April 29, 2005

April 29, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Year of the Eucharist

Mystery of the Mass, Part 14; eucharistic adoration list

| Page 7

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI APRIL 29, 2005

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

To shepherd God’s church Pope Benedict XVI formally begins ministry as head of church

by

See SHEPHERD, page 5

CNS photo from Reuters

A crowd waves and takes pictures of Pope Benedict XVI as he greets them after his April 24 inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The Mass, attended by about 350,000 people, marked the formal start of Pope Benedict’s papacy.

Growing in faith

Fighting for Life

Moves to protect ‘bornalive infants,’ conscience rights praised CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON — National and local pro-life Catholic officials praised the Department of Health and Human Services for its plan to “aggressively enforce federal laws that protect born-alive infants,” as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt announced April 22.

“Roe vs. Wade may currently leave our country helpless to defend infants moments before birth, but even now we can and must protect those struggling for their lives outside the womb,” said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, director of planning and information for the bishops’ Secretariat for ProLife Activities.

“We applaud the Department of Health and Human

Conference explores small Christian by

JOANITA M. NELLENBACH

See DYC, page 9

JOANITA M. NELLENBACH correspondent

correspondent

RIDGECREST, N.C. — Catholic youths sang, rocked, prayed and learned their way through the Diocese of Charlotte’s 28th annual Diocesan Youth Conference (DYC) April 22-24.

“I really like that all the Catholic

See INFANTS, page 8

Cornerstone and building blocks

Hundreds join in prayer, praise at youth by

no. 29

by

Pope: election thoughts made him lightheaded, doubtful CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY — In a liturgy rich with symbols and promises, Pope Benedict XVI formally began his ministry as head of the universal church, and Catholics from around the world pledged their love and obedience to him.

After paying homage at St. Peter’s tomb the morning of April 24, Pope Benedict, with some 150 cardinals, processed into St. Peter’s Square to begin the Mass and receive the main symbols of his office: the fish-

vOLUME 14

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Joe Farris tell youths how to have an “extreme Catholic makeover” during the annual Diocesan Youth Conference.

HICKORY — S t a n d ing, singing, clapping in time to a rousing rendition of “Somos el Cuerpo de Christo/We Are the Body of Christ,” 165 people concluded the first conference on small Christian communities (SCC) in the Diocese

of Charlotte.

“Christ is the Cornerstone, We are the Building Blocks,” was held April 16 at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory.

Father Francis Cancro, pastor of St. Eugene Church in Asheville, spoke to Anglo attendees on “A Story Told of See SCC, page 9

Culture Watch

Perspectives

Parish Profile

Pope memorabilia near Vatican; father-son filmmakers

Purgatory; breaking the law; abortion secrets

St. John the Baptist Church serves Tryon Catholics

| Pages 10-11

| Pages 14-15

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2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

April 29, 2005

Current and upcoming topics from around the world to your own backyard

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. bishops have hired the second female law enforcement officer to head their office that is responsible for helping them apply their child sex abuse prevention policies.

She is Teresa Kettelkamp, who helped conduct the annual audits in 2003 and 2004 of U.S. dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies to monitor compliance with the bishops’ abuse policies.

The announcement of her appointment as executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection was made April 15.

Kettelkamp retired in 2003 as deputy director of the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services after 29 years with the Illinois police force. She was the first woman to attain the rank of colonel in the Illinois State Police.

Kettelkamp began her new post at USCCB headquarters in Washington April 13.

She replaced Kathleen McChesney, who

NEW PRIEST IN TOWN

CNS photo by photo by Lisa Schulte, Catholic Voice

Father Steven Boes, a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., has been named executive director of Girls and Boys Town, effective July 1. His appointment was announced at a press conference April 14. He is the fifth priest to hold the post since Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town in 1917.

Omaha priest named executive director of Girls and Boys Town OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) — The Girls and Boys Town national board of trustees announced April 14 the selection of Father Steven Boes as the executive director of Girls and Boys Town, effective July 1.

He will be the fifth priest to hold the post since Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town in 1917.

“I am excited to have a hand in writing the next chapter in the Boys Town story, to build upon its track record in this its 88th year of changing the way America cares for its children and families,” Father Boes said at a press conference on the Girls and Boys Town campus.

Father Boes, 45, will succeed Father Val Peter, who will retire as executive director June 30.

As a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha for 20 years, Father Boes is currently the director of the St. Augustine Indian Mission and senior associate pastor of several churches.

Archbishop Elden F. Curtiss said he was pleased Father Boes was selected to lead Girls and Boys Town.

“The commitment to youth he demonstrated during his years as director of the mission school, his considerable pastoral experience, as well as his admin-

Ex-Illinois police officer named head of child

istrative talents, makes him an excellent choice for executive director,” he said. “I have every confidence that Father Boes will provide quality leadership for Girls and Boys Town and will successfully carry forward the work of Father Flanagan.”

The national search began in June 2004, with more than 150 candidates — men and women from both lay and religious backgrounds — considered from across the United States Girls and Boys Town, the original Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home, is a leader in the treatment and care of abused, abandoned and neglected girls and boys.

For more than 87 years, the nonprofit, nonsectarian organization has provided these children with a safe, caring environment where they gain confidence to get better and learn skills to become productive citizens.

In 2004, a record number of children — 43,654 — received help from Girls and Boys Town’s direct care programs at 19 sites in 15 states and in the District of Columbia. More than 500,000 children and families were helped through the Girls and Boys Town national hot line and nearly 1 million more were served through outreach and professional programs last year.

Diocesan planner CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Rd., will offer a one-day workshop on the spiritual practice of Centering Prayer May 14, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Centering Prayer is an ancient way of knowing God through love in silence. Instruction in the tradition and method of Centering Prayer will be offered as well as experiences of Centering Prayer. The workshop is open to all Christians. Reservations are requested. For reservations or more information, call (704) 523-4641.

CHARLOTTE — The Franciscan House of Discernment, 801 Bromley Rd., invites all young women to a “get-acquainted evening” April 26, 6:30-9 p.m. Share a movie and popcorn with the Sisters of St. Francis. For information, call (704) 376-2010 or (704) 607-2235.

CHARLOTTE — The Vietnamese Cursillo of Charlotte School of Leaders meets the second Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd. For more information, contact Nam Le at (704) 549-1525.

CHARLOTTE — The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order gathers the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 2301 Statesville Ave. Those interested in learning more about the SFO and the Franciscan way of life are invited to attend. For more information, call Skyler Harvey, SFO, at (704) 545-9133.

CHARLOTTE — The Cancer Support Group for survivors, family and friends meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons

resigned in February after heading the office since its inception in December 2002.

“I’ll work tirelessly to continue to give victims a voice, to encourage them to come forward for healing and to strengthen the protection mechanisms for children,” which were implemented in the bishops’ 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” said Kettelkamp.

After retiring from the state police, she became part of the teams organized by the Gavin Group Inc., of Boston to conduct the annual audits of dioceses and eparchies.

Her Illinois police work at one time involved supervising 28 specially trained agents in the investigation and recovery of missing children. Many of the children were victims of sexual abuse.

As head of the forensic service, she managed the second largest forensic system in the nation and the third largest in Pkwy. For more information, call Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283.

GREENSBORO VICARIATE GREENSBORO — Anyone currently unemployed or concerned about their present employment situation is invited to attend the Re-employment Support Group held in the Parish Life Center, Room 8, of St. Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Rd. The group will meet May 12 and 26, 7:30-9 p.m. For more information, call Colleen Assal, (336) 2944696, ext. 226. Anyone with knowledge of job opportunities is asked to call Colleen to share them with the group.

HIGH POINT — All are invited to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church’s first International Festival on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 4-8 p.m., at the church, 4145 Johnson St. The festival will feature music, dance and exhibits from a variety of nations, as well as food from the Philippines, Mexico, Vietnam, Poland and Turkey. Admission is free, but everyone is invited to bring a dish, preferably representing a foreign country, to share. For details, contact Larry Kwan at hlkwan@lexcominc.net or Rita Leonard at (336) 454-3758.

GREENSBORO — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Guilford Division, Our Lady of Knock, is planning a trip to the Franciscan Prayer Center in May. Those interested in attending this outing are encouraged to call Mary Giff at (336) 855-7014 for further information.

HICKORY VICARIATE LENOIR — St. Francis of Assisi Church, 328B Woodwsay Ln. NW, will host Landings, an outreach program for those who have left the Catholic Church and are thinking of returning. Landings will meet Saturday evenings at 7 p.m., through May 28. Anyone interested in participating should call the church office at (828) 754-5281.

APRIL 29, 2005 Volume 14 • Number 29

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Karen A. Evans Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Deborah Hiles 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

The Catholic News & Herald 3

April 29, 2005

FROM THE VATICAN

Vatican sets up e-mail addresses for Pope Benedict said. “People just know that when there is a special event we usually highlight it on our Web site.”

The majority of people chose the English e-mail address, which received more than 30,000 e-mails in 48 hours.

