Diocese of Juneau
Serving the Church of Southeast Alaska
April 4, 2008 • Published Biweekly
www.dioceseofjuneau.org
• Volume 39 Number 7
Easter Brings New Life to St. John’s Parish
By Barbara Kelley, OP
I
n spite of the sometimes
wintry weather on Prince
of Wales Island, parishioners of St. John by the Sea
Church felt the warmth of
Spring in their hearts as they
celebrated Holy Week. The
week’s culmination, the Easter
Vigil, literally brought new life
to the parish with the initiation
of three parishioners into the
Catholic Church.
Even before beginning Holy
Week, the church again hosted
the Island’s annual St. Patrick’s
Day Dinner after a two-year
absence. Just over 100 people
filled the parish hall on March
15 to enjoy traditional corned
beef, colcannon and carrots,
along with
barleysoup,
bread, Irish
soda bread
and apple
cake. Parishioners
donated
door prizes
and raffle prizes to add to the
festivity of the evening. The
dinner was followed by Irish
music performed by Josh
Anderson and parishioners
Ralph Mackie, Cathy Bolling
and Karen Coffey. High school
student Glenna Coffey joined
in on two numbers.
The festive event had a
serious side, as well: raising funds for three groups of
Farewell
to Sister Barbara Kelley
and Sister Mary Kay
Moran, who left the
Diocese of Juneau
on April 1.
Thank you for your
ministry to the people of
Southeast Alaska.
We will miss you!
teens: Young Life; members of
the high school girls’ softball
team; and teens from St. John’s
Parish. The teens worked hard
during the evening, serving
the dinners and cleaning up
afterwards. The three groups
split the proceeds to use for
their travel.
The traditional blessing of
palm branches and the reading of the Passion in the main
church in Klawock and in the
outlying Catholic communities
in Naukati and Thorne Bay
brought Holy Week to a joyful,
reverent and expectant start.
On Wednesday, parishioners
gathered for a special Lenten
Reconciliation Service. The
Please see EASTER page 7
KLOWACK, ALASKA—Charley Blanc washes the feet of
his mother, Marie Blanc during the Holy Thursday celebration at St. John by the Sea parish. (Photos courtesy of Barbara Kelley, OP)
Convention speaker urges Catholic
educators to teach students empathy
By John Shaughnessy
Catholic News Service
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Daniel
Pink, an author of books on the changing work world, told Catholic educators March 27 at the National Catholic
Educational Association convention in
Indianapolis they need to prepare students differently to succeed in today’s
work force.
In a keynote address during the
March 25-28 convention attended by
more than 7,000 educators, Pink said
the work environment is changing from
its one-time emphasis on “logical, linear and spreadsheet-type abilities” to
more “artistry, empathy, inventiveness
and big-picture thinking.”
Jobs in America that once relied
on following a certain set of steps to
perform are being outsourced to other
countries where they can be performed
more cheaply, he said.
To prepare students for the changing
work force, he said educators need to
put more focus on developing those
“right brain” skills where a person’s
creativity and humanity make a difference.
Above all, students need to learn
empathy, he said, describing it as “the
ability to stand in someone’s shoes,
to feel with their hearts and see with
their eyes.”
“Think of how empathy-centered
many of your schools are. Think about
the Christian-Catholic teaching. Think
of the life of Jesus and how it’s really
a lesson in empathy. Empathy makes
Please see STUDENTS page 4
Page • April 4, 2008
THE “HAIL MARY”
Even those who are not avid football fans know the term “Hail Mary
pass” used by sports announcers
to describe a desperation throw by
a quarterback hoping for a score.
Even though this play has a very
low rate of completion, practically
every playbook from professional
to amateur levels includes such a
play. From football the term has
passed to other sports and areas of
life to describe an act that almost
requires divine intervention to succeed.
The term “Hail Mary pass” was
coined by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, a Hall of
Famer and a Catholic.
After his game-winning, last-minute touchdown pass in a December
1975 game, he explained what
happened to reporters. He threw
the ball as hard as he could to
receiver Drew Pearson downfield,
then prayed a Hail Mary. Pearson
caught the desperate pass and ran
into the end zone for a touchdown.
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THE INSIDE PASSAGE
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THE INSIDE PASSAGE
April 4, 2008 • Page Easter Reflections •
Reverend Patrick J. Travers
Episcopal Delegate of Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz, O.M.I.
The Annunciation: Mary Teaches Us To Say
“Yes” To God
T
he Feast of the Annunciation of Our
Lord recalls the announcement of the Archangel
Gabriel to Mary that she was
called to be the mother of
God’s Son, her acceptance
of that call, and the resulting
Incarnation of Christ in her
womb. Normally, this Feast is
celebrated on March 25 (nine
months before Christmas).
Because Holy Week and Easter
Week occurred so early this
year, we are celebrating it on
March 31, 2008.
Twenty years ago, in the final
stages of my discernment to begin studies for the priesthood,
I was working in Washington,
D.C. The National Gallery of
Art was only a few blocks from
my office. From time to time I
would walk over there to see a
picture of the Annunciation that
had been painted in northern
Italy in the 1400s. The painting had many features that
had initially attracted and then
held my attention during that
important time in my life. Most
significantly, I was moved and
inspired by this representation
of Mary’s call from the Lord,
and her “Yes” to that call. It
seemed to represent also my
efforts to learn what the Lord
was asking of me, and to be
ready to say “Yes” to him.
At the time she met Gabriel,
Mary was very young, probably only in her teens. She
was already considered the spouse
of Joseph, even
though they did not
yet live together.
Gabriel’s proposal,
therefore, presented Mary with a
considerable risk.
If she accepted
the Lord’s invitation to conceive his Son miraculously,
she would appear to others
to have become pregnant out
of wedlock—indeed, to have
committed adultery. The fate
that she and her child could
face would be grim—rejection
by her family and community
at best, and death by stoning
at worst. Indeed, we know
from Saint Matthew’s Gospel
that Joseph at first regarded
Mary’s pregnancy as a great
tragedy, a view that must have
been shared by others in her
family. At the time she was
visited by Gabriel, Mary did
not know that the angel would
also assure Joseph of the truth
of what had happened. She
did not know that the Holy
Spirit would inspire her relative
Elizabeth to recognize her as
the Mother of the Lord. All she
knew was that God was calling
her to be the mother of his Son,
whatever that might mean, and
that her life would be at risk if
she accepted. And despite her
youth, her lack of knowledge,
and the risk she faced, Mary
said “Yes” to the
Lord: “Behold, I
am the handmaid
of the Lord. May
it be done to me
according to your
word.”
Mary’s “Yes”
on that occasion
defined the rest
of her life and the role she
would play in our salvation.
She would live out that “Yes”
and all that it represented each
moment of her life: in times of
joy and consolation and times
of sorrow and desolation.
She would be tempted many
times to draw back from that
“Yes,” especially as the final
suffering and death of her
Son approached. And yet she
kept living her “Yes” even at
the foot of the cross on which
her Son died by cruel torture,
condemned as a fraud and a
failure, in circumstances that
seemed to mock the words of
Gabriel so many years before.
And then she experienced the
vindication and fulfillment of
her “Yes” as she witnessed
the Resurrection and glorification of her Son, as she and
the new Church received the
Holy Spirit, and as she herself
passed from death to life, body
and soul, to share in the eternal
glory of Christ.
