more information call the parish office at 508-477-7700.

12/13

On December 13 legal staff from Catholic Social Services will assist with the N400 Application for Naturalization and provide information about the process of becoming a U.S. Citizen. The Naturalization Workshop will be held at the offices of Catholic Social Services, 261 South Street in Hyannis. For more information contact Alanna Keane at 508-674-4681 or email akeane@cssdioc.org.

20

The Anchor

November 16, 2012

faith in Action — The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women recently met at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. Hosted by Family Concerns chairman Laura Cousineau, the topic of the meeting was to discuss the needs of the diocesan Donovan House in New Bedford, a sober transitional housing program for women and their children.

The council collected a large amount of items to donate. In the top photo, former DCCW president Claudette Armstrong stands with items to donate. Armstrong donated nearly 100 baby quilts and many baby hats, all of which she knitted. In the bottom photo, Cousineau and DCCW President Virginia Wade are keeping inventory of yet more items to be donated to the Donovan House.