January 23, 2004

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Lynne Cheney, author and wife of Vice-President visits Mission Dolores Lynne V. Cheney, wife of current U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney, made a visit to Mission Dolores January 15 and left behind a personal donation of $10,000 toward the aging mission’s restoration.

Mrs. Cheney has long had an interest in history and

stressing the importance of teaching history has been a significant part of her professional life. She served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President George Bush, Sr., and is currently senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

(PHOTO BY JACK SMITH)

Above, Mission Dolores. Right, Brother Guire Cleary explains points of interest at Mission Dolores during a tour for Mrs. Lynne Cheney.

She is the author of seven books including two works on American history for children; “America: A Patriotic Primer” and “A Is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women.” Mrs. Cheney is donating the net proceeds from both books to charities around the country with a focus on projects that foster an appreciation of LYNNE CHENEY, page 14 American history.

Catholic Conference urges budget priorities, savings

By Patrick Joyce

Ned Dolejsi

In the wake of a state budget proposal by new California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, budget negotiators should ensure that the maximum amount of state funding goes directly to those who need it most - the poor and disabled, the elderly and school children, officials of the California Catholic Conference said.

They also urged a hard look at cutting expenses from the budget.

“There’s no question but there has to be substantial savings within the department of corrections,” Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the CCC, said. State officials should also look closely at the administrative costs of public schools, at $33 billion, the largest item BUDGET, page 14

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Pope meets rabbis . . . . . . . 3 News-in-brief. . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Editorial and letters . . . . . 10 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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January 23, 2004

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Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

On The Where You Live

by Tom Burke “We are grateful,” said St. Vincent de Paul Parish to Juanita Arfsten, who has retired after 65 years as receptionist at the Marina District church. “They say that first impressions are lasting,” said a recent bulletin. “How blest St. Vincent de Paul has been with Juanita being the first impression of this parish.” Pastors Juanita has served with include the late Fathers James H. Long, Thomas N. O’Kane and Msgr. William J. Clasby, as well as Father John K. Ring who has led St. Vincent de Paul since 1987.

Thanks to Anstell Ricossa, a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul for more than 45 years for fillin’ us in. Happy Anniversary to Anstell and her husband, Ron, who will be married 51 years on February 7th….Also celebrating many years is M a r i e McLaughlin, 93 on December 7th.

A native New Yorker – who often heard the exhortations of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen at Newman Club lunches – Marie, her husband, Patrick, now deceased, and their daughter, Michele, have John Scudder lived in the Bay Area since 1951 and have been members of San Francisco’s St. Dominic’s since 1994. “Most important,” Michele said, “is that she is a great mother and role model.”…Bumped upstairs is John Scudder, alum, principal and faculty member of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory for more than two decades, and recently named school president. A search for a new principal is underway. John and his wife, Judy, SHCP’s Director of Library Services - the two met at the school - celebrated their 20th anniversary November 16th.

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Most Reverend William J. Levada, publisher Maurice E. Healy, associate publisher & editor Editorial Staff: Jack Smith, assistant editor; Evelyn Zappia, feature editor; Tom Burke, “On the Street” and Datebook; Patrick Joyce, contributing editor/senior writer; Sharon Abercrombie and Jayme George, reporters Advertising: Joseph Pena, director; Mary Podesta, account representative Production: Karessa McCartney, manager; Rob Schwartz Business Office: Marta Rebagliati, assistant business manager; Virginia Marshall, advertising and promotion services; Judy Morris, circulation and subscriber services Advisory Board: Jeffrey Burns, Ph.D., Noemi Castillo, James Clifford, Fr. Thomas Daly, Joan Frawley Desmond, Fr. Joseph Gordon, James Kelly, Deacon William Mitchell, Kevin Starr, Ph.D., Sr. Christine Wilcox, OP. Catholic San Francisco editorial offices are located at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109. Tel: (415) 614-5640 Circulation: 1-800-563-0008 or (415) 614-5638 Advertising: (415) 614-5642 News fax: (415) 614-5633; Advertising fax: (415) 614-5641 Adv. E-mail: jpena@catholic-sf.org Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly except the Fridays after Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas and the first Friday in January, twice a month during summer by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Annual subscription rates are $10 within the Archdiocese of San Francisco and $22.50 elsewhere in the United States. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, California.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Catholic San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014 If there is an error in the mailing label affixed to this newspaper, call 1-800-563-0008. It is helpful to refer to the current mailing label.

matriculated at Epiphany the girls-nowwomen are alums of two of the City’s revered and much missed Catholic high schools – Notre Dame for Mary and Marjorie and Presentation for Kathleen and Bernadette….Happy 50 years married to Teddy and Nick Lasola who recently renewed their vows at Church of the Epiphany with Msgr. Bruce Dreier, pastor, presiding. Nick is a retired U.S. Marshall.

Teddy is formerly of Blue Cross….Star of the Sea Parish, Sausalito, says “Congratulations” to parishioner Dick Newman on his being named Corte Madera Volunteer Fireman of the Year.

In addition to his hook and ladder service, Dick is a Star of the Sea altar server, and his wife, Linda, a member of the Parish Council….Celebrating 50 years of marriage with family and friends were longtime Our Lady of Mercy parishioners, Lydia and Lenny Barreto. The shindig took place at the Tiburon home of the couple’s son, Epiphany 1st graders in 1939 were, from left, Mary Eterovich, Eddie, and his wife, Anna. Ozzie Barboza, Marjorie Gillespie, Kathleen McCarthy, Bernadette McCarthy.

Lydia’s brother, held forth with the ageless When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New The St. Veronica’s parishioners are the parents of SHCP and “everybody had an enjoyable evening,” said Herminia alums, Annie, now a sophomore at Santa Clara, and Molly, Garcia, who told us about the good time…. Birthdays, who is a freshman at the Jesuit school. Thanks to SHCP PR births, anniversaries, marriages, engagements, new jobs person, Eileen Mize, for fillin’ us in…. I’m happy to assist and all kinds of goings-on are welcome here.. Send items in promoting the annual Anniversary Mass honoring couples married more than 25 years or less than 10 years to be celebrated February 21st at noon at St. Mary’s Cathedral. This is a big effort of Chris Lyford and the Office of Marriage and Family Life so let them help you commemorate your most special day. For details or to let them know you’ll be there, call (415) 614-5680.

Good chow always follows!!!!…“Still best friends” are 1947 Epiphany Elementary School grads Mary Eterovich Borticevich, Marjorie Gillespie Serra Club of San Mateo leads a hats off to 50-year member, Hosking, Kathleen Bob Schroeder, who was honored at a recent luncheon. From left, Greg McCarthy Mikroulis, Miller, President; Jim Shea, District Governor; longtime Serran Schroeder, and Bernadette and Msgr. James McKay retired pastor, St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo.

McCarthy Burke. “We lunch together and I’ve kept a chronicle of all our activities,” and a follow up phone number to On the Street Where You Kathleen said, quick to wish a “Happy 70th Birthday Jan. Live, One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109. Fax (415) 6143rd” to Mary, and saying the gang will all be there for the 5633; e-mail tburke@catholic-sf.org. Do not send attachwedding of Marjorie at Our Lady of Angels Church, ments except photos and those in jpeg, please. You can reach Burlingame on Valentine’s Day. In addition to having Tom Burke at (415) 614-5634….

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January 23, 2004

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Religious leaders must do everything in their power to promote dialogue and peace, Pope John Paul II told the chief rabbis of Israel.

In the first-ever visit of Israel’s chief rabbis to the Vatican, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger and Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar spent about 35 minutes with the pope Jan. 16 before visiting the Vatican Library.

“It was a very important meeting,” Rabbi Amar told reporters afterward. “It increases hope for reconciliation and brotherhood between our two religions.”

The rabbis were in Rome for discussions with Vatican officials and to attend a Jan. 17 concert dedicated to reconciliation among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Their visit to Rome also was pegged as returning the visit the pope made to the Chief Rabbinate when he visited Israel in 2000.

Pope John Paul told the rabbis, “In the 25 years of my pontificate, I have striven to promote Jewish-Catholic dialogue and to foster ever greater understanding, respect and cooperation between us.”

The pope praised the official dialogue begun in 2002 between the Vatican and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as “a sign of hope.”

“We must spare no effort in working together to build a world of justice, peace and reconciliation for all peoples,” the pope said.

The Chief Rabbinate is the highest Jewish religious authority in Israel and administers Jewish religious affairs in the country. The chief rabbis are elected by a group of rabbis and political leaders.

The chief Ashkenazi rabbi represents the Northern and Eastern European Jewish tradition, and the chief Sephardic rabbi represents Jews who trace their lineage to Spain or Portugal before expulsion in the 1490s.

The chief rabbis represent mainstream Orthodox Judaism in Israel; their authority is not recognized by the ultraOrthodox or the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism.

Rabbi Metzger said he and Rabbi Amar made an appeal “from deep in our hearts” for the pope’s continued, public condemnations of anti-Semitism and of terrorism.

“The growth of terrorism worries us very much, and one cannot deny that the motives of this terrorism are religious,” Rabbi Metzger said.

Christians, Muslims and Jews all “are children of Abraham, and it is unthinkable that this father likes seeing one of his sons kill another,” he said.

Rabbi Metzger said he would urge Muslim religious leaders to model their words and behavior on that of Pope John Among local events related to the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed Jan. 19 this year, were a memorial service held at St. Mary’s Cathedral Jan. 15 and the nineteenth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Solidarity Mass Jan. 18 at St. Paul of the Shipwreck parish in San Francisco. Dr. King, shown here in an undated photo is honored as a civil rights leader and an advocate of non-violent action.

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Pope John Paul II receives a gift from Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, right, who represents the Ashkenazi tradition in Israel, and his Sephardic counterpart, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, during a meeting in his private library at the Vatican Jan. 16. In a talk to the rabbis, the pope urged all religious leaders to promote dialogue and peace.

Paul and promote dialogue and reconciliation.

The rabbi also said he encouraged the pope to make a second historic visit to Rome’s synagogue this year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the building.

In their discussions with the pope, the rabbis also discussed the possibility of the Vatican Library loaning an Israeli museum some manuscripts by the 12thcentury Jewish theologian and philosopher, Moses Maimonides.

Rabbi Metzger said the rabbis asked that the lending of the Vatican’s Maimonides manuscripts “become permanent.”

However, both the rabbis said they did not ask Pope John Paul anything about the famous menorah from Jerusalem’s temple, which the Romans carried off in A.D. 70. The menorah was in Rome at

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Pope, Israel’s chief rabbis pledge common efforts for dialogue, peace

least until the sixth century, when Emperor Justinian ordered that it be taken to Constantinople, the new capital of the empire.

Ambrogio Piazzoni, vice prefect of the Vatican Library, said most scholars believe the menorah was lost in a shipwreck during the trip to Constantinople, “but an old legend says it is still in the Vatican.”

“It is not here,” he said.

Before leaving Israel, Rabbi Amar said he thought it might be in the Vatican, and he was planning to ask.

But after his morning at the Vatican, Rabbi Amar told reporters: “Nothing is clear. There are rumors, but it is not up to us to try to resolve them.”

“We do not know if the menorah exists, but if it does and they are willing to give it to Israel, we would be very, very happy,” he said.

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

January 23, 2004

in brief (CNS PHOTO BY GREGORY A. SHEMITZ, LONG ISLAND CATHOLIC)

Bishops mail pro-marriage statement to a million homes BOSTON — In their boldest move yet in defense of marriage, the heads of the four Catholic dioceses of Massachusetts are blanketing the state with 1 million copies of a pro-marriage informational mailer. Working together with the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the church’s public policy arm, the bishops said they created the mailer, titled “Marriage in Massachusetts: Crisis and Challenge,” to inform, challenge and encourage Catholics to make their voices heard in support of traditional marriage and against same-sex marriage. “Our view is not parochial; it reflects the common sense understanding of marriage that crosses every cultural border.

Nor is our view at all a product of prejudice,” the bishops said in a Jan. 16 statement announcing release of the mailer, expected to be delivered to homes over the next several days.

Vatican backs Detroit cardinal on priests in abuse cases DETROIT — The Vatican has supported actions taken by Detroit Cardinal Adam J. Maida to laicize one priest who pleaded guilty to a sex abuse charge and to place another priest on leave and restrict him from public ministry over a substantive allegation of sex abuse. Pope John Paul II issued a decree of dismissal from the clerical state for Father Joseph Sito, the first involuntary laicization of a Detroit priest for child sexual abuse, the archdiocese announced Jan. 11. In the case of the second priest, Father James Wysocki, an archdiocesan statement said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith informed the cardinal it rejected the priest’s appeal of the cardinal’s decision to place him on administrative leave, effective Feb. 1, 2003, and restrict him from public ministry because of credible allegations of sexual abuse. The case involved a minor male during the early years of Father Wysocki’s ministry. The priest, 63, refused to resign as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Marine City and appealed to the Vatican.

Some bishops release 50-year recaps of clergy sexual abuse WASHINGTON — Several U.S. bishops recently released summaries of clergy sexual abuse allegations in their dioceses since 1950. The New Orleans Archdiocese said that out of accusations against 20 clerics in that time, 10 were deemed credible, seven not credible and three inconclusive. A total of 1,139 priests and deacons have served in the archdiocese since 1950. The Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., reported that out of 734 priests serving since 1950, 49 have been accused. Five were cleared, 16 were removed from ministry, 13 are dead, two were laicized at their request, and allegations against 13 are still under investigation. The neighboring Diocese of Rochester said that out of 1,706 clerics serving since 1950, 36 priests have been accused. Six were dead when the allegations were made, 18 were suspended or resigned, allegations against six were judged to be unfounded, and there was not enough information or substantiation for the cases against six. Among other archdioceses and dioceses that recently reported data were Honolulu; Springfield, Ill.; Dubuque,

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The youth choir of St. Jerome Church of Brooklyn, N.Y., leads the music during Mass at "Youth Jam for Jesus" fellowship for young Catholics of African ancestry Jan. 17 in South Ozone Park, N.Y. More than 500 people from the dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre and the Archdiocese of New York attended the event at St. Teresa of Avila Church.

Iowa; Venice, Fla.; Alexandria, La.; Bismarck, N.D.; Sacramento and Orange in California; Lafayette and Gary in Indiana; and Beaumont, Austin and Dallas in Texas. The local data were compiled across the country in recent months as the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York conducted a national study, mandated by the bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” on the nature and scope of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy from 1950 to the end of 2002.

Catholic poverty leader urges focus on problem solutions NEW ORLEANS — As they observe Poverty in America Awareness Month in January, Catholics and other people of good will need to focus not only on the magnitude of poverty in the United States but also on solutions to the problem, said the head of the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development at a New Orleans press conference.

Speaking Jan. 12 at Cafe Reconcile in New Orleans, Father Robert Vitillo, CCHD executive director, launched the organization’s fourth annual national campaign to raise public awareness about the challenges faced by poor and lowincome people in the United States. “I doubt that many of us here would have comfortably enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner if we knew that our own relatives were hovering outside our door with no food to eat,” Father Vitillo said. “Yet we do, in fact, tolerate this very injustice when we quietly ignore the plight of some 34.6 million of our sisters and brothers in the human family who are burdened each day by poverty in this, the richest of nations. “When it comes to children, the news is even more disturbing; 16.7 percent of children in the U.S. live in poverty,” he added. “That amounts to 12.1 million children — or one out of every six children — and one out of every five children under 5 years of age.”

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European, American bishops criticize Israeli security wall JERUSALEM — Bishops from Europe and North America criticized Israel’s construction of a “security wall” and condemned recent Palestinian terrorist attacks. The bishops said that the security wall “appears to be a permanent structure dividing families, isolating them from their farmland and their livelihoods and cutting off religious institutions. We express our condolences for the deaths that have occurred during our stay and affirm our opposition to bloodshed,” they said in the statement issued Jan. 15 at the conclusion of their four-day meeting in the Holy Land. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted that the U.S. bishops already had communicated their opposition to the wall to U.S. President George W. Bush. Auxiliary Bishop William Kenney of Stockholm, Sweden, a member of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, and Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, England, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said they would report their concerns about the wall to their respective conferences.

Archives show Vatican opposed Hitler’s anti-Jewish laws VATICAN CITY — Documents from Vatican archives show Adolf Hitler was well aware of Vatican criticism of his first anti-Jewish laws, even though such criticism might be described as weak by today’s standards, a Jesuit magazine said. The magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, looked at Vatican and German Catholic reaction to Hitler’s 1933 laws barring Jews from civil service and severely limiting their enrollment in schools and universities. The article was based on docu-

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Belgian cardinal speaks on condom use morality ROME — Using condoms to prevent a life-threatening disease such as HIV/AIDS is not on the same moral level as using them for birth control, said a Belgian cardinal.

