February 11, 2021

LENT:

CARMELITES:

VIOLENCE:

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Videos offer ‘back to basics’ approach

Marin sisters relocating as monastery closes

Victimizing women degrades all, pope says

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

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FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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High court rebukes California COVID worship limits CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

California’s strict coronavirus rules banning indoor worship were blocked and revised by a U.S. Supreme Court injunction Feb. 5.

“This is a very significant step forward for basic rights,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said. “This decision makes clear we can now return to worshiping safely indoors without risk of harassment from government officials.

“As Christians we are members of a church, which literally means an assembly of people coming together to worship God,” Archbishop Cordileone continued. “This is our identity; it is in our very nature to SEE HIGH COURT, PAGE 9 (CNS PHOTO/JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ, REUTERS)

Migrants walking from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, turn themselves in to request U.S. asylum in El Paso, Texas, Feb. 1, 2021.

New US immigration policies seek to end ‘chaos, cruelty, confusion’ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden denounced the “chaos, cruelty and confusion” of the Trump administration’s immigration approach and signed executive orders aimed at rebuilding the U.S. immigration system, restoring due process and recognizing the dignity of newcomers.

The actions illustrate his “commitment to prioritize assisting our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters,” said the head of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee.

These orders “will help to ensure that immigrants and refugees are treated humanely and in accordance with their God-given dignity,” said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.

The bishop’s Feb. 3 statement addressed the actions Biden took the previous day.

The president signed orders to address root causes

Pope: Caring for sick crucial to church’s mission CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Caring for and healing the sick is of migration from Central America and expand opan essential part of the Catholic Church’s ministry, portunities for legal migration; create a task force to just as it was a constant part of Jesus’ ministry, Pope reunify families separated by policies of the Trump Francis said. administration; and strengthen integration and “Taking care of the sick of every kind is not an ‘opinclusion efforts for new Americans. tional activity’ for the church, no,” he said Feb. 7. “It is “President Biden’s strategy is centered on the banot something extra.” sic premise that our country is safer, stronger, and “This mission is to bring God’s tenderness to a sufmore prosperous with a fair, safe and orderly imfering humanity. We will be reminded of this in a few migration system that welcomes immigrants, keeps days, Feb. 11, with the World Day of the Sick,” the pope families together, and allows people – both newly said during his Angelus address. arrived immigrants and people who have lived here Although it was raining, at times heavily, a few hunfor generations — to more fully contribute to our dred people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the midcountry,” the White House said Feb. 2. “President day prayer. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Biden knows that new Americans fuel our economy, Rome and the surrounding Lazio region, it was the first as innovators and job creators, working in every time since before Christmas that the pope came to the American industry, and contributing to our arts, window of his studio to pray with people in the square. culture, and government.”

In his main Angelus talk, Pope Francis focused on The White House said the Trump administration’s the day’s Gospel reading, which was St. Mark’s account personal way to honor your loved one’s patriotism to our country. policies at the borderA“have caused chaos, cruelty of Jesus healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and then

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2 ARCHDIOCESE NEED TO KNOW REENTRY SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Archdiocese of San Francisco Restorative Justice Ministry, https://sfarchdiocese.org/rjministry, has established a Reentry Scholarship Stipend Fund. Individuals on probation or parole may apply for the program. Those who are accepted can receive up to $3000 per year toward education costs. Students accepted into the program will receive both financial and emotional support and will be asked to show accountability as they complete their studies. To apply, contact Julio Escobar at EscobarJ@sfarch. org or (415) 614-5572. The program is in association with the Excell Network, www.excellnetwork.org and Comunidad San Dimas, https://csdministry.org/. It is financed through a grant to the California Catholic Conference from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

VOLUNTEER WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES: Catholic social teaching calls the faithful to welcome the stranger.

Catholic Charities Center for Immigration Legal and Support Services invites volunteers to answer that call in service to migrants in the following areas: Lawyers, in partnership with CC staff attorneys, will work with clients in deportation or in guardianship proceedings; application assistants, under the supervision of staff, will prepare DACA and naturalization applications; office volunteers will assist with mail, sorting and filing, phone calls and other office tasks. The center is also in need of Spanish-speaking bilingual translators and interpreters. Contact Carol Laughlin, volunteer manager, (415) 972-1236, CLaughlin@CatholicCharitiesSF.org. Visit catholiccharitiessf.org/what-we-do/immigration.

ARCHBISHOP CORDILEONE’S SCHEDULE FEB.10: USCCB Facebook live rosary for married and engaged couples; chancery meetings FEB. 11-15: On retreat FEB. 16: USCCB advisory group meeting FEB. 16: “Catholic Faith and Modern Science” SPL course (Zoom) FEB. 17: Ash Wednesday, 12:10 Mass. cathedral FEB. 18: Priest Personnel Board; chancery meetings FEB.19: Chancery meetings FEB. 20: Mass for 140th Anniversary of St. Mary Star of the Sea, Sausalito, 4 p.m.

FEB. 21: Mass, First Sunday of Lent, cathedral 11 a.m.

FEB. 22: Chancery meetings FEB. 24: Chancery meetings; Real Life Catholic live show, 4 p.m.

FEB. 25: Seminary meetings FEB. 28: Installation Mass for Father Goo, St. Michael Korean,10 a.m.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Former SVdP executive named to national fundraising post CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Margi English, a former executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco, has been named partner for institutional development for the Leadership Roundtable, a national nonprofit that works to promote best practices and accountability in the U.S. Catholic Church in the areas of finance, human resources, Margi English communications, and management.

“We are truly blessed to have a development professional of Margi’s caliber join our team at Leadership Roundtable,” said Kerry Alys Robinson, the group’s founding executive director.

“Margi brings an incomparable combination of expertise developing strong organizational funding sources and established connections across the country that will be vital to our continued work.”

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Women’s council turns to raffle to raise funds CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The San Francisco Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women decided COVID-19 would not interfere with fundraising that last year let the ACCW help retired priests, the seminary, Catholic charities and pregnancy centers.

While their regular luncheon and silent auction were unavailable channels due to the pandemic, the ACCW sponsored a raffle with winning tickets drawn Jan. 24, 2021 across the street from the home of ACCW president, Cathy Mibach. Father Arnold Zamora, pastor of St. Robert Parish, San Bruno, and spiritual advisor to the ACCW, and ACCW vice-president, Margaret McAuliffe, were also on hand to help pluck the winning tickets.

“Many thanks to all who took part in the raffle,” Cathy Mibach told Catholic San Francisco. “We hope to have a convention later this year in Washington, D.C. to celebrate 100 years of council in this country and in San Francisco.”

ONLINE LENTEN RETREAT STARTS ASH WEDNESDAY

Popular apologist Chris Stefanick with guests including Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone directs a seven-week Lenten retreat beginning Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Questions addressed include: Why am I

Remember to give God in your gifts

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“I am humbled by the opportunity to help shape the future of our church and further Leadership Roundtable’s mission to bring best practices, accountability, and transparency to church leadership,” English said.

English comes to Leadership Roundtable from Habitat for Humanity of Greater San Francisco where she served as chief development officer, Leadership Roundtable said in a statement. She has worked extensively in development, raising more than $50 million in her career for human services, housing and education programs. Her background also includes serving as executive director of development and communications for Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.

On its website the Leadership Roundtable includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops among its partners in service and says it “follows Pope Francis’ lead in seeking bolder, faster reform in church management in the U.S.”

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Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women president, Cathy Mibach, Father Arnold Zamora and Margaret McAuliffe Jan. 24, 2021 at drawing of winning tickets for ACCW raffle.

here? What is the life I was made for? Each week during a live show, Stefanick will discuss how to use the series “The Search” to ignite church renewal through small groups. Visit https://coaching.reallifecatholic. com/thesearch for information on registration.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Publisher Jan Potts Interim Director of Communications Rick DelVecchio Editor/General Manager EDITORIAL Christina Gray, associate editor Tom Burke, senior writer Nicholas Wolfram Smith, reporter

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Videos offer ‘back to the basics’ approach for Lent NICHOLAS WOLFRAM SMITH CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

As Lent approaches, Catholics in the archdiocese have been invited to join The Search, a seven-week faith-filled exploration of the perennial human questions about the meaning of life.

“It’s a great way to enter into the Lenten season.

It’s something different to help us grow in our faith and if we could encourage someone in our family to watch it with us, it will (COURTESY PHOTO REAL LIFE CATHOLIC) help them grow too,” Father Cameron Faller, archdiocesan vocations director, said.

The seven episodes in the series, which is produced by Real Life Catholic and the Augustine Institute, promise to look at the bedrock questions people encounter about their purpose in life or how to find meaning and happiness. Chris Stefanik, a popular Catholic speaker and president of Real Life Catholic, will host a live weekly show during Lent discussing each video.

Father Faller said the series “really gets back to the basics of the faith, the fact that we’re all searching for something.”

The show is aimed at small groups who will watch the videos and use them to launch faithsharing discussions. Small group discussions with fewer than 10 people have been praised for the ability to form deep connections among participants and are seen as an important tool for discipleship in the church. Father Faller said small groups also foster something the church can often lack: talking about each person’s reasons for belief.

“We don’t often talk about our faith,” Father Faller said, adding that it can be simply taken for granted and never discussed or presented in an “overly harsh” way that leaves no room for questions or personal growth. The presentations can also be an avenue to invite people who don’t attend Mass to reawaken their interest in the faith, he said.

A series like The Search that builds on basic questions about faith is also important during a pandemic that has largely separated people from the normal rhythm of religious practice.

“Anytime there’s a tragedy or crisis it makes you reconsider your daily actions. The pandemic has raised questions in people’s minds, why do I do what I do, so this comes at a good time,” he said.

Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services

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Lenten series invites participants to experience Ignatian prayer CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The Marin County co-founder of Random Acts of Catholics, a faith-sharing and service group active now in several local parishes said he was inspired by his own training at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos to create an online Lenten series guided by the elements of Ignatian-style prayer.

“I’ve seen people really come to life through Ignatian prayer,” said Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishioner Paul Venables in a Feb. 2 interview with Catholic San Francisco at the Mill Valley church. “Lent is a good time to try to include some new ways of praying.”

The Lenten series, which he named Shelter in Faith, will meet weekly online Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 10 through March 31. It is free and open to anyone at any time throughout the series.

The goal of the series, said Venables, paraphrasing the final lines of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s “Spiritual Exercises” echoed in a famous 1970s musical, is to help participants “see Christ more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly.”

Venables said he was also inspired by the words of Pope Francis almost a year ago to a pandemic-

(PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishioner Paul Venables, cofounder of its Random Acts of Catholics faith-sharing group talks about an online Lenten series that invites participants into forms of Ignatian prayer. He is pictured inside the Mill Valley church Feb. 2.

paralyzed world. In his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing March 27, 2020, the pope said this moment in history SEE LENT, PAGE 6

三藩市天主教總教區華人宗徒事務處 Chinese Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

第三十屆新年籌款活動 Chinese New Year Annual Appeal Happy New Year! The year of 2020 has been a year full of challenges and trials for all of us at

many levels. However, another year is dawning. May the gree�ngs of the New Year bring you renewed hope and spirit!

Overshadowed by the wide spreading COVID-19, our annual Chinese New Year Banquet, unfortunately, is not going to be able to be held this year. Nevertheless, we con�nue to rely on your prayers and support. The Chinese Ministry of Archdiocese of San Francisco makes this annual appeal and requests your faithful and generous financial support.

For corporate and business donors: If your dona�on is above $2000, your logo will be displayed on our web page as benefactors for the whole year, and above $500 for 6 months.

We will honor individual donors on our webpage in the same way at their discre�ons.

Chinese Ministry appreciates your support and generosity at this difficult �me. May God bless you and reward you!

