02.17.12

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , February 17, 2012

President Obama’s revised HHS mandate won’t solve problems, USCCB president says

ROME (CNS) — Cardinaldesignate Timothy M. Dolan of New York said February 13 that President Barack Obama’s proposed revision to the contraceptive mandate in the health reform law did nothing to change the U.S. bishops’ opposition to what they regard as an unconstitutional infringement on religious liberty.

“We bishops are pastors, we’re not politicians, and you can’t compromise on principle,” said Cardinal-designate Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “And the goal posts haven’t moved and I don’t think there’s a 50-yard line compromise here,” he added.

“We’re in the business of Reconciliation, so it’s not that we hold fast, that we’re stubborn ideologues, no. But we don’t see much sign of any compromise,” he said.

“What (Obama) offered was next to nothing. There’s no change, for instance, in these terribly restrictive mandates and this grossly restrictive definition of what constitutes a religious entity,” he said.

“The principle wasn’t touched at all.”

Obama’s proposed revision of the Department of Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate left intact the restrictive definition of a religious entity and would shift the costs of contraceptives from the policyholders to the insurers, thus failing to ensure that Catholic individuals and institutions would not have to pay for services that they consider immoral, Cardinal-designate Dolan said.

For one thing, the cardinaldesignate said, many dioceses and Catholic institutions are Turn to page 13

Pope Benedict’s Lenten Message — Page 15

In Support of Life — Eighth-grade students at St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet recently took part in a spiritual adoption in which they named and prayed for an unborn child. That led to the idea tangibly to help expectant mothers and their unborn children. The class decided to offer a “no uniform” day as an incentive to collect baby items from students in all classes. They collected a large variety of baby items and money that will be used to support pregnant mothers and children.

Lenten 40 Days For Life vigil welcomes new corps of youth

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

ATTLEBORO — At the start of the eighth local 40 Days for Life campaign, vigilers in Attleboro say the group has been invigorated by a new group of younger members.

Courtney Gareau, 17, said that she has seen an influx of her peers over the past four years of semi-annual campaigns, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

Ron Larose, coordinator of 40 Days for Life in Attleboro, said he has seen the teens praying

outside Four Women Health Services on Saturdays throughout the year. Their participation in 40 Days has “energized” the group and attracted attention from the surrounding community.

“They were out there on their knees. It was a powerful witness of prayer,” he said.

The Attleboro group as a whole will celebrate the start of this year’s Lenten campaign by meeting at the monthly Pro-Life Mass, held at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette on February 18 at 4:30 p.m. The campaign ofTurn to page 18

The Rite of Election brings faithful one step closer to becoming Catholic

B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff

half century of service — From left, Fathers Barry Wall, Leonard Mullaney (seated) and John Andrews, recently celebrated 50 years of priestly ordination with a concelebrated Mass at Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River in which Bishop George W. Coleman presided.

ACUSHNET — On February 26, the Rite of Election will provide the opportunity for catechumens to record their name in a book to show their commitment to the Catholic faith. For many in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults process, that Sunday will be full of blessings as Bishop George W. Coleman welcomes them to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River. It will mark one of the final steps those in the catechumenate will take before receiving the Sacraments during the Easter Vigil.

“To bring the newly converted [catechumens] to the forefront of that Mass is a par-

ticularly great celebration because Baptism, and all the Sacraments, have that communal aspect,” said Steve Guillotte,

director of the RCIA program at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet. “It just excites the whole parish.”

Catechumens are individuals who have not been baptized. Most parish RCIA programs combine catechumens with baptized Christians hoping to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

The reasons for combining both groups is “many of them are on the same level of understanding of the faith,” said Guillotte. “It does well to mix them together.”

Having the RCIA program within the Catholic Church is Turn to page 18

News From the Vatican

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February 17, 2012

Pope Benedict applauds ‘Jesus Our Contemporary’ conference in Rome

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict praised the launch of a three-day conference in Rome that seeks to explain to modern society why Jesus Christ is more than a historical figure.

“I am glad and grateful for your choice to dedicate to the person of Jesus, several days of interdisciplinary study and cultural offerings, destined to resonate within the Church community and throughout Italian society,” said Pope Benedict XVI in a message to Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, February 9.

“Jesus Our Contemporary” ran from February 9-11 and was organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

The pope explained how Jesus entered “forever” into human history “and continues to live there” through “His beauty and power in that body which is fragile and always in need of purification but also infinitely full of divine love — the Church.”

“The contemporary nature of Jesus is revealed in a special way in the Eucharist,” he said, “in which He is present with His passion, death and resurrection.”

It is through the Church that Jesus is “a contemporary of every man, able to embrace all men and all ages because she is guided by the Holy Spirit with the aim of continuing the work of Jesus in history.”

Over three days, numerous events such as lectures, seminars, discussions, film showings and photographic exhibitions took place at various locations in and around the Vatican. Several thousand visitors attended, mainly from the dioceses of Italy.

The topics explored Jesus in contemporary literature, Jesus and the poor, Jesus and the Jerusalem of Yesterday and Today as well as a study of Pope

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Benedict XVI’s biographical trilogy of Christ’s life, Jesus of Nazareth. The third in the series is expected to be published later this year.

“This is a major question that niggles at the heart of man today including Christians,” Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan told CNA February 9.

“Jesus lived in the time and space of 2,000 years ago. How can He save me today if He is not my contemporary?” Answering this question, he said, is the “challenge” of the conference.

“Many elements are being proposed that explain to us how Jesus breaks through and transcends time and, for eternity from His resurrection, particularly through His Eucharist, He reaches out to my freedom and that of every man and the freedom of all the human family.

This is the sense of the event.”

Among the other guest speakers were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former Vicar General of Rome and Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.

Also taking part were the German theologian Klaus Berger, the French philosopher and historian Jean-Luc Marion, Italian film director and screenwriter Liliana Cavani and the Italian magazine L’Espresso’s Vatican correspondent, Sandro Magister.

“The title certainly attracted me to the conference,” said a local Catholic teacher as she went into the opening session. She described the issue as “the challenge of our times,” as “Jesus is always seen as a Man of the past, especially by children.”

“I think this is the most beautiful message that Jesus left us, the love of God the Father and this love of God is a universal love that has no time, no boundaries, so Jesus is a contemporary Man.” OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 56, No. 7

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praying for children — Priests pray during a recent penitential vigil at St. Ignatius Church in Rome to show contrition for clerical sexual abuse. The service was led by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Vatican-backed symposium focuses international attention on lessons of the abuse crisis

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The take-away message from a Vatican-backed symposium on clerical sex abuse was clear: Victims, truth and justice come first.

And the Church can no longer wait for a crisis to erupt before it begins to address the scandal of abuse.

“We do not need to wait for a bomb to explode. Preventing it from exploding is the best response,” said Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle.

The archbishop of Manila was one of more than 200 bishops, cardinals, priests, religious and lay people who attended a landmark symposium February 6-9 in Rome.

The conference aimed to inspire and educate bishops’ conferences around the world as they seek to comply with a Vatican mandate to establish anti-abuse guidelines by May. U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that issued the mandate, said more than 4,000 cases of sexual abuse have been reported to the doctrinal office the past decade. Those cases revealed that an exclusively canonical response to the crisis has been inadequate, he said, and that a multifaceted and more proactive approach by all bishops and religious orders is needed.

Countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany are among those with the most comprehensive and binding guidelines or norms, Cardinal Levada said.

“But in many cases such response came only in the wake of the revelation of scandalous behavior by priests in the public media,” he added.

Learning the hard way, after generations of children and vul-

nerable adults are harmed and traumatized, shouldn’t be the norm, symposium participants said.

“Does each country around the world have to go through this same agonizing process?” asked Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, clinical associate professor of pastoral studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington.

Hard lessons over the decades have taught the Church the essential elements of an effective childprotection program, Msgr. Rossetti said, but such standards need to be implemented today around the world.

Not all bishops or superiors are fully on board, he said, as some believe that no abuse has happened or will happen under their watch.

“It is kind of like moving a mountain,” trying to convince everyone that addressing abuse with swift and effective programs is an urgent obligation.

“It’s not just changing a few policies, it’s a change in the way people think about these issues, and that takes a cultural shift,” he said.

That kind of conversion did happen at the conference, he said, for Church officials who had never heard a victim speak in person about his or her trauma and concerns.

Marie Collins, an abuse survivor from Ireland, said having her abuser’s superiors shift the blame onto her and fail to stop the perpetrator caused her more pain and shock than the abuse itself.

At the symposium’s start, Collins said that she wanted the Church to listen and respect victims and take their accusations seriously. She said hearing a Church leader ask for forgiveness for shielding abusers was critical to healing, and she wanted to make

sure there would be consequences for anyone who did not adhere to Church norms.

It appeared that symposium attendees and organizers were listening.

Canada’s Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and 10 other bishops led a solemn penitential service February 7, in which they asked forgiveness for failing to protect children and serving instead as an “instrument of evil against them.”

The bishops included Cardinal Sean Brady, primate of All Ireland, who two years ago apologized for having failed to report an abuser priest to the police in the 1970s.

The Vatican’s top investigator of clerical sex abuse, Msgr.

Charles Scicluna, didn’t leave any wiggle room when it comes to complying with Church and civil laws.

Everyone, especially the lay faithful, he said, needs to develop the confidence “to denounce the sin when it happens and to call it a crime — because it is a crime — and to do something about it.”

The “deadly culture of silence, or ‘omerta,’ is in itself wrong and unjust,” Msgr. Scicluna said, and bishops have a duty to cooperate fully with civil authority when civil laws are broken.

Experts, too, insisted that listening to victims and putting truth, justice and their safety must be the top concerns of all Church leaders.

Msgr. Rossetti told Catholic News Service that if there had ever been any doubt about the Vatican’s position, “those days are over.”

The pope and the Vatican are “all on the same page, and so that’s a powerful message to every bishop in the world,” he said.

February 17, 2012

The International Church

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Center for child protection unveiled at Rome conference

Rome, Italy (CNA/EWTN News) — An international symposium addressing clerical sex abuse concluded on February 9 with the announcement of a new internet-based Center for Child Protection.

“If the Church is now once again taking on its task of being a sign and Sacrament of God’s love, and putting the protection and promotion of the life of children at the very center of its interests then such actions and work are a decisive contribution towards evangelization,” said Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich at the launch press conference in Rome.

The global “e-learning center” provides online training for professionals involved in responding to the sexual abuse of minors.

It’s being coordinated by the Ulm University in Germany, the Archdiocese of Munich and Rome’s Gregorian University, hosts of the “Towards Healing and Renewal” conference that took place February 6-9.

The effort has an initial budget

of $1.6 million dollars to cover its first three years from 2012 to 2014. The training package is delivered in modules, takes a total of 30 hours to complete and is available in four languages — English, Spanish, Italian and German.

“As a clinician who has some experience in medical education, I know that these e-learning tools are very strong tools if you really want to spread out knowledge,” Professor Jörg Fegert of Ulm University’s Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy told CNA. He explained how the German society felt stung into action following a high profile clerical abuse scandal in 2010. Cardinal Marx today recalled it as “the worst and most bitter year” of his life.

In the following months the federal government in Germany set up a dedicated telephone call center staffed by psychotherapists to survey the extent of sexual abuse across the country.

“People were free to phone and tell their story,” explained

Professor Fegert, “and they were asked to give advice to the government what we should do in Germany to make a better environment for children.”

The findings suggested that 57 percent of abuse took place within families and 27 percent in institutional settings such as churches, schools or sports clubs.

Of those institutions, 38 percent were Catholic, 12 percent Protestant and 49 percent secular.

Those behind the new “Center for Child Protection” hope it can be used way beyond the confines of the Catholic Church.

“The Internet gives us the possibility to reach people all over the world,” said Professor Fegert. He hopes to provide both “top down” advice online while enabling a “bottom up” development in different countries “where people can adapt the programs to their own cultural environments.”

The February 9 announcement concluded a four-day symposium that brought together over 140 bishops’ conferences and religious orders in Rome

to discuss the issue of clerical abuse. All such Catholic groups have until May 2012 to submit guidelines for dealing with allegations and instances of abuse to the Vatican for approval. Many, however, already have such guidelines in place.

“Without doubt, the debate over the sexual abuse of children and adolescents has greatly dam-

aged the Church,” concluded Cardinal Marx.

“But if we try to understand these events also on a spiritual level, then they can be a major impetus towards conversion and renewal, and so towards rebuilding credibility, step by step.”

The Center for Child Protection can be found at www. elearning-childprotection.com.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to address the problems of poverty and malnutrition in Africa’s Sahel region.

“The Sahel was seriously threatened again in recent months by a notable decrease in food resources and by famine caused by a lack of rain and the resulting increase in desertification,” the pope told members of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel February 10.

He said that for residents of the Sahel, “living conditions are deteriorating.” Pope Benedict noted that Africa is often described as the

continent of conflict and infinite problems, but he said the opposite is true.

For the Church, he said, Africa “is the continent of hope.” The Sahel is a region of semiarid grassland and desert south of the Sahara Desert. U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations estimate that six million people in Niger are highly vulnerable to food insecurity, extreme poverty and malnutrition; 2.9 million in Mali; 700,000 in Mauritania; and more than two million in Burkina Faso. Thirteen of Chad’s 22 regions could be affected by food insecurity.

