Aug. 5, 2018, ET Catholic, A section

August 5

| 2018

VOL 27 NO 6

IN THIS ISSUE ON EWTN A4 AIRING B1 JUBILARIAN Cardinal Rigali to lead Special Mass marks 'Living the Christian Life' TV series

comfort in death of woman's best friend

Bishops respond to execution of Knox County death row inmate

Diocese of Knoxville’s 30th anniversary to be celebrated by parishes

Despite Pope Francis declaration that it is now ‘inadmissible,’ Tennessee carries out death penalty

By Jim Wogan and Bill Brewer

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fter Tennessee’s three bishops appealed to Gov. Bill Haslam to halt the execution of Billy Ray Irick based on Christian beliefs and Catholic teaching, the state on Aug. 9 carried out its first death penalty since 2009.

Immediately following the execution, Diocese of Knoxville Bishop Richard F. Stika and Diocese of Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding called it an “unnecessary” act that “served no useful purpose.”

Mr. Irick, 59, was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m. CDT at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in

Nashville after he was administered a lethal injection of three drugs: Midazolam, a sedative; vecuronium bromide, a paralytic to halt breathing; and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.

He had been on death row since 1986, when a Knox County jury sentenced him for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Paula Dyer.

Bishop Stika joined Bishop Spalding and Diocese of Memphis Bishop Martin D. Holley in urging Gov. Haslam to stop the scheduled executions of at least three men currently on death row in the state prison system.

In a letter to Gov. Haslam, the bish-

ops urged the governor “to use your authority as governor to put an end to the fast-track executions planned for later this year.”

“The Catholic Church has redefined its understanding of capital punishment since the time of St. John Paul and with that in mind, we (the bishops) wrote the governor and we asked him to not sign off on the death warrant, because the governor can commute it to life without parole,” Bishop Stika said in a recent interview.

The letter also asked the governor to reflect on recent history and the impact of his decision.

Letter continued on page A6

Welcome back to school

KATHY RANKIN

Bishop Richard F. Stika is calling on all parishes and schools to join him in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Diocese of Knoxville’s founding, which is Sept. 8.

Bishop Stika has commissioned a Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as the diocese celebrates this anniversary on the weekend of Sept. 8-9.

The bishop also plans to enlist parish priests and those presiding at Sept. 8-9 Masses to deliver remarks and petitions to mark the anniversary.

Bishop Stika said the first petitions will be in thanksgiving for the foundation of our diocese and for all the founding families from 1988.

Other petitions will be in thanksgiving for the blessings God has provided the diocese in recent years, such as a growth in vocations, the addition of new parishes, the growth of the Catholic community in East Tennessee, and the service of priests, deacons, women and men religious, and laity.

“The last one is to invoke the Holy Spirit upon all the leadership, myself and all my brother priests, deacons, religious, and all the lay leadership in parishes for where we go from here. We’ve had the capital campaign, the new cathedral, bishop’s appeals dealing with programs important to the diocese like education and the retreat center,” Bishop Stika said.

“But that last petition is going to invoke the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the leadership over this next year,“ he added.

The bishop hopes to lead the diocese to intentional discipleship as a way to reach people of all faiths, including Catholics.

Please see prayer on A9. ■

Fr. Peter Iorio's 25th ordination anniversary

DOG'S DIRGE B8 APapal words a great

He dwells among us ......................... A2 Parish news ....................................... B2 Diocesan calendar ............................ B3 Columns ............................................. B8 Catholic schools ............................... B9 La Cosecha ............................Section C

Sister Mary Marta Abbott, RSM, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Knoxville, greets students at St. Joseph School Aug. 10 as they begin a new year. St. Joseph principal Andy Zengel, back center, joined Sister Mary Marta as she visited classrooms. The diocese’s 10 schools opened for the 2018-19 school year the week of Aug. 6.

Developments in child protection cases prompt statement by Bishop Stika Concerns about Cardinal McCarrick, Pennsylvania clergy at forefront of Church’s attention

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n the wake of Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick’s recent resignation from the College of Cardinals following sexual abuse allegations, Bishop Richard F. Stika has issued a statement on the matter in which he offers his personal apology for incidents of abuse by Catholic clergy.

Bishop Stika is calling for further review and action to strengthen existing Church protocol in dealing with such abuse allegations and said he would like to see allegations against clergy handled by a review board led by laity.

“I’m against a review panel being made up of all bishops or all Church people. I think the laity should be involved because they have a lot of expertise that we don’t have,” the bishop said. “I would like to see a national review board, maybe with some bishops who have canon law expertise, but also with lay people who can offer so much expertise.”

He suggested that model could extend to diocesan review boards.

Bishop Stika joins priests and bishops across the country who are expressing their frustration with

Staff and wire reports

ongoing credible accusations of sexual abuse by Church leaders.

As Pope Francis orders former Cardinal McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., to maintain “a life of prayer and penance” until a canonical trial examines accusations that he sexually abused individuals, many priests and bishops are speaking out – and they are being encouraged to.

“You know, in this day and age when again you see tragedy in the Church with abuse and allegations, you might wonder why anyone Priests continued on page A6

Bishop Richard F. Stika

He dwells among us

by Bishop Richard F. Stika

A fruitful love

God wants to be your love and your life—not just a part of it “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:8).

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n every Mass we hear those familiar and most sacred words of Our Heavenly Bridegroom: “This is my body… . This is the chalice of my Blood.” They are the words of Christ’s complete and total outpouring of love for His Bride, the Church.

And this, too, is the response of unmeasured love that we are all called to make in the gift of ourselves, not only to Christ Our Bridegroom, but in every relationship in life.

“This is a hard saying, who can take this kind of talk?” (John 6:60).

This was the reaction of the many who heard Christ speak in His Bread of Life discourse on how His “flesh is real food” and His “blood real drink” (John 6:25-72). But of all the teachings of the Church in its 2,000-year history, none have drawn as similar of a reaction to Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist as that of the encyclical of Blessed Pope Paul VI on the subject of contraception: Humanae Vitae, Of Human Life. The reason for the similar reactions is because the two teachings are profoundly related.

It is an error to think that the Church’s teaching on contraception applies only to married love. In fact, this teaching applies not only to spousal relationships but also to

Given this profound truth, St. John Paul II reminds us that “Holiness is measured according to the ‘great mystery’ in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the gift of the Bridegroom.” A receptive heart is a fruitful heart. And it is the fruit of this union with Our Bridegroom that we are to share in all our social relationships, beginning in marriage and our families, and with our neighbor near and far. the family and to all our social relationships. And even more importantly, it applies to our relationship with Christ. How so?

By virtue of our baptism, Jesus calls each of us as a bride, in and through the Church, to communion with Him that we might be fruitful of His love. Married love is an icon—an image—of the “great mystery” of Christ and His love for the Church (cf. Ephesians 5:32). And through our baptism, we, too, men and women alike, are incorporated into this mystery of the Church as the Bride of Christ.

What is contraception? Is it not the withholding of the gift or the preventing of it from being received so as to make sterile what might otherwise be fruitful? Isn’t this what sin is? That may not be our intention, but that is the reality of sin—sterility. What is the sin of pride but a contracepting of God’s

gift of love for us, which brings sterility into our relationship with Him? What is selfishness but a withholding of the gift of our love to others, which brings sterility into our social relationships? Is this not the definition of injustice—the withholding of our due to God and to neighbor?

The reason then for the Church’s teaching on contraception is very simple and very beautiful. Christ is Our Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. As the Church cannot contracept her relationship with her Bridegroom if she is to be fruitful of Christ’s love and life-giving to others, then neither is it permissible for us to do so in our spiritual or social relationships.

Given this profound truth, St. John Paul II reminds us that “Holiness is measured according to the ‘great mystery’ in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the

Follow Bishop Richard Stika on Twitter @bishopstika and Facebook for news and events from the diocese.

gift of the Bridegroom.” A receptive heart is a fruitful heart. And it is the fruit of this union with Our Bridegroom that we are to share in all our social relationships, beginning in marriage and our families, and with our neighbor near and far.

It is not possible for us to be fruitful apart from Christ. For Jesus reminds us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus does not say we can do “some things” apart from Him but that we can do “nothing” apart from Him. It is the gift of Christ that makes possible our fruitfulness—“thirty and sixty and hundredfold” (Mark 4:20).

Because “God is love” (1 John 4:16), God wants to be your love and your life—not just a part of it.

Baptism is a grafting into Christ, not a part of Christ, but the whole Christ. So the greatest gift we can give to our spouse, to our family and to our neighbor is the fruit of our relationship with Christ—His love in us.

May Mary’s “yes” to God always be your “yes” that you might always be fruitful of Christ Our Bridegroom!

With deepest appreciation and prayers for all who teach and promote natural family planning – God bless you in all you do. ■

Upcoming Diocese of Knoxville VIRTUS training sessions are scheduled

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he Diocese of Knoxville’s program for the protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults is offered throughout the diocese.

The seminars are re-

quired for parish and school employees and regular volunteers in contact with children and vulnerable adults.

The following training sessions are scheduled:

August Prayer Intentions “That any far-reaching decisions of economists and politicians may protect the family as one of the treasures of humanity.”

–– Pope Francis

”Please pray for all students that this academic year be one of joyful learning and fruitful discovery and that they continue to gain the knowledge and faith necessary to lead our nation and the world in the future. Please also pray for all the teachers, coaches, staff, and administrators that they will continue to influence and shape our young people in a positive, caring, and beneficial way.”

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–– Bishop Stika

n Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Chattanooga, 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20 n Chancery, Knoxville, 10 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 22 - 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug.