新年快樂！

二零二零年對我們每個人，我們的家庭和教會來說，都是充滿困難與挑戰的一 年。 但新年已到。 願這新年的問候為我們帶來新的希望、新的氣象。 在這疫情還在傳播的陰影下，很不幸，每年一度的新春捐款晚會沒有辦法如期舉行。但三藩市 天主教華人宗徒事務處還依靠大家的祈禱與支持。 希望大家能夠一如既往地為宗徒事務處提 供經濟上的援助，以支持我們的福傳使命。 商業贊助者： 捐助倆千美元以上者，其商業標誌連同網址會呈列於宗徒事務處網站一年；捐助五百美元以上 者，呈列半年。 個人募捐者，在你們的同意下，也同樣會在宗徒事務處的網站呈上你們的名字以表謝意。 多謝大家在這非常時期慷慨的支持。 願天主降福你們，以祂特別的方式賞報你們! 捐款支票抬頭 Dona�on payable to: Chinese Ministry of ADSF 查詢 Inquiry:翟林湧神父 Fr. Peter Zhai, SVD 415-614-5575 zhaip@sfarch.org 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

San Rafael Carmelites to resettle in separate monasteries CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Mother Dolores Sullivan, OCD, just learned she’ll be leaving the Carmelite monastery she has called home for more than 55 years in less than a month.

“I feel brokenhearted,” Mother Dolores, 98, the original prioress of Mother of God Monastery tearfully told Catholic San Francisco after a Candlemas Day Mass Feb. 2. “The Lord is giving us a whole new beginning.”

Her sisters at the San Rafael monastery have tried to shield the frail-but-attentive 98-year-old nun from the full weight of their worries after a degree of closure was issued to the monastery last May. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life cited dwindling new vocations as the cause of the closure.

The complications of moving four aged nuns into group housing or another monastery in the midst of a pandemic were acknowleged in a moveout date of March 1, 2021.

The multi-room suburban monastery was built on 45 wooded acres by Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken in 1965.

Mother Dolores was one of the 10 nuns who first occupied the self-supporting monastery and has worked to sustain its life of prayer and presence to the local community ever since.

Sister Anna Marie Vanni, OCD, who has lived at the monastery all her 44 years of consecrated life, said that finding

(PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

The Carmelite Sisters of Mother of God Monastery in San Rafael will leave the monastery in pairs March 1 for separate monasteries in the Midwest after a decision was made to close the San Rafael monastery last year. Sister Teresa Francis, OCD, left, Sister Anna Marie Vanni, OCD, center, and Mother Dolores Sullivan, OCD, are pictured at the monastery Feb. 2 after Candlemas Day Mass in the chapel. Not pictured is Sister Mary Anne Biata, OCD. another monastery or home that could take all of the sisters together “proved impossible.” The four will be separated for the first time in years on March 1 when they leave in pairs to separate Carmelite monasteries in the Midwest.

She said she doesn’t know what plans the archdiocese has for the property after the sisters are gone.

“We are very grateful,” said Sister Anna Marie, 69, who with Sister Teresa

Francis, OCD, 82, will drive their minivan nearly 2,000 miles north to North Dakota where they have been welcomed to the Carmel of Mary Monastery in the town of Wahpeton. Mother Dolores and Sister Mary Anne Biata, 60, will go east to join the Carmelite Monastery of St. Therese in Clinton Township, Michigan.

“We’ve visited many times,” Mother Dolores said of her new monastery home.

“That’s a consolation.”

Ever-cheerful Sister Teresa Francis said she has only seen a small picture of the North Dakota monastery and “it looks lovely.” After living in four previous monastery settings, though, she had hoped Mother of God would be where she would spend her final days.

The momentary dark cloud passes from over her face when she suddenly remembers, “they have kitties!,” and reaches over to grab Mother Dolores by the hand. The monastery in Clinton Township has them too, she said. The monastery matriarch grins.

Mother Dolores, whose memory has become shorter and her hearing weaker, doesn’t understand why she and the sisters must leave their beloved monastery.

Neither do many of the neighbors and friends who have treasured their presence here.

“It’s hard for me to be OK with it,” said Shelly Milsap, a local mother of five who has been Mother Dolores’ devoted parttime caregiver for eight years. “I see the way they live. I know what they mean to the community here.”

Supporters of all ages, some good friends, others near strangers continue to come say their goodbyes to the sisters, said Sister Anna Marie.

Sister Teresa Francis summed up the essence of what will be lost to the community when they leave, especially in these uncertain times.

“We were something they could count on,” she said.

Parish series helping parishioners find the upside of lockdown CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Though the end of the pandemic is still a tiny light at the end of a long tunnel, Father Roger Gustafson wants the lives of St. Hilary parishioners to have been changed for the better by it.

The pastor of the Tiburon parish began 2021 with a six-week online Sunday message series called “The Upside of Lockdown,” a program designed to invite the community to discover the “spiritual upside of being in confinement.”

Vaccines are rolling out slowly in California. The state’s regional stay-at-home order was lifted on Jan. 25 after nearly a full year of on-and-off public health restrictions affecting how we live, work, worship, socialize and educate our children.

“With all those ups and downs, maybe you haven’t thought about what you could take away from this last year,” Father Gustafson says in the

(PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Father Roger Gustafson, pastor of St. Hilary Church in Tiburon confirms the son of a parish family on Feb. 2.

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“The thing is, if you want to maintain a positive growth mindset in life it’s always a good thing to ask yourself three questions about any experience,” he said. “What do I want to stop doing, what do I want to start doing, and what do I want to keep doing?”

“There are many examples of how people’s lives have improved,” Father Gustafson told Catholic San Francisco Feb. 2. Family savings accounts, for instance, have doubled according to national survey. Some have found isolation has given them time to prioritze relationships. Working from home is challenging especially for families with working parents and school-age children. But the time together not spent in a daily commute has been unexpected blessing for many.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Parish leaders in San Francisco help Hispanics pay rent

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SERIES

The California Catholic Conference is sponsoring a free online restorative justice series beginning 6:30 p.m., Feb. 21, 2021 with Mass, Bishop David O’Connell, chair of the U.S. bishops’ restorative justice committee and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, principal celebrant and homilist. The series continues March 4, 25, April 15; May 13, 20 at 6:30 p.m. with presentations on restorative justice from experts in the field. For complete information and registration, visit www.restorejustice.com. A certificate of completion issued by the CCC and Santa Clara University will be made available to all who attend the entire series.

LORENA ROJAS SAN FRANCISCO CATÓLICO

When leaders of Mission District parishes in San Francisco set out to find out the needs affecting parishioners during the pandemic, one of the biggest problems emerged was late rent payments due to unemployment.

The leaders began looking for resources from the city of San Francisco’s Give2SF program, but months later many of these parishioners have not received a response, said Violeta Román, a parishioner at St. Peter Parish.

Román is part of the social justice ministry at St. Peter, St. Charles and St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception churches, the three parishes under the administration of Father Moisés Agudo. She is also a leader of the nonprofit Faith in Action, which advocates for residents of San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

More than 250 parishioners from the three Mission churches and St. Paul of the Shipwreck in the Bayview District have requested help to fill out rental aid forms.

For many of these parishioners, it is difficult to apply for some benefits because of language barriers, lack of technology or difficulties navigating public services.

Román mentioned that many applicants for rental aid are undocumented immigrants who lack unemployment insurance. They could not apply for the state economic stimulus aid for undocumented immigrants because they were not able to access that program’s hotline.

St. Peter parishioner Sonia Alvarenga has not been able to pay her rent since May 2020 because she lost her job at the Moscone Center, where she worked cleaning after events. She pays $ 1,250 for a room with a private bath.

With the help of social justice lead-

GRIEF SUPPORT ON ZOOM

Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park, hosts a grief support group, Fridays, beginning Feb. 12, 2021, through March 19, 2021,11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., via Zoom. The goals of the group are to provide educational information about grief and loss, to assist members in developing coping and adapting skills, and to offer emotional support. For more information or to register contact Sheila Kennedy, LCSW, (650) 6197079; Sheila-kennedy@sbcglobal.net.

(COURTESY PHOTO)

Sonia Alvarenga, a parishioner at St. Peter Parish in the Mission District, lost her job at the beginning of the pandemic and has not been able to pay her rent for several months. With the support of Catholic leaders for social justice and Faith in Action, she received some help but continues to owe several months of rent. ers and Faith in Action, she was able to fill out the application for Give2SF funds. About eight months later, payment arrived for two months’ rent.

Alvarenga said she has been looking for a restaurant job in restaurants but hiring has been stalled by COVID. “Our future depends on opening workplaces, but people need to get vaccinated so they can open everything again,” she said.

Parish leaders combined with Faith in Action in a Dec. 18 demonstration to call attention to the San Francisco rental aid program, which had been underused. They also sent demand letters to Mayor London Breed and city supervisors.

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advocates had planned a new demonstration for Feb. 12. At the time this article was prepared, they had not received a response from the city.

‘WALKING WITH JESUS,’ A LENTEN WORKSHOP

Feb 21, 2 p.m., St. Augustine Church, South San Francisco. Prayer, reflections, sharing and transformation with homily by St. Augustine pastor, Father Ray Reyes. Register online by Feb 14, 2021 at https://bit.ly/2N4y WBZ. For more information call (650) 873-2282.

6 FROM THE FRONT

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Traveling cross a beautiful way to pray for vocations, pastor says NICHOLAS WOLFRAM SMITH CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

A new ministry coming to St. Mark Parish, Belmont, brings praying for vocations into parishioners’ homes.

“We truly have a need for good vocations for the archdiocese and for religious orders, and I think this is a beautiful way to start it,” Father Angel Quitalig, pastor of St. Mark, said. “It’s a universal call for every Christian to pray for vocations.”

Beginning on Feb. 21, the first Sunday of Lent, one parish family each week will take home a special cross and commit to praying the rosary for vocations, especially to religious life and priesthood.

Father Quitalig said starting in Lent connects praying for vocations to spirituality, encourages more prayer and helps build ties in the community as the cross gets passed from one family to another.

St. Augustine Parish, South San Francisco, started its traveling cross ministry last November and has made “a huge impact” on families, according to pastor Father Ray Reyes.

“They felt so grateful for the privilege to pray as a family before it each night. They felt the relevance of the prayers especially in these strange times when young people ask deep and serious

(COURTESY MELIZA MOSCARDINI)

This traveling vocations cross is part of an effort to promote vocations through family prayer at home.

questions about the purpose of life and their future,” he said.

Meliza Moscardini, a St. Augustine parishioner, said bringing her family together to pray for vocations was a “very peaceful” experience. She added that being entrusted with that role helped her feel more like a disciple.

“It’s a good feeling to give back and respond to God’s calling,” she said.

Father Cameron Faller, archdiocesan vocations director, said home programs to promote vocations are common in the U.S. and help introduce parents to the idea their children might be called to religious or priestly life.

While many Catholics acknowledge the importance of vocations to the church, “when it comes to their own family they become a little more hesitant to talk about the issue. Bringing a cross home makes the reality of vocations present as a possibility,” he said.

According to a survey of priests ordained in 2020 conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a research group studying the Catholic Church, one third of respondents said their mothers encouraged them to consider priesthood. About one fourth said their fathers or grandparents encouraged them. Parish priests, friends and parishioners were most likely to encourage vocations to the priesthood.

BORDER: Biden orders aim to end ‘chaos, cruelty, confusion’ FROM PAGE 1

and confusion,” undermining community safety, penalizing asylum seekers fleeing violence and destabilizing security across the Western hemisphere.

The White House task force will be led by Alejandro Mayorkas, confirmed by the Senate Feb. 2 – and sworn in the same day – to serve as the next U.S. secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes carrying out Biden’s immigration agenda.

Mayorkas is the first immigrant as well as the first Latino appointed to the high-profile Cabinet position.

“The cruelty of the prior administration has come to an end, and now we will demonstrate to the world what we as Americans are,” Mayorkas said in a Feb. 3 CNN interview.

In his statement, Bishop Dorsonville said migration policies implemented by the Trump administration “have directly impacted and harmed immigrants’ and refugees’ lives, in many cases needlessly instilling fear and creating or perpetuating family separation.”

“The Catholic Church teaches that each person is created in the image and likeness of God and that we must uphold the inherent dignity of each person,” he

said. “As a society, we must remain consistent in our openness and treatment of all persons, regardless of whether they were born in the United States or immigrated here.”

