may 13, 2005

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 1 May 13, 2005

Serving CatholiCS in WeStern north Carolina in the DioCeSe of Charlotte

May crowningParishioners praise, crown Mary during annual event

| Page 4

In Our SchoolsDiabetes walk; scholarship winner; history-making social studies project

| Pages 10-13

PerspectivesBishop Jugis on giving thanks; abortion studies, harmful effects

May 13, 2005 volUMe 14 no. 31

See Miracle, page 17See eUcHariST, page 6

www.charlottediocese.org

by MONTE MACECAThOliC NEws sErviCE

LAWRENCE, Kan. — “I was aborted and did not die.” That statement might sound like a headline from a super-market tabloid.

But in the case of Gianna Jessen, 28, of Nashville, Tenn., it’s true.

Jessen told 500 students at the University of Kansas that her mother was seven-and-a-half-months pregnant when she went to a Los Angeles clinic for an abortion in 1977. But the saline solution injected into her mother’s womb to abort the fetus somehow failed to ac-complish its deadly task.

“By the sheer power of Je-sus Christ,” she said, “I did not die that day.”

“The medical records state

Aborted, but still alive

Base everything in the Eucharist, priest says

CelebraTiNg THe Year of THe euCHarisT

established Jan. 12, 1972 by Pope Paul vi

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

fluke or iNTerCessioN?

by CArOl ZiMMErMANNCAThOliC NEws sErviCE

WASHINGTON — Many of those close to Donald Her-bert, the Buffalo, N.Y., fire-fighter who suffers from brain damage, had expected that he would remain in the condition he has been in for the past 10 years, unable to see or com-municate.

So when he spoke for sev-eral hours in late April, many

Some call firefighter’s words, after years of silence,

WoMaN saYs ‘PoWer of CHrisT’ is reasoN sHe survived MoTHer’s aborTioN

See aBOrTiON, page 9

CNS photo by NaNCy WieCheC

A Swiss Guard recruit holds the flag of the Guard and raises three fingers — a symbol of the Trinity — as he takes his oath during a swearing-in ceremony May 6 at the Vatican. Founded in 1506, the corps consists of 110 young Catholic male volunteers who swear to protect the pope, even at the cost of their own lives.

Swearing to defend the popeby CArOl GlATZ

CAThOliC NEws sErviCE

VATICAN CITY — It may be one of the world’s smallest armies, but the tiny corps of 110 men who protect the suc-cessor of Peter is big in spirit, said Pope Benedict XVI.

“This spirit of the Swiss Guards is nourished by the glorious tradition of almost five centuries of a small army with great ideals,” the pope said May 6 in his address to new recruits, their family members and friends.

The 31 new recruits met with the pope several hours before they took their oath as members of the Swiss Guard in a colorful swearing-in cer-emony in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace.

PoPe Calls sWiss guard ‘sMall arMY WiTH greaT ideals’

figHTiNg for life

by KArEN A. EvANssTAff wriTEr

CHARLOTTE — In this Year of the Eucharist, it is es-pecially important to celebrate the sacrament central to the Catholic faith, says Father Roger Arnsparger.

Father Arnsparger, pas-tor of St. Barnabas Church in Arden, spoke about the signifi-

cance of celebrating the Year of the Eucharist to members of the Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group at Myers Park Country Club May 2.

“The Holy Father asked us to dedicate an entire year to focus on Eucharist, which is the source and summit of

See SWiSS, page 5

photo illuStratioN by KareN a. evaNS

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one of several ways to celebrate the Year of the Eucharist.

Year of the EucharistMystery of the Mass, Part 16; Pope John Paul II on Eucharist

| Pages 6-7

2 The Catholic News & Herald May 13, 2005

Current and upcoming top-ics from around the world to your own backyardInBrief Bush urges Americans to

pray in thanksgiving for their afTerMaTH

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Ameri-cans need to pray in thanksgiving for their freedom and for the wisdom to use their freedom wisely, said President George W. Bush on the annual National Day of Prayer May 5.

At a White House ceremony, the president said prayer “continues to play an important part in the personal lives of many Americans.”

“Every day, millions of us turn to the Almighty in reverence and humility. Every day our churches and synagogues and mosques and temples are filled with men and women who pray to our Maker,” he added.

The president was joined in the inter-faith ceremony by other speakers includ-ing priests and a rabbi.

The president stressed that Ameri-cans need to pray in thanks for their free-

dom, which he described as a “gift from God” meant for “all men and women and for all times.”

He also said Americans should “pray for help in defending the gift of freedom from those who seek to destroy it” and they should pray especially for the “troops who are defending our free-dom against determined enemies around the globe.”

President Bush also noted that Ameri-cans should pray to understand the limits of human strength and to recognize that their plans are not always God’s plans.

He urged Americans to ask God for the “strength to do what is right and help those in need.”

“We who ask for God’s help for ourselves,” he added, “have a particular obligation to care for the least of our brothers and sisters within our midst.”

PublisHer: Most reverend Peter J. JugisediTor: kevin e. MurraysTaff WriTer: karen a. evans graPHiC desigNer: Tim faragheradverTisiNg rePreseNTaTive: Cindi feerickseCreTarY: deborah Hiles

1123 south Church st., Charlotte, NC 28203Mail: P.o. box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237PHoNe: (704) 370-3333 faX: (704) 370-3382e-mail: [email protected]

The Catholic News & Herald, usPC 007-393, is published by the roman Catholic diocese of Charlotte, 1123 south Church st., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and easter week and every two weeks during June, July and august for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the roman Catholic diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising

for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers. second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. PosTMasTer: send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.o. box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

MAY 13, 2005VoluME 14 • NuMBEr 31

BooNE VICArIATE

SPARTA — St. Frances of Rome Church, Hendrix and Highlands Rds., sponsors the Ora-tory of Divine Love Prayer Group in the parish house the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Call (336) 372-8846 for more information.CHArloTTE VICArIATE

CHARLOTTE — All women are invited to an Evening of Reflection with Sister of Mercy Jeanne Marie Kienast May 17 at 7 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd. The evening’s topic will be “What does Mary say to women today?” For more information, contact Roz Spinks at (704) 554-1281.CHARLOTTE — All women are invited to the Women’s Talk May 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the reception room of St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd. Father Larry LoMonaco, parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral, will speak on “How to Love Someone who is Hard to Love.” For more information, call the church office at (704) 554-7088.CHARLOTTE — The Rosary Rally will be held May 22 at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dil-worth Rd. East beginning at 3:30 p.m. All first Communicants are invited to wear their first Communion clothing and join the Marian pro-cession. The Rosary Rally will include recitation of the holy rosary, a eucharistic procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. For more information, call Tina Witt at (704) 846-7361.CHARLOTTE — A reunion for Charlotte Catholic High School, O’Donoghue School and Our Lady of Mercy School classes of 1954

through 1965 is being considered for Fall 2005. E-mail Madeleine Chartier Crawford at [email protected] or call Joyce Hartis O’Keefe at (704) 536-5049 if you are interested in celebrating Charlotte Catholic High School’s 50th anniversary.HUNTERSVILLE — Elizabeth Ministry is a peer ministry comprised of St. Mark Church parishio-ners who have lost babies before of shortly after birth. Confidential peer ministry, information and spiritual materials are offered at no cost or obliga-tion to anyone who has experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a newborn. For details, call Sandy Buck at (704) 948-4587.CHARLOTTE — The Charismatic Prayer Group of St. Matthew Church will host a Prayer Service for the Sick at St. Matthew Chapel, 8015 Ballan-tyne Commons Pkwy., the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Barbara Gardner at [email protected] or Carol Vincent at [email protected] VICArIATE

MOUNT HOLLY — Father John Vianney Hoover invites all to celebrate the 29th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood May 22 at 4 p.m. at St. Joseph Church on Hwy. 273. Bring a picnic to share after Mass. For details, call (704) 541-5026.GrEENSBoro VICArIATE

GREENSBORO — St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church will host a Discipleship Fair following all Masses the weekend of May 21-22. Many of parish groups as well as outreach groups from the local community will have information available to help discern where parishioners can offer their time and talents. A Health Fair will be offered at the same time with free osteoporosis screening, blood pres-sure screening and information on health related

Diocesanplanner

Catholic-run radio station in Lebanon bombed; one person

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) — A Catholic-run radio station in Lebanon was destroyed in a bombing attack May 6, the latest in a series of attacks in Leba-non’s Christian areas.

The attack was an apparent response to the station’s campaign regarding the plight of Lebanese detained in Syrian prisons.

The Voice of Charity, operated by the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries in the port city of Jounieh since 1984, was completely destroyed in the attack, caused by an estimated 50 pounds of explosives in the main square outside the building. One person was killed, and more than 20 were injured.

Several adjoining buildings were also destroyed in the blast.

On the day of the attack, the Voice of Charity broadcast live from outside Beirut’s U.N. house, where families of Lebanese detainees staged a sit-in. Ap-proximately 600 Lebanese — including two Maronite priests — have been either missing or detained in Syrian prisons since Lebanon’s civil war, which ended in 1989.

Syrian authorities have denied the existence of the prisoners, and the Leba-nese government has ignored the issue.

Former prisoners of Syria recounted their experiences of torture in Syria’s

prisons during the Voice of Charity’s live broadcast, and family members of current prisoners shared their frustra-tions about not knowing about their loved ones.

“We consider this attack as a kind of political response” to the May 6 broadcast, said Maronite Father Mau-rice Chidiac, co-director of the Voice of Charity.

“From now on we will consider the cause of the Lebanese prisoners as our case,” Father Chidiac said. “It is a kind of democratic expression of our will and our prayers that this case will be sorted out very soon.”

An hour after the attack, the station resumed broadcasting hymns from a transmitter from a mountaintop sanctu-ary; a liturgy was arranged in the sta-tion’s parking lot May 8, and the follow-ing day a eucharistic procession was held around the grounds of the station and the surrounding damaged neighborhood.

The Voice of Charity has been broad-casting for nearly 21 years. The 24-hour station was able to reach Syria, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus and parts of Egypt and Jordan via its satellites and around the world via the Internet; its Web site is: www.radiocharity.org.

CNS photo by Sharif Karim

lebanese clergy inspect the site of a bomb blast in the port city of Jounieh, lebanon, May 7 after a bomb blast May 6 destroyed the Voice of Charity radio station, operated by the Congregation of lebanese Maronite Missionaries.


Pope says modern media should help ‘tear down walls of hostility’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI called on the world’s news media to help “tear down the walls of hostility that still divide humanity” by reporting objectively and in a way that respects human dignity.

Speaking at a noon blessing May 8, World Communications Day, the pope said news media represent an extraordi-nary resource in the modern age, capable of bringing people together. An example came during the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, he said.

But the media are also capable of damaging people and societies, he said.

“It all depends on the way the media are used,” he said.

