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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , December 12, 2014

Diocesan faithful celebrate feast of ‘Empress of America’

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., celebrated Mass with the Catholic schools from the Attleboro deanery in the auditorium of Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro. It was the bishop’s first trip to Bishop Feehan and for many students, the first time they got to see the newly-appointed bishop. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

Bishop da Cunha celebrates Mass with Attleboro area schools

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

ATTLEBORO — It was another first for the newly-appointed bishop of the Fall River Diocese, as Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., celebrated a Mass with students from the Catholic schools from the Attleboro deanery in the auditorium of Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro.

“I am really happy to be here with all of you this morning.

This is my first time here at Bishop Feehan High School, and my first time meeting some of you. Today we come together to pray and to hear God’s Word,” began the bishop to the crowd of young faces that also included the superintendent of Catholic schools, Dr. Michael Griffin, assistant superinten-

dent Dr. Donna Boyle, and assistant superintendent for personnel, Louise Kane, in attendance.

Speaking to the young crowd, Bishop da Cunha created a homily that helped the youth connect the Christmas season with their Catholic faith, and explained to the students that the Advent season is more Turn to page 18

Third Sunday of Advent 2014 — December 14

For half a century, Fairhaven group has been spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

FAIRHAVEN — Every Catholic family in the Diocese of Fall River is invited to open their doors and hearts to Jesus.

The Men of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Fairhaven enthrone homes in order to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They say that the enthronement ceremony brings peace, promotes prayer and strengthens family bonds. They

have seen the benefits in their own homes and the 50 homes they visit each year. They would like to share the devotion’s graces with many more.

“Once you open your heart to loving Jesus more, your life starts to change,” said Marc Costa, the Fairhaven chapter’s president.

There is a second chapter in the Fall River Diocese, and between the two groups, there are members who are willing to travel all over Massachusetts. “We go

from home to home — wherever we’re invited,” Costa said.

At the initial visit, the men bring a statue of Mary and get to know the family. The following week, they come again to speak about the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The next visit is the enthronement, which usually consists of a Mass along with the hanging of an image of the Sacred Heart. Later, the men will follow up with the families who Turn to page 18

TAUNTON — As Spanishspeaking Catholics worldwide prepared to celebrate the feasts of St. Juan Diego on December 9 and Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, members of several Hispanic parishes within the Fall River Diocese were also preparing for their own annual Mass to mark the occasion this weekend.

This year the annual Spanish language Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe will be held tomorrow beginning at 6 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Church in Taunton with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., as the principal celebrant.

With a growing number of Hispanic cultures moving into the area, Spanish language Masses are among the most popular non-English services in the diocese, second only to Portuguese.

“It’s a nice tradition and some of the Hispanic communities are actually growing (within the diocese), so it’s good to be able to get everyone together in one

place,” said Father Marc Fallon, C.S.C., regional coordinator of the Hispanic apostolate and priest in residence at St. Mary’s Parish in Taunton. “It’s certainly become a high point for the Hispanic community over the years.”

Noting there are currently “seven different parishes that sponsor Hispanic ministries in the diocese,” Father Fallon explained that historically the annual observance has rotated among those seven locations — Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish and St. Kilian’s Parish in New Bedford; St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis; St. Mary/Our Lady of the Isle Parish in Nantucket; the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River; St. Vincent de Paul Parish (formerly St. Joseph Parish) in Attleboro; and his own St. Mary’s Parish in Taunton.

But because the Mass has consistently drawn larger crowds in recent years, Father Fallon said this year’s Taunton Turn to page 15

Members of the Diocesan Hispanic Choir have been rehearsing for the annual celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to be held this year at St. Anthony’s Parish in Taunton tomorrow night beginning at 6 p.m. with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., as principal celebrant.

News From the Vatican

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December 12, 2014

Loudest cry in world is for peace, says papal preacher

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The “loudest cry” in the hearts of the world’s people is for peace, said the preacher of the papal household.

Though most people think of peace in a “horizontal” way, as in between peoples, races or religions, the Bible teaches that “the first and most essential peace is the vertical, between Heaven and earth, between God and humanity,” Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa told Pope Francis and top Vatican officials.

The Capuchin priest recently gave the first Advent reflection to the pope and his closest aides in the Vatican’s Redemptoris Mater Chapel. The theme of the first of three weekly meditations was “My peace I give to you” from the Book of John (14:27).

The Creation story in Genesis demonstrates that all forms of peace depend on the peace between God and humanity, said the Capuchin preacher.

“While Adam and Eve were at peace with God, there was peace within each of them between the human being and the rest of creation. No sooner they rebelled against God, everything became a struggle,” he said.

Despite this “rebellion,” he continued, “God did not abandon humanity to its fate, but He decided on a new plan to reconcile man with himself ” through Jesus.

It is a bit like a car’s GPS navigation system, he said. If for some reason the driver does not follow the navigator’s directions, “if he turns, for instance, to the left rather than to the right, in a few seconds the navigator traces a new itinerary for him, from the position in which he is, to reach his desired destination.”

Jesus’ birth is surrounded by messages of peace in Scripture, however, the true peace that Christ brings is through His death on the cross, he said.

“On the cross, Jesus destroyed

the wall of sin and of the enmity that impeded God’s peace to pour out on men,” he said. The source of the peace that flows from the cross is the Trinity. God “is peace in Himself, as He is love and as He is light,” he said.

Father Cantalamessa said one of the causes of people’s “alienation from religion and from the faith” today is the “distorted image” they have of God. “Unconsciously, the will of God is connected with all that is displeasing, painful to what, in one way or another, can be seen as mutilating of freedom and of individual development. It is as if God was the enemy of all celebration, joy and pleasure,” he explained.

He underlined the need to understand better the Church’s petition for God’s mercy in the Liturgy, which “has become very debased from being used often in a negative sense” as “the request for forgiveness of the creature, who always sees God about to punish him.”

The Bible instead indicates that God’s mercy should be understood as God’s “tenderness,” which descends upon His people, the preacher said.

Furthermore, over time, “the love and forgiveness that God generously gives were made dependent on the love and forgiveness that is given to others,” he said. What developed were a “relation of bargaining” with God and a belief that “one must accumulate merits to gain paradise,” he continued.

While this type of thinking enabled “many people in the past to demonstrate their love for God” it also presents “the risk ... of falling into a utilitarian religion,” he said.

Christians are called to be open to the Holy Spirit and to “look at God with new eyes” as “the God of love and of grace” and as “a most tender Father,” he said.

Pope Francis and other faith leaders attend a recent ceremony at the Vatican in observance of the U.N. Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Tens of millions of people are “in chains” because of human trafficking and forced labor, and it is leading to their “dehumanization and humiliation,” the pope said at the ceremony. (CNS photo/GFN handout, Chris Warde-Jones)

Christian, Muslim leaders vow to ‘walk hand in hand’ to promote peace

ROME (CNS) — Catholic, Anglican, Sunni and Shiite leaders vowed to do all they can to combat “ugly and hideous” distortions of religion, and to involve more women — often the first victims of violence — in official interreligious dialogues.

Holding the third ChristianMuslim Summit in Rome, the leaders said that while more and more women are involved in high-level dialogues, there is still much to be done, including recognizing that “women play a key role in peacebuilding.”

The Catholic, Sunni and Shiite delegations at the summit each included one woman scholar; the Anglican delegation included two women clergy and two female scholars.

“Enough is enough. We are brothers in Abraham, we speak different languages, we live in different parts of the world,” but Christianity and Islam teach that “humanity is one family” and religious leaders have an obligation to resist attempts to divide brothers and sisters with violence, said Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane of Washington.

Bishop Chane spoke at the final, public session of the summit, which concluded with a “call to action” that also included pledges: to travel together to areas affected by severe violence as a sign to their followers that Christianity and Islam are religions of peace; to focus more attention on equipping young people to live with respect for other faiths; and to promote collaboration among Catholic, Anglican and Muslim aid agencies.

The declaration was signed

by Bishop Chane; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; Prince El

Hassan bin Talal of Jordan; and Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad of Iran.

Asked about the declaration’s call for including more women, Cardinal Tauran said, “In my experience, women involved in interreligious dialogue have the charism of welcoming, which is very important to create an atmosphere of trust.”

Clare Amos, a member of the Anglican delegation and program executive for interreligious dialogue and cooperation at the World Council of Churches, said having at least one woman be on all the delegations at the Rome summit marked a “breakthrough.

We’re gradually getting there,” she said.

Shahrzad Houshmand, an Iranian member of the Shiite delegation and professor of Islamic studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said she was listened to and her ideas were welcomed by the group. In addition, “the presence of the women, including within each group, gave peace and harmony. We come from different theological, political and philosophical groups, but we were able to work well together.”

The dialogue experienced at the summit, the respect shown for other religions and the respect shown for women are all part of what religious leaders need to show their younger members in order to raise a generation of faithful capable of living at peace with others and with respect for all, she said. “We must confess we haven’t done that well up to now.

But we must be examples.”

“In such a troubled world, what we accomplished in these three days was not small,” Houshmand said.

Cardinal Tauran, who also

participated in the first summit in Washington in 2010 and the second in Beirut in 2012, said Catholic-Muslim dialogue “is not so easy today,” especially when such ferocious violence is enflaming Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

The summit declaration, he said, “is a demanding document” in which the leaders recognize “it is our responsibility to improve the situation.”

“For many years, we have practiced dialogue face to face,” the cardinal said. “Now we have to walk hand in hand.”

Pope Francis met the summit participants and told them personal visits “make our brotherhood stronger. I thank you for your work, for what you do to help us understand each other better and, especially, for what you do for peace. Dialogue: this is the path to peace.”

At the summit’s closing session, Prince Hassan said he had signed too many declarations over the years that led to very little. But the work done in Rome moved the leaders’ commitment “from the generic to the organic” and could make a real difference if the leaders keep their promises like making joint visits to refugee camps and regions experiencing tension.

Christians and Muslims claim to be proud of their heritage and see it as essential to their religious and cultural identities, he said, but without joint efforts to stem the “bloody and violent feuds” and to stop terrorist groups like the Islamic State “our heritage is being destroyed around us as we speak — the heritage of Ninevah, the heritage of Babylon, the heritage of the ancients and the heritage of the children of Abraham.”

The International Church

December 12, 2014

Kenya’s Christians ‘living in fear’ after latest attack, says bishop

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — Since Somali militants killed 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in early December, Christians in Kenya “are living in fear, wondering where the next attack will be,” said Bishop Emanuel Barbara of Malindi, Kenya.

There is much “confusion and anxiety” among Christians, he said in a recent telephone interview from Malindi.

As Church leaders, “we are telling our people, ‘Be cautious and pay attention to what’s happening around you; but don’t let anger and vengeance grow in your hearts,’” Bishop Barbara said.

At the same time, Kenya’s Catholic bishops are “putting pressure on the government to change the way the security forces deal with this situation,” he said.

Corruption in Kenya’s security forces is a major problem, he said, noting that to prevent further escalation of tensions, the government needs to ensure that its security forces are strong.

“We would like to see our security forces taking the lead and to have a sense that they are in charge,” Bishop Barbara said, noting that most Kenyans now feel “that it’s the Muslim militants who will decide when and where to attack next.”

In a December 2 attack near Mandera, in Garissa Diocese, which borders Somalia, militants separated the nonMuslims and shot them dead.

Bishop Barbara said it was the latest of many incidents that “make it very clear that

fundamentalists are attacking Christians.” A week before this attack, 28 people were killed in an attack on a bus targeting non-Muslims in the same area.

Media reports said AlShabab, which said it carried out the attacks, has stepped up its campaign in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to help battle the militants, according to the British Broadcasting Corp.

Last year, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in which 67 people were killed by gunmen.

St. Joseph Brother John Mwangi Wambugu told CNS that attendance in churches has waned because of fears of more attacks in places where people are gathered together.

“There is a lot of insecurity and fear among Christians, especially in the coastal regions and northeastern Kenya,” because of their proximity to Somalia as well as the large number of Muslims living in these areas, said Brother Wambugu, director of Caritas for the ecclesiastical province of Mombasa, which includes the Archdiocese of Mombasa and the dioceses of Garissa and Malindi.

