06 14 13

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , June 14, 2013

Fathers Rodrigues, Frederici named first-time pastors

serve the people of St. Anthony’s Parish.”

Ordained in June 2000, Father Rodrigues grew up at St. ThomTAUNTON — Father Wilas More Parish in Somerset, liam M. Rodrigues has been where he also attended Somnamed the new pastor of St. erset High School and first Anthony Parish in Taunton discerned a vocation to the and Father David C. Frederici priesthood. will become the new pastor at “There were some priests St. John the Evangelist Parish who were friends of the famin Pocasset, while remaining ily — they were really more the diocesan director of camlike members of the family to pus ministry. me,” Father Rodrigues said.

Bishop George W. Cole“I saw that they were men of man announced the first-time faith and were happy in their pastor assignments this week.

Father Rodrigues will suc- Father William vocation. And they were with ceed longtime pastor Father M. Rodrigues people in the most significant times of their lives — BapHenry S. Arruda, who will be tisms, weddings, funerals retiring next month.

— in times of great difficulty Father Frederici will take and in times of great joy.” over from Father Arnold R. Father Rodrigues said it Medeiros, who will remain was after getting to know pastor at St. Elizabeth Seton these priests that he realized Parish in North Falmouth. it was something he’d like to Father Arruda announced do. his successor at Masses last “I think it’s the same if weekend in the parish, while you know people who are Father Rodrigues similarly schoolteachers, you might informed parishioners at Our think about becoming a Lady of Mount Carmel Parschoolteacher,” he said. ish in New Bedford, where Father David C. “When I was in high school he’s been serving as parochial F rederici I was also very active with vicar since October 2009. youth ministry and that made “I’m very excited to take me become open to hearing over as a first-time pastor,” Father RoGod’s call.” drigues recently told The Anchor. “I realBeing asked to shepherd a vibrant ize there will be some new responsibiliPortuguese parish in the diocese, Father ties in terms of administration, but I see Rodrigues said that his knowledge of the with that also comes a great blessing and I pray that God will give me the grace to Turn to page 14

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

PRAYING TOGETHER — Participants in the annual global Rosary Relay for Priests pray a decade of the Rosary at the headquarters of Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton on June 7, the feast of the Sacred Heart. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

Annual global Rosary Relay offers prayers for priests

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

NORTH EASTON — For the fourth consecutive year, people around the world in more than 80 countries took a half-hour out of their day on June 7 — the feast of the Sacred Heart — to pray a decade of the Rosary in thanksgiving to God for our priests and to implore the protection and loving care of Our Lady, mother of all priests, for her priestly sons.

The annual global Rosary Relay for Priests is the brainchild of Marion Mulhall, founder and CEO of World Priest, who said her mission and vocation in life

has been “to support the Catholic priesthood.”

“Thankfully, I’ve been gifted with communication skills, because I founded my own advertising agency a couple of years ago,” Mulhall told The Anchor. “It’s the only career I’ve ever been in.”

Although she can claim to being the driving force behind the Rosary Relay for Priests, Mulhall really credits the Blessed Mother with giving her the inspiration for the yearly prayer chain.

“We were contemplating what we could possibly do to close out the Year For Turn to page 18

Bishop Coleman celebrates 65 years of Men’s First Friday Club

By Lauren Rose Special to The Anchor

THRIVING TRADITION — Bishop George W. Coleman celebrated a Mass commemorating the 65th anniversary of the diocesan Men’s First Friday Club on June 7, the feast of the Sacred Heart, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. (Photo by Sean Hilton, Special to The Anchor)

FALL RIVER — Bishop George W. Coleman presided over the 65th anniversary Mass of the First Friday Club on June 7 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Fall River. This Mass also celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart.

The First Friday Club has had the time-honored tradition of participating in Mass every first Friday of the month. This tradition has been continued by many of the male members of the diocese as they focus mainly on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Mass started with the entrance hymn “O Sacred Heart, O Love Divine,” sung by the cantor Elizabeth Grace. Grace has been a member of St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish for her entire

life. She has been an active member of the choir for the last 13 years and has been a cantor for the last 10 years.

Other songs sung by Grace at the Mass were “Heart of Jesus,” “May Thy Reign,” “Heart of Jesus, Hear,” and “To Jesus’ Heart All Burning.”

As Bishop Coleman delivered his homily, he spoke of his childhood. Grade school years were brought to mind. He remembered reading psalms in the morning at school after saying the Pledge of Allegiance. He mentioned reading Psalm 23 especially because it was most often chosen to be read in class. This very well-known psalm communicates the knowledge that the Lord is our Shepherd, that the Lord will keep us from harm, and there is nothing we shall want.

Bishop Coleman mentioned the Turn to page 14

2

News From the Vatican

June 14, 2013

Help Syria, pope says; ‘where there is suffering, Christ is present’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians must help the people of Syria because “where there is suffering, Christ is present,” Pope Francis told representatives of Catholic aid agencies working in Syria and with Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.

“How much suffering, how much poverty, how much pain; and it’s Jesus Who suffers, Who is poor, Who is thrown out of His country,” the pope said recently during a meeting with the representatives who were holding a coordinating meeting at the Vatican.

Pope Francis said it is part of “the Christian mystery” that when the faithful see what is going on in Syria, “we see Jesus suffering in the inhabitants of the beloved Syria.”

“We cannot turn our backs on situations of great suffering,” he told participants at the meeting he convoked June 4-5. “The weapons must be silenced.”

The meeting was held under the auspices of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes and coordinates Catholic charitable giving. The pope wanted the aid agencies to “respond to the continuing deterioration of the already serious humanitarian situation in the country and among the refugees,” said Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, council secretary.

Msgr. Dal Toso said it is impossible to get firm figures on all the victims of the conflict, which has been going on for more than two years as rebels fight to oust President Bashar Assad. “Some seven million people are requesting help; 4.5 million are internally displaced, while the number of refugees is approaching two million,” Msgr. Dal Toso said.

The 22 Catholic agencies participating in the meeting — including the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services — will share information with each other through Caritas Lebanon, Msgr. Dal Toso said.

Father Simon Faddoul, president of Caritas Lebanon, told reporters June 5 that the 22 agencies estimate they have spent a total of 25 million euros (about $32.7 million) on aid since the crisis began in 2011 and have supported some 400,000 Syrians. The Catholic aid included $1 million sent last October by Pope Benedict XVI and members of the

world Synod of Bishops, who were meeting at the Vatican.

Pope Francis told the aid agencies, “In the face of the ongoing and overwhelming violence, I strongly renew my appeal for peace.”

He encouraged the international community to pursue its stated goal of promoting dialogue to bring a negotiated end to the conflict. At the same time, he said, “the Church feels called to give its humble, yet concrete and sincere witness to the charity it has learned from Christ, the good Samaritan.”

Pope Francis praised Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey for welcoming refugees fleeing violence in Syria and he asked the international community to pitch in to provide humanitarian relief for them and for the displaced still inside Syria.

The coordinated work of the Catholic charities, he said, is a sign of communion within the Church, but is also a witness to the world that people of different backgrounds can live and work together in peace.

“For the Holy See, the work of Catholic charitable agencies is highly significant,” he said.

“Assisting the Syrian population without regard for ethnic or religious affiliation is the most direct way to contribute to peace and to building a society open to all its different components.”

Through the aid groups, which included the national Caritas organizations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, as well as Caritas Middle East and the U.S.-based Catholic Near East Welfare Association, Pope Francis also expressed his solidarity with the Christian communities in Syria and throughout the region.

“The Church supports its members who face particular difficulties today,” he said.

“They have the great task of continuing to make Christianity present in the region in which it was born.”

GOOD CATCH — Pope Francis catches a Rosary thrown by someone in the crowd as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 5. (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)

Pope says ‘throwaway culture’ harms environment and human life

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis blamed widespread degradation of the natural environment and disregard for human life on an increasingly common “throwaway culture” that places no value on the needs of others.

“We are living through a moment of crisis,” the pope said.

“We see it in the environment, but above all we see it in man. The human person is in danger.”

The pope made his remarks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Noting that the United Nations had designated June 5 World Environment Day, Pope Francis recalled the Biblical account of Creation, according to which God made man and woman to “cultivate and protect the earth.”

“Are we truly cultivating and protecting creation?” the pope asked. “Or are we instead exploiting and neglecting it?”

“We are often guided by the arrogance of domination, possession, manipulation, exploitation,” he said. “We are losing the attitude of wonder, of contemplation, of listening to creation, and thus we are no longer able to read there what Benedict XVI calls the ‘rhythm of the love story of God with man.’”

“We have distanced ourselves from God, we do not read His

signs,” the pope said.

Today’s environmental problems also betray neglect of what Catholic teaching calls “human ecology,” he said.

“What rules today is not man, it is money,” the pope said, denouncing an “economy and financial system lacking in ethics.”

“Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of money and consumption,” he said. “That some homeless people freeze to death on the street, that is not news. On the other hand, a drop of 10 points in the stock markets of some cities is a tragedy. That is how people are thrown away. We, people, are thrown away, as if we were trash.”

“Human life, the person are no longer felt to be primary values to be respected and protected, especially if they are poor or disabled, if they are not yet useful — like an unborn child — or are no longer useful — like an old person,” the pope said.

Today’s “throwaway culture” is also reflected in frequent waste of food, he said, adding that “food that is thrown away might as well have been stolen from the table of the poor, the hungry.”

The Anchor www.anchornews.org

Prior to the audience, the pope made a half-hour circuit of the square in an open-topped popemobile, frequently stopping to kiss babies and small children handed to him by members of his security detail. An estimated 90,000 persons attended the audience, 20,000 more than had requested tickets, and the crowd spilled out into the avenue beyond.

Afterward, the pope spent an hour and a half greeting visiting bishops, dignitaries and ordinary pilgrims, including disabled children and adults and a group of newlyweds in their wedding attire.

The pope’s embrace with a young disabled man lasted so long that an attendant gently pulled the man’s hand away.

Many in the crowd remarked on Pope Francis’ “approachable” personality and his down-to-earth appeal.

The past few popes “gave us the theology, kind of the instruction behind what our faith is about,” said Father Patrick Knippenberg, of the Diocese of Victoria, Texas.

Pope Francis is “kind of an exemplification of that teaching,” he said.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 57, No. 23

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.

Subscription price by mail, postpaid $20.00 per year, for U.S. addresses.

Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address

PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza kensouza@anchornews.org REPORTER Rebecca Aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@anchornews.org

PoStmaSters send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.

THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.

June 14, 2013

In Venezuela, Sacramental bread, wine in short supply

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — In his small parish outside of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, Father Maximo Mateos is filling his chalice with less than half the amount of wine he formerly used.

The priests at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Caracas are precariously close to running out of Sacramental wine.

And for the Sisters of the Adoration, finding good wheat flour to make Communion wafers is becoming harder and more expensive.

In Venezuela, sporadic shortages of basic goods can turn a roll of toilet paper into a rare commodity; add bread and wine to the list of scarce products.

Catholic leaders in the South American country have advised priests to conserve what supplies they have as they search for an alternative supply to ease the shortage.

In the publication La Iglesia Ahora, three bishops said there is an “extreme need” for supplies of wine. The supplier, Bodegas Pomar, “can’t guarantee consistent production and regular distribution due to the lack of some goods needed to bottle the product.”

Phone messages left for Bodegas Pomar were not returned, but Church officials said less than three months of wine remained in storage.

“We’ve had to do what we can to conserve while hoping that it’s just a temporary shortage,” Father Mateos told Catholic News Service. “We do live in a country where shortages of all things are common. So this is not uncommon.”

Supplies of everything from toilet paper to milk, sugar and oil sporadically disappear from store shelves.

In late May, authorities seized 2,500 rolls of toilet paper, 7,000 liters of juice and 400 diapers from a clandestine warehouse in Caracas — proof, the government said, of hoarding that is to blame for the shortages.

The Venezuelan government announced in early June that it would start testing a program designed to prevent hoarding. The program will digitally track shoppers in the state of Zulia, which includes the country’s second-largest city, Maracaibo, and will limit the amount of basic goods they can buy in one day. The pilot program will be put in place in 65 supermarkets, officials said.

The government of oil-rich Venezuela has kept in place price and currency controls introduced under the government of President Hugo Chavez, who died in March after a prolonged battle with cancer. Those restrictions have limited the avail-

ability of products to consumers.

“They have kept the prices down with controls, and that has kept inflation relatively low, but it can’t last,” said economist Robert Bottome, who runs a consultancy in Caracas. “Things are going to get worse.”

Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, has tried to ease some of the pressures by making the dollar more available to some businesses, thereby allowing them to import more goods, but shortages have persisted.

In Caracas, a member of the Sisters of the Adoration, who produce wafers for Communion, said they have started buying flour in local bakeries and pastry shops because finding pure wheat flour has become more difficult.

That has raised prices, limiting the number of wafers they turn out.

The congregation has cut production by two-thirds in recent years.

Father Honegger Molina of La Boyera parish told local reporters that he used to receive 10,000 wafers at a time from the congregation, but now “they tell me to take 2,000 and come back in 15 days for 2,000 more.”

The situation is more difficult when it comes to Sacramental wine, which has to be pure and without additives, making finding alternatives difficult.

French Catholic leader urges continued opposition to same-sex marriage

OXFORD, England (CNS) — A French Catholic campaigner urged Church leaders not to give up opposition to same-sex marriage, despite the spread of laws allowing the practice across Europe.

“The message from France is the campaign isn’t over — these laws rely on a big lie, and no lie can survive,” said Antoine Renard, president of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe.

“Our own government has succeeded in its goal of dividing opinion in the Catholic Church, so the Church’s authorities need to be prdent. But there’s a lot of teaching to be done, and I hope our pastors will provide it,” he told Catholic News Service.

