June 5, 2009

June 5, 2009

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Perspectives Action over apathy; eternal truths, instant news; teaching the faith; happiest moments

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI June 5, 2009

To rediscover the grace and goal

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

Charlotte cemetery opens Catholic section Third of its kind in the Diocese of Charlotte by

KATIE MOORE staff writer

Photo by Katie Moore

CHARLOTTE — Another option for Catholics preferring traditional burial is now available in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis consecrated Holy Redeemer Garden at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte June 1.

Members of the Knights of Columbus; Deacon Guy Piche, director of diocesan properties; and parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte gathered for the event.

“The Holy Redeemer Cemetery at Sharon Memorial Park is the fourth Catholic cemetery I have had the privilege of blessing in less than two years,” said the bishop in an interview.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis prays during the consecration of Holy Redeemer Garden at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte June 1.

The garden is the third Catholic section to be opened at an independently-owned cemetery in the diocese in the past 10 months and the first in the city of Charlotte.

See CEMETERY, page 5

by SARAH DELANEY catholic news service

See PRIESTS, page 8

no. 30

Under Christ’s watchful care

Year for Priests will show pride in, love for priests, cardinal says

VATICAN CITY — The 2009-10 Year for Priests will demonstrate that the Catholic Church “is proud of her priests, loves them, honors them (and) admires them,” said Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

In a letter released in late May, the cardinal said the yearlong celebration, which was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI and will be inaugurated by him June 19, also will recognize the variety of pastoral work performed by priests and the witness of their lives.

vOLUME 18

A call to spread love and mercy Seven Sisters of Mercy celebrate anniversaries, years of service

Courtesy Photo

Seven Sisters of Mercy celebrating jubilee anniversaries as women religious renew their vows during a Mass at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte May 30. Pictured are (from left) Mercy Sisters Teresa Susana Dandison, Mary Michel Boulus, Mary Julia Godwin, Mary Agnes Solari, Jeanne-Margaret McNally, Patricia Durbin and Mary Gerard Donovan.

CHARLOTTE — Seven Sisters of Mercy recently celebrated a collective 385 years of ministry and service as women religious.

The sisters celebrated their jubilees, or anniversaries, at a Mass at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte May 30. Father James Solari, a retired priest of the diocese, celebrated

A rejection of violence

Pro-life leaders, groups condemn murder of abortionist

the Mass.

Celebrating 60 years as “diamond jubilarians” were Mercy Sisters Mary Michel Boulus, Mary Gerard Donovan, Patricia Durbin, Mary Julia Godwin, Jeanne-Margaret McNally and Mary Agnes Solari.

WASHINGTON — Prolife advocates universally condemned the May 31 murder of a Kansas abortion doctor, with officials from several U.S.

See JUBILEES, page 9

See MURDER, page 7

by CHAZ MUTH catholic news service

To purge poverty

Culture Watch

Multicultural events

CCHD grants given to local organizations

Series on women and faith; inside the Vatican museum

Parishes, schools celebrate cultural diversity

| Page 4

| Pages 10-11

| Page 16

June 5, 2009

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

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

Priest’s decision to be an Episcopalian said to harm church relations MIAMI (CNS) — Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami expressed disappointment May 28 at both Father Alberto Cutie’s decision to join the Episcopal Church and the public way he was received into his new church.

“This truly is a serious setback for ecumenical relations and cooperation” between the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, the archbishop said in a statement that also warned Catholics not to request the sacraments from Father Cutie nor attend Masses celebrated by him.

Father Cutie, who was suspended from his parish and Catholic radio posts after photos of him with a woman were released by a tabloid magazine, joined the Episcopal Church May 28 at a ceremony at Miami’s Trinity Cathedral.

The woman, identified as Ruhama Buni Canellis, 35, also became an Episcopalian in the same ceremony.

“I have decided to become part of a new spiritual family within the umbrella

an Uncertain era

Diocesan planner CNS photo by Rick Wilking, Reuters

The U.S. flag is displayed on a car at the Burt GM auto dealer in Denver June 1. General Motors Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in New York June 1, forcing the 100-year-old automaker, once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism, into a new and uncertain era of government ownership.

Detroit archbishop praying for those affected by GM bankruptcy DETROIT (CNS) — Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit said he was praying for those affected by the General Motors Corp. bankruptcy.

“The news concerning General Motors adds to the disruption and uncertainty already faced by many of our fellow citizens,” Archbishop Vigneron said in a June 1 statement. “All of those impacted by these latest developments are in my prayers.”

GM, until recently the world’s largest automaker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection June 1.

Under the terms of the filing, the U.S. government, which has made billions of dollars in loan guarantees to GM since last year, will own 60 percent of the company.

The Canadian government, which has been assisting GM facilities in that country, will own 12 percent, and the UAW will own about 17 percent of the company, while bondholders will own most of the remainder.

But the bankruptcy filing also came with news that GM would close another 16 of its 49 remaining manufacturing and assembly plants.

GM announced earlier this spring that it would discontinue selling the Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer brands.

Hummer is being sold to a Chinese industrial firm, and most of GM’s European brands have been shed, sold or shielded from bankruptcy.

“I invite the Catholic faithful to join

with me as we implore the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, for her comfort in these times of economic distress,” Archbishop Vigneron said in his statement. “And we humbly ask for her intercession with Jesus, her son, to strengthen all of those bearing the burdens of the challenges before us.”

The GM bankruptcy came the same day after Chrysler, the United States’ third largest automaker, came out of bankruptcy. The Italian automaker Fiat will take most of Chrysler’s assets.

Michigan had the nation’s highest unemployment rate even before the Detroit automakers started reeling last year from the effects of record-high gas prices and weakening auto sales.

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader criticized the bankruptcy plan in a June 2 statement.

“What about the act of closing dealers? Dealers don’t cost manufacturers anything. The franchise agreement makes certain of that. So why are we further inconveniencing motorists, rupturing their relationship over the years with dealers that are closer to home and making them travel more and more?” Nader said.

“The answer is, the fewer dealers, the more likely the price of cars goes up.

So there are all kinds of reasons why this should go back to Congress for thorough House and Senate hearings, if Congress wanted to adhere to its constitutional duties,” he said.

For more events taking place in the Diocese of Charlotte, visit www.charlottediocese. org/calendarofevents-cn.

CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — A summer study on Women in Church History will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., Wednesdays June 3-July 29 at 10 a.m. (no study July 15). The program will be led by Barbara Reagan, retired high school and college history professor with more than 36 years of experience. For more information, call Aida Tamayo at (704) 554-1622.

CHARLOTTE — The young adult ministry group at St. Peter Church will host a Theology on Tap series at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, 911 E. Morehead St., every Monday in June from 6:30 to 8 p.m. This event is open to young adults between the ages of 18 and 40 who are interested in discovering more about their faith in an open and relaxed environment.

On June 8, Chris Lynch will discuss the topic “Update Your Faith!” and on June 12, Abbott Placid Solari will speak on “Understanding the Church’s Message.” To RSVP, e-mail rebhay@gmail.com.

CHARLOTTE — A Blood Give-In will be held June 14 in the St. Matthew Church Parish

of Christianity,” he said in a statement.

A statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida said he would pursue becoming a priest in that church but it was not clear how long the process would take.

Archbishop Favalora said neither Father Cutie nor Episcopal Bishop Leo Frade of Southeast Florida had told him that the priest was considering joining the Episcopal Church.

Citing various sections of canon law, the archbishop said Father Cutie had separated himself “from the communion of the Roman Catholic Church by professing erroneous faith and morals and refusing submission to the Holy Father.”

Any sacraments he performs “would be illicit” and any Mass he celebrates “would be valid but illicit, meaning it does not meet a Catholic’s obligation.”

The statement also noted that Father Cutie “is still bound by his promise to live a celibate life,” from which he can be released only by the pope.

Center, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sign-up in the church narthex following weekend Masses June 67. Participants will need to bring a picture ID. Appointments will be honored, walk-ins will be accepted as time permits. For more information, call the church office at (704) 543-7677.

CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel in Transition (SGIT) is a ministry for those who are, or may soon be, facing job layoffs or transitions during these trying economic times. The program goal is to support job seekers in their search for rewarding employment. Learn how we can open ourselves to new points of view and find opportunity in the face of adversity. The next meeting will be June 18 in the St. Gabriel Church Ministry Center from, 7-9 p.m. Keynote speaker is Tim Hanson, long-time career search skills instructor from CPCC, who will lead the group through a process designed to identify, refine and maximize the value of a personal employment brand. To register, contact Bill Conwell at SGIT@bellsouth.net.

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis, will celebrate a mass for U.S. military personnel July 5 at 3 p.m. at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East. The Mass and rosary (to be prayed at 2:30 p.m.) will be offered for all military personnel who have died and for those who are now serving. Military personnel are invited and encouraged to come in uniform. Photos of those who have died or who are now serving will be displayed in the cathedral. To include your loved one, mail a color or black-and-white photocopy of them with their name and military rank on the back of the photo to Nancy Weber, Office of the Bishop, 1123 South Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203 to be received no later than July 1.

Photocopies of pictures will not be returned.

June 5, 2009 Volume 18 • Number 30

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray STAFF WRITER: Katie Moore 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 5, 2009

The Catholic News & Herald 3

FROM THE VATICAN

Vatican announces papal trip to Czech Republic in September VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Czech Republic in late September, participating in the nation’s Sept. 28 observance of the feast of St. Wenceslaus, a 10th-century Czech prince and martyr.

During the Sept. 26-28 trip, the pope will visit Prague, Brno and Stara Boleslav, the town where St. Wenceslaus was murdered by his brother in 935 to protest his embrace of Christianity, the Vatican announced May 30.

