11.25.11

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , November 25, 2011

Roman Missal changes recall revisions after Vatican II

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — As all the priests of the diocese prepare to adopt the newly-revised English translation of the Roman Missal Sunday, some of the most seasoned were reminded of the initial and more wholesale Liturgical changes that were made in the wake of Vatican II more than 40 years ago.

“There were many more changes made back then,” said Father Thomas C. Lopes, a retired priest of the Fall River Diocese. “Personally, I think at the time we were all excited as priests about the changes. Not all the people were on board yet, though, so it took time for them to accept and be comfortable with the changes.”

Father Lopes remembers that people in his parish had become comfortable silently praying the Rosary in English during the Latin Mass because “it was in a

language that wasn’t familiar to them.”

“I think initially it was difficult for the congregation,” he added. “And there were many physical changes like having the priest face the people instead of the altar.”

Father William P. Blottman, another retired diocesan priest, agreed the changes were much more comprehensive and difficult to adjust to back in 1970.

“We had gone from using Latin, which was the official language of the Church at the time, to English,” Father Blottman said. “But I think after a few months or so everyone saw the wisdom in making these changes. There was more active participation from the congregation and people were getting involved with celebrating the Mass.”

According to retired priest and diocesan archivist Father Turn to page 18

Pulitzer Prize winner to extol benefits of Catholic education

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

WESTPORT — Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitzer prize-winning presidential biographer and historian, will be the featured speaker at this year’s St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner on November 30, at White’s of Westport. Beginning with a 5:30 p.m. reception, the proceeds from the annual event help benefit the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which provides need-based financial scholarships to students at Catholic elementary and middle schools throughout the Fall River Diocese.

The Rhode Island native recalls being drawn to politics and history during her graduate studies, but it was when

she worked in the White House under then-President Lyndon B. Johnson that she began her ascent to becoming one of the country’s foremost presidential historians. That experience of working with him at the White House and later assisting Johnson with his memoirs, as well as earning a Ph.D in government at Harvard and teaching at Harvard — including a course on American History — helped guide Goodwin towards the subject of her first book, “Lyndon Johnson and The American Dream.”

“It wasn’t planned out as it might have seemed later,” said Goodwin, “but it just happened that the experience was so much of a privilege of working Turn to page 14

following the star — Off in the distance images of the Magi appear to be on the long journey to visit the Christ Child at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro. This year’s Festival of Lights, entitled “Light of Life,” opened yesterday and continues until Jan. 1, 2012. The 2011 event promises to be inspiring and breathtaking, with additional features added to the traditional.

(Photo by Dave Jolivet)

Festival of Lights brightens season

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

ATTLEBORO — When Our Lady of La Salette visited two shepherd children, 15-year-old Melanie Calvat, and 11-year-old Maximin Giraud, on a mountain side in the French Alps in 1846, she appeared “within a light that was brighter than the sun.” It’s in that tradition of light that the Missionaries of La Salette in Attleboro established the Festival of Lights in 1953.

Since then, millions have flocked to the shrine between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day to view the Christmas story illuminated by thousands of lights, giving pilgrims “the opportunity to meditate on the close relationship between the Christ Child, the Light of the World, and his mother,” who appeared to the shepherd children in a dazzling brilliance.

Turn to page 10

The committal: Bidding adieu

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

WAREHAM — After the wake and funeral Mass, the third stage of the Church’s funeral Liturgy takes place as the loved one’s mortal remains are committed to the earth. It is a very emotional time, but one that brings light in the midst of sorrowful darkness.

“It’s literally the closure that it brings. It’s something all the rites are working towards,” said Father John Sullivan, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham.

“The vigil helps us to reflect on this life; the Eucharist gives us the opportunity to reflect on the life to come; and when we’ve

gone through those steps, it helps us with the separation of the mortal remains of our loved Turn to page 18

First Sunday of Advent

November 27,2011

UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN – The committal is the final step in the rite of a proper Christian burial and it “makes that final, though painful, severance of the person from the natural life,” said Father John Sullivan, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham. “It helps us to go on, to heal and be able to make the transition into the new life without them in our physical presence. Our hope is that we’ll be with them in eternal life.” (Photo by Becky Aubut)

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November 25, 2011 News From the Vatican In Africa, pope asks Church to be model of reconciliation

COTONOU, Benin (CNS) — On a three-day visit to Benin, Pope Benedict XVI urged African Catholics to witness the hope of the Gospel in their daily lives and make the Church a model of reconciliation for the entire continent.

In a particular way, the Church must be “attentive to the cry of the poor, the weak, the outcast,” the pope said at a Mass November 20 for more than 50,000 people who filled a stadium in Cotonou.

“I would like to greet with affection all those persons who are suffering, those who are sick, those affected by AIDS or by other illnesses, to all those forgotten by society. Have courage! The pope is close to you in his thoughts and prayers,” he said.

The 84-year-old pontiff delivered his homily in French, English and Portuguese, adding a few words in Fon, the local indigenous language. He occasionally wiped his brow as temperatures rose during the morning Liturgy.

The pope stressed the urgency of evangelizing and said the Church must make a special effort to reach those “whose faith is weak” and who think selfish satisfaction and easy gain is the goal of human life.

“The Church in Benin has received much from her missionaries; she must in turn carry this message of hope to people who do not know or who no longer know the Lord Jesus,” he said.

The pope’s message was aimed beyond the borders of Benin, a small West African country with a population of nearly three million Catholics out of a total population of nearly nine million. At every one of his public events, Africans — including many pilgrims who came from neighboring countries — gave the pontiff a lively welcome, blending song, dance and prayer in a spirit of religious celebration. The smiling pope clearly appreciated the reception.

One of the most animated encounters saw the pope surrounded by several hundred schoolchildren, who accompanied him in a rhythmic procession and cheered him inside a parish church. In a talk, the pope told the children to ask their parents to pray with them.

“Sometimes you may even have to push them a little. But do not hesitate to do so. God is that important!” he said.

Later he pulled a Rosary from his pocket and asked the young

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, has been replaced as archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Vatican announced.

In a regular bulletin listing church appointments and resignations November 21, the Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had named Spanish Archbishop Santos Abril Castello, the Vatican’s vice chamberlain, to the post.

Cardinal Law turned 80 November 4.

Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Law to the position in May 2004, about two years after he resigned as Boston’s archbishop amid criticism of his handling of clerical sexual abuse cases in the archdiocese.

Since his appointment to the position in Rome, Cardinal Law has kept a relatively low profile.

One of his regular duties as archpriest is to celebrate Mass on August 5, a special service marking the date in 358 when Mary caused snow to fall on the spot of the basilica to indicate where she wanted a church built in her honor.

It is a popular church event, marked by white flower petals being released from the ceiling of the basilica.

For the past few years, groups representing victims of priestly sexual abuse have asked Pope Benedict to bar Cardinal Law from celebrating such a high-visibility Mass.

Cardinal Law’s future plans were not immediately known.

Vatican replaces Cardinal Law as archpriest of Rome basilica

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OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 55, No. 45

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

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people to learn how to pray it. Each child was given a Rosary at the end before they left.

On November 19, the pope traveled to the coastal city of Ouidah, a former slave trading post on the Atlantic, to sign his follow-up document to the 2009 Synod of Bishops for Africa. The 138-page text said the Church should lead the way in promoting respect for human dignity and life at every stage, fighting against economic imbalance and environmental degradation, providing health care to those with AIDS and other diseases, educating the young and reconciling human hearts in places of ethnic tension.

In a brief talk before the signing, the pope said that in the face of Africa’s problems, “a Church reconciled within herself and among all her members can become a prophetic sign of reconciliation in society” and help guide the struggle against “every form of slavery” in the modern world.

Ouidah is known as a center of voodoo practices in West Africa, and in a meeting with Catholic faithful there the pope underlined the need to reject customs incompatible with Christianity. Understood correctly, he said, the Christian faith “liberates from occultism and vanquishes evil spirits, for it is

moved by the power of the Holy Trinity itself.”

He also encouraged lay Catholics to defend the institution of the family “built according to the design of God” and the Christian understanding of marriage. Parents should transform family life through the power of prayer and by transmitting values to their children by their own example, he said.

In a Ouidah church, Pope Benedict prayed at the tomb of Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, who worked for many years with the future pope in the Roman Curia. The pope said that over the years, the two had met many times, engaged in deep discussions and prayed together.

Addressing diplomats, civil authorities and religious representatives November 19 in Cotonou, the pope said Africa’s challenges reflect wider issues common to all humanity, including scandals and injustice, corruption and greed, and “too much violence which leads to misery and death.”

He urged world leaders to put the common good at the center of their policies.

“From this place, I launch an appeal to all political and economic leaders of African countries and the rest of the world. Do not deprive your peoples of hope! Do not cut

them off from their future by mutilating their present!” he said.

The pope also cautioned the international community against viewing Africa solely as a place of problems and failures. Often this perspective is fueled by prejudices, he said.

“It is tempting to point to what does not work; it is easy to assume the judgmental tone of the moralizer or of the expert who imposes his conclusions and proposes, at the end of the day, few useful solutions,” he said.

He warned of the related risk of seeing Africa only in terms of vast resources that can be easily exploited.

Relations between Christians and Muslims in Benin are generally good, and representatives of Islam were among those present at the Cotonou meeting. The pope emphasized that “everyone of good sense” understands the need for interreligious dialogue today and rejects the attempt to justify intolerance or violence.

“Aggression is an outmoded relational form which appeals to superficial and ignoble instincts. To use the revealed word, the Sacred Scriptures or the name of God to justify our interests, our easy and convenient policies or our violence, is a very grave fault,” he said.

Pope signs apostolic exhortation ‘Africae Munus’

Cotonou, Benin (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI has signed his Apostolic Exhortation “Africae Munus,” a teaching document which charts a future for the Catholic Church in Africa.

“Africa, land of a New Pentecost, put your trust in God! Impelled by the Spirit of the Risen Christ, become God’s great family, generous with all your sons and daughters, agents of reconciliation, peace and justice!” the pope said at the signing ceremony in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the southern Benin city of Ouidah November 19.

The document contains the pope’s conclusions following the Synod of African Bishops held in Rome in 2009.

After a brief moment of Eucharistic adoration, the Pope explained what he hoped the 2009 synod had achieved. He also explained his hopes for his new exhortation, which will be presented to the bishops of the continent at a Mass in the city of Cotonou tomorrow morning.

He told the African bishops that the Synod had benefited from Pope John Paul II’s 1995 Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Africa.”

That document stressed “the urgent need to evangelize” the continent and viewed evangelization as an activity inseparable from the

work of human development.

The earlier document also developed the concept of the Church as “God’s Family,” something that had borne “many spiritual fruits” for the Church and for the activity of evangelization in African society as a whole. Increasingly, he said, the Church is called to see herself “as a family.”

This, for Christians, means being “a community of believers which praises the triune God,” and which celebrates “the great mysteries of our faith.” It also means to “enliven with charity” the relationships between individuals, groups and nations above and beyond ethnic, cultural and religious differences.

This love is not confined to Catholics, but is offered to everyone in Africa. Pope Benedict said the Church is open to cooperation with “all the components of society,” including other Christian groups and non-Christians, including Muslims.

The principal theme of the synod, the pope explained, was reconciliation with God and neighbor. “(A) Church reconciled within herself and among all her members can become a prophetic sign of reconciliation in society within each country and the continent as a whole.”

Touching upon the continent’s

slave trade history, the pope said the Church is now impelled to “combat every form of slavery,” including those forms which undermine peace and justice in present day Africa.

“Peace is one of our greatest treasures,” he told the basilica.

To attain peace, “we need to have courage and the reconciliation born of forgiveness, the will once more to live as one, to share a vision of the future and to persevere in overcoming difficulties.”

The attainment of peace with both God and neighbor leads men and woman to work for greater justice in society. Justice according to the Gospel, he said, means “above all doing God’s will.”

It is this “fundamental resolve” to do God’s will that spawns “countless” initiatives aimed at promoting justice in Africa and the welfare of all its peoples. He particularly noted the most disadvantaged in society, such as those in need of employment, schools and hospitals.

Benedict concluded his address with a rallying cry: “Africa, Good News for the Church, become Good News for the entire world!”

After the address, he signed the apostolic exhortation and imparted his blessing on the congregation, after which he departed by car for the city of Cotonou.

The International Church

November 25, 2011

generations of catholics — Pope Benedict XVI kisses a baby at the end of his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters)

Courtyard of the Gentiles draws hundreds of youth in secular Albania

Tirana, Albania (CNA/ EWTN News) — After decades of Communist rule in Albania, Pope Benedict XVI’s initiative to dialogue with non-believers drew hundreds of young people for a twoday event in the capital of Tirana.

“There is a great thirst for spirituality in Albania after 47 years of atheist, communist, absolute dictatorship,” Richard Rouse of the Pontifical Council for Culture, which organized the event, told CNA. “In communist Albania,” Rouse added, religion “was absolutely not allowed. For 47 years they tried to kill God — and failed.”

On November 14 and 15, the Pontifical Council for Culture, along with the local Catholic Church in Albania, organized a series of events that facilitated both dialogue with and discovery of Christianity.

In the piazza in front of Tirana’s St. Paul’s Cathedral on November 14, hundreds of young people took part in discussions in three different tents on the topics of work, spirituality and information and communication.

“For example, in the ‘work’ tent,” Rouse said, “we discussed ‘what does work itself mean? Is it just about getting money or is there some social dignity to it?’”

Each specific discussion session

was then followed by a larger conversation in the piazza with members Catholic hierarchy and other participants.

What became clear, Rouse noted, is that Albania is “a great fertile terrain,” for Christianity.

On November 15, dialogue with academics and intellectuals at two events hosted by Tirana’s universities held “more high-brow conversations that began with a more studied and philosophical set of questions,” Rouse said.

The topics discussed included questions of identity — both religious and national — as well as issues related to fundamental human rights and religious liberty.

The concept of the event, known as the Courtyard of the Gentiles, stems from a 2009 address by Pope Benedict, where he called for a Catholic dialogue “with those to whom religion is something foreign, to whom God is unknown and who nevertheless do not want to be left merely Godless, but rather to draw near to Him, albeit as the Unknown.”

Members from the Pontifical Council for Culture, under the guidance of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, have initiated a series of similar gatherings across Europe beginning in Paris in March 2011.

The invitation list, so far, has in-

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIAL

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the request to retire of: Rev. James W. Fahey, Pastor Immaculate Conception Parish, North Easton.

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River, has announced the following appointments: Rev. Paul C. Fedak, Parochial Administrator of Immaculate Conception Parish, North Easton.

Rev. Thomas M. Kocik, Chaplain, St. Anne’s Hospital while remaining Parochial Vicar of Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

Effective November 22, 2011

cluded a host of intellectuals drawn from both the arts and sciences.

The title given to these events is in reference to the “Court of the Gentiles” which, in the time of Jesus, was an area in the Temple of Jerusalem where non-Jews could interact with Jews.

Richard Rouse believes the new format, which will reach the United States in 2013, is already bearing fruit.

“I think that a weakness in some previous dialogue was that we presumed a bit too much about the atheists,” he said, “so, we’ve gone back a step further to say ‘OK, open floor — tell us what is it you believe in.’ That’s very important.”

He said just by asking that question they have “enticed people” into a deeper reflection upon such things as the meaning of life and into asking, “Where can those questions lead to a religious perspective and how can that take on a social dimension?”

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Priest sees hopeful future for Vietnam’s Christians

Hanoi, Vietnam (CNA) — An official with the Vietnamese bishops’ conference foresees a confident future for the Christian community in Vietnam. He cites the “flourishing” of priestly vocations and the government’s “signs of openness.”

“Hope for the new generations of Vietnamese youth is faith in Christ: the young people who look to a market economy, consumerism, the civilization of looking for new answers for their thirst for truth and new ways of life,” Father Joseph Do Manh Hung said.

The priest and theologian is vice-rector of the major seminary in Ho Chi Minh City and secretary of the Vietnam bishops’ Commission for the Clergy. He told Fides news agency his evaluation of the state of the Catholic Church in the country.

Young people are “the driving force” for the Church’s mission in society, he said. Almost all of the country’s 80,000 catechists are young people.

Young people are the majority of the seven million Catholics in Vietnam, whose overall population numbers 87 million..

“Of course, young people in Vietnam live surrounded by social problems like unemployment and life which, for families, remains difficult because of poverty. But the proclamation of the Gospel to young people is a great challenge that requires a lot of perseverance.”

With over 1,500 seminarians, the abundance of vocations is “a boost of confidence for us,” he added.

“Faith is strengthened, but at the same time, there is the challenge represented by the opening of a market economy, consumerism, by the civilization of image. This chal-

lenge mainly affects young people, including seminarians and future priests who need adequate formation,” the priest said.

Father Hung said that there is now a “gradual opening” of the government towards the Christian faith and the Catholic Church. After 1975, the entire country was under communist rule and seminaries were closed down. The seminaries reopened in 1986, though under significant restrictions governing the years in which new seminarians could be admitted.

Those restrictions were lifted in 2008, but local government authorities must still receive a list of candidates and authorize it.

“Nevertheless, we can say that there has been a marked improvement since 1986, and today we see the fruits,” he said.

Difficulties the Church experiences are overcome through “constructive dialogue.” The problems mainly concern issues regarding church personnel or property and land confiscated from the Church.

Property disputes have turned violent in recent years. Recently, a mob led by government officials attacked a convent and church. About 100 people, accompanied by security officials and members of the press, damaged a gate and verbally abused and physically assaulted several Redemptorist priests and lay people at Thai Ha Church in Hanoi.

Father Hong said that in 2009 at the God’s People’s Assembly marking the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s Catholic hierarchy, participants agreed that despite the difficulties they face, Catholics want to be “in service to society” by participating actively in the nation’s development.

November 25, 2011 The Church in the U.S. Cardinal says U.S. ordinariate for former Anglicans to be created January 1

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BALTIMORE (CNS) — A new ordinariate — functionally similar to a diocese — will be created January 1 to bring Anglicans into the U.S. Catholic Church, announced Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl during the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops November 15.

Cardinal Wuerl also said 67 Anglican priests have submitted their dossiers seeking ordination in the Catholic Church, and 35 of those have received initial approval from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

That means they can move to the second stage of approval, which includes a criminal background check, psychological evaluation and recommendations from the Catholic bishop where he lives and from his Anglican ecclesiastical authority, he said.

Cardinal Wuerl told reporters after the session with the bishops that Anglican parishes with a total of about 2,000 members have so far asked to become part of the Catholic Church through the process established in 2009 when Pope Benedict XVI issued an apostolic constitution, “Anglicanorum coetibus.” Cardinal Wuerl was named by the Vatican to head an ad hoc committee for the constitution’s implementation.

The constitution authorizes the creation of an ordinariate to

bring in Anglicans, or Episcopalians as they are known in the United States, who seek to leave their tradition and join the Catholic Church but retain certain elements of the Anglican liturgy and traditions.

The process was established to accommodate whole congregations who choose to join the Catholic Church after they have become disaffected with the Anglican Church over recent changes, such as the ordination of women, the ordination of openly gay priests and blessing of samesex marriages and partnerships.

Cardinal Wuerl’s announcement in the final hour of the public portion of the annual meeting in Baltimore brought immediate logistical questions, such as the relationship between the ordinariate — which will cover the entire U.S. — and the dioceses in which the former Anglican priests will live.

The physical location of its offices will be determined after the ordinariate is erected. Cardinal Wuerl said he assumed that an ordinary will be named at that time.

“I remain convinced that this ordinariate will be a true expression of the Catholic Church because of your engagement in the steps leading up to the acceptance of the candidates for ordinate and for your involvement in the catechetical formation of

SELECTION OF VENUES FOR 2012:

the members of the congregation seeking membership in the ordinariate,” he said. “Your involvement is one of the guarantees of the well-being of the ordinariate as it is established and begins to receive both clergy and congregations.”

The U.S. ordinariate will be the second one created under “Anglicanorum coetibus.”

The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established for England and Wales in January of this year. It is led by Msgr.

Keith Newton, a former Anglican bishop who is married and was ordained a Catholic priest. It includes about 1,000 individuals in 42 communities. Its priests include five former Anglican bishops, according to background information distributed by the USCCB. The Catholic Church does not allow married priests — whether those in Eastern rites that allow priests to be married, or former clergy from other churches who have become Catholic — to become bishops.

Therefore, the new ordinariate may be led by a priest, who will have a role similar to a bishop, according to the background material. An ordinary who is not a bishop will not be allowed to ordain priests, however. So, Cardinal Wuerl explained, ordinations for the ordinariate may need to be done by “one of us” until the ordinariate has its own bishop.

Cardinal Wuerl did not say where the Anglican communities seeking to become Catholic are located. Two such parishes have already completed the transition, one in Fort Worth, Texas, and the other in Bladensburg, Md., which were accepted in ceremonies in September and October.

They will become a part of the new ordinariate when it is established, though for now they come under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Archdiocese of Washington, respectively.

A Vatican-approved pastoral provision has since 1980 provided a way for individual Protestant clergymen to be ordained for U.S. Catholic dioceses. It also allows Anglican parishes to become Catholic parishes. Three have done so and are referred to as “Anglican use” communities, according to the background material.

The “Anglicanorum coetibus” applies to the entire world and allows Anglican communities to be received into the Catholic Church through new ordinariates instead of through existing dioceses.

U.S. Catholics may be familiar with an ordinariate in the

form of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, an ordinariate which serves U.S. military chaplaincies around the world. Its offices are in Washington, and it is headed by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.

In addition to the approvals by the Vatican, the background checks and psychological evaluations, the candidates for ordination as Catholic priests also will go through a program of priestly formation approved by the Vatican, Cardinal Wuerl said. The program is based at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, either oncampus or through the university’s distance-learning program, he said, and should take six to nine months to complete.

Congregations that wish to become a part of the ordinariate will go through a catechesis program based on the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

A great many details remain to be decided about how the ordinariate will function, he added.

Parishes in the ordinariate will have the option of using either “The Book of Divine Worship,” a Vatican-approved liturgical

text based upon Anglican liturgies, or the Roman Missal used in other Catholic churches.

Questions raised by bishops from the floor after Cardinal Wuerl’s presentation touched on issues such as whether the newly-ordained priests of the Anglican ordinariate might be available to help out in other parishes and vice versa, such as for priests on vacation; and whether parishioners of Catholic churches would be free to participate in the Anglican parishes.

The answer to both questions was yes. Priests working across ordinariate lines, so to speak, would need permission from the bishop or ordinary, as currently is required when priests work in other dioceses, Cardinal Wuerl said.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston suggested that dioceses with priests who are entering into full communion with the Church might, for example, offer to have the new priests participate in the diocesan health insurance program until the new ordinariate is able to offer such benefits.

Blesseds John Paul II, Marianne Cope added to U.S. liturgical calendar

Baltimore, Md. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The U.S. bishops approved adding optional memorials for Blessed Pope John Paul II and Blessed Marianne Cope to the U.S. Proper of Saints calendar.

The memorials were discussed and approved on November 15 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops during their fall General Assembly, which was held in Baltimore.

By a vote of 154-2, the bishops approved placing a memorial for Blessed John Paul II on the calendar for October 22, the anniversary of his election as pope in 1978.

At the time of his death on April 2, 2005, devotion to Pope John Paul II was already widespread and cries of “Santo Subito!” (Saint now!) were heard in St. Peter’s Square following his passing.

He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI before a crowd of more than one million people on May 1, 2011 in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Beatified individuals are not typically inscribed on the Church’s Universal Calendar.

Local authorities, however, can suggest the addition of the observance of a beatified individual on a diocesan, religious or national calendar.

Blessed Mother Marianne

Cope, OSF, spent her life caring for leprosy patients in Hawaii.

She was beatified in May 2005.

Blessed Marianne Cope’s feast day was previously observed as an optional memorial on January 23 in the Diocese of Syracuse, where she entered the Sisters of St. Francis, and in the Diocese of Honolulu, where she served the sick for many years.

The bishops of Syracuse and Honolulu, along with the minister general of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, requested that the optional memorial of Blessed Marianne Cope be added to the proper calendar for all U.S. dioceses.

The bishops voted 216-2 in favor of adding an optional memorial for Blessed Cope to the calendar. They also approved a Spanish translation of the memorial texts.

The date of Blessed Marianne Cope’s memorial has not been finalized because the date of her death (August 9) is already the feast day of St. Edith Stein. The bishops noted that it has been celebrated locally on January 23, the date of Blessed Cope’s birth.

The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship will have to confirm the bishops’ votes on the memorials before they can be implemented.

November 25, 2011

BALTIMORE (CNS) — During their annual three-day fall assembly in Baltimore, November 14-16, the U.S. bishops discussed threats to religious liberty, efforts to support traditional marriage and the need to keep a close eye on health care issues.

They also were updated on the Roman Missal translation and the new U.S. ordinariate to bring former Anglicans into the Catholic Church.

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship, gave a brief report November 15 on the adoption of the new Roman Missal, addressing questions related to its implementation this Advent.

When asked if it were possible to still use the old missal translation in certain circumstances such as when eucharistic ministers visit the elderly for Communion services, the archbishop said: “The guidelines say to use the new one.

But the pastoral practice should allow for some flexibility.”

In votes cast during the first two days of the meeting, the bishops elected Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle as USCCB secretaryelect and Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, as chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace.

They also approved a $217.4 million budget for 2012 and a three percent increase in diocesan assessments for 2013. They also overwhelmingly approved a five-year extension of a resolution calling bishops to adhere to sound financial reporting within their dioceses and OK’d priorities and plans for 2012 for the USCCB with a 219-6 vote.

The bishops overwhelmingly approved a new set of guidelines for how dioceses and parishes will administer national collections.

The document a combination of history, rationale and how-to guide.

On the first day of the gather-

ing t a r leb ur e C O h

3Y5ear t

The Church in the U.S. Roundup of annual bishops’ meeting

ing, the bishops voted to establish a permanent Subcommittee on Health Care Issues under the Committee on Doctrine’s jurisdiction.

Prior to the 214-15 vote, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford, Conn., said he was “strongly in favor” of the new subcommittee because health care is part of “the Gospel mission of the Church” and involves “billions and billions of dollars in funding.”

The new subcommittee will address such issues as guidance in implementing the bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” and in addressing non-Catholic hospitals in Catholic health systems, for-profit Catholic health care, canonical status of Catholic health facilities, conscience protection and health care reform.

Regarding efforts to support traditional marriage, the chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth reported to the bishops November 14 that their campaign to strengthen marriage has reached a large audience and has been honored by professional advertising organizations.

In a presentation on the work of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said public service announcements with the

theme of “a good marriage goes a long way” were released in September to 1,600 television stations and 7,000 radio stations.

He also announced the launch of a new website — www. marriageuniqueforareason.org — aimed at educating Catholics on the meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The website corresponds with a new DVD, guide, and booklet.

In a related report, Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., chairman of the Defense of Marriage subcommittee, said there are a great many challenges on the legal front to traditional marriage, ranging from various states legalizing same-sex marriage to the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military.

He said one thread of the subcommittee’s efforts is to work on persuading the Obama administration to “press the reset button on the trajectory of undermining marriage.”

The bishops also heard from Cardinals Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Sean P. O’Malley of Boston and Donald Wuerl of Washington about the Church’s efforts to expand and strengthen the Church’s postabortion healing ministry, Project Rachel.

Women who have had abor-

Deposit due by Dec. 2

tions, as well as the men and parents who might have encouraged it, “need to know that God forgives them and that all is not lost,” said Cardinal O’Malley, who described Project Rachel as “one of our best pastoral initiatives.”

In another report, two bishops who recently visited Iraq said the United States and American Catholics must do their part to help keep Iraq from sliding into chaos once U.S. troops leave the country at the end of the year.

“The U.S. withdrawal of combat troops does not reduce the obli-

5 gation to help,” principally to protect Iraqis and provide assistance, said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, during a November 15 press briefing at the bishops’ meeting.

“It would be extremely important for our government to participate in an orderly transition. ... The great fear right now is if the troops leave, the violence will intensify,” Bishop Kicanas said, adding the United States must “make sure people’s lives are protected and violence doesn’t erupt.”

6

The Anchor Praying the new English translation

Since the celebration of the Eucharist is not only the “source and summit of the Christian life,” as the Second Vatican Council taught, but also the main point of weekly contact for most Catholics with the Church, the new English translation of the Roman Missal, which parishes throughout the diocese will begin to use at Masses this Sunday, will undoubtedly have a major impact on the life of Catholics and the Church in the English-speaking world.

It’s hard to overemphasize the power of words in the life of the Church. We believe that God Himself inspired the words of prophets, Apostles and other sacred writers. We marvel that in Jesus Christ the word of God became flesh, dwelled among us, spoke to us with a human voice, and gave us the words of eternal life. We strive to model our discipleship on Mary’s faithful response to God’s initiative: “let it be done to me according to Your Word.” We rejoice that in the psalms, the Our Father, the angelic salutation, and in so many of the great prayers of Sacred Scripture, God Himself has given us words to speak to Him. We are enriched by the great vocal and liturgical prayers composed by the saints, contemplatives and so many who have used their divinely-endowed gifts to praise, adore, love, thank, bless, and petition God and ask Him for mercy. Because sacred words are so important in the practice of the Catholic faith, the changes happening this weekend to the Church’s central and most important prayer constitute one of most significant developments in ecclesial life and worship in the Englishspeaking world since the time when the Mass began to be celebrated in the vernacular.

As we prepare to pray with these new words for the first time, it would be helpful to keep a few things in mind.

First, it is important that we not approach the new translation seeking to determine whether we “like it” or “don’t like it.” We live in a highly subjectivist age in which we are constantly making quick judgments and evaluations about whether things conform or not to our preferences. This subjectivism has often invaded our worship: many, on account of their personal inclinations, readily determine and pronounce their likes and dislikes on everything from musical styles, settings and accompaniment, to priest celebrants, to the length of Masses and homilies, to the presence of crying infants, to the use of incense, to Eucharistic Prayers employed and more.

It has led some even to say — superficially and, frankly, blasphemously —that they “like” one Mass but “dislike” another based on their personal tastes, which is something akin to complaining about the menu and the setting of the Last Supper. Our personal tastes are not irrelevant, but they are secondary, and unless we keep them in check, they can spiritually derail us.

There’s a scene in the Gospel when Jesus asks to what He should compare the people of His time. He responded by saying that they were like children sitting in the market places who call to each other, “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not mourn” (Mt 11:16-19). He used the image to illustrate the fact that when John the Baptist came, that generation called him possessed because he didn’t drink and wasn’t fun to be around; when Jesus Himself came, however, the same crowds criticized Him calling Him a drunkard, glutton and friend of sinners. In both circumstances Jesus’ contemporaries missed out on what God wanted to do for them through His precursor and His Son. They missed precisely because they wanted to be in charge of the music, they subjectively wanted to play the tune and have others dance, rather than objectively being open to John’s and Jesus’ changing their tune and their lives for the better. In every generation, Jesus asks for something more mature than a game of children in the marketplaces in which one’s personal proclivities are treated as the central criterion. There are, after all, many spiritual practices — like embracing our cross each day, putting to death the life of the flesh, forgiving 77 times, and fasting — that most of us would never embrace if we are dominated by following our personal predilections.

With regard to the new translation of the Mass, the question of whether we like it or not is far less important that what the performative language is actually enabling: it is the prayer that will bring the God-man to our altar and unite us, with Him, in a total self-gift to the Father.

When one grasps this central reality, then even if the language used were the most ineloquent and grating ever, it would still be worth it. Thanks be to God, we don’t have to settle for the banal and grating; the new translation tries to restore not only fidelity to the original — so that the whole Mystical Body of Christ throughout the world can truly pray the Mass in unison from the rising to the setting of the sun — but also a reverential and sacral language that helps us to remember Whom we’re addressing. It’s natural that there are going to be certain things that we like about the new translation and certain things that we don’t, but the key is that we don’t let these natural reactions impede our supernatural recognition of what’s really happening in the Mass: what God is doing, what we should be doing, and the joy with which we should be celebrating both.

The second counsel is to ask for God’s grace to get beyond the words. For priests and faithful learning the new translation, there will be a temptation to concentrate so much on saying the new words that we may forget truly to pray them. Pope Benedict has often cited an ancient instruction of St. Benedict to his monks in order to describe how priests and faithful are to pray the Liturgy: mens concordet voci or “the mind and heart should accord with the words that are said.” We need to mean the words and seek, with God’s grace, to conform our intellect and will to what we are saying. This process will take time, but we should start right away to strive to align our whole being to what we will be saying so that we will become the prayer we say.

In order to do this, we must seek to learn why we’re saying what we’re saying. For example, when we pray, “And with your spirit,” our mind should begin to grasp that we’re saying something far more than “likewise” to the priest who prays that the Lord be with us; rather our mind and heart should recognize that we’re praying that the Lord be with the priest as he puts the priestly gifts infused into his spirit at ordination to the service of our sanctification. One of the positive side effects of a new translation is that it will break both priests and faithful of saying the words at Mass routinely, by forcing us to think anew of what we’re saying and why.

Finally, it’s important to state clearly that this translation is more challenging than the one we’ve been using for the past four decades. For many, there will be some unfamiliar words.

The syntax of the prayers is more complicated, in some places more akin to poetry than American business prose. Some have mentioned this as a defect, but it really is a great strength. The language in which we speak to God should raise us up. It should challenge us. Our liturgical language should be richer than the dumbed-down, limited lexicon of USA Today. It’s a manifestation of the great esteem that the bishops of the English-speaking world have for the intelligence of the Catholic faithful that in the new translation they’re using a richer and more theologically precise vocabulary and more complex and eloquent sentence structures.

The English-speaking bishops believe that the faithful are up to the challenge of this richer language.

The ancient Christian principle of lex orandi, lex credendi — that the way we pray impacts and expresses what we believe — remains ever valid. We rejoice that, starting tomorrow, the language of our prayers at Mass will be a deeper, fuller, more exalted and more precise expression of our Catholic faith and we pray that our heart and mind will accord to this richer expression!

A

November 25, 2011

‘Do this in memory of Me’

fter having already examined a shame if we were going just to fulfill Baptism and Confirmation, this some obligation or if it went simply week we turn to the third and final Sacra- to see our friends from the parish. It ment of Initiation, the Holy Eucharist. would be equally sad if we were going Over the next couple of weeks, I will there only when we felt like it, as if our reflect on the Eucharist from a few difrelationship with our Lord is based on ferent perspectives, continually trying emotion or convenience. to “Put out into the deep,” attempting to Let’s begin to take a look at what the gain a renewed a deeper understanding Mass is and why it is so important that of the Blessed Sacrament. Obviously I our hearts and minds are in the right cannot cover every detail or aspect of this place. To do this, I suggest that we take a Sacrament, for that would take months, look at the first Mass ever celebrated. even if I resorted to using a font the size It was the night before our Lord was to of the editorials! suffer and die on the cross that He gathThis past week, our former bishop, ered with his Apostles. It was “coinciCardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, provi- dentally” on the Jewish feast of Passover. dentially released a pastoral letter entitled, Jesus explained to His friends, “I have “Jesus’ Eager Desire: Our Participation eagerly desired to eat this Passover with in the Sunday Mass.” I won’t summarize you.” his lengthy, important letter here, but I beThis Passover feast, established by lieve that Cardinal Sean has touched upon God with Moses hundreds of years earlier a very important aspect of the Eucharist recalls God’s covenant with His people. in the opening paragraphs of his pastoral It was brought about when God freed letter.

His people In comparfrom slavery ing our Sunday in Egypt, celebration of Putting Into after they the Eucharist were unable the Deep to the annual to worship ThanksgivHim freely. ing holiday, This feast was

By Father Cardinal Sean established Jay Mello reminded us so that His that the word people would “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word never forget what He has done for them. “eucharistia” which literally means At the Last Supper, Jesus renews and “thanksgiving.” The very celebration transforms this ancient feast by estabof the Mass, then, is our way of giving lishing the new covenant. This “new thanks to God for all the blessings that He and eternal” covenant is not a symbolic has bestowed upon us, most importantly gesture. This is the covenant that God the gift of eternal life that is offered to us makes with us by offering His very own

by Christ Himself.

Body and Blood.

In a similar way to our own family Taking a piece of unleavened bread, Jecelebrations of Thanksgiving that we sus says, “Take this all of you and eat of it, celebrated yesterday, the Mass is our opfor this is My Body which will be given up portunity to set time aside to give thanks for you.” Then, when supper was ended, for what we have received. Saying “thank He took the cup filled with wine and said, you,” aside from being polite, also serves “Take this all of you and drink from it, for to remind us that we don’t do or achieve this is the chalice of My Blood, the Blood anything all on our own, but that everyof the new and eternal covenant, which thing is a gift from God. will be poured out for you and for many Continuing the parallel to the Thanks- for the forgiveness of sins.” giving holiday, I’m sure we have all Jesus’ self-sacrifice is for us, but it is experienced at one time or another that an offering that is made to the Father. The our focus on why we are gathering has beauty of our Lord’s sacrifice is that He been lost. When families gather on the allows us to share and participate in it. last Thursday of November to celebrate a Like the Jewish Passover, at each celebraNational Day of Thanksgiving, are they tion of the Mass we are being reminded always completely conscious of why they of what Christ did for us on the Cross, are gathering or can it at times be reduced when He completed that sacrifice. This to a just another family get-together, is why Jesus concludes the institution of devoid of gratitude to Almighty God? the Eucharist with the words, “Do this in I think sometimes the same can be memory of Me.” true of our celebration of the Mass each Our Lord tells us that this is the way Sunday. It probably happens that there in which we remember Him and remain are occasions when we forget why we are faithful to the covenant that He estabthere — primarily to give thanks to God lished between us. From the time of for all the blessings that He has bestowed the early Church to the present day, our upon us. participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Please ask yourself these questions: Mass is the way in which we remember Has my mind ever wandered at Mass? that covenant. But it isn’t just a rememHave I ever responded to the prayers out bering, as if it were just some past historiof habit, not really aware of what it is that cal event. It is a living encounter in which I am saying? Have I always been aware that sacrifice is re-presented, as, in every that each time I go to the altar to receive celebration of the Mass, the simple bread Holy Communion that I am receiving the and wine are transformed into the Body Body and Blood of our Lord? Do I realize and Blood of Jesus Christ. that each time I go to Mass, it is an opporIf we are diligent in remembering this tunity to say thank you to God? every time we go to Mass, it is clear why There are times, if we are not propour hearts should be filled with gratitude erly prepared and focused that we can as we give thanks to God. forget about how profound an encounter Father Mello is a parochial vicar at with God the Mass really is. It would be St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

November 25, 2011

T

his Sunday, the 27th day of November, we arrive at multiple new beginnings.

Sunday’s Mass celebrates the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new year in the Church and the beginning of that season of the year that places us in a mindset of preparation for the coming of Christ.

While our Liturgy focuses on continuing to prepare, this day also contains the long-awaited arrival of the official use of the third edition of the Roman Missal in its English translation.

Our offering of Mass Sunday has brought to fruition several months of deliberate preparation for this new English translation of the prayers for Mass, culminating in this very day that we are invited to “pray the Mass anew.”

As we offer Sunday’s Mass with the new translation, it is quite understandable that our prayer may seem a little awkward on several levels. Likely, all of us — including the clergy — will need to rely heavily on a printed text for the prayers, whether from the Roman Missal itself, or from a card or booklet in the pews. Such dependence on a book or card

S

hakespeare scholarship is fascinated by something known as “The Lost Years,” which is the title of a respected book written by E.A.J. Honingmann. From a the scholarly perspective of known facts, he seems to have done something odd between 1578 and 1582.

He disappeared.

We know that he married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and that she gave birth to Susanna in 1583, and twins in 1585 (twins were to become a common motif in his plays).

Outside of this again, he disappears until Robert Greene, a playwright amongst the scholarly and moneyed elite in Elizabeth’s England known as the University Wits, records in a pamphlet: “or there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you: and beeing an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey.”

The question is: how did Shakespeare go from a young father of the merchant class, who needed a living in order to support his family, to be-

7

The Anchor

The time has arrived

may at first cause us to question include some accidental words the sincerity or relevance of our from of old (e.g. “and also with you …”). Yet Sunday is only prayer of the Mass. However, the first time. Through each fuin this same moment of deture offering of the Mass, all of pendence as we pray the Mass us will become more comfortanew on this First Sunday of able and more confident in our Advent, we are invited to consider some “big picture” realities that can lead us through and beyond Sunday into a deeper, more fervent, and ultimately very beautiful participation

By Father in the Holy Mass that Joel Hastings can last for years to come. It is reasonable for our prayer Sunday to be a little bit unfapraying of the new translation. miliar or even difficult — as While we may never forget this such a beginning can lead us new experience, in time we will to a deeper and more profound become quite comfortable and encounter with God. Consider confident in our praying of the the following: new translation of the Mass.

1. This is only the first day 2. Remember Jesus’ teaching — obviously, each of us has on “childlike trust.” We rehad many “first time” experimember how Jesus exhorts the ences in life: the first day of disciples that “unless you beschool, the first practice for a come like children, you will not sports team, the first day of a enter the kingdom of heaven” new job, etc. It is likely that (Mt 18:3). Sunday, might we each of these “first” occasions remember that this new beginwas both memorable and filled ning offers us an opportunity to with unexpected moments. trust Jesus, who willingly gives Our first opportunity to pray Himself to us in the Eucharist, the new translations may still

Praying the Mass Anew

even if our words for praying the Mass are still somewhat unfamiliar. May this moment remind us of the importance of trusting in God’s will — for He has willed through the offering of the Mass in His memory the greatest spiritual benefit of communion with Him. 3. We are “practicing our faith.” No child is fully successful in walking the first time he stands on his two feet; nor will we be “perfect” in our first offering of the Mass with the new translation. As God’s pilgrim people who still journey in this life toward the fullness of life in heaven, we are called to “practice” our faith, that it may become perfected by God in His kingdom. Hence, Sunday we “practice” for the first time according to the new translation, what God Himself, through His grace, wills to perfect in us.

4. Repetition leads to deeper understanding. Related to point 2, children who learn the Lord’s Prayer in kindergarten may have little understanding of the

He disappeared

coming a playwright and actor Edmund de Vere as historic with enough skill to shake up fact, Honigmann’s hypothesis the theatrical establishment? has a lot to say for itself in Why did he go to London? terms of what we call “exThere is one explanation for planatory power.” In other why he may have left, and words, it explains a lot. Exit is that he had become a planatory power isn’t enough troublesome stealer of venison to prove a theory true, mind and rabbits from a wealthy landowner Sir Thomas Lucy and had to leave to escape the effects of his harsh prosecution. Be that as it may, even if

By Jennifer Pierce the slight evidence supporting this theory is true, it still does little to explain how you. It definitely provides he became as masterful as enough possibility to stimuhe became in the intervening late thought on the matter. years? How did he also obtain It may not surprise readthe knowledge of militia, law, ers of this column that, again, philosophy, sailing and it another mysterious will and must be said, theology, that he testament emerges providing displays with such flourish in the first clue to Shakespeare’s his texts? whereabouts. The son of a Concerning the period notoriously Catholic fambetween his adolescence and ily of wealthy landowners in marrying Anne Hathaway Lancashire willed that upon in 1582, Honigmann’s book his death his kinsmen were to posits a compelling theory take care of “William Shakethough, admittedly, the evishafte, now dwelling with me” dence for it is thin. Unlike the along with an inventoried list absurd movie Anonymous, of musical instruments, thewhich presents the discredited atrical costumes, and actual theory that Shakespeare was play texts, written for private actually the Earl of Oxford, performance at the Hoghton

Hidden Shakespeare

estate. Though the slight difference in name might seem odd, it was not unusual for multiple versions of family names to reach documents as spelling had not yet been thoroughly regulated. Christopher Marlowe’s name appears with at least 10 different spellings, for example. Shakespeare’s grandfather appears on several documents as “Shakechafte” and “Shakstaffe” so it is, as it were, close enough.

There were Shakeshaftes in the area, but a Shakeshafte with a marked interest in serving at a house known for its elaborate theatricals?

We cannot know for certain if this is our William Shakespeare. However, if it was true, as Richard Wilson has noted, if he was living at the Hoghton estate, he would have resided for six months in what was nothing less than a Counter-Reformation stronghold. It was common for families to send their adolescent children to live with other families. It was also common for recusants to send their children to live with other recusant families as the Elizabethan spy network was vast

words. However, these children learn the prayer with great joy at having it memorized. As these children grow, all the while praying that prayer regularly, they grow in understanding of the meaning of the prayer.

Sunday, might we remember that as we pray using the new translations, we are invited to allow these words to continue to resonate in our hearts, increasing their meaning at each and every offering of the Mass.

5. Keeping the fire burning.

To prepare ourselves for the new translation, we have spent several weeks learning new prayer texts, along with hearing explanations of what the texts really mean and why we pray them. As we begin to pray the Mass anew, remember that our preparation was not just for Sunday. We can see Sunday as a the first of many days in years to come, all of which are meant to draw us more closely to God the Father in Heaven, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

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

and involved fellow citizens spying on their neighbors, employers, and employees.

Theatricals themselves had a close association with dissident Catholic behaviors, for, with almost complete certainty, a center for Counter-Reformation activity as we know Hoghton was, would have been host to Jesuits among them St. Edmund Campion, a figure we will look more closely at in a forthcoming column. Having close contact with Jesuits in hiding, would also explain his theatrical training — for Jesuits are known to have used drama as a central teaching device.

Alexander Hoghton’s will also commands that “Shakeshafte” be passed securely into the service of another.

The closest estate would have been Lord Stanley, who had his own theatrical company amongst whom are the core players in what would later become the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the company with whom and amongst whom, Shakespeare eventually made his mark.

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

8

O

n this first Sunday of Advent, we begin the new liturgical year with the new English translation of the Mass. We have been preparing for this new translation for quite a few months now, reviewing the new Mass parts, listening to homilies or maybe even attending a workshop to ready us for this moment. But friends, learning new words is not all we need to do. The most important step still must occur: planting these new words deep into our hearts and allowing them to flow from there. Unless we do this, no matter what words we say, they will be empty and lifeless.

To an extent, for some in our society, Christmas has also become empty of meaning and lifeless in spirit.

Why? Because Christmas is such a profound mystery of our faith that, if not planted deep in our hearts, becomes

November 25, 2011

The Anchor

Christ the King

merely the finish line of good affect on us as well. On Black Friday or Cyber Monthe spiritual level, it can be a day. time to ready our hearts: the Many say that they wish married couple that waits for Christmas would be more the birth of their child; or the spiritual than what our family waiting for the arrival society has made of it. The over-commercialism, the focus Homily of the Week on material gifts and First Sunday office parties domiof Advent nates today’s image of Christmas. Why

By Msgr. has there been such a Stephen J. Avila shift from the sacred to the secular? Well, perhaps one answer: maybe we lost the true meanof someone who is returning of Christmas when we ing from war; or the engaged lost the meaning of Advent. couple who waits to live Advent is an important together only after they are and necessary time to watch, married. Our time of waiting to wait, to ponder. This time allows us to think of what of year, we don’t like to hear that person means to us or that word, “wait,” whether it how this new life will bless be in line at the mall or stuck our family. Waiting gives us a in a traffic jam. But watchchance to ponder the mystery ing and waiting can have a of that person’s life and ea-

gerly long for their coming.

Yes, waiting and watching can be good. During Advent, we are preparing the heart for the great mystery of Christ coming among us: not only recalling His coming on that silent night in Bethlehem, but also how Christ continues to come to us today through His Sacred Word, through the Sacraments and through one another, His Body, the Church. It is also an opportunity to reflect upon Christ’s second coming when He will call us all to Himself.

The new words of the Prayer after Communion in today’s Mass speak of the meaning of the Advent season: “For even now, as we walk amid passing things, You teach us by them to love the things of Heaven and hold fast to what

endures.”

As we reflect on the heroes and heroines of Advent: the prophets of Israel, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, and our Blessed Mother, the Church gives us models of faith who never forgot the things of Heaven, who showed us by their lives that in waiting, watching and pondering the mystery of God among His people, their hearts were ready for the coming of our Savior.

Yes, in the next few weeks, it is important to get ready for Christmas. But it is more important to get ready for Christ: to find our own Advent moments to wait, to watch and to ponder.

For when we rediscover the meaning of Advent, we will rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.

Msgr. Avila is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 26, Dn 7:15-27; (Ps) Dn 3:82-87; Lk 21:34-36. Sun. Nov. 27, First Sunday of Advent, Is 63:16b17,19b;64:2-7; Ps 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; 1 Cor 1:3-9; Mk 13:33-37. Mon. Nov. 28, Is 2:1-5; Mt 8:5-11. Tues. Nov. 29, Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24.

Wed. Nov. 30, Rom 10:9-18; Mt 4:18-22. Thu. Dec. 1, Is 26:1-6; Mt 7:21,24-27. Fri. Dec. 2, Is 29:17-24; Mt 9:27-31.

C

atholicism is in crisis all over Old Europe.

Nowhere is that crisis more pronounced than in Ireland, where clerical corruption and disastrous episcopal leadership have collided with rank political expediency and a rabidly anticlerical media to produce a perfect storm of ecclesiastical meltdown. The country whose constitution begins “In the name of the Most Holy Trinity …” is now thoroughly post-Christian. And while there has been no one cause of that radical secularization, the Church in Ireland had best look

Downsizing-to-grow in Ireland

Los Angeles. That there are 26 to itself, its sins, its errors, and dioceses in Ireland is manifestly its unbecoming alliance with absurd. political power as it considers So one step toward the how to begin anew. reform of the Church in Ireland That reconsideration would be aided by dramatic Vatican action that includes a major downsizing of the Irish dioceses. There are currently four metropolitan sees and 22 dioceses in

By George Weigel Ireland, for a total of 26 ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Ireland’s total will be to rationalize what has population is some 4.6 million which is about the total Catholic become an irrational ecclesiaspopulation of the archdiocese of tical structure: an overgrowth that has, over time, become an impediment to the Church’s mission. And rationalizing, in this instance, means downsizing. It’s not a matter of retribution (“You made a colossal mess, so you have to be punished”). The point is to create structures through which the new evangelization in Ireland, which is going to be a struggle in any case, can flow.

The downsizing should not be symbolic, but deep, mirroring the deep reform to which the Church in Ireland is called.

Halving the number of current Irish dioceses by combining some sees and suppressing others would put an average of 354,000 Catholics into each restructured Irish diocese. That’s still less than half the Catholics in Pittsburgh, so no complaints

The Catholic Difference

ought to be heard from Irish clergy or bishops about “draconian measures,” should the Holy See make a dramatic reduction in the number of Irish dioceses.

Then there is the question of replacing bishops. That many Irish bishops are resisting proposals for downsizing the number of Irish dioceses confirms the impression that the present Irish episcopal bench must be cleared: again, not as a matter of retribution (although in some cases deposition for malfeasance would certainly be warranted), but as an essential prerequisite to re-establishing a foundation of public confidence for the new evangelization of the Emerald Isle. And in considering candidates for a reduced number of episcopal chairs in Ireland, the Holy See might well look outside, as well as inside, Ireland for candidates.

Michael Joseph Curley, the archbishop of Baltimore who confirmed my father, came to Baltimore as successor to Cardinal Gibbons in 1921. Curley was a native Irishman; he was ordained for what was then mission territory in Florida, where he served as a circuit-riding priest before becoming bishop of St. Augustine at age 34.

Seven years later, he succeeded the most important Catholic

churchman since John Carroll. If this native of Athlone, educated in Limerick and Dublin, could become the archbishop of the premier see of the United States at a moment in American history marked by deep anti-Irish and anti-Catholic prejudices, it is not clear why (to take hypothetical examples) a native of Los Angeles educated in Denver, or a New Orleans native educated in Washington, D.C., could not become a bishop in Ireland today.

Twenty-first century Ireland is mission territory. The damage of recent decades has been so severe that it is not so much a matter of reforming the Church as of re-founding it: and re-founding it as a vibrant evangelical movement, not as a clericalist institution. That re-founding will require institutional downsizing in the service of radical evangelization. That re-evangelization, in turn, will require bishops on fire with the Gospel, men who can make the Christian proposal compelling again amidst widespread cynicism and bitterness. Men of that caliber can come from anywhere. Serious Irish Catholics will welcome them, whatever the place-of-birth recorded on their passports.

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

November 25, 2011

Joy in the morning

Thursday 24 November tion! It is overwhelming and 2011 — home again — indescribable. Honduras was Thanksgiving Day life-changing for me and for legría por la Mañana” others in our party. (“Joy in the Morning”) was a well-chosen hymn with which to begin Sunday morning Reflections of a Mass in the parish Parish Priest of St. Rose of Lima,

By Father Tim Guaimaca. The St. Nicholas mission Goldrick team has spent a week sharing a faith held in common with the people of that far-away place If a group from your own — a firsthand encounter with parish should ever seek an the universality of the Cathoeye-opening spiritual and lic Church. And what a thrivpastoral experience, go to ing church it is, there in the Guaimaca. While you are Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, there, you are welcome to lend Honduras. Such joy! Such a hand in the myriad works faith! Such hope! Such charthat are being accomplished. ity! Such full participation in There is always some new both worship and pastoral life! project underway.

Such outreach and evangelizaJoy is one of the obvious

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The Anchor characteristics of the parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Parish — and they’re joyful not just in the morning but all day long. As one catechist there, a college-aged woman, explained to me, “There is great joy in the things of God.” She was echoing the sentiment of Father Pierre Teihard de Chardin, “Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” All of the parish liturgies, from the weekday Masses to the visits to the homebound are marked by spirited hymn singing.

There is routinely a 20-voice choir even at weekday Masses (not to mention a bevy of altar servers and a congregation of 200). Those unable to attend Mass in the main church can watch on the parish’s own

With new words, a fresh start

coasted too long on assumphis Advent holds a tions? unique treasure for Surely, assumptions are inCatholics, who have a rare tegral to families — to couples opportunity to experience Holy who’ve known each other for Mass with newly-translated decades, for parents who’ve prayers — with a richer vowatched children grow in cabulary, and with a deeper certain tendencies, for neighsense of reverence. Much like bors who have long memories. the first encounter with a beWe think we know one another loved book, a moving film, or an intriguing play, no matter how many times you read it again, there can only be one “first” experience, with all the sensory thrill.

Well, certainly in

By Genevieve Kineke Mass we already know the story, but we’ll walk through it with an well, and that we can predict extraordinary chance to hear responses and actions, but perit for the first time in a new haps more attention is in order. way, which harkens back to Wouldn’t this Advent, this new the beginning — a full circle liturgical year, be a good time of sorts, taking us forward by to mirror the Church’s effort to anchoring us more deeply in be more faithful to the divine the same eternal truths. We’ll conversation into which we’re listen more attentively, not invited? being as sure of the cues, and At Mass, there are two partake care to speak with preciticipants in this conversation, sion, since there are no embedand the new translation being ded habits on which to coast. introduced helps clarify both In essence, we must engage in sides: the nature of God, and order to participate. But isn’t what we should be saying to that the point?

Him. Words like “only begotWomen, who bring the ten,” “consubstantial” and “inLiturgy home into their famicarnate” remind us about the lies — building the domestic One who loved us unto death, church — should take note of and words like “right and just,” this extraordinary opportunity “exultant” and “humble” reorito do the same. Is it possible ent our thoughts to the proper this Advent to begin anew means of how to approaching. among loved ones? Might it Subsequently, our relationship not be a great idea to listen has tremendous potential to more attentively, to ponder the grow and deepen with this gift meaning behind the words, and of enhanced worship. to consider that perhaps we’ve

The Feminine Genius

Bringing the same idea home will do likewise, especially if we take the time to really process the words that are spoken, to attend to the non-verbals and to hear the same cherished people for the first time. While this opportunity at Mass will never come again, there is always the chance to begin anew with the ones we love. And yet, while the words of the Liturgy are now quite fitting for an encounter between God and creature, we must admit that many of our conversations are less so, and the words we strain to hear clearly won’t be founded in love and mutual respect. In fact, it’s entirely possible that with more clarity, we will also discover more pain.

Be not afraid. While ignoring it may have protected you from the little tragedies of normal life, hearing them is the first step to healing them. Take any painful words you hear to prayer, and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your response.

Remember that the heart of the Mass that we’ll be hearing anew is the Blood of Christ that was shed for just such tragedies, and the grace therein will comfort and heal those who have the courage to listen — and respond with clarity and trust.

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

continuously-operating television station or listen on the parish’s radio station. The joy of the parishioners of St. Rose of Lima parish is contagious.

The cause of their joy is a deep and abiding faith. I met people from the outlying villages of Cruz de Chiquita, Majastre, and San Quin who were willing to walk two or three hours down rutted roads to attend Mass in their community building — and then walk home again. As in the main church, Masses in the outlying villages were also crowded with worshippers young and old. The people of St. Rose of Lima parish are rich in faith.

Children, youth, and young adults are in the majority and take a very active part in parish life. There are, for example, seven young seminarians who spend their weekends in the parish. I was especially impressed by the number of local college students who seem to be everywhere around the church. Many have been awarded scholarships by the parish. They volunteer their time and talent as a way to thank the parish for enabling their education.

In Guaimaca, education is considered an investment in the future. If you want to help the mission in Honduras, one of the best ways to do so, short of physically traveling there, is to contribute to their scholarship fund.

Information is available on the mission web site, www. fallrivermissions.com. How can a parish which averages a total Sunday collection of about $125 afford to endow college scholarships? It’s a matter of priorities. The people of St. Rose of Lima Parish love children and young people very much and demonstrate that love openly and constantly. In Guaimaca,

young people, not gold, are the Church’s treasure.

Yet another aspect I observed is that parishioners, working with their pastor, Father Craig Pregana (on loan from the Diocese of Fall River) take responsibility for what goes on in their parish.

They are serious about their baptismal commitment. There is the usual Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Council. There are also trained Delegates of the Word who serve as community organizers. There are teams of special ministers of Holy Communion to the infirm who walk the unpaved streets of the town making home visits. There are countless other vibrant apostolates as well. When something needs to be done, there are a dozen people on hand willing and able to serve. You don’t have to ask twice.

The Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, headquartered here in Dighton, operate a boarding school for girls from the outlying districts, run the only organic farm in Honduras, and staff a medical clinic for the poor, located on parish property.

In terms of material possessions, the people may have less, but not in the grace of God. In the things of the Spirit, they are wealthy beyond imagining.

Instead of receiving the symbolic mission cross as we left Dighton for Honduras, we received our crosses in Honduras as we prepared to go home. We left for the airport on a bus appropriately named “The Evangelizer.” By the grace of God, ours is a “home” mission, not a foreign mission.

And, in Dighton, there will be joy in the morning.

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

OLAH, AMIGOS — Father Craig Pregana (center back row, with hands raised) joyfully welcomes the St. Nicholas Mission Team to the chapel of St. Michael the Archangel in the outlying village San Quin in Guaimaca, Honduras.

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November 25, 2011

Festival of Lights brightens season continued from page one

While the Christmas message remains the same, the festival has evolved a great deal leading into the 58th year.

A series of new displays and the gradual transition to LED lighting, this year’s Festival of Lights, entitled “Light of Life” promises to be inspiring and breathtaking. “It is my hope that each and every visitor may be touched by Jesus’ light and be reborn,” said shrine director, La Salette Brother Bob Russell. “It is also my hope

that those who come become a light of life to their families and all those they meet throughout their lifetimes.”

The 350,000 lights were illuminated with the flick of a switch yesterday following the 4 p.m. Mass. Newly featured this year is a breathtaking display of artwork depicting Christ in the “Face of Jesus Exhibit” adjacent to the book store and cafeteria. The exhibit is made up of more than 800 pieces of artwork from artists from 41 states and 42 foreign countries.

Also new this year is the opening blessing at 5 p.m. each evening that pays tribute to all the American service women and men serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We have the blessing of the crib and a procession including the Knights of Columbus, four children and a singer,” Brother Bob told The Anchor. Following the reading of his original poem, “Our Fallen Heroes,” Brother Bob welcomes the evening’s guests. “Then the singer performs the National Anthem with one single spotlight focused on the U.S. flag. It’s in honor for all those who serve and all those who have given their lives.”

In fact, at the entrance of the shrine church yearround is a Christmas tree covered with more than 4,000 yellow ribbons.

“The ribbons represent all those U.S. soldiers

who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq,” explained Brother Bob. Each time a solider is killed, another ribbon is added so that the faithful may pray for them and their families.

Following the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Brother Bob gives the command, “Turn on the lights,” and a fortunate youngster gets to throw the switch bathing the shrine with the sights and sounds of that very first Christmas.

“We’ve made a point to rearrange some of the decorations this year to more accurately portray the season,” added Brother Bob. “For instance the three kings are up on a hill behind the monastery illustrating the fact that they are off afar traveling to visit the Christ Child.

“The theme, ‘Light of Life’ is to help everyone keep the focus on Jesus this Advent and Christmas season.

Coming back this year is the crowd-favorite “Clopper” the Christmas donkey, who will again make his home beside the outdoor Crèche of Bethlehem much to the delight of young and old alike.

Other highlights include trolly rides, hayrides, a children’s carousel, a family/children’s room featuring “Birthday Cards for Jesus” and other activities, and a Christmas bazaar.

Should visitors seek to come in out of the cold, the “Face of Jesus Exhibit,” provides a warm respite, as does the International Crèche Museum, the gift shop and the cafeteria with food provided by Johnson and Wales College.

Also in the comfort of the indoors are the scores of concerts from 16 various performers. And, as is the tradition, La Salette Father Andre “Pat” Patenaude will perform 62 concerts during the 2011 Festival of Lights.

The shrine will also maintain its full schedule of daily Masses as well as Masses on Christmas Eve and Day and New Year’s Eve and Day, as well as the availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on most days.

“I encourage families and everyone to visit us and view the sights and hear the sounds of this blessed season of Jesus’ birth,” said Brother Bob. “Here, people can discover what this newborn Child wants to share with us.”

The Festival of Lights runs through January 1 from 5-9 p.m. For information, events and schedules visit www.lasalette-shrine.org or call 508-222-5410.

reminder — A Christmas tree with more than 4,000 ribbons representing U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq is at the entrance of the church at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro. It serves as a reminder of their sacrifice and to pray for them and their families. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

November 25, 2011

Pope praises beatified priest killed by Nazis

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — After praying a recent Sunday Angelus, Pope Benedict praised the example of Father Carl Lampert, an Austrian priest who was killed by the Nazis in 1944 and beatified in his native country.

“In the dark time of National Socialism,” the pope said, Father Lampert “clearly understood the meaning of the words of St. Paul: ‘We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.’”

“During one interrogation which could have led to his release, he testified with conviction: ‘I love my Church. I remain faithful to my Church and to the priesthood. I am on Christ’s side and I love His Church,’” the pope recalled.

Pope Benedict entrusted those gathered with him in St. Peter’s Square on November 13 to the intercession “of the new Blessed that we may participate with him in the joy of the Lord.”

Father Lampert was a diocesan priest who worked as the vicar general of the Diocese of Innsbruck Feldkirch in Austria.

After the Nazi persecution began in full force in 1939, he was arrested three times for “alleged activity against the state” and was sent to the Dachau concentration camp. He was watched by the Gestapo, and his phone calls and correspondence were under continual surveillance.

On Feb. 4, 1943, he was arrested along with 40 others and accused of high treason, espionage, undermining army morale and aiding the enemy.

Together with two other priests, Father Herbert Simoleit and Father Friedrich Lorenz, he was beheaded on Nov. 13, 1944.

He died speaking the names of Jesus and Mary.

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The Anchor

November 25, 2011

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 cold feet — Penguins named Mumble, voiced by Elijah Wood, and Erik, voiced by Ava Acres, are seen in the animated movie “Happy Feet Two.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Warner Bros.)

CNS Movie Capsules

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

“Happy Feet Two” (Warner Bros.)

Penguins are once again tap dancing at the bottom of the world in director and co-writer George Miller’s mostly family-friendly, 3-D animated sequel to his 2006 original. The hero of that film (voice

of Elijah Wood) has married his true love (voice of Alecia Moore, aka Pink) and they have a cute-asa-button son (voice of Ava Acres).

But junior is “choreophobic,” as his dad once was, embarrassed by his two left fins and a distinct lack of rhythm. Feeling misunderstood and unloved, the lad runs away, following a maverick adult penguin (voice of Robin Williams) to the latter’s homeland. There he learns lessons in tolerance and perseverance from the colony’s leader (voice of Hank Azaria) which come in handy when father and son must join forces to save their native flock from disaster. What the collaborative script lacks in originality is more than made up for by some

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stunning vistas, a few catchy tunes and an effective use of 3-D technology. A few intense action scenes, some mild innuendo and minimal potty humor. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (Summit) This fourth addition to the blockbuster gothic franchise opens with the nuptials of the ongoing tale’s iconic but ill-assorted central pair — courteous bloodsucker Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and mortal teen Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) — chronicles their problematic honeymoon in Brazil and follows the unexpected pregnancy that results from the trip. With Bella’s life endangered by having a baby vein-drainer in-utero, the Cullen clan (led by Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Reaser) debate what to do, while perennial third wheel Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) finds himself torn between his hopeless love for Bella and the laws of the vampire-hating werewolf pack to which he belongs. Director Bill Condon’s adaptation of the first part of novelist Stephenie Meyer’s bestseller “Breaking Dawn” includes a sexual interlude, and some grisly ones, that make it unsuitable for youngsters, though mature viewers will recognize a strongly pro-life message being conveyed via the heroine’s unusual plight.

Possibly acceptable for some mature adolescents. A scene of semigraphic marital lovemaking, some gory images, abortion theme, several mild sexual references and jokes, a couple of crass expressions. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Sunday, November 27, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield

TALL ORDER — A brand new steeple was hoisted atop St. Bernard’s Church in Assonet with a crane earlier this week. The steeple was designed by architect and parishioner Andrew P. DiGiammo and was constructed to replace the former spire that was damaged last winter in high winds to a point that it was lilting to one side and in danger of toppling over. The new structure retains the church’s signature gold “Cross of Christ.” (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

November 25, 2011

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Lapse in handling remains of war dead surprises military chaplains PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) — Serving at the Pentagon crash site and offering prayers for the dead as the remains of those killed in the 9/11 attack there were recovered, Father Robert L. Marciano will never forget the reverence with which the military cared for the remains of those lost in the line of service to their country that day.

So it came as a surprise to the chaplain when the U.S. Air Force acknowledged November 8 that staff at its Dover, Del., military mortuary had lost body parts or mishandled the remains of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after they were shipped home from the battlefield.

“In my experience, the military is usually so meticulous in identifying and handling the remains,” said Father Marciano, who holds the rank of colonel and now serves as the state command chaplain of the Rhode Island National Guard. He also is pastor of Our Lady of Good Help Parish in Burrillville.

While also assigned to the Pentagon, he recalls how the military worked hard to ensure the remains of those killed in a helicop-

ter crash in Iraq were brought home to their respective families.

“They found DNA and they went through great pains to make sure it was properly identified,” he told the Rhode Island Catholic, newspaper of the Providence Diocese.

“A lot that happened at Dover goes against the grain of what we stand for.”

Three supervisors at the Dover mortuary, which is operated by the Air Force, have been disciplined for the mishandling of remains.

According to an Air Force report, mismanagement at the Dover mortuary was to blame for the incidents, which included the sawing off of an arm so a body would fit into a casket.

Following the release of the report November 8, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called for a special review at the mortuary, to be completed within 60 days.

On November 9, the Air Force indicated that prior to 2008, some body parts and tissue of deceased soldiers returning stateside were not identified in time to be returned

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Current and past members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged Congress November 17 to keep the rightsmonitoring agency alive and said its work must be given higher priority in foreign policy.

The commission’s congressional mandate technically expired November 18, but an extension until December 16 was included in the “minibus” continuing appropriations resolution approved by the House and Senate November 17 and signed by President Barack Obama November 18. The legislation to authorize the commission still faces a separate vote before the continuing resolution — intended to keep the government operating while budget-cutting negotiations continued — expires December 16.

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., who served on the commission from 2003 to 2007, said in a hearing that although there are detailed reports on religious freedom prepared annually by the commission and the State Department, “there is too little public evidence that protection of religious freedom is factored into major bilateral foreign policy decisions on a day-to-day basis.”

In his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, Bishop Ramirez said that in practice, religious freedom discussions seldom makes it into the public record about dialogue with key countries.

“The issue may have been raised in private, but there needs to be a more overt recognition of the importance that the U.S. places on protection of religious freedom,” he said. “Otherwise, it may appear that our nation is going through the motions of satisfying a congressional mandate, but not following up by making religious freedom an integral part of the foreign policy decision-making process.”

Bishop Ramirez listed some of the recent events that he said show religious freedom is under attack in many countries.

“A Pew study showed that Christians,

more than any other religious group, face some form of either governmental or societal harassment in 133 countries,” he said.

He gave several examples of ongoing hardships and violence people suffer daily for their religious beliefs, including police crackdowns on people “who simply want a place to pray and worship in China, the burning of churches and attacks by extremists against Copts in Egypt, and the persecution of Christians in Eritrea, Baha’is in Iran, Ahmaddis in Indonesia, and Muslims in Uzbekistan who reject state government control over religious practice.”

In addition, the bishop said, there were “the January and March 2011 assassinations in Pakistan of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer (a Muslim) and of Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti (a Catholic and the only Christian member of the cabinet) for their support for amending blasphemy laws; the New Year’s Day bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt; the Christmas eve bombings of Christian churches in Nigeria; and the October 2010 attack on worshippers at a Syrian Catholic Church in Baghdad are just a few of the more horrific reminders of how people are paying with their lives for what they believe.”

Other witnesses at the House hearing included Leonard Leo, current chairman of the commission, and representatives of other organizations that are involved in religious rights and solidarity work.

In his testimony, Leo said the Senate had so far failed to reauthorize the commission, known as USCIRF, because a vote has been blocked “reportedly by concerns about a totally unrelated issue.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has put a hold on the legislation, apparently as a negotiating tactic with the House leadership on an unrelated matter, observers say.

Leo said that “disbanding USCIRF would be a tragic blunder. It would signal to the world that the United States is retreating from the cause of religious freedom.”

Speakers push for reauthorization of U.S. religious freedom commission

to their families for burial, and were subsequently cremated and sent to a Virginia landfill for disposal.

After 2008, the Air Force said, that procedure was changed to allow for such body parts to be cremated and buried at sea.

“The lapses in our standards at Dover, which we sincerely regret, are our responsibility to fix,” Air Force Secretary Mike Donley said in a statement released to the press.

A trio of whistleblowers who had witnessed the incidents of mismanagement at the mortuary brought the issue of problems at Dover to light.

The staff members disciplined for the incidents include Col. Robert H. Edmondson, who served as commander of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations at Dover during the time the incidents took place.

Edmondson received a letter of reprimand, while Trevor Dean, his top civilian deputy, and Quinton Keel, mortuary director at the time, have been reassigned.

Father John Watterson, who retired in June 2008 as pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish in Narragansett, recalled that in his experience as a chaplain tending to the wounded and fallen during the Vietnam War tremendous respect was always taken when handling the remains of the dead.

“This really surprised me. I’ve been right there from the moment the soldiers have been killed, right through the burial process,” he said.

“Believe me, the military does not treat

bodies with disrespect. They have very exacting procedures,” Father Watterson added.

He believes that while errors in handling remains in the heat of battle can certainly be understood, especially considering the damage being inflicted by the proliferation of improvised explosive devices on today’s battlefield, military protocol should ensure soldiers’ remains are properly honored.

“Maybe they got overwhelmed,” he said, offering a possible explanation for the lapses at Dover.

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Roque of the U.S. military archdiocese expressed surprise over the lost remains of body parts.

“I know how careful the military is in respecting those who die, especially those who die in conflict,” he said. “The military has great respect for the deceased.”

Bishop Roque, who was episcopal vicar for Veterans Affairs in the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, recalled that while serving at Fort Myer, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., he presided at many funerals and burials.

The bishop noted that the military “carefully maintains” cemeteries throughout the world.

“They have to see what happened and act accordingly,” Bishop Roque emphasized, describing the work performed by mortuary employees as “difficult” and “challenging.

“People are human and can make mistakes,” he said.

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Pulitzer Prize winner extols benefits of Catholic education continued from page one

with [President Johnson] when I was young that it affected that first book. I loved working on a biography, and that became my profession.”

Goodwin continued her run as a bestselling author with additional biographies on U.S. presidents, including “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys” and “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The American Home Front during World War II,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995.

Her most recent book, published in 2005, looks at the 16th president of the United States.

“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” became a New York Times number one bestseller, won numerous book awards, and is now being turned into a movie by director Steven Spielberg.

“What was so extraordinary about Lincoln was his humanity,” said Goodwin. “All the presidents that I’ve studied have been large figures, but there was something about Lincoln and just living by his side for 10 years as I did, that made you feel like there was a spiritual dimension that was so deep in him that if you could follow some of his own person, you’d be a better person.

“For example, he just refused to allow himself to focus on retaliating against people who had hurt him in the past.

He refused to give into feelings of jealousy. Not that he didn’t feel these feelings, but he kept saying if you allow those kind of feelings to fester inside of you, it poisons the heart of you. He was willing to forgive people who had hurt him. He was willing to surround himself with people who were often stronger than he was. He was always sharing credit with the people who were with him; he took the blame when things went wrong.”

Such dynamics don’t always exist in people, especially those in powerful positions in government. “That whole set of emotional strengths,” said Goodwin, helped Lincoln when faced with saving the Union and emancipating the slaves.

“He was a great man to live beside,” said Goodwin. “I think it’s one of the reasons why he’s one of our most respected presidents.”

The current political climate seems reflective of some of the issues faced by those featured in Goodwin’s biographies, including the debate over the religious backgrounds of the current Republican nominees

— something John F. Kennedy faced when he was running for office.

“I think what’s really important is, in a country like ours where we have had a separation of church and state, I think the key thing is to understand the ethical and moral qualities of the person who is going to become the leader of the country,” said Goodwin. “People in very different religions can express them, and religion often gives a foundation for those ethical qualities to a person so knowing their religious exercise really can help as a signal to that.

“I think there’s no way of saying that one religion is better than the other in terms of making a good president. It more depends upon the source of the person’s own moral and ethical center. The interesting thing is just as we had JFK becoming the first Catholic president of the United States, now if Mitt Romney becomes the nominee, we could have the first Mormon president of the United States.

“I think each one of these moments — we had Barack Obama becoming the first African-American president — is an important symbol, in a way, that this country is open to choosing the person who they think is best for the job and not restricting them. As JFK said when he was running and gave that famous speech in Houston, after everybody was trying to argue that a Catholic couldn’t be a president because he would owe his allegiance to the pope; he said that he couldn’t believe he could be prevented from being president on the day that he was baptized.”

The openness of the country comes from educating the people; knowledge is power. And when Goodwin steps in front of the podium to speak for the annual benefit, she will draw a line to show how past presidents helped shape the current education system.

“How their experiences, like Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson — both of whom had difficult childhoods securing the education they wanted, and then used their powers when they became president to do something about education,” said Goodwin. “In Lincoln’s case, he produced the Morrill Act and the Land-Grant Act, and in LBJ’s case the two big federal aids to education acts, and eventually worked out a compromise with the private schools. In those cases the adversity in their childhood and the desire propelled them to do want something when they got

power, to improve education for people who might not have had access to it.”

Goodwin will also share how the Church provided her with an appreciation of community, family and a sense of ritual. A product of a public school system, Goodwin recalls the Church as the center of her town’s life and hopes the fund-raising efforts provide those children in need with an education that will offer not just an academic foundation but a solid moral compass based on the words and faith of Jesus Christ.

“I think what is so strong about the Catholic education,” said Goodwin, “in addition to providing values and traditions to the people, is reaching out to the needy children and providing them with an education that they may not otherwise be able to get. I think in this country right now, equal access to education is absolutely essential at a time when the gap between the rich and the poor is greater than ever before, and when there is a struggling middle class.

“We need to underscore the importance of what the Church is doing by reaching out and give them that absolutely critical education and resource when they’re young, upon which else so much depends for their lives, and at the same time, giving them the traditions and rituals as a base beneath that.”

Those interested in attending the St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner, please contact Mike Tamburro, any area committee chairman, or Michael Donly at the diocesan Development Office at 508-675-1311.

November 25, 2011

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Life is a bus ride

hey’re everywhere. The through their countenance. sights and sounds of I also see adults with little life “Christmas.” The barrage began behind their “windows to the as soon as the last “Trick or treat” soul.” They seem beaten by what was uttered. life has offered them. The fight is On television commercials, in over. sales flyers, in magazines, and on My heart truly aches for these the Internet are smiling, happy lost souls, and while jostling over faces receiving that “big ticket” city pot holes, I pray for them — item that is supposed to be in that somehow, someway they are celebration of Our Lord’s humble touched by the Almighty with birth. Go figure. peace and hope.

That is so not the real world, at My travels also take me through least not mine and countless others.

In my weekly travels, I utilize the bus system in my fair town.

Being a oneBy Dave Jolivet horse family, it’s a necessity. But I don’t mind it at all. In fact I like riding the bus. all types of neighborhoods. Some There are many who find public of those areas are run down and it’s transportation “repulsive” and easy to imagine the clientele. There filled with “low-lifes.” To each his are individuals sitting on porches own. and stoops with the same looks as I do get to see the real people those on the bus. I pray for them though. Some are rude, some are as well. polite; some are refined, some are There are days when I don’t crass; some seem to have their want these encounters with the wits about them, and others, not so unhappy of the world. It makes me much. unhappy. But it would be so easy Many of these people are the to erase the real world, and contype one would encounter only on sequently stop praying for these public transportation. unfortunate brothers and sisters.

I often sit on my city-run But the bus is part of my life, chariot and people-watch. I try, and I’m glad. Maybe someday one without appearing like a stalker, to of my little prayers will make a look them in the eyes, just briefly. difference.

That fleeting encounter provides a And every time I see someone glance into who they are, or at least on TV receiving a new Toyota who I think they are. for Christmas, I’ll send up a little By and large, those who share prayer for the person behind the the oversized GMC vehicle with eyes I glanced into that day. me do not appear happy. Nor do they appear at peace, with themselves or the world.

On a single 15-minute excursion, I see many teen-agers filled with anger. Some express it in vulgarities and ridicule. Others

This week in

My View From the Stands

Diocesan history

50 years ago — Bishop James L. Connolly and Father Joseph L. Powers, diocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, attended the organization’s congress in Dallas, Texas. The congress was held every five years.

10 years ago — Father Timothy J. Goldrick, then pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet, was among more than 160 members of the Friends of the Crèche Society who convened for the first time in Lancaster, Pa.

25 years ago — Bishop Daniel A. Cronin conferred Scout religious awards on 35 Boy and Girl Scouts from diocesan troops at ceremonies held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. Father Martin L. Buote, diocesan director of Catholic Scouting, was also in attendance.

One year ago — Bishop George W. Coleman embraced a call from the pope and presided at a “Vigil for All Human Life at Its Very Beginnings” at St. Julie Billiart Church in North Dartmouth. Pope Benedict XVI requested that bishops together with their faithful offer prayers during the Vigil of the First Sunday of Advent.

November 25, 2011

15

The Anchor

Mass. residents begin education and mobilization against physician-assisted suicide

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BRIGHTON — Imagine that you have been diagnosed with advanced cancer. Your doctor suggests a treatment plan that would greatly improve your health but your insurance denies coverage in a letter. In that same letter, the insurance company informs you that your plan will pay for “physician aid in dying,” also known as doctor prescribed death.

This exact scenario played out for one Oregon woman three years ago. Barbara Wagner’s statesponsored health plan only paid for chemotherapy that would eliminate cancer, not chemotherapy that would control her cancer and greatly extend her life. She appealed the decision twice and was denied coverage every time.

Rita Marker, a speaker sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said that all major health insurance plans pay for physician assisted suicide where it is legal.

She warned that if a doctor prescribed death bill were to pass in Massachusetts, a lethal dose of pills would quickly become the cheapest “treatment” available.

Marker, a lawyer and representative of the Patients Rights Council in Steubenville, Ohio, warned, “The law is a great teacher. When something becomes legal, people start to think it is a good thing to do.”

In Massachusetts, supporters of the “Death with Dignity Act” are currently collecting signatures in the hopes of landing the legislation on the ballot in 2012. The petition’s backers maintain that euthanasia is “necessary for the welfare of the Commonwealth and its residents.”

In Oregon, supporters of phy-

sician-assisted suicide boast that more than 90 percent of those who choose to kill themselves under the law have health insurance and draw from that the conclusion that death was freely chosen. They have not provided data on how many of those who die were turned down for life-saving care.

Marker asked a group gathered to hear her speak at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton on November 14 whether they trusted profit-driven or government-run health insurance plans to do the right thing.

With the pressure to control costs, it seems likely that such plans could choose the road to lower expenses.

She spoke at two more MCFL sponsored talks — at Assumption College in Worcester on November 13 and at St. Stanislaus Parish in West Warren on November 16.

She also spoke the following day at a talk sponsored by the Quincy Department of Elder Services.

Doctor prescribed death affects an already vulnerable population.

Even those who are assertive at other times in their lives can be less sure of themselves when they are dying. The elderly may feel isolated before illness strikes, Marker said.

Legalizing physician-assisted suicide gives power to families that are loving along with those that are abusive. Many times, the elderly underreport abuse. In Massachusetts, reported elder abuse has risen 30 percent over the past three years, she said.

Though safeguards in these laws have been put in place, Marker calls them “window dressings.” In Oregon, where the law came into effect in 1997, and in Washington, in 2009, patients are only eligible if they have been diagnosed with

an irreversible, incurable condition that will likely result in their death in six months or less. Such a definition does not take treatment into account. Diabetes is irreversible, incurable and, without insulin, a patient may not live very long.

In both states, patients must request death twice orally and once in written format and 15 days must pass before the first and last requests. They must be deemed capable to make such a decision by two doctors.

In Oregon, the only oversight of the process is that doctors are supposed to self-report their involvement. Abuses and coercion have not been reported.

The first annual report acknowledged that, “The entire account may be a cock and bull story. We assume, however, that physicians were their usual careful and accurate selves.”

Marker urged those opposed to doctor prescribed death to learn about the issue and understand what approaches are most likely to be effective when they speak out.

She encouraged them to ask others questions that will cause them to think about the issue in a new way.

“Creating doubt changes minds,” she said.

Marker suggested that people call in to talk radio, write letters to newspaper editors and utilize social media. Before addressing the topic, people should think about whom they are trying to reach and what they are trying to accomplish.

Kathryn McMillan, a parishioner at St. Mary Parish in Chelmsford, said she attended to gain more information about how to approach the issue of doctor prescribed death when speaking with others. She encouraged others to do the same.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo called on members of the U.S. Senate to remove four provisions “that pose a direct threat to innocent human life” from a package of three appropriations bills for fiscal 2012.

“At a time when Congress is tempted to reduce even vitally important programs that serve the poorest and neediest people here and abroad, the moral wrong of expanding subsidies for direct violations of human life and dignity is especially egregious,” said the archbishop of GalvestonHouston, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The Senate was debating H.R. 2354, which covers FY 2012 funding for energy/water, financial services and state/foreign operations, during the week of November 14.

Cardinal DiNardo said four senators had agreed to propose amendments to remove the four objectionable provisions:

— Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was to offer an amendment restoring Congress’ long-standing ban on coverage of elective abortions in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which the financial services bill would permit as currently written.

— Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., was to propose modifications to the financial services bill to retain the current prohibition on the use of congressionally appropriated funds for elective abortions in the District of Columbia.

— Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was to offer an amendment eliminating from the state/foreign operations bill a proposed appropriation of $40 million to the United Nations Population Fund, despite what the cardinal called “that agency’s continued support for a brutal program of coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization in China.”

— Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was to propose changes to the state/ foreign operations bill to remove a

provision that would permanently ban restoration of the Mexico City policy, which during the Reagan and Bush administrations blocked U.S. funding of foreign nongovernmental organizations that perform and promote abortion as a form of family planning.

“In fact the bill’s provision sweeps even more broadly, so that no harmful or destructive ‘health or medical service’ may render an organization ineligible for U.S. funds if that ‘service’ is permitted in the host country and ‘would not violate United States law,’” Cardinal DiNardo noted.

“This last requirement is almost meaningless, as even infanticide, euthanasia and other lethal procedures are generally forbidden by individual state laws and not by United States law,” he added. “In short, this provision effectively say that if a foreign nation allows medical personnel to abuse men, women and children, the United States will subsidize the perpetrators.”

Cardinal urges Senate to drop abortion funding in bills

McMillan said that the part of the issue that most troubles her is the unintended consequences of the practice becoming legal in the Commonwealth.

“I am concerned about what it can lead to,” she said. “It’s a lot cheaper to give someone a bottle of pills than to treat them for six months.”

Revised and updated ...

2011-2012 Diocese of Fall River Catholic Directory ... Now Shipping!

Published by The Anchor Publishing Company P.O. Box 7, Fall River, Massachusetts 02722 Please ship _____ directories x $18 each, including shipping and handling. Total Enclosed $_____ NAME ____________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________ CITY _____________________ STATE _______ ZIP _____ Please make checks payable to “Anchor Publishing” For more information, email theanchor@anchonews.org, call 508-675-7151, or order online at www.anchornews.org

16

Youth Pages

a super visit — Dr. Michael Griffin, the newly-appointed Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Fall River, recently made his first visit to St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro. Shown here with Griffin is principal, Sister Mary Jane Holden, Beth Lane and students of the third-grade class.

November 25, 2011

a suny day — The Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, community recently gathered to witness Patty Borges sign a letter of intent to play Division I Women’s Softball at State University of New York at Stonybrook. She is pictured with her parents, brothers, grandmother and varsity softball coach.

sworn in — Student Council members were inducted in a ceremony after Mass on All Saints Day at St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth.

show and tell — Bishop Feehan High School’s guidance department recently organized a Career Day for all students, presented by 44 various professionals from the Attleboro area. Each student chose three career presenters and attended a 20-minute overview of each of their respective careers. Andrea Ross and a student demonstrate an instrument she uses as a physical therapist.

Youth Pages

November 25, 2011

I

Make a splash

recently came across a simple, short video posted on a friend’s Facebook account.

The title of the YouTube video is “Change for a Dollar.” If you have some time, it is worth watching. My friend had added a one-word comment to his post … ripples. I usually don’t click on many posts and I’m still not sure what caused me to click on this one, but for some reason, I did.

The video begins with an apparently homeless man sitting in a doorway holding a sign with one word on it … change.

People drop coins in his can and when he’s accumulated about a dollar in change, he gets up and goes to the supermarket where he purchases a cup of coffee, receiving back a penny in change.

In the next checkout line we see a mother and a small child as she counts out all her pennies to purchase just a loaf of bread.

The man notices this.

The homeless man leaves the store and as he walks down the street he notices a bakery with a help wanted sign in the window.

He takes the penny and places it on the ground in front of the store and moments later the little boy and his mom pass by and the little boy sees the penny.

Stopping in front of the bakery enables the mom to see the help

eye. But how long does it take wanted sign and she enters and to put that feeling aside and for gets the job. The man moves us all to get sucked in by all on giving that cup of coffee to of the hoopla surrounding the another homeless person in the holiday? Stores are ramping park and then some change to another person taking donations. up with sales; many of us were making lists and planning for A young person, who is a runaway, receives some change and this morning’s Black Friday sales run. Many may be concalls home to worried parents. sidering that big screen TV or This $1 in change is dispersed such that it has an affect on each and every person. Ultimately, we return to a scene of the homeless man back in the doorway. Along come that mom and little boy.

By Frank Lucca The little boy stops, takes the original penny that he found a new computer or some other on the ground and places it in “want.” On the other hand, so the man’s cup. The effect of the many have needs that are so homeless man’s giving comes full circle with multiple people’s basic, especially in these dire economic times! We should lives being affected by his conbe ashamed as a country and tributing all that he had … just of ourselves that there will be $1. His act of giving started a many who don’t even have a ripple effect that touched many. roof over their head, clothes, Now my friend’s comment … or food or other basic necessiripples … made sense. ties of life. Don’t we have an One cannot help but be obligation to our brothers and touched by this type of gensisters? Can there be any doubt erosity by one who barely has in our minds about the criterion anything at all. It is especially of judgment that Jesus will moving as we begin to prepare use with us when we read in for this season of giving. The Matthew 25: 35-40, “‘For I was video tugs at our hearts and hungry and you gave Me food, may even bring a tear to our

NORTH DARTMOUTH — For more than 25 years, the Bishop Stang High School Student Council has been giving back to the community by organizing a Thanksgiving Day food drive and by preparing meals for Market Ministries in New Bedford. It also fill baskets that are given to

St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River.

Through the generous efforts of Student Council President Haley Ketschke, Vice President Katherine Ferrari, Secretary Jillian McHenry, and Treasurer Stefanie Carroll, the class officers and the 25 homeroom representatives who make up the

Be Not Afraid

17 I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, a stranger and you welcomed Me, naked and you clothed Me, ill and you cared for Me, in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You ill or in prison, and visit You?’ And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’” Our actions can and will have a ripple affect. What we do will have an affect on others. We’re all ultimately connected. A simple act of generosity can have a profound effect on the lives of others ultimately having an affect on all of mankind. If some small change, as demonstrated in the video, can affect so many lives, can’t we do the same?

Please join me this year in trying to start to make a change in the lives of others by stepping up in some small way. It doesn’t have to be something big. It doesn’t even have to be monetary. It could simply be a smile,

or some thoughtful gesture to someone. As Blessed Mother Teresa said, “Let us not be satisfied with just giving money.

Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.”

The homeless man was asking for more than some monetary change. He was asking for change. Don’t wait for others to bring it about. Each and every one of us can play a part … no matter how small. Just as in the video, a small act of generosity can and will have an affect.

Each and every one of us can start that ripple effect that will touch the lives of others this Christmas season and beyond.

You may never know the outcome of your actions but if we each do our part, we can bring about a change in one life at a time. All of our small ripples together can certainly make a big splash.

Frank Lucca is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea. He is chairman and director of the YES! Retreat and director of the Christian Leadership Institute. He is a husband and a father of two daughters.

He may be reached at stdominicyouthministry@ comcast.net.

Bishop Stang High School organizes food drive

carving up dinner — Student Council members from Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth again carved up turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners for the needy this week.

Student Council, more than 400 people will be fed who would otherwise not be able to enjoy a true Thanksgiving meal.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the members of the Student Council spend the morning carving turkeys, putting together 20 food baskets for St. Vincent’s Home in Fall River, and peeling and cutting potatoes that will later be cooked and served at a soup kitchen run by Market Ministries. All the food items are gathered from the faculty, staff, and students participating in homeroom collections by giving either food donations or funds for the purchase of turkeys, pies and all the fixings necessary for a Thanksgiving feast.

Lockheed Martin Sippican, Inc. donates gift certificates to Market Basket to purchase the turkeys. The turkeys are taken home on Tuesday night and cooked by faculty, staff, and parents. The students begin preparations at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and by 9:30 a.m. the dinners are ready for distribution. The Student Council then delivers the meals to the soup kitchen in New Bedford by way of a bus and driver compliments of Tremblay’s Bus Co.

smurf art — The fifth-grade class at Holy Name School in Fall River was fortunate enough to visit Nathan Sawaya’s “The Art of the Brick” exhibit at the Narrows Center For the Arts. The students had the opportunity to create their own pieces using “Incredible Foam” and Legos. They also got to see how the artist’s work shows different emotions and stimulates thinking as to his message. The students wrote narratives about their experiences.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews.org

18

The Anchor

November 25, 2011

Roman Missal changes recall revisions after Vatican II

The committal: Bidding adieu

Barry W. Wall, the first changes to the Mass after Vatican II began immediately after the council ended and were integrated gradually over time.

“Obviously the renewal after the Vatican Council in the late 1960s was of much greater scope than what we’re talking about today,” Father Wall said.

“The distinction of roles was also important: for the priest, the lector and the other ministers; whereas before the priest had done everything really in the older rite.”

Initial changes were made as early as late 1964 and included English translations of the readings, the Gloria, the Apostles’ Creed, the Sanctus, the dismissal and the blessing. During Lent of 1966, additional prayers such as the collects, the prayer over the gifts, the post-Communion prayer and the preface were all converted into English. In 1967 the four variations of the Eucharistic Prayer were added in the vernacular as well.

By 1970 all of these gradual changes had been incorporated into what was considered the first English translation of the Roman Missal.

According to Father Lopes, many copies of that first edition of the Roman Missal included the original Latin text alongside the newly-translated English text.

“I found the old St. Joseph’s Missal that we used to use when I was a kid; it has the Latin on one side and the English translation on the other,” he said. “It’s interesting because the English we are now going back to is closer to the English that was in

ones to commit them to a place that’s secure and passing them onto the safety of our Lord.”

It has been deemed one of the most emotional moments during the funeral rites, the final goodbye that makes the loss of the loved one all too real to family and friends.

“We realize the finality of it all,” said Father John Perry, pastor of St. Jude the Apostle in Taunton and director of cemeteries for the Diocese of Fall River. “Everything is OK until then. That’s the real goodbye. You leave and it’s a very empty leaving.”

Catholics are encouraged to be interred in the holy ground of a Catholic cemetery, surrounded by their fellow Catholic brothers and sisters in faith. If it is a public or non-Catholic cemetery, a priest will go and bless the grave and the ground the deceased is to be placed in. During the graveside service, additional prayers are said as the final act of faith for the deceased.

“I think the final combination — the prayers, the presence of the Church at that time — are very, very important,” said Msgr. Stephen Avila, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield and director of the Diocesan Office of Worship.

Often eulogies are said at the graveside. Any radical “sendoffs” suggested by family members, however, is where priests will remind those in attendance that some ideas are not in keeping with Catholic tradition.

“As a pastor, I will tell them this is how we worship as a Catholic faith community,” said Msgr. Avila. “At that point, if they want to have a celebration of life and want to have a lot of the secular things that are creeping in, that’s where I draw the line. We offer you something beautiful and something the Church has given us, but we won’t offer what you’re asking for. I won’t compromise what we believe.”

One issue priests are now having to deal with more often is cremation.

“It’s a very strange way to phrase this. Cremation is allowed but not preferred,” said Father Perry. “Cremation was used to deny the Resurrection.

By the denial of the Resurrection, it was a denial of faith, so it only made sense that it would not be allowed.”

The history goes back that cremation was never allowed for Catholics except under extraordinary conditions; such as when a plague was taking place creating a health hazard, and large numbers of people were dying

continued from page one

that Missal, so it’s not really a new translation.”

“Some of the translations are familiar to us already,” Father Wall agreed. “They really hearken back to those older English translations that didn’t find their way into the approved Sacramentary at the time.”

Father Lopes said he’s thankful that so much preparation has gone into getting the word out about this latest translation.

“I don’t think we had all of the effort publicity-wise before we made the changes back then like we do now,” he said. “I think back then it took a while for the changes to really filter down to the people. I was just shortly out of the seminary and I remember we were anticipating all the changes from Vatican II.” Even though he didn’t experience those early post-Vatican II changes, Father Jay Mello, parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth, said he’s excited about these latest revisions to the Roman Missal.

“Though it is not easy and will take some real effort on the part of the entire community to break away from the responses that we have become accustomed to, this new translation provides us the unique opportunity to reflect upon what we are saying and the real meaning of our words,” Father Mello said.

In the weeks leading up to the first Sunday of Advent, Father Mello said they’ve been using the homily to catechize his parishioners about the changes and the fact that “we are still in the midst of the Liturgical renewal called for by the Second

Vatican Council — something that doesn’t happen overnight.”

Although some of the changes might seem minor or insignificant, Father Mello stressed that this new, more accurate translation is very reverent.

“It does clearly indicate that what we are doing is something solemn and sacred: praying to Almighty God, not just speaking with a friend,” he said. “The new language communicates that much more clearly, I think.”

As a priest born after 1970, Father Kevin A. Cook, pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton, said he’s only known the current English translation of the Mass so it will take some time to get used to the revisions.

“The more I look over or practice with the prayers, the more I realize how beautiful and profound they are and realize there is so much to reflect on from these prayers,” Father Cook said. “I know this is going to be challenging for everyone since we are so used to saying the responses with not much effort. But as long as we recognize the initial frustration will not take long to pass, the more we will discover this is a wonderful gift.”

Father Cook said he’s excited to make the transition this weekend and said the main challenge for him is “to help people understand why the changes are needed — and what happened originally in how we got the translation we have known for 40 years — and to be patient as we go through this together.”

“Breaking out of the habit of certain responses will require us to become very deliberate in our responses, and not just give automatic responses without even thinking of the words,” Father Mello agreed. “It reminds us that praying isn’t just saying the words of ancient prayers, but it is essentially the communication between us and our Creator.”

While he thinks the changes will “demand more of our attention” for the first few weeks, Father Wall said he also welcomes the new translation and thinks others will acclimate themselves to it.

“There are choices that have been made that are not going to be pleasing to everyone, but they have been made and now we’re called to put our best foot forward and do the best we can and not let them become an obstacle to our prayer and worship,” he said. “There needs to be a certain calmness about the whole thing. What we’ve done before, we can do again.”

continued from page one

and the living were unable to attend to them and bury them properly. Now with cremation becoming a more popular practice, Father Perry said that people should treat the ashes as one would treat the mortal remains — with respect and dignity.

“This is where we’ve had a problem,” said Father Perry.

“The teaching of the catechesis to go along with cremation has not always been followed. The Church teaching is, the cremation should be treated in the same way as one would treat the body. Therefore it’s very appropriate that a cremation should be buried in the cemetery in a family plot or mausoleum. No more would you consider taking home the casket with the deceased one; that’s the Church’s perspective, that the proper place for it is to be buried.”

Living in a mixed society had created all sorts of abuses towards the ashes, said Father Perry.

“We see the influences of all kinds of peculiar things going on,” he said. “You can have your ashes jettisoned into space. You can have your ashes made part of a coral reef.

There’s a company that will compress your ashes and create synthetic diamonds out of the carbon in the ash. It’s just endless, but that’s not who we are as Catholics. As Catholic people the cremation is to be treated with reverence and respect, like we would treat the body, and should be buried.”

People have a hard time letting go and sometimes believe they will find comfort in keeping a piece of their loved one on the shelf above the fireplace, or in enjoying the idea of the loved one’s remains circling the world on the ocean’s current. That is not how Catholic rites were designed; it’s about taking the final step in saying a proper adieu, which literally means entrusting our loved ones “to God.” “They should be interred in the ground. Don’t leave them up on the shelf. That’s kind of morbid, putting them in a locket and wearing it around your neck. That kind of idea shows disrespect. The ashes are holy; they are the remains of our body.

Scattering ashes is not respectful,” said Father Sullivan.

He added, “The committal makes that final, though painful, severance of the person from the natural life. It helps us to go on, to heal and be able to make the transition into the new life without them in our physical presence.

Our hope is that we’ll always be with them in eternal life.”

November 25, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

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

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds eucharistic adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. until November 25, 2011, and from January 7 to November 17, 2012.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nun who worked for tribal rights killed in eastern India

NEW DELHI (CNS) — Church leaders in Kerala state have expressed shock and outrage over the killing of Sister Valsa John, who campaigned for tribal rights in eastern India.

Sister John, 53, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, was hacked to death at her home in a remote area of the east Indian state of Jharkhand. Earlier reports had said the nun had been shot dead.

The Asian church news agency UCA News cited unspecified reports that a mob of around 50 people gathered outside Sister John’s home early November 16, shortly before her death.

Church officials in Kerala visited Sister John’s family in Vazhakkala, near Cochin, Kerala’s commercial hub, to offer condolences. Then Archbishop George Alencherry, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, paid tribute to the slain nun and called for those responsible for her death to be brought to justice.

Sister John gave “her life to the poor and fought a long battle to try and safeguard their rights,” the archbishop said.

She showed “the world how to

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Nov. 26 Rev. James R. Burns, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1945 Rev. Charles Porada, OFM, 2000

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

Nov. 27 Rt. Rev. Patrick E. McGee, Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1948

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

Nov. 28 Rev. Adrien A. Gauthier, Pastor, St. Roch, Fall River, 1959

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

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Anchor

Nov. 29 Rev. Thomas H. Shahan, Former Pastor, St. Mary, Taunton, 1902 Rev. Francis A. McCarthy, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1965 Nov. 30 Rev, William J McCoomb, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1895 Dec. 1 Rev. Phillipe Ross, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1958 Rev. Edward J. Gorman, Retired Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1964 Dec. 2 Rev. Arthur Savoie, Pastor, St. Hyacinth, New Bedford, 1917 Rev. Dennis W. Harrington, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1958 Rev. Stanislaus Basinski, Former Pastor, Holy Rosary, Taunton, 1970

care for the poor and dedicated her life to the Church and her faith.”

UCA News said family members believe the nun was killed by people connected to a mining company she was campaigning against.

Archbishop Maria Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum said of Sister John: “With her exemplary life and courage to fight evil, Sister John has shown us that we need to rededicate our lives for our faith and work for the poor.”

Around the Diocese 11/26

The 25th annual Christmas Bazaar will be held at Our Lady of Grace Parish Center, 569 Sanford Road in Westport, tomorrow and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. The event will include crafts, food and raffles along with photos with Santa from 11 a.m. to noon and live music by Pat Cordeiro and Judy Souza from noon to 2 p.m. For more information call 508-674-6271.

11/26

St. Mary’s 31st Annual Christmas Fair will be held tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parish center located at 14 Park Street, North Attleboro. The fair will feature the popular “Festival of Trees,” which will open for a preview today from 6 to 8 p.m. There will also be crafts and handmade items to buy along with food including the traditional favorite French meat pies. For information call the church office at 508-695-6161.

11/27

Sung Vespers will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday at St. John the Baptist Church, 945 Main Road in Westport. To mark the Advent season in a special way, the parish will be singing the Liturgy of the Hours every Sunday during Advent.

11/28

St. Louis de France Parish, 56 Buffington Street in Swansea, will host weekly Centering Prayer gatherings using a Lectio Divina format on every Monday in Advent beginning November 28 through December 19 at 6:15 p.m. in the family room of the church. Prayer begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. For more information call 508-264-5823 or email forums4ami@gmail.com.

12/3

The Christ the King Parish Women’s Club will host its annual Christmas Bazaar on December 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parish hall, Mashpee Commons, Mashpee. The event will include crafts and gift items for sale, a children’s shopping room, holiday greens arrangements, and face painting and games for the children. For information call 508-477-7700.

12/3

The Catholic high schools in the Fall River Diocese will accept applications and administer an entrance exam for new students on December 3. Students should arrive by 7:45 a.m. with testing to begin at 8 a.m. at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River; Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro; Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis; Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth; and Coyle-Cassidy High School in Taunton. The examination and application procedure will last until approximately 11:30 a.m.

12/3

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet December 3 at the Parish of the Good Shepherd, 1598 South Main Street, Fall River. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Freddie Babiczuk, there will be a hot meal in the church hall. The speaker is Father Babiczuk who will go over the changes to the Mass. Any gentleman wishing to attend may do so.

Call Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174 for reservations or with any questions.

12/5

The annual Deacon Joseph Stanley Mass of Hope and Remembrance For Our Children will be celebrated December 5 at 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville. The Mass if for bereaved parents who have experienced the loss of a child in pregnancy, infancy, sudden death, illness, accident, murder or suicide. All are welcome to share the memory. Refreshments will follow. For information call 508-775-5744 or email jeanmarie.fraser@gmail. com.

12/8

On December 8, in celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will take place in the chapel of the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street, Easton. The day begins with the Rosary at 9 a.m. and will be followed by eucharistic adoration until 11:45 a.m. Mass follows at noon in St. Joseph Chapel. For additional information call 508-238-4095.

12/12

The South Attleboro Knights of Columbus will host a “Keep Christ in Christmas” concert with Father Pat on December 12 at 6 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 304 Highland Avenue (Route 123) in South Attleboro. All are invited to attend and free coffee and pastry will be served. Non-perishable food donations will be accepted.

12/15

The Charismatic Prayer Group of Holy Trinity Parish, West Harwich, will host an Advent Celebration on December 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Damien Hall. The evening will begin with praise and worship followed by an Advent presentation by Deacon Frank Fantasia of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee. Join this opportunity to praise the Lord in song, worship Him, and share His Word. For information call 508-432-8149 or 508-430-0014.

12/15

after the Mass.

A Healing Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church, 818 Middle Street, Fall River, on December 15 beginning with the Rosary at 6 p.m., followed by Benediction and healing prayers

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Pope: Belief in Resurrection means belief in final victory of love

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Believing in Christ’s resurrection means that no matter how difficult life gets, one believes that love and goodness are far more powerful than hatred and evil, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Yes, in the world there is much evil, there is a permanent battle between good and evil and it seems that evil is stronger. But, no, the Lord is stronger,” the pope said November 16 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“Despite all the things that make us doubt the positive outcome of history, Christ wins and goodness wins. Love, and not hatred, wins,” he said.

Just a few days before the feast of Christ the King, Pope Benedict spoke at his audience about Psalm 110, a psalm about a king, which the New Testament repeatedly holds up as a reference to Christ.

Pope Benedict said his reflection would be the last in the series of seven talks he has given about praying with the Psalms. The series began in early September.

The pope said he wanted to give Catholics a taste of praying with the biblical Psalms, which “reflect various life situations and emotional states” in people’s attitudes toward God — from thanksgiving to desperate pleas for God’s help.

He asked Catholics to read and pray with the Psalms, particularly through the Liturgy of the Hours, “lauds in the morning, vespers in the evening and compline before going to sleep.”

The Anchor

November 25, 2011

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org