July 1, 2011

July 1, 2011

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org S E RV I N G C H R I ST A N D C O N N EC T I N G C AT H O L I C S I N W E ST E R N N O R T H C A R O L I N A

Mission to misery Concord priest travels to Vietnam to aid the poor and lepers of the Montagnard people,

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FUNDED by the parishioners of the diocese of charlotte THANK YOU!

A woman’s right to know

One step away from priesthood

N.C. bishops make major push to override governor’s veto, 3

A victim of the economy

Diocese ends international adoptions after 17 years, 3

Asheville man ordained a transitional deacon,

Beloved ‘priest of priests’ and Catholic convert

6 Calendar 4 Diocese 3-9

Father Conrad Kimbrough passes away, FAITH 2

mix 21

nation & World 22-25 Schools 18-19

Viewpoints 26-27

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Call us: 704-370-3333 E-mail us: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

Our faith

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast day: Friday, July 1

Pope Benedict XVI

T

The Eucharist is ‘antidote’ to modern ills

he Eucharist is the medicine to heal our individualistic society, Pope Benedict XVI said in his Angelus address on Corpus Christi Sunday.

“In an increasingly individualistic culture in which Western societies are immersed – and which is tending to spread throughout the world – the Eucharist is a kind of ‘antidote’ which operates in the minds and hearts of believers and is continually sowing in them the logic of communion, of service, of sharing – in other words, the logic of the Gospel,” Pope Benedict said to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square June 26.

The bread and wine offered by Christ at the Last Supper literally became his body and blood – and this same miracle is repeated by priests at every Mass since.

“From the Eucharist, the Risen Christ is truly present among His disciples and working with the power of the Holy Spirit. And in the following generations through the centuries, the Church, despite the limitations and human errors, has continued to be a force for communion throughout the world,” the pope said.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of Christian life.

“Without the Eucharist, the Church simply does not exist,” the pope said.

He noted how this belief in the centrality of the Eucharist has manifested itself throughout the history of the Church, beginning with the earliest Christian communities in Jerusalem who shared all possessions in common. “From what came all this? From the Eucharist that is the Risen Christ, truly present among His disciples and working with the power of the Holy Spirit.”

He concluded his address by urging all pilgrims to turn to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was described by Pope John Paul II as the “Woman of the Eucharist.”

— CNA/EWTN News

“The heart has always been seen as the ‘center’ or essence a person (‘the heart of the matter,’ ‘you are my heart,’ ‘take it to heart,’ etc.) and the wellspring of our emotional lives and love (‘you break my heart,’ ‘my heart sings,’ etc.). Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is devotion to Jesus Christ Himself, but in the particular ways of meditating on His interior life and on His threefold love – His divine love, His burning love that fed His human will, and His sensible love that affects His interior life,” Pope Pius XII wrote in his 1956 encyclical “Haurietis Aquas” (“On Devotion To The Sacred Heart”).

The Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, we can gain a plenary indulgence by making an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

From the earliest days of the Church, writes the Catholic Encyclopedia, “Christ’s open side and the mystery of blood and water were

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Feast day: Saturday, July 2 Historically, devotion to the Heart of Mary grew up in parallel, but at a lesser intensity than that of devotion to the Heart of Jesus, only starting to become more prominent during the time of St. John Eudes. John Eudes was born in 1601 in Normandy, France.

He entered the Congregation of the Oratory of France, founded in 1611 by Cardinal de Berulle and was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 20, 1625.

St. John brought people to love Christ and the Virgin Mary by speaking tirelessly about

meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. It is in the 11th and 12th centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side, the wound in the Heart was gradually reached, and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of love.”

This general devotion arose first in Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries of that time, but specific devotions became popularized when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a Visitation nun, had a personal revelation involving a series of visions of Christ as she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote, “He disclosed to me the marvels of His Love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart.” Christ emphasized to her His love – and His woundedness caused by man’s indifference to this love.

— Catholic News Agency

A saintly life

their hearts, the sign of the love God shows for us and the communion to which we are called.

To offer them liturgical worship, he composed Masses and offices in their honor and had the first Feast of the Holy Heart of Mary celebrated on Feb. 8, 1648, at Autun, France, and the Feast of the Heart of Jesus celebrated on Oct. 20, 1672.

He died on Aug. 19, 1680, and was canonized

by Pope Pius XI on May 31, 1925.

Nevertheless, it was not until after the Apparitions at Rue du Bac concerning the “Miraculous Medal” made to Catherine Labouré in 1830, and the establishment of a society dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Church of Our Lady of Victories in Paris in 1836, that this particular devotion became well known.

Since then devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has gradually grown more widespread in the Church, particularly since the apparitions at Fatima.

The main difference between the devotions to the hearts of Jesus and Mary is that the one concerned with Jesus emphasizes His divine heart as being full of love for mankind, but with this love for the most part being ignored or rejected, while devotion to Mary’s heart is essentially concerned with the love that her heart has for Jesus, for God. Therefore, it is not an end in itself, so the love of her heart is meant to be a model for the way we should love God. The fact that her heart is immaculate, that is sinless, means that she is the only fully human person who is able to really love God in the way that He should be loved.

Honoring Mary’s Immaculate Heart is really just another way of honoring Mary as the person chosen to be the Mother of God, recognizing her extraordinary holiness and the immense love she bestowed on Jesus as His mother, the person called to share in and cooperate in His redemptive sufferings.

— Catholic News Agency

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 10 - JULY 16

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 17 - JULY 23

Your daily Scripture readings SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 3 - JULY 9

Sunday, Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9, 11-13, Matthew 11:25-30; Monday (St. Elizabeth of Portugal), Genesis 28:10-22, Matthew 9:18-26; Tuesday (St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria), Genesis 32:23-33, Matthew 9:32-38; Wednesday (St. Maria Goretti), Genesis 41:55-57, 42:5-7, 17-24, Matthew 10:1-7; Thursday, Genesis 44:18-21, 23-29, 45:1-5, Matthew 10:7-15; Friday, Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30, Matthew 10:16-23; Saturday (St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions), Genesis 49:29-32, 50:15-26, Matthew 10:24-33

Sunday, Isaiah 55:10-11, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-23; Monday (St. Benedict), Exodus 1:8-14, Matthew 10:34-11:1; Tuesday, Exodus 2:115, Matthew 11:20-24; Wednesday (St. Henry), Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12, Matthew 11:25-27; Thursday, Exodus 3:13-20, Matthew 11:28-30; Friday (St. Bonaventure), Exodus 11:10-12:14, Matthew 12:1-8; Saturday (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), Exodus 12:37-42, Matthew 12:14-21

Sunday, Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Romans 8:2627, Matthew 13:24-43; Monday (St. Camillus de Lellis), Exodus 14:5-18, Matthew 12:38-42; Tuesday, Exodus 14:21-15:1, Exodus 15:8-10, 12, 17, Matthew 12:46-50; Wednesday (St. Apollinaris), Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15, Matthew 13:1-9; Thursday (St. Lawrence of Brindisi), Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20, Daniel 3:52-56, Matthew 13:10-17; Friday (St. Mary Magdalene), Exodus 20:1-17, John 20:1-2, 11-18; Saturday (St. Bridget of Sweden), Exodus 24:3-9, Matthew 13:24-30

Our parishes

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Diocese to end international adoptions

Bishops express ‘grave disappointment’ to governor over veto David Hains Director of Communication sueann howell | catholic news herald

RALEIGH — One day after Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed the Woman’s Right to Know Act, North Carolina’s two Catholic bishops responded with an e-mail to the governor, informing her of their “grave disappointment” in her veto.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh have written e-mails to the governor twice in support of the legislation.

Approved by the General Assembly late in the recent legislative session, the act requires a 24-hour waiting period for a woman who seeks an abortion and requires that the woman be given an opportunity to view an ultrasound of the child growing in her womb.

In e-mail alerts sent out to nearly 4,000 participants of Catholic Voice NC earlier this year, both bishops stated that the act protects the privacy of a woman while it “affirms the life of the innocent unborn at the most critical juncture, when an abortion is being considered.”

They asked supporters to contact state leaders, and in response more than 1,500 e-mails and several hundred phone calls were sent to legislators and the governor.

The fight over the legislation now moves back to the General Assembly, where supporters will attempt to override the governor’s veto. A three-fifths majority in both the state House and the Senate are needed to override the veto. Based on the last vote on the bill, a veto override is one vote shy in both houses.

Catholic Voice NC participants are receiving regular updates through the group’s Web site, www.CatholicVoiceNC.org, and via the Catholic News Herald’s Facebook page.

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(From left) Bishop Peter J. Jugis of the Diocese of Charlotte and Deacon Carlos Medina look on as pro-life advocates break ground on a new college-based maternity and aftercare center based at Belmont Abbey College June 20. Also pictured are Father Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life; Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life; Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College; David Bereit, national program director of 40 Days for Life; Tom Wright, architect with NamourWright; Chuck Curtis, president of the RATI board of directors; and Jeannie Wray, exective director of RATI.

Ground broken on college-based maternity home SueAnn Howell Staff writer

BELMONT — Room at the Inn broke ground June 20 at Belmont Abbey College on a campus pregnancy and aftercare maternity home. The project’s organizers say the center is the first college-based maternity center in the nation.

The 10,000-square-foot maternity home will be located on four acres donated by the Benedictine monks at Belmont Abbey.

The facility is adjacent to Belmont Abbey monastery and the campus of Belmont Abbey College.

Room at the Inn, an initiative of a nonprofit maternity and aftercare center based in Charlotte, will have two residential wings, one for maternity and one for aftercare, and will be able to house up to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers for free for up to two years.

Each mother will have a private bedroom and bathroom and share the kitchen, dining room and laundry room with other residents.

Administrative and counseling offices and quarters for residential managers also will be on site.

Staff and volunteers at Room at the Inn in Charlotte have long dreamed of a place where college-age pregnant women could find shelter for themselves and their children while finishing their studies.

Participants don’t have to be Catholic or Christian or students at Belmont Abbey College to be accepted. They are required to be in school, adhere to a curfew, submit goal sheets and take classes in life skills, parenting, cooking, meal planning, financial planning and nondenominational Bible study, among others. In exchange, they receive free room and board and counseling and supplies they need for their babies, such as car seats, clothes and furniture.

Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey monastery offered the opening prayer at the groundbreaking ceremony. Among the guests was Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life.

Jeannie Wray, executive director of Room at the Inn, told the crowd that the center was proof of “the Holy Spirit in action.”

“How else could we explain the willingness a group of men to provide property to underpin this fantastic new facility?” she asked. “What would inspire national pro-life leaders to travel from so far away to be part of its beginning? ...

Why would a fraternal order of men declare themselves providers for young women who will never be able to thank them?”

“There is no other explanation – it is the work of God,” she concluded.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte then led GROUNDBREAKING, SEE page 20

Program to continue for 10 families already enrolled SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte is winding down its international adoptions program in the wake of the sluggish economy and changes in foreign governments’ preferences.

The program, run by Catholic Social Services, has placed more than 900 orphans with families since its beginning in 1994. At its height in 2006, the program found new homes for 76 children, but so far this year the number of children who have been adopted has dwindled to 5. Ten families will remain in the program awaiting the finalization of their adoptions.

“After nearly two years of discussion and with the unanimous recommendation of our adoption staff, Catholic Social Services must regrettably announce that we will no longer be accepting applications for international adoption,” Dr. Gerry Carter, acting executive director of Catholic Social Services, announced in a letter last week.

“This decision was made with the recognition that while Catholic Social Services played a unique role in facilitating international adoptions, other agencies still operate to serve those families wishing to grow their families through international child placements,” he added.

International adoptions can cost between $30,000 and $50,000, with much of that expense going to travel costs. To adopt a child from Russia, for example, prospective parents must travel there at least three times.

These high costs have meant a decline in the number of adoption applications.

And governments, including Russia – where the diocese’s adoption program has predominantly worked – are encouraging more domestic ADOPTIONS, SEE page 20

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events BELMONT QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES CHURCH, 503 N. MAIN st.

— "The Church: The Story of Love, Law and Spirit," MAK Family Life Center, 1:30-3:30 p.m. July 5, July 12 and 19.

RSVP to 704-825-9600.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the next two weeks:

BOONE ST. elizabeth of the hill country CHURCH, 259 pilgrims way — Eucharistic Adoration, 6-7 p.m. Wednesdays

July 2 – 5 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. James Catholic Church, Hamlet, and Sacred Heart Catholic Mission, Wadesboro

CHARLOTTE

July 3 – 3:30 p.m.