Pope says world must help Africans in Sahel

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The Church in the U.S.

February 17, 2012

Illinois bishop accepts priest’s resignation for not following Missal

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (CNS) — Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville has accepted the resignation of a longtime pastor with whom he has had discussions about how the priest celebrates Mass.

Father William Rowe, who for the past 17 years has been pastor of St. Mary Parish in Mount Carmel, said he offered to resign after those conversations did not resolve Bishop Braxton’s concerns about his celebration of the Mass, including his failure to follow the new English translation of the Roman Missal, implemented in November.

Over the years, Father Rowe said, some people have complained about the way he celebrated the Liturgy, using what has been described as an improvisational style. Five months ago, the bishop called Father Rowe to his home to talk about letters the bishop said he received regarding the priest.

“I said, then, I would offer my resignation,” Father Rowe said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service.

However, Father Rowe said he didn’t hear from the bishop about the matter until Oct. 8, 2011, when he again called the priest to his residence.

At that meeting, Father Rowe said, he told Bishop Braxton, “This is the way I celebrate the Eucharist.” By that, he said, he meant he linked the Gospel, his homily and the prayers together in language everyone could understand, even if that was not exactly the way they were written. The bishop asked Fa-

ther Rowe to go home, think about the issues and write him a letter about it.

In the letter to the bishop dated October 12, Father Rowe said: “From our most recent discussion, I realize that you can no longer allow me to celebrate the Eucharist as has been my custom.” He then offered to resign, according to the letter.

Father Rowe said he did not hear from the bishop again until February 1, when he received a letter dated January 30 in which the bishop “formally” acknowledged his October letter and accepted his resignation, effective in June when clergy assignments are made.

Father Rowe told CNS he responded to the bishop with a letter February 2 saying: “I had no desire to resign or retire from the active ministry. ...

My offer to resign seemed to be the best way to resolve the problem in a pastoral way.”

Father Rowe said he is not sure what he will do if he does leave Mount Carmel in June.

He wanted to offer to help at other parishes but doesn’t think the bishop would approve. He said he also thought of offering to go to another diocese but would need a recommendation from Bishop Braxton to do that. He said he doesn’t see that happening either.

“I don’t really know which way to go,” he said.

Father Rowe does not take a salary from the parish, and instead relies on social security and a small pension he receives from the military for the years he spent in the Air Force Reserve.

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humanitarian mission — Jim Marx and Charlie Rooney, volunteers with No More Deaths, carry food and water as they patrol desert trails near the U.S.-Mexico border recently in Arivaca Junction, Ariz. The faith-based group’s goal is to reduce the death toll among Mexican migrants who cross the desert to find work in the United States. More than 5,000 have died since 1998. Rooney is a member of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz. (CNS photo/Jim West)

Catholic politicians who attack faith should remember God’s judgment

Rome (CNA/EWTN News) — Politicians who consider themselves Catholic but collaborate in “the assault against their faith” should remember they will one day have to give account for their acts before God, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois said February 10.

“There is a last judgment.

There is a particular judgment.

May they change their minds and may God have mercy on them,” he told CNA during his visit to Rome.

When asked specifically about recent actions of Democratic Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Bishop Jenky replied “I am utterly scandalized.”

“The Lord once said, ‘If you deny Me at the end, I will deny you,’ this from our most merciful, good Savior. And so if it is a choice between Jesus Christ and political power or getting favorable editorials in leftist papers, well, that’s simply not a choice.”

Both Sebelius and Representative Pelosi have been at the forefront of attempts to force Catholic institutions to cover contraception, sterilizations and abortifacients as part of their staff’s health insurance plans.

Bishop Jenky said there are too many Catholic politicians in the U.S. who “like to wear green sweaters on St. Patrick’s Day and march” or “have their pictures taken with the hierarchy” or “have conspicuous crosses on their forehead with ashes” but who then “not only do not live their faith they collaborate in the assault against their faith.”

The 64-year-old Chicago native is currently making his “ad

limina” visit to Rome to discuss the state of his diocese with the pope and the Vatican. He is part of a larger episcopal delegation from the states of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Bishop Jenky said the issue of religious freedom in the United States has featured in all their meetings so far, including their audience with Pope Benedict XVI February 9.

“Determined secularists see the Catholic Church as the largest institutional block to a completely secularized society and not for the first, and probably not for the last time, we’re under assault,” he said drawing parallels with the anti-Catholic “Kulturkampf” in late 19th century Germany or the anti-clerical laws in France in the early 20th century.

“I am a Holy Cross religious and my own community had six colleges in France and they turned our mother house chapel into a stable,” he said. As for the United States in 2012, “it is always difficult to predict the future but the intensity of hatred against Catholic Christianity in elements of our culture is just astounding.”

He believes the present White House administration is also motivated by a “determined secularism,” while Communist dictator Joseph Stalin would “admire the uniformity of the American press, with some exceptions.”

In 2010 the Illinois legislature voted to legalize same-sex civil unions, a move which led to the closure of Catholic foster care services. This, said the bishop, took the Church “entirely out of the work that we

started when the State of Illinois could not have cared less about beggar kids running up and down the streets.”

Bishop Jenky is very conscious of this patrimony of Catholic schools, hospitals and other social services “built by the sacrifice of Catholic believers” in previous generations of Illinois Catholics. “There weren’t a lot of multi-millionaires who built the churches, opened those orphanages or built those schools,” he said.

The bishop fears that socially liberal elites ultimately want to secularize such institutions by stealth. “I assume that is the underlying goal,” he suggested, “so that is robbing Christ but it is also robbing the heritage of generations of believers. So we would try to resist this in every way possible. It would be an incredible injustice.”

In conversation, he quoted the stark 2010 prediction of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, “I will die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.” So is Bishop Jenky prepared for prison or worse?

“I hope I would always prefer Christ to anything so, if it came to it, yes but I would be one of the trembling martyrs.”

He recalled how in ancient Rome some Christians would run towards their martyrdom. He, on the other hand, would “probably be walking down the Forum with eyes downcast a little.”

“I think most of the bishops of our Church, though, would be faithful to Christ above anything, including our own personal freedom.”

February 17, 2012

The Church in the U.S.

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Archbishop Chaput blasts administration’s ‘insulting’ mandate revision Philadelphia, Pa. (CNA/EWTN News) — Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput rejected the Obama administration’s attempt to revise its contraception mandate, saying the rule remained “insulting” and “dangerous” to believers’ rights.

“The HHS mandate, including its latest variant, are belligerent, unnecessary and deeply offensive to the content of Catholic belief,” he wrote in a February 12 Philadelphia Inquirer column.

“Any such mandate would make it morally compromising for us to provide health care benefits to the staffing of our public service ministries.”

“We cannot afford to be fooled — yet again — by evasive and misleading allusions to the administration’s alleged ‘flexibility’ on such issues. The HHS mandate needs to be rescinded.”

Archbishop Chaput published his thoughts following a February 10 announcement by the administration regarding religious institutions and what the government calls “preventive services” — a category including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs.

A rule announced January 20 required many faith-based organizations to provide insurance coverage of these drugs and devices despite their moral objections. After three weeks of protest led by the U.S. Catholic bishops, the administration announced a change to the rule on Friday.

Under the revised rule, insurance companies would be forced to offer the “preventive services,” without a co-pay, to employees of religious ministries. The administration maintained that under the new policy, “religious organizations will not be required to subsidize the cost of contraception.”

Komen official resigns over handling of grants

DALLAS (CNS) — Karen Handel, vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, resigned February 7 over a dispute of how the organization handled its grants to Planned Parenthood.

Komen announced January 31 that it would no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates for breast cancer screening referrals and then reinstated these grants February 3 after significant protest.

In her resignation letter, Handel said she had supported Komen’s decision to stop providing funding to Planned Parenthood, but she also noted that discussion of the move had begun long before she joined the organization last year.

Handel said the decision to withhold grant funding from Planned Parenthood was nonpolitical and was “based on Komen’s mission.”

“What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision — one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact — has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly,” she wrote.

Initially, Pro-Life leaders hailed Komen’s announcement that it would no longer give grants to Planned Parenthood. Three days later, when Komen reversed its decision, a Pro-Life leader called it the result of a “vicious attack” on the organization.

“I am troubled that the Komen foundation has come under such heavy fire for their recent decision to tighten and focus their funding guidelines,” said Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life.

“This week we have all been witness to highly partisan attacks from pro-abortion advocates and an ugly and disgraceful shakedown that highlights Planned Parenthood’s willingness to pursue a scorched-earth strategy to force compliance with their pro-abortion agenda,” she said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood is currently the focus of an investigation by U.S. Representative Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., to see whether the organization used federal funds to pay for abortions, which would be illegal.

Several critics of the move, including Princeton Professor Robert George and Catholic University of America President John Garvey, responded by pointing out that the new rule accomplishes the same goal — forcing employers to underwrite policies covering the offensive services — by a different means.

In his column, Archbishop Chaput highlighted this

“W

e cannot afford to be fooled — yet again — by evasive and misleading allusions to the administration’s alleged ‘flexibility’ on such issues. The HHS mandate needs to be rescinded.” “withering criticism” of the new requirement, and said the “‘accommodation’ offered by the White House did not solve the problem” of the original mandate.

“Quite a few Catholics supported President Obama in the last election, so the ironies here are bitter,” he noted.

“Many feel betrayed. They’re baffled that the Obama administration would seek to coerce Catholic employers, private and corporate, to violate their religious convictions.”

For Philadelphia’s archbishop, however, the administration’s move comes as no surprise.

He cited its “early shift toward the anemic language of ‘freedom of worship’ instead of the more historicallygrounded and robust concept of ‘freedom of religion,’” and noted its “troubling effort to regulate religious ministers, recently rejected 9-0 by the Supreme Court in the Hosanna-Tabor case.”

These steps, together with the 2011 termination of the U.S. bishops’ human trafficking grant over a refusal to make abortion referrals, have convinced Archbishop Chaput that the Obama White House “is — to put it generously — tone deaf to people of faith.”

“It’s clear that such actions are developing into a pattern,” he observed.

In this context, the archbishop indicated, Health and Human Services’ mandate did not seem like a “gaffe” or “mistake.”

“The current administration prides itself on being measured and deliberate. The current HHS mandate needs to be understood as exactly that.”

“It’s impossible to see this regulation as some happenstance policy. It has been too long in the making. Despite all of its public apprehension about ‘culture warriors’ on the political right in the past, the current administration has created an HHS mandate that is the embodiment of culture war.”

“At its heart is a seemingly deep distrust of the formative role religious faith has on personal and social conduct, and a deep distaste for religion’s moral influence on public affairs. To say that this view is contrary to the Founders’ thinking and the record of American history would be an understatement.”

“Critics may characterize my words here as partisan or political,” the archbishop acknowledged. “But it is this administration — not Catholic ministries or institutions or bishops — that chose the timing and nature of the fight.”

The burden, he said, was on the White House, which “has the power to remove the issue from public conflict.”

Catholics, meanwhile, “should not be misled into accepting feeble compromises on issues of principle.”

6

The Anchor

The president’s totally ‘unaccommodating’ accommodation

After three weeks of unrelenting outrage from all corners about the Department of Health and Human Services’ trampling of religious freedom in its January 20 mandate for free contraception, sterilizations and abortifacient drugs, President Obama last Friday announced what he insisted was an “accommodation.” If religious service organizations — like Catholic hospitals, schools and social service programs — objected to providing coverage for these items in their employees’ health plans, the president said they would no longer be required to pay for them; rather their health insurance companies would be forced to offer them for “free.”

The shift of the onus of the mandate from religious service employers to insurance companies was readily seen by objective observers as a political obfuscation and accounting trick. As the editors of the Wall Street Journal remarked, “Insurance companies won’t be making donations. Drug makers will still charge for the pill. Doctors will still bill for reproductive treatment. The reality, as with all mandated benefits, is that these costs will be borne eventually via higher premiums.” Just as there’s no such thing as a totally free lunch, so there’s no free tubal ligation, abortion-causing pill or contraception. The religious organizations will still be funding these objectionable offerings, one way or the other.

The Journal also noted two other obvious problems. First, many religious organizations selfinsure in order to save costs and to ensure that programs offered do not violate religious teachings; the “accommodation” doesn’t change one iota their being forced to pay for and cooperate in what they believe is immoral. Secondly, there is the larger Constitutional and common-sense point: “There is simply no precedent for the government ordering private companies to offer a product for free, even if they recoup the costs indirectly.” The same pro-abortion and pro-contraceptive ideology that doesn’t hesitate to trample on religious freedom by executive decree likewise thinks nothing of forcing private companies — in America — to “offer” something for “free.”

Beyond the financial smokescreen, none of the three fundamental issues for which the U.S. bishops have been criticizing the mandate was addressed by the president’s pretended accommodation.

The first principle is respect for religious liberty. The administration is trying not only to intrude into the affairs of religious institutions but to coerce them — and all religiously or morally motivated private employers — to engage in or cooperate in what they believe is immoral. As Bishop Coleman noted in his January 31 letter to the faithful of the Diocese of Fall River, “The administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics and other faith-filled people our nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so).”