France’s same-sex marriage law, which allows gay and lesbian couples to marry and adopt children, was signed by French President Francois Hollande May 18.

Renard said Catholic groups would step up their campaign against the law before municipal and European Parliament elections in early 2014 and would try to block the government’s “gender-based reforms” in education and family life.

“Although this law has been

3

The International Church

adopted, we can still fight against its application and pressure political parties to show stronger commitment,” Renard said. “Although it will be difficult to repeal or revise it, we’re determined to try and will be encouraging campaigners in other countries to do the same.”

The Catholic La Croix daily said June 4 that France was seeing a “multiplication of initiatives” against the law, with new groups springing up nationwide.

The paper said one organization, Founding Tomorrow, had been set up by young professionals from various parties to combat “the failure of Christians to engage long-term in politics,” while another, Actors for the Future, had been formed by a priest from the Church’s Versailles Diocese.

Renard said opponents of same-sex marriage would seek to invalidate the law by having Marriage inscribed in France’s constitution as “the union of a man and woman.”

He added that lawyers also were checking whether the law violated France’s international commitments, including the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which enshrines a child’s rights “to know and be cared for by his or her parents.”

He said France’s constitutional council ruled that Marriage can be modified by law, “so we can use this in our own fight.”

Same-sex marriage is also allowed in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and legislation is under consideration in Britain.

Same-sex adoption is expected to become legal in traditionally Catholic Austria July 1, to comply with a February ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, while the highest constitutional court in Germany, where samesex adoption is allowed, strengthened the fiscal rights of homosexuals June 6.

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointments: Rev. John A. Raposo, Pastor, Saint Michael and Saint Joseph Parishes, Fall River; Rev. William M. Rodrigues, Pastor, Saint Anthony Parish, Taunton and part-time Chaplain, Coyle and Cassidy High School; Rev. Ron P. Floyd, Chaplain, Cape Cod Hospital and parttime Chaplain, Pope John Paul II High School, with residence at Saint Francis Xavier Parish, Hyannis; Rev. Dariusz Kalinowski, part-time Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Seekonk, while maintaining part-time assignment to the Diocesan Tribunal; Rev. David C. Frederici, Pastor, Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Pocasset, and Diocesan Director of Campus Ministry.

Effective June 26, 2013 His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the request to retire of: Rev. Henry S. Arruda, Pastor, Saint Anthony Parish, Taunton; Rev. Edward E. Correia, Pastor, Saint Michael and Saint Joseph Parishes, Fall River.

Effective June 26, 2013

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the nomination of the Reverend Johnathan A. Hurell, SS.CC., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, United States Province, and has made the following appointment: Rev. Sudhir Christodas Nayak, SS.CC., Parochial Vicar of Saint Mary Parish in Fairhaven.

Effective May 28, 2013

4

The Church in the U.S.

June 14, 2013

Aim of new Chicago fundraising campaign to teach all ‘Who Christ is’ CHICAGO (CNS) — The Chicago Archdiocese’s new “To Teach Who Christ Is” campaign is “well named” because it describes exactly the mission of the Catholic Church, said Cardinal Francis E. George.

It’s “what we do — we teach the world Who Christ is,” he said.

The three-year campaign will raise $350 million for Catholic education and Faith Formation.

The funds will support archdiocesan Catholic schools, religious education for children and teens, adult faith formation and capital needs for parishes and schools.

“The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago and our Faith Formation programs make their case in the lives of those transformed by them,” Cardinal George said in a statement.

“The alumni of our schools and parishes are living and working in Chicago, the suburbs and around the world. They are the reason, and the winning conclusion, to the need to conduct the ‘To Teach Who Christ Is’ campaign.”

The archdiocese launched the new initiative at a press conference June 5 at St. Stanislaus Kostka School.

According to press materials, the “To Teach Who Christ Is” campaign is an archdiocesanwide, parish-based effort that will be rolled out in parishes over

a three-year period.

It has a major gift component that has already brought in $82.5 million, or approximately 24 percent of the total.

Press materials about the campaign said that administrators, educators, pastors and staff gave their input on the priorities for allocating the funds.

Those include: $150 million for scholarships; $8 million to enhance programs at Catholic schools; $10 million to strengthen religious education programs; $2 million to develop and pilot new approaches to religious education and faith formation; $30 million for specific capital needs in Catholic schools and related parish facilities; and $150 million for parish-specific needs through the parish-based portion of the campaign.

The total goal for parishes is $250 million with 60 percent of the funds, or $150 million, raised to remain in the parishes for their needs and 40 percent, or $100 million, to be distributed through the archdiocese.

“The spirit and the substance” of the initiative can be seen in the archdiocese’s mission to generate “sufficient funding to help all of us teach God’s Word and the beauty of our Catholic faith,” said Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Francis J. Kane, the campaign’s general chairman.

FAITH FORMATION — A third-grade student works on a project in 2012 at St. Linus School in Oak Lawn, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The Chicago Archdiocese has launched a three-year $350 million fundraising campaign aimed at bolstering Catholic schools and Faith Formation. (CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World)

Tornado victims receiving ‘overwhelming’ outpouring of prayer, support OKLAHOMA CITY (CNS) — As communities across central Oklahoma continued to recover from the “powerful and deadly tornadoes” of May 19 and 20, they have experienced an “overwhelming” outpouring of “prayer, love and support from across our great state and from around the nation,” said Oklahoma City’s archbishop.

“It is bringing comfort to those who have lost loved ones, suffered injuries and whose homes, businesses and properties have been damaged or destroyed,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said.

He made the comments in his column, “Put Out Into the Deep,” in the online issue of the Sooner Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper.

On May 31, the western suburbs of Oklahoma City were hit by a tornado the National Weather Service rated days later as an EF5. Nineteen people were killed in the storm and the flooding that followed. The dead included three storm chasers who were doing tornado research, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.

Eleven days earlier the suburb of Moore also bore the brunt of an EF5 tornado. It hit mid-afternoon May 20, killing 24 people. More than 200 others were injured in that storm.

Among efforts to help storm victims, the Catholic community established a disaster response center at All Saints Catholic School in Norman. By June 3 several recovery centers were opened by state and federal agencies, in-

cluding the Federal Management Agency. In addition many of the nation’s major insurance carriers had established an “insurance village” at a Baptist church to expedite people’s claims.

In his column, Archbishop Coakley said that response efforts were “still fluid and adapting to changing needs and circumstances.”

But in the days since the worst tornadoes, “emergency responders, relief workers, counselors, chaplains, friends, neighbors and strangers,” have come together “to bring comfort and sustain hope where hope has been shaken,” Archbishop Coakley said.

“And Jesus still weeps. God is with us.”

The Catholic community “stands shoulder to shoulder with religious, government and volunteer organizations and agencies” to assist in the recovery, he continued.

He noted that each has had a “different role in the response.”

“Some are first responders. Others offer assistance with cleanup and with immediate needs such as temporary shelter, meals and clothing. Some help facilitate spiritual, physical and emotional healing. Still others focus on long-term needs in accessing community resources,” he added.

He said parish clergy and staff members in the affected areas “have been engaged from the beginning. They have been contacting parishioners and assessing needs.”

He praised Catholic organiza-

tions such as Catholic Charities USA, the Knights of Columbus and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for “reaching out and providing support in the various areas affected by these devastating storms.”

The Knights’ national organization set up relief efforts in St. Andrew Church in Moore, where the twister hit hardest, to coordinate response to community requests and to register volunteers.

A few days after the tornado members of the local Knights council visited parish families to assess property damage and people’s needs.

Archbishop Coakley called the Knights’ efforts “incredible” and said that in addition to addressing immediate needs and offering counseling, Catholic Charities and St. Vincent de Paul “are offering long-term case management to help storm survivors rebuild their lives over the course of many months to come.”

During a May 26 visit to Moore to view the devastation, President Barack Obama praised residents for inspiring the nation “with their love, their courage and their fellowship.”

“This is a strong community with strong character. There’s no doubt they will bounce back. But they need help,” he said, assuring the community of the federal government’s ongoing help with cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

The tornado killed 24 people, 10 of whom were children, including seven from an elementary school that was destroyed. About 350 families lost their homes.

June 14, 2013

The Church in the U.S.

5

Tornadoes scatter belongings, bond communities in northern Kansas

PICKING UP THE PIECES — Monica Becker, right, sorts through belongings at her destroyed house near Corning, Kan., May 29.

She was eager to comb the house and nearby fields for papers and photographs that day after a tornado struck the rural area north of Kansas City. (CNS photo/Jessica Langdon, The Leaven)

CORNING, Kan. (CNS) — As winds roared, trees toppled, grain bins crashed, hail pounded and walls ripped apart overhead, seven members of the Becker family added their own voices to the storm.

Huddled in a shower stall in their basement near Corning the afternoon of May 28 with a comforter over their heads, they prayed the Rosary.

When the first weather alerts for the community in northern Kansas sounded, the threat was far enough away that Monica Becker took pictures of the first rope she saw coming down from the clouds.

She sent an image to WIBWTV in Topeka, not yet even imagining that her family’s home stood in the direct path of a forming tornado.

It was the second day in a row severe weather struck northern Kansas communities.

On May 27, an EF2 tornado decimated two businesses and damaged many properties near Marysville. Then the storms that struck near Corning on May 28, producing EF3 and EF1 tornadoes, affected five families — all parishioners of St. Patrick Parish.

Father John Reynolds, their pastor, visited the families and found that each had a different story to tell.

Even with a background in meteorology and seeing images

of tornado damage on TV, he had to see it with his own eyes to fully grasp the power the storms unleashed.

“The first thing people said was, ‘Everybody survived,’” Father Reynolds said. “Which — when you see this — is really kind of amazing.”

Also amazing, but not at all surprising to him, was the way the community came together.

Though they lost property, they were saying prayers of thanksgiving, he told The Leaven, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

When the warnings went out for Centralia and Corning, Monica called her husband, Royce, a farmer. He headed in from his shop.

They sent their five children to the basement, making sure everybody had shoes.

When a tornado came too close for comfort, Monica abandoned the photography and joined her family downstairs, where they waited for at least 45 minutes.

The noise grew so intense, she thought the worst had to have passed and called a friend. Only then did she learn that the big, slow-moving tornado had not yet even arrived.

“And so we just waited, and prayed and prayed and prayed,” said Monica.

When it hit, the tornado lingered overhead for what felt like

two or three minutes.

As their home splintered apart above their heads and grain bins hurtled through the air, the family prayed that the basement ceiling and kitchen floor above them would hold. When the storm passed and they came out from under the blanket, they could see daylight reflecting in the screen of the basement TV. And they knew the walls were gone.

But none of that mattered, said Monica, and quickly reassured her children. “It’s things.

It’s material. It’s replaceable,” she said. “We just hugged. We knew we were going to be fine.”

“We’re all right,” said Royce.

“We’re in good shape. It could be worse. There’s a lot of good people here helping.”

Neighbors from Corning and surrounding communities gathered at the hardest-hit homes before the threat of severe weather even faded.

At the Becker house, volunteers cleared out what they could salvage before impending rain caused further destruction.

On the other side of Corning, a tornado touched down the same evening, bearing down on the home of the McNally family.

Robert and Trish McNally had taken their five children to Gulf Shores, Ala., for a family vacation. They had time to relax for only a few hours when they started hearing of the storms back home.

The tornado stripped the brick off one side of their house and lifted the roof.

“I had so many people from the community up on that roof putting a temporary roof on,” said Trish, who received updates via cellphone. “They had to leave my house and take cover again because there was a warning going through.”

It wasn’t just their helping hands that friends and neighbors offered the families hit. They opened their homes, hearts and wallets as well.

Marsha Grossnickle, president of the Altar Society at St. Patrick, said people weren’t asked to help — they just did.

The Altar Society and city of Corning joined forces to provide a one-stop drop-off for donations at the community center. Volunteers there prepared hundreds of meals to deliver to the work sites, and the community gathered inside for hot meals at the end of the day.

It’s been heartwarming — but difficult — for the families to be on the receiving end.

Earlier on the day of the tornado, Monica Becker had been collecting clothes for a friend who

lives in Moore, Okla., a community devastated by a deadly tornado earlier in May. Now she had to keep contributed clothing for her own family. It was hard, she said; they were meant for others.

“It’s very emotional,” said Monica, but added, “If God brings you to it, God will bring you through it.”

As soon as he heard about the tornadoes, Father Reynolds be-

gan praying.

As pastor of St. Patrick in Corning, St. Bede Church in Kelly and St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Onaga, he was home in Onaga when the storms hit. He waited until he knew it was safe to start calling to check on his parishioners.

He drove to Corning the next morning and helped with the cleanup, wanting to be with his people.

Criminal charges dismissed in Worcester bishop’s drunk-driving case

WORCESTER (CNS) — Bishop Robert J. McManus of Worcester said he continues “to ask forgiveness” from family, friends and “all the good people I serve” since his early May arrest on charges of drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident in Rhode Island.

On June 4, criminal charges against him were dismissed after he pleaded guilty to refusing a chemical test after the accident May 4.

Bishop McManus was arrested in Narragansett, R.I., after allegedly being involved in a collision and driving away from the scene.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges May 7 at a Wakefield, R.I., courthouse and was released on his own recognizance when he waived his right to an extradition hearing.

In late May, he entered his guilty plea before the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal and his license was suspended for six months.

“As I stated previously on May 6, I made a terrible error in judgment on May 4, 2013,” the 61-year-old bishop said in a June 4 statement. “I have been com-

mitted to making amends and accepting the consequences of my actions. I am grateful that the legal process has been concluded.”

