October 28, 2005
The Catholic News & Herald 1
www.charlottediocese.org
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte
Annual Report
A special 20-page insert containing the annual financial report is included in this issue of The Catholic News & Herald.
Established Jan. 12, 1972 by Pope Paul VI OCTOBER 28, 2005
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
Dawn on the horizon
by PATRICIA ZAPOR catholic news service
KAREN A. EVANS staff writer
CHARLOTTE — Margie Cooper walks with the slow, steady pace of a woman who feels each of her 80-some years. Born at a time when “those thing weren’t written down,” she has to guess at her exact age. She raised five children of her own. Eleven years ago, she started over with her greatgranddaughter, Quenisha. Two years ago, she took in another granddaughter, Alexi. Quenisha lived in foster care for the first eight months of her life, until she came to live with Cooper. Alexi has been with Cooper and Quenisha since birth. Cooper has no idea where Alexi’s parents are. Like most seniors, Cooper lives on a fixed income, and must take numerous prescripSee HORIZONS, page 9
no. 4
Contrary to reports, Harriet Miers was not raised as a Catholic
CSS program aids grandparent caregivers by
vOLUME 15
WASHINGTON — Harriet Miers was not raised as a Catholic. Catholic Church records and the White House both refute what has become a boilerplate part of discussions about Miers, the White House general counsel and nominee for the Supreme Court. News stories, commentaries and editorials nationwide See MIERS, page 5
Photo by Karen A. Evans
Margie Cooper, center, sits with her great-granddaughter, Quenisha (left) and her granddaughter, Alexi (right) in their apartment in Charlotte. Cooper, who has raised each of the girls since they were less than a year old, now gets assistance from New Horizons for Children and Families, a new program operated by Catholic Social Services in the Diocese of Charlotte (CSS), in partnership with Smart Start of Mecklenburg County.
Doing justice to God’s creation by
JOANITA M. NELLENBACH correspondent
Synod closes with strong emphasis on eucharistic by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service
CNS Photo from Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to celebrate the canonization Mass of five new saints in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 23. The pope formally ended the Year of the Eucharist at the Mass.
VATICAN CITY — The Synod of Bishops closed with a strong call for eucharistic renewal, urging a deeper understanding of the Eucharist among the world’s Catholics but no major changes in church rules on priestly celibacy or shared Communion. Pope Benedict XVI, who presided over the three-week assembly, formally closed the synod Oct. 23 with a Mass in St.
Peter’s Square. He thanked the more than 250 bishops for their input and invited Catholics to contemplate the Eucharist as the key to revitalizing their faith. Catholics should also understand that “no dichotomy is admissible between faith and life,” he said. The pope expressed his deep sadness that four Chinese members of the synod were not allowed to travel to Rome for the
See SYNOD, page 4
MAGGIE VALLEY — Many humans have a relationship to God, but not to the earth God created, according to Sacred Heart of Mary Sister Clare McBrien. “God acts within creation,” she said. “Thinking of God as outside creation implies God as a ruler. God is in everything, thus everything is holy.” Speaking at the Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia II: “Environmental Justice and Living Sustainably,” Sister McBrien continued, “Now we are seeing that humans are part of creation, within creation, but not above creation.” See CONFERENCE, page 8
Year of the Eucharist
Culture Watch
Perspectives
Adoration List
Book looks at history of prayer in U.S., ‘North Country’
Making a happy marriage, clichés in the media
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