11.09.07

Mansfield faithful spiritually adopt at-risk unborn children

By MATT McDoNALD ANCHOR STAFF

MANSFIELD ~ Twenty-eight years ago Mary Hughes lost a baby six weeks after he was born. Now she has another one with the same name, Matthew, whom she spiritu, ally adopted last month.

There are 405 people at St. Mary's Parish in Mansfield who have promised to pray every day for an unborn child at risk of being aborted, through a program Hughes and other members of the parish's Respect Life Committee have organized.

The people filled out pledgecards and "adoption certificates" after Sunday Masses starting October 6 and 7, the first weekend of Respect Life Month.

The idea is for the people to pray every day for a baby conceived in October until the date that child would likely be born, in July 2008.

Hughes, asked why, said: "Just to educate people that children are in danger of abortion, and the power of prayer. Prayer is powerful. If you just pray every day, you may save

this child.You'll never know them.

Maybe on the day you meet your maker you'll find out."

St. Mary's also held a Respect Life Mass and a holy hour for the dignity of all life in October, and gave special attention to unborn babies in a book of prayer intentions kept at the back of the church, said Father Thomas Costa, a parochial vicar at the parish.

This is the third time in the last several years the parish has sponsored a spiritual adoption program, which originated elsewhere and can be found in other parts of the country.

The last time was a few years ago. For some it stuck, as organizers found out when they asked people to sign up as they were leaving Mass last month.

"Some ofthem pulled their cards out from last time and said T m still praying,'" Hughes said.

The continuing nature of both the program and the struggle for life emphasizes the need for perseverance.

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GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT - Diocesan youth react to the music at last weekend's Catholic Youth Convention at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. The event, hosted by the diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry office was coordinated by Christian Leadership Institute graduates.

(Photo by Brian Kennedy)

Spirited Youth Convention -rocks Bishop Stang High

By BRIAN KENNEDY ANCHOR STAFF

NORTH DARTMOUTH - Hundreds of diocesan high school students wore their enthusiastic faith on their sleeves as they gathered October 28 for the annual Youth Convention at Bishop Stang High School.

Keynote speaker Bernie Choiniere, who is part of the Catholic. Music Ministry and a regular guest on

Catholic TV in Boston, began his address on a high note with a jam session. .

After rousing rounds of "Yes, Lord," "Lord I Lift Your Name on High," and "Awesome God" there was an interlude with an amusing contest - eating a ba路nana through nylon stockings.

It pitted Frank Lucca, a youth minister representTum to page 11 - Rock

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ALIVE AND KICKING - A poster of a fetus developing in the womb. displayed at the main entrance to the St. Mary's Church in Mansfield was helpful in getting the message across about what a product of conception is. More than 400 parishioners have committed to praying for unborn children at risk of falling prey' to abortion. (Photo by Matt McDonald.)

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - Red Sox fever swept 5S. Peter and Paul School. On Hero Day students and staff. proudly wore Boston Red Sox shirts and caps in honor of their home team's quest for another World Series title. A diehard Red Sox fan, school secretary Colleen Laliberte (front, right) wore a sequined crown and a sash declaring her "Queen of Red Sox Nation." From left, front row, Grade-six teacher Kathryn McCaughey and Laliberte; second row: Nicholas Reis, Benjamin Medeiros, Zachary Roussel, Catherine Bruneau, and Jenna-Mae Malenfant; third row: Aaron Ayers, T. J. Roussel, Kyle Humphreys, Ryan Arruda, and William Medeiros; and fourth row: Jessica Dumont, Lauren Houson, Kaitlynn Botelho, Sarah Mello, and Brandon Arruda..

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NEWS FROM' THE VATICAN

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9,2007

Possibility of dialogue between Christians, Muslims debated

By CINDY WOODEN CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY - After 138 Muslim scholars wrote to top Christian leaders highlighting shared religious values as a basis for working together for peace and understanding, a Vatican official raised questions about the possibilities for dialogue with Muslims.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the longtime Vatican diplomat who became president ofthe Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in September, has said the Vatican would respond formally to the Muslim scholars. But he raised concerns among the Muslim signers when he told a French Catholic newspaper he was not sure "theological dialogue'~ was possible with Muslims.

The newspaper, La Croix, asked the cardinal if theological dialogue was possible with members of other religions. ''With some religions, yes," he said.

"But with Islam, no, not at this time.

Muslims do not accept the possibility of discussing the Quran, because it is written, they say, as dictated by God. ''With such a strict interpretation, it is difficult to discuss the content of faith," he said in the interview published October 18.

Aref Ali Nayed, one of the original signers of the letter and senior adviser to the Cambridge Interfaith Program at Britain's Cambridge Univer- sity divinity faculty, told Catholic News Service, "Cardinal Tauran's statement to La Croix was very disappointing indeed."

Nayed, who has taught at the Pon_ tifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, said the cardinal's comment "deeply discouraged Muslim scholars and annoyed many Muslim believers at the grass-roots level."

"Rather than-unilaterally declaring the impossibility of theological dialogue with Muslims, Cardinal Tauran would have been wiser to ask Muslim scholars themselves as to what kind of dialogue they feel is possible, from

their point of view," Nayed said in a written response to questions.

"Solemn belief in the eternity and divine authorship of the Quran never preventedMuslim schQlars from dealing with it historically and linguistically," he said. "On the contrary, beliefin the revelatory truth ofthe Quran was the very motivation for spending lifetimes in close scholarly study of God's discourse." ''If religious, revelation-based communities are to truly contribute to humanity, their dialogue must be ultimately theologically and spiritually grounded," Nayed said. ''If dialogue is to be serious, it must be theologically and spiritually deep."

Jesuit Father Daniel A. Madigan, international visiting fellow at the Woodstock Theological Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, told CNS that many Christians misunderstand how Muslims view the Quran, leading to a widespread prejudice that ,assumes "Muslims are unwilling or incapable ofinterpreting the Quran." ' The truth is that ''there is a very extensive Muslim literature of Quran interpretation, both traditional and contemporary," said Father Madigan, who serves as aconsultant to the commission for relations with Muslims at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. ''Any !let of reading is an act of interpretation: Some Muslims read the Quran as warrantin~ violence, while others do not interpret it that way," he said. "Some think it requires the seclusion of women; many others disagree.

"The fact that there are different interpreta;tions is a starting point for dialogue," Father Madigan said.

The Jesuit said the basis for theological dialogue with Muslims was affirmed by the SecondVatican Council in its document on relations with other religions and in the Dogmatic Constituti,onon the Church, which said Christian,s and Muslims "adore the one, merciful God:'

Vatican official: Christians must try to end death p,enalty, torture VATICAN CITY (CNS) -Christians must work for the abolition of the death penalty and all forms of torture, said Cardinal Renato Martino, president ofthe Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

"Christians are called to cooperate for the defense of human rights and for the abolition of the death penalty, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment" both in wartime and in times of peace, the cardinal said. .

'These practices are grave crimes against the human person created in the image of God and a scandal for the human family in the 21 st century," he said.

In a recent press release, the cardinal's office said he made his state-

ments during a meeting with Sylvie Bukhari-de Pontual, president of the International Federation ofAction by Christians for the Abolition ofTorture.

The Rome-based Sant'Egidio Commwiity and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty announced October 30 that they would present to the president of the U.N. General Assembly five million signatures on a petition calling for a worldwide moratorium on capital executions.

Rep~sentatives ofthe Catholic lay community, St. Joseph Sister Helen Prejean ahd other activists working to end the death penalty are scheduled to hand over the petitions November 2 to Srgjan Kerim, president of the general assembly.

SPECIAL REMEMBRANCE - Spanish students hold portraits of clergy members killed during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War during the beatification ceremony for 498 martyrs at the Vatican October 28. (CNS photo/Chris Helgren, Reuters)

Pope prays example of beatified Spaniards will spur reconciliation

By CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY - Just minutes before Pope Benedict XVI prayed that the example of newly beatified Spanish martyrs would spur Catholics to work for reconciliation and peaceful coexistence, a small fight broke out across town in front of a church run by Opus Dei. At his noon Angelus address October 28, the pope said the 498 martyrs beatified in St. Peter's Square that morning were "heroic witnesses of the faith who, moved exclusively by love for Christ, paid with their blood for their fidelity to him and his Church."

The new martyrs were killed during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War by supporters of the Spanish revolutionary government.

Opposing the government was the fascist National Movement led by Gen. Francisco Franco.

Most Spanish Church leaders supported Franco during the 1930s because of the anti-clerical policies of the revolutionary government.

Pope Benedict, addressing the estimated 30,000 pilgrims gathered at the Vatican for the beatification, said he hoped the martyrs' "words and gestures of forgiveness toward their persecutors" would lead Christians today to "worked tirelessly for mercy, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence."

As the Vatican beatification Mass was ending, a group of young Roman leftists, calling

themselves the "Militants," marched in front of Rome's Basilica of St. Eugene, a church entrusted to the care'of Prelature of Opus Dei, the predominantly lay move~ent founded in Spain.

The protesters carried a banner that read, "One who has killed, tortured and exploited cannot be beatified." They also carried a large copy of Pablo Picasso's antiw~ painting, "Guernica."

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that a scuffle broke out when several parishioners tried to confiscate the banner and painting. Police were called to ~reak up the confrontation. ' Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, presided over the Mass and beatification of the 498, who included bishops, priests, nuns, seminarians and laypeople killed in 1934, 1936 and 1937 in different cities of Spain.

In an October 28 Vatican Ra-

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dio interview, the cardinal said the atmosphere in Spain in the 1930s was clearly anti-clerical. .

The cardinal said the Republicans' "hatred of the faith ... inspired and pushed them to try to silence the Church once and for all."

Presiding October 29 over a thanksgiving Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, said the martyrs' "existence certainly speaks to us of faith, strength, generous courage and ardent charity in the face of a culture that sometimes tries to marginalize or scorn the moral and human values the Gospel teaches us."

"These martyrs have not been proposed fo.r veneration by the people of God for political reasons nor in a struggle against whomever, but because they offered their existence as a witness of love for Christ," Cardinal Bertone said.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 51, No. 43

Member: Catholic Press Association. Catholic News Service

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 - FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchomews.org. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $14.00 per year. send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address PUBLISHER路 Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry tatherrogerlandry@anchomews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet daveJolivet@anchornews.org NEWS EDITOR Deacon James N. Dunbar Jlmdunbar@anchornew8.org REPORTER Matt McDonald mattmcdonald@anchomews.org REPORTER Brian Kennedy brlankennedy@anchornews.org OFACE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornew8.org

Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherrogerlandry@anchomews.ot'g POS1MASTERS send address changes to The AnchOt', P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.

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

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9,2007

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Catholics,' Muslims call for peace and reconciliation in Lebanon . BEIRUT, Lebanon II路(CNS) Lebanon's Catholic and Muslim leaders met at the compound of a prominent Marian shrine and calledfor unity I' amid the tumultuous poli~cal situation in their country. ''The unity toward which we aspire as believers and that we aim to live as citizens is a unity t9at comes to us from God, the one, wl1p created us as one soul. It is accepting others as being part ofour personal identity, our spiritual itinerary and ournational life;' the religious leaders said lat their October 27 meeting.

They called for pmyers for reconciliation, brotherhood and spiritual solidarity and condernned,all violence that threatens unity and peftce, particularly in Lebanon.

'We aim that our national life be the sincere expression ofthis commitment carried out in conformity with our social culture and palriotic message based on unity and Peace;' they said.

"For unity does not mean melting or fusing, nor does it aim at eliminating specificity of personsl!or communities; it is not the victory, of an opinion or group and the defeat ofthe other or its marginalization," the statement said.

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COMMON DENOMINATOR - Father Ivan Bernal from Agua Prieta, Mexico, holds up the host as he concelebrates Mass with Father Bob Carney of Tucson, Ariz., along the border wall in Nogales, Mexico, October 21. The Mass capped off a three-day weekend event October 19-21, during which young Catholics from the dioceses of Tucson and Phoenix and the Archdiocese of Hermosillo" Mexico, learned about immigration from each other. (CNS photo/J.D. Long-Garcia, Catholic Sun)

Young U.S., Mexican Catholics find unity at retreat on border

By J.D. LONG-GARCIA CATHOLIC NEWS,SERVICE

NOGALES, Mexico - The teens and young adults who filed off buses for Mass along the U.S.Mexico border confronted the wall that separates the two countries.

While others see division, they saw unity.

The 100 or so young Catholics, who came together in 'Nogales for an educational retreat October 1921 at Casa Misericordia, saw artists' renderings of hope and fear painted on the border barrier.

One mural depicted an immigrant caught by a Border Patrol agent while illegally crossing the border. Above the image, someone had written in Spanish, "Live to be free. Die to stop being a slave."

Other metallic images, called "milagros," hung from the wall: caricatures of hands, coyotes, skulls and dollar signs.

The teens and young adults, from the Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., dioceses and the Archdiocese of Hermosillo saw these images in a different light after they spent time together.

The weekend experience, which grew out a partnership between the three dioceses and Catholic Relief Services called "Diocese Without Borders," helped Catholics from the United States and Mexico get to know each other.

"You could feel the excitement.

You could tell they wanted to be there," said Jose Robles, director of Hispanic ministry for the Diocese of Phoenix. "They were showing a lot of respect for each other."

This is the second stage of an ongoing project that the Phoenix diocesan Office of Peace and Justice began in 2005. The first stage

was a series of three immersio.n experiences with youths in each diocese.

"We can decide to go places and talk about what we did here," Tricia'Hoyt, the office's director, told the group.

While many of the participants were bilingual, others communicated in broken English or Spanish.

On the morning of October 20, the group watched "Dying to Live," a documentary about why immigrants leave their native land and what hardships they suffer on their journey.

The young Catholics then examined newspapers and magazines for other "borders," or social divisions. The group then discussed what values they had in common and where they differed.

Erica Dahl-Bredine from CRS, the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency, spoke about the economics of immigration, explaining that the structures in place in the U.S. and Mexico predate the currerit immigration situation.

"The U.S. has to play an important part in the economic growth of both countries," said Ignacio Rodriguez, associate director of the of the Office of Ethnic Ministries for the Phoenix Diocese: The weekend was an eyeopener for Gerardo Ramos, a teen from San Felipe de Jesus Parish in Nogales, Ariz. "I didn't know some of the' things immigrants have to struggle with to get here," he said, referring to those who cross into the United States illegally. "A lot of them don't make it."

CRS' Marcos Martinez said, "We need to get to know our broth-

ers and sisters on either side ofthe border. The youth are more open to it."

By listening to each other's stories, "we realize that we are one human' family," Martinez said.

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conference center on the grounds of the shrine ofOur Lady of Lebanon in Harissa for the interfaith meeting, ''Together Toward Unity and Peace." It was sponsored by Adyan, the Lebanese Foundation for Interfaith and Spiritual Solidarity. "Adyan" is the Arabic word for religions.

Lebanon's three main Muslim communities - Shiite, Sunni and Druze - were represented at the gathering, as were Lebanon's four main Catholic rites - Maronite, Melkite, Armenian and Latin.

The religious leaders' statement said the "gathering is also aconfirmation that the reality ofChristian and Muslim c0existence in Lebanon is a commitment that we carry with joy and faith, and that we would not accept to exchange for any other formula" Faith reminds people "that peace that comes from God requires refraining from all kinds of violence in speech, thought or action, individually or collectively, as well as taking distance from egoism that aims at achiev- . ing personal or confessional interests;' it said. ''Fmally, our gathering comes as an expression of our awareness that we are, in front of God, responsible for one another as well as for our national mission;' the statement said.

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Deep down inside,you know you want expert orthopedic care.

When it Comes to expert care of your bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, look no farther than the Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, The Center's orthopedic surgeons, Drs. Joseph Noonan, Amy Abbot and Shawn Mills, and orthopedic specialist Dr. James leffers provide comprehensive orthopedic care for patients of all ages, Their bone and joint expertise includes acute care and surgical orthopedics of the leg, arm, shoulder and spine. Their skill also includes extensive training and experience in the area of sports medicine and evaluation and treatment of sports-related injuries and conditions.