This lack of respect for religious liberty is not isolated. As Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput wrote on Sunday, infringements against religious liberty are “developing into a pattern. Whether it was the administration’s early shift toward the anemic language of ‘freedom of worship’ instead of the more historically grounded and robust concept of ‘freedom of religion’ in key diplomatic discussions; or its troubling effort to regulate religious ministers recently rejected 9-0 by the Supreme Court in the Hosanna Tabor case; or the revocation of the U.S. bishops’ conference human trafficking grant for refusing to refer rape victims to abortion clinics, it seems obvious that this administration is — to put it generously — tone deaf to people of faith. … In reality, no similarly aggressive attack on religious freedom in our country has occurred in recent memory.” Archbishop Chaput went on to say that, despite all the administration’s protestations of a culture war being waged in the past by those on the political right, “the current administration has created an HHS mandate that is the embodiment of culture war,” an ideological war of the administration’s own timing and choosing that is being waged against those of religious conviction for our moral teachings. This belligerent stance of the administration has the bishops justly concerned.

The bishops’ second major concern is about who defines religious identity and ministry. The only organizations that the administration recognizes as “religious employers” are those non-profits that have the primary purpose of inculcating religious values, and employ and serve persons who share their religious tenets. The vast majority of religious social service agencies, which care for but also often employ people of various faiths or no faith, do not come under this definition. They’re not “religious enough,” in HHS’ estimation. This is totally different from what the IRS considers a religious non-profit and diametrically opposed to the interpretation of the Constitution expressed unanimously by the Supreme Court on January 11 in the Hosanna Tabor decision. There is serious concern that this same narrow understanding of religious charity would become a precedent for other regulations.

But there is the larger issue of the understanding of works in the practice of faith.

When President Obama addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on February 2, he said that we cannot limit our religious values “to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends,” but we need to act on the command to “love thy neighbor as yourself.” He added that “caring for the poor and those in need” are “values that have always made this country great — when we live up to them; when we don’t just give lip service to them.” He praised Catholic Charities and various other faith-inspired organizations for whom “the biblical injunctions are not just words, they are also deeds,” saying, “Every single day, in different ways, so many of you are living out your faith in service to others.” He clearly recognized the intrinsic connection between religious faith and charitable works; yet in the HHS mandate he pretends that those who carry out charitable works based on religious faith aren’t religious employers at all. The president, logically, can’t have it both ways. Either he was giving lip service to living faith at the National Prayer Breakfast or the HHS restrictions are a contradiction of his own ideas.

The connection between faith and works is something on which progressive Catholics have been insisting. Michael Sean Winters, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter who until January 20 was an enthusiastic cheerleader of the president, penned, “The most offensive part of this whole mess is the suggestion that our faith-based charities, schools and hospitals are not sufficiently religious to qualify for a religious exemption. It is this that offends us social justice Catholics who see our work on behalf of the poor as integral to our faith, different but just as important as our Sunday worship. It is now clear that President Obama, as opposed to candidate Obama, no longer sees this, or is, at any rate, unwilling to draw the logical conclusions from it.”

The third point that the bishops have been stressing is that they are fighting not just for a broader exemption to the mandate for Catholic institutions but for the mandate as a whole to be rescinded.

No individual or institution, religious or otherwise, should be forced to pay for others’ abortioncausing pills, sterilization, or contraception, which are not “preventive services” like mammograms, because children are not cancers. The HHS mandate is bad law on many grounds and is divisive, unconstitutional, and simply disdainful to those with religious convictions. There was no reason to make it, except for a radical ideological push, flowing from the sexual revolution, to have everyone underwrite the desire of some for sex without consequences, including financial. That’s why the U.S. bishops wrote to American Catholics that “the only complete solution … is for HHS to rescind the mandate of these objectionable services.”

In his January 31 letter, Bishop Coleman asked all Catholics of the diocese to pray, fast and work for this rescission, because “we cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law.”

Catholics are asked to call the White House (202-456-1111) to persuade the president to make the only truly acceptable “accommodation” and rescind the mandate. They’re also urged to call on their congressmen and senators to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179, S 1467), which will prohibit the health care reforms being used as a weapon to take away our First Amendment rights and force religious believers from having to fund for practices they consider immoral.

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February 17, 2012

Openness to life!

n this article on the Sacrament of dissent from the Church’s moral teaching.

Marriage I would like to go back Pope Paul VI, while facing much oppoto something that I briefly mentioned in sition even from those within the Church, last week’s article on the vows made at a courageously proclaimed, “Responsible wedding. men can become more deeply convinced The third vow made by a couple is the of the truth of the doctrine laid down by promise to be open to life. They are asked the Church on this issue if they reflect on the question, “Will you accept children the consequences of methods and plans for lovingly from God and bring them up artificial birth control. Let them first conaccording to the law of Christ and His sider how easily this course of action could Church?” open wide the way for marital infidelity The Church teaches us that “by its very and a general lowering of moral standards. nature the institution of marriage and mar- Not much experience is needed to be fully ried love is ordered to the procreation and aware of human weakness and to undereducation of the offspring and it is in them stand that human beings — and especially that it finds its crowning glory” (CCC the young, who are so exposed to tempta1652). tion — need incentives to keep the moral As I mentioned last week, too often law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy couples decide themselves how many for them to break that law.” children they want and — perhaps uninThe pope continued, “Another effect tentionally — overlook the promise they that gives cause for alarm is that a man made to be open to children as a gift from who grows accustomed to the use of God. contraceptive methods may forget the revObviously, the principles of generosity erence due to a woman, and, disregarding and responsiher physical bility need to and emotional guide a couequilibrium, Putting Into ple’s discernreduce her to ment in how being a mere the Deep they adhere to instrument for this vow. They the satisfaction

By Father exercise the of his own deJay Mello virtue of gensires, no longer erosity when considering their openness her as his partto life trumps the standard of life they dener whom he should surround with care sire. There can sometimes be the temptaand affection” (Humanae Vitae, 17). tion to have fewer children to maintain a Still today, there are a number of certain social status and standard of living. Catholics who disagree with the Church’s Fidelity to the vow made before God and a teaching or who are not even aware that the principle of generosity would suggest that Church clearly explains that contraception having more children is better than exotic is contrary to the conjugal act of marital vacations, bigger homes and nicer cars. love, is contrary to the vow made on one’s But this goes hand and hand with the wedding day and in fact is contrary to principle of responsibility. Being open God’s plan for marriage and family. to life doesn’t mean that one procreates As a Church, we have failed clearly and endlessly as if the idea was that the more continually to articulate to each generation children you have, the more Catholic you the grave moral consequences of contraare. Each couple, employing the principles ception. I say that we have failed in light of of generosity and responsibility must make the vast number of people who have never this decision for themselves. This deciheard the Church’s teaching and reasonsion must be made with a well-formed ing for this teaching in a clear and concise conscience, but overall, trusting in God’s way. Oftentimes clergy and faithful shrink providence. from talking about it because it is so unI was prompted to write about this popular and we don’t want to be rejected particular issue based on a recent national or disliked because of the stance we take. debate. By now, many of you have heard But this is a very serious issue, one that we that our president’s administration, in as disciples of Christ in the 21st century particular, the Department of Health and cannot avoid.

Human Services has decided to force all Allow me to end this article, and employers to provide in their health care also this reflection on the Sacrament of for their employees things that we are Marriage on a positive note with respect morally opposed to, namely contraception, to our openness to life. Openness to sterilization and abortion-causing drugs. children is part of the Good News. The I don’t want to spend a lot of time on “Catechism” summarizes why in this the particular issue of the federal governway: “Children are the supreme gift of ment forcing the Church to act against its marriage and contribute greatly to the own conscience, though I must ask where good of the parents themselves. God are all the “separation of church and state” Himself said: ‘It is not good that man people now? I think, however, that this should be alone,’ and ‘from the beginning whole situation has given us as Catholics He made them male and female’; wishing a golden opportunity to speak about and to associate them in a special way in His discuss a very unpopular issue, namely the own creative work, God blessed man and use of contraception. woman with the words: ‘Be fruitful and After addressing this recent attack on multiply.’ Hence, true married love and our faith and religious liberty in a recent the whole structure of family life which homily, someone asked me after Mass, results from it, without diminishment of “Father, why don’t we hear more about the other ends of marriage, are directed contraception?” The person who asked to disposing the spouses to cooperate that question raised a very good point. valiantly with the love of the Creator and Why don’t we hear more about it? I think Savior, who through Them will increase it is because since the re-affirmation of the and enrich his family from day to day” Church’s teaching against contraception by (CCC 1653).

Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical letter, Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. Humanae Vitae, there has been a strong Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

February 17, 2012

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hile Matthew has the greatest number of parables, Luke has more complex parables, and many of them have become part of our cultural heritage.

Some commentators believe that we should restrict the parable of the Dishonest Manager to the first sevenand-a-half verses of Luke 16, but I actually think it should include all of verse eight. In fact, I don’t think the reading of the parable is complete until the end of verse 13. The man is apparently a farm manager for a large estate since the invoices are all for agricultural goods. He sees only two options for his life after his impending dismissal: a common day laborer or a beggar. Apparently he has no education, and is thus excluded from other occupations since he has to ask the debtors what is written in their invoices.

His plan is to ingratiate himself to his master’s debtors and thus provide for himself

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e have just left behind a very unusual football season. When Tim Tebow, quarterback for the Denver Broncos, brought his outspoken Christianity onto the playing field, we suddenly were faced with the paradox of sports analysts doing theological reflection. If Tim Tebow had persistently thrown up mediocre quarterback ratings (which he did) but had not led his team to those almost miraculous fourth quarter comebacks, we would not have heard a single comment about God on the local sports radio shows. The “Tim Tebow phenomenon,” was replete with pious gestures (the mockery of prayer known as “Tebowing”) and numerology (the superstitious connection of his throwing yardage and the Scripture reference he wrote on his eye black). All of this brought forth the great debate about the place of religion on the field of play.

Tim Tebow’s outward display of Christian faith seemed to polarize ardent and casual football spectators. Was it, as some suggested, a new battleground for the culture war between the secularists and the religious? It seems unfair to place this burden on Tebow’s shoulders, since he never did anything to fuel the argument

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The Anchor

The Dishonest Manager

from people who owe him. The al bears on the prudence of text uses the word “prudent” the manager who realized how to describe him. Modern usage best to use what material poswould perhaps employ words sessions were his to ensure his like “crafty,” “astute,” “confuture security. The ‘dishonniving” and “manipulative.” est manager’ thus becomes a When we join the last half model for Christian disciples of verse eight to the parable, we see that the master was just as much a player in the game of wealth as the manager. By praising the manager,

By Father in effect, the master Martin L. Buote was saying that the servant had learned well from his own example of manipulation. (Think …. Faced with a crisis, he of some modern players in the judged prudently how to cope game of wealth like Andrew with it.”

Carnegie, Donald Trump, etc.)

I look at the parable differThose who end the parable ently. The second half of verse after the first half of verse eight lumps the master and the eight see the action of the manager together as “children manager in being “prudent” of this world.” Verse nine as an example for Christians then, which suggests making to emulate. Typical of this ap- friends for yourselves with proach is Father J.A. Fitzmyer dishonest wealth, becomes a (Anchor Bible, vol. 28A, page statement of sarcasm.

1,098): “The master’s approvVerses 10-12, about how

Parables of the Lord

Being faithful

show special favor is an image except pray constantly durthat either confirms or chaling games and give praise to lenges our faith. Therein lays the Lord afterwards. Nor do the source of disagreement I think it was because we in in this great debate. Rather the north (the frozen chosen) than blame the rejection of the are uncomfortable with such gushing displays of faith. There must be more to this polarization, and after greater scrutiny we may get to the true source of the disagreement.

Perhaps Tebow’s

By Claire McManus public piety was not the issue so much as was the religious interpretation of his Tebow phenomenon on secusuccess on the field. There larism, we may view this as a were some who believed that positive sign that deep within God willed the success of the every individual resides a God Denver Broncos because they whose image is worth fighting were led by his faithful servant, Tim Tebow. The lamenta- for.

We should applaud the tions must have reverberated good values of this young throughout the Rockies when quarterback who loves Jesus God seemingly abandoned and backs up his celebrity God’s people to the Babylowith good works and gestures nians from Foxboro. If God of kindness to his fans. There was on Tebow’s side when are many other players who they won, where was God privately offer prayer, and othwhen the Broncos lost? This ers who put aside their team is the kind of question that turns sports commentators into affiliation to pray together on the field after a game. Our armchair theologians. just and merciful God does Everyone has an operative not favor Tim Tebow over any image of God. Even atheists other person. Tebow is not need to have an image of God holy and faithful because he that can be rejected as nonshouts his praises for the Lord existent. The idea that God loudly from the mountaintops may be petty or vindictive or

The Great Commission

the link between trustworthiness in small and big things, is thought to be an application of the parable that could be used in the early Church as a sermon theme.

In my opinion, verse 13, about how we cannot serve two masters, is the real point of the parable, not the idea of prudence quoted from Father Fitzmyer.

There are several examples of similar stories in the literature of the Ancient Near East, but none is so similar to be considered its source.

