June 1, 2007

June 1, 2007

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Perspectives David Hains examines fear mongering; Father Peter Daly reveals the season of happiness

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI june 1, 2007

To welcome the strangers

| Pages 14-15 Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Bishop Emeritus William. G. Curlin celebrates 50th anniversary

by ANDREA SLIVKA catholic news service

by

KAREN A. EVANS staff writer

WASHINGTON — The problem that must be solved by immigration reform “is not the immigrants” but “the broken system,” the former chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration told a House subcommittee.

In testimony May 22 before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., urged lawmakers to produce legislation that would reform the current immigration system and respect the dignity and rights of immigrants and

Protecting God’s children

no. 31

The golden age of priesthood

Bishop Wenski testifies on immigration reform before House panel

See REFORM, page 6

vOLUME 16

Photo by Karen A. Evans

CHARLOTTE — A halfcentury after he was ordained as a priest, Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin still burns with a fiery love of the Catholic faith.

“Find an intimate relationship with the Lord … when you do that, you see Christ all around you,” said Bishop Curlin in a May 22 interview for docPod, the biweekly podcast produced by David Hains, diocesan director of communications.

Bishop Curlin commemorated his golden jubilee — 50 years as a Catholic priest, auxiliary bishop and bishop — with a Mass and reception for 800 people at

Bishop William G. Curlin delivers the homily during the Mass celebrating the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte May 27. Also pictured are Father Ed Sheridan, Deacon Patrick Toole, Father Brian Cook, Father Larry LoMonaco and Deacon Guy Piche.

See CURLIN, page 9

Toward a foreign land

Successes, challenges mark fifth anniversary of sex abuse charter

Father Doyle to become missionary in Africa JOANITA M. NELLENBACH

by AGOSTINO BONO catholic news service

by

correspondent

WASHINGTON — Five years after the U.S. bishops passed their landmark policies to prevent child sex abuse, they can look back at successes in institutionalizing safeguards and look ahead to challenges in restoring church credibility.

But the basic question is: Are children safer now?

Photo courtesy of Augustinian Father Francis Doyle

See CHARTER, page 13

Students eat lunch on the grounds of St. Leo’s School in South Africa, where Augustinian Father Francis Doyle will serve as a missionary.

MAGGIE VALLEY — Invitations — you never know where they’re going to lead.

For Augustinian Father Francis Doyle, pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Maggie Valley, it’s to Africa.

At the end of July, the 63year-old priest plans to leave North Carolina to become a missionary to the Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal,

South Africa.

In 1997, Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus invited Augustinian friars worldwide to establish a friary to help them in South Africa.

Three provinces accepted: the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, headquartered in Philadelphia, Penn.; and the English and Irish provinces.

“At that time, I was beginning my sabbatical,” See AFRICA, page 5

Around the Diocese

Youths in Action

Culture Watch

Parishioners celebrate Pentecost, examine stem-cell research

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts earn awards, recognition

Author pursues apostles; pope blasts media violence

| Page 4

| Page 8

| Pages 10-11

June 1, 2007

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

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

WASHINGTON (CNS) — When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hosted a national summit on child welfare May 22, she shined a light on a problem that is all too familiar to Catholic Charities USA officials.

“The numbers are moving in the wrong direction,” said Desmond Brown, health and welfare policy director at Catholic Charities USA, about a new National Center for Children in Poverty report that said 42 percent of U.S. children under the age of 6 — roughly 10 million — are vulnerable to poor health and substandard education, largely as a result of poverty and economic hardships.

“We have gathered today to begin what will be a long-term conversation, and to signal our deep commitment to caring for our children and creating a prosperous future for them and for our entire nation,” Pelosi said at the summit in Washington, attended by academic and policy leaders who spoke about early childhood development in the U.S.

birthday wishes

CNS photo by Chaz Muth, Catholic Review

Anne Morrissey is shown at her residence in Libertytown, Md., holding a rosary blessed by the late Pope John Paul II. Morrissey celebrated her 103rd birthday May 13 and asked family, friends and well-wishers to donate money they would have spent on gifts to the restoration fund for her parish of 71 years, St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown.

For her 103rd birthday, woman asks for presents for her church LIBERTYTOWN, Md. (CNS) — Before Anne Morrissey celebrated her 103rd birthday May 13, she said didn’t want presents for herself.

Instead, she asked family, friends and well-wishers to make donations to the restoration fund of her beloved parish for the past 71 years, St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown.

The feisty centenarian with the slight Irish brogue said the church needs the money more than ever to rebuild, following a devastating June 2004 fire, and she was happy to forgo birthday gifts to help complete construction before she turns 104.

“I have everything I need,” she said, “except being able to worship in my church.”

It looks like Morrissey got her wish even without having to blow out any birthday candles. While she had a quiet celebration on her birthday, including a small lunch at the home of a grandson, St. Peter the Apostle rectory worker Liz Hunter said at least $1,165 had been contributed in Morrissey’s name through May 14. Hunter added that the figure may rise.

Though Morrissey is content attending Mass in the parish center for the time being, she would like to see parish life return to normal, and the sooner the better.

A tireless fundraiser for the parish, the Irish-born mother of two, grandmother of 11, great-grandmother of 23 — and

Report, summit on children’s welfare highlight familiar problem

great-great-grandmother of four — is unrelenting when it comes to supporting her parish.

The oldest living parishioner of St. Peter the Apostle, she continues to sell more tickets for the church’s annual quilt raffle than anyone else — usually more than 1,000 chances — making her the quintessential fundraiser for her place of worship.

“She doesn’t let anyone get out of here without buying several tickets each year,” said Madeline Stevens, the 77year-old daughter with whom Morrissey lives. “People don’t say no to her.”

Over the years she attended scores of special occasions at the church, which included the weddings of both of her daughters plus the baptisms, first Communions and confirmations of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“I’m definitely invested in this parish,” she said. “When I was in my 80s, they allowed me to crown the Blessed Mother on my birthday. In that fire, that Blessed Mother wasn’t hurt. She was just covered in soot.”

Stevens is amazed to see her mother so vibrant, given her age. Morrissey’s parents didn’t expect the eighth of their 11 children to even reach her first birthday.

“I got the measles when I was a baby and my uncle told my parents I wasn’t going to survive,” Morrissey said.

“I guess I was a little heartier than he expected me to be.”

Diocesan planner BOONE VICARIATE

SPRUCE PINE — A Rosary of Intercession for Priests is recited each Friday at St. Lucien Church, 695 Summit St., before the 9 a.m.

Mass. Prayers are offered for bishops, priests and deacons, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. For more information, call the church office at (828) 765-2224.

SPARTA — St. Frances of Rome Church, Hendrix and Highlands Rds., sponsors the Oratory of Divine Love Prayer Group in the parish house the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 1 p.m. Call (336) 372-8846 for more information.

CHARLOTTE VICARIATE

CHARLOTTE — Father Timothy Reid will present “Seeking the Heart of God” at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Thursdays through June 28, 7-9 p.m.

This lecture series deals with understanding the spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Each participant will need a copy of St. Teresa’s “Interior Castle.” For more information, please contact Susan Brady at (704) 541-8362, ext.4.

CHARLOTTE — Theology on Tap, a dynamic speaker series designed to provide young adults in their 20s and 30s with the opportunity to discover more about their faith in a relaxed open environment, will conclude June 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Fuel Pizza in Park Road Shopping Center.

On tap June 5: “To Know Jesus Christ” with Father Jim Hawker. These interactive events will explore the issues and challenges that Catholic young adults face in the 21st century.

Catholic Charities agencies, which serve some 7 million clients annually, largely from poor working families, “are on the front lines — day to day” in the battle against poverty, according to Shelley Borysiewicz, media relations manager at Catholic Charities USA. The National Center for Children in Poverty report found that access to quality health care, early learning opportunities and family economic support vary widely.

While most states have maintained or increased health care eligibility since 2001, 33 states have decreased eligibility for child care subsidies.

