Feb. 21, 2010, East Tennessee Catholic

CNS/VICTOR ALEMAN, VIDA NUEVA

‘Remember, you are dust’ Women pray during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Ash Wednesday in 2009. This year Ash Wednesday—the beginning of Lent for Christians throughout the world—fell on Feb. 17.

THE EAST TENNESSEE

Volume 19 • Number 12 • February 21, 2010

The

N E W S PA P E R

of the D I O C E S E of K N O X V I L L E w w w. d i o k n o x . o r g

Lent continued on page 2

Please pray for our priests Dear Lord: We pray that the Blessed Mother will wrap her mantle around your priests and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry.

We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).

May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph, Mary’s most chaste spouse.

May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross.

May your priests be holy and filled with the fire of your love, seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls.

Amen.

St. John Vianney, pray for us. ■ Download prayers and a rosary booklet: bit.ly/priestprayers.

Deacon Dan Alexander recovered from a near-fatal illness to complete his diaconate studies. By Dan McWilliams eacon Dan Alexander refused to let a lifethreatening illness derail his path to ordination.

Bishop Richard F. Stika conferred holy orders on Deacon Alexander on Feb. 7 at St. Albert the Great Church in Knoxville, seven years to the day after classes had begun for the diocese’s first permanent-diaconate class.

Twenty-nine men would go on to ordination from that group in spring 2007, but the 30th would have to wait until his health allowed him to finish.

“God is good,” said Deacon Alexander, who has been assigned to St. Albert the Great and began serving at Mass there the day after his ordination. “God spared my life and gave me almost a total recovery. You never know why these things happen, and you don’t know what God’s plan is or where it’s going to lead, but it led to this moment.”

Deacon Alexander battled viral encephalitis only a few months into his studies, and a seizure put him at death’s door.

“That’s what they tell me,” he said.

“There are two weeks of my life I spent in a

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DAN MCWILLIAMS

sh Wednesday, Feb. 17, began the 40-day season of Lent that calls the faithful to a spiritual journey with the suffering Christ. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (April 2 this year) are days of fasting and abstinence from meat.

Regulations on fasting allow only one full meal during fast days but do not prohibit eating twice more during the day, as long as the two additional meals do not equal one full meal.

Other requirements of the season include abstaining from meat on all Fridays during Lent.

Abstinence applies to those who have reached age 14 and forbids eating meat but not eggs, milk products, or condiments made of animal fat. Fasting is required of the faithful from age 18 through 59. Pastors and parents are to see to it that children who are not bound by the laws of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

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New deacon says, ‘God is good’

Carolyn Alexander helps vest her husband, newly ordained Deacon Dan Alexander. The ordination took place at St. Albert the Great Church in Knoxville on Mrs. Alexander’s birthday, Feb. 7. That date was also the seventh anniversary of the beginning of studies for Deacon Alexander and the other members of the diocese’s first permanent-diaconate class.

‘BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER’

coma or in recovery that I absolutely do not remember. That [hospitalization] was two days before Thanksgiving in 2003.”

Deacon Alexander resumed his studies about a month after his hospital stay and continued to attend the deacon classes in Sweetwater until 2006.

At that point, the struggle to “put it together” mentally made it impossible to continue, he said.

Mrs. Alexander had been attending the deacon classes with her husband to take notes for him.

“Father Charlie [Burton] and Deacon Jim Lawson were so wonderful about allowing her to come because I was having trouble,” said Deacon Alexander.

Father Burton is the former director of the diaconate.

Mrs. Alexander said she didn’t mind the note-taking duties: “It was a wonderful

experience.”

Deacon Alexander ended up leaving the program after having been in it almost three years. “It was just time to step back to heal from the illness I had,” he said.

He was able to return to his studies about a year ago.

The ordination date was also the birthday of Carolyn Alexander, the deacon’s wife, as well as the first ordination to take place at St. Albert the Great and the first ordina-

tion of a permanent deacon for Knoxville’s third bishop.

“You’re like the proto-deacon of the diocese,” said Bishop Stika.

The ordination was originally scheduled for Jan. 30, but an approaching snowstorm late that week led to an eight-day postponement.

“God decided it was better to have this on Carolyn’s birthday,” said the bishop.

Deacon continued on page 6

Haiti medical missioners see quake horror firsthand Doctors, nurses, and anesthetists, including several East Tennessee Catholics, treat hundreds of patients during a 10-day stay in the country.

BY DAN M C WILLIAM S

ven veteran travelers to Haiti could not prepare themselves for the devastation they saw in Port-auPrince following the earthquake Jan. 12 that left more than 200,000 dead.

A team of 17 doctors, nurses, and translators, many from Sacred Heart Cathedral, returned to Knoxville from the Haitian capital this month after a 10-day mission there. Seven members of the group returned Feb. 11, with the rest coming home two days later.

Family members, Sacred Heart pastor Father David Boettner, and parish Haiti Outreach Program chair John Stone traveled to the airport to greet the 10 returning Feb. 13.

Three physicians from the latter group shared what they saw with the ETC shortly after arriving at McGhee Tyson Airport.

Dr. Dean Mire of Sacred Heart led

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Haiti continued on page 6

DAN MCWILLIAMS

What does our faith require during Lent?

Elisa Rue (left) greets Cindy Mire, wife of Dr. Dean Mire, shortly after stepping off of the plane at McGhee Tyson Airport on Feb. 13. The 17-member Haiti medicalmission team included parishioners of Sacred Heart Cathedral and St. Mary in Oak Ridge.

BACK FROM HAITI

letters to the

EDITOR

Priest helps people ‘open their minds’

I feel I must diverge from Miss Hutton’s column (“Father Keating diverges”) in the Jan. 10 ETC. She fails to mention a very important passage in the “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation”: “The majority of the ‘great religions’ which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as ‘the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,’ neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic, and requirements are never obscured.”

Father Thomas Keating, Father William Menninger, and the late Father Basil Pendleton have done exactly what the letter suggests: they have revived the prayer tradition of the early Catholic Church and the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, reconnecting it to similar forms used by other Eastern religions. This was done for the benefit of all Christians who are searching for more depth in their spiritual life.

I have met Father Keating personally and have seen firsthand the fruits of his work: through his teaching on centering prayer and lectio divina, people are discovering the interior life, learning to balance their need for action with their need for silence and contemplation, learning to open their minds to brothers and sisters of different denominations, and to respect other religious traditions, without losing their own faith and traditions but perceiving new beautiful aspects in them.

Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Orientale Lumen, says: “Today we can cooperate in proclaiming the Kingdom or we can become the upholders of new divisions. May the Lord open our hearts, convert our minds, and inspire in us concrete, courageous steps, capable if necessary of breaking through clichés, easy resignation, or stalemate.”

This is my hope for Miss Hutton and for your readers.

—Ghislaine Miller Knoxville

St. Dominic parishioners must ‘go forward’

The emotional energy level in St. Dominic Parish is the highest I have seen in the 20 years we have lived here. The reason for it is that our diocese has announced the closing of St. Dominic School after more than 60 years of operation.

As one might guess, much of this emotional energy is negative. I would like to offer a couple of comments. The decision has been made. We cannot go back in time and change it. We can only go forward. The people of St. Dominic need to take this surge of emotional energy and move forward with a good plan for what to do next to aid our children in their religious and educational growth.

Maybe we should or maybe we should not have a Catholic school in Kingsport. There obviously are reasons the school is being closed.

Each of those reasons should be examined and logically addressed. This needs to done positively, with an eye to the future, without casting any aspersions of guilt or blame.

A plan would need to be developed that would include the size of the school, how it would be funded, who would be the leaders and teachers, and a well-thought-out mission statement prior to presentation to the diocese. The diocese needs to be made aware of the planning, however, and its assistance should be requested when needed.

Since it seems we do not have an adequate number of St. Dominic Parish children available to sustain a viable school, we need to look at an outreach program for non-Catholic children. If in the end it appears our school is an impossible dream, even if there were a year off to renovate the physical plant and create a proper Catholic school environment, we should use our energy to create strong Catholic religious-education and faith-based youth programs that will endure.

I pray that we can all pull together, with proper dialogue, to build a dynamic Catholic religiouseducation program in whatever direction the Lord —Duke Taraschke Kingsport leads us. ■ Letters should be 350 words or less and will be edited for grammar, style, clarity, and length.

Submit them by e-mail or mail: mweaver@ dioknox.org, 805 Northshore Drive Southwest, Knoxville, TN 37919. Letters to the editor reflect the opinions of their authors and not those of the editorial staff or the publisher.

Diocese of Knoxville procedure for reporting sexual abuse Anyone who has actual knowledge of or who has reasonable cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such information to the appropriate civil authorities first, then to the bishop’s office, 865-584-3307, or the diocesan victims’ assistance coordinator, Marla Lenihan, 865-482-1388.

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FEBRUARY 21, 2010

living the

READINGS

BY FATHER JOSEPH BRANDO

Hungering for power Fasting helps us realize that God is in control of our life.

volve manipulating his Father to rescue him and thus create division within the Trinity.

In all of these temptations the devil was trying to get Jesus to use his skills, talents, and status to consolidate all power for himself. He could have bent the laws of nature to his own will. He could have forced every human being into obeying his will. Ultimately, Jesus could have cleverly used (or misused) his love relationship with the Father to the point that the Father would be doing the Son’s will.

If Jesus had succumbed to any of those temptations the whole world would have been thrown back into chaos, God’s plan of creation would have been destroyed, and Satan would have been victorious.

Wisely, Jesus resisted. He already had power. He knew he was the Son of God and needed nothing more. Still, Jesus

One of the greatest motivating factors in human life is hunger. If we are deprived of food for a goodly length of time, we enter a state of total weakness.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus purposely ate nothing for 40 days. Then he took on Satan in a struggle all about power.

Satan offered Jesus three different ways of making his messianic power felt: He could turn rocks into bread.

But that would alter God’s laws of nature. He could usurp domination over the whole world. But that would destroy the gift of freedom God gives to humanity. He could perform such stunts as jumping off the parapet of the Temple. But that would in-

had another power—that which he gained by his fasting. When a person is totally hungry, he or she realizes who is in control of his or her life.

God is in charge, not us.

Through that joyful experience, we receive ultimate power.

In the first reading, Moses endowed this wisdom to the Israelites when he taught them to admit humbly that Abraham, their father, was merely a wandering Aramean who trusted in God. They themselves felt God’s power leading them to the Promised Land, even when they were oppressed in Egypt and suffering in the desert.