Mass for the Military St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

charlotte convention center, 501 s. college st.

— Seventh Eucharistic Congress, Sept. 23 and 24. The theme is “Do This in Memory of Me.” The Congress will include a procession of the Eucharist through the streets of uptown Charlotte. The keynote speaker on Friday will be Cardinal Francis Arinze. Visit www.goeucharist.com.

July 11 – 10:30 a.m.

Solemn Profession of Brother Andrew Spivey Belmont Abbey, Belmont

— Treasures of the Church, an exposition of Sacred Relics, presented by Father Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross, 5:30 p.m. July 16. More than 150 relics of saints and one of the largest remaining pieces of the True Cross in the world will be venerated. See www. treasuresofthechurch.com for details.

CNH wins awards CHARLOTTE — The Catholic News Herald has won four awards from the national Catholic Press Association for its work in 2010. Editor Patricia Guilfoyle won first place for best coverage of a routine sacramental event for “Who are these Catholics?” about the diaconate ordination of an Eastern rite Catholic, Father Deacon Matthew Hanes. The staff also won third place for Best Redesign, third place for Best Editorial Section, and an honorable mention for Front Page Design-Tabloid.

Corrections

1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

704-370-3333 PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

The Newman Singers are a liturgical and concert group from the Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City, Iowa, that have toured the country for the past 15 years, building a reputation for leadership in contemporary liturgical and inspirational music. See them at: St. Eugene Church, 72 Culvern St., Asheville, 5:30 p.m. Liturgy July 23, 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Liturgy July 24, and 7 p.m. concert July 24 St. Luke Church, 13700 Lawyers Road, Charlotte, 7 p.m. concert July 25 Visit www.newmansingers.com to learn more.

— Centering Prayer Meeting, NLC, 7-8:30 p.m. Second and Fourth Wednesdays. Contact Bruce Hassett at 704-6419041 or Janie Normile at 803-396-8016.

ST. pATRICK CATHEDRAL, 1621 DILWORTH ROAD E. — Mass for U.S. Military, 3:30 p.m. July 3

— Solemn High Mass in honor of the Feast Day of St. Ann, 7 p.m. July 26 ST. BASIL UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC MISSION — Beginning July 10, services/Liturgies will be held at 2 p.m. on Sundays in Charlotte Catholic High School’s chapel. The last Saturday evening Liturgies will be celebrated July 2. For more information, go to www. stbasil.weebly.com.

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 PROVIDENCE ROAD — Shining Stars Support Group, 10 a.m.-noon last Mondays.

Visit www.stgabrielchurch.org.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMMONS PKWY.

n In the June 17 story “Priest assignments announced for the diocese,” the date assignments will take effect was incorrect. The new assignments are effective July 5. n In the June 3 caption for “Science and Technology Day,” Our Lady of Mercy School students Kayla Burns and Derrick Meyer were incorrectly identified.

We regret the errors.

July 1, 2011

The Newman singers with Joe Mattingly

ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 park road

July 19 – 5 p.m. catholic social services board meeting Pastoral Center, Belmont

Volume 20 • Number 26

This week’s spotlight:

— The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Information Meeting, NLC Room 204, 7 p.m. July 11.

Contact Tom Lindemuth at 704-543-7677, ext. 1063, or 704-840-4088.

— “The Lord be with you ... And with your spirit,” A Preview of the Revised Roman Missal, NLC, with Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin, 7-8:30 p.m. July 18 and 25, and Aug. 1 and 8

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Denise Onativia 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org STAFF WRITER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org HISPANIC COMMUNICATIONS: Carlos Castañeda 704-370-3375, cmcastaneda@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org

ST. Thomas aquinas church, 1400 SUTHER ROAD — Revised Roman Missal Workshop, 7 p.m. July 12 and Aug. 4

st. paul the apostle church, 2715 horse pen creek road — Long Distance Learning Meeting for those interested in the extension program from Loyola University’s Institute for Ministry, Parish Life Center, 6:30 p.m. July 7. Those interested in pursuing a Master’s Degree or Certificate in Pastoral Studies or Religious Education are welcome to attend. Contact Frank Villaronga at 704-370-3274.

HICKORY st. aloysius CHURCH, 921 second st.

— Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course, Parlor, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 16. RSVP required to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at cssnfp@charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3230.

HIGHLANDS OUR LADY OF THE MOUNTAINS MISSION, 315 N. FIFTH ST. — Our Lady of the Visitation, Mother of God Prayer Group, following 9 a.m. Mass Thursdays — Eucharistic Adoration, following 9 a.m. Mass first Fridays

HUNTERSVILLE st. mark church, 14740 stumptown road — Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novenas, following 6:30 p.m.

Mass Wednesdays — Hora Santa en Español, 7:30-8:30 p.m. terceros jueves

CLEMMONS

LINVILLE

HOLY family CHURCH, 4820 kinnamon road — The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Information Meeting, Room 8, 7-8:30 p.m. July 11

st. bernadette church, 2085 hwy 105 — Theology of the Body for Teens and Young Adults, July 18-22. Informational meeting following Mass on July 17. Contact Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at cssnfp@ charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3230.

— Charismatic Prayer Group, 7:15 p.m. Mondays — Catholic Trivia, Room 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through July. For details contact Gloria Musselwhite at 336-4166477 or Joe Muster at 336-978-1419.

— Eucharistic Adoration, Curlin Center, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Thursdays

MOUNT AIRY HOLY ANGELS CHURCH, 1208 N Main st.

— Mass in Extraordinary Form, noon Sundays. Contact holyangelsmountairy@charlottediocese.org or 336-7868147.

GREENSBORO OUR LADY OF GRACE CHURCH, 2205 W. MARKET ST. — “Catholic, meet the Bible. Bible, meet this Catholic,” School Library, 7-9 p.m. July 12, 19 and 26. Register with Jim at jmccullough@olgchurch.org or 336-274-6520, ext. 335.

The Catholic News Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 28 times a year.

NEWS: The Catholic News Herald welcomes your news and photos. Please e-mail information, attaching photos in JPG format with a recommended resolution of 150 dpi or higher, to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. All submitted items become the property of the Catholic News Herald and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

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Is your PARISH OR SCHOOL hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Calendar is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org or fax to 704-370-3282.

contact Advertising Manager Kevin Eagan at 704-370-3332 or keeagan@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $15 per year for all registered parishioners of the Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all others.

POSTMASTER: Periodicals class postage (USPC 007-393) paid at Charlotte, N.C. Send address corrections to the Catholic News Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203.

facebook.com/ catholic news HERALD Diocese of Charlotte

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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In Brief

Photo courtesy of Father Charles Susai, MOP

Missionaries of the Poor serve the homeless, sick and abandoned in places including Jamaica, Haiti, the Philippines, India, Uganda and the U.S. The Caribbean concert “Praise Him” will be performed July 16-17 at Spirit Square in Charlotte to raise money for the order’s work in Jamaica and Kenya.

World Refugee Day celebrated CHARLOTTE — The Catholic Refugee Resettlement Office of Catholic Social Services in Charlotte marked World Refugee Day June 17 with a special program and talks by Cross Cultural Resources’ Abdullah Sheikh, executive director, and Praja Subedi. Subedi came to the U.S. in 2009 after spending 17 years in a Nepalese refugee camp, where he and his family had fled to escape persecution in Bhutan. He described feeling lost and “stateless,” facing an uncertain future until coming with his family to the U.S. and starting new lives in a country that values diversity and multiculturalism. The diocese has resettled refugees and their families from 23 nationalities. To learn more, go online to www.cssnc.org.

— Patricia Guilfoyle

Susan deGuzman | Catholic News Herald

Venetra Fries enjoys the morning sun as she stands on the porch of her new home with daughter Andrea and son Andrew.

A home of her own Winston-Salem parishioner fulfills dream of home ownership Susan deGuzman Correspondent

Flip-flopping for the less fortunate MINT HILL — Parishioners of St. Luke Church in Mint Hill recently collected more than 1,600 pairs of flip-flops for children in Sierra Leone, following a Lenten parish mission by Monsignor Dan Sullivan, director of the Healey Family Foundation. Church members Kathy Sinay and John Trautman were inspired by the foundation’s work with children and learned that children in Sierra Leone are often afflicted and sometimes killed by parasites that enter their bodies through their bare feet. All it takes is an inexpensive pair of flip-flops to protect their feet and save their lives. They worked with their pastor, Father Paul Gary, the parish secretary, Mary Adams, and the stewardship committee on the collection drive, “Flip Flops for Monsignor Dan’s kids.”

WINSTON-SALEM — St. Benedict the Moor parishioner Venetra Fries is elated with her new home. It is a first for this WinstonSalem native and her two children, and it is thanks to her hard work and Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County that her dream has come true.

Following nearly a year of planning, saving, volunteering and attending classes, Fries closed on her house May 19. With Andrea, 7, and Andrew, 2, she moved in the next day.

“I feel blessed more than anything else,” Fries says. “Putting my children in a home, where it is comfortable and a good place to raise them – that is a blessing.”

Some time ago, Fries explains, “I had it in my mind that I wanted to get a home ... I was tired of renting, but the funds weren’t there for me to do it on my own.”

A paraprofessional who works with adults with disabilities, Fries learned about Habitat for Humanity from a friend who is a homeowner through the program. She told herself, “I’m going to do what I have to do to get where I want to go.”

A year ago this month, Fries put the wheels into motion. She had to apply and meet strict criteria to be qualified, including having limited debts and steady employment.

Then she had to wait several months, as well as save $600 to put towards her down

payment. She followed measures to set up an account with the New Century Individual Development Account program, part of The Experiment in Self Reliance Inc. of WinstonSalem.

Last fall, she learned she had been approved.

Homeowners with IDA are required to take financial literacy classes for six to eight months, according to Hilda Moore, director of Family Services of Habitat. This class time is applied toward 300 service hours – including 100 hours of “sweat equity” on building their home – that Habitat requires for each homeowner, and which Fries had to complete before moving into her home in May. Fries also attended Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University,” and she volunteered at Habitat ReStore, several Habitat fundraisers, and the Home and Garden Show at the Benton Convention Center.

While the homeowner must complete the majority of hours, 50 of them may be completed by friends or family. Fries credits her fiancé, Jesus Hidalgo Rabago, for his help in helping her achieve her goals.

“I would work on the weekends (when I was off from my job) and my fiancé would work during the week (when he was off from his job). He is as much a part of this as I am,” she says.

For her “sweat equity,” Fries tiled a bathroom floor and Rabago put up siding.

Because her home was nearly finished before she could put in her hours, she worked on homes for other Habitat recipients.

Looking back on how she got to where she is today, Fries says, “You have to have your mind and heart set on what you want, know that it is going to take hard work, and you have to be persistent to the end.”

To cap off her dream of beginning a new life with her family, she and Rabago, who is also a parishioner at St. Benedict the Moor, were married at the church June 11.

‘Praise Him’ coming to Spirit Square Missionaries of the Poor’s new musical set for July 16-17 SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Father Richard Ho Lung, founder of the Missionaries of the Poor in Jamaica, has written a new musical entitled “Praise Him” that will be performed July 16-17 at Spirit Square in uptown Charlotte. Proceeds from the performances will aid a new women’s crisis pregnancy center in Jamaica and their Tree of Life Mission in Kenya.

The Missionaries of the Poor is an international order of Catholic priests and brothers founded in 1981 who are dedicated to serving the homeless, sick and abandoned in places including Jamaica, Haiti, the Philippines, India, Uganda and the U.S. Their Guardian Angels Monastery, located in Monroe, provides assistance to the poorest of the poor in this part of the diocese.

“Praise Him” is the Missionary of the Poor’s newest fundraising and evangelization effort. It features bright and festive Caribbean music in a powerful spiritual and visual experience.

Performances will be held at the McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on July 16, and at 4 p.m. on July 17. Free parking will be offered at the 7th Street Station parking deck.

For tickets, including group orders, call 704-999-6354 or 704-635-8831. A preview of “Praise Him” can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gGTCAzlZqIU.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 OUR PARISHES

Asheville man ordained transitional deacon, on the way to becoming a priest SueAnn Howell Staff writer

SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Matthew Codd of Asheville was ordained a transitional deacon, one of the final steps before becoming a priest, by Bishop Peter Jugis on June 18. See more photos from the ordination on the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel.

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte gained its newest deacon June 18, as Bishop Peter J. Jugis ordained Matthew Codd to the transitional diaconate at St. Patrick Cathedral.

Deacon Codd, 28, whose home parish is St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, is in seminary at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmittsburg, Md. He is expected to be ordained to the priesthood next June.

