Diocese of Fall River
The Anchor
F riday , November 21, 2008
Push for radical sex ed in schools re-emerges By Gail Besse Anchor Correspondent
St. Theresa’s Chapel, Sagamore
Beloved Sagamore chapel to close permanently Sunday By Dave Jolivet, Editor
SAGAMORE — Bishop Daniel F. Feehan formally opened and dedicated St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church, a mission of the more-than-a-century-old Corpus Christi Parish, on June 6, 1926. Over the past 82 years, the quaint house of worship on Route 6A was the scene of hundreds of Turn to page 14
BOSTON — The coalition pushing to impose a radical sex education program on every Massachusetts public school child is on the move again. According to its Website, CARE forYouth, a coalition managed by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, plans to refile legislation that Catholics and others have opposed for the past three years. The coalition is asking people to contact their legislators and write letters to the editor supporting its proposed Health Education Bill. Activists in religious and pro-family groups say parents need to wake up to the danger and stridently object to this bill’s reappearance in the 2009 legislative session. The bill would require that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks, which is now optional, be used by every school district K-12. “It will mandate that public schools teach kids that abortion, premarital sex, birth control and homosexual behavior are OK,” said Linda Thayer, who wrote an extensive analysis of the curriculum for Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL.) “This violates our freedom of religion and conscience. It’s a train wreck coming down the pike because it will force us to surrender our rights Turn to page 15
St. Patrick’s Church, Somerset
Somerset parish kicks off 125th anniversary year By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
SOMERSET — St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset will celebrate its 125th anniversary tomorrow with a 4 p.m. Mass with Bishop George W. Coleman. The bishop is the first and only priest ordained from the parish. Father Marek TuptynsTurn to page 19
WWII chaplain’s grave marker finally set in place; dedicated By Deacon James N. Dunbar
FALL RIVER — After 64 years, the official Veterans Administration marker identifying the grave of a war veteran finally rests near the headstone of World War II Army captain and chaplain, Father Arthur C. Lenaghan, in an older section of St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Father Lenaghan, a priest of the Fall River Diocese, died Jan. 8, 1944, just 10 days before his 36th birthday, from wounds received from an incoming German artillery round while ministering to and serving Allied soldiers in Italy. On November 13, Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, a retired priest of the Fall River Diocese who still responds as a chaplain to area fire and police departments, blessed the shiny new, bronze marker to the decorated chaplain that peaks through the autumn leaves. The dedication is timely because the month of November — and its All Souls and All Saints days solemnities and the Veterans Day observance — remind us to pray for and remember and honor the war dead as well as all those who have died and those who are
in heaven. The VA marker was set in place by workers at St. Patrick’s Cemetery on October 15. “Although there usually is a fee, it was waived in
AT LONG LAST — Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington blesses the newly installed Veterans Administration marker for Father Arthur C. Lenaghan in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Fall River. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)
this instance,” reported Mrs. Lisa Furtado, an assistant in the cemetery office. The marker offers something of closure to the story, a reminder to a yesteryear in America — and the American Church’s history — of the love a priest can have for his God, his fellow man, and his country. “I’m very pleased we were able to receive this marker,” said Manuel DaPonte, in his third month as Veterans Agent for the City of Fall River. “This was long overdue, and somewhere the lines of communication broke down since last year when the story (November 16, 2007 in The Anchor) brought to light that Father Lenaghan’s grave was without the government marker,” said DaPonte, himself a 32-year career soldier, former paratrooper and sergeant major. That story kicked off the effort, said DaPonte, who also noted there were others “very” instrumental in obtaining the marker. He recalled receiving notice approximately three months ago that the local application to Thomas Kelly, Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Affairs, had been forwarded and approved by the VA in Washington, D.C. Turn to page 18
Father Albert Ryan marks jubilee
B y Deacon James N. Dunbar
FALL RIVER – When Father Albert J. Ryan celebrates the feast of Christ the King on November 23, it will be something of a double observance. “On that day I’ll also be marking the 50th anniversary of my ordination to the priest-
hood at Mass in St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Bedford where I was pastor from 1994 until I retired in 2002,” the 76-year-old priest told The Anchor during a chat at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence, where he lives. Turn to page 14
Father Albert J. Ryan
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News From the Vatican
November 21, 2008
Sale, trafficking of organ donation must be condemned, says pontiff By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — While organ donation is a generous act of love, the sale and trafficking of organs is abominable and must be condemned, said Pope Benedict XVI. “Tissue and organ transplants represent a great advance of medical science and are certainly a sign of hope for the many people who suffer from serious and sometimes critical medical conditions,” he said. However, the scarce number of vital organs available for transplant is “dramatically real” as seen by the long waiting lists of people whose only hope for survival is “linked to meager supplies which do not correspond to actual needs,” he said at a recent, private audience with nearly 500 participants attending a Vaticansponsored gathering on organ donation. The congress, titled “A Gift for Life: Considerations on Organ Donation,” was sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life, the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations and Italy’s National Transplant Center. The pope thanked the medical community for its work, which has allowed many people to overcome critical conditions and to be given back the joy of life. But the efforts of doctors and researchers in this field also depend on “the generosity and altruism of those who donated their organs,” he said. The pope underlined how important ethical considerations are at a time when the demand for organs far outweighs the available supply. The human body can never be considered a mere object, he said, “otherwise the logic of the market would have the upper hand.” “Respect for the dignity of the person and protection of his or her individual identity” must be a priority, he said. That means those who choose to donate nonvital organs should do so only if it will not jeopardize their health or cause disabling mutilation or death, he said. The procedure also always must be “morally valid and proportional” to the good sought for the recipient, he said. The buying and selling of organs and the adoption of “discriminatory and utilitarian criteria” that prevent equal access to receiving organs are morally illicit and unacceptable, he said. Organ trafficking, which targets innocent people and chil-
dren, must be “decisively condemned as abominable” and must prompt the scientific and medical communities to band together “to refuse it as an unacceptable practice.” The same must be said for the creation and destruction of human embryos for therapeutic reasons, he added. Informed consent by the relatives of patients who have died remains key to make sure organ donations remain a gift and “are not interpreted as acts of coercion or exploitation,” he said. “It is worthwhile to recall, nonetheless, that vital organs cannot be removed except from a dead body, which also has its own dignity that should be respected,” he said. One congress participant, Dr. Alessandro Nanni Costa, director of Italy’s National Transplantation Center, told journalists the pope reaffirmed the current criteria used today by the world’s medical professionals in determining the death of a patient. While the methods of ascertaining brain death may change, the concept of brain death — the complete, irreversible loss of function of the brain cerebrum and brain stem — always will remain the definition of death, said Dr. Francis Delmonico, a surgeon at Harvard Medical School and head of medical affairs for the Transplantation Society. Delmonico told reporters the most important part of the pope’s speech was its denunciation of organ trafficking and insistence that there never be an exchange of money for organs. He said currently “slums of the world are targeted to be the suppliers of organs for the rich.” Allowing the poor to be exploited in such a way “destroys the fabric of society,” he said. The poor who are tempted to sell nonvital organs “still wind up poor and with one less kidney,” he added. In 1999, when Italy was debating new legislation on organ donation, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, told an Italian newspaper he was a card-carrying organ donor. “Donating one’s own organs is a morally licit gesture of love, as long as it is a free and spontaneous act,” he told the paper. He said he had joined an organ-donor association several years earlier and always carried with him a card stating his willingness to donate his organs. Church teaching states that the gift of organ donation after death is noble and meritorious and is to be encouraged as an expression of generous solidarity.
FAITH LEADERS — Pope Benedict XVI greets Rabbi David Rosen, Jewish delegation leader, at the Vatican recently. The pope told Jewish leaders he was “seriously considering” freezing the sainthood process of his World War II era predecessor, Pope Pius XII, until historical archives can be opened, Rosen said. Rabbi Rosen is chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
Pope Benedict notes Pope Pius XII’s contributions to Church teachings
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Excessive attention to Pope Pius XII’s role during World War II has overlooked the rich and “precious heritage” he left to the Church and Christians today, Pope Benedict XVI said. Pope Pius and his teachings represent for the Church an “exceptional gift for which we must all be grateful,” he said during a November 8 audience with participants of the congress “The Heritage of the Magisterium of Pius XII.” Organized by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences and Rome’s pontifical Lateran and Gregorian universities, the November 6-7 congress commemorated the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius’ death by highlighting his teachings and influence on the Second Vatican Council, which began four years after he died in October 1958. Pope Pius, who led the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958, has been criticized by some Jewish groups who have said he did little to mobilize the Church in defense of Jews. Other experts have gathered evidence to show that he worked quietly but effectively to save the lives of thousands of Jews and others during World War II and the Holocaust. In his address, Pope Benedict did not mention Pope Pius’ canonization cause, which he put on hold late last year. Instead he praised the late pope’s extraordinary intelligence, excellent memory, great fluency in foreign languages,
“remarkable sensitivity,” his unwavering dedication to God, and his love for Christ, the Church and humanity. Unfortunately, in recent times, Pope Pius’ theological and spiritual contributions have gotten overlooked since almost all attention is focused “excessively on one single problem generally treated in a rather one-sided way,” Pope Benedict said, referring to criticism about the pope’s wartime role. Part of Pope Pius’ “vast and beneficial” magisterium, or his teaching authority, includes his dogma of the Assumption of Mary in 1950 and his more than 40 encyclicals such as “Mystici Corporis Christi,” which addresses the nature of the Church. Other landmark encyclicals included those on the Bible — “Divino Afflante Spiritu”; the liturgy — “Mediator Dei”; and religious life — “Sacra Virginitas,” in which Pope Pius brought to light “the excellence of the gift
The Anchor
God grants to certain persons, inviting them to consecrate themselves fully” to serve God in the Church, Pope Benedict said. Pope Benedict said Pope Pius was interested in new means of mass communication, such as the radio, and its increasing influence on public opinion. He added that Pope Pius had said journalists have a duty to provide the truth and respect moral norms. Pope Pius often praised the enormous achievements of science but “did not fail to warn against the risks that research that (is) not attentive to moral values might entail,” Pope Benedict said. For example, on the occasion of the splitting of the atom, Pope Pius warned with “extraordinary foresight” about “the need to prevent, at all costs, these ingenious scientific advancements from being used for the construction of deadly weapons which would be capable of causing untold catastrophes and even the total destruction of humanity,” he said. OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 52, 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. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $14.00 per year. Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address
PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org NEWS EDITOR Deacon James N. Dunbar jimdunbar@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase m arychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Michael Pare michaelpare@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza kensouza@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org POSTMASTERS send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722. THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.
November 21, 2008
The International Church
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Vatican rep says Israeli-Vatican meeting on land, taxes went well
JERUSALEM (CNS) — A Vatican representative to the bilateral permanent working commission between Israel and the Vatican said he was “very pleased” with its recent meeting. Father Giovanni Caputa, secretary of the Vatican delegation, told Catholic News Service the issues of taxation and property were discussed in a “very cordial” atmosphere. The bilateral commission said in a statement the meeting was held to continue negotiations on the economic agreement concerning fiscal and property matters.
HEARTBREAKING GATHERING — Refugees pray November 12 at the grave of eight-month-old Alexandrine Kabitsebangumi, who died from cholera, after her burial in a banana grove at Kibati, north of Goma in eastern Congo. Recent fighting has contributed to a heightened risk of cholera in camps for displaced people. (CNS photo/Finbarr O’Reilly, Reuters)
Pope condemns atrocities in Congo, appeals for peace
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI condemned the systematic atrocities, killings and violence targeting innocent people in Congo and called for all sides to work for peace. Recent waves of “destruction, pillaging and violence of every kind have forced (an) additional tens of thousands of people to abandon what little they had in order to survive,” and more than 1.5 million people are now refugees, the pope said. After praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said his prayers were with those suffering from the fresh outbreak of violence, and he sent encouragement to relief workers, especially from the local churches. African leaders attending a summit in Kenya November 7 called for a cease-fire between rebels and pro-government forces and urged increased numbers and powers for U.N. peacekeepers in the eastern region of Congo. Pope Benedict said “bloody armed clashes and systematic atrocities have caused and continue to cause numerous victims among innocent civilians” in the North Kivu region of Congo. He appealed to all sides to “work together to restore peace in that land (that has been) martyred for too long.” He said the conflict must be ended in a way that is lawful and, above all, respects the dignity of every person.
Meanwhile, Caritas Internationalis, the international umbrella group of Catholic aid agencies, launched an emergency appeal to help tens of thousands of people living “in dire conditions either in camps or in the bush.” While international staff had to be evacuated from the area, local Caritas personnel remain on the ground to support those in need, Caritas said in an October press release. However, fighting has halted the distribution of planned aid in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, it said. “We’re witnessing the escalation of a humanitarian disaster,” said Father Pierre Cibambo, Caritas Internationalis Africa liaison officer. During a the recent press conference, the Canadian Catholic aid
agency Development and Peace joined several other aid agencies in urging Canada to intervene in the conflict. “Massive displacements, arbitrary assassinations, pillage, torture, kidnapping and an undetermined number of rapes have happened in Congo,” said Gaelle Breton-Le Goff of the Montreal-based Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations. “War, once again, is being waged on the bodies of women and girls — Canada must take immediate action.” In a press release, the Jesuit Refugee Service also called on the international community to help reinforce peacekeeping efforts to protect civilians, quell the violence and increase security so aid agencies can have access to those who have been displaced by the fighting.
“The meeting was characterized by great cordiality and a spirit of cooperation. The delegations carried forward their task, in confident pursuit of their joint commitment to accelerate the progress toward agreement,” said the statement. Father Caputa said delegation members were pleased that a schedule was fixed for a December 18 meeting, in which Msgr. Pietro Parolin, Vatican undersecretary of state, will participate. “We ... have already had good results from our latest meetings,” said Father Caputa.
The Church in the U.S.