Divisions between Christians and Muslims are growing “and people are not as close as they used to be,” Brother Wambugu said in a recent telephone interview.

Bishop Barbara said tensions between Muslims and Christians in Kenya “are being created by the fundamental-

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the nomination of the Reverend Johnathan A. Hurrell, ss.cc., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts — United States Province, and has made the following appointments: Rev. Richard Lifrak, ss.cc., Chaplain at Our Lady’s Haven Nursing Home in Fairhaven

Effective: January 1, 2015 Rev. Tony Biswas, ss.cc., Parochial Vicar at St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven Effective: January 15, 2015

ists” responsible for the attacks on non-Muslims.

“Not trusting your neighbor can lead to aggression,” he said.

The attacks “affect us Spiritually as well as materially, with the temptation to give in to hatred and revenge, which threatens our Spiritual calling to love and reconciliation,” the bishop said.

Warning against Islamophobia, Brother Wambugu said “groups like al-Shabab will continue to use and exploit such fears to bring about more divisions in the country.”

Among Muslims, there is “fear of retaliation by Christians,” with groups of Christian youths talking “of taking action” in revenge for the attacks, he said.

Bishop Barbara and Brother Wambugu noted harm to the country’s economy, as well as to the livelihoods of mostly the poor in affected communities.

After the bus attack, “those who were there have gone back home and won’t return unless they are certain that they will be protected,” the bishop said.

Mandera, where the population is majority Muslim, “will suffer without the services” provided by teachers, doctors and other skilled and unskilled workers from other parts of Kenya who go there to work, Bishop Barbara said.

Muslim leaders need to “speak out loudly and clearly” against the attacks, Bishop Barbara said, noting that “only recently have we heard their condemnation.”

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December 12, 2014 The Church in the U.S. Restorative justice aimed at ending the streets-to-prison loop

WASHINGTON (CNS) — “Damn, Father, I knew you were comin’.”

That was the starting point to one story of restorative justice.

The concept has been slow to catch on in a legal system that features capital punishment, life sentences without parole, mandatory minimum sentences, “three strikes” laws, private prisons and the abolition in some places of time off for good behavior. But it may be the next big thing in criminal justice.

So what’s the rest of that story? How did that startling quote come to be uttered?

The story started at Kolbe House in Chicago, a former convent one block from an open-air drug market. Precious Blood Father David Kelly, director of his order’s Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, shelters atrisk teens there.

One such teen was at “home” there when the doorbell rang. He answered the door and was stabbed repeatedly. An ambulance was called, which rushed the teen — with Father Kelly as a passenger at his side — to the hospital.

The teen-ager’s life was saved. When he felt strong enough, police visited him with a book of mug shots in hopes that the boy could identify his attacker. He did.

The police moved in to arrest the suspect. The issue that prompted the knifing wasn’t drugs. “It was a boy-girl thing,” Father Kelly said.

Upon leaving the hospital, Father Kelly went to the Chicago jail, where the young suspect was already in custody. Upon seeing the priest, the lad uttered the words that began this story. It turned out Father Kelly knew him as well. And making things right between victims and perpetrators of crimes — or at least better — regardless of the judicial outcome is a key aim in restorative justice.

Most work in restorative justice is done within the private sector. The state of Vermont is one of the rare governments with a restorative justice system, although its work is limited to after a convict is released from prison.

About 60 participants focused on restorative justice at a November 21 conference in Washington at The Catholic

University of America. It was reform one of five issues that inmates since 2000, said he sponsored by the Catholic could be achieved by the next found a payoff in one prison Mobilizing Network to End Congress working in a bipar- prayer circle he led. One inthe Use of the Death Penalty; tisan spirit. mate was a devoted particithe U.S. bishops’ Compant, yet he refused to he concept has been slow to recite aloud that part mittee on Domestic Justice and Human Develcatch on in a legal system of the Our Father that opment; the Institute for that features capital punishment, says, “Forgive us our sins Policy Research & Cathwe forgive those who life sentences without parole, as olic Studies at Catholic sin against us.” Why? University; Mount St. mandatory minimum sentenc- The inmate told Sage he Mary’s University; and es, “three strikes” laws, private had promised his dying the National Religious prisons and the abolition in some brother he would kill the Campaign Against Tor- places of time off for good behav- man who had murdered ture. ior. But it may be the next big him.

The situation is only This inmate’s cellmate going to grow more acute, thing in criminal justice. got a sudden transfer noas the nation’s prison tice, a practice common Catholics were called upon in prisons. As the cellmate left population peaked earlier this year at 2.4 million, said Father during the conference to prac- the cell for processing, he had Michael Bryant, a priest of the tice restorative justice. left behind some documents.

Anthony Granado, a do- Among the documents were Archdiocese of Washington who helped in the prepara- mestic policy adviser for the papers registering the celltion of the U.S. bishops’ 2000 U.S. bishops, noted that the mate’s conviction for the murdocument “Responsibility, Latin word “pontifex” means der of the inmate’s brother.

Rehabilitation and Restora- bridge-builder. “I want you to tion: A Catholic Perspective continue to be bridge-buildon Crime and Criminal Jus- ers, pontifexes,” he said.

“We have five percent of tice.” The priest also founded a “welcome home” program the world’s population and Washington D.C. 25 percent of its imprisoned,” for released prisoners.

Retired Bishop Ricardo said Karen Clifton, execu- (CNA/EWTN News) — AfRamirez of Las Cruces, New tive director of the Catholic ter eight years in legislative Mexico, called for an updat- Mobilizing Network. She limbo, a bill helping those with ing of the 2000 document reminded conference par- disabilities to save in tax-exticipants of the model set by empt accounts and still receive during the conference.

Significant questions need Pope Francis, “a pope with federal benefits recently passed to be addressed on how the his powerful words” — and the House overwhelmingly.

“Tonight the House spoke country can absorb an influx deeds, as last year on Holy of “returning citizens,” as re- Thursday he went to an Ital- for millions of Americans with leased prisoners are called ian prison to wash the feet of disabilities,” stated Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), by some activists in the field, male and female inmates.

“Maybe at the end of the who is mother to a child with without them getting a return trip to jail because they’ve re- conference we will all agree to Down syndrome. “I know ceived no life skills while in do something uncomfortable,” firsthand how federal policies prison and have little recourse Clifton said. “Justice doesn’t can limit the opportunities but to go back to the street work when people only do the for those with disabilities. The life that got them in jail in the comfortable thing, the con- ABLE Act will change that.”

The ABLE Act — “Achievventional thing.” first place.

Ford Rowan, an Episco- ing a Better Life Experience Act States are finding out they simply can’t afford to keep so palian and a volunteer for 15 of 2014” — passed the House many prisoners locked up and years in the ecumenical Kai- 404-17 and a vote is expected are looking for ways to thin ros Prison Ministry, admitted in the Senate before Congress out the prison population, as much. “We’re in the healing adjourns for Christmas break. possibly starting with nonvio- business, and it’s not an easy In a Congress maligned as a “do-nothing” body, members task,” he said. lent drug offenders.

Even starting prison min- applauded and cheered its pasPrivate prisons have not done as much as expected in istry proved difficult. He re- sage — something seldom seen terms of cutting state costs. called that when he was in on the House floor.

The act created tax-exempt They also tend to be farther a group setting, he prayed accounts to be used for disfrom the inmates’ homes, in- to himself, “‘Lord, whatever creasing convicts’ sense of iso- You want me to do, just tell ability expenses like housing, lation as it becomes too diffi- me.’ That’s a pretty dangerous transportation and healthcult for family to visit. But if prayer,” he noted. The woman related expenses. These assets states shut down prisons, that next to him then turned to would not disqualify someone will have a negative economic him and told him, ‘You ought from Medicaid benefits, something people with disabilities effect on the small towns that to do Kairos.’”

“Wow! That’s the fastest have struggled with in the often have been the sites of recent prison building. The discernment ever,” Rowan said past, having reported too many he thought, before asking the assets to qualify for such benchallenges are daunting.

But Heather Rice-Minus, woman, “What’s Kairos? Pris- efits.

Despite widespread support, a senior policy adviser for on ministry,” she answered.

John Sage, founder of the the bill was hung up with ReJustice Fellowship, the advocacy arm of Prison Fellow- Bridges to Life program, publican leadership because of ship Ministries, called prison which has “graduated” 22,000 its cost. Eventually members

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The inmate, deprived of this knowledge for all the time he shared a cell with his brother’s killer, was now confronted with the opportunity to make good on his promise.

But he ultimately chose to not kill the man. His reason, Sage said: “I didn’t want to disappoint the guys” in the prayer circle.

Sage said the legal system deals even more harshly with prison murders than others — especially in states with the death penalty, like Texas, where this episode took place. But instead of spending the rest of his life, and possibly a much shortened life, behind bars, the inmate was eventually released and is now counseling young men on how to make the right choices.

House overcomes partisan bickering to pass disabilities bill

voted to offset its $2 billion cost through Medicare cuts, which some Democrats staunchly opposed because of the precedent it would set.

But in the midst of this opposition, the bill attracted a landslide of bipartisan support.

Eighty-five percent of House members were co-sponsors and the majority of both Republicans and Democrats voted for its passage.

Congressman Chris van Hollen (D-Md.) cheered the bill’s bipartisan backing.

“Passage of the ABLE Act shows what’s possible when Democrats and Republicans work together to find common ground to improve people’s lives, and I’m proud to be part of the bipartisan effort to get this initiative over the finish line,” he stated.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), called the bill’s passage a victory for families of those with disabilities.

“As the proud father of a young man with Down syndrome, I believe that ensuring a sound financial future for our loved ones with disabilities is of the utmost importance,” he said.

“Today’s passage of the ABLE Act, a top legislative priority of mine, is a victory for all individuals with disabilities and their families. This bipartisan, bicameral package represents what Congress can do when it works together towards a common goal.”

The Church in the U.S. Catholics recall the winds of change brought by Mass in the vernacular

December 12, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — The Second Vatican Council brought about renewal to many aspects of the life of the Church.

But for many Catholics, the most noticeable developments appeared 50 years ago.

On Nov. 29, 1964, parts of the Mass began for the first time to be prayed in English, priests started facing the congregation, and the approach to Liturgical music sounded a different note.

Father Clifford Vogelsang, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, who was ordained a year and a half before the renewal, took the modifications in stride.

Father Vogelsang’s first assignment, as assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood, continued his preparation for the renewal in the Liturgy.

“I had Mass in the gym,” he said. “That altar was set up to face the people.”

The start of the implementation of the Liturgical developments came naturally for lay Catholics like Sheri Berg, a member of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Indianapolis, who was a student at San Diego State University at the time.

“Those first Liturgical changes did not have much impact on our Liturgies in our small chapel,” said Berg, who worked in the 1990s for the archdiocesan Office of Worship. “We had sung our hymns in English and all recited the Latin responses at Mass. Changing to some responses in English and some Latin just required a different book.”

Many young priests like Father Vogelsang and seminarians at the time were prepared well for the renewal by the priestly formation they received at the former Bishop Brute Latin School in Indianapolis, an archdiocesan-operated high school seminary, and St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad.

Father Noah Casey, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis, was a sophomore at the Latin School in 1964. He continued his priestly formation at St. Meinrad, entered St. Meinrad Archabbey and lived as a monk until becoming an archdiocesan priest in 2007.

He noted that Benedictine Archabbot Ignatius Esser, who led St. Meinrad from 1930 to 1955, was highly involved in the Liturgical movement, which paved the way to much of Vatican II’s renewal of worship.

“There was a spirit of (Liturgical renewal) there already long preceding the council,” Father Casey told The Criterion, Indianapolis’ archdiocesan newspaper. “Then, when the council came, they were ready.”

So was the faculty of the Latin School, led by its rector, the late Msgr. Joseph Brokhage, whom Father Casey described as “an excellent theologian and a very fine Liturgist.”

“When we saw where the council was going, Msgr.

Brokhage started talking about it in our assemblies,” Father Casey said. “Then he demonstrated it.”

