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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , February 21, 2014

Catholics invited to Pro-Family Lobby Day February 26

By Christine M. Willams Anchor Correspondent

Mike Nicolan, manager of the St. Vincent de Paul Store on Pleasant Street in Fall River, stands outside the society’s recently-opened second furniture warehouse location at the corner of County and Albion streets. The new location is open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

St.Vincent de Paul Store expands to second location

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — After more than six decades of operating a single storefront located at 1799 Pleasant Street in the city, the Fall River district of the St. Vincent de Paul Society recently expanded to include a second location at 392 County Street.

According to store manager Mike Nicolan, the new site, perched on the corner of County and Albion streets and diagonally across from the former Immaculate Conception Church, is going to stock and sell strictly large furniture items — from new mattresses, box springs and bedroom sets to couches, tables and chairs — all at affordable prices.

“Right now, we’re only open on Satur-

days from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., only because we don’t have the volunteer help to open additional hours, but it’s worked wonderfully and through word of mouth it’s increased every week,” Nicolan told The Anchor. “The store is packed to the gills with items we’ve recently acquired.”

Through a special arrangement with “one of the big furniture stores in the area,” Nicolan said the St. Vincent de Paul Society has been the beneficiary of donations of surplus and slightly damaged items that have been taking up precious space at the Pleasant Street location.

“Last fall I got a call from them and … they asked if we had a truck and could do pick-ups, and I told them we did,” NicolTurn to page 14

Even as attendance wanes, divorce and separated group offers support

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — When Bob Menard divorced in the early ’80s, he was “inspired” to open up his house as a place for divorced and separated individuals to meet. At the time he was a single father, raising his two children who were then ages eight and five; he soon took a break from the group to focus mainly on his children, “so I postponed this whole thing,” said Menard.

“I still prayed for them but I didn’t do any active work. I let it go for a while.”

By 1997, Menard’s children were settled and married and he decided to pour his efforts back into the support group, then under the guidance of the Family Life Center in North Dartmouth. A year later he met Joanne Dupre, who later became a facilitator, and

since then Menard and Dupre have been working hand-in-hand to sustain the ministry.

Even though roughly half the Marriages in the United States end in divorce, Menard said that the Divorce and Separated Support Group has seen its attendance drop dramatically over the years. When Menard returned to the group as a facilitator in the late ’90s, he said, “We had a few people coming, ranging anywhere from five to 10 people.”

At its peak at the Family Life Center, the support group had upwards of 18-20 people, broken into two groups; one group comprised of new members while the other group consisted of long-term members. Shortly before Family Life Center was absorbed into Turn to page 18

BOSTON — The upcoming ProFamily Lobby Day on February 26 presents the perfect opportunity for local Catholics to voice concerns to their elected representatives, according to Patricia Doherty, executive director of Catholic Citizenship.

Doherty said that it is “critical” for Catholics to get involved in politics.

“Everybody belongs in the public square, but it is particularly important for Catholics to understand that they need to be in the public square because we are being attacked,” she said.

Doherty cited the example of the Little Sisters of the Poor, the group of women religious who have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to provide contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs through their health care plans. The Sisters want

to serve the poor the way they always have without violating their Catholic beliefs. Organizations that do not comply face steep fines. The Sisters are one of dozens of Catholic organizations legally challenging the mandate.

The annual lobby day is sponsored by the Coalition for Marriage and Family. The day starts with an information session, held in State House Room 437 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that, participants will be sent out in groups to speak with elected representatives. The event is free and lunch is provided.

Doherty said that of particular concern locally is House Bill 3793, “An act relative to healthy behaviors.” If passed, the bill would mandate the Massachusetts Health Curriculum Frameworks, including sex education. The bill was sent to the House floor late last year, but after public outcry, it was sent back to committee for further study.

Turn to page 18

The Dartmouth Knights of Columbus Father Hogan Council recently received the Father McGivney and Columbian awards for the second year in a row. Officers are: Grand Knight Chris Pereira, Deputy Grand Knight Mike Nunes, Financial Secretary Brock Cordeiro, Chancellor Ed Viveiros, Treasurer Bob Ladino, Advocate Bob Comtois, Warden Joe Medeiros, Inside Guard Martin Flynn, Outside Guard Paul Tomasek, Trustee-One Year John Gonsalves, Trustee-Two Year Thomas Pereira, Trustee-Three Year Mike Medeiros, and Council Chaplain Father Richard Roy.

Dartmouth Knights of Columbus council earns national awards

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

DARTMOUTH — When an actor or actress wins an Oscar, Emmy, or Tony Award, there’s usually a litany of “Thank yous” expressed by the recipient.

The sentiment is “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

When a Knights of Columbus council wins an award, it’s the parish and the community that should do the thanking, with the sentiment, “We couldn’t do it without you.”

Knights of Columbus, members of the Roman Catholic fraternal service organization with 15,000 councils and

nearly two million members in the U.S., are well-known for their selfless giving of time, talent and treasure. They’re not in it for the glory and the accolades. The goal is to spread the Gospel message through service and action.

Council No. 14236 of Dartmouth, serving St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth and St. Mary’s Parish in South Dartmouth, fits the Knight mold to a tee. So much so that the council, named after Father John F. Hogan, was recently nationally recognized as they were awarded the Father McGivney and Columbian awards for the second year Turn to page seven

News From the Vatican

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February 21, 2014

Pope to engaged couples: After ‘I do,’ comes ‘may I, thank you, sorry’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Greeting thousands of engaged couples on the feast of St. Valentine, Pope Francis told them not to be afraid of building a permanent and loving relationship in a culture where everything is disposable and fleeting.

The secrets to a loving and lasting union, he said, include treating each other with respect, kindness and gratitude, and never letting daily struggles and squabbles sabotage making peace and saying, “I’m sorry.”

“The perfect family doesn’t exist, nor is there a perfect husband or a perfect wife, and let’s not talk about the perfect mother-in-law!” he said to laughter and applause.

“It’s just us sinners,” he said.

But “if we learn to say we’re sorry and ask forgiveness, the Marriage will last.”

After a week of heavy rains, bright sunshine warmed St. Peter’s Square and the 30,000 people who gathered for an audience February 14 dedicated to couples completing their Marriage preparation courses and planning to be married in the Church this year.

The initiative, “The Joy of ‘Yes’ Forever,” was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. The council president, Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, is a former bishop of Terni and successor to St. Valentine — the third-century martyred bishop of Terni.

The archbishop told the pope that the young couples in the square were evidence of how many people do want to “go against the tide” by having a love that lasts forever and is blessed by God. Engaged couples attending the audience received a small white pillow with Pope Francis’ signature and his papal crest; the cushion has two satin ribbons for securing wedding rings during the Marriage ceremony.

Three of the couples shared with the pope their thoughts and concerns about living a Christian Marriage and asked for his advice.

While the pope confessed he had the questions in advance and wrote out his answers, that didn’t stop him from straying from the text to give further emphasis and examples.

“Living together is an art, a patient, beautiful and amazing journey” that “doesn’t end when you’ve won over each others’ hearts,” he said. Rather “that’s exactly when it begins!”

A healthy family life, he said, absolutely requires frequent use of three phrases: “May I? Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

People need to be more attentive to how they treat each other, he said. They must trade in their heavy “mountain boots” for greater delicacy when walking into someone else’s life.

Love isn’t tough or aggressive, he said, it’s courteous and kind, and in a world that is “often violent and aggressive, we need much more courtesy.”

Couples also need the strength to recognize when they’ve done wrong and ask forgiveness. The “instinct” to accuse someone else “is at the heart of so many disasters,” starting with Adam, who ate the forbidden fruit. When God asked him if he did it, the pope said, Adam immediately passes the blame saying, “‘Uh, no, it was that one over there who gave it to me!’ Accusing the other to get out of saying ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Pardon me.’”

Obviously, couples will make mistakes and fight, but “never, never, never end the day without making peace,” the pope said.

An eloquent speech isn’t necessary, he said, but things must be set right because if they aren’t, the bad feelings inside will become “cold and hard and it will be more difficult to make peace” as time goes on.

Many people can’t imagine or are afraid of a love and Marriage that lasts forever because they think love is an emotionalphysical feeling or state-of-being, he said. But “love is a relationship, it’s something that grows.”

The relationship needs to be taken care of every day, “entrusting yourselves to the Lord Jesus in a life that becomes a daily spiritual journey, made step by step, tiny steps” toward greater maturity and spiritual growth, he said.

Like His miracle of multiplying the loaves, Jesus will do the same “also for you,” he said, “multiplying your love and giving it to you good and fresh every day.”

The pope also urged couples to keep their wedding ceremonies low-key, focusing more on Christ than on the dress, decorations and photographers.

A Christian Marriage is a celebration, but it must highlight “what’s really important,” and “the true reason for your joy: the blessing of your love by the Lord.”

Manuela Franchini, 29, and Armando Perasole, 30, who are getting married December 12, attended the event. They moved from Naples to Milan for work, and told Catholic News Service that economic and political problems in Italy make it “really hard for families. But with the Church there is more hope in being able to make it.”

Pope Francis holds a rose and chocolates thrown by a person in the crowd as he arrives for an audience for engaged couples in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican February 14, Valentine’s Day. (CNS photo/ Paul Haring)

Robert Duncan, who is a multimedia journalist at the Catholic News Service Rome bureau, and his fiancee, Constance Daggett, were one of the handful of couples chosen to speak about their journeys of faith and love, and to meet the pope.

The two 25-year-olds became Catholics as adults and Duncan said, “The fact that we’re able to begin our Marriage in the pres-

ence of the pope is a culmination of a process that has been the story of our love.”

Giovanna, an Italian woman at the event with her fiance, said they find inspiration and a model for a happy Marriage in two friends of theirs who have been married for many years.

“They look at each other with the same kind of love they had the day they first met,” she said.

to their “good relations with the Holy See and with many representatives of the Catholic world.”

He then drew attention to the fact that next year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Second Vatican Council document “Nostra Aetate,” which is the Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions.

The document, he noted serves as “the sure point of reference for relations with our ‘elder brothers,’” observing that from it “our reflection on the spiritual patrimony which unites us and which is the foundation of our dialogue has developed with renewed vigor.”

Emphasizing that this foundation is a “theological” one, the pontiff highlighted the importance of ensuring “that our dialogue be always profoundly marked by the awareness of our relationship with God.” “In addition to dialogue, it is also important to find ways in which Jews and Christians can cooperate in constructing a more just and fraternal world,” he continued, calling attention to the shared concern of Jews and Catholics in serving “the poor, the marginalized and those who suffer.”

“Our commitment to this service is anchored in the protection of the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners as shown in Sacred Scripture,” the pontiff observed.

Concluding his address, the pope stated that in order to keep their efforts from becoming “fruitless,” it is “important that we dedicate ourselves to transmitting to new generations the heritage of our mutual knowledge, esteem and friendship which has grown over these years.”

“It is my hope,” he stated, “that the study of relations with Judaism may continue to flourish in seminaries and in centers of formation for lay Catholics.”

Pope Francis also expressed his hope “that a desire for an understanding of Christianity may grow among young Rabbis and the Jewish community.”

Turning to his upcoming visit to the Holy Land, the pope noted that “in a few months I will have the joy of visiting Jerusalem, where — as the psalm says — we are all born (cf. Ps 87:5), and where all peoples will one day meet (cf. Is 25:6-10).”

He then asked members of the committee to “accompany me with your prayers, so that this pilgrimage may bring forth the fruits of communion, hope and peace. Shalom!”

Pope lauds fruitful dialogue between Jews, Catholics

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — In an encounter with the American Jewish Committee, Pope Francis highlighted the strong unity of Jews and Catholics, stating that their shared roots obligate them to work together in building a just society.

“I am very grateful to you for the distinguished contribution you have made to dialogue and fraternity between Jews and Catholics, and I encourage you to continue on this path,” the Pope expressed during the recent encounter.

Speaking to members of the committee, which was established in 1906 in order to safeguard the welfare and security of Jews worldwide, the pontiff extended his greetings to the organization, giving special emphasis

February 21, 2014

3

The International Church Indian bishops commit to renewal of Church, society

Protesters in Brussels hold banners against legislation authorizing euthanasia for children. Belgian legislators recently voted to make their country the world’s first to allow euthanasia for small children, despite vigorous opposition from the Catholic Church and all main religious groups. (CNS photo/ Laurent Dubrule, Reuters)

Belgium passes law to allow euthanasia for small children

BRUSSELS (CNS) — Belgian legislators voted to make their country the world’s first to allow euthanasia for small children, despite vigorous opposition from the Catholic Church and all main religious groups.

“We are saddened and fearful for the future after this vote to extend euthanasia to children without any age limit,” said the Catholic bishops’ conference.

“We totally uphold the rights of the child, of which love and respect are the most important.

But the right of the child to demand its own death is a step too far. It transgresses the prohibition of killing, which is the foundation of our human society,” the bishops said in a recent statement.

The same day, Belgium’s lower house of Parliament passed the legislation, which permits the doctor-assisted killing of terminally-ill children facing “unbearable physical suffering.”

The legislation passed the Senate late last year and must now go to the king for approval.

The bishops said they had frequently “expressed fears” about the proposed law, which had been unanimously deplored “with a single voice” by heads of all faiths in November.

They added that they shared the views of all those opposed to the law “as a function of their experience or expertise,” including medical experts who believed it was “useless and defective.”

