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February 3, 2017 Vol. 51 No. 2

The

CatholicWitnessThe Newspaper of the Diocese of Harrisburg

CHRIS HEISEY, THE CATHOLIC WITNESSFather Paul Schenck, Director of the Diocesan Office of Respect Life Activities, distributes Holy Communion during the diocese’s annual Pro-Life Mass celebrated Jan. 22 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg.

By Jen ReedThe Catholic Witness

The plight of refugees – especially those fleeing Aleppo in Syria – has captured news headlines in recent months, with images of women and children in the basest condi-tions of tent cities and videos of families literally running for their lives from the city besieged by fighting between the Assad regime and anti-government rebels.

More than five years of armed conflict in Syria has re-sulted in the displacement of 11 million people, accord-ing to Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Bishops’ overseas

In Resettling Refugees, Self-Sufficiency and Integration Remain

Catholic Charities’ FocusCatholic News Service

Words of congratulations as well as caution emerged from political and religious leaders as President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20.

Pope Francis sent best wishes and prayers to incoming Presi-dent Trump shortly after he took the oath of office.

“I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high of-fice,” the pope’s message said.

Saying that the human fam-ily faces “grave humanitarian crises” that demand “farsighted and united political responses,” the pope said he would pray that Trump’s decisions “will be guid-ed by the rich spiritual and ethi-cal values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment

CNS/CARLOS BARRIA, REUTERSU.S Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump stand for the singing of the national anthem after Trump’s swearing-in as the country’s 45th president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Trump Presidency Receives Words of Hope, Prayers for Civility

to the advancement of human dignity and freedom world-wide.”

More than 860 religious, civil rights and ethnic and immigrant rights groups urged Trump to

protect 740,000 people who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA.

In a Jan. 18 letter to the new

More REFUGEES, page 6

More TRUMP, page 12


The Mass is the most powerful prayer, and so it was with inten-tions for the legal protection of unborn children and the defense of the dignity of every human person that Catholics gathered at Masses surrounding the 44th anniversary on Jan. 22 of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

Two of the Masses in the diocese were celebrated by bishops: Bishop Ronald Gainer of Harrisburg celebrating the diocese’s an-nual Pro-Life Mass on Jan. 22 at St. Patrick Cathedral, and Bishop Edward Malesic of Greensburg – a former priest of the Diocese of Harrisburg – celebrating a Sanctity of Life Mass sponsored by the Lancaster Region of the Order of Malta at St. Joseph Church in Lancaster on Jan. 23.

Both bishops, in their homilies, encouraged the faithful to offer prayers for the defense of human life.

Bishop Gainer connected his message to the day’s Gospel read-ing (Matthew 4:12-23) of Jesus beginning his public ministry after learning of the imprisonment of his cousin, John.

“The women I have talked with who had chosen to have an abor-tion and who subsequently have found God’s mercy and forgive-ness in the Church did not choose to terminate the life of their un-born child out of callous disregard for life, but because they wanted to avoid pain and suffering,” the bishop said. “To have brought their child to birth would have turned their life plans upside down and brought them suffering.

“It is human to fear pain and suffering and to want to avoid them. But because we are human, we are capable of finding mean-ing in suffering,” he said. “Jesus found great significance in his cousin, John’s, suffering, and at the end of his ministry Jesus would enter fully into the mystery of suffering and death and make his crucifixion the means of our redemption. When human pain and suffering are accepted in union with Jesus, our pain and suffering share in his saving work.”

“If each and every life is not sacred, then no life is sacred,” Bish-op Gainer remarked. “We have seen that principle become reality every day in our cities and neighborhoods. Human life at every stage is disposable and insignificant when human life at any stage is disregarded.

Prayer Can Effect Change, Bishops Express at Pro-Life Masses

More MASSES, page 2

2 - The Catholic Witness • February 3, 2017

“We believe in the power of our prayer and we believe that our actions can effect needed change in society,” he continued. “In today’s Mass – our most powerful prayer – we pray for a restoration of the legal protection of the right to life for the unborn and we are strengthened and sent to let our voices be heard in defense of the sa-cred dignity of every human life.”

The power of prayer was the focus of Bishop Malesic’s homily during the Sanctity of Life Mass celebrated at St. Joseph Church in Lancaster the fol-lowing evening.

“Prayer does change things,” said Bishop Malesic, a native son and for-mer priest of the diocese who was ordained as Bishop of Greensburg in July 2015. “Prayer is what motivates us and guides us and gives us the hope that what we are doing does make a difference.”

Prayers are offered for unborn chil-dren; for men and women facing un-expected pregnancies; for “a change in our social order that makes it easier for parents to choose life over death;” for the president, legislators and judg-es; for those filled with anger toward members of the pro-life movement; and for young people, “that they will not catch the infection of the diseased culture of death that surrounds them in so many ways,” Bishop Malesic re-marked.

“What we believe about life in the womb we also believe about life out-side of the womb,” he said. “Life,

MassesContinued from 1

Above: Bishop Edward Malesic of Greensburg celebrates the Liturgy of the Eucharist during the Sanctity of Life Mass in Lancaster. At the altar are Deacon Manuel Valezquez and Father Allan Wolfe.Right: Members of the Lancaster Region of the Order of Malta look on as Father Michael Messner, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Lancaster, and Father Allan Wolfe, pastor of St. Joseph and San Juan Bautista parishes in Lancaster, process to the altar. The Order of Malta is dedicated to the defense of the faith and service to those who are suffering. CHRIS HEISEY, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS

Faithful attend the Sanctity of Life Mass, sponsored by the Lancaster Region of the Order of Malta, celebrated Jan. 23 at St. Joseph Church in Lancaster on Jan. 23.

wherever we find it, is God’s gift to us. We must also pray for conditions to be improved for the poor. We pray for im-migrants and children in tough circumstanc-es. We pray for an end to our throwaway culture, which regards people as objects to be

used and then tossed aside. We pray for an improvement of the conditions

of our prisons. We must also pray to defeat those movements that want to make euthanasia legal in our state.”

Attacks on life inside of the womb directly correlate to attacks on life out-side the womb, Bishop Malesic said.

“If we don’t respect that innocent life at the beginning, how do we respect life the day after the child is born, or in the days of one preparing to die a natural death?” he posed.

“Our prayers tonight are meant to change many hearts,” he told the con-gregation. “May our prayers magnify the good that we do on behalf of the unborn. May our prayers also dimin-ish the effects of our sins against life. May we leave behind us a world that is more peaceful for those who live outside the womb, and most especially more peaceful for those who live in-side of the womb. May God answer our prayers and make us more thank-ful for the life given by God, more courageous for those lives who are in danger, and more loving toward all we meet, since we are, after all, people of life who represent God’s Church and who strive to follow the example of Jesus, who welcomed the children and never rejected them.”

Above: A little girl shares her joyful smile during the diocesan Pro-Life Mass.Right: Bishop Ronald Gainer holds his crozier as he reflects during the Gospel at the diocese’s annual Pro-Life Mass celebrated Jan. 22 at St. Patrick Cathedral.

February 3, 2017 • The Catholic Witness - 3

COURTESY OF THE PHILADELPHIA ARCHDIOCESAN HISTORICAL RESEARCH CENTER (PAHRC)

Bishop Martin N. Lohmuller, pictured shortly after his episcopal ordination in 1970.

From the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Most Reverend Martin N. Lohmuller, retired Auxiliary Bishop of Philadel-phia and Titular Bishop of Ramsbury, died on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the age of 97. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop in the United States of America.

Bishop Lohmuller was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadel-phia on June 3, 1944, by Most Rever-end Hugh L. Lamb. He was named an Honorary Prelate to His Holiness, then-Pope, now-Saint John XXIII, with the title of Monsignor on May 18, 1959, and ordained a bishop by the late John Cardinal Krol on April 2, 1970.

He died at St. Joseph’s Manor in Meadowbrook following a lengthy ill-ness.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 1 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Burial was in the Cathedral Crypt.

“I was saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Lohmuller,” said Philadel-phia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. “Bishop Lohmuller was a man of great apostolic and personal en-ergy. Through his many good works on behalf of the Church and Her people, he lived out his episcopal motto of ‘Love, Fidelity, Peace’ each day.”

Archbishop Chaput continued, “We are all grateful for the gift of his life and his selfless service. May God grant him the gift of eternal life and give peace and consolation to all those who mourn his passing.”

Martin N. Lohmuller was born to the late Martin and Mary (Doser) Lohm-uller on Aug. 21, 1919. He grew up in the Hunting Park section of Philadel-phia and attended the former St. Henry School in North Philadelphia.

After his sophomore year at the for-mer Northeast Catholic High School, he enrolled in what was then a minor seminary program for high school age students discerning a vocation to the Priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Following completion of the program of priestly formation and his ordination, then-Father Lohmuller completed a brief stint as chaplain at the Catholic Home in Marple Township. He was then sent to the Catholic University of America as a student-priest to pursue a doctorate level degree in canon law, which he obtained in 1947.

Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1947, then-Father Lohmuller was as-signed to the faculty of the former St. James Catholic High School for Boys in Chester. One year later he was tem-porarily loaned for extern service to the Diocese of Harrisburg as then-Bishop George Leech was in need of a Canon Lawyer for his diocese. That temporary loan would span 22 years.

While in Harrisburg, then-Father Lohmuller was active in the life of vari-ous communities. He was the founding pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Marysville. With the estab-lishment of this parish, he became the first ever resident priest in the county’s history. In 1953, then-Father Lohmuller spearheaded planning efforts to open a Catholic hospital in the region. Largely as a result of his work, Holy Spirit Hos-

Bishop Lohmuller, Founding Pastor of Marysville Parish and Spearhead of Holy Spirit Hospital, Dies at Age 97

pital in Camp Hill opened in 1963 in affiliation with the Sisters of Christian Charity. Today, it remains a flourishing Catholic community hospital with ca-pacity to serve over 300 patients.

“We honor the passing of the true founder of Holy Spirit Hospital,” said Sister Romaine Niemeyer, SCC, retired chief administrator. “He always said he was most proud of this accomplish-ment—owing everything to the grace of God.”

“Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, he worked closely with the planning committee and the Sisters of Christian Charity to ensure the vision of a community, Catholic hospital be-came a reality,” Sister Romaine said.

In 1970, Bishop Lohmuller was ap-pointed Auxiliary Bishop of Philadel-phia and Titular Bishop of Ramsbiria by Pope Paul VI. Bishop Lohmuller resigned as Auxiliary Bishop of Phila-delphia in 1994 at the age of 75.

While serving near the seat of gov-ernment for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania then-Father Lohmuller saw the need for ongoing dialogue be-tween representatives of the Church and elected officials. Through his urg-ing the Pennsylvania Catholic Confer-ence (PCC) was founded in 1958 to fill that need. He would go on to serve the PCC in various capacities and was a member of its Executive Board for 25 years.

In February 1970, then-Msgr. Lohm-uller was notified by the Vatican of his appointment as an Auxiliary Bishop for his home Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Bishop Lohmuller was ordained to the episcopacy at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul on April 2, 1970. The Principal Consecrator was the late John Cardinal Krol, who was then serving as Archbishop of Philadelphia. Bishops John J. Graham and Gerald V. McDevitt, then serving as Auxiliary

Bishops of Philadelphia, served as the Co-Consecrators. For his episcopal motto Bishop Lohmuller chose, “Love, Fidelity, Peace.”

Beginning in 1970 Bishop Lohmuller would work closely with Cardinal Krol on a number of major initiatives in the life of the Archdiocese until the Car-dinal’s retirement in 1988. One of his early tasks was to oversee the planning and construction of the current Archdi-ocesan Pastoral Center, which houses the central administrative offices of the local Church. Prior to that time, admin-istrative offices had been spread out in smaller buildings and converted homes in the City of Philadelphia. Follow-ing completion of this project, Bishop Lohmuller would play a major role in the success of the International Eucha-ristic Congress hosted by the Archdio-cese in 1976 and the visit of then-Pope, now-Saint John Paul II in 1979.

Later, Bishop Lohmuller would over-see the founding of St. Martha Manor, the first Catholic nursing home in Ches-ter County and serve as pastor of Old St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity Parishes in Olde City Philadelphia while tending to his duties as an Auxiliary Bishop. Bishop Lohmuller officially retired at age 75 in 1994, but maintained a busy Confirmation schedule for the next de-cade. He spent the final years of his re-tirement in quiet residence at St. Cyril of Jerusalem Parish in Jamison.


The Catholic WitnessOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG

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CatholicWitnessThe Newspaper of the Diocese of Harrisburg

OUR FatherBy Sister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC

Special to The Witness

Some time ago, when I was a classroom teacher, I had a strange and surprising en-counter with one of my students’ fathers. It was on back-to-school night about a month after school had begun. I was surprised that the tallest boy in my class had a father who was a “little person.”

