may 19, 2000

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 1 May 19 , 2000

Make world a better place, saysvisiting priest

Bishop McGuinness on the air

...Page 5

Mission community grows with multi-cultural flair

...Page 7

Entertainment...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns...Pages 12-13

By AleshA M. Pricestaff Writer

WINSTON-SALEM — Many people wish they had her spunk. She seems to go non-stop, and her co-workers, friends and the women reli-gious in her sister community wonder where this 83-year-old gets her en-ergy. She describes herself as a “little old nun doing the Lord’s work,” while the patients and workers at the hospi-tal where she performs her ministry call her the “Mother Teresa of Baptist Hospital.”

Sister of St. Joseph Dennis Eileen Gamber laughs at the comparison. “I am old and wrinkled like her, but that is where the similarity ends,” she hum-bly joked. “I can’t even be mentioned in the same sentence with her.”

Sister Dennis, a parishioner of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem, hails from Pennsylvania, where she attended an all-girls’ school. It was one of her teachers, a Sister of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pa., who inspired her to join the order herself.

She began teaching and received her bachelor’s of arts in mathematics from Chestnut Hill College in 1947. She also received her master’s of arts in mathematics from Villanova Uni-versity and studied physics and other subjects at Catholic University and Loyola University of New Orleans. She spent most of her life teaching high school, a profession she enjoyed immensely.

When she moved to Winston-Salem in 1975, a decision, she said, that

lay Ministry graduates complete personal faith journey

did not sit well with her immediately, she continued to teach math at Bishop McGuinness High School and began her hospital ministry part time. “I had to get used to being away from home,” she said with a smile. In 1985, she re-tired from teaching and began to work full time at Baptist Hospital.

“I loved teaching math, and when I went into this work, I thought I would

miss it. But, this work is a direct gift from God,” said Sister Dennis of her work as a pastoral minister at Baptist Hospital and Forsyth Hospital.

She visits the patients and prays, talks and sits with the many Catholics and non-Catholics who request her presence. “There is a list of those who

I n s i d e

May 19 , 2000Volume 9 t Number 36

L o c a l N e w s

E v e r y W e e k

Serv ing Cathol ics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Photo By alesha M. Price

Sister of St. Joseph Dennis Eileen Gamber is presented with the Mother Teresa Memorial Award and a $500 check for AIDS Care Service from the Knights of Columbus State Council. Pictured left is Bob Singer, state deputy, and Father James Solari, pastor of St. Leo the Great Church.

By AleshA M. Pricestaff Writer

CHARLOTTE — Chris and Jo Gibbs have only recently learned what Catholicism is all about. Five years ago, Chris Gibbs came back to Catholicism after growing up Catholic but without a strong grounding in his faith. His wife, Jo, grew up Baptist and converted right before marrying. Both of them became involved with the diocesan lay ministry program to supplement the knowledge they already had.

“I wanted to learn more because I missed it growing up. I went to church only a couple of times I can remem-ber,” explained Mr. Gibbs. “The lay ministry program is an affirmation of what I believe already and has focused my faith and understanding of the church.”

For Mrs. Gibbs, the coordinator of religious formation at St. Margaret

Mary Church in Swannanoa, her in-volvement with lay ministry is a way for her to better prepare her students. “I will use what I have learned with the faith formation classes, and for me, learning about the history and evolu-tion of the church fascinates me. I simply wanted to learn more,” she said.

The Gibbses were two of the 98 graduates, representing 32 parishes, of the Lay Ministry Training Pro-gram who received their certificates at a Mass and ceremony on May 13 at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, one of the sites for the Saturday sessions.

“I commend the investment of their time and appreciate the generos-ity of family and friends in allowing them to participate because this is a two-year commitment,” said Mercy Sister Mary Timothy Warren, dioc-esan director of lay ministry and vicar for women religious. “This academic

program helps them to develop com-municative skills and to practice their religious roles in the marketplace.”

Anyone, regardless of his or her affiliation with the church, can become involved with the program. Faith for-mation and religion teachers as well as those who wish to become perma-nent deacons are required to complete the program, explained Sister Mary Timothy.

“We need the strength, gifts and talents given to you by God who calls you to this ministry of the church,” said Bishop William G. Curlin, cel-ebrant for the Mass. “You have been commissioned to bring the joy of Christ into people’s lives.”

He urged them to continue their studies in order to learn more about their faith and to spread that knowl-

see sister DeNNis, Page 4

The little sister that could

see lay MiNistry, 4

Cardinal Hickey surprised by honorary degree

...Page 15

Living the FaithIn Italian film, knights embark on medieval quest for shroud

...Page 16

The Fatima Beatifications

Pope beatifies Fatima children, has aide announce “Third Secret”

...Pages 8-9

2 The Catholic News & Herald May 19 , 2000

facilitator of a retreat, “Take Courage and Be a Man,” emphasizing male spiri-tuality and how this experience has an influence on societal values, the pursuit of goals, dealing with failures and being open to God’s call. For further informa-tion on the retreat being held June 9-11, call the Living Waters Catholic Reflec-tion Center, 103 Living Waters Lane, at (828) 926-3833 or e-mail [email protected]. ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Oratory Religion Camp will hold two separate one-week sessions at Camp York in Kings Mountain State Park during the weeks of July 9-15 and July 16-22. Boys and girls under 12, entering grades 2-6 in Sept., can apply for con-sideration. Those wishing to volunteer as counselors can write for a staff application. For more information and application, write to: The Oratory Religion Camp, P.O. Box 11586, Rock

Hill, S.C., 29731-1586.

Ongoing CLEMMONS — The time for the Spanish Mass, being held at Holy Fam-ily Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., is be-ing changed to 7 p.m. for the duration of the summer, starting in June and continuing through most of August. For details, call the church office at (336) 778-0600. Please submit notices of events for the Diocesan Planner at least 10 days prior to publication date.

Women march in ZimbabweWomen in Harare march to the Zimbabwe capital calling for an end to recent violence in their country. Nineteen people have been killed recently in clashes between war veterans and white owners of farms and in election-related violence.

Vatican’s U.N. nuncio applauds statement on Kissling groupNEW YORK (CNS) — The Vati-

can’s U.N. nuncio said May 11 that a new statement from the U.S. bish-ops denouncing Catholics for a Free Choice for a campaign against the Vati-can’s U.N. permanent observer status will be useful in reminding leaders at the world body that the organization is not Catholic. The organization has consultative status as a nongovern-mental organization at the United Nations, and its president, Frances Kissling, has been an active lobbyist at U.N. meetings. In a telephone inter-view, Archbishop Renato R. Martino commented on a May 10 statement issued by Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, as president of the bishops’ conference, that said the group’s campaign against the Vatican’s U.N. status is reminiscent of “other episodes of anti-Catholic bigotry.” Archbishop Martino said the group’s campaign has not affected church rela-tions with the world body and that not one of the U.N.’s 180 member nations has indicated any support for it.

Donations, prayers urged for victims of New Mexico fireALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (CNS)

— Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe authorized a special collection to be taken up in parishes May 13-14 to aid residents who lost their homes and possessions when an intense fire surged through Los Alamos. The town, which is where the atomic bomb was built and is the site of Los Alamos National Labora-tory, is 70 miles north of Albuquerque in the 61,000-square-mile Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The fire was started as a controlled burn May 4 to clear out brush in nearby Bandelier National Monument but dry, windy conditions caused it to quickly grow out of control. By May 12, it had raged through 28,000 acres and in Los Alamos destroyed 280 homes and forced 25,000 people to evacuate.

National Federation of Priests’ Councils meets

OAKLAND, Calif. (CNS) — The National Federation of Priests’ Coun-cils focused on the church’s multicul-tural dimensions at its annual conven-

tion May 1-4 in Oakland. Bishop John S. Cummins of Oakland highlighted the importance of that focus in a talk May 2. “If we as a church do not succeed in our vision for the unity of the human fam-ily, there is little hope for the world,” he said. Some 270 priests and church lead-ers gathered at the Oakland Marriott City Center Hotel for the federation’s 32nd annual convention. The 2000 theme, “Ministry in a Church of Many Cultures,” continued the 1999 theme, “From the Many, One Church.”

Child soldiers said to have escaped rebels in Sierra Leone

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (CNS) — As fighting resumed in Sierra Le-one between rebels of the Revolution-ary United Front and pro-government forces, about 100 child soldiers cared for by Caritas, the church’s charitable agency, escaped from rebels. The su-pervisor of Caritas projects in Sierra Le-one, John Thorley, told Catholic News Service that the children had been in a rehabilitation camp at Lunsar, in north-ern Sierra Leone. When rebels drove U.N. troops from the North and fought with pro-government forces May 8, the rebels attempted to lure former child soldiers into rejoining the conflict, but the children escaped, he said. They had walked about 50 miles when they were spotted by a helicopter and were air-lifted to Freetown, Thorley said.Vatican, Poland issue stamps to

mark pope’s 80th birthdayVATICAN CITY (CNS) — The

Vatican and the Polish government have designed a commemoration of Pope John Paul II’s 80th birthday that is expected to enter the homes of the humble and the offices of the mighty. Vatican City and Poland announced the joint issue of a series of three postage stamps honoring the Polish-born pope on his May 18 birthday. “It is with great pleasure and deep affection that Vatican City and Poland prepare to celebrate the pope’s 80th birthday,” said a state-ment from the Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office.Lithuanian agreements formalize

Catholic Church statusWARSAW, Poland (CNS) — The

Vatican has signed a series of agree-

ments with Lithuania regulating the Catholic Church’s position a decade after the collapse of communist rule. A church spokesman said the three texts, modeled on earlier accords with Croatia, signaled an end to the search for “complex, time-consuming con-cordats.” “Most clauses confirm the existing situation here and should be

T h e W o r l d i n

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events:

May 22 — 7 pm ConfirmationSt. Leo, Winston-Salem

May 23 — 7 pm ConfirmationOur Lady of the AssumptionCharlotte

May 24-25Pre-Ordination retreat for seminarians

May 27 — 10 am ConfirmationSt. Paul, Greensboro

May 28 — 11 am ConfirmationOur Lady of Consolation, Charlotte

6 pm ConfirmationSt. John Neumann, Charlotte

plan-DiocesanEpiscopal

calen-May 19 , 2000

Volume 9 • Number 36 Publisher: Most Reverend William G. CurlinEditor: Joann S. KeaneAssociate Editor: Jimmy RostarStaff Writer: Alesha M. PriceProduction Associate: Julie RadcliffeAdvertising Representative: Cindi FeerickSecretary: Jane Glodowski1123 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 $18 per year for all other subscribers. 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.

cNs Photo froM reuters

seen as extending cooperation rather than providing protection,” said Father Adolfas Gruzas, a spokesman for the Lithuanian bishops’ conference.