Mary’s “Yes” to the Lord
was a complete, total, and
perfect “Yes,” by the grace of
her Immaculate Conception.
When we are confronted by
the Lord’s call to us, our “Yes”
is all too often tentative and
incomplete. Sometimes we
start out at a peak moment of
our lives with what seems to
be a wholehearted, unconditional “Yes” to God, but find
that life’s trials, tragedies, and
ambiguities transform that
“Yes” more and more into a
“Maybe.” The freshness and
firmness of our original commitment are obscured by our
own sinful tendencies as we
experience the sufferings and
setbacks, the temptations and
the distractions that mark our
life here on Earth. At worst,
these may lead us to deny our
call from the Lord, so that
even our tentative “Maybe”
becomes more and more a “No”
to the Lord’s invitation to share
in his saving work.
It is precisely at such times
that it is most important for us
to turn once again to Mary as
our example, inspiration, and
helper in responding to the call
of the Lord. The memory of
that painting in the National
Gallery and the joyful commitment that it helped evoke
in me has often sustained my
own “Yes” to the Lord as I’ve
experienced the challenges,
setbacks, temptations, and
distractions—as well as the
tremendous joys—of priestly
formation and ministry. As
we continue to celebrate the
Lord’s Resurrection and the
eternal life he won for us, let
us also celebrate and reflect on
the courageous, loving “Yes” of
the teenaged girl who became
his Mother and made it all
possible.
Father Pat’s Schedule
Thursday April 3-Sunday April 6: Air Force Reserve, McChord Air Force Base, Washington
Monday April 7-Thursday April 10: Northwest
Canon Law Meeting, Portland, Oregon
Friday April 11-Wednesday April 23: St Paul’s
Parish and Diocesan Chancery, Juneau
Thursday April 24-Sunday April 27: Men’s ACTS
Retreat, Juneau
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page • April 4, 2008
The Bottom Line •
STUDENTS:
Antoinette Bosco
Continued from page 1
Catholic News Service
“Lost: ... Two golden hours, each
set with 60 diamond minutes”
N
ot a day goes by for most
of us without someone
somewhere focusing on
time and those ticking minutes. We
use time, lose it, kill it, buy it; bide
time, take time, waste time; we budget time and manage it. We worry
that time is running out, knowing
that time waits for no one, but goes
on and on.
One thing for sure is that we can’t
“save” time. We can’t gather it, harvest it, put it into a savings account,
a safe or a vault and then reclaim it
at some future point.
Time as a topic for reflection is not
new, of course. People have been
talking about how precious time is
for centuries. The Persian poet and
astronomer Omar Khayyam cautioned, “Pass, therefore, not today in
vain, for it will never come again.”
And Ben Franklin said bluntly, “Do
you love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is
made of.”
In fact, time is just about all we
have that comes to us in generous
amounts, unearned. It comes with
the gift of life, free, to be ours to use
from the first to the last breath.
When someone asks for your time,
they are asking for a chunk of your
life. We rarely think of time-stealing intrusions as requests to lop off
chunks of our life. Yet, they are.
There’s a catch to this free gift of
time, of course. The small print that
we so easily miss is that eventually
the day comes when we have to account to ourselves for how we used
this gift of time, and here, I think, we
may run into some confusion.
The messages in our everyday life
tell us time is money; it has to be
organized, budgeted and oriented to
the goals of achievements, material
gain and success.
The messages of our hearts tell us
that time is life, and so it must be
savored and spent on the enduring
values of living -- such as loving and
learning, emotional and intellectual
endeavors.
This is a classic conflict that is
expressed in the well-known New
Testament story of Martha and Mary.
Martha was busy with providing the
meal and hospitality, with practical
cares, while Mary basked in the
glorious presence of Jesus, who, as
we know, didn’t tell Martha to stop
what she was doing.
Jesus wasn’t saying that Martha
was wrong in being tangibly productive. He pointed out, however, that
her timing was off. When he was
with them, time was especially precious and important. He expressed
this simply by saying that Mary had
chosen “the better part.”
When it comes to how we are going to spend our time -- that is, our
lives -- we are faced with continuous
choices. I know that if I want to utilize more of my time in thoughtful,
artistic or recreational activities, I
have to work at getting more hourpower out of the daily 24.
I hope, too, to keep taking Jesus’ advice by honestly seeking to
understand and choose what is the
better part.
With the Lord’s help, we should
be able to free ourselves from making the same notation that the 19th
century educator Horace Mann once
made at the end of a day:
“Lost: Somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours,
each set with 60 diamond minutes.
No reward is offered, for they are
gone forever.”
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Are you interested in becoming a Knight or reactivating
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and information.
the world a better place,” he added.
Pink said the changing work world is reflected
in some medical schools where students are
getting part of their training in art museums
to help them develop their observational and
diagnostic skills in hopes of helping them be
more caring doctors.
He also pointed out that two-thirds of the incoming students at a prestigious engineering college were accepted in part because of their ability
to play a musical instrument which reflected their
diverse talents and artistic interests.
Those approaches reflect a “symphony”
perspective of education, using “big-picture
thinking” to create patterns of meaning and
purpose, he said.
Pink also said people are searching more and
more for the meaning and the purpose of their
lives, even as they experience stunning prosperity
compared to previous generations.
“The standard of living in middle-class families in America is breathtaking,” Pink said, noting
that 69 percent of Americans own homes and
87 percent have mobile phones.
Still, “there’s a gap between rising prosperity
and stagnating satisfaction,” he added. “That
gap is a big deal. That gap explains why there is
a widespread search for meaning, purpose and
significance in America today. People have been
liberated by prosperity but not fulfilled by it.”
In that search for fulfillment, Pink advocates
that people should pursue a career they love. He
also recommends that people become involved
in an effort where they feel they are part of
something larger than themselves.
In an interview with The Criterion, archdiocesan newspaper of Indianapolis, Pink stressed
the importance of helping others.
“The ethic of service is really important,” he
said. “One of the ways that people live that level
of satisfaction is through service to others.”
Pink’s message struck a chord with teachers.
Shelley Sargent, the art teacher at St. Rose
of Lima School in Franklin, Ind., loved the
emphasis on creativity in schools.
Gloria Adams, a first-grade teacher at St. Rose
of Lima, liked Pink’s emphasis about using the
brain’s right side.
“As a Catholic school, we have a lot of ways
we can do that,” she said, particularly through
the liturgy, reaching out to the community and
“the way we try to teach our kids about the way
Christ lived.”
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Along the Way •
April 4, 2008 • Page Deacon Charles Rohrbacher
Phone: 907-586-2227 ext. 23 / Email: charlesr@gci.net
Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus for the full
50 days of Easter
Feasting together as
a much larger family
“Then the two recounted what had
taken place on the way and how
he was made known to them in
the breaking of bread.”
Luke 24:15
A
lmost thirty years ago, I had
the opportunity to study
icon painting with a young
Orthodox iconographer from Moscow
who was then living in San Francisco.
He taught me a lot about painting icons
but he taught me even more about how
to celebrate Easter. On Easter Sunday
I was invited to his house for dinner.
His tiny apartment was full of people
having a big party with lots of food and
drink, as well as singing and dancing.
He invited me back the next Sunday
and for every Sunday of Easter and the
place was full of people every time,
with lots of food and drink and singing and dancing, all to help celebrate
the resurrection of Jesus for the full 50
days of Easter.