It would be easy to err and think that the parable teaches simply that there is a reversal of fortunes in the afterlife. There is one word, however, that proves that to be untrue. The rich man says the name “Lazarus.” He knew him, even by name, yet he did nothing to make his life better. Nothing is said

about the virtue of Lazarus, for he is not the center of the parable. There are several points to note in this parable lesson: God is not impressed by wealth; punishment for sin is a torment; the status of a person after death, reward or punishment, is permanent; and we all have sufficient opportunity to choose correctly in this life.

In this passage we have the only instance of a parable character being given a name.

This is perhaps a Christian accretion drawn from the fact that the brother of Martha and Mary did rise from the dead.

Yet not even this changed the hearts of those who had it in mind to kill him along with Jesus (Jn 12:10-11).

Father Buote is a retired priest of the Diocese of Fall River. For more than 30 years, he has been leading Bible study groups in various parishes and has also led pilgrims to visit sites in Israel associated with the Bible.

of Colorado. What makes him holy is that he works hard to become the best at what he does: play football. Thomas Merton explained this quite clearly, “God does not demand that every [person] attain to what is theoretically higher or best. It is better to be a good street sweeper than a bad writer, better to be a good bartender, than a bad doctor, and the repentant thief who died with Jesus on Calvary was far more perfect than the holy ones who had Him nailed to the cross.”

We are holy when what we do well is done for the glory of God. The better explanation for the Tebow phenomenon is that the faith of this young man inspired others to subjugate their individualism for a common goal. Something

wonderful, even miraculous, occurs when individuals bring their best effort together for a purpose higher than what can be achieved alone. This is what Robert Kraft saw in the 2011 Patriots team, and though they did not win their final game, they were spiritual to the end.

The Patriots came together for the higher purpose of honoring their deceased matriarch, Myra Kraft, a woman who lived a faithful life. Mother Teresa said, “God doesn’t demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful.”

This is the lesson that we can take away from this unusually spiritual football season.

Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

HelpForVeterans.com Discounts for military personnel active and retired throughout the U.S.

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he Gospel story of the healing of the paralyzed man illustrates Jesus, the miracle worker, and the faith He inspires in those who are drawn to Him. Observing this scene were some teachers of the law who questioned whether Jesus was blaspheming since only God can forgive sins.

St. Mark describes, in this narrative, the coming together of two important Gospel themes. One, that Jesus heals and, two, that He does so by His authority as the Son of God. Indeed, it was for this purpose that Jesus Christ came into our world, fulfilling the expectation of the prophets, to forgive our sins and to heal our brokenness.

Taking a closer look at this Gospel, we recognize the role that the paralyzed man’s friends played in bringing him to the One who has the power to heal.

The faith of the man who is forgiven and healed is not mentioned at all by Jesus.

Rather, it is the faith of his friends that is mentioned. It is faith that is revealed by their willingness to carry the paralytic past all obstacles

February 17, 2012

The Anchor

Faith, fellowship and forgiveness

and to lay him at the feet of a perfect example of this Jesus. In fact, the paralytic aspect of Christ’s teaching. did nothing except allow The Christian way of life is himself to be carried to never properly lived if it is Jesus. only a personal relationship As we consider the Gospel with the Lord, isolated from and consider how it applies the community. Although to us, we realize that at times the nurturing of our personal we will identify with the one relationship with the Lord is being carried and at other times with the ones doing the carrying.

It all depends on the Homily of the Week circumstances in Seventh Sunday which we find ourof Ordinary Time selves.

Like the man carBy Father ried by his friends, William Rodrigues we all need a community to carry us from time to time on our journey through life when essential and fundamental, we cannot do it on our own. a personal relationship with We find this support in our our brothers and sisters in parish communities. In the community is essential and community of the faithful, fundamental as well. From Christ is truly in our midst. week to week, fellowship in This Gospel story reminds the community of believers us, as well, of our role as acand belonging to a parish tive members of the Body of family is a rock amidst the Christ. We need to be there shifting sands of our changfor our brothers and sisters in ing world. What is more, we need when they cannot go it need our faith community to alone, as they are there for us. pray for us when we cannot In God’s wisdom, our pray, to believe for us when faith is always to be lived in we cannot believe, to carry community. Here we have us when we cannot carry

ourselves, if we only allow ourselves to be carried.

The first reading from Isaiah parallels this week’s Gospel. At the time of Isaiah’s prophesies, the exile was about to come to an end, and there was to be a return to the Holy Land, a second Exodus. Isaiah calls them not to remember the “things of the past,” the first Exodus. His call to them to focus on the new Exodus, the return, becomes the focal point of the remembrance (anamnesis) in Israel’s liturgy, founded on the confession and renunciation of sin. One commentator on this reading explains from a Christian perspective, “As Hoskyns remarked in respect to Bach’s Mass in B Minor, the Kyrie eleison provides the ground base for the Liturgy. Nevertheless, in the midst of the anamnesis and the confession of sin, there breaks through Yahweh’s word of forgiveness, that He will remember our sins no more.” This speaks to our Church’s experience of for-

giveness of sin, healing, and renewed life in Christ.

St. Paul, in the second reading, speaks of God’s promises to His faithful people about how He makes good on His promises.

People in every place and time have hopes and aspirations for meaning in life and for a better world, for ourselves and for our loved ones. Through the eyes of faith in Jesus Christ, the blessings and the struggles of life are never meaningless. The Gospel proclaims that God has in fact given us, in Jesus Christ, the assurance of the fulfillment of our hopes for redemption and healing. Christ is the affirmation of the future and of our highest aspirations. He is love itself.

This week, may we recall the gift of faith, fellowship and forgiveness that we have received in Christ. May we be prepared to carry those in need and allow ourselves to be carried.

Father Rodrigues is a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. John the Baptist parishes in New Bedford.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Feb. 18, Jas 3:1-10; Ps 12:2-5,7-8; Mk 9:2-13. Sun. Feb. 19, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Is 43:18-19,21-22,24b-25; Ps 41:2-5,13-14; 2 Cor 1:18-22; Mk 2:1-12. Mon. Feb. 20, Jas 3:13-18; Ps 19:8-10,15; Mk 9:14-29. Tues. Feb. 21, Jas 4:1-10; Ps 55:7-11,23; Mk 9:30-37. Wed. Feb. 22, Ash Wednesday, Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-6a,12-14,17; 2 Cor 5:20—6:2; Mt 6:1-6,16-18. Thurs. Feb. 23, Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 9:22-25. Fri. Feb. 24, Is 58:1-9a; Ps 51:3-6a,18-19; Mt 9:14-15.

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he Obama Administration’s recently-announced HHS regulations, which would require Catholic institutions to subsidize health insurance coverage that provides sterilization, abortifacient drugs and contraceptives, should be located within the context of the administration’s three-year long effort to define religious freedom.

As the administration has demonstrated in its international human rights policy, it regards religious freedom as a kind of privacy right: the right to freedom of worship, which the administration seems to regard as analogous to any other optional, recreational activity. No serious student of religious freedom, however, takes the redefinition of religious freedom as freedom-to-worship seriously.

For if that redefinition were true, there would be “religious freedom” in Saudi Arabia, so long as the “worship” in question were conducted behind closed doors.

And that is manifestly absurd.

The HHS regulations announced on January 20 are one domestic expression of defining-

HHS and soft totalitarianism

religious-freedom-down. The tions to provide “services” that administration does not propose to, say, restore the 1970 ICEL translations of the prayer-texts of the Mass; that, even HHS might concede, is a violation of religious freedom. But the adminBy George Weigel istration did not think it a violation of religious freedom for its Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to try to overturn the Catholic Church believes the longstanding legal understand- are objectively evil. That bizarre ing which held that religious claim may well be another coninstitutions have a secure First stitutional bridge too far. But the Amendment right to choose their very fact that the administration ministers by their own criteria — issued these regulations, and that until it was told that it had gone the White House press secreway over the line in January’s tary blithely dismissed any First Hosanna-Tabor Supreme Court Amendment concerns when asked decision (a judicial smackdown whether there were religious freein which the administration’s own dom issues involved here, tells us court nominees joined). something very important, and Now, with the HHS “convery disturbing, about the cast of traceptive mandate” (which, as mind in the Executive Branch. noted above, is also a sterilization It is no exaggeration to deand abortifacent “mandate”), the scribe that cast of mind as “soft administration claims that it is not totalitarianism”: an effort to violating the First Amendment eliminate the vital role in health by requiring Catholic institucare, education and social service

The Catholic Difference

played by the institutions of civil society, unless those institutions become extensions of the state. As my colleague Yuval Levin has pointed out, it’s the same cast of mind that gave us Obamacare (which massively consolidates the health insurance industry into a small number of players who function like public utilities) and the Dodd-Frank financial sector reform (which tries to do to banks what Obamacare did to insurance).

The social doctrine of the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of the mediating institutions of civil society in living freedom nobly and well. John Paul II coined the phrase “the subjectivity of society” to refer to these institutions, which include the family, religious communities, and voluntary organizations of all sorts. In Centesimus Annus, the late pope taught that, among their many other contributions to the common good, these institutions are crucial schools of freedom in

which the tyrants that all of us are at age two are turned into Democrats: the kind of people who can build free and virtuous societies.

It seems increasingly clear that the Obama administration does not share this vision of a richly textured democracy, in which civil society plays an important, independent role. Rather, it sees only the state and the individual, honoring the institutions of civil society insofar as they can be turned into simulacra of the state.

Those with a sense of the ironies of American history will find it, well, ironic that it should be the Catholic Church — long held suspect for its alleged anti-democratic tendencies — that is now cast in the role of chief defender of the fundamental principles of democracy. But that is the task that Catholics have been given.

It is a task in which we dare not fail — for our sake, and for the future of American democracy.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

February 17, 2012

Home alone

Tuesday 14 February 2012 — someone stay with you throughat home on the Taunton River‚ out the night?” “Just Transit,” St. Valentine Day (traditional I answered. “So, Father Transit observance) will keep an eye on you until ecently, dear readers, I morning?” “I’m sure he will. He underwent minor surgery at one of those day surgery clinics. As I was shuffled along in Reflections of a the admissions process, Parish Priest I was asked the same series of questions by

By Father Tim different staff members.

Goldrick This assures that the many personnel involved are absolutely clear on the always does. But Transit isn’t reason for the visit. As I made a priest. He’s my greyhound.” my way through the medical “Transit is a dog? Isn’t there gauntlet, my answer to one anyone else in the rectory?” particular question necessitated “Well, I’ve lived in the house for a call for reinforcements. “You quite awhile, and I’m sure that if will be having anesthesia. You someone else was living in the may become disoriented. Will rectory, I would have run into

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The Anchor

The Ship’s Log

him by now. I’m a parish priest.

Most parish priests live alone.”

“Are there people coming and going at the rectory throughout the day?” “Not really.” “Thank you for that information.

According to protocol, I must now notify my supervisor.” After an interview with the supervisor, an agreement was made that the priest who was driving me home would stay with me for at least a couple of hours to make sure I didn’t topple over and crack my head on the radiator. He did. I didn’t.

The incident got me to thinking about the days when most rectories had at least two priests in residence, often more. Those days are long gone and, I pre-

Engaging teen-agers in the faith — Part II

It will help our struggling n my previous column I teens believe that we undershared some positive and stand their feelings if we can effective responses that we admit that, truthfully, the world parents can have to teen-agers offers all of us some pretty who complain that they do not convincing counterfeit loves, “feel” like going to Mass. In and that the cost of enjoying this column I’d like to explore a counterfeit love often does how we can empower our appear to be much less than that teens to improve this situation required to enjoy the perfect themselves so that they can love. Sleeping in, for example, move from a “feeling-driven” feels so much better, at least to a “faith-driven” relationship temporarily, than does getting with Jesus. up for Mass. It does nothing, First we need to let our however, to satiate our more teen-agers know that we care about their feelings and that we want to help them if they feel they aren’t getting anything out of Mass. We communicate our care by asking them what it is

By Heidi Bratton that they do want to feel during Mass and then listening. enduring desire to love and be If they can be this selfloved and to experience the reflective, it is likely that what feelings of belonging for which they do want to feel is belongthey and we all hunger. ing. So we take their desire to After we have introduced belong and explain to them the concept of God’s perfect that belonging is just one facet love to our teen-agers, we can of the deepest desire of every begin to empower them to human heart, which is to love choose it. We can ask, “What and to be loved. We further role do you play in feeling like explain that this deepest desire you belong to a sports team, is one that can only be satisfied a class, or a club?” They will

by God, because God alone is know how it is everyone’s perfect love. The most logical intentional participation in the response to these facts is to go group that generates feelings where God has said He will of emotional closeness, mutual be triply present, and that is at support, and belonging, and Mass through the reading of they should be able to see His Holy Word, in the Euchahow the same thing applies to rist, and in the fellowship of their belonging at Church. If other believers. Whether they we expect to get something will admit it or not, most teens out of a group, we have to put are sharp enough to figure out something in. They should be from this string of logic that to able to spot the faulty logic avoid going to Mass, then, just of being “helicoptered” to because they don’t “feel” like Mass by mom and dad once it, is a totally self-sabotaging a week, dropped in the pew, move.