“Someone who is infected with the HIV virus and decides to have sex with an uninfected person has to protect his partner by using a condom,” said Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Mechelen-Brussels. Speaking on the Dutch Catholic television program “Kruispunt” Jan. 11, he said that sexual activity is confined morally to the boundaries of marriage between a man and a woman and that abstinence is morally correct and safe in offering protection against HIV infection. But, Cardinal Danneels said, “If a person infected with HIV has decided to not respect abstinence, then he has to protect his partner and he can do that — in this case — by using a condom.”

erated by the political aspect of the conflict.” At the bishops’ opening session Jan. 12, the patriarch emphasized that he was not asking world churches to support one side over the other. “Reconciliation ... is also the best way to help the Christian presence in this land,” he said. He also called for continued solidarity through actions such as pilgrimages. Bishops from Europe and North America met Jan. 12-15 in Jerusalem and Bethlehem in a conference coordinated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The theme of the meeting was “The Universal Church in Solidarity with the Church of the Holy Land.”

Pope: Feminine genius needed especially now VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The mission of every woman is to recognize and live her vocation of feminine genius, especially in an age of insecurity and confusion, said Pope John Paul II. In a speech to participants of a national congress sponsored by the Italian Women’s Center, the pope highlighted the importance of the center’s work in “helping women carry out their role in society more responsibly. Humanity has noticed with growing intensity the need to offer meaning and purpose in a world in which every day new problems crop up that generate insecurity and confusion,” he said.

Given the growing participation of women in every sphere of civil, economic, religious and family life, the pope said, “This asks of you your constant attention to the problems that emerge and your generous foresight in confronting them.”

Patriarch asks bishops to help affirm Christian presence in Holy Land Diocese appeals to Indian BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Latin president to stop violence Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem urged leaders of 10 bishops’ conferences to help protect the “Christian character” of the Holy Land by aiding the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Patriarch Sabbah told the group — which included bishops from the United States, Canada and England — that without the support of the international church community the region’s Christian character could be “oblit-

BHOPAL, India — A Catholic diocese has appealed to India’s president to intervene in escalating anti-Christian violence that followed the murder of a girl whose body was found in a Catholic school.

Indore Diocese, in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, faxed an appeal to Indian President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam asking him “to instruct the political

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Catholic nuns, priests and others march in Mumbai, the commercial center of India, Jan. 20 during the World Social Forum.

Representatives from Catholic relief agencies, the peace group Pax Christi and religious orders were among the thousands attending the forum.

parties not to make inflammatory statements, which will threaten the lives of people,” reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Father Joseph Vallassery, secretary of Indore Diocese, alleged that right-wing Hindu groups had hired people from neighboring Gujarat state to “aggravate the already tense atmosphere” in the diocese.

Opening Christian unity week, pope urges prayer VATICAN CITY — Opening the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope John Paul II urged Christians of all churches to pray for peace, especially in the Middle East. “In a world that thirsts for peace, it is urgent for the Christian community to announce the Gospel in a harmonious way,” the pope said Jan. 18. “It is indispensable that they witness the divine love that unites them and become bearers of joy, hope and peace,” he said. The pope spoke at a noon blessing from his apartment window above

St. Peter’s Square. The theme of this year’s Christian unity week is “My peace I give to you,” Christ’s words to his disciples at the Last Supper.

Cardinal sees good year ahead for ecumenism VATICAN CITY — While new tensions have arisen in some of the Catholic Church’s dialogues with other churches and some old sore points have yet to be resolved, 2004 could be a very good year for ecumenism, said Cardinal Walter Kasper. “There are very hopeful signs from Moscow,” Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Catholic News Service on the eve of the Jan. 18-25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Cardinal Kasper said one of the biggest ecumenical events in 2004 would be the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s document on ecumenism.

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ments in Vatican archives recently made available to scholars. “It is not true, as some scholars have claimed, that the Holy See did nothing for the Jews,” said the magazine, which is reviewed by the Vatican Secretariat of State prior to publication. The Vatican “used its good offices in the defense of persecuted Jews — especially on behalf of those who had converted to Catholicism and were not benefiting from the solidarity of the Jewish community — both officially through diplomatic channels as well as semi-officially,” the magazine said.

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Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

OBITUARIES Two Sisters, 135 years of service Sacred Heart Sisters Paulina Xuereb and Mary Theresa Derham Two nonagenarian Sisters of the Sacred Heart who played important and varied roles for their order and the Catholic community of San Francisco died within a week of each other this month.

Paulina Xuereb, RCSJ Sister Paulina Xuereb, RSCJ, a nun renowned for her hospitality during the years she served her religious order in San Francisco and Seattle, died Sunday, Jan. 11, at Oakwood Convent of the Sacred Heart, Atherton.

Sister Xuereb, a native of Birchircara, Malta, was 97 and had been a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart for 71 years. She professed her first vows in Malta in 1932, then moved to the United States, where she professed her final vows at Lake Forest, Ill. in 1938.

During her years of service in the Society, Sister Xuereb oversaw hospitality in Chicago and cared for aging sisters in San Francisco and Menlo Park. Her longest periods of service, though, were at Forest Ridge, where she served as “refectorian,” providing food and welcome for students and visitors from 1939 to 1963, and as “community housekeeper” in San Francisco from 1972 to 1982, in charge of hospitality at the provincial house. Sister Xuereb also cared for sick and elderly sisters in San Francisco from 1963 to 1970.

“She was our ‘Sister Welcome’ who took care of the house, took care of all of us,” said Sister Mary B. Flaherty, former Chancellor of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, who shared a home with Sister Xuereb for 15 years. “Everyone knew everyone, and everyone loved her.

She was one of the humblest, happiest people you can imagine. Her chocolate chip cookies were legendary.”

Among her special skills, Sister Xuereb listed cooking, gardening, sewing and community building. She loved doing jigsaw puzzles, reading biographies of historic figures associated with the Society of the Sacred Heart, and collecting stamps.

Sister Xuereb moved to Oakwood, a

retirement center for her religious order, in 1982.

A funeral Mass was celebrated for Sister Xuereb at Oakwood on Jan. 17.

She was buried in the cemetery on the Oakwood grounds.

Memorial contributions may be made to Religious of the Sacred Heart, Oakwood, 140 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton, Calif. 94027.

Mary Teresa Derham, RSCJ Mary Teresa “Mame” Derham, RSCJ, former professor at San Francisco College for Women and at San Diego Women’s College, died January 3, 2004, at Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart, Albany, N.Y. She was 90 and had remained active in ministry until two months before her death.

Sister Derham, born in the Philippine Islands to parents with San Francisco roots, was a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart for 64 years.

Sister Derham earned a bachelor’s degree in French in 1934 at Manhattanville College, a Sacred Heart school then located in New York City.

She earned a master’s degree in French from Stanford University in 1935 and a doctoral degree in French in 1946.

For 21 years, from 1942 to 1963, Sister Derham taught history, biblical studies, mathematics and philosophy at San Francisco College for Women. (The school later became Lone Mountain College and was purchased by the University of San Francisco.)

From 1963 to 1968, she taught courses in the humanities at San Diego College for Women, a predecessor to the University of San Diego.

The women’s colleges in San Francisco and San Diego were founded

by Sister Derham’s religious order, as was the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, where she taught English, French, Latin and algebra from 1939 to 1942.

In 1968, Sister Derham returned to her alma mater, Manhattanville, to serve until 1971 as a dormitory director and lecturer in French.

From 1971 until 1984, she served in

Former Notre Dame Belmont principal, Sister Ann Louise Schlitt Notre Dame Sister Ann Louise Schlitt, a former principal of her congregation’s Notre Dame High School in Belmont, died January 1. A resident of the community’s Province Center in Belmont and a religious for 70 years, Sister Ann Louise was among almost 200 sisters honored in the 2003 Jubilee issue of Catholic San Francisco.

“Sister Ann Louise is remembered for being direct, firm and strong,” said the announcement of her death from the Notre Dame Sisters, “as well as fun-loving, compassionate and down to earth.”

Notre Dame principal, Rita Gleason, eulogized Sister Ann Louise at funeral rites prayed January 4 and 5 at the Province Center chapel. “Sister Ann Louise truly had an unconditional regard and love for all,” Ms. Gleason said. “Her ministry of prayer and service included a

daily regimen of Mass, meditation and recitation of the rosary.” Ms. Gleason said the late sister’s many friends “continually sought her counsel, her wisdom, and support.”

Sister Ann Louise continued to keep in touch with those with whom she had shared ministry, her community said.

“There is a strong and deep bond that connects people when they have done serious work together,” she is remembered as saying. “It is like glue that holds them together.”

Sister Ann Louise is also a founder of Mission Hospice in San Mateo County, and a former member of the faculty at Mission Dolores Elementary School and Notre Dame de Namur University.

Remembrances may be made to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Retirement Fund, 1520 Ralston Ave., Belmont, 94002.

Trenton, New Jersey, and then for 11 various ministries, years in the business office at Little teaching at Convent Sisters of the Assumption Family of the Sacred Heart, Health Center in Spanish-speaking G r e e n w i c h , Harlem.

Connecticut; assisting with boarding In 1999, she moved to Kenwood, a students at Kenwood retirement center for her religious order, Convent of the working in the development and busiSacred Heart, ness offices until Albany, N.Y.; workNovember, 2003. ing in the business A funeral Mass Sister Paulina office at Convent of was celebrated for Xuereb, RSCJ the Sacred Heart, Sister Derham on New York City.

January 6 at Kenwood, followed In 1984, she went to Universidad del by burial in the conSagrado Corazón, a Sacred Heart school vent cemetery. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she taught English for three years. There, Memorial contrishe later said, “I spent the happiest butions may be made Mary Teresa years of my life.” to the Kenwood After returning to the United States “Mame” Derham, Convent of the RSCJ Sacred Heart, 799 in 1987, Sister Derham worked for a year with Haitian immigrants in South Pearl Street, Albany, N.Y. 12202.

Catholic San Francisco invites you

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Visit: Paris, Lisieux, Normandy, Versailles, Chartres, Nevers, Paray-LeMonial, Ars, Lyon, Toulouse, Lourdes

For a FREE brochure on these pilgrimages contact: Virginia Marshall – Catholic San Francisco

(415) 614-5640 Please leave your name, mailing address and your phone number California Registered Seller of Travel Registration Number CST-2037190-40 (Registration as a Seller of Travel does not constitute approval by the State of California)

January 23, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

7

Parishioners of St. Teresa’s charity is far reaching

By Evelyn Zappia St. Teresa Church on Missouri Street in San Francisco is an example of how one parishioner’s generosity can engage many to become actively involved in reaching out to the needy at home, and thousands of miles away.

A sizeable amount of money recently gifted to the parish by a parishioner who passed away, launched a considerable discussion among the parishioners regarding fiscal responsibility. The parishioners agreed to donate a large portion of the endowment to ten local, national and international organizations, according to Rory Desmond, business manager for the parish.

“God’s love calls us to share in his life as a community that embraces all people,” said Father Edward Murray. The pastor is especially proud of his parishioners’ decision to donate a one-time gift of $15,000 to the Sisters of St. Therese of the Little Flower in Tanzania for AIDS orphans, and begin a personal relationship with the children.

“Basically, we are partnering with the Sisters to Father Edward Murray help the Sisters to educate the people in the parish and then the Archdiocese about the situations of AIDS in Africa in general. We are also entering a relationship with the Sisters to help support the education of the children in Tanzania,” said Mr. Desmond.

The Sisters’ AIDS orphan ministry was brought to the forefront in the Archdiocese last year when Catholic San Francisco reported on the great work the Sisters were doing to help thousands of children orphaned because of AIDS. The article titled Africa in Crisis reported on the factfinding mission of a five-member delegation to Africa headed by George Wesolek, director of the Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns. The delegation, escorted by St. Therese Sister Godbertha Muganda, was moved to act after witnessing the effect of the AIDS crisis firsthand.

Mr. Wesolek was reported to say, “Once you visit the people and listen to their stories the issues become a matter of urgency.”

“As a parish of justice and peace we are saying yes to God’s call by our partnerships with the Sisters’ AIDS orphan ministry through the Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns’ African outreach program,” said Father Murray.

After a speech to the parish by Sister Godbertha, outreach to Africa began with the interest of a few parish members who discussed ways that could produce personal relationships with the children which meant long term commitments, supporting one child through his/her entire education through high school.

Longtime parishioner, Rhonda Kingman, learned that $240 a year could provide a Tanzanian child a year’s education that included a uniform, paper, pencils, books, and fee needed to attend school. “I knew I couldn’t afford to donate the lump sum at one time, but I thought it was possible to afford $20 a month,” said Ms. Kingman.

Ms. Kingman is sponsoring 17 year old Jennifer whose parents died and is responsible for her two siblings. Ms. Kingman recently learned through letter writing that her money is also providing Jennifer a ride to school. The young lady has several miles to walk otherwise.

Ms. Kingman’s example encouraged 13 more parishioners to sponsor a child, according to Mr. Desmond.

Parishioner Jeanne Leary’s seven-year-old daughter, Grace, acquired an awareness of the program after her mother explained to her the difficulties Tanzanian children face each day. Now, Grace corresponds with a young girl named Vanessa who the Leary family sponsors.

“The children are sharing their worlds,” said Mrs. Leary. Grace wrote Vanessa about Halloween, All Saints Day and what Thanksgiving means in the U.S. Jennifer asked Vanessa to explain her country and culture. The young girls have also exchanged self-portraits through their artwork.

“What could be a better way to teach your children there is a larger world than San Francisco,” asked Mrs. Leary. “Vanessa is educating us about the things we don’t understand, and the two children are beginning a dialog of understanding and embracing the differences in each other in a personal way. A good foundation for the future is that the children possess an underlying sense of values,” she said.

St. Therese Sister Godbertha Muganda Although Mary Ahlbach is a parishioner at San Francisco’s St. Agnes parish she said, “I’ve been connected with the AIDS ministry in Tanzania ever since Rory (Desmond) roped me in last year.”

The St. Ignatius Preparatory chairperson of the Religious Studies Department can also say the students’ interest and compassion for the orphaned children became a stronger force after they heard Sister Godbertha speak on campus.

Each year, hundreds of SI students vote on charities they would like to get involved in. Last year, the students focused on the orphaned children of Tanzania.

They came up with creative ideas to raise money. Sister Godbertha received $1200 for the children.

“Getting to know Sister Godbertha and Sr. Helen who accompanied her on campus produced a personal relationship for the kids and changed their lives,” said Ms. Ahlbach. Future plans to sponsor at least one child as a group is being discussed.

“I want to galvanize other high schools to get involved

Rory Desmond, business manager at St. Teresa parish and Eugene Smith, national president of St. Vincent de Paul Society.

in the African AIDS ministry,” she said. Ms. Ahlbach is focusing on continuing the social justice work, enlisting more help from the SI students to connect with Archbishop Riordan, Mercy, Bellarmine and Serra High Schools.

The project will be one of two “GOYBs” (Get Off Your Butts) programs sponsored yearly by the SI students and faculty.

Part of Eugene Smith’s commitment in the Archdiocesan Diaconate Program is a yearlong assignment to a parish other than his own, St. Raphael in San Rafael. Mr. Smith is excited about the AIDS ministry project at St. Teresa. He sees the collective interest of the parishioners as an opportunity to show others what can be done when Catholics unite. “St. Teresa could be a model for other parishioners - we can take it one parish at a time,” he said.

As executive director of Seton Institute and national president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a voluntary position, Mr. Smith views part of his role in the AIDS ministry program as a resource person to help the sisters with their health clinics.

Mr. Smith admits that he loves trying to help people in Third World countries and wants to assist the parish in its ongoing vision of “twinning” relations between the parish and the Sisters in Tanzania. “It is not just an opportunity for sending money. It is an opportunity for each of us to pray for each other and create an ongoing relation of continual sharing and learning from each other,” he said.

“I know so well that we all have the needs with our local parish community and we serve the best we can,” said Mr. Smith. “But we need to look beyond our parish boundaries and look to the least developed countries.”

Mr. Smith does not see his relationship with the AIDS orphanage stopping after his one-year commitment. “I’m not just going to get involved and then leave,” he said.

“Although my involvement will be curtailed with future commitments, I expected to be involved in this project long term. I love the idea and I truly believe it has the blessings of God,” he said.

“I am thankful to God and the people who are willing to help with this big problem,” said Sister Godbertha, who reflected on the loneliness she felt when beginning the project. “We prayed to God, Mother Mary and St. Joseph to show us the way. I think it happened and people came to us,” she said.

“With the help of Catholic Relief Services and the Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, St. Teresa has been empowered to be in communion with the children of Tanzania,” said Mr. Desmond. “The parish is an example of how anyone can make a difference in a huge tragedy.”

Catholic Radio Hour Week of Jan. 26-30 Weeknights at 7 p.m. – KEST 1450 AM Radio Pray the Rosary – hosted by Fr. Tom Daly One half-hour of prayers, reflections and music Monday:

Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary; Fact of Faith: New bishops.

Tuesday:

The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary; Morning after pill: Maureen Kramlich.

Wednesday: Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary; Earthquake relief in Iran: Matthew Brayman.

Thursday: Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary; *Living wage: Professor William Quigley.

Friday: Grace Leary with her mom Jeanne.

Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary; *Deeper in debt: Michael Hudson.