Of course, he’d also had me over
for the Sundays of Lent, when the fare
was pretty austere (no meat, no dairy
products, no oil and no wine) and there
wasn’t any singing and dancing to speak
of either. Meals consisted mostly of fish,
bread, vegetables, fruit and tea (without
milk). Small portions, too!
During Lent and Easter with my
teacher and his wife and children (and
all those friends and neighbors around
the table), I learned another way of recognizing Jesus in the various ways that
we break bread during each season.
Some of their customs became
my customs which have become our
family’s customs during Lent and Easter. As a family we commit ourselves
to a serious Lenten
fast (from good
things such as food,
drink and entertainment and from bad
things such as vices
and sinful habits
– of course, nothing close to what my teacher’s family
did.)
His wife showed me to how to make
Easter bread and a dish called pashka-Slavonic word for Easter--a wonderfully delicious cheese spread for the
Easter bread made with eggs, almonds,
raisins and butter, which is now part of
our family Easter tradition. On Good
Friday morning my son Miguel and
I baked the Easter bread, cooked up
the pashka and dyed eggs (after some
experimentation over the years we’ve
discovered that it takes three bottles of
red food coloring to dye eggs a really
deep red).
Years ago when Fr. Peter Gorges
became the pastor of the Cathedral, he
began to invite families to gather on
Holy Saturday to have their Easter food
blessed. It’s a practice which continues.
So this most recent Holy Saturday, we
put our Easter food in a big basket and
joined some of our friends and their
children at the Cathedral for the blessing of Easter foods. You can find the
rite in Chapter 54 “Blessing of Food for
the First Meal of Easter” in the Book
of Blessings.
From the example of my teacher I
learned this about the Easter foods:
they’re all meant to be shared. We ate
them together after the Easter Vigil
when we broke our fast as a family;
on Easter Sunday when we shared
lunch and dinner with our friends and
neighbors; and all during Easter week
whenever someone came by to visit.
Just as the Easter food is meant to be
shared, so too is the joy of Easter, which
calls us to be disciples to mission and
service.
And just as I’ve learned over the years
that when we fast, during Lent we deny
ourselves in solidarity with those who
are in need, I’ve come to realize that we
PASHKA (A Russian Easter Dessert)
3/4 lb. cream cheese
1/4 lb. sweet butter
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. chopped almonds
1/2 c. mixed diced candied peels
1 1/2 c. raisins (optional)
1 env. unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. cold water
Mash cream cheese. Beat in butter, sour cream and sugar. Beat until well
blended and creamy. Add almonds, candied peels and raisins. Soften
gelatin in cold water. Dissolve over hot water. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
Turn into oiled 4 cup mold. Chill. When ready to serve, turn out on a
serving plate. Decorate with glace or candied cherries arranged in the
form of a cross.
feast together as part of a much larger
family and an even larger neighborhood
that spans the globe.
This is why on Good Friday, as
Miguel and I prepared our Easter
foods, we sent off two checks: one to
Catholic Near East Welfare Association
(CNEWA) and the other to Catholic
Relief Services (CRS).
Sharing with CNEWA was one way
to celebrate Easter with our extended
Christian family: it does great work in
support of the Christian and Catholic
communities in the Middle East, India
and Ethiopia.
Sharing with CRS (through Operation Rice Bowl) was a way for us to
celebrate the joy of Easter with our
neighbors halfway around the world.
CRS is the overseas relief and development arm of the U.S. Catholic Church
which serves the poor in 92 countries.
In many of the countries served by CRS,
Catholics are only a tiny minority of
the population.
In the story of the disciples on the
road to Emmaus, (Luke 24:13-35) they
recognized Jesus in the breaking of the
bread. In this reading from the gospel,
we are invited to recognize Jesus in
the Eucharist. But that recognition of
Jesus in the Eucharist is also, in our
Catholic tradition, inseparable from
the breaking of bread around the table
of hospitality.
St. Leo the Great, Pope of Rome and
one of the Fathers of the early Church, in
a homily on this gospel story, preached
that when the disciples invited the
stranger they had met along the way
to stay and eat with them, when they
shared the bread of hospitality with
their neighbor, they were able to finally
recognize Jesus: in the person of the
neighbor and in the Bread of Life and
the Cup of Salvation.
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page • April 4, 2008
Alaska needs priests
by
Joel Davidson,
Editor of The Catholic Anchor; Anchorage,
Alaska
A
s far as anyone can tell, St.
Michael Church in Palmer,
Alaska, had always had a
priest to celebrate Sunday Mass. After
72 years, however, that stretch ended
November 11 when the reality of the
dwindling ranks of priests hit home.
Our resident pastor, Father Tom
Brundage, had committed to Mass at
Holy Family in Glennallen that Sunday.
Every three weeks, a substitute priest
would come to St. Michael’s so the
Glennallen mission could have Mass
once a month with Father Brundage.
The priest who planned to fill in on
this occasion, however, was forced to
suddenly leave the state for a family
emergency. With all other priests in the
archdiocese unavailable, St. Michael’s
finally got a firsthand taste of what some
people have called a new or emerging
paradigm — parish life without resident
priests.
Instead of Mass that morning, St.
Michael’s held a Communion service,
which Deacon Bill Frost celebrated
with grace and reverence.
He began with the observation that
there was no priest to celebrate Mass
with us, standing in persona Christi (‘in
the place of Christ”). There would be
no consecrating of the host or the cup,
and there would be no sacrifice at the
altar. We would receive Communion but
without celebrating the Eucharist.
This reality is increasingly felt across
the country, but many Alaska Catholics
have known life without a priest for
years. Valdez, for instance, hasn’t had
a resident priest for nearly 20 years and
sometimes goes weeks on end without
celebrating Mass.
Alaska’s deacons, sisters and lay leaders have stepped up to lead parishes and
missions without resident priests. Their
tireless work is commendable, and yet
the fact that many Catholics must soldier on with only occasional visits from
traveling priests is regrettable.
There are many reasons for the declining priesthood. Great numbers of
priests are aging, and as they retire or
EASTER GATHERING IN TENAKEE SPRINGS—Community members
gather in St. Francis Chapel on Easter Sunday for a Communion service
(Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest). Our ability to celebrate Eucharist every Sunday in our parishes and missions is limited by our small
number of priests and by the geography of Southeast Alaska.
April 13, 2008
World Day of Prayer for Vocations
pass away their replacements are
simply too few to keep pace.
Religious commitment as a
whole is another factor. Study
after study shows that most U.S.
Catholics do not attend weekly
Mass, fail to regularly participate
in sacraments and don’t pass on
the Faith to their children. It’s no
wonder then, that generations
grow up with little thought about
entering priesthood.
Some view the priest shortage
as a “new paradigm,” which will
require more lay participation in
shepherding Catholic churches.
Increased involvement of lay
volunteers is one of the great calls
of the Second Vatican Council.
There is a fine line, however,
between the role of a priest and
the role of the laity.
A priest is a man of God,
charged to give his whole life
to the Church. He gives up the
dream of a wife and family to answer a call that often requires him
to move from town to town as he SACRED HEART, HOONAH—Father
Scott Settimo, here celebrating the Tridubrings Christ to the world.