The <renter for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine utilizes advanced diagnostic and treatmenttechnologies, inclu9ing on-site digital X-ray provided by Saint Anne's Hospital. The staff provides 24-hour-a-day emergency roorrl and surgical coverage at saint Anne's and works closely, too, with saint Anne's Rehabilitation Services to help get you back on your feet We ak now accepting new patients and most major insurances are accepted, and we are conveniently locat~d off 1-195. So, when it comes to comprehensive care of your bones, expert orthopedic care is just a phonE? call away.

For n10re information, call the Center for Orthopedics and ~ports Medicine at 508-235-5782. "

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Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine 191 Bedford Street, 4th floor, Fall River, MA 02720, 508.235.5782 II

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9, 2007

National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved offers training, resources

RIBBONS OF HOPE - Kathleen Green slips a memorial ribbon through a cross while participating in a workshop during a bereavement conference at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, N.Y., in March. The event featured lectures and workshOps for people who are grieving and those who minister to them. (eNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

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Saints Peter and Paul School

Holiday Shopping I~- Extravaganza --*

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Saturday, November 17, 2007 ~ 9:30 a.m•.. :. 5:30 p.m.

Saints Peter and Paul School 240 Dover Street, Fall River, Mass.

- Over 30 Vendors and Crafters FREE ADMISSION

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ST. PADRE PIO MASS Saturday, November 17, 2007 Saint Mary Parish 130 South Street Wrentham, MA 02093 _ Tel. 508-384-7969

Website: www.sbnaryswrentbam.orglppio/ppio.hbn

11:00 am--..Eucharistic Adoration Chaplet-o~ Divine Mercy In:temational Rosary . 12:00 Noon Celebration ofthe Holy Mass The following will also beoffered: Sacrament ofAnointing ... Veneration ofRelics Presentation by our guest speaker Andrea Cerra, mother ofStephani who was healed through the intercession ofSt. Pio Video ofSt. Pia's Life· ... Prayer books will be distributed Light Refreshments

"I have not seen anything like ST. LOUIS (CNS) - Since it bishops and defines and provides moved its headquarters to St. Louis guidelines for the rites of passage that at all," she said. ''They all have a say in what the funeral will be more than three years ago, the Na- . from death to eternal life. tional Catholic Ministry to the BeIt includes four parts: the vigil like."

Through the use of the ministry's reaved has been c'ontinually ex- for the deceased and related rites, panding its presence across the the transfer of the body to the training manual and participant country and beyond. church, the funeral Mass or liturgy workbook, those who work in beThe organization has members . outside of Mass and the Rite of .reavement ministry can train oth- dioceses, other groups or indi- Committal. ers. Cost for the training manual, . Also offered is a ministry ofcon- which was updated last year, is $85. viduals - in 40 states, Canada and Guam, many of whom have been solation training program for be- The participant workbook is $40. trained in bereavement ministry, ac- reavement ministers. It follows a The ministry also offers an oncording to executive director Sister "training-the-trainer" format, which site training service. Since January Mary Ann Wachtel. allows those who have been through 2007, Sister Mary Ann said, the "We're certainly beconling a lot the program to teach others what staff will have performed 24 trainmore solid," said Sister Mary Ann, they have learned. Participants re- ing sessions so far this year.

Brochures on a variety of topics a member of the Sisters of Chris- ceive a certificate upon completion.

Sister Mary Ann noted tj}ilt the related to grief ministry - from the tian Community.

"We have strong diocesan cen- training program also gives her or- Catholic death ritual to coping with ters," such as the Paterson and Tren- ganization a chance to see trends in the lost of a child to the ins and outs ton, N.J., dioceses and the Archdio- bereavement ministry in different of grief support groups - are pubcese of Newark, N.J., she told the geographical locations and cultures. lished throughout the year. Copies In September, for example, a train- cost 30 or 35 cents apiece, dependSt. Louis Review, the archdiocesan newspaper. "Our team does not have ing conference was held in the Dio- ing on the topic. to go there to train there anymore." cese of Grand Rapids, Mich.; 110 Several new brochures are slated Founded in 1990, the National people from 37 parishes and other for release in 2008. 'TItles, which will Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved groups attended. In preparation for cost $1 each, inclu~e: "Suicide: offers pastoral and spiritual support the conference, the diocese surveyed Most Misunderstood ofAll Deaths"; to the bereaved, caregivers, agen- its 103 parishes to learn what they "Grief and Depression: Transformcies, congregations, dioceses and were offering to the bereaved. ing the Experience of Loss"; and others through education and reOf the 84 parishes that re- "Grief in the Workplace." The minsources. Its offices are in the Maria sponded, more than half said they istry also is working on brochures Center on the campus of the School provided a ministry of preparation that address cremation and children Sisters of Notre Dame motherhouse for the dying, in which families of and the grieving process.

More information about the the dying person - and in some in Lemay.

Sister Mary Ann said that the cases, the dying person, too - are National Catlwlic Ministry to the foundation of the ministry is to fol- formally guided in planning the fu- Bereaved is available by calling low the Order of Christian Funer- neral Mass and other rites surround- call (314) 638-2638 or visiting the Website, www.griefworlc.org. als, which was developed by U.S. ing the death.

Portland parishes, schools will become separate legal entities PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) - The Archdiocese of Portland has begun work on restructuring itself under civil law.

After a consultation process, parishes and archdiocesan high schools will be organized into separate legal entities, though they will clearly still be part of the archdiocesan family.

The restructuring is part of the financial reorganization plan Church leaders submitted in U.S. bankruptcy court. In April a federal judge approved the plan arid a $75 million settlement of clergy sexual abuse claims.

In a letter sent to parishioners in,September, Archbishop John G. Vlazny said the step aims to organize parishes and schools under civil law in a way that ''best mirrors the governance model of Church law" and to clarify that assets of parishes are separate from those of the archdiocese.

The court-approved plan may include abandonment of the corporation-sole model, a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office.

Many religious groups have used that section of old English law to allow legal powers to pass smoothly from one holder of high office to the next; in the archdiocese's case it was the office of archbishop.

But, as Archbishop Vlazny told parishioners, the structure caused confusion that prolonged the bankruptcy and "diminished our financial resources significantly."

Citing the corporation-sole structure, lawyers for plaintiffs with clergy sexual abuse claims pressed to have parish and school property counted as part of the archdiocese's estate for th~ bankruptcy process.

Since filing for bankruptcy protection in July 2004, the archdiocese said that if it held any parish or school property, it was held in trust for the benefit of the parish'

or school, as canon law requires.

Church law holds that parish assets belong to the parishes. Those accusing priests of abuse and the archdiocese reached an agreement on payments before parish ownership was finally settled in court. Restructuring will make the point irrelevant.

Archbishop Vlazny has appointed an advisory group to recommend a new legal structure for parishes. The group includes parishioners, priest leaders, legal advisers and members of the archdiocese's finance council.

Chairing the committee is Father Dennis O'Donovan, vicar general.

"I am quite confident that there will be adequate input from various perspectives and that the views of our parishioners will be effectively presented," the archbishop wrote in a letter that also included thanks for parishioners for their "cooperation and patience" during the bankruptcy.

Doug Pahl, an attorney and member of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Oswego, represented a committee of parishioners during the bankruptcy proceedings. The group will be part of the consultation process in the restructuring, which Pahl said he appreciates. ''We are trying to learn lessons from bankruptcy process," he told the Catholic Sentinel, the archdiocesan newspaper. "You want to learn as much as you can. My hope is that the restructuring process is just one part of what we learn."

A separate group will be considering the structure of the three archdiocesan high schools.

Recommendations are due by early December and Archbishop Vlazny intends to make a decision by the end of the year. Possibilities include charitable trusts, endowments and nonprofit religious corporations.

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Miller apologizes for its logo on poster parodying 'The Last Supper' . By

DAN MORRiS-YOUNG CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SAN FRANCISCO - Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co:has issued a formal apology for "the offense caused by the use of Miller brand logos on a poster promoting the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco with an irreverent take on Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper.".

In an statement the company said it completed "an exhaust~ve audit of its marketing procedures for approving local. marketing aqd sales sponsorships" and will tighten "compliance .procedures," to ensure such an incident will not happen again. .

The New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and other Christian groups expressed outrage over th~ poster, which hl;ld what critics. described as a sadomasochistic theme. It carried the Miller trademark as well as those of other sponsors of the September 30 event.

A center figure in the poster is a muscled, shirtless man flanked by men and women in leather fetishistic garb, some in flowing wigs and in poses echoillg da Vinci's mural. The table is' strewn with sex toys.

In an October 29 statement, the CathollcLeague: which has called for a boycott of Miller products, said the apology was inadequate because it is limited to the use of its logo, and was not an apology "for the anti-Catholic nature ofthe event itself." The league has said it would drop the boycott if the company "pledges not to sponsor another anti-Catholic event." .

The league said its objections go beyond the poster, repeating its criticism that "sacred symbols were sold as sex toys at the Millersponsored event, a stripper arid a man dressed as Jesus were hoisted

in cages above a Catholic church serious mistake," the release stated.

WORLD MISSIONS In its release, Milier Brewing on a Sunday, l;lnd men mocked nuns in: the street." t> quoted Andy Cooper, Folsom The fair is one of four annual Street Events' board president, as "fetish events" in San Francisco saying the company "was never afproduced by Folsom Street Events forded the oppOI1unity to 'review to support local charities serving our fair poster before it was printed (~O(} (~OOD the gay, lesbian, bisexual and and'distributed. The approval was i' transgender communities. made by a third party without PF.OPLE .F.\v'S In ·its statement Miller said it Miller~s knowledge and consent."

'1 would like to apologize to any-' "received assurances from its 10cal distributor in San Francisco and one who felt that the image was disfrom'Folsom Street Events that fu- respectful to their religious beliefs. ture marketing materials and event No malicious intent was involved," (;OOD activities will fully comply with Copper is quoted as saying.

Miller:s ,marketing policies and In ,addition to its public apolWORK proc~aures." . ogy, Green said Miller Brewing "We do not have a sponsorship sent individual letters of apology contract with Folsom Street to Archbishop' George H. Events. The sponsorship is through Niederauer of San Francisco, Now doing a good deed every day can hl' an independent Miller distribu'tor," Archbishop Timotpy M. Dolan of as <:as)' as buying grnn,ries or Ill1ing up tND~Dl\fi5Sl0;llS company spokesman Julian Green Milwaukee and Chaldean Catho',]' '" your gas tmk.

I' told Catholic San Francisco, the lic Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim of ~OOIJ 12ill!ib7!1'l1J12 With tht· World Miosions Visa" credit (1ml, archdiocesan newspaper, when Detroit. A number of Ghaldeanr=oCtMO. =~' VISA a donation of I % of every purcha<e will he i qDllJtllA!!!.~, asked if Miller plans to be a owned businesses have joined in made tu tn... Soci...ty t~,r cne I'r,'pag-Jtion llf Folsom Street Fair sponsor in the the boycott, according to the ~hllW )'llut "'ppnrt. Appll' Illthy. the Faith. whkh hclp~ .over 1,1')0 Ca!hnlic www.worldmjssionsvisa.com future.

Catholic League's Website. mi"sioll dioteses aroUl~ ch" world. , In the future the distributor Archbishop Dolan and his,somust "ensl,lre that the future use of cial justice office staff ~oped to our trademarks, as well as our as- have "firsthand conversations" ~ lite St',i<'lJl!o;THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH sociation with activities at Folsom with Miller officials"so the Church 1:f' ... 11 PWltififrlJ Mis<i"" S". irl~ Street Events, is in full compliance officials could both "express our RIm. Nfbgr.. john F. Kq;mr, ,"'ali",,"1 /)""1,,, with our m~keting codes and does serious concerns" and hear directly 366 FIfth A.'.-nIle • 12/2/503-117"" r800,4.H<!22:!

Nro· "i",k. .\'Y 100/IJ not actively disrespect other froin Miller executives rather than groups," he said. " b a s e decisions or comments "on "The local distributor, Green what other people might be pre! 'or UU:U'c 11lfufluatinn ahmtt (uHf Mi'i~ion:-.; In Jonah' Jm:erl~ tu dll' l'UK.ld): said, has supported the Folsom senting or saying," said Kathleen www.givetothemi.!Io\ion\.org www.wotl<lmis.il.l1S.CIltholffllurclt.l.rg Hohl, Milwaukee 'archdiocesan di.Street Fair fOf seven years. !

"We deeply regret that we did rector of communications. not adhere to our own policies with regard"to the Folsom Street Fair,'" said Nehl Horton, Miller's senior . vice president, in the company's statement. "We apologize to everyone we offended as a result. We hope people will forgive us for this serious error and have confidence we will not,repeat it."

"Miller did not have the opportunity to review or' approve the Folsoql Street Fair poster, but ac: .

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Spiritual director in Rome named auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee

By CATHOLIC

NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - The spiritual director at the North Ameri~an College in Rome has been named auxiliary bishop of Milw~ukee by Pope Benedict XVI. Conventual Francisc'an Father William P. Callahan, will be (eturning t6 Milwaukee, where he was rector and pastor of St. Josaphat Basilica from 1994 to 2005.

The announcement was made in Washington October 30 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Born in Chicago, Bishop-designate Callahan, 57, held pastoral assignments as an associate pastor and pastor before he was named to serve St. Josaphat Basilica. After his.

April 30; 1977, ordination, his first assignment was as associate pastor there. . .

F~om 1978-84 he was director of vocations fo~ his order's St. ·Bonaventure Province. . After graduating from St. Mary Minor Seminary in Crystal Lake, Ill., in 1968, he attended junior college in Chicago for a year. He continued his education at the Chicago Franciscans', St. Bonaventure novi. tiate in Lake Forest, Ill., 1969:70; .Jesuit-run Loyola University in 'Chicago', 1970-73; and St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, 1973-76.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese is headed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan.

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"$ The Anchor'

6

The Christian response to the 'Post-Christian'moment Many ~Q(lay in the Church are grappling with the consequences of a massiveparadigm shift in the relationship between faith and society and between churches and government. In many parts of western Europe and the United States, in the span of only two generations, popular culture has shifted from viewing religious practice as a great blessing to perceiving it as a curse. Legislatures, court systems and public school systems that formerly were hap~ pily cooperative with churches for their work in forming good and law abiding citizens and caring for the poor and marginalized have, in many places, become hostile.

The capacity of the ChUrch, both faithful and clergy, to serve as the salt, light and'leaven of their societies has dramatically waned, as evidenced by the failure ofthe faithful in places even with a statistical majoritY ofCatholics from stopping pushes to create and destroy embryonic human beings for medical research or to redefine marriage to make it a husband-less or wifeless institution. , ' This sudden seismic shift in the culture-has led many to conclude that we _ are living in ~ "post-Christian" moment, where the Church's glory days are past tense, not future. Some wonder whether all efforts at re-evangelization, _therefore, will prove to be nothing more than shifting deck chairs on sinking luxury liners, or at most small 11th-hour battle victories in what seems a lost war. If the Church cannot even get Catholics to tome to Mass itllarge numbers, how can she possibly hope to transform society?

Into this conversation has entered a prophetic voice from the Rocky Mountains, that of the Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, OFM Cap. In -a series of recent speeches, both in Australia and in the United States, he has been answering this question head-on, and, with the help of history, charting a path for the Church ahead.

He first has been seeking to illustrate how the "post-Christian" world "morally, intellectually, spiritually and even demographically" is ''uncomfortably similar"_to the "pre-Christian moment," the world the first Christians faced after Jesus' ascension..

Drawing on the scholarly work of Rodney Stark, an agnostic sociologist . 'at Baylor University who has written a fascinating book called ''The Rise of Christianity," Archbishop Chaput describes how the Greco-Roman world at the time ofChrist was advanced in arts and science, had a complex economy and strong military, and featUred various religions that mainly were practiced privately or in pro~forma civic ceremonies. But as society began to prosper, several problems began to ensue that began to weaken society's fundamental building block, the family. Fertility rates fell seriously below replacement levels, a sign ~f focusing on the present rather than the future, on parents instead of kids. Promiscuity and prostitution became widespread, as did homosexuality and bisexuality. Birth control and a1;>ortion were legal, common and supported by the elites. .

Chaput next tries to learn from how the first Christians responded successfully to those cultural challenges to guide Christians in facing similar issues to<lay. He notes that the early Christians' "did, such a good job that within 400 years Christianity was the world's dominant religion and the foundation of Western civilization. If we can learn from that history, the more easily God will work through us to spark a new evangelization.;' According to Stark's analysis, the rise of Christianity happened because of two factors: Christian doctrine and the fidelity ofChristians to it. The early Christians believed and practiced what they preached. To be a Christian meant not merely accepting ~ set ofpropositions, but to change radically one's whole way of thinking and living. They adhered to this truth they enfleshed even at the cost of their lives. .

One of the most notable areas in which Christians distinguished themselves from others, Stark describes, was with regard to marriage and the family. The Christians believed that marriage and sexual activity were sacred and therefore rejected the widespread practices offotnication, homosexual activity, marital infidelity, polygamy, birth control, abortion, infanticide, and divorce. ''The early Church had no debates over politicians and Communion," Archbishop Chaput notes. ''There wasn't any need. No persons who tolerated or promoted abortion would have dared to approach the eucharistic table, let alone dared to call themselves true Christians. And here's why: The early Christians understood that they were the offspring of a new worldwide family of God. They saw the culture around them as-a culture of death, a society . that was slowly extinguishing itself.... snuffing out its own future."

That is lesson number one the early Christians teach: the need to oppose the various manifestations of the culture of death with the light of living fully according to the Gospel. ''We need to find the courage those first Christians had in challenging their culture," Chaput says. ''We need to believe not only what they believed. We need to believe those things with the same deep fervor."

The renewal of the Church 'and society, Archbishop' Chaput maintains, will come when "all of us who路claim to be 'Catholic' recover our Catholic identity as disciples of Jesus Qnist and missionaries of his Church," proclaiming and living our faith "authentically, with our whole heart and whole strength.'" , In short, the first Christians teach us that "if we want our lives to be fruitful, we need to know ourselves as God intends us to be known -'- as his witnesses on earth, not just in our private behavior, but in our public actions,路 including our social, economic and political choices." ''If pagan Rome could be won for Jesus Christ," he concludes, "surely we can do the same in our own world. What it takes is the zeal arid courage to live what we claim to believe.'" .

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NOVEMBER

9, 2007

tfi'e living word A woman begs as she sits in front of an Olympic Games sign in Beijing recently: Beijing wants to eliminate beggars, peddlers and illegal advertising from the center of the city by the end of the year to improve the environment for the 2008 Olympic Games, local media . reported earlier this year. (eNS photo/David Gray, Reuters)

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side" (Luke 16:22).

The courageous lion During the .Jubilee Year of cur Redemption in Rome during the y,ear 2000, every time there was a morning event with Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square,St. Peter'~ Basilica would be closed. until after the celebration. The only people who would' be allowed into the basilica would be a handful ofpriests and religiouS who knew how sneak through a back entrance into the sacristy just before 7 a.m. for Mass. Inside we would meet a team ofaltar boys from the Vatican choir school and head out with one or two of them into the vast, almost empty basilica'to celebrate the Eucharist at one of the altars built over the tombs of the saints.

When there were special. events on Sundays, how- ;\/.-.~, ever, I was generally the

two Apostles, Philip and James... .But I felt inwardly and irresistibly drawn to the altar of another saint. In fact, every one of the 15 times I entered the empty basilica on those memorable Sunday mornings, I took a left and \Vent to chant Mass at the altar over the mortal remains of the holy pope whose feast we celebrat~ tomorrow, St. Leo the Great. : Why him? At first I didn't really know, but during those Masses, the answer became clear through the petitions I found myself asking at his altar. I was praying repeatedly that he intercede for me and my brother priests for two gifts that he had in

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choir school were not there either, as they were practicing to sing . abundance: courage and the ability at the papal liturgy later that morn- to defend and promote the faith in the ing. Inside the sacristy, there was only midst of great challenges inside and the sacristan, Don Giorgio, and me. I outside the Church.

Leo was bishop of Rome from would'vest, grab an already prepared veiled chalice with one hand and a 440-461 and the first of tlrnie popes container with wine and water in the . - along with Gregory (590-604) and other, and head out, all by myself, to Nicholas (858-867) - whom later the largest and most famous church generations would call "great," because oftheir enormous impact in the in the world.

The first time I entered the empty Church and in society.

Inside the Church, Leo wrote sevbasilica, I must admit that I wondered for a minute how much trouble I eral. treatises clarifying and defendwould get in ifI were caughtcelebrat- ing the falth. His famous "tome" exing Mass at the papal altar on top of plaining that and how Christ was fully St. Peter! As soon as that temptation God and fully man was decisive at passed, though, I knew I was, faced the ecumenical Council ofChalcedon with a grown-up Catholic version of (451), which brought to an end over the dilemma,of the kid in the candy a centurY of serious Christological store: I needed to make a choice heresies. The various bishops at the among so many saints on top of Council, after hearing his tome read by a legate, spontaneously cried out whose tombs to celebrate Mass.

To my right was Gregory the Great "Peter has spoken through Leo." And and Pius X, the founder of our dio- Leo, conscious that he was indeed the cese; ahead of me was the superl;l successor of St. Peter, used his office 'teacher on the Trinity, Gregory to bring about unity not just in docNazianzen, and Josaphat, the power- trine but in discipline. Of the 143 letful intercessor for Church unity; be- ters we have, most were to bishops, hind me to the left was the altar over to help them root out local heresies

against the faith, to settle disputes between them and neighboring prelates, and even to rescind some of their decrees. He established regulations for the selection of bishops and for the care of consecrated virgins. In short, at a time of great confusion in the Church, he brought clarity and order.

He did the same in society. When Attila the Hun entered Italy in 452 and began to sack and burn cities on his way to Rome, the panicked population, emperor and senate, begged him to go to persuade the ferocious marauder to spare the eternal city. Leo courageously took up the charge, met with Attila in Peschiara, and persuaded him to turn around in exchange for an annual tribute. When the Barbarian Geneseric and his vandals came a few years later, Leo was asked to save the city once again, and he did, convincing Geneseric only to plunder the city but not to harm its people or burn it down. After they had left, Leo led the city in getting back on its feet. By the force of his faith and the strength of his personality, he was able to do what even the strongest civil leaders elsewhere were not. Like no pope 'before him, he raised the prestige ofthe Church and the papacy.

He is perhaps most famous, however, for his sermons, especially those on the Lord's Incarnation. Many classicists consider his Latin greater even than Cicero's, and he dedicated all of his enormous talents to describe not just the love of God in choosing to become one of us, but how each of us is called to allow Christ to take up his abode within us through prayer and the sacraments.

Leo clearly allowed Christ to reign within him, which is why he was able . to be fearless in the face of the greatest human threats and to labor lovingly and tirelessly for the salvation ofthose Christ ~ntrusted to him. May he intercede for priests and bishops today, that they may allow the same incarnation and bear similar fruit.

Father Landry is pastor of St. Anthony's Parish in New Bedford.

$ The Anchor $ Getting it right 'The Morning After'.

NOVEMBER

71

9, 2007

The "morning-after" pill, also known as "Plan B," is often provided in hospital emergency rooms to women who have been sexually assaulted. It is typically used within 72 hours of the rape, and appears to prevent pregnancy in one of two ways. First, it can prevent ovulation (the release of an egg from a woman's ovary), and for this reason, it is commonly termed "emergency contraception."

While this action of blocking the release of an egg is the most likely mechanism by which it routinely prevents pregnancy, another mechanism may also be operative under certain circumstances.

This second mechanism of

action involves altering the lining of the uterus so it becomes less hospitable to the arrival of an embryo from the fallopian tube. In other words, if an egg has already been released from the ovary, and

it has been successfully fertilized, the morning-after pill may be able to prevent that arriving embryo from implanting into the uterine wall.

Controversy exists as to the likelihood and frequency of this

Confucianism From Buddhism we turn to the religious philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism. Besides Zen Buddhism, which spread from China to Japan and Korea, Confucianism and Taoism are typically Chinese worldviews. It is tempting for Westerners to treat Buddhism,.

Confucianism, and Taoism as if these were rigidly separate schools of belief; but, in fact, they have strongly influenced one another and are all deemed part of a common pool of wisdom. We can, however, make a TOUgh division of labor: Buddhism deals with suffering, Confucianism with morality, and Taoism with our place in the universe.

For most of China's long history, Confucianism was the guiding philosophy for the state and for the lives of families and individuals.

Confucius, the Latinized version of K'ung Fu-tzu, ''Grand Master K'ung," lived from 551 to 479 B.C. and is reputed to have been the most learned man of his time. Born in the small feudal state of Lu, now Shantung Province, from a noble but poor family, he lost his father early on. He married at a young age but soon divorced. Having worked as a police magistrate and perhaps as a minister ofjustice and statesman, he became an itinerant teacher, traveling throughout China with disciples. Second-generation disciples compiled the master's sayings in a volume known as the "Lun yii," translated into English as the "Analects of Confucius."

Confucius never claimed to be divine, inspired, or even good. \ Only one quality did he claim: 'The unwearying effort to learn [not abstract knowledge but selfimprovement] and unflagging patience in teaching others" (Analects 7:33). And although he

discouraged speculation about spirits and the afterlife, it would be mistaken to view Confucianism as a wholly ethical system with no hint of the supernatural. Learning about morality for Confucius meant learning about the will of "heaven" (T'ien), and the Analects give ample evidence that Confucius understood heaven as a deity with a personal nature: No human being truly knows him, but only heaven; true happiness depends on the approval of heaven rather than human praise, on interior qualities

rather than external things; Heaven begot the moral force in him, and this force is available to all people even if most don't avail themselves of it. Furthermore, in the teachings of the great Confucian disciple Meng-tzu (371-289 B.C.), known in the West as Mencius, "heaven" appears to be just another name for God. Anyone wishing to follow the way of heaven must develop his Te, the inner moral power or virtue bestowed by heaven on all people.

Growth in virtue is the goal of all learning and indeed of all human endeavors: to become ethically perfect is to become fully human.

So virtue, rather than stifling human freedom, unfolds human potential. Yet Confucius said he never knew anyone, including himself, who has reached the pinnacle of moral perfection, which he described as len, translated either as ''full humanity" or' "goodness." Nor did he know whether even those without vanity,

Massachusetts mandatiri,g that the morning-after pill be provided by hospitals to all victims of sexual second mechanism of action, but assault who request it, it becomes even the Food and Drug Adminisclear that medical professionals tration, the agency which gives may have to confront situations of official approval for the use of the dramatic conscience violations drug, acknowledges the possibility because of this immoral form of on its Website: "Plan B may also legislative coercion by the state. work by... preventing Some have argued that it may attachment (implantation) be immoral for Catholid~ to to the uterus (womb)." The 'de any contraceptIve .11 meaproVI package insert for the drug .

II sures at all to a woman who has from the manufacturer (Barr Pharmaceuticals) uses been raped. Such a vie, is incorrect, however, becJuse a identical language when I woman who has been s~xually explaining how Plan B assaulted is clearly entiqed to works. protect herself from the attacker's , Significant ethical sperm.

The Church teac~es that concerns are raised by this second rape is not a unitive act that mechanism, namely that "emerrequires openness to procreation. It gency contraception" may actually is rather an act of violence against work as "emergency abortion" as another person, and the woman is well. When these ethical concerns allowed to take steps to prevent the are coupled with new state laws of her own possible fertilization notably in Connecticut and egg(s). It is permissible,lthen, for Catholic hospitals to provide their patients with morning-after pills if resentment, or greed would qualify the following four con~,tions are for Jen; he could only say that met: I' whoever obtains Jen would never I) the woman is not Mready be unhappy. pregnant from prior, frJly-chosen The person who lives by the sexual activity; I! ideal of Jen is a Chiin-tzu, "superior 2) the woman has been sexually man." The Chtin-tzu always seeks. assaulted; Ii what is right, even if he gains 3) the woman has no~ yet nothing by it; he stands in awe of ovulated (i.e. has not released an 'I Heaven's ordinances; he calls egg from her ovary into 'the attention to the good qualities in fallopian tube where it dbuld be others, not to their defects; he is fertilized by the attacker,'s sperm); dignified but never haughty; he 4) the morning-after Pill can appreciates education, the arts, and rea,sonably be expected to prevent music; he stUdies not to impress her from ovulating. others but for self-improveWhen a woman arrives to an ment; his moral force emergency room following a influences even his sexual assault, a simple urine test superiors; and he is so for leutinizing hormone can be reliable that if you should used to gain informatiori about entrust to him either an whether she is ovulating~ If it is orphan or the welfare of a determined that her LH levels have state, he would prove spiked and she is ovulating, the competent and trustworthy. morning-after pill will nbt be able Personal virtue naturally to block the egg's releaseI from her benefits society. Confucius taught ovary. If it were to be adhunistered that order in one's personal life under these circumstanc~s, the leads to order within the family; morning-after pill migh~1" function order within the family leads to to prevent the implantati;pn of any order within the village, and so on newly conceived embryo(s), which up to the state and the whole world. would be the moral equiValent of Is this merely human wisdom, or is an abortion. Under thes~ condiit an intuition of what the incarnate tions, therefore, the moriIing-after God of Heaven said, some centuries pill should not be administered. later, about faithfulness in small The young boy or girl conmatters being a sure test of ceived through sexual assault is an faithfulness in great ones (Luke innocent bystander, and he or she 16:10-12)? should never become a "second路 Human culture accumulated victim" of rape through 9hemical many lofty moral teachings, and the abortion. Women who conceive a sayings of'Confucius certainly child after sexual assault deserve belong to its best. Next time, we'll full and loving support throughout see how Confucianism finds its and following their pregitancy. In fulfillment in Christian morality, and follow-up studies where :fhildren indeed in the total mystery of Christ are born from sexual assault, both and his Church. After that, a brief mother and child frequebtly treatment of Taoism will conclude express satisfaction at ndt having II that segment of our series concernadverted to the deadly answer of ing the major religious traditions of abortion.

South and East Asian origin.

Appropriate care for rape Father Kocik is a parochial victims should thus inchfde efforts vicar at Santo Christo Parish in to assess whether a woman may Fall River. have ovulated and thus ~ossibly !!

conceived, by taking her menstrual history, doinR an LH test, and performing any other tests or interventions which, in the judgment of the physician, help establish prudential certitude that emergency contraception, if it were provided fo the victim, would properly function as a contraceptive and not as an abortifacient.

The new laws in Connecticut and Massachusetts which mandate the provision of the morning-after pill are clearly misguided and unethical. They effectively prohibit health care professionals from doing appropriate medical tests to determine whether a particular treatment (administering Plan B) is suitable and medically appropriate for a patient. These laws meddle in the affairs of doctors and nurses in emergency rooms, where their professional and competent medical judgments should not be short-circuited by overzealous state legislatures beholden to proabortion ideologies and agendas.

Such state la~s require health care professionals to cooperate in actions that may, in a foreseeable way, result in the death of very young human beings within their mother's bodies. Unjust mandates of this kind forcibly violate the consciences of those health care providers who wish to use the art of medicine to heal rather than destroy.

To provide the morning-after pill without considering a woman's ovulatory state thus crosses an important moral line. Choosing to act in a way as to possibly cause the death of another human is not generally a good moral choice.

When we have uncertainty about the presence of a human in the bushes during a hunting trip, for example, we ought not shoot into the bushes. By doing ovulation testing, on the other hand, we can begin to address the question of whether a human may be "hidden within", and reasonably exclude the choice for a pOlisible deathdealing effect of the drug.

Many actions we choose to engage in carry a certain risk to human life, and as the risks become greater, we must take stronger measures to minimize them. Hence we use child safety seats and restraining belts whenever we travel in a car, and ovulation testing can similarly serve as a kind of "safety net" to assure that we do not indiscriminately subject any newly conceived child to risk when the morning-after pill is administered.

Father Pacholc~k earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest ofthe Diocese ofFall River and serves as the director ofeducation at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

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The Anchor

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NOVEMBER

9, 2007

The God of the living "He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for' to him, all are alive" (Luke 20:38).

Traditionally, during the month of November, we as Catholics have a wonderful custom of remembering the dead. On November 1 we celebrate the feast of All Saints as we remember all the saints, those known and unknown. On November 2 we pray for all the souls of the deceased on All Souls Day. However, there is a common theme throughout the entire month of remembering or honoring the dead.

The reason for this is that while honoring those we have known and loved who have died, we also call to mind our own mortality which is something very few of us enjoy thinking about.

The Gospel this weekend

calls us to think about the indeed our God. He created As a priest I have the concept of our mortality in us, he sustains us and he privilege of working with yet another light. As the calls us home to eternal life. young couples as they are question is posed to Jesus In talking about marriage he moving toward marriage. . places human relationships The joy and excitement they about the eternal nature of human relationship and in their proper context - as experience as their relationmarriage he challenges us to important earthly human ship continues to grow is think outside our common, realities necessary for wonderful and inspirearthly understanding to see. As I watch ing. In no way does these couples grow in Jesus take lightly the love it causes me to importance of human question the effort I relationships, in put into the most particular, marriage. important relationship However, in this anyone of us can have, exchange, he h i g h - o u r eternal relationlights the important· ship with God. No matter what the place marriage has in society. At the same time human growth and developnature of the relationship is Jesus also tells us of the ment. But he also chalin our lives, it takes work. importance of being mindlenges us. How much effort Friends must be in commudo we put into our human nication with one another. ful of our own mortality.

God is the God of the relationships? What kind of Families need to work out living. Who are the living? time and effort do we place their complex and busy We are the living and one in nourishing those human schedules. Married couples day we will be the living in relationships that are so must be in constant commueternal life. So God is important to us? nication about all the things

that come their way. These

r~lationships, as vital and

necessary as they are to our human experience, are temporary. They pale in comparison to the eternal relationship to which we are called with God, our Father.

While it is true that the earthly relationships in which we are involved do often reflect our relationship with God, and even can be a foretaste of the love that exists in eternal life, they are not an end themselves. They can lead us to the end, which is truly the beginning - our entrance to eternal life. After all, God is the God not of the dead, but of the living and to him all are alive.

Father Murray is a parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 10, Rom 16:3-9,16,22-27; Ps 145:2-5,10-11; Lk 16:9-15. SUD. Nov. 11, Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2 Mc 7:1-2,9-14; Ps 17:1,5-6,8,15; 2 Thes 2:16-3:5; Lk 20:27-38 or 20:27,34-38. MOD. Nov. 12, Wis 1:1-7; Ps 139:1-10; Lk 17:1-6. The. Nov. 13, Wis 2:23-3:9; Ps 34:2-3,16-19; Lk 17:7-10. Wed. Nov. 14, Wis 6:1-11; Ps 82:3-4,6-7; Lk 17:11-19. Thu. Nov. IS, Wis 7:22b-8:l; Ps 119:89-91,130,135,175; Lk 17:20-25. Fri. Nov. 16, Wis 13:1-9; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 17:26-37.

A disappointing call for dialogue On October 11, at the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, 138 Muslims from around the world addressed a letter to Pope Benedict XVI and numerous other Christian leaders. Entitled "A Common Word Between Us and You," the letter was released in a media-savvy rollout in several world capitals and was welcomed with enthusiasm by one of the addressees, Canterbury's Rowan Williams.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the reconstituted Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, was cordial but cautious, suggesting that while there were certainly things to talk about based on a shared commitment to the two Great Commandments of love of God and love of neighbor, there were also many difficulties.

Something else struck me about "A Common Word" and

the media commentary on it: both the letter's signatories and the reporters writing about it seemed unaware of the proposal for framing a new dialogue between Christianity and Islam made by the Holy

Catholicism, the pope reminded the Curia, had spent the better part of two centuries trying to find solutions to the questions of faith, freedom, and governance posed by the enlighten-

FatherlastDecembe~

in his Christmas address to the Roman Curia. There, Benedict XVI proposed that the dialogue focus on the question of how religious traditions assimilate the positive achievements of the enlightenment. Those achievements include the victory of the idea of religious freedom as an inalienable human right - a human right that, acknowledged in law and thus erected into a civil right, leads 'to distinctions between religious and political authority in a just state.

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ment, a process that bore fruit at the Second Vatican Council.

Might there be something in this Catholic experience of retrievaland-renewal for a ChristianIslamic dialogue to ponder?

These do seem to be the most urgent questions. For unless Islam can find within its own spiritual resources a way to legitimate religious freedom and the distinction between religious and political authority, the relationship between two billion

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Christians and a billion Muslims is going to remain fraught with tension. "A Common Word" speaks at length about the two Great Commandments; it says nothing about their applicability to issues of faith, freedom, and the governance of society: issues posed, for example, by the death threats visited upon Muslims who convert to Christianity and by the refusal to allow Christian public worship in Saudi Arabia. "A Common Word" also seems rather defensive, as if it were 21century Christians who, in considerable numbers, were justifying the murder of innocents in advancing the cause of God. But that is manifestly not the case.

Knowledgeable analysts of Islamic affairs have also raised questions about the composition of the "138," which includes a considerable number of government functionaries as well as figures with connections to Wahhabism, the fanatic sect whose teachings and financial influence inflame so much Islamist agitation around the world. Be that as it may - and it's not an insignificant thing - I would suggest that the better approach would be to ask the people who put "A Common

Word" together why the pope's invitation of last Deq:mber was not addressed.

Do these 138 Muslims agree or disagree that religious freedom and the distinction between religious and political authority are the issues at the heart of today's tensions between Islam and the West - indeed, Islam and the rest? Would it not be more useful to concentrate on these urgent issues of practical reason which bear on the organization of 21-century societies than to frame the dialogue in terms of a generic exploration of the two great Commandments which risks leading to an exchange of banalities? Why not get down to cases?

It is of the utmost importance for the human future that a genuine interreligious dialogue unfold between Islam and Christianity and Judaism, which is largely ignored in "A Common Word". Genuine dialogue requires a precise focus, and a commitment by the dialogue partners to condemn by name those members of their communities who murder in the name of God. It is unfortunate that "A Common Word" took us no closer to cementing either of these building blocks of genuine dialogue into place.

George Weigel is a senior fellow ofthe Ethics and Public .Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

NOVEMBER

,

9,2007

A day in the life memos. Answer emails. Tidy up Tuesday 30 October 2007 at home on Three Mile River; The the rectory. Outline a draft for .

Dightons -All Hallows' Eve this article. Prepare for 8 a.m.

"I know you say Mass on Mass.

At 7:45 a.m. there's an Sundays, Father, but what do you do the rest of the week - write one newspaper column and then play video games? Ha. Ha." Reflections of a No. You have mistaken me for Dave Jolivet, the Anchor sports columnist.

1-=-=~--S:~jEalitt Here's a typical 24 hours Goldrick· in my life.

Today, slept in until 5 a.m.

Walk the dogs. emergency phone call. A p~ish­ Take my truck over to get ioner has unexpectedly died at coffee, extra large, regular, at .. r homel-Can I hurry over for the Dippin'Doughnuts. ' , prayers for the dead? I run to the church to alert the people.

Walk the dogs.

They're saying the rosary. I tell Say Morning Prayer. Scan them I'll be' a little late and morning newspapers. Write staff

The Ship's Log

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The Anchor ,

garage we go. We can't get in the a throw or two and decided they door. The six of us work all obviously should be tossed and morning cleaning the garage. thrown. Is that not the purpose would they please pray for the The men take what they want for for which they were made? Lolo deceased parishioner until I get their store; the rest is pitched in is a literalist. Lolo is also loco, as back? I rush over to pray with the junk heap. We finish by noon. they say in Spain. I put the the family, and then back to I give the men a stack of sandpillows back in place and say church. Mass begins 10 minutes wiches and off they go. Well, that Night Prayer. late. , wasn't on the schedule, but the Walk the dogs.

In good weather..dear It's only 9 p.m. but I'm garage sure looks terrific. A readers, I'm in the habit parish priest has to go with the pooped. Too early to go to bed. of sitting on the piazza flow.

Maybe I can just sit here and following morning Mass.

Walk the dogs. catch up on the latest Church People freely approach.

Open mail and answer phone documents. I'm getting sleepy.

No appointment necescalls in the afternoon. Prepare a Sleepy. ZZZLZ. sary. Sometimes a line homily. Say Evening Prayer.

Wednesday, All Saints Day. forms.

Walk the dogs.

I'm up before dawn.

Today a van drives up.

Wait! This is Halloween! Rush Walk the dogs.

In the truck are four men off to buy candy. Back from the Back to Dippin' Doughnuts, from the St. Vincent de Paul store, I sit in my parlor, candy then I sit outside watching the Society, Taunton District: Dick bowl in hand, waiting. The sunrise over Three Mile River.

Vincent, Bob Johnson, Terry doorbell finally rings. At the The sky at dawn is already Dorsey, and John Rego. They've door is a horse dressed in large winter red. The horizon is come to pick up items I intend to diaphanous wings. I am not more visible now against the donate. I didn't know they were making this up. The horse's skeletal trees. Pray. Read arriving today. No matter. To the name is "Cookie." He belongs to newspapers. my neighbor Mrs. Duncan, who Walk the dogs. is accompanying him on the Celebrate morning Mass for the feast. There'll be another rounds. I have plenty of candy, but not a single carrot. I'm not Mass tonight. to me symbolizes God's power After morning Mass today, prepared for the Horse of and presence and the changes in Halloween, neither was Ichabod Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Coelho the weather, the movement and drive up. This summer they lost Crane. Oh well, I doubt Cookie change within our own lives. their 51-year-old daughter Joan minds.

In Psalm 107: 29, "He stilled Five or six gremlins show up to a sudden heart attack. "I see the storm to a whisper; the and the evening is over. The you're painting some walls in the waves of the sea were hushed." candy bowl is now all mine.

Parish Center. What do you And in Luke 8:24, "The Walk the dogs. intend for the room on the disciples went and woke him, right?" "That, Joe, will be a Turn out the lights. Nothing saying, "Master, Master, we're gO(j)d comes this way so late on Ministry Room when we can going to drown!" He got up and Halloween. I sit in the darkness, afford it. We have four people in rebuked the wind and the raging munching Reese's Pieces. ministry here but nowhere to waters; the storm subsided, and Suddenly, things begin flying meet folks in private." "Excellent all was calm." through the air! I remember the idea, Father. I'll donate the room God has the advankids telling me this old house is in memory of my daughter. tage of being the one haunted. Look! Something else Here's a check." Whel1 you work who can bring the storms flies by on its own volition. My for God, you learn to expect the and' who can also calm house has a resident poltergeist! unexpected. Crinkle up The them. In our own lives Anchor article outline and start Then I see a dark shadow we must often do the moving swiftly across the room. over. same. Whether the Yikes!

Walk the dogs. "storms" of our lives are Wait. Too much chocolate.

Another day in the life .... brought upon by our own That's no spook. That's Lolo my Father Goldrick is pastor of decisions and choices or St. Joseph's Parish in North , Spanish greyhound. Seems he by outside circumDighton. spied a stack of toss pillows and stances, we must also find ways to restore our lives to balance and calm. And most often we Children's booklet by find that it is the love of God Jackie Almeida and our faith that allows us to do 'From the Crib to the Cross' just that.

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St. Julie Billiart Parish Greta and her husband 494 Slocum Road George, with their children are North Dartmouth, MA 02747 members of Christ the King Phone 508-993-2351 FAX 508-993-2437 Parish in Mashpee.

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Weathering the storms of life Most everyone that I have spoken with about the weather this past spring, summer and fall agrees: we have been truly blessed with mild temperatures and beautiful days. In the last seven years since I moved here from California, this has definitely been the year of nice, enjoyable weather. New England is such a beautiful place, when you add good weather, it's one of the loveliest places on earth.

I remember when we first moved, my husband said that people here discuss the weather often. Why? Because the weather can change hour by hour. Plans may need to be adjusted often. It's just part of living in New England.

I like the weather here.

Granted, it would be nice if the warm summer temperatures lasted a little longer, but altogether, I'll take the clean air of New England and the seasonal weather over what many other places have to offer.

In the Central Valley of California where I grew up, summer temperatures ranged from 90 to 105 degrees. From about May through September the weather was bright and sunny nearly every day. If you looked at the weather report you would see the bright yellow icon of the sun in every slot. Hence, there is not really a need to check the weather during the long "summer season." Everyone knows what to expect and plans rarely need to be changed.

The fall weather is brisk and cooler, the winters colder and foggy, but the spring in exquisite

with green landscapes and the smell of blossoms in the air.

The weather in the Central Valley might sound pretty good, and in many ways it was, but as a child I remember always wishing that it would snow.

But snow it did not. Rarely at least. It wasn't that the temperature wasn't cold enough. Orten the winter temperatures would fall into the 20s. But no snow, mostly overcast, foggy, often

dreary weather.

But one day, it did snow. I was about 5 years old,}t snowed about one-half inch. My mother took pictures of my sister and brother and I all bundled up playing in "the snow." We were so excited! Our snowmen were very diet conscious. No weight problems here.

Now that I'm here in New England, I'm at the window with my kids when the snow begins to fall. It's still so new to me, exciting and magical. My "swiss blood" loves the arctic dance.

But there's something else about stormy weather that I have always loved and it is that the movement and the power of the weather remind me of God. It reminds me of him and makes me feel small. Whether it is raining, or snowing or strong winds are blowing, the weather

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On the move again, Sister DaCosta loves the religious life By'MATT McDoNALD, ANCHOR STAFF

Just so, about three or four girls she has met on her EAST TAUNTON - Sister Anita Marie DaCosta missions have ended upjoining the order, and other girls never wanted to become a nun as a young girl. have joined other orders. She never made sales pitches When she was a freshman at Attleboro High School, to any of them, believing each individual needs to disthe Trinitarian Sisters who had come to serve Holy Ghost cern a vocation from God. But she always smiled and Parish asked her brothers if she could help them make projected happiness with her life.

Catholic calendars for the families of the parish. ''You have to be happy. If they don't see you happy, Her mother urged her to do it. why would you enterT' she said.

'1 said, 'I don't want to go. I don't want to be bothEarly in her religious life Sister DaCosta was sent to ered with them,''' Sister DaCosta recalled in an inter- mining communities known as "patches" in western view this past weekend.

Pennsylvania near Uniontown, about 65 miles southEarlier this year she celebrated her 60th anniversary east of Pittsburgh. ofentering the Missionary Servants ofthe Most Blessed The coke and coal miners lived in small duplexes Trinity, a congregation of '""""".,..-,,..,.....,,,.....,.--~--:-:_-----.,.~=.=-, -~_-., owned by the mining comreligious women founded ~:_: . ...: ',l::/"--: ': ';.~ ,.'. panies that had outhouses in 1919byFatherThomas

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Sister DaCosta has ' .~~ spent much ofherreligious.~~,' life in the Diocese of Fall River, most recently at Holy Family Parish in East Taunton, where she came ~ in 1990 as director of Re~'i ligious Education. In re<f cent years she has concentrated on visiting the homes of elderly and disabledpeoplewhodon'tget out much.

At Holy Family Parish, she sees about 45 people a i ' . . week, on Mondays, TIles- . days Thursdays and Fri- ANCHOR PERSON O.F THE WEEK....:... Sister days: ' , Anita Marie DaCosta.. <Pho~o by.MattMcDonald)

"Sixteen Tons," with the chorus "St. Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go / I owe my soul to the company store."

The miners lived that song, buying all their goods from the stores operated by the mining companies. ''Every six months there was a strike. They would just pay their bills," Sister DaCosta recalled.

She liked the simple, decent people she met, who would immediately share what they had even though it wasn't much.

She brings them parish She'd go from house to bulletins, printouts of funny stories she gets fi;om the house offering encouragement, and if the people were 'Catholics no longer attending church, she'd offer reliInternet, and Communion.

"We laugh and talk and I listen to them:' she said, gious instruction. ''Many peoplejust need that visitto get backto Mass;' adding tliat the mood changes toward the end, when she brings out a book of short stories appropriate to a par- Sister DaCosta said. ''They just need someone to get ticular verse in Scripture. them back there, to realize what they're missing. So many "Once I give them Communion, that's a sacred time. people return to the sacraments, just from that visit:' I say the prayers, I read that, and then I leave," she said.