Though the 2007 poverty level for a family of three is $17,000, the report estimated that it would take twice that amount to provide basic necessities.

Catholic Charities USA had set a goal of cutting poverty in half by 2020, calling for strengthening of the nation’s nutrition safety net, enactment of universal health insurance coverage and other policy changes.

For more information, contact Catrina at (704) 533-2124 or c_l_conway@hotmail.com or visit www.compass-catholic.com.

CHARLOTTE — The next Blood Give-In Sunday at St. Matthew Church is June 10, 8 a.m.1:30 p.m., in the family room of the Parish Center, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. Donors will be required to provide identification, such as a driver’s license or Red Cross blood donor card.

Sign up table is in the narthex May 26-27 and June 2-3. Appointments are encouraged and will be honored. Walk-ins are welcome, but will be taken as time permits. For more information, call the church office at (704) 543-7677.

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 Happy Timers of St. Ann Church meet the first Wednesday of each month with a luncheon and program at 1 p.m. in the Msgr.

Allen Center, 3635 Park Rd. All adults age 55 and older are welcome. For more information, call Charles Nesto at (704) 398-0879.

GREENSBORO VICARIATE

GREENSBORO — The Men’s Bible Study Group at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Rd., meets Tuesdays at 6:30 a.m. in the Parish Life Center, room 4. The group will discuss the Gospel of Luke. Bring your own Bible.

For more information, contact Gus Magrinat at gmagrinat@pol.net or John Malmfelt at (336) 665-6450 or jmalmsie@aol.com.

HICKORY VICARIATE

HICKORY — The family life committee of St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second Street NE, hosts a Scrapbooking Night on the second Friday of every month, 6 p.m.-12 a.m. Looking back through our family photo albums can be a form of prayer as we

June 1, 2007 Volume 16 • Number 31

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Karen A. Evans Graphic DESIGNER: Tim Faragher Advertising MANAGER: 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.

June 1, 2007

The Catholic News & Herald 3

FROM THE VATICAN

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to get its own leader VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which has shared a president with the Pontifical Council for Culture for more than a year, will get its own leader shortly, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, speaking May 26 at a conference on interreligious dialogue in Vercelli, Italy, said, “the change demonstrates the importance of interreligious dialogue” for the Catholic Church.

The Vatican press office confirmed Cardinal Bertone’s remarks but said it had no information on when Pope Benedict XVI would name the new president.

Since March 2006, French Cardinal Paul Poupard, 76, has led both the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The Vatican said at the

time that the joint presidency would be temporary.

Still, many people involved in interreligious dialogue saw the move as a downgrading of the council’s importance or as a shift in emphasis from focusing on the faith and practice of the Catholic Church’s dialogue partners to focusing on their contributions to local culture and on fostering joint cultural projects.

Italian newspapers also reported that Cardinal Bertone said the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church would become part of the Pontifical Council for Culture, but the Vatican press office would not confirm the statement.

In early May, Pope Benedict named Benedictine Abbot Christopher M. Zielinski of Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Pecos, N.M., to be vice president of the commission.

give thanks for the blessings the Lord has provided for us. Adding scripture and prayers to your family albums is a great way to evangelize to your family and children. For more information, call the office at (828) 327-4558.

will meet June 11 at 7 p.m. in the church hall.

For more information, call the church office at (828) 456-6707.

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.

WINSTON-SALEM — St. Benedict the Moor Church, 1625 East 12th St., hosts a 12:15 p.m. prayer service, Veni Sanctus Spiritus, the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. All are welcome to reflect on God and refresh the spirit in the middle of a day. For more information call Sister Larretta Rivera-Williams at (336) 725-9200.

SALISBURY VICARIATE

SALISBURY — Our Lady Rosary Makers of Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., are making cord rosaries for the missions and the military. The group meets the first Tuesday of each month in the church office conference room, 10-11 a.m. For more information, call Cathy Yochim at (704) 636-6857 or Joan Kaczmarezyk at (704) 797-8405.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE

Pope: Catholics must bring Gospel to world debased by poverty, abuses VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The primary task of every Catholic is to bring the Gospel message to a world debased by poverty, violence and human rights abuses, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Through its missionary action, the pope said, the church can “guide and evangelize cultural, social and ethical transformations and offer Christ’s salvation to modern humankind, debased and oppressed in so many parts of the world because of endemic poverty, violence and the systematic denial of human rights.”

While renewed efforts for evangelization have proven fruitful, there is “still more to be done to answer the missionary call the Lord tirelessly makes to every baptized person,” he said in his message for World Mission Sunday 2007.

The Vatican released this year’s message May 29, ahead of World Mission Sunday, to be celebrated Oct. 21 in most dioceses.

Addressing this year’s theme, “All the Churches for All the World,” the pope focused on the need for every local church to breathe new life into its missionary mandate.

Bringing Christ’s saving power to all people “truly involves everyone,” he said.

Individual Catholics must see themselves not as simple “collaborators” in the church’s evangelizing mission, but as being “protagonists” and jointly responsible for carrying it out, the pope said.

He said every local diocese on every continent needs to be aware of the “urgent need to relaunch missionary activity to meet the many serious challenges of our time.”

Pope Benedict said increased secularization has had an impact on the established churches in the West.

Low birthrates, declining numbers of vocations and an increasingly older clergy put the established churches at “risk of closing in on themselves, of looking to the future with less hope and of lessening their missionary efforts,” he said.

But the pope said God never abandons his people, who must recognize that this is the moment “to open with confidence to God’s providence” and trust that through the Holy Spirit, God will guide them toward the fulfillment of his eternal plan, the salvation of humanity.

Have tractor, will pull

W I N S TO N - S A L E M — T h e H e a l i n g 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.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN VICARIATE

FRANKLIN — The Respect for Life group meets the first Wednesday of every month after the 5:30 p.m. Mass in the Family Life Center at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 299 Maple St. All those interested in promoting the sanctity of human life are invited to attend. For more information, contact Julie Tastinger at (828) 349-9813 or jatastinger@aol.com.

WAYNESVILLE — The Catholic Women’s Circle of St. John the Evangelist Church, 234 Church St.,

Episcopal

calendar

Is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public?

Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Planner is 10 days prior to desired publication date (Fridays).

Submit in writing to Karen A. Evans at kaevans@charlottediocese.org or fax to (704) 370-3382.

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

June 2 — 10 a.m.

Ordination to Sacred Priesthood St. Matthew Church, Charlotte June 3 — 11 a.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Our Lady of the Angels Church, Marion June 4 — 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Therese Church, Mooresville June 5 — 5 p.m.

Baccalaureate Mass Charlotte Catholic High School June 6 — 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Divine Redeemer Church, Boonville

June 9 — 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Maggie Valley June 10 — 1 p.m.

Installation of new pastor Father José Enrique Gonzalez Gaytán Divine Redeemer Church, Boonville June 11-12 Colloquium of Priests Asheville June 13 — 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Our Lady of the Highways Church, Thomasville

Photo by Cori Fugere Urban, Vermont Catholic Tribune

Iowa native Father Daniel Rupp drives a 1960 John Deere 730 diesel tractor during a tractor-pull contest May 27 at the Orleans County Fairgrounds in Barton, Vt. The pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church in Barton garnered second place in the 9,000-pound antique category by hauling an orange weighted sled 156 feet 6 inches. Profits from the contest were donated to St. Paul School.

REMINDER TO OUR READERS The Catholic News & Herald has begun its bi-weekly publishing schedule for June, July and August. As such, there will be no issue next Friday, June 8. Our next issue will be Friday, June 15.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

Dispelling myths of stem-cell research by

KAREN A. EVANS

June 1, 2007

Knocking on holy doors

staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Dozens of people recently spent a Saturday morning learning the myths and facts about stemcell research and cloning.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., and director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, spoke at St. Peter Church in Charlotte May 12.

“It was a very enlightening seminar with regard to science versus moral issues,” said Cris Villapando, director of faith formation programs for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Father Pacholczyk dispelled some of the common misconceptions regarding stem-cell research, such as the Catholic Church opposes all stem-cell research.