*New segments courtesy of Maryknoll Radio.

8

Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

Ministry of Deacons “Why don’t you come and get involved” His first contact with the diaconate came when he was working with a confirmation class at his parish, St. Francis Louis Dixon smiles a wistful smile and speaks with gen- of Assisi in East Palo Alto. “The first black ordained deatle eloquence about his inspiration as a deacon - his wife, con for the archdiocese, Vince Brown, was over for the class and he invited me: ‘Why don’t you come and get Deborah.

“If it hadn’t been for my Deborah, I don’t think I involved?’ And I said, ‘OK. I’ll think about it.’ He said, would ever went through with the program. She was my ‘Yeah.’”

Deacon Brown’s “yeah” was accompanied by a skeptiinspiration. The support I got from her - and from four classmates I was truly close to. Her encouragement and cal look on his face, “So the following Saturday, when I support was what actually brought me through the pro- showed up, he was shocked.”

He still wasn’t certain about the diaconate but Deacon gram.”

Brown urged him to apply. “I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ll think about it.’ He gave me another one of those looks,” More on being a deacon PAGE 9 Deacon Dixon says, laughing at the memory. “That’s why I got involved. He invited me to be part of it, and “I’d go over my homilies with her and she’d say. ‘Are here I am.” you really going to say that?’” He laughs at the memory On the orientation night, “Sister Hilda McGinnis looked and says he still thinks of his wife as he prepares his at me and she had this smile on her face. She asked my homilies. Mrs. Dixon died in 1995 but, he says, “She’s name and she said, ‘Louis, I’m looking forward to having still my inspiration. I call on her to help me.” you in the program.’”

“My wife and I did all our ministries together. When Her friendly approach helped ease the way but he she passed away, I was at a loss for a while. I was so used still wondered if he could succeed. He had lots of practo doing the couples for marriage, the baptism prep, with tical experience at St. Francis of Assisi - working in the her right there by my side. Even now, I’ll be watching tel- confirmation program, serving as an acolyte, helping evision. I turn to say something to her. Lots of times I with the St. Vincent de Paul Society - but no theologisay, ‘Debbie, Debbie. I can’t find my keys. Help me, help cal training. me please.’ And she’ll say, ‘Look in your hand.’ And I “So when I started off in the program, it really had me go, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ I’m holding them.” He laughs. frightened and I said, ‘I guess I should bow out.’ . . . We had “Thanks be to God that this long questionnaire and I was in the diaconate. It it asked what’s your favorite spiritually helped me to ‘Some people say that a deacon scripture . . . and I went ‘Aw, get through that first year. aw, I’m in trouble.’ We had It was a struggle for me. I thinks he’s a mini-priest but when I a Bible in the house but I was functioning on never picked it up,” he says instinct. Yet the spiritual leave here, I put on my civilian with a broad grin. “I had no background I had received knowledge but I went going through the program clothes - my granddaughter is through and I filled it out. I gave me the strength to didn’t feel bad. I said they carry on.” can call me in and tell me “Then one day I was sit- waiting on me. I’m a widower. If I that they think it’s best that ting there like I was waiting you step down. I was ready for my wife to come wanted to pursue being a priest I - but it didn’t happen.” through the door. I had this Once he was in formainspiration like she told me could go ahead but I feel that this tion, “Sister Hilda would - she used to call me Junior have me lead the opening - she said, ‘It’s time to move is what God has called me to - the prayer and scripture. I guess on.’ It was like wow. I could she’d seen in me something hear her say, ‘OK. You told diaconate - and I love my ministry.’ I didn’t see in myself. . . . me you and the boys were She was constantly encourgoing to be all right.’” aging me.”

“I told her before she passed away. I said, ‘It’s all right, Despite his fears, he did well in formation. “I got some Debbie. You can go now. Me and the boys will be OK.’ She very good reviews on my papers. Every two weeks we did was struggling to breathe and she stopped, and she was a six-page paper. I went back over them a few years ago, breathing easily and slowly. That evening she passed and I said to myself, ‘Did you write that?’ I guess I was away.” really inspired. I didn’t realize it at the time.”

Now, she was telling him: “Ok now. You’ve grieved He praised Father Gerald Coleman, the rector of St. long enough. Move on.”

Patrick’s Seminary, and professors from the seminary who Deacon Dixon moved on but he has not forgotten taught the classes. Father David Pettingill was the homiletDebbie. “She was my best friend, along with being my ics teacher and “that man brought scripture alive.” wife. . . People who don’t believe. I don’t know how they “I wish that everybody in the Church could go through make it. Then I do. It’s through our prayers. We pray for the diaconate program,” he says. “I learned more about my them, we raise them up in prayer, and they’re able to con- religion than I could have learned in a lifetime. I always tinue on.” thought I had a strong prayer life but I truly developed a

(PHOTO BY CATHY JOYCE)

By Patrick Joyce

(PHOTO BY EVELYN ZAPPIA)

Deacon Louis Dixon

Louis Dixon served as deacon for the Jubilee Mass at Pac Bell Park on Oct. 28, 2000.

strong prayer life, and doing the Office every day, praying for the people. It did wonders for my spiritual life, my spiritual journey.”

Deacon Dixon was ordained in 1990 and assigned to St. Francis, where he still works. He also volunteered as a chaplain at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park where he worked as supervisor in environmental management. He retired at 50 in 1996.

“My wife passed away in ‘95. In ‘96 I decided to retire,” he says. He then became full time chaplain. “I enjoy being the chaplain, working with geriatric and some of the dementia patients. I formed a relationship with them.”

At the hospital he does Communion services and visits patients who can’t attend. “I take them Communion and sit down and talk with them. Just the idea of you coming in and visiting them, you can see them light up. They’ve never seen you before and they light up. A lot of the patients don’t have family. Just someone coming through to say hello to them is special. You just talk five minutes with them, they just light up - like they say, ‘Somebody cares there really is a God.’” In addition to bringing Communion, he also drops in to visit with patients, both Catholic and non-Catholic.

“Mostly, they just want to talk, not especially about religion. One said, ‘You know, Catholics are not all bad.

You’re a perfect example of that.’”

He also brings his confirmation group from St. Francis to the hospital to visit patients. At the parish he leads the marriage and baptismal preparation, witnesses marriages and performs baptisms and does funerals and wake services. He preaches at Sunday Mass and does Communion services.

“I was truly blessed to be the deacon of the Gospel for our Jubilee Mass at Pac Bell. That was a great honor,” he says. “I love liturgy, particularly in the parish, being close to the people. You have a relationship . . . in the parish with the families as you prepare the kids to take them through the sacraments.”

“Before the diaconate I was active in my community. I was involved with the St. Vincent de Paul Society - I was chaplain for archdiocesan board of directors for eight years - and the Knights of St. Peter Claver.” He also works with youth and volunteers with the public school district. People know I’m from St. Francis and part of the pastoral staff. I go to all the school board meetings.”

Because of the service part of the formation program, he says, “I’m more open and understanding to the plight of people. I did my field work with St. Vincent de Paul. I never realized the amount of poverty that existed until I visited three couples living in a studio apartment. That opened my eyes.” The kids hugged him in thanks when he brought a box of food.

Deacon Dixon has two grown sons and he is helping to raise a 10-year-old granddaughter. “Some people say that a deacon thinks he’s a mini-priest but when I leave here, I put on my civilian clothes - my granddaughter is waiting on me. I’m a widower. If I wanted to pursue being a priest I could go ahead but I feel that this is what God has called me to - the diaconate - and I love my ministry. I was blessed to receive the sacrament of matrimony and now Holy Orders. I’m one of the ones that will get all seven.”

“I truly feel it wasn’t something I chose - that God called me and I answered his call to the diaconate.”

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

1CS

Shouldn’t Your Children Love Learning?

At a Catholic School, They Will! s a parent you know that all children are born with a natural love for learning, a delight in discovery and openness to life. It’s an incredible gift we all receive at birth, but one that can be easily lost if not nurtured and encouraged.

That’s why Catholic schools provide the right environment for your child’s natural love for learning to be nurtured, and developed into a life-long perspective that will prepare them to live their lives, and fulfill their potential.

Don’t let your child’s love for learning go unfulfilled.

Please contact a Catholic school near you to learn how a Catholic education can make a difference in your child’s life.

Nowhere is that gift more recognized and supported in every child than at Catholic schools. A Catholic education goes beyond academics, to include both the spiritual and intellectual development of every student.

Archdiocese of San Francisco Department of Catholic Schools One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

●

(415) 614-5660

Maureen Huntington Superintendent of Catholic Schools

Marilyn Lynch Associate Superintendent / Personnel and Staff Development

Bob Meaney Assistant Superintendent for Faith Formation/Religion Curriculum

Paul Bergez Associate Superintendent for Development and Finance

Sister Marianne Viani Associate Superintendent for Curriculum/School Improvement

Jeff Brain Technology Specialist/ Government Programs/Public Policy

Jane Nelson Administrative Assistant

Sara Smith Secretary for Personnel

INSIDE THIS SECTION Catholic schools praised in Washington . . . . . . . . 2CS Catholic school highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4CS Keeping down fees with rising costs . . . . . . . . . . 5CS

Archdiocesan elementary schools directory. . 6CS-7CS Loretto students visit Bishop Wang . . . . . . . . . . . 9CS Catholic schools, an historical overview . . . 9CS-11CS

2CS

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK Founded in part as a haven for religious liberty, the United States has held out the torch of freedom to believers for more than two hundred years. Even amidst the periodic setbacks posed by fear, prejudice and other challenges to its underlying principles, the nation gave rise to a remarkable institution: Catholic education – a unique creation blending pioneer grit, the courage and innovation of undaunted clergy, religious and lay people who possessed an unrelenting trust in the infinite wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

For one hundred years, the National Catholic Education Association has devoted itself to nurturing and furthering

Catholic education, from the parish parochial school to Catholic universities.

Catholic Schools Week, jointly sponsored by the National Catholic Education Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been a special part of that effort for nearly three decades.

Earlier this month, hundreds of members of the National Catholic Education Association participated in the organization’s special delegate meeting in Washington, D.C. In a speech at the White House, President George W. Bush praised the contributions of Catholic education and its unique role in American society.

(CNS PHOTO BY BOB ROLLER)

Catholic Schools Week salutes Catholic education on all levels

President Bush greets Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, Texas, at the White House during a speech to members of the National Catholic Educational Association.

Applause from Congress for America’s Catholic schools “Catholic schools are widely known for their academic excellence. But a Catholic school education goes beyond the scholastic and also emphasizes the moral, physical and social values of our nation’s youth.

This resolution congratulates Catholic schools for their contributions to education and for the key role they play in helping ensure a brighter, stronger future for our country.”

David Vitter, R-La. “I am impressed with how all Catholic schools emphasize intellectual, spiritual, moral and social values and produce wellrounded citizens. Across our country, many Catholic schools are participating in the programs and activities under the No Child Left Behind Act, helping to improve achievement for all students and thereby

close achievement gaps between disadvantaged students and their peers.”

John Boehner, R-Ohio Chairman of the Education and the Work force Committee “Catholic schools throughout America continue to make remarkable contributions to our nation’s intellectual and moral growth. I am happy the House of Representatives is recognizing Catholic schools’ important role in our country and honoring them during Catholic Schools Week. I regard Catholic schools as a team player with public schools, other private and parochial schools and home schools in defining America’s education system.”

Mike Castle, R-Del. Chairman of the Subcommittee on Education Reform

Saint Monica School

“. . .You challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low expectations. You believe in the worth of every person and every child. You believe that inherent in every child is the capacity to learn. And you refuse to quit on any child . . .”

President George W. Bush January 9, 2004

St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception School “Old Tradition, New Spirit”

Saint Monica School provides a well-rounded, Catholic education that includes: ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

A strong faith foundation Academic excellence Integration of technology throughout the curriculum Emphasis on the Fine Arts Piano lessons, music, drama, Student Choir.

Physical education and sports programs Chinese Language School Extended Care Program Small class size

5950 Geary Blvd. at 24th Avenue San Francisco, CA 94121-2007 (415) 751-9564 www.stmonicasf.org

299 Precita Avenue San Francisco, CA 94110 Easy Access 101 & 280 freeway (415) 648-2008 www.saic.org

Please join us for Open House: Wednesday, Jan. 28th 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Substantial Tuition Assistance Available

Open House Mission Dolores School 3371–16th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 Sunday, February 1, 2004 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Currently accepting applications for Grades K-8 for the 2004 - 2005 school year.

Please come and get acquainted with our school program.

For more information, please call 415-861-7673

mission dolores school

Modified Year-Round K-8 Program P.E., Fine Arts, Technology Lab A.M. & P.M. Extended Care

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL SALESIAN SCHOOL 660 FILBERT STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133 PHONE 415-421-5219 FAX: 415-421-1831

“To Create Good Citizens of Earth and of Heaven.”

Please call our office to make an appointment for a school tour.

(415) 421-5219 Open House Sunday, January 25th 10am-Noon www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us

January 23, 2004

Catholic Schools Week

3CS

CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF NORTH SAN MATEO COUNTY D a l y

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School 80 Wellington Avenue Daly City 94014 (650) 755-4438 Fax: (650) 755-7366 www.olphsaints.com – Call for school visit –

S o u t h

C i t y

C o l m a

Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School

Holy Angels Elementary School

7 Elmwood Drive Daly City 94015 (650) 756-3395 Fax: (650) 756-5872 www.olmcath.org e-mail: olmdc@yahoo.com Open House and Curricular Fair Wed. January 28 7:00–9:00 P.M.

20 Reiner Street Colma 94014 (650) 755-0220 Fax: (650) 755-0258 www.holyangelscolma.com Open House: Sunday, February 1 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

S a n

F r a n c i s c o

All Souls Elementary School

Mater Dolorosa Elementary School

St. Veronica Elementary School

479 Miller Avenue So. San Francisco 94080 (650) 583-3562 Fax: (650) 952-1167 www.allsoulschurch.org e-mail: allsoulsssf@yahoo.com Open House: Sunday, February 1 10:00 – 11:30 am

1040 Miller Avenue So. San Francisco 94080 (650) 588-8175 Fax: (650) 588-0426 www.materdolorosa.net Open House: Sunday, January 25 11:00 am – 1:30 pm

434 Alida Way So. San Francisco 94080 (650) 589-3909 Fax: (650) 589-2826 e-mail: stveronicaschool@yahoo.com Open House: Thursday, January 29 + Science Fair 7:00 – 8:00 pm

P a c i f i c a

S a n B r u n o

M I L L B R A E

Good Shepherd Elementary School

St. Robert Elementary School

St. Dunstan Elementary School

90 Oceana Boulevard Pacifica 94044 (650) 359-4544 Fax: (650) 359-4558 www.goodshepherd-school.org e-mail: goodsheppac@hotmail.com Open House: Wednesday January 28 8:30 – 9:30 am

345 Oak Avenue San Bruno 94066 (650) 583-5065 Fax: (650) 583-1418 e-mail: strobertschool@hotmail.com

1150 Magnolia Avenue Millbrae 93030 (650) 697-8119 Fax: (650) 697-9295 www.st-dunstan.org Open House: Sunday, January 25 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

4CS

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK Catholic School Highlights 2003-2004 ●

Total Catholic school student enrollment for the current academic year is 2,553,277.

1,906,870 elementary/middle school 646,407 secondary school

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Minority student enrollment is 663,682,which is 26% of the total enrollment.

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Non-Catholic enrollment is 341,819,which is 13.4% of the total enrollment.

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There are 8,000 Catholic schools; of these 6,785 are elementary/middle, and 1,215 are secondary. 47 new schools opened; 140 consolidated or closed.

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3,195 schools have a waiting list for admission.

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Coeducational schools comprise 99% of elementary and 65.1% of secondary schools.

At the secondary level, 14.4% schools are male only and 20.5% are female only.

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Full-time equivalent professional staff numbered 163,004: laity 94.4%, religious/clergy 5.6%: lay women: 74.6%; lay men: 19.8%; sisters: 4.2; brothers 0.7%; priests 0.7%.

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The student/teacher ratio is 16:1.

Christmas creativity was the order of the day at St. Emydius Elementary School in San Francisco. Donning their holiday headwear are, back from left, Chris Campbell, Nicholas Galvin, Marisa Lycurgus, Teddy Ford. Front from left, Ahlayah ShabazzNabors, Daria Jackson, Tyler Tizeno, Michael Baun. Judy Borelli is principal.

The varsity girls volleyball team of Our Lady of Angels Elementary School, Burlingame are Northern Division Champions in Peninsula private school competitions. Front from left, Susan Portman, Natalie Hartman, Molly Meehan. Middle from left, Geena Goldstein, Erin Longinatti, Dana Diefendorf, Gina Massetani. Back from left, Gianna LaMariana, Kelsey Partee, Meghan Dobiles. Coach is Christine Massetani. Principal is Carol Meshinsky.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS!

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301 DeMontfort Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112 (415) 333-4877 (415) 333-3040 (FAX) We create an environment rooted in the Christian faith that appreciates diversity, while it honors and develops individuality.

