December 1 | 2024 VOL 34 NO 4
IN THIS ISSUE
AND SEE A5 COME Inaugural Hispanic
Youth Day held at St. John Neumann
GIFT GOD'S WILL A17 SEEKING B1 SURPRISE Priests present Bishop First Vocation Family Night connects parents, kids with priests, Sisters
Beckman with special painting from local artist
Catholic commentary ....................... A3 Parish news ....................................... B4 Diocesan calendar ............................ B5 Columns ..........................................B6-7 Catholic youth ..............................B9-10 La Cosecha ............................Section C
Responding urgently to those in need St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic aids victims of Helene flooding
The East Tennessee Catholic
By Gabrielle Nolan
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ast Tennessee’s Catholic faithful stepped up when it counted in response to the devastating floods that overwhelmed communities like Erwin and Newport Sept. 26-27. That response in resources and financial support has been, well, overwhelming. According to the Diocese of Knoxville, more than $600,000 has been collected and will go toward disaster relief in upper East Tennessee. Shannon Hepp, chief financial officer for the Diocese of Knoxville, reports that as of Dec. 10, $618,296 has been raised for the effort, including $43,267 that the diocese collected for local disasters in a prior year that had not been used. Monetary collections just for Hurricane Helene relief since the devastating flooding Sept. 26-27 are more than $575,000. That amount includes a $10,000 Donations continued on page A13
GABRIELLE NOLAN (2)
DOK parishioners’ donations for flood relief set a record
Emergency response Top: The St. Mary's Legacy Clinic and crew are in action at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin on Oct. 11. Above: Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, directs more than 60 volunteers for disaster relief.
ollowing the Sept. 26-27 storm in East Tennessee caused by Hurricane Helene, St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic responded to Erwin, Mountain City, and Newport in October to meet the needs of locals impacted by the devastating flooding. On Oct. 11, the mobile medical clinic, which provides health care to the medically uninsured within the Diocese of Knoxville, traveled from Knoxville to Erwin. A subset of volunteers made the journey from Erwin to Mountain City. In Erwin, the clinic set up tent stations outdoors at St. Michael the Archangel Church. Inside the church building, the Mexican consulate was present to aid locals who were in need of new documentation after the flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also was present to inquire with locals about any property damage they Response continued on page A12
An ET parish with presidential ties In Andrew Johnson, 19th-century Catholics found an ally, support By Emily Booker
EMILY BOOKER
WIKI COMMONS
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s the nation prepares to transition from its 46th president to president No. 47, history is telling us that one parish in East Tennessee had a U.S. president to thank for its establishment. President Andrew Johnson, whose birthday is celebrated on Dec. 29, began his career as a tailor in Greeneville. He was not committed to any particular denomination, though he attended the Methodist church with his wife, Eliza. He was comfortable visiting a variety of churches and supported various churches’ efforts. He also staunchly defended the Constitution, including the freedom of religion. Andrew Johnson served as a U.S. House representative for Tennessee from 1842-1852. At this time, the Know Nothing movement was espousing heavy anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment. Mr. Johnson strongly defended Catholics against the bias and propaganda. In a debate in the House in 1845, he said, “The Catholics of this country had the right secured to them by the Constitution of worshiping the God of their fathers in the manner dictated by their own consciences. They sat down under their own vine and fig tree, and no man could interfere with them. This country was not prepared to establish an inquisition to try and punish men for their religious belief. … Are the bloodhounds of persecution and proscription to be let loose upon foreigners and Catholics because some of them have acted with the Democratic party in the recent contest? ... From whence or how was obtained the idea that Catholicism is hostile to liberty, political or religious?” He then quoted George Washington, “I hope
No. 17 President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln, was born on Dec. 29, 1808, in Raleigh, N.C., settled in Greeneville, and died on July 31, 1875, in Elizabethton.
East Tennessee roots President Andrew Johnson was a strong defender of the Constitution and religious liberty. He is buried in the Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville.
ever to see America foremost among the nations of the earth in examples of justice and liberality; and I presume my fellow citizens will never forget the patriotic part which Catholics took in the accomplishment of their revolution and the establishment of their government, or the important assistance which they received from France, in which the Catholic religion is professed.”
Defending the faith
As governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson continued to defend Catholics against the political slander of the Know Nothings. “If objection to tolerating the Catholic religion be because it and its followers are foreign, who was John Wesley and where did the Methodist religion have its origin? If John Wesley President Johnson on page A21