The Texas Catholic 11.13.15

THE

Texas Catholic © 2015 The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015

The official newspaper of the Diocese of Dallas

Vol. 65, No. 7

A Pilgrimage of Mercy VATICAN

Pope Francis Pope Francis demands an end to economic exploitation, to clerics “obsessed” with power and to apathy among youth.

See Page 3.

ECUMENICAL Nostra Aetate

Hundreds attend the 2015 Eugene McDermott Lecture on Nov. 4, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a document that resphaped the Catholic Church’s relationship with other religions.

See Page 9.

SETH GONZALES/The Texas Catholic

Father Marco Rangel concelebrates a Mass of Thanksgiving for the life of St. Maria Goretti, whose relics are placed in front of the altar at St. Monica Catholic Church.

Thousands flocked to the parish Nov. 3 for a chance to venerate the relics of St. Maria Goretti, who is the Catholic Church’s youngest saint. For more coverage, see Page 7.

Parishioners share spirit of charity, hope

By Cathy Harasta The Texas Catholic

SCHOOLS

St. Mary of Carmel Catholic and civic community members gather to raise funds for student tuition assistance for St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School.

See Page 11.

ONLINE

Veterans’ Day St. Paul Catholic School in Richardson, St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School and Bishop Lynch Catholic School plan salutes to United States veterans. Find coverage at TexasCatholicYouth.com.

ALLEN—The St. Jude Catholic Church’s Career Alliance Ministry recently found its weekly workshop suddenly reduced by one.

A participant had to dash away from the group on Nov. 4 when he got a much-desired call from an employer to come and interview for a job.

Everyone in the workshop rejoiced, said Jack Bick, the volunteer coordinator for the ministry that meets a community need by serving the unemployed, the underemployed and a range of ages from college students to older workers seeking career advice and companionship during times of transition and stress.

About 40 miles south, another parish ministry in the Diocese of Dallas met a different community need when its Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference gathered to organize holiday food basket deliveries and arrange its food pantry at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Lancaster.

As Thanksgiving and Christmas

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Gerry Vilarino looks at job resource information during a session of the Career Alliance Ministry workshop at St. Jude Catholic Church in Allen on Oct. 28.

approach, parish volunteers in different parts of the diocese said that the holidays heighten the sense of the gift of sharing, caring and mercy for year-round ministries.

Parishes large and small engage in various outreach strategies, serving food and, in some cases, food for thought. Their ministries rely on the same virtues—faith,

hope and love—and count on the dedication of staff and volunteers.

“We know of about 250 people who have found jobs after attending our program,” Bick said of the seven-year-old parish ministry. “I saw this as an opportunity to give back. It’s very satisfying to help people.”

Bick, a St. Jude parishioner

and former business owner in the publishing industry, said that he expected to give an hour or two a week to the ministry but felt so close to its purpose that he became a certified career coach.

The ministry uses a four-week curriculum that incorporates a seven-step series based on the Crossroads Career Network Program, a nationwide Christian-based job-search process. Speakers with special expertise present strategies during the workshops, which are held at St. Jude’s Pastoral Center.

Bick said that many people who participate in the program have not had to look for a job for many years and feel nervous about the process.

Many have lost their jobs in a layoff, he said.

“I came to the workshops because I had hit a slump after losing my job about five months ago,” said Gretchen Adam, one of 17 participants at the ministry’s Nov. 4 workshop. “I cried all the way through that first workshop. It’s so important to be with people of faith.

The first week, I was really a mess, and everybody was so kind.

See SPIRIT, Page 15

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VOCATIONS

The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015

DIACONATE

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell Publisher Editor David Sedeño Managing Editor Michael Gresham Managing Editor Revista Católica Constanza Morales Business Manager Antonio Ramirez Jr. Staff Writer Cathy Harasta Staff Writer Seth Gonzales Photographer Jenna Teter Accounting Manager Leigh Harbour The oldest Catholic newspaper in Texas ©2015 The Texas Catholic THE TEXAS CATHOLIC (USPS 616620) ISSN: 0899-6296 is published biweekly, except for the months of June, July, August and December when it is published monthly by The Texas Catholic Publishing Co., 3725 Blackburn, P.O. Box 190347, Dallas, TX 75219. Subscription rates are $20 for one year, $35 for two years, $55 for three years. Periodical postage paid at Dallas, TX. Extra copies are $4.00 each; if mailed, add $1.00 per piece for handling and postage.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Texas Catholic, P.O. Box 190347, Dallas, TX 75219.

TELEPHONE: 214-528-8792 FAX: 214-528-3411 WEB: www.texascatholic.com

Deacons set to trade vestments for aprons

By David Sedeño The Texas Catholic

To serve is an integral part of a deacon’s spiritual life and on Nov. 21, dozens of them will trade in their vestments for aprons for a few hours to serve a Thanksgiving Dinner to hundreds of people in West Dallas.

Although they regularly serve individually at the parishes, hospitals, prisons and in other areas where they are assigned, over the past several months, the diaconate has been working on plans to give back to the community as a group. In collaboration with Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc., the deacons will serve a Thanksgiving Dinner to 350 mostly Catholic Charities clients in two seatings at the Marillac Social Center in West Dallas.

“Serving is part of our vows,” said Deacon John O’Leary, director of the Diaconate for the Diocese of Dallas. “As deacons, we have a three-fold ministry: to listen to the liturgy; to preach the Gospel, and to be ministers of charity. This is a step in our part to be more active as ministers of charity in the diocese.”

Deacon O’Leary said when the Thanksgiving Dinner idea came up, he believed only a few deacons would volunteer to provide funds

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Deacon Lee Davis of St. William Catholic Church in Greenville with Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel and Waynette Davis during the Deacon Dinner on Oct. 30 at All Saints Catholic Church.

Deacon Mike Shaw, left, with Msgr. Greg Kelly, Diocese of Dallas Vicar of Clergy, Deacon Paul Wood of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville and Father Anthony Lackland of All Saints Catholic Church.

for the meal or volunteer to serve it, but was soon surprised by the philanthropy and call to service.

“I was just blown away by the generosity,” he said.

Deacon Dennis Duffin, who was ordained to the diaconate two years ago and serves at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Farmers Branch, said that deacons need only look at Matthew 25 to realize what they are being called to do.

“It says, ‘When I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was a stranger, you welcomed me; when I was naked, you clothed me; when I

was sick, you took care of me; when I was in prison, you visited me.’

That’s what we should be doing.”

He said that serving more than 350 people will invigorate the deacons and their wives who also will be there to serve.

“You meet so many new people who are appreciative of you being there,” said Deacon Duffin, whose wife Becky will join him to serve the meal. “It’s a labor of love. We are not doing much, compared to what other people will be doing, but it will be a joyous day for everyone.”

Deacon Lewis Palos, assigned

USCCB

U.S. bishops to consider priorities, sainthood causes

By Mark Pattison

The Diocese of Dallas is comprised of 69 parishes and 5 quasi parishes in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Grayson, Hunt and Fannin counties.

Estimated Catholic population:1,236,944.

Texas Catholic Publishing Co. Board of Directors Most Rev. Kevin J. Farrell Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas Publisher of The Texas Catholic Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel Vicar General Mary Edlund Chancellor Bill Keffler Chief Operating Officer Annette G. Taylor Communications Director David Sedeño Editor of The Texas Catholic

to his home parish of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Corsicana, said that being with other deacons will be uplifting as they do the Lord’s work.

“It gives us encouragement to be with one another and to work together for a common cause,” said Deacon Palos, who is in his 23rd year as a deacon. “The only time I see others is when I visit other parishes, at the cathedral or at special occasions. We are a good number of men dedicated to one cause and being together doing something for others will give us a boost.”

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — The U.S. bishops will consider whether to approve a new introductory note and a limited revision of their quadrennial statement on political responsibility during their Nov. 16-19 fall general assembly in Baltimore.

The statement, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” is reissued every four years and takes into account the latest issues taking center stage in the political arena. The document, which in general calls for Catholic voters to consider the common good when going to the polls, has been released before every presidential election for almost four decades.

What a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops news release described as “a limited revision” and new introductory note for “Faithful Citizenship” were prepared by a working group led by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, vice president of the USCCB. The bishops also will discuss and vote on a proposed formal statement on pornography, “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography.” The bishops had given their approval a few years ago to craft a statement on the subject.

Catholic News Service

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans, center, and other prelates listen to a speaker during the 2014 assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. At this year’s Nov. 16-19 assembly, the bishops, among other things, will address USCCB priorities and a statement on political responsibility.

They are scheduled to discuss and vote on a proposal to take up a one-time national collection to fund the completion of the Trinity Dome in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. No structural work is needed, but shrine officials have been in planning meetings about the ornamentation of the mosaics on the underside of the dome, visible from within the shrine. The big, blue dome has no ornamentation although the shrine’s other domes

do. No date has been set to begin and no deadline to complete it. As of yet, no cost has been affixed to the project.

The bishops also will hear a report from the USCCB Subcommittee on the Church Latin America on the golden anniversary of the annual national Collection for the Church in Latin America.

Three canonization causes also will go before the bishops for the canonical consultation required to advance their causes:

n Father Aloysius Ellacuria was a 20th-century Claretian Missionary priest from the Basque region of Spain who spent much of his priestly ministry in the American Southwest, including Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. He was regarded as a mystic who urged spreading the message of Our Lady of Fatima. n Sister Ida Peterfy was the Slovak-Hungarian-born founder of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart. She endured the deprivations of World War II and the onset of Soviet domination of her homeland before she fled, first to Toronto and then to Los Angeles. n Antonio Cuipa, who along with more than 80 “companions,” was martyred for the faith in colonial Florida between 1549 and 1706.

Cuipa, an Apalachee Indian converted by Franciscans, may have been studying for the priesthood when seized by another Indian band, nailed to a cross and set afire.

The bishops will discuss and vote on proposed revisions to strategic priorities for the next USCCB planning cycle, which cover 2017-20, following up on input given a draft version of these priorities during their June meeting in St. Louis.

The bishops also are scheduled to vote on the 2016 USCCB budget and the 2017 diocesan assessment that helps fund USCCB operations.

VATICAN/NATION

The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015 3

REFORM

Pope Francis calls for end to economic exploitation

By Catholic News Service FLORENCE, Italy—Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics “obsessed” with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearful church that forgets Christ is always by its side.

“These times of ours demand that we experience problems as challenges and not like obstacles: The Lord is active and at work in the world,” he said Nov. 10 inside Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore—the third-largest church in Europe.

In a trip that covered a normal workday, the pope rallied workers, young people and hundreds of church leaders representing the entire Italian peninsula; he met with the sick, kissed babies, admired Renaissance artwork and venerated an ancient relic. He ate lunch with the poor and homeless and celebrated Mass in a city soccer stadium.

Much of the city seemed empty of residents, yet filled with people who came to see the pope and tourists curious about the beefed-up security and roadblocks.

Speaking to hundreds of Italian cardinals, bishops and laypeople attending a national congress held only every 10 years, the pope gave a lengthy, yet clear indication of where their discussions and pastoral mission should be heading.

“We must not tame the power of the face of Jesus,” who takes on the face of the humiliated, the enslaved and “the emptied,” he said.

A divine Christ reflects a very human gaze of humility and selflessness, and he insists his disciples follow the beatitudes like he did, the pope said.

“We must not be obsessed with power,” the pope said, even if it is a useful or seemingly innocuous way of getting things done. Otherwise the church “loses its way, loses its meaning.”

Standing at a lectern beneath a stunning painted dome ceiling representing the Last Judgment, the pope said the beatitudes indicate whether the church is following its mission or is only thinking of protecting its own interests. Measuring oneself against the beatitudes “is a mirror that never lies,” he said.

Reading animatedly from his written remarks, the pope also found moments to offer a bit of humor,

SCOTUS

Court will hear appeals from Catholic, other groups’ cases

By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court justices said Nov. 6 they will hear seven pending appeals in lawsuits brought by several Catholic and other faithbased entities against the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate.

The court will hear appeals from groups in Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and the District of Columbia.

Among the plaintiffs are the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Archdiocese of Washington, the Pittsburgh and Erie dioceses, Priests for Life, Southern Nazarene University and Texas Baptist University.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, most employers, including religious ones, are required to cover employees’ artificial birth control, sterilization and abortifacients, even if employers are morally opposed to such coverage.

In all the cases to be argued

before the high court in March, appellate courts in various jurisdictions sided with the Obama administration.

The rulings said the religious entities’ freedom of religion was not burdened by having to comply with the mandate as they have argued, because the federal government has in place an accommodation for a third party to provide the contested coverage.

But the religious groups object to that notification, saying they still would be complicit in supporting practices they oppose. While their appeals worked their way to the high court, the government has not been able to force the groups to comply with the mandate or face daily fines for noncompliance.

“Charitable ministries across the nation simply want to provide life-affirming health care for their employees, without fear of massive government penalties,” said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

CLERGY ASSIGNMENT n Msgr. Milam Joseph assigned as Pastoral Administrator of St. Joseph Parish, Richardson, effective Oct. 28.

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis arrives outside the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, left, Nov. 10. Pope Francis attended a meeting of Italy’s bishops and cardinals in the Duomo during a one-day visit to Florence Nov. 10.

like when warning church leaders against various temptations.

Do not feel superior and place complete trust in structures and perfect plans, he said. This focus on the abstract and on security “often leads us to take on a style of control, harshness, regulation.”

When “facing evils or problems in the church,” he said, “it is useless to seek solutions in conservatism and fundamentalism, in the restoration of outdated conduct and forms” that are no longer culturally relevant or meaningful.

Christian doctrine, in fact, isn’t

a closed system void of questions or doubts, but is alive, restless, animated. Its face “isn’t rigid, its body moves and develops, it has tender flesh. Its name is Jesus Christ.”

The same spirit that drove Italian explorers to seek new worlds, unafraid of storms and open seas, can drive the church in Italy, Pope Francis said, if it lets itself be driven by the breath of the Holy Spirit, “free and open to challenges of the present, never in defense out of fear of losing something.”

He also told priests and bishops to be shepherds, “nothing more.

Shepherds.” To illustrate what that looked like, the pope told a story of a bishop who was riding the subway during rush hour.

It was so packed, there was nothing to hold onto, and “pushed right and left” by the swaying car, the bishop leaned on the people around him so as not to fall. A bishop will find support, he said, by leaning on his people and through prayer, he said.

Underlining the importance of caring for the poor — who know well the suffering and face of Christ, the pope asked God to protect the church in Italy from all forms of power, facades and money.

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DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

November 15, 2015 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dn 12:1-3 In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord: “At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.

At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

“But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”

Reading 2 Heb 10:11-14, 18 Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins.

But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.

For by one offering he has made

November 13, 2015

MASS READINGS In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.

Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

November 22, 2015 The Solemnity Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe SETH GONZALES/The Texas Catholic

Father Dominic Kim, pastor of St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church, addresses parishioners during groundbreaking ceremonies marking the start of construction of a new sanctuary for the parish on Nov. 8.

perfect forever those who are being consecrated.Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.

Gospel Mk 13:24-32 Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be

shaken.

“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

“Learn a lesson from the fig tree.

When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

Reading 1 Dn 7:13-14 As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven;when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Reading 2 Rv 1:5-8 Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.

All the peoples of the earth will lament him.

Yes. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, “ says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

Gospel Jn 18:33b-37 Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”

Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.

What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.

If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.

For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

FAITH

Preaching the strange word so it can be understood

By Bishop Robert Barron Special to The Texas Catholic

About 15 years ago, I prepared an elective class at Mundelein Seminary which I entitled “The Christology of the Poets and Preachers.” In this course, I endeavored to explore the Catholic tradition’s non-technical, more lyrical manner of presenting the significance of Jesus. I studied the literary works of Dante, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and G.K. Chesterton, and I also investigated in detail the sermons of many of the greatest masters: Origen, Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard, Aquinas, Newman, and Knox, among others. What struck me with particular power, and caused me, I confess, to re-think things rather thoroughly was this: none of these figures— from the late second century to the 20th century—whose sermons we specially revere and hold up for imitation, preached the way I was taught to preach.

I came of age and went through my theological and pastoral formation in the years immediately following the Second Vatican Council.

The watchwords of the time were “relevance” and “experience.” Practically every teacher and Church

leader of the time insisted that our theological language had become increasingly irrelevant to modern people and that we had to find, accordingly, a way to relate the Bible to lived human experience.

In line with instincts that go back at least to the beginning of the 19th century within Protestantism, we felt obliged to engage in a great “translation project,” transposing the obscure and puzzling world of the Scriptures into the language and conceptuality of our time. The consequences of this shift for preaching were obvious. Sermons should be filled with references to the actual lived experiences of the congregation; they should be marked by stories and cultural references; and they should use a good deal of humor.

Now don’t get me wrong: the emphases of the post-conciliar period were not entirely misplaced, and the sermons that came out of that time were not entirely bad. But they were indeed egregious when seen in the context of the great tradition.

It’s simply the case that none of the master preachers that Catholicism reverences actually preached in that way.

How did they preach? They took

their listeners/readers on a careful tour of the densely-textured world of the Bible. The Scriptures, they knew, open up an entirely new acting area, filled with distinctive characters who do and say anomalous and surprising things. And they understood that through all of the twists and turns of the Biblical story, the strangest and most unnerving character of all comes into view: the God of Israel. To get these figures and to grasp the nettle of the great story, one has to enter into the jungle of the Bible with patience and under the direction of an experienced and canny explorer. And this was precisely the role of the preacher: to be a mystagogue, a knowing guide through the tangled forest of the Scripture.

I might propose an analogy with some well-known literary texts.

Umberto Eco’s novel “The Name of the Rose” is a wonderful amalgam of detective story, Bildungsroman, and metaphysical exploration; and it commences with a lengthy description of life in a 14th century Benedictine monastery. To those who questioned why this lengthy propaedeutic was required, Eco said, “my reader must go through a sort of monastic novitiate if he is to understand

the story I’m trying to tell.” J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings,” which is a rollicking adventure story and an evocation of the Catholic faith, begins with about 75 pages describing the birthday party of Bilbo Baggins. When Tolkien was challenged on this score, he responded in a manner very similar to Eco: his reader, he explained, had to learn the languages, characters, weather, topography, and history of his imaginative world; otherwise they would never get what Tolkien was trying to communicate. Though he never said so explicitly, we could deduce the same principle from Melville’s lengthy (even tiresome) detailing of the arcana of whaling in the middle of “Moby Dick.” We might sum this up as follows: entering the world of a text is required if one is to understand the thematics of a text.

So a good preacher unfolds the patterns of meaning within the Biblical universe—precisely so as to draw our world into that world. The fundamental problem with much of the preaching after Vatican II is that it got this principle backward. It tended to make the Bible accessible to our consciousness and thereby tamed it and domesticated it, often

turning it into a faint echo of what could be heard in any other religious text or within the culture itself. But if what the preacher is offering can be found, often in more compelling form, elsewhere, people will leave the Church in droves.

The Methodist theologian Stanley Hauerwas relates a story of his time as lecturer in Scotland. He had been invited to preach at the Cathedral of Edinburgh and discovered a practice that went back to the Reformation period: a sexton of the Cathedral literally locked Hauerwas into the pulpit and told him that he wouldn’t let him out until he had preached the Gospel. Now I don’t entirely subscribe to the 16th century Protestant idea of what the Gospel is, but I love the instinct behind that discipline. We shouldn’t allow preachers to run away from the density, complexity, and sheer weirdness of the Bible. We should lock them into their pulpits until they display the world of the Scriptures.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

Where was the first Thanksgiving?

By Steve Landregan Special to The Texas Catholic

When and where was the first Thanksgiving? Good question, but there is no simple answer.

Our American tradition conjures up a vision of pilgrims and Indians sitting down together for a great Thanksgiving feast in New England. There were several such feasts; most of them were traditional English harvest festivals, secular, not religious.

In 1623, Plymouth Colony observed a special day of religious thanksgiving for the end of a serious drought. As a matter of fact, such special days of religious thanksgiving were common in colonial days. One thing is certain — none of the events were planned and declared the first Thanksgiving Day. The earliest existing such proclamation of an annual day of thanksgiving was issued in Connecticut in 1639. George Washington proclaimed the first national observance in 1789. The first national annual Thanksgiving Day for the nation was declared by Abraham Lincoln in 1849.

So where was the real first Thanksgiving?

It was most likely in Texas, but we are not sure where because there are two competing claims — one from El Paso and the other from the Panhandle. Both occurred long before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

A claim by the Texas Society of Daughters of the American Colonists cites a celebration in1541 near Canyon, Texas, by the expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. The Thanksgiving observance in Palo Duro Canyon included a Mass offered by Fray Juan Padilla. Some claim that the event occurred in Blanco Canyon. Fray Padilla later was killed in Kansas by hostile Indians and is considered the first North American martyr.

Folks around El Paso observe another first Thanksgiving tradition concerning the 1598 New Mexico incursion of Juan de Oñate, sometimes styled as the “Last Conquistador.” While crossing the Chihuahuan Desert en route to El Paso del Norte, the group ran out of both food and

MEGABYTES

Ursuline Academy of Dallas Photo

The Ursuline Academy of Dallas cross country team won the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state championship on Oct. 31 in Waco.

Ursuline cross country wins third state title in four years The Ursuline Academy cross country team on Oct. 31 captured the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state championship for the third time in four years. Junior Kate Patrick and sophomore Caroline Miller led the way in Waco, placing seventh and eighth overall.

Ursuline’s squad scored 55 points, comfortably ahead of second-place Houston St. Agnes (83 points), third-place San Antonio Antonian (84 points), and fourth-place Houston AWTY (85 points).

“The conditions were brutally tough, with the four races before ours churning the already muddy

course into a quagmire,” Coach Jonathan Moody said. “Times were 3-4 minutes slower than typical for a 3,200-meter course, but our team stuck with the game plan: Stick together as best as possible, and work as small groups in passing our competitors.”

Having four runners finish in rapid succession behind Patrick and Miller proved pivotal. It was Ursuline’s 13th state title in school history. Freshman Maddie Fynes (14th), freshman Anna Miller (15th), and junior Eugenia Scala (16th) rounded out Ursuline’s Top 5. Freshman Elise Welch placed 18th, and junior Ann Gehan placed 26th.

water and almost perished before reaching the Rio Grande and precious water.

Oñate declared a Day of Thanksgiving for their survival, including a Mass celebrated on April 30, 1598, by the Franciscan missionaries accompanying the expedition. Oñate also claimed all the land drained by the Rio Grande in the name of King Philip II of Spain.

Tw o m o r e Te x a s n o t e s : Sam Houston declared Texas Independence Day, March 2, 1842, a day of Celebration of Freedom and Thanksgiving; later Gov. George Wood proclaimed the first Thanksgiving observance in Texas in December 1849.

ABOUT THIS SERIES Steve Landregan, historian for the Diocese of Dallas and former editor of The Texas Catholic, will be researching and writing occasional articles in observance of the 125th anniversary of the Diocese of Dallas.

November 13, 2015 5

Diocesan Time Capsule 50 Years Ago As the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council wound to a close, Albert Outler, Southern Methodist University theologian and dean of the non-Catholic observers at the council, expressed optimism about the results of the fouryear meeting. Referring to the council as a “Reformation, Roman style,” Outler called the council’s work “vigorously progressive.”

25 Years Ago Immigration Counseling Services, a program to assist and counsel persons in the process of becoming legalized residents and to represent clients in the immigration courts, became a separate member agency of Catholic Charities on Nov. 1, 1990. Vanna Salughter, program director, was named administrator of the agency.

10 Years Ago Edwin M. Shaffler, president of The Catholic Foundation, announced the appointment of Cheryl Unis Mansour as vice president of development.

Before joining the foundation, Mansour served as vice president of External Affairs for the Communities Foundation of Texas. The University of Dallas College of Business announced the first graduate and certificate program in Information Technology Management in the United States, beginning in the spring semester. The program will offer an MBA, a Master of Science and a certificate program in IT Services Management.

Excerpts taken from The Texas Catholic and compiled by Steve Landregan, diocesan historian and former editor of The Texas Catholic. Landregan can be reached by email at slandregan@ cathdal.org.

The Texas Catholic www.TexasCatholic.com • www.TexasCatholicYouth.com

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DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

FAITH

Finding a saint for Holy Cross

By Father Timothy Gollob Special to The Texas Catholic

A good while back (about seven years ago), the parish of Holy Cross was debating the format of our proposed new sanctuary. We had a good committee of dedicated and knowledgeable folks and many decisions were made. One was that we needed a few good saints to commandeer our two side aisles.

The choice of these heavenly patrons was easy. Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Americas, was clearly in first place.

After all, hadn’t the Incarnate Word chosen her to be his mother and hadn’t he given her to the church as she stood under the Holy Cross with John the beloved apostle on that first Good Friday?

Our second saint was also a shoo-in. St. Martin de Porres was the logical saint for our congregation. He had a mixed parentage and a tough upbringing in his native Peru. He had the gift of healing and of hospitality.

He was a source of unity and giving.

Pope St. John XXIII had canonized him in 1962 just as Holy Cross parish was struggling to get going.

Now we knew that we wanted a solid representation of our two saints to adorn the shrines. To find a Maria de Guadalupe was easy. Many fine bronze statues were available and our friend Charlotte Maguire made sure to procure an excellent, beautiful Madonna for us. Many people kneel and pray for her intercession with her Son. The flame of candles dance nearby to remind them that their prayers continue even as they leave the church to go about many daily chores.

November 13, 2015 FROM THE BISHOP

Advent serves as time of preparation and promise

By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell Publisher of The Texas Catholic

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Father Tim Gollob with artists David and Lyle Novinski in front of their statue of St. Martin de Porres inside Holy Cross Catholic Church.

Finding a similar bronze statue of St. Martin was a different problem.

We searched catalogs and web sites and found none to equal the beauty and the presence of Mary. Then an inspiration....

Lyle Novinski was the artist consultant for our project. When it was mentioned to him that we needed to have St. Martin presiding over our south aisle, he immediately accepted the challenge.

It was his first major bronze and it took a while, but he and his son David started before they were ready.

(No art happens unless you start!)

They had to study the methods.

Lyle involved his grandchildren for models. The Dominicans donated an old habit. Time passed and lo and

behold St. Martin was presented to the world first of all at the UD Ministry Conference.

Then he held forth at an exhibit at the University of Dallas Art Center.

Finally he arrived at his niche at Holy Cross and today we celebrated his feast, Nov. 3, the day he left this world at the age of 59 and entered eternity.

But he will have little rest. We are going to keep him busy with the needs of the poor and need for unity in the church and especially for the healing of all of Creation.

Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.

The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.

In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land.

In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: “The LORD our justice.”

Lectionary: 3 Reading 1 JER 33:14-16 Advent is a time of promise, expectation, anticipation and preparation. No, I am not referring to the decorations, parties and gifts that keep us busy this season, I am writing about the original Advent, the centuries spent waiting for Jesus, the Messiah.

It is said that the word Advent in ancient times referred to a forthcoming visit from a king or other important person (the Latin ad venire means “to come to”).

When Christians began celebrating the Feast of the Nativity in the late fourth century, the coming of the King of Kings, the word Advent was chosen to describe the time of preparation for the feast day.

That Latin word venire is part of another important Advent theme, Covenant, which is a combination of the Latin co (together) and venire

(to come) because the first Advent was a time of awaiting fulfillment of God’s promise of a New Covenant, a coming together of God and Bishop His people.

Farrell We l o o k t o the prophets to discover how important the words promise, expectation, anticipation and preparation are in describing the hopes of God’s chosen people during their centuries of waiting.

On the First Sunday of Advent, Jeremiah, the reluctant prophet, emphasizes the theme of anticipation when he says, “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.”

Prophets always spoke in contemporary terms. For them, the Messiah, or Anointed One, would be a descendent of David, the ideal king.

The “shoot” or offspring of the House of David would have the attributes of his ancestor and “do what is right and just in the land.”

Reading the prophets and psalms as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the “King of Kings” will enable us to experience some of the feelings of those who experienced the First Advent.

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell is the seventh bishop of Dallas. Read his blog at bishopkevinfarrell.org/blog.

A WORD TO ENKINDLE

Providing a priestly perspective on the concept of mercy

By Father Thomas Esposito Special to The Texas Catholic

I never understood why the mystery of mercy was so essential to the Christian life until I was ordained a priest. While the merciful love of Christ had always been apparent to me through his Gospel parables and words, those glimpses of divine charity were too automatic and familiar to be truly formative during my youth.

From the very outset of my priestly ministry, though, I was flooded with singular insights into Christ’s mercy, most powerfully through the hearing of confessions and spiritual direction. The sensation was not what patristic authors describe as “the intoxication of the Holy Spirit” within me- confessions and the counseling of souls was (and is) an utterly sobering experience. To receive the rankest filth drudged up from the depths of

a wayward soul; to have a person’s most weighty and shameful deeds flung at me, with the expectation that I could lighten their burden simply by telling them that God has forgiven their sins through my prayer; to gaze on a poor sinner desperately searching for the love and joy which Christ alone can give: this is the unspeakable privilege of being a priest.

“Why should I receive such a privilege?” is a question without an answer. I have never met many of the people who step into the confessional; they are not looking for my face, but the merciful face of Christ, whom they trust will console them in the sacrament. Whether they are strangers or friends, children or adults, these encounters are always humbling for me. The role of a confessor and spiritual director, as I understand it, is to imitate John the Baptist, who pointed his own disciples to Jesus, the Lamb

of God, and then removed himself from the scene (see John 1:29-42; 3:22-30). I leave these encounters wanting to be quiet, so that I can process the momentous grace and mercy that God has channeled through my priesthood.

By no means does talk of mercy render sin innocuous or reduce the gravity of our offenses against God. The gift of mercy, so beautifully emphasized by Pope Francis, presupposes the crushing reality of sin and the due response of justice.

As St. Augustine and St. Bernard of Clairvaux point out, our human misery (miseria) draws forth infinite mercy (misericordia) from the pierced heart of Christ. The mercy of God, manifest in the forgiveness of sins and invitation to conversion, generates hope in the miserable soul, for it cleanses the spiritual heart of its filth and fills it with the graced blood of restored life in Christ.

The proper channeling of this divine mercy is not limited to priests only, but must flow through all Christians who, though sinners, have gazed upon the merciful face of Christ.

Just as our Lord receives us, his prodigal sons and fathers, with open arms (see Luke 15), so too we must adopt that same spirit of mercy toward our neighbor. This, of course, is incredibly difficult, for judgment, jealousy, and even hatred act as cancers which we allow to spread in our hearts. The source of such cancers is selfishness — a refusal to give mercy as we have received it from the Lord.

I wish more Christians would realize what dawned on me in my first years of priestly ministry: that everyone has a story hidden behind their eyes that is heart-breaking, whether it be addiction, family difficulties, doubts, or ignorance of God’s love for them. This thought

alone should be sufficient to make us look with compassionate eyes on those we meet, for we know nothing of the great battle being waged in their soul between the good which they want and the evil which they do not want. Compassion, at its root, is a willingness to suffer with (cum passione) a person in need of consolation and encouragement. May this coming Year of Mercy, proclaimed by Pope Francis, obtain for us the graces to perceive the awesome mystery of mercy in our own lives, and convey that wondrous gift to those who might never receive it without our compassionate example.

Father Thomas Esposito, O.Cist., is a theologian and monk at the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Dallas in Irving.

His column appears occasionally in The Texas Catholic.

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015 7

Thousands line up to view relics of St. Maria Goretti

By Seth Gonzales

St. Monica Catholic School sixth-grader Mimi Simons prays in front of the relics of St. Maria Goretti at St. Monica Catholic Church on Nov. 3.

The Texas Catholic

When Jenna Moreno’s older sister Ellise got to see the relics of St. Maria Goretti with her classmates, Jenna had one response.

“I actually begged my mom to take us to come see her,” said Jenna, a fifth-grader at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School in Arlington.

The Moreno family was one of more than 13,500 people who flocked from all over Texas to St. Monica Catholic Church in Dallas on Nov. 3 to get a glimpse of the relics of St. Maria Goretti, which were available for veneration for one day only as part of a nationwide 54-stop tour.

It marked the first time St. Maria Goretti’s relics have visited the United States. The tour was organized by Treasures of the Church, an evangelization ministry run by Father Carlos Martins.

St. Maria Goretti, a native of Nettuno, Italy, was only 11-years old when she was brutally stabbed to death by then 18-year-old Alessandro Serenilli in 1902 after he attempted to rape her.

Six years into a 30-year prison sentence, Serenilli reported that Goretti had appeared to him in a vision and given him 14 lilies, signifying her forgiveness for him having stabbed her

BEN TORRES Special Contributor

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Father Marco Rangel, left, leads a group of volunteers as they escort the relics of St. Maria Goretti during The Pilgrimage of Mercy, the tour of the major relics of St. Maria Goretti, at St. Monica Catholic Church on Nov. 3.

14 times. Serenilli, who later joined the Capuchin Order as a lay member, credited St. Maria Goretti with his conversion and eventually received forgiveness from her mother, Assunta.

St. Maria Goretti became the youngest saint in the Catholic Church when she was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950. It was the first time in church history that a mother was present for the canonization of her daughter.

Sylvester Galvan initially drove from Odessa only for an appointment at Cook Children’s Medical Center for his 16-month-old son Ignacio, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as Tetrasomy 18p, which affects development of motor skills, muscle tones, and intellectual ability. The two stayed an extra day to visit the relics and were first in line, waiting with Galvan’s mother-in-law, Sue Watson.

Galvan said St. Maria Goretti’s reputation for healing and devotion to God drew him to her.

“Just being able to know the life of the saint and know what she was willing to die for and realizing her love for God helps me to want my love for God to grow that much, as well,” Galvan said.

Father Stephen Bierschenk, pastor of St. Monica, said the thousands standing in line to get a glimpse of Goretti have been a blessing to his parish. He said the presence of her relics and her story serve as a witness for the church, which enters the Year of Mercy on Dec. 8.

“Her example of heroic forgiveness and praying for mercy for her attacker and her intercession is a powerful message for each one of us,”

Father Bierschenk said. “When we’re offended with big or little things, we need to draw on the power that Christ gives us to forget ourselves and forgive those who have offended us.”

Austin resident Kathryn Whitaker and her husband Scott traveled to Dallas with their children so they could see the relics Kathryn and Scott had seen in 2002.

“Our children are in Catholic school, so they hear about saints all the time, but it’s not often that you get to take your children to see a saint,” she said. “We live in a world that sees things with a vindictive nature and not a lot of mercy and love. That was her whole life. For us to bring them to see that in person I think drives home the message. Mercy is something we could all use more of.”

8

The Texas Catholic

DIOCESE

November 13, 2015

A Celebration of All Souls and All Saints

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Jonathan Ortiz, dressed as San Martin de Porres, far left, and Edgardo Martinez, far-right, dressed as St. Juan Diego at St. Augustine Catholic Church on Nov. 1

DON JOHNSON/Special Contributor

Father Michael Dugan of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church celebrates an All Souls’ Day Mass at Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Desoto on Nov. 7.

Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel administers a blessing over gravesites and tombstones inside Calvary Hill Cemetery following a celebration of Mass on All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.

Rob Luschek and his son, Jerry, celebrate All Saints’ Day during a special Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel at All Saints Catholic Church on Nov. 1.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Elaine Spears, from left, Eileen Mocarsky and Janie Martinez kneel in prayer during an All Souls’ Day Mass celebrated

by Father Danilo Ramos at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Rowlett on Nov. 2.

MICHAEL GRESHAM The Texas Catholic

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

From left, Marco Rodriguez, Jayden Ortiz, Grace Tobias, Yobana Viera, Anthony Perez, and Fabian Armenta dressed as their favorite saints Oct. 30 at St. Luke Catholic School in Irving.

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015 9

NOSTRA AETATE

Event commemorates 50 years of Jewish-Catholic relations

By Seth Gonzales The Texas Catholic

As a Jewish professor at a Catholic university, Joshua Parens marveled at how far Catholic-Jewish relations have come over the last 50 years.

“Overcoming 2,000 years of misunderstanding is a very big thing to try to pull off,” said Parens, who serves as dean of the University of Dallas’ Braniff School of Liberal Arts.

Parens was among 639 in attendance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on Nov. 4 for the 2015 Eugene McDermott Lecture, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council document that radically reshaped the Catholic Church’s relationship to the world’s other religions — especially Judaism.

The event was hosted by the

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Rabbi David Rosen speaks at the University of Dallas 2015 Eugene McDermott Lecture Nov. 4 at the Morton H. Meyerson Center.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Choral performance by Temple Emanu-El Choir and University of Dallas Chorale prior to the University of Dallas 2015 Eugene McDermott Lecture, “Nostra Aetate — 50 years Later: Commemorating Jewish-Catholic Relations,” Nov. 4.

Bishop Brian Farrell speaks at the University of Dallas 2015 Eugene McDermott Lecture, “Nostra Aetate — 50 years Later: Commemorating Jewish-Catholic Relations,” Nov. 4 at the Morton H. Meyerson Center.

University of Dallas, the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.

Bishop Brian Farrell, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, and Rabbi David Rosen from Israel, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Council, spoke to the crowd and praised the results Nostra Aetate has produced.

“It introduced a fundamental change of attitude from negative stereotypes and prejudices to a positive respect for and close collaboration between Catholics and Jews for the good of the entire human family,” said Bishop Farrell, who is the older brother of Dallas Bishop Kevin J. Farrell.

Bishop Brian Farrell and Rabbi

beloved elder brothers of the church today,” Rabbi Rosen said.

Today, Bishop Farrell said, the church insists on understanding and embracing the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Catholics cannot understand Jesus without his Jewish background.

“Jesus was a Jew,” he said. “Mary was a Jew. The first disciples were Jewish. All were immersed in the Jewish traditions of their time.”

Both men praised the efforts of every pope since Pope St. John XXIII towards changing the relationship between Jews and Catholics for the better. Rabbi Rosen even credited Nostra Aetate with helping open bilateral relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel, as well as the monumental visit of

Rosen said that for most of its history, Christianity had viewed the Jewish people as being rejected and condemned by God as a result of Christ’s crucifixion. Rabbi Rosen said the normative thought was this: because Jews did not recognize Jesus Christ, they were punished and left wandering without a homeland as a “continual testimony of what happens to you when you reject the Christian dispensation and to be an eternal warning until the end of time.”

As a result, Christians had come to see themselves as having replaced the Jews as God’s Chosen People.

Nostra Aetate, he said, turned that attitude around completely.

“Those who were rejected and condemned yesterday are the dearly

St. John Paul II to the Holy Land in 2000.

All that being true, they said, much work still needs to be done.

Rabbi Rosen said he advocates that Nostra Aetate be part of seminarian formation around the world.

Bishop Brian Farrell reiterated the document’s firm rejection of any discrimination and anti-Semitism as part of any catechesis done in the Catholic Church.

Parens said the cooperation seen today between Catholics and Jews is unprecedented. “(Nostra Aetate is) an amazing act of reaching out on the part of the Catholic community,” Parens said. “I myself look to my own community to reach out. It’s a wonderful start.”

10 The Texas Catholic

NATION DIOCESE

Shining a ‘Spotlight’ on dark chapter in church history

By John Mulderig Catholic News Service

NEW YORK —The clergy abusethemed drama “Spotlight” (Open Road) is a movie no Catholic will want to see.

Whether it’s a film many mature Catholics ought to see is a different question entirely.

This hard-hitting journalism procedural — which inescapably invites comparison with 1976’s “All the President’s Men” — recounts the real-life events that led up to the public disclosure, in early 2002, of a shocking pattern of priestly misconduct within the Archdiocese of Boston. In the process, the equally disturbing concealment of such wrongdoing on the part of high ranking church officials also was laid bare.

One of the picture’s themes is the way in which Beantown’s inward-looking, small-town mentality contributed to the long-standing cover-up. For the supposed good of the community, locals suppressed the knowledge of what was happening, subconsciously choosing not to see what was transpiring just behind the scenes.

So it’s appropriate that the whitewash begins to peel away with the arrival of a stranger to the Hub, the newly imported editor of the Boston Globe, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). Marty’s outsider status isn’t just based on his geographical origins; he’s also Jewish.

Perplexed that his paper has devoted so little attention to the earliest cases in what would become, over time, an avalanche of legal actions against clerics, Marty com-

Catholic News Service

Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Brian d’Arcy James star in a scene from the movie “Spotlight.”

missions the investigative unit of the title, which specializes in in-depth investigations of local stories, to dig deeper.

Led by even-keeled Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson (Michael Keaton), the Spotlight team — which also includes tightly wound Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), intrepid Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and relentless research whiz Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) — uncovers a widespread and sickening scandal involving scores of clergymen and hundreds of young victims.

Director and co-writer Tom McCarthy maintains a taut rhythm as he focuses primarily on the dogged professionalism required to breach the walls of secrecy surrounding a respected, and therefore protected, institution. And his script, penned with Josh Singer, apportions blame across

a broad spectrum that includes the Globe itself — John Slattery plays veteran editor Ben Bradlee Jr., whose semi-willful blindness to the problem typifies the attitude discussed above.

Like most of his colleagues, Slattery is a former Catholic, distanced from, but not — initially at least — embittered toward, the faith in which he was raised. Witnessing the further fraying of the reporters’ already fragile ties to the church adds to the overwhelming sense of grief Catholic viewers will feel throughout “Spotlight.” Yet this generally accurate chronicle can provide them with a valuable insight into one of the darkest chapters in ecclesiastical history.

The movie is open to a few criticisms.

The portrayal of Boston’s then-archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou), is predictably negative. But it also includes details that are subject to interpretation.

Thus Cardinal Law’s gift to Marty of a copy of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” is treated as a both a religious and social snub. Yet Cardinal Law played an important role in translating that landmark text into English, so his gift may have been motivated more by a sense of pride in one of the most significant accomplishments of his career than by a desire to cut the newcomer down to size.

The film contains mature themes, multiple, sometimes coarse, references to perverse sexual acts, several uses of profanity as well as a few rough and numerous crude terms. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

November 13, 2015

Diocese provides safe environment The Diocese of Dallas is pro-active in its commitment to maintain a safe environment in all parishes and schools.

Criminal background checks on all clergy, employees and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults are completed biennially, as well as ongoing training for all clergy, employees and volunteers. In the past year, 25,400 clergy, employees and volunteers were trained to recognize and report abuse. Children in faith formation programs and Catholic schools receive age-appropriate training in recognizing safe friends, safe adults and safe touches. This past year, 61,913 children received training.

Other steps in the safe environment program include a screening form, safe environment face-to-face interview, three references, and reading and signing an acknowledgement form for the safe environment program including ministerial code of conduct and sexual misconduct policy. Added to these steps all clergy and employees are required to read and sign a computer/internet policy and social media policy.

The Diocese of Dallas hires an independent firm to conduct safe environment audits in all parishes and schools. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops contracts with independent auditors to ensure compliance of dioceses with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Since the audits started in 2003, the Diocese of Dallas has been in compliance with the charter.

All parishes and schools have safe environment coordinators who receive training from experts in the field including the Dallas Child Advocacy Center, Dr. Jim Tanner and Dr. Monica Applewhite. The safe environment coordinators take seriously their mission to educate and protect.

— Barbara Landragen Diocese of Dallas Director of Safe Environment

SCHOOLS DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

Providing the right answer

November 13, 2015 11

St. Mary of Carmel trivia event raises funds for tuition assistance

A

bout 150 people from the Dallas-area Catholic and civic communities participated in a spirited game of trivia during a fundraiser at 3015 at Trinity Groves for St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School on Oct. 30.

Principal Kaitlyn Aguilar said that the community luncheon met its goal of raising $100,000 for the West Dallas school, which was established in 1944 and has an enrollment of 176.

Benefactors purchased sponsorship tables for the event, which featured remarks by Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach and longtime sports radio show host and personality Norm Hitzges.

“I was just incredibly humbled by the presence of so many people,” Aguilar said. “We have very strong backing from the Catholic community, but much of the civic community might not have known that we were here. I felt very supported.”

Aguilar said that about 74 percent of the St. Mary of Carmel students receive tuition assistance.

Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, who gave the invocation, visited with the St. Mary of Carmel students who were present. They sang to the gathering and helped with the trivia contest by collecting answer sheets from the tables.

Trivia questions spanned three categories—St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School, the City of Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys.

Mayor Rawlings emphasized his commitment to growth in south and west Dallas in telling the gathering of his conviction that education bridges the gap between the “haves and the have-nots” in a community.

Staubach and Hitzges spoke of their lasting appreciation of their Catholic educations.

— Cathy Harasta

Top left: Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel talks with Ann Poore, associate superintendent of Dallas Catholic Schools, prior to the inaugural St. Mary of Carmel Community Luncheon at 3015 at Trinity Groves on Oct. 30. The benefit luncheon raised funds for tuition assistance for students. Top right: St. Mary of Carmel second-grade student Gerardo Pozo, right, smiles for the camera with his classmates during the luncheon. Left: Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and St. Mary of Carmel Principal Kaitlyn Aguilar enjoy a laugh as former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach jokes with the audience during the benefit event. Rawlings and Staubach served as co-hosts for the luncheon.

SETH GONZALES/The Texas Catholic

November is

Adoption Awareness Month

Ready to adopt? We can help.

Whether you are a birth parent or an adoptive parent, our Pregnancy & Adoption Services staff can help.

Our Infant Adoption program serves couples looking to adopt a newborn.

Our Finally Home program is for couples ready to welcome sibling groups ages three and older into their lives.

We help birth parents make an open adoption plan.

For more information, call 1-800-BABY-DUE www.ccdallas.org/pregnancy-adoption-services

We build families...one child at a time.

12 The Texas Catholic

DIOCESE

November 13, 2015

Annual Pastoral Center Financial Report SUMMARY FINANCIAL REPORT This summary report has been compiled from the audited financial statements of the Pastoral Center for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2015 and 2014. It reports on the assets and liabilities of the general operations of the Diocese of Dallas, and on the various charitable gifts and trusts managed or administered by the Pastoral Center for the benefit of the beneficiaries, in accordance with instructions from the donors. A copy of the audited financial statements can be requested in writing from the Diocesan Chief Financial Officer or viewed at the Diocese of Dallas’ website: www.cathdal.org/businessoffice.

This report and the related audited financial statements exclude assets and liabilities of the parishes, missions, chapels, schools, seminaries, Catholic Charities and The Texas Catholic newspaper.

Titles to those properties are in the name of the institution or in the name of the Bishop in trust for the benefit of those various institutions. Those institutions are also responsible for their own funding and budgets. The Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries, whose funds are administered separately, is included in this report.

THE PASTORAL CENTER STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION JUNE 30, 2015 AND 2014 Dollars in thousands ASSETS 2015 Cash and cash equivalents Pastoral Center operations Insurance operations Parish deposits Donor-imposed restrictions Total cash and cash equivalents Investments for designated purposes, at fair value Restricted investments, at fair value Pledges and other receivables, net Prepaid expenses and other assets Property, plant and equipment, net Total assets

$

$

4,400 6,217 5,023 11,441 27,081 24,079 35,685 15,063 1,608 4,174 107,690

2014 $

$

1,933 3,764 5,031 8,240 18,968 22,962 36,536 15,557 2,117 4,562 100,702

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Accounts payable and accrued liabilities Parish deposits Assets held for others Deferred obligation for priests' pension plan Deferred obligation for priests' postretirement benefits Total liabilities Net assets Unrestricted Temporarily restricted Permanently restricted Total net assets Total liabilities and net assets

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Ernest Russell Mower, Jr., left, and Paul Christian Iverson, face those in attendance as they are announced for the Rite of Ordination to the Priesthood on May 30 at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

$

$

6,805 5,023 4,570 4,645 11,755 32,798 21,583 49,619 3,690 74,892 107,690

$

$

5,613 5,031 4,210 9,746 24,600 24,097 48,325 3,680 76,102 100,702

MICHAEL GRESHAM/The Texas Catholic

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell visits with students at St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy.

Diocesan funds support seminarians and Catholic schools

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

2015 Revenues

(excludes casualty and medical insurance premiums earned)

3%

3%

9%

25%

4%

18%

33%

5%

n

Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries

n n

Parish assessments

n n n n

Capital campaign

n n

Other income and fees

November 13, 2015 13

2014 Revenues

(excludes casualty and medical insurance premiums earned)

8%

7%

Unrestricted contributions and bequests

18%

14%

Other restricted contributions 2%

Interest and dividends Unrealized and realized gains (losses) on investments

24%

3%

Reimbursable capital campaign costs

2%

22%

THE PASTORAL CENTER STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 AND 2014 Dollars in thousands

REVENUES Bishop's Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries Parish assessments Unrestricted contributions and bequests Capital campaign * Other restricted contributions Interest and dividends Unrealized and realized gains(losses) on investments Other income and fees Reimbursable capital campaign costs Casualty and medical insurance premiums earned Total revenues EXPENSES Financial aid and grants to schools and parishes Catholic education Pastoral ministries and missions Support of clergy Seminary education and assistance Catholic Charities Tribunal Retreat center Fundraising Development and Annual Appeal Capital campaign General and administrative Diocesan administration Business operations Insurance premiums, claims, and related costs Total expenses Pension and postretirement benefits charges for changes other than net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs Assets held for others reclassification Change in net assets Net assets, beginning of year Net assets, end of year

2015 $

$

2014

7,092 $ 9,642 1,463 5,084 1,013 971 (28) 2,660 966 26,078 54,941

7,180 9,552 1,046 8,723 1,140 855 5,522 2,939 3,200 24,913 65,070

5,346 1,724 3,648 2,687 2,790 549 591 412

5,655 1,710 3,347 2,411 3,060 578 571 389

1,037 3,005

1,249 3,235

900 2,917 24,923 50,529

877 2,499 24,212 49,793

(2,289) (3,333) (1,210) 76,102

(517) 14,760 61,342

74,892

$

76,102

* Excludes $30.6 and $28.1 million of contributions for 2015 and 2014, respectively, recorded at the Catholic Foundation.

2015 Expenses (excludes insurance premiums, claims, and related costs)

11%

21%

4% 12%

7% 4% 2% 2%

14% 2% 11% 10%

n Financial aid/grants to schools/parishes n Catholic education n Pastoral ministries and missions n Support of clergy n Seminary education 13% n Catholic Charities n Tribunal 5% n Retreat center n Development and annual appeal 2% 2% n Capital campaign 2% n Diocesan administration n Business operations

2014 Expenses (excludes insurance premiums, claims, and related costs)

3%

10%

22%

7%

13% 12%

9%

14 The Texas Catholic

DIOCESE

November 13, 2015

A salute to U.S. veterans

SAVE THE DATE NOV. 14-15 St. Joseph Catholic Church annual craft fair, 600 S. Jupiter Road in Richardson. For more information, email rushlaumom@yahoo.com.

NOV. 21 Advent Day of Reflection at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 9 a.m. to

3 p.m., 5100 Plano Parkway West, Plano, 75901. Father Jeremiah Shryock, CFR. For more information, call 972-380-2100.

St. Paul Catholic School in Richardson holds an annual parade each year on Veterans Day to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

Look for coverage of this year’s St. Paul parade as well as Veterans Day activities at other Dallas Catholic Schools online at TexasCatholicYouth.com.

Submit church or diocese-related events to mgresham@cathdal.org.

Items should be submitted at least one month in advance.

Texas Catholic archive photo

Working together on faith relations Front, from left: Lynn Rossol, Diocese of Dallas Delegate for Ecumenism and Legislative Advocacy; Bishop Brian Farrell, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Christian Unity; Rabbi David Rosen, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Council; and Dallas Bishop Kevin J. Farrell pose with others during a visit to the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas on Nov. 5.

Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas photo

The gift of inspiration.

The bond of sisterhood.

The joy of discovery.

The call of service.

The world of opportunities.

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DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

November 13, 2015 15

Spirit of giving guides volunteer programs at two parishes (Continued from Page 1) “This program helped me renew my relationship with God and reminded me where to focus. It also brings alive in you the sense of wanting to give back.”

Father Tim Church, pastor of St. Jude, said that the ministry had proved itself a valuable and caring component of the parish, which has 5,566 families.

“It’s worthwhile,” Father Church said. “Losing one’s job is one of the most devastating experiences that anyone could go through.”

Gerry Vilarino, 48, said that he learned of the career ministry through St. Jude’s parish bulletin. He said that he moved several times for management and sales career opportunities, but loves St. Jude Parish and living in McKinney.

“I want to stay here, unless God has another plan for me,” said Vilarino, who has two children in college and one in high school. “I’m blessed that I don’t have to find a job tomorrow. The way I built my life with our family is always to try to live way below my means. I’m going to find a job. But this is about

istry, said that between 10 and 20 percent of the ministry participants are Catholic.

“It’s a great ecumenical outreach,” she said. “Everyone who comes through the door has a story.

It’s an opportunity for them to fully realize that they are not alone.”

Sharing in Lancaster

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Tom Germino, president of the St. Vincent dePaul Conference at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, collects items listed on an order form to put into a food bag for a client in the food pantry Oct. 30 in Lancaster.

helping people understand that being unemployed is not always positive, but ultimately it can help you grow into being a better you.”

Parishioner and ministry volunteer Steve Mauser said that he

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At St. Francis of Assisi in Lancaster, the parish’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference works to stock a year-round, on-site food pantry that draws clients each Friday.

Like many St. Vincent de Paul conferences in the Diocese of Dallas, the conference at St. Francis in Lancaster shops for food, makes home visits to clients and fields hot-line calls from people in need of basic necessities.

Tom Germino, the conference president, said that the conference’s fiscal year-end report showed that 1,564 people benefited from the food pantry and holiday food baskets.

“Our parish has been very supportive,” Germino said. “I’ve seen our monthly contributions increase.

We’re a small conference and we do a lot of things.”

He said that about half of the families who receive food baskets are from the parish—which has an average Sunday attendance of about 1,300—and the others are from the larger community.

“It’s gratifying to be here and be able to do something,” said Isidra Reyna, a conference member whose family helped found the parish.

“The people here are very giving and loving. It’s home, being here.

I can’t live without it.”

Father Manuel Sabando, pastoral administrator of St. Francis, said his parish treasures the conference members for their hard work and generosity.

“They are great,” he said. “They fill a need.”

Germino said that the conference has made great progress in organizing the pantry in recent years.

“I’ve seen it become more productive and able to better serve our clientele and serve their needs,” he said. “Many times, they break down and get emotional and teary-eyed.

It’s hard to keep your composure sometimes.”

Personal Thank you St. Rita for your intercession; the Lord answered my prayers. . .VN.

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We will not knowingly accept advertising from persons or businesses with questionable business practices. However, it is not possible for us to investigate each business. We urge readers to get several bids on any project or compare prices for products, and to call the Dallas Better Business Bureau at 214-220-2000. The Texas Catholic reserves the right to reject any and all advertising which The Texas Catholic feels is not in keeping with the publication’s standards, policies and principles.

The three distinguishing characteristics of a charitable gift annuity (CGA) are:

1 2

Annual payout rates to the donor are based on the donor’s age as recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities.

A CGA is a contract between the charity and the donor. As long as the charity is in existence, the donor will continue to receive the contracted quarterly payments as long as they live even if assets in the annuity have been exhausted.

Msgrs. Leon and Jerome Duesman continue to give back to the Catholic community even after retirement.

Unique giving option available The Catholic Foundation offers charitable gift annuities

N

o matter the stage in life, a giving heart remains generous.

Monsignors Leon and Jerome Duesman have dedicated their entire lives to serving God. Their commitment and generosity extends even after their retirement.

“You don’t retire from the ministry, just the administration,” said Father Leon.

In addition to celebrating Mass and performing other duties after their retirement, the Duesman brothers support their Catholic community by utilizing charitable gift annuities they established at The Catholic Foundation.

When a charitable gift annuity (CGA) is established, the donor receives an income tax deduction for a charitable gift as well as quarterly payments for life. It is only after the death of the donor that the charity receives the remainder in the CGA. “Charitable gift annuities are a way for us to reach out and serve people and the diocese,” said Father Jerry. “Through the years I saw the Foundation’s generosity to Holy Family Church.

I trust their ministry and board to review funding requests, to

reach out and to provide help where it is needed most.”

Both brothers acknowledge the advantages of charitable gift annuities in providing steady income and tax advantages, and they plan to establish more annuities in the future. However, their primary motivation lies in the satisfaction of what the charitable gift annuities accomplish for others.

“The Catholic Foundation is a great way to share,” said Father Leon. “A gift annuity can be a good way to keep on giving in the future.”

Charitable gift annuities are one of many charitable giving options that The Catholic Foundation offers. Other planned giving options include bequests, life estates, retirement plan beneficiary designations, charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts.

“Our professional staff can help you select the most effective giving tool for your charitable plans,” said Cheryl Mansour, Vice President of Development at The Catholic Foundation. “Giving through The Catholic Foundation to your favorite charities allows for a greater impact in the community and many advantages for our donors.”

3

Because a portion of each payment is considered a return of the donor’s principal, that portion is tax free. Thus, the effective annual percentage payout is higher when compared against fully taxable annuities.

About The Catholic Foundation: The Catholic Foundation is a trusted giving vehicle for the Catholic community.

Chartered in 1955, the Foundation was founded by a group of dedicated Catholic laymen with a vision that extended far beyond the charitable needs of the moment. The Foundation has spent decades building a strong community, helping donors fulfill their charitable goals, and preserving the founders’ vision and philanthropic legacy. Over the past 25 years, the Foundation has provided more than $94 million in grants to religious, charitable and educational organizations, and today houses over 370 charitable funds and trusts, and manages more than $200 million in assets.