Bishop Dorsonville said the U.S. bishops “know that changes will take time but (we) applaud President Biden’s commitment to prioritize assisting our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters. We also offer our assistance and cooperation on these urgent matters of human life and dignity.”

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO CONTRIBUTED.

LENT: Series invites participants to experience Ignatian prayer FROM PAGE 3

was a time of judgment – not God’s judgment, but our own. “Now is a time to choose what matters and what passes away; a time to separate what is necessary from what is not,” the pope said.

Lent and the continuing uncertainty wrought by the pandemic is “an opportunity to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others,” said Venables, who co-founded RAOC in 2016. The program falls under the RAOC umbrella, with now-thriving chapters at OLMC and St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco.

The advertising agency executive is in the third and

final year of the Pierre Favre Spiritual Direction Program offered by El Retiro Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos. The third year of study involves directing other people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

“The exercises are this big 10-month journey if you do it formally,” he said. “This series is just a glimpse of the little prayerful things you can do to get closer to God.” Participants will get to experience Ignatian contemplation, imaginative prayer, the reflective Examen, and Lectio Divina. They will also get a sample the Triple Colloquy, a form of prayerful conversation with first Mary, then Jesus and finally God. “We will also share our faith experiences and make

personal petitions to support each other in prayer,” said Venables.

Venables said the Spiritual Exercises and Ignatian prayer have helped him “see the world with different eyes. You see things like obstacles that slow you down in a completely different way.”

When asked about his own prayers, he said he prays for Jesus to be loved more, “including by me.”

“I guess that I believe that with his grace and the Holy Spirit guiding me I can help in that way,” he said.

Visit randomactsofcatholics.org or contact PabloVenables@gmail.com for the series link.

ST. HILARY: Series helps faithful with upside of lockdown FROM PAGE 4

money and ‘making a plan’ for life instead of living day to day.

The episodes are lighthearted and endearing, with Father Gustofson sharing stories from his own life.

While the topic is of the times, he said, the presentation with its professionally-shot video introduction, graphics and music is something he’s been doing since he was a pastor at St. Brendan’s in San Francisco.

“I preach in what’s called a “message series format,” he said. He takes a topic and delves into

it over a 4-6 week time period on Sundays.

He learned it from Church of the Nativity in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who founded the “Rebuilt” movement. They spent five years studying the techniques used in the fastest growing churches in America, said Father Gustafson.

One of the things these churches styles had in common was preaching in a message series.

“It keeps people focused on a topic, you get spiritual momentum going from week to week and it keeps people interested.”

Father Gustafson said he and his staff including director of development Lisa Rosenlund brainstormed topics for 2021.

He said each episode, or homily, takes about 10 hours from start to finish.

“It takes a whole lot of time,” he said. “The most important thing we do is the Sunday experience.

If we don’t get that right we are not getting the foundation right.”

He absolutely believes it is worth the time involved when asked if the time is worth has resulted in bringing in newcomers.

“St. Hilary was one of these churches that was declining,” said Father Gustafson. “And now, in COVID, when you count viewers and the people who are showing up here public for Mass, we have increased attendence by 25%.”

NATIONAL 7

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Naumann: Biden action on Title X makes abortion part of family planning JULIE ASHER CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s decision to rescind a regulation governing the Title X family planning program that was enforced by the Trump administration “will force abortion” to be part Archbishop of the program and Joseph F. “may be unlawful,” Naumann said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee.

Started in 1970, the Title X Family Planning Program is a federal grant program for low-income patients to receive family planning and reproductive health services. It funds services including contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and breast and cervical cancer screenings.

In February 2019, the Trump administration implemented the “Protect Life Rule” that enforces the Title X rule banning taxpayer funds from being used to promote or provide abortion as family planning. On Feb 24, 2020, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the rule that Biden is revoking.

“Although the Catholic bishops have grave concerns about government promotion of contraceptives, we have long supported efforts to ensure that the provision and promotion of abortion is kept physically and financially out of the pre-pregnancy family planning services provided through the Title X program,” said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“Abortion takes the life of an already-conceived and growing child, and most Americans agree that abortion should not be used as a method of family planning or as a ‘back up’ for failed family planning,” he said in a statement Jan. 29.

A day earlier Biden announced he was rescinding the Trump-era rule in his “Presidential Memorandum

BISHOP WARNS AGAINST EUCHARIST ‘WEAPONIZATION’

WASHINGTON – Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego warned against the “weaponization of Eucharist” as a way to get Catholic elected officials, President Joe Biden among them, to adhere to the church’s stance on abortion.

“I do not see how depriving the president or other political leaders of Eucharist based on their public policy stance can be interpreted in our society as anything other than the weaponization of Eucharist and an effort not to convince people by argument and by dialogue and by reason, but, rather, to pummel them into submission on the issue,” Bishop McElroy said.

“It would be very destructive. It would also cast the (U.S. bishops’) conference more significantly into the role of being partisan, as being associated with one party rather than the other.”

Bishop McElroy made the comments

to Protect and Expand Access to Comprehensive Reproductive Health Care,” which included his actions to rescind the “Mexico City policy” and other provisions.

The Trump administration rule reaffirmed that abortion “is not family planning.”

Section 1008 of the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970, which enacted Title X, states that “none of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

In August 2019, Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced it was withdrawing from the federal Title X program over the rule and like other opponents of the policy called it a “gag rule.” It received $60 million of the $286 million allocated annually through Title X. Biden said in his memo: “The act specifies that Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning, but places no further abortion-related restrictions on recipients of Title X funds.”

Under President Donald Trump, Biden said, the Department of Health and Human Services’ implementation of the “Protect Life Rule” “prohibits recipients of Title X funds from referring patients to abortion providers and imposes other onerous requirements on abortion providers.”

“The Title X rule has caused the termination of federal family planning funding for many women’s health care providers and puts women’s health at risk by making it harder for women to receive complete medical information,” he added.

But in his statement, Archbishop Naumann said by enforcing the rule, Title X “draws a bright line between abortion and family planning.”

“In addition to the program explicitly prohibiting taxpayer funding for abortion, its authors further emphasized this intent by stating that ‘the funds authorized under this legislation (shall) be used only to support preventive family planning services, population research, infertility services, and other related medical, informational and educational activities,’” the archbishop said.

during a Feb. 1 online forum, “President Biden, U.S. Bishops and Pope Francis: How to Promote Catholic Principles in a Divided Church and Nation,” sponsored by the Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought.

Other forum panelists issued their own cautions on the issue.

“We should try to persuade others to join us, not just condemn. We need to spend a lot more time talking about the humanity of the unborn child than whether Joe Biden can go to Communion,” said John Carr, the initiative’s co-director.

“Denying Communion – there is a reason why throughout history the church hasn’t done this. Why it isn’t done around the world. Why almost no Catholic dioceses do this. It seems to me to be logically inappropriate, a disaster and counterproductive,” Carr said.

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8 NATIONAL

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Elderly nuns hit by COVID-19: Some getting vaccines, others still waiting CAROL ZIMMERMANN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – This past year as the coronavirus cut through the United States, elderly women religious – former teachers, nurses, social workers and pastoral care leaders – were among those whose lives were cut short by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

In some cases, these women, living in convents and cared for by their fellow sisters, died in clusters, leaving their communities with a magnified loss.

Groups of sisters who died of COVID-19 complications made headline news for their sheer numbers. The first was a group of 13 Felician sisters who died last spring and summer – 12 in the month from Good Friday, April 10, to May 10 – and another in June at their motherhouse just outside of Detroit.

In December, eight School Sisters of Notre Dame in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, died within a two-week period. And by the year’s end in New York, nine sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, outside Albany, died along with seven Maryknoll sisters at a center for their order in Ossining.

In the new year, the virus continued its toll. Of the nine Adrian Dominican Sisters in Michigan who died in late January, six died within 48 hours.

“All of us share in this. We are all trying to do our best for our elderly sisters,” said Sister Susan Francois, an assistant congregation leader for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, who has been in

(CNS PHOTO/COURTESY FELICIAN SISTERS)

Felician Sister Mary Modesta Piwowar, 96, holds up a sign after her recent COVID-19 vaccination at the Felician convent in Livonia, Michigan.

conversations with other congregation leaders about this devastating blow to the sisters many hold dear.

A common thread for the sisters who have died in the pandemic was their decadeslong devotion to prayer and service, not just as individuals but as part of a community. As one sister put it: The sisters’ congregational lifestyle makes them vulnerable to viruses.

Convents across the country have been practicing recommendations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: face masks, social distancing, hand washing, cleaning surfaces and no longer gather-

ing as a group. But still the coronavirus crept in.

And now with COVID-19 vaccines available, the urgency to get older sisters vaccinated, along with staff members involved in their care, is a top priority, but it’s not always easy.

Since vaccines began rolling out in December, some elderly sisters have been able to get vaccinated, but not all of them. Many, who live with fellow sisters, not in assisted living or long-term care centers, are not at the top of vaccine eligibility lists. It also depends on where the sisters live and how their states are distributing available vaccinations.

“We’re trying to leave no stone unturned,” said Felician Sister Noel Marie Gabriel, the director of clinical health services for the Felician Sisters of North America who has been calling pharmacies and local and state government agencies to try to get older sisters vaccinated.

As of late January, the sisters in the Michigan motherhouse where 13 died earlier this year, have been vaccinated as have the sisters in a few other locations but there are still two convents where sisters have not received the shots.

Part of the problem is “convents are considered private homes, not care facilities,” she said, even though the retired sisters receive care from staff members and other sisters.

On Jan. 28, Sister Noel, who wears an N95 mask and also double masks, found out the order’s sisters in Buffalo, New York, would be vaccinated in early February. She hopes all the Felician sisters in the U.S. and Canada can be vaccinated

by Easter – which she said would be a resurrection of sorts.

Sister Adele O’Sullivan, on the leadership team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and also a family health physician, has experienced the same inconsistency with the vaccines. At some convents, like the one in New York where nine sisters died last year, the sisters have now been vaccinated, but others, like the one in Los Angeles where she moved in the spring to help support the staff in their care for the sisters, have not.

“It’s difficult for us just like the rest of the world,” she told Catholic News Service Jan. 29.

She said the frail sisters, like elderly around the country who are not in care facilities, face the challenge of simply getting to a vaccination site. As she put it: “If you are bedridden, you can’t be in a car for an hour at Dodger Stadium.”

In this time of waiting, as during the long months of this pandemic, she said the sisters have shown great resiliency.

“So many of these sisters have coped with tragedy and loss and change throughout their lives. These are strong women and they have pulled that strength out of themselves to cope with this.”

To help protect them, she said she and other congregation leaders have been reaching out to everyone they can think of from long lists of community contacts and asking: “Can you help us?”

The older sisters absolutely want the vaccine, she said, because they have seen their peers suffer. They also want to be SEE ELDERLY NUNS, PAGE 16

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NATIONAL 9

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

HIGH COURT: Rebukes California COVID worship limits FROM PAGE 1

gather in person to give honor and glory to God. And especially as Catholics we know that our worship cannot be livestreamed: There is no way to give Communion, or any of the other sacraments via the internet.”

The Supreme Court’s unsigned order said that the total ban on indoor worship is unconstitutional. At most, the state may limit indoor capacity to 25% of normal. It left the ban on singing intact.

The injunction concerned two different challenges brought by South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, both of which had sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Six justices favored the injunction, while three did

BENEDICT XVI INSTITUTE LAUNCHES ‘YEAR OF THE HOMELESS’

SAN FRANCISCO – The Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship in the San Francisco Archdiocese Feb. 4 launched a “Year for the Homeless,” which includes calling people to prayer, commissioning a special requiem Mass and holding a series of fundraisers via Zoom to help the homeless.

“I join Pope Francis in asking all of our people to pray for those dying homeless in the streets of San Francisco and beyond,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.

He was referring to the pope’s remarks Jan. 24 publicly mourning the death of Edwin, a Nigerian who had been sleeping near St. Peter’s Square, and whose death was attributed to Rome’s overnight cold temperatures.