He must rise in the middle um during Holy Week, visits Hoonah twice
of the night to visit the sick a month to celebrate Mass. Distance, topography, weather and the high cost of
and dying. He marries, buries,
transportation play a big part in making it
baptizes and instructs the faith- difficult for priests to travel quickly or easily
ful. In short, each priest is a between communities in Southeast Alaska,
special representative of Christ even those that are close together but othto the world, ordained through erwise inaccessible except by ferry or aira 2,000-year line of apostles to plane. (Photo courtesy of Maureen DesRosier)
lay down his life for the Church
— his only bride.
the same moment, all of us must also
With this calling, God grants these actively encourage young men to conmen the power to absolve sins, perform sider whether Christ is calling them to
last rites and call forth the sacrifice of take up a special kind of cross and join
Christ on the altar to feed and strengthen the adventure of priesthood.
the faithful.
Faithful families, teachers and menIf our churches are to regain the tors must step up to this great challenge.
fullness they deserve, we must do two We cannot settle for an “emerging parathings. First, our deacons, men and digm” where priests gradually become
women religious, and lay leaders must obsolete. We need these men of God.
continue to step forward and lead com- Without them, Catholics suffer a great
munities in the absence of a priest. At loss and long for wholeness.
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
EASTER:
Continued from page 1
evening was meant to be a
“grace-filled night” and a
“time of retreat, healing and
reconciliation.” After listening
to readings focused on the law
of God and the need for forgiveness, and reflecting on a guide
to the examination of conscience, parishioners had the
opportunity to write love letters
to Jesus, baring their hearts and
souls to him. In a relaxed spirit
of silence and reflection, they
then tore up their letters and
placed the pieces in a bowl,
knelt to reconcile themselves
to God, washed their hands
in the bowl of forgiveness,
and lit a candle to symbolize
that they were walking in the
light. Father Perry Kenaston,
pastor, solemnly burned the
letters as a symbol that the sins
and wounds of the past were
forgiven and forgotten. After
the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing, Father Perry heard private
confessions and the service
concluded in silence.
April 4, 2008 • Page The Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday included
the traditional washing of the
feet by parishioners. In addition, selected parishioners
brought forward the sacred oils
that had been blessed by Archbishop Francis Hurley during
the Chrism Mass in Juneau on
March 13. Mary Ellen Skinna,
who works with seniors,
brought forward the Oil of the
Sick. Julie Powell, anticipating
her baptism at the end of the
week, brought forward the Oil
of the Catechumens. Carrying
forward the Sacred Chrism
– used in Confirmation and
in ordinations – was Ralph
Mackie, entrusted with teaching St. John’s confirmands.
At the end of Mass, while
singing the traditional Pange
Lingua Gloriosi, parishioners
processed into the parish hall
– into their own Garden of
Gethsemane – to spend quiet
time in adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament. A portion of the
hall was curtained off from
the rest of the hall and adorned
with plants and potted trees to
KLAWOCK—Sister Barb and Father Perry look on as the newly baptized (L to R: Heidi
Young-Callier, Julie Powell and Brandy Prefontaine) hold their baptismal candles.
give the quiet prayer space the
atmosphere of the Garden of
Gethsemane. With reflective
music, soft lights and prayer
resources, parishioners were
invited to keep
vigil with Jesus
on this night before his death.
Adoration was
open until midnight.
Good Friday
brought a subdued, somber
feeling as parishioners gathered
for the Stations of
the Cross at noon
and the Celebration of the Lord’s
Passion in the
evening. But this
subdued atmosphere lightened
up considerably
on Holy Saturday
morning, when
about 20 parish-
Thorne Bay Community
ioners – under the direction
of Jan Bush – transformed the
church and hall into a festive
and colorful testimony to the
joy of Easter. This year marked
the debut of what will be traditional Easter and Christmas
decorations for St. John’s:
two large trumpet-blowing
angels made of cloth created
by parishioner Joanne Johnson.
They were placed strategically
on the walls behind the altar.
The high point of the week
came at 9 p.m. on Holy Saturday with the lighting and
blessing of the Easter Fire.
Parishioners followed the lit
Easter Candle from the hall to
the church and lit their tapers
from the Easter Candle. Parishioner Karen Cleary sang
the Exsultet, proclaiming Holy
Saturday to be a “night truly
blessed when heaven is wedded
to earth and man is reconciled
with God!”
The Easter Vigil was an
especially blessed night for
three women of the parish, who
were baptized into the Catholic
faith. Heidi Young-Callier and
Brandy Prefontaine traveled
to the church from Naukati
on that snowy night and were
Please see EASTER page 9
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page • April 4, 2008
News Briefs
Catholic News Service
Book is glimpse into faith of retired Army officer known for heroism
The Gaza I Live
By Tom Garofalo
M
ost Americans think of Gaza as a
place of suffering and militancy,
MOBILE, Ala. (CNS) -- “A General’s Spiritual Journey” gives
but the reality is that Gaza is home to some
a rare glimpse into the mind, heart and soul of a battlefield warrior
of the most inspiring and creative people in
and faith-filled American hero, retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. It’s a
the Middle East. For the past two years, as
story of the courage, compassion, faith and servant leadership of
the area’s representative for Catholic Relief
a man whose heroism goes beyond the battlefield and points to
Services, I’ve traveled there as much as I can.
the ultimate goal -- eternal life -- or, as Moore puts it, “the final
I see what the front-page newspaper photos
cut.” “My principal hope is that a reader of this small booklet
don’t show you: this tiny sliver of land on the
will derive some comfort as well as an urge and desire to become
Mediterranean is a place of energy and dynacloser to God, whatever his or her religion,” Moore, who is now
mism, of humor and warmth and unbelievable
86, told The Catholic Week, newspaper of the Archdiocese of
hospitality, of delicious fish and crabs and the
Mobile. A longtime resident of Auburn and a daily communicant
romantic fragrance of apple tobacco.
at St. Michael Church, Moore is well known for his heroic actions
But these days, heartbreakingly, it is a place
in the battle of Ia Drang, the first major U.S. military confrontaof fear and pain. In mid-January, Gazans took
tion in the Vietnam War. The battle was Nov. 14-16, 1965, and
matters into their own hands and tore down the
was led by then-Lt. Col. Moore, of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry.
wall separating them from Egpyt. After a few
More information is available by sending an e-mail to the book’s
days of freedom, the borders were closed and
publisher at: wildgooseministries@comcast.net. The publisher’s
they returned to life on a strip of land usually
Web site is: www.wildgooseministries.org.
cut off from supplies and short on opportunity;
40-50% of Gazans are unemployed and 80%
Popemobile shipped to U.S., scheduled to arof the population relies on humanitarian aid. In
rive in early April
March, after Gazan militants fired homemade
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While Pope Benedict XVI probably
rockets on Israel, Israeli airstrikes killed over
has not begun packing his bags for his April 15-20 trip to the
a hundred people in Gaza.