The Vatican Web site, www. vatican.va, featured a brand new home page design with the words “Habemus papam” (We have a pope) and “Benedictum XVI” emblazoned under the new pope’s chosen coat of arms. Internet users can click on one of six languages listed on the home page to get to the page featuring the pope.

From there, by clicking on the “Focus” sidebar featuring a photo of Pope Benedict on the day of his election, users are sent to a new section that provides the links to send the pope greetings and to watch events broadcast live by Vatican television.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican created a series of new e-mail addresses so people around the world could send a message to the new pope.

Well-wishers can send Pope Benedict XVI an e-mail using any one of the six different addresses set up by language.

English (benedictxvi@vatican.va), Spanish (benedictoxvi@vatican.va), German (benediktxvi@vatican.va), as well as Italian, French, and Portuguese e-mail addresses were activated and made public the morning of April 20, just 16 hours after the new pope was elected.

“In just two days after the accounts were set up, we received over 56,000 e-mails,” said Legionaries of Christ Father Fernando Vergez, an official in the Vatican’s Internet office.

“We didn’t publicize anything,” he

HICKORY — A Charismatic Mass is celebrated the first Thursday of each month in Sebastian Chapel of St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. NE, at 7 p.m. For further information, contact Joan Moran (828)-327-0487.

SALISBURY VICARIATE

WAYNESVILLE — The Catholic Women’s Circle of St. John’s Catholic Community meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the church hall. For more information, call the church office at (828) 456-6707.

FRANKLIN — The Women’s Guild of St. Francis of Assisi Church, 299 Maple St., meets the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. in the Family Life Center. The meetings feature guest speakers and special events periodically. For more information, call Claire Barnable at (828) 369-1565.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE

STATESVILLE — St. Philip the Apostle Church, 525 Camden Dr., will offer 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration May 11-13. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed continually, and prayers and supplications will be offered throughout the observance. The observance will begin with Mass May 11 at 7 p.m. There will be a prayer service May 12 at 7 p.m. and closing Mass May 13 at 7 p.m. For more information, contact the church office at (704) 872-2579.

SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., celebrates a Charismatic and Healing Mass the first Sunday of each month at 4 p.m. Prayer and worship with prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner will follow the Mass. Father John Putnam, pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

MOORESVILLE — A Support Group for Parents Who Have Lost a Child of any age meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at St. Therese Church, 217 Brawley School Rd. We draw strength from others’ experience of loss and grief. For more information, call Joy at (704) 664-3992.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN VICARIATE SYLVA — Court St. Mary, Mother of God of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas will hold an open meeting May 14, following the 9 a.m. Mass. The meeting will be in the Fellowship Hall of St. Mary Church, 28 Bartlett St. Any woman interested in knowing what the organization is all about is cordially invited to attend. For further information, call Sandy Beauchemin at (828) 586-1136 or Gwen Parris at (828) 631-4127.

Episcopal

calendar

Governor says Catholic politicians can balance church, secular laws ROME (CNS) — Catholic politicians can balance guidance from the Vatican with a commitment to following secular laws, said the head of the U.S. delegation to Pope Benedict XVI’s April 24 inauguration Mass.

“I take advice from the leader of my church very seriously,” Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida said at a press conference the afternoon before the Mass.

“I also have a duty to uphold the laws of the state. I don’t believe this necessarily has to be in conflict,” he said, adding that religious leaders have a right to take a stand on political issues.

“This helps not just Catholic governors, but others as well,” said Bush, who in 1996 became a Catholic, which is the faith of his wife, Columba.

Other members of the delegation included Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele; Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus; Helen Alvare, associate professor of law at The Catholic University of America, Washington; and Frank Hanley, presi-

dent emeritus of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Bush said he was sure Pope Benedict would continue Pope John Paul II’s emphasis on human dignity.

“The dialogue about creating a culture of life is one that needs to be ongoing,” he said. “And religious leaders, particularly the pope, can play an important role for us to realize the value of life.”

“It’s not just related to abortion,” he said. “It relates to end-of-life issues as well. It’s wonderful to have moral leaders that are not ambiguous about what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Asked how he reacts when his views might go against those of church leadership, as in the Iraq War or on capital punishment, the governor admitted the divergence caused him concern.

“I get uneasy when the Vatican writes me letters when a death penalty case is about ready to take place in Florida. That gives me pause. It makes me pray harder,” he said.

Helping hands

KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church, 616 S. Cherry St., invites all Catholics who have been inactive, feel alienated or want to take another look at the Catholic Church to attend a series of sessions designed to address issue that have perhaps cause a feeling of estrangement. Re-Membering Church will meet Wednesdays through May 25, at following the 7 p.m. Mass For more information, call Juliann Demmond at (336) 996-7136.

WINSTON-SALEM — The Healing Companions is a grief support group for the bereaved that meets the first and third Thursdays of the month in conference room B at St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave. For further details, call Joanne Parcel at (336) 924-9478.

Is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public? Please submit notices for the Diocesan Planner at least 15 days prior to the event date in writing to Karen A. Evans at kaevans@ charlottediocese.org or fax to (704)

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events:

May 2 — 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confirmation Holy Cross Church, Kernersville

May 5 — 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confirmation St. John the Baptist Church, Tryon

May 4 — 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confirmation St. Aloysius Church, Hickory

May 7 — 11 a.m. Sacrament of Confirmation Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury

Courtesy Photo by Annie Kane

Charlotte Dunderdale, a sixth-grader at Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte, returned to her former elementary school, St. Ann School in Charlotte, to help her former teachers with various tasks around the school during a day off from middle school Feb. 18. Not asked to give up her free time and not receiving service credit, Charlotte voluntarily offered to help any teacher who needed an extra pair of hands. Charlotte spent her day off grading papers, helping explain math to students, counting pennies for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, walking students to classes and helping with recess duty.

U.S. bishops’ conference issues prayer cards of Pope Benedict XVI WASHINGTON (CNS) — The day Pope Benedict XVI was elected, April 19, the publishing office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a prayer card of the new pope.

The card has an image of the pope standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican when he was first introduced to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and to the world as the 265th pope.

The cards contain the prayer for a new pope from the Sacramentary and biographical information about Pope Benedict. They are available by clicking on the “Bookstore” link at www.usccb.org.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

April 29, 2005

Abbot Shelton honored for work in prison ministry

Courtesy Photo

Pictured is the Model U.N. team from Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville, who recently participated in the 6th annual Model U.N. competition held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Feb. 13.

High school Model UN club sweeps competition KERNERSVILLE — The Model U.N. team at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School has returned victorious.

The team participated in the 6th annual Model U.N. competition held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13. The Catholic University International Relations Association sponsored the competition.

“This is a team that we all can be proud of and one that will continue to meet all of the challenges placed before it,” said David Seidel, a history teacher at Bishop McGuinness and the team’s advisor.

After four days of competition with schools from all over the country, the Bishop McGuinness team was rewarded with Outstanding Delegation, won by students P.J. Dascoli and Mike O’Shea.

Additionally, the entire team won the Best High School award, sweeping the competition.

The team consisted of students P.J. Dascoli, Mike O’Shea, Neil Goodman,

Iain Pritchard, Will Scott, Sam Wharton, Jordan Cain, Bredan Regan, P.J. Stanford, Lauren Watkins, Rachel Anemone, Robert Whelen and John Valittuto.

The Model U.N. Club is in its second year of existence at Bishop McGuinness.

Last year the club won more than 20 awards at the competition at Appalachian State University. This year the team won two awards for excellence in delegation during a competition at Duke University.

The team of 12 students represents two different countries in a variety of international situations. These simulations require in-depth research and superior negotiation and speaking skills.

“The Model U.N.’s outstanding showing in Washington is a tribute to the dedication and drive of both the team and its moderator,” said George Repass, principal. “To achieve this level of distinction within two years of start-up is remarkable.”

HAMLET — Benedictine Abbot Patrick Shelton, pastor of St. James Church in Hamlet and vicar forane for the Albemarle Vicariate, recently received the 2004 Volunteer of the Year award for his work at Morrison Correctional Institute in Hoffman, N.C. As reported in the Richmond County Daily Journal, Abbot Shelton received the plaque during a banquet at the prison’s chapel April 12.

Greg Parsons, assistant superintendent of programs, presented the award to Abbot Shelton, describing him as an “angel delivered to us.”

In addition to his ministry to inmates, Abbot Shelton was praised by Parsons for his great sense of humor.

Every Monday evening for the last several years, Abbot Shelton has gone to Morrison to hear confessions, celebrate Mass and have fellowship with the inmates.

Abbot Shelton also was recognized for his initiative to study Spanish to communicate with Hispanic inmates.

“He has worked very hard at learning enough Spanish so that he could provide

Benedictine Abbot Patrick Shelton the prisoners with a Mass in Spanish on a weekly basis,” said Father David Draim, parochial vicar. “He has had as many as 29 prisoners at Mass and has a very good reputation at the prison, where people enjoy his jokes and personality.”

Abbot Shelton said he was disappointed he was not yet able to translate jokes to Spanish-speaking inmates with the same effect as in English.

April 29, 2005

from the cover

The Catholic News & Herald 5

“Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one an-

Pope begins ministry, discusses election SHEPHERD, from page 1

erman’s ring and the pallium.