23. This session is for facilitators. n St. Teresa of Kolkata Church, Maynardville, 6 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 22 n St. Mary Church, Johnson City, 1 p.m. Saturday,

Aug. 25 n St. Augustine Church, Signal Mountain, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28 n St. Mary Church, Oak Ridge, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29 ■

Bishop Stika’s calendar of events for August, September

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hese are some of Bishop Stika’s upcoming public appointments: n Aug. 3: 6 p.m., Mass in celebration of Father Peter Iorio’s silver jubilee at St. Mary Church in Johnson City n Aug. 5: 9 a.m., Mass at St. Catherine of Labouré Church in Copperhill n Aug. 6-8: Province meeting and seminarian gathering in Barren River, Ky. n Aug. 18: 9 a.m., Ministries Day at All Saints Church in Knoxville n Aug. 19: 9:30 a.m., Mass and installation of Father Albert Sescon as pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in LaFollette (to include Christ the King Church in Tazewell and St. Jude Church in Helenwood)

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n Aug. 22: 6 p.m., Mass celebrating 75th anniversary of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge n Aug. 23: 9:30 a.m., Mass and visit with students and faculty at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga n Aug. 30: 10 a.m., Mass and visit with students and faculty at Knoxville Catholic High School n Sept. 2: 10 a.m., Mass and installation of Father Julius Abuh as pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville n Sept. 4-6: In Washington, D.C., with Bishop Abraham Desta, apostolic vicar for Meki, Ethiopia, for Humanitarian Initiative n Sept. 8: 5 p.m. Mass in celebration of diocesan anniversary at the Cathedral of the

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus n Sept. 9: 10:30 a.m. Mass at Holy Family Church in Seymour n Sept. 10-13: Visit St. Meinrad Seminary, including Dolle Lecture Series presentation on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.

CDT with Sacred Heart Cathedral rector Father David Boettner n Sept. 16: 9 a.m., Mass and installation of Father Ray Powell as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City n Sept. 18: 11 a.m., Presbyteral Council meeting at the cathedral parish hall n Sept. 20: Catholic Public Policy Commission meeting in Nashville n Sept. 21: 8 a.m., Mass and Schedule continued on page A6

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AUGUST 5, 2018 n A3

EWTN to feature series by Cardinal Rigali

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ternal Word Television Network in September will begin broadcasting a 10-episode teaching series featuring Cardinal Justin Rigali, who will cover a range of spiritual topics aimed at enriching the faith.

An EWTN crew spent several days with Cardinal Rigali in 2017, recording him as he led the series.

Part of the taping took place in the residence where Bishop Richard F. Stika and Cardinal Rigali reside, which has a fully appointed chapel.

Cardinal Rigali said he has worked with EWTN several times, providing commentary on various subjects, including a 15-episode TV series on Advent and some 17 talks on the Second Vatican Council. At the time, he was serving as the archbishop of St. Louis.

He met with the global television network more recently about recording talks that are basic to the

Catholic faith.

“These justify being seen as a program and that was my hope,” Cardinal Rigali said. “These cover a big field, but there is enough cohesion for a series.”

His newest EWTN series, titled “Living the Christian Life,” will cover faith, the mystical body of Christ, divine mercy, sin, the sacrament of penance, the Eucharist, Christian death, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The series will be broadcast on the global television network from September through February, airing in 30-minute episodes on Mondays and Saturdays.

EWTN said the series will debut on Sept. 3.

“I am very pleased with this project, and I hope people will find it useful,” Cardinal Rigali said, noting with optimism that EWTN reaches “an incredible number of people” – more than 250 million homes in

Inspiration from above EWTN crew members took advantage of all available space, including the chapel sacristy.

By Bill Brewer

BILL BREWER (3)

Network crew spent time in Knoxville recording ‘Living the Christian Life’ episodes that will air next month

Broadcasting our faith Cardinal Justin Rigali is recorded by an EWTN crew as he delivers one of 10 topics on living a Christian life that the cable network will air. The EWTN crew members spent several days with the cardinal in 2017 recording the episodes.

140 nations and territories.

In describing the series, EWTN said Cardinal Rigali’s talks “share a basic understanding of some of the most important tenets of the faith as well as a few spiritual devotions that can help anyone who struggles with living the Christian life.”

In the first installment, the cardinal discusses faith and its nature and importance, during which he talks about the important first condition for our holiness.

In the second installment, His Eminence reflects on the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church, and how we, as the Church, are related to Christ and how we collaborate with him in applying His graces of salvation to the world.

In episode three, Cardinal Rigali talks about one of the most exhilarating themes of God’s revelation: divine mercy. It is God’s love in the face of our needs and weaknesses.

Episode four with His Eminence looks at the

Chapel monitors EWTN crew members set up equipment in the chapel of Cardinal Rigali’s residence to record a new TV series featuring His Eminence. deeply concerning topic of sin and how Jesus encourages us to repentance and unlimited confidence in our heavenly Father and in Him. Episode five explores the sacrament of penance: “the Easter gift of the Risen Christ.”

In episode six, Cardinal Rigali discusses how the Eucharist is above all the mystery of Christ’s love for his Father. And the key to understanding the Eucharist is to understand that Jesus went to his death mo-

tivated by that great love.

Installment seven discusses how Christian death is our last act of faith and trust in God’s merciful love. And preparing for death is the greatest opportunity of our lives.

In installment eight, Cardinal Rigali discusses who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does.

Episode nine features the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this installment, Cardinal Rigali discusses how the Church honors Mary as EWTN continued on page A7

Pope revises catechism to say death penalty ‘inadmissible’

By Cindy Wooden/Catholic News Service

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uilding on the development of Catholic Church teaching against capital punishment, Pope Francis has ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and to commit the church to working toward its abolition worldwide.

The catechism’s paragraph on capital punishment, 2267, already had been updated by St. John Paul II in 1997 to strengthen its skepticism about the need to use the death penalty in the modern world and, particularly, to affirm the importance of protecting all human life.

Announcing the change Aug. 2, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said, “The new text, following in the footsteps of the teaching of John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae, affirms that ending the life of a criminal as punishment for a crime is inadmissible because it attacks the dignity of the person, a dignity that is not lost even after having committed the most serious crimes.”

Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) was St. John Paul’s 1995 encyclical on the dignity and sacredness of all human life. The encyclical led to an updating of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which he originally promulgated in 1992 and which recognized “the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty.”

At the same time, the original

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version of the catechism still urged the use of “bloodless means” when possible to punish criminals and protect citizens.

The catechism now will read: “Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

“Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption,” the new section continues.

Pope Francis’ change to the text concludes: “Consequently, the church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”

In his statement, Cardinal Ladaria noted how St. John Paul, retired Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis had all spoken out against capital punishment and appealed for clemency for death-row inmates on numerous occasions.

The development of Church doctrine away from seeing the death penalty as a possibly legitimate punishment for the most serious crimes, the cardinal said, “centers

“[The death penalty, no matter how it is carried out] is, in itself, contrary to the Gospel, because a decision is voluntarily made to suppress a human life, which is always sacred in the eyes of the Creator and of whom, in the last analysis, only God can be the true judge and guarantor.”

— Pope Francis principally on the clearer awareness of the church for the respect due to every human life. Along this line, John Paul II affirmed: ‘Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this.’”

Pope Francis specifically requested the change to the catechism in October during a speech at the Vatican commemorating the 25th anniversary of the text’s promulgation.

The death penalty, no matter how it is carried out, he had said, “is, in itself, contrary to the Gospel, because a decision is voluntarily made to suppress a human life, which is always sacred in the eyes of the Creator and of whom, in the last analysis, only God can be the true judge and guarantor.”

Cardinal Ladaria also noted that the popes were not the only Catholics to become increasingly aware of how the modern use of the death penalty conflicted with Church teaching on the dignity of human life; the same position, he said, has been “expressed ever more widely in the teaching of pastors and in the sensibility of the people of God.” In particular, he said, Catholic opposition to the death penalty is based on an “understanding that the dignity of a person is not lost even after committing the most serious crimes,” a deeper understanding that criminal penalties should aim at the rehabilitation of the criminal, and a recognition that governments have the ability to

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detain criminals effectively, thereby protecting their citizens.

The cardinal’s note also cited a letter Pope Francis wrote in 2015 to the International Commission Against the Death Penalty. In the letter, the pope called capital punishment “cruel, inhumane, and degrading” and said it “does not bring justice to the victims, but only foments revenge.”

Furthermore, in a modern “state of law, the death penalty represents a failure” because it obliges the state to kill in the name of justice, the pope had written. On the other hand, he said, it is a method frequently used by “totalitarian regimes and fanatical groups” to do away with “political dissidents, minorities” and any other person deemed a threat to their power and to their goals.

In addition, Pope Francis noted that “human justice is imperfect” and said the death penalty loses all legitimacy in penal systems where judicial error is possible.

“The new formulation of number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Cardinal Ladaria said, “desires to give energy to a movement toward a decisive commitment to favor a mentality that recognizes the dignity of every human life and, in respectful dialogue with civil authorities, to encourage the creation of conditions that allow for the elimination of the death penalty where it is still in effect.” ■ TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C A TH OLI C

Diocesan evangelization extends far beyond East Tennessee Father John Appiah is leading efforts to bring health care, education to his native Ghana

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C A T HO L I C

“This has been a longterm project. This mission is saving lives. Miracles happen,” said Dr. Elaine Bunick, an Oak Ridge physician and parishioner at St. Mary Church there. Dr. Bunick has coordinated the medical missions to Ghana with Father Appiah. The first one was in 2008, followed by similar missions in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Another mission took place July 20-Aug. 4.

“It all started in the Catholic Church with (Ghana) Bishop Mante, Bishop (Joseph E.) Kurtz, and Bishop (Richard F.) Stika, who has allowed us to do this work,” she added.

And while the mission trips tend to be specifically designed for health care and education, other forms of assistance are often required, such as digging bore holes for water, digging other large holes for septic tanks, construction of bathrooms with flushing toilets and running showers, installation of tile floors, and installation of electrical wiring for lights, fans, and electrical appliances.

The donated equipment includes a waterpurification system from a company that also makes them available for Haiti outreach ministries.

Father Appiah noted that the 2016 mission team provided medical care to 1,671 adults and children, screening, and treating more than 300 for eye problems. The 2017 mission team provided medical care to 1,159 adults and children and treated 180 for eye problems. Volunteer hours of service in 2016 and 2017 in Ghana totaled 10,634 with a value of more than $244,000.

In advance of the missions, thousands of pounds of supplies and equipment are provided from donations, packed in shipping crates, and shipped to Ghana. Once in Ghana, they are used for medical treatment and disease prevention; vocational training; computer training; education on medication dosing, preparation, and side effects; and other basic needs.