United States, one big Vatican package was prepared just after
These realities are grim, and solutions to the
Easter. The white, 2002 Mercedes-Benz popemobile has left
conflict are hard to come by. Yet as I watch
the Vatican and will be delivered by an air cargo company in
the news, I wish others could experience the
the first days of April, said Alberto Gasbarri, the chief organizer
Gaza that I do. On the wall in my place in
of papal trips. The Vatican has three popemobiles currently in
Jerusalem, I’ve hung a beautiful still life of
use. One is a four-month-old, open-topped Mercedes based on
a Gazan cafe table, replete with brilliant reds
the company’s G500-series sport utility vehicle, used almost
and pinks and yellows, painted by a Gazan
exclusively in St. Peter’s Square. The vehicle has an attachable,
artist named Raed Issa. I imagine Raed sitting
curved windshield that can protect the pope from rain and wind.
in his studio in Gaza wishing he could buy
Mercedes describes the color as “Vaticanmystic white.” The other
paints, which may not be available due to the
two are closed, white popemobiles, which are modified versions
border closures that started in June 2007. Or
of the Mercedes-Benz ML430 off-road vehicle. The “glass” top
maybe he’s in Egpyt, looking for that special
is a cube made of advanced, bulletproof plastic. Both vehicles
yellow hue that made my painting so vivid and
feature a high seat so the pope can still be visible. One of the
so real and so full of Gaza’s beauty. I hope he
ML430 models is being used for the U.S. trip, Gasbarri said.
finds it and makes it home safely.
I think always
Vatican official discusses Saudi king’s idea to
of the stories of
initiate dialogue
the great PalVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The importance of marriage and
estinian filmthe family and the values needed to sustain family life can be
maker Rashid
an appropriate starting point for interreligious dialogue, said an
Masharawi, who
official of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Franciscan FaI met last year.
ther Gianfranco Grieco described as “interesting” Saudi Arabian
We had dinner at
King Abdullah Aziz’s idea to initiate a dialogue with Muslims,
a friend’s house
Christians and Jews to defend the family, moral values and the
and he enterContinue on page 14 tained all of us
with nonstop stories about growing up in the
Beach refugee camp in Gaza. I laughed so hard
I cried as he told stories of family life--the
love of family for each other that makes me
recall my own childhood in New Jersey with
such fondness. Like the time when, shortly
after the 16-year-old Rashid had taken to
smoking the occasional clandestine cigarette,
he and his father were stopped on their way
home from the market by a group of Israeli
soldiers. Hands against the wall, Rashid’s
greatest fear was that the soldiers would pat
him down and discover the single cigarette in
the Marlboro box stuffed down his sock--and
they did. Looking out of the corner of his eye,
his father’s only comment was: “Smoking!
And an expensive foreign brand! Wait till
I get you home.” That’s the humor and the
humanity of the Gaza I know.
In early January, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick insisted on going to Gaza on the very
day that President George Bush was visiting
President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The
situation is always a bit tense when such visits
happen, but the Cardinal wanted to go and
check in with a local Gaza parish and the
projects CRS runs with young people, Christian and Muslim. We met with twenty young
people, university students of both sexes, and
their message was sad despite their smiles
and their thankfulness for our visit. “We have
very little hope for change right now,” said
one young man. “All I really have hope for
today is that I’ll have electricity when I go
home from our meeting, so my mother can
have light to cook by and we will have heat
at night.” Young people need the capacity to
hope for so much more.
Please see GAZA page 16
MOTHER AND DAUGHER VISIT
RELATIVES ON EASTER—Marina Tarazi sits beside her daughter,
Elena, 20, while visiting relatives
on Easter in Bir Zeit, West Bank,
April 8. Elena Tarazi has only
been permitted to see her family members, who live in Gaza, at
Christmas and Easter due to Israeli travel restrictions on students
from Gaza studying in the West
Bank. (CNS)
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
EASTER:
Continued from page 7
joined by Julie Powell. Their sponsors
were, respectively, Barbara Richter, Delaney Prefontaine, and Sam
Schrank. With the entire assembly as
witnesses, Heidi, Brandy and Julie
received the Easter sacraments of
Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
In a moving and fitting gesture, the
new Catholics dressed the altar for
the Eucharist before the Offertory
procession as they prepared to receive
Jesus sacramentally for the first time.
The Easter Vigil was followed by
April 4, 2008 • Page a cake and punch reception in their
honor. Most of the assembly stayed
afterward to celebrate with them, in
spite of the late hour.
The joyful spirit of Easter continued on Easter Sunday, with an
ecumenical Sunrise Service held at
St. John’s Church. In past years this
service would have been held at the
Klawock baseball field, but because of
the inclement weather and the soggy
condition of the field, the service was
held at the church. Parishioners of
St. John continued their celebration
of Easter with Masses in Klawock,
Naukati and Thorne Bay.
Altar server, Seth Winrod assists Fr. Perry during blessing of Easter Candle.
Naukati Community
Vatican declares Knights of
Columbus founder “Venerable”
Fr. Michael J. McGivney would be first
American-born priest to be declared a saint.
NEW HAVEN, CT - March 16, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI Saturday approved
a decree recognizing the heroic virtue
of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder
of the Knights of Columbus. The pope’s
declaration significantly advances the
priest’s process toward sainthood and
gives the parish priest the distinction of
“Venerable Servant of God.” If canonized, Fr. McGivney would be the first
American born
priest to be so
honored.
“All of us who
are members
of the Knights
of Columbus
are profoundly
grateful for this
recognition of
the holiness of
our founder,”
said Supreme
Knight Carl
Anderson.
“The strength
of the Knights
of Columbus
today is a testament to his timeless
vision, his holiness and his ideals.”
Worried about the religious faith and
financial stability of immigrant families,
Father McGivney founded the Knights
of Columbus with the help of several
men of St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven
in 1882 to help strengthen the faith of
the men of his parish and to provide
financial assistance in the event of their
death to the widows and orphans they
left behind. He was also known for his
tireless work among his parishioners.
Born in Waterbury, Conn., Aug. 12,
1852, Michael Joseph McGivney, was
the first of Patrick and Mary (Lynch)
McGivney’s 13 children, six of whom
died in infancy or early childhood. His
parents, natives of Ireland, had im-
migrated to the United States during
the 19th century. Patrick was a molder
in a Waterbury brass mill, where Michael himself worked for a brief time
as a child to help support his family.
From an early age, however, he realized
a calling to the Catholic priesthood.
After studying in several seminaries,
he was ordained in Baltimore’s historic
Cathedral by Cardinal James Gibbons
Dec. 22, 1877. He
took up his first
assignment, as curate at St. Mary’s
Church, New Haven, Conn., Jan.
2, 1878. Father
McGivney was
named pastor of St.
Thomas Church in
Thomaston, Conn.
in 1884. He became seriously ill
with pneumonia
in January 1890,
and died Aug. 14,
1890 at age 38.
The cause, or process, for Father McGivney’s sainthood,
was opened by Hartford Archbishop
Daniel A. Cronin, in December 1997.
The cause was presented to the Vatican
in 2000, where it has been under review
by the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints. With the pope’s recent decree,
and the authentication of a miracle at Father McGivney’s intercession, the priest
could be beatified. A second miracle
would be required for canonization.
Still maintaining its headquarters in
New Haven, the Knights of Columbus
is the world’s largest Catholic Fraternal
Organization with more than 1.7 million
members in the United States, Canada,
Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean islands, the Philippines, Guam and,
most recently, Poland.
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page 10 • April 4, 2008
“Justice Dinner” put on by Ketchikan JustFaith community
KETCHIKAN—A special
dinner was held a few weeks ago
as part of the JustFaith program
co-facilitated by Holy Name
parishioners Mary and Tom
Schulz, and Joanna De Santo.