The San Francisco archbishop called the institute’s yearlong focus on the homeless innovative for “combining prayers, charity and new creative endeavors to touch the Catholic imagination with the profound reality of the equal dignity of every human soul.”

Maggie Gallagher, executive director of the Benedict XVI Institute, said the pope’s call for prayers for Edwin “is particularly timely” because the institute has commissioned a “Requiem Mass for the Homeless” by its composer in residence, Frank La Rocca.

La Rocca’s “Requiem Mass for the Homeless” will be celebrated for the first time Nov. 6 with the Benedict

ARCHDIOCESE ISSUES ASH WEDNESDAY GUIDANCE

The following summary of this year’s fulfillment of Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, was circulated to parishes

by Father Andrew Spyrow, vicar for clergy, and Laura Bertone, director of worship, on behalf of Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone: We have all had a year filled with different ways of living and praying. As we mark the beginning of Lent, we once again need to adapt our practices to preserve the health of all worshippers, while following the ancient traditions of the church. Therefore, this year, instead of tracing a cross of ashes on the forehead, ashes will be distributed by the ancient custom of sprinkling over the crown of the head. This practice is used extensively in Europe and the Holy See has mandated it be used throughout the world this year. After the homily, the priest will bless the ashes as usual and recite the invocation over everyone. With masks on, each worship-

not. Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

“California no longer asks its movie studios, malls, and manicurists to wait,” Gorsuch said. “As this crisis enters its second year – and hovers over a second Lent, a second Passover, and a second Ramadan – it is too late for the state to defend extreme measures with claims of temporary exigency, if it ever could. Drafting narrowly tailored regulations can be difficult. But if Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry.”

Chief Justice Roberts, writing in his own opinion, said that the state’s judgement that no adherents can safely worship even in “the most cavernous cathe-

dral” is a view that “appears to reflect not expertise or discretion, but instead insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake.”

At the same time, he saw “no basis” to override the state ban on singing indoors, given conclusions that singing raises the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

Justice Elena Kagan, however, wrote a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. She accused the court of practicing “armchair epidemiology” in “the worst public health crisis in a century.”

“Justices of this court are not scientists,” she said.

“Nor do we know much about public health policy.

Yet today the court displaces the judgments of experts about how to respond to a raging pandemic.”

Sixteen Choir, led by the world-renowned conductor Richard Sparks.

The institute also has commissioned a new painting, “The Patron Saints of the Homeless,” by San Francisco painter Bernadette Carstensen.

“Kierkegaard wrote, ‘Faith sees best in the dark.’ I believe that to be true. For me, in the darkest moments, faith provides hope and solace, it provides clarity and purpose as well. It shows the way forward,” said Biden, a Catholic.

“Faith shows the way forward as one nation in a common purpose,” he said, echoing his theme of unity in his Jan. 20 inaugural address.

Those going hungry, facing eviction, lacking health care or losing their lives “aren’t Democrats and Republicans – they’re our fellow Americans, fellow human beings,” he said. “This is not a nation that can, or will, simply stand by and watch this. It is not who we are.”

VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS VOTE TO END DEATH PENALTY

ARLINGTON, Va. – Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate have now passed bills that would abolish the death penalty in the state.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has stated his support, making it highly likely that Virginia will become the first Southern state to outlaw capital punishment.

According to Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the commonwealth has executed 1,390 men and women since 1608, more than any other state.

A few more things must happen before capital punishment is banned. “The final step will be reconciling any differences between the House and Senate bills and sending a final version for Governor Ralph Northam to sign into law later in the spring,” the group said in a news release.

BIDEN SAYS FAITH CAN LEAD IN DARK TIMES

WASHINGTON – For many in the nation, this is a dark time because of job loss, hunger, evictions, sickness and death because of COVID-19, “so where do we turn? Faith” President Joe Biden said, addressing the National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 4. per will come forward in a line. When you reach the minister, please bow your head slightly and the minister will sprinkle ashes onto the crown of your head. Note that neither the minister nor the receiver says anything. Once you have received ashes, you can return to your seat. Archbishop Cordileone has asked that other than the regularly scheduled daily Mass of the parish, parishes have Liturgy of the Word to accompany distribution of ashes. This is again a health and safety issue, and completely allowed for by the rite and the Vatican.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said with its instruction about Ash Wednesday: “While Ash Wednesday is not a holyday of obligation and while there is no requirement for the clergy and faithful to receive the imposition of ashes, it is rightly observed as a celebration of high importance, and many will surely wish to participate even amid the current difficulties.”

BIDEN RAISES REFUGEE CAP TO 125,000

In November, incoming U.S. President Joe Biden said at a Jesuit Refugee Service event that he would be heading in a dramatically different direction than the previous administration on refugee admissions.

On Feb. 4, Biden delivered on those remarks, signing an executive order to raise the refugee cap to 125,000 for fiscal year 2021.

“It’s going to take time to rebuild what is so badly damaged, but that’s precisely what we’re going to do,” he said, referencing the near dismantling of the program under the Trump administration, which dropped the cap late last year to a historically low figure of 15,000.

As the world faces a crisis of more than 80 million displaced people looking for refuge, the United States can return to what it once was, he said in a televised address at the U.S. Department of State.

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10 FAITH

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

SUNDAY READINGS

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time LEVITICUS 13:1-2, 44-46 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him, he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”

PSALM 32:1-2, 5, 11 I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord imputes

not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile.

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, “I confess my faults to the Lord, and you took away the guilt of my sin.

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:31—11:1 Brothers and sisters, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of

Heal me, Jesus

W

hat audacity to beg for such a gift. Heal me, Jesus! I believe you can do it on a mere whim, the leper tells him. “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Lord, make me clean! Do you ever cry out to him for that?

Lord, make me clean from the anger! Lord, make me clean from the resentments from the past! Lord, make me clean from the jealousy toward my neighbor who is more _______ (successful, healthy, goodlooking, athletic, sought-after) than me.

When Jesus heals the leper, it is complete healing. Jesus heals all the way. This healing experience changes the leper’s whole identity in an instant.

After he is healed, Mark no longer refers to him as the SISTER MARIA leper, but as “the man.” And, CATHERINE boy, does he have a good story TOON, OP to tell! He is so eager to have that satisfaction of seeing the looks on people’s faces when he tells this story in the gathering places of ancient Israel, that he disregards Jesus’ command to tell no one.

Why all the secrecy? After debating this for centuries, many scholars call this the “messianic secret.”

The Jews would have expected a Messiah to be a

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

strong, political figure who would overthrow the Romans and deliver them from physical bondage and captivity, so that they can be a politically free and independent people. A king who allows himself to be humiliated and treated like a slave to show his love for his people, is not who the Jews are expecting. If it becomes known that Jesus is the Messiah, the people will expect that his miracles are meant to display his strength before the Romans. But Jesus does not come to deliver the people just politically: he comes to deliver them from the ultimate reign of darkness and oppression in the kingdom of Satan. How can he make them see the difference? He encounters people like this leper in need of healing, transforming them one-by-one. Imagine the leper gazing into Jesus’ eyes and Jesus lovingly meeting that gaze.

Reread this story with yourself as the leper. You and I are the real lepers. We each have something we carry around that we think Jesus cannot or will not heal. But this story flies in the face of the truth.

He does will our healing. But do I create obstacles to that healing? Do I follow the directions that he gives?

Pray and ask the Lord to show you what leprosy he wants to heal in you. May he give each of us the grace to receive that healing.

SISTER MARIA CATHERINE is a perpetually professed member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.

She has a master’s in theology from Ave Maria University and teaches high school theology in Chicago.

LITURGICAL CALENDAR, DAILY MASS READINGS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15: Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time. Gn 4:1-15, 25. PS 50:1 and 8, 16bc-17, 20-21. Jn 14:6. Mk 8:11-13.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22: Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, apostle. 1 Pt 5:1-4. PS 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6. Mt 16:18. Mt 16:13-19.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16: Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time. Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10. PS 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10. Jn 14:23. Mk 8:14-21.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23: Tuesday of the First Week of Lent. Optional Memorial of St. Polycarp. Is 55:10-11. PS 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19. Mt 4:4b. Mt 6:7-15.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17: Ash Wednesday. Jl 2:1218. PS 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17. 2 Cor 5:20—6:2.

See Ps 95:8. Mt 6:1-6, 16-18.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18: Thursday after Ash Wednesday. Dt 30:15-20. PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6. Mt 4:17. Lk 9:22-25.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19: Friday after Ash Wednesday. Is 58:1-9a. PS 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19. See Am 5:14. Mt 9:1415.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20: Saturday after Ash Wednesday. Is 58:9b-14. PS 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. Ez 33:11. Lk 5:27-32.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21: First Sunday of Lent. Gn 9:815. Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9. 1 Pt 3:18-22. Mt 4:4b. Mk 1:12-15.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24: Wednesday of the First Week of Lent. Jon 3:1-10. PS 51:3-4, 12-13, 1819. Jl 2:12-13. Lk 11:29-32.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25: Thursday of the First Week of Lent. Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25. PS 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8. Ps 51:12a, 14a. Mt 7:7-12.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26: Friday of the First Week of Lent. Ez 18:21-28. PS 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8. Ez 18:31. Mt 5:20-26.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27: Saturday of the First Week of Lent. Optional Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church. Dt 26:16-19.

PS 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8. 2 Cor 6:2b. Mt 5:43-48.

the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

MARK 1:40-45 A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

POPE FRANCIS MISSIONARY DISCIPLESHIP MEANS OUTREACH IN COMPASSION, POPE SAYS

VATICAN CITY – Compassion and a constant effort to reach out to others are essential elements of being “missionary disciples,” even in the midst of a pandemic, Pope Francis said in his message for World Mission Sunday.

“In these days of pandemic, when there is a temptation to disguise and justify indifference and apathy in the name of healthy social distancing, there is urgent need for the mission of compassion, which can make that necessary distancing an opportunity for encounter, care and promotion,” the pope wrote in his message for the celebration, which will be held Oct. 24.

The theme chosen for the 2021 celebration is taken from the Acts of the Apostles: “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard.” The Vatican released the pope’s message Jan. 29.

“Our life of faith grows weak, loses its prophetic power and its ability to awaken amazement and gratitude when we become isolated and withdraw into little groups,” the pope wrote.

“By its very nature, the life of faith calls for a growing openness to embracing everyone, everywhere,” he said. “The first Christians, far from yielding to the temptation to become an elite group, were inspired by the Lord and his offer of new life to go out among the nations and to bear witness to what they had seen and heard: the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Christ calls every believer to share the good news of God’s love and his offer of salvation in Christ, the pope said. “No one is excluded, no one need feel distant or removed from this compassionate love.”

“Always, but especially in these times of pandemic,” he said, “it is important to grow in our daily ability to widen our circle, to reach out to others who, albeit physically close to us, are not immediately part of our ‘circle of interests.’”

The early Christians faced misunderstandings, hostility and persecution from without and divisions within, Pope Francis noted, but the Acts of the Apostles documents how they endured hardship by clinging firmly to Christ and grew in the “conviction that God is able to act in any circumstance, even amid apparent setbacks, and in the certainty that all those who entrust themselves to God will bear good fruit.”

CATHOLIC NEW SERVICE

OPINION 11

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

H

Our unconscious search for God

ow do we search for God? It is easy to misunderstand what that means.

We are forever searching for God, though mostly without knowing it. Usually, we think of our search for God as a conscious religious search, as something we do out of a spiritual side of ourselves.

We tend to think of things this way: I have my normal life and its pursuits and, if I am so inclined, on the side, I might have a spiritual or religious pursuit wherein I try through prayer, reflection, and religious practices to get to know God. This is an unfortunate misunFATHER RON derstanding. Our normal search ROLHEISER for meaning, fulfillment, and even for pleasure, is in fact our search for God. What do we naturally search for in life? By nature, we search for meaning, love, a soulmate, friendship, emotional connection, sexual fulfillment, significance, recognition, knowledge, creativity, play, humor and pleasure.

However, we tend not to see these pursuits as searching for God. In pursuing these things, we rarely, if ever, see them in any conscious way as our way of searching for God. In our minds, we are simply looking for happiness, meaning, fulfillment, and pleasure, and our search for God is something we need to do in another way, more consciously through some explicit religious practices.

Well, we are not the first persons to think like that. It has always been this way. For instance, St. Augustine struggled with exactly this, until one day he realized

something. A searcher by temperament, Augustine spent the first 34 years of his life pursuing the things of this world: learning, meaning, love, sex, and a prestigious career. However, even before his conversion, there was a desire in him for God and the spiritual.

However, like us, he saw that as a separate desire from what he was yearning for in the world. Only after his conversion did he realize something. Here is how he famously expressed it: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. … You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.”

This is an honest admission that he lived a good number of years not loving God; but it is also an admission that, during those years, he had massively misunderstood something and that misunderstanding lay at the root of his failure. What was that misunderstanding?

Reading his confession, we tend to focus on the first part of it, namely, on his realization that God was inside of him all the while, but that he was not inside of himself. This is a perennial struggle for us too. Less obvious in this confession and something that is also a perennial struggle for us, is his recognition that for all those years while he was searching for life in the world, a search he generally understood as having nothing to do with God, he was actually searching for God. What he was looking for in all those worldly things and pleasures was in fact the person of God. Indeed, his confession might be recast this way:

Late, late, have I loved you because I was outside of myself while all the while you were inside me, but I wasn’t home, and I had no idea it was you I was actually looking for in the world. I never connected that search to you. In my mind, I was not looking for you; I was looking for what would bring me meaning, love, significance, sexual fulfillment, knowledge, pleasure, and a prestigious career. Never did I connect my longing for these things with my longing for you. I had no idea that everything I was chasing, all those things I was lonely for, were already inside me, in you. Late, late, have I understood that. Late, late, have I learned that what I am so deeply hungry and lonely for is contained inside of you. All these years, I never connected my restlessness, my seemingly selfish and lustful pursuit of things, with you. Everything I am lonely for is inside of you and you are inside of me. Late, late, have I realized this.

We are fired into life with a madness that comes from the gods. So say the Greek Stoics. They are right. Our whole life is simply a search to respond to that divine madness inside us, a madness Christians identify with infinite yearnings of the soul. Given those yearnings, like Augustine, we plunge into the world searching for meaning, love, a soulmate, friendship, emotional connection, sexual fulfillment, significance, recognition, knowledge, creativity, and pleasure, and that earthy pursuit, perhaps more than our explicit religious pursuits, is in fact our search for God. Best to realize this early, so we do not have to write: “Late, late, have I loved you!”

his pro-abortion position, Pope Francis must have caused consternation to millions of Christians who were looking to the church for leadership on this vital matter. I am so saddened at such a wasted opportunity, but really do wish Archbishop Cordileone to know how grateful I am for his courage in challenging Mrs. Pelosi. Jesus said by their fruits we will know the authenticity of a person’s commitment to him.

Maureen Newman England

a difficult read. The basic duty of Catholic bishops is teaching. With no evaluation, not even mention of four more years’ prospect of an amoral and incompetent administration that joins the single-issue vote, the archbishop’s essay is unbalanced. Credible teaching involves unbiased clarity and reasoning, not recitation of doctrine. Real laws about abortion will come from Congress to replace Supreme Court decisions. It is the USCCB’s obligation to really teach the population before those laws are introduced.

Pelosi may be wrong about abortion but works hard for the wishes and welfare of the United States.

Alex M. Saunders, MD Redwood City

OBLATE FATHER RON ROLHEISER is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

LETTERS Message and media

I agree with just about everything I heard the archbishop say when talking about Pelosi and abortion on Fox News and EWTN. But Fox and EWTN are about my least favorite news sources. I almost wish the archbishop had no national media presence rather than show up rather regularly, as he does, on their shows.

Michael Biehl San Francisco

End LGBT bullying

I am grateful to the growing number of our Catholic bishops signing a message in support of the Tyler Clementi Foundation. This foundation works to end the bullying of LGBT+ youth. LGBT+ Catholics are telling me the letter gives them hope.

As the statement says: “All people of good will should help, support, and defend LGBT youth; who attempt suicide at much higher rates than their straight counterparts; who are often homeless because of families who reject them; who are rejected, bullied and harassed; and who are the target of violent acts at alarming rates.

“The Catholic Church values the God-given dignity of all human life and we take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you.

“Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.”

Father Donal Godfrey, SJ San Francisco

Gratitude, and concern

I was reading the online news from the Live Action organization and came across the article regarding Archbishop Cordileone’s rebuke of Nancy Pelosi over the issue of abortion. Although I live in England and I am a deeply committed Protestant Christian, I would like the archbishop to know how much I appreciated his passionate rejection of the murder of the unborn child.

I was deeply disappointed, if not shocked, to see a photograph of Pope Francis shaking hands with Joseph Biden. Mr. Biden trumpets his Catholicism yet is determined to make Roe v. Wade, the law in America.

In my humble opinion, Pope Francis should have made a vote for a pro-abortion politician, a matter of excommunication. If he had done so, the lives of millions of unborn children would have been saved.

The shedding of innocent blood (murder) is the greatest of all sins apart from the sin against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus said was unforgivable.

In shaking Mr. Biden’s hand and failing to rebuke

Calling out bias

Just a note to say how grateful I was that Archbishop Cordileone spoke out regarding Speaker Pelosi’s hostility toward Catholics who don’t support abortion. He said her name and called out her bias.

Marie Garcia-Abrines, Ph.D. Professor Emerita Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, Connecticut

Abortion and contraception

Regarding comments by Archbishop Gomez in CSF Jan. 20, 2021, one should be careful with statistics one quotes. In this case Archbishop Gomez cites “nearly a million lives are cast aside yearly through abortion.”

A more careful look at the lives lost (LL) estimates: LL by Induced abortion, 1.0 million; LL by spontaneous abortion, 1.5 million; total abortion LL, 2.5 million.

With the 22% to 75% estimate of fertilized eggs spontaneously lost before implantation, the U.S. total annual “lives cast aside” by church definition nudges 6 million.

Gomez expects Biden to change U.S. abortion laws.

How about changing church contraception laws as partial solution? Total “lives cast aside” could be reduced by more than 2 million with the church’s “good will” contribution to a compromise. Preventing fertilization reduces both natural LL who cannot be saved and induced abortion.

Biden is certainly willing to change U.S. laws attributed to a leader who ignored experts. The church should be willing to do the same.

Archbishop Cordileone writing about Speaker Pelosi’s comments on single-issue Catholic voters is

Abortion complicity

With the arrival of the Biden presidency, Catholics must confront their own complicity in the evil of 42 million souls aborted in the country since 1973. Eight million Catholic votes were cast for pro-abortion Biden; 8 million Catholic votes were cast for pro-life Trump. What followed was the unprecedented public spat on Biden’s abortion and transgender executive orders between Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blaise Cupich and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ president Archbishop Jose Gomez.

Cupich is one of 69 bishops who reject longstanding church policy that protecting the unborn is the preeminent priority of the Catholic Church. They claim they are, nevertheless, pro-life. Such delusion is possible only with zero sum gain thinking that “anti-abortion” zeal is misplaced. Such encompasses the view that Republican policies that round up the undocumented, separate families, and permit fossil fuel pipelines offend God more than smashing 42 million baby skulls in the womb, pain or no pain. In short, there is no moral impediment, the thinking goes, for any Catholic not to vote Democrat and take pride in the Biden presidency to the fullest.

Catholics should, it seems, ask themselves – and pose to their bishops – two questions: (1) Is Satan taking a side in the abortion debate engulfing the Catholic Church; and (2), if so, whose side he is on?

Donald J. Farber San Rafael

LETTERS POLICY EMAIL letters.csf@sfarchdiocese.org WRITE Letters to the Editor, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Pope: Violence against women displays cowardice, degrades all of humanity CAROL GLATZ

An Ethiopian woman who fled the ongoing fighting in the Tigray region carries her child near the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Sudan’s Kassala state Nov. 22, 2020. Pope Francis’ prayer intention for February is for women who are victims of violence.

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Abuses and violence against women are “acts of cowardice and a degradation of all humanity,” Pope Francis said.

“We must not look the other way. Let us pray for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded by all,” he said.

The pope’s remarks were part of a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network as part of his prayer intention for the month of February.

Titled, “For women who are victims of violence,” the pope’s prayer intention decries the various kinds of violence millions of women suffer daily: “psychological violence, verbal violence, physical violence, sexual violence.”

“It’s shocking how many women are beaten, insulted and raped,” said the pope in the February message.

According to U.N. Women, the U.N. organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, an estimated 137 women are killed by members

(CNS PHOTO/MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH, REUTERS)

of their own family each day. Globally, one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, and 15 million adolescent girls

worldwide aged 15 to 19 have experienced forced sexual relations, according to a report issued by the agency in November.

The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the situation as measures aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus have often led to greater social isolation and economic insecurity, making women more vulnerable to violence in private, it added.

In his video message, the pope said, “The testimonies of the victims who dare to break their silence are a cry for help that we cannot ignore.”

He urged people to not be indifferent and to pray for the protection of victims.

At the start of each month, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network posts a short video – on www.thepopevideo.org – of the pope offering his specific prayer intention.

“The Pope Video” was launched in 2016 to encourage people to join an estimated 50 million Catholics who already had a more formal relationship with the prayer network – better known by its former title, the Apostleship of Prayer.

The prayer network is more than 170 years old.

Pope adds Martha, Mary and Lazarus, church doctors to universal calendar JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Recognizing their

welcome of and witness to Christ, Pope Francis has approved changing the liturgical feast of St. Martha to include her sister and brother, Mary and Laza-

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rus, on the church’s universal calendar of feast days.

The names of Mary and Lazarus will be added to the July 29 feast on the General Roman Calendar, the universal schedule of holy days and feast days for the Latin rite of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican Feb. 2 published the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments’ decree ordering the change in calendars.

Signed by Cardinal Robert Sarah, the congregation’s prefect, the decree said Pope Francis approved the memorial for Martha, Mary and Lazarus after “considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, (and) in believing that he is the resurrection and the life.”

“In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the

Gospel of John states that he loved them,” it said. “Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the one who humiliated death.”

The decree explained that the “traditional uncertainty of the Latin church” regarding the identity of three women named Mary in the Gospels – Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary “the sinner whose sins the Lord had forgiven” – was resolved “in recent studies and times,” thus paving the way for celebrating the siblings in one memorial.

A separate congregation decree, also published Feb. 2, said the pope also approved the optional memorial of three doctors of the church: Sts. Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century Armenian monk; John of Avila, the famed 16thcentury preacher, confessor and spiriSEE POPE, PAGE 13

WORLD 13

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Hunger can be beaten by caring for people and planet, pope says CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Combating hunger will require humility, protecting the environment and promoting social justice, Pope Francis said.

“Let us pay attention to what benefits everyone” so that hunger is alleviated and the next generation can be left with a world that is a “treasure” and not a wasteland, he said in a message released Feb. 2.

The pope’s message was addressed to those taking part in the Fifth Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD. The meeting was being held online Feb. 2-4 and again Feb. 15 and was focusing on “the value of indigenous food systems: resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the World Food Program, read the pope’s message in Spanish to participants, saying the pope was praying for everyone and for a productive gathering.

Pope Francis said globalization cannot be about uniformity, which ignores diversity and “imposes a new kind of colonialism.”

(CNS PHOTO/COURTESY CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO)

A volunteer with Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego’s food distribution program delivers food to a refugee family in the city during the coronavirus pandemic in this undated photo.

The challenge will be in creating alternatives in a spirit of solidarity “so that no one feels ignored” and no one intimidatingly imposes their own approach, “considering it to be the only one that is correct.”

“On the contrary, we know well that, when diversities are articulated and mutually enriching, communion between peoples flourishes and is enlivened,” he said.

It is about promoting a form of development that does not place “consumption as a means and an end, but that truly looks after the environment, listens, learns and dignifies,” he said.

“This is integral ecology, in which social justice goes hand in hand with the protection of the planet.”

Only with this “humility of spirit” will the world be able to see the “total defeat of hunger and achieve a society based on enduring values, which are not the result of fleeting and biased trends, but of justice and goodness,” the pope said in his message.

The pope said he hoped the gathering would lead to productive results and reflect a love for a world “that we want to build together and that we wish to leave to those who come after us as a treasure and not as a heap of waste and ruin.”

The pope said he was praying for those who are working to help people living in disadvantaged areas of the world, “but are graced by the beauty that comes from respecting and living together with nature, a work that emerged from the hands of the Lord.”

POPE: Adds Martha, Mary and Lazarus, church doctors to universal calendar tual writer; and 12th-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen.

The saints, who hail from both the Eastern and Western church traditions, were declared doctors of the church for their important contributions to theology and spirituality.

In its decree, the congregation

explained that those given the title of “doctor of the church” exemplify the “link between holiness and understanding things divine and also human.

“Indeed, the wisdom that characterizes these men and women is not solely theirs, since by becoming disciples of divine wisdom, they have themselves become teachers of wisdom for the entire ecclesial community,” it said. “It

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Hildegard of Bingen will be celebrated May 10 and Sept. 17, respectively.

There are currently 36 doctors of the church, including Sts. John Chrysostom, Augustine, Catherine of Siena and Therese of Lisieux.

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The optional memorial for St. Gregory of Narek will be celebrated Feb. 27, while those for Sts. John of Avila and

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Vatican doctrinal office is ‘no longer the Inquisition,’ cardinal says CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Established almost 500 years ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is no longer “the Inquisition” – rather, its main focus is handing down the teachings of the apostles, said the office’s prefect.

“Our mission is to promote and protect the doctrine of the faith. It is a task that will always be necessary for the church, which has the duty to transmit the teaching of the apostles to the next generation,” Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, congregation prefect, told Vatican News Feb. 1.

Called the Sacred Roman and Universal Inquisition when it was instituted in 1542, the congregation was initially a tribunal exclusively for cases of heresy and schism, but soon its responsibilities were expanded to include “everything relating directly or indirectly to faith and morals,” according to the congregation’s website.

Of the many people examined in the early days, the one mentioned most often is Italian scientist Galileo Galilei, who was found “vehemently suspect of heresy.”

St. John Paul II issued a declaration in 1992, recognizing the error of Galileo’s trial.

The Index of Forbidden Books was originally entrusted to the Inquisition until it became its own congregation for three centuries until 1917 when its duties were again handed back to the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office – the Inquisition’s new name after it was reorganized by Pope Pius X in 1908.

It was again reformed in 1965 by St. Paul VI and renamed the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Index of Prohibited Books was also abrogated.

Cardinal Ladaria told Vatican News, “The past of our congregation still weighs heavily, since we have not

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Then-Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrives for a meeting with Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican in this May 11, 2018, file photo. Cardinal Ladaria said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is no longer “the Inquisition,” but rather its main focus is handing down the teachings of the apostles.

always acknowledged the profound changes that have taken place in the church and in the Roman Curia in recent times.”

“We are no longer the Inquisition; the index no longer exists,” he said.

“What was called the ‘concern for correct doctrine’ came about before the Holy Office, it already existed in the New Testament” and it can be seen in the many councils and synods held since, he added.

“Certainly, the concrete way of carrying out this task has changed over the course of the centuries and we can imagine that it will continue to change,” the cardinal said. “But the concern for fidelity to the doctrine of the apostles will always remain.”

According to the office’s website, the methods used for doctrinal examination were updated in the 1965 reforms, emphasizing that “over the punitive tendency of condemnation, the positive disposition of correcting from the errors, together with protection, preservation and promotion of the faith, prevailed.”

In 2001, St. John Paul II charged the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with the authority to handle cases of accusations of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and an updated version of these norms was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

The changes allowed the Vatican to identify and judge reported cases and issue sanctions more rapidly than had been the case before.

Regarding this aspect of the congregation’s work, Cardinal Ladaria said, “We must study and resolve the many cases of abuse of which we become aware.”

“And in dealing with these cases, we raise awareness, we support trust in the church, of the people involved, showing that in the church there is no impunity,” he said.

He said the “ad limina visits,” which bishops from around the world make periodically to the Vatican to report on the state of their dioceses, “are fundamental to raising awareness of the problem among the episcopates of the various countries. Unfortunately, in recent months, because of the pandemic, we have had to suspend these meetings.”

Even with its focus on “doctrine,” he said the congregation still seeks to respond to Pope Francis’ call to reach out and respond to modern-day “peripheries” and to be close to the poor and marginalized.

“There are peripheries of many kinds. The people we must listen to, the problems we must solve touch real peripheries, perhaps not as visible as others, but no less real and painful. Let us not forget that in not a few circumstances the victims of abuse are among the poorest of the poor,” he said.

Pope establishes World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly strength from their grandparents – will go forward and prophesy,” he said.

Highlighting the Feb. 2 feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the pope said the recognition of Christ as the VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis announced the Messiah by the elderly Simeon and Anna is a reminder establishment of a World Day of Grandparents and the that “the Holy Spirit still stirs up thoughts and words of Elderly as a reminder of the important role they play wisdom in the elderly today.” as a link between generations.

“Their voice is precious because it sings the praises During his Sunday Angelus address Jan. 31, the of God and safeguards the roots of peoples,” he said. pope said the day will be celebrated every year on the “They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandfourth Sunday of July to coincide with the feast of parents are the link between generations, passing on Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents. The first the experience of life and faith to the young.” celebration of this day will be July 25.

“Grandparents are often forgotten and we forget this “It is important for grandparents to meet their wealth of preserving roots and passing on,” he added. grandchildren and for grandchildren to meet their In a statement published shortly after the pope’s angrandparents because – as the prophet Joel says – nouncement, Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the grandparents, before their grandchildren, will dream The Most Requested Funeral DirectorsDicastery in the Archdiocese of and SanLife, Francisco for Laity, the Family said the yearly and have great desires, and young people – taking JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

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event was “a gift to the whole church” that emphasizes the pastoral care of the elderly as “a priority that can no longer be postponed by any Christian community.”

“In the encyclical, ‘Fratelli Tutti,’ the Holy Father reminds us that no one is saved alone. With this in mind, we must treasure the spiritual and human wealth that has been handed down from generation to generation,” he said.

Cardinal Farrell added that “today, more than ever, we are committed to making every effort to dismantle the throwaway culture and to enhance the charisms of grandparents and the elderly.”

The dicastery said Pope Francis will mark the first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly July 25 with an evening Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. However, the Mass will be “subject to sanitary regulations in place at the time.”

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POPE: Caring for sick essential to church’s mission FROM PAGE 1

of the many sick and possessed people brought to him.

The Gospel says that when the disciples told Jesus about the sick woman, “he approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her, and she waited on them.”

“There is so much tenderness in this simple act,” the pope said. “Jesus’ healing power meets no resistance; and the person healed resumes her normal life, immediately thinking of others and not of herself – and this is significant. It is the sign of true ‘health.’”

REGULATE MARKETS FOR JUSTICE, POPE SAYS

VATICAN CITY – For economic policies and systems to promote an end to human trafficking, they must care about people, their dignity and working conditions, and they must be regulated in ways that promote social justice, not special interests, Pope Francis said.

An economy without human trafficking will require “the courage of patient construction, of planning that does not look always and only at the very shortterm gains, but at the medium- and longterm fruits and, above all, at people,” he said in a video message marking the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.

The international day, established by Pope Francis, is celebrated annually Feb. 8, the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, who had been sold into slavery as a child.

In his message, broadcast during a cross-continental “prayer marathon” online to pray for an economy free of exploited, trafficked persons, Pope Francis said the day was an important way to remember this ongoing global tragedy and to inspire concrete action leading to

The healing is recounted in the first chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel and many others follow, the pope noted.

Jesus’ care for “people suffering in body and in spirit” is there from the beginning of his ministry, he said, and is a concrete reflection of God’s care for those who are suffering.

The disciples witnessed the miracles of Jesus, but he did not want them to be “just spectators,” so he sent them on mission with the power to heal the sick and cast out demons, the pope said. That mission continues today.

The day’s first reading was from the Book of Job, which reflects much of the perplexity and anguish

people’s actual liberation and reintegration into society as active builders of the common good.

Victims of trafficking “are the protagonists of this day,” he said, and “we are all at their service.”

PANDEMIC CAN SPARK GLOBAL CHANGE, POPE TELLS DIPLOMATS

VATICAN CITY – The COVID-19 pandemic can either be a catalyst for change for the better or it will weaken a world already burdened by global crises, Pope Francis said.

The pandemic not only had a “significant effect” on people’s way of living, it also “shed light on the risks and consequences inherent in a way of life dominated by selfishness and a culture of waste,” the pope said Feb. 8 during his annual meeting with diplomats accredited to the Holy See. The COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “set before us a choice: either to continue on the road we have followed until now, or to set out on a new path.”

In a nearly hourlong speech to members of the diplomatic corps, the pope

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listed a series of crises “that were provoked or brought to light by the pandemic” as a way to reflect on the opportunities the global community has to build “a more humane, just, supportive and peaceful world.”

The health crisis sparked by COVID-19, he said, forced the world to confront two “unavoidable dimensions of human existence” – suffering and death – which serve as a reminder of the value of life “from conception in the womb until its natural end.”

However, the pope said it was painful that “a growing number of legal systems in our world seem to be moving away from their inalienable duty to protect human life at every one of its phases.”

RELY ON FAITH, SAY HONG KONG RELIGIOUS LEADERS

HONG KONG – Religious leaders in Hong Kong sent wishes for health and happiness to mark the Lunar New Year and acknowledged the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the time being, the epidemic is rampant. It is not only a challenge to

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our physical bodies but also a test to our souls,” said the Colloquium of Six Religious Leaders of Hong Kong, which includes Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong Hon. “In difficulties and adversities, we need to rely on our faith even more and abide by the true way, keep away from evils, and practice kindness.”

In China, Lunar New Year begins Feb. 12. Church leaders in some areas, including Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, urged extra care for religious ceremonies because of the pandemic.

The Feb. 5 message includes Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Muslim and Protestant leaders.

“For more than a year, the coronavirus disease has ravaged the world and though as a blessed land, Hong Kong is not spared. In face of the plague of the century, all Hong Kong people must work with one heart and one mind, uphold righteousness and benevolence, stand together through thick and thin, and jointly get over the critical situation,” the religious leaders said.

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every person feels in the face of suffering.

Human beings, “so lofty in dignity” and yet “so fragile,” the pope said, often ask “Why?” Jesus does not respond with an explanation, “but with a loving presence that bends down, takes the hand and lifts up, as he did with Peter’s mother-in-law,” Pope Francis said.

“This is the mission that Jesus entrusted to the church,” he said. “He manifests his lordship in closeness, in tenderness, in compassion. Closeness, tenderness and compassion are the style of God. God draws near, and he draws near with tenderness and compassion.”

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

OBITUARY MSGR. MAURICE MCCORMICK, RETIRED MISSION DOLORES PASTOR

Msgr. Maurice ‘Mickey’ McCormick, retired pastor of Mission Dolores Parish, died Jan. 29, 2021. His health had been slowly declining since he was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease some years ago. Ordained in 1958, he would have Msgr. Maurice celebrated his 87th ‘Mickey’ birthday on Feb. 5, 2021.

McCormick Msgr. McCormick attended St. Matthew School and Serra High School in San Mateo before entering St. Joseph College Seminary in 1951. He then studied theology in Rome at the North American College and was ordained Dec. 20, 1958 with his parents, now deceased, and his brother, then-seminarian, Father Kieran McCormick, in attendance.

Ordained at a time when the Archdiocese of San Francisco still included what is now the Diocese of Oakland, Msgr. McCormick’s first appointment was to St. Joseph Parish in Alameda.

His appointment later to the canon law department would lead to continuing studies for his licentiate in the field at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Subsequent appointments to St. Mary’s Cathedral, the tribunal, chaplain to the St. Thomas More Society, director of the Newman Center at San Francisco State University, archdiocesan director of Campus and Young Adult Ministry, and spiritual director for the Cursillo movement for the archdiocese followed.

In 1981, Msgr. McCormick was named pastor of St. John of God Parish in San Francisco while completing doctorate studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. Among his correspondence

is a letter to Archbishop John R. Quinn from a doctor being treated at MoffitLong Hospital at UCSF Medical Center, one of Msgr. McCormick’s “beats” while serving at St. John of God, the doctor said.

“This Godly gentleman visited me nearly every day, and we talked of many things…His understanding, his empathy and faith, and his humanity meant so very much…certainly he is a cut above most mortal men.”

In 1989, Msgr. McCormick was named pastor of Church of the Good Shepherd in Pacifica, and in 1997, he was appointed pastor of Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.

On July 7, 2000, the priest was named a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness with the title of monsignor by St. John Paul II. Msgr McCormick entered retirement on July 1, 2003. He remained at Mission Dolores for his first five years of retirement, and then moved to St. Cecilia Par-

ELDERLY NUNS: Hit by COVID, many await vaccines FROM PAGE 8

together again, and some want to get back to their pre-COVID-19 ministries.

The current isolation and inability to serve as they once did, in tutoring or parish work, is so hard for the older sisters said Sister Marge Kloos, on the leadership team of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. The sisters at the motherhouse in Cincinnati had their first round of vaccinations and were scheduled to get the second dose in early February but other groups of sisters in other states are still waiting.

The sisters who spoke to CNS said their members are very much on board with getting the vaccine – unlike the U.S. public at large. However, the overall reluctance to get vaccinated is starting to wane, according to a poll released Jan. 27 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that half of Americans, up from a third in December, say they want to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Sister Ricca Dimalibot, a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who is medical director of a clinic near Houston for uninsured patients, said the sisters where she lives have been fortunate to get vaccinated but many of her patients aren’t considering it out of concerns or outright

skepticism, despite her efforts to convince them they need it.

Mercy Sister Karen Schneider, a pediatric emergency room doctor at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in Baltimore, also is encouraging people to get vaccinated after spending much of December at her order’s motherhouse in Philadelphia initially to help a sister who was ill with COVID-19.

That initial positive case was followed by six other sisters testing positive and by the end of the month 21 of the 77 sisters contracted the virus. Four were transferred to the higher-care nursing convent and one sister died.

In between caring for the sisters, Sister Karen went back to work and received the COVID-19 vaccine, which she partly felt uncomfortable about since her fellow, and older, sisters at the motherhouse had yet to be vaccinated.

But in a Jan. 25 blog for the Mercy sisters she wrote that she “would have been a fool not to accept it – the science is good, and the results are promising.”

She also urged others to get vaccinated when they could, saying she was privileged to care for her fellow sisters, but she had seen enough and didn’t “want anyone else to suffer needlessly.”

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Notre Dame de Namur University announced Jan. 26, 2021, that the school will remain open beyond spring 2021. The announcement followed a meeting of the NDNU board of trustees where the vote was unanimous that the school continue operations. The decision was then approved by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who sponsor the Belmont school. NDNU celebrates its 170th anniversary in 2021.

“This confirms a new vision for NDNU to transform into a primarily graduate and online university, potentially with undergraduate degree completion programs,” the school said in a statement. “As students are welcomed back for the spring semester, the university will continue to admit new graduate and teaching credential students for summer and fall 2021, and beyond.”

The decision to remain open begins to put behind the school concerns about its financial wherewithal.

“The board and the administrative team greatly appreciate the support from the entire community during this past year which has helped to make this new plan for a future possible” said Notre Dame Sister Jean Stoner, board chair.

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COVID-19, sisters have turned to one thing they know well: prayer. Sister Susan said the older sisters have been “a powerhouse of prayer” during the entire pandemic, praying daily for those suffering from the coronavirus around the world.

“Their hearts are on mission,” she added, noting that although many at the congregation’s motherhouse in Englewood, New Jersey, are discouraged by not being able to go out and help others now, they are helping in other ways by donating money and signing over their stimulus checks to the local parish food pantry.

The sisters, like so many around the world, want to get back to the way things were before the pandemic, which she pointed out will not be completely the same, but in the meantime, many of them also have a renewed appreciation for their community and their church.

Sister Marge said the overriding sentiment right now from the sisters is one of deep appreciation for the scientists “who have spent their lifetimes understanding things like this and are helping us to move back into a cycle of life that feels more like our lifestyle.”

“We are so grateful, “ she said.

ish in 2008, and to Nazareth House in San Rafael in 2015. His final residence, starting in October 2016, was Aegis Living, where he was joined by his brother, Father Kieran, in April 2020.

All rites for Msgr. McCormick will be livestreamed from St. Cecilia Church, San Francisco. In-person attendance is limited to family and invited guests in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.

The livestream is available at www. stcecilia.com/78.

The vigil will be held Feb. 18, 2021, 5 p.m., with Father Rene Ramoso, pastor, St. Cecilia Church, presiding.

Funeral Mass, Feb. 19, 2021, 11 a.m.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, presiding, Msgr. Michael D. Harriman, homilist, with interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma,Father Stephen H. Howell, vicar general, presiding.

Remembrances may be made to the Priests’ Retirement Fund, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109.

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LITURGY & PRAYER THURSDAYS THRU MAY 27: Book of Psalms Weekly Online Course with Father William Nicholas: These 150 prayers express a variety of sentiment and feeling covering a wide range of spirituality from earthy to mystical, thanksgiving to regret, deep affection to equally deep resentment, joy to the depths of despair. Father Nicholas presents an overview of the prayers 7-8:30 p.m. Visit frbillnicholas.com/zoompresentations.

SUNDAY, FEB. 14: Black History Month Liturgy: St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish celebrates with a 10:45 a.m. livestream Gospel Mass celebrated by Father Andrew Ibegbulem, OSA. Following Mass is a preview of the PBS documentary by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., highlighting Black churches. Visit stpauloftheshipwreck. org.

SUNDAY, FEB. 21: Walking with Jesus This Lent: St. Augustine Small Christian Communities (SCC) is sponsoring a six-session Virtual Lenten Workshop. The goal of the workshop is is to help participants be formed as disciples in a similar way to Jesus forming the apostles in the time leading up to Holy Week. 2-4:30 p.m. Register and receive the Zoom link at https://bit.ly/2N4yWBZ. SUNDAY, FEB. 21: Black History Month Liturgy: St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish celebrates the first Sunday of Lent with a 10:45 a.m. Gospel Mass celebrated by Father Ken Hamilton, SVD featuring the IVS Gospel Choir. Following Mass is a presentation highlighting historically Black universities, sororities and fraternities. Visit stpauloftheshipwreck.org.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 (PUBLIC EVENT): Monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life: A monthly Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough St., San Francisco, followed by a rosary procession to the Bush Street Planned Parenthood Clinic. 8 a.m. Visit sfarch. org/events.

LEARNING SATURDAY, FEB. 27: Exploring the Roots and Meaning of Religious Fear with Father Ron Rolheiser: From where do our religious fears originate? How do we tell healthy fears from unhealthy ones? This Zoom retreat will examine the origins and the complexities of religious fear and, after giving fear its proper dues, will examine some biblical principles which invite us to live with less fear. 9-3 p.m., $25. Offered by Vallombrosa Center. Register at vallombrosa.org.

SUPPORT TUESDAYS, FEB. 9-APR. 6: St. Pius Church Grief Ministry: “Moving through the loss of a loved one” is a new eight-week series for those who would like group support in progressing through their personal grief journey. Time and format (in-person or Zoom) to be determined after group has formed. Email griefministry@ pius.org to register, or call (650) 361-0655.

WEDNESDAYS, FEB. 10, 17, 24; MARCH 3,10, 17, 24, 31: Shelter In Faith Lenten Series: A free, seven-week evening prayer and faith-sharing group via Zoom designed to help participants, in the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, ’see Christ more clearly, love Him more dearly and follow Him more nearly.’ Ignatianstyle prayer, contemplation, the Triple Colloquy, the Examen and Lectio Divina at 6:30 p.m.

Facilitated by Paul Venables, co-founder of Random Acts of Catholics, a ministry of St. Brendan and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parishes. All are welcome. Visit randomactsofcatholics.org.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4: Don Bosco Reading Group: Sts. Peter and Paul group open to all. 4 p.m. Zoom meeting to discuss the first thirteen chapters of Jesuit Father James Martin, SJ’s “Jesus: A Pilgrimage.” (The remainder of the book will be discuss at the April 13 meeting). No reading is necessary. Usually, there is a short Salesian topic presented first. Contact Frank Lavin at (415) 310-8551, or franklavin@comcast.net.

TUESDAYS, MARCH 16, 23, 30; APRIL 6, 13, 20: Art, Elevation and Liturgy: “Lift Up Your Eyes” is a six-week online series with art historian Elizabeth Lev. This series explores the history of art in the context of the liturgy, specifically works designed to elevate the mind, heart, and spirit during the Mass. Visit sfarch.org/ liftupyoureyes.

THURSDAYS, MARCH 4-MAY 13: Restorative Justice Certificate Series Training: The California Catholic Conference is hosting a free weekly Restorative Justice Certificate Series webinar led by the Catholic Restorative Justice Network, the official California source for formation and leadership in restorative justice ministry in California. A certificate of completion issued by the CCC and Santa Clara University will be signed by

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SUNDAY, FEB. 28: Zoom Grief Support Group: St. Dominic Parish’s long-running 12-week online grief support group led by Deacon Chuck McNeil and Sister Maggie Glynn, FSP. 1 p.m. Set up a pre-group conversation before the group begins by contacting Deacon Chuck at (415) 567-7824 or deaconchuck@stdominics.org.

FRIDAY, MARCH 5: Strength for the Journey: Spiritual support meeting via Zoom led by Deacon Christoph Sandoval of St. Mary’s Cathedral for those facing a life-threatening illness. 1-3 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. Visit sfarch.org/grief.

SUNDAYS, MARCH 7, 14: An Online Gathering of Elders: Women and men age 65 and older are invited to an online gathering of prayer and discussion of topics including, ‘How do you define an Elder?’, ‘What is your legacy?,’ and ‘What still needs to be done?’ Attendees will be invited to share answers during the meeting.

Organized and facilitated by Deacon Chuck McNeil, St. Dominic Parish. Contact him at (415) 567-7824, to register, or email: deaconchuck@stdominics.org.

RETREATS & REFLECTION WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17: Ash Wednesday Day of Retreat: Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos’ pastoral staff lead this virtual non-silent retreat to begin the Lenten season. Participants will reflect on their spiritual life and the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. $10. Two sessions: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., and 7-8:30 p.m.

Visit jrclosaltos.org.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17: The Search Lenten Retreat with Archbishop Cordileone and Chris Stefanik: A 7-week Lenten retreat will explore the major questions of life, like: Why am I here? What is the life I was made for? Is there a God? Does He even care about me?

Small group participation is highly encouraged! Visit coaching.reallifecatholic.com/thesearch.

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18 SAN FRANCISCO CATÓLICO

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Arzobispo: El testimonio provida es parte de la proclamación del Evangelio NICHOLAS WOLFRAM SMITH CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Los eventos organizados en el marco del 48º aniversario de la decisión Roe v. Wade de la Corte Suprema que declaró que el aborto era constitucional destacaron la importancia continua del movimiento provida El arzobispo Salvatore J. Cordileone quien predicó en la misa el 22 de enero para el día nacional de oración de los obispos estadounidenses por protección legal para los niños no nacidos, dijo que el testimonio provida pertenece a la misión cristiana “de proclamar el Evangelio y confrontar la realidad del mal”.

“El derecho fundamental es el derecho a la vida. Pedimos la gracia y la fuerza para poner en práctica esta oración nuestra. Con este tipo de testimonio es como enfrentamos la realidad del pecado, la realidad del mal. La cruda fealdad del mal nunca es tan evidente en nuestra tierra como lo es en el horrendo crimen del aborto”, dijo.

En la misa antes de la Caminata por la Vida el 23 de enero, el arzobispo dijo: “Nuestro punto de partida no es en contra de que estamos, sino a favor de lo que estamos: la afirmación de la dignidad inherente de toda vida humana”.

Defender la verdad sobre el aborto es una forma de que los cristianos imiten a Cristo quien fue perseguido por la verdad, agregó. “Este es el camino a la vida, no solo la vida en este mundo, sino la vida con él en el próximo”, dijo.

Unas horas más tarde miles de personas se reunieron en el Civic Center Plaza para la 17ª Caminata Anual por la Vida.

Si bien la multitud de este año fue significativamente menor que los años anteriores, los participantes dijeron que estaban agradecidos de estar allí.

Vicky, una mujer cuyo apellido no se dio a conocer, dijo: “Fue muy alentador caminar juntos, orar y bendecirnos unos a otros. Honestamente, es una experiencia muy poderosa cuando sabes que estás de pie para darle esperanza a alguien”.

(FOTOS DENNIS CALLAHAN / CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO).

Manifestantes provida se reunieron el 23 de enero en la plaza del Civic Center en San Francisco para la 17ª Caminata Anual por la Vida de la Costa Oeste.

Katya Buhadiar, quien asistió por primera vez, dijo que se sintió alentada al ver a tantos adultos jóvenes. “Espero que las cosas cambien y la gente comience a darse cuenta de lo que significa el aborto”, dijo.

Un seminario virtual el 22 de enero, patrocinado por la Oficina de Vida y Dignidad Humana y Acción de la Vida Humana de la Arquidiócesis de San Francisco, exploró el futuro del movimiento provida.

Charles Camosy, profesor asociado de ética teológica y social en la Universidad de Fordham, dijo que el movimiento provida necesita expandirse más allá de “alianzas políticas cómodas pero obsoletas”.

“Simplemente no seremos tomados en serio por la generación más joven si somos vistos como una herramienta de MAGA”, dijo.

Camosy argumentó que el movimiento provida debe abarcar una amplia gama de temas que caen bajo la defensa de la vida, enfocarse en el alcance de la juventud y alentar a los políticos a abordar no solo el estatus legal del aborto, sino también los factores sociales que crean una demanda para este.

La presidenta de Susan B. Anthony List, Marjorie Dannenfelser, quien presidió las coaliciones provida de la campaña de Trump en 2016 y 2020 dijo que aliarse con la administración del presidente Trump colocó al movimiento provida en una posición mucho más fuerte que antes.

Dannenfelser argumentó que el apoyo público a las restricciones al aborto, las legislaturas estatales y los cientos de jueces federales designados por el presidente Trump son señales alentadoras.

“Si somos capaces de quedarnos donde estamos ahora, las leyes que están llegando a la Corte Suprema podrían muy bien anular Roe v. Wade”, dijo. “Creo que estamos en el punto más fuerte y esperanzador en 40 años”.

El presidente Joe Biden y la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris emitieron un comunicado el 22 de enero comprometiendo a su administración a “codificar Roe v.

Wade y nombrar jueces que respeten precedentes fundamentales como Roe”.

La declaración, que no menciona el aborto, dijo que “la salud reproductiva, incluido el derecho a elegir, ha sido

objeto de un ataque implacable y extremo. Estamos profundamente comprometidos a asegurarnos de que todos tengan acceso a la atención, incluida la atención de la salud reproductiva, independientemente de ingresos, raza, código postal, estado del seguro médico o estado migratorio”.

La declaración obtuvo una respuesta inmediata del arzobispo Joseph F. Naumann de Kansas City, Kansas, quien preside el Comité de Actividades Provida de los obispos de Estados Unidos.

“Es profundamente perturbador y trágico que cualquier presidente elogie y se comprometa a codificar un fallo de la Corte Suprema que niega a los niños no nacidos su derecho humano y civil más básico, el derecho a la vida, bajo el disfraz eufemístico de un servicio de salud”, dijo el 22 de enero.

El arzobispo Naumann señaló que Roe había provocado la muerte de más de 62 millones de niños por nacer y dijo: “Instamos encarecidamente al presidente a rechazar el aborto y promover la ayuda que reafirma la vida de las mujeres y las comunidades necesitadas”.

Líderes parroquiales en San Francisco ayudan a hispanos a obtener recursos para pago del alquiler LORENA ROJAS SAN FRANCISCO CATÓLICO

Cuando los líderes de varias parroquias de la Misión se pusieron a buscar cuáles necesidades afectan a los parroquianos en San Francisco durante la pandemia, surgió como uno de los mayores problemas el atraso en el pago del alquiler debido al desempleo.

Comenzaron a buscar recursos del programa de la municipalidad de San Francisco Give2SF, pero han pasado meses y muchos de estos parroquianos no han recibido respuesta, dijo Violeta Román de la iglesia San Pedro en la Misión.

Román es parte del ministerio de justicia social en las iglesias San Pedro, San Carlos y San Antonio, las tres parroquias bajo una misma administración del padre Moisés Agudo. Ella también es una líder en la organización sin fines de lucro Fe en Acción que agrupa a varias denominaciones religiosas para abogar por diferentes necesidades de los vecinos de San Francisco y San Mateo.

Unas 250 personas de las tres parroquias de la Misión y del Naufragio de San Pablo en Bayview han requerido la ayuda de estos líderes parroquiales de justicia social para llenar las solicitudes de asistencia

Activistas de Fe en Acción tuvieron una demostración el 18 de diciembre para pedirle a la municipalidad que agilice el proceso de ayuda a los inquilinos atrasados con el pago del alquiler. para el pago del alquiler.

Este grupo de parroquianos son solo una parte de los miles que han solicitado ayuda a la municipalidad para el pago del alquiler, dijo la líder de justicia social.

Para muchos de estos parroquianos es difícil solicitar algunos beneficios por las limitaciones del idioma, por falta de recursos tecnológicos o por la forma como funciona el sistema de los servicios públicos.

Sonia Alvarenga es una de estas parroquianas de San Pedro quien no ha podido pagar el alquiler desde mayo de 2020 porque perdió su trabajo en el Moscone Center donde hacia la limpieza después de los eventos.

Ella paga $1.250 por un cuarto con baño privado, cerca de la calle Regent y la avenida Cayuga en San Francisco.

Con la ayuda de los líderes de justicia social y Fe en Acción pudo completar los trámites de solicitud para buscar recursos de Give2SF para el pago de la vivienda.

Alvarenga dijo que unos ocho meses después de haber entregado la solicitud a Give2SF, le respondieron a la persona que le alquila para informarle que le iban a pagar cuatro meses del alquiler de ocho meses que adeuda Alvarenga, en total $5.000, pero hasta la fecha solo le han entregado $2.500.

Esta inmigrante salvadoreña continúa buscando ayuda en otras organizaciones para el pago de los otros meses que adeuda. Ella no sabe cuándo la van a llamar a trabajar otra vez. Ha buscado trabajo en restaurantes, pero por las restricciones debido a la pandemia no están contratando nuevos empleados, dijo.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO: Líderes parroquiales ayudan a hispanos con alquiler DE PÁGINA 18

De sus ingresos pagaba el alquiler, sus gastos básicos, le mandaba dinero a su mamá para la comida y gastos de sus dos hijos que dejó en El Salvador, y ahorraba un poco para los meses que tenía pocos ingresos ya que su trabajo dependía de los eventos en el Moscone.

Durante casi un año sin ingresos fijos, Alvarenga no ha podido cubrir esos gastos.

La moratoria de desalojo en California que protege a los inquilinos contra desalojados debido al COVID-19 termina a mediado de este año, según una extensión emitida por el gobernador Gavin Newson.

“El futuro de nosotros depende de que se abran los lugares de trabajo, pero se necesita que la gente se vacune para que puedan abrir todo de nuevo”, dijo.

Román dijo que comenzaron de inmediato a mandar las solicitudes de las personas atrasadas con el pago del alquiler, pero meses después la mayoría no ha recibido respuesta de los encargados del fondo Give2SF. Debido a la falta de respuesta a los solicitantes, los líderes de estas parroquias junto a Fe Acción y un grupo de personas atrasadas con el pago del alquiler tuvieron una manifestación pública el 18 de diciembre.

También enviaron cartas a la alcaldesa de San Francisco London Breed y a los supervisores con una lista de demandas.

(FOTO DE CORTESÍA)

Sonia Alvarenga de la iglesia San Pedro en la Misión perdió el trabajo desde el principio de la pandemia y no ha podido pagar la renta en varios meses. Gracias al apoyo de los líderes católicos de justicia social y Fe en Acción recibió ayuda, pero continua adeudando varios meses de alquiler.

Entre las demandas destaca “queremos que Give2SF proporcione el dinero para el alivio de la deuda de alquiler dentro de las dos semanas posteriores a la solicitud. No queremos vernos obligados a firmar una

NÚMEROS DE AYUDA PARA VÍCTIMAS DE ABUSO SEXUAL DE PARTE DEL CLERO 0 MIEMBROS DE LA IGLESIA Este número 415-614-5506 es confidencial y Ie atiende Rocio Rodríguez, LMFT, Coordinadora de la oficina arquidiocesana de ayuda a las víctimas de abuso sexual.

Si usted prefiere hablar con una persona que no está empleada por la arquidiócesis por favor marque este número: 415-614-5503; es también confidencial y usted será atendido solamente por una persona que ha superado la experiencia traumática del abuso sexual.

Reporte el abuso sexual de un obispo o su interferencia en una investigación de abuso sexual a un tercero confidencial: 800-276-1562. www.reportbishopabuse.org

CONCERTS

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MEDITACIONES MUSICALES DOMINGO POR LA TARDE: Por el momento todas las presentaciones se transmiten en vivo en el canal de YouTube de la catedral, youtube.com/cathedralofstmaryoftheassumption Domingo 14 de febrero, 4:00p.m.: Recital de órgano del Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca, México.

Domingo 21 de febrero: NO HABRÁ RECITAL Domingo 28 de febrero, 4:00p.m.: Órgano con Kyung Lim y la mesosoprano Kathy McKee, y el tenor Colby Roberts.

Domingo 7 de marzo 4:00p.m.: Órgano con Federico Andreoni (Italia).

Domingo 14 de marzo, 4:00p.m.: Órgano con David Hatt celebrando el 50 aniversario del primer recital del artista.

Domingo 21 de marzo, 4:00p.m.: Órgano con Hans Uwe Hielscher (Alemania).

Domingo 28 de marzo, 4:00p.m.: Arpa con Diana Stork y Cheryl Fulton.

Domingo 4 de abril, 4:00p.m.: Órgano con Gail Archer (Nueva York).

Domingo 11 de abril, 4:00p.m.: Órgano con Norm Paskowsky.

Domingo 18 de abril, 4:00p.m.: Coro de la Catedral de Santa María.

Domingo 25 de abril, 4:00p.m.: Recital de órgano del Jubileo de la Catedral, celebración de los 50 años de la Catedral Santa María y del Órgano Ruffatti de la Catedral. Órgano con Olivier Latry (Notre Dame, París).

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promesa de pagar el 25% de alquiler atrasado, más el alquiler completo una vez que termine la moratoria…”

Una nueva manifestación fue organizada para el 12 de febrero porque continúan sin recibir respuesta.

Muchos de los solicitantes de esta ayuda son inmigrantes indocumentados que no han recibido el seguro de desempleo, tampoco pudieron solicitar el estímulo económico estatal para indocumentados, por lo difícil que fue el acceso a la línea directa que habían ofrecido.

El comité de vivienda de justicia social de las parroquias de la Misión en conjunto con Fe en Acción, han trabajado en los últimos años por diferentes necesidades relacionadas a la vivienda y alcanzado beneficios para los parroquianos.

Una de las primeras luchas fue contra los desalojos injustos, luego para lograr un subsidio en el pago de la vivienda para personas mayores. De esta acción consiguieron que de un edificio de más de 70 unidades, ubicado en la Misión, se destinaran 41 apartamentos subsidiados, muchos de ellos a parroquianos de las iglesias de la Misión. Estos beneficiarios ahora están pagando no más de un 30% del ingreso mensual, dijo Román.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 11, 2021