Dr. Bunick noted that the most recent mission trip marks the 10th anniversary of the first medical mission

Evangelizing around the world Left: Fundraising efforts led

by Father John Appiah have contributed to construction of a school in Father Appiah’s native village in Ghana.

Below: Students in school uniforms enjoy playing at the school in Nkonya-Wurupong.

COURTESY OF DR. ELAINE BUNICK (3)

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vangelization in the Diocese of Knoxville extends far beyond the boundaries of East Tennessee.

The care, concern, generosity, and overall ministry of diocesan clergy, religious, and laity is seen in East Tennessee’s urban communities and rural areas through the efforts of parishes, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, Ladies of Charity, St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, and the many Catholic lay organizations.

But that Christian attitude also is witnessed in remote places like Haiti and Africa, where one Diocese of Knoxville priest is making it his mission to raise the level of health care and education in his hometown.

Father John Appiah, who was born in Africa and has spent much of his youth in the diocese, is leading a ministry that is developing permanent medical and educational facilities in his native village of NkonyaWurupong in the Volta region of Ghana.

Now Father Appiah is leading a project to build the St. John Vianney Middle School in NkonyaWurupong, which means raising nearly $95,000 for the project. He already has led a project that raised $26,000 to build a kindergarten in the village.

Father Appiah worked closely with Rotary International and Rotary clubs in East Tennessee with fundraising, donation of supplies and medications, and manpower for his projects that include medical missions to Ghana. Rotary International and Rotary chapters around the diocese have given more than $100,000 for the medical, education, and technology mission trips.

Other organizations involved in the Ghana project have been the Rotary Club of Accra, Ghana, AmeriCares, Bausch and Lomb, Irwin Medical Missionaries, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Remote Area Medical, Team Technologies, Vine International, St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge, and All Saints Church in Knoxville, which, together, have donated more than $500,000 in medical supplies, equipment, and medication.

By Bill Brewer

to Ghana.

She remarked that Bishop Gabriel A. Mante in Ghana told Father Appiah the Diocese of Knoxville priest should lead a mediFr. Appiah cal mission to the village of NkonyaWurupong on the 20th anniversary of his priesthood in 2018.

She explained that Father Appiah’s family is one of nine families that lead the 3,000-resident village.

Dr. Bunick expected up to 12,000 people to be treated at the most recent medical Father Appiah mission, which featured and Dr. Buan eye doctor. She noted nick remarked that with the installation that the global of medical tools, indoor grant project plumbing, windows, elecfor the Nkonyatrical wiring, a fresh-water Wurupong system, and other utilities, medical clinic the rural medical outpost and schools is has become a bona fide “working to health-care center from restore humana rural post built in the ity” and that all 1950s as a first-aid station. the work serves “This place is primias a perfect iltive; 27 percent of children lustration of under age 5 die, and the “service above leading cause is malaria. self,” which are But we have been able to Rotary mottos. cut the malaria rate by 50 Father Appercent in the village,” Dr. piah next plans Bunick said, noting that to turn his at40 percent of the Ghana tention to depopulation is under age veloping a trade Youth development Dr. Elaine Bunick is shown with participants in the educa30 and that standard tools school in the of health care are malaria village to teach tional and medical outreach in Ghana. treatment packs and paraskills to improve site treatment packs. “We the village’s way training, and maintain have made a difference in of life, such as car repair, their health through the the life expectancy.” woodworking and carpenmedical-care center then In pointing out that few, try, and even baking for this will be a viable vilif any, doctors had ever making fresh bread. lage. A sustainable village visited the village before “If we can keep the eduis what we’re looking for,” the 2008 medical mission, cation coming, vocational Dr. Bunick said. ■

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AUGUST 5, 2018 n A5

Letter continued from page A1

“It is within your power to establish your legacy as a governor of Tennessee who did not preside over an execution on your watch,” the bishops’ letter said.

The last execution in Tennessee took place on Dec. 2, 2009, before Gov. Haslam took office. There currently are 62 people on death row in Tennessee.

In the hours before Mr. Irick was put to death, Bishops Stika and Spalding again voiced their strong objections to the execution, saying, “The state has the obligation to protect all people and to impose just punishment for crimes, but in the modern world the death penalty is not required for either of these ends.

We echo the words of Pope Francis, who recently declared as definitive teaching that “in light of the Gospel,” the death penalty is “inadmissible” in all cases “because it attacks the dignity of the person, a dignity that is not lost even after having committed the most serious crimes.”

Mr. Irick’s death penalty was upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, which on Aug. 9 refused to hear the inmate’s appeal after all other appeals were exhausted.

Tennessee’s dioceses were saddened by the state’s action in light of the Holy Father’s recent change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church concerning the death penalty.

“We, as the Roman Catholic bishops of Nashville and Knoxville, proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Life and Light. Tonight’s execution of Billy Ray Irick was unnecessary. It served no useful purpose,” said Bishops Stika and Spalding. “In this time of sadness, that began many years ago with the tragic and brutal death of Paula Dyer and continues with another death to-

Memphis Diocese | Nashville Diocese | Knoxville Diocese

Dear Governor Haslam, We, the three bishops of Tennessee, congratulate you on your successful administration and thank you for your leadership as your term as Governor nears its end. We also thank you for the gracious and attentive reception that you have given to us and our predecessors over the last eight years. We appreciate the regular opportunities that we have had to dialogue on many important public policy issues.

In 2014, you may recall, Bishops Stika, Choby, and Steib discussed with you their strong opposition to the state carrying out the death penalty. At that time, Bishop Stika shared with you the account of Pope John Paul II’s (now Saint John Paul) role in commuting the death sentence of Missouri’s Darrell Mease to life in prison during the papal visit to St. Louis in 1999. At that time, the pope called for the end to the death penalty as both cruel and unnecessary. He said that it is simply not necessary as the only means to protect society while still providing a just punishment for those who break civil laws. Rather than serving as a path to justice, the death penalty contributes to the growing disrespect for human life.

Following that meeting in 2014, we provided at your request, written documentation about the Catholic Church’s position on capital punishment and the foundations on which that teaching is based. We welcome any questions that you might have about our teaching, as we join with many other religious denominations in firm opposition to the execution of even those convicted of heinous crimes.

We urge you to use your authority as governor to put an end to the fast-track executions planned for later this year. It is within your power to establish your legacy as a governor of Tennessee who did not preside over an execution on your watch.

Please know that you remain in our prayers as you complete your term in office and look forward to your future service to the people of Tennessee.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Martin Holley Bishop of Memphis Diocese

Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding Bishop of Nashville Diocese

Most Reverend Rick Stika Bishop of Knoxville Diocese

night, we believe that only Jesus Christ every stage of life,” the bishops said in can bring consolation and peace. a statement following the execution.

“We continue to pray for Paula and In appealing to Gov. Haslam before for her family. And we also pray for the execution, Bishop Stika, in the let128 Allendale Drive, Nashville 37205 Billy Ray Irick, that his fi nal human ter Tennessee from the bishops, recounted his thoughts were of remorse and sorpersonal experience with Pope St. row, for we believe that only Christ John Paul II’s role in commuting to can serve justice. We pray for the life in prison the sentence of a death people of Tennessee that they will row inmate in Missouri in 1999. embrace the Light and Life that is JeThe commutation of convicted killer sus Christ. And we hope that we may Darrell Mease’s death sentence came all come to cherish the dignity that after a complicated set of events and His love instills in every person — at last-minute meetings arranged by

Priests continued from page A1

would want to become a priest, or a bishop, or even a cardinal,” Bishop Stika said to members of St. Mary Church in Johnson City Aug. 3 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of priestly ordination of St. Mary’s pastor, Father Peter Iorio.

“Because priests like Father Peter are guys I am so privileged to serve with as a priest, and a bishop, and a deacon — people who are faithful, not perfect, but are trying to make a difference in all of our lives,” Bishop Stika added.

And as the Catholic Church confronts accusations against Archbishop McCarrick, it also is bracing for the public release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on a months-long investigation into abuse claims in six Pennsylvania dioceses over a 70-year span.

As news surrounding Archbishop McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report has spread in recent days, clergy members celebrating Mass recently, feeling a need to acknowledge the news and respond to the faithful, took the opportunity to read from Jeremiah, Chapter 23, which says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture — oracle of the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. …”

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, who also is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a strong statement, saying Archbishop McCarrick “will rightly face” a Vatican canonical process regarding sexual abuse allegations against him, but the U.S. Catholic Church must take steps to respond to church leaders’ “moral failures of judgment.”

The accusations against Archbishop McCarrick “reveal a grievous moral failure within the church,” Cardinal DiNardo said.

“They cause bishops anger, sadness, and shame; I know they do in me,” he said in an Aug. 1 statement. “They compel bishops to ask, as I do, what more could have been done to protect the people of God. Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church leaders.”

To determine a course of action for the USCCB to take, Cardinal DiNardo said he has convened the bishops’ executive committee.

“This meeting was the first of many among bishops that will extend into our Administrative Schedule continued from page A2

blessing of new middle school wing and visit with students and faculty at St. Joseph School in Knoxville n Sept. 22: 10:30 a.m., Mass and renewal of vows for young married families at St. John Neumann A6 n AUGUST 5, 2018

A statement from Bishop Richard F. Stika on Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, who recently resigned from the College of Cardinals following sexual abuse allegations:

”Like many of you, I have struggled in recent weeks with my personal reaction to reports that Archbishop Theodore McCarrick sexually abused individuals during his years as a priest and bishop. I also recognize the anger and doubt Catholics around the world feel due to the nature of this case.

I want to offer my personal apology for what has happened. While reports and admissions of decades-old sins and crimes have shaken us in recent years, I am confident in the process the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has in place with the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Through this process, an allegation of abuse against Archbishop McCarrick was turned over to law enforcement, independently investigated, and then further reviewed and found to be credible by the Archdiocese of New York. In addition to his recent resignation as a cardinal, Archbishop McCarrick was suspended from public ministry and faces a canonical trial in Rome.

I believe the charter works, but I also believe it is time for further review and action to strengthen it.

