march24 Anchor

Diocesan solar projects offer green energy, savings and education

By Joan D. Warren Editor joandwarren@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — Father Jay Mello doesn’t like to waste money. Heating his parish school, St. Michael’s in Fall River, has become unmanageable. With the cost of heating oil at $4.00 per gallon, it has been a strain on the operating budget.

When he learned that the diocese was looking to renewable energy as a cost effective and environmentally sound option, he jumped at the chance to participate.

In the near future, 400 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the school. The energy generated from the panels will not only power the building, but will supply electricity to St. Michael

parish, sister parish St. Joseph’s and eventually air conditioning at the school.

“This is a win-win for us. If we installed 150 panels, the school would be powered. We have the space for more so we are installing 400 panels that will save us more money at the school and both parishes,” Father Mello said.

The property, located on Essex Street, will receive additional federal funding benefits due to its proximity to Dynegy Brayton Point (the former Brayton Point Power Station) in neighboring Somerset, resulting in up to fifty percent of project savings.

The roof at St. Michael’s is about five years old, making it the perfect age to install solar panels. With life

8 Turn to page five

Forty days of Lent offers journey of purpose and renewed hope to faithful

FALL RIVER

—Wednesday, February 14 was the beginning of the Lenten season and also the celebration of St. Valentine, the patron saint of love.

In his homily on Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral of St Mary, Diocese of Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha said it was fitting that the two events coincide and asked the following to go one step further in their Lenten intentions.

In his weekly blog, the Bishop shared the same message:

“Today, Wednesday, February 14, begins another Lenten season, and how appropriate it should begin on a day associated with love. No act in history showed greater love for another as Jesus’ dying upon the Cross for the salvation

of our souls. As we read in St. John’s Gospel, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (15:13).

As faithful Catholics, we know Lent is a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charity). This year, the Bishop has proposed a bit more from the faithful.

“In 2024, I would like to propose something that gives those acts even more meaning this Lent. What if we each choose three special intentions for which every prayer, every sacrifice, and every act of charity was offered?

Imagine the fruit of these 40-plus days if we focused our attention on those things we most desire for our family, our commu-

Bishop Edgar M. Da Cunha administers ashes at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Assumption on Ash Wednesday. TIn his blog, the Bishop has asked the faithful to write down their most important intentions and each day spend time in prayer with the Lord, asking for His graces.

Solar panels have been installed on the roof at Bishop Stang High School. The school will have a significant savings because of both federal and state incentives.

Joan Warren new Anchor editor; Dave Jolivet retires

By John Kearns Director of Communications Diocese of Fall River

FALL RIVER — Readers of The Anchor will notice a familiar byline missing with this March issue.

Longtime editor and production manager David B. Jolivet retired from both posts at the end of January after nearly 30 years with this diocesan newspaper. The February 2nd issue carried his final story, looking at “Finding spiritual warmth during an Outer Cape winter.”

Succeeding him as editor and production manager is Joan D. Warren, a journalist and communications specialist who joined The Anchor last September.

She worked closely with Jolivet in his final two months preparing for the transition and describes him as an extraordinary mentor.

“Dave took me under his wing and showed me the intricacies of writing for a Catholic publication as well all the steps involved in the production of The Anchor,” she said.

“He was patient and kind. It is my hope that he went into retirement with the satisfaction of knowing I was prepared to handle the job in his place. I am so thankful for Dave and wish him the best as he moves into the next chapter of his life.”

Jolivet became a reporter for The Anchor in 1995, bringing his experience as a sports reporter and editor as well as from corporate communications. Within a few years he also became the paper’s production manager and in 2001 was named its editor. He has overseen the paper’s overall content and designed its layout for most of the time since, collaborating with different priests who

Joan D. Warren has been named news editor of The Anchor after Dave Jolivet retired in January.

served as executive editor. Jolivet continued to cover diocesan events and interview news makers as editor, writing many of the stories the paper featured.

He also penned a popular column entitled “My View from Stands,” in which he offered his perspective on sports and more, shared glimpses into family life and delighted in reminiscing about growing up in his native Fall River.

“Over the course of nearly three decades, Dave has been the sturdy steel in The Anchor that has kept the publication securely moored,” said Father Roger Landry, who served as Executive Editor of The Anchor from 2005 to 2012 and is back now as Interim Executive Editor since 2022.

“Amiable and much respected by priests and deacons, diocesan leaders, teachers, and principals, faithful and especially readers, he has kept our Diocesan newspaper not just an organ of truthful information but of familial warmth. He is someone whose faith and integrity radiated both in the office as well as in the pages of The Anchor.

“What I’ve always admired about Dave is, like the athletic heroes he would profile in his column ‘My View from the Stands,’ Dave regularly had to play hurt, especially in recent years struggling through crippling back pain. With courage and commitment, and a manly carrying of his Cross, he always got the job done. He in fact never was really in the stands, but rather always on the playing field, even when far from 100 percent. He has certainly earned his retirement. If The Anchor had a Hall of Fame, he’d be a first-ballot inductee. I’ll miss him and his collaboration very much.”

Warren takes the helm as editor and production manager of The Anchor with more than

25 years in professional journalism. For much of that time she was with East Bay Media Group of Rhode Island, where she was a reporter and assistant editor. She has also worked as a communications specialist for public health and non-profit entities, writing and creating content for print and social media. She is a graduate of Rhode Island College.

She resides in Barrington, RI, and is a parishioner of St. Luke’s Parish. She and her husband, Peter, are the parents of two children, John and Catherine.

“I feel blessed to be in this position and to serve the church. Utlizing my journalistic experiece coupled with my faith is a dream come true," she said.

All are invited to Eucharistic Revival

By David G. Carvalho Diocesan Faith Formation Senior Director

FALL RIVER — In December 2023, Bishop da Cunha asked pastors and parishes to focus on the Eucharist during this new liturgical year as part of the ongoing Eucharistic Revival taking place throughout the Church in the United States.. In particular, he asked parishes to focus on two pillars of the Revival: robust formation and personal encounter.

To the former, parishes have been asked to engage in Eucharistic formation between now and Sept. 7, 2024 to till the hearts of Catholics on the truth and beauty of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is central to who we are, so much so that the Council Fathers of the Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the “source and summit of the Christian life.” Without the Eucharist, we are nothing; we can do nothing.

Especially during the 120thAnniversary this year of the Diocese of Fall River’s founding by Pope St. Pius X, who himself had a great devotion to the Eucharist, there is no better way to respond to the challenges we currently face then to refocus on the Eucharist.

Many Catholic have had powerful retreat experiences. A retreat gives the opportunity for individuals to move out of the noise of daily life and give the Holy Spirit room to move and work in us. Now, imagine if all of Southeastern Massachusetts went on a retreat together? Imagine if an entire diocese went on retreat

On September 7th, we will ask the Lord for just this; joining together for Mass, the greatest prayer; in adoration and worship; and being invited deeper into the Eucharist by speakers in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

† Diocese of fall RiveR † official appointments

His Excellency

together? What couldn’t the Holy Spirit do!