A strong academic school for Kindergarten through 8th grade. Extended Care.

Service Center 7801 El Camino Real Colma, CA 94014 Telephone: (650) 757-5722 Fax: (650) 757-1887

A Catholic, friendly, warm learning environment in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, where the sun shines daily.

ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL 1690 Church St. Christian community is a priority in an atmosphere of care and concern for one another. ● Grades K-8 ● Extended Care Available

COME BY AND CHECK US OUT Classroom observations available on Wednesday mornings by appointment only.

For further information

415-648-2055

St. Philip School

“66 years of Academic Excellence” ● ● ●

● ●

Fully Accredited by WASC and WCEA Credentialed Faculty Traditional Structural Academic Program Emphasizing Basic Skills Extended Care Program Full Computer Lab

ST. ELIZABETH CATHOLIC SCHOOL Strong Spiritual Foundation, Strengthening Values, Teaching Skills, Setting Goals Kindergarten – 8th Grade Extended Day Care 450 Somerset Street, San Francisco (415) 468-3247 www.stelizabethsf.org – Call for a tour –

St. James School “Small School, Giant Opportunity” 321 Fair Oaks St., S.F., CA 94110 Easy Access to 24th St. Bart & the 280

(415) 647-8972 www.saintjamessf.org * Low student-teacher ratio * Fine Arts, Technology, P.E. & Health * A.M. & P.M. Extended Care

Substantial Tuition Assistance

Fall applications now being accepted for Grades: K-8

Open House January 25th, 2004 • 11am-1 pm Located in Noe Valley 665 Elizabeth Street San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 824-8467

FAX: (415) 282-5746

Please join us for our Open House: THURSDAY, JAN. 29th 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.

January 23, 2004

Catholic Schools Week

5CS

Keeping down fees with rising costs Notre Dame des Victoires uses innovative fundraising

By Rose Heller Bake sales, raffle ticket rallies, jog-athons – Catholic school parents have loved and worked them all. But these fundraising workhorses may not be enough to mitigate the budgetary squeeze hitting Bay Area Catholic Schools in today’s up-and-down economy.

Faced with escalating costs and fluctuating enrollments, Principal Mary Ghisolfo of 79-year old Notre Dame des Victoires School (NDV) in downtown San Francisco sought new and longer-term solutions. She turned to consultant Steve Virgadamo of Catholic School Management, who advised her to launch an annual fund campaign.

One year later in May, 2002, NDV’s newly formed Development Committee broke the news to its School Board. NDV’s Inaugural Annual Fund Campaign did not meet its pledge goal of $80,000—it surpassed it by $18,000, raising a total pledge amount of $98,000 for the school—a feat made more astonishing given the downward economy’s whiplash effect throughout the Bay Area.

Certainly, annual fund drives are not the new kids on the block. These funding campaigns have been a staple of private independent schools for years. But many Catholic schools are only now feeling the need for such funding blockbusters.

C A T H O L I C

S C H O O L S

W E E K

With the flagging economy spawning a demographic shift, many inner-city Catholic schools are seeing reduced enrollment numbers. Reduced enrollment numbers result in tight budgets. Short public funds, Catholic schools have had to turn to their own communities for additional funding support in lean times.

Armed with a clear vision and an impressive story of academic excellence, NDV’s Annual Fund Campaign steering committee set out to broaden the school’s base of financial support. In addition to its faculty and parent donor bases, the committee also asked NDV parishioners, alumni, parents of alumni, and neighborhood business owners for their support. Key to the success of the campaign was the Committee’s identification of major donors for the “leadership circle,” who together accounted for 58 percent of the total financial pledges.

NDV’s call to action was heard not only throughout the ranks, but also throughout the region. An unprecedented one-third of the funds raised came from constituencies outside the school’s parent base. Internally, NDV’s faculty, staff, and school board led the way with a stellar showing of 100 percent participation in the campaign, with school parents seconding that avowal of school commitment with a strong 94 percent participation.

NDV FUNDRAISING, page 8CS

THE CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF SOUTHERN SAN MATEO COUNTY PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE BURLINGAME Our Lady of Angels • Gr. K-8 St. Catherine of Siena • Gr. K-8 1328 Cabrillo Avenue, Burlingame 1300 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame (650) 343-9200 • Fax (650) 343-5620 (650) 344-7176 • Fax (650)344-7426 E-mail: angelsk8@olaschoolk8.org E-mail: office@stcatherineofsiena.net Open House: January 25 • 10am -1pm SAN MATEO

St. Gregory • Gr. K-8 2701 Hacienda Street, San Mateo (650) 573-0111• Fax (650) 573-6548 E-mail: lgrund@stgregs-sanmateo.org Open House: January 30 • 7 - 8:30pm

St. Matthew • Gr. K-8 910 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo (650) 343-1373 • Fax (650) 343-2046 E-mail: kprincipal@aol.com Open House: January 29 • 7pm Tours by appointment

St. Timothy • Gr. K-8 1515 Dolan Avenue, San Mateo (650) 342-6567 • Fax (650) 342-5913 Website: www.sttimothyschool.org Open House:January 28 • 7-8:30pm Tours by appt. - K Testing in February

BELMONT

Immaculate Heart of Mary • Gr. K-8 1000 Alameda de Las Pulgas, Belmont (650) 593-4265 • Fax (650) 650-593-4342 Open House: January 25 • 10:30 - 12:45pm

SAN CARLOS

St. Charles • Gr. K-8 850 Tamarack Avenue, San Carlos (650) 593-1629 • Fax (650) 593-9723 Website:scharlesschoolsc.org Open House: January 29 • 7pm Tours by appointment

Notre Dame Elementary • Gr. 1-8 1200 Notre Dame Avenue, Belmont (650) 591-2209 • Fax (650)591-4798 Website: www.nde.org Weekly tour Testing - March 13th REDWOOD CITY

Our Lady of Mount Carmel • Gr. K-8 301 Grand Street, Redwood City (650) 366-6127 • Fax (650) 366-0902 E-mail: schoolinfo@mountcarmel.org Open House:January 25 •10am-12:30pm Tours by appointment

St. Pius • Gr. K-8 1100 Woodside Road, Redwood City (650) 368-8327 • Fax (650) 368-7031 Website: saintpiusschool.com Open House: January 25 •10:30am-12pm

MENLO PARK

Nativity • Gr. K-8 1250 Laurel Street, Menlo Park (650) 325-7304 • Fax (650) 325-3841 Website: www.nativityschool.com Open House: January 25 • 11am-1pm Tours by appointment

St. Raymond • Gr. K-8 1211 Arbor Road, Menlo Park (650) 322-2312 • Fax (650) 322-2910 Website: www.straymond.org Open House: January 25 • 11am-1pm

6CS

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

ARCHDIOCESE

OF

SAN FRANCISCO CATH

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY

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5 Mission Dolores Elementary School 3371-16th St. 94114 (415) 861-7673 Fax: (415) 861-7620 Web Site: www.missiondolores.org Grades: K-8

10 Ellis

31

19th Ave.

4 St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception Elementary School 299 Precita Ave. 94110 (415) 648-2008 Fax: (415) 648-1825 E-mail: icc@msjdominicans.org Grades: K-8

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Pine

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37th Ave.

3 Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School 1560 40th Ave. 94122 (415) 731-4077 Fax: (415) 731-3328 Web Site: www.holynamesf.com Grades: K-8

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2 School of the Epiphany Elementary School 600 Italy Ave. 94112 (415) 337-4030 Fax: (415) 337-8583 Web Site: www.sfepiphany.org Grades: K-8

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1 Corpus Christi Elementary School 75 Francis St. 94112 (415) 587-7014 Fax: (415) 587-1575 Web Site: www.corpuschristisf.org Grades: K-8

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18 2

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6 Notre Dame des Victoires Elementary School 659 Pine St. 94108 (415) 421-0069 Fax: (415) 421-1440 Web Site: www.ndvsf.org Grades: K-8

16 Saint Charles Borromeo Elementary School 3250 18th St. 94110 (415) 861-7652 Fax: (415) 861-0221 Web Site: www.sfstcharlesschool.org Grades: K-8

26 Saint Paul Elementary School 1690 Church St. 94131 Grades: K-8 (415) 648-2055 Fax: (415) 648-1920 Web Site: www.stpaulsf.net E-mail: stpaulsceltics@yahoo.com

7 Our Lady of the Visitacion Elementary School 785 Sunnydale Ave. 94134 (415) 239-7840 Fax: (415) 239-2559 Web Site: www.olvisitacion.com Grades: K-8

17 Sacred Heart – Saint Dominic School 2445 Pine St. 94115 (415) 346-9500 Fax: (415) 346-8001 Web Site: www.school.stdominics.org Grades: K-4

27 Saint Peter Elementary School 1266 Florida St. 94110 (415) 647-8662 Fax: (415) 647-4618 E-mail: SanPedroSF@Impresso.com Grades: K-8

8 Sacred Heart – Saint Dominic School 735 Fell St. 94117 (415) 621-8035 Fax: (415) 861-7039 E-mail: sacredheart9@hotmail.com Grades: 5-8

18 Saint Elizabeth Elementary School 450 Somerset St. 94134 (415) 468-3247 / 48 Fax: (415) 468-1804 E-mail: saintelizabethschool@usa.net Grades: K-8

28 Saints Peter and Paul Elementary School 660 Filbert St. 94133 (415) 421-5219 Web Site: www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us Grades: K-8

9 Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary School 2222 Broadway St. 94115 (415) 563-2900 Fax: (415) 563-0438 Web Site: www.sacred.sf.ca.us Grades: K-8, Girls

19 Saint Emydius Elementary School 301 DeMontfort Ave. 94112 (415) 333-4877 Fax: (415) 333-3040 E-mail: stemydiusschool@yahoo.com Grades: K-8

29 Saint Philip Elementary School 665 Elizabeth St. 94114 (415) 824-8467 Fax: (415) 282-5746 Web Site: www.saintphilipschool.com Grades: K-8

10 De Marillac Middle School 175 Golden Gate Ave. 94102 (415) 552-5220 Fax: (415) 621-5632 Web Site: www.demarillac.org Grades: 6-8

20 Saint Finn Barr Elementary School 419 Hearst Ave. 94112 (415) 333-1800 Fax: (415) 333-0177 Web Site: www.stfinnbarr.org Grades: K-8

30 Saint Vincent de Paul Elementary School 2350 Green St. 94123 (415) 346-5505 Fax: (415) 346-0970 E-mail: svdp@svdpsf.com Grades: K-8

11 Stuart Hall For Boys Elementary School 2222 Broadway St. 94115 (415) 563-2900 Fax: (415) 292-3165 Web Site: www.sacred.sf.ca.us Grades: K-8, boys

21 Saint Gabriel Elementary School 2550 41st. Ave. 94116 (415) 566-0314 Fax: (415) 566-3223 Web Site: www.stgabrielsf.com Grades: K-8

31 Saint Thomas the Apostle Elementary School 3801 Balboa St. 94121 (415) 221-2711 Fax: (415) 221-8611 E-mail: stthomasapostlech@earthlink.com Grades: K-8

12 Saint Anne Elementary School 1320 – 14th Ave. 94122 (415) 664-7977 Fax: (415) 661-6904 Web Site: www.stanne.com Grades: K-8 (Double Grades)

22 Saint James Elementary School 321 Fair Oaks St. 94110 (415) 647-8972 Fax: (415) 647-0166 Web Site: www.saintjamessf.org Grades: K-8

32 Saint Thomas More Elementary School 50 Thomas More Way 94132 (415) 337-0100 Web Site: www.StThomasMoreSchool.org Grades: K-8

13 Saint Brendan Elementary School 234 Ulloa St. 94127 (415) 731-2665 Fax: (415) 731-7207 Web Site: www.stbrendansf.com Grades: K-8

23 Saint John Elementary School 925 Chenery St. 94131 (415) 584-8383 Fax: (415) 584-8359 Web Site: www.stjohnseagles.com Grades: K-8

33 Saint Stephen Elementary School 401 Eucalyptus Dr. 94132 (415) 664-8331 Fax: (415) 242-5608 Web Site: www.st-stephen.org Grades: K-8

14 Saint Brigid Elementary School 2250 Franklin St. 94109 (415) 673-4523 Fax: (415) 674-4187 Web Site: www.saint-brigid.net Grades: K-8

24 Saint Mary Chinese Day School 910 Broadway St. 94133 (415) 929-4690 Fax: (415) 929-4699 Web Site: www.stmaryschinese.org Grades: K-8

34 Star of the Sea Elementary School 360 9th Ave. 94118 (415) 221-8558 Fax: (415) 221-7118 E-mail: cgrewal@starsf.net Grades: K-8

15 Saint Cecilia Elementary School 660 Vincente St. 94116 (415) 731-8400 Fax: (415) 731-5686 Web Site: www.stcecilia.com Grades: K-8

25 Saint Monica Elementary School 5950 Geary Blvd. 94121 (415) 751-9564 Fax: (415) 751-0781 Web Site: www.stmonicasf.org Grades: K-8

January 23, 2004

HOLIC

Catholic Schools Week

7CS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS DIRECTORY MARIN COUNTY 1 Saint Rita Elementary School 102 Marinda Dr., Fairfax 94930 (415) 456-1003 Fax: (415) 456-7946 Web Site: www.strita.edu Grades: K-8

5 Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School 1181 Virginia Ave., Novato 94945 (415) 892-8621 Fax: (415) 892-9631 Web Site: www.ollnovato.org Grades: K-8

2 Saint Patrick Elementary School 120 King St., Larkspur 94939 (415) 924-0501 Fax: (415) 924-3544 Web Site: www.stpatricksmarin.com Grades: K-8

6 Saint Raphael Elementary School 1100 Fifth Ave., San Rafael 94901 (415) 454-4455 Fax: (415) 454-5927 Web Site: www.saintraphael.com Grades: K-8

3 San Domenico School 1500 Butterfield Rd., San Anselmo 94960 (415) 258-1900 Fax: (415) 258-1901 Web Site: www.sandomenico.org Grades: PreK-8

7 Saint Isabella Elementary School 1 Trinity Way, PO Box 6188, San Rafael 94903 (415) 479-3727 Fax: (415) 479-9961 E-mail: cbergez@marincounty.net Grades: K-8

4

Saint Anselm Elementary School 40 Belle Ave., San Anselmo 94960 (415) 454-8667 Fax: (415) 454-4730 Web Site: www.stanselmschool.com Grades: K-8

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8 Saint Hilary Elementary School 765 Hilary Dr., Tiburon 94920 (415) 435-2224 Fax: (415) 435-5895 Web Site: www.sainthilary-school.org Grades: K-8

SAN MATEO COUNTY

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4 Notre Dame Elementary School 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont 94002 (650) 591-2209 Fax: (650) 591-4798 Web Site: www.nde.org Grades: 1-8

14 Nativity Elementary School 1250 Laurel St., Menlo Park 94025 (650) 325-7304 Fax: (650) 325-3841 Web Site: www.nativityschool.com Grades: K-8

5 Our Lady of Angels Elementary School 1328 Cabrillo Ave., Burlingame 94010 (650) 343-9200 Fax: (650) 343-5620 E-mail: angelsk8@olas.org Grades: K-8

15 Good Shepherd Elementary School 909 Oceana Blvd., Pacifica 94044 (650) 359-4544 Fax: (650) 359-4558 E-mail: goodsheppac@hotmail.com Grades: K-8

6 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School 80 Wellington Ave., Daly City 94014 (650) 755-4438 Fax: (650) 755-7366 E-mail: olphdc@hotmail.com Grades: K-8

16 Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Rd., Portola Valley 94028 (650) 851-8221 Fax: (650) 851-2839 E-mail: strujillo@woodsidepriory.com Grades: 6-8

7 Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School 17 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School 1000 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont 94002 301 Grant St., Redwood City 94062 (650) 593-4265 Fax: (650) 593-4342 (650) 366-6127 Fax: (650) 366-0902 E-mail: mcpbihm@hotmail.com Web Site: www.MountCarmel.org Grades: K-8 Grades: K-8

5 8 21 22

8 Saint Catherine of Siena Elementary School 18 Saint Pius Elementary School 1300 Bayswater Ave., Burlingame 94010 1100 Woodside Rd., Redwood City 94061 (650) 344-7176 Fax: (650) 344-7426 (650) 368-8327 Fax: (650) 368-7031 E-mail: stcat@pacbell.net Web Site: stpiusschool.com Grades: K-8 Grades: K-8

20 4 7 19 17 18 11

9 Holy Angels Elementary School 20 Reiner St., Colma 94014 (650) 755-0220 Fax: (650) 755-0258 Web Site: www.holyangelscolma.com Grades: K-8

19 Saint Charles Elementary School 850 Tamarack Ave., San Carlos 94070 (650) 593-1629 Fax: (650) 593-9723 E-mail: stcharlesschoolsc@stcharlesschoolsc.org Grades: K-8

10 Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School 7 Elmwood Dr., Daly City 94015 (650) 756-3395 Fax: (650) 756-5872 Web Site: www.olmcath.org Grades: K-8

20 Saint Gregory Elementary School 2701 Hacienda St., San Mateo 94403 (650) 573-0111 Fax: (650) 573-6548 Web Site: www.stgreg-sanmateo.org Grades: K-8

1 All Souls Elementary School 479 Miller Ave., So. San Francisco 94080 (650) 583-3562 Fax: (650) 952-1167 Web Site: www.allsoulsssf.org Grades: K-8

11 Saint Joseph Elementary School 50 Emilie Ave., Atherton 94027 (650) 322-1866 (MAIN #) Fax: (650) 322-7656 Web Site: www.shschools.org Grades: PreK-8

21 Saint Matthew Elementary School 910 South El Camino Real, San Mateo 94402 (650) 343-1373 Fax: (650) 343-2046 E-mail: kprincipal@aol.com Grades: K-8

2 Mater Dolorosa Elementary School 1040 Miller Ave., So. San Francisco 94080 (415) 588-8175 Fax: (415) 588-0426 Web Site: www.materdolorosa.net Grades: K-8

12 Saint Raymond Elementary School 1211 Arbor Rd., Menlo Park 94025 (650) 322-2312 Fax: (650) 322-2910 Web Site: www.straymond.org Grades: K-8

22 Saint Timothy Elementary School 1515 Dolan Ave., San Mateo 94401 (650) 342-6567 Fax: (650) 342-5913 Web Site: www.sttimothyschool.org Grades: K-8

3 Saint Veronica Elementary School 434 Alida Way, So. San Francisco 94080 (650) 589-3909 Fax: (650) 589-2826 E-mail: stveronicaschool@yahoo.com Grades: K-8

13 Saint Dunstan Elementary School 1150 Magnolia Ave., Millbrae 94030 (650) 697-8119 Fax: (650) 697-9295 Web Site: www.st-dunstan.org Grades: K-8

23 Saint Robert Elementary School 345 Oak Ave., San Bruno 94066 (650) 583-5065 Fax: (650) 583-1418 Web Site: www.saintroberts.org Grades: K-8

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8CS

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK NDV fundraising . . .

