THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 39, NO. 35 | APRIL 27, 2018
FAITH ON THE BEAT
PHOTO BY MERCEDES RODRIGUEZ
Kenneth Rodriguez, left, and Jaffar Agha stand in front of Sacred Heart Church in Emporia. Agha, who joined the Catholic Church at Easter, describes Rodriguez as “an outspoken Catholic, a great witness and a very humble person.” Rodriguez served as Agha’s godfather. By Bob Hart Special to The Leaven
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MPORIA — It’s not the plot of a new buddy/cop show, but the networks might want to take notice just the same. All the standard ingredients are present, along with a novel twist. Kenneth Rodriguez would play the happily married veteran police officer, a devout Catholic with four grown children who’ve left the nest. Along comes younger officer Jaffar Agha, raised Muslim but now an atheist and prone to playfully teasing his sometime partner about his religious beliefs. The remarkable story of reclaimed faith takes place in Emporia — not a likely locale for any possible TV incarnations but, as it turns out, the best place for Agha to be. Agha, 31, raised Muslim in Kansas City, had long since denounced religion before becoming an Emporia
police officer seven years ago. He was, he said, “probably trying to convince myself [of my atheism] more than others.” He married his wife Carlie, “a lapsed Catholic,” six years ago and had three children — Gregory, 4; Amelia, nearly 3; and Elizabeth, who’ll have her first birthday in June. Along the way, he crossed paths and eventually became friends with Rodriguez, an Emporia native who belongs to Sacred Heart Parish. “He used to tease me a lot,” Rodriguez recalled. “It was never disrespectful — just a lot of playful banter about my faith. I just tried to be a friend and defend the faith as best I could. After a while, I decided to just pray for him and leave it in God’s hands.” What Rodriguez didn’t know was that his younger friend was on a serious spiritual quest — reaching out to several of his fellow officers and sampling their Christian religious services in what he called a “try-before-you-buy” sort of experiment. Eventually, Agha tried Sacred Heart.
To his surprise, he found comforting similarities to his original religious upbringing. “[Catholicism] is very traditional, and there’s a solemn atmosphere at Mass,” he said. “I like that things are spelled out in the Catechism [of the Catholic Church], and I believe that if it’s truly God’s word, it’s not for us to change.” For a long time after that visit, he said, “I was definitely feeling that I believed in Christ, but not acting on it.” But more than one near-death experience in the line of duty — particularly a foot chase in which he was knocked unconscious — led him to seek a deeper commitment. He again turned to Rodriguez, whom Agha described as “an outspoken Catholic, a great witness and a very humble person.” Rodriguez helped lead him to Sacred Heart’s RCIA program under the leadership of coordinator Shawn Gerleman and pastor Father Brandon Farrar. One of the priest’s suggestions was that Jaffar and Carlie Agha take part in a couples’ retreat, primarily designed for the engaged.
“[My wife] was happy to go, and to start coming back to Mass with me and the children,” Agha said. “It’s kind of a new beginning for the whole family.” That new beginning was at Easter, when Agha and all three children were baptized in the Catholic faith, and Jaffar and Carlie’s marriage was blessed. Of course, with baptisms, the roles of godparents must be cast. Officer Agha’s godfather was none other than his colleague Officer Rodriguez. A fellow Emporia police officer, Damian Podrebarac, was godfather to Gregory, Amelia and Elizabeth. “I love to give props to Shawn Gerleman and a very well-organized and inclusive RCIA program,” said Agha. “And to all of Sacred Heart — they really opened up their hearts to me.” For his part, Rodriguez downplayed his role in Agha’s journey, saying he never saw himself as a mentor. Instead, he said, “I just tried to be the best example I know how to be.” If the networks are listening, it sounds like the makings of a longrunning hit.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS
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Follow the Lord’s path of servant love as an antidote to loneliness
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n a little less than a month, I will observe the 43rd anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I desired to be a priest because I wanted to devote my life to helping others come to know Jesus Christ and experience his love. In my mind, there was nothing more significant that I could do for the world than to help more people experience the abundant life Jesus promised to his disciples. My greatest fear approaching ordination day was loneliness. Would the commitment to celibacy, relinquishing the opportunity for marriage and biological fatherhood, doom me to
LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN a life of isolation? By the time I was ordained, most of my non-seminarian friends had married. I confess that I was jealous that
Archbishop offers baptisms for children of larger families To show his personal support for those couples open to raising larger families, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann has offered to celebrate the baptism of the third or greater child of any family (by birth, adoption or blending through valid marriage) interested. Please contact your parish office for more information. Additional information is also available from the archdiocesan office for liturgy and sacramental life at (913) 647-0330 or by email at: liturgy@archkck.org.
they had found someone with whom to share life’s highs and lows, as well as those very ordinary moments. I took the whole matter to prayer. I recalled the instruction of Jesus to his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and be confident that your heavenly Father will provide for your needs (Mt 6: 2534). In the Lord’s teaching on prayer, he tells his disciples to ask for their daily bread. In my prayer, I shared with the Lord that I felt friendship was as essential as food, clothes and shelter. I promised God that I would seek first his lordship over my life and strive to do his will. I also asked for the grace to trust his promise to provide me with the essentials for my life, including friendship. Looking back almost 43 years later, I recognize how God has been incredibly faithful to his promises. I am so grateful for the friendships that have been made possible because of my commitment to serve Our Lord and his church as a priest. I am not claiming that I have never felt lonely as a priest. Certainly, there have been those moments. However, I discovered that I was particularly vulnerable to bouts of loneliness
when I began to compromise on giving Jesus lordship of my life. Moreover, the experiences of loneliness have steadily diminished through the years. Ironically, my frustration today is the inability to keep up with all the friends that God has placed in my life through my years of priestly ministry. The priesthood brings you into association with so many extraordinary men and women of faith and virtue. What saddens me is how many truly lonely people there are in the world. A major source of the epidemic of loneliness is confusion about love. Our culture frequently confuses love with someone else giving me pleasure or making me feel good. Pursuing this false notion of love, seeking relationships with others in order to receive pleasure, is a recipe for frustration and alienation — in other words, loneliness! This false notion of love underlies so many of our cultural fallacies. When we embrace Our Lord’s example of seeking to serve rather than to be served, we discover ample opportunities for developing authentic, life-giving and enduring friendships. If you are experiencing loneliness in your life at this time, I encourage you to bring this unpleasant truth to God in prayer. Remind Our Lord of his promise to provide those things that we truly need to survive, one of which is friendship. Ask him to be faithful to his promise by providing you with opportunities for holy friendships. Be confident that God
ARCHBISHOP NAUMANN
Initiative, “Addressing Violent Crime” — Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation
April 27 Confirmation — Holy Trinity, Lenexa
May 6 Baptism of third or more child — Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kansas
April 28 Region IX V Encuentro — Savior Pastoral Center, Kansas City, Kansas Scout Mass — Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kansas May 1 Fellowship of Catholic University Students Mass and breakfast
May 7 Pastoral Council meeting — Savior Pastoral Center May 8 Santa Marta board meeting Confirmation — Holy Cross, Overland Park
Administrative Team meeting
May 9 “Faith in Bloom,” Villa St. Francis luncheon — Olathe Conference Center
Confirmation — Our Lady of Guadalupe, Topeka May 2 Donnelly College board meeting Confirmation — Our Lady of Unity, Kansas City, Kansas May 3 Religious Alliance Against Pornography conference call
May 10 Confirmation — St. Catherine, Emporia
ARCHBISHOP KELEHER April 27 Confirmation — Holy Trinity, Lenexa April 29 St. Sebastian confirmation — Florida
Confirmation — St. Agnes, Roeland Park May 4-6 Kansas State Knights of Columbus convention — Topeka May 4 Community Success
May 5 60th anniversary Mass — St. Sebastian, Florida May 9 “Faith in Bloom,” Villa St. Francis luncheon — Olathe Conference Center
hears your prayer and will respond. However, also be prepared for God to challenge your current notions of love and friendship. If you have the wrong idea about love and friendship, you will be looking for them in all the wrong places. On the other hand, if we seek to embrace true
love as that exemplified by Jesus, then we will find ourselves no longer focused on what we do not have, but instead we will begin to recognize all the opportunities to serve. It is in following Our Lord along the path of servant love that we will discover the antidote to loneliness.
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APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
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HEARTS UNITED IN PRAYER Archbishop invites Catholics to join together in ancient novena By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
Novena to the Holy Spirit
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ANSAS CITY, Kan. — The universal church is soon to enter the nine days between the feast of the Ascension and the solemnity of Pentecost — the nine days that became the very prototype for the Catholic novena. This first novena recalls the time after Christ ascended into heaven and the Virgin Mary and disciples lived in anticipation, eventually crowded together in an upper room in Jerusalem, waiting for what might happen next. For nine days, they devoted themselves to constant prayer until the Holy Spirit was poured out on them at Pentecost and they were empowered with God’s love. In that moment, the church was born, and its mission of evangelization began. On May 4, 1897, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed: “We decree and command that throughout the whole Catholic Church, this year and in every subsequent year, a novena shall take place before Whit Sunday (Pentecost) in all parish churches.” Pope John Paul II echoed that decree on May 30, 1979, saying: “In the course of these days, [the church] invites us to take part in the novena to the Holy Spirit.” This year, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann invites all Catholics in the archdiocese to join together in this most ancient novena. “I am asking our priests, deacons, religious and laity,” he wrote in a recent Leaven column, “during 2018 to pray for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Catholic community in northeast Kansas. “Specifically, I am asking everyone to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts to create within the archdiocese and all of our parishes and ministries a culture of evangelization.” The archbishop is encouraging his flock to focus more on sharing the truth, beauty and goodness of our Catholic faith with others. “I believe the archbishop’s invitation for us to pray this novena is an invitation for us to encounter God’s love so we are not afraid to go forth and bring that love to others,” said Father Anthony Ouellette, SSA, the archdiocesan liaison to the Catholic charismatic renewal.
In preparation for the solemnity of Pentecost on May 20, Archbishop Naumann is encouraging individuals and parishes to pray a Holy Spirit novena, begging the Holy Spirit to rekindle the fire of his love here in northeast Kansas. Prayer cards with the novena will be distributed this weekend in parishes throughout the archdiocese. The prayer, along with the full novena including daily reflections, can be found online at: archkck.org.
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
An image of the Holy Spirit graces a window in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. On the day of his ascension, Jesus’ physical presence was taken from his disciples, but he did not abandon them. At Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in their hearts, they received the courage and wisdom to spread his Gospel. “They were not afraid,” said Father Anthony. “They went
President Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann
Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799)
Editor Rev. Mark Goldasich, stl frmark.goldasich@theleaven.org
out into the streets and they begin to act in a public ministry. “And that’s the whole endeavor of what the archbishop is inviting us do.” Emily Lopez, lead consultant for adult evangelization in the archdiocese, agreed, saying the archbishop is intent on “building a culture of evangelization” as we prepare for
a large convocation of parish leaders in October 2019. The convocation is in response to the vision of Pope Francis in his 2013 apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”). Lopez emphasized that the convocation initiative must be founded in prayer. “Any effort we embark on in
Managing Editor Anita McSorley anita.mcsorley@theleaven.org
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the church needs to begin with prayer, especially to the Holy Spirit, who can give us strength and understanding for the work we do,” she said. The archbishop has asked that we pray specifically for the Holy Spirit to help each of us become what Pope Francis calls “missionary disciples.” But what we are asked to do as Christians at times can seem daunting. And that’s why it’s important, as we invoke the Holy Spirit, said Father Anthony, to be open to a paradigm change in how we perceive God’s love. “It’s not that we have loved God,” he said, “but that he has loved us. And so, that love of God for us gives us the courage to go forth. “We do not do works so that we can be loved; we do our work and our actions based upon being loved.” “Understanding our identity as being beloved sons and daughters of God,” he continued, “we are then able to have all our actions of life be an expression of trying to love God in return.” The central element to the call to evangelize is experiencing the love of God in a very personal way that gives us the desire and courage to share it with others, he said. Within our archdiocese are a large number of nonpracticing Catholics and an even larger number of individuals who claim no religious affiliation. In light of that, the archbishop has said, “Those of us blessed with the joy that only Jesus and life in his church can bring to our hearts have an obligation to share the gift of our faith with others.”