“We fear this new law opens the door wide to the further extension of euthanasia to handicapped persons, people with dementia, the mentally ill and those merely tired of life,” the bishops said. “We insist everything is done to combat pain and suffering to the maximum, and that all professionals and volunteers accompanying the

sick and suffering gain optimal support.”

Representatives voted 8644 with 12 abstentions for the law, which requires children to be “conscious of their decision” after “repeated requests to die,” and to have approval from their parents and medical team.

However, Belgium’s Le Soir daily said the debate, which was marked by a Pro-Life vigil outside the Brussels Parliament, had been heated, adding that a public gallery spectator had shouted “Murderers!” as the result was announced.

The Church’s Cathobel news agency said several members of Parliament had highlighted contradictions in the bill’s wording, including its provision that children as young as three could be allowed to die “if capable of discernment,” whereas a 17-year-old could be refused if psychiatrists disagreed.

The agency added that Health Minister Laurette Onckelinckx, a champion of the law, had “shocked colleagues” by failing to attend the debate.

“This merely underlines the emptiness of Belgium’s legislative process — why bother listening to the minister’s opinion if no expert has been consulted and all amendments have been swept aside?” the Catholic agency commented.

“Neither the truth nor the common good have been in evidence in this debate. Does this signal that Belgian society itself is ‘incapable of discernment’?”

Catholics nominally make up three-quarters of Belgium’s population of 11 million, although only one in 10 attends Mass frequently.

Euthanasia was legalized in Belgium in 2002, a year after the neighboring Netherlands. Politicians and pediatricians said

children should have the same right to die as adults.

Belgian Health Ministry data registered more than 1,400 deaths in 2012, an increase of 25 percent over 2011.

Although officially restricted to terminal patients, researchers say reasons for euthanasia have included blindness, anorexia and botched operations, while many are carried out illegally by nurses and at least a third are involuntary.

In a November open letter, 16 pediatricians backed the proposed bill, claiming children facing illness and death “develop a great maturity very rapidly.”

However, the claim was rejected by professors from the Catholic University of Leuven, as well as in an early February open letter by 160 pediatricians, who said modern medicine was “capable of alleviating pain.”

Several Belgian churches staged vigils against the law, including Brussels’ National Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where Archbishop Andre Leonard, the bishops’ conference president, led an ecumenical day of prayer and fasting.

Besides Belgium and the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalized in Luxembourg and declared “nonpunishable” in Switzerland and are under parliamentary consideration in Britain and France.

Most countries have resisted calls for euthanasia of sick children, which was conducted in Nazi Germany under a program known as Kinder-Euthanasie.

The Dutch law allows newborn babies with conditions such as spina bifida to be euthanized, under the 2004 Groningen Protocol, but restricts euthanasia requests to children over age 12.

Palai, India (CNA/ EWTN News) — At their plenary assembly held February 5-12, the Indian bishops discussed pastoral challenges in the nation and continuing the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.

At the conclusion of the assembly, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, Syro-Malankarese Major Archbishop of Trivandrum, was elected as president of the Indian bishops’ conference. He succeeds Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, who served as conference president for four years.

The assembly was held in Palai, in the south-west Indian state of Kerala, and was called “Renewed Church for a Renewed Society: Responding to the Call of Vatican II,” and focused on four documents from the council.

The four were “Lumen Gentium,” on the Church; “Ad Gentes,” on the Church’s mission activity; “Gaudium et Spes,” on the Church in the modern world; and “Apostolicam Actuositatem,” on the apostolate of the laity.

The meeting, which is held every other year, gathered 185 bishops from India’s 167 dioceses, who represent not only the Latin rite, but also the SyroMalabar Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, both of which are native to India.

At the opening Mass of the assembly, India’s apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, emphasized the renewal of the Church as a sure path to greater faithfulness to Christ and the Gospel, recalling Pope Francis and noting that Church renewal must be oriented to missioning.

During the meeting, Cardinal Gracias referred to Blessed John XXIII’s exhortation at the opening of Vatican II to bishops that they be holy, so that in turn priests and laity will also be holy.

He also referred to the documents of Vatican II as the source for reflection for the renewal of the Church and society in India.

Archbishop Albert D’Souza of Agra reported on interreligious dialogue in the nation, saying it is “essential in order to achieve the evangelizing mission of the Church.”

The bishops attended a presentation on “Apostolicam Actuositatem” given by Alexander Jacob, director general of police in Kerala. Jacob discussed, from his

own experience, what committed Catholic laymen can do in society to witness to their faith in Christ.

Cardinal George Alencherry, Syro-Malabarese Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, discussed during a homily the problem of Catholics becoming “disinterested in the life of the Church” or leaving it altogether, adding that the Church needs more people of committed faith and living witness.

The host of the assembly, Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of the Syro-Malabarese Diocese of Palai, wrote that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India “reflects and deliberates on issues invariably related to Christian values and the people of India at large,” adding that the bishops are characterized by “openness to the people.”

“The quintessence of CBCI is unity in diversity,” he continued. “Despite the enormous cultural, linguistic, ecclesial and traditional diversities and divergences of the regions and the churches represented by the bishops in this vast subcontinent of India, CBCI envisages weaving a myriad fabric of harmony and unity.”

Bishop Kallarangatt also noted the Church’s work for justice, including a preferential option for the poor and its defense of Dalits “and other oppressively marginalized sections of society.”

In their conclusions, the bishops wrote that “the Church, following in the footsteps of Christ, cannot close its eyes to the suffering and injustice that penalize the poor, marginalized, and excluded.”

4

The Church in the U.S.

February 21, 2014

Archbishop asks prayers for Marriage, World Meeting of Families

Philadelphia, Pa., (CNA/EWTN News) — Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia encouraged prayers for married couples and families on Valentine’s Day, also requesting prayers for the upcoming World Meeting of Families.

Recognizing that “St. Valentine is the patron of happy Marriages, engaged couples and young people,” the archbishop asked in a February 14 statement that the faithful pray “for married couples as well as all those preparing to enter into the Sacred bonds of Marriage.”

“The married couple is the building block of the family — the cornerstone of society,” he observed. “Today is a special time to celebrate the authentic love that a husband and wife experience in the person of Jesus Christ and the greater fulfillment of that love in the creation of a family.”

In addition, Archbishop Chaput requested prayers for all those working “to prepare for the World Meeting of Families that will be held here in Philadelphia next year.”

“That event has the power to transform, in deeply positive ways, not just the Catholic Church but our entire community,” the archbishop said.

The eighth World Meeting of Families will be held Sept.

22-27, 2015, and is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants from around the world.

Begun in 1994 by Pope John Paul II, the gathering takes place every three years and seeks to support and

strengthen families throughout the world.

The event was last hosted in Milan, Italy, in 2012. More than one million people gathered for Mass with the Holy Father, and 153 nations were represented.

The Philadelphia meeting will mark the first time that the event will be held in the United States.

Archbishop Chaput has previously stated that such events can be “moments of grace” for the entire area, able “to transform, in deeply positive ways, not just the spirit of Catholic life in our region, but the whole public community.”

“The more we encourage and support the integrity of families, the healthier society becomes,” he said, adding that families play a critical role in sharing the message of Christ with the world.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter will serve as honorary co-chairmen of the 2015 gathering.

Governor Corbett — who is Catholic — noted at a press conference last year that Philadelphia is “the birthplace of religious freedom,” with “churches, synagogues, mosques and temples [that] are places of both personal faith and civic freedom.”

“But it is our families that grow up in these institutions that are the foundation of that freedom,” he emphasized, noting that faithful families have “played a profound role in building not only Philadelphia but the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Merceider Williams sings with the Sister Thea Bowman Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Choir during a Mass celebrated in observance of Black History Month at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre.

The Mass also marked the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a 19th-century Sudanese slave who joined the Canossian Sisters after gaining her freedom in Italy. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

USCCB initiative fosters young leaders for Church’s social justice work

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Nearly 70 students from Catholic colleges worldwide came to Washington for the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering’s Youth Leaders Initiative.

Both the annual gathering, held this year, and the initiative are projects of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Six agencies of the USCCB sponsor the gathering with 15 other Catholic organizations.

The youth event provided a fresh perspective for students, even those already familiar with Catholic social teaching. Kaitlyn Kennedy, a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, works with the Indiana university’s Center for Social Concerns and has a minor in Catholic social tradition.

Still, attending the event in Washington showed her “how to apply it to my own life.”

“I’ve come away with a sense of awe about the people who gave so much to this, their effort and hope is rooted in faith,” she told Catholic News Service.

Ian Mitchell, Catholic social teaching education coordinator for the USCCB, said that connecting youth with seasoned advocates was a goal of the initiative.

“This is not a college gathering, this is a professional gathering,” he said.

In addition to serving youth leaders, the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering benefits from their presence. Mitchell said that “youth add energy, but also great wisdom and perspective” to the event. Their activism inspires other attendees, said Mitchell, because “they bring from their campuses a spirit of being disciples in action.”

The Youth Leadership Initiative is only two years old. The first event was held after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Though Pope Francis has been an inspiration to organizers — his quest for a “Church of the Poor and By the Poor” was this year’s theme — the initiative was in the works during Pope Benedict’s papacy.

“Before Pope Francis, we wanted to make this open to young leaders,” Mitchell said.

The Youth Leadership Initiative was partly coordinated by student volunteers. Conor Maloney, a senior at The Catholic University of America and a USCCB intern, helped with event administration.

Maloney was impressed by “how passionate” attendees were about social justice. Meeting with other student leaders, he discovered untapped opportunities at his own university. “It is great to see how people implement the resources from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development on their campuses,” he said, referring to the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty campaign.

After attending a series of workshops, many students went to Capitol Hill to speak with their representatives in Congress.

Among the topics discussed were fair wages, federal safety-net programs, and comprehensive immigration reform.

Chris McClead, director of campus ministry at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, was excited to bring his students to Washington. The political activity of their ministry is usually confined to letter-writing, so “it is a privilege to be in this arena,” he said.

After speaking with their representatives, students returned home with renewed zeal.

Alicia Ireland, a sophomore at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, thought the experience “was really fun!”

“I got to meet my congress-

man, Jon Runyan, and sit down and talk to him,” she said. “It was awesome!” Runyan, a Republican, represents New Jersey’s Third Congressional District.

Madeline Coutu, also a student at Cabrini, said that she “found it surprising that many (legislators) were open about their faith background, and what they believed.”

On the whole, she said, “we were very supported.”

Though the focus of the event was on federal policy in the United States, a number of international students attended the Youth Leadership Initiative.

Hayley Gould, of Australian Catholic University, said that students worldwide must educate themselves on social justice. “This applies on an international scale,” she said. “Coming here put that into perspective.”

Gould said she benefited from fellowship with fellow studentactivists from the United States.

At her Australian university, said Gould, the Catholic ministries involved with faith life and social justice often feel separate from one another. Here, Gould said she found that Catholic groups came together on both fronts, “and that is great to see!”

Taminka Hanscamp, another student from Australian Catholic University, agrees that Australian youth especially can learn from Catholic teaching on social justice. “In Australia, our generation is the generation most into social justice, and the most without faith.” She said that “it is pivotal for young people to realize that the Church is involved with this, too.”

Attendees say that the experience they gained will stay with them beyond college. Christle Gehman, of Cabrini College, said that after graduation, her peers “will be changing the face of social justice.”

5 The Church in the U.S. New stem-cell method offers another alternative to embryonic research

February 21, 2014

BALTIMORE (CNS) — A new method of creating versatile stem cells from a relatively simple manipulation of existing cells could further reduce the need for any stem-cell research involving human embryos, according to leading ethicists.

Although the process has only been tested in mice, two studies published January 29 in the journal Nature detailed research showing success with a process called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency, or STAP. Scientists from Japan’s RIKEN research institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston were able to reprogram blood cells from newborn mice by placing

them in a low-level acidic bath for 30 minutes. Seven to nine percent of the cells subjected to such stress returned to a state of pluripotency and were able to grow into other types of cells in the body.

“If this technology proves feasible with human cells, which seems likely, it will offer yet another alternative for obtaining highly flexible stem cells without relying on the destructive use of human embryos,” said Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. “This is clearly a positive direction for scientific research.”

Father Pacholczyk, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, who

Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, said if the new method were used to create stem cells so versatile that they could form placenta tissue and make human cloning easier, “then we would have serious moral problems with that.” But there is no indication so far that the scientists could or would do so, he added.

“You could misuse any powerful technology, but the technique itself is not problematic” in terms of Catholic teaching, Doerflinger said.

David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council in Washington, said the new STAP process is yet another indication that “there are all these different ways to create stem cells without ever having to endanger a human being.”

He said adult stem cells — ity women.

Agents described the facility as drawn from living human beings “filthy,” “deplorable,” “disgusting” without harming them, as well as and “very unsanitary, very outdat- from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow — “are the only stem cells ed, horrendous,” the report said.

“There was blood on the floor. that have ever proven to help a A stench of urine filled the air. A single patient.” More than 60,000 flea-infested cat was wandering patients around the world are rethrough the facility, and there were ceiving treatments for a variety of cat feces on the stairs. Semi-con- diseases from adult stem cells,.

Another type of adult stem scious women scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting cells, called induced pluripotent room or the recovery room, where stem cells, or iPS cells, is still being they sat on dirty recliners covered used only in animal models, said with blood-stained blankets,” the Prentice, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry and was a foundreport said.