“These important instruments of communication can favor mutual aware-ness and dialogue, or on the contrary feed prejudice and contempt between individuals and populations. They can help spread peace or foment violence,”

he said.The pope stressed the importance of

news coverage being at all times objec-tive, respectful of human dignity and sensitive “to the common good.” That depends in great part on a sense of per-sonal responsibility among those in the communication professions, he said.

iN Message To rabbi, PoPe Calls for CoNTiNued dialogue WiTH JeWs

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a mes-sage to the retired chief rabbi of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI said it was important for the Catholic Church to continue dia-logue with Jews.

The pope made his comment in a greeting sent to Rabbi Elio Toaff, who was celebrating his 90th birthday in

Rome. The message was read May 8 by Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Re-lations with the Jews.

Rabbi Toaff welcomed Pope John Paul II to the Rome synagogue when the late pope made his historic visit there in 1986. Pope Benedict thanked the rabbi for his efforts at building Catholic-Jewish relations during the previous pontificate.

“Your birthday is a good occasion for renewing the commitment to con-tinue our dialogue, looking ahead with trust to the future,” the pope wrote.

After Pope John Paul died in April, Rabbi Toaff was one of the first to pay his respects.

Papal power must be used to protect faith, Pope Benedict says

ROME (CNS) — The pope’s power is not absolute, but must be used to de-fend church doctrine against attempts to water it down, Pope Benedict XVI said as he took possession of his cathedral as the bishop of Rome.

“The pope is not an absolute sover-eign whose thoughts and will are law,” Pope Benedict said. “He must not pro-claim his own ideas but instead, in the face of all attempts to adapt or water it down, and of every opportunism, he constantly must bind himself and the church in obe-dience to the word of God.”

On May 7 Pope Benedict took pos-session of Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran, the diocesan cathedral, as thou-

sands of Romans gathered outside to welcome him.

During the liturgy inside the basilica, he stood at the foot of the bishop’s throne listening to Cardinal Camillo Ruini, his vicar for Rome, reminding him that the pope must be “the servant of the servants of God.”

In his homily, Pope Benedict said it is the duty of the pontiff to protect the word of God “so it is not torn to pieces by continuous changes in fashion.”

The pope cautioned against studying sacred Scriptures in situations too detached from the “live voice of the church.”

While the work of scholars can shed light on the Scriptures’ historical devel-opment, Pope Benedict said that never-theless “science alone cannot provide a definitive and binding interpretation. It is not able to give us, in interpreting, that certainty with which we can live and with which we can die.”

Warning against “erroneous inter-pretations of freedom,” Pope Benedict also cited Pope John Paul II’s calls for the defense of human life “from the moment of conception to natural death.”

“Freedom to kill is not true freedom but rather a tyranny that will reduce hu-man beings to slavery,” the pope said.

Pope Benedict said that whoever takes on the ministry of pontiff must be conscious of his own fragility and weak-ness and of the constant need for “purifi-cation and conversion.”

“But he also can be conscious that from the Lord will come the power to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith,” the pope said.

froM THe vaTiCaN

topics. For details, call Colleen Assal, director of outreach, at (336) 294-4696, ext. 226.GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Council of Catholic Women invites all women to a luncheon May 25 at Cardinal Country Club, 5700 Cardinal Way. Pre-lunch social will begin at 11:30 a.m. and lunch will be served at 12 p.m. The pro-gram will be presented by Sheila Duell, music director of Our Lady of Grace Church. For more information, please call Carmen Wood at (336) 545-9266.GREENSBORO — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Guilford Division, Our Lady of Knock, is planning a trip to the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville in May. Those in-terested in attending this outing are encouraged to call Mary Giff at (336) 855-7014 for further information.GREENSBORO — If you have a special need for prayers, or would like to offer your time in prayer for others’ needs, please call the Prayer Chain at Our Lady of Grace Church. The Prayer Chain is a sizable group committed to praying for your needs and the needs of your family and friends on a daily basis. To request a prayer or to participate in the Prayer Chain, call the church office at (336) 274-6520, ext. 10 and leave your name, address and phone number.SAlISBurY VICArIATE

SALISBURY — Elizabeth Ministry is a peer minis-try comprised of Sacred Heart Church parishioners who have lost babies before of shortly after birth. Confidential peer ministry, information and spiri-tual materials are offered at no cost or obligation to anyone who has experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a newborn. For details, call Renee Washington at (704) 637-0472 or Sharon Burges at

(704) 633-0591.SMoKY MouNTAIN VICArIATE

WAYNESVILLE — A Healing Mass and Anointing of the Sick will be celebrated May 19 at 11 a.m. in the Parish House of St. John the Evangelist Church, 234 Church St. (wheelchair accessible). This Mass is for all those who have difficulty attending Mass and those experienc-ing chronic illness. A luncheon will follow Mass. Reservations are necessary. Please call Dot Luce at (828) 648-7369 no later than May 17.WINSToN-SAlEM VICArIATE

KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church, 616 S. Cherry St., invites all Catholics who have been inactive, feel alienated or want to take another look at the Catholic Church to attend a series of sessions designed to address issue that have perhaps cause a feeling of estrangement. Re-Membering Church will meet Wednesdays through May 25, at following the 7 p.m. Mass For more information, call Juliann Demmond at (336) 996-7136.

is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public? Please submit notices for the diocesan Planner at least 15 days prior to the event date in writing to karen a. evans at [email protected] or fax to (704) 370-3382.

CNS photo by laWreNCe ChatagNier, bayou CatholiC

Father Joseph Tu Tran, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Pointe-Aux-Chenes, la., in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, blesses the shrimp boats along Bayou Pointe-Aux-Chenes at a recent blessing of the fleet. The tradition invokes God’s blessings on the fishermen for a safe shrimp season and a bountiful harvest.

A shrimp boat blessing

WasHiNgToN (CNs) — Pope benedict Xvi has accepted the resignation of bishop david e. foley, 75, who has headed the diocese of birmingham, ala., for 11 years.

He also has named Msgr. denis J. Madden, assistant general secretary of the Catholic Near east Welfare association, as an auxiliary bishop of baltimore.

The first changes in the u.s. hierarchy made by the new pope were announced in Wash-ington May 10 by archbishop gabriel Montalvo.

PoPe aCCePTs resigNaTioN of bisHoP foleY, NaMes balTiMore auXiliarY

May 17 — 7 p.m. sacrament of ConfirmationQueen of the apostles Church, belmont

May 18 — 5:30 p.m. sacrament of Confirmationst. frances of rome Church, sparta

May 19 — 10 a.m. diocese of Charlotte foundation MeetingCatholic Conference Center, Hickory

May 19 — 7 p.m. sacrament of ConfirmationHoly family Church, Clemmons

May 21 — 9 a.m. sacrament of Confirmationst. Mark Church, Huntersville

May 22 — 10:30 a.m. sacrament of Confirma-tionst. John lee korean Church, Charlotte

May 22 — 3:30 p.m. rosary rallyst. Patrick’s Cathedral, Charlotte

May 23 — 7 p.m. sacrament of Confirmationst. Thomas aquinas Church, Charlotte

Episcopalcalendar Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the

following events:

4 The Catholic News & Herald May 13, 2005ArouND THE DIoCESE

by JOANiTA M. NEllENbAChCOrrEspONdENT

MAGGIE VALLEY — Parishio-ners, singing “Mary’s Song” (a version of the “Magnificat”) walked out of St. Margaret of Scotland Church.

Beside the front door, they gathered before the gray concrete statue of the Vir-gin Mary. Viola Henry, Maggie Valley’s first Catholic resident, lovingly placed the crown of pink, white and purple flow-ers on Mary’s head.

May 7, the eve of Mother’s Day, was beautiful — warm and sunny after several chilly, cloudy days. Tradition-ally, St. Margaret of Scotland Church holds its “May crowning” the day before Mother’s Day.

“I came to know [Mary] in 1978, when I prayed to her, ‘Let me come to know and love you as one of my friends,’ because I was a convert and did not know her at all except through rosaries at wakes,” said Janet Horne, who makes the floral crown every year.

Augustinian Father Francis Doyle, pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Church, led everyone in praying the rosary’s “lu-minous” mysteries: “Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan,” “Jesus reveals himself at the wedding feast of Cana,” “Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God and calls us to con-version of heart,” “Jesus’ transfiguration on Mount Tabor” and “Jesus institutes the most holy Eucharist.”

“What does grace look like, or im-ages of Mary?” Father Doyle asked in his homily following the Gospel account of the Annunciation.

In different cultures, Mary looks like the people of those cultures.

“However we image Mary,” he said, “what was important to God was what was in her heart, her willingness to coop-erate fully with God. As we near the feast of Pentecost, we see that she was right in the midst of the disciples, right in the midst of the Church.”

What did Mary say to the disciples?“I suspect that her counsel to them

was to ‘do whatever he tells you,’” Fa-ther Doyle said, adding that this is true for everyone — to listen to and act upon whatever God tells them.

Father Doyle referred to the slew of televised “makeover” shows, in which

people try to change their appearances or to look like other people.

“The self-image that’s important is that we are created in the image and like-ness of God,” he said.

Parishioner Mary Witte’s image of Mary is one of constant support. Witte said she owes her own name to her moth-er’s prayers, who prayed that if she had a daughter, she would name her Mary.

“I am Mary’s namesake,” Witte added. “She’s always been there for me. I read Harry’s (her late husband) memoirs again last night, and he wrote about his devotion to Mary.”

Among the things that Harry Witte had prayed for was that the mother of God would help him find the right wife. Harry and Mary Witte were married 55 years.

Contact Correspondent Joanita M. Nellenbach by calling (828) 627-9209 or e-mail [email protected].

May crowningParishioners praise, reflect on Blessed Virgin Mary during annual event

photo by JoaNita m. NelleNbaCh

Viola Henry places a crown of flowers on the statue of Mary at the entrance to St. Margaret of Scotland Church. With her are her sister, Shirley Hillyer (at right), Augustinian Father Francis Doyle, pastor, and parishioners Mary Witte and Janet Horne.

BELMONT — Holy Angels pre-sented its 2005 Volunteer Awards during the 15th Annual Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Banquet at the Sisters of Mercy Administration Building in Bel-mont April 20.

The banquet, celebrated during National Volunteer Appreciation Week, began with guest speaker Deborah Tour-loukis, a Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack survivor, who spoke about the spirit of volunteering in the aftermath of that tragedy.

She applauded Holy Angels’ volun-teers and encouraged them to continue “carrying the light,” which represents the spirit of volunteerism.

The 2005 Holy Angels Volunteer Award winners were:

Volunteer of the Year: Robert Grant, who has volunteered at Holy Angels al-most weekly since June 2003; Volunteer Group of the Year: Duke Energy, whose volunteer group has assisted Holy Angels for four years; Ed Sabatini Advocacy Award: Bob Gwiazdzinski, a Knight of Columbus who has coordinated Holy An-gels residents’ annual Knights Boat Ride,

Knights Christmas Party and Family As-sociation Cookout; and Dennis McClain Volunteer of the Year: Michelle Gassaway, who works with Holy Angels residents at Cherubs Café.

Volunteers to receive the Touched by an Angel award were Bob Moran and Mary Kane and “volunteens” Wesley Thomas, Katie Gray, Nelli and Krystal Strader. Named in memory of volunteer Kevin Patrick Crosby, this recognition is given to volunteers who offer angelic touches to their volunteer work.

Volunteers to receive the Angel of Friendship award were Tom Long, Smitty and Gail Hanks, Gail Blackburn and Sister Jill Weber. This new award was established to honor the one-on-one personal time and commitment that extends beyond the regular volunteer service and results in a special friendship with a resident.

Holy Angels, founded in 1956 by the Sisters of Mercy, is a nonprofit corpora-tion that provides residential services and programs for children and adults with varying degrees of mental retardation and physical disabilities, some of whom

Holy Angels honors

CourteSy photo

Pictured are robert Grant (Volunteer of the Year), Michelle Gassaway (Dennis McClain Volunteer of the Year), Bob Gwiazdzinski (Ed Sabatini Advocacy Award) and regina Moody, president and CEo of Holy Angels during Holy Angels’ annual volunteer appreciation banquet April 20.

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 5 May 13, 2005FroM THE CoVEr

The ceremony is held each year on May 6, the anniversary of the date in 1527 when 147 guards died defending Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome.

The new recruits swear an oath to “faithfully, loyally and honorably” serve the pope, “sacrificing if necessary” their lives to defend him.

In his speech, Pope Benedict thanked them for their dedication, saying that by devotedly protecting the pope, the Swiss Guard allow the pontiff to carry out his mission “free of worry for his safety.”

The pope asked the new recruits to seek out and nourish the spirit that makes the Swiss Guard such a special corps. May it also lead to “a true spiritual bond” among the guards, he said.

Pope Benedict said the Swiss Guard is built upon the “great ide-als” of a “firmness of Catholic faith, a convinced and convincing Christian way of life, unshakeable trust and a profound love for the church and for the vicar of Christ.”

He said the guards also represent “conscientiousness and perseverance in the small and great tasks of daily service, courage and humility, attention to others and humanity.”

Swiss Guard recruits are required to be Swiss citizens, unmarried Catholic men between the ages of 19 and 30, and at least 5 feet 8 inches tall. Even though

Swiss guards swear to defend

A ‘glorious tradition’ of a ‘small army with great ideals.’ — Pope Benedict XVI

they must have completed Switzerland’s required military service, prospective papal guards still undergo a rigorous selection process and further training in defense and security.

Though Swiss Guards are no longer fighting battles with their broadswords and halberds, their daily life includes 24-hour shifts that often require stand-ing for long periods of time guarding the Vatican’s major entrances or working at liturgical celebrations and audiences.

The guards’ one day off every three days tends to be busy as well, since it is often dedicated to inspections, briefings, marches, additional courses and shooting practice.

At the early evening swearing-in ceremony May 6, the Swiss Guard band played Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 dance hit, “I Will Survive.”

Starting in June, the Swiss Guard will begin a string of jubilee celebrations that will include festivities Jan. 22 mark-ing their founding 500 years ago.

The guards will create a historical re-enactment of the Jan. 22, 1506, arrival of 150 Swiss soldiers at the Vatican marking the start of their centuries-long service to the see of Peter at the request of Pope Julius II.

The jubilee will conclude May 6, 2006, when some 100 former Swiss Guards attend the swearing-in ceremony after marching from Switzerland to Rome in 26 days — a much swifter excursion than the seven-month trek it took the first Swiss Guards to make in 1505-06.

CNS photo from reuterS

Above: New recruits of the Vatican’s elite Swiss Guard prepare their uniforms inside their barracks before their swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican May 6. New recruits are sworn in every year on May 6, the date on which 147 Swiss soldiers died defending the pope during an attack on rome in 1527.

Below: Thirty-one new recruits to the elite Swiss Guard are sworn in at the Vatican May 6.

SWiSS, from page 1

CNS photo by NaNCy WieCheC

6 The Catholic News & Herald May 13, 2005YEAr oF THE EuCHArIST

the life of the Catholic Church, and also the mission of the church,” said Father Arnsparger.

Pope John Paul II announced in June 2004 that a year of special emphasis on the Eucharist would be observed from October 2004 to October 2005.

“(The Eucharist) is where we get our energy to be built up in the body of Christ and also to bring others into (the church), so it becomes a part of the new evangelization,” Father Arnsparger said.

Father Arnsparger said he hopes people will realize that the Eucharist is a treasure.

“When we walk down the aisle to holy Communion ... we go on pilgrim-age to Jesus and he comes to us, “ he said. “Our hearts should be ready to leap, much as John the Baptist leaped in the womb of Elizabeth as Jesus came toward him in the womb of Mary.”

“If we could develop a ‘culture of the Eucharist,’ that leads to peace, be-cause we realize Jesus is walking with us — that we are not alone,” Father Arn-sparger said.

Father Arnsparger also hopes Catho-lics will have greater appreciation for the Mass and for all the liturgy, such as the liturgy of the hours, which “leads us to reflect on God’s saving acts.”

If people study the Mass, their par-ticipation will become more active and conscientious, Father Arnsparger said.

“I’m hoping (the Year of the Eucha-rist) will lead them to spend time outside of Mass in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” he said. “People are so busy today, and they need to take some quiet time in adoration.”

According to Father Arnsparger, during the Year of the Eucharist, people also need to focus on Sunday as a day of rest and recuperation.

“Sundays must be regained for the Lord,” he said. “We need to reawaken to the fact that we need a day to rest.”

“Often we put Jesus on to Sundays,

even if that, and we get it over with,” Father Arnsparger said. “But Jesus is walking with us every day, and it starts on Sunday.”

According to Father Arnsparger, the more people become amazed at the mys-tery of the Eucharist, it will change hearts.

“It will change the way we make decisions. It will change our marriages,” he said. “It will change my priesthood. Every day, as I become more amazed, I become a better priest.”

The Year of the Eucharist is meant to lead people to a higher standard of holiness and the art of prayer, Father Arnsparger said.

“Prayer must be based in what God has revealed, otherwise we’ve made a new religion,” he said.

Father Arnsparger offered several suggestions for observing the Year of the Eucharist, including: participation at Sunday Mass, visitation to the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass, setting aside Sunday as the day of the Lord, attending the diocesan Eucharistic Congress in September and forming a disciplined and ordered daily prayer life.

“We must be in communion with Jesus, so that we may receive Commu-nion,” Father Arnsparger said. “When we are in communion, then we develop deeper into being with God rather than being with each other.”

Contact Staff Writer Karen A. Evans by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail [email protected].

Base everything in Eucharist, says priest

eUcHariST, from page 1

by TrACy EArlyCAThOliC NEws sErviCE

YONKERS, N.Y. — Franciscan Father Benedict Groeschel, an interna-tionally known specialist in spirituality, called for a renewal of emphasis on eu-charistic devotion and adoration.

He said attacks on practices such as exposition of the Blessed Sacrament had been expressed in books used in some Catholic seminaries, colleges and high schools and had led to the decline of such practices.

This “declining eucharistic devo-tion” is a “measure of the loss of faith,” said the priest, who is a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal.

Preceded by Cardinal Avery Dulles and Father Richard John Neuhaus, Fa-ther Groeschel spoke during a March 14 lecture in a Lenten series sponsored by the seminary of the Archdiocese of New York, St. Joseph’s in Yonkers, on the Year of the Eucharist.

Pope John Paul II announced last June that a year of special emphasis on the Eucharist would be held from Octo-ber 2004 to October of this year.

He issued an encyclical titled “Ec-clesia de Eucharistia,” on the church and the Eucharist, in 2003, and Father Groe-schel called his lecture a commentary on that document.

Holding a doctorate in psychology and based at a New York archdiocesan retreat center, Father Groeschel has built a growing reputation through extensive retreat work, writings and appearances on Mother Angelica’s Eternal Word Tele-vision Network, known as EWTN.

In 1987, he also led a group of six Capuchin Franciscans in forming the order to which he belongs. The order emphasizes preaching, missionary work and service to the poor.

The marked esteem and reverence in which Father Groeschel is held by many beneficiaries of his ministry appear to have intensified since his recovery from a near-fatal accident in Orlando, Fla., in January 2004.

Some lasting effects of his severe injuries were evident. He walks with a cane, and he remained seated to lecture. But at the age of 71 he has resumed an active schedule. He is a prolific writer and a popular retreat leader.

Father Groeschel traced the history of eucharistic exposition to actions taken about A.D. 700 in Lugo, a Spanish town near the pilgrimage center of Santiago de Compostela.

While the Eucharist had traditionally been reserved for delivery to the sick

and dying whenever needed, believers in Lugo began the practice of putting it in a container that enabled everyone to see it, he said.

The widespread popularity of this practice developed later through the influence of St. Francis of Assisi and oth-ers, he said.

Father Groeschel said eucharistic devotion has spiritual importance be-cause it is a way of responding to Christ that puts worshippers in his presence.

“He may not be present to you be-cause you are not responding to him,” he said.

The tabernacle containing the re-served sacrament should have a promi-nent place in the church, and should be presented in a manner marked by dignity and beauty to demonstrate its importance, he said.

Although there is a divine pres-ence everywhere, Christ is found in his humanity in the body and blood of the Eucharist, he said.

Father Groeschel said eucharistic de-votion was expressed privately through personal adoration and publicly through such activities as eucharistic processions.

A life of devotionPriest urges renewed emphasis on eucharistic devotion

CNS photo by ChriS SheridaN

Father Benedict Groeschel speaks to the audience at a March 14 lecture that was part of a lenten series sponsored by the seminary of the Archdiocese of New York.

photo by KareN a. evaNS

Father roger Arnsparger, pastor of St. Barnabas Church in Arden, speaks about the Year of the Eucharist to members of the Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group at Myers Park Country Club May 2.

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 7 May 13, 2005YEAr oF THE EuCHArIST

by CArOl GlATZCAThOliC NEws sErviCE

VATICAN CITY — In his last mes-sage published to the world, Pope John Paul II called on the faithful to be “gen-erous evangelizers” by fighting injustice and poverty while spreading the Gospel.

On April 15 the Vatican released the pope’s annual World Mission Sunday message, which was signed by the late pope and dated Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.

“In our day human society appears to be shrouded in dark shadows while it is shaken by tragic events and shattered by catastrophic natural disasters,” the late pope wrote.

He said the eucharistic celebration is “bread from heaven, which gives eternal life and opens the human heart to a great hope.”

The Vatican said Pope John Paul wished the message to be made public April 15 so that bishops’ conferences around the world had time to prepare for World Mission Sunday, which will be celebrated Oct. 23 in most dioceses.

Addressing this year’s theme, “Mis-sion: Bread Broken for the World,” the pope highlighted the task of pastoral workers and missionaries who “travel unexplored paths to carry the bread of salvation to all.”

The Eucharist is not meant just for oneself, he wrote; it is a gift that must be shared with all people.

“Passionate love for Christ leads

to courageous proclamation of Christ, proclamation which, with martyrdom, becomes the supreme offering of love for God and mankind,” he wrote.

Pope John Paul wrote that the “Eu-charist leads us to be generous evangeliz-ers, actively committed to building a just and more fraternal world.”

He said he wished this year of the Eucharist would help inspire all Chris-tians to show concern for and solidar-ity with those suffering from “the many forms of poverty present in our world.”

In his message, the pope said he hoped the many missionaries who died in paying witness to the Gospel would serve as examples that will help attract “numerous men and women to tread the path of heroic fidelity to Christ.”

WaNT More iNfo?The full text of Pope John Paul ii’s mes-sage can be obtained at www.vatican.va/gpii/bulletin/b0217-XX.01.pdf.

Vatican posthumously publishes pope’s World Mission Sunday

We have been examining the first movement of the Liturgy of the Eucha-rist, known as the offertory. Clearly the most essential elements that are presented to the priest and offered for sacrifice are the bread and wine. With-out bread and wine there is no Mass. Nothing may be substituted for these elements.

What is so important about bread and wine? Why do we use bread and wine at every Mass? We do because the Catholic Church faithfully imitates Jesus Christ.

At the Last Supper, the first holy Mass, Jesus commanded his apostles — his college of bishops — “Do this in memory of me,” thus giving them the power to offer the sacrifice of the Mass. The church faithfully follows the com-mand of the Lord since she has no author-ity to change the essential elements of the sacrament.

In the same way that Christ ordained men, his apostles, to be his priests, the church may only use bread and wine for the sacrament of his Body and Blood (Cf. Catechism #1577). The church has the authority only to continue what Christ established.

In instituting the sacrament on Holy Thursday, Jesus accepted the gifts pre-sented at the Passover — namely, the bread and wine — blessed them, gave them to his apostles and fulfilled the meaning of the Passover with his perfect sacrifice. Here, at the first holy Mass, Our Lord delivered the blueprint for perfect worship, which necessitated the use of bread and wine.

Therefore, the church has legislated that bread and wine are essential, neces-sary to the sacrifice of the Mass (CCL #924;926). What is so important about bread and wine?

At this point, we must penetrate a little deeper into the mystery of the sac-rament. To do this, we will inspect these two elements on four distinct levels: the natural, the symbolic, the theological and the mystical/spiritual.

On the natural level, bread and wine have nourished mankind for centuries; they are common ingredients in the hu-man diet almost from the beginning of time. It is natural that bread and wine would signify nourishment.

On the symbolic level, both bread and wine symbolize the work of God and man — God provides the wheat and grapes, but man must labor to produce bread and wine. In order to manufacture bread, wheat is cultivated and harvested, sifted and ground into flour, added to water, kneaded and baked, before it can be used in the Mass.

Likewise, wine is the end product resulting from the tending of grapes, harvesting them, crushing them and fer-menting the juice into a fine vintage. The process is time-consuming and arduous, symbolizing the cooperation of God and man, divine providence and human labor.

On the theological level, bread and wine are first mentioned in the Book of Genesis in reference to the mysterious priest and king, Melchizedek.

Melchizedek offered bread and wine as a gift pleasing to God. His sacrifice foreshadowed the one, true and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is the defin-itive high priest and king. Further, since many grains of wheat compose the bread and many grapes are crushed to produce wine, the bread and wine also theologi-cally represent the church, composed of many members.

And on the mystical or spiritual lev-el, since grains of wheat must be ground into flour and baked and grapes must be crushed into liquid and fermented, the actual process represents the agony, the suffering and the passion of Christ that brought about our redemption.

The natural, symbolic, theological and mystical/spiritual levels all demon-strate that bread and wine are not only necessary, but appropriate elements to be used in the perfect sacrifice of Christ offered in an unbloody manner at each holy Mass.

Next week, we will return to the ritual of the Mass to examine the preparation of the altar and the offertory procession.

Father Buettner is parochial vicar at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton.

WaNT Previous ColuMNs?father buettner’s “Mystery of the Mass” series is available online at www.charlottediocese.org/mysteryof-mass.html.

Bread and wineUnderstanding the Mystery of the Mass, Part 16

euCHarisT aNd evaNgelizaTioN

Guest Column

FATHER MATTHEW BUETTNER

guest columnist


First Communion

CourteSy photo

Benedictine Father David Draim (back right), parochial vicar of St. James Church in Hamlet, stands with a group of children who made their first Communion during a bilingual liturgy at the church May 1. Afterward, the children participated in the crowning of the Blessed Mother.

Birthday

CourteSy photo

Students at St. leo the Great School in Winston-Salem offer a special blessing to Father Thomas Kessler, pastor of St. leo the Great Church, during a surprise birthday celebration April 7.

The student body wanted to thank Father Kessler for his dedication to both the school and parish, and presented him with a plaque listing the “top 10” reasons he makes them happy. Father Kessler was also given a special stationary box with personalized cards created by the school.


Katy Kneisel is exuberant after receiving her first Communion at St. leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem April 30. About 80 second-graders from the church received first Communion at two Masses celebrated that day.

THIS MONTH IN —1999Cardinal francis arinze, prefect of the Congregation for divine Worship and the sacraments and then-president of the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue, presided over a Mass with then-bishop William g. Curlin and other priests of the diocese of Charlotte at our lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte May 17, 1999. as part of his visit to North Carolina, Cardinal arinze’s stop in Charlotte was a celebration of religion, spirituality and culture.

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 9 May 13, 2005FIGHTING For lIFE

that I was born during a saline solution abortion,” Jessen said in a recent talk. “There’s no medical explanation of why I’m here.”

“It’s like being burned alive in your mother’s womb for 18 hours,” she said. “The abortionist on duty that day wasn’t there and I thank the Lord or he would have strangled or suffocated me.”

Jessen’s early life was not much easier,

until she was removed from the abusive fos-ter home in which she had been placed and adopted by Penny Jessen.

Although the doctors had predicted the baby would be “no more than a veg-etable,” unable to speak, see or walk, the kindly older woman spent hours with Jessen in intensive physical therapy that soon bore fruit.

In fact, none of the doctors’ predic-tions came true. By age 4, Jessen was able to walk with a walker and leg braces. Today, she walks without the aid of braces, walker or cane.

Lifting leg weights has strengthened her legs and prevented her from falling down as often as in the past.

Now, her only visible disability is a limp. But she doesn’t let that hold her back. She told the students she had been running several miles daily in prepara-tion for a 26-mile marathon in Nashville in early May.

“The doctors said there was no hope and I would never progress beyond that point,” she said. “They said, ‘We know you’d never want to live like that.’ What arrogance. How can you look at any hu-man life and say there is no hope?”

Jessen said she has forgiven her bio-logical mother, whom she has never met. But she criticized her mother’s selfish-ness and cautioned young women in the audience to avoid the same trap.

“My biological mother thought she was making a decision affecting only her,” she said. “If abortion is merely about women’s rights, then what were mine?”

Jessen also said that she does not condemn any woman who has had an abortion. But she told any girl listening who was pregnant to find counseling and support rather than an abortion clinic.

Jessen’s strong views have fre-quently put her in the public eye. She has testified twice before the U.S. Congress — in 1996 against partial-birth abortions

and in 2000 in support of the Born Alive Infant Act.

The born-alive act says any infant who is fully born and shows signs of life is considered a human person entitled to the full protection of the law — even if the baby is born during a failed abortion.

In 2001, following an abortion debate, Jessen received a standing ova-tion from a crowd of supporters of legal abortion.

In 2002, she was invited to the White House to witness the signing of the Born Alive Infant Act by President George W.

Bush.Not everyone agrees with Jessen’s

viewpoint, however. When she was only 16, she testified before the Alabama Leg-islature. Afterward a woman in the audi-ence told her, “Children with disabilities are a burden to society.”

“That shouldn’t be shocking because that’s where we’re heading as a society,” Jessen said. “I love this country, but we’ve done some shameful things.”

“When does it end, people?” she asked. “When we diminish life? What happens when it’s you?”

CNS photo by photo by moNte maCe, the leaveN

Gianna Jessen, 28, of Nashville, Tenn., who lived after her mother aborted her in 1977, tells her story to about 500 students at the university of Kansas April 5. Though doctors predicted she would be “no more than a vegetable,” Jessen was preparing to run her first marathon.

Aborted woman says Christ helped her live

aBOrTiON, from page 1

Poll shows majority in U.S. oppose all human cloning, most abortions

WASHINGTON (CNS)— The majority of Americans think all human cloning should be banned and abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is threatened or in cases of rape or incest, according to a new poll released April 27.

The new survey by an organization called the polling company also found that 75 percent of Americans strongly disagreed with the statement that “a person should be able to take a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abor-tion without her parents’ knowledge.” Another 7 percent said they disagreed “somewhat.”

“It’s almost impossible to find an issue on Capitol Hill where you can get 75 percent” of the population to strongly agree, said Kellyanne Conway, CEO and president of the polling company, at a Washington press conference where the poll results were released.

Later that day, the House of Rep-resentatives passed the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, 270-157. The legislation would make it a federal crime to take a minor across state lines for an abortion in violation of the minor’s home state parental consent or notification laws. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.

On cloning, half of the 1,000 survey respondents were offered four possible responses across a spectrum of opinion. In all, 40 percent chose one of the three options that would permit some or all cloning, while 55 percent said all human cloning should be banned.

The rest of the respondents said they did not know or refused to answer.

Only 8 percent said all human clon-ing should be allowed, 28 percent said cloning that “creates and then destroys human embryos for stem-cell research should be allowed, but cloning human embryos which would result in the birth of children should be banned,” and 4 percent said cloning that would result in the birth of children should be allowed but cloning to create human embryos that would be destroyed for stem-cell research should be banned.

Among the 500 offered only two possible responses, 41 percent said they strongly or somewhat supported the statement that “cloning to create human embryos for stem-cell research which would destroy them should be allowed and only cloning for reproduction should be banned,” and 54 percent said they believed strongly or somewhat that all human cloning should be banned.

Because the sample for the cloning

questions was only 500 people, the mar-gin of error for those responses was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. For the other questions, the margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

All 1,000 respondents were offered six possible responses when asked to describe their position on the abortion issue. Sixty-two percent chose one of the three responses considered “pro-life,” while 35 percent selected one of the “pro-choice” options.

Here are the responses, and the per-centage that selected them:

— Abortion should never be legal, 17 percent.

— Abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is in danger, 14 percent.

— Abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is in danger or in cases or rape or incest, 31 percent.

— Abortion should be legal for any reason during the first three months, 21 percent.

— Abortion should be legal for any reason during the first six months, 4 percent.

— Abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during a woman’s pregnancy, 10 percent.

The survey was commissioned by the National Right to Life Committee, one of the sponsors of a “Real Women’s Voices” lobbying day, which focused on several issues pending in the Senate, in-cluding a ban on human cloning and the appointment of federal judges.

A separate poll conducted by Ayres McHenry Association and commis-sioned by the Judicial Confirmation Net-work in March found that 82 percent of Americans agreed that any nominee for a federal judgeship who is well-qualified deserves an up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate.

Nearly as many — 79 percent — disagreed with the statement, “If a well-qualified nominee is pro-life on abortion, he or she should be disqualified from serving on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“I believe what we are seeing from these various surveys is an informed so-ciety,” said Maggi Nadol, coordinator of the diocesan Respect Life Office.

“People have seen first-hand what the fallout can be from laws that do not respect the dignity and sanctity of life,” she said. “It has manifested itself in many unfortunate ways, both individually and culturally.”

Editor Kevin E. Murray contributed to this story.


HENDERSONVILLE — Students from Immaculata School in Henderson-ville “cleaned the board” at this year’s North Carolina Scholastic Chess Cham-pionship.

Twenty-six students from the school took part in the tournament in Charlotte March 5-6.

Out of 132 students participating in the K-5 division, Immaculata’s K-5 team went home as the 2005 North Carolina state champions. Students were Josh Horwitz, Landon Rimbault, Aidan Balkan, Seth Jones, Adena Allen, Jarret Miller, Daniel Araya and Elena Durvas.

Individually, Josh Horwitz placed 11th and Seth Jones placed 19th.

Out of the 135 students participating in the K-3 division, Immaculata’s K-3 team placed third. Students were Reid Motter, Taylor Jones, Alex Borg, Cassie Born, Clare Little, Cori Patrick, Brenden Balken, Patrick Tobacco, Korey Lovett and Phillip Katsadouros.

Individually, Phillip Katsadouros

placed 9th and Reid Motter placed 13th.Out of the 130 students participating

in the K-8 division, Immaculata’s K-8 team finished fifth. Students were Matt Horwitz, Britt McDanel, Rose Stroup, Vasili Katsadouros, Nicolas Araya, Owen Schoeff, Will Patrick and Nerissa Durvas. Matt Horwitz placed 11th and Britt McDanel placed 12th.

In a separate tournament that was part of the state championship, Matt Horwitz placed 3rd in the Blitz Chess Tournament.

Immaculata scores at chess championship


CHARLOTTE — Students from Our Lady of the Assumption School in Charlotte sit with Stan Patterson, president of House of Mercy, a six-bed residential home for AIDS patients, after presenting Patterson with a check for $1,730 April 14. More than 165 students raised the money by participating in a “Laps for Lent” walk in March. Patterson compared the children to the Good Samaritan, who cared for the injured man he found on the side of the road. Recently, a patient came to House of Mercy in Belmont after being found on the side of the road.“When each of you raised money for House of Mercy, I believe you were following the example of the Good Samaritan,” said Patterson. “You decided to help someone you don’t even know.”

by KArEN A. EvANssTAff wriTEr

HUNTERSVILLE — Some children with diabetes will have a better summer thanks to the students of St. Mark School. The entire student body — 530 students — participated in the School Walk for Diabetes April 18.

Sherri Petrilli, St. Mark School’s nurse, coordinated the event, which supports the American Diabetes As-sociation (ADA). The school raised $22,134, which will be donated to ADA-sponsored residential camps for children with diabetes.

In 2004, St. Mark School raised more than $16,000 for the ADA, the highest amount in the Southeast and the ninth highest in the United States.

According to Suzanne Fulcher, coordi-nator for the State of North Carolina School Walk for Diabetes, the money raised by St. Mark School students this year will likely keep the school in their first-place regional and top 10 national spots.

“With the prevalence of type 2 diabe-tes today, the walk provided an educational opportunity for the children,” Petrilli said.

A few weeks before the walk, the students learned about both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. They also learned about the importance of good nutrition and ex-ercise in the prevention of diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes results from the body’s failure to produce insulin, the hormone that allows glucose to enter and fuel the cells of the body. Approxi-mately five- to-10 percent of Ameri-cans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1.

Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance, in which the body fails to properly use insulin, combined with rela-tive insulin deficiency. Most Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Having diabetes increases the risk for many serious health complications, including heart disease, blindness, nerve damage and kidney damage.

“The students had a lot of fun, plus they helped two of their classmates, who are diabetic,” said Petrilli.

Contact Staff Writer Karen A. Evans by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail [email protected].

St. Mark School students raise $22,000 in diabetes walk


Students at St. Mark School in Huntersville participate in the School Walk for Diabetes April 18. The students raised more then $22,000, which will be donated to summer camps for children with diabetes.

WalkiNg ToWard a Cure Mercy and SamaritansOur Lady of the Assumption students raise funds for AIDS patients

IN our SCHoolS

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 11 May 13, 2005ADVErTISEMENT


KERNERSVILLE — Bishop Mc-Guinness Catholic High School scored one of its biggest musical and drama pro-duction successes with Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” presented in Winston-Sa-lem’s Reynolds Auditorium March 9-l2.

The participation of more than 91 students — including cast, orchestra and technical crew — marked this ambitious project undertaken by the school’s drama program.

“This production has elevated the standard and level of our entire pro-gram,” said Sister Ann Thomas Taylor, dean of students and one of the show’s producers.

“We put up a show that is not typical for a high school,” she said. “Our stu-dents and all of the parent volunteers put their hearts into this project, dedicated their time and energy and considerable talent to make it a great success.”

After acquiring the rights to the show in September, the students began a well-orchestrated 10-week journey of set construction, costume creation and design. Additionally, Micki Sharpe, a Philadelphia-based actress with perfor-mance experience in Philadelphia and New York, directed the production. She spent 10 weeks in North Carolina over-seeing the project as well as directing the performers’ intensive singing and danc-

ing rehearsals.“I am immensely proud of everyone

— students, parents and colleagues — who helped to make such a successful production,” said Dr. Alan Hirsh, head of the school’s music program.

“The sheer amount of music in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ exceeds that of other shows we’ve done in the past,” he said. “But the orchestra faced this chal-lenge head on and the result was amaz-ing. I was truly inspired by our students’ hard work, time and energy.”

The role of Belle went to senior Alona Metcalf. It was her ninth and final performance at Bishop McGuinness. Junior J.C. Bobbitt made his fourth ap-pearance in a school production in the role of the Beast.

“This was the finest production in the school’s history, a real showcase for the extraordinary talents of our students with interest in the performing arts,” said Principal George Repass.

“Our quest for excellence in this area has been one of our highest priorities in recent years, and the exceptional product yielded by this project is real proof of the success of that effort,” he said. “We are all extremely proud.”

KERNERSVILLE — A group of students from Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville was recently recognized with awards of excellence.

Twenty-five Bishop McGuiness students were among the 1,300 students who participated in the 20 annual Har-vard Model Congress in Boston March 3-6. Facililtated by Harvard University students, the Harvard Model Congress is the largest government simulation in the country.

The Harvard Model Congress is designed to inspire high school students to participate in civic life by creating a dynamic environment where they can learn from one another and through their interactions with American democracy.

Currently, nearly 2,000 students par-ticipate each year in the Harvard Model Congress conferences in Boston and San Francisco.

At the Boston conference, Bishop McGuinness students were recognized with 15 awards of excellence, 20 percent of all the awards given and eight more than the next-recognized high school.

The Bishop McGuiness Supreme Court team of Rachel Anemone and P.J. Dascoli took top honors out of 28 teams. Student John Valitutto was recognized

as “Best Delegate” in the Constitutional Convention while student Brendan Re-gan took top honors in the Historical Committee.

Award winners in the House and Senate include Matthew Balser, Nick Butler, Jordan Cain, Samantha Cibelli, Chris Coggin, Matt Maloney, Michael O’Shea, Matthew Pentz, Jennifer Spill-ane, Richard Valitutto and Lauren Wat-kins.

Michael Streich and alumnus Char-lie McCurry coached the team. Other faculty advisors included Tara Porter and Carol London. The Supreme Court team was coached by Liz Arias, Joanne Waters and Stuart Brock of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

Alumnus Patrick Nolan also joined the group during the event to help team members and give expert testimony in the House Armed Services Committee.

Other Bishop McGuinness delegates included Alexa Carda, Jordan Foley, Heather Hofmann, Jonathan Merlini, Neil Miller, Margaret Minton, P.J. Stand-ford, Matthew Sutter, Andy Ronan and Jennifer Williams.

Students also participated in a tour of Boston’s Old North End and Old Stur-bridge Village, traveled to the Harvard campus to sit in on classes and attended

BMHS marks landmark show with ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Bishop McGuinness sweeps Harvard Model

CourteSy photo

Students of Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville raise the roof of Winston-Salem’s reynolds Auditorium with their production of “Beauty and the Beast” March 9-12.

CHARLOTTE — Samson Zebene Mesele, a senior at Charlotte Catholic High School, was among 43 high school students to win the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s most presti-gious scholarship program.

Mesele was among 22 semifinal-ists from Mecklenburg County and 112 finalists from the nation for a 2005 Morehead scholarship, provided by the John Motley Morehead Foundation. The scholarship, among the largest and most competitive in the United States, pays all expenses for four years, including a laptop computer, and four summer en-richment experiences.

The winners, chosen from 1,362 students nominated by their high schools in October 2004, were announced by the Morehead Central Se-lection Committee March 11. The value for this award is about $80,000 for resi-dents of North Carolina.

“This year’s candidate group was the strongest and largest in the history of the Morehead Program, and the committees had to make a lot of difficult decisions,” said Charles Lovelace, the foundation’s executive director.

Mesele, who was born in Germany to Ethiopian parents, is the highest- ranked senior at the high school. He is also a National Achievement Scholar, a “commended” student in the National Merit Scholarship Program and was nominated by Principal Jerry Healy for this year’s Principal Leadership Award, given to a senior through the National

Association of Secondary School Prin-cipals.

Mesele was nominated for the More-head scholarship by Charlotte Catholic’s scholarship committee.

He also was nominated by Charlotte Catholic faculty to participate at this summer’s African American Catholic Leadership Development Seminar at the University of Notre Dame. This schol-arship-based seminar is for 40 students chosen from national and international nominations.

Mesele also was selected to rep-resent Charlotte Catholic at this year’s North Carolina Summer Ventures in Sci-ence and Mathematics at Appalachian State University.

Additionally, he plays on the school’s championship soccer team; is an Eagle Scout; a black-belt competitor and instructor in Tae Kwon Do; vice president of his school’s Executive Stu-dent Council, Beta Club and Spanish Honor Society; president of the National Conference for Community Justice; and a talented musician and actor.

“A common expression used by fac-ulty in describing Samson’s class work is that he is both academically gifted and the hardest-working student in class,” said Sandy Needham, a guidance coun-selor who recommended Mesele for the scholarship.

“Samson is the quintessential well-rounded student,” said Needham. “He is the complete package as a student, ath-lete, leader, volunteer and worker.”

Charlotte Catholic senior wins prestigious scholarship

IN our SCHoolS


HIGH POINT — A project under-taken by students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point will be a part of the U.S. Library of Congress.

In 2003, teacher Sharon Kalbaugh had students interview U.S. military veter-ans — their family, friends and neighbors — as part of a social studies project.

The interviews included video, audio and written accounts from the students’ subjects. The interviewees signed release forms, allowing Kalbaugh to send the

Student artwork exhibited in gallery

HIGH POINT — The artwork of 10 students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School was selected to be on display at the Theatre Art Galleries in High Point in April.

The exhibit, located in the Ka-leidoscope Youth Gallery, was part of the gallery’s 29th Annual Student

IHM social studies project entered into U.S. Library of Congress

IHM eighth-grader competes in state contest

HIGH POINT — Jackson Sams, an eighth-grader at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point, qualified to compete in the National Geographic Bee’s state competition in Raleigh April 1.

Winner of the school’s Bee sev-eral weeks prior, Jackson then took the written test to qualify to compete at the state level. State winners then go to the national Bee in Washington, D.C. for a chance to win a $25,000 college scholar-ship from National Geographic.

Jackson is the second student of teacher Sharon Kalbaugh in four years to have advanced to the state level.

project to the U.S. Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project.

The accounts are being processed and will soon be a permanent part of the U.S. Library of Congress.

According to its Web site, the Vet-erans History Project is designed to preserve the extraordinary first-hand wartime stories of ordinary people. It features veterans from World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

Matthew-Morgan classroom receives continued support

CHARLOTTE — The Foundation for the Education of Children with Down Syndrome has made a $10,000 donation toward the Matthew-Morgan Pilot Class-room at St. Patrick School in Charlotte.

The program, originally funded by the foundation, was established at St. Patrick School in 2002 for students with Down syndrome, a congenital condition characterized by moderate to severe mental retardation and other symptoms.

The program teaches students basic academic curriculum as well as life skills based on their levels of ability. Students join the St. Patrick School students in the lunchroom, on the playground, at Mass and in some classes.

“The Board of Directors of the Foundation ... are extremely pleased with the program and the effect that it has had on the students with Down syndrome, as well as the other students in the school,” said J. Riley Grier, presi-dent of the foundation, in a January let-ter to Linda Cherry, superintendent of Catholic schools.

Grier expressed his gratitude to Prin-cipal Angela Montague for “her work in making this classroom such an integral part of her school.”

“Including these kids in the day-to-day activities helps make them feel part of the school and creates an environ-ment of acceptance for these children,” said Grier.

“Catholic education should be for all children, incorporating all types of students into mainstream society,” said Montague in a 2003 interview with The Catholic News & Herald.

“They are part of our community, and we would be lost without them,” she said.

Show, which is themed “What Lies Beneath: Symbolism.”

The school’s art teacher, Ann Jones, entered the students’ pieces into the show.

Eighth-grader Emily Sickelbaugh won third-place honors for her butterfly mask. Other students who had items on display were sixth-grader Rebecca Goldston; seventh-graders Jennifer Lindh, Gabrielle Amundson, Josh Rath-burn, Anna Tillery, Kiersten Anderson and Connor Gehling; and eighth-graders Christa Dolan and Elizabeth Sheffield.

IN our SCHoolS


a roundup of scripture, readings, films and moreCulture Watch

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic groups called off their boycott of eBay once they received word from the Inter-net auction site May 1 that the site would no longer allow consecrated hosts or other sacred objects to be sold.

“We’re glad that the concerted ef-forts of so many individuals and groups, including the league, have led to this positive change in eBay’s policies,” said Phil Horgan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League in Ottawa.

Catholics had been urged to boycott the site after it allowed an Iowa man to try to sell shortly after Pope John Paul II’s death a Communion host reportedly consecrated by him.

The host was later withdrawn by the seller, no money exchanged hands and the host was properly disposed of accord-ing to church law. But groups urging the boycott insisted that eBay should never have allowed the auction of an item that is sacred to Catholics.

A Web site devoted to the initial boycott, www.boycottebay.org, was updated May 3 telling Catholics the boycott was over. The updated site credited eBay for changing its policies and officially stating “that, under its existing policies, sales of the Eucha-rist, as well as other unspecified holy objects of Catholics and other religious faiths, will not be permitted.”

The Web site also posted a letter from eBay’s community watch team sent May 1 to those who protested the auction

of the consecrated host.The letter stated that the auction site

strives to “respect the diverse perspec-tives of our sellers” and has policies in place to remove listings for illegal items as well as highly offensive listings that promote hate or intolerance.

“We understand that the listing of the Eucharist was highly upsetting to Catho-lic members of the eBay community and Catholics globally,” the letter said.

It added that once the auction item came to the attention of eBay officials they sought advice from Catholics and members of other religions about items that “might also be highly sacred and inappropriate for sale.”

“As a result of this dialogue,” the letter continued, “we have concluded that sales of the Eucharist and similar highly sacred items are not appropriate on eBay. We have, therefore, broadened our policies and will remove those types of listings should they appear on the site in the future.”

The letter encouraged people to notify eBay of violations to the updated policy or to directly communicate with the seller of an item if they find its sale offensive.

The Catholic Civil Rights League also urged its members to make sure eBay sticks to its new policy.

“Because most of the posting pro-cesses are automated, we join eBay in encouraging all users to be vigilant about enforcing it,” the group said.

Catholic group ends eBay boycott after auction site

WORD TO LIFESUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS: MAY 22, 2005

May 22, The Most Holy Trinity

Cycle A Readings:1) Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9 (Psalm) Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 552) 2 Corinthians 13:11-133) Gospel: John 3:16-18

God found in unexpected places, moments

by bEvErly COrZiNECAThOliC NEws sErviCE

The parking lot fills to capacity. Families tumble out of SUVs with seem-ingly enough paraphernalia to sustain themselves for days. Across the fields, the sounds of children’s laughter and the chaos of joyful screams fill the air.

Then the unmistakable crack of a baseball bat colliding with a well-thrown ball ignites a crowd somewhere in the distance. In an adjacent field a man shouts, “Baseball ready!” to a team of grade-school boys.

My husband and I are devoted fans. “Baseball ready!” has become our Sat-urday mantra. One of the players is our grandson; our son is the head coach. Vet-erans of freezing drizzle and the relent-less Texas sun, the coaches spend hours of their precious time teaching the boys not only the fundamentals of baseball, but the rules of life as well.

Besides the coach-player relation-ship, the fan-team relationship has be-come extraordinary over the years. We are a truly diverse group with a common goal to love and support the boys and

their coaches.Friendships have emerged among

us. A baby has celebrated her first birth-day. A dad served in Iraq and returned. All the while we try our best to teach by example how to behave in the eupho-ria of winning and in the cold silence of defeat.

On a baseball Saturday this past April, only one word would describe the weather: “glorious.” Balmy 70s, blue sky, whipped-cream clouds, a light breeze and the familiar cry, “Baseball ready!”

Throughout the bleachers, “It’s the perfect day for baseball!” is part of everyone’s conversation. Soon we’ll swelter in summer’s blazing heat, but today — today, thank you, Lord. Today is just right!

In this Trinity Sunday’s readings we hear about the courageous encounter between God and Moses on Sinai, the assurance from Jesus in John’s Gospel that he is the Son of God and St. Paul’s Trinitarian blessing of the church at Corinth at the close of his second letter. Our readings span thousands of years, but the message is clear: God loves us and wishes all of us to live in the peace that is Shalom.

Our vocabularies always will pale in trying to describe the attributes of God, but we may catch glimpses of God in the most unexpected places.

Question:Describe a time when you felt the

omnipresence of God’s love.

Scripture to be Illustrated:“For God did not send his Son into

the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

sCriPTure for THe Week of MaY 15-21sunday (Pentecost), acts 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23; Monday, sirach 1:1-10, Mark 9:14-29; Tuesday, sirach 2:1-11, Mark 9:30-37; Wednesday (st. John i), sirach 4:11-19, Mark 9:38-40; Thursday, sirach 5:1-8, Mark 9:41-50; friday (st. bernardine of siena), sirach 6:5-17, Mark 10:1-12; saturday (st. Christopher Magallanes and Companions), sirach 17:1-15, Mark 10:13-18.

sCriPTure for THe Week of MaY 22-28sunday (The Most Holy Trinity), exodus 34:4-6, 8-9, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, John 3:16-18; Monday, sirach 17:20-24, Mark 10:17-27; Tuesday, sirach 35:1-12, Mark 10:28-31; Wednesday (st. bede, st. gregory vii, st. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi), sirach 36:1, 4-5, 10-17, Mark 10:32-45; Thursday (st. Philip Neri), sirach 42:15-25, Mark 10:46-52; friday (st. augustine of Canterbury), sirach 44:1, 9-13, Mark 11:11-26; saturday, sirach 51:12-20, Mark 11:27-33.

WEEKLY SCRIPTUREBERLIN (CNS) — A Canadian-based online casino, known for making some unusual and expensive purchases of religious-themed items, can now add to its list of acquisitions a 1999 Volkswa-gen Golf said to have been once owned by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Golden Palace Casino, based in Kahnawake, Quebec, placed the winning bid for the gray hatchback May 6 on eBay for 188,938 euros, the equivalent of US$244,800.

According to a report by the Brit-ish news agency, Reuters, the seller of the car was a 21-year-old German man, Benjamin Halbe of Olpe. He purchased the car locally for the equivalent of about US$13,000 in January.

The news story said that at the time he did not realize it belonged to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger until he later looked at the car’s registration documents.

In his listing on the eBay site, Halbe included a photo of the car’s registration that showed the automobile was reg-istered to Joseph Ratzinger in 1999, although it is not clear if the current pope even has a driver’s license. The Associ-ated Press reported May 6 that it could not be verified if the vehicle had at one

time belonged to the pope.The car was to be picked up by the

winning bidder, but some German news-papers reported that Halbe did not want to release the car to the online casino. He cited problems with the final stage of bid-ding; some people claimed they were not able to put in their bids on the eBay site.

But Richard Rowe, CEO of the Golden Palace, said he is the proud owner of the vehicle. In a statement on the casino’s Web site, he said he was “de-lighted to own this holy vehicle.”

“We have amassed a collection of what many consider to be holy artifacts,” he said, adding that it “seems only natu-ral to get a blessed vehicle to carry these items. We are planning to showcase our acquisitions by bringing them on tour and allowing people to enjoy the expe-rience of sitting in the divine car, in an effort to raise as much money for charity as possible.”

Other items the Golden Palace Casino has purchased online include: a grilled cheese sandwich that supposedly bears the image of Mary, for $28,000; a tortilla chip resembling a pope’s miter, for $1,029; and a charred image of Christ on a frying pan, for about $80.

Volkswagen said to have been owned by Pope Benedict XVI sold on eBay


by NANCy frAZiEr O’briENCAThOliC NEws sErviCE

WASHINGTON — Her life is just like any other college student’s.

Except for the press conference in Washington in April. And the appearance in Kansas City, Mo., in May. And the concert at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, coming up this summer.

“I lead a pretty average life,” said singer-songwriter Kara Klein, who was wrapping up her freshman year as a phi-losophy and voice major at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

“I’ve traveled more than I’d like to this year,” she added. “I’ve had so many blessings, but I’ve learned that with blessings there are also sacrifices.”

One of Klein’s blessings is a close family in Mandeville, La., where she belongs to Mary Queen of Peace Church. Another is a beautiful voice that first led her to a part in a local community theater production of “Babes in Toyland” at age 8, followed by “many more musicals” and more choirs than she can count.

But the 19-year-old is not just an-other pretty voice. She writes her own songs, including the 10 on her first CD, “A Touch of Your Grace.”

She’s also written “tons and tons of songs” for a second CD but has not been able to find the time to record them.

Her latest recording, “Still Beauti-ful — Terri’s Song,” is dedicated to Terri Schindler Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Florida woman who died this spring, 13 days after her nutrition and hydration were withdrawn with a court order obtained by her husband and fought by her parents.

“Do you think I’m beautiful now?” the song asks. “Even when you’re carrying me because I am too weak to walk,/And I have lost control of everything somehow./Do you think I’m beautiful now?”

Klein sang that song in late April at a reception for members of Congress and for women from all over the country who had come to Washington for the “Real Women’s Voices” lobbying event. She will sing it for members of the Schindler family in June at the National Right to Life Committee convention in Minne-apolis.

“That’s going to be really difficult,” Klein said of her appearance before the Schindlers. “But I’ll be completely de-pending on God’s grace. I’m always very dependent on him.”

Klein said she was not thinking of Terri Schiavo when the words to “Beauti-ful Still” first came to her.

“Sometimes I don’t understand why I write them,” she said. “I was in a place where I was struggling, feeling very bro-ken, something we all feel.” Those feel-ings made her think of asking God, “Do you still see me as beautiful?”

But when her mother first heard the song, she immediately said, “That’s Terri’s song,” Klein recalled.

It was from her mother, too, that Klein got her strong pro-life views. The singer is dedicating $1 from the sale of

each “A Touch of Your Grace” CD to the Susan B. Anthony List, which helps fund the legislative and congressional campaigns of pro-life women candidates.

Profits from “Beautiful Still” are go-ing to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foun-dation, which works to protect people disabled like Schiavo from euthanasia.

Although she had always been pro-life, Klein said her “eyes were opened to the culture of death” when she had an opportunity to attend a special session of the United Nations on children’s rights in New York in 2002, during her sopho-more year at St. Scholastica Academy in Covington, La.

The session’s draft document, “A World Fit for Children,” called for allow-ing abortions for girls as young as 9 with-out parental consent, rewarding teens for condom use and establishing five gen-ders — homosexual male, heterosexual male, homosexual female, heterosexual female and transgender — instead of the usual male and female.

Those provisions were removed from the document before its final pas-sage, she said.

Klein and her friends who attended the session “could not help but wonder how world leaders could hope to help the young women of the world by indoctri-nating them into a mentality of violence and death,” she said.

“It’s frightening to consider where our world will be in the near future if we do not put a stop to this culture of vio-lence and death,” she added.

After some scheduled appearances this spring and summer and a trip to Ger-many for World Youth Day, Klein is not sure what life will bring.

She has decided to take a year off from school to record her second CD. She is considering continuing her educa-tion with distance-learning classes.

And then? “I’ll be speaking and singing,” she said, “and seeing where that leads.”

Singer-songwriter is anything but an ‘average’ college Song about Terri Schiavo to be performed for Schindler

CNS photo by paul hariNg

Kara Klein, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter, poses for a photo in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

CNS photo from 20th CeNtury fox

orlando Bloom stars in a scene from the movie “Kingdom of Heaven.”

‘Kingdom of Heaven’ is bloody but engaging film

HolY Crusader

by CAThOliC NEws sErviCE“Kingdom of Heaven” is a sweep-

ing, if bloody and somewhat revisionist, historical drama set in the time of the Crusades about a disillusioned black-smith (Orlando Bloom) elevated to knighthood who journeys to Jerusalem in search of redemption and becomes embroiled in the power struggle be-tween the tolerance-advocating Latin king and a war-mongering would-be usurper, who threatens to disrupt the tenuous truce between the Christian and Muslim forces.

Spectacularly directed by Ridley Scott and full of grand-scale battle scenes and period detail, the epic film takes license with the facts, but overall

portrays both sides as a mix of vice and virtue (though in its skewed telling of the events Christians come off as the prime villains) and imparts a timely message of peaceful coexistence, as well as a strong condemnation of violence, ideological hatred and war.

Recurring intense battlefield vio-lence and associated gore, including decapitations, hacked limbs and flam-ing bodies, as well as a brief adulterous sexual encounter.

The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L — lim-ited adult audience, films whose prob-lematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Associa-tion of America rating is R — restricted.


Exploring Catholic social

photo by JoaNita m. NelleNbaCh

Barney offerman (second from left) of St. Peter Church in Charlotte makes a point during “Catholic Social Teachings: Global Issues; local Implications” at living Waters Catholic reflection Center in Maggie Valley April 30. Augustinian Father John Deegan (right), director of Justice and Peace office of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova in Villanova, Penn., presented the program. Father Deegan reviewed Catholic social teaching and spoke on such issues as the economy, the environment and the just war theory.

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The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 17 May 13, 2005FroM THE CoVEr

were completely surprised. They in-cluded Msgr. William Gallagher, a priest in the Buffalo Diocese who ministers at the Father Baker Manor nursing home in Orchard Park, where Herbert has been a patient for nearly a decade.

In 1995, Herbert suffered a head injury and was deprived of oxygen for six min-utes after a burning apartment building’s roof collapsed on him. He remained in a coma for two and a half months.

In 1996, he regained consciousness but had speech and vision problems and

could not eat or walk without help.Msgr. Gallagher says Mass once a

month at the nursing home. He was at the facility April 29 and saw Herbert, who is Catholic, at the Mass the priest celebrated in the nursing home’s chapel.

Herbert did not receive the Eucha-rist, but the priest gave him a blessing.

The next day, Herbert, who had not communicated for nearly 10 years and had been described by doctors as “mini-mally conscious,” startled everyone by talking for about 16 hours.

The priest heard about it from pa-rishioners who volunteer at the nursing home. Later that day, word spread to the fire department where Herbert had previ-ously worked and then to local and national media.

“Everyone was shocked,” said Msgr. Gallagher May 6, noting that most people did not have much hope for Herbert’s re-covery. “Maybe it’s a miracle with a little ‘m,’ but it’s definitely miraculous.”

He said he felt more confident in speaking about the possibility of some-thing miraculous happening after hearing some of the doctors discuss Herbert’s condition in a May 4 press conference.

One doctor described Herbert’s sud-den burst of talking April 30 as rare, but something that medical science knows can occur. Another said it was a combi-nation of the medications Herbert was taking and God’s will.

A third doctor called it a miracle.Since the sudden burst of conversa-

tion, during which Herbert caught up on events with his wife and four sons, the 44-year-old has not been as animated, but doctors continued to monitor him closely and people in Buffalo were pray-ing for his full recovery.

Immediately after Herbert’s day of talking, some speculated that his recovery could be linked to the intercession of Msgr. Nelson Baker, for whom the nursing home is named and a candidate for sainthood. Msgr. Baker, most often referred to as Father Baker, started and expanded many programs to help children, the poor and the sick in the Buffalo area.

Msgr. Robert Wurtz, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church in Lackawanna, and promoter of Msgr. Baker’s sainthood cause, is approaching the case with caution.

The priest told The Buffalo News that Herbert’s dramatic improvement is “the kind of thing we’re looking for” to move the cause forward, but he also added that proof is needed that the recovery was “solely through divine intervention on Father Baker’s part.”

Msgr. Wurtz said he was eager to talk to the firefighter’s family. He also stressed that criteria are strict for a miracle to be at-tributed to someone’s intercession.

There have been unconfirmed re-ports that Herbert had at least one photo of Father Baker or artifact of the priest in his room. Msgr. Gallagher said pictures of Father Baker are everywhere in the nursing home.

The priest noted that his parish-ioners, many of whom have “wheeled Donnie to Mass” at the nursing home, were thrilled with his day of talking and were praying for more signs of his re-covery. They also hope Father Baker had something to do with it.

“The people of Buffalo are looking

Miracle, from page 1

Firefighter’s words:


Perspectives a collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

I have been a “Star Wars” fan since I was tiny, memorizing every line from all three of the first three movies.

“Return of the Jedi” was my favorite as a child because I loved it when Luke finally got all of his powers. He could flip, throw things with his mind and wield a pretty good lightsaber. Cool. I thought, “It all ended up perfect.”

As I grew older, “The Empire Strikes Back” became my favorite. It rose to the top of the Star Wars Trilogy because it didn’t have a happy ending. I enjoyed the reality of it — that the good don’t always win.

My mom says I cried at the end be-cause it didn’t end perfectly. Now I won-der how it would feel if I saw it for the first time without knowing the outcome of “Jedi,” knowing that good did finally come back to conquer evil.

I think knowing that it all worked out well, with the emperor being tossed by a

protective father (Darth Vader) into the heart of the new Death Star, afforded me the opportunity to love “Empire.”

I think if I could see “Empire” again without knowing the outcome of the entire series, I would feel angered, even scared that things might not work out for the good guys, that the evil emperor would control the fate of all in the universe.

Knowing that this isn’t the case, however, I can love “Empire.” I can rel-ish its bitter ending, knowing that some day that protective father would save the son’s life.

I remember asking my parents after Darth said, “I am your father,” if it was true. They told me that they didn’t know.

“It can’t be true,” I told them. Darth

Focusing on agendas in the church

Emotions were mixed when Cardi-nal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope. Some rejoiced, while others did not.

The enchanted see him as a seasoned churchman needed to restore order in a church that is out of order. They believe he will come down hard on the opposi-tion.

The disenchanted feel he will foster a church that is out of touch. They fear most that he will be true to labels some have given him such as “The Enforcer” and will lack compassion.

Conservatives and liberals definitely have opposing agendas. I often won-der if they consider ways that a pope’s pressing concerns may take priority over theirs.

Europe, once predominantly Cath-olic, has become very secular. Not only this, its birthrates are falling, and suddenly the continent is growing fearful that it could end up predomi-nantly Muslim.

Pope Benedict XVI faces the chal-lenge of reaching the youth of Europe who are the promise of its future Catho-licity, while at the same time seeking friendship, understanding and coop-eration with Muslims. This presents a dilemma: How do you energetically evangelize Europe while at the same time embracing Muslims?

The new pope’s agenda must extend to Africa where millions are dying of AIDS and where government corruption is the scourge of the land. His agenda must extend also to Latin America, which is losing its Catholicity.

Terrorism and the threat of a nucle-ar holocaust also must assume impor-tant places on Pope Benedict’s agenda.

Popes and saints in the past have been able to secure peace. But how can a con-temporary pope do this in an age when war has taken on totally new forms and become demonic?

Catholic tradition always aims to communicate God’s wisdom. But how does a pope apply this wisdom in ways that motivate nations to preserve the world’s resources for generations to come? What wisdom is needed to move our age of surging scientific discovery beyond “playing God” to revealing God’s majesty?

These priorities — global priorities — call for Pope Benedict’s attention. But are they his priorities alone or are they ours also? There is great focus right now on the new pope’s agenda. But I believe this also is a time for all Catholics to focus on what their agenda is for the church.

No doubt a more horizontal and less vertical church in which people have more to say needs to be addressed. But before this happens, both the right and the left in the church need to examine their consciences.

I urge them to meditate on the open arms of Christ on the cross as the perfect expression of worship precisely because they express complete devotion to us, because they are a gesture of embrace, of full and undivided brotherliness and sisterliness.

Christ is all “for” us. This gives us a first principle of Christianity. If we are to be truly church, we must be like him — our agendas must be based on this first principle of Christianity, this embrace, this being “for” each other as true broth-ers and sisters.

Over the course of the last month, as Pope John Paul II died and was buried, as the cardinal electors gathered to choose a successor and as Pope Benedict XVI was introduced to the world, Catholics have been called upon to offer special prayers.

As I traveled around the Diocese of Charlotte after the selection of Pope Benedict, many news reporters have asked me the same question: “Why are you gathering to pray? After all, the pope has been elected; what is done is done.”

It is a good question. This special prayer journey for the Catholic Church actually began on April 2 when our beloved Holy Father, John Paul, a true servant of God until the very end, passed from this life. There was an emptiness in the days after John Paul’s death. The visible center of our unity, the father of the family of the Church, had been taken away from us.

We gathered in large numbers to pray for the repose of John Paul’s soul. The world watched in awe as millions of pilgrims flocked to Rome to pay a final

tribute to this humble and holy man.Then we gathered as a diocesan

family to pray for the cardinal electors as they met to choose a successor to St. Peter. Our hearts yearned for a new shepherd. As I was preparing to celebrate a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Charlotte on the second day of the conclave, I learned that the Holy Spirit’s guidance to the electors had come quick-ly. We had a new pope!

The news was met with a spontane-ous outbreak of applause in the cathedral. The same joy was evident on the faces of the thousands who gathered in St. Peter’s Square to greet Benedict XVI.

And finally, in the days after the selection of Pope Benedict we gath-ered to give thanks at special diocesan Masses in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Asheville. Whenever we ask for a gift from God, we always return to give thanks.

We pray also for the new pope, so that he may have the strength to carry on the responsibilities as the vicar of Christ on Earth. We pray for his health and we pray that God will grant him wisdom as he guides the flock of 1.1 billion Catho-lics all over the world.

I was struck by the words of the Holy Father as he delivered his homily at the Mass of investiture. With the eyes of the world on him as the symbols of the office of pope were conferred, he asked us to pray for him, not once, but three times.

He said, “Pray for me so that I will learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me so that I will learn to love the flock more and more.” And finally he said, “Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Our new Holy Father is fully aware of the evil and the dangers that lurk in our world. He describes those dangers as deserts:

“There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God’s dark-ness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast.”

It is wonderful to know that Pope Benedict XVI began his ministry as our shepherd by reminding us that prayer can turn those evil deserts into an oasis of God’s love.

And so we have prayed in sadness, in hope and in thanks. Now let us pray in joy for our new pope, Benedict XVI, who describes himself as, “a simple, humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard.”

Let us go forward with him, confi-dent in the risen Lord’s help.

Giving thanks through prayer

is too bad to be Luke’s father.When young, that truth was too

much for me to handle. Too many ques-tions for a small mind to comprehend.

We are afforded the same opportunity to enjoy our lives even though they aren’t perfect. We are given the gift to look at the bad things that happen to us and say, “I learned something from that.”

We, luckily, can take the good out of the bad and move on with our lives, and even enjoy the good more because of the bad — because of what we’ve learned and risen above.

We can do all of this because we already know the end of the story. Our protective Father will be there for us in the end, and it will all be good when we leave this part of the series.

The only difference is that our pro-tective Father always has been there, is there now and will be there for us, prom-ising us a happy ending.

Waiting for the next ‘Star Epic story has lasting message

Coming of AgeKAsE JOhNsTUN

CNs COlUMNisT

From the Bishop

BisHoP PeteR J. Jugis

bishOp Of ChArlOTTE

The Human SidefAThEr EUGENE hEMriCK

CNs COlUMNisT


I was both pleased and disappointed with the guest column by Maureen Bailey of the U.S. bishops’ Pro-Life Secretariat (“Shrouded in secrecy,” April 29). I’m pleased any time someone at-tempts to address the fact that abortion harms women, and pleased any time that Rachel’s Vineyard, a program offered in our diocese, is mentioned as a resource for healing.

But I’m disappointed at Bailey’s comment that “no large scientific study has been undertaken” regarding the psychological impact of abortion. That’s incorrect.

Numerous studies in prestigious medical journals have highlighted both the physical and psychological harms of abortions. For example, a large study using public health data from Finland showed a 650 percent increase in suicide deaths in women during the first year after their abortion, compared to women who gave birth.

A similar study by Dr. David Rear-don was undertaken using California Medicaid records for 173,279 women who had state-funded abortions or de-liveries. Again, a large increase in the suicide rate was found in the women who aborted compared to those who deliv-ered. The increased suicide rate persisted for the eight years of the study.

That is, among post-abortive wom-en, even eight years after their abortions, this group continued to have a higher suicide rate, indicating that the effects of abortion appear to be relatively enduring over time.

These studies are just the tip of the iceberg, as many women don’t actually kill themselves, but do have psychiat-ric illnesses related to the abortion; for example, they experience a rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is similar to that experienced by people living in combat zones.

Besides PTSD, there are panic epi-sodes, depression, anxiety disorders and a large increase in a substance abuse as a coping mechanism.

Sadly, many post-abortive women abuse alcohol and other drugs even during subsequent pregnancies, only one of several ways that the effects of abortion are carried into the next gen-eration. Research also shows that there is an increase in domestic violence in post-abortive families and emotional and behavioral problems in the children.

There are also numerous physical effects of the abortion itself. More than 30 studies worldwide have shown a link between abortion and breast cancer.

Grave statisticsAlso, increased breast cancer has

been observed in experiments done with rodents who were given surgical abortions.

The abortion/breast cancer link was mentioned in a highly regarded surgical textbook more than a decade ago, and the mechanism is so well understood that there shouldn’t be any controversy about this issue. However, many physicians are ideologically committed to the myth that abortion has to be safe because women “need” it.

Additionally, physicians who have performed abortions or referred pa-tients for abortions are at risk finan-cially through breast cancer lawsuits as th is l ink becomes es tabl ished. More information can be found at www. abortionbreastcancer.com.

Most of the physical effects of abor-tion are less controversial than the breast cancer issue. The book, “Detrimental Effects of Abortion: An Annotated Bib-liography with Commentary (3rd Edi-tion),” edited by Thomas Strahan, lists 1,200 studies, each referenced with a short summary.

These studies include both harmful medical and psychological effects of abortion. More information and books can be found at www.afterabortion.org. The Web site is a rich source of current research and explanations of the research in easily understandable terms.

Those interested in more informa-tion are welcome to contact me regarding free teleconferences related to abortion, or just to consult informally by phone at (336) 659-1342) or e-mail [email protected]. I also have a library of videos, books and other materials that can be loaned out.

Those interested in Rachel’s Vine-yard retreats, whether to volunteer or for your own healing, are also welcome to contact me, and I have a range of sugges-tions for parish presentations.

Martha Shuping, M.D., is a psychia-

trist in private practice in Winston-Salem and serves as a volunteer for Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for healing after abor-tion, which are offered in partnership with the diocesan Respect Life Office.

Pope says God rises above chaos as ‘supreme judge’ of world

by CArOl GlATZCAThOliC NEws sErviCE

VATICAN CITY — The world is not in the hands of dark forces, chance or hu-man folly — God rises above the chaos as “supreme judge” of what happens in the world, Pope Benedict XVI said in his weekly general audience.

“God is not indifferent to human events, but he penetrates through them, instilling his ‘ways,’ that is, his projects and his operative works” to guide his-tory “to the dawn of the new heaven and the new earth,” he said in his May 11 catechesis.

From the steps in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope continued a series of reflections on the psalms and canticles that his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had begun before his death.

Focusing on Chapter 15 of the Book of Revelation, Pope Benedict said that in this canticle God invites “all the people on earth as well as every one of us to conversion.”

The world’s “nations must learn to ‘read’ God’s message in history” and to realize that “humanity’s adventure is not obscure and meaningless,” he said.

The pope said that by comprehend-ing the immense power of God work-ing within human history the faithful “open themselves up to fear of the Lord’s name.”

“Fear,” in biblical terms, the pope said, does not mean dread or fright, but rather signals “the recognition of the mystery of divine transcendence.”

“The Lord, your God, asks of you to fear him and love him with all your heart and soul,” he said.

The fear or awe of God renders the faithful unafraid of “the evil that rages throughout history” and allows one to “vig-orously resume the road of life,” he said.

As he did in his last general audi-ence, the pope departed from his written text to further explain this point to the 17,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“It’s thanks to this fear of God that we are not frightened of the world and all its problems; we are not afraid of men because God is more powerful,” he said.

“Be strong and fear not,” the pope said, because by understanding God’s glory, feeble hands will be strengthened and weak knees will be made firm.

After greeting pilgrims in seven dif-ferent languages and leading the singing of the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, the pope devoted more than 30 minutes to meeting with sick and handicapped children and adults, newlyweds and other audience

Guest Column

MArThA w. shUpiNG, M.d.GUEsT COlUMNisT

Studies show harmful effects after abortion

Q. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, is it permissible to keep ashes of the deceased in the house? One priest says it is all right, but others have said it is not. (New Jersey)

A. Two documents, “The Order of Christian Funerals” and “Reflections on the Body, Cremation and Catholic Funer-al Rites” published by the U.S. bishops in l997 explain the care we should have for the bodies of our dead. Both stress a preference for burial or entombment of the deceased, even after cremation.

The latter document expresses it very clearly: “The remains of cremated bodies should be treated with the same respect given to the corporal remains of a human body.

“This includes the manner in which they are carried, the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport,

and their final disposition. The cremated remains of a body should be entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium (a burial place reserved for ashes after cremation); they may also be buried in a common grave in a cemetery.”

The practice of scattering remains on the sea or on the ground, it continues, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend, are not proper.

The same applies to the extraor-dinary practice of dividing the cre-mated remains so they may be placed in brooches, or necklaces, or other jewelry. This, too, overlooks some im-portant truths about our care for loved ones who die.

Anthropologists often note that one way we learn the quality of a culture’s civilization is how they treat their dead. We need to be sure that how we respect our dead faithfully reflects our Christian

understanding of the meaning of human life and death, and our faith in the resur-rection.

A free brochure answering questions Catholics ask about cremation and other funeral customs is available by send-ing a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 3315, Peoria, IL 61612.

Questions may be sent to Father Dietzen at the same address, or e-mail: [email protected].

Ashes of the deceased QuestionCornerfAThEr JOhN

diETZENCNs COlUMNisT

The Pope Speaks

pOpE bENE-diCT Xvi

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 20 May 13, 2005ADVErTISEMENT

may 13, 2005

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