Bishop McManus, a Rhode Island native, shares a family home with his siblings in Narragansett, which is in the Providence Diocese.

“I paid the fine determined by the court and will provide 10 hours of community service and attend safety class,” he said in a statement posted on the Worcester Diocese’s website.

WJAR-TV reported the bishop had to pay more than $900 in fines and court costs in addition to having his license suspended.

“I continue to ask forgiveness from all the good people I serve, as well as my family and friends in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Providence,” he said. “I am both grateful for and humbled by the support I have received from clergy, parishioners, and the community as I continue to serve to the best of my ability as the bishop of Worcester.”

Bishop McManus has been bishop of Worcester since 2004.

He previously served for five years as an auxiliary bishop in Providence.

6

The Anchor A pious Patriot

This week the sports pages have been abuzz about numerous things. Given much bigger news from the Bruins and Red Sox, the signing by the New England Patriots of Tim Tebow might have passed somewhat unnoticed (like a press release a politician is required by law or custom to make, so it is made on Christmas Eve).

Tebow is known to the non-sports-following public not as much for his prowess (or lack thereof, depending upon one’s judgment of his plays) on the football field as for his public witness to Christianity. On Boston.com there is a columnist (blogger?) called “Obnoxious Boston Fan” who picked up the old Boys’ Life magazine feature of Goofus and Gallant (which contrasted a well-behaved boy with a “goofus”) and reworked that to contrast Tebow with his new teammate, Rob Gronkowski (who is known for some not very pious behavior).

The Boston.com blogger noted that Tebow has been active in his Protestant faith “long before he ever awkwardly threw his first NFL pass. Because of Tebow’s devotion to Him (God), he remains an incredibly divisive figure in spite of his genuine personal ability to connect with anyone (except of course when he’s trying to throw the ball more than 10 yards). There has been an Internet army working full-time, 24/7 for the past five years to find anything, and I mean anything, that could discredit him as a person in the most minute manner.”

In the comments section below the blog (which is owned by The Boston Globe) the first respondent launched in, quoting the above remarks about Tebow being “divisive” because of his faith, saying that anyone who says that you need to believe in Jesus Christ so as to be saved is contributing to “death and discrimination for millions upon millions.” This curmudgeon (not the “Obnoxious Boston Fan”) added, “The wise among us know that proselytizing negatively against people who don’t believe as you do has had disastrous consequences for centuries upon centuries. “ In a backwards way, that cranky commentator got it right. Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, this past weekend warned of how past criticism of Jews led to the Holocaust and he wondered how the current criticism of Christians in the Western world will turn out.

He began by mentioning Blessed John XXIII. “Pope John was a good man who experienced a conversion of mind and heart because he talked to a rabbi from France. The rabbi explained to the pope the consequences of ‘the teaching of contempt’ for the Jewish people. While official doctrine condemned overt persecution, Jews had suffered terribly from a contempt embedded for many generations in much of European culture. Its full consequence was the exclusion of Jews from public life in Germany and then their extermination in the Holocaust. The pope understood what the rabbi told him, and the relation between Catholics and Jews was given a new start. Today, listening to the public discussion on talk shows, watching television series and movies, overhearing influential conversations in offices and universities, which groups are most often discussed with open contempt? That, too, is a concern.”

The impetus for Cardinal George’s commentary was the recent battle in the Illinois legislature regarding same-sex marriage. In the second paragraph of his column he wrote, “A word of special thanks is due the Protestant pastors from the African-American community, for whom the Word of God in the Bible is a sure and absolute guide to life, in public and in private.” He knew that Catholic politicians normally are a disappointment (a good portion of his article discusses how John F. Kennedy’s speech back in 1960 promising not to be a “Catholic” president has distorted how politicians, especially Catholic ones, view their obligations to God in public life) and that if Catholic clergy were to try to carry this issue (or any, for that matter) alone, we would fail, due to how discredited we are in the eyes of everyone due to the clergy sex abuse scandals.

Both the Illinois Marriage debate (the rationale for our teaching you can read in Father Tad’s column on facing page) and the Tebowmania remind us of our need to work together with our fellow Christians to make Jesus known and loved. We do this not so as to enslave people, but to truly set them free (while we ourselves work, with God’s grace, to become free from our own sins, as Father Kocik reminds us on page eight).

On May 22 Pope Francis spoke about those who do not believe in God in his daily Mass homily. The Vatican newspaper began with a paraphrase with what the Holy Father said: “The Lord redeemed everyone with Christ’s Blood,” then quoted him directly, “everyone, not only Catholics. Everyone.” The reporter then added that the question of atheists came up. “They too.

It is this Blood that makes us children of God,” the pope said. He did not say that they automatically go to Heaven (as some people misinterpreted him), but that they are children of God. Pope Francis did not reject St. Cyprian’s teaching of “outside of the Church, there is no salvation,” but interprets it in accordance with the teaching of the Church, as seen in Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium, especially at #16. “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel. She knows that it is given by Him Who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life. But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, ‘Preach the Gospel to every creature,’ the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”

What Vatican II taught is not that it’s easy to be saved or that we don’t need to make any effort to make Christ known (see George Weigel’s column on page eight on Pope Paul VI’s efforts to promote evangelization), but that the Church is the vehicle God created through which all those who are saved come to salvation, even if they do not consciously recognize this.

In his general audience on May 29 Pope Francis said, “Today some say: ‘Christ yes, the Church no.’ Like those who say, ‘I believe in God but not in priests.’ But it is the Church herself which brings Christ to us and which brings us to God. The Church is the great family of God’s children. Of course, she also has human aspects. In those who make up the Church, pastors and faithful, there are shortcomings, imperfections and sins. The pope has these too — and many of them; but what is beautiful is that when we realize we are sinners we encounter the mercy of God who always forgives. ... Let us ask ourselves today: how much do I love the Church? Do I pray for her? Do I feel part of the family of the Church? What do I do to ensure that she is a community in which each one feels welcome and understood, feels the mercy and love of God Who renews life? Faith is a gift and an act which concern us personally, but God calls us to live with our faith together, as a family, as Church.”

Sometimes in a family a mother or father (one hopes in unison) has to correct their children, not to make them unhappy, but to help them grow in a healthy way, just as Bill Belichick corrects his players (parents use the eyes they have on the backs of their heads, Belichick uses tapes). The Church also corrects us at times (be it the pope or a person coming out of the door at Mass), not to merely scold, but to help us grow. May the Holy Spirit guide us in offering correction and receiving it, all for the glory of God.

O

June 14, 2013

Scouts’ dishonor

n May 23, the leadership of the Boy At a psychological level, this decision to allow Scouts of America, which seeks to train gay Scouts is injurious not only to Scouts with boys in courage and other virtues, sadly capitusame-sex attractions but also to the overall formalated to external campaigns of economic extortion tion of other troops. and shaming from cultural elites to allow openly There’s a difference between struggling with gay Scouts. same-sex attractions and coming out as gay. In Since its founding in 1910, there have doubtgeneral to be gay means not just to admit to sameless been some Scouts with same-sex attractions, sex attractions but to consider them good, wholejust as there have been some who had serious some and an indispensably important part of one’s problems believing in God, even though being self-identity. To be gay also normally means that avowedly gay, atheistic or agnostic were all ofone shares the values of the gay subculture. ficially prohibited.

The U.S. Bishops, in their superb 2006 docuThe BSA exists, as its oath and law attest, to ment “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Intrain boys to become physically strong, mentally clination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care,” stressed awake, morally straight, trustworthy, loyal, helpthat young people with same-sex attractions ful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, should be dissuaded from defining themselves in thrifty, brave, clean and reverent men. Guiding this way. them along that formational journey, Scout lead“Persons with a homosexual inclination,” they ers always recognized that some boys would go write, “should not be encouraged to define themthrough periods of intense questioning, but they selves primarily in terms of their sexual inclinawere prepared to accompany boys, in the hope tion ... or to participate in ‘gay subcultures,’ which that the mentoring, friendship and virtue-training often tend to promote immoral lifestyles.” available in Scouting would help the boys sort The bishops went on to discuss whether through these issues. young people with homosexual attractions should What wasn’t allowed, however, was a boy’s be encouraged to come out. taking a public existential stand contrary to the “For some persons, revealing their hoprinciples and values the BSA thought good not mosexual tendencies to certain close friends, just for the individuals but for the cohesion and family members, a spiritual director, confessor, or formative culture of the troop. If a Scout provoca- members of a Church support group may provide tively came out some spiritual as a Satanist, and emotional for example, help and aid them the BSA had in their growth recognized that in the Chrisit was more than tian life. In the an individual lifecontext of parish style choice of no life, however, consequence to general public

By Father the other elevenself-disclosures Roger J. Landry to eighteenare not helpful year-old boys. It and should not be would minimally encouraged.” become an unnecessary distraction, and maxiThe bishops made an important distinction mally a training toxin, to the other Scouts — and between coming out to traditional confidants hence wasn’t allowed. and public disclosures. Close family members, But that was before the gay lobby began to friends, priests and counselors can be big supports treat the BSA not as a virtuous and praiseworto help those with same-sex attractions in the thy organization but as a bastion of bigots with struggle to live a chaste life, to make sure their life irrational prejudices against those with same-sex is never devoid of life-giving, loving, deep friendattractions. The first tactic was a series of expenships, and to assist them to recognize that they sive lawsuits, but after the Supreme Court ruled are fundamentally a beloved child of God whose in 2000 that the Boy Scouts have the Constituprimary self-identifying characteristic ought to tionally-protected right to determine membership be their Christian faith. Coming out publicly standards, they needed to try something else. So often makes their sexual attractions their most the gay lobby began to pressure BSA’s corporate conspicuous personality train. sponsors — like Intel, UPS and Merck — to vow While the BSA policy shift doesn’t explicitly not to contribute another penny until the BSA acencourage Scouts to come out as gay, it does cepted openly gay Scouts and Scout leaders. The eliminate the clear institutional discouragement. strategy took several years, but at the end of May, As the bishops describe, this isn’t psychologithe gay lobby achieved half of what it wanted, cally or spiritually healthy for the young person and publicly promised not to stop its efforts until involved. openly gay Scout leaders were also accepted.

For the other Scouts and Scoutmasters, a gay Some have argued, including some Catholics Scout is no longer just a fellow Scout — and all involved in the Scouting movement, that since other members of the troop are provoked to relate the BSA still prohibits Scouts from engaging in to him according to those attractions. His attracsexual activity, allowing Scouts with attractions tions can’t be ignored because coming out of the to other boys to come out the closet is consistent closet confronts all the other Scouts with them. with Church teaching that distinguishes between At least for a time, the attention will no longer be same-sex tendencies, which are morally neutral, exclusively on the next camping trip or activity, and same-sex activity, which Christian revelation but on how the troop should respond to their gay clearly condemns as sinful. confrere’s self-disclosure.

But I believe that such an opinion is politically Some boys will inevitably tease and, for and psychologically naïve. troops chartered by Catholic parishes that mainAt a political level, the real goal of the gay tain their affiliation after the BSA’s regrettable lobby is not to clear the path for scores of openly decision, it will inevitably precipitate a discussion gay boys to obtain merit badges, just as the motion how there should be no unjust discrimination. vation in seeking to redefine Marriage to encomOther boys will start talking more than normal pass husbandless or wifeless unions is not to make about sexual attractions, both heterosexual and room for millions of gay couples to tie the knot. homosexual ones. Authentically Catholic troops As multiple surveys have shown, numbers in both will need to enter into the nuanced conversation cases of those wanting to join these traditional about how same-sex inclinations are objectively institutions are relatively small compared to the disordered, predisposing one toward what is number of those with same-sex attractions. The truly not good for the human person, as the U.S. real goal is to dismantle strong heterosexuallybishops described in their 2006 document. normative institutions and traditional sexual It’s also inevitable that such a disclosure will morality as a whole. bring about more conversation about sexual activNext on the dismantling agenda after the push ity as well, leading authentically Catholic troops for gay Scoutmasters will be a legal or lobbying to have to broach the subject of the distinction effort in favor of those gay Scouts or Scoutmasbetween same-sex orientation and the immorality ters who are sexually active, since how can one of same-sex acts. stifle a “natural” urge? We’ll hear that the real Scouting is not supposed to be a sexual educapsychological perversion is chastity or repressing tion or moral theology class. That’s, however, one’s sexual desires and that keeping one’s sexual what it will inevitably become once a Scout elicits desires unfulfilled is just as unhealthy as keeping these conversations by coming out of the closet. one’s orientation in the closet.

Scoutmasters will now need to become expert The next step will be to get the Boy Scouts to not just in tying knots and pitching tents but in accept transgender girls and Girl Scouts transgen- guiding these sensitive conversations. der boys, to eliminate any sense of the importance And eleven-year-old Boy Scouts will now to original differentiation. need to grow up faster than the Boy Scout formaThe final step will be to come full circle and tion program is intended to guide them. ban Scouts and Scoutmasters who are “homophoFather Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette bic,” in other words, those who hold onto what Parish in Fall River. His email address is the BSA believed for its first 103 years. fatherlandry@catholicpreaching.com

Putting Into the Deep

W

e are already in the midst of June. The year has almost reached its mid-point.

For us here in the northeast, this time of year connotes a slower pace for many. It is also usually vacation time and the children are out of school to spend more relaxed time in study, reading and recreation.

It is also a time of commencements as many schools have their graduations scheduled in this lovely month of June. It was a time for weddings.

A wedding in June was always favored and the term “June bride” was popular.

Now it seems not only June weddings, but weddings in general, are a rarity these days.

Ask any pastor, and the number of weddings being celebrated in church has diminished. Weddings being celebrated anywhere have diminished.

Local newspapers have more wedding anniversary celebrations coverage than wedding coverage.