In the second reading, Paul revealed to the Romans the secret of ultimate power: “If you . . . believe that God raised [Jesus] from the dead, you will be saved.” In writing to the Corinthians, Paul paraphrased this insight, saying, “In weakness, power reaches perfection.” ■ Feb. 21, first Sunday of Lent Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 Psalm 91:1-2, 10-15 Romans 10:8-13 Luke 4:1-13

A mountaintop experience Before we reach heaven, we must prepare for opposition and suffering.

eter, James, and John had climbed with Jesus up Mount Tabor, which majestically towers over the Valley of Armageddon.

The three were so tired from their long ascent that while praying, they were overcome by sleep.

Yet in the middle of the day they were awakened by the light that was the

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body of Jesus glorified, accompanied by Moses and Elijah.

Thus awakened, the disciples not only saw Jesus transfigured but also got to eavesdrop on his conversation with the greatest heroes of the Old Testament. They were talking about Jesus’ “exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” That is, the disciples were

receiving a lesson connecting the glory they were beholding with the pain, suffering, and death Jesus would endure before his resurrection.

Moses and Elijah both accomplished great feats. Moses led the Israelites out of oppression in Egypt to the Promised Land.

In between, he endured 40 years of suffering in the desert.

There he established a covenant between God and Israel. Elijah brought Israel back to the religion of that covenant after it was all but obliterated by Jezebel. Before he was gloriously taken away in a fiery chariot, he had to face the fury of the queen and the opposition of the priests Readings continued on page 7

Feb. 28, second Sunday of Lent Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14 Philippians 3:17–4:1 Luke 9:28-36

WEEKDAY READINGS Monday, Feb. 22: Feast, the Chair of Peter, apostle, 1 Peter 5:1-4; Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 16:13-19 Tuesday, Feb. 23: Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19; Matthew 6:715 Wednesday, Feb. 24: Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Luke 11:29-32 Thursday, Feb. 25: Esther C:12, 1416, 23-25; Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8;

Matthew 7:7-12 Friday, Feb. 26: Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-8; Matthew 5:20-26 Saturday, Feb. 27: Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Matthew 5:43-48 Monday, March 1: Daniel 9:4-10; Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13; Luke 6:36-38 Tuesday, March 2: Isaiah 1:10, 1620; Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23; Matthew 23:1-12

Wednesday, March 3: Jeremiah 18:18-20; Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16; Matthew 20:17-28 Thursday, March 4: Jeremiah 17:510; Psalm 1:1-4, 6; Luke 16:19-31 Friday, March 5: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Psalm 105:16-21; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 Saturday, March 6: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ■

in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1434.)

The church recommends that the faithful pray daily, give alms, and perform acts of kindness and charity. Many parishes take up Lenten collections for Operation Rice Bowl, an anti-hunger program of Catholic Relief Services. More information may be found online at orb.crs.org.

Your participation in Operation Rice Bowl ensures that Catholic Relief Services can

continue to provide assistance to those in need in more than 100 countries. Seventy-five percent of your gifts will go to CRS to help farmers in Bolivia receive training to improve crop yields, children in Afghanistan gain more opportunities for quality education, communities in Ethiopia to access reliable water sources even during times of drought, and fund many other vital projects. Onequarter of Operation Rice Bowl gifts remain in the local diocese and are used to support efforts to relieve hunger and poverty. ■

Lent continued from page 1

In addition, The Code of Canon Law indicates that at least once during the year Catholics in serious sin should receive the sacrament of reconciliation. “All the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound to confess their grave sins at least once a year,” Canon 989 specifies.

The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many ways. Scripture and the Church Fathers insist above all on three forms: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (Matthew 6:118), which express conversion

Bishop Richard F. Stika Publisher Mary C. Weaver Editor Dan McWilliams Assistant editor

THE EAST TENNESSEE

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TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

he dwells

AMONG US

BY BISHOP RICHARD F. STIKA

Lent: a time to give The Church’s ‘great retreat’ gives us a chance to follow Jesus into the desert.

Does it not seem like Christmas was yesterday? January was just this afternoon and February just a minute ago.

Time can be so deceiving. I often think I will have time to do something later, then all of sudden it is later, and I say it again: “I will do it later.”

In one sense, this time of year reminds me of a mystical experience. I look forward with each passing day to the beginning of that which brings life into my world and mysteries that will be revealed in the future. It involves tradition and history and the saving grace that comes only with practice and devotion. Yes, you who are wise may have already guessed what I am reflecting on: the beginning of spring training, when even Cub fans have a feeling of optimism.

And so, when pitchers and catchers report for spring training, I regain my sense of optimism that once again my beloved Cardinals will answer the mystery of who will win the Series come October. Hope springs eternal!

Gotcha!

As I write, it will soon be Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the great retreat for the Church. With each day of the season of Lent, we are given the opportunity to reflect on the great gift of Jesus Christ and his invitation to follow him into the desert to ponder and reflect. What a powerful gift the Church celebrates each year as we look into our lives to see how well we treasure the life that has been given to us, the faith we share, and the grace of the presence of God in our lives. Please make use of this time, when soon the world will awaken to the beauty of creation and the gift of springtime.

Lent is not a painful time. It is not a time that we “give up” but rather a time that we give. It might involve a reawakening of faith, a renewed sense of the power of prayer, and especially a greater appreciation of the summit of all worship: the Eucharist. It is not about giving up chocolate or those many things we enjoy but rather seeking forgiveness of one whom we have hurt or forgiving one who has wronged us. It is about seeking to assist those in need or reaching out to those who are lonely or lost. It is about putting our house in order and

knowing who we are as we stand before God. Each year, as I make my own commitments to this yearly retreat, I try to find a Scripture passage or other spiritual reading I might use as a reflection. This year I have chosen a passage from a homily that was once given

by St. John Chrysostom. I hope you will find helpful: Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you can make a perfect dwelling place for the Lord.

You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.

Have a blessed and holy Lent! Till next time. ■ BISHOP STIKA’S SCHEDULE These are some of Bishop Stika’s appointments: Feb. 21: 9 a.m., Mass, Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; 1:30 p.m., rite of election for Chattanooga Deanery, St. Stephen Church, Chattanooga; 6:30 p.m., rite of election for Cumberland Mountain Deanery, St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Lenoir City March 1-6: tour of seminaries March 7: 11 a.m., confirmation, St. Stephen Church, Chattanooga ■

Want to try online delivery? he East Tennessee Catholic offers online delivery for those who would prefer to read a digital copy and to discontinue the print edition. If you would rather read the ETC online, visit bit.ly/8SgaaR to sign up.

If you decide online delivery isn’t for you, you can return to a print subscription at any time. If you have questions, e-mail mary@dioknox.org. ■

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Faith-formation classes set for ’10 he 2010 series of adult faith-formation classes begins this month, with additional classes scheduled throughout the year and in locations around the diocese. Classes are offered at no charge to all interested adults in the diocese. Sessions take place on Tuesdays or Thursdays at 7 p.m. and end at 9. Online registration is available at dioknox.org/events/event-calendar/?cat=27.

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Personal morality, taught by Father Michael Sweeney. Explores the foundations of what we believe as Catholics and why we believe it. How do we know the church’s position on moral issues is correct? How do we live as faithful Catholics in a world that seemingly rejects the church’s teachings at every turn? This session will examine the concepts of human dignity, freedom, law, sin, virtue, and conscience as well as current moral issues. It will also provide insight into how we may explain the church’s position to those who are searching for answers in a confusing world.

■ Tuesday, March 2, St. Dominic Church, Kingsport ■ Tuesday, Oct. 5, St. Stephen Church, Chattanooga ■ Thursday, Nov. 4, location TBD Spirituality, taught by Father Michael Woods.

Explores the foundations of how our faith is expressed and deepened through prayer and spirituality. The class will examine the concept of spiritual development and how intimate communion with God is available to all people.

■ Tuesday, March 9, St. Alphonsus Church, Crossville ■ Tuesday, April 20, location TBD ■ Tuesday, May 11, Notre Dame Church, Greeneville What we believe, taught by Deacon David Lucheon. Explores the foundations of what we profess as Catholics. The class will examine the principal truths of the faith as expressed in the creeds of the church.

■ Tuesday, April 20, location TBD ■ Thursday, Oct. 14, location TBD ■ Tuesday, Nov. 9, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Chattanooga

Catechist orientation

Mercy unveils new names for Knoxville metro-area hospitals Officials with Mercy Health Partners unveiled new names and signs for its Metro Knoxville–area hospitals Feb. 4, during a ceremony at Mercy Medical Center North (formerly St. Mary’s Medical Center North). Jeff Ashin, chief operating officer of the Mercy Metro Division, said the re-branding is the next step in bringing all facilities under the Mercy name, following the merger of Baptist and St. Mary’s on Jan. 1, 2008. “Bringing all our facilities under the Mercy name is an important milestone for this organization, symbolizing the fact that we are truly becoming a unified ministry with one mission and a shared set of core values,” Mr. Ashin said. Seen above, at Mercy Medical Center North, are (from left) Jeff Potter, Mercy senior vice president for Planning and Development; Mercy Sisters Albertine Paulus, Janice Brink, and Martha Naber; Mr. Ashin; and Jeremy Biggs, chief administrative officer, Mercy Medical Center North.

Penance services scheduled throughout the diocese ere is a list of upcoming Lenten penance services around the Diocese of Knoxville:

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Five Rivers Deanery 7 p.m. March 11—St. Dominic, Kingsport; March 15—Good Shepherd, Newport, and St. Elizabeth, Elizabethton; March 16—St. Mary, Johnson City; March 18—St. Henry, Rogersville; March 22—Notre Dame, Greeneville; March 23—St. Patrick, Morristown; March 24— Holy Trinity, Jefferson City; TBA—St. Anthony of Padua, Mountain City

Chattanooga Deanery 7 p.m. Eastern Time, except as noted. Feb. 23—St. Augustine, Signal Mountain; March 4—Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga, 5:30 p.m., and Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy; March 9—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland, and Shepherd of the Valley, Dunlap, T H E EA S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

6:30 p.m. CST; March 15—Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg, 6:30 p.m. CDT; March 16—St. Mary, Athens; March 18—Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga; March 21— St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill, 6 p.m.; March 23—St. Stephen, Chattanooga; March 24—St. Bridget, Dayton, 6:30 p.m.; March 25—St. Jude, Chattanooga

John Neumann, Farragut; March 9—KCHS sophomores and freshmen, 10:30 a.m.; St. Ann, Lancing; March 10—St. Therese, Clinton, and St. Joseph, Norris, at St. Therese; March 14—Christ the King, Tazewell, 1 p.m.; March 23—St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade, 6 p.m. CDT; March 29— All Saints, Knoxville

Smoky Mountain Deanery Cumberland Mountain Deanery 7 p.m. Eastern Time, except as noted. Feb. 22—St. Alphonsus, Crossville, 6 p.m. CST; Feb. 23—St. Mary, Oak Ridge; Feb. 24—Blessed Sacrament, Harriman; March 2—St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City; March 3— St. Christopher, Jamestown, 6 p.m. CST; March 4—Our Lady of Perpetual Help, LaFollette; March 8—Knoxville Catholic High School seniors and juniors, 10:30 a.m.; St.