May22 CHARLOTTE — The Alzheim-er’s/ dementia support group for caretakers of memory-impaired fam-ily members and friends meets today from 2-3:30 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., in rooms D and E of the ministry center. Activities are available for the memory-impaired. For further details about the support group or the Shining Stars Adult Day Respite program, call Suzanne Bach at (704) 376-4135. CHARLOTTE — St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., is cel-ebrating the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Rita, Augustinian wife, mother and nun, known as “the saint of the impossible.” All who have strife in their lives, need help in fam-ily relationships or feel they have an impossible situation are invited to the celebration and blessing of roses this morning for 9:15 a.m. Mass and to-night for 7:30 p.m. exposition, benedic-tion and prayer. Call the church office

at (704) 536-6520 or (704) 535-4197 with any questions.GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Council of Catholic Women is hav-ing their annual May luncheon at Sedgefield Country Club, beginning at 11:30 a.m. with a cash and spirits bar, fashion show featuring items from a local women’s clothing store and raffle prizes. For more information, call Janet Law at (336) 288-6022.25 ASHEVILLE — All are invited to come to St. Joan of Arc Church, 919 Haywood Ave., for a healing Mass tonight at 7 p.m. Refreshments will follow the Mass. For more informa-tion, call the church office at (828) 252-3151. 28 CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte area monthly Ultreya meets today at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., from 1:30-3 p.m. Call Bill Gold at (704) 339-2121 for more information.HENDERSONVILLE — The St. Francis of the Hills Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order meets today

at Immaculate Conception Church in the office wing on 6th Ave. West. Visitors and inquirers are welcome. Call Pat Cowan at (828) 884-4246 for more information.

June 2 ASHEVILLE — Catholic Associa-tion of Family Educators (C.A.F.E), Western North Carolina’s Catholic homeschool support group, is hav-ing an “end of the year” picnic and potluck at CP&L Park this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Denise Vish at (828) 645-6990 or Sheryl Oligny at (828) 298-0336.4 CHARLOTTE — In recognition of National Cancer Survivors’ Day, St. Gabriel Church, St. Matthew Church and St. Vincent de Paul Church members invite all cancer survivors, caregivers, family and friends to attend Mass and to partici-pate in anointing of the sick at 5:30 p.m. today at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy. For more

Make world a better place for God’s people, visiting priest By elleN NeeriNcX sigMoN

corresPoNDeNtHICKORY — Father Thomas

Coughlin, the first deaf person in North America to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, came from New York to North Carolina on Friday, May 5 to be the homilist at Lenoir-Rhyne College’s baccalaureate service that evening, and also to deliver the homily during Sun-day morning Mass at St. Charles Bor-romeo Catholic Church in Morganton.

In both places, the theme for his talk was Jesus as the good shepherd, which corresponded to the Gospel reading in Roman Catholic and Lu-theran churches that weekend (John 10:11-18).

At Lenoir-Rhyne, Father Coughlin told the graduating class that “the more you wrestle with Christ’s truth, the more you will prefer His truth to the so-called truth of this world.... Be not afraid to take up the challenges and struggles to make God’s world a better place for His people. This world needs more good shepherds.”

Father Coughlin has followed this advice himself for much of his life. Born deaf in 1947, he is the founder and director of the House of Studies for Deaf Seminarians in Yonkers, N.Y., and the founder of Camp Mark Seven, a camp for deaf children in upstate New York. Many times in his life his plans or ideas have been met with an answer of “no” because of his deafness, but he persisted anyway and found success.

In an interview after the Mass on Sunday, Father Coughlin talked about his life. He talked about the sisters who taught him at St. Joseph Catholic High School in Buffalo, N.Y. “Their values rubbed off well on me,” he said.

He credited the nuns with helping him discern his vocation early on, depite the challenges he faced with his deaf-ness. “I was 14, an age where I was very impressionable. I started reading other books and asking questions,” he said.

After applying to several orders, he finally found a community to pursue his calling.

The Holy Trinity Fathers in Bal-timore, Md., accepted him after a call from young Coughlin’s school princi-pal, but the student found it difficult to read lips in the classes. After a year, he left to attend Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

He kept in contact with Holy Trin-ity while working on his bachelor of arts degree in English at Gallaudet. He persevered in his studies, and finally he was ordained in 1977 after receiving his master’s in religious studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

He also spent some time studying at the Alliance Francais in Paris, and is fluent in French and English, even though he has never heard either language, as well as American Sign Language.

After 15 years of being associated with the Holy Trinity Fathers, Father Coughlin became a diocesan priest, working with deaf people all over the world. Nineteen years ago he founded Camp Mark Seven to help deaf chil-dren learn about their deafness and their faith. The camp, which is entirely staffed by deaf people, also offers some programs for elderly deaf people, and people with drug or alcohol problems. Father Coughlin said the camp is plan-ning to expand its programs to include hearing children of deaf parents.

One summer, the New York De-partment of Public Health threatened to close the camp down because they did not have a registered nurse on staff. They advertised, but could not find a nurse who knew sign language. “I said, ‘Oh well, I’ll go to school and become a nurse myself.’”

He said that learning about the inner workings of the human body in-creased his faith. “That science helped me to understand about God so much more clearly,” he said.

Another nurse has taken over those duties at the camp now. He serves as her assistant, as an assistant to the camp’s current director, as chap-lain and as executive director.

The camp keeps him busy in the

A r o u n d t h e

information, call Bob Poffenbarger Sr. with the National Cancer Day Foun-dation at (704) 553-7000 or e-mail [email protected] — A special recep-tion, sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization, is being held for Mercy Sister Paulette Williams who is leav-ing her job as principal of Charlotte Catholic High School (CCHS) to begin a new ministry with the Sisters of Mercy. The reception takes place from 1-3 p.m. at CCHS, 7702 Pineville-Matthews Rd. For more information, call Vicki Britton at (704) 365-0312. UpcomingCHARLOTTE — A volleyball camp is being held for rising sixth- through ninth- graders July 17-20 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The coaches are going to be Tim Leary from CCHS and Bettie Berry, a former CCHS coach. For more information, call Bettie Berry at (704) 521-8721.MAGGIE VALLEY — Augustinian Father Anthony M. Genovese is the

summer, but during the rest of the year he works with his group of seminarians.

In 1997, he began his own com-munity and started looking for a bishop to help. After sending several letters without getting any positive responses, he received a telephone call from New York archbishop Cardinal John O’Connor.

“I don’t know how he found out,” said Father Coughlin. “He asked me about it, and I explained the difficul-ties (that deaf seminarians and priests encountered) — interpretation, sup-port systems. He showed surprise that this had never been done before in the whole world.”

Cardinal O’Connor met with Pope John Paul II that year, made a proposal, and received approval to form a deaf seminary. Father Coughlin moved to New York and set up the program through St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yon-kers. They now have four seminarians and a nine-bedroom residence where

sign language is the primary language. “Deaf people feel at ease there,” said Father Coughlin.

Plans are in the works to form a reli-gious community for deaf women as well.

Father Coughlin said that Cardinal O’Connor set up a $250,000 endowment so that the deaf seminarians there could get a free education. On May 21, 1999, Cardinal O’Connor came to bless the house and take a tour.

“He loved our deaf people, and he blessed us,” said Father Coughlin, who attended the cardinal’s funeral.

Father Coughlin is eager to con-tinue his work of outreach.

“I want to be a producer, to make something,” said Father Coughlin, who has been commended personally by Pope John Paul II for his outstanding ministry. “I have a certain drive inside of me. I’m very motivated to do many things before I die.” t

Lutheran Pastor Andrew Weisner of Lenior-Rhyne College, Father Ken Whittington of St. Charles Borromeo in Morganton and Father Thomas Coughlin following Mass on May 14.

Photo By elleN NeeriNcX sigMoN


Sister Dennis, from page 1are Catholic that I see, and I know that many of the patients who appear on the list are not Catholic. I want to be able to minister to all I can,” she said. “I feel their pain, and I am sensitive to their needs. I cry tears over what hap-pened to some of them.”

Sister Dennis touched one such non-Catholic patient so much so that she drives Sister Dennis wherever she needs to go when she can. She is one of several who volunteer to drive Sister Dennis to the hospitals and other des-tinations. “I used to walk everywhere before I had hip replacement surgery. I am still able to walk all over the hospi-tal,” she said.

In her “spare time,” she works tire-lessly with AIDS patients, especially those who are disadvantaged and in need of housing and food. She is on the board of trustees of AIDS Care Service in Winston-Salem, which helps low-income people afflicted with AIDS with shelter and care. She visits AIDS patients, conducts fund-raisers and wears the red ribbon symbol on her lapel as a sign of her dedication to AIDS awareness.

She is also the spiritual director of the St. Leo Church Christian Mothers’ Group, where, as Ria Monteleone, the group’s president, said, her presence is always needed and welcome.

“There is something very spiritual about her, and she has a quality of holi-ness that is profound. She comes every month to the meetings and opens with a prayer or reflective time. She is a re-markable woman who is more in touch with the topics related to us than many women I know,” said Monteleone.

Because of her work with hospital and AIDS ministry, the Knights of Columbus State Council chose her as the recipient of the Mother Teresa Memorial Award. She is one of two recipients this year, one in the Diocese of Charlotte and one in the Diocese of Raleigh. The Knights of Colum-bus wrote to Missionaries of Charity Sister Nirmala, superior general, for her approval of using Mother Teresa’s name and image.

“We wanted to recognize people

who do good works and follow in Mother Teresa’s example of what we are called to do. We want to preserve her memory,” said John Harrison, past grand deputy and chairman of the Mother Teresa Memorial Award program. “This has been a very good program, and the recipients have al-ways been near tears when they have received the award.”

Since 1998, the Knights of Co-lumbus have sent letters to the pastors of both dioceses to nominate someone from their parish for the award. Father James Solari, pastor at St. Leo Church, thought that Sister Dennis was de-serving of the award:

“From many points of view, she is person who needed to be recognized for her dedication to ministry. She is an outstanding person in our community and is a dynamo to be spending time with patients at her age,” said Father Solari. He said he tries to get her to slow down to no avail. “She need to rest sometimes, and I am trying to hold her back for the long haul.”

She was presented with the award and a check for $500 for AIDS Care Service, her choice of charity, during the Mass on Mother’s Day, May 14, at St. Leo Church. Members of the congregation rose to their feet and applauded through tears as she said, “I am so humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude for my God. I owe it all to my Lord. The greatest gift God has ever given me is to be able to serve the sick at Baptist Hospital and the AIDS patients.”

Does Sister Dennis show any signs of slowing down? “I feel like I am about 60, and I never think about how old I am. I am doing the Lord’s work and loving every minute of it.” t

Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail [email protected].

A r o u n d t h e D i -

BELMONT — Despite tem-peratures in the high 90s, spirits were high May 13 as 196 students received degrees from Belmont Abbey College. Commencement ceremonies, preceded by a Mass of the Holy Spirit, were held in front of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians on the historic campus.

More than 2,000 guests were in attendance, including families and friends of six Abbey staff members receiving degrees.

Bishop Robert Baker, S.T.D., bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., was the principal homilist during the Mass. The audience was delighted when the bishop left the elevated stage and came to the level of students and guests to deliver his message with great drama and animation.

Bishop Baker was among three to receive honorary Doctor of Hu-mane Letters degrees for his commit-

ment to the Church and assistance to the needy. Also receiving honorary doctorates were Sister Charlotte Lange, O.S.B., principal of Saint Ger-trude’s High School in Richmond, Va., and Wallace Dalton of Lake Wylie, S.C. Mr. Dalton is a longtime supporter of Belmont Abbey, having served on numerous boards and com-mittees. He established a scholarship honoring former college president Father John Bradley, for whom the college’s Bradley Institute for the Study of Christian Culture is named.