Staff members face a slew of ing member of Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for charges including murder, perResearch Ethics. Japanese scienforming illegal abortions, contist Shinya Yamanaka received the spiracy, racketeering, hindering 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or prosecution, record tampering, obstructing justice, theft by deception, perjury and false testimony, and corruption of a minor.

The grand jury also devoted a large part of its report to questioning how the workings of the Women’s Health Society could go undetected for so long and said that state and local agencies failed in their oversight and licensing duties.

“In the absence of any regulatory oversight, Gosnell recklessly cut corners, allowed patients to choose their medication based on ability to pay, and provided abysmal care — all to maximize his profit,” the grand jury said.

Jurors offered 15 recommendations for state and local governments to consider including legislative changes governing the statute of limitations for infanticide and illegal abortions as well as rules changes for agencies governing the work of abortion clinics and law enforcement agencies involving the investigation of suspicious deaths. holds a doctorate in neuroscience from Yale University, said the only “potential future ethical issue” raised by the new STAP cells would be if scientists were to coax them into “a new degree of flexibility beyond classical pluripotency,” creating cells “with essential characteristics of embryos and the propensity to develop into the adult organism.”

“Generating human embryos in the laboratory, regardless of the specific methodology, will always raise significant ethical red flags,” he said.

The Catholic Church opposes any research involving the destruction of human embryos to create stem cells.

Doctor charged in baby deaths; Archdiocese calls actions ‘abhorrent’

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — A Philadelphia doctor who routinely performed illegal lateterm abortions for more than 30 years was charged in the death of a female patient and accused of murdering seven babies born alive in his squalid health clinic.

A grand jury recently indicted Kermit B. Gosnell and nine associates on dozens of charges in connection with the deaths of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, of Woodbridge, Va., and the newborn infants. The indictment said the babies were killed when their spinal cords were severed with scissors.

News of the practices in Gosnell’s West Philadelphia Women’s Medical Society prompted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to offer “fervent prayers” for the victims, their families and all touched by “these heinous practices.”

“The repeated actions of Dr. Gosnell and his staff were abhorrent and intrinsically evil in their disregard for the lives of the unborn and the welfare of the women who sought their services,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

“We are prepared to assist with support services for the women who suffered these abortions and stand ready to provide proper burial at the appropriate time for the aborted babies,” the statement added.

At a news conference announcing the charges, District Attorney Seth Williams said the babies were born alive and viable.

Williams also said it was likely that hundreds of other babies died at the clinic between its opening in 1979 and February 2010, when federal agents served warrants at the location and Gosnell’s home in the Mantua neighborhood of

West Philadelphia. He said evidence surrounding other likely deaths was missing, however.

The warrants were issued in connection with the illegal sale of prescriptions for Oxycontin to people never examined by Gosnell.

In the raid, FBI agents and detectives from the district attorney’s office discovered jars filled with severed baby feet lining the walls; containers, ranging from milk jugs to cat food receptacles, and bags containing aborted fetuses scattered throughout the clinic and bloodstained and urine-stained furniture and floors, Williams said.

Onsite staff members also were found to be unlicensed, he said.

Authorities learned of Mongar’s November 2009 death from a staffer during their investigation, the grand jury said in a 260-page report summarizing a yearlong investigation. Further investigation revealed that Mongar died from an overdose of anesthetics prescribed by Gosnell, according to the report.

The grand jury called the clinic a “baby charnel house.”

The report contained vivid descriptions of procedures and graphic photos of dead infants.

It said the infant deaths involved children from 24 to 32 weeks gestation. Under Pennsylvania law, one of the strictest in the nation, abortions past 24 weeks gestation are illegal. Most clinics decline to perform abortions past 12 weeks.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Gosnell was well known for being willing to handle abortions for women whose pregnancies had surpassed 12 weeks and for treating poor and minor-

Medicine for his discovery of the iPS technique.

A recent report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List, showed a turnaround in funding for adult versus embryonic stemcell research in at least two states — California and Maryland.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine devoted all of its $121 million in funding in 2007, its inaugural year, to embryonic stem-cell research, while the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission funded 11 embryonic stem-cell projects and four using adult stem cells that year, the report said.

But in 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available, the California institute funded 15 nonembryonic projects for some $50 million and gave only six grants totaling $19 million to projects that involved the destruction of human embryos. Maryland’s grants in 2013 were to one stem-cell project using embryos and 28 not using them.

Doerflinger said he is also seeing a shift in the respect accorded to adult stem-cell research even by the most ardent supporters of embryonic stemcell research.

“Even the severest critics (of adult stem-cell research) are admitting that the promise people had been holding out (for embryonic research) is being pursued without any moral problem,” Doerflinger said. “The alternatives that the Church had been encouraging for so long are really succeeding.”

6

February 21, 2014

Anchor Editorial

Handling snakes

Back on July 10, 2002, Blessed John Paul II told the assembled crowd at his weekly audience, “No one is excluded from blessing the Lord, not even our marine creatures.

Indeed, St. Ambrose continues: ‘Snakes also praise the Lord, for their nature and appearance reveal to us a certain beauty, and show that they have their justification.’ This is all the more reason why we, as human beings, should add our own joyful and confident voice to this symphony of praise, and accompany it with a consistent and faithful life.”

We bring his comments to your attention, given the recent death of the Reverend Jamie Coots, the pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Ky. He died as the result of a snake bite, a death which could have been prevented if he had not brought snakes into church and if he had accepted the medical help that the EMTs had offered him.

Coots justified his snake handling with the words of Jesus in Mark 16:17-18: “These signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Christians by and large did not read Christ’s words there literally until some early 20th-century Evangelical Protestants (a very small minority of them) felt that they had to handle snakes so as to show their trust in Jesus. This led, inevitably, to occasional deaths in their worship services.

Brantly Millegan, on the website aleteia.org, posed the question, “What are Catholics to make of this? We believe the Bible is the Word of God, too, so why aren’t we bringing snakes to Mass? A couple thoughts: First, Mark 16:18 does not say that Christians should catch poisonous snakes, bring them into churches, and hold them as a sign of their faith in God. It simply says ‘they will pick up snakes with their hands.’ The practice of snake-handling adds a great deal to the text that is simply not there.” In other words, these fundamentalists, who are supposed to read the Bible literally word for word, had added something in which Jesus did not say.

Millegan added, “Second, it’s not immediately clear to me what Mark 16:18 is referring to, but I can think of a few good questions to ask before practicing snake-handling: Is ‘snakes’ to be taken literally, or is it a figure of speech for demons? Is it referring to God’s possible protection of Christians when they are attacked by animals (not seeking them out), like when God protected Paul in Acts 28:3-6?” In that situation, Paul was bitten by a snake which came out of some burning firewood (a good reason to use caution when bringing it into your home), but recovered quickly from the bite.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus says something similar to what He said in Mark’s Gospel. “Be-

hold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.”

That text was paraphrased by the Christians (Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants) of Aleppo, Syria back in 2004, when they prepared the prayer texts of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for the entire world. On the Vatican website you can read their prayers, which seem all the more poignant now, given the incredible suffering the people of that city have endured for the last few years. They prayed back then, “Take away from us, from all Your people and Your Church all jealousy, all temptation, all diabolical works.

Deliver us from the plotting of the wicked, from visible and invisible enemies. And grant us in abundance good and profitable deeds, for You have given us the power to crush the snakes, scorpions and all enemy powers. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil through Your grace, Your goodness and Your love for all shown forth in Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The Syrian Christians understood that we have no time to be foolishly playing games with poisonous serpents in church (two of the non-Catholic bishops who authored the prayer were kidnapped last spring). They continue to pray that God will “deliver [them] from the plotting of the wicked, from visible [the various armed forces attacking them] and invisible [the devil, who inspires all of this violence and the sins of omission of the bystanders] enemies.”

As Dave Jolivet writes on page 10 of this Anchor, we cannot know why in this life God allows certain suffering to happen, while in other situations people are miraculously preserved from harm. In 2001 Blessed John Paul wrote to the people of Armenia, on the 1,700th anniversary of the acceptance of Christianity in that land and mentioned a “tale full of symbolism,” in which the pagan king, “seeing [the] steadfast constancy [of the missionary Gregory] in professing the Christian faith, had him thrown into a deep pit, a dark, narrow place infested with snakes, where previously no one had ever survived. But Gregory lived for many years in that pit without succumbing, fed by Providence through the compassionate hand of a widow.”

What the Holy Father told the Armenians is echoed in what Dave writes today — we are called to be the hand of Divine Providence, not handling snakes, but reaching out a hand (literally to help others, figuratively folding them in prayer for them) to help others deal with the challenges this life gives us, especially those challenges caused by our initial collaboration with the serpent in the Garden. This is the type of “snake handling” God wants us to do — and which results in raising up our hands in praise of God.

Pope Francis’ weekly Angelus address and prayer

Dear brothers and sisters, hello!

The Gospel this Sunday is part of the so-called “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus’ first important preaching. Today the theme is Jesus’ attitude toward the Jewish law. He says: “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). Jesus, then, does not want to eliminate the Commandments that the Lord gave through Moses, but to complete fulfillment.

And immediately afterwards He adds that this “fulfillment”

of the law requires a greater justice, a more authentic observance. In fact, He tells His disciples: “If your justice does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5:20).

But what does this “complete fulfillment” of the law mean? And in what does this greater justice consist? Jesus Himself answers us with some examples. Jesus was practical. He always used examples when He spoke to make Himself understood. He starts with the fifth Commandment of the Decalogue: “You have OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill,’ but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment” (Mt 5:21-22). With this Jesus reminds us that words too can kill! When it is said of person that he has the “tongue of a snake,” what does it mean?

It means that his words kill!

So, not only should we not try to take our neighbor’s life, we should not pour the poison of anger on him or strike him with calumny. Nor should we speak ill of him. We start gossiping. Gossiping, too, can kill because it kills a person’s reputation! Gossip is very ugly!

At the beginning it can seem pleasant, even entertaining, like sucking on candy. But in the end it fills our hearts with bitterness, and it poisons us too. I will tell you the truth, I am convinced that if each of us were to decide to avoid gossip, in the end we would become a saint! It is a beautiful path! Do we want to become saints? Yes or no? [The people in the square respond “Yes!”] Do we want to be attached to gossiping as a habit?

Yes or no? [The people in the square respond “No!”] So, we

are agreed: no more gossiping!

Jesus proposes the perfection of love to those who follow Him. It is a love whose only measure is to be without measure, to go beyond all calculation. Love of neighbor is an attitude that is so basic that Jesus even says that our relationship with God cannot be sincere unless we are willing to make peace with our neighbor. He puts it this way: So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24).

From all of this it is understood that Jesus does not merely stress disciplinary observance and external conduct.

He goes to the root of the law, pointing above all to the intention and so to the heart of man, from where our good or evil actions originate. To act well and honestly juridical norms are not enough, deeper motivations are necessary, which are an expression of a hidden wisdom, God’s Wisdom, which can be received from the Holy Spirit. And we,

through faith in Christ, can open ourselves up to the action of the Spirit, Who makes us able to live Divine love.

In the light of this teaching every precept reveals its full meaning as a demand of love, and all precepts are contained within the greatest Commandment: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by work of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary ...

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.

Hail Mary ...

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary ...

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

February 21, 2014

T

he Christian faith is fundamentally dynamic. Jesus never commanded His disciples, “Stay exactly where you are.”

Rather, He was constantly saying, “Come, follow Me!” and “Go,” sending them even to the ends of the earth.

Since his election Pope Francis has been trying to get the entire Church to grasp that as disciples of Jesus, we’re called to be on the move, leaving our inertia and excuses behind, heading out to encounter Christ and with Him going to the peripheries to care for those suffering or lost on the journey of life.

In his very first homily as the Bishop of Rome, when he returned to the Sistine Chapel the day after his election with the cardinal electors, he said, “Our life is

Anchor Columnist Journeying to and with Jesus

a journey, and when we stop the way, Jesus “walks with moving, things go wrong. us, He helps us, He leads us [The Christian] is always and He teaches us to journey journeying, in the presence on.” That’s a journey, he said, of the Lord, in the light of that begins on the day of our the Lord, seeking to live Baptism and has “as its ultiwith the blamelessness that mate end our full encounter God asked of Abraham.”

Since then, Putting Into he has returned the Deep repeatedly to theme of the Christian life

By Father as a journey of Roger J. Landry faith.

He compared the work of the Church to accompanying with God.” people along an Emmaus He reminded teen-agers walk and making their hearts whom he was about to Conburn with the love of Christ. firm to “remain steadfast in He summarized Salvathe journey of faith,” knowtion history as a pilgrimage ing that “the journey of the that Jesus entered precisely Church and our own personto “share our journey.” Along al journeys as Christians are

not always easy.” He added, however, “In His mercy, Jesus never tires of stretching out His hand to lift us up, to encourage us to continue our journey. This is the real journey: to walk with the Lord always, even at moments of weakness, even in our sins.”

Jesus gives us that assistance, he said on another occasion, as we meet Him “every day in prayer, when we go to Mass, and when we do good works, when we visit the sick, when we help the poor, when we think of others, when we are not selfish, when we are loving.”

The Church is a people on the move, a “pilgrim Church on earth,” as the Third Eucharistic Prayer phrases it. The very term “parish” is meant to remind us of this journey. It comes from the Dartmouth Knights council earns national recognition Greek word, paroikos, which continued from page one refers to someone who is in a row.