Published weekly September through May, excepting the Friday the week after Thanksgiving, and the Friday after Christmas; biweekly June through August. Address communications to: The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Phone: (913) 721-1570; fax: (913) 721-5276; or e-mail at: sub@theleaven.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. For change of address, provide old and new address and parish. Subscriptions $21/year. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, KS 66109.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
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American Heritage Girls troop learns the importance of prayer
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By Susan Fotovich McCabe Special to The Leaven
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VERLAND PARK — Prayer is the first step to a lasting relationship with Jesus. That’s the message Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann delivered during Benediction with 60 young girls participating in a guided children’s eucharistic adoration as part of the American Heritage Girls (AHG) Scouting program. The girls represented troops from the Church of the Ascension, Overland Park; Holy Trinity, Lenexa; St. Michael the Archangel, Leawood; and Curé of Ars, Leawood. During Benediction, many of the girls earned their Eucharistic Adoration badge from the National Catholic Committee for Scouting (NCCS). The girls gathered as an opportunity to pray in solidarity with other AHG troops and with the support of Archbishop Naumann. At Benediction, which was held at Ascension, Archbishop Naumann’s homily to the girls and their families emphasized the importance of being “persistent in our prayers to the Father.” He shared inspiration from Pope Emeritus Benedict, who told Catholics that learning to pray will help you follow God’s will, wherever it leads. “Have you ever nagged your parents for something you want?” Archbishop Naumann asked the girls. “Jesus teaches us that it’s OK to ask him for the things you want and need. “Ultimately, we have to put it in Jesus’ hands, just as you do with your
“OUR FOCUS IS ALWAYS ROOTED IN CHRIST, AND SPIRITUALITY ISN’T LOST AMONGST THE FUN. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE GIRLS TO SEE SPIRITUALITY AS FUN AND BEAUTIFUL.”
LEAVEN PHOTO BY MATT MCCABE
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann leads the American Heritage Girls in eucharistic adoration at Church of the Ascension in Overland Park. parents. He knows what you need.” Founded in 1995 in Cincinnati, AHG is a faith-based, character development program for girls 5 to 18 years of age. The organization is dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country. AHG girls across the nation and the globe participate in badge programs, service projects, leadership opportunities and outdoor experiences — all with an emphasis on Christian values and family involvement. According to AHG Ascension troop shepherd Kaylene Brown, the girls had to complete a number of requirements to earn the NCCS Eucharistic Adoration
badge, including reading and discussing John 6:48-52, praying the rosary, singing the traditional adoration song “Come Adore” and participating in a guided adoration for children. The troops also participated in a lesson taught by Father Michael Guastello, associate pastor of Ascension, where they studied the reading and viewed the empty monstrance up close, as well as the veil worn during Benediction. The group has worked to achieve other faith-based badges, including the American Saints and Rosary badges. “As our troop’s shepherd, I am responsible for praying for and with the troop,” Brown said. “Our focus is always rooted in Christ, and spiritual-
ity isn’t lost among the fun. I want to encourage the girls to see spirituality as fun and beautiful.” As a young girl, Kristi Slay, a member of Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe, participated in Girl Scouts. Today, her daughter Sydney, age 7, participates in AHG. Kristi is an AHG Ascension troop assistant leader, and says it’s important for her daughter to participate in the Scouting program. “I wanted my daughter to learn more about the Catholic faith. As I learned more about American Heritage Girls and its emphasis on faith, I thought it was worth pursuing,” Slay said. Similarly, Kimberly Dold wanted her daughter, 6-year-old Kate, to participate in a Scouting organization that embraces Catholic values. Kimberly participated in Girl Scouts as a young girl. “American Heritage Girls is a very well-rounded program that develops women of character,” Dold said. “Working toward our Adoration badge really taught our girls that Jesus is there for everybody.”
Ascension parishioner, family practitioner joins Olathe clinic By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
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LATHE — It’s a deceptively simple question: Why did you want to become a doctor? “That’s the hardest question to answer,” said Dr. Isaac D. Johnston, a new physician with Olathe Health Family Medicine. There is so much that goes into the “why” he chose to become a healer. “I just remember shadowing a family doctor when I was a freshman in college, and I felt ‘This is where I need to be,’” said Johnston. But there’s more to it than just the good example. Johnston loves science, the lifelong learning that goes with keeping up with medical advances, using his interpersonal skills and the variety — the variety of people and patient care in practicing family medicine. And he likes helping people. But there are two aspects he especially likes. “I especially like obstetrics because there’s no other part of medicine that brings life into the world. There’s nothing like it,” he said. “The other part of medicine I really like is helping people with end-of-life transition,” he continued. “I did some volunteer work in hospice while I was in college and loved it. I learned a lot seeing people go through the dying process.” In short, he likes everything about being a doctor — except for one thing.
Dr. Isaac D. Johnston is a new physician with Olathe Health Family Medicine. As a pro-life, Catholic physician, he will not prescribe artificial birth control. “The church says not to,” he said. “That being said, I know that a lot of medications for contraception are also abortifacients, which I’m not at all OK with. [My wife and I] practice natural family planning.” Johnston, a native of Wichita, graduated from Newman College in Wichita with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2010. He received his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2014. He spent
his residency at Via Christi Family Medicine in Wichita and received his board certification in family medicine from the American Board of Family Medicine. He and his wife belong to the Church of the Ascension Parish in Overland Park. Johnston was up front about his prolife convictions when he interviewed for Olathe Health to become its fourth physician. And he was delighted to learn that one of the four physicians already on staff — Dr. Patrick R. Herrick — shared his approach to contraceptives. “When I was interviewing, I knew right away that this was a great fit,” said Johnston. “They all do broad spectrum family medicine, and they do inpatient [hospital] side as well. They’re all very smart and very caring, and people I knew would help me in that transition.” “But one thing that set this practice apart was meeting Dr. Herrick,” he continued. “I was able to talk with him and see he was able to have as Catholic a practice as you could get . . . and that it worked well. He felt no pressure to change how he practiced and they let him basically do his thing. “I knew if he was able to practice like that, I would be able to, too. And I’d have a mentor and a physician for my family.” In fact, he was pleased to discover that there was a strong demand in Olathe for Catholic doctors. When patients ask him about prescribing birth control, he talks with
them in a respectful way, objectively laying out the risks and benefits, as well as why he has decided not to prescribe. “I try to avoid the phrase, ‘I can’t help you,’” said Johnston. “I let them know right away that I’m a Catholic doctor and I prescribe in a Catholic way. “We always address the issue, because there are a lot of different reasons why people want to use birth control. It might be as simple as regulating periods. “I tell them, ‘Here’s the risks of birth control medications,’ and ‘Is it worth the benefit of regulating your periods?’” He lets them know about benefits, risks and alternatives, and offers information about natural family planning. Sometimes they’re interested in NFP, and sometimes they want to continue using birth control. “I let them know that I’m not going to judge them,” he said. “[I tell them] I’ll still love you and still treat you as best I can. If you want to use another OB or family medicine provider, that’s up to you.” In addition to his work at Olathe Health, Johnston is the medical director of the Olathe Pregnancy Clinic, which will open in August. He will sign off on ultrasounds, ensure the clinic meets accreditation, advise regarding abnormal symptoms and ultrasounds, and make referrals for obstetric care when needed. Herrick will provide occasional assistance at the clinic as well.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS
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Topeka teacher sets her course at an early age By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org
T
OPEKA — Some people never know the impact they have on the world. But Raymond Martin, a member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in Topeka, is one of the lucky ones. He has been given a glimpse into his lasting legacy within the Topeka Catholic community. According to Theresa Adame, one of his five children, it all started when Raymond and his late wife Florence moved the family from Rossville to a house across the street from the parish’s grade school. “That was one of Mom’s requirements,” Theresa said. “We had to be within walking distance of a Catholic school.” All five children — three daughters and two sons — attended and graduated from the parish grade school and Hayden, the city’s only Catholic high school. Family members learned reading, writing and arithmetic, but also what it meant to be Catholic and serve your neighbor. Those lessons, they said, were constantly reinforced at home. They were encouraged to pray for and consider religious vocations, and often they prayed the rosary as a family in the car. Although he does not recall the specific date, Raymond still remembers the moment his oldest daughter Sharon made an announcement about her future. “I asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up,” Raymond said. “She said she wanted to be a fourth-grade teacher at Most Pure Heart of Mary.” At the time, Sharon was probably 10 or 11. “I thought it was quite a request. I never thought it would come true, but it did,” he said. Perhaps Raymond and Florence should not have been surprised. After all, they valued Catholic education so much that Raymond worked “a massive amount of overtime” to be able to afford tuition. And Sharon remembers always being interested in teaching. “I loved getting books. I loved reading books,” she said. “I loved anything associated with learning. Theresa recalls how Sharon cut out pictures of kids from publications to make a seating chart for her classroom. While some little girls played with paper dolls, she said, Sharon was planning her career. “She had a school newspaper. She had articles for her school,” added Theresa. “That’s how she played.” All true, Sharon admitted. “I had people who were absent every day, and I took absentees,” she said. After graduating from Washburn University in 1973, Sharon spent a semester teaching in a Title I program at the former Our Lady of Guadalupe
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTY SHEETZ
Sharon Martin, fourth-grade teacher at Most Pure Heart of Mary School in Topeka, works with Evan White in class. Martin told her father when she was just a little older than Evan that her goal was to become Most Pure Heart’s fourth-grade teacher.
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“I PICKED SHARON OVER THE HAMSTER, TURTLE AND FISH. THAT WAS A BIG DEAL FOR A 5-YEAR-OLD.” School in Topeka. After that, in fall of 1974, she was hired by Sister Lynn Casey, SCL, principal of Most Pure Heart of Mary School, where she has served as a fourth-grade teacher ever since. And while a few things have changed through the years such as technology and class sizes, Sharon said much has remained constant, most importantly the school’s mission — to help students, teachers and families grow in the fullness of Catholic faith. “That’s always been the mission,” Sharon said. That mission is exactly why Raymond and Florence sent their children to the school, and Sharon’s example has inspired three other family members to pursue similar careers. Rachel Anderson, one of Sharon’s nieces, serves as the grade school’s band director and technology instructor. At age 5, she chose to attend Most Pure Heart of Mary, mainly thanks to her aunt’s presence. “I went to a couple kindergarten roundups,” she said, and the other school she visited had a hamster, turtle and fish.
“We came here,” she continued, “and this place was cool, but it had Sharon. I told my parents I wanted to come here. “I picked Sharon over the hamster, turtle and fish. That was a big deal for a 5-year-old,” she said. Today, Rachel is married to Nick Anderson, a sixth-grade teacher at Christ the King School in Topeka. The couple’s son represents the third generation to enroll at Most Pure Heart of Mary. Nick said the faithfulness of Raymond, Sharon, Rachel and the rest of the family caused him to evaluate life’s purpose in ways he didn’t expect. “When I was dating Rachel, the appeal of her family was the love they all had for each other,” he said. “I wasn’t Catholic,” he added, “but because of how much they exemplified their faith — not through words but through action — it made me want to join the Catholic Church. “So, I went through RCIA and eventually, because they were teachers here, I wanted to be a teacher in the Catholic community as well.” And Nick wasn’t the only extended family member influenced by the family’s example. Lawrence Martin, the youngest of the five children born to Raymond and Florence, sent his three children through Christ the King Grade School and Hayden. Like Nick, his wife Kim was not raised Catholic, but converted to the Catholic faith. In her fifth year of teaching sixthgrade language arts and social studies at Most Pure Heart of Mary, Kim said she
cannot imagine teaching anywhere else. “In a public school, you cannot ask a student, ‘Is that something that Jesus would do?’” she said. Lawrence, who graduated from Hayden in 1980, serves as the current chair of the high school’s board of trustees and believes Catholic education is “the best investment you can make for your children.” Theresa agreed. “You don’t realize how much your school and education impact you until you start thinking about it,” she said. “Who would have guessed all of this would have happened when [Mom and Dad] moved into the house across the street?” Sharon, who plans to retire at the end of this school year, becomes emotional when she thinks about not being in her classroom anymore. “[Teaching] is so much a part of my heart and soul,” she said. While she’s never tried to count the number of students she’s taught, she thinks it’s been around 1,500, give or take. She has treasured all her students and enjoyed sharing with them her personal experiences of how Jesus has worked in her life. Ultimately, Rachel said, it’s all about Jesus anyway. “Our slogan is: ‘Disciples for Life,’” she said. “We’re all really trying to get these kids to heaven.” It’s a goal of which Raymond is proud. “Of course, they learned it from me,” he said with a grin.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS
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TOOLS FOR FAMILIES Growing as Disciples of Jesus
Plan a spiritual summer Registration is open for many upcoming summer activities that you and your family can take advantage of. Here are some ways you can keep summer spiritual: • Volunteer at parish summer events like garage and rummage sales or picnics. • Check your parish for vacation Bible ARTWORK BY NEILSON CARLIN, 2015 school or children’s programs. • Enroll your kids in Camp Tekakwitha. • Make a pilgrimage to a cathedral or holy site • Attend the Midwest Catholic Family Conference in Wichita. • Choose a family service project for your church or community. — Ray Martin, family life, Church of the Ascension, Overland Park
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE MCSORLEY
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann leads a “Trust One Greater” gathering of young adult Catholics April 11 at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, Lawrence.