In fact, the church encourages the research, provided human embryos are not destroyed. This includes cells obtained from the nostril, skeletal muscles and umbilical cords. Of the 10 stem-cell research methods currently in use, the church approves of nine.

Another fallacy is that every embryo

Courtesy Photo

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk speaks about stem-cell research at St. Peter Church in Charlotte. will be useful for providing stem cells.

It is often necessary to destroy 15 or 20 embryos before successfully getting one embryonic stem cell line.

“An embryo is a human being … not some other kind of animal,” said Father Pacholczyk.

“Every Catholic should be aware of this issue,” said Villapando. “It is one of four elements impacting the American moral landscape, along with war and conflict, business ethics and end-of-life issues.”

One church on Pentecost

Courtesy Photo by Richard Feerick

Msgr. Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, celebrates Mass May 10 at the old church of Our Lady of Knock Shrine, north of Galway, Ireland, during a diocesan-sponsored pilgrimage. Ireland’s national Marian shrine is where 15 people witnessed the apparition of Mary, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist on the gable of the church in the western village of Knock on Aug. 21, 1879.

Testimonies taken from witnesses by two separate official church commissions were considered “trustworthy and satisfactory.’’ Pope John Paul II visited Knock in 1979 during his visit to Ireland.

The holy site was just one of many visited by the group of 21 pilgrims of the Diocese of Charlotte, who toured several significant sites and learned of the Irish traditions that are integral parts of the Catholic faith.

Photos by Deacon Gerald Potkay

Parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro celebrate the feast of Pentecost May 27 with Mass and a lunch afterward (above). The feast marks the occasion of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles 50 days after Christ’s resurrection. Pentecost is referred to as the birthday of the church because, from that point on, the apostles carried forth the message of Christ to the world.

“The church is one,” just as the community gathered on the day of Pentecost was one, said Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square May 27.

Reading the biblical account of Pentecost is a reminder that “the church is holy, not on its own merits, but because, animated by the Holy Spirit, it keeps its gaze fixed on Christ in order to conform itself to him and his love,” he said.

Also pictured is the setting sun shining through stained glass windows onto the wall at the end of Mass in St. Paul the Apostle Church (right), as if symbolizing the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

June 1, 2007

from the cover

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Father Doyle to become a missionary in Africa AFRICA, from page 1

Father Doyle said. “In my prayer I included: ‘Could God be calling me to be a missionary?’”

He’d never considered this before, and in any event he didn’t feel ready for such a drastic change.

A native Philadelphian, Father Doyle entered the Order of Saint Augustine in the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1970.

He has served as his province’s director of novices, as formation director at Augustinian College in Washington, D.C., on the staff of the Christian Institute for the Study of Human Sexuality, and as pastor of parishes in the Northeast.

“Then the invitation came from our province to begin a community here in Maggie Valley, and I have been extremely happy here,” he said.

Then-Bishop William G. Curlin of the Diocese of Charlotte “welcomed our charism, our spirituality, to the diocese,” Father Doyle said.

It’s a charism of “hospitality expressed in community life.”

On Sept. 14, 1998, Father Doyle came to Maggie Valley with Augustinian Father Terrance Hyland and Augustinian

Brother and Deacon William Harkin to begin ministering in Haywood County.

While serving as pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Father Doyle has also been a spiritual director and retreat leader at Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center. He has served as chairman of the Haywood County Domestic Violence Task Force and as a board member of REACH of Haywood County, a nonprofit agency working with domestic-violence victims.

In January 2006 Father Doyle visited the South African mission for 10 days.

“While I was there I felt this very strong urge to consider going there as a missionary,” he said. I saw the “violence against women and children, the tremendous suffering of people with HIV/AIDS, and the tremendous spirit of the friars and sisters there.”

Was God calling him to go — or to stay in Maggie Valley?

“I came home and made the discernment of that a primary focus of my prayer,” he said. “I prayed for the grace to be open to what God would ask of me and to give me the strength to do it. At the time, I didn’t feel called to leave Maggie Valley. The call might have been to stay in Maggie Valley.”

He invited others to help him discern.

“I shared this with my provincial,

Photo courtesy of Father Francis J. Doyle

People walk to St. Helen Mission in Southern Africa where they will attend Mass. The building is not a church, though the people hope to raise money to build a church.

Father Donald Reilly,” Father Doyle said. “He was open to my going there, but he wanted me to go for four to six weeks to experience more of the mission.

I went Jan. 15 (2007) for six weeks.”

Being evangelized While there, Father Doyle met Cardinal Wilfred F. Napier, a Franciscan who is cardinal archbishop of the Archdiocese of Durban, South Africa. He also met members of the Durban deanery (vicariate) and attended clergy education days in preparation for the diocese’s synod, held every five years. The synod will be held in September; its theme is “Evangelization.”

“One of the major points of the education days was that as priests we think of ourselves as doing the work of evangelization, but we are sometimes weak in being evangelized — by prayer, Scriptures and the people we serve,” Father Doyle said.

“One of the reasons God has me going is to be evangelized by the church of South Africa, evangelized by the poor,” he said. “I will be taught by the simplicity of the Gospel as it’s lived by the poor, and also by the (Augustinian) volunteers who are living in our community.”

About 80 percent of adult Zulus are unemployed. Father Doyle believes that the poor will teach him “to simplify, to be challenged as to what really is necessary, what really is important.”

South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent, on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The province of KwaZulu-Natal (Land of the Zulu) is on the country’s eastern coast.

Father Doyle will be prior (head) of St. Rita’s Friary at Botha’s Hill in the Valley of 1000 Hills, where he’ll live with two other Augustinian friars.

“I’m very committed to community life, and I want to assist the friars and sisters with the expression and development of community life,” he said.

The friary compound also includes

housing for the Augustinian Volunteers, Jacob’s Well retreat house, a hospital, St. Leo’s School, and a convent of the Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus, who staff Jacob’s Well and the hospital.

The school, where Father Doyle will teach English and help raise funds, has 440 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students, many of whom walk barefoot as much as three hours to class and three hours home each day.

About 130 of the children are orphans, who live with family members or with other local families. Their parents died of AIDS, and some of the children are HIV positive.

Father Doyle will supervise the Augustinian Volunteers — four American college graduates who are giving one to two years to teach English at the school, work in hospices for the dying and at St. Theresa’s Orphanage, which the sisters staff in Durban, about 30 minutes from Botha’s Hill.

In addition, he’ll provide spiritual direction at Jacob’s Well.

After a tutor teaches him Zulu so that he can celebrate Mass, Father Doyle will regularly visit the Augustinian missionaries’ three outstations (mission parishes). For the other two parishes, Father Doyle will prepare the homilies, which will be translated into Zulu before Mass, then read by a layperson.

He feels that his work with domesticviolence victims in Haywood County will help him in ministering to victims of this kind of violence in South Africa.

What will enable him to do all this, Father Doyle said, is God’s grace — the grace to let go of the familiar, to let go of material things, to freely respond to what God is calling him to do.

“God’s will,” he said, “is for all of us to be happy and fulfilled, and to use our gifts for building up the kingdom of God.” Contact Correspondent Joanita M. Nellenbach by calling (828) 627-9209 or e-mail jnell@dnet.net.

6 The Catholic News & Herald

FROM THE COVER

Bishop Wenski testifies on immigration reform before House panel REFORM, from page 1

migrant workers.

He spoke on behalf of the U.S. bishops about comprehensive immigration reform, joining representatives of other religious denominations in giving testimony to the subcommittee.

Before the hearing, Bishop Wenski told Catholic News Service that one of the most important aspects of immigration reform is to ensure that policies would help unite families and not divide them.

He expressed concern in his testimony that the current Senate bill would separate families by replacing the family preference system with a meritbased system and by capping the number of visas for parents of U.S. citizens.

“From the church perspective, a family member from Central America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean or elsewhere could well offer the country as much as a computer software engineer,” he said.

“We should not abandon family unity as the cornerstone of our immigration system.”

He also encouraged lawmakers to reconsider the temporary worker program, the reconfiguration of the legal immigrant system and the legalization program in the Senate bill.

On May 23, senators passed an amendment to the bill to reduce the number of temporary workers from 400,000 to 200,000.

Bishop Wenski said the temporary worker program would create an “underclass of workers in our society who are easily exploitable and without full rights and privileges in the society.”

In addition, the bishops believe requiring workers to return home for a full year every two years could encourage some to remain illegally.

Instead of the temporary worker program, Bishop Wenski proposed elements of a “new worker visa program” agreed on by both U.S. and Mexican bishops as ways to safeguard the rights of migrant workers.

Bishop Wenski said a new worker program should require migrant workers to be given the same wage levels, benefits and worker protections that other workers are granted.

He also said the workers should be able to sue in federal court for violation of their rights and should be able to earn permanent residency over time.

As part of comprehensive immigration reform, the bishops also believe an earned legalization program for the 12 million undocumented workers is necessary and would benefit national security by creating an opportunity to identify those living in the country illegally.

On the West Coast, the church also is taking action to encourage lawmakers to support fair and just

immigration reform.

On May 29, Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang of San Francisco and Auxiliary Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Los Angeles were to deliver 45,000 petitions to the California offices of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in addition to 5,000 petitions previously delivered to the senator.

Before the hearing, Bishop Wenski dismissed the idea that the church is involved in the immigration debate to gain more members, as political pundit Bill O’Reilly had suggested in light of the fact that many Hispanics are Catholic.

“We’re involved in this issue because it touches human lives and that’s what the church cares about — human beings and their souls,” the bishop said.

The church has a strong interest in the current immigration debate because of its history of assisting immigrants and its social teaching, Bishop Wenski said.

“As providers of pastoral and social

services to immigrants throughout the nation, we in the Catholic Church witness the human consequences of a broken immigration system every day in our parishes, social service programs, hospitals and schools,” he said.

The church sees divided families and exploited workers under the current system, he added.

In the past 100 years, the Catholic Church has developed a body of teachings on migration, the bishop said.

“Pope John Paul II stated that there

June 1, 2007

is a need to balance the rights of nations to control their borders with basic human rights, including the right to work,” Bishop Wenski testified.

At the end of the hearing, members of the subcommittee acknowledged that faith communities have a role to play in the debate because of the close ties between churches and immigrants.

“For me it is very important to hear from the faith community as we go through this debate,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.

June 1, 2007

The Catholic News & Herald 7

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8 The Catholic News & Herald

June 1, 2007

youths in action

Cookies for troops

Scouts gather for Catholic Camporee

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Members of Girl Scout Junior Troop 30 from St. Michael Church in Gastonia are pictured May 11 with members of Knights of Columbus Council 6700 and the 272 boxes of Girl Scout cookies they sent to U.S. troops overseas.

Although the girls had already sold 2,280 boxes of cookies, they wanted to do something extra for the troops and collected an additional $952 to purchase the 272 boxes. The Knights donated funds for the cost of shipping.

The girls, who also wrote letters of encouragement to the troops, received a plaque as a sign of gratitude for their efforts from the North Carolina Army National Guard’s 113th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Pictured are Knights Bobby Baird (left) and Mark Rucco with (front row, from left) Catherine Glisson, Emily Cole, Ashlyn Abernathy, Olivia Nesnow, Laura Baird, (back row, from left) Brooke Maddie, Maisy Meakin, Maddison Deely, Mackenzie Hawley, Rachel Terrio and Genet Girmay.

Quilting Cadettes

Bishop Peter J. Jugis presents religious Scouting awards after Mass at the 32nd annual Catholic Camporee in Midland March 23-25. Also pictured are Augustinian Father Russell Ortega (left, behind Bishop Jugis), pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte; and Deacon James Johnson, permanent deacon at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton.

Bishop Jugis celebrates Mass, presents awards MIDLAND — Under clear blue skies, more than 550 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and adult leaders recently gathered for the Catholic Camporee.

The 32nd annual event, sponsored by the Diocese of Charlotte, took place at Clear Creek Scout Camp in Midland March 23-25.

Troop 12 from St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Council 7342, was the host of this year’s event, themed “Glorious Mysteries” and designed to promote awareness of Catholic life and prayer through Scouting activities.

All registered Scouts, regardless of religious affiliation, were invited to participate. The diocesan Committee on Scouting reported the highest attendance of any previous camporee.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated Mass outdoors for the attendees. After Mass, the bishop presented religious Scouting awards to Cubs and Scouts for their individual achievements.

WANT MORE INFO? Visit the diocesan Committee on Scouting Web site online at www.cdccos.org.

Brownies Try-It and succeed

Brooke Turnamian, Lauren Merlini, Caroline Valitutto and Natalie

Labonge, parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro and members of Girl Scout Troop 708, are pictured outside the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah, Ga. The girls, along with 10 other members of their troop, visited the Girl Scout national center April 20-22 to receive their Gold Awards.

For their project, the girls implemented a Brownie Try-It Day, Courtesy Photo

Cadettes from Girl Scout Troop 216 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte hold baby quilts they recently made for Room at the Inn in Charlotte. The quilts were part of the Cadettes’ Silver Award project, which focused on assisting mothers and their children at the Catholic maternity home in Charlotte.

As a group, the eighth- and ninth-graders collected baby items and food items with the help of parishioners from St. Ann Church, as well as made the quilts with the assistance of a quilter from the church.

The Cadettes received their Silver Awards, the second highest award in Girl Scouts next to the Gold Award, during a ceremony at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte May 19.

Pictured are (clockwise from top left) Lucia Leahy, Maria Barrell, Laura Ross and Katie Rango. Not pictured is Katherine Murray.

in which they helped nearly 40 Girl Scout Brownies receive their Try-It badges by completing activities in areas of interest.

The girls enjoyed a private tour of the home and received their Bronze Awards during a ceremony.

Courtesy Photo

June 1, 2007

from the cover

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Bishop Curlin celebrates 50th anniversary CURLIN, from page 1

St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte May 27.

The Mass was concelebrated by Father Ed Sheridan, pastor of St. Gabriel Church; Msgr. Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro; Father Larry LoMonaco, parochial vicar of St. Gabriel Church; and Father Brian Cook, parochial vicar of Holy Family Church in Clemmons.

Also on the altar were Deacon Patrick Toole, who will be ordained to the priesthood June 2, and permanent deacons Ben Wenning and Guy Piche.

Bishop Curlin entered St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore in 1951. He was ordained by Cardinal Patrick A. O’Boyle May 25, 1957.

He spent the next 37 in the Archdiocese of Washington, serving as pastor, director of vocations for men, vicar of permanent deacons, chaplain to Pope Paul VI, auxiliary bishop of Washington, vicar for Theological College of Catholic University of America and president of the board of directors of Catholic Charities.

In the 1970s, the future bishop had a chance encounter with a nun who was visiting Washington from Calcutta. Archbishop William W. Baum of Washington asked Bishop Curlin to meet with the nun, who wanted to open a local soup kitchen.

At the time, Bishop Curlin was

serving as pastor of St. Mary Church in one of Washington’s poorest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods.

“I thought she was a Hare Krishna … I didn’t know a thing about Mother Teresa,” said Bishop Curlin.

Mother Teresa and Bishop Curlin spent a Sunday afternoon in the rectory talking about their work.

“By the end of the day, I knew she was a very holy woman,” he said.

Thus began a life-altering friendship that lasted nearly three decades.

At Mother Teresa’s insistence, Bishop Curlin went to Calcutta, working among the city’s poor and sick.

“After a while, I knew she was a saint — no doubt about it,” he said.

Bishop Curlin returned to Washington, where he eventually established a residence for homeless women; served as chaplain at Gift of Peace, a home for AIDS patients founded

by Mother Teresa; and helped open more than 20 shelters and soup kitchens.