Homegrown Faith

and instantly feeling great joy and belonging. They know that teams, classes, and clubs don’t work that way, so would they expect God and Church to work that way? We all know that belonging resides in the hearts of those who choose to pour themselves out for the sake of the group.

Having explained that our teens’ feelings (of belonging or not) are largely up to them, we can move on to considering what actual activities there are for teens to participate in at the parish level.

No matter where we live, a few basic things will normally be open to them: lectoring, serving, singing in the choir, and becoming an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.

On top of this, teaching Faith Formation classes and attending nights of reflection, youth groups, camps, retreats, eucharistic adoration, or one-time talks given by the pastor or a visiting speaker can be greatly enriching.

Truly to move teen-agers and adults alike from a feeling-driven to a faith-driven relationship with Jesus, my personal plug would be to encourage them to have personal prayer daily, to engage in regular service to the needy with other Catholics, and to participate in a weekly Bible study or faithbased small group.

Next time, we will discuss ways for a parish to become more welcoming of teens.

Heidi is an author, photographer, and mother of six children. Her newest book, “Homegrown Faith; Nurturing Your Catholic Family,” is available from Servant Books.

dict, will not be soon returning.

The shortage of priests has not taken the Church by complete surprise. I can remember the issue being discussed 30 years ago. Those projections were based on the number of young priests being ordained and the number of elder priests expected to retire. The projections could not possibly take into account unanticipated illness, unforeseen circumstances, or, God forbid, unexpected death. Consequently, the projections were wrong. There are fewer priests now than anyone could have predicted. The situation requires creative thinking and bold action.

I remember one particularly creative strategy that was introduced three decades ago in what was then called the Priests’ Council (now the Presbyteral Council). The study paper correctly foresaw the days when parish priests would be living alone in vacuous rectories. It proposed a solution. Two or more pastors would live together in one rectory and go out from there to their respective parishes. The plan was ahead of its time. Actually, it’s time never came. Now, as predicted, most parish priests find themselves living alone in vacuous, empty rectories. You have to learn to deal with it.

A recent survey has shown that most priests in the United States describe themselves as happy. I guess this means, in part, that priests have learned to adjust to living alone. The fact is that today not just priests but all sorts of people are more likely to be living alone, either by choice or by happenstance. Like anything else, it has benefits and drawbacks. Most important is a positive mindset and a healthy lifestyle. If you dwell too much on the negatives of liv-

ing alone, you become sad and lonely.

I’ve found that one of the challenges of living alone is the lack of human interaction. The solution is to regularly connect with coworkers, family, friends, parishioners, and people who share similar interests. You can do this face-to-face, telephonically, or on social media outlets.

You have to find a balance between being alone and spending time with others.

Another tactic I found helpful is to adopt a pet. When I return to my silent rectory, it’s terrific to be greeted enthusiastically at the door by another life form.

It may sound obvious, but when you live alone, you need to take time to enjoy what you enjoy — your favorite foods, hobbies, or entertainment. I don’t have to compromise with someone else’s preferences.

If you live alone, your personal space is your own. I am able to surround myself with things that reflect my own tastes.

More than one person has said to me, “This rectory is definitely you.”

The same survey found that the happiest priests of all are those who have retired. Ask the retired priests at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence why they are so happy and they will tell you two things — they enjoy the camaraderie of living with other priests and they enjoy going out to minister in parishes.

They also enjoy returning home without having to worry about plowing the snow from the church parking lot or any other managerial issues.

Retired priests are the happiest of all because they can dedicate their time to true priestly work without ever again having to live at home alone.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

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The Anchor

February 17, 2012

Continuing a life-long walk with God B y B ecky A ubut A nchor S taff

REHOBOTH — Annie Souza recalls walking to church with her family for Mass on Sunday mornings, and those first steps in her youth paved the way for a lifelong commitment to God, her faith and a long list of volunteer activities at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea.

Born in Somerset, her fami-

ly relocated to Rehoboth when she was a year old. Her earliest memories of walking to church are due to the fact that few people in town had a car.

“In Rehoboth, we had a chapel,” said Souza. “Of course, we didn’t have cars so we walked. The priest, way back then, didn’t have a car. One of the parishioners would go and get the priest.”

Not having a car to get to

places wasn’t too bad, admits Souza, adding the church “wasn’t too far.”

Souza continued her journey down memory lane as she reminisced about the years of being taught in a one-room schoolhouse until the fifth grade, and the feasts that were held at the local hall.

Throughout her youth, attending Mass and receiving the Sacraments created the foundation of her faith; a comprehensive groundwork set out by her mother and father, who “were very religious,” said Souza.

Souza got married in 1948, when she was 23 years old.

The couple continued to attend Mass at St. John of God Parish in Somerset, her husband’s parish, until Msgr.

August Leal Furtado retired in 1969. The couple decided to change parishes and began to attend St. Dominic’s Parish in the neighboring town of Swansea.

It was at St. Dominic’s where Souza had her children receive their Sacraments, coming full circle with the gift of faith given to Souza by her parents, and making St. Dominic’s her family’s parish home.

Souza also displayed her compassion and generosity by volunteering to teach Faith Formation classes, something she “really enjoyed.”

She had also been an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion; “It means a lot to me,” said Souza, of the privilege of handing out the Eucharist.

As a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Souza has had a hand in helping give out food to those in need. As

Anchor Person of the week — Annie Souza. part of the Pro-life Committee, she recalls spreading the Pro-Life message as “very important.” Her work as a member of the St. Rose of Lima Chapter of the Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic has showcased her deep-rooted faith in God. Souza’s face lit up when asked about her membership as part of the parish’s Church Garden Club.

“In the back of the church there is a garden,” said Souza.

“Pat Fox and I plant flowers and take care of the garden. I’ve been doing that for years.”

Being part of the Holy Spirit Society has a history

she eagerly recalled; “That goes way, way back. When I was a little girl in Rehoboth, the hall is where we used to have the Holy Ghost Brotherhood there. And then when I got married to my husband, he was involved in the Swansea [branch] and I was in that.”

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed by those at St. Dominic’s Parish, as pointed out by pastor Father Joseph Viveiros.

“She has been active in the parish and is a wonderful lady,” said Father Viveiros. “Annie has opened many hearts, is well-loved and highly respected by this parish community. She has been a faithful and fine example of a good Christian woman ministering to the poor and needy in a selfless way.”

Looking b a c k at all she has accomplished, Souza beamed and said that giving back to her parish was an family trait.

“I’ve always, since I was a child, been brought up in it. It’s natural for me to give back,” she said.

February 17, 2012

Lenten regulations

Wednesday, February 22 is Ash Wednesday. The Church’s regulations for the Lenten season follow: — Abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays during Lent and Good Friday for those aged 14 and older; — Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are to be observed as days of fasting for those aged 18 to 59.

Fasting is defined as eating only one full meal and two light meals during the day. Eating between meals is not permitted; liquids however, are permitted.

The Code of Canon Law very aptly summarizes the ecclesiastical discipline in Canon 1249: “All members of the Christian faithful in their own way are bound to do penance in virtue of Divine law; in order that all may be joined in a common observance of penance, penitential days are prescribed in which the Christian faithful in a special way pray, exercise works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their responsibilities more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence.”

The Anchor

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12

The Anchor

February 17, 2012

Parishioners embracing the new Liturgy translation

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — More than two months after adopting the revised English translation of the Roman Missal at the beginning of Advent, Catholics across the diocese have embraced the new language of the Liturgy and are becoming more comfortable with the reworked prayers.

“There’s been absolutely no problems,” said Msgr. Gerard O’Connor, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet. “I can’t believe what all the hype was about, suggesting that it would cause problems. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from my parishioners about the changes.”

Msgr. O’Connor said apart from the occasional infrequent Mass-goer who falls into the habit of repeating the old prayers, the transition has gone quite smoothly.

“I must admit we had some good planning in the weeks leading up to the new translation,” he said. “We covered the whole of the Mass, so for five weeks the preaching was about the changes and what the new Mass would be.

We did quite a bit of preparation here. All our school kids were taught about the changes — our students come to Mass here every Monday morning — so they all knew what to do.”

Father Mike Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet, agreed that his parishioners have also adapted very well to the new Liturgy.

“Obviously when we have been praying the same prayers for more than 40 years we tend to slip a little and use the old translations,” Father Racine said. “But I feel the people here at St. Bernard’s have done very well as they were well-prepared in advance.

Overall, now that we are well into the new translations, the people are more comfortable.”

Sharon McGraw, a parishioner at St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven, said the printed pew cards with the new Mass prayers have been

very helpful in getting people to break their habits of repeating the old prayers.

“I still have caught myself saying, ‘And also with you’ instead of ‘And with your spirit’ on a few occasions,” McGraw said. “But I appreciate the words that are used and reflect on their meaning regularly. I feel I have adjusted well to the new Liturgy.”

Paula Wilk, director of Religious Education at St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham said the only real stumbling block in transitioning from the former translation has been getting people to break their old habits of repeating back the same responses.

“It may take some a while to get used to, but the reasoning behind the changes is good,” Wilk said.

“I find myself even more in tune with the Mass now and the meanings behind the responses and the Eucharistic Prayer especially. It really draws me closer to Christ.”

At St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea, parishioner and Anchor youth columnist Frank R. Lucca said the new translation has forced him to pay closer attention to the Liturgy.

“Instead of hearing words I’ve heard since childhood that would lull me into complacent participation, the new text strikes me as more beautiful and richer and deeper in meaning,” Lucca said.

“I find I listen more carefully now to the words that the priest is praying because I’m not always sure what he is going to pray next.”

Lucca said although some people found a few word choices — like “consubstantial” — a bit awkward, once the reasons for the changes were explained it made more sense to them.

“I noticed few if any stumbles by the presiders at any of the Liturgies I’ve attended over the last several months,” Lucca said.

“Now, the responses tend to flow very easily and for the longer prayers parishioners use the pew cards and their prayer is very fluid and confident. All seems to have

gone well and I know the Holy Spirit is at work.”

“I have not found the transition difficult, although I am messing up on occasion,” said Pattianne Aiello of St. Anthony’s Parish in Mattapoisett. “We have our ‘cheat sheets’ that help greatly. Our pastor, Father Paul Caron, is patient and assists us when to refer to the (pew cards). With the changes it certainly makes me pay more attention to the words and not just go through the motions that we all knew so well. I do like that. It also makes me feel closer during Mass, more partnering with the prayers.”

Msgr. O’Connor said the longterm planning that went into preparing everyone for the new Mass translation on the parochial and diocesan level has been the key to its success.

“I had a few parishioners email me saying they had gone to other churches and they didn’t seem as well-prepared, and they wanted to thank me for preparing them so well for the changes,” he said. “So that was quite gratifying to learn that people really appreciated it.”

McGraw agreed that her family was well aware of the forthcoming changes and that helped everyone ease into the transition.

“I find my husband and children have adjusted well to the change and rely on their pew cards as well,” she said. “Week after week I hear less and less of the former Liturgy in the parish community. Overall, I feel the change went a lot smoother than I expected.”

Even though it took some getting used to the new translations, Father Racine said his overall impression of the revisions has been positive.

“We are creatures of habit and I made mistakes at first, but I found as time goes on I am more comfortable with the new translations as well as the new Roman Missal in general,” he said. “You really have to look at the prayers now when celebrating the Liturgy as before you knew most of it by heart. I am especially looking forward to the new Holy Week translations and certainly will have to study them in advance.”

“As a priest I have to concentrate more now and sort of read the prayers as you should and think about them before you speak them,” Msgr. O’Connor agreed.

“I’ve been saying Mass now for about 12 years, and when you’re using a lot of the same prayers and the same sacred formulas, it becomes routine. Now they’re new and it’s refreshing. For me as a priest personally, I love the language.”

camping chaos — Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson star in a scene from “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” For a brief review of this film, see Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Warner Bros.)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Chronicle” (Fox) Reasonably original, curiously dark exploration of the troubling results that ensue when mere mortals obtain godlike powers. After stumbling on a mysterious object, a trio of Seattle teens (Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan) find themselves endowed with telekinesis and the ability to fly. Though initially they do no more with their newfound gifts than goof around and play pranks, darker emotions and more serious consequences soon come to the fore, especially for DeHaan’s character, who’s struggling to cope with an alcoholic father (Michael Kelly) and a dying mother (Bo Petersen).

Director Josh Trank conveys all this in the pseudo-found footage style of “The Blair Witch Project.”

Though it feels more than a little overused, that conceit nonetheless contributes to an atmosphere of realism and lends urgency to the moral debates in which the principals engage — discussions which, for viewers of faith, will likely represent the film’s main appeal.

Limited action violence, scenes of physical abuse, an implied premarital encounter, a scattering of

profanity, at least one rough term, pervasive crude language and an obscene gesture. The Catholic News Service classification is AIII — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (Warner Bros.)

Leaden adventure — improbably sourced from books by Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jonathan Swift — follows an intrepid teen-ager (Josh Hutcherson) and his stepfather (Dwayne Johnson) to a South Pacific island crawling with natural anomalies and opportunities for derring-do.