His mother and father, Celine and R. Trent Codd Jr., and other family members were present for the ordination.

“As the ordination unfolded, my mind replayed Matthew’s childhood, during which I could clearly see God’s intentions for him. With feelings of humility and joy, I knew in my heart that God had chosen Matthew to serve Him and at the same time was heaping yet another blessing on our marriage,” Trent Codd said.

Reflecting on the day’s events, Deacon Codd said, “The day was far more beautiful than I had ever imagined that it would be. I was humbled and grateful for everyone that came and I look forward to serving them all as a deacon.

“I couldn’t help but think afterwards how much people had sacrificed in order to give me the opportunity to answer

More online For more photos from Deacon Matthew Codd’s ordination, see the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel.

Christ’s call.

“My parents, firstly, who first passed on the faith to me and who sacrificed much in order to pay for my education in Catholic school and to support me in seminary, and who have continuously prayed for me. And the people of the diocese as well, who generously give to the diocese for the formation of future priests and who send, in their kindness, care packages and letters to the seminarians to support them all along the way, not to mention their prayers.

Without all of the prayers and support, I’m sure I could not have made it to this point.”

Deacon Codd will serve this summer at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, assisting pastor Monsignor Richard Bellow and parochial vicar Father David Miller.

Four seminarians admitted to candidacy for priesthood SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis admitted four seminarians of the Diocese of Charlotte to the rite of candidacy at a special Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral June 17.

The candidates were Jason Barone, Santiago Martini, David McCanless and Peter Shaw.

The liturgical rite of admission to candidacy formalizes the intent on behalf of the candidates and the diocese to further the candidates’ studies and formation on the path to the transitional diaconate and, eventually, the priesthood.

Bishop Jugis, the main celebrant at Mass, addressed the congregation during his homily, stating, “Our brothers here have heard the Lord calling them to holy orders and

they consider themselves ready to respond to the Lord’s call…. The Lord interiorly prompts these men by His grace to come follow Him.” One of the candidates, David McCanless, will leave for Italy July 17 to study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome for the next four years. He will join Diocese of Charlotte seminarians Noah Carter, Paul Buchanan and Jason Christian, who are also studying theology there.

Santiago Martini hopes to travel to Rome upon acceptance in the program.

Jason Barone will serve at St. Michael Church in Gastonia this summer.

Peter Shaw – whose father, Deacon William Shaw, assisted at Mass – will serve this summer at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.

Summer work for our seminarians Seminarians of the Diocese of Charlotte have the following assignments this summer: n David McCanless will travel July 17 to the Pontifical North American College in Rome to begin first-year theology studies.

He will join fellow seminarians Jason Christian, Paul Buchanan and Noah Carter, who are already studying there. For the first

SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Bishop Peter J. Jugis admitted seminarians Santiago Martini, Peter Shaw , David McCanless and Jason Barone to the rite of candidacy at St. Patrick Cathedral June 17. Father Christopher Gober, director of vocations for the diocese, is also pictured.

two years of their four-year stay, seminarians are not allowed to travel home. n Jason Barone will serve this summer at St. Michael Church in Gastonia. n Cory Catron will serve this summer at St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville. n Jason Christian will serve at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. n Deacon Matthew Codd will serve at St. Mark Church in

Huntersville. n Casey Coleman will serve at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton. n Brian Kaup will serve at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury. n Peter Shaw will serve at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte. n Nicholas Vari will serve at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury and St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com

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In Brief

OLM hosts joint fund raisers

Christopher Lux | Catholic News Herald

Jesuit Father Joseph Sobierajski signs a copy of his recently published book, “Homilies of Joseph Sobierajski,” at a reception during the weekend-long 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Jesuits at St. Peter Church in Charlotte. On the wall behind him hangs a remnant of the church’s famous fresco by Ben Long that collapsed in 2002.

WINSTON-SALEM — Our Lady of Mercy School and Church banded together this year to hold a rummage sale fundraiser for the school May 21. Donations came from more than 150 parish and school families, said Janine Day, the primary organizer and mother of a second-grader at OLM School (pictured with volunteer Nico Martinez).

“Increasing awareness and cooperation between the parish and the school,” Day said, “and supporting each other’s activities has been a real benefit for all.”

Also, the Knights of Columbus Council 10504 hosted a spaghetti dinner fundraiser May 20 for Our Lady of Mercy School.

Proceeds from the dinner were donated to support the school.

— Annette Tenny

Jesuits celebrate 25 years in Charlotte St. Peter parishioners ‘remember and give thanks for God’s greatness’ Christopher Lux Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Jesuits at St. Peter Church in Charlotte.

The parish celebrated with a series of events which concluded with a Jesuitconcelebrated Mass on June 26. The Mass was followed by a reception where Jesuit Father Joseph Sobierajski signed copies of his recently published book, “Homilies of Joseph Sobierajski.”

St. Peter Church was built in 1851 in what was then the southern tip of Charlotte. It was later rebuilt after an explosion at a nearby factory damaged the building’s walls and foundation. As the city grew and more Catholic churches were built, the parish’s population diminished. In 1970, St. Peter Church ceased being a parish.

Then, in 1986, the church regained parish status and the pastorate was assumed by Jesuit priests of the Maryland Province.

As the population in the urban area of Charlotte has swelled, the uptown parish has

continued to grow as a community deeply concerned with outreach to those in need.

The pastor of St. Peter Church, Father Patrick Earl, was the principal celebrant at the anniversary Mass, celebrated on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Father Earl pointed out the appropriateness of the anniversary celebration being held together with the celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ: “We celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord, our nourishment in our lives as disciples of Jesus. And we remember the arrival of the Jesuits here at St. Peter’s in 1986. We remember those who have accompanied us on our journey as disciples of Jesus. And these events belong together. What we celebrate and remember is God’s way of dealing with us (through) the Incarnation. God’s Word must become flesh, must become seeable, touchable flesh in Jesus. And Jesus must become seeable, touchable flesh, in us.”

Father Earl invited the four Jesuit concelebrants “to remember some grace times for them here at St. Peter’s.” The Jesuit priests present at the Mass were: Fr.

Joseph Sobierajski, long-time pastor of St. Peter; Father Thomas Gaunt, one of the first Jesuits to come to St. Peter; Father Vincent Alagia and Father Timothy Stephens who, Fr. Earl said, “first came to St. Peter’s as a deacon … and now he comes to us as a big muckety-muck: Tim is the treasurer of the Maryland Province (of Jesuits).”

After the priests spoke, parishioners were invited to “remember and give thanks for God’s greatness.”

The parishioners stood up and told of times that the Jesuit priests of St. Peter Church impacted their lives. They recalled the day in 1986 when they heard “the Jesuits were coming to our Church”; they told of a parish that cared for the homeless, hungry and abused; they praised “a welcoming church in a country that might be an adoptive country for some of us”; and they all repeatedly thanked the priests for their 25 years of service to the parish.

The parish sponsored a music competition for the anniversary celebration. The music for the Mass consisted of hymns written by winners of the 2011 Ignatian Hymn Contest.

Scholarship awarded JEFFERSON — The Men’s Club of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jefferson awarded its first-ever $500 scholarship to Brendan Hearrell upon his recent graduation from high school.

— Patrick J. Hession

Flag retirement service held GREENSBORO — Knights of Columbus, Father Francis Connolly Assembly 3253, and Boy Scout Troop 244 from St. Pius X Church in Greensboro commemorated Flag Day with a flag retirement ceremony June 11. Flags that were no longer serviceable were burned. Pictured are Knights Woody Regan, Ed Calouri, Brian Rachal and Walter Kulla; and Scouts Joe Duffy, Sean Duffy, Jay Kirby, and Scout leader Jim Duffy.

— John Russell

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 OUR PARISHES

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

sueann howell | catholic news herald

Adoring Our Lord Father Matthew Kauth kneels in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament during adoration at St. Ann Church in Charlotte on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi June 26. Father Kauth, a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte who is on summer break from his Ph.D studies in Rome, celebrated Mass and led the Eucharistic procession at the church.

Patricia Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Corpus Christi procession and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Parishioners of St. Patrick Cathedral process behind Father Richard DeClue, parochial vicar, during an outdoor Eucharistic procession and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi June 26.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com GREENSBORO — St. Pius X hosted a wine tasting June 11 featuring wines from around the world. Julia Hunt, sommelier and newlyconfirmed Catholic, presented a history of how the Church has helped to sustain wine production over the centuries.

“Wine is a living thing,” Hunt explained to the guests who attended the program, which was organized by pastoral associate Tracy Earl Welliver as a celebration of the Church’s influence on wine throughout history. In the Catholic faith, the use of wine in the Mass is essential, but the Church’s influence on the life of wine in the world is also significant, they both said.

“The history of the Church and wine is so intertwined that truly one could not exist without the other,” Welliver said.

Guests tasted wines in connection with Hunt’s detailed account of their histories.

As guests tasted Greek and Italian wines, for example, Hunt shared that the Greeks played a role in early wine production, bringing grapevines to Italy around the eighth century B.C. During the collapse of the Roman Empire and the farming and trade that the Romans supported, European farmers sold their vineyards to the Church or simply abandoned them because they could no longer sustain them.

“The Church was the one structure stable enough to maintain these vineyards,” Hunt explained, and Catholic monastic communities gradually took a leading role with agricultural production and commerce throughout Europe. Benedictine monks became the largest producers of wine in France and Germany, particularly, because

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of wine’s sacramental purpose.

According to Hunt, sacramental wine was such a necessity throughout the world that Spanish conquistadors brought vines to Latin America specifically for use in the Eucharistic celebration. In 1872, O-Neh-Da Vineyard was founded by Bishop Bernard McQuaid in New York and is still today one of the oldest vineyards producing authentic sacramental wine. Even during Prohibition in early 20th century in the U.S., vintners in Napa Valley, Calif., found loopholes in the law so that they could continue providing sacramental wine to the Church. \Welliver said, “The best thing Julia did for those in attendance was give them a greater appreciation for wine and its intertwined history with the Catholic Church. When one is at Mass now, even the Eucharistic Prayer itself takes on a new dimension.”

CNS | Nancy Wiechec

Jesuit Father Phil Hurley speaks to a pub crowd in Washington, D.C., June 14. He kicked off a summer series of Theology on Tap nights sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington. Father Hurley will be coming to St. Matthew Church in Charlotte July 1-2 with a group of five young Jesuits to hold Hearts of Fire spiritual renewal retreats for young adults, married or single, aged 18-39.

Jesuits coming to Charlotte to set young ‘Hearts on Fire’ Sara Angle Catholic News Service

photo and information provided by Al Tinson and Marty Schneider

Celebrating family and fun at SonFest St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte recently put on “SonFest 2011,” drawing people from all over to celebrate as a family and enjoy good food and fun together. Anthony Morlando, the chairman of the parish’s pastoral council, led the extensive group of volunteers on the SonFest committee that organized the annual event.

Father Pat Hoare, pastor, echoed the sentiments of many parishioners when he said the celebration was not only a way to have some summer fun, but also to get together as a parish family. “SonFest 2011 was a great success in many ways,” he wrote in a message to parishioners afterwards. “First of all, our own parishioners were truly delighted. For some of them, it was the best event they had ever experienced at St. John Neumann. For others, they saw a spark return that they thought had long ago burned out. For just about everyone, we made new friends, meeting people that have attended Mass here each week for many years but never crossed our paths before. A few special moments for me occurred when some of our kids came up to me, unprovoked, and said, “Father Pat, thank you for having this for us.” And that’s really why we did it, isn’t it? So that all of us, especially our kids and grandkids, will have special memories of their days here at St. John Neumann no matter where their lives may lead.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hearts on Fire, a Catholic young adult retreat program, is storming cities across the U.S. this summer, including a two-day stop at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte July 1-2.

No, “this is not the world’s most perfectly cut diamond,” joked Jesuit Father Phil Hurley, referring to a popular line of engagement rings. The priest is the national youth and young adult director of the Apostleship of Prayer, a Jesuit association leading the Hearts on Fire retreats.

The retreats are for young adults aged 18-39, married or single, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and the spirituality of the Apostleship of Prayer.

“It’s a crucial time for people in their lives,” Father Hurley said. “They are at a place in their life that they can make decisions soon and take action on it right away and make a big difference.”

Father Hurley explained that the retreat is focused on trying to connect faith to everyday life. Participants learn about the Apostleship of Prayer’s idea of making a morning offering, living the Eucharist throughout the day and ending the day with an evening review. The retreat also leaves time for young adults to socialize with one another during meal times and a coffeehouse social.