He also converted St. Mary Church’s former convent into a shelter for homeless women and children.

In 1988, Bishop Curlin was ordained as auxiliary bishop of Washington. In 1994, he was named as the third bishop of Charlotte.

“My first night in Charlotte, I immediately felt at home,” he said.

In his eight years as bishop, he continued his mission to alleviate the suffering of the poor, sick and disenfranchised. He also saw the Catholic

Courtesy Photo

population of the diocese grow from 95,000 to more than 135,000.

In September 2002, Bishop Curlin retired as bishop of Charlotte.

Never a man — nor priest — to rest for long, he continues his ministries, celebrating liturgies and sacraments and visiting the sick and dying.

As chaplain for the Knights of Malta’s Charlotte region, Bishop Curlin has led more than a dozen pilgrimages to Lourdes, France.

“The greatest miracles are the deepening faith and love you see in Lourdes,” he said.

“Bishop Curlin has always lived the priesthood as Pope John Paul II expressed: ‘The priest does not live for himself, but for the church and the sanctification of the people of God,’” said Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.

WANT TO LISTEN? For David Hains’ interview with Bishop Curlin, visit www.charlottediocese.org/ communications.

Photo by Karen A. Evans

Top: Bishop William G. Curlin blesses a young boy during Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France in May 2007. Above: Bishop Curlin prays before processing into St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination May 27. Also pictured is Deacon Ben Wenning.

June 1, 2007

10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

June 10, Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Crypt seeker

U.S. writer follows varied path around globe to tombs of apostles

ROME (CNS) — As a Peace Corps volunteer, Tom Bissell was hiking through a village in Kyrgyzstan one day, and an old Russian woman offered to take him to see the tomb of St. Matthew.

“I remember thinking: ‘The tomb of Matthew? I thought he was buried in Jerusalem or Italy or somewhere like that,’” Bissell recalled.

But Kyrgyzstan, he soon learned, also had a claim on the apostle’s final resting place. The woman led Bissell to the ruins of a monastery next to Lake Issyk Kul, where according to local legend the saint’s relics were transported

by Armenian monks in the fifth century.

It was a small marker in the remote reaches of Central Asia.

“That planted the seed,” said Bissell said, who began to wonder about the rest of the apostles, and discovered that many of them ended up in pretty strange places.

Bissell, a highly regarded travel and nonfiction writer, is at the American Academy in Rome this year working on a book on the tombs of the Twelve Apostles. Actually, as Bissell pointed out, it’s 13 Apostles — Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Christ and committed suicide.

St. Matthias, like most of the apostles, is known mostly through legend and tradition. His relics were said to have been brought from Jerusalem by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, and given in part to an abbey church in Trier, Germany. So Bissell made a pilgrimage to Trier and spent the day with a priest, who happened to be named Matthias.

“This priest had a really beautiful way of looking at it,” Bissell said. “He said, ‘I don’t really know if these are Matthias’ bones, but this church is here, and I am here because someone very early on believed these were the relics of one of the apostles, and that’s a tradition worth preserving.’”

Bissell said one of the most haunting spots he visited was Aceldama near Jerusalem, where Judas is said to have hanged himself.

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: JUNE 10, 2007

Unlike other historical places in and around the holy city, this one had no gift shops and no tour guides. A thin and not very worn path leads to the site.

“There’s absolutely nothing there.

There’s this dead tree in the middle of a little clearing, and there are caves all around it where the apostles supposedly hid,” Bissell said.

He spent fours hours at Aceldama and saw only one other person, a Palestinian shepherd. It was, he concluded, “very, very spooky.”

Bissell is not out to authenticate tombs or settle debates over which place has the most legitimate claims to the relics of the apostles. But he does find some traditions more believable than others. He said it was significant, for example, that 100 years after St. Peter died, people believed he was buried in a spot on the Vatican hillside, where the basilica was later built.

Bissell said it’s harder for him to take seriously the legend that the bones of St. Bartholomew were lost at sea, somehow washed ashore in southern Italy and ended up in a Rome church, where they are now venerated.

The apostles roamed far and wide, and some were buried far from their homes.

St. Thomas, for example, evangelized in India and tradition says his first tomb was there. The bones of the apostles have made equally long journeys, sometimes back and forth over entire continents.

There are several reasons for this, Bissell said. In many places, local Christians feared desecration of the remains, particularly by Ottoman soldiers.

Bissell said that in researching his book he’s especially interested in what kind of devotion the apostles have inspired in their burial locations.

Bissell said the local priest at Holy Apostles told him he was the first person in his eight years there who ever came asking about Sts. Philip and James. Their bones, after earlier sojourns in the ancient cities of Hierapolis and Constantinople, are preserved in a crypt below the main altar.

Cycle C Readings: 1) Genesis 14:18-20 Psalm 110:1-4 2) 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 3) Gospel) Luke 9:11b-17

Body and blood of Christ an eternal source for Catholics

by JEAN DENTON catholic news service

The pastor of my parish is on sabbatical, so several retired priests have shared responsibilities of sacramental ministry for the last five months. Our permanent deacon expected to give the homily most weekends but was surprised to find that the priests wanted to preach the word themselves.

One of them, Msgr. Chet Michaels, has become a favorite. It has been interesting to hear parishioners often quoting him when they are gathered for other activities: “It’s like Father Chet said last Sunday ...” or “Father Chet explained it so well.”

As a catechist of youth, I particularly was impressed at the number of times I heard teenagers relate a lesson they’d learned at Mass from this 80-something priest!

On a recent Sunday he mentioned to the congregation that it was the 60th anniversary of his first Mass as a priest. The sheer number of years was astounding enough. But more amazing was the fact that he continues to share the message of Jesus in resonant ways and with a seemingly endless supply of enthusiasm and freshness.

No doubt the monsignor doesn’t worry about whether or not he can come up with an effective way to bring God’s presence to the people. He believes and practices the eternal source of Jesus among people of faith. His lifetime of ministry draws from the same well as did the feeding of the multitudes in this weekend’s Gospel.

Through Msgr. Michaels’ inspired words, the multitudes grow by generations, and through the miracle of Jesus’ body and blood this source of life is constant.

At one Mass Msgr. Michaels, after elevating the host, started right into the memorial acclamation. The deacon whispered that he’d forgotten to bless the wine. As the last words of the acclamation still echoed in the sanctuary, the priest intoned, “Likewise he took the cup ...,” and we followed with the Memorial Acclamation again.

Somehow it was a graced moment, remembering that with Jesus there is always more, and celebrating him feeds our endless desire.

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE Scripture for the week of June 10-16 Sunday (The Body and Blood of Christ), Genesis 14:18-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Luke 9:11-17; Monday (St. Barnabas), Acts 11:21-26; 13:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12; Tuesday, 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Matthew 5:13-16; Wednesday (St. Anthony of Padua), 2 Corinthians 3:4-11, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday, 2 Corinthians 3:15 — 4:1, 3-6, Matthew 5:20-26; Friday (Sacred Heart of Jesus), Ezekiel 34:11-16, Romans 5:5-11, Luke 15:3-7; Saturday (Immaculate Heart of Mary), 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Luke 2:41-51.

Scripture for the week of June 17-23 Sunday(Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time), 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13, Galatians 2:16, 19-21, Luke 7:36 — 8:3; Monday, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Matthew 5:38-42; Tuesday (St. Romuald), 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, Matthew 5:43-48; Wednesday,2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18; Thursday (St. Aloysius Gonzaga), 2 Corinthians 11:1-11, Matthew 6:7-15; Friday (St. Paulinus Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More), 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30, Matthew 6:19-23; Saturday, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Matthew 6:24-34.