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November 21, 2008
What’s next for marriage? battle won; war continues
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON — The passage of state constitutional amendments that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman in California, Florida and Arizona might mark the end of a battle in those states, but it does not signal the end of the continuing war over what marriage means. That’s a fight in which the U.S. Catholic bishops plan to remain engaged for the long term. It’s certainly encouraging that the citizens of Florida, Arizona and California chose to uphold the traditional definition of marriage,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ recently created Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, in a recent telephone interview. The committee’s work includes — but goes far beyond — public policy questions like the amendments approved November 4. It is also charged with finding ways to promote healthy marriages and
to answer “questions and misunderstandings” about the Catholic view on marriage, the archbishop said. There’s lots of good news (about marriage), but there are also lots of challenges,” he said. In a postelection statement, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles spoke about one of the biggest misunderstandings — that the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage indicates a rejection of homosexuals and lesbians as people. “Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society,” the cardinal said. “Its sole focus is on preserving God’s plan for people living upon this earth throughout time. “The Catholic Church understands that there are people who choose to live together in relationships other than traditional marriage,” he added. “All of their spiritual, pastoral and civil rights should be respected, together with their membership in the Church.” D. Michael McCarron, executive director of the Florida Cath-
olic Conference, had a similar message after that state’s voters approved the constitutional amendment. “The bishops’ support for Amendment 2 was not motivated by discrimination or animosity against gays and lesbians,” he told the Florida Catholic newspaper. “The bishops see that both the common good and the future of our society are served through the traditional understanding of marriage, and they also understand that research and history support the traditional family as the best environment to nurture and raise healthy children.” With the addition of Florida, Arizona and California, 30 states now have constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Same-sex marriages are permitted in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and some California officials have said they will continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples until a judge orders them to stop. An estimated 18,000 same-
sex marriages have taken place in California since the state Supreme Court’s ruling last May expanded the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. The vote throws into confusion the legal status of those unions. Opponents of Proposition 8 are challenging the amendment on several fronts. A recent court filing by the San Francisco and Los Angeles city attorneys and the Santa Clara County counsel argued that “such a sweeping redefinition of equal protection would require a constitutional revision rather than a mere amendment,” according to a statement from San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office. “Article XVIII of the California Constitution provides that a constitutional revision may only be accomplished by a constitutional convention and popular ratification, or by legislative submission to the electorate.” The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal also have challenged the election results, saying Proposition 8 is in-
valid because the initiative process “was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group — lesbian and gay Californians.” At least one pollster credits a late shift by Catholics with the win in California. Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, said polling by his San Franciscobased organization a week before the election found that 44 percent of Catholics favored Proposition 8 and 48 percent opposed it, roughly mirroring the survey results across all groups statewide. About a quarter of the state’s voters are Catholic. When the votes were counted, Proposition 8 won by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. “My take is that polling on issues like same-sex marriage that have a direct bearing on religious doctrine can be affected in a big way in the final weekend by lastminute appeals by the clergy to their parishioners,” DiCamillo said.
BALTIMORE (CNS) — The U.S. bishops agreed November 11 to grant five task forces the authority to tackle issues ranging from strengthening marriage to addressing cultural diversity in the Church as priority initiatives through 2011. During the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall general assembly, the bishops approved a host of goals for each task force to work on for the next year. Those task forces are on faith formation and sacramental practice; strengthening marriage; the life and dignity of the human person; cultural diversity in the Church; and the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. The task forces have a combined membership of 45 U.S. bishops with the help of a total of 40 staff members of the conference. They are expected to come back to the 2009 fall general assembly with detailed reports about meeting the American church’s agenda through 2011 on these issues, said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., conference vice president. “It’s a tremendous investment for the conference,” Bishop Kicanas said. “These are more than goals and objectives. These are lifelong challenges.” The goals of the Task Force on Cultural Diversity — headed by Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M. — include identifying best practices and developing models for pastoring multicultural parishes, especially those with
a growing Hispanic population, and inviting various cultures in the Catholic community to collaborate in addressing issues and developing initiatives that affect the whole Church. The goal of the Task Force on Strengthening Marriage — led by Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles — is to increase understanding of the sacrament of marriage and the sacredness of human sexuality through ageappropriate education and catechesis, and work for laws and policies that protect, promote and strengthen marriage. The goals of the Task Force on Faith Formation and Sacramental Practice — headed by Bishop J. Peter Sartain of Joliet, Ill. — include inviting all Catholics to a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Church through formation focused on sacred Scripture and sacraments, especially the Sunday Eucharist. The goals of the Task Force on Life and Dignity of the Human Person — lead by Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo. — include affirming the intrinsic value of human life and the dignity of every human being in a way that transforms the culture. The goals of the Task Force on Promotion of Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life — headed by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala. — include educating all of the faithful on the importance of encouraging others to consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.
Bishops instruct task forces to develop priorities up to 2011
November 21, 2008
The Church in the U.S.
CALL FOR JUSTICE FOR ALL, INCLUDING THE UNBORN— Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the U.S. bishops’ general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
Cardinal George prays for new president and warns about FOCA
BALTIMORE (CNS) — At the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ November 10-12 fall general assembly in Baltimore, the bishops heard their president, Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, acknowledge the historic significance of the election of President-elect Barack Obama and pray that the incoming president will be able to succeed in his task for the good of all, but said the common good cannot be advanced by the promotion of abortion. The following is Cardinal George’s statement: “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil” (Psalm 127, vs. 1). The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all. Because of the Church’s history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our provision of better education and adequate health care for
all, especially for women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods. The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself. In the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any “interference” in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract
any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in our country. Parental notification and informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be laws banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting infants born alive after a failed abortion. Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have lethal consequences for prenatal human life. FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil. On this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are also pastors who have listened to women whose lives have been diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills, and the psychological and spiritual consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many women and men. The bishops are single-minded because they are, first of all, single-hearted. The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for
5 the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion. This statement is written at the request and direction of all the bishops, who also want to thank all those in politics who work with good will to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves and their families; and we are grateful. We express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good of our nation. The common good is not the sum total of individual desires and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based upon good reason and good will for all. Our prayers accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part of our elected “watchman” (Psalm 127). May God bless him and our country.
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The Anchor High-tech home-wreckers for hire
There’s a passage in St. Paul’s Letter to the Church in Philippi in which he calls the attention of the Macedonian Christians to the epicureans among whom they were living. He calls these hedonists “enemies of the cross of Christ” and says, “their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame.” They were, in other words, freely giving rein to their carnal desires, were proud of it, were leading themselves to ruin. It brought St. Paul, who sought their good and salvation, to tears (Phil 3:18-19). As modern culture has been rapidly shedding its Christian foundations and regressing to a similar set of pre-Christian sensualist mores, we should not be surprised that what was recently considered shameful is now being increasingly acclaimed. We’ve seen it with teen-age sex, which is now celebrated in kids’ magazines, favorably portrayed by Hollywood, and accepted and abetted by public school sexual education curricula. We’ve seen it with abortion, when, like the ancient Spartans, many now consider it a civil right and justifiable good to end the lives of babies they consider unwanted and imperfect. We’ve seen it more recently with same-sex relationships; as in Athens in the age of Plato, homoeroticism is now glamorized and, unlike ancient Athens, considered alone a sufficient foundation for marriage. Now we’re seeing a highly-publicized and well-funded effort to idealize adultery. Last week, the Ashley Madison Agency began a half-million dollar Boston-area media blitz entitled, “Life is Short: Have an Affair.” Starting with radio ads on radio stations WAAF and WBCN, but hoping to expand to television, billboards and print media, the company seeks to arouse customers to sign up for an internet-based dating service specializing in arranging adulterous dalliances. One of their ads has a male voiceover say, “Most of us can recover from a onenight stand with the wrong woman, but not when it’s every night for the rest of our lives.” Another features two people in the heat of the moment with the words, “This couple is married … but not to each other. Life is Short. Have an Affair.” A print ad shows a scantily-clad supermodel with the caption, “100 percent of people cheat…” and then at the bottom says, essentially, “on our Website,” and gives the url. Ashley Madison can spend millions to produce slick commercials to romanticize what they’re selling, but at the end of the day its directors are nothing but sleazy high-tech pimps. They arrange, with devilish ingenuity, for two people to prostitute themselves while the company pockets the proceeds. The directors claim, of course, to be simple businessmen. They say, against their critics, that they’re not trying to promote adultery, but merely attempting to assist those who have already made up their mind to cheat. That pseudo-altruism will put them in the same category for civic persons of the year as drug peddlers, who of course never try to get kids to do drugs but merely want to provide a service for those who have already made up their mind to get high. Ashley Madison is a company that seeks to profit from practices that everyone knows and statistics demonstrate injures, often fatally, persons, marriages and families. It tries to seduce people into breaking one of the most sacred promises a human being will ever make. It engages in high-tech home-wrecking. The Massachusetts bishops released a statement last Friday criticizing the commercials (see page 15). “As pastors and teachers,” they wrote, they felt “compelled to speak in support of marriage in light of a recent advertising campaign promoting adultery in the Commonwealth.… This wrongful enterprise threatens not only the oldest and most foundational of human institutions but also the common good of all.” Its promotion of adultery attacks the very foundation of marriage, which “requires honesty, loyalty, trust, self-sacrifice, personal responsibility, respect, and commitment.” All of these virtues are undermined by this most vicious form of cheating. It destabilizes the most important institution in the life of children and most adults. “Where marriage is weakened,” the bishops state, “the social cost is enormous.” Our shepherds recognize that marital infidelity, like the marriage it violates, is never merely a private act, but has huge public consequences. It is a supremely selfish action that wounds or breaks marriages and harms innocent spouses and kids, children conceived through adultery, mutual friends and colleagues, as well as society as a whole, which must pick up so many of the emotional, social and financial pieces left by its calamitous path. The bishops “commend those media outlets that have refused this advertising.” These include WEEI (850 am), WRKO (680 am) and the National Football League, which has rebuffed Ashley Madison’s attempt to run ads during the Super Bowl. The bishops “ask other media outlets to do the same.” That’s a specific request to radio stations WAAF (97.7/107.3) and WBCN (104.1), which have so far proved resistant to taking the adultery ads off the air. Readers interested in trying to persuade these stations to do the right thing are encouraged to call 617.779.5411 (WAAF) and 617.746.1400 (WBCN). Life is indeed short. That’s why the choices we make are even more consequential. No one will ever find true happiness by betraying one’s family and one’s word, especially with persons who are likewise demonstrable traitors to their families and sacred commitments. Those at Ashley Madison are glorying in their shame and will bring nothing but shame and heartbreak to those who succumb to their inveigling. Since life is short, people should make choices they won’t regret — and their spouses and kids won’t forget.
November 21, 2008
The Holy Quah-hak-ka-num-ad D
uring this month in which we celebrate age and twice was near death, but she soldiered all saints, it is fitting of course that we on until they arrived in St. Louis. The bishop established them in St. Charles and gave them a have some Americans to cheer. Last Thursday we celebrated the feast of one-room log cabin, which they used to found St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first canonized a school for poor children, the first free school American saint, about whom I wrote a year west of the Mississippi. Thus began 34 years of missionary toil in ago. On Tuesday, we observed the memorial of brutal conditions. The Sisters needed to battle St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, another great cold, hunger, sickness and deprivation, not to spiritual matriarch who came from Europe to mention opposition to their French teaching plant the Gospel in the rich soil of our country. methods, ingratitude and even calumny. “PovCanonized 20 years ago by Pope John Paul II, erty and Christian heroism are here,” she wrote she remains a “living source of inspiration,” he succinctly back to the motherhouse, “and trials said, “for all Christ’s disciples, especially those are the riches in this land.” About the calumny, who live in the richest areas of the world.” To- she joked, “They say everything about us, except that we poison the children.” All of these crosses, gether let’s see why. She was born in Grenoble, France in 1769. however, served merely to prove and magnify Her father was a wealthy lawyer and business- her Christian virtue. Vocations from among her man and her mother belonged to a noble fam- students started to come in large numbers and ily that eventually produced a French president. she was able to establish new houses, schools At her baptism, she was prophetically given the and orphanages in Florissant, Grand Côteau, name Rose, after St. Rose of Lima, the first can- New Orleans, St. Louis and St. Michael. As hard as she was working among the settlers onized saint of the Americas. She received an extraordinary education from the nearby Visi- in the frontier, she still longed to bring the Gostation Sisters supplemented by tutors at home. pel to the Indians. She got her wish when she was At the age of eight, her family received a visit 72. By this point, she had become ill enough that she had asked from a family to step down as friend whose stosuperior. When a ries changed the request came in whole trajectory from the famous of her life. He Jesuit missionary was a Jesuit priest Father Pierrewho had returned Jean De Smet from the LouisiBy Father to help establish ana Territory. He Roger J. Landry a school for the told them about Patawatomi in the heroic work Sugar Creek, the Jesuit missionaries were doing with the Indians and little Kansas, she volunteered to go. Her fellow SisRose was filled with a desire one day to join ters wanted to prevent her from the difficult work in her frail condition, but not only did she insist them on the frontier. When she was 17, her parents began looking on going but so did Father De Smet. “She must to find her a fitting husband, but she told them come,” the black-robed apostle demanded. “She of her intention, rather, to dedicate herself fully may not be able to do much work, but she will to Christ. When her parents resisted, she ran assure success to the mission by praying for us. against their will to join the Visitation Sisters. Her very presence will draw down all manner of Her father eventually relented on her desire not heavenly favors on the work.” That’s precisely what she did. It had been to marry, but he refused to allow her to make her religious vows; it was at the time of the hard enough for her to learn English upon comFrench Revolution and he did not want to see his ing to America at about the age of 50. It was near daughter killed or exiled during what seemed to impossible for her to learn the Indian dialect, but be an upcoming reign of terror. In this he was she did the best she could to teach the young Inprescient, for a short time later all Visitation con- dian girls about Jesus. What she couldn’t convey vents were closed and the nuns banished. For a in words, she conveyed in action. She spent most decade, Rose lived the life of a prayerful nun at of her days and nights on her knees in prayer home while dangerously dedicating herself to before Jesus in the Eucharist, which taught the caring for clandestine priests, helping poor fami- Indians more about the real presence of Christ lies and catechizing orphans and other children than hundreds of catechism classes. Once, young squaws placed small pieces of paper on the back she would find on the streets. When Napoleon signed a concordat with of her habit to see if she’d move during the night the Vatican in 1801 allowing religious life to and go to bed. They came back in the morning resume in the country, Rose sought to reestab- and the pieces of paper were exactly where they lish the Visitation Monastery with some other had placed them. So moved were they by her young women. It didn’t work. After a year, she example that they gave her a precise nickname: offered the monastery to a new religious congre- Quah-hak-ka-num-ad, “the woman who always gation, the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, prays.” After a year, because of the harshness of the that had just been founded by the saint who was then known as Mother Madeleine Sophie Barat. conditions, her local superior sent her back to Mother Barat accepted, Rose became a postulant St. Charles. She did not want to leave, but she of the new community, and the two began a holy accepted under obedience. “God knows the reafriendship that would lead both to canonization. son for this recall and that is enough,” she said. As her desire for union with Christ in prayer Though she had physically left that mission, her deepened, so did her growing awareness that she heart remained. “I live now in solitude and am was being called to bring Christ to the Indians. able to use my time reflecting on the past and One Holy Thursday, she had an ecstatic experi- preparing for death,” she wrote back to France. “I ence while adoring Jesus in the altar of repose. cannot, however, put away the thought of the In“I spent the whole night in the new World ... dians and in my ambition I fly toward the Rockcarrying the Blessed Sacrament to all parts of ies.” She died about a year after her return in St. the land,” she said to Mother Barat. “I had all Charles, on November 18, 1852. Her attitude was always humble and faithmy sacrifices to offer: a mother, sisters, family, my mountain [Grenoble]! When you say to me ful. In summing up her life, Pope John Paul said, ‘Now I am sending you,’ I will respond quickly, “She didn’t think about how much she was leav‘I am on my way.’” As strong as her desire was, ing behind but about those to whom she was sent she needed to wait 12 years and erect, first, a and who was sending her.” In this she is a model for all those believers in the first world. house for her order in Paris. “We cultivate a very small field for Christ,” Her prayers were eventually answered in 1818 when Bishop Dubourg of the Louisiana she said, “but we love it, knowing that God does Territory wrote Mother Barat asking her to send not require great achievements but a heart that Sisters to set up schools in Missouri. Five Sisters holds back nothing for self.... The truest crosses were chosen, the 49-year-old Rose was appoint- are those we do not choose ourselves.... He who ed superior, and they embarked on a grueling has Jesus has everything.” Father Landry is pastor of St. Anthony’s 20-week journey across the Atlantic and up the Mississippi River. Rose was sick the entire voy- Parish in New Bedford.
