Voice of the Southwest - Spring 2019

The Official Publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup | dioceseofgallup.org | Vol.59 No.1

VOICE of the

SOUTHWEST “You are dust, and to dust

YOU SHALL RETURN” Preparing our hearts and souls for Christ

THIS LENTEN SEASON

FROM THE BISHOP: Restoring the order of the Sacraments of Initiation

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Sacred Heart School blends faith, arts, and STEM

FEATURE: Farmington Youth in Panama for World Youth Day

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NEWS

FEATURES

10 The Fight for Life

26 From New Mexico to

Photo: Fr. Lawrence Lew via Flickr

COVER STORY

LENT: A time to Prepare “On the Fridays of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday and unite ourselves with that sacrifice through abstinence and prayer.”

Have a question about making the most of Lent? Find the answer here.

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CALENDAR 28

Events/Classifieds

From the capitol to city rallies, pro-life activists are making themselves heard

14 Honoring Religious

Youth from Sacred Heart Parish in Farmington visited Mexico City and Panama for the 2019 World Youth Day

Sisters

Celebrating the anniversaries of Sr. Marguerite Bartz, Sr. Theresa Chato, Sr, Zoe Brenner, Sr. Catherine Frace, and Sr. Rose Marie Cecchini

17 Deacon Mike

Sullivan, RIP If there’s one thing I could always say about Deacon Mike, it’s this: he was always willing to help. He was always willing to assist.

18 World Catholic News Updates regarding McCarrick, Vatican’s February gathering of world bishops for a summit on the abuse crisis

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Panama

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New Director of Safe Environment

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Voice

of the

Southwest

Publisher

The Most Rev. Bishop James S. Wall

Editor

Suzanne Hammons

Advertising/Office Manager Anna Flores

Where to find us The Voice of the Southwest can be found in any parish, mission, or Catholic school in the Diocese of Gallup. To receive a subscription to your home, contact us at media@dioceseofgallup.org or 503 W. Historic Highway 66, Gallup NM 87301

SCHOOLS 22 Full-STEAM Ahead Sacred Heart Catholic School in Gallup is the first in McKinley County to offer a full curriculum in the arts, STEM programs

24 A Hand to the Community

Students at St. Anthony School in Show Low merge community service with religious education

COLUMNS

From the Bishop “After consultation...I have decided to restore the Sacraments of Initiation to their original order, that is, Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.�

Page 04 30 Making Sense Out of Bioethics

IVF and Gene Editing: Sacrficing our humanity in pursuit of risky scientific frontiers

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Saints for Today The tragic, yet ultimately inspiring witness of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste

Contributors Bishop James S. Wall Catholic News Agency Dr. Jean Lee Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Email comments to:

designoffice@dioceseofgallup.org

Write to:

Voice of the Southwest PO Box 1338, Gallup NM 87305-1338

Cover Photo

Image by Grant Whitty via Unsplash

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FROM THE BISHOP:

The Gift of the Father: Pastoral Letter fro Restoring the Order of the Sacraments of Initiation

the Faithful of the Diocese of T oGallup: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth…”. John 14: 16-17 Through the grace of Christ each baptized person is called to share in the God’s divine nature. The Sacrament of Baptism itself immersed us into the Divine Trinity, Whose light eliminates all darkness of sin and allows us to begin a life in which we are capable of understanding through faith the eternal life to which we are called. “…What has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”1 In Baptism, each of us has be11 Corinthians 2: 9.

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come in a unique way a child of God called to give witness to His love in the world.

The Sacrament of Confirmation is important because its grace confirms and strengthens the supernatural life we have received in Baptism and it also enables us with its grace to live in a more mature way our lives as Christians giving witness to Christ in all that we do.

Through this sacrament, the Holy Spirit, Who gives witness to Christ, enables us to give Him witness.(John 15, 26). The Sacrament of Confirmation is sometimes called the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit because it “marks” the soul with His indelible seal and confers on those who receive it the grace-filled power of carrying on His mission in the world.

At the same time, the sacrament of

Confirmation is ordered toward a deeper communion with the Lord and to His Church through this witness to Him, a communion which receives its greatest expression and grace in this life in the sacrament of Holy Communion, After consultation with the Presbyteral Council, local Deaneries and having prayerfully considered it, I have decided to restore the Sacraments of Initiation to their original order, that is, Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. Together with this Pastoral Letter of presentation, I am sending you the new Policy for the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation for the Diocese of Gallup.

Historical Background

D uring the first five hundred years of

from Bishop Wall the Church the three sacraments of initiation were celebrated together, whether those who received them were adults or children. From the fifth century until the 13th century, the sacrament of Baptism was separated from the sacraments of Confirmation and Communion, Baptism being celebrated during infancy and Confirmation at about the age of 7. Holy Communion was administered later, usually around the beginning of adolescence. In this way, the order of the sacraments was conserved but they were administered in separate celebrations throughout childhood. In 1910, Pope Saint Pius X decided that it was important for children at a younger age to receive Holy Communion and it was granted to them when they reached the age of reason, that is, about 7 years old.

This positive change had the unintended consequence of moving the sacrament of Confirmation to an older age, thus inverting the original order of the sacraments of initiation.

Canon Law and the United States

Episcopal Conference do not specify an age for the reception of Confirmation saying that “it shall be conferred between the age of discretion and about sixteen years of age.�

Today, it is normal that any person baptized after reaching the age of reason receive in the same celebration the three sacraments of initiation (this often takes place at the Easter Vigil). However, up until now, a child who was baptized as an infant would receive Holy Communion at around the age of 8 and receive the sacrament of Confirmation at a later date, sometimes waiting until they are 15 or 16.

Some Pastoral Considerations

Confirmation lead the faithful to the culmination of their initiation into the Christian Life in Holy Communion, the practice of postponing the reception of Confirmation until the teenage years has not always been beneficial. An alarming percentage of our Catholic children who were baptized and received First Holy Communion, do not continue their formation for the sacrament of Confirmation, and in too many cases, never receive the sacrament. As your shepherd I believe it is important for our children, before they reach their adolescent years, to receive the strength of this important Sacrament.

The effects of the Sacrament

receiving the Sacrament ll the Sacraments of the Church T herefore, of Confirmation long after the re- A are wonderful gifts left to us by ception of Holy Communion, tends to weaken the understanding of the bond and relationship that the Sacraments of Initiation have with one another, and because the Sacraments of Baptism and

Christ to unite us more closely to the Blessed Trinity. After being born anew in the sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation gives us an outpouring of the Holy Spirit which strengthens us. This sacra-

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ment brings the life in the Spirit which was begun in Baptism to maturity and enables us to be “more perfectly bound to the Church”2. This bond with the Church brings in practice the obligation “to spread and defend the faith both by word and deed, as true witnesses to Christ”3.

Although grace builds upon nature and much depends upon the disposition in faith, the piety and charity of the one who receives it, the sacraments work in us in a different way. As long as the recipient does not have any impediment, the sacraments will produce in us their grace on their own (ex opera operato)4.

This is important when we consider the age of the reception of the sacraments.

Confirmation, sometimes called the sacrament of Christian maturity, does not require the recipient to be physically mature in order to transmit its grace. On the contrary, the sacrament brings the recipient into Christian maturity and is given the strength through the sacrament to live their Christian lives even in a heroic way. Although the recipient of the sacrament always must seek to remove obstacles to grace in their life and cooperate with the strength of the grace that is offered to them, the power of the sacraments to transform their lives has been well established.

Throughout the history of the Church, countless young children have shown the witness of heroic virtue and strength in the face of enormous temptations and trials. Faced with the challenges young Christians face in today’s world, it has become all the more important for them to receive the strength of the sacrament of Confirmation as soon as possible to assist them. Pope Saint Paul VI mentions one last effect of the sacrament of Confirmation: that is, that “it is so closely linked to the Holy Eucharist that the faithful, after being signed by Holy Baptism and Confirmation, are incorporated fully into the Body of Christ 2 Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on the Sacrament of Confirmation, citing the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, n. 11.

3 Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on the Sacrament of Confirmation, citing the Second Vatican Council, Decree on Missionary Activity of the Church, Ad Gentes, n. 11.

4 R. Garrigou-Lagrange O.P., Las Tres Edades de la Vida Interior, p. 160-161, cfr.: St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica Part 3, Question 68, Art. 8.

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through participation in the Eucharist”5.

It is this link with the Eucharist that will be emphasized by uniting the Sacrament of Confirmation with the reception of the First Holy Communion in the same celebration.

How will it take place? diocesan new policy will be fully O urimplemented over the next three

years. The progressive lowering of the age for Confirmation will take place as follows: • Invite all those of High School age to begin preparation in the Fall of 2019 to be celebrated in the Spring of 2020.

8th graders, if the pastors wish, may be included in this group.

• Invite all 6th graders and older to begin preparation in the Fall of 2020, to be celebrated in the Spring of 2021.

• Invite those in 4th grade and older to begin preparation in the Fall of 2021 to be celebrated in the Spring of 2022.

• Invite those in 3rd grade and older to begin preparation in the Fall of 2022 to be celebrated in the Spring of 2023.

In smaller parishes this schedule can be adjusted to allow for a quicker step down, keeping in mind that children of very different ages will require different approaches to preparation for the sacrament.

There will always be the possibility of children older than 3rd grade seeking the Sacrament, especially those who move into our diocese from other areas, as well as adults who seek the reception of Confirmation. For this reason, there will have to be available an intergenerational model of catechesis or catechists prepared to take on classes of different age groups to prepare them for Confirmation.

Living the life-long commitment we know, the sacraments (particuA slarly the sacraments of initiation)

are means and not ends in themselves.

They are an introduction and aids to living an authentically Christlike life, to prepare ourselves for our passage into our longed-for eternal life in heaven and to give a clear witness to the world. Per5 Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on the Sacrament of Confirmation, citing the Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis n.

haps the biggest challenge parishes will face with this change in policy will be the need to develop creative programs to accompany, form and integrate young members of the parish – now fully initiated – into the life of the Church.

Therefore, our catechetical program after the 3rd grade will no longer be tied to the reception of a sacrament which will offer the diocese and parishes the possibility of developing resources, programs and activities that will help them grow in their faith, discern their vocation and prepare for that Christian vocation as they approach adulthood. The diocese welcomes the possibility of discerning new experiences and best practices that the parish communities develop to share with the rest of the diocese.

Conclusion we implement these new policy A schanges we are attempting to face

the great challenges of our time. I want to thank the pastors of the diocese for their very faithful service to their flocks. I ask you to work closely with the families of your communities to help them accomplish their vocation as first catechists and witnesses of their faith. The parish should become a community of communities where the family, the domestic Church, can find guidance in the Word of God, strength in the Sacraments and support in their daily struggles. Your assistance to the families of your parish to provide them with what they need to accompany their children in their pilgrimage of faith, is invaluable.

May the Good Shepherd bless you continually in your difficult work of guiding your parish community. May Our Lady of Guadalupe our Mother and St. Kateri Tekakwitha, heroic witness to the faith, intercede for all of us for you and your families, and our apostolic work.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

+ Bishop James S. Wall Bishop of Gallup

OBISPO JAMES S. WALL:

El Don del Padre:

Carta Pastoral Del Reverendísimo James Sean Wall Sobre la Restauración del Orden de los Sacramentos de Iniciación

de la Diócesis de Gallup: A los“Y fieles yo rogaré al Padre, y él les dará

otro Paráclito para que esté siempre con ustedes: el Espíritu de la Verdad…” Juan 14: 16-17 Por medio de la gracia de Cristo cada persona bautizada está llamada a compartir la naturaleza divina de Dios. El Sacramento del Bautismo nos sumerge en la Trinidad Divina, Cuya luz elimina toda oscuridad de pecado y nos permite iniciar una vida en la cual somos capaces de entender por medio de la fe la vida eterna al cual estamos llamados. “…lo que nadie vio ni oyó y ni siquiera pudo pensar, aquello que Dios preparó para los que lo aman, Dios nos reveló todo esto por medio del Espíritu.”1 En el Bautismo cada uno se hace de 1 manera única un hijo de Dios llamado a dar testimonio de su amor en el mundo.

El Sacramento de Confirmación es importante porque su gracia confirma y fortalece la vida sobrenatural que hemos recibimos en el Bautismo y nos permite con su gracia vivir de manera más madura nuestra vida cristiana dando testimonio a Cristo en todo lo que hacemos.

Por medio de este Sacramento el Espíritu 1 1 Cor. 2: 9

Santo, Quien da testimonio a Cristo, nos permite a nosotros dar también testimonio de Él2. El Sacramento de 2 Confirmación es a veces llamado el Sacramento del Espíritu Santo dado que “marca” el alma con su sello indeleble y imparte sobre los que lo recibe el poder de la gracia de sobrellevar su misión en el mundo.

Al mismo tiempo, el Sacramento de la Confirmación está ordenado a una comunión más profundo con el Señor y a su Iglesia por medio de este testimonio a Él, una comunión que recibe su expresión y gracia más grande en esta vida en el Sacramento de la Santa Comunión.

Después de consultar con el Consejo Presbiteral y haberlo considerado en oración, he decidido restaurar los Sacramentos de Iniciación a su orden original, es decir: Bautismo, Confirmación y Santa Eucaristía. Junto con esta Carta Pastoral de presentación, los estoy enviando los Directivos nuevos para el Orden Restaurado de los Sacramentos de Iniciación por la Diócesis de Gallup.

Un Poco de Historia

D urante los primeros quinientos años 2 Cfr .: Juan 15:26

de la Iglesia los tres sacramentos de Iniciación fueron celebrados juntos, sea por adultos o niños. Desde el quinto siglo y hasta el siglo 13, el Sacramento del Bautismo fue separado de los sacramentos de Confirmación y Comunión, el Bautismo siendo celebrado en la infancia y Confirmación celebrado alrededor de los 7 años.

La Santa Comunión fue dada más luego, normalmente alrededor del inicio de l adolescencia. De esta manera, el orden de los sacramentos fue conservado, pero fueron administrados en celebraciones separadas durante su niñez. En 1910, el Papa San Pío X decidió que fuera importante que los niños más pequeños pudieran recibir la Santa Comunión y fue permitido para ellos a partir de los 7 años.

Este cambio positivo tuvo la consecuencia no deseada de postergar la administración de la Confirmación a más luego, de esta manera invirtiendo el orden original de los Sacramentos de Iniciación.

El Derecho Canónico y la Conferencia Episcopal Estadounidense no especifican una edad para la recepción de la Confirmación diciendo simplemente que “ será conferida entre la edad de discreción y alrededor de los 16 años ”.

Hoy esnormal que cualquier persona Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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bautizada después de la edad de discreción reciba en la misma celebración los tres Sacramentos de Iniciación (esto suele tener lugar en la Vigilia Pascual). Sin embargo, hasta ahora, un niño quien fue bautizado en su infancia recibe la Santa Comunión alrededor de los 8 años y recibe el Sacramento de la Confirmación más tarde, a veces esperando hasta los 15 o 16 años.

Algunas Consideraciones Pastorales el Sacramento de la R ecibiendo Confirmación mucho después de

la Santa Comunión tiende a debilitar el entendimiento de la unión y relación que los Sacramentos de Iniciación tienen uno con el otro. Dado que los Sacramentos de Bautismo y Confirmación conducen los fieles a la culminación de su iniciación en la Vida Cristiana en la Santa Comunión, la práctica de postergar la recepción de la Confirmación hasta los años de adolescencia no siempre fue buena. Un porcentaje alarmante de niños quienes fueron bautizados y que han recibido la Santa Comunión, no continúan su formación para la recepción de la Confirmación y en demasiados casos nunca reciban el Sacramento. Como vuestro pastor, creo que sea necesario por nuestros niños, antes de que llegan a la adolescencia, que reciban la fuerza de este Sacramento.

Los Efectos del Sacramento los Sacramentos de la Iglesia T odos son regalos maravillosos dejado a

nosotros por Cristo para unirnos más estrechamente a la Santísima Trinidad.

Después de ser renacidos en el Sacramento del Bautismo, la Confirmación nos da una infusión del Espíritu Santo que nos fortalece. Este Sacramento lleva la vida en el Espíritu, iniciada en el Bautismo, a su madurez y nos permite estar vinculados “más estrechamente a la Iglesia”3. Esta unión con la Iglesia en la práctica nos trae la obligación “a difundir y defender la fe, con su palabra y sus obras, como verdaderos testigos de Cristo”4.

3 Paolo VI, Papa, Constitución Apostólica sobre el Sacramento de la Confirmación, citando el Concilio Vaticano II, Lumen Gentium, n.11.

4 Paolo VI, Papa, Constitución Apostólica sobre el Sacramento de la Confirmación , citando el Concilio Vaticano II, Decreto sobre

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A pesar de que la gracia se funde en la naturaleza y mucho depende en la disposición de la fe, la piedad y la caridad del que lo recibe, los sacramentos obran en nosotros de una manera diferente.

Mientras el recipiente no tenga impedimento, los sacramentos producirán por sí solos en nosotros su gracia (ex opera operato)5. Esto es importante mientras consideramos la edad de recepción de los sacramentos. La Confirmación, a veces llamado el Sacramento de madurez cristiana, no requiere madurezfísica en la persona que lo recibe para transmitir su gracia. Al contrario, el Sacramento lleva la persona a la madurez cristiana y recibimos la fuerza por medio del Sacramento a vivir nuestra vida cristiana de una manera aún heroicamente. Es cierto que los que reciban el Sacramento deben siempre buscar de remover los obstáculos a la gracia en su vida y cooperar con la fuerza de la gracia ofrecida a cada uno. la Actividad Misionera de la Iglesia, Ad Gentes, n. 11.

5 R. Garrigou-Lagrange O.P, Las Tres Edades de la Vida Interior , p. 160-161; cfr.: S. Tomás de Aquino, Summa Theologica, Parte 3, Cuestión 68, Art. 8.

Sin embargo, el poder de los sacramentos para transformar la vida ha sido bien comprobado.

A través de la historia de la Iglesia un sin número de niños han demostrado un testimonio de virtud y fuerza heroica de frente a tentaciones y pruebas enormes.

Dado los desafíos que los cristianos jóvenes deben enfrentar en el mundo de hoy, es tanto más importante para que ellos reciban la fuerza del Sacramento de la Confirmación lo más temprano posible para asistirlos.

El papa San Pablo VI menciona un efecto más del Sacramento de la Confirmación, es decir que “está tan vinculada con la Eucaristía que los fieles, marcados ya por el Bautismo y la Confirmación, son injertados de manera plena en el Cuerpo de Cristo mediante la participación de la Eucaristía”6. Es ésta unión con la Eucaristía que será subrayada cuando unimos el Sacramento de la Confirmación con la Primera Santa Comunión 6 Paolo VI, Papa, Constitución Apostólica sobre el Sacramento de la Confirmación, citando el Concilio Vaticano II, Decreto sobre el Ministerio y Vida de los Sacerdotes, Presbyterorum Ordinis , n. 5.

roquias enfrentarán con este cambio de Directivos será la necesidad de desarrollar programas para acompañar, formar e integrar los miembros jóvenes – ahora plenamente iniciados – en la vida de la Iglesia. Por eso, nuestro programa catequético después del tercer grado no será más atado a la recepción de un sacramento. Esto ofrece a la Diócesis y parroquias la posibilidad de desarrollar recursos, programas y actividades que ayudan a nuestros jóvenes a crecer en su fe, a discernir su vocación y preparar para esta vocación mientras se avancen hacia la adultez. La diócesis anima la posibilidad de discernir experiencias nuevas y mejores prácticas que las comunidades parroquiales desarrollan para compartir con el resto de la diócesis.

Conclusión implementamos estos camM ientras bios en los Directivos, intentamos

en a la misma celebración del Sacrificio de la Misa. ¿Como Sucederá?

Directivos nuevos será imN uestros plementados a lo largo de tres años.

El proceso de bajar la edad por la recepción de la Confirmación tomará lugar de la siguiente manera: • Invitar todos los de la edad de High School a iniciar su preparación en el otoño de 2019, a ser celebrado en la primavera del 2020. Los que están en el octavo grado, si los párrocos quieran, puedan también estar incluidos.

• Invitar todos los en el sexto grado y mayores a iniciar su preparación en el otoño de 2020, a ser celebrado en la primavera del 2021.

• Invitar a los en el cuarto grado y mayores a iniciar su preparación en el otoño de 2021 a ser celebrado en la primavera del 2022.

• Invitar a los en el tercer grado y mayores a iniciar su preparación en el otoño del 2022 a ser celebrado en la primavera del 2023.

En las parroquias más pequeñas los

tiempos pueden ser modificados para hacerlo de modo más rápido, teniendo en mente siempre que niños con mucha diferencia de edad requieren preparaciones diferentes para los sacramentos.

Siempre habrá la posibilidad que niños mayores de tercer grado buscarán el Sacramento, particularmente los que se trasladan a la diócesis de otras partes del país, como también adultos quienes buscan la recepción del Sacramento. Por esta razón, cada parroquia tendrá que tener una clase de catequesis intergeneracional o catequistas dispuestas a tomar otras edades para prepararlos para la Confirmación.

Viviendo el Compromiso Toda la Vida se sabe, los sacramentos (parC omo ticularmente los Sacramentos de

Iniciación) son medios y no fines de sí mismos. Son una introducción y ayudas para vivir una vida cristiana auténtica, a prepararnos por nuestro paso a la deseada vida eterna en el cielo y para dar un testimonio claro en el mundo. Tal vez el desafío más grande que las par-

enfrentar los desafíos grandes de nuestros tiempos. Quiero agradecer los pastores de la diócesis por su servicio muy fiel a sus rebaños. Les pidotrabajar muy estrechamente con las familias de sus comunidades para ayudarlas a vivir su vocación como primeros catequistas y testigos de su fe. La parroquia debería hacerse una comunidad de comunidades donde la familia, la Iglesia doméstica, pueda encontrar dirección con la Palabra de Dios, fuerza en los Sacramentos y sostén en sus luchas diarias. Vuestra asistencia a las familias de vuestras parroquias para proveer con lo que necesitan para acompañar a sus hijos en su peregrinación de fe es preciosa. Pido que el Buen Pastor los bendiga continuamente en su ministerio de guiar su comunidad parroquial.

Que Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, patrona de la Diócesis de Gallup y nuestra madre; Santa Kateri Tekakwitha, una testigo heroica de la fe, intercedan por todos nosotros, por ustedes y sus familias, y que el Señor lleva a buen puerto el trabajo que inició en nosotros.

Sinceramente suyo en Cristo,

+ Obispo James S. Wall Obispo de Gallup Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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NATIONAL AND LOCAL NEWS

Bishop Wall: Offer Lenten Sacrifices for Pro-Life Causes My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, March 6th, 2019 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, in which we undertake a period of fasting and abstinence. It is a time of great preparation and penitence to prepare our hearts and souls for the Risen Christ at Easter.

This year, the 40 days of Lenten fasting and abstinence also coincide with the 40 Days for Life, an annual pro-life campaign that seeks to end abortion through prayer and peaceful advocacy. Abortion, euthanasia, and similar anti-life sins are deep stains upon the soul of our nation. What better time

to participate in fighting against a culture of death than during the season of Lent?

40 Days for Life calls on participants to enact three practices during the campaign: prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil as abortion facilities or legislative buildings, and community outreach. While all three are important to pro-life activism, if you are limited in your time or resources, the practice of prayer and fasting is a powerful means of aligning ourselves with God’s will.

In and around our Diocese there are numerous areas that participate in 40 Days for Life, and you may also find resources for participating in person or in spirit at:

40daysforlife.com Christ tells us in the Gospels that some demons will only be driven out through prayer and fasting. This Lent, let us follow His example by peacefully and prayerfully fighting for the unborn, and for the sick, elderly, and others targeted by advocates of euthanasia.

I join my efforts to yours as we approach Lent, the time of great anticipation and spiritual preparation in the life of the Church.

Yours in the living Christ, Bishop James Wall

Pro-life advocates hold a rally in front of the courthouse in Gallup, NM, in January.

ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – IMPORTANT PROTECTIONS FOR BABIES PRESERVED On February 20, 2019, the Arizona House Judiciary Committee rejected a bill (HB 2696) to deny babies born after failed abortions with basic medical care. Following testimony from the Arizona Catholic Conference and other allies the bill failed on a vote of 0-8, with two voting present.

Arizona has long had a law on the books requiring that babies born after a failed abor-

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tion receive basic care. In 2017, this law was successfully amended to clarify the type of basic care required, as well as ensure that at least one person who is trained in neonatal resuscitation is present in the room for abortions taking place after twenty weeks’ gestational age.

These statutory provisions are common sense. They were even the law of the land in

New York until very recently when essentially the same provisions were repealed and a national controversy ensued.

The Arizona Catholic Conference strongly believes that Arizona’s current law gives newborn babies a better chance at life, and is grateful that HB 2696 has been defeated.

More: azcatholicconference.org

At the January 2019 4 Corners Walk for life in Farmington, NM

Catholics and non-Catholics from NM, AZ Rally for the Pro-Life Movement In solidarity with the national March for Life and other national demonstrations, parishes throughout the Diocese of Gallup organized marches and prayer rallies in their local communities.

Farmington Nearly 300 people gathered in Farmington for the annual Four Corners March for Life, walking over three total miles from St. Mary Parish to World Harvest Christian Center and back again.

The walkers first gathered inside the church to listen to the keynote speaker, Fr. Josh Mayer, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Bloomfield and St. Rose of Lima Parish in Blanco.

Katelyn Cardenas, who has organized the event for several years, then outlined the rules of the event, asking walkers to carefully and courteously cross streets and keep to public sidewalks.

“Just be the face of the pro-life movement,” Cardenas instructed, giving a reminder to be prayerful and peaceful, especially if they encountered hecklers. “If you don’t feel called to speak to them and you just feel like they’re too angry, you can just keep walking and just pray for them because we know that they’re hurting very much. Abortion has affected so many people in our world.”

Halfway through the event, the walkers gathered at World Harvest Church to warm up and listen to prayers and testimonies from lead pastors, husband and wife Clint and Christie DeWees.

“It’s truly an honor and a privilege just to be a part of this, and just the unity the Lord

is bringing to this community,” Clint DeWees told the walkers. “You know, as we were marching I kind of had three [thoughts]: and the first was pray for those that have been doing this, that they would be strengthened and encouraged. Pray for those on the fence, that haven’t made a decision about life and choice. And then pray for those that have never considered. Maybe they’re pro-life but never really considered taking a stand. And so that’s kind of what’s on my heart.”

Following the walk back to St. Mary Parish, attendees neatly stacked their signs and gathered in the parish hall for warm drinks and cookies.

Standing outside the church afterwards, parishioner Frances Roberts reflected on the growth of the march locally.

“The pro-life groups are really uniting in our county, which is something - we’ve been involved with the pro-life group for 22 years now. And in that 22 years, in the last 5 years I’ve seen more people involved together, not looking so much at what our religion is but what our beliefs are, and realizing that we have to stand together.”

Arizona In St. Johns, Arizona, over 100 people from eight local Catholic parishes and Christian churches attended the annual White Mountain March for Life. The march began at a non-denominational church, New Covenant, and ended about a mile away at St. John the Baptist parish.

“St. Johns is a pretty small town, but it is the county seat of Apache County,” said Theresa Trujillo, who is in her third year of orga-

nizing the March. “It went really well - we had one heckler. In a small town we have a heckler,” she recalls with a laugh.

While the marchers in New Mexico spoke extensively about two bills – one which would de-criminalize abortion and another which would legalize euthanasia – the Arizona marchers focused on building up grassroots activism and awareness.

“You rarely see stories on the evening news or in the newspaper about, you know, people who chose life, but you’ll see women now - especially celebrities - coming forward and being proud about what they’ve done, in having an abortion or multiple abortions,” Trujillo said. “Nobody talks about the number of women who are maimed or die as a result of their abortion.”

Trujillo feels a personal stake in the prolife movement as well, describing two female family members who felt forced into having an abortion because of a lack of knowledge and resources.

“We don’t do a good enough job of helping women make better choices for themselves and better choices for the baby they’re carrying. And so we need to take more responsibility for that.”

Trujillo described how marchers brought diapers, baby clothes, blankets, and other items to the event, enough to fill an SUV. The items were then donated to the local pregnancy center and to Apache County Health Educators for distribution to new and expectant mothers.

Gallup A cold wind and falling snow didn’t stop several dozen people from gathering in front of the McKinley County Courthouse in Gallup, NM. Along with the lay people in attendance, representatives from the Littler Sisters of the Poor, Sisters of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph, Fr. Tom Walker from Sacred Heart Cathedral and Pastor Bill Emmerling of Gallup Christian Church were present.

The pro-life advocates held signs and prayed together, with different demonstrators leading a prayer for various intentions, including mothers, legislators, unborn children, and the sick and elderly.

The prayers at the rally in Gallup echoed words from Cardenas, who had spoken to marchers – especially students and youth in Farmington two days earlier.

“You’re fighting for your future, your children’s future spouses,” she said. “You’re fighting for your children’s future best friends and brothers and sisters and cousins.” VoSW Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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Priest to Pro-Life Activists: “Courage!”

On Sunday, January 20th, over 300 prolife activists from northwestern New Mexico gathered in Farmington for the annual Four Corners March for Life. The following speech is transcribed in full from the opening address to the marchers given by Fr. Joshua Mayer, pastor of St. Rose of Lima parish in Blanco, NM and St. Mary parish in Bloomfield, NM. Today, on January 20, 2019, we’re just a few days away from the 46th anniversary of the U.S Supreme Court Ruling in the case of Rose vs. Wade. That ruling determined for our country that the murder of unborn children is a constitutionally protected right. Since then, it’s been nearly 61 million innocent babies, pre-born human beings, who have been killed lawfully - and recorded - in our country, the United States of America, under the full protection of the law.

The unborn are not afforded the same rights as the rest of the citizens of our country. Our famous foundational rights, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are only for some.

Just for some.

I’d like to speak today, in the grace and love of Jesus Christ, some truths that are very critical for us to think [about]. So, if we’re honest with ourselves, those inalienable rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which are truly human rights that every single human being is created with, which are necessary for the flourishing of each and every person - these rights, which we are so proud to have always abided by and promoted, they have an asterisk at the end of them.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident”.

For some. For some.

These rights are unalienable. For some.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. *For some.

In our country, we have always deprived some of our brothers and sisters of these rights, while at the same time, priding ourselves on holding them to be God-given, and unalienable, which means that by their nature they cannot be taken away.

Our brothers and sisters who were taken as slaves from Africa, whose blood and labor were foundational for our country - they were not afforded these rights. Women, in many cases, were not afforded these rights. In our own area, where we live, so close to so many

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Native American reservations, we can see daily, if our eyes and our hearts are open - the effect of depriving some of our human family of these rights. Of viewing some of our fellow children of God, somehow, as less than human. Undeserving of the rights that we proclaim “belong to every single human person”.

Solely on the basis of their existence.

The point is this: so often, in relation to the scourge, the atrocity of abortion in our country, we ask ourselves, how has it come to this?

How can we - Americans, of all people - go so low as to murder, on average, over a million children, legally, every year, in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Now, we’re euthanizing our elderly and doing our best to deprive the disabled of their right to existence.

How could it come to this?

We have always been the best.

Haven’t we?

The truth is - this is a hard truth to face, but it’s true - we have never lived up to the promise of our founding documents. Legalized infanticide is a new and deeply disturbing low for us. But it’s not without precedent.

How could we stoop to this? How can we - a once believing and God-fearing nation - how could we come to this? How could we become a nation of child murderers, complicit in this previous sin, if we’re not actually directly involved?

Let’s be very clear: as members of the pro-life movement, the argument for abortion is no longer anywhere, as far as I can tell, that an unborn baby is not a human person.

That an unborn baby is simply a clump of cells that should be labelled a “fetus”. Proponents of legal and free abortion on demand do not even attempt to promote that line of thinking. Every single one of us knows that an unborn child is a human being.

We just don’t value human life. Not every human life. And that’s not new.

It’s a result of the Fall. It’s a result of our broken and sinful hearts. And to some extent, every single one of us does this. Our country, our world, has never been innocent. Hearts that are not healed and converted to Christ will continue to commit atrocities. Small and large.

This is why we need a Savior. This is why we need Jesus to save us - “Jesus, save us!

Father, save your children!”

How could we come to this? We have al-

At the January 2019 4 Corners Walk for life in Farmington, NM

ways had our evils, we have always been a country like every other, of fallen men and women, striving to live up to the remarkable ideals of our Founding Fathers. But how can we sink so low? How can we become a nation that embraces such a clear and dehumanizing evil to such a great extent, that defends it, that even prides ourselves upon it?

It’s more obvious than ever that our country is split over abortion. The March for Life in Washington D.C. marches for the dignity of the human person one day, and the Women’s March the next day marches for free and unfettered access to abortion.

And our political parties are choosing sides, they’re placing their bets, on whose side is going to prevail.

This is the big divide. How did we get here?

While we are remembering the sorry date of January 22nd, 1973 as the day the evil of abortion was legalized on our home soil, let’s remember a couple of other important dates in our country’s recent history.

August 6th and August 9th, 1945.

Those are the days when they dropped the atomic bombs on Japan, which were engineered here in New Mexico. We dropped them on two Japanese cities, in an effort to put an end to the atrocity of the Second World War. And we more or less accomplished our

goal. We also killed 200,000 people, most of whom were civilians, a great many of whom were Christians. It’s worth noting that Nagasaki is the center of Christianity in Japan, where hidden Christians - Catholics - had passed on their faith, often under the threat of persecution and death, for hundreds of years. Those are the people that lived in Nagasaki.

When we committed this atrocity to improve the quality of life in our world, those are our brothers and sisters that we killed. We decided that those lives were worth sacrificing in order for the rest of us to have peace.

How often do we question that decision of our nation, to drop those bombs? To kill our brothers and sisters in order to achieve a good end? Peace is a good end. The argument that those bombs are not war crimes, not crimes against humanity - that’s the same argument that morally justifies the killing of our unborn children. When you choose that some people should die for the sake of others.

Our coldness of heart is not new.

When we as citizens of this county - who love our country - have much to repent for.

I’m not alone in drawing a connection between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the embrace of abortion in our culture. Servant of God Venerable Archbishop

Fulton J. Sheen also identified the line between the atom bombs and our country’s embrace of abortion and a culture of death. This is what he said, in an address to young people: “Once the philosophy is proclaimed that the ego is supreme, that there are no limits, then abortion follows. I wonder when we ever got into this position of denying limits?

I wonder why our young people are so concerned with their identity. 30 and 40 years ago nobody had the problem of identity - why not? Because we recognized boundaries, limits. How do you know the limits, for example, of the identity of the state of Illinois? By its boundary lines. How do you know the identity of a basketball court? By its foul lines. How do we know our own identity?

By limits, by boundaries, by Law, by Order.

We lost all of these at 8:15 in the morning on August the 6th, 1945 when we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. That bomb blotted out boundaries of life and death, civilian and the military, and trust among nations. And so abortion, from that day on, was defended on the grounds that one may do whatever he pleases.”

So let’s admit the truth. Although it’s hard, the truth will set us free. We, as American citizens, as beneficiaries of the best and worst things that we have done, [come] to today.

We have a lot to be grateful for. We have a lot to fight for. We have a lot to repent for.

Every era of ours in our country has its particular sins - its very particular denial of the rights of our brothers and sisters, which the majority of the citizens in our country are blind to, and even defend in their time, whether it’s slavery, or the treatment of the Indigenous peoples of our land, or the atom bomb, or abortion, and euthanasia, and assisted suicide, which are occurring in the ever-present Culture of Death. That’s a culture which slithered in to our world in the Garden of Eden.

Every era has its genocide. Every era needs people who are clear-sighted, and can stand

up for what’s right, stand up for women and innocents, for life, no matter what the cost is.

Today, you are here to stand up for life. In standing up today, for the right of each and every single person, from conception to old age, and natural death, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

These are not just our country’s ideals.

These are what God gives us.

We are joining our voices and prayers to all of our neighbors across this nation who are willing to stand up, to be heard, and to stick their neck out and say “Enough! Enough of this atrocity!”

We have been on this path, as a race, even as a nation, for too long. Enough murder.

Enough death. Life!

We can’t change the world from the outside. We cannot change ourselves from the outside. Each and every single one of us needs change inside here - we have areas of our hearts that have been corrupted by the culture of death. It’s our inheritance from our first parents.

The grace of Jesus Christ frees us from that in baptism, but it still comes and grabs hold of us. We all have areas of our hearts that need conversion. We can’t do it alone, we can’t convert even our own hearts alone.

We need the grace of Jesus Christ, and that comes at the price of the Cross. To convert us - you and I - to convert our entire nation to life. Only the life and blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient.

So Jesus, we beg of You, forgive us! Forgive us. And convert us. Save us - save your children. Cleanse our hearts in the blood and water that poured out from Your side.

And you, my brothers and sisters, courage! Courage. Continue to fight for goodness, and peace, and justice, and life. Courage! Continue to stand up for the unborn, the elderly and the disabled, the forgotten. And courage - courage to repent.

As Christians, we know that our true Enemy is not of this world. It’s not our brothers and sisters on the other side of the political - even religious - lines. That’s not our enemy.

We fight with the weapon of sacrificial love. That’s the weapon that Jesus embraced when He embraced His cross and died for us - for us! - as we were mocking Him, and tormenting Him, and we eventually killed Him. The weapons that we have as followers of a crucified King are not swords, or atom bombs, or sharp words, or judgments that arise in our hearts. These are the things that make us murderers. We have only the crucified love of Jesus Christ to share. VoSW Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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5 Sisters Honored at Annual Religious Jubilee Mass Sister Marguerite Bartz

July 31, 1945 – November 1, 2009 Motto: “Forever I Will Sing The Goodness of The Lord”

Sister Marguerite’s life began in Plymouth, Wisconsin on July 31, 1945. With her parents, Carl and Barbara, she, her six brothers and sister spent their early years in Wisconsin. Her family moved south to Louisiana and eventually to Beaumont, Texas. It was in Beaumont that Sister Marguerite met the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

The spirit of the sisters, their dedication to the poor and their witness of poverty made a deep impression on her. She entered the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament on September 8, 1966.

Sister Marguerite began her ministerial life as a catechist in St. Paul Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts. After completing her studies at Xavier University in New Orleans, Marguerite spent time in Louisiana, then on to the Southwest among the Pueblo peoples of Pena Blanca, Cochiti, San Felipe and Santo Domingo, Laguna, and the villages of the Laguna Pueblo. Sr. Marguerite also worked with Search and Cursillo in the diocese of Gallup.

In 1982 Sister Marguerite became a teacher of theology at St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

She taught there for seventeen years.

Then she spent a year of sabbatical at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois.

In September 1999 Sister Marguerite moved to St. Berard Parish in Navajo, New Mexico. During her ten years in Navajo, New Mexico. Sr. Marguerite was involved in many activities – liturgy coordinator and musician, religious education; RCIA; Disciples in Mission; the development of lay ministers through

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the Builders of the New Earth Program, as well as being a member of the Sisters Council.

Though we all mourn the loss of Sr. Marguerite, we also know that she is very much with us. We thank God for the gift and blessing of Sr. Marguerite who gave so passionately and generously to all who came into her life.

Sr. Theresa Chato

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament 50 Years Sr. Theresa grew up in Albuquerque, NM. She is presently the DRE at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Chinle, AZ.. She has been there for five years She was DRE at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Fort Defiance, AZ for ten years from 1990 to 2000. Her first mission was at St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, NM where she was a math teacher and dorm moderator for eleven years.

After a request for a brief bio, she wrote: “I am Navajo born into the Tábąąhá clan (edge of the water), my mother’s clan and I was born for the Tsi’naajinii clan (black streak wood people), my father’s clan. My maternal grandfather’s clan is the Tódich’íi’nii clan (bitter water) and my paternal grandfather’s clan is the Haltsooí clan (meadow people).

I am the oldest of six – four sisters and one brother. One sister lives in Kayenta, AZ with her family, my brother and two other sisters live in Santa Fe, NM with their families and another sister lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. Both of my parents are deceased and buried at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM. “I credit the seeds of my vocation to the Franciscan friars who were very influential in my parents’ lives and to the

IHM sisters who taught me at Holy Ghost School in Albuquerque. These seeds were nurtured by the faith of my parents and family. My two years as a high school volunteer in the summer program at Laguna and Acoma Pueblos with the SBS proved providential in my entering the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

“I’ve been blessed with many mission experiences in my 53 years ~ teacher and dorm moderator at St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, NM; teacher in Pala, CA; SBS vocation director; DRE at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament parish in Fort Defiance, AZ; member of SBS congregational leadership team; motherhouse administrator; DRE at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Chinle, AZ. Wherever I was missioned, the people deeply enriched my life.”

Sr. Zoe Brenner

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament 50 years S r .

Brenner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived in Reading Ohio until she entered the convent in 1966.

At the present time she ministers in Parish Ministry and coordinates Religious Education for St. Berard (Navajo, NM, St. Francis of Assisi (Sawmill, AZ) and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament (Fort Defiance, AZ).

She has been working in the parishes for the last 8 years.

Sister spent approximately 33 years in the education Apostolate for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Finishing her degree in education in December 1970 she started teaching in January of 1971 in Gary Indiana, then onto Chicago and Washington, DC. She then became a principal and ministered in Macon, Georgia, Houston Texas and Harlem New York. The next move was to Philadelphia, being the Vocation Director for

the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. In 2001 she came to the Diocese of Gallup and ministered at St. Michael Indian School in the high school in various capacities. In 2010 sister began to be a parish minister and coordinate religious education.

Sister Zoe writes: “I have been blessed to have loving and supportive parents. My parents George and Vera Brenner (deceased) and brother supported me in my choice of becoming a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament. My parents came to visit me in each of my assignments.

“I have been a blessed to be in the Black and Native American ministries during my years as a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament. I have been given opportunities to learn and understand the people and this has broadened my world view and deepened my spiritual life.

“The motto inscribe in my ring given at final vows is ‘Love Life, Live Life, Give Life’. I have come to know that this is a circle if you love, live and give you grow, to keep loving, living and giving life. As a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament my life comes from the Eucharist, People, and all creation.”

Sister Catherine France Daughters of Charity 60 years

Sister Catherine grew up in Baltimore Maryland.

She presently ministers in P a r i s h Outreach at St. Jude Catholic Church in Tuba City, AZ. She

has been there for four years.

In the past Sister has ministered in Maryland, Virginia, New York, Georgia and South Carolina A few reflections from Sister Catherine Francis: “In my Mom’s last years, she said, ‘You always wanted to be a Sister.’ What a surprise! I hadn’t realized how long the ‘Sister’ theme had been part of me. I re-

membered the ‘I’m going to be a movie star’ theme and the ‘I’m getting married and having 12 little boys!’ theme. I even had the father of my children picked out!

But Mom was right, as usual; these phases and many others temporarily tickled my imagination but had no roots. ‘Sister’, on the other hand, was no phase!

“The Daughters of Charity were part of my life all through my school years.

They were not just my teachers, but Sisters who took us to visit shut-ins and people in Nursing Homes. The Sisters could only go out in ‘two’s’. Sometimes there was no other Sister available and I substituted. I also did a good bit of helping after school – so much so that my Dad said that he always knew where I was.

“My best girlfriend, Dorothy and I were Children of May and in 8th grade attended a Marian Celebration in Emmitsburg, MD. It was then that the two of us decided to become Daughters of Charity – yes, right there and then we decided to stay and not even go home.

That lasted until Sister Elizabeth said that everyone had to get on the bus.

“Our high school years were years of suffering for Dorothy who had cancer of the brain. She died when we were 16. I had visited and prayed for her constantly throughout her illness and couldn’t understand why such a good person had to suffer so much. To be honest I said a few very strong things to God about the matter and was surprised to find that the call to become a Sister still persisted.

“The September after graduation, I entered Postulancy and on April 15, 1959, I became a Daughter of Charity.

Life as a Daughter of Charity brought new experiences, ministries and places in which to minister. I have been privileged to serve others as Teacher, Director of Religious Education, Vocation Minister, Parish Administrator, High School Guidance Counselor, Campus Minister for Mercer University and later Elizabeth Seton High School, Spirituality Ministry for Hospital Staff, Vincentian Family Collaborator, Drug and Alcohol Counselor. My ministry locations were: Utica, NY, Bladensburg, MD, Washington, DC, Portsmouth, VA, Georgetown, and Macon, Georgia and Tuba City, AZ. “Currently, I am privileged to live close to the Navajo people and learn from them.”

Sister Rose Marie Cecchini

Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic 65 years Sister Cecchini was born in Stockton, California, where she lived until entering the Maryknoll Sisters Community in 1954.