Couples are not getting married. The new “arrangements” are accepted by society in general. There is a lack of understanding of the Sacramental nature of Marriage and the grace received in the Sacrament to assist in the living

M

7

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

The new definition of Marriage

as husband and wife. Legal traditional definition of Marriage benefits of the Marriage status are between a man and a woman has either not understood or desired. been challenged.

Recently, I spoke to a couple In some states, like about the Baptism of their child.

Massachusetts, it has been (I would not deny Baptism to legalized and accepted. Here a child if the parents were not we do not recognize “civil married in the Church, or not married, as long as they demonstrated a commitment to practice their faith.) In the course of the conversation, I inquired regarding their

By Msgr. marital status since they John J. Oliveira had been together for 12 years. I wondered why they were not married.

The quick response was, “We unions” with the same benefits of feel if it is not broken, why fix Marriage, but a new definition of it.”

Marriage that is legally-accepted.

Another couple recently In a recent newspaper, joined the parish. I noted the there was an article by Steve differing last names for the Kleinedler. He expressed his children. It was obvious the anticipation of the “definition man and woman were bringing of marriage” by the Supreme children from previous Marriages Court. His job is a lexicographer. to this new relationship. With a He is a member of the editorial smile, the mother said: “We are a staff of the “American Heritage blended family.”

Dictionary of the English Obviously our understanding Language.” of Marriage is not what it used He recounts how the definition to be. of Marriage has changed in Yet, in this same period of the dictionary. He traced the time, people of the same sex are development of the change over seeking to be married and change the years. In 1998, the primary the definition of Marriage. The definition of Marriage was: the

Living the Faith

legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife. He explains that using legal consultants, reviewing legal acceptance of same-sex marriages in many states, a new primary definition for the 2011 edition was required.

It now reads that “Marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife and, in some jurisdictions, between two persons of the same sex, usually entailing legal obligations of each person to the other.”

This article appeared because the Supreme Court, for the first time in our nation’s history, is considering two cases regarding whether or not Marriage should be redefined to include two persons of the same sex. These cases involve the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, according to a release from the Bishops’ Conference in Washington.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined with many other organizations in urging the Supreme Court to uphold both DOMA and Proposition 8 and, therefore, recognize the “essential,

irreplaceable contribution that husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, make to society, and especially to children.”

Further information can be found at the Bishops Conference website including suggestions for Prayer (Fortnight for Freedom), advocating for Marriage. The bishops’ website is www: USCCB.org.

While we want to continue to define Marriage according to its natural and moral definition, we must also be sensitive to the spiritual needs of those who find themselves in a situation of “same-sex marriage,” which they thought they needed for legal or other reasons.

All of us know people who struggle with same-sex relationships, perhaps even in our families. They are to be welcomed and respected for who they are.

Jesus is the Savior of all, not only those we deem to be worthy of salvation.

May the Holy Spirit of God continue to guide us.

God bless you and enjoy these wonderful days of summer.

Msgr. Oliveira is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Office.

Perversions and purposes in human sexuality

any of us have probably heard single women talking among themselves about men, where one of them ends up saying, “That guy, he’s just a pervert — he’s only interested in sex.”

When women detect that a man’s focus has become the pursuit of pleasure, and that unbridled sex has become an end in itself, they tend instinctively to back away. Women often intuitively understand that sex can’t be reduced to mere pleasure without hurting both individuals involved, and negating other important goods, like love, family, children and Marriage.

It becomes a “perversion” when we attempt to redirect sex into something of our own specifications, refocusing it into a form of worldly pleasure-seeking and self-satisfaction.

Sigmund Freud, whom no one could accuse of prudery, recognized the basic features of a perversion in the sexual realm when he declared, “The common characteristic of all perversions … is that they have abandoned reproduction as their aim. We term sexual activity perverse when it has renounced the aim of reproduction and follows the pursuit of pleasure as an independent goal.”

No age has ever sought to

abandon the reproductive aim of sexual act through the acceptance sexual activity as much as our of non-complementary forms of own. This is particularly manifest bodily union including homoas our society yields to the seduc- sexual and lesbian sex, oral sex, tive siren call of contraception, and anal sex. broadly encouraging the separaA very significant jump of 19 tion of sexual intimacy from pro- percent in approval over the past creation.

12 years for “gay or lesbian reA 2013 Gallup poll reported lations” was highlighted in the that 91 percent believed birth same 2013 Gallup poll. control to be morally acceptable. Professor Robert George of Princeton University has noted that Marriage is increasingly coming to be understood as “an emoBy Father Tad tional union for the sake Pacholczyk of adult satisfaction that is served by mutually agreeable sexual play.”

Without the self-sacrificing diCulturally, sex is subtly changmension of sex (involving the ac- ing into a casual encounter subceptance of new life), individuals ject to one’s own manipulation are left in the position of amiably and determination, with pleasure using one another. serving as its central engine and If seeking sex while block- rationale. Put simply, it is degening the possibility of reproduc- erating into a new reality before tion is a form of sexual perver- our eyes, cut out of the whole sion, perhaps it is unsurprising cloth of perversion, with the prothat other forms of inherently motion of sexual activity in ways non-procreative sex, that is to that are powerfully at odds with say, other sexual perversions, are its proper context and purpose. rapidly expanding alongside the Sex has a unique bonding or practice of contraception. In re- cementing power between a man cent times, we have witnessed an and a woman, because the sexual unparalleled countermanding of instinct is clearly bound up with the life-giving dimension of the the whole emotional, affective

Making Sense Out of Bioethics

and interpersonal life of man and woman.

Given this fact, real interpersonal harms and significant possibilities for selfishness and exploitation arise whenever individuals choose to act on this instinct in a context apart from Marriage.

Indeed, sex is never a reasonable choice in the absence of commitment, particularly a permanent commitment, between a man and a woman. This flows in part from the fact that it brings new lives into the world, and those lives are vulnerable and dependent, necessitating a mother and a father who are committed to each other and to the children arising from their permanent union.

It is remarkable how much consternation it causes today to point out what has long been obvious, namely, that sex and Marriage must be integrally connected, and that in the final analysis, Marriage must remain the unique and exclusive setting for human sexual activity. Through matrimonial consent, man and woman deliver and accept the exclusive and perpetual bond that allows them to carry out acts apt in themselves for the procreation

of offspring.

The obvious corollary is that sexual relations of any kind in a non-marital context will invariably be immoral, including forms of pre- and extra-marital sex and the use of pornography and masturbation.

Indeed, it is imperative today that we work to re-connect the gratification of the sexual urge with the beautiful sharing of life between man and woman in matrimony. The deep-seated sex instinct moves men and women to embrace great sacrifices, such as are required in Marriage and procreation, for the fulfillment of this remarkable human drive.

We are challenged today, like never before, to step away courageously from sexual perversions in all their destructive and everexpanding forms, and to return to an ordered vision of sexuality within Marriage, directed to the authentic good of individuals and society.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard.

He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

8

June 14, 2013

The Anchor

U

nresolved feelings of guilt can have terribly damaging effects: self-hatred, anxiety, despair, even suicide.

This holds true not only for individuals but for society as well.

The French writer Pascal Bruckner writes of Europe’s guilty conscience: “Brooding over its past crimes (slavery, imperialism, fascism, communism), Europe sees its history as a series of murders and depredations that culminated in two global conflicts.”

It appears to have searched its “post-Christian” soul and found nothing redeemable. One sign of its self-loathing is the uniformly low birthrates which, among non-immigrants, average less than 1.5 children per female. A society bearing more dogs on leashes than children in strollers is one that will die out.

Catholics should appreciate the irony. Our “enlightened” secularist culture misunderstands the Catholic conscience

Free from sin and safe from all distress

for what it calls “Catholic or secular, now filling the void guilt,” and yet it is the culture left by apostasy from God. If that is condemning itself to demographic suicide doesn’t extinction. Western ideas of finish us off, depravity or jihad human rights and freedom are just might. grounded in the Christian teachBut the end of Western civiing that every human being is the object of God’s Homily of the Week eternal love and is created Eleventh Sunday in to enjoy the freedom that Ordinary Time comes only from communion with God, and in the

By Father Jewish understanding of Thomas M. Kocik the dignity of every person as created in God’s image.

Having rejected those lization would not spell the end beliefs, modern culture lives of Christianity. The Church can for no higher cause than the survive in any culture. In the comforts of affluence, recogConfessionals of our churches, nizes no sin beyond “intolerbillions of people have been ance,” and scoffs at the idea of exposed to mercy and restored salvation; it is therefore unfato God’s friendship. Mindmiliar with mercy. A society ful of eternity and willing to that lacks moral consensus and acknowledge something greater equates freedom with license than themselves, they could see is ill equipped to withstand the past the day’s crimes, and that dangerous and dehumanizing gave them a reason to live and fanaticisms, whether religious reproduce and die.

Guilt is good when it is the first step toward healing. The mature person does not assign blame to others, but assumes responsibility for his or her actions. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of his best and most loyal soldier, Uriah the Hittite, and then arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle (2 Sam 11:1-27).

The penitent woman in today’s Gospel, whom tradition identifies as Mary Magdalene, was probably a prostitute; Luke simply calls her “sinful” (Lk 7:37). Both David and this woman took responsibility for their sins and repented.

Some people believe their sins are unforgivable. There is no sin so horrible that we little mortals can commit which our infinite God will not forgive, provided we repent and seek forgiveness. Jesus Christ, God

and Savior, gave us the Sacrament of Penance as the ordinary means by which He forgives our post-Baptismal sins.

Often people will put off going to Confession. Perhaps fear or embarrassment keeps them away. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months become years. Then, unexpectedly perhaps, death — and the judgment that immediately follows it. What is a moment of embarrassment compared to the eternity of Heaven or of hell?

After the Lord’s Prayer at every Mass, the priest prays that we be kept “free from sin and safe from all distress.” Forgiveness, given and received, is the antidote to the stigma of guilt.

It is the heart of what we, as the Church, owe to people in our secular culture: the proclamation of the Risen Christ and joyful evidence of new life in Him. Father Kocik is administrator of St. Anne’s Parish in Fall River.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. June 15, 2 Cor 5:14-21; Ps 103:1-4, 8-9, 11-12; Mt 5:33-37. Sun. June 16, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2 Sm 12:7-10, 13; Ps 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11; Gal 2:16, 19-21; Lk 7:36-8:3 or 7:36-50. Mon. June 17, 2 Cor 6:1-10; Ps 98:1-4; Mt 5:38-42. Tues. June 18, 2 Cor 8:1-9; Ps 146:2, 5-9a; Mt 5:43-48. Wed. June 19, 2 Cor 9:6-11; Ps 112:1-4, 9; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18. Thur. June 20, 2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111:1-4, 7-8; Mt 6:7-15. Fri. June 21, 2 Cor 11:18, 21-40; Ps 34:2-7; Mt 6:19-23.

W

hen he was elected as Paul VI just 50 years ago, Giovanni Battista Montini seemed the perfectly prepared pope. He was the son of a middle-class family of Italian professionals with good Vatican ties. A competent linguist who had enjoyed a distinguished career in the Holy See’s diplomatic service, he was also a man of pastoral sensibilities, having done a lot of youth work as a young priest and curialist. He had seen the papacy from the inside, as a key aide to Pius XII, and he had been the successful archbishop of a major Italian see, Milan.

In 1963, all of that was “the more-or-less normal way” a man became pope, as one of those

The last Counter-Reformation pope

who helped elect Montini, Cara half-century, the troubled pontificate of Paul VI comes into dinal Franz Koenig of Vienna, put it to me in 1997. clearer focus as the last papacy Yet this broadly cultured of the Counter-Reformation Church — and the threshold and deeply pious man suffered through such a turbulent pontificate that, when he died in August 1978, many wondered aloud whether anyone could do the job under late 20th-century circumstances. With John

By George Weigel Paul II, the answer to that skepticism turned out to be a resounding to the papacy of the future, the “yes” — but only if a pontiff papacy of Evangelical Catholiwas prepared to challenge the traditional managers of popes cism.

Paul VI, to be sure, helped and re-boot the petrine office as hasten that transition. He one of evangelical witness.

Thus, in the retrospect of brought the Second Vatican Council to a successful close — although he did not provide keys for the authentic interpretation of the council’s accomplishment, leaving that task to John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The lack of such keys during the 13 years between the council’s conclusion and Pope Paul’s death was one reason why the wheels seemed to fly off the Catholic Church for two decades.

Amidst the chaos, Paul VI tried to craft an exercise of the papacy adequate to the Church’s reformed self-understanding

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

The Catholic Difference

as a communion of disciples in mission. Yet virtually every one of his accomplishments in implementing the council had its shadow-side.

He largely dismantled the papal court; but at his death, the Roman Curia was seriously dysfunctional, and today serious questions are being asked about Pope Paul’s decision to make the secretariat of state a kind of superagency at the apex of a curial pyramid.

He implemented a reform of the Church’s Liturgy that was broadly accepted throughout the world Church; but the abuses of the Missal he introduced in 1970 were so grave that his successors were obliged to institute a “reform of the reform” in order to salvage the dignity of Catholic worship — and to remind the Church that worship is what Liturgy is about.

He correctly decoded the impact of the oral contraceptive pill on society; but his defense of the Church’s teaching on the morally proper means of regulating fertility was couched in a language that few could hear, and it was left to John Paul II to devise a compelling Catholic

response to the sexual revolution in all its dimensions.

He wanted the Church’s bishops to follow the lead of Vatican II and see themselves first and foremost as teachers and sanctifiers; but he not infrequently appointed bishops with a tendency to liberal authoritarianism to key positions in their respective countries, with grave effects on episcopal leadership throughout the world.

