10.24.08

Diocese of Fall RiveR

The AnchorThe AnchorfRiday, octobeR 24, 2008

Inaugural Mass for new St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton is Sunday

By Michael PareAnchor Staff

WESTPORT — Nearly 500 people turned out October 14 at White’s of Westport for the St. Mary’s Education Fund’s 14th Annual Dinner. Since its in-ception in 1991, the St. Mary’s Education Fund has provided scholarships to needy students attending Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Fall River.

The fund was originally established from the proceeds of the sale of the former St. Mary’s Home of New Bedford, an orphanage spon-sored by the diocese. Interest from those pro-

Patriots linebacker has faithin Catholic school education

ceeds provided seed money for scholarships.Since its humble beginning, the fund has grown

dramatically.The annual scholarship dinner has taken place

each year since 1995. The dinner and a fund-raising event each summer on the Cape serve as the fund’s primary sources of revenue. Since the mid-1990s, more than $6 million has been dis-tributed from the fund to families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend Catholic schools in the diocese. Last year, the fund made it

STANDING PAT — New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, center, meets with members of the Bishop Connolly High School football team and coach Coach Frank Sherman, left, at the St. Mary’s Education Fund Dinner at White’s of Westport last week. Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl champion, was the keynote speaker. (Photo by Michael Pare)

By Deacon JaMeS n. DunBar

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Holy Union Sister Grace Dono-van and Brother of Christian In-struction Walter Zwierchowski have spent differing amounts of time in God’s service in various ministries.

But they are in a timeless soli-darity in urging young people to heed God’s call to follow him in his service, and be their succes-sors.

“I tell young men who might be interested in such a vocation, ‘Try it out. You might just like it,’” said Brother Zwierchowski, a religion teacher at Bishop Con-nolly High School in Fall River

Religious jubilarians invitetoday’s youth to answer call

and who is observing his 25th anniversary in vowed religious life.

“I tell them they must pray every day and ask God to help them decide. Daily prayer is vi-tal if they are to draw near to and have a relationship with Christ and subsequently to take up his work,” he added.

Sister Donovan, 87, now re-tired and in residence at The Landmark in Fall River, is mark-ing her 70th jubilee as a religious Sister.

“I would tell young women discerning a vocation to religious life to be good listeners to God’s

By Dave Jolivet, eDitor

TAUNTON — When St. Andrew was first introduced to Christ, he immediately recog-nized him as the Messiah. “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Mes-siah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-42). At the first glimpse of Jesus, Andrew felt the calling to

share him with others.This Sunday, St. Andrew the

Apostle will beckon the faithful from the communities of St. Jo-seph’s and St. Paul’s parishes in Taunton, to unite as one and con-tinue to let others know “We have found the Messiah,” and bring them to Jesus. At 12 a.m. on Octo-ber 26, the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Paul will be suppressed and become St. Andrew the Apos-

tle Parish one minute later. The inaugural Mass for the new faith community will take place at St. Joseph’s Church with an 11 a.m. Mass celebrated by pastor, Father Timothy P. Reis. One week later, Bishop George W. Coleman will officially install Father Reis as pastor at a Mass at St. Joseph’s Church also at 11 a.m.

“There is a certain sadness for many, being members of either

parish for so long,” said Father Reis. “But there is also an ex-citement about this process. It’s much like the early Christians establishing a faith community that we can mold into the way we want it to be.”

The faith communities of the two Taunton parishes have worked long and hard to make this union a fruitful and prayerful transition, with the formation of

a Founding Parish Task Force in March of this year, comprised of individuals from both parishes.

“I have been so impressed with these people from day one,” Deacon Alan Thadeu told The Anchor in a recent interview. “Everyone of them has been an outstanding leader, open-minded, prayerful, and tough when they had to be. It is so vital in a situa-

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this week’s Anchor

LIVES OF SERVICE — Several religious Sisters celebrating vari-ous anniversaries gathered for a photo with Bishop George W. Coleman at the annual gathering of religious Brothers and Sisters October 18 at St. Julie Billiart Church in North Dartmouth. Front from left: Sisters Barbara Barton, OP; Agnes Shannon, OP; Agnes Banville, RSM; Grace Donovan, SUSC; the bishop; Barbara Hunt, RSM; Monique Lesage, SCO; Rosellen Gallogly, RSM; and pre-senter Catherine Griffith, SND. Back: Sisters Simone Rodrigues, SSJ; Mary Duffy, SSJ; Zita Foley, RSM; Mercia Moran, RSM; and Marie Lorraine Halpin, RSM. (Photo by Eric Rodrigues)

By Gail BeSSeAnchor correSPonDent BOSTON — Ballot Ques-

tion 1 asks Massachusetts vot-ers if they want to repeal the state’s personal income tax by phasing it out over the next two years. The proposed law would reduce the current 5.3 percent

rate by half for the 2009 tax year, then eliminate it in 2010.

Both proponents and oppo-nents of the referendum agree it would drastically alter how state government operates, but differ markedly on whether that change would be good or bad.

It would largely be up to

the governor and legislature to determine where the budget axe would fall if state revenues shrink by the $12.5 billion, the amount the income tax pro-duces annually. But some ex-penses, like state debt, would have to be paid first; human

Question 1 approval could hurt needy

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2 OctOber 24, 2008News FrOm the VaticaN

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Roger J. Landry [email protected] David B. Jolivet [email protected] EDITOR Deacon James N. Dunbar [email protected] MANAGER Mary Chase [email protected] Wayne Powers [email protected] Michael Pare [email protected] Kenneth J. Souza [email protected]

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: [email protected]. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $14.00 per year.

Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address

POSTMASTERS send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.

PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman

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The AnchorMember: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service

Vol. 52, No. 40

MODEL OF PRAYER — A pilgrim holds a statue of St. Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, a 19th-cen-tury Ecuadorean known for her deep prayer and penitence. Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints October 12 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) —Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints, including the first native-born saint from India, where Christians recently have come under attack from Hindu gangs.

After the two-hour liturgy in St. Peter’s Square October 12, the pope made a pointed appeal for an end to violence against India’s Christian minority.

He spoke after declaring saint-hood for St. Alphonsa Muttathu-pandathu, a nun from southwest-ern India who was known for her holiness during a lifetime of suffering. The other new saints included an Italian priest, a Swiss missionary sister and an Ecuador-ean laywoman.

The pope said their lives of faith and sacrifice should inspire contemporary Christians in all walks of life. As he pronounced the canonization decree, en-thusiastic pilgrims waved flags and held up pictures of the new saints.

After the liturgy, the pope called for an end to violence against In-dian Christians, in the wake of attacks on church personnel and institutions.

Since August, anti-Christian

Pope canonizes four saints, callsfor end to violence in Orissa state

violence by Hindu mobs in the In-dian state of Orissa has left about 60 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands displaced. The Indian government met in early October to discuss the growing problem.

The pope, dressed in gold vestments on a cloudless Sunday morning, spoke in his homily about St. Alphonsa’s life of ex-treme physical and spiritual suf-fering before her death.

St. Alphonsa was born in 1910, and at a young age was determined to become a nun after reading the lives of the saints. When a mar-riage was arranged for her at the age of 14, she deliberately burned her foot so that her disfigurement would allow her to avoid the en-gagement.

She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at age 17 and taught for a while, but was soon confined to her convent be-cause of a succession of illnesses, including typhoid fever, pneumo-nia, skin infections and a wasting disease.

At the same time, her life also was marked by periods of great spiritual joy. As for her distress, she said she was convinced that God had destined her to be a “sacrifice of suffering.” She died peacefully and happily in 1946.

The others canonized were:— St. Narcisa de Jesus Mar-

tillo Moran, a 19th-century Ecua-dorian known for her deep prayer and penitence. At a young age, she made private vows of virgin-

ity, poverty, obedience and self-mortification.

She remained a laywoman, serving as a catechist while work-ing as a seamstress. According to a Vatican biography, her penitential mortifications were severe, and when she died at age 37 in 1869, doctors said they were amazed she lived so long on so little food.

— St. Gaetano Errico, an Ital-ian priest who founded the Con-gregation of Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the 19th century. He was known for the many hours he spent in the confessional, and for seeking out the sick, the abandoned and the spiritually afflicted in his native area of Naples. He died in 1860 at the age of 69.

— Sister Maria Bernarda But-ler, a Swiss nun who founded the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Sinners.

As a young woman, she broke off a marriage engagement and intended to live as a contempla-tive sister. But she was convinced instead to embark on a mission-ary journey to Ecuador, where she formed her new order, which worked especially among native families.

The four saints together, the pope said, offer a beautiful exam-ple of holiness and deserve atten-tion by the universal Church.

“May their example encourage us, may their teachings orient and comfort us, and may their inter-cession support us in daily trials,” he said.

ROME (CNS) — How to listen well to the word of God and how to proclaim it well have emerged as the key questions for the Synod of Bishops on the Bible, said Car-dinal Francis E. George of Chi-cago.

Both challenges call for im-proved individual preparation as well as a broader effort to shape culture in a way that recovers bib-lical literacy, he said.

Cardinal George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke in an interview with Catholic News Service in Rome, where he was attending the October 5-26 synod.

After the synod heard more than 150 speeches during its first week, Cardinal George said one clear concern was improved train-ing for the “world of proclaimers” — particularly in the preparation priests and seminarians receive on how to preach Scripture.

The reason preaching is on synod members’ minds, he said, is that they are wondering why biblical renewal hasn’t fostered “more dynamic homilies that bring people into the word of God,” especially during liturgical celebrations.

The question touches on homi-letics courses, but also on the way Scripture is taught, and whether there is an adequate emphasis on all the levels of meaning con-tained in scriptural texts, Cardinal George said.

“There is a level of meaning that is purely human, if you like, in the mind of the inspired author, but nonetheless limited to his own context,” he said.

That’s an important aspect of biblical interpretation, but if homilies are reduced to this as-pect, they’re not going to be very inspiring, the cardinal said.

“Then there is the meaning that God intends in the whole his-tory of salvation, which can read Scripture as a whole and not just analyze parts of it,” he said.

Making that level of meaning accessible requires familiarity

Cardinal George emphasizes how to listen to and proclaim Gospel

with such things as Church com-mentary, doctrinal development, catechesis and the Church fa-thers’ understanding of the texts, he said.

One thing the synod has heard emphasized repeatedly is the im-portance of “lectio divina,” the prayerful reading of Scripture, both in the preparation of priests and as a spiritual practice for lay faithful.

In the “world of the hearers,” whether in developed countries or in places of oral tradition, the Church has to help make sure that the word of God has a chance to be heard, Cardinal George said.

That can’t be taken for granted today, he said. In the cardinal’s own synod speech to the synod, he made the point that bibli-cal language and imagery have largely disappeared from popular culture.

A century ago in the United States, he said, the Bible was read regularly in many homes. Today, even among fundamental-ist Christians, that kind of famil-iarity with Scripture appears less strong, he said.

Cardinal George said it was important to reintroduce these im-ages and figures into the popular culture, but to do that the Church has to “be where the conversations that shape culture take place.”

“You have to find people who shape that culture, or who are willing to do so, or who live it themselves, so that religiously inspired works of art and litera-ture aren’t automatically in the small categories rather than the mainstream of modern culture and art,” he said.

“That means you’ve got to have agents, actors, artists, pro-ducers who want to do that,” he added.

For Catholics, however, he said, salvation is all about rela-tions — the relationship to Christ and to those who know Christ and love him, and the conviction that love is more powerful than knowledge.

DIOCESAN TRIBUNALFALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS

Decree of CitationSince his present domicile is un-

known, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite John O. Collins to appear in person before the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River (887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on November 6, 2008 at 2:30 PM to give his testimony regarding the question:IS THE ZHARA-COLLINS MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDING TO CHURCH LAW?

Anyone who has knowledge of the domicile of John O. Collins is hereby re-quired to inform him of this citation.

Given at the offices of the Diocesan Tribunal in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts on October 16, 2008.

(Rev.) Paul F. Robinson, O. Carm., J.C.D.

Judicial Vicar

(Mrs.) Denise D. BerubeEcclesiastical Notary

3 OctOber 24, 2008

Diocese of Fall River

OFFICIALHis Excellency, the Most Reverend George W. Coleman, Bishop

of Fall River, has announced the following appointment:

Rev. Timothy P. Reis, Pastor of Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton.

Effective October 26, 2008

News FrOm the VaticaN

By cinDy WooDencatholic neWS Service

VATICAN CITY — The word of God must be heard, under-stood, loved and shared, and that will require new efforts on the part of theologians and biblical scholars, bishops, priests, dea-cons, artists and all the Catho-lic faithful, said Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec.

After members of the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible gave more than 200 speeches October 6-15, Cardinal Ouel-let — the synod’s recording secretary — read a 20-page Latin summary of the pre-sentations and offered synod members 19 questions as a starting point for their small-group discussions.

The small groups were to be-gin meeting October 16 to draft proposals to present to Pope Benedict XVI as the basis of the document he is expected to write after the synod.

The questions included:

Cardinal Ouellet summarizes synod’s progress— how can the Church edu-

cate people to listen to the word of God?;

— how can the Church pro-mote “lectio divina,” the prayer-ful reading of the Bible?;

— would it be helpful to have a compendium or other practi-cal manual to help priests and deacons write and present their homilies?;

— is there a need to revise the lectionary of Mass readings?;

— what can the Church do to better emphasize the connection between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass?;

— what should the church do to improve the translation and distribution of Bibles, especially for the poor?;

— what can be done to help people understand that read-ing and interpreting the Bible must take into account the literal meaning of the text, the spiritual meaning of the text and the tradi-tional teaching of the Church?;

— would it be a good idea for the Church to sponsor a world congress on the word of God?;

— what steps can be taken to ensure that the Scriptures be-come a more important part of the search for Christian unity and the Church’s dialogue with the Jewish people?;

— what should the Church and its members do to ensure that a biblical spirit animates all its pastoral efforts?;

— how can the Church recon-cile the practice of interreligious dialogue with the dogmatic af-firmation that Christ is the one savior of humanity?; and

-- how can art, poetry, the In-ternet and other media be used to cultivate greater knowledge of the word of God?

In his summary, Cardinal Ouellet said it was right that many synod members empha-sized the importance of interpret-ing the Scriptures in communion with the Church and its tradition. But he also said the word of God

is a living word and the Church always must be attentive to new emphases and responses to new challenges that the Holy Spirit may inspire.