We know how challenging things have and continue to be in our world, country, and families. We know the challenges facing out Church. The 2019 Pew Study found that 31% of Catholics believe in the Real|Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Each of us can close our eyes and picture a loved one—the one who has walked away from the faith or may have never known the Lord. The Revival aimsto equip Catholics to reach that person. It seeks to make passionate disciples of everyday Catholics who know the love and refuge that exists in the Holy Eucharist.

This, then, is the purpose of what will be the Diocesan Eucharistic Encounter on September 7, 2024. Speaking to the pillar of personal encounter previously mentioned, this day will provide the faithful of the Diocese with the opportunity for a personal encounter with the Eucharistic Lord; to retreat so that we can beg the Holy Spirit to move in us and to renew our Diocese, parishes, and families.

Without the Lord, we will not be able to overcome the challenges that face us. Yet, like the leper who in Mark’s Gospel asks Jesus to heal him – to whom Jesus says “I do will it” – we must ask the Lord to heal us, to renew us, to give us faith in his Real Presence. Because Jesus does will it.

The day will feature speaker Chris Stefanick, an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and television host who has devoted his life to inspiring people to live a bold, contagious faith. Recipient of the Papal Benemerenti Medal, he was described by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput as “one of the most engaging defenders of the Christian faith on the scene today.” Stefanick’s live seminars reach more than 85,000. His reality TV show, videos, and radio spots reach millions of people, and his educational initiatives are helping to turn the tide in the Church. He authored the Chosen Confirmation program which has already formed more than 500,000 teens. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Stefanick is also the founder and president of Real Life Catholic, a non-profit that operates as the headquarters for Chris’s various initiatives. Stefanick is proud to be the husband

the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., Bishop of Fall River has accepted the recommendation of the Very Reverend Lane Akiona, ss.cc., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts – United States Province, and has made the following appointment:

Reverend Michael L. Kamauoha, ss.cc., as Administrator of Saint Joseph Parish in Fairhaven

Effective: February 2, 2024

of his wife Natalie and father to their six children. The day will also include Bishop Cristiano Barbosa, recently ordained Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Boston. Currently, Bishop Barbosa serves as Secretary for Evangelization and Discipleship for the Archdiocese, as well as Episcopal Vicar for the central region of the Archdiocese. He received a licentiate of philosophy from the Universidade do Sagrado Coração at Bauru in Sao Paolo, Brazil (2004), a master’s degree in psychology from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais at Belo Horizante, and in Minas Gerais,

Brazil, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (2011) and doctorate in sacred theology (2019) from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The day will include lunch, vendors, exhibit, and the opportunity for Confession.

Currently, the price is $30 per person, and $25 per person for groups of 10+. Below are registration links:

English: https://bit.ly/ Euch24

Spanish: https://bit.ly/ SPEuch24

Portuguese: https:// bit.ly/PTEuch24

Sentire cum Ecclesia: To think like the church

Sentire cum Ecclesia. Traditionally this Latin phrase, which means “to think with the Church,” is intended to describe how we as Catholics should approach matters of doctrine, morality, and life. To “think with the Church” involves an assent to the truth of revelation entrusted to the Church and to think in a discerning or critical way about the world around us. To “think critically” along with the Church is not to focus on the negative, but rather to seek out the truth whatever it is and wherever it leads. While there are occasions when the choice between good and evil is clear, there are others when we fail to recognize and affirm authentic goodness and truth. By “thinking with the Church” we can embrace a “both-and” approach to our faith and to our life as disciples of Christ.

In the early Church, many heresies developed that presented false choices to Christian disciples. Marcionism, for instance, wanted to sever Christianity from its Old Testament and Judaic foundations. Gnosticism sought to explain Jesus as purely divine, and divided the body from the soul. Arianism reduced Jesus to the first born of creation.

In response to Marcionism, the Church maintained the Old Testament as central to God’s plan of salvation and God’s Revelation. Both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant were inextricably bound and could not be separated. In response to Gnosticism, the Church taught that both body and soul form a unity in the human person. In response to Arianism and other Christological heresies, the Church taught that Jesus was the Second Person of the Trinity, and both fully God and man.

I am glossing over centuries of struggle, turmoil and debate, but time and again, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, a synthesis was found using a “both-and” approach, identifying whatever truth was found in positions and uniting it, while excluding what was false.

Perhaps the reason why the Church can approach these questions in a “both-and” manner is because of the primary “both-and” in our tradition: Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The Protestant Reformation was inspired by the notion of sola scriptura, or “scripture alone” as our sole authority in matters of faith. Tradition was largely rejected as a source of divine revelation. While there have been currents within the Catholic Church that occasionally under emphasized scripture, Scripture and Tradition are both indispensable if we want to understand who God is and how we should respond to the problems of

the world today in a faithfully Christian way. If we reject one, the Gospel becomes limited, and disunity will certainly follow.

Faith and reason present yet another “bothand” for Catholics. The modern world in many ways chooses to reject faith as an authentic form of knowledge to guide our lives. Fundamentalism rejects reason and tradition in many respects and opts to focus purely on the word of God as a source of inspiration and Revelation. The Catholic approach, embraces both faith and reason, allows us to look at the world through the lens of the truth revealed by God, and recognize the many truths within creation that we can know from science, social science, literature, history, anthropology, and so on. “Thinking with the Church” allows us to see the good that exists within our culture using our reasoning, and also to reject those elements that lead us away from God’s plan of salvation.

Another “both-and” way of “thinking with the Church” involves rejecting a one-dimensional Catholicism that only focuses on one’s preferred way of approaching personal and social morality. For instance, some prefer to focus exclusively on certain moral issues involving sexuality and life issues, while others focus exclusively on matters of social justice. Due to predominant political and cultural ideologies, this one-dimensional approach limits our tradition and leads ultimately to division within the Body of Christ. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to embrace the whole of our tradition, even if this occasionally brings

discomfort. Understood correctly, there should be no conflict between observing the moral demands of our discipleship in our personal and social life. Despite complexities in application, there is a clear coherence between the Church’s teaching on human sexuality, marriage, life issues and social justice. By taking the “both-and” approach, we come better to understand why.

A similar dynamic exists within the Church between traditionalists and progressives. While I will not attempt to resolve the thorny issues at play in these debates, I would suggest that “thinking with the Church” would lead us to an authentic fidelity to the traditions that matter most to God’s plan of salvation in our world today, and to a genuine openness to dialogue, progress and reform. The Church was given many gifts that we must work to protect and defend, while always remaining open to new ways of growing and being a Church that brings people to Christ. A “both-and” approach provides the appropriate framework for approaching these issues in such a way that unity within the Body of Christ is strengthened.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious.” By “thinking with the Church” we commit to a search for synthesis, even if discomfort results from what may seem an apparent paradox. This way of thinking and being is not meant to be purely theoretical or doctrinal in nature. A truly “both-and approach” should also guide our lives and our daily choices, both large and small. Rather than looking for dichotomies or division, we can search instead for the unity of truth and for synthesis.