As I stood to greet him, he dragged over a folding chair, placed it in front of me, jumped on top of it, looked me in the eye and an-nounced, “I want to shake the hand of the woman who gave birth to my son’s pas-sion for learning. He always hated school, but now, because of you, he loves it!” He went on to explain that I was truly his son’s spiritual mother. Because of this, he was in-debted to me because it opened a future for his son that he never anticipated. I should now consider myself part of his family, and, since he was older than I was at the time, I should address him as “Dad.”

I could not help think of this story as we focus on the “Our Father” in the Lord’s Prayer. These two words should make us pause and reflect. Let me explain.

By beginning this prayer with the word “Our,” Jesus honed in on a theological con-cept that, I believe, most of us pass by as we begin to pray this prayer. This word focuses on the covenantal aspect of our relationship with God and one another. This covenant created a people that is “specially His own.” (Det. 14:2) We become God’s adoptive children. Since God is truly OUR Father and we are His sons and daughters, our rela-tionship with others must extend though all races, cultures, classes, political parties, faiths, or any other difference for that matter. Another person, no matter how wealthy or poor, or, whether living a moral or immoral lifestyle, is always my brother or sister be-cause I am God’s daughter (or son). In a sense, when we pray this prayer, we deepen the reality that we are called into relationship within a family, a global family. We can find this concept in both the New and Old Testaments. “Today the Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep his command-ments;” (Det. 26:18) and “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Because we are called into this family, our worship of God is communal. In short, it celebrates God’s love within His family; as a family and around a table.

By using the word “Father,” or better translated from the Aramaic, “Daddy,” Jesus teaches us of God’s affection and tenderness, intimacy and respect. The concept of an all-powerful God, Creator of the universe and the Law that is tender and affectionate was truly revolutionary at the time of Jesus. In fact, only through Jesus’ divine revela-tion can we fathom this truth.

Recently, I had a conversation with a young woman about her concept of God. She told me that when she prayed, she pictured an opening into Heaven through which her prayers ascended and God’s grace descended. God was too busy to be involved with her daily routine, her concerns and the trivial happenings of her life, she said. When I asked her if she believed that God loved her, she responded, “Yes, after all He is God, right?” I pressed, “Do you believe that He loves YOU? That He sent His son to be born of a woman, suffer and die for YOU? That He hungers for a relationship with YOU? That no matter what wrong you have done, can do, or will do, His love never changes?” She responded, “Sure, He’s God.”

It became obvious that this woman’s understanding of a personal, intimate relation-ship with God was non-existing. She held God as a being that lived “up there” in Heaven rather than someone who enters into the “mud” of life and pushes us out of the “yucky-ness” of our sin so we can experience His glory.

The conversation with her caused me to pause and reflect. So many individuals in our society do not have an understanding of who a “daddy” should be. In Jesus’ culture, a father was a nourisher, protector, or upholder. He was the head of the family. Through him, the family was established. His sacred duty was to work and to protect. His work provided food, shelter and a safe environment. Once established, his sacred duty was to maintain what was already established by his protection.

Yes, I know, this definition is not necessarily warm and fuzzy, but it does give us a framework into the meaning of fatherhood.

It seems to me that we too need to climb on a chair and view fatherhood at a different perspective and we’ll do so in my next article!

(Sister of Christian Charity, Geralyn Schmidt, is the Wide Area Network Coordinator at the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Director of Formation for Wives in the Diaconate Program. An educator for 29 years, she is responsible for Professional Development Programs for every age learner. Through her presentations, she challenges her audi-ences to be the individual God has called them to be.)

Thoughtsfrom a Catholic

EvangelistSister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC

Vox Clamantis One Crying in the Wilderness

Jim Gontis

Sports and Life…and Eternal Life – Part II

By Jim GontisSpecial to The Witness

Sports, among other things, always bonded my brother and me in a special way. We were pretty good kids, but not paragons of virtue, with an occasional late hit in a backyard football game, yelling at the top of our lungs that the other was cheat-ing, or ducking an occasional ping-pong paddle that would be hurled in boomerang motion after a hotly contested point. Without calling it virtue, I think we worked at overcoming those things through the years, sometimes after a necessary correction by mom or dad.

After suffering tough losses in the high school state wrestling tournament, my brother and I took different paths. He stopped wrestling and headed to college, and now has a successful career as a law-yer, and most recently a judge. I contin-ued to wrestle in college. The loss my se-nior year in high school was the impetus for deciding to continue wrestling, eventually leading to placing 8th in the nation during my senior year, an All-American on a small college National Championship Team.

It is, however, easy to allow our passion for sports to become disordered. This can be the case when people allow athletics to supplant the proper worship due to God, especially on the Lord’s Day. We owe God our adoration and worship under the virtue of justice. What is due to the Triune God is our worship, love, and adoration, at all times, but most especially on Sundays.

As parents and coaches, we must not delude ourselves and think that it is accept-able to place virtue and right thinking on the shelf, even for a moment, to accomplish our goals. We have a responsibility to use good language and not be whiners when the calls don’t go our way. We should be helping to build up well-rounded boys and girls, men and women…and yes, to build up saints, beginning with ourselves.

Coaches are called to be role models, mentors, but not in opposition to, or in place of, parents. Parents are called by God to be the primary educators and formers of their children. Coaches, while tremendously influential, should work with parents. Parents, on their part, must be respectful of coaches. Both parents and coaches need to keep in mind that the kids and teenagers they are parenting or coaching are also watching and looking to them. Virtue is crucial – especially the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.

While sports can greatly benefit girls and boys, men and women, we need to recognize the legitimate, God-made differences in both body and soul between the sexes. “Male and Female, He created them”…equal and complimentary, but obvi-ously different. Certain contact sports are simply wrong for male and female to compete in against one another like wrestling, boxing, tackle football, and rugby. Sometimes there needs to be separation for reasons of modesty, sometimes for rea-sons of the sheer physicality, and yes, a certain degree of violence built into certain sports, whether it is a safety running full force into a wide receiver or a wrestler lacing a hard cross-face or cranking a power-half against his opponent, or a boxer connecting with a right hook.

Virtue and right thinking does not take a day off simply for the accomplishment of goals.

Put another way, “a good end is not justified by immoral means.” The Greeks, inventors of the Olympic Games in 776 B.C., had a saying, “Whom the gods would destroy, they first drive insane.” Let us be numbered among the sane and not trade virtue for a championship, a medal, or even a scholarship. 1Timothy 6:12 calls us not just to fight, but to “fight the good fight of the faith.”

In the previous edition of The Witness, I mentioned the apostolate SportsLeader, aimed at building virtue through sports https://www.sportsleader.org/2016/09/diocese-of-harrisburg-partners-with-sportsleader. It was approved and an-nounced in July 2016 by Bishop Ronald Gainer for all diocesan high schools. It has the potential to bear much good fruit in the Diocese of Harrisburg and is to be implemented in every one of our high schools in every sport, even where other good programs are also being used.

Every high school principal and athletic director at our seven diocesan high schools has received information on it throughout the year, (including informa-tion on a “virtue of the week”), and every high school administrative team has had a training session in SportsLeader’s core principles. There will be more to come. SportsLeader’s aim is the evangelization, formation, and growth in the virtues of coaches and student-athletes. Some of our elementary CYO coaches have imple-mented this program as well. We anticipate more doing so in the future.

SportsLeader has four main pillars: 1) Virtue Formation (104 virtues over two years, or one per week); 2) Intentional coach to student-athlete mentoring, whereby coaches schedule some time every week to talk with every player/athlete on their team; 3) Ceremonies such as “Father-Son, Father-Daughter Jersey Night” and “Let-ters to Mom Night”, and 4) Catholic Identity.

Just recently, a number of our high school coaches and their student-athletes par-ticipated in SportsLeader’s Advent challenge. What was the challenge? It was that our high school sports teams attend Mass together as a team every Sunday during Advent.

There have also been diocesan and school Eucharistic Adoration and Rosary ral-lies for teams, as well as blessings by priest-chaplains of gymnasiums, equipment, and of the coaches. Every one of our high schools now has the SportsLeader banner displayed (usually in the gym) with the SportsLeader logo, “Virtue = Strength.”

Each of us is a body-soul composite. Our souls act in and through the actions of our bodies. Sports bring this reality out in a most tangible way. We exult in victory. We love to win. We hate to lose. The more we work at sports, the more likely we are to win. If we can translate this into our spiritual lives, the more likely it is that we shall prevail and win the imperishable prize of eternal glory. Let us run so as to win!

(Jim Gontis is the Director of the Diocesan Department of Religious Education and the Director of Sports Ministry.)


By A. B. HillSpecial to The Witness

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published a book that changed the course of American history. Her brutal depiction of slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin illustrated the real human cost of the defin-ing political controversy of her time. Stowe’s tale of one fictional family’s devastating experience with slavery is based on “a collec-tion and arrangement of real incidents” which she describes as a “mosaic of facts.” (A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1858)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an instant best-seller that brought the debate about slavery into most American homes. It changed what people knew and understood about it, and shed light on how our laws perpetuated the practice. When Americans in the North ac-cepted the truth about slavery, their resolve to outlaw it strength-ened. It was not enough to be personally opposed to slavery; they were willing to take up arms to end it.

Abortion is the defining political controversy of our time; but do we know and understand its real human cost?

A recent report shows that 31,818 abortions were committed in Pennsylvania in 2015. (This is 308 fewer than in 2014.) All but a handful of these abortions used one of three methods:

Medical/Non-Surgical. (11,314 abortions) For pregnancies up to 10 weeks, chemicals are used to end the life of the baby. A woman takes Mifepristone (RU-486) in the form of a pill at an abortion clinic. “By blocking the action of progesterone, mifepris-tone alters the endometrium (the uterine lining), induces bleeding, and causes the uterine lining to shed.” (www.medicationabortions.com) With blood and nourishment cut off, the baby dies inside his mother’s womb. One or two days later, the woman takes another drug called Misoprostol (Cytotec) which causes contractions and bleeding to expel the dead baby from the womb.

Suction Curettage. (18,908 abortions) Also known as vacuum aspiration, this method is used between 5 and 14 weeks of gesta-tion. Typically the woman’s cervix is dilated then a plastic tube “is carefully and gently inserted into the uterus and then attached to a suction, or vacuum aspiration, machine. When the machine is turned on … the contents of the uterus will be emptied … To ensure that the abortion is complete, extracted tissue is examined immediately after the procedure.” (The Abortion Resource Hand-book (1997), pg. 152) In layman’s terms, the living unborn child, now about 4-5 inches long, is forcibly sucked out of her mother’s womb. Then technicians count the arms, legs, head and torso to make sure all parts of the baby are accounted for.

Dilation & Evacuation. (1,588 abortions) This particularly gruesome method is used for later term abortions between 13 and 24 weeks. Abortions after 24 weeks are illegal. The woman’s cervix is dilated. The amniotic fluid is suctioned out first, and then the doctor inserts a sharp instrument to dismember the live baby inside the womb. The tool has sharp teeth that firmly grip the child’s arms, legs, torso, and head. One by one, the body parts are forcibly ripped off and removed from the uterus. The baby’s head at this stage is too big to pull out intact, so the doctor will crush it before pulling it out. Babies at this second trimester stage have fingerprints and toenails, and they can feel pain. Their mothers start to feel them kicking; and many babies born at 20 weeks will survive outside the womb. (abortionprocedures.com)

A new legislative session has begun in Harrisburg present-ing fresh opportunities to shape pro-life public policy. With faith, perse-verance, and the courage to tell the truth, abolition-ists in the 19th century outlawed slavery. Will citizens 150 years from now say the same about us and abortion?

(The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is the public affairs agency of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops and the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania. Stay up-to-date with Catholic news and issues at www.pacatholic.org, www.facebook.com/pacatholic, and www.twitter.com/ pacatholic.)

Suffering from Abortion?

Reading about the brutal practice of abortion is painful for many. If someone you know suffers because of involvement with abortion, please encourage him or her to talk to a priest, attend a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat, or contact the near-est Project Rachel Ministry by visiting the “Find Help” map at www.hopeafterabortion.com or www.esperanzaposaborto.com or calling (866) 3RACHEL . . . . And please pray that many will seek and receive the gift of God’s infinite mercy.

Bishop Gainer’s Public Calendar

The Gruesome Reality of AbortionSpanish-language retreat will be held Feb. 17-19 in York

English-language retreat will be held April 21-23 in York

The program is an opportunity to examine your abortion experience, identify the ways that the loss has impacted you in the past and present, and acknowledge any unresolved feelings that many individuals struggle with after abortion. Visit www.rachelsvineyard.org for information about the confidential retreat. Come and let the healing begin.

To register for either the Spanish or the English retreat, call 717-788-4959.E-mail [email protected] for the Spanish retreat.

E-mail [email protected] for the English retreat.

Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats in English and SpanishConfidential Retreats for those Suffering after an Abortion

• February 4 - Rite of Candidacy to the Permanent Diaconate, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Mechanicsburg, 9 a.m.

• February 5 – Celebrate Mass and Mortgage Burning, Holy Name of Jesus Church, Harrisburg, 10:15 a.m.

• February 6 – Stewardship of Mission visit to Delone Catholic High School, McSherrystown, 9:30 a.m.

• February 7 – College of Consultors Meeting, Bishop Daley Hall, Diocesan Center, Harrisburg.• February 9 – Celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus School, Lewistown, 9 a.m.• February 11 – Celebrate Mass for World Day of the Sick, Geisinger Medical Center, noon, and

visit to Danville State Hospital, Danville. • February 12 – Celebrate Mass and Dedicate New Building, St. Andrew Church, Waynesboro,

11 a.m.• February 13 – Groundbreaking for new athletic stadium, Lancaster Catholic High School,

10 a.m.• February 15 – Attend Catholic Campus Ministers Meeting, Cardinal Keeler Center, Harrisburg,

10 a.m.• February 18 – Sacrament of Confirmation, Holy Name of Jesus Church, Harrisburg, 10 a.m.


humanitarian aid organization. Five million of those who have been displaced have sought refuge in other countries.

In the Diocese of Harrisburg, Catholic Charities’ Immigra-tion and Refugee Services has reset-tled ten Syrian fami-lies in recent months. And, just as with those they serve from places like Nepal, Bhutan, China and South Korea, the goal of resettlement is self-sufficiency.

The program works with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which liaises with the Department of State, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to classify and vet refugees.

Case managers meet the refugees upon their arrival at the airport, and services – rooted in the corporal works of mercy and the principles of Catholic social teaching – begin: welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless.

Catholic Charities’ Immigration and Refugee Services provides an apart-ment with basic furnishings, clothing, English as a Second Language classes, and employment skills training.

“It is all provided with the goal of making them financially self-sufficient within three months,” said John Leed-ock, Director of the program’s Immi-gration Legal Services component.

“Ninety percent of the refugees that we resettle are gainfully employed within those first 90 days,” he pointed out.

This includes the newly-resettled Syr-ian refugees; the adults are working, the children are in school, and the families are assimilating into life in America.

Integration is key to a successful re-settlement.

“Imagine being forced to flee from your home in an instant. You don’t want to leave, but you have no other choice if you want to preserve your safety and your life,” Mr. Leedock said.

“Soon you find yourself as a refugee in the United States. You have to learn English. You have to learn the ways of the culture, find a job. You can’t do those things, however, without a wel-coming community to assist you.”

A number of refugees resettled through Catholic Charities are fluent in English, and have held professional positions as physicians, teachers and

RefugeesContinued from 1

CNS photo/Fazry Ismail, ReutersA Syrian child looks on after arriving at an airbase in 2016 in Subang, Malaysia.

business owners in their homeland. For them, attaining skilled jobs and return-ing to their profession is quite possible.

Yet, other refugees have known noth-ing but life in a tent city. They’ve never seen a grocery store, never ridden in a car, and don’t know how a toilet works. For them, education and integration are critical.

“Our job is to teach them about our culture, show them how things work, welcome them,” said Pete Biasucci, Assistant Executive Director of Catho-lic Charities.

One example of successful integra-tion can be found in Harrisburg’s Nep-alese community, resettled by Catholic Charities. They are gainfully employed and well educated. Some have opened restaurants and grocery stores, and are positively contributing to the larger community.

“When communities don’t offer a welcoming situation, refugees become economic liabilities. When integration is done well, refugees become eco-nomic assets,” Mr. Leedock said. “We, as receiving communities, are called to look at how we can also learn about their culture and be welcoming and supportive.”

“The efforts we are undertaking to help serve refugees is not foreign to the work of the Church,” Mr. Biasucci said. It is rooted in Scripture, and in the ten-ants of Catholic social teaching: dignity of the person, preferential option for the poor, welcoming the stranger, call to community. The Church has always welcomed the refugee, and has been a place of hope.”

(Catholic Charities’ Immigration and Refugee Services welcomes people who wish to support the program. Furnish-ings such as beds, dressers, as well as clothing are welcome. The program is also seeking volunteers who can assist with ESL classes, computer training, vocational training and legal services. For information, contact the program at 717-232-0568.)

Catholic Charities of Harris-burg’s Immigration Legal Services provides low cost legal services to immigrants in the Harrisburg Dio-cese. In the spirit of the Church’s teachings, we provide a range of services that include helping families to reunite with loved ones abroad and as-sisting immigrants with the naturalization process.

In partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Im-migrants Campaign, we offer free community education programs to parishes in our diocese. Programs and resources are created by the Justice for Im-migrants Campaign and designed to help Catholics understand immigration through the framework of Catholic social teaching.

If you are interested in learning more about starting an immigration ministry in your parish, or becoming an immigration advocate, please contact:

John LeedockDirector, Immigration Legal Services

Office: 717-232-0568E-mail: [email protected]

Parish and Community Outreach Project

Catholic News Service

President Donald Trump’s executive memorandum intended to restrict the entry of terrorists coming to the United States brought an outcry from Catholic leaders across the U.S.

Church leaders used phrases such as “devastating,” “chaotic” and “cruel” to describe the Jan. 27 action that left al-ready-approved refugees and immigrants stranded at U.S. airports and led the De-partment of Homeland Security to rule that green card holders – lawful perma-nent U.S. residents – be allowed into the country.

“This weekend proved to be a dark moment in U.S. history,” Chicago Car-dinal Blase J. Cupich said in a Jan. 29 statement. “The executive order to turn away refugees and to close our nation to those, particularly Muslims, fleeing vio-lence, oppression and persecution is con-trary to both Catholic and American val-ues. Have we not repeated the disastrous decisions of those in the past who turned away other people fleeing violence, leav-ing certain ethnicities and religions mar-ginalized and excluded? We Catholics know that history well, for, like others, we have been on the other side of such decisions.

“Their design and implementation have been rushed, chaotic, cruel and oblivious to the realities that will produce enduring security for the United States,” he said. “They have left people holding valid visas and other proper documents detained in our airports, sent back to the places some were fleeing or not allowed to board planes headed here. Only at the 11th hour did a federal judge intervene to suspend this unjust action.”

“The Protection of the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” which suspends the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days, bans entry from all citizens of sev-en majority-Muslim countries – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and So-malia – for 90 days. It also establishes a religious criteria for refugees, proposing to give priority to religious minorities over others who may have equally com-pelling refugee claims.

“We are told this is not the ‘Muslim ban’ that had been proposed during the presidential campaign, but these actions focus on Muslim-majority countries,” said Cardinal Cupich. “Ironically, this ban does not include the home country of 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers. Yet, people from Iraq, even those who assist-ed our military in a destructive war, are excluded.”

The cardinal quoted Pope Francis’ re-marks to Congress in 2015: “If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportuni-ties, let us provide opportunities.”

He said Pope Francis “followed with a warning that should haunt us as we come to terms with the events of the weekend: ‘The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.’”

Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Di-ego said the executive action was “the in-troduction into law of campaign slogan-eering rooted in xenophobia and religious prejudice. Its devastating consequences are already apparent for those suffer-ing most in our world, for our standing among nations, and for the imperative of rebuilding unity within our country rath-er than tearing us further apart.”

“This week the Statue of Liberty low-ered its torch in a presidential action which repudiates our national heritage and ignores the reality that Our Lord and

the Holy Family were themselves Middle Eastern refugees fleeing government op-pression. We cannot and will not stand silent,” he said in a statement Jan. 29.

Shortly after Trump signed the docu-ment at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Tex-as, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migra-tion, said the bishops “strongly disagree” with the action to halt refugee resettle-ment.

“We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope,” Bishop Vasquez said.

The USCCB runs the largest refu-gee resettlement program in the United States, and Bishop Vasquez said the Church would continue to engage the administration, as it had with administra-tions for 40 years.

“We will work vigorously to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed in collaboration with Catholic Charities without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans, and to ensure that families may be reunified with their loved ones,” he said.

He also reiterated the bishops’ com-mitment to protect the most vulnerable, regardless of religion. All “are children of God and are entitled to be treated with human dignity. We believe that by help-ing to resettle the most vulnerable, we are living out our Christian faith as Jesus has challenged us to do.”

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Wash-ington called attention to the USCCB statement and the executive action and noted that “the legal situation is still fluid and news reports are sometimes confus-ing.”

“The political debate, which is com-plex and emotionally highly charged, will continue, but we must do our best to remain focused on the pastoral and very real work we undertake every day for the vulnerable and most in need ... for the strangers at our doors,” he said.

Around the country, people gathered at airports to express solidarity with im-migrants and green card holders denied admission, including an Iraqi who had helped the 101st Airborne during the Iraqi war. More than 550 people gathered at Lafayette Park across from the White House Jan. 29 to celebrate Mass in soli-darity with refugees.

In a letter to the president and mem-bers of Congress, more than 2,000 reli-gious leaders representing the Interfaith Immigration Coalition objected to the action.

In a separate statement, Jesuit Refu-gee Services-USA said the provisions of the executive action “violate Catholic social teaching that calls us to welcome the stranger and treat others with the compassion and solidarity that we would wish for ourselves.”

Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, said: “Welcom-ing those in need is part of America’s DNA.

“Denying entry to people desper-ate enough to leave their homes, cross oceans in tiny boats, and abandon all their worldly possessions just to find safety will not make our nation safer. The United States is already using a thorough vetting process for refugees – especially for those from Syria and surrounding countries. CRS welcomes measures that will make our country safer, but they shouldn’t jeopardize the safety of those fleeing violence; should not add appre-ciable delay nor entail unjust discrimina-tion,” he said.

Trump’s Action Banning Refugees Brings Outcry

from U.S. Church Leaders


OFFICE OF THE BISHOP Dear Friends in Christ,

In his encyclical letter, God Is Love, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “the Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments, and exercising the ministry of charity. These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable.” The Holy Father further explained that “for the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.”

These words of our Holy Father are a special reminder to us of the important, indeed indispensable, mission of Catholic Charities within our diocese. Catholic Charities has been the charitable arm of the Church in our diocese for over seventy-seven consecutive years. Through the programs and services of Catholic Charities, we provide help and create hope for thousands of needy individuals and families every year. Often, those we serve are in need of the basic essentials of life: food, shelter, and clothing.

The simple response we give to immediate needs and specific situations is an expression of love for our neighbor, a love that springs from our Catholic Christian faith. It is a love that is not limited to those who share our faith. The service provided by Catholic Charities is for all those in need, in imitation of the Good Samaritan. The programs of Catholic Charities are numerous and diverse, as are the many needs of the less fortunate in our midst. They include a shelter for homeless families; a home for needy pregnant women; a residence for women addicted to drugs or alcohol; foster parent and adoption services; individual and family counseling; alternative schools for youth who cannot function in a traditional school setting; and services for immigrants and refugees. It is amazing to consider the diversity of the work of Catholic Charities in our diocese!

I wish to thank the excellent staff of Catholic Charities who are distinguished not only by their professional competence, but by their loving dedication to those they serve. With them, I also thank our volunteers, our Board of Directors, and our donors and benefactors for their participation in the charitable mission of the Church. The commitment to serve the needy in our midst is not an optional part of the Church’s life. As Pope Benedict reminded us, it is part of our identity and mission as the Body of Christ in the world today. May the Lord bless our service of love and help us to be ever more faithful to our call to serve Him “in the least of our brothers and sisters.”

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORDear Friends of Catholic Charities,

We just completed our 77th consecutive year of providing human services to the people of the Diocese of Harrisburg and South Central PA.

2015/2016 was a challenging year for us on many fronts. We made significant changes both programmatically and from a personnel perspective. These changes were required for us to remain competitive and be in concert with the changing landscape of human services in Central Pennsylvania.

We continue to evaluate our programming and service delivery and to insure that we are doing the right things right and that we remain efficient and effective in our service to our clients.

We updated our Vision and Mission Statement and completed a comprehensive Strategic Plan which will serve us well until the year 2020.

We also initiated changes to our method of electronic record keeping and billing. We changed service providers and upgraded our system. This change did not come without countless meetings, duplication of work, sacrifices and running parallel systems for a period of time.

From a purely financial perspective, we ended the year in the black for the third time in several years. This was not done without some pain and sacrifice as mentioned above but with a clear vision and a dedicated staff.