I support Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the USCCB, and his call to convene the executive committee to begin this process of addressing sexual abuse and abuse of power by bishops and major superiors. This will be a priority at the convening of the USCCB General Assembly in November, which I will attend.

Let us continue to pray for each other and especially for those who are victims of sexual abuse and abuse of power.

Bishop Richard F. Stika Diocese of Knoxville

Committee meeting in September and our general assembly in November,” he explained. “All of these discussions will be oriented toward discerning the right course of action for the USCCB.”

Church in Farragut n Sept. 23: 11 a.m., Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus n Sept. 24-27: Visit Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas n Sept. 28: Diocesan In-service Mass

Such work will “take some time,” but he laid out four points to be acted upon immediately: n He encouraged each bishop in his diocese “to respond with compassion and justice to anyone who has been sexually abused or harassed by anyone in the church. We should do whatever we can to accompany them.” n He urged anyone who has experienced sexual assault or harassment by anyone in the Church to come forward. “Where the incident may rise to the level of a crime, please also contact local law enforcement.” n The USCCB “will pursue the many questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick’s conduct to the full extent of its authority; and where that authority finds its limits, the conference will advocate with those who do have the authority. One way or the other, we are determined to find the truth in this matter.” n “Finally, we bishops recognize that a spiritual conversion is needed as we seek to restore the right relationship among us and with the Lord.

Our church is suffering from a crisis of sexual morality. The way forward must involve learning from past sins.”

Cardinal DiNardo said the failures of judgment

by Church leaders in the case of Archbishop McCarrick “raise serious questions.”

“Why weren’t these allegations of sins against chastity and human dignity disclosed when they were first brought to church officials?” he asked.

“Why wasn’t this egregious situation addressed decades sooner and with justice? What must our seminaries do to protect the freedom to discern a priestly vocation without being subject to misuse of power?”

In conclusion, he asked all to “pray for God’s wisdom and strength for renewal as we follow St. Paul’s instruction: ‘Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.’”

While still very disappointing, tragic, and heartbreaking for the victims, the situation involving Archbishop McCarrick shows that the Church’s new system of review can work, Bishop Stika said.

He pointed out that allegations were brought to an Archdiocese of New York review board, which investigated the charges and found them credible.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan then forwarded the allegations to Pope Francis.

“You know the one thing — we’re not abandoned by Jesus. It has been a rough time for the Church, and it shows that sin is in places where you least expect it to be. This has to be dealt with.

Transparency is very important,” he noted. ■

n Sept. 29: 11 a.m., Mass and blessing of new St. Michael the Archangel Church building in Erwin n Sept. 30: 9 a.m., Blue Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus n Sept. 30: 11:45 a.m., Mass and

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then-Monsignor Stika at the request of Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, which eventually led to a brief exchange at a prayer service between Pope St. John Paul II and Missouri’s governor, Mel Carnahan.

“I was standing behind Pope St. John Paul II and next to Cardinal Rigali when there was this brief meeting between Gov. Carnahan and the pope, and the pope put his hand on the governor’s arm and he said, ‘Mercy for Darrell Mease.’ That’s all he said, ‘Mercy,’” Bishop Stika recalled.

“We didn’t know what the governor was going to do. So, the prayer service finishes and the pope leaves the United States. A couple of days later, the governor commuted the sentence, at great political cost to him,” the bishop explained. “(St. John Paul II) said that (the death penalty) is simply not necessary as the only means to protect society while still providing a just punishment for those who break civil laws. Rather than serving as a path to justice, the death penalty contributes to the growing disrespect for human life,” the letter to Gov. Haslam stated.

The bishops’ letter preceded by just days Pope Francis’ directive to revise the Catechism of the Catholic Church to state that the “death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

The Holy Father said the Church will now be committed to working toward abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

Meanwhile, the legal debate over Mr. Irick’s execution continues at a feverish pace as lawyers for 33 death row inmates have contended the state of Tennessee’s current procedure for lethal injection violates the U.S. Constitution. ■

installation of Father Doug Owens as pastor of All Saints Church in Knoxville n Oct. 2: 11 a.m. general priest meeting in the parish hall at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ■ TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C A TH OLI C

An invitation to make a difference Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish looking for partners on an outreach mission to deliver aid in Haiti

EWTN continued from page A4

the Holy Mother of God and the woman of salvation history.

Episode 10, the last installment in the series, features the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In it, Cardinal Rigali discusses how the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the summary and synthesis of what God has done for humanity; that love is seen as the driving force for our conversion of life and turning to God. Cardinal Rigali expressed grati-

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C A T HO L I C

COURTESY OF BILLY STAIR

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acred Heart Cathedral Parish’s Haiti Outreach ministry is looking for a few good partners.

The parish’s Haiti ministry has been effective and growing to the point where it would like to partner with other parishes in the Diocese of Knoxville in ministering to people in the interior of Haiti who have very little and rely on Catholic outreach for health care and education.

When Sacred Heart first considered a Haiti outreach mission, a group of parishioners joined with a common goal: provide aid to a country in desperate need of help.

When those parishioners arrived in Haiti in 1999 on their first mission trip, they didn’t realize the scope of desperation they were finding.

Their goal was to start an education program for children living in the area of Boucan-Carré, a town outside of the capital city of Portau-Prince that parishioners had identified as the area they wanted to assist.

But once they arrived in Port-auPrince and realized there was no paved road between the capital and Boucan-Carré, they began to understand the depth of Haiti’s impoverished state.

In Boucan-Carré, thoughts of education and the possibility of building a school quickly turned to health care because the children’s health was so poor that it proved to be an impediment to schooling.

Haiti missionaries Students from Knoxville Catholic High School joined Sacred Heart Cathedral priest Father Arthur Torres Barona and Sacred Heart parishioner Billy Stair on a mission trip to rural areas of Haiti.

Plans changed.

And in 2000, Sacred Heart’s second outreach trip to Haiti was a medical mission.

The goal of Sacred Heart’s Haiti Committee never wavered, and the mission trips didn’t stop. A partnership was developed with St. Michel Catholic Parish in Boucan-Carré.

Now, 19 years later, the Haiti Outreach ministry has proven quite successful, evidenced by schools and a clinic that have been built to serve the areas of Boucan-Carré and

a village called Bouly.

And as the Haiti Outreach ministry has grown, so has its demands.

Partnerships the ministry has developed over the last 19 years have been invaluable.

And now, the ministry is looking for additional partnerships.

Sacred Heart parishioner Billy Stair, who helps lead the Haiti Outreach ministry, explained that then-Sacred Heart Cathedral rector Father Al Humbrecht led the ministry’s formation. Monsignor Hum-

tude to EWTN for airing the series and said he has enjoyed his relationship with the Catholic cable network through the years. He noted that EWTN foundress Mother Angelica, PCPA, took a special interest in a program led by then-Father Richard F. Stika and then-Father Edward M. Rice of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who discussed the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, long before they became bishops.

Bishop Stika has spoken about

his admiration for Mother Angelica for her service to God as a religious in the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration and her work in creating EWTN. EWTN remarked on the ongoing relationship it has with Cardinal Rigali and how that has translated to important faith-based programing.

“It is clear that Cardinal Rigali has devoted his life to sharing the Catholic faith, first as a layperson, then later as a priest, bishop, and

w ww.di o k no x .o rg

By Bill Brewer

brecht is now pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy.

That first delegation, including current parishioners John Stone and John Capps, returned from Haiti with the realization that the second delegation would need to be made up of medical professionals. So Dr. Dean Mire led a medical mission trip.

“They determined it would need to be a sustained effort. It couldn’t be a one-and-done situation,” Mr. Stair said about the medical mission.

That is when the first partnerships were formed. Sacred Heart joined with Partners in Health of Boston to develop and maintain a health clinic in Boucan-Carré. Mr. Stair said Sacred Heart raises about $36,000 annually to help operate the clinic, which is saving lives in rural Haiti.

Then in 2004, Sacred Heart Deacon Ben Johnston led efforts to partner with St. Anselm Parish in St. Louis to build a school. St. Anselm held a capital campaign and raised construction funds. Once the school opened in 2006 with 350 students, Sacred Heart took on the costs of maintaining the school, which now enrolls some 1,100 students.

Sacred Heart then formalized a partnership in 2002 with St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Tabb, Va., which contributes $56,000 Haiti continued on page A9

cardinal,” said EWTN’s Jason Addington, who produced the “Living the Christian Life” series.

“Because of his steady example of a true missionary spirit, EWTN wanted to tap into the cardinal’s many years of experience and wisdom obtained through his tireless service to the global Church and reveal to our audience his personal insights on how to live the Christian life well,” Mr. Addington noted. ■

AUGUST 5, 2018 n A7

Church marks 50th anniversary of ‘Humanae Vitae’ Encyclical by Pope Paul VI is rooted in respect the Church has for human dignity

By Dennis Sadowski/Catholic News Service

F

The document was intended for the pope only, but it was leaked to the press, which heightened expectations of a major change in Church teaching.

Blessed Paul rejected the majority’s recommendations and, instead, decided to uphold traditional Church teaching on artificial contraception. The text of the document thanked the commission experts but added that the pope thought its proposed solutions “departed from the moral teaching on marriage proposed with constant firmness by the teaching authority of the church.”

Opposition to the encyclical erupted throughout the Church after the document’s release.

Some clergy in the United States and Europe openly voiced disagreement and thousands of lifelong Catholics left the Church.

For defenders of Humanae Vitae, however, the enduring relevance of the encyclical is a testament to the truth of its message. While it is not infallible teaching, it is still the official doctrine of the Church, requiring assent by all Catholics unless it is modified.

“Perhaps the most surprising thing about the encyclical ... is how reports of its imminent death were continually exaggerated,” wrote Helen Alvare recently for Catholic News Service’s Faith Alive! religious education series.

The law professor and pro-life advocate attributes this to the flaws of the birth control revolution and to a deeper appreciation of the Humanae Vitae message.

“Over time, as the sexual revolution played out and contraception failed to live up to its billing, fair observers began to note a positive or prophetic thing or two about Humanae Vitae, along with its surprisingly accurate read of human nature,” she wrote. ■

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ifty years ago, an encyclical was released affirming a long-held teaching of the Catholic Church, yet it became one of the most controversial encyclicals in recent church history.