Putting Into the Deep
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Raised up in power
t. Paul can be blunt. He is from 1 Cor 15:14,17: “If Christ a man with an important has not been raised, then empty message, and he wants to get it across to his readers. The central theme of Living the his message is that Jesus Pauline Year died and rose for love of us sinners so that we could share eternal life By Father Andrew with him and the Father. Johnson, OCSO Opening this theme, the Holy Father begins his is our preaching; empty too is latest catechesis with one of your faith … If Christ has not Paul’s most solemn statements,
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been raised, then your faith is vain and you are still in your sins.” The crucifixion by itself, Paul is saying, cannot explain Christian faith; the crucifixion by itself is just tragedy. The Paschal mystery of our salvation absolutely requires the resurrection, and this proclamation of the fact of Jesus’ being raised from the dead is the most important link between Paul and
Monophysitism and the ‘Oriental Orthodox’ Churches
s already noted, the Council Church as a result of their rejection of Ephesus (431) endorsed of the doctrine of Chalcedon. These St. Cyril’s affirmation of Mary bodies, known collectively as the as Theotokos, “Mother of God,” “Oriental Orthodox” Churches, thereby safeguarding the unity of number approximately 30 million Christ’s person. For to deny Mary faithful. We should not confuse this title, as Nestorius did, is to erect them with the “Eastern Orthodox” within Christ a wall of partition (or simply “Orthodox”) Churches, separating his divinity from his which, as we’ll soon see, accept the humanity, such that he is not the Council of Chalcedon. The Oriental God-man but a man loosely united Orthodox Churches are these: the to God. Armenian Apostolic Church; the Pressing Cyril’s teaching to Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, extremes, the Byzantine monk the largest Christian community Eutyches (who had distinguished in the Middle East; the Ethiohimself at Ephesus on the Catholic pian Orthodox Tewahedo Church side) maintained that in Christ there not only is a single personality but also a single nature, a The Fullness divine nature. That is to of the Truth say, Christ has no human nature; he is “consubBy Father stantial” with the Father Thomas M. Kocik (and the Holy Spirit) but not with us; he is not really man. This idea, the polar opposite of Nestorianism, (Tewahedo is Ge’ez for “unified,” a is called Monophysitism, from the reference to the union of divine and Greek mono, “single” and physis, human in one nature); the Eritrean “nature.” Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Monophysitism was condemned established following Eritrea’s at the Church’s fourth ecumenical independence from Ethiopia in council, held in 451 at Chalcedon 1993; the Syrian Orthodox Church (a suburb of Constantinople, across of Antioch; and the Malankara the Bosphorus) and attended by Orthodox Syrian Church in India, about 630 bishops. Taking up the also called the Orthodox Syrian work begun at Ephesus, the council Church of the East. (About half taught that Jesus Christ is a single, of India’s Monophysite Christians divine Person (God the Son) posbelong to the Malankara Orthodox sessing both a divine and human Syrian Church, while the other half nature. The Chalcedonian formula makes up — note the word order (“two natures, one person”), forged — the Malankara Syrian Orthounder the influence of Pope St. Leo dox Church, which is under the the Great (440-461), affirms the full jurisdiction of the Syrian Orthodox divinity and full humanity of the Patriarch of Antioch. Got that?) Savior. A detailed treatment of all these As so often, cultural and national Churches would unduly prolong tensions made theological disputes this series. What is important to bitterer. The Christians in Persia, remember is that they all spring we saw, adopted the Nestorian from the Monophysite heresy. heresy partially because of Persian Much information about their opposition to the Byzantine Empire. histories, traditions, liturgical rites, Similarly, the Monophysite heresy and demographics is available on became the national religion of the website of the Catholic Near Egypt and Syria, and later Ethiopia Eastern Welfare Association, www. and Armenia, because these nations cnewa.org, which also provides resented the religious and political links to their official Websites. power of Greek Constantinople. For our purpose, it is enough to Had it not been for these non-theohighlight a few facts. logical factors, the two sides might First, the Monophysites, like perhaps have reached a theological the Catholics and Eastern Orthoagreement after Chalcedon. dox, have a developed sacramental In any event, entire communities system, a sacrificial understanding broke communion with the Catholic of the Eucharist, bishops in apos-
tolic succession, elaborate rites and ceremonies, monasticism, veneration of the Blessed Virgin and the saints — in short, what we may call a “high” view of the Church. Second, the Monophysites were great missionaries, like the Nestorians. Third, as with the Nestorian Church, so also portions of each of the historic Monophysite sects reunited with the Catholic Church at various times while retaining their own customs and rites. Thus we have the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian, and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches — all espousing the teachings of Chalcedon, and all in union with the Pope of Rome. Last, scholars now generally agree that the difference between Monophysites and “Chalcedonians” was basically one of terminology, not of theology. (Recall that in the fourth and fifth centuries, the bishops and theologians assembled in general council lacked a standard philosophical vocabulary for resolving the controversies of the day.) The Monophysite schism, like the Nestorian, has now been resolved in principle, and full reunion between these separated Eastern Churches and their smaller Catholic counterparts is within reach. To sum up, neither Nestorianism nor Monophysitism, in their conventional meanings, expresses the full truth about the Incarnation. Nestorianism, in dividing Christ into two persons, would have us believe, for instance, that the “I” speaking when Jesus said, “I thirst” was different from the “I” who said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Conversely, in confusing Christ into one nature, Monophysitism unwittingly loses our Lord’s sacred humanity in his divinity, as a drop of wine is swallowed up in the ocean. Each of these theories finds its counterweight in Catholicism, which integrates the faith of Nicea and Constantinople, of Ephesus and Chalcedon, thus upholding the fullness of the truth about him who is at once fully God and fully man. Father Kocik is a parochial vicar at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.
his fellow Apostles: “Whether it be I or they, so we preached and so you believed.” There is no doubt in his mind that to be a believer in Jesus Christ means necessarily to announce his resurrection. Paul never elaborated the doctrine of the resurrection theologically. The fact of its happening and then of its being proclaimed and received in faith was sufficient. To deny it, on the other hand, made the proclamation of the Gospel absurd, because one who was preached as Lord had to be a living Lord, one who had conquered death and could reach down through all the ages of man and of the Church to give his life. Someone who had died on a cross and ended his earthly existence, no matter how lovingly and even heroically, could not do that. To suffer in proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection was absolutely worthwhile for Paul, as he said in Acts 23:6, as he stood before the Sanhedrin: “I am on trial for hope in the resurrection from the dead.” The risen Lord had appeared to Paul and his own life held content and meaning on the basis of that experience. Two truths testified to Jesus’ resurrection: the fact that the tomb was empty and that he appeared to his disciples. It is interesting to note that both a negative fact (“Where is his dead body?”) and a positive one (“We have seen the Lord!”) come together to testify to his victory over death. Paul has no doubt about the truth or validity of either. But why does this event, we might ask Paul, still have meaning for us today, centuries later? The Holy Father points to the beginning of Romans as a good lead, where Paul refers to “the Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holi-
ness through resurrection from the dead.” St. Paul was well aware that Jesus was always Son of God, from the moment of his taking flesh in the womb of Mary. The resurrection meant that Jesus had been raised up from the humility he had himself chosen, and had been made Son of God “with power.” Jesus, after his rising, speaks the strict truth when he says, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Mt 28:18) And where do we come in, these many centuries later? Jesus’ rising from the dead means that we, through baptism into his death and resurrection, receive his own Spirit of holiness as sharers in that power. So, we are configured to Christ’s resurrection and receive his Spirit of holiness and power. Fine. But if his victory is truly ours, then why must we suffer? For Paul, this is a profound question. While we live on earth, the risen life and human suffering are inseparable and we must embrace both in the totality of the Paschal mystery. Paul’s great desire is “to know him (Christ) and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his suffering by being conformed to his death.” We could say that during our earthly life, the suffering of Calvary and the glory of the resurrection are not yet differentiated. Cross and crown are still being fashioned from the same material of our earthly life. The last word goes to the Holy Father; elsewhere he wrote a very concise sentence that can sum up and emphasize all that has been said above: “The Church is alive; she is alive because Christ is alive, because he is truly risen.” Father Johnson is the diocesan director of the Pauline Year and parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis.
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henever someone asks me whether I am Democrat or Republican I playfully respond: “I am a Monarchist!” What? You mean you want us to surrender life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to Queen Elizabeth II? Well, no, but my answer is playful, practical and truthful. I do not believe that any priest should be a card-carrying member of any political party. No political platform conforms completely to Church teachings on morality, ethics, justice, subsidiarity or economics. For a priest to belong to a political party means that he gives his time, talent and treasure to support some things that really are contrary to the teachings of Christ and his Church. I am an Independent. I can vote for any candidate or referendum I wish to,
The Anchor
November 21, 2008
Monarchy, anyone?
having judged whether I, as true King, Christ the Lord” an American citizen and as a (RB 1980, p. 157). Catholic, can support the can“Monarchy” means “rule by didate’s policies on moral and one.” It is a natural human way ethical issues. This leaves me of forming a society according free to preach to Republicans, to the leadership of one person. Democrats, Greens, CommuIn America we are not ruled by nists and even Ralph Nader without them feeling or thinking that Homily of the Week I am really preaching Feast of the X party platform. Christ the King So, my “Monarchist” By Father tendencies are also Leonard Hindsley practical. When St. Benedict (c. 480-550 AD) wrote his marvelous Rule for Monks the one politically, but we get he concluded the Prologue an inkling of what this means with this statement: “This whenever we follow a sports message of mine is for you, figure, or an American idol, then, if you are ready to give a Hollywood star, or a rock up your own will, once and musician, whom we admire, for all, and armed with the follow and imitate. strong and noble weapons of But “rule by the one” also obedience to do battle for the has a supernatural dimension
and that is what we celebrate today. The Scripture passages used for this solemnity speak of this “rule of the one” in various ways. From the prophet Ezekiel, we hear God proclaiming himself to be a shepherd who will tend, guide, guard and ultimately judge his sheep. St. Paul teaches that Christ will rule and conquer all his enemies, the last of which is death itself. Christ can do what no other king or Democrat or Republican, etc., can do. He will defeat death and give to the members of his flock the gift of everlasting life. In the meantime he still rules over the lives of Christians and as a Good Shepherd he guides, guards and governs his flock by his teachings and
his sacramental power given to the Church. In the Gospel today Jesus makes it clear that he will judge us by our actions. Did we give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit those imprisoned? In other words, did we love our neighbor as ourselves? Even while we live on earth we are already subjects of the true King and citizens of his Kingdom. We hear in the Preface of the Mass that Christ’s is a “kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.” This is his political platform. This is why I am a Monarchist for I follow Christ the true King. Father Hindsley is pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport.
Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 22, Rv 11:4-12; Ps 144:1-2,9-10; Lk 20:27-40; Sun. Nov. 23, Our Lord, Christ the King, Ez 34:11-12, 15-17; Ps 23:1-3,5-6; 1 Cor 15:2026, 28; Mt 25:31-46; Mon. Nov. 24, Rev 14:1-3,4b-5; Ps 24:1b-4b,5-6; Lk 21:1-4; Tues. Nov. 25, Rv 14:14-19; Ps 96:10-13; Lk 21:5-11; Wed. Nov. 26, Rv 15:1-4; Ps 98:1-3b,7-9; Lk 21:12-19; Thu. Nov. 27, Rv 18:1-2,21-23;19:1-3,9a; Ps 100:1b-5; Lk 21:20-28; Fri. Nov. 28, Rv 20-1-4,11-21:2; Ps 84:3-6a,8a; Lk 21:29-33.