Msgr. Brokhage prepared the high school seminarians so well for the Liturgical renewal that

they took a leading role in helping to prepare priests serving in parishes across central and southern Indiana for them.

“When it finally hit and you had to have an altar facing the people, there was a team of us that he put together,” Father Casey said. “We did demonstration Masses around the archdiocese for priests in the deaneries.”

Looking back on those efforts, Father Casey realizes that they weren’t enough.

“One weekend, you came in and the Communion rail was there, and the next weekend, without any explanation, the Communion rail was gone,” he said. “It was all coming so fast that it was hard to catechize the priests and get them to assimilate it.

“In some ways, I wish that we had taken more time on catechesis and delayed the implementation a bit, not that catechesis is going to settle everything.”

Promulgated Dec. 4, 1963, Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (“Sacrosanctum Concilium”) ordered an extensive revision of worship so that people would have a clearer sense of their own involvement in the Mass and other rites.

As it happened, though, the development of the Liturgy called for by the document was implemented in a piecemeal fashion. For example, on Nov. 29, 1964, only the Scripture readings and some of the prayers of Mass were authorized to be proclaimed or prayed in the vernacular. The rest of the Mass was still prayed in Latin.

Father Michael G. Whyte, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in West Simsbury, Conn., sits beside parishioner Margaret Domashinski in the parish rectory 10 weeks after the September 9 surgery. Domashinski donated a kidney to her pastor to save his life. (CNS photo/Jack Sheedy, The Catholic Transcript)

“It was a progression of changes, and they were not uniform from place to place,” said Berg. “It was no wonder that many people were confused.

Something that had always been consistent was that way no longer.”

The implementation of some developments — like allowing the use of the vernacular in the celebration of the Mass — resulted in other changes.

“It certainly was the beginning of a period that was not necessarily highly thought out,” said Charles Gardner, retired head of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Spiritual Life and Worship. “Everybody grabbed for things, some of it good, some of it not so good.”

In addition to allowing for the use of the vernacular in the Mass, Vatican II’s Liturgical renewal also gave the option of the priest facing the congregation during the Mass.

“Once you did that, all of a sudden your gestures, your facial expressions and your tone voice became crucial,” said Benedictine Father Columba Kelly, 84.

“You have to be present to what

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you are doing. You’re not there to entertain. You’re there to lead prayer.”

Father Vogelsang called this attentiveness to facial expression and vocal tone “stage presence.”

“You can’t just stand there and mumble everything,” he said. “And an awful lot of our priests had gotten into the habit of just mumbling the Latin.”

Father Vogelsang said introducing the vernacular into the Mass and changing the gestures and orientation of the celebrant “made a big difference,” saying “it has forced better celebrations.”

Father Robert Gilday, pastor of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish in Indianapolis, agreed. He said the faculty at St. Meinrad instilled in him and his fellow seminarians a value of “ars celebrandi,” the art of celebrating the Liturgy well.

“One of the things that you learned at St. Meinrad in particular was the importance of good Liturgy,” Father Gilday said. “You realize that celebrating well is important.”

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December 12, 2014

Anchor Editorial

Pro and con on executive actions

The relationship between the Church and the state is often a complicated one, in part because the state is not monolithic (the Church is not either, although when each of us are truly acting as the Church, we are the Mystical Body of Christ, with Jesus as our Head, guiding us in how we interact with the world, called to be the Sacrament of Salvation for it).

Over the last month one part of the state, the Obama Administration, has engaged in some actions which the Church favors (we may not approve of the means, although we do the ends), while engaging in others which we oppose (both means and ends).

In the first category would be the executive order regarding undocumented immigrants. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) would have preferred a new law, bringing comprehensive immigration reform, but since the last time that seemed likely was back in 2007 (when the Kennedy-McCain bill failed to pass), the bishops were happy that at least something was being done.

Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, welcomed the order and said, “We have a long history of welcoming and aiding the poor, the outcast, the immigrant, and the disadvantaged. Each day, the Catholic Church in the United States, in her social service agencies, hospitals, schools, and parishes, witnesses the human consequences of the separation of families, when parents are deported from their children or spouses from each other. As pastors, we welcome any efforts within these limits that protect individuals and protect and reunite families and vulnerable children.”

Bishop Elizondo said that the Church still would like a law in this area. “I strongly urge Congress and the president to work together to enact permanent reforms to the nation’s immigration system for the best interests of the nation and the migrants who seek refuge here. We will continue to work with both parties to enact legislation.”

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the USCCB, also welcomed the order and put our position in context: “There is an urgent pastoral need for a more humane view of immigrants and a legal process that respects each person’s dignity, protects human rights, and upholds the rule of law. As Pope Francis said so eloquently: ‘Every human being is a child of God! We ourselves need to see, and then to enable others to see, that migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected, and loved.’”

Not every executive action has been welcomed by the USCCB. On December 3 the U.S. Department of Labor issued a “final rule” to implement an executive order the president issued back on July 21. The USCCB responded with a joint statement by four committee chairmen: Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage; Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; and Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, N.Y., chairman of the Committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

They wrote, “The regulations published on December 3 implement the objectionable executive order that President Obama issued in July to address what the administration has described as ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ discrimination in employment by federal contractors. [W]e note the following initially: Our Church teaches that ‘[e] very sign of unjust discrimination’ against those who experience same-sex attraction ‘should be avoided’ (“Catechism of the Catholic Church,” CCC 2358) — but it appears on an initial reading that these regulations would prohibit far more than that ‘unjust discrimination.’ In particular, they appear also to prohibit employers’ religious and moral disapproval of same-sex sexual conduct, which creates a serious threat to freedom of conscience and religious liberty, because ‘[u]nder no circumstances’ may Catholics approve of such conduct (CCC 2357). Additionally, the regulations advance the false ideology of ‘gender identity,’ which ignores biological reality and harms the privacy and associational rights of contractors and their employees. In justice, the administration should not exclude contractors from federal contracting simply because they have religious or moral convictions about human sexuality and sexual conduct that differ from the views of the current governmental authorities.”

Some might try to counterpose this statement with what the pope said this week to La Nacion, an Argentine newspaper. It is helpful to read the actual text. He said, “No one spoke about homosexual marriage in the synod, it did not occur to us. What we did talk about was when a family has a homosexual son or daughter, how one teaches about that, how one deals [with this situation], how one helps this family to go forward in this somewhat unprecedented situation. That is, in the synod the family was spoken about and about homosexual persons in relation to their families, because this is a reality which all the time we encounter in the confessionals: a father and a mother who has a son or daughter like this. I dealt with this various times in Buenos Aires. Well, we have to see how we can help this father or this mother so that they can accompany this son or daughter. This is was the synod touched on.”

In that quote we see one of Pope Francis’ favorite verbs, “accompany.” He repeatedly stresses to us that Jesus accompanies us in this life — we need to open our eyes and accompany Him in the various forms He presents Himself (in the Eucharist, in our neighbors, etc.). We need to accompany these parents and their children, showing them Christ’s love, which will then help them accept Jesus’ teachings on sexual morality as something good, instead of just a list of prohibitions. The American bishops oppose the Labor Department rule because it goes beyond welcoming people to meddling in the inner workings of the Church agencies which Bishop Elizondo mentioned above, something which the Supreme Court’s unanimous 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision said was unconstitutional.

The Church does not “belong” to a political party, but to Christ, and is called upon

by Him to testify to the truth (as Jesus said to another representative of state authority, Pontius Pilate). May we work together to promote the truth of the dignity of the human person in civil society.

Pope Francis’ Angelus message of December 7

Dear brothers and sisters: This Sunday marks the second stage of the time of Advent, a wonderful time that awakens in us the expectation of the return of Christ and the memory of His historic coming. Today’s Liturgy presents us with a message full of hope. It is the Lord’s invitation expressed by the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Comfort, give comfort to My people, says your God” (40:1). With these words, the book of consolation is opened, in which the prophet addresses to

the people in exile the joyful announcement of liberation. The time of tribulation is ended; the people of Israel can look towards the future with confidence: the return home finally awaits them.

And this is the reason for the invitation to let ourselves be consoled by the Lord.

Isaiah addresses the people who have passed through a dark time, who have undergone a very hard trial; but now the time of consolation has come. Sadness and fear can make way for joy, beOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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cause the Lord Himself will guide His people on the path of freedom and Salvation.

In what way will He do this?

With the care and tenderness of a Shepherd Who takes care of His flock. He will give unity and security to the flock, they will graze, the scattered sheep will be gathered safely, He will pay special attention to the most fragile and weak (v. 11). This is God’s attitude towards us, His creatures.

Hence, the prophet invites the listener — which includes us, today — to spread among the people this message of hope. The message that the Lord consoles us, to make way for the consolation that comes from the Lord.

But we cannot be messengers of God’s consolation if we do not experience first the joy of being consoled and loved by Him. This happens especially when we listen to His Word. The Gospel, which we should carry in our pocket, do not forget this! The Gospel, in your pocket or in your purse, read it continuously. This consoles us!

When we remain in prayerful silence in His presence, when we meet Him in the Eucharist or in

the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

All this consoles us!

So now, let us allow Isaiah’s invitation — “Comfort, give comfort to My people” — resound in our hearts in this time of Advent.

Today there is a need for people who are witnesses of the mercy and tenderness of the Lord, which shakes up those who are resigned, revives the discouraged, ignites the fire of hope. It is He who ignites the fire of hope, not us!

So many situations require our consoling witness. To be joyful people, consoled. I think of those who are oppressed by suffering, injustice and abuses; those who are enslaved by money, power, success, worldliness. Poor things, they have a false consolation, they do not have the true consolation of the Lord!

We are all called to console our brothers and sisters, giving witness that only God can eliminate the causes of existential and Spiritual tragedies. He can do it; He is powerful!

Isaiah’s message, that resonates in this second Sunday of Advent, is a balm on our wounds and an impetus to prepare the way of the

Lord diligently. The prophet, in fact, speaks today to our hearts to tell us that God forgets our sins and consoles us. If we trust in Him with humble and contrite hearts, He will break down the walls of evil. He will fill the holes of our omissions. He will pave the bumps of pride and vanity and will open a path of encounter with Him. It is curious, but so many times, we are afraid of consolation, of being consoled. In fact, we feel safer in sadness and desolation. Do you know why? Because in sadness, we feel almost like the protagonists.

Instead, in consolation, the Holy Spirit is the Protagonist! It is He Who consoles us, it is He Who gives us the courage to come out of ourselves. It is He Who brings us to the source of every true consolation, that is, the Father. And this is conversion. Please, let yourselves be consoled by the Lord!

Let yourselves be consoled by the Lord!

The Virgin Mary is the “path” that God Himself has prepared to come into the world. Let us entrust to her the expectation of Salvation and peace for all men and women of our time.

December 12, 2014

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ne of the great joys I had during my college years was attending the 8 a.m. daily Mass at St. Paul’s Church in Cambridge. It was a Missa Cantata in which the priest celebrants beautifully sang all the prayers of the Mass and, unforgettably, the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School sang the hymns, psalms and Mass parts. It was like a principal Sunday Mass almost every day lasting about 50 minutes, finishing just in time for me to scamper across Harvard Yard to make my 9 a.m. classes.

Daily exposure to that Liturgical beauty really had a huge impact in stoking my priestly vocation. Leaving that experience after graduation left me in a sort of Spiritual withdrawal even though I had entered the seminary.

Those memories of a quarter century ago have been coming back to me as I’ve been listening to “Christmas in Harvard Square,” the recently-released CD from the St. Paul’s Choir School, as the BACS was renamed two years ago. It’s one of the best CDs of Christmas music I’ve ever heard. Lots of performers record Christmas music. Many choirs pound out Christmas hymns. But few make it sound truly ethereal. And few are

Anchor Columnist From Harvard to Bethlehem recorded well enough that you ought to be their next project. sense you have an entire choir The Choir School agreed and singing live in your room.

Grammy award-winning proWhat makes this CD parducer Blanton Alspaugh was ticularly special for me is not eventually brought in to record just the happy memories of my them. halcyon days as a university The CD has 19 tracks, student. It’s also because my including “O Come All Ye 13-year-old nephew ChrisFaithful,” “Hark! The Herald tian, the oldest son of my twin Angels Sing” and “Angels We brother Scot and his wife Ximena, is a member of the choir and has three differPutting Into ent solos. “Finally a the Deep Landry worth listening to,” one friend

By Father recently joked to me.

Roger J. Landry The story of the making of the CD is providential. Kevin Fitzgibbons — who with his Have Heard on High” that are wife Monica founded in 2007 among the best renditions I’ve AimHigher Recordings, which ever heard. There are also many has produced chart-topping hymns from the English CaCDs from the Benedictines thedral School tradition that of Mary, Queen of Apostles beautifully ponder the mysterand the Dominican Sisters of ies of Bethlehem but that most Mary, Mother of the Eucharist Americans have unfortunately — happened to be in Boston not grown up hearing. And and attended Mass at St. Paul’s there’s superb, heart-lifting powhen the choir school was lyphony: my personal favorites singing. When Monica was a are the “O Magnum Mysterium” student at Boston University, and “Omnes De Saba Venient.” she used to come to hear the It’s hard to listen to the choir school frequently and CD just as background music, recommended it to her husbecause the variety leads you band. Kevin ended up recordto pick up the jacket and ing the boys on his phone ponder the lyrics. The fact that and texted a cut to Monica one can’t sing along with all suggesting that the choir the tracks communicates that

People gather outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem recently. Jerusalem Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali said during a joint Christmas simulcast in Bethlehem and Rockville, Md., that there can never be full peace if justice is not implemented. (CNS photo/Mussa Qawasma, Reuters)

the mystery we’re pondering is greater than our attempts at domestication.

It’s nice that St. Paul’s Choir School is finally getting the attention it deserves. The BACS was founded in 1963 by the legendary Theodore Marier and it remains the only Catholic boys choir school in our country. The school is now led by the superlative young music director John Robinson, headmaster William McIvor and St. Paul’s pastor Father Michael Drea.

Fifty boys from the greater Boston area presently attend. To be admitted, incoming fourthor fifth-grade boys must be academically bright and pass an audition to show that they have a promising musical ear and can hold and repeat a tune.

In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum of math, history, science, English, Latin and French, students also take music theory, music history, learn the piano and recorder and practice choral singing an hour a day in addition to chanting the daily Mass.

Students also receive one of the finest and most challenging educations in the Catholic faith I’ve seen in any Catholic school. Everything leads to form boys to glorify God through singing, study and the Spiritual and moral life.

7 It’s not a surprise that many priestly vocations have come out of the Choir School.

Students enter as “probationers” in fourth grade. If they persevere, they are eventually invested in the “trebles,” where they continue through fifth grade. In sixth, they enter the principal choir, the Choristers, where they stay until their voice changes and they enter the Schola Cantorum.

Since the release of the CD, the boys have been fittingly getting a lot of attention: a PBS special, a segment on Raymond Arroyo’s “The World Over,” and opportunities to sing for national audiences on the morning programs in New York. They’ve pre-recorded a session that will air on “Good Morning America” on Christmas Eve. If you’re looking for a gift that will allow you to give Christ this Christmas and support a great institution, I’d encourage you to order “Christmas in Harvard Square” from Amazon or directly from the Choir School’s website (www.stpaulchoirschool.com).

This CD leads listeners from Harvard Square to Bethlehem and evokes the angelic choirs singing to God’s glory who greeted the shepherds on Christmas night.

Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

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his Advent, take a fresh look at the figure of St. John the Baptist. I think that, oftentimes, we can allow a stereotypical image of him dominate in our minds: wearing a rough cloak, his hand perhaps raised in a gesture as he preaches, but overall, seeming a fairly tame character.

As our Gospels these weeks reveal to us, this was hardly the case. Most of the time people in the Scriptures “speak.” St. John, however, applies to himself the line from Isaiah: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’”

“Crying out.” We can’t let this detail slip by us.

Imagine how radical St. John’s witness must have been at the time: alone in the wilderness; eating the simple food of locusts and wild honey (though perhaps

December 12, 2014

We can all be voices crying out

here, he is simply a precurprophet, does he claim to sor of today’s organic food be. Instead, he is simply “the craze); encouraging people voice of one crying out.” to change their ways, to turn A voice. Not very much, from whatever sinful habits is it? In fact, a voice is very they might have to following little in itself: it is simply a God more wholeheartedly. tool used to give form to a This would hardly seem a recipe for success, yet that is Homily of the Week just what St. John’s Third Sunday ministry experiof Advent enced: people were drawn to him, alBy Father most magnetically, to Riley J. Williams receive the Baptism of repentance and join him in awaiting the greater One to come. message. In this we grasp Yet, in spite of the crowds the key to understanding that flocked to hear him, the St. John the Baptist: he has foundational characteristic of given himself completely to his entire life was a profound the message, the Word of humility: St. John refuses God, and in this dedication, to be compared with any of he finds his fulfillment. the great prophetic figures And what Word has he of Israel’s tradition: neither been given to speak? The the Anointed One (“the prophet Isaiah captures Christ”), nor Elijah, nor the the vocation of St. John in

the first reading: “To bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.” St. John foreshadows what Our Lord would say years later in His own ministry: “He who loses his life for My sake and the sake of the Gospel will find it.” St. John is an example to us of this kind of “loss”: not in the sense that something becomes irrecoverable, but in the sense that it has been handed over for some higher purpose. St. John gave his life to his message, his vocation, of preparing the world to receive the Savior.

And what about us? In a way, we are called to be

similar witnesses to our own world. While our Lord has already come in time, how many people are there — in our families, our schools and workplaces, among our friends — who do not yet know Him, or at least not the true message of the Gospel, a message that brings healing to the wounded and freedom to those held in the chains of sin?

“Do not despise the prophetic utterances.” St. Paul, writing in our second reading, is right. May we give thanks for the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist, but also be aware of our own vocation to prepare others for the Lord’s coming into their lives: voices making ready the way for the Word.

Father Williams is a parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Dec. 13, Sir 48:1-4,9-11; Mt 17:9a,10-13. Sun. Dec. 14, Third Sunday of Advent, Is 61:1-2a,10-11; (Ps) Lk 1:46-50,5354; 1 Thes 5:16-24; Jn 1:6-8,19-28. Mon. Dec. 15, Nm 24:2-7,15-17a; Mt 21:23-27. Tues. Dec. 16, Zep 3:1-2,9-13; Mt 21:28-32. Wed. Dec. 17, Gn 49:2,8-10; Mt 1:1-17. Thurs. Dec. 18, Jer 23:5-8; Mt 1:18-25. Fri. Dec. 19, Jgs 13:2-7,24-25a; Lk 1:5-25.

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recent news report described the unusual story of a baby’s birth from his grandmother’s womb. A 29-year-old woman from Sweden, born without a uterus, received a transplanted womb from her mother, the same womb that had brought her into the world a generation earlier. The woman then became pregnant through in vitro fertilization and delivered a healthy baby boy.

The research had been dogged by controversy and questions: Could a transplanted womb from a post-menopausal woman be “triggered” back into action once it had been introduced into the body of a younger woman? Could a transplanted uterus effectively provide nourishment to a growing baby during all the gestational stages of a pregnancy? Would such a costly and risky surgery involving two people, mother and daughter, donor and recipient, be justifiable? Are such transplants ultimately ethical?

The specific circumstances involved are critical to determining whether this novel type of transplant is ethical.

Various medical anomalies can cause a woman to be missing a uterus. A congeni-

Are womb transplants immoral?

Church,” that the morality of tal disease called Rokitansky a human act depends on three syndrome can cause the uterus factors: the object, the end, and to develop anomalously, or not the circumstances involved. An form at all. Uterine cancer or act is morally good only if all other serious gynecological three of these factors are morissues may necessitate that a ally good. If any one of them woman undergo a hysterecis bad, we recognize that the tomy, resulting in permanent infertility.

The womb is a Making Sense unique organ with a highly specific function, Out of and the transplantation Bioethics of a healthy womb into a woman who lacks one

By Father Tad due to a birth defect or Pacholczyk disease is loosely parallel, some would say, to overall act itself becomes mora situation where a patient’s kidney fails, and another person ally bad.

For example, a diva using donates a healthy replacement her voice to sing a passage from organ. a famous opera has the morYet others would say that ally good object of performing the womb is not a vital organ a beautiful and artistic musical like a kidney, and while the composition. The end for which transplantation of a womb is a diva might sing would be to directed towards improving a patient’s quality of life, it clearly perfect her singing skills — also morally good. But if she does not constitute life-saving surgery like a kidney transplant. decides to do it at 3 a.m. in a Therefore, womb transplants dormitory, so that it disturbs the sleep of her neighbors, then require strong ethical justificathe circumstances would not be tions. good, and we would conclude As we reflect on the eththat the action of singing in ics surrounding new medical that way by the diva is, in fact, treatments and technologies, morally bad. it can help us to recall the In the case of carrying out a general principle, enshrined in the “Catechism of the Catholic womb transplant, the object of

the act would be good, namely, to restore a woman’s bodily wholeness by transplanting a healthy womb in situations where she lacks one. The end for which the womb transplant would be carried out would also be good, namely, to achieve a pregnancy.

But particular circumstances can easily render the womb transplant immoral. If the transplant were done for the purposes of pursuing a pregnancy through IVF, this circumstance would render the entire act of the womb transplant morally bad and disordered, given that IVF is invariably immoral as a means to engender new human life. All reported instances thus far of womb transplants followed by successful pregnancies have arisen because of the use of IVF. A similar problem with the circumstances of the transplant could arise if the womb that was used for transplant had been donated by a healthy woman still in her reproductive years who harbored a contraceptive intention and no longer desired to have more children of her own with her husband.

In such a situation, her uterine donation would cause her

to become sterile, and would represent a seriously flawed moral circumstance that would likewise render the action of receiving the transplanted womb unethical on the part of the other woman.

When might a womb transplant be morally acceptable? If a uterus were transplanted from either a deceased or a freelyconsenting, post-menopausal woman to another woman whose ovaries, fallopian tubes and other reproductive tissues were then able to function so she could conceive a child within the marital embrace, rather than through IVF (and assuming minimal medical risks to both donor and recipient), the womb transplant could represent an ethical means of resolving her uterinefactor infertility. In conclusion, the specific circumstances of the donor and recipient are crucial in discerning the ethical appropriateness of this unusual procedure.

Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the director of Education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org.

December 12, 2014

7 December 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — Second Sunday of Advent used to read several newspapers every day but I now get my news from the Internet. I still glance at the daily newspaper, though.

I read the obituaries first.

This, among other things, is something that comes with being a senior citizen they tell me. As I read about the death of some school chum or brother priest, the obits can get depressing. Father Frank Wallace assures me I will move beyond this stage of life. His own friends and acquaintances are no longer in the obituaries, he says. He is now 93 years of age. I can see his point.

Be that as it may. After the obituaries, I might need something to cheer me up, so I turn secondly to the

I

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remember the deep frustration at one point years ago when a surly teen, despite having been conceived with joy and raised with devoted love — decided he wouldn’t accompany us to Sunday Mass. Confronted with his obstinacy, my larger disquiet was how his behavior would affect the younger children. While wringing my hands, I confided my concern to an older, wiser friend, who responded quite calmly, “Explain to the younger ones that their sibling is questioning his faith, and tell them to pray.” How very simple.

That exchange came to mind as I discovered all around me this year the atheists’ aggressive media campaign to ignore Christmas — or rather, to celebrate the “holidays” without God. Here in Rhode Island, the message is simply: “You’re not alone,” encouraging atheists who may feel isolated to be more bold in denying the existence of God. In Memphis, Tennessee, the campaign is more antagonistic.

Using the device of a child’s letter, it shouts, “Dear Santa: All I want for Christmas is to skip church! I’m too old for fairy tales.”

