The Anchor F riday , October 24, 2008
Diocese of Fall River
Inaugural Mass for new St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton is Sunday
By Dave Jolivet, Editor
TAUNTON — When St. Andrew was first introduced to Christ, he immediately recognized him as the Messiah. “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-42). At the first glimpse of Jesus, Andrew felt the calling to
share him with others. This Sunday, St. Andrew the Apostle will beckon the faithful from the communities of St. Joseph’s and St. Paul’s parishes in Taunton, to unite as one and continue to let others know “We have found the Messiah,” and bring them to Jesus. At 12 a.m. on October 26, the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Paul will be suppressed and become St. Andrew the Apos-
tle Parish one minute later. The inaugural Mass for the new faith community will take place at St. Joseph’s Church with an 11 a.m. Mass celebrated by pastor, Father Timothy P. Reis. One week later, Bishop George W. Coleman will officially install Father Reis as pastor at a Mass at St. Joseph’s Church also at 11 a.m. “There is a certain sadness for many, being members of either
Patriots linebacker has faith in Catholic school education
By Michael Pare Anchor Staff
WESTPORT — Nearly 500 people turned out October 14 at White’s of Westport for the St. Mary’s Education Fund’s 14th Annual Dinner. Since its inception in 1991, the St. Mary’s Education Fund has provided scholarships to needy students attending Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Fall River. The fund was originally established from the proceeds of the sale of the former St. Mary’s Home of New Bedford, an orphanage sponsored by the diocese. Interest from those pro-
ceeds provided seed money for scholarships. Since its humble beginning, the fund has grown dramatically. The annual scholarship dinner has taken place each year since 1995. The dinner and a fundraising event each summer on the Cape serve as the fund’s primary sources of revenue. Since the mid-1990s, more than $6 million has been distributed from the fund to families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend Catholic schools in the diocese. Last year, the fund made it Turn to page 18
parish for so long,” said Father Reis. “But there is also an excitement about this process. It’s much like the early Christians establishing a faith community that we can mold into the way we want it to be.” The faith communities of the two Taunton parishes have worked long and hard to make this union a fruitful and prayerful transition, with the formation of
a Founding Parish Task Force in March of this year, comprised of individuals from both parishes. “I have been so impressed with these people from day one,” Deacon Alan Thadeu told The Anchor in a recent interview. “Everyone of them has been an outstanding leader, open-minded, prayerful, and tough when they had to be. It is so vital in a situaTurn to page 12
LIVES OF SERVICE — Several religious Sisters celebrating various anniversaries gathered for a photo with Bishop George W. Coleman at the annual gathering of religious Brothers and Sisters October 18 at St. Julie Billiart Church in North Dartmouth. Front from left: Sisters Barbara Barton, OP; Agnes Shannon, OP; Agnes Banville, RSM; Grace Donovan, SUSC; the bishop; Barbara Hunt, RSM; Monique Lesage, SCO; Rosellen Gallogly, RSM; and presenter Catherine Griffith, SND. Back: Sisters Simone Rodrigues, SSJ; Mary Duffy, SSJ; Zita Foley, RSM; Mercia Moran, RSM; and Marie Lorraine Halpin, RSM. (Photo by Eric Rodrigues)
Religious jubilarians invite today’s youth to answer call By Deacon James N. Dunbar
STANDING PAT — New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, center, meets with members of the Bishop Connolly High School football team and coach Coach Frank Sherman, left, at the St. Mary’s Education Fund Dinner at White’s of Westport last week. Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl champion, was the keynote speaker. (Photo by Michael Pare)
Question 1 approval could hurt needy By Gail Besse Anchor Correspondent
BOSTON — Ballot Question 1 asks Massachusetts voters if they want to repeal the state’s personal income tax by phasing it out over the next two years. The proposed law would reduce the current 5.3 percent
rate by half for the 2009 tax year, then eliminate it in 2010. Both proponents and opponents of the referendum agree it would drastically alter how state government operates, but differ markedly on whether that change would be good or bad. It would largely be up to
the governor and legislature to determine where the budget axe would fall if state revenues shrink by the $12.5 billion, the amount the income tax produces annually. But some expenses, like state debt, would have to be paid first; human Turn to page 15
NORTH DARTMOUTH — Holy Union Sister Grace Donovan and Brother of Christian Instruction Walter Zwierchowski have spent differing amounts of time in God’s service in various ministries. But they are in a timeless solidarity in urging young people to heed God’s call to follow him in his service, and be their successors. “I tell young men who might be interested in such a vocation, ‘Try it out. You might just like it,’” said Brother Zwierchowski, a religion teacher at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River
and who is observing his 25th anniversary in vowed religious life. “I tell them they must pray every day and ask God to help them decide. Daily prayer is vital if they are to draw near to and have a relationship with Christ and subsequently to take up his work,” he added. Sister Donovan, 87, now retired and in residence at The Landmark in Fall River, is marking her 70th jubilee as a religious Sister. “I would tell young women discerning a vocation to religious life to be good listeners to God’s Turn to page 18
Special Marriage Supplement pull out in this week’s Anchor
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News From the Vatican
October 24, 2008
Cardinal George emphasizes how to listen to and proclaim Gospel
ROME (CNS) — How to listen well to the word of God and how to proclaim it well have emerged as the key questions for the Synod of Bishops on the Bible, said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago. Both challenges call for improved individual preparation as well as a broader effort to shape culture in a way that recovers biblical literacy, he said. Cardinal George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke in an interview with Catholic News Service in Rome, where he was attending the October 5-26 synod. After the synod heard more than 150 speeches during its first week, Cardinal George said one clear concern was improved training for the “world of proclaimers” — particularly in the preparation priests and seminarians receive on how to preach Scripture. The reason preaching is on synod members’ minds, he said, is that they are wondering why biblical renewal hasn’t fostered “more dynamic homilies that bring people into the word of God,” especially during liturgical celebrations. The question touches on homiletics courses, but also on the way Scripture is taught, and whether there is an adequate emphasis on all the levels of meaning contained in scriptural texts, Cardinal George said. “There is a level of meaning that is purely human, if you like, in the mind of the inspired author, but nonetheless limited to his own context,” he said. That’s an important aspect of biblical interpretation, but if homilies are reduced to this aspect, they’re not going to be very inspiring, the cardinal said. “Then there is the meaning that God intends in the whole history of salvation, which can read Scripture as a whole and not just analyze parts of it,” he said. Making that level of meaning accessible requires familiarity
with such things as Church commentary, doctrinal development, catechesis and the Church fathers’ understanding of the texts, he said. One thing the synod has heard emphasized repeatedly is the importance of “lectio divina,” the prayerful reading of Scripture, both in the preparation of priests and as a spiritual practice for lay faithful. In the “world of the hearers,” whether in developed countries or in places of oral tradition, the Church has to help make sure that the word of God has a chance to be heard, Cardinal George said. That can’t be taken for granted today, he said. In the cardinal’s own synod speech to the synod, he made the point that biblical language and imagery have largely disappeared from popular culture. A century ago in the United States, he said, the Bible was read regularly in many homes. Today, even among fundamentalist Christians, that kind of familiarity with Scripture appears less strong, he said. Cardinal George said it was important to reintroduce these images and figures into the popular culture, but to do that the Church has to “be where the conversations that shape culture take place.” “You have to find people who shape that culture, or who are willing to do so, or who live it themselves, so that religiously inspired works of art and literature aren’t automatically in the small categories rather than the mainstream of modern culture and art,” he said. “That means you’ve got to have agents, actors, artists, producers who want to do that,” he added. For Catholics, however, he said, salvation is all about relations — the relationship to Christ and to those who know Christ and love him, and the conviction that love is more powerful than knowledge.
MODEL OF PRAYER — A pilgrim holds a statue of St. Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, a 19th-century Ecuadorean known for her deep prayer and penitence. Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints October 12 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)
Pope canonizes four saints, calls for end to violence in Orissa state
VATICAN CITY (CNS) —Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints, including the first native-born saint from India, where Christians recently have come under attack from Hindu gangs. After the two-hour liturgy in St. Peter’s Square October 12, the pope made a pointed appeal for an end to violence against India’s Christian minority. He spoke after declaring sainthood for St. Alphonsa Muttathupandathu, a nun from southwestern India who was known for her holiness during a lifetime of suffering. The other new saints included an Italian priest, a Swiss missionary sister and an Ecuadorean laywoman. The pope said their lives of faith and sacrifice should inspire contemporary Christians in all walks of life. As he pronounced the canonization decree, enthusiastic pilgrims waved flags and held up pictures of the new saints. After the liturgy, the pope called for an end to violence against Indian Christians, in the wake of attacks on church personnel and institutions. Since August, anti-Christian DIOCESAN TRIBUNAL FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS Decree of Citation Sincehispresentdomicileisunknown,inaccordwiththeprovisionof Canon1509.1,weherebyciteJohnO. Collinstoappearinpersonbeforethe TribunaloftheDioceseofFallRiver (887HighlandAvenueinFallRiver, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on November6,2008at2:30PMtogive histestimonyregardingthequestion: ISTHEZHARA-COLLINSMARRIAGE NULLACCORDINGTOCHURCHLAW? Anyonewhohasknowledgeofthe domicileofJohnO.Collinsisherebyrequiredtoinformhimofthiscitation. GivenattheofficesoftheDiocesan TribunalinFallRiver,BristolCounty, MassachusettsonOctober16,2008. (Rev.)PaulF.Robinson,O.Carm., J.C.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Denise D. Berube Ecclesiastical Notary
violence by Hindu mobs in the Indian state of Orissa has left about 60 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands displaced. The Indian government met in early October to discuss the growing problem. The pope, dressed in gold vestments on a cloudless Sunday morning, spoke in his homily about St. Alphonsa’s life of extreme physical and spiritual suffering before her death. St. Alphonsa was born in 1910, and at a young age was determined to become a nun after reading the lives of the saints. When a marriage was arranged for her at the age of 14, she deliberately burned her foot so that her disfigurement would allow her to avoid the engagement. She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at age 17 and taught for a while, but was soon confined to her convent because of a succession of illnesses, including typhoid fever, pneumonia, skin infections and a wasting disease. At the same time, her life also was marked by periods of great spiritual joy. As for her distress, she said she was convinced that God had destined her to be a “sacrifice of suffering.” She died peacefully and happily in 1946. The others canonized were: — St. Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, a 19th-century Ecuadorian known for her deep prayer and penitence. At a young age, she made private vows of virgin-
The Anchor
ity, poverty, obedience and selfmortification. She remained a laywoman, serving as a catechist while working as a seamstress. According to a Vatican biography, her penitential mortifications were severe, and when she died at age 37 in 1869, doctors said they were amazed she lived so long on so little food. — St. Gaetano Errico, an Italian priest who founded the Congregation of Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the 19th century. He was known for the many hours he spent in the confessional, and for seeking out the sick, the abandoned and the spiritually afflicted in his native area of Naples. He died in 1860 at the age of 69. — Sister Maria Bernarda Butler, a Swiss nun who founded the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Sinners. As a young woman, she broke off a marriage engagement and intended to live as a contemplative sister. But she was convinced instead to embark on a missionary journey to Ecuador, where she formed her new order, which worked especially among native families. The four saints together, the pope said, offer a beautiful example of holiness and deserve attention by the universal Church. “May their example encourage us, may their teachings orient and comfort us, and may their intercession support us in daily trials,” he said. OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 52, No. 40
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 $14.00 per year. 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 Roger J. Landry fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org NEWS EDITOR Deacon James N. Dunbar jimdunbar@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase m arychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Michael Pare michaelpare@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza kensouza@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@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.
October 24, 2008
News From the Vatican Cardinal Ouellet summarizes synod’s progress
VATICAN CITY — The word of God must be heard, understood, loved and shared, and that will require new efforts on the part of theologians and biblical scholars, bishops, priests, deacons, artists and all the Catholic faithful, said Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec. After members of the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible gave more than 200 speeches October 6-15, Cardinal Ouellet — the synod’s recording secretary — read a 20-page Latin summary of the presentations and offered synod members 19 questions as a starting point for their smallgroup discussions. The small groups were to begin meeting October 16 to draft proposals to present to Pope Benedict XVI as the basis of the document he is expected to write after the synod. The questions included:
— how can the Church educate people to listen to the word of God?; — how can the Church promote “lectio divina,” the prayerful reading of the Bible?; — would it be helpful to have a compendium or other practical manual to help priests and deacons write and present their homilies?; — is there a need to revise the lectionary of Mass readings?; — what can the Church do to better emphasize the connection between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass?; — what should the church do to improve the translation and distribution of Bibles, especially for the poor?; — what can be done to help people understand that reading and interpreting the Bible must take into account the literal meaning of the text, the spiritual meaning of the text and the traditional teaching of the Church?;
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For millions of Catholics around the world, the Sunday liturgy is a service revolving totally around reading the Bible because there are not enough priests to celebrate the Eucharist each week. During the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible, Church leaders from Latin America, Africa and Asia praised the work of the catechists or “delegates of the word” who lead the Sunday services and called for better training for them. Bishop Guido Plante of Choluteca, Honduras, said that since the first 17 lay “delegates of the word of God” were sent out in 1966 to lead Holy Week celebrations in isolated villages of Honduras more than 10,000 laypeople have been trained and sent out in Honduras and neighboring countries. They are not just Bible readers, they do not just work on Sundays and most of them do not get paid for their ministry, said Bishop Plante, a Canadian-born missionary. “They are real promoters of Christian communities,” he said. Gathered around the word of God, the bishop said, people have formed youth groups, women’s groups, trained catechists and discovered how relevant the Gospel is to their lives and their thirst for justice. Their love for the word of God leads them “to promote human rights and to help the victims of poverty, corruption and violence,” he said. Bishop Plante said he knows some people worry that Catholics will be content with Sunday liturgies of the word and not recognize how important the Eucharist is to
Catholic life. But that has not been the case in Honduras, he said. The word of God has increased a hunger for the Eucharist and has become a source of priestly vocations. “In my Diocese of Choluteca, for example, all the young Honduran priests have been delegates of the word,” he said. The president of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, Bishop George Zumaire Lungu of Chipata, also spoke about the widespread practice of Sunday celebrations of the word of God without the Eucharist. “This is what is prevailing in most of our dioceses in Zambia. Parishes are so vast that in many places it takes at least three months” for a priest to get to each of the small Christian communities for a celebration of the Eucharist, he said. “For our people, the normal Sunday encounter with the Lord is only through the proclaimed word,” he said, which is a shame since “the proclaimed word falls short of its normal fulfillment in the Eucharist, which is the only complete celebration of the mystery of God’s love for humanity.” Bishop Lungu asked the synod to encourage dioceses with a good number of priests to share with those who are experiencing severe shortages. While the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments in 1989 published guidelines for Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest, Bishop Lungu said it probably is time for the Vatican to develop a formal ritual for such services.