7 p.m. Feb. 24—Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge; March 3—St. Albert the Great, Knoxville; March 9—Holy Family, Seymour; March 15—St. Mary, Gatlinburg; March 17—St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend; March 22— Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa, and John XXIII, Knoxville; March 23—Sacred Heart Cathedral, Knoxville; March 24—Holy Ghost, Knoxville, and Immaculate Conception, Knoxville, at IC; March 25—St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville ■ www.d ioknox.org

The diocese’s catechetical formation program for adults also continues in 2010, with three catechetical days and one catechist-orientation session.

The program, presented in collaboration with Aquinas College in Nashville, is intended for parish catechists, teachers in Catholic schools, ministry leaders, and other interested adults.

Each catechetical-formation session will take place on a Saturday and will include hourlong modules on the Creed, the sacraments, morality, prayer, and methods. All sessions are offered free of charge. Online registration is available at dioknox.org/events/event-calendar/?cat=35 The orientation session will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 27, at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge. Those who have taken part in an orientation session need not attend.

Catechetical days, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (choose one) ■ March 6, St. John Neumann Church, Farragut ■ March 20, Notre Dame Church, Greeneville ■ March 27, St. Jude Church, Chattanooga For further details about both programs, contact Father Richard Armstrong at rarmstrong@ dioknox.org or 865-584-3307. ■

Child-protection training sessions he Diocese of Knoxville’s program for the protection of children and youth is based on training developed by Virtus and is offered regularly throughout the diocese.

A three-hour seminar for adults, “Protecting God’s Children,” is required for parish and school employees and regular volunteers in contact with children or vulnerable adults and is recommended for parents and grandparents.

The following training sessions have

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been scheduled: St. John Neumann School, Farragut, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 (session will be held in the library) ■ Holy Family Church, Seymour, 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 ■ St. Mary Church, Johnson City, 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 26; 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, Aug. 21; 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15; 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 18 (sessions will be held in St. Anne Hall).

To register for a session, visit virtusonline. org. ■ ■

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

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Glade parishioner receives top school-board honor

BY TONI PACITTI

Chattanooga Deanery

OLPH, Chattanooga ■ Addison Hutton, Madeline Rob-

bins, and Danika Dorris won firstplace honors in the OLPH School science fair. Second-place finishers were Andie Dorris, Maggie Stovall, and Naomi Neri. Cole Wright, Madeline Wurm, and Mason Ramos placed third.

■ Fifth-grader Emalyn San Miguel won the school spelling bee. Eighthgrader Danika Dorris was second, seventh-grader Anthony Smith third, and eighth-grader Dean Magat fourth. They qualified for the Chattanooga area bee held Feb. 4 at Brainerd Baptist School.

■ Mary Rebman has been nominated to play in the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Honors Band.

St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill ■ Parishioners provided desserts for

the needy of the community Feb. 8.

■ Bratwurst and free fajitas were served at a parish Super Bowl party Feb. 7. Sales of the bratwurst benefited the Divine Mercy Society.

■ Mathew Maloof provided a banner carried by parishioners participating in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., last month.

St. Jude, Chattanooga ■ The Council of Catholic Women

sponsored a birthday luncheon for Father Charlie Burton on Feb. 16. The St. Jude pastor’s birthday is Feb. 17.

■ A Six Dates for Catholic Couples program will begin meeting after the 5:30 p.m. Mass on Sundays from Feb. 21 through March 28. Couples will meet in the parish life center, view a 10-minute video about marriage, then go out on a date. The final date March 28 will include a dinner for two. Cost is $15 per couple. To register, contact Chris Sapala at 423-870-2386 or csapala@stjudechattanooga.org. Babysitting is available at an additional cost.

■ Recording artist Tajci (Tatiana) is returning to St. Jude for a performance of “I Thirst: The Crucifixion Story” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4. Sponsored by World of Hope ministries, the event is free. Call Sandy Leffew at 544-4445. Visit idobelieve.com for more information.

St. Mary, Athens ■ A Mardi Gras potluck dinner and

dance was held Feb. 13 at McMinn Senior Center.

Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga ■ Candles for home use were

blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and are available for an offering of $3 for a box of two.

St. Stephen, Chattanooga ■ A Little Flowers Girls Club is now

meeting twice a month. The club is open to girls in kindergarten through fifth grade who want to have fun while learning about God and the saints.

Women of all ages are invited to participate. Call Tish at 423-510-8512.

■ The Prime Timers group for ages 50 and up is inviting new members to join. Activities include a book club, game days, dining out, walking, tailgating, and film and stage outings. Call Ita at 894-9652.

■ Anniversary: Chuck and Cynthia Laplante (55)

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland ■ A respect-life meeting will be held

at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in Breen Hall.

■ St. Thérèse Women of Faith will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, and will have a social at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 17. All parish women are welcome to attend.

Cumberland Mountain Deanery

All Saints, Knoxville

Minna Andriulli at 865-376-3415 for details.

■ Baby bottles for Choices Resource Center in Oak Ridge are available in the narthex to fill with loose change and return by Sunday, March 7.

■ Parishioners gave $5,546.60 in a special collection for earthquake victims in Haiti.

Christ the King, Tazewell ■ Parishioner Brian Jelinski has a

leading role in Lincoln Memorial University’s production of Neil Simon’s California Suite. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 through 20 and Feb. 25 through 27 on the LMU campus.

St. Ann, Lancing ■ Members donated $614.25 in a

special collection for Haiti earthquake victims.

St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade ■ A reception to welcome new pas-

tor Father John Dowling will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21.

■ Stations of the Cross will be held at 5 p.m. every Friday during Lent.

■ Anniversaries: Greg and Shirley Penrod (59), Tom and Nancy Flagg (53), Paul and Barbara Thrower (53), Dick and Helen Gerlach (50), Carmin and Lynne Lynch (45), Roger and Alice Charest (35) ■ Newcomer: Marjorie Lewis

■

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

Notre Dame CCW meets The Council of Catholic Women of Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville held its monthly meeting Jan. 23 in the parish hall. A group picture of the council was taken for the church directory, which is being updated. Thirty-five members attended. Council president Denise Michaud presented a DVD on human trafficking, Fields of Mudan, and led a closing prayer. The CCW’s next meeting will be held at 6 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 28, in the parish hall.

St. John Neumann, Farragut ■ A vacation Bible school planning

meeting was held Feb. 4.

St. Mary, Oak Ridge ■ A parish pastoral council retreat

for new and old members will begin with dinner at Birchfield’s in the DoubleTree Hotel at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and continue through Saturday, Feb. 27, at the church.

■ Newcomers: San Juanita and Arnulfo Godinez

St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City ■ The women’s guild’s next meeting

is at 9:15 a.m. Monday, Feb. 22, in the Deacon José Room. The guest speaker will be St. Thomas pastor Father Christian Mathis, who will share thoughts on the Lenten season. Marilyn Bresnan, executive director of Knoxville’s Bridge Refugee Services will speak at the guild’s next meeting at 9:15 a.m. Monday, March 22. Attendees are asked to bring donations of new or gently used linens, cooking utensils, or retail gift cards. Furniture is also needed, and pickup can be arranged for large items.

■ A friendship garden has been planned on a one-acre plot behind the church to grow food for the needy of Loudon County. To help with the project, call Mario Catani at 865-660-9243; contact Ray Mouse at 712-7820 or raymouse1@msn.com; or contact Betty Camilleri at 458-1033 or tjcamilleri@ charter.net.

■ The rosary will be prayed after daily Mass during Lent.

■ Newcomers: Gary and Darlene Stickel Five Rivers Deanery ■ Father Michael Woods of All Saints

4

Boards Association and is its School Board Member of the Year designation.

A member of the

raffle 12 place settings of Noritake china donated by Connie Pelizzari to raise money for the church. Tickets are being sold before and after Mass in the narthex. The raffle winner will be announced on Palm Sunday, March 28. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

■ Our Lady of Perpetual Help will hold Lenten fish fries from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays through March 26. Costs are $10 for adults and $5 for children 8 and under.

Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

will present the Mary Murphy Scholarship to a graduating parishioner in May. High school seniors should call

Dan Schlafer

■ The Council of Catholic Women will

sociate at John XXIII in Knoxville, will lead “Women at the Well: Sharing Living Waters,” a Lenten women’s retreat and workshop, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. Bring a Bible. Dr. Smith also led a men’s Lenten retreat Feb. 13 at All Saints.

■ Baptism: Avery Claire, daughter of Kevin and Angela Swider

■ The Council of Catholic Women

D

Tennessee Legislative Network board of directors and the National School Board Association’s Federal Relations Network, Mr. Schlafer currently serves as the 2010 TSBA president.

Members of the AllTennessee board are selected by a panel of judges from nominations made by superintendents, schoolboard members, district directors, and TSBA staff. ■

OLPH, LaFollette

■ Dr. Ruth Queen Smith, pastoral as-

Blessed Sacrament, Harriman

an Schlafer of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade, former Knoxville Catholic High School athletics director and head football coach, has been named to the 2009 All-Tennessee School Board.

Mr. Schlafer has been selected as the recipient of 2009 C. Hal Henard Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Tennessee School

COURTESY OF MAGGIE MAY

NOTES

in Knoxville presented a talk titled “Spirituality and Faith” on Feb. 3.

■ The Council of Catholic Women will honor the armed forces by placing flags on the hill on the following days: Saturday, May 15, Armed Forces Day; Monday, May 31, Memorial Day; Monday, June 14, Flag Day; Saturday, July 4, Independence Day; Saturday, Sept. 11, Patriot’s Day; and Thursday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. Each flag will be personalized. Flags are $5 each per day or $25 for all seven days.

Parish notes continued on page 5

COURTESY OF DANA HOGAN

parish

St. Thomas the Apostle women’s guild donates nearly $15,000 The women’s guild of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City selected five church-related and six local organizations to receive nearly $15,000 raised by the group through its 2009 fundraisers: a fall brunch and fashion show, a spring card party and luncheon, and a Watts Bar Belle dinner cruise. Bette Purvis (seated, middle), guild past president, presented the donations at a Jan. 25 meeting. Also pictured (from left, seated) are Beverly Bittner of Iva’s Place, Gwen Sullivan of the St. Thomas Arts & Environment Committee, Chris Evans-Longmire of the Child Advocacy Center, and Mary Beth Unthank of Catholic Charities’ Pregnancy Help Center; and (standing) Deacon Sean Smith, representing the St. Thomas Building Fund Debt Reduction Committee and NPH Orphanages; Jan Cosens of the Good Samaritan Center; Bill Twohig of the Friendship Kitchen at St. Thomas; and Scott Gammons of St. Thomas Boy Scout Troop 770. Not pictured are representatives of the Foster Parents Mission and the Archdiocese for the Military.