Scripture for the week of June 24-30 Sunday (Birth of St. John the Baptist), Isaiah 49:1-6, Acts 13:22-26, Luke 1:57-66, 80; Monday, Genesis 12:1-9 Matthew 7:1-5; Tuesday, Genesis 13:2, 5-18, Matthew 7:6, 12-14; Wednesday (St. Cyril of Alexandria), Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Matthew 7:15-20; Thursday (St. Irenaeus), Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16, Mark 7:21-29; Friday (Sts. Peter and Paul), Acts 12:1-11, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16:13-19; Saturday (First Martyrs of Rome), Genesis 18:1-15, Luke 1:46-50, 53-55, Matthew 8:5-17.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

June 1, 2007

Pope calls violence in media aimed at young people unacceptable Young people need to develop a taste for what is ‘morally valid,’ says pope

by CAROL GLATZ catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Portraying violence, antisocial behavior and vulgar sexual content in the media is unacceptable, especially when aimed at a young audience, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The pope appealed to both media magnates and workers in the field of communications to “safeguard the common good, respect truth and protect the dignity of the person and family.”

The pope’s remarks May 20 commemorated World Communications Day, which is celebrated in most countries on that day. He made his comments before praying the “Regina Coeli” from the window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

Today’s mass media have to help make programming and entertainment an educational experience that promotes “the dignity of the human person, marriage and the family, and the accomplishments and aims of civilization,” he said.

The pope, who chose this year’s theme, “Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education,” said parents, teachers and parish communities “are

called to collaborate to educate children and young people to be selective” in their viewing and to develop “a critical attitude” toward what is offered in the media.

Young people need help in developing “a taste for what is aesthetically and morally valid,” he said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said young people need help in becoming responsible consumers of media so that “they might be open and sensitive to positive messages in the media and resistant to messages that could do them harm and lead them away not only from merely human virtues but also from supernatural truth.”

Children need to be taught “how to distinguish the true from the false, the substantial from the ephemeral, the constructive from the destructive,” he said in a May 18 homily at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

In their search for what is true, he said, children also need to learn about Jesus, “who is the personification of the truth.”

“There are so many offerings in each medium that there is a need for guidance and preparation,” he said.

12 The Catholic News & Herald

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June 1, 2007

from the cover

Success, challenges mark fifth anniversary of charter CHARTER, from page 1

“Absolutely yes,” answers Patricia O’Donnell Ewers, chairwoman of the National Review Board overseeing the bishops’ compliance with child protection policies.

Structures have been put in place for dealing pastorally with victims who come forward with allegations; millions of parents, clergy, employees and children are being educated on child sex abuse prevention; background checks are being done on clergy and church workers; and procedures have been developed for reporting allegations to public authorities, said Ewers, an educator and former president of Pace University in New York.

The Diocese of Charlotte has been audited annually by the U.S. bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection and has been found to be in compliance with the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” Approved at the U.S. bishops’ meeting in Dallas June 13-15, 2002, the charter contains the sex abuse prevention policies.

In addition to adhering to the charter, the Diocese of Charlotte revised its “Policy of the Diocese of Charlotte Concerning Ministry-Related Sexual Misconduct by Church Personnel” in July 2003.

For Thomas Plante, a psychologist who treats clergy sex abusers and victims, the policies are good and the U.S. church is setting an example for the rest of society. But the key to success is “if dioceses and religious orders do what the policies say with integrity,” he said.

Implementation has been uneven, he said. “Some dioceses and religious orders are further along than others.”

Plante works with the Diocese of San Jose, Calif., and several religious orders to help them judge accusations and to establish prevention policies.

For critics, especially those who are victims, the policies are toothless pledges aimed more at improving the image of the church than at helping to end child sex abuse.

Much of the criticism centers around the issue of the hierarchy’s credibility in fighting abuse because of decades of alleged cover-ups that occurred in some

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dioceses where bishops allowed priests to continue in ministry although they continually abused children.

Some critics have said the cover-ups are at least as bad as the abuse.

Ewers and other church officials say major tasks now include overcoming the loss of trust in the church, improving the quality of the programs and streamlining church procedures for investigating and judging whether a priest is guilty.

“The U.S. church is trying to create the safest environment that can be humanly created,” said Teresa Kettelkamp, executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection, which helps dioceses implement the policies and audits compliance.

But church leaders have to avoid “issue fatigue” since protecting children is a never-ending task, she said. “Some refuse to hear the evidence of the successes of the church,” she said.

“Others say the issue is behind us. This is not the case either.”

Key charter provisions The National Review Board and the Office of Child and Youth Protection were established by the 2002 charter, which was updated in 2005.

Also approved in 2002 by the bishops was a companion document called the “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing With Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons,” which established legal procedures under church law for applying charter policies. The norms were updated in 2006. The charter and norms have Vatican approval. Other key charter provisions include: — Establishing offices to receive accusations and to provide professional counseling to victims.

— Setting up diocesan review boards to examine accusations and advise the bishop on policies.

— Permanently removing a priest or deacon from ministry after he admits committing abuse or his guilt is established after an appropriate church process, commonly referred to as “zero tolerance.”

— Improving seminary training and providing ongoing priestly formation programs to strengthen the commitment to celibacy.

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Besides these practical programs, the charter also commissioned a study on the causes and context of the sex abuse scandal. The study, targeted for completion in 2010, plans to examine how bishops responded to the crisis, the social attitudes in the general society at the time of the abuses and priestly formation programs.

It will complement a previous study on the nature and scope of the clergy sex abuse crisis. The nature and scope study gathered statistical data about the crisis from the 1950-2002 period.

Diocese of Charlotte In the Diocese of Charlotte since the charter’s implementation five years ago, 41,288 members of the clergy, diocesan employees, parish volunteers and students have received training that describes inappropriate behavior and explains what steps to take when the behavior is witnessed.

During the last fiscal year, the diocese has provided financial assistance to or on behalf of victims, all of which was used for counseling services. As in the past, none of these funds came from the Diocesan Support Appeal or from parish savings.

Also in the past fiscal year, more than 4,500 background checks were processed on clergy, employees and volunteers. And as a part of its commitment to support the charter, the Diocese of Charlotte has appointed a coordinator to assist survivors of sexual abuse. The assistance coordinator can help victims whether the incident took place in the Diocese of Charlotte or in another diocese.

The work ahead For many victims and victims’ advocacy groups, however, the policies “are purely and simply public relations,” said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused

by Priests.

The situation for children has only been “marginally improved” because the policies remain a “set of promises” that a bishop can ignore, he said.

To improve the situation, bishops should support expanding the statute of limitations for criminal and civil actions in child sex abuse cases, he said.

The Vatican should make it mandatory for bishops to comply with

The Catholic News & Herald 13

the charter, added Clohessy, one of four clergy sex abuse victims who addressed the bishops at their Dallas meeting.

Ewers said the “wounds are so deep” for many victims that “I can understand the anger no matter what” the church does to rectify the situation.

At the same time, “I’ve seen a dramatic change in attitude by religious authorities toward victims, from confrontation to welcoming,” she said, noting that many bishops have met personally with victims.

There is also a need to balance justice for victims with fairness for accused clergy, she said.

Ewers favored maintaining the “zero tolerance” policy but said ways have to be found to speed the process by which church officials determine if a clergyman has committed an abuse “so someone is not in limbo for years” with his reputation tarnished.

Nor are long delays in making a decision helpful for victims, she said.

A related issue, said Ewers, is how to monitor priests during the interval when an accusation has been deemed credible but no final decision has been made.

Also under discussion is whether the church should monitor priests removed from ministry after a determination has been made that they abused a minor.

Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, Texas, chairman of the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, said the church is struggling over the issue of what to do with priests who have been removed from ministry. There is a fear that, once severed from church control, they can abuse again in the general society, he said.

Deciding how and if this can be done is complicated and bishops have sought the advice of law enforcement officials, he said. “I can’t say we have a solution.”

Overall, children are safer now, said Bishop Aymond. “I’m not saying we’re finished. We still have a lot more to do. But we are determined to do it well,” he said.

Contributing to this article was Editor Kevin E. Murray.

WANT MORE INFO? The sexual abuse victim coordinator for the Diocese of Charlotte is David Harold. Contact him at (704) 370-3363 or dwharold@charlottediocese.org.

June 1, 2007

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Catholics in the ‘spin zone’ Fear mongering is a shameless but profitable business The claim of popular cable commentator Bill O’Reilly that his program is “fair and balanced” received a stunning rebuke recently in a study that compared him to 1930s radio personality Father Charles Coughlin.

The study, “Villains, Victims and the Virtuous in Bill O’Reilly’s ‘No-Spin Zone’” was conducted by three Indiana University social science researchers and was published in May. Who was Father Coughlin? He was perhaps the first person to use the fledging medium of radio to broadcast inflammatory messages.

Father Coughlin hosted a weekly program from his home diocese of Detroit. The views he expressed initially supported the status quo of the time, which included President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal (a series of programs between 1933-1938 with the goal of relief, recovery and reform of the United States economy during the Great Depression).

But as the Depression decade wore on, Father Coughlin’s views changed radically. He became anti-Semitic in his denunciation of international Jewish bankers. He was openly sympathetic to both Hitler and Mussolini.

Father Coughlin and O’Reilly have a lot in common. Both use fear-based rhetoric and both have, or had, large followings.

Father Coughlin’s estimated weekly audience was 9 million listeners. He received more than 80,000 letters a week. O’Reilly is the most watched cable commentator. He was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools, but his faith is not as obvious to his viewers as the collarwearing Father Coughlin’s was.

Roosevelt and others tried unsuccessfully to moderate Father Coughlin’s speech and later forced him off the air. Father Coughlin’s voice wasn’t completely silenced until 1942 when a new Detroit bishop ordered him back to pastoral ministry, in which he served until retiring in 1966. He died in relative obscurity in 1979.

Father Coughlin’s use of radio to radiate fear was so revolutionary that a systematic method to analyze propaganda speech was developed by an organization called the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA).

The Indiana University researchers used the tools created by the IPA to measure the “Talking Points” segment that kicks off each O’Reilly broadcast.

What they found was that, compared to O’Reilly, Father Coughlin was a “choir boy” in his use of name-calling and other propaganda devices.

O’Reilly uses name-calling a lot.

The researchers found that, on average,

Catholics & the Media DAVID HAINS communications director

he called someone or something a name every nine seconds. His favorite targets are immigrants, terrorists and foreigners, followed by left-leaning news organizations and politicians.

Father Coughlin, by comparison, used name-calling about half as much as O’Reilly.

O’Reilly has his pets, too. The military, the criminal justice system and the Bush administration are typically displayed as virtuous. But only about 15 percent of the “Talking Points” are devoted to virtue. The bulk of these diatribes is devoted to villains and victims, to what scares us rather than what reassures.

Despite the claim of being “fair and balanced,” both O’Reilly and the Fox News Channel are not. Programming is designed to appeal to conservatives, which in the increasingly fragmented media marketplace is apparently a good business strategy.

Fox News outdraws the other news networks — CNN and MSNBC — and consequently earns more money.

Making a solid business case for programs that twist reality to suit the viewers’ tastes may shine up a quarterly profit statement, but the price is high as civil discourse in our society declines with name-calling and endless interviews that collapse into shouting matches.

The technology of media has made great advances since Father Coughlin ruled the airwaves. We have hundreds of TV channels, and stunning lifelike graphics allow us to escape into mesmerizing videogame worlds.

Yet the ratings prove that we are still attracted by fear mongering and the siren call of doom.

It is all the sadder that O’Reilly and Father Coughlin, the icons of this downward spiral of spin, are both Catholics, the faith of love and forgiveness.

D a v i d H a i n s i s d i re c t o r of communication for the Diocese of Charlotte. Contact him at dwhains@charlottediocese.org.

A podcast of this column is available on the diocesan Web site, www.charlottediocese.org.

Debunking bad science The opinions expressed in letters to the editor by readers Kevin Roeten and Frank Carrillo regarding the cause of global warming were right on target (“Concerns over ‘global warming,’” May 18).

This hysteria was created by Al Gore and left-wing scientists and non-scientists without due regard to the opinions of highly respected and credentialed climatologists such as Dr. John Christy, lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report, and Dr. Richard Lindzen, meteorology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both of whom debunk much of the global warming data.

Research conducted by these two scientists, along with many of their peers, often doesn’t get reported in the mainstream media. Follow the money trail, just like embryonic stem-cell research, and there you will find the notso-hidden agenda.

While the concerns of the Catholic Church and other organizations are certainly admirable, I believe that they are being taken in by a segment of our society that is deviously creating a “climate of fear” for their own personal goals.

General circulation models predicting future calamities are inexact at best and leave out critical data for more accurately predicting future climate changes. This is an issue of unsettled science and not politics.

If the money spent on reducing greenhouse emissions were spent on infrastructures and investment in capitalism in third world countries, lives would improve dramatically. While we can all help in reducing our energy bills, man-made global warming has yet to be scientifically proven.

— Bill LaMay Matthews

Commending articles on abstinence, chastity

I was delighted and grateful to read of the letter from Bishops Peter J. Jugis and Michael F. Burbridge to the N.C. legislature regarding the pending bill modifying the current “sex education” curriculum in public schools (“Abstinence before marriage,” May 18) and of Cardinal Justin Rigali’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate addressing essentially the same issue (“Avoid ‘compromised’ message in sex education, cardinal says,” May 18). Thank God for their sorely needed prophetic voices!

The article on the draft of guidelines being reviewed by the bishops (“Bishops get draft of guidelines for education in chaste living,” May 18) too was a welcome and much-needed magisterial teaching from our American shepherds.

But nowhere was mentioned the virtue of modesty, which protects the virtue of chastity, mentioned. I’m hoping it was just an oversight in the Catholic News Service report and that it will be addressed in the final document.

The Catholic catechism eloquently articulates the beauty and necessity of this “forgotten virtue.” I would urge all parents, teachers and grandparents who

Letters to the Editor

are concerned about the loss of the virtue of chastity in our society to read it if they haven’t already done so.

— Estelle Wisneski Charlotte

Fighting domestic violence I applaud the article on the symptoms and causes of domestic violence (“Fighting back with faith,” May 18).

I agree with Augustinian Father Francis Doyle’s statements about how our Catholic communities have not often engaged in this issue. I am a Catholic woman and health care provider who has worked with victims of domestic violence. It is my experience that the church has rarely been available to support women who have summoned the courage to reveal that abuse is part of their daily married life.

Many of these women are Catholic and live under the assumption that the vows of marriage are sacred in the eyes of God “until death do us part.” So whom do women of faith turn to first when they are ready to admit to the emotional damage that domestic violence has caused them? It is not a divorce attorney; it is a priest.

It is my hope and prayer that Father Doyle’s efforts and the article will launch activism in the Catholic community regarding the un-Christlike and potentially criminal aspects of domestic violence.

It is time for Catholics to join those who will work for justice in cases of domestic abuse. Let us help to find peaceful resolutions for survivors and their children. I personally pledge my own activism toward this work in our church, in whatever way my skills can be of service to women and to God. — Rosemary Nocella, RN Fort Mill, S.C.

Write a Letter to the Editor 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.

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Send letters to Letters to the Editor, The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, N.C. 28237, or e-mail catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

June 1, 2007

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Apostle to the poor, friend to the needy Father McKenna remembered for raising awareness, bringing hope On a Saturday in mid-May, several hundred Washington, D.C., area Catholics gathered to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Jesuit Father Horace McKenna (1899-1982).

He was an apostle to the poor who fed the hungry and sheltered the homeless while urging others to find permanent solutions to these problems. Immediate care for Washington’s hungry and homeless continues today in the McKenna Center in the basement of St. Aloysius Church, where this good pastor worked.

Those who gathered wanted to celebrate Father McKenna’s life and search for ways to extend his influence particularly in the nation’s capital, through advocacy and relief for the hungry and homeless.

Father McKenna expressed his solidarity with the poor by sleeping occasionally in homeless shelters and eating in soup kitchens. He once told me that he tried for a while to get along without wearing underwear just to be closer to the poor, but that proved not to be such a good idea.

“We’re middle class,” he said, “and we have to be if we’re going to be around long enough to help the poor.”

As one who knew and admired Father McKenna, I would like to let him speak here in his own words:

“If the church does not care for the poor, they will be neglected. That is the test of our faithfulness to Christ: how we relate to the poor.”

“I really believe that every person is a revelation of God — the joy of God, the love of God. I feel that the human person on the street is the appearance of Jesus Christ consumed with human needs.”

“The poor are here, I believe, to teach us that we must live modestly.”

“The church without social work is like Christ without miracles.”

“Our Lord did his miracles instantaneously at a word, but his church — his brothers, his sisters, his fathers and mothers — have to do their miracles slowly.”

“The poor can’t lift themselves up by their own bootstraps because they have no boots.”

“I think we need to have marches — hunger marches, marches for the homeless, marches for peace. We need to make the government realize it should not spend our food money on armaments for war.”

Whether or not there will be marches on Washington to extend the McKenna legacy is anybody’s guess. There will be, I suspect, strategic planning to organize alumni of Washington-area Jesuit schools and parishioners from the

Season of happiness

Many events happening to savor, remember Spring is the season of happiness. So many happy events in parish life.

We have first Communions, confirmations, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and retirements.

So many times to dress up. So many photos to be taken, invitations to send out, gifts to buy and cakes to be eaten.

As the kids say, “I’m down with all that” — especially the eating part.

Like most parish priests, I get a little dizzy since we hardly have a chance to catch our breath from Easter before the spring round robin of events.

I have to say I love it, even though I moan and groan a little.

My favorite is first Communion. The children are so excited. They take it so seriously. They listen so intently. They really enjoy getting their photos taken.

The boys get their first clip-on necktie. Sometimes it stays on until the end of Mass. The girls get their fancy white dresses, veils, shoes, and little purses. Girls definitely get more stuff.

This year as the children were lining up for first Communion I told them all they looked beautiful.

The boys corrected me — “We look handsome.”

I asked the girls if they looked like brides or queens. One girl volunteered, “We look like angels.”

Confirmation is joyous, but in an adolescent sort of way. The joy is coupled with relief. “Whew, we at least got them this far!”

I always thank the parents for bringing their children up in the faith.

This year the archbishop tossed our children a couple of softball questions.

Each time there was that moment when all seemed struck dumb. Then after a poke from a teacher or a sponsor, a hesitant hand went up.

The way young people talk today, it makes their answers sound like questions: “Sacraments?!”

The archbishop affirmed them all and made a nice save out of every answer, much to the relief of their pastor.

Weddings are high anxiety. That’s because they include mothers of the bride and wedding coordinators. They are a highly combustible mixture. Brides hire wedding coordinators to control their mothers.

Once the wedding march has begun the anxiety is largely left behind.

In recent years I have taken to inserting two pauses into weddings.

The first one comes when the bride and groom get to the altar. I tell them “sotto voce,” to take a deep breath. I remind them that they look radiant.

The other pause comes at the homily.

Looking Around JESUIT FATHER WILLIAM J. BYRON cns columnist

two Jesuit parishes in the nation’s capital to make something happen in providing food and housing for the poor.

Forty years ago, with nudging and encouragement from Father McKenna, the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Georgetown University Alumni Association used its corporate clout to facilitate the federally funded construction of the 199-unit Sursum Corda low-income housing project just a few blocks from Capitol Hill.

Those units are now owned by the residents in a limited equity partnership.

Private developers are offering to buy out the present residents to make room for an enlargement of capacity and reorganization of ownership that will result in many more market-rate units and far fewer subsidized housing units for the poor.

Although Father McKenna is no longer around to speak up for the poor, it is likely that some influential Washingtonians who are part of the Jesuit network and who remember Father McKenna will try to make his voice heard in policy debates.

Those debates will affect some of today’s poor in whom Horace McKenna would see “the appearance of Jesus Christ consumed with human needs.”

Parish Diary FATHER PETER DALY cns columnist

I stop and ask for silence: “Let’s just savor this moment for a while. Let’s listen to our hearts beating in union with the bride and groom, saying, ‘We love you.’”

The graduations, anniversaries and retirements are less painstaking. Pretty much the drill is just one, two, three: One, get a card. Two, show up. Three, eat some cake.

Each spring the jubilee celebration for priests is a bittersweet celebration.

This year I took along the young seminarian who is staying at our parish.

I told him, “Come and see what you will look like in 40 years.”

When all the elder brothers line up for the Mass, I see myself in them.

It is a well-worn group. Some are on walkers. Some have canes. Some are in wheelchairs. But most look pretty good.

At jubilees there is a different kind of joy and beauty. It is not the joy of beginnings and future hopes. It is the joy of accomplishment and gratitude for the past. It is the beauty of wisdom and experience.

This really is a season of happiness.

Line up and smile for the photo.

Pope says only God is flawless, imperfect people need forgiveness The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Only God is thoroughly flawless and holy; imperfect people are constantly in need of forgiveness, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Christians, even great theologians, need to be humble and accept both their own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the church, “because only God is really completely holy. We, instead, constantly need forgiveness,” the pope said at his May 30 weekly general audience.

More than 32,000 pilgrims from all over the world gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the audience. The pope continued his catechesis on the Fathers of the Church and early church teachers by focusing on Tertullian, a second-century theologian and apologist born in Carthage, an ancient city in North Africa.

Through his many writings, Tertullian refuted accusations pagan authorities launched against the early Christians, and explained and defended Christian teachings and traditions, the pope said.

“An essential characteristic of a great theologian must always be the humility to stay with the church, to accept its and one’s own weaknesses, because only God is really completely holy,” he said.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, In our catechesis on the Fathers and teachers of the early Church, we now turn to Tertullian, an African from Carthage and the first great Christian author to write in Latin.

A convert to Christianity, Tertullian became an eloquent apologist for the faith, not only defending it from its detractors but striving to present positively the Gospel message in dialogue with the pagan intellectual tradition.

He emphasized the unity of God while affirming the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Tertullian’s terminology of three “persons” in one divine “substance” marked a significant advance in the development of the dogma of the Trinity.

His works also bear witness to the emerging understanding of the dignity of Our Lady, the nature of the church, the Petrine Primacy and the sacraments.

Tertullian grounds the Christian life in prayer and in hope based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Converted by the sufferings of the martyrs, whose blood he called the seed of the church (cf.

Ap., 50.13), Tertullian grew increasingly rigoristic, and eventually left the church’s communion.

Yet he remains an influential witness to the church’s rule of faith and an important figure in the perennial dialogue between the Gospel and the world of culture.

June 1, 2007

The Catholic News & Herald 16

around the diocese

Celebrating service

Honoring their memory

Courtesy Photos Courtesy Photo

Members of the Abbot Vincent G. Taylor Assembly Fourth Degree honor guard take part in a Memorial Day service at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro May 27. The cemetery features a veteran’s memorial.

Join us: “CRUISE INFO MEETING” 7 pm, Tuesday, June 26 Slide presentation, answers to your questions by travel rep at Pastoral Center, Charlotte. All are welcome! Call for reservation (704) 370-3332.

Knights of Columbus celebrate the national organization’s 125th anniversary during a special Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro May 29.

Knights of Columbus celebrate 125 years of service GREENSBORO — The Greensborobased Knights of Columbus Piedmont Council 939 recently celebrated the national organization’s 125th anniversary.

Fifty members and their families, as well as 24 members of the Abbot Vincent G. Taylor Assembly honor guard, gathered for a special Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro May 29.

The Mass was celebrated by Msgr.

Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, and Msgr. Joseph Showfety, a retired diocesan priest.

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization founded in the United States by Father Michael McGivney in 1882.

Most of its 1.7 million members are in the United States, but it has councils in Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Guam, Saipan and Poland.

There are more than 12,100 Knights of Columbus in North Carolina.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on the Knights of Columbus, visit www.kofc.org.