The announcement was published as Pope Benedict was meeting Czech President Vaclav Klaus in the papal library. The pope and president discussed the situation in the Czech Republic, “looking in particular at some questions related to relations with the Catholic Church, as well as to the future of Europe, taking into account the importance of its cultural, spiritual and Christian

patrimony,” the Vatican said.

Church-state relations in the Czech Republic have been tense over demands for the restitution of Catholic properties confiscated under communist rule.

In March, the Czech Supreme Court confirmed state ownership of Prague’s historic St. Vitus Cathedral after a 17year legal battle by the church.

After his audience with the pope, Klaus told Vatican Radio he was pleasantly surprised by “how the pope follows the situation in our country.

Our meeting was not just an exchange of pleasantries, but we spoke in a very concrete way.”

“Regarding preparations for the pope’s visit, I must say they already are in an advanced phase. We are happy the pope will be visiting us because he will bring a clear message for everyone,” Klaus told Vatican Radio.

GASTONIA VICARIATE DENVER — Are you interested in learning about your Irish heritage? The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians welcome all women who are practicing Roman Catholics, and who are Irish by birth or descent, or who are the wife of a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, or the mother of a Junior member. We will be starting a new division in the Denver area.

To learn more, contact Janice Donahue at (704) 249-9161 after 7 p.m. weekdays or e-mail ladydonahue@gmail.com.

(704) 249-9161 after 7 p.m. weekdays or e-mail ladydonahue@gmail.com.

GREENSBORO VICARIATE GREENSBORO — A Mass in the extraordinary form to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart will be held at Our Lady of Grace Church, 2205 West Market St., June 21 at 4 p.m. A women’s and men’s schola will be formed for the chants of the Mass. Interested singers should contact Robin Shea at RSHEA@triad.rr.com for the women’s schola and Brian Marble at musicdirector@olgchurch.org for the men’s schola to arrange rehearsals.

HIGH POINT — To commemorate the 15th anniversary of perpetual eucharistic adoration at Maryfield nursing home, 1315 Greensboro Rd., a special Mass for Corpus Christi will be celebrated in the Maryfield Chapel June 14 at 3 p.m. Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin will be the chief celebrant. Refreshments will be served following the Mass.

SALISBURY VICARIATE MOORESVILLE — Are you interested in learning about your Irish heritage? The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians welcome all women who are practicing Catholics, Irish by birth or descent, the wife of a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians or mother of a junior member. The LAOH will be starting a new division in the Mooresville area. To learn more, call Janice Donahue at

Episcopal

calendar

SMOKY MOUNTAIN VICARIATE HIGHLANDS — Our Lady of the Mountains Church, 315 North 5th St., is one of five Highlands churches participating in weekly Taize Prayer Services throughout the summer months. The ecumenical services will be held each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The service will rotate weekly to each of the participating churches. The first service at Our Lady of the Mountains Church will be held June 11; other dates at the church include July 16 and Aug. 20. Everyone is invited to attend the services, which are intended to unit Christians in prayer. For more information, call Ed Boos at (828) 526-3353.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE CLEMMONS — Catholic homeschooling families in the Triad gather on Mondays at Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., for enrichment activities such as hands on science, geography, Latin and art. Registration is now open or fall 2009. Interested families should contact Katie Knickrehm at (336) 996-2643 or katie_knickrehm@ yahoo.com, or Liz Ruiz at lizimagination@ triad.rr.com. For more information, visit www.holyfamilyhomeschoolenrichment.com.

Pope John Paul’s beatification delayed, Italian newspapers say VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The beatification of Pope John Paul II may be delayed as the Vatican seeks more documentation regarding his almost 27 years as pope, Italian newspapers reported in late May. According to the newspaper La Stampa, the chief holdup regards hundreds of letters he wrote before and after his election to Wanda Poltawska, a longtime friend and adviser to the pope.

Meanwhile, the newspaper Il Giornale reported that a commission of theologians meeting in mid-May decided the information contained in the official “positio,” or position paper, was not complete enough.

In particular, the newspaper cited the fact that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state under Pope John Paul, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, his deputy at the time, had not given testimony in the case.

Neither newspaper quoted any of the commission members by name nor included comments from current officials of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office, said June 1 there would be no official comment from the Vatican while the process was under way.

Dominican Father Daniel Ols, the Vatican’s chief investigator for Pope John Paul’s cause, told the Italian news agency ANSA June 1 that the process was proceeding with the Vatican’s normal, cautious pace.

Pope Benedict XVI waived the five-year waiting period for the cause to begin, Father Ols said, “but at the same time, he wants the work to be done well and with maximum accuracy.”

La Stampa published an interview with Poltawska June 1 in which she said she met Father Karol Wojtyla, the future pope, in 1950 when she was looking for a confessor and spiritual director to guide her in the long process of recovering from her internment as a political prisoner in the Nazis’ Ravensbruck concentration camp, where medical experiments were performed on prisoners.

Along with her husband and often with their children, “we shared interests, important moments, spirituality and that love for nature that we experienced camping in the mountains of southern Poland and even in the golden cage that was (the papal villa at) Castel Gandolfo,” after his election as pope in 1978, she said.

“From the first time I met him I knew he would become a saint,” Poltawska said. “His holiness was evident; he radiated an interior light that was impossible to hide.”

Poltawska said she has a “suitcase full of his letters,” written over the course of 55 years.

“I cannot tell you how many I gave to the beatification cause,” because she took an oath of secrecy regarding the cause, she said. “I did not destroy any of them. I selected some and decided to publish them in Poland, even though some people did not agree,” she said.

Crowding around Mary

CLEMMONS — A Charismatic Prayer Group meets Mondays at 7:15 p.m. in the eucharistic chapel of Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd. Join us for praise music, witness, teaching, prayers and petition. For more details, call Jim Passero at (336) 998-7503.

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. Submit in writing to kmmoore@charlottediocese.org or fax to (704) 370-3382.

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

June 9-11 50th anniversary of priestly ordination of Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah Savannah, Georgia

June 13 (5 p.m.)

Sacrament of confirmation St. John de la Salle Church, North Wilkesboro

June 12 (7 p.m.)

Sacrament of confirmation St. John the Baptist Church, Waynesville

June 14 (10 a.m.)

Sacrament of confirmation Christ the King Church, High Point

CNS photo by Marcelo del Pozo, Reuters

Pilgrims crowd around the statue of the Virgin of El Rocio during a procession around the shrine of El Rocio in Almonte, in southwestern Spain, June 1. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the annual pilgrimage, which combines religious fervor and festive color.

NOTICE TO READERS The Catholic News & Herald begins its biweekly printing schedule for June, July and August. The next issue will be June 19.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

To purge poverty

June 5, 2009

Celebrating Communion

CCHD grants awarded to local organizations SHELBY — Delegations from 10 organizations working with the poor living in the Diocese of Charlotte gathered for a grants luncheon at St. Mary Church in Shelby May 21.

The organizations present were 10 of the 11 organizations selected to receive checks from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) for the 2009 funding cycle.

CCHD is the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty program that supports community groups.

The local grant checks, totaling $40,334, were distributed by Mary Jane Bruton, CCHD director in the Diocese of Charlotte.

“First and foremost, we thank the Catholics of the Diocese of Charlotte for their generosity in the annual November CCHD collection. It is their contributions that make this grant program a reality,” said Bruton.

Dioceses throughout the United States conduct an annual CCHD collection in November. Most of the funds are sent to the national CCHD

office to support the organization’s national anti-poverty mission, but a small portion of the collection remains in the dioceses to support local grants for grassroots organizations.

Ralph McCloud, national director of CCHD, spoke at the recent luncheon on the topic of “The Challenges of Poverty.”

Observing that two of the recipient organizations had the word “neighbor” in their names, McCloud applauded CCHD’s community response to the poor and remarked how poverty can best be addressed by neighbors serving and empowering neighbors at the local level.

This year, four grants were awarded to organizations in the western region, two grants in the central region, three grants in the Charlotte-metro area and two grants in the Triad region.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on CCHD or a grants application, go online to www.cssnc.org/cchd_crs.html.

Courtesy Photo

Father Frank Seabo, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa, is pictured with 17 children who made their first Communion May 3. This year’s Communion class was the largest in the history of the parish, according to Bea Madden, religious education director at the church.

Planning ahead

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Mary Jane Bruton, diocesan director of CCHD, stands with representatives of Irwin Avenue Middle School and St. Peter Church in Charlotte, one of 11 recipients of CCHD grant checks distributed during a luncheon at St. Mary Church in Shelby May 21. Also pictured are (from left) Judy Fahl, principal of Irwin Avenue Middle School, and Martha Schmitt and Mary Claire Wall, parishioners. St. Peter Church received the grant for its collaborative project with the school in an effort to improve parent involvement and student performance.

Franciscan nun in Raleigh is CCHD diocesan director of year RALEIGH (CNS) — Franciscan Sister Joan Jurski was named the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s 2009 director of the year.

Sister Jurski has been the CCHD director in the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., since 1991. Also coordinator of the diocese’s Office of Peace and Justice, she addresses the social concerns of a diocese that is more rural than urban, with 96 Catholic churches spread over 54 counties.

The annual award honors the daily and “often unsung efforts of the men and women” who serve their

dioceses as local campaign directors, an announcement said.

Sister Jurski received the CCHD award in February during the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, D.C. In her acceptance remarks, she said CCHD, the U.S. bishops’ domestic antipoverty program, is one of the most effective evangelization efforts in the Diocese of Raleigh.

For many people, especially in rural communities, the assistance CCHD provides is often their first encounter with Catholics, she said.

Father Daniel McCaffrey, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and a presenter for Natural Family Planning Outreach, speaks to adult and teenage parishioners of St. Mary Church in Shelby as part of an NFP Weekend Mission May 15-17.