Anchor columnist Peter Shaughnessy is a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier parish in Acushnet.

Solar energy expanding throughout the Dioceses

expectancy of traditional roofs of about 25 to 30 years, the roof at St. Michael’s has plenty of life in it for solar panels.

St. Michael’s is one example of an ongoing initiative within the Diocese of Fall River, which has committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In keeping with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha’s 2017 message of “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope,” the Diocese now has more than 15 properties that have installed or are in the process of installing solar panels to take advantage of sunlight as an energy source. Stonehill College was the first within the Diocese to install solar in 2014 and several parishes and schools have followed suit.

Joe Harrington, vice chancellor for the diocese said economic incentives have piqued the interest of par-

ish priests throughout the diocese. So much in fact that at least eight locations have letters of intent to proceed and more that are under review for acceptance into the energy program.

school, and local leaders are involved in all aspects and make decisions for their projects.”

Continued from page one will be the equivalent of the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by a 14 square mile forest, roughly the equivalent to the size of Fairhaven.

“New federal incentives included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2022 were designed to make solar development more affordable for non-profits. When you add benefits from the states SMART incentive program and reduced or eliminated electric bills moving forward, our parishes, schools and nursing homes can fully offset the costs of the solar panels with savings left over to potentially cover other capital or operating expenses” Harrington said.

Any parish or Diocesan owned property can participate, he said, with the help from his office, but it is a collaborative process. “We provide support and assistance, but our pastors,

The Diocese has partnered on several recent projects with Massachusetts based Resonant Energy.

According to Marketing & Communications Coordinator Rachel Gentile, non-profit agencies qualify for a 30 percent reimbursement for solar installation costs, but these could be as much as 50 percent depending on each location’s unique circumstances.

Gentile said Father Mello at St. Michael’s is a perfect example of parish priests to see the incentives and to look into solar energy for their institutions.

“If a parish property needs a new roof or electrical upgrades, this is the right time to add solar. There can be an additional ten percent [discount] if a parish or school begin the process between April and June of this year,” she said. An added bonus is that some solar projects can

produce more energy than they can use and it can share the excess energy with neighbors who otherwise would not be able to afford solar.

According to Keegan Dougherty, Resonant Energy Affordable Solar Account Manager, energy can be ”stockpiled” and used in other locations.

“If they have the potential to produce more than they can use, they can get a solar credit and help in a low-income community that might not be able to afford solar otherwise. It is something we are working on moving forward,” Dougherty said.

Solar development is consistent with the green principles outlined in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. The aggregate production from all Diocesan locations with or in the process of adding solar will make the Diocese one of the largest non-profit producers of solar energy in Massachusetts. The carbon offset from this production

Other bonuses are the educational and career opportunities solar provides.

“Renewables in general are teaching tools. Student engagement includes the growing industry and career pathways in installation, master electrician jobs and other fields. We offer post installation engagement with students that can provide benefits beyond cost savings,” Gentile said.

At Bishop Stang High School, solar panels have been installed on the classroom and gymnasium roofs and will be activated any day now.

Gentile said an educational workshop is being planned with students and faculty as well.

Jim Benson, president of Bishop Stang said the relationship has been positive in bringing solar to the school.

8 Turn to page 15

Institutions in the Diocese going solar

Completed Stonehill College Easton

Completed Saint Francis Xavier Prep School Hyannis

Completed Holy Name School Fall River

Completed Saint Mary’s Parish Dartmouth

Completed Saint Joan of Arc Orleans

Completed Holy Trinity West Harwich

Completed Saint John’s Parish Pocasset

Completed Saint Gabriel the Archangel Parish New Bedford

Completed Saint Francis Xavier School Acushnet

Substantial Completion Bishop Stang High School North Dartmouth

Signed Letter of Intent Sacred Heart Nursing Home Dartmouth

Signed Letter of Intent Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish New Bedford

Signed Letter of Intent Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish New Bedford

Signed Letter of Intent Saint Michael School Fall River

FatheR RogeR

INTERIM EXECUTIVE EDITOR

EDITOR; PRODUCTION

Joan d. WaRRen

ADVERTISING

Wayne R. PoWeRs

Signed letter of intent The Former Bishop Connolly High School Fall River

Signed letter of intent Saint Pius Parish Yarmouth

Editorial

A Long-Awaited Spotlight on the IVF and ART Industries

The Feb. 16 ruling by the Supreme Court of Alabama, which by an 8-1 margin determined that cryogenically frozen human embryos are considered unborn children under Alabama law, has brought a long-awaited spotlight on the practices, lack of regulation and dearth of ethics in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) and assisted reproductive technology (ART) industries.

The decision on the consolidated appeal by three families — the official title of which is an unwieldy 98 words — against the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Mobile Infirmary Medical Center allows their lawsuit to go forward in which they are suing for punitive damages under Alabama’s Wrong Death of a Minor Act against the accidental destruction of their frozen embryonic children conceived in vitro.

The ruling brought immediate disruption to the IVF and ART industries in Alabama and raised numerous legal concerns as to whether the businesses and families that decide to destroy or discard human embryos may be liable to punitive damages. Considering the enormous scope of the industries, which bring in $8 billion annually across the country and lead to the manufacture of nearly 100,000 children a year, about one of every 40 children, the ruling was a legal earthquake with national reverberations.

Political reactions were swift. The Alabama Attorney General said that he would not prosecute IVF providers or families. The Alabama Governor and the leaders of the Alabama legislature announced efforts to pass legislation to protect the IVF and ART industries. National political leaders from both parties decried the decision and postured their support for IVF in terms of promoting families and children.

But even if the legal impact of the decision may be short-lived, it is the first time that many politicians and citizens are becoming aware of the details of the fertility industrial complex, and it’s hard to imagine that, once laws start to be made concerning IVF and ART industries, the laws will be worse than the present situation of no regulation that many from right and left have compared to a lawless “wild west.”

The facts of the case give some indication of that present state of lawlessness. Three different couples, after going through IVF cycles, decided to freeze their unimplanted embryonic sons and daughters. In Dec. 2020, a hospital patient was able to wander unsupervised into the obviously unprotected and unmonitored cryogenic nursery where their frozen children and thousands of others were stored. The patient out of curiosity reached in to remove several embryos, received immediate freezer burns and dropped the embryos, destroying them.

Three sets of parents sued the institutions. In the trial court, the suit was dismissed because the judge essentially said that the embryos were considered legally “property” not persons and therefore couldn’t be subject to a wrongful death claim. The Supreme Court, based on the Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Act as well as an Alabama Constitutional amendment that protects the “sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children,” overturned the trial judge’s determination and allowed the case to go to trial.

That so little care was taken to guard the frozen human embryos — such that an eccentric patient in the hospital where the embryonic nursery is located could simply take embryos — is a shocking enough sign of the state of regulation in the IVF and ART industry.