“At this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity,” Pope Benedict said in his homily.

The 78-year-old pope said he would rely on the prayers of all Catholics and the grace of God. “I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone,” he said.

The new pope said his inaugural Mass was not the moment to present “a program of governance,” but rather a time to promise to try be a good shepherd to Christ’s flock, to rescue those who are lost, to help the poor and to build unity among all believers in Christ.

An estimated 350,000 people attended the Mass, including delegations from more than 130 countries and from dozens of Orthodox, Anglican and Protestan churches.

A loving shepherd In his homily, Pope Benedict said, “One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves.”

“Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God’s truth, of God’s word, the nourishment of his presence which he gives us in

the Blessed Sacrament,” he said.

The new pope asked for the prayers of the entire church that he would grow in his love for the Lord and for the members of the church and prayers that he would be strong in the face of those who threaten the church.

“Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another,” he said.

His homily repeatedly was interrupted by applause, and Pope Benedict received a long ovation when he finished.

After he received the symbols of his office, Pope Benedict received the act of obedience of his new flock, symbolized by 12 people from eight countries.

During the offertory procession and the act of obedience, Pope Benedict smiled broadly, listened attentively, stroked the cheeks of the young and offered his blessing.

At the end of the Mass, Pope Benedict took his first ride in the popemobile, waving to the crowd and blessing them with his right hand.

He then went into St. Peter’s Basilica where he met with members of government delegations.

A new mission The thought of being elected the leader of the universal church made him lightheaded and doubtful, said the pope.

During the “slow unfolding of the voting process” at the conclave, it eventually became evident that “the guillotine was coming closer and was meant for me,” he said in an April 25 audience with

CNS photo from Catholic Press Photo

Pope Benedict XVI blesses a child as he leaves a prayer service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome April 25. During the service, attended by several thousand people, the pope stressed that the primary task of the church is to evangelize. pilgrims from his native Germany.

The thought of becoming the next pope “made my head spin,” he said. “I had thought that up until now my life’s work was done and that the years ahead of me would be more restful.”

But a fellow cardinal-elector had given the future pope a letter reminding him of a phrase he had used during his homily at the funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II: “If the Lord calls you, you must obey,” said Pope Benedict.

Some 3,000 German pilgrims filed into the Paul VI audience hall to meet with the newly elected German pontiff the day after he was formally installed as pope.

The pope met with ecumenical and other religious leaders earlier that morning.

The pope then revealed some of the details behind his election in his message to his fellow countrymen.

He said when the voting was showing him to be the clear favorite he prayed to God “to spare me.”

He said he told God, “You have candidates who are younger, better, stronger and have more elan than me.”

“Evidently God did not listen to me,” he said wryly.

But the pope said he gathered strength for accepting the cardinals’ decision from the letter given to him

by a fellow cardinal-elector. He said the “touching” letter reminded the pope of the theme he chose for the mid-April funeral Mass homily that when one is called by God that call “cannot be rejected.”

“So I had no other choice than to say ‘yes,’” he said.

Pope Benedict asked his audience to continue to pray for and have trust in him.

“If I ever make an error or when the pope says something that is not easy to understand, because the pope has to say these things, I ask for your trust from now on,” he said.

A young church Pope Benedict said because Pope John Paul was seen as an open and fatherly figure, it created a church that “was not closed up inside itself,” and was “open to all.”

“The church is not old and immobile, but young,” he said.

He also said he was looking forward to his August trip to Cologne for World Youth Day. Contributing to this story were Carol Glatz, Cindy Wooden, Benedicta Cipolla and Eleni Dimmler.

6 The Catholic News & Herald

A step toward priesthood

priestly formation

April 29, 2005

Accepting acolytes

Courtesy Photo by Chuck McGinnis

Bishop Peter J. Jugis stands with transitional deacons in study to become priests of the Diocese of Charlotte after an ordination to the diaconate at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa., April 2. Deacon James Stuhrenberg (left), who attends Blessed Pope John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass., and Deacon Alejandro Ayala (second from right), who attends St. Vincent Seminary, were ordained during the ceremony; Deacon James Elbright (right), who attends Theological College in Washington, D.C., was ordained to the transitional diaconate last year and will be ordained to the priesthood this June.

Seminarians for the Diocese of Charlotte St. Vincent Seminary 300 Fraser Purchase Road Latrobe, PA 15650 Deacon Alejandro Ayala Blessed Pope John XXIII Seminary 558 South Avenue Weston, MA 02193 Deacon James Stuhrenberg Fred Werth Theological College Catholic University of America 401 Michigan Ave. NE Washington, D.C. 2001 Richard DeClue Deacon James Elbright Blake Urban Immaculate Conception Seminary

440 West Neck Road Huntington, NY 11743 Gabriel Salazar St. Charles Borromeo Seminary 100 E. Wynnewood Rd. Wynnewood, PA 19096 Patrick Cahill Justin Grosnick Patrick Hoar Patrick Toole Pontifical College Josephinum 7625 North High St. Columbus, Ohio 43235 Charles Desch Paul McNulty Peter Shaw Joshua Voitus

Courtesy Photo by Ken Gavin

Patrick Cahill, Patrick Hoare and Patrick Toole, seminarians for the Diocese of Charlotte, flank Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, after their institution to the ministry of acolyte at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., March 19. Pictured (from left): Father Joseph Prior, seminary rector; Cahill; Bishop Burbidge; Hoare; Toole; and Msgr. Michael Fitzgerald, vice rector.

The seminarians were among 15 seminarians to be received into the ministry of acolytes, which is celebrated during the seminarians’ second year of graduate theological study at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and is a required part of the formation process.

April 29, 2005

year of the eucharist

Offertory, consecration and Communion Understanding the Mystery of the Mass, Part 14

into time, heaven dawns upon earth, God comes again to meet man. By the words of Christ speaking through a priest, the Holy Spirit changes the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity. This is known as transubstantiation (from the Latin, meaning “change in substance”).

This is not simply a recited prayer, but a divine act which enables us to apply the cross to ourselves; the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ is brought into the present and relived in us.

Why? In order to receive him as spiritual nourishment and as an antidote for sin and death.

3) Holy Communion. In the offertory, we are like lambs led to the slaughter. In the consecration, we are the lambs who are slaughtered in our old sinful selves. And in holy Communion, we find that we have not died, but that we have come to life.

In a certain sense, the substance of bread and wine must be sacrificed, must die, so that it may become the body and blood of Christ. In the same way, our old habits of sin must also be sacrificed so that we might have new life in Christ.

Chemicals must die so that plants might live. Plants must perish so that animals might live. Chemicals, plants and animals must die so that man might live.

And our old sinful selves must perish for God to live in us. That is why we “receive” holy Communion: we receive Christ, we receive divine life. But perhaps more importantly, it is Christ who receives us, incorporating us into his divine life.

Next week we will begin to inspect the rituals that bring us to union with Christ.

Father Buettner is parochial vicar of St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton.

WANT PREVIOUS COLUMNS? Father Buettner’s “Mystery of the Mass” series is available online at www.charlottediocese.org/mysteryofmass.html

Guest Column Father Matthew Buettner guest columnist

As we begin to examine the Liturgy of the Eucharist this week, we are reminded that the drama of our redemption is accomplished by Christ in three distinct acts: 1) the passion, death and resurrection; 2) Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday; and 3) the Last Supper, the crucifixion and death on the cross and the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.

These three acts of our redemption compose what we call the Paschal Mystery.

It is the holy sacrifice of the Mass that invites us into the Paschal Mystery and unites us with the means of our salvation.

Within these three acts — the passion, death and resurrection — there are three movements in the Mass that perpetuate the effects of our redemption and apply them to our individual souls. These three movements — namely, the offertory, the consecration and the reception of Holy Communion — compose the three principal movements of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Together, these three movements unite us with the mystery of the cross, continue to bring about our salvation by applying the fruits of our redemption today and, ultimately, express the divine love and mercy of God for his people.

Let us inspect for a moment these three principal movements.

1) The offertory. In order to apply the merits of redemption to our souls, each of us must renew the death to sin that was brought about by Christ on the cross.

Christ died once and for all on the cross 2,000 years ago. In imitation of his perfect sacrifice and in union with his self-offering to the Father, we offer ourselves in union with Christ. In the early church, this was accomplished by offering the same elements that Christ himself offered at the Last Supper, namely bread and wine; some of each was used by the priest to offer the sacrifice.

Today, we substitute money for these elements. The money pays for the bread and wine sacrificed at the Mass; but the money also represents ourselves, since we receive money as payment for our labor, time and talent. The material sacrifice that we make is still a symbol of our spiritual incorporation into the death of Christ. Through the free offering of ourselves to God in union with Christ we find salvation.

2) The consecration. The offertory leads us to the consecration.

The consecration of the Mass does not mean that our Lord dies again, for he can never die again in his own individual human nature. But he prolongs his death in us. In the offertory we present ourselves for sacrifice with Christ; in the consecration we die with him. We apply his death to ourselves that we may share his resurrection and his glory.

At the consecration, the eternal breaks

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Adoration of the Eucharist is offered at the following churches: Andrews Holy Redeemer Church Fridays, 9-10 a.m., with confessions ending

with Benediction Arden St. Barnabas Church Sundays, 1-10 p.m.; weekdays, 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturdays, 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Asheboro St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 8:15 a.m. Mass until 1 p.m.

Asheville Basilica of St. Lawrence daily, 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

Belmont Abbey Mary, Help of Christians Church daily, 5 a.m.-10 p.m.

Boone St. Elizabeth Church first Fridays 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Mass Bryson City St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 5:15 p.m. Mass (unless otherwise posted) until 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte Our Lady of the Assumption Church first Fridays, following 7 p.m. Mass for one hour St. Gabriel Church perpetual adoration St. Matthew Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Saturday, in chapel St. Peter Church first Fridays following the 12:10 p.m. Mass with Benediction at 1:30 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas Church Fridays following 12:15 p.m. Mass until 8:30 p.m.

St. Vincent de Paul Church first Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass

until 10:30 a.m.

Clemmons Holy Family Church Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. except holidays Concord St. James the Greater Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Mass at 11 a.m.

Denver Holy Spirit Church first Fridays, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday Forest City Immaculate Conception Church Thursdays, 7-8 p.m.; Fridays, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Sundays, 8-9 a.m.

Franklin St. Francis of Assisi Church first Fridays 9 a.m. until 9 a.m. Saturday; other Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Gastonia St. Michael Church eve of first Friday, 10 p.m. until 8 a.m.

Friday Greensboro St. Benedict Church first Fridays, 12:15-8 p.m.

St. Paul the Apostle Church first Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Hendersonville Immaculate Conception Church first Fridays, 9-11:30 a.m.

Hickory St. Aloysius Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

High Point Christ the King Church first Fridays: call church for time

Maryfield Chapel perpetual adoration Huntersville St. Mark Church Fridays, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Jefferson St. Francis of Assisi Church Fridays, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Kannapolis St. Joseph Church Thursdays, 4-7 p.m. ending with Benediction and followed by a Spanish charismatic prayer group; Fridays, 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m., ending with Benediction and followed by bilingual Mass Kernersville Holy Cross Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 7 p.m.

Lenoir St. Francis of Assisi Church Saturdays, 4:15-5:15 p.m.

Lexington Our Lady of the Rosary Church Fridays following morning Mass until 5 p.m.; Benediction following 11 a.m. Mass Sundays Lincolnton St. Dorothy Church Fridays, 6-7 p.m.

Linville St. Bernadette Church Fridays following 11 a.m. Mass Marion Our Lady of the Angels Church first Fridays, 8:30-11:30 a.m. followed by Benediction and Mass. For Spanishspeaking parishioners, 6-8 p.m.

Mocksville St. Francis of Assisi Church first Fridays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; Wednesdays,

6-7 p.m.; children’s adoration last Fridays

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Monroe Our Lady of Lourdes Church Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.-12 a.m. Sunday Mooresville St. Therese Church first Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:45 p.m.

Morganton St. Charles Borromeo Fridays following 6 p.m. Mass until 7 p.m.

Mt. Airy Holy Angels Church Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Thursdays,

10-11 a.m.

Newton St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 12:10 p.m. Mass

until 6 p.m.

Salisbury Sacred Heart Church Thursdays, 7-8 p.m.; Sundays 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Spruce Pine St. Lucien Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Statesville St. Philip the Apostle Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Swannanoa St. Mary Church firstplease Fridays following p.m. Mass until 5 To include yourMargaret church in this list, call12(704) 370-3354.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

fighting for life

‘Born-alive’ act INFANTS, from page 1

Services for initiating this important and humane effort,” Ruse added in an April 22 statement.

The department’s action followed the passage in August 2002 of the BornAlive Infants Protection Act, which says that any infant who is fully born and shows signs of life is considered a human person entitled to the full protection of the law — even if the baby is born during a failed abortion.

“Any step taken to promote the protection of human life has to be considered positive,” said Maggi Nadol, coordinator of Respect Life Ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte, in an April 26 statement.

“But, how frightening that we, as a society so richly blessed, must pass a law to protect its most precious natural resource — the next generation,” she added.

Leavitt noted that “Congress had received testimony that some infants who had been born alive after unsuccessful abortions were left to die.”

He said his department would “investigate all circumstances where individuals and entities are reported to be withholding medical care from an infant born alive in potential violation of federal statutes” and “take proactive steps to educate state officials, health care providers, hospitals and child protection agencies about their obligations to bornalive infants under federal law.”

In the “first of these educational steps,” Leavitt said, the department has

issued guidelines about how the BornAlive Infants Protection Act intersects with other federal laws and regulations — the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, the Medicare Conditions of Participation and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. “Ours is a society that values and defends life,” Leavitt said, pledging that his department would “continue to seek ways to revere and protect the dignity of life.”

In a separate statement April 22, Ruse also expressed gratitude that a Senate vote to rescind the Hyde-Weldon Conscience Protection Amendment had been canceled, reportedly because Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., realized she did not have the votes necessary to overturn the provision.

The amendment — named for Reps.

Henry Hyde, R-Ill., and Dave Weldon, R-Fla. — prohibits governmental discrimination against health care providers who choose not to provide or participate in abortions. It became law last December.

“The vote to kill conscience protection for pro-life health care providers made no sense,” Ruse said. “How can you claim to be ‘pro-choice’ and say that Catholic and other health care providers have no right to choose not to participate in abortions?”

Even if senators disagree about abortion itself, she added, “conscience rights should be an area of common ground.”

Editor Kevin E. Murray contributed to this story.

April 29, 2005

Colorado church officials hail veto on emergency contraception Decision called ‘victory for religious freedom’ by archdiocese official DENVER (CNS) — Catholic officials in Colorado praised Gov. Bill Owens’ veto of a bill that would have required all Colorado hospitals, including Catholic facilities, to notify rape victims of the availability of an emergency contraception pill to prevent pregnancy.

Sergio Gutierrez, spokesman for the Denver Archdiocese, called the governor’s April 5 decision “a victory for religious freedom.”

In his veto letter, Owens, a Catholic, said: “This bill does not give patients all the information that they deserve, nor does it safeguard basic freedom of conscience.”

In a speech in March, Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput told an audience at the City Club of Denver the problem with the bill was that it mandated “a form of so-called ‘emergency contraception’ that could amount to early-term abortion and that is always very gravely wrong.”

The measure would have forced Catholic hospitals to violate Catholic teaching against abortion, he said.

In his remarks, the archbishop also expressed dismay that the separation of church and state is frequently cited as a reason why religious leaders should stay

out of politics, but said the same standard does not apply when the state wants to impose its view on Catholic hospitals.

Supporters of the measure said it was about providing information to women. Sponsors of the bill said they did not have enough votes to override Owens’ veto. The governor received the bill April 4 and had 10 days to decide whether he would veto it or sign it into law.

In Arizona, Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill that would have allowed health care professionals, hospitals and pharmacies to refuse on moral grounds to dispense medications related to abortion or emergency contraception.

In a joint statement, the state’s Catholic bishops criticized the governor for vetoing a measure that they saw as a matter of civil rights for health care professionals and Catholic hospitals.

The right to follow one’s conscience is particularly important when the issue involves “the taking of an innocent human life,” said the statement signed by Bishops Thomas J. Olmstead of Phoenix, Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson and Donald E. Pelotte of Gallup, N.M., whose diocese includes northeastern Arizona.

April 29, 2005

youth in action

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Hundreds of youths gather at annual DYC DYC, from page 1

youths can get together,” said Becky Dilloway, attending her third DYC from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point.

“I love the enthusiasm; it’s not something you see every day,” she said. “It gives you hope for the Catholic Church of tomorrow.”

Taking its inspiration from the Year of the Eucharist, the conference theme was “The Perfect Body.”

Held at Lifeway Ridgecrest Conference Center near Black Mountain, the DYC was sponsored by the Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Youth Ministry in collaboration with the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council. The council is composed of high school students from each of the 10 vicariates to serve as youth coordinators between their parishes and the diocese.

About 250 high school students and their chaperones from 33 parish youth groups attended the DYC. “I think this conference has been an experience of the lavish generosity of our loving God and the people here in this diocese,” said Paul Kotlowski, diocesan director of youth ministry.

“We’ve had the most priests participating of any youth conference the youth

ministry office has sponsored,” he said.

“I think the priest participation is a hopeful sign of their devotion to the young Church and their willingness to help foster the faith. Everything has taken on a eucharistic theme.”

Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated Sunday Mass in the auditorium. Five pastors from the Asheville, Smoky Mountain and Albemarle vicariates participated variously in offering the sacrament of reconciliation and in celebrating or concelebrating Masses in the chapel.

Workshops delved into the Eucharist, the Mass, a Christ-centered life, sexuality and abstinence, exploring God’s creation and the call to holiness.

Steve Bernardi, youth ministry coordinator for Haywood Catholic Youth, was attending his sixth DYC with 12 HCY members.

“I use this conference as a springboard for my young kids who are coming in,” he said. “They get to be around a lot of other Catholic youths. The workshops are always good.”