Several synod members spoke of the danger of biblical scholars who read the text primarily as literature and theologians who read it primarily as support for Church teaching.

Cardinal Ouellet said the dis-cussion highlighted the need for reading the text “from within

the vision of faith. It is not only to go beyond the letter (of the text), but to see it as a sign that the revealed Word wants to be heard.”

“It appears clear to the synod fathers that the determining fac-tor in the interpretation of the biblical text is the experience of encountering Christ present in the tradition of the Church,” he said. “This encounter transmits the strength of love that comes from faith.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For millions of Catholics around the world, the Sunday liturgy is a ser-vice revolving totally around read-ing the Bible because there are not enough priests to celebrate the Eu-charist each week.

During the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible, Church lead-ers from Latin America, Africa and Asia praised the work of the cat-echists or “delegates of the word” who lead the Sunday services and called for better training for them.

Bishop Guido Plante of Cholute-ca, Honduras, said that since the first 17 lay “delegates of the word of God” were sent out in 1966 to lead Holy Week celebrations in isolated villages of Honduras more than 10,000 laypeople have been trained and sent out in Honduras and neighboring countries.

They are not just Bible readers, they do not just work on Sundays and most of them do not get paid for their ministry, said Bishop Plan-te, a Canadian-born missionary.

“They are real promoters of Christian communities,” he said.

Gathered around the word of God, the bishop said, people have formed youth groups, women’s groups, trained catechists and dis-covered how relevant the Gospel is to their lives and their thirst for justice.

Their love for the word of God leads them “to promote human rights and to help the victims of poverty, corruption and violence,” he said.

Bishop Plante said he knows some people worry that Catholics will be content with Sunday litur-gies of the word and not recognize how important the Eucharist is to

Bishops: Sunday liturgy keyson Bible for many Catholics

Catholic life.But that has not been the case

in Honduras, he said. The word of God has increased a hunger for the Eucharist and has become a source of priestly vocations.

“In my Diocese of Choluteca, for example, all the young Hondu-ran priests have been delegates of the word,” he said.

The president of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, Bishop George Zumaire Lungu of Chipata, also spoke about the widespread practice of Sunday celebrations of the word of God without the Eu-charist.

“This is what is prevailing in most of our dioceses in Zam-bia. Parishes are so vast that in many places it takes at least three months” for a priest to get to each of the small Christian communities for a celebration of the Eucharist, he said.

“For our people, the normal Sunday encounter with the Lord is only through the proclaimed word,” he said, which is a shame since “the proclaimed word falls short of its normal fulfillment in the Eucharist, which is the only complete celebra-tion of the mystery of God’s love for humanity.”

Bishop Lungu asked the synod to encourage dioceses with a good number of priests to share with those who are experiencing severe shortages.

While the Congregation for Di-vine Worship and the Sacraments in 1989 published guidelines for Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest, Bishop Lungu said it probably is time for the Vatican to develop a formal ritual for such ser-vices.

4 OctOber 24, 2008The Anchor

CELEBRATING YOUTH — Saul Peraza and Jessica Portillo per-form a dance routine during the annual Encuentro celebration for Latino youths and young adults hosted by the Hispanic Ministry Office of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. (CNS photo/Greg-ory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cre-ative approaches that don’t fit into the Church’s usual way of operat-ing must be the key to meeting the pastoral needs of Hispanics, the Church’s fastest growing segment, said the keynote speaker and panel-ists at a symposium at Georgetown University.

Training of the Church’s lay and ordained leaders needs to be rethought, said Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, director of the Sec-retariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

An American Church steeped in European traditions needs to be open to ways of operating that may seem unfamiliar to its current leaders but that resonate better with people whose roots are in Mexico, Central or South America, he said in the symposium’s keynote ad-dress.

Father Deck enumerated a va-riety of concerns and possible ap-proaches for what he described as “a new epoch of American Catholic Church history.”

Latinos should be considered

Speakers say creativity is key tomeeting Hispanic Catholics’ needs

“the leading indicator of American Catholicism’s future,” he said, cit-ing recommendations from religion sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell for a book Father Deck is writing.

Currently 29 percent of U.S. Catholics are Latino in origin, re-ported Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in another session during the symposium. Latinos also account for 45 percent of Catholics between the ages of 18 and 29 and 44 per-cent of those between ages 30 and 39. Father Deck said in some parts of the U.S., such as North Carolina and South Carolina, an influx of Hispanics has doubled or tripled the Catholic population of those states.

He likened this moment in the Church to a traffic circle or round-about. “What characterizes them is the bewildering number of choices and the speed with which one needs to make choices. Sometimes one makes a mistake and finds oneself literally going around in circles.”

U.S. pastoral ministry leaders are “often ill-prepared and even uncomfortable with this rapidly changing reality” and operate as if a single solution can be found to any challenge, said Father Deck.

In a panel discussion on leader-ship, Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, pro-fessor emeritus of Puerto Rican and Latino studies at Brooklyn College and distinguished scholar of the City University of New York, said the Church needs to recognize that operational changes must occur to meet the changing demographics.

Alicia C. Marill, director of the doctorate program in ministry at Barry University in Miami, said a particular problem for Hispanics interested in ministry is that they are overwhelmed with work and family responsibilities. Another is that institutions tend to diminish Latinos’ possibilities of success. “If you look Hispanic, brown or in-digenous, they don’t think you can handle 18 units.”

Many students also are frustrated because they want to be taught for ministry in the language in which they work — Spanish, Marill said.

So people who would like to contribute to the Catholic Church look elsewhere, she said. “If they don’t feel embraced, they will move on to where they are wanted.”

WASHINGTON — A survey on the political opinions of young Catholic voters shows that their views are similar to those of their peers on many issues in this year’s election, including abortion and same-sex marriage.

The survey was sponsored by Faith in Public Life, a resource center for justice and the common good, and was conducted by Pub-lic Religion Research. Other is-sues it covered were the economy, immigration, the environment, torture, employment nondiscrimi-nation, religious liberty, and the role and size of government.

The opinions of 1,250 young Catholics and evangelicals ages 18-34 nationwide were gathered by interviewers over land-line and cell phones from August 28 to Sep-tember 19. During the same time period and using the same meth-od, surveyors also queried 2,000 adults over age 34. In releasing the results, the pollsters compared the answers given by the young adults to those given by the adults.

The margin of error for the na-tional sample was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The survey indicated that

Survey shows young Catholics’political views mirror peers

younger Catholics are less tradi-tional than older Catholics. More young Catholics identified them-selves as Democrats than as Re-publicans — 54 percent to 35 per-cent — whereas older Catholics were almost evenly split between the two political parties.

Only 28 percent of young Catholics said they are politically conservative, compared to 42 per-cent of older Catholics.

The survey showed that young Catholic voters are the most pro-government among voters of any major religious group, even more pro-government than other sur-veys show the rest of the young population is. Sixty-seven percent said that they prefer government play a larger role, offering more services to the public, compared to 41 percent of the older Catho-lics surveyed.

Of those surveyed Catholics had the highest support for gov-ernment involvement of any reli-gious constituency.

Young Catholics said they are more likely to support legalized abortion and same-sex marriage than older Catholics; 60 percent of young Catholics believe that

abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 51 per-cent of older Catholics who be-lieve that.

On the issue of same-sex mar-riage, young Catholics resemble other young adults on the is-sue, with 44 percent saying that same-sex couples should be able to marry if they are in a commit-ted relationship; 46 percent of the general young adult population shares that view. Twenty-six per-cent of older Catholics said they approve of same-sex marriage.

The majority of young Catho-lics, however, were less likely to believe that abortion or same-sex marriage were significant issues in this election.

However, a majority of most older and younger Catholics agreed that a candidate’s stance on abortion is not the deciding factor in their vote. More than half agreed that they would vote for a candidate who disagreed with them on abortion.

Fifty-five percent of young Catholics said they prefer the Democratic presidential candi-date, Sen. Barack Obama, com-pared to 59 percent of all young

adults who say they prefer Obama. Among older Catho-lics, 45 percent said they are for Obama and 46 percent said they are for his rival, Republican Sen. John McCain.

5 OctOber 24, 2008 the church iN the u.s.

SIGN OF THE TIMES — A “Vote Pro-Life” sign is seen outside a home in St. James, N.Y., in this file photo. The Knights of Columbus October 14 released the results of a study looking at Catholic voters and moral issues. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

WASHINGTON (CNS) — American Catholic voters in 2008 tend to be more moderate and less liberal than U.S. voters as a whole, according to a survey commis-sioned by the Knights of Colum-bus and released recently.

“A plurality of Catholic voters, 39 percent, are Democrats, and 45 percent describe themselves as moderate. Only 19 percent say they are liberal,” the survey said.

The survey was conducted by telephone with 813 self-identified Catholics September 24-October 3, by Marist College’s Institute for Public Opinion. Those who identified themselves as practicing Catholics outnumbered nonprac-ticing Catholics by close to a two-to-one ratio. Interviewers polled 1,733 Americans in all, Catholics and non-Catholics.

On the subject of abortion, 48 percent of all Catholics surveyed said they were “Pro-Life,” while 47 percent said they were “pro-choice,” and five percent said they were unsure. However, twice as many practicing as nonpractic-ing Catholics — 59 percent to 29 percent — called themselves “Pro-Life,” while 65 percent of nonpracticing Catholics said they were “pro-choice” compared to 36 percent of practicing Catholics.

While more than 90 percent of all Catholics polled said they fa-vored restrictions on abortion, there was less consensus on what kind of restriction should be put in place.

A plurality of 35 percent said they would allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life. The survey also found that 26 percent of all Catho-lics would permit abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, although 17 percent said abortion should never be permitted and 11 percent would allow it only to save the life of the mother.

The poll found that 55 percent of Catholics say they would “defi-nitely” vote for a candidate who believes that life begins at concep-tion, while 20 percent said they would vote for such a candidate

New Knights’ survey outlines Catholic opinions on moral issues

although with some reservations, and 19 percent said they would “definitely not” vote for such a candidate.

A plurality of registered Catho-lic voters, 36 percent, said homo-sexual couples should be able to form civil unions. The remaining 64 percent were split evenly — 32 percent to 32 percent — on gay couples being able to legally mar-ry or such couples getting no legal recognition.

Nearly half of all Catholic vot-ers, 49 percent, said they would “definitely” vote for a candidate who defined marriage as being between one man and one woman, yet 45 percent would “definitely” vote for a candidate who supports civil unions for any two adults who want to live together.

The economy was considered the top issue by 59 percent of reg-istered Catholic voters. No other issue reached double digits: nine percent said the war in Iraq was the top issue; six percent each, government spending and health care; five percent, terrorism; three percent, immigration; and two per-cent, jobs. Twelve percent of those surveyed mentioned other issues.

A significant majority of Catho-lics, 73 percent, said they believed the country was headed in the wrong direction; only 21 percent said they thought it was headed in the right direction, and six percent said they were not sure. By a similar margin, 72 percent said they were mostly discouraged about the direction of the country and 23 percent said they were mostly encouraged; five percent were unsure.

Sixty-six percent of Catholics were mostly upset about the direc-tion of the country, compared to 26 percent who said they were mostly energized.

In terms of party identification, 39 percent of the Catholics polled said they were Democrats, 30 per-cent said they were Republicans and 29 percent were Independents. When it comes to ideology, 45 percent identified themselves as moderate, 36 percent as conserva-

tive and 19 percent as liberal — al-though 26 percent of the registered nonpracticing Catholics called themselves liberal, seven percent-age points above the figure for all Catholics, and 29 percent of the nonpracticing registered Catho-lic voters described themselves as conservative, seven percentage points lower than the overall Cath-olic figure.

At least half of all registered Catholics said they would vote for a candidate who “supports em-bryonic stem-cell research,” while more than half of registered prac-ticing Catholics said they would vote for a candidate who would “uphold marriage only between a man and a woman.”

According to the survey, the Knights calculated that 65 percent of Catholics worship “regularly,” with the breakdown as follows: more than once a week, eight per-cent; once a week, 36 percent; and once or twice a month, 21 percent.

The survey had a margin of er-ror ranging from plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for all Ameri-cans surveyed up to plus or minus 6.5 percentage points for registered nonpracticing Catholic voters.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new ad hoc committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will work to raise awareness of the “unique beauty of the vocation of marriage” and the many threats it faces today, according to its chair-man.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., said Cardinal Fran-cis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, asked him to chair the committee, whose work is being funded by the Knights of Colum-bus.

In addition to its educational component, the committee’s work will involve public policy advocacy efforts against moves to redefine marriage through legislatures or the courts.

In an interview from Chicago, Archbishop Kurtz said precise de-tails about the committee’s strate-gies, whether its membership will be expanded and how long its work will continue remain to be determined by its members, who have only held one conference call thus far.

“Cardinal George felt it was important to begin with a small group that can move quickly,” said the archbishop, who also chairs the USCCB Subcommittee on Mar-riage and Family Life.

Other ad hoc committee mem-bers are Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, and Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Za-vala of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB task force on strength-ening marriage. Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight, will serve as a con-sultant.

Initial plans include the redistri-bution of the 2003 USCCB state-ment “Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Mar-riage and Same-Sex Unions” to dio-ceses, parishes and schools around the country and the development of

Bishops set new committeeto promote, protect marriage

a brief video on marriage that will be available on the Internet and through social networking sites.

In a letter to his fellow bishops announcing the initiative, Arch-bishop Kurtz said the conference wants to “make known the unique-ness and beauty of the institution of marriage,” while at the same time addressing “inadequacies in the on-going public debate on the nature of marriage through education and public advocacy.”

“The direct attempt to restruc-ture the institution of marriage places the family, society and the institution of marriage itself in a precipitous position,” he said in the letter. “It may also bring serious consequences to the Church as she seeks to carry out her sacred mis-sion in our society.”

Within the first month of the ad hoc committee’s establishment, Connecticut was expected to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples to comply with a re-cent decision of the state Supreme Court. In addition, voters in Cali-fornia, Arizona and Florida are to vote November 4 on proposed con-stitutional amendments that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

“There has been an erosion of institutional and cultural support for the time-honored understand-ing of the institution of marriage,” Archbishop Kurtz said in the inter-view with Catholic News Service. One of the committee’s goals is to find “the best ways to be effective advocates” for traditional marriage, he added.