While the standard Christian response may be one of horror and dismay — especially since the billboards are placed near residential areas

Anchor Columnists The end is near! tion and somehow sucked up comic page. I notice there into the eternal windbag of are certain artistic devices bliss. Everyone else will be all cartoonists use. One left behind. cartoon character shows up Catholics, on the other quite frequently — an old man dressed in a white robe, hand, have all of Scripture tied at the waist with a rope. He has a long scraggly The Ship’s Log beard and carries Reflections of a a handmade sign Parish Priest with crude lettering proclaiming “The

By Father Tim end is near.” There’s Goldrick always a joke in there someplace.

A few Christian and tradition. We know denominations are obsessed there’s much more to Salwith the end of the world. vation than the end of the In fact, it’s all they ever talk world. Nevertheless, we pray about. Sunday after Sunday, the sermons are based on the constantly that one day the Kingdom will come. This book of the apocalypse (the faith of ours is our consoBook of Revelation to us). lation and eternal life our This usually comes with the hope. belief that they themselves We Catholic Christians will be saved from destruc-

do spend four full weeks every year pondering the end of the world (exclusively during the first two weeks of Advent). It’s foremost in our thoughts and prayers.

On the Third Week of Advent, we begin to include remembrance of the First Coming of the Lord, that is, His birth in Bethlehem. On the third week, the pope lights up the Vatican Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. We can even lighten up the color of our vestments — rose instead of violet. But for the first two weeks, it’s all about the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

The Last Judgment is a wondrous tenet of our faith, every bit as comforting as the birth in Bethlehem.

9 We await the return of the Lord and the fullness of the Kingdom. Just like children at Christmas, we can hardly wait for the Kingdom to come. But we must. We wait in December’s darkness. We hope and pray that perhaps the Kingdom will come during this New Year of Grace, 2015. If not, we will blow out the candles of our Advent wreaths and turn to our celebration of the First Coming of the Lord at Christmas. Maybe the Lord will return next Advent. It occurs to me that we have been waiting so long for the Second Coming of Christ that sometimes we can forget what we are awaiting.

Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

The gift of the atheists in what the country considers tion and using the construct the Bible belt — I think that as a way of ordering society and establishing good habthey provide a tremendous its in its members? Have opportunity. The atheists we ourselves gone with the note that “the location is crowd — a crowd that hapdesigned to start a conversation.” And so it is.

It’s the perfect conversation to have with everyone in the family — especially in the families where church attendance may be

By Genevieve Kineke rote and more based on family tradition or convention. What do pens to attend weekly Mass we believe? What evidence in a mindless way? Have do we find incontrovertible?

Why do we go to Mass week we prided ourselves on our after week? How do we know good works, and considered that what the Church teaches our parish lucky to have us — hard-working pious souls is true? Where does reliable that we are? These are some authority lie? of the fundamental questions This is indeed a conversathat need to be addressed if tion starter, allowing us to we are to respond squarely share stories of our own obto the charge that Godstinacy, stories of conversion, made-man is a fairy tale. It and stories of gratitude. We is entirely possible that even can tell of prayers answered — in remarkable, unexpected believing Christians can misunderstand their primary ways, of suffering and concall to worship the One Who solation, of conundrums that gives us dignity and the grace will have to be answered in the next life. Here we have an to act well.

Fairy tales, for all the opportunity to look deeply, condescension here, are quite privately into our own souls consistent in the marvels to consider where the doubts they offer to the listener. The hide, where the lifelines are heroic deeds they relate elicit stored, and what God has heroic responses in those done for us over the years. who attend. As a fairy tale, Is it possible that we have the Christian saga would used Christianity as a means hold up well, since it presents to an end, hollowing out a story that turns the matethe marvel of the Incarna-

The Feminine Genius

rial universe on its head. The only difference is that this is no fable, but the truth. A God-Man really swept to earth, “behind enemy lines,” as C. S. Lewis phrased it, to save those imprisoned by a deathly force, and subsequently cuts the bonds of each soul who turns to Him. This is too much, notes Christian existentialist Soren Kierkegaard: “The natural man’s narrowmindedness cannot bring itself to accept the extraordinary that God has intended for him.” Do we believe?

Our choice in this season of

grace is either to continue in our complacent way, ignoring the billboards and bus advertisements’ invitation to think more deeply about our creed, or to grasp more firmly the very real lifeline that can pull us towards the divine, the one defined by Kierkegaard: “Faith is that the self in being itself and in wanting to be itself is grounded transparently in God.” That’s no fairy tale, but an invitation to be exalted in the truth that saves.

Anchor columnist Genevieve Kineke is a member of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in East Greenwich, R.I. and can be found online at femininegenius.com

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December 12, 2014

America magazine,Yale chapel create new $25,000 literary prize NEW YORK (CNS) — America, the national Catholic weekly magazine run by the Jesuits, and the St. Thomas More Chapel at Yale University, have announced the creation of the George W. Hunt Prize.

The aim is to recognize “the finest literary work of Roman

Catholic intelligence and imagination” and the winner will receive $25,000 in prize money.

Judges will consider works in a variety of genres, including journalism, fiction, poetry, drama, music, memoir, biography, history, art criticism and academic scholarship.

The prize is named for the late Jesuit Father George W. Hunt, whose 14-year tenure as editorin-chief of America, from 1984 to 1998, made him the longestserving editor in the magazine’s 105-year history. He died Feb. 25, 2011, at age 74.

Nominations will open on

Father Hunt’s birthday, January 22, and will close on a date announced by the selection committee. A person may nominate himself or herself. Nominations will be submitted electronically at www.americamagazine.org.

The George W. Hunt Prize will be awarded to a single individual in recognition of his or her literary work, the announcement said.

Father Hunt first joined the America staff as its literary editor; he held the post from 1981 to 1984.

Full details about the prize’s mission, the criteria, including a

list of topics, eligibility and the nominations process available at http://americamagazine.org/ huntprize.

Members of the committee that will select the winner are: Jesuit Father Matt Malone, editor-in-chief and president of America Media; Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, professor and poet at Fordham University; Kevin Spinale, a Jesuit scholastic, who is the moderator of the Catholic Book Club; Maura Ryan, associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame; and Cathleen Kaveny, professor of law and of theology at Boston College.

December 12, 2014

St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River recently held its 17th annual Mission Awards celebration in recognition of employees who have made a significant contribution to children, youth and families in their various roles within St. Vincent’s. The recipients, Doug Almeida, Sharon Estrella, Leigh Ann McAfee, Irene Nogueira and Sasha St. Pierre, received Mission Awards from Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., chairman of the board of St. Vincent’s, and Jack Weldon, St. Vincent’s executive director.

Nominated by their peers for this once-in-a-lifetime achievement award, the recipients were congratulated and thanked for their dedication and commitment to helping children and families in countless ways while fulfilling the Mission of St. Vincent’s. Mercy Sister and former administrator, Sister Lourdette Harrold, provided a reading. Standing before a group of staff, family, and friends who had gathered in the on-campus chapel, Weldon congratulated and thanked the honorees for bringing St. Vincent’s mission to life in their daily work by providing a positive impact on the quality of care for the children, youth and families receiving services. Bishop da Cunha personally thanked each honoree for their commitment to helping and healing the children and families throughout the Diocese of Fall River.

Each honoree was nominated and received the 2014 Mission Award for outstanding service and embodiment of St. Vincent’s mission of “Giving Children and Families in Need What They Need Most.” The celebration also provided an opportunity for staff to re-commit to St. Vincent’s mission.

Standing from left: Bishop da Cunha and Jack Weldon. Sitting from left: Sasha St. Pierre, Leigh Ann McAfee, Doug Medeiros, Sharon Estrella, and Irene Nogueira.

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December 12, 2014

How a modern D.C. art exhibit is learning womanhood from Mary Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — A new art exhibit in Washington, D.C., hopes to revive a sense of womanhood exemplified in the Virgin Mary, as depicted by Renaissance and Baroque artists.

“I think one of the messages that the exhibit communicates to all viewers — irrespective of religion or lack of religious interest and commitment,” explained exhibit curator, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, is “the fascination that this woman has exerted across the centuries.”

The exhibit “Picturing Mary” is on display at Washington’s National Museum of Women in the Arts from December 5 through April 12 — “between Christmas and Easter” as Msgr. Verdon explained. It features more than 60 Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculptures, and textiles, some of which are on display in the U.S. for the first time.

The collection was gathered from world-famous museums like the Louvre, the Uffizi, and the Vatican Museums, as well as other churches and collections in Europe and the United States.

Works of esteemed artists such as Caravaggio, Botticelli, and Michaelangelo are featured.

Ultimately, the purpose of the exhibit is to show how Mary was depicted as “woman,” “mother,” and “idea” during a time period “a bit after St. Francis of Assisi up to the Counter-Reformation,” the monsignor explained.

A world-renowned art historian, Msgr. Verdon noted that after the feminist revolution of the prior decades, there are now some who are looking to recover a lost sense of womanhood, which shines through in the exhibit.

“I think the hasty and perhaps even culturally-unprepared visitor grasps easily enough that in this one woman, people were talking about their perception of womanhood, of motherhood, of

emotion,” he explained.

In the artists’ time period, he added, women “were thought of as closer to the root springs of sentiment, of feeling, and less bound by conventional behavior, and in certain situations indeed closer to nature, more capable of a natural spontaneous reaction.”

So if an individual can enter into the world of the artists, they may “discover a world that was remarkably profound and true to human nature. I think that’s one of the marvelous lessons of this.”

The idea behind the exhibit was hatched even before the museum’s founding, said Kathryn Wat, the museum’s chief curator.

She explained that the founder, Wilhelmina Holladay, was encouraged by her friends to have an exhibit on Mary because “she’s a subject that’s been painted by all the great artists through time.”

“She said she never forgot that idea about presenting the Virgin Mary here at the women’s museum,” Wat added. Holladay had decided about five years ago to pursue the exhibit after a conversation with a donor.

The exhibit was not easy to put together, Wat said, being a three-year process of negotiations with the other museums and collectors.

“It’s a fairly complicated and long-term process to negotiate loans with institutions and lenders from overseas,” she told CNA. But now that the exhibit is completed, she believes it will have a wide appeal, attracting lovers of art and culture as well as those devoted to Mary.

“I think that for those who are believers, those who are faithful, those who are interested in Mary from a religious or Spiritual perspective, this exhibition is full of inspiration,” she said. “Because a visitor is going to see images of Mary presented in ways they may have not seen previously.”

James Buckley, Christa-Marie Nicola, Ashley Hinshaw and Denis O’Hare star in a scene from the movie “The Pyramid.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Fox)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

NEW YORK (CNS) — The following is a capsule review of a movie recently reviewed by Catholic News Service of Catholic Bishops.

“The Theory of Everything” (Focus) Cosmology and metaphysical arguments don’t blend well with the more usual elements of this autobiographical film. With a script by Andrew McCarten — based on a memoir by Jane Hawking

(Felicity Jones), the ex-wife of famed physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) — director James Marsh’s drama is, for its first hour, an impressive period piece set in 1963 Cambridge University. After that, the story shows the hazards of having to tiptoe decorously around messy domestic complications when all those involved, including Hawking’s nurseturned-second-spouse Elaine (Maxine Peake), are still very much alive. Fleeting references to marital infidelity and pornography, some sexual banter. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“The Pyramid” (Fox) Cross “The Mummy” with “Alien” and you get this schlock horror film about scary things that go bump in

Visit the Diocese of

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, December 14, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Edward A. Murphy, pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in New Bedford

the Egyptian night, directed

by Gregory Levasseur. His documentary format purports to tell the “true” story of an American archeological expedition in Cairo in 2013, set against the upheavals of the Arab Spring. A fatherdaughter team of scientists (Denis O’Hare and Ashley Hinshaw) have discovered a pyramid buried deep under the desert. A journalist (Christa Nicola) and her wisecracking cameraman ( James Buckley) chronicle their excavation of it. When contact is lost with a robot rover that’s been sent inside the structure, its operator (Amir K) joins the others on a rescue mission. Before long, of course, it’s apparent that something sinister is lurking underground. Bloody violence and gory images, brief partial female nudity, some profane and crude language.

The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Fall River website at

Marian Medal awards ceremony available on Video FALL RIVER — The November 23 Marian Medal Awards Ceremony is available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $25.

To obtain one, please forward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, Mass. 02722.

Shipping is included in the video cost.

fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.