Blessed Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, reaffirmed the Church’s moral teaching on the sanctity of life, married love, the procreative and unitive nature of conjugal relations, responsible parenthood, and its rejection of artificial contraception.

Blessed Paul in Humanae Vitae said that the only licit means of regulating birth is natural family planning. In the document, he asked scientists to improve natural family planning methods “providing a sufficiently secure basis for a regulation of birth founded on the observance of natural rhythms.”

At the time of its release, it was greeted with protests and petitions. But the 50th anniversary has been marked by conferences, lectures and academic discussions as theologians, clergy, family life ministers, and university professors have explored what its teachings mean for the 21stcentury Church.

Blessed Paul issued Humanae Vitae as artificial contraception, particularly the birth control pill, began to become commonplace. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Enovid — the pill — in May 1960 after tests on nearly 900 women through more than 10,000 fertility cycles showed no significant side effects.

Initially, many thought the pope might support the use of artificial contraception, especially after a majority of members on a papal commission studying the issue approved a draft document in 1966 endorsing the principle of freedom for Catholic couples to decide for themselves

Timeless teaching Pope Paul VI is pictured in a June 29, 1968, photo at the Vatican. Documents in the Vatican Secret Archives and the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith prove it was a “myth” that Blessed Paul VI largely set out on his own in writing “Humanae Vitae.” about the means of regulating births.

The document proposed that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and said under specific circumstances Catholic couples could use contraceptives in good conscience. It was supported by 64 of the 69 commission members who voted on it, including nine of its 16 episcopal members.

Faith alive: In 2018, encyclical is revered, not reviled Fifty years after its promulgation, the encyclical Humanae Vitae has been labeled “prophetic.” Pope Paul VI understood that the quality of marital and parental love has social consequences.

Among other topics, the encyclical spells out the Church’s teaching on responsible parenthood. It beautifully states that the love between a man and a woman can be an act of co-creation with God and an image of divine love.

Here are other opinions of the encyclical 50 years later:

Humanae Vitae’s legacy a half-century later

By Helen Alvare/CNS

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erhaps the most surprising thing about the encyclical Humanae Vitae 50 years on, is how reports of its imminent death were continually exaggerated. Very few brave souls would have predicted in 1968 that the document would ever enjoy enthusiastic support from more than a few female Catholic intellectuals and the Catholic “woman in the pew,” even while it remains contested both in the Church and in the world.

Rather, given the widespread acceptance of and hopes associated with contraception, most believed that the Church would either alter this teaching or that it would be quietly ignored and the furor die down.

To understand the surprising survival of Humanae Vitae, it is important to understand what the “pill” was promising to the world.

Humanae Vitae was written just eight years after the pill was made publicly available. Many predicted that the pill could end poverty and “overpopulation” by dramatically reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies.

It also promised to improve marriages and free women to take advantage of the new opportunities outside the home that were opening up for them. Its manufacturer, G.D. Searle, delivered it to doctors with a paperweight of a naked, goldpainted, bare-breasted woman — Andromeda — with her head up, breaking free from her chains. On her back was the word “unfettered.”

Furthermore, during the 1960s and continuing to today, men and women were increasingly inclined to believe that human progress could be measured by the pace of new technology. So the church’s position in Humanae Vitae was characterized as a fear of progress and

A8 n AUGUST 5, 2018

science, alongside distaste for sex and for women’s freedom.

But over time, as the sexual revolution played out and contraception failed to live up to its billing, fair observers began to note a positive or prophetic thing or two about Humanae Vitae, along with its surprisingly accurate read of human nature.

For one thing, Humanae Vitae took sex seriously, far more seriously than the contemporary world, for all its talk about sex. It called sex “noble and worthy.” It also spoke positively, even upliftingly, about the bond between men and women.

It grasped the importance of this bond for their own happiness and for their coming to understand and model to the world what faithful, permanent, fruitful love could look like.

In other words, their love could provide the couple themselves and the world some understanding — a glimpse — of how God loves us and how we are to love one another.

And to do so in a very Catholic way, involving the body as well as the mind and heart.

Humanae Vitae was increasingly labeled “prophetic.” Pope Paul VI understood, long before sophisticated social measures could (and did) prove him right, that the quality of marital and parental love has social consequences. These consequences would manifest themselves first in the basic cell of society, the family, and from there radiate out into the world.

Today we know and can measure what this pope already intuited: that robbing sex of its full meaning would lead to a great deal of sex without commitment, without even love. That children would suffer the loss of their parents’ stable marriages. And that women would become sexual instruments and find themselves all too often in what we now call #MeToo predicaments.

In addition to its other prophecies, Humanae Vitae correctly predicted that countries would give in to temptations to take “harsher measures” to promote contraception among people it did not wish to procreate.

This has occurred not only in China and India, but also in the United States, albeit here with a friendly face; poorer women here are “incentivized” to use free contraception, especially if they will use the so-called long-acting varieties that require a doctor’s help to remove.

At the same time, Pope Paul VI anticipated that couples resorting to

natural methods of family planning would achieve an important degree of tranquility and peace. Their marriages would be strengthened, and their sensitivity to one another’s hopes and feelings improved.

This is indeed the kind of testimony one hears from couples practicing natural family planning.

It is also the kind of testimony that attracts non-Catholics toward the Catholic vision of marriage and par-

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enting, and even to conversion into the faith.

Pope Paul VI foresaw as well that contraception would provoke an increasing desire to achieve technological dominion over the human body. It would encourage us to forget that we did not design or make ourselves and that we are not each “master of the sources of life” but rather the “minister(s) of a design Legacy continued on page A11

Pilgrimage to

POLAND including Budapest and Vienna

with Bishop Richard F. Stika and Deacon Sean Smith May 25-June 4, 2019

For More Information Contact:

We share your faith

Lisa Morris at 865-567-1245 lisam@select-intl.com www.selectinternationaltours.com

TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C A TH OLI C

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia elect prioress general, councilors

Haiti continued from page A7

a year to help fund the school.

It is those kinds of partnerships that make significant differences in the lives of Haitians and provide an excellent evangelization opportunity for the Catholic Church, according to Mr. Stair.

The need didn’t end with completion of the Boucan-Carré clinic or the St. Michel Parish school.

Mr. Stair accompanied Dr. Mire on a Haiti medical mission in 2008 to the remote village of Bouly outside of Boucan-Carré that lacked formal medical care. Bouly is only accessible by foot or donkey and is a sixhour trek.

When they first arrived, nearly 500 people were waiting to be seen by physicians.

“They were waiting in a church, and this church was open-air and filled with people who had been waiting hours. They had never had a physician in Bouly,” Mr. Stair said.

“I was overcome by the desperation, and I have seen a lot of desperation in my travels. There had been a period of severe food shortage. The lack of food was immediately apparent.”

The Sacred Heart Haiti Outreach ministry continues working to sustain a small clinic in Bouly to treat Haitians in that part of the country.

With the help of native volunteers, missionaries with Sacred Heart and its partners have constructed a small building to serve as a permanent, free-standing clinic.

“We have built a simple 10-meterby-10-meter building with four rooms. We had a volunteer effort by surrounding villages, whose villagers carried rocks from a nearby river to build the clinic,” he said.

“The Church does not finance any of this. This is completely a volunteer effort.”

He noted that through donations, Sacred Heart and its partners were able to hire 130 Haitians to carry 270 pieces of rebar six hours across the mountains from Port-au-Prince to Bouly for construction of the clinic, which is powered by a generator and is staffed by volunteers.

In addition to the clinics, Sacred Heart parishioners and partners have built and are helping maintain a second school – a high school – to serve the Haitian youth of the St. Michel Parish area.

“The social safety net in Haiti falls

In 1860, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation was established in Nashville, where its motherhouse is located. The religious community is dedicated to the apostolate of Catholic education. The comMother Anna Grace Neenan munity of almost 300 sisters serves in 50 schools throughout the United States, with mission houses also in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Vancouver, Canada; Rome and Bracciano, Italy; Elgin, Scotland; Sittard, The Netherlands; and Limerick, Ireland.

In addition to Nashville, Dominican sisters

to the Church,” Mr. Stair said, pointing to the growing importance of the Haiti Outreach ministry.

He plans to return to Haiti in November as part of a small group to install solar panels on the Bouly clinic to improve its electrical efficiency. Another medical mission is scheduled for December.

He would like to see other parishes with an interest in a Haiti ministry partner with Sacred Heart to continue this vital outreach.

“We are victims of our success, and we need other partners. We are now financially stressed because of our commitments in Haiti,” Mr. Stair said, noting that Sacred Heart is comfortable continuing to lead administration of the outreach. “We are targeting parishes that aren’t yet involved in Haiti but would be interested. But we also are open to parishes that currently have a Haiti outreach ministry.”

Mr. Stair said anyone wanting to know more about Sacred Heart’s Haiti Outreach ministry can go to www.haitioutreachprogram.com.

He pointed out that because the ministry is all-volunteer and has no administrative costs, every dollar donated to the program goes to Haiti. Sacred Heart’s main annual fundraisers for the ministry are a banquet and sponsorships. Sacred Heart parishioners donate about $200,000 a year for the Haiti ministry.

As the ministry moves forward, Mr. Stair said he hopes to see the communities helped by the schools and clinics and St. Michel Parish become more self-sustaining.

“I would like to see if we can develop some project that is a small economic engine in Boucan-Carré to generate income in that region,” he said.

But first, he’s hoping a parish or two will come forward and partner with Sacred Heart to make those projects a reality.

Haiti outreach partnerships are vital to the evangelization mission in Haiti, so much so that a national conference is held to promote the partnership network. The next national Haiti Twinning Conference will be held in Nashville Aug. 24-26.

Mr. Stair, who plans to attend, said the conference will be an excellent opportunity to learn new and better ways of partnering, or “twinning,” and reaching out to Haiti. ■

Catholic Press Association recognizes East Tennessee Catholic

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he East Tennessee Catholic was recently recognized with top place finishes by the Catholic Press Association in two categories: best redesign of a newspaper and magazine feature writing.