During commencement, four retiring faculty members were recognized: Father John Oetgen, O.S.B., professor of English; Father Arthur Pendleton, O.S.B., professor of chemistry; Dr. Frank Murray, professor of history; and Stanley Dudko, associate professor of busi-ness and economics. t

Belmont Abbey college hosts commencement ceremonies

Loyola Institute extension program to form new groupCHARLOTTE — The Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program is

forming a new learning group in the Charlotte area. The Diocese of Charlotte is the sponsoring agency for this program, which yields master’s degrees and certificates in religious education and pastoral studies. The distance-learning pro-gram is for anyone involved in ministry, and consists of 12 courses, each lasting 12 weeks. An informational session on the new learning group is June 5 at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, 3016 Providence Rd. For further information, call Connie Milligan at (704) 364-3344.


BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Father Vincent Donovan, C.S.Sp, died suddenly Saturday, May 13, 2000.

Father Donovan served as the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe from April 1993 until February 2000.

Viewing was at Trinity Hall Chapel, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh on Wed., May 17. Mass of Chris-tian Burial took place on Thurs., May 18 at 10 a.m. at Duquesne University Chapel with a luncheon following the service. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, O’Hara Township.

Father Donovan was preceded in death by his parents, William J. & Nora McCarthy Donovan and other siblings.

He is survived by his sister Nora Koren and nephews and nieces.Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Nora Koren at 1527 Fawcett Avenue, White

Oak, Pa. 15131. t

Bishop McGuinness on the air in Piedmont A r o u n d t h e D i -

By lArry chAncecorresPoNDeNt

WINSTON-SALEM — When you are the chief fund-raiser for a growing Catholic high school, and you have the pipes to work for the BBC, why not put that talent to good use? That’s just what Eddie Mitchell, direc-tor of institutional activities at Bishop McGuinness Memorial High School in Winston-Salem, had in mind when he began to produce and host a daily five-minute radio show about the activities of the school.

The program originates from the studios of WIST 98.3 FM in High Point, which targets adult listeners with an eclectic play list of pop favor-ites, ranging from Paul Anka to Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.

Mitchell believes this audience takes an interest in the school, which recently broke ground for a new facili-ty at a central location in the Piedmont Triad, and he programs the show to increase that interest.

He picked this station because many older BMHS alumni listen to the station, as do the parents of many alumni.

“The idea is to get the name Bishop McGuinness out ... it’s about what makes the school different,” said Mitchell. “I’m sure everyone in the Triad knows Bishop McGuinness; they don’t know what goes on behind the doors.” Mitchell feels that the radio show is an opportunity for people to

get that message.The show covers topics such as

upcoming special events like the recent auction, the new campus, interscholas-tic sports, fine arts and other Bishop McGuinness highlights. It begins at 9:02 a.m.

Mitchell said that the show gives the school a “ ... chance to blow our own trumpet as far as the students are concerned.”

A former professional soccer play-er in Great Britain, Mitchell began his broadcasting career for the BBC doing programs about the sport. “I used to do a program on Friday morning about the upcoming weekend soccer games,” he said.

When he arrived in the United States, he worked for a radio station in Texas. Now, as the head fund-raiser for the rapidly growing school, he is able to apply his experience in a way that reaches far beyond the school commu-nity into the community at large.

With a distinctive British accent, the former Londoner feels he is blessed with a voice that people recognize. In the Western Piedmont, that usually means that once a day, someone com-ments about his accent. He believes that you cannot get enough publicity, so if his accent and the radio show

Eddie Mitchell at the control board of WIST 98.3 FM. Photo By larry chaNce

combine to generate more interest in the school, he is happy.

The show is effective. One other hat that Mitchell wears is that of ad-missions, and he pointed out that one Kernersville parent who heard the first show called to register his child as a result of what he heard on the show.

Mitchell would like the show, which will resume production next September, to expand, so that he can keep spreading the word that Bishop McGuinness High School is what he

believes to be an exciting place for stu-dents, abounding with opportunity. t

Father Vincent Donovan, c.s.sp., of Our lady of lourdes dies suddenly


French bishops express communion with Bishop Gaillot

LYONS, France (CNS) — In a sign of reconciliation with his fellow French bishops, controversial Bishop Jacques Gaillot expressed his thanks for an invitation to participate in an ecumenical meeting. In a May 10 letter to Archbishop Louis-Marie Bille of Lyons, president of the French bish-ops’ conference, Bishop Gaillot said his colleagues’ expression of brotherhood “touches me deeply and will bring joy to many.” Archbishop Bille’s letter of May 5, released by the French bishops’ conference May 10, said the May 13 meeting in Lyons “could be an occa-sion to express the communion that we have felt for so long” and to heal the five-year-old wound caused by Bishop Gaillot’s ouster from his diocese. The Vatican removed Bishop Gaillot from his post in Evreux in January 1995 after he publicly challenged church teaching on several issues.

Heyerdahl, with Vatican help, settles Ericson-Columbus

debateWASHINGTON (CNS) — Ac-

claimed navigator Thor Heyerdahl said a document in storage in the Vatican’s archives gives evidence for the contention that Leif Ericson , not Christopher Columbus, was the first European to travel by boat to the New World. But cherished elements of the Ericson saga will have to be abandoned, Heyerdahl said in a May 11 address at the National Press Club in Washington. Ericson was not a Viking, nor did he pilot a Viking ship, although “he may have seen one” during his trav-els, said Heyerdahl, author of dozens of books, including “Kon-Tiki” and “The Ra Expeditions.” What’s more, Ericson, an Icelander, was converted to Catholicism by King Olaf of Nor-way and sent to Greenland to convert the “pagan” people living there, Hey-erdahl said. “He took one priest and two catechists with him” on his craft, a merchant vessel more humble than a

P e o p l e i n t h e

World Day of Prayer for VocationsPope John Paul II lays his hands on the head of a priest ordained in St. Peter’s Square May 14. The pope ordained 26 new priests for the Diocese of Rome during the service held on World Day of Prayer for Vocations.


By BeneDictA ciPOllAcatholic NeWs service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Birth-day well-wishers for Pope John Paul II won’t have to garner tickets to a private papal audience to extend their congratulations: They can post them online.

A Web-based initiative, expected to be up and running by the pope’s 80th birthday May 18, will allow In-ternet surfers to send their greetings via a special link, “Happy Birthday Pope John Paul II,” available on popu-lar portals like Yahoo! and msn.com.

Vatican officials said the link would be active for a minimum of a week but could be extended further, depending on how many people sign their names to the virtual birthday card.

The link, proposed by the Freiburg, Germany-based Ele Foundation and provided free of charge by the Web sites, will also include information on a Vatican charity fund for AIDS orphans

Well-wishers to post birthday greetings to pope online

in Africa. According to the latest U.N. sta-

tistics, by the end of 2000, 13 million African children will have lost one or both parents to the AIDS pandemic.

The donations collected online by the Ele Foundation will then be delivered to the Vatican charity “Cor Unum.”

Giovanni Bianchini, a “Cor Unum” official, said May 15 that the participa-tion of major Web sites in the initia-tive represented a “small example of solidarity.”

In a May 12 press release, “Cor Unum” called Africa’s orphan problem a “unique and tragic crisis.”

“Neither words nor statistics ad-equately capture this human tragedy,” said the statement. t

Viking ship, he added.Cuban baseball team’s visit to Catholic college hurt by

defectionST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — The

Cubans came to play baseball, meet new American friends and see the sights and landmarks of Minnesota. They didn’t expect to make the na-tional headlines they did, thanks to a team member who broke away from the group and flew to Miami to seek asylum in the United States. And they didn’t expect to be followed nonstop by news reporters and photographers who wanted pictures and reactions to the unfolding story of their teammate, 20-year-old Mario Miguel Chaoui. “It’s had an impact,” said Doug Hennes, a spokesman for the University of St. Thomas, which hosted the visit. “If he hadn’t left the team, there would be a different atmosphere.”Ohio priest stabbed, hospitalized

after hearing confessionMIDDLETOWN, Ohio (CNS) —

An Ohio priest who was stabbed while hearing his attacker’s confession told police the seal of confession will pre-vent him from testifying against his as-sailant. According to a statement from Middletown police, Father Charles Mentrup, 41, an associate pastor at Incarnation Parish, was stabbed early May 5 at his residence while hearing his assailant’s confession. The priest was transported to Middletown Re-gional Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a knife wound to the abdo-men. He was in good condition May 9, a hospital official said. The priest was expected to be in the hospital for at least a week.


Joe Ordoyne, left, and Matt Marbois take turns at the shovels as Bishop William G. Curlin looks on during a groundbreaking ceremony at St. Joseph Church in Kannapolis. Ordoyne and Marbois are members of the church’s building commission.

Mission community grows with multi-cultural By JiMMy rostar

associate eDitorKANNAPOLIS — Redemptorist

Father Karl Aschmann looked out across the congregation and smiled. Excitement lilted his voice. “It’s been such a wonder-ful celebration today,” he said.

Father Aschmann, administrator of St. Joseph Church in Kannapolis, noted the many reasons to celebrate on this May 14 afternoon. Bishop William G. Curlin had come to pre-side at a bilingual liturgy. It was a sunny Mother’s Day, and the church’s Hispanic first Communion class was seated front and center, dressed in Sunday best. A family-style picnic din-ner awaited.

Best of all, a few shovels of dirt signified a new beginning for a church community whose complexion is changing with the times.

Bishop Curlin, Father Aschmann and a host of St. Joseph parishioners took turns at the shovels during a groundbreaking ceremony that kicked plans into over-drive for a new church building.

The symbolism of the ceremony was twofold, as the mission plans for a new worship center while continuing to break ground in its ministry to a grow-ing Hispanic population working, living and worshipping in the area.

“You know, for one reason or another, God sent them here,” said Father Aschmann of the Hispanics,

F r o m t h e

whom he ministers to alongside the church’s Anglo parishioners. “They are good workers, they do love God and they try to be good people here.”

Hundreds — perhaps thousands, guesses Father Aschmann — of His-panics flock to St. Joseph Church for Mass and ministerial support in a land far from home. They have come to the area primarily for work or to escape political strife. Today, they far out-number the Anglo parishioners who worship at St. Joseph’s, a mission of St. James Church in Concord.

Many Hispanics struggle with language and culture differences in this area. But Father Aschmann said the Hispanic parishioners have taken ownership of their adopted church community, nevertheless.

More than 500 Hispanic families worship regularly at St. Joseph’s, while about 160 Anglo families are regis-tered.

Explosive growth in the community prompted the need to make plans for a new, larger church building. The present church has been a staple of St. Joseph’s six-acre site since 1949, but especially in the past few years, the congregation outgrew the smallish white building.

The parish hall now serves the parishioners as a temporary worship space. Still, parishioners spill out onto the lawn.

An architect’s blueprints now

show plans for a new, 700-seat church. Construction could start in September.

“There is just no more room for us,” said Father Aschmann. “We will begin to build a church very quickly,

and everybody is so excited that we can do something like this. We are not a rich area, but we are a place that is very much united.”

Looking ahead“You’re celebrating a marvelous

event,” said Bishop Curlin during his homily. “You’re committing yourselves to building a house of the Lord.”

With those words, Bishop Curlin commissioned the people of St. Joseph Church to look ahead with a deter-mined sense of bringing Christ to all they encounter — to truly build the church of God.

“We have to say to ourselves, ‘The church is not a building. The church is God’s holy people.’ You are the church,” he said. “You are the ones who take the love of Jesus and you show it in your daily life by the way that you treat one another, by the way you help the poor, by the way you visit the sick and comfort the dying.

“The house that we build is what we build with our hearts, not just our hands ... It’s a wonderful gift that you give to Jesus, that you would build with your hands and your hearts a worthy place to celebrate his presence.” t

Contact Associate Editor Jimmy Ro-star by calling (704) 370-3334 or e-mail [email protected].

Photo By JiMMy rostar

CANNES, France (CNS) — Film-makers looking for great ideas for im-ages and stories need look no further than their Bibles, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Com-munications.

Celebrating the opening Mass at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival May 14, U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley told fes-

tival participants that “images can in-spire, guide, strengthen and console.”

On a personal level, filmmakers should be able to grasp and be edified by “the beautiful images presented by Jesus,” the archbishop said in his homily.

“But, in their creativity,” they also should find ways to present the biblical images “to those seeking the way, the

Find inspiring images in Bible, Vatican official tells truth and the life and a vision which is truly and ultimately beatific,” Arch-bishop Foley said at the Mass during the May 10-21 festival.

Filmmakers and others who deal with images daily should have a special appreciation for the Bible, especially the Gospel stories and parables, the archbishop said.

Action, controversy, the unexpect-ed, joy and pain are all presented in the Bible’s pages with images accessible to all, yet rich enough to challenge.

“While everything is not com-pletely clear to us now and while we

see only with the eyes of faith, every-thing will be perfectly clear to us, and we shall see God as he is,” Archbishop Foley said.

“This vision, which we call ‘be-atific,”’ points to the reality that God is “supremely beautiful,” more beautiful than any created image can be, he said.

“We need the simplicity, the in-nocence and the faith of children to see a vision which is denied to those who have become blinded by sin,” the archbishop said. t

8 The Catholic News & Herald May 19 , 2000F a t i m a B e a t i fi c a -

By cinDy WOODencatholic NeWs service

FATIMA, Portugal (CNS) — Pope John Paul II, ordering the publica-tion of the so-called “third secret of Fatima,” believes part of it was a direct reference to the 1981 attempt on his life, said the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

Cardinal Sodano, the highest-ranking official of the Roman Curia, said May 13 that the almost 80-year-old pope asked him to make “the sol-emn announcement” of the secret’s contents at the end of the pope’s Mass in Fatima, 19 years to the day after the assassination attempt.

The message was written down in 1943 by Sister Lucia dos Santos, the only surviving Fatima visionary, and placed in a wax-sealed envelope. She gave it to her bishop who sent it, unopened, to the Vatican, where it re-mained secret except to the popes and a few close aides.

Cardinal Sodano told an estimated 600,000 people at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima that the third part of the message revealed to the three shep-

herd children in 1917 “concerns, above all, the war waged by atheist systems against the church and Christians.”

But, it also includes reference to the ministry and suffering of a “bishop clothed in white,” whom the children believed was the pope, Cardinal So-dano said.

The cardinal said the pope had directed the Congregation for the Doc-trine of the Faith to prepare a com-mentary to help people understand the message, then to make the message and the commentary public.

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vati-can spokesman, told reporters on the papal flight back to Rome May 13 that publication was expected “within days, perhaps a week.”

In the message, Cardinal Sodano said, as the pope “makes his way with great effort toward the Cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred — bishops, priests, men and women religious and many lay persons — he, too, falls to the ground, apparently dead under a burst of gunfire.”

Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk, tried to assassinate the pope in St. Peter’s Square May 13, 1981.

‘third secret’ to be published; pope links it to assassination

Pope John Paul II is helped by aides after being shot in St. Peter’s Square May 13, 1981. Following the beatification of two of the Fatima visionaries May 13, a Vatican official revealed the so-called third secret of Fatima. Cardinal Angelo Sodano said the pope believes it refers to the attempt on his life and the church’s struggle against communism.

cNs file Photo

Cardinal Sodano said that after the shooting “it appeared evident to His Holiness that it was ‘a motherly hand which guided the bullet’s path,”’ saving the pope’s life.

In his homily during the beatifica-tion Mass at Fatima, Pope John Paul renewed his thanks to God and to Our Lady of Fatima for saving his life, and he hinted at what Cardinal Sodano would reveal an hour later.

Speaking about the world wars, Nazi concentration camps, Soviet gulags, abortion and other 20th cen-tury “horrors,” the pope said, “here in Fatima ... these times of tribulation were foretold, and Our Lady asked for prayer and penance to abbreviate them.”

Cardinal Sodano said that Sister Lucia — whom the pope met with privately before the Mass to beatify her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco — confirmed the Vatican’s interpretation.

Navarro-Valls said that several weeks before the beatification, Sister Lucia was informed of the pope’s deci-sion to reveal the secret and was asked to review the Vatican’s interpretation of the message.

The spokesman would not say whom the pope sent to see Sister Lucia at the Carmelite cloister in Coimbra.

Navarro-Valls also said the pope had several reasons for delegating the announcement to Cardinal Sodano in addition to the fact that the cardinal is his top aide.

First, he said, it is because the pope is a subject in the messages and, second, “because it concerns a private revelation, which is different from a biblical revelation.”

The “Catechism of the Catho-lic Church” explains that through Scripture and in Christ, in a full and exceptional way, God has revealed everything that is essential for faith.

However, i t says, “Throughout the ages, there have been so-called private revelations, some of which have been recog-nized by the authority of the church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s defini-tive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of his-tory.”

Cardinal Sodano said the message would be published only with the com-mentary because “the text contains a prophetic vision similar to those found in Sacred Scripture, which do not de-scribe with photographic clarity the details of future events,” and, there-fore, require an interpretation.

In announcing the planned publi-cation, the cardinal told the crowd the pope came to Fatima to beatify the two children, but also to renew his thanks to Our Lady of Fatima “for her protec-tion during these years of his papacy.”

“This protection seems also to be linked to the so-called ‘third part’ of the secret of Fatima,” he said.

In the late 1930s, Sister Lucia

made public the first two parts of the messages from Mary, which the chil-dren kept secret.

The first two parts included the vision of hell shown to the children, along with prophecies concerning the outbreak of World War II, the rise of communism and the ultimate triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, including over Russia if the country were consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.

In interviews after the announce-ment, Cardinal Sodano said the pope

had been planning to reveal the secret “for some time. It was a matter of find-ing an opportune occasion. And that came with the beatification.

“But it is also a decision tied to the closing of the millennium, to the century just passed, a century full of suffering and tribulation,” the cardinal told reporters.

In his public announcement, Car-dinal Sodano said the pope wanted the message published because prayers for conversion and for divine assistance in responding to threats against the

Christian faith are still necessary.

“The successive events of 1989 led, both in the Soviet Union and in a number of countries of Eastern Europe, to the fall of the communist regime which promoted atheism,” he said.

“For this, too, His Holi-ness offers heartfelt thanks to the most holy Virgin,” the cardinal said.

“Even if the events to which the third part of the Secret of Fatima refers

now seem part of the past, Our Lady’s call to conversion and penance, issued at the beginning of the 20th century, remains timely and urgent today,” Car-dinal Sodano said. t

A nun assists pilgrims kneeling before the shrine at Fatima May 11, prior to the visit of Pope John Paul II. The pope was to beatify two of three visionaries visited six times by the Virgin Mary there in 1917.


Children greet Pope John Paul II at the shrine at Fatima, Portugal, May 12 upon his arrival for the beatification of two young Fatima visionaries.


Cardinal Sodano told an estimated 600,000 people at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima that the third part of the message revealed to the three shepherd children

in 1917 “concerns, above all, the war waged by atheist systems against the church and Christians.” But, it also

includes reference to the ministry and suffering of a “bishop clothed in white,” whom the children believed

was the pope, Cardinal Sodano said.

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 9 May 19 , 2000 F a t i m a B e a t i fi c a -

Jacinta and Francisco Marto are pictured with their cousin Lucia dos Santos (right) in a file photo taken around the time of the 1917 apparitions of Mary at Fatima, Portugal. The Marto children died young. Lucia, a Carmelite nun, is still living.

cNs file Photo

Pope, in Fatima, beatifies children, has aide announce “Third

By cinDy WOODencatholic NeWs service

FATIMA, Portugal (CNS) — On the 19th anniversary of the attempt to assassinate him, Pope John Paul II listened as his top aide announced the pope’s decision to reveal the so-called “third secret of Fatima.”

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, told an estimated 600,000 people gathered in Fatima May 13 that the pope believes the se-cret refers to the assassination attempt and to the church’s struggle against communism.

Pope John Paul had just finished celebrating Mass for the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco Marto, two of the shepherd children who saw Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.

During his homily, he once again thanked Our Lady of Fatima for saving his life when he was shot May 13, 1981, and he spoke of the “horrors” of the 20th century, which he said were foretold by Mary in the Fatima messages.

In making the announcement about the secret, Cardinal Sodano said it “concerns, above all, the war waged by atheist systems against the church and Christians.”

But it also refers to the ministry and suffering of a “bishop clothed in white,” whom the children believed was the pope, Cardinal Sodano said.

The cardinal said that in the secret, as the pope “makes his way with great effort toward the Cross amid the corps-es of those who were martyred — bish-ops, priests, men and women religious and many lay persons — he, too, falls to the ground, apparently dead under a burst of gunfire.”

Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk, tried to assassinate the pope in St. Peter’s Square on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima in 1981.

Cardinal Sodano said that after the shooting “it appeared evident to His Holiness that it was ‘a motherly hand which guided the bullet’s path,”’ saving the pope’s life.

Pope John Paul has directed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to prepare a commentary to help

people understand the message, then to make the message and the commen-tary public, the cardinal said.

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman, told reporters on the pa-pal flight back to Rome May 13 that publication was expected “within days, perhaps a week.”

In his Mass homily, Pope John Paul said the Fatima children demonstrated how “little ones” may be able to grasp important truths more quickly than their elders.

In the course of the 20th century, the pope said, thousands and thou-sands of people died in the struggle between good and evil.

“My thoughts go to the horrors of the two ‘great wars’ and those of other wars in many parts of the world, to the concentration and extermination camps, the gulags, ethnic cleansing and persecutions, terrorism, kidnap-ping, drugs, the attacks on the unborn and on the family,” he said.

In Mary’s message at Fatima, the pope said, “these times of tribulation were foretold, and Our Lady asked for prayers and penance to abbreviate them.”

“Today I want to thank heaven for the strength of the testimony” given by Jacinta and Francisco, he said.

“And, once again, I want to celebrate the Lord’s goodness to me, when, seri-ously struck that May 13, 1981, I was saved from death,” Pope John Paul said.

“I express my recognition also to Blessed Jacinta for her sacrifices and prayers for the Holy Father, whom she had seen suffer much,” the pope said, referring to part of the Fatima message.

As a sign of his gratitude to Mary, the pope sent one of the bullets used in the assassination attempt to Fatima. It is now embedded in the crown on the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the shrine.

Arriving in Fatima May 12, the pope knelt in prayer near the statue before leading a brief prayer service.

Approaching the statue, he left a small red box and an envelope at Mary’s feet. The box contained the gold ring that the late Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski of Warsaw gave him shortly after his election as pope.

The cardinal had told the pope that he would lead the church into the third millennium.

Italian and Portuguese newspaper and television reports were filled with speculation that the letter the pope left spoke of his resignation now that he had led the church into the Holy Year 2000.

Navarro-Valls, the papal spokes-man, said the reports were “150 per-

cent” wrong; the letter simply explains the history of the ring and its personal significance to the pope.

The ring, he said, “is one of the most precious things the Holy Father owns. The pope was trying to think of what to give Our Lady, and he decided on this precious ring. Any other inter-pretation is without foundation.”

But the pope also received a special gift at Fatima. Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, who along with her cous-ins, Jacinta and Francisco, saw Our Lady of Fatima in 1917, gave the pope 300 rosaries she had made.

The pope met privately with Sis-ter Lucia in the basilica at the Fatima shrine before the beatification Mass.

Pope John Paul asked Sister Lucia how old she is, Navarro-Valls said. When the nun replied, “93,” they both smiled.

As she sat by Francisco’s tomb waiting for the pope, Sister Lucia responded briefly to reporters’ ques-tions. She said she was “very happy” that her cousins were being beatified.

Already informed of the pope’s decision to reveal the secret, which she had written down in 1943 and placed in a wax-sealed envelope, Sister Lucia said, “It is a day of glory for God and for Our Lady.”

She said the only thing she had to tell the world was: “Try to be faithful to God and thankful for his graces.”

During the beatification Mass, the pope asked children to try to be like Jacinta and Francisco in listening to Mary and following her to Jesus.

Dozens of children in the crowd were dressed in costumes to look like the beatification photographs of Ja-cinta and Francisco — complete with dark scarves for the girls and floppy berets for the boys.

“Our Lady needs each of you to console Jesus, who is sad because of the injustices they do to him,” he said. “She needs your prayers and your sac-rifices for sinners.”

Pope John Paul said that by listening to Mary, the newly beatified “reached the summit of perfection in a short time.”

The pope said Francisco was preoc-cupied with Jesus being sad because of sinners. The boy’s only desire was “to console Jesus and make him happy.”

“Little Jacinta shared and lived this affliction of Our Lady,” that is, Mary’s worry for sinners who would end up in hell, the pope said. “All the mortifications and penances seemed a small price to her to save sinners.”

The children prayed often, gave their lunches to poor children and wore rough ropes around their thighs in order to offer their sacrifices to Mary. And once people started hearing about the apparitions, the children en-dured harsh questioning at the hands of church and civil authorities, the doubts of their parents and the con-stant attention of the curious.

Francisco died in 1919 at the age of 10. Jacinta died shortly before her 10th birthday in 1920. With millions of Europeans, they were victims of the Spanish flu epidemic. t

Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, 93, smiles as she waits to meet with Pope John Paul II in Fatima, Portugal, May 13. She and her beatified cousins — Francisco and Jacinta Marto — witnessed six visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917 at Fatima.


10 The Catholic News & Herald May 19 , 2000R e a d -

Word to LifeMay 7, Third Sunday of Eas-

ter, Cycle B Readings:1) Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-92) 1 John 2:1-5a3) Gospel: Luke 24:35-48

By DAn luBycatholic NeWs service

Peace. Terror. Doubt. Joy. Disbe-lief. Wonder. “Mixed feelings” hardly describes the dizzying roller coaster of emotion that rocketed the disciples in this week’s Gospel from the stomach-churning descent into doubt to the neck-snapping curve around the edges of fear, to the awe-inspiring pinnacle of joy which was their encounter with the Easter Jesus.

I used to imagine, as a child, what I would do if the Lord appeared to me. I pictured myself happy, eager to display my virtuous deeds like some vain Boy Scout showing off a particularly impressive array of merit badges.

I imagined Jesus smiling kindly at me. And though I knew it wasn’t likely — I’d never seen it in pious pictures or heard of it at home or church — I harbored the hope that, if I kept being a good boy, there might be a pony in my future soon. I

Readings for the week of May 21 - 27, 2000Fifth Sunday of Easter, Acts 9:26-31, 1 John 3:18-24, John 15:1-8; Monday,

Acts 14:5-18, John 14:21-26; Tuesday, Acts 14:19-28, John 14:27-31; Wednes-day, Acts 15:1-6, John 15:1-8; Thursday, Acts 15:7-21, John 15:9-11; Friday (St. Philip Neri), Acts 15:22-31, John 15:12-17; Saturday (St. Augustine of Canterbury), Acts 16:1-10, John 15:18-21

Readings for the week of May 28 - June 3, 2000Sixth Sunday of Easter, Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48, 1 John 4:7-10, John

15:9-17; Monday, Acts 16:11-15, John 15:26-16:4; Tuesday, Acts 16:22-34, John 16:5-11; Wednesday (Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth), Zephaniah 3:14-18, Luke 1:39-56; Thursday (Ascension of Our Lord), Acts 1:1-11, Ephe-sians 1:17-23, Mark 16:15-20; Friday (St. Marcellinus, St. Peter), Acts 18:9-18, John 16:20-23; Saturday (St. Charles Lwanga and Companions), Acts 18:23-28, John 16:23-28

Book Review

W e e k l y S c r i p t u r e

revieWeD By PAtriciA ZAPOrcatholic NeWs service

If playing Scripture-citation hock-ey with fundamentalists is your idea of a good time, “Pope Fiction” was writ-ten for you.

Patrick Madrid, editor-in-chief of the Catholic apologetics magazine En-voy, has compiled detailed “answers to 30 myths and misconceptions about the papacy,” as the subtitle reads.

Many of the chapters provide

highly specific rebuttals of Scripture-based claims put forth by those who insist the Catholic Church misinter-preted the Bible in establishing the pa-pacy. For instance, one chapter devotes 13 pages to analyzing the origins and possible interpretations of the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew terms used in Matthew 16:18 with the phrase, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”

Most American Catholics don’t find themselves consumed by the quandary of whether the word Jesus used for “rock” was more accurately reported in Greek Scriptures as “pet-ros,” meaning “small rock,” or “petras,” meaning “large rock,” and whether Matthew actually wrote in Greek or Aramaic.

Yet that’s the kind of debate that Madrid relishes in these chapters, where he attempts to provide explana-tions nonscholars can use to answer some of the favorite Scripture-thump-ing arguments against the papacy.

There have been plenty of scholarly discussions on the scriptural foundations of the church. For quick reference, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” ex-plains this core teaching and refers to its theological basis. But for contemporary Catholics without the time or energy to read the work of theologians or who want a little more thorough explana-tion than the sections on church struc-ture in the catechism, Madrid provides a middle ground.

“Pope Fiction” answers myths and misconceptions about the

“Pope Fiction”By Peter Madrid

Basilica Press (San Diego, 1999) 338 pp., $14.99.

did not imagine mixed feelings.Now, with many more miles on

my heart and soul, with flesh that’s been bruised a time or two, and bones that sometimes creak and ache for no good reason, I find the picture of that emotionally volatile scene in the Upper Room compelling and real.

The fact is that when things have gone disastrously awry, when someone we love has been bru-tally hurt, and our hopes have been dashed and our shallowness and in-constancy mercilessly revealed, the unexpected arrival of the wounded loved one is bound to provoke a storm of emotion.

The good news is that, having failed our friend, our friend does not fail us. Patient, persistent for-giveness heals us of our fear and empowers us to be truer, more com-passionate, more willing to risk our comfort and safety in the service of demonstrating not our brittle vir-tue, but the mercy of God.

Questions:What part of the Gospel mes-

sage do you occasionally hear with mixed emotions? What’s one con-crete way you can testify to the power of forgiveness?

For those who don’t get involved in debates about the church with fun-damentalists, these sections of “Pope Fiction” might provide interesting background that you missed while sleeping through ninth-grade religion classes. Others will find Madrid’s dis-section of anti-Catholic treatises — like the numerological argument that the pope’s official Latin title adds up to the satanic number 666 — to be conde-scending and tiresome.

This particular chapter does in-clude an interesting explanation of the truth behind an argument against the church used by some Seventh-day Ad-ventists. But in getting there, Madrid resorts to a smirking, insulting tone that pervades his book.

“Alas, if only this gentleman’s Latin were as good as his imagination,” he says in countering one Adventist writer.

That’s an unfortunate side-effect of Madrid’s attempt to use a light, breezy tone to make his material appealing. Amid helpful discussions of topics like whether there was a “Pope Joan,” and the origins of the Crusades and the Span-ish Inquisition, Madrid crosses the line between a light tone and condescending pompousness. His explanations may be accurate, but it’s hard to believe many people will be convinced of that when he takes such glee in being insulting while debunking their beliefs.

Also, at times, Madrid is so intent on explaining some of the darker chapters of church history that he comes across as justifying horrific ac-tions. He notes, for instance, that the executions carried out during the In-quisition were not at the hands of the church authorities themselves, but by the civil government, and that the ac-tual number executions was arguably exaggerated — as if either explana-tion makes the events less dubious.

It does help to have someone pro-vide an explanation of these parts of the church’s history, but readers of “Pope Fiction” should be wary of Madrid’s be-littling approach. As his magazine, En-voy, is fond of pointing out, apologetics doesn’t have to be dry and academic. But perhaps a book aimed at a general audience also should be more careful about using gloating as a tool for evan-gelization. t

Zapor covers federal government is-

The Cathol ic News & Hera ld 11 May 19 , 2000E n t e r t a i n -

new at the Box OfficeNEW YORK (CNS) — Following are recent capsule reviews issued by

the U.S. Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting.“Hamlet” (Miramax)

Pretentious adaptation of the Bard’s masterpiece set in the greedy, con-sumerist world of 21st-century New York City in which the country of Den-mark is replaced by the “Denmark Corp.” and the story’s hero (Ethan Hawke) is a mopey aspiring filmmaker. Director Michael Almereyda ambitiously fuses the contemporary world with classic Shakespearean dialogue and cuts the piece to a lean two hours, but the edgy feel of the modern world is lost in crowded staging and poor performances. Some violence. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

“Battlefield Earth” (Warner Bros.)Chaotic post-apocalyptic tale set on Earth in 3000 A.D. pits enslaved

cavemen-like humans (led by Barry Pepper) against an occupying alien race personified by their corrupt security head (John Travolta). Director Roger Christian’s virtually unwatchable adaptation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s 1982 sci-fi novel has no particular spiritual dimension in its silly jumble of one-dimensional characters in muddled action sequences. Much stylized violence, explosive mayhem and brief sexual innuendo. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture As-sociation of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Held Up” (Trimark)Pointless comedy in which a Chicago man (Jamie Foxx) who, after being

dumped by his fiancee (Nia Long) while vacationing in the Grand Canyon, is stranded in a desert convenience store and gets caught in the middle of a stick-up. As directed by Steve Rash, the tedious film’s few funny moments are overshadowed by an absurd plot and vapid, predictable gags. A few sexual references, brief violence and intermittent crass language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Ethan Hawke and Diane Venora star in a modern adaptation of “Hamlet.” cNs Photo froM MiraMaX

By Gerri PArecatholic NeWs service

NEW YORK (CNS) — The man who put cameras in the hands of the common man is profiled in “The Wiz-ard of Photography,” airing Monday, May 22, 9-10 p.m. EDT on PBS.

From age 3, George Eastman was fascinated with photography. But at 23, when he bought his first professional camera in 1877, he found it a bulky af-fair requiring fragile glass wet plates, a heavy tripod and cumbersome parapher-nalia far from user-friendly.

Upon hearing British photogra-phers were working on a dry-plate process, high-school dropout Eastman turned into an amateur chemist until he developed his own process and opened a dry plate factory in Roches-ter, N.Y. Not one to rest on his laurels, Eastman moved onto a bolder innova-tion: flexible, emulsion-coated paper film on a roll holder that he hoped would render the heavy glass plates obsolete.

When professional photographers found the film inferior, his invention was jeopardized, so Eastman decided his market should be ordinary folk who wouldn’t be as picky — but would be delighted to take their own photos. The $25 Kodak camera with a 100-picture capacity debuted in 1888, although the cost was still too expen-sive for the average family.

Eastman’s suspicious and demand-ing personality did not endear him to his factory employees, whose bathroom breaks he monitored. Devoted to his mother, he never married and was un-comfortable in social situations.

Setbacks and an economic depres-sion nearly put him out of business, but in 1900 Eastman released the Ko-dak Brownie camera. At an affordable $1 purchase price, its success made him a millionaire and gave the country its most popular hobby.

As written, produced and directed by James A. DeVinney, Eastman proves much less fascinating than his innova-tions. Toward the end he began to give away some of his vast personal fortune before a painful illness prompted him to take his own life at age 72.

Eastman may have been an extraor-dinary entrepreneur but his legacy is real-ly how his inventions enabled individuals to capture a moment in time in their own personal histories forever. t

Pare is director of the U.S. Catholic Con-ference Office for Film and Broadcasting.

“The Wizard of Photography” May 22, 9-10 p.m. EDT

on PBS

Photographer Eastman profiled in PBS

By Gerri PArecatholic NeWs service

NEW YORK (CNS) — Here are some television programs of note for the week of May 21:

Tuesday, May 23, 10-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) “The Battle Over School Choice.” A “Frontline” documentary about the hot-button issue of school vouchers and whether public funds should be used to pay for private or parochial schools.

Wednesday, May 24, 8-9 p.m. EDT (CBS) “When Seconds Count: How to Survive a Disaster.” Special shows clips of past catastrophes and offers tips on how to behave in a life-saving manner in the moments after such tragedies as a plane crash, a tor-

TV programs of note — week of May 21nado or an inferno. Parental advice is also offered on what to tell children about potential child molesters.

Wednesday, May 24, 9-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Sahara.” A look at the sun and sand, fiery heat and titanic wind-storms of the 3,000-mile desert, and the wildlife that manages to live there.

Thursday, May 25, 8-9 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Love Letter to New York.” Broadway stars Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan, the New York Yankees’ Orlando “El Duque” Her-nandez and other celebrities talk about different aspects of living in the five boroughs of New York.

Pare is director of the U.S. Catholic Con-ference Office for Film and Broadcasting.


The priest: A tool in the hand of Jesus ChristThe experience is etched deep in my memory.

On Sunday, February 10, 1963, I was privileged to celebrate my first Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. It was in that parish that my faith had been nurtured and nourished over the years.

Since Cardinal Cushing, as the Ordinary of the Archdiocese, was the pastor of the Cathedral parish, he expressed a desire to preside and preach on that occa-sion. The words that His Eminence spoke during his homily have been with me throughout the 37 years that have unfolded since that memorable moment. I welcome this opportunity to share portions of his reflection with those to be ordained for service within this diocese as well as with each reader.

The Cardinal’s initial remarks were a challenge to me as they would be to any priest. He said, “There are many ways in which spiritual writers describe a priest. Some call him an alter Christus, another Christ. My dear friends, every baptized Christian is another Christ. A baptized Christian is supposed to be a follower of Christ, a witness of Christ in the highways, by-ways and forums of the world. The priest is another Christ in the sense that he perpetuates the work of Christ. But he is not worthy of the title unless he strives to reproduce in his life, insofar as it is humanly possible to do so, the character, the image of Christ.”

As Cardinal Cushing continued, he stated: “A priest is an instrument, a tool of Christ. You know what a tool is? Whether it’s perfect or imperfect, new or old, stained and dark, sharp and bright, it cannot do a blessed thing of itself. But put it in the hand of a skilled craftsman, an artisan, and he can use that tool to reproduce, to create, as it were, a beautiful statue, a masterpiece or a simple table. The priest of himself can do nothing in the supernatural order unless he throws himself in the hands of the divine artisan, Jesus Christ.”

The Cardinal then reminded me as well as all in the congregation, that each priest is unique. They are neither clones nor robots. He stated: “Now there are

Unite sports with spiritual values, pope tells cyclists

By JOhn nOrtOncatholic NeWs service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Done well, sports become a significant expression of high human values, Pope John Paul II said.

Sporting activity “is a unique expression of the best interior energies of man and his capacity to overcome difficulties and to choose goals to be gained with sacrifice, generosity and perseverance in facing the challenges of compe-tition,” the pope said.

The pope made his remarks during a meet-ing with the 180 cyclists participating in the 2000 Giro d’Italia, a professional bicycle race that began May 13 in Rome and concludes June 4 in Milan. Race officials, sponsors, sports journalists and past winners of the race also at-tended the audience.

The jubilee year presents an important opportunity for reflection on and renewal of the necessary relationship between sports and spiritual values, the pope said. He highlighted the values of “rigor in preparation, persever-ance in training, knowledge of the limits of the person’s abilities, fairness in competition, acceptance of precise rules, respect for one’s adversary, a sense of solidarity and altruism.”

Though the pope praised technical advances designed to make sports more competitive, he warned that they must be placed at the service of the athlete, not the other way around.

In the audience’s front row sat Marco Pan-tani, 1998 winner of the Giro and the Tour de France, who was disqualified from the 1999 Italian race on allegations of using illicit perfor-mance-enhancing drugs.

Pope offers moral support to Rwandan bishop facing death penalty

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II offered his moral support to a Rwandan bishop fac-ing the death penalty in a trial on charges that he was an accomplice in genocide. Prosecutors in the trial of Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, 57, asked a Rwandan court May 9 to sentence the bishop to death. Pope John Paul sent the bishop a telegram May 10 “in the face of the painful news which has reached me about your detention in prison, which has gone on already 13 months, and even more in the face of the re-quest for capital punishment.”Pope asks young people to make time to

listen to ChristVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul

II asked young people to make time in their lives to listen to the voice of Christ and his plans for them. “I hope each one of you will know how to recognize, in the midst of the many voices of this world, that of Christ, who continues to ad-dress his call to the hearts of those who listen,” the pope said May 10 during his weekly general audience. “Be generous in following him,” Pope John Paul told young people at the end of the audience. “Do not be afraid of putting your energies and your enthusiasm at the service of the Gospel.”

When a child suffers lossFor the past seven years, Jim Emswiler has con-

ducted the National Conference on Loss and Transi-tion. After his wife died more than a decade ago, he could find little help for himself and his two children in how to cope with the pain of this loss, and so he decided to do something about it. He founded the New England Center for Loss and Transition, and has worked ever since to bring professionals together to learn better how to help people, especially chil-dren, who are hurting.

This year, his keynote speaker was Ted Ken-nedy Jr., who lost his leg from cancer when he was 12 years old. He is the son of Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The younger Kennedy’s story was riveting. He emphasized right off that his experience had been a “transforming event” that made him more compas-sionate. It also brought him to his life’s work of pro-moting the disability rights movement to “enhance the dignity of all” who are in any way disabled.

He told us how back in 1973, when he was play-ing football, “everything that touched my leg would hurt abnormally.” His pediatrician said the swelling that had developed below his knee was a calcium de-posit. Before long, when the pain got excruciating, he was brought to the hospital for X-rays. The problem was cancer; his leg was removed the next day.

“When my dad told me, I was shocked and horri-fied. I couldn’t imagine living without both my legs. I remember thinking I’d rather die. It was a tremen-dous loss of self-esteem. I was incredibly embar-rassed about how I would look.”

His family, trying to help, told him “Don’t let it bother you,” but it did. Kennedy, now a 38-year-old lawyer and father of two, said firmly, “Never say to a child, ‘You shouldn’t feel that way.’ My feelings were never validated. People told me how brave I was, and paradoxically that isolated me. In the hospital my full-time job became to keep everybody cheered up.

“I was growing up in an Irish Catholic family, a culture where anger was unacceptable and sadness

not allowed. The attitude was: Pull yourself up, and get over it. If I cried, I knew I’d be letting everybody down.”

What a burden that was for a child! Kennedy says today that it took him years to “mourn his loss.” Now he knows it’s all right for a child to be angry over loss. “It’s the weakling who keeps emotions in. They’re scared. It takes incredible strength to pro-cess these feelings and emotions, and not be afraid of what others might think.”

Now he works to promote “value and dignity in every life.”

He also has learned the importance of accep-tance. “The key to happiness is to live in the moment, to appreciate how wonderful life is, to be able to stay grateful, not to be afraid of emotions, not to intel-lectualize everything.”

He speaks of how he “can use the Kennedy name to advance” his work for rights for the disabled, and for promoting value and dignity in every life.

“We help others by the power of example. Be-cause of what happened to me, I became sensitized to a scope of issues. There’s a tremendous amount of work to do around the world.”

The Pope Speaks

Priestly Life

The Bottom Line

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all kinds of priests. There are gifted orators, prolific writers, good administrators. There are priests who would probably be a success in many walks of life. There are priests who are very talented. There are priests who are fearless, who have tremendous cour-age. There are priests who are shy, aloof, quiet. You seldom, if ever, hear of them. There are priests of ordinary ability; priests who never seek the limelight, who do the best they can as living tools of Christ.”

Before he concluded the homily, Cardinal Cush-ing stressed the importance and necessity of the priest having an active, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. He stated unhesitatingly that if the priest is to be fruitful in the fulfillment of his ministry he must strive not simply to know Christ, but to be intimate with Him. If the priest is to be a good tool in the hand of Christ, he must be converted to His Way, guided by His Truth and sustained by His Life.

As seven young men are ordained to the minis-terial priesthood for the Diocese of Charlotte, the message shared by Cardinal Cushing 37 years ago during the first Mass of a newly ordained are well-worth pondering.

Father James Hawker is vicar for education for the Diocese of Charlotte.


Summer family timeIt’s only a matter of weeks before the kids

are out of school, and the time crunch of sum-mer begins. As the kids get older, their lives are more involved outside the family. This makes finding time for family more difficult than when they were toddlers. Nonetheless, we must put great effort in creating sacred space for our fam-ily formation in the summer.

Looking at our family calendar, ours is a formidable task. Andrew, no longer working at DePaul University, doesn’t get the summer off to devote to planning family fun. Terri, now back in school, will have even less time this sum-mer. Andréa, graduating from high school, will spend a couple of weeks in Europe before leav-ing for college. It looks like it will be Marty, who will be mowing lawns for a little mad money this summer, who will be the “fun-master” this summer.