WEBSITE EXCLUSIVE
Be not afraid of authenticity
CHURCH OF THE WEEK
By Olivia Martin olivia.martin@theleaven.org
L St. Patrick, Kansas City, Kansas Address: 1086 N. 94th St., 66112 Pastor: Msgr. Mike Mullen Mass times: Saturday, 5 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11 a.m. in English; 12:45 p.m. in Spanish; and 2:30 p.m. in Chin Burmese. Email: frmullen@archkckcs.org Website: www.saintpatrickkcks.com MORE PHOTOS AND A VIDEO TOUR of this church can be seen online at: www.theleaven.org.
WEBSITE EXCLUSIVE
TEAM OF THE WEEK SOFTBALL
Bishop Miege High School
The Bishop Miege softball team was in action on April 17. The girls lost a double header to Mill Valley High School. Leaven photographer Lori Wood Habiger captured the action. Check out her photos on The Leaven’s Facebook page.
AWRENCE — Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann shared a question of his with a group of students a few weeks ago — a question some may consider shocking: “I’m not sure I believe in God. And if there is a God, I’m not sure if Jesus really is who he claimed to be.” It was a question from the archbishop’s youth, and he was sharing it with those gathered at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas for the “Trust One Greater” event on April 11. The archbishop recalled asking those questions of a priest at his seminary college the summer before his junior year. It was the 1960s — a time of great societal and cultural change — and his vocational discernment process had hit a wall. More interesting than his questions was the priest’s response. “He made a suggestion that I’ll always be grateful for,” said Archbishop Naumann. “He pointed me to the 11th chapter of Luke’s Gospel, where the disciples ask one of their better questions. “They said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ “So, Jesus gave them the Our Father as an instructional prayer.” The archbishop shared this vignette, among others, to encour-
age those gathered to spend time with God in prayer — even if that is simply asking him to show his face. And do not be afraid to ask authentic questions, he told them, especially with the Synod of Bishops on “Young people, faith, and vocational discernment” approaching this October. “A synod,” he explained, “is a gathering of a representative group of bishops. There will be a delegation from our country and every other episcopal conference in the world to reflect and pray over questions [from the youth].” In preparation for the synod, Pope Francis has asked bishops from every diocese in the world to offer input, questions and suggestions by participating in dialogue with local youth — both Catholic and non-Catholic, religious and secular — in an effort to understand the modern young person so as to better serve him or her. As he has in other settings, Archbishop Naumann sought to gather input from the young adults present through a Q&A or “stump the bishop” session, in addition to participating in eucharistic adoration and praise and worship together. Chris Hilger, a student at KU from Russell, contributed to the praise and worship music of the night and came with an interest to have a chance for his community to directly engage with the archbishop. “I wanted to listen to some responses to the questions asked . . .
because I want to know how to be a better Catholic,” he said. “It’s always interesting to hear other people’s perspectives and the issues they care about.” Also participating in the Q&A was Kelsi Mclaughlin of Olathe. She was struck by the authenticity of the archbishop’s account of his own vocational discernment. “And when he talked about the Our Father and how that is more of an instructional on how to pray, [it] gave me a new perspective on prayer,” she said. The questions asked ranged from what pressing pastoral issues are now facing the archdiocese to how to understand the God of the Old Testament in light of the New Testament.. In addition to diligently responding to each question, the archbishop gave a bottom-line synthesis to the questions proposed. “I need you,” he said. “The church needs you because you have the opportunity to speak to other young people that I’ll never get the chance to talk to unless you help bring them to the church.” He also outlined what each person can do to begin inviting others into the church: “Know your faith well . . . and be bold and fearless in entering into conversations with other people about why your Catholic faith means so much to you. “When others see the faith lived, it’s very attractive.”
First Savior class planning reunion KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The first graduating class of the former Savior of the World Seminary will be holding its 50th class reunion on Oct. 5-7 at Savior Pastoral Center here. The class of 1968 is seeking contact information for this historic occasion. For more details, contact Chris Cruz at (785) 249-1528, or by email at: CCruz74583@aol.com; David Nivens at (816) 898-8825, or by email at: dnivens@ securitybankkc.com; or Greg Rothwell at (703) 731-1571, or by email at: Greg.Rothwell@evermayconsulting.com.
The first graduating class of Savior of the World Seminary will hold its 50th class reunion on Oct. 5-7.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS Benedictine College recommended in 2018-19 edition of The Newman Guide
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TCHISON — Benedictine College here is recommended in the 2018-19 edition of The Newman Guide, the flagship project of The Cardinal Newman Society that recommends 28 Catholic colleges, universities and higher education programs for excellence in faithful Catholic education. The Newman Society launched a
Mary (Moragues) and Larry Lenherr, members of Immaculate Conception Parish, St. Marys, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on May 4. The couple was married on May 4, 1968, at St. John Church on the campus of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Their children are: Jeff Lenherr, Sherry Smith, Ann Pendley, Ed Lenherr, Beth Lenherr and Jake Lenherr. They also have 13 grandchildren. They plan a special family dinner in May.
Want to help someone heal from an abortion? Call or text 913-621-2199
completely redesigned website at: www.TheNewmanGuide.com on April 23 and updated profiles of all of the recommended colleges. The expanded guide’s online content goes beyond highlighting important differences among faithful colleges. It also helps families understand the value of a Catholic education, how to navigate the college search and how to guide students
Janet (Mankameyer) and Bob Sherman, members of Church of the Ascension, Overland Park, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a Caribbean cruise, a family dinner and party, and a renewal of vows at Ascension. They are also planning trip to Omaha, Nebraska, where they met. The couple was married on April 20, 1968, at St. Bernadette Church in Westlake, Ohio. Their children are: Michael Sherman, Shawnee; and Melissa Sherman Ely, Overland Park. They also have five grandchildren.
in growing their faith on campus. For graduates of Newman Guide colleges and others, the society’s new website at: www.CatholicEdJobs.com connects faithful Catholic schools and colleges with qualified job candidates who are dedicated to their Catholic faith and the mission of Catholic education.
Ruth (Vogel) and George Barter, members of St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on April 26. The couple was married on April 26, 1958, at St. Mary Church, Greensburg, Indiana. Their children are: Marilyn Kennedy, Debra Huntsman, Anita Garvert, Paul Barter, Laura Millazo, Phillip Barter and Karen Cunningham. They also have 19 grandchildren (two deceased) and four great-grandchildren (one deceased).
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Ursuline Sister celebrates jubilee of religious life
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APLE MOUNT, Ky. — Sister Grace Swift, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph here, is celebrating her 70th year of religious life. She was an Ursuline Sister of Paola until that community merged with Mount Saint Joseph in 2008. Sister Grace, a native of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was a teacher at St. Patrick School, Paola (1949); Holy Name School, Kansas City, Kansas (1950-55); Holy Angels School, Garnett (1956-57); and Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park (1958-62, 1965). She taught one year at Bishop McGinnis High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1957-58). She served as a history professor at Loyola University in New Orleans from 1966-98. She was elected to the Ursuline Council (1998-2002) and served at the Paola motherhouse until 2009, when she moved to Maple Mount. She now cares for grapevines and blackberries at the motherhouse. Jubilee congratulations may be sent to: Ursuline Sisters, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.
Passion talk rescheduled ATCHISON — Thomas W. McGovern, a surgeon with Fort Wayne (Indiana) Dermatology Consultants, had to cancel his talk, “Another Doctor at Calvary: Myths and New Understandings Regarding Jesus’ Passion,” that was scheduled for April 23 at Benedictine College here. The talk was rescheduled for Oct. 1.
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THE 60-YEAR JOURNEY OF Story by JOE BOLLIG Photos by LORI WOOD HABIGER
K
ANSAS CITY, Kan. — You may not know it, but the Yellow Brick Road runs from Chicago to northeastern Kansas. Well, maybe not for Dorothy and Toto, but it did for Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher. The archbishop was born on the South Side of Chicago. His family was devout Irish-Catholic, and priests were respected in the Keleher household. It was no surprise when his pastor pointed him to a minor (high school) seminary. “Jimmy, you ought to be a priest,” said Msgr. Jim Walsh. “You should go to Quigley. I’ll take you down there and show you around.” And so began the journey of James Patrick Keleher. The Yellow Brick Road wound from Chicago and down to the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, before it would bring Archbishop Keleher to his beloved “heartland,” the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The priesthood and journey of Archbishop Keleher was celebrated during a Mass on April 12 commemorating the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on April 12, 1958, by Cardinal Samuel Stritch in Chicago. Archbishop Keleher was the main celebrant and homilist. He was joined at the altar by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, two deacons and 45 priests of the archdiocese. The day was filled with affection and laughter, appreciation and prayer. It began with the Mass in the Savior Pastoral Center’s main chapel and continued with a tribute luncheon that turned into a somewhat gentle roast, with master of ceremonies Msgr. Michael Mullen of St. Patrick Parish in Kansas City, Kansas.
Warm hospitality The tag-team for the tribute (or roast, if you prefer) was provided by the two men who served as the archbishop’s vicars general: Msgr. Thomas Tank, pastor of Ascension Parish in Overland Park, and Msgr. Charles McGlinn, now retired from Curé of Ars Parish in Leawood. Monsignor Tank recounted how, many moons ago, he had been sent by Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker to check out Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. The seminary rector — Father Keleher — made a lasting and good impression. “At the time Archbishop Strecker was retiring as our archbishop, the [apostolic] nuncio sent out a letter asking for recommendations,” said Msgr. Tank. The letter requested first that we give our input on “the type of bishop that we needed,” said Msgr. Tank, “and secondly, even to mention a few names of individuals.” “I’ve never told Archbishop Keleher this,” he continued, “but I did put his name on the list that I sent back in, because I really thought at that time that we needed a low-maintenance archbishop.” “I was totally fooled,” he deadpanned to great laughter and applause. Archbishop Keleher’s arrival in Kansas was met with a great sense of joy
CELEBRATING 60
Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest on April 12 with a special Mass at Savior Pastoral Center.
and enthusiasm, he said. “He came in and really took the archdiocese by storm because of his love of people,” added Msgr. Tank, “not just some people, but everyone.” “If you ever went out to dinner or lunch with [the] archbishop, he’d always say to the waiters and waitresses, ‘What’s your name? What do you do? Where do you go?’ “There was an absolute concern for everyone — that whole sense of hospitality. Believe me, it’s one of the greatest gifts Archbishop [Keleher] has given to our archdiocese — that sense of warm hospitality, of welcome, of trying to reach out to individuals.” “Long before Pope Francis talked about the joy of the Gospel,” Msgr. Tank said, “Archbishop Keleher was living it so very beautifully.” Then turning to the archbishop, he said: “Archbishop, you’re also a wonderful example for all of us, an example of reaching out to the peripheries, of being so concerned with those who are so marginalized and are hurting in our society.” “We really have been blessed with your presence, with the witness of life that you give, of being truly that sacramental presence of Christ. “Truly, you image Christ so beautifully in your life.” For his part, Msgr. Charles McGlinn started out by noting the positive effect Archbishop Keleher had on vocations. “Archbishop, you’ve always been really interested in the youth and supported
them in the church in so many wonderful ways,” said Msgr. McGlinn. “When you came, I think we had three seminarians,” he noted. “At the end of your tenure, I think we had 30-plus. You had a lot of help. . . . But if it weren’t for you, we’d still have aught-three.” Then he, too, offered the archbishop his sincere thanks. “You have been a wonderful gift for the archdiocese, and especially for the presbyterate,” he said. “I think you epitomized the qualities of a wonderful priest for us, and have created such great fraternity and unity within this fraternity.
“You were the personality who really pulled it together.” “The whole church has benefited from it,” he concluded. “For that and so many other wonderful gifts you’ve brought to the archdiocese, I thank you.”
Building on a firm foundation Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann was next to address the group, expressing his appreciation for Archbishop Keleher’s leadership and the firm foundation he
F JAMES PATRICK KELEHER BLOOD OF CHRIST
Together with 45 priests of the archdiocese, Archbishop Keleher celebrated Mass on the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
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Appreciation
n his homily at the anniversary Mass, Archbishop Emeritus Keleher expressed gratitude toward those who helped him during his tenure and retirement. “I want to thank this wonderful [Archbishop Naumann],” said Archbishop Keleher. “He treats me like a brother — too well.” “I know from experience,” he continued, “it doesn’t always work out that way. . . . He always encourages me. “And you priests, you are my inspiration. I never knew a group of priests that are more devoted to their people. “You’re great priests and you help me to be a better priest. Thank you very much.” Turning to the Scriptures, Archbishop Keleher offered a reflection on how God dwells among us through the Eucharist, and how Jesus gave his life for each of us. These two truths are very personal for him. He also talked about the appearance of Jesus to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (24:13-35). In these passages, the two disciples ask Jesus to stay with them because it was almost evening. “For me, I like this because it tells me something about myself,” he said. “Always ask Jesus to stay with you, because it’s almost evening and the day is almost over. “For me, who knows? Maybe in another five years — who knows? But [I know] Jesus loves me, and has given himself up for me, you and all of us. “God bless you.”
The pilgrim’s mileposts
ALL SMILES
Priests of the archdiocese share a laugh over one of Archbishop Keleher’s remarks. In the foreground, from left, are Father Bill Porter, Msgr. Vince Krische and Father Francis Hund.
laid for his successor to build upon. “Coming to the archdiocese here, there was such positive momentum in the life of the church,” said Archbishop Naumann. “You created this culture, and we’re living off of that energy and momentum.”
Archbishop Naumann went down a long list of his predecessor’s achievements: recruiting a good staff and ministry leaders, building up vocations, establishing Prairie Star Ranch as an investment in young people, supporting existing schools and building two new schools, building new parishes and more. “It’s true, you’ve got that personality that people are drawn to and like to be around, and it’s because of the joy you bring,” said Archbishop Naumann. “If we believe what is in the Gospel, how can we not be filled with joy? You exemplify it.” He said he was grateful that Archbishop Keleher asked for him to be his coadjutor, giving him those nine crucial months to get to know people and the
TWO LEADERS
Archbishop Keleher, left, and Archbishop Naumann reflect on their time together. Archbishop Naumann credited Archbishop Keleher with creating a positive culture and energy in the archdiocese.
lay of the land prior to his transition into his current role. “After that fateful day . . . when Pope John Paul II accepted your retirement and I became the archbishop, you did everything you could to support me and encourage me, and also to encourage many others who love you to continue to stay engaged and help the church with its mission,” he said. And most of all, said Archbishop Nau-
• Born in Chicago on July 31, 1931 • Graduated from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, 1951 • Graduated with degrees in philosophy and theology from St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary, 1958 • Ordained a priest on April 12, 1958 • Earned a doctorate in sacred theology from Mundelein, 1962 • Associate pastor of St. Henry Parish, 1962 • Academic dean at Quigley North, 1966-1969 • Dean of formation at Niles College, 1969-1972 • Dean of formation at Mundelein, 1972-1975 • Rector of Quigley South, 19751978 • President and rector of Mundelein and associate professor of systematic theology, 1978-1984 • Ordained bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, Dec. 11, 1984 • Installed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Sept. 8, 1993 • Resigned as archbishop, Jan. 15, 2005; began ministry as archbishop emeritus
mann, he was grateful for Archbishop Keleher’s faithfulness and friendship. “You mentioned [in your remarks that] the evening is upon us,” said Archbishop Naumann. “We hope this is very early evening. “The archdiocese needs your spirit and example for many more years, and your example to me of the ministry of bishop and to be a real shepherd for God’s people.”
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
NATION
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Catholic, other groups voice misgivings over 2018 farm bill By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service
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ASHINGTON (CNS) — With the 2018 version of the farm bill having been voted out of committee for consideration by the full House, Catholic groups and other rural advocates are voicing their misgivings about many of its provisions. Conservation programs that reward farmers and ranchers were zeroed out of the bill passed April 18 by the House Agriculture Committee. “Safety net” programs were boosted only marginally to aid farmers who have been getting dwindling prices for their crops and who could be the first victims of a trade war as tariffs are imposed on their produce. Another part of the bill rewrites the eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, which could kick out 2 million Americans from the program, according to six Catholic leaders. “Eighty percent of the farm bill is around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It’s significant when we hear it’s going to include some dramatic cuts,” said James Ennis, executive director of Catholic Rural Life. About $1 billion would be cut from the Conservation Stewardship Program, according to Ennis. “Farmers need incentives,” he said. “They have a safety net, but they need incentives to protect soil and environmental resources. . . . It ultimately discourages conservation efforts. We’re really concerned about that.” “It is sneaky in the sense that they’ve crafted this bill that you make it sound positive at face value: Why couldn’t people who get food assistance work 20 hours a week, or they can do workforce development or skills training instead of working 20 hours? What could be the problem? As always, the devil is in the details,” said Dominican Sister Quincy Howard, a government relations fellow at Network, the nun-run Catholic social justice lobby. “More than 90 percent of SNAP benefits goes to actual nutrition assistance. It’s known as being highly functional. What the bill is doing is pulling $23 billion out of what it does best and they propose investing $15 billion into workforce development programs,” Sister Howard said. “The problem is $15 billion going toward a program like this is woefully inadequate to provide any kind of adequate workforce training. I think it comes out to $30 per person per month. And they have problems beyond a skills gap.” Moreover, Sister Howard said, the 2014 farm bill allocated money for a series of experimental workforce training programs, and a report on their effectiveness is not due until next year. “So they won’t know what will work for the money they’re spending,” she added. Other nonfarm aspects of the farm bill — long considered a necessity to get Congress’ urban and suburban members on board — include international food aid. Here, “things have fared a lot better than on the domestic side,” said Eric Garduno, Catholic Relief Services’ Washington-based senior policy and legislative specialist. Congress has “come out in strong support for food programs: the Mc-
CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER
A barn is seen on a farm in 2017 in Waynesville, N.C. Catholic and other groups are voicing their misgivings on a 2018 version of the farm bill. Govern bill, Food for Progress, both authorized through the farm bill,” Garduno told Catholic News Service. “It’s important in this environment because this administration for the last couple of years . . . in the annual budget releases has called for zeroing out these programs. I think the farm bill is a clear indication that they continue to support these programs even if the administration doesn’t.” CRS, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, and Mercy Corps were two of 25 international relief agencies that signed on to an April 17 statement on the farm bill. The House version of the farm bill “advances key reforms that our community supports, such as removing the requirement to monetize commodities in Title II of the Food for Peace Program and recognizing the role of the Community Development Fund in Title II Development Food Security Activities,” the statement said. “These are important changes that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Food for Peace Program.” Other signers included Bread for the World, CARE, Church World Ser-
vice, Feed the Children, Food for the Hungry, Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision. Six top Catholic clergy, religious and lay leaders sent an April 18 letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas, and Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minnesota, the ranking member. In it, they lauded a set-aside to benefit beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers, the reauthorization of funds for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and the Rural Business Investment Program, and a funding increase for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative. “The bill makes modest improvements to SNAP by updating its asset and vehicle limits and fixing the adjusted limits to inflation over time. Continued improvements to the asset limits should provide working families both the incentive and the ability to build savings,” the letter said. But “the bill could cause as many as 2 million individuals to lose their benefits, and potentially remove state flexibility in 42 states. These changes par-
CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER
Early morning light streams across a barn in 2017 on a farm in Waynesville, N.C.
ticularly hurt working families making between 130 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty line. State options for broad-based categorical eligibility should be maintained,” it added. And while penalties exist for SNAP recipients not complying with work requirements, “the new bill, however, would increase the penalty for the first violation to one full year, and to three full years for the second violation,” the letter said. “Rural communities may find compliance especially challenging given that job training programs are often located far away, and there is insufficient access to transportation.” Signing the letter were Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who is chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace; Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; CRS president Sean Callahan; Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA; Catholic Rural Life’s Ennis; and Ralph Middlecamp, president of the National Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Farmers and ranchers have the highest suicide rate of any U.S. occupation, said Matt Perdue, a lobbyist for the National Farmers Union, which came out April 18 against the bill. Counselors and therapists are hard to come by in sparsely populated rural areas, he added. Perdue pointed to the Farmers First Act, introduced April 19 in the Senate, which would authorize $50 million over the next five years for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, which hasn’t been funded since it was established in the 2008 farm bill. “It doesn’t guarantee that this program will be funded in the long term,” Perdue said, since the House farm bill allocates no money for it. He added, “We are cognizant that we are setting up a long-term campaign on this issue.”
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
WORLD
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Clean water to gangs, Salvadoran archbishop focuses on poor By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service
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ASHINGTON (CNS) — Few church leaders face having to fill the shoes of a predecessor who’s about to become an official saint of the Catholic Church. But it’s hardly on the mind of the seventh leader of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas, whose list of worries simply doesn’t allow him time to think about it. He carried that long list with him on a recent trip to Washington, where he was advocating for immigrants from his native El Salvador. Along the way, the 59-year-old archbishop fielded questions about El Salvador’s mounting woes: environmental problems that include a contaminated and dwindling water supply in the country, relentless gang violence, and growing inequality and corruption that does not let his country of roughly 6 million — about half of them Catholic — find respite from its endless crises. During interviews with Catholic News Service April 11 and 13, he discussed what troubles him the most about those problems, which he’s been dealing with since his 2009 elevation as archbishop. “You know what’s the saddest part about it?” he asked. “They affect the same set of people the most. Yes, they affect everyone, all of us, but in principal, they affect primarily the poor the most and that hurts a lot.” Though Archbishop Escobar initially comes across as bookish and shy, his passion shines through when he speaks about the population his predecessor Blessed Oscar Romero focused on the most during his three years in the post, from 1977 until his assassination in 1980. “As a church, we’re with the poor. We’re in solidarity with them and our battles are for them; that’s why we lift up our voices — for just laws for everyone — but, above all, for the poor. Because as Blessed Oscar Romero used to say, the laws in our country are like a snake, and like a serpent, they bite the one who is barefoot.” Last year, the archbishop spearheaded a battle backed by the Salvadoran Catholic Church that effectively led the country to become the first nation in the world to ban metal mining. Wearing a Roman collar and gray clerical shirt, he marched along with environmentalists and activists, through the streets of the capital of San Salvador toward the country’s legislative assembly, the equivalent of Congress, to speak about mining as a process detrimental to the country’s dwindling water supply. Just before leaving for his U.S. trip, he was checking in on his archdiocese’s efforts to collect signatures around the country’s Catholic parishes calling for a clean water act. The archbishop worries about a possible reversal of the mining law as international companies seem intent on finding a way to extract gold and other metals in the northern part of the country. “And that just can’t happen,” he said. “Why is that? Because mining doesn’t just contaminate water but it also poisons it.” The Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs says up to 90 percent of the country’s water is contaminated by sewage and industrial chem-
CNS PHOTO/TYLER ORSBURN
Salvadoran Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas is seen at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington April 13. icals. To the archbishop, it is an issue the church must respond to because without clean water, it is the poor who become ill and ultimately die. And it is heartbreaking to visit rural and poor areas and see the faces of children suffering the consequences, he said. “They are the protagonists of this situation,” he said. “We have many homes that don’t even have access to water. It’s a sad situation to see children sick [because of it] and how can that be? In the 21st century, how can that possibly happen?” When Pope Francis spoke in 2017 about the universal right to access
clean water, “he was thinking of countries like El Salvador,” the archbishop said. “Water is a right, an undeniable right, [in El Salvador] and around the world,” he said. “We want to form consciences because there are still people who don’t understand the gravity of the problem.” But if clean water is a major problem affecting the lives of so many Salvadorans, so is the relentless violence, which arrived at the doorstep of El Salvador’s clergy during Holy Week this year. On Holy Thursday, a 36-year-old priest from the Diocese of Santiago de Maria
CNS PHOTO/ROBERTO ESCOBAR, EPA
A Salvadoran woman works outside her makeshift home in Soyopango, just outside San Salvador.