In the Feature Writing category, Editor Bill Brewer ’s story about the Gatlinburg wildfires won first place. The story, with compelling photography by East Tennessee photographer Stephanie Richer, appeared in the January 2017 magazine issue.

Regarding the new format for the newspaper, judges said, “Redesigning one’s publication is scary. In an effort to provide more information to readers, staff at The East Tennessee Catholic (returned to a

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C A T HO L I C

time-trusted format) and shifted its publication from a tabloid to a broadsheet. It was a great decision. The newspaper today has a newsy, modern feel and a sense of more information. A fringe benefit was almost twice as much space as before for its Spanish-language section. It’s an attractive and newsy makeover.”

Editor Bill Brewer, Assistant Editor Dan McWilliams, Communications Specialist Emily Booker, and Communications Director Jim Wogan worked for a number of months on the redesign under the leadership and guidance of Bishop Richard F. Stika, who serves as publisher of The East Tennessee Catholic publications. ■

currently are serving at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Knoxville Catholic High School, and St. Mary School in Oak Ridge.

“I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunity to enter more deeply into our rich heritage rooted in St. Dominic and St. Cecilia, and my hope is to continue the good work already begun in our community,” Mother Anna Grace said.

After first coming to Nashville to enroll as a student at Aquinas College, Mother Anna Grace entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecila in 1996 and professed her perpetual profession of vows on Aug. 8, 2003.

She holds a bachelor ’s degree in elementary education from Aquinas College, a master ’s degree in educational administration from Christian Brothers University, and is currently working toward a master ’s degree in theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the ImmacuSt. Cecilia continued on page A11

COURTESY OF BILLY STAIR (3)

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he Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation have elected Mother Anna Grace Neenan, OP, to lead the religious community for the next six years as the prioress general.

In addition to the election of Mother Anna Grace, the Dominican Sisters elected to serve on the community’s General Council Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, OP, as vicaress general; Sister Marian Sartain, OP, as second councilor; Sister Ann Hyacinth Genow, OP, as third councilor; and Sister Catherine Marie Hopkins, OP, as fourth councilor.

Sister Lucia Marie Siemering, OP, was elected secretary general, and Sister Mary Thomas Huffman, OP, was elected bursar general.

The Dominican Sisters said that on behalf of Mother Anna Grace, the sisters express their gratitude to God and ask that everyone join them in prayer as the new prioress general and new General Council members begin their terms of office.

Waiting room Residents in the Bouly region of Haiti gather to be seen by doctors in the Bouly medical clinic.

Helping hands Medical personnel who are part of Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Haiti Outreach mission care for an infant at a clinic in the remote area of Bouly. Without Sacred Heart’s medical mission, some Haiti residents may never receive health care.

Haiti outreach A new clinic in the remote village of Bouly was built by Sacred Heart Cathedral volunteers and residents of the Bouly area.

Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as the Diocese of Knoxville celebrates its 30th Anniversary on the weekend of September 8-9 At this time, as we celebrate the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, we the Church of Knoxville also joyfully observe our thirtieth anniversary as a Diocese.

With love and trust, we offer prayers of thanksgiving through you, our Blessed Mother, to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We express gratitude for all the blessings that the Diocese of Knoxville has received during these three decades. We are deeply thankful for having been able to proclaim and bear witness to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

It was through you, O Virgin Mary, who conceived of the Holy Spirit, that God the Father, sent his Son Jesus into the world, and it is now through you, O Virgin Mary, that the Father continues to pour out his numerous gifts of grace.

For this reason, we the Church of Knoxville — Priests and Deacons, Re-

ligious, Seminarians, Families and all the Lay Faithful, in close union with Bishop Stika — turn to you, our Mother of Perpetual Help, and humbly implore you to assist us to be ever more faithful followers of your Son Jesus.

Realizing the intimate union, according to God’s plan, between you and Jesus, and the way the Church has so beautifully expressed her devotion to you over the centuries, we now join with one another, to commend, entrust and consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart. We do this to be ever more intimately united with you and your Son Jesus, and to pay ever greater adoration and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity.

And may our beloved Church of Knoxville be ever more zealous in joyfully living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen

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AUGUST 5, 2018 n A9

CONGRATULATIONS to the 365 winners

AUGUST SEPTEMBER WINNERS

OF THE 2018 SCHOLARS LEADERS SAINTS CALENDAR RAFFLE

AUG 1 | Diane Johnson

SEPT 1 | Laura Allen

AUG 2 | Gary and Jane Dills

SEPT 2 | Paula Suchomski

St. Patrick Church

Knoxville Catholic High School

St. Mary School-Oak Ridge

Knoxville Catholic High School

AUG 3 | Maureen Baker

SEPT 3 | Bill and Tara Scheib

Knoxville Catholic High School

St. John Neumann School

AUG 4 | Steve Frantom

SEPT 4 | Judy Salvo

St. Jude School

AUG 5 | Pasquale and Eileen Marchese St. Jude School

AUG 6 | Dave Watson

Notre Dame High School

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Knoxville Catholic High School

SEPT 7 | Susie Rowland

AUG 8 | Harris and Sandy Ford Knoxville Catholic High School

AUG 9 | John and Susan Hoffman All Saints Church

AUG 10 | Patricia Johnston

SEPT 8 | Kirsty Kalafsky Sacred Heart Cathedral School

SEPT 9 | Pamela Stoutt Knoxville Catholic High School

SEPT 10 | JoEllen lacovino

St. John Neumann School

St. Mary School-Oak Ridge

AUG 11 | Bob Brown

SEPT 11 | Kim Yovella

St. Mary Church-Johnson City

Knoxville Catholic High School

AUG 12 | Linda Hancock

SEPT 12 | Janet Thrower

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

St. John Paul II Catholic Mission

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Holy Spirit Church

AUG 13 | Dan Greene

SEPT 13 | Frank Slowikowski

AUG 14 | Michael Van Dorselaer Knoxville Catholic High School

AUG 15 | Cecilia West

SEPT 14 | Jill Bolton St. Albert the Great Church

SEPT 15 | Jim Mabry

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

Corporate Sponsor

AUG 16 | Pamela Botta

SEPT 16 | Marci Elpers

Notre Dame Church

AUG 17 | Jeanne and Douglas Henriquez Our Lady of Fatima Church

AUG 18 | Katharine Killen

St. Dominic School

SEPT 17 | Patricia Glavan

St. Francis of Assisi Church-Fairfield Glade

SEPT 18 | Lindsey Bernstaff

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

AUG 19 | LuAnn and Eddie Copeland St. Joseph School

AUG 20 | Mary Ball

St. Joseph School

SEPT 19 | Helen Anderson Knoxville Catholic High School

SEPT 20 | Father David Boettner

St. Joseph School

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

AUG 21 | Karmen Riad

SEPT 21 | Jason Fender

Notre Dame High School

Corporate Sponsor

AUG 22 | Ashley Bus Morgan

|

SEPT 5 | Meryl Karesh SEPT 6 | Lisa Daley

AUG 7 | Robert Grzywacz

SEPT 22 | John Meadows Jr.

Our Lady of Fatima Church

AUG 23 | Helen Dearing Walsh

St. Joseph School

SEPT 23 | Kelli Donnelly

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

St. Joseph School

St. Joseph School

AUG 24 | Carole Matthews

SEPT 24 | Barbi Brown

AUG 25 | Regis Loffman

SEPT 25 | Diane Quesenberry

All Saints Church

St. Mary School-Johnson City

AUG 26 | J.W. Dalton

SEPT 26 | Britt Hunter

St. Mary School-Oak Ridge

Corporate Sponsor

AUG 27 | Sharon Dimond

SEPT 27 | Jeffrey Polakiewicz

Knoxville Catholic High School

Our Lady of Fatima Church

AUG 28 | Sondra Morris

SEPT 28 | Joseph Sniezek

Purchased from Diocese of Knoxville website

St. Patrick Church

Holy Ghost Church

Knoxville Catholic High School

AUG 29 | Debbie Howerton AUG 30 | Karen Froula

SEPT 29 | Scott and Zachary Veum SEPT 30 | Dorothy Sykes

St. John Neumann School

St. Dominic School

AUG 31 | Cindy Briggs

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

A10 n AUGUST 5, 2018

St. Patrick Church

This year, calendar sales raised more than $225,000 for tuition assistance for our 10 schools.

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TH E EA S T TEN N ES S EE C A TH OLI C

Cardinal Rigali celebrates special for Mass for Humanae Vitae

H

umanae Vitae, the widely followed encyclical by Pope Paul VI, whose teaching on conjugal love and responsible parenthood sparked a great deal of debate when it was published on July 25, 1968, was the subject of a special Mass celebrated by Cardinal Justin Rigali July 28 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In his homily, Cardinal Rigali shared insight about Blessed Paul VI, who will be canonized a saint on Oct. 14. The cardinal said he accompanied the Holy Father on a papal trip to Asia and the Pacific Rim in November 1970, just two years after Humanae Vitae was published. In conversation on the trip with an archbishop who was a close collaborator with the Holy Father on the Legacy continued from page A8

established by the Creator.”

Our bodies would become mere matter for our manipulation. This has reached perhaps its logical limit with contemporary demands for easy access to surgery to transform human bodies into the opposite sex.

It would be naive to predict that Humanae Vitae will achieve enthusiastic consensus in our lifetime. Too many “isms” mitigate against this possibility: materialism, scientism, and sexism, among others. Not to mention the valorization of sex as a self-focused, identity- and happiness-maximizing exercise.

But because Humanae Vitae got human nature right, wherever people are debating the ethics of human sexual relationships, they will have to grapple with Humanae Vitae and to give this bruised and battered document its due.

What does the Church teach about ‘responsible parenthood’?

By Anna Capizzi/CNS

T

he Catholic Church’s teaching on responsible parenthood is often overlooked, or simply unknown.

Pope Francis memorably countered popular misconceptions about the Church’s sexual teaching in 2015 aboard a flight when he bluntly said, “Some people believe that — pardon my language, in order to be good Catholics, we should be like rabbits.”

“No. Responsible parenthood,” he added.

The pope was “pushing back against that misperception. The Church doesn’t say, ‘Have as many children as possible or you’re not really Catholic.’