Joined by a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), the pair encounter the young hero’s explorer grandfather (Michael Caine). Director Brad Peyton helms a mostly wholesome sequel to 2008’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” though one marred by a somewhat casual attitude toward youthful sexuality as well as by a few potty jokes. With its merely serviceable visuals, logically suspect script and lame expository dialogue, the project fails to evoke significant awe or wonderment. Some teen sensuality, several moderately scary sequences, a few uses of suggestive language, occasional toilet humor.

The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

Some material may not be suitable for children.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, February 19, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Thomas McElroy, SS.CC., Pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Fairhaven

February 17, 2012

An unwise idea In regards to your January 27 editorial on school vouchers, I believe that tax dollars for Catholic schools is an unwise idea from either side of the issue.

First, state or federal support for public schools will come with requirements and regulations. All schools accepting tax dollars must participate in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System — MCAS. This will affect the curriculum.

Could the study of religion suffer because it is not a subject on the MCAS? Other studies, e.g. health including sex ed, may be mandated.

Second, all citizens, those with and without children, pay taxes for the public schools. That is because schools were originally established for the public good — not just parents. It is not double taxation for parents anymore than it is unfair taxation for the childless.

Also, if tax dollars can go to Catholic schools, they can go to all private schools — including very exclusive, expensive private schools, schools run by cults such as the Reverend Sun Yung

Our readers respond

Moon, or Islamic Madrassas.

A voucher system is an unwise idea in so many ways.

Frances M. Winterson Taunton

Fighting back against unjust mandate The Obama Administration has drawn a line in the sand and challenged the Catholics in our great country to compromise our religious liberty. We are being forced to choose between giving up our health care or to violate our conscience by mandating all health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and some abortions. This is a fight all Americans cannot afford to lose.

All Americans paying taxes will be complicit in providing health care that offers these services.

The ramifications of this mandate are far reaching. Will Catholics be forced to cancel their health care so they will not be complicit in what they sincerely believe is wrong? Will Catholic hospitals and schools be forced to close and many lose their jobs? Will one group in society be discriminated against and denied basic health care, which is

Revised HHS mandate won’t solve problems continued from page one

self-insuring. Moreover, Catholics with policies in the compliant insurance companies would be subsidizing others’ contraception coverage. He also objected that individual Catholic employers would not enjoy exemption under Obama’s proposal.

“My brother-in-law, who’s a committed Catholic, runs a butcher shop. Is he going to have to pay for services that he as a convinced Catholic considers to be morally objectionable?” he asked.

Cardinal-designate Dolan said he emailed Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who heads the Catholic Health Association, on February 10 to tell her that he was “disappointed that she had acted unilaterally, not in concert with the bishops.”

“She’s in a bind,” the cardinal-designate said of Sister Carol. “When she’s talking to (HHS Secretary Kathleen) Sebelius and the president of the United States, in some ways, these are people who are signing the checks for a good chunk of stuff that goes on in Catholic hospitals. It’s tough for her to stand firm. Understandably, she’s trying to make sure that anything possible, any compromise possible, that would allow the magnificent work of Catholic health care

13

The Anchor

to continue, she’s probably going to be innately more open to than we would.”

In a February 10 statement, Sister Carol praised what she called “a resolution that protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”

Cardinal-designate Dolan said Obama called him the morning of his announcement to tell him about the proposal.

“What we’re probably going to have to do now is be more vigorous than ever in judicial and legislative remedies, because apparently we’re not getting much consolation from the executive branch of the government,” he said.

The cardinal-designate said the bishops are “very, very enthusiastic” about the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, introduced by Representative Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., which he said would produce an “ironclad law simply saying that no administrative decrees of the federal government can ever violate the conscience of a religious believer individually or religious institutions.”

“It’s a shame, you’d think that’s so clear in the Constitution that that wouldn’t have to be legislatively guaranteed, but we now know that it’s not,” he added.

Cardinal-designate Dolan

supposed to be a “right” for all?

This is not a partisan issue. It’s an issue of human rights, of the freedom of religion that our Bill of Rights protects. When Catholic groups are denied religious freedom and the rights of conscience, then who will be next?

It won’t stop with one group.

Those who want America to be a Godless nation are hoping Christians will retreat and surrender our heritage and culture. They believe that Christians won’t have the courage to defend their faith. Are we that lazy? I urge my fellow readers to join me in calling our senators and congressmen and demanding that our religious liberty and rights of conscience be restored and that this evil mandate be rescinded. We need to act and to vote to protect our conscience for the life of our republic is at stake!

Jane Wilcox Assonet

HHS mandate and religious freedom I have been following the discussion in The Anchor and elsewhere surrounding the De-

also said that some “very prominent attorneys,” some of them non-Catholic and even nonreligious, had already volunteered to represent the bishops.

“We’ve got people who aren’t Catholic, who may not even be religious, who have said, ‘We want to help you on this one.’ We’ve got very prominent attorneys who are very interested in religious freedom who say, ‘Count on us to take these things as high as you can.’ And we’re going to.”

He said the bishops draw hope for that fight from the Supreme Court’s recent unanimous ruling in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, a case regarding the ministerial exception.

“You’d think that (the Obama administration) would be able to read the tea leaves, that these things are going to be overthrown,” the cardinaldesignate said.

An administration official told Catholic News Service in an email February 13 that the White House planned to convene a series of meetings “with faith-based organizations, insurers and other interested parties to develop policies that respect religious liberty and ensure access to preventive services for women enrolled in self-insured group health plans sponsored by religious organizations.”

partment of Health and Human Services Contraceptive Mandate.

Those who support the mandate argue that it is about freedom of choice and health care. Unfortunately, they either fail to fully understand the issue, or are deliberately obfuscating the discussion.

This issue is about freedom of religion, a right that is given to us by God and guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. We need to make sure that everyone understands that this is the crux of the issue.

To help explain this, I have prepared the following questionnaire for my eighth-grade Faith Formation Class at St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis. It should be sent to the administration, as well as every member of congress and the judiciary. As people of faith and citizens of the United States, we have a right to know where they stand on the freedom of religion, and whether or not they are willing to uphold their oath of office: (1) The Catholic Church teaches that human life is sa-

cred and holy. Does the Catholic Church have the right to practice and promote this belief, yes or no? (2) The Catholic Church teaches that at the moment of conception God endows each of us with an immortal and divine soul, creating a sacred and holy human life.

Does the Catholic Church have the right to practice and promote this belief, yes or no? (3) The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is immoral and wrong because it terminates a sacred and holy human life.

Does the Catholic Church have the right to practice and promote this belief, yes or no? (4) Does the federal government have the authority to mandate that the Catholic Church pay for an abortion, yes or no? (5) Does the federal government have the authority to prosecute or punish the Catholic Church for refusing to comply with a federal mandate that violates the principals and tenets of its faith, yes or no?

Stephen Thompson Yarmouth Port

PILGRIMAGE TO “Lourdes, france; GARABANDAL, Spain; & Fatima, portugal” Spiritual Director: Fr. Joseph P. McDermott, Pastor Immaculate Conception Parish 122 Canton Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

JUNE 17-29, 2012

13 Days/12 Nights for $3,329.00** (per person - double occupancy)

Includes Airfare, Ground Transportation & Lodging, with Breakfast & Dinner each day.

INCLUSIVE FEATURES: FRANCE:

Paris: - Tour the City of Paris - Mass @ St. Catherine Laboure Church (Miraculous Medal Chapel) - View incorrupt body of St. Catherine - Visit St. Vincent de Paul Church - Mass @ Notre Dame Cathedral - Visit the Louvre Museum Lisieux: - Mass @ St. Theresa Lisieux Church - Omaha Beach in Normandy - Dinner @ the Eiffel Tower Nevers: - Mass @ St. Bernadette’s Church - View incorrupt body of St. Bernadette Lyon: - Tour & overnight in the City of Lyon Nimes: - Tour the Roman town of Nimes - Visit Arena Lourdes: - Tour & Mass in the spiritual town of Lourdes - Visit St. Bernadette’s Farmhouse - Bathe in Miraculous Waters @ Lourdes - Torch Light Procession

SPAIN:

San Sebastian: - Visit & have lunch in the sophisticated seaside resort of San Sebastian Garabandal: - Tour, Mass, & overnight in the amazing town of Garabandal - Apparitions of Blessed Virgin occurred here Santiago De Compostela: - Visit Cathedral & Museum - City Tour

PORTUGAL:

Fatima: - Tour of Fatima - Mass @ Apparition Chapel of Fatima Sanctuary - Visit Basilica of Our Lady - Visit home of Francisco & Jacinta Lisbon: - Tour the beautiful town of Lisbon - Visit St. Anthony’s Church - Visit Jeronimo’s Monastery (Belem)

Santarem: - Mass @ Church of Holy Eucharist

(Church of Miracle of Bleeding Host) - Visit Church of Our Lady of Nazare

For further information you may contact Margaret Oliverio @ 781-762-2029 or 781-344-2073

14

The Anchor

Wellfleet parishioner extols the importance of the Catholic press at weekend Masses

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

NORTH EASTHAM — John Talbot has no affiliation with The Anchor, other than the fact he uses it as one tool to keep up to date on the Church he loves and respects. “I love to know more about my faith and the Church,” said the parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Wellfleet. “I’m always reading Catholic publications, and I find The Anchor as one of the best.”

That’s why Talbot accepted the request of his pastor, Father Hugh McCullough, to speak at weekend Masses to promote the diocesan newspaper. “John is a great guy and a very active member of the parish,” Father McCullough told The Anchor. “I know he has many ideas about the Catholic press, and I know he could share those with his fellow parishioners at Mass.”

February is traditionally Catholic Press Month across the world and also when The Anchor holds its annual subscription drive.

Talbot felt the need to spread the word about the importance of the Catholic press, particularly the publication in his own back yard. “I’ve read many Catholic publications, and there’s some fuzziness out there with some of them,” said Talbot. “When after I’ve read something, and I ask myself, ‘What do they really mean?’ then there’s a problem. I find The Anchor has come a long way in the last 10 years in providing straight-forward and true

information about the Church.

“Our diocesan paper has a good variety: There’s women’s points of view; Father Mello’s “Putting Into the Deep” has recently been very informative about the Sacraments; and Father

Landry’s editorials keep you on the beam. The paper does a fine job teaching about the faith.

“I find the National Catholic Register a fine publication and also the New Oxford Review. The Review is tough but it’s straight.”

In preparation for his recent weekend talks to promote the Catholic press, Talbot and his wife took the 80-mile, nearly two-hour ride from his North Eastham home on the outer Cape to The Anchor office in Fall River simply to obtain extra copies to distribute after Mass.

During his weekend presentations, Talbot told his peers that when it comes to news about the Church and its problems and issues, “You can’t trust the secular

press. After eighth-grade, we all keep growing and learning no matter what our vocation. We have to continue to learn and grow, and it’s that way with our faith as well. By reading, we can grow in Church knowledge and then share that knowledge with our friends and family.”

Talbot said he regularly gets together with like-minded friends to discuss “not just football and news events, but the Church and what we can do to build her up.”

Talbot told The Anchor that the response was positive after the Masses.

“People thanked me and took copies of The Anchor. Hopefully it made a difference.”

The love Talbot and his wife have for the Church is evident by their parish participation. The couple are members of the Parish Council, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, “just like so many other good people in the parish,” he added.

Talbot is also on the parish social committee, is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and a lector.

“We love our parish and the Church,” Talbot said referring to his wife and himself. “We volunteer in whatever needs to be done. It’s the simple things. It’s part of our belief that our faith is worth sharing.” Much the same philosophy of many quality Catholic publications around the world.

February 17, 2012

Give me back my holiday

I

’m not sure if I’m the only one who wasn’t all that excited to see the Boston Red Sox equipment truck pull out of Fenway Park last week. Usually that day ranks up there with Memorial Day and the Fourth of July as ushering in the warm weather season, even though it’s in February.

Not this year. I barely glanced at the TV when the vid-

My View From the Stands

By Dave Jolivet

eos came up of the semi erupting with souvenir baseballs for fans lining Beantown streets.

Truth be told, I have not gotten over the monumental implosion of last September, and the disturbing stories of a clubhouse in disarray, that followed.

It’s one thing when a team goes out and plays its best and loses. Take the last two Patriots’ Super Bowl teams for instance.

As painful as those losses were, the Pats went out and played their hearts out.

But it’s a totally different beast when a crash and burn is partly because of baseball’s version of “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

Only, the mutineers were the villains, and poor Captain Francona was shown the plank.

With the inmates running the asylum, all Red Sox Nation could do was watch the train wreck night after night.

The problem I’m having is that many of the mutineers are still aboard. I’m going to miss Terry Francona very much.

I hope Bobby Valentine has a Captain Bligh approach at the helm of the good ship Red Sox this season.

Others may not concur with my opinion, but these Boston Red Sox are going to have to earn back my trust.

At this point in time, one of the only things I’m looking forward to this spring training is the chance to see the new “Fenway Park South” on the exhibition game broadcasts.

Another intriguing story line will be how this dysfunctional band of brothers changes the perceptions of a nation of skeptics. September 2011 is not a pleasant baseball memory.

I have always been, and will always be, a die-hard Red Sox fan. But I have never, and will never, respect every player who has been fortunate enough to put on a Boston uniform. Some take advantage of the privilege.

Hopefully there will be enough team players to regain my trust and make the 2013 equipment truck day special again.

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This week in 50 years ago — Four Religious of Jesus and Mary, including three graduates of JesusMary Academy in Fall River, pronounced final vows during a Mass celebrated in the academy chapel by Father Roger Poirier of St. Joseph’s Parish, Attleboro. The newlyprofessed religious were from Westport, Fall River and Woonsocket, R.I. 25 years ago — The Fall River diocesan Department of Education developed and published a 13-page study guide on the pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy” issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Hundreds of area religious joined Bishop Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., for a special Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. The Liturgy was in recognition of World Day for Consecrated Life. Attendees later gathered at White’s Restaurant in Westport for dinner and fellowship.

One year ago — Passionist Father Robin Ryan led a day of prayer for priests of the Fall River Diocese, themed, “Evangelizing Young Adults.” The event took place at St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth. Father Ryan, editor of a book called “Catholics on Call, Discerning a Way of Service in the Church,” is vice-provincial of St. Paul of the Cross Province in the Bronx, N.Y.

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The Anchor

Pope Benedict’s 2012 Lenten Message “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24) Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favorable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter.

This year I would like to propose a few thoughts in the light of a brief biblical passage drawn from the Letter to the Hebrews:“ Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works”. These words are part of a passage in which the sacred author exhorts us to trust in Jesus Christ as the High Priest who has won us forgiveness and opened up a pathway to God. Embracing Christ bears fruit in a life structured by the three theological virtues: it means approaching the Lord “sincere in heart and filled with faith” (v. 22), keeping firm “in the hope we profess” (v. 23) and ever mindful of living a life of “love and good works” (v.

24) together with our brothers and sisters. The author states that to sustain this life shaped by the Gospel it is important to participate in the liturgy and community prayer, mindful of the eschatological goal of full communion in God (v. 25).

Here I would like to reflect on verse 24, which offers a succinct, valuable and ever timely teaching on the three aspects of Christian life: concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness.

1. “Let us be concerned for each other”: responsibility towards our brothers and sisters.

This first aspect is an invitation to be “concerned”: the Greek verb used here is katanoein, which means to scrutinize, to be attentive, to observe carefully and take stock of something. We come across this word in the Gospel when Jesus invites the disciples to “think of” the ravens that, without striving, are at the centre of the solicitous and caring Divine Providence (cf. Lk 12:24), and to “observe” the plank in our own eye before looking at the splinter in that of our brother (cf. Lk 6:41). In another verse of the Letter to the Hebrews, we find the encouragement to “turn your minds to Jesus” (3:1), the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. So the verb which introduces our exhortation tells us to look at others, first of all at Jesus, to be concerned for one another, and not to remain isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters. All too often, however, our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for “privacy”. Today too, the Lord’s voice summons all of us to be concerned for one another.

Even today God asks us to be “guardians” of our brothers and sisters (Gen 4:9), to establish relationships based on mutual consideration and attentiveness to the well-being, the integral well-being of others. The great commandment of love for one another demands that we acknowledge our responsibility towards those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God. Being brothers and sisters in humanity and, in many cases, also in the faith, should help us to recognize in others a true alter ego, infinitely loved by the Lord. If we cultivate this way of seeing others as our brothers and sisters, solidarity, justice, mercy and compassion will naturally well up in our hearts. The Servant of God Pope Paul VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Populorum Progressio, 66).

Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is “generous and acts generously” (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being

aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of “spiritual anesthesia” which numbs us to the suffering of others. The Evangelist Luke relates two of Jesus’ parables by way of example. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite “pass by”, indifferent to the presence of the man stripped and beaten by the robbers (cf. Lk 10:30-32). In that of Dives and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of the poverty of Lazarus, who is starving to death at his very door (cf. Lk 16:19). Both parables show examples of the opposite of “being concerned”, of looking upon others with love and compassion. What hinders this humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters? Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else.

We should never be incapable of “showing mercy” towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor. Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy. “The upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit to understand it” (Prov 29:7).

We can then understand the beatitude of “those who mourn” (Mt 5:5), those who in effect are capable of looking beyond themselves and feeling compassion for the suffering of others. Reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.

“Being concerned for each other” also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten: fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more” (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin (cf. Mt 18:15). The verb used to express fraternal correction — elenchein — is the same used to indicate the prophetic mission of Christians to speak out against a generation indulging in evil (cf. Eph 5:11). The Church’s tradition has included “admonishing sinners” among the spiritual works of mercy. It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity.

We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. It is always moved by love and mercy, and springs from genuine concern for the good of the other. As the Apostle Paul says: “If one of you is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should set that person right in a spirit of gentleness; and watch yourselves that you are not put to the test in the same way” (Gal 6:1). In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness. Scripture tells us that even “the upright falls seven times” (Prov 24:16); all of us are weak and imperfect (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). It is a great service, then, to help others and allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives and walk more uprightly in the Lord’s ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives (cf. Lk 22:61), as God has done and continues to do with each of us.

2. “Being concerned for each other”: the gift of reciprocity.

This “custody” of others is in contrast to a mentality that, by reducing life exclusively to its earthly dimension, fails to

see it in an eschatological perspective and accepts any moral choice in the name of personal freedom. A society like ours can become blind to physical sufferings and to the spiritual and moral demands of life. This must not be the case in the Christian community! The Apostle Paul encourages us to seek “the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support one another” (Rom 14:19) for our neighbor’s good, “so that we support one another” (15:2), seeking not personal gain but rather “the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:33). This mutual correction and encouragement in a spirit of humility and charity must be part of the life of the Christian community.

The Lord’s disciples, united with him through the Eucharist, live in a fellowship that binds them one to another as members of a single body. This means that the other is part of me, and that his or her life, his or her salvation, concern my own life and salvation. Here we touch upon a profound aspect of communion: our existence is related to that of others, for better or for worse. Both our sins and our acts of love have a social dimension. This reciprocity is seen in the Church, the mystical body of Christ: the community constantly does penance and asks for the forgiveness of the sins of its members, but also unfailingly rejoices in the examples of virtue and charity present in her midst. As Saint Paul says: “Each part should be equally concerned for all the others” (1 Cor 12:25), for we all form one body. Acts of charity towards our brothers and sisters – as expressed by almsgiving, a practice which, together with prayer and fasting, is typical of Lent – is rooted in this common belonging. Christians can also express their membership in the one body which is the Church through concrete concern for the poorest of the poor.

Concern for one another likewise means acknowledging the good that the Lord is doing in others and giving thanks for the wonders of grace that Almighty God in his goodness continuously accomplishes in his children. When Christians perceive the Holy Spirit at work in others, they cannot but rejoice and give glory to the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16).

3. “To stir a response in love and good works”: walking together in holiness.

These words of the Letter to the Hebrews (10:24) urge us to reflect on the universal call to holiness, the continuing journey of the spiritual life as we aspire to the greater spiritual gifts and to an ever more sublime and fruitful charity (cf.

1 Cor 12:31-13:13). Being concerned for one another should spur us to an increasingly effective love which, “like the light of dawn, its brightness growing to the fullness of day” (Prov 4:18), makes us live each day as an anticipation of the eternal day awaiting us in God. The time granted us in this life is precious for discerning and performing good works in the love of God. In this way the Church herself continuously grows towards the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13). Our exhortation to encourage one another to attain the fullness of love and good works is situated in this dynamic prospect of growth.

Sadly, there is always the temptation to become lukewarm, to quench the Spirit, to refuse to invest the talents we have received, for our own good and for the good of others (cf. Mt 25:25ff.). All of us have received spiritual or material riches meant to be used for the fulfilment of God’s plan, for the good of the Church and for our personal salvation (cf. Lk 12:21b; 1 Tim 6:18). The spiritual masters remind us that in the life of faith those who do not advance inevitably regress.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us accept the invitation, today as timely as ever, to aim for the “high standard of ordinary Christian living” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 31). The wisdom of the Church in recognizing and proclaiming certain outstanding Christians as Blessed and as Saints is also meant to inspire others to imitate their virtues. Saint Paul exhorts us to “anticipate one another in showing honour” (Rom 12:10).

In a world which demands of Christians a renewed witness of love and fidelity to the Lord, may all of us feel the urgent need to anticipate one another in charity, service and good works (cf. Heb 6:10). This appeal is particularly pressing in this holy season of preparation for Easter. As I offer my prayerful good wishes for a blessed and fruitful Lenten period, I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Mary Ever Virgin and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

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Youth Pages

in a zone — Third-grade students from Holy Name School in Fall River recently worked with Junior Achievement volunteer Greg O’Donnell to place buildings on a zone area map. Students learned about planning a city and the importance of locating buildings in certain areas. The Junior Achievement program teaches work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

state recognition — Massachusetts Representative Shaunna O’Connell recently visited St. Mary’s School in Taunton as part of the festivities to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. Representative O’Connell was the guest speaker at an assembly held in her honor. She spoke to the children about the value of a Catholic education and how the state house has adopted a law that recognizes Catholic Schools Week. She then presented a resolution from the state house to Principal Brian Cote honoring Catholic Schools Week. Here Representative O’Connell displays the resolution that St. Mary’s received from the state house.

breakfast buddies — Jess and Kaylee from St. Mary’s School in Mansfield enjoyed the annual pancake breakfast hosted by the School Parent Association during Catholic Schools Week.

February 17, 2012

met the challenge — Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth recently hosted the annual Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools Challenge for all local Catholic schools. Students participated in academic and physical challenges including creating a school flag, four-on-four basketball, quiz bowl, and “Minute-toWin-It” challenges. At the end of the day the junior high students from Holy FamilyHoly Name School in New Bedford went home with the championship.

interactive lesson — Cancer survivor Bob Marshall from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society recently shared the story of his cure and the importance of supporting cancer research at All Saints Catholic School in New Bedford. Marshall’s interactive presentation demonstrated how cancer cells crowd out healthy cells and explained that research, supported by people from across the country, made it possible to successfully treat the type of cancer he was diagnosed with a few years ago. Students raised more than $1,000 in coins during the first week of the Pasta for Pennies program sponsored by Olive Garden, which will continue for an additional two weeks, coordinated by teachers Erin McCaffrey and Kelly Reis.

super allegiances — Students and staff at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven were eager to show support for their favorite Super Bowl teams during Catholic Schools Week for Funny Hat day. Even Mrs. Vareika, the school principal, was out in her Patriots hat greeting the incoming children.

February 17, 2012

L

ast week I had the pleasure of gathering with more than 200 diocesan directors of Youth Ministry and other partners in the field for a meeting in Houston, Texas.

This Annual Membership Meeting lasts one week and unlike other conferences where the attendees participate in workshops for personal or professional enrichment, the Membership Meeting is a working meeting of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Thirty years ago, NFCYM developed out of the need to provide continuing support and resources for diocesan directors so they in turn could assist youth ministers in the field.

Through various committee work and specially designated task groups, the work of the

Youth Pages

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Ask them to get involved

federation is completed by its better the people of the Diocese members — everything from of Fall River. planning large events like the Although most of the memBiennial National Catholic Youth Conference, the Biennial National Catholic Conference for Youth Ministry or various publications like the “Living and Loving

By Crystal Medeiros Our Catholic Faith” series. The NFCYM looks at what the “hot issues” are, or if you’re bers of NFCYM only see each talking in webspeak or social other once a year at this meetmedia terminology, they review ing, because of ministry and “what’s trending” and try to mutual desire to foster the develop resources. faith of young people, we are a Over the years, I have been, family. None of that was more and continue to be, honored evident this week when Bob to serve with these men and McCarty, executive director, had women to complete various to leave the meeting to rush to committee work. The wisdom his father’s bedside. With the I have garnered from them, I announcement that Bob’s father believe, enriches me to serve died on Tuesday evening, the

Be Not Afraid

membership prayed together as one family supporting Bob and his family because when one of us hurts, all of us hurt.

This is the example we should all live by.

To stand together and support all of those in ministry, especially those ministering to our young people in all of the roles whether it be as priest, DRE, Youth Minister, Confirmation Coordinator, etc., is what we are called to do and who we are called to be. So I have a challenge for you (adults

and youth) this year. Take some time simply to thank your priest, DRE, Youth Minister, and Confirmation Coordinator for all that they do. Thank them for the time they have taken from their own lives to help share and witness our faith with young people.

Appreciate them.

Support them.

And do not be afraid to ask them how to become involved.

Crystal is assistant director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the diocese.

She can be contacted at cmedeiros@dfrcec.com.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth.

If schools or parish Religious Education programs, have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews.org

bishop’s birthday — On February 1, Bishop George W. Coleman, joined by area priests, celebrated a school Liturgy at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton in honor of Catholic Schools Week. Josh McCarthy and Andrew McCluskey presented the bishop with a cake in honor of his 73rd birthday while the school collectively sang “Happy Birthday.” Student council members presented Bishop Coleman with a gift certificate and a monetary donation in his name.

long may it wave — Students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford celebrated Catholic Schools Week by partaking in the Catholic Challenge held at Bishop Stang High School.

Here students had to create a school flag.

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The Anchor

February 17, 2012

Rite of Election brings faithful one step closer to being a Catholic continued from page one

a vitally important element to have available to those interested in confirming their Catholic faith. The teachingtype model offered for individuals is so comprehensive that when candidates and catechumens decide to become Catholics, there is no room left for doubt in their belief system.