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December 12, 2014

Pope Francis praises the ‘hidden holiness’ of everyday saints

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Francis cautioned against the false appearances of those who are proud or vain, saying that true holiness is found in the silent, everyday witness of the poor and humble.

“We should think about so much hidden holiness there is in the Church; Christians who remain in Jesus,” the pope told those present in the Vatican’s St. Martha guesthouse for a recent daily Mass.

While there are some Christians who put on appearances, many others are true saints, he said, noting that they are not necessarily “canonized saints, but saints (who) put the love of Jesus into practice.”

The pope centered his reflections on the day’s first read-

ing from the prophet Isaiah, who speaks of the importance of founding oneself on the rock of the Lord, and foretells the destruction of the high and “lofty” cities, who will be trampled by the poor and needy.

When it comes to being a true Christian, the pope said, we should not be “Christians in appearance,” whose makeup comes off as soon as the rain begins.

“So many ‘apparent Christians,’ collapse at the first temptation (because) there is no substance there,” so it’s not enough to simply belong to a Catholic family, an association or to be a benefactor if we don’t follow God’s will.

However, there are also many who do follow God’s will and put His love into practice

every day, Pope Francis noted, pointing to those who are considered small but who offer their daily suffering to the Lord.

“Let us consider the sick who offer their sufferings for the Church, for others. Let us consider so many of the elderly who are alone, who pray and make offerings,” he said, also recognizing the many families who work hard to raise children and who don’t “strut about,” but bear their problems with hope.

These people are “the saints of daily life,” the pope said. He also lauded the witness of the many parish priests who carry out their work with love, and without being seen.

Priests who work hard catechizing children, caring for

Pope Francis calls for solidarity in creating a world without nuclear weapons

VIENNA (CNS) — Pope Francis called on world leaders, activists and people of faith to pull together to rid the world of the threat of nuclear weapons.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s permanent representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, read the pope’s statement in Vienna at the opening of the recent Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons.

In his message, Pope Francis restated the Vatican’s long-standing advocacy for the global elimination of nuclear weapons and said peace is not just a balance of power, “but true justice.”

The pope’s statement said nuclear nations should move beyond the mere ideal of the abolition of atomic weapons stressed in The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation Of Nuclear Weapons and take the next steps toward meeting that objective.

“The humanitarian consequences are predictable and planetary,” the pope said in the statement, read before representatives of more than 150 countries gathered for conference.

More attention should be given to the unnecessary suffering that would result from the use of nuclear weapons, the pope’s statement said. He encouraged open dialogue between nuclear and nonnuclear states, with the inclu-

sion of religious communities and civil society.

The pope’s statement was one of several during the opening remarks of the twoday conference, in which experts have been dispatched to discuss the short- and longterm consequences of nuclear weapons explosions, especially in the areas of health, environment, climate, food security and infrastructure.

Possession of nuclear weapons does not provide safety or security, but increases the likelihood of accidents and mistrust among nations, said Angela Kane, the U.N. high representative for disarmament affairs.

A nuclear strike would cause devastating effects beyond the borders of the nation targeted for the attack, said Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s foreign minister.

“It would have regional and global consequences,” Kurz told the audience. “No one would win, everyone would lose. It’s high time we move from words to action.”

Scientific experts said nuclear strikes between two nations like the U.S. and Russia would initially kill thousands of civilians and would reduce targeted cities to rubble.

The same experts also said the long-term environmental impact of such an engagement would decrease global temperatures, halt agricultural production and potentially cause billions to die of

starvation.

“The risk is high, the danger is real,” said Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Let’s bring the era of nuclear weapons to an end.”

He said no team on the planet could launch an adequate response if one or more nuclear bombs were detonated, either intentionally or by accident.

Not all was doom and gloom during the opening of the government-sponsored conference.

While there are currently 17,000 nuclear bombs worldwide in a high-alert status, experts told participants that figure is far less than the 70,000 weapons that were combat-ready at the end of the Cold War. However, the 85 percent reduction in nuclear weapons has created a false sense of security among the masses, who see nuclear destruction as an abstract threat, Kurz said.

In his message, Pope Francis warned of such complacency and encouraged participants of the conference to remind the world of the risks of nations possessing any nuclear weapons.

“I’m convinced the desire for peace will bear fruit in concrete ways,” the pope said in the statement, adding that it was his hope that “a world without nuclear weapons is possible.”

the elderly and the sick, and preparing couples for Marriage do the same thing every day, he said, but never get bored “because their foundation is the rock. It is Jesus, it this that gives holiness to the Church, it is this that gives hope!”

Even these hidden saints are still sinners, because we all are, he observed, saying that when a good Christian sometimes falls and commits a grave sin but is penitent and asks forgiveness, it is a good thing.

“Not confuse sin with virtue,” the pope said, explaining that it’s good to “know well where virtue is, and where sin is, (but) these (people) are founded on rock, and the rock is Christ.”

The proud and the vain are

those who have built their house on sand, the pope said, noting that as the prophet Isaiah said in the first reading, they will be “demolished” while the poor and those who consider themselves nothing in the sight of God will triumph.

He concluded his reflections by encouraging all present to use the time of Advent, in which we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, to place our foundation on the Lord, Who is our rock and our hope.

“We are all sinners, we are weak, but if we place our hope in Him we can go forward. And this is the joy of a Christian: knowing that in Him there is hope, there is pardon, there is peace (and) there is joy.”

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December 12, 2014

2014 brought a chance at change for millions of immigrants WASHINGTON (CNS) — The year 2014 brought potentially significant changes for millions of people who are in the United States illegally and either arrived here as minors or who have U.S. citizen or legal-resident children.

Likewise, a smaller population of kids in Central America may benefit from a safer, legal way to reunite with their parents, in response to a surge in unaccompanied minors and families with children who were making dangerous multi-country crossings to reach the U.S. border.

Those actions taken by the administration stirred a backlash among Republicans. The House quickly passed a bill rebuking the administration for “overreach” and declaring the actions “null and void.”

For more than a decade, there was little progress to report in an annual look back at what had happened on efforts to address the problems with having more than 11 million people in the country who lack legal immigration status.

As 2014 drew to a close, permanent legislative fixes were still elusive, but nearly half of that population might soon be able to “come out of the shadows,” as some put it, under enforcement changes announced November 20.

President Barack Obama that day announced steps he is taking administratively to use discretion in who is prosecuted and — at least temporarily — protect potentially millions of people from deportation and give them documents allowing them to work legally.

One change will expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, by ending an upper age limit and rolling forward the date by which an applicant must have arrived in the United States as a minor.

The bigger change will create a similar program for potentially about four million people who lack legal status, but whose children are U.S. citizens or legal residents.

It will apply only to people who’ve been in the country for five years or longer and who pass background checks, register with the government and pay probably hundreds of dollars in fees.

The executive actions also include: — Revised enforcement priorities for who will be deported, focusing on criminals and new arrivals, and avoiding deporting longtime U.S. residents who have family here and lack criminal records.

— The expansion of provisional waivers that allow people to apply for legalization without leaving the country.

— Broader definitions of who may qualify for certain waivers, known as “parole,” from immigration agency requirements. Those will affect relatives of military personnel and some people with pending immigration cases who wish to leave the country for a short time.

— Streamlining visa procedures for foreign students and graduates of U.S. universities and other applicants for highly skilled jobs.

The actions riled Republicans, some of whom threatened to block approval of

This week in 50 years ago — A new 40-foot, sixton steeple was installed atop St. Patrick’s Church in Falmouth as part of an ongoing renovation and enlargement project at the Cape Cod parish.

25 years ago — The future Bishop George W. Coleman, then-pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood during a special Mass with his Cape Cod parishioners.

spending bills or to impeach the president over what they said was an overreach of executive powers. The administration responded by providing a phalanx of legal experts who said the actions were well within prosecutorial discretion and in fact echoed steps taken by previous presidents.

Obama also challenged the Republican-dominated House to take up a comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate nearly a year and a half earlier.

Obama’s actions might affect about half the people in the country illegally and may be summarily reversed by a future president. But legislation could be broader-reaching and more permanent.

The only substantial immigration-related legislation the House has voted on in the last few years has been to try to stop DACA several times, and to do away with the Diversity Visa Program and use those visas to create more slots for people in the science, technology and engineering fields. The Senate did not take up those bills.

As the congressional term wound to a close, nobody expected the House to take up the Senate’s comprehensive reform bill. Nor was there any chance the Senate would take up the December 4 House bill that rebuked Obama.

When the Republicans control both houses of Congress in January, new efforts at changing immigration law will begin again, but there’s a broad range of ideas for how to accomplish that, especially in a way that will win the

president’s signature.

The governors of 17 states December 3 sued Obama in a Texas federal court, charging that the executive actions violate his constitutional obligation to enforce laws, that they put unfair financial burdens on states and that Obama failed to follow procedures for federal rule-making.

The states that sued include: Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Maine.

Meanwhile, another new administration program allows some families to apply for status permitting their children to come legally to the U.S. without making a dangerous, expensive and illegal trip to cross the U.S. border from Mexico.

That in-country process launched in early December was developed in response to a separate immigrationrelated crisis revealed this summer. In June, Obama announced that federal agencies and social service providers were scrambling to handle an unprecedented surge of unaccompanied minors and families with young children who were appearing at the border and turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents.

By the end of the fiscal year October 1, more than 68,500 unaccompanied children and more than 68,400 families, primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, had been detained by the Border Patrol. Most had crossed in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, overwhelming government and private agencies that deal with their legal status as well as provide short- or long-term housing.

Some families were held in immigration detention centers while their legal cases were considered, others were given dates to appear in court and released. Church-run programs around the country quickly mobilized and provided for their needs.

But federal law requires juveniles to be cared for by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, in the Department of Health and Human Services, until they can be placed with relatives or foster families.

With so many children arriving within a few months, the agencies were for a time unable to deal with the caseload and some of the children were temporarily housed in warehouse-like conditions, lacking showers, proper beds and activities suited for children.

Congress was unable to pass legislation requested by Obama during the summer to fund the emergency efforts.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, postulator, announced the appointment of Holy Cross Father Mario Lachapelle as vice postulator of the Cause for Sainthood of Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton, who is buried on the grounds of Stonehill College in Easton.

One year ago — The Fall River Men’s First Friday Club celebrated the priesthood by hosting 15 members of the diocesan presbyterate, including Bishop George W. Coleman, at their monthly gathering.

Children display a sign asking for food from motorists by the side of a road in Dolores, Philippines, in Eastern Samar province, December 8. Typhoon Hagupit weakened into a tropical storm after leaving at least 21 people dead and forcing more than a million people into shelters. (CNS photo/Erik De Castro, Reuters)

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December 12, 2014

Diocesan faithful celebrate feast of ‘Empress of America’ continued from page one

celebration has been moved to St. Anthony’s Parish, where pastor Father William Rodrigues has graciously offered to host.

“We are very happy to be hosting the Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe this year,” Father Rodrigues recently told The Anchor.

“We’re having it at St. Anthony’s because their hall is larger than our grade school auditorium and also with it being held at night during the winter, it’s nice having the church and the hall under the same roof,” Father Fallon added. “That’s a big blessing, of course, and we’re all looking forward to it.”

This year will also mark Bishop da Cunha’s first celebration of the feast Mass since being installed as the eighth bishop of the diocese in September.

While the bishop has been busy visiting many of the parishes now under his purview since his installation, “in many ways this will be Bishop da Cunha’s wider introduction to the Spanish-speaking communities within the diocese,” Father Fallon said.

The annual celebration commemorates the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego in Mexico in December 1531. One of the earliest documented Marian apparitions, Our Lady of Guadalupe remains one of the most popular and familiar iconic images of the Blessed Mother alongside her subsequent appearances in La Salette, France (1846); Lourdes, France (1858); and Fatima, Portugal (1917).

“The Spanish TV network, Univision, often broadcasts Mass celebrations from different locations throughout the Americas — bouncing back and forth between three different basilicas,” Father Fallon said. “It really has become a key celebration for Latin Americans.”