in eastern El Salvador was shot and killed en route to celebrate Mass, hours after renewing his vows on the day the church celebrates the institution of the priesthood. Authorities suspect it was a gang killing but have failed to apprehend suspects in the case. On Easter, under a blazing sun, the archbishop marched behind the coffin carrying Father Walter Vasquez Jimenez in Lolotique, El Salvador. At his funeral Mass, he called for justice for those who took his life but also those who daily take the lives of the country’s innocent citizens. On Capitol Hill, he said El Salvador’s problems go back centuries and have been historically caused by the idolatry of money, impunity, corruption, social injustice and inequality, and individualism. They began centuries ago, when the indigenous people of the country had to face the conquistadors who answered uprisings with massacres, stripping the native people of their lives and lands, and the best survivors could hope for were unjust salaries and inhumane treatment, he said. The causes and effects trickled into history and toward conditions that led to El Salvador’s 12-year armed conflict, from 1980 to 1992, that left more than 70,000 civilians dead — among them two of the country’s bishops, one of them was Blessed Romero, said Archbishop Escobar. But it also led to the death of more than 500 Catholic laity as well 24 “consecrated lives,” whom the archbishop wants the Vatican to consider as martyrs. Even after peace accords were signed in 1992, “peace never arrived,” the archbishop said at the U.S. Capitol April 13. Through the years, many of the country’s Catholic bishops, including his predecessors, denounced the conditions, “but there wasn’t a response,” he said. “Promises were made during the peace accords, but they went unfulfilled. There wasn’t justice. Impunity continued. There was an amnesty law that sought to cover up crimes against humanity,” he said. That has made it difficult for El Salvador to move forward. “This has led to the situation we find ourselves in today because the causes continue,” he said. “We face a collective resentment because of a lack of social justice in the peripheries, where there are no opportunities to advance.” Though the government has made an effort to tamp down the violence, it isn’t working. With sadness in his voice, he told the story of a woman who couldn’t send her child to school past fourth grade because gangs threatened him not to go past his home’s front stoop. A gang leader threatened the boy with death if he went into a competing gang’s territory. The country’s youth watch as their parents struggle to provide for them in a country with a scarcity of employment, much less work with dignity, or even the chance to lead healthy lives,” he said. “This is the broth which the gangs cultivate,” he said. Seemingly aware that it’s now his time to denounce injustice and call for change, he often tells others to keep working for a better day and to keep praying, because in heaven Blessed Romero and other Salvadoran martyrs intercede for them, so that one day El Salvador will be free from its woes.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT Teacher assistant - Special Beginnings, Lenexa, is seeking full- or part-time after-school teacher assistants at all locations. We are looking for a teacher assistant candidate who has an excellent work ethic, heart for children and a willingness to learn more about early childhood education. Experience and/or education is a plus, but we will train the right candidate. Teacher assistants will work with the lead teacher to care for and educate the children. Primary responsibilities include assisting the lead teacher with: care and supervision of children, lesson plan implementation, parent communication, and cleanliness and organization of classroom. Starting hourly pay ranges based on experience and education. Pay increases are based on job performance. Opportunities for advancement are available, as the company prefers to promote from within. Apply by sending an email to: chris@specialbeginningsonline.com or in person at 10216 Pflumm Rd., Lenexa, KS 66215. Caregivers - We help seniors stay independent. You are passionate about caregiving. Benefits of Home - Senior Care is looking for compassionate caregivers to help us care for our clients! Part or full time, we work to meet your schedule and provide training. (913) 422-1422 or www.benefitsofhome.com. Do you enjoy driving? - The Kansas City Transportation Group is looking for chauffeurs to drive our guests to events, airport, dinner, etc. Business is growing and we are in need of workers with flexible hours, those who are retired, etc. Great pay and benefits. Send resume to: jkalbert@kctg.com or in person at Carey, 1300 Lydia Ave., Kansas City, MO 64106. Career opportunity - Due to the success and growth of the Knights of Columbus, we are adding a financial representative in the Kansas City metro and Topeka areas. Ideal for a determined, high energy, high expectation, professional, self-disciplined, independent individual desiring to serve others, yet earn a better than average income. We provide top-rated financial products to our members and their families and will provide excellent benefits and training. This is a full-time position. Please contact John A. Mahon, general agent, for more information or an interview at 1275 Topeka Blvd., Topeka, KS 66612 or call (785) 408-8806. You can also send an email to: john.mahon@kofc.org. Drivers - Special Beginnings Early Learning Center is seeking part-time drivers for its school-age program located in Lenexa. Candidates must be able to drive a 13-passenger minibus, similar to a 15-passenger van. CDL not required, but must have an excellent driving record. Candidates would pick up children from area schools and then work directly with them when arriving back at the center. Experience preferred. Must have strong work ethic and the ability to work with children. Insurance provided. Background check will be conducted. Great opportunity for retired persons or those seeking a second job. Job responsibilities include: ensuring safety and well-being of children who are being transported at all times, including loading and unloading. Driving short, round-trip routes to elementary schools in Lenexa/Olathe area. Summer only: Driving short, roundtrip routes to two Lenexa city pools. Maintaining mileage log. Keeping interior of vehicle clean. Apply by sending an email to: chris@specialbeginningsonline.com or in person at 10216 Pflumm Rd., Lenexa, KS 66215. Preschool teaching positions - St. Ann Young Child Center in Prairie Village is looking to fill staff positions for the 2018-19 school year. Seeking a part-time 3-year-olds preschool teaching position for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45 a.m. - noon. A degree in education is required. Also seeking a part-time preschool aide for Monday - Friday from 8:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Experience preferred but not necessary. Finally, seeking an extended-day aide for Monday through Friday from 3 - 6 p.m. If you love working with children and are looking for part-time work at our distinguished Young Child Center, call Tati at (913) 3624660. Pastoral ministry coordinator – St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood is seeking a highly motivated “people person” to fill the full-time staff position of pastoral ministry coordinator. The key roles of this position include working with parish families to schedule and prepare for the sacraments of baptism and marriage; coordinating ministry to the sick and homebound; and coordinating funerals. For more information and a complete job description, go to: www.stmichaelcp.org and click on “Our Parish/Employment Opportunities.” Director of evangelization - St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood is seeking a dynamic, faith-filled individual to fill this newly created position. The director of evangelization will collaborate closely with the pastor and director of religious education to create and execute a comprehensive plan for evangelization. This will include pre-evangelization; outreach and invitation; proclamation of the Gospel; facilitating retreats; and adult formation opportunities with the goal of making intentional disciples. This position will also oversee the parish RCIA program. The preferred candidate will be a prayerful, practicing Catholic; an inspirational teacher with experience in the field; articulate and confident in matters of faith with an obvious passion for evangelization. A master’s degree in religious studies or theology is preferred, but we will accept a candidate with a bachelor’s degree who also has experience in leading faith formation programs. For more information and a complete job description, go to: www. stmichaelcp.org and click on “Our Parish/Employment Opportunities.”
Youth outreach coordinator - The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is seeking a dynamic individual for urban youth ministry at Reach KCK. The Wyandotte County youth outreach coordinator will assist with the creation and implementation of programs, as well as develop training for those serving the evangelization, youth ministry and catechesis efforts in Wyandotte County. The ideal candidate will be committed to Catholic teaching, knowledgeable in theology and catechesis, and possess leadership skills with a track record of innovation and collaboration. This position requires fluent bilingual abilities in English and Spanish; a bachelor’s degree, preferably in youth ministry, theology or related field; master’s degree preferred. Also a minimum of five years of program management experience relatable to the position is preferred. For a full job description, go to: www.archkck.org/jobs. Interested candidates must submit a cover letter expressing your desire to serve the church in this position; resume; letter of support from your pastor; and a completed application form (available on the web page) to: jobs@archkck. org, or by mail to: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Human Resources – Urban Youth Search, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Submission deadline: May 4. Parish secretary - St. Patrick Church, in Kansas City, Kan., is accepting applications for parish secretary. The position is full time, on-site, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (M-F) and is benefit eligible. Applicants must be a practicing Catholic in good standing. The parish secretary is the first point of contact and should provide a welcoming presence to all. Applicants should be reliable with a strong work ethic. Job duties include: answer phones; assist visitors; schedule meeting space; oversee parish center rentals; maintain an accurate parishioner database; prepare reports and schedules; maintain sacramental records; schedule Mass intention requests; assist with funeral planning; and other duties as assigned by the pastor or supervisor. Applicants should email a cover letter and resume to: FrMullen@archkckcs.org or mail to: St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, KS 66112, attn: Business Office. Lead and assistant teachers - The Goddard School located at 21820 W. 115th Terr., Olathe, is looking for qualified lead teachers and assistant teachers — both full- and part- time positions are available. In our warm, loving atmosphere, our highly qualified teachers support the healthy development of children from 6 weeks to 6 years. Our teachers write and implement their own lesson plans based on our FLEX program, Goddard Developmental Guidelines and our monthly school theme. Lead teachers also complete other duties such as electronic daily attendance reports, progress reports and parent conferences. The hands-on efforts of the school owner and directors allow our teachers to focus on their children, their lesson plans and teaching to ensure a fun-filled day of learning. Full-time benefits include: competitive pay; paid time off; opportunities for professional development and career growth; and a great working environment. Qualified candidates must meet or exceed Kansas regulations, have strong communication skills and desire to learn and implement the Goddard School programs. Lead teachers should have an early childhood education degree or a CDA or a degree in a related field with an emphasis in early childhood education. Prior experience in a child care setting is preferred. To apply, email your resume to: olathe2ks@goddardschools.com or mail to: The Goddard School, 21820 W. 115th Terr., Olathe, KS 66061, Attention: Mandy Ellis, director. Pro-Life ministry program coordinator - The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is seeking a program coordinator for the pro-life office. This position assists the lead pro-life consultant in implementing the office’s initiatives: Project Rachel/Project Joseph providing healing from abortion; and Project Gabriel in supporting those facing unplanned pregnancies. The coordinator contributes to the development and implementation of programs for the various ministries within the pro-life office and ensures these programs and other resources are communicated to archdiocesan priests and people in need of these healing and supportive services. Requires a bachelor’s degree, prefer social work or counseling. The individual must have a firm foundation in the Catholic Church’s teachings on abortion and a commitment to ongoing professional development in the areas of post-abortion and unplanned pregnancy programs. The position requires demonstrated skill in the areas of compassionate leadership, written and verbal communication, and confidentiality. A complete job description, application and benefits information are available on the archdiocese’s website at: www.archkck. org/jobs. Interested individuals should send a cover letter, resume, application and pastor’s letter of support via email to: jobs@archkck.org; or mail to: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Office of Human Resources, Pro Life Program Coordinator Search, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Submission deadline: May 4. Orizon Aerostructures – **Coming to Olathe** If a career in aviation manufacturing excites you, and you’re willing to work hard and hone your skills, we strongly encourage you to visit the website at: www.orizonaero. com/careers/ and view the current opportunities coming to Olathe. Child care position - Holy Rosary, Wea, child care facility is looking for a caring, compassionate child care worker who has experience caring for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years of age. If you are a timely, patient and caring professional with a background in child care, contact Katrina or Amy at (913) 533-2462. Pastoral associate - Visitation Parish in Kansas City, Mo., is accepting applications for immediate hire of a pastoral associate. Responsibilities include: pastoral care; coordination of funerals; marriage preparation; wedding coordination; and oversight of the Christ Renews His Parish
program. In addition to being a practicing Catholic, a degree in ministry or theology and prior experience are important for consideration. Salary will be commensurate with education/experience and includes benefits. Visitation is a vibrant Catholic community of 1,500 families with a professional staff. Submit a cover letter, resume and references to: Msgr. Bradley Offutt, 5141 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64112. For more information, contact Msgr. Offutt at (816) 753-7422 or send an email to: msgroffutt@church.visitation.org.