That parents whom the present state of the law allows the “right” to conceive a child by non-natural means and gives total discretion to implant, freeze or discard them, as if they were just property, would sue under a wrongful death statute — treating their children as, in fact, children — manifests the legal and ethical confusions involved.

Since 1978, when the first IVF child, Louise Brown, was born, the Catholic Church has been very clear about the many ethical issues that need to be taken into account. While the Church affirms the humanity of every baby, however conceived, praises the desire for parents to have children, and compassionately recognizes the enormous suffering involved for parents struggling with infertility, the Church stresses that children are always a divine gift, not a right to whom

parents are entitled.

The Church has been a voice crying out in the desert about these moral issues, which have become clearer over time.

In IVF, children are not begotten but manufactured.

Men must masturbate to obtain the sperm for the laboratory insemination.

Women are impregnated not by a husband but by a technician with a pipette.

Because of the costs and pain involved in egg retrieval, excess embryos are created, with some implanted, some deep frozen, and others eliminated.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is often done to discriminate among the embryos based on sex or other qualities.

If all implanted embryos take, one or more are often selectively aborted.

The process promotes sperm and egg donors and the law often prevents children conceived from ever discovering their biological parents’ identity.

It allows various doctors to substitute their own sperm and become the father of hundreds of children.

It fuels the whole surrogacy industry and which exploits poor women and promotes human trafficking.

It allows situations where children can be conceived in a circumstance of a half dozen parental claims, from egg mom, sperm dad, surrogate mother, legal (paying) dad(s), legal mom(s) and, with new techniques for the manipulation of eggs, even stranger combinations.

It produces what the Vatican has called the “absurd fate” of huge cryogenic orphanages.

It permits the development of destructive embryonic research, where human beings are treated as raw material for medical experimentation.

And because of its wealth and prominence, it makes far more difficult ethical research to address soluble underlying morphological and endocrinological reasons for infertility.

There is, in short, an increasing array of ethical abuses, all fruit produced from morally corrupt IVF roots.

Relatively few have had the courage to confront these issues. No one wants to offend the dignity or hurt the feelings of the 8 million children made through in vitro worldwide. Everyone feels immense compassion for couples struggling with infertility. Yet, now the ART industry is increasingly being employed to manufacture made-to-order children for otherwise fertile couples who prefer to use surrogates, for single women who want to choose sperm donors and sometimes egg donors from catalogs, by same-sex couples and others who look to IVF as option-A not as a reluctant last resort.

The ethical and legal logic of the Alabama Supreme Court decision is simple and clear. It recognizes the humanity of the human embryo and applies the protections that the Alabama law and Constitution say must be given to unborn children.

In response, many are trying to duck the issue of the humanity of the embryo. Abortion supporters are dusting off their exhausted euphemisms to dehumanize the human embryo, recognizing that if the humanity of the embryo is conceded extra utero, it will have enormous consequences for how embryos are treated in utero.

But some pro-life champions who know well the humanity of the human embryo are also ducking the issue, expressing their support for “family values” and “children” without addressing any of the ethical issues involved in freezing and destroying innocent human life, not to mention in the abortion-supporting logic that embryos are the “property” of parents who have absolute legal rights to let them live, die, or be put in the freezer.

The Alabama Supreme Court decision, no matter its long-term legal impact, has begun a long overdue conversation. Catholics need to have the courage to speak about it: first internally, since many Catholics, too, have had recourse to IVF and ART either in ignorance or defiance of moral teaching; and then globally, so that, as disciples of the One who said whatever we do to the least of his brothers and sisters we do to him, we may evangelize the wild west with the Gospel of Life.

Salt, Light and Leaven Feature

Meet new Diocesan canon lawyer, E. Magdalen Ross

By JOAN D. WARREN Editor joandwarren@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — E. Magdalen

Ross began to serve as Director of Canonical Services for the Diocese of Fall River in September 2023, working within the Diocesan Tribunal as a canon lawyer and ecclesiastical judge.

Since beginning in the fall, she has been busy investigating, hearing, and judging petitions for declarations of nullity. . She and Judicial Vicar Father Jeffrey Cabral make up the tribunal law team and together with a devoted support staff work to meet the canonical needs of Catholics in the diocese.

Where did you grow up? "I am from San Francisco, California."

Religious upbringing: "I grew up without religion. My family life was all about the arts. My mother was a docent at the San Fransisco Zoo. I was baptized at 18, the year the new Code of Canon Law came out. It is an ancient legal system, and it was something I wanted to study. It was 20 years before I enrolled at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. I fell in love with it. I knew I would, and I did."

Education: "I had a fourthgrade formal education. We moved to my father’s native Hungary where I spent my time in museums, libraries, reading, at the theatre and traveling Europe. I was able to audit fifth, sixth and seventh grades in Hungarian state schools under communism. Returning to the United States, I received my GED at 14.

"In my teens, I set courses of study for myself, eventually thinking I should read Christian authors, and one day a book liter-

ally fell on me from a high shelf at a public library, 'The Wisdom of Catholicism' by Anton Pegis, and in it I encountered the great Catholic authors, Saint Augustine and Sigrid Undset in particular.

"I went to the East Coast for a few years for college but returned to California and worked as an office manager for an eye doctor and was a copy editor for literary reviews. I graduated from San Francisco State University, majoring in history. At one point in my thirties, I joined a Carmelite mon-

astery in Wales. But I felt that God called me to pursue ecclesiastical studies and I went to Rome."

Student life: "I was the only woman in the theology cycle of studies, and the seminarians were half my age. The training is for five years and is approximately the same as studying for the priesthood. While in Rome, I didn’t travel around much. I studied."

Before Diocese of Fall River: "I served in several other dioceses, including as an appellate judge for the New York Ecclesiastical Province.

Favorite books: "Among my favorites is Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. I also read a lot of canon law, even when I’m not at work.”

Hobbies: “I am perfectly happy to be a homebody, surrounded by my books and paintings. I do not own a television. If I want to see a movie, I will watch it on my laptop. Usually something historical.”

Favorite food: "I love Middle Eastern cuisine. I am a falafel addict."

Languages: "Hungarian, Italian, and French. I read Latin and

Dispelling some misconceptions about canon law

Editors Note: At the request of The Anchor, Miss Ross has compiled some facts and information on the origins of canon law and declarations of nullity in particular.

She said many are under false impressions about declarations of nullity regarding timing, requirements and one's status within the Catholic Church after an annulment is granted.

By E. Magdalen Ross Director of Canonical Services

The staff of the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River strives to serve people with truth, impartiality, and compassion for the complex situations that we see every day among the Catholic faithful.

The work of canon lawyers and ecclesiastical judges involves many aspects of the life of the faithful in a diocese – we serve Catholics, and indeed people of all faiths and

no faith who ask us for assistance: matrimonial cases of all kinds (formal nullity cases, absence of canonical form cases, Petrine or Pauline Privilege cases, non-consummation cases, etc.), patrimonial cases (church property), issues pertaining to sacramental discipline (whether someone was validly baptized or confirmed, who is a Catholic, etc.), matters pertaining to clergy (priests and deacons) and members of religious communities (monks or nuns, etc.), and a variety of other

areas. The Tribunal and Office of Canonical Services also handles wedding paperwork, including permissions and dispensations, for people from outside the Diocese of Fall River who wish to get married here, and for our own Catholic faithful who wish to marry outside our diocese.