There was one accomplishment of the man we now know as Venerable Paul VI that remains unshadowed, however: and that was his insistence, at the end of his life, that the Church recover its missionary fervor, seeing both the evangelization of the unevangelized and the re-evangelization of the lax and fallen-away as its first order of business.

Pope Paul’s 1975 apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi (Proclaiming the Gospel), was a crucial moment in the emergence of the Evangelical Catholicism of the 21st century and the third millennium. That great document is the bridge between his time and ours.

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

T

his Sunday’s Gospel has Jesus eating a meal at the home of a Pharisee. My grandmother had a phrase that is an apt descriptor for the New Testament Pharisees: “too smart by half.”

Pharisees were knowledgeable, but they were caught up in viewing the world solely in terms of how new experiences fit in with their preconceived notions of how the world should be. Because of this bias, they quite often missed the point of Jesus’ words and actions.

As is usually the case when Jesus is dealing with such a person, He presents a startling, dramatic contrast which serves as the call to conversion. This is immediately followed by Jesus’ patient, quiet call to the heart.

As Pope Benedict XVI said, “Jesus’ Divine Heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to abandon our human certainties to trust in Him and, following His example, to make of ourselves a gift of love without reserve.” For the Pharisee and each of us, Jesus leaves it to the individual to infer the truth and then how to apply that truth to life.

This particular Pharisee received two startling incidents to ponder. First, he saw the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Women who follow Jesus — part one

Then, as Jesus leaves, the thereby forging our individual Pharisee notices the women who answer to Jesus’ call. follow Jesus in His ministry.

From the New Testament, Luke 8:1-3 records: “Afterward, Priscilla (married to Aquila) and He (Jesus) journeyed from one Phoebe (single) are interesting town and village to another, examples. Priscilla and Aquila preaching and proclaiming the together as a husband-wife team Good News of the Kingdom were missionaries. They are of God. Accompanying Him were the Twelve Wrestling with God and some women.”

Holding on for For today, let us focus our attention and inquiry His blessing on the very last image that Pharisee had of

By Dr. Helen Flavin Jesus. The Pharisee may well have demanded, “Just Who is this Man Jesus traditionally listed among the Who calls both women and men 70 disciples appointed by Jesus to serve to bring God’s Kingand sent ahead to villages (Lk dom to fruition?” To assist that 10: 1-24). In Corinth, St. Paul Pharisee to grow in wisdom, let stayed with them. Together they us examine the question, how instructed Apollos (Acts 18:24have and how do women of 26). today answer Jesus’ call to serve Only then was Apollos able God? to preach and establish from The modern approach of the Scriptures that Jesus is the discussions of vocations for Messiah (Acts 18:28). Phoebe women is essentially centered is described by St. Paul (Rom on marital status, that is life 16:1-2) as diakonos (Greek as a married woman, life as a word for deacon) and also by single lay Catholic, or life as a prostasis (Greek for leader, religious. guardian and protector). St. However, we must delve Paul entrusted to her the job of deeper and examine the unique bringing his letter to the Church ways women serve Our Lord of Rome. Mary Ann Gettyafter that initial decision. Why? Sullivan in her book, “Women Because it is through each and in the New Testament” says, every subsequent life decision “As a delegate from Paul and that we choose how and when emissary to the Church he adto express our talents and gifts dressed, Phoebe seems to have

New York bishops oppose effort to ‘codify’ Roe v. Wade into state law

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — New York’s bishops, led by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, said they would oppose a portion of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Act that preserves abortion rights.

The bill, introduced June 4, “would ease restrictions in state law on late-term abortion and runs the serious risk of broadly expanding abortion access at all stages of gestation,” the bishops said in a June 4 statement.

“While the bill’s proponents say it will simply ‘codify’ federal law, it is selective in its codification,” they added, “Nowhere does it address the portions of federal laws that limit abortion, such as the ban on taxpayer funding, the ban on partial-birth abortion or protections for unborn victims of violence.”

The bishops said, “We fully oppose this measure, and urge all our faithful people to do the same, vigorously and unapologetically.”

The Women’s Equality Act is a 10-point program unveiled by

9

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

Cuomo, a Democrat and a Catholic.

Those points, according to the governor’s website, are: achieving pay equity; stopping sexual harassment in the workplace; allowing for the recovery of attorneys’ fees in employment and credit and lending cases; strengthening human trafficking laws; ending family status discrimination; stopping source-of-income discrimination; stopping housing discrimination for victims of domestic violence; stopping pregnancy discrimination; protecting victims of domestic violence by strengthening order-of-protection laws; and protecting “a woman’s freedom of choice.”

“We support the first nine points in the governor’s agenda that enhance the true dignity of women,” the bishops said. “We commit ourselves to examining those proposals and working with the legislature on any and all efforts that help guarantee real equity for all women and men. Our position on these issues will be consistent with all the efforts of

the Catholic Church throughout the world to enhance the dignity of women.”

But, the bishops added, “the direct taking of the life of a child in the womb in no way enhances a woman’s dignity.”

The bishops said, “Instead of expanding abortion and making abortions even more prevalent, we would like to protect both the woman and the child in the womb. In New York, where one in every three pregnancies ends in abortion — and upwards of six in 10 in certain communities — it is clear that we as a state have lost sight of that child’s dignity.”

A June 4 analysis of the bill by David Masci, a senior researcher for Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life said Americans continue to be of two minds on abortion.

A January Pew Forum poll showed that Americans, by better than a two-to-one margin, did not want Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion virtually on demand, to be overturned.

performed the same functions as Timothy and Titus did to the communities at Thessalonica, Philippi and Corinth.” From just these two examples from Scripture, we see women married or single serving God as witnesses and evangelists for Christ.

Let us go back to the Pharisee. Did he experience a change of heart and run after Jesus? Did Jesus later send Priscilla and Aquila or perhaps another missionary to visit with him? Did the Pharisee perhaps even meet or accompany St. Paul or Phoebe? In this life, we will never know what that Pharisee chose. However, we each have to wrestle with the same question he had — the “what-will-Ido?” question.

Evangelize means to preach or share the Gospel. Many times women are active witnesses and evangelizers even without realizing it. In the modern world, women routinely evangelize in various ways such as: teaching their children about God; serving as volunteer catechists, becoming a parish council member; volunteering to work for social justice issues; assisting with child or geriatric care; discussing God on the Internet and/ or social media; and assisting at Mass as either lector or extraordinary Eucharistic minister.

This month, your homework is to look at the women in your parish community to find one example of a woman following Jesus by evangelizing for God. Then, find an example of a male lay person evangelizing for God. Once you recognize this evangelizing activity in others, please reflect upon your own daily activities. Look to find one or more ways that you currently enjoy evangelizing for God. Next month’s column will highlight the thoughts and stories of 20th century women who wondered and then decided how to best respond to God’s call. Utilizing the examples of women in the New Testament and 20th century women, along with our own personal reflections, we can perhaps imagine a solution needed in our world and find the courage to take that first step.

Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer born and raised in Fall River.

She is a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish and received her Ph.D. in neurochemistry from Boston College and teaches in the Chemistry Department at Rhode Island College. She is also a science instructor at Bishop Connolly High School.

She can be reached at hflavin@bishopconnolly. com.

Subscribe to The Anchor for yourself or as a gift and receive a free special Pope Francis edition as our gift to you!

One-year subscription — $20 Name: Address: City:

State:

Zip:

if given as a gift, the card should read: From: Street:

City/State:

Parish to receive credit: Enclose check or money order and mail to: The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722 This Message Sponsored by the Following Business Concern in the Diocese of Fall River Gilbert C. Oliveira Insurance Agency

10

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

Summer speaker series to offer food for thought on Cape Cod

MASHPEE — The 2013 Summer Catholic Reflections speaker series, sponsored by Our Lady of Victory Parish, Centerville; Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Osterville; St. Patrick’s Parish, Falmouth; and Christ the King Parish, Mashpee; will once again take place at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee.

The series kicks off on Tuesday night, June 18 at 7 p.m. with “Salt, Light and Leaven,” a discussion of Catholic responsibilities in public life with John Carr.

Carr has been a leader in Catholic social ministry for more than three decades. He will outline key elements of the Catholic mission and message in public life.

He will also examine the CATHOLIC CITIZEN — John Carr, above, retired executive context we face and the director of the U.S. bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace assets we bring to the and Human Development, is pictured holding a document public square. The pre- titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” Carr sentation will conclude will be speaking on “Salt, Light and Leaven,” the first installwith some directions and ment of the Summer Catholic Reflections speaker series dangers for lay Catholics at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee on June 18 at 7 p.m. as we seek to live out our (CNS photo/Bob Roller) faith and apply our moral Sheehan was named Provincial of the principles in these challenging days.

John Carr is the director of the Center New England Province of Jesuits.

Born Apr. 18, 1956 in Marshfield, on Catholic Social Teaching and Public Father Sheehan graduated from Thayer Engagement in Washington, D.C. Carr is also the Washington correspondent Academy in Braintree in 1974, Dartfor America magazine. In 2012, he was mouth College in 1978 and Dartmouth selected as a resident fellow on religion Medical School in 1981. He trained and politics at the “Institute of Politics in Internal Medicine at Boston’s Beth of Harvard University.” For more than Israel Hospital from 1981-1984 and two decades, Carr served as the execu- received further training in Geriatrics tive director of the Department of Jus- from the Harvard Geriatric Fellowship tice, Peace and Human Development of Program from 1989-1991.

Father Sheehan received an M.A. in the United States Conference of CathoPhilosophy/Health Care Ethics in 1989 lic Bishops. He assisted the U.S. bishops in sharing Catholic social teaching, from Loyola University of Chicago and advocating on major issues of justice a Master’s of Divinity from Weston Jeand peace and building the Catholic suit School of Theology in Cambridge community’s capacity to act on its so- in 1994. cial mission.

On Tuesday, July 16 at 7 p.m., the series will continue with “Spirituality and Aging” featuring Father Myles Sheehan, S.J., provincial of the New England Province of Jesuits. Father Sheehan is trained as a physician with certification in internal medicine and geriatrics and he will discuss the role of spirituality and Ignatian prayer in aging.

Father Sheehan was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1994.

On Apr. 22, 2005, he professed solemn vows in the Society of Jesus. On July 31, 2009, Father

The summer series will conclude on Tuesday, August 13 at 7 p.m. with “The Catholic Imagination in Hollywood Directors” with Father Ken Gumbert, O.P. Father Gumbert will discuss Hollywood directors from Catholic backgrounds who tell stories unique to their cultural and religious influences.

The films of John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and Peter and Bobby Farrelly will be examined for themes, characters, motifs and storylines.

By looking at the films of these directors it will become evident that unique characteristics of the Catholic imagination play out in the stories of these very important mainstream Holly-

wood directors in sometimes surprising yet consistent ways.

Father Gumbert, a friar of the Western province, is an associate professor of film studies in the Department of Theatre, Dance and Film at Providence College. Besides being a filmmaker, he is a painter and sculptor.

Father Gumbert teaches History of Film (Classic and Silent Era), The Catholic Imagination of Four American Filmmakers (John Ford, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese), Film Video Production and Women in Cinema for the women’s studies program, where they explore theoretical concerns of women who make and consume films.

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

COUGAR COMMENCEMENT — Bishop Connolly High School held its 2013 commencement excercises on June 2. Seventy-eight members of the Class of 2013 received their diplomas from Bishop George W. Coleman. Matthew Ferreira delivered the valedictory address and senior class president Nina Consonni delivered the welcoming address. Jacob Veloza delivered the salutatory address at the Baccalaureate Mass on June 1 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. Above, the Connolly graduates toss their caps into the air to close the graduation ceremonies.

CORRECTION In a recent article about the GIFT Program at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville (May 31, 2013 edition, page one), one of the participants was incorrectly identified as “Linda Mathieu.” Her name is Lisa Mathieu. The Anchor apologizes for the error.

11

TAKE A KNEE — Former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow prays after the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime in the National Football League AFC wild-card playoff game in Denver on Jan. 8, 2012. Tebow signed a deal last week to play for the New England Patriots. (CNS photo/Marc Piscotty, Reuters)

12

June 14, 2013

The Anchor

‘Blind Side’ mom launching show to help adoptive families

NEW YORK (CNA) — The mother whose story inspired the hit movie “The Blind Side” has taken on a new television series to assist families in navigating the process of adoption.

“We are taking one family at a time and we are trying to make a difference,” said Leigh Anne Tuohy, adoptive mother of Super Bowl champion and offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, Michael Oher.

Ever since her family’s real life story of taking in — and eventually adopting — a teen from the streets has captured the public’s attention, Tuohy said members of the family have been offered spots on numerous shows, from “The Amazing Race” to “Undercover Boss.”

“We’ve turned them all down because that’s just not who we are,” she said in a recent press call.

However, Tuohy recently decided to get involved with UP’s “Family Addition” because “it just enhances our platform and our message” that “every child is valuable” and “every kid in every country of this world is valuable and worth having a forever family.”

Having premiered June 7 on the cable television network UP, “Family Addition” will feature a different family each episode that is facing the challenges that come with adopting children.

From reorganizing homes to navigating the “maze of red tape” that is the adoption process, Tuohy wants to help parents all over the United States who are making the transition of bringing in new family members.

So far, the show has only filmed six episodes, but Tuohy said she hopes the network will

pick up more so that they can help other families and “bring awareness” to how difficult the adoption process is in the United States.

Drawing the public’s attention to the situation will “hopefully help change some of the laws” and “at the same time make sure that every single child gets a chance,” she explained.

“We’re very simple people and God has picked us to tell a message,” she said.

“That is why we’re putting ourselves out there; because we want to make sure that people realize there are valuable kids in every city in the United States of America and all they need is a chance.”