The archbishop said much of the committee’s work will parallel the National Pastoral Initiative for Mar-riage, a multiyear effort launched by the bishops in 2005 to commu-nicate “the meaning and value of married life for the Church and for society.”

Putting Intothe Deep

By Father Roger J. Landry


the place of those blessed to be persecuted for the sake of justice. He then gave them his dying wish, which was an echo of Christ’s first word from the cross toward those who were respon-sible for his execution.

“Pardon. Pardon. And pardon. The favor for which I’m asking needs to be accompanied by the desire to do all the good possible to my ex-ecutioners. For that reason, I ask you to avenge me with the vengeance of a Christian: doing good to those who have tried to do evil to me.”

He begged them to continue as good Catho-lics. He asked them to take special care of his goddaughter’s religious education, saying that although he would not be able to complete his spiritual duties toward her on earth, he would be her godfather from heaven and would pray that she be a model for all Spanish Catholic women. He finished the letter by saying that he would await them all in heaven where he would be praying for their salvation. “Hasta el cielo. Os abrazo a todos” — “Until heaven. I embrace you all.”

The second letter, written to his girlfriend Maruja, is even more touching. I think it will go down in history as one of the most beautiful

ever composed. It is fitting to print it on this day when we’re publishing a special supple-ment for en-gaged couples, for it shows how love for God is the deepest foundation for

genuine romantic love. “My dearest Maruja: Your memory will

remain with me to the grave and, as long as the slightest throb stirs my heart, it will beat for love of you. God has deemed fit to sublimate these worldly affections, ennobling them when we love each other in him. Though in my final days, God is my light and what I long for, this does not mean that the recollection of the one dearest to me will not accompany me until the hour of my death.

“I am assisted by many priests who — what a sweet comfort — pour out the treasures of grace into my soul, strengthening it. I look death in the eye and, believe my words, it does not daunt me or make me afraid.

“My sentence before the court of mankind will be my soundest defense before God’s court; in their effort to revile me, they have ennobled me; in trying to sentence me, they have absolved me, and by attempting to lose me, they have saved me. … Because in killing me, they grant me true life and in condemning me for always upholding the highest ideals of religion, country and family, they swing open before me the doors of heaven.

“My body will be buried in a grave in this cemetery of Jaen; while I am left with only a few hours before that definitive repose, allow me to ask but one thing of you: that in memory of the love we shared, which at this moment is enhanced, that you would take on as your pri-mary objective the salvation of your soul. In that way, we will procure our reuniting in heaven for all eternity, where nothing will separate us.

“Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, and try to be a model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no avail if we do not manage to save our souls.

“My thoughts of gratitude to all your family and, for you, all my love, sublimated in the hours of death. Do not forget me, my Maruja, and let my memory always remind you there is a better life, and that attaining it should consti-tute our highest aspiration.

“Be strong and make a new life; you are young and kind, and you will have God’s help, which I will implore upon you from his kingdom. Goodbye, until eternity, then, when we shall continue to love each other for life everlasting. — Bartolomé”

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

Last October 28 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict presided over the largest

beatification in the history of the Church, as 498 Spanish martyrs were raised to the altars.

They were all killed in hatred of the Catholic faith during the Spanish Civil War, which terrorized Spain from 1936-1939. In the span of four years of anti-Catholic frenzy, leftist republicans desecrated and burned to the ground hundreds of churches and monasteries and executed nearly 7,000 priests, 13 bishops, 283 nuns and thousands of lay people.

One of the youngest of these martyrs has quickly become one of the most famous.

Blessed Bartolomé Marquez was orphaned at a very young age and was raised by his poor, hard-working uncle and aunt in the city of Pozoblanco in southern Spain. Having another mouth to feed was a sacrifice for them, but Bartolomé tried to make up for it by work-ing extra hard in the chair-making shop they owned.

When he was 15, the Salesians opened a new high school in Pozoblanco and Bartolomé enrolled. The sons of Don Bosco quickly recognized that Bartolomé had tremendous intellectual gifts. They got him involved in study circles so that he could learn what he had missed as well as good study habits. They lent him books, which he devoured. When he expressed a desire to write, they lent him a typewriter. Their investments would not go to waste.

Knowing that he was receiving a treasure, Bartolomé wanted to pass on the fruits of his study to others. He became a lay catechist at a time when lay catechists were rare. His amiability and love for the faith won over his students almost immediately. His personality and competence also helped him conquer his peers. When the young adults of his region were forming a chapter of Catholic Action, they elected 18-year-old Bartolomé, with his borrowed typewriter, as their secretary. He did not let them down — even when his position as an officer would lead to his arrest, sentence and martyrdom.

While he was home on leave from manda-tory military service, the persecutions against the Church began. He was arrested on Aug. 18, 1936 for refusing, as a Catholic lay leader, to participate in anti-clerical military campaigns in the north. On September 24, he was moved to a prison in Jaen, where, despite being mistreated, he rejoiced to be surrounded by 15 priests and other Catholic lay leaders. When his trial came up, he could have saved his life by denying his faith and agreeing to participate in the republicans’ anti-Catholic pogroms, but he told the court that if he lived, he would continue to be an active Catholic.

With that, he was sentenced to death on September 29, two months before his 22nd birthday. When the guards came for him three days later to bring him before the firing squad, he kissed his handcuffs and removed his shoes so that he could walk barefoot to the place of execution and thereby “be more conformed to Christ.” When the guards placed him before the wall, they suggested he turn his back to the rifles, as most victims did, because it was comparatively less dreadful and painful. He politely refused. “Whoever dies for Christ,” he said courageously, “should do so facing forward and standing straight.” As he was showered with bullets, his last words were a triumphant, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!,” “Long live Christ the King!”

What has made him famous, however, is not so much this heroism before his execution-ers, but his tenderness toward his loved ones in two letters written the day before he died.

The first was to the aunt and uncle who raised him. He told them that he rejoiced that he was about to die in the state of grace, enter fully into the passion of Christ, and pass into

Achieving our highest aspirationWe received a not-for-print letter to the editor last week from an Anchor reader who said

he has appreciated our series of editorials on the importance of the issue of abortion in the upcoming election, but predicted that the series would have no impact at all.

Massachusetts Catholic voters, he suggested rather cynically, have long demonstrated that they have no qualms about ignoring the teaching of the Catholic Church about the evil of abortion, not merely with respect to the high number of Catholics who have abortions in the Commonwealth but also to Massachusetts Catholics’ consistent track record of vot-ing for congressional, senatorial and presidential candidates who support the practice of abortion over those who do not. For the most part, Massachusetts Catholics have repeat-edly shown, he concluded, that they have greater allegiance to a particular political party than they do to their faith. It would take a miracle greater than the resurrection, he said, to have Massachusetts vote for a Pro-Life candidate. He recommended for that reason that we should dedicate this editorial space to issues other than abortion on which we may be able to have an impact.

The point of this series, however, has never been merely to inform the consciences of Catholic voters as the November 4 election approaches. As a Catholic diocesan newspaper, we have also sought to inform readers’ consciences as a far more important election draws near, an election in which we’re the candidate and God has the vote.

The consequences of November 4 for that other, more important election, were elucidat-ed in an October 18 column entitled “Judgment Day” by St. Louis Bishop Robert Hermann. Writing in the St. Louis archdiocesan newspaper, he said that the judgment we make in the voting booth has eschatological ramifications for our own particular judgment. Interweav-ing Biblical and magisterial sources, he wrote with a simple force that no Catholic should ignore and every Catholic should take to prayer. We reprint his words at length.

“Judgment Day is on its way. We cannot stop it. We don’t know when it will come, but just as surely as the sun rises daily, the Son of Man will come when we least expect.

“Judgment Day is on its way. For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us in 10:32-33: ‘Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.’

“Judgment Day is on its way. When my time comes, I will be measured by my Savior for the decisions I have made. I will either be acknowledged by Jesus or denied by him in the presence of our heavenly Father. The question I need to ask myself is this: What kind of witness will I give to him when I go into the voting booth this election day?

“The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system. If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble. Pope John Paul II, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici tells us: ‘Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.’

“The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy. I am living proof of this, since I am here because my parents believed this priority and lived it. My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion.…

“Judgment Day for us is on its way. Those 47 million children our nation destroyed are still living. We have destroyed their bodies, but their souls are still alive. When our Lord comes again, they may very well be there to judge us. Even worse, Jesus tells us that what-ever we do to the least of our brethren, we do to him. We would truly shudder if we heard the words, ‘I was in your my mother’s womb but you took my life!’

“It is quite possible that we might see these children, but, depending upon the choices we have made, we may very well be separated from them by a great chasm which cannot be crossed, much as the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor man, during his lifetime here on earth but was separated from him after death (Lk 16:19-31). The rich man was in flames, but Lazarus was in the bosom of his heavenly Father.

“The Catholic Church teaches, in its catechism, in the works of Pope John Paul II and in the writings of Pope Benedict XVI, that the issue of life is the most basic issue and must be given priority over the issue of the economy, the issue of war or any other issue. These same teach-ings inform us that when both candidates permit the right to abortion, but unequally so, we must chose to mitigate the evil by choosing the candidate who is less permissive of abortion.

“Judgment Day is on its way! I may deny it. I may pretend that it is still far away, I may deny that my actions are sinful, but that will not change God’s judgment of me.

“The deepest problem with many of our Catholics is that they have become so accus-tomed to rationalizing away a life of sinful actions so that they seem to be on cruise control, heading in the wrong direction. ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’

“My goal is not to engage you in some political party way but to engage you with our Savior and his teachings. We need to constantly challenge our accustomed behaviors in the light of the Gospel. We may say that we are following our conscience, but are we informing our consciences with the truth about these issues? …

“Perhaps having to face these issues during this coming election can turn out to be a grace that truly awakens our need to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church, and then to use the sacrament of reconciliation so that we can receive his mercy and bring our behavior into conformity with the mind and heart of Christ. It is not too late to admit our sinfulness and turn to the Lord in the sacrament of reconciliation. When we do this, both we and the heavens will be filled with joy!

“Judgment Day is on its way. Pray your way into conformity with the teachings of Christ and his Church. Pray the family rosary daily between now and Election Day so that you may not only make the right choice but also have the courage to discuss these issues with oth-ers who may have been misled by our materialistic culture. Include the candidates in your prayer intentions. It is my hope that our discussions will bring all of us to our knees to seek help from above.”

Judgment Day

7 OctOber 24, 2008 The Anchor

The Fullnessof the Truth

By FatherThomas M. Kocik

Living thePauline Year

By Father Andrew Johnson, OCSO

God chose to reveal himself and to enter into an intimate

personal relation with mankind. This revelation and plan of salvation began to unfold through Moses and the prophets, but only in Christ do we find the fulfillment. He is the incarnate Word of God, the embodi-ment of all God wants us to know about himself. Revelation, then, is the total message of God as given in and through his Son.

Christ established a Church to bear witness to this saving message until the end of time (Mt 28:18-20). The apostles, who experienced Christ and his message firsthand, are the foundation stones of this Church. We’d be mis-taken, however, to imag-ine that their knowledge of God’s revelation in Christ was all thought out and formulated into precise language. What they communicated to the Church was not a catechism but the totality of the Gospel message in terms of a lived experience. This message is called the “deposit of faith” (see 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:13-14).

Anything not already contained in the deposit of faith can never be proclaimed as part of the Christian faith. However, the Church in ev-ery age receives the deposit of faith partly as things known explicitly, and partly as a lived experience that has yet to be reflected upon and articulated. The implications of a particular doctrine can gradu-ally become clearer, thus making it possible, even necessary, for that doctrine to be refined and ampli-fied. Developments of doctrine are legitimate, provided they are consistent with the truths from which they originate. This idea of continuity in divine revelation is summed up in one word: Tradi-tion, from the Latin noun traditio, something handed on.

Tradition is enshrined in the books of the Bible. The Old Testa-ment is the story of God’s breaking into history, choosing a people, and entering into covenant with them — one collective, great event to be remembered and transmitted both orally and in writings, sometimes by borrowed imagery (serpent, flood), sometimes by portrayal of

God as shepherd or husband, but especially in the liturgy of Israel’s worship. This lived tradition, which made God’s revelation alive to each succeeding generation, surged onward to its full realiza-tion in Christ. The New Testament recounts the earliest Christians’ experience of Christ. Formulated within the Church, these writings were gradually recognized as di-vinely inspired. The Bible, then, is a fruit of tradition and exists within tradition.

Because the infinite richness of revelation unfolds in time, tradition encompasses not only Scripture but also the doctrinal definitions

following from new insights into God’s revealed word. Many Chris-tian doctrines were formulated at general, or “ecumenical,” councils, gatherings of all the bishops of the world presided over by the pope. There have been 21 ecumenical councils in the history of the Cath-olic Church, from Nicea (325) to Vatican II (1962-65). The earliest councils solidified the preeminence of the five principal Christian dioceses, or patriarchates: Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. More impor-tantly, they defined the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. The bishops didn’t presume to say the last word about these mysteries; they merely sought to exclude cer-tain false ways of speaking about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The councils must be studied in the wider context of the Church Fathers, those highly regarded bishops and writers, the earliest of whom personally knew the apostles. Tradition includes the decrees of the councils and the writings of the Fathers. It likewise includes the oral formulas of the early Christian preaching (such as the question-and-answer sum-maries of faith used in the rite of baptism), apostolic decisions (as at

the Council of Jerusalem discussed in Acts 15), interpretations, and customs traceable to apostolic times (such as infant baptism and prayers for the dead).

Tradition is closely connected to the sacred liturgy, the Church’s life of worship. Before the New Testament was complete, the apostolic preaching went on, often within the celebration of the Eu-charist. In the liturgy, Christ comes in word and sacrament to feed and transform his people. Vatican II de-scribed the liturgy as the “summit and source” of the Church’s life. There’s more to the Christian life than the liturgy, of course, but the

liturgy should permeate the life of the Christian. Immersion in the waters of baptism, anointings with oil, the words of Scripture and creed, the sign of the cross, Christ’s self-giving in the sacrament of the altar — we might say with the 19th-century Benedictine

liturgist Prosper Guéranger that the liturgy is “tradition itself, at its highest power and solemnity.”