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y the dawn’s early light on November 5, two distinct Americas came into view. The two Americas are not defined by conventional economic, ethnic or religious categories; it’s not rich America v. poor America, black America v. white America, or Catholic America v. Protestant America. No, what this year’s election cycle clarified decisively is that the great public fissure in these United States is between the culture of life and the culture of death. In 1995, when Pope John Paul II introduced the phrase “culture of death” in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae [The Gospel of Life], more than a few commentators coughed politely and tried to suggest,
The two Americas
if gently, that this terminology ular vote percentage garnered was a bit over-the-top — too by a Democrat since Lyndon dramatic, too confrontational, B. Johnson. incapable of being heard The people of the State of by those it was intended to Washington have adopted, in persuade. Thirteen years later, a landslide, an act permitting it is obvious that the critics were wrong and John Paul the Great was right. The pope saw more clearly into the future, thanks to his insight into the forces By George Weigel at work beneath the surface of the present. Now those forces are plainly in the euthanizing of the sick, view, and the results are clear elderly and burdensome under for all with eyes to see: the Orwellian rubrics of “death The people of the United with dignity” and “physicianStates have elected the most assisted suicide.” radically pro-abortion presiThe people of California dential candidate in American have exercised their sovereign history, and by the largest pop- will to prevent the parents of minors from being notified if their daughter intends to have an abortion — although you may be quite certain that said parents would be consulted before said minor’s school nurse administered an aspirin tablet. And the people of Michigan have decided to authorize a wholesale slaughter of human embryos for research purposes — at precisely the moment that embryonic stem-cell research has lost much of its scientific luster, thanks to developments in the reprogramming of adult
The Catholic Difference
stem cells. Culture of death, indeed. What is to be done? The first order of business at the national level is to prevent the new Congress from passing the federal Freedom of Choice Act [FOCA], an explicit attempt to destroy every state-based Pro-Life legal achievement of the past three decades. If prevention is impossible and FOCA is enacted, then it must be vigorously challenged in the federal courts. The stakes are very, very high: in addition to facilitating a greater slaughter of the innocents, FOCA, by eliminating state conscience-clause protections for Pro-Life health care professionals, would create a situation in which the Catholic health care system as we know it would cease to exist, within a decade at most. Then we come to adult catechesis. This year, the pro-abortion candidate carried every state in what Maggie Gallagher calls the “Decadent Catholic Corridor” — the Northeast and the older parts of the Midwest. Too many Catholics there are still voting the way their grandparents did, and because that’s what their grandparents did. This tribal
voting has been described by some bishops as immoral; it is certainly stupid, and it must be challenged by adult education. That includes effective use of the pulpit to unsettle settled patterns of mindlessness. This year, a gratifying number of bishops began to accept the responsibilities of their teaching office; so, now, must parish pastors. We need more persuasive ideas and language in the fight against euthanasia. Yes, the good guys were outspent in Washington State by orders of magnitude — and that should cause serious examinations of conscience among Catholic philanthropies and individuals of means. But, as in the debate over embryo-destructive stem-cell research, the culture of life has yet to develop a language that trumps the invocation of “compassion” when that’s misused by the culture of death. And we need prayer — lots of it. Some demons require special powers to exorcize. As of November 5, it is clear that certain of them have taken up residence in the United States of America. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
No cursing!
Friday 21 November 2008 asm” was our cheer. It is all — Ann Arbor, Mich. — eve of about building and maintaining Family Volunteer Day http:// a positive, faith-based attitude. disney.go.com/disneyhand/fami- The Christopher Movement delyvolunteer cades ago discovered the power s a young seminarian, I of positive thinking. It was in took the Christopher Leadership Course. I enjoyed it. It was more practical than some Reflections of a of my other courses Parish Priest were — ethics taught in By Father Tim Latin, for example. Their leadership course was Goldrick all about discovering one’s untapped potential and confidently setting out to the public speaking component change the world. “It is better that I found the strategy of usto light one candle than to curse ing humor to make a point. My the darkness” is the motto. college classmates responded “Faith, courage, and enthusifavorably to my presenta-
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November 21, 2008
The Ship’s Log
tions. I grew in confidence and learned skills that have served me well. A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Detroit area for a weekend of meetings, including the annual membership meeting of the Friends of the Crèche, a 400-member-strong national society dedicated to furthering the tradition of the Christmas Nativity scene. Some members are scholars, some are authors, most are lay people and just about all of us are collectors. We are a very eclectic group. We have little in common except a love for the Nativity of the Lord.
A heavenly scent
Israelite, slain, and then burned ur oldest child called on an altar. Cakes made of home from college fine grains and wafers spread the other day saying that she with oil were also acceptable, couldn’t wait to come home for Thanksgiving. She said that aromatic sacrifices used in worship of the one true God. she missed walking out of her To imagine the heavenly allure bedroom in the early morning of all this grilling and cooking, to the aroma of fresh brewed think of catching a whiff of a coffee and walking in the neighbor’s barbeque, or sitting door after a long day of high down to a homemade Thanksschool to the smell of dinner giving dinner after eating in a on the table. I smiled to hear cafeteria for three months. what simple things reminded her of home, and knew exactly what she wasn’t saying about eating in a cafeteria for three months straight. Memories are deeply and somewhat By Heidi Bratton mystically connected to our sense of smell. Damp leaf piles, for The Bible explains, howexample, always take me back to running with my high school ever, that it was not the aroma itself that was pleasing to the cross-country team in the Lord. The aroma was but an fall. Low tide and sunscreen analogy for the virtuous condismell like hot summer days at tion of the heart of the person the beach and the salt marsh offering the sacrifice. In fact, near our house. If ever a time the Old Testament also tells us machine could be invented, I that where there is disobedient believe it would be fueled by and ungodly behavior, “Instead fragrances; those voiceless, of a fragrance, there will be a invisible vapors which can stench” (Isaiah 3:24). transport us to another place The expression, “an aroma and time with a single whiff. pleasing to the Lord” is so There is a fantastic Biblievocative that it continued to cal image, which makes use of be used in neophyte Christian our sense of smell to indicate communities even after Jesus’ good actions and intentions. It life, death, and resurrection on is, “an aroma pleasing to the the cross became the perfect Lord,” and it originates in the atonement for our sins, and book of Leviticus in the Old burnt offerings were no longer Testament where God gives necessary. In the New Testathe nation of Israel lengthy instructions on how to properly ment, for example, St. Paul thanks believers in Philippi worship him. This worship for their financial support and often included the offering other gifts by saying, “They of an animal, typically an [the gifts] are a fragrant offerunblemished male lamb, but ing, an acceptable sacrifice, sometimes a dove or a pigeon, pleasing to God (Philippians which was brought to the tem4:18).” ple by a repentant or thankful
Home Grown Faith
Having discovered how expressively the Bible uses our sense of smell, I had a kind of poetic idea for growing our faith at home over Thanksgiving and Christmas. What if each of us tried to embody our favorite holiday fragrance? What if we envisioned what we say or don’t say, and do or don’t do, as creating an aroma as alluring as a holiday feast; an aroma pleasing to God? All good and godly behavior would count toward embodying this fragrance, but we could take the analogy a little deeper and specifically brainstorm silent and invisible good deeds. We could bite our tongue instead of voicing negativism, judgmental opinions, or gossip. We could push the mute button on tooting our own or our children’s horns, and actively listen to the stories of others, instead. Invisible things we could do might be helping others without being asked (and not telling anyone of our help), playing Secret Santa, or spending increased quiet time in prayer. Children love codes, too, so before or during a holiday gathering we could say to each other with a whisper and a wink, “be an aroma pleasing to the Lord.” So, please don’t tell my family, but I’m debating between fresh gingerbread cookies and hot buttered popcorn for my holiday fragrance, and I think I’ll have to make a big batch of both before I can decide. Heidi is an author, photographer, and full-time mother. She and her husband raise their six children in Falmouth. homegrownfaith@gmail.com.
Varied as we are in religion, profession, and financial status, we nevertheless appreciate each other. We have become friends. We realize there is a thin line between collecting and obsessing, and we are a bit obsessive — but in a good way. “Blessed are those with a one-track mind” (modern translation of Matthew 5:8.) We never discuss denominational religion or sectarian politics, but we share our joy in the universal mystery of salvation and then we set out to change the world. I met a young man at the meeting who, instead of cursing the darkness, lit a candle. His name is Garrick Hyde. He lives in Utah. He is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). Garrick is married. He and his wife have four children, the oldest being 16. He works in the computer field. A crèche collector for several years, just three years ago Garrick became interested in assisting Third World artisans by commissioning a few folk art crèches for a handful of inquiring friends. Well, one thing led to another (as it always does) and together the Hyde family resolved to reach out to crèche artisans worldwide. Garrick said he had no expertise in business management and no idea how to start such an enterprise, but he felt called. Garrick began by contacting artisans in developing areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He purchased the sets at the rate the artisans were requesting, had the artwork shipped in small increments, and, initially, posted the pieces for sale on eBay. The concept was not to make a profit, but rather to bypass several layers of intermediaries between the artisan and the customer. It worked so well that Garrick opened his own Website (www.worldnativities.com). He now represents more than 50 crèche artists in developing countries, although he has never personally met any of the artists or traveled to their
countries. In three years, he has sold 1,500 handcrafted Nativity sets. Most customers, Garrick says, are not collectors but just good people simply wanting to help struggling artists and their families to achieve some sense of human dignity through meaningful work. However, what was Garrick to do with the profits that began to accrue? The family decided to return 100 percent of the proceeds to help others in developing countries. Garrick and his family have now dispersed some $35,000 for service projects around the world. This has gone to pay teachers’ salaries, provide wheelchairs, dig wells, sponsor cataract surgery, assist expectant mothers, meet school tuitions, place orphans, ship hygiene kits to disaster areas, and provide shoes for the needy and seeds for farmers. The children of the family, with guidance from their parents, determine the recipients. All four children participate in the family service project, insofar as they are able. A fiveyear-old daughter hand-colors thank-you notes to be included with the orders; others keep track of supplies and shipments. Garrick said he has to take time off from his real job the entire month of December. During that month, he invites the public to his house. The private home is an annual pilgrimage destination for approximately 1,000 people. They come to see Garrick’s personal crèche collection. Tours of up to 25 people pass through every 30 minutes. About 100 varying sets are on display, placed on tables and bookcases throughout the home. In three years, Garrick and his family have lit a whole rack of candles. Imagine what would happen if more people lit just one candle instead of cursing the darkness. Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.
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Does tofu have feathers?
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t wasn’t at age 50 when my body started it’s free fall from the carefree days of my youth. It was at 52. It’s been quite a year for me, this time period called 2008. I was diagnosed with having three herniated discs, just below my noggin. That diagnosis came after spending 20 horrendous minutes in the tight confines of an MRI machine. Did you know that you can pray hundreds of “Hail Mary’s” in that time span? The fallout from the disc problems is that I can’t feel my right thumb. After several neurological tests, it was decided that I go on the “wrack,” a couple of time a week to decompress the discs. That’s not nearly the
My View From the Stands By Dave Jolivet trauma of an MRI ... in fact I often fall asleep while a machine is pulling my head off my body. Then I had a bout with kidney stones. The doc said its diameter was between that of a BB and a pea. It was the size of Rolling Rock in Fall River. After a couple of nights in the hospital, they broke up the boulder and then it became the size of several BBs or petit pois. My wife said we were now even — her having four children and me having one stone. Next on the docket was finding out I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. For me, that was the worst news yet. I love pizza, burgers, cheese, cheese, and more cheese. I forgot what salt tastes like. Now I eat fake burgers, faux
pizza and all kinds of cheese substitutes. He or she who creates a good-tasting cheese substitute will be forever my hero. With a change in diet and daily exercise, I’ve already dropped 10 pounds. Maybe I should celebrate with a cheeseburger. No Dave, be strong. This Thanksgiving should be pretty interesting. They say that tofu can take the taste of anything. We’ll see next Thursday. Actually the dictionary defines tofu as “a bland cheeselike food, rich in protein.” Believe me, the only thing cheeselike about tofu is the texture. While the rest of the family chomps away at the traditional Turkey Day feast, I’ll munch on turkeyfu, gravy-fu, mashed-potatofu, crescent-fu, stuffing-fu, egg nogg-fu, and pumpkin piefu. Ummmm. The real litmus test will come with Igor. Being part border collie, Iggy will eat just about anything; socks, tissues, pencils, sticks, chew toys, etc. If she snubs her nose at anything fu-related Thanksgiving morning, I’ll think I’ll head outside on the deck while everyone is eating real food, and grill up a couple of veggie burgers. In fact I’ll char them and pretend it’s good old American beef. It will still be a good day with family and friends, and the smell of a real Thanksgiving meal wafting through the house. And nothing can take away hours of pigskin action on the tube. Pigskin? They don’t have tofutball too. That would be just cheesy-like.