It is perhaps best known that Catholic tribunals handle formal nullity cases or “annulments” – and 8 Turn to page 15

Newly appointed Director of Canonical Services, E. Magdalen Ross, in her office at the Diocese of Fall River Tribunal on Highland Avenue.

Lent offers purpose and hope

8 Continued from page one

nity, our nation, or even our world! I recommend writing down your three most important intentions and each day spending time in prayer with the Lord asking for His graces in each situation or circumstance,” he wrote in his blog.

"Again, I draw inspiration and encouragement for my Lenten message from As you proceed throughout your day, as you help others, as you pray, or abstain from either meat or whatever penitential offering you are making this Lent, do so purposely attaching your prayer, your sacrifice, your penance, your act of charity for those intentions. Ask the Lord to take any merit or grace found in these Lenten moments toward your three special intentions.

"Focus your spiritual energy this season of Lent. There are so many people and situations for which we can (and do) pray. I hope you find ways to be more intentional each time you pray, fast, or serve to connect each to those three intentions consciously.

"Just as your muscles are strengthened by exercise and use, so to do our spiritual 'muscles' strengthen each time we practice our faith. Lent is the perfect time to take a step back and reflect on the many ways we separate ourselves from Jesus. When we are purposeful in our Lenten practices, this time will be more fruitful and meaningful, drawing us back into a stronger relationship with our Savior and each other," the Bishop wrote.

The Feb. 14 Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River.

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Diocese launches new website

FALL RIVER — To foster improved communication, engagement and accessibility across multiple devices, the Diocese of Fall River has launched a new website.

While the website address has stayed the same, fallriverdiocese.org, visitors will find something quite different: a fresh look and design, easier navigation. The website unifies a number of formerly separate sites of different diocesan entities. The new site uses responsive design technology to ensure a mobile-optimized experience, given that many spend greater time accessing information from the internet on mobile devices. Almost a year of study, research, and discussion went into the creation of the website by a committee working with the web developer and designer Icon. Diocesan Strategic and Pastoral Planning Director Laura Carrillo oversaw the project.

“Launching the new website for the diocese was a huge undertaking that was sorely needed due to the many disparate sites and lack of modern features and design of the former site,” she said.

“A cross-functional team of staff, clergy, and lay faith-

Catholic radio station has stronger signal, reaching the faithful in the diocese

By JOAN D. WARREN Editor joandwarren@anchornews. org

Listening to Catholic radio just got easier.

ful worked tirelessly with developers and designers to bring the vision to life. We hope that users find the site easier to navigate on their computers and phones and are able to embrace all of the ministries and good works that the diocese offers. Ultimately, we hope users can grow in faith through this improved evangelization and communications channel.”

The new website is created to serve as a digital hub for the Diocese of Fall River. With a warm and vibrant color palette, the homepage offers quick links to evangelization resources, parish and school directories, daily readings, and upcoming events. The latest news is also featured along with the most recent post of the Bishop’s Blog. Through a variety of organized menu options, visitors can quickly access information on diocesan offices, ministries, and agencies. In addition, the web redesign delivers a consistent look across its subsites and pages. Tthe overall intent of the site is to connect people to their faith.

Recent upgrades to megawatt transmitting means greater range for listeners of Stations of the Cross Radio.

A new 2000 watt tower in Freetown has increased the listening area that now covers much of the Diocese of Fall River.

Stations of the Cross President Jim Wright said the upgrades make tuning in easier for those traveling north and east of Freetown.

"We now cover a much larger region. I traveled the area and the signal was strong up Route 24," he said.

The outermost areas of the Cape and islands may not be able to pick up a clear signal, he added.

"The Diocese of Fall River with its longstanding Catholic tradition and high percentage of Catholics, is an area with tremendous potential. In partnership with parishes in the region, our goal is to help bring

about a Catholic Renaissance in the Diocese of Fall River and all of Massachusetts.”

To accomplish this goal, they have stepped up grassroots marketing efforts and provided

bumper magnets to the Chancery office.

Deacon Joe Harrington has many of them to distribute to parishes in the dioceses.

"Your help will give us a major boost in creating awareness, drawing more listeners, and cultivating more volunteers and ambassadors."

Wright said people have come back to Mass and the sacraments after seeing one of their bumper

magnets listening to their programs.

Stations of the Cross Radio offers free listings on the community calendar on their website and on air.

”We are happy to promote events at your parish, both on the air and on our online community calendar,” he said.

Stations of the Cross radio is expanding, with more than 20 stations in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

They started transmitting in Massachusetts about 13 years ago, with WQOM Boston (1060 AM).

”With stronger signals, listeners will appreciate the quality. We now reach one million listeners.” Wright said.

Another option to tune in is through I catholic Radio, a free downloadable app. Listeners can listen anywhere, all over the world.

Visit thestationofthecross.com to learn more and to order bumper magnets.

After Alabama Supreme Court’s embryo personhood ruling, what comes next?

By Daniel Payne Catholic News Agency

An Alabama Supreme Court decision that established the personhood of frozen embryos drew praise from pro-life groups. The possible wider effects of the decision, meanwhile, remain shrouded in uncertainty.

The state Supreme Court ruled that frozen human embryos constitute children under state statute, a decision that could have wide-reaching effects on in vitro fertilization treatments.

The nine-judge court said in the 8-1 ruling that the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act is “sweeping and unqualified” and that its provisions extend to children “regardless of their location.”

“It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation,” the ruling said. “It is not the role of this court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy.”

The court’s decision came about as part of a lawsuit brought by several parents whose frozen embryos had been accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic. The plaintiffs had argued that the destruction fell under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

Pro-life advocates praised the decision. Katie Daniel, the state policy director for SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement to CNA that the court in its

ruling “recognized what is obvious and a scientific fact — life begins at conception.”

“That does not mean fertility treatment is prohibited,” Daniel said. “Rather it means fertility treatments need not carelessly or intentionally destroy the new life created.”

“Alabama or anyone concerned by this decision can look to Louisiana, which has had a law in place since the 1980s that requires IVF be practiced in a more ethical way,” she said. She noted that “1,000 babies are born every year in that state as a result of IVF.”

Lila Rose, the president and founder of Live Action, likewise said after the ruling that the decision “affirms the scientific reality that a new human life begins at the moment of fertilization.”

“This ruling, which involved a wrongful-death claim brought by parents against a fertility clinic that negligently caused the death of their children, rightly acknowledged the humanity of unborn children created through in vitro fertilization,” Rose said, calling the decision “an important step towards applying equal protection for all.”

Will it affect other states?

Though the ruling was understandably welcomed by pro-life advocates, it is less certain how the court decision may play out beyond the state of Alabama.