HOME IMPROVEMENT Masonry work - Quality new or repair work. Brick, block and chimney/fireplace repair. Insured; second-generation bricklayer. Member of St. Paul Parish, Olathe. Call (913) 829-4336. EL SOL Y LA TIERRA *Commercial & residential * Lawn renovation *Mowing * Clean-up and hauling * Dirt grading/installation * Landscape design * Free estimates Hablamos y escribimos Ingles!! www.elsolylatierra.com Call Lupe at (816) 935-0176 Decked Out In KC - We fix decks. We repair, power wash and stain wood decks and fences. We power wash and seal concrete drives, walkways, pool decks and more. Call Brian at (913) 952-5965. Member of Holy Trinity Parish. Concrete construction - Tear out and replace stamped, stained or colored patios and drives. Retaining walls, footings, poured-in-place safe rooms, excavation and hauling. Asphalt drives and lots. Fully insured; references. Call Dan at (913) 207-4371 or send an email to: dan deeconst@aol.com. NELSON CREATION’S L.L.C. Home makeovers, kitchen, bath. All interior and exterior remodeling and repairs. Family owned, experienced, licensed and insured. Member St. Joseph, Shawnee. Kirk Nelson. (913) 927-5240; nelsport@everestkc.net STA (Sure Thing Always) Home Repair - Basement finish, bathrooms and kitchens; interior & exterior repairs: painting, roofing, siding, wood replacement and window glazing. Free estimates. Call (913) 579-1835. Email: smokeycabin@hotmail.com. Member of Holy Trinity, Lenexa. DRC Construction We’ll get the job done right the first time. Windows - Doors - Decks - Siding Repair or replace, we will work with you to solve your problems. Choose us for any window, door, siding or deck project and be glad you did. Everything is guaranteed 100% (913) 461-4052 www.windowservicesoverlandpark.com drcconswindows@gmail.com. Father-and-son home exteriors and remodeling - Celebrating my 15th year in The Leaven as a small business owner! We do decks, siding, windows, doors, tile work, floors, wood rot, and interior and exterior painting. We can remodel bathrooms, kitchens or basements. We also reface cabinets and redo pesky popcorn ceilings. Call Josh at (913) 709-7230. HARCO Exteriors LLC Your Kansas City fencing specialists Family owned and operated (913) 815-4817 www.harcoexteriorsllc.com Local handyman - Painting int. and ext., staining, wood rot, power wash, decks, doors and windows, masonry, hardwood floors, gutter cleaning, water heaters, toilets, faucets, garbage disposals, ceiling fans, mowing and more!! Member of Holy Angels Parish, Basehor. Call Billy at (913) 927-4118. The Drywall Doctor, Inc. – A unique solution to your drywall problems! We fix all types of ceiling and wall damage — from water stains and stress cracks to texture repairs and skim coating. We provide professional, timely repairs and leave the job site clean! Lead-certified and insured! Serving the metro since 1997. Call (913) 768-6655. Swalms organizing - downsizing - cleanout service - Reduce clutter – Any space organized. Shelving built on-site. Items hauled for recycling and donations. 20 years exp.; insured. Call Tillar at (913) 375-9115. WWW. SWALMSORGANIZING.COM. Rusty Dandy Painting, Inc. – We have been coloring your world for 40 years. Your home will be treated as if it were our own. Old cabinets will be made to look like new. Dingy walls and ceilings will be made beautiful. Woodwork will glow. Lead-certified and insured. Call (913) 341-9125.
SERVICES Doll dresses - First Communion dress sets for 18” or American Girl dolls. Includes dress, veil, shoes, tights and cross necklace. Full line of doll clothes and accessories in south Johnson County. Call Patty at (913) 3459498.
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Speedy Guzman Moving and delivery Licensed and insured Anytime (816) 935-0176 How do I get rid of all these machines and tools? - If you have basement or garage full of woodworking equipment that is collecting dust, I can sell them all and put cash in your hands. I have 24+ years’ experience appraising and selling woodworking machinery and tools. Member of St. Agnes Parish. Call (913) 375-5750 or send an email to: mbcobb5@gmail.com. Win disability benefits - Disabled and no longer able to work? Get help winning Social Security disability benefits. Free consultation. Eight years’ experience. No fee unless you win. Call (785) 331-6452 or send an email to: montemace2000@yahoo.com or visit montemacedisability.com. Cleaning lady - Reasonable rates; references provided. Call (913) 940-2959. 8 to Your IdealWeight Get Real, Get Healthy, Get Empowered. Release your weight and restore your power in 8 weeks! Certified coach: kathioppold.8toyouridealweight.com. Bankruptcy consultation - If debts are overwhelming you, seek hope and help from compassionate, experienced Catholic attorney, Teresa Kidd. For a free consultation, call (913) 422-0610; send an email to: tkidd@kc.rr. com; or visit the website at: www.teresakiddlawyer. com. Please do not wait until life seems hopeless before getting good quality legal advice that may solve your financial stress. Clutter getting you down? - Organize, fix, assemble, install! “Kevin of all trades” your professional organizer and “Honey-do” specialist. Call or email me today for a free consultation at (913) 271-5055 or KOATorganizing@gmail.com. Insured. References. Custom countertops - Laminates installed within five days. Cambria, granite and solid surface. Competitive prices, dependable work. Call the Top Shop, Inc., at (913) 962-5058. Members of St. Joseph, Shawnee. Quilted memories - Your Kansas City Longarm shop Nolting Longarm machines, quilting supplies and machine quilting services. We specialize in memorial quilts - custom designed memory quilts from your T-shirt collections, photos, baby clothes, college memorabilia, neckties, etc. For information or to schedule a free consultation, call (913) 649-2704. Visit the website at: www.quiltedmemoriesllc.com. Tree Trimming Tree Trimming/Landscaping Insured/References Free Estimates/Local Parishioner Tony (913) 620-6063 Mike Hammer local moving - A full-service mover. Packing, pianos, rental truck load/unload, storage container load/unload, and in-home moving. No job too small. Serving JoCo since 1987. St. Joseph, Shawnee, parishioner. Call Mike at (913) 927-4347 or send an email to: mike@mikehammermoving.com. Rodman Lawn Care Lawn mowing, aeration, verticutting, mulching, Hedge trimming, leaf removal, gutter cleaning Fully insured and free estimates John Rodman (913) 548-3002
CAREGIVING Situation wanted - Retired nurse private duty care plus has CNA and CMA. Available 24/7. Has experience in cosmetology and Swedish massage. Has hospice background. Call (913) 938-4765. $25 per hour, Hope for Veterans. Superior personalized care. Call Ilene Jun, (913) 701-6381. No agencies. Looking for assisted living at home? - Before you move, call us and explore our in-home care options. We specialize in helping families live safely at home while saving thousands of dollars per year. Call today for more information or to request a FREE home care planning guide. Benefits of Home - Senior Care, www.benefitsofhome.com or call (913) 422-1591 Medication management - DID YOU KNOW taking the wrong medication is the leading reason for falls and nursing home moves? We can help. Our RN will do a biweekly patient health check, fill the pill boxes properly, review your medication list and contact doctors if needed. Get peace of mind! Call Home Meds at (913) 627-9222 and learn about our medication solutions that allow you to continue to live safely at home. CNA - Professional background in caregiving, provides quality private home care assistance for the elderly in the comfort of you home. Part-time or full-time assignments. Will consider live-in arrangements. 20 years’ seasoned experience. Dedicated to clients. Call (816) 806-8104. Just like family - Let us care for your loved ones in their homes. Two ladies with over 50 years’ combined experience. Looking for night shift coverage, some days. Great price, great references. Both experienced with hospice care. Call Kara at (913) 343-1602 or Ophelia at (913) 570-7276. >> Classifieds continue on page 15
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
CALENDAR RUMMAGE SALE Holy Family Parish 513 Ohio Ave., Kansas City, Kansas April 27 from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. April 28 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
flections on amenity. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. For information, call Ruth Owens at (913) 491-7250 or send an email to: rowens4853@gmail.com.
FAMILY DAY Prairie Star Ranch 1124 California Rd., Williamsburg May 6 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The rummage sale is sponsored by the Holy Family Altar Society. All proceeds benefit Holy Family building maintenance. Come enjoy great deals. For more information, call Sandy at (913) 396-1564.
SPRING DANCE St. Mary-St. Anthony Parish (basement) 615 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 28 from 6 - 10 p.m.
The dance is being held by the German American Edelweiss Society. The cost is $20 per person and includes dinner, drinks and dancing to the Willie Kirst Band. There are discounted prices for young adults and kids. Families are welcome. There will be several items raffled. Raffle tickets may be purchased at the door. For more information, call Patty Orth at (913) 371-2468.
RESPITE CARE PROGRAM Holy Cross School 8101 W. 95th St., Overland Park April 28 from 4 - 8 p.m.
Respite care provides the gift of time away from caregiving for families with a loved one five years of age or older with a disability. For more information, call Tom at (913) 647-3054 or send an email to: tracunas@archkck.org; or Audrey Amor at (816) 739-1197 or send an email to: aamor@sjakeepingfaith.org. To register a child for the program, go to: www. archkck.org/special needs and complete the online form.
CHICKEN DINNER AND BINGO St. Patrick Parish (center) 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 28 at 6 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Green Club is sponsoring this dinner and bingo. The cost for tickets is: $12 for adults; $6 for children; and $30 for a family of four or more. Bingo will be $1 per game. For more information or reservations, call Fritz at (913) 515-0621.
SPRING FESTIVAL St. Joseph Parish (school building) 307 Iowa St., Olpe April 29 at 3 p.m.
The cost for a dinner of roast beef or chicken and noodles with sides and dessert is $8 for adults and $3 for kids ages 10 and under. Dinner will be served until 6:30 p.m. Bingo will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the Knights Hall. There will also be a raffle for a handmade quilt and other prizes.
LADIES OF CHARITY SYMPHONY DESIGNERS’ SHOWHOUSE 445 W. 56th St., Kansas City, Missouri April 30 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
The Ladies of Charity of Metropolitan KC will host a private showing of the 2018 Symphony Designers’ Showhouse. Tour this stately 103-year-old home, enjoy a boxed lunch and raffle, and shop at the unique KCSA boutique. The cost to attend is $35 per person and helps support the charity beneficiaries: Duchesne Clinic, Seton Center and Villa St. Francis. To register, mail a check, payable to “Ladies of Charity,” before April 15 to Karen Camarata, 5508 W. 129th St., Overland Park KS 66209. For more information, call Shannon Clifford at (913) 681-6431.
THE WILLIAM BAKER FESTIVAL SINGERS St. Agnes Parish 5250 Mission Rd., Roeland Park May 1 at 7:30 p.m.
The William Baker Festival Singers, a 50voice chorus, will perform a one-hour concert of classical music, love songs and other works. Admission is free and all are welcome. The suggested donation is a freewill offering.
A NEW INSIGHT ON MARY St. Ann Parish 7231 Mission Rd., Prairie Village May 1 from 7 - 8 p.m.
Mike Scherschligt, CEO and founder of the Holy Family School of Faith Institute, will give a talk called “How are Mary and the Holy Spirit One?” No registration is necessary. A reception will follow.
TAIZE PRAYER Annunciation Chapel 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth May 3 at 7 p.m.
Taize prayer is a meditative, candlelit service that includes chants sung repeatedly, silence, and prayers of praise and intercession. These prayer services emerged from an ecumenical community of monks in Taize, France. For more information, visit the website at: www.marillaccenter.org or call (913) 680-2342.
This is a chance to step away and enter into a day of prayer, adventure and outdoor activities in order to reconnect. Families, friends and communities are invited to join us for horseback riding, canoing, ropes activities and prayer. The day will end with Mass. Register online at: www.archkck.org/ranch or call the team at (913) 785-5693.
TEEN INFORMATION NIGHT St. John the Evangelist 1208 School 1208 Kentucky St., Lawrence May 6 at 6:30 p.m.