■ Continued from page 5CS As Catholic School Management notes, “The annual fund is more than just a dollar-raising campaign. It is a planned, coordinated effort on the part of your school to involve people in an intense professional effort.”

Indeed, Principal Mary Ghisolfo was securely positioned at the helm to guide the way. Under the sure stewardship of Co-Chairpersons, Joni Beemsterboer and Jo Mazzucco, a steadfast crew of parishioners and school parents hit the decks for NDV’s inaugural launch. The school’s close-to 100 percent participation tells its own story and perhaps most strongly affirms the success of this school’s “coordinated effort.”

At the heart of NDV’s successful campaign is its understanding of the conceptual distinction between fundraising and development. Whereas fundraising dollars from jog-a-thons, wrapping paper sales, and eSCRIP support the day-to-day operational needs of an elementary school, development typically applies its monetary muscle to the non-operational ones like capital improvements and scholarship funds.

An easy stroll down NDV’s first floor corridor offers tangible proof of those development dollars at work: new carpeting, lockers, painting and lighting appear to point proudly to the Matisse-inspired second grade artwork gracing the walls. Sporting its new face-lift, the school all but shouts its welcome to incoming students and visitors.

Of special pride to the faculty and administration of NDV, are the funds now designated for the scholarship program, a cause near and dear to NDV parishioners. This program financially helps NDV families, who might otherwise not be able to afford rising tuition costs, continue to reap the benefits of a Catholic school education.

NDV’s successful Annual Fund Campaign in the school’s 80th year of operation serves as a model for Catholic schools not just here in San Francisco, but throughout the country.

The 2.6 million students who attend Catholic schools in the U.S. are backed by a strong community of support. Their backers are true believers. They believe strongly in the academic excellence, warm nurturing, and moral values that are intrinsic to a Catholic school education. It would appear that like NDV, Bay Area Catholic schools will continue to find ways to recover and prosper.

Rose Heller is a parent at Notre Dame des Victoires

Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy The schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, mindful of their mission to be witness to the love of Christ for all, admit students of any race, color, and national and/or ethnic orgin to all rights, programs and activities generally accorded to or made available to students at all Catholic schools. The schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, and national and/or ethnic origin, age, sex or disability in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school–administered programs.

Likewise, the schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco do not unlawfully discriminiate against any applicant for employment on the basis of sex, race, color, and national and/or ethnic orgin.

Mission Statement The Department of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco is dedicated to the teaching mission of the Catholic Church. For our elementary and secondary schools we strive to provide quality leadership, to develop programs of educational excellence, and to prepare students for a truly Christian life.

PSAT

THE TRI–SCHOOL COMMUNITY Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo Mercy High School, Burlingame Notre Dame High School, Belmont Serving The Educational Apostolate Of The Church In San Mateo County Offer Sincere Congratulations And Prayerful Best Wishes To All Of The Catholic Schools In The Archdiocese of San Francisco On The Occassion Of Catholic Schools Week “Catholic Schools: A Faith-Filled Future”

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January 23, 2004

Catholic Schools Week

9CS

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK A brief overview of Catholic schools in America Today the 8,000 Catholic schools across the United States are regarded as a gift to the church and a gift to the nation. But exactly when and where the first Catholic “school” began in this country — or the names of the teacher and pupils - remains a mystery: A Spanish Franciscan with a few children in a mission outpost? A member of an early French exploration party, quietly teaching and preaching? A chaplain holding class for young ship’s apprentices on the beach where some 16thCentury vessel had just anchored?

It’s hard to say.

What is clear is that Catholic education goes back deep into U.S. history - to at least 1606. That year, expressing their desire “to teach children Christian doctrine, reading and writing,” the Franciscans opened a school in what’s now St. Augustine, Fla. Further north and a bit later, Jesuits instructed such dedicated Native American students as Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), who became a Catholic in New York and taught Indian children in a Christian settlement near Montreal.

By the latter 1600’s, English colonists had set up their own, publicly supported schools. But since all the colonies were overwhelmingly Protestant, the rudimenta-

“The sisters shall feel convinced that no work of charity can be more productive of good to society or more conducive to the happiness of the poor than the careful instruction of women.”

– Catherine McAuley, founder of Sisters of Mercy ry education often had a heavily fundamentalist Protestant (if not blatantly anti-Catholic) cast. Even in Catholic-founded Maryland, Catholics were a minority, although with a bit more freedom, and in 1677, in

Newtown, the Jesuits established a preparatory school, mostly to instruct boys considered candidates for later seminary study in Europe. The Newtown school eventually closed, but the Jesuits opened another in the 1740’s at Bohemia Manor, Md. Well into the 18th Century, however, more-affluent parents often chose overseas schools for their children, including girls dispatched to European convent schools. Meanwhile the Catholic population continued to expand, reaching approximately 25,000 in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York State alone by about 1776.

During the same period, Catholic education progressed in non-British America: In New Orleans, the Franciscans opened a school for boys in 1718. The Ursulines opened one for girls in 1727.

The American Revolution brought revolutionary changes, with the participation in the war by such patriots as Charles, Daniel and John Carroll helping erode anti-Catholic bigotry. Catholics in Philadelphia in 1782 opened St. Mary’s School, considered the first parochial school in the United States. Not long after the Revolution ended, John Carroll saw his dream of a Catholic “colSCHOOL HISTORY, page 10CS

Our Lady of Loretto class visits Bishop Wang The seventh grade class of Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School capped a visit to the City’s Asian Museum and St. Mary’s Cathedral Jan. 16 with a stop at the Chancery of the Archdiocese at One Peter Yorke Way. Bishop Ignatius Wang and his administrative assistant, Peggy Morris, served as hosts.

Born in China, Bishop Wang told the youngsters about his growing up there and the country’s many “spiritual qualities though just two percent Catholic.”

He also exhorted them to “continue their education” as well as to “consider a vocation.”

In talking with the class about the countries of Asia Bishop Wang found the students very knowledeable.

Father William McCain, pastor of the Novato parish, and parochial vicar, Father Francis Garbo helped chaperone the 22 youth along with principal, Sue Maino, Elizabeth Claverie, and parents, Ken Wilson, Cyndi Wise, and Celina Ataras.

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... e c n e r e e diff h t e c n e orld. i w r u Exper o e come se

10CS

Catholic Schools Week

January 23, 2004

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK School history . . .

■ Continued from page 9CS lege” take root with the establishment in 1789 of Georgetown, albeit mostly as an “academy” or upper-elementary-high school preparatory institution for boys aged 10 to 16. Ten years later, a short distance away Alice Lalor and her companions founded Georgetown Visitation Preparatory for girls, establishing a new convent of the Sisters of the Visitation as well.

Across the continent in the 1770’s, Junipero Serra and his Franciscans were busy establishing the California mission system, whose ministry included the education of Native Americans in farming, Christian belief, skilled crafts, and other fields.

Ratification in 1791 of the Bill of Rights, with the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom, helped Catholics further cement their place in post-Revolutionary America, and the new 19th Century brought a spate of developments in education. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton set up a school for poor children in Emmitsburg, Md., in 1809, founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, and made the creation of parochial schools a lifetime cause.

Visionaries in the wilderness displayed a similar energy and dedication. In 1812, in rural Kentucky, a trio of intrepid women — Mary Rhodes, Christina Stuart, and Nancy Havern — aided by a Belgium immigrant, Father Charles Nerinckx, formed the Friends of Mary (later the Sisters of Loretto) and began to teach the poor children. They had company in Kentucky: The same year, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth organized, with Sister Catherine Spalding as superior, and took up a ministry of education.

And in 1822, nine young women answered a Dominican friar’s call for teachers for pioneer children in Springfield.

They set up their school, St. Magdalene Academy, in a former still, and when four became Dominican nuns transformed a borrowed log cabin into a convent.

If Catholic education flourished, however, so did antiCatholic bias. Thus even ex-President John Adams, writing to Thomas Jefferson in 1816, bemoaned the “late resurrection of the Jesuits” (after their earlier suppression by the church), fearing their abilities as “printers, editors, writers, schoolmasters, etc.,” though he acknowledged that under America’s principles of religious liberty he’d have to accept them.

Not long afterward, another crusader took up the fight against bigotry against blacks, women, and Catholics alike. Elizabeth Lange (later Mother Mary Elizabeth), the granddaughter of a Haitian plantation owner, established a school in Baltimore for poor children and, in 1831, founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, devoted to

Seventh graders Matthew Tayag, Marjorie Natividad and Jamie Peraza amid the oodles of toys donated to the annual Christmas gift gathering at All Souls Elementary School in South San Francisco. The playthings benefited hundreds of children through the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program. Eileen Gorman is principal.

African American education at a time when slavery held Catholicism.” Mobs burnt a convent and murdered a nun in sway in southern states, Catholics themselves engaged in Massachusetts in 1834, destroyed two churches in New it, and deep prejudices existed nearly everywhere. In a England in 1854, and, that same year, tarred-and-feathered, sense, she embodied the new American church: Of mixed and nearly killed Father John Bapst, a Swiss-born Jesuit racial and ethnic heritage (probably part Jewish as well teaching in Maine and ministering to the Passamaquoddy as culturally French Caribbean), she was an immigrant, Indians and Irish immigrants, as well as to other Catholics, including former often impoverished and Protestants who’d convertgifted with an indomitable energy, faith, and talent.

“What greater work is there than ed under his influence.

Such attacks notwithThe middle of the 19th standing, the First Plenary Century saw increasing training the mind and forming the Council of Baltimore in Catholic interest in educa1852 urged every Catholic tion in tandem with increas- habits of the young.” parish in the nation to ing Catholic immigration. a school.

To serve their growing – St. John Chrysostom establish The Civil War divided communities, American American Catholics into Catholics first tried to reform American public schools to rid them of blatantly North and South but also helped to further dilute relifundamentalist Protestant overtones. Failing, they began gious prejudices, with Catholics fighting alongside opening their own schools, ably aided by such religious Protestants on both sides. The post-war period brought orders as the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived from Ireland, continued growth in Catholic education, with the Second under Sister Frances Warde, in 1843, and the Sisters, Baltimore Council in 1866 repeating the call for Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, organized in parochial schools and the Third Baltimore Council in 1845 by Sister Theresa (Almaide) Duchemin, originally an 1884 turning the plea into a demand that all Catholic Oblate Sister of Providence, to teach in Michigan. But such parishes open schools within two years.

The late 19th-Century also saw the continued develsuccesses sparked a bigoted backlash, fomented by such groups as the Know-Nothing Society, committed to wiping opment of religious orders, including the founding by SCHOOL HISTORY, page 11CS out “foreign influence, Popery, Jesuitism, and

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11CS

CATHOLIC S CHOOLS WEEK School history . . .

■ Continued from page 10CS rich heiress Katherine Drexel of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, to meet the educational needs of blacks and Native Americans.

“Throughout history, there is no more compelling instance of Catholic commitment to education than the school system created by the U.S. Catholic community,” Thomas H. Groome, professor of theology and religious education, wrote in the 1995 HarperCollins Encyclopaedia of Catholicism.

By 1900, that system was up and running with remarkable vigor, to such an extent that in 1904 Catholic educators formed a new organization, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA).

In 1900, an estimated 3,500 parochial schools existed in the United States. Within 20 years, the number of elementary schools had reached 6,551, enrolling 1,759, 673 pupils taught by 41, 581 teachers. Secondary education likewise boomed. In 1900, Catholics could boast of approximately 100 Catholic high schools, but by 1920 more than 1,500 existed. For more than two generations, enrollment continued to climb. By the mid1960’s, it had reached an all-time high of 4.5 million elementary school pupils, with about 1 million students in Catholic high schools. Four decades later, total elementary and secondary enrollment is 2.6 million.

Although the strong commitment by church and lay leaders alike to Catholic education remains constant, changing demographics have had a major impact on enrollment. The waiting list for Catholic schools is over 40 per cent. The challenge is there are many school buildings in urban areas without a nearby Catholic population to support them. And there are thousands of potential students in suburban areas where schools have yet to be built.

For much of the 20th Century, the church in America, like the nation itself experienced challenge and change.

Despite national solidarity in World War I, Ku Klux Klan bigotry targeted Catholics and anti-immigrant legislation discouraged newcomers after the war. At the same time, Catholic social justice teaching became deeply rooted, reflected in the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement, Catholic labor activism, establishment of the National Catholic Welfare Conference (now the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) and participation by the Maryknoll community and other religious orders in mis-

Sixth graders at the Sunset District’s Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School were behind the making of quilts to warm premature babies. The blankets will be shared via Project Linus, which is named for the Peanuts cartoon character so closely aligned with the subject, and whose motto is “Providing security through blankets.” Noreen Gallagher, who is a Holy Name graduate herself and daughter of longtime parishioners, Kathy and Michael Gallagher, teaches class. Principal is Noreen Murphy.

sionary work around the globe. Catholic families, parishes and schools suffered alongside their neighbors during the Depression and proved their valor and patriotism again in World War II. Then came the Cold War, election and assassination of John F. Kennedy, reforms of Vatican II, and Catholic support for the civil rights and pro-life movements. As the late 20th-Century ended and the 21st dawned, U.S. Catholics faced the ongoing crisis of religious vocations, welcomed the invigorating contributions of Hispanics and other new arrivals, celebrated 2000 years of Christianity at the Millennium and reeled at the horrors of 9/11.

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January 23, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

9

Nicolas Rodriguez’s call to service in the Church dates to his boyhood in Mexico. Twice as a teenager he had considered entering the seminary. Finally, decades later and in his new country, the dream of service came true as he was ordained a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

“From my childhood, I had this inclination to be in the Church,” he recalls. “It was the classical thing, altar boy and things like that. I wanted to get into the seminary when I was a young lad of 12, 13 years. That didn’t work out, so life went on.

“When I was 18 years old I was still involved in the Church and when the Jesuits came to visit our parish the pastor told them about me. He suggested that I go to the Jesuits to become a priest and they said, ‘Yes we can take you.’ At that point, my dad died, so there was no way I can become a priest, even though I had that desire.”

“Life went on,” he says philosophically. He married Gloria. They had five children and he worked for a subsidiary of the Celanese Corporation in Mexico. He remained active in the Church in Mexico and later when the family moved to San Mateo, he continued his service as a layman.

“When we came here from Mexico, I was 40 years old, a working guy, a family man, but I was in everything in the parish,” he says. “Then in the late 70s or early 80s, I heard for the first time about the diaconate program. So obviously I said, ‘There is a chance for me there.’ I started asking for information.”

“When I asked my pastor for the letter of recommendation for the diaconate program, he said, ‘Why do you want to be a deacon? You are doing the same kind of work.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe just to have the blessing . . .’

It was just deep inside me.”

The call to the diaconate is clearly linked to his teenage inclination to priesthood, he says. “It’s in my heart. I believe it is something that was there maybe the whole time. The fact is I am here, with ups and downs. I think that it is God who keeps me in some way, makes me aware of his presence. It is my feeling that he wants me to be in the community but trying to do something more than the average guy.”