About 36 people attended the
“Justice Dinner” held at Holy
Name in Ketchikan and were
divided into 1st, 2nd and 3rd
worlds and given handouts
explaining the ecomonic profile
of their country of “birth.” This activity was designed by Catholic Relief
Services as a parish-based activity to
help the parish community learn in a
very concrete way who in our world
lives with abundance vs. poverty on a
global scale.
The JustFaith group had just finished reading the enlightening book,
“Solidarity Will Transform the World:
Stories of Hope from Catholic Relief
Services” by Jeffry ODell Korgen. “In
the Justfaith class at Holy Name, we
have been blessed with the opportunity
to learn more detail about what our
US-wide Catholic organizations are
doing to serve those living in poverty
both inside and outside our country,”
said DeSanto.
For 60 years, as the international
humanitarian relief, development and
social justice organization of the U.S.
Catholic Community, Catholic Relief
Services saves
lives, relieves
suffering and
rebuilds communities in over
100 countries
around the
world.
During Lent,
participants
were able to
look through
a “small window” into the work of Catholic Relief
Services with Operation Rice Bowl. “I
have been receiving a different message than I did when I was younger. I
used to see people living in poverty as
powerless, dependent, ill and pathetic
looking people. It seemed that I/we
have everything and they have nothing” said DeSanto. I now see through
Operation Rice Bowl stories of hope,
that is, what happens when the resources
of our Church come together with the
financial, spiritual, physical, political
and environmental assets of those living
in poverty,” she said.
Within CRS programs, solutions to
global poverty emerge in partnership
with low-income beneficiaries. Examples: Through programs of micro-credit
in Mexico and
India, men and
women develop their skills
and establish
small businesses that create
jobs for others. In Zambia,
people learn
to become
caregivers to
those with
HIV/AIDS. In Rwanda, they learn to
become peacemakers. In Nicaragua,
hope is gained though the production
of Fair Trade Coffee. Other programs
focus on emergency relief, health, ag-
riculture and education.
“May each of us continue to listen
and respond to how we are called to live
out the Gospel message and ministry
of Jesus!”
JUSTICE DINNER—Tables were
set up and arranged to represent
1st, 2nd and 3rd world fare. The
first table was elaborately dressed
with fine linen, crystal and candles
to seat 10% of the participants.
The 2nd, and 3rd world tables were
more sparsely set representing 30%
and 60% of the those present or the
world’s population.
The response from the 36 participants demonstrated they were truly involved in the information and
experience. (Photos courtesy of Mary
Schulz)
Giving peace a chance: Catholic
activists still going strong
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In the pouring rain March 19, Franciscan
Sister Marie Lucey addressed several dozen protesters at a rally near the
White House, pleading for an end to U.S. involvement in the Iraq War.
“Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq,” she said,
quoting an appeal Pope Benedict XVI made March 16 to end the war. The
Washington rally was just one of several events held across the country
that day to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led military
invasion of Iraq. About 1,000 protesters spread throughout Washington
for a day of marches, rallies, sit-ins and blockades. Although the turnout
was smaller than usual for Iraq War protests in Washington, similar
events in Chicago, New York and San Francisco drew bigger crowds.
But no matter how many people attended various peace rallies, Catholic
activists who are involved said they are in it for the long haul.
IRAQ:
FIVE YEARS ATER
Five years after the
start of the war in
Iraq, two-thirds of
Catholic Americans
said the result has
not been worth the
loss of life and other
costs. (CNS graphic/
Emily Thompson)
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
April 4, 2008 • Page 11
Making Sense Out of Bioethics •
Reverend Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.
The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia
Do Embryos Have Souls?
P
eople are sometimes
surprised to hear that
the wrongness of destroying a human embryo does
not ultimately depend on when
that embryo might become a
person, or when he or she might
receive a soul from God. They
often suppose that the Catholic
Church teaches that destroying
human embryos is unacceptable because such embryos are
persons (or are “ensouled”).
While it is true that the Church
teaches that the intentional and
direct destruction of human
embryos is always immoral, it
would be incorrect to conclude
that the Church teaches that zygotes (a single-cell embryo) or
other early-stage embryos are
persons, or that they already
have immortal, rational souls.
The magisterium of the Church
has never definitively stated
when the ensoulment of the
human embryo takes place.
It remains an open question.
The Declaration on Procured
Abortion from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith in 1974 phrases the matter
with considerable precision:
This declaration expressly
leaves aside the question of
the moment when the spiritual
soul is infused. There is not a
unanimous tradition on this
point and authors are as yet in
disagreement. For some it dates
from the first instant; for others
it could not at least precede
nidation [implantation in the
uterus]. It is not within the competence of science to decide
between these views, because
the existence of an immortal
soul is not a question in its field.
It is a philosophical
problem
f r o m
which our
moral affirmation
remains
independent.
That being said, the moral
teaching of the Church is that
the human embryo must be
treated as if it were already
ensouled, even if it might not
yet be so. It must be treated as
if it were a person from the
moment of conception, even
if there exists the theoretical
possibility that it might not yet
be so. Why this rather subtle,
nuanced position, instead of
simply declaring outright that
zygotes are ensouled, and
therefore are persons? First,
because there has never been
a unanimous tradition on this
point; and second, because the
precise timing of ensoulment/
personhood of the human embryo is irrelevant to the question of whether or not we may
ever destroy such embryos for
research or other purposes.
Interestingly, ensoulment
has been discussed for centuries, and so-called delayed
ensoulment was probably
the norm for most of Christian history, with immediate
ensoulment gaining some
serious momentum of its own
beginning in the 1600s (and
representing the position most
widely held today). Augustine
seemed to shift his opinion
back and forth during his
lifetime between immediate
and delayed ensoulment. In
the 1200s, Thomas Aquinas
held that human ensoulment
occurred not right at the first
instant, but at a time-point
removed from the beginning.
This, he argued, would enable
the matter of the embryo to
undergo development and become “apt” for the reception of
an immortal soul from God (by
passing through simpler initial
stages involving “vegetative”
and “animative” souls). Even
today in various quarters, the
discussions continue, with
new embryological details like
twinning and chimerization
impinging upon the debate, and
new conceptual questions arising from the intricate biology
surrounding totipotency and
pluripotency.
We must recognize that it is
God’s business as to precisely when He ensouls embryos.
We do not need an answer to
this fascinating and speculative theological question, like
counting angels on the head
of a pin, in order to grasp the
fundamental truth that human
embryos are inviolable and
deserving of unconditional
respect at every stage of their
existence. Rather, this moral
affirmation follows directly
on the heels of the scientific
data regarding early human
development, which affirms
that every person on the face
of the planet is, so to speak, an
“overgrown embryo”. Hence,
it is not necessary to know
exactly when God ensouls the
embryo, because, as I sometimes point out in half-jest,
even if it were true that an
embryo did not receive her soul
until she graduated from law
school, that would not make
it OK to kill her by forcibly
extracting tissues or organs
prior to graduation.
Human embryos are already
beings that are human (not zebra or plant), and are, in fact,
the newest and most recent
additions to the human family. They are integral beings
structured for matu­ration along
their proper time line. Any destructive action against them as
they move along the continuum
of their development disrupts
the entire future time line of
that person. In other words, the
embryo exists a whole, living
member of the human species,
and when destroyed, that particular individual has perished.
Every human embryo, thus,
is unique and sacrosanct, and
should not be cannibalized for
stem cell extraction.