All female teenagers are invited with a parent or guardian to attend a presentation by Shannon Rasmussen, CCL teacher of natural family planning. This is a class in learning how important it is to understand and appreciate self and body. Call Shannon at (785) 749-1015 to RSVP or for more information.
POLKA DANCE Knights of Columbus Hall 11221 Johnson Dr., Shawnee May 4 at 7:30 p.m.
The Brian McCarty Band with special guest premier accordionist David Austin from Middleton, Wisconsin, will play. Tickets cost $10 and may be purchased at the door. Beer, setups and snacks are provided or BYOB. Call Dan Nicks at (913) 406-8717 for table reservation of six or more.
GEARS OF GLORY CAR, TRUCK AND BIKE SHOW Holy Trinity School 13600 W. 92nd St., Lenexa May 4 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
If you have a classic hot rod, tricked-out car, or new ride or motorcycle you would like to show, register for this event or find out more online at: gearsofglory.com. There will be food and beverages available as well as a play zone for kids. This fun-filled event is free and open to the public.
POLSKI DAY All Saints Parish 811 Vermont, Kansas City, Kansas May 5 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
This is the 34th annual celebration of Polski Day. There will be a parade, polka bands, dancing, Polish food, a Polish Mass and Polish items for sale. Profits from the event help preserve the historic All Saints Parish and grounds. For more information or to volunteer, call Cathy Kolenda Smith at (913) 515-0553.
‘AMENITY: GENTLENESS, AMIABILITY AND GOOD WILL’ Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish 7023 W. 71st. St., Overland Park May 5 at 8:15 a.m.
Join the Kansas Daughters of St. Francis de Sales for first Saturday Mass in the church, followed by the monthly meeting at 9:15 a.m. in the convent as we continue our re-
SWING FOR LIFE SCRAMBLE GOLF TOURNAMENT Painted Hills Golf Course 7101 Parallel Ave., Kansas City, Kansas May 22 at 7 a.m. (shotgun start)
Kansans for Life is hosting this golf tournament. The entry fee is $100 per golfer and $400 per team. If you are unable to attend but would like to participate, consider being a sponsor. For more information, visit the website at: www.SwingForLife.Golf or call (913) 642-5433.
THE WORLD OF MOTHER TERESA Mother Teresa Parish 2014 N.W. 46th St., Topeka May 14 at 5:30 p.m. (meal), 7 p.m. (presentation)
Linda Schaefer, a photojournalist, will take the audience on a journey into the world of Mother Teresa. There will be a taco bar meal followed by the presentation. The suggested donation is a freewill offering.
MARY: MAGNIFICAT AND HAIL MARY RETREAT Sophia Spirituality Center 751 S. 8th St., Atchison May 9 from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Works of art and music relating to Mary will be explored, and the Magnificat and Hail Mary prayers will be studied. For more information or to register, call (913) 360-6173 or visit the website at: www.sophiaspirituality center.org.
‘GAMES PEOPLE PLAY’ Blessed Sacrament Center 2215 Parallel Ave., Kansas City, Kansas May 4 from 7 - 11 p.m.
The Father Joyce Finnegan Court 61 Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary is hosting a night of fun and games: bid whist, dominoes and bingo. Tickets are $10. For tickets and more information, call Barbara Bailey at (913) 321-1958.
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NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL HEALTH Good Shepherd Church (Conf. Room A) 12800 W. 75th St., Shawnee May 7 at 7 p.m.
Doris Hamilton from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will talk about all the programs that are available through NAMI — both for consumers and families of consumers. There will be a Q&A session after her talk.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR A LOVED ONE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Curé of Ars Parish (Father Burak Room) 9410 Mission Rd., Leawood May 9 at 7 p.m.
The archdiocesan office of special needs and EMBRACE are co-sponsoring a workshop on how to prepare for two generations of financial security. There will be a discussion on a 529 ABLE account vs. a special-needs trust and why both are important. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a wine and cheese social. The presentation will follow at 7 p.m. Child care will be provided. RSVP to Jody 0’Rourke at (913) 647-3059 or send an email to: jorourke@archkck.org.
AFFIRMATIONS AND LIVING FREE Keeler Women’s Center 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas May 10 from noon - 1:30 p.m.
This is a growth group for women. The way a woman thinks about herself plays a role in how effective and happy she is in her life. This group helps women change the way they think about themselves and their lives.
RUNNING WITH THE COWS 5K/HALF MARATHON Queen of the Holy Rosary School - Wea 22705 Metcalf, Bucyrus May 12 at 7:30 a.m.
For details about the marathon (for those who wish to participate in the race) and to register, go online to: cow.run. There will be a post-race meal which includes food from various vendors. There will also be a photo booth and possibly a couple of baby calves as well.
FAMILY SPECIAL-NEEDS SUMMER CAMP Prairie Star Ranch 1124 California Rd., Williamsburg June 29 - July 1
A summer camp for families who have a child (or children) with special needs will be held. For information about the camp, go online to: www.archkck.org/specialneeds for details or call Tom Racunas, lead consultant for the special-needs ministry, at (913) 647-3054 or send an email to: tracunas@archkck.org.
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS’ GRADE SCHOOL SUMMER CAMPS St. Thomas Aquinas High School 11411 Pflumm Rd., Overland Park June and July
There will be a variety of summer camps for students entering grades K - 8 to explore and discover their potential in both sports and other activities. Information about the camps and registration forms are available on the website at: www.stasaints.net/ summer camps. If you have questions, call the athletic office at (913) 319-2416 or send an email to: btriggs@stasaints.net.
PILGRIMAGE Sanctuary of Hope Retreat Center 2601 Ridge Ave., Kansas City, Kansas Aug. 10 - 12
Father Joseph Arsenault, SSA, will lead a pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Participants will leave from the Sanctuary of Hope Retreat Center. Pilgrimages to holy places help us on the most important pilgrimage of all: our journey through our human life on earth to our eternal destination with God in heaven. For more information, call Julie at (913) 321-4673; send an email to: julie@ sanctuaryofhope.org; or go to the website at: www.sanctuaryofhope.org.
CALENDAR POLICY DEADLINE: eight days before the desired publication date WHERE TO SUBMIT: Send notices to: The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109, attn: calendar; or send an email to: beth.blankenship@theleaven.org.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
COMMENTARY FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER April 29 FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 9: 26-31 Ps 22: 26-27, 28, 30, 31-32 1 Jn 3: 18-24 Jn 15: 1-8 April 30 Pius V, pope Acts 14: 5-18 Ps 115: 1-5, 15-16 Jn 14: 21-26 May 1 Joseph the Worker Acts 14: 19-28 Ps 145: 10-13ab, 21 Jn 14: 27-31a May 2 Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the church Acts 15: 1-6 Ps 122: 1-5 Jn 15: 1-8 May 3 PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES 1 Cor 15: 1-8 Ps 19: 2-5 Jn 14: 6-14 May 4 Friday Acts 15: 22-31 Ps 57: 8-12 Jn 15: 12-17 May 5 Saturday Acts 16: 1-10 Ps 100: 2, 3, 5 Jn 15: 18-21
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o, are you rejoicing? I hope you didn’t forget that we still have over three weeks left in the Easter season. Although the church asks us to keep alive the joy of the new life of Easter Sunday right through Pentecost, for many of us our Easter might have ended with the last chocolate bunny we consumed. Why do we find it easier to take on the sacrifices and disciplines of Lent, but struggle to celebrate for 50 days of Easter? I think it’s because we’ve forgotten how to be grateful. I believe that gratitude and joy are linked; they’re two sides of the same coin. But I’ll come back to that in a bit. First, maybe we need a little infusion of laughter, just to get back on the Easter bandwagon. Let’s start with this little story: As a kid, a man had a fear of someone being under his bed at night. Things did not get any better as an adult. Wanting to do something about it, the man went to a psychiatrist and said, “I’ve got problems. Every time I go to bed, I think there’s somebody under it. I’m
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Are we still a happy family? MARK MY WORDS
FATHER MARK GOLDASICH Father Mark is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989.
scared and it’s driving me crazy.” “Just put yourself into my hands for a year,” said the doctor. “Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.” “How much do you charge?” “Just $80 a visit,” replied the psychiatrist. “I’ll sleep on it,” said the troubled man. Six months later, the doctor met the man on the street and said, “Why didn’t you come to see me about those fears you were having?” “Well, I did some figuring,” the man said. “Eighty bucks a visit,
three times a week for a year is $12,480. My bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought a new pickup truck.” “Is that so?” said the psychiatrist with an air of disdain. “And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?” “He told me just to cut the legs off the bed,” said the man. “Ain’t nobody under there now!” Hey, can’t argue with that, can you? As an editor, I’m fascinated by words. You might call me a lexophile, or lover of words. Here are some clever statements that should (I hope) make you chuckle: • I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. • Police were called to a day care center
where a 3-year-old was resisting a rest. • To write with a broken pencil is pointless. • A thief who stole a calendar got 12 months. • When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, UCLA. • A bicycle can’t stand alone; it’s twotired. • A boiled egg is hard to beat. • When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye. • Acupuncture: a jab well done. OK, when you’re finished groaning at those, let’s get back to that idea of gratitude and its link to joy. Someone said we’re grateful in “reverse proportion” to our blessings. In other words, a hungry man is more grateful for a morsel of food than the well-fed are with an overflowing table. Apparently, the more we have, the less we appreciate it. By many standards, most Americans are richly blessed. In fact, we should be positively giddy every morning when we wake up. We have a roof over our heads, a climate-controlled environment, clean water, an incredible variety of food to consume, electricity, all
manner of technological tools from smartphones to computers, good roads, local medical and dental services . . . and the list could go on. Additionally, we have the freedom to practice our faith without the threat of imprisonment or martyrdom. We have beautiful places of worship, easy access to the sacraments, a plethora of helpful ministries and a wide variety of enrichment programs to deepen our faith. Sadly, though, instead of having humble, grateful, joyful hearts, we choose to concentrate on what we don’t have or on the small irritants that rob us of a happy life. The season of Easter calls us back to an awareness of the taken-for-granted gifts of God. So, if you find yourself in the doldrums today, shake it off by noticing the many blessings of God around you. And then, rejoice and share! If you need a little help smiling, though, start with this thought: A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulting in . . . (wait for it) . . . linoleum blownapart. Sorry!
Pruning improves the yield, but cuts some off from the vine
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A
t one time, vineyards in this corner of the Midwest flourished, especially in Missouri. It was a center for wine production. And then, Prohibition was enacted. Alcoholic beverages were outlawed. Vines were uprooted. The flow of wine stopped. But that has started to change. New vineyards are springing up, even in Kansas. Grapevines are being planted. In order to have a vineyard, you have to have a vine. “I am the vine.” That’s what Jesus tells us in Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jn 15:1-8. In identifying himself as the vine, Jesus is building on the image
THE GOSPEL TRUTH
FATHER MIKE STUBBS Father Stubbs is the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Overland Park and has a degree in Scripture from Harvard University.
of the vineyard for the people of Israel, which occurs fairly frequently in the Bible. The prophets often
POPE FRANCIS
Naming a child is an important task for parents, because it gives children a sense of identity and belonging to their family and to God, Pope Francis said. “Without a name, we remain unknown, without rights and duties. God calls each one of us by name, loving us individually in the concreteness of our history,” the pope
resorted to this metaphor: “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel” (Is 5:7). This metaphor also comes up in Hos 10:1; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:1-6; and Ps 80:9. Jesus himself drew upon the metaphor of the vineyard as the house of Israel in telling the parable of the tenants (Mk 12:1-11). The image of the
vineyard also appears in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16) and in the parable of the two sons (Mt 21:28-32). In calling himself the vine, Jesus is claiming to be the very heart and soul of the vineyard. It cannot exist without him. That is why he tells the disciples: “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Jesus elaborates on the image of the vineyard by calling God the vine grower: “My Father is the vine grower.” He warns the disciples that they will be pruned. He does not explain what the process of pruning will involve, but we can imagine that it will be somewhat painful,
said April 18 during his weekly general audience. “Therefore, the name is important. Parents think of the name to give to their child already before birth,” he said. “This, too, is part of the expectation of a child who, in his or her name, will have an original identity, including for the Christian life linked to God.” Continuing his series of Easter-season talks on baptism, the pope said that a person’s
because it means being cut. Jesus assures the disciples that the pruning will produce more fruit. However, if they do not bear fruit, then they will be thrown aside, like unproductive branches: “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.” Jesus stresses the importance of being connected to him, like branches to a vine, in order to be productive disciples. He tells us to remain in him. As part of this message, the verb “remain” occurs eight times in this Gospel passage. It is vital for us to remain in him. Otherwise . . .
name, asked during the welcoming rite of the sacrament, “takes us out of anonymity” and is the first step in a person’s journey as a Christian. “Baptism ignites the personal vocation to live as Christians, which will develop throughout one’s life. It implies a personal response and not a borrowed answer that is ‘copied and pasted,’” he said. — CNS
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
CLASSIFIEDS >> Continued from page 12 Caregiving - We provide personal assistance, companionship, care management, and transportation for seniors in their home, assisted living or nursing facilities. We also provide respite care for main caregivers needing some personal time. Call Daughters & Company at (913) 341-2500 and speak with Laurie, Pat or Gary.