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

(Acts 6:2-6) His training program took a few twists and turns, he says, but “finally I was ordained in 1991.” He was assigned to St. Timothy’s Parish in San Mateo, the family’s home parish since they arrived here. He still serves there doing a variety of ministries while working as a gardener for the City of Hillsborough.

(PHOTO BY CATHY JOYCE)

Call to ministry came early, blossomed late

Gloria and Deacon Nicolas Rodriguez.

Initially, he found that parishioners took a while to get accustomed to him in his new role as a deacon. “It was natural. They see you all dressed up at the altar. People who knew me around the parish - all of a sudden they say, ‘Who is this guy?’ It was a natural reaction in those days.

Fortunately it has disappeared. We have more acceptance.

Nowadays most of the people know who we are.”

He leads marriage and baptismal preparation, preaches and assists at Masses, and does the RCIA in Spanish. In marriage preparation, he says, “We try to help especially when a couple is to be married but, as happens with immigrants, the groom to be is here and wife to be is there. We can prepare them for marriage even though they’re not living in the same city, so that they don’t go into it blind.”

Saint Stephen, the first deacon, from the Breviary of Martin of Aragon – Spain, Catalonia, 15th c.

When parishioners come to him for counseling, he says, “I try to help. In very tricky situations, if I feel that my knowledge or advice or listening doesn’t help, I immediately refer this person to somebody else because I know that they need help and it has to be provided. I am the link. If I can help - great. If not I immediately send them to somebody else who can.”

“I work mostly with Spanish speaking parishioners because it is my native language. I know there is a need so I am happy doing that. I can do the things in English when necessary. In RCIA, I help from time to time, give a little talk - nothing big but when they need me, I’m there.”

Although he now speaks English very well, he recalls the difficulties of his early days in the United States. “From the very beginning my greatest need was to be able to communicate,” he says. “I can remember all this trouble getting through it. People would laugh at me or say, ‘What did you say?’ Or they just ignore me. . . . I’d say, ‘One day you guys will understand me.’ That’s what gave me the ability to communicate.”

“One of my concerns, even though I know the roots of the situation, is that there are not more Hispanics in the program,” Rodriguez says. “Maybe one day we will find a solution.”

One obstacle is a lack of men with a burning desire for the diaconate, he says. “Nobody comes up to me and says, ‘I really want to go all the way through, whatever it takes.’ I wish there were more Spanish speaking people who are interested, but my very personal feeling is that if the program were there, then probably people will show some kind of awareness. But it’s very hard. For me it’s a dream. Maybe it will take a long time.”

In his own ministry, he says, Spanish speaking people “feel more comfortable talking to me. I really love it.”

“A lot of traditions really enrich our Hispanic way of seeing the faith. We like processions, singing, all the exterior expressions of our faith, and certainly when we express our faith in that way other people see it. It is our contribution, our identity as believers . . . We are ready to express this uniqueness. We are grateful that the Church in general provides us with those open doors in order to express ourselves. The Church is there for us.

It’s up to us to make it more alive, more real, more vivid . . .”

“One of our biggest needs is evangelization,” he says.

“We are really behind in our knowledge of our own faith.

We just practice it, many times, without even knowing what we are as Christians, as believers, as followers of Jesus. We just do it because my mom, my relatives did it. I wish that people were more awake and ready to get into the real faith, the real knowledge of Our Lord.”

The support of wives is essential in the diaconate, he says. “I am very grateful for my wife Gloria. She knew my inclinations from the very beginning, and she has supported me all the way. Sometimes she gets mad. ‘You are forgetting me. You are ignoring your home,’” he says, smiling.

“But most of the time she is happy and helps me and supports me and gives me encouragement.”

“One time, I was ready to quit,” Deacon Rodriguez recalls. “I remember her words because they turned the whole thing around. She said, ‘If it is only one person that you can help, go for it.’ Probably I thought my time was more valuable. My mind was to let it go, forget it. But she said, ‘If one person . . .’ That thing destroyed me,” he says with a laugh. “So that’s why wives are important.”

Gloria Rodriguez helps preparing the altar, and she is active in the Our Lady of Guadalupe observance and other celebrations, but he says, “Her main support is being with me and giving me a push if I need it. From the very beginning she has supported me.”

“I’m happy,” Deacon Rodriguez says. “I have always received the support of my pastors. I have heard from other deacons that they have had a struggles but I’ve been blessed with never having any confrontation or big disagreement with my pastor.

“I like to be involved. I like the challenge that sometimes comes, especially when there are frustrations, when things don’t come the way you expect, but then comes this little extra strength from inside, from God that says, ‘Keep going, Keep going. Keep going.’ I’m happy God put me here,” the 68-year old says. “I’m happy with the things I’m doing and I’ll keep going as long as the good Lord wants me to do it.”

These stories are the third installment of a special Catholic San Francisco series looking at the permanent diaconate ministry in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. For information on the diaconate, contact Father David Pettingill or Deacon Leon Kortenkamp at (415) 614-5500.

10

Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Schools Week – A faith-filled future

By Maureen Huntington Archdiocese of San Francisco Department of Catholic Schools Mission Statement The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco are committed to the mission of the Church by providing quality learning communities rooted in academic excellence and the Catholic tradition for the children entrusted to our care.

The development of the whole child, regardless of race, culture or economic background, is achieved through the collaboration of our school staff, parents, clergy, religious and the parish community.

Our faith-centered, child-focused, family sensitive education fosters within our children a strong personal relationship with God, prepares them for leadership within the Church and the world and empowers them to live the Gospel values of love, peace, justice, respect and service in their everyday lives.

Nurturing the Seed of Faith Cultivating the Tree of Knowledge Following the Path of Christ This Mission Statement defines our goals, responsibilities, and challenges.

The first Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco opened in the early 1850’s. These early schools resulted from the efforts of brave and courageous women Religious from several Congregations. Today we continue to reap the benefits of courageous women and men who answered the call from God to spread our Catholic faith throughout this new and untamed territory.

The difficulties faced by those brave women and men Religious, who taught and administered in our schools, are in some ways very different from the challenges we face today. Yet, some of the same challenges exist. As in the early 1850’s we continue to be faced with the need to pass on the faith in a world that struggles with poverty, war, hunger and injustice. Attracting faith filled adults to teach and administer in our schools, despite the difficulties, is challenging.

Finding the financial resources to assist students and families in providing Catholic School education never ends. It is these uncertainties that strengthen our faith and keep us ever vigilant. Relying on the promise of Jesus Christ to send the gift of the Holy Spirit, we continue to provide quality Catholic education to generation after generation of children and young people.

San Francisco and most of the Bay Area are experiencing a decline in the number of young children and families. This demographic shift is due in part to the increased cost of housing for families and decline in the number of available jobs. Over the past four years, Catholic schools with the Archdiocese of San Francisco have experienced an enrollment decline averaging three percent each year. The loss of students has been more acute in the city of San Francisco than in San Mateo or Marin Counties. These school population declines have affected the stability of many of our Catholic schools, causing increases in tuition, decreases in scholarships and financial assistance. These changes affect all families but especially families least able to adapt to cost increases.

What does the future hold for Catholic Schools? In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and across the nation, Catholic educators constantly fear the possibility that Catholic Schools will become schools only for the rich. We are afraid that middle class and working class families will no longer be able to afford to send their children to Catholic Schools. This fear is genuine and ever present. The dilemma is multifaceted. How do we continue to provide the highest quality academic programs in an environment that is steeped in Catholic tradition and Gospel values, taught by competent caring professionals in facilities that support the educational mission of the school? This is a huge task under the best of conditions. How do we accomplish this without the presence of women and men Religious who in previous times staffed our schools? How do we accomplish the Mission of Catholic Schools while providing just compensation and benefits to our teachers and administrators?

In 2004, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is celebrating 100 years of service to Catholic Schools across the United States. To inaugurate the next century of service, NCEA invited 250 delegates from across the country to begin the process of addressing these very poignant questions. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in this process. We began as we always begin, with intercessory prayer to the Holy Spirit. We re-defined our Mission as Catholic school educators and leaders. We clearly defined our Catholic Identity and its manifestation in our schools. We discussed how to call forth and form the next generation of Catholic school leaders - a challenge facing all Catholic Universities and Diocesan offices. As Catholics how do we find a place in our very secular American culture while maintaining our Catholic values, traditions and live the Gospel? Good questions with complex and difficult answers.

Perhaps the answers are not as important as the questions. The questions keep us searching, striving, working and struggling. I believe that it is in the struggle and the trial that we earn the reward promised to all good and faith-filled servants. It is because of the struggles that we will continue to provide a quality Catholic education to all parents who desire it for their children.

Ms. Maureen Huntington is Superintendent of Catholic Schools

either becomes ill, adopt a child, or build a home together.

David Hanzel San Francisco

Why not his wife?

I am most pleased to see the reestablishment of the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church and I commend Catholic San Francisco on the excellent articles on the subject.

The January 16, 2004 articles were particularly interesting. But, I do have a question.

Deacon Sequeira states “My wife is probably more qualified to be a deacon than I am.

Barbara took every class, wrote every paper.

She delivered a homily...She has a Masters degree from the College of Notre Dame in pastoral studies. She taught for 16 years in the religious studies department at Notre Dame High School in Belmont and was chair of the department. She’s a certified spiritual director.”

Having said that, why is she not a deacon?

Valerie Klung San Francisco Ed. Note: The ordained diaconate has been conferred only on men since its institution by the Apostles recorded in the book of Acts (6:2-6).

All or something While many points in George Weigel’s January 16 column, “Marriage: a word with consequences,” are contentious, number four is completely incorrect, irresponsible, and insensitive.

Advocates for gay marriage are primarily concerned with a state that does not judge the value of a couple’s love based on their sexual orientation. To deny gay people the right to marriage says, “Your love does not count as much as our love.”

Precisely because many people made this extremely hurtful declaration, those in favor of gay marriage turned to entitlements granted by the state only to show that it’s unfair and illegal to deny benefits to two committed couples where the only distinction is their sexual orientation.

I find it ironic that Mr. Weigel states that gay people are driven only by financial gain given that the institution of marriage was created by straight men to secure their property rights.

For now, because the government denies me “the good things that happen when husbands and wives are joined,” I am resigned to work to ensure that my partner and I can visit each other in the hospital if

A remote effect In his article on Plan B (January 16, 2004) Fr. Gerald Coleman puts Plan B in the class of “emergency contraceptives” (EC), and then gives an example of Previn as an EC. However, Previn is an EC containing estrogens and progestins, while Plan B is an EC containing only a progestin. Fr. Coleman states that ECs always prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum, whereas progestins are known to function, in part, by transforming proliferating endometrium to secretory endometrium in preparation for implantation.

According to the manufacturer’s product insert there is a remote chance of preventing implantation. Technically, prevented implantation is more likely in women who do not have adequate estrogen of their own. Such women are also less likely to need an EC. But the manufacturer is bound to give precaution of a remote effect for purpose of complete disclosure. This is the same kind of warning given in other drug disclosures. For example, Timoptic, an eye-drop medication against glaucoma on rare occasions is absorbed into the blood stream and then may cause severe heart failure. This is also a maybe of a maybe. But since it may, theoretically, happen the manufacturer must disclose it in the product insert.

I will not, here, enter the argument of whether contraception is right or wrong. However if it is wrong it is far less wrong than abortion, and should be given different coverage by a theologian.

Alex M. Saunders, MD San Carlos Ed. Note: As drug manufacturers are “bound to give precaution of a remote effect,” a fully formed conscience is bound to precaution when the (disputably) remote effect is the death of a human life.

L E T T E R S

Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers.

Send your letters to: Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: mhealy@catholic-sf.org

Hanna’s deep roots I want to compliment you for the December 12 article by Evelyn Zappia on Hanna Boy’s Center. It was a wonderfully done article.

Even though Hanna is now in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, it has deep roots into the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and I’m sure you reached and touched many people who have heard of Hanna, supported it, or experienced it over the years.

Congratulations on a really fine piece.

Bruce E. Agnew Associate General Secretary U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Washington, D.C.

Timothy first century feast – January 26 The son of a Greek gentile father and Jewish mother, Timothy was converted to Christianity by St. Paul, who called him “my true child in faith.” He became Crosiers Paul’s missionary assistant and received two canonical letters from him. Based on Paul’s request in 1 Timothy for him to stay in Ephesus, he is considered the first bishop of Ephesus. According to a fourth-century manuscript, he was martyred in 97 for opposing pagan celebrations. Timothy shares his feast with Titus, another of Paul’s companions.

Saints for Today

© 2004 CNS

January 23, 2004

Catholic San Francisco

11

The Catholic Difference A British officer, reflecting ruefully in 1781 on the colonies Britain had just lost, remarked that “these Americans are a curious, original people; they know how to govern themselves, but nobody else can govern them.” Once spoken in the British tradition of good sportsmanship, the officer’s observation tells us something important about us, not only about the first generation of citizens of the independent United States.

Why did Americans know how to govern themselves?

They had learned the rudiments of democracy in town meetings and on congregational councils; they had formed legislatures, run courts, held elections; they had served on juries and done their time in local militias. They had made the mechanics of democracy work. But they had something else, something more: they had lived an experience of self-discipline and self-sacrifice.

No one made it in colonial America, economically speaking, without self-discipline and self-sacrifice. Society was also dependent on these virtues, as traditions like communal barn-raisings remind us. Colonial America gave a distinctive form to what Michael Novak would call, two hundred years later, the “communitarian individual” – yet, for all its American originality of form, the “communitarian individual” was the product of centuries of Christian European culture, in which men and women learned both their own dignity and their responsibilities to others.

The idea that a people can be self-governing only when they are governed “from within,” by the virtues of self-discipline and self-sacrifice, is not something Americans learned first from the Enlightenment; the idea’s deepest tap-

roots are in medieval Catholic political thought, which itself drew on the wisdom of the classical world. That linkage between virtue and democracy is now under assault from what imagines itself to be the ultimate guardian of American liberties: the Supreme Court of the United States.

And that is why the Supremes must be an election issue in 2004.

Arguments about the Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion and homosexuality tend to focus on the results – which are, to be sure, bad enough. Yet something else has been going on here. For forty years now, the Supremes have slowly, steadily advanced a new understanding of the freedom to which the Founders pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. The popular troubadour of this new understanding of freedom was Frank Sinatra, who summed up the Supremes’ project in one soaring, lilting, witless refrain: “I did it my way.” What Old Blue Eyes took to the top of the pop charts, the Supremes enshrined in constitutional law, in the 1992 decision Casey v. Planned Parenthood: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”

Write that in any freshman philosophy course, and you’d likely get an F. Write it in a plurality opinion of the Supreme Court, and the next step is the suggestion (also in Casey) that any linkage between freedom and moral truth is an act of “compulsion” that denies our fellow-citizens the “attributes of personhood.” To take the obvious, and ominous, example: if you believe, on the basis of basic embryology, that the product

of human conception is a human being; and if you believe that that scientific fact implies certain moral obligations to that human being; and if you try to persuade others of the legal implications of those truths George Weigel – well, you’re denying the “attributes of personhood” to anyone who disagrees.

Or so sayeth Justices Kennedy, O’Connor, and Souter.

When the Court usurps powers beyond the Framers’ imagining and the people are forbidden to settle deeply controverted issues of public policy through their elected representatives, democracy withers, and so do the habits that make democracy possible. When the Supreme Court teaches falsehoods about the nature of freedom, it accelerates the process of democratic decline that its usurpation of power began.

And that is why Supremes have to be an election issue in 2004. The Supreme Court is not only taking the country in a policy direction most Americans reject. It is doing so in the name of a false idea of freedom: a falsehood that could be fatal to the self-governance of the Republic, because it is fatal to the self-mastery of its citizens.

George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Family Life

Europe has the right idea I used to think Europeans were lazy.

I remember so clearly my first trip abroad. The summer before my senior year in high school I stayed with a family in Poitiers, France, to learn the language. I left the land of wine and cheese with a few more French words in my vocabulary, but the real lesson was found in studying their lifestyle.

My French mother spent most of her days shopping at various markets for fresh produce and meats, running errands and keeping house — laundry, cleaning, and so forth — with an occasional social visit from friends. Her 8year-old daughter accompanied her to most of her destinations, and assisted with the cooking and cleaning.

As a family we shared every meal together. My French father would leave for work around 9:30 in the morning after a leisurely breakfast. He’d return at 2 for a few hours to eat the primary meal of the day and to indulge in a quick nap while visiting with his daughter. He was back for the evening around 7:30 to eat dinner and spend the remaining hours of the day with his family.

As a product of a father who built a successful business from nothing — requiring excessive hours entertain-

ing clients at premium steak joints or on the greens — in addition to his 8-to-6 job, I was shocked, confused, appalled to witness a family enjoying so much leisure.

Not in America, where the overriding philosophy has become, “Work hard so you can play hard.” We invest the majority of our days under fluorescent lights in front of computers so we can own comfortable, 4,000-square-foot homes, luxury vehicles and lots of stuff. Then, at the breaking point, we spend our hard-earned salaries on organized vacations at resorts that promise to revitalize the spirit.