Disputes inevitably arise over conflicting interpretations of God’s word. The Church, as “the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15), must be capable of discern-ing true doctrine and setting it forth clearly. Catholics believe that the Church’s teaching authority, or Magisterium, is invested in the pope, who is the successor of St. Peter, and the bishops in union with him. To the apostles under Peter and to their successors un-der the pope, Christ promised the gift of infallibility (Mt 16:15-19), which ensures that the Church will never invoke her full teaching authority to require the faithful to believe anything in faith and morals that is false. The Magis-terium, aided by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13), authoritatively guides Tradition.

From here, we’ll focus on the first four ecumenical councils. These dealt with controversies re-sulting in the earliest (and, in some cases, enduring) schisms from the Catholic Church.

Father Kocik is a parochial vicar at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.

The parameters of Christian orthodoxy

In his Pauline catechesis of October 1, the Holy Father

spoke about two events of the early Church as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles which illustrated one of the most important issues in the early Church, one that sprang to the fore quite naturally as the Gospel began to spread out from Jerusalem to the pagans. Quite simply, the question was this: How did a Gentile, a non-Jew, become a Christian? Must he first become a practicing Jew, undergoing

circumcision and observing the dietary laws for clean and un-clean food? It sounds an almost irrelevant question now: “Of

course not,” we’d say. “Chris-tians are free from all that. We’re not Jews.” But it wasn’t such a

ridiculous question in those days: the first Christians actually were all Jews, as was Jesus himself. The Twelve, the holy women,

and the other disciples continued to go to the Jewish synagogue after the Resurrection as well as meet privately for the Eucharist, the Breaking of Bread. Well then, did new, non-Jewish believ-ers in Jesus have to do the same, learning to be

Jews as a kind of first step to becoming Christians? Paul had a strong, very confident answer:

No. The death and rising of Jesus had fulfilled and perfected everything that the Old Law, the Law of Moses, was preparing us for, so we are radically free of its precepts. This is what the Council of Jerusalem, led by the Holy Spirit, in fact, decided (Acts 15). Paul had gone up with Barnabas to present his way of preaching the Gospel to the “pil-lars” of the Jerusalem Church: Peter, James and John. To Paul’s evident delight, these “pillars” gave their wholehearted approval to the idea that “the Gentiles no longer needed as a hallmark of justice either circumcision or the rules that governed food and the Sabbath: Christ is our justice.” Of course, this freedom can never degenerate into libertinism, the will to do with one’s body just as one pleases. Freedom from the law means freedom for Christ and conformity to him. Radically free in Christ and conforming to his divine sonship, we wor-ship God and serve and aid our brethren, especially the needi-est. Paul knew and lived this fully, so that he was continually reminding his Gentile converts to come to the aid of the poor in Jerusalem. Not out of compul-sion or precept or guilt, but out of compassion and gratitude. In doing this, he relieved the needy and paid a tribute of charity to those from whom the Gospel had first come: the Mother Church in Jerusalem. Faith and charity have come full circle, Pope Benedict says: “The Council of Jerusalem came into being to settle the question of how to treat Gentiles who came to the faith, opting for freedom from the law, and itself was settled by the ecclesial and pastoral need that is centered on

faith in Jesus Christ and love for the poor of Jerusalem and the whole Church.”

The second pivotal event, a moment of real honesty and some tension, was the episode in Antioch recounted in Galatians 2:11-14, when Paul rebuked Peter (Cephas) over his reluctance to eat with Gentiles when other Jews were present. Here is Paul in his own words: “But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood con-demned. For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” Paul never, ever minced words. Peter’s motives were actually good, though not without some ambiguity: a desire not to offend his fellow Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. But Paul saw the most basic principle of the Gospel at risk, that salva-tion is only in Christ, apart from the law, for both Jew and Gentile. Christian table fellowship should not be sacrificed to a concern for laws which had been superseded, “for while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Father Johnson is the dioc-esan director of the Pauline Year and parochial vicar at St. Fran-cis Xavier Parish in Hyannis.

Jew and Gentile, Peter and Paul


Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 25, Eph 4:7-16; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 13:1-9; Sun. Oct. 26, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ex 22:20-26; Ps 18:2-4,47,51; 1Thes 1:5c-10; Mt 22:34-40; Mon. Oct. 27, Eph 4:32-5:8; Ps 1:1-1-4,6; Lk 13:10-17; Tues. Oct. 28, Eph 2:19-22; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 6:12-16; Wed. Oct. 29, Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145:10-14; Lk 13:22-30;Thu. Oct. 30, Eph 6:10-20; Ps 144:1b,2,9-10; Lk 13:31-35; Fri. Oct. 31, Phil 1:1-11; Ps 111:1-6; Lk 14:1-6.

“You turned to God from idols to serve

the living and true God and to await his Son,” St. Paul praises the Thessalonians today. They gave up paganism and selfish-ness so as to seek the Son of God. Their faith was well-known, because Paul mentions that Christians throughout ancient Greece took them to be a model. They put their faith into action, living out the twin Com-mandments that Christ gave, loving God with their entire being and loving their neighbors as themselves.

In doing this, the Thessalo-nians also followed the com-mand heard in the first reading, that God gave the Israelites in the desert: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien.” St. Paul was an alien to them, coming from Tarsus, and yet he says that everyone admired the “recep-tion” that they had given Paul and his companions.

Both the first and second

readings speak about “wrath.” In the first God warns the Israel-ites (and us) of his wrath if we do wrong to the alien, widow or orphan, while in the second St. Paul speaks of Jesus, “who delivers us from the coming wrath.”

Unfortunately, we humans often seek wrath against other people, while desiring that God show mercy to ourselves. In the book of Sirach, God complains about this: “If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor” (Sir. 28: 5, 7).

Among the people who are often singled-out for wrath in our society are undocumented immigrants. In 1996 Pope John Paul II wrote in his World Migration Day message, “His irregular legal status cannot allow the migrant to lose his dig-nity, since he is endowed with

inalienable rights, which can neither be violated nor ignored.”

The Catholic Church recog-nizes the rights of countries to control their borders, but she also “considers the problem of illegal migrants from the

standpoint of Christ, who died to gather together the dispersed children of God (cf. John 11:52), … to bring close those who are distant, in order to integrate all within a commu-nion that is not based on ethnic, cultural or social membership, but on the common desire to accept God’s word and to seek justice,” according to Pope John Paul.

Holy Father said that in the “search for a solution to the problem of migration in general and illegal migrants in particular, the attitude of the host society has an important role to play. In this perspective, it is very impor-

tant that public opinion be properly informed about the true situation in the migrants’ coun-try of origin, about the tragedies involving them and the possible risks of returning.”

Through the work of the Diocese of Fall

River’s mission in Guaimaca, Honduras, more and more Catholics throughout the diocese have come to know of the situ-ations of poverty and violence which people in Latin America face, either by visiting the mis-sion themselves or through the news we have received from the missionaries via The Anchor and during their visits back to the diocese. This has added

a compassionate perspective to our understanding of what causes people to try to come and live here.

In this year celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth, Pope Benedict’s message on migration warns us, “It is impossible to achieve the dimen-sion of brotherly mutual accep-tance, St. Paul always teaches, without the readiness to listen to and welcome the Word preached and practiced (cf. 1 Thes. 1:6).” If we truly wish to give up the false idol of xenophobia (fear of foreigners) and thus avoid God’s wrath, we ask our Lord, through the intercession of St. Paul, to help us welcome the Word of God in our hearts and then to have those hearts love our neighbors, no matter whence they come.

Father Wilson is pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James in New Bedford, and di-ocesan director of the Hispanic Apostolate.

TheCatholic

DifferenceBy George Weigel

During the debate over ratification of

the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton and his Federal-ists argued for “energy in the executive” — a strong president who would set the national agenda and be the center of legislative and policy initiative in the nation-al government. Fears of just such executive power were one arrow in the quiver of the Anti-Federalists. For the first century and a half of our national life, the balance of power and influence shifted between president and Con-gress; the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War brought us to what now seems the final resolution of the argument. Hamilton won.

The United States has been remarkably fortunate

in its presidents: of the 43 to date, only a handful were, by everyone’s account, duds. Some thought to be failures when they left office — John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisen-hower — have been vindicated by history and historians. Oth-ers, venerated at the time, are no longer so well regarded: Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson are two examples. Ronald Rea-gan, dismissed by Beltway in-siders as an “amiable dunce,” turns out to have been one of the few presidents with some claim to having been a politi-cal philosopher.

Among those presidents typically cited as our finest,

Washington alone remains above reproach. Despite our 16th president’s creating the United States as the subject of “is” rather than “are,”

there remain large gaps in our knowledge of Abraham Lincoln, his personality and his ideas; fierce (if bless-edly nonviolent) arguments continue over his manner of waging the Civil War. The de-bate over whether Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policies exacerbated or resolved the Great Depression is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

Contemporary presidents must pass a threshold test that their predecessors couldn’t have imagined, in the days before television began to dominate our public life: Do I want this person in my living room for the next four years? Beyond that basic test, however, are important ques-tions of character, personal-ity, leadership, competence, and vision. The American

president is an elected king, with far more power than the constitutional monarch the Founders overthrew. Knowing who this person is, and what

makes him or her tick, is essential in making an informed judgment. To elect a president is to make a moral, as well as a political, judgment. Thus Catholic voters will want to ponder these and other ques-tions with respect to

the two major candidates:1. Books on the Founders

are now found regularly on the best-seller lists. These books, and a brilliant TV series like “John Adams,” remind us that, while we read history backwards, states-manship requires an abil-ity to look forward, in typi-cally confused and confusing circumstances. Presidential statesmanship also requires the courage to act with conviction despite uncertain outcomes. Which presidents do you admire for their abil-ity to see clearly through the fog of immediacy, and for their willingness to choose wisely on the basis of what they saw? Which presidents strike you as essentially time-servers, men who were more careerists than leaders?

2. For what are you willing to risk your popularity, and perhaps your re-election?

3. How do you conceive the presidential bully pulpit? In an age of cable television and talk radio caterwauling, can a president help recreate a civil, rational discourse in American public life?

4. Are you prepared to dismiss a subordinate who may be your friend, but who is manifestly not up to the de-mands of the office to which you appointed him or her?

5. Do you enjoy argument? Do you invite challenge? Can you live with able subordinates who are prepared to tell you, “Mr. Presi-dent, you are wrong”?

6. There are things a presi-dent cannot tell the American people. But are there circum-stances in which you would deem it your responsibility to mislead the American people? To deny what you know to be true? To affirm what you know to be false?

7. What are the last five books you have read?

8. Presidents must govern amidst innumerable aggrava-tions. How do you handle your temper? Can you laugh at yourself? Can you take a joke?

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

Loving our neighbors, no matter whence they come

By FatherRichard D. Wilson

Homily of the WeekThirtieth Sundayin Ordinary Time

Electing our king


Last month was the 10th anniversary of the death

of Ruth V.K. Pakaluk (March 19, 1957-September 23, 1998), president of Massachusetts Citi-zens for Life from 1987 to 1991, a convert to the Pro-Life cause and to Catholicism, Harvard grad, wife of philosopher (friend and fellow columnist) Michael Pakaluk, mother of seven (her son Thomas died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), active in her Worcester cathedral parish and in the apostolic activities of the Opus Dei prelature. She died of metastasized breast cancer at age 41. I had the privilege of knowing Ruth and her family for more than 10 years before she died. She was beauti-ful, brilliant, savvy, funny, and remarkably articulate. I also think she was one of the holiest people I have ever known.

This past weekend the parents of St. Therese, the Little Flower, were beatified in Lisieux in France. The Church obviously needs more models of holiness in married and family life, since most people are called to holiness through marriage and parenting. Ruth lived an exemplary life, without complaint and with a cheerful spirit. As Father Reidy commented in his funeral homily at the time, her eldest daughter “Maria wanted it recounted that when asked why her mom al-ways smiled, Ruth replied so her wrinkles wouldn’t go down.”

She went to daily Mass and holy Communion, and prayed at length and regularly, including the rosary. Her love of God also manifested itself in an impres-sive love of neighbor, shown in countless rather ordinary details. As she herself said in a talk, “The love God is really looking for, the love that is true and really counts, is the love of 10,000 mornings of getting up, being cheerful, listen-ing to the kids when they come

in from school like a thundering herd of elephants, smiling at the husband when he comes in from work and refraining from rehearsing all the horrors of your day.” She was obviously speak-ing from experience.

My sense is that everyone who knew Ruth could attest that she gave a wonderful and at times heroic witness, both in word and deed, to the value of

every human being. For instance, here is what she wrote about the birth of her first son, Michael: “[Michael’s] birth was one of the greatest things that ever hap-pened to me. For the first time in my life, I had to put the needs of someone else ahead of my own preferences almost constantly throughout the day. And though it was a little difficult to get used to, I loved it.”

Her joy in welcoming new life was infectious. Grace Cheffers recalls: “Well, one of my other vivid memories of Ruth is when I told her I was expecting Thomas, because I was getting negative flack from people … I said some-thing, and she had this immediate, sincere reaction: ‘That’s wonder-ful!’ Her voice changed, and she was just so happy. And I was really taken aback, because she wasn’t kidding. She really thought that that was wonderful. And the immediate reaction from me was: ‘Yeah — it is wonderful.’”

She loved her life as a wife and mother in Worcester. Even when she was president of MCFL, she would always list “homemaker” as her occupa-tion when filling out forms. She

described her life in a letter to a friend who was a business per-son: “I understand completely the relief you feel at the end of the day. Mothers long for the same every day starting at about 4 p.m. My friend Katy and I call it the ‘Arsenic Hour’ (it’s either you or them, but someone’s going to get it in the tea.) However, we somehow drag ourselves through it, through dinner, through the

bedtime bedlam; then collapse at the close of the day after maybe writing a letter like this one or reading a chapter or two. But it is a great life. As far as I can make out, every-one has the burden of finding a large part of the day a grind. Just

because you experience this in a business suit does not make it more pleasant. In fact, it seems to me to make it less pleasant, be-cause business suits are uncom-fortable. A surprising number of people find the money they make adequate compensation for this experience of drudgery. I don’t think I would. Housewives have a lot of physical work, drudgery, and the psychologically difficult task of listening to children fight, cry, and whine. But we have more free time to think our own thoughts and converse with our friends than most people ever do. I cannot picture a job that would be more appealing to me than this.”