For more More about the Hearts of Fire retreat program in Charlotte is online at http:// apostleshipofprayer.org/hof2011charlotte.html.

At a June 17 Hearts on Fire retreat in Washington, D.C., Father Hurley spoke to a group of young adults about competing loves in life, such as hobbies, family, God and work.

“How do we get those different things ordered in our life so that our hearts really are on fire?” he asked the audience.

“When I read about this I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I’m looking for,’” said college student Amanda Ussak, who hoped to gain “a better sense of how young people like myself could better incorporate prayer and spirituality into my everyday life, not just that once a week, on Sunday at Mass.”

Father Hurley said he believes it is important for parishes to have a young adult ministry group, but also to incorporate young adults into the larger parish community by providing leadership roles.

“Young adults have particular needs but also have a unique perspective to offer,” he said.

catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 10

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Cerca

Viviendo nuestra fe Carlos Castañeda Hispanic Communications Coordinator

CHARLOTTE — La imponente y a la vez simple fachada de estilo mexicano recuerda las fachadas de las antiguas misiones de Texas. Por la inmensa cantidad de fieles hispanos a los que sirve, así como por el gran avivamiento de sus ministerios y apostolados (catequistas y retiros) totalmente en español, la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe se ha convertido en el corazón y centro de gran parte de la comunidad hispana de Charlotte. La parroquia es una comunidad de familias enteras trabajando para preservar y celebrar la cultura hispana, a través de múltiples ministerios e iniciativas.

He aquí algunos datos de esta Comunidad: el 97% de su feligresía es hispana, atiende a un promedio de 200 a 300 fieles en formación de fe, cada año. Tienen aproximadamente 100 jovenes trabajando en los diferentes ministerios, sirviendo como Equipos de Apoyo en los Retiros, en la Catequesis y sirviendo en las Misas. Así como esta impresionante influencia y afluencia hispana definitivamente representa una bendición para nuestra ciudad, es también un compromiso misionero que la Parroquia conoce y asume.

Haydeé García es la Coordinadora del Ministerio Hispano de la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, desde hace diez años. Ella trabaja facilitando y dinamizando los servicios a la comunidad junto al Párroco, Rev. Vicente H. Finnerty, C.M. “Para nosotros es una alegria saber que muchos miembros que antes

Vea éste y otros videos: catholicnewsherald.com (sección Español)

pertenecieron a nuestra comunidad, han dejado esta parroquia y hoy sirven en diferentes ministerios hispanos de otras parroquias en Charlotte. Esto es parte de la Misión y Envío al que sentimos que nuestra Parroquia está llamada”, nos cuenta Haydeé. “Hoy, por ejemplo, tenemos un retiro para 50 jovenes, de 18 a 25 años. Nos hemos quedado a dormir aqui desde el viernes y nos vamos el domingo. Muchos de estos jovenes pasarán a formar parte de nuestros grupos juveniles o serán talvez algunos de nuestros futuros catequistas. Este retiro es el esfuerzo de la comunidad que cocina, trabaja y ora intensamente, para que estos jóvenes sean impactados por el amor de Dios”, acotó García.

El terreno sobre el cual se extiende la Parroquia es un gran espacio, que actualmente incluye hasta unas canchas deportivas. Sin embargo, el templo continúa siendo un gran salón ‘multipropósitos’ (multipurpose room).

Este mismo salón se usa justamente hoy para hacer el retiro del que nos habla Haydeé. Le preguntamos si existen planes para la futura construcción de un templo. “Con el favor de Dios, a partir del próximo año, podremos organizarnos para la ansiada construcción de nuestro templo.”

Haydeé nos comenta el próximo reto de la parroquia: “Este nuevo año escolar, iniciaremos el programa integral de Formación de fe. Se trata de formar a niños de edad escolar primaria (elementary), así como a sus padres, por todos los meses que forman parte del año escolar, y totalmente en español.

Este es un gran reto y para eso estamos capacitando Catequistas y pondremos a disposición nuestros esfuerzos para lograr este objetivo.”, acotó Haydeé.

La Parroquia ofrece, además de la preparación sacramental y confesiones, servicios y ministerios como: Catequesis para adultos, Grupos juveniles, Alcohólicos Anónimos, Melange Health Solutions, Crucero de salud, Clases de Alfabetización, Adoración nocturna, Grupo de Renovación Carismática, Servicios de medicina general, Taekwondo, Neuróticos Anónimos y Clases de Yoga.

Fotos: Carlos Castañeda | Catholic News Herald

(Arriba) Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe recibe a los visitantes que llegan a la Parroquia. (Abajo, izquierda) 50 jóvenes vivieron el retiro y profundizaron su relación con Dios. (Abajo, derecha) Jóvenes y familias sirven y trabajan en los más diversos ministerios de la Parroquia.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Mi

Pueblo

Día de San Pedro y San Pablo El 29 de junio, la Iglesia celebra la solemnidad de los apóstoles Simón Pedro y Pablo de Tarso, quienes luego fueron proclamados San Pedro y San Pablo. Por ser el día del líder principal de la Iglesia, este día es ampliamente conocido también en Latinoamérica, como el Día del Papa. Es una celebración del Papado y el reconocimiento de los fieles a la Iglesia establecida por el mismo Cristo, quien encargó directamente a Pedro: “Y ahora yo te digo: Tú eres Pedro, o sea Piedra, y sobre esta piedra edificaré mi Iglesia” (Mt 16,18ª).

Durante los últimos años y ante el surgimiento de los movimientos ecuménicos, esta fecha ha servido también para celebrar ceremonias religiosas en las que el Papa Católico y los líderes de algunas otras comunidades eclesiales, se reúnen en servicios que permiten lo que se conoce como la intercomunión, una forma de reunir puntos en común, en torno al amor de Cristo. El Beato Juan Pablo II, en la introducción a su Encíclica Ut Unum Sint (Que Sean Uno), del 25 de mayo de 1995, nos habla del “valiente testimonio de tantos mártires de nuestro siglo, pertenecientes también a otras Iglesias y comunidades eclesiales no en plena comunión con la Iglesia Católica…”.

“Estos hermanos y hermanas nuestros, unidos en el ofrecimiento generoso de su vida por el Reino de Dios, son la prueba más significativa de que cada elemento de división se puede trascender y superar en la entrega total de uno mismo a la causa del Evangelio”.

En algunos países, como el Perú, el 29 de junio se celebra además el Día del Pescador, recordando la vida de Simón Pedro, el apóstol cuya actividad diaria, antes de unirse al camino de Jesús, era la pesca. Simón Pedro, luego San Pedro, fue finalmente proclamado como el primer Papa de la Iglesia Católica.

Aqui

nuestra

estamos!

Fe

135 niños recibieron la Primera Comunión El pasado 4 de Junio se llevaron a cabo las Primeras Comuniones de la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Gracia. El Padre Fidel Melo dió por primera vez la Comunión a 135 niños en 2 misas (11 a.m. y 2 p.m.). Por este medio felicitamos a los niños y a sus padres por el testimonio de fe, al darles lo mejor a sus hijos, la presencia real de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Felicidades también a los maestros, por su pasión de enseñar las verdades de la fe.

Clinica gratuita en Hendersonville Con personal que habla español, la clínica gratuita está ubicada en el 841 Case St., Hendersonville, NC. Para más información, llame al 828-697-8422.

Chequeos médicos los jueves a las 5:00 pm.

Ultreya de Cursillistas La Ultreya es el evento que da la oportunidad de conocer más sobre el movimiento de Cursillos de Cristiandad.

Se llevará a cabo el sábado 16 de julio de 9:00am a 3:00pm, en la Parroquia de San Bernabé, en e1 109 Crescent Hill Road, Arden, NC.

Retiro Juvenil en Greensboro El pasado 17, 18 Y 19 de junio, el Vicariato de Greensboro realizó el primer retiro juvenil de este año, para jóvenes de 18 a 25 años. El retiro se realizó en la Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Rosario y fue una profunda experiencia para los jóvenes, afianzando su relación con Dios.

Felicitaciones al grupo de jóvenes, al equipo de Coordinadores, los miembros del equipo de Apoyo y al Diácono Enedino Aquino, quien acompaña las iniciativas de los jóvenes.

En

contacto

Envíenos sus noticias o anuncios y forme parte de esta sección Este espacio y sección es para promover y conectar a nuestra comunidad. Todos los comentarios y sugerencias son bienvenidas. Si desea escribirnos, dejar sus comentarios, sugerencias u opiniones, así como para enviar alguna noticia o promover algún evento de su parroquia o grupo, por favor contáctenos: Carlos Castañeda (cmcastaneda@charlottediocese.org,

Conociendo

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704-370-3375.

Si desea participar escribiendo o formando parte del ministerio de comunicaciones, no dude en unirse! Contáctenos por email o visite: www. catholicnewsherald.com (Sección Español) e ingrese su información. Nosotros le contactaremos tan pronto como sea posible.

P. Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar

“Tú eres Pedro y sobre esta piedra edificaré mi Iglesia…”

E

l pasado 29 de junio conmemoramos el dia de San Pedro y San Pablo. Esta festividad nos recuerda uno de los temas fundamentales que todo católico debe conocer: la Iglesia fundada por Cristo.

Vivimos una época en la que se presentan varias propuestas religiosas: Testigos de Jehová, Mormones, Adventistas y todos los de la línea Pentecostal, entre muchos otros. Ante todas estas propuestas, un buen número de bautizados abandonaron el catolicismo sin conocerlo ni practicarlo completamente, dejándose llevar por nuevos predicadores que a veces hablaban bien de su grupo y mal de la Iglesia, de las imágenes, del bautismo a los niños, la confesión, etc.

He aquí algunos principios que considero importantes de considerar ante esta situación: 1. Respetar a todos. Vivimos en una sociedad pluralista en la cual cada uno es libre de profesar la religión que más le convenga. Así, pues, no todos tienen que ser católicos, La Iglesia se presenta como “la sal de la tierra, la luz del mundo” (Mt 5,13-14).

El pertenecer al Cuerpo Místico de Cristo es un don, un llamado: “Ustedes no me eligieron a mí; he sido yo quien los eligió a ustedes” (Jn 15,16). De modo que el católico tiene que aprender a vivir su fe en medio de una sociedad religiosamente diversificada, respetando a todos.

2. Colaborar con quien busca el bien común. Todos estamos llamados a trabajar por el bien de la humanidad, sin importar la religión que se tenga. Si alguien lucha por la justicia y los derechos de la persona, no importa el credo que profese. Los cristianos estamos llamados a trabajar por el bien de todos.

3. Dar razón de nuestra fe. Sin lugar a duda, éste es un punto neurálgico, ya que de alguna manera se trata de defender la pureza de nuestra fe. Sin embargo, esto no debe alarmarnos. San Pedro escribió lo siguiente: “Hay que estar siempre dispuestos para dar una respuesta a quienes pidan cuenta de nuestra esperanza” (1Ped 3,15). De manera que si alguien habla mal de nuestra fe, tenemos que dar razón de ella.

Por lo tanto, ante tantas incertidumbres, dejo aqui algunas simples preguntas y respuestas que ayudan a comprender y

defender mejor nuestra fe: ¿Cuántas iglesias fundó Jesús?

Jesús fundó una sola Iglesia. “Y ahora yo te digo: Tú eres Pedro, o sea Piedra, y sobre esta piedra edificaré mi Iglesia” (Mt 16,18ª) ¿Cuánto tiempo durará la Iglesia que fundó Jesús?

La Iglesia que fundó Jesús durará hasta el fin del mundo. “Los poderes del infierno no la podrán vencer” (Mt 16, 18b). “Yo estoy con ustedes todos los días, hasta que se termine este mundo” (Mt 28, 20).

Entre todas las Iglesias actuales, ¿cuál es aquella única Iglesia que fundó Jesús?

Entre todas las Iglesias actuales, la Iglesia Católica es la única que fundó Jesús. ¿Cómo sabemos que la Iglesia Católica es la única Iglesia que fundó Jesús?

Lo sabemos por el hecho que la Iglesia Católica es la única Iglesia antigua, que llega hasta Jesús. Mientras que todas las demás iglesias, organizaciones o sectas, salieron de la Iglesia Católica y tienen a hombres como fundadores. ¿Cómo sabemos que la Iglesia Católica llega hasta Jesús?

Lo sabemos por los documentos históricos. Por ejemplo, tenemos la lista de todos los Papas, desde San Pedro hasta el Papa actual. Tenemos los escritos de los Padres de la Iglesia, que se inician precisamente con los Padres Apostólicos, quienes justamente reciben este nombre porque conocieron personalmente a los Apóstoles. ¿La Iglesia de Jesús es de puros santos?

No, la Iglesia de Jesús es de santos y pecadores. Esto lo vemos en la parábola del trigo y la hierba mala (Mt 13, 24-30). Entre los mismos Apóstoles hubo un traidor; el mismo San Pedro negó a Jesús tres veces (Lc 22,56-58).

Considerando nuestra naturaleza humana imperfecta, si usted quiere salirse de la Iglesia Católica, no lo haga porque ésta (la Iglesia Católica) no es perfecta, como usted quisiera. Si busca usted la Iglesia perfecta, déjeme decirle dos cosas: primero, que la iglesia perfecta no existe; y segundo: si de casualidad llegara a encontrar la Iglesia perfecta, al entrar usted, esa iglesia dejaría de serlo, para siempre.

Padre Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar es el Vicario Parroquial de la Iglesia de St. Aloysius, en Hickory.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

New saints added to U.S. church calendar Mary Elizabeth Sperry U.S. Conference of catholic bishops

When parishes start using the revised edition of the Roman Missal, the texts of the prayers won’t be the only changes Catholics in the pews see. It will include 17 additions to the Proper of Saints, the part of the Missal that includes prayers for the observances of saints’ days. The Proper of Saints follows a calendar established by the Vatican and modified by the bishops of each country to include saints of local importance. Any changes to a national or diocesan calendar require the Vatican’s consent.

The saints new to the third edition of the Roman Missal include saints, such as St. Augustine Zhao Rong, who were canonized after the second edition of the Roman Missal was published in 1985. Some of these saints, including St. Lawrence Ruiz and St. Andrew Dung-Lac, have been on the U.S. calendar for years. However, the revised Missal will be the first time their prayer texts have been available in the printed book. Other added saints appeared on the liturgical calendar until 1969, when the calendar was simplified and many saints’ observances were removed. Also restored to the calendar are observances for the Most Holy Name of Jesus and the Most Holy Name of Mary. Still others saints and observances added to the Missal highlight important teachings of the Church such as the teaching on Mary (Our Lady of Fatima) and on the Eucharist as the Sacrament of Christ’s love (as promoted by St. Peter Julian Eymard).

By canonizing these holy men and women, the Church presents them as models of Christian living. The added saints come from all eras and areas of the Church’s life – from the fourth century (St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Apollinaris) to the 20th century (St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Christopher Magallenes and St. Pio of Pietrelcina) – and from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

They include priests, religious women, martyrs, a married woman and missionaries.

Whether Catholics hear about these saints at their local parishes will depend on the priest. With the exception of the memorials of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (better known as Edith Stein) and St. Pio of Pietrelcina (better known as Padre Pio), all of the new observances are optional memorials. That means the decision about whether to celebrate them at a particular Mass rests with the celebrant.

Who made the list?

The saints added to the revised Proper of the Saints are listed on the Revised Missal section of www.catholicnewsherald.com.

Father Matthew Buettner

The Gospel and the homily:

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Deo gratias!

e mentioned last time that the Liturgy of the Word offers us the opportunity to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, who still guides His Church from His throne in heaven.

At each Mass, the eternal Word of the eternal Father unfolds the mystery of our redemption from the Old Testament to the New Testament into the present day.

He constantly reveals the divine plan of our salvation.

At the conclusion of each reading from Sacred Scripture, there is a ritual indicating that the reading has ended.

The Lector proclaims, “The word of the Lord,” and we respond, “Thanks be to God.” It is truly fitting that this ritual follows the retelling and the recounting of the events of Salvation History found in Scripture. Indeed, our souls and our minds ought to respond with great joy to the proclamation of Sacred Scripture in gratitude and thanksgiving for what God has accomplished principally through His beloved Son. The whole of Sacred Scripture is Good News to us who are in need of God’s abundant mercy and love. The Liturgy of the Word reaches its summit in the proclamation of the Gospel, marked by the use of incense (now the second incensation of the Mass), the joyful Alleluia chant (which in itself is a shout of praise at the Resurrection and victory of the Lord), and all stand at attention, for the words and deeds of Our Lord are about to be spoken in one of the four inspired Gospels. The Gospel is proclaimed either by the deacon (if present), a concelebrating priest (if present), or the celebrant himself. He begins with the familiar greeting: “The Lord be with you” / “And with your spirit.”

After he announces the evangelist from whom the Gospel is proclaimed, he makes a sign of the cross over the Gospel. Dom Gueranger reports that “He, at the same time, signs himself on the forehead, the lips, and the breast, asking, in virtue of the Cross, which is the source of all grace, that he may always have the Gospel in his heart, and on his lips, and that he may never be ashamed of it.” Following this reading, another ritual response is exchanged: “The Gospel of the Lord” / “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”

The faithful then sit down again.

Until now, the Mass has maintained a strict ritual, including the ritual responses at the conclusion of each reading. But here, the celebrant departs somewhat from a formal structure to explain, instruct and inspire. In other words, following the Gospel, the homily or sermon is the first unstructured response of man to God’s saving activity in salvation history. And so, the homily extends our response to the readings; the homily is an extended “Deo gratias” (“Thanks be to God”) for what God has accomplished and continues to accomplish in bringing about our salvation. It is important to note that only those in Holy Orders – deacons, priests, and bishops – may proclaim the Gospel and preach during the Mass.

Why? Not only do these men receive years of theological training, but they are officially consecrated by Holy Mother Church to preach in the name of Christ.

They are not to give their personal opinions and views; rather, they are chosen by the Church to speak on her behalf as an instrument of Christ.

As we just mentioned, the celebrant may give either a homily or a sermon.

Learn more This is part 21 of a year-long series featuring the revised translation of the Third Missal. Read all previous articles online at www.catholicnewsherald.com. For more resources, check out the U.S. bishops’ extensive material online at www.usccb.org/ romanmissal.

There is a subtle distinction between them: a homily generally focuses on the Scripture readings, whereas a sermon usually focuses on a particular topic or theme, such as a sermon on charity.

It is also important to note the distinction between preaching and teaching. The object of preaching is to increase faith, whereas the object of teaching is to increase knowledge.

The ultimate purpose of the homily or sermon is to increase faith, although elements of catechesis should be included. Unfortunately, one of the difficulties about preaching is an unreasonable expectation of the homily.

We may expect it to provide us with our weekly dose of Catholic faith and life: history, theology, philosophy, spirituality, liturgy, morality, Scripture analysis, etc. We want it to entertain us and be completed in five minutes or less! I will never forget one Dominican motto: “One homily cannot cover everything.”

Father Matthew Buettner is the pastor of St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton. This is excerpted from “Understanding the Mystery of the Mass – Revisited,” available for purchase online at www.tedeumfoundation. org. Proceeds will go toward the purchase of land for a future seminary in the Diocese of Charlotte. Previous

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In Brief

Father Brandon H. Jones

T

‘I believe in one God’

he Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “Faith is a personal act – the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.”

This introduction to the virtue of faith helps set the stage for our discussion of a seemingly simple, yet profound, change we shall notice in the revised English translation of the Roman Missal.

The Profession of Faith or the Nicene Creed, which we recite or sing every Sunday and Solemnity after the homily, was formulated in the fourth century in response to challenges to the orthodox Christian faith and as a summary of what Christians believe.

The 1973 English translation to which we are accustomed uses the phrase “We believe.” This was used in the conciliar texts which were promulgated by the bishops of the Church.

However, the liturgical texts have come down to us in the first person: “Credo” in Latin will now be rendered “I believe,” which is the correct translation.

Beginning on Nov. 27, we shall say, “I believe in one God,” “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,” “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” and “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”

This change raises the question as to why the liturgical assembly together will say, “I believe.” The Catechism explains, “I believe” is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during baptism … “I believe” is also

the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us.”

The Second Vatican Council explains that “in the liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.” Indeed, “Christ and His Church … together make up the “whole Christ” … The Church is one with Christ.” This is so much the case that St. Thomas Aquinas could say, “Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.”

When the individual believer professes his or her faith, he or she is at the same time professing the faith of the entire Church. “… Every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ, the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.”

All of that is embodied in two words: “I believe.”

I hope that this time together will help us to realize the importance of the Creed. It is not something to hurry through between the homily and the Prayer of the Faithful, but a profound compendium of our Catholic faith that we should engage with full, conscious and active participation.

Two elements ready for Spanish-language Roman Missal for use in U.S.

Roman Missal to be used in U.S. dioceses. Also included is the celebration for the feast of St. Rose of Lima, patron saint of Latin America.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A decision on which Spanish-language version of the Roman Missal will be used in the U.S. is awaiting Vatican approval of the version submitted by the Mexican bishops’ conference. But two elements of the U.S. Spanish-language missal are ready to go, after separate votes by the U.S. bishops during their recent general assembly in Seattle.

Use of musical settings for revised Roman Missal can begin in September

The bishops agreed to include a set of liturgical prayers associated with the principal patronal feast days of 20 different Spanishspeaking countries as an appendix to the new Spanish-language

Father Brandon H. Jones is pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews and Prince of Peace Mission in Robbinsville. This is a transcript of the fourth in the monthly video series “Missal Moments,” about the revised translation of the Roman Missal. “Missal Moments” can be seen on the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel or by visiting www.MissalMoment.com.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Instead of requiring that implementation of all parts of the new Roman Missal wait until the first Sunday of Advent, bishops who head dioceses can authorize the gradual introduction of the musical settings of the people’s parts of the Mass beginning in September. It primarily affects the Gloria, the Holy, Holy, Holy and the memorial acclamations.

Life Teens kick off summer at St. Mark Parish HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church’s Life Teen program recently held its annual “Freshman Welcome & Summer Kickoff” for more than 100 teens, who enjoyed a night of challenging games and great barbecue provided by some wonderful volunteers, including some of the parish Knights of Columbus. The evening ended with a live performance by the band Brother Brother.

— Tim Flynn

Golf tourney raises $4,500 KERNERSVILLE — Knights of Columbus Council 8509 of Holy Cross Church in Kernersville held its fund raising golf tournament June 4 at Pine Knolls Golf Club, raising about $4,500 for local charities. Pictured is the winning foursome (from left): Brian Finnerty Jr., Mathew Finnerty, Christian Hawley and Brian Finnerty Sr., which shot 15 under par.

— Fred Hogan and Matt Henze

Author honored CHARLOTTE — “Gratitude in Grief: Finding Daily Joy and a Life of Purpose Following the Death of My Son,” by Kelly Buckley, a member of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, was recently honored as a finalist in the International Book Awards in the “Spirituality: Inspirational” and Religion: Christian Inspirational” categories. This is the second honor for the book. It was also named an award finalist in the USA book News Awards in 2010 in the same categories.

— John Trautman

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FROM TH

Mission to mis Concord priest travels to Vietnam to aid Montagnard poor, lepers Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CONCORD — Father Vang Cong Tran will soon look at the disfigured face of a Vietnamese leper and say, ‘You are beautiful.”

Twice a year the Redemptorist priest from St. James the Greater Church in Concord journeys to the remote highlands of his homeland to bring the Gospel message of love and kindness to the poor and outcast of Vietnamese society. Father Tran’s latest mission will last the entire month of July.

He works closely through the Viet Toc Foundation, a non-profit based in Silver Spring, Md., that aids the minority Montagnard communities through education and medical care, especially targeting needy children, orphans and lepers. Besides supporters in this diocese, foundation leaders are based in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, and Toronto, Canada.

The Montagnards are a persecuted minority in this Communist country – marginalized in part because of their historical support for the U.S. during the Vietnam War, in part because of their Christian beliefs, and in part because, well, they’re poor, rural people who don’t belong to the majority Vietnamese culture.

Into these circumstances step the volunteers of the Viet Toc Foundation to provide food and clothing, medical help and educational opportunities for these families so that they might become self-sufficient. The foundation also encourages protection of the cultural heritage of the Montagnard peoples, who have an ancient tradition of gong and drum music and step dancing that is passed from fathers to sons and mothers to daughters.

Most importantly, Father Tran said, the volunteers build relationships to foster the people’s development: listening to their problems, ministering to their spiritual needs, affirming their human dignity.

“We share with them as people of faith,” Father Tran explains. “We recognize the beauty of God’s presence in their lives.”

After flying into Saigon last week, Father Tran and a half dozen companions drove 1112 hours by bus at night to reach the central highlands.

As they travel this month, they will ride on motorcycles as they go from village to village, to avoid attracting unnecessary attention (cars are rare in this region) and because the road

conditions are sometimes too treacherous for larger vehicles.

They will ford rivers swelled by the rainy season and navigate through dry, wooded areas, always accompanied by the local priest, sister or lay catechists who know the area and the particular families in need. During their month-long stay, they will travel to as many as 16 regions and meet with thousands of people – 200 people here, 3,000 people there.

Even though they are accompanied by a local lay leader or priest, Father Tran and his companions are a rare sight in this isolated area of Vietnam. Most of the time, he can’t speak the local dialect, although he can say Mass for them.

On a previous mission trip, Father Tran recalls, a young girl came up to him and began kissing and smelling his arm. She was surprised by the lingering smell of soap. She kept asking him, “Why are you here?” because he didn’t have to leave his life in America. His reply: God calls us all to love one another and to serve our neediest brothers and sisters in Christ.

The missionaries aren’t allowed to proselytize, and Father Tran can say Mass only in permitted areas or quietly in people’s homes. The foundation has no political agenda, so Father Tran is careful to follow the lead of the local priest in each area they visit.

But government authorities have questioned him in the past, and in one instance police came into a village looking for them, boldly entering people’s homes. People crowded by the door of the house Father Tran and his companions were in, to give them a few moments to slip quietly out the back so they wouldn’t create any problems for the residents.

Education is a major component of the foundation’s work, and its education programs now support close to 1,500 children. The quality of education in these rural areas is weak and sporadic, with underpaid and unmotivated teachers. And schooling is a luxury few can afford because of the lack of money and time. Children are needed to gather wood, walk to the nearest water source to fill water bottles, or tend to their younger brothers and sisters while their parents make do the best way they can.

The foundation encourages students to form Mission, SEE page 16

Redemptorist Father Vang Cong Tran (right) visits with a man afflicted with leprosy in one of the many Montagnard communi Vietnam and are often persecuted for their Catholic faith. Father Tran is in Vietnam again this month with a half dozen other

HE COVER

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sery An unidentified sister crosses a flood-swollen river on a rickety raft during a recent trip to the remote highland communities. According to Father Tran, she had crossed the river to check out the village on the other side and see what the inhabitants needed.

Father Tran and other missionaries travel hundreds of miles on motorcycles to reach the Montagnard communities, which are often difficult to reach and in some of the most barren areas of Vietnam.

This is a typical home for a Montagnard family in the communities in which the Viet Toc Foundation is assisting.

Photos provided by Father Vang Cong Tran

ities he and others traveled to last year with the Viet Toc Foundation. The Montagnards live in the central highlands of rs to serve the Montagnards, particularly working with children, the poor and lepers.

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The Viet Toc Foundation strives to help these communities become selfsufficient. Education is a primary tool for this, and children are provided with extra educational help and scholarships to continue their learning and return to their communities to help the next generation.

People also receive job skills training and equipment. Here, a Montagnard girl practices her weaving skills on a loom. Traditional Montagnard weaving showcases intricate patterns and bright colors, particularly red and black.

Three women in this Montagnard community receive help with sewing training and equipment, to provide them and their families with steady income.

MISSION FROM PAGE 14

study groups to support each other and develop student leaders, fund scholarships for additional schooling, and pay for school supplies. Students who make good grades get prizes and certificates at the end of the school term. It’s a simple gesture, but it has a powerful impact on these bright and hope-filled children, Father Tran says.

They also visit leper colonies and provide whatever aid they can.

Lepers are segregated in ramshackle communities with their children, where they receive little medical attention and must survive in squalid living conditions. But, Father Tran says, we as Christians recognize that their personhood is greater than their ailing bodies, so mission workers look past the missing limbs and disfigured faces to see the people themselves and help them.

Wherever there may be a need, the Viet Toc Foundation tries to help. They acquire solar lighting for a village so that the children can continue their studies after sunset.

They dig wells, put in water tanks and set up water treatment systems so children don’t have to spend time each day fetching water or drinking from filthy streams.

They arrange to correct cleft palates in young children – not just the surgery itself, but housing near the hospital and food for months leading up to the procedure so that the undernourished children can be strong enough to survive it. They pay for college tuition, so that young leaders can be trained as teachers and doctors and then return home where they can help build up the local village’s self-sufficiency.

Father Tran makes this trip to Vietnam’s central highlands twice a year, and each time he returns, he says, he vows not to forget each person he has met. And he tells members of the Montagnard community in the diocese to do the same: to remember their roots, their heritage, the family and friends they left behind. God puts each one of us in this place for a purpose, and we are asked to bloom where we are planted, he says.

Just as Jesus became man, lived among us and became part of us, Father Tran explains, so too do the foundation volunteers seek to build relationships with the people they serve.

“We tell them, ‘You are family.’ We are part of their lives. I would say that is the most important part of solidarity.”

How can you help?

Tax-deductible donations of any amount are welcome by the Viet Toc Foundation, either for a specific program or for general assistance. Go online to www.viettoc.org to learn more and donate electronically. For inquiries, e-mail tcvnam@viettoc.org, call 904-476-5761, or write to Viet Toc Foundation, P.O. Box 10061, Silver Spring, Md. 20914-0061.

See more online members of the Montagnard communities in the central highlands of Vietnam gather each summer for a music festival and competition among children of the villages to celebrate their ancient cultural heritage, organized in part by the Viet Toc Foundation. Video footage from last year’s competition of gong and drum music and step dancing – including performances of “Picking the Leaves to Hold the Rice and Tending the Cattle” and “Praising Mother Mary” – is posted at the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel, along with more photos from Father Tran’s previous mission trips.

Access to clean, reliable water is another important part of a self-sufficient community that the Viet Toc Foundation funds.

Here, these families celebrate the opening of a water treatment plant and well in their village. For many, this is the first time they’ve had a source of clean water close by.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com

Local sisters and volunteers with the Viet Toc Foundation also provide medical aid to people in every village they can, with particular help for leprosy victims who are segregated with their families – including children – in ramshackle, desolate leper colonies.

Volunteers also deliver food, as much as they can, to each village they visit.

FROM THE COVERI

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The foundation also supports Montagnard culture and heritage, including traditional gong and drum music and step dancing.

Father Tran met this Montagnard teenager during one of his recent visits to Vietnam. Like many impoverished Montagnard youth, she can’t afford to attend school. Instead she spends her days gathering cow dung to sell as fuel and fertilizer to help support her family.

This newborn baby was left abandoned under a tree and fortunately was found by a Viet Toc Foundation volunteer. The Montagnard people value family life and children, Father Tran said, and this case demonstrates the toll that extreme poverty is taking on many living in this part of the world.

Leprosy is largely left untreated in the region where the Viet Toc Foundation volunteers travel. Lepers are forced to live in separate colonies along with their children, who because of the lack of proper sanitation and health care, then often contract the disease themselves.

The heartbreaking sight of people trying to survive – to eat and to walk, to farm and to pray – without fingers, hands and feet is common, Father Tran said.

Our schools

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In Brief Contest winners named CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of the Assumption School students Alex Phan, Christiana Westbrook and Gabriella Frias (pictured above, with Madeleine McGuinness from Catholic Daughters of the Americas) won first-place awards in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas’ annual education contest. The contest, open to all students in grades 4-12, accepts entries in essay, poetry, art, photography and/or computer art. This year’s contest theme was “The Lord is my Light” and “The light others give to me.”

— Madeleine McGuinness

Christ the King High School to pioneer technology-based learning Laptops, honors diplomas will set this school apart SueAnn Howell Staff writer

IHM awards two scholarships HIGH POINT — Students, parents, faculty and staff of Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point gathered June 1 to recognize several students for their continued commitment to excellence. Scholarships were awarded in honor of two men who represent the best of IHM: the Francis J. McGrail Scholarship and the Michael “Pop” Herschel Faith in Action Scholarship.

Sixth-grader Nathan Woelfel and seventh-grader Sager Elliott received the Francis J. McGrail Scholarship, established by Gail McGrail in honor of the 10 faithful years of service her husband Frank served as IHM’s principal. The scholarship is offered to rising sixth- through eighth-grade students who exemplify the mission of IHM with strong

academic achievement, involvement in extracurricular and community activities, and commitment to their faith.

Fifth-grader Christopher Ganser earned the Michael “Pop” Herschel Faith in Action Scholarship, named for a fifth-grade religion teacher at IHM who not only shared the teachings of his faith and Church, but also taught lessons about how to be a better person by loving God and neighbor. Herschel inspired many though his commitment to Church and community.

Students eligible for this scholarship are rising third- through eighth-graders with exemplary faith leadership skills, both at school and in their community. They must also demonstrate excellent attendance and participation in faith-based activities, as well as high marks in religion class.

All three recipients are pictured with IHM’s pastor, Father Vince Smith.

— Mendy Yarborough

MOORESVILLE — In less than two months, the newest Catholic high school in the Diocese of Charlotte, Christ the King, will open its doors at its temporary location in Mooresville, next to the new retirement community Curlin Commons.

Christ the King Catholic High School will be the first school in the diocesan schools system to issue laptops to every student to enrich their learning and power the technologically-driven educational model being put in place at the new school.

More than 40 ninth- and 10th-graders are expected to walk through the doors when the school opens Aug. 24.

“By the time one of our students is a senior, he or she should be as comfortable learning online or independently as they are in a traditional classroom setting,” said Dan Dolan, principal.

Dolan also announced that Christ the King will be the first school in the diocese to offer an honors diploma in additional to the standard diploma. Honors courses will also be offered to freshmen – a first for Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.

School leaders reviewed 200 professional applications for seven available positions. Per Dolan, these jobs have been filled with professionals who are “all impressively credentialed, all Catholic, and all passionate to be part of building this new Catholic high school.”

Among those teachers is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who will offer a unique elective – a private pilot ground school course to students.

Incoming freshmen and sophomores have already selected the school colors of royal blue and silver; the mascot, a Crusader; and helped shape the electives that will be offered. They are now helping to fine-tune the school’s emblem and select the sports teams.

They will also participate in placing items inside a time capsule that will be opened in 25 years.

For more information, go online to www.christthekinghs.com or call Dan Dolan at 704-370-3355.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Photo provided by Pat Burr

Graduates of St. Michael School The 16 graduates of the eighth-grade Class of 2011 at St. Michael School in Gastonia are pictured above.

Photo provided by Karen L. Hornfeck

OLG graduates On June 1, 45 eighth-grade students at Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro graduated from the middle school. The Class of 2011 attended an eighth-grade awards ceremony during the day and then participated in Mass and graduation in the evening. Afterwards, seventh-grade students and parents hosted a reception for eighth-graders and their families. Pictured are graduates Abbi Carswell, Katharine Komsa, Ali Carswell, Micheal Ellis, Caroline Rose, Valerie Torres, Ryan Elder and Caleb Carmichael.

Photo provided by Mendy Yarborough

IHM graduates honored On June 2, parents, students, faculty, parishioners and friends gathered to honor 28 members of the eighth-grade graduating class of Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point. Mass was celebrated along with a graduation ceremony at the church on Johnson Street. Fifteen students have been together since their first day of kindergarten in August 2002. The three students with the highest cumulative grade-point average in the class were Bryan Soltis, Tommy Boyers and Sarah Lucas.

Lucas was named class valedictorian.

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GROUNDBREAKING FROM PAGE 3

the prayer of blessing for the new home before sprinkling the site with holy water.

“The work we are beginning today should enliven our faith and make us grateful,” Bishop Jugis said. “We know the familiar words of the psalm, ‘If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do we labor.’ Whenever we look to the interests of our neighbor or our community and serve them, we are in a sense God’s own co-workers.”

So far, $2.2 million of the $3 million needed to fully fund the project has been raised by donations from private individuals and groups such as the Knights of Columbus of North Carolina, who have pledged to raise $1 million for the new maternity home.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, described the center as “a witness to the entire Church

about what we need to do as a Church.”

“This is a perfect example of the Church collaborating with independent organizations who are working to provide alternatives to abortion. It tells us something about who the Church is and who we are supposed to be as the people of life.”

The priest also said the center should be a model for the rest of the country. “Every Catholic campus, every parish, every Catholic school, needs to be the place of first resort.

When a young woman or a man feels that a new baby in their life is throwing everything out of control, they need to see that the Church is the anchor – the place they can go to find help for themselves and their child.”

Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, said he hoped the home would help students understand what it means to put their faith into action.

“The students who live on this campus will get to see the reality, get to see that there are options,” he said.

ADOPTIONS FROM PAGE 3

adoptions and foster parenting as their local economies have improved.