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
Bishops: Sunday liturgy keys on Bible for many Catholics
— would it be a good idea for the Church to sponsor a world congress on the word of God?; — what steps can be taken to ensure that the Scriptures become a more important part of the search for Christian unity and the Church’s dialogue with the Jewish people?; — what should the Church and its members do to ensure that a biblical spirit animates all its pastoral efforts?; — how can the Church reconcile the practice of interreligious dialogue with the dogmatic affirmation that Christ is the one savior of humanity?; and -- how can art, poetry, the Internet and other media be used to cultivate greater knowledge of the word of God? In his summary, Cardinal Ouellet said it was right that many synod members emphasized the importance of interpreting the Scriptures in communion with the Church and its tradition. But he also said the word of God
is a living word and the Church always must be attentive to new emphases and responses to new challenges that the Holy Spirit may inspire. Several synod members spoke of the danger of biblical scholars who read the text primarily as literature and theologians who read it primarily as support for Church teaching. Cardinal Ouellet said the discussion highlighted the need for reading the text “from within
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the vision of faith. It is not only to go beyond the letter (of the text), but to see it as a sign that the revealed Word wants to be heard.” “It appears clear to the synod fathers that the determining factor in the interpretation of the biblical text is the experience of encountering Christ present in the tradition of the Church,” he said. “This encounter transmits the strength of love that comes from faith.”
Diocese of Fall River
OFFICIAL
His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointment: Rev. Timothy P. Reis, Pastor of Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton. Effective October 26, 2008
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
Survey shows young Catholics’ political views mirror peers
WASHINGTON — A survey on the political opinions of young Catholic voters shows that their views are similar to those of their peers on many issues in this year’s election, including abortion and same-sex marriage. The survey was sponsored by Faith in Public Life, a resource center for justice and the common good, and was conducted by Public Religion Research. Other issues it covered were the economy, immigration, the environment, torture, employment nondiscrimination, religious liberty, and the role and size of government. The opinions of 1,250 young Catholics and evangelicals ages 18-34 nationwide were gathered by interviewers over land-line and cell phones from August 28 to September 19. During the same time period and using the same method, surveyors also queried 2,000 adults over age 34. In releasing the results, the pollsters compared the answers given by the young adults to those given by the adults. The margin of error for the national sample was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The survey indicated that
younger Catholics are less traditional than older Catholics. More young Catholics identified themselves as Democrats than as Republicans — 54 percent to 35 percent — whereas older Catholics were almost evenly split between the two political parties. Only 28 percent of young Catholics said they are politically conservative, compared to 42 percent of older Catholics. The survey showed that young Catholic voters are the most progovernment among voters of any major religious group, even more pro-government than other surveys show the rest of the young population is. Sixty-seven percent said that they prefer government play a larger role, offering more services to the public, compared to 41 percent of the older Catholics surveyed. Of those surveyed Catholics had the highest support for government involvement of any religious constituency. Young Catholics said they are more likely to support legalized abortion and same-sex marriage than older Catholics; 60 percent of young Catholics believe that
abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 51 percent of older Catholics who believe that. On the issue of same-sex marriage, young Catholics resemble other young adults on the issue, with 44 percent saying that same-sex couples should be able to marry if they are in a committed relationship; 46 percent of the general young adult population shares that view. Twenty-six percent of older Catholics said they approve of same-sex marriage. The majority of young Catholics, however, were less likely to believe that abortion or same-sex marriage were significant issues in this election. However, a majority of most older and younger Catholics agreed that a candidate’s stance on abortion is not the deciding factor in their vote. More than half agreed that they would vote for a candidate who disagreed with them on abortion. Fifty-five percent of young Catholics said they prefer the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, compared to 59 percent of all young adults who say they prefer Obama. Among older Catholics, 45 percent said they are for Obama and 46 percent said they are for his rival, Republican Sen. John McCain.
CELEBRATING YOUTH — Saul Peraza and Jessica Portillo perform a dance routine during the annual Encuentro celebration for Latino youths and young adults hosted by the Hispanic Ministry Office of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)
Speakers say creativity is key to meeting Hispanic Catholics’ needs
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Creative approaches that don’t fit into the Church’s usual way of operating must be the key to meeting the pastoral needs of Hispanics, the Church’s fastest growing segment, said the keynote speaker and panelists at a symposium at Georgetown University. Training of the Church’s lay and ordained leaders needs to be rethought, said Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. An American Church steeped in European traditions needs to be open to ways of operating that may seem unfamiliar to its current leaders but that resonate better with people whose roots are in Mexico, Central or South America, he said in the symposium’s keynote address. Father Deck enumerated a variety of concerns and possible approaches for what he described as “a new epoch of American Catholic Church history.” Latinos should be considered
“the leading indicator of American Catholicism’s future,” he said, citing recommendations from religion sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell for a book Father Deck is writing. Currently 29 percent of U.S. Catholics are Latino in origin, reported Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in another session during the symposium. Latinos also account for 45 percent of Catholics between the ages of 18 and 29 and 44 percent of those between ages 30 and 39. Father Deck said in some parts of the U.S., such as North Carolina and South Carolina, an influx of Hispanics has doubled or tripled the Catholic population of those states. He likened this moment in the Church to a traffic circle or roundabout. “What characterizes them is the bewildering number of choices and the speed with which one needs to make choices. Sometimes one makes a mistake and finds oneself literally going around in circles.” U.S. pastoral ministry leaders are “often ill-prepared and even uncomfortable with this rapidly changing reality” and operate as if a single solution can be found to any challenge, said Father Deck. In a panel discussion on leadership, Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, professor emeritus of Puerto Rican and Latino studies at Brooklyn College and distinguished scholar of the City University of New York, said the Church needs to recognize that operational changes must occur to meet the changing demographics. Alicia C. Marill, director of the doctorate program in ministry at Barry University in Miami, said a particular problem for Hispanics interested in ministry is that they are overwhelmed with work and family responsibilities. Another is that institutions tend to diminish Latinos’ possibilities of success. “If you look Hispanic, brown or indigenous, they don’t think you can handle 18 units.” Many students also are frustrated because they want to be taught for ministry in the language in which they work — Spanish, Marill said. So people who would like to contribute to the Catholic Church look elsewhere, she said. “If they don’t feel embraced, they will move on to where they are wanted.”
October 24, 2008
The Church in the U.S.
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Bishops set new committee to promote, protect marriage
SIGN OF THE TIMES — A “Vote Pro-Life” sign is seen outside a home in St. James, N.Y., in this file photo. The Knights of Columbus October 14 released the results of a study looking at Catholic voters and moral issues. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
New Knights’ survey outlines Catholic opinions on moral issues
WASHINGTON (CNS) — American Catholic voters in 2008 tend to be more moderate and less liberal than U.S. voters as a whole, according to a survey commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and released recently. “A plurality of Catholic voters, 39 percent, are Democrats, and 45 percent describe themselves as moderate. Only 19 percent say they are liberal,” the survey said. The survey was conducted by telephone with 813 self-identified Catholics September 24-October 3, by Marist College’s Institute for Public Opinion. Those who identified themselves as practicing Catholics outnumbered nonpracticing Catholics by close to a twoto-one ratio. Interviewers polled 1,733 Americans in all, Catholics and non-Catholics. On the subject of abortion, 48 percent of all Catholics surveyed said they were “Pro-Life,” while 47 percent said they were “prochoice,” and five percent said they were unsure. However, twice as many practicing as nonpracticing Catholics — 59 percent to 29 percent — called themselves “Pro-Life,” while 65 percent of nonpracticing Catholics said they were “pro-choice” compared to 36 percent of practicing Catholics. While more than 90 percent of all Catholics polled said they favored restrictions on abortion, there was less consensus on what kind of restriction should be put in place. A plurality of 35 percent said they would allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life. The survey also found that 26 percent of all Catholics would permit abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, although 17 percent said abortion should never be permitted and 11 percent would allow it only to save the life of the mother. The poll found that 55 percent of Catholics say they would “definitely” vote for a candidate who believes that life begins at conception, while 20 percent said they would vote for such a candidate
although with some reservations, and 19 percent said they would “definitely not” vote for such a candidate. A plurality of registered Catholic voters, 36 percent, said homosexual couples should be able to form civil unions. The remaining 64 percent were split evenly — 32 percent to 32 percent — on gay couples being able to legally marry or such couples getting no legal recognition. Nearly half of all Catholic voters, 49 percent, said they would “definitely” vote for a candidate who defined marriage as being between one man and one woman, yet 45 percent would “definitely” vote for a candidate who supports civil unions for any two adults who want to live together. The economy was considered the top issue by 59 percent of registered Catholic voters. No other issue reached double digits: nine percent said the war in Iraq was the top issue; six percent each, government spending and health care; five percent, terrorism; three percent, immigration; and two percent, jobs. Twelve percent of those surveyed mentioned other issues. A significant majority of Catholics, 73 percent, said they believed the country was headed in the wrong direction; only 21 percent said they thought it was headed in the right direction, and six percent said they were not sure. By a similar margin, 72 percent said they were mostly discouraged about the direction of the country and 23 percent said they were mostly encouraged; five percent were unsure. Sixty-six percent of Catholics were mostly upset about the direction of the country, compared to 26 percent who said they were mostly energized. In terms of party identification, 39 percent of the Catholics polled said they were Democrats, 30 percent said they were Republicans and 29 percent were Independents. When it comes to ideology, 45 percent identified themselves as moderate, 36 percent as conserva-
tive and 19 percent as liberal — although 26 percent of the registered nonpracticing Catholics called themselves liberal, seven percentage points above the figure for all Catholics, and 29 percent of the nonpracticing registered Catholic voters described themselves as conservative, seven percentage points lower than the overall Catholic figure. At least half of all registered Catholics said they would vote for a candidate who “supports embryonic stem-cell research,” while more than half of registered practicing Catholics said they would vote for a candidate who would “uphold marriage only between a man and a woman.” According to the survey, the Knights calculated that 65 percent of Catholics worship “regularly,” with the breakdown as follows: more than once a week, eight percent; once a week, 36 percent; and once or twice a month, 21 percent. The survey had a margin of error ranging from plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for all Americans surveyed up to plus or minus 6.5 percentage points for registered nonpracticing Catholic voters.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new ad hoc committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will work to raise awareness of the “unique beauty of the vocation of marriage” and the many threats it faces today, according to its chairman. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, asked him to chair the committee, whose work is being funded by the Knights of Columbus. In addition to its educational component, the committee’s work will involve public policy advocacy efforts against moves to redefine marriage through legislatures or the courts. In an interview from Chicago, Archbishop Kurtz said precise details about the committee’s strategies, whether its membership will be expanded and how long its work will continue remain to be determined by its members, who have only held one conference call thus far. “Cardinal George felt it was important to begin with a small group that can move quickly,” said the archbishop, who also chairs the USCCB Subcommittee on Marriage and Family Life. Other ad hoc committee members are Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, and Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB task force on strengthening marriage. Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight, will serve as a consultant. Initial plans include the redistribution of the 2003 USCCB statement “Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions” to dioceses, parishes and schools around the country and the development of
a brief video on marriage that will be available on the Internet and through social networking sites. In a letter to his fellow bishops announcing the initiative, Archbishop Kurtz said the conference wants to “make known the uniqueness and beauty of the institution of marriage,” while at the same time addressing “inadequacies in the ongoing public debate on the nature of marriage through education and public advocacy.” “The direct attempt to restructure the institution of marriage places the family, society and the institution of marriage itself in a precipitous position,” he said in the letter. “It may also bring serious consequences to the Church as she seeks to carry out her sacred mission in our society.” Within the first month of the ad hoc committee’s establishment, Connecticut was expected to begin issuing marriage licenses to samesex couples to comply with a recent decision of the state Supreme Court. In addition, voters in California, Arizona and Florida are to vote November 4 on proposed constitutional amendments that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. “There has been an erosion of institutional and cultural support for the time-honored understanding of the institution of marriage,” Archbishop Kurtz said in the interview with Catholic News Service. One of the committee’s goals is to find “the best ways to be effective advocates” for traditional marriage, he added. The archbishop said much of the committee’s work will parallel the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, a multiyear effort launched by the bishops in 2005 to communicate “the meaning and value of married life for the Church and for society.”