Where did we go wrong?

Writer Michael Elliott offered some plausible arguments in a Time magazine essay last July. He quoted Daniel Bell, who wrote the 1976 book “The Cultural Contradiction of Capitalism.” According to Bell, America turned a dangerous corner in its vision of work and play as the decline of Protestant small-town ethics detached capitalism from its moral foundation. By the 1960s capitalism meant “pleasure as a way of life,” completely unattached from its spiritual value.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for working hard. But now that I have my own family I want more than anything

to spend time with them. Like a European, I am beginning to measure everything in time.

A vacation in Aruba sounds great, but if it means 100 hours of my husband’s time at the office I’ll take a Therese J. week at home. Our Borchard house could use a few renovations, but I encourage my other half to be home by 6, not 8, so we can eat together.

Maybe I happily volunteered my evenings and weekends to my employers for so long after college because I “didn’t have a life.” But now I do! So I return to my memories of France and try to create a little Europe in my own life.

Theresa J. Borchard is a columnist with Catholic News Service

Spirituality

Faith, Church, and commitment in an imperfect world Michael Buckley, the American Jesuit, once said that the main cause of atheism is bad theism. That truth has a hundred faces. Ideals are always compromised by those who try to give them concrete flesh and, just as bad theism helps cause atheism, arrogant artists turn you off art, over-simplistic social justice advocates turn you away from good causes, bad theologians give theology a sour taste, unbalanced liberalism quickly turns you into a fundamentalist, and unhealthy conservatism seduces you toward irresponsible freedom. The bad practice of a truth often takes that truth away from you. We see that clearly in terms of people being turned away from the church.

Lisa St. Aubin de Teran gives us such an illustration in her book, The Marble Mountain and Other Stories. Her main character accuses her mother of destroying the church for her: “Sometimes I think the whispering in the ward at night sounds very Catholic. Perhaps that’s why I think so much about you [Mother]. You were my religion for so many years. I asked Father O’Hare once how I could find favor in the eyes of God, and he told me, ‘First you must find favor in your mother’s eyes.’

It would have pleased you, Mother, Mary, to know how much you denied me. Not many women can take away a church.”

Does that sound familiar? More and more people, in one way or other, make this complaint: “Someone — the clergy, the hierarchy, my mother, my father, a nun who taught me in school, someone who abused me, corruption within the church itself — has made it impossible for me to go to church. The church has been stolen from me!”

Can somebody do that to you? Take your church

away? I’ve mixed emotions about that.

On the one hand, I’ve been lucky personally. My own experience was (and remains) essentially good. God, Christ, religion, and the church were given to me by a mother, a father, a clergy, some nuns, and certain parishes and schools that made them believable. The church that I met when I was little did not abuse me, misunderstand me, belittle me, riddle me with false guilt, or make it difficult for me to believe in Christ. To the contrary, whatever their flaws, for me, they made Christ credible. But that was my experience.

I know sincere people who have had a different experience.

For them, someone or something did, at least in some major way, take their church away. Instances of massive betrayal, hypocrisy or narrow bigotry have left them with a distrust so deep that it’s almost impossible for them to give themselves over in trusting self-surrender. Someone did take their church away.

Despite my own experience to the contrary, I have some sense of how that happens, both in terms of church and in other areas of life.

Simply put: Many is the man who fights the truth of social justice because of the social justice groups he’s met; many is the well-meaning man who fights against the value of theology because of the particular theologians he’s read; many is the woman who falsely asserts her moral freedom because of the moralists she’s had to endure; and many are the victims who fight the value of authority because the very power that should have protected them abused them.

It’s often impossible to make allowances for the fact that,

despite the goodness and sincerity in most everyone inside these groups, believers aren’t the faith, moralists aren’t morality, social justice groups aren’t social justice, feminists aren’t feminism, artists aren’t art.

This side of eternity, Father all truth incarnates itself Ron Rolheiser with inadequate expression, self-interest, personal wound, and invincible ignorance. It’s not easy not to be put off by truth by the very persons seeking to bring it about.

What’s the answer? If every concrete enfleshment of church, morality, truth, family and aesthetics is flawed by inadequacy, dysfunction, infidelity, ignorance and abuse, does this give us the right to absent ourselves from commitment?

We have a choice. However, that choice is not between what’s perfect (a pure church, art without ego or arrogance, family life without dysfunction, morality without narrowness, religion without flaw or bad history) and what’s bad.

The choice is rather between involvement with the limping, stained and compromised or no involvement at all.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author.

JOHN EARLE PHOTO

The election and the Supremes

12

Catholic San Francisco

Food & Fun Jan. 24: The baton will be handed to new Mission Dolores curator, Andrew Galvan with Auxiliary Bishop John Wester presiding at 3 p.m. Among Andy’s ancestors is “a Mission Indian baptized at Mission Dolores in 1801,” said Episcopal Brother Guire Cleary, whom Andy will replace and who will take up residence and ministry in New Zealand. A digital projection of historic imagery onto the dome of Mission Dolores Basilica will take place at 2 p.m. and again Mon. through Sat. until Feb. 7th from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1:30 – 4 p.m. The presentation “celebrates history” of the beloved and respected landmark and holy place. Call (415) 621-8203.

Jan. 25: Organ Recital by Father Paul Perry at St. Sebastian Church, Greenbrae, at 4 p.m. Classical onehour program. All welcome. No admission charge.

Jan. 26: San Francisco Council of Catholic Women meet in St. Paul Church hall, 29th St. at Church, SF, at 7:30 p.m. “All our Christ-child layette items will be on display,” said Cathy Mibach. The evening’s speaker is from St. Joseph’s Family Center. Refreshments follow. Call (415) 753-0234.

Jan. 31: Carnival ’04 benefiting St. Gabriel School, 40th Ave, between Ulloa and Vicente, SF, from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Fun for the whole family with games for all, good food, raffle and special appearance by Freestyle Franko of radio fame. “Come rain or shine and have a great time,” said Vicki Bornstein, school development director. Call (415) 566-0314.

Feb. 7: Crab Dinner Dance sponsored by St. Gabriel Parent Organization from 6 – 11 p.m. with a menu of fresh crab or chicken, pasta, salad, garlic bread and dessert, plus music and dancing. Tickets $35 per person, adults only. No host bar. Reserve by Jan. 30th at (415) 566-0314.

January 23, 2004 Ministry for parents who have lost a child is available from Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame. Call Ina Potter at (650) 347-6971 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579.

Young Widow/Widower group meets at St. Gregory, San Mateo. Call Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

Information about children’s and teen groups is available from Barbara Elordi at (415) 564-7882.

Datebook

Returning Catholics

All Decked Out, annual luncheon and fashion show benefiting charitable works of the San Francisco County Council of Catholic Women, begins at 11:30 a.m. with a silent auction and no-host cocktails at the Olympic Club, Lakeside on January 25th.

Fashions from Macy’s at Stonestown Galleria. Tickets at $45 per person are available from Diane Heafey at (415) 731-6379. at (415) 221-4269 or edgleason@webtv.net or Pat and Tony Fernandez at (415) 893-1005..

The Adoption Network of Catholic Charities offers free adoption information meetings twice a month. Singles and married couples are invited to learn more about adopting a child from foster care.

Call (415) 406-2387 for information.

Mon – Fri., KEST 1450 AM, 7 p.m.: Catholic Radio Hour features rosary, music and commentary with Father Tom Daly.

Sunday 6 a.m., WB Channel 20/Cable 13 and KEST Channel 26/Cable 8: TV Mass with Msgr.

Harry Schlitt presiding.

1st Sun, 5 a.m., CBS Channel 5: Mosaic, featuring conversations on current Catholic issues.

3rd Sun, 6:30 a.m., KRON Channel 4: For Heaven’s Sake, featuring conversations about Catholic spirituality.

Dominic Church, 2390 Bush St. at Steiner, SF each Wednesday at 7 p.m. Contact Tony at (415) 387-1654.

The Sacro Costato Missionary Sisters now serve at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Burlingame. The congregation’s founder Father Eustachio Montemurro, born in Italy in 1857, was a physician before his late-in-life ordination to the priesthood in 1904. The Sacred Side Lay Association was founded in 1993.Today, the Sisters and their lay associates carry on the founder’s “generosity to humankind” rooted in a “spiritual foundation of humility, poverty, obedience, charity and apostolic service.” Father Montemurro also founded the Brothers of the Blessed Sacrament who serve mainly in South America. Anyone wishing information may call (650) 342-4780 or mscstcat@pacbell.net.

Vocations/Lectures

Social Justice/ Family Life

2nd Sat: Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur offer Saturday Morning Prayer 9:30 – 11:30 each 2nd Sat. of the month at their Province Center, 1520 Ralston Ave. across from Ralston Hall on their university campus in Belmont. Additional offerings include the Catholic Scholar Series featuring Feb. 22: Notre Dame Sister Barbara Fiand; March 23: Sulpician Father Richard Gula. Call (650) 593-2045, ext. 350.

Jan. 30: Conversations on The Blessings of Age with experts in the field at the Province Center of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,1520 Ralston Ave. across from Ralston Hall on their university campus in Belmont. 10 a.m. – noon. “Aging is our ally,” said Ilene Cummings, Ph.D., who is among the facilitators. Call Shyrl McCormick at (650) 593-2045, ext.

350, or Denise Hughes at (650) 592-8239.

Feb. 1: Healing Mass and preliminary rites beginning at 3 p.m. at St. Raphael Church, 1104 Fifth Ave., San Rafael with Jesuit Father Robert Faricy, presiding. Call (415) 472-1567.

Feb. 6: Vincentian Family Evening with theme of “anointed to serve” at Church of the Visitacion, 655 Sunnydale Ave., SF beginning at 6 p.m. Father George Hazler of the Daughters of Charity Health System will preside at Mass. Simple dinner follows.

Cost $10. All are welcome. St. Vincent de Paul Society members especially invited to attend. Call Lorraine Moriarty at (650) 373-0624.

Young adults recite the rosary in chapel of St.

Information about Natural Family Planning and people in the Archdiocese offering instruction are available from the Office of Marriage and Family Life of the Groups meet at the following parishes. Please Archdiocese, Chris Lyford, director, at (415) 614-5680. call numbers shown for more information.

Sat. at 9 a.m.: Pray the Rosary for Life at 815 St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame. Call Elaine Eddy St. between Franklin and Van Ness, SF. Call Yastishock at (650) 344-6884; Our Lady of Angels, (415) 752-4922.

Burlingame. Call Louise Nelson at (650) 343-8457 or Barbara Arena at (650) 344-3579. Our Lady of Mt. Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends can add to a Lifetime of Love. For more information or to register, Carmel, Redwood City. Call (650) 366-3802; Good Shepherd, Pacifica. Call Sister Carol Fleitz at (650) call Michele or George Otte at (888) 568-3018.

355-2593; St. Robert, San Seton Medical Center Natural Family The Interfaith Memorial Service for Bruno. Call (650) 589-2800.

Planning/Fertility Care Victims of Abortion takes place Jan. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Services offers classes in the 23rd at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Belmont. Call Ann Ponty at Creighton Model of NFP. Church, 999 Brotherhood Way, San (650) 598-0658 or Mary Health educators are also Francisco at 7:30 p.m. The commemora- Wagner at (650) 591-3850. St. available to speak to youth and tion “brings together people from various Isabella, San Rafael. Call Pat adults on topics of puberty, denominations who desire to see the heal- Sack at (415) 472-5732. Our responsible relationships, ado- ing of the wounds of sin and division which Lady of Loretto, Novato. Call lescent sexuality, the use of have befallen our country from the legal- Sister Jeanette at (415) 897NFP throughout a woman’s ization of abortion 31 years ago,” said 2171.St. Gabriel, SF. Call reproductive life, and infertility. Father Mark Taheny, parochial vicar. St. Barbara Elordi at (415) 564Call (650) 301-8896 Veronica Parish, and member of the 7882. St. Finn Barr, SF in Retrouvaille, a program for Interfaith Committee for Life. Mary English and Spanish. Call troubled marriages. The week- Orias of Mary’s House, a resource for Carmen Solis at (415) 584end and follow up sessions pregnant women, is among guest speak- 0823; St. Cecilia, SF. Call help couples heal and renew ers presenting on a theme of The Truth Peggy Abdo at (415) 564-7882 their families. Presenters are Will Set You Free. Ample parking near the ext. 3; Epiphany, SF in Spanish. Call Kathryn Keenan three couples and a Catholic church. Call (415) 664-3570. at (415) 564-7882. priest. Call Peg or Ed Gleason

TV/Radio

Single, Divorced, Separated Separated and Divorced support groups meet 3rd Sat. at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, call Pat at (415) 492-3331; and 1st and 3rd Wed. at 7:30 p.m. at St. Stephen Parish Center, SF, call Gail at (650) 591-8452.

Catholic Adult Singles Assoc. of Marin meets for support and activities. Call Bob at (415) 8970639 for information.

Consolation Ministry

Jan. 27; Feb. 3, 10, 17: St. Gregory Parish announces a Catholics Returning Home series in the parish’s Worner Center located next to the church at 28th Ave. and Hacienda St., San Mateo.

The 7:30 – 9 p.m. sessions are for Catholics interested in returning to the Church and will include informal sharing and information about the Catholic faith today. Call Kathy Lange at (650) 345-8506.

Programs for Catholics interested in returning to the Church, have been established at the following parishes: St. Philip the Apostle, 725 Diamond St. at Elizabeth/24th, SF. Call the parish office at (415) 282-0141; St. Hilary, Tiburon, Mary Musalo, (415) 4352775; St. Anselm, Ross, parish office at (415) 4532342; St. Sebastian, Greenbrae, Jean Mariani at (415) 461-7060; Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, SF, Michael Adams at (415) 695-2707; St. Dominic, SF, Lee Gallery at (415) 221-1288; Holy Name of Jesus, SF, Dennis Rivera at (415) 664-8590; St. Bartholomew, San Mateo, Dan Stensen at (650) 344-5665; St. Catherine of Siena, Burlingame, Silvia Chiesa at (650) 685-8336, Elaine Yastishock at (650) 344-6884; Our Lady of Angels, Burlingame, Dorothy Heinrichs or Maria Cianci at (650) 347-7768; St. Dunstan, Millbrae, Dianne Johnston at (650) 697-0952; Our Lady of the Pillar, Half Moon Bay, Meghan at (650) 726-4337; St. Peter, Pacifica, Chris Booker at (650) 738-1398; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Mill Valley, Rick Dullea or Diane Claire at (415) 388-4190; St. Mary Star of the Sea, Sausalito, Lloyd Dulbecco at (415) 331-7949.

Meetings 3rd Sat: Reconnecting With Yourself, a group for survivors of abuse by Catholic Church clergy or personnel, 3 –5 p.m., Epiphany Parish Center, 605 Italy St., between Athens and Naples, SF. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Contact facilitator, Richard Krafnick, MFT, (415) 351-2463.

Courage, a Catholic support group for persons with same-sex attraction, meets Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Call Father Lawrence Goode at (415) 333-3627.

Taize Prayer 3rd Wed. at 7:30 p.m. with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in their Province Center Chapel, 1520 Ralston Ave., Belmont across from Ralston on the college campus. Call (650) 593-2045, ext. 350 or www.SistersofNotreDameCa.org.

1st Fri. at 8 p.m. at Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan.

Call (650) 340-7452; Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. Call Deacon Dominic Peloso at (650) 322-3013.

2nd Fri. at 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 700 Oddstad Blvd., Pacifica. Call Deacon Peter Solan at (650) 359-6313.

Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired.

Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633.

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January 23, 2004

Music TV Book Review FLANNERY O’CONNOR: SPIRITUAL WRITINGS, edited by Robert Ellsberg. Orbis Books (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2003). 173 pp., $15.00.

Reviewed by Mitch Finley Catholic News Service Most Catholic readers are probably aware that Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) was a Catholic who wrote fiction, but many may not realize that she was also sharp-asa-tack in the spirituality department — which means, of course, in the living-everyday-life-as-a-Catholic department.

To our great benefit, editor Robert Ellsberg in “Flannery O’Connor: Spiritual Writings” has gathered into one compact volume excerpts from O’Connor’s fiction, letters and essays in which she wrote about religious and spiritual matters. Also lucky for us, Fordham University professor of English Richard Giannone has written the book’s introductory essay, “Flannery O’Connor’s Dialogue With the Age.” O’Connor would have smiled broadly, then laughed out loud, at the suggestion that she could serve as a spiritual adviser to anyone. But that only serves to put the stamp of authenticity on her words. I think one of the most important characteristics of a healthy Catholic spirituality is the ability and the inclination to laugh — especially at oneself. This is why a rigidly conservative spirituality, and a rigidly liberal spirituality, are both mere ideologies masquerading as piety. An authentic Catholic spirituality is

Books RADIO Film

anything but narrow-minded or rigid. And so in O’Connor’s words you will find liberation and joy, plus a no-nonsense honesty and clarity of thought that will sometimes knock your socks off and almost always delight you.