What the Church calls couples to is responsible parenthood,” explained John Grabowski, associate professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

Key to understanding the term “responsible parenthood” is Section 10 of Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae, Mr. Grabowski said.

The section reads, “With regard to physical, economic, psychological, and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time.”

St. Cecilia continued from page A9

late Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. She has served the religious community of Dominican Sisters as a teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Denver and St. Henry School in Nashville, as well as a principal at St. Mary School in Greenville, S.C. She also spent a year in Rome studying at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), and in Nashville has served as a member of the Aquinas College board of directors.

For the last six years, Mother Anna Grace has been the director of novices for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation, responsible for leading the formation of the sisters in their first four years of religious life.

TH E EAST T E N N E S S E E C A T HO L I C

encyclical, the archbishop told Cardinal Rigali that Pope Paul VI spent much time in prayer and reflection about consultation he had received from people throughout the world as he was putting together the historic document.

“The pope had been very much absorbed in the preparation of the encyclical and had devoted to it profound thought,” Cardinal Rigali said.

“The archbishop then mentioned that, when Pope Paul had made his important decision and formulated the final text, he was supremely peaceful and serene in that decision, which he knew was so important for millions of people for years to come. He wanted the faithful to be able to understand the importance of the Church’s Pope Paul VI continued on page A12

To illustrate what might or might not constitute as “serious reasons,” Mr. Grabowski used three examples.

A couple not acting prudently or generously is one who says, “We will not have children or we will not have more children until we have a sevenfigure retirement fund or until we have a third vacation home,” Mr. Grabowski said.

Financial situations can be considered, Mr. Grabowski later added, “but as Pope Francis says, people who are poor or in poorer countries have an easier time recognizing a child as gift than wealthy people in wealthy countries oftentimes.”

As an example of a “prudent and just” reason, Mr. Grabowski referred to a couple he counseled over the years with a son “who is profoundly autistic and rather than institutionalizing that child, they’ve decided that they’re going to keep their child in their home and be his full-time caregivers, providers, parents.”

“They’re generously open to God’s gift to them and accepting the challenge of having a child with those needs. But they realize that they are maxed out in terms of their parental resources” and feel “they can’t take on more children.” Mr. Grabowski explained.

Other “serious reasons” for not having children or more children could be health concerns.

Mr. Grabowski spoke of a woman, a mother, who told him that she was in remission from melanoma. Her doctors told her that if she became pregnant, the hormonal changes could trigger a relapse and any treatment might jeopardize the life of her child.

“After studying and praying, she decided to learn a version of natural family planning, be disciplined in using it” and 15 years later, is cancer-free with the same number of children, Grabowski recounted.

While most couples may not have faced such extreme circumstances, responsible parenthood necessitates a “well-formed conscience and the exercise of prudence to say this is a just or a serious reason why, at this point of time, we should not try to have another child or be open to the gift of a child,” Mr. Grabowski said.

He recommends couples form their consciences by studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church, church documents such as Humanae Vitae, and St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.

“It requires not just discernment, what is God calling us to, but dialogue between the couple. What do we think Mother Anna Grace is the daughter of Corinne and William Neenan, of Middleboro, Mass.

One of five children, she grew up in Weymouth, Mass., where she attended public elementary and high school and was a member of Sacred Heart Parish.

Her sister, Sister Mary Angelica, is also a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, and it was through her that Mother Anna Grace first learned about the community.

Prior to entering religious life, Mother Anna Grace was a professional ballet dancer for 10 years.

To be a ballerina was her childhood dream, but she discerned a longing for something more and began to hear God’s quiet call to religious life that led her to Nashville, according to the St. Cecilia Congregation. ■

In celebration Cardinal Justin Rigali gives communion during a Mass to mark “Humanae Vitae.”

together that God’s calling us to do in our situation?”

And responsible parenthood extends beyond simply deciding whether or not to have children.

“Here we can go all the way back to St. Augustine,” Mr. Grabowski said.

St. Augustine sees three goods in marriage: the good of fidelity, the good of indissoluble unity, and the good of offspring.

For Augustine, the good of offspring is more than just having children, “it’s raising them to know, to love, and serve God,” Mr. Grabowski said. “It’s forming them in love and helping them to grow to be able to know God’s call to them.”

How a non-Catholic couple discovered Humanae Vitae

By Amber Lapp/CNS

I

By Bill Brewer

BILL BREWER

His Eminence worked closely with Pope Paul VI following the release of historic encyclical

stood at the desk in my college apartment, holding a box of birth control pills. As I read the instructions, the lengthy list of side effects made me hesitate.

I had friends who experienced weight gain, mood swings, loss of libido, and even depression after taking hormonal birth control, and seeing the disclaimers in print brought those stories to mind.

But I was recently engaged and with the wedding months away, my fiancé David and I were beginning to think about life after the wedding. I was 21, he 22, and we were getting married just a couple of weeks after college graduation. We had student debt and the high cost of living in New York City to deal with, so though we both hoped for many children in the future, we thought it wise to delay pregnancy for a couple of years until we were able to find a modicum of financial stability.

We were not yet Catholic at the time, but in a public policy class (of all places) we had been introduced to the Catholic views on artificial contraception.

I was not convinced, but was intrigued.

What struck me as particularly beautiful was the idea that the love between a man and a woman could be an act of co-creation with God and an image of divine love.

As Pope Paul VI wrote in the encyclical Humanae Vitae, husband and wife are called to “collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes en-

tails many difficulties and hardships.”

It was with this in mind that I stood holding the pills, when I noticed a chart in the instruction booklet comparing effectiveness rates of various methods. The chart included a measurement for fertility awareness methods, and I was surprised to see that the “perfect use” effectiveness rate was very similar to that of the pill I was about to take.

So I talked with David and googled “where to learn natural family planning.” A phone number at the Archdiocese of New York popped up. We attended an information session about the Creighton model fertility-care system and then training meetings with a nurse who worked with us until we felt confident in the method.

Two years after that when we discerned that it was at last a responsible time to become parents, we were ecstatic to become pregnant the first month we “tried.” After serious pregnancy complications and almost 36 hours of labor, we held in our arms the baby boy who was the fruit of our love.

The experience of becoming parents reminded us of the theology we first heard in public policy class. Just as a child comes from the love of a man and a woman, so the Holy Spirit proceeds from the eternal exchange of love between the Father and the Son. Never before did the mysterious life of the Trinity seem so real and close and wonderful.

But one night when our son was just a few weeks old, I laid in bed terrified at the thought of having more children because of the health complications, but saddened by the possibility of not having the large family we had hoped for.

I couldn’t sleep, so I turned to David and asked him to read to me. He grabbed a book on our nightstand, The Way, Furrow, The Forge, a collection of quotes from St. Josemaria Escriva. He opened randomly to a page and read: “You share in the creative power of God: that is why human love is holy, good, and noble. It is a gladness of heart which God — in his loving providence — wants others freely to give up. Each child that God grants you is a wonderful blessing from him: Don’t be afraid of children!”

It was the reminder I needed at that moment. We indeed share in the creative power of God. And that gives us the courage to enter parenthood, not from a place of fear, but of love. ■

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia General Council members, left to right, include Sister Catherine Marie Hopkins, OP; Sister Marian Sartain, OP; Mother Anna Grace Neenan, OP; Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, OP; and Sister Ann Hyacinth Genow, OP

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AUGUST 5, 2018 n A11

St. Patrick a shelter of hope amid lingering fears from immigration raid Morristown parish still responding to Hispanic community with support, prayer

By Hannah Brockhaus/Catholic News Agency-EWTN News

BILL BREWER

L

ast April when nearly 100 workers were taken into custody in the country’s largest worksite immigration raid in a decade, St. Patrick’s parish center in Morristown opened to the community, and donations started pouring in.

The parish center stayed open until 3 a.m. the night of April 5. Husbands, wives, and children gathered together, trying to find out what had happened to their relatives and community members, waiting as 43 of the 97 people in custody were eventually released back to their families.

In the days following, donations of food, clothing, toiletries, and money streamed in to the parish.

“We had a lot, I mean a surplus of things. We were running out of room, we had to move things down to the [church] basement,” Veronica Galvan said.

The director of religious education at St. Patrick and a resident of Morristown for 23 years, Ms. Galvan was well-known in the community and the first to ask the pastor, Father Patrick Brownell, to open the church the day of the raid.

“I just went ahead and told people to go there if they didn’t feel safe at home or work,” she said. “They expressed that fear, and I wanted to make sure that was taken care of and they could feel safe somewhere.

So we opened up the doors to whoever wanted to come.”

For the first two weeks the center “was crazy,” she said. Every day, more than 200 people who had been affected, either directly or indirectly, gathered at the church. More than 100 volunteers came and went throughout the day from around the wider community, including lawyers, doctors, priests, and other religious ministers.

Three religious sisters originally from Mexico also came to help and to pray with people, Father Brownell said.

Confirmed in the Holy Spirit Bishop Stika congratulates a young St. Patrick parishioner upon his confirmation during a special Mass. Joining Bishop Stika were Father Patrick Brownell and Father Alex Waraksa.

They quickly ran out of space for physical items and had to ask people to give only money. In most of the cases, those in police custody following the raid were the primary or only breadwinners of their families, and people needed help just to continue to pay their bills.

Ms. Galvan said with the money they received they paid the families’ bills for two months. With the more than $50,000 received through a GoFundMe campaign set up by local Hispanic and Latino aid group H.O.L.A. Lakeway, $1,000 was given to each worker to go toward their bond.

A prayer vigil was held in the community April 9, and Father Brownell has left the church accessible at night via a door code, so that if anyone wants to go the church to pray at night they can.

Now, more than four months later,

things feel like they have returned to normal, St. Patrick’s youth ministry coordinator, Colleen Jacobs, told Catholic News Agency: “I think there is some good to that, but as a community I think we should still feel more outrage than we do right now. I myself feel like, should I be doing something? What should I be doing right now?”

Many of the 54 people taken out of state and held in an immigration detention facility have been released on bond and are back with their families.

But as they await court dates and a lengthy legal process that could result in deportation, they are not legally allowed to work or drive. And the money the community and St. Patrick raised has run out.