At the present time she serves as Coordinator of the Office of Life, Peace, Justice and Creation Stewardship, under the auspices of Catholic Charities of Gallup Diocese, located in Gallup.

She has served in this ministry since 2001. Prior to that, she served 4 1/2 years on the behavioral health staff of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Residential Treatment Facility for Girls in Gallup, operated by the Franciscan Sisters.

Before coming to the Gallup Diocese in 1996, she served in Asia for 33 years in pastoral and educational ministries in Japan for 25 years, and in the Philippines for three years. During five years in Nepal, she lived in a remote mountain village, did pastoral and educational work at Notre Dame School, built by the villagers, assisted in community development, and the school’s sustainable agriculture program that addressed root causes of poverty and serious health challenges in the region.

When asked what she would like others to know, she wrote: “Just as I have been deeply enriched by sharing life and faith with the diverse peoples, cultures and religions of Asia, I continue to learn, appreciate and be enriched by the peoples of diverse cultures, races and religions of Gallup and the Southwest. This comes through friendships, solidarity and collaboration with people in the Catholic faith community, as well as in ecumenical, interfaith and environmental groups and organizations that advocate and act to eliminate causes of poverty, discrimination, injustice, homelessness, environmental destruction and Climate Change impacting the entire community of life. In my ministries, I seek to implement the principles of Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si – On Care of Our Common Home.”

VoSW Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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What does a Safe Environment Coordinator do?

The position of the Coordinator is crucial, as that person oversees the trainings, background checks, and implementation of safety policies throughout the whole diocese.

Farrell (middle) with a youth group at the 2018 Southwest Catholic Youth Conference.

Meet Your New Safe Environment Coordinator After many years of service, Deacon Paul Endter and his wife Valerie have retired as the Safe Environment Coordinators for the Diocese of Gallup. We wish them well, and hope they have many happy well-deserved years with their family.

Leslie Farrell has been hired as the new coordinator for the diocese. After her first couple of weeks on the job, the Voice sat down with her for an introductory interview, presented below.

VoSW: Tell us about your background.

Leslie: I graduated from Benedictine College with my degree in Psychology and a minor in Theology. And then I took the job at the Cathedral as the youth director over there, and so I run their youth program, and then I’ve taught for a while for different schools in the Diocese - St. Bonaventure and Sacred Heart School.

Why did you apply for this position?

Well, I really really like the atmosphere of the chancery.

I’ve volunteered here before and I really like the way it’s run - I just like being here. And I really like the VIRTUS program. I’m a VIRTUS facilitator and I’ve had to teach all of my kids VIRTUS through the “Touching Safety” program. I just understand the program and think it’s a value to the Diocese, and so I wanted to make sure it continues in the best way possible.

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What does a typical work day look like for you?

The job entails processing background checks, but also checking up on them and making sure nothing is there that’s a red flag. It involves maintaining the VIRTUS system for the Diocese, approving new users, making sure they’re doing their bulletins, things like that. I do VIRTUS trainings here at the Chancery. And then all the CCD programs who need safety training for the kids, you gotta make sure that they’re all doing that.

And with your background in psychology, how does that tie in to learning and implementing the program?

So the very first live VIRTUS training I took was from my psych professor, which was very very cool. I was able to connect it - there are a lot of things, like grooming, which I don’t think a lot of people talk about that predators do, and the way their mind works toward children that’s way different than normal people. Regular people don’t think the way predators think, and you can see that in the way VIRTUS is teaching - it’s very psychologically sound in showing the different tactics they use and the way they think about things.

Like how people use the latest apps or social media like Snapchat for fun, without realizing how it can be

exploited.

Exactly. It seems like a lot of work, but it really isn’t - when you put your mindset in that of someone who does want to take advantage of people, they will use any means necessary.

Knowing that mindset, and that’s what psychology is all about, knowing how a person thinks, and I think the VIRTUS program is doing a good job with trying to get that through to people.

What are you excited to be able to do with this job?

I’m excited to continue the education for people. I think that a lot of people maybe don’t understand the VIRTUS program or think “ugh, it’s something I just have to do” and they don’t understand how valuable it actually is. So I’m excited to keep that alive and keep it focused on that. I’m excited to keep things updated, because the internet is getting updated so fast, and we need to keep on top of it and help educate people who don’t understand the different loopholes or different apps. I don’t even under-

stand all of them, but luckily I have a sister who explains things.

Actually, that’s a good point growing up in a big family, you’re the oldest, so having some younger siblings who are still in high school or college, do you feel like this job is personal in a way?

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It really really is. I’m the oldest of five, and so I always feel protective anyway of them. Not only as a teacher and a youth director. My sister is 15 and I see her on the phone and different things she’s doing and I’m like, “What are you putting on there?” *laughs* Anything else you’d like people to know?

I’m very approachable! Don’t be scared to call and ask me things. I’m still learning - there’s a lot that goes into this job, so bear with me!

I’m born and raised in Gallup. I really do like this area, I really like this Diocese and want to see it thrive.

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Deacon Mike Sullivan, RIP The little chapel at Villa Guadalupe, the nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, was packed for the funeral of Deacon Michael Sullivan on Thursday, February 7, 2019.

Bishop James Wall celebrated the funeral Mass, opening his homily with a reflection on Deacon Sullivan’s service to the Church.

“I had the privilege of knowing him for ten years, my ten years here in the Diocese,” Bishop Wall said.

“And if there’s one thing I could always say about Deacon Mike, it’s this: he was always willing to help.

He was always willing to assist. No matter what it was that I asked for him to do, he was always willing to do it. Even when it was difficult – at times, physically.”

Bishop Wall said that there could be no greater way to honor Deacon Sullivan than through prayer, especially the greatest prayer of all: the celebration of the Mass.

“I know the last few years, he was unable to do his diaconate duties as he would have liked, but he always had that spirit, that great sense of helping, of assisting wherever he could. And I think the primary reason for that was his great love, his great appreciation for the Mass.”

“We know he was called to vocation as a married person,” Bishop Wall said, acknowledging the contributions of Dolores, Deacon Sullivan’s wife, present at the funeral.

“We also know he had a vocation to the diaconate. And in the diacon-

ate a man is called to assist, especially assist at the altar of the Lord, assist at the Mass. So it’s central to the life of a deacon, this love, this appreciation, this deep and intimate prayer with God, connected with the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass.

“And we know that our brother, Deacon Mike, loved the Mass.

“The one who has a great love for the Lord in the Mass will also have a great love for others, in terms of service. And we were able to see that beautifully in the life of Deacon Mike.”

You can find the full transcript of a brief autobiography of Deacon Sullivan’s life at our online site, voiceofthesouthwest.org Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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McCarrick labeled ‘permanently removed from ministry’ in list of accused clergy

By Christine Rousselle Catholic News Agency Newark, N.J., Feb 13, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Newark released a list of names of credibly accused clergy on Wednesday, including disgraced former archbishop of the diocese Theodore McCarrick. The archdiocese listed McCarrick as “permanently removed from ministry,” although a final verdict is still pending in his canonical process.

On Feb. 13, all the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey released lists of clergy who had “credibly” been accused of sexual abuse of minors dating back to 1940.

A total of 188 clerics, including deacons, were named. The Archdiocese of Newark had the most names, with 63, and another of McCarrick’s former dioceses, Metuchen, had the fewest with 11.

The lists were released following the launch of the Independent Victims Compensation Program, which seeks to compensate those who were abused by members of the clergy as minors. The IVCP was announced earlier this week.

In a statement published on the Archdiocese of Newark website, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said that the release of the list of names was part of “an effort to do what is right and just.”

“It is our sincerest hope that this disclosure will help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated,” said Tobin. “We also pray that this can serve as an initial step in our efforts to help restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic Church.”

In the Newark list, McCarrick is appears alongside other accused clerics but, unlike other entries, it does not say if there are one or more accusations or give his assignment history.

The only details given are his years of birth and ordination, and his status as “permanently removed from ministry.”

His entry also includes the note saying “Archbishop Theodore McCarrick has been included on the list

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Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey.

based on the findings of the Archdiocese of New York that allegations of abuse of a minor against then Father McCarrick were credible and substantiated.”

After serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of New York, McCarrick was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop of that archdiocese in 1977. He was then installed as the first bishop of Metuchen in 1981.

McCarrick’s name does not appear on the list released by the Diocese of Metuchen, but its release Wednesday included a statement stating that he is “currently involved in a Church trial by the Holy See for the abuse of a minor when he was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.”

The Archdiocese of Newark, along with the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, paid a settlement in 2005 to a man who was abused by McCarrick while he was an adult seminarian.

A second settlement was paid in 2007 to another man who claimed he was abused by McCarrick while he was an adult in seminary.

Both of these settlements were kept confidential until McCarrick stepped downfrom the College of Cardinals in July 2018, following accusations he had abused two men as minors.

At the time of McCarrick’s first al-

leged abuse of minor, he was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

A verdict following McCarrick’s canonical process for the abuse of minors is expected any day.

McCarrick was ordered by Pope Francis to live a life of prayer and penance during the proceedings. He is currently living in a friary in Kansas and is forbidden from celebrating Mass in public.

In a statement to CNA, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Newark said that the archdiocese had adopted a higher standard than the ordinary canonical definition of “credible,” which is not “manifestly false or frivolous.”

“For the Archdiocese of Newark, we defined a ‘credible allegation’ as one that, after review of reasonably available, relevant information in consultation with the Archdiocesan Review Board or other professionals, there is reason to believe it is true,” said the spokesperson.

“An allegation is determined to be credible when: the accused clergy admits the allegation is true; the accused clergy is convicted by civil authorities in court; an independent review team concludes that the allegation is more likely true than not, based on evidence.”

Analysis: In spite of itself, Vatican abuse summit may still do some good

By JD Flynn Catholic News Agency Vatican City, Feb 22, 2019 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- The Vatican’s abuse summit this week will not solve the problems plaguing the Catholic Church in the U.S. In fact, it doesn’t aim to.

The summit was called by Pope Francis in September, shortly after he was accused of ignoring reports about the predatory behavior of disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

But from the beginning, Pope Francis and meeting organizers have been disinclined to include in the summit’s schedule any discussion of the issues the Church in the U.S. faces.

Conference organizers, including Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich, have insisted even this week that the summit will not discuss predatory homosexual behavior.

In a Feb. 22 press conference, Archbishop Charles Scicluna went so far as to acknowledge a reporter’s point that homosexual behavior in seminaries fosters a culture of cover-up, before he said, curtly, that “this has nothing to do with the sexual abuse of minors.”

Scicluna said this despite McCarrick’s coercion of both vulnerable seminarians and teenaged boys, and despite the fact that most clerical abuse of minors in the West has targeted post-pubescent boys.

In fact, the first reported victim of McCarrick was 16 and 17 at the time he was abused.

Is it possible to focus discussion so myopically and insistently on child sexual abuse as to ignore the idea that sexually abusing a 17-year-old might have something to do with sexual immorality among adults?

Will Catholics accept the presupposition that those who sexually abuse 17-year-olds have an entirely different moral or psychological pathology than those who sexually abuse 18-yearolds, or who coerce them into the veneer of consent against the backdrop of an extraordinary power imbalance?

Those ideas, many Catholics will

conclude, simply belie credibility.

The summit will also not discuss in-depth the need for mechanisms of accountability for negligent or malfeasant bishops, despite the fact that McCarrick’s behavior went unchecked even after it was reported multiple times, and the fact that several U.S. bishops now face charges of negligence or misconduct.

While Cupich gave a presentation on some approaches to procedural investigations, he presented only the plan that would vest investigative responsibility for bishops only in their archbishops, though lay experts, including the National Review Board in the U.S., have supported alternative proposals.

His address did not mention the potential for metropolitans to incur significant legal liability through the so-called “metropolitan model,” though this is a point of considerable importance with regard to the Church in the U.S. Critics of the summit charge that the pope called this meeting mostly as a diversion from the accusations of negligence he’s faced personally, stemming from his handling of accused prelates in the U.S., South America, and Europe. The pope still faces questions about his handling of the cases of Chile’s Bishop Juan Barros, McCarrick, Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, whom Francis promoted despite evidence of serious sexual malfeasance, among others.

But even if the narrow focus of this meeting is intended to change the topic of global conversation, this week’s abuse summit can still do some real good for children around the world. There is a serious need for safeguarding policies in most of the developing world, and introducing them in the Church may catalyze their more widespread adoption.

But by design, the Vatican summit won’t answer the issues embroiling local churches in the U.S. And Catholics are especially frustrated because when U.S. bishops attempted to vote on a reform package in November,

they were stopped by the Vatican, and advised to wait until after this week’s meeting. Now some bishops wonder what, exactly, they were supposed to be waiting for.

Real reform in the diocese of the U.S., it is becoming clear, will depend a great deal on local bishops making local changes in their local churches.

Last month, the Archbishop of Baltimore announced a comprehensive whistleblower policy for his diocese, rather than wait for one to be introduced nationally. Other bishops can follow suit.

In response to the crisis, they can also develop more exacting local norms for screening seminary candidates, take up new approaches to leadership of their priests and lay employees, and they can commit to making themselves accountable to independent lay leaders.

The work of the Church continues in this country, even amid the crisis it faces. Catholic schools continue to educate millions of students, many of them poor. Catholic charities continue to serve the homeless, the undocumented, and the unseen. Catholic hospitals continue to treat the uninsured.

And Catholic parishes continue striving to love the unloved- those whom Pope Francis says live on the “existential peripheries” of our society. The Church does all this in service to the Gospel it professes. But to continue to do so with credibility, the sexual abuse crisis must be addressed.

Neither the Vatican nor the national bishops’ conference has yet acted decisively to address the full scope of the crisis. And this week, the Vatican seems to have demonstrated key components of the crisis. But local bishops can, and without waiting for anyone else to act. Some have already begun that work, and the rest may soon be convinced to join them.

More Catholic news, updates and opinion pieces from the US and around the world at: catholicnewsagency.org Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org`

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Questions & Answers

LENT: about Lent and Lenten Practices do we say that there are Q. Why forty days of Lent? When you

count all the days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, there are 46. be more accurate to A. Itsaymight that there is the “forty day

fast within Lent.” Historically, Lent has varied from a week to three weeks to the present configuration of 46 days. The forty day fast, however, has been more stable. The Sundays of Lent are certainly part of the Time of Lent, but they are not prescribed days of fast and abstinence. give something up for Lent, Q. we such as candy, we can have it on So does that mean that when

Sundays?

A.

Apart from the prescribed days of fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and the days of abstinence every Friday of Lent, Catholics have traditionally chosen additional penitential practices for the whole Time of Lent.

These practices are disciplinary in nature and often more effective if they are continuous, i.e., kept on Sundays as well. That being said, such practices are not regulated by the Church, but by individual conscience.

Q.

I understand that all the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat, but I’m not sure what is classified as meat. Does meat include chicken and dairy products?

A.

Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs --- all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat. Abstinence

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does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consomme, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are technically not forbidden. However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste). Fish are a different category of animal. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted.

Q.

I’ve noticed that restaurants and grocery stores advertise specials on expensive types of fish and seafood on Fridays during Lent. Some of my Catholic friends take advantage of these deals, but somehow I don’t feel right treating myself to the lobster special on Fridays during Lent.

A.

While fish, lobster and other shellfish are not considered meat and can be consumed on days of abstinence, indulging in the lavish buffet at your favorite seafood place sort of misses the point. Abstaining from meat and other indulgences during Lent is a penitential practice. On the Fridays of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday and unite ourselves with that sacrifice through abstinence and prayer.

that Catholics Q. Iagesunderstand 18 to 59 should fast on Ash

Wednesday and on Good Friday, but what exactly are the rules for these fasts?

“On the Fridays of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday and unite ourselves with that sacrifice through abstinence and prayer.” on these days means we A. Fasting can have only one full, meatless

meal. Some food can be taken at the other regular meal times if necessary, but combined they should be less than a full meal. Liquids are allowed at any time, but no solid food should be consumed between meals.

there exemptions other Q. Are than for age from the requirement to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?

that are excused from A. Those fast and abstinence outside the

age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.

More info: usccb.org

Journey to the Foot of the Cross 10 Things to Remember for Lent

Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, former chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, offers “10 Things to Remember for Lent”:

1. Remember the formula.

The Church does a good job capturing certain truths with easy-to-remember lists and formulas: 10 Commandments, 7 sacraments, 3 persons in the Trinity. For Lent, the Church gives us almost a slogan—Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving—as the three things we need to work on during the season.

2. It’s a time of prayer.

Lent is essentially an act of prayer spread out over 40 days. As we pray, we go on a journey, one that hopefully brings us closer to Christ and leaves us changed by the encounter with him.

3. It’s a time to fast.

With the fasts of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, meatless Fridays, and our personal disciplines interspersed, Lent is the only time many Catholics these days actually fast. And maybe that’s why it gets all the attention. “What are you giving up for Lent? Hotdogs? Beer?

Jelly beans?” It’s almost a game for some of us, but fasting is actually a form of penance, which helps us turn away from sin and toward Christ.

4. It’s a time to work on discipline.

The 40 days of Lent are also a good, set time to work on personal discipline in general. Instead of giving something up, it can be doing something positive. “I’m going to exercise more. I’m going to pray more. I’m going to be nicer to my family, friends and coworkers.”

5. It’s about dying to yourself.

The more serious side of Lenten discipline is that it’s about more than self-control – it’s about finding aspects of yourself that are less than Christ-like and letting them die. The suffering and death of Christ are foremost on our minds during Lent, and we join in these mysteries by suf-

fering, dying with Christ and being resurrected in a purified form.

6. Don’t do too much.

It’s tempting to make Lent some ambitious period of personal reinvention, but it’s best to keep it simple and focused. There’s a reason the Church works on these mysteries year after year. We spend our entire lives growing closer to God. Don’t try to cram it all in one Lent. That’s a recipe for failure.

7. Lent reminds us of our weakness.

Of course, even when we set simple goals for ourselves during Lent, we still have trouble keeping them. When we fast, we realize we’re all just one meal away from hunger.

In both cases, Lent shows us our weakness. This can be painful, but recognizing how helpless we are makes us seek God’s help with renewed urgency and sincerity.

8. Be patient with yourself.

When we’re confronted with our own weakness during Lent, the temptation is to get angry and frustrated. “What a bad person I am!” But that’s the wrong lesson. God is calling us to be patient and to see ourselves as he does, with unconditional love.

9. Reach out in charity.

As we experience weakness and suffering during Lent, we should be renewed in our compassion for those who are hungry, suffering or otherwise in need. The third part of the Lenten formula is almsgiving. It’s about more than throwing a few extra dollars in the collection plate; it’s about reaching out to others and helping them without question as a way of sharing the experience of God’s unconditional love.

10. Learn to love like Christ.

Giving of ourselves in the midst of our suffering and self-denial brings us closer to loving like Christ, who suffered and poured himself out unconditionally on cross for all of us. Lent is a journey through the desert to the foot of the cross on Good Friday, as we seek him out, ask his help, join in his suffering, and learn to love like him.

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

With an Eye to the Future, Sacred Heart School Implements Full Curriculum in Math, Engineering, and the Arts It’s full-STEAM ahead for the students and faculty of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Gallup, NM. This semester, Sacred Heart becomes the first school in McKinley County to offer a full curriculum in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math for each student in preschool through the eighth grade.

In the 2nd Grade classroom, Brenda Sanchez is distributing a lily and a kitchen spoon to her students. She asks them to feel the objects and describe the differences between the flower, which grows naturally, and the spoon, which is human-made.

“Another way to describe an object is by the form and function”, she stresses, introducing two specific scientific terms to her students.

This is the beginning of the STEAM program in the school, an initiative first championed by Anna Biava, who served on the school’s board for many years. Biava noticed the challenges facing students seeking to transfer to a career following graduation from high school or college.

“What I found is that New Mexico has a workforce crisis,” she said.

“There’s a big movement in the state to try to remedy the education system in order to support the workforce.”

The solution: Biava developed a partnership between Sacred Heart School and Project Lead the Way, a national curriculum for engineering and science centered around handson learning and problem-solving.

New Mexico State University is the program’s official state affiliate, and seeks to establish new STEM programs throughout the state. Dr. Patricia Sullivan, an associate dean with NMSU’s College of Engineering, views the relationship between Sacred Heart School and the university as mutually beneficial.

“From our end, at New Mexico State, we’re just really interested in reaching out to partners, especially in rural areas and all over the state, to make sure that students have an op-

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portunity to engage in quality STEM education at middle and high school levels,” Sullivan said.

Once students develop STEM skills, they then can choose to apply those skills to a specific field in college, which then fosters a better job market throughout New Mexico.

“A lot of kids, they have expertise in some of the hands-on applications, but they don’t necessarily relate it to degrees in STEM fields. They may have grown up in agricultural areas, they may have grown up around some of the manufacturing, and even there with the refineries,” Sullivan said. “A lot of those are STEM skills, so it may not just be masters and PhD degrees we’re talking about associate degrees, we’re talking about just out of high school - people with STEM skills have a higher job opportunity.”

Sullivan visited Sacred Heart in the Fall semester when the school held a community launch day, complete with a parade and visits to the school. Over the following weeks, every teacher in the school undertook a two-day intensive training given by members of Project Lead the Way, so that each teacher could begin to understand and roll out the STEAM initiative in their classrooms.

Each classroom now has a digi-

tal board, which functions as a giant touchscreen and interactive lesson display, and every student is provided with an iPad. The technology upgrades go hand-in-hand with new lesson plans, as vocabulary and directions of students’ assignments will also change.

“What this program does is it teaches children to problem solve through real-world problems,” Biava said. “Another thing, the vocabulary is advanced and technical - nothing is dumbed-down for them. They don’t ‘make’ a pulley, they ‘construct’ a pulley. The whole thing is based in teaching the children transferrable skills.

In the future, our technology’s gonna look a lot different than it does when they’re in first grade. The idea is that they’re beginning to use the engineering thought process to solve problems.”

On Fridays following school, music teacher Amy Jo Mulvaney sponsors Sacred Heart’s LEGO Club. Students from all grade levels are welcome to gather in the downstairs cafeteria and build age-appropriate projects. One group of students might work on constructing a crane; another carefully pieces together an aerodynamic plane.

“We’re used to giving students information - this way, we’re all learning 2nd Grade students examine nature-made flowers and man-made utensils during a lesson on “Form and Function”

Brenda Sanchez walks her 2nd Grade class through a lesson on “form and function” at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Gallup

together,” Mulvaney said. “There’s a lot more critical thinking encouraged in the students.”

And her role as music teacher is still vital.

“Just because we’re embracing STEAM technology does not mean we’re letting language arts, math, paper and pen go - we’re incorporating it all. Yes, we are a technology school, but not at the sake of losing any of our foundations. We’re still learning poetry - we’re just using this to enhance everything else we teach at the school.”

Biava also stressed the importance of developing students’ cooperation and social skills. “[The curriculum] is based on collaborative learning and problem-solving,” she noted. “Each child will take on a different role in the problemsolving scenario. One will step up as leader. That’s what the entire thing is based on: transferrable problem-solving for real-work scenarios.”

Like Mulvaney, Biava said that the new program will not exclude the arts or Catholic teaching – instead, Sacred Heart School will use the lesson plans to enhance students’ learning in all

subjects.

“Part of the whole motivation behind encouraging the study of the sciences is that you can look at the world and define order in the universe, see that there [are] laws of nature, and you can come to your own realization - on whatever level - that a Creator exists, right?” said Biava. “Take it a step further. The more you understand about the intricacies of the universe and how science works - be it through physics or biology or whatever it is - the more grandeur that creation has for you, the more you come to realize about God’s creation.”

It was, after all, through Catholic universities that the scientific method was first developed. Major contributions and developments in genetics, astronomy, and computer science were fostered by monks, priests and nuns. Biava sees the implementation of the new curriculum at Sacred Heart School as another link in the longstanding relationship between faith and science.

“Eventually we will grow into this and kind of even enhance the aspects of it: the philosophical implications, the moral implications. Right now, be-

cause we’re in the ‘baby’ stages, that side of it is very basic, but when we really get rolling with the program we’re really hoping to tie in all the aspects of what this could mean for us in terms of the religious education and the moral formation.”

Dr. Sullivan is pleased to see any school forge ahead with an enhanced STEAM curriculum.

“I think the most exciting thing was just to see the level of engagement by the entire school community - the teachers, the students, and the parents and the business leaders. It was very exciting to see that this wasn’t just a school adopting a new curriculum, but it was a community championing a concept of student readiness.”

And with the program officially underway, a visit to classrooms at Sacred Heart shows students and teachers alike embracing the curriculum. For Biava, it’s a symbiotic embrace of the core concepts of Catholic education: faith and reason.

“The reason part teaches you about what God has done. The faith part teaches you how to live.”

More info: sacredheartgallupschool.com Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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Putting faith into action: For St. Anthony Students, Selfless Service is a Constant Commitment “Be Doers of the Word” is the official episcopal motto of Bishop James Wall, but it’s also a philosophy that drives the students and leaders of St. Anthony School in Show Low, AZ. For National Catholic Schools week in early 2019, students at every class level participated in a massive collection drive for items for care packages.

Laura Higgins, a founder of the school, has spearheaded the annual week-long effort since it was first introduced.

“We kick it off on Monday of Catholic Schools Week. The pre-k, [kindergarten], and 1st grade all collected toilet paper. Junior High [students] all collected water bottles and lip balm.

2nd and 3rd grade all collected wash cloths. 4th and 5th grade all collected healthy snacks.”

On Friday the school delivered their collection to White Mountain Care Packages, a community-driven mission in the White Mountain area of Arizona.

“It was hundreds and hundreds of items,” Higgins recalls. “It was great.

It set them up for the main part of the winter.”

Assisting White Mountain Care packages are local churches, businesses and non-profits who distribute the packages to the homeless and needy individuals or families. Each package has toiletries, healthy snacks, and water, and, if needed, contain extra items for children or women’s hygiene.

Assembling packages with the Salvation Army.

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St. Anthony students volunteer at a local food pantry.

The communities surrounding the school benefit massively, says Higgins, “because there’s a huge homeless population and a huge population that’s living really on the edge.”

But the students’ efforts don’t begin and end during one week of the school year. The annual care package drive is just one part of a community service program instituted by Higgins and school leaders in 2011.

“That’s what Jesus told us to do - to be doers of the word,” Higgins said.

“And in order to just learn what the word says and what it means, in class, doesn’t go very far when it comes to actually learning what helping other

people means, and how good it feels.”

One of the first efforts the school initiated involved visits to nursing homes and residences of community elders.

“It’s something that [students] have taken to from the very beginning. And the teachers are wonderful,” said Higgins, who transports a handful of students in rotation to and from the school for the nursing home visits. “The kids really get the idea that they’re there to help, and we say a prayer before we go in.” Some days, the students play a modified form of kickball with the residents – tailored to include residents in wheelchairs.

Twice a week, groups of students will pitch in at the Love Kitchen, an organization that provides nutritious meals with an open door. And during the holidays, some students volunteer on weekends to help collect and wrap gifts, in partnership with the local chapter of the Salvation Army.

But always, Higgins says, the trips and visits supplement and enhance the students’ lessons in religious classes.

“We’re hoping that it becomes habit, that kids like it, and eventually they’ll realize ‘hmm, this is what Jesus meant.’” VoSW

2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal

“be faithful stewards”

“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, It is with deep humility and gratitude to you, the people of the Diocese of Gallup, that I announce the theme of our 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal: “Be Trustworthy Stewards”.

The Catholic Church in the United States, as well as worldwide, is experiencing much pain and anger over the recent revelations of abuse on the part of some of the hierarchy.

These actions are inexcusable, and call for repentance and renewal throughout the Church. I’d like to invite you join me in these actions so that the Kingdom of God might be made known throughout our diocese and the world.

I would like to invite you to prayerfully consider a contribution to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal. This year’s theme “Trustworthy Stewardship”, which is taken from 1 Corinthians 4: 1-2,5: “Thus one should regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy…the Lord will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts.”

When you consider a contribution to the Appeal, think of the message and example of Christ, who came to serve, and not to be served. My desire is to use your contributions in a trustworthy manner, to serve the least of these as Christ commands us (MT 25:40). Barring the small cost of producing these Appeal materials, all of your contributions help the ministries of the Diocese of Gallup.

These ministries serve those who, here and now, every day, have great need. Priests and sisters throughout the Diocese, who tirelessly serve our communities, rely on funds from the Appeal for food, clothing, and living expenses. The homeless, poor, and needy people of our communities, regardless of religious background, visit our Catholic Charities agencies for emergency shelter, food, and housing help. Our Catholic schools, which educate and evangelize entire communities, require aid for supplies, maintenance, and utilities. All these, and many more, receive the benefit of your generous prayers and contributions.

I ask you to consider these, your neighbors, during this introductory Appeal season. And I ask that you pray for me, that I be a faithful steward of your gifts. One day I must face God in judgment, as will we all, and I will answer for how I have acted as shepherd for the souls in my care.

For as the Gospel reminds us, “there is nothing done in darkness that will not be brought to light.” (Luke 8:17) I remain sincerely yours in the living Christ, Bishop James S. Wall

“there is nothing done in darkness that will not be brought to light.”

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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a “Once in a lifetime experience”

Sacred Heart, Farmington youth in Panama

Farmington youth travel to panama for world youth day The 2019 World Youth Day in Panama featured young Catholics from dozens of countries, hundreds of dioceses, and one very happy youth group from the Diocese of Gallup.

For the teens from Sacred Heart Parish in Farmington, NM, the trip to Panama was the culmination of months of hard work and dedication.

“Our kids did a lot of fundraisers and really worked very very hard to make the trip possible. And I think in doing that, the ones who stayed with it got this amazing spiritual experience because it meant everything to them because they worked so hard for it,” said Fr. Tim Farrell, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish. “They didn’t just get mom or dad to write a check - we didn’t allow that. They had to be at the fundraisers, they had to be at youth ministry, and so they really became a group because they worked hard together.”

Kristi Lucero is the Parish Youth

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Director. She was in Poland for World Youth Day 2016 and when the announcement came that the next gathering would be in Panama, she made up her mind to go.

“I was the DRE in St. Marys in Bloomfield prior to moving to Sacred Heart, and we had taken a group to Krakow. We had such a good time, and I can remember when they made the announcement in Krakow that the next one would be in Panama. It was something that we were excited about then. So having Fr. Tim on board to support…he asked if it was something we wanted to do and I said ‘absolutely’. We just jumped at the opportunity to go.”

Farrell accompanied the youth group and chaperones on the trip as the group’s chaplain, celebrating Mass each day at local churches. Before reaching Panama, the group spent a few days in Mexico, sightseeing at Aztec pyramids and visiting the shrine of

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

When they reached Panama, the trip became a kind of pilgrimage, in every sense of the word. Fr. Farrell recalls walking long distances every day – often up to ten miles.

“So our kids really had to be in shape and I don’t know how I got it done, but I got it done as well,” he said. “I never heard them complain - they were amazing. Teenagers are very strong. They’re not the complainers - many times we older folks are the ones who whine and complain, you know. But I find teenagers very able to adapt. And they seemed to love what they saw.”

One particular day, Fr. Farrell remembers, they happened to step off a train into a street just as Pope Francis was passing by. And on that day, Chenell Hensley, a high school member of the youth group, was celebrating her birthday.

“We came out of the metro and he

was right there,” Hensley recalls. “After he passed by I turned to one of the chaperones and got emotional and said ‘he was right there’ and started crying.”

But more than the sightseeing, it was the human connections the group formed that made the trip memorable.

“I think it’s important, especially when you have teens from a small town who don’t always have the opportunity to travel, to be able to see a million other catholic young people that were excited to be Catholic and share their faith and come together,” said Lucero. “Because some of these teens worked really hard to get here and have this opportunity.”

Fr. Farrell observed quick friendships that formed between his youth group and other young people. As the group’s chaplain, the connections fit right into his spiritual goals for the trip.

“What I wanted them to get was a sense of the universal church, especially at World Youth Day, to see all these young people gathered together, hundreds of thousands of them, to pray together and to worship together,” he said. “They exchanged buttons, little flags. They wear their country’s flag and they get to talk to each other - they made a lot of new friends.

They got email addresses or facebook addresses, and so they’re keeping in touch with these young men and women from around the world, that came from all over.”

He also recalls one particular day, away from the bustle of tourists, when his group had taken a day for themselves to explore a new part of Panama City.

“We ended up in a church and we wanted to have Mass each day. I didn’t have my alb and stole and host and wine. And we were in this beautiful old church, and I and the guide went up to the pastor who happened to just be there and asked him if we might have Mass at his church. And he said “absolutely” - they were the friendliest people. And we had this beautiful Mass - for whatever reason everybody was deeply touched by that place, that beautiful old old church. I think it dates back into the 1700s even. At the same time we celebrated the Eu-

charist there, many of the parishioners from the church were there. They couldn’t speak a word of English, most of us couldn’t speak a word of Spanish, and yet we were the universal church and we celebrated the holy eucharist together and that was a very powerful thing for all of us.”

From the first day of fundraising to attending Mass celebrated by the Pope in Panama, Fr. Farrell viewed the entire process as a moving spiritual experience, for the adults and youth alike.

“That’s truly how the Church manifests Christ, that we come together - 2 or 3 people gather together - and you decide “this is really important” and that’s when miracles happen. And I really saw that in this, with Kristi’s hard work, the kids’ hard work, and it meant so much more to them.”

Hensley agrees – despite missing sports practice and school in order to go to Panama, she describes World Youth Day as a “once in a lifetime” experience.

“Cherish every moment! Because before you know it, the trip will be over and you’ll be back VoSW home.”

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS/CLASSIFIEDS

April 11

Chrism Mass Place: Sacred Heart Cathedral The priests of the diocese will join Bishop Wall for a special Mass in which the sacred oils used throughout the year are blessed. Everyone is welcome!

Contact: 505-863-4406

May (continued) 30 June

02

Women’s Cursillo, Spanish Place: St. Johns, AZ Contact: 505-870-4234 Application fee of $60.00 must be returned - 2 weeks advance of Cursillo Info: gallupcursillo.com

Recurring events Blanco Fish Fry - Weekly on Fridays in Lent Place: St. Rose Parish Hall

307 N. Hwy 64, Blanco NM Description:Supports the St. Mary and St. Rose LifeTeen groups!

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Easter Triduum and Easter Monday Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence - those who are physically able must abstain from meat and should eat only two small meals or one main meal.

Grace Place Steps 4 Life Fundraising Walk Place: Berg Park

Farmington, NM Time: 8:30 AM Fun for the whole family!

Proceeds support Grace Place pregnancy center.

Info: graceplacecenter.org 505-327-4747

May Engaged Encounter Retreat 31 - Weekend

June

02

Place: Sacred Heart Retreat

Center, Gallup, NM Engaged Encounter is a weekend in which an atmosphere is created for each couple to concentrate exclusively on one another, free of the tensions, pressures and interruptions of daily living. It is specifically designed to give an engaged couple an opportunity to talk honestly about their future.

Info: engagedencountergallup.org

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Special Collections Collection: Holy Land Date of Notice: Palm Sunday weekend To be taken up: April 19 Collection: Catholic Relief Services Date of Notice: May 4-5 To be taken up: May 11-12 Collection: Diocese of Gallup Seminary Future Priest Fund Date of Notice: June 1-2 To be taken up: June 8-9 Collection: Catholic Home Missions Date of Notice: June 22-23 To be taken up: June 29-30 Collection: Catholic Communications Campaign Date of Notice: July 20-21 To be taken up: July 27-28

Engaged Encounter, May 31

Promise to Protect If you or someone you know has been abused by a priest, deacon or other employee or minister of the Catholic Church, please report this to: Elizabeth Terrill Victim Assistance Coordinator 505-906-7357 victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

We will help.

Your confidentiality will be protected.

Diócesis de Gallup Promesa de Proteccíon Si usted o alguien que usted conoce ha sido víctima de abuso por parte de un sacerdote, diácono u otro empleado o ministro de la Iglesia Católica, favor de reportar el incidente a: Elizabeth Terrill Coordinador de Asistencia para Víctimas 505-906-7357 victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

Nosotros le ayudaremos.

Su confidencialidad será protegida.

Do Háida’bił bee hodozįįł daíigi beeádee haho’dzíí’ Catholic Church dóó éé’ neishoodii yił ndaałnishi’ igíí dóó Baa ndaałah’ igíísh doo há’ atééh’ igoo da, nínįi’ yiyiiłaah’ Dóó’ oóshlí ła’ ísh ákóbí’ diiłyąą go nił beehoozin, Akohootįįngo nił beehoozin’go baahwíí’ diłníi’ Elizabeth Terrill Victim Assistance Coordinator 505-906-7357 victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

Virtus Classes

Confirmation Schedule

Sunday, March 31 VIRTUS Training Place: Sacred Heart Parish

414 N. Allen, Farmington NM Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM Contact: 505-325-9743 Thursday, April 11 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, May 16 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, June 20 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, July 18 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, August 18 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, September 19 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Thursday, October 17 VIRTUS Training Place: Gallup Chancery

503 W. Highway 66 Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Keep up-to-date: virtusonline.org

Saturday, April 27 Place: Immaculate Conception

6440 Main St.

Cuba NM Time: 5:00PM - 6:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, May 11 Place: St. Teresa Parish

213 Smith St.

Grants, NM Time: 11:00AM - 12:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Sunday, April 28 Place: St. Francis Parish

3760 Sandhill Dr.

Lumberton, NM Time: 9:30AM - 12PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, May 11 Place: St. Joseph Parish

1 Friar Rd.

Laguna, NM Time: 11:00AM - 12:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Wednesday, May 01 Place: St. Michaels

24 Mission Rd.

St. Michaels, AZ Time: 6:00PM - 7:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Thursday, May 16 Place: St. Jude Parish

100 Aspen Dr.

Tuba City, AZ Time: 7:00PM - 8:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Friday, May 03 Place: St. Rose of Lima

Blanco, NM Time: 5:00PM - 6:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, May 25 Place: Our Lady of Guadalupe

212 E. Arizona St

Holbrook, AZ Time: 5:30PM - 6:30PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, May 04 Place: St. Mary Parish

307 N. Church St.

Bloomfield, NM Time: 8:30AM - 9:30AM Contact: 505-863-4406

Sunday, May 26 Place: St. Mary of the Angels

1915 S. Penrod Ln

Pinetop, AZ Time: 11:00AM - 12:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, May 04 Place: Sacred Heart Parish

414 N. Allen Ave

Farmington, NM Time: 4:30PM - 5:30PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Sunday, May 26 Place: Winslow Catholic Parishes, AZ Time: 5:00PM - 6:00PM Contact: 505-863-4406

Sunday, May 05 Place: St. Mary Parish

2100 E. 20th St.

Farmington, NM Time: 10:30AM - 11:30AM Contact: 505-863-4406

Saturday, June 08 Place: Sacred Heart Cathedral

415 E. Green St.

Gallup, NM Time: 5:15PM - 6:15PM Contact: 505-863-4406 Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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MAKING SENSE OUT OF BIOETHICS

By Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Gene-Edited Babies and the Runaway Train of IVF In November 2018, a Chinese scientist named He Jankui (known to his associates as “JK”) claimed that he had successfully produced the world’s first gene-edited human babies using “gene surgery.” The twin girls, he said, were born somewhere in China with a modified gene that makes them immune to infection from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A special DNA splicing technique called CRISPR/ Cas 9 was used when they were embryos to make the edits. In a series of short videos posted on YouTube, JK offers an explanation of, and justification for, what he did. He reminds his viewers that when scientists first began doing in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978, a number of ethical concerns were raised, but those mostly subsided over time: “The media hyped panic about Louise Brown’s birth as the first IVF baby. But for forty years, regulations and morals have developed together with IVF, ensuring only therapeutic applications to help more than 8 million children come into this world. Gene surgery is another IVF advancement.”

In another video, he puts it this way: “Look back to the 1970s with Louise Brown. The same fears and criticisms then are repeated now. Yet, IVF unquestionably has benefited families. There will be no question about the morality of gene surgery in 20 to 30 years.”

JK’s strong conclusion leads us to ask whether the general sense of revulsion that has arisen towards his gene-editing work is merely alarmist and shortsighted. Are people failing to grasp the importance and propriety of what he is doing? Is he a pioneer ushering in a new age of enlightenment where mankind will be able to make use of the powers of science to achieve good ends? Or should his gene editing work be condemned and JK branded as a rogue scientist violating significant moral boundaries?

The answer to these questions will, in fact, be linked to whether we understand IVF to be ethical or not — JK is right to draw the parallel. If we conclude that IVF is something good and ethically acceptable, we end up granting the principle that it is OK to engage in very harmful and damaging actions as long as we have a good end or purpose in mind. Although IVF involves a litany of grave harms, like the engendering of human beings in laboratories and the freezing or destruction of embryos, if our intention is to help others fulfill their desire to have a baby, it must be OK. By this same logic, gene editing of our children will also be considered acceptable as long as our intentions are good and we’re trying to help others, even if we’re actually causing serious harms along the way.

Adding up the grave harms from IVF gives us a long list: IVF turns procreation into “production.” It dehumanizes embryonic children, treating them as objects to be frozen, manipulated, abandoned or destroyed. Since the practice began in 1978, millions of embryos have become warehoused in liquid nitrogen, abandoned in frozen “orphanages.” Millions more have been outright discarded as biomedical waste. Instead of “loving our children into being” through the one-flesh union of husband and wife, IVF mass-produces children in clinics,

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assemblyline style, under the impetus of market capitalism.

Children born by IVF, moreover, experience roughly double the rate of birth defects of regularly conceived children.

Over the years, these kinds of concerns have been mostly glossed over or ignored — we’ve grown accustomed to frozen orphanages, and to the high toll involved in the process of assuring that a few of our embryonic children survive and successfully implant. We downplay the risk of birth defects. Our insensitivity and desires have trumped a clear sense of ethics.

As we face the daunting question of editing human embryos, we run up against the same temptation. Editing our embryonic children to be free of a particular disease requires numerous embryos to be simultaneously created (or thawed out), treated as “products” and subjected to genetic “treatments,” with many of them perishing during the experiment, in order that a few of them might survive and develop without the disease. Editing our embryonic children may also involve risks to them that we will only understand later when they grow up. Is it ever proper to experiment on our own offspring?

Moreover, gene editing in embryos introduces changes that will be passed into the human gene pool, establishing permanent and irrevocable changes to our own humanity. How does one adequately evaluate the risks of such changes?

The fact remains that we’ve been willing to tolerate an abundance of human carnage up to this point with IVF, and one of the great tragedies of our age has been our tone deafness to the evils of IVF. JK argues that we are similarly poised to accept the production of gene-edited babies as yet another variation on the theme.

Will his brazen instrumentalization of human beings call forth gasps of disbelief, serious reflection and action, or only a few more passing yawns?

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

SAINTS FOR TODAY

by Dr. Jean Lee

40 Martyrs of Sebaste (d. 320 AD) In 320 the Roman emperor Licinius, reversing a previous edict of toleration, authorized a fresh wave of persecution of Christians. A decree published in Cappadocia charged that all Christians must renounce their faith, upon pain of death.

When this decree was pronounced to the Roman army stationed in Sebaste (present-day Turkey), forty soldiers refused to sacrifice to Roman gods. Consigned to prison and condemned to death, they sang aloud from the Psalms, “He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven.”

Eventually the governor devised a unique punishment. He ordered the soldiers to strip and stand on a frozen lake in the middle of winter to endure the freezing wind and cold. Meanwhile, on the edge of the lake he provided a fire and a warm bath as an incentive to apostatize. For three days and nights an everdwindling number endured. The soldiers displayed tremendous steadfastness for their faith, but their number was reduced when one soldier crawled to the warm bath.

One of the pagan guards who maintained watch over the condemned was so moved by the courage of the soldiers that he converted and took the place of the wavering Christian to maintain the honor of the group. After all the martyrs had eventually succumbed, their bodies were burned. Local Christians secretly gathered their ashes, and these relics were widely distributed throughout Cappadocia.

Jean M. Lee, M.A., D.Min., is a licensed behavioral health and substance abuse counselor. A Catholic revert after 32 years away from the Church, she is devout in the Catholic faith, loves the saints, and lives a deeper spiritual/religious and more joyful life since returning to the Church.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bunson, Matthew and Margaret Bunson. “Encyclopedia of Saints-Second Edition.” Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 2014.

Ellsberg, Robert. “Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses.” Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016.

Heritage, Andrew, ed. “The Book of Saints: A Day-By-Day Illustrated Encyclopedia.” San Francisco: Weldonowen, 2012.

“Lord, we are forty who are engaged in this conflict; grant that forty may be crowned and that we may not fall short of the sacred number.”

- The Martyrs of Sebaste Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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