What a human embryo actually is, even at its earliest
and most undeveloped stage,
already makes it the only kind
of entity capable of receiving
the gift of an immortal soul
from the hand of God. No other
animal or plant embryo can receive this gift; indeed, no other
entity in the universe can receive this gift. Hence, the early
human embryo is never merely
biological tissue, like a group
of liver cells in a petri dish; at
a minimum, such an embryo,
with all its internal structure
and directionality, represents
the privileged sanctuary of one
meant to develop as a human
person.
Some scientists and philoso-
phers will attempt to argue that
if an early embryo might not yet
have received its immortal soul
from God, it must be OK to destroy that embryo for research
since he or she would not yet be
a person. But it would actually
be the reverse; that is to say,
it would be more immoral to
destroy an embryo that had not
yet received an immortal soul
than to destroy an ensouled
embryo. Why? Because the
immortal soul is the principle
by which that person could
come to an eternal destiny
with God in heaven, so the one
who destroyed the embryo, in
this scenario, would preclude
that young human from ever
receiving an immortal soul (or
becoming a person) and making his or her way to God. This
would be the gravest of evils, as
the stem cell researcher would
forcibly derail the entire eternal
design of God over that unique
and unrepeatable person, via an
action that would be, in some
sense, worse than murder. The
human person, then, even in
his or her most incipient form
as an embryonic human being,
must always be safeguarded in
an absolute and unconditional
way, and speculation about the
timing of personhood cannot
alter this fundamental truth.
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk,
Ph.D. earned his doctorate in
neuroscience from Yale and did
post-doctoral work at Harvard.
He is a priest of the diocese of
Fall River, MA, and serves as
the Director of Education at
The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See
www.ncbcenter.org
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page 12 • April 4, 2008
The Question Box •
Father Isidore J. Mikulski
Write to: 7718 Westwood Dr. Oscoda, MI 48750
B
efore she died my niece was
adamant about having a scapular. Fortunately I had one to give
her that I had been given, although
I’ve never known the purpose or significance of one. Would you please
enlighten me?
We could call a scapular a “minihabit,” mini as in tiny and habit as in
distinctive garment
worn by members of
religious orders.
Scapula is the Latin word for shoulder blade. Members
of religious orders,
when they wear distinctive habits, have
a sleeveless front and
back panel over the
tunic, ankle length
that displays their
colors and emblems. Scapulars made
it easy to recognize a Dominican from
a Franciscan from a Benedictine and
from all others.
Over the centuries lay people
adapted themselves as peripheral
members of various religious orders
by wearing mini-scapulars, two small
squares of cloth worn front and back
connected by strings. That’s what your
niece requested. Presently there are
five distinctive scapulars.
Wearing a scapular identifies a
person having ties with a specific
religious order. It doesn’t guarantee
salvation, of course, any more than
members wearing full scapulars are
certified saints.
I
s there an official rule that states
when a person has attended a
“whole Mass?” I have tried looking
this up and getting a priest’s opinion
but they disagree. I was told if you
miss the 1st Reading and didn’t stay
for the dismissal you did not attend a
“complete” Mass. Is that so?
If we may rephrase your question:
Are some parts of the Mass more es-
sential than other parts? If the high
point of the Mass, the absolute apex,
is the consecration of the bread and
wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, are other parts that lead
up to that moment of increasing or
diminishing importance? Or is the
Mass a single piece that cannot be
dissected?
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal
(GIRM) says the Liturgy of
the Word is the second major division of the Mass and
makes it very explicit that
these words must be taken
from Sacred Scripture. No
substitutes allowed. The
first reading begins, then a
psalm, the second reading
continues to the high point­­-the Gospel.
Only an ordained minister, deacon
or priest, can proclaim the Gospel. The
assembly stands. An acclamation is
sung. Candles may be used. Obviously
we have entered the sacred space. We
must be present for the proclamation
of the Gospel.
We hear a homily, declare our profession of faith, present gifts that will
be consecrated and prepare for the
Eucharistic Prayer that GIRM calls
“the center and summit of the entire
celebration.”
At this stage we have entered a
“whole” Mass.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist is absolutely essential, of course. It’s why
we came, to share our Eucharist as
Jesus requested “Do this in memory of
me.” A few minutes of silent prayers
of gratitude. One final prayer by the
celebrant. A blessing for all. A recessional hymn.
No one leaves before the priest-celebrant leads the way down the aisle.
(Repeat: No one leaves before the
priest-celebrant leads the way down
the aisle.)
So where does a “complete” Mass
Obituary
start and end? It’s all one piece. We
cannot be nit-picking Pharisees trying to set outside limits on how much
we can omit before it counts. When
certain factors like work schedules,
illness or distance keep us away that’s
understandable but trying to rationalize around “how much” misses the
point.
N
ow that Pope Benedict is suggesting greater range for the
other Mass in Latin it seems to me
that we’re not standing still. We’re
going backwards. Can you tell me
where that Latin Mass was introduced
around the time of the first Apostles?
That should be explained.
That Latin Mass, as you call it, is
the product of the great Council of
Trent (1545) for very good reason.
Something had to be done to stop the
proliferation of unauthorized makeit-up-as-you-go Masses that were
springing up like wild flowers.
Since Vatican Two we have heard
prophets of doom lamenting the
last days of the Catholic Church.
Compared to the Council of Trent,
Vatican Two was a smooth warm up
exercise.
It took three tries before Trent had
enough bishops for a quorum to start
the opening session. Trent rumbled
along for 16 years with bishops coming and going, new ones brought up
to speed and older bishops going
home to die. It was a miracle they
accomplished anything.
A major decree was “Quo Primum”
that allowed the continuance of any
rite that could prove its existence for
the previous two centuries. Our Roman rite Latin Mass was one of six.
Pope Pius V was just nicely dead
when Pope Clement VIII began making changes. Later popes made 30 revisions including some by everybody’s
favorite Pope John XXIII. It’s not over
yet. Pope Benedict has something in
the planning stage. Stay tuned.
ELIZABETH WALTERS
Juneau resident Elizabeth Kitka
Walters died March 19, 2008, in Juneau. She was 74.
She was born Oct. 11, 1933, on
her father’s fishing boat, the Atlas,
while in Stephen’s Passage. She was
of the Eagle moiety, Kaagwaantaan
(Box House). Her Tlingit name was
Seigee. She is survived by her husband of 53 years, George Walters;
daughters, Barbara Eagle, of Kenai,
Joan Schermerhorn, of Pearl City, Hawaii, and Meribeth Traynor, of Bend,
Ore.; sons, Jay Walters, of Anchorage,
George Walters II, of Juneau, and John
Walters, of Juneau; brothers, Herman,
Stanley and Mike Kitka, all of Sitka;
sisters, Maria Guthrie, Roberta Kitka,
both of Sitka; and grandchildren,
Autumn Eagle, of Maui, Hawaii,
Darrick Eagle, of Central point, Ore.,
Ashlyn Eagle, of Kenai, Shayne and
Nikolas Schermerhorn, of Pearl City,
Harvest and Bethany Traynor, of
Bend, Katherine, George and Frank
Albert Walters, of Anchorage, Melanie
McDaniel, of Nome, Cheri Goenner,
of New York, and Garrett Walters, of
Nunapitchuk.
A reception was held March 24, at
the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall,
followed by a Mass at the Cathedral
of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, in Juneau.
Her ashes were placed in the Columbarium at the Shrine of St. Therese
in Juneau.