The question before the state Supreme Court was

whether or not frozen embryos should be considered children under Alabama state statute. Jay Tidmarsh, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, told CNA that the ruling “decided only a question of state law.”

“On whether this will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, I think many people do not realize that the U.S. Supreme Court decides only issues of federal law,” Tidmarsh said.

“On matters of [Alabama] state law, the Alabama Supreme Court has the final word, not the United States Supreme Court,” Tidmarsh said.

“For the United States Supreme Court to become involved in this case, therefore, the Alabama decision must involve an issue of federal law,” he said.

The Constitution established the Supreme Court as overseeing cases involving “controversies to which the United States shall be a party,” as well as “controversies between two or more states.” The Alabama decision “does not decide or invoke any matter of federal law,” Tidmarsh pointed out.

“I could well imagine some theories of federal law that the decision might implicate, but none of those

theories was mentioned in the opinion,” he said.

Danielle Pimentel, who serves as policy counsel at Americans United for Life, echoed Tidmarsh’s assessment.

“Right now I don’t see there are any federal questions to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court,” she said. The decision was “focused on Alabama law and will stay within Alabama,” she said.

The ruling “doesn’t limit IVF or access to it,” she pointed out. “It simply ensures that both the parents and the children are protected under the Wrongful Death of the Minor Act. If the fertility clinic is acting negligently, parents can potentially bring a civil claim.”

The state Supreme Court’s decision, meanwhile, is only part of the lawsuit brought by the parents whose embryonic children had died at the fertility clinic, Pimentel noted.

“[The court’s ruling] wasn’t a ruling on the merits,” she said. “We still don’t know what a trial court will decide on whether the defendants have violated the act. I think we’ll have to wait and see what the trial court decides.”

The Catholic Church

has long condemned the IVF process and the production of embryos. There are now an estimated 1 million frozen embryos in the U.S. alone.

In 1996, Pope John Paul II made an “appeal to the conscience of the world’s scientific authorities and in particular to doctors, that the production of human embryos be halted.”

The Holy Father had noted at the time that there “seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of ‘frozen’ embryos which are and remain the subjects of essential rights and should therefore be protected by law as human persons.”

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, meanwhile, wrote in the 1987 document Donum Vitae that even an IVF and embryo-transfer procedure that is “free of any compromise with the abortive practice of destroying embryos and with masturbation remains a technique which is morally illicit because it deprives human procreation of the dignity which is proper and connatural to it.”

In 2021 Bishop Da Cunha’s pastoral letter ”Journeying Together with Jesus on a Path to Faith & Hope” provided mission steps on how we can continue to move forward with our faith as a diocese.

“Our faith needs to be shared through our daily lives...It is my hope that promoting the Cursillo movement in our Diocese will show more people how to keep the Holy Spirit alive in their lives.”

Cursillo is a dynamic and joyful weekend experience where participants are given practical insights into the everyday life of faith and service. Through prayer, reflection, group activities, and fellowship, the weekend is run by a primarily lay leadership team and designed to deepen and round

Awaken Your Faith with Cursillo

out what one has learned about Christ earlier in life.

Cursillo has a presence in every Diocese in the US, with hundreds of thousands of American Catholics having lived Cursillo. There are more Cursillo opportunities in our Diocese of Fall River.

“I attended Cursillo not quite knowing what to

expect. It was hard to let go and just trust the process. But in doing so I learned so much, became more engaged in my faith, made some great friends, and had a lot of fun! I would encourage anyone who has not lived Cursillo to check it out,” said Laura Carrillo, Diocesan Strategic and Pastoral Planning Director.

While Cursillo offers periods of reflection, prayer, and silence, there are plenty of songs, laughter, discussion, liturgies, and delicious food and snacks. It is a lively journey through the fundamentals of the Catholic faith, where everyone learns by sharing within a living Christian Community. Cursillo is offered three times a year for both men and women at The Holy Cross Retreat House on Stonehill College’s campus in Easton, MA. Men’s retreats are usually in October, February, and March while women’s retreats are held in November, February, and April. A Cursillo weekend begins on a Thursday evening and closes on the Sunday evening. For more information, visit www.retreathouse.org or

Daily Readings † March 2 - April 5

Sat. Mar. 2: Mi 7: 14-15. 18-20: Ps 103: 1-4, 9-12: Lk 15: 1-3. 11-32

Sun. Mar. 3: Third Sunday of Lent: Ex 17: 3-7: Ps 95: 1-2, 6-7-9: Rom 5: 1-2, 5-8: Jn 4: 5-42

Mon. Mar. 4: 2 Kgs 5: 1-15b: Ps 42: 2. 3; 43: 3-4: Lk 4: 24-30

Tues. Mar. 5: Dn 3: 25. 34-43: Ps 25: 4-5ab. 6 and 7bc. 8 - 9: Mt 18: 21-35

Wed. Mar. 6: Dt 4:1, 5-9: Ps 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20: Mt 5: 17-19

Thurs. Mar 7: Jer 7: 23-28: Ps 95: 1-2, 6-7. 8-9: Lk 11: 14-23

Fri. Mar. 8: Hos 14: 2-10: Ps 81: 6c-11b, 14, 17: Mk 12: 28-34

Sat. Mar. 9: Hos 6: 1-6: Ps 51: 3-4. 18-21b: Lk 18: 9-14

Sun. Mar. 10: Fourth Sunday of Lent: 1 Sm 16: 1b. 6-7,10-13a: Ps 23: 1-6:

Eph 5: 8-14: Jn 9:1-41

Mon. Mar. 11: Is 65: 17-21: Ps 30: 2, 4-6. 11-12a, 13b: Jn 4: 43-54

Tues. Mar. 12: Ez 47: 1-9,12: Ps 46: 2-3, 5-6, 8-9: Jn 5: 1-16

Wed. Mar. 13: Is 49: 8-15: Ps 145: 8-9, 13c-14, 17-18: Jn 5: 17-30

Thurs. Mar 14: Ex 32: 7-14: Ps 106: 19-23: Jn 5: 31-47

Fri. Mar. 15: Wis 2: 1a, 12-22: Ps 34: 17-21, 23: Jn 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

Sat. Mar. 16: Jer 11: 18,20: Ps 7: 2-3. 9bc-10. 11-12: Jn 7: 40-53

Sun. Mar. 17: Fifth Sunday of Lent: Ez 37: 12-14: Ps 130: 1-8: Rom 8: 8-11: Jn 11: 1-45

Mon. Mar. 18: Dn 1: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30. 33-62 or 13: 41c-62: Ps 23: 1-6: Jn 8: 1-11

Tues. Mar 19: Sm 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16: Ps 89: 2-5, 27, 29: Rom 4: 13, 16-18, 22: Mt 1: 16, 18-21

Wed. Mar. 20: Dn 3: 14-20, 91-9, 95: Dn 3: 52-56: Jn 8: 31-42

Thurs. Mar. 21: Gn 17: 3-9: Ps 105: 4-9: Jn 8: 51-59

Fri. Mar. 22: Jer 20: 10-13: Ps 18: 2-7: Jn 10: 31-42

Sat. Mar. 23: Ez 37: 21-28: Jer 3: 10. 11-. 13: Jn 11: 45-56

email cursillo@retreathouse.org.