Knoxville DCCW’s 21st convention coming in April ll women of the diocese are invited to the 21st annual Knoxville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (KDCCW) convention, which will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City.

This year’s theme is “Women of Faith, Women of Action.” The convention opens at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 22, with a memorial Mass for all deceased women of the diocese, celebrated by Bishop Richard F. Stika.

A banquet in the family life cen-

A

ter will follow the Mass. Banquet speakers will be Bishop Stika and Patty Johnson, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi in Fairfield Glade and president of the National Council of Catholic Women.

The convention continues April 23 and 24 with workshops, Mass, a business session, and entertainment. Early registration ends March 1. Forms are available at dccw.org or from Sally Jackson (sallyajackson@bellsouth.net) and Bette Purvis (bettetv410@ chartertn.net). ■

Latin Mass now offered in Cleveland, Madisonville ather P. J. McGinnity began celebrating Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville on Feb. 14.

The Latin Mass will alternate between St. Thérèse of Lisieux

F

www.d ioknox.org

Church in Cleveland and St. Joseph the Worker. The Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. on first and third Sundays at St. Thérèse and at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Joseph the Worker.

The Knoxville Lat-

in Mass schedule remains unchanged.

Father John Orr celebrates the extraordinary-form Mass at 1:30 p.m. each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church.

Visit www.knox latinmass.net for more information. ■

TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

Catholic Charities of East Tennessee will hold its three annual fundraising dinners, hosted by Bishop Richard F. Stika and CCET executive director Father Ragan Schriver, this March. The Chattanooga Division’s dinner is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at the Chattanoogan hotel and has as its theme “Gift of a Caring Community.”

The keynote speaker will be Lino Rulli, host of “The Catholic Guy” on Sirius and XM radio and an Emmy awardwinning television producer. For more information, contact Libby Schleifer at 423-267-1297 or libby@ccetn.org. The Knoxville Division’s dinner, themed “An Emerald O’ccasion,” will start at 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 18, at the Knoxville Convention Center. For more information, call Lisa Ingle at 865-524-9896, extension 102. The Jonesborough Division’s dinner has “Take Up Your Cross” as its theme. The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport. Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. For more information, contact Brenda Dunn at 423753-3001 or bdunn0153@comcast.net.

St. Patrick Parish in Morristown will host its ninth annual Irish Adventure Rally and Shamrock Shenanigans on Saturday, March 13. The road rally check-in begins at 2 p.m. and the rally at 3, with the event beginning and ending in the church parking lot. The party starts at 7 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. Drawings will be held during the party for door prizes and a trip to Ireland. For the rally, costs are $40 per car for a two-person team (driver must be at least 21) and $10 apiece for up to two additional passengers (who must be at least 10). Party tickets are $30 each. A two-person rally team can pay $90 to enter the rally and receive two party tickets. Sponsorships are available. Tickets will be sold after Masses and at the parish office. For more information, contact Donna Thoraval at 423-586-5913 or stpatsccw@gmail.com, or visit stpatrickmorristown.net.

The diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry is sponsoring “Alive Again!”, a night of praise and worship with Matt Maher and Paul George of Adore Ministries from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 14, at Knoxville Catholic High School. Mr. Maher and Mr. George are part of Adore Ministries’ 2097 Tour, which takes its name from the number of the paragraph on adoring God in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Adults and youth in eighth grade and above are invited to attend. Cost is $8 in advance or $10 at the door, with all proceeds going to Catholic Relief Services for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Purchase tickets at the Paraclete bookstore, Sacred Heart Cathedral, John XXIII Catholic Center, or KCHS or buy them online at bit.ly/aliveagain. For more information, call Al Forsythe, diocesan director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, at 865584-3307 or Shelly Letendre at 6940770 or 806-7070. Visit adoreworship. com and click on 2097 for more details on the 2097 Tour.

Knights of Columbus Council 610 will host a “Black & White Ball,” an evening of dining and fellowship from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 27, at the Loose Cannon Gallery in Chattanooga. The event will benefit the Firth family, who have lost two children to cancer and have another child battling cancer. Dress is formal. Costs: $40 per couple, $20 for singles.

The fourth annual Catholic Relief Services Food Fast will begin at noon Saturday, March 27, and end at the 1:30 p.m. Mass in Spanish on Sunday, March 28, at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge. The fast is sponsored by the Pastoral Juvenil Hispana, the diocesan Hispanic youth and young-adult ministry. Funds collected will be donated to CRS for their programs in Guatemala to defeat infant mortality. For more information, contact Mario Merida at 865-640-2202 or r.luis99@yahoo. com or Lourdes Garza in the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry at 637-4769 or lacosecha@dioknox.org.

The next “Picture of Love” engagedcouples retreat will begin at 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 13, in the parish life center at Our Lady of Perpetual Help TH E EA S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

Chattanooga Serrans honor chaplain’s anniversary

BY TONI PACITTI

Church in Chattanooga. This one-day marriage-preparation retreat is a supplement to couples’ marriage formation with their parish priest and is designed to help couples gain a better understanding of the joys and challenges of living the sacrament of matrimony in their day-to-day lives. The day will include a light breakfast, lunch, and dinner and end with Mass at 7 p.m. Cost is $135 per couple. The retreat certificate is good for a $60 discount on a marriage license. To register or learn more, contact Marian Christiana of the diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana @dioknox.org.

The Ulster Project of Knoxville invites everyone to attend a “Luck of the Irish” dinner and auction at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 27, at The Foundry in Knoxville. The evening includes live music by Shamrock Road and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $50 ($25 is tax deductible). For reservations or more information, contact Barbara O’Brien at 865-675-1048 or HoopsOB @chartertn.net.

Registration is under way for Catholic Charities’ inaugural golf tournament, set for Monday, May 10, at Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville. Cost is $1,000 per four-person team and includes hospitality, prizes, and player gifts. For more information, contact Mike Smith at 865-250-1215 or irish100@chartertn.net.

St. Mary School in Oak Ridge will have an open house from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. The school will begin accepting applications for 2010-11 at that time. Call the school at 865-483-9700 for more information.

Knights of Columbus Council 6730 from St. Patrick Parish in Morristown is having an open house and financialbenefits night at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the parish center at the church. The session is open to Knights and their wives and male parishioners interested in joining the fraternity. Hank McCormick, the Knights’ field agent from Maryville, will explain various programs available to Knights. Council members will be available to provide more information about the Knights to potential members and their families.

The Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life will hold a “Defend Life” session from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 27, to train volunteers to staff the chapter’s educational display booth. The session will be held in modular building A-1 at West Park Baptist Church, 8833 Middlebrook Pike in Knoxville. For more information, contact the chapter at 865-689-1339 or trlknox@knology.net.

he Serra Club of Greater Chattanooga recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood of its chaplain, Father George Schmidt, who also serves as pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Chattanooga.

The official date of Father Schmidt’s anniversary was Jan. 24, when numerous Serra Club members attended Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul in support of him.

The next day at the regularly scheduled club luncheon meeting, Father Schmidt celebrated Mass, after which the club conducted its usual business activities and heard a presentation

T

COURTESY OF RICHARD BUHRMAN

CALENDAR

FATHER’S 40TH Father George Schmidt, with Serra president Pat Jabaley, wears the new stole given to him by the club in recognition of his 40th anniversary of priestly ordination.

by a speaker.

At the end of the meeting, Father Schmidt was recognized by club president Pat Jabaley, who presented him with a hand-embroidered

Serra Club stole to wear with his vestments when celebrating Mass for the club.

For more information about the Serra Club, visit serra chatta.org. ■

Morristown Knights contribute more than $10,800 n spite of the slow economy, the citizens of Hamblen County responded to the needs of people with mental challenges. During the annual Tootsie Roll street collections conducted

by Knights of Columbus Council 6730 last fall after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, local citizens and businesses gave more than $10,800.

That’s the total after the 6 percent cost for postage and Tootsie Rolls was deducted.

The council from St. Patrick in Morristown is giving $5,423 to seven groups from the Five Rivers area.

The following groups will receive checks: Special Olympics Area 10, the Ridin’ High therapeutic-riding program, the Manley Preschool special-needs department, the Lincoln Heights Elementary School Multi-Handicapped Program, the Morristown East High School special-ed department,

I

COURTESY OF ALLEN KELLER

on the

Travis Thornburg, assistant manager of the Morristown Walmart, gives a $1,000 check to Tootsie Roll fundraising chairman Luis Crespo of Knights of Columbus Council 6370. Walmart presented the check as a matching response to the donations by Walmart customers.

KNIGHTS GIVE AND RECEIVE

the Sutherland-Metz KC Group Home, and the Morristown Central Services Cerebral Palsy Fund.

An additional $5,423 will be distributed to other mental-health support groups throughout Tennessee. Since 1981 Council 6730 has given away more than $329,000 to local agencies that help people with mental difficulties.

“We didn’t know

what kind of response we would get from people this fall when we worked the streets,” said fundraising chairman Luis Crespo. “But maybe they took pity on our volunteers because of the strong winds, snow, and really cold weather. They responded to the need with generous donations, even though the economy left many with less than last year.” ■

Parish notes continued from page 4

■ Going into weekend Masses on Feb.

The Scarlet and the Black.

The Sevier County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4, at the Pigeon Forge Library. Final plans will be made for the chapter’s oratory contest.

A video on stem cells and cloning will be shown. Everyone is invited to attend. For more information, call 865908-2689 or 865-908-1968.

7, the parish had donated $9,582 to benefit its twin parish of St. Pierre in Bainet, Haiti.

■ Anniversaries: Peter and Diana Heinen (45), Jerome and Freda Hopko (45), Mary Ellen and Stephen Ocuto (45), Lucy and Joseph Berthelot (30), Gerry and Bob Galla (25)

The spiritual-life committee of Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City will show The Passion of the Christ at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in the parish center. The film is rated R for scenes of graphic violence. Call the parish office at 865-471-0347 for more information.

■ The Knights of Columbus will spon-

Sacred Heart, Knoxville

sor a family-night dinner and movie at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the parish life center. The movie will be Over the Hedges. Call Sam Wilson at 423-392-0458 for details.

■ Personal computers are needed for spare parts to maintain those installed in the church and school. Call 723-5252 to make a donation.

■ Baptisms: Favian Leonell Hernandez, William Robert Burke, and Ava Marie Brown

■ A fashion show and dress sale, “Fierce and Fancy Formals,” will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Emporium on Gay Street downtown. Proceeds will benefit the secondary school at Sacred Heart’s twin parish of St. Michel in BoucanCarré, Haiti. Purchase tickets for $8 in the vestibule after Mass. Tickets are $10 at the door, $5 with student ID. Dresses have been collected from throughout the Southeast for the event, and young women planning to attend a prom are encouraged to attend.