As a testimony to our seasoned and dedicated staff and volunteers, we were able and privileged to serve nearly 3,566 individuals and provide over 129,274 client services which included items such as meals, bed-nights, counseling hours, training, pantry items, material assistance, etc. As our motto states, we “Provide Help and Create Hope” and we proudly serve one client at a time treating them each with dignity and respect.

As always, and as we have done for the past 77 years, we will continue to “Provide Help and Create Hope” for the most vulnerable in our society.

I thank Bishop Gainer, Fr. Gillelan and the Board of Directors for their support and guidance. I also wish to acknowledge the Administrative Staff and the Program Directors who as a result of their hard work and dedication to our Mission, contribute immensely to the success of the Agency. Furthermore, I offer my heartfelt thanks to all employees and volunteers of the Agency for their commitment and perseverance. They are focused on the sole goal of providing help and creating hope to each of the clients that we are privileged to serve.

Finally, I would like to thank all our donors and benefactors for their continued support enabling us to fulfill our Mission of helping those in need.

May God continue to Bless us and give us the strength to forge ahead and carry out His Mission to help those who cannot help themselves. May He give us the resolve and commitment to help those in need.

Mark A. Totaro, Ph.D. Executive Director/CEO

CATHOLIC CHARITIES

77 YEARSOF

PROVIDING HELP CREATING HOPE

BOARD OF DIRECTORSRow 1, left to right: Walter J. Legenstein, Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer (Corporate Officer), Camille Kostelac-Cherry, Zenoria McMorris Owens (Board Secretary), David S. Gash, John P. Pagana, MD; Row 2, left to right: Richard Berrones, Louis F. Santangelo; Row 3, left to right: Joseph F. Schatt (Board Treasurer), Maria DiSanto, Rev. Daniel C. Mitzel (Board President), Very Reverend David L. Danneker (Corporate Officer), Ron Turo; Missing: Brian P. Downey (Board Vice-President), Barbara Yohn Groce, Cathryn Irvis, Edward J. Kraus, Valerie Pritchett, Matthew Schlosser, Jeffrey Tearpock

PROGRAM MANAGERS Row 1, left to right: Kate Downes, Lydia Thomas, Lisa Peck; Row 2, left to right: Kelly Bolton, John Leedock, Annette Martin; Row 3, left to right: Dustin Langeheine, Sinisa (Sasha) Jovic, Amy Strawser; Missing: Karrie Ballantine, Sara Beck, Rebecca Diamondstone, Rebecca Jacoby, Chris Vandenberg

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFRow 1, left to right: Christopher Meehan, Linda Weber, Kate Downes; Row 2, left to right: Debra Clark, Carole Klinger, Peter Biasucci, Annette Martin; Row 3, left to right: Mark Totaro, Kelly Slabonik; Missing: Chris Vandenberg

CORPORATE OFFICERS Row 1, left to right: Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer, Mark A. Totaro, Ph.D.; Row 2, Very Reverend David L. Danneker


A copy of the latest audit report is available upon request by contactingCatholic Charities

4800 Union Deposit Road / Harrisburg, PA 17111(717) 657-4804 / Fax (717) 657-8683

Counseling services

In-home counseling services

Specialized youth services

Specialized residences

Immigration/refugee services

Other program expenses

Management and general

Government Funding

Program service fees

United Way allocation

Other contributions and bequests

Distribution of funds held in Trust

Investment income

Rental income

Diocesan Funds

Miscellaneous income

41%

36%

3%

8%

1%

-1%

0%

11%

1%

12%

7%

30%

23%

15%

1%

12%

REVENUES

EXPENSES

NUMBER OF CLIENTS SERVED FAMILY MEMBERS PROGRAM SERVED Adoption .........................................................................................................143Specialized Foster Care ...................................................................................... 52Lancaster Intensive Day Treatment ..................................................................166Irs - English As A Second Language ..................................................................254Irs - Employment Services ................................................................................. 76Irs - Gain Program ............................................................................................. 61Irs - Tap Program ............................................................................................... 31Irs - Resettlement Program ..............................................................................303Irs - Match Program .........................................................................................117Irs - Legal Advising Services .............................................................................149York Intensive Family Services ........................................................................477York/Adams Family Based ................................................................................. 87Paradise School ...............................................................................................371Evergreen House ............................................................................................... 94Crescent Way ....................................................................................................... 9Willow Way ...................................................................................................... 20Interfaith Shelter .............................................................................................440Lourdeshouse - Residents ................................................................................... 41Lourdeshouse - Babies ....................................................................................... 26Capital Counseling ..........................................................................................215Lancaster Counseling ......................................................................................202Paradise Counseling .......................................................................................... 79York Counseling ..............................................................................................153

TOTAL ................................................................................. 3,566

ADOPTION SERVICESBased in Harrisburg, Adoption Services offers information for adoptive parents who are interested in welcoming a child to their family. In some cases, the family chooses to adopt a newborn infant while other agency clients are matched with an older child or group of siblings engaged with the Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN).

In addition, Child Preparation Counseling is offered to children preparing for adoption. During this series of sessions, children participate in activities and exercises designed to help him/her adjust to the adoption process by reviewing their past, identifying and discussing feelings and concerns, and strengthening their bonds with his/her new family.

SPECIALIZED FOSTER CAREBased in Harrisburg, Specialized Foster Care places children who have been separated from their families by the court system into loving homes.

If a child cannot be returned home, an alternative permanent placement plan is developed. Adoption is often times an appropriate course, and the Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) works with many foster parents to adopt their children and provide a permanent and caring home.

LOURDESHOUSELocated at the Saint Samuel Center in Harrisburg, the Lourdeshouse Maternity Home provides quality services to pregnant women who have nowhere else to turn. The program symbolizes the commitment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg to uphold the dignity and sanctity of all human life.

All of the residents at Lourdeshouse are provided with childbirth and parenting classes, case management, and transportation. In addition, case managers assist residents in obtaining employment, housing, education, and counseling. Residents may come to Lourdeshouse at any time during their pregnancy and may remain in the program up to eight months. Pantry items such as food, diapers, clothing, furniture, and toiletries are also available to both residents and other women in the community who have a child twelve months of age or younger. Services are funded in part through the Real Alternatives Program.

FAMILY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICESFamily-Based Mental Health Services is a comprehensive program that delivers services to children and their families in both home and community settings. Families entering the program are at risk of having their children placed into foster care. The goal of the program is to strengthen family relationships and stabilize the family through therapeutic interventions. Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, the program provides a team-centered approach proven to be successful in keeping families together or reuniting children with their families. The Family-Based Mental Health Services Offices provide services for families in Adams and York Counties.

YORK INTENSIVE FAMILY SERVICESBased in York, the Intensive Family Services Program provides services in the homes of families who have open cases with York County Children and Youth Services. Through a partnership contract, Children and Youth Services refers families to the Intensive Family Services Program. These families are in need of parenting skills, connection to community resources, and family therapy.

Emphasis is placed upon strengthening the family in order that children can remain in their homes or return as quickly as possible from foster care. Team members work intensely, with multiple weekly sessions, in order to make an immediate impact upon families facing numerous issues.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICESCatholic Charities Counseling is dedicated to providing access to high quality outpatient counseling for children, adolescents, and adults in small, friendly, confidential offices located in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Abbottstown (Paradise School Facility). Services include individual and family therapy, marital counseling, and parent-child counseling; provided regardless of religious affiliation. These clinics are licensed by the PA Department of Human Services. Bilingual-Spanish services are provided at the Lancaster office.


GREATER ACCESS TO INDEPENDENCE FOR NEWCOMERSKirka is a Bhutanese national with Refugee status. He was resettled in the US after spending 21 years of his life in a refugee camp in Nepal. He fled from Bhutan in the early 1990’s and experienced hardships such as a lack of food, clothes and shelter. Through all he endured he was able to complete a bachelor’s degree in Arts in Nepal. In August of 2014, Kirka and his family were resettled in Buffalo New York. After 3 months, Kirka migrated to Harrisburg in search of employment.

When Kirka came to Catholic Charities he was working full-time through a temporary agency. He was looking for a higher paying job to sustain his family’s needs. He registered for advance computer training classes offered by Charities Employment Services. With his determination and good work ethic, Kirka successfully completed the training class. He accepted a job as a Receiver with a goal of becoming a supervisor and eventually a senior management position. As a result of his training he was able to upgrade his job with higher wages.

Kirka is very optimistic about the future and the endless possibilities. He is determined to succeed and sees himself as the only one who can deter him from his goals. Kirka continues working towards his goal of becoming a manager and providing a bright future for his family.

INTERFAITH SHELTER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIESLocated at the Saint Samuel Center in Harrisburg, the Interfaith Shelter for Homeless Families is the only homeless shelter in the Harrisburg region specifically serving families. During their brief stay of four to six weeks, families work with the shelter staff on issues that may have caused their homelessness: employment, education, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and other related issues. Upon completion of the program, as many as 98% of the families achieve a stable level of housing and a better quality of life.

INTENSIVE DAY TREATMENTBased in Lancaster, the Intensive Day Treatment Program serves at-risk youth from age nine to fifteen who possess significant emotional and behavioral health needs. An alternative to residential treatment services, the program runs Monday through Friday and aims to increase anger management skills, to improve social skills, and to enhance educational achievement. The program utilizes a therapeutic environment, one in which personal growth and change takes place through positive relations between the youth and the program staff as a result of individual, group, and family therapy programming.

The program’s educational component is operated by the Lancaster Intermediate Unit 13 and is funded by contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Lancaster County, and other managed care organizations.

WILLOW WAY AND CRESCENT WAY Willow Way (located in Harrisburg) and Crescent Way (located in Lancaster) are the latest addition of services designed to serve women in recovery. Both facilities are owned and operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Harrisburg.

Both locations offer in-house staff that provide support to help connect residents to counseling, manage daily operations, reinforce accountability, and support family living.

These homes are located in beautiful residential neighborhoods within walking distance to commercial areas and public transportation which is ideal for employment, shopping, and attending support meetings.

PARADISE SCHOOLLocated in rural York County, the Paradise School Program, in partnership with Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12, seeks to provide a productive learning environment while providing an academic and behavioral education.

Educational services are provided by the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 and are staffed by certified special educators. Other staff members include an Instructional Advisor as well as a School Psychologist, Speech Therapist and Occupational Therapist as itinerant support staff.

Paradise School staff provides crisis intervention, supervision during lunch and break periods, social skills, education and school district coordination. In addition, the program utilizes a full spectrum of community resources including parks, libraries, movie theatres, skating rinks as well as frequent and ongoing utilization of the Appalachian Trail as part of their educational and therapeutic tools.

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICES

World Refugee Day 2016

Immigration and Refugee Services (IRS) of Catholic Charities provides a wide range of social and educational services to immigrants, refugees, visitors and non-English speakers. The IRS services of Catholic Charities has a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual staff who are dedicated to teaching people how to help themselves.

Employment Services guides adult refugees, asylees, and other qualified immigrants to self-sufficiency through job readiness counseling, referral services, job placement, and ongoing post-placement support and counseling. Relationships have been established with hundreds of businesses throughout the Central PA Region. Every effort is made to match the best client to employers to provide ongoing support to ensure job retention.

English as a Second Language (ESL) offers classes for adults in several locations throughout the greater Harrisburg area. Classes are free and are open to all adult, non-native English speakers. Morning and evening class options are available to accommodate a wide range of work and family schedules. We provide pre-literacy, beginning, intermediate and advanced class levels. Classes are taught by professionally trained teachers experienced in ESL instruction methods.

Refugee Resettlement Program offers the following services to newly arrived refugees. Pre-arrival agreements, airport reception, temporary housing, food & other basic necessities, orientation & acculturation to the United States, English as a second language classes, job placement and referrals to social service agencies. Our goal is to assist refugees to achieve self-sufficiency within the first 120-180 days after their arrival. It is through self-sufficiency that they can begin to fulfill their dreams of a better life of safety and security.

Match Grant Program assists eligible asylees with enrollment into this program that provides employment services. Limited financial assistance is also available for housing and utility bills.

Immigration Legal Services provides high quality immigration legal services to low income immigrants and refugees in Central Pennsylvania. In addition our staff provides public education, training and community outreach in order to promote social justice in accordance with Catholic Social Teaching.

EVERGREEN HOUSELocated at the Saint Samuel Center in Harrisburg, Evergreen House provides a nurturing and therapeutic environment for women recovering from the disease of addiction. The length of the program for each client is based upon the person’s individual needs and treatment plans. Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, all care is confidential and provided in both one-on-one and group settings by the caring, qualified staff. Residents are also encouraged to develop the tools they need to maintain long-term recovery by securing safe and stable housing, participating in job training programs, and pursuing employment and/or education.


MISSION STATEMENTCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA, Inc. exists to respond to the human service needs of people throughout the 15 counties of the Diocese of Harrisburg and Central Pennsylvania. Catholic Charities fosters the ideals of Christ through a caring, living faith by: promoting and advocating respect for the sanctity of human life, underscoring the central role of marriage and the family in society, and providing a continuum of high quality services to individuals, children, youth, married couples, families, and the elderly.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIRECTORY OF SERVICES

For information on Donations, Volunteer

Opportunities, or Vehicle Donations, you may contact Catholic Charities

Administrative Office by telephone at

(717) 657-4804, or FAX (717) 657-8683,

or check our website: cchbg.org

Souper Bowl Soup Sale

Sr. Geralyn picking Notre Dame Raffle Winner Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community

Soup, Salad & Sermon

Lenten Luncheon

Christmas Party

Soup, Salad & Sermon Lenten Luncheon

Christmas Party

2015

Catholic Charities

Highlights

at a glance

RESIDENTIALPROGRAMS WILLOW WAY120 Willow Road, Suite DHarrisburg, PA 17109(717) 412-4594 • FAX (717) 972-0925

CRESCENT WAY1509 Crescent AveLancaster, PA 17501(717) 547-6730 • FAX (717) 547-6731

EVERGREEN HOUSE120 Willow Road, Suite BHarrisburg, PA 17109(717) 412-4594 • FAX (717) 972-0925

LOURDESHOUSE120 Willow Road, Suite AHarrisburg, PA 17109(717) 412-4865 • FAX (717) 412-4943

INTERFAITH SHELTER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES120 Willow Road, Suite CHarrisburg, PA 17109(717) 652-8740 • FAX (717) 545-0145

IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICES939 East Park Drive, Suite 102Harrisburg, PA 17111(717) 232-0568FAX (717) 234-7142 FAX (717) 909-0968

Employment Services––––––––––––––––ESL Services––––––––––––––––Refugee Resettlement––––––––––––––––Legal Services

ADMINISTRATIONMARK A. TOTARO, PH.D. Executive Director/CEO

PETER A. BIASUCCI, LSW Assistant Executive Director

CAROLE A. KLINGER, MBADirector of Administration

CHRISTOPHER P.MEEHAN, MBA Director of Development

YOUTH SERVICES ADOPTION SERVICES &SPECIALIZED FOSTER CARE939 East Park Drive, Suite 103Harrisburg, PA 17111(717) 564-7115 • FAX (717) 564-7180

INTENSIVE DAY TREATMENT47 South Mulberry StreetLancaster, PA 17603(717) 295-9630 /9631/9632FAX (717) 295-9525

INTENSIVE FAMILY SERVICES253 East Market StreetYork, PA 17403(717) 843-7986 • FAX (717) 699-0020

PARADISE SCHOOL PROGRAM6156 West Canal RoadAbbottstown, PA 17301-8982 (717) 259-9537 • FAX (717) 259-9262

COUNSELING OFFICESCAPITAL REGION OFFICE939 East Park Drive, Suite 101Harrisburg, PA 17111(717) 233-7978 • FAX (717) 233-4194

LANCASTER OFFICE925 North Duke StreetLancaster, PA 17602(717) 299-3659 • FAX (717) 299-1328(717) 392-2113 (espanol)

YORK OFFICE253 East Market StreetYork, PA 17403(717) 845-2696 • FAX (717) 843-3941

PARADISE OUTPATIENT SERVICES6156 West Canal RoadAbbottstown, PA 17301-8982(717) 259-9537 • FAX (717) 259-9262

FAMILY BASED PROGRAMSYORK/ADAMS PROGRAM6156 West Canal RoadAbbottstown, PA 17301-8982(717) 259-9537 • FAX (717) 259-9262

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Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Harrisburg

NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL RAFFLE

TWO PRIZES TO BE AWARDED.

EACH PRIZE INCLUDES:

— TWO TICKETS —

Notre Dame vs. Wake Forrest

Football Game

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By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service

Tens of thousands of pro-lifers filled the grounds near the Washington Monument and marched up Constitution Av-enue to the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 27 as both a protest of legalized abortion and a celebration of successful pro-life efforts across the country.

In years past, the March for Life – which takes place on or near Jan. 22 to mark the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 deci-sions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abor-tion virtually on demand – has been almost a battle cry for the uphill and constant fight faced by those in the pro-life movement hoping for more abortion restrictions and ulti-mately an end to abortion.

This year’s March for Life, under mostly sunny skies and 40-degree temperatures, was decidedly more upbeat, in part because one of the first speakers was Vice President Mike Pence: the first time a vice president attended the rally.

Pence, who has marched at the event before as a partici-pant and addressed it as a congressman, repeatedly told the crowd – huddled together in winter coats and hats in front of the stage – that “life is winning” and assured them the Trump administration was behind them.

Kellyanne Conway, special adviser to Trump, and the first on the speakers’ list to address the group – holding aloft plac-ards but none of the usual giant banners, which were banned for security reasons – similarly got plenty of cheers when she said: “This is a new day, a new dawn for life.”

The scheduled presence of the vice president, only an-nounced the day before, required the rally perimeter to be fenced in and the crowd to enter through long lines that had formed at security checks. Participants seemed unfazed by the required wait, taking it in stride with the day. Some pulled out their pre-packed lunches and started eating, oth-ers prayed the Rosary. These marchers are used to plenty of hardships from weather conditions alone at the annual march.

Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, noted that the group has been marching in all types of bad weather over the years. She also pointed out that amid recent discus-sion about crowd size at events in Washington, it was hard to measure the number of people that day or for the total who have come out for the annual march over the past four decades. “The only number we care about is the 58 million” lost to abortion since it was legalized, she said.

As in years past, the crowd was primarily young, with a lot of high school and college-age groups. It was something the speakers took note of, saying this generation would not only keep the pro-life movement going but bring about changes.

Mary Ann Vann, a retiree who made the trip from Truss-ville, Alabama, for her sixth march, said the most exciting thing for her each time she has taken part is seeing the young people.

Vann, a parishioner at Holy Infant of Prague Parish in Trussville, said she hoped the energy at the march could be

Catholic News ServiceVice President Mike Pence told pro-life advocates from

across the U.S. Jan. 27 that “life is winning in America, and today is a celebration of that progress.”

Pence addressed the March for Life on the National Mall in Washington, making him the highest government official to address the annual event in person. As a mem-ber of Congress, he had addressed the March for Life in previous years, including 2002, 2003 and 2007.

“More than 240 years ago, our founders declared these truths to be self-evident – that we are, all of us, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said. “Forty-four years ago, our Supreme Court turned away from the first of these timeless ideals, but today, gen-erations hence – because of all of you and the many thou-sands who stand with us in rallies across this country – life is winning again in America.”

Pence said President Donald Trump had asked him to address the March for Life rally. “He asked me to thank you for your support, for your stand for life and your compassion for the women and children of America.”

He pointed to Trump’s Jan. 23 executive action reinstating what’s called the Mexico City Policy, which bans tax dollars from funding groups that promote or perform abortion in oth-er countries. He said the administration would work with Congress to stop taxpayer funding of abortion “and devote those resources to health care services for women across America.”

On Jan. 24, the House passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, making the 41-year-old Hyde Amendment permanent. The amendment, which has had to be approved each year as part of the budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, prohibits tax dollars from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman’s life. The Senate has yet to act on a companion bill, but Trump has said he will sign it into law when the measure reaches his desk.

“I urge you to press on,” Pence told the March for Life rally-goers. “Let your gentleness be evident to all. Let this movement be known for love, not anger. Let this movement be known for compassion, not confrontation. When it comes to matters of the heart, there is nothing stronger than gentleness. I believe we will continue to win the minds and hearts

of the rising generation if our hearts first break for moth-ers and their unborn children and meet them where they are with generosity, not judgment. To heal our land and restore a culture of life, we must continue to be a move-ment that embraces all and shows the dignity and worth of every person.”

Pence’s wife, Karen, introduced her husband. She noted this March for Life was not the first for the Pence family; they have attended the event for the past 16 years, “but it is the warmest,” she joked. By midday, the temperature in Washington was in the low 40s. Previous marches have taken place in frigid temperatures. Last year’s turnout was affected by a blizzard.

Karen Pence said of her husband that she had never met anyone “who has more compassion for women, for chil-dren and for the American people. He’s one of the kindest people that I know.”

Before Pence spoke, Kellyanne Conway, special adviser to Trump, took the podium.

“I am a wife, a mother, a Catholic, counselor to the president of the United States of America, and yes, I am pro-life,” Conway said. “It is such an honor to stand with the vice president of the United States and so many leaders, families and students from places near and far [today].”

“Your courage, your conviction and your faith are impressive and consequential,” she told the crowd. “This is a new day, a new dawn for life. Why are we here? What does it mean to stand together to be part of this incredible movement, to face criticism, ridicule, and laws and lawmakers [against life]? It means to protect and promote the most precious gift in the world – the gift of life. It means to stand up stand tall and stand together against the indifference and the indefensible and on behalf of babies in the womb.

“This is a time of incredible promise for the pro-life and pro-adoption movement,” she continued. “Women who face troubled pregnancies should know they are not alone, that they are not judged, they are protected and cared for and celebrated.”

Conway told pro-life supporters: “Allow me to make it very clear – we hear you, we see you, we respect you, and we look forward to working with you, and yes, we march, we walk, we run and endeavor forward with you.”

Jubilant Crowd Gathers in Washington for Annual March for Life

channeled into everyday support for the pro-life movement, something she is involved with on a regular basis with side-walk counseling, volunteering at crisis pregnancy centers and helping young mothers with basic needs. She also said she is disheartened by hearing those who say pro-lifers are only concerned about babies because she and her fellow vol-unteers not only bring pregnant women to their doctor’s ap-pointments but also help pay their medical costs.

Jim Klarsch, a member of St. Clement Parish in St. Louis, who came with a busload of eighth-graders, also is involved with pro-life work with the Knights of Columbus at his par-ish. In Washington on his second march, he said the experi-ence was “empowering.”

Standing alongside Constitution Avenue waiting for the march to begin, he said the crowd, which was already filling the street to each side and behind him as far as the eye could see, reinforced his feeling that “this is not just a day but a lifelong mission.”

“You’re part of a pilgrimage. You take that experience home and you live it,” he added.

Most in the crowd wore matching hats to keep together and chaperones were frequently counting hats to be sure they were all together.

Some noted that the march had a distinctly different tone than the Women’s March on Washington six days before. Two sisters who stood on the sidelines with some of the few handmade signs at the march, described themselves as femi-nists and said they found the pro-life march more positive and less angry.

“This is a message of love,” said Bridget Donofrio, from Washington, holding aloft a poster-board sign with words written with a black marker: “Respect all women, born and unborn.”

Many of the march signs were pre-made placards with messages such as “I am pro abundant life” or “Defund Planned Parenthood” and “I am the pro-life generation.”

The city of Washington, fresh from the inauguration crowd and the women’s march held the next day, seemed prepared for this march.

On the Metro, when two older women asked a young woman for directions and pointed to the group with signs that they wanted to join, the woman looked up from her phone and asked if there was a protest today.

“It’s the March for Life,” one woman said. A few seconds later she added: “It’s not a protest; it’s more of a celebra-tion.”

CNS/YURI GRIPAS, REUTERS A child rests as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a rally at the annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 27.

‘Life is Winning in America,’ Vice President Tells March for Life Rally

CNS/TYLER ORSBURNA pro-life advocate holds a sign Jan. 27 during the annual March for Life in Washington.


CNS/RICK WILKING, REUTERSU.S. President-elect Donald Trump is applauded as he arrives for his Jan. 20 swearing-in as the country’s 45th president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

president, national, state and local organi-zations said that DACA had become one of the country’s “most successful immigra-tion policy initiatives ... fostering economic growth and strengthening national security.”

The letter asked Trump to continue DACA despite his promises to immediately end President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

Obama introduced DACA in 2012 as an initiative to provide work permits and re-lief from deportation to young and adults and children who arrived in the U.S. before their 16th birthday. Applicants must under-go background checks, pay a fee and meet certain educational requirements to qualify under DACA.

The letter also cited bipartisan support for the Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy measure, or BRIDGE Act, which was introduced near the end of the last Congress in December by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. The bill would allow the young immigrants un-der DACA to stay in the country for three more years.

Whether lawmakers planned to reintro-duce the bill in the new Congress is not known.

The presidents of organizations repre-senting women religious and superiors of congregations of men religious offered to support the Trump’s presidency and urged him to join them in promoting the common good.

Sister Mary Pellegrino, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Reli-gious and a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, and Atonement Father Brian F. Terry, president of the Conference of Major Superiors or Men, reminded the incoming president of the gift and responsibility of leadership.

They expressed concern about the “frac-tures and divisions” that “continue to threat-en the well-being and freedom of all Ameri-cans and those who have fled in fear to our shores and borders,” writing that America’s diversity has been the country’s strength.

“In order to be ‘one nation under God,’ we believe we are all called to live as true ambassadors or reconciliation, in all places and all times,” the leaders said. “We believe we need a president who transcends party politics and personal agendas in order to heal deep divisions that threaten the stabil-ity of our nation. We strongly believe that we all need to be dedicated to respectful and dignified civil discourse with those whose positions different from our own.”

The letter concluded by inviting the Trump to join them in “constant prayer that God might act in our hearts and through our actions as leaders.”

The Washington-based organization In Defense of Christians congratulated Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on their in-auguration and urged the new administra-tion to make the plight of Christians in the Middle East a policy priority.

The organization said Christian com-munities in Iraq and Syria particularly are

TrumpContinued from 1

in need of assistance to rebuild their home-lands after suffering severe losses in years of war. “It is in the interests of the United States and international community to do so,” the organization said in a statement.

Among Catholic leaders responding on Twitter, Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley thanked God for the freedom Americans enjoy because of the sacrifices of previous generations. He also offered a prayer for Trump and for the country to “recommit to care for the needy.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada offered congratulations on Trump’s inaugu-ration and said that the partnership between the two countries built throughout history is “essential to our shared prosperity and se-curity.”

‘We Will Be Protected by God’President Donald J. Trump told the nation

in his inaugural address that it need not fear in the days ahead.

“There should not be fear,” Trump said Jan. 20. “We are protected and we will al-ways be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement, and, most important, we will be protected by God.”

In signaling a new era for the United States, “at the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other,” Trump said in his 15-minute address. “When you open your heart to pa-triotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.”

He said Americans of all stripes harbor common hopes and dreams.

“We all enjoy the same glorious free-

doms,” Trump said, “and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.”

Much of the rest of Trump’s inaugural address restated the themes he used in his presidential campaign, remarking repeat-edly that the nation and its citizens would be his top priority as president.

“Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another,” Trump said from the west front of the Capitol, “but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”

He added, “This moment is your moment. It belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day, this is your celebration, and this, the United States of America, is your country.”

Trump distilled the ills he saw in the Unit-ed States: “Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted-out fac-tories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation. An education sys-tem flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. And the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”

The 45th president, who is a Presbyterian, said: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravag-es of other countries making our products,

stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”

Trump dwelt briefly on the United States’ role in the world. “We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first,” he said. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic ter-rorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.”

He vowed to Americans, “You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. To-gether we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And, yes, togeth-er, we will make America great again.”

Before the swearing-in ceremonies, the Trump family attended a private prayer ser-vice St. John’s Episcopal Church across La-fayette Square from the White House.

At the Capitol, New York Cardinal Timo-thy M. Dolan was among a number of reli-gious leaders taking part in the inauguration ceremonies. The cardinal read a passage from the Book of Wisdom.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thom-as administered the oath of office to Vice President Mike Pence, then U.S. Chief Jus-tice John Roberts administered the oath to Trump. Standing at the new president’s side were his wife, Melania, and children Donald Jr., Barron, Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany.

(Contributing to this article was Mark Pattison of Catholic News Service.)

Catholic News Service

U.S. House passage of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abor-tion Act, making the 41-year-old Hyde Amendment perma-nent, puts the country “one step closer to getting the federal government out of the business of paying for abortion once and for all,” said the president of National Right to Life.

“Over 2 million Americans are alive today because of the Hyde Amendment,” Carol Tobias said in a statement.

By a 238-183 vote Jan. 24, House members passed H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insur-ance Full Disclosure Act of 2017. It was sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. President Donald J. Trump indicated before the House vote he would sign the measure if it comes to his desk.

The 2 million figure Smith and Tobias cited comes from a report issued late last year by the Charlotte Lozier Institute on more than 20 peer-reviewed studies indicating that many lives have been saved since the Hyde Amendment was intro-duced in 1976.

H.R. 7, which is identical to bills that passed in 2014 and 2015, make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohib-its tax dollars from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman’s life. The amendment, which covers programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, has had to be renewed annually by Congress in its appropriations bill.

“Polling consistently shows that a supermajority of Amer-icans – 61 percent, according to a Marist poll released [Jan. 23] – oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, and eight in 10 Americans think laws can protect both the well-being of a woman and the health of her unborn child,” Smith added.

In January 2014, when the No Taxpayer Funding for Abor-tion Act was first introduced, an official with the U.S. bish-ops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities testified on behalf of the bill.

“Even public officials who take a ‘pro-choice’ stand on abortion have supported bans on public funding as a ‘middle ground’ on this contentious issue – in recognition of the fact that it is not ‘pro-choice’ to force others to fund a procedure to which they have fundamental objections,” said Richard M. Doerflinger, then associate director of the secretariat.

Pro-Life Leaders Praise House Vote on Hyde Amendment


Compiled by Jen Reed Spiritual Offerings

40 Days for Life, Harrisburg. From March 1-April 9, join other Christians for 40 Days for Life – 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion. Stand and peacefully pray during a 40-day vigil in the public right-of-way outside Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center, 2709 North Front Street, Harrisburg, and help spread the word about this important community outreach. For more information – especially if you’d like to volunteer to help – contact Kathy O’Donnell at [email protected].

The Cathedral Parish of St. Patrick in Harrisburg invites the faithful to our First Friday Devotions of Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament & Intercessory Prayers to be held on Feb. 3, beginning with a 6:30 a.m. Holy Mass followed by Exposition, 7 a.m. Prayers of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 8 a.m. Holy Rosary prayed for bishops, priests, and deacons, 9 a.m. prayers for our families and young people, 10 a.m. prayers for our parish outreach ministry and those served, 11 a.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet and Litany of the Sacred Heart, 11:45 a.m. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, 12 p.m. Holy Mass, 12:30 p.m. Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. For more information, contact Rosy Gonzalez at 717-903-1111 or Connie Egan at 717-232-2169 ext. 222.

Mass with prayers for healing will be celebrated Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at St. Theresa Church in New Cumberland by Father Samuel Dubois. The Mass is sponsored by the Pilgrims of Praise and Life in the Spirit prayer groups. For more information, contact Mary Ann at 717-564-7709 or Loretta at 717-737-7551.

Mass in the Polish language will be celebrated Feb.19 at 2 p.m. at St. Catherine Labouré Church in Harrisburg. Confes-sions are heard in English and Polish after every Mass.

A Rosary Rally celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Fatima Apparitions is prayed the third Saturday of each month in the Square in Littlestown at 12 noon. The next rally is Feb. 18. Call Barb at 717-359-4604.

Friday, March 3 is World Day of Prayer 2017. World Day of Prayer is an ecumenical celebration of informed prayer and prayerful action. Join in the prayer service written by the women of the Philippines. The theme this year is, “Am I Being Unfair to You?” St. Vincent de Paul’s Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW) is hosting this year’s service with fellowship and light refresh-ments following the service. The service will begin at 7 p.m. at St. Vincent’s, 220 Third Street, Hanover. For additional information, contact Sandy Clark at 717-632-1461 or [email protected].

St. Rose of Lima Parish in York will have a Charismat-ic Mass with Prayers of Healing on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. Praise and worship music begins at 6:30 p.m. Father Anthony Swamy, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Columbia, will be the celebrant. The Mass is sponsored by St. Rose of Lima, St. Joseph and St. Patrick Catholic Charismatic Prayer Groups in York. For more information, contact Joyce at 717-308-7245.

Jesus I Trust In You! Come pray with us. St. Rose of Lima Parish in York will be celebrating the third anniversary of Divine Mercy Devotions and Chaplet on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. Father Daniel Richards, pastor, will have Eucharistic Exposition. For more information, contact Joyce at 717-308-7245.

Centering prayer. “Be still and know that I am God.” One way to grasp what God has in mind for us in 2017 and beyond is to create space to hear his word. In a busy world, it takes plan-ning and intentionality to create such a space. Centering Prayer is a form of Christian meditation passed on to us through Father Thomas Keating and other Benedictine monks. In Centering Prayer, we sit in silence, letting go of thoughts and distractions, so that we may abide wordlessly in the Indwelling Spirit. It is a practice of surrender…surrender of thoughts, concepts, day-dreams… letting go anything less than the Divine Presence. For the third year running, we are blessed to have the opportunity to receive instruction on the method and benefits of Centering Prayer from Carolyn Yankovitz. She will provide a full-day instruction on Feb. 25 (snow date: March 11) from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the St. Rose Convent in York (950 W. Market St). Morning refreshments will be served. Bring your own lunch. We have a refrigerator and microwave. There will be six follow-up sessions on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m., also at the convent. The follow-up sessions consist of video instruction from Father Keating, question & answer, and group Centering Prayer. There is no fee. Support-ing material will be available for purchase (optional). Contact Rich Erdlen to register: [email protected] or 717-779-8750.

Pilgrimages and RetreatsYou are invited to join Father Steven Fauser on a

Pilgrimage to Poland and the Czech Republic from September 18-28, 2017. Tour includes: Daily Mass, professional local guides, accommodation in First Class hotels (two nights in Warsaw, four nights in Krakow, three nights in Prague), breakfast and dinner daily, land transportation by private deluxe motor-coach, roundtrip motorcoach transportation from Elizabethtown to Washington Dulles Airport, roundtrip airfare from Washington Dulles on Air France, and more, for $3,495 per person/double occupancy. For complete details, please contact Karen Hurley at [email protected] or George’s International Tours at (800) 566-7499, [email protected] or visit www.georgesintl.com.

You are invited to join Father Kenneth Smith on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land from November 7-17, 2017. The pilgrimage includes: Daily Mass at holy sites, licensed Christian guide, accommodation in First Class hotels (five nights in Jerusalem, three nights in Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, one night in Tel Aviv), breakfast and dinner daily, land transportation by deluxe motorcoach, roundtrip motorcoach from Mechanicsburg to Newark Airport, roundtrip airfare from Newark

to Tel Aviv on nonstop flights with United Airlines, and more, for $3,499 per person/double occupancy. For complete details please contact Karen Hurley at [email protected] or George’s International Tours at (800) 566-7499, [email protected] or visit www.georgesintl.com.

The Harrisburg Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will host a Prayer Shawl Retreat Feb. 25 from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Cardinal Keeler Center in Har-risburg. Join other women for a few special hours including Mass, prayer, knitting/crocheting, fellowship and lunch. Take advantage of this opportunity to come together and share your handiwork, touching stories and the thank you notes you received from recipients of prayer shawls created for comfort and caring in this beautiful ministry. You are most welcome to attend even if you are a beginner or just want to be part of this time of fellowship and sharing. Please bring any prayer shawls and patterns you wish to display or share. We will add the patterns to our Har-risburg Diocesan Council of Catholic Women website at http://hdccw.webs.com/prayer-shawl-ministry. While the program is free, advance registration is required so that we can arrange a comfortable work area and plan for lunch. Contact Kathy Kokoski at 717-448-8899 or Deb Black at 717-514-8815 or [email protected] or [email protected]. Deadline to register is Feb. 15.

A retreat for teens in grades 8-12, “Give it up for Lent!” will be held at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Lancaster Feb. 25 from 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sponsored by “Souled Out,” the retreat will feature host Scott Anthony, Father Leo Goodman, and music by Don Peris. There will be praise and worship, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass and food. Cost is $20. Contact Cathy Eisenbeil to register or for more information at 717-209-1626 or [email protected].

Encounter: a retreat experience especially de-signed for college aged young adults and recent graduates will be held March 25 from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Cardinal Keeler Center in Harrisburg. Lent is a perfect time to get away to refresh and renew ourselves while growing in relationship with our Lord and with other young adults. For more information, contact your Catholic Campus Ministry/Newman Club or the Diocesan Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry at [email protected] or call 717-657-4804 ext. 327.

Education & Enrichment A presentation on end-of-life issues, given by

Rev. J. Daniel Mindling OFM Cap., Seminary Academic Dean of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, will take place Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Aloysius Parish Hall, Littlestown. Do you have questions about living wills and health care directives? How should we decide about starting or continuing life-saving treatments? These can be difficult decisions. Father Mindling, who works with the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Bishops Conference, will be join-ing us for an evening presentation and discussion on living wills, do not resuscitate orders, and health care powers of attorney in the light of our Catholic faith. If you have questions, contact Julie Abell at 717-334-1841.

“Finding True Peace Through Jesus Christ” is the topic for Theology on Tap of York on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at The First Post (on the second floor), 3691 E. Market St., York. All young adults, (20’s and 30’s) single, married, Catholic or not, are invited to attend. Father Daniel Richards, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in York, will present. For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/YorkTheology/.

Fundraisers & EventsA halupki dinner will be held Feb. 12 from noon-4 p.m. at

St. Ann Byzantine Catholic Parish at 5408 Locust Lane, Harris-burg. Halupki, sometimes called Cabbage Rolls, will be sold with Perohi by the Knights of Columbus Council #15107. An adult din-ner is $11 and a children’s dinner is $5. Those under 4 are free. A la carte is available. For information, visit www.stannbyz.org.

“Nite at the Races” is back by popular demand on Assumption Hill at Lebanon Catholic School on Feb. 25. Post time is 7 p.m. in the gym. Cost is $10 and includes refreshments. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Must be 21 years of age to attend. The annual event is held to raise money for the Lebanon Catholic Athletic Association. For more informa-tion, call 717-273-3731, ext. 325.

The Men’s Club of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fairfield will be holding a spaghetti dinner in the parish hall on Feb. 19 from 3-6 p.m. Dinner includes spaghetti, meatballs, sausage, salad, breadstick, drinks and dessert. The cost is $8 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and under 6 free. For more informa-tion, call 717-642-8815.

Lancaster Catholic High School Fine & Per-forming Arts Department announces its February and March events. The 3rd Annual Pops in the Round Concert will take place on Feb. 15 in the LCHS cafeteria! Enjoy free admis-sion and casual dress. The department presents the Mardi Gras Dinner Party & Dance on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. RSVP’s are due to Tony Brill by Feb. 17. Join us March 10 in the LCHS Cafeteria for the “Shandy” concert, performed by husband and wife duo, Andy Schober ‘06 and Shannon Schober. For additional information on any of these events, contact Kevin Carver at 717-509-0313.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Williamstown will hold a Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Raffle. Drawing will be held Feb. 12. Prizes: $100 to Olive Garden/Red Lobster, $50 to Wooden Nickel Restaurant in Millersburg, $50 to Villa Schiano’s in Elizabethville, $25 to Ciao’s in Lykens and $25 to Nino’s in Tower City. Tickets are $2 each and you need not be present to win. For more information, please call Dawn at 717-647-9124 or Anne at 717-647-9182.

The Immaculate Conception Knights will host the Harlem Wizards Feb. 7 at the New Oxford High School Gymnasium. Bring your kids out for a fun night of tricks, hoops and alley oops. Doors will open at 6 and the game will begin at 7. Advance tickets are available now for $10/adult and $8/child. All tickets will be $12 at the door. Reserve your tickets via www.harlemwizards.com or by calling Immaculate Conception BVM School at 717-624-2061.

Join St. Theresa School in New Cumberland in their annual Spring Fling fundraising event April 1 at Trinity High School in Camp Hill. The event will run from 6:30-11 p.m. Tickets are $30 until March 10, starting March 11, ticket price increases to $40 each. This is an adult only event that will have appetizers, dinner, desserts, and complimentary beer and soda. Mixed Up Productions will be the DJ for the event. There will be silent and live auctions, dancing, and fellowship. For more information, visit www.sainttheresaschool.org.

Lenten fish dinners will be served at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Cornwall on Wednesdays from Feb. 15-April 12. Dinner includes baked or fried fish, baked potato or French fries, applesauce or cole slaw, coffee for tea. Cost is $9.

The Annunciation Women of Mercy and Joy, from Annunciation BVM Parish in McSherrystown, are collecting donations of cards and chocolates for Valentines for Veterans on Feb. 11 from 9 a.m.-noon at the parish house in McSherrystown. The women are also implementing a prayer shawl ministry begin-ning March 6 from 6-8 p.m. Donations of yarn are welcome. For information, contact Toni Weaver at 717-632-5357.

St. Aloysius Parish in Littlestown is holding a Coach, Cash & More Bingo – featuring Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors and more – on Feb. 19 (inclement weather date is Feb. 26) at the parish hall. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., Bingo starts at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Must have an admission ticket to enter and play. Door prizes, raffles and food available for purchase. For tickets, call the parish office at 717-359-4513.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Enola presents a recital by organist Daniel Glessner, with guest artists Gregory Glessner (violin) and Tetyana Pyatovolenko (cello) on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. in the church. A freewill offering will be taken for repairs and upgrades to the church’s pipe organ. For more information, contact Daniel Glessner at [email protected] or 717-525-3616.

The Haiti Mission Committee of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Annville is planning a fundraising weekend to benefit our ministries in Haiti. Proceeds will benefit our sister parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in St. Marc, aid to a school in Goyavier, and educating ten students at the Les Bon Samaritains School in St. Marc. The event is a silent auction, chili cook-off and cookie bake-off, to be held in the parish social hall Feb. 18 from 6:30-8 p.m. and Feb. 19 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Items for bid include gift certificates, theme baskets, household items, works of art, jewelry and much more. The chili cook-off will be held Saturday evening, and the cookie bake-off will be held Sun-day after the 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses – both contests seek cooks/bakers and tasters. Only cash or checks will be accepted for the auction. Winners will be notified immediately and can pick up their items Feb. 19 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. or after all Masses on Feb. 25 and 26. Contact Jim or Terri Mascoli at 717-274-3709 or [email protected].

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Cornwall will celebrate the first anniversary of its new church with a birthday party and concert on February 12 at 2 p.m. (snow date is Feb. 19). Featuring the music ministry choirs and con-temporary band from Sacred Heart, Holy Spirit Adult Choir and more! Bring your family and friends. Come and enjoy an hour of beautiful, inspiring music with birthday cake and refreshments to follow. Sacred Heart is located at 2695 Cornwall Road.

Divine Redeemer Parish in Mount Carmel will hold a “Theme Basket Bingo” Feb. 12 in Divine Mercy Hall, 400 Block of West Cherry Street in Mount Carmel. Doors open at 1 p.m., bingo starts at 2 p.m. Food will be available for sale. Advance tickets are $20, tickets at the door are $25. For advance tickets, call 570-373-5936 or 570-205-8751.

Good Shepherd School in Camp Hill is conduct-ing a Dream Car Raffle. The grand prize will be a new 2017 Lexus NX200t SUV (MSRP $44,677) from Bobby Rahal Lexus. The grand prize winner may elect to select a $35,000 cash prize in lieu of the new Lexus. Two 2nd place prizes of $500 each will be awarded, as well as three $100 3rd place prizes. Tickets can be purchased for $25 each or five tickets for $100. Raffle drawing will be Feb. 25. Tickets are available for purchase from Good Shepherd School, 3400 Market Street, Camp Hill, PA 17011. You may visit our Web site to reserve your tickets and see official rules www.gsschpa.org/Lexus. Call Good Shepherd School with any questions at 717-737-7261.

Notebook SubmissionsThe next edition of The Catholic Witness is Feb.

17. The deadline for announcements for the Feb. 17 edition is Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. Submissions should be e-mailed to [email protected]. A list of upcoming issue dates and deadlines can be found on The Witness’ page at www.hbgdiocese.org, or requested via e-mail.


Annunciation Student Wins Leadership Contest Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in McSherrystown is

proud to announce that Nathaniel “Nate” Smith, a fourth grader, was chosen as a winner in the 2016 “How Are You a Leader” poster contest sponsored by The Ned Show.

Nate’s design was chosen from over 2,000 entries, representing four coun-tries, to be the winner of the 4th grade category. Nate’s drawing demonstrates how he is a leader in his life. Nate said that as a leader, he is “. . . kind to people and I help people. I never give up. I encourage others.”

Nate was presented with a certificate at a recent school liturgy and will be receiving a NED prize pack in the future. Nate is the son of Ms. Angela Rick-rode of McSherrystown. The NED show is presented by All for KIDZ, and focuses on character education for school students.

St. Theresa’s Basketball Team Takes to Court at Mount St. Mary’s

Bishop McDevitt Swim Team Participates in National Championships

The Bishop McDevitt High School swim team recently participated in the 81st National Catho-lic High School Swim-ming and Diving Cham-pionships held at Loyola University of Maryland. This was McDevitt’s first time attending. Top swimmers from Penn-sylvania, Maryland, Vir-ginia, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., were represented at the meet. Competing against some of the best swimmers in the Mid-Atlantic region, Bishop McDevitt’s team had several athletes make it into finals.

Sophomore Josiah Lauver took second place in the 100 back, breaking the school record with a time of 51.36. Lauver also set new school records in the 50 Free (21.81) and the 200 Free (1:45.01) and was a member of the 200 Free and 200 Medley relays.

Senior Jenna Clancy also set a new McDevitt record in the 100 Free, taking 8th place with a time of 55.59. Jenna placed 12th in the 50 free and was a mem-ber of the girls’ Medley and Free relays.

The boys’ 200 Free relay team of Josiah Lauver, Max Blake, Mason Road-cap and Jonathan Mata claimed 6th place and broke yet another McDevitt re-cord with a time of 1:29.60.

Other team members making it to finals (top 8) included: Boys 200 Medley Relay – Jonathan Mata, Zack Miller, Matt Yoffe and Josiah Lauver 7th place; Girls 500 Free – Claire Finnerty, 8th place; and Girls 200 Free Relay – Nicole Augustine, Claire Finnerty, Emily Dempsey and Jenna Clancy, 7th place.

Assistant coach Addie Lauver said, “I was very proud of the kids’ perfor-mance both in and out of the pool. They represented Bishop McDevitt in a very mature and positive manner. It was nice to be a part of an event where athletes are brought together through their faith.”

Jenna Clancy Josiah Lauver

Sister M. Rosamund Dupak

Sts. Cyril and Methodius Sister M. Rosamund Dupak died at Emmanuel Center in Danville on Jan. 14. She was 96.

Born in Exeter, Pa., she graduated from St. Cyril Academy in Danville and earned a bachelor’s degree from Mary-wood University in Scranton, Pa., and a master’s in drama from Villanova Uni-versity. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Metho-dius in Danville in 1939.

Sister Rosamund was involved in the ministry of education in parish schools in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. She was the superior and prin-cipal at St. Columba School in Blooms-burg from 1971-1979. In 1980, she was elected to the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and served as assistant to the General Su-perior until 1984. She then returned to St. Columba School and taught fourth grade until 1988.

She helped to begin a Golden Age Club for the elderly while in Olyphant, Pa., helped to direct the Religious Edu-cation program at Sacred Heart Parish in Peckville, Pa., and taught at St. Cyril Academy and Andrean High School in Indiana. Sister Rosamund served as Administrator at Maria Hall in Dan-ville from 1994-1998, and retired there in 2012 before becoming a resident of Emmanuel Center.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 20 at Maria Hall in Danville. Burial was in the sisters’ cemetery there.

Please pray for the following clergy who died in February dur-ing the past 25 years:Msgr. Walter Shaull, 1992Deacon Stephen Bankos, 1996Father Paul Miller, 2004Father Philip DeChico, 2006Msgr. Lawrence Overbaugh, 2008Father Brian Conrad, 2011Deacon James Sneeringer, 2011Father Joseph Hilbert, 2014Father Louis P. Ogden, 2015.

The names of the following de-ceased persons have been submitted by their parishes. Please remember in your prayers the happy repose of these recently departed souls and the consolation of their loved ones.

ANNVILLE – St. Paul the Apostle: Robert Brubaker, Joan Joyce, Patricia Watson.

BLOOMSBURG – St. Columba: Rose Ann Karlov-Dick.

BUCHANAN VALLEY – St. Ignatius: Henry J. Backhus.

CAMP HILL – Good Shepherd: H. Patricia Carl, James DiPaolo, Joseph Kostelac, Jr., Ethel Roller.

CHAMBERSBURG – Corpus Christi: James Thomas Clark, Julien C. Forget, Thomas Leon Harrelson, Steven Joseph Kovacs, Jr., John Michael Worhach.

COAL TOWNSHIP – Our Lady of Hope: Edward Landi, Charles Sutsko.

ENOLA – Our Lady of Lourdes: Blaine Pennington.

FAIRFIELD – Immaculate Conception BVM: William Mooney.

GREENCASTLE – St. Mark: James Clark.

HANOVER – St. Joseph: Grace P. Brady, Ethan Lee Butz, Robert O. Gerkin, Hugh “Reds” Klunk, Mary Ann Williams; St. Vincent de Paul: Jeffery Dell.

HARRISBURG – St. Catherine Labouré: Kenneth Dietz, Jr., Netty Updegrove; St. Francis of Assisi: Julio Colon Cruz; St. Margaret Mary: Jane J. Graff, Felicia Mika, Gerald O’Donnell, James Prencipe.

HERSHEY – St. Joan of Arc: Mildred Ortenzi.

KULPMONT – Holy Angels: Martha Savitski.

MECHANICSBURG – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Florence Burke; St. Joseph: George Barrett, Suzanne Cassarly, Mary Lou Crowley, Annabelle Donovan, Edmund Frick, Christine Hakel, Leo Misakonis, Frances Stack, Lee Wilson, Jr.; St. Katharine Drexel: Teresa Morris, Jacqueline Walters.