O’Connor avoided all pious platitudes.

Reading her, you may find yourself blinking and saying, “What? What?” For example, writing to someone about to become Catholic, O’Connor said: “Having been a Protestant, you may have the feeling that you must feel you believe; perhaps feeling belief is not always an illusion but I imagine it is most of the time; but I can understand the feeling of pain on going to Communion and it seems a more reliable feeling than joy.”

In other instances, O’Connor’s words will seem like an honest dig in the ribs or a wake-up slap to the chops. Thus, writing in 1962: “One of the effects of modern liberal Protestantism has been gradually to turn religion into poetry and therapy, to make truth vaguer and vaguer and more and more relative, to banish intellectual distinctions, to depend on feeling instead of thought, and gradually to come to believe that God has no power, that he cannot communicate with us, cannot reveal himself to us, indeed has not done so, and that religion is our own sweet invention.” (We’ll leave aside for now to what extent these words may apply to popular Catholicism in recent decades.)

“Flannery O’Connor: Spiritual Writings” is one volume that belongs in the hands of every thinking Catholic regardless of age or ideological inclinations. Her wisdom makes the leap from her mid-20th century era to our own with all its flags a-flying. Hmm. Has anyone suggested starting Flannery O’Connor’s canonization process? We could use one like her.

13

Stage

USCCB Office for Film and Broadcasting Best films of 2003 — “Big Fish,” an enchanting fable about a father and his estranged son and the power of storytelling to engender a magical sense of life’s wonder (PG-13).

— “In America,” director Jim Sheridan’s life-affirming, semi-autobiographical drama set in the 1980s about an impoverished Irish immigrant family struggling to survive in New York City and heal the emotional wounds inflicted by the loss of a young child (PG-13).

— “Mystic River,” a gripping, well-acted morality tale set in a working-class Boston suburb about an unspeakable crime, the devastating effects of which come full circle only years later, as three childhood friends are reunited by a brutal murder (R).

— “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” the final and shining jewel in the crown of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic good-vs.-evil fantasy trilogy, completing the quest of the tale’s unlikely hobbit hero to destroy the Ring of power and save Middle-earth (PG-13).

— “Seabiscuit,” a fact-based, Depression-era, feel-good film about an undersized, bargain-basement racehorse with the heart of a champion who transforms the lives of its owner, trainer and jockey while lifting the sagging spirits of a nation (PG-13).

— “Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII,” an inspirational documentary chronicling the bittersweet war stories of Jewish children saved from the Nazis by the heroism of non-Jewish families who, at great personal risk, took them into their own homes (no rating).

— “Spellbound,” an uplifting documentary celebrating the kaleidoscope of the American experience about eight students from diverse backgrounds competing for all the marbles at the National Spelling Bee in Washington (G).

— “Together,” a beautifully crafted film from China about a young violin prodigy and his simple-minded father whose travels from a backwater town to Beijing teach them valuable lessons about the bonds of love and family; subtitles (PG).

— “Whale Rider,” a touching coming-of-age story set among contemporary New Zealand Maoris which explores the role of community and change through the relationship of a determined 12-year-old girl and her tradition-bound grandfather (PG-13).

— “Winged Migration,” an awe-inspiring documentary which, thanks to spectacular photography, charts the annual journey of various migratory birds over stretches of thousands of miles from the tropics to the Arctic (G).

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Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

Lynne Cheney . . .

■ Continued from cover On arrival, Mrs. Cheney was given a tour of the 228 year-old adobe mission church and adjacent historic cemetery by Mission curator, Franciscan Brother Guire Cleary.

Brother Cleary began the tour showing Mrs. Cheney a model of the Mission made by a student as part of a history project. Each year, more than 10,000 students visit the mission as part of their historical education. Brother Cleary pointed out artifacts and aspects of the mission which highlight both its Spanish and Ohlone Indian heritage.

Mrs. Cheney then presented her donation to Richard Ameil, President of the California Missions Foundation. The Foundation is seeking to raise nearly $50 million for badly needed restoration work at California’s 21 missions. Clinton Reilly, President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San

Budget . . .

■ Continued from cover in the $76 billion proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, Mr. Dolejsi said.

“We have a bloated bureaucracy - not just in education in different agencies,” Al Hernandez Santana, Associate Director for Hispanic Affairs, said. He also pointed to the prison system, which is to receive $5.7 billion in state funding, as a prime target for reform. State officials should consider the early release of nonviolent criminals who are nearing the end of their sentences and “slow down the feverish pace of prison construction,” Mr. Hernandez said.

“We need to maximize the amount of money that actually gets to the classroom,” Mr. Dolejsi said. “That should be the primary driver. . . . All opportunities should be taken to try to streamline the bureaucracy that supports the system before you start tinkering with the actual system. Those are tough choices but they’re choices we must make now.”

“The same thing is true in the medical arena,” he said. “The actual service that gets delivered and the opportunity to have access to health care is more important than the structure that supports it. That doesn’t mean you can make wholesale cuts.

Those are things we all have to debate, but we’ve got to keep our eye on the prize, which is making sure that those people who are poorest and most vulnerable aren’t asked to share all the pain.”

Cuts in the program for the blind, disabled and elderly are the top concern of the Catholic Conference. “The governor has tried to deal with that responsibly,” Mr. Dolejsi said but he questioned the decision to drop federal cost of living

Francisco and Michael Ghilotti were also present to receive Mrs. Cheney. Together they serve as Northern California cochairs for the “Save the Missions” campaign.

Mr. Ameil said, “We are deeply grateful that Mrs. Cheney has shared her generosity with the California Missions Foundation. It shows her commitment to history and the important role of the California missions in the history of our state and nation.” Mr. Ameil hoped that Mrs. Cheney’s example would inspire others to support the “Save the Missions” campaign.

Mrs. Cheney’s gift is earmarked toward work at Mission Dolores. The Mission must raise one million dollars to address several pressing needs. Powder-post beetles have attacked wooden statues and mission-era artwork. Rain and ground moisture have weakened the mission’s adobe walls, and a valuable 18th century Ohlone Indian mural is flaking away.

If you would like to support the “Save the Missions” campaign, visit website www.save-the-missions.org or call (877) 632-3623. increases for the program. “Why not pass on those federal dollars directly to the blind, disabled and elderly,” he asked.

“Our second concern is food security,” he said. The governor’s budget would repeal a law passed last year, with strong support from the CCC, that provides food stamps for people making the transition from welfare to work. This program is also predominantly paid for by the federal government.

The CCC will ask Gov. Schwarzenegger to change his position on the issue. “This deals with basic hunger,” Mr. Dolejsi said. “There is more hunger in California than there ever was.

We can document in spades the whole reality of how that impacts our food banks and our Catholic Charities operations.”

A proposal to put a cap on enrollment in social service and health programs is also troubling, Mr. Hernandez said. The cap would be reached quickly - this year or early next year and that would freeze new applicants out of the program until someone dropped out, he said. The enrollment caps would hit a variety of programs including Healthy Families, Medi-Cal, programs for new mothers and working families, and a program that provides free shots for children and well baby care for families without health insurance.

Mr. Hernandez sees some hope for avoiding these cuts, pointing out that the governor “backed away under pressure from his earlier proposal to cap regional centers that provide care for developmentally disabled children and adults.”

The CCC also hopes to restore funding for naturalization training, for legal immigrants, a program that was originally cut from the budget last year. Much of this training is conducted by Catholic Charities and the cost to the state is about $5 million in a budget of $76 billion.

“We have lots of people in our midst who qualify to

(PHOTO BY JACK SMITH)

14

(l-r) Lynne V. Cheney, Clinton Reilly, Michael Ghilotti and Richard Ameil.

become citizens. They’re here legally, they’re working and they want to be citizens,” Mr. Dolejsi said. “We stand ready to work with the administration to demonstrate how successful and positive this is. We know it’s going to be a tough battle but we’d like to see him put that money in. The people of California are going to get a lot of bang for that buck.”

The conference is keeping an eye on a budget proposal that would include food stamps and cash assistance for legal immigrants in a block grant to counties. “In theory it doesn’t sound bad,” Mr. Hernandez said. “We’re just concerned that some counties are not eager to help vulnerable populations, so we are taking a very close look at the budget to see how the administration plans to implement this proposal.”

Mr. Dolejsi sees some positive signs in the Governor’s proposals to talk about redefining “the partnership between private and public sectors” and to begin a review of government operations. “There is much duplication in state government,” he said. “You need to put together a creative way to look at it with insiders and outsiders. . . . Perhaps there are some savings - not in the billions of dollars - but there are savings we should always strive to realize. It’s a creative approach.”

“We are in a serious budget dilemma in California and this is going to continue for two or three or four years.” Mr. Dolejsi said. “No budget that anyone puts out is going to be free from some type of criticism and concern. Part of putting out a budget is to enlist and engage in that conversation. That’s where we’re going at this moment.

“None of this is meant as criticism of the governor personally or his leadership but is meant to engage in the conversation that we are going to have as a people about what’s important and how we get through this.”

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January 23, 2004

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Prayer to St. Jude Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked.

Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen.

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Candidates should be well versed in the use of Macs, Quark, Photoshop, and Acrobat. They should have experience in pagination and ad creation.

Contact Maurice Healy Mhealy@catholic-sf.org Or fax resume to (415) 614-3633

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Catholic San Francisco

January 23, 2004

Two sisters and a brother give of themselves as Catholic teachers

By Jayme George Kelly, Kendra, and Rob Pheatt spent their entire childhoods in the San Francisco Archdiocese Catholic school system. From St. Isabella’s Elementary School in San Rafael to St. Vincent’s High School in Petaluma, each of the Pheatts went on to graduate from a Catholic college.

After all that Catholic education had given them, the Pheatt siblings felt it was time to give something back.

Today, twin sisters Kelly and Kendra and brother Rob work in the Archdiocese of San Francisco as Catholic school teachers, each claiming that the values imparted to them during their childhoods was a deciding factor in becoming teachers in Catholic schools.

Twins Kelly and Kendra graduated from Dominican University of California in San Rafael in 2000 and were earned their teaching credentials there a year later. Since then, Kelly has become a kindergarten teacher at St. Philip’s Elementary School in San Francisco.

“I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade,” says Kelly. “As a student at St. Isabella’s, I felt like a belonged to a community. I wanted to create that feeling for my students as well.”

There is nothing that Kelly would change about the Catholic school system, though she wants more people to know that Catholic schools are still dedicated to teaching more than just academic subjects. “Even kindergartners learn a Gospel value of the month,” says Kelly. “The world we live in is different today from when I was in

Pheatt family siblings Kendra, Allison, Rob and Kelly.

school. Morals and values are even more important now.”

Kendra, now married to John Antonio, has been teaching second grade at St. Isabella’s for three years. For Kendra, a Catholic education has benefits for more than just the student. “At a Catholic school, children get the foundation of a moral education. It helps the parents to raise their kids,” says Kendra. “If there was anything that I would change about the Catholic school system, I would only make it possible for more families to receive scholarships and tuition assistance. There are so many families with good kids who deserve to go to a good school.”

Rob’s path to becoming a Catholic schoolteacher took him to Kansas, where he graduated from Benedictine College in 2001. He returned to receive his teaching credentials at

Dominican University and is in his first year of teaching social studies to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at St. Isabella’s.

“I am just a kid at heart, and teaching allows me to build a relationship with the youth of today,” says Rob. “Catholic school prepared me in a way that I can make good life decisions because I was given such a good background in morals.”

Rob currently is working on his Masters degree at Dominican University in San Rafael and hopes for a future in administration and coaching, primarily high school basketball and baseball teams.

“I’d like to be the kind of principal who teachers can come to with input. Teachers are the greatest resource to reaching kids today,” says Rob. “I would give more empowerment to the teachers, because their experience in the classroom can be extremely valuable to administrators, and they should be heard.”

For the parents of the three siblings, Virginia and Jeff Pheatt, having a family of Catholic school teachers is a source of great pride. “My kids are great teachers,” says Virginia. “We always knew that Kelly and Kendra would be involved with children. They were always the number one babysitters and swim coaches.”

And there is still one more Pheatt, one more chapter to be written in the legacy of Pheatt family teachers. Allison is a student at San Francisco’s St. Ignatius High School and works at St. Isabella’s rectory. As for a career in teaching, the future is still unclear. “Allison is only sixteen, she has a world of opportunities available to her,” says Virginia.

“One thing we do know is that Allison will be able to succeed at whatever she wants to do.”

Archbishop at schools Prayer, a campus tour, and awarding his famous extra school holiday marked the December10 visit of Archbishop William J. Levada to the Peninsula’s Sacred Heart Schools.

The Atherton campus is home to St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart pre-school and kindergarten, Cee Salberg, principal; St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart elementary, Karen Eshoo, principal; and Sacred Heart Preparatory high school, Richard Dioli, principal.

“The Sacred Heart Schools were honored to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Archdiocese of San Francisco with Archbishop Levada,” said Joseph Ciancaglini, Ed.D., Director of Schools. “We look forward to his return.”

Archbishop Levada also visited with residents of Oakwood, a retirement community for Religious of the Sacred Heart, who founded the campus in 1898. Many of the sisters now living at Oakwood have previously served at the schools including Sisters Helen Welch and Lorraine Lawrence.

A treasure of the schools is its Sacred Heart Mural.

Joining Archbishop Levada in front of the artwork are, back row, from left, Kelsey Seabolt, Ryan Morris, Jack Duane, Daniel Bathgate. Front from left, Dr. Ciancaglini, Ms. Eshoo, Miles McMullin, Carolyn Wright, Marianne Dunn, Director of Campus Ministry.

Panelists address challenges ahead for Catholic schools

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — When about 250 Catholic educators from around the country met in Washington Jan. 8-11, they did not seem daunted by the challenges that lie ahead for them.

The group of principals, superintendents, catechetical leaders and diocesan officials, who gathered to attend a symposium marking the 100th year of the National Catholic Educational Association, instead spoke frankly of difficulties they currently face and of ways they could meet these obstacles head on.

A particular challenge, brought up repeatedly during a Jan. 9 panel discussion, was the urgency of continuing the work of Catholic education while the church, in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, has lost some of its credibility.

“We are in a humbled church. We need to take this moment of grace. If not, we’ve missed a moment,” said Dominican Sister Rose Marie Hennessy, prioress of the Dominican Sisters of San Jose, Calif.

Sister Hennessy urged educators to take this particular time to teach young people the very essence of the Catholic faith.

Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, author and former editor of Commonweal magazine, urged the group to particularly turn their attention to adult education, saying adult Catholics, more than ever, need the tools for critical analysis.

“We are bravely slogging through a difficult time in church history,” she said, calling the clergy abuse scandals a “crisis and an opportunity.”

“It’s a challenge for us to carry on and take personal responsibility,” she added. “It’s absolutely necessary to

still be a vital presence in American culture and in Catholic education.”

Another panelist, Helen Alvare, a law professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, said the abuse crisis makes it all the more imperative for Catholic educators to continue to speak with confidence about the Catholic tradition and the church’s stance on so many moral issues of today.

“We cannot not speak out about what matters, even in the midst of the abuse crisis,” she said. “Too much is happening to cease speaking.”

Panelists also spoke of other challenges, such as future leadership and how to promote Catholic identity.

Father Andrew Greeley, a Chicago archdiocesan priest who is an author and social scientist at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, urged the educators to always be on the look out for potential leaders.

“This can’t be done in the classroom or in a meeting like this,” he said, urging participants to “look around and see who has influence and try to get them to help.”

John McGreevey, history professor and history department chair at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told participants that Catholicism has become fragile within America’s culture and could be strengthened by educators who continually involve their students in social service and who also urge their students to see their Catholic identity as part of an international scope.

“Fifty years ago Catholic educators wouldn’t even question how to correlate faith with culture,” he said, noting that it came more naturally when the Catholic culture was more dominant.

And that’s what the nation’s youths need to find again, said panelist Thomas Groome, director of the

Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College.

“There is an urgency in our time of grooming young people in the deep recesses of the faith tradition of ours,” he said. “We need to give them access to that so they can make it their own.”

The discussion on how to strengthen the sense of Catholic identity, form leaders and also be engaged in today’s society were hardly new topics to the symposium participants. For the past year, dioceses and regional organizations have conducted more than 100 meetings to collect comments on the local level about the future direction for Catholic education.

In working sessions at the Washington gathering, participants continued to discuss these topics and came up with a strategic plan for Catholic education that will be announced during the NCEA convention this year in Boston.

The symposium provided an opportunity for Catholic educators to talk about issues that “all levels of Catholic education wrestle with” all the time on a local level, said Sister Dale McDonald, a member of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and NCEA’s director of public policy and education research who coordinated the symposium.

And the end result was a positive one, according to participant Sister Edwin Quinn, a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who trains teachers in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

“I wish we could capture the enthusiasm and take it back with us,” she told Catholic News Service.

But she also acknowledged there is a fair amount of work ahead.

“It’s challenging. We have to persevere,” she said.

“But there is a message of hope worth fighting for. It’s definitely a mission we can’t neglect.”