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The Anchor Judgment Day
We received a not-for-print letter to the editor last week from an Anchor reader who said he has appreciated our series of editorials on the importance of the issue of abortion in the upcoming election, but predicted that the series would have no impact at all. Massachusetts Catholic voters, he suggested rather cynically, have long demonstrated that they have no qualms about ignoring the teaching of the Catholic Church about the evil of abortion, not merely with respect to the high number of Catholics who have abortions in the Commonwealth but also to Massachusetts Catholics’ consistent track record of voting for congressional, senatorial and presidential candidates who support the practice of abortion over those who do not. For the most part, Massachusetts Catholics have repeatedly shown, he concluded, that they have greater allegiance to a particular political party than they do to their faith. It would take a miracle greater than the resurrection, he said, to have Massachusetts vote for a Pro-Life candidate. He recommended for that reason that we should dedicate this editorial space to issues other than abortion on which we may be able to have an impact. The point of this series, however, has never been merely to inform the consciences of Catholic voters as the November 4 election approaches. As a Catholic diocesan newspaper, we have also sought to inform readers’ consciences as a far more important election draws near, an election in which we’re the candidate and God has the vote. The consequences of November 4 for that other, more important election, were elucidated in an October 18 column entitled “Judgment Day” by St. Louis Bishop Robert Hermann. Writing in the St. Louis archdiocesan newspaper, he said that the judgment we make in the voting booth has eschatological ramifications for our own particular judgment. Interweaving Biblical and magisterial sources, he wrote with a simple force that no Catholic should ignore and every Catholic should take to prayer. We reprint his words at length. “Judgment Day is on its way. We cannot stop it. We don’t know when it will come, but just as surely as the sun rises daily, the Son of Man will come when we least expect. “Judgment Day is on its way. For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us in 10:32-33: ‘Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.’ “Judgment Day is on its way. When my time comes, I will be measured by my Savior for the decisions I have made. I will either be acknowledged by Jesus or denied by him in the presence of our heavenly Father. The question I need to ask myself is this: What kind of witness will I give to him when I go into the voting booth this election day? “The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system. If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble. Pope John Paul II, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici tells us: ‘Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.’ “The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy. I am living proof of this, since I am here because my parents believed this priority and lived it. My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion.… “Judgment Day for us is on its way. Those 47 million children our nation destroyed are still living. We have destroyed their bodies, but their souls are still alive. When our Lord comes again, they may very well be there to judge us. Even worse, Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we do to him. We would truly shudder if we heard the words, ‘I was in your my mother’s womb but you took my life!’ “It is quite possible that we might see these children, but, depending upon the choices we have made, we may very well be separated from them by a great chasm which cannot be crossed, much as the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor man, during his lifetime here on earth but was separated from him after death (Lk 16:19-31). The rich man was in flames, but Lazarus was in the bosom of his heavenly Father. “The Catholic Church teaches, in its catechism, in the works of Pope John Paul II and in the writings of Pope Benedict XVI, that the issue of life is the most basic issue and must be given priority over the issue of the economy, the issue of war or any other issue. These same teachings inform us that when both candidates permit the right to abortion, but unequally so, we must chose to mitigate the evil by choosing the candidate who is less permissive of abortion. “Judgment Day is on its way! I may deny it. I may pretend that it is still far away, I may deny that my actions are sinful, but that will not change God’s judgment of me. “The deepest problem with many of our Catholics is that they have become so accustomed to rationalizing away a life of sinful actions so that they seem to be on cruise control, heading in the wrong direction. ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ “My goal is not to engage you in some political party way but to engage you with our Savior and his teachings. We need to constantly challenge our accustomed behaviors in the light of the Gospel. We may say that we are following our conscience, but are we informing our consciences with the truth about these issues? … “Perhaps having to face these issues during this coming election can turn out to be a grace that truly awakens our need to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church, and then to use the sacrament of reconciliation so that we can receive his mercy and bring our behavior into conformity with the mind and heart of Christ. It is not too late to admit our sinfulness and turn to the Lord in the sacrament of reconciliation. When we do this, both we and the heavens will be filled with joy! “Judgment Day is on its way. Pray your way into conformity with the teachings of Christ and his Church. Pray the family rosary daily between now and Election Day so that you may not only make the right choice but also have the courage to discuss these issues with others who may have been misled by our materialistic culture. Include the candidates in your prayer intentions. It is my hope that our discussions will bring all of us to our knees to seek help from above.”
October 24, 2008
Achieving our highest aspiration
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the place of those blessed to be persecuted for ast October 28 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict presided over the largest the sake of justice. He then gave them his dying wish, which was an echo of Christ’s first word beatification in the history of the Church, as from the cross toward those who were respon498 Spanish martyrs were raised to the altars. sible for his execution. They were all killed in hatred of the “Pardon. Pardon. And pardon. The favor for Catholic faith during the Spanish Civil War, which I’m asking needs to be accompanied by which terrorized Spain from 1936-1939. In the desire to do all the good possible to my exthe span of four years of anti-Catholic frenzy, leftist republicans desecrated and burned to the ecutioners. For that reason, I ask you to avenge ground hundreds of churches and monasteries me with the vengeance of a Christian: doing and executed nearly 7,000 priests, 13 bishops, good to those who have tried to do evil to me.” He begged them to continue as good Catho283 nuns and thousands of lay people. lics. He asked them to take special care of his One of the youngest of these martyrs has goddaughter’s religious education, saying that quickly become one of the most famous. Blessed Bartolomé Marquez was orphaned although he would not be able to complete his at a very young age and was raised by his poor, spiritual duties toward her on earth, he would be her godfather from heaven and would pray hard-working uncle and aunt in the city of Pozoblanco in southern Spain. Having another that she be a model for all Spanish Catholic women. He finished the letter by saying that mouth to feed was a sacrifice for them, but he would await them all in heaven where he Bartolomé tried to make up for it by workwould be praying for their salvation. “Hasta el ing extra hard in the chair-making shop they cielo. Os abrazo a todos” — “Until heaven. I owned. embrace you all.” When he was 15, the Salesians opened a The second letter, written to his girlfriend new high school in Pozoblanco and Bartolomé Maruja, is even more touching. I think it will enrolled. The sons of Don Bosco quickly go down in history as one of the most beautiful recognized that Bartolomé had tremendous ever composed. intellectual gifts. It is fitting to They got him print it on this involved in study day when we’re circles so that he publishing a could learn what special supplehe had missed ment for enas well as good gaged couples, study habits. By Father for it shows how They lent him love for God books, which he Roger J. Landry is the deepest devoured. When foundation for he expressed genuine romantic love. a desire to write, they lent him a typewriter. “My dearest Maruja: Your memory will Their investments would not go to waste. remain with me to the grave and, as long as the Knowing that he was receiving a treasure, slightest throb stirs my heart, it will beat for Bartolomé wanted to pass on the fruits of his love of you. God has deemed fit to sublimate study to others. He became a lay catechist these worldly affections, ennobling them when at a time when lay catechists were rare. His we love each other in him. Though in my final amiability and love for the faith won over his days, God is my light and what I long for, this students almost immediately. His personality does not mean that the recollection of the one and competence also helped him conquer his dearest to me will not accompany me until the peers. When the young adults of his region hour of my death. were forming a chapter of Catholic Action, “I am assisted by many priests who — what they elected 18-year-old Bartolomé, with his borrowed typewriter, as their secretary. He did a sweet comfort — pour out the treasures of grace into my soul, strengthening it. I look not let them down — even when his position as an officer would lead to his arrest, sentence death in the eye and, believe my words, it does not daunt me or make me afraid. and martyrdom. “My sentence before the court of mankind While he was home on leave from mandawill be my soundest defense before God’s tory military service, the persecutions against the Church began. He was arrested on Aug. 18, court; in their effort to revile me, they have ennobled me; in trying to sentence me, they 1936 for refusing, as a Catholic lay leader, to have absolved me, and by attempting to lose participate in anti-clerical military campaigns in the north. On September 24, he was moved me, they have saved me. … Because in killing me, they grant me true life and in condemning to a prison in Jaen, where, despite being mistreated, he rejoiced to be surrounded by 15 me for always upholding the highest ideals of religion, country and family, they swing open priests and other Catholic lay leaders. When before me the doors of heaven. his trial came up, he could have saved his life “My body will be buried in a grave in this by denying his faith and agreeing to participate cemetery of Jaen; while I am left with only a in the republicans’ anti-Catholic pogroms, few hours before that definitive repose, allow but he told the court that if he lived, he would me to ask but one thing of you: that in memory continue to be an active Catholic. of the love we shared, which at this moment is With that, he was sentenced to death on enhanced, that you would take on as your priSeptember 29, two months before his 22nd birthday. When the guards came for him three mary objective the salvation of your soul. In that days later to bring him before the firing squad, way, we will procure our reuniting in heaven for he kissed his handcuffs and removed his shoes all eternity, where nothing will separate us. “Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest so that he could walk barefoot to the place of execution and thereby “be more conformed to Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, and try to be a model Christian Christ.” When the guards placed him before woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and the wall, they suggested he turn his back to delights are of no avail if we do not manage to the rifles, as most victims did, because it was save our souls. comparatively less dreadful and painful. He “My thoughts of gratitude to all your family politely refused. “Whoever dies for Christ,” and, for you, all my love, sublimated in the he said courageously, “should do so facing hours of death. Do not forget me, my Maruja, forward and standing straight.” As he was and let my memory always remind you there is showered with bullets, his last words were a a better life, and that attaining it should constitriumphant, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!,” “Long live tute our highest aspiration. Christ the King!” “Be strong and make a new life; you are What has made him famous, however, is not so much this heroism before his execution- young and kind, and you will have God’s ers, but his tenderness toward his loved ones in help, which I will implore upon you from his kingdom. Goodbye, until eternity, then, when two letters written the day before he died. we shall continue to love each other for life The first was to the aunt and uncle who everlasting. — Bartolomé” raised him. He told them that he rejoiced that Father Landry is pastor of St. Anthony’s he was about to die in the state of grace, enter Parish in New Bedford. fully into the passion of Christ, and pass into
Putting Into the Deep
October 24, 2008
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Jew and Gentile, Peter and Paul
n his Pauline catechesis of circumcision and observing the October 1, the Holy Father dietary laws for clean and unspoke about two events of the clean food? It sounds an almost early Church as recounted in irrelevant question now: “Of the Acts of the Apostles which illustrated one of the most important issues Living the in the early Church, one Pauline Year that sprang to the fore quite naturally as the Gospel began to spread By Father Andrew out from Jerusalem to the Johnson, OCSO pagans. Quite simply, the question was this: How did a Gentile, a non-Jew, become course not,” we’d say. “Chrisa Christian? Must he first become tians are free from all that. We’re not Jews.” But it wasn’t such a a practicing Jew, undergoing
ridiculous question in those days: the first Christians actually were all Jews, as was Jesus himself. The Twelve, the holy women, and the other disciples continued to go to the Jewish synagogue after the Resurrection as well as meet privately for the Eucharist, the Breaking of Bread. Well then, did new, non-Jewish believers in Jesus have to do the same, learning to be Jews as a kind of first step to becoming Christians? Paul had a strong, very confident answer:
The parameters of Christian orthodoxy
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od chose to reveal himself God as shepherd or husband, but and to enter into an intimate especially in the liturgy of Israel’s personal relation with mankind. worship. This lived tradition, This revelation and plan of salvation which made God’s revelation alive began to unfold through Moses and to each succeeding generation, the prophets, but only in Christ do surged onward to its full realizawe find the fulfillment. He is the tion in Christ. The New Testament incarnate Word of God, the embodi- recounts the earliest Christians’ ment of all God wants us to know experience of Christ. Formulated about himself. Revelation, then, is within the Church, these writings the total message of God as given in were gradually recognized as diand through his Son. vinely inspired. The Bible, then, is Christ established a Church to a fruit of tradition and exists within bear witness to this saving message tradition. until the end of time (Mt 28:18Because the infinite richness of 20). The apostles, who experienced revelation unfolds in time, tradition Christ and his message firsthand, encompasses not only Scripture are the foundation stones of this but also the doctrinal definitions Church. We’d be mistaken, however, to imagine that their knowledge The Fullness of God’s revelation in Christ was all thought of the Truth out and formulated into precise language. What By Father they communicated to Thomas M. Kocik the Church was not a catechism but the totality of the Gospel message in terms of a lived experience. following from new insights into This message is called the “deposit God’s revealed word. Many Chrisof faith” (see 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim tian doctrines were formulated at 1:13-14). general, or “ecumenical,” councils, Anything not already contained gatherings of all the bishops of the in the deposit of faith can never be world presided over by the pope. proclaimed as part of the Christian There have been 21 ecumenical faith. However, the Church in evcouncils in the history of the Cathery age receives the deposit of faith olic Church, from Nicea (325) to partly as things known explicitly, Vatican II (1962-65). The earliest and partly as a lived experience councils solidified the preeminence that has yet to be reflected upon of the five principal Christian and articulated. The implications dioceses, or patriarchates: Rome, of a particular doctrine can graduAlexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, ally become clearer, thus making and Constantinople. More imporit possible, even necessary, for that tantly, they defined the doctrines of doctrine to be refined and amplithe Trinity and the Incarnation. The fied. Developments of doctrine bishops didn’t presume to say the are legitimate, provided they are last word about these mysteries; consistent with the truths from they merely sought to exclude cerwhich they originate. This idea of tain false ways of speaking about continuity in divine revelation is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. summed up in one word: TradiThe councils must be studied tion, from the Latin noun traditio, in the wider context of the Church something handed on. Fathers, those highly regarded Tradition is enshrined in the bishops and writers, the earliest books of the Bible. The Old Testa- of whom personally knew the ment is the story of God’s breaking apostles. Tradition includes the into history, choosing a people, and decrees of the councils and the entering into covenant with them writings of the Fathers. It likewise — one collective, great event to be includes the oral formulas of the remembered and transmitted both early Christian preaching (such as orally and in writings, sometimes the question-and-answer sumby borrowed imagery (serpent, maries of faith used in the rite of flood), sometimes by portrayal of baptism), apostolic decisions (as at
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The Anchor
the Council of Jerusalem discussed in Acts 15), interpretations, and customs traceable to apostolic times (such as infant baptism and prayers for the dead). Tradition is closely connected to the sacred liturgy, the Church’s life of worship. Before the New Testament was complete, the apostolic preaching went on, often within the celebration of the Eucharist. In the liturgy, Christ comes in word and sacrament to feed and transform his people. Vatican II described the liturgy as the “summit and source” of the Church’s life. There’s more to the Christian life than the liturgy, of course, but the liturgy should permeate the life of the Christian. Immersion in the waters of baptism, anointings with oil, the words of Scripture and creed, the sign of the cross, Christ’s self-giving in the sacrament of the altar — we might say with the 19th-century Benedictine liturgist Prosper Guéranger that the liturgy is “tradition itself, at its highest power and solemnity.” Disputes inevitably arise over conflicting interpretations of God’s word. The Church, as “the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15), must be capable of discerning true doctrine and setting it forth clearly. Catholics believe that the Church’s teaching authority, or Magisterium, is invested in the pope, who is the successor of St. Peter, and the bishops in union with him. To the apostles under Peter and to their successors under the pope, Christ promised the gift of infallibility (Mt 16:15-19), which ensures that the Church will never invoke her full teaching authority to require the faithful to believe anything in faith and morals that is false. The Magisterium, aided by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13), authoritatively guides Tradition. From here, we’ll focus on the first four ecumenical councils. These dealt with controversies resulting in the earliest (and, in some cases, enduring) schisms from the Catholic Church. Father Kocik is a parochial vicar at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.