Pereira said the Dartmouth proudly stand together and be journeying through someone The Father McGivney Council currently has 70 living examples for the current else’s land, a stranger, a pilgrim. Using the term, St. PeAward, named after the or- members in ages ranging from and future generations.” ganization’s founder, Father 19 to 85, and “it’s growing,” he The Dartmouth Father Ho- ter urged the first Christians Michael J. McGivney, is given added. gan Council, founded in 2007, to maintain their identity as annually in recognition of out“The council has been in- has the full support of Father “aliens and sojourners” (1 Pet standing membership recruit- volved with everything from Richard M. Roy, pastor of St. 2:11) as they trek through ment and retention efforts dur- helping displaced people to Julie’s, and Father Rodney E. life.

The fundamental idening the prior fraternal year. most recently facilitating a Thibault, pastor of St. Mary’s.

The Columbian Award is grant for a Dartmouth family “We are very fortunate to tity of parishes, from the given to a council for excel- to modify their van to handi- serve and receive great support earliest days of the Church, lence in the sponsorship of pro- cap-accessible,” he told The An- from the parishes we serve,” has been as spiritual “hosgrams that serve the Church chor. “We make quarterly do- said Pereira. “Father Roy is a tels” where foreigners and community, families, Pro-Life, nations to each of the parishes fourth degree brother Knight pilgrims can find rest and and youth — as well as council we serve. We also disseminate and our council chaplain. Fa- obtain nourishment to conmembers.

‘Merry Christmas’ yard signs ther Thibault has been accepted tinue the travels. The pastor Supreme Knight Carl A. during Christmas and are also into our council pending his is meant to be the chief paroikos or pilgrim, guiding Anderson, president of the in- looking at helping the parishes first degree.” ternational organization, in purchase outdoor Nativity sets.

Pereira said the council has others along the holy experecognizing the Dartmouth We host blood drives at each its sights set on an additional dition of life.

Sometimes, however, council said, “Please accept my parish annually. We participate award — the Star Council sincere congratulations on at- in the Dartmouth Memorial Award, the highest award given we can lose sense that the taining this prestigious award Day Parade assisting military to a Knights’ council. Criteria Christian life is a physical again. The dedication to the personnel in carrying the large for the award is that a council and an interior journey. We order shown by your council is American flag that concludes must complete all of the goals can stop moving. We can seen in the high standard the the parade. We are also excited for the McGivney and Colum- stop growing. The hostel can Knights of Columbus have set to be marching in the Memo- bian awards and then hit an become a five-star hotel with for the years ahead. May these rial Day and Dartmouth ‘350’ elite level in membership, re- things so familiar and comfortable that we don’t want awards be a reminder and an parades this year. We also make tention and insurance. inspiration to the members an annual donation to the sem“It is a high honor to serve to budge.

In order to prevent that of your council to continue to inarian program and participate as the Grand Knight,” Pereira promote the ideals of Colum- in the 40 Days for Life with said. “The Knights are what I spiritual stasis, one of the bianism for the good of the other local councils. We also refer to as ‘strength for good.’ things I’ve always done as a Church, your community, and recently-donated to the Dart- We defend Marriage, the Pro- disciple and as a priest is to the order.” mouth ‘350’ birthday celebra- Life movement, religious lib- go on pilgrimage. I’m conDartmouth Grand Knight tion.” erty, aid the poor and honor our vinced nothing reminds us Christopher Pereira told The Pereira also mentioned the military and nation. To bor- better that all of life is meant Anchor, “All of the credit for council is in the process of as- row President Ronald Reagan’s to be an exodus toward the this honor goes to the council sisting UMass Dartmouth saying regarding the Marines, celestial Jerusalem than such members and their hard work initiate its own Knights coun- ‘Some people wonder their spiritual journeys.

Pope Francis agrees, urgand dedication to the commu- cil. “They are slightly more whole lives if they made a difnity, the Knights and to God; than halfway there,” he added. ference. The Knights of Colum- ing all Catholics last May and to the parishioners from “What a great message this will bus don’t have that problem.’As to make personal, familial each parish who support us a send to our community. Peo- Knights, we strive to live a more and parochial pilgrimages.

“Journeying together togreat deal.” ple of faith must continue to Christ-like life.”

7 ward shrines, bringing along your children and engaging other people,” he said, is a great “means to bring others to Christ so as to journey together with Him.” May 1-5, I’m going to be leading a pilgrimage to French Canada and I’d like to invite you to join me.

We’ll start in Fall River and head first to the tomb of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, just south of Montreal. Then, on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, we’ll visit St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest shrine in the world to Jesus’ foster-father. We’ll also have a chance to pray there at the tomb of the great saint who built it, St. André Bessette, “God’s doorkeeper,” who has many connections to our diocese.

The following day we’ll journey to the most beautiful church in our hemisphere, Notre Dame Basilica, as well as to the Cathedral of Montreal, a must see one-third replica of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

On Saturday, dedicated especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we’ll make a Marian pilgrimage to Canada’s national Marian Shrine, Notre Dame du Cap in Three Rivers.

From there we’ll move to North America’s most historic and European walled metropolis, Quebec City, where we’ll visit its beautifully restored cathedral celebrating its 350th anniversary as well as have a chance to spend half a day at the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupré, where the relics of the arm of Jesus’ grandmother are enshrined.

Along the way, we’ll stop at the tombs of several other French Canadian saints who have successfully finished the pilgrimage of life and can therefore serve as able guides and intercessors to spur us on to the same destination.

It will be a great time of friendship, fraternity, fun and faith — as the pilgrimage of Christian life is meant to be.

If you’re interested in joining me on this spiritual sojourn, let me know.

Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

8

C

ardinal Tomas O’Fiaich was the primate, or head man, of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland from 1977 to 1990.

In 1987 he attended a synod of bishops in Rome at which it was hoped that true role of the laity could be determined.

In an effort to emphasize the importance of the continued involvement of the laity, he stood up and made what has become known as one of the shortest and yet most profound addresses ever made to any synod of bishops. His eminence stood and said; “Paddy O’Shea went to Mass each Sunday and when he died he went to hell for what he did each Monday.”

Cardinal O’ Fiaich is pointing out that there is more to Salvation and being a follower of Christ than just fulfilling the Sunday obligation of attending Mass. Partaking in the Sacrament of the Mass is an intrinsic part of our faith. The Eucharist is described in the “Catholic Catechism” as being the

February 21, 2014

What we do on Monday

source and summit of Christhe emotional love we have tian life. Reception of Christ for special people in our lives. in the Eucharist is an opRather, the word suggests portunity for us to receive the that we recognize and honor Lord and obtain strength for the dignity that every human the mission ahead. The heavy being possesses, thus seeing lifting on our part is to bring Jesus into our homes, into our work Homily of the Week place and into our Seventh Sunday lives. This challenge in Ordinary Time starts in earnest when we leave Mass. And

By Deacon if the challenge of Brendan Brides shouldering the cross of Christ through the week isn’t enough, Jesus reminds us in this week’s those around us as our brothGospel that there’s even more ers and sisters in Christ. work to do. Besides carrySome have interpreted this ing the light of Jesus into the Gospel passage, particularly world, He tells us that we turning the other cheek when must love our enemy, pray for struck, to suggest an element those who persecute us, turn of weakness in the resilience the other cheek to those who of the followers of Christ. offend us and strive to be Nothing could be further perfect just as our Heavenly from the truth. Jesus is tellFather is perfect. ing us that when the going But why should we love gets tough, when the weight our enemy? In Matthew’s of His cross seems extreme, Gospel the word used for love things are going to get even in the Greek text is agape. The tougher. Nobody understood word agape does not refer to or embraced this challenge

more than St. Lawrence, one of the first deacons of the Church. After his assailants had placed him on a metal grill to be burned to death he yelled out, “I’m done on this side, turn me over!”

Acceptance of the cross of Christ on this earth is not a call to charge up the hill of life and tackle the tough issues of forgiveness, abortion, sexual immorality, hatred, discrimination and so on. Acceptance of the cross of Christ on this earth is a call to lead the charge up that hill.

With the exception of fulfilling the weekly obligation, Cardinal O’Fiaich’s fictitious Paddy O’Shea failed miserably at carrying the light of Christ into the world and hence paid the price when “Monday” came around.

This week is the seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It follows that tomorrow is Monday, the start of another week in our lives. Let

it not be the Monday of failure that the character in Cardinal O’Fiaich’s address experienced. Let it not be the Monday where we bury the light of Christ within ourselves only to be exposed briefly a week from now.

Instead, let it be the Monday of success where each one of us brings the light of Christ into the world through forgiveness and compassion to our fellowman. Let it be the Monday where we strive to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy. And yes, let it be the Monday where we turn the other cheek, not in an apathetic, weak and surrendering fashion, but recognizing that when forging and tempering the sword — it must be struck. So too, in our tenacity and resilience, will we be forged and tempered as weapons of Christ against the challenges, the difficulties and the evil of this world.

Deacon Brides was ordained in October 2013 and currently minsters at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Feb. 22, 1 Pt 5:1-4; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 16:13-19. Sun. Feb. 23, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lv 19:1-2,17-18; Ps 103:14,8,10,12-13; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48. Mon. Feb. 24, Jas 3:13-18; Ps 19:8-10,15; Mt 9:14-29. Tues. Feb. 25, Jas 4:1-10; Ps 55:7-11,23; Mk 9:30-37. Wed. Feb. 26, Jas 4:13-17; Ps 49:2-3,6-11; Mk 9:38-40. Thurs. Feb. 27, Jas 5:1-6; Ps 49:14-20; Mk 9:41-50. Fri. Feb. 28, Jas 5:9-12; Ps 103:1-4,8-9,11-12; Mk 10:1-12.

W

hen the Holy See signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, a friend knowledgeable in legal matters said, with considerable vehemence, that the convention was a snare and a delusion that would eventually come back to bite the Vatican.

The bite came earlier this month, in a deeply tendentious report from the Genevabased U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child. The committee, as might have been expected, flogged the Holy See for alleged inadequacies in responding to the abuse crisis. But it did not stop there. The committee also demanded that the Church “review its position on abortion” and amend canon law “with a view to identifying circumstances under which access to abortion services can be permitted.” And that the Church work to “overcome all barriers and taboos surrounding adolescent sexuality” by, among other things, increasing “access to family planning and contraceptives.” And that the

Beyond the papal states Church concede that its teach- to do with protecting young people than with deploring the ing on the morality of homosexual acts leads to “social stig- Catholic sexual ethic, using matization and violence.” And the abuse scandal as a weapon.

One might even describe that canon law be changed so such behavior by international that the definition of “family” is altered “to recognize the diversity of family settings.” And that the Church take seriously the child’s “right” to sass (i.e., “freely express their views” to) parents and

By George Weigel other adults.

And, perhaps with sassing in mind, the bureaucrats as shameless. But committee urged that canon then this is the U.N., where law and the laws of Vatican shamelessness is the coin of City State be changed “to the realm, rhetorically and explicitly prohibit” spanking. otherwise.

Really.

That having been said, and That various Vatican offices meant, let’s move on to the were slow to respond to the abuse crisis has been conceded real issue: Why did the Holy See set itself, and the Catholic by the Holy See; and it has Church, up for this kind of been conceded by being corrancid attack? Why, to return rected with remedial action, to 1990, did the Holy See sign not by the logorrhea that the Convention on the Rights characterizes U.N. agencies of the Child, which at numerdeploring various human ills.

But it doesn’t take a conspiracy ous points is out of sync with theorist to understand that the Catholic understandings of committee’s report has far less family life, the relationship

The Catholic Difference

between parents and children, and the nature of child-rearing?

Here’s my answer: Too many Vatican officials still think of the Church’s interface with world politics as if the Holy See were the Papal States — a class-B European political entity, trying to punch above its weight in international diplomacy. And if you’re thinking within that framework, it becomes important to sign on to this, that, or the other international legal instrument contrived by the U.N. Signing on tells you that you’re a player. Signing on tells you that you’re in the game.

Yet the past four decades have demonstrated that the Holy See’s ability to shape world politics comes, not from playing the game by the conventional rules, but by raising moral arguments and appealing over the heads of politicians to populations who don’t want their representa-

tives in international forums to kowtow to the U.N.’s terminal political correctness. That was the approach that ultimately made a difference at the 1994 U.N. Population Conference in Cairo and the 1995 U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing.

Throughout the world, the Catholic Church has disentangled itself from the Babylonian captivity of legal establishment: the Church no longer seeks the “blessing” of the state, it simply asks (and if necessary, demands) that the state allow the Church to be itself. It is past time to consider a parallel reset in the Holy See’s relationship to world politics. That reset might well begin by determining whether there are international legal conventions from which the Holy See should withdraw, because adherence to them is theologically incongruous, imprudent, or both.

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

February 21, 2014

Saturday 15 February 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — “Remember the Maine” anniversary (1898). hen I see an asterisk, dear readers, I think of M*A*S*H. When I think Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, I think of the character Father Francis Mulcahy, Catholic chaplain on the TV show. When I think Catholic army chaplain, I think FXW. These are the initials of Father Francis Xavier Wallace. My thinking can be convoluted.

Father Wallace is a living legend. He’ll be embarrassed when he finds out I wrote this.

I’ll take the risk. He’s a man whose priesthood is an inspiration to me and to countless others. His story needs to be told.

I first met Father Wallace in 1977. We were both assigned as curates in the Town of Falmouth. I was a rookie, five years ordained. Father Wallace was already 30 years ordained, a well-seasoned priest.