November 21, 2008
Falmouth woman finds link in nursing, living one’s faith By Michael Pare Anchor Staff
And nurses really have a leg up on things in a hospital.” Bringing the holy Eucharist to patients at FALMOUTH — Looking back, it all makes perfect sense. June Miller, a lifelong member Falmouth Hospital is a passion of Miller. A few of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth, didn’t al- years ago, she helped to establish a small chaways connect her profession to her Catholic pel and tabernacle there. It was an undertaking faith or to activities in her parish. But the con- made possible through the generosity of more than 60 people. It is a wonderful example of nection is there. It always was. A proud graduate of St. Elizabeth’s School faith, she says, the tabernacle that serves five area parishes. Its very of Nursing in Brighexistence makes it that ton, Miller thoroughly much easier to bring enjoyed her career as a the Lord to the patients registered nurse. It was in the hospital. a career that included Miller helps to a seven-year stint in schedule the volunteer the United States Air extraordinary ministers Force that allowed her of holy Communion, a to see so much, to travtask made rather easy, el to places far from says Miller, because no the ocean breezes of one ever seems to want Cape Cod. a day off. But always, she “Everyone takes came home. their assignment so seAnd home meant riously,” she said. “It’s beautiful Falmouth, and wonderful. The patients of course, St. Patrick’s get so much out of it. Parish on Main Street. But we get so much out It also meant Falmouth of it, too … bringing Hospital, where Miller the Lord to them.” was nurse educator for Miller figures any 15 years and where she continues to regularly ANCHOR PERSON OF THE WEEK — June opportunity she has Miller. to give to others, she visit these days, bringshould embrace. She ing the holy Eucharist sees her Catholicism as something that has to patients. given so much to her. Last year, for example, But that’s getting ahead of the story. June Miller’s story is rooted in her faith. she was selected to take part in the “Women’s Now, at 80, she laughs a bit when asked about World Day of Prayer,” an inter-faith worldit and acknowledges that she “is no holy roll- wide event. “It was such a moving experience,” she er.” But, she said, she is deeply committed to her Catholic faith, a faith that drives her to see said. “That kind of things extends us out … at the hospital we have many different faiths the good in all around her. Always, there was St. Patrick’s and there represented.” Miller said she has also been fueled to do was Falmouth. “My mother went to Mass every day,” she more in recent years because of the negative publicity given to Catholic priests. Maybe it said. “My brother went to Mass every day.” A World War II veteran, Miller’s brother was her military background. She said she felt Jesse Miller (yes, her maiden name and mar- a duty of sorts to be more militant in expressried name are one and the same) was the post- ing her faith in them. “I have so many priest friends and they are master in Falmouth. And so there was this sort of link between where she called home such good men,” she said. Perhaps it is in part the clean air and life in and the faith that surrounded her. June is married to David Miller. The couple has two chil- general on Cape Cod, but Miller gives no indication of slowing down. Asked about her endren. At St. Patrick’s, Miller does a little bit of ergy and willingness to keep doing whatever she can for others, she again finds an answer everything. She is an extraordinary minister of holy in her faith. “I’m into health,” said Miller. “I’m into Communion, as well as a lector, an altar server, a member of the Parish Council, and a del- peace. I just think if you have great faith….” Miller paused to reflect. egate to the Pastoral Planning meetings. “You know, I really turned it all over to him She down plays her service. a couple of years ago,” she said. “People are “I’m there a lot,” she said. She is also at Falmouth Hospital a lot. And always in turmoil. And with the economy the that makes sense, she said. Now, with some way it is. But I figure, you can’t take it with time to reflect on things, she realizes that her you. It’s all in his hands.” Not a bad place to put one’s faith. background as a registered nurse fits so nicely To nominate a Person of the Week, send in allowing her to live her faith. “Nurses, I think, are great for this,” said an email message to FatherRogerLandry@ Miller. “You see something and you do it. AnchorNews.org.
November 21, 2008
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RECOGNIZING THE FAITHFUL — On November 16, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, Bishop George W. Coleman presented the Marian Medal to 83 faithful Catholics from across the Diocese of Fall River, for their dedication in a variety of charitable works, devotions and ministries. It was the 40th anniversary of the award presentation begun by Bishop James L. Connolly in 1968. At left, most of the award winners gathered for a picture with the bishop. At right, Bishop Coleman honors Henry J. Barros from Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in New Bedford. (Photos by Eric Rodrigues)
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The human drama
t would appear as though the next few years will require a reformulation of the very essence of our worldview — for ourselves and for others. With the transition from one administration to another, we also have a fundamental “change” in the value of life itself. Surely our progress down the slippery slope of the last several decades has accelerated of late, but at present there will be no brakes — real or imagined — anywhere in the halls of power. That leaves a restoration of the culture of life in the hands of the powerless — daunting, but not unprecedented. We begin by removing ourselves from the immediacy of legislative concerns in order to pray for discernment. What exactly is the goal of our everyday life — the meaning behind our carpools, dance recitals and book clubs?
The Feminine Genius By Genevieve Kineke How can we discover the heart of married life, the division of household chores and the drive to succeed at the office? What does national security mean if we live in a global community of expanding markets and international music downloads? We begin at the end, which is appropriate during the month of the Holy Souls. Death. Judgment. Heaven. Hell. We are not made for this world but work out our human drama in preparation for the next — and that is the backdrop of our worldview. Perhaps we’ve forgotten. At the heart of the drama is love — love of God and love of neighbor. We are invited to mirror the holy Trinity with our families, which breathe love and life unto the next generation. With all the distractions around us, we’ve erred in three fundamental ways. Our stewardship of creation has devolved into utilitarianism that undermines the collaboration between God and man. Our gift of
reason has devolved into a rationalism that deifies the intellect at the expense of piety. Finally, our legitimate emotions which should lead us to compassion have devolved into sentimentality — ebbing and flowing in the most random patterns according to the whimsical dictates of the mass media. How else could one explain the tears over minks and tabloid martyrs while ignoring the elderly in the nursing home down the road? Considering the election, for which we rightly fasted and prayed, God’s answer was in the form of a metaphysical jolt. Now we must return to the core of our thinking, being called to “give a reason for the faith that is in us.” What is family? What is marriage? What is human life? How do we want to arrange our communities so that the next generation is formed in a way that allows them to understand their true end? It doesn’t take the reins of power to read stories to our children that will solidify the notions of good and evil. It doesn’t take a congressional staff to redeploy a language imbedded with a vocabulary of virtue. One need not be appointed to a government post to remind our friends and family of the various chapters of biblical and Church history in which God’s humble folk were tested by the wiles of mammon. In fact, even the simplest woman in the home can embark on this project. A solitary factory worker can sow seeds on her lunch hour. A student in a dormitory can stand up for virtue and human dignity with charity and a smile — reminding those nearby of finer standards by which to live. Oppression is nothing new in Christian history, and if events on the horizon bring about our turn, let us share the dramatic outline with those we know and love, and remind them of the end of the tale. Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books). She can be found online at www.femininegenius.com.
Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, November 23 at 11:00 a.m. Scheduled celebrant is Father Henry S. Arruda, pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Taunton.
ACTION! — Videographer Douglas Thomas of NewGroup Media films an actress portraying Sister Anne Lehner, a Sister of Social Service, who escaped from Communist-controlled Hungary into Austria in 1952. (CNS photo/courtesy NewGroup Media)
Stories of Europe’s ‘secret Sisters’ shared with those who helped
By Patricia Bartos Catholic News Service
PITTSBURGH — Theirs is the great untold story of modern Europe — the “secret Sisters,” who for more than 40 years under communism took their vows, lived out their calling and kept the faith alive, all in isolation and in constant fear of discovery. The depth of their commitment as part of the underground Church will come to life on television screens next year through a documentary in production by NewGroup Media in South Bend, Ind. Titled “Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism,” the program is funded in part by the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign. “What strikes me is that we all know about the Holocaust, which lasted for six years, but what about these 43 years of suffering?” said Sister Margaret Nacke. “No one knows this story.” She and Sister Mary Savoie, St. Joseph Sisters of Concordia, Kan., have collected some 3,000 oral histories from Sisters in eight countries over the last 15 years. The oral histories formed the basis for the documentary and for “Faces of Faith,” a traveling exhibit they take to religious communities. The exhibit can be viewed online at www.csjkansas. org, under “News.” “The Sisters show what it was to be faithful to the Church and God and to continue their ministry wherever they were,” Sister Mary said. The documentary “really tells the story of the Catholic Church under communism and tells how these people are an example for us.” Their stories are stark, dramatic and very moving, telling of Sisters imprisoned in concentra-
tion camps, sent to hard labor in Siberia, beaten for teaching and practicing the faith. Earlier this year, 21 Sisters from Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Poland gathered at the Villa Maria Community Center in Villa Maria, Pa., with some 30 U.S. members of the International Forum for Sisters, formed in the 1990s to respond to the needs of religious communities emerging from the underground. Sisters in the U.S. have the support of their community, said Sister Dia Stasiuk of the Basilian order in Lviv, Ukraine, while those living under communism “didn’t know who they could trust.” In the early ’90s, she said, for the first time since the fall of communism, “the Sisters in Ukraine came together, 90 of them, and began recognizing each other. It was ‘Oh, you’re a Sister too?’ We knew each other only in small groups, and only by first names, for safety.” The Sisters could not even tell their own families of their vocations, for fear of endangering them. Sister Terez Muranyi took her first vows in secret in 1977 in Romania, as an Eastern Catholic member of the Sisters of Social Service. “My family did not know anything until 1993,” she said. When the news reached her mother, “she was very happy,” Sister Terez said. “She wanted to become a nun when she was young and was happy that I continued her vocation. I was so happy to invite my parents to my 25th.” Sister Paula Cicos of the Mother of God Sisters in Romania had been a Sister for six years, living at home and working in a biological research lab. Approaching her
final vows, she told her parents. “They cried a lot,” she said. “It was not easy. They came with me in secret to a house as I took my vows. They gave me a blessing, crying.” The U.S. Sisters at the Villa Maria meeting were among more than 200 who helped their East and Central European counterparts by establishing pastoral centers, updating libraries, teaching English and hosting leadership workshops. They saw the chance for real collaboration and didn’t want to lose the relationships they had begun with the European Sisters, said Sister Veronica Ternovacz of the Humility of Mary order at Villa Maria, one of those early volunteers and current head of the International Forum for Sisters. At the summer gathering they studied together Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est” (“God Is Love”), while engaging in dialogue and nurturing new friendships. Romania’s Sister Terez participated in the forum from the very beginning. “We knew a little of our own world but not of the suffering of others,” she said. “We knew how to suffer, how to be brave, to pray, but not how to live in community life, how to form young Sisters in religious life.” Vincentian Sister Valentyna Ryabushko of Ukraine, at age 26 the youngest Sister attending the Villa Maria dialogue, listened eagerly to the stories of the older Sisters. “On my visit here I saw Sisters who opened their hearts, who lived under communism through these times,” she said. “Our vocations were bought by the price of their faith.”
The Anchor
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November 21, 2008
news briefs
Two Catholic bishops defend Mormons’ role in Proposition 8 campaign SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — Bishops John C. Wester of Salt Lake City and William K. Weigand of Sacramento defended the role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the success of California’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage. Bishop Weigand also decried “bigoted attacks” against Mormons by the “No on 8” campaign. Proposition 8 was a measure on the California ballot that voters approved November 4. It amends the state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Since the election the “No on 8” campaign has held marches and rallies, some of which have taken place at Mormon temples to decry that Church’s substantial financial and organizational contribution to the “Yes on 8” campaign. At the same time, Protestant ministers who with Catholics, Mormons and members of other faiths took part in the ProtectMarriage.com coalition that sponsored Proposition 8 condemned “continued targeted attacks on the Mormon people” during and after the election. Before recent voter registration issues, CCHD had cut off ACORN funds BALTIMORE (CNS) — The Catholic Campaign for Human Development cut off funding earlier this year to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN, for reasons unrelated to the organization’s current troubles over voter registration and partisan politics, reported the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ subcommittee on CCHD. In a report to the bishops November 11 during their annual fall meeting in Baltimore, Auxiliary Bishop Roger P. Morin of New Orleans explained that CCHD, the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty program that funds community development programs around the country, this summer suspended $1.13 million in previously authorized grants to ACORN affiliates. No new applications from ACORN for the coming year were approved, he added. ACORN has been under scrutiny in the last few months, most visibly for problems with its voter registration efforts. ACORN’s voter registration programs in several states are being investigated after some of its workers were found to have made up names on registration forms. The false names were discovered before the forms were turned in to government entities. But Bishop Morin explained that the CCHD action followed the revelation June 2 that Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, had embezzled nearly $1 million from the organization and its affiliates in 1999 and 2000. Pope urges Christians to pray for renewal of world of violence, fear VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians must pray that Jesus comes into the lives of those who are suffering from selfishness and violence, including those in Congo and Sudan, said Pope Benedict XVI. At his November 12 weekly general audience, the pope focused on St. Paul’s teaching about Jesus’ second coming and how Christians are to live while waiting for the end of time. In St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle used the words “Marana, tha!” or “Come, Lord Jesus” to indicate how this ancient Christian prayer shows the joyful expectation of Jesus’ return and the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation, said the pope. The pope said it was probably very difficult for people today “to sincerely pray that this world perish, that the new Jerusalem come, that the Last Judgment arrive.” He said, “Certainly we don’t want the end of the world to come now, but on the other hand we do want this unjust world to come to an end and we do want the world to be fundamentally changed.” Vietnamese archbishop urges Catholics to help victims of flooding HANOI, Vietnam (CNS) — Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi has urged local Catholics to donate generously to victims of the worst floods the capital and other northern provinces have experienced in 40 years. The archbishop also asked local Catholics “to take part actively in flood prevention work, rebuild or repair river dikes and save people in their areas.” In a letter November 6 to the Hanoi Archdiocese, Archbishop Kiet invoked God’s blessing on “all of you who passionately love and help victims in this difficult time.” The Asian church news agency UCA News reported on the letter November 12. Vietnam’s central Flood and Storm Prevention Committee reported Nov. 10 that heavy rains October 30-November 7 caused the worst flooding since 1968 in Hanoi and 16 northern provinces. The disaster claimed 84 lives, including 22 in the capital, with five people still missing November 12. Floodwaters also damaged nearly $372 million worth of crops, cattle, livestock, bridges, houses, roads and dikes.