Those who have already lived Cursillo and would like to help bring it to their parish or to volunteer for future retreats are asked to reach out to cursillo@ retreathouse.org.

Sun. Mar 24: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion: Mk 11: 1-10 or Jn 12: 12-16 (Procession). Mass: Is 50: 4-7: Ps 22: 8-9. 17-20, 23-24: Phil 2: 6-11: Mk14: 1-15, 47

Mon. Mar. 25: Is 42: 1-7: Ps 27: 1-3, 13-14: Jn 12: 1-11

Tues. Mar. 26: Is 49: 1-6: Ps 71: 1-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17: Jn 13: 21-33. 36-38

Wed. Mar. 27: Is 50: 4-9a: Ps 69: 8-10, 21-22. 31, 33-34: Mt 26: 14-25

Thurs. Mar. 28: Holy Thursday. Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Ex 12: 1-8, 11-14: Ps 116: 12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18: Jn 13: 1-15

Fri. Mar 29: Good Friday. Celebration of the Lord’s Passion: Is 52: 13 -53: 12: Ps 31: 2, 6,12-13, 15-17, 25: Heb 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9: Jn 18: 1 - 19: 42

Sat. Mar. 30: Holy Saturday: Readings for the Easter Vigil, which is an Easter Sunday Mass: Gn 1: 1 - 2: 2 or 1: 1.26-31a: Ps 104: 1-2, 5-6. 10. 12. 13-14. 24. 35 or Ps 33: 4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22: Gn 22: 1-18 or 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13. 15-18: Ps 16: 5, 8-11: Ex 14: 15 -15: 1: Ex 15: 1-6. 17-18: Is 54: 5-14: Ps 30: 2, 4, 5-6. 11-12. 13: Is 55: 1-11: Is 12: 2-6: Bar 3: 9-15, 32 - 4: 4: Ps 19: 8-11: Ez 36: 16-17a. 18-28: Ps 42: 3, 5; 43: 3-4 or Is 12: 2-3. 4bcd. 5-6 or Ps 51: 12--15. 18-19: Rom 6: 3-11: Ps 118: 1-2, 16-17. 22-23: Mk 16: 1-7

Sun. Mar 31: Easter Sunday. Acts 10: 34a, 37-43: Ps 118: 1-2, 16-17, 2223: Col 3: 1-4 or 1 Cor 5: 6b-8: Jn 20: 1-9 or Mk 16: 1-7 or afternoon or evening Mass, Lk 24: 13-35

Mon. Apr. 1: Acts 2: 14, 22-33: Ps 16: 1-2a and 5, 7-11: Mt 28: 8-15

Tues. Apr. 2: Acts 2: 36-41: Ps 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22: Jn 20: 11-18

Wed. Apr. 3: Acts 3: 1-10: Ps 105: 1-4, 6-9: Lk 24: 13-35

Thurs. Apr. 4: Acts 3: 11-26: Ps 8: 2ab and 5-9: Lk 24: 35-48

Fri. Apr. 5: Acts 4: 1-12: Ps 118: 1-2, 4, 22-25-27a: Jn 21: 1-14

Cursillo retreat participants enjoying fellowship.

Upcoming diocesan events

The Diocese of Fall River School Department is hosting an annual spiritual day for all school teachers and administrators on March 15th at Bishop Stang High School. The keynote speaker is Brett

Salkeld, the author of "Educating for Eternity." Bishop Edgar da Cunha is celebrating Mass at St. Julie’s at 9:15 am, which will begin the day. School employees who have worked for 25 years or more will be acknowledged.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6

Sunday, March 3 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Freddie Babiczuk, Pastor of St. Anthony, St. Jude the Apostle and St. Mary Parishes in Taunton

Sunday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Bradley J. Metz, C.S.C., Pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton

Sunday, March 17 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Christopher M. Peschel, Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford

Palm Sunday, March 24 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Riley J. Williams, Pastor of Holy Name Parish in Fall River

Easter Sunday, March 31 at 11:00 a.m.

For more information, contact Sandi Duxbury of the Catholic School Alliance at: sduxbury@catholicsa. org, or (508) 687-7301.

The Vigil Project: Lenten True Presence Night. Eucharistic Adoration, Music, and Witness. Join for a transformative event that will deepen your encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Presented by The Vigil Project and hosted by Holy Cross Family Ministries, it will be held at Holy Cross Church, 225 Purchase St., Easton, MA, on Saturday, March 9 at 7 pm. This free program welcomes people of all ages and religious backgrounds. For more information: www.hcfm. org/truepresencenight.

Bishop Stang High School National Honor Society is holding a Spring Blood Drive on Thursday, March 14th from 9 am to 2 pm in the John O’ Brien Gymnasium, 500 Slocum Road, North Dartmouth.

Bishop’s Blog

Since the April issue of The Anchor will follow Easter, which this year falls on March 31, readers are encouraged to visit the diocesan website at fallriverdiocese.org for the 2024 Easter Message from Bishop da Cunha. Readers are also urged to visit the site to read Bishop da Cunha’s weekly blog.

Lenten Resources

Online

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website offers a variety of educational materials, resources, and prayers to help guide your prayer, fasting, and almsgiving this Lent. The website for the U.S. Bishops is usccb.org. Additionally, the Diocese’s Secretariat of the New Evangelization office developed a PDF handout with six Family Lenten Nights, which you can download, as well as gathered an extensive list of Lenten resources. The newly updated website of the Diocese is www.fallriverdiocese.org.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel

Sunday, March 3, at 7 p.m

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish, Providence ***

Sunday, March 10 at 7 p.m.

Espirito Santo Parish, Fall River ***

Sunday, March 17 at 7 p.m. St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Fall River ***

Sunday, March 24 at 7 p.m.

Celebrant is Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River

Santo Christo Parish, Fall River ***

Sunday, March 31 at 7 p.m.