One Sunday afternoon, out of the blue, Father Wallace invited me to his home for supper. He was having a few friends over — “nothing fancy, just some beef stew.” I accepted his invitation. Guests at his table included bishops, chancellors, military officers, other notables — and yours truly. Father Wallace went out of his way to make me feel comfortable in such an august group. It worked. I returned many times thereafter.

After the meals, I, being the youngest, helped with the cleanup. My job was to scrape and rinse the plates. Father Wallace made it clear that I was not to load the dishwasher.

He alone had that job, he said.

The gatherings reminded me of what the French call a salon. It was an eclectic group.

The conversation sparkled. If there happened to be a lull, Father Wallace would make reference to some current world event. He had already placed newspaper clippings on the table in case any of us had missed the nightly news. At that time, Father Wallace had recently retired from a career in the Army Chaplain Corps.

Father Wallace was born in Beverly, on 30 November 1921. In 1921, jazz was all the rage among young people.

Coco Chanel released her famous perfume (whatever happened to Chanel #1, #2, #3 and #4, I have no idea). The

W

Anchor Columnist The story of FXW

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a NATO task force. He was President of the United States Cod National Guard Chaplain wood Arsenal in Maryland. awarded the Meritorious His second deployment to in 1950. In 1951, his Guard was Warren G. Harding.

Service Cross in 1969. He has Korea was in 1965.

Unit was activated and Father Pope Benedict XV was the In 1966, the Archbishop of also received United Nations Wallace became a regular reigning pontiff. Adolf Hitler Service Medal, the Repubbecame Chairman of the Nazi army chaplain with the rank of Seoul wrote a personal letter lic of Vietnam Service and to Bishop James L. ConFirst Lieutenant. “Everybody Party and Mao Tse-tung orCommemoration Medals, the nolly: “Father Wallace, durganized the Communist Party wants to hear my war stories. ing his tour of duty in Korea, Army Commendation Medal, Well, forget it. I don’t tell war in China. the Bronze Star Medal, and has shown his outstanding stories,” says Father Wallace As an infant, Father Walthe Legion of Merit. spiritual character lace lived in Hopkinton Before retiring, Father and personal warmth. for only six months beThe Ship’s Log Wallace took a sabbatical (You) can be proud fore his family moved Reflections of a course at the North Ameriof Father Wallace.” to New Bedford. He can College, Rome. “I’d been Father Wallace was attended Holy FamParish Priest also singled out for his ‘away.’ I needed to catch up on ily Grammar School

By Father Tim what happened at the Second part in the construcand High School. I Goldrick Vatican Council,” he explains. tion of a chapel in too, was raised in New Father Wallace retired from Seoul honoring the Bedford and attended the regular army in 1977 with Korean Martyrs and Holy Family Grammar the rank of colonel. particularly for his spiritual firmly. I’ve been able to pick School (briefly). He received I met Father Wallace and material contributions to up a few snippets. his First Communion at St. the care of the orphans in St. the year he retired from the Father Wallace served in Lawrence Church (as did I) military. As the years passed, Paul Orphanage. two infantry divisions during and also Confirmation. we lost track of each other, as After this second stint in The Wallaces had a dog. The the Korean War. Back stateKorea, he served at First Army sometimes happens in life. But dog escaped from the yard one side, he served at the basic wait, there’s more.

Headquarters, Staten Island, training camp in Colorado. day and ran into downtown [The second and final as a chaplain recruiter. From Then he was off to Germany traffic. The dog was rescued installment of “The story of there, he was sent to Vietnam as chaplain of an artillery by the cop on duty at the FXW” will appear in next as Staff Chaplain to logistimain intersection. It made the group, then to the Infantry week’s Anchor.]

School at Fort Benning. After cal command. He finished newspapers. The officer may Anchor columnist Father up his military career first as very well have been my grand- Georgia, he was chaplain to Tim Goldrick is pastor of St. an infantry division in Hawaii Post Chaplain at Fort Meade, father. He was the policeman Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

Md., and finally chaplain to at that intersection. What goes and then, in 1962, at Edgearound comes around.

Frank Wallace attended St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. He still has a great affection for his alma mater.

As a young man, he worked for one of the scientific institutions in Woods Hole and also for the Cape Cod Times, in the advertising department. He graduated from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore (as did I). He was ordained a priest in 1947 (along with Father John Driscoll and nine others) by Bishop James E. Cassidy, Bishop of Fall River.

I was then only 11 months old. He spent four years as a curate to Father George Sullivan, pastor of Sandwich.

Father Sullivan was a National Father Francis X. Wallace, right, then a colonel in the Army Chaplain Corps, is congratulated by Major Guard chaplain who encourGeneral Charles S. D’Orsa, the First Army’s deputy commanding general for reserve forces, following aged young Father Wallace to a presentation to Father Wallace of the Meritorious Service Medal in December 1969. This U.S. Army succeed him in that ministry. photo originally ran in The Anchor Dec. 18, 1969.

Father Wallace became a Cape

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I

f you’re watching the Olympics, you can’t help but see and hear stories of “great courage and resilience.”

There are stories of athletes who have overcome great obstacles to eventually make their way to Sochi to compete. “They never gave up,” is the mantra.

February 21, 2014

For those whose stories don’t make the news Often on network TV news shows, and even local ones, we see and hear of people, young and old, who learn of a devastating medical diagnosis, yet put on a smile and the right frame of mind, and overcome the great burden placed in the laps. “They never gave up,” is the mantra.

Even the Weather Channel often provides its viewers with survival stories of people who lived through life-threatening tornados, hurricanes, wild fires, tsunamis, and blizzards. Often we hear the survivors say, “I just kept praying. It was my faith that saved me.” “They never gave up,” was the mantra.

one a close friend in my I have to be honest here youth, who couldn’t bear the and declare, I don’t much burden, and ended their own care to see and hear stories like this. Not that I don’t find lives. Only God knows what happened at those tragic it inspiring that human bemoments, and that’s for Him ings are capable of overcomto judge. But I’m willing to ing enormous adversity. I do find that to be quite remark- bet that our Heavenly Father knew exactly what they were able. But at the same time, I also find it to be quite rare in going through and exactly how much they could bear. the larger scheme of things.

When I see and hear these stories I can’t help but think about those many, many people who

By Dave Jolivet don’t have the strength, courage and I watch the people who resilience to put up a fight emerged from flattened like that. I know that they homes after a tornado who are out there, and their stoknew that God would take ries never get told.

There are those who, when care of them because of their “faith and prayer.” To me this receiving devastating news implies that all those who are in fact devastated, often didn’t survive were faithfor the rest of their lives. less beings who didn’t raise Instead of “never giving up,” a prayer to God during their they become overwhelmed time of need. with the burden and suffer a I’m also willing to wager great deal. that didn’t happen in most I know of several people, cases. I guarantee there were people of faith who raised a prayer and were killed anyway.

Why? That’s not for us to know. Why are some people stronger than others when it comes to adversity? That’s not for us to know.

What I do know is that my heart goes out to the weak, to the overburdened, to those whose inspiring stories of strength, courage and resilience will never be told, because they never happen.

As I’m writing this column, it seems like such a downer, and that’s not the intent. My intent is to call to mind that some people can overcome adversity, not through a strength they can’t muster, but through our prayers and assistance.

Maybe I’m writing this because when I watch most of these “feel good” stories of courage, I sincerely doubt I could react as they did.

My inspiration comes from the little people of this world.

Those without inspirational stories that make the news.

My prayers also go out to the little people; those with faith and those who pray, yet need the additional strength they can’t alone muster.

Dave Jolivet can be reached at davejolivet@anchornews.org.

My View From the Stands

February 21, 2014

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org

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February 21, 2014

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

“About Last Night” (Screen Gems) This trashy take on contemporary dating mores blends coarse comedy with hollow drama as it tracks the romantic fortunes of two best friends and co-workers (Kevin Hart and Michael Ealy) who fall, respectively, in lust (with Regina Hall) and love (with Joy Bryant). The unruly, passiondriven nature of the one relationship is contrasted with the more subdued character of the other.

Yet both begin with a casual encounter, while the supposedly more respectable bond culminates in what passes, in this context, for a major mutual commitment: the weighty decision to shack up.

Director Steve Pink’s loose updating of Edward Zwick’s 1986 film — based, like its predecessor, on David Mamet’s 1974 play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” — lacks any semblance of moral maturity.

A debased view of human sexuality, strong adult content, including graphic nonmarital sexual activity with partial nudity, cohabitation,

drug use, relentless filthy humor, a few instances of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Robocop” (Columbia) Man and machine merge — for the fourth time — in this addition to the science-fiction franchise, directed by Jose Padilha.

His remake serves up some of the mindless mayhem and gratuitous violence of the 1987 original, but throws in some timely messages about greed, corruption and the dangers of playing God. In the year 2028, a Detroit cop ( Joel Kinnaman) becomes a pawn in a wicked conglomerate’s attempt to convince the American people that the future of crime control lies in their manufacture of a new human-mechanical hybrid. The company’s CEO (Michael Keaton) and its lead scientist (Gary Oldman) soon learn that their creation has a mind of his own — and an agenda not necessarily to their liking. Intense action violence, including gunplay, some profane and rough language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, February 23, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Andrew Johnson, pastor of Good Shepherd and St. Stanislaus parishes in Fall River

Visit The Anchor online at http://www.anchornews.org

Producer Mark Burnett, actors Darwin Shaw and Diogo Morgado are seen on the set of the movie “Son of God.” The upcoming movie should be seen as “a love story,” according to two of its executive producers, the husband-and-wife team of Burnett and Roma Downey. (CNS photo/Fox)

‘Son of God’ movie ‘a love story,’ say husband-wife producers WASHINGTON (CNS) — The upcoming movie “Son of God” should be seen as “a love story,” according to two of its executive producers, the husbandand-wife team of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

“This really is a love story — the greatest love story ever told,” Downey said.

The couple brought the 10hour miniseries “The Bible” to television last year, garnering sizable ratings on the History cable channel.

Among those 10 hours was the story of Jesus. But Burnett and Downey decided even before the miniseries was televised that they would make a separate movie focusing on Jesus.

“When we were in Morocco filming,” Downey said, “I said to Mark,‘We should have been making a film here.’” Downey, perhaps best known for her starring role for nine seasons on “Touched by an Angel,” plays Mary, mother of the adult Jesus.

Burnett, whose TV successes have been primarily in reality programming from “Survivor” to “Shark Tank” to “The Voice” to “The Apprentice” to “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader,” concurred, but noted, “It wasn’t shot any differently” for multiplexes than “The Bible” had been for TV. “We use different camera angles. We shoot so much film of every scene it’s easy to make alternate choices.”

“Son of God” premieres in theaters nationwide February 28. It tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of an elderly St. John — the only Apostle who did not meet a martyr’s fate — on the isle of Patmos.

The film portrays the same kind of brutality seen in “The Passion of the Christ” a decade ago, although it’s concealed or suggested, as it had been in the

miniseries. “Son of God” is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “intense and bloody depiction of the Crucifixion, and for some sequences of violence.” Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Downey did not dwell on the violent aspect of the movie, but in comparing the two films noted Mel Gibson’s film presupposes the viewer knows the story of Jesus, as it begins with Holy Thursday. “Son of God,” though, begins with Jesus’ birth, and through the signs and wonders He performs in the first hour of the movie, she said, “You get a chance to fall in love with Him all over again.”

During a recent interview with CNS while Downey and Burnett were in Washington to promote the movie, Downey said the endorsement of religious leaders is a big help. Two Catholic prelates have endorsed “Son of God”: Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington and Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles. Highprofile Protestant leaders endorsing the film include Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Rev. Rick Warren.

“Cardinal Wuerl has been so much of a help to us,” she added.

Burnett said the Anti-Defamation League had also given its own stamp of approval, based in large part on the depiction of events that lead up to Jesus’ death: Pontius Pilate having been the fourth Roman governor of a politically restive Judea in the last 20 years; Jerusalem’s temple leaders, embodied by Caiaphas, being aware of Pilate’s threat to shut down the temple, even at Passover, if Jewish unrest is not tamped down; and the arrival into the holy city of a Nazarene miracle-worker whose reputation precedes Him. Burnett added his hope that “Son of God” audiences

“could actually see themselves as the disciples” in this stew of political intrigue.

One of Downey’s favorite moments in the movie is not from the dramatic side of the movie, but something that wasn’t even in the script. In a scene presaging Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, Jesus and the Apostles are in a boat near the coastline. Children running along the shore wave to Jesus, and Jesus (Diogo Morgado) waves back and smiles.

“That wasn’t Jesus waving,” Downey said. “That was Diogo waving.” “We got so much feedback (after the miniseries) from people saying they like what Diogo Morgado brought to the role.” She added that she thought it fortuitous that a Latin American was cast as Jesus — Morgado is Brazilian — as the Argentineborn Pope Francis was chosen to lead the Catholic Church.

After a full day of interviews, Downey and Burnett went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to show clips from the movie and to talk with students from the adjacent Catholic University of America. They hosted an invitation-only preview screening at the 1,200-seat Lincoln Theater in Washington.

A year ago, on a similar tour to promote “The Bible,” Downey said she wished they had 20 hours to tell Bible stories instead of the 10 that was eventually settled on for the TV audience. Now, with two-plus more hours, they were able to go into a bit more depth with Jesus’ story. “It could have just as easily been three hours, 20 minutes,” Burnett said.