Although the name might

suggest the series of apparitions between December 9 and December 12 took place in “Guadalupe,” they actually occurred on a hillside in Tepeyac, northwest of present-day Mexico City.

It was the Blessed Mother herself who asked to be identified as the “Virgin of Guadalupe,” the latter word thought to be a misinterpretation or incorrect translation of the original Aztec phrase for “(she) who crushes the serpent.”

After requesting that a church be erected in her honor, Our Lady instructed Juan Diego to collect an assortment of roses that were growing nearby despite the cold winter weather and take them to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga as proof of her presence and intentions.

The middle-aged Juan Diego dutifully gathered the roses in his tilma, a coarse cloak woven from cactus fibers, and took them to Bishop Zumarraga. But when he opened the tilma to reveal the roses, the iconic image we’ve come to know as Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared on the fabric of the cloak.

“They have placed the original tilma under high-powered microscopes and, in fact, in the eyeballs of the image of Our

Lady, when it’s magnified, the viewer can see Juan Diego and the bishop and other people in the bishop’s office that day, as well as an indigenous family, while on her dress is depicted the constellations which were in the sky above Mexico City for December 12 … which is her feast day,” Father Fallon said. “There are many who will make pilgrimages to the basilica this time of year to honor her. It’s just a wonderful celebration.”

Describing the depiction of the Blessed Mother on the tilma as a “woman who is indigenous — or pre-Columbian — American,” Father Fallon said there are hymns that describe her as the “beautiful, brown-skinned ‘Queen of the Americas.’”

“I think that’s getting at the essence of the miracle and the feast day for Latin-American Catholics,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a strong basis for the identification of Our Lady as being the Queen of the Americas.”

In fact, it was St. John Paul II, who had a well-known personal devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe as the “Empress of America” in his “Ecclesia in America” on Jan. 22, 1999 and personally dedicated a

chapel within St. Peter’s Basilica in her honor.

“Then there is the basilica in Mexico City, where the miracle took place,” Father Fallon said.

“There are some who might think she’s only identifiable to Mexico, but there’s a strong identification for Our Lady of Guadalupe to Latin-American Catholics throughout the Americas and those here in the Diocese of Fall River.”

The iconic image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has also become a symbol for the Pro-Life movement — since the sash tied around her waist would indicate she is pregnant — and immigrants from all walks of life.

“One thing that’s been so consistent in some of the parishioners who have traveled here from different lands … is the image of the brown-skinned Mother of God guiding them,” Father Fallon said.

“Whether they were saying Rosaries on their journey or carrying an image of her, it’s just a profoundly central part of their devotion. And having that sense of security and welcoming here at the various parishes within the diocese certainly makes it a more powerful and very joyful celebration,” he added.

Noting that the White House’s recent executive order on immigration “is certainly going to keep Catholic Social Services busy processing people

with their applications,” Father Fallon said this year’s celebration is likely to take on a greater meaning for immigrants within the diocese because of it.

“With the Church’s advocacy for family reunification with the immigration laws, it’s certainly going to make for a special celebration,” he said.

Father Fallon praised the “great cooperation among the various parish choirs” at the Mass every year and said attendees can anticipate another solemn and prayerful Liturgy tomorrow night.

“They just sound extraordinary when you bring them all together,” he said. “I’m sure there were more than 30 in the choir last year, and there may be more this year.”

All are welcome to attend the Mass celebration, to be followed by dinner in the parish hall featuring a variety of Latin-American ethnic foods from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico.

“We’ve been able in past years to service everyone who wants to attend and we’re confident that St. Anthony’s Church will be able to accommodate the crowd this year,” Father Fallon said. “Some of the parish groups are traveling in buses, so up to this point it has yet to become a ticketed event.”

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Youth Pages

Holy Name School in Fall River recently held a special walk-a-thon to benefit Madison, one of its eighth-grade students who is undergoing severe cancer therapy. Pictured with pastor Father Jay Maddock, right, are the students who received prizes in the walk-a-thon along with adults who work to develop and coordinate the walk-a-thon.

December 12, 2014

Under the direction of Sister Mary Dumond, fifth-grade religion teacher, and Margaret Keenan, Religious Education director, the fifth-graders at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently packed 300 loaves of bread that were given out at the Thanksgiving Eve Mass at St. John’s Church. The fifth-graders from the school and the Religious Education program participated in all facets of the Mass. Shown here are the fifth-graders with Christine Healy, Margaret Keenan and Sister Mary Dumond.

The picture is of the pre-school students of St. Joseph School in Fairhaven, proudly wearing the turkey hats they made for Thanksgiving.

Students at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in New Bedford recently gathered at the school for a Thanksgiving feast.

Students at St. Michael School in Fall River recently served parishioners in a school celebration.

Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford recently held its annual holiday fair. Seventh-grade students were among those helping to make it a memorable day. Santa’s elves from left to right are: Hannah Boulanger, Rudolph (Jill Fernandes) and Molly Driscoll.

December 12, 2014

I

recently did a project with my students. I had them spend some time on their own reading through the book of Proverbs and write down some of the passages that really stood out to them. After they had chosen a few, I had them choose the one that they liked the best and rewrite it in modern day language, as if it was something they were going to put on Twitter. Finally, I had them find a picture that went with the passage and create a combination of the two that they could post on Instagram.

This was a simple project that ended up setting the wheels in motion for an Advent challenge.

After they had completed this assignment, I challenged my students to actually post them on Instagram and Twitter. I heard on several occasions either laughter, murmurs, or “I’ll write that my religion teacher made me post this.” I do not believe

Youth Pages #NotAshamed

that more than a handful of my students actually posted their project.

All this made me start thinking why they would not want to post an assignment that they did so well on. There is really only one answer. They are ashamed of it. They are ashamed of being Christian. I do not know if any of them or any of us would outright admit that we are ashamed of our faith in Christ, but I think that most of us can think of a time in our life that we did not speak up and defend our faith, or a time when we sat by and let others put down our faith. It takes great courage to stand up for our faith in all instances. It takes great strength to admit our faith in Christ if we think others are going to look down on us or look at us differently.

We use social media to share

with others how much we like our dinner, how much we loved the newest episode of “Game of Thrones” or “Pretty Little Liars,” or how much we dislike the weather outside. We post pictures of our new shoes, our dogs or a selfie. Each day you can

Be Not Afraid

By Amanda Tarantelli find something new trending on social media outlets. It could be the latest political cause, the latest celebrity scandal, or the latest movie release.

As I began to prepare for Advent, this thought that we are sometimes ashamed of Christ was really weighing heavy on my heart. Advent is such a great time to re-center ourselves on Christ but often we get swept up in the business of shopping and

decorating and cooking that we can lose sight on the real meaning of Christmas. I think if we make a conscious effort to focus on Christ at least once a day during Advent, it will help us to better use this season for what it is truly intended.

We are doing a social media Advent challenge at Bishop Stang. I have challenged the students and the faculty to post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram every day during Advent a Bible passage or a quote about Christ or faith with the hashtag #NotAshamed. I told them that every day I will check the posts and print them out and post them up on the bulletin board in the hallway.

This has added some extra work to my day, going through the social media outlets with #notashamed (and try not to be sadden by what some people are not ashamed of ) and copy and paste them all but has it really lifted my spirits and made my

17 Advent season so much more meaningful. It has been such a huge blessing to see so many people accepting this Advent challenge and being proud of their faith in Christ.

So I put this challenge out to all of you reading this. I know that Advent is halfway over but what a great way to continue to prepare for the birth of Our Lord. This is also a great opportunity to use social media for good rather than bad or indifference. Social media can be a great tool for evangelization. Remember what St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for Salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Have a prayerful Advent and a blessed and Merry Christmas!

Anchor columnist Amanda Tarantelli has been a campus minister at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth since 2005. She is married, a die-hard sports fan. She can be reached at atarantelli@bishopstang.com.

Church needs more women theologians, their insights, pope says

For more than 35 years, the Bishop Stang High School community in North Dartmouth has committed to supplying more than 150 complete Thanksgiving meals for those in our community. More than 30 turkeys were cooked by faculty, staff and families — with money raised for the turkey purchase from the students, and donations for the Thanksgiving meal fixings were brought in by each class.

Bishop Stang’s Food Service company Flik made all the stuffing and purchased other items. The bus to deliver the food was donated

by Tremblay’s. Market Basket gave a substantial discount on the purchase of the turkeys. Student Council members spent the day on Wednesday preparing the complete meals and then they were delivered to St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River for those in need. Additionally, 20 food baskets were delivered to St. Vincent’s Home that were laundry baskets overflowing with all the food needed for Thanksgiving (minus the turkey).

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he was pleased that five of the 30 members of the International Theological Commission are women, but the body that advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as the Church in general, need more women theologians.

“They are the strawberries on the cake, but there is need for more,” the pope said as he met the members, who were named to a five-year term in July.

Two women served on the commission for the past 10 years; in July the pope named five new female members, coming from the United States, Canada, Australia, Slovenia and Austria.

It is part of Stang’s commitment to service that they partner with local agencies to support our community.

Middle School Division of the Coyle and Cassidy food pantry volunteers recently distributed turkeys and all the fixings to local families in the Taunton area preparing for Thanksgiving.

“The greater presence of women — although they are not many — is a call to reflect on the role women can and must have in the field of theology,” the pope told the commission.

Quoting his 2013 apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis said, “‘The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess.’ I am pleased to see how many women are offering new contributions to theological reflection.”

The women theologians, he said, “can reveal, to the benefit of everyone, certain unexplored aspects of the unfathomable mystery of Christ.”

“Profit from the specific contribution of women to understanding the faith,” he urged the other commission members.

Cardinal Gerhard Muller, president of the commission and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the pope that the members come from every continent, include priests and religious as well as lay people, and represent different theological disciplines and schools.

During their five-year term, he said, the members have chosen to focus on: the meaning of synodality; the relationship between faith and the Sacraments; and religious

freedom.

Pope Francis asked them to ensure their different points of view enrich the Church’s universality or Catholicity “without harming its unity.”

Holding in common a solid faith in Jesus, he said, “various theological approaches developed in different cultural contexts and with the use of different methods cannot ignore each other, but should enrich and correct each other through theological dialogue.”

Such harmony in diversity, he said, would be a witness to the Church of the working of the Holy Spirit, “because He is the one who inspires variety — the variety of gifts and points of view in the Church — and it will be the Spirit Who creates unity. He is the protagonist. Always.”

The five women currently on the commission are: U.S. Mercy Sister Mary Prudence Allen, a member of the chaplaincy team at Lancaster University, England; Australian Tracey Rowland, dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne; Moira Mary McQueen, director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto; Sister Alenka Arko of the Loyola Community in Slovenia; Marianne Schlosser, a Germany-born professor of theology at the University of Vienna in Austria.

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December 12, 2014

Chapter spreading devotion to Sacred Heart continued from page one

become part of a prayer network, and many of the families choose to have their homes re-enthroned.

Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC., founded the enthronement as an apostolate whose aim is to win souls for Christ. The heart and soul of it is the Eucharist.

The Fairhaven chapter, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, was the first Men of the Sacred Hearts chapter. Today, there are chapters across the U.S., including Michigan, California and Louisiana. Group members also enthrone schools, businesses and parishes.

The Diocese of Fall River became the third diocese in the United States to be enthroned to the Sacred Heart in 1999. ThenBishop Sean P. O’Malley, OFM. Cap., consecrated the diocese in a ceremony at St. Mary’s Cathedral exactly 100 years after Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart.

The image of the Sacred Heart comes from a series of apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a religious Sister who lived in 17thcentury France. She saw Jesus’ heart with fire that represented His burning love for mankind, and the heart was encircled by a crown of thorns.

Costa said the image of the Sacred Heart in homes is a beautiful reminder of Jesus. The hanging of the image is a symbol for a change that takes place in the minds and hearts of the ceremony’s partici-

pants. The families invite Jesus to live within them and put God first — as the King of their family.

Most people say they participate because they feel called to a deeper relationship with Jesus.

While no cure-all, the devotion to the Sacred Heart does come with graces, he said.