■ The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a Haitian student scholarship drive and a pancake breakfast to benefit the parish’s Haiti Outreach Program. The drive will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 20 and 27, in the school lobby and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 21 and 28, in the cafeteria. The pancake breakfast is set for 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, Feb. 21, in the cafeteria.

Sponsor a student for $100 or $200 per year. More than 500 students are unsponsored from last year. ■

A pilgrimage to Fatima and Ireland with Father Patrick Resen of St. Catherine Labouré in Copperhill, departing from Knoxville, is planned for April 12 through 21. The trip features local guides, Mass each day, and plenty of time for touring and sightseeing.

The cost from New York is $2,899.

Breakfast and dinner are included. For more information, contact Dolores Maglione at 865-982-0090 or maglioned@bellsouth.net.

The next Marriage Encounter weekend is scheduled for March 5 through 7 at the Airport Hilton in Alcoa. To register for a weekend, contact John or Manuela Ptacek at 865-531-1719 or celebrate-love@earthlink.net, or visit www.loveinthesmokies.org.

Calendar continued on page 8

St. Dominic, Kingsport

St. Patrick, Morristown ■ The Council of Catholic Women held

its annual International Dinner on Feb. 13.

Smoky Mountain Deanery

Holy Ghost, Knoxville ■ The Ladies of Charity layette pro-

gram needs necessities for newborn babies. Donations may be taken to the Thrift Shop next door to the church.

Immaculate Conception ■ The parish’s “Film Fathers” series

continued Feb. 7 with a showing of

www.d ioknox.org

Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa ■ Knights of Columbus Council 3832

named Phil Malach as Knight of the month for January and Gerald and Virginia Brimer as family of the month.

■ Gerald Brimer and Rich Luketich achieved honorary life membership with the Knights.

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

■

5

Take note of ETC deadlines

Deacon continued from page 1

e welcome submissions about parish and community events. Send notices by e-mail (mary@dioknox.org), fax (865-584-8124), or mail (805 Northshore Drive Southwest, Knoxville, TN 37919). To make sure we receive information about upcoming events in time for publication, please submit it by the following deadlines: ■ Monday, Feb. 22, for the March 7 issue ■ Monday, March 8, for the March 21 issue ■ Monday, March 29, for the April 11 issue ■ Monday, April 12 for the April 25 issue.

When submitting photos or information about past events, please keep in mind that we have a backlog of submissions. ■

W

the medical mission. He has been to the cathedral’s twin parish in Boucan-Carré several times over the past decade but said the conditions in Port-au-Prince were “the worst I’d ever seen” in Haiti.

“It’s unbelievable. It was fascinating trip, but it was truly unbelievable to see all the suffering that was going on down there,” he said. “The people are in dire need: there’s no water, there’s no food, and the food drops are slow to get to a lot of people.”

One area the team visited had received only one food drop over a two-week period, said Dr. Mire.

“The conditions were deplorable—trash everywhere on the floor, sewage, and so many buildings destroyed with unfortunately the continued smell of decaying bodies underneath the rubble, so it was very hard to see them go through that.”

Dr. Mire is a primary-care physician, and he recruited other specialists for the trip.

“The need at the time was for orthopedic surgeons, so we had some gifted orthopedic surgeons and a gifted cardiovascular and trauma surgeon who went with us. We performed over 140 operations while there and treated over 600 patients.”

Dr. Greg Mathien of Sacred Heart is a sportsmedicine specialist who was making his first trip to Haiti this month. Arriving some three weeks after the quake, and he and his fellow team members found many Haitians still in need of medical attention.

“We saw things that people were able to tolerate for a month,” he said. “There were fractures that were untreated. There were injuries that went untreated that you wouldn’t dream of here in the United States. The people were very stoic and appreciative of the care they received.”

Dr. Mathien called the medical missioners’ work “a great team effort.”

“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to go and help a lot of people in Port-au-Prince,” he said.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Randy Robbins of St. Mary in Oak Ridge, which supports a parish in St. Louis du Nord, made his sixth trip to Haiti.

He said the team from Tennessee arrived after the initial phase of lifesaving work performed in the quake’s immediate aftermath.

“What we did in our last week and a half was more limb-salvaging and limb-saving operations,” he said, adding that he hopes and prays that long-term care can be provided for the Haitian victims of the quake.

The Tennessee team, upon its arrival, took the reins at Sacred Heart Hospital in the center of Port-au-Prince.

“We took over from a group of physicians who were there before with our nurses: triage nurses, OR nurses, and anesthesia,” said Dr. Robbins. “It was an existing private hospital that became a public hospital since the earthquake.”

Father Boettner, the diocesan episcopal vicar and moderator of the curia who became Sacred Heart’s pastor Feb. 1, said he’s “very proud” of his new flock and its long-term work in Haiti.

“They’ve been in Haiti all this time, so they were very well prepared to reach out and help the people after the earthquake,” he said. “This is really an extension of the love and the relationship they’ve had all along. I’m proud of the folks who went on this medical mission trip. I admire the courage of their being willing to go down there when things were very unstable.”

Also on the trip were orthopedist Dr. Mike Casey of Sacred Heart, Dr. Richard Briggs, and Dr. Maurice Charitat. Nurses and anesthetists Liza Graves, Elisa Rue, Melody Vineyard, Karyn Casey, Jackie Clarkson, Charlene Minefield, Rachel Lewis, and Christie Coker; physician’s assistant Robert Hawkins; and translators Edva Volny and Yvon Baptiste completed the group.

The team took “2,000 pounds of medications and supplies, including prosthetics,” to Haiti, said Mr. Stone.

Boucan-Carré did not escape the earthquake unscathed. Cracks have appeared in the walls of homes, the St. Michel rectory, and the school and hospital, said Deacon Ben Johnston, general chairman of Sacred Heart’s Haiti Outreach Program.

“The people in our community all lost friends [in Port-au-Prince],” he said. “There Haiti continued on page 10

6

■

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

DAN MCWILLIAMS (2)

Haiti continued from page 1

Deacon Dan Alexander elevates the cup as he assists Bishop Stika at the altar during the ordination Mass at St. Albert the Great. With them, from left, are Father Augustine Idra, AJ, Father Charlie Burton, Father Bill Gahagan, and host pastor Father Chris Michelson.

‘THROUGH HIM, WITH HIM, IN HIM’

Many people close to Deacon Alexander surrounded him at his ordination, including his pastor at St. Albert the Great, Father Chris Michelson; his former pastor at Holy Trinity in Jefferson City, Father Dan Whitman; and Father Burton. Father Bill Gahagan and Father Augustine Idra, AJ, joined the others as principal concelebrants.

The gift bearers were Deacon Alexander’s wife; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Charles and Susan Misiaveg; his niece, Theresa, and her husband, Randall Goble; his great-nephew and godson, John Goble; and great-nephews Nick and Joe Goble.

Father Tony Dickerson was master of ceremonies. Deacon Sean Smith, the diocesan chancellor, and St. Albert the Great’s Deacon Mike Eiffe assisted the bishop. Ten deacons, including the diocese’s assistant director of deacon

formation, Deacon Jim Lawson, and several from the class of 2007 also attended the ordination.

Wherever he turned at the ordination, Deacon Alexander could see people who helped him through his illness.

“I had tremendous support from my wife—Carolyn was just so supportive.

The deacon candidates at the time, the priests, and the community were so supportive too.”

The young St. Albert the Great Parish has celebrated several milestones already, including its first Mass in 2007 and the dedication of its parish center last August.

“This is another historic day,” said Father Michelson.

The ordination was a celebration of the sacraments Deacon Alexander had received in his life, including the sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of the sick, said Bishop Stika in his homily.

“I think you got all the sacraments,” he said. “You might even be a bishop and not even know it.

The bishop said that the assembly should remember during the ordination that “it is Jesus who brings us together and brings us to the Father.”

The ordination rite changed Deacon Alexander in several ways, said the bishop.

“It means that you will be a bit more of a public person. It means that when you speak, you will not speak with just the authority of yourself.

“When you preach the word of God, when you allow people to see the vitality and vibrancy of the word becoming enfleshed in our lives, you will be a teacher of the faith. You will be a minister of the altar—sharing the cup, helping to proclaim [the Gospel].”

Deacon Alexander can join the rest of the priests and deacons in helping to fulfill the

Bishop Stika embraces Deacon Alexander moments after presenting the Book of the Gospels to him. The Mass marked the bishop’s first ordination of a permanent deacon and the first ordination celebrated at St. Albert the Great Church. www.d ioknox.org

most basic of Bishop Stika’s goals for the diocese, he said.

“Almost a year ago when I first came to the diocese, someone asked me what my vision for the church was. I said simply, ‘Just teach Jesus.’”

The ordination rite began with the call of the candidate by Deacon Tim Elliott, the diocese’s director of deacons, and the candidate’s answer.

“Dan, when you say, ‘present,’ . . . you not only present yourself, you present the church that surrounds you, that has strengthened you and has nurtured you until this moment,” said Bishop Stika.

Following the homily, the bishop accepted Mr. Alexander’s promises of obedience and prayed the prayer of consecration as the ordinand knelt before him.

Mrs. Alexander and Father Michelson vested the newly ordained man with his stole and dalmatic.

Bishop Stika said in his closing remarks that the ordination “is part of the history of the parish of St. Albert the Great. I pray for many more vocations that will come [from the parish] someday.”

Deacon Alexander easily pinpointed the most moving part of the liturgy, which fell between the promises of obedience and the prayer of consecration.

“The litany of the saints,” he said.

“When you’re lying prostrate in front of the altar, with the prayers of the saints and the prayers of the community that’s gathered around you, it’s so overwhelmingly powerful that you can’t express the feeling. I knew it would be emotional, but I didn’t know it would be that emotional.”

The new deacon immediately went to work assisting the bishop during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but he later had to endure some good-natured kidDeacon continued on page 7

TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

our

PRIESTS

BY MARGARET HUNT

The Eucharist is ‘the greatest joy’ A monsignor in Nigeria planted the seeds of Father Aboh’s vocation when he was a boy.

ather Bede Aboh, a native of Nigeria, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Enugu on Aug. 13, 1988.

He has served in East Tennessee since June 2001 and in September 2008 he was incardinated into the Diocese of Knoxville.

Tell us about your family.

In my family I have five sisters and three brothers. I’m the third child and the second boy in the family. My parents were Catholics already by the time we were born.

Because my parents were teachers, we had that type of discipline that you see in the homes of teachers. Every morning, we would wake up about 5:30, we would do our morning prayers and go to Mass and then come back, do the morning chores, and get ready to go to school.