The success of “The Bible” also produced another spinoff: “A.D,” a 12-hour miniseries to be shown on NBC, taking the story of the Apostles and the early Christians to the small screen.

February 21, 2014

A

s many times as the secular press has pronounced the change in style ushered into the Church by Pope Francis, twice as many times will members of the hierarchy swoop in to “clarify” the message. The media is still talking about the questions that were sent to the faithful in anticipation of the Synod on Family that will take place in October. It came as little surprise to the Western world that many Catholics disagree with Church teaching on controversial issues such as divorce, contraception and homosexuality. Members of the hierarchy were quick to point out that the Church will not change the substance of its doctrine, and this is probably true. However, if one thinks that style has nothing to do with substance, then the point of last week’s Gospel was completely missed. As Jesus taught us, style trumps substance every time.

Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill.”

He then went on to ratchet

O

n Thursday morning I sat at Union Station, watching as the arrivals and departures boards changed each of the “On Time” slots to “Delayed” or “Cancelled.” It was not yet eight o’clock in the morning and a whole day’s worth of travel for many a busy soul was about to be changed indefinitely. Luckily, my last stop was Washington D.C., perfectly in line with the change of plans that had come upon my particular route. Though my train was due to head further south into Virginia, upon arriving in our nation’s capitol the announcement was made that we would be going no further, and apologies for any difficulties this caused. I felt bad, knowing that I had been seated next to people during the trip whose plans had already been manipulated — flights were cancelled, so they found the train, or buses weren’t traveling on their route any longer and so after several attempts at finding

Anchor Columnists The Eucharist is the ultimate

penance.” up the requirements for holiThe people of God want ness. Not only should you not to be welcome at the banquet kill, but don’t even get angry that Christ has set before us. with your neighbors. In fact, They are articulating an innate go one step further, reconcile desire for unity, or what Pope with them. The Good News of Jesus Christ, and now Pope Francis describes as “coherence between Liturgy and life.” This Francis, is the primacy of reconciliation.

Pope Francis gives us a glimpse into the style of his message in his weekly reflections on the Sacraments.

In teaching about the

By Claire McManus Eucharist he said, “One who goes to Mass does is not a radical departure from not go to feel better than othChurch teaching, nor is it a ers but rather to be received new “style” or some softening and regenerated by the mercy of our teaching. The “Cateof God. If each one of us does chism of the Catholic Church” not feel in need of the mercy states, “Communion with the of God, does not feel as a sinBody and Blood of Christ ner, it is better that they don’t increases the communicant’s go to Mass. We go to Mass union with the Lord, forgives because we are sinners and we want to receive the forgiveness his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins” (CCC of God, to participate in His 1416). It is time to live what Redemption, in His forgivewe teach. ness.” Now here comes the The good and faithful part that will have the varied people who responded to those apologists falling over themsynod questions are a fair selves to “clarify” the message: “That ‘I Confess’ that we say at representation of the people of God, the Church. They the beginning [of Mass] is not are not radicals who reject a ‘pro forma,’ it is a true act of

The Great Commission

Church teaching, or revolutionaries who want to turn the Church upside down. They simply want to know, what is sin? They want to know how it is that they who accept the Beatitudes as the magna carta of the Kingdom of God, have Jesus’ great Commandment to “love another” etched upon their hearts; who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort those in need, can be turned away from the Eucharist so easily. They are hurt, and they are confused. It is insensitive to dismiss their objection to these controversial teachings as the product of secularization. It is much deeper than that, for beneath the objection comes a personal experience of rejection by the Church. Anger and hurt are flip sides of the same coin.

When Jesus pronounced His interpretation of the Torah He preserved each law as it was written, but invited His disciples into a life of greater conversion. This was only possible because He engaged people on a deeply personal level, inviting them to a life

Knowing Who really is in charge

new transportation, Amtrak was their solution. Alas, I was halfway through my own trip and though grateful to have had a successful first leg, it wasn’t long before despair set in again. Walking out of the station was like walking into the movie “The Day After Tomorrow.” Upon walking out into the cold, it was obvious that I was not in New England anymore.

Seemingly, I landed in a world that is only merely acquainted with the idea of snow plows, salt, and snow removal. That being said, I hunkered down in neighboring Maryland with a friend and his family for what would turn into the next two days. While normally this would have been a welcome stopover, the second leg of my trip was meant to occur that very first night, Thursday evening, for Friday held a very important event, a much anticipated

graduate school interview.

Well, Friday came and then went, and I was not on the campus I needed to be on, almost two hours away. All day, though re-arrangements had been made, I couldn’t

Radiate Your Faith

By Renee Bernier

help but feel a sensation that I should have been elsewhere. It tugged at me when I let it, and then I put that tingle back away in my own little pocket of anxiety, to take out at another time, 20 minutes later. Despite all of this, through it all, everyone around me had the same thing to say: “If this is meant to be, it will be.”

So, what am I trying to say here? The message is frustratingly clear. We often

operate on our own agendas.

So much so, actually, that we often tend to forget Who is really in charge. While I was so proud of my productivity, my independence surrounding my upcoming interview, I simultaneously let myself believe that I was in control.

I picked a date to travel, booked my train and bus, later cancelled the bus because I knew the snow would foil my plans, and then even after all of that, my plans changed again. The snow, it seemed, had other plans for me. But in reality, it was God Who really had those plans. In the end, it comes down to His vision for my life. Sure, I maintain some control — isn’t that what free-will is after all?

We are given what some might call a gift and others a curse, to choose our path in life and to make decisions along that way that affect our journey. But God watch-

13 where the burden of His yoke was light. The Gospels tells us many stories of sinners who were invited to leave behind their former way of life to follow Jesus, but it never tells us how long this took. Recognizing our sinfulness is a deeply personal moment on our spiritual journey, and no person who has encountered Christ has escaped this experience.

The Church must strike a balance between pronouncing her teachings and engaging individuals to a deeper relationship with Christ, and the Eucharist is a privileged place where this can take place. Pope Francis said, “The Eucharist gives us the grace to feel forgiven and to be ready to forgive others. We go to Mass, not because we are worthy or want to appear better than others, but because we know that we always need God’s love and mercy that comes to us through the Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.” Mercy is looking very stylish these days.

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

es us on our way, providing us challenges that allow us to rise to the occasion and to prove our trust and faith in Him. And so, with my new interview date in sight, I try hard each day to recognize that the anxiety, the fear of the unknown associated with meeting these new people who have the potential to influence my life so greatly, is merely a moment in time.

I will arrive for my interviews, be my best self, and one day, in the near future, a decision will be made about my admission into graduate school. That decision, positive or negative will at a certain point be out of my control. I will have done my part, I will have prepared and studied. The next thing is to trust in God and know that whatever is next for my life will be something He most definitely has a hand in.

Anchor columnist Renee Bernier is a Stonehill College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology.

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February 21, 2014

St. Vincent de Paul Store expands to second location continued from page one

an said. “They said they had some stuff for us in their warehouse. They said they had everything — couches, mattresses, box springs, bureaus, bedroom sets, boxed items, and lamps. I called the next morning and we’ve had a pick-up from them every day since. They have been so good to us.”

As the basement level of the Pleasant Street store began to fill up with furniture, Nicolan kept hoping they could find another location to store and display this generous influx of donations.

His prayers were answered when the County Street site became available.

“Opening this second location really gave us the push we needed to do more,” he said. “It was previously a storefront church and prior to that it was an auto body shop. It’s about the same square footage as what we have (on Pleasant Street) and it’s been working great for us.”

The new location, which is divided into three sections, is already filled with an assortment of quality furniture including dark-colored bedroom sets, attractive leather sofas and sectionals, and a variety of dining room sets.

According to store volunteer and longtime St. Vincent de Paul Society member Raymond Jussaume, the conference had been looking to expand to another location for about a decade.

“When we got the opportunity to acquire a lot of furniture, we decided we needed to get another place in order to take advantage of it,” Jussaume said. “We had been looking for another place for about 10 years and this location came on the market just at the right time.”

Nicolan, who previously worked in the food service industry and was the longtime chef at Bishop Connolly High School, said the St. Vincent de Paul Store has been part of his family since its inception. His father originally worked as the manager of the Pleasant Street location until he took over the position five years ago.

“I just wanted to get out of the food service business and my father wanted to get out of managing the store and just work part-time, so I applied for the position and got it,” Nicolan said. “I absolutely love it here and I love dealing with the people.”

When it originally opened in the 1950s, the Pleasant Street location was owned and operated by St. Vincent de Paul conference of the former Notre Dame Parish — now St. Bernadette Parish.

“They gave it up in 1999 and it was taken over by the Fall River district of the St. Vincent de Paul Society,” Jussaume said. “It’s now (jointly) operated by all the conferences within the Fall River Dean-

ery.”

Known as one of the key charitable organizations within the Catholic Church, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is committed to helping the poor and needy by providing food, clothing and shelter.

“The basic unit of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the parish conference,” Jussaume explained. “And the parish conference is involved in answering appeals that come into the parish. That I think is the most important work done by the society. Things like operating soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters — these are special works of the society. But the fundamental, the basic work, is at the parish level where the conferences operate.”

In addition to staffing and operating the two Fall River stores, the district conference is also involved in answering appeals on the deanery level, according to Jussaume. These include such requests as assisting the American Red Cross with fire victims who may need clothing and shelter, or visiting clients who have specific needs.

“We get referrals from different social agencies, like the Southeast Center for Independent Living or Steppingstone,” Jussaume said. “When they have somebody who needs help, they can contact the representative from the Fall River district and then it gets referred to a parish or someone on the district level. We also get a few referrals from Catholic Social Services.”

Nicolan said the need in the immediate area remains great for their services year-round.

“We are busy here all the time,” he said.

“There’s a great need in this area, especially with the economy and the job rate around here.”

And with Pope Francis’ renewed call to reach out to the poor and poverty-stricken, it seems the charitable efforts of the St. Vincent de Paul Society are now more important than ever.

“I love Pope Francis and everything he stands for,” Nicolan said.

“I think Pope Francis’ call to help the poor is fantastic,” Jussaume agreed. “What I would hope would happen in some of these parishes where they don’t give during the special holy day collections (that benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society) is that (they) start supporting the conferences in their parish. It’s becoming more and more important because as we have fewer parishes, the society is shrinking.

We’ve always had a number of parishes that don’t have an active St. Vincent de Paul Society and now we can’t afford to support some of these conferences anymore.”

Even in parishes with active St. Vincent de Paul conferences — such as Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River — Jussaume said it’s been difficult to meet the demand of three former parishes that have been combined into one.

“The conference is not any bigger, but the requests are increasing,” he said.

“It becomes difficult because the money isn’t there. And the inner-city conferences don’t have a lot of money. We really need for these conferences to become more ac-

tive on the parish level.”

Jussaume also said it would be ideal if the St. Vincent de Paul Society could recruit some younger members to keep things going as many of the conferences are now populated by aging members.

“I think with Pope Francis’ call for us to reach out to the poor, one of the ways it could be done is by getting some of the high school kids involved,” he said.

“It would be nice if we had a conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at the high schools. It’s great when the kids get involved — they are vital.”

To that end, Nicolan said he currently has two students from Bishop Connolly High School volunteering at the store.

“I have two community service students who are volunteering here,” he said.

“One is graduating and the other just started doing his community service work here.”

Working with a staff of about a dozen dedicated volunteers, Nicolan said they’ve thankfully managed to keep the Pleasant Street store operating from Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The shelves and racks on the main level are stocked with everything from clothes, books, toys, videos, and games to kitchen gadgets, utensils and household decorations. While many of the items are slightly used, others are brand-new and still wrapped in original packaging.

“We get a lot of our donations right from people who bring things in off the street,” Nicolan said. “We used to get a lot of brand-new items from A.J. Wright — a truckload two or three times a month — but when they closed we lost that (source).

But some of the brand-new items come in from people with the tags still on them.”

Nicolan said he hopes the new store will provide an opportunity for people to buy quality affordable furniture while “spreading the news to more people that we’re here and let them know about the things we do.”

And being able to help struggling families acquire the basic necessities of life has been extremely satisfying for him.

“I love trying to help with their situations,” Nicolan said. “Some of them can be tough and you find yourself getting attached to the people — it almost seems like a personal thing you need to get done.

But I really love this job. It’s been very gratifying.”

For Jussaume, who has been volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul Society Store since retiring from his former positions as an accountant with the Raytheon Company and then a brief stint with the Education Department for the Fall River Diocese, it is equally fulfilling.

“I really enjoy my work here,” he said.

“It’s an excellent activity for a retired person. I couldn’t possibly do it before (when I was working).”

Those interested in either volunteering to help at one of the St. Vincent de Paul Society Store locations or in making donations of items are urged to stop by 1799 Pleasant Street in Fall River, Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or the new location at 392 County Street on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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February 21, 2014

See the forest for the trees Reflections on the Year of Faith from a runner of the Myles Standish Marathon Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a three-part reflection

by Rob Grant who participated in the November Myles Standish Marathon, where he helped raise funds to help the hungry and homeless.

CARVER — St. Katherine Drexel clearly understood this concept of justice for the poor. Featured in the acclaimed PBS “Catholicism” documentary, she inherited great wealth, $4 million; today’s value is more like $400 million.

Father Barron narrated how her life’s work embodied the cardinal virtue of justice — in that she gave copiously from her storehouse of wealth, answering the Lord’s call to go well beyond human measures, and consequently grew in union with the Divine.

Recollecting now an experience that afforded me the opportunity to practice supernatural charity had occurred several years earlier, in South Beach, Fla. I would bring nonperishable food items to unlikely street people — Angie a former model, who in her heyday rubbed shoulders with Mick Jagger, and Brian a Californian who’d enjoyed shark fishing.

As the crow flies, their hovel on the street on Drexel Avenue is mere blocks away from wealthy residents nestled on Star Island.

Wealthy donors had the good sense to pave Drexel (one of the 13 principal roads heading north/south in SoBe municipality; Drexel Avenue being fourth closest to the coastline) that bears the namesake of the great saint born in Philadelphia.

St. Katherine Drexel’s witness was a healthy reminder for me of the importance of running for Damien Food Pantry.

Like Angie and Brian, I could relate to poverty, having been on a food assistance program. Like Angie and Brian, I’d been denied food stamps. Like them, I’ve also begged the St. Vincent De Paul Society for food and drink.

Many a marathoner reaches the place where mental fatigue drapes over any physical weariness and defeatist thoughts creep in — I can’t go on. “No Mas.” Roberto Duran threw in the towel against Sugar Ray Leonard. Death is also a very real possibility when running a marathon. The Montreal Marathon had one fatality in 2011. Anytime a marathoner finishes, the body is in, if not a heap, then at best in a state of deterioration. It’s time to find the one whose job it is to begin restoring the muscle cells and become rejuvenated.

Moroseness aside, the resurrection moment, or more accurately moments, are a series of interior movements that must constantly be summoned from the innermost reserve of strength that resides in our

spirit. And this influx of fortitude comes not from a sentinel blowing hot-air affirmations, but stems from a moral certitude given particularly to souls in a state of sanctifying grace, or to those disposed toward good-will to so beg God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit that may be poured into us so as to accomplish our goals.

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is patience. St. Teresa of Avila in her Bookmark Prayer wrote, “Patience gains all things.” This marathoner needed to mediate on that verse in many a marathon, especially this one, where it felt “uphill both ways,”as Bill Cosby famously said in a popular skit.

James Agee, author of “A Death in the Family,” once wrote, “We need more than moxie. We need gumption.”

I can vouch that Jennifer had gumption in spades. After the rain put the kibosh on the outside lawn massages, she sprung to life with the zealousness and good humor of Jamie Farr’s Klinger, slap-dashing in a “M*A*S*H” episode. I helped move her table into the high school cafeteria where she resumed working on the remainder of people waiting for their massages. Safely inside, we picked up our previous conversation.

“Were you tired after so many customers and no break?”

“Some things you can’t quite predict. I relied on my training.”

“How did it help?”

“At Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy, as a class we went to the Hartford Marathon and worked on the runners. Also, it helps that I’m a runner. I know what muscles hurt me, and can zero in on theirs more quickly, which keeps the pace of the line moving.”

With winter settling into our bones amidst these Arctic blast temps for which my system was not remotely prepared for, having just returned to the Bay State from residing in the Sunshine State, indeed conjured up memories of tiki huts and pelicans, rather than closedfor-the season clam shacks. The escapist mentality is, for the avid marathoner, both a reality that he or she must to some degree embrace to keep pace in training and on race day. Marathon running is tough to quantify. It’s not merely a quest for a “runner’s high,” but is more in the flow — like the nirvana that a surfer craves in the ocean and strives to become one with the ocean so as to make his surfing more joyful in riding the wave all the way to shore.

It’s a familiar phenomenon with the marathoner, who at some point must unite his sneakers with the road, keeping contact until the final mile is run.

Through my discomfort in the

latter half of the marathon, I found consolation from the benefits this charity-run would have, redounding to the needs of the patrons at Damien Food Pantry, and how for more than 21 years they’ve upheld their mission to provide non-perishable foods to families in need so no one has to go to bed hungry. The noble mission is still overseen by Father Gabriel Healy and Father Tom McElroy and is even more important today with the homeless and hungry on the rise assisted by the 100 volunteers, who are the backbone of Damien Pantry’s numerous programs for the poor and needy.

At certain points of a marathon, running becomes a supernatural movement of the spirit. Running, in general, also hits a divine nerve that sweeps up like-minded people, as a Gregorian chant uplifts people of all faiths.

The unseen motivational force burned within me, sustaining me through the 26.2-mile course. It’s easier to endure temporary pain, which pales in comparison to the ongoing endurance required from the great number of people on food stamps.

The anxieties associated with the process unduly taxes a person’s spirits. The mere feat of buying groceries is not simply pushing a cart to load up and then fill one’s face, but becomes a draining, emotional ride where each day the recipient walks the grocery store aisle, and greatly weighs the cost of items, and considers not only the day or the week in which they’re most likely to run out of the supplies, but also calculates their grocery list for the entire month, even going into the next month, forecasting their food-budget well in advance. And if by God’s great providence such a surplus registers on their receipt to their great surprise, it’s a cause of rejoicing that begets something that G.K. Chesterton, affectionately known as the “Apostle of Common Sense,” wrote, “Gratitude is happiness doubled with wonder.”

That is precisely the expression that graces the faces of a grateful recipient. On the other side of the same coin of poverty, the gracious air holds true for the giver and provides, at the St. Vincent de Paul Society and similar food banks, the splendid opportunity to give time, talent or treasure to help benefit the hungry. This is the hope that underpins the work of the people at Damien Food Pantry, and is also the reason why I run — to give more hope to the less fortunate.

Running is a mode of life where charity-minded persons greatly impact the community. Such people include Adam Stuhlfaut of Bayside Runner who helped Plymouth

race-director Ann Marie Winchester with the Myles Standish Marathon, along with volunteer, John Young, participant, Mike Brooks, and masseuse, Jennifer Savage.

It’s the people, not the course that makes a memory. They’re like great beacons of light or a favorite Christmas ornament that shines with that extra sparkle and draws the mind’s eye inward.

Adam’s goodness was also apparent from day one. It’s why I kept coming back to purchase running sneakers from him; to mirror back the care and loyalty with which he treats customers. His attention for the person, as well as a deep product and service knowledge on running serves the Plymouth community well.

Ann Marie is also equally focused on Plymouth, stating, “even the vendors we choose, like Bertucci’s, is to keep the money local so as to reinvest in community, emboldening the locals.”

In stark opposition to many larger marathons, where Adam says “It’s not about just the brand.

We strive for the opposite of that prevailing ‘more is better’ attitude predominant in our culture and in many major marathons. The Myles Standish Marathon is folksy, a counter-punch to brand-names, and focused squarely on community.”

To recapture the elation while renewing and elevating the spirit and to recover now from that ennui state of being that some marathoners undergo in the wake of a completed marathon, I made an appointment for a mini-retreat with my brother at Our Lady of Guadalupe Friary in Griswold, Conn.

Marathoning is in some way like a friary, in that they’re worlds unto themselves. “The human body isn’t really designed for running 26.2 miles,” a friar and one-time halfmarathoner recently opined.

Friars are called to live less and less in the natural world, and more in the spiritual realm. A parallel can be made with the runner and the friar.

In both journeys, faith is the kindling to throw into the hearth and stands as the indispensable ingredient that allows the marathoner, and the friar, to run the race expansively to the end.

The world pulses with a plethora of distractions to throw the runner and the religious off course.

Both goals, crossing the finish line, and entering Heaven, appear remote. Both are attainable. Our Catholic faith and devotions never fail, but always triumph. Charityrunners are especially outfitted with a greater wellspring of life to draw from, running for something

outside of themselves, not merely vying for a prize. This reservoir of otherness, alongside the requisite time put in, are essential commodities on the roadway for both the marathoner who endlessly runs and runs, and for the religious friar who must pray and pray, virtually nonstop. Time represents effort and universalizes the joy and magnanimousness of spirit that is present in a gigantic way at the finish line — for the marathoners’ and the friars’ quests.

In a very real way, both entries, religious and runners, hold fast in an almost crazed state of being, with most reverential manners, and the profoundest expectation that will hopefully not disappoint. For what promises to follow immediately upon attainment of their lofty goals is nothing short of an enravishment. Whenever a marathoner grows discouraged or a religious becomes despondent, they redouble the effort and focus only on what lies at the finish.

It is said that if a baby is not touched in about a month’s time, the infant will simply die. The reduction in spirit and bodily inflictions incurred during the race can also hamper a marathoner’s performance especially during the course’s terminus, while giving rise to such infantile cravings to be touched.

That is also a big part of what kept me going during the final miles. For I knew there was a masseuse waiting for me.

Nonetheless, it’s all about a connection — mind, body and spirit is the key for a fuller integration of our body and soul toward which each one of our activities is geared toward if we use our good reason and aspire to do God’s will amidst our daily duties.

Father Matthias Shanley, SS.CC. escorted me into Father Gabriel’s room at the Sacred Heart Provincial House in Fairhaven.

“I’m hooked up to oxygen all the time now,” remarked Father Gabriel. “Still kicking. That’s good,” I replied.

As I handed Father Gabriel the Cosi Benefit Night donation check for Damien Food Pantry he thanked me while recalling that I had run for their charity “to help the needy and abandoned around the world.”

We walk by faith, not by sight, even those unprofessed souls who run with a silent runner’s vow that is unseen, yet loudly echoes throughout the forest.

Rob Grant is an Associate Missionary of Peace (Third Order member) for the Apostles of Peace in East Weymouth. He resides in Mattapoisett and is an active member of the Legion of Mary at St. Joseph’s Parish in Fairhaven.

Youth Pages

16

Middle school students at All Saints Catholics School in New Bedford recently participated in a Chinese calligraphy contest under the direction of Luei Sun. The winners proudly display the words they have learned to write in Chinese class, reproduced for the contest on rice paper.

Students from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven took a moment to pose with the school flag they created as part of a recent Middle School Challenge.

February 21, 2014

Espirito Santo School in Fall River recently held a grandparent luncheon. Eighth-grade students from the school served the honored guests homemade soup, bread, dessert and coffee or punch. Pastor Father James Ferry joined the celebration.

Students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently celebrated “Wear Red” for the American Heart Association.

Students from St. Michael School in Fall River recently put on a production of “Annie Jr.” Here are some of the thespians.

Students at St. Mary’s Primary School in Taunton recently participated in a community service initiative where they collected fruit and made fruit baskets that were delivered to various institutions throughout our local community. The fruit baskets were delivered to the staffs of various local nursing homes, police stations, fire stations and hospitals in appreciation for the contribution and dedication that the staff members give to these given institutions. Front, from left: Julia Paulo, Nicholas Pemberton, Anthony Mastriani, Conner Goranson, and Sophie Wallace. Back: Cassidy Witkus-Gagnon, McKenna Peterson, Justin Schofield, Donald Foster, Logan Davidson, George Polillio, Miles Hanna, Rachel Mahfouz, and Lillian Pelland.

Send school and Religious Education news to: schools@anchornews.org

Second-graders at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton and their teacher, Melissa Driscoll, proudly displaying their dioramas, created as a culminating activity to their lesson on animal habitats.

February 21, 2014

I

was thinking about Father Brian Smith the other day. Brian was a classmate of mine in the seminary before he took some extra time for discernment.

Fortunately for the Church, he resumed his studies and was ordained a couple of years later for the Archdiocese of Boston. Sadly, Father Brian died this past spring.

I recall a homily he gave once during evening prayer.

He began by recalling a visit to a Religious Education class. The students in this class were deaf. Many of the questions were the same that many classes asked: What do you do in the seminary?

What do you study? Why do you want to be a priest? etc. At one point Brian

Youth Pages What does God sound like?

What is particularly frussaid that part of his prayer trating to them is that they was listening to hear where have used these prayers for God is calling him. A stu15 years and the prayers have dent signed something to always worked. I usually tell the teacher and the teacher them that for 15 years, not turned and said to Brian, “Bobby wants to know, what does God sound like?”

I think of this story often. We have heard much so far about God’s love

By Father and His desire for us to seek Him, to David C. Frederici be in relationship with Him. What only have they not let God is needed for any relationget a word in edge wise, they ship to grow is communication. Many times when I am have been saying the same meeting with people in spiri- thing over and over and over.

Have they ever listened to tual direction I am told that Him? Have they truly comthey are struggling in their municated with Him? prayer and are frustrated.

This can be quite challenging. Look at all the information thrown our way each day: the people who are speaking to us at home, school, work, etc., Facebook and Twitter feeds, iPods, etc., etc., etc. I remember a presentation once where the speaker stated that the human person can really only focus on three things at once.

The rest becomes just noise.

On campus it is a common occurrence that students that I know well will walk right

Be Not Afraid

Head of School Christopher Keavy recently announced that Beth Kelley has been named St. Francis Xavier Preparatory Middle School principal for the 2014-2015 school year and beyond. Kelley was appointed interim principal last June when St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, a middle school, and Pope John Paul II High School, a secondary school, were unified into one school with separate campuses. The schools are located across a parking lot from each other in Hyannis. The permanent appointment was made with the approval of the Bishop George W. Coleman and Diocesan Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael S. Griffin.

The Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro) fencing team recently competed in the 2014 Massachusetts State High School Fencing Competition at Buckingham Browne and Nichols in Cambridge. Feehan fencers finished with a bronze medal for the team in the six-weapon combined competition. The girls’ foil team won a gold medal, the girls’ epee team finished with a bronze medal, and the girls’ team was also awarded a bronze medal for the women’s three-weapon combined. From left: Daniel White, Brian Beagan, Emily Horan, and Patrick McFarland.

past me, not realizing that I am right there. They have so much going on at the moment: on the way to class, perhaps thinking of a project or assignment for that or another class, the iPod is on, texting or reading a text on their phone, and usually balancing a coffee or drink as well. I don’t mention this to single them out or to mock them.

They are certainly not different than the rest of the population.

Next time you are in a mall or on a sidewalk, stand off to the side and just watch.

You will be amazed at the number of things people are focused on as they walk by.

With all of this going on, do we take ever time to stop

17 for a few moments, just to listen? How many opportunities in life do we miss by not stopping? We fail to recognize the beauty that is around us. We fail to appreciate the people in our lives, family and friends.

Whenever I think of my friend Father Brian, it is usually followed by the thought that I need to slow down and just observe and listen: to God and to others. I need to appreciate who and what is around me. In doing so I am able to hear God, not just with my ears, but in my heart.

Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College.

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth recently took second-place at the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition for grades nine through 12 that took place at Ursuline Academy in Dedham, where 20 high school teams competed. The results also allowed the Bishop Stang Robotics Team to qualify for state finals. The team also won the Innovation in Control Award (sponsored by Rockwell Automation). This judged award is given to the team that has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to any or all specific field elements or components in the FTC game.

Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton recently celebrated Mass with Bishop George W. Coleman. Immediately following Mass he blessed the Burns Science Center and new science lab. Named in honor of the late Jim Burns, longtime teacher, coach and athletic director at Msgr. Coyle High School, and his daughter, Sister Mary Catherine Burns, a beloved Coyle and Cassidy teacher. Numerous alumni, benefactors, family and friends were on hand for this most wonderful occasion. Pictured is the bishop greeting Sister Mary Catherine.

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

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February 21, 2014

Divorced, separated group offers support

Catholics invited to Pro-Family Lobby Day

continued from page one

the diocesan Faith Formation Office in Fall River, the support group had been reduced to only one group that had about six members in regular attendance.

“It started getting very low in numbers,” said Menard, who saw a bump in attendance after moving the meetings to St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth. “When we went to St. Julie’s, we were getting more. What we found out was, we had a couple of volunteers who were coming every week and they were very instrumental in picking up the social aspect,” by creating the idea of meeting for dinner after having the support group.

“We would spend an extra hour or so together because we were limited; we could only be [at St. Julie’s] from 7 to 9.”

The group has had its share of people who weren’t a great fit for the support group, either looking for a different type of support or viewing the group members as potential dates, said Menard.

“We weren’t quite happy with it but we kept going because there were two or three people who actually needed the support,” said Menard. “We couldn’t reject the other people who were coming, but they had a different kind of need.”

When the group attendance dropped to only one or two, the twice-monthly meetings sometimes saw Menard sitting alone; “I would just sit there and no one would come,” he said, adding they then dropped

the meetings to once a month.

There are numerous positive stories about those who benefited from attending the meeting. Some did meet his or her future spouse, while others who were overwhelmed by their circumstances found encouragement from those who were further along in the divorce process. Even as the members continued to dwindle, Menard shared a story of a woman who came in looking for help and reconnected with her faith.

“At that time, we had only one or two, and this lady came and was so overwhelmed with gratitude because she didn’t have family here, so she needed all the support she could get,” said Menard. “She is so grateful for what we’ve done for her, so much so she’s come back to her faith. She’s going to church now on Sundays, and she didn’t before; God was only a three-letter word before to her.”

By January of this year, the decision was made to create a more on-call type of support group and the regular meetings stopped. Menard said St. Julie’s accommodates the varying schedule.

“I’m still getting calls and I have to explain the situation, that if we wanted to meet, we would have to make arrangements,” said Menard. “We might go into the library or small area where we can talk to one or two people.”

Menard thinks the drop in attendance is a sign of the times because “people who are getting a divorce have people they know who are also getting a divorce,” said Menard, adding that the stigma of divorce has been erased, allowing more openness. “That’s the way they get support. [Divorce] is accepted now; at one time it wasn’t.”

continued from page one

Claire McManus, director of the Faith Formation Office in Fall River, acknowledged that the ministry is in a transition, saying she spoke with Menard to see whether he would want to change the format. The root of the question is, she said, why is there a lack of interest for the group?

“I wonder if people are not coming because they feel disconnected from the Church because of the divorce, or are they so blasé about divorce that they’re not seeking support? Those are questions that are floating around that I don’t know the answers to,” said McManus.

McManus said she sees parents using Rainbows, a bereavement ministry for children, as a support-type group for children whose parents are going through a divorce, “which I found interesting,” said McManus.

But it’s the parents who may be putting their children before their own well-being.

McManus and Menard each said at this point they’re taking it day-by-day, fielding a continuous interest from those who need the support but don’t have the time to commit to the meetings on a regular basis.

The ministry will continue in some form, said Menard.

“I figure, if we can help one person,” said Menard, then the support group has done its job. “There have been so many positive things that have come out of it.”

If you’d like more information, call Bob Menard at 508965-2919, Joanne Dupre at 508-965-9296 or Claire McManus at the Office of Faith Formation at 508-678-2828.

Doherty indicated that the bill is not dead yet, saying, “Every time we turn around, the far left is pushing a health curriculum agenda that is basically graphic sex education from kindergarten on up.”

The Massachusetts Catholic Conference also opposes the bill and says that parents, not schools, need to be at the forefront of sex education.

Opponents of mandating the health curriculum statewide say that the fact that the legislation was sent back to committee is proof that calls from concerned citizens have an effect.

Doherty said the more calls, the better, adding that face-toface meetings with legislators are even more effective.

In an email to supporters, Catholic Citizenship highlighted other significant local issues, including the Massachusetts Transgender Rights Law, dubbed the “Bathroom Bill” by opponents, which passed in November 2011.

Dorothy Courtermanche, a parishioner at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, said that she and like-minded friends on Cape Cod plan to speak with their legislators at the lobby day.

Courtermanche said she has contacted her elected representatives in the past, adding, “You’d be surprised what a call or letter can do because so many people don’t bother.”

She hopes that the lobby day, which will be her first, will allow her to make an even greater difference. “People will complain, and I’ll always say, ‘Yeah, I’m with you, but you gotta do something.”

Bea Martins, a Catholic from Fall River and frequent participant in previous lobby days told

This week in

50 years ago — Father John W. Pegnam, parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, was sworn into the Navy Chaplain Corps. by Captain Francis L. McGann, U.S.N., First Naval District Chaplain, at the Navy Recruiting Headquarters in Boston.

25 years ago — Snow did not deter members of St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham from witnessing the groundbreaking ceremonies for their new parish center. Bishop Daniel A. Cronin was joined by Msgr. Gerald T. Shovelton, pastor, in doing the honors.

The Anchor that she hopes more locals will join her.

“It’s a lot more meaningful when a constituent from the legislator’s district is there in person,” she said. “It would be wonderful if 15 people showed up from one legislator’s district.”

She added that she finds the days “uplifting,” particularly because she gets to meet other voters who have similar legislative concerns.

Martins said she finds the information sessions to be a great resource for her to understand better important local issues.

She encouraged participants to pick an issue that resonates with them when they speak with legislators.

She stressed that lobby days are about building dialogue, something that is much more effective in person.

“Emails, letters, all of those are wonderful ways of contacting your legislator,” she said.

“However, having a person actually take the time out of their day, to go to Boston, the legislators know that that’s a real commitment, and so your presence carries a lot more weight than an email or a letter.”

Traveling to Beacon Hill also affords the opportunity to ask questions and get into a give and take conversation with representatives, she said.

Martins added that she has always found legislators to be courteous and urged constituents not to be intimidated when talking with them. “They’re just people. They work for us,” she said To register for the ProFamily Lobby Day, email info@ coalitionformarriage.org with your name, voting address, email and phone number.

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Members of Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River collected an assortment of food and toiletries for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The project was organized by the Social Justice Committee of the Parish Council.

One year ago — Even though power and heat were restored and the campus was shoveled out in the wake of the Blizzard of 2013, classes at St. Stanislaus School in Fall River still had to be curtailed until after the winter break due to a burst pipe that damaged three classrooms.

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February 21, 2014

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 — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

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. through November 17.

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 beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. 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 — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich.

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 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 — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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 and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 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.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 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. Please use the side entrance.

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.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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 Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also 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 noon.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

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.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m.

Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall.

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.

New York bishops urge ‘love, respect’ for people with mental illness

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — The Catholic bishops of New York urged compassion and acceptance for people suffering from mental illness in a new pastoral statement, and the state Catholic conference, their public policy arm, issued specific policy recommendations related to those with mental illness.

The bishops’ statement, “‘For I Am Lonely and Afflicted’: Toward a Just Response to the Needs of Mentally Ill Persons,” cited the example of Jesus in the Gospels in demonstrating how society should respond to those with mental illness.

“We must reject the twin temptations of stereotype and fear, which can cause us to see mentally ill people as something other than children of God, made in His image and likeness, deserving of our love and respect,” they said.

The bishops noted that fewer than five percent of violent acts are committed

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

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks 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 Feb. 25 Rev. Leo J. Ferreira, V.G., Pastor, St. Mary, Brownsville, Texas, 1988 Rev. William T. Babbitt, Assistant, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1998 Feb. 27 Rev. Philip Gillick, Founder, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1874 Rev. Joseph N. Hamel, Founder, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1956 Rev. John G. Carroll, Retired Pastor, St. Margaret, Buzzards Bay, 1995 Rev. Roland B. Boule, Retired Pastor, St. Anne, New Bedford, 2005 Feb. 29 Rev. Msgr. James Dolan, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1980

by people with mental illness, adding that “persons with mental illness are more often victims than perpetrators of violent acts, and they also

are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse.” They also urged Catholics to be welcoming of people with mental illness.

Around the Diocese St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River (529 Eastern Avenue) will host a holy hour venerating the traveling image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on February 25 at 7 p.m. The image is a copy of the famous painting in the Cathedral of Quebec City, which this year is celebrating its 350th anniversary. The holy hour is a special Marian outreach of the Msgr. Prevost Council of the Knights of Columbus. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

A Day with Mary will be held on March 1 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, 235 North Front Street in New Bedford from 7:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There will be an opportunity for Reconciliation and a bookstore is available. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508998-8274.

An Attic Treasures Sale, sponsored by the St. John Neumann Parish Women’s Guild, will be held on March 8 in the parish hall, located at 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A continental breakfast and hot homemade lunch will be served. The hall is wheelchair -accessible and admission is free. Take the Chace Road exit off Route 140.

A St. Joseph’s Men’s Retreat (for men 18 years and older) will be held on March 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Organized by Deacon Chris Peschel, the day will include lunch, talks, a holy hour and time for fellowship with like-minded Catholic men. A freewill donation will be accepted. The day begins at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Attleboro at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. with Mass. Family members are encouraged to have their family attend Mass at the church. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Deacon Peschel (chrispeschel@yahoo.com) or Shawn Seybert (shawnseybert@ comcast.net).

A Healing Mass will be held on March 20 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford. The Mass will begin at 6:30 p.m. and includes Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will also be a holy hour including the Rosary. For location or more information, visit www.saintanthonyofnewbedford.com or call the rectory at 508-993-1691.

Holy Cross Family Ministries will sponsor a retreat afternoon on April 6 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Bishop Stang High School, 500 Slocum Road in North Dartmouth. The keynote speaker will be Alejandro Aguilera-Titus of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. There will be a break-out session led by Jim and Terry Orcutt, founders of My Brother’s Keeper, a ministry based in Easton which serves people in need. The program will also include Benediction, Rosary, praise and worship music and a snack break. The event is free. A bus will be going to the retreat, leaving from St. Vincent de Paul Parish (71 Linden Street in Attleboro) at 1 p.m. and returning after the event. A freewill donation to help pay for the bus would be appreciated, but is not required.

The Stations of the Cross will be celebrated each Friday in Lent at 6 p.m. at St. Bernadette Parish (529 Eastern Avenue) in Fall River. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s eloquent Way of the Cross meditations are used. Before and after the Stations of the Cross, the Msgr. Prevost Council of the Knights of Columbus are offering clamcakes and chowder in the parish hall to assist people in living their Lenten abstinence. All are welcome.

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February 21, 2014

New app promotes Catholic social teaching

Washington D.C., (CNA/EWTN News) — A new iPhone and iPad application from a Washington, D.C., think tank aims to spread Catholic social teaching through Church documents, news and commentary.

The Ethics and Public Policy Center said its free app is “a great resource for politicians, journalists, teachers, students and anyone who wishes to better understand the Church’s teaching on issues of economics, politics and culture.”

The Catholic Social Teaching App provides a selection of papal encyclicals ranging from Pope Francis’ 2013 “Lumen Fidei” back to Pope Leo XII’s 1891 “Rerum Novarum.” It includes documents from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on bioethics and Catholic political participation, as well as Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on evangelization, “Evangelii Gaudium.”

The app provides commentaries from Catholic and non-Catholic writers about Catholic teaching and current events. Authors include Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia and Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb. The app also provides news from Catholic News Agency, EWTN News, Catholic News Service and other sources.

Search and cross-reference functions help users find content about topics that interest them.

The app’s promoter, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, was founded in 1976. According to its website, its goal is the application of “the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.”

The Catholic Social Teaching App is available from Apple’s App Store. Its content is also available at the app’s website, http:// catholicsocialteaching.eppc.org.