“We all know that life is very difficult,” he said. “But no one is alone. You’re not alone in this. He will console you if you open your mind and heart to Him.” Jose Amaral, another member of the Men of the Sacred Heart, said that sometimes people are afraid to let Christ into their hearts. He reminded that the Bible frequently urges believers to “be not afraid.”

Amaral said that in some cases, he witnessed emotional and dramatic changes after the enthronement ceremony. “We’ve seen people convert,” he said. “We’ve seen people with tears in their eyes after. It’s wonderful.”

It is also something Amaral wants to share with everyone. He made sure to ask this Anchor reporter, “Have you ever had your house done?”

“We hope that people can consider it, pray about it, and if it can’t be done at this time, there’s always next year; there’s always next month,” he said.

For more information on the Men of the Sacred Hearts, visit menofthesacredhearts.com.

The Fairhaven chapter can be reached by calling 508-951-3302.

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Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V.,recently celebrated Mass with the Catholic schools from the Attleboro deanery in the auditorium of Bishop Feehan High School. In his homily, Bishop da Cunha encouraged the students to appreciate Jesus as the reason for the Christmas season, and to stay connected to their Catholic faith even as others strive to take Christ out of Christmas. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

Bishop da Cunha celebrates Mass with Attleboro area schools continued from page one

than just asking Santa Claus for presents.

“As we celebrate this special time of year, this season of Advent and to celebrate the birth of Christ, I know during this time we keep ourselves busy,” said Bishop da Cunha. “As we keep ourselves busy, we try to keep ourselves connected to other people.”

One way we keep ourselves connected to each other is through the use of cell phones, the bishop continued, and that cell phones run off of a battery.

If a cell phone battery dies, you need to recharge it. Computers are another way we stay connected, and those are run by being plugged into a wall. Cell phones and computers are items dependent on electricity, said the bishop, and if the power source runs out, “it doesn’t work.

In some ways, we are dependent on the electricity running in the walls, and without it we would be in a very dark place.”

“Now think about this for a moment,” said Bishop da Cunha. “God is that power we need to connect to in order to have light in us. If we don’t connect to God, we are going to be in the dark, in the cold and isolated without light. Our faith is that plug that connects us to the outlet and allows God’s power to come to us and to give us the light, life, hope, strength and healing.

“In the Gospel reading today, Jesus is going to Jerusalem and

on His way, He meets two blind men. They were in the dark and couldn’t see anything. They hear that Jesus is passing by, so they cried out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us.’ Now Jesus knew what they were looking for, that they wanted to see.”

When Jesus tells them, “Do you believe that I can do this; do you have enough faith in Me to bring your sight back?” said the bishop, the men answered yes.

Then Jesus said, “Let it be done according to your faith.”

The men’s faith, explained Bishop da Cunha, “was the plug that connected them to the outlet that allowed the power of Jesus to be connected to them.

That ‘yes’ was their faith in the Lord.

“Jesus says a lot of time in the Gospel, your faith has healed you; your faith has made you whole; your faith has brought you light; your faith has allowed the power of God to bring you healing and life. My brothers and sisters, what a wonderful gift we have all received — our faith — when we are Baptized.

Our faith goes back to the coming of Jesus, Who we are celebrating now.”

Bishop da Cunha went on to tell students that they are living in a challenging time, that many individuals are trying to take Jesus out of Christmas and that the season has become more about Santa and gifts.

“They think Christmas is about Santa Claus, buying gifts

and having parties, and putting out decorations and sending cards. Some people have even wanted to change the name,” he said.

Others people want to stop honoring Jesus in the holiday, said the bishop, and no longer want to wish others a “Merry Christmas” or how Christmas trees are now being called holiday trees; even the Christmas season is being distorted and becoming called a Winter Holiday.

“They want to take Jesus out of Christmas,” said Bishop da Cunha, “but for us, as Christians and Catholics, we have faith and want to believe and we want to make sure that Christmas remains all about Jesus. We have heard the saying, ‘Jesus the reason for the season.’ After 2,000 years, Jesus is still the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason why we are here today. “ Jesus is the reason for the Church, our Sacraments and why we pray, said the bishop.

As you grow older, he said to the young faces, you will understand these reasons better, adding, “Let us all do our part, that Christmas is, and always will be, about Jesus. He is, and always will be, a reason for the season.”

At Christmas, we receive God’s gift to all of us; our Father is the light guiding us every day, “and our faith is always connected to that outlet,” said Bishop da Cunha. “That outlet is Jesus, the source of our light.”

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December 12, 2014

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

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

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

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at St. John the Evangelist Church on N. Main St. Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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

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

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow.

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

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

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

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

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

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

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

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

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

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

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

Knights send $2.2 million to assist Christian refugees in Iraq, Syria

NEW HAVEN, Conn.

(CNS) — The Knights of Columbus announced its Christian Refugee Relief Fund has donated $2.2 million to help displaced Iraqi and Syrian Christians and other religious minorities who continue to face violent persecution “and the very real prospect of extinction.”

“This is a concrete response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Iraq and to the urgent appeals from the region as well as Pope Francis’ request for material assistance for those affected by this persecution,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in a statement.

The funds will help provide permanent housing for the increasing number of displaced families in Iraq, according to a news release.

Specifically, it said, the Knights’ donation of $2 million will pay for the construction of new homes on property owned by the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Irbil in the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq.

The Knights’ Supreme Council, which has its headquarters in New Haven, began the fund in August with $1 million and has since raised an additional $1.7 million in donations from individual Knights, local Knights councils and others, for a total of $2.7 million.

The donations were “accompanied by fervent prayers for all those suffering in the land of the holy Apostles,” Anderson said.

Houses will be built for Iraqi Christians who were driven from their homes in Mosul and the surrounding area and who have been living in emergency shelters and random locations far from home.

“With winter setting in, already grave conditions are expect-

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Dec. 13 Rev. Reginald Theriault, O.P., St. Anne, Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Adrien L. Francoeur, M.S., La Salette Shrine, North Attleboro, 1991 Dec. 14 Rev. Msgr. John J. Hayes, Pastor, Holy Name, New Bedford, 1970 Dec. 15 Rev. Mortimer Downing, Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis, 1942 Rev. John F. O’Keefe, Assistant, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1955 Dec. 19 Permanent Deacon Eugene L. Orosz, 1988 Permanent Deacon Maurice Lavalle, 2007

ed to only worsen as these families are going without proper shelter, which is so fundamental to living their lives,” said Anderson. “These new homes are signs of hope that will allow this community to begin to blossom once again.”

The Knights’ Christian Refugee Relief Fund also has made a separate donation of $200,000 in general aid to the Melkite Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo, Syria.

The Knights of Columbus is

the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization with more than 1.8 million members worldwide.

The Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief Fund is still accepting donations, which can be made by visiting www. kofc.org/donate, or by sending checks or money orders to: K of C Christian Refugee Relief, Knights of Columbus Charities, P.O. Box 1966, New Haven, CT 065091966.

Around the Diocese

The Knights of Columbus of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet will host a Breakfast With Santa on December 14 from 8 a.m. to noon at the church, 30 South Main Street in Assonet. This is the perfect opportunity for kids to meet with Santa, take a photo, and enjoy breakfast. The Kids Gift Mart will also provide an opportunity for kids to purchase gifts for family members at nominal prices. All proceeds from the sales will benefit the parish CCD program.

Life With Christ Radio, the first Catholic radio station on Cape Cod, is having a benefit Christmas Concert at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, 481 Quaker Road in North Falmouth, on December 18 from 7 to 8 p.m., with refreshments to follow. Music will be provided by the South Coast Community Band and Choir. Based in and broadcasting from Falmouth, Life With Christ Radio is an EWTN affiliate. For more information about the event or station, contact Tom at 508-498-0831 or visit www.lifewithchristradio.org.

A Healing Mass will be held on December 18 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford. The Mass will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will include Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will be a holy hour including the Rosary. For directions or more information visit www.saintanthonynewbedford.com or call 508-993-1691.

All are invited to join in prayer for “Building a New Culture of Life” on December 18 at 1 p.m. inside St. Jude’s Chapel of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee. Prayers will consist of the four mysteries of the Rosary with brief meditations on each.

A Day with Mary will be held January 3 at Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street in New Bedford from 9 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There will be an opportunity for Reconciliation and a bookstore will also be available. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508996-8274.

The Diocesan Marriage Preparation Program is looking for married couples who would like to enrich their Marriage while helping engaged couples prepare for their lifetime together. There is also a ReMarriage Prep Program for couples entering their second Marriages.

If you are interested in sharing the joys and challenges of married life, please contact your pastor or the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation at 508-678-2828 or email cmcmanus@dfrcs.org.

Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River is searching for missing alumni as the school plans for its 50th anniversary to take place during the 2015-2016 school year. If you or someone you know is an alumnus of Bishop Connolly High School and is not receiving communications from the school, please send your contact information by email to Anthony Ciampanelli in the Alumni Office at aciampanelli@bishopconnolly.com; via the school’s website at www.bishopconnolly.com; by phone at 508-676-1071 extension 333; or mail the school at 373 Elsbree Street, Fall River, Mass. 02720. Please provide the graduate’s name (including maiden name if appropriate), complete mailing address, telephone number, email address, and the year of graduation.

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December 12, 2014

Students from Espirito Santo School in Fall River joined in the city’s recent Holiday Children’s Parade on the feast of St. Nicholas. This year the parade celebrated 30 years and decided it appropriate for the parade theme to be the celebration of birthdays. What better way to celebrate a Holiday parade but than to celebrate the birth of Christ? The school’s float, a Nativity scene, brought up the near end of the parade, just before Santa. This was as good a place as any to remind the onlookers the real reason for the season, the birthday of the Christ Child.

Things are not always what they seem

W

e haven’t come very far in 2,000-plus years, have we? Just watch the news on television or the Internet. There are myriad examples of man’s inhumanity to man: the Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner controversies; Muslims killing Christians; Christians killing Muslims; Catholics killing Protestants; Protestants killing Catholics; whites killing African-Americans; AfricanAmericans killing whites; whites killing whites; and AfricanAmericans killing AfricanAmericans.

Adding to that disgusting, volatile mix are the plethora of sexual assaults, pedophile crimes, and domestic violence against women and children.

It’s been this way since Cain and Abel. We’ve had more than 2,000 years to understand and fulfill God’s promise that we are made in His image and likeness, and that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

You would think that two millennia is plenty of time for humans to get it right, right?

Wrong.

But not completely wrong.

Despite what we’re seeing on the news (which can be slanted in every way possible), there are more people on this earth who are indeed brothers and sisters in the Lord than what is seen.

The problem is, and has always been, we only see the bad. Bad sells. It sells newspapers, books, magazines, movies, air time on television and Internet hits. All that translates into money; cash in someone’s pocket.

I say, “Take heart fellow brothers and sisters, we are not alone.”

I recently ran across an In-

ternet site, Yonderstar.com that sells fair trade Nativity sets from around the world.

There are at least 40 countries represented, and each of the sets from each of the countries interpret the holy scene with characters bearing that nationality’s physical and cultural features.

Just go to La Salette Shrine this season and witness the scores of Nativity scenes from around the world to see them in person.

No one knows what Jesus, Mary and Joseph looked like. Mathew Brady may have taken historic Civil War photos (another example of man’s inhumanity to man), but he was born far too late to capture that first Christmas night.

Are any of these Nativity scenes incorrect?

My View From the Stands

By Dave Jolivet

No. In fact, they illustrate just how connected we all are to God the Father, through our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and our brother Jesus.

In my half century-plus time spent on the big blue marble, I’ve seen, live and in person, more acts of kindness, respect and love, among peoples of differing races, colors, ethnicities, and creeds.

People are good, people! Please don’t become discouraged by what we witness in the media, which exists seemingly to whip people into a frenzy, not to report the news truthfully.

Don’t get me wrong, there are those among us who are indeed prejudiced and bigoted. It’s just that there are more brothers and sisters of ours out there than what appears.

Things are not always what they seem. Will we ever see the good people dominate the news?

I doubt it, but I take great solace in knowing they’re out there. They’re everywhere. Christmas is all about family, and we have an enormous one!

Dave Jolivet can be contacted at davejolivet@ anchornews.org.