Natural Family Planning Outreach coordinates with local NFP teachers and physicians to provide materials and seminars on natural family planning based on Catholic Church teaching.

Father McCaffrey spoke after all weekend Masses; he also spoke to local physicians May 15 and to more than 120 teenagers and their parents May 16.

For more information on natural family planning or to arrange a weekend mission, contact Batrice Adcock, natural family planning program director with Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte, at (704) 370-3230 or cssnfp@charlottediocese.org.

June 5, 2009

from the cover

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Charlotte cemetery opens Catholic section CEMETERY, from page 1

Photo by Katie Moore

Bishop Peter J. Jugis blesses those in attendance at Holy Redeemer Garden at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte June 1. The garden is the third Catholic section to be opened at an independently-owned cemetery in the diocese in the past 10 months.

rev. Joseph koterski, s.J., Ph.d.

department of Philosophy, fordham University will speak in the Diocese of Charlotte

on June 29, July 1 and July 2 The event topics and locations are presented below.

Please visit www.cssnc.org for event synopses.

The Catholic Understanding of Human Rights and the Common Good

It is the third Catholic section to be opened at an independently-owned cemetery in the diocese in the past 10 months.

The Garden of St. Matthew at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Matthews opened Aug. 12, 2008 and a Catholic section at Northlake Memorial Gardens in Huntersville was consecrated Dec. 2, 2008. A cemetery at the site of the future Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury was consecrated Sept. 1, 2007.

In 2006, the Diocese of Charlotte implemented a moratorium on constructing and expanding columbaria and conducted a study on the use of columbaria and cemeteries.

“The Holy Redeemer Cemetery fulfills the requirements of our diocesan Policy on Cemeteries, which requires that a resting place for the bodies of the deceased and a resting place for cremated remains be available all at one location,” said Bishop Jugis.

“The Holy Redeemer cemetery is a pastorally sensitive approach, offering equal access at one location to all our Catholic parishioners who desire a resting place for either the body or for cremated remains,” the bishop said.

Sharon Memorial Park was opened in 1939. The cemetery offers private estates, hedge estates, traditional ground burial and a cremation columbarium.

Holy Redeemer Garden is the newest section in the park and the first Catholic cemetery in the city of Charlotte.

An 8-foot granite crucifix at the center of the Catholic section serves as an identifiably Catholic symbol within the independently-owned cemetery.

“It stands as a reminder of Christ’s love for all humanity,” said Bishop Jugis.

“St. Paul says that if we have died with Christ, then we shall also live with Christ,” the bishop said. “We place our beloved dead at the feet of the crucified Lord, knowing that they continue to live in Christ and that their bodies are safe under his watchful care as they await the resurrection on the last day.”

Contact Staff Writer Katie Moore by calling (704) 370-3354, or e-mail kmmoore@charlottediocese.org.

BURIAL or CREMATION? •The Order of Christian Funerals — the Vatican-approved rite used for celebrating Catholic funerals — indicates three reasons for the preference of burial of the body of the deceased over the cremation of the body: —Jesus himself willed to be buried; —the body at the funeral rite expresses in a natural way the manner people had been accustomed to relating to the person while he or she was living, namely through a human body; —the body at the funeral rite expresses Jesus’ teaching regarding the supernatural dignity and destiny of the human body.

•The Order of Christian Funerals presents cremation as an exception to burial and allows Catholics to be cremated “when extraordinary circumstances make the cremation of a body the only feasible choice.”

•In March 2007, the Diocese of Charlotte issued its new policy on cemeteries and columbaria, which states parishes may offer at one location a resting place for both the bodies and the cremated remains of the deceased.

•The policy gives the diocese the option to create Catholic sections in local cemeteries and to receive or purchase land for the establishment of a Catholic cemetery.

Monday, June 29, 10:30 am - 12 pm, 1st floor, diocesan Pastoral center Address: 1123 s. Church st., Charlotte, 28203 (visitor parking in adjacent satellite lot) Monday, June 29, 7 – 8:30 pm, immaculate conception church, st. francis hall Address: 208 seventh Ave. West, Hendersonville, 28791

St. Paul on Questions of Human Life, Marriage, and Society Wed., July 1, Parts i & Part ii: 10 am – 3 pm, 1st floor, diocesan Pastoral center Address: 1123 s. Church st., Charlotte, 28203 (visitor parking in adjacent satellite lot) Wed., July 1, Part i: 6:30 – 8:30 pm & Thursday, July 2, Part ii: 6:30 – 8:30 pm our lady of Mercy Church. Address: 1730 link road, Winston-salem, 27103

Rev. Joseph Koterski, S.J., Ph.D.

fr. Joseph koterski, s.J. is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham university where he also serves as editor-in-Chief of the scholarly journal International Philosophical Quarterly. He holds a Ph.d. in Philosophy from st. louis u. and a M.div. and s.T.l. from the Weston school of Theology in boston. He has received both the Graduate student Faculty of the year Award and the undergraduate student Faculty of the year Award from Fordham university.

Sponsored by the Office of Justice and Peace and Respect Life Program of Catholic Social Services.

Please call 704-370-3228 or e-mail sabeason@charlottediocese.org if you plan to attend. Lunch will be provided at the June 29 and July 1 daytime events for all who register to attend in advance.

Photo by Katie Moore

Bishop Peter J. Jugis blesses the cemetery and people attending the consecration of Holy Redeemer Garden in Charlotte June 1.

6 The Catholic News & Herald

w to

around the diocese

Sister Mary Cecilia Lewis 1917 — 2009

Honoring a past pastor

Teacher, musician dies in her 73rd year as Sister of Mercy

BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Cecilia Lewis died May 30 at Marian Center in Belmont after an extended illness. She was 92.

A funeral Mass was held at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont, followed by burial in Belmont Abbey cemetery.

She was born Helen Virginia Lewis in Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 13, 1917.

Upon entering the Sisters of Mercy on June 24, 1935, she took the name Sister Mary Cecilia. She was received into the religious order Feb. 2, 1936 and had been in her 73rd year as a Sister of Mercy.

A gifted teacher and musician, Sister Lewis was an educator for her entire ministerial career, including her years at Sacred Heart Academy in Belmont, where she was principal, and at Sacred Heart College, where she served as chairperson of the music department for more than 30 years.

Sister Lewis also was organist and choir director for her congregation.

She began her teaching career in 1937 and was missioned to Sacred Heart School in Salisbury. In 1939, she was assigned to St. Mary’s School in Wilmington.

She also taught at O’Donoghue School in Charlotte before returning to teach at Sacred Heart Academy and Sacred Heart College in Belmont.

Although busy with her teaching schedule, Sister Lewis actively served the community at large where many people knew her as a piano instructor for children and adults.

She was a member of the board of directors of the Gaston Fine Arts Council and the Gastonia Community Concerts Association, as well as secretary of the diocesan Liturgical Commission.

In addition, she was active in the Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum, have it serving as its president, vice president, librarian and board member. In 1984, the forum awarded her a citation of honorary membership for her meritorious service.

In 1971, she added two new ministries. The first consisted of a year of work at Charlotte Ear, Eye, Nose and Throat Hospital; the second was 10 years with Contact Telephone Counseling.

For many years, she served as a pastoral volunteer at Gaston Memorial Hospital and as a hospice volunteer, visiting men and women living with AIDS. She was a member of the board of directors of the House of Mercy, a facility sponsored by her order for men and women with AIDS. Sister Lewis graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1934 and from Sacred Heart Junior College in 1935 with an associate’s degree in liberal arts.

She attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C, and received her bachelor ’s degree in liturgical music from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in Purchase, N.Y. She then returned to her studies at Catholic University of America, earning a master’s degree in music education.

S

June 5, 2009

Don’t miss this!

Elder Ministry’s Annual DAY OF REFLECTION FOR SENIORS sponsored by Catholic Social Services

Mercy Sister Mary Cecilia Lewis

Father Joseph Koterski, S.J., presents During her sabbatical year of 1980-81, Sister Lewis completed a master’s degree in spirituality at Mundelin College in Chicago.

While there, she served as a volunteer for Sarah’s Circle, a center for homeless women in uptown Chicago.

Sister Lewis enrolled in postgraduate study at Wake Forest University, Peabody Conservatory, Appalachian State University and Catholic University of America.

She held certificates of professional advancement from the North Carolina Music Teachers Association and the Music Teachers National Association, and memberships in the American Association of University Professors, American Guild of Organists, College Music Society, Charlotte Music Club and North Carolina Music Educators Conference.

Sister Lewis is survived by the Sisters of Mercy South Central Community and by several cousins.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, Sacred Heart Convent, 100 Mercy Drive, Belmont, NC 280124805; to House of Mercy, 701 Mercy Drive, Belmont, NC 28012; or to Gaston Hospice, P.O. Box 3984, Gastonia, NC 28054.

“Dante’s Divine Comedy and How to Solve Life’s Ups and Downs”

Courtesy Photos

Msgr. Joseph Kerin (upper left) regards the plaque on the parish hall rededicated in his honor at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte May 31. Watching are Msgr. John McSweeney, pastor; Fathers Patrick Toole and Patrick Cahill, parochial vicars; Deacon James Hamrlik; and members of the parish.

Msgr. Kerin, now retired, served as the first pastor of St. Matthew Church from 1986 to 1996.

“Of the truths that I have realized over time, having celebrated my 52nd anniversary, is that Jesus is always walking with us and when we recognize that, we can live a life of peace — and when you have peace you have joy,” said Msgr. Kerin.

DAY OF REFLECTION FOR SENIORS sponsored by Catholic Social Services Elder Ministry

Father Joseph Koterski, S.J., presents

“Dante’s Divine Comedy and How to Solve Life’s Ups and Downs” Tuesday, June 30 10:30 am – 3 pm Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville (Mass celebrated at 12:10 pm with optional Basilica tour at 3 pm) Back by “popular demand,” Father Koterski is the well-known, award winning professor of philosophy at New York’s Fordham University. In a comfortable, relaxed and personal manner, he will address problems facing his audience today and will consider helpful ways to reduce the difficulties that are part of everyday life.