Carter noted that CSS is committed to serving all clients still in the process of adopting and will continue to serve those families who are in the “post-adoption” phase, which lasts for up to five years.

CSS will also continue providing contract home studies and post-adoption supervision for

families in this diocese who are working with other international adoption agencies. An adoptions social worker will remain on staff for many years to come, he said.

“Although we will no longer be accepting international adoption applications, please be assured that Catholic Social Services will continue to assist families currently awaiting a placement, including providing post-placement supervision and report submission,” Carter said.

To view the official announcement from CSS, go online to www.cssnc.org.

If you are interested in getting more information about adoptions, go online to www. theadoptionguide.com.

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On TV

In theaters ‘Cars 2’ In director John Lasseter’s winsome, and equally familyfriendly, sequel to 2006’s “Cars,” some of the anthropomorphic vehicles of the first feature depart Route 66 for an around-the-world adventure as a veteran racecar accepts a challenge to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix across three countries. Amid the sight gags and belly laughs are good lessons about family, friendship, self-esteem, environmental stewardship and acceptance of others.

CNS: A-I (general patronage), MPAA: G

‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins’ The arrival on his doorstep of a half-dozen live penguins, a bequest from his father, a world traveler and arctic explorer, turns the life of a work-obsessed Manhattan real estate developer upside down.

CNS: A-I (general patronage), MPAA: PG

‘The Lion of Judah’ This 3-D animated musical re-imagines the events of the first Holy Week through the adventures of a bunch of wisecracking animals. Although its retelling of Christ’s Passion, death and resurrection is oversimplified, directors Deryck Broom and Roger Hawkins’ family film does provide a worthy introduction for young children to the story of salvation and the basic tenets of Christianity.

CNS: A-I (general patronage), MPAA: PG

Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá

n Friday, July 1, 10 p.m. and Saturday, July 2, 2 p.m. (EWTN) “They Call Him Father In The Five Continents” — This documentary explores the life and works of Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.

n Sunday, July 3, 10-11 p.m. (EWTN) “The Word of God in the Church” — Host Franciscan Father Michael Scanlan leads a roundtable discussion about the 2008 Synod on Sacred Scripture, with Scott Hahn, professor of biblical theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and panelists Regis Martin and Michael Sirilla of the university’s theology department. Part of the series “Franciscan University Presents.” n Monday, July 4, 8-10:15 p.m. (TCM) "Yankee Doodle Dandy" — Born on the Fourth of July, George M. Cohan melded patriotism with Irish charm in his rise

catholic news heraldI

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from song-and-dance vaudevillian to leading Broadway songwriter and producer in a career celebrated by this nostalgic, flag-waving musical starring James Cagney as the feisty entertainer.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, it features a grand collection of Cohan's bestremembered songs as well as Cagney at the top of his form singing and dancing his way to an Academy Award for the year's best performance. CNS: A-I (general patronage) n Wednesday, July 6, 10-11 p.m. (EWTN) "Like a Mustard Seed" — The first episode of a six-part miniseries exploring the origins of Catholicism within the Jewish community of the ancient world and the new faith's eventual spread across the Roman Empire. The series continues Wednesdays 10-11 p.m. through Aug. 10. n Monday, July 18, 2:30 p.m. (EWTN) “EWTN’s Vatican Report” — Stay informed with important news stories from the Vatican, interviews with Church leaders, special exhibitions of sacred art and visits to lesser known sights of Catholic interest in Rome. Encores July 21, 3 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and July 23, 6:30 p.m.

Our nation

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Catholic Volunteer Network loses more than $5 million in funding WASHINGTON, D.C. — Volunteers with the Catholic Volunteer Network will lose more than $5 million in education awards because of federal budget cuts. The Corporation for National and Community Service received $72 million less in the 2011 congressional budget appropriations than last year.

The agency is responsible for funding the AmeriCorps programs, including the AmeriCorps Education Awards Program run by the Catholic Volunteer Network.

AmeriCorps programs across the nation lost $22.5 million.

Order ‘saddened’ by Father Corapi’s decision to leave priesthood WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity said it is “saddened” that Father John Corapi, one of the most visible members of its order, has decided to leave the order and the priesthood. Father Corapi, 64, declared June 17 in a YouTube video and a blog posting on one of his Web sites, that he was leaving because he could not get a “fair hearing” on misconduct allegations lodged against him in March and which included what the priest said were sexual abuse charges. The order, commonly referred to as SOLT, was in the midst of investigating the allegations when Father Corapi made his announcement.

— Catholic News Service

N.Y. bishops: Same-sex marriage approval undermines families Catholic News Service

ALBANY, N.Y. — Following passage of legislation to allow samesex marriage in the state, New York’s Catholic bishops expressed concern “that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government.”

In a June 24 statement, the heads of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses said they were “deeply disappointed and troubled” at approval of a bill that will “alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage.”

The state Senate passed the measure 33-29 in an evening vote June 24, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and a Catholic, signed it into law later that night. Unless it is delayed by legal challenges, it will take effect in late July.

New York would then become the sixth state to permit samesex unions. They are already allowed in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.

The bishops said the true definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman “cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths.”

The statement was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishops Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo, Terry R. LaValley of Ogdensburg, Matthew H. Clark of Rochester, William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre and Robert J. Cunningham of Syracuse.

In a separate statement, Bishop DiMarzio said both Republicans and Democrats had “succumbed to powerful political elites” with their votes, and Cuomo had “opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation.”

He directed Catholic schools in his diocese “to refuse any distinction or honors” bestowed by Cuomo or by any legislator who voted for same-sex marriage and told pastors and principals “not to invite any state legislator to speak or be present at any parish or school celebration.”

Bishop DiMarzio said the request was intended “as a protest of the corrupt political process in New York state.”

“More than half of all New Yorkers oppose this legislation,” he said. “Yet the governor and the state Legislature have demonized people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced” if they oppose changing the fundamental definition of marriage, he added.

A last-minute amendment to the legislation exempts any clergy members who decline to perform same-sex weddings and protects any employee “being managed, directed or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious corporation, benevolent order or a notfor-profit corporation.”

It also says failure to provide same-sex ceremonies would not “result in any state or local government action to penalize, withhold benefits, or discriminate against such religious corporation, benevolent order, a not-for-profit corporation operated, supervised or controlled by a religious corporation.”

Bishop DiMarzio said the amendment showed that “our political leaders do not believe their own rhetoric.”

“If they did, how in good conscience could they carve out any exemption for institutions that would be proponents of bigotry and prejudice?” he asked.

In a June 28 statement about the New York action, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of

CNS | Jessica Rinaldi, Reuters

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives the thumbs up as he marches in the Gay Pride Parade in New York June 26. Following passage of legislation to allow same-sex marriage in New York, the Catholic bishops of the state expressed concern “that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government.”

Marriage expressed “grave disappointment with the Legislature’s abandonment of the common good” but praised the legislators and citizens who worked against passage of the law for “their inspiring witness.”

Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., said laws are designed “to uphold the common good, not undermine it.”

“Now, New York’s government will be forced to ignore that children have a basic right to be raised by their mother and father together,” he said. “Also, as demonstrated in other states where a marriage redefinition has occurred, officials there will be in a position to retaliate against those who continue to uphold these basic truths. This is a mark of a profoundly unjust law.”

Bishop Cordileone said marriage as an institution “affirms the vital and unique importance to children of receiving care from both their mother and father together.”

“Making marriage law indifferent to the absence of either sex creates an institutional and cultural crisis with generational ramifications yet to be seen,” he added.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Woo named president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services Catholic News Service

BALTIMORE — Carolyn Y. Woo, dean of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, has been named president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services.

Woo, 57, will succeed Ken Hackett, who is retiring after 18 years as head of the bishops’ international relief and development agency.

She will begin the job Jan. 1.

“Dr. Woo is a woman of deep faith with a strong commitment to the mission of the Church,” Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, of Tucson, Ariz., chairman of the CRS board of directors, said in a statement from the Baltimore-based agency. “She will bring exceptional abilities and gifts to the task of serving the poor around the world in the name of Catholics throughout the United States.”

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Woo served on the CRS board of directors from 2004 until 2010 and traveled to observe the agency’s program in Africa and Asia, including Banda

CNS | Jim Stipe, CRS

Carolyn Y. Woo, dean of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, has been named president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services. Woo, 57, will succeed Ken Hackett, who is retiring after 18 years as head of the bishops’ international relief and development agency. She is pictured with a child in 2007 in Ethiopia.

Aceh, Indonesia, soon after the Indian Ocean tsunami.

She immigrated to the U.S. to attend Purdue University in Indiana, where she received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. She held various positions at Purdue, ultimately serving as associate executive vice president for academic affairs. Her teaching and research interests include corporate and competitive strategy, entrepreneurship, management of innovation and change and organizational systems.

Bishop Kicanas praised Hackett’s leadership of the agency since 1993.

Hackett said in a statement that he had the chance to work with Woo as a board member and appreciated her “keen sense of the critical issues and decisions that faces us institutionally.”

“Her powerful intellect and insight combined with a profound faith and an abiding compassion will equip her well to lead CRS as it faces the challenges ahead,” he added.

Our world

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For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

World Youth Day registration high Sarah Delaney Catholic News Service

Pope calls for aid to conflict victims VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has called for emergency assistance to thousands of people fleeing the violence and civil strife in North Africa and the Middle East, and he appealed to nations to explore “every possible form of mediation” to end the conflicts. He also asked the Vatican’s coordinating body of church funding agencies for Eastern Catholic churches to “do everything possible” to help the minority Christian populations remain in the region. He said his thoughts and prayers were with all those “who are suffering and to those who are trying desperately to escape,” often without hope.

Pope advances sainthood causes VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of 27 candidates, including 14 martyrs from the Spanish Civil War, an Austrian priest who died in a Nazi death camp, and a Jewish wife and mother who converted to Catholicism and founded a religious congregation. The pope signed a decree clearing the way for beatification of: Hildegard Burjan, a German mother who founded the Society of Sisters of Caritas Socialis; Spanish Bishop Salvio Huix Miralpeix of Lleida and 13 sisters of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, all martyred in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War; and Father Carl Lampert, martyred in Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944.

— Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Organizers of this year’s World Youth Day say that the figures for registration and requests to volunteer are higher than ever and auger well for a successful and joyful gathering in Madrid in August.

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to attend the event and organizers said they expect more than 1 million young pilgrims to join him.

Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, who leads the Vatican agency organizing the huge event, said that some 440,000 young people had already signed up, a record number for registrations with the event still six weeks away. More than 35,000 young Catholics have applied for one of 22,500 places in the vast volunteer corps, he said.

At a news conference at the Vatican June 28, Cardinal Rylko said that every World Youth Day is “an extraordinary experience for a Church that is a friend of young people, close to them with their problems” and is able to transmit “enthusiasm and missionary zeal.” Young people, especially in increasingly secular Europe, “have a particular need for all of this,” he said.

In fact, he said, Pope Benedict chose the Spanish capital for the Aug. 16-21 event because of the specific need of Europe to rediscover its Christian roots and because of his conviction that young people are the most effective evangelizers.

CNS | Paul Haring

Puerta de Alcala, the symbolic main entrance to the city of Madrid, is lit in blue in this evening view from Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain. Youths from around the world will join Pope Benedict XVI when he enters Madrid through the archways for an evening reception during World Youth Day Aug. 16-21.

The pope will spend Aug. 18-21 in Madrid, meeting with the young people at least nine times and even hearing the confessions of some of them. The sight of young people going to confession in fields and tents has been a standard part of World Youth Day gatherings, but the Madrid celebration will mark the first time the pope himself will administer the sacrament at the event.

The pope will also preside over a prayer vigil and a closing Mass expected to draw

more than a million people, host a group of youths for lunch and lead a Way of the Cross with young people in central Madrid. He will also meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and with members of the royal family during his Aug. 18-21 visit.

It will be the third international World Youth Day encounter for the pope, who met with young people in 2005 in his native Germany, and in 2008 in Sydney.

Yago de la Cierva, executive director of World Youth Day, said the organization was proceeding on time and that an efficient and widespread network among parishes and other Church institutions in Madrid is contributing to the good pace of preparation.

The work of volunteers, he said, is the key ingredient in making the whole event successful.

De la Cierva said the Spanish government and local authorities are providing logistical help, certain venues and some tax breaks to companies working on the organization, but that no direct financial contribution has come from the public sector. While the total cost is expected to up to 62 million euros ($89 million), de la Cierva said it is expected to generate 100 million euros for Madrid and Spain.

Organizers also are asking the youthful participants to contribute, if they can, to help out their peers who otherwise would not be able to attend for financial reasons, de la Cierva said.