Immaculate Conception Church, New Bedford

In Your Prayers

Please pray for these priests and deacons during the coming weeks:

March 2

Rev. Antoine Berube, Pastor, St. Joseph, Attleboro, 1936

Rev. James J. Brady, Retired Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1941

Rev. Tarcisius Dreesen, SS.CC., Sacred Hearts Monastery, Fairhaven, 1952

Rev. Alphonse E. Gauthier, Pastor, Sacred Heart, New Bedford, 1962

Rev. J. Omer Lussier, Pastor, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1970

March 3

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Timothy P. Sweeney, LL.D., Pastor, Holy Name, New Bedford, 1960

March 5

Rev. James McGuire. Pastor, St. Mary, New Bedford, 1850

Rev. Deacon Manuel H. Camara, 1995

Rev. James A. McCarthy, 2007

March 6

Rev. Joseph F. McDonough, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1906

Rev. John W. Quirk, Founder, St. Joseph, Taunton, 1932

Rev. Bernard P. Connolly, S.S., St. Charles College, Maryland, 1932

Rev. Antoine Lanoue, O.P., 1996

Rev. Jerome Lawyer, C.S.C., 2006

March 7

Rev. Arthur P.J. Gagnon, Pastor, Holy Rosary, New Bedford, 1958

March 8

Rev. Deacon Victor, Haddad, 2014

March 9

Rev. Msgr. Henry J. Noon, V.G., Pastor, St. James, New Bedford; Vicar General, 1934-47, 1947

March 12

Rev. Aurelien L. Moreau, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1961

Rev. George I. Saad, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Purgatory, New Bedford, 1991

March 16

Rev. Francis J. Maloney. S.T.L., Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1957

Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, C.S.C., Holy Cross Community, North Dartmouth, 2006

March 17

Rev. Henry Robert Creighton, SS.CC., Damien Residence, Fairhaven, 2004

Permanent Deacon Michael E. Murray, 2008

Rev. Bartley MacPháidín, C.S.C., Retired President, Stonehill College, Easton, 2016

March 18

Rev. Robert D. Forand, C.P., West Hartford, Conn., 1989

Permanent Deacon Frank W. Mis, 2011

March 19

Rev. John J. McQuaide, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1905

March 20

Rev. Francis A. Mrozinski, Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1951

Permanent Deacon Lawrence St. Pierre, 2017

March 21

Rev. William (Alphonsus) Mitchell, SS.CC., 2009

March 22

Rev. Joseph A. Martins, Assistant, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1940

Rev. James T. Keefe, SS.CC., Chaplain, U.S. Army, 2003

Rev. Francis X. Wallace, Senior Priest, St. Patrick, Falmouth, 2018

March 23

Rev. James F. Kelley, USN Retired, Archdiocese of Anchorage; Former Assistant, St. Mary’s, Mansfield, 2002

March 24

Rev. John J. Murphy, C.S.C., My Brother’s Keeper, Easton, 2004

March 25

Rev. John J. Brennan, SS.CC. Retired Founder, Holy Redeemer, Chatham, 1991

Rev. Deacon Thomas Prevost, 2007

March 26

Rev. Deacon Francis J. “Frank” Camacho, 2019

March 27

Rev. James W. Conlin, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1918

Rev. Msgr. Antonio P. Vieira, Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1964

Rev. Richard W. Beaulieu, Former Diocesan Director of Education, Former Pastor, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Fall River, 2007

Rev. Manuel Garcia, Editor of Portuguese Missalette, Founder of The Promotora Portuguesa and Rooster Printing, 2019

March 28

Rev. Alfred J. Levesque, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton, 1960

Rev. Bernard A. Lavoie, Chaplain, Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, 1972

Rev. Dieudonne Masse, OFM, Retired, Montreal, Canada, 1983

Rev. Howard A. Waldron, Retired Pastor, St. Thomas More, Somerset, 1985

March 29

Rev. James H. Carr, S.T.L., Assistant, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1923

Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Moriarty, Pastor, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1951

March 30

Rev. Edward Norbert, 1909

Rev. Aime Barre, On Sick Leave, Fall River, 1963

Rev. Benoit R. Galland, USN Retired Chaplain, 1985

Rev. Lucio B. Phillipino, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 2002

Rev. Robert F. Kirby, Catholic Memorial Home, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, South Attleboro, 2015

March 31

Rt. Rev. Msgr. George C. Maxwell, Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1953

Rev. Dennis Loomis, M.S., Vocation Director, La Salette Shrine, Attleboro, 2019

April 1

Rev. George A. Lewin, Pastor, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1958

Rev. Edwin J. Loew, Pastor, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1974

April 2

Rev. Adolph Banach, OFM Conv., Pastor, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Bedford, 1961

Rev. Donald Belanger, Pastor, St. Stephen, Attleboro, 1976

Rev. James B. Coyle, Retired Pastor, St. Dorothea, Eatontown, N.J., 1993

April 3

Rev. Henry F. Kinnerny, Former Pastor, St. Peter, Sandwich, 1905

Rev. Roger G. Blain, O.P., 2000

Rev. Clarence P. Murphy, Former Pastor, Our Lady of the Assumption, Osterville, 2010

April 4

Rev. Lionel Gamache, S.M.M., 1972

Rev. James F. McCarthy, Retired Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1985

Rev. Gaspar L. Parente, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa, Patagonia, Ariz., 1991

Ann M. Bandilli Costa, mother of Father Thomas Costa Jr.

SEEKONK — Ann M. (Bandilli) Costa, age 77, passed away on February 20, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late

Thomas Costa, Sr., who died in 1998. Ann was a lifelong resident of Seekonk.

Ann was born in Pawtucket, the daughter of the late Francis and Alice (Sequin) Bandilli Sr.

many years.

She leaves three children, Susan Grandchamp and her husband Gilbert, Michael the youngest child, and her oldest son, Rev. Thomas Costa, Jr., pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Swansea.

Ann worked multiple jobs at a time, throughout her life, always providing for her family. She was a dedicated mother and devout Catholic. She was a formerPresident of the St. Mary’s Women’s Guild and taught CCD for

Ann cherished her grandchildren, Briana, Michael, Steven and his partner Kayla.

She always prayed and cared for all her children, especially her great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Stella. She also leaves her friend, John Cummings, as well as many extended

continued from page 7

Law! The Tribunal investigates a matrimonial bond as to its possible invalidity or nullity at the request of one of the parties (or in rare cases, both parties).

Like most Catholic tribunals, we labor against some of the “urban legends” about the

work we do: that annulments cost a lot, that your children will become illegitimate retroactively, that you have to “know someone” in the diocese, or that it will take ten years, etc.

None of these things are true.

friends and family. She was the sister of John Bandilli and the late Francis Bandilli.

The family would like to thank Dr. Thursby and staff for their care over these many years.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, in Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church on Coyle Drive in Seekonk. Interment was in Gate Heaven Cemetery, East Providence.

For expressions of sympathy, to sign an online guestbook or to light a memorial candle, visit www.silvafuneralhome.com.

Solar energy

Continued from page 5 Resonant Energy did an impressive job of meeting deadlines for the project. They installed 571 panels on the roofs of the academic wing and school gymnasium.”

“Bishop Stang is excited to join the world of solar energy. Not only are we proud to be part of being more energy conscious, but we are looking forward to the long-term cost savings this program will provide the school,” Benson said.

Diocese sending delegation to National Eucharistic Congress

As part of the National Eucharistic Revival, there will be a National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years in the United States. In 1976, there was an International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.

The Diocese of Fall River is working to secure discounted group rates for individuals from our diocese to attend, which would include: Congress Registration, which involves full-access to all venues and programming; a 4-night stay at an Indianapolis hotel, including breakfast; round-trip flights from Boston; and transportation to and from the airports.

Those interested and wanting to receive more information can visit https:// bit.ly/NEC2024 or call the diocesan Secretariat for the New Evangelization at 508675-1311.