“It’s vital to be able to present to them the Catholic faith in a very clear, orthodox way so that they understand what they’re believing,” said Guillotte, “so that when they finally go to the waters of Baptism or make that Confirmation — that profession of faith — they understand that profession of faith in a much clearer way than what they understood when they were younger.

“We teach, very solidly, that when we go over the Creed, the profession of faith is like our Church’s pledge of allegiance. They understand that every time they say the profession of faith, they are agreeing to what the Church teaches and has taught for more than 2,000 years.”

At St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro, Deacon Del Malloy was looking for a program to assist during his formation as a permanent dea-

con and was invited to join the RCIA program at the parish.

“I did it and now you couldn’t drag me away from it,” said Deacon Malloy. “It’s such an important thing that we do and you feel so good at the end of the Sunday lesson.

You truly made a difference bringing people to God.” Currently there are seven in the program at the parish, one catechumen and six candidates. “A nice size class,” said Deacon Malloy, that’s ready to embrace the traditions of the Catholic faith. Teaching those interested in learning about the Catholic Church offers different opportunities than those being brought up in the Catholic faith.

“These people come in with various degrees of understanding of our religion and they come out, in my opinion, probably knowing more about the faith than 90 percent of those who are born Catholics,” said Deacon Malloy. “They ask incredible questions during the sessions. They read their chapters. They’re really into it. They really put so much work into it; it’s really a special time.”

Getting the word out about the RCIA program is a type of evangelization, said Guillotte,

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who shared a story of how his brother invited a man to attend church. The man wasn’t even a baptized Catholic but not only became Catholic through the RCIA program, he had his 11-year-old daughter baptized as well.

“In the years that I’ve been teaching, we’ve done instructions with someone from the Mormon faith; we’ve had a few Anglicans,” said Guillotte. “Someone this year is an Evangelical Christian and he was raised in the Evangelical faith. He actually had been driving by our church, and we have an outdoor sign that advertises a lot of things and sometimes we have some very pointed biblical statements up there. He came into the church one day and said that he was impressed by the sign, and he actually felt that it was very Evangelical.”

The man mentioned that it had piqued his interest since he had begun to read about the early Church fathers, turning his attention towards the Catholic Church. After a lengthy discussion, the man registered with the parish and began attending Mass on a regular basis.

“We’ve actually attracted a lot of non-Catholics when we teach the faith in a firm, clear way to them,” Guillotte said.

When the day finally comes during the Easter Vigil, and the members of the RCIA program stand in front of the congregation as Catholic brothers and sisters, oftentimes the responses from those in the program can be emotional.

“A typical comment will be, ‘This has been life-changing,’ or ‘I never thought I had it in me,’” said Deacon Malloy, who said he has his own emotional moments as well.

“The neat thing is after receiving the Sacraments, seeing them in church. In my position as deacon, I offer them Holy Communion and see the glow on their face. It’s just so special. It really means the world to them.”

Entering into the RCIA program is a personal decision. But, said Deacon Malloy, “The key is don’t wait.

If you’ve got that feeling that this is what you want to do, then contact the parish right away. We can do inquiry as soon as we know of your interest and get you all ready to go.”

40 Days For Life vigil welcomes youth continued from page one

ficially begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6 a.m. The vigil calendar where participants can sign up for time slots is already available on the Attleboro campaign’s website.

The first 40 Days for Life was conducted in College Station, Texas in 2004. Since then, participating communities have seen drops in the abortion rate and increased Pro-Life activity.

Reports document 5,045 lives that have been spared from abortion, 61 abortion workers have quit their jobs and 21 clinics have closed their doors.

This spring marks the 10th nationally-coordinated campaign.

Vigils will be held at 251 locations in the United States, Canada, England, Australia and Spain. Five Massachusetts locations — Attleboro, Haverhill, Lynn, Springfield and Worcester — will participate.

The Attleboro vigil began in fall 2008 outside the Four Women building, the only remaining abortion clinic in the Diocese of Fall River. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the week, vigilers gather across the street at Angel Park, located between divided state highway Route 118.

While more and more youth have participated in the local campaign over the years, the numbers really started to increase after the Diocese of Fall River’s Pro-Life Boot Camp, held last July. One of the activities during that two-day retreat was a trip to pray outside the clinic.

Gareau said that members of the group continue to coordinate with each other when making visits to the site.

“It’s great to have such support from other people my age,” she said.

What began for Gareau as trips with her family when she was in eighth grade has become something she and her friends organize on their own.

Gareau has participated in all eight campaigns, regularly attends the Walk to Aid Mothers and Children in Boston, twice marched in Washington D.C., serves on the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Pro-Life Committee and participates in the Pro-Life club at her school, Bishop Feehan High in Attle-

boro.

She said she was “very honored” to receive the Youth ProLife Award last year, specifying that so many others deserve the recognition too.

Gareau said she dedicates herself to the Pro-Life cause because of the hurt abortion causes to society. She thinks of some of her friends who are adopted and realize that they could have been part of the millions legally killed inside the womb.

“It’s so important to stand up for life. It’s so upsetting to see that this is something that is legal in our society,” she said.

The most direct way to participate in the movement is to stand outside an abortion clinic and pray for the young women about to make a life or death decision. She called the experience “emotional” and “lifechanging.”

Larose too said that 40 Days has changed his life and assisted him in his faith journey, teaching him patience and perseverance. Spending four years organizing prayer campaigns without being able to see immediate benefit of the labor can be discouraging unless one is well-grounded.

“It’s important to remember that the fruits of prayer will manifest themselves over time,” he said.

Larose encouraged everyone to participate in the upcoming campaign. Anyone feeling hesitant is welcome to come on Saturday mornings when the number of participants is generally at its largest. He also asked that parishes continue to organize groups to come as a community.

Though they go to pray for others, many people say the experience is personally rewarding and report finding a “sense of peace” there. He suggested that the best time to come is during the Lenten season.

“It draws you closer to the core values of our faith. The graces that are received as a part of that physical witness help the individuals who participate grow in their faith,” he said.

For more information, visit www.40daysforlife.com/ attleboro.

February 17, 2012

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds eucharistic adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. until February 17, 2012, and from January 7 to November 17, 2012.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Brewster — Eucharistic adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

East Freetown — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

East Sandwich — Eucharistic adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, eucharistic adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has eucharistic adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at noon. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration. Refreshments follow.

Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Notre Dame Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has eucharistic adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has eucharistic adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has eucharistic adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has eucharistic adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has eucharistic adoration each First Friday, following the 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:30 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 347 South Street, beginning immediately after the 12:10 p.m. Mass and ending with adoration at 4 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m.

Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of eucharistic adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and every Friday from noon to 5 p.m., with Benediction at 5 p.m.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has eucharistic adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

WAREHAM — Every First Friday, eucharistic adoration takes place from 8:30 a.m. through Benediction at 5:30 p.m. Morning prayer is prayed at 9; the Angelus at noon; the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m.; and Evening Prayer at 5 p.m.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual eucharistic adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All from other parishes are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

WOODS HOLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church, 33 Millfield Street, year-round on weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No adoration on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. For information call 508-274-5435.

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The Anchor Cardinal Bevilacqua called ‘extraordinary man of Church’

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua was laid to rest in the crypt of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul February 7, joining Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan and Cardinals Dennis Dougherty and John Krol and his other predecessors as archbishop of Philadelphia.

“We’re each a mixture of success and failure, selfishness and selfgiving. None of our titles or public reputation, for good or ill, finally matters,” Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in final remarks about the late cardinal and the challenges he faced. “The only thing that finally matters is to be a saint; a saint is someone willing to love and forgive others as zealously as God loves and forgives us,” added the archbishop, who was principal celebrant of the funeral Mass. “Love is the measure of every life, and before we weigh anyone else on that scale, we need first to weigh ourselves,” he said.

“God is the only accurate judge.

He’s also the most merciful.”

Calling Cardinal Bevilacqua “an extraordinary man of the Church,” Archbishop Chaput said, “He loved his people, he loved Philadelphia. He carried the burden of leadership at a very painful time for Catholics in this country. He gave everything he had to his ministry as a priest and bishop. So it’s right for us to be here today to remember the good that he accomplished and the thousands he touched through his personal kindness.” The final ceremonies in the crypt were performed by Cardinal Bevilacqua’s immediate successor, Cardinal Justin Rigali, who was Philadelphia’s archbishop from 2003 until last July, when Archbishop Chaput was appointed.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Feb. 19 Rev. Andrew J. Brady, Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1895 Rev. Leopold Jeurissen, SS.CC., Pastor, Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven, 1953 Feb. 20 Rev. James H. Fogarty, Pastor, St. Louis, Fall River, 1922 Rev. Raymond M. Giguere, O.P., Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1986 Rev. Thomas E. Morrissey, Pastor, St. Jacques, Taunton, 2006 Feb. 21 Rev. Msgr. Luiz G. Mendonca, PA, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1997 Feb. 22 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Jovite Chagnon, Founder, St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1954 Feb. 24 Rev. Edward F. McIsaac, Retired Chaplain, Rose Hawthorn Lathrop Home, 2002

Around the Diocese 2/17

All are invited to a Mass tonight at 7 p.m. at Holy Family Parish in East Taunton to unite and pray for all those touched by cancer. If you can’t attend and have prayer intentions, or if you would like to help with the reception following the Mass, call Nancy or Stephen McNally at 508946-0602 or email nmcnally29@hotmail.com.

2/23

A Healing Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church, 818 Middle Street, Fall River on February 23. Rosary will begin at 6 p.m. with Benediction and healing prayers after Mass. For more information call 508-674-5651.

2/23

The Divorced and Separated Support Group will have an open meeting on February 23 at St. Julie Billiart Parish, 494 Slocum Road in North Dartmouth beginning at 7 p.m. Attendees are free to discuss personal difficulties dealing with separation or divorce and refreshments will be served. For more information, call 508-678-2828, 508-993-0589 or 508673-2997.

2/27

St. Louis de France Parish, 56 Buffington Street, Swansea, will host weekly Centering Prayer gatherings using the Lectio Divina format. The group will meet in the family room of the main church and gather at 6:15 p.m. every Thursday in Lent beginning February 27 through May 21 (except April 23 and 30 due to school scheduling). Prayer beings promptly at 6:30 p.m. For more information email forums4ami@gmail.com or call 508-2645823.

2/27

“The Quest for Personal Holiness: A Deanery Mission” will be held at St. Mary’s Parish, Tarkiln Hill Road in New Bedford beginning February 27. Father Thomas F.X. Hoar, SSE, Ph.D. of St. Edmund’s Retreat Enders Island, Mystic, Conn., will lead the mission. This Deanery Mission will provide an opportunity to rediscover and prepare for the season of Lent as a time of healing, repentance and prayer. Mission sessions and topics will include: “Reconciliation: An encounter with the healing love of Jesus Christ” (February 27); “Virtue: as the foundation of the life of holiness” (February 28); “The Cross: As the key to victory” (February 29); “Prayer: Thy will be done” (February 30). Daily Mission Masses will be celebrated at noon and 7 p.m.

2/29

A screening of the “Catholicism” series will be held weekly at the Father Peyton Center, Holy Cross Family Ministries, 518 Washington Street, North Easton, on Wednesdays from February 29 through March 28 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Each one-hour segment will be shown followed by discussion. This amazing program, which is airing on public television, illuminates what Catholics believe and why, while immersing in the art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition. For more information about this series, visit www.catholicismseries.com. For more information about events at the Father Peyton Center, visit www.familyrosary.org/events or call 508-238-4095.

3/3

On March 3, Good Shepherd Parish in Fall River will host an International Buffet and Dance at the Liberal Club located at 20 Star Street in Fall River from 5:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. Buffet items will include American, Portuguese and Italian, plus more. Music will be provided by the 5-A-Live Band and Portuguese music to be announced. Tickets can be obtained by calling the rectory at 508-678-7412 or visiting www.gsfallriver.com for more information.

3/3

A Day With Mary will take place on March 3 from 7:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, New Bedford. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother along with Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and an opportunity for Reconciliation. There is a bookstore available during breaks. For more information call 508-996-8274.

3/15

Catholic Social Services’ Citizenship Services Program offers Naturalization Workshops at which its legal staff assists people with the N-400 Application for Naturalization. The contact is Ashlee Reed, email: areed@cssdioc.org or 508-674-4681. The next workshop will be held on March 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Catholic Social Services, 261 South Street in Hyannis.

Misc.

Catholic Social Services offers Citizenship Instruction in formal classes and on an individual or small-group basis for clients who are not suited to the formal setting for a variety of reasons. CSS is recruiting volunteer tutors to work with clients who need assistance in English, preparation for the citizenship interview, and/or study in U.S. History and Civics for the citizenship test. Hours are variable depending on availability and client needs.

CSS will provide materials and subject matter guidance. Ideal candidates will have some teaching background and experience working with people whose first language is not English. For more information contact Lemuel Skidmore, email: lskidmore@cssdioc.org or 508-771.6771.

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The Anchor Visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocese offices and national sites.

February 17, 2012

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