Bishops will present concerns on abortion, other issues to politicians
BALTIMORE (CNS) — With a new administration and a Democratic-dominated Congress about to take office, the U.S. bishops will spell out their concerns about policies and laws that might make abortion more readily available. After a total of nearly three hours of discussion in public and private sessions November 11 during their annual fall meeting, the bishops gave their president, Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, a set of concerns about abortion and other matters to raise in a public statement he will issue on their behalf. Key to their discussion was concern that they restate the Church’s opposition to abortion and interest in protecting unborn children, particularly focused on potential legislation and executive orders Presidentelect Barack Obama might issue to relax federal policies related to abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. The bishops discussed the topic at length in executive session in the morning and came to their open afternoon session with a set of five lengthy points that the statement would include. Nevertheless, they spent another hour listening to various bishops making their cases to emphasize one angle or another. The statement would be directed at Obama and his administration, but several bishops expressed concern that it be used as a teaching tool for all people. The first point said the cardinal should draw on points he made in his presidential address to open the bishops’ meeting in which he talked about the his-
toric significance of the election of the nation’s first AfricanAmerican president but also said that the common good can never be adequately obtained in any society that offers legal abortion. The other four essential elements the bishops want reflected in the cardinal’s statement are: — that they wish to work with the new presidential administration, especially in areas such as economic justice, immigration reform, health care for the poor, education, religious freedom and work for peace; — that the Church is intent on opposing evil and the bishops are united in teaching and defending unborn children from the moment of conception. Their draft proposal emphasizes opposition to legislation known as the Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that has been perennially introduced in Congress but that has failed to advance out of committee. The most recent version of the bill seeks to override any state laws that might restrict abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court. The high court’s 1973 Roe decision legalized abortion virtually on demand. As a candidate, Obama told a Planned Parenthood group that he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act. — that the bishops recognize the presidential election was decided primarily on the basis of voters’ concerns about the economy, that “even issues such as the Iraq War and universal health care, let alone abortion rights, were of secondary importance”; — that the bishops want to
express their gratefulness for Catholics in political life who work to protect the life of the unborn and vulnerable and point to their desire that all Catholics in public life be fully committed to the common good. During discussion on the proposed statement, several bishops said they want it to emphasize that, since voters had other primary concerns, Obama’s election should not be taken as a mandate to proceed with abortion policies that many of those voters would oppose. Some of the bishops seemed to prefer the statement take on other issues, such as how the church responds to Catholic politicians whose political actions seem to conflict with church teaching. Bishop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton, Pa., said though he realized the statement would not address that topic, “we are going to have to speak as firmly as possible to Catholic politicians who are not merely reluctant to vote Pro-Life, but are stridently anti-life.” He noted that in ages past, U.S. bishops took canonical measures against Catholic politicians who supported institutional racism. “We have to have something like that,” he said. “I cannot have the vice president-elect (Joseph Biden) coming to Scranton (his childhood home) saying he learned his values there, when his values are utterly against the teachings of the Catholic Church.” Others encouraged narrowing the statement’s focus, yet others wanted it expanded in various ways, including inserting quotes from Pope John Paul II.
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November 21, 2008
Beloved St. Theresa’s Chapel closes its doors
Father Albert Ryan celebrates jubilee
marriages, baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and funerals. It was a place for Catholic faithful in the Bourne and Sagamore areas to laugh, cry, worship, and share fellowship. The chapel was the vision of Corpus Christi pastor Father George C. Maxwell in the mid 1920s to provide the hard-working Italian immigrant community there a place to worship and receive the sacraments. Unfortunately, because of a number of factors, including a sharp decline in priestly ordinations, a decrease in the ranks of priests, and the age and condition of the chapel, St. Theresa’s will permanently close its doors this Sunday. The decision came after months of discussions at the parish level, at which every option was researched and examined. “It’s a sad time, but it’s also a time to look ahead,” said Corpus Christi pastor Father Marcel H. Bouchard. “There are many in our community who treat this like a death in the family — with good reason. There are so many wonderful memories at St. Theresa’s, but many of our parishioners, particularly the ones who grew up with St. Theresa’s Church, realize that their Catholic faith is more than a church building. And we will keep all those who choose not to come to Corpus Christi in our prayers that their faith may never falter.” The final Mass will take place Sunday at 10 a.m., con-celebrated by Fathers Bouchard and Rodney E. Thibault. “The Mass will not be the finale, though,” Father Bouchard told The Anchor. “On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., we will gather with parishioners for a service to formally terminate St. Theresa’s Church as a sacred space.” Father Bouchard explained that the attendees will gather at five sta-
Although he was ordained on Dec. 20, 1958, Father Ryan recalled that when he celebrated his 40th priestly anniversary it was also on the feast of Christ the King. “You might say I love the feast of Christ the King,” he said smiling. Following the upcoming Mass, Father Ryan will join a gathering of his family and friends at White’s of Westport. His service to the Fall River Diocese beginning in 1979 took a circuitous route. A native of Boston, Father Ryan prepared for the priesthood at Montfort Father’s seminaries in Bay Shore, N.Y., Litchfield, Conn., and St. Philip Neri Seminary in Boston. He was ordained for service with the Montfort Fathers by Archbishop Henry J. O’Brien of Hartford in St. Anthony’s Church in Litchfield, Conn. “The SMM after Montfort Fathers’ names means ‘send more money,’” he said laughing. “Ordained on the same day — but in Rome where he studied — was Father Daniel A. Cronin, who later become Bishop of Fall River and then Archbishop of Hartford Connecticut from which he retired,” Father Ryan recounted. After serving in various locations as a seminary professor and in parish work in the U.S. with the Montfort Fathers, Father Ryan served as a military chaplain in the U. S. Air Force from 1966 to 1974, at bases in Thailand, Crete and North Dakota, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. “In Crete … a wonderful place to be … I served with an electronic surveillance mission that was one of the best keep secrets in the Air Force,” Father Ryan recalled. “Those 23 years in the Air Force were among the best of times.” Although Montfort Fathers had been invited to serve in
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tions throughout the church to listen to comments about why each station was important and sacred over the last eight decades. “We’ll gather at the front door; in the midst of the assembly area where the pews are; at the Easter candle; at the ambo from where sacred Scripture was read; and at the altar,” he said. “At the completion of the service, we’ll process out of St. Theresa’s with the altar stone.” The final chapter for St. Theresa’s Church will be the tolling of the bells. Discussions about the disposition of mission properties will continue past the closing.. The Corpus Christi community held a three-day grieving process at the church from November 11-13, when faithful could attend eucharistic adoration and think back on the righteous history of the beloved chapel. Mary Gallerani, a member of the parish Task Force, told The Anchor, “We’re still in a transition period. St. Theresa’s will always be a part of us, but many of us love Corpus Christi Parish. We have wonderful priests supporting us and it’s our duty to support them.” Gallerani said her husband, Dante F. Gallerani, 92, was born and raised with St. Theresa’s Church. “Dante was a bell-ringer at the church in the early days, and received all of the sacraments there. But he loves the new Corpus Christi Church as well.” She credits the Task Force with “being so welcoming. We want to welcome everybody to Corpus Christi. In time, we hope others will return and feel welcomed.” Bill Bodio, another Task Force member, said, “This has been a painful, yet rewarding experience. As a task force, our hope and focus is multi-dimensional. We want to help people through a healthy
grieving process, and try to turn our attention to the heart and soul of our parish community, the beautiful Corpus Christi Church, built only a couple of years ago.” Bodio said there has been a concentrated effort to reach out to all and go the “extra yard and make people feel welcome.” The hope, he said, lies in building a sense of transformation where the legacy of the faithful at St. Theresa’s can help strengthen the Corpus Christi community, “making it a strong, vibrant faith family.” Another Task Force member, Ralph Negron told The Anchor, “The Task Force had the best interest of the people of St. Theresa’s at heart. I think people will be happy at Corpus Christi. The silver lining is that we’ll all be worshiping under one roof with two wonderful priests and an active parish.” “Although it’s a sad time,” added Father Bouchard, “it’s a time for excitement as well. This will be the first time in 82 years that all the members of Corpus Christi Parish will rally around one church and one meeting place. “Our prayers as a parish family will always go out to those who for one reason or another chose not to join us any longer. I truly pray that they will come back and make our parish family even stronger.” Prior to the building and dedication of the Corpus Christi Church in the center of Sandwich in July 1901, two other churches were erected in Sandwich under the title of St. Peter’s, the first built in 1830, and a larger St. Peter’s completed in 1845. The current Corpus Christi Church was dedicated by Bishop George W. Coleman on Aug. 31, 2003. Prior to his becoming bishop, Father Coleman served as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish from 1985 to 1994.
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the Fall River Diocese — and initially opened a mission in Taunton and served at St. Peter’s in Dighton beginning in September 1967 — Father Ryan, who was incardinated into the diocese in 1979, was never assigned there. But he served as a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s in Attleboro, St. Mary’s in Taunton, St. Francis Xavier in Hyannis, and St. Dominic’s in Swansea before his final pastorate. He also was an administrator at St. George’s in Westport, and was chaplain at Charlton Memorial Hospital and St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River. Other assignments included chaplain at the Barnstable House of Correction, and being a fire department chaplain in North Attleboro, Taunton and Hyannis. “But I think I ingested more smoke at parish bingos than I did at any fire,” he quipped. Content to be among the retired priests he called “a very pleasant group to be with,” at Cardinal Medeiros Residence, Father Ryan smiled broadly and said, “Remember, to rest is to rust.”
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Bishops issue statement on ads promoting adultery
BOSTON — The following statement was released by the Roman Catholic Bishops in Massachusetts: We, the Roman Catholic Bishops in Massachusetts, as pastors and teachers, are compelled to speak in support of marriage in light of a recent advertising campaign promoting adultery in the Commonwealth. The ads encourage the use of an online dating service for married persons contemplating adulterous relationships. This wrongful enterprise threatens not only the oldest and most foundational of human institutions but also the common good of all. Marriage requires honesty, loyalty, trust, selfsacrifice, personal responsibility, respect, and commitment. Marriage is a vocation that benefits all of society by building and strengthening human relationships within the family home and beyond with relatives, neighbors and one’s community. Marriage is the basis for the family, the fundamental human society. A healthy committed marriage helps to insure the well-being of children, create social stability and improve the quality of life for all citizens. The activity promoted by this advertising effort DIOCESAN TRIBUNAL FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS Decree of Citation Since his present domicile is unknown, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite Clifford Levasseurtoappearinpersonbeforethe TribunaloftheDioceseofFallRiver(887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County,Massachusetts)onDecember5, 2008 at 2:30 PM to give his testimony regarding the question: IS THE MIRANDA-LEVASSEUR MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDINGTO CHURCH LAW? Anyone who has knowledge of the domicileofClifford Levasseur is hereby required to inform him of this citation. Given at the offices of the Diocesan TribunalinFallRiver,BristolCounty,Massachusetts on November 14, 2008. (Rev.)PaulF.Robinson,O.Carm.,J.C.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Helene P. Beaudoin Ecclesiastical Notary
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will not benefit families and the ads send the wrong message to our young. The ad campaign will further erode the unique and important role that marriage has in contributing to the common good. Where marriage is weakened the social cost is enormous. We commend those media outlets that have refused this advertising and ask that other media outlets do the same. We honor and support those couples who have committed themselves to each other in the vocation of marriage and offer prayers that they remain strong in the face of increasing social pressures to abandon their promise of fidelity.
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, Archdiocese of Boston
Most Rev. George W. Coleman Diocese of Fall River
Most Rev. TimothyA. McDonnell Diocese of Springfield
Most Rev. Robert J. McManus Diocese of Worcester
Push for radical sex education in Mass. schools re-emerges continued from page one
as parents to people who have an economic and political agenda.” Nearly half the coalition members pushing the bill are promoters and enablers of abortion, birth control, homosexual sex and sex outside of marriage, all forces emboldened by recent electoral victories. “In spite of the elections, parents are still parents. If there’s something out there that could harm their child — once they’re informed — they’ll do all within their grasp to stop it,” said Marie Sturgis, MCFL executive director. “It’s not the responsibility of public schools to educate children on sensitive matters like sexuality.” As the Catechism (2221) notes, “the right and duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.” And as recently as November 7, a high-ranking Vatican official pointed out that this is a fundamental of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, said in an interview reported by the Catholic News Agency that parents and students have a right to conscientiously object to civic education contrary to their convictions. MCFL plans to “uncloak” the agenda of some groups promoting the Massachusetts bill, Sturgis said, and press lawmakers for more notice of public hearings so busy parents have time to respond. “Planned Parenthood and others are in effect setting up a client base through our schools,” she said. “The reality is, the general public has no knowledge that this legislation will be introduced, so groups like MCFL have to start from the bottom up. Unlike Planned Parenthood, Care for Youth and its counterparts (who more often than not receive tax dollars), grassroots groups don’t get public funding. Money is always a problem for us, because it’s what you need to get the word out.” Thayer, a Pro-Life speaker for the Archdiocese of Boston, thinks that one simple and costfree method of spreading the word would be to have a pastoral letter read at every Sunday Mass across the state alerting parents to the danger. “I can’t understand why people aren’t in combat mode,” said Thayer, who formerly taught high school biology in Boston public schools. “After 25years of the ‘safe sex — condom message,’ 26 percent of teen-age girls in America have a sexually
transmitted disease. In big cities where the message went earlier, 48 percent of African American girls have an STD. These statistics are frightening.” Bishops have not yet “mapped out a strategy” to oppose the Frameworks bill as it hasn’t been filed yet, said Edward F. Saunders Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference. MCC is the public policy voice for the state’s four Catholic dioceses. Saunders, Sturgis, Thayer and others have repeatedly testified against past versions of the Frameworks bill and in favor of abstinence education. But now, said Thayer, “We need a small army of angry parents saying, ‘Keep your hands off my kids.’” Saunders said MCC has asked each diocesan Religious Education director to distribute the educational brochure “Who Will Teach Your Child About Life and Love?” but it’s an uphill battle to catch the attention of parents in the state’s 1,870 public schools. Another obstacle is “making this issue relevant to those who feel that educating their children in a Catholic school will inoculate them against this danger,” said Victor Pap, executive director of Catholic Citizenship. This lay political action group plans to “proactively corral parents and the faithful to contact their legislators before the bill
comes up in committee and for a vote,” Pap said. “The days are approaching when parochial schools will be forced to teach material antithetical to Church teaching or lose their accreditation,” he added. “A secondary obstacle is the general leftward tilt by the much of the media that will shape this debate as a non-threatening ‘update.’” Daniel Avila, MCC associate director for policy and research, warned of this in a Boston Pilot article February 29. “Coalition materials tout the bill is the means to give all children the same opportunity to learn about good nutrition, the benefits of exercise, and other non-controversial subjects,” he said, but fail to highlight that sections on reproduction, sexuality and “family life” are antithetical to Christian beliefs. Another hidden danger is that Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed Readiness Project, an “education overhaul,” might basically incorporate the sex education components of the Health Frameworks. (See Masscitizensforlife.org/ frameworks.html.) To remedy a $1.7 billion budget deficit in October, Patrick made deep cuts in essential services but in large part spared funding to Planned Parenthood and kept $700,000 in the budget for programs favorable to homosexuality in public schools.
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Youth Pages
November 21, 2008
ECO-FRIENDS — Fifth-and sixth-graders from St. Mary’s School, New Bedford recently went on a field trip to the Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies in South Dartmouth. The trip provided a firsthand, hands-on experience in studying the coastal environs and ecosystem of Buzzards Bay.
THE REAL SCOOP — Standing before Paul Revere’s House, St. Mary’s-Sacred Heart School students learn about the intricacies and misconceptions concerning Longfellow’s depiction of Revere in his famous poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” The students from the North Attleboro school learned that apparently, Longfellow was attempting to impress his fiancee’s family who were descendents of Revere.
TRADITION — Father Roman Chwaliszewski, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, New Bedford, and children of the parish dressed in traditional costume at the annual Polish Heritage Mass commemorating October as national Polish Heritage Month. The group is standing in front of the shrine altar of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the patroness of Poland. BALLOT PATROL — Two students wait to check in voters at a recent mock election at St. Joseph’s School in Fairhaven.
CURRENT EVENTS — Middle school students from St. Michael School, Fall River, debated their views on the presidential election. Social Study teacher Patrick Monachino was the moderator.
PRAYERFUL PEP TALK — Principal Cristina Raposo prays with students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford before their annual Walk-a-Thon.
November 21, 2008
A
fter what seems like a decade of campaigning, the elections are finally over. As millions of Americans watched President-elect Barak Obama’s acceptance speech two weeks ago, one message that clearly came across was the refrain, “Yes we can.” Yes we can. The phrase not only provides hope but it also encourages others to roll up the shirt sleeves and get involved. But what if we were to take this presidential credo and adapt it to the life and mission that we share as brothers and sisters in Christ? As baptized Catholics, we are called to a life of proclaiming the Word of God. Jesus asks us to take up our crosses and follow him. He asks us to “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
Youth Pages Yes we can ... if we just believe
all your mind,” and to “love your of presents under the Christmas neighbor as yourself,” (Matthew tree; when food pantries are 22:37-39). Can we implement seeing longer lines than years this great Commandment in our past; when there is a greater need daily lives? Yes we can. for Catholics to recognize the Can we walk the halls of our Church’s commitment to social schools and refrain from making fun of “that kid” or gossiping? Yes we can. Can we walk into our workplaces and treat our coworkers with dignity By Crystal Medeiros and respect? Yes we can. Can families come together and share in the faith with each other? Yes we justice, is it possible for us to see can. the light? Can we hope? Can we be Christ to others Yes we can. while recognizing Christ in ourNo matter the socio-economic selves? Yes we can. highs or lows, no matter the During this tough economic day-to-day struggles that we all, time when college scholarships young and old, seem to face — or student loans may be more there is always hope. difficult to obtain; when families Christ is our beacon of light. may be scaling back the number Christ is our hope.
Be Not Afraid
The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews.org
St. Vincent’s seeks holiday gift donations
FALL RIVER — St. Vincent’s Education Center is asking everyone to help give a child a gift this Christmas by donating Christmas presents and contributions for the Children’s Holiday Festivities. This Christmas, more than 120 children and youth, ages four to 21, separated from their families for various reasons, will wake up on Christmas morning … at St. Vincent’s … to brightly wrapped packages, boxes, and bags. St. Vincent’s goal is to make the holiday season as festive as possible for all of these children. But it cannot happen without the generosity of the community — local businesses, community organizations, and caring individuals. Each child at St. Vincent’s is asked to compose a “Wish List.” St. Vincent’s job is to make every effort to fulfill as many of
the wishes as possible. While this may seem trivial and may be something which many children take for granted at home with their family, the many children living at St. Vincent’s have not experienced having a wish come true in their young lives. Imagine their feeling on Christmas morning, when they realize the wish they made came true. St. Vincent’s invites you to partner with them to make this holiday season festive, joyous, and healing for the children who call St. Vincent’s “home.” Call Carolyn at 508-2353310 or Missy at 508-235-3413 to inquire how you can donate holiday gifts, as well as contributions to support youth-related activities and programs, so that the children and youth who are separated from their families this Christmas will wake up on December 25 to a joyous holiday.
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However, he is not someone to be recognized only during the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is how we live the message between December 26 and Thanksgiving of the following year that matters most. As we approach the holiday season, let’s continuously ask ourselves how we plan to live our faith after Christmas. We should ask ourselves if we can openly discuss our faith with those around us even if their beliefs differ from our own. Can we successfully evangelize others about our faith? Yes we can. It is us up to us, brothers and sisters, young and old, black and white to step up to our faith. It is up to us to cast off the shadow of complacency and the old adage “we’ve always done it that way”
if we are to become more active participants within our faith. Let us become the change we would like to see in so many of our parishes. Let us become leaders within our parishes in various ministries. Let us help our pastors and faith formation directors bring more vibrancy into our parishes. Let us become the lay leaders our parishes need. Let us learn to grow in our own faith so that we can become evangelizers like the disciples. Can we accomplish this if we simply trust and believe that we could? Can we truly live out our baptismal call? Yes we can. Medeiros is the asst. director for Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the diocese and youth ministry coordinator for St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford. You can contact her at cmedeiros@dfrcec.com.
ishes, and have sold church property after being hit by rising expenses and falling member donations. Dolhausen said plans for the blow-up churches, each seating 60 and costing almost $40,000, were expected to attract complaints from Catholics opposed to the church closures. “But we have to reach out and respond to the young somehow as well trimming our infrastructure,” he said. “These
won’t be fairground attractions but serious places for reflection and contemplation. All that’s changed is their appearance and availability as places of worship.” The German Catholic news agency KNA reported that evangelical churches also had commissioned inflatable churches and several other Protestant communities had ordered moveable acrylic glass churches.
German diocese plans to attract youths with mobile blow-up churches
By Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic News Service OXFORD, England — A German diocese plans to use inflatable churches to bring the Gospel to young people. “The aim is to do something eye-catching which could eventually be extended to all our towns,” said Winfried Dolhausen, spokesman for the Essen Diocese. “These churches will be on a continual journey, meeting the young where they are rather than waiting for them to come to us.” Dolhausen told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview that the first blowup church would be set up by Easter in a marketplace, mall or school playground in the diocese. “Although we won’t be celebrating Mass in these new churches, they’ll act as centers for spiritual offices, meditations and discussions, and will encourage the young to get involved,” he said. Bishop Felix Genn of Essen received support for the idea from other German bishops and saw it as key to a restructuring program that also will divide the diocese into 42 “super parishes,” Dolhausen told CNS. “With numbers falling we’ve had to make savings and find better ways of using our money,” Dolhausen said. Several German dioceses have reduced or merged their par-
18
The Anchor
WWII chaplain’s grave marker finally set in place continued from page one
There was also information in an email of input by 1950 Congressional Medal of Honor winner Thomas J. Hudner Jr., who is a native of Fall River and who now resides in Concord, DaPonte said. “It was an effort by many and I am happy to have been part of it,” DaPonte added. Paul Haley, director of Planned Giving for the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation in Washington D.C., who hails from the Brockton area, said that while he was home last November he read The Anchor story about Father Lenaghan “and was inspired to do something.” Haley, a veteran who is friendly with Kelly (also a veteran), and Hudner, said he contacted them and “the realization came that something had to be done about obtaining the service marker for Father Lenaghan.” The priest’s story begins in Fall River, but then waxes international as he becomes a participant in well-known World War II history including Africa’s Tunisia where German Field Marshall Irwin Rommel and U.S. Gen. George S. Patton battled it out with tanks. After the Allied landings in Europe in the 1940s, our native chaplain arrived in Italy becoming part of the “Winter Line” Battle of Monte Porchia, as Americans, British and Germans warred fiercely in the mountainous region between Anzio and
Cassino. The saga also poses a link between Chaplain Lenaghan and Stephen Ambrose’s dramatic WWII mini-series “Band of Brothers.” Born Jan. 18, 1907 in Salem to Charles Francis Lenaghan, later the assistant postmaster in Fall River’s South End Post Office, and Helen Marie (Carlin) Lenaghan, young Arthur Lenaghan resided on Shawmut Street. He was a parishioner of St. Louis Parish and attended its parochial school. He graduated from B.M.C. Durfee High School in 1923 and from Holy Cross College in 1928. Having discerned a vocation to the priesthood, he entered and studied at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore Md., and along with six others was ordained a priest of the Fall River Diocese on May 30, 1932 in St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop James E. Cassidy. His assignments as curate were to St. Lawrence Parish in New Bedford, St. Mary’s in Nantucket, Sacred Heart in Taunton, and finally for five years at Holy Name Parish in New Bedford. In then winter of 1942 as the war in Europe progressed, he asked and received permission to become a military chaplain. In April 1943 he entered the military chaplain’s school at Fort Monmouth, N.J. After more training at Harvard Divinity School he was commissioned
a first lieutenant. In a V-Mail Letter April 15, 1943 from North Africa to Bishop Cassidy, Father Lenaghan said he has been assigned to the 6th Armored Division. He told of hearing confessions and saying Mass on a transport ship, and told of those he was serving. “Their sincerity and devotedness indicated most remarkably the trust and love of God,
Father Arthur C. Lenaghan especially when they know not the day nor the hour,” he said. “In your charity, some time say a prayer for me,” he asked the bishop. Other than a Fall River Herald News story that Chaplain Lenaghan had been promoted to the rank of captain and received the Legion of Merit Award for “outstanding service in North Africa,” little more is on record about his wartime ministry. The only other pertinent letter in the diocese’s archives describes how Father Lenaghan died. In mid-January 1944, Father J.P. O’Connell, a chaplain with the 505th AAA in Italy, wrote to Father John J. Hayes, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Fall River. Father Hayes had been ordained alongside Father Lenaghan. In a long letter, Father O’Connell recalled that while visiting an evacuation hospital, “I saw him (Father Lenaghan) on the day after he had been hit. He was unconscious but not suffering. He died that night (January 8, 1944) without regaining consciousness, approximately 24 hours after he had been wounded.” Father O’Connell also reported how another chaplain, a Father Martin, celebrated Father Lenaghan’s funeral Mass at which Father O’Connell gave the eulogy. Fifteen priests were pres-
November 21, 2008 ent at the Mass. The Fall River priest was buried “in the midst of so many of his own men who have fallen on the battlefield. So he is still with them,” Father O’Connell reported. However the location of the grave or cemetery were never mentioned. But Father O’Connell talked of accounts of Father Lenaghan’s bravery, courage and valor: “He received his death wounds while engaged in work for which he had volunteered although he knew of the great danger involved. It happened in this way: during an afternoon of particularly heavy fighting, he had been busy at the forward aid station where he had taken care of the wounded. After dark, when the number of litter bearers had been greatly reduced because of causalities, he volunteered for litter carrying duty and it was while engaged that he was hit by a German artillery shell. On this, and many other occasions, he had shown a profound sense of devotion to the men under his care, which was not to be stopped no matter what the danger involved.” Father Lenaghan is also mentioned in “The Fifth Army At The Winter Line,” a U.S. Army document detailing the fighting at Monte Porchia in Italy’s Liri Valley. It told of Allied battalions being assaulted on January 4 and the overwhelming volume of artillery and mortar fire causing many to be seriously and fatally wounded. “Medics and stretcher bearers were taxed to the utmost by the large number to be evacuated,” said the report. “Chaplain Arthur C. Lenaghan repeatedly went out with them until he was fatally wounded.” The death of Army Tech 5 medic Henry J. Guanere of Pennsylvania on Jan 6, 1944 — two days before Father Lenaghan was killed — was made famous in one episode of the “Band of Brothers” mini-series. Guanere died while employed as a litter bearer near an Evacuation Hospital in the soggy Liri Valley. It was in the same area where Father Lenaghan also worked as a litter bearer. Guanere was buried in the U.S. Army Cemetery in Nettuno. While no record has been found of where Father Lenaghan was interred, reportedly 5,500 chaplains who died in combat in that area were initially buried there. When the Lenaghan family received news of his death, Bishop Cassidy celebrated a Requiem Mass on Jan. 31, 1944 in St. Mary’s Cathedral, although the chaplain’s body remained in Italy.