Ours has been a summer family for genera-tions. Living not far from 31st Street Beach, An-drew’s family would gather there very often on summer days. They were literally beach bums who made the lakeshore their home during sum-mer. With aunts and uncles, cousins and friends, family gatherings at the beach would sometimes extend from morning to night.

It was in the summer of 1970 that our friendship turned to romance and our love began to flower. In the summer of 1978, our Marriage Encounter experience transformed us and set us on a journey of ministry. On an open-ended camping trip in 1979, we discovered Mackinac Island, the venue of annual family summer flings ever since. In the summer of 1982 we settled into parenthood with awe and wonder. Our “Lykes on Bikes” excursions have taken us on bicycle trails, rest stops, B&Bs and camp sites that have supplied our memories with treasures that will last a lifetime. The “dog days” are magical for us. We trace the thread of grace through many summer experiences as a family.

Rarely, if ever, have we been able to plan the many awe-inspiring summer experiences. We only needed to be present, awake and coopera-tive. The Spirit has guided us to many wonder-ful family summer adventures.

So, the calendar challenge is undaunting to us. We will have to seek quality rather than quantity. The guys plan a couple of brief fish-ing trips. The girls will probably do some power shopping. The “Lykes on Bikes” will spend a few days on Mackinac Island. With a few evenings of burgers on the grill, our summer family time will be rich. The rest we leave to the Spirit for the experiences of awe and wonder. Our task is to be present, awake and cooperative.

Andrew and Terri Lyke are coordinators of Marriage Ministry in the African-American com-munity for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Light OneCandle

ReincarnationQ. I have a friend, a sincerely good person, who

strongly believes in reincarnation. Can you suggest any arguments that would dissuade her from this belief ?

A. I doubt that there are any such arguments for people who genuinely embrace this sort of be-lief, because it isn’t one that is arrived at by logic or reasoning in our usual meaning of those words. It comes from a whole other approach to spirituality, a different perspective for viewing life, God, and such realities as death and eternity.

Reincarnation is an ancient idea, originating in Asia and integrated into Hindu thought around 600 B.C. According to this “doctrine,” all living be-ings, from plants to human beings and even gods, go through a continuous cycle of deaths and rebirths.

By the law of “karma,” which literally means ac-tion, the condition of life at each rebirth depends on the moral quality of actions in the previous life. The belief is predominant in Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.

Today reincarnation is also a significant element in at least some major branches of the New Age move-ment in North America and Europe, which may be where your friend made contact with it.

As I said, since belief in reincarnation does not result from any systematic or structured theology,

Family Reflections

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it is difficult to refute at that level. It is undoubt-edly, however, entirely incompatible with traditional Christian and Catholic teaching.

For us Christians, death is a final, unrepeatable event, unique for every human being. As the letter to the Hebrews tells us, “It is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment” (9:27).

As we read in the Gospel story of the rich man and the poor Lazarus, between those on this earth and those who have died lies a great chasm, over which no one may cross from one side to the other (Lk 16:26).

This understanding of the conclusiveness of death has never been seriously questioned or chal-lenged in Christianity.

ConfessionQ. Is it still a law of the church that every Catholic

should go to confession at least once a year, during the Easter time? I am 85 years young, and it seems to me many people do not do that.

A. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1457), all Catholics are obliged to “confess serious sins” at least once a year. In those words, the catechism repeats canon law (989) and the Introduc-tion to the Rite of Penance (34).

In other words, the obligation for at least annual reception of the sacrament of penance, which goes back to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, does not apply to those who are not aware of an unconfessed mortal sin.

In all these statements, the church is not im-posing a new obligation for confession, but simply prescribes a time within which mortal sins should be confessed so that, if for no other reason, the Eucha-rist might be received.

Canon law requires Catholics to receive Com-munion at least once a year, during the Easter season unless a serious reason forces it to be done at another time.

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“Yes” — bit by bitShe lived unknown, until her murder thrust her

into prominence. Cassie Bernall is the teenager many believe to be a martyr. Within a day of the Colum-bine High School tragedy, she was reported to have said “Yes” when asked by her killer if she believed in God.

More recently, police investigations have been published, pointing out a variety of discrepancies that suggest someone else may have actually uttered the celebrated “Yes.” “Many of the kids were actu-ally hiding under desks and hearing only bits and fragments of the conversation,” one investigator explained. “It appears that exactly who they taunted, what questions were asked, and who replied what — may never be crystal clear.”

Even so, Cassie’s story, as recounted in her moth-er’s best-selling book, “She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall,” continues to inspire believers and energize Christian youth movements around the world. In her retelling, Misty Bernall cou-rageously discloses the more radical, even darker side of Cassie’s turbulent adolescence and her slow, daily struggle to get right with God.

I met Misty and her husband, Brad, at the annual Christopher Awards ceremony honoring her book. I was eager to let Misty know how much I learned from her painful account of a once deeply rebellious daughter.

Misty was equally eager to make clear that Cassie’s spiritual awakening was accomplished not in a single “Yes” but in the small, everyday decisions that restored her life and faith bit by bit.

Indeed, Misty Bernall knows her daughter was no saint in life — Satanism, suicide and murder threats, sneaking out at night, drugs, lies and more lies were her way of life for a time. Her parents were forced to go to extraordinary lengths to help and protect her. But after a weekend religious retreat, Cassie seemed to want to turn her whole life around.

It began with her struggle to disassociate from her old life style, while still caring for old friends. Then a cascade of choices about her attitudes and her actions — to transfer to Columbine where she could make new friends, to understand how much her parents really loved her, to resist sarcasm and meanness, to stop judging others, to relish someone else’s joy and accomplishment, to get a grip on her temper and pride.

Misty explains: “Cassie died daily over the two years before her death. Her affirmation of faith in God did not come out of the blue, but out of every choice she made along the way. She answered ‘Yes’ many times, and with each day the ‘Yes’ came deeper and deeper from her heart and mind and soul. Then there was the day that she smiled - really smiled — with eyes that glinted hope and promise.”

The night before she was murdered, Cassie wrote to a friend: “Honestly, I want to live completely for God. It’s hard and scary, but totally worth it.” That she should have learned and lived this at such a young age is, for me, the real inspiration of her story.

I believe Cassie Bernall dares us to sacrifice all for Love’s sake — not as a hero or a martyr — but consistently and with conviction, in the small, every-day things that make up a life worth living.

Father Thomas J. McSweeney is director of The Christophers.


edge to others.“I congratulate you on this day,

and I ask God to empower you through Christ’s love that you may use your gifts generously, prayerfully and joyfully for the benefit of us all,” he continued.

Expressing the need for more lay ministers not only in the Diocese of Charlotte but in other dioceses across the country, the bishop referred to the recent findings from the National Catholic Parish Survey, released on May 4. The survey showed that the la-ity, deacons and religious with church staff positions outnumber priests by nearly two to one. Also, the number of parishes with at least one lay minister on staff has grown from 30 to 68 percent since 1982. Researchers pre-dicted the number and importance of lay min-isters in parish staffing and parish life will only continue to grow in the coming years.

St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro parishioner Mary Shaw, 18, holds the record for the youngest person to have completed the lay ministry program. Shaw, who wants to become involved with campus ministry, talked about how her youth helped her while attending class.

“I was able to offer the insight of youth during class discussions. Older people are sometimes surprised by what younger people think and feel about what goes on in the church and in the world,” said Shaw. “I learned a lot about

church history, things I never knew, and it (the program) taught me to look inside myself and see how I fit within the whole universal church.”

Elizabeth Devaney from St. Barnabas Church in Arden is a bereavement coun-selor who wanted to better understand herself and how her faith fits in with her own life and the lives of others.

“Lay ministry helped me to dig deeper within myself and to come to peace. It has focused me in on my be-lief system, and I want to use what I have learned to be of service to women and single parents,” said Devaney. “I want to be of service to the church

and community and to help people with their spiritual needs.”

The decade-old program has gradu-ated 510 people from all over the diocese. Participants attend all-day classes for two calendar school years on particular Satur-days during the month and can choose which classes they would like to take. The classes

include: Introduction to Ministry, In-troduction to Scripture, Christology, the Church and Church History, Social Ministry, Vatican II Documents, Litur-gy and Sacraments and Christian Mo-rality. These classes comprise about 100 hours of instruction. The other two church sites for the classes are St. Barnabas Church in Arden and Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

For more information about the

lay Ministry, from page 1

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Photo By alesha M. Price

Lay Ministry Training Program, call Mercy Sister Mary Timothy Warren at (704) 370-3213. t

Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail [email protected].

Jerry Filteau from Catholic News

Service contributed to this story.

Bishop William G. Curlin shakes the hand of Mary Shaw from St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro as she receives her certificate of completion from the Lay Ministry Training Program at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte on May 13.

“I learned a lot about church history, things I never knew, and it (the program) taught me to look inside myself and see how I fit within the

whole universal church.”— Mary Shaw


BELMONT — Frank L. Johnson ’71 and his wife, Linda, a 1972 gradu-ate of Sacred Heart College, have made a $1 million unrestricted gift to Belmont Abbey College.

Citing the effect the Abbey has had on their lives and the part it has played in their success, Johnson said they are most happy to be able to make such a gift.

Johnson is president of JMS Southeast, Inc. of Statesville, NC, a company that makes thermocouples and temperature devices.

A member of the Abbey’s Board of Trustees, Johnson has been very much involved with the college through the years. He has been a member of the

Board of Advisors and has actively as-sisted the Abbey in its student recruit-ment efforts. Linda, as a Sacred Heart graduate, has likewise been active and supportive in Abbey affairs, from alumni gatherings to Bradley Institute functions.

“We always wanted to make a contribution to the Abbey, it’s very im-portant to us,” said Johnson, who met Linda at a Greek Week event between Belmont Abbey and Sacred Heart Col-lege when she was a freshman.

Johnson majored in psychology at the Abbey and fondly remembers such teachers as Stanley Dudko, Fr. John Oetgen, O.S.B., the late Fr. Cuthbert

I n t h e

Administrative Assistant: Part-time. Approxi-mately 12 hours/week. N/S with excellent commu-nications, phone, computer skills. Prefer financial background. Resume and references to: MGH, 4801 E. Independence Blvd., Box 601, Charlotte NC 28212.

Assistant Secretary: Asheville Catholic School. Attendance/First Aid Office. M-F, full time. CPR and First Aid certification required. Call (828)252-7896 for information. EOE.

Computer Teacher: K-8, for 2000-2001 at St. Leo Catholic School, 333 Springdale, Winston-Salem, NC 27104. NC certification required (or in pro-cess). Call (336) 748-8252 for application and in-formation. Submit resume to Georgette Schraeder, principal.

Cosmetologists/Barbers: Full-time and part-time. Charlotte area upscale salon seeking warm-hearted, skilled stylists and barbers. Convenient south Charlotte location. $12 per hour + tips. Please call (704) 341-4260.

Custodian, Full-time: Begin work June 1, 2000. Asheville Catholic School. Call Randy Penland, Maintenance Supervisor at (828)252-7896. EOE.

C l a s s i -EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Classified ads bring results! Over 110,000 readers! Over 43,000 homes! Rates: $.50/word per issue ($10 minimum per issue)

Deadline: 12 noon Wednesday, 9 days before publication dateHow to order: Ads may be faxed to (704) 370-3382 or mailed to:

Cindi Feerick, The Catholic News & Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.Payment: Ads may be pre-paid or billed. For information, call (704) 370-3332.