Who influenced your vocation?

Our pastor was Monsignor Raphael Ezeh. He knew the family well. Where we were living at the time, there was a house on the left of us that belonged to a religious community—the Daughters of Divine Love, a local community in Nigeria. Twice in the week the monsignor came to celebrate Mass. The nuns would serve at Mass, and one day the nun who used to serve at Mass wasn’t there. I thought to myself, I can help this priest because I knew what he did, so I went over and got all those things for him. I served for two days, and then one day he came to me and said, “Bede, have you thought of going to the seminary?” I said no, I hadn’t thought about it.

It was from him that I first heard about becoming a priest, and when I was almost 10 years old, he told me there was an exam for those who wanted to become priests. He gave me the form. My mom helped me fill out the form, and I sent it in. Then we got the report that they had received the form and we were told the place where the exam

DEACON PATRICK MURPHY-RACEY

F

Father Bede Aboh

was going to be taken, at the cathedral of the diocese where we were living.

There were boys almost as young as I was, some older, some younger, and one thing that attracted me was they were very sharp, smart, and friendly so whenever you had a problem, you called them and they would help you and tell you what to do. At one point we learned that they were seminarians, and I was thinking When I go to the seminary, can I be like these people? That was cool. So the interest was also generated by the fact that we saw seminarians and saw how happy they were, how smart they were.

By that time I was 11 and a half. I went to my first day in the seminary on Sept. 9, 1974, and the journey began.

Is a business background helpful to a priest?

Everything you can get before you become a priest in terms of knowledge is very important. Things that you’re not prepared for—that are not in the curriculum—will be thrown at you. So whatever you can glean before you become a priest is good.

What has been your biggest surprise as a parish priest?

My biggest surprise was that people actually expected you to know everything. Sometimes you find yourself inadequate in certain situations, and you pray and pray to

God: ‘Don’t disappoint me in this, give me the right words to say,’ and most times he does. He gives you the right words to say. You might not say it exactly the way the person expects you to, but you are not far away from what it’s supposed to be.

If it is a practical problem that you have to solve—people quarreling, parishioners not getting along—you’re trying to sell an idea to the parishioners about something you want to be achieved. We can begin to tweak and see what is the best way to listen—how can we agree on this, not trying to be very dogmatic about it.

TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

olin Blatchford is a pre-Theology II student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis and one of the diocese’s newest seminarians. He is a native of Bloomington, Ind., and is the son of Timothy and Virginia Blatchford of Chattanooga.

His home parish is St. Jude in Chattanooga.

C

As a new seminarian, what has been the hardest thing to adjust to?

That I am a seminarian not for myself but for others. Internalizing I am no longer my own, I must give myself totally to Christ and his Church.

What is your most challenging course in seminary and why?

Church history. Remembering the dates of all the councils and the major points of each one is really tough.

What is your favorite course and why?

Aesthetics—what is true beauty and how can it be conceived.

What do you most look forward to in your future life as a priest?

What gives you the greatest joy being a priest?

I can call God, and he comes and he answers me, and I do that with the Eucharist. It’s the greatest miracle and the greatest joy—an indescribable thing that I do as a priest every day. Ask me how it happens, I don’t know. Does it happen? Yes, it does. That a human being can call God down, and God comes. Write a million books, there’s no way you can explain it. You can’t finish explaining it. It is a fact. ■

Readings continued from page 2

Spiritual directing—confession and counseling all rolled into one.

Who are your inspirations as a seminarian, and why?

My inspiration to be a priest comes from seeing priests pour themselves out for their parishioners—the true love of a pastor, who is genuinely pained when he realizes that someone in his flock just is not getting it, so he goes after the one.

What things about you have changed the most as a seminarian?

The internalization that I am not my own man. I am an instrument of God to be used and emptied by him, so that he may fill me with himself.

Along with their prayers for you, is there another way East Tennessee Catholics can support you?

By praying for all the seminarians and priests in our diocese and the bishop. ■

of Baal. In between, he had to retreat to the same desert Moses had left and hide in the shadow of Mount Sinai.

Now, on the mount of transfiguration, the three were discussing the similarity of their missions. Moses established the covenant; Elijah rescued it; and Jesus was about to perfect it. All those projects would end in glory. All involved deep suffering.

Just as Peter, James, and John learned this lesson as guests at this extraordinary event, we can make use of the same insights in our life.

We seek the glory of life in heaven. So we must prepare for opposition and suffering along the way.

The first reading reminds us of Abraham and his perilous journey to the Promised Land. He needed the assurance of a covenant with God. We need the same. And we have it.

We partake of the sign of Jesus’ covenant every time we participate in the sacrifice of the Eucharist. There Jesus feeds us with all we need to ensure our journey will end in glory. ■ Father Brando is pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg.

Deacon continued from page 6

JANE BULLINGTON

A

city,” said ProCET spokeswoman Lisa Morris during the press conference.

“We commit to defend and promote a city of life. Today we say to abortion providers, ‘Not in this community—not in any community.’”

Most of the 82 people present during the meeting, including the bishop and the vicar general, signed a declaration affirming the same text.

Paul Simoneau, a ProCET member and the diocesan director of the Justice and Peace Office, said the Cherry Street medical building purchased

by Planned Parenthood on Jan. 25 has six treatment rooms and could easily be used to provide surgical abortions.

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the United States and is responsible for one-fourth of the 1.1 million abortions performed annually

BY DA N MCW I L L I A MS

What would you say to a young man discerning a call to the priesthood?

It was like I was telling the people in the church today—I told them if we knew everything that our life entails, we are not going to try at all to begin to live that life. What I mean is that there is so much we do not know. There is so much that is hidden from us

by God, but also God has given us certain things we are supposed to know. For any young person who is thinking about the priesthood, I would tell that person, come and see. Come, try it out. Don’t underestimate what the holy grace of God can do for you.

That’s how I look at myself and my priesthood and that’s what I’ll tell any young person. It’s a wonderful, mysterious, great call to serve.

Activists rally to protest new Knoxville Planned Parenthood clinic fter successfully discouraging Planned Parenthood from opening a clinic in West Knoxville last August, members of the ProLife Coalition of East Tennessee (ProCET) hope to have the same success on the east side of town.

On Feb. 2 church leaders and pro-life advocates attended a news conference at True Vine Baptist Church, 2547 Washington Ave., about 500 feet from Planned Parenthood’s new location at 710 N. Cherry St. Among those present were Bishop Richard F. Stika, Monsignor Xavier Mankel, diocesan vicar general, more than a dozen Protestant pastors, and about 65 concerned citizens.

“We, the citizens and leaders of the Knoxville community stand together in unity to oppose the presence of Planned Parenthood and the other abortion providers in our

A conversation with seminarian Colin Blatchford

Bishop Richard F. Stika signs the “Declaration of Life” on Feb. 2 at True Vine Baptist Church in Knoxville. Behind him is Pastor Steve Fatow of Knoxville’s Trinity Chapel Church.

‘CITY OF LIFE’

in this country, according to ProCET. Mr. Simoneau said that a Rally for Life will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at True Vine Baptist. ProCET is organizing the event in conjunction with religious and community leaders in East Knoxville.

He noted that 80 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics

are located in African-American neighborhoods.

Mr. Simoneau said that a modified 40 Days for Life campaign will be conducted locally, beginning on Ash Wednesday, and continuing on the Fridays of Lent. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, participants are asked to ProCET continued on page 8

www.d ioknox.org

ding after he stumbled in his dismissal of the faithful. “‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.’

That’s what’s supposed to come out,” said Deacon Alexander. “I had just said it in my mind.

I’d been practicing, but then I looked out and saw all these faces, and I went blank.”

After Mass, when the deacons and priests gave the ordinand the traditional round of applause in the vestibule, Bishop Stika stepped in and asked the group to help Deacon Alexander rehearse the dismissal words.

“The bishop said, ‘Let’s help Dan remember his big line,’” said Deacon Alexander.

The new deacon is a native of Dayton, Ohio, who was raised in the Baptist faith and later became a Methodist. He came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 1999 at St. Patrick in Morristown.

He joined Holy Trinity in Jefferson City, then retired from his job at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville as an associate executive director of Business Services and moved to Knoxville and All Saints Parish.

The power of prayer brought Deacon Alexander to his ordination day, said his wife.

“Truly that’s what did it,” she said.

Mrs. Alexander summed up the ordination in one sentence.

“This is the best birthday present ever,” she said. ■ FEBRUARY 21, 2010

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7

from the

PARACLETE

BY VONNIE SPICER

A

DIGNITY

BY PAUL SIMONEAU

Lies and social reform

Taking the journey bandoning the comfortable and familiar, accepting a desert experience, in order to deepen one’s relationship with Christ is nothing new. There were the Apostles, of course; but the Gospels tell of women accompanying Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, leaving behind the security of home and family, ministering to him during his life and after his death.

Along Jesus’ journey to the cross, he will encounter other women of courage bearing crosses of their own and whose lives will be used to illustrate his “commitment . . . to healing, caring for, and feeding the bodies, souls, and minds of God’s people,” as Kathleen M. Murphy puts it in The Women of the Passion (Liguori Publications, 2005). It will be the women who will first receive and then share the good news of the Risen Lord. Murphy presents some of these named and unnamed women of the Gospels, recounting Jesus’ interaction with them in chapters such as “The Unknown Woman Who Anointed Jesus at Bethany,” “The Unnamed Samaritan Woman,” “Mary Magdalene,” and “The Crippled Woman Who Was Healed on the Sabbath.” Each account is followed by a

life and

reflection challenging the reader to examine his or her own Lenten journey.

Another recommended Lenten guide is Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (Orbis Books, 2003), a compilation with six thematic sections—Invitation, Temptation, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and New Life—that borrow from the wisdom of C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, Mother Teresa, and other respected spiritual leaders.

On one of the Paraclete’s display shelves, I discovered a Stations of the Cross chaplet consisting of a series of three beads, separated by pictures or medals depicting each of the Stations. What an engaging way to carry the Stations of the Cross with us on our journey.

Stations of the Cross are also available on CD. The Way of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori (Gentle Spirit Music, 2003) features vocals

by Robert Kochis and Seraphim. Dana and Father Kevin Scallon offer their talents on their recording, The Stations of the Cross (DS Music Productions, 2009).

We pray you’ll have a blessed journey. ■ Call the store at 865588-0388 or 800-3332097.

Eugenics is the ‘quality-assurance program’ for the culture of perfection.

In his 1970 Nobel Prize speech Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn observed that “violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence. Any man who has once proclaimed violence as his method is inevitably forced to take the lie as his principle.”

In surveying the past century, one can see the many flawed ideologies that promised social reform and justice but veiled violent and even genocidal agendas. Of these, one in particular, despite historical setbacks, continues to thrive: eugenics.

Two words encapsulate the “culture of death” and represent its beginning and end points: eugenics and euthanasia. Each is a combination of two Greeks words, the first of which they share and which is translated as “good.” They literally mean, respectively, “good birth” and “good death.” To advance its agenda, the culture of death must always call “evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).

Many associate eugenics with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime and its attempt to create a “master race” (positive eugenics) and to purge society of the “unfit” and “racially impure” through programs ranging from forced sterilization to genocide (negative eugenics). In fact, the eugenics movement did not begin in Germany, nor did it perish in the ashes of World War II. Sir Francis Galton (1822-

1911), a cousin of Charles Darwin, first coined the term eugenics in 1883, but the chief protagonists of his science were to be found in America. One of the movement’s most prominent emissaries was Margaret Sanger (1879-1966), founder of Planned Parenthood.

In 10 Books that Screwed Up the World, author Benjamin Wiker includes Margaret Sanger’s manifesto, The Pivot of Civilization (1922), as one of a few key works that has unleashed a deadly virus that continues to spread and ravage the world. Today the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the largest U.S. abortion provider, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation is represented in 189 countries.

In her book Sanger provides a “practical working program” for the eugenics movement to address what she saw as the main cause of poverty and social imbalance in the world: “the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective” (Chapter I: A New Truth Emerges). Sanger goes on to state that “Birth control must be recognized . . . , not merely as the key of the social position . . . , but as the very pivot of civilization” (Chapter VIII: Dangers of Cradle Competition).

Sanger took her message to groups as extreme as the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan in order to promote her agenda of contraception, sterilization, and abortion to contain the “undesirable and less fit members of society.” This was a particular motivation behind her so-called “Negro Project.”

Today nearly 80 percent of

Planned Parenthood’s clinics are in minority communities.

Even though African-Americans represent only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 35 percent of all abortions. To know Margaret Sanger, then, is to know Planned Parenthood.

Eugenics, in the words of David P. Mortimer, legislative program coordinator of Americans United for Life, “advances a hierarchy of human lives” that also “is a justification for medical discrimination, a new brand of eugenics.” In a utilitarian culture that demands perfection, eugenics has become the quality-assurance program.

Today, eugenic abortion of the disabled unborn is commonplace and is seen almost as a duty. Genetic engineering (“designer babies”) and traitselected embryos for implantation are also realities.

In 1937, as Hitler’s racist program of eugenics, inspired in part by Margaret Sanger, was reaching full implementation, Pope Pius XI warned in his encyclical to the German people, Mit Brennender Sorge, that “Every true and lasting reform has ultimately sprung from the sanctity of men who were driven by the love of God and of men” (No. 20).

After a century of eugenics, the words of Jesus to the lamenting women along his path to Calvary take on a deeper meaning. Redirecting their mourning, he says, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed’” (Luke 23:28-29).

Closing with a traditional play on the words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace . . . ,” choose life. ■ Mr. Simoneau directs the diocesan Justice and Peace Office.

ProCET continued from page 7

pray at Tyson Park, across the street from a Concord Street abortion clinic.

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 26 and March 5, 12, 19, and 26, participants will pray across from the Cherry Street location. Parking will be available at 2547 Washington Ave. To sign up or get directions, visit 40daysknoxville.com/vigil.

For more information about ProCET, visit noknoxvilleabortion.org. On the site users can sign the City of Life Declaration and register to receive e-mail updates. ■

Calendar continued from page 5

The next Engaged Encounter weekend in the diocese will be held March 5 through 7 at the Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport. To register, call Mike or Charla Haley at 865-220-0120.

For more information on Engaged Encounter, e-mail Paul or Pam Schaffer at ceeknoxville@gmail.com or visit www.rc.net/knoxville/cee.

Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations at 3:30 p.m.

Sundays at Holy Ghost Church, 1041 N. Central St. in Knoxville. Call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865256-4880.

The St. Thomas the Apostle Ukrainian Catholic Mission celebrates Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays in the chapel at the Chancery. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307.

Upcoming events for Catholic Singles of Greater Knoxville (40 and over) include the following: ■ Sunday, Feb. 21: “Brunch and banter” at O’Charley’s, Downtown West, 1 p.m. RSVP to host Alan S. at 865-982-4208 by Feb. 20.

■ Monday, Feb. 22: Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra free concert at the Tennessee Theatre, 7 p.m.

Visit knoxvillesymphony.com for details.

■ Wednesday, Feb. 24: Coffee and conversation at Panera Bread on North Peters Road, 6:30 p.m. Call Randy S. at 556-3781.

■ Sunday, Feb. 28: Chinese New Year lunch at Mandarin House in Downtown West, 1:15 p.m. Hosted by Rae J. and Gail B. RSVP by Feb. 27 to knxrae@aol. com or 558-9154.

■ Saturday, March 6: “Cin & Zin” dinner party (Cincinnati chili and Zinfandel wine) at Donna T.’s, 7 p.m.

Cost $5. Bring a red or white Zin if desired. RSVP by March 1 to penguin7@prodigy.net or 531-3839. ■ 8

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FEBRUARY 21, 2010

life in every

LIMB

BY LESLIE SHOLLY

Was MLK pro-life?

One-quarter of the African-American population has been lost to abortion.

Our small delegation from Immaculate Conception’s Social Justice Committee slogged down Kingston Pike on Jan. 24, through ankle-deep puddles and muddy grass. Although our soggy participation in the annual March for Life proved our dedication to the pro-life cause, it wasn’t much fun.

Less than a week earlier, we had marched in Knoxville’s Martin Luther King parade. The sunny weather made the 2.5-mile walk a pleasure, especially with all the smiling people shouting greetings and encouragement from the sidelines.

As the chair of our new Social Justice Committee, I promoted both these marches. In advance of the MLK event, we shared with the congregation the words of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: “We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. . . . At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.”

The following week we reminded everyone that the www.d ioknox.org

achievements of the civilrights movement were fueled

by Dr. King’s commitment to Mohandas Gandhi’s philosophy of organized nonviolent protest, which King called “the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity.” It is good to be reminded that we march for life not to make ourselves feel good but to effect change.

The proximity of these events made me wonder about King—were he alive today, would he march for the pro-life cause? Would he recognize abortion for the civilrights issue it is? I wanted to think so, but finding concrete information was difficult.

Pro-King websites claim him for our side but can offer only indirect evidence. AntiKing websites paint him as a certain pro-choice supporter.

Their argument centers around the Margaret Sanger Award, which King accepted from Planned Parenthood in 1966. But in 1966, Planned Parenthood was promoting birth control, not abortion.

An August 1963 pamphlet titled “Is Birth Control Abortion?” said: “An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun. It is dangerous to your life and health.”

Although he supported birth control, King cannot

have known the truth about Margaret Sanger and her racist, eugenicist agenda, just as today many people do not know it. Had he been aware of it, he surely would have refused an award honoring the woman who said, “We should hire three or four colored ministers . . . with engaging personalities . . . We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members” (Margaret Sanger’s Dec. 19, 1939, letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble).

Advocates of King as a prolifer point to his famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail, in which he wrote: “[T]here are two types of laws: just and unjust . . . one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all. . . .’ To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.

Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”

They also point to the prolife commitment of some of his closest associates, Dr. Ralph Abernathy and the Rev. Jesse Jackson (until the early 1980s), both of whom are on record as deploring abortion.

Many black leaders of King’s time called it genocide.

Finally, King’s niece, Alveda King, has said: “What would Martin Luther King say if he Sholly continued on page 9

TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C

SCHOOLS

COURTESY OF MEGAN LOCKE (2)

COURTESY OF KATHIE ETHERTON

catholic

SIGNING DAY Knoxville Catholic football player Dorian Cozart signs with Carson-Newman College on Feb. 3. With him are his parents, Ingrid Ott and Kennedy Cozart, and (standing, from left) KCHS athletics director Jason Surlas, football head coach Scott Meadows, and principal Dickie Sompayrac.

Luke Mishu will move from the Fighting Irish of KCHS to the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame.

With him on signing day are (seated) his parents, Leslie and Firas Mishu, and (standing) John Craven (left), Luke’s competitive soccer coach, and KCHS soccer head coach Mark Leader.

St. Jude geography-bee champ Students at St. Jude School in Chattanooga have recently participated in several academic bees. Eighthgrader Thomas Gaudin won the geography bee. He is pictured with history teacher and program coordinator Peter Hawkins.

yards and helped the Fighting Irish win the 2008 state championship. In his senior season, Dorian ran for more than 1,400 yards and had 14 touchdowns.

He was named alldistrict and all–Knoxville Interscholastic League for the 2009 season. Dorian is the son of Kennedy Cozart and Ingrid

noxville Catholic High School seniors Dorian Cozart and Luke Mishu announced their college athletic plans on National Signing Day on Feb. 3.

Dorian, a running back and two-year starter, signed to play football at CarsonNewman College. As a junior, Dorian ran for more than 1,000

K

and Roderick Ott. Luke Mishu, a midfielder and three-year starter, signed to play soccer with the University of Notre Dame. He chose the Fighting Irish over Indiana, Northwestern, Princeton, and Michigan State.

Luke, who scored 18 goals last season, was part of the 2008 state-championship

soccer team at KCHS and has been named all-district the past two years. He was recently named to the All-South Soccer Team. He was also the kicker for the Irish football team in 2009 and was named the District 4 scholar athlete of the year.

He is the son of Firas and Leslie Mishu of All Saints Parish. ■

Notre Dame soccer standout Danielle Ciabattone signs with Lee anielle Ciabattone, a senior at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, signed and committed to play soccer for Lee University in Cleveland on Feb. 3.

Danielle was a twotime all-state performer as a midfielder for the Lady Irish and was selected for three years in a row by the Chattanooga Times Free Press as a member of the Best of Preps soccer team. In her third year on the Best of Preps team, she was honored as the player of the year for the Chattanooga area.

“Danielle is a true leader on and off the field,” said NDHS head coach Jim Schermerhorn. “She is one of the hardestworking players I have ever coached.”

Danielle’s four-year

D

COURTESY OF KATHY SUMRELL

Knoxville Catholic’s Dorian Cozart and Luke Mishu sign with colleges

OLPH eighth-graders (clockwise from left) Samantha Penque, Grace Signiski, Tyler Robinson, Shakayla Dews, Mary Rebman, Jordan Vial, and Dominique Lee load a truck with the gifts that were delivered to Catholic Charities.

TRUCKLOAD OF GENEROSITY

OLPH students, staff, parents help Catholic Charities during holidays ur Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga helped Catholic Charities of East Tennessee with its annual Thanksgiving food drive and Christmas angel tree.

Christy Adkins, Family Support Services case coordinator, had 240 families in the Chattanooga area in need of food for Thanksgiving and eight families who needed to be “adopted” for Christmas. Faculty, staff, and students of OLPH School brought in dressing, green beans, corn, cornbread, stuffing mix, potatoes, and cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving food baskets, and on Nov. 22 students came with their families to Catholic Charities to put the food baskets together.

OLPH parent volunteers Tracie Mertel and Kim Thomas organized the angel tree, and with the help of parishioners the school was able to adopt the eight families.

The school received more than 330 gifts for the families to help make Christmas Day special for 26 people. Eighth-grade students wrapped all of the presents and loaded the truck with the gifts, which were delivered to Catholic Charities on Dec. 16 in plenty of time for Christmas. ■

COURTESY OF GAYLE SCHOENBORN

O

Danielle Ciabattone signed with Lee University in soccer on Feb. 3. Joining her are (seated) parents Tony and Marianne Ciabattone and (standing, from left) Notre Dame soccer head coach Jim Schermerhorn and athletics director Howie Sompayrac.

LEE LANDS NDHS PLAYER

career at Notre Dame was highlighted by four consecutive state-semifinal appearances and culmi-

nated with the Lady Irish’s runner-up finish last fall, capping the most successful four-year run in Lady

Irish soccer history.

She is the daughter of Tony and Marianne Ciabattone of Ringgold, Ga. ■

BILL LAUDEMAN

Bishop tours Ladies of Charity of Chattanooga facility Bishop Richard F. Stika visited the Ladies of Charity of Chattanooga on Friday, Feb. 5, touring the Greater Good Thrift Store and the backstage ministry-support areas of the group’s headquarters on Rossville Boulevard.

Seen at left are Bishop Stika and Rita Cooper, 88, one of the group’s founding members. Mrs. Cooper volunteers every Wednesday. During his visit the bishop was presented with a silver tray as a memento. The tray was a thrift-store donation that had been cleaned and prepared by volunteers Bill and Diane Gallagher. The bishop thanked the staff and volunteers for their service to the poor and recounted some of his memories of doing volunteer work for a charity thrift store as a seminarian.

TH E EA S T TE N N E S S E E C AT H OL IC

www.d ioknox.org

Sholly continued from page 8

saw the skulls of babies at the bottom of abortion pits? If Martin Luther King’s dream is to live, our babies must live” (“Martin Luther King’s Niece Supports Right to Life,” Boston University’s The Daily Free Press, Jan. 18, 2000).

She told a meeting of Priests for Life that the killing of one-quarter of the black population of the United States occurred not from the lynch mobs of her childhood days but from abortionists, “who plant their killing centers in minority neighborhoods and prey upon women who think they have no hope.”

And on that note, staying true to its founder’s ideals, Planned Parenthood has purchased a medical building at 710 N. Cherry St. in East Knoxville, a predominantly black neighborhood. Non-violent protest has already deterred them from locating in mostly-white Bearden.

Although the center will not offer surgical abortions, its staff will prescribe the abortion pill, RU-486. Pro-life advocates from inside and outside the neighborhood are already organizing, fostering awareness and tensions, just as Dr. King did, in the cause of justice for the unborn. ■ Mrs. Sholly and her family are members of Knoxville’s Immaculate Conception Parish.

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

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9

from the

WIRE

Pope: Church will not abandon the poor

Agencies working in Haiti face major challenges B Y D E N N I S S ADO WSKI

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS)—Aid agencies attempting to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of Haitians hurt and left homeless by the powerful Jan. 12 earthquake are facing challenges unlike any encountered in previous natural disasters.

Agencies such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Internationalis are widely credited for their expertise and rapid response to a variety of emergency situations. But the largescale destruction in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area and the tremendous number of people in need pose a daunting scenario even for veteran humanitarian workers.

Gaye Burpee, CRS’s deputy regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the challenges are the result of the instability still surrounding the lives of the earthquake victims.

Almost a month after the earthquake, aid workers continue to focus on meeting basic emergency needs such as food, water, health care, sanitation, and security, leaving little time to consider the next steps, Burpee explained.

“No one wants to duplicate efforts because there is way more to do than any one agency or government is capable of doing,” Burpee told Catholic News Service Feb. 5 at the CRS compound in the capital’s Delmas borough.

With the emphasis still on meeting emergency needs, leading relief agencies meet daily under the auspices of the United Nations to discuss what’s working and what’s not. The meetings involve representatives of major agencies, including CRS, Partners in Health, and World Vision, among others. All have large operations in Haiti.

As the response continues, Burpee has been charged with assembling a six-month plan of action for CRS. She is gathering information from workers spread throughout the 100-mile-wide earthquake zone and will deliver a report in the coming weeks on how the agency can better use its resources.

Longer-term planning is futile she said “because the situation is so fluid that to sit down here now in Haiti and to say this is what we’re gong to be doing over five years is a bit of hubris.”

“What we’re working on for the first six months is survival and sustaining life,” Burpee added.

Looming over the meetings is the knowledge that the rainy season in Haiti starts in April, and not far behind that is hurricane season.

Isaac Boyd, an emergency-shelter expert for CRS in Kenya who now advises the agency in Haiti, said numerous organizations are trying to determine how to move thousands of homeless Haitians to more secure locales, primarily outside of Port-au-Prince.

Admittedly, Burpee said, the movement of thousands of people can pose a problem for the rural communities and small towns receiving them. She said any plan must include funds for additional food delivery, health care, and support for schools as the rural areas absorb hundreds or even thousands of people.

She also said she expects that CRS will have less of a presence in the capital at some point, leaving agencies with the expertise to lead the reconstruction effort.

“Our traditional expertise is in rural areas with latrines and potable water . . . with education, agriculture, livelihoods. So we can work in some of the rural areas that are overloaded with internally displaced people and help those people find livelihoods,” she said.

The Haiti program is CRS’s largest, running at about $30 million annually before the earthquake.

Through Feb. 9 CRS had raised $41.7 million for Haitian earthquake relief, reported John Rivera, the agency’s director of communications.

Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social-services organizations from around the world, had raised $25 million for earthquake relief, Mougin said.

Through Feb. 3 donations to U.S.–based relief agencies have totaled more than $644 million, according to statistics gathered by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. ■ Copyright 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 10

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FEBRUARY 21, 2010

CNS PHOTO/GREGORIO BORGIA, POOL VIA REUTERS

MERE SURVIVAL Women wash clothes on a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 6. The large-scale destruction and the great number of people in need following Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake pose a daunting scenario even for veteran humanitarian workers.

ROME (CNS)—Pope Benedict XVI paid a visit to a church-run shelter for the homeless and said concrete acts of charity were essential expressions of the Christian faith.

“Know that the church loves you deeply and will not abandon you because it recognizes in each of you the face of Christ,” the pope said at a Caritas hostel and medical center near Rome’s main train station Feb. 14.

The doctors, nurses, and some 300 volunteers at the center applauded the pontiff as he toured the complex during a 90minute visit.

In a speech, the pope noted that the tough economic times had made church-run social services even more necessary. Over the last two years the Caritas center has seen a 20 percent increase in the number of people seeking help.

The pope said the center was “a place where love is not only a word or a sentiment but a concrete reality that allows the light of God to enter into the life of people and the civic community.”

He said the church’s actions in favor of the needy were a natural expression of faith in Christ, who identified in a particular way with the poor.

Pope Benedict XVI greets people as he arrives to visit the Caritas homeless center in Rome Feb. 14.

‘THIRST FOR JUSTICE’

“In its service to people in difficulty, the church is motivated solely by the desire to express its faith in God, who is the defender of the poor and who loves people for what they are, and not for what they possess or accomplish,” he said.

The pope cited his social encyclical of 2009, Charity in Truth, saying that charity was a necessary principle not only in personal relations but also in larger economic dealings.

It is an urgently needed principle “in a world in which, instead, the logic of profit and the search for self-interest seems to prevail,” he said.

Before leaving the center, the pope accepted the gift of a restored crucifix from

the town of Onna, which suffered severe damage in the 2009 earthquake in central Italy. The crucifix had belonged to the Church of St. Peter, which was destroyed in the quake.

Later in the day, speaking at his noon blessing at the Vatican, the pope said the Caritas shelter was an example of the beatitudes in action.

When Christ said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours,” he was speaking of divine justice that will come at the end of time, the pope said.

But that justice can also be manifested in this world, he said.

“This is the task that the disciples of the Lord are called to carry out in today’s society,” he said. He

expressed appreciation to the many people who donate their time and effort to social service centers around the world.

The pope, who dedicated his Lenten message this year to the theme of justice, encouraged people to read the message and meditate on it.

“The Gospel of Christ responds in a positive way to the human thirst for justice but in an unexpected and surprising way. He does not propose a social or political revolution but one of love, which he has already realized through his cross and resurrection,” he said. ■ Copyright 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Haiti continued from page 6

DAN MCWILLIAMS

CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

Love is not a word but a concrete expression of ‘the light of God.’ By John Thavis

Seventeen doctors, nurses, anesthetists, and translators traveled to Haiti on Feb. 3 for a 10-day mission. In the group returning Feb. 13 were (from left, kneeling) Dr. Randy Robbins and team leader Dr. Dean Mire and (standing, from left) Rachel Lewis, Christie Coker, Dr. Greg Mathien, Dr. Mike Casey, Elisa Rue, Yvon Baptiste, Dr. Richard Briggs, and Edva Volny.

MEDICAL MISSIONERS

were people from the community who were in Port-auPrince who never came back.”

Some quake survivors who were natives of Boucan-Carré have returned to their hometown, said Deacon Johnston.

“A lot of people came back to our community from Portau-Prince because there’s no place to live and no place to work, so they’re back in Boucan-Carré trying to make a living,” he said.

East Tennessee Catholics can support Sacred Heart’s twin parish via the site Give HaitiHope.org. www.d ioknox.org

Dr. Mire’s daughter Anna, 16, a junior at Knoxville Catholic High School, was at McGhee Tyson to greet her father. She went on a mission to Boucan-Carré last year and said that “it was really tough to hear about” the quake.

Anna is among several KCHS and University of Tennessee students are assisting with Sacred Heart’s “Fierce and Fancy Formals” event (see the cathedral’s parish notes on page 5).

“It’s a prom-dress show, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Haiti,” Anna said.

At least one rescue worker quoted in an article after the quake said Haiti has “the toughest people in the world,” as rescues continued days after the disaster struck.

“The people are an extremely resilient people,” said Dr. Mire. “They put up with more than we’ve ever imagined and dreamed they could put up with. It’s very heartening to see how they put up with that. We saw people come in with fractures three weeks old, totally displaced fractures that hadn’t been treated, and they weren’t even complaining.” ■ TH E E A S T TE N N E S S E E C ATH OLI C