FOR SALE For sale - Classic Mercury Cougar, 1968 Dan Gurney Special, VIN number 8F91F578409. The car was donated to the Catholic community, the Franciscans Poor of Jesus Christ in Kansas City, Kansas, and is being sold for charity to support the missionary activities of the group. The asking price is $8000. Call Sister Magdalena at (913) 4997839 or send an email to: magdalenapjc@gmail.com. Residential lifts - New and recycled. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. St. Michael’s parishioners. KC Lift & Elevator at (913) 327-5557. (Formerly Silver Cross - KC) For sale - One sofa bed, one brown “comfort” rocking chair and one large glass coffee table. Call Jeanie or Al at (913) 685-4378. For sale – Double indoor Abbey in the newest building at Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa. Blessed Mother Corridor, #24A. Selling for $9800, transfer fee included. Call Ross at (913) 707-7368. For sale - Double indoor mausoleum at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Retail price $8000; asking $6000. Call Patricia at (913) 634-8583. For sale - Two internal side-by-side crypts in the Mausoleum at Resurrection Cemetery. Call (913) 631-4348 for pricing. For sale - Double mausoleum at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. St. John Corridor, tier A, crypt 6. Asking $10,000. Call Janet at (913) 522-0489. For sale - Need a sweet little lake retreat? Adorable, well-kept mobile home at Sugar Valley Lakes below the dam on a quiet, wooded, dead-end street near the back entrance. City water and power. Within walking distance of pond; includes storage shed. 102 Red Hawk Land, plat 22, lot 55. $22,000. Email:amrobins42869@yahoo.com.
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For sale - Double lawn crypt at Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa, Garden of Hope section, double lawn crypt, lot 78 C, space 4. Conveyance fee included. $7500. Call Lou at (512) 294-2869.
WANTED TO BUY Will buy firearms and related accessories - One or a whole collection. Honest evaluation and top prices paid. Contact Tom at (913) 238-2473. Member of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawnee. Wanted to buy - Older pocket watches and wristwatches. Wants old signs: oil company; soda pop, Coca Cola; pharmaceutical drug store items; silverware sets; and collectibles. Call (913) 593-7507.
WANTED TO RENT Wants to rent - Couple seeking rental home, condo or apartment from July to December 2018. Prefer furnished home near Shawnee Mission North High School to be near elderly mother. Can provide general and local references. Call Luanne at (415) 642-1969 or send an email to: Luanne215@yahoo.com or JoJean at (913) 213-9008 or jschulted45@hotmail.com.
REAL ESTATE I NEED HOUSES! - We are members of Holy Trinity Parish and we pay cash for any real estate without any realtor commissions or fees. If you would like an easy, no-hassle sale at a fair price, please call me. We have 13 years of experience. Mark Edmondson (913) 980-4905.
Whole Estates Need to sell a home and everything in it? We buy it all at once in as-is condition. Call (816) 444-1950 or send an email to: www.wholeestates.com.
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MT CALVARY KCK Eliseo C. Abarca Richard W. Byard James R. Carr Muriel Christ Katheryn Creten Susan Marie Cook Daniel Cozine Ronald Debus Janet Sue Donahoo Norma Eker Ascension Esteban Patsy S. Flood Ann M. Florez Velma Gardner Joseph Gonzales Robert C. Gonzales Juanita Haskins Josephine B. Jakowatz George J. Kaifes Pauline Kalich Sadia A. Knighten Harold G. Lahue Martin Wayne Looney Jr. Sister Cristela MacKinnon Ida Margaret Marek-Kramer Virginia McCombs Judy L. Medved Rita A. Miller Sarah Mufich Kathryn Osburn Albert J. Parra Jr. David Peresic Mary A. Porter Mary Jo Robinson Teresa Salazar Gilbert F. Sanchez Ronald D. Schick Charles J. Sirridge Mary Ann Sirridge Gloria Joann Tinoco Rigoberto J. Vaca Ronald G. Wasilewski Cynthia Wolfe RESURRECTION Minnie Mae Akers Shirley Barloon Orlanda Bazin
Prince of Peace Chapel Resurrection Cemetery 83rd and Quivira Rd. Lenexa, Kan.
Michael Benteen Ronald H. Berg A. June Berntsen John Boehm Paul K. Bohr Patricia A. Bonne Jerry L. Brown Ann T. Budai Stella I. Capito James D. Carter James E. Cathey John Clark Cooper Collier Eloise Grace Dahl Reva Dehan Elizabeth C. Dinneen Jeanne S. Donohoo Florence I. Emerson Eileen L. Farnen Donna Frank James R. Fiscella Peter T. Gaffney Rick Gannon Rita Green George L. Gregar Wanda L. Gregar Edward L. Hartegan Henry Hermreck John M. Holt Mary Lu Imm Jay Jackson Jennifer A. Johnson Herbert G. Jones Nancy S. Jones Victor E. Kane Grayson Karr Mary L. Kehoe John R. King Baby Klebba William J. Klein Dorothy M. Kosko Marion A. Kremer Francis E. P. Laing Jennie Leach Suzanne Lee Robbi J. Leno Manuel Lopez Marcia Lopez John F. Lynch Gerald O’Connell
Holy Redeemer Chapel Gate of Heaven Cemetery 126th and Parallel Kansas City, Kan.
Janice Macek George Maggio Barbara A. Marshall Manuel J. Martins Sr. Patricia Mattern Betty Jo McAulay James E. McColligan Jeanette L. McColligan Maureen Mcleod Manuel T. Medonza Carolyn de Ann Moore Michael Perryman George A. Petelin Joseph L. Peternel Jr. Mary A. Pippen Mayra L. Reyes Alberta Roche John N. Rupard Margaret A. Rupp Pablita Sanchez Donald F. Sole Lorraine M. Sole Leroy Schmidtberger Martha S. Schroeger Katherine Scott Bernadine M. Simms Lyman E. Smith Francis L. Spanke Patricia J. Sprague Baby Boy Squire Elaine D. Southern Rosemary Sutton Charles Thacker Nancy Thurston Maurice Tunison Arthur Walsh Leila Whalen Robert Wichmann Robert J. Wise Blue Mercy Wombwell ST. JOSEPH Patrick Cooke Sheila Demars Charles F. Garrett Dennis Hendrix Douglas S. Luka Edward R. Ohmes Florence Orr Roanne Pechar
James P. Secondo Larry Shaw Joan Van Walleghem ST. JOHN LENEXA John Q. Kennedy MT CALVARY OLATHE Ann M. Hartley Angeles Martinez GATE OF HEAVEN Jo Ann Bidnick Ronald D. Butler Frank C. Gleason Marion J. Hoffman Elizabeth Lewis Fred C. Mason John Joseph Marie Moran Gideon J. Panjada Vernon Penka John W. Potter Lonnie Seglie Patricia M. Smith Elizabeth A. Swallow Sai Doua Thao Clarence Witt Chue Yang Anita K. Zeps Paul M. Zeps Sr.
APRIL 27, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS
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DON’T SHOOT
Bishop Miege joins others nationwide as they raise awareness of gun violence in schools
STORY BY OLIVIA MARTIN / PHOTOS BY LORI WOOD HABIGER More than 200 students at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park took part in a student-organized silent procession and moment of prayer in order to raise awareness of gun violence in schools.
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OELAND PARK — In the past 19 years, over 150,000 students at more than 170 primary or secondary schools have experienced ..a shooting on their
campuses. On April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting that left 13 dead, some 230 Bishop Miege students organized and participated in a silent procession and moment of prayer to raise awareness of gun violence in schools. Many of the students and faculty were dressed in blaze orange, the color hunters wear to warn other hunters not to shoot — a national symbol of the anti-gun violence movement. “This is the type of tragedy that sometimes leaves people in the state of hopelessness and despair,” said sophomore organizer David Porras in a moment of reflection during the service. “With these traumatizing incidents, many . . . [feel] trapped in a hallway that seems to have no way out. “For the Catholic or Christian, this is a pro-life matter.” Porras was one of the four principal student leaders of the event, along with seniors Michaela Farrell, Parker Lane and Madeleine Rafael. “Every time I see something on the news about a school shooting, it breaks my heart,” said Rafael. “Being Catholic, we find that every life is sacred.” Students participated in a silent procession, then gathered in the gymnasium for a prayer service honoring the lives of each of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which occurred on Feb. 14 this year in Parkland, Florida. Mayor Mike Kelly of Roeland Park briefly addressed the students as well, commending them on exercising their First Amendment right of free speech. “I remember [Columbine] like it was yesterday,” began Kelly. “I remember the fear and hesitation in coming to
Bishop Miege students Melissa Owsley, left, and Elisia Lopez join fellow Miege students, as well as others nationwide, as they commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting that left 13 dead. school. I’m very proud of students nationwide, standing up saying enough is enough.” “I know that you want more than thoughts and prayers,” he added. In addition to pledging the best police force in the state, the mayor promised students an open door and open inbox at city hall anytime they would like to share concerns, ideas, thoughts or solutions. “We are here to encourage you to take the next step,” he said. “It’s voting — that’s the best way you can exercise your advocacy.” Faculty sponsor and theology teacher Steve Engler called the students’ attention to the opportunity to take further action that day. Students were given the option to write a message to their Missouri or Kansas state representative on blaze orange postcards, expressing their concerns regarding gun violence in schools. “The postcards send the message our faith leaders have given us,” said Engler.
“This is what our United States Catholic bishops have called us to do.” Urging an increase in the minimum age for gun ownership, universal background checks for all gun purchases, a change in law regarding bump stocks, and increased resources in identifying and ministering to those with mental health needs are among the concrete concerns of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a reminder to participants, Engler said, “You’re not compelled to agree with your bishop on something like this, [but] they’re asking you to let them lead you.” For Rafael, hearing the bishops’ advocacy for steps to decrease gun violence was very important. “It was a huge deal to me to hear the bishops are taking mental health into [consideration] as well,” said Rafael. “Mental health is often pushed to the side.” The procession against gun violence wasn’t limited to Bishop Miege on April 20.
Students all across the United States held “walk out” processions as a way to protest gun violence in schools. Lane said that exercising the Catholic principle of solidarity with her schoolmates and students across the country played a significant role in her experience of the procession. “Walking out felt really strong because we were walking in silent solidarity with each other, and that’s so different from just having a conversation or dispute,” said Lane. For Farrell, being involved in organizing the procession was more than being part of a planning committee. “I am here to take a stand against this senseless violence,” she said. “Jesus was very peaceful. It’s the peaceful protests that seem to [work] the best.” “Our Catholic reflex of having processions lends itself to the national [event] of ‘walking out,’” said Engler. “The first thing the kids said when I met with them was, ‘We’re a Catholic school — we can pray for this. Other places can’t.’ “Their first instinct was to apply their faith to this.” Freshman Daniel Fontaine attended the event because of his interest and support for the message of the procession, saying, as a Catholic, “We’re here to help everyone.” Balancing differing opinions on guns in schools, gun ownership and policy can be difficult. But for the Bishop Miege students, respect and dialogue were always at the forefront. “The very first thing we said to each other was that we were going to respect differences,” said Engler. “We respected differences in the way we spoke today. Respecting differences means we can dialogue.” Father Justin Hamilton, the school’s chaplain, closed the service with a prayer for peace, begging for Christ to “instill . . . a real commitment to build a culture of peace — to be [his] love to those in most need of mercy.”