While the process of adopting is “very difficult,” she said, so is “everything in life that’s worthwhile.”

“Stop thinking it’s the ‘Pollyanna’ perfect situation,” she advised. “We want people to know that it’s difficult, but all good things in life worth working for are difficult.”

Even if viewers are not looking to adopt children, Tuohy said they can still learn how to help adoptive families.

For example, one family on the show — the Jacksons from Los Angeles — adopted seven siblings in addition to their own biological kids. As a result, even the simplest household chore like laundry is a huge undertaking.

“You can show up and help somebody fold clothes,” Tuohy said. “You can make a difference and we want to make sure people are aware of the options.”

Ultimately, Tuohy said she hopes the show will drive home the message that “there are no unwanted kids; just unfound families.”

MAKING MAGIC — Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher star in a scene from the movie “Now You See Me.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Summit Entertainment)

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

“Now You See Me” (Summit) A quartet of professional magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher) is caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in this entertaining caper film directed

by Louis Leterrier. Brought together by a mysterious capitalist (Michael Caine), the four become a world-famous act.

But one outrageous stunt they manage to pull off — a longdistance and very public bank robbery — attracts the attention of an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo), his Interpol counterpart (Melanie Laurent) and a reality show host (Morgan Freeman) whose mission is to expose the secrets of the trade. Though it contains a slightly disturbing pagan element, in the end, Leterrier’s film is a harmless and witty romp for grown-ups. Mild action violence, a vulgar gesture, sexual innuendo, some crude and profane language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“The Internship” (Fox) When two middle-aged watch salesmen (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) suddenly

find themselves unemployed — and with nothing to show for their years of enthusiastic peddling — they apply to the internship program at corporate giant Google, a domain dominated by tech-savvy college-age kids.

Director Shawn Levy, working from a script co-written by Vaughn, strains to wring laughs from the generational and cultural divides. But humor and inventiveness are in short supply in this predictable comedy, while a topical message concerning the virtues of adaptability and perseverance in difficult economic times is canceled out

by a stream of vulgarity and offcolor references. An implied nonmarital encounter, several uses of profanity, at least one rough term, frequent crude and crass language, considerable innuendo, passing approval of a same-sex relationship. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, June 16, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Robert A. Oliveira, pastor of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in New Bedford

13

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

U.S. dioceses prepare for second Fortnight for Freedom

TEACHING MOMENT — Youths surround Pope Francis as he meets with students from Jesuit schools June 7 in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)

Pope nixes ‘boring’ practice of reading text to students, uses Q&A

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis ditched a 1,250-word prepared speech to students saying it would be “a tad boring” to read aloud and opted instead to just quickly hit the high points and spend the rest of the time answering people’s questions.

“Would you like that?” he asked as some 9,000 students, alumni and teachers from Jesuit-run schools and associations in Italy and Albania yelled “Yes” with cheers and applause.

Then over the course of 30 minutes, Pope Francis answered 10 questions, including how to deal with doubt, how to live with hope in a troubled world and whether Christians should be politically active.

The special event in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall June 7 was an occasion for young people, parents and educators to highlight the Jesuit charism, particularly in the field of education, and to celebrate the election of the first Jesuit pope in the Church’s history.

The pope is well-versed in the field since when he was Jesuit Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he spent a number of years teaching literature, psychology and other subjects at Jesuit-run schools in Argentina.

The event’s presenters seemed hesitant about the pope’s request, saying no questions had been prepared in advanced and warning him that the students from elementary, middle and high school would just be “winging it.”

One girl asked him why he chose not to live in the apostolic palace.

“It’s not just a question of wealth,” he responded, adding that the now uninhabited papal apartment “is not that luxurious, don’t worry.”

His decision to live in a simple Vatican-run residence wasn’t motivated by trying to live up to some kind of “personal virtue,” but rather “it’s for psychiatric reasons,” he said teasingly.

Living alone or in an isolated setting “would not do me any good” and he said he’s the kind of person who prefers living in the thick of things, “among the people.”

But he did add that he tries to live as simply as possible, “to not have many things and to become a bit poorer” like Christ.

He urged everyone to try to live more simply saying, “In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it’s incomprehensible how there can be so many hungry children, so many children without an education, so many poor.”

Extreme poverty in the world “is a scandal” and “a cry” for help, he said. That is why “each one of us must think how we can become a little bit poorer” and more like Christ.

One teenage boy told the pope that he was trying hard to believe in God and be faithful, but that he often struggled with doubt. “What can you say to help me and others like me?” he asked the pope.

Pope Francis said the journey of life “is an art” that isn’t easy because it requires juggling the need to move forward with the importance of taking time to reflect.

“If we walk too quickly, we’ll get tired and won’t be able to reach our destination,” yet if we stop or take our time “we won’t get there either.”

Life’s journey “is truly the art of looking at the horizon, reflecting on where I want to go, but also putting up with the fatigue from this journey,” he said.

“Don’t be afraid of failure,” he insisted. The problem with the journey of life and faith isn’t falling; it’s not getting back up.

“Get right back up, immediately and keep going,” he said.

Don’t embark on this journey alone either, he said, because that would be “awful and boring.” Go as a “community with friends and people who care about you very much because that will help us get to our destination,” he said.

One little girl wanted to make sure the pope had friends growing up in Argentina and, wanted to know if, now he was pope, whether he was still friends with them.

Laughing, the pope said he’s only been pontiff for two and a half months, but as she rightly imagined, all his friends were now far away, “14 hours by plane” to be exact.

However, so far, three friends have come to visit him and he stays in touch with the others who all write to him.

“I love them very much,” he said, “You can’t live without friends, this is important.”

Another little girl asked, “Eh, Francis, did you want to become pope?”

He laughed and said a person who wants to become pope doesn’t have his own best interest at heart.

“God doesn’t give him his blessings. No, I didn’t want to become pope,” he said.

A young woman asked how it was possible to stay hopeful in a country plagued by so many crises.

The pope said crises are good when they force people to address their root cause — the complete disregard for the human person.

“Today people don’t count, money counts,” he said. However, God gave the world and its resources to men and women, “not to money.”

WASHINGTON (CNA/ EWTN News) — Dioceses across the country are preparing for the upcoming Fortnight for Freedom – now in its second year — by organizing a variety of prayer and educational activities with a religious liberty theme.

The purpose of the Fortnight for Freedom is “to educate people about the nature of religious freedom (and) to point out intrusions against religious liberty,” said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore in a video posted online by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In addition, the fortnight aims to show “how people exercising their religious freedom enriches society in terms of charity, education and really building what we would call a civilization of love,” he said.

Archbishop Lori, who is the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, explained that the Fortnight for Freedom will run from June 21 to July 4. The two-week initiative will highlight threats to religious liberty in various areas, such as immigration, health care, Marriage and humanitarian services.

Among these threats to religious freedom is a mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services to require employers to offer health insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause early abortions.

This mandate — which is being challenged in court by some 200 plaintiffs across the nation — will go into effect for many objecting religious employers on August 1.

This is the second year that the bishops have sponsored the Fortnight for Freedom, as concerns over religious liberty continue to mount. In addition to the contraception mandate, worries have been expressed by religious individuals and organizations who object to recognizing a redefinition of marriage, health care providers that do not want to participate in

abortion and similar procedures, and religious groups that provide services to all immigrants in need, regardless of their legal status.

This year’s national fortnight events will include an opening Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Md., at 7 p.m. on June 21. The closing Mass will be celebrated at noon on July 4 in Washington D.C.’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The national activities will be supported by diocesan-level initiatives throughout the U.S., including Rosaries and holy hours for religious freedom. Dozens of dioceses have announced plans to hold prayer events during the fortnight, including holy hours and Rosaries for religious freedom.

Some dioceses — including St. Louis and South Bend — will hold Masses celebrating the opening and closing of the Fortnight for Freedom.

In Austin, Texas, church bells throughout the diocese will ring at noon on Independence Day to mark the end of the fortnight.

Other dioceses and parishes are encouraging private devotion, fasting and contributions to spiritual bouquets during the twoweek period.

The prayer that makes up the core of the Fortnight for Freedom will be supplemented by efforts to educate people across the country on the topic of religious liberty.

Priests in many areas are being asked to dedicate a Sunday homily to the topic, and informational pamphlets have been prepared for distribution.

In addition, some dioceses — including Baltimore and La Crosse, Wis., — are hosting talks or panel discussions on religious liberty. Others are sponsoring public gatherings, such as the Archdiocese of Denver, which will host a public, ecumenical rally on the steps of the state Capitol building on June 22.

14

The Anchor

Fathers Rodrigues, Frederici named first-time pastors continued from page one

language and experience with previous Portuguese parishes would come in handy.

“I do speak Portuguese,” he said, “although it’s not my first language. My Portuguese grandparents taught me a few words when I was very young … and over the years in ministry I’ve been involved in Portuguese parishes and I’ve been able to become more proficient in the language.”

The first-time pastor said serving alongside Father Jack Oliveira for the past four years at both the former St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes were also a plus.

“Father Oliveira has been a great mentor,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from his example over the past several years. I will likely be calling him for advice in the years ahead, I’m sure.”

Father Rodrigues previously served a stint as parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis; was director of the Hispanic apostolate for the diocese on Cape Cod; and was chaplain for St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River before being assigned as parochial vicar in New Bedford in 2009.

Of all his assignments to date, Father Rodrigues said his time serving the Hispanic apostolate was probably one of his greatest learning experiences.

“When I began working in the Hispanic ministry, I became very much aware of the immigrant story and the immigrant experi-

June 14, 2013 He also served as parochial rectory at St. Julie Billiart Parvicar at Our Lady of Mount ish in North Dartmouth, while Carmel in Seekonk, St. John of serving as chaplain for UMass God in Somerset, Our Lady of Dartmouth and Cape Cod ComImmaculate Conception in New munity College.

Bedford, and again at St. AnthoHe is eager to begin this next ny’s in Taunton before being ap- phase in his ministry. pointed a first-time pastor at St. “We have some challenges to John the Baptist Parish in New face as a community, but again, Bedford in 1986. there is a lot of faith there,” he Father Arruda next served as said, “so I am confident we will pastor of Our Lady of Mount face those challenges.”

Carmel Parish in New Bedford With the retirement of Father from 1994 until he Edward E. Correia, was named pastor Bishop Coleman of St. Anthony’s in also announced the 2001. appointment of FaFather Arruda ther John A. Rapois looking forward so as pastor of St. to residing at the Michael’s and St. Cardinal Medeiros Joseph’s parishes, Residence with his both in Fall River. fellow retired priests Father Raposo, from the diocese and who has been servsaid he plans to reing as full-time main involved with chaplain at Cathoministries such as Father John A. lic Memorial Home the Teams of Our in Fall River since Raposo Lady and the Charis2009, expressed matic prayer group. great joy at being “I was ordained 46 years ago asked to return to parish minisand I can very well say they’ve try. been very good and happy “I didn’t expect to get two years,” Father Arruda said. “If I parishes, but I know there are had to do it again, I would.” good people at both parishes, Father Frederici, who also and hopefully with the grace of contributes a monthly youth God I’ll do well,” Father Raposo column for The Anchor, said he told The Anchor. is looking forward to becoming Born Aug. 6, 1950 in New pastor at St. John’s Parish.

Bedford, Father Raposo was or“It is a great faith community dained to the priesthood Oct. 22, that was very supportive when 1977 at St. Mary’s Cathedral by I was with them as a parochial Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. vicar a couple of years ago,” he His first assignment was at St. said. “I am very thankful to Fa- James Parish in New Bedford, ther Medeiros for all he has ac- where he served from 1977 to complished there these last few 1980. years ... and also for his guidance Father Raposo also served and advice in the transition.” at Our Lady of Health Parish Ordained June 9, 2001 at St. in Fall River, 1980-1986; St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop Anthony Parish in Taunton, Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., 1986-1996; Our Lady of Mount Father Frederici was first as- Carmel Parish in New Bedford, signed as parochial vicar at Our 1991-1994; Immaculate ConLady of Victory Parish in Cen- ception Parish in New Bedford, terville.

1994-1995; St. Peter’s Parish in In subsequent years he has Provincetown, 1995-2002; and also served as chaplain of Cath- Holy Ghost Parish in Attleboro olic Scouting for the diocese, from 2002 to 2009, when he was chaplain at Cape Cod Hospital, appointed to serve at Catholic and more recently resided in the Memorial Home.

ence in this area, along with the done a tremendous job pastorchallenges they face,” he said. ing that parish, and so I feel as “I was also able to experience though he’s made it a smooth the Church as it ministers to the entry for me to come there,” he immigrant population … and said. “I realize it all comes down helping them, not just in their to a service for the people of relationship with God, but also God at that parish. I need to rein helping them become accli- member that this is their parish mated to the American culture.” and they were there before I arFather Rodrigues said he was rived and they will be there after able to visit counI leave. I’m just a tries like Ecuador, steward of the parColombia, Mexico ish as pastor and I and Honduras as hope I can collabopart of this ministry rate with them to and learned more bring the message about “the univerof our loving God sality of our faith.” to them.”

Noting that his Although he American-born parhad no inkling that ents hailed from he would be takimmigrant backing over for Fagrounds common ther Arruda prior to the area — his Father Henry S. to speaking with mother has Irish anBishop Coleman, Arruda cestors and his faFather Rodrigues ther’s family were said it is somewhat of Portuguese descent — Father coincidental that he’s recently Rodrigues didn’t expect his min- been asking for St. Anthony of istry to be so intrinsically linked Padua’s intercession in prayer to languages.