The DYC is one of HCY’s favorite events, Bernardi said.

“They see that it’s OK to be enthusiastic about their faith,” he added. “[DYC] helps to steer the kids into leadership roles, such as the youth leadership council.”

Joe Farris, a teacher at St. Peter’s School in Greenville, N.C., spoke on

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Silers Bald, a Christian rock group, entertains with a concert during the annual Diocesan Youth Conference April 22-24.

“Extreme Makeover, Soul Edition.”

According to Farris, a Catholic makeover isn’t about changing one’s physical appearance.

“What God wants to do has nothing to do with what’s outside. God works in here,” Farris said, pointing to his own heart.

“The first step in an extreme Catholic makeover is to realize God loves you and to trust God,” he said.

The second step is accepting responsibility for one’s decisions, Farris said.

“Decisions can drag you down but they can also lift up.”

Reconciliation, the third step, “is a sacrament of healing,” Farris said. “Find a priest, go to reconciliation. People say, ‘I’m not perfect,’ but the church, in all her glory, has given us this sacrament.

Immerse yourself in the sacraments.”

Farris urged the youths to take responsibility and “accept faith in God as your own.” He told them to think, “It’s not about

my parents dragging me to church. It’s about me stepping out in faith.”

Like Jesus calling Lazarus to come forth from the tomb, Farris said, “God calls us and waits for us to come to him.”

The DYC “brings me closer to God and who he is,” said Eugene Preston, a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. “It’s better to do it in a teen atmosphere because it’s more geared to teens than adults.”

After a simple altar was set up on the dais, Deacon John Parrish of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte carried the Blessed Sacrament from the adoration chapel and placed it in the monstrance.

Farris, who gives talks throughout the country, was impressed with the Christ-centered youths at the DYC. “I’ve seen a lot and there’s an air of worship about them that’s special, that’s different, that’s inspiring,” he said. “This did more for me than I did for them. These are change-the-world kind of folks.”

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

April 29, 2005

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

Papal purchases

Memorabilia — tasteful to tacky — fill souvenir shops near by

BENEDICTA CIPOLLA catholic news service

ROME — Memorabilia ranging from fairly tasteful to remarkably tacky fill the dozens of souvenir shops around the Vatican, most of them still brimming with merchandise plastered with Pope John Paul II’s face.

With a new pontiff in office, though, shopkeepers were gearing up for Pope Benedict XVI paraphernalia seekers.

Postcards depicting the new pope began trickling in April 22, to the relief of souvenirs hunters.

“We just bought whatever we could find to go home with for friends. We haven’t seen much of the new pope in the shops,” said Anne Finnigan of Coatbridge, Scotland.

Just after Pope Benedict’s April 19 election, stores got their hands on photographs from the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and two days later only a few pictures were left.

Long lines at newsstands formed the morning after the election for the paper’s special “Habemus papam” (We have a pope) edition. The daily, which usually appears in the afternoon, went to press just after the announcement of Pope Benedict’s election.

While sales figures were not available, the crowds buying multiple copies to save for posterity suggested L’Osservatore Romano had significantly expanded its normally Vatican-oriented readership, if only for one day.

More elaborate postcards and miniposters with Pope Benedict’s visage alongside the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and other Rome monuments were due in time for the April 24 installation Mass.

Expected from manufacturers in the coming weeks were medals, key chains and other trinkets, including the “popener,” a bottle opener graced with a bas relief or picture of the pope. Tourists snapped them up during Pope John Paul’s pontificate.

Two shops got a head start on the competition April 21 by offering rosaries nestled in plastic boxes featuring Pope Benedict; one shop sold 72 in the 30 minutes after their arrival.

At La Cupola, where the new rosaries beckoned to customers from boxes placed outside the entrance, the owner wondered whether the new pope’s choice of name might spur souvenir sales.

“To tell the truth, there’s a lot of junk out there,” she said.

Germany outstripped Italy in the race to produce papal merchandise.

By April 21, Pope Benedict’s home town, Marktl am Inn, had come up with papal beer, Vatican bread, candles featuring photographs taken the night of his election and a cake called “slice of Ratzinger.” Bakeries offered free papal

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: May. 8, 2005

May 8, Seventh Sunday of Easter Cycle A Readings: 1) Acts 1:12-14 Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8 2) 1 Peter 4:13-16 3) Gospel: John 17:1-11a

God’s compassion for all binds us, not always well received

by DAN LUBY catholic news service

CNS photo by Nancy Wiechec

A man looks over a book by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in a shop near the Vatican April 21. pastries shaped like miters.

The many books penned by thenCardinal Joseph Ratzinger sold briskly.

Based on sophisticated theology, the books the future pope wrote while head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith may not appeal to the average visitor. In one shop, the sales “boom” translated only to about 50 copies, but owners were ordering up to 3,000 more in anticipation of increased demand.

Entire tables remained dedicated to Pope John Paul and were piled high with biographies, books he wrote, DVDs and calendars. Bookstore windows still prominently featured the late pope’s writings, though most made an effort to display Pope Benedict’s as well.

It remained to be seen if Pope Benedict would eventually outsell his predecessor. Some stores marked down merchandise related to Pope John Paul in order to make way for the new items slated to arrive. But most thought the late pope, given his popularity among the faithful during his more than 26-year papacy, would have the souvenir market cornered for some time.

For those not in Rome, eBay offered a panoply of hastily concocted Pope Benedict goods. Among the items up for auction: “Papa Ratzi” T-shirts; cell phone attachments, little papal charms that light up when the phone receives a text message; and a string of glow-in-the-dark lantern string lights featuring photos of the pope.

The woman stood close, half a step inside his comfort zone.

“Father,” she said ominously, her head cocked to one side and her eyes squinted half shut, “I’ve got a question about your homily.”

The young priest involuntarily backed up from her challenging tone and her fierce glare.

“Sure,” he said, eyeing the woman and her glowering family nervously.

“What did you want to ask?”

The woman paused dramatically, hand on hip. Passersby slowed down

to witness the brewing confrontation, pulled by the same morbid fascination that halts traffic at accident sites and draws crowds for a bar fight.

She leaned forward. “Are you trying to tell me we’re supposed to love homosexuals? Is that what you’re saying?”

It was a rhetorical question. She knew he’d said exactly that in his homily about God’s call to love our sisters and brothers. Clearly, she disapproved. Contempt dripped from her words, like acid, burning all it touched.

When he tried to clarify his intent, her lips curved downward and she shook her head in disgust. As he continued to explain the all-inclusiveness of God’s mercy, she turned in mid-sentence and walked away, trailing disapproval like acrid smoke.

“Rejoice,” today’s reading from the First Letter of Peter tells us, whenever we suffer as a result of our faith: “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you.”

Christ has revealed God’s love and compassion to his disciples, but the world of which we are part does not always relish that good news.

When our fidelity to Christ puts us at odds with the impulse to judge and condemn others, we need to be prepared for hostility.

The good news is that the suffering such rejection brings binds us ever closer to Jesus, in whose promises we trust.

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE Scripture for the week of May 1-7 Sunday (Sixth Sunday of Easter), Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, 1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21; Monday (St. Athanasius), Acts 16:11-15, John 15:26—16:4; Tuesday (Sts. Philip and James), 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 14:6-14; Wednesday, Acts 17:15, 22—18:1, John 16:12-15; Thursday (Ascension of the Lord), Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 28:16-20; Friday, Acts 18:9-18, John 16:20-23; Saturday, Acts 18:23-28, John 16:23-28.

Scripture for the week of May 8-14 Sunday (Seventh Sunday of Easter), Acts 1:12-14, 1 Peter 4:13-16, John 17:1-11; Monday, Acts 19:1-8, John 16:29-33; Tuesday (Bl. Damien de Veuster), Acts 20:17-27, John 17:1-11; Wednesday, Acts 20:28-38, John 17:11-19; Thursday (Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, St.Pancras), Acts 22:30; 23:6-11, John 17:20-26; Friday (Our Lady of Fatima), Acts 25:13-21, John 21:15-19; Saturday, Acts 1:15-17, 20-26, John 15:9-17.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

April 29, 2005

Saints on screen

Father-son filmmakers spotlight church’s

by MARY WALSH catholic news service

WINSTED, Conn. — Stephen Payne left Hollywood in 1991 because he was not happy with his newfound career as postproduction coordinator for the USA cable television network.

“The execs were pushing the envelope on sex and violence and I was really feeling awful that this was happening under my involvement,” said Payne, 38, who is a Catholic.

“I decided my life was really consecrated to Christ, and I had to step out of that industry to try to do something in film that would make a difference,” he said.

Looking back, he said he believes the events that led him to team up with his father to found Arcadia Films Ltd. in 1998 have been providential.

Today, instead of preparing racy, made-for-TV movies, Payne and his father have produced a series of films on the lives of the saints, a 90-minute documentary on the life of St. Louis de Montfort and promotional videos for the Steubenville East summer youth conferences.

Their clients include Eternal Word Television Network, known as EWTN, as well as Priests for Life and Angelicum University in Rome.

“We’ve always been taken care of

in God’s divine providence and we’ve never had to do anything secular in over 10 years,” Payne said.

From their studio in Litchfield County, the father-son team aims, as Payne explained, “to make Christ and Our Lady better known” through their work in the media.

Their latest project is a public service announcement for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference on embryonic stem-cell research.

The ad shows a baby being delivered into the arms of its waiting mother.

A voiceover explains that every human being was once an embryo, just as butterflies were once caterpillars.

The topic of stem-cell research is one with which the Paynes are especially familiar. Stephen’s mother, Patricia, suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is currently undergoing treatment with adult stem cells. She recently testified against embryonic stem-cell research before the Massachusetts Legislature.

The Paynes also have produced several commercials encouraging voters to consider life issues when voting. The spots, paid for by Priests for Life, were aired in battleground states during the 2000 election year.

“The Saints Speak,” a series of 40

CNS Photo Courtesy of Arcadia Films

Richard and Stephen Payne, founders of Arcadia Films, flank Rob Draper, director of photography, for “The Saints Speak.” spiritual minimovies, is currently airing on EWTN. In short clips, actors portray saints, offering viewers’ reflections on the Eucharist in the saints’ own words.

The reflections are taken from the saint’s writings. Saints featured include Catherine of Genoa, Augustine and John Chrysostom, to name a few.

The Paynes, who are natives of Canada, said that they approach their work “always in an atmosphere of prayer to discern what God really wants.”

Stephen Payne said, “Our interest is really to serve the church and that’s primary in everything we do.”

The pair also firmly believes that the media holds great possibility for furthering Catholic teaching. But the industry’s creative side needs Catholics’ support.

“The potential is huge for evangelization,” said Stephen Payne. “Catholics have to come together to realize if (Mel Gibson’s) ‘The Passion’ was possible, what else is possible?”

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

April 29, 2005

Conference explores small Christian communities SCC, from page 1

Roots and Wings: The Communities We Call Church.”

Vincentian Father Jesus Guadarrama, who served as a Hispanic ministry coordinator in the Greensboro and Winston-Salem vicariates and is now director of the Center of Evangelization, San Vincente de Paul in Brooklyn, N.Y., spoke to Hispanic attendees on the Eucharist as the center of community and dialogued with them on how they saw their own small Christian communities.

A diocesan survey revealed that among the 43 responding parishes, SCCs formed from 1973 to 2000 include charismatic and other prayer groups, RCIA and Renew groups, Scripture study groups, a Newman Club and a Christian mothers group.

Father Cancro based his talk on Vatican II’s “Lumen Gentium,” Pope Paul VI’s “Evangelii Nunciandi,” Pope John Paul II’s “Redemptoris Missiones” and on the earliest small Christian communities, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

SCCs, he said, “don’t come in a particular form but are shaped by the needs of the community. We are deeply rooted

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in the essentials of the way Christ ministers in the world.”

One SCC essential is engaging parish members in interpersonal relationships.

“Our tradition was going to church, was Jesus and me,” Father Cancro said.

“If you remember when we started singing and talking in church, you remember how uncomfortable that was for us.

Communion was private.”

“Now, the response after Communion is with our mouths open, singing a hymn, a response united in Christ,” he said.

Other essentials involve mutual support and education in and reflection on faith — talking to people where they are on their faith journeys.

“Mutually, together,” he said, “we are called to educate each other in what we have in common — our faith.”

SCCs should be empowered for the mission of Christ.

“A group can become amazingly insular, very comfortable,” Father Cancro said. “It’s a red flag to hear things like, ‘We’ve never done this before,’ or ‘We’ve never met on this night before.’

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Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

People clap and sing during the first small-Christian-community conference in the Diocese of Charlotte held at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory April 16. ward what might be.”

SCCs, he added, “are hotbeds of Gospel justice,” in that they always have a sense of each person’s “common dignity” and “equality” before God. “In our diversity, we are still one in faith, what Catholic means.”

Additionally, “in a world that’s good at batting down the idea of following Jesus,” SCCs can be faith-filled oases.

“I think it’s the job of the pastor, not to establish small Christian communities,” he said, “but to establish (such as in his homilies) the notions of small Christian communities and then to step back and let the small Christian communities do their work while being patient enough for the Holy Spirit to do its work.”

Father Cancro said that SCCs must maintain the church’s mission, must “enter into a collaborative mode with parish life and be part of the bigger pie, not a small, separate dessert. They have to be open to the breath of the Holy Spirit and cannot become so insular — doing their own thing — that they are no longer assets to the parish.”

Also, an SCC, he said, must “live, promote and practice communion — a communion of faith, purposefully intertwined with one another in their commonality, to realize that the Word we receive is never for our sole benefit but for each other as well.”

“Small Christian communities help us to value who we are,” said Ann Shaw of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. “We all have a story. When we share our sto-

ries in relationship to God, it empowers us to grow in God. When we share our stories, we see the face of God.” “The story is meaningless without the face that goes with it,” said her husband, Deacon Bill Shaw. “Small Christian community allows the greater community to have a face. As a deacon or a priest sitting out there, you see the faces but don’t hear the stories.”

Father Guadarrama based his presentation on the Eucharist on Pope John Paul II’s “Mane Nobiscum Domine,” published in October 2004 for the Year of the Eucharist.

“Eucharist nourishes us in our mission on earth,” he said. “Our mission is to recognize God in the breaking of bread, and he leads us to go out and be the good news for others.”

Father Guadarrama asked the Hispanic attendees about the strengths and weaknesses of their SCCs. The strengths, he learned, were found in “a sense of support, a sense of family, expression of solidarity, learning Scripture, and in catechesis.”

Weaknesses were that some people don’t stay in the community and, in some cases, lack of access to a priest.

The Hispanics also wanted more integration with other cultures.

“They said they really liked the meeting today, because they felt welcome,” Father Guadarrama said. “This is one of the dreams, the ideals, of the church, to really be one.”

April 29, 2005

around the diocese

Mercy Sister Mary Edward Brennan dies at 97

Teen selected to attend N.C. Governor’s School

Sister Brennan remembered for patriotism, friendliness versity in Toronto, Canada. She received certification from the state of Illinois as a registered therapist and received her certification as a registered X-ray technologist.

She ministered for two years in the X-ray department at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville before returning to Charlotte to begin what would be a 27year ministry teaching in the School of Radiology at Mercy Hospital.

She was a member of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and the North Carolina Society of Radiologic Technologists, where she served a term as vice president and also as chairperson of the group’s public relations committee.

“There have been so many lovely things that have happened to me during my years as a Sister of Mercy,” said Sister Brennan in 1998. “I would have to say that the best thing about the last 50 years was the opportunity to become friends with those I served.”

“In fact, I still keep in touch with some of the people I met while I was at Mercy Hospital,” she said.

Until 1997, she ministered in support service to her religious community. Her

smiling face at the reception desk and her charming Irish accent greeted anyone who called at the Motherhouse, in person or by telephone.

Although her motto, “all things to all people,” referenced her Lord, it could also describe her philosophy of hospitality. Visitors to Sacred Heart Convent were not visitors for long after they met Sister Brennan Instead, they became fastfriends; indeed, as she would have said, “family.”

Although it had been many years since Sister Brennan actively served in the Armed Forces, she remained a bastion of patriotism in Belmont. Until the Motherhouse renovation and a broken hip intervened, each morning and evening the proud veteran maintained her daily ritual of raising and lowering the American flag, accompanied by a snappy salute.

When the flag was on display in Marian Center, she returned to her “morning salute.”

Sister Brennan is survived by her sisters in the Regional Community of North Carolina, her cousins and her friends.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, Sacred Heart Convent, 100

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Mercy Sister Mary Edward Brennan BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Edward Brennan, 97, died March 3 at Marian Center at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She was received as a Sister of Mercy on Aug. 15, 1948, and was in her 57th year as a Sister of Mercy.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held March 7 at the Cardinal Gibbons Memorial Chapel with burial following at Belmont Abbey Cemetery.

Sister Brennan was born Oct. 3, 1907 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her secular name was Patricia Anne Brennan; she took the name Sister Mary Edward upon entering the religious order of the Sisters of Mercy Feb. 3, 1948.

Sister Brennan served as a physiotherapy technician in World War II after enlisting in the Women’s Air Force in November 1943 and served through October 1945. By the time of her honorable discharge, she had received both the American Theater Ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal.

She was a graduate of McGill Uni-

CHARLOTTE — Jewel Sheehan, 15, a parishioner of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, was selected to attend the 2005 Governor’s School of North Carolina, a six-week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students.

Jewel, a student at Weddington High School, was nominated in the mathematics category and will attend the program at Salem College in Winston-Salem.

Jewel is an active member of Life Teen at St. Matthew Church. She also participates in the parish’s music ministry — she plays the flute, sings in the choir and serves as cantor at the Life Teen Mass.

She also is a volunteer at St. Gabriel School’s developmental preschool program for children and those with disabilities.

At Weddington, Jewell is a member of the National Honor Society, student council and three-time varsity letter winner of the swim team.

The Governor’s School of North Carolina’s curriculum focuses on the exploration of the most recent ideas and concepts in each discipline, and does not involve credit, tests or grades. The program is entirely free of charge to all students, funded by the General Assembly of North Carolina.

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

April 29, 2005

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Is purgatory still a part of Catholic faith? next world.

Equally clear is that the official teachings of the church do not intend to answer physical details about purgatory.

Is it a state or condition, or a “place”? Is “time” involved or not?

Since the world after death would not appear to have hours or days or years as we know them, it seems unlikely that purgatory involves place or time as we experience them here.

A few years ago, Pope John Paul II challenged us to take a fresh look at heaven, hell and purgatory. When we hear those words we often pay more attention to popular images than to the doctrines themselves. A little reflection should warn us to be careful about the “beliefs” these familiar words and images might inspire.

In his reflections the pope made explicit what has been implicit all the time.

Does anyone really believe, for example, that heaven or hell or purgatory are “places” as we think of them in this life, somewhere out in another universe or on an unknown planet?

This tells us something about purgatory, according to the pope. Purgatory is not a place but a “condition” of purification for the saved whereby Christ “frees them from their imperfections.” As the Catholic catechism says, purgatory is a process, a transition of purgation and of cleansing.

Christian spiritual theology and practice in fact recognizes often that this process can occur, at least partly if not wholly, even before we die. It is not uncommon, with Christian insight, to say of people in severe physical or emotional pain that they are “having their purgatory here on earth.”

None of this changes or minimizes the ancient practice of praying for people who have died. Past, present and future are all one present moment to God. Our prayers, whenever they are said before or after death, go to a God who is not limited by when they happen to be offered.

Can you imagine God saying: “It’s too bad your prayers are late. If you had said them yesterday or last year, I could have done something about it.” Prayers lifted to God for the living or the dead “go back” over their entire lives, their final illnesses and their entrance into eternity. They are never lost or wasted.

A free brochure describing basic Catholic prayers, beliefs and moral precepts is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 3315, Peoria, IL 61612.

Questions may be sent to Father Dietzen at the same address, or e-mail: jjdietzen@aol.com.

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN cns columnist

Q. I am nearly 80 years old and was taught that everyone goes to purgatory after death, nobody goes to heaven immediately. But today there isn’t much said about it. Is purgatory still part of our faith? Are we still to pray for the dead?

(Michigan) A. Purgatory is still very much a part of our faith. It is also true, however, that we speak more carefully about purgatory than we sometimes did in the past.

Perhaps one reason we hear less about purgatory today is that many of us have a lot of misunderstandings that could use some correcting. The hoary pictures of torture, pain and a punishing God, which used to be common and which made purgatory kind of a minihell, may scare someone to death, but most are irrelevant to authentic Catholic teaching.

Two things are clear in our tradition concerning purgatory. First, we believe there is some condition or circumstance in the process of dying or after death by which any punishment remaining for sins is satisfied. And second, Catholic teaching tells us that we can assist those who are “in purgatory” by our prayers and good works here on earth.

This is simply an aspect of our belief in the communion of saints, which unites in love all who are joined to Christ, whether still on earth or in the

Letters to the Editor A thank you letter This is a letter of thanks to the par-

ticipants in the 28th annual Diocesan Youth Conference, held in Ridgecrest April 22-24.

We want to publicly thank the chaperones for the sacrifices they made to bring the youths for the weekend event.

We also want to acknowledge all the teens for their exemplary behavior.

Shrouded in secrecy Common surgery for women leaves many unanswered questions Four years ago, the Washington Post published a report on the highly secretive system of capital punishment in Japan. By some unknown process, prisoners are randomly selected for execution, including some whose appeals are still pending.

The day of execution remains a mystery to both the inmate and his family. The prisoner learns of the execution only once it is imminent: the guards come to his cell to escort him to the execution room. Blindfolded, a noose is placed around his neck. In another room, about five guards whose identities too are secret (perhaps even to their own families) are each poised to press a button.

One button operates a trap door through which the prisoner falls to his death. Not even the guards know who among them pressed the button that actually commenced the hanging.

After the execution, the inmate’s family is notified, “We parted with the inmate today.”

Each day in the United States, 3,500 women hold in their hearts a very secret pain, “We parted with our unborn children today.”

After healing and reconciliation through programs such as Project Rachel, and Rachel’s Vineyard some do speak out about their personal tragic stories. But most walk alone with this pain. They might be among our family members, colleagues, friends and casual acquaintances.

It is now 32 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v.

Wade, mandating that abortion be legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy nationwide. But we know little about the children who are killed, when and why their short lives were ended or about the circumstances of the women who are harmed by the practice.

As a society, we spend little time reflecting on what this vast social experiment has done. Has it coarsened us? Has it actually worsened the social standing

Life Issues Forum

The adult team included Carl and Leslie Brown, Erin Leonard, Beth Langsdorf, Patrick Holyfield and Kelly and Koli Fisher who served as the mentors throughout the year to our amazing Diocesan Youth Advisory Board.

There were many who made this year’s conference a success, including the staff of Ridgecrest.

A special thanks to all our workshop presenters, who received rave reviews.

To Joe Farris, our keynote speaker; and Kenneth Ball, Cynthia Barnes, Greg Carter, Melissa Garner, Patrick Hoare, Joanna Jackson, Mary Langsdorf, Lois Lyons, Ryan Monk, Sheryl Peyton, Mary Ann Poli, Peggy Schumacher, Pedro

Trinidad and Ricardo Veloz — thanks for sharing your faith in such a loving and open way.

To the priests and deacons who made it possible to offer Mass, reconciliation and eucharistic adoration during the weekend — Father Frank Seabo, Father Matthew Kauth, Augustinian Father Jim Cassidy, Father Christopher Roux, Deacon John Parrish, Deacon Mike Langsdorf and Bishop Peter Jugis — sincere gratitude for your dedication to the youth of this diocese and the office that serves them.

— Paul Kotlowski, director of Office for Youth Ministry; Peg Ruble, associate director

MAUREEN BAILEY guest columnist

of women? Why has the “freedom to choose abortion” so often become the expectation to choose abortion? Is it a boyfriend’s wish or economics or school and career advancement?

Physically, do women suffer from their abortions? The Centers for Disease Control reports that hundreds of women have died from legal abortion but no one knows the true number. How many more experience complications, such as uterine perforations or incomplete abortions?

And what of the psychological impact? Some women have offered their personal stories but no large scientific study has been undertaken.

Their unborn children remain a mystery to us. Each year, 1.3 million children are aborted; 19,500 abortions occur after the 20th week, the second half of pregnancy. At least 2,000 are killed by the partial-birth abortion method. Why were they selected for such a grisly procedure and so late in pregnancy?

Some children are targeted because they are disabled, but what are their disabilities? A cleft palate? Down syndrome?

Why do we keep abortion — perhaps the most common surgery performed on women today — shrouded in secrecy? Is it because we can’t handle the truth?

Maureen Bailey is a public policy analyst with the Secretariat for ProLife Activities in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Catholic News & Herald 15

April 29, 2005

Lessons of a term paper on television Wishful thinking for responsible programming I didn’t expect Beaver Cleaver to be part of my Holy Week, but that’s what happened.

Spring break from school arrived the week before Easter, and my 14-year-old found herself with a term paper to complete during vacation. So between movies, overnights with friends and Holy Week services, Maria — with a little help from me — researched how television has changed since the 1950s.

Maria found out what the Federal Communications Commission is, who Murphy Brown and Dan Quayle were, and why married people on television used to sleep in twin beds.

For Maria, old-time television meant reruns of “I Love Lucy.” Her paper introduced her to “Father Knows Best,” “My Three Sons” and “Donna Reed.”

One day, I casually mentioned “Ozzie and Harriet.” She gave me a quizzical look.

“Who,” she asked, “is Ozzie?”

I tried again. “Ricky Nelson?”

“Ricky who?”

Here’s what I learned: The big changes in television have come recently.

It hasn’t been a gradual evolution from twin beds to shows whose major themes revolve around sex and sexual innuendo.

No, until the 1990s television was pretty tame stuff.

I also was reminded that while it would make life easier for me as a mom if Beaver and Eddie Haskell still dominated the airwaves, early television pre-

For the Journey EFFIE CALDAROLA cns columnist

sented an unrealistic worldview.

Did you know the word “pregnant” was banned on television in the early days?

In television’s infancy, children were overwhelmingly male. Yes, the father who knew best had two daughters, but check out “My Three Sons,” “Bonanza” and just about every other popular show.

Boys populated the airwaves.

Another thing: In a diverse nation, did we see racial diversity on screen?

Were there Catholics and Jews in TV land? Were American Indians anything besides fodder for cowboys?

No one divorced, and homosexuality didn’t exist.

Although the number of moms working outside the home was growing, on television they all stayed home.

And honestly, did your mother ever wear pearls to vacuum?

History was tumultuous: the Civil Rights Movement, the sexual revolution, assassinations. Until Archie Bunker, no

Breaking the law

Ignoring history and Scripture risks failure to pay for saving lives.

Human reason, Scripture and history teach us that while we are called to be law-abiding citizens, breaking the law is not always wrong. Take, for example, someone who breaks down the door of a neighbor’s apartment to put out a fire, or jumps over a fence past the “no trespassing” sign into a neighbor’s yard to save a child drowning in a swimming pool.

Those cases make it clear that saving lives takes precedence over laws that preserve less important values.

Lessons from Scripture abound. The Apostles were given strict orders not to teach in the name of Jesus (see Acts 4 and 5). Should they have obeyed? If they had, we would not know the Gospel.

Would we obey if that order were given to us? What exactly would we say to the assembled crowd on Sunday morning if such a law had been passed on Friday?

In Exodus, we read, “The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives ...

‘When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth ... if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live” (Ex. 1:15-17).

They disobeyed the king’s order because it conflicted with a higher law, God’s command never to kill the innocent. Daniel went to the lion’s den

one on television noticed.

In the 1990s, Murphy Brown rocked things by rocking the cradle. Problem was, she was an unmarried mother; Vice President Dan Quayle was appalled.

Some people suggested he congratulate her for not having an abortion. His ticket lost the presidency that year.

Today television still is mired in unreality, even while much of it is called “reality TV.” The near constant sexual references are embarrassing, trite and unrealistic. If people really talked like that at the office, I tell Maria, someone would file a sexual harassment suit.

Women on television only grow thinner, while Americans grow fatter.

While women finally have achieved respect as thinkers and doers, it’s often at the expense of men, especially, and unfortunately, the bungling TV dad.

As a Catholic, I wish television mirrored my sexual ethos today instead of the raunchy behavior it dishes out as normal. At the same time, I wish that television, now and back then, witnessed to Catholic social justice concepts that are just as important.

It’s hoping for too much from the medium that was, even in those innocent days, called a “vast wasteland.”

Here’s the scary part: As unhappy as we are with broadcast television, today it’s the tip of the entertainment iceberg. Pornography is available to anyone with a computer, cable television has few limits, and video and computer games are bigger financially than the film industry.

Beaver’s dad didn’t know how easy he had it.

Guest Column FATHER FRANK PAVONE guest columnist

I have never broken the law. I have never been arrested.

Yet I often think of Bishop Austin Vaughan, auxiliary bishop of New York, who, in the last years of his life of faithful service to the church, was arrested and imprisoned many times for rescuing unborn babies.

He saw what Christians were doing across the country as they peacefully blocked the doors of abortion mills to put their bodies between the babies and the instruments of death. Then one day he looked at his episcopal ring and realized that the three figures on it — St. Peter, St. Paul and the Lord Jesus — had all been arrested and imprisoned. He no longer hesitated to do so too if it was the price

because he disobeyed a law prohibiting prayer (Daniel 6).

History shows us Christians martyred for disobeying Caesar, people rescuing slaves, protecting Jews from the Holocaust and resisting segregation — all in violation of the law but in support of justice. The list of examples fills many volumes.

We risk failure if we ignore the lessons of history and the principles of Scripture.

It’s easy to look back at those who broke the law in these cases and praise them. But when these same challenges face us, we find it difficult to acknowledge that sometimes the law must be broken. That’s because now the sacrifices will be made by us.

I have never broken the law. I have never been arrested. But I cannot guarantee that I never will.

Father Pavone is national director of Priests for Life.

At first audience, pope shares reasons for choosing ‘Benedict’

The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI

by CINDY WOODEN catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — At the first general audience of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI expressed again his “awe and gratitude” that God chose him to lead the Catholic Church.

God, he said, “surprised me first of all.”

Although leading more than 1 billion Catholics is a huge task, the knowledge that he will have the help of God and of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the spiritual support of the faithful “gives me serenity and joy,” he said.

Pope Benedict began the audience by touring St. Peter’s Square in an open popemobile, blessing the crowd.

He told the estimated 15,000 people gathered that in the coming weeks he would continue the series of audience talks Pope John Paul II had begun on the psalms and canticles used in the church’s morning and evening prayers.

But first he wanted to share his reasons for choosing the name Benedict when he was elected pope April 19.

“I wanted to call myself Benedict XVI to bind myself to the venerated Pope Benedict XV, who guided the church in a troubled period because of the First World War,” the pope said.

“He was a courageous and authentic prophet of peace and worked with valiant courage first to prevent the drama of war and then to limit its nefarious consequences,” he said.

“In his footsteps, I want to place my ministry at the service of reconciliation and harmony among individuals and peoples, deeply convinced that the great good of peace is, first of all, a gift of God, a fragile and precious gift to invoke, safeguard and build day after day with the help of everyone,” Pope Benedict said.

The second reason for choosing the name, he said, was to evoke the spirit of St. Benedict, founder of Western monasticism.

“St. Benedict is very venerated in Germany, particularly in Bavaria, my homeland; he is a basic point of reference for the unity of Europe and a strong reminder of the undeniable Christian roots of its culture and civilization,” he said.

Pope Benedict asked the saint “to help us keep Christ firmly at the center of our existence. May he always have first place in our thoughts and in all our activities.”

At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict led the crowd in singing the Lord’s Prayer, which got off to a rocky start with some prelates singing in Italian and the pope singing more strongly in Latin. He waved his arms like an orches-

April 29, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 16

PARISH PROFILE

St. John the Baptist Church has long history of serving Tryon Catholics St. John the Baptist Church 180 Laurel Ave. Tryon, N.C. 28782 (828) 859-9574 Vicariate: Asheville Pastor: Father Dean Cesa Number of families: 455

Father Dean Cesa TRYON — The presence of the Benedictines in western North Carolina has done much to build up the Catholic Church since the 1870s, when members of the order arrived in Belmont to establish a monastery and college. The monastery was elevated to abbey status in 1884, and in 1910, the Benedictines were given the status of “nullius” — that is, without diocesan jurisdiction.

While operating under nullius status, the Benedictines extended their work beyond the 500-acre estate upon which they had built their monastery and school. One such place was Tryon, where, in 1911, they built the first church in their eightcounty territory.

With fewer than a dozen people in attendance, the structure was dedicated as St. John the Baptist Church in October 1911 by Benedictine Abbot Leo Haid.

The congregation included the church’s primary benefactors, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hallahan of Philadelphia.

Benedictine Father Michael McInerney, the renowned architect of Belmont Abbey, had designed plans for the church. In 1924, he began a five-year pastorate of the Tryon parish.

From its founding until the reduction

Photo by George Cobb

Founded by the Benedictines of Belmont Abbey, St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon has provided a spiritual home for Catholics in Polk County since 1911. of the nullius to Gaston County in 1944, St. John the Baptist Church existed as a mission of Belmont Abbey. In 1923, parishioners — for decades numbering around a dozen — and local townsfolk directed a refurbishing project of the church and grounds. That year, a rectory was built. Father James Manley, the only priest in the church’s early history who was not a Benedictine, served as pastor.

With the end of the Benedictine’s pastorate in 1944 came St. John the Baptist Church’s first resident pastor, Father Vincent Mahoney. Growth of the St. John the Baptist Church parish had been virtually nonexistent into the late 1950s; no reports exist stating that the church’s seating capacity of 75 was ever filled.

Still, an influx of retirees from the North, visiting and moving to the North Carolina mountains, began in the ’60s, and a steady increase in church membership ensued.

Meanwhile, the rectory began serving a three-year period as a place of wor-

ship, when on June 25, 1959, the church burned.

With tremendous help from the local community, the parish immediately set out to build a new spiritual home. Gifts of money, materials and labor arrived from the area and from across the country. With a contribution from the Catholic Extension Society, construction began in January 1962.

Father (now Msgr.) Joseph Kerin served as pastor of the Tryon parish during the rebuilding phase, which ended when Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Ra-

leigh dedicated the new church in August 1962. About 55 parishioners composed the church family at the time.

Having served as a multipurpose building, the rectory had become nearly uninhabitable by the mid 1960s, and in 1967, a new rectory was purchased.

The parish continues to grow, attracting members from outside its Polk County boundary. There are many ministries working to meet the needs of its members and the community.

With a continued increase in the area’s Catholic population — thanks to the continued migration of northern Catholics as well as improvements in roads leading to the mountains — the parishioners of St. John the Baptist Church numbered 130 in 1973. By the mid-1980s, the figure had reached 300.

Currently, more than 800 parishioners worship weekly at the church.

A Sunday evening Mass in Spanish draws about 40 worshipers and a newly formed faith formation program in Spanish is underway. Father Dean Cesa, who assumed the pastorate of St. John the Baptist Church in July 2001, has begun learning Spanish in an effort to communicate with his Hispanic parishioners.

The St. John the Baptist Church community celebrated its 75th anniversary in October 1986. As part of the jubilee, a church bell, donated by parishioners and the senior youth group was placed into the bell tower that had been built with the church in 1962.

Over the years, St. John the Baptist Church has been served by a number of outstanding diocesan priests, including Fathers Lawrence Heiney, Patrick Gavigan, Pius Keating, John Pagel, to name but a few of the parish’s dedicated pastors.

Staff Writer Karen A. Evans contributed to this story.