No. The death and rising of Jesus had fulfilled and perfected everything that the Old Law, the Law of Moses, was preparing us for, so we are radically free of its precepts. This is what the Council of Jerusalem, led by the Holy Spirit, in fact, decided (Acts 15). Paul had gone up with Barnabas to present his way of preaching the Gospel to the “pillars” of the Jerusalem Church: Peter, James and John. To Paul’s evident delight, these “pillars” gave their wholehearted approval to the idea that “the Gentiles no longer needed as a hallmark of justice either circumcision or the rules that governed food and the Sabbath: Christ is our justice.” Of course, this freedom can never degenerate into libertinism, the will to do with one’s body just as one pleases. Freedom from the law means freedom for Christ and conformity to him. Radically free in Christ and conforming to his divine sonship, we worship God and serve and aid our brethren, especially the neediest. Paul knew and lived this fully, so that he was continually reminding his Gentile converts to come to the aid of the poor in Jerusalem. Not out of compulsion or precept or guilt, but out of compassion and gratitude. In doing this, he relieved the needy and paid a tribute of charity to those from whom the Gospel had first come: the Mother Church in Jerusalem. Faith and charity have come full circle, Pope Benedict says: “The Council of Jerusalem came into being to settle the question of how to treat Gentiles who came to the faith, opting for freedom from the law, and itself was settled by the ecclesial and pastoral need that is centered on
faith in Jesus Christ and love for the poor of Jerusalem and the whole Church.” The second pivotal event, a moment of real honesty and some tension, was the episode in Antioch recounted in Galatians 2:11-14, when Paul rebuked Peter (Cephas) over his reluctance to eat with Gentiles when other Jews were present. Here is Paul in his own words: “But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” Paul never, ever minced words. Peter’s motives were actually good, though not without some ambiguity: a desire not to offend his fellow Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. But Paul saw the most basic principle of the Gospel at risk, that salvation is only in Christ, apart from the law, for both Jew and Gentile. Christian table fellowship should not be sacrificed to a concern for laws which had been superseded, “for while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Father Johnson is the diocesan director of the Pauline Year and parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis.
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
Loving our neighbors, no matter whence they come
ou turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son,” St. Paul praises the Thessalonians today. They gave up paganism and selfishness so as to seek the Son of God. Their faith was wellknown, because Paul mentions that Christians throughout ancient Greece took them to be a model. They put their faith into action, living out the twin Commandments that Christ gave, loving God with their entire being and loving their neighbors as themselves. In doing this, the Thessalonians also followed the command heard in the first reading, that God gave the Israelites in the desert: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien.” St. Paul was an alien to them, coming from Tarsus, and yet he says that everyone admired the “reception” that they had given Paul and his companions. Both the first and second
readings speak about “wrath.” In inalienable rights, which can the first God warns the Israelneither be violated nor ignored.” ites (and us) of his wrath if we The Catholic Church recogdo wrong to the alien, widow nizes the rights of countries to or orphan, while in the second control their borders, but she St. Paul speaks of Jesus, “who also “considers the problem delivers us from the coming of illegal migrants from the wrath.” Unfortunately, we humans often seek wrath Homily of the Week against other people, Thirtieth Sunday while desiring that God in Ordinary Time show mercy to ourselves. In the book of Sirach, By Father God complains about Richard D. Wilson this: “If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? Think standpoint of Christ, who died of the commandments, hate not to gather together the dispersed your neighbor” (Sir. 28: 5, 7). children of God (cf. John Among the people who are 11:52), … to bring close those often singled-out for wrath in who are distant, in order to our society are undocumented integrate all within a commuimmigrants. In 1996 Pope nion that is not based on ethnic, John Paul II wrote in his World cultural or social membership, Migration Day message, “His but on the common desire to irregular legal status cannot accept God’s word and to seek allow the migrant to lose his digjustice,” according to Pope John nity, since he is endowed with Paul.
Holy Father said that in the “search for a solution to the problem of migration in general and illegal migrants in particular, the attitude of the host society has an important role to play. In this perspective, it is very important that public opinion be properly informed about the true situation in the migrants’ country of origin, about the tragedies involving them and the possible risks of returning.” Through the work of the Diocese of Fall River’s mission in Guaimaca, Honduras, more and more Catholics throughout the diocese have come to know of the situations of poverty and violence which people in Latin America face, either by visiting the mission themselves or through the news we have received from the missionaries via The Anchor and during their visits back to the diocese. This has added
a compassionate perspective to our understanding of what causes people to try to come and live here. In this year celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth, Pope Benedict’s message on migration warns us, “It is impossible to achieve the dimension of brotherly mutual acceptance, St. Paul always teaches, without the readiness to listen to and welcome the Word preached and practiced (cf. 1 Thes. 1:6).” If we truly wish to give up the false idol of xenophobia (fear of foreigners) and thus avoid God’s wrath, we ask our Lord, through the intercession of St. Paul, to help us welcome the Word of God in our hearts and then to have those hearts love our neighbors, no matter whence they come. Father Wilson is pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James in New Bedford, and diocesan director of the Hispanic Apostolate.
Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 25, Eph 4:7-16; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 13:1-9; Sun. Oct. 26, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ex 22:20-26; Ps 18:2-4,47,51; 1Thes 1:5c-10; Mt 22:34-40; Mon. Oct. 27, Eph 4:32-5:8; Ps 1:1-1-4,6; Lk 13:10-17; Tues. Oct. 28, Eph 2:19-22; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 6:12-16; Wed. Oct. 29, Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145:10-14; Lk 13:22-30;Thu. Oct. 30, Eph 6:10-20; Ps 144:1b,2,9-10; Lk 13:31-35; Fri. Oct. 31, Phil 1:1-11; Ps 111:1-6; Lk 14:1-6.
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uring the debate over ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton and his Federalists argued for “energy in the executive” — a strong president who would set the national agenda and be the center of legislative and policy initiative in the national government. Fears of just such executive power were one arrow in the quiver of the Anti-Federalists. For the first century and a half of our national life, the balance of power and influence shifted between president and Congress; the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War brought us to what now seems the final resolution of the argument. Hamilton won. The United States has been remarkably fortunate
Electing our king in its presidents: of the 43 Washington alone remains to date, only a handful were, above reproach. Despite our by everyone’s account, duds. 16th president’s creating the Some thought to be failures United States as the subject when they left office — John of “is” rather than “are,” Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower — have been vindicated by history and historians. Others, venerated at the time, are no longer By George Weigel so well regarded: Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson are two examples. Ronald Reathere remain large gaps in gan, dismissed by Beltway in- our knowledge of Abraham siders as an “amiable dunce,” Lincoln, his personality and turns out to have been one of his ideas; fierce (if blessthe few presidents with some edly nonviolent) arguments claim to having been a politicontinue over his manner of cal philosopher. waging the Civil War. The deAmong those presidents bate over whether Franklin D. typically cited as our finest, Roosevelt’s New Deal policies exacerbated or resolved the Great Depression is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Contemporary presidents must pass a threshold test that their predecessors couldn’t have imagined, in the days before television began to dominate our public life: Do I want this person in my living room for the next four years? Beyond that basic test, however, are important questions of character, personality, leadership, competence, and vision. The American
The Catholic Difference
president is an elected king, with far more power than the constitutional monarch the Founders overthrew. Knowing who this person is, and what makes him or her tick, is essential in making an informed judgment. To elect a president is to make a moral, as well as a political, judgment. Thus Catholic voters will want to ponder these and other questions with respect to the two major candidates: 1. Books on the Founders are now found regularly on the best-seller lists. These books, and a brilliant TV series like “John Adams,” remind us that, while we read history backwards, statesmanship requires an ability to look forward, in typically confused and confusing circumstances. Presidential statesmanship also requires the courage to act with conviction despite uncertain outcomes. Which presidents do you admire for their ability to see clearly through the fog of immediacy, and for their willingness to choose wisely on the basis of what they saw? Which presidents strike you as essentially timeservers, men who were more careerists than leaders?
2. For what are you willing to risk your popularity, and perhaps your re-election? 3. How do you conceive the presidential bully pulpit? In an age of cable television and talk radio caterwauling, can a president help recreate a civil, rational discourse in American public life? 4. Are you prepared to dismiss a subordinate who may be your friend, but who is manifestly not up to the demands of the office to which you appointed him or her? 5. Do you enjoy argument? Do you invite challenge? Can you live with able subordinates who are prepared to tell you, “Mr. President, you are wrong”? 6. There are things a president cannot tell the American people. But are there circumstances in which you would deem it your responsibility to mislead the American people? To deny what you know to be true? To affirm what you know to be false? 7. What are the last five books you have read? 8. Presidents must govern amidst innumerable aggravations. How do you handle your temper? Can you laugh at yourself? Can you take a joke? George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Turkey stuff
Sunday 19 October 2008 — at ing at me with their beady little home on Three Mile River — eyes. Turkeys have the reputation YWCA Week without Violence of not being very bright, but I s it just me, or are there more think these particular turkeys had turkeys than there used to high IQs. I suspect they somehow be? I’m referring to the feathered knew it was Thanksgiving Day species, not the human kind. A couple of years ago, I was on my way to Thanksgiving dinner. I was running late. All Reflections of a across America families Parish Priest were already sitting down to feast on turkey. As I By Father Tim passed the Freetown/Fall Goldrick River State Forest, my car was suddenly surrounded by a mob of sauntering wild and that they had survived. Was turkeys. There they were, bold as it my imagination, or did I hear could be, taking their fine time in those turkeys laughing in conthe middle of the street and startempt?
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The Ship’s Log
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
Just last week I was sitting on my piazza enjoying the warmth of autumn sunshine. I sensed a presence and turned to look over my shoulder. There in broad daylight was a flock of turkeys strolling nonchalantly on the rectory lawn. What they were doing there and where they ever went, I have no idea. Being just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, this particular flock was either very courageous or exceedingly dumbwitted. I suspect they came from the shallow end of the gene pool. How did turkeys become associated with Thanksgiving Day in
Remembering Ruth
in from school like a thundering ast month was the 10th herd of elephants, smiling at anniversary of the death the husband when he comes in of Ruth V.K. Pakaluk (March from work and refraining from 19, 1957-September 23, 1998), rehearsing all the horrors of your president of Massachusetts Citiday.” She was obviously speakzens for Life from 1987 to 1991, ing from experience. a convert to the Pro-Life cause My sense is that everyone and to Catholicism, Harvard who knew Ruth could attest grad, wife of philosopher (friend that she gave a wonderful and and fellow columnist) Michael at times heroic witness, both in Pakaluk, mother of seven (her word and deed, to the value of son Thomas died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), active in her Worcester cathedral parish and in the apostolic activities of the Opus Dei prelature. She died of metastasized breast cancer at age 41. I had the privilege of knowing By Dwight Duncan Ruth and her family for more than 10 years before she died. She was beautievery human being. For instance, ful, brilliant, savvy, funny, and remarkably articulate. I also think here is what she wrote about the birth of her first son, Michael: she was one of the holiest people “[Michael’s] birth was one of the I have ever known. greatest things that ever hapThis past weekend the parents pened to me. For the first time in of St. Therese, the Little Flower, my life, I had to put the needs of were beatified in Lisieux in someone else ahead of my own France. The Church obviously preferences almost constantly needs more models of holiness throughout the day. And though it in married and family life, since most people are called to holiness was a little difficult to get used to, I loved it.” through marriage and parenting. Her joy in welcoming new life Ruth lived an exemplary life, was infectious. Grace Cheffers without complaint and with a recalls: “Well, one of my other cheerful spirit. As Father Reidy vivid memories of Ruth is when I commented in his funeral homily told her I was expecting Thomas, at the time, her eldest daughter because I was getting negative “Maria wanted it recounted that flack from people … I said somewhen asked why her mom althing, and she had this immediate, ways smiled, Ruth replied so her sincere reaction: ‘That’s wonderwrinkles wouldn’t go down.” ful!’ Her voice changed, and she She went to daily Mass and was just so happy. And I was holy Communion, and prayed at really taken aback, because she length and regularly, including wasn’t kidding. She really thought the rosary. Her love of God also that that was wonderful. And the manifested itself in an impresimmediate reaction from me was: sive love of neighbor, shown in ‘Yeah — it is wonderful.’” countless rather ordinary details. She loved her life as a wife As she herself said in a talk, “The love God is really looking for, the and mother in Worcester. Even when she was president of love that is true and really counts, MCFL, she would always list is the love of 10,000 mornings of “homemaker” as her occupagetting up, being cheerful, listention when filling out forms. She ing to the kids when they come
Judge For Yourself
described her life in a letter to a friend who was a business person: “I understand completely the relief you feel at the end of the day. Mothers long for the same every day starting at about 4 p.m. My friend Katy and I call it the ‘Arsenic Hour’ (it’s either you or them, but someone’s going to get it in the tea.) However, we somehow drag ourselves through it, through dinner, through the bedtime bedlam; then collapse at the close of the day after maybe writing a letter like this one or reading a chapter or two. But it is a great life. As far as I can make out, everyone has the burden of finding a large part of the day a grind. Just because you experience this in a business suit does not make it more pleasant. In fact, it seems to me to make it less pleasant, because business suits are uncomfortable. A surprising number of people find the money they make adequate compensation for this experience of drudgery. I don’t think I would. Housewives have a lot of physical work, drudgery, and the psychologically difficult task of listening to children fight, cry, and whine. But we have more free time to think our own thoughts and converse with our friends than most people ever do. I cannot picture a job that would be more appealing to me than this.” No wonder that the inscription on her gravestone at Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester reads, simply, “Beloved wife and mother.” I think her a splendid embodiment of Vatican II’s teaching of the universal call to holiness, and Pope John Paul II’s Gospel of Life. Hopefully, we will hear more about her in the future. Dwight Duncan is a professor at Southern New England School of Law in North Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.
the first place? The first Thanksgiving Day meal at Plymouth was pot luck. It included clams, lobsters, cranberries (to prevent scurvy,) sweet potatoes, venison, goose, corn, squash, pumpkin and turkey. Most of these foods had been introduced to the colonists by the natives. The English colonists erroneously thought domesticated turkeys came from Turkey, thus the name. Turkeys were actually domesticated by the tribal peoples of Mexico. In preparation for the feast, Gov. William Bradford sent four men out to hunt game. They returned with wild turkeys. On the first Thanksgiving, I suspect, the Pilgrims ate the turkey and passed on the Wampanoag dishes of lobster and clams. The English colonists considered lobster to be repulsive — “the food of savages,” according to accounts of the time. How tastes change. The colonists, under Bradford, and the Wampanoag, under the Great Sachem Massasoit, needed to do something other than sit at table for three days and eat. According to Bradford, the colonists and the Wampanoag played games and sports. Perhaps they invented the first Thanksgiving Day football game. Unfortunately, Bradford did not record this in his classic diary. At one time, several Days of Thanksgiving were routinely included in the calendar. Additional Thanksgiving Days were sporadically decreed by authorities as a special occasion arose. The feast of St. Martin de Tours, also called Martimas, always occurs on November 11. In olden times, the herds were heavily culled at this time for simple economic reasons. It was impossible to feed large numbers of farm animals during the winter. This led to a great feast on Martimas, featuring roast goose. The first Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth Plantation wasn’t held in late November but in mid-October, 1621. The previous winter, half of the colony’s inhabitants
had died of disease and starvation. The surviving half of the population was able to plant and harvest a bountiful crop, thanks to the guidance of the Wampanoag. The Wampanoag were invited to the first Thanksgiving Feast. I doubt if they ever again sat down together for a Thanksgiving Day meal. As the English continued to expand their settlements, rumors of a possible native uprising began to circulate. The Great Sachem Massasoit died of old age in 1661. Leadership fell to his oldest son, Wamsutta. Two years later, the English declared Wamsutta a “person of interest” and brought him in for questioning. After being interrogated, Wamsutta fell ill. On his way home, writhing in stomach pain, Wamsutta died. The leadership fell to his younger brother Metacom. Metacom thought the English had poisoned his brother Wamsutta. Just 50 years after the first Thanksgiving meal, former friends had become bitter enemies. The first fatality of “King Philip’s War” occurred at Swansea on Wednesday, June 23, 1675. Over the next few months, the English settlements at Dartmouth, Rehoboth, Middleboro, and Worchester, among many others, were completely destroyed. Only six buildings were left standing in Swansea. An estimated 15 percent of the native population perished in those few months. The accounts of torture, massacre, slavery, deception, and betrayal on both sides are shocking. Sachem Metacom was fatally shot on August 12, 1676. The Dighton Indian Council Hall in the parish of St. Nicholas is now decorated with cornstalks and pumpkins for the up-coming Thanksgiving holiday. As we sit down to our Thanksgiving turkey, we may have forgotten our history, but I’m sure the Wampanoag have not. Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
Cape Cod woman answers whenever her parish calls
By Michael Pare Anchor Staff
OSTERVILLE — As her beloved Boston Red Sox were battling it out in the American League Championship Series against the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, Jean Ellis was taking it in stride. When we caught up with her, the hometown team was down three games-to-one. Throughout the Bay State — and across all of Red Sox Nation — panic had set in. That panic would turn to downright despair for Red Sox fans when last Sunday evening those Rays took game seven of the series and sent our beloved hometown team home for the winter. But Ellis was keeping things in perspective. After all, the Sox have won two World Series championships over the past four years, an impressive accomplishment, especially if one considers the 86 years that preceded them. “This just wasn’t their year,” says Ellis. As they say, life goes on and well, Ellis has too much going for her to complain. A self-described “water person,” Ellis has been a permanent resident on Cape Cod for approximately 30 years. Prior to that, she summered on
the Cape while living in New York granted. There are sacred vessels to City. clean, candles to care for, and light “If I am not near the ocean … well, cleaning to be done. you know, it’s in your system,” she “It’s mostly seeing that everything says. “You miss it when you aren’t is in ship shape,” says Ellis. “I’m there.” happy to do it. Yes, Ellis is It’s absolutely happy on the a privilege. I’m Cape, so close happy to serve to the Atlantic the Lord in any Ocean. way I am need“I tell myself ed.” that if you live Father Philip here you need A. Davignon, to look at it at pastor at Our least once each Lady of the Asday,” she says. sumption, re“And so I do.” members a time And Ellis not long ago is just a short when he had walk from anthree full-time other love of priests assigned hers, Our Lady to the parish. of the AssumpNow, he is the tion Church. lone full-timer, She visits the relying on rechurch every tired priests to day, not only help with daily attending Mass, ANCHOR PERSON OF THE WEEK — Jean Masses at 8 but doing so Ellis. a.m. and 5:30 much more. p.m. Leading the Altar Guild, Ellis and More than ever, he says, he relies her friends painstakingly attend to on dedicated lay parishioners like Elthose details so many of us take for lis. “She is very conscientious,” he says. “She works so well with all of the members of the Altar Guild. She takes her job seriously. She makes sure the altar is clean and the flowers are cared for. She is always there to help prepare for a visiting priest.” Living just blocks from the church, Ellis welcomes the opportunity to answer a call from Father Davignon. In essence, it is her way of serving the Lord. Father Davignon has come to count on her. “She’s always available,” he says. “When we call her, she is there. She has always been available to the parish. Whenever we have a function,
she is there.” Ellis began spending summers on the Cape long ago. She always looked forward to them. During the rest of the year, while living in New York City, she recalls volunteering for various organizations. And even back in those days, there was a sense of duty to her Church. In fact, Ellis used to review movies for the Legion of Decency, a precursor of the Office of Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “We would get a list of 10 movies,” she recalls. “You would have to see 10 to get one that you would enjoy.” She remembers one movie, starring Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. It was called “The Sandpiper.” She remembers the executive from the movie studio telling them there was an alternative ending available if they wanted to see it. Ellis laughs at the thought of performing that same service these days, with movies having gone so over the top. “I can’t even imagine it,” she says. It was a simpler time, for sure. The permanent move to the Cape was a good one. It brought her closer to the ocean. And it brought her to Our Lady of the Assumption, where she’s met so many wonderful people. Her work there has not gone unnoticed. “People appreciate it,” she says. “They say; ‘thank you.’” Ellis plans call for more of the same. She’ll continue to take in the Atlantic as often as she can. She’ll continue to root for the Red Sox. And she’ll remain available should Father Davignon call. “I’m handy to the church,” she says. “If anything is needed, I can be there in about a minute and a half.” Handy, indeed. To nominate a Person of the Week, send an email message to FatherRogerLandry@AnchorNews.org.
PRAYER BEADS — Pope Benedict XVI recites the rosary at the Marian sanctuary in the city of Pompeii, Italy, recently. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)
W
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
One + one = one
e both grew up at the Celtics championship sweatshirt. dawn of the Rock ’n Don’t get me wrong, espeRoll explosion in this country, cially you Denise. We’re still and the great British invasion. very much in love, but something For the most part, with the happened to that love over the exception of a few bands like the last three decades. It’s become a Rolling Stones and the Who that love that you won’t find in a rock wrote about their tough upbringsong. That would be too boring ings in the streets, most of the to sell. musical compositions with a I think the greatest change great back beat concentrated on love. There was the love that made one’s heart flutter; there was the love that left one starryeyed; there was the love By Dave Jolivet that evoked fireworks; there was the love with the promise of warm fuzzy feelings for the over the last 30 years is that rest of one’s life. Denise and I are one person. That Denise and I met on the last doesn’t mean we have the same day of 1976. Over the next two personalities, the same likes, the years, we grew to love each same dislikes. We’re still our own other. Actually, for me it was persons, yet we are one. love at first sight ... for Denise If we were to gaze lovingly not so much. But eventually she into each other’s eyes at a candlesuccumbed to my charms, and lit dinner, it would be a contest we shared a love that you would to see who would laugh first. Yet find in an old Beatles’ ballad. our love is deep and true. Next week, Denise and I will There’s only one reason for have been married for 30 years. that, and that’s because since And to be honest, what makes day one, we’ve had God in our my heart flutter now is watchmarriage. ing the Red Sox in the playoffs. There have been Disney What leaves me starry-eyed now World moments in our life is a 12-hour session of college together, like the birth of our four football from noon to midnight children and one Igor, the trips on a Saturday. I see fireworks to Disney World, the laughter, now when the Patriots score a the Christmas and Thanksgiving touchdown. And I get my warm dinners together, the fact that our fuzzy feelings from a nice, soft kids thought their parents were
My View From the Stands
“cool,” and the purchase of our one and only home. We also had our Good Friday moments, like the death of little Davey at three days old; the health scares; the fights; the disappointments; the worries; and the financial woes. I recall Denise and I giving a marriage talk to a group of young adults and telling them when we first got married, “We had to cut so many corners that all the furniture in our apartment was round.” Through the Disney and Good Friday moments God was always there — in one way or another. We always knew when it was time to drop to our knees in thanksgiving and in desperation. God has always been there for us — through each other. In times when we couldn’t even look at each other, and times when we held each other for comfort and strength.
After 30 years, we even know what each other is thinking — and that’s not always a good thing. But what we do know is that the good Lord has blessed our union — taking two
individuals, allowing them to be themselves, yet becoming one being. Very mysterious, just like a smaller version of the great mystery of the Trinity itself.
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The Anchor
Inaugural Mass at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish is Sunday continued from page one
tion like this that the right people are selected to lead the way, and that definitely happened here.” Deacon Thadeu, who grew up and received the sacraments of initiation at St. Paul’s, said that both parishes have been in existence for more than 100 years, and “the process was a very difficult one for people to come to grips with. It’s a sad thing to have happen, but many of the faithful here know it’s a reality of life. “There is real feeling from most of the parishioners of the two parishes that the real reason they come to Mass is to celebrate the Eucharist. It truly doesn’t matter if the site is a building, a tent, or any other place. The main thing is to have an encounter with Christ. It’s true that it’s not easy to say good-bye to a parish or even a church building after so much rich history in Taunton, but many people are actually excited about being a part of the birth of
a new parish, a new community of faith.” Father Reis also had nothing but praise for the task force. “The six members from each parish were very committed to being objective in all the decisions to ensure that they were fair. They gave it their all for what would be best for this new faith community. They too, experience a sadness at losing a parish.” The naming of the parish came from the hearts and minds of the two faith communities. A parish-naming sub-committee was formed from members of the Founding Parish Task Force and volunteers from St. Joseph’s and St. Paul’s. Parishioners who wanted to be part of the process were welcome to do so by submitting names for the new parish. After several weeks of collecting ideas, the naming committee discussed each submission.
After several sessions, centered on prayer and discernment, six finalists emerged. The faithful were asked to vote for the top three, which were then submitted to Bishop Coleman for the final decision — St. Andrew the Apostle. Again after much discussion, prayer, study and discernment, the task force decided that the worship site for the new parish would be St. Joseph’s Church. In a letter to both parishes, Father Reis explained, “Hours of careful questioning and deliberation, challenging the facts, challenging each other, and prayer have led us to this conclusion.” Also providing crucial input in the decision-making process was Doug Rodrigues, diocesan
October 24, 2008 director of Pastoral Planning and Deacon Tom Palanza, diocesan facilities consultant, who, as Father Reis wrote, “provided us with the ‘nuts and bolts’ regarding considerations for selecting the new site, including construction standards, estimated costs and conceptual designs.” Work will soon begin on the exterior of St. Joseph’s Church, and the faithful will continue to worship there. When renovations begin inside the church, some time after Christmas, the St. Paul’s church building will be utilized for worship until all the renovations are completed. “We really didn’t have any special final Masses for either parish,” said Deacon Thadeu. “That will come later when St. Joseph’s is complete and St. Paul’s closes its doors.” Michael Wojcik was a mem-
Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 26 at 11:00 a.m. Scheduled celebrant is Father Michael Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church 235 North Front Street New Bedford, MA
“Spirit of Christmas Fair”
SATURDAY ONLY November 8, 2008 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Featuring: Crafts -- Gifts -- Variety Booth -Grandma’s Attic -- Children’s Corner -Wine by Chace -- Delicious Baked Goods
Our Famous Polish Kitchen
Featuring: Pierogi -- Golabki (stuffed cabbage) -- Cabbage Soup -- Kielbasa Sandwich -- Hot Dogs -- Hamburgers -- and more.
Ample Parking
One Mile from Interstate 195
From Fall River, Taunton and West: Exit 16 off I-195. At stop sign take right, at traffic lights take left on to Coggeshall St. Take second right on to North Front St. Church on left. From Fairhaven, Wareham and East: Exit 17 off I-195. After traffic light continue to second right on to North Front St. Church is 50 feet from corner on left. Parking on right.
A GOOD DAY FOR KNIGHTS — The Knights of Columbus, Cross of Christ Council No. 12283, St. Bernard Church, Assonet, recently held its installation of officers for 2008-2009. First row, from left: Gabe Souza; Second row: Ernie LeBlanc (past district deputy), Roger Levesque, Bob Adams (recorder), Paul Ouimet (grand knight), Dennis Morris (outside guard); Third row: Paul Levesque (trustee), Bill Morin, Father Michael Racine (chaplain), Bob Viveiros (inside guard), Tony Branco (warden), and Bob Richard (district deputy). (Photo by Paul Levesque)
ber of the Task Force and told The Anchor he thought the whole process went very well. “We left no stone unturned when it came to examining all of the facts,” he said. “Like the Twelve Apostles we rolled up our sleeves and got going. There have been some ups and downs along the way, but we made a concentrated effort to put forth good information. Communication was key. “When the announcement finally came about the new name of the parish, there was an excitement in the air after the Mass. Many folks were glad to finally be moving on.” Reinforcing the Twelve Apostle theme was Task Force member Betsy Pinheiro. “It truly was like the original Twelve,” she told The Anchor. “Like them, we didn’t know if we could handle such a daunting task, but through prayer and hard work I think it turned out well. “We were also so blessed to have Father Tim and Deacon Alan shepherding us along the way,” she added. “Being such humble and passionate men, their courage and perseverance helped us so much. They were surely our guiding light.” “I was blessed and honored to be a part of the Task Force,” said Maureen Mosher. “Together, we can continue to grow as a faith community. Just like both parishes had long, family-oriented histories, our hope is that people will embrace St. Andrew’s as an extension of their family, just as in the past.” Everyone involved in the uniting process agreed that there are those who simply will not accept the change at this time. “Some people have a difficult time with change,” said Father Reis. “As a new parish community we will continue to pray for those and help them understand our Church mission.” “It has been a challenge,” said Deacon Thadeu. “Some have been up to the challenge, and some have not. We ask everyone in the diocese to pray for St. Andrew the Apostle Parish and those who opted to leave.” “The work is just now beginning,” said Pinheiro. “What the Task Force started we hope the parishioners can emulate, the hope we all have. It’s in everyone’s hands now. We have an incredible opportunity here to become a stronger parish and to make it glow.” “Our plan is for outreach in the community,” said Wojcik. “Not just parishioners who left, but all our neighbors, parishioners or not. To bring people to a personal encounter with Christ.” It all sounds very similar to the scene where St. Andrew ran off to bring his brother to meet the Messiah. And we all know the results of that encounter.
The Anchor
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
news briefs
Bishops urge president to grant Haitians temporary protected status WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic bishops have called on President George W. Bush to grant Haitians temporary protected status for the next 18 months, citing pressing humanitarian reasons. Temporary protected status, or TPS, permits nationals of a designated nation who are living in the U.S. to reside in this country legally and to qualify for work authorization. Such a designation is based on a determination that armed conflict, political unrest, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions exist in a nation and that the return of that country’s nationals would further destabilize the nation and potentially bring harm to those who go back. “Haiti meets the standard for TPS because it has experienced political tumult, four natural disasters and severe food shortages in the last eight months alone, not to mention the devastation of Hurricane Jeanne in 2004,” said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catholic agency says reports distort its finances, work with children SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — Despite reports that Catholic Charities CYO in the San Francisco Archdiocese is experiencing budget difficulties, the agency’s fund-raising revenue increased by more than $1 million during fiscal year 2007-08, according to an agency report to donors. “As a matter of fact,” said Brian Cahill, executive director, “the total number of donors has increased by 11 percent and the number of renewing donors has grown by 32 percent.” Cahill said he issued the statement partly in response to an article in Our Sunday Visitor that said the agency “plans to sever its two-year funding relationship” with an adoption agency that “focuses on placing children with homosexuals.” Reaction to the story has appeared on various Catholic-run blogs and blogs in the gay community. In the last few years the San Francisco Archdiocese and Catholic Charities have received much public criticism for placing two full-time employees — under a three-year agreement ending next June — at California Kids Connection to help answer inquiries about children eligible for adoption. The Connection program is run by an agency that promotes gay adoptions as well as traditional adoptions. “We regret that a small group of activists, in order to further their own agenda, continue to distort and discredit our efforts on behalf of these neglected children,” Cahill said. “The welfare of children has been a paramount concern of Catholic Charities CYO for the past 100 years.” Spanish art exhibit gives glimpse into history and faith, says curator WASHINGTON (CNS) — Sarah Schroth, curator at Duke University’s art museum, has become a local celebrity in the college town of Durham, N.C. People stop her wherever she is to thank her for bringing a collection of 400-year-old Spanish paintings and sculptures to the university’s Nasher Museum of Art in the exhibit “El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III.” “They feel it’s a gift to them,” said Schroth, the museum’s Nancy Hanks senior curator. Schroth deserves the acclaim for spending more than two decades researching, and then locating, the 52 works of art on display at Duke University until November 9. They were shown this spring and summer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The Nasher Museum’s Website — www.nasher.duke.edu/ elgreco/ — gives a sense of what the exhibit is like. Tribute also should be given to the small book that inspired Schroth to study Spanish art in the first place: her mother’s St. Joseph’s Missal. Iraqi archbishop says more security in Mosul might have come too late LONDON (CNS) — Increased security aimed at preventing further attacks on Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul might have come too late to halt an exodus of refugees, said an Iraqi archbishop. The Iraqi government has deployed extra police on the streets of the northern city to try to end a wave of violence in which at least 15 Christians were murdered in the first two weeks of October. However, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, said the force of 2,500 police officers might not be enough to stop Christians from fleeing their homes or to persuade refugees to return. “We are extremely worried about the situation,” the archbishop told the British branch of Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians, in an interview. “It is absolutely crucial that the government send more security and police to the area and maybe — just maybe — it will encourage the Christians who have fled Mosul to go back,” he said.
S
Changing values, colliding worlds
omewhere around middle yearning for the missing piece right. school, math teachInterestingly, even Karl will be discouraged by all who ers everywhere inform their Marx (who deplored marriage surround them and the normal slack-jawed students that they as oppressive) recognized marpathologies will ensue. operate in “base ten.” Most find riage as a natural institution. He For all the talk of diversity, it difficult to explain what has wrote, “A person who contracts members of a society cannot been virtually intuitive, but the marriage does not create marcoexist if they do not share fact is that each numeric place riage, does not invent it, any basic premises. If I shop with can contain one of 10 more than a swimintegers, from zero to mer creates or invents nine. The fun begins the nature and laws when the students of water and gravity. are asked to do math Hence marriage cannot problems in “base five” be subordinated to his or “base eight.” Hence arbitrary wishes; on the By Genevieve Kineke they begin to realize contrary, his arbitrary that it takes a virtual wishes must be suborsuspension of ingrained dinated to marriage.” habits to revalue the If individuals admit place holders to accommodate that they want to move beyond assumptions about “base ten” the new premise. Not imposmarriage to atomized relationat a store that calculates in sible, but rattling to the core. ships, we could discuss it in an “base seven,” we cannot agree Currently, we are being honest manner. But to suboron the value of the goods. If asked to consider a redefinition I then have to move on to a dinate marriage to arbitrary of marriage. Despite the fact definitions means that we cease doctor whose appointments are that cultures around the world to function as a cohesive socimade in “base three” I doubt through the ages have estabI’ll arrive on time. In this sense, ety. In that sense, overwhelmlished themselves around the ing math concepts would be the diversity will only go so far. If understanding that a family is least of a child’s problems. marriage is redefined, all the comprised of a father, a mother sociological data corroborating Mrs. Kineke is the author and their offspring, presently, of “The Authentic Catholic what committed mothers and in Hamlet’s phrase, “it’s more fathers provide for children will Woman” (Servant Books). She honored in the breach than the can be found online at www. have to be ignored in the new observance.” But even the esca- values schemes. We can’t all be feminine-genius.com. lation of divorce, co-habitation and promiscuity doesn’t indict Part Time Sales Coordinator — to handle calls the overall understanding by from customers, key in orders into the computer, most people that the future deprinting and checking in invoices. Fast-paced enpends on stable unions that provironment. 10-key pad skills helpful. 25 hour work vide children who will inherit week. Five days per week, Thursdays and Saturour world. Divorce is, at its heart, still considered a failure days off. Hours 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Apply in and children sense keenly the person at Gold Medal Bakery, 21 Penn St., Fall loss of one parent or the other. River, MA or e-mail gmbapp@goldmedalbakery. To rearrange the family unit com. Please, no resumes. to include any arrangement of adults and children means that no definition is possible. It likewise means that the assumptions we’ve made about biology, motherhood, fatherhood, and committed love are subject to redefinition. It is a sad fact of life that children today are not necessarily conceived through traditional methods, nor are they entrusted to biological parents in committed relationships. But beyond that, to posit that two fathers or two mothers are no different than a mother and a father is to conclude that either motherhood or fatherhood is irrelevant to the well-being of children. Therefore, in order to suspend our intuition about family life, children who lose a parent can no longer be pitied by others for suffering a natural tragedy. Neither can they mourn their own loss, for they will be taught that parents are interchangeable and relationships are, at best, fluid. Their deep
The Feminine Genius
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The Anchor
October 24, 2008
Dominican Sisters of Hope celebrate anniversaries
OSSINING, N.Y. — The following Dominican Sisters of Hope who have served, or are currently serving in the Diocese of Fall River celebrated significant anniversaries this year. Sister Annette Roach, OP (Sister Mary Daniel), a native of Fall River and currently residing in Cotuit celebrates 60 years in religious life. Since 1996 she has been director of Faith Formation at the Parish of Christ the King in Mashpee. Her teaching ministries included: Dominican Academy in Fall River (1948-50, 1951-56, and 1968-70), St. Peter’s School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1950-51 and 1956-61). She was assistant principal and teacher at St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. Sister Annette (1961-66) and Roach principal of St. Francis Xavier Elementary School in Acushnet (1967-68 and 1973-79). Sister Annette was assistant director of the Model Cities Program in New Bedford, where she trained teacher aides to serve in seven public schools (1970-73). In the early 80s, Sister volunteered for the Dominican Sisters United for Ministry project, the purpose of which was to empower the Cheyenne-Arapaho people of northwest Oklahoma to reach their full potential. She then joined the faculty at St. Michael Indian School for the Navahos in St. Michaels, Ariz., where she was a reading specialist (1981-87). She was di-
rector of Religious Education at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Warwick, R.I. (1988-92). From 1992-1995, Sister Annette was prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Fall River. Sister Mary Agnes Shannon, OP, also a native of Fall River, who currently resides at the Landmark at Fall River, celebrates 60 years in religious life. Sister Mary Agnes taught at St. Anne’s Elementary School in Fall River (1947-50, 1951-52, and 195962), at St. Peter’s Elementary School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1950-51), and at St. Francis Xavier Elementary School in Acushnet Sister Mary (1952-56). She Agnes Shannon taught at St. Peter’s High School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1956-58), St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. (195859), Dominican Academy in Fall River (1962-71), and at Bishop Gerrard High School in Fall River (1971-76). She taught at Dominican Academy Elementary School in Fall River (1976-85). She was prioress of St. Catherine’s Convent in Fall River (1985-87). From 1987-2006, she taught music and/or computer classes at the following schools for one or more years: Dominican Academy and Espirito Santo in Fall River, St. Anthony School in New Bedford, and St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet. Since 2006, she has done volunteer work in the Fall River area Catholic schools. In
addition to her teaching assignments, Sister Mary Agnes was cheerleading advisor at Bishop Gerrard High School (1971-76), gave music lessons (1985-98), and was Minneapolis Educational Computer Curriculum (MECC) Coordinator for the Fall River diocesan schools (1990-97). She is a member of the American College of Musicians, was recognized as a “Community Leader in America” for work with student councils and cheerleaders, twice listed in “Who’s Who in American Education,” and received five Golden Apple Awards from the Fall River Herald News. She was also the recipient of several music awards. Sister Barbara McCarthy, OP, (Sister Mary Gerald) of Tupper Lake, N.Y., celebrates 60 years in religious life. Currently retired, She is a volunteer at St. Alphonsus Parish in Tupper Lake, N.Y., where she had been pastoral associate since 1986. Sister Barbara taught in the elementary division at Dominican Academy in Fall River (1948-61) and in the Dominican Academy High School (1961-62). She was principal of elementary and secondary levels at Dominican Academy (1962-70). She was a supervisor for the Fall River Diocesan Sister Barba- School Departra McCarthy ment (1970-73) and assistant superintendent for schools in the Diocese of Fall River (1973-77). She was a member of the general council of the Dominican Sisters
of St. Catherine of Siena, Fall River (1970-78) and prioress general of the Congregation (1978-86). In addition, she has served on the Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry Board, the Tupper Lake Disaster Preparedness Committee, and the Tupper Lake Alliance for Community Service. She has been Congregational Representative for the Ogdensburg Diocesan Council of Religious, a member of the Bishop’s Fund Committee for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, and CORE-Diocesan Organization of Parish Ministers. Sister Barbara has also sung with the St. Alphonsus parish folk choir. Sister Elizabeth Menard, OP, (Sister Bernard Marie) of Plattsburgh, N.Y., celebrates 50 years in religious life. Since 1999, she has been regional director of Christian Formation in the Diocesan Regional Christian Formation Office located in Plattsburgh, N.Y. She taught e l e m e n t a r y Sister Elizaschool at Do- beth Menard minican Academy in Fall River (1960-61), at St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. (1961-70), and at St. Peter’s School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (197074). She was formation/vocation director for the Dominican Sisters of Fall River (1974-80). She was co-director of the Salem Deanery Christian Life Center (1982-86). She also served on the General Council of the Congregation, first as councilor (1978-86) then as prioress (1986-92). Following a sabbatical, Sister Elizabeth served in Christian formation at St. Alphonsus/Holy Name Parish
in Tupper Lake, N.Y. (1993-99). Sister Barbara Barton, OP, (Sister Thomas Aquin) of Fall River celebrates 50 years in religious life. Sister taught in schools in Elizabeth City and Durham, N.C. (1963-67). She taught piano at Mount Saint Mary Music School in Newburgh, N.Y. (1968-78) and also taught at Guardian Angel ElemenSister Bar- tary School in New York City bara Barton (1978-79). She served in music ministry at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in the Bronx (197984) and at Our Lady Queen of the Angels Parish in New York City (1989-90). She was also rehearsal pianist for shows and accompanied the concert choir and madrigal singers at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. for seven years. She served four years at the Webster Apartments, a residence for working women in New York City (1990-94). From 1994 to 1997, Sister Barbara was engaged in a variety of services to the Congregation. She was music teacher at Dominican Academy in Fall River (1997-99) and was sacristan for the Center of Hope in Fall River (1999-01). The Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Hope was founded in 1995. The Sisters’ commitment to proclaiming hope spans a variety of ministries in several dioceses throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Their ministries include education at all levels, health care, spiritual renewal, parish and pastoral work. www.ophope.org.
Local Salesian celebrates jubilee
STONY POINT, N.Y. — Father Michael Conway, S.D.B., was among 22 Salesian priests and brothers of the New Rochelle Province who recently celebrated jubilees in Stony Point, N.Y. Father Conway’s parents, John and Elizabeth Mayberry Conway, are members of St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth, and many of his relatives live in the Fall River Diocese. He made his first profession of vows in 1983 at the Salesian novitiate in Newton, N.J. Father Conway was born in Boston and raised in Winthrop, Mass. He attended St. Dominic Savio High School in East Boston, and after graduation entered the Salesian seminary in Newton in 1980. Following four years of theology studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, where he earned a master
of divinity degree, Father Conway was ordained on May 31, 1992, in Nanuet, N.Y., by then-Bishop Oscar Rodriguez, S.D.B., now the cardinalarchbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Father Conway has served primarily in Salesian schools since 1985l. Father MiFather Conchael Conway way is extraordinarily happy as a Salesian priest. He writes: “I made the best decision when I decided to follow God’s call as a Salesian. I have found it a great joy in ministering to young people and helping them to know themselves and God. They have been for me the conduit where I have met God most in my life.”
Question 1 approval could hurt needy continued from page one
service agencies that receive state funding say they’d likely be targeted for cuts. Among the referendum’s opponents are Catholic Charities of Boston, which gets 52 percent of its funding from the state, said President Tiziana Dearing. That agency is joining with a powerful umbrella of labor and teachers unions, political, environmental, business and social service groups to defeat the question. Arlene McNamee, the director of Catholic Social Services for the Fall River Diocese, was not available to provide local figures on state aid. However, there could be a “snowball effect,” predicted Juraci Capataz, coordinator for Immigrant Services. More people would seek help from CSS if the state scales back human service programs, yet the agency itself — which now assists 45,000 clients yearly — could have less money to help them, Capataz said. Backers of Question 1 maintain that fewer people would need help if the average taxpayer could retain the $3,700
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October 24, 2008
he pays in state income taxes each year. Home foreclosures and bankruptcies might be avoided and people could give to charities of their choice, according the Committee for Small Government, which is sponsoring the referendum. “Small government leaves us with the responsibility and resources to manage our own lives, educate our children, protect our families, care for our neighbors and assist those who cannot support themselves,” the proposal states. The committee’s chairwoman is Carla Howell of Wayland, a 2002 Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate. She and Michael Cloud, co-chairmen of the Center for Small Government, sponsored a similar 2002 referendum that garnered 45 percent of the vote. Opponents are organized under the Coalition for Our Communities, chaired by Peter Meade, a Massachusetts business and political power broker. The coalition has raised about $1.3 million to defeat Question 1, the New York Times reported September 28, with $750,000 of that from the National Edu-
cation Association. According to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, much of the coalition’s 2008 expenditures — $750,000 to date — went to media and political consultants for direct mail campaigns and television ads warning that Question 1 is “too risky,” “too reckless.” With nearly 170 backers listed on its website (see VoteNoQuestion1.com/no.html), the coalition presents a formidable opponent to supporters of Question 1, who maintain that state government is “too big, too bossy,” and unresponsive to taxpayers not represented by lobbyists or special interest groups. According to the proposal, “government spending rises to meet government income.” To subordinate government power and make it more accountable, feed it less income. Howell could not be reached for comment on how possible cuts in state aid would affect the poor. In the New York Times article posted on the committee’s website, she said, “We don’t have to cut any essential
services or any government programs that are providing a benefit to the people of Massachusetts.” Eliminating the income tax would mean more cash available to the state’s 3.4 million taxpayers, thus stimulating the economy by creating new private sector jobs, Howell wrote in the official Massachusetts Voters Information guide. Other taxes do not have to rise, she maintained. “Your ‘Yes’ vote rolls back state government spending 27 percent — $47.3 billion to $34.7 billion — more than state government spending in 1999,” she said. But opponents dispute that 27 percent reduction figure; they claim the initiative would reduce state income by 40 percent. Coalition spokesman Steve Crawford said state revenues are actually only about $28 billion and called the $47 billion figure a “total fabrication created by our opponents to make the cuts look smaller.” Crawford could not predict what cuts would be made to Catholic social service programs or charities but said, “Everything will be on the chopping block.” Meade countered Howell’s
claims in his opposing voters’ guide argument. He said the plan would “force dramatic cuts in state aid to cities and towns, thus driving up property taxes and reducing funding for vital local services.” It would also hurt education by cutting state funds for public schools, he warned, and threaten public safety by cutting back police, fire and emergency medical personnel. The state would be unable to repair roads and bridges, unable to entice new business, and forced to raise other taxes, he wrote. Meanwhile, the $1 billion budget cuts recently announced by Gov. Deval Patrick, an opponent of Question 1, have come down hard on health and social service programs already. Dearing said October 17 that it was “difficult to ascertain” yet how much Boston Catholic Charities will lose under those cuts. “The measure of a society is how it treats its poor, especially in times of crisis. If the ballot question passes, all bets are off,” she said. In 2000, voters approved a phased rollback of the income tax rate from 5.75 percent to five percent, but the legislature froze that rate at 5.3 percent two years later.
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VISIONARIES — Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Taunton recently held its annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. Three parish children, Gabrielle and Mark Sousa and Katelyn Rodrigues participated as the three shepherd children.
HELPING THE HUNGRY — Coyle and Cassidy High School students Jake Bonenfant and John Paul Sullivan unload a supply truck from Trucchi’s Supermarkets for their monthly distribution. The 16th annual Coyle Food Pantry has grown to a remarkable 106 student volunteers.
USING THEIR NOODLE — Lauren Bedard, Elizabeth Magill, and Tiffany Landry, eighth-graders at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School, North Attleboro, form a human chain during “Mosquito Tag,” a cooperative game where each person tagged by the noodle (the proboscis) links hands and works together to make the chain longer.
Youth Pages
October 24, 2008
GOOD SPORTS — At right, Pope John Paul II High School Freshman Maggie O’Connor during a recent soccer match. The soccer and golf teams have a combined seven victories to their credit so far this season. Above, five freshmen and five sophomores round out the Pope John Paul II golf team. The JPII Lions initiated JV programs in soccer, golf, and cross country this fall at the Hyannis school. Additional interscholastic sport teams will be added for the winter and spring seasons.
COMMENDABLE HONOR — Bishop Stang High School Academic Principal Mary Ann Miskel recently announced that six students at the North Dartmouth school have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. From left: Emily Domain, Kathryn Tongue, Peter Bratton, Miskel, Jacob Denney, Christina Quinn, and Sean Gilmore. GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE ... SOLD — Second-grade students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro held a mock auction in their classroom. The students’ teacher, Kathy Harrington, auctioned off various items including stuffed animals and sports memorabilia for the children to bid on. The school’s annual auction, and major fundraiser, will be held on Friday November 7 at Christina’s in Foxboro. The school has also included an on-line auction on its Website, www.sje-school. com.From left, students Daniel Billard, Natasha Zaarour, and Stephanie Cicero, are vying for the high bid.
October 24, 2008
“B
Youth Pages The great I AM
Who in fact is God? When spent or will spend a conMoses asked God who siderable amount of their should he say sent him, lifetime trying to discover God replied “I am who exactly who they are. It is a journey that takes us through some very deep valleys but also helps us reach the summit of the steepest mountains. Along By Crystal Medeiros that journey, God is present to us even when we do not am.” But who is I AM? realize it. I AM formed the world. Throughout our journey, I AM called Moses to however, another quessave his people. tion creeps into our minds. I AM sent the angel to Mary. The Anchor is I AM sent forth his only always pleased begotten Son. This year, the Office of to run news and Youth and Young Ministry photos about our hopes to provide young diocesan youth. people of the Fall River If schools or par- Diocese with the opportunity to spiritually delve ish Religious Ed- deeper within themselves ucation programs to discover who I AM is to have newsworthy them and who they are to I AM. stories and phoThis Sunday, high school tos they would youth are invited to attend like to share with our readers, send them the annual Diocesan Youth Convention. This year’s to: schools@anchornews.org theme, “Our God the Great
ut,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:13-14). So, who am I? This philosophical question plagues not only today’s young people but adults as well. Men and women, young or old, have
Be Not Afraid
17 I AM” focuses on how to strengthen our relationship with God as well as discover who we are in relation to him. Several workshops are offered in various areas of prayer, justice and service, and finding hope in the difficult times. Tom Booth, a noted Catholic musician and national speaker will be keynote for this convention. Once again, the convention has been organized by the 2008 graduates of the diocesan Christian Leadership Institute. These graduates should be commended for their hard work and dedication for it is in them that adults can see the seeds of our Catholic faith take root. These graduates have discovered who I AM is to them even if it is at a basic level. Their willingness to share their faith,
time and talents with other young people is a remarkable witness to the vitality of our young Church. As we embark on new journeys or continue along the same journey, it is important to keep in mind that I AM is a merciful and loving God. I AM is our rock and our center. I AM is steadfast to us. I AM is calling all of us to him. Are you ready to answer the call and follow him? Note: “I AM” statements were adapted from the 2008 National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry Resource Manual, “Our God the Great I AM.” Crystal is the assistant director for Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the diocese and youth ministry coordinator for St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford. You can contact her at cmedeiros@ dfrcec.com.
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Patriots linebacker has faith in Catholic education continued from page one
possible for more than 600 children to attend diocesan schools. Last week’s large turnout was a sign of the spirit of generosity besting the impact of a downtrodden economy. By the end of the evening, organizers announced that approximately $604,284 had been raised for the fund so far this year. Many in the crowd were anxious to hear from the evening’s keynote speaker, Mike Vrabel, an All-Pro linebacker from the New England Patriots and proud parent of two children who attend an elementary school in the diocese. It was indeed, a good night for Vrabel. Coming off a 30-10 loss at the hands of the Chargers in San Diego on Sunday night, Vrabel could have been excused for being a bit downcast. But he was at White’s to support a cause to which he is truly committed. Vrabel’s spirits were no doubt lifted by the throngs of well wishers who crowded around him, asking for autographs and to have their pictures taken with him. And he would get something more out of the evening — something to bring back to his usually sullen boss, head coach Bill Belichick. “I can’t wait to tell Coach Belichick that I had the pleasure of breaking break with Bishop George W. Coleman,” said Vrabel. “I’m sure we
aren’t going to have any problems the rest of the season.” While it remains to be seen if the Patriots’ season will be positively impacted by any divine intervention, Vrabel, an All-American at Ohio State University, was obviously comfortable in his surroundings and sincere in his desire to promote the value of a Catholic education. Both Vrabel and his wife Jen graduated from Catholic high schools. In an interview with The Anchor prior to his keynote address, Vrabel said raising their two boys in the Catholic faith is a priority. “It’s something that is just so important to us,” he said. “They get the education, the discipline, and the light of God in every lesson.” The program itself was kicked off by NBC-10 weatherman John Ghiorse, who served as moderator for the evening, a task he has embraced for many years. Ghiorse introduced the choral group from Coyle & Cassidy High School, which performed two selections under the direction of David Rinoni. The musical presentation was followed a popular tradition for attendees of the annual event, a video presentation featuring testimonials from students attending diocesan schools. One young girl explained
This Message Sponsored by the Following Business Concern in the Diocese of Fall River Gilbert C. Oliveira Insurance Agency
one of the after school activities at her school; “The knitting club is where a bunch of kids get together and knit a blanket for the poor,” she said. Another young girl reminded viewers of a simple, yet profound lesson; “If you don’t have God, you don’t have anything,” she said. Following the video presentation, Vrabel delivered a 20-minute keynote address. Vrabel shed some light on the tenor of things with the Patriots, who seem to be trying to find their way without Tom Brady, the franchise quarterback who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first half of the first game of the season. He said the team remains confident in its ability to win games, and noted that “no expectations are greater than the ones we put on ourselves.” He attributed his success in the National Football League to hard work and perseverance. Vrabel reminded the crowd that in his first four years in the league, as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he never started a game. But he never gave up and when the opportunity to play regularly in New England presented itself, he made the most of it. “It is a humbling profession,” he said. “And it is an honor to play in the National Football League.” Vrabel discussed his commitment to the charitable organization he co-founded years ago in Ohio, the “Second and Seven Foundation.” The organization works to promote literacy. Last year, it provided 50,000 books to students in schools throughout Columbus, Ohio. But more than anything else, Vrabel talked about his commitment to Catholic education. He applauded the attendees at the dinner for their generosity and their unwavering support of Catholic schools. “It’s not easy to give these days,” said Vrabel. “But giving to education … we’re all going to see the returns.” Vrabel said that he and his wife see the influence of a Catholic education on their sons and that those basics, such as being respectful of others and kind to one another, are lessons critical to making them well rounded adults. George Milot, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Fall River, marveled at the packed banquet hall. “To see all of these people come here and support Catholic education … they’re helping more than 600 children who would not be able to attend our Catholic schools,” he said. “It’s heartwarming.” Milot presented the “Timo-
October 24, 2008 thy J. Cotter, Friend of Catholic Education Award” to Nicholas M. Christ, president and chief executive officer of Citizens Union Savings Bank. Christ, said Milot, “tirelessly gives to so many organizations.” Milot added that the late Timothy Cotter knew Christ well and that he would have been pleased to see him so honored. Dennis Kelly, chairman of the St. Mary’s Fund Fall Scholarship Dinner Committee, promised the crowd more students would be helped next year than this year, thanks to their generosity.
“You have made that possible,” he said. Bishop Coleman closed the evening, drawing a laugh from the crowd when he told Vrabel that he could probably make himself available on Sunday afternoons, should coach Belichick invite him to roam the sidelines at Gillette Stadium. He thanked everyone for making the evening possible, and for supporting so fervently the St. Mary’s Education Fund. “It is so important that we help our children prepare to face the future,” he said. “So please, spread the word.”
Religious invite youth to answer the call continued from page one
call, for it is he who calls … and at the same time keep praying to him for guidance,” said Sister Donovan, who is well-traveled, holds a doctorate in history, is archivist for her Holy Union Congregation and when reached by telephone was writing a story on vocations for its newsletter “Bridges.” She said that she had recently read how Fall River’s first bishop, Bishop William Stang, in 1904 told nuns of his day that in regards to vocations, “God closes one door and opens another,” she added, “When I visited Cameroon in Africa, I could see the door to vocations opening, and the door to vocations in the U.S. seemed to have closed. So God sometimes closes the door in one place and opens it in another.” Sister Donovan and Brother Zwierchowski were among nearly 60 invited to attend the annual Day of Recollection for Religious in the Fall River Diocese held at St. Julie Billiart Parish Hall on October 18. The annual gathering of religious Brothers and Sisters included a morning Mass in St. Julie Billiart Church celebrated by Bishop George W. Coleman, who was also the homilist; followed by a luncheon. The recollection day centered on the theme, “A Harvest of Abundance,” and was led by Sisters of Notre Dame Sister Catherine Griffith, spiritual director at Miramar Retreat House in Duxbury. Mercy Sister Catherine Donovan, the bishop’s representative to religious and coordinator of the event, said not all those marking jubilees were able to attend. “We have two Sisters celebrating 75 years as religious, as well four Sisters with 70 years of ministry, seven with 60 years, and four more with 50 years ministering.” Sister Catherine Donovan reported. “Of the several religious Brothers, only Brother Zwier-
chowski is observing a jubilee,” she added. A native of Bayonne, N.J., Brother Zwierchowski traced his vocation’s path to the religious Sisters in grade school, the Marists in high school and the Jesuits at St. Peter’s College in New Jersey. “It was in the 1980s and I went up to a Christian Brothers’ school in upper-state New York and as part of the two-year novitiate taught in a school and fell in love with teaching and the religious life. It has been wonderful for me and I have absolutely no regrets that I answered the call,” said Brother Zwierchowski, who for 12 years has taught religion to freshmen and sophomores at Bishop Connolly. Although vocations are growing in Africa and some thirdworld countries, “we are finding a very slow growth of vocations in Canada, France and the U.S.,” he reported. “And that is cause for us to greater prayer for vocations so that young men will come and follow us.” Sister Grace Donovan said her thoughts of a religious vocation began in the fifth grade. “I went to see the bishop and he told me to come back after high school,” she recalled. After graduating from the former College of the Sacred Hearts in Fall River, she entered the Holy Union Sisters; made professions in 1940 and 1946; received a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and a master’s degree and doctorate — all in history — from Boston College. “I taught in New York and at Stonehill College in Easton, and did historic research in England, Belgium and Rome, retiring in 1997, but remaining active,” she said laughing. She added, “I listened when I heard God’s call and took the opportunity given everyone who answers him to do his work with great joy, and that is what I’ve had.”
October 24, 2008
Around the Diocese Eucharistic Adoration:
Eucharistic Adoration
ACUSHNET — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Church, 125 Main Street, Mondays from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ending with Evening Prayer and Benediction. EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every First Friday at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m. NEW BEDFORD — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place at St. JosephSt. Therese Church, 51 Duncan Street, Mondays following the 8:30 a.m., Mass until 1:30 p.m. For more information call 508-995-2354. NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and confessions offered during the evening. NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the rosary, and the opportunity for confession. TAUNTON — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord Church, 31 First Street, immediately following the 8 a.m., Mass and continues throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., concluding with recitation of the rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m. 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. WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street, holds perpetual eucharistic adoration. For open hours or to sign up call 508-430-4716. Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous CHATHAM — A Tridentine Mass is celebrated 11:30 a.m. every Sunday at Our Lady of Grace Chapel on Route 137. FALL RIVER — Scripture study of St. Paul’s Captivity Letters continues October 29 and November 5, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Holy Name Parish Center, 709 Hanover Street. For more information call Diane Baron at 508-678-7532. FALL RIVER — A holy hour takes place at Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, Tuesdays at 7 p.m. It consists of the rosary, Immaculate Medal novena, a homily, Benediction, and the opportunity for confession. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is recited each Wednesday at 3 p.m. FALL RIVER — Sacred Heart Church, 160 Seabury Street, is holding a seasonal bazaar tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including craft items, raffles and more. The kitchen will be open all day. For information call Janice Rosa at 508-674-3296. FALL RIVER — Catholic Social Services, 1600 Bay Street, will hold an informational session for individuals and families interested in domestic newborn or international adoption, November 16, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To register call 508-674-4681. FALL RIVER — Dominican Academy Alumnae Association will hold its annual Communion breakfast November 2. Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church at 10 a.m. followed by breakfast at McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove Street. For information or reservations, call Geraldine Saucier at 508-674-8487. HYANNIS — A Solemn Day of Prayer for Life, Justice and Peace, will take place at St. Francis Xavier Parish, 347 South Street, November 3, beginning at noon, with a Mass at 12:10 p.m.; novena prayers throughout the day; and ending at 8:20 p.m., with Night Prayer and a homily. For more information call the parish at 508775-0818. NORTH FALMOUTH — Knights of Columbus Council 817 will host an Hour for Vocations Sunday, 3 to 4 p.m., in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 481 Quaker Road. SOMERSET — The Daughters of Isabella will hold its monthly meeting October 29 at 6 p.m. at the Old Town Hall. A graphologist from the International Graphoanalysis Society will explain the science of handwriting analysis. OSTERVILLE — The rosary is recited the First Friday of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue before the 8 a.m. Mass, for vocations. WEST HARWICH — A holy hour will take place October 27, beginning at 1 p.m., in Holy Trinity Church, Route 28. Recitation of the rosary is followed by Benediction.
Support Groups NEW BEDFORD — Courage, a group for people who are experiencing same-sex attraction and would like to live the Church’s teachings of chastity will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. Encourage, a ministry dedicated to the spiritual needs of parents, siblings, children, and relatives of people with same-sex attractions will meet at the same time. For locations call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408. NORTH DARTMOUTH — A meeting of the diocesan Divorced and Separated Support Group will take place October 29 at 7 p.m. at the Family Life Center, 500 Slocum Road. The video, “The Road to Healing and Help,” will be shown, followed by group discussion and refreshments. For information call 508-999-6420.
Pro-Life ATTLEBORO — Concerned faithful are needed to pray the rosary outside Four Women, Inc., an abortion clinic at 150 Emory Street, Thursdays from 3-4 p.m., or 4-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30-8:30 a.m. For information call 508-238-5743. SOUTH ATTLEBORO — Knights of Columbus Council 5876 will sponsor a talk on the Freedom Of Rights Act by Marian Desrosiers, director of the Pro-Life Apostolate, October 27, 7 p.m., in the Knights’ Hall on Highland Avenue (Route 123).
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The Anchor
Brother Roland Vigeant FIC; former Prevost High principal
NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Brother of Christian Instruction Roland Vigeant, 84, a Fall River, Mass., native who was principal of the former Msgr. Prevost High School in that city from 1961 until 1964, died September 11, after a long illness. Brother Vigeant, who retired in 2003 as an associate professor at Walsh University in Ohio, most recently had managed the Educational Resource Center in the Hannon Child Development Center at the university, capping 69 years in religious life. In 2005, Brother Vigeant was awarded the Walsh Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award as well as its Distinguished Service Medal. The son of the late Roland A., and the late Alice (Pelerin) Vigeant, he entered the Brothers of Christian Instruction’s
juniorate at Alfred, Maine in 1937 and began his novitiate at LaPrairie, Quebec, Canada in 1939. He made his perpetual profession on June 29, 1944. The course of Brother Vigeant’s career was guided by a strong commitment to excellence in education. In 1942 he accepted his first Brother Ro- teaching asland Vigeant signment at St. Francis Xavier elementary school in Montreal. A year later he returned to the U.S. and taught at several of the Brothers’ school for more than two decades. In 1952 he received a bachelor’s degree from Lamennais College in Maine and earned his master’s degree in education in 1958
NEW BEDFORD — Dr. Edmund A. Harrington Jr., 64, died unexpectedly at home on October 13. He was the brother of Father Kevin J. Harrington, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. The son of the late Captain Edmund A. and Isabelle (Gomes) Harrington, he was born in Ware-
ham and raised in New Bedford. He attended Holy Family grammar and high schools and was a magna cum laude graduate of Providence College, class of 1965, where he majored in physics. He obtained his doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of Notre Dame in 1970. Harrington was employed as a telecommunications scientist by Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Ill.; as the director of Research and Development at California Microwave; and a senior engineering specialist for GTE, later known as General Dynamics, in Needham and Taunton. He published numerous professional research papers in the fields of switching systems, microwave, satellite and fiber optic communications and was a presenter at many professional conferences. He was a contributor to many patents held by his employer.
from St. Michael’s College. He completed graduate work at Boston College and Kent State University. Following his tenure at Msgr. Prevost High School, he became the first boys’ principal of St. Thomas School in Louisville, Ohio, before joining the faculty at then Walsh College in 1971. Brother Vigeant enjoyed athletics, academics and the arts. He traveled with Walsh students on ski trips, enjoyed skating and golfing, and listening to music and reading. He is survived by nieces and nephews. His funeral Mass was celebrated September 17, by Bishop George Murry, S.J., in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel at Walsh University. Burial was in the Brothers’ cemetery there.
Dr. Edmund A. Harrington Jr.; brother of Father Kevin Harrington
In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks
Oct. 27 Rev. Francisco L. Jorge, Assistant, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1918 Rev. Edmond L. Dickinson, Assistant, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1967 Rev. Joseph F. O’Donnell, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1990 Oct. 28 Rev. Alfred E. Coulombe, Pastor, St. George, Westport, 1923 Rev. Stanislaus Kozikowski, OFM Conv., Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1956 Oct. 30 Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, Retired Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1992 Rev. Denis Sughrue, CSC, Director of Postulancy, Holy Cross Novitiate, North Dartmouth, 2002 Nov. 1 Rev. William H. McNamara, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1924 Rev. Louis N. Blanchet, Assistant, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1927 Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Ferraz, Pastor, St. Michael, Fall River, 1944 Rt. Rev. Msgr. George F. Cain, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1953 Rev. William E. Farland, Pastor, St. Joseph, Taunton, 1987 Rev. William F. Gartland, C.S.C. Stonehill College, North Easton, 1988 Rev. John F. Sullivan, SS.CC., Retired Pastor Holy Trinity, West Harwich, 1994 Nov. 2 A memento for the repose of the souls of our bishops, priests and permanent deacons not on this list Rev. Joseph S. Fortin, Founder, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1923 Rev. Michael V. McDonough, Chaplain, St. Mary’s Home, New Bedford, 1933
Always proud of his Irish heritage, he was also a loyal Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics fan. He had been an amateur radio operator, obtaining his license in his early teens. A member of the Mattapoisett Power Squadron, he served as its treasurer. Besides his priest brother, he leaves two daughters, Patricia Harrington of Providence, R.I., and Kelly Harrington Rossiter of Norway; a sister, Gloria E. Healey of Lakeville; his former wife, Patricia Harrington of Mattapoisett; a sister-in-law, Ronnie Harrington of Brookline and many nieces and nephews. He was also the brother of the late Dr. Barry Harrington. His funeral Mass was celebrated October 18 in St. Francis of Assisi Church in New Bedford. The Saunders-Dwyer Home For Funerals in New Bedford was in charge of arrangements
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October 24, 2008
Published on Dec 14, 2010
STANDING PAT — New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, center, meets with members of the Bishop Connolly High School football team and...