No wonder that the inscription on her gravestone at Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester reads, sim-ply, “Beloved wife and mother.” I think her a splendid embodi-ment of Vatican II’s teaching of the universal call to holiness, and Pope John Paul II’s Gospel of Life. Hopefully, we will hear more about her in the future.

Dwight Duncan is a professor at Southern New England School of Law in North Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.

Sunday 19 October 2008 — at home on Three Mile River — YWCA Week without Violence

Is it just me, or are there more turkeys than there used to

be? I’m referring to the feathered species, not the human kind. A couple of years ago, I was on my way to Thanksgiving dinner. I was running late. All across America families were already sitting down to feast on turkey. As I passed the Freetown/Fall River State Forest, my car was suddenly surrounded by a mob of sauntering wild turkeys. There they were, bold as could be, taking their fine time in the middle of the street and star-

ing at me with their beady little eyes. Turkeys have the reputation of not being very bright, but I think these particular turkeys had high IQs. I suspect they somehow knew it was Thanksgiving Day

and that they had survived. Was it my imagination, or did I hear those turkeys laughing in con-tempt?

Just last week I was sitting on my piazza enjoying the warmth of autumn sunshine. I sensed a pres-ence and turned to look over my shoulder. There in broad daylight was a flock of turkeys strolling

nonchalantly on the rectory lawn. What they were doing there and where they ever went, I have no idea. Being just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, this particular flock was either very courageous or exceedingly dumb-witted. I suspect they

came from the shallow end of the gene pool.

How did turkeys become asso-ciated with Thanksgiving Day in

the first place? The first Thanks-giving Day meal at Plymouth was pot luck. It included clams, lobsters, cranberries (to prevent scurvy,) sweet potatoes, venison, goose, corn, squash, pumpkin and turkey. Most of these foods had been introduced to the colonists by the natives. The English colonists erroneously thought domesticated turkeys came from Turkey, thus the name. Turkeys were actually domesticated by the tribal peoples of Mexico.

In preparation for the feast, Gov. William Bradford sent four men out to hunt game. They returned with wild turkeys. On the first Thanksgiving, I suspect, the Pilgrims ate the turkey and passed on the Wampanoag dishes of lobster and clams. The English colonists considered lobster to be repulsive — “the food of sav-ages,” according to accounts of the time. How tastes change.

The colonists, under Bradford, and the Wampanoag, under the Great Sachem Massasoit, needed to do something other than sit at table for three days and eat. Ac-cording to Bradford, the colonists and the Wampanoag played games and sports. Perhaps they invented the first Thanksgiving Day football game. Unfortunately, Bradford did not record this in his classic diary.

At one time, several Days of Thanksgiving were routinely in-cluded in the calendar. Additional Thanksgiving Days were spo-radically decreed by authorities as a special occasion arose. The feast of St. Martin de Tours, also called Martimas, always occurs on November 11. In olden times, the herds were heavily culled at this time for simple economic reasons. It was impossible to feed large numbers of farm animals during the winter. This led to a great feast on Martimas, featuring roast goose.

The first Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth Plantation wasn’t held in late November but in mid-Oc-tober, 1621. The previous winter, half of the colony’s inhabitants

had died of disease and starvation. The surviving half of the popula-tion was able to plant and harvest a bountiful crop, thanks to the guidance of the Wampanoag. The Wampanoag were invited to the first Thanksgiving Feast.

I doubt if they ever again sat down together for a Thanksgiv-ing Day meal. As the English continued to expand their settle-ments, rumors of a possible native uprising began to circulate. The Great Sachem Massasoit died of old age in 1661. Leadership fell to his oldest son, Wamsutta. Two years later, the English declared Wamsutta a “person of interest” and brought him in for question-ing. After being interrogated, Wamsutta fell ill. On his way home, writhing in stomach pain, Wamsutta died. The leader-ship fell to his younger brother Metacom. Metacom thought the English had poisoned his brother Wamsutta. Just 50 years after the first Thanksgiving meal, former friends had become bitter en-emies.

The first fatality of “King Philip’s War” occurred at Swan-sea on Wednesday, June 23, 1675. Over the next few months, the English settlements at Dartmouth, Rehoboth, Middleboro, and Worchester, among many others, were completely destroyed. Only six buildings were left standing in Swansea. An estimated 15 percent of the native population perished in those few months. The accounts of torture, massacre, slavery, deception, and betrayal on both sides are shocking. Sachem Metacom was fatally shot on August 12, 1676.

The Dighton Indian Council Hall in the parish of St. Nicholas is now decorated with cornstalks and pumpkins for the up-coming Thanksgiving holiday. As we sit down to our Thanksgiving turkey, we may have forgotten our his-tory, but I’m sure the Wampanoag have not.

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

The Ship’s LogReflections of a

Parish PriestBy Father Tim

Goldrick

Turkey stuff

Remembering Ruth

JudgeFor

YourselfBy Dwight Duncan


By Michael PareAnchor Staff

OSTERVILLE — As her beloved Boston Red Sox were battling it out in the American League Champion-ship Series against the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, Jean Ellis was taking it in stride. When we caught up with her, the hometown team was down three games-to-one. Throughout the Bay State — and across all of Red Sox Nation — panic had set in.

That panic would turn to down-right despair for Red Sox fans when last Sunday evening those Rays took game seven of the series and sent our beloved hometown team home for the winter.

But Ellis was keeping things in perspective. After all, the Sox have won two World Series championships over the past four years, an impres-sive accomplishment, especially if one considers the 86 years that pre-ceded them.

“This just wasn’t their year,” says Ellis.

As they say, life goes on and well, Ellis has too much going for her to complain.

A self-described “water person,” Ellis has been a permanent resident on Cape Cod for approximately 30 years. Prior to that, she summered on

the Cape while living in New York City.

“If I am not near the ocean … well, you know, it’s in your system,” she says. “You miss it when you aren’t there.”

Yes, Ellis is happy on the Cape, so close to the Atlantic Ocean.

“I tell myself that if you live here you need to look at it at least once each day,” she says. “And so I do.”

And Ellis is just a short walk from an-other love of hers, Our Lady of the Assump-tion Church. She visits the church every day, not only attending Mass, but doing so much more.

Leading the Altar Guild, Ellis and her friends painstakingly attend to those details so many of us take for

granted. There are sacred vessels to clean, candles to care for, and light cleaning to be done.

“It’s mostly seeing that everything is in ship shape,” says Ellis. “I’m

happy to do it. It’s absolutely a privilege. I’m happy to serve the Lord in any way I am need-ed.”

Father Philip A. Davignon, pastor at Our Lady of the As-sumption, re-members a time not long ago when he had three full-time priests assigned to the parish. Now, he is the lone full-timer, relying on re-tired priests to help with daily Masses at 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

More than ever, he says, he relies on dedicated lay parishioners like El-lis.

“She is very conscientious,” he says. “She works so well with all of the members of the Altar Guild. She takes her job seriously. She makes sure the altar is clean and the flowers are cared for. She is always there to help prepare for a visiting priest.”

Living just blocks from the church, Ellis welcomes the opportunity to an-swer a call from Father Davignon. In essence, it is her way of serving the Lord. Father Davignon has come to count on her.

“She’s always available,” he says. “When we call her, she is there. She has always been available to the par-ish. Whenever we have a function,

she is there.”Ellis began spending summers

on the Cape long ago. She always looked forward to them. During the rest of the year, while living in New York City, she recalls volunteer-ing for various organizations. And even back in those days, there was a sense of duty to her Church. In fact, Ellis used to review movies for the Legion of Decency, a precursor of the Office of Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“We would get a list of 10 movies,” she recalls. “You would have to see 10 to get one that you would enjoy.”

She remembers one movie, star-ring Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. It was called “The Sandpiper.” She remembers the executive from the movie studio telling them there was an alternative ending available if they wanted to see it.

Ellis laughs at the thought of per-forming that same service these days, with movies having gone so over the top.

“I can’t even imagine it,” she says.It was a simpler time, for sure.The permanent move to the Cape

was a good one. It brought her closer to the ocean. And it brought her to Our Lady of the Assumption, where she’s met so many wonderful people. Her work there has not gone unno-ticed.

“People appreciate it,” she says. “They say; ‘thank you.’”

Ellis plans call for more of the same. She’ll continue to take in the Atlantic as often as she can. She’ll continue to root for the Red Sox. And she’ll remain available should Father Davignon call.

“I’m handy to the church,” she says. “If anything is needed, I can be there in about a minute and a half.”

Handy, indeed. To nominate a Person of the Week,

send an email message to [email protected].

ANCHOR PERSON OF THE WEEK — Jean Ellis.

Cape Cod woman answers whenever her parish calls

PRAYER BEADS — Pope Benedict XVI recites the rosary at the Marian sanctuary in the city of Pompeii, Italy, recently. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)


By Dave Jolivet

My View From

the Stands

We both grew up at the dawn of the Rock ’n

Roll explosion in this country, and the great British invasion. For the most part, with the exception of a few bands like the Rolling Stones and the Who that wrote about their tough upbring-ings in the streets, most of the musical compositions with a great back beat concen-trated on love.

There was the love that made one’s heart flutter; there was the love that left one starry-eyed; there was the love that evoked fireworks; there was the love with the promise of warm fuzzy feelings for the rest of one’s life.

Denise and I met on the last day of 1976. Over the next two years, we grew to love each other. Actually, for me it was love at first sight ... for Denise not so much. But eventually she succumbed to my charms, and we shared a love that you would find in an old Beatles’ ballad.

Next week, Denise and I will have been married for 30 years. And to be honest, what makes my heart flutter now is watch-ing the Red Sox in the playoffs. What leaves me starry-eyed now is a 12-hour session of college football from noon to midnight on a Saturday. I see fireworks now when the Patriots score a touchdown. And I get my warm fuzzy feelings from a nice, soft

Celtics championship sweatshirt.Don’t get me wrong, espe-

cially you Denise. We’re still very much in love, but something happened to that love over the last three decades. It’s become a love that you won’t find in a rock song. That would be too boring to sell.

I think the greatest change

over the last 30 years is that Denise and I are one person. That doesn’t mean we have the same personalities, the same likes, the same dislikes. We’re still our own persons, yet we are one.

If we were to gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes at a candle-lit dinner, it would be a contest to see who would laugh first. Yet our love is deep and true.

There’s only one reason for that, and that’s because since day one, we’ve had God in our marriage.

There have been Disney World moments in our life together, like the birth of our four children and one Igor, the trips to Disney World, the laughter, the Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners together, the fact that our kids thought their parents were

“cool,” and the purchase of our one and only home.

We also had our Good Friday moments, like the death of little Davey at three days old; the health scares; the fights; the dis-appointments; the worries; and the financial woes.

I recall Denise and I giving a marriage talk to a group of

young adults and telling them when we first got married, “We had to cut so many corners that all the furniture in our apartment was round.”

Through the Disney and Good Friday moments God was always there — in one way or another. We always knew when it

was time to drop to our knees in thanksgiving and in desperation.

God has always been there for us — through each other. In times when we couldn’t even look at each other, and times when we held each other for comfort and strength.

After 30 years, we even know what each other is think-ing — and that’s not always a good thing. But what we do know is that the good Lord has blessed our union — taking two

individuals, allowing them to be themselves, yet becoming one being. Very mysterious, just like a smaller version of the great mystery of the Trinity itself.

One + one = one


Diocese of Fall River TV Masson WLNE Channel 6

Sunday, October 26 at 11:00 a.m.

Scheduled celebrant is Father Michael Racine,

pastor of St. Bernard’s Parishin Assonet.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church235 North Front Street New Bedford, MA

“Spirit of Christmas Fair”SATURDAY ONLYNovember 8, 2008

10:00 AM to 7:00 PMFeaturing: Crafts -- Gifts -- Variety Booth --

Grandma’s Attic -- Children’s Corner -- Wine by Chace -- Delicious Baked Goods

Our Famous Polish KitchenFeaturing: Pierogi -- Golabki (stuffed cabbage) -- Cabbage Soup -- Kielbasa Sandwich -- Hot

Dogs -- Hamburgers -- and more.Ample Parking One Mile from Interstate 195

From Fall River, Taunton and West: Exit 16 off I-195. At stop sign take right, at traffic lights take left on to Coggeshall St. Take second right on to North Front St. Church on left.

From Fairhaven, Wareham and East: Exit 17 off I-195. After traffic light continue to second right on to North Front St. Church is 50 feet from corner on left. Parking on right.

tion like this that the right people are selected to lead the way, and that definitely happened here.”

Deacon Thadeu, who grew up and received the sacraments of initiation at St. Paul’s, said that both parishes have been in exis-tence for more than 100 years, and “the process was a very dif-ficult one for people to come to grips with. It’s a sad thing to have happen, but many of the faithful here know it’s a reality of life.

“There is real feeling from most of the parishioners of the two parishes that the real reason they come to Mass is to celebrate the Eucharist. It truly doesn’t matter if the site is a building, a tent, or any other place. The main thing is to have an encounter with Christ. It’s true that it’s not easy to say good-bye to a parish or even a church building after so much rich history in Taunton, but many people are actually excited about being a part of the birth of

a new parish, a new community of faith.”

Father Reis also had nothing but praise for the task force. “The six members from each parish were very committed to being objective in all the decisions to ensure that they were fair. They gave it their all for what would be best for this new faith com-munity. They too, experience a sadness at losing a parish.”

The naming of the parish came from the hearts and minds of the two faith communities. A parish-naming sub-committee was formed from members of the Founding Parish Task Force and volunteers from St. Joseph’s and St. Paul’s. Parishioners who wanted to be part of the process were welcome to do so by sub-mitting names for the new par-ish.

After several weeks of collect-ing ideas, the naming commit-tee discussed each submission.

After several sessions, centered on prayer and discernment, six finalists emerged. The faithful were asked to vote for the top three, which were then submit-ted to Bishop Coleman for the final decision — St. Andrew the Apostle.

Again after much discussion, prayer, study and discernment, the task force decided that the worship site for the new parish would be St. Joseph’s Church. In a letter to both parishes, Father Reis explained, “Hours of care-ful questioning and deliberation, challenging the facts, challeng-ing each other, and prayer have led us to this conclusion.”

Also providing crucial input in the decision-making process was Doug Rodrigues, diocesan

Inaugural Mass at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish is Sundaycontinued from page one

director of Pastoral Planning and Deacon Tom Palanza, diocesan facilities consultant, who, as Father Reis wrote, “provided us with the ‘nuts and bolts’ regard-ing considerations for selecting the new site, including construc-tion standards, estimated costs and conceptual designs.”

Work will soon begin on the exterior of St. Joseph’s Church, and the faithful will continue to worship there. When renova-tions begin inside the church, some time after Christmas, the St. Paul’s church building will be utilized for worship until all the renovations are completed.

“We really didn’t have any special final Masses for either parish,” said Deacon Thadeu. “That will come later when St. Joseph’s is complete and St. Paul’s closes its doors.”

Michael Wojcik was a mem-

ber of the Task Force and told The Anchor he thought the whole process went very well. “We left no stone unturned when it came to examining all of the facts,” he said. “Like the Twelve Apostles we rolled up our sleeves and got going. There have been some ups and downs along the way, but we made a concentrated effort to put forth good information. Commu-nication was key.

“When the announcement fi-nally came about the new name of the parish, there was an excite-ment in the air after the Mass. Many folks were glad to finally be moving on.”

Reinforcing the Twelve Apos-tle theme was Task Force mem-ber Betsy Pinheiro. “It truly was like the original Twelve,” she told The Anchor. “Like them, we didn’t know if we could handle such a daunting task, but through prayer and hard work I think it turned out well.

“We were also so blessed to have Father Tim and Deacon Alan shepherding us along the way,” she added. “Being such humble and passionate men, their courage and perseverance helped us so much. They were surely our guiding light.”

“I was blessed and honored to be a part of the Task Force,” said Maureen Mosher. “Together, we can continue to grow as a faith com-munity. Just like both parishes had long, family-oriented histories, our hope is that people will embrace St. Andrew’s as an extension of their family, just as in the past.”

Everyone involved in the unit-ing process agreed that there are those who simply will not accept the change at this time. “Some people have a difficult time with change,” said Father Reis. “As a new parish community we will continue to pray for those and help them understand our Church mission.”

“It has been a challenge,” said Deacon Thadeu. “Some have been up to the challenge, and some have not. We ask every-one in the diocese to pray for St. Andrew the Apostle Parish and those who opted to leave.”

“The work is just now begin-ning,” said Pinheiro. “What the Task Force started we hope the parishioners can emulate, the hope we all have. It’s in every-one’s hands now. We have an incredible opportunity here to become a stronger parish and to make it glow.”

“Our plan is for outreach in the community,” said Wojcik. “Not just parishioners who left, but all our neighbors, parishio-ners or not. To bring people to a personal encounter with Christ.” It all sounds very similar to the scene where St. Andrew ran off to bring his brother to meet the Messiah. And we all know the results of that encounter.

A GOOD DAY FOR KNIGHTS — The Knights of Columbus, Cross of Christ Council No. 12283, St. Bernard Church, Assonet, recently held its installation of officers for 2008-2009. First row, from left: Gabe Souza; Second row: Ernie LeBlanc (past district deputy), Roger Levesque, Bob Adams (recorder), Paul Ouimet (grand knight), Dennis Morris (outside guard); Third row: Paul Levesque (trustee), Bill Morin, Father Michael Racine (chaplain), Bob Viveiros (inside guard), Tony Branco (warden), and Bob Rich-ard (district deputy). (Photo by Paul Levesque)


news briefsThe AnchorBishops urge president to grant Haitians temporary protected statusWASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic bishops have called on President George W. Bush to grant Haitians temporary protected status for the next 18 months, citing pressing humanitarian reasons. Temporary protected status, or TPS, permits nationals of a desig-nated nation who are living in the U.S. to reside in this country le-gally and to qualify for work authorization. Such a designation is based on a determination that armed conflict, political unrest, en-vironmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary condi-tions exist in a nation and that the return of that country’s nationals would further destabilize the nation and potentially bring harm to those who go back. “Haiti meets the standard for TPS because it has experienced political tumult, four natural disasters and severe food shortages in the last eight months alone, not to mention the devasta-tion of Hurricane Jeanne in 2004,” said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Catholic agency says reports distort its finances, work with childrenSAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — Despite reports that Catholic Charities CYO in the San Francisco Archdiocese is experiencing budget dif-ficulties, the agency’s fund-raising revenue increased by more than $1 million during fiscal year 2007-08, according to an agency report to donors. “As a matter of fact,” said Brian Cahill, executive direc-tor, “the total number of donors has increased by 11 percent and the number of renewing donors has grown by 32 percent.” Cahill said he issued the statement partly in response to an article in Our Sunday Visitor that said the agency “plans to sever its two-year funding rela-tionship” with an adoption agency that “focuses on placing children with homosexuals.” Reaction to the story has appeared on various Catholic-run blogs and blogs in the gay community. In the last few years the San Francisco Archdiocese and Catholic Charities have received much public criticism for placing two full-time employees — under a three-year agreement ending next June — at California Kids Connection to help answer inquiries about children eligible for adoption. The Connection program is run by an agency that pro-motes gay adoptions as well as traditional adoptions. “We regret that a small group of activists, in order to further their own agenda, con-tinue to distort and discredit our efforts on behalf of these neglected children,” Cahill said. “The welfare of children has been a para-mount concern of Catholic Charities CYO for the past 100 years.”

Spanish art exhibit gives glimpse into history and faith, says curatorWASHINGTON (CNS) — Sarah Schroth, curator at Duke Uni-versity’s art museum, has become a local celebrity in the college town of Durham, N.C. People stop her wherever she is to thank her for bringing a collection of 400-year-old Spanish paintings and sculptures to the university’s Nasher Museum of Art in the ex-hibit “El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III.” “They feel it’s a gift to them,” said Schroth, the museum’s Nancy Hanks senior curator. Schroth deserves the acclaim for spend-ing more than two decades researching, and then locating, the 52 works of art on display at Duke University until November 9. They were shown this spring and summer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The Nasher Museum’s Website — www.nasher.duke.edu/elgreco/ — gives a sense of what the exhibit is like. Tribute also should be given to the small book that inspired Schroth to study Spanish art in the first place: her mother’s St. Joseph’s Missal.

Iraqi archbishop says more security in Mosul might have come too lateLONDON (CNS) — Increased security aimed at preventing further attacks on Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul might have come too late to halt an exodus of refugees, said an Iraqi archbishop. The Iraqi government has deployed extra police on the streets of the northern city to try to end a wave of violence in which at least 15 Christians were murdered in the first two weeks of October. However, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, said the force of 2,500 po-lice officers might not be enough to stop Christians from fleeing their homes or to persuade refugees to return. “We are extremely worried about the situation,” the archbishop told the British branch of Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians, in an interview. “It is absolutely crucial that the government send more security and police to the area and maybe — just maybe — it will encourage the Christians who have fled Mosul to go back,” he said.

TheFeminineGenius

By Genevieve Kineke

Somewhere around middle school, math teach-

ers everywhere inform their slack-jawed students that they operate in “base ten.” Most find it difficult to explain what has been virtually intuitive, but the fact is that each numeric place can contain one of 10 integers, from zero to nine. The fun begins when the students are asked to do math problems in “base five” or “base eight.” Hence they begin to realize that it takes a virtual suspension of ingrained habits to revalue the place holders to accommodate the new premise. Not impos-sible, but rattling to the core.

Currently, we are being asked to consider a redefinition of marriage. Despite the fact that cultures around the world through the ages have estab-lished themselves around the understanding that a family is comprised of a father, a mother and their offspring, presently, in Hamlet’s phrase, “it’s more honored in the breach than the observance.” But even the esca-lation of divorce, co-habitation and promiscuity doesn’t indict the overall understanding by most people that the future de-pends on stable unions that pro-vide children who will inherit our world. Divorce is, at its heart, still considered a failure and children sense keenly the loss of one parent or the other.

To rearrange the family unit to include any arrangement of adults and children means that no definition is possible. It like-wise means that the assump-tions we’ve made about biol-ogy, motherhood, fatherhood, and committed love are subject to redefinition. It is a sad fact of life that children today are not necessarily conceived through traditional methods, nor are they entrusted to biological par-ents in committed relationships. But beyond that, to posit that two fathers or two mothers are no different than a mother and a father is to conclude that either motherhood or fatherhood is irrelevant to the well-being of children.

Therefore, in order to sus-pend our intuition about family life, children who lose a parent can no longer be pitied by oth-ers for suffering a natural trag-edy. Neither can they mourn their own loss, for they will be taught that parents are inter-changeable and relationships are, at best, fluid. Their deep

yearning for the missing piece will be discouraged by all who surround them and the normal pathologies will ensue.

For all the talk of diversity, members of a society cannot coexist if they do not share basic premises. If I shop with

assumptions about “base ten” at a store that calculates in “base seven,” we cannot agree on the value of the goods. If I then have to move on to a doctor whose appointments are made in “base three” I doubt I’ll arrive on time. In this sense, diversity will only go so far. If marriage is redefined, all the sociological data corroborating what committed mothers and fathers provide for children will have to be ignored in the new values schemes. We can’t all be

right. Interestingly, even Karl

Marx (who deplored marriage as oppressive) recognized mar-riage as a natural institution. He wrote, “A person who contracts marriage does not create mar-riage, does not invent it, any

more than a swim-mer creates or invents the nature and laws of water and gravity. Hence marriage cannot be subordinated to his arbitrary wishes; on the contrary, his arbitrary wishes must be subor-dinated to marriage.”

If individuals admit that they want to move beyond marriage to atomized relation-ships, we could discuss it in an honest manner. But to subor-dinate marriage to arbitrary definitions means that we cease to function as a cohesive soci-ety. In that sense, overwhelm-ing math concepts would be the least of a child’s problems.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books). She can be found online at www.feminine-genius.com.

Changing values, colliding worlds

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OSSINING, N.Y. — The fol-lowing Dominican Sisters of Hope who have served, or are cur-rently serving in the Diocese of Fall River celebrated significant anniversaries this year.

Sister Annette Roach, OP (Sister Mary Daniel), a native of Fall River and currently residing in Cotuit celebrates 60 years in religious life. Since 1996 she has been director of Faith Formation at the Parish of Christ the King in Mashpee. Her teaching ministries included: Dominican Academy in Fall River (1948-50, 1951-56, and 1968-70), St. Peter’s School

in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1950-51 and 1956-61). She was assis-tant principal and teacher at St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. (1961-66) and principal of St. Francis Xavier

Elementary School in Acushnet (1967-68 and 1973-79). Sister Annette was assistant director of the Model Cities Program in New Bedford, where she trained teacher aides to serve in seven public schools (1970-73). In the early 80s, Sister volunteered for the Dominican Sisters United for Ministry project, the purpose of which was to empower the Chey-enne-Arapaho people of north-west Oklahoma to reach their full potential. She then joined the fac-ulty at St. Michael Indian School for the Navahos in St. Michaels, Ariz., where she was a reading specialist (1981-87). She was di-

Dominican Sisters of Hope celebrate anniversariesrector of Religious Education at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Warwick, R.I. (1988-92). From 1992-1995, Sister Annette was prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Fall River.

Sister Mary Agnes Shannon, OP, also a native of Fall River, who currently resides at the Land-mark at Fall River, celebrates 60 years in religious life. Sister Mary Agnes taught at St. Anne’s Elementary School in Fall River (1947-50, 1951-52, and 1959-62), at St. Pe-ter’s Elemen-tary School in

Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1950-51), and at St. Fran-cis Xavier Ele-mentary School in Acushnet (1952-56). She taught at St. Peter’s High School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1956-58), St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. (1958-59), Dominican Academy in Fall River (1962-71), and at Bishop Gerrard High School in Fall River (1971-76). She taught at Domini-can Academy Elementary School in Fall River (1976-85). She was prioress of St. Catherine’s Con-vent in Fall River (1985-87). From 1987-2006, she taught mu-sic and/or computer classes at the following schools for one or more years: Dominican Academy and Espirito Santo in Fall River, St. Anthony School in New Bedford, and St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet. Since 2006, she has done volunteer work in the Fall River area Catholic schools. In

addition to her teaching assign-ments, Sister Mary Agnes was cheerleading advisor at Bishop Gerrard High School (1971-76), gave music lessons (1985-98), and was Minneapolis Educational Computer Curriculum (MECC) Coordinator for the Fall River di-ocesan schools (1990-97). She is a member of the American College of Musicians, was recognized as a “Community Leader in America” for work with student councils and cheerleaders, twice listed in “Who’s Who in American Edu-cation,” and received five Golden Apple Awards from the Fall River Herald News. She was also the re-cipient of several music awards.

Sister Barbara McCarthy, OP, (Sister Mary Gerald) of Tup-per Lake, N.Y., celebrates 60 years in religious life. Currently retired, She is a volunteer at St. Alphon-sus Parish in Tupper Lake, N.Y., where she had been pastoral as-sociate since 1986. Sister Barbara taught in the elementary division at Dominican Academy in Fall River (1948-61) and in the Do-minican Academy High School (1961-62). She was principal of

elementary and secondary lev-els at Domini-can Academy (1962-70). She was a supervi-sor for the Fall River Diocesan School Depart-ment (1970-73) and assistant

superintendent for schools in the Diocese of Fall River (1973-77). She was a member of the general council of the Dominican Sisters

of St. Catherine of Siena, Fall Riv-er (1970-78) and prioress general of the Congregation (1978-86). In addition, she has served on the Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry Board, the Tupper Lake Disaster Preparedness Commit-tee, and the Tupper Lake Alliance for Community Service. She has been Congregational Representa-tive for the Ogdensburg Diocesan Council of Religious, a member of the Bishop’s Fund Committee for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, and CORE-Diocesan Organiza-tion of Parish Ministers. Sister Barbara has also sung with the St. Alphonsus parish folk choir.

Sister Elizabeth Menard, OP, (Sister Bernard Marie) of Platts-burgh, N.Y., celebrates 50 years in religious life. Since 1999, she has been regional director of Chris-tian Formation in the Diocesan Regional Chris-tian Formation Office located in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

She t augh t e l emen ta ry

school at Do-minican Acade-my in Fall River (1960-61), at St. Bernadette School in New Haven, Conn. (1961-70), and at St. Peter’s School in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (1970-74). She was formation/vocation director for the Dominican Sisters of Fall River (1974-80). She was co-director of the Salem Deanery Christian Life Center (1982-86). She also served on the General Council of the Congregation, first as councilor (1978-86) then as prioress (1986-92). Follow-ing a sabbatical, Sister Elizabeth served in Christian formation at St. Alphonsus/Holy Name Parish

in Tupper Lake, N.Y. (1993-99).Sister Barbara Barton, OP,

(Sister Thomas Aquin) of Fall River celebrates 50 years in reli-gious life. Sister taught in schools in Elizabeth City and Durham, N.C. (1963-67). She taught pi-

ano at Mount Saint Mary Music School in Newburgh, N.Y. (1968-78) and also taught at Guardian Angel Elemen-tary School in New York City (1978-79). She served in music

ministry at St. Nicholas of Tolen-tine Parish in the Bronx (1979-84) and at Our Lady Queen of the Angels Parish in New York City (1989-90). She was also re-hearsal pianist for shows and ac-companied the concert choir and madrigal singers at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. for seven years. She served four years at the Webster Apartments, a residence for working women in New York City (1990-94). From 1994 to 1997, Sister Barbara was engaged in a variety of services to the Congregation. She was music teacher at Dominican Academy in Fall River (1997-99) and was sacristan for the Center of Hope in Fall River (1999-01).

The Congregation of Domini-can Sisters of Hope was founded in 1995. The Sisters’ commitment to proclaiming hope spans a vari-ety of ministries in several dioces-es throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Their ministries include ed-ucation at all levels, health care, spiritual renewal, parish and pas-toral work.

www.ophope.org.

SiSter annette roach

SiSter BarBa-ra Mccarthy

SiSter Mary aGneS Shannon

SiSter eliza-Beth MenarD

SiSter Bar-Bara Barton

STONY POINT, N.Y. — Fa-ther Michael Conway, S.D.B., was among 22 Salesian priests and brothers of the New Rochelle Province who recently celebrated jubilees in Stony Point, N.Y.

Father Conway’s parents, John and Elizabeth Mayberry Conway, are members of St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth, and many of his relatives live in the Fall River Diocese.

He made his first profession of vows in 1983 at the Salesian novi-tiate in Newton, N.J.

Father Conway was born in Boston and raised in Winthrop, Mass. He attended St. Dominic Savio High School in East Boston, and after graduation entered the Salesian seminary in Newton in 1980. Following four years of the-ology studies at the Pontifical Col-lege Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, where he earned a master

Local Salesian celebrates jubileeof divinity degree, Father Conway was ordained on May 31, 1992, in Nanuet, N.Y., by then-Bishop Oscar Rodriguez, S.D.B., now

the cardinal-archbishop of

Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Father Con-way has served primarily in Salesian schools since 1985l.

Father Con-way is extraordi-narily happy as a

Salesian priest. He writes: “I made the best decision when I decided to follow God’s call as a Salesian. I have found it a great joy in minis-tering to young people and helping them to know themselves and God. They have been for me the conduit where I have met God most in my life.”

father Mi-chael conWay


service agencies that receive state funding say they’d likely be targeted for cuts.

Among the referendum’s opponents are Catholic Chari-ties of Boston, which gets 52 percent of its funding from the state, said President Tiziana Dearing. That agency is join-ing with a powerful umbrella of labor and teachers unions, political, environmental, busi-ness and social service groups to defeat the question.

Arlene McNamee, the direc-tor of Catholic Social Services for the Fall River Diocese, was not available to provide local figures on state aid. However, there could be a “snowball ef-fect,” predicted Juraci Capataz, coordinator for Immigrant Ser-vices.

More people would seek help from CSS if the state scales back human service pro-grams, yet the agency itself — which now assists 45,000 cli-ents yearly — could have less money to help them, Capataz said.

Backers of Question 1 main-tain that fewer people would need help if the average tax-payer could retain the $3,700

he pays in state income taxes each year. Home foreclosures and bankruptcies might be avoided and people could give to charities of their choice, according the Committee for Small Government, which is sponsoring the referendum.

“Small government leaves us with the responsibility and resources to manage our own lives, educate our children, pro-tect our families, care for our neighbors and assist those who cannot support themselves,” the proposal states.

The committee’s chairwom-an is Carla Howell of Wayland, a 2002 Libertarian Party gu-bernatorial candidate. She and Michael Cloud, co-chairmen of the Center for Small Govern-ment, sponsored a similar 2002 referendum that garnered 45 percent of the vote.

Opponents are organized under the Coalition for Our Communities, chaired by Peter Meade, a Massachusetts busi-ness and political power broker. The coalition has raised about $1.3 million to defeat Question 1, the New York Times reported September 28, with $750,000 of that from the National Edu-

cation Association.According to the state Of-

fice of Campaign and Politi-cal Finance, much of the co-alition’s 2008 expenditures — $750,000 to date — went to media and political consul-tants for direct mail campaigns and television ads warning that Question 1 is “too risky,” “too reckless.”

With nearly 170 backers listed on its website (see Vo-teNoQuestion1.com/no.html),

the coalition presents a formi-dable opponent to supporters of Question 1, who maintain that state government is “too big, too bossy,” and unresponsive to taxpayers not represented by lobbyists or special interest groups.

According to the proposal, “government spending rises to meet government income.” To subordinate government power and make it more accountable, feed it less income.

Howell could not be reached for comment on how possible cuts in state aid would affect the poor. In the New York Times article posted on the commit-tee’s website, she said, “We don’t have to cut any essential

services or any government programs that are providing a benefit to the people of Massa-chusetts.”

Eliminating the income tax would mean more cash avail-able to the state’s 3.4 million taxpayers, thus stimulating the economy by creating new pri-vate sector jobs, Howell wrote in the official Massachusetts Voters Information guide. Oth-er taxes do not have to rise, she maintained.

“Your ‘Yes’ vote rolls back state government spending 27 percent — $47.3 billion to $34.7 billion — more than state government spending in 1999,” she said.

But opponents dispute that 27 percent reduction figure; they claim the initiative would reduce state income by 40 percent. Coalition spokesman Steve Crawford said state rev-enues are actually only about $28 billion and called the $47 billion figure a “total fabrica-tion created by our opponents to make the cuts look smaller.”

Crawford could not predict what cuts would be made to Catholic social service pro-grams or charities but said, “Everything will be on the chopping block.”

Meade countered Howell’s

claims in his opposing voters’ guide argument. He said the plan would “force dramatic cuts in state aid to cities and towns, thus driving up property taxes and reducing funding for vital local services.”

It would also hurt educa-tion by cutting state funds for public schools, he warned, and threaten public safety by cut-ting back police, fire and emer-gency medical personnel. The state would be unable to repair roads and bridges, unable to entice new business, and forced to raise other taxes, he wrote.

Meanwhile, the $1 billion budget cuts recently announced by Gov. Deval Patrick, an oppo-nent of Question 1, have come down hard on health and so-cial service programs already. Dearing said October 17 that it was “difficult to ascertain” yet how much Boston Catholic Charities will lose under those cuts. “The measure of a society is how it treats its poor, espe-cially in times of crisis. If the ballot question passes, all bets are off,” she said.

In 2000, voters approved a phased rollback of the income tax rate from 5.75 percent to five percent, but the legislature froze that rate at 5.3 percent two years later.

Question 1 approval could hurt needycontinued from page one

16 OctOber 24, 2008YOuth Pages

VISIONARIES — Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Taunton re-cently held its annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. Three parish children, Gabrielle and Mark Sousa and Katelyn Ro-drigues participated as the three shepherd children.

HELPING THE HUNGRY — Coyle and Cassidy High School stu-dents Jake Bonenfant and John Paul Sullivan unload a supply truck from Trucchi’s Supermarkets for their monthly distribution. The 16th annual Coyle Food Pantry has grown to a remarkable 106 student volunteers.

USING THEIR NOODLE — Lauren Bedard, Elizabeth Magill, and Tiffany Landry, eighth-graders at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School, North Attleboro, form a human chain during “Mosquito Tag,” a cooperative game where each person tagged by the noodle (the proboscis) links hands and works together to make the chain longer.

GOOD SPORTS — At right, Pope John Paul II High School Freshman Maggie O’Connor during a recent soccer match. The soccer and golf teams have a combined seven vic-tories to their credit so far this season. Above, five freshmen and five sophomores round out the Pope John Paul II golf team. The JPII Lions initiated JV pro-grams in soccer, golf, and cross country this fall at the Hyannis school. Additional interscholas-tic sport teams will be added for the winter and spring seasons.

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE ... SOLD — Second-grade stu-dents at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro held a mock auction in their classroom. The students’ teacher, Kathy Har-rington, auctioned off various items including stuffed animals and sports memorabilia for the children to bid on. The school’s annual auction, and major fund-raiser, will be held on Friday November 7 at Christina’s in Foxboro. The school has also included an on-line auction on its Website, www.sje-school.com.From left, students Daniel Billard, Natasha Zaarour, and Stephanie Cicero, are vying for the high bid.

COMMENDABLE HONOR — Bishop Stang High School Academic Principal Mary Ann Miskel re-cently announced that six students at the North Dartmouth school have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. From left: Emily Domain, Kathryn Tongue, Peter Bratton, Miskel, Jacob Denney, Christina Quinn, and Sean Gilmore.

17 OctOber 24, 2008 YOuth Pages

“But,” said Moses to God, “when I

go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:13-14).

So, who am I? This philosophical

question plagues not only today’s young people but adults as well. Men and women, young or old, have

spent or will spend a con-siderable amount of their lifetime trying to discover exactly who they are. It is a journey that takes us through some very deep valleys but also helps us reach the sum-mit of the steepest mountains. Along that journey, God is present to us even when we do not realize it.

Throughout our journey, however, another ques-tion creeps into our minds.

Who in fact is God? When Moses asked God who should he say sent him, God replied “I am who

am.” But who is I AM? I AM formed the world.I AM called Moses to

save his people.I AM sent the angel to

Mary.I AM sent forth his only

begotten Son.This year, the Office of

Youth and Young Ministry hopes to provide young people of the Fall River Diocese with the oppor-tunity to spiritually delve deeper within themselves to discover who I AM is to them and who they are to I AM.

This Sunday, high school youth are invited to attend the annual Diocesan Youth Convention. This year’s theme, “Our God the Great

I AM” focuses on how to strengthen our relation-ship with God as well as discover who we are in

relation to him. Several workshops are offered in vari-ous areas of prayer, justice and service, and finding hope in the difficult times. Tom Booth, a noted Catholic musician and national speak-

er will be keynote for this convention.

Once again, the conven-tion has been organized by the 2008 graduates of the diocesan Christian Lead-ership Institute. These graduates should be com-mended for their hard work and dedication for it is in them that adults can see the seeds of our Catholic faith take root. These graduates have discovered who I AM is to them even if it is at a basic level. Their willing-ness to share their faith,

time and talents with other young people is a remark-able witness to the vitality of our young Church.

As we embark on new journeys or continue along the same journey, it is important to keep in mind that I AM is a merciful and loving God. I AM is our rock and our center. I AM is steadfast to us.

I AM is calling all of us to him.

Are you ready to answer the call and follow him?

Note: “I AM” statements were adapted from the 2008 National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry Resource Manual, “Our God the Great I AM.”

Crystal is the assis-tant director for Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the diocese and youth min-istry coordinator for St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford. You can contact her at [email protected].

The great I AM

Be NotAfraid

By Crystal Medeiros

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or par-ish Religious Ed-ucation programs have newsworthy stories and pho-tos they would

like to share with our readers, send them to: [email protected]


This Message Sponsored by the FollowingBusiness Concern in the Diocese of Fall River

Gilbert C. Oliveira Insurance Agency

possible for more than 600 chil-dren to attend diocesan schools.

Last week’s large turnout was a sign of the spirit of gen-erosity besting the impact of a downtrodden economy. By the end of the evening, organizers announced that approximate-ly $604,284 had been raised for the fund so far this year.

Many in the crowd were anx-ious to hear from the evening’s keynote speaker, Mike Vrabel, an All-Pro linebacker from the New England Patriots and proud par-ent of two children who attend an elementary school in the diocese.

It was indeed, a good night for Vrabel. Coming off a 30-10 loss at the hands of the Chargers in San Diego on Sunday night, Vrabel could have been excused for being a bit downcast. But he was at White’s to support a cause to which he is truly committed.

Vrabel’s spirits were no doubt lifted by the throngs of well wish-ers who crowded around him, asking for autographs and to have their pictures taken with him. And he would get something more out of the evening — something to bring back to his usually sullen boss, head coach Bill Belichick.

“I can’t wait to tell Coach Belichick that I had the plea-sure of breaking break with Bishop George W. Coleman,” said Vrabel. “I’m sure we

aren’t going to have any prob-lems the rest of the season.”

While it remains to be seen if the Patriots’ season will be positively impacted by any di-vine intervention, Vrabel, an All-American at Ohio State University, was obviously com-fortable in his surroundings and sincere in his desire to promote the value of a Catholic education.

Both Vrabel and his wife Jen graduated from Catho-lic high schools. In an inter-view with The Anchor prior to his keynote address, Vrabel said raising their two boys in the Catholic faith is a priority.

“It’s something that is just so important to us,” he said. “They get the education, the discipline, and the light of God in every lesson.”

The program itself was kicked off by NBC-10 weather-man John Ghiorse, who served as moderator for the evening, a task he has embraced for many years. Ghiorse introduced the choral group from Coyle & Cassidy High School, which performed two selections under the direction of David Rinoni.

The musical presentation was followed a popular tradi-tion for attendees of the annual event, a video presentation fea-turing testimonials from stu-dents attending diocesan schools.

One young girl explained

one of the after school activi-ties at her school; “The knit-ting club is where a bunch of kids get together and knit a blanket for the poor,” she said.

Another young girl reminded viewers of a simple, yet profound lesson; “If you don’t have God, you don’t have anything,” she said.

Following the video presenta-tion, Vrabel delivered a 20-min-ute keynote address. Vrabel shed some light on the tenor of things with the Patriots, who seem to be trying to find their way without Tom Brady, the fran-chise quarterback who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first half of the first game of the season. He said the team re-mains confident in its ability to win games, and noted that “no expectations are greater than the ones we put on ourselves.”