This is one of the purposes of a weekly meeting still taking place at the church. A group of those affected

“We thank God for Blessed Paul VI and for his encyclical ‘Humanae Vitae.’ We give thanks likewise for all the efforts made by God’s people to be faithful to the Church’s teaching and for the help offered by so many in support of this teaching.”

— Cardinal Justin Rigali Pope Paul VI continued from page A11

constant teaching about the procreative and unitive dimensions of marital love. Pope Paul VI was convinced that the Church must always be both compassionate and clear in presenting God’s commandments to His people,” Cardinal Rigali continued.

Cardinal Rigali relayed another more personal experience with Blessed Paul VI that illustrated the Holy Father’s compassion and concern about the family.

One evening in February 1977, Cardinal Rigali was meeting with the Holy Father in a private papal office. And as the pope, shouldering the responsibility of extending the love of Christ to millions of people in the Church around the world, was preparing to end a long day, he asked about the cardinal’s brother, Paul, who was dying of cancer at the age of 50.

“Some time previously I had asked the Holy Father to pray for Paul, and this night was another response to my request. At that time he had four questions: ‘How is Paul?’ ‘How is his wife holding up?’ ‘How are the children doing?'

And 'What can I do?' Pope Paul showed such profound compassion for one individual in his flock, my brother Paul,” Cardinal Rigali recalled.

Cardinal Rigali, praising the Holy Father, indicated it was that caring attention to family and the vocation of marriage that helped to inform his teaching in Humanae Vitae.

“In Humanae Vitae, Blessed Paul VI had words of special praise for married couples who assist other married couples in the challenges of their vocation. He said, ‘there comes to be included in the vast A12 n AUGUST 5, 2018

pattern of the vocation of the laity a new and most noteworthy form of the apostolate of like to like: it is married couples themselves who become apostles and guides to other married couples. This is assuredly, among so many forms of apostolate, one of those which seem most opportune today.”

The cardinal said that Blessed Paul VI likewise pointed out the importance of the ministry of priests, who are also able to do so much for married couples.

“To them he said, ‘In their difficulties may married couples always find, in the words and heart of a priest, the echo of the voice and love of the Redeemer,’” Cardinal Rigali said, adding that in speaking to bishops about the safeguard and holiness of marriage, the Holy Father told the bishops to consider this mission as one of their most urgent responsibilities at that present time.

“Fifty years later, these words are ever true and beautiful,” Cardinal Rigali said.

At the time Pope Paul delivered his encyclical, many western countries were grappling with the sexual revolution and calls for reproductive freedom without religious influence. The encyclical was immediately met by debate and charges that the Church was out of touch with modern society.

History has shown the Holy Fathers’ teaching to be prophetic.

“We thank God for Blessed Paul VI and for his encyclical Humanae Vitae. We give thanks likewise for all the efforts made by God’s people to be faithful to the Church’s teaching and for the help offered by so many in support of this teaching,” Cardinal Rigali said. ■

created the meeting for additional support and training on things like driving and paying bills, for those who had relied on detained family members for these tasks.

Other organizations, including Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, are working to ensure workers have access to legal counsel and help with their court cases.

Though it is unknown exactly who taken in the raid was a member of St. Patrick and St. John Paul II Catholic Mission in nearby Rutledge (names are kept as private as possible for security), there were certainly Catholics among them, Father Alex Waraksa said.

The priest for Hispanic ministry in Morristown who also assists at four other area churches, was present to speak with people at the parish center following the raid.

Morristown continued on page A13

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Morristown continued from page A12

Diocese in compliance with child protection requirements The Diocese of Knoxville is in compliance with data collection requirements for the 2017/2018 audit period set forth by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

According to a July 20 letter to Bishop Richard F. Stika from the USCCB child protection auditors, StoneBridge Business Partners of Rochester, N.Y., the audit has been completed and a compliance report has been reviewed by StoneBridge and will be forwarded to the Secretariat of Youth and Child Protection for use in the 2018 Audit Report.

Funeral Mass celebrated for Larry DeWine Larry Charles DeWine, a former vice president of public relations and development at St. Mary’s Hospital and teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School, died on June 5 after a brief illness. He was 76.

A funeral Mass for Mr. DeWine was celebrated June 9 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with Father Jim Haley, CSP, serving as the celebrant.

Concelebrating the Mass were Monsignor Bob Hofstetter, Monsignor Bill Gahagan, Monsignor Patrick Garrity, Father David Boettner, Father Ron Franco, Father Joe Reed, and Father Arthur Torres Barona.

Mr. DeWine Father Michael Woods and Father Pontian Kiyimba led the rosary following the receiving of friends that was held on June 8.

In addition to his work at St. Mary’s Hospital and Knoxville Catholic High School, Mr. Dewine also served as public relations and admissions director at St. Bernard College in Cullman, Ala., and as a vice president of development for Lyons Associates of Aspen, Colo. He was the founding president of Fort Sanders West Health and Fitness Center, and he was president of Resources in Healthcare, a company he cofounded with Mike Fecher whose primary client was Covenant Health System.

Mr. DeWine, who was one of the first altar servers when Sacred Heart Church opened in 1956, was recognized by Sacred Heart during the final Mass in the former cathedral just prior to the opening of the new Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on March 3.

Mr. DeWine, a Knoxville native, was born July 15, 1941, to Charles Michael and Wilma Pratt DeWine. He married Kathy Wilbanks DeWine on Labor Day, 1963. Their children are Jennifer Borek (Brian), John DeWine (Vanna), Kathryn Perry (David), and David DeWine (Mary Susan). He is survived by his wife, children, and 10 grandchildren: Robert and Patrick DeWine; Natalie, Elisabeth, Davis, and Duncan Perry; Jonah and Nina DeWine; and Brittney and Carrie Ann DeWine, along with many extended family members and friends. He is also survived by siblings Ron DeWine of Chicago and Becky Colpack of Bessemer, Ala. Anyone wanting to make a memorial contribution for Mr. DeWine is encouraged to support Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, Ladies of Charity in Knoxville, Knoxville Catholic High School, or St. Bernard Benedictine Monastery, 1600 St. Bernard Drive, Cullman, AL. 35055.

St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic relocates in Athens The St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic visit to Athens each month is moving to a new location. The Diocese of Knoxville’s free mobile medical clinic will now locate at St. Mary Church at 1291 E. Madison Ave. in Athens near the Mayfield Dairy.

The Athens clinic visit scheduled for Aug. 16 has been moved to Aug. 30.

The clinic will resume its normal schedule in September. The clinic’s visit to Athens had been held at the McMinn Senior Activity Center.

It was “a place to be during the day and get different types of support,” including prayer, he said.

In some cases, church records on sacraments can help workers in their legal case because it provides a record of the depth and length of their ties to the community, Father Waraksa said. Unfortunately, there have been godparents and parents who, detained, have missed seeing their children receive the sacraments, including first holy Communion and confirmation.

St. Patrick has tried to reach out to youth, too, following the raid.

Wednesdays the church hosts youth nights for middle and high schoolers, with usual attendance at about 160 students, about half Hispanic, half non-Hispanic, Ms. Jacobs said, noting that it is a lot for a town of not many Catholics.

Morristown’s population is around 30,000, with around 900 families attending St. Patrick, though Father Waraksa said some families may bounce among the areas’ Catholic churches for Mass.

Ms. Jacobs was nervous that the students would not show up for youth group the week following the raid, though. The fear had been so strong the first few days afterward, not only did many people not go to work, Father Waraksa said, 500-600 students didn’t show up at school.

Regardless, Ms. Jacobs and others worked with a community organizer from a neighboring town to host an evening on community activism and how to enact change.

That night not only did most of the students show up, the usual 3040 adult leaders were accompanied by another 35-40 counselors from the local schools and health-care systems.

“The youth could see that there was an outpouring of love from all the adults, from all different types of organizations across the community,” Ms. Jacobs said, “so that was really powerful in itself.”

They created small groups that allowed the kids to talk about their

Sr. Regina

feelings, and Ms. Jacobs noted the trauma not only for kids who had parents and other relatives taken, but also for the kids whose friends and classmates had been affected.

“It’s kind of hard to explain [the raid] to a kid when you’re trying to teach them the values of love of neighbor and... to accept people no matter their skin color, or what their background is, [and] then you have adults doing the exact opposite,” she said.

Though the overall responses from the churches in Morristown and Rutledge were positive, St. Patrick’s pastor, Father Brownell, said not all the voices were united on the issue.

He said if you take the nonHispanic part of their community, “many of them are split down the center [on immigration], very much like the rest of the nation.” The criticism he heard was only from a small number of people, though those few were vocal, he noted.

Ms. Jacobs said she thinks prayer is important, and that it is something they are trying to let the kids know.

“Even though we know what is going on isn’t right, we can do as much as we can and then remember to keep everyone in your prayers,” she said. “What the… fallout is going to be I don’t know, but it’s really, really tough.”

Unfortunately, the Morristown Hispanic community faced another tragedy, when two teens from Guatemala drowned in a local lake June 19. Father Brownell and other staff members of St. Patrick worked to help organize the joint funeral.

“Right now, I think the community is a bit numb, the Hispanic community, because they don’t know where things are going,” Father Brownell said.

Most are with their families, “and that’s a good thing. But I can only imagine that it’s a depressing situation ... not knowing what the outcome will be ... and there’s a good chance the outcome will be deportation. So it’s sort of biding time,” he noted. ■ © 2018 Handmaids of the Precious Blood

Holy Family Parish seeks youth ministry coordinator Holy Family Parish in Seymour is looking for a part-time coordinator of youth ministry.

The coordinator is responsible for the development, organization, and administration of a Catholic formation program for the high school youth.

Candidates must be active members of the Catholic Church and in good standing. It is preferred but not required that the individual have a degree in theology, pastoral studies, religious education, youth ministry, or a related field. Must be able to work evenings and weekends as needed.

For information, contact Holy Family Parish at 865-573-1203 or send your resume to: secretary@holyfamilyseymour.org or Holy Family Catholic Church, 307 Black Oak Ridge Road, Seymour, TN 37865. ■

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