From Pennsylvania she was sent to St. Francis Xavier Her work here is scheduled to end sometime after Parish in Hyannis In the late 1950s, then.to ConnectiChristmas, when she moves to the Trinitarian center in cut, then to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Walpole, then Philadelphia, where she expects to tend to the needs of St. Susannah's in Dedham, then back to Hyannis for retired Sisters. about 15 years. In 1990 she came to Holy Family ParShe was born in Attleboro to Portuguese immigrants, ish in East Taunton. the oldest of three children. Her brother Gabriel lives in During the course of 17,years she has become路a fixFlorida, her brother Gilbert lives in Attleboro. Her father ture in the parish, particularly among the people who was a toolmaker. request her visits.

After her initial resistance, she eventually joined the 'The peoplejust love it. First and foremost, ofcourse, "outside cenacle" the Trinitarian Sisters sponsored, vis- to receive the Eucharist. But also that she has the time iting tuberculosis hospitals and going to homes to teach and takes the time to spend with them;' said Father Jay, catechism to children whose parents didn't go to church. Maddock, pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taun- , Even before the Second Vatican Council, the Sisters ton. of her congregation wore no veil, only a black dress She lives alone in a small, tidy three-bedroom house with a special pin on it and a hat. Going without a veil the parish owns on a street near the church. was intended to make them move more easily among The pre-Christmas parish festival scheduled for this the people they were hoping to reach, including non- weekend is expected to include her homemade chocoCatholics. lates, the pastor said.

She liked the work and she liked the Sisters.

"She's still a ball of fire. She's got tremendous en'They were very kind. Generous. Sympathetic.

They ergy;' Father Maddock said.

I reached out to people," Sister DaCosta said.

Sister DaCosta said she'll miss Holy Family as she The Sisters also seemed to like what they were do- has missed every place she has left, but that she is ready ~

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'Theyjust were so happy. They seemed to enjbY life," "I'm sad to I~ave here, but if God wants me to ~ go, I took the vow of obedience, I should go," she Sister DaCosta said.

The Sisters never once made a pitch for he~ to join said. "Obedience means you go where you're sent." them. But eventually she decided she had just that callShe said she is looking forward to Philadelphia. ing. She was one of seven girls in Attleboro aro';illd that "I've had a very happy life. I've loved every place time who joined the Trinitarians.

I've been;' she said.

TRANQUILITY - Flowers adorn gravestones at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Fall River on All Souls Day. All of the diocesan cemeteries are frequently visited by loved ones in prayerful remembrance. (Anchorphoto)

A break in the action ''And Navy has the ball on the Notre Dame 38-yard line, first and ...." That's when the lights flickered and the power went on holiday last Saturday afternoon. Extra-tropical storm Noel put the kibosh on the pomp and pageantry of college football. ''That's OK," I thought to myself. "I'd hate to see the Midshipmen lose their 44th consecutive game to the Irish."

Meanwhile, over at Emilie's corner of the living room, Cap'n Jack Sparrow, while swashbuckling, was in mid-thrust, when his evil countenance morphed into a small white dot on the monitor, . before disappearing altogether. ''Awwwwww,'' was Emilie's refrain.

Denise, flanked by pigskins and pillaging, was quietly reading beneath the warm glow of an energy-saving bulb shaped like the suspension on a '95 Chevy. She too fell prey to the shroud of darkness.

We sat in the semi-darkness of a late fall afternoon waiting for a return to normalcy.

There it was. A flicker. Then lights. Then the VCR was running through auto-pilot. Emilie's electronic Caribbean Sea was rebooting. The coiled lightbulbs were re-illuminated. The house was humming again - for a few seconds anyway.

Despite it's best efforts to infiltrate our appliances, the energy surge had become the victim of a wayward limb from a big, tired, old elm tree. Thanks Noel.

Realizing we may be in this for the long haul, I began the search for candles. I'm from the school that you only look for emergency items during an emergency.

There were no candles anywhere. Why? Because Halloween waslastweek,anda~eedy

pumpkin sucked up all of our light sticks.

Wonderful. Now what? "Relax," was Denise's response. She

accurately directed me to a hurricane lamp in the basement.

Amazing - it was just where she said it would be. What would husbands do without wives?

I cleaned the lamp, and it looked eager to get some action. All the while, Emilie scampered up to her room and came back with a tin box containing all that was needed for a game of SpongeBob Uno. She had that Igor-look of "Want to play daddy?"

Sounds like a plan.

With the winds howling outside, we had a wonderful time playing Uno, munching on Halloween booty, and listening to golden oldies on a small radio that had a sound eerily reminiscent of ancient .

outdoor movie speakers.

This was great. I won'the first three games, and felt like the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox in the World Series. I wanted the four-game sweep. It wasn't to be though.

Emilie joyously placed her last card on the table. Victory.

But wait. She didn't say "Uno:' when she had only one card left. I won. Yessssss.

It was then that the flow of electricity was restored. The lights returned, the appliances purred, and the hurricane lamp took on its ornamental visage again.

"Awwwww," was Emilie's refrain. ''That was fun."

Yeah it was. While Noel was churning up the oceans, skies and tree lines, the Jolivets were cozy and comfy enjoying the simple pleasures oflife.

We all returned to our routines. I got to see Navy finally beat Notre Dame. Emilie defended the Black Pearl, and Denise dove back into her book. But we didn't put the cards away. I have a feeling we'll be using them again soon.

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NOVEMBER

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The Anchor

t bring hini back a rosary. "No such thing as God, you're wasting you're time," Choiniere told her.

But for just an instant after she left the store, Choiniere said he felt his chest was on fire. "I felt, just for a second, like maybe God existed."

Three days later someone left a book in the store. It was "The Rosary of St. Louis De Monfort."

Choiniere read it. When his cousin returned she gave him a rosary. After praying. a decade a day for three months, his plea was "God, make yourself real to me because I don't believe in you."

Eventually he was compelled to go to Mass. One day, in the middle of the rosary he received Communion, and then hurried to work.

Driving down Route he was sure he saw a gigahtic crossshaped cloud. He pulled over and said "I'll pretend that didn't happen."

Then he heard a loud but inaudible voice say "burning," and then "look at your rosary." Choiniere pulled out his rosary, and then his hand was guided to the fourth bead of the third decade - the very place he stopped at before receiving Communion. "In a split second God revealed to me his truth and his love in one big supersonic punch in my

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RIGHT THIS WAY - The Coyle and Cassidy High School Youth Ministry team was ready to greet the hundreds of sixth-, seventh- and eight-graders from diocesan schools who gathered at the Taunton school October 29 for a convention sponsored by the diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry office.

(Photo by Brian Kennedy)

Rock

Continued from page one

ing the youth minister team, against two high school students.

Choiniere told the story of his road to conversion, how he grew up in the Catholic faith, but felt Mass . attendance was nothing more than an obligation and had family troubles at home. After drifting away from the.Church and becoming "an atheist for a while," eventually the grace of God pulled him back.

His interests, like those today, revolved around music, but he also fell into substance abuse. "I was into the secular scene; I was into Rock and Roll." Choiniere recalled, "I was living two lifestyles. I went to church weekly, but I knew I was

safe if! stayed away from home. I got into marijuana and alcohol. I lost a lot of friends when they found out I was doing those things," he lamented.

"Eventually I stopped going to Mass. I was doing drugs. I hit college and I became an atheist. 'God doesn't exist, I could do whatever I wanted,'" he said. While he was full of dreams to become a musician and work in the performing arts, but he couldn't end his substance abuse.

"After a year of being unable to cure my vices, I gave up on my dream. I was a witer, and then a piano salesman by day and a drunk by night," he said.

A visit by his cousin en route to Medjugorje led to his conversion.

She said she would pray for Choiniere while she was there and

heart ... it changed my life," Choiniere told the gathering..

His spiritual adventure led to knocking on his pastor's door at 2 a.m., seeking the sacrament of reconciliation.

He concluded by urging his listeners to appreciate the small miracles in life, to never be afraid to pray because God always gives an answer, even if that answer is no.

"Prayer is a fancy word for hanging out with God," he said.

The convention was sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Youth Ministry and planned for the first time this year in its entirety by the Christian Leadership Initiative graduates. "We were finally able to put our spin on it and give it a youth perspective," commented Erin Dalton and Derek Alves, CLI graduates.

"We learned it all at CLI. As leaders you don't take things on as an individual, you utilize all your resources and exceed your expectations," said Laura Parsons.

After Choiniere's address, students gathered in groups for discussion. One of them, a student at New Bedford High School, told The Anchor, "The keynote speaker's story was interesting. It spoke to me things you don't see but know are there, just like God."

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REACHING OUT TO THEIR PEERS - CLI grads present a workshop at the Youth Convention at Bishop Stang High School October 28. (Photo by Brian Kennedy)

Apply In person Mon-Sat 8-4:30 to Gold Medal Bakery, 21 Penn St, Fall River, MA or e-mail gmbapp@goldmedalbakerv.com for an application.

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DVDNideo reviews

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NEW YORK (CNS) - The folloWing are capsule reviews ofnew and recent DVD and video releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops. ''Dorothy Day: Don't Call Me A Saint" (2006) Intelligent and straightforward documentary biography of the cofounder ofthe Catholic Worker movement. A former bohemian and a gifted writer who counted Eugene O'Neill among her early friends, Day experienced a gradual but dramatic conversionfromMarxismtoCatholicism.Yet she remained a dedicated leftist, agitating for social and economicjustice, as well as for peace. As the film shows, many of the fruits of her long career; - she died in 1980 at 83 - endure.

Prominent among these are the 185 "houses ofhospitality" operated by her movement for the benefit ofthe needy around the world. Writer-director Oaudia Larson became a filmmaker specifically to produce a cinematic account ofDay's tumultuous early life, her unforeseen entrance into the C~urch,andheryearsofdedicatedser-

vice to workers and the poor. Larson's 55-minute film combines interviews with relatives, friends and colleagues (including Day's daughter Tamara) video and still images of Day in her varied milieus and, best of all, spoken excerpts from Day's terse, unflinching prose (read by Rosemary Forsyth).

Overall, an engaging portrait of a woman who, despite the plea quoted in the title, may indeed one day be canonized. (www.dorothydaydoc.com) (One Lucky Dog Productions) "Joan of Arc: Child of War, Soldier of God" (2005) ~mall-scale but informative documentary about one ofthe most intriguing figures ofthe Middle Ages. As director Pamela Mason Wagner's hourlong film makes clear, Joan had to overcome almost insurmountable odds to win a series of spectacular military victories for her feckless king, Charles VII. But her fall was as swift

as her ascent. This retelling of the familiar story makes use of interviews with scholars as well as classic artwork and histori\:al re-creations filmed in the Czech Republic. The film concentrates especially flU the psychological ordeal of Joan's !rial, as she was forced to choose between accepting death or denying th~ vision that had guided her.

Alfred Molina provides mellow narration in the persona of one of Joan's 15th-centJry countrymen, whileAnna Paquin supplies the saint's own earnest voic~. Modest special features promised on the DVD include a biography, timbline and directory of significant ~ple and events in Joan's life. (Fa'ith & Values Medial LightworIJs) .. ". ''SpIder-Man 3" (2007) ExcellJnt second sequel has Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire),! on the verge of proposing marriage ito girlfriend Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) while Peter's friendtumed-ne~esis Harry (James Franco) recovers iirom an amnesia-inducing accident which temporarily erases their enmity, though Peter's increasingly prid~ful behavior and two formidable villains, Sandman (Thomas Haden church) and Venom (Topher Grace), s~t the stage for trouble. Director and Co-writer SamRaimi mixes the expecied action sequences (impressive ~gital effects) with a wellacted, very human story imbued with a strong moral focus resulting in a fiI,le and surPri~ingly moving ~ if so~e­ what ove~long - action film, with solid themes of good versus evil, forgiveness ahd redemption. Acceptable for older teens. Intense action violence, a couple ofcrass words, suicide reference, mild innuendo and a suggestive dance. Th~ first disc features two sets of comm~ntaries on the state-of-theart DVD: 6ne with Raimi and the prinI ' cipal cast rpembers, the other with producers, eqitor, and visual effects su-' pervisor. the USCCB Office for Film & Broadc~ting classification is A-Ill -adults. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) : I

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WHAT'S THE BUZZ? - Vanessa, voiced by Renee Zellweger, and bee Barry B. Benson, voiced by Jerry Seinfeld, are seen in the animated film "Bee Movie." For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/DreamWorks/Paramount)

sue the human race for stealing the loss; and the power of love. Mild honey manufactured by his hard- profanity, innuendo, some peril. working bee brethren and brings the The USCCB Office for Film & case to court, with the help of a Broadcasting classification is A-II sympathetic florist (Renee - adults and adolescents. The Zellweger). An often very funny Motion Picture Association of script (by Seinfeld and others), ter- America rating is PG - parental rific voice work from a cast includ- guidance suggested. Some material IC~~ ing John Goodman, Chris Rock, may not be suitable for children.

Kathy Bates, and many more, and "Saw IV" (Lionsgate) ultimately, a valuable ecological . The fourth installment of this NEW YORK (CNS) - The fol- lesson, make this film - directed blood-saturated horror franchise lowing are capsule reviews of mov- by Simon J. Smith and Steve offers more of the same mayhem, ies recently reviewed by the Office Hickner - <!bove-average family even though psychopath Jigsaw 'for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. fare. Mild innuendo. The USCCB (Tobin Bell) is dead. Having lost Office for Film & Broadcasting their antihero and much of the Conference of Catholic Bishops. classification is A-I - general pa- shock value, director Darren Lynn "American Gangster" tronage. The Motion Picture Asso- Bousman and company delve into (Universal) Gritty, chaotically filmed 1970s ciation of America rating is PG Jigsaw's past, providing a routine New York true life story about a parental guidance suggested. Some backstory to explain what turned scrupulously honest if womanizing material may not be suitable for the talented engineer into an executioner and self-styled moral tutor. cop (Russell Crowe) investigating children.

"Martian Child" (New Line) The furious editing technique used a notorious drug kingpin (Denzel Delicate, highly unusual story to link all the deadly moving parts Washington) who's shipping heroin . about widowed science fiction can't mask terrible dialogue and from Thailand to the States in Vietwriter (John Cusack) who adopts a acting; it's time for these killing nam War soldiers' body bags all the strange little boy (a perfectly cast games to cease. Pervasive bloody while posing as an upstanding famBobby Coleman) who insists he's violence and gore, including bodily ily man. Director Ridley Scott, come from Mars.

Director Menno mutilations, much rough language working from Steven Zaillian's Meyjes sustains a slightly surreal and profanity, images depicting fact-based script, captures the tutone throughout which keeps you rape, frontal male nudity. The multuous era's spirit and skillfully guessing whether the child is sim- USCCB Office for Film & Broadcounterbalances the prosperous ply delusional or actually an extra- casting classification is 0 - morcriminal with the struggling hero, terrestrial being, while an outstandbut the squalid milieu and strong ally offensive. The Motion Picture violence will not be to everyone's ing Cusack's fervent sincerity helps Association of America rating is R taste, despite a moderately redemp- makes the premise all the more - restricted. Under 17 requires tive ending. Pervasive rough lan- plausible, as the poignant script un- accompanying parent or adult guage and profanity, racial epithets, derscores themes of nonconformity, guardian. upper female nudity, adultery, a graphic sexual encounter without nudity, violence, murder, suicide, brief ~orture and drug dealing. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L - limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association ofAmerica rating is R - restricted. Under 17 reSCheduled celebrant is quires accompanying parent or Father Kevin J. Harrington, adult guardian. pastor of St. Francis of Assisi "Bee Movie" (DreamWorks) Parish in New Bedford Generally delightful animated feature about a scrappy bee (voice of Jerry Seinfeld) who decides to

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

I

NOVEMBER

9, 2007

4;

The Anchor

Tech support: Some Church officials keen about One Laptop Per Child

, The Anchor news briefs Public activism must be more focused on comm()n good, speaker says WASHINGTON (CNS) - Catholics involved in the public square must above all follow the principles of the common good, though that's a countercultural approach in both politics and contemporary American life, said the chairman of the department of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington. Speaking October 30 to a gathering of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Stephen Schneck, who also heads the university's Life Cycle Institute, a public policy research program, mtlined a five-step agenda for bringing a "common good agenda" to American public policy. "The foundation for Catholic thinking about politics, governance and policy is the idea of the common good," Schneck said. But that's "a hard notion for contemporary Americans to understand." And the momentum in American politics "is one accelerating (away) from anything like the common good," he said. "Let's remember that ours is a politics where citizens are encouraged - after a terrorist attack to go shopping."

CAFOD urges support ofjeweler working for clean gold standards LONDON (CNS) - A Catholic aid agency is calling for a postcard campaign to a prominent U.S. jeweler who is encouraging the world's gold industry to clean up its act. The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, aid agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, has asked its supporters to write to Matthew Runci of Canaan, Conn., as he spearheads efforts to establish international standards in the mining of gold. Runci is president and CEO of Jewelers of America, the national trade association for retail jewelers, and is chairman of the Council of Responsible Jewellery Practices, an international body consisting of more than 70 gold industry representatives. The Council of Responsible Jewellery Practices is developing industry standards that could tackle much of the harm often caused by gold mining, CAFOD said. CAFOD said it believes this is an opportunity to demand that standards are strong enough to change the industry. Helen Wolfson, head of campaigns at CAFOD, said: "We need standards that will mean real change for people living around gold mines; if the CRJP doesn't produce strong standards which can be independently verified, this will be a missed opportunity.

In Mexico, a blending of secular and sacred creates megafestival MEXICO CITY (CNS) - Jack-o'-lanterns and vampire masks adorn sprawling market stalls alongside yellow "cempasuchil" flowers traditionally given to the dead. Families pray at altars to their lost relatives, while their children dress up as witches and wizards. Teens grasp plastic skulls and ask passers-by to fill them with candy. It doesn't look like a traditional Day of the Dead celebration, but it doesn't look quite like a U.S.-style Halloween party, either. In recent years, many Mexicans have merged their Day of the Dead festival, celebrated November 1 and 2 on the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, with Halloween festivities like those of the United States. The result is a festival that includes elements from both traditions; children go "trick or treating" as in the U.S., but they do it on November 1 and carry replica skulls, an image with deep roots in Mexican culture.

Church officials and nationalists are angered by what they say is the encroachment of foreign pagan festivities on one of Mexico's most sacred holidays. Families have observed Day of the Dead for centuries, visiting the graves of their ancestors and making them altars decorated with food, drink and flowers.

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He said in one school in a small ROME (CNS) - A plan to equip the Catholic Church's school systems;' the world's poorest schoolchildren which include children in some very village in northern Cambodia, many with a low-cost, rugged, portable, poor parts ofthe world; he told Catho- parents.fell In love with their kids' computers because switching on the wireless laptop has found some enthu- lic News Service. .

I siastic support among the Jesuits and He said he would like to "get the laptop - which is powered by crankin the Vatican.

Church to directly participate and ing or pulling an internal dynamo Vatican officials, ambassadors to maybe provide (the laJtops) to kids in often made the display monitor the • • II the Vatican, and representatives of the very poorcountnes, m very remote ar- "brightest light source in the house."

The children soon became "guide world's religious orders were among eas."

II the more than 200 people attending a U.S. Jesuit Father Keith Pecklers and instructor" for their parents, teachlate October conference highlighting told CNS the Jesuits Jere encourag- ing adult family members how to Google for information and the One Laptop Per Child iniII ''find the wholesale priceofrice, tiative. The conference was .The Jesuits have always been "at for example, which really ansponsored by the communica" tions office of Rome's Jesuit the forefront of education, particularly noys the wholesalers, who go headquarters and two commis- in the poorest of the poorareas where to this village and usually take sions of the international orga- many would not wish tt;J go, so it strikes advantage of the rice farmers;' nization ofsuperiors general of me as appropriate and important that he said.

Kids even have set uptheir religious orders. the Jesuits would take the lead in supown makeshift ''laptop hospiNicholas Negroponte, porting this particular program. " tals;' where they have been able founder and chairman of the to "repair95 percent ofany failOne Laptop PerChild nonprofit ing other religious orders to become organization, originally looked to in- involved in the One Laptop Per Child ure on their laptop," he said The One Laptop Per Child prodividual nations to buy massive quan- project. gram provides the machines, and the tities of the XO laptop that govern'The impact the Ope Laptop Per ments would then distribute free of Child program will h~,ve on a global users create the content, he. said The XO laptop is "a portable school" that charge to school kids. level is phenomenal," lle said. children will be allowed to take home While a number ofdeveloping naA professor of liUJky at Rome's tions initially jumped on board to buy Pontifical Gregorian Urliversity, Father as their own and use anytime ''to exthe laptops, Negroponte said he soon Pecklers said the Jesuits have always plore, discover and share knowledge;' discovered ''there's abigdifference be- been "at the forefron~! of education, he said.

Though the low-cost laptops were tween a head of state agreeing to do a particularly in the pooibst of the poor million laptops and the state sending areas where many woilld not wish to initially destined only for children in the $200 million check." go, so it strikes me as aPpropriate and the developing world; Negropontesaid While Uruguay has since become important that the Jesuits would take individuals can soon purchase alaptop the first country to buy 100,000 ofthe tHe lead in supporting':this particular for themselves when they buy one for a poor child. For a briefperiod oftime first 300,000 laptops that begin pro- program."

I duction November 2, Negroponte has In an hourlong presentation, starting November 12, people can take widened the list of potential buyers to Negroponte outlined. the ways the part in the "Give 1Get 1 Program," he include individuals and religioUs or- white-and-bright-green laptops have said.

He said individuals can also go ders. Some 7,000 older laptops have already changed the lives of children been used in pilot projects around the who have been using the wireless tech- online at www.laptop.org to purchase world. nology in pilot projects for the past any number of XO laptops to donate to children in poorer nations.

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Kenyans jam basilica for installation of Nairobi archbishop NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) - Hundreds of people, including Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, jammed Holy Family Minor Basilica for the installation of Cardinal-designate John Njue, 63, as head of the Archdiocese of Nairobi. The former coadjutor archbishop of Nyeri, who will be made a cardinal November 24 at the Vatican, replaces Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana' a Nzeki, who retired October 6 after leading the archdiocese for 10 years. Archbishop Alain Lebeaupin, apostolic nuncio to Kenya who presided at the installation, urged local Catholics of various ethnic backgrounds to cooperate with the newly installed archbishop. The nuncio told the cardinal-designate, "You have not been installed for the Catholic faithful only, but for the entire people who happen to be within your pastoral jurisdiction." In his homily, Cardinal-designate Njue appealed to all Catholics to help him with his pastoral duties." I will count on you as you count on me," he said. "With God's guidance, I will do my best."

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NOVEMBER

9, 2007

Bush to nominate Glendon as ambassador to Vatican

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WASHINGTON (CNS) President George W. Bush will nominate Mary Ann Glendon, a U.S. law professor and president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, as the new u.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

The White House made the announcement late November 5.

She will succeed Francis Rooney, a businessman who has held the post since October 2005.

Glendon, a law professor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., has been a member of the social sciences academy since its founding in 1994.

In March 2004 Pope John Paul n named her pr~sident of the academy, marking the first time a woman has been named president of one ofthe major pontifical academies.

The social sciences academy focuses on issues related to the social sciences, economics, politics and law. Although autonomous, the academy works in consultation with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Glendon, 69, was the first woman named to head a Vatican delegation to a major U.N. conference; in 1995, Pope John Paul named her head of the Vatican delegation to the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing.

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Glendon's res~arch has focused on bioethics, human rights, the theory oflaw and comparative constitutionallaw.

Since 2001, she also has served on the President's Council on Bioethics, which advises the U.S. president.

In addition to teaching at Harvard, she has been a visiting professor at Jesuit-run Gregorian University and the Legionaries of Christ's Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum, both in Rome.

A native of Berkshire County, Mass., she lives with her husband, Edward R. Lev, in Chestnut Hill, Mass. They have three daughters.

Blessed Damien's sainthood cause takes step forwar~

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A SAINT IN THEIR MIDST - Father Damien de Veuster poses for a photograph in 1889 with boys of the Kalaupapa leper colony on Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995. His sainthood cause took a significant step forward with the recognition by the medical commission of the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes of a miracle attributed to his intercession. The Belgian missionary in 1873 went to the Hawaiian islands_ to care forthe permanently quarantined victims of Hansen's disease. (CNS file photo from Damien Museum, Honolulu)

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HONOLULU - The sainthood cause of Blessed Damien de Veuster took a significant step forward when the medical commission of the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes ruled that the healing of a Hawaiian woman of lung cancer more than 10 years ago was "unexp ainab e according to available medical knowledge."

The woman prayed to Blessed Damien and made pilgrimages to Kalaupapa, where he ministered and where in 1994 a portion of his remains were brought from his final resting place in Belgium.

According to Sacred Hearts Father Bruno Benati, the postulator of Blessed Damien's cause, the fivephysician commission's October 18 ruling was unanimous.

Father Benati made the announcement on the Website of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts October 19, the day after he received a phone call from the secretary of the congregation informing him of the commission's judgment.

The woman's healing still has to be approved as a miracle by a commission of theologians, a commission of bishops and cardinals, and ultimately by the pope. The theologians will judge whether or not the cure was because of Blessed Damien's intercession. The congregation's bishops and cardinals give the final approval and recommendation of canonization to the pope.

The path to sainthood requires two confirmed miracles. The first qualifies the candidate for beatification; the second is needed for canonization.

Blessed Damien was a Belgianborn missionary priest who served Hansen's disease patients on Molokai in Hawaii more than a century ago.

Through his heroic and saintly efforts, he transformed the settlement from a place of despair to a place of dignity. He died April 15, 1889, of leprosy.

Pope John Paul n beatified the priest June 4, 1995, in Brussels, Belgium.

For the beatification, the pope in 1992 approved the 1895 cure of a Sacred Hearts sister as a miracle attributed to the priest's intercession.

Father Edward Popish, a Hawaiian Sacred Hearts priest who works as treasurer in his congregation's general house in Rome, said the most immediate step is for the doctors to write up their report.

"The medical commission will have to publish an official document to be added to the official dossier of the cause," he told the HawaiiCatholic Herald, Honolulu's diocesan newspaper. ''Then they will send the entire document to the commission of theologians for study."

Father Popish said October 21 that the theological commission had not yet scheduled a meeting to discuss the Blessed Damien case.

If the second commission ultimately determines it is a miracle that can be attributed to Blessed Damien, the priest said, its decision will also be written up and added to the dossier on him. ''This dossier of documents is then handed over to the cardinals and bishops, who read it and present it to the pope," he said.

According to Sister of St. Francis Mary Laurence Hanley, director of the cause of Blessed Marianne Cope, the rest of the process could take a year or longer.

The cure in question was the disappearance of cancer, without treatment, from the lungs of a Honolulu woman. The case was first documented by Dr. Walter Y.M. Chang, the woman's physician, in an article

he wrote in the October 2000 issue of the Hawaii Medical Journal.

The doctor, who is not a Catholic, wrote that the "lung metastases disappeared with no therapy at all" over several months following prayers to Blessed Damien and pilgrimages to Kalaupapa by the patient.

Chang presented his findings to then-Honolulu Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, who established a tribunal to examine the claim.

The tribunal, which included doctors and canon lawyers among its members, completed its study April 16, 2003. It agreed that the healing was dramatic and defied medical explanation.

The tribunal's report and evidence were sealed and hand-delivered later that month to the Congregation for Saints' Causes by then-postulator Sacred Hearts Father Emilio Vega Garcia.

The Vatican congregation had the case opened for more than a year before sending it back to the diocese for further documentation and clarification. The diocesan tribunal reconvened in early 2005 to address the Vatican's concerns.

The Vatican accepted the resubmitted work of the diocesan tribunal Dec. 2, 2005.

Hawaii's other candidate for sainthood is Blessed Marianne Cope, FaIher Damien's successor in Kalaupapa, who was beatified in 2005.

According to Sister Mary Laurence, there have been several claims of miracles credited to Blessed Marianne's intercession.

She said the stories are "very touching" and show that Blessed Marianne is "most active."

But until they have an "airtight" case extraordinary enough to pass the rigors of a medical and theological examination, she said, the Sisters of St. Francis won't make any case public.

I

NOVEMBER

,

9,2007

The Anchor' '

Gov: ~atri~k esche~s ethics,morals in seeking , funding for embryonic stem-cell research

bryo- k·ll.ll ' , ,mous " em 1 ~,ng resea~ch plan with state tax nj.oney. , In his October 1 statement to Holy Cross; Bishop XttcManus had 'd I sal that the Church:is mission of 'defending human life was unequivocal, and that by affiliating itself with activitieJl that under. th'IS teach'mg, tIi,e school was . rmne endangering its CatHolic identity.

M eanw h'l 1 e, eth·1CS questIOns have plagued Robertj:K. Coughlin, , ' I the former undersecretary of Ho.using and Urban pevelopment ' who worked on PatriCk's biotech' nology initiatives eaJllier this year

In their earlier statement to the' governor, the bishops warned: "History has demonstrated that science must be governed by ethical principles rooted in the fundamental values of human dignity and sanctity of human life or it will bec,Pme the engine of great destruction. The governor minimizes the profound moral concernS at stake and attribute,S to science the exclusive authority to determine right and wrong." .

MCFL is urging people to contact state officials at 617-722-2000 to oppose this state subsidy ,of unI' while simultaneously talking with proven and unethical research.

No cures have been produced recruiters from the Massachusetts . B' hn 1 C II. from embryonic stem-cell research, 10tec Q .ogy o,:,-~cl1. but more than 70 medical conditions Cough~m then l~ft state emare now being treated with adult ploy to become the trade group.'s' stem cells.

A complete list of those new pre~ident in ~d~tember, ?ui treatments may be found at has demed ?e vlOfate~ ethICS www.stemcellresearch.org/factsl ,rules, accordmg to pubhshed retreatments. . ports.

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entrepreneurs" away without this ment calling the destructive research method "reprehensible.'" incentive.

But Dr. Michael F. Collins, inHis funding bill, H4~34, would , BOSTON ~ As baseball fans terim chancellor of the medical packed city streets to welcome, commit the state to spend half the school, praised the governor's plan their World Series-winning team total - $500 million - over the and said October 25 that the Mas, home, Mas~achusetts Gov. Deval' next decade from yearly budgets .sachusetts Human Embryonic Patrick made a pitch for taxpayers' by awarding rl?search grants and to bankroll his $1 billion human taX credits to biotech companies. Stem Cell Bank at the Shrewsbury It would authorize borrowing the ~clllnpus' sh'oulct be "up arid runembryo farm plan. ' Patrick's proposed lO-year Life other $500 million by issuing ning" within a year, according to Sciences Initiative needs legisla- bonds for capital investments, in- the Worcester paper.

Before becoming chancellor in tive approval to fund what he en- cluding a gene re'search center and visions as the nation's largest em- embryonic stem-cell bank at the 2005, Collins headed Caritas University of Massachusetts Medi- Christi , the health care system bryonic stem-cell research bank. sponsored by the Archdiocese of Despite the October 30 Boston , cal School.

Funding is actually underway Boston. Since 2002 he has been Red Sox parade making travel in Bgston a challenge, the on the ambitious proposal, despite chairman of the board of trustees Legislature's Joint Committee on ~ts still needing legislative autho- at the Jesuit-run College of th~ Holy Cross, which defied a strong Economic Development and rization for entire $1 billion.

On October 25, the Massachu- warning by Bishop McManus not Emerging Technologies held a State House public hearing on the setts Life Sciences Center granted to host an October 24 teen pregfunding bill. It would guarantee an $~.2 million to UMass Medical nancy forum run by abortion ad- , economic windfall to some bio- School to open an embryonic. vocates. . Pro-Life activist Jay Guillette of techn,ology, medical and academic stem-cell bank and registry .for storage, study-and distribution of Worcester has asked other con- . interests.

The Massachus~tts Catholic human embryonic stem-cell lines cerned Ca~holics to alert the bishop bi~hops and,others strongly oppose fr0":l researchers around the world, about the dichotomy of Collins the plan on both economic and the. Worcester Telegram and Ga- serving on the board of the Catho'lic college while directing an enormoral groQnds. It entails killing , zette reported.

The center also authorized $12 human embryos, exploiting women for egg production, and million for matching grants investCommercial & Industrial further ignoring ethical adult stem- ments' according ~Qe "Mass High Gas/Oil Burners cell research, which already has' Tech: The Journal ofNew England Technology." , . proven results." , LEMIEUX HEATING, INC. _ The awards are the first from "This is nothing short of bilComplete Boiler/Bumer Serviye lion dollar boondoggle. No indus- what the business journal called try should ever be given a virtual the "functioning arm" of Patrick's 2283 Acushnet Ave. blank check with taxpayer money Life Sciences Initiative. The Life New Bedford, Mass: 02745·2827 I Teaching Values For A Lifetime to launch itself," testified Marie Sciences Center is a q\}asi-public.

508-995-1631 Fax 508-995-1630 I Saturday· Sturgis, executive director of Mas- state agency created by the legissachusetts Citizens for Life. "The lature in 2006.

I December 1, 2007 Its awards camedays after $15 governor's legislation dares to .

8:00 • 11 :30 a.m. tread where the most ambitious of million was appropriated to it in a Sales And Service iI Walk-in Registration/Fee: $~O . venture capitalists have been reluc- supplemental budget signed by the governor, giving it a total of $25 Fall River's Largest tant to provide funding." .II' . Make-Up Exam December 8, 2007 .Display of TVs Sturgis said the plan's scope million.

U,S. Department of Education When Patrick began touting his .. "makes the Big Dig look like an .roationfJ/ Blue Ribbon School of Excellence human embryoRic stem-cell reZENITH • SONY un-ambitious project."

500 SLOCUM ROAD Associated Press also reported search plan last spring, theMassa1196 BEDFORD ST. NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA 02747 that a spokesman for the business chusetts Catholic Confere~ce, FALL RIVER .

508-996-5602 advocacy group Associated Indus- which represents the bishops of all VVWW.8ISHOPSTANG,COM 508-673-9721 tries of Massachusetts said the plan four dioceses, urged him to instead encourage ethical research using unfairly skews the playing field. , Patrick however, warned that adult or cord stem cells.

Bishop Robert McManus, in competitors could succeed in "acWebsite: cssdioc.org , tively luring our state's best an(i whose Worcester Diocese UMass II brightest researchers, doctors and Medical is located, issued a stateFALL RIVER Ii CAPE COD TAUNTON ATTLEBORO 1600BAYST. NEWBED~ORD 261 SOUTH ST. 78 BROADWAY 10 MAPLE ST. P.O. BOX M _SO. STA 238BO~Y ST. HYANNIS 508-226-4780 508-824-3264 508-674-4681 508-997-~~37 508·771-6771 ,

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YOJJTH PAGES

NOVEMBER

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.Advisory ~board formed to support'NB Catholic schools . NEW BEDFORD - A Greater · New· Bedford; Father Daniel New Bedford Catholic Advisory LaCroix, St. Francis Xavier School, . School BC?!:\fd has been formed with Acushnet; Father David Lupo, the overall goal of promoting, en- SS.CC., St. Joseph School, hancing, and supporting Catholic el- Fairhaven; Monsignor John J. Oliveira, St. Mary School, New Bedementary education in that region. ,An introductory meeting took ford; and Father John Gomes, St. . place hlst month arid there was, ac- Mary Parish, South Dartmouth; and cording to Diocesan Superintendent · principals Cecilia Felix, Holy Famof Schools George A. Milot, "real ily-Holy Name School, and Brenda excitement among those present Gagnon, S1. Joseph-St. Therese about the potential of the advisory School, both in New Bedford. board to be able to help the schools Appointed members to the board to continue to grow and excel, and of director~ are Gregory Centeio of to provide high quality education in . Fairhaven; Gary Fealy ofMattapoisett; the. future."

John Jablonski of Lakeville; and Fred .The creation of such a board was Kalisz Jr., Dorothy Lopes, John .one component of a long-term, Markey, Victor Pinheiro, Matthew . multi-faceted plan put forth last win- Thomas, and Susan Forgue Weiner, all IT'S THEIR SERVE - These students from Holy Trinity School in West Harwich are excited to train to ter to strengthen the six Catholic of New Bedford. become altar servers. Pastor Father EdwardA Healy is preparing them to serve at the weekly school schools located in New Be~ford, Ex-officio members Father John Mass. ' .

Oliveira, who is the dean of the New Acushnet, and Fairhaven.

Since then diocesan education . Bedford Deanery, Theresa Dougall, ficials, working with a representa- president of Bishop Stang High tive committee of pastors and prin- School in North Dartmouth, and Su.: . cipals from those schools, have perintendent George Milot complete drawn up guidelines to define· the the'poard. mission, structure, and composition!

Appointed members were seof the GNBCSB in preparation for lected by Milot from a group ofpro. itsformation this fall. spective members submitted by school principals and pastors.

Memb~rship will be open to all Milot said he is looking forward pastors in the New Bedford Deanery, principals of each school in th.e -to working with tIle group. "From_ region, the diocesan superintendent their perspective they will bring what of schools, and other appointed. they see as issues affecting our members invited to serve because of schools and our community,· and their particular expertise or past sup~ drawing on their experiences and talents, they can help us to better port of Catholic schools.

A board ofdirectors will manage, serve the needs ofNew'Bedford area 'the affairs and activities of the Catholic schools."

Seven major areas of foc~ have GNBCS13. It will consist of one representative from each of the six been identified for attention by the ' schools, ideally a mix of pastors and· GNBCSB. These are marketing, deprincipals; one area pastor whoSe velopment, education, technology, parish does not have a school; nine finance, athletics, and the arts. Subappointed members; and two ex of" · committees will J)e formed to adficio members: the dean of the New dress each of them. .

BedforctDeanery, and. the diocesan It is anticipated that the GNBCSB superintend~nt of schools, who will , will meet annually and the board of .

INTRA· V1URAL ACTIVITY - To help beautify the southern, exterior wall of"Espirito Santo School, . .chair the board. directors will meet every six to eight in Fall River, avolunteer parent, Deborah Cabral, painted a mural with more than 50 students. This Selected by their colleagues to weeks. Subcommittees will meet as mural can be seen from the highway passing the school. . , represent the schools on the board ,necessary to complete goals estabare pastprs Father Maurice O. lished by the GNBCSB and the Gauvin, St. James-Sf John School, board of directors.

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CORRECTION - It was mistakenly reported last week's An,chorthat students at St. Mary's School in Mansfield were awed

by participating ha I.::iving Rosary. it was in fact students at St. Mary's School in Taunton. The above photo shows students from the Taunton school prayerfully participating in the event. The Anchor regrets the error.

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YOUTH PAGES II

A storehouse of lessons learned

By CHARLIE MARTIN -

1973

A TIME FOR PLAY - Students at St. Mary's School in Taunton enjoy their new playground shortly after a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the facility.

Taunton school celebrates opening of new playground TAUNTON - St Mary's School recently began its celebration of''Onehundred years ofCatholic Education."

Parents, families, alumni and community friends gathered for the ceremo,nial, ribbon cutting officially opening the new playground in the back yard of the school.

'The prayers of many years of worried parents have been answered through the completion of this project," said Deborah Smith, the development coordinator behind this success stmy. ''Our children have been removed from the major intersection of Rte. 138 and the many motorists and emergency vehicles that often drive past at high speeds, jeopardizing their safety. A project of this size could not have been successful without the help of many individuals and companies in our community. The Students and families of St. Mary's are

grateful to all that contributed and are very proud to share the gift of a century with so many." .

Keeping true to the St Mary's colors, navy blue and white balloons were tied in various locations tlnoughout the playground A statue ofMary was also placed entry of the gate providing a feeling of peace knowing that "her quiet, gentle, presence would guide the rest of the day."

At noon, Principal Brian M. Cote and Events Coordinator Deborah Smith opened the ceremony expressing their gratitude to all that helped make this dream come true. Holy Union Sister Mary Elizabeth, a retired St. Mary's teacher, cutthe ribbon and Holy Cross Father Joseph Sidera shared a special prayer and blessing with everyone present Then the children ran to the playground and enjoyed the day.

Simona, You're getting older Your journey's been etched On your skin Simona, Wish 1 had known that What seemed so strong Has been and gone Refrain: I would call you up every Saturday night And we'd both stay out til the morning light And we sang, "Here we go again."

And though time goes by I will always be In a club with you In 1973 Singing, "Here we go again."

Simona, Wish I was sober So I could see clearly now The rain has gone Simona, I guess it's over My memory plays our tune The same old song (Repeat refrain three times.)

And though time goes by I will always be In a club with you In 1973 Sung by James Blunt Copyright (c) 2007 by Atlantic Good things happen when a debut album becomes a big success. However, this very success raises expectations.

When successful recording

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CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

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I: dd'ISC, artIsts put out a seqon often comparisons !:with the first disc make the !Icurrent I' effort seem lacking. Just ask James Blunt. His n'ew CD, "All the Lost Soul~," is getting mixed reviews at best. But I like his decidedly ~ownbeat style, plus how he offers listeners songs tha~ reflect life's complexitiesland emotional uncertafuties.

His lead release off the new disc is "1973." The song looks back at a past romance that "seemed so strong" at the time. The song's character remembers how "we'd both stay out 'til the morning light," but now only his "memory plays our tune."

In what is perhaps a chance meeting with his ex-girlfriend, he sees that "you're getting older.... Your journey's been etched on your skin." Yet his heart grows nostalgic for what they once shared. Maybe he wonders what could have been if events had unfolded differently.

Perhaps there were hurtful reasons why their romance did not endure, but now he chooses to emphasize what was good. While this choice encourages the nostalgia that he feels, it will also heal any residual hurt.

All relationships go through ups and downs. But I,

when a romance is over, it is important to move on emotionally. This includes forgiving yourself and the other person for mistakes made.

Such forgiveness grows by recognizing the good that occurred even though a present loss is painful.

Reviewing memories can also help us access the lessons gained from past situations.

For example, for the song's character, what if looking back to 1973 enables him to see that indeed he knew how to have a really good time with a girl, but he was less able to be an emotional support for the difficulties that she faced? He might ask himself, "Do I consistently offer the type of personal presence that enables others to feel loved and suppo*<l?"

If he wonders if he hasn't grown this necessary skill for an ongoing relationship enough, then now is the time to enhance his abilities.

Like all the personal powers that God gave to us, memory can be used to increase the quality of how we live or diminish it.

Your comments are always welcome. Please write to Charlie Martin at: chmartin@swindiana.net or at 7125W 200S, Rockport, IN 47635.

Discove路r the way There was a time when ships were built of wood. because it was commonly believed that in order to float they had to be built of materials lighter than water. In spite of this common theory, the smart money believed that ships could be built of iron and still float.

The leading' shipbuilder of the day stated that ships built of iron could not float be<:ause iron would not float; he proved his point by throwing a horseshoe into a tub of water. The people watched it sink and they believed him. However, if you think about it, he devised this demonstration based on his biased opinion that iron will not float - the result predicted the hypothesis.

How I know this to be true is because if he believed ships should be built of iron he would have thrown a steel washbasin in the water.

I bring up this story because too often we listen to people like the shipbuilder who have an agenda or who have only chosen

one way to look at things. Too many times, we listen to them and base important decisions in our life on the way they think instead of the way we think.

Doesn't that often happen to you young people today? You are bombarded with stories on today's "kids." You hear how bad other young people are and all of the things that will lead this next generation to ruin.

Unfortunately, you rarely hear about all of the good young people are capable of doing and actually do.

So many have agendas out there and so often we listen to them. If you are told that youth . are bad or that you are a loser, eventually we come to believe it.

It would certainly be a depressing world if we believed all that is said about this next generation. I can only imagine how you must feel.

This all came to mind several weeks ago when I met with our

CLI graduates and Team as they continued planning the Diocesan Youth Convention which took place October 28 at Bishop Stang High School. These CLI grads made a commitment to plan the convention but I would never have

believed that most of them would make the planning meetings to create an exciting youth convention, planned by young people, for young people. They used the skills presented at eLI to plan the convention and they did an absolutely phenomenal job. They are excited and enthusiastic. They planned workshops that surely met the needs of our diocesan youth.

The opening prayer s~rvice was poignant and spirituall; The closing liturgy had all of the ~lements that made it a truly person3I and uplifting close to the event.

I believe that what: each of us needs is an internal filter that will help us deterfuine what is true and what is biased and not worthy of our I thoughts. To fIle, that internal filter; of course, is God. If I filter all that I the see and hear through II eyes and ear~' of faith, then I will b~! better able to filter out tlie junk II _ messages. E~h and every day we still hear abOllt all of the stars or celebrities thJt make unbelievably stupid rilistakes in " judgment and hopefully we ask, I "How can they do that?" rather than, "How can I berhore like II them?" Although the phrase "What would Jesus db?" has become so commerciMized, I feel it is still the question tltat we I,

should ask o=elves then w<

encounter an important s~tuation that needs us to make an important decision.

If you think about it, today, everybody is still trying to tell us what to think even though these people do not know much more than we do. Moreover, if the past is any indicator, these shapers build a set of assumptions that fit their desired results most of the time. However, we have our own moral compass. So, the moral of this story is, that most everyone is biased or motivated in one direction or another, and, as a result, we should think for ourselves and not be overly swayed by what people say.

Simply put - only you can tell yourself what to think.

Frank Lucca is a youth minister at St. Dominic's parish in Swansea. He is the chair and director ofthe YES! Retreat and director ofthe Christian Leadership Institute. He is a husband and a father oftwo young lmlies.

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NOVEMBER

9,2007

Bishops to choose president, vice president from among 10 candidates

FOR FALLEN BRETHREN - Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican November 5 to commemorate cardinals and bishops who died during the previous 12 months. (eNS photofTony Gentile, Reuters) ,

OPEN HOUSE

2007

WASHINGTON (CNS) - The U.S. bishops will elect their president, vice president, treasurer-elect and 10 committee chairmen and chairmen-elect at the November meeting of the U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops in Baltimore.

The new president will succeed Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., who completes his threeyear term at the end of the November 12-15 meeting.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago completes his term as vice president at the November meeting.

In addition to leading a committee, each chairman also is a member of the USCCB Administrative Committee, which carries on the work of the conference between its plenary assemblies. Terms are for three years but under a current reorganization tenus ofoffice for committee chairs are for either two or three years to prevent a complete change every three years. Plans call for one-third of the committee chairmen to change annually.

The candidates for president are Cardinal George and Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia; Archbishops Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee and Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky.; and Bishops Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, Texas; Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz.; William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn.; Dennis M. Schnurr of Duluth, Minn.; Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pa.; and Allen H. Vigneron of Oakland, Calif.

After a president is chosen from among the 10 candidates, the remaining nine become the slate of candidates for vice president.

For the post of treasurer-elect, the candidates are Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., and Archbishop Kurtz.

Here are the committees for which chairmen are being elected and the two nominees: - Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church: Bishop Richard 1. Garcia of Monterey, Calif., and Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio.

- Committee on National Collections: Bishop

Ronald P. Herzog ofAlexandria, La., and Archbishop John G. Vlazny of Portland, Ore. - Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth: Archbishop Roger L Schwietz of Anchorage, Alaska, and Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth, Texas.

- Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and .Vocations: Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston and Bishop George L. Thomas of Helena, Mont.

The chairmen of the committees on cultural diversity and national collections will serve for two years, while the other two committee chairmen will hold their posts for three years.

Here are the committees for which chairmen-elect are being chosen and the two nominees: - Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance: Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of S1.

Louis and Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Chicago.

- Committee on Catholic Education: Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of Los Angeles and Auxiliary Bishop Walter J. Edyvean of Boston.

- Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs: Bishop Tod D. Brown of Orange, Calif., and Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta.

- Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis: Bishop Richard J. Malone of Portland, Maine, and Auxiliary Bishop Richard E. Pates of S1. Paul and Minneapolis.

- Committee on International Justice and Peace: Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., and Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y. - Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People: "Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., and Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D. Chairmen-elect serve for a year, giving them time to become familiar with the responsibilities and activities of the committees they will head.

Congress urged to consider global warming measures' impact on poor WASHINGTON (CNS) - The chairman of the U.S. bishops' international policy committee and other religious leaders said October 31 that, as Congress begins to consider measures to address global warming, lawmakers must protect "those often missing from the debate - the vulnerable and often voiceless people at home and around the world."

"We are convinced the real 'inconvenient truth' about climate change is that those who contribute least to the problem are likely to suffer the most," said Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando,

Fla.

#Set Your Heart On Things Above"

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... Cal. 3:1

For more information call

508.226.1731 ENTRANCE EXAM: Saturda " December 1 7:45 a.m.-ll:30 a.m.} --' -~

He made the comments during a teleconference with reporters.

Other religious leaders who participated included the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Rev. Michael Livingston, president of· the National Council of Churches.

"For us, the moral measure of legislation is how it protects 'the least among us' ... in our nation and

on the planet we share," Bishop and advocacy will focus primarily Wenski said. . on reducing the unfair burdens and On November I a subcommittee protecting the lives and dignity of ofthe Senate Environment and Pub-· those often missing from the delic Works Committee voted four-to- bate, vulnerable and often voiceless. three to send a bill to cap greenhouse people ... at home and around the gas emissions to the full committee, world." which is chaired by Sen. Barbara In August leaders of the National Boxer, D-Calif. Boxer said she hopes Religious Partnership for the Envithe full committee will approve the ronment sent a letter to Congress saying they understand "the dauntbill by the end of the year.

The bill, called America's Cli- ing task Congress faces in crafting mate Security Act, is sponsored by adequate responses" to global cliSens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., mate change. and John Warner, R-Va. But at the same time "we recogAmong other things, the bill .nize that because of the magnitude aims to reduce greenhouse gas of the climate issue, which will litemissions by as much as 19 percent erally and likely affect all of hufrom 2005 levels by 2020 and by mankind, our policy choices must as much as 63 percent by 2050. be informed by and be consistent Also, polluters would be allowed to with the moral principles that bind us together," they said. buy and sell emission credits.

The U.S. Conference of Catho"We are grateful that overdue and essential legislative delibera- lic Bishops is one of the four memtions are now moving forward and bers of the partnership. The others we appreciate the good faith and are the Coalition on the Environencouraging efforts under way to ment and Jewish Life, the Evangeliaddress these priorities by the lead- cal Environmental Network and the ers ofthis important effort," Bishop National Council of Churches, which represents mainly Orthodox Wenski said.

He added, "The Church's voice and mainline Protestant churches.

NOVEMBER

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Around the Diocese ~

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ATTLEBORO - The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette at 947 Park Street will offer a Bible study, "Gospel of John Part 2," presented by Father Donald Paradis, M.S. tomorrow and November 17. It will be held in the Reconciliation Chapel from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. To register contact the Programs Office at 508·236·9068.

FALL RIVER.- A study of the Book of Genesis will be held Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Shrine of St. Anne Church at 780 South Main Street. The meetings run until December 18 and then start again January 15.

,--- --._-----_._._.__ I Eucharistic Adoration L __ . _._ _._.__JI ._.~

ATTLEBORO - The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette at 947 Park Street celebrates Divine Mercy holy hour every Wednesday evening immediately following the 6:30 p.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed during the holy hour.

CENTERVILLE - A Divine Mercy holy hour with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place 6 to 7:30 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at Our Lady of Victory Parish at 230 South Main Street.

r; - - - - - - - - - . ·····-----'1 Il..Healing Service . ;'

FALL RIVER - A healing Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne's Church, 818 Middle Street, November 15 at 6:30 p.m., followed by Benediction and healing prayers. The rosary will be recited at 6 p:m.

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ATTLEBORO - The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette at 947 Park Street is holding its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Non-perishable food items can be left in the box in the church's Hall of Memories until November 18. The food will be distributed to the Council of Churches food bank and the La Salette Shrine Soup Kitchen.

FAIRHAVEN - Missionaries of La Salette Father Andre Patenaude will perform at St. Mary's Church at 41 Harding Road tomorrow at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served in the church hall following the concert, and all proceeds will benefit the residents of Our Lady's Haven. f_·

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ATTLEBORO - The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette will host John Polce November 16 at 7:30 p.m. for Bethany Nights, a night of music prayer, and healing. .ATTLEBORO - SI. John the Evangelist Church at 133 North Main Street will hold a Holiday Concert December 9 at 3 p.m. St. John's Adult Choir and Youth Choir will perform. Please bring a canned good for the St. Vincent ~e Paul Food Pantry as admission.

CENTERVILLE - Our Lady of Victory Parish is hosting a blood drive November 14 from noon to 6 p.m. at the parish center. In honor if .its 50th anniversary, the parish has a goal of 50 pints. To make an appointment or for information call Megan Roche at 508-863-5273.

The Anchor ,

Adopt

Continued from page one

"One of the things I really find helpful about the program is that it goes for nine months unlike most events which happen one day and end:' Father Costa wrote in an email message.

At the main entrance to the church program organizers are placing large pictures of a fetus developing, varying them over time to follow the progress of a child conceived in October.

The idea is to remove abortion from the realm of abstractions, by showing what an unborn child looks like.

"And young children see this, and they're amazed that this tiny little thing was like themselves, and they're all grown up," said Lee O'Malley, who along with Sue Caughey co-chairs the parish's Respect Life Committee.

So we're hoping that a step at a time people will realize the dignity of life, and that it's a gift of God," O'Malley said. "Every baby is a gift of God, and so is your life."

Near the end of the nine months the parish plans to hold a baby shower. The gifts are to be donated to two crisis pregnancy centers nearby.

Jim Riley, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 420 in Mansfield, is helping the Respect Life Committee with the spiri- . tual adoption program.

He said the blow-up pictures of

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a fetus developing in the womb at the main entrance to the church are particularly helpful in getting the message across about just what a product of conception is. He said he recently read that a fetus has a heartbeat as early as 18 days after conception, or even before many women know that they are pregnant.

If more people understood that, he said, more might understand that a fetus is a human being, and looks like one early in its development.

"I firmly believe that nobody can argue with a heartbeat, that heartbeat

is life:' Riley said. "The pictures are wonderful. You can't argue with the pictures that it's a baby."

As for the prayer campaign, Riley suggests extending it beyond the unborn children at risk.

"I just have the utmost respect for mothers who carry babies to full term. To me, they are the real heroes:' Riley said. "I would encourage people to pray for the babies But I would encourage people to pray harder for the mothers and fathers.

They're the ones that need to get some little inkling that they can hold onto to make the right decision."

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lnY9IJrJ>.rayers

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks

Nov. 12 EAST TAUNTON - Holy Family Church at 370 Middleboro Avenue hosts an hour of prayer for families from 1 to 2 p.m. each Wednesday.

FALL RIVER - A candlelight vigil in recognition of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week will take place on the steps of St. Anne's Church, 818 Middle Street, November 15 at6 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for Thanksgiving baskets for the needy.

For information call 508-679-5233 ext. 13, or 508-679-0131.

FALL RIVER - A course on Christian spirituality is offered on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Shrine at Saint Anne's Church at 818 Middle Street. The course runs until December 3.

MANSFIELD - St. Mary's Catholic School, 330 Pratt Street, will hold its annual Holiday Shopping Extravaganza November 15 from 7-10 p.m. in the gymnasium.

For information contact Karen at cglaropoulos@comcast.net.

NEW BEDFORD - Our Lady of Purgatory Parish will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar at the Lebanese Center at 89 Merrimac Street on November 17 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.,and November 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD - St. Joseph-SI. Therese Parish will hold its Holiday Craft Fair November 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Church Hall at Acushnet Avenue across from Brooklawn Park.

NORTH DARTMOUTH - St. Julie Billiart Parish at 494 Slocum Road is starting a Young Adults Group for Catholics in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

Activities will include adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, faith sharing meetings, social nights and community service projects. For information contact Brian at 508- 742-7287 or St. Julie Billiart Parish at 508-993-2351.

WRENTHAM - St. Mary's Parish, 130 South Street, will hold a day honoring SI. Padre Pio on November 17. It will begin with eucharistic adoration at11 a.m. and a Mass at noon. .

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NORTH DARTMOUTH - Diocesan Divorced and Separated Support Group which meets in the Family Life Center at 500 Slocum Road every second and last Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. will host Dr. Patrick McCarthy who will address "Transition to Singlehood." For more information contact Joanne Dupre at 508-965-9296 or Bob Menard at 508-9652919.

1924. Rev. James H. Looby. Pastor, Sacred Heart. Taunton 1925. Rev. Bernard Boylan, Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River

Nov. 13 Rev. Louis J. Deady; Founder. St. Louis. Fall River, 1924 Rev. William H. O·Reilly. Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Taunton. 1992 Rev. Clarence J. d'Entremont, Retired Chaplain, Our Lady's Haven, Fairhaven. 1998

Nov. 14 Rev. Francis J. Duffy. Founder, St. Mary. South Dartmouth, 1940 Rev. William A. Galvin. JCD. Retired Pastor. Sacred Heart, Taunton.

1977 Deacon John H. Schondek, 2001

Nov. 15 Rev. Thomas F. LaRoche. Assistant, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1939 Rev. Daniel E. Doran, Pastor. Immaculate Conception, North Easton. 1943

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Nov. 16

Rev. John Brady, Former Pastor, Sandwich, New Bedford, Wareham. 1856

Nov. 17 Rev. Henry R. Canuel, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart. New Bedford, 1980

Nov. IS Rev. William Beston, C.S.c., 2004

Our Lady's Monthly Message From Medjugorje October 25, 2007 Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina "Dear children! God sent me among you out of love that I may lead you towards the way of salvation. Many of you opened your hearts and accepted mymessages, but many have become lost on this way and have never come to know the God of love with the fullness of heart.

Therefore, I call you to be love and light where there is dar~ness and sim. I am with you and bless you all. ''Thank you for having responded to my call."

Spiritual Life Center of Marian Community 154 Summer Street Medway, MA 02053· Tel. 508-533-5377 Paid advertisement

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NOVEMBER 9~

2007

I eEL completes draft translations

of book of prayers for Mass "

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The International Commission on ~n­ glish in the Liturgy announced it has completed draft translations of the 2002 Roman Missal, the book of prayers used for Mass.

In a Nov. 1 statement, Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds, England, said'the commission had sent Englishcspeaking bishops the draft translation of the final section of the Missal.

"Thus, the draft phase of the commission's work of translating the Missal has,been brought to completion, some five years after the publication of the original," the statement said.

Members of the 11 bishops' conferences sponsoring ICEL are asked to review the draft translation, make comments or suggestions, and re- ' tum those to ICEL by March 2008.

The bishops' suggestions 'and those of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, which established the Vox Clara Committee to help it review English translations, are used by ICEL to prepare a final proposed translation.

The individual bishops' conferences vote on the translation, with or without local adaptations, and submit it to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments for final approval.

While ICEL has completed the first drafts of all the Mass prayers, the Nov. I statement said it expected to continue working until the end of 2008 preparing the final pro-

posed translations for the bishops' conferenc~s.

The 11: conferences cover Australia, Canada, England and Wales, India, Irelimd, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Scotland, South Afuca and the United States.

The last section of the Missal to be translated into English consisted of materia1 listed in' the appendix ofthe original Latin-language missal. ' Accor~ing to ICEL, the bishops are getting their first look at prayers for blessirg and sprinkling holy water; the ;rite for commissioning a minister to distribute Communion; and 11 sets of sample formulas for the "universal prayer" or prayers of the faithful for specific times of year or specific circumstances.

Also irtcluded in the new draft are trans~ations of a variety of prayers priests can use in their persorial preparation for celebrating Mass and! for giving thanks after having ce~ebrated the liturgy.

The Latin-language missal's original ~ppendix also included eucharistid prayers for Masses with children and eucharistic prayers for reconcilia~ion and for various other needs. Dr~ft translations of those prayers were sent to the bishops for comment earlier, ICEL said.

In his lt1tter to the bishops, Bishop Roche als~ said, "the music is not yet in final form." The original appendix of the Roman Missal contains musi~al settings for the main prayers us~d at every Mass.

WORI~:ING HAR~

- Making plans to get the word out on the good works done by the Diocesan C?uncil of Catholic Women are, from left: Maddy Lavoie; Lynette Ouellette, Boston/Providence , Director for NCCW, and Claudette Armstrong, DCCW president. (Photo by Brian Kennedy)

DCCW seeking new members in hope of advancing services BRIAN KENNEDY, ANCHOR STAFF

FALL RIVER-'- With successful programs and enhancing spiritual support already in place, the Fall River Diocesan Council ofCatholic Women is actively recruiting new members as it looks to expand its charitable outreach.

With approximately 50 affiliates and 1,000 hardworking and dedicated local members, the DCCW provides an immense range of charitable and developmental services that help its fellow men and women.

Unfortunately, as large as the numbers may appear, it is a reduction in strength from previous years, DCCW officials reported in a recent sit-down session with The Anchor.

The need for a timely recruitment drive is essential, they asserted.

The initial move and methods include creating a dedicated Website, meeting with campus ministry directors at Catholic high schools and colleges, and urging parish priests and women's groups to assist them, said Lynette Ouellette, BostonlProvidence director for NCCW, and Claudette Armstrong, DCCW president.

It also means revamping some of the time commitments and making programs more appealing and accessible to the ''younger generation," they noted.

The problems facing a successful recruitment drive are many and hard to overcome.

With the increase ofstreet crime, the endemic ofsingle motherhood, and the general population drop in the Catholic faith in many areas including the Fall River Diocese; more and more women are just too busy, worried, or preoccupied to give up their time to charitable causes, they said. , "Nobody feels safe walking around in neighborhoods at night," lamented Armstrong. "Many of our members are older and want to meet in the afternoon becau~e they don't feel safe driving at night. But the younger women can't meet in the afternoon because they havejobs," added Ouellette.

One potential source for new DCCWmembers is the already strong youth presence in the Pro-Life movement, said Madeline Lavoie of the Diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate.

Even one person can make a huge impact. Armstrong reported how one of her newer members, Ginna Desmarais, has done ''tremendous work." ''!wish I had 10 more just like her," said Armstrong.

Desmarais was responsible for putting together the Hail .: , Mary's for Peace campaign and arranging for the visit of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima to St. John of God ParA RED SEA - Thousari'ds of Catholics pariicipatet~:a"proce~sion ish in Swansea for an October 16 celebratio~, she told in honor of Our Lady of Chiquinquira-in Maracaibo, Venezuela, OcThe Anchor in a telephone conversation. tober 27. The gathering is one ofVenezuel~'s most important reliThe statue was enshrined there for veneration from gious festivals. (CNS/Reuters), ! '

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late morning until evening, and after a procession attendees enjoyed a small meal. Unused canned foods were given to a soup kitchen.

"If everyone gave just an hour, so many good things can be done," Desmarais stated. The group's outreach continues to be notable.

Last year the local DCCW's Water for Life prognim alone collected $3,000 to provide water to regions in the world without a potable and reliable water supply.

Another new programs is Collecting Women's Suits, which provides new and used business attire for women returning to the workforce who may not be able to afford outfits.

A new and much heralded project for fan1ilies in need provides clothes for infants and new mothers. The program is currently in place at Tobey Hospital in Wareham' and St. Luke's in New Bedford. Hopes are to expand the program.

For the spiritual needs of its members and others, DCCW offers Days ofRecollection, living rosaries, evangelization and their new program "Hail Mary's for Peace."

The Council has been providing spiritual, leadership, and material support since June 1953, when it was founded

by Bishop James L. Connolly. And while it has bravely managed over the years, the cUrrent struggle is to attract younger members to replace or support some of its ~tir­ ing members ''who are veterans of worthy causes."" .'

It isn't necessarily alack ofstructure hurting DCCW, members explained.

With a vibrant national organization (NCCW), it has committees including the church Commission informing members of spiritual events to enhance their faith, as well as the Family Concerns Commission, which addresses domestic violence and care for the elderly.

At the local level, DCCW also works through its Legislative Commission to infOml women about the legislative process and its importance, and to fight legislation that goes against Catholic values.

Its Organization Commission builds and inspires leadership qualities by providing training and development opportunities.

In the various parishes and deaneries, the women's organization's goal is to work for the Church in every way imaginable, including programs and groups that target every Catholic who is concerned about the Church and has the passion to make a difference.

DCCW officials said they hope and pray the recruitment drive IS successful and so bring their good works to and beyond their former levels.

To learn more about DCCW or to join contact Claudette Armstrong at 508-672-1658 or email angellady21@comcast.net.