Cardinal Francis J. Spellman of New York, the military vicar for the Armed Forces at the time, presided. In his homily, Msgr. Timothy Sweeney, pastor of Holy Name Parish in Fall River, gave a profound homily: “Shot and shell have found an innocent victim and this brave, young soldier of the cross breathed his last on the field of battle, far from home and kindred. He had the heart of a child, and as a result readily won the confidence and affection of little children he served.” It was one of two “funeral” Masses for Father Lenaghan. Four years later, on Sept. 18, 1948, after Father Lenaghan’s body had been returned home, Coadjutor Bishop James L. Connolly celebrated the funeral Mass on the day of burial, with Bishop Cassidy presiding. Father Lenaghan rests alongside his father, who predeceased him on Feb. 5, 1942; his mother, who died July 7, 1962; two single schoolteacher sisters: Alice, who died in 1983 at age 73, and Elinor, who died in 1988 at age 80; as well as another sister, Anna., who died at age five from meningitis in 1918, and for whom the cemetery plot was initially purchased. A visitor to the gravesite will notice that the headstone bears an engraving of a chalice topped by a suspended Communion host, heralding Father Lenaghan as a priest and chaplain, and reflecting the family’s great love for him. Father Lenaghan wasn’t the only priest of the Fall River Diocese to serve the military in World War II. Fifteen others also put on uniforms to minister to armed forces personnel across the globe. But he was the only one to die in combat during that war. Remembrance of Chaplain Lenaghan is not limited to Fall River. A memorial brick inscribed with the message “Please Pray for Father Art Lenaghan Army Chaplain KIA 1/8/44 Italy” is among other commemorative bricks honoring Catholic veterans, military members and chaplain that comprise the walkway at the new headquarters of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA in Washington, D.C. The purchased four-by-eight inch paver is the personal gift of Paul Haley. “It was something I felt inspired to do to make another remembrance of Father Lenaghan,” Haley told The Anchor. “I’m coming up your way at Thanksgiving and visiting Father Lenaghan’s grave and seeing the marker is on my agenda,” he added.
November 21, 2008
Around the Diocese Eucharistic Adoration:
Eucharistic Adoration
ACUSHNET — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Church, 125 Main Street, Mondays from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ending with Evening Prayer and Benediction. EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place First Fridays at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m. NEW BEDFORD — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place at St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, 51 Duncan Street, Mondays following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until 1:30 p.m. For more information call 508-995-2354. NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and confessions offered during the evening. NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the rosary, and the opportunity for confession. TAUNTON — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord Church, 31 First Street, immediately following the 8 a.m. Mass and continues throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., concluding with recitation of the rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m. TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street, holds perpetual eucharistic adoration. For open hours or to sign up call 508-430-4716. Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous CHATHAM — A Tridentine Mass is celebrated 11:30 a.m. every Sunday at Our Lady of Grace Chapel on Route 137. FALL RIVER — An interfaith Thanksgiving service, hosted by the Interfaith Council of Greater Fall River will take place 1 p.m. Sunday at Bethel AME Church, 146 Hanover Street. Following the service, Christin Jezak will perform her “Person to Person, A Mother Teresa Project,” one-woman play. For more information call 508-673-3956. FALL RIVER — A holy hour takes place at Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, Tuesdays at 7 p.m., It consists of the rosary, Miraculous Medal Novena, a homily, Benediction, and the opportunity for confession. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is recited Wednesdays at 3 p.m. LAKEVILLE — His Land Retreat House, 17 Loon Pond Road, will host a day of healing, “Experiencing the Holidays after Childhood Hurts and Wounds,” led by Dorothy Levesque, tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information call 508-947-4704. NEW BEDFORD — The United Nations’ International Pilgrimage Image of Our Lady of Fatima will be at St. Kilian’s Church today through Sunday. The image will arrive today at 9 a.m. Open adoration and prayer will be held tomorrow from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., with a vigil Mass scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CCD children will be praying the rosary on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., with a Mass with the re-consecration of the parish and parishioners to Christ the King beginning at 11 a.m. (12:30 p.m. in Spanish). Open prayer will again be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information visit www. wafatima-ri.org. NEW BEDFORD — The Massachusetts Choir of Communion and Liberation will present an Advent Concert, December 6 at 7 p.m., in St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, 51 Duncan Street. For tickets and information call Robert at 508-525-0051. NORTH DARTMOUTH — An Advent Mass of Remembrance for loved ones hosted by the Diocesan Office of Family Ministry, will be celebrated November 24, 7 p.m., and December 11, 5 p.m., in St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road. NORTH DARTMOUTH — A Day with Mary will take place December 6 from 8:45 a.m., to 3:45 p.m., in St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road. It will include a video, instruction, devotion, a procession and crowning of Mary, Mass, an opportunity for the sacrament of penance, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, recitation of the rosary, and enrollment in the Brown scapular and Miraculous Medal. For more information call Mary Creeden at 508-984-1823. OSTERVILLE — The 19th annual National Night of Prayer for Life uniting the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the feast of St. Juan Diego, will be held from 9 p.m., December 8 to 1 a.m., December 9 in Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue. For more information contact Larry K. Burke at email Lburke4845@aol.com, or by phone at 508-420-5713. TAUNTON — St. Jude the Apostle Parish, formerly St. Jacques and Immaculate Conception, will hold its annual Penny Sale, including a turkey raffle, tomorrow at 6 p.m., at 249 Whittenton Street. WEST HARWICH — Members of the Holy Trinity Charismatic Prayer Group invites all to an Advent Celebration December 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Damien Hall. For information call Alice Bahnsen at 508-398-1139 or Jane Jannell at 508-430-0014. WESTPORT — Sung Vespers every Sunday in Advent at 4 p.m. in St. John the Baptist Church, 945 Main Road. All are welcome.
Support Group NEW BEDFORD — Courage, a group for people who are experiencing same-sex attraction and would like to live the Church’s teachings of chastity, will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. For location information call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408. NORTH DARTMOUTH — The Office of Family Ministry is sponsoring a presentation by Dorothy J. Levesque November 29 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Family Life Center, 500 Slocum Road. Levesque will speak on “Making the Most of the Holidays When Your Spouse Isn’t With You,” for those separated by deployment, death and divorce. For information call 508-999-6420.
Pro-Life
ATTLEBORO — Concerned faithful are needed to pray the rosary outside Four Women, Inc., an abortion clinic at 150 Emory Street, Thursdays from 3-4 p.m., or 4-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30-8:30 a.m. For information call 508-238-5743.
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The Anchor St. Patrick’s in Somerset celebrates 125th anniversary continued from page one
ki, pastor of St. Patrick’s, expressed his joy at celebrating this milestone in the church’s rich history. “We’re planning a Mass of Thanksgiving with the Bishop and all the former pastors of the church,” Father Tuptynski said. “Representatives of all the different groups of the church — the Men’s Club, the Women’s Guild, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the youth group — they will all be participating and bring special gifts during the offertory.” The Mass will be followed by a banquet for parishioners at McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove Street in Fall River. A series of celebrations to commemorate the parish’s founding actually began on September 20 to coincide with the 135th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for the church, according to Father Tuptynski. “That was the commencement of our celebration,” he said. Historically, St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset can look to St. Joseph’s Parish on North Main Street in Fall River as its mother parish. Until the time of the official founding of St. Patrick’s in 1883, the community of Catholics on the west side of the Taunton River, as a mission of St. Joseph’s, attended Mass at the Old Central Hall on Main Street in Somerset Village. It had approximately 800 parishioners from Irish, Portuguese and French-Canadian families — mainly farmers and industrial workers who brought with them their most precious possession, their faith. The cornerstone for St. Patrick’s was laid in September 1873 and dedicated to St. Patrick in November of that same year. In 1877, the
In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks
Nov. 24 Msgr. Daniel F. Shalloo, Retired Pastor, Holy Name, Fall River, 1991 Nov. 25 Rev. Philias Jalbert, Pastor, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Fall River, 1946 Rev. Dennis Spykers, SS.CC., Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Wellfleet, 1971 Nov. 26 Rev. James R. Burns, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1945 Nov. 27 Rt. Rev. Patrick E. McGee, Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1948 Nov. 28 Rev. Adrien A. Gauthier, Pastor, St. Roch, Fall River, 1959 Nov. 29 Rev. Thomas H. Shahan, Former Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1902 1965, Rev. Francis A. McCarthy, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset Nov. 30 Rev, William J McCoomb, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1895
mission parish of St. Patrick’s was joined with St. Jean Baptiste Parish in Warren, R.I., as one parish by Bishop Thomas F. Hendricksen of Providence, whose diocese then encompassed the region from Providence to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Father Edward E. Norbert was in charge of the mission communities until 1883 when Father James Masterson, a curate at Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River, was named the first pastor of St. Patrick’s in Somerset. His parish would include all of Somerset, and large parts of Swansea and Dighton. Today the original church still stands and has been enhanced over the years including the remodeling of the interior, a new altar and ambo as well as other renewals in the sanctuary, which were done in 1997. “We’ve done some additional renovations before the celebration on the church’s front façade and the steeple to bring it back to how it looked in the ’50s and ’60s when the dome of our steeple used to be gold … so we brought it back to that color,” Father Tuptynski added. There are currently 1,200 registered families representing approximately 3,000 parishioners at St. Patrick’s. A parish center was added and opened in 1980 by thenpastor Msgr. Robert Stanton. The parish’s most recent pastors have included Father Edward Sharpe, Father Brian Harrington, Father George Bellenoit, and Father Marc
Paul Tremblay, who was Father Tuptynski’s immediate predecessor. “I’m actually the 20th pastor to serve St. Patrick’s,” Father Tuptynski said. “We just had an historic exhibit in our parish center with every pastor’s picture and story. This was done as part of our anniversary celebration. We’re also hosting an art and essay contest, titled ‘St. Patrick’s: My Parish, My Home, My Family.’” Other recent anniversary events have included monthly evening prayer services with former pastors, who also shared memories of their time at St. Patrick’s. “We’ve had very good attendance at these prayer services,” Father Tuptynski said. “We hope to have Bishop George W. Coleman participate in one in January.” Although not a large parish, Father Tuptynski said it remains an active and vibrant one, and this year of celebration has certainly helped to inspire parishioners to become involved. “This is a wonderful time for our parish,” Father Tuptynski said. “We are growing and growing together in bringing new people to different ministries in being active in the different anniversary committees and subcommittees. This is a very special time of opportunity and growth for us. The parish has been revitalized through this celebration.”
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20
The Anchor
November 21, 2008
By receiving Eucharist, Catholics can ‘transform world,’ bishop says By Joseph Kenny Catholic News Service
ONE OF MANY — Three-year-old Matthew Malone shows off part of his lunch at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit recently. A survey says almost half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck as food prices rise and the country’s economic woes deepen. The soup kitchen is operated by the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph and got its start during the Great Depression of 1929. (CNS photo/Jim West)
Please visit us at: www.CarmelTerrace.org or 508 788 8000 933 Central St. Framingham, MA 01701 On the campus of St. Patrick's Manor
before being named to the North Dakota Diocese in 1996. He said he thinks of Mother Teresa when he is challenged by some people who think the social justice teaching of the Church — preaching the dignity of all human life, economic justice and the preferential option for the poor — is allowed to infringe, as they put it, on the celebration of the Mass. “There are more than a few Catholics who have the attitude
It commits us to the transformation of the world.” The Mass brings people into ST. LOUIS — The purpose of communion with Christ, with the Eucharist is seen in the actheir brothers and sisters and tions of the saints, Bishop Paul especially with the poor and all A. Zipfel of Bismarck, N.D., told those who suffer, Bishop Zipfel a gathering of the Gateway Lisaid. turgical Conference in St. Louis “It reminds us that Christ beNovember 7. came poor by taking our flesh, “The bread and wine are transand he embraced that poverty formed in order to transform us so completely when he embraced that we can transform the world,” the cross,” he said. “The Lord he said during the annual conferidentified with the poor and disence sponsored by the St. Louis so fully archdiocesan Office of hat gift [the Eucharist], Bishop advantaged that he would even tell Sacred Worship. Zipfel said, “has lifted and carried his disciples ‘Whatever Using St. Francis as an example, he countless Christians throughout the cen- you do for the least of said: “He regularly turies in the face of great struggle and my brothers and sisters, you do for me.’” received the Lord and opposition.” The poor with whom was changed. Then, Mother Teresa would he was able to change the world by his life and love. that such things do not belong at serve “were Christ; they were He was able to perceive Christ’s the Eucharist. They do not want tabernacles. She would do what presence in everyone, and peo- any of this seemingly extraneous she did because she had learned ple, in turn, could see Christ’s material to get in the way of the to recognize the Lord in them, prayerful reception of their Lord the poorest of the poor.” presence in him.” The bishop reminded his auBishop Zipfel also used the and Savior.” Such an attitude misses the dience that if the world today example of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India. When depth of the Eucharist, Bishop could be reduced to a global vilasked how she was able to care Zipfel said. “There is no more lage of 1,000 people, six percent for the poorest of the poor with- intimate meeting with the Lord would control half of the income. out becoming burned out, she than at holy Communion. But, In the village, 30 percent would responded by simply pointing to such a meeting pushes us to an- be hungry, 60 percent would live prayer before the Eucharist, he other level. The Catholic faith is in shantytowns and 70 percent not just a ‘me and Jesus’ experi- would be illiterate. said. The person formed by the “She saw in the Eucharist a gift ence. “The Eucharist forms us into Eucharist sees each person, rich and a relationship, but also a responsibility. That is the astound- a community, the Church, which or poor, as a gift, Bishop Zipfel ing beauty of this most central is something much bigger than said. In the Gospels, he noted, sacrament,” said Bishop Zipfel, ourselves,” he continued. “Fi- Jesus’ words, actions and presa native of St. Louis who was an nally, the Eucharist pushes the ence changed everyone he met. The Gospels, Bishop Zipeducator, parish pastor and aux- individual believer and the whole iliary bishop of the archdiocese community to make a difference. fel said, are full of people’s encounters with Jesus and how his words, actions and presence changed everyone he met. The bishop pointed to the two followers’ encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus and how he explained Scripture and then broke bread with them. “For 2,000 years, we Catholics have done precisely this at Holy Mass. In this way, no matter when or where we live, the risen Christ comes into our midst even as he did for those two disciples,” he said. In his talk, Bishop Zipfel urged people “to be drawn more deeply into the mystery of God’s love with open minds, with open hearts, with open hands and with open eyes.” The Eucharist, he said, “is central to our Catholic identity. The greatest gift that Christ left his Church is the very presence of Christ in our midst.” That gift, Bishop Zipfel said, “has lifted and carried countless Christians throughout the centuries in the face of great struggle and opposition.”
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