Elementary and Middle School Positions: Im-maculate Heart of Mary School has openings for the following positions for the 2000-2001 school year: Assistant Principal/Teacher (Master’s in Adminis-tration, practicing Catholic): Middle School teachers of Social Studies, Language Arts, Science and Math; Grades 4 and 5 teachers. Interested certified teachers may contact Margene Wilkins, principal, 605 Barbee Avenue, High Point, NC 27262; or call (336)887-2613; or fax (336)884-1849.

Guidance Counselor: Part-time. Asheville Catholic School. Must be NC certified. Call (828)252-7896 for information. EOE.

Music Ministry Director: St. Aloysius Catholic Church is seeking a Director of Music Ministry for a well-established music program. Send resume and references to: Search Committee, St. Aloysius Catho-lic Church, 921 Second St. NE, Hickory, NC 28601.

Teacher: Asheville Catholic School seeks dynamic grade 5 teacher. Must hold or be eligible for NC license; teach religion and all academic subjects. Call (828) 252-7896. EOE.

Teacher and Librarian: Our Lady of Mercy has the following positions available: 8th grade homeroom to teach Language Arts, Social Studies, and Religion (if Catholic); Librarian for K-8th. Please call (910)722-7204.

Teachers, Campus Minister, Library/Media Director: Charlotte Catholic High School has the following full-time teaching positions open for the 2000-2001 school year: Math, Chemistry, English,

Religion, Social Studies, Spanish, and Drama. Must have NC Teaching Certification. Also, Library/Media Director and part-time Campus Minister are needed. Call (704)543-1127.

Teachers: Sacred Heart School (PreK-8) in Salisbury has the following teacher openings beginning in August: Computer, Music, PE, Spanish, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, and Middle School Language Arts. NC certification required. Call Kathleen Miller at (704)633-2841.

Youth/Young Adult Ministry Director: A tri-parish (including one Hispanic) Catholic community of 1800 families in a university setting is seeking a full-time Director of Youth and Young Adult Min-istry to implement comprehensive youth ministry as described in “Renewing the Vision.” Candidate should have prior ministry experience, and be able to work collaboratively with staff and members of par-ish community. Background in Theology, Christian Formation, and/or certification in youth ministry desired. Please contact Rev. Bernard Campbell, CSP,

P.O. Box 112, Clemson, SC 29633 or (864)654-1757.

Queen Mattress Set: New, in plastic. Full warran-tee. Retail $400; sell for $195. Call (704)556-9674.

Home Care: In-home care for your loved one. Thorough background checks on all caregivers. Serving Henderson, Transylvania, Polk coun-ties. COMPASSIONATE COMPANIONS, INC., (828)696-0946.

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Alumnus, wife give $1 million to Belmont Abbey Allen, and Jack Hanahan. His family is friends of Fr. John Bradley, a former president of Belmont Abbey College. Linda Johnson majored in primary education at Sacred Heart College and taught elementary school in Iredell County for 12 years.

The couple has two grown chil-dren: Mitch, an attorney in Charlotte; and Mary Catherine, a real estate pro-fessional in Gaston County.

Johnson was raised in Gaston County. His mother is buried in the cemetery on the Abbey grounds. “Bel-mont Abbey is more than a school,” he said. “It’s apart of our family.”

Commenting on the gift, Robert

Gallagher, chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees, said, “I have known Frank Johnson all of my life. We grew up together. At an early age, Frank learned from his family the importance of honor, character, integrity, hard work and our Catholic faith. Linda shares those same virtues. This great gift is from their hearts. Everyone as-sociated with our college benefits from who they are and what they do.”

The gift will be used to support such initiatives as improving improving resi-dence halls, athletic and academic facili-ties and the library, and other projects important to campus life. t

By richArD sZcZePAnOWskicatholic NeWs service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Stu-dents, faculty and the board of trust-ees of The Catholic University of America surprised Cardinal James A. Hickey of Washington May 13 by pre-senting him with an honorary doctor-ate degree.

The honorary doctorate of hu-mane letters was presented during the university’s 111th annual com-mencement exercises. It was given to Cardinal Hickey, who as archbishop of Washington serves as university chan-cellor, in recognition of his “lifelong love of Catholic education.”

Vincentian Father David M.

O’Connell, Catholic University’s presi-dent, said Cardinal Hickey was being honored in appreciation of his 54 years as a priest, his “great love for the church” and his devotion to Catholic education.

“His interest in and commitment to education (is) an enduring aspect of his life,” Father O’Connell said.

Cardinal Hickey, who began stud-ies at the university in 1942 and earned a licentiate in sacred theology there in 1946, said that he learned of the honor less than an hour before it was presented. “I guess they didn’t want to give me time to prepare a long speech,” he quipped.

“At my age, there are few sur-prises,” the 79-year-old cardinal said

catholic university surprises cardinal with honorary degreeafter graduates, faculty and others at the ceremony gave him a sustained and prolonged standing ovation. “Yet, you managed to surprise me with this hon-orary doctorate, and you also brought me great joy.”

Since 1980, when he was named archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Hickey has served as ex-officio chan-cellor of Catholic University and as chairman of the board of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immacu-late Conception. He called his service to the university during his tenure as chancellor “a labor of love” and said he fondly recalls his time as a student there more than half a century ago.

“I treasure the memories of my pro-

fessors, and I treasure the memories of the associations I made with other stu-dents,” Cardinal Hickey said. “This was a good place to be. This is a good place to be, and I am proud of that.”

Cardinal Hickey’s “interest in and commitment to education” that Father O’Connell spoke of in presenting the award has benefited students through-out the Archdiocese of Washington.

In 1994, Cardinal Hickey estab-lished Mary of Nazareth School in Darnestown, Md., to serve the grow-ing Catholic population of northern Montgomery County. It was the first parish elementary school built in the

see hicKey, Page 16

16 The Catholic News & Herald May 19 , 2000L i v i n g t h e

In Italian film, knights embark on medieval quest for By BeneDictA ciPOllA

catholic NeWs serviceCAMPELLO SUL CLITUNNO,

Italy (CNS) — Amid the verdant tran-quillity of Italy’s Umbrian hills, vio-lent — albeit fictional — battle cries pierced the usual silence.

“Bravo, killer!” shouted the Italian film director Pupi Avati after calling a halt to the cameras.

He congratulated actor Marco Leonardi, clad in medieval chain mail and toting a sword, for a stabbing job well-done.

In “Knights of the Quest,” Avati tells the story of five knights — three Italians, a Frenchman and an English-man — who travel to Thebes, Greece, in 1271 to find the holy shroud.

With a $15 million budget, an English-speaking cast and a decidedly fast-moving, action-driven plot, the movie, due to be released in early 2001, is not typical Italian fare.

“I thought that this could be a chance to tell a story that wasn’t just Italian, because this is a story that re-gards the West as a whole,” Avati told Catholic News Service on the sidelines of the set May 11.

Produced by Antonio Avati, the director’s brother, for DueA Films, and Tarak Ben Ammar and Mark Lom-bardo for Quinta Communications, “Knights of the Quest” continues shooting through the summer in Um-bria, southern Italy and Tunisia and is expected to pick up a U.S. distributor.

With Holy Year 2000 in full swing, Avati’s film seems well-timed, though the director says it was unintentional, as his idea sprang forth several years ago.

And while Pope John Paul II did not specifically mention the Crusades in his March 12 apology for sins com-mitted by Christians through the ages, Avati said he wanted to take a critical look at the meaning of the bloody for-ays into the Holy Land.

“The story that I tell is set during a moment in the West in which the Crusades were becoming unpopular,” he said.

“People understood that there

were too many massacres,” said Avati, a practicing Catholic.

Reflecting several years ago on what he terms the “dark moment” of the holy shroud’s history, before ac-counts of its existence cropped up in the mid-1300s in France, Avati imag-ined the cloth’s journey from the East.

“Many centuries ago, the West, in a certain way, saw in the relics of Christianity something that went be-yond all else, and thus relics filled a life, an existence,” the 61-year-old director said.

The shroud, commonly known to-day as the Shroud of Turin, is believed by many to have been Christ’s burial cloth.

While in the Middle Ages, said Avati, people devoted entire lives to a quest, one single project or journey, “today our existence is filled by so many small things, not one big event.”

Avati did his homework in addition to cultivating an already active imagi-nation: He read more than 150 books on the period.

Starting with Jehan de Joinville, who chronicled the life of St. Louis IX, 13th-century king of France, and his ill-fated Crusade to the Holy Land, Avati tried to stick as close to historical truth as possible.

Costume designer Nana Cecchi, who has several medieval period films to her credit, said “Knights of the Quest” provided a fresh challenge.

“The way Pupi approaches the story is very realistic, very simple,” she said after conferring with seamstresses diligently darning sackcloth tunics.

“There is a spiritual focus that I

Italian director Pupi Avati, right, consults with actor Raoul Bova in the filming of “Knights of the Quest.” The movie tells of a Medieval pursuit of the holy shroud, later known as the Shroud of Turin.

cNs Photo froM Duea filMs

tried to render in the costumes, the five knights’ search for their mission, which is manifested by the discovery of brotherhood among them,” said Cecchi.

Though some of the knights are driven at first by commercial aims and hopes of political power, by the end of the voyage, Avati said, “they are touched by a sort of mysterious con-viction that they are destined to fulfill this task.”

“At a certain point, these knights discover that they are part of a design, and they ask themselves, ‘Can it be possible that we have been chosen?”’ he

said. “It’s very Gospel-like.”U.S. actor Edward Furlong, who

plays a young Englishman eager for adventure, said he “got lost in the script” as soon as he picked it up.

“They’re not making great epics like ‘Excalibur’ or ‘Camelot’ anymore,” said Furlong, best known for his roles in “American History X” and the futur-istic “Terminator 2.”

“This asks questions about faith and being: being willing to die for your faith in God,” he said. t

archdiocese in three decades.In 1997, Cardinal Hickey Academy

in Dunkirk was opened. Again, it was established to meet the needs of a growing Catholic population — this time in Southern Maryland’s Calvert County.

Also in 1997, the cardinal estab-lished the Center City School Consor-

Hickey, from page 15 tium. An alignment of eight schools in the District of Columbia, the con-sortium was designed to revitalize the urban schools, providing them with upgraded school technology, expanded tuition assistance, affordable afternoon and evening programs for students and their parents, professional devel-opment for teachers, and school build-ing improvements.

Earlier this spring, the Knights of Columbus, making a jubilee year pil-grimage to the national shrine, award-ed Cardinal Hickey its highest honor, the “Gaudium et Spes” award, which included a $100,000 honorarium.

The cardinal said he would use that money to support Catholic schools in

the city of Washington, especially those which are part of the Center City School Consortium. At the time, he said, it was his “determined effort” to make Catho-lic schools in the city be “centers of excellence and places of joy, and hope, serving as many young people as pos-sible.”

Father O’Connell, reading the honorary degree citation, praised Cardinal Hickey for being “well versed in theological disciplines,” as well as “deeply committed” to the formation of priests.

After he was awarded the degree, Cardinal Hickey told the graduates, “You promise great things for the new cen-tury and for the new millennium. You

may 19, 2000

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