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
April 4, 2008 • Page 13
Sunday Scripture Reflections
By Carol Crater, SHF
PO Box 3248, Fremont, CA 94539-0324
April 13, 2008:
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 23;
1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10
I
n my prayer and reflection, I go back again and
again to an experience I had in the Holy Land. I
grew up in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, part
of the great New York metropolitan area. When the
Girl Scouts or my parents took us to a petting zoo, I
probably touched a sheep, saw a lamb. But what did
I know of sheep and shepherds? Only what I read
and heard. Then in 1981 or so, I had the opportunity
to go to the Holy Land with a group from the Diocese of Juneau. So much of scripture took flesh for
me on that trip. One example: repeatedly as our bus
traveled the roads of Israel, we would see shepherds
along the side of the road, leading their flocks amid
all the distractions of the bustling highway. Flocks
in Israel tended to be mixed, both sheep and goats.
Immediately behind the shepherd came the sheep,
crowded together in neat orderly lines. Behind the
sheep, and sometimes also off to the side of them,
came the goats – bumping each other, jumping at the
sheep, wandering up the hill and into the roadway.
There was no need for the shepherd to separate the
sheep from the goats; they were self-separating so
to speak. The difference was focus. Both heard the
voice of the shepherd but the goats were less focused.
Recent church experience may have taught us that
not all human shepherds are equally deserving of
trust, but if we focus on the voice of the One Good
Shepherd, we’ll recognize the voices of the good
shepherds in our midst.
Are you more like the sheep or the goats? How do
you recognize the voice of the Shepherd?
April 20, 2008:
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33;
1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12
W
hile the first reading on Sundays is usually
from the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament), during the Easter Season the first reading is
taken from the story of the early church, the Acts of
the Apostles. In this fascinating book, we see how
the Holy Spirit led the church to be Jesus’ witnesses
“in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth” (more on that in the next two
WHY PRAY THE ROSARY?
More than a century ago a proud university student boarded a train in France
and sat next to an older man who seemed to be a peasant of comfortable means.
The brash student noticed the older gentleman was slipping beads through his fingers. He was praying the rosary.
“Sir, do you still believe in such outdated things?” the student inquired. “Yes, I
do. Don’t you?” the man responded. The student laughed and admitted, “I do not
believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the rosary out the window,
and learn what science has to say about it.”
“Science? I do not understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it to me,”
the old man said humbly, tears welling in his eyes.
The university student noticed that the aging gentleman was deeply moved. To
avoid hurting further the older person’s feelings, he said, “Please give me your address and I will send you some literature that will explain the matter to you.” The
old man fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out his card. On reading the card, the student lowered his head in shame and was speechless. The card
read: Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris. The
deluded student had encountered his country’s leading chemist and bacteriologist,
and a scientist of worldwide renown.
weeks!). While at times giving a somewhat idyllic
picture of those early days (see the reading for the
Second Sunday of Easter, Acts 2:42-47), most of the
time the Book of Acts shows a community dealing
with very human problems. Today’s reading is one
such situation: the Greek-speaking Jewish Christians
are complaining that their widows are being neglected
by the Hebrew-speaking Jewish Christians in the daily
food distribution. When does this happen? Chapter 6!
That’s maybe three years after the crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus! So much for the “good old days.”
It’s not surprising that even today we have division
and separation in the church – even to the point of
separate churches. There is a joke that seems very
true to life: a man rescued from years of isolation on
a desert island after a shipwreck amazes his rescuers
with what he has created on the island. “What are
the three buildings?” they ask. He proudly answers,
“That’s my home and that’s my church.” “And the
third building?” they persist. “Oh,” he replies scornfully, “that’s the church I used to go to.” Dissension
is not new – what matters is how we deal with the
dissension, and how we deal with the dissenters.
Where do you see dissension and division in your
local faith community? What do you do to bring
about healing?
Page 14 • April 4, 2008
News Briefs
Catholic News Service
Continued from page 8
importance of religion. While Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic
country where the public practice of any other faith is illegal,
King Abdullah announced March 24 that he had been consulting
Muslim religious leaders about the possibility of inviting “all
religions to sit together with their brothers, faithfully and sincerely, as we all believe in the same God” to discuss “the crisis
all humanity is suffering in the current time.” The institution of
the family has been “weakened and dismantled,” a lack of faith
and religious practice has spread and “there is a lack of ethics,
loyalty and sincerity,” he said.
Philippine church leaders pray for ex-president diagnosed with cancer
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Catholic leaders said they will
pray for former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and will
continue to celebrate Masses for truth, following her children’s
announcement that she has cancer. Aquino’s son, Sen. Benigno
Aquino III, and daughter, Kris Aquino-Yap, announced March
24 that their mother had been diagnosed with colon cancer and
was scheduled for prechemotherapy procedures the following
day. They would not reveal the stage of the illness, saying only
that their mother asks for privacy and prayers, reported the Asian
church news agency UCA News. Aquino-Yap said her mother
was making her condition known to explain her absence from
the movement for truth she was leading with religious men and
women and whistleblower Rodolfo Lozada Jr., as well as the
campaign for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation
amid allegations of corruption. The former president, 75, took
office after the 1986 “people power” uprising in Manila deposed
Ferdinand Marcos. She served as president for six years.
Trip to Medjugorje puts woman on path to
full membership in church
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- Deb Brunsberg, 52, of Coon Rapids still feels a bit woozy from the wild roller-coaster ride her
life has been lately. Two years after a devastating divorce sent
her spiraling into the depths of despair, an 11-day trip to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina shot her at breakneck speed to
the height of happiness. Her wild ride finally leveled off March
22 at the Easter Vigil, when she joined about 1,000 people in
parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as
they became full members of the Catholic Church. Across the
country people of all ages and from all walks of life joined the
church that day. Some were catechumens, who were baptized
and confirmed and who received their first Communion; others
were candidates, who already had a valid baptism and entered
into full communion with the church. The figures for this year
are not yet available, but last year, according to the Official
Catholic Directory, almost 64,500 catechumens and almost
93,000 candidates joined the church.
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Shanghai Diocese launches
activities to mark arrival of
Catholicism
By Catholic News Service
sius Jin Luxian of Shanghai was the main
SHANGHAI, China (CNS) -- The Shanghai celebrant, and Bishop Xing and more than
Diocese has launched a series of activities to 70 priests concelebrated.
mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of
Seminarians of the Sheshan seminary, on
Catholicism in the region.
the city’s outskirts, about 90 nuns and apThe celebration will trace the development proximately 1,000 local and foreign Catholics
of Catholicism in the diocese, Auxiliary Bish- attended the event.
op Joseph Xing Wenzhi told the Asian church
Please see SHANGHAI page 16
news agency UCA News in March. He said
the events would highlight the life of the first
Catholic in Shanghai,
Xu Guangqi, the values
he embraced through his
faith, and how he evangelized among family,
friends and colleagues.
Bishop Xing, 44, said
he hopes local Catholics
will learn from Xu’s example of evangelizing to
his family first. Catholics
today are less spiritually
fervent and family-oriented, he said, which
poses a challenge for
the church. When young
Chinese Catholics seek a
spouse, few make finding
a Catholic partner their
first priority, he said.
The bishop said he also
hopes priests, nuns and
laypeople will deepen
their spirituality and
intensify evangelization
efforts through the commemoration, which will
include a historical photo
exhibition and seