10.28.11

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , October 28, 2011

Pastor’s trip brings ‘saints alive’ for East Freetown parish

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

EAST FREETOWN — Tuesday’s observance of All Saints Day will have a bit more meaning for the Faith Formation students at St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown.

Pastor Father Richard E. Degagne recently completed a sixmonth sabbatical that took him to France, Italy and the Holy Land. For him it was a time of spiritual and cultural renewal, as it was for his parishioners a half a world away. Father Degagne shared his journey with the folks back home via a daily blog set up on the parish website. In the blog, he posted pictures and commentary on the unique sights, sounds, smells and tastes along the way.

The parish Faith Formation classes kept track of their pastor with a “Where’s Father Rick?” map. Along the way, Father Degagne introduced the students, and all his parishioners, to the lives of several holy men and women, walking in their footsteps. The trip helped bring alive Saints Mary Magdelene, Dominic, Catherine of Siena, and Thomas Aquinas.

“The parish was awarded the 2011 Clergy Renewal Program Grant from the Lilly Endowment that greatly assisted the costs of the sabbatical,” Father Degagne told The Anchor. “The funds offset the expenses incurred by the parish for my sabbatical. It also greatly reduced my out-of-pocket expenses for personal travel and activities not provided by the diocese or the parish.”

The grant not only allows the pastor the opportunity for spiritual growth, theological updating, and personal enrichment, but the parishioners as well. “I saw the use of a blog as the perfect way to share my experiences and also as a teaching opportunity,” said Father Degagne.

The trip allowed Father Degagne to gain a greater appreciation for St. Mary Magdelene. “I never had a special devotion to her,” he said, “but preparing to visit the place where she is said to have spent the last 30 years of her life in Provence, I did a good amount of reading and reflecting on her life. I came away with a better appreciation of her Turn to page 15

WARM RECEPTION — The Patriarch of Antioch Bechara Peter Rai arrives at St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River and warmly greets parishioners outside the church before celebrating a special Liturgy on October 18. This was the first-ever visit of a Maronite Patriarch to the Fall River Diocese. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

Patriarch of Antioch visits Fall River: Calls for greater unity among Christians

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — Calling for Christians everywhere to support and strengthen each other, the recently-elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Bechara Peter Rai, addressed a standing-room-only congregation inside St. Anthony of the Desert Church in Fall River during a special Liturgy celebration October 18.

The stop was one of several on Patriarch Rai’s first tour of U.S. Eparchies since being elected earlier this year and the first-ever visit of a Maronite Pa-

triarch to the Fall River Diocese.

“This is a call for all the Christian and Catholic churches in the Middle East to live in communion as one body of Our Lord, Jesus Christ,” Patriarch Rai said during his homily. “When we have communion among ourselves as Christians, then we open up to the nonChristians — to the Muslims, to the Jews, and to all the eastern religions — because this is the nature of the Church.”

Although Christians in the Middle East are considered a minority, Patriarch Rai said they are part of the greater, world-

wide Church of Christ.

“The Church here and the Church in the Middle East are the same,” Patriarch Rai said.

“His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, recently held a synod of bishops in Rome and wanted to tell the world that the Church in the Middle East is not alone — that the whole Catholic Church is with them.”

As if to emphasize the point, Patriarch Rai was surrounded on the altar by a large contingency of priests and deacons from the diocese — including Bishop George W. Coleman — and visTurn to page 18

Entering the world of Alzheimer’s patients B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff

french history — A group of pilgrims listen to Frere Thomas Michelet, O.P., on the steps in front of the grotto in La Sainte-Baume, France, where St. Mary Magdelene is said to have spent the last 30 years of her life. It was one of many stops during the six-month sabbatical of Father Richard E. Degagne who took the photo.

WESTPORT — A recent conference sponsored by the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Nurses and Saint Anne’s Hospital invited professionals and caregivers to listen with empathy to the clinical aspects of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“Alzheimer’s is a progressive, neurological deterioration of the brain,” said Ellen McCabe, a registered nurse, certified speaker for Alzheimer’s Services of the Cape and the Islands, and organizational staff educator for Hospice and Turn to page 14

understanding Alzheimer’s — Ellen McCabe, a registered nurse and certified speaker for Alzheimer’s Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, gives a presentation at a recent conference sponsored by the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Nurses and Saint Anne’s Hospital. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

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News From the Vatican

October 28, 2011

‘Ad limina’ change means not all bishops meet privately with pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a quiet modification of a traditional format, the Vatican has dropped most of the individual private meetings between Pope Benedict XVI and bishops making their “ad limina” visits to Rome.

The unannounced change was instituted earlier this year, apparently in an effort to reduce the scheduling burden on the 84-yearold pope and to help cut through the backlog of “ad limina” visits, which are supposed to be made every five years by heads of dioceses.

In place of one-on-one meetings, the pope now usually holds more freewheeling sessions with groups of seven to 10 bishops at a time, lasting about an hour. That is expected to be the format for U.S. bishops when they begin their “ad limina” visits in early November.

Several bishops who have recently come through Rome on “ad limina” visits had good things to say about the new practice.

“The Holy Father welcomed us, he sat down and made us comfortable, at home and he chatted with us. He said, ‘Now tell me,’ and he listened very attentively and made a comment here or there. At the end, he summed up beautifully what was said,” said Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai, India, who met the pope with a group of eight others in early September.

“It was very spontaneous, a heart-to-heart talk. And that’s what it should be. It was a real sharing between him and us,” the archbishop said.

Australians making their “ad limina” visits in October were also pleased with the format, saying it means the pope does not have to cover the same ground with each bishop.

“The response of the bishops has been universally positive. As

a matter of fact, they’ve come back from those meetings really excited by the nature of it and by what’s happened. They think it’s a terrific initiative. And everyone would agree it’s a very good use of the Holy Father’s time,” said Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide.

Archbishop Wilson, as president of the Australian bishops’ conference, did have a one-onone encounter with Pope Benedict. Some cardinals and archbishops in “ad limina” groups have also met individually with the pope. The new policy has not been spelled out, and officials at the Congregation for Bishops declined comment.

One official involved in setting up papal appointments put it this way: “When the possibility exists, the personal audience is maintained. When instead there are a great number of bishops, they are grouped together in such a way that the pope can see them all.”

Traditionally, the bishop’s private meeting with the pope has been a key moment of the “ad limina” visit. The Vatican’s directory for the pastoral ministry of bishops, for example, emphasizes that while bishops may come to Rome as a group, it is “always the individual bishop” who makes the visit on behalf of his diocese.

“It is the individual bishop who meets the successor of Peter personally and retains the right and the duty to communicate directly with him and the heads of dicasteries (Roman Curia agencies) on all questions concerning his diocesan ministry,” the directory states.

The name of the visits comes from the Latin phrase “ad limina apostolorum” (to the thresholds of the Apostles), a reference to the pilgrimage to the tombs of SS. Peter and Paul that the bishops are required to make.

home away from home — Pope Benedict XVI prays upon arriving to dedicate the chapel of the Domus Australia in Rome recently. The new guesthouse offers Australians and others modern accommodation, daily Mass in English and an information center. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope names Archbishop Vigano new nuncio to the United States

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, 70, to be the new nuncio to the United States.

In his most recent position, the Italian archbishop had served for two years as secretary-general of the commission governing Vatican City. He succeeds the late Archbishop Pietro Sambi in Washington.

Just minutes after his assignment was announced, Archbishop Vigano told Catholic News Service he hoped to get to the United States in time for the U.S. bishops’ general assembly November 14-16.

The archbishop said being nuncio in the United States is an “important, vast and delicate” task; he said he was grateful to Pope Benedict for entrusting him with the mission and he felt called to renew his “trust in the Lord, who asks me to set out again” to a new country.

Being a nuncio, he said, is “a call to know this people, this country and come to love them.”

“For me to take the place of someone who was so loved, so committed, makes it an even greater challenge,” he said.

Archbishop Vigano said he knew a U.S. presidential election is coming up, but before he can say anything “I need to hear from the bishops and learn from them. The election is important for the country and for the whole world.”

New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a message of welcome to the new nuncio and said the bishops looked forward to meeting him at their November assembly in Baltimore.

Archbishop Dolan said that, as the pope’s representative in the U.S., Archbishop Vigano would “serve as a continuing sign to us of that source of renewal and hope that Pope Benedict brought to our country” during his April 2008 visit. Archbishop Dolan said the new nuncio’s variety of experiences

would enable him “to see the intricacies involved in representing the Holy Father in both the Church and diplomatic worlds, especially now as they are lived out in America’s democratic society.”

A nuncio is a Vatican diplomat with the rank of ambassador. He is responsible for diplomatic relations with the government, also serving as the pope’s representative to the Church in a given country, which includes responsibility for coordinating the search for and vetting of candidates to become bishops.

While at the commission governing Vatican City, Archbishop Vigano earned a reputation as a careful administrator, skilled at cutting costs and improving the efficiency of an office that oversees the care of Vatican buildings, as well as the Vatican post office, police force and the Vatican Museums.

Born in Varese, in Italy’s far north, he was ordained a priest in 1968 for the Diocese of Pavia. He entered the Vatican’s diplomatic service in 1973 and served at Vatican embassies in Iraq and in Great Britain before working in the Vatican Secretariat of State in 1978-89.

He was the Vatican’s permanent observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, from 1989 to 1992, when Pope John Paul II named him an archbishop and nun-

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cio to Nigeria. Pope John Paul personally ordained him a bishop.

Archbishop Vigano — who speaks Italian, French, Spanish and English — was still serving as nuncio to Nigeria in 1997 when Pope John Paul visited the country.

Returning to the Vatican Secretariat of State in 1998, Archbishop Vigano coordinated the appointments of nuncios and papal representatives around the world.

In 1999, he led a Vatican delegation to Iraq to try — unsuccessfully, it turned out — to make arrangements for Pope John Paul to visit.

The pope had wanted to go to Ur, the city thought to be the birthplace of Abraham, as part of a biblical pilgrimage for the year 2000. At the time, Iraq was under an economic embargo by the West and Ur was under a no-fly zone being enforced

by U.S. and British military.

In November 2010 the archbishop was called upon to represent the Vatican at the general assembly of Interpol, the international cooperative organization for police agencies. In his speech to the assembly, he highlighted the ongoing violence against Christians in Iraq, but also spoke more generally about the Vatican’s conviction that the promotion of human rights is the best strategy for combating inequalities that lead to crime and terrorism.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 55, No. 41

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October 28, 2011

The International Church

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Vatican council proposes a global financial authority

flower power — A woman throws flower petals on Peru’s most revered religious icon, the Lord of the Miracles, during a procession through central Lima recently. Each year thousands of Catholics in Lima commemorate the image’s survival in a 17th-century earthquake that destroyed Lima. (CNS photo/Pilar Olivares, Reuters)

Catholics hail European court ruling on patents derived from embryos

LONDON (CNS) — A leading Catholic bioethical institute has welcomed the decision of a European court to ban the patenting of any medical treatment derived from destructive experiments on human embryos.

The Oxford-based Anscombe Bioethics Centre praised the decision by the European Court of Justice as a “triumph of ethical standards over commercial interest.”

“From the perspective of those who recognize the dignity of the human embryo, this is a small step in the right direction,” said David Jones, director of the center formerly known as the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, serving the Catholic Church in Great Britain and Ireland.

“The court has acted with clear and commendable ethical consistency in judging that if it is wrong to profit from destroying human embryos, then it is wrong to profit from cells that are derived from destroying human embryos,” Jones said.

“It should not matter if someone else has destroyed the embryos for you,” he added. “Inventions that rely on using human embryos both profit from and encourage their destruction. This clear decision closes a loophole left by the European Patent Office.”

The ruling, Jones explained, does not prevent human embryos from being destroyed or stop scientists from using human embryos in research, “but it does make it more difficult for commercial companies to profit from this destruction.”

The bishops of the European Union also welcomed the ruling, saying it “provides a broad, scientific sound definition of a human embryo.”

“This judgment can foster ex-

isting and promising fields of research, which can combine the respect of human life with efficient and innovative treatments for healing people. Therefore, this judgment of the ECJ has to be welcomed as a milestone in the protection of human life in EU legislation that will most likely have a positive impact in concrete policy fields like the funding of research in the EU,” the bishops said.

L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, ran a frontpage article October 19 on the court’s decision, using the headline: “A sentence in favor of human dignity.”

Written by Augusto Pessina, a professor at the medical school of the University of Milan, Italy, the article said: “The ruling is subtle, but clear. It affirms that a patent is possible on the use of human embryos if the invention has diagnostic or therapeutic aims with regard to the embryo in question. On the other hand, it cannot be the object of a patent if its use is aimed at scientific research.”

“The court has not intervened on the possible creation and subsequent suppression of human embryos, but banning the patents places an important bulwark against these procedures,” the article said.

The ruling, published October 18, was made unanimously by 13 judges sitting in Luxembourg and concludes a case brought by Greenpeace, the environmentalist group, against Oliver Brustle of the University of Bonn, Germany.

Greenpeace had objected to Brustle filing a patent with the German government in 1997 when he was trying to convert embryonic stem cells into nervous tissue to treat patients suffering from

Parkinson’s disease.

The court’s 10-page judgment effectively bans the patenting in Europe of any process involving the removal of stem cells from an embryo and resulting in its destruction.

“Patents may not be granted for inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to morality,” the ruling says. “In particular, patents should not be awarded for uses of human embryos for industrial and commercial purposes.”

Some scientists in Britain, where pharmaceutical companies have invested 50 million pounds ($79 million) in embryonic stemcell technology, condemned the ruling.

Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology at London’s National Institute for Medical Research, said that if pharmaceutical companies “cannot protect their investment by being allowed to patent the results of their research it will be increasingly difficult to persuade them to finance cuttingedge trials in Britain.”

“As a result of this ruling the investment we need is likely to go to countries outside Europe such as the U.S., China, Japan or India,” he wrote in the London-based Daily Mail October 19.

Lovell-Badge also criticized the decision of Yves Bot, one of the court’s advocate generals, to define human life as starting from the moment of conception.

“I don’t know how a judge should be able to define that in the absence of proper informed scientific knowledge,” he said. “The human sperm is alive and the egg is alive — is it any more alive when it becomes an embryo, even before implantation?”

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is calling for the creation of a new global authority which it hopes can make economic decisions based of the international common good rather than individual national interest.

The document on the economy, which was unveiled October 24 at a Vatican press conference, was drafted with an eye to contributing to the upcoming G-20 summit, which will focus on the international monetary system and strengthening financial regulations.

It aims to “propose a reflection on possible ways forward — in line with the most recent social Magesterium — that are effective and representative at a global level, and which seek the authentic human development of all individuals and peoples,” said Bishop Mario Toso S.D.B., Secretary of the Justice and Peace council, in comments to the media.

The 20-page document is entitled “Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of a global public authority.”

The document notes how economic globalization has meant that “between 1900 and 2000 the world population increased almost fourfold and the wealth produced worldwide grew much more rapidly,” while at the same time “the distribution of wealth did not become fairer but in many cases worsened.”

It adds that “today the modern means of communication make these great economic, social and cultural inequalities obvious to everyone, rich and poor alike,” giving rise to international tension and mass migration.

The document then reflects upon the roots of the present global economic crisis, and sets ethical parameters for a sustainable recovery, before concluding with some practical policy considerations.

Historically, it blames three strains of thought for the current crisis: economic liberalism, utilitarianism and technocracy.

The council writes that economic liberalism “spurns rules and controls” being placed on the free market but runs into trouble when such doctrinaire “laws of capitalistic development” do not reflect or explain economic realities. Such a system “runs the risk of becoming an instrument subordinated to the interests of the countries that effectively enjoy a position of economic and financial advantage,” it says.

Utilitarian thinking believes that “what is useful for the individual leads to the good of the community.” However, the document observes that sometimes “individual utility — even where it is legitimate — does not always favor the common good.”

In a technocracy all the problems that need tackling are seen as “exclusively of a technical nature,” which leads to those issues escap-

ing “the needed discernment and ethical evaluation.”

But global markets require global ethics if they are to function properly, the council emphasized.

The document suggests that the present crisis has uncovered “behaviors like selfishness, collective greed and the hoarding of goods on a great scale.” Such a spectacle should motivate people to action as “no one can be content with seeing man live like ‘a wolf to his fellow man,’ according to the concept expounded by Hobbes,” it says.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Council for Justice and Peace, reflected on the current global situation in the preface of the publication. “The economic and financial crisis which the world is going through calls everyone, individuals and peoples, to examine in depth the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence,” he said.

The document recalls how Pope John XXIII hoped in his 1963 encyclical “Pacem in Terris” (Peace on Earth) that one day “a true world political authority” would be created. “A supranational authority of this kind should have a realistic structure and be set up gradually,” it says.

However, it also cautions that “an authority with a global reach that cannot be imposed by force, coercion or violence,” but only through “free and shared agreement” on the needs of “the world common good.”

And, the pontifical council said, in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, which advocates always dealing with problems at the lowest or more local level of authority possible, the authority should intervene in global matters only when “individual, social or financial actors are intrinsically deficient in capacity, or cannot manage by themselves to do what is required of them.”

The suggestions issued today

by Justice and Peace recognize that “a long road still needs to be traveled before arriving at the creation of a public authority with universal jurisdiction,” and proposes that the reform or enhancing of present institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund or European Central Bank could be a starting point.

In terms of policy priorities it suggests that the global authority should prioritize “those regarding global social justice,” including crafting “financial and monetary policies that will not damage the weakest countries; and policies aimed at achieving free and stable markets and a fair distribution of world wealth.”

It concludes by saying that the “time has come to conceive of institutions with universal competence, now that vital goods shared by the entire human family are at stake, goods which the individual states cannot promote and protect by themselves.”

October 28, 2011 The Church in the U.S. Twenty Catholic leaders sign joint Illinois bill seeks to allow Catholic Charities to continue adoptions statement for reform of health care law

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CNS) — A bill introduced in mid-October by an Illinois state senator seeks to allow state Catholic Charities agencies to continue their foster care and adoption services only to married couples and single individuals who are not living together.

The bill, introduced by a Republican state senator, would prevent the state from discriminating against religious organizations that handle state contracts for foster care. It would also amend the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act to allow religiousbased child-welfare agencies to refer same-sex couples wishing to adopt to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Peter Breen, an attorney for the Thomas More Society representing Catholic Charities agencies, praised the bill.

“The people of Illinois do not want to see Catholic Charities and other religious-based foster care agencies driven out of business, period,” Breen said in a statement. “Lawmakers intended when they passed the civil union law to protect religious groups from compromising their beliefs regarding civil unions.”

Catholic Charities in the dioceses of Joliet, Peoria, and Springfield, as well as Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois in Belleville, have been involved in legal proceedings with the state since Illinois recognized civil unions on June 1.

At issue is the agencies’ long-standing practice of refer-

ring prospective adoptive and foster parents who are cohabiting — regardless of sexual orientation — to other agencies or the Department of Children and Family Services. The state interprets the policy as discriminatory to same-sex couples under the new Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, and a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge ruled September 26 the state could begin canceling its foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria announced October 6 that Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria was withdrawing from all state-funded social service contracts due to increasing clashes between Illinois law and Church teaching.

To prevent disruption to the 1,000 foster care children and families now served by Catholic Charities of Peoria, plans call for those state-funded contracts to be transferred by Feb. 1, 2012, to a newly formed nonprofit entity called the Center for Youth and Family Solutions. The Diocese of Peoria and its Catholic Charities will have no connection to the new entity.

The Diocese of Rockford and its Catholic Charities offices stopped offering state-funded adoptions and foster care services when the Illinois civil unions legislation took effect June 1.

Catholic Charities of the Chicago Archdiocese stopped offering state-funded foster care services in 2007 because it was unable to obtain liability insurance for the program.

WASHINGTON — Leaders of 20 national Catholic organizations signed a joint statement to protest the “preventive services” mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. They also called for legislative reform of health care law to protect conscience rights.

The new rule on mandated “preventive services” issued by the HHS “will force Catholic organizations that play a vital role in providing health care and other needed services either to violate their conscience or severely curtail those services. This would harm both religious freedom and access to health care,” the statement says. The new rule would force employers to pay for such services as sterilization and contraceptives, including drugs which can induce abortion. As of now, a narrowly-written religious exemption to the rule would apply only to Church institutions that hire and serve mostly Catholics and meet other narrow criteria, thus excluding most Catholic schools, hospital, and social service agencies.

The statement appeared as an ad in two Capitol Hill newspapers, Politico and The Hill, on October 11 with the headline: “Support access to health care? Protect conscience rights.”

Signatories include Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and heads of Catholic universities, health care associations, domestic and international agencies that serve refugees and the poor, and lay associations. Many signers represent Catholic employers and service organizations who will be affected if the law is

not reformed. Others represent lay Catholics who would face coercion under the same HHS rule because they participate in private health insurance plans.

In addition to Archbishop Dolan, the co-signers were Robert B. Aguirre, president, Catholic Association of Latino Leaders; Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus; F. DeKarlos Blackmon, OblSB, Supreme Knight/CEO, Knights of Peter Claver; William J. Cox, president/ CEO, Alliance of Catholic Health Care; Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman, Migration and Refugee Services; Michael Galligan-Stierle, PhD, president/ CEO, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; John Garvey, JD, president, The Catholic University of America; Sheila Gilbert, president, National Coun-

cil of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul; John M. Haas, PhD, STL, president, National Catholic Bioethics Center; Ken Hackett, president, Catholic Relief Services; Jan R. Hemstad, MD, president, Catholic Medical Association; Father John Jenkins, CSC, president, University of Notre Dame; Patty Johnson, president, National Council of Catholic Women; James G. Lindsay, executive director, Catholic Volunteer Network; Stephen L. Mikochik, JD, chairman, National Catholic Partnership on Disability; Karen M. Ristau, EdD, president, National Catholic Educational Association; Geralyn C. Shelvin, Supreme Lady, Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary; Father Larry Snyder, president, Catholic Charities USA; and Joanne Tomassi, national regent, Catholic Daughters of the Americas.

October 28, 2011

The Church in the U.S.

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Cardinal Wuerl named recording secretary for ‘new evangelization’ synod

remembering MLK — A woman holds a portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the recent dedication of a memorial to Reverend King in Washington. The memorial commemorates the life and work of the late civil rights leader. (CNS photo/Yuri Gripas, Reuters)

New Mass translation can help Catholics pray better, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The new English translation of the Mass is the result of a long process of international cooperation and is meant to help Catholics pray better, Pope Benedict XVI told Australia’s bishops.

The new translation, which most Australian dioceses began introducing in parishes on Pentecost in June, “is intended to enrich and deepen the sacrifice of praise offered to God by His people,” the pope said.

The morning after joining the bishops for the inauguration of the Domus Australia, a pilgrim center in Rome, the pope welcomed the bishops to the apostolic palace for the main talk of the “ad limina” visits, which bishops make to report on the Church in their dioceses.

Pope Benedict said the new liturgical translation was “the fruit of a remarkable cooperation of the Holy See, the bishops and experts from all over the world.”

He asked the bishops to help their priests appreciate the new text and help catechists and musicians do their part to make the Mass “a moment of greater grace and beauty, worthy of the Lord and spiritually enriching for everyone.”

Australian Cardinal George Pell of Sydney is the chairman of the Vox Clara Commission, an international body established by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, to assist in the evaluation of English liturgical translations.

The cardinal told Catholic News Service October 19, “I think a goodly percentage of the people didn’t notice the difference” when he began using the new text at the Sydney cathedral. “There are pockets of dissatisfaction, but overwhelm-

ingly the priests and people are happy and they will get used to it. The prayers are immensely richer and there’s much less banality.”

Some critics have said the new translation has archaic language, clumsy sentence structure and a lack of sensitivity to inclusive language.

Cardinal Pell said some of the vocabulary in the new translation is a bit challenging. For example, the new translation of the creed describes Jesus as being “consubstantial with the Father.” The cardinal said, “One gentleman

wrote to me and said he didn’t understand ‘consubstantial,’ and I wrote back to him and suggested that he find out.”

“One comparison I like to make is that — although it’s a mature, adult English — (the translation) is a tiny bit like children’s literature, because in good children’s literature, every couple of pages there’s probably a word the children don’t understand, that expands their knowledge, and they have to either gather the meaning from the context or enquire about the meaning,” the cardinal said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI named Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington as the relator, or recording secretary, of the 2012 Synod of Bishops on “new evangelization.”

As recording secretary, Cardinal Wuerl will be primarily responsible for preparing a thematic report for discussion at the opening of the synod and another report summarizing speeches given in the first phase of the synod’s general assemblies.

The relator is a central figure of the Synod of Bishops, and he is usually assisted by special secretaries.

The synod, to be held October 7-28 next year, will focus on the theme, “The new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith.”

New evangelization refers to the effort to re-evangelize in countries where Christian faith and practice have declined, and Pope Benedict has made it a priority of his pontificate.

Cardinal Wuerl has been a leader in Religious Education.

Addressing a recent Vatican conference on new evangelization, he said catechesis is essential for the Church’s out-

reach.

“When a person is wellgrounded catechetically — that means each one of us renewing our faith — that person has the confidence to be able to express it” and “to invite others into the experience of faith,” he said.

He added that while Western society is highly secularized, there is “enormous openness to hearing about Christ” among many young people.

The Synod of Bishops was established after the Second Vatican Council as a forum for the pope, the world’s bishops and Vatican officials to examine issues and exchange information.

Pope Benedict has presided over two world synods, one on the Eucharist and one on Scripture, as well as regional synods for Africa and the Middle East. He streamlined the format of these encounters to allow for freer exchange of opinion, and has sometimes joined in the discussions.

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The Anchor Faithfully getting ready

In recent years, the popes have been trying to focus the attention of Catholics throughout the world on certain aspects of the Christian life that on occasion can be taken for granted. Prior to the Jubilee Year of the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ, Blessed Pope John Paul II declared a Year of Christ (1997), a Year of the Holy Spirit (1998), and a Year of God the Father (1999), all geared to help us ground our life of faith anew in the Incarnation and in the love and truth of the Blessed Trinity. In 2002-2003, John Paul II called for a Year of the Holy Rosary, designed to get us to ponder this “Gospel on a string” that helps us to enter Mary’s school and contemplate with her the blessed Fruit of her womb. Two years later, John Paul II had the Church focus on the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit, root and center of the Christian life that “makes the Church.” In 2008-2009, Pope Benedict convened a Year of St. Paul, celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the great Apostle’s birth and giving us all the occasion to study his writings and witness in order to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Cor 11:1). The following year Pope Benedict summoned a Year For Priests, called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of the patron saint of parish priests, St. John Vianney, to help the whole Church grow anew in gratitude to God for the gift of the priesthood through which Christ continues to teach, sanctify and shepherd us. In addition to these declared years, 2006 was essentially a “year of charity” dedicated to assimilating Pope Benedict’s beautiful encyclical on God’s love and ours and 20072008 was a “year of hope,” given to appropriating and living Benedict’s encyclical on Christian hope. Including the Jubilee Year, this means that 10 of the last 14 years have been consecrated to focusing the attention of clergy, religious and all the faithful on understanding and living these fundamental aspects of the Christian life, in order to lead us, our families, parishes, dioceses and the Church as a whole, to a thorough renewal.

On October 17, Pope Benedict announced that, beginning a year from now, there will be another ecclesial year devoted to what, in some ways, is the most fundamental theme of all: faith.

He gave us a year’s notice precisely so that we could make appropriate practical preparations to help the year bear the greatest fruit. The Year of Faith, he said, would begin on Oct. 11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the great summary of the faith, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” The Year of Faith will begin during the three-week Synod of Bishops from around the world dedicated to “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Catholic Faith.” It’s pretty clear why a Year of Faith would be foundational for the New Evangelization: since we can only give what we have, in order to pass on the faith effectively, we need to know and live the faith. And since the New Evangelization is meant to be carried out not by specialists — missionaries, clergy, religious, catechists — but by all Catholics in our ordinary milieux, it’s therefore imperative that all Catholics dedicate themselves to this renewal and growth in faith.

There’s also clearly another reason why Pope Benedict wanted to convene a Year of Faith at this time. As successor of St. Peter he is called to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the faith (Lk 22:32), and he recognizes that many aspects of our culture now undermine rather than support the faith. As he indicated in his letter announcing the upcoming year, Porta Fidei (The gate of faith), aggressive secularists have begun to question and attack the “unitary cultural matrix” growing from the Christian faith that gave rise to and sustained Western culture, and this has led to a “profound crisis of faith that has affected many people.” Modern empiricism, which “limits the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries,” as well as relativism, which denies that there is any objective truth outside of technical facts, have not only become part of the cultural drinking water but are now often imposed on believers through law, politics and educational structures. The Year of Faith and the New Evangelization are efforts on the Church’s part to reverse these troubling trends.

The Year of Faith, Pope Benedict wrote, is a “summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord.” It’s an opportunity to “usher the whole Church into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith” that is meant to lead to an “exact knowledge of the faith, so as to reinvigorate it, purify it, confirm it and confess it.” This will bring about a rediscovery of the “joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith,” that he hopes will help believers pray, profess, celebrate and give witness to the faith.

With characteristic theological clarity, Pope Benedict described in his letter the essence of the Christian faith in order to give us coordinates to prepare for the year. There are two aspects of faith: “the act by which we believe” and “the content to which we give our assent.” The first, he says, is the choice we make to “entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom.” It’s on the basis of this trust in God that we then believe what He reveals to us. The second aspect of faith, knowledge of the truths of the faith, is “essential for giving one’s own assent … for adhering fully with the intellect and will” to what God proposed to us through the Church. To grow in faith, therefore, requires greater trust and greater knowledge, each of which impacts the other.

Once the act of faith resonates in our “heart” and in our “head” respectively, it must lead to confessing it with our “lips” in public testimony, Pope Benedict said, quoting St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (10:10). “A Christian may never think of belief as a private act,” the pope stressed.

There are many secularists who want Christians to keep their faith closeted in their homes and churches, never to be mentioned in public and certainly never to have a social or political impact. But such a faith would not really be faith at all. Rather, Pope Benedict underlined, faith “is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with the Lord.” It’s profoundly “personal,” but it is also “communitarian” and “demands social responsibility.” It leads inexorably to the “witness of charity” (see Gal 5:6), since “faith without works is dead” (Gal 5:6; James 2:17). And the greatest work of faith, the greatest expression of love of neighbor is to seek to pass on, by witness and words, the faith that leads to salvation, to freedom, to happiness, to full human flourishing.

The beauty of a faith that is prayed, professed, celebrated and lived is seen, Pope Benedict highlighted, in the lives of the saints. In what could be justly called a fitting sequel to the great hymn of faith in the 11th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, where the sacred author illustrates faith by demonstrating how it was shown in the life of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph the Patriarch, Moses, the Israelites, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets, and so many women and men, Pope Benedict exemplified the continuing splendor of faith by describing the faith of Mary, the Apostles, the first disciples, the martyrs, the men and women who have consecrated their lives to Christ, and all those across the centuries who bore witness to the fact that they were Christian in the family, workplace, public life and in Church ministries. The litany of the “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), however, is not meant to be a thing of the past. “By faith, we too live,” Pope Benedict emphasized, while calling us, like them, to become a credible “living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world.” That’s what the Year of Faith is meant to catalyze. That’s what the New Evangelization needs. That’s what Pope Benedict is asking us to prepare for.

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October 28, 2011

Confirmation

his week we turn to the Sacrament of Confirmation. After Baptism last week, one might curiously ask why I am skipping over Reconciliation and the Eucharist and jumping right to Confirmation. Well, there is a good reason for it.

To help us better understand the seven Sacraments and how they correspond to the different parts of our lives, they are often grouped into three main categories: the Sacraments of “initiation” which include Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist; the Sacraments of “healing,” which include Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick; and the Sacraments at the “service of communion,” which include Marriage and Holy Orders.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” explains that “this order, while not the only one possible, does allow one to see that the Sacraments form an organic whole in which each particular Sacrament has its own vital place. In this organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the “Sacrament of Sacraments”: “all the other Sacraments are ordered to it as to their end” (CCC 1211).

In introducing the Sacraments of Initiation, the “Catechism”

By Father references a Jay Mello beautiful explanation given

by Pope Paul VI. “The sharing in the Divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the Sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these Sacraments of Christian initiation, the faithful receive in increasing measure the treasures of the Divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity” (CCC 1212).

It is the common practice, at least in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, to be baptized as an infant, to receive one’s first Communion at the age of reason (around age seven or eight) and then Confirmation a bit later, usually between the ages of 14-16.

While this is the common practice, I would argue — together with an increasing number of theologians and bishops — that, theologically, it is much more fitting to receive Confirmation prior to receiving the Eucharist.

The Eucharist, as we will see in a future article, is the “source and summit” of the Christian life. In my mind anyway, it does not make much sense to receive the fullness of Christian life prior to receiving all of the Sacraments of initiation. In fact, in the early Church, it was the practice to receive the Sacraments in this order: Baptism, Confirmation and then Eucharist. This is the order of Sacraments when adults receive this “sacramental triple crown” at the Easter Vigil. It’s also the order maintained by the Eastern churches.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” connects the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. “It must be explained to the faithful,” the “Catechism” teaches, “that the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.” The two were so connected that they were generally celebrated together as a “double Sacrament.” The only reason why Confirmation ended up being separated from Baptism in the West was to give the bishop, who for practical reasons was not able to be present for every infant Baptism, the opportunity to complete the graces of Baptism by confirming all the recently baptized on his next pastoral visit to the parish (CCC

1285, 1290). Even when Confirmation was delayed, however, it was almost always received before first Communion.

I write all of this not to be polemical or even principally to raise a discussion about the proper order of the reception of the Sacraments, but merely to explain why the “Catechism,” and this series, describes the Sacrament of Confirmation immediately after Baptism.

An unfortunate pastoral consequence of postponing Confirmation until one is a teen-ager is that gives the impression that it is one’s “graduation” from Religious Education. We know, however, that our education in the Catholic faith is life-long. It is a continual process of growing not only in our knowledge of the truths of our Catholic faith, but also in our growth in putting those truths into action as disciples of Jesus Christ.

In this regard, it is important to make reference to a point that I alluded to in the articles on Baptism, namely, the role of parents (and godparents) in the religious education of their children.

At Baptism, parents and godparents promise to raise their children in the Catholic faith, seeing to it that they are educated in the truths of the faith, are brought to Mass each Sunday, are taught their prayers and other pious devotions, but also — and most importantly — receive all the Sacraments of initiation. Too often, parents, who are the primary educators of their children in matters of faith, rely too heavily upon formal Religious Education programs in parishes or parochial schools.

When the faith is not lived and practiced by the family in the home, there is very little that can be done in the 60-90 minutes of Religious Education once a week. If parents are not bringing their children to Mass each Sunday, praying with them each day and modeling a life of devotion and virtue for them at home, how will they ever learn it or see it as something of value?

Religious Education programs are meant to assist parents in the education of their children and in particular to prepare them for the reception of the Sacraments; they are not designed to be the exclusive form of education. Perhaps this is the reason that so many of our young people stop attending Mass each Sunday after being confirmed.

When the Sacrament of Confirmation is reduced in the mind-set of recipients and their families to the equivalent of a graduation ceremony from Religious Education it implies that practicing one’s faith each Sunday is not necessary. This is why it is so necessary that the preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation not just be a program of formal catechesis, but more importantly the formation that takes place in the home.

Children need to see the Catholic faith modeled for them day-in-and-day-out in the circumstances of everyday life.

As part of the “initiation” process, children are raised in the faith of the Catholic Church from the moment of Baptism to their Confirmation, but one’s continued formation and education in the Catholic faith is a life-long journey. Once we are “fully initiated” into the Church, we are called to sustain that faith by constantly practicing it by weekly worship at Sunday Mass, by a life of virtue and by striving to learn and put into practice the teachings of Christ and His Church.

Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

Putting Into the Deep

October 28, 2011

I

And with your spirit: The new response to the same priests

n preparing to implement the new English translation of the Roman Missal, we once more are reminded that this new translation is more literal to the original Latin, and it seeks to use a more “elevated” or “sacral” style of language, as is fitting for approaching God. These principles in translating, along with the intentional use of more traditional language to express the faith of the Church, are likely most obvious in the people’s response “And with your spirit,” to the priest’s (or deacon’s) greeting of the people. This change is significant because the simple words “and also with you” that we easily and naturally say are being replaced with words that are not part of our common vocabulary. In addition, this change is noteworthy as these new words of response are frequent, typically used five times during each offering of the Mass. What is behind this new translation?

How will it impact our offering of Mass?

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7

The Anchor

any find the mystery novel contrived, but to me, it is the very structure of life: a series of revelations. In the late 18th century a bricklayer was working on the childhood home of William Shakespeare. In the process of his labors, he made contact with the bare structures of the walls on the upper floor of the house on Henley Street where young Will spent his early years under the supervision of his mother and his father, John Shakespeare. Between the rafters and the plaster, he discovered a many-paged document that turned out to be the last will and testament of John Shakespeare, including the text, “I, John Shakspear [sic], an unworthy member of the holy Catholic religion.”

The authenticity of this last will and testament was called into question when it reached famed Shakespeare editor Edmond Malone, who noted several irregularities, after first having published it as authentic. The document was shelved (and, unfortunately, subsequently lost) but the transcript of the original survives. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that another piece of evidence emerged that removed virtually all

In order to understand such Mass, the greeting “The Lord be with you,” (or any other a noticeable change in the reoption for the greeting) is sponse of the people, the best starting point is the Latin ver- given in acknowledging God’s sion, “et cum spíritu tuo.” The presence in the lives of the word “spíritu” is more clearly people, who seek to encounter God more deeply during the translated in the new version than in the old — with significant effect on the meaning of the response. In this context, we are not directly speaking of the Holy Spirit

By Father (which is clear since Joel Hastings the words are directed at the spirit of the ordained minister to whom the response is Mass. The response of the given). Spíritu refers to what people seeks to fittingly reply we might call the “source of life” in the person; that which to him who is ordained and the “spirit” that makes him so. makes the person “who he or It is the “spirit” of ordination she really is.” that has empowered the priest Accordingly, to discover to give the initial greeting, the deeper meaning of the so that his words of greeting words “and with your spirit,” may have a real effect in the we also must understand the lives of those who are greeted. basic purpose of the greeting and response. The greetings of Likewise, this initial greeting, along with the other times the the clergy are never meant as priest (or deacon) greets the simply an exchange of pleaspeople, comes at a moment antries. At the beginning of

Praying the Mass Anew

when he is beginning a direct exercise of the orders he has received. Hence, it is most fitting that the response of the people is not as though they are saying “the same to you,” but to say “may He be with you in your service to us.” Therefore, the response “and with your spirit,” goes beyond acknowledging the Lord in the life of the priest or deacon as an individual man, to acknowledging that it is the person of Christ who has come to serve, represented as he is by an unworthy man, through the Sacrament of Orders.

In practice, while it may take some time to adjust to a new response that replaces one that is very natural for us to say, it may be helpful to remember the following realities. First of all, whenever the priest or deacon greets the people he gives the greeting not as a function of his own humanity, but according to

Where there is a Will ...

speare” asks his “dear friends, doubt about the authenticity parents, and kinsfolks” to reof the original will. Now, only member his time in Purgatory the most truculent critics and and “assist and succor me with historians believe that it was false, for to hold such a belief, their holy prayers and satisfactory works, especially with one has to ignore some very stark facts regarding the nature of the text itself.

As it turns out, the document is an almost exact replica of documents created by Cardinal Charles BorBy Jennifer Pierce romeo. Now known as St. Charles Borromeo, his “spiritual docuthe holy sacrifice of the Mass, ment” was created for Cathoas being the most effectual lics in jeopardy of perdition, means to deliver souls from should extreme unction be unavailable to them. He created it their torments and pains, from the which, if I shall by God’s during an epidemic of plague gracious goodness and by their in Milan, but it became an virtuous works be delivered, emblem of the English Counter-Reformation as well. Jesuit I do promise that I will not be missionaries took copies of the ungrateful unto them, for so great a benefit.” document with them on their Catholics are familiar with secret missions to England and the idea of praying for the dead distributed them to the faithand doing sacrificial works ful who lived their Catholic for them that would assist faith in secret. For those who them to pass from purgatory to signed it, the document would be a “last rites by desire” (akin Heaven. What today’s Catholics may not be familiar with is to “Baptism by desire”) since the fact that “purgatory” was a valid last rites were hard to highly contested metaphysical come by in Elizabeth’s now state in Shakespeare’s EngProtestant England. land. One of the primary docInteresting to note is the trinal shifts during the English section where “John Shake-

Hidden Shakespeare

Reformation concerned the doctrines surrounding death and salvation. Purgatory was dismissed as papist legend, and the idea that we could pray for and do works for the dead was banished to their superstitious past.

The long-held belief that the dead and the living had any interaction at all was no part of the new, national religion.

Was Shakespeare thinking about this when he wrote his plays? Let’s recall Hamlet’s ghost, who appears to his son from the depths of purgatory where he lives in his “prison house” because he was cut off from life before receiving the proper Sacraments: “Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch’d; Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled, No reckoning made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head.”

“Unhouseled” means without having taken the Eucharist. “Unaneled” means without having

the Holy Orders that he has received, which is meant to serve and sanctify the people.

Second, the greeting itself is meant to have an effect: to make the Lord more properly present in the lives of those who are greeted.

Just as these realities underlie the greetings of the clergy, so the people’s response contains a depth of meaning beyond everyday responses to common greetings. The words “and with your spirit” invite the people to respond not merely to another person, but to one given the particular grace to serve them as a priest or deacon in their desire for a deeper encounter with God. Thus, these are words that in their own way acknowledge the presence of God in the priest, who is ordained for the sake of the sanctification of all God’s people.

Father Hastings is Director of the Office of Liturgy and Worship of the Diocese of Duluth and pastor of St. Rose Parish in Proctor, Minn.

been anointed during extreme unction. What is this ghost story but a horror tale about dying without the Sacraments?

Returning to the document itself, while the parallel with Cardinal Borromeo’s document is undeniable, is it possible that the Shakespeare family could have received this document all the way from Milan? Jesuits missionaries St. Edmund Campion and Robert Parsons were dispatched to Shakespeare’s part of the world, and are known to have ministered in the geographical area where Shakespeare’s family lived.

Both Campion and Parsons are also known to have stayed for a time with Cardinal Borromeo in Milan on a course set for England, where Campion would eventually stay 12 miles south of Stratford-Upon-Avon with known Catholic recusant, Sir William Catesby. Catesby, it turns out, was a relative by marriage to the Arden family, the family that produced a daughter named Mary Arden who married John Shakespeare and bore a son named, interestingly enough, William.

Jennifer Pierce is a parishioner of Corpus Christi in East Sandwich, where she lives with her husband Jim and three children.

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October 28, 2011

The Anchor

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nly two things, it seems, make Jesus really angry, and we find them both in this Sunday’s Gospel. As a matter of fact, they’re often linked together in the human mind: hypocrisy and false religion. He’s looking at the religion of His day, of course, but it has meaning for us too.

First off, Jesus makes it clear that religion is good and necessary when He says, “Do what they say, not what they do.” So no matter how angry we may get at times at the flaws and human failings in clergy and faithful, our Catholic religion is to be lived because it is always good to worship God and serve our neighbor. Jesus condemns the abuse of

The problem with phylacteries

religion, but never its proper to be clear on one thing: reuse. ligion is not about us or our So what does He conself-advancement. It’s about demn? I find six things in God, primarily, then about this reading alone: our brothers and sisters.

1. Principally hypocrisy, of course.

Sham. Masks are Homily of the Week only for Halloween; 2. Putting burdens Thirty-first Sunday on others without in Ordinary Time helping them to bear

By Father them; Andrew Johnson 3. Using religion for empty show (long fringes); 4. Seeing religion When it comes to ourselves, as a means of vainglory religion teaches us that the (titles and showy positions); quickest way to grow in holi5. Religion that forgets its ness is through self forgetobject (God, not us); fulness, oddly enough. “He 6. Religion that forgets its who humbles himself will be role: service. exalted!”

Above all, Jesus wants us Why does Jesus go on at

such length and with such passion today? First, because religion is such a good thing; when it comes to be misused, it turns into the worst of things. The corruption of the best is worst. We need only think of the betrayal of the sexual abuse scandal to see how true this is.

Second, for those of us who are, as it were, professional religious people, priests and religious and such, there is always a special danger of using our calling for personal motives, personal advancement. If I’m a carpenter or a banker or a mother raising kids, there’s only a minor temptation to

see myself as good or holy or worthy of praise in what I do. But if I’m a priest, there’s always the possibility that I’ll confuse my holy vocation with my person. This is a very, very big mistake.

The Lord chastises those He loves, which we know from the Psalms. He truly loved the Pharisees whose errors He was condemning here. But He wanted to save them from their errors, as He does us. Please God we’ll do better than the Pharisees in accepting His rebuke and correction.

The terms of our service are simple: all the glory to God and none to us.

Father Johnson is chaplain at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 29, Rom 11:1-2a,11-12,25-29; Ps 94:12-13a,14-15,17-18; Lk 14:1,7-11. Sun. Oct. 30, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mal 1:14b-2:2b,8-10; Ps 131:1-3; 1 Thes 2:7b-9,13; Mt 23:1-12. Mon. Oct. 31, Rom 11:29-36; Ps 69:30-31,33-34,36; Lk 14:12-14. Tues. Nov. 1, All Saints Day, Rv 7:2-4,9-14; Ps 24:1-4ab,5-6; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12a. Wed. Nov. 2, All Souls Day, Wis 3:1-9; Ps 23:1-6; Rom 5:5-11 or 6:3-9; Jn 6:37-40.

Thu. Nov. 3, Rom 14:7-12; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Lk 15:1-10. Fri. Nov. 4, Rom 15:14-21; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8.

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he October 11 sentencing of former prime minister and Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in prison may or may not stand.

Tymoshenko has appealed the sentence and several western governments, including the Obama administration, have lodged stiff protests over Tymoshenko’s prosecution with the government of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. But irrespective of Tymoshenko’s legal fate, a marker has been laid down.

That the Ukrainian government would conduct, publicly, a trial on trumped up and politically motivated charges, and that the court would return a guilty verdict with a heavy penalty (including a $190 million fine on top of the prison sentence), makes quite clear that the current authorities have little regard for justice or democratic norms of governance.

The emerging crisis in the Ukraine

Church and the Soviet secret And that is a problem far police “dissolved” the UGCC and beyond Kyiv. forcibly incorporated it into the A brief review of some recent Russian Orthodox Church. The history helps explain why.

UGCC gave its full measure of An independent Ukraine emerged from under the rubble of communism with the crack-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Throughout the previous seven decades, the repository of Ukrainian

By George Weigel national self-awareness and aspiration was the Ukrainian Greek Cathomartyrs to Christ during decades lic Church, Byzantine in Liturgy of persecution, and emerged from and polity but in full communion underground in 1991 to launch, with Rome since the 1596 Union among many other initiatives, the of Brest. In keeping alive the only Catholic university in the idea of a free and independent former Soviet space: a beacon of Ukraine, the UGCC played a light and decency in what is still role similar to that of the Cathoa deeply wounded land. UGCC lic Church in Soviet-occupied faculty and students played leadPoland. And the Ukrainians were ing roles in the pro-democracy persecuted even more severely, for in 1946 the Russian Orthodox “Orange Revolution” that kept Viktor Yanukovich from power in 2004-05: a revolution whose positive effects Yanukovich now

Current Retreat Center Programs

October 28-30 November 4-6 November 8 November 14 December 2-4

December 7&14

~ John Polce ~ No Song Like Your Own ~ Prayer Shawl Meeting ~ Grief Education ~ A Advent Adventure: Following the Light ~ Clear the Inner Clutter

For more information, please call or write the Retreat Secretary e-mail: office@lasaletteretreatcenter.com website: www.lasaletteretreatcenter.com

For information regarding the La Salette Shrine call: 508-222-5410

The Catholic Difference

seems determined to reverse.

The UGCC is thus fated by history to play the role of the canary in the coal mine. A thriving Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine would be a sign that religious freedom is alive and well in the former Soviet space. A UGCC being choked by state pressure would be a disturbing sign that the political air in Ukraine is becoming too toxic to support democratic life.

On the strategic side of the historical ledger, a brief look at the map will suggest what is at stake here. Ukraine is the land bridge between Russia and central Europe. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s insistence that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a geopolitical catastrophe, and Putin’s recent announcement that he would return to the Russian presidency after a four-year pause as prime minister, suggests that the next Putin administration will

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

do whatever it can to reconstitute the old Soviet Union, de facto if not de iure.

Bringing Ukraine ever more closely into the Russian embrace is the key to that strategy. The dissolution of Ukrainian independence could be, at first, economic — a de facto economic alliance with Russia to go along with Viktor Yanukovich’s reinstatement of Soviet-style politics, as exemplified by the Tymoshenko verdict.

But it is not difficult to imagine a Muscovite strategy aimed at breaking up independent Ukraine, leaving a small Ukrainian ministate around L’viv in western Ukraine while absorbing the rest of the country back into Greater Russia.

Were the Russian Orthodox Church to acquiesce in such maneuvers, it would deal a severe blow to the ecumenical future by demonstrating that dialogue with it is virtually impossible, given that the ROC had become a department of Putin’s autocratic state rather than an independent ecclesial body.

So there is a great deal riding on the future of Ukraine: religious freedom in the former Soviet space; Putin’s success or failure in building a Greater Russia that will threaten Europe, strategically and by its control of oil and gas supplies; Christian ecumenism between East and West.

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

October 28, 2011

The name of the game

Saturday 22 October 2011 velvet bag, called aloud, and — at home on the Taunton marked on a card. Another River — International Stuttervariation was called Keno, ing Awareness Day from the French quino, meanome say it began in ing five winning lottery num16th-century Italy as bers. Once Le Lotto became a method for choosing political leaders.

When popular elections failed, candiReflections of a dates were assigned a number. If your Parish Priest number was drawn,

By Father Tim you won. It was called Goldrick lotto, the Italian word for “fate.” “Lotto” developed into an Italian national game of chance called all the rage in Paris, it spread Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia. throughout Europe.

The game became fashionEuropean immigrants able among wealthy Frenchbrought Lotto to the United men. The French aristocrats States. Some say it all started called it (what else) Le Lotto. at a tent carnival in Atlanta, Numbered wooden tokens Ga. It soon became an attracwere randomly drawn from a tion at traveling circuses and

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The Ship’s Log

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9

The Anchor country fairs. Rubber number stamps and cardboard were required to play. Numbers were drawn from a cigar box.

Dried beans were used to mark the numbers, thus the term “Beano.” One lucky winner was so excited she stuttered “B-BB-Bingo” instead of “Beano.” A man named Edward Lowe overheard her.

By 1930, you could buy printed Bingo cards manufactured in New York by an enterprising toy maker, none other than Edward Lowe. A license to use Lowe’s trademarked Bingo cards cost $1 a year. With the assistance of a professor of mathematics at Columbia University, Carl Leffler, Lowe had some 6,000

Grace amidst the ordinary

lings were raised, she and her he beauty of the commother turned their attention to munion of saints offered a small community of young by the Church is the saints’ women in the working combreadth and diversity. True munity in which they lived. to form, of the three people These they welcomed into named saints in the last month, their home on Sundays and one was a woman whose life feast days for prayers and can speak volumes to so many healthy diversions amidst a women of the 21st century. culture that provided so many Bonafacia Rodriguez Castro temptations and distractions. was the oldest of six children The group was originally called born to devout parents in Salamanca, Spain in 1837.

The home was set up as a sewing shop, and Bonifacia learned that trade early in life. Her father died when she was only 15, and she

By Genevieve Kineke and her mother worked diligently to provide for the family. Indeed, the Association of the Immacuthose trials made her intimatelate and St. Joseph, and was ly familiar with the challenges thus entrusted to the parents of of child laborers, the poor and Our Lord. The name was later working women — especially shortened to The Josephine those without the help of a Association, and through this father in the home. the sewing shop took on an Her family had always had apostolic dimension in a very a great devotion to the Holy organic and practical way.

Family of Nazareth, which As naturally as this work reminded them of God’s great sprang from the circumstances love for honest work, the of her own life, Bonifacia importance of steady trust in looked for an existing religious God, and the beauty of the community to join, assuming silent virtues that are natuthat traditional community life rally instilled within families. was necessary for her own spirCertainly, the Holy Family itual growth, but Providence led — which lived a hidden life her to a Catalan Jesuit named of love for 30 years — can Francisco Javier Butiña y be the model for any family Hospital, who showed her that struggling with the demands what she was already doing was of ordinary life, not to mention the perfect nucleus of a new the trials of widowhood, which and greatly needed community Our Lady embraced at some among the working class. point before the public minisHe wrote “The Light of the try of her Son. Manual Worker,” which colWhen her younger sib-

The Feminine Genius

lected the stories of lay men and women who had sanctified themselves through various humble occupations. Through prayer and Father Butiña’s guidance, a unique community was created from among the women already finding spiritual sustenance at the sewing shop. Its mission was to understand the sanctification of ordinary work and to protect young women from the spiritual and physical dangers of the wider community.

The dire need for such leaven in a fallen world should resonate with our own generation, and the power of this simple message should hearten those who wonder what — if anything — can make a difference. Women who hold fast to daily prayer, humbly seek God’s will, and arrange their lives to prioritize the needs of the human person will spread the beauty of that quiet home in Nazareth.

Working women, especially, can find common cause with this beautiful soul who learned diligence, humility and fidelity through her daily trials. Surely, we think that the present age is unique in its own dark challenges, and yet the Church offers one more reminder that the communion of saints is a place of consolation and light. St. Bonafacia, pray for us!

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books) and blogs at feminine-genius.com.

different cards from which to choose.

The Catholic pastor of Wilkes-Barre, Penn., had the idea of raising church funds with Bingo. It was a stroke of genius. Bingo games sprang up in churches and Knights of Columbus halls throughout the land. By 1934, an estimated 10,000 Bingo games were played weekly in the United States.

When the game was legalized in Massachusetts in 1971 (the year before I was ordained a priest) the legislation referred to the game as Beano, but soon it became known by the mispronounced Bingo.

A year later, I was assigned as a young curate to the former Immaculate Conception Church in Taunton. Here I was introduced to Bingo. I’ve never played it, but I was once recruited to serve as “caller” when a regular caller didn’t show up. I had a grand time at the microphone, telling jokes, making pithy comments, and occasionally calling a number.

The Bingo players were not amused. It was the last time I was invited to call Bingo.

From Taunton, it was on to St. Margaret Church in Buzzards Bay. Father John Carroll had built a parish hall with Bingo in mind. Father Carroll’s best priest-friend was Father Bill O’Connell. Father O’Connell liked the Bingo idea. He built a parish center in North Dighton with Bingo in mind.

Another parish in which I have served, St. Theresa Church in South Attleboro, also had a weekly Bingo.

Bingo night was famous for food: Father Edmond “Pete” Levesque’s lemon and raisin squares.

There was an interesting front-page article in the local newspaper recently. It was entitled, “Last call for Bingo halls in Massachusetts?” By coincidence, the article ran on the day filing for a renewal of our parish’s license for

2011/2012 was due. The renewal of a state Bingo license requires a charitable organization, a member-in-charge, and a bookkeeper. Parishioner Donald Scott, who has served many years as the member-incharge, would soon be retiring from that position. No one had come forward to assume the reins of leadership. The task of being the member-in-charge requires much expertise, time and effort. Without a memberin-charge, the state license could not be renewed.

The game was introduced here by Father Bill O’Connell for the purpose of servicing the debt incurred in the construction of the parish center. Bingo has greatly assisted the parish over the years. Analyses of the data of our own Bingo game for the 2010/2011 year reveal that it involved approximately 4,000 volunteer hours. Bingo is a lot of work. Volunteers are aging. There are few willing to take their places.

As the newspaper article pointed out, Bingo in the state of Massachusetts seems to be going the way of church whist parties of the 1930s. Bingo in Massachusetts reached its high point in the 1980s, with some 900 games licensed. Today, fewer than 200 remain. Charitybased Bingo is simply unable to compete with commercial Bingo halls and luxurious casinos.

There are even licensed online Bingo games, not to mention the computer-generated scratch tickets. (I have never bought a scratch ticket, either.) Now, our state government is considering upping (or has upped) the stakes with a greatly-expanded gaming law.

Whether you call it Bingo, Beano, Keno, or Le Lotto, it is becoming something other than recreational gambling. It is becoming the domain of the gambling industry. In church halls throughout Massachusetts, the game may soon be over.

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

10

The Anchor

October 28, 2011

La Salette Brother celebrates a half-century of ministry

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

ATTLEBORO — It’s easy to understand why Brother William Robert Russell, M.S., was drawn to Our Lady of La Salette and decided to enter her namesake order shortly after graduating from high school.

“When I learned about the La Salette order, it struck me because they are reconcilers — that’s part of their mission,” Brother Russell said.

“They reach out to people who need to be converted. My father was a Baptist minister who became a Catholic. He really loved the message of Our Lady of La Salette and I shared that with him when I was younger.”

And so it goes without saying that Brother Russell was filled with joy when he was appointed director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro in 2007.

“To me it was such a great opportunity to venture into new waters for Our Lady’s sake, to meet new people from various ethnic cultural customs,” he said.

This weekend Brother Russell, who is also a permanent deacon, will celebrate 50 years as a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette and is The Anchor’s Person of the Week.

Looking back over the past half-century, Brother Russell

said his ministry has remained and taught me about the dif- published 85,000 copies,” he focused on serving others. ferent communities and reli- said. “That was a big task.

“I can remember what Bish- gious orders.”

But it was a joy working at op Hart said to me when I was After professing his vows the magazine, especially with ordained a deacon in Ipswich,” as a La Salette Missionary, the Fathers and Brothers who Brother Russell said. “He were there in Ipssaid: ‘You’ve come wich.” to serve and not to He also was acbe served.’ That’s tively involved with been the thrust of the youth center at my ministry.” the shrine and said it Born and raised in was one of the highParkersburg, W.Va., lights of his minisBrother Russell said try. he had a wonderful “I can remember childhood but althe joy I had in Ipsways felt that somewich … we had three thing was missing rock ’n roll bands at — that God had a the youth center,” bigger plan for him. he said. “And those “I had great parkids came back reents and siblings cently for my 50th who all supported anniversary celebrame along the way,” tion up there.” he said. “I can reHoping to expand member my mother his ministry, Brothsaying: ‘Work with er Russell attended the people, and they classes at St. John’s will work with you.’

Seminary in BrighI’ve always tried to ton and was ordained follow through with a deacon in 1980. that over the past 50 “My diaconal years in my minis- Anchor Person of the Week — La ministry has taken try.” me to greater levSalette Brother Bob Russell.

He first became els of helping God’s interested in the La Salette Brother Russell’s first assign- people as a reconciling advoorder through a seventh-grade ment was at the La Salette cate in bringing families toteacher.

Shrine in Ipswich, where he gether, reconciling marriages “There was a priest named worked to spread Our Lady’s and children with their parFather Bob Park,” he said. message. ents, blessing the sick, con“Father Park was with the La “I was there 23 years and soling the sorrowful, guiding Salette order for a while, but every month we’d put out a the needy to safe places, and then left to become a diocesan magazine called Our Lady’s even bringing people closer to priest. He taught me religion Missionary Magazine and we God and His Catholic Church in the RCIA ministry,” he said.

Although serving as director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette may seem like a daunting task, Brother Russell said he relishes this new and challenging chapter of his ministry.

“It’s a big job, but I really love the shrine and I love working with people,” he said. “You have to be a people-person in order to encounter the pilgrims who come here. We have pilgrimage groups that come here from all over the world. Our largest pilgrimage is the Vietnamese and they have 3,000 people who come here.”

Although best known for

the annual Festival of Lights at Christmas, Brother Russell said the shrine remains busy year-round.

“I’m involved with the Council of Churches and I work closely with the soup kitchen, which we host here,” he said. “We feed about 120 people every Monday.”

In addition to the pilgrimages, the shrine is also a destination for retreats and those who simply want to pray.

“There’s a thirst for pilgrims to come here to be comforted,” Brother Russell said. “It’s a holy and a sacred place. People just like to come here to enjoy the grounds and pray.”

With Thanksgiving approaching, Brother Russell said the shrine is already preparing for its 58th annual Festival of Lights, which this year will center on the theme “Light of Life.”

In anticipation of flipping the switch on an estimated 350,000 lights that will illuminate the shrine this Christmas, Brother Russell said his one goal before he leaves the shrine will be to transition all the bulbs over to LED lights.

“We’re working on that now by raising money through recycling cans and we’ve raised about $10,000, so we’re about a third of the way there,” he said. “The LED lights are very inexpensive to use … they might cost a few pennies more to buy, but they’re longer lasting and more efficient. Right now our electric bill is about $40,000 and we’re estimating with LED lights it will be closer to $8,000 a year.”

Looking back over 50 years, Brother Russell said he can’t believe how quickly the time has passed.

“It’s been challenging at times, but it’s also been interesting,” he said. “It’s been a good road and I’ve been happy. I certainly would do it all over again.”

To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send information to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

To advertise in The Anchor, contact

Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org

11

The Anchor

October 28, 2011

New pro-marriage anti-defamation alliance formed

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — Motivational speaker and author Frank Turek lost two jobs because he spoke up in the defense of marriage.

When attendees of his workshops discovered he had published the book “Correct, Not Politically Correct; How SameSex Marriage Hurts Everyone,” they complained to his employers, hoping to get him sacked.

And it worked.

Though satisfied with his job performance, both CISCO and Bank of America fired Turek, who had led seminars on leadership and team building for years.

His story is now highlighted on the website for the National Organization for Marriage’s new Anti-Defamation Alliance. In the video, Turek points out that part of his job was to speak about inclusion and diversity but his position was censured.

“Despite the fact that you will inevitably disagree with people over certain political, moral or social issues, you will work together with them in a very cordial and professional manner.

That’s what inclusion and diversity should be. It’s not that way anymore. You know what it is now? If you don’t agree with my narrow, political view that same-sex marriage must be put into law, you’re a bigot, you’re a homophobe and you need to be fired,” he said. “If we don’t start speaking up, we’re going to lose our ability even to make a living in this country.”

Turek also outlined his reasons for supporting marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

“Marriage at its core is procreative. Now, we understand that some marriages aren’t procreative, but the only ones that are, are between a man and a woman,” he said. “Marriage is recognized by the government because it brings forth the next generation.”

“When marriages are strong, our country is strong. When marriages are weak, our country is weak,” he added.

NOM launched the Anti-Defamation Alliance last month in an effort to support people like Turek and to encourage others to speak out about marriage. It seeks to foster a community that will assist marriage supporters in speaking without fear of threats, harassment or retaliation.

In an email announcing the alliance, NOM president Brian Brown encouraged Bank of America customers to call the company to complain. Brown added the alliance is the beginning of “something truly big.”

“You and I know that advocates of gay marriage are seeking to create an America in which good, decent, loving, law-abiding people are afraid to speak up for marriage as the union of husband and wife. It’s intellectually and morally absurd, but our opponents have sought to silence debate, and to strip Americans of our core civil rights to speak, to donate, to organize and to vote to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” he said. “Alone we can be isolated, but together we are too many to stigmatize!”

Brown added that the need for such an alliance is highlighted by a new study from the National Religious Broadcasters, which warned that, “For the first time in American history, new media platforms are being used to censor Christian speech and thought, primarily on the gay issue.”

“Almost every major technology platform studied has used

their market power to suppress speech that the corporate owners deem ‘anti-gay,’” Brown said.

Daniel Avila, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family, told The Anchor that even legislators avoid the topic of marriage.

“Especially for elected officials, it is an intensely divisive landscape,” he said.

Avila said that he saw the challenges in public policy clearly when a marriage referendum failed to get through the Massachusetts legislature in 2007. At the time, Avila served the Massachusetts Catholic Conference.

“The legislature itself decided that a measure would not go to the people because that measure was somehow out-of-bounds,” he said. “The people themselves were denied the opportunity to debate and vote on what has stood the test of time because it was argued that this was some-

thing that was antithetical to our system of government.”

Since his move to Washington D.C. this past July, Avila said he has seen the same problems creeping into the national debate.

Part of that is President Barack Obama’s refusal to legally fight for the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law passed in 1996 in order to protect marriage.

“The fact that the president of the United States and his administration has taken the view that DOMA and marriage defined as the union between a man and woman somehow represents a social evil equal to racism, undoubtedly, will have long-term repercussions,” he said.

Avila added that in this caustic environment, marriage advo-

cates must maintain a clear, firm but respectful voice. Since the redefinition of marriage in Massachusetts, Avila has witnessed that many people are afraid to talk about marriage openly.

“The effort to band together in the face of what can be very hostile pushback is critically important,” he said. “Individuals who have stepped up and stood their ground in the face of very hostile reactions and did so with conviction and certitude but without any kind of hostile reactions in return, embolden and encourage others to stand their ground.”

For more information, visit NOM’s Anti-Defamation Alliance’s website at www. marriageada.org.

12

The Anchor

October 28, 2011

Rome celebrates Blessed John Paul feast day; sainthood cause proceeds

ROME (CNS) — Thousands of Catholics in Rome celebrated the first feast of Blessed John Paul II October 22 and the promoter of his sainthood cause said he has received several reports of healings that could be the miracle needed for the late pope’s canonization.

Msgr. Slawomir Oder, the postulator of Pope John Paul’s sainthood cause, told Vatican Radio, “I have received several very significant testimonies and am waiting for the complete documentation” that would allow him to judge which would be the most appropriate to submit to the Vatican.

“I was particularly struck by the healing of a little girl who was in an almost desperate situation and another very touching testimony regarding the healing of a priest,” he told the radio October 22.

The Polish priest also noted that for the first time many little boys

and girls named Karol or Carolina or John Paul, Jean Pierre or Giovanni Paolo were able to celebrate their name day, an important day in many countries and cultures.

He said that after Pope John Paul died in April 2005, “many people asked his intercession to obtain the grace of paternity and maternity, and having received that grace, they honored him by naming their children after him.”

In Rome, Blessed John Paul’s feast was marked with two particularly large celebrations: the Diocese of Rome held a prayer vigil and Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the diocesan cathedral.

The Church of the Holy Spirit near the Vatican, known for its dedication to the Divine Mercy devotion promoted by Pope John Paul, hosted a special Mass and a concert featuring important texts written by the late pope set to music.

mighty good movie — Carla Gugino, who portrays head coach Cathy Rush, and Marley Shelton, who portrays Sister Sunday, star in a scene from the movie “The Mighty Macs.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/The Maximus Group)

CNS Movie Capsules

Revised and updated ...

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NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed

by Catholic News Service.

“The Big Year” (Fox 2000) Warm-hearted seriocomedy in which a business tycoon (Steve Martin), a rudderless nuclear power plant worker (Jack Black) and a home contractor (Owen Wilson) vie to win the titular bird-watching competition by spotting the greatest number of different species over the course of a calendar year. As the builder obsessively tries to defend his seemingly insurmountable previous record, the executive and the slacker form an unlikely friendship as well as an alliance intended to best their sometimes unscrupulous rival. Director David Frankel’s mostly agreeable film — inspired by Mark Obmascik’s book of the same name — affirms the primacy of family life and personal relationships over materialistic or ego-driven goals. Brief nongraphic marital lovemaking, possible cohabitation, a fertility treatment theme, adultery references, at least one use of profanity, an obscene gesture, a few crude and crass terms. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — paren-

tal guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“Johnny English Reborn” (Universal) Elaborately constructed spy spoof — and cleaned-up sequel to the 2003 comedy “Johnny English” — in which Rowan Atkinson as the titular secret agent overcomes severe odds to discover who was responsible for the assassination of the president of Mozambique. Atkinson and director Oliver Parker put Johnny — a combination of Atkinson’s Mr. Bean and Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin of the “Naked Gun” franchise — through a series of droll set-pieces. One dubious, and dull, sight gag aside, they also eschew the less-than-family-friendly humor of the original. Some cartoonish violence, a single tasteless visual joke, fleeting mildly crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — paren-

tal guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“The Mighty Macs” (Freestyle) Feel-good sports drama, based on the true story of women’s basketball coach Cathy Rush (Carla Gugino).

In 1972, aged 23, Rush took a job at Pennsylvania’s Immaculata College (now University) and built its team from scratch, eventually leading the “Macs” to the national championship. In the process, she and her lady dribblers inspired the nuns of the faculty, led by a formidable mother superior (Ellen Burstyn), to join forces and save the school from closing. Director Tim Chambers’ family-oriented movie offers lessons in friendship, teamwork, trust, and perseverance.

The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 30, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Michael Racine, Pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet

October 28, 2011

I

13

The Anchor

The religious issue

n September of 1928, to Herbert Hoover, in part beAlfred E. Smith, thencause of the anti-Catholicism governor of New York and that had been fomented by the the first Catholic to be nomiKu Klux Klan and other more nated for president by a major respectable organizations, but party, gave a campaign speech also because he was a “wet” in Oklahoma City. He was against Prohibition, an inveterresponding to attacks that had ate city guy of immigrant stock been made on him because of in an age of nativist reaction his Catholicism. Dragging the in the countryside. Al Smith question of religion into a national campaign, he said, was “something that according to our Constitution, our history and our traditions has no part in any campaign

By Dwight Duncan for elective public office.”

The United States Constitution states in Arcommented, “The time hasn’t ticle VI, paragraph 3 that “no come when a man can say his religious test shall ever be beads in the White House.” required as a qualification It took Massachusetts Senato any office or public trust tor John F. Kennedy to finally under the United States.” This break that stained-glass ceiling was a departure from British in the election of 1960. practice, which imposed such I think of this history of a religious test that excluded religious intolerance because Catholics and others from the same issue is presently holding public office or even facing former Massachusetts practicing law or going to governor Mitt Romney in his university at the time of the run for the presidency. RomAmerican Revolution. ney was recently attacked by a Al Smith declared, “I here Texas Baptist pastor, who said, emphatically declare that I do “Those of us who are evannot wish any member of my gelicals have every right to faith in any part of the United prefer and support a competent States to vote for me on any Christian over a competent religious grounds. I want them non-Christian.” Romney said to vote for me only when in in last week’s Republican detheir hearts and consciences bate that it was “repugnant that they become convinced that we should choose people based my election will promote the on their religion.” Judge for best interests of our country. yourself, but I think Al Smith “By the same token, I canand Mitt Romney have it right. not refrain from saying that Of course, I’m a Catholic, any person who voted against not a Mormon. On matters me simply because of my of faith, I think we Cathoreligion is not, to my way of lics have it right, as I’m sure thinking, a good citizen.” the Mormons think that they Al Smith lost in a landslide have it right. That is what

Judge For Yourself

This week in

it means to have a different religion. Not that it matters, when it comes to electing a president. Our tradition of the separation of church and state, and respect for people’s free exercise of religion, mean that in the United States religion is irrelevant to one’s standing in the political community.

(Obviously, matters of faith do matter when it comes to leadership, or even membership, in our faith community; but we are electing a president, not a pope.)

The Mormons I have known, and there have been many over the years, have invariably been good neighbors, students, colleagues and citizens, people with strong families. They work hard at being friendly, virtuous and helpful; and it shows. Would that I could say the same of all my fellow Catholics, particularly those who are in public life.

Whether Mitt Romney would make a good president is a matter over which people of good will can and do differ, based on many factors.

The fact that he is a Mormon should not be one of them. It is disgraceful that Maureen Dowd of the New York Times thinks it should: As she wrote in her column of October 18, after quoting Bill Maher and other Mormon-hating atheists like Christopher Hitchens, “Republicans are the ones who have made faith part of the presidential test. Now we’ll see if Mitt can pass it.”

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

Diocesan history

10 years ago — The Upper Cape was the setting for the Annual Investiture Ceremonies and Business Meeting for the Northeast lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Order members from Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island remembered deceased comrades and welcomed new constituents at a series of 25 years ago — Polish Heritage Month Masses, dinners and meetings. was observed at St. Stanislaus Parish, Fall One year ago — Several hundred youth River, with a concelebrated Mass during which participated in a day of song, dance, skits, conthe principal celebrant was Very Rev. Rufin versation, and inspiration at the annual diocesan Abramek, OSP, prior of Jasna Gora Monastery Youth Convention held at Bishop Stang High in Czestochowa, Poland.

School in North Dartmouth.

50 years ago — More than 200 members of the Diocesan Retreat League heard Bishop James L. Connolly define a retreat as “a mirror that reflects the Word of God” during an address at the Cathedral Camp Retreat House in East Freetown during the organization’s annual banquet.

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

St. Lawrence Church

774 Boylston Street Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Sat., 5 November 2011• 508-996-8274

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14

The Anchor

First church ever built in Diocese of Fall River was dedicated 190 years ago, today

By Father Barry W. Wall Diocesan Archivist

NEW BEDFORD — Today marks the 190th anniversary of the dedication in New Bedford of the first church in what is now the Diocese of Fall River.

Early in 1821, Father Philip Lariscy, an energetic Irish Augustinian friar who came to the Diocese of Boston in 1818, visited the small Catholic community in New Bedford. In March of that year, he officiated at the Baptisms of several persons of various ages and on Mar. 19, 1821, he purchased, in the name of Bishop John Cheverus, a parcel of land at Dartmouth and Allen streets. Construction of a small-frame building to be used as a church was soon begun by a local carpenter, Dudley Davenport, at the cost of $800.

The scheduled date for the blessing of the church, July 29, 1821, was postponed very likely because of the departure of Father Lariscy. Unfortunately, the temperament of the boisterous Irish-speaking friar was completely incompatible with that of the bishop’s other assistant, Father William Taylor, an urbane AngloIrish convert. With the bishop’s

blessing and a very generous gift, Father Lariscy was released to continue his ministry in New York and New Jersey. He later joined

CHURCH ART — This is an 1887 drawing of the 1821 church

by Frank O’Connor, who was 60 at the time. He was an altar boy at the church and was baptized by Father Robert D. Woodley. The rendition, drawn from memory, was published in the Aug. 30, 1887 New Bedford Evening Standard. (Diocesan Archives photo)

his order at St. Augustine Church in Philadelphia where he died on Apr. 6, 1824.

On Nov. 2, 1821, the local New Bedford newspaper, The Mercury, reported, “The Right Reverend

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Bishop Cheverus preached at the new Roman Catholic church in this town on Sunday last. We understand that the audience was so numerous that many who went were unable to gain admittance into the church.” The bishop undoubtably came by stage coach from Bristol, R.I., since it was his custom to visit that area in the fall.

The church was little used because there were so few priests.

From 1828 to 1830 Father Robert D. Woodley came every two months from Providence. In 1832 Bishop Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J. visited New Bedford for the first time and placed the churches at Sandwich and New Bedford together with the mission of Wareham in the care of Father Patrick Canavan who would make his principle residence in Sandwich.

At the time the bishop remarked in his journal concerning the New Bedford church, “great desire is manifested by rich individuals ... to purchase it for the purpose of removing the church which they consider an eyesore ... but the bishop is not in the habit of accommodating such folks when actuated by such a motive.”

When the bishop came for Confirmation in 1841, he remarked the church was the same “pitiful little building ... but found it brushed up, newly painted, whitewashed and in good repair.”

In 1844, Father Patrick Byrne became the first resident pastor. In 1849, Father Thomas R. McNulty was able to purchase the former Universalist Church in the center of the city and the old church was divided in two sections and sold. One portion remains as part of a dwelling at 65 Forest Street.

These two churches, known as St. Mary’s, were the predecessors of the present St. Lawrence Church dedicated in 1871.

In 1953, the site of the first church was marked by granite boulder with a commemorative bronze plaque through the efforts of the McMahon Assembly Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus and the gracious cooperation of the late Helen Aubertine, owner of the property, which remains the site of the Aubertine Lopes Funeral Home. A gathering of clergy and faithful assembled for the dedication of the monument on Columbus Day.

October 28, 2011

Entering the world of Alzheimer’s patients continued from page one

Palliative Care of Cape Cod (www.alzcapecod.org) with more than 20 years of experience in hospice care.

According to a 2010 report

by Karger, a medical and scientific publisher, one in seven Americans aged 70 or over has dementia, and one in three Americans aged 90 or older has dementia.

“Age is the highest risk factor for Alzheimer’s,” said McCabe.

Many scientists believe that Alzheimer’s disease results from an increase in the production or accumulation of a specific protein (beta-amyloid protein) in the brain that leads to nerve cell death. Because it is a terminal illness and has no cure, the treatment, along with certain types of medication, is to make people as comfortable as possible, said McCabe.

“We want to make sure the environment enhances their ability, not put up roadblocks.

Alzheimer’s disease is like growth and development in reverse,” said McCabe.

It is about empathy, about placing yourself in their shoes to enable more successful interactions.

“What if you couldn’t remember how you got here?

Or not recognize the people you came with? Think about walking out of this room and not knowing where you are,” challenged guest speaker Mal Allard. “Looking down at your clothes, and not recognizing what you’re wearing as your clothing; then asking, ‘Who put these clothes on me?’”

These are the day-to-day issues that those with Alzheimer’s face, said Allard, making patients mistrust caregivers, and adding to their confusion and frustration; those with Alzheimer’s are, by nature, anxious, fearful and most of all bewildered.

“If I could use one word to describe the emotions of someone with Alzheimer’s, it’s bewildered. You can see it in their face and in their eyes,” said Allard. “I try to see things in their shoes and in their hearts. That’s how we become better caregivers. We need to think about their emotions.”

Allard, a licensed practical nurse and contract trainer with the Alzheimer’s Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, began her career as a home health aid.

After becoming an LPN, she began working with those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

After becoming a director of a home, she helped develop programs to enhance the quality of life for patient’s suffering from dementia that included sensitivity training for the staff. She segued that desire to focus on the teaching facet of Alzheimer’s, and in 2003 started her own company, “Their Real World” (www.

TheirRealWorld.com).

“I just thought I could be a little tiny piece,” to help fight the stigma associated with Alzheimer’s, she said. “I fell madly in love with this population.”

Regardless whether you’re a personal caregiver or a professional, the goal is to keep your patient feeling safe, loved, wanted, worthy and content.

Both women say the best advice is to validate the patient’s feelings instead of trying to quickly smooth over the issue.

Don’t just smile, pat their back and tell them everything will be better. Allow the patient to cry, vent or yell.

“It’s hard for us to see it, but it’s OK,” said Allard. “They’re venting. Just redirect them to a positive place.”

Allard said, “Good moods are contagious. You set the scene. You want to ‘happy’ them up, that’s how you build them up. Just understand the world they live in. It’s their new world and we need to adjust to it; if they knew what they were doing was inappropriate, they wouldn’t be doing it. Alzheimer’s isn’t a choice.

Meet them, love them and enjoy them where they are.”

Allard recommended two books, “Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease” by Joanne Koenig Coste, a true story of how one woman lived through the disease as the caregiver of her husband after he was diagnosed while she was pregnant with their fourth child, and “Still Alice,” a fictional story by Lisa Genova.

Inform yourself, said Allard, because “it’s emotionally draining for caregivers, both personal and professional,” but it helps to know you’re not alone. You may grieve for who the patient used to be and who they’ve become, but that shouldn’t change how they are treated.

“There is a constant grieving,” said McCabe. “If people continue to be treated as if they don’t count, they will feel that way. Know if someone can’t say your name, know that you are in their heart.”

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October 28, 2011

Saints come alive for East Freetown parishioners continued from page one

as a biblical and historical character.”

For the first month of his stay in France, Father Degagne stayed at a hostel run by Dominican Friars in La SainteBaume, which means Holy Grotto, where St. Mary Magdalene lived. It was there he met and became friends with Frere Thomas Michelet, O.P., who had compiled a novena to St. Mary Magdelene. “With his permission, I translated the novena into English and posted it on my blog,” explained Father Degagne. “It was posted on nine consecutive days, and the St. John Neumann parishioners, including the students, prayed it.”

“I found it interesting to follow Father Degagne and what he did and where he went,” said Anthony Perry, a seventhgrader in the St. John Neumann Faith Formation program. “I also liked learning about Notre Dame Cathedral in France, how the exterior was painted a variety of colors.”

Father Degagne also visited the tomb of St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in Bologna, and of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican and Doctor of the Church in Toulouse. Father Degagne also visited the church where St. Dominic was pastor in the tiny village of Fanjeaux.

In Rome, he visited the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena at the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. “I didn’t intend to go ‘back to my Dominican roots,’” said Father Degagne who was raised in St. Anne’s Parish in Fall River, the home of many Dominican priests, Brothers and Sisters from Canada. “But being with them did bring back some good memories. The Dominican ‘flavor’ was there in their homilies. It was like listening to the homilies I heard as a child. They have an anecdotal quality to them, zeroing in on aspects of life.”

Two of the more poignant moments Father Degagne spent in the shadows of the Dominicans were making a holy hour at the tomb of St. Dominic at the same time a funeral was being celebrated for close friend Gerard Duquette at Notre Dame Church in Fall River; and celebrating Mass and preaching at the monastery at La Sainte-Baume before all of the priests there.

He also made a visit to the mountain of the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette. “I remember seeing a large map of the site in the lobby of the Retreat House at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro,” said Father Degagne. “I said to myself, ‘I will go there some day.’ I did.”

holy grounds — The Grotto of St. Mary Magdelene, above, in La Sainte-Baume, France, and the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas, in Toulouse, are just two of the pilgrimage sites visited by Father Richard E. Degagne, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, during a recent six-month sabbatical. Father Degagne brought his parishioners along with him via a daily blog on the parish website. (Photos by Father Richard E. Degagne)

Throughout his stay in France, he witnessed signs of the destruction of the French Revolution. “Much of the religious symbols and artwork were destroyed,” he said. “It’s very sad.”

Father Degagne later took along his East Freetown parishioners to the Holy Land, highlighted by visits to Nazareth, the Mount of the Beatitudes, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor (the site of the Transfiguration), Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, and Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

There was a stop in Rome that included a tour of the ancient city, meetings and classes at the North American University, a tour of Vatican Museums, and a trek to Siena and Naples.

There was no lack of interesting characters or events for Father Degagne over the six-month sabbatical. “Once, while dining at the hostel at La Sainte-Baume, I was served by what turned out to be the head of the French Foreign Legion,” he told The Anchor. “It happened that he and his wife were there to take their monthly Saturday to wait on tables for the pilgrims at the retreat center. Something they have chosen to do for some time.” Father Degagne later dined with the couple.

He also met an officer of the Legion who was in charge of the music, bands, and ceremonies on the local base. He was also the organist at a local church. Being an accomplished pianist himself, Father Degagne, “bonded with him through our

love of music.”

A three-day cooking class in Siena helped round out the journey as did a visit to the Island of Ischia in the Mediterranean to perform in concert, working with other amateur chamber musicians.

“The retreat aspect of the sabbatical was very relaxing,” Father Degagne said.

“I was able to get back into a rhythm of prayer. It was a good experience.

“I stayed in the hostel with people who were of the same faith and some who had no faith. Many of the guests are hikers not there on retreat, but they were intrigued to come into contact with a diocesan priest, especially one from America. Some questioned why I chose the life of a priest. It was a good opportunity to witness my faith. And it provided a great test to my communicating in French to them. I had no problem communicating in France, but when it comes to the specifics of the Church and the faith, I wanted to be certain I was using the correct syntax. But the French will always help you along. If you don’t know the correct word, they’ll supply it for you. Some Americans are insulted by that, but it’s not meant as an insult. I encouraged it.”

The Faith Formation students at St. John Neumann Parish no longer have to ask, “Where’s Father Rick”? They know he’s home, and thanks to a six-month European journey, they now know where saints like Mary Magdalene, Dominic, Catherine of Siena, and Thomas Aquinas spent their lives in service to Christ.

16

Youth Pages

accepting the mission — St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River recently held its 14th annual Mission Awards Celebration in recognition of four employees who have made a significant contribution to children, youth and families in their various roles within St. Vincent’s. With Bishop George W. Coleman are the Mission Award Recipients from left: Kristen Dutra, Mary Gilligan, Jennifer Crossley, and Marguerite Steele.

October 28, 2011

attentive audience — Seniors at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton recently gathered and were introduced to Mark Mainella, a longtime friend of Principal Bob Gay. Students were quickly captivated by Mainella’s exuberant personality and poignant life story of resilience and perseverance through imprisonment and destroyed relationships. His story is one of resilience and perseverance. He frequently encouraged students to look within and find their own “unique talent.” He implored them to “show respect if they want respect.” Mainella infused tidbits of his life story to illustrate his message. He concluded by telling students that, “Life can be great if you choose to be the best you can be.”

Playground of graces — Father David M. Andrade, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River, blesses the new playground at Holy Trinity School. A fund-raiser, including a memorial brick walk, helped finance the project. Father Andrade also blessed the walk way.

rich in symbolism — St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently celebrated its annual Back to School Mass celebrated by Father Richard Roy. Eighth-graders Robbie Lane and Michelle Sheehan were the altar servers. In front of the altar are representations of all aspects of school life: academics (a book), athletics (basketball), the arts (paint brushes), friendship and anti-bullying program (Power of One poster), music (bell chimes).

a grand day — Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro recently hosted its eighth annual Grandparent’s Day. More than 200 grandparents and their freshmen grandchildren attended the presentation and luncheon in their honor. Matthew Castro, center, was lucky enough to have all four grandparents attend. From left, Phil and June Robillard, Matthew, and Clara and Thomas Castro.

Youth Pages

October 28, 2011

L

ast Sunday, we celebrated “World Youth Day” in our diocese. The theme for this year’s celebration our diocesan youth convention was take from World Youth Day in Madrid this summer: “Planted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith,” chosen

by Pope Benedict XVI. In St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he uses the words of the WYD theme to admonish the Colossians to adhere to the Gospel as it was first preached to them, in the face of the threat of false teachings. He’s basically telling them to turn away from cultural trends that were influencing them and turning them away from the Gospel. Isn’t it funny, or scary, that 2,000 years later these words still resonate with us?

In his letter to the youth of the world, the Holy Father indicates that in the expression of St. Paul, “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7) “we can distinguish three images: ‘planted’ calls to mind a tree and the roots that feed it; ‘built up’ refers to the construction of a house; ‘firm’ indicates growth in physical or moral strength.”

Roots hold a tree “planted” firmly in place and provide it nourishment and water. It is not a stretch here to understand that these roots could be an analogy for our parents, other influential people in our lives, and most importantly, God. Without these strong roots, we will easily wither and

We can turn things around

building without the blueprint that fall. The seeds have been planted, God has set before us? Imagine but just as in the Gospel parable a builder just putting together a of the sower and the seed, they house without a plan. Take a mosometimes fall on rocky ground, ment to think about the blueprint or in shallow soil, or amongst the thorns and, therefore, they cannot grow and “produce fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” What is our root system like? What is feeding us? Are our roots

By Frank Lucca firmly in the ground or just below the surface, where a strong wind can you are following to build up your easily topple us? life. Will your built-up-life be For the image of “built up,” strong and sturdy or will the big the Holy Father writes, “Just as bad wolf (aka the devil) be able to the roots of a tree keep it firmly just huff and puff and easily blow planted in the soil, so the foundations of a house give it long-lasting your life down?

The final image used by St. stability. Through faith, we have Paul in the WYD theme is that been built up in Jesus Christ (cfr of “firm.” Here he is speaking Col 2:7), even as a house is built on its foundations.” Being built up of physical and moral strength.

The people to whom St. Paul was in Jesus Christ means responding writing were being influenced by positively to God’s call, trusting the culture of the day. They had in Him and putting His word into turned away from the Gospel. practice. Jesus uses the image of Today, this is still happening. Our building a house to explain this: country and our world is moving “I will show you what someone more and more toward secularis like who comes to Me, listens ism. Our moral compass is being to My words, and acts on them.

That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built” (Lk 6:47-48). How strong is our foundation? Are we building on the Word of God or are we just

Be Not Afraid

Faith Formation Ministry Convention is November 5

TAUNTON — This year’s Faith Formation Ministry Convention will be held November 5, at the Taunton Inn, 700 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, Mass.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., with Mass beginning at 9 a.m.

The first workshop and leadership track will begin at 11 a.m.

Attendees can choose from five different presenters whose presentations range in topics such as Daniel Mulhall’s, “Strengthening the bond with parents: The commitment and roles of Church and families,” which will focus on engaging children and their families in the life and mission of the Church, or Dr. James Healy’s “Marriage as an evangelizing process: 50 ways to strengthen marriage in your parish,” which will help married couples reinforce their commitment to each other by imitating the transfiguration, dying and rising of Jesus.

After a break for lunch, keynote speaker Dr. Carol Eipers will present “Tell the Good News: Is there an app for that?” Eipers has served in parish ministries for more than

17

20 years in various positions, was director of the Office for Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Chicago for nine years and served as president of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership. Her book, “Sending Out Roots: Helping Parents and Teachers to Share in the Faith” was published last year.

The final workshop and leadership track will begin at 3 p.m. Attendees can pick up where they left off from Mulhall’s presentation as he launches into the second part of his workshop, or choose from four other workshops such as Dr. Madonna Wojtaszek-Healy’s presentation, “Don’t Touch Me! (But Touch my Soul): Catechizing Kids with Asperger’s Syndrome,” that will offer tools to catechists and parents to help cater to the special needs of autistic children.

For a full list of workshops and presenters, or to register for the event, go to www. fallriverfaithformation.org. Cost is $30 per person, which includes lunch; for a parish group of five or more, the cost is $25 per person.

influenced by the negative pulls of evil, selfishness, greed and sin.

Pope Benedict puts it so well when he states, “Indeed, there is a strong current of secularist thought that aims to make God marginal in the lives of people and society by proposing and attempting to create a ‘paradise’ without Him.” In my Church History course last week, after hearing about the fall of the Roman Empire, one of my classmates whispered to me, “ I wonder when that will happen to us.” Are we heading down that same path to ruin as a society? Are we constantly taking the easy way out? Are our cultural trends eating away at the very fabric of our civilization? Is moral decay rotting the very foundation of our country and the world?

This World Youth Day’s theme, I believe, reminds our young people and us that we have the ability to turn things around. Pope Benedict gives us a very simple solution, plan, or blueprint, “Try each day to follow Christ’s word.

Listen to Him as a true friend with whom you can share your path in

life. With Him at your side, you will find courage and hope to face difficulties and problems, and even to overcome disappointments and setbacks. You are constantly being offered easier choices, but you yourselves know that these are ultimately deceptive and cannot bring you serenity and joy. Only the word of God can show us the authentic way, and only the faith we have received is the light which shines on our path.”

As Crystal shared in her article last week, the simple statement of keynote speaker, Jesse Manibusan, said it all to me at last week’s Diocesan Youth Convention. Show up, step up, step out! May we take to heart the words of St. Paul so that we can show up, step up and to step out to truly make a difference in this world. It’s up to us now!

Frank is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea; chairman and director of the YES! Retreat; director of the Christian Leadership Institute; and a husband and father of two daughters. Email: stdominicyouthministry@ comcast.net.

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The Anchor

October 28, 2011

Patriarch of Antioch visits Fall River continued from page one

iting clergy from throughout the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, to which St. Anthony of the Desert Parish belongs.

“I want to thank all the people who came from neighboring parishes to be with us today,” Patriarch Rai said. “I wish to thank His Excellency, Bishop Coleman … and all the priests who came to pray with us.

“And I want to thank you for the great things you are doing here in the United States of America. You are showing the true face of Lebanon — you are really great ambassadors to this great country.”

Having adopted as his motto “Communion and Love,” Patriarch Rai said these two words could also be considered the essence of the Catholic Church.

“The Liturgy is where we all come together as a community,” Patriarch Rai said. “It also reminds us that we are a world community, in service to each other. In order to live in communion, we also need people to help us.”

Patriarch Rai’s visit came on the heels of controversial comments he made last month about the termination of Israeli occupation in Lebanese territory and that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria would threaten the presence of Christians there. While his statements were initially met

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with opposition, it soon subsided after the Patriarch said his remarks had been taken out of context.

“The Lebanon in which he lives is divided,” said His Excellency the Most Reverend Gregory John Mansour, Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, in a recent blog posting. “It is not easy to describe these divisions as Christian/ Muslim or Sunni/Shiite — the divisions seem more like political parties and/or personalities opposed to those who think differently. One might be able to describe it as ‘every man for himself.’

“However, in the midst of this ‘winner takes all’ mentality comes a father, a patriarch, a man who prays and dreams of something greater. I hope and pray that the Maronite Church throughout the world, as well as every citizen and friend of Lebanon, will come to respect and love the wisdom of our patriarch and embrace his vision of a Maronite Church and a Lebanon in dialogue with others.”

After being elected to succeed Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir as the leader of more than three million Maronite Catholics worldwide on March 15, one of Patriarch Rai’s first duties is to visit all of the Eparchies. During this U.S. pilgrimage he was also slated to visit St.

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WELCOMING COMMITTEE — Diocesan and regional Church officials welcomed newly-elected Patriarch of Antioch Bechara Peter Rai, center, to St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River on October 18. This was the patriarch’s first visit to the United States as the spiritual leader of the Maronite Catholic Church. Pictured here, from left, is Chorbishop Joseph F. Kaddo, pastor of St. Anthony of the Desert Parish; Archbishop Paul Sayyah, Patriarchal Vicar General; His Beatitude Bechara Rai; Bishop George W. Coleman; Father Karl C. Bissinger, secretary to Bishop Coleman; and Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn. Below, the patriarch celebrates the Liturgy at St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River along with, from left, Archbishop Sayyah, Bishop Mansour, and Chorbishop Joseph F. Kaddo. (Photos by Kenneth J. Souza)

Louis, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Boston, including a meeting with U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon.

“Our parish has been very blessed to have the patriarch in our presence,” said Chorbishop Joseph F. Kaddo, pastor of St. Anthony of the Desert Parish.

“It’s the first time a patriarch has come to Fall River and it’s really a blessing. Our parishioners are elated. We were also extremely happy and blessed to have Bishop Coleman with us.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Chorbishop Kaddo was also pleased with the number of his fellow diocesan priests who attended the Liturgy and subsequent banquet held at the Venus de Milo Restaurant in Swansea in Patriarch Rai’s honor.

“Having so many of my brother priests from the diocese present meant so much to me,” Chorbishop Kaddo said. “We priests need each other in our ministries and I’m blessed everyday to have their friendship, their support and their affirmation.”

The Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic

Church, has its own hierarchy and general law. It has always maintained its communion with Rome and unity with the pope.

Its history dates back to the fifth-century Near East in the Fertile Crescent — the areas of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel.

The Maronites were founded

by St. Maron, a hermit and a holy man with many miracles attributed to his faith in God. Of the more than three million Maronite Catholics worldwide, two million are in the United States, which is separated into two Eparchies, or dioceses. The St. Maron of Brooklyn Eparchy is comprised of the six New England states, along with Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Maronites who don’t live near Maronite churches are permitted to worship in other Catholic churches while remaining members of the Maronite Church.

October 28, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

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

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds eucharistic adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. until November 18, 2011, and from January 7 to November 17, 2012.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

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

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

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

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

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street. The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the Rosary; 8 a.m. Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confession; 8 p.m. Benediction.

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

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

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The Anchor Boston’s oldest priest dies; New Bedford native

BOSTON — Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley was the principal celebrant of the funeral Mass for Msgr.

Stanislaus T. Sypek, pastor of St. Adalbert Parish in Boston’s Hyde Park section. Msgr. Sypek died on October 2 at Marian Manor in South Boston.

A native of New Bedford he was born on May 6, 1915. He was one of the four sons and one daughter of the late William and Agnes (Scierka) Sypek, both immigrants from Poland. The family moved to South Boston where he completed high school he went to St. Mary College in Michigan and returned to Boston College and St. John’s Seminary.

He was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Cross Cathedral on Jan. 6, 1943.

In 1946 he began a series of non-parish assignments that would cover almost the next 25 years of his priestly life: The greater number of the assignments was to offices of Catholic Charities, first in Boston and then in Cambridge. During this same time he obtained MSW and MA degrees at Boston College, and a doctorate at Fordham University in New York. He also taught at Boston College and Emmanuel College during these years.

Pope Paul VI named Father Sypek a Domestic Prelate (today, Prelate of Honor) on Aug. 10, 1963.

Msgr. Sypek was well known in the Polish Catholic Community in and beyond the archdiocese of Boston. And his friendship with Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, archbishop of Cracow and later Pope John Paul II was well known.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks 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 1988, Rev. William F. Gartland, CSC, Stonehill College, North Easton Rev. John F. Sullivan, SS.CC., Retired Pastor, Holy Trinity, West Harwich, 1994 Rev. Manuel T. Faria, Retired, Catholic Memorial Home, 1999 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 Nov. 3 Rev. Jose M. Bettencourt e Avila, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1988 Nov. 4 Permanent Deacon James M. O’Gara, 1990

Around the Diocese 10/29

“Jazz for the Soul” will be presented tomorrow at 7 p.m. inside St. Mary’s Cathedral parish hall, corner of Rodman and Second streets, Fall River. The show is fund-raiser concert featuring jazz standards and popular music performed by a live jazz quintet made up of faculty and alumni of the Providence College Music Department. All proceeds collected will benefit the Cathedral Music Ministry Program. For more information or reservations, email fallriverjazz@gmail.com.

11/1

Because elections will be taking place in the parish center of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, the Catholic Cancer Support Group will meet one week earlier on November 1. Note: the order of the night will be reversed, with meeting and social hour beginning at 6 p.m. and then moving to the church for the 7 p.m. All Saints’ Day Mass. All are welcome. For information call 508-771-1106 or email maryplees@comcast.net.

11/2

A prayer gathering that will include a call out of the names of deceased relatives and friends as well as the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary will take place on All Soul’s Day, November 2 at 11 a.m. in the chapel of the Father Peyton Center, North Easton. Mass for the intention of All Souls will follow at noon. For more information contact Holy Cross Family Ministries at 508-238-4095 or visit www.familyrosary.org.

11/4

Holy Cross Parish in South Easton will host its third annual Italian dinner dance fund-raiser at Easton Country Club on November 4 from 7 p.m. to midnight. Proceeds from the event will benefit parish needs and charities. For tickets or information call 508-238-4413.

11/4

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet November 4 at Good Shepherd Parish, 1598 South Main Street, Fall River. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Freddie Babiczuk, the club will have a hot meal in the church hall. Guest speaker is Ronald Correia, who is very active with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and parish soup kitchen. For more information or to make reservations call 508-672-8174.

11/4 11/5

St. Theresa’s Christmas in the Village Bazaar will be held on November 4 from 5-8:30 p.m. and November 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the church basement on 18 Baltic Street, South Attleboro.

A Day With Mary will take place November 5 from 8:50 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at St. Lawrence Church, 774 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill.

It will include a video instruction, a procession and crowning of the Blessed Mother along with Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and an opportunity for reconciliation. For more information call 508-996-8274.

11/5

St. Nicholas of Myra Parish’s Women’s Guild will host a Holiday Craft Fair on November 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 499 Spring Street in North Dighton. Free admission and parking. The Parish Life Center is handicap accessible. For more information email lauraposca@gmail.com or call 508-669-6992.

11/5

On November 5 Good Shepherd Parish, 1598 South Main Street in Fall River, will be holding its annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church hall. There will be a wide variety of juried crafters and foods. Crafters interested in renting a table can download an application at www.gsfallriver.com or call 508-678-7412.

11/5

The Women’s Guild of St. John Neumann Parish, Middleboro Road (Route 18), East Freetown, is sponsoring its Christmas Craft Bazaar on November 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and lunch will be served. For more information visit www.sjnfreetown.org.

11/5

St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street, New Bedford, is having a Holiday Fair on November 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring a full kitchen, crafts, bake table, white elephant table, Chinese Auction and much more. For more information call 508-942-5031.

11/5

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Rivet Street, in New Bedford is hosting a Harvest Fest November 5 in the church hall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will include a bake sale, handmade crafts, children’s games, face painting, and a Chinese auction. Proceeds will benefit Donovan House, Transitional Living for Women with Children.

11/6

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth is hosting an open house on November 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. Prospective students and their parents are invited to meet current faculty, students, parents, administrators, club moderators and coaches at Bishop Stang. The event will include faculty presentations, student-guided tours and refreshments, and provide information about Bishop Stang. For information call 508-996-5602.

11/6 11/6

Our Lady of Fatima Church, 4256 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, is having its annual Harvest Fair November 6 from 8:30 to 5 p.m. For more information call 508-999-7351.

St. Mary’s Catholic School, 330 Pratt Street, Mansfield, will host an open house on November 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. Families are invited to tour the school, meet students and staff while gathering enrollment information. For information call 508-339-4800 or visit www.stmarymansschool.org.

11/7

Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton will host a meet and greet reception for prospective parents on November 7 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.; an open house on November 13 from 1 to 4 p.m.; and a mini open house on November 14 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For information call 508-823-6164.

11/10

“Sounds and Images,” an evening of chamber music, will be held November 10 at St. John Neumann Parish, Middleboro Road (Route 18), East Freetown at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and a free-will offering will be accepted. For more information call 508-763-2240 or visit www.sjnfreetown.org.

11/13

The Women’s Guild of Holy Trinity Parish, Fall River, will host a Fall Penny Sale on November 13 at 1 p.m. in the church hall, located on Stafford Road and Tucker Street. Lunch will be available. For more information call 508-678-6941.

11/13

St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish, 51 Duncan Street, New Bedford will be hosting its sixth annual Craft Fair on November 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. including a variety of craft booths, raffles, entertainment and a full kitchen menu. For more information call 508-995-5235.

11/19

A meeting of the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will be held November 19 at St. Mary’s Parish, Tarkiln Hill Road, New Bedford. Registration and coffee will begin at 9:30 a.m.

The meeting will start at 10 a.m. Diane Bolton, head of the Baby Project of New Bedford, will be the speaker. For information call 508-672-6900.

20

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The Anchor

October 28, 2011

These critters are just nuts about winter

here are no lack of winter weather predictions out there. Depending on what source one considers reliable, we in Southeastern Massachusetts are in for a cold, snowy winter, or a mild, dry winter. Sounds like a typical weather forecast on local TV if you ask me.

I prefer to place my trust in something more intelligent than mankind and computers: squirrels.

Squirrels, and their weather prognostication skills, are found in many pages of local folklore, even the noble Farmer’s Almanac. One such reference says, “Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry, will cause snow to gather in a hurry.” If that’s the case, we’re in for one doozy of winter.

Over the past month, my five-minute,

By Dave Jolivet two-mile journey to work has become more of a video game than a relaxing drive. Following the old “Frogger” format, bushy-tailed creatures scurry across the street at the rate of at least three per city block. I find myself constantly glancing in my rear-view mirror to calculate how much time I have to hit the brakes when the next “frog” hops by. Unfortunately, the road is often dotted with the remains of those that didn’t make it to the other side.

One day, while Emilie and I were on the road, one squirrel actually challenged me, stopping in front of my car, not moving and looking right in our eyes. I chickened-out and drove around it admiring its courage but lamenting its common sense. The next driver may not be so giving.

Pulling into The Anchor driveway, one can find upwards of a dozen of the critters, with acorn in hand, relaxed on hind legs with a “Can I help you?” look on its mug. Several visitors to the office have commented on our prolific squirrel population. I tell them it’s because the employees here give off the aura of St. Francis. They know it’s really because of the many big old oak trees gracing the Anchor landscape.

After a ride home filled with swerves and sudden stops, I find no less of a squirrel presence at the old abode. Our property is surrounded by meal-producing oak trees, consequently there’s a constant convention of nut-gatherers.

When I take Igor outside, I often do so barefooted, even well into the fall season. But once the squirrels start to punch their meal tickets, the lawn is littered with acorn shells. That makes a walk with the dog look more like a bad act on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Usually Iggy enjoys barking at the little fur balls, but this year, there are so many of them, she simply gives them a one-eye-ball glance and

My View From the Stands

continues sniffing out every blade of grass on the lot.

Based on my “Squirrels, squirrels everywhere” observations, I’m going to take heed and prepare for the white stuff that will “gather in a hurry.”

Like my chubby-cheeked friends, I’m going to prepare my nest for a long, cold and snowy winter.

I must also be sure to stock up on nuts ... and chips and Doritos and pretzels and soda. What good is watching football in a snowstorm without the essentials. That’s providing there’s power. Hmmm, maybe a generator might be in order. I can probably convince Denise that it would be to keep our perishables from spoiling. She’ll never suspect it’s to ensure an uninterrupted season of college football on Saturdays

and NFL football on Sundays and Mondays.

Some may find squirrels to be mere pests, but to me they’re an example of preparedness ... and a lot more reliable than weather channels.