He attributed his success in the National Football League to hard work and perseverance. Vrabel reminded the crowd that in his first four years in the league, as a member of the Pittsburgh Steel-ers, he never started a game. But he never gave up and when the opportunity to play regu-larly in New England presented itself, he made the most of it.

“It is a humbling profession,” he said. “And it is an honor to play in the National Football League.”

Vrabel discussed his commit-ment to the charitable organiza-tion he co-founded years ago in Ohio, the “Second and Seven Foundation.” The organiza-tion works to promote literacy. Last year, it provided 50,000 books to students in schools throughout Columbus, Ohio.

But more than anything else, Vrabel talked about his commitment to Catholic edu-cation. He applauded the at-tendees at the dinner for their generosity and their unwaver-ing support of Catholic schools.

“It’s not easy to give these days,” said Vrabel. “But giv-ing to education … we’re all going to see the returns.”

Vrabel said that he and his wife see the influence of a Catho-lic education on their sons and that those basics, such as being respectful of others and kind to one another, are lessons critical to making them well rounded adults.

George Milot, superinten-dent of schools for the Dio-cese of Fall River, marveled at the packed banquet hall.

“To see all of these people come here and support Catho-lic education … they’re help-ing more than 600 children who would not be able to at-tend our Catholic schools,” he said. “It’s heartwarming.”

Milot presented the “Timo-

thy J. Cotter, Friend of Catholic Education Award” to Nicholas M. Christ, president and chief executive officer of Citizens Union Savings Bank. Christ, said Milot, “tirelessly gives to so many organizations.”

Milot added that the late Tim-othy Cotter knew Christ well and that he would have been pleased to see him so honored.

Dennis Kelly, chairman of the St. Mary’s Fund Fall Scholarship Dinner Committee, promised the crowd more students would be helped next year than this year, thanks to their generosity.

Patriots linebacker has faith in Catholic educationcontinued from page one

“You have made that possi-ble,” he said.

Bishop Coleman closed the evening, drawing a laugh from the crowd when he told Vrabel that he could probably make himself available on Sunday afternoons, should coach Belichick invite him to roam the sidelines at Gillette Stadium. He thanked everyone for making the evening possible, and for supporting so fervently the St. Mary’s Education Fund.

“It is so important that we help our children prepare to face the future,” he said. “So please, spread the word.”

Religious invite youth to answer the callcontinued from page one

call, for it is he who calls … and at the same time keep praying to him for guidance,” said Sister Donovan, who is well-traveled, holds a doctorate in history, is archivist for her Holy Union Congregation and when reached by telephone was writing a story on vocations for its newsletter “Bridges.”

She said that she had recently read how Fall River’s first bish-op, Bishop William Stang, in 1904 told nuns of his day that in regards to vocations, “God closes one door and opens an-other,” she added, “When I vis-ited Cameroon in Africa, I could see the door to vocations open-ing, and the door to vocations in the U.S. seemed to have closed. So God sometimes closes the door in one place and opens it in another.”

Sister Donovan and Brother Zwierchowski were among near-ly 60 invited to attend the annual Day of Recollection for Reli-gious in the Fall River Diocese held at St. Julie Billiart Parish Hall on October 18.

The annual gathering of re-ligious Brothers and Sisters in-cluded a morning Mass in St. Julie Billiart Church celebrated by Bishop George W. Coleman, who was also the homilist; fol-lowed by a luncheon.

The recollection day cen-tered on the theme, “A Harvest of Abundance,” and was led by Sisters of Notre Dame Sister Catherine Griffith, spiritual di-rector at Miramar Retreat House in Duxbury.

Mercy Sister Catherine Don-ovan, the bishop’s representa-tive to religious and coordinator of the event, said not all those marking jubilees were able to attend.

“We have two Sisters cele-brating 75 years as religious, as well four Sisters with 70 years of ministry, seven with 60 years, and four more with 50 years min-istering.” Sister Catherine Dono-van reported.

“Of the several religious Brothers, only Brother Zwier-

chowski is observing a jubilee,” she added.

A native of Bayonne, N.J., Brother Zwierchowski traced his vocation’s path to the reli-gious Sisters in grade school, the Marists in high school and the Jesuits at St. Peter’s College in New Jersey.

“It was in the 1980s and I went up to a Christian Brothers’ school in upper-state New York and as part of the two-year novi-tiate taught in a school and fell in love with teaching and the reli-gious life. It has been wonderful for me and I have absolutely no regrets that I answered the call,” said Brother Zwierchowski, who for 12 years has taught religion to freshmen and sophomores at Bishop Connolly.

Although vocations are grow-ing in Africa and some third-world countries, “we are finding a very slow growth of vocations in Canada, France and the U.S.,” he reported.

“And that is cause for us to greater prayer for vocations so that young men will come and follow us.”

Sister Grace Donovan said her thoughts of a religious vocation began in the fifth grade.

“I went to see the bishop and he told me to come back after high school,” she recalled.

After graduating from the for-mer College of the Sacred Hearts in Fall River, she entered the Holy Union Sisters; made pro-fessions in 1940 and 1946; re-ceived a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and a mas-ter’s degree and doctorate — all in history — from Boston Col-lege.

“I taught in New York and at Stonehill College in Easton, and did historic research in England, Belgium and Rome, retiring in 1997, but remaining active,” she said laughing.

She added, “I listened when I heard God’s call and took the opportunity given everyone who answers him to do his work with great joy, and that is what I’ve had.”

“It is so important that we help our children prepare to face the future,” he said. “So please, spread the word.”


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Eucharistic Adoration:

ACUSHNET — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Church, 125 Main Street, Mondays from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ending with Evening Prayer and Benediction.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every First Friday at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benedic-tion at 8 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place at St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, 51 Duncan Street, Mondays following the 8:30 a.m., Mass until 1:30 p.m. For more information call 508-995-2354.

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

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

TAUNTON — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord Church, 31 First Street, immediately following the 8 a.m., Mass and continues throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., concluding with recitation of the rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

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

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street, holds perpetual eucharistic adoration. For open hours or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

Miscellaneous:

CHATHAM — A Tridentine Mass is celebrated 11:30 a.m. every Sunday at Our Lady of Grace Chapel on Route 137.

FALL RIVER — Scripture study of St. Paul’s Captivity Letters continues October 29 and November 5, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Holy Name Parish Center, 709 Hanover Street. For more information call Diane Baron at 508-678-7532.

FALL RIVER — A holy hour takes place at Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, Tuesdays at 7 p.m. It consists of the rosary, Immaculate Medal novena, a homily, Benediction, and the opportunity for confession. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is recited each Wednesday at 3 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Sacred Heart Church, 160 Seabury Street, is holding a seasonal bazaar tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including craft items, raffles and more. The kitchen will be open all day. For information call Janice Rosa at 508-674-3296.

FALL RIVER — Catholic Social Services, 1600 Bay Street, will hold an informational session for individuals and families interested in domestic newborn or international adoption, November 16, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To register call 508-674-4681.

FALL RIVER — Dominican Academy Alumnae Association will hold its annual Communion breakfast November 2. Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church at 10 a.m. followed by breakfast at McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove Street. For information or reservations, call Geraldine Saucier at 508-674-8487.

HYANNIS — A Solemn Day of Prayer for Life, Justice and Peace, will take place at St. Francis Xavier Parish, 347 South Street, November 3, beginning at noon, with a Mass at 12:10 p.m.; novena prayers throughout the day; and ending at 8:20 p.m., with Night Prayer and a homily. For more information call the parish at 508-775-0818.

NORTH FALMOUTH — Knights of Columbus Council 817 will host an Hour for Vo-cations Sunday, 3 to 4 p.m., in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 481 Quaker Road.

SOMERSET — The Daughters of Isabella will hold its monthly meeting October 29 at 6 p.m. at the Old Town Hall. A graphologist from the International Graphoanalysis Society will explain the science of handwriting analysis.

OSTERVILLE — The rosary is recited the First Friday of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue before the 8 a.m. Mass, for vocations.

WEST HARWICH — A holy hour will take place October 27, beginning at 1 p.m., in Holy Trinity Church, Route 28. Recitation of the rosary is followed by Benediction.

NEW BEDFORD — Courage, a group for people who are experiencing same-sex attraction and would like to live the Church’s teachings of chastity will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. Encourage, a ministry dedicated to the spiritual needs of parents, siblings, children, and relatives of people with same-sex attractions will meet at the same time. For locations call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — A meeting of the diocesan Divorced and Separated Support Group will take place October 29 at 7 p.m. at the Family Life Center, 500 Slocum Road. The video, “The Road to Healing and Help,” will be shown, followed by group discussion and refreshments. For information call 508-999-6420.

ATTLEBORO — Concerned faithful are needed to pray the rosary outside Four Women, Inc., an abortion clinic at 150 Emory Street, Thursdays from 3-4 p.m., or 4-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30-8:30 a.m. For information call 508-238-5743.

SOUTH ATTLEBORO — Knights of Columbus Council 5876 will sponsor a talk on the Freedom Of Rights Act by Marian Desrosiers, director of the Pro-Life Apostolate, October 27, 7 p.m., in the Knights’ Hall on Highland Avenue (Route 123).

Around the Diocese

Miscellaneous

Pro-Life

Eucharistic Adoration

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks

In Your Prayers

Oct. 27Rev. Francisco L. Jorge, Assistant,

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, New Bedford, 1918

Rev. Edmond L. Dickinson, Assis-tant, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1967

Rev. Joseph F. O’Donnell, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1990

Oct. 28Rev. Alfred E. Coulombe, Pastor, St.

George, Westport, 1923Rev. Stanislaus Kozikowski, OFM

Conv., Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1956

Oct. 30Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, Retired

Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1992Rev. Denis Sughrue, CSC, Director

of Postulancy, Holy Cross Novi-tiate, North Dartmouth, 2002

Nov. 1Rev. William H. McNamara, Retired

Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1924Rev. Louis N. Blanchet, Assistant,

St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1927Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Ferraz, Pastor,

St. Michael, Fall River, 1944Rt. Rev. Msgr. George F. Cain, Pas-

tor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1953Rev. William E. Farland, Pastor, St.

Joseph, Taunton, 1987Rev. William F. Gartland, C.S.C.

Stonehill College, North Easton, 1988

Rev. John F. Sullivan, SS.CC., Re-tired Pastor Holy Trinity, West Harwich, 1994

Nov. 2A memento for the repose of the souls

of our bishops, priests and perma-nent deacons not on this list

Rev. Joseph S. Fortin, Founder, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1923

Rev. Michael V. McDonough, Chap-lain, St. Mary’s Home, New Bed-ford, 1933

Support Groups

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Brother of Christian Instruc-tion Roland Vigeant, 84, a Fall River, Mass., native who was principal of the former Msgr. Prevost High School in that city from 1961 until 1964, died September 11, after a long ill-ness.

Brother Vigeant, who retired in 2003 as an associate profes-sor at Walsh University in Ohio, most recently had managed the Educational Resource Center in the Hannon Child Development Center at the university, cap-ping 69 years in religious life.

In 2005, Brother Vigeant was awarded the Walsh Alumni As-sociation’s Lifetime Achieve-ment Award as well as its Dis-tinguished Service Medal.

The son of the late Roland A., and the late Alice (Pelerin) Vigeant, he entered the Broth-ers of Christian Instruction’s

Brother Roland Vigeant FIC; former Prevost High principaljuniorate at Alfred, Maine in 1937 and began his novitiate at LaPrairie, Quebec, Canada in 1939. He made his perpetual profession on June 29, 1944.

The course of Brother Vi-geant’s career was guided by a strong com-mitment to excellence in education. In 1942 he ac-cepted his first teaching as-signment at St. Francis Xavier

elementary school in Montreal. A year later he returned to the U.S. and taught at several of the Brothers’ school for more than two decades. In 1952 he received a bachelor’s degree from Lamennais College in Maine and earned his master’s degree in education in 1958

from St. Michael’s College. He completed graduate work at Boston College and Kent State University.

Following his tenure at Msgr. Prevost High School, he became the first boys’ principal of St. Thomas School in Lou-isville, Ohio, before joining the faculty at then Walsh College in 1971.

Brother Vigeant enjoyed ath-letics, academics and the arts. He traveled with Walsh stu-dents on ski trips, enjoyed skat-ing and golfing, and listening to music and reading.

He is survived by nieces and nephews.

His funeral Mass was cel-ebrated September 17, by Bish-op George Murry, S.J., in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cha-pel at Walsh University. Burial was in the Brothers’ cemetery there.

Brother ro-lanD viGeant

NEW BEDFORD — Dr. Ed-mund A. Harrington Jr., 64, died unexpectedly at home on October 13. He was the brother of Father Kevin J. Harrington, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

The son of the late Captain Edmund A. and Isabelle (Gomes) Harrington, he was born in Ware-

Dr. Edmund A. Harrington Jr.; brother of Father Kevin Harringtonham and raised in New Bedford. He attended Holy Family gram-mar and high schools and was a magna cum laude graduate of Providence College, class of 1965, where he majored in phys-ics. He obtained his doctorate in nuclear physics from the Univer-sity of Notre Dame in 1970.

Harrington was employed as a telecommunications scientist by Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Ill.; as the director of Research and Development at California Microwave; and a senior engi-neering specialist for GTE, later known as General Dynamics, in Needham and Taunton.

He published numerous pro-fessional research papers in the fields of switching systems, mi-crowave, satellite and fiber op-tic communications and was a presenter at many professional conferences. He was a contribu-tor to many patents held by his employer.

Always proud of his Irish heritage, he was also a loyal Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics fan. He had been an amateur radio op-erator, obtaining his license in his early teens. A member of the Mattapoisett Power Squadron, he served as its treasurer.

Besides his priest brother, he leaves two daughters, Patricia Harrington of Providence, R.I., and Kelly Harrington Rossiter of Norway; a sister, Gloria E. Healey of Lakeville; his former wife, Patricia Harrington of Mat-tapoisett; a sister-in-law, Ron-nie Harrington of Brookline and many nieces and nephews.

He was also the brother of the late Dr. Barry Harrington.

His funeral Mass was cel-ebrated October 18 in St. Francis of Assisi Church in New Bed-ford.

The Saunders-Dwyer Home For Funerals in New Bedford was in charge of arrangements

20 The Anchor OctOber 24, 2008

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10.24.08