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

CNS | Paul Jeffrey

Nurse Fozya Al-Bike comforts 3-year old Aya Ali, at Hekma Hospital in Misrata, Libya, June 19. The girl was seriously injured when a wall, weakened by combat in her neighborhood, fell on top of her. She suffered a concussion, broken pelvis, broken leg, and other injuries. On her bed is a Quran. Fighting between rebels and troops loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi has raged in and near Misrata for months.

Nuns stay in Libya because of commitment to people Paul Jeffrey Catholic News Service

BENGHAZI, Libya — A Catholic nun working in rebel-held eastern Libya says she and other sisters have remained because of their commitment to the people they serve.

“This is our first experience of being in a war, and we’re sad to see the people dying, especially the youth who are offering themselves for freedom and for the future of this country. But it’s our duty to be here, no matter how much life has changed,” said Sister Priscilla Isidore, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea.

Sister Isidore, a Tanzanian, has lived in Libya for 16 years and works as a nurse in the city’s 7th October Hospital.

When the uprising against Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi broke out in February, Benghazi was the scene of violent clashes. Press accounts claim more than 200 people were killed in the city in the first few days as security forces cracked down on antiGadhafi demonstrations.

Yet after a week, the city was largely in the hands of the opposition, and since then has been the headquarters of the National Transitional Council, the de facto government of Gadhafi’s opponents.

Sporadic episodes of violence still occur.

Sister Isidore, 56, said 24 nuns remain in eastern Libya, working in Benghazi, al-Marj, al-Bayda, Derna and Tobruk. Three other sisters left the country in response to the fighting, she said.

“The situation here isn’t easy, and we

sisters are free to remain or leave. Most of us remain here because of God, because of our people, because of the Church. We choose to continue to offer our life for the people.

Whether the situation is good or not good, we choose God, we choose the cross of our Lord, to continue as He did. He couldn’t put His cross aside,” she said.

“Because the Lord is our hope, we will continue with our work among the sick and injured people here and, if necessary, to die with them. That’s our mission.

That’s why Christ sent us here.”

In majority Muslim Libya, Christianity is restricted mostly to enclaves of foreign Sister Priscilla workers, many of whom Isidore have been evacuated.

Yet, said Sister Isidore,“This year, our congregation has been here for 100 years. We have a strong history of love, unity and communion with the people. So the people love us, because they see that the sisters are here for God and love everybody.

“They call us mothers, and we call them our children, brothers and sisters. They respect us. They see we didn’t come here for other interests, only to work for God and the people. So they love us and we have no problems staying amidst them.”

“We have seen the people pray a lot during this period, pray together, putting their life in God’s hands, struggling together with God,” she added.

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ViewPoints

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 1, 2011 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

By the numbers

Reader poll

CHARACTERISTICS OF HOMELESSNESS Between 2007 and 2010, the number of people using homeless shelters in cities has decreased 17 percent but increased 57 percent in suburban and rural areas.

Characteristics of Homelessness

37%

are men 31-50 years old

37% have a disability the typical homeless family:

Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development

— Patricia Guilfoyle

Most-read stories on the web minority groups

58%

42%

white men

©2011 CNSThompson CNS | Emily

A mom with two kids now more likely to be counted among the homeless Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Out of work and living in a shelter, Jasmine, a single mother, has one thing on her mind: reuniting her family.

Son Emanuel, 3, is staying with Jasmine – who asked that her last name not be used – at the Ozanam Family Shelter in Edison, N.J., run by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Metuchen. But 5-year-old daughter Monet is with her grandmother. Jasmine turned to the shelter in mid-June, after she and her boyfriend broke up.

Her predicament illustrates a growing trend: Families are making up a growing proportion of homeless people. Shelter providers say they are seeing more families forced to abandon stable living arrangements and thrust into the uncertainty of life on the streets.

Wesley R. Moore, division director for housing and social concerns for Catholic

n Sunday Sloppy: Whatever I rolled out of bed wearing works for me!

While you’re at it, check out the following link from St. Paul Church in Richmond, British Columbia, on “How we dress for Mass,” at www.stpaulparish.ca/how-we-dress-for-mass.php. And for a humorous take on this topic by Celeste Behe, a writer at Faith & Family magazine and a contributor to the National Catholic Register, go to www.catholicmom.com/2011/02/16/an-open-letter-to-my-children.

the number of people using homeless shelters in cities has decreased 17 percent but increased 2007 and 2010 57 percent in suburban and rural areas

60% 78% men 62% are

important to me, but sometimes I don’t feel like dressing up, or I can’t afford it. At least I try to look neat and clean.

Go online to www.catholicnewsherald.com to cast your vote.

single African-American mother with two children

of emergency shelter stays lasted less than 30 days with one-third lasting less than one week

n Sunday Best: Going to Mass is a special occasion, and I want to show respect to God in His house. n Sunday Casual: Mass is

Between

are adults

It’s summer, and it’s H-O-T. That means we sometimes see people wearing flip-flops, short skirts and tank tops at Mass on Sunday. After all, we dress down to be more comfortable in the heat, and God doesn’t mind what we wear as long as we show up, right?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that during the reception of Holy Communion, “Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.” (CCC 1387) This month we’re asking readers: What does your chosen attire at Mass say about you?

Charities in Metuchen, said many parents landing in the shelter – single or married – are facing unemployment or underemployment, making it difficult for them to make ends meet.

The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that since 2007, the number of people in families who are homeless has increased by 19.8 percent.

Based on reports from shelter providers nationwide, HUD estimates that people in families now make up 35.6 percent of the country’s homeless population on any given night. That compares with 29.8 percent in 2007.

Homelessness among individuals declined 6.4 percent during the same period.

Overall, HUD estimated that nearly 1,593,150 people were homeless in 2009’10, with 567,334 being from families. That compares with an estimate of 1,581,595 homeless people in 2006-’07, with 473,541 from families.

The top five headlines this week online at www.catholicnewsherald.com are:

n Priest assignments announced by the Diocese of Charlotte ................................................................................1,066 n ‘Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!’: Father Voitus ordained in Charlotte ..............................................................................723 n St. Luke’s garden: ‘Alive with many kinds of creatures’ ..........................................................................................685 n Diocese, Catholic News Herald launch new Web sites ............................................................................................... 628 n Quran reading in diocesan church cancelled; interfaith event planned ............................................................602

July 1, 2011 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Letter to editor

Bishop Peter J. Jugis

A.J. Ohlhaut

Women have a right to know F

or many years abortion supporters have stated that they wanted to make abortion “Safe, rare and legal.” Although the exact definition of “rare” may differ, decreasing the number of abortions seemed to be one area of common ground for people on both sides of this contention issue.

N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue lost an opportunity to make abortion rare in North Carolina when she vetoed the Woman’s Right to Know Act on June 27. This sensible piece of legislation provides a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion is performed and requires abortion clinics to provide women with information, including an ultrasound, so that they can make an informed choice about what is literally a life-and-death decision. Twenty-six other states already have similar legislation in place.

It is appalling to think that we even need legislation that requires a waiting period before a serious operation is performed. For nearly all medical procedures, consultation with a physician in the days or weeks before an operation is considered routine. Only with abortion can someone literally drive up to a clinic in the morning and go through a major surgical procedure within a matter of hours.

A doctor wouldn’t skip getting an X-ray before mending someone’s broken arm. Why is an ultrasound, which is far safer than an X-ray, even questioned before an abortion is considered?

Both the governor and the Charlotte Observer this week cited concerns about patient-doctor privacy in supporting the veto of the Woman’s Right to Know Act. Abortionists may be medically certified but they don’t have an ongoing doctorpatient relationship with women who are seeking their services. Typically, the abortionist spends only a few minutes with a woman before removing the innocent unborn life from her womb. The abortionist then moves onto the next woman to perform the next procedure, while his patients move forward with lives that are often fraught with guilt.

Fortunately, North Carolina has a way to override the governor’s veto. This legislation is only one vote shy, in each house, of the necessary three-fifths majority needed to override the governor and become law. In the coming weeks, my prayers and efforts will be focused on convincing at least two more legislators that the Woman’s Right to Know Act respects the dignity of a woman with an unplanned pregnancy as she considers the fate of the innocent human life she carries in her womb.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis leads the Diocese of Charlotte.

More ideas for good environmental stewardship

O

A teenager’s view of Special Olympics

n a recent Thursday morning, I woke up earlier than usual. I swiftly ate breakfast and charged out the door by 8 o’clock.

I am home schooled, so I was not heading out to school. Summer swim league hadn’t started yet, so I wasn’t headed to practice. Though a devout 13year old, I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to go to Mass that morning.

What was going on? What pushed me out of bed and sent me from Kannapolis to the Cabarrus County Events and Sports Arena?

I was volunteering for the Special Olympics.

People aged 5 to 55 showed up at the Special Olympics, a program for kids with mental or physical handicaps. Besides the athletes, hundreds of volunteers turned out to help with the Olympics.

Armed with a “volunteer” T-shirt, a free lunch ticket, an expectation for the unexpected and a willingness to help, the volunteers received instructions from the event coordinator. The coordinator informed us that our job was to “make sure the athletes have a good time.”

We sat by the open field and watched as the athletes, guided by their teachers, paraded by in wheelchairs and on foot.

Four of the staff then lit the Olympic torch, and the kids raced around the track with a lot of cheering on the part of everyone. A prayer for safety and a good time followed and then the games began.

For the older athletes, there were Olympic Games as close as they could get to the real thing – everything from the shotput to the 100-yard dash. Each athlete was assigned a volunteer who guided the competitor from event to event, assisting them in the various games.

Ten stations were arranged in a circle, where younger children could play at kicking soccer balls, tossing beanbags and throwing beach balls. Grinning all over,

the kids played with sand and water and got their faces painted.

The kids ranged in abilities and personalities. Some were animated and drove their volunteers crazy with chatter.

Others, including my young charge, Jack, would only say “Bunny!” every now and again because that’s what was painted on the faces of all the younger kids.

After receiving a sticker from each station, the Olympians were guided by their volunteers to the awards podium where each one received a medal. Then, they hung out in Olympic Town, where organizations such as Chick-fil-A, the Cabarrus County Fire Department and others set up pavilions and held activities for the athletes. Candy, pencils, Silly Bands, balloons, and cups were given to the participants as they wove through the complex, keeping their hands trustingly in those of their volunteers.

At about noon, parents located their athletes and headed out, most with a gushing “thank-you” to the volunteers who, more often than not, were worn out by all the activity.

We volunteers came away with an experience that we will never forget. I will remember the grin on one child’s face as he tossed a beanbag right through the hole, and the giggles as others colored pictures in Olympic Town to send to our soldiers.

The looks of satisfaction on the athletes’ faces as they stood proudly on the award podium and received their well-earned medals is a picture which will not pass soon from my memory.

I developed a deeper appreciation for my health and that of my family, and I treasure the joy at bringing happiness to a child I helped “have a good time.”

I would like to thank Christopher Lux for his timely article on environmental stewardship in the June 3 Catholic News Herald. What better way to praise God the Creator than by being careful with all of His creation? Congratulations to the parishes that have participated in energy audits and acted to reduce energy usage and at the same time decreased their carbon footprints.

In this troubled economy, the money saved frees up income that could be used for ministries.

I would like to suggest several more ways parishes can be good stewards of their resources. One is waste management: Parishes should consider recycling all paper, aluminum and plastic waste. They can also reduce waste by using reusable, recyclable or compostable cups and napkins; replace disposable coffee cups with mugs; and place labeled recycling containers in parish halls. Also, at the next potluck supper, encourage parishioners to bring dishes made from locally grown fruits and vegetables and organic grains and meats; and at the fish fry during Lent, select fish that have been farmed in environmentallyfriendly ways or that have not been overfished.

Thea Sinclair lives in Hickory.

A.J. Ohlhaut, 13, is a parishioner at St. Ann Church in Charlotte. The second of nine children, he is an avid server at both the Mass in the ordinary form and the extraordinary form.

Letters policy The Catholic News Herald welcomes letters from readers. We ask that letters be originals of 250 words or fewer, pertain to recent newspaper content or Catholic issues, and be in good taste.

To be considered for publication, each letter

must include the name, address and daytime phone number of the writer for purpose of verification.

Letters may be condensed due to space limitations and edited for clarity, style and factual accuracy.

The Catholic News Herald does not publish poetry,

form letters or petitions. Items submitted to the Catholic News Herald become the property of the newspaper and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

Mail: Letters to the Editor Catholic News Herald 1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

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