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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , April 25, 2014

Bishop Coleman celebrates anniversary during Chrism Mass

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — As is the tradition during Holy Week, Bishop George W. Coleman gathered together with his brother priests, deacons and laity last week to celebrate the annual Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River.

While the focus of the Mass is to bless and consecrate the three Sacred oils — the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens and the Chrism that will be used to Sacramentally anoint parishioners throughout the diocese — this year Bishop Coleman paused to acknowledge a special milestone in his own ministry: the 50th anni-

versary of his ordination to the priesthood.

“As I read through the list of names of priests celebrating a significant anniversary this year, I came across my own name,” Bishop Coleman said during his homily. “It remains a mystery how many years can pass so quickly. Each of us priests can attest that it is an even greater mystery to understand why God called us — I ask, ‘Why did He call me to serve as priest? To serve as bishop?’”

As he prepared to consecrate the oils that would be used to initiate new people into the Church, Bishop Coleman suggested the Gospel of St. John might offer some insight into his own priestly calling.

“He reminds us: ‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide’ ( Jn 15:16).

Our call, whether it be to the priesthood or consecrated life or to life as a lay person, is encompassed ultimately by mystery.”

Bishop Coleman, 75, was required under canon law to submit his letter of resignation to the Vatican in February, but he will continue serving as bishop of the Fall River Diocese until the pope appoints his successor.

In the likelihood that this would be his final celebration of the Chrism Mass, Bishop Coleman also took the opTurn to page 14

Proposal to remove Good Friday from school calendar faces opposition

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

MATTAPOISETT — For Frances Cairns, a parishioner at St. Anthony’s Parish in Mattapoisett, there’s no question that the schools in her town should continue to recognize Good Friday, the day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus at Calvary, as a holiday. “(Good Friday) is a Sacred day for those people who beThe Hispanic Community of Attleboro, members of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, had their annual living Stations of the Cross at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette on Good Friday morning. (Photo by Norma Colon)

Graces abound for those who honor Hour of Great Mercy one of the things I love most about being Catholic: the TIVERTON, R.I. — constant realization that I am Catholics worldwide will living not just in this temporal observe the feast of Divine world, this country, this state, Mercy Sunday, following the this city, but I am, right now, devotional practices from the living in eternity too. The traditions surrounding the hour diary of a young Polish nun.

“Catholics honor many of Divine Mercy are meanlittle traditions that anchor ingful reminders that, yes, I do us not so much in this world, live in an eternal continuum.”

Eighty-three years ago Jebut oh-so-solidly in the next,” sus began appearing to visaid Liz Kelly in “50 Reasons I Love Being Catholic.” “It’s Turn to page 14

By Linda Andrade Rodrigues Anchor Correspondent

Bishop George W. Coleman breathes over the open vessel of Chrism during the recent Chrism Mass held on April 15 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. The bishop also consecrated the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Catechumens during the annual Mass attended by most of his brother priests in the diocese. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

lieve in it — and I, for one, do,” Cairns told The Anchor.

“I don’t feel like I should impose my thoughts on other people, but the point is I don’t think they should take away from me what I believe in either.”

Cairns said she was upset to learn that the joint committee that sets policy for the schools in the Old Rochester Regional School District — encompassing the towns

of Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester — had voted last month to approve a 20142015 academic calendar that treated Good Friday as a regular school day.

In lieu of Good Friday, the committee instead opted to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving a day off.

“Why do they need that day off ? It doesn’t even mean Turn to page 19

Organ donation supports culture of life

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

CANTON — April is National Donate Life Month and the Matching Donors Living Organ Donor initiative program in Canton, is looking to raise awareness (www.

MatchingDonors.com). According to Paul Dooley, CEO of MatchingDonors, more than 270 people die every day in the United States waiting for an organ transplant because there are simply not enough organs available.

Blessed Pope John Paul II summed up the position of the Catholic Church regarding organ donation in these words: “The Gospel of Life is to be celebrated above all in daily living, which should be filled with self-giving love for others … over and above such outstanding gestures of sharing, big or small, which build up an authentic Culture of Life.

A particularly praiseworthy example of such gestures is the donation of organs, performed

in an ethically acceptable manner, with a view to offering a chance of health and even of life itself to the sick who sometimes have no other hope” (“Evangelium Vitae,” 86).

According to Catholic medical ethics, Pope Pius XII stated that death is determined by medical experts and it does not fall within the competence of the Church, thus when a medical expert declares an individual “brain dead,” the Church is bound to support the medical community on the issue. Since Pope Pius’ time, the Church has explicitly stated that both kinds of transplants — inter vivos (living) and postmortem (after death) — are allowed based upon the principle of fraternal charity, but only when certain requirements are met.

Such requirements include “the necessity of informed consent legitimately given by the donor or one who speaks for him or her”; “the Turn to page 13

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April 25, 2014 News From the Vatican Easter proclaims that love gives life, pope says; share it with others

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis urged Christians to remember how they first encountered Christ and to share His love and mercy with others, especially through acts of caring and sharing.

Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection means giving concrete witness “to unconditional and faithful love,” he said April 20 before solemnly giving his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

Celebrating the second Easter of his pontificate, the pope told at least 150,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and on adjacent streets that evangelization “is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast.”

Whatever is going on in one’s life, he said from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Jesus’ victory over sin and death demonstrates that “love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness.”

Overlooking the square where he had just celebrated

Easter morning Mass surrounded by hundreds of flowering trees and bushes and thousands of daffodils, tulips and roses, Pope Francis said Christians proclaim to the

In his Easter message, the pope prayed that the Risen Lord would “help us to overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by the immense wastefulness for

and, “in a spirit of unity and dialogue, chart a path for the country’s future.”

The pope’s celebration of Easter got underway the night before in a packed St. Peter’s

Pope Francis uses incense as he celebrates Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 20. The pope is assisted by Msgr. Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

world that “Jesus, love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised Him and made Him the Lord of life and death.”

A boy reacts after being baptized by Pope Francis during the Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 19. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

which we are often responsible.” He also prayed that Christians would be given the strength “to protect the vulnerable, especially children, women and the elderly, who are at times exploited and abandoned.”

The pope offered special prayers for those facing serious difficulties and threats in various parts of the world: for victims of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; the victims of kidnapping; migrants and refugees; and for the victims of war and conflict in Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan and Venezuela.

Celebrating the fact that in 2014 Easter fell on the same day on the Gregorian calendar used in the West and on the Julian calendar used by many Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, the pope’s Easter morning Mass included a Byzantine choir singing “stichi” and “stichira,” hymns that in ancient times were sung in the presence of the bishop of Rome on Easter.

In his “urbi et orbi” message, the pope offered special prayers for peace in Ukraine, a country with various Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Latin-rite Catholic communities. The pope prayed that all sides in the current political tensions would avoid violence

Basilica.

His Easter Vigil began with the lighting of the fire and Easter candle in the atrium of the basilica; walking behind the Easter candle and carrying a candle of his own, Pope Francis entered the darkened basilica. In the silence and solemnity of the moment, very few pilgrims and tourists disturbed the atmosphere with their camera flashes.

Brian Baker, a deacon and seminarian from the Archdiocese of Atlanta, sang the Exultet — the poetic hymn of praise calling the whole world to rejoice at the Resurrection of Christ.

As the bells of St. Peter’s pealed the joy of the Resurrection through the night, torrential rains beat down on Rome.

In his homily Pope Francis, who often tells people to look up the date of their Baptism and commemorate it each year, urged people to remember and reflect on the first moment they really recall having encountered Jesus.

Referring to the Easter account from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Pope Francis noted how the women who went to Jesus’ tomb were told first by the angel and then by the Risen Lord to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where He would appear to them.

“After the death of the Master, the disciples had scattered; their faith had been utterly shaken, everything seemed over,” the pope said.

Yet they were told to go back to Galilee, the place they first met Jesus.

Returning to Galilee, he said, means re-reading everything — “Jesus’ preaching, His miracles, the new community, the excitement and the defections, even the betrayal — to re-read everything starting from the end, which is a new beginning,” one that begins with Jesus’ “supreme act of love” in dying for humanity’s sin.

Departing repeatedly from his prepared text, Pope Francis kept telling people: “Have no fear. Do not be afraid. Have the courage to open your hearts” to the Lord’s love.

Returning to Galilee, he said, “means treasuring in my heart the living memory” of “the moment when His eyes met mine.”

“Where is my Galilee,” the pope urged people to ask themselves. “Have I forgotten it? Have I gone off on roads and paths which made me forget it?”

Pope Francis encouraged people to ask the Lord’s help in remembering and in telling the Lord, “I want to return there to encounter You and to let myself be embraced by Your mercy.”

Pope Francis baptized 10 people at the Easter Vigil; they ranged from a seven-year-old Italian boy to a 58-year-old Vietnamese woman. Four other Italians and one person each from Senegal, Lebanon, France and Belarus also were Baptized. As each stepped forward, the pope asked if they wanted to be Baptized and waited for their response; he asked one man twice because his response had not been clear. The catechumens bent over the baptismal font and the pope, putting one hand on their heads, used a deep silver shell to pour water over their foreheads.

The pope confirmed the 10 during the Liturgy, anointing them with oil and giving each a kiss on the cheek. And, although Pope Francis does not usually distribute Communion at large public Masses, he made an exception for the 10 new Catholics, who received their First Communion during the vigil.

April 25, 2014

News From the Vatican

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‘Evil will not have the last word,’ pope says during Way of Cross

ROME (CNS) — Standing in the midst of a giant cross outlined with small torches, Pope Francis said the cross is a reminder of how much evil people are capable of and how much love Jesus had for a sinful humanity.

“It was a heavy cross like the night for those who are abandoned, heavy like the death of a loved one and heavy” because it took on all the pain of evil, he said, presiding over the nighttime Way of the Cross April 18.

Standing atop a hillside overlooking Rome’s Colosseum, the pope told the thousands of people who gathered with him in prayer that Jesus shows “that evil will not have the last word,” and love, mercy and forgiveness will be victorious.

“From the cross we see the monstrosity of mankind when it lets itself be guided by evil.

But we also see the immensity of the mercy of God, Who doesn’t treat us according to our sins, but according to His mercy.”

Do not forget those who are sick and abandoned with their own cross, but pray “they find the strength of in the trials of the cross, the hope of God’s Resurrection and love,” he said before imparting his blessing.

The solemn torch-lit service gave powerful voice to the many social and spiritual problems facing the world and to the redeeming power of Christ’s sacrifice for humanity.

world. Although most stations had multiple representatives, only one at each station physically carried the cross.

The smallest of three children held the cross as a reflec-

Pope Francis presides over the Way of the Cross outside the Colosseum in Rome April 18. (CNS photo/ Paul Haring)

By passing a bare wooden cross from one group of people to the next in succession, those chosen to lead the Way of the Cross acted as visible representatives of the often-hidden injustices still wounding the

tion was read about the plight of sexually-abused minors, and two inmates carried and accompanied the cross during a reflection on the anguish of imprisonment and torture.

As he did last year, Pope

Pope Francis: Kiss the crucifix, kiss the wounds of Jesus

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — In his general audience address Pope Francis spoke on the meaning of suffering and evil, explaining that it is a mystery which finds its answer in the Passion and death of Jesus, Who endured it for each of us.

“This week, it will do good for us all to look to the crucifix, kissing the wounds of Jesus, kissing the crucifix. He has taken upon Himself the whole of human suffering,” the pope expressed in his April 16 audience.

Speaking to the thousands gathered for his weekly address, the pontiff began by drawing attention to the day’s Gospel reading which recounts the betrayal of Judas, noting that this event marks the beginning of Christ’s Passion.

With His death on the cross “Jesus reaches complete humiliation,” the pope observed, highlighting how “It involved the worst death; that which was reserved for slaves and criminals,” and that although “Jesus was considered a prophet,” He “died as a criminal.”

Francis remained on the hillside terrace in silent reflection and prayer as thousands of people, many holding candles, attended the ceremony, which was broadcast by more than

“Looking at Jesus in His Passion, we see as in a mirror also the suffering of all humanity and find the Divine answer to the mystery of evil, of suffering, of death,” he continued.

Noting that “many times we experience horror in the face of the evil and suffering that surrounds us, and we ask: why does God permit it?” the pope expressed that “it’s a deep wound for us to see suffering and death, especially that of the innocent!”

This wound especially stings “when we see children suffering … it’s a wound in the heart. It’s the mystery of evil,” he lamented, “and Jesus takes all this evil, all this suffering, upon Himself.”

Often times we believe that “God in His omnipotence will defeat injustice, evil, sin and suffering with a triumphant Divine victory,” the Bishop of Rome pointed out, however instead He shows us “a humble victory that seems like a human failure to us.”

“We can say: God wins precisely in failure. The Son of God, in fact, appears on the cross as a defeated Man: He suffers, is

betrayed, is scorned and finally dies.”

Drawing attention to how “Jesus permits that evil crosses the line with Him, and takes it upon Himself to conquer it,” the pope emphasized that “His Passion is not an accident; His death — that death — was ‘written.’”

Referring to “the mystery of the great humility of God,” Pope Francis observed that “really, we don’t have many explanations; it’s a puzzling mystery. ‘For God has so loved the world that He gave His only Son.’” “This week we think so much of the pain of Jesus,” he stated, “and we tell ourselves: ‘this is for me. Even if I had been the only person in the world, He would have done it.’” “’He did it for me.’ And we kiss the crucifix and say: ‘For me.

Thank you, Jesus. For me.’”

“And when all seems lost, when there is no one left because they will strike ‘the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered,’” he concluded, “it is then that God intervenes with the power of the Resurrection.”

50 television networks around the world.

Each year, the pope chooses a different person or group of people to write the series of prayers and reflections that are read aloud for each of the 14 stations, which commemorate Christ’s condemnation, His carrying the cross to Golgotha, His crucifixion and His burial.

This year the pope picked Italian Archbishop Giancarlo Maria Bregantini of Campobasso-Boiano — a former factory worker, longtime prison chaplain, champion of the unemployed and fiercely outspoken critic of the Italian mafia.

In the meditations, the archbishop, who belongs to Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata, looked at how the wounds and suffering of Christ are found in the wounds and suffering of one’s neighbors, family, children and world.

For the second station — Jesus takes up His cross — the archbishop criticized the global economic crisis’ grave consequences, like job insecurity, unemployment, suicide among owners of failing businesses and corruption.

A laborer and a business leader accompanied the cross, “which weighs upon the world of labor, the injustice shouldered by workers,” said the reflection, which was followed

by a call for people to respect political life and resolve problems together.

For the fourth station — Jesus meets His mother — two former addicts were present as people meditated on the tears mothers shed for their children sent off to war, dying of cancer from toxic wastelands or lost in “the abyss of drugs or alcohol, especially on Saturday nights.”

For the fifth station — Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross — two people without permanent homes carried and accompanied the cross as a reflection was read about “finding God in everyone” and sharing “our bread and labor” with others.

Two women participated in the eighth station — Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem — as the meditation deplored domestic violence, “Let us weep for those men who vent on women all their pentup violence” and to weep for women who are “enslaved by fear and exploitation.”

But compassion is not enough, the archbishop wrote: “Jesus demands more.” Follow His example of offering reassurance and support “so that our children may grow in dignity and hope.”

The archbishop’s meditations had equally strong words about the sexual abuse of children and its cover-up.

The child carried the cross for the 10th station — Jesus is stripped of His garments — as the reflection crafted an image of the utter humiliation of Jesus being stripped naked, “covered only by the blood which flowed from His gaping wounds.”

“In Jesus, innocent, stripped and tortured, we see the outraged dignity of all the innocent, especially the little ones,” the meditation said.

A family held the cross for a reflection on the need for kindness and shared suffering; two older people were represented during a reflection on how age and infirmity can become “a great school of wisdom, an encounter with God Who is ever patient.”

One of two Franciscan friars from the Holy Land carried the cross during a meditation on Christ emerging from the fear of death as a sign how forgiveness “renews, heals, transforms and comforts” and ends wars.

The International Church

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April 25, 2014

At Easter, Mideast patriarchs call for peace, especially in Syria

BEIRUT (CNS) — Catholic patriarchs in the Middle East, in their Easter messages, appealed for peace in Syria and expressed hope that the region would experience a resurrection.

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham, who was born in Syria, said his country has “entered upon the fourth year of its way of the cross” but “will one day soon, we hope, reach resurrection joy.”

“I want Damascus and the whole of Syria to live again the joy of (St.) Paul when he met Christ, risen from the dead, at the gate of Damascus,” the patriarch said in his Easter message, issued ahead of the April 20 feast.

On Easter, he visited the ancient city of Maaloula, Syria, with Orthodox Patriarch John X of Antioch and all the East.

“We don’t want any more martyrs,” Patriarch Laham said in his message. “We don’t want any more orphans! We don’t want more widows and more mothers losing their children!

We don’t want any more millions of children traumatized!

Enough wounded! Enough handicapped, mutilated or disfigured! Enough of people haunted by fear, hatred and bitterness! Enough kidnappings and extortions!” the patriarch said.

He appealed to the world “in the name of the poor, weak, widows, victims, mortally wounded, mutilated, disfigured, displaced persons, refugees, homeless, hungry, children, the elderly, pregnant women, handicapped, all those in despair, pain and discouragement — such as I often encounter at the SyrianLebanese border when travelling from Beirut to Damascus, or during my visits to families of victims and disaster-stricken people. They are burdened by fear about the future and the fate of their families, children

and young people.

“In the face of this dark and bloody image of our beloved country, Syria, I turn to the nations of the whole world and beseech them: Have pity on Syria!

Leave Syria to Syrians! That’s enough of your weapons, your fighters, your mercenaries, your armed adventurers, your jihadis.”

“Love will rebuild Syria, which will be thereby renewed.

That is what Jesus teaches us in His Gospel,” he said.

Syriac Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, who also was born in Syria, said, “Christian communities in the Middle East are facing today the most fearful challenge, which threatens their very survival in their own land.”

“Innocent people, particularly vulnerable and targeted Christians, continue to suffer in the Middle East and most particularly in Syria and Iraq. They are suffering because of violent hatred exercised by many militant religious groups that are often tacitly, even openly supported by Western politicians,” Patriarch Younan said in his Easter message.

“Hundreds of thousands among Christians have been targeted and forced into exile inside their own country or had no other choice than to emigrate. Many among them are clergy members and faithful who have been abused, kidnapped or killed because they represent a minority still believing in the Gospel of love, justice and peace,” the patriarch said.

He said the violence would not have happened without people looking for economic opportunism.

“Let us hope that one day, with the prayers, courage and effective solidarity of the silent majority of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Western world, peoples of the Middle East (will) rediscover their true calling to spread God’s love

and reconciliation for a better world,” he said.

The patriarchs and heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem said they were “acutely conscious of the ravages of violence in places such as Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, as well as of the struggles of countless thousands of refugees who have been displaced from their homes.” They expressed thanks for all the Church and Church-related groups providing support and said Christ’s Resurrection “was the ultimate assurance that transformation by the grace of God is always possible, even in the apparently most intractable of human situations.”

They also called for prayers for peace in the Holy Land, noting, “A peace which does not seek to abolish discrimination

between different communities is no peace at all.”

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, appealed for an end to the cycle of violence and for issues to be resolved “through dialogue, understanding and negotiation.”

He offered prayers for people in “Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine and the Holy Land, and in other countries near and far.”

“And with them and with the people of these countries we hold dear, we raise our prayers to God for the innocent victims and the wounded, and for the families affected and displaced and homeless at home or abroad,” the cardinal stated in his message.

The cardinal called upon the international community “to put an end to the tragedy of Syria

on the basis of truth and justice” and to stop supporting and fueling the conflict with money, weapons and support, “for private, political and economic gain.”

“We ask Christ the Victor over sin and evil and death” to touch the consciences of those responsible, “and stir in their hearts love and compassion,” he said.

Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako said in his Easter message that “despite the worrying situation that we are currently experiencing in Iraq and the challenges facing our brothers and sisters in the diaspora,” the Resurrection of Christ “makes the sun rise upon us, the people of Iraq, and all humanity.”

Pauline monk appointed bishop of rural Australian diocese

Forbes, Australia (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Francis recently appointed Father Columba Macbeth-Green, a Pauline Father, as Bishop of WilcanniaForbes, a rural diocese in the Australian state of New South Wales.

“If someone told me a month ago that I would be appointed Bishop of the Wilcannia-Forbes diocese, I would have said they were joking. I still can’t believe it’s actually happened,” Father Macbeth-Green said.

“When I became a monk I never thought that I would minister to people in my home diocese.

I’m humbled by this appointment and also excited about going home and giving something back to the people who gave me so much.”

The diocese had been vacant since the 2009 resignation of its last ordinary, Bishop Christopher Toohey.

“For the Australian bishops, I extend warm congratulations,” said Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, who is president of the Australian bishops’ conference. “I welcome the announcement of Father Columba Macbeth-Green, OSPPE, as the seventh bishop of WilcanniaForbes.”

“His appointment after a long interval will be warmly welcomed by the people as an indication of Pope Francis’ love and care for them.”

Archbishop Hart added that “since his ordination in 1997 for the 800 year-old Order of St. Paul the First Hermit, Father Macbeth-Green has worked with

distinction at the Shrine of Marian Valley in Queensland and in Tarcutta and Marian Hills.”

“He has engaged spiritually with many people and his priestly goodness and wise guidance will be warmly welcomed by the people of his new diocese.”

Bishop Michael Kennedy of Armidale, who also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes from 2012 until Father MacbethGreen’s appointment, said the bishop-elect “has a well-grounded faith and possesses the human attributes that will equip him to be a good pastor to the people of this rural and outback diocese.”

“With his experience in country parishes he understands the joys, struggles and challenges of country parishes and their people.

I am confident that Bishop Elect Macbeth-Green will be a true shepherd after the heart of Jesus Christ.”

Father Macbeth-Green was born in Forbes in 1968, and educated at Red Bend Catholic College in the town. Upon leaving school, he taught music and joined Australia’s army reserve as a piper.

He joined the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit in 1990, and studied for the priesthood at Vianney College in Wagga Wagga. He made solemn profession in the order in 1996, and was ordained a priest the following year.

The Pauline Fathers are a semicontemplative order founded in 1215 in Hungary who observe the Rule of St. Augustine. They are based in Poland and are cus-

todians of the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

They are also present in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Italy, and the U.S., and entered Australia in the Wollongong diocese in 1982.

As a Pauline Father, Father Macbeth-Green has served as administrator of Tarcutta, and from 2002 to 2004 was subprior of the shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, after which he was administrator of Moss Vale.

He also served as a local police chaplain, and then from 2006 to 2011 was police chaplain at police headquarters in Brisbane, the Australian capital, and then for all of South East Queensland.

At the time of his appointment, he was the Pauline Fathers’ provincial vicar for Australia and rector of the shrine of Mary, Help of Christians.

The Diocese of WilcanniaForbes covers 160,000 square miles and is home to 111,300 persons, of whom 34,000 are Catholic. In 2010, the diocese had 16 diocesan priests, and five religious.

The diocese’s last leader, Bishop Christopher Toohey, resigned in 2009 at the age of 57; he later admitted to behavior inconsistent “with that required of a good person” in his relationships with some young adults in the early years of his ministry. He no longer exercises public ministry within the Church.

The date of Father MacbethGreen’s consecration as bishop and installation has yet to be released.

April 25, 2014

The Church in the U.S. Ads bring Church’s message to mainstream N.Y. radio

recognized work performed in the areas of health care, education, and charitable aid.

Rusckowski was then connected with Catholic Voices USA, a communications training group that works to equip lay Catholics to promote and defend their faith. The organization agreed to sponsor a special Holy Week ad to air 62 times on New York’s 101WINS during key “drive times,” with a reach of 4.2 million.

The one-minute Holy Week ad featured Mother Agnes Donovan, mother superior of the Sisters of Life, listing some of the Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of New York, including the Little Sisters of the Poor, ArchCare, the Gianna Center for Women, and the Catholic Underground. The ad then shifted to Cardinal Dolan, who discussed the Beatitudes and explained, “We Catholics do what we do because He is Who He is.”

Noting that “(a)ll Catholic social teaching comes from the Words of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount,” the cardinal emphasized following the example of Christ and offered an invitation to Holy Week celebrations in the archdiocese.

An additional ad was created for Easter Week, with Cardinal New York City (CNA/ about the blessing through the Dolan discussing the real presEWTN News) — Cardinal Sisters of Life, who have been ence of Christ in the Eucharist Timothy M. Dolan of New York supporting her spiritually during and inviting people to stop by a blessed 30 expectant mothers her pregnancy. She said she had Catholic parish for adoration.

Rusckowski said that Cardiand their unborn children in a been “struggling with love and nal Dolan is an excellent reprerecent Mass at St. Patrick’s Ca- forgiveness” until the blessing. thedral, offering a message of Hearing her child being sentative because of his strong hope and love. blessed in the womb “has helped and welcoming presence, and “I came to more fully recog- me fully accept the grace and because “he is real and can relate nize that my faith is not just for love that comes through Christ to everyone!”

“Cardinal Dolan can teach me, but also for my unborn son and his Church,” she said. in a way that is respectful to all and for all other women strug“To attend Mass as a single gling with faith and grace in a mother is terrifying and some- and not condescending, no matdifficult time,” Kimberly Page times painful but to feel the grace ter where one is on their spiritual told the New York-based Chiar- and support from the Sisters and journey,” she reflected.

Kathryn Jean Lopez, foundoscuro Foundation. from the cardinal has been ining director of Catholic Voices “This Mass and this blessing valuable,” Page said, adding that USA, explained that the radio have added so much to my life the Mass made her feel comfortcommercials are both “sharing as a Catholic and how I will raise able receiving Communion. and inviting.” my son.”

Cardinal Dolan used a prayer She described the Holy Week Page said it was “redemptive” from the “Rite of Blessing for a to see the Church recognize life Child in the Womb.” Published ads as “both a little window in from conception “even if con- by the U.S. bishops in May 2012, and an open door to come join us ceived in circumstances that are the rite begins with a prayer for as we enter into the holiest days of the year.” not God’s intention for the fam- the child.

They serve as a “re-introducily.”

“God, Author of all life, bless, tion of who we are as Catholics, The 30 pregnant women in- we pray, this unborn child,” as a Church,” called “to live and cluded first-time mothers as well Cardinal Dolan prayed. “Give as women with other children. constant protection and grant a serve in love,” following the example of Christ and respondGuests at the Mass included healthy birth.” patients from the Gianna CenHe said that God has brought ing to the call of Pope Francis ter for Women’s Health, resi- to the pregnant woman “the to go out and minister to those on the peripheries, helping them dents of Good Counsel Homes, wondrous joy of motherhood.” members of the Sisters of Life “Grant her comfort in all anx- encounter Christ’s merciful love, and employees of the New York iety and make her determined to she said.

These acts of service are fundaarchdiocese’s Family Life Office. lead her child along the ways of mentally connected to Catholic Page said she had learned Salvation,” he added.

New York City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Lay Catholics on the East Coast have teamed up with a prominent cardinal to create ads for secular radio proclaiming the Church’s message to an audience who may not otherwise hear it.

“This is an incredible opportunity to have listeners on a secular news radio media hear a message that gives very tangible examples of the good in the Catholic Church — what it has been doing, what it is doing, and what it will continue to do,” said Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski.

“Too often the Catholic Church is portrayed in a negative light,” she told CNA, adding that “it’s nice to have a reminder that the Catholic Church truly is the largest charitable organization in the world — and it’s not because it’s a service organization, but that we try to follow the Words of Christ.”

A nurse by training, Rusckowski had seen the value of grassroots Catholic efforts when she helped Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston defeat a 2012 physician-assisted suicide ballot measure in Massachusetts.

Also on the board of counselors for the Order of Malta — which works to defend the faith and care for the sick and poor — Rusckowski observed at a recent meeting that statements released by the U.S. bishops’ conference reach a limited audience when they are placed in Church bulletins.

She suggested that there was a need to get the message out to a wider audience, including those who may not be faithful Mass attendees.

Soon, Rusckowski was asked by the Order of Malta to work with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to do just that.

She met with then-president of the bishops’ conference, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

They agreed that secular media presented an opportunity to evangelize by offering a positive message about the Church that people may not otherwise hear.

“We have an opportunity right now because of Pope Francis,” Rusckowski observed, adding that Catholics need to use this opportunity to share the Church’s message, including some of the beautiful but rarely-

Cardinal Dolan blesses pregnant mothers, unborn babies

prayer and worship, Lopez continued, noting that “our identity is in the Trinity,” and this connection is illustrated in the cardinal’s invitation to Holy Week Masses and prayer services.

She also observed that the people who work at the Catholic ministries mentioned in the ad “are the kind of people anyone wants to be around because they are filled and motivated by and overflowing with a transcendent, contagious love and joy.”

“We need these people,” she stressed. “The world needs Catholics living the radical missionary call of the Gospels, living Sacramental lives, living the Beatitudes. There are many Catholics doing just that in New York today, on fire with the love of Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit in their work.”

Emphasizing the need to “catch people in the busy-ness of life and invite them in,” Lopez explained that the commercials align with Catholic Voices’ mission of being “a welcoming, loving presence in the media.”

“To have the opportunity to literally be welcoming people into our Trinitarian reality during peak times and alongside the weather and traffic in such a direct and beautiful way is a great opportunity and blessing.”

Rusckowski said she sees great

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value in the work of Catholic Voices USA and is now planning to go through the organization’s training program, which teaches the lay faithful how to defend Church teaching in the public square.

“I think it’s important that we learn how to defend our faith without getting in an argument,” she reflected.

“Media is a powerful tool to communicate and convey messages. The late Pope John Paul II encouraged us all to not be afraid and embrace the media — to use it to help evangelize, share our beautiful faith with others.”

“We all know media shapes culture — both positively and negatively — be it intentional or unintentional,” Rusckowski continued, pointing to the example of political campaigns and views of foreign nations and policies.

“So when it comes to religious beliefs, having the media help spread a positive message about our Catholic Church is truly a great blessing,” she said, especially for those who have “inherited” their faith from previous generations but may not have a deep understanding of what the Church does or why.

“This opportunity allows the media to share these positive acts of service and kindness people might not hear otherwise.”

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April 25, 2014

Anchor Editorial

St. Louis de Montfort

Next Monday is the optional memorial of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (it is also the optional memorial of St. Peter Chanel). Since Sunday’s celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday is well-explained throughout this edition of The Anchor, in this place we will focus on St. Louis de Montfort.

Normally when he is mentioned his great work “True Devotion to Mary” comes to mind. What is sometimes forgotten is that he was very Christ-centered and his theology is what led him to appreciate the Blessed Mother so much. The saint’s motto was “God alone.” Blessed John Paul II explained in a 1997 letter to the Montfort religious family, “He sang: ‘God alone is my tenderness, God alone is my support, God alone is my every good, my life and my wealth’ (Canticle 55, 11). His love for God was total. It was with God and for God that he went towards other people and walked the roads of the mission. Constantly aware of the presence of Jesus and Mary, his entire being was a witness to the theological virtue of charity which he desired to share with everyone. His deeds and his words had only one aim, to call people to conversion and to motivate them to live for God. His writings are full of testimony to and praise of the Incarnate Word and also of Mary, ‘masterpiece of the Most High, miracle of Eternal Wisdom’ (“Love of Eternal Wisdom,” n. 106).”

The pope added, “Before all else, St. Louis-Marie impresses us by his theocentric [i.e., God-centered] spirituality. The Person of Christ dominates the thought of Grignion de Montfort: ‘Jesus, our Savior, true God and true Man, must be the ultimate end of all other devotions’ (“True Devotion to Mary,” n. 61). The Incarnation of the Word is for him the absolute central reality: ‘Eternal and incarnate Wisdom, I adore you, dwelling in the splendor of Your Father from all eternity and in the virginal womb of Mary, Your most worthy Mother, at the time of Your Incarnation’ (“Love of Eternal Wisdom,” n. 223). Contemplation of the grandeur of the mystery of Jesus goes hand-in-hand with the contemplation of the cross, which Montfort made the principal sign of his missions.”

St. Louis-Marie knew that by promoting devotion to the Blessed Mother, he would be able to draw people closer to God. Blessed John Paul explained, “In order to know the Eternal Wisdom, uncreated and Incarnate, Grignion de Montfort invited people to put their trust in the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is so inseparable from Jesus ‘that it would be easier to separate light from the sun’ (“True Devotion to Mary,” n. 63). He remains an incomparable bard and disciple of the Mother of the Savior whom he honours as the one who so assuredly leads towards Christ: ‘If then we are establishing sound devotion to Our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to Our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching

Dear Brothers and Sisters, a Happy and Holy Easter!

The Church throughout the world echoes the angel’s message to the women: “Do not be afraid!

I know that you are looking for Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here; for He has been raised.

Come, see the place where He lay” (Mt 28:5-6).

This is the culmination of the Gospel, it is the Good News par excellence: Jesus, Who was crucified, is risen! This event is the basis of our faith and our hope. If Christ were not raised, Christianity would lose its very meaning;

Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi message

the whole mission of the Church would lose its impulse, for this is the point from which it first set out and continues to set out ever anew. The message which Christians bring to the world is this: Jesus, Love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised Him and made Him the Lord of life and death.

In Jesus, love has triumphed over hatred, mercy over sinfulness, goodness over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death.

That is why we tell everyone: “Come and see!” In every human situation, marked by frailty, sin and OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

www.anchornews.org

Jesus Christ’ (ibid., n. 62).”

As Mary’s month of May fast approaches (this coming Thursday), this quote from the pope’s letter is good advice for all of us. “St. Louis-Marie also calls on us to abandon ourselves entirely to Mary in order to welcome her presence in the very depth of our souls. ‘Mary becomes all things for the soul that wishes to serve Jesus Christ. She enlightens his mind with her pure faith. She deepens his heart with her humility. She enlarges and inflames his heart with her charity, makes it pure with her purity, makes it noble and great through her motherly care’ (“Secret of Mary,” n. 57). Recourse to Mary leads one to give Jesus an ever greater place in one’s life; it is significant, for example, that Montfort invites the faithful to turn to Mary before Communion: ‘Implore Mary to lend you her heart so that you may receive her Son with her dispositions’ (“True Devotion to Mary,” n. 266).”

Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend is a good preparation for the month of May. Many people will approach the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that they might be able to receive Him in the Eucharist more and more like how Mary received Him into herself at the Incarnation — full of love for Him, full of docility to His will, full of a joy which she could not contain, but instead ran off to share with Elizabeth.

Marian joy is not a denial of the realities of our crosses. In another letter to the Montfort family in 2003, Blessed John Paul wrote, “Like St. John of the Cross, St. Louis Marie insists above all on the purity of faith and its essential and often sorrowful darkness (cf. “The Secret of Mary,” nn. 51-52). Contemplative faith, by giving up tangible or extraordinary things, penetrates the mysterious depths of Christ. Thus, in his prayer, St. Louis Marie addresses the Mother of the Lord saying: ‘I do not ask you for visions, revelations, sensible devotion or spiritual pleasures. Here below, I wish for nothing other than that which was yours: to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures’ (ibid., p. 72). The cross is the crowning moment of Mary’s faith, as I wrote in the encyclical “Redemptoris Mater”: ‘Through this faith Mary is perfectly united with Christ in His self-emptying. This is perhaps the deepest kenosis [self-emptying] of faith in human history’ (n. 18).”

Our devotion to Mary will help us through the difficult times (since we will know that she has had it much worse than us, so she can help us journey through them) and the good times (helping us to remember that her Son is the Author of all of our blessings). She will help us to be more faithful to her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, and be more lovingly obedient to our common Father. May St. Louis-Marie intercede for us and help us to begin well this month of May.

Vol. 58, No.16

Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org.

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death, the Good News is no mere matter of words, but a testimony to unconditional and faithful love: it is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast. “Come and see!”: Love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness.

With this joyful certainty in our hearts, today we turn to You, Risen Lord!

Help us to seek You and to find You, to realize that we have a Father and are not orphans; that we can love and adore You. Help us to overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by the immense wastefulness for which we are often responsible.

Enable us to protect the vulnerable, especially children, women and the elderly, who are at times exploited and abandoned.

Enable us to care for our brothers and sisters struck by the Ebola epidemic in Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and to care for those suffering from so many other diseases which are

also spread through neglect and dire poverty.

Comfort all those who cannot celebrate this Easter with their loved ones because they have been unjustly torn from their affections, like the many persons, priests and laity, who in various parts of the world have been kidnapped.

Comfort those who have left their own lands to migrate to places offering hope for a better future and the possibility of living their lives in dignity and, not infrequently, of freely professing their faith.

We ask You, Lord Jesus, to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent.

We pray in a particular way for Syria, beloved Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive needed humanitarian aid and that neither side will again use deadly force, especially against the defenseless civil population, but instead boldly negotiate the peace long awaited and long overdue!

Jesus, Lord of glory, we ask You to comfort the victims of fratricidal acts of violence in Iraq and to sustain the hopes raised by

the resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

We beg for an end to the conflicts in the Central African Republic and a halt to the brutal terrorist attacks in parts of Nigeria and the acts of violence in South Sudan.

We ask that hearts be turned to reconciliation and fraternal concord in Venezuela.

By Your Resurrection, which this year we celebrate together with the Churches that follow the Julian calendar, we ask you to enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine so that all those involved, with the support of the international community, will make every effort to prevent violence and, in a spirit of unity and dialogue, chart a path for the country’s future. On this day, may they be able to proclaim, as brothers and sisters, that Christ is risen, Khrystos voskres!

Lord, we pray to You for all the peoples of the earth: You Who have conquered death, grant us Your life, grant us Your peace!”

Christus surrexit, venite et videte!”

Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!

April 25, 2014

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istory will be made on Sunday as Pope Francis celebrates a joint canonization of two predecessors, both from his lifetime, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. Of the 266 popes who have served the Church, 80 are canonized saints, but none has ever been canonized with another successor of St. Peter; and many presume, based on the trajectory of Pope Francis’ life and papacy, that in future centuries, Apr. 27, 2014 will be associated with not just two but three saintly Bishops of Rome, the two raised to the altars and the one presiding at the altar.

To make the day even more significant is that they’re being canonized on the feast of Divine Mercy, which was a central theme, perhaps the central theme, in the life of all three popes.

John XXIII’s most notable papal achievement was the calling of the Second Vatican Council, but in his famous Oct. 11, 1962 speech to open the council, he framed the entire council in a merciful key. The point of the council, he said, was to guard and teach more efficaciously the “Sacred deposit of Christian doctrine.” In the past, he said, the Church “condemned with the utmost severity” the errors of various ages, but he said that today the Church must prefer “the balm of mercy to the

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od willing, I’ll be in Rome Sunday, for the historic canonization of two popes as saints, John Paul II and John XXIII. It’s the first time that two popes have been canonized together. It’ll probably also be the first time that two popes have been present at a canonization, as Pope Francis will actually perform the canonization, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will most likely be in attendance. After all, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he was Blessed John Paul II’s righthand man during the thirdlongest papacy in history (from 1978-2005), one that deservedly merited John Paul the qualifier “the Great.” Pope Benedict also, just a few years ago, beatified his rock-star predecessor.

It should be a wild scene, as more than a million people are expected to attend the canonization in St. Peter’s Square, which doesn’t hold anything like that number. There are no tickets, I understand, so it’ll be first-come, first-served, which means most

Anchor Columnist

7

Three popes and the Mercy of God arm of severity, … by explaining more fully the purport of her doctrines, rather than by publishing condemnations.” It’s no wonder why he once called himself “a teacher of mercy and truth,” for he recognized that both are needed.

In 1962, he published the encyclical Paenitentiam Agere on the gift of God’s mercy and the need for us to recognize our need for it, come to receive it in the Sacrament of Penance, and do interior and exterior penance.

This was, he declared, the best way to prepare for the council, so that the “good seed that the council will scatter far and wide over the Church in those days [will] not be allowed to go to waste,” but rather find “hearts that are ready and prepared, loyal and true.” The fruits of the council would only happen within a context of mercy.

One of John Paul II’s principal tasks was accurately and effectively to implement the Second Vatican Council that John XXIII convened and in which the future Polish pope participated as a young bishop.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that he sought to bring what Papa Roncalli called the “balm of mercy” to the modern world.

John Paul II was spurred on in a particular way by the private

revelations Jesus had given to a young Krakovian Sister named Faustina Kowalska.

Curiously, during John XXIII’s pontificate, Sister Faustina’s diary was placed on a list of condemned books because a faulty Italian translation made it seem as if Jesus had revealed to her that forgiveness of sins could happen through devotional practices alone outside the Sacrament of His Mercy. But when

Putting Into the Deep

By Father Roger J. Landry the future John Paul II became Archbishop of Krakow, he had his former teacher and doctoral dissertation adviser, Father Ignacy Rozycki, examine her writings dogmatically in order to show their consistency with Church teaching and eventually lead to her total rehabilitation.

When he was elected the successor of St. Peter, John Paul II framed his entire pontificate within the scope of God’s mercy.

In 1981, he said, “Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter’s See in Rome, I consider this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task.” In 1997, he

added, “The Message of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me. … This was also my personal experience, which I took with me to the See of Peter and which in a sense forms the image of this pontificate.” In August 1992, he solemnly entrusted the world to Divine Mercy “with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love … be made known to all peoples of the earth.”

He would declare in 1997, “There is nothing that man needs more than Divine mercy,” and in his second encyclical, “God is Rich in Mercy,” he would write, “The Church must bear witness to the mercy of God revealed in Christ … seeking to introduce it and to make it incarnate in the lives both of her faithful and as far as possible in the lives of all people of good will … [and] to call upon the mercy of God, imploring it in the face of all the manifestations of physical and moral evil.”

In 1993 he beatified Sister Faustina and seven years later he canonized her, solemnly declaring the Second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday.

Because of his devotion to proclaiming the Gospel of God’s Merciful Love, it’s fitting that God called him home on the Vigil of the Feast of Divine

Mercy in 2005, that he was beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2011 and now will be canonized on that same feast.

Lastly, mercy has been the fundamental theme in the first 13 months of the papacy of Pope Francis. When he was asked if he would accept the papacy, he showed his own personal trust in God’s mercy, responding, “I am a sinner, but I trust in the mercy and infinite patience of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” Mercy is the fundamental story of his vocation, receiving his priestly calling totally as a surprise while he was confessing as a 16-year-old.

He’s praised John Paul II for grasping, with the help of St. Faustina, that our time is a “kairos” or propitious occasion of mercy. He said last September that the “whole Gospel, all of Christianity,” is contained in the joy God has in forgiving us, and that “mercy is the true force that can save man and the world.”

As Francis canonizes John and John Paul on Sunday, the real story will not be the personality and achievements of these three holy popes who will be the central figures but the mercy of God that they received, rejoiced in and never ceased to offer and proclaim to the Church and the world.

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

A two-by-two papal canonization John Paul II). likely that people will be campNot even Blessed Mother Teing out, including probably half resa of Calcutta beat that record. of Poland. Say a prayer that me I remember that in 1991, I went and my friends, going with a to the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s pilgrimage organized by Franciscan University of Steubenville, get within eyesight of the canonization.

John Paul II’s trip to sainthood sets a modern record for shortness of time between his

By Dwight G. Duncan death and canonization, a mere nine years.

Of course, even at his Basilica in Rome, and was waitfuneral Mass in Rome, ating in line (always a crazy, hectic tended by millions, there were signs proclaiming “Santo subito!” scene) to get in, along with some Missionaries of Charity. They (“Saint right now!”) throughout explained that, once the gates the crowd, which testify to his were opened, they would leave reputation for holiness among the faithful (In the 13th century, us, a relatively younger group, in the dust. And sure enough, the St. Anthony of Padua was canonized a year after his death, and nuns sprinted to the Basilica, leaving us in the dust. Mother St. Francis of Assisi two years after; but since the 16th century, Teresa was beatified in record time, but John Paul II beat even when the Vatican bureaucracy with its elaborate procedures for that!

It was John Paul who beatisainthood was instituted, no one fied John XXIII, pope between has been canonized faster than

Judge For Yourself

1958 and 1963. John XXIII most notably and surprisingly summoned the Second Vatican Council, which the young Bishop Karol Wojtyla attended from Poland, and which the young Father Joseph Ratzinger attended as a peritus (expert) theologian from Germany. Its goal was to more effectively preach the Gospel to the modern world, through aggiornamento (“updating” — opening up the windows of a sometimes musty Vatican) and ressourcement (“return to the sources” — being more faithful to the Bible and the example of the early Christians).

John XXIII was a fat, jovial man of the people, who succeeded the lean, ascetic Pius XII. An Italian peasant, he immediately won over the world with his palpable goodness and humanity, and gave the Church a new ecumenical spirit. He emphasized what unites Christians and believers, rather than

what separates us. Now, with an increasingly aggressive secularism in the West, constantly challenging and even persecuting people of faith, the wisdom of that change in emphasis seems apparent. In many ways, Pope Francis reminds me of Blessed (soon-to-be St.) John XXIII. In canonizing in one ceremony the pope who summoned Vatican II along with the pope who did more than anyone else to implement its directives, the pope that the liberals tend to love together with the pope that conservatives tend to love, Pope Francis is emphasizing the unity of the Catholic Church, which is best expressed around the altar of the Eucharist and in the lives of its saints, of whom we have now two new certified examples.

SS. John XXIII and John Paul II, pray for us!

Anchor columnist Dwight Duncan is a professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.

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April 25, 2014

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his Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is called Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II so designated it when he canonized St. Faustina Kowalska on Apr. 30, 2000.

In the early decades of the last century, Jesus appeared to a simple nun, whom we now honor by the name of St. Faustina.

Jesus invited her to be the bearer of His message about the merciful love of God. Christ wanted this message to be known by all, in particular those who, “tormented by especially painful experiences, or bearing the weight of many previously committed sins, have lost all hope in life and are subject to the temptation of despair” ( John Paul II, Lagiewnicki, June 7, 1997). Such people had no cause to fear, Jesus told St. Faustina, because His Mercy exceeds any human distress, however great it might be.

The place God chose to pour out His graces and

Jesus, I trust in You!

bestow His gift of Mercy is is the Easter gift that the the Shrine in Lagiewnicki Church receives from the on the outskirts of Krakow Risen Christ and offers to in Poland. “Anyone may humanity. go there, gaze on the imLast Sunday, we celeage of the merciful Jesus brated the feast of the Reswith graces radiating from urrection of Our Lord. In His heart and hear in the depths of Homily of the Week his souls what St. Faustina heard: Divine Mercy ‘Fear nothing. I am Sunday always with you’

By Father George (Diary 613). WhoE. Harrison ever answers with a sincere heart, ‘Jesus, I trust in You,’ will find solace for all their fears this week’s Gospel we are and anxieties” ( John Paul reminded that Jesus didn’t II, Lagiewnicki, June 7, leave us. Christ is risen, 1997). and as a consequence, we In this week’s Gospel, can know that Jesus stands the Risen Lord appeared to beside us in every time and His Apostles, breathed on circumstance of our lives. them and said, “Receive the Even locked doors can not Holy Spirit, whose sins you prevent Him from reaching forgive are forgiven them, us. For our part, we need and whose sins you retain only to open the door of are retained” ( Jn 20:22our hearts to His Mercy.

23). Here Jesus institutes There are many who the Sacrament of Penance reject this invitation of which clearly demonstrates mercy because they do not His loving concern for sinconsider themselves to ners. Divine Mercy! This be sinners. It may be that

living in a secular society one’s conscience becomes clouded and leads to the creation of a world without God, a world whose God is self-interest and pleasure.

Others may be aware of their sinfulness, but they are unwilling to accept the conditions for forgiveness which are conversion, sorrow for sins, amendment of life and Confession of sins.

The destruction that follows in the wake of an unrepentant heart is well known: failed relationships, broken Marriages, depression, addiction and habits that we are unable to conquer. In the Sacrament of Penance our Lord wants to show us our sins, not to condemn us, but to strengthen us and to give us new life and freedom to follow Him more closely. If Jesus had not given us the Sacrament of Penance, we would probably have invented it. When

we Confess our sins with true sorrow and experience the reality of forgiveness, a great weight is lifted from our shoulders. Those of us who know the consolation of Confessing our sins can’t imagine our lives without the many graces we receive from it. A good Christian is not someone who doesn’t sin, but one who repents every time he does.

Jesus told St. Faustina, “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the feast of Divine Mercy shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.

On that day all the Divine floodgates through which graces flow, are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though his sins be as scarlet. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy” (Diary, 699). Jesus I trust in You! Father Harrison is pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Apr. 26, Acts 4:13-21; Ps: 118:1,14-15b,16-21; Mk 16:9-15. Sun. April 27, Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:2-4,13-15,22-24; 1 Pt 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31. Mon. April 28, Acts 4:23-31; Ps 2:1-9; Jn 3:1-8. Tues. Apirl 29, Acts 4:32-37; Ps 93:1-2,5; Jn 3:7b-15. Wed. April 30, Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:2-9; Jn 3:16-21. Thurs. May 1, Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:2,9,17-20; Jn 3:31-36. Fri. May 2, Acts 5:34-42; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Jn 6:1-15.

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Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II: Canonizing the bookends

ope Francis’s bold decisions to canonize Blessed John XXIII without the normal post-beatification miracle, and to link good Pope John’s canonization ceremony to that of Blessed John Paul II, just may help re-orient Catholic thinking about modern Catholic history.

For what Francis is suggesting, I think, is that John XXIII and John Paul II are the twin bookends of the Second Vatican Council — and thus should be canonized together.

On Jan. 25, 1959, less than three months after his election, John XXIII surprised the Catholic world by announcing that he would summon the 21st ecumenical council in history.

According to some Catholic thinkers, Vatican I’s teaching that the Bishop of Rome enjoyed a charism of infallibility under carefully defined circumstances had made future general councils unnecessary.

General or ecumenical councils had previously been summoned to thrash out disputed questions

of doctrine; the pope could now compelling witness to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Decontake care of that on his own; so, structing Catholicism was the no more councils. last thing on John XXIII’s mind.

John XXIII disagreed. His His grand strategic goal was council, while celebrating and a Church that could offer the reaffirming the deposit of faith, would explore ways in which the abiding truths the Church carries in history could be more effectively displayed to the world.

It’s often said that John

By George Weigel XXIII intended Vatican II to be a “pastoral” council, and that’s true world the “medicine of mercy” enough. But John XXIII, a his(as he put it in his opening adtorian by trade, had a capacious dress to the council) in the form view of what “pastoral” means.

He knew that the pope of his of life-giving truths.

As everyone who lived youth, the great Leo XIII, had unleashed reforming energies in through the post-Vatican II years knows, John XXIII’s counthe Church, energies that had cil created a lot of turbulence created considerable turbulence (and not inconsiderable strife) in of its own. One reason why, I’m convinced, is that Vatican the first half of the 20th cenII, unlike previous ecumenitury. He wanted to focus those cal councils, did not provide reforming energies through the authoritative keys to its own prismatic experience of a new proper interpretation. It defined Pentecost, so that the Church no dogma. It condemned no might be a more evangelically

The Catholic Difference

heresy or heretic(s). It legislated no new canons for the Church’s law, it wrote no creed, it commissioned no catechism. These were the ways previous councils had told the Church, “This is what we mean.” Vatican II did none of that.

And we all know what happened next. A free-for-all over What Vatican II Meant ensued. And in the midst of that free-for-all, John XXIII’s strategic goal — an evangelically revitalized Church proclaiming the full symphony of Catholic truth in ways modernity could hear — got lost.

Then God raised up a man of sanctity, genius, and deep pastoral experience, a man of the council who had led an extensive implementation of Vatican II in his own diocese under extremely difficult circumstances, as John XXIII’s third successor: Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, who took the name John Paul II, thus honoring John XXIII’s first two

successors. Over the course of a 26-and-a-half-year pontificate, and with the aid of Joseph Ratzinger (another Vatican II veteran who would become John XXIII’s fourth successor), John Paul II gave the Church the keys to an authoritative interpretation of Vatican II. He did it through his own magisterium, through the world Synod of Bishops, and through the Great Jubilee of 2000. And when he was called home to the Father’s house, he had oriented the Church toward the strategic goal John XXIII had defined on Oct. 11, 1962: the reform of Catholicism for a third millennium of evangelical and apostolic action, for the healing of the world.

Two radically converted Christian disciples, one council, two bookends: that is what Catholicism celebrates at the canonization of Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

April 25, 2014

Saturday 19 April 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — The Vigil of Easter. f all the words used during the Easter Vigil, two words in particular strike me — “Go tell.”

These are the words spoken by the newly-Risen Lord outside the empty tomb. “Go tell my brothers,” he said to Mary of Magdalla. We have been telling this Good News ever since. It’s a task that belongs to all of us (so do tell) but Liturgical preaching belongs in a unique way to those who have been ordained.

As a young man entering the seminary, preaching was my biggest fear. How could I possibly have the wherewithal to preach? Still, miracles do happen, I suppose.

I was forced to confront my fear early in my seminary training. There was a mandatory course in public speaking: the Christopher Leadership Course. Back in the day, there was no such thing as an “elective” in the seminary.

The course was taught by two local businessmen. Every class began with a rally cry: “I can’t fail! I’ll tell you why!

Why? I have faith, courage

O

I

have a dear friend who is a marvelous cantor, and who has a lovely wardrobe as well. Each week, she can be counted on to wear an outfit that subtly melds with the Liturgical season, so that she doesn’t compete on the visible horizon. Last week, as lector, though, I knew that I would clash with the predominant red splashed across the church — from the vestments to the altar cloths, from the bountiful flowers to the mournful shrouds over the statues. And yet I remained committed that morning — to blue.

I promise it wasn’t about me, but about Our Lady, because throughout each segment of the Liturgical year, I want to think with the mind of Mary, love with the heart of Mary, and pray with the soul of Mary. As the woman of the promise, she is my template for feminine action — which can be active or meditative, generous or restrained, visible or invisible. Mary was the perfect disciple, the faithful handmaiden, and the model for the

Anchor Columnists Do tell and enthusiasm!” In my case, the courage and enthusiasm were nonexistent. So I adopted the slogan “Fake it ‘til you make it.” I didn’t have to fake it very long.

The course presenters assigned tasks in advance of class. We might be asked to prepare to introduce ourselves or someone else, sell a fictitious product, offer a toast, etc. During the class, each of us in turn was summoned to the podium to deliver our presentation. The audience was our seminary classmates. There can be no tougher audience than your peers. Much to my surprise, I loved the course. I thought it was great fun.

After college, in the theology school, preaching practice was much more serious.

We were assigned a Scripture passage and required to preach on it. We were also filmed while delivering our homily, and then the film was played back to the class for “constructive criticism.”

I still remember one of the negative comments “Fails to use empathic hand motions.”

During summer vacation, when we seminarians were

assigned as counsellors at the diocesan camp, we had to take turns delivering a spiritual conference to the young campers. Once, after supper on a steamy August afternoon, I spoke on the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer.

It was 90 degrees in that chapel. The kids were tired from a long day of outdoor activities. To make it worse, from where I stood I could see a fellow seminarian (now a priest who shall remain nameless) jumping up and down making faces at me through the open window.

The kids didn’t hear a word I said. Neither did I. Then, during my deacon year, came a few months spent in an actual parish.

Now preaching was done in the context of Holy Mass. The congregation was invited to offer evaluations. “Fails to use sufficient Anglo-Saxon words,” wrote

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one parishioner. Almost 50 years later, I still don’t know what he meant.

You learn how to preach by preaching. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years.

Constantly study the Bible and understand it as the Church understands it. Prepare in advance.

Meditate. Pray. Incubate. Write the whole thing out, and then stick to the script (mostly). Never read.

Make eye contact.

Develop your own style. Keep it short.

You need an attentiongrabbing introduction and you must have a logical conclusion. In between, your job is to tie the Scripture passage to people’s daily lives. This means you have to know your congregation. Have one take-home thought, no more.

If you can use appropriate humor and story telling, go right ahead. Just don’t overdo it. You are not Stephen Colbert. Know how to use the sound system. Speak clearly, slowly, and audibly. “Speak to the person sitting in the very last pew,” they advised us in the seminary. Oh, and avoid all technical terms and phrases they taught you in

Mary at the foot of our cross

maternal Church — in which all women find an archetype for their lives.

It wasn’t always thus. In fact as a convert, I found it difficult to grasp what Mary was doing — because she was so hidden, so quiet. She spoke rarely, and never pontificated. Technically, I knew that she was essential to the mission of the Redeemer, but to modern sensibilities, there wasn’t much to latch onto. That’s why we need to let go of those modern sensibilities and think with the refined mind of the ancient Church. After decades of prayer, I finally grasped that hers was not a vocation of doing, but of being: being empty in order to be filled with God. Now that the Lenten fast has given way to the banquet of Easter, we might ask what Mary is thinking about the children entrusted to her from that all-powerful cross. I can’t imagine revelry quite yet. As wonderful as Easter is — it’s

everything to a believer! — Lent continues for much of the world.

Lent continues for mil-

lions of Christians persecuted around the world, and who are paying an enormous price for fidelity. Lent continues for those in poverty and distress, especially those who depend wholly on the generosity of others for their daily bread.

Lent continues for those facing debilitating illness or injuries, as well as for their families who care for them each day.

Lent continues for those who suffer from addictions, and struggle to find the strength to heal and regain healthy lifestyles. Lent continues for the millions still laboring in

slavery — whether in sweatshops or brothels around the world. And Lent continues for children scarred by family dysfunction and the lack of healthy examples on which to model their lives.

Each person in these circumstances has been hoisted on his own cross, and how comforting it would be to know the streams of grace that can flow from the wounds that are joined to Christ’s. Our Lord didn’t come to banish suffering but to transform it, and the same woman who stood beneath His cross stands by

the seminary.

Not everyone will be listening to you. Those who are listening will hear only about half of what you say.

Those who hear half of what you say will forget half of that the next day. A few will even hear something you never said in the first place.

Even if you preach like Fulton J. Sheen, there’ll be those reading the bulletin or fanning themselves with the worship aids during your sermon. Focus instead on someone who is actively listening.

There is a non-verbal energy between the preacher and the listener. Positive or negative, each feeds the other.

After Mass, someone may compliment your homily.

Don’t let that go to your head. I’ve had people tell me what a riveting homily I just gave — even when I wasn’t the preacher.

So, say a quick prayer for the poor fellow trying to preach the Good News. His is no easy task. May I suggest a prayer offered through the intercession of St. Jude?

Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

ours as well. Although her heart is pierced by our pain, her maternal care doesn’t flinch. Quiet, unassuming and humble she may be, but that doesn’t mean she’s not patient, courageous, and strong. Those attributes don’t require words, but faith.

May her example transform your Lent — however long it may last — and may we console others by our compassion and support. Just as Mary stands by us, we must stand by others at the darkest times, so that the truth of Easter be manifest to all.

Anchor columnist Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman.” She blogs at feminine-genius.typepad. com.

Visit us online at www.anchornews.org

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April 25, 2014

Blessed John Paul II canonization cause for celebration at Hyannis school Hyannis — On Sunday Pope Francis will canonize Blessed John Paul II. Just hours after the canonization Mass concludes in Rome, administrators at Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis are inviting all those in the local community who loved and admired Blessed John Paul to gather at St. Francis Xavier Church on South Street in Hyannis for an 11 a.m. Mass of Thanksgiving.

The Mass will be celebrated by Father Ron Floyd, Chaplain of Pope John Paul

II High School, assisted by students who will serve, read, sing, and perform.

Following Mass, the Divine Mercy Chaplet will be sung. The chaplet originated in the Holy Father’s native Poland. The devotion was actively promoted by Blessed John Paul II, who in 2000, officially designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Refreshments and brunch will be served to all those who would like to stay and share fellowship in the St. Francis Xavier Parish Hall following Mass.

Holocaust survivor and poet says Blessed John Paul II man of compassion

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Hanging on the wall in her office is a large painting of horses standing in a field with overcast skies and a vast, fallen tree, struck down by lightning in a ferocious storm. This painting, Lena Allen-Shore was told, would never sell, as no one would want a plain picture of horses. But Allen-Shore doesn’t just see the horses. She sees the fallen tree and the ones standing around it, as well as the horses, which endured the brutal storm.

Despite a traumatic past, one still has the strength to carry on.

This is something that AllenShore, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, learned from her “dear friend,” Blessed John Paul II, through various letters, poems and visits over the course of some 25 years. “He gave me something very important,” Allen-Shore told Catholic News Service in an interview at her home in Philadelphia. “He taught me how to believe that good people exist.” To her, he was a man of compassion. He was someone who built bridges between different cultures, despite any tensions of the past. To her, he was the “Apostle of Hope.” Their friendship began in 1978, shortly after Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, was elected pope and took the name John Paul II. A fellow Pole, Allen-Shore wrote to him, addressing their similar experiences during World War II and her hope for a better future. She received a response, and the two corresponded back and forth until his death in 2005.

They communicated in various languages, though mainly their native Polish tongue.

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April 25, 2014

John XXIII, John Paul II linked by love of dialogue with world

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — John XXIII and John Paul II, who will be canonized Sunday, are “bound together” by their love for addressing the world in conversation, a cardinal who worked with them both has said.

“Before John XXIII, the pope was perceived as one who made pronouncements from on high; John XXIII was the first pope speaking off the cuff, and he paved the way for a new style,” said Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in a recent interview with CNA. “And of course we all remember the spontaneous meetings John Paul II had, especially with young people.”

Cardinal Poupard worked at the Secretariat of State beginning in 1959, the second year of Angelo Roncalli’s papacy.

John Paul II appointed him head of the Secretariat for Non-Believers in 1980, and he was president of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 1988 to 2007.

Cardinal Poupard had the opportunity to spend time with both popes, and saw that “during their meetings, both of them turned into, in a sense, who they had been before their election.”

He recalled his first meeting with John XXIII, when he, a 29-year-old priest of Paris, presented the Roman pontiff with the book he published after his doctoral dissertation, about the appointments of bishops in France.

“The appointment of bishops! You wanted to work hard!,” John XXIII told Father Poupard, reminded of his own efforts in French bishop appointments.

Roncalli had been apostolic nuncio to France from 1944 to 1953.

“In the conversation, he turned into the apostolic nuncio again,” Cardinal Poupard reflected.

He then recounted that “when John Paul II spoke about the situation in Poland, he spoke such that he turned back to being the Bishop of Krakow, mentioning the Primate, Stefan Wyszynski.”

Cardinal Poupard said that “John XXIII was the first pope ‘speaking off the cuff,’” and he also “introduced into the style of encyclicals, the reading of the signs of times.”

This style is peculiarly evident, he said, in Pacem in terris, John XXIII’s last encyclical and “his spiritual legacy, I would say,

since he died some weeks after the encyclical had been issued.”

Cardinal Poupard explained that “every chapter of the encyclical starts with a statement dealing with an aspiration of men to peace, to freedom, to dignity.”

This style of Pacem in terris was an inspiration for the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, which was something “new in the history of ecumenical councils.”

“Conciliar documents had always been based on God, on revelation … Gaudium et spes

inaugurated a new way of addressing the world, an inductive method which began from the aspirations of the human being instead of a deductive method with a basis in revelation.”

He said John XXIII paved the way to a more spontaneous way of being pope, upon which John Paul II built, citing in particular the Pole’s institution of World Youth Day. John Paul II frequently engaged in conversation with the world through his trips to 129 countries, and his dialogue with other Christians and with the followers of other religions.

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hortly after Emilie was accepted and registered to enter UMass Dartmouth in the fall last year, a tragedy of which we are all aware struck

April 25, 2014

Called to be there

the Boston Marathon when the Tsarnaev brothers set off two bombs near the finish line of the prestigious and beloved event that killed three and

severely injured more than 250 there. others.

We rode into Beantown on One of the brothers, the bus and walked about a Dzhokhar, happened to be a mile from South Station to the student at UMass Dartmouth. finish line, the site of last year’s Soon Emilie began receiving carnage. text alerts from UMD about Spirits were high among the security procedures taking place throngs walking with us. The on the Dartmouth campus. most disturbing part of the day Together, we watched as heliwas having to pass through copters landed on the usuallysecurity check points manned peaceful campus, as did many police vehicles, some armored.

Having not even step foot in a classroom yet, Emilie felt the emotions and fears

By Dave Jolivet students on the campus did.

There were some who looked down on the Dart- by scores of police, police dogs, mouth school, and jokes flew and barricades. Once through, around about it being a “terror- things were normal again, ist school.” despite a strong police presence It was then that Emilie and I that could be seen, including vowed to travel to the 2014 edi- members of the N.Y. City Potion of the Boston Marathon — lice Bomb Squad, plain-clothed for a few reasons. Primarily to law enforcement officials, secuwear UMD garb and show sup- rity cameras seemingly everyport for the school, but also to where, and helicopters hovering support the victims, and to show overhead. that Boston Strong extends well Shortly before the runners beyond Boylston Street. started to reach the finish line, Emilie, Danny and I made and while the wheelchair racthe trek to Boston last Monday, ers were arriving, we went to eager to be a part of the great the site where the first bomb event and to be a part of a fam- exploded last year. It was full of ily of about one million other life and excitement, yet there folks who felt the need to be was also a sense of sadness and

My View From the Stands

reflection for those whose life ended or was changed forever at that site.

We moved away, just past the finish line to cheer on the racers as they began their wind down period. Some were still filled with adrenalin and spirit, others were zombie-like in their gait.

We cheered and shouted out encouragement, and many returned the applause with thanks and a great big smile.

I was particularly struck by one runner who had what I detected as an Italian accent who walked directly in front of us and said, “Boston is the best marathon, and the people of Boston are the best spectators. Thank you.

Thank you.”

Emilie, Dan and I had a wonderful time interacting with the runners, despite the fact they had just pushed themselves to the limit for 26.2 miles.

Wearing our UMD sweatshirts, Emilie and I were also nabbed by a local TV station for an interview on why we were there. The answer was simple. We were there to support Boston, to support UMD, to support the victims. We were called to be there — last year.

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

Emilie and me at the Boston Marathon finish line shortly before the runners arrived. (Photo

by Dan Bowman)

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April 25, 2014

Catholics run Boston Marathon in memory of boy slain at last year’s race

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — “No more hurting people. Peace,” read the poster held by Martin Richard, the youngest life lost on Marathon Monday last year. The image of the smiling, snaggletoothed eight-year-old boy accompanied by his message against violence stood in stark contrast to the twin explosions that killed three and injured an estimated 264 others on Apr. 15, 2013.

Both friends of the Richard family and total strangers report being inspired by the photo, and some say the Richard family’s story caused them to lean on their own Catholic faith.

This Patriots Day, April 21, 100 people ran the Boston Marathon’s 26.2-mile course in honor of Martin. They were raising funds for the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, a charity established by his family to promote Martin’s message of peace.

According to the foundation’s Website, Martin’s view of peace meant more than non-violence. It included “togetherness, teamwork, fairness, sportsmanship, inclusion, and the prevention of bullying.”

Larry Marchese, spokesman for the Richard family, said the foundation would like to invest in education, athletics and community. The organization will contribute to peace curriculi for schools and fund

projects like peace corners in public libraries. The latter would give children access to books that explain what peace means and biographies on famous peacemakers like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa.

Marchese added that Denise and Bill Richards, Martin’s parents, hope the foundation will bring something positive out of Martin’s death. At the marathon last year, Martin’s parents and two siblings were with him at the finish line. Denise suffered a head injury and loss of sight in one eye, Bill had burns on his legs and hearing loss and Martin’s younger sister lost her left leg. His older brother was physically unharmed. In press releases, the family repeatedly cited their Catholic faith as a source of strength in their grief and healing.

The foundation’s first fundraising effort was the 2014 Boston Marathon. Each runner for the foundation promised to raise at least $7,500.

Frank Fumich, an extreme marathoner from Arlington, Va., has already run the Boston course. He and friends collectively ran 18 marathons covering the distance from the Pentagon to the Boston Marathon finish line to raise money for victims of the marathon bombing.

He was inspired to run this year’s Boston Marathon by Martin.

“He was a young boy and

Martin Richard, who was killed in the Boston Marathon attacks, is shown in this undated family handout photo. (CNS photo/courtesy of Bill Richard via Reuters)

had his whole life in front of him,” he said. “I just thought about my girls and, God, what his parents must be going through.”

Fumich ran his first marathon 17 years ago for his aunt who was dying from a brain tumor. Fumich, a Catholic, offered up his pain for her and continues to offer up his pain for a worthy cause with each subsequent marathon. He also prays while he runs, asking God to give him strength.

“There’s nothing special about me. I’m not really that talented,” he said. “Often, I am literally saying ‘Hail Marys’ if things get really bad or talking to my dad who passed away years back.”

Jamie Przypek, a casual runner from Springfield, said he hit “the wall” for the first time during the Hop-21, the marathon training run held on March 29 this year. The 21mile course runs from the Boston Marathon starting line in Hopkinton to just past Heartbreak Hill — the steep, final hill before the finish line.

“I was stopped at a water station at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill,” he said. “My body was saying, ‘You can’t do it. You can’t do it. You can’t do it,’ and I just reached a little deeper and asked for some help.”

Przypek, also Catholic, said God answered his prayer for strength, and he was able to finish. He added that the thought of Martin kept him going.

Diane Pokorny Wilson, a personal trainer who lives in Brookline, said she carried a picture of Martin during a half Ironman Triathlon last year.

“I keep Martin so close to me,” she said. “I feel that I’m being lifted a bit by his spirit.

I try to keep him with me in my thoughts, and he’s in my prayers.”

Wilson’s son was friends with Martin, and she got to know him when she trained a group of students to run a half marathon.

“He was a kid with a huge smile and a huge heart, and he loved life,” she said.

Wilson, a Catholic, said she has been inspired by the Richards’ ability to draw strength from the Church.

“Your kids are your life. To lose a child is unimaginable,” she said. “Their faith is utterly amazing.”

Organ donation supports culture of life continued from page one

physical and psychological risks incurred by the donor must be proportionate to the good sought for the recipient and the donor must be aware of these risks and the proportionate good”; “to destroy the healthy functioning or intrinsic beauty of one’s body, even to delay death of another, is morally wrong.”

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” explains the requirements further: “Organ transplants are not morally acceptable if the donor or those who legitimately speak for him have not given consent. Organ transplants conform with the moral law and can be meritorious if the physical and psychological dangers and risk incurred by the donor are proportionate to the good sought for the recipient. It is morally inadmissible directly to bring out the disabling mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of the other persons” (no. 2296).

According to the American Transplant Foundation, more than 119,000 people in the United States are currently on the waiting list for a life-saving organ. Another name is added to the national transplant waiting list every 12 minutes. One deceased donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation, and can save and enhance more than 100 lives through the lifesaving and healing gift of tissue donation.

A healthy person can become a “living donor” by donating a kidney, or part of a liver, lung, intestine, blood

or bone marrow. More than 6,000 living donations occur each year. One in four donors is not biologically related to the recipient.

In Canton, the nonprofit organization MatchingDonors is the nation’s largest online living donor organization finding living organ donors for people needing organ transplants. Currently patients waiting for an organ donation are placed on a national waiting list through the government. A computer system matches the patients to donor organs according to objective criteria such as blood type and tissue type, immune status, medical urgency and time spent on the waiting list. The average time to receive a deceased person’s organ is seven to 12 years.

While the ranking system helps determine which patients are offered available organs, MatchingDonors offers a way to enhance the search with a more active approach. For example, many patients receive his or her kidney transplant within six months of registering the MatchingDonors website.

The true purpose of being an organ donor is to be a living example of the Gospel of Life, and to counter the misconception that those who support organ donation support a culture of death.

In order to protect their own life and promote the Gospel of Life for all, organ donors and those who survive them have a responsibility to practice and promote the moral teachings of the Church.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, April 27, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Edward A. Murphy, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford

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April 25, 2014

Bishop celebrates anniversary during Chrism Mass continued from page one

portunity to publicly thank his brother priests.

“I express my deep admiration and gratitude to all my brother priests of the Diocese of Fall River who have shared all or a portion of their priesthood with me over the past 50 years,” he said. “These years have been among the more challenging periods of time for the Church in the United States. They have demanded of our priests a strong faith in Christ, Who chose them, and unswerving fidelity to the Church as the Body of Christ.”

As the presbyterate prepared to renew their priestly promises — one of the ceremonies unique to the Chrism Mass — Bishop Coleman also called upon everyone gathered in the cathedral to pray for increased vocations.

“Like myself, the presbyterate of our diocese is aging,” Bishop Coleman said. “The need for younger, faith-filled and energetic priests to serve the people of our diocese is great. I invite all present to pray that the Lord send such workers into His vineyard, a portion of which is the Diocese of Fall River. These generous workers usually come from the faith-filed families of our local Church.”

Looking ahead to Pope Francis’ canonization of his predecessors — Blessed Pope John XXIII and Blessed Pope

John Paul II — that will take place on Divine Mercy Sunday, Bishop Coleman also shared personal memories of the two former pontiffs.

In 1962 while studying as a seminarian in Rome, Bishop Coleman recalled witnessing the historic opening of the Second Vatican Council.

“I remember watching from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica as the 2,500 bishops processed into the nave of the Basilica — I recognized a few of them, Cardinal Spellman of New York, Cardinal Cushing of Boston, and our own Bishop James Connolly of Fall River, my predecessor,” he said. “At the end of the procession was Pope John XXIII carried on the sedia gestatoria, his eyes closed, obviously in deep prayer. I remember the hope-filled address he gave to the fathers of the council on that magnificent October day. Toward the end of the address he said: ‘The council now beginning rises in the Church like daybreak, a forerunner of the fullness of day’s light. It is still only dawn. And already at this first announcement of the rising day, how much sweetness fills our heart!’

“Many years have passed since Pope John uttered these words. In many ways, it is still dawn. Our hope remains strong that God will grant the Church the grace to realize ‘the fullness of day’s light’ described by Pope

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John XXIII.” Bishop Coleman also spoke fondly of Pope John Paul II — who appointed him as the eighth bishop of Fall River on Apr. 30, 2003 — and how appropriate it is that he will be canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday.

“Throughout the years of his papacy, the theme of God’s mercy ran through the teachings of Pope John Paul II,” he said. “He devoted one of his encyclical letters to this theme.

It is entitled, ‘Rich in Mercy.’ I would like to quote one paragraph of this letter: “‘In the name of Jesus Christ crucified and risen, we raise our voices and pray that the Love which is in the Father may once again be revealed at this stage of history, and that, through the work of the Son and Holy Spirit, it may be shown to be present in our modern world and to be more powerful than evil: more powerful than sin and death.

We pray for this through the intercession of Mary who does not cease to proclaim ‘mercy from generation to generation,’ and also through the intercession of those for whom there have been fulfilled the words of the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’”

Noting that one of the documents of Vatican II restored usage of the term “domestic church” to describe the Christian family, Bishop Coleman said the family remains a crucial component in nurturing vocations and the future of the Church.

“It is parents who should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a Sacred state,” Bishop Coleman said, quoting from Vatican II. “I ask you, please pray that our families may be strong in faith and love, that Christ’s presence may be found in each of our ‘domestic churches.’

“And, to those young men listening to me, to whom Christ is saying: ‘Come, follow Me” (Mt 14:9) — young men whom Christ is calling to be priests, I say: ‘Listen to the Lord. Put your trust in Him.’ To serve Christ and His people is an adventure in faith which will respond to the deepest desires of your heart.

Do not be afraid! Christ will be with you always!”

Honoring the Hour of Great Mercy continued from page one

sionary Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, bringing with Him a message of mercy for all mankind. In obedience to her spiritual director, she recorded the mystical encounters in a diary of about 600 pages spanning a seven-year period.

“My daughter tell the whole world about my Inconceivable mercy,” Jesus told her. “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.”

Sister Faustina was canonized by Pope John Paul II on Apr. 30, 2000.

“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord clothed in a white garment,” wrote the saint in her diary. “One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast, there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, ‘Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.’” Throughout the Diocese of Fall River, this Image of the Divine Mercy, painted under the guidance of St. Faustina, will be placed in parish sanctuaries Sunday; and the Divine Mercy Chaplet will be sung at special 3 p.m. celebrations of the Feast Day. “At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony,” Jesus told St. Faustina. “This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion.”

Three years ago, faithful gathered at the Church of the Holy Ghost in Tiverton to take part in a Divine Mercy Sunday Healing Service with Eileen George. But at the eleventh-hour, Father Jay Finelli, pastor of the Church of the Holy Ghost, received the

sad news that she was ill and unable to come.

An audible sigh reverberated around the sanctuary with his announcement.

“I went into panic mode,” Father Finelli told the gathering. “But this is Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus came back for a second time (the Sunday after the Resurrection), and He’s here with us. It’s not Eileen that is going to be healing today; it is not me; it is Him. We will pray.”

Father Finelli put the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance and placed it on the altar.

“We’ve all come with expectations. I did, too,” he said.

“But she’s not here. If you need to be healed, don’t go to a person. Eileen can’t heal; it’s Jesus that heals through her.

All we need to do when we need anything is go into the church and sit before Him in faith. If you came for some kind of healing, lay it at the altar.”

Father Finelli told the Gospel story of the woman with a hemorrhage of 12 years’ duration, incurable at any doctor’s hands, who came up behind Jesus and touched His cloak.

Immediately, she was healed.

“She heard Jesus was coming to town (and she thought) if I can get there, all I have to do is touch the hem of His garment, and I’ll be healed,” he said. “How much faith she had!”

Father Finelli recalled his first visit to Rome, when he saw the pope at a distance.

“I dashed through a hole (in the crowd) to shake hands with John Paul II. You have to be tough,” he said laughing.

“The old Italians are tough, and the nuns even tougher.”

Father Finelli said that all believers can follow the example of the woman in the Gospel and reach out to Jesus.

“Picture Him in your mind, and when He walks by, touch Him,” he said. “It’s not magic.

What we call it is faith. I believe He is present — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He’s here fully and fully in Heaven.

He wants to reach out and touch everyone.”

Together, we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

“Have mercy on us and on the whole world,” we sang in unison over and over again; and a chain of unbroken prayers covered the earth.

Jesus, we trust in You.

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April 25, 2014

Our readers respond The real heroes The Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade controversy caught my attention this year, and has shaped my Lenten journey in a profound way.

At the same time, I have been intrigued by The Anchor’s coverage of the issue. Quite frankly I am baffled by your ambiguous and tentative treatment of the real heroes of the piece: the faculty and students of Immaculate Heart School, Still River. Even more astounding, in my view, was the tank of red herrings that you so blithely released into The Anchor’s discussion of the topic. Much of your musing was little more than persiflage.

I found it odd, for instance, to find you scapegoating Cardinal Law and Father Leonard Feeney for actions that not only were not intrinsically evil, but actually had nothing to do with the matter at hand, namely IHM’s valiant resistance to the bully tactics of a pressure group determined to foist themselves and their anti-Catholic agenda on a renowned parade celebrating the apostle of Ireland and principal patron of the archdiocese of Boston, St. Patrick. You chose two targets easily dismissed today by a readership rendered unsympathetic by the campaigns of virulently antiCatholic media. Presenting such straw men scarcely enhanced your argument. This tactic was gratuitous, self-serving, and unworthy of a Catholic journalist.

In your 3-7-14 editorial “Distractions from our Lenten Call,” you wonder furthermore, “whether the school in Harvard would have been better off to take the more ‘low key’ approach of the Good News Bible Chapel in Attleboro which quietly ended its relationship with the Scouts” over the latter’s policy regarding the admission of homosexualists to their ranks. This is bad enough; after all, pusillanimity was never the hallmark of Christ’s Church in times of persecution or controversy. Far worse, and utterly misleading on several levels, was the inept comparison you next drew in reference to the GNB Chapel’s approach: “sort of like St. Joseph dealing with Mary’s pregnancy, until the dream let him in on God’s plan.”

Whether one accepts the interpretation commonly held in eastern circles (influenced by the Protevangelium of James c. AD 150) that Joseph suspected the Virgin Mother of actual misconduct, or shares the view of St. Jerome (+420) and St. Bernard (+1153) that St. Joseph feared to admit the living Ark of the New Covenant to his home, one is not justified in concluding that St. Joseph’s decision not to disclose Mary’s mystery arose from a fear of disturbing the status quo. To compare St. Joseph’s initial temptation to divorce Our Lady quietly with the decision of a scout troop to back away from a row with homosexualists now ensconced in the Boy Scout movement misses the mark altogether.

Catholic leaders worthy of the name, including hierarchy, clergy, and yes, even journalists cannot continue to take the path of least resistance without grave consequences to the flock whom they claim to serve. Creeping into a fox hole, a catacomb, a bunker, or the well-panelled office of a chancery building in order to avoid the criticism of forces hostile to the Church cannot remain an option for men entrusted by God

and the Holy See with the office of teaching, sanctifying, and governing Christ’s faithful. The Church today, as in every age, needs pastors who are not only vigilant, but clear, firm, and audible in matters pertaining to faith and morals. What other purpose do the clergy and the hierarchy serve than to lead others by clear teaching and the example of unimpeachable personal integrity?

Today’s Catholic leaders might with profit take a leaf from the tome of Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), one of the outspoken Protestant ministers in Germany who stood up to Adolf Hitler during the rise to power of the Nazi party. In an address written after spending the last seven years of the Nazi regime in jail, Niemöller recalled a chilling chain of events: “First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Finally, they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

You then suggest that the school would have done better not to challenge the homosexualist invasion because, in your view, somehow such an approach would have imitated Our Lord’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I fail to see the analogy here. Recall that Christ initiated that encounter with the conversion of the woman in mind. The homosexualist challenge was visited on the parade, and IHM offered to leave the parade rather than be identified with a flawed agenda. Christ reminded the Samaritan woman that she was not married because, although she had had five husbands, the man with whom she was then living was not her husband. The result of this “hard saying” of Jesus was the conversion of the Samaritan woman and her eagerness to bear witness to Christ as the Messiah.

You claim in your recent response to letters on the St. Patrick’s Day brouhaha that with reference to the withdrawal of IHM School “it was a good thing.” Nevertheless, you insist that IHM ought to have slunk away from the parade in silence, not bothering to state its reasoning for doing so. Such a cowardly act would have failed to give prophetic witness to their courageous decision.

The recent ousting of Brendan Eich from his post at Mozilla for his support of traditional Christian Marriage, together with the humiliation and forced sabbatical of Dominican Sister Jane Dominic Laurel for her remarks on homosexualist agendas, ought to give all of us pause. When are we going to hear the officially appointed leaders of the Catholic Church engage the bullies ganging up on the Church?

The Anchor enjoys a unique and privileged means of proclaiming the Gospel and the Church’s teachings.

It’s high time The Anchor abandoned its armchair philosophizings, the wistful ruminations on past figures, the red herrings, the contrary-tofact hypotheses, and other profitless speculations. In the light of the Paschal Mystery now upon us, it’s time to fulfill the Lord’s mandate: “Going forth, teach all nations.”

Eugene Cotnoir North Smithfield, R.I.

Executive Editor responds: Thank you for your fraternal correction and I will try in the future to be more true to defending the Catholic faith and to not attacking people who cannot defend themselves because they are either dead or have been vilified by the dominant society.

As I wrote beforehand, part of my intention was to defend the Archdiocese of Boston when it was attacked by the Catholic Action League. Since The Anchor is an official newspaper, it should stand united with it neighboring dioceses. As I mentioned before, I have also defended Bishop Tobin of Providence when he was attacked by The Boston Globe.

Your mention of “intrinsically evil” reminds us that among those actions which are of that variety are not the pulling out a float from a parade, but sexual relations between two people of the same gender. Writing that line will get angry reactions from some readers, but that is the teaching of the Church, based on the Natural Law which God ordained.

“The Catechism of the Catholic Church” says at #2357, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’ (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona Humana 8). They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”

Just so that it does not look like we are singling out people with samesex attractions for correction, we all need to remember that we are all called to chastity (our society would not be in the situation in which it finds itself now if it were not for the separation of sex from procreation which occurred in the 20th century).

Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Casti Conubii wrote at #61, “No difficulty can arise that justifies the putting aside of the law of God which forbids all acts intrinsically evil. There is no possible circumstance in which husband and wife cannot, strengthened by the grace of God, fulfill faithfully their duties and preserve in wedlock their chastity unspotted. This truth of Christian faith is expressed by the teaching of the Council of Trent.

‘Let no one be so rash as to assert that which the Fathers of the council have placed under anathema, namely, that there are precepts of God impossible for the just to observe. God does not ask the impossible, but by His commands, instructs you to do what you are able, to pray for what you are not able that He may help you.’”

From what Pope Pius wrote to heterosexual married couples, reminding them that God is always ready to assist them in living their marital sexual relationship in a chaste manner, we extrapolate that the same is true for people with same-sex attractions. God will help them live continent chastity if they request that of God in prayer and by living in a manner which builds good habits.

I concede your points regarding St. Joseph and Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.

In regards to the CEO being forced out at Mozilla and talks on chastity for homosexuals being rejected by audiences at Catholic schools (after you wrote your letter another brouhaha developed in Rhode Island, similar

to the one in North Carolina), Father Landry gave a very good defense in his column last week. Ross Douthat of the conservative National Review also wrote a good, although sad, column on the topic recently (March 2, 2014) in the New York Times, entitled, “The Terms of Our Surrender.” In it he details how the samesex marriage movement has moved along so fast that now religious conservatives are seen to have no right to negotiate any rights of conscience, since that would somehow allow “bigotry” to have rights. He wrote, “Now, apparently, the official line is that you bigots don’t get to negotiate anymore. The conjugal, male-female view of Marriage is too theologically rooted to disappear, but its remaining adherents can be marginalized, set against one other, and encouraged to conform. I am being descriptive here, rather than self-pitying. Christians had plenty of opportunities — thousands of years’ worth — to treat gay people with real charity, and far too often chose intolerance (And still do, in many instances and places). So being marginalized, being sued, losing tax-exempt status — this will be uncomfortable, but we should keep perspective and remember our sins, and nobody should call it persecution.”

I would argue with Douthat’s last point. I think this is a persecution — true, not the bloody type that is being had in many countries on the planet, but as the Carpenters used to sing, “We’ve only just begun.” As he said, supporters of traditional Marriage will be “set against one another.” I am sorry for having fallen into that trap.

Sticking with what you know In response to the editorial of 3-7-2014, “Distraction from our Lenten Call,” “I am not an expert on the Father Feeney/Cardinal Cushing controversy, so I will not respond point-by-point on that matter.” Then why did you speak on the matter in the first place instead of the matter at hand? I have some advice especially seeing that advice is so freely given. Try to stick with what you know, keeping with that “low key” attitude.

Luke Austin Gardner Executive Editor responds: Thank you also for your fraternal correction. As I said in my response to the prior letter, I stand corrected by you (although if an archdiocese chooses to take a “low key” approach, I have an obligation to support it).

It was lazy of me to not respond point-by-point to the previous letters regarding the Father Feeney/Cardinal Cushing controversy. Rereading the letters on the topic (which can be read on The Anchor website) I can see that although the controversy is normally portrayed (erroneously) as Father Feeney being excommunicated for believing that no one who did not explicitly enter the Catholic Church could be saved, instead the excommunication was imposed by the Holy See as a disciplinary punishment during the time of Cardinal Cushing’s administration, while Cardinal Medeiros was instrumental in having the excommunication removed and Father Feeney and his community reconciled with the Church.

I wish I knew There are times I wish we knew more about what Jesus was trying

to tell us.

Is it possible that His teaching against divorce and remarriage had to do with desire, not necessity?

Let’s look at an example — drawn from the life of a friend — in which a woman with an abusive spouse and three small kids wishes to remarry after finally getting rid of her convicted drug-dealer “husband.” Her priest had said it couldn’t be done, but after the little girl is abused by the husband, the woman feels as if she has no choice and files for a civil divorce, leaving her — in the eyes of the state at least — free to marry again.

A man enters her life who is not only committed to loving and protecting her, but to loving and providing for the little ones. Is it possible that the forces of the Church — speaking in the name of the loving Jesus of Nazareth — would deny this woman the opportunity of finding real love for herself and her little ones?

If that’s so, then it seems to me that charity is taking a back seat to legalism — the very situation that is loudly decried other places in your paper, namely in the articles regarding immigration policy.

If we’re required as Catholics to love and accept illegal immigrants, how are we not required to show love and acceptance to our own relatives and neighbors who through no fault of their own are victims of bad marriages? Is it just and charitable to consider as “indissoluble” a relationship that has degenerated into one of fear and physical abuse, while condemning a loving relationship as “adulterous”?

Such an attitude seems to me to be far more Islamic than Christian.

I don’t often disagree with Church teaching, but I think she’s way off base in considering something evil as an expression of God’s desire for “indissolubility.”

Bill Black Falmouth Executive Editor responds: Thank you for your letter. Father Landry gave a good explanation in our April 11 edition as to why the Church cannot ignore Christ’s teaching on Marriage and indissolubility. The Church is not trying to be legalistic about people’s painful situations and, as Father Landry wrote, Pope Francis is looking to see how more effectively we can deal with these situations.

In looking at the marriage you described, it is quite possible that the Church might declare it null, that it never really existed, even though a Marriage ceremony occurred, but something was lacking inside of one or both of the people saying their vows. It is true, however, that maybe the Church might not be able to f ind such a reason to declare it null. Nonetheless, we cannot set aside Jesus’ complaining about how Moses was forced to allow divorce.

It is not just the Church but God Who “requires” us “to love and accept” illegal immigrants and people who are “the victims of bad marriages.” This does not mean that there is an infallible teaching regarding immigration nor does it mean that our loving them allows us to set aside Christ’s teachings (see the letters to the left of this one for similar situations).

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Ana Riley, superintendent of Dartmouth Schools, was the guest speaker at the St. Michael School, Fall River, Junior and Elementary National Honor Society Induction Ceremony. pastor Father John Raposo led the 48 inductees in prayer and gave them their certificates. Mary Wick, the advisor, pinned the students and Riley gave them flowers.

Youth Pages

Students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently held a basketball banquet for the CYO boys basketball teams and the SJSJ cheerleaders.

CYO basketball All-Star tourney held

FALL RIVER — The annual Fall River Diocesan CYO Basketball All-Star Tournaments recently took place. The Girls Tournament was held at the Sullivan-McCarrick CYO Center in Fall River. In the first game, Fall River defeated New Bedford by a score of 44-39. New Bedford led by four points at halftime and upped it to a nine point lead in the second half before a pressing defense led Fall River back to take the lead with about three minutes to go in the game. The Fall River girls were led by Madison Burt with 15 points and Molly Duclous with eight. New Bedford’s Lindsay Ramos topped all scorers with 18 points and teammate Kiara Sylvia chipped in with 12.

In the championship game, Fall River defeated Taunton by a score of 44-23. Abby Callahan scored 11 points and teammates Madison Burt and Sam Soares chipped in with 10 and eight points respectively. Taunton led by two points at the half but Fall River quickly pulled away when play resumed. Mikayla Cardies had 12 points and Liz Williams four points for Taunton.

The Tourney All Star Team was made up of Mikayla Cardies from Taunton, Lindsey Ramos and Kiara Sylvia from New Bedford, Abby Callahan and Jillianne Chippendale from Fall River.

Fall River’s Madison Burt was named the MVP of the tournament.

The Boys All Star Tournament took place at the Taunton Catholic Middle School Gym. New Bedford and Fall River squared off in the first game with New Bedford prevailing by a score of 52-30. The second game matchup was between New Bedford and Fall River. The score was a little closer but New Bedford ended up winning the tournament by a score of 51-42.

Baron Hilton and Jason Gamache from New Bedford were named to the All Tourney Team. They were joined by Taunton All-Stars Sammy Brown, Danny Taylor and Mike Wilder. Bryden Goodine of New Bedford captured the Tourney MVP Award.

April 25, 2014

Fifth-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River use iPads to take notes to enhance their knowledge of early explorers as part of a Social Studies project.

During Lent St. Mary’s School in Taunton initiated a service project called “Socks of Love.” A recipient receives a new pair of socks filled with toiletries and necessary items they may need for personal care including the love of God shared by compassionate hearts of the students and families that filled and donated the socks. St. Mary’s families have donated more than 200 pairs of filled socks. The “Socks of Love” were given to Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton for its food pantry and also to the St. Vincent de Paul Society for it to distribute.

Pictured are fifth-grade students and Coyle students with “Socks of Love.”

Graham Smith, right, a Confirmation student at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich joined in the singing and dancing at the recent Youth Convention held at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth.

The fourth-graders at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently presented the annual Presidents’ Presentation. Each student dressed up as a particular president and gave a two-minute speech about the importance of their presidency. In addition, the students rapped to a special song that included all the presidents.

Mrs. Drummey, Father Thomas Costa, faculty and students of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton recently celebrated Fenway Park’s 2014 Opening Day with a Red Sox Spirit Day fund-raiser to raise money for the school’s library. Friends and alumni wishing to donate books in remembrance of their school can send them to Our Lady of Lourdes Library Fund, 52 First Street, Taunton, Mass., 02780.

Youth Pages Fearful yet overjoyed

April 25, 2014

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Horace Lewis, left, a case manager at Samaritan House in Taunton, accepts a donation from the youth ministry members at Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Taunton, who held a fast to raise funds for the shelter.

Taunton youth raise funds to help Samaritan House

TAUNTON — The Annunciation of the Lord youth ministry of Taunton recently participated in a “Food Fast,” a 10-hour hunger awareness event at their church. The purpose was to create an awareness of the impact of poverty and inequity in a world of plenty and to give the youth ideas about how to make positive changes in the world.

This event included fasting, prayer, activities, and discussion to teach youth about issues developing in our world. It was followed by a “Break the Fast” dinner. The youth ministry collected pledges and was able to donate $805 to the Taunton Samaritan House.

The youth ministry chose this charity because one night during one of its Faith Formation sessions, a woman wandered into the parish hall seeking shelter. The youth were

informed that Taunton has only one homeless shelter, the Samaritan House, which Catholic Social Services directs.

It is a sober transitional homeless shelter for men and women in Taunton, with 20 beds on multiple floors and is staffed 24-hours-a-day. In addition to shelter, the program offers a wide range of supportive services including assessment, job skills training, budgeting information, and access to mental health and other needed services. Samaritan House is committed to helping individuals secure the needed community resources to secure housing, employment and long-term sustainability. Once the youth heard this, they immediately wanted to help out the Samaritan House and participate in a Food Fast event to raise donations.

Pope John Paul II High School (Hyannis) senior Michael Fenuccio, center, earned two Presidential Scholarships to attend the University of Miami’s prestigious Frost School of Music. He will major in Music Business at the Coral Gables school. In order to qualify for the scholarships Fenuccio needed to demonstrate significant academic achievement above and beyond the average academic profile of a student admitted to UM’s freshman class; demonstrate significant musical talent; have significant academic achievement in the classroom typically taking the most challenging curriculum and earning top grades throughout his high school career; show performance in the top tier of his high school class; and, have significant achievement on standardized tests. Additionally, Michael auditioned for a review committee from the Frost School of Music. With Michael are his parents Richard and Mary Lou, and JPII director of the Performing Arts, Richard Fish (back row).

e is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy Easter!

Our Lenten journey is over.

This Lent felt especially long.

I thought giving up make up would be an easy sacrifice. Turns out it was much more difficult than I imagined. I am very happy to have my old friend mascara back!

My favorite piece of Easter is the Vigil Mass. I feel it is one of the most beautiful traditions we have as Catholics. The imagery and the symbolism are breathtaking. The old adage, “It is always darkest before the dawn,” is so fitting for the Easter Vigil. We progress all through Lent through this darkness (literally for me because of the dark circles under my eyes that I could not hide with foundation) and complete it with the darkest start we have to any Mass, the Easter Vigil. It is the culmination of our Lenten journey.

I love how it all makes sense.

I know there are many people who feel that Good Friday is the saddest day of the Church year. However, I have always felt that Holy Saturday is the more depressing. Two thousand years later, we know that after Good Friday and Holy Saturday is Easter Sunday but if we put ourselves back in the Jesus’ time, Holy Saturday is just the first full day we don’t get to see and hear Jesus. If we apply it to our own lives, it is the day after the funeral of a loved one. We do not know how to return to our ordinary lives, yet we know we cannot go backwards to what use to be. It is the darkest moment.

So we begin Mass in darkness. Then we receive the light of a candle. And then suddenly, all the lights come as and we can see one another, just as we ought to. We have traveled through the time of trial and penance and made it to the season of life. The word “Easter” derives from the Greek and Latin word Pascha meaning Passover. Our Easter is the new Passover. Our Paschal Lamb has brought us from darkness into light and has saved us from death. And now we celebrate the Easter season. Fifty days of Easter!

For the last three years, the greatest blessing in the ministry to which God has called me, has been the gift of facilitating our RCIA program at Bishop Stang. Each year I have met with students and shared my faith with them. It is their faith however, that has been the biggest part of the formation. As a cradle Catholic, I have always been at Mass and have received

the Eucharist almost every week since I was seven years old. I feel like I sometimes forget how awesome (in the truest sense of the word) the Eucharist is. I know and fully believe it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ but I do not think that I always comprehend the fullness of that. Talking to these students as they prepare to receive Christ in the Eucharist for the first time

Be Not Afraid

By Amanda Tarantelli is so moving.

Two years ago, I remember watching one of my students receive her First Communion at the Vigil Mass and watching her cry. She was so overwhelmed at what was about to happen that she simply could not hold back the tears. I remember thinking how beautiful that was to witness. And so this began my tear-filled Easter Vigils. I cannot make it through the Easter Vigils without crying. Partially it is because it is my students that I am witnessing receiving full initiation into the Church. It is mostly though because there is nothing more beautiful to me than watching people receive the grace of God. And the Gospel for the Vigil is particularly touching.

Obviously it is the reading of the Resurrection of Christ but something stood out to me this year. In the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the Resurrection, we read that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary have just been told that Jesus has been raised and they need to go tell the disciples. And as they walk away from the tomb we are told that

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they are “fearful yet overjoyed” (Mt 28:1-10). I think that sums up our Christian journey. We are fearful because we know that we do not always stay in the light of Easter. We are fearful because we know the message of Christ is not always accepted but by our Baptism, we are called to share the Good News. We are overjoyed though, because we know that it is indeed, Good News! We know that we have been given a new life.

In the beginning of the same Gospel reading and again at the end of the Gospel reading we read the woman being told to not be afraid.

As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us 365 times to not fear. Once a day, every day of the year, God reminds us to not be afraid. Easter season is that time of year to be overjoyed. Again this year, I began my Eastertide with the tears at the Vigil, tears from being overjoyed at the realization that God continues to call all of us.

While it may not always be the first thing we hear about on the news, people are continuing to say “yes” to God every single day in new ways.

As our Holy Father reminds us this Easter, “In Jesus, love has triumphed over hatred, mercy over sinfulness, goodness over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death.” I pray that each and every one of us cast away our fears and carry the overwhelming joy of the truth of the Risen Christ into all areas of darkness. Happy Easter!

Anchor columnist Amanda Tarantelli has been a campus minister at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth since 2005. She is married, a die-hard sports fan, and resides in Cranston, R.I. She can be reached at atarantelli@ bishopstang.com.

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth announced two of its teachers have been selected by Barnes and Noble for the “My Favorite Teacher Contest” based on nominations from students. Jessica Seseske, a seven-year English teacher, took second place, and Kathy Crosson, a 37-year veteran and science department chairman, received Honorable Mention. From left, junior Theresa Gallagher who nominated Seseske, Seseske, Crosson, and junior Anthony Mahoney-Pacheco who nominated Crosson.

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April 25, 2014

Pope sends Easter eggs to hospitalized children, gift to the homeless

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Ensuring small patients at a Vatican-owned hospital could keep an Italian Easter tradition, Pope Francis donated 150 brightly wrapped chocolate Easter eggs to children, including those undergoing cancer treatment, at the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital near the Vatican.

Shortly before Christmas, Pope Francis had toured the hospital, which was founded in 1869 and has been owned by the Vatican since 1924. Romans call it “the pope’s hospital.”

The pope also had 200 food packets — containing milk, olive oil, pasta, fruit, jam and salt — delivered to poor families in Rome’s Tor Bella Monaca suburb.

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, and Msgr. Diego Ravelli, from the office of papal charities, offered 100 homeless people in the city an Easter card signed by Pope Francis in an envelope that included an undisclosed gift of financial aid, reportedly of 40 euros ($55) or 50 euros ($69).

A similar card and money

Around the Diocese ECHO of Cape Cod is sponsoring its third annual dinner/ auction at 6 p.m. on April 26 at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee. This fund-raiser helps to support the ECHO Retreat program, now celebrating its 44th year on Cape Cod. For tickets or more information, email EchoofCapeCod@gmail.com or call 508-759-4265.

The feast of Divine Mercy will be celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in New Bedford on April 27 beginning at 3 p.m. Devotion will include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, adoration, recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and Benediction. All are welcome to come and join in this celebration of Divine Mercy. Refreshments and pastry will be served following in the parish center.

The feast of Divine Mercy will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, Onset Bay Lane in Onset, on April 27 at 2:30 p.m. featuring the Divine Mercy Chaplet with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and veneration of the image. Guest speaker will be Marty Rotella, a three-time Grammy Award nominee, who will also perform live at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 5 Armory Road in Buzzards Bay. For more information call 508-295-8952.

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet on May 2 in the Chapel of St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street in Fall River.

Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Karl Bissinger, a hot meal catered by White’s of Westport will be served in the school hall across the street. The guest speaker is writer, photographer, film-maker and part-time disc jockey Kenneth J. Souza, now working full-time with The Anchor. The Mass is open to the public. Guest men interested in joining the dinner should contact Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174 with any questions.

The annual gala and auction to benefit St. Pius X School will take place at Oyster Harbors Club in Osterville on May 2. The event will feature the Big Band Sound of Stage Door Canteen. Come enjoy dinner, dancing, raffles, silent and live auctions. The silent auction will kick off the evening at 6 p.m. and the live auction will take place at 8 p.m. Tickets and sponsorships are now available. For more information visit www.spxsfriends.weebly.com or call 508 398-6112.

On May 4 from 2 to 5 p.m., St. Anthony’s Parish in East Falmouth will host an Antique Roadshow. Expert antique appraisers will value your items, and you may have a “National Treasure.” A $10 donation per item/collection will benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. St. Anthony’s kitchen will be open to serve a homemade supper menu. For more information call 508-457-0085.

Courage, a support group for people with same-sex attractions, will meet at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue in East Taunton. For more information, please call Father Richard Wilson at 508-226-1115.

also were given to 30 women living at the Casa Dono di Maria in the Vatican, a shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Blessed Teresa of Kolkata.

Archbishop Krajewski told an Italian reporter that some of the homeless men he had met April 18 while distributing the papal gifts were already preparing cardboard beds for the night outdoors. On opening the envelopes, “They began to dance with joy and to thank the Lord,” he related.

At Christmas, the pope had given homeless people in Rome phone cards and bus and subway tickets.

Two years ago, an Italian chocolate maker had donated a gigantic, 550-pound chocolate Easter egg to Pope Benedict XVI, which he in turn donated to a juvenile detention center in Rome.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks April 26 Rev. Ubalde Deneault, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, Attleboro, 1982 Rev. James F. Greene, Pastor, Our Lady of Fatima, New Bedford, 2002 April 27 Rev. Francis J. Bradley, D.D., Retired Rector, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fall River, 1925 Rev. Romeo D. Archambault, St. Anne, New Bedford, 1949 Rev. Edward F. O’Keefe, S.J., Retired, St. Francis Xavier, Boston, 1973 April 28 Rev. Stanislaus J. Goyette, Pastor, St. Louis de France, Swansea, 1959 April 29 Rev. James Leo Maguire, Pastor, Diocese of Monterey, California, 1987 Rev. Adolph Szelagowksi, OFM Conv., Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Bedford, 1989 Rev. Peter P. Mullen, M.M., Maryknoll Missioner, 1999 Rev. John M. Breen, M.M., Maryknoll Missioner, 2005 April 30 Rev. John A. Hurley, Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1900 Rev. David F. Sheedy, Pastor, St. John Evangelist, Attleboro, 1930 Rev. John Moda, Pastor, St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ford City, Pa., 1993 May 1 Rev. Francis J. Quinn, Founder, Immaculate Conception, North Easton; Founder, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1882 Rev. Joseph F. D’Amico, Pastor, Sacred Heart, Oak Bluffs, 1996 Rev. Walter A. Sullivan, Pastor, St. Mary, South Dartmouth, 1997 May 2 Rt. Rev. Msgr. M.P. Leonidas Lariviere, Pastor, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1963

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.

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at St. John the Evangelist Church on N. Main St. 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 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.

SOUTH YARMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Pius X Parish, 5 Barbara Street, on Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., from March 13 to April 10. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will also be offered at this time.

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. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ 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.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mount 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.

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 are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

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April 25, 2014

Good Friday removal from school calendar challenged continued from page one

anything,” Cairns said. “I just think enough is enough.”

“I think they were concerned about the total number of school ‘days’ (180) and they knew that many people did not show up for school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and figured they could make that a day off and then ‘take back’ Good Friday,” said Father Paul Caron, pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Mattapoisett and the neighboring St. Rita’s Parish in Marion. “The problem is that it was just done. There was no consultation with anyone in the towns to get a feel for the backlash that might occur.”

According to James O’Brien, chairman of the ORR School Committee, the committee based its decision on what was perceived to be “the best practice for education.”

“One of the suggestions, based on the attendance rate on specific days, was that the day before Thanksgiving should be a day off,” O’Brien said.

“Looking at the data, it appeared that the attendance of the students on that day was not that good … so that was one piece of the pie, so to speak.”

O’Brien said in light of the district’s academic requirements and contractual obligations they had with the teachers’ union, it made sense to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — which has traditionally been a half-day — a full day off.

“What some school systems do is they end up doing a half-day on Good Friday,” he said. “You know why? So the faculty member doesn’t have to take that day off and they don’t worry about having to hire a substitute teacher to fill in.”

Father Caron thinks the half-day Good Friday option would be something of a consolation prize.

“When I was on Nantucket, Good Friday was already a half-day of school, which at least still gave it a modicum of respectfulness,” he said.

Mattapoisett school committee member James Muse, who voted in favor of having school on Good Friday in 2015, felt that it was up to an individual family as to whether or not the day warranted them to attend classes or not.

“I believe that everyone should — and I expect them to — worship in their individual faiths the way they see appropriately,” Muse told The Anchor. “If it requires a family to take a day off from school for purposes of a religious observance, I’m all for it.

“I simply voted to not have a day off in a public school for Good Friday. But I hope there is a large attendance at (church) and I hope that everyone will reflect on Good Friday and its message.”

What Cairns bristles over is the fact that Good Friday seems to have been targeted as a Christian obser-

vance and that students who observe the “holy day” could be unfairly penalized for not attending school.

“This country was founded on religion, and they just have been doing away with it,” she said. “I’m sorry, that’s not right. It’s just too much and it’s time that people spoke up.”

“There was no intent whatsoever to address any one religion,” Muse countered. “There were some comments that this was an attack on the Christian faith — and it’s not that at all.”

Joseph Napoli, a parishioner of St. Rita’s Parish in Marion, called the school committee’s vote an example of “politically-correct garbage.”

“We just don’t seem to understand in this country that we have freedom of religion and freedom of expression,” Napoli said. “This country was founded on the Judeo-Christian tradition and we’ve been doing this now for 237 years. Why do we need to fix something that isn’t broken? We, the Christian majority, need to stand up to the secular minority who always want to be politically-correct.”

Father Caron agreed.

“They seem to be bowing down to the secular ‘holy day’ called Thanksgiving,” he said. “By giving the day before off as a holiday, they make it into kind of a secular ‘holy day.’ The ‘secularization’ of other ‘Holydays’ has nothing to do with our faith, but is a function of the culture around us.”

But O’Brien maintains the decision was not targeted at Catholics or Christians.

“Our intention was not to attack any single religion — quite the contrary, it’s a defense of all religions,” he said. “Whether a person is Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Christian — if they had a specific religious holiday, no school would penalize any student for (taking the day off ).”

But Father Caron said faculty members would be docked a personal day if they opted to stay home on Good Friday.

“I was told by a couple of teachers that they were told that it would not be held against them,” he said. “But it will be, because it will cost them a personal day.”

Earlier this month, residents opposing the removal of Good Friday as a holiday from the tri-town school calendar began circulating petitions in each of the three towns asking the school committee to rescind its vote.

Napoli said he was spearheading the petition drive in Marion and he had already garnered more than 300 signatures of support.

“Every once in a while people seem to stir the pot and I feel inclined or compelled to answer them,” said Napoli. “It just bugs the living daylights out of me.”

At press time it was estimated that more than 700 signatures had been

gathered collectively in the three towns.

“Parishioners in both of my parishes have registered their complaints about it and the petition was available after Masses this weekend with many folks signing it,” Father Caron said. “It is a start.”

Cairns is all in favor of petitioning the school committee to reconsider.

“Maybe this is the issue that will make people speak up,” she said.

O’Brien said he’s aware of the petition push and noted that the vote could be revisited at the committee’s next meeting in May. “Out of respect for the residents in the three towns, we always allow public comments at the beginning and end of our meetings,” he said. “We will have an open comment session then and the community members’ voices will be heard and the different committees will assess the situation and it could certainly come back up for consideration.”

But even if the ORR School Committee doesn’t rescind the previous vote, O’Brien said the status of Good Friday on the academic calendar could still change in the future.

“If in another month it doesn’t go back to the plate, so to speak, in the joint committee and they do in fact remove Good Friday as a holiday in 2015, in the end there might be statistical data suggesting it isn’t going to work, and then we’ll have to reassess the whole situation,” O’Brien said.

Father Caron sees this as a likely scenario, noting that a similar change was attempted some years ago in the tritowns.

“This same thing was passed (years ago), but when it went into effect, so many people did not report for school that they had a difficult time getting

(substitute teachers),” Father Caron said. “The next year it was a regular day off again.”

Napoli was on the ORR School Committee when that initial vote was taken back in the 1980s.

“I fought it then and I lost,” he said.

“No consideration was given to teacher or student attendance and, as a result, more than half of the teachers didn’t show up for work and more than twothirds of the student body wasn’t there.

No learning went on and we had to pay a high price because … substitute teachers had to be paid for what amounted to babysitting.”

Napoli thinks this latest attempt to squelch Good Friday will yield the same result.

“The community said we’ve had enough of this, no more,” he said. “Those people who don’t read or understand history, tend to repeat it; and that’s what’s happening now.”

Cairns is disappointed that the ORR School Committee seems to be suggesting that its vote was taken to appease everyone when, in fact, it’s become a divisive issue in the three towns.

“They’re pitting one against another and this is not harmony,” she said. “We need to … respect each other’s beliefs and learn to live with them. As our religion teaches us, they are all our brothers and sisters.”

Muse, who identified himself as a Catholic, said he hopes all the recent attention over this issue can have some positive impact.

“If this attention makes people more Christ-like, then I guess it was a good thing,” he said. “To me, Good Friday is not a ‘holiday,’ but it’s a day of holy observance … and I hope people will do just that.”

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

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April 25, 2014