$14 includes lunch DEADLINE to register: Monday, June 22 Pre-register by sending name, address and payment to: Catholic Social Services - Elder Ministry 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203

Questions? Sandra Breakfield – 704-370-3220, Sherill Beason – 704-370-3228 Lettie Polite (local call) – 828-258-3507

June 5, 2009

from the cover

Pro-life activists condemn murder of abortion doctor MURDER, from page 1

right-to-life groups saying such extreme acts only hurt the pro-life cause.

“As a people of life and for life, violence has no place in our message, which is protection for all from conception until natural death,” Maggi Nadol, Respect Life director in the Diocese of Charlotte, said June 3.

“We reject violence inside the abortion centers in ending the life of the unborn and we reject violence outside the abortion centers,” she said.

Dr. George Tiller, 67, of Wichita, Kan., was fatally shot while serving as an usher at the city’s Reformation Lutheran Church during morning services, according to The Associated Press.

The suspect arrested in the shooting was officially charged June 2 with one count of first-degree murder. Criminal justice officials have accused him of threatening two people at the church and additionally charged him with aggravated assault.

In 1996, a man with the same name was charged in Topeka, Kan., with criminal use of explosives for having bomb components in his car trunk and sentenced to 24 months of probation, the AP reported. However, the conviction was overturned on appeal the next year after a higher court said evidence against him was seized by law enforcement officers during an illegal search of his car, the AP reported.

Tiller — whose clinic is one of just a few in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy — had been a target of abortion opponents since the 1970s. He was shot in

The Catholic News & Herald 7

both arms by a protester in 1993 and his clinic was bombed in 1985.

Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed profound regret upon learning of Tiller’s shooting death.

“Our bishops’ conference and all its members have repeatedly and publicly denounced all forms of violence in our society, including abortion as well as the misguided resort to violence by anyone opposed to abortion,” Cardinal Rigali said in a June 1 statement.

“Such killing is the opposite of everything we stand for, and everything we want our culture to stand for: respect for the life of each and every human being from its beginning to its natural end. We pray for Dr. Tiller and his family,” he said.

“The pro-life movement works to protect the right to life and increase respect for human life,” said David O’Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee. “The unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal.”

Members of the president’s faith-based advisory council, who are among those working for common ground on abortion, also condemned Tiller’s murder.

President Barack Obama, who supports legal abortion, also expressed his dismay at the shooting death of the abortion doctor and said such violence wouldn’t be tolerated.

“However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” he said May 31.

At least one abortion opponent condemned what Tiller did while condemning the act that took his life.

More AMericAns consider theMselves “pro-life” than “pro-choice” for the first time since Gallup began asking this question: With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?

56%

51%

51%

51%

46% 41%

40%

proLife

pro42% choice

41%

33% ‘95

‘96

‘97

‘98

‘99

‘00

‘01

‘02

Source: Gallup Poll

“I believe George Tiller was one of the most evil men on the planet; every bit as vile as the Nazi war criminals who were hunted down, tried and sentenced after they participated in the ‘legal’ murder of the Jews that fell into their hands,” said Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue. “But even Mr. Tiller — like other murderers — deserved a trial of his peers, and a legal execution, not vigilante justice.”

The murder will most likely tarnish the image of anti-abortion activists and hurt the credibility of advocates who use peaceful means to bring about an end to legal abortion in the U.S., Terry said.

“His killing presents us a severe challenge,” he said.

Catholic bishops in Kansas and neighboring Colorado condemned the murder, stating that although they vigorously oppose abortion, violence against those who perform the procedures is counterproductive and contrary to Catholic teaching.

“Many Catholics have over the years engaged in peaceful protest outside of Dr. Tiller’s clinic, praying for an end to abortion, and especially late-term abortions. I have on occasion joined them for this purpose,” said Bishop Michael O. Jackels of Wichita.

“This position and hope cannot, however, serve as a justification for committing other sins and crimes, like

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‘09 ©2009 CNS

the willful destruction of property and, even worse, murder,” he said.

Bishop Jackels and the bishops who lead the three other Catholic dioceses in Kansas extended their condolences to Tiller’s family. They said they were praying for the slain doctor’s soul and said the fact that the shooting occurred in a church only adds to the horror of the crime.

Other condemnations of the murder came from Catholics United, Students for Life of America, Priests for Life, Religious Leaders Seeking Common Ground on Abortion, the Pope John Paul II Bioethics Commission, Maryland Right to Life and Cleveland Right to Life.

“We fear, however, that this murder is a byproduct of increasingly hateful and intolerant language on the part of some militant opponents of legal abortion — language that has often sought to demonize people like Dr. Tiller to the point of dehumanization,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United.

“In the wake of Dr. Tiller’s death, we call on all sides of the abortion debate to commit to charitable dialogue and pursuit of common ground solutions,” Korzen said. “It is only through this sort of respectful communication that we can find real solutions to abortion and avert tragedies like the one ... in Kansas.”

Contributing to this story was Editor Kevin E. Murray,

8 The Catholic News & Herald

June 5, 2009

vocations

Pope ordains priests, warns of wordly spirit in the church

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI ordained 19 priests and urged them to make sure their ministry is not contaminated by a worldly mentality.

Priests should dedicate their lives to prayer and service, and never lose sight of the self-sacrifice of Christ, the pope said during the lengthy liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica May 3.

The Mass marked the annual celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The new priests, who will serve in the Diocese of Rome, included 13 from Italy and six from other countries on four continents.

After prostrating themselves on the floor of the basilica as a litany of the saints was chanted, each of the candidates knelt before the pope as he imposed his hands on his head, part of the ordination rite.

In his sermon, the pope quoted the First Letter of John, who contrasted the spirit of the Gospel with the spirit of the “world,� a term he used to refer to all that is hostile toward God. St. John said that “the world does not know us� because it did not know

God, a lament that remains true today, the pope said. “It’s true, and we priests experience this: the ‘world,’ in John’s meaning of the term, does not understand the Christian, does not understand the ministries of the Gospel. In part because in fact it does not know God, and in part because it does not want to know him,� he said.

Accepting God would place this worldly attitude in “crisis,� the pope said. “Here we need to pay attention to a reality: that this ‘world,’ in the evangelical sense, threatens even the church, infecting its members and the ordained ministers themselves,� he said. “The ‘world’ is a mentality, a manner of thinking and living that can pollute even the church, and in fact does pollute it, and therefore requires constant vigilance and purification,� the pope said.

The Christian vocation, he said, is to be free from evil and different from the world, though living in the world.

The pope emphasized the centrality of prayer in the life of each priest. This prayer should be Christ-centered, and its highest form is the Eucharist, he said.

From prayer comes the effectiveness of

Year for Priests will show pride in, love for priests PRIESTS, from page 1

Addressing Italian bishops May 28, Pope Benedict said the year should help priests “rediscover the grace and the goal of priestly ministry.� “It is a service to the church and to the Christian people that requires a deep spirituality,� the pope said, because only by being united with the Lord can priests minister effectively through their preaching, their celebration of the sacraments and their assistance to the poor.

In his letter, Cardinal Hummes acknowledged that some priests had been involved in “gravely problematic and unfortunate situations,� an apparent reference to recent sexual abuse scandals.

He wrote that while investigation, prosecution and punishment were necessary, “it is also important to keep in mind that these pertain to a very small portion of the clergy.�

Most priests, he said, are “people of great integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry� who sacrifice themselves

and are “in solidarity with the poor and suffering.�

Cardinal Hummes said that over the year the economic status of priests also will be addressed “since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world.�

The new Statistical Yearbook of the Church, just released with figures recorded as of Dec. 31, 2007, showed that the problem of priestly vocations continues.

The yearbook reported a very slight increase, less than 1 percent, in the number of priests between 2000 and the end of 2007.

The number of priests around the world rose from 405,178 in 2000 to 408,024, which the Vatican newspaper described as “not significant, in the light of regional differences.�

Africa and Asia show dynamic growth, with increases of 27.5 percent and 21.2 percent, respectively, while the number of priests in the Americas held steady, according t o L’ O s s e r v a t o r e R o m a n o , t h e Vatican newspaper.

Europe, however, showed a decline of nearly 7 percent, while the number of priests in Oceania decreased by more than 5 percent, it said.

During the Year for Priests, Cardinal

CNS photo by Max Rossi, Reuters

Priests lie prostrate during their ordination Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, at the main altar, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 3. all other priestly ministry, he said. “The priest who prays often and prays well becomes progressively expropriated from himself and increasingly united with Jesus, the good shepherd, and the servant of his brothers,� he said.

After the Mass, at his noon blessing, the pope urged the entire church

community to pray for priestly vocations.

The pope recently proclaimed a year for priests that will run from June 2009 to June 2010.

In recent years, Vatican statistics have shown that the number of priests and seminarians in the world is increasing somewhat, but not as fast as the general Catholic population.

Hummes said, there will be study, spiritual exercises, conferences and theological seminars in dioceses around the world.

He said it should be an occasion of “intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the church and in society.�

Above all, the cardinal said, “may it be a year as well of religious and of

public celebration which will bring the people — the local Catholic community — to pray, to reflect, to celebrate and justly to give honor to their priests.�

T h e c a r d i n a l ’s l e t t e r w a s published in several languages on the Congregation for Clergy’s Web site — www.clerus.org — but Vatican Radio reported May 27 that on the opening day of the Year for Priests, June 19, the clergy congregation would unveil a special Web site for the year at www.annussacerdotalis.org.

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June 5, 2009

Seven Sisters of Mercy celebrate anniversaries JUBILEES, from page 1

Celebrating 25 years as a “silver jubiliarian” was Mercy Sister Teresa Susana Dandison.

Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin introduced the Jubilarians to the guests at the celebration.

“You, of course, know our sisters from how they’ve served among you — foster mothers, teachers, college administrators, nurses, counselors, school principals,” she said.

“We sisters know them other ways too — as women who strive to live together in love that the world may be encouraged in their call to love,” said Sister Mauldin.

Sister Boulus, a North Carolina native, entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1949. Although her ministry has been mostly in administration, she said she would most like to be remembered as a math teacher.

She currently is director for both the food services for Sacred Heart Convent and the administrative offices of the Sisters of Mercy South Central Community.

VOCATIONS

Sister Donovan, a native of Long Island, N.Y., entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1950. Although much of her ministry was as an educator, she is gifted in finance as well. For 14 years, she was treasurer of the congregation in Guam, and from 1979 to 1996 she served as treasurer of the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina.

Sister Durbin, a native of Nebraska, entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1950. In addition to her ministry in education, Sister Durbin has worked in the office of Holy Angels in Belmont and in the office of the president of the community.

For the past decade, she has served as director of the Media Resource Center for the Diocese of Charlotte.

A native North Carolinian, Sister Godwin entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1949. She has served as a teacher and has ministered for years as a direct caregiver.

Currently, she helps care for ill sisters at Marian Center on the Sisters of Mercy campus in Belmont.

Sister McNally, a native of New York, entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1949.

Her ministries have included nursing, teaching, counseling and practicing as a canon lawyer.

As a canon lawyer, she has served as a member of the marriage tribunals for the Archdiocese of Miami and the

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Courtesy Photo

Seven Sisters of Mercy stand outside St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte May 30, where they celebrated their jubilee anniversaries as women religious. Pictured are (from left) Mercy Sisters Patricia Durbin, JeanneMargaret McNally, Mary Julia Godwin, Mary Agnes Solari, Mary Michel Boulus, Mary Gerard Donovan, Teresa Susana Dandison and Teresa Susana Dandison.

Diocese of Charlotte, and as a canon law teacher in formation programs for the Sisters of Mercy, the Benedictines of Belmont Abbey and the Trappists of Moncks Corner, S.C. Born in Richmond, Va., Sister Solari entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1949.

She has served as a teacher and campus minister for many years. Currently, she is an assistant in the media center at Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte.

A native of Argentina, Sister Dandison entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1984. Widowed prior to her entry, she is a mother and grandmother. She spent some of her first years with the Sisters

of Mercy serving in the Widowed, Separated and Divorced Ministry in the diocese.

She also has been a Mercy presence in the diocese’s Hispanic ministry in Davie County since 1996, where she serves those who struggle with language and other difficulties in the health and government systems.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community, visit www.mercysc.org.

Women consecrated as spiritual mothers for priests TULSA, Okla. (CNS) — Following a recommendation by the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, 33 women from the Diocese of Tulsa were consecrated as spiritual mothers of priests during a special Mass at Holy Family Cathedral.

They are the first spiritual mothers to be consecrated in the United States, said Father Mark Kirby, a Tulsa priest who directs a cenacle for priests in the diocese.

“Mary is the model for those whom God has called to serve the church by living as spiritual mothers of priests,” Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa told

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the women during the March 24 Mass.

“With Our Lady, the spiritual mothers of priests have as the heart of their vocation the call to live a life of constant prayer and adoration while making a conscious effort to love generously and freely,” he said.

Each of the women was presented with a medal and a certificate signifying her dedication to a particular priest, who was described to her but not named. The priests who expressed interest in having a spiritual mother do not know her identity, either; they only know someone is praying for them and their call to holiness.

The women were asked to spend time daily in adoration and intercessory prayer directed toward their adopted priests. Their consecration followed several weeks of formation. Now that they are consecrated, the women will continue as spiritual mothers for the rest of their lives.

The letter from the Congregation for Clergy, released in 2007, asked bishops to seek out women who would follow the example of Mary and “spiritually adopt priests in order to help them with their self-offering, prayer and penance.”

The effort is intended to promote perpetual eucharistic adoration “for the reparation of faults and the sanctification of priests.”

June 5, 2009

10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

Series explores how women overcome boundaries within faith reviewed by

ELEONORE FOURNIER-TOMBS

June 14, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Cycle B Readings: 1) Exodus 24:3-8 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18 2) Hebrews 9:11-15 Gospel: Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Sacrifice is a definition of God’s love

catholic news service

“Shall we accept merely what is good from God and not accept also what is bad?” (Jb 2:10) Since he first courageously formulated it, Job’s question has been asked again and again by human beings who find it consistently difficult to embrace pain and suffering. Catholics have found inspiration in Job’s unwavering loyalty and love for God and have tried to imitate his lack of hatred and anger.

The message hasn’t changed. The real test of a person is not to be good when it’s easy, but to be good when it’s really, really difficult. But what is being good? According to Job, it is remaining devoted to God. According to Sister Joan Mueller, it’s alleviating the suffering of those around you. According to most Catholics, it’s somewhere between prayer and action; each person chooses his or her own interpretation.

The new St. Anthony’s Press series titled “Called to Holiness: Spirituality for Catholic Women” explores just that.

The three first volumes are part personal testimonies, part how-to manuals on overcoming challenges and being good — good to God, good to oneself and good to one’s community.

“Making Sense of God,” the introduction to the series written by Elizabeth Dreyer, is a guide aimed at empowering women to be theologians, that is, to understand God and worship him in a way that, well, makes sense.

“Grieving With Grace” is a touching little account of a year in Dolores Leckey’s life following the sudden death of her husband. Her reprinted diary entries highlight her struggle to come to terms with her loss as she learns about herself and explores suffering around her.

Thinking back on that year, she writes: “At first I wrote as a way of coping. (But) the communion I experienced included not only my husband, but friends, public figures, culture in its many forms, and the social contexts in which we all live.”

Leckey’s insights will no doubt be a real comfort to any woman coping with loss. Loving and genuine, she also will appeal to anyone wanting to be inspired by the power of faith through suffering.

Finally, in “Living a Spirituality of Action,” Sister Mueller, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Joy, shares her experience as founder of Project Welcome, an organization providing support and services to Sudanese refugees settling in Omaha, Neb. She encourages women to give their time to their communities, and movingly writes about her feelings of pain and discouragement as she tried to improve the lives of the refugees.

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: JUNE 14, 2009

by JEFF HEDGLEN catholic news service

“Simply being good,” she writes, “really isn’t that simple.” But, she adds, “a preferential option for the poor invites us to make a choice to serve another person simply because it is the right thing to do.”

This series, though, is not only about moral choices. It is also about the meaning of Catholicism for women who for the last two millennia have typically been surrounded by male religious imagery and male leadership in the church.

It is about women who need to overcome boundaries within their own faith to fully develop as good human beings. After all, God chose to be born a man. He really only had two choices — to be born a man or a woman — but his decision left its mark on generations of followers.

Dreyer writes it is not only that human beings struggle to be close to God, but that women have a special challenge in relating to him. While women have had many role models in the Catholic Church, the leading figures have always been men.

After all, the reason that this series of books has come out is that there is a real need for women to find themselves within the church, a need for women to feel that they are not eternally second best.

What’s more, based on the first three books, this series is not so much about learning one’s place in the church as it is about creating it.

It’s a practical read, and if readers go through the exercises, rituals, discussions and reflection periods suggested in the books, they are going to get quite a workout for their souls — whether they’re women or men.

Fournier-Tombs is communications officer for Development and Peace, the Canadian Catholic bishops’ aid organization.

When I think of personal sacrifice I am always reminded of something my mother did for me.

One day when I was 19 and out of money and gas, my mother gave me $20.

At the time, it did not seem like such a big deal. Later, I learned that it was her last $20 and she had been saving it for cigarettes.

This was no small sacrifice for her, as she had been smoking since she was a teenager. Years later she ended up quitting, but at the time, giving up her cigarette money was demonstrative of what she was willing to do for her children.

In my coursework for a degree in theology, I learned this definition of love: To want good for another and be willing to do what it takes to make that good happen.

This is exactly how it was with my mother. She was willing to do whatever it took to make sure her children had what she could give them.

This weekend’s readings are all about sacrifice — not just regular sacrifice,

but total giving, a kind of sacrifice that ends in the shedding of blood. The Old Testament reading outlines the Mosaic Covenant regulation for sacrificing an animal, and the New Testament readings reveal the New Covenant in which Jesus is the lamb that is slain.

These passages help us enter into the commemoration of a great feast day, Corpus Christi, when we celebrate the ultimate sacrifice, the total self-giving of Jesus.

The sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus is ever present to us at Mass; it is the center point of our faith and the doorway to heaven.

In this way the heavenly Father defines love. He wants the good for us (eternity with him) so much that he does whatever it takes (sacrificing his Son) so we can have that good.

The Corpus Christi (body of Christ) is an ever-present reminder of the love God has for us. This is made even more special in that we not only receive this truth in our mind and hearts, but the body of Christ enters our body, his sacrificed body saving ours.

Questions: In what ways have you seen someone want good for another person and do what it takes to make it happen? What does receiving the body and blood of Jesus mean for you?

Scripture to be Illustrated: “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many’” (Matthew 14:22-24).

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE Scripture for the week of June 7-13 Sunday (The Most Holy Trinity), Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40, Romans 8:14-17, Matthew 28:1620; Monday, 2 Corinthians 1:1-7, Matthew 5:1-12; Tuesday (St. Ephrem), 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Matthew 5:13-16; Wednesday, 2 Corinthians 3:4-11, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday (St. Barnabas), Acts 11:21-26; 13:1-3, Matthew 5:20-26; Friday, 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Matthew 5:27-32; Saturday (St. Anthony of Padua), 2 Corinthians 5:14:21, Matthew 5:33-37.

Scripture for the week of June 14-20 Sunday (Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ), Exodus 24:3-8, Hebrews 9:11-15, Mark 14:12-16, 22-26; Monday, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Matthew 5:38-42; Tuesday, 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, Matthew 5:43-48; Wednesday, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18; Thursday, 2 Corinthians 11:1-11, Matthew 6:7-15; Friday (The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus), Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9, Isaiah 12:2-6, Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19, John 19:31-37; Saturday (The Immaculate Heart of Mary), 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Luke 2:41-51.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

June 5, 2009

Vatican Museum director juggles protecting art, keeping it public

by SARAH DELANEY catholic news service

said, and those numbers show no signs of abating, even with the economic crisis.

To rationally take care of the flow of visitors, the trick for museum directors is to navigate between the overexposure of valuable works and excessive restriction.

“There is the ‘Taliban’ or extremist approach,” he explained. “This type of director hopes that as few people as possible will visit, to avoid the risk of damaging the works.

“On the other side of the trajectory there is the permissive director, who is interested in getting as many people as possible, extending hours and making access available to anyone who wants to go,” he added.

Balance is needed, he said, and museum authorities today should be emphasizing the “preventative conservation” of galleries and artworks, working on the flow of visitors, controlling the atmosphere, and changing the traffic patterns to avoid too much exposure to delicate works.

Paolucci’s greatest frustration is the tendency of most visitors to ignore the many different galleries in the Vatican Museums to get to the Sistine Chapel.

“It’s an anthropological phenomenon ... people have this single goal when they come to the Vatican Museums,” he said.

It is the “unfortunate consequence” of the importance of the chapel covered

ROME — Accommodating everincreasing crowds while protecting priceless works of art for future generations is the greatest challenge museum directors are facing today, said Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums.

With 18 months under his belt as chief of the vast collection gathered by popes over the centuries, Paolucci also said his job was to educate museum visitors, who often do not understand what they are looking at.

He recently told architecture students at La Sapienza University in Rome that the famous labyrinth of galleries he oversees was “the archetype of all museums,” unique in its history and formation but also difficult to manage for those same reasons.

Paolucci, the longtime director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, was appointed director of the Vatican Museums in December 2007. He is one of Italy’s most prominent cultural spokesmen.

Anyone who has been to Rome and visited the Vatican probably has experienced the long line that snakes along its fortified walls; often people wait more than an hour to get into the Vatican Museums, just to find themselves shoulder to shoulder once inside.

In 2008, more than 4.5 million people visited the museums, Paolucci

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CNS photo courtesy of Vatican Museums

Antonio Paolucci, director of Vatican Museums, is one of Italy’s most prominent cultural spokesmen.

He said his greatest frustration is the tendency of most visitors to ignore the many different galleries in the Vatican Museums to get to the Sistine Chapel. with Michelangelo frescoes, he said, “like a light that shines so strongly that it prevents one from seeing the rest.”

Even the famous Raphael rooms that visitors pass through on the way to the chapel are barely looked at, he said.

He blamed the “relentless schedules of the tourist industry” for herding people through in an average of one hour and 15 minutes.

He said most visitors ignored galleries with exceptional collections of Greco-Roman statuary; Etruscan, Egyptian and ethnic art and artifacts; the Pinacoteca, with its collection of medieval and Renaissance paintings; and the famous Gallery of Maps.

So while the quantity of museum visits is continually rising, the quality has suffered, Paolucci said, lamenting the “semantic blackout, a clouding

over of the significance of things” of contemporary culture.

“Understanding a painting by Titian is like understanding a Shakespeare sonnet or a work by Cervantes,” but people come to museums completely unprepared for the experience, he said.

“We are working on that, sending out student guides, helping to explain the works,” he said. “We need to decipher the Vatican Museums for people.”

Unlike many other collections in Europe that were originally gathered by generations of dynastic families like the Medicis in Italy, the Romanovs in Russia or the Habsburgs in Austria, the Vatican collections grew according to the tastes and ideas of each successive pope, Paolucci said.

“Each pope was different and brought with him his own culture, and so a different sort of collecting,” he said.

Noting the unifying idea, he said, “All popes sought to use the figurative arts, because they understood the extraordinary importance and exceptional potential for persuasion, propaganda and education of artistic expression.”

Paolucci credits Pope Julius II, the pope best known for commissioning Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, with beginning the museums by bringing to the papal palace the famous “Greek Laocoon” sculpture in 1506.

Soon after, Pope Julius added the “Apollo of Belvedere,” which he brought from his own family palace.

The Vatican collection was founded on Greco-Roman statuary, and it was not a casual choice, Paolucci explained.

“It was a very precise ideological and cultural plan — the church of Rome that makes classical art its own, that Christianizes the classical era,” he said.

That was the beginning of a “torturous, discordant accumulation of works of art,” with no precise plan, which according to Paolucci “is what makes the Vatican Museums so unique and fascinating today.”

Providing help. Creating hope. Changing lives.

Catholic Social Services — The Diocese of Charlotte Executive Director: Elizabeth Thurbee (704) 370-3227 Associate Director: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3250 Refugee Office: Cira Ponce (704) 370-6930 Family Life: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3228 Justice and Peace: Joe Purello (704) 370-3225 OEO/CSS Murphy Satellite Office (828) 835-3535 Charlotte Region: 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Area Director: Geri King (704) 370-6155 Western Region: 50 Orange Street, Asheville, NC 28801 Area Director: Jacqueline Crombie (828) 255-0146 Piedmont-Triad: 621 W. Second St., Winston-Salem, NC 27108 Area Director: Diane Bullard (336) 727-0705 Greensboro Satellite Office (336) 274-5577 Latino Family Center (336) 884-5858

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For information on specific programs, please call your local office.

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12 The Catholic News & Herald

June 5, 2009

around the diocese

Archival Anecdota

For the month of June, as another school year comes to an end, here is a look at some of the Catholic schools that once served students in the Diocese of Charlotte but are now closed.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL — GREENSBORO St. Pius X Catholic School in Greensboro, North Carolina is accepting resumes for the position of Assistant Principal for the 2009-2010 school year. St. Pius X Catholic School is a K-8 school with approximately 475 students. The Assistant Principal collaborates closely with the principal, faculty, parents, students, and parish community.

The successful candidate will be a person who is active in his or her Catholic faith, with a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and who has at least 5 years of successful classroom experience at the elementary or middle school level.

The salary and benefits are based on an 11-month position and on education and experience.

Interested applicants should send a letter of application and resume to: Mrs. Anne Knapke, Principal St. Pius X Catholic School 2200 N. Elm Street Greensboro, NC 27408

Archival Photo

A nun plays a guitar for students outside St. John the Evangelist School in Waynesville in this undated photograph.

Asheville Catholic High School

The school was established as St. Francis School for Boys by Franciscan Friars in 1949. It stood on the old Glen Eden estate, with the mansion converted into classrooms and the stable into a laboratory.

On Sept. 3, 1957, Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Raleigh established Asheville Catholic High School as a coed institution staffed by three different religious orders: Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and Religious of Christian Education.

A new high school building and gymnasium /auditorium were completed on the same estate property in 1960. Bishop Waters dedicated the new facilities April 24, 1960. Due to declining enrollment, the high school closed in June 1972. The property was sold to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in 1974.

St. Genevieve of the Pines, Asheville

The story of St. Genevieve’s began in December 1907, when five women of Religious of Christian Education moved into a house on Starnes Ave. They had established a school in their home by January 1908. By September 1908, they operated the school in two houses located on N. Main Street (now Broadway) and had an enrollment of 80 students, six of whom were boarding students.

Next, the school moved to the former Victoria Inn on Victoria Rd. and became St. Genevieve of the Pines. Classes at the new campus started in January 1911.

In 1949, the sisters added Gibbons Hall for boys and began St. Genevieve of the Pines School for Secretaries in 1955.

The Religious of Christian Education ceased operating St. Genevieve’s in 1971 due to a shortage of vocations and the age and poor health of the sisters. However, the institution continued instructing under the care of a board of trustees with some of the sisters remaining as teachers.

St. Genevieve’s merged with Asheville Country Day School in 1987. Today it is called the Carolina Day School. The St. Genevieve property was sold to AshevilleBuncombe Technical Community College.

Notre Dame High School, Greensboro

The school was established in the former St. Leo Hospital on Summit Avenue.

Bishop Waters dedicated Notre Dame High School Sept. 11, 1955 and classes started that same month.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur originally staffed the high school, but a lack of vocations forced them to withdraw in June 1968, resulting in the closing of the high school. Prior to 1971, the building was demolished and the property was leased in 1972.

St. Benedict School, Greensboro

The parochial school opened Sept.

6, 1926 in a house on East Smith St. Four Sisters of Charity of Vincent de Paul taught 62 students, with the sisters’ convent located on the floor above the classrooms.

St. Benedict School closed in 1954 when the newly built St. Pius X School opened. The school property was leased to a business in 1968, and has since then been converted into a parking lot.

Mt. St. Joseph Academy, Hickory

The Sisters of Mercy established the academy in 1880 as a finishing school for young ladies. Mt. St. Joseph Academy sat on 13 acres between Second and Fourth avenues SW and Sixth and Seventh streets SW. The property contained a convent, two small dwellings and stables.

In 1888, due to financial considerations and infrequent reception of the sacraments, the sisters closed the school and sold the property to the Ohio Lutherans, who converted it into a practical seminary.

Later, the seminary became the site of St. Paul Lutheran Church. After closing and selling the academy, the sisters moved to Charlotte and opened St. Mary’s Seminary, the predecessor to St. Patrick School.

St. Francis of Assisi School, Lenoir

The school was located in a house beside St. Francis of Assisi Church on West College Ave. Franciscan Father Ildephonse Gillogly founded the school, which was dedicated in October 1947.

Two Franciscan Sisters from Alleghany initially staffed the school, which by 1956 had 50 students in first through eighth grades.

The school was closed circa 1960.

St. John the Evangelist School, Waynesville

The school opened in September 1939 with an initial enrollment of 40 students in kindergarten through 12th grade taught by six Sisters of St. Francis from Milwaukee.

Originally, the W. J. Hannah building provided classroom space as well as housing for the sisters.

In 1956, Bishop Waters dedicated the new “modern” school built on the corner of Church and Meadow streets. High school classes were taught on the lower level of the building while elementary students met on the upper level. When the sisters departed in 1963, the school closed temporarily. It reopened in August 1964 with the arrival of the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio.

They remained until 1979, at which time the Daughters of Charity took over.

The Daughters of Charity operated the school for one year. Thus, after 40 years of service to the Waynesville area, St. John School closed permanently in 1980.

Or email to: aknapke@spxschool.com

FULLTIME DIRECTOR OF RETREATS – HIGH SCHOOL Cardinal Gibbons High School, a college preparatory school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, seeks a fulltime Director of Retreats (DOR). Responsibilities include planning and administration of current overnight, off-campus retreat programs for current freshman, sophomore and junior classes. This includes interfacing with various faculty retreat coordinators and training of the student peer leaders. Additional responsibilities include the establishment and administration of a “Kairos” program for the senior class.

Candidates must be a Catholic in good standing with the Church and the ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor’s degree in Theology/Religious Studies or its equivalent, have experience in high school/parish retreat, youth ministry and outreach initiatives. The DOR reports to the Asst. Principal for Spiritual Life. Benefits included; salary commensurate with experience.

Submit resume with references to: Rev. Scott McCue, Asst. Principal for Spiritual Life, smccue@cghsnc.org.

Deadline: June 30, 2009. Position begins: August, 2009.

Elementary School Principal (K-5th) Opening Saint Egbert Catholic School in Morehead City, North Carolina, serves the students of Carteret County which is located on the pristine Crystal Coast situated on the south east coast. The Crystal Coast is an 85-mile stretch of beautiful scenery, friendly towns, rich maritime history, and abundant outdoor recreation.

Position: St. Egbert Catholic Church seeks an experienced educational leader to serve as principal for its K-5th grade school beginning the 2009-2010 school year. Saint Egbert Catholic School (enrollment capacity of 150) has provided 53 years of quality Catholic education for Carteret County. The applicant must possess the following qualifications: Faith: Candidate must be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church.

Education: A Master's Degree in School Administration or equivalent and hold, or be able to hold, a North Carolina Administrator's License.

Experience: Notable academic experience and 5 or more years as administrator/principal/assistant principal or equivalent experience.

Qualified applicants are invited to review the complete posting at www.stegbert.org and send a resume, cover letter, curriculum vitae, and list of references to Psearch.stegbert@ec.rr.com or:

St. Egbert Catholic Church and School Attn: Search Committee 1706 Evans Street Morehead City, NC 28557

(252)726-3559 Fax: (252) 726-2232

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Payment: For information, call (704) 370-3332.

June 5, 2009

Healthy habits

The Catholic News & Herald 13

in our schools

Pupil principal

Courtesy Photo

Students line up to show their brushing skills to Dr. Adrienne Cowan, a local dentist, during a health fair at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point April 2. Other health topics covered by invited area professionals included nutrition, bone and eye health, and safety education.

Courtesy Photo

Quenching thirsts, raising funds

ewing for the position of Sales th insurance, paid vacation, To arrange an interview, call OE

Principal Joseph Puceta works with kindergarten student Chloe Hildrenbrand, who dons a tie as part of her role as Principal for a Day at St. Michael School in Gastonia May 21. As part of her duties, Principal Chloe helped with announcements, assisted at Mass, served lunch and visited classes. When asked what her first duty of the day would be, she replied, “I want to call my daddy and talk to him.”

Student court

Courtesy Photo

Second-graders from St. Gabriel School in Charlotte run a lemonade stand at the school May 14. The stand, held every May for 11 years, has raised $1,650 for books for the school library. Additionally, the students learn about products, production, profit, supply and demand, and marketing. Pictured (from left) are Quinlan Ryan, Matthew Gormley, Case Johnson, Preston Silverd, Ben Frondorf, T.J. Divittorio, Aidan Petruski and Ansley Plym.

Courtesy Photo

Third-graders from St. Patrick School in Charlotte are pictured with Federal Magistrate Judge Carl Horn at the Federal Courthouse in Charlotte May 11. It was the third year that Horn, a Catholic whose children were once Catholic school students, presided over the case of “BB Wolf v. Curly Pig,” during which students played the roles of lawyers, witnesses, jurors, court staff, judge and parties to the lawsuit.

After the “trial,” Horn and U.S. Marshall Otis Hamilton spoke to the students about the law and courts.

Hamilton handcuffed teaching assistant Mary Vendal as part of a demonstration.

DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Grade School Program St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte is seeking a full-time Director of Religious Education for its grade school faith formation program. Candidate must have a degree in Religious Education or a related area, and have experience in parish work.

Please send your resume and references to St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Attention: Personnel, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte, NC 28213.

June 5, 2009

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Eternal truths, instant and perishable news Internet offers additional challenges, opportunities for church At the risk of “lese-majeste” (injury to majesty), it’s good to see the Vatican is catching on.

“In a world such as ours, we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that communication can always be carefully controlled or that it can always be conducted smoothly and as a matter of course,” said Jesuit Father Frederico Lombardi, the official Vatican spokesman, in a recent lecture.

Some of the church’s recent problems with communication remind me of an incident some years ago in a United States archdiocese when accumulated snow from an early spring storm collapsed the roof of the cathedral. The rector of the cathedral called the archdiocesan newspaper editor to view the damage.

As they both looked at the broken ceiling and the plaster, glass and snow in the sanctuary, the rector cautioned: “Now, not a word to the press about this.”

A weak attempt at controlling the news.

Father Lombardi said that one of the challenges of the Internet is that it can destroy or confuse the hierarchy of the providing of information established by church agencies. There are no unfiltered messages anymore. The time for hierarchal news control has ended.

Think of it as the undersea transAtlantic or trans-Pacific cable that at one time carried a message untouched east to west, west to east. Now submarines from many nations are able to tap into that cable and listen to or even alter transmissions.

Within living memory, newspapers printed “extra” editions to publish breaking news. These were outmoded by radio broadcast for immediacy and then radio by television, which added moving pictures to immediacy. Now both of these have been supplanted by the Internet, which provides news constantly by the minute.

It is hard then, to “get out in front” of a news story.

One rule for effective, positive communication is to get the story out first with as full a disclosure as possible. If the roof falls in, say so accurately and quickly.

Father Lombardi, in his lecture at Westminster Theological Seminary in London, cited three recent incidents that drew media attention. They were the pope’s speech on Islam in 2006 at Regensburg, Germany, the lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who denied the extent of the Holocaust and the pope’s comment that distribution of condoms is not effective against AIDS. In each case, Father Lombardi said, the criticism provoked additional Vatican

Consider This TONY MAGLIANO cns columnist

responses. Although these responses arrived rather late, they were serious, penetrating and well-argued, he said.

But today, “late” trumps all three: serious, penetrating and well-argued.

Getting out in front of a story is a difficult change for a millenniumsold organization, such as the Vatican, staffed by people comfortable in the polite academic world where arguments are carefully crafted, contemplated and presented without regard for time.

After all, a day for the Vatican is a minute for today’s Internet culture.

The end result is that a response, despite its coherence, risks being viewed as an alibi or an excuse. There are no more news cycles.

That is why the speed of the processing of news makes even more valuable the skills brought to the process by professional reporters and editors.

This is even more important when the news and information is often involved in the nuanced language of theology.

The need to speak the truth rather than seek approval means the church will often be counter to the values of society, said Father Lombardi.

Eternal truths, yes, but communicated within the context of instant and perishable news.

Only fools rush in Christian living requires action, not apathy I don’t consider myself brave.

In fact, I typically consider myself a darned fool.

And a few nights ago I got to reaffirm that belief.

My wife and I were roused from bed by the sound of a bullet shattering our front window. A car was outside, gunshots were being fired, a woman was screaming.

As my wife hastily called 911, I responded differently — I ran outside to help. I discovered a man attacking my neighbor, a woman in her 50s, in her driveway across the street.

The 25-year-old perpetrator, who had threatened to kill my neighbor, was chased off and eventually apprehended by police. My wife and I then waited outside with the hysterical woman, who wailed “He was trying to kill me! He was trying to kill me” until the cops came.

I later learned that about six shots had been fired. At least two of the bullets tore through my house and are now embedded in interior walls.

Not the type of redecorating my wife had in mind when we moved in.

When I told this story to friends and coworkers, many had a similar response: “Why did you run outside? Why didn’t you just duck down and call the police?”

Valid questions, I’ll agree. They remind me of that old saying: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” I don’t typically advocate rushing into gunfire, but I guess it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Interestingly, I was the only one to run out to try and help the woman. And in the long minutes after the attack, my wife and I were the only ones in our typically-quiet suburban neighborhood to go out there and comfort her.

Even after the police arrived, nobody came over to see if she was all right. She could have been shot, stabbed, bleeding; she could have collapsed in her driveway or in the street. Nobody else came out or over to help.

Am I surprised? Not necessarily. It was gunfire, after all. But how many of us see stranded motorists on the side of the road and keep on driving? Someone

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Murray’s Musings KEVIN E. MURRAY editor

else will call 911, we tell ourselves.

How many of us walk or drive by homeless people asking for help on a street corner? We pretend not to see them and do our best not to make eye contact.

I guess it’s easier to look away, keep going and assume it’s all someone else’s problem, that someone else will take care of it. I guess going to work or to the mall or keeping to our ever-so-busy schedules is more important than risking our safety to help another human being.

Is that the right thing to do? Is that what Christ would want us to do?

It reminds me of another valid question: Why do firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Maybe it’s their job and they do it for the pay. Or maybe just because it’s the right thing to do.

Firefighters are certainly brave, no doubt about it, as are all emergencyservice responders. And all the men and women of our Armed Forces. And anyone who stands up and runs toward potential danger that would send the rest of us scurrying. They come running when we call them; they are there when we need them. That, if nothing else, makes them heroes. Some would even call them angels.

But heroism isn’t just about standing up to danger. Sometimes it’s about standing up to the impossible.

Sometimes it’s just about standing up for what’s right.

The single mother who gets up every day to work three jobs to keep a roof over her kids’ heads and food on their table — that’s heroism.

The woman in a crisis pregnancy who risks sacrifice and condemnation to give her baby the gift of life — that’s heroism.

The doctor who leaves his comfortable practice to serve the poor and impoverished in a Third World country — that’s heroism.

The young man or woman who gives up a secular life to answer a call and serve a higher purpose in ministry to God and his people — that’s heroism.

Any one of us, who defies his or her own selfish needs and the apathetic trends of our self-centered society to see Christ in all people and to truly be Christ to all people — that’s heroism.

So maybe only fools do rush in where angels fear to tread. Or maybe, that next time we choose to act and make a difference, we may be the angels God has sent to do his work.

June 5, 2009

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Jesus called

Different approaches to teaching faith may be needed to reach all people Jesus called.

Not Jesus, our lord and savior, but Jesus, a Mexican-American man who occasionally comes to our parish.

He wanted to talk about God. We talked for a couple of hours.

Over the years I have seen him and his wife for various things. They come when they want something like marriage or baptism for their babies.

They come when they have financial, legal, medical or marital troubles.

Once they came to see me when they were about to lose their house to foreclosure. I sent money to save their property. They were grateful, but seemed to take it for granted.

In their eyes, the Catholic Church is a big, rich institution. The priest is a community official. You go to him when you need something, but not to talk about faith.

So, for the first time, Jesus and I sat down and really talked about faith.

He had recently gone through a conversion experience. A couple of weeks before, he had touched bottom, and a cousin took him to see a Pentecostal pastor. Jesus really listened.

He did not see the pastor as some

sort of social service agency.

The pastor said the right thing. He told Jesus, “I can’t help you, but there is One who can.” Then he opened the Bible and pointed to Christ.

Good.

I was not defensive about it. I am glad when people authentically find God, no matter how. But I was discouraged.

Why, after all these years of helping them, did he go to the Pentecostal minister for conversion?

When Jesus came to see me, we also opened the Bible.

I read to him from the story of the cripple whom St. Peter met at the Temple gate in Jerusalem. The cripple wanted money.

St. Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I have not, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, arise and walk.”

I told him, “What do you think I have been preaching all these years in this church. Why didn’t you ever come to see me about faith?”

I gave him a Bible and catechism. It was a start.

Before he left, we prayed together.

We really prayed. I explained to him

My happiest moment A reflection of nearly 50 years in the priesthood May 28, 2009, was the 49th anniversary of my ordination. As I prepare for my upcoming golden jubilee, I recall four highlights from my life as a priest.

Each was special, but the happiest one took place way back on the very day of my ordination. Here is a brief overview of those four events.

One day, early in the presidency of Ronald Reagan, I received a phone call from the White House, inviting me to a luncheon.

Was this a joke?

Apparently not; the president was pushing for private-sector solutions to social problems and turned to religious broadcasters for help.

The top Protestant TV evangelists were there, and since I had a nationally syndicated TV show, “Christopher Closeup,” I was invited too.

Surrounded by fundamentalists who believed that I was not saved, I felt oddly uncomfortable. I learned that glory does not always bring joy.

In 1981, Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens asked me to come to Belgium to meet King Albert Baudouin, who was the patriarch of the Catholic royal families of Europe.

The king asked me to conduct a spiritual retreat for his royal nephews and nieces.

It was a thrill, of course, but when the time came I was pleasantly surprised to see how normal they all were.

I remember asking two of his nieces from Spain, “Is it true that you are both princesses?”

“Yes,” the younger one answered, “her mother is a Bourbon, and my mother is an Orleans.”

At that moment, for the first time, I realized that Bourbon Street in New Orleans was not named after the drink!

This event was pure joy.

A third highlight came in 1991 when I was invited to Dallas to speak before 400 bishops, archbishops and cardinals at their annual workshop.

The keynote speaker that year was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. To my utter shock, he stayed on to listen to my talk. It was the toughest audience I ever faced.

When I stepped down, Jesuit Father Avery Dulles was the next speaker. To this day I do not know how my talk went over, but this I do know: Father Dulles eventually became Cardinal Dulles while I have remained Father Catoir! I am happy anyway.

The real highlight of my life took place on May 28, 1960, the day of my ordination.

My father came forward for my first

Parish Diary FATHER PETER DALY cns columnist

the significance of the sign of the cross, which he had been making automatically all his life. We agreed to talk some more.

When he left the great sorrow I felt still lingered. I was discouraged, not angry.

Jesus sees the Catholic Church through the prism of Mexican culture.

We are the background music of life.

The priest in Mexican culture is often a remote figure, not a spiritual companion.

Our churches are so big it is hard to speak to everyone’s heart. We sacramentalize, but we don’t evangelize.

Why? Partly because many are not listening.

Partly because we are too busy with other things and we assume people already know the faith. But they don’t.

Both Jesus and I have a bit of rethinking to do about our approach to religion.

But I won’t miss another chance to talk about faith. It is the most important thing we do.

Spirituality for Today FATHER JOHN CATOIR cns columnist

priestly blessing and burst into tears. He wrote this letter to me 25 years later: “Dear Son, Congratulations on your silver jubilee. I never told you this before, but the fondest and happiest moment of my life was the day you were ordained, and I went up to get your first blessing.

“I was so emotionally charged I couldn’t see where I was going. As I returned, I just dropped into a vacant pew, buried my head in my hands, and had a good cry.

“They were happy tears, but I deeply regretted the fact that your good mother did not live long enough to share this joy with me. I’m sure she was happily watching over us from heaven.

“Pray for me always. I am happy to say that I am your father and you are my son. With a heart full of love, Dad.” The experience of meeting a president, a king and a future pope all seem to pale in comparison to the joyful memory of my ordination day.

My father returned to God in 1992.

Busy days or vacations must never distract people from God, says pope

The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Funfilled vacations or hectic workweeks must never distract people from dedicating a little time each day and, especially every Sunday, to God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“We must set aside time in life for God, to open our life to God with a thought, a meditation, a small prayer and to not forget Sunday is the day of the Lord,” he said.

During his weekly general audience June 3 in St. Peter’s Square, the pope used the example of Blessed Rabanus Maurus, a Benedictine monk and bishop, to show how a person can live a busy life without sacrificing spiritual study, meditation and prayer.

With an estimated 17,000 people gathered in the square, Pope Benedict continued his audience talks on important figures in the early church.

Rabanus Maurus’ life demonstrates how one can be completely at the service of others “without depriving oneself of spending a proper amount of time in reflection, study and meditation,” said Pope Benedict.

Here is the text of the pope’s audience remarks in English.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our catechesis today deals with another great monastic figure of the High Middle Ages, Rabanus Maurus.

Rabanus entered monastic life at a young age as an oblate, was trained in the liberal arts and received a broad formation in the Christian tradition. As the abbot of Fulda and then as archbishop of Mainz, he contributed through his vast learning and pastoral zeal to the unity of the empire and the transmission of a Christian culture deeply nourished by the Scriptures and the Fathers of the church.

From his youth he wrote poetry, and he is probably the author of the famous hymn Veni Creator Spiritus. Indeed, his first theological work was a poem on the holy Cross, in which the poetry was accompanied by an illuminated representation of the crucified Christ.

This medieval method of joining poetry to pictoral art sought to lift the whole person — mind, heart and senses — to the contemplation of the truth contained in God’s word.

In the same spirit Rabanus sought to transmit the richness of the Christian cultural tradition through his prolific commentaries on the Scriptures, his explanations of the liturgy and his pastoral writings.

This great man of the church continues to inspire us by his example of an active ministry nourished by study, profound contemplation and constant prayer.

June 5, 2009

around the diocese

The Catholic News & Herald 16

Parishes, schools celebrate multicultural diversity, one faith

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

A parishioner representing the Philippines performs a traditional Binasuan dance at the second annual Multicultural Festival at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte May 30. More than 800 people gathered to celebrate the parish’s rich cultural diversity.

A fourth-grade student at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Charlotte gives a presentation on Liberia to visiting fifth-grade students from St. Patrick School during Multicultural Week at Our Lady of the Assumption School May 15. The weeklong festivities included hallway exhibits with student presentations, multicultural games and crafts, a cultural showcase and a potluck dinner.

Courtesy photo

Members of the Greensboro Chinese Association perform a high mountain tribe dress dance during the fifth International Festival at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point May 31.

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Members of the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas take part in a Flores de Mayo celebration at St. Matthew Church May 30. Flores de Mayo is a Catholic festival held in the Philippines during May in honor of the Virgin Mary. The celebration in Charlotte has been held annually for 20 years.

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The schedule includes presentations from 7pm to 9pm on Sunday; and Monday through Wednesday, presentations are from 4pm to 5:30 pm and 7pm to 9pm, with a supper break.

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Visit the Web site www.GoEucharist.com for the latest updated information about programs and speakers.