MOUNT CARMEL – Divine Redeemer: Dorothy C. Shemonski.

NEW CUMBERLAND – St. Theresa: Margaret Graci, James Michael Sipe.

NEW FREEDOM – St. John the Baptist: Leonard Cybulski.

SHAMOKIN – Mother Cabrini: Ida Gronski, William Tamkus, Wedo “Victor” Scicchitano, Patricia Segedy, Regina Shingara, Kieran K. Snyder, George Richard Weimer.

SHIPPENSBURG – Our Lady of the Visitation: William Kehoe, Catherine Meyer, Clara Owens, Palmer Quarles.

YORK – St. Joseph: Rita Lucia, Cynthia Morrison; St. Patrick: Jean Criste.

The St. Theresa Boys Basketball program in New Cumberland had an excit-ing opportunity to participate at Mount St. Mary’s University recently during the men’s NCAA collegiate contest with St. Francis of Loretto, Pa., which the Mount won, 78-72. During halftime, St. Theresa’s boys’ Novice I Gold team played in front of a full house in Knott Arena, in an experience they are sure not soon to forget. Following the men’s college game, the Varsity Boys team played a regular season league contest against Sacred Heart of Hanover in the arena, which the St. Theresa Saints won 54-37.

To report suspected abuse of a minor, call the toll free PA Child Abuse Hotline at:

1-800-932-0313.To report suspected abuse of a minor by a church

official, employee or volunteer, also please call the diocesan toll free hotline at:

1-800-626-1608or email: ReportAbuse

@hbgdiocese.orgFor more information, visit

www.HbgDiocese.org/protect


CHRIS HEISEY, THE CATHOLIC WITNESSFlowers and greens grow in abundance outside of the St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker House on Market Street in Harrisburg. The house is celebrating 20 years of practicing the corporal works of mercy.


Clustered among a line of brick row buildings in Harrisburg’s Allison Hill, the St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker House stands as a beacon amid the suffering and brokenness that can besiege those who live in the neighborhood, deemed among the largest pocket of poverty in central Penn-sylvania.

The house – one among a block of dilapi-dated and abandoned buildings two decades ago – today shows its age and wear, but what it might lack in curb appeal, it more than makes up for in its mission and its im-pact on the area’s residents.

Here, the corporal works of mercy flow.“We plug ourselves in to the needs of the

people of Allison Hill, to put mercy into ac-tion,” said Naed Smith, the manager of the Catholic Worker House and a familiar face around its Market Street locales, working to be a neighborly presence.

“The need is overwhelming – poverty, drugs, violence – but we try to do what we can with the resources that we have,” he told The Catholic Witness.

The house is an outreach of the Catholic Worker Movement, an effort begun in 1933 by journalist Dorothy Day and philosopher Peter Maurin, who published The Catholic Worker newspaper to promote justice and mercy.

The movement is committed to the life and dignity of every human being, and to nonviolence and works of mercy. “Houses of Hospitality,” like the Catholic Worker House in Harrisburg, have developed from the movement as a means of sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for those with addic-tions. Today, there are 228 Catholic Worker Houses around the world.

“We put ourselves into the community’s situations of suffering and brokenness, to work to affect change,” Mr. Smith said.

He’s been a part of the Catholic Worker House since its inception in the mid-1990s. Its roots stem from the efforts of Father Daniel Mitzel, former pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which is located directly across the street from the house. With the parish’s longstanding daily soup kitchen and the earnest efforts of a few men in re-covery from addiction, the house quickly became a place of help and hope.

The block at that time was two-thirds abandoned buildings and a derelict lot, with a second abandoned lot behind the house littered with deserted cars, mattresses and liquor bottles. The properties would eventu-ally be sold to the Housing Authority, HUD and the city of Harrisburg, and a govern-ment project assisted with the block’s reha-bilitation.

On Nov. 3, 1996, the Catholic Worker House was officially dedicated on the feast of its patron, St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639), who lived his life meagerly to care

Harrisburg’s Catholic Worker House Marks 20 Years of Mercy in Action

for the hungry and the ill in his home of Lima, Peru.

In its ministry, the Catholic Worker House has been a place of welcoming re-settled people from Catholic Charities’ Im-migration and Refugee Services, and has also worked to deliver unsold produce from a local farmers’ market to residents of Al-lison Hill.

Through a Greenbelt Initiative, the house adopted the abandoned lot, transforming it into a green space with flowers, trees and a bench for respite – a reminder of the call to care for creation.

The house itself continues to offer a safe space for men who are recovering from

addiction or who were recently released from prison. In order to stay there, they are required to either have a job or work in service for the house. Recently, a resident began renovation of one of the last two der-elict properties on the block, and he also does minor repair work for homes in the neighborhood. A doctor lived at the Catho-lic Worker House for a year and a half to in-troduce a “Cure Violence” program, teach-ing conflict resolution skills.

Others involved in the work of the house have participated in prayer vigils in re-sponse to violence in the city, and are in-volved with the Pax Christi peace move-ment and the cooperative Interfaith Alliance

in Harrisburg.Since the establishment of the house 20

years ago, a number of faith- and communi-ty-based operations have set up services on the block in an effort to revitalize the com-munity. These ministries include the Josh-ua Group and Learning Center for Youth, which supports at-risk youth through edu-cational and vocational opportunities; the Silence of Mary Home, which provides a family environment and services for those in need; the Shalom House, a temporary shelter for women and children; Cifelli House for men in recovery or coming out of prison; the Common Ground, which offers breakfast and community hours; and Heart of the Community Church, which offers dinner on a routine basis.

The various groups have been working together in a type of shared ministry for the neighborhood and its people.

“Allison Hill is the largest pocket of pov-erty in central Pennsylvania, and thus an area of great need,” said Rick Woodard, Board Chair of the Catholic Worker House.

Eleven years ago, he established the Al-lison Hill Fund, which helps support the ef-forts of the ministries there.

“Before the fund, we were 11 faith-based groups in ministry, but we didn’t have a connection. Now, we meet quarterly to con-nect, offer referrals, and to plan services like free computer classes and help with housing and food,” Mr. Woodard said.

“While we haven’t eradicated poverty and violence in Allison Hill, we have had success with feeding the hungry, providing furniture, and getting young people out of gangs and graduating from high school,” he said.

The shared ministry of the Allison Hill Fund has helped the Catholic Worker House to continue its mission of mercy, Mr. Smith remarked.

“It’s a network of looking out for one an-other and witnessing to what we’re called to be as a society, especially for those who are most vulnerable in our communities,” he said. “We need to be a voice for the vul-nerable and the people on the fringe of so-ciety – those who live in poverty, those who are discriminated against, those who suffer from addiction.”

Living and serving at the Catholic Worker House is a vocation for Mr. Smith, who was first attracted to the Catholic Worker Move-ment while studying sociology and theol-ogy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

“When you’re called to a vocation, you respond, or you end up like Jonah and wash up on the shore,” he said.

“Incarnating the reality of what’s going on in the world is what the Catholic Worker House is all about,” he said.

(For information on the efforts of the Catholic Worker House and how to help, contact the house at 717-831-2642. For additional information on the internation-al Catholic Worker Movement, visit www.catholicworker.org.)

Mark Your Calendars for Parish Encuentro!

In anticipation of the upcoming Diocesan Encuentro, we are offering parish presen-tations as part of the call to all Catholics to formation, missionary activity, leadership development, and identification of ministerial “best practices.” We want to support you in Faith and the Mission of the Church, so please plan to make it to one of these presentations:

• Sunday February 12, 2017 at Immaculate Conception of the BVM Church, Berwick (beginning with Mass at 12:30 p.m.)

• Saturday March 18, 2017 at San Juan Bautista Church, Lancaster at 10:30 a.m. • Saturday May 13, 2017 at Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Harrisburg at 10:30 a.m.• Saturday June 17, 2017 at Saint Francis Xavier Church, Gettysburg at 10:30 a.m.All presentations will be in Spanish and are open to everyone. For additional infor-

mation, visit www.hbgdiocese.org/hispanicministry, or call Jackie at (717) 657-4804, ext. 313.

¡Marquen sus calendarios para el Encuentro Parroquiano!

En anticipación del próximo Encuentro Diocesano, ofreceremos presentaciones par-

roquiales como parte del llamado a todos los católicos a la formación, a la actividad mis-ionera, al desarrollo del liderazgo y a la identificación de las mejores prácticas ministeria-les. Queremos dar apoyo en tu Fe y Misión de la Iglesia, así que por favor planee llegar a una de estas presentaciones:

• domingo 12 de febrero de 2017 en la Parroquia de la Inmaculada Conception, Berwick (comnzamos con Misa a las 12:30 p.m.)

• sábado 18 de marzo de 2017 en la Parroquia San Juan Bautista, Lancaster a las 10:30 a.m.

• sábado 13 de mayo de 2017 en la Parroquia de San Francisco de Asís, Harrisburg a las 10:30 a.m.

• sábado 17 de junio de 2017 en la Parroquia San Francisco Javier, Gettysburg a las 10:30 a.m.

Todas las presentaciones serán en español y están abiertas a todos. Para más infor-mación, visite www.hbgdiocese.org/hispanicministry, o llame a Jackie a (717) 657-4804, ext. 313.



The celebration of Holy Mass, wishes for prosperity in the new year, festive dance and music, and traditional food ush-ered in the festivity of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, at St. Anne Parish in Lancaster Jan. 29, as the Viet-namese Catholic com-munity there gathered for what is considered to be the most impor-tant celebration of their culture.

“Tet is a very impor-tant occasion because it combines everything culturally into one cel-ebration,” said Father Tri Luong, pastor of St. Anne’s, which, in addition to Sun-day Masses in English, is also home to a Sunday afternoon Mass in Vietnamese that draws upwards of 250 worshipers each week.

Ministry to the parish’s Vietnamese members includes the celebration of the sacraments, marriage preparation and an RCIA program in their native language, as well as a youth group of nearly 30 members that meets weekly. Sacramental preparation for young people preparing to receive first Holy Communion, make first Penance and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation is offered in English so that the young people interact with their peers in the parish, Father Luong pointed out.

“Ministry to Vietnamese Catholics is very important, and I am glad that it can be offered here,” Father Luong said. “We offer the sacraments in Vietnamese be-cause the first generation does not speak the English language, and we want them to live their faith.”

“I have seen situations of people who do not come to Mass when it is not cel-ebrated in their own language, and as a result, their spiritual life is diminished,” he added. “When a person’s spiritual life is diminished – especially in a Vietnam-ese family – it impacts the entire family, not just the individual.”

During the celebration of Tet on Jan. 29, Bishop Ronald Gainer celebrated the 1 p.m. Mass (after celebrating the regu-lar 10:30 a.m. Mass there in English). The readings and songs were given in

Tet Celebration Shines Spotlight on Vietnamese Faith

and Culture in Lancaster

Above: A choir leads the congregation in singing the opening hymn during Mass in the Vietnamese language at St. Anne Church in Lancaster.Left: A Vietnamese lion and children dressed in traditional attire were part of the Tet festivities at St. Anne Parish in Lancaster Jan. 29.

JEN REED, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS

Vietnamese. Bishop Gainer offered his homily in English, and Father Luong translated it to the congregation in their native language.

In his homily, the bishop encouraged the congregation to live the Beatitudes that Jesus announced in the day’s Gospel reading (Mt. 5:-12A).

“Jesus is the very truth that he teaches. He is the Lesson, the Word made flesh,” the bishop said.

“These blessings, these Beatitudes that he is an-nouncing, are not saying ‘Try hard to live like this.’ They are saying that peo-ple who surrender to the power of God’s grace can live like this already; they should be happy and cel-

ebrate,” he said.The Beatitudes, Bishop Gainer said,

“are a summons to live in the present in a way that will make sense in God’s promised future.”

“In this Eucharist, we are in commu-nion with Christ, our master teacher. In Christ, we have communion with one an-other,” he told the congregation. “Let us ask Jesus, who is our sanctification and redemption, to give us the grace we need to understand what he teaches us, and to live what he shows us in the Beatitudes.”

Inset, left: Nhat Nguyen offers the intercessions.Above: Bishop Ronald Ganier serves as the principal celebrant of the Mass on the feast of the Vietnamese New Year at St. Anne Church in Lancaster. At the altar are Father Deogratias Rwegasira, AJ, Chaplain at Lancaster General Hospital, and Father Tri Luong, pastor of St. Anne Parish.Left: Father Tri Luong, pastor of St. Anne Parish, welcomes Bishop Ronald Gainer to the Tet celebration, which featured traditional music, food and dance. The banner exclaims, “Happy New Year.”

the catholicwitness · pope francis sent best wishes and prayers to incoming presi- ... bishop...

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