— never anticipating that his “When I was ordained in 2000 first pastorship would be at his it wasn’t on my radar screen,” he namesake parish. said. “But it’s been a big part of “So I’m hoping through St. my priesthood and I expect it to Anthony’s intercession he will continue in this new assignment be guiding my ministry as I take as a first-time pastor.” over as pastor of the parish,” he When asked if he expected said. to face any challenges as a firstFather Rodrigues will suctime pastor, Father Rodrigues ceed Father Henry S. Arruda, said he hopes to focus on “mak- who will be retiring from active ing God’s presence known in ministry and has served as pasour own corner of the world.” tor at St. Anthony’s Parish since “I know Father Arruda is a June 2001. very beloved pastor and has “I think the parish is blessed to have Father Rodrigues as our next pastor,” Father Arruda told The Anchor.

Born Nov. 16, 1942 in Remédios Bretanha, St. Michael, Azores, Father Arruda was ordained May 20, 1967 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River

by Bishop James L. Connolly.

Father Arruda’s first assignIn 2012, The Anchor spent nearly ment after ordination was at St. $2,000 in postage change fees!

Anthony’s in Taunton, where he The Post Office charges The Anchor 70 cents for notificaserved from 1967 to 1969. tion of a subscriber’s change of address. Please help us reduce these expenses by notifying us immediately when you plan to move.

Bishop Coleman celebrates

Money is flying out the window

Please Print Your New Address Below

NAME: STREET ADDRESS: CITY, STATE, ZIP: NEW PARISH: MOVING DATE: Please attach your Anchor address label so we can update your record immediately.

Clip and mail form to: The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722

continued from page one

line, “In the darkest valley, I fear no evil.” As Catholics, we find comfort in this psalm, knowing that in the very darkest of times God will always be there for us, watching us, leading us, and caring for us.

The bishop also said that through this psalm we know God is “not a distant God. Emmanuel, a God with us, God is present in our lives and concerned for us. God personally looks after us, none of us is abandoned.”

65 years of Men’s First Friday Club

Through this psalm, God is the Shepherd Who points us in the right direction. We also know that at no time are we truly alone; even in the valley of death, God is present with us. God is ever present in our lives, as the bishop said, “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

During the homily, the First Friday Club was mentioned, as the bishop talked of thankfulness to the people who re-

main dedicated to the practice of First Friday. This Mass was a celebration of a group of people dedicated to the commemoration of the Mass.

The hope is that this longstanding tradition will continue and attract younger members to keep the First Friday tradition alive.

Lauren Rose is a member of the Class of 2014 at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton.

15

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

Pope Francis decides not to spend summer at Castel Gandolfo

CROSS TO BEAR — Activists with the immigration rights group Border Angels carry wooden crosses to a U.S. bishops’ news conference on immigration reform legislation June 10 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Diego. The wooden crosses represent undocumented workers who have died crossing into the United States. (CNS photo/David Maung)

Bishops warn against changes in immigration bill that could kill it

SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Three bishops weighed in on the ongoing congressional debate on immigration reform legislation June 10, warning against amending a Senate bill in ways that would block the path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.

At a news conference in San Diego, held as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened its annual spring meeting, the chairmen of three committees reiterated the bishops’ support for comprehensive immigration reform that protects families and workers.

“Each day in our parishes, social service programs, hospitals and schools, we witness the human consequences of a broken immigration system,” said Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration. “Families are separated, migrant workers are exploited, and our fellow human beings die in the desert.”

He called the status quo morally unacceptable, adding, “This suffering must end.”

Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the Committee on Communications and former chair of the migration committee, specified a handful of concerns for changes to the bill that might be attempted on the Senate floor.

The Senate began debate on the bill the previous week and was scheduled to take a procedural vote over whether to allow debate to continue June 11. A panel of House members was reportedly still working on a version of a bill for that chamber.

“Some will argue that before we can begin welcoming new citizens, we will need more fencing and blockading of the border,” Bishop

Wester said. “However, making the legalization program contingent upon border metrics that are practically impossible to achieve would effectively prevent the undocumented from ever becoming citizens, or even legal residents.

Such a step would render the immigration reform program useless and the bill not worth supporting.

“We urge Congress to maintain the current balance between enforcement goals and improvements in the legal immigration system, including a path to citizenship.”

He said the bishops also would oppose amendments to reduce the number of people who might pursue the path to citizenship laid out in the bill, S. 744. “Additional measures to make the path to citizenship more difficult, such as an increase in fines or imposition of other difficult income and employment requirements, or amendments to remove the citizenship option altogether, also will meet our opposition.”

Bishop Wester said efforts to prevent immigrants in the legalization program from obtaining benefits such as the earned income tax credit, Social Security and eligibility for health care coverage also would meet the Church’s opposition.

People who pay taxes and otherwise contribute to the economy “should not be barred from these benefits, to which every worker should be entitled,” he said.

Bishop Wester said he hopes the legislative process would lead to improvements in the Senate bill, not additional restrictions.

Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, a member of the board of directors of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, warned that

attempts to reform the immigration system would fail if they don’t allow for immigrants to fully incorporate into American society.

He said the key points of the bishops’ policy goals for immigration reform include: — An accessible and achievable path to citizenship that includes the maximum number of people. If the goal of reform is to address the problem of irregular immigration in a humane manner, he said, then all undocumented people should be brought out of the shadows and placed into the new system. “Leaving a large group behind does not solve the problem, and in the future, could create new ones.”

— Family unity as the cornerstone of the system. “Immigrant families help our nation both economically and socially” he said.

“This nation cannot take an immigrant’s labor and deny the immigrant’s family.”

— “Enforcement by itself, especially along our southern border, will not solve the challenge of irregular immigration,” said Bishop Soto. “The punitive enforcementonly approach has been the default policy for the last two decades. It has only aggravated the problem of irregular immigration. Our southern border should be a place of mutual support and an extension of hands across boundaries, not a militarized zone. Sadly, many of our elected officials see more enforcement along our border as the sole solution to irregular migration. We oppose the acceleration of border enforcement as a prerequisite for a legalization program that includes citizenship. An effective legalization program with a path to citizenship will lead to more effective border management.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Unlike many of his predecessors since the early 1600s, Pope Francis has decided not to spend the summer months at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo south of Rome, although he will observe a reduced schedule in July and August.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters recently that Pope Francis has decided that for the summer he will be “based at the Domus Sanctae Marthae,” the Vatican guesthouse where he has lived since his election in March.

However, Pope Francis will travel to Castel Gandolfo, 15 miles south of Rome, July 14 to lead the midday recitation of the Angelus with townspeople and pilgrims.

Father Lombardi did not say why Pope Francis had decided not to go move to Castel Gandolfo for the summer, although he noted that when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio did not go away for his summer holidays.

As for other details of the pope’s summer schedule, Father Lombardi said Pope Francis does not plan to

hold any private or special audiences between July 8 and September 1. Also, his early morning Masses with Vatican employees and a short homily will be suspended during that period.

However, Pope Francis will travel to Brazil July 22-29 for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

During the month of July, Father Lombardi said, the pope will not hold his weekly general audiences on Wednesdays. The weekly appointment with the faithful will resume August 7 at the Vatican.

Asked about the summer plans of retired Pope Benedict XVI, Father Lombardi said he had no firm information, but thought the retired pope wanted to remain at the Vatican in the old Mater Ecclesiae monastery, which was remodeled for his use.

After stepping down February 28, Pope Benedict spent two months at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo while work was being done on the Vatican monastery. In the summer of 2012, he spent almost a full three months in Castel Gandolfo, which is known for having cooler, fresher air than Rome.

16

Youth Pages

LEAD BY EXAMPLE — St. Joseph School in Fairhaven recently held its induction ceremony for members of the National Junior Honor Society. Students welcomed nine new members, while officers spoke of the five pillars: scholarship, service, leadership, citizenship, and character. After students recited their pledge to uphold the pillars, they lit candles and sang “Go Light Your World” by Troccoli. Led by NJHS advisor Adele Monticello, members have participated in numerous community service programs throughout the year. They recently sent cards to Boston hospitals for victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy. Pictured is Hannah Nordstrom, president of the St. Joseph School Chapter, signing the register as other members look on.

BANDING TOGETHER — Students in grades two to six from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently participated in the Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools Orchestra.

WORDS MATTER — Isabel McDonald and Aubrey Correiro, students at Holy Name School in Fall River, pose with their Language Arts teacher, Mr. Charles Dacey. The girls were among eight students recently honored at the State House in Boston for winning the Massachusetts Credit Union Essay Contest.

BUBBLE TROUBLE — Students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro were recently visited by Keith Michael Johnson, who taught them the secret world of bubbles. Bubbleology explores how bubbles work (science), what bubbles can do (art), and how to have fun with bubbles. Soap films, liquids, tension, pressure and gas were some of the topics covered. Shown here is Johnson encasing kindergartener Caroline DiMarco in a giant bubble.

June 14, 2013

CLEANING UP — Grand Knight Matt O’Brien of the Knights of Columbus suggested the proceeds of the recent KOC and St. Margaret Regional School car wash in Buzzards Bay be donated to the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes.

More than $900 was rased during the event held at the Bourne Fire Department. Pictured at the car are, from left, Knight Vincent Armstrong, fifth grader Emily O’Brien, Knight Fred Alden, and seventh grader Josh Flynn.

ROCK SOLID — The Class of 2013 at St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth recently painted the school’s new “Spirit Rock,” which was the class’ gift to the school.

Youth Pages

June 14, 2013

T

here was a lot of praise offered to Gregory Campbell, the Bruins player who was injured during a playoff game a week ago. The praise was for his dedication to his team and to the task at hand. Despite suffering a broken leg, he stayed in the game until a replacement could take the ice.

His example is an inspiration and shows a strength that is worthy of praise. It challenges us to take our commitments seriously, to always give 110 percent in our responsibilities. It speaks of a work ethic that contributes to a strong community.

It should also challenge us spiritually. God made such a commitment to us. Not only has He given us life, family and friends, He also offered Himself, suffered death on our behalf so that we would not

17

Commitment to God

have to fear sin or death. He members of the Church, we asks for our love in return and now belong to Christ “Who to share His love with others. died and rose for us” and are Do we have a Campbell-like called to serve others (#1269). commitment to God? Each We commit ourselves to the week that we profess the Creed, receive the Eucharist or whenever we renew our Baptismal call, we are in effect publically stating

By Father that we do have such a David C. Frederici commitment.

At our Baptism, we are not only cleansed of the stain of Original Sin, we “apostolic and missionary acare united to Christ in a very tivity of the Church” (#1270). special way. He promises to This involves more than going be with us at each and every to Church and definitely more moment of our lives. This than just saying “I believe in happens through the SacraGod.” mental life of the Church, The question that came to scripture, devotions, the faith mind after game three and community, etc. However, reflecting on Campbell’s acwe also make promises. The tions was, “How am I doing in “Catechism of the Catholic my commitment to God?” I Church” reminds us that as maybe quick to exercise my

Be Not Afraid

right to the Sacraments, to the treasures of the Church, but how have I been Christ to others? This goes beyond family and friends, although I may need to do a better job there. Have I been Christ to the stranger at the store, post office, movie theater?

Have I been Christ to other drivers on the road? Have I been Christ to the loner at school? Have I been Christ to those who have been rude, angry or mean to me?

Have I made time for Christ each day, not just to ask for things, but also to thank Him, to listen for His voice, and just spend time with Him like I would my best friend?

If I answer no to any of

these, guess what? I haven’t given 110 percent in my commitment and nothing less is good enough.

Sounds tough and at times it is. However, that is why we have the Sacraments, Scriptures, prayers, devotions, faith community, etc. These things are the help I need to meet my responsibilities as a Christian.

Such a commitment isn’t done to win a game or for glory.

Such a commitment allows me to be more human, to be happy and to make the world a better place. In short, it allows me to be true to who I am as a child of God. Father Frederici is diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College.

PATRIOTIC PRIDE — Twenty-seven students from St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently marched in the Attleboro Memorial Day Parade. Logan and Melina Gallagher, the St. John the Evangelist School grand marshals, were escorted by “Johnny,” the school’s eagle mascot.

St. Mary’s Education Fund summer gala planned for July 12 on Cape Cod

MASHPEE — The annual St. Mary’s Education Fund summer gala on Cape Cod is set this year for Friday, July 12 at the Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee.

Proceeds from this evening of food, music and merriment benefit the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which provides need-based scholarships to children attending Catholic schools on Cape Cod and throughout southeastern Massachusetts.

The summer gala will feature a multi-course dinner,

silent and live auctions with fantastic prizes, and music and entertainment by the Frank Zarba Orchestra of Boston. A 6 p.m. cocktail reception will begin the festivities.

In his letter of invitation to supporters, Fall River Bishop George W. Coleman called the gala an opportunity “to celebrate the tradition of Catholic education” and pointed out that in reflecting on the accomplishments of the past, “we realize how important it is for us to con-

tinue to strive even more to assist our schools in meeting the continually rising costs in order for them to remain financially self-sufficient.”

The summer gala was first held in 1998 and has become Cape Cod’s largest source of funding for the St. Mary’s Education Fund.

Co-chairs for this year’s Gala are Maureen Makkay and her son, Albert Makkay Jr., both of Centerville.

For ticket information and further details please contact Jane Robin at 508-759-3566.

STUDENT SCHOLAR — Liberty-Ann Heyes of New Bedford, an 11th grade student at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth, was recently chosen as a Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship winner by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s Office of Student Financial Assistance. Pictured above, seated from left, are guidance counselor Nicole Landry, Liberty-Ann Heyes; standing, from left, faculty members Sarah Oliveira and Caitlin McGee.

18

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

Annual global Rosary Relay offers prayers for priests continued from page one

Priests (in 2010),” Mulhall said.

“I literally woke up one morning very early and I just sensed the words: ‘Twenty countries, 20 mysteries.’ I thought to myself: ‘Hold on a minute, what is this?’

I woke up pretty fast and realized it was Our Lady telling me she wanted the Rosary — that was the spark of it.”

Mulhall said she was surprised to learn there had never before been a global Rosary relay prayed specifically for priests, and she went to work to plan the first event in June of 2010.

“We had a very successful year that first time out,” she said, noting they surpassed their original goal of 20 countries. “We had about 24 to 28 different shrines to Our Lady participating. We thought if we picked the national shrines in all different locations, it would cover all the different time zones and that’s how the globe would be covered. It was fantastic.”

The response to that initial Rosary Relay was so positive, however, that Mulhall soon realized it needed to become an annual event.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘Thank you, Our Lady. We followed your inspiration and that’s done and dusted,’” she said.

“Until the emails started pouring in telling us that this had to continue. So then we found ourselves with the annual global Rosary Relay for Priests.”

As if to put an imprimatur on this bit of Divine inspiration, Mulhall said she reached out to Pope Benedict XVI for the second annual relay in 2011, asking if he’d consider writing a prayer for the event.

“I decided I would write and explain to him how well the Rosary Relay had gone and ask if he’d maybe, possibly consider

writing a prayer so every country could pray as a connecting link as they pass the Rosary Relay onto the next country,” she said.

“I didn’t know if we were ever going to hear back, but lo’ and behold, in a short span of time, a magnificent prayer came back from Pope Benedict. That was a mega-blessing and we knew this was going to be very serious and become very huge.”

In subsequent years, the Rosary Relay for Priests has expanded to some 60 locations worldwide and last year Mulhall was honored to lead the Irish leg of the relay during the Eucharistic Congress that was held in her hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The event was broadcast on EWTN and brought even more attention to yearly prayer for priests.

Noting that there were 87 sites around the world participating in this year’s relay, Mulhall said she’s very excited about how quickly the Rosary Relay has grown in just four short years.

“I’ve never seen quite anything like it,” she said. “The activity on our website from May 21 to June 1 — which is about a two-week span — recorded 11,000 visitors. We’ve got 245,000 friends on Facebook.

The whole social networking aspect is spectacular. It reaches every country and people can connect online.”

Mulhall said the Internet has become an invaluable tool in keeping the various locations and different time zones connected.

“The important thing about the Rosary Relay is that people can pray wherever they are,” she said. “The local shrine is the pivotal point, but one does not have to be at the shrine. Wherever one is … you can go to our website, see the list of shrines, and pray

along. You can stop whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, and join in.”

One of the sites participating for the first time this year in the Rosary Relay for Priests was the diocesan-based Holy Cross Family Ministries headquartered in North Easton.

Despite inclement weather, which forced its relocation from the scenic outdoor Rosary Walk to an indoor conference room, a sizeable group attended the 11:15 a.m. prayer service last week.

Led by Father Leo Polselli, C.S.C., chaplain of Holy Cross Family Ministries, the group prayed the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.

“Each shrine will be praying a particular set of mysteries each half-hour of the day in thanksgiving for our priests,” Father Polselli explained. “We were asked to pray the Joyful Mysteries, instead of the Sorrowful Mysteries. We priests here at Holy Cross Family Ministries are very grateful for your support and we thank you for your prayers and support of vocations to the priesthood.”

Father Polselli expressed great joy at the turnout for his first-ever Rosary Relay and said it is the type of event of which Holy Cross Family Ministries founder Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the famed “Rosary priest,” would be proud.

“It really fits in well with Father Peyton’s ministry … and I’m very pleased that everyone’s picking up on it and it should be getting more and more attention as the years go on,” Father Polselli said. “My hope is that as we join these other locations in the world, we can call to mind one of the sayings that Father Peyton used so often: ‘A world at prayer is a world at peace.’”

In addition to North Easton, Holy Cross Family Ministries’ offices in Chile, the Philippines, France and Uruguay were also participating in the relay.

Mulhall is particularly proud that Holy Cross Family Ministries has joined the fold this year since she has a personal connection to Father Peyton, who is buried just steps away from the ministry he founded on the campus of Stonehill College here in the Fall River Diocese.

“When I was a day old it just so happened by pure Divine providence that Father Patrick Peyton blessed me,” Mulhall said. “He was in Ireland at the time; he was spreading and speaking about his apostolate here — I won’t say

PROTECTING HER SONS — Father Leo Polselli, C.S.C., chaplain of Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton, leads a decade of the Rosary during the global Rosary Relay for Priests on June 7 while the Blessed Mother peacefully watches over him.

(Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

exactly how many years ago this was — but he was on Our Lady’s Island in Westford and I was the only member of our family who was born in that part of Ireland.

Everyone else was born in Dublin.

“He just happened to come to the nursing home and when I was a day old he blessed me. And here I am — having left a very successful advertising career, to specifically give my life to support this apostolate to pray for priests. I just feel that blessing is now coming into bloom with the Rosary Relay for Priests.”

With the fourth annual Rosary Relay for Priests now behind her, Mulhall will soon start planning for the fifth anniversary event in 2014.

“I was just saying to myself: ‘What in Heaven’s name is Our Lady doing with us? I can’t keep up with her. She’s gone flying!’”

Mulhall said. “But I finally decided to surrender. It’s her idea, it’s her Rosary, and it’s for her priests — and I’m staying out of the way. It’s fabulous, it really is.”

For more information about World Priest or the annual global Rosary Relay for Priests, visit www.worldpriest.com or www. worldpriestday.com.

June 14, 2013

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 9 p.m. daily.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17.

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

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

East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich.

Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

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

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

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass 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.

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 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 Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction.

Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Expostition 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 — Every First Friday, Eucharistic Adoration takes place from 8:30 a.m. through Benediction at 5:30 p.m. Morning prayer is prayed at 9; the Angelus at noon; the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m.; and Evening Prayer at 5 p.m.

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

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

19

The Anchor Sister Ruth Kindelan, SUSC

LATHAM, N.Y. — Sister Ruth Kindelan, SUSC, (Sister Stephen Helen) of Latham, N.Y. died May 26 after a short illness at the age of 93.

She was born in Edgewood, R.I. in 1919, the daughter of the late Stephen and Helen (Creamer) Kindelan. In addition to her Holy Union Sisters, she leaves her sister, Adrienne Newell of Wrentham, several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews survive her.

Her sisters, Sister Stephen Mary, SUSC; Marjorie Deignan, Dorothy Hopcraft; Pauline Powers; Mary Collins; and brothers Stephen, John and James Kindelan predeceased her. Sister Ruth was a graduate of the former Sacred Hearts Academy in Fall River.

She entered the Holy Union Sisters in Fall River in 1937 and pronounced her final vows on Aug. 15, 1945.

Sister Kindelan received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Manhattanville College, N.Y. and a Master’s degree in Religious Education from St. Michael College, Winooski, Vt.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming week June 16 Rev. James McDermott, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1975 June 18 Most Rev. William B. Tyler, First Bishop of Hartford, Founder of the Sandwich Mission, 1849 Rev. James M. Coffey, P.R., Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1935 Rev. Declan Daly, SS.CC., Associate Pastor, St. Joseph, Fairhaven, 1984 Rev. Henri Laporte, O.P., Former Pastor, St. Anne, Fall River, 1992 June 19 Rev. Hormisdas Deslauriers, Founder, St. Anthony, New Bedford, 1916 June 20 Rt. Rev. Msgr. James Coyle, P.R., LL.D., Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1931 June 21 Rev. Owen F. Clarke, Former Assistant, St. Mary, Fall River, 1918 Rev. Desire V. Delemarre, Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1926 Rev. George A. Meade, Chaplain, St. Mary’s Home, New Bedford, 1949 Rev. Francis D. Callahan, Pastor, St. Patrick, Wareham, 1948 Rev. Clement Killgoar, SS.CC., Pastor, St. Anthony, Mattapoisett, 1964 Rev. David A. O’Brien, Retired Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1976

Sister Kindelan was a teacher of primary grades and music for more than 30 years in schools in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Sister Ruth Kindelan, SUSC Her last teaching assignments were as music teacher at Bishop Cassidy High School and Taunton Catholic Middle School in Taunton. She was a founding member of the Holy Union House of Prayer at St. James Convent in Tiverton,

R.I. She served as a hospital chaplain at Albany Medical Center from 1979 until 1994 and continued to provide pastoral care part-time until she retired in 1999.

Sister Kindelan was a Eucharistic Minister at several nursing facilities in Albany.

She was an active member of the music ministry at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

She founded a group of Holy Union Associates in the Albany area and served as their facilitator for many years.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated May 30 by Father Robert Levens, S.J. at Holy Name Church in Fall River. Burial followed at St. Patrick Cemetery in Fall River.

Funeral arrangements were

by Waring-Sullivan Funeral Home, Fall River.

Donations in Sister Kindelan’s memory may be made to: The Holy Union Sisters Mission Advancement Office, P.O. Box 410, Milton, Mass.

02186-0006.

Around the Diocese 6/14

St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham will be hosting a Holy Hour for Life in honor of Father’s Day tonight. Father Ron Floyd will preside at a Holy Hour beginning at 7 p.m. and light refreshments will be served and the movie “October Baby” will be shown in the church hall immediately following. All are welcome.

6/20

A Healing Mass will be held on June 20 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford. The Mass will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will include Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will also be a holy hour, including the Rosary. For location information, visit www.saintanthonynewbedford.com or call 508-9931691.

6/21 6/22

St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River will hold a holy hour on June 21 at 6 p.m. to begin the Fortnight for Freedom. There will be Eucharistic Adoration, vocal prayers and a homily. All are welcome.

6/23 6/26

The Italian Mass celebrated by Father Tad at St. Thomas the Apostle Chapel in Falmouth is scheduled for June 23 at 2 p.m.

All are welcome.

A Day with Mary will be held June 22 at St. Brendan’s Parish, 384 Hartford Avenue in Bellingham from 8 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is an opportunity for Reconciliation and a bookstore is available. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508-996-8274.

The Pro-Life Ministry of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset and St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth will sponsor a “Coffee and Conversation” meeting on June 26 at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in North Falmouth, with Mass celebration at 9 a.m. followed by coffee and refreshments served in the parish center. Guest speaker will be Marian Desrosiers, director of the Pro-Life apostolate and Project Rachel for the diocese. All are welcome. To plan for refreshments, please call 508-5633561 or 508-457-7699.

7/4

At noon on July 4, St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River will ring its bells for 10 minutes as part of the U.S. Bishops’ “Let Freedom Ring” campaign, followed by a Mass at 12:10 p.m. to conclude the Fortnight for Freedom. All are welcome.

7/6

A Day with Mary will be held on July 6 at Immaculate Conception Church, 136 Earle Street in New Bedford from 7:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. It will include a video presentation, procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is an opportunity for Reconliation. A bookstore is also available. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information call 508-996-8274.

7/19

The Pro-Life Apostolate of the diocese is pleased to announce the third annual Pro-Life Boot Camp for young adults entering high school through senior year will be held on the campus of Stonehill College in Easton on the weekend of July 19-21. For more information contact the Pro-Life Apostolate, P.O. Box 2577, 450 Highland Avenue, Fall River, Mass. 02722; call 508-675-1311; or email pla@plrachel.com.

20

The Anchor

June 14, 2013

St. Francis Xavier School welcomes new principal and assistant principal

PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE — Pictured, from left, is the new principal of St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet, Michelle Russo; Msgr. Gerard P. O’Connor, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet; and new assistant principal Anabela Shaughnessy.

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

ACUSHNET — With Donald Pelletier stepping down as principal to take a new position at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet is welcoming in a new principal and assistant principal.

For the past two years Michelle Russo and Anabela Shaughnessy have been part of the St. Francis Xavier staff — Russo as the assistant principal and Shaughnessy as campus minister, and now Russo will step up as principal with Shaughnessy as assistant principal.

Originally from the area, Russo moved back from Colorado with her family after working as a teacher and assistant principal at a Catholic school in Colorado.

“When she came back, I asked her if she’d like to be entrusted in doing some work in our school, and she came on board as assistant principal a couple of years ago,” said Msgr.

Gerard O’Connor, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet.

“She has a strong background in Catholic education, being an educator for many years as well as an administrator, so she brings in a lot of both in academic side of things as well as the administrative side of things.”

Russo’s five children are all enrolled at St. Francis Xavier School.

“There’s always that question is it good to be the principal of a school where all your kids go?” chuckled Msgr. O’Connor. “That’s always a great thing when

you have a principal bringing up her children with a Catholic education. Obviously it’s a huge investment

in the school as a parent as well.”

Shaughnessy was teaching in the Chicago Catholic school system until she moved to the area a few years ago, and is the wife of Peter Shaughnessy, principal of Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth.

She has four children, “three enrolled in the school, one is too young just yet,” said Msgr. O’Connor.

“She has a lot of Catholic education in a different system so she brings a lot of knowledge. They both bring knowledge from different areas of the country, which is always a good thing.”

Though the school year is almost over, Msgr.

O’Connor and the women are already looking ahead to the next school year.

“We’ve got some great plans and we’re going to be spending summer put-

ting those together,” said Msgr. O’Connor. “We want to concentrate on academic excellence in the school.

We’ve got things we’d like to do with our math program; we’d like to start teaching at a higher level to prepare the kids for high school, and to continue with our Catholic identity.

Mrs. Shaughnessy has been involved a lot with the campus ministry and she’ll continue that.”

Msgr. O’Connor said he knows that the women will continue to provide an atmosphere of academic excellence and good Christian joy at the school.

“They’re both young, Catholic women who are well-invested in our school and we see this as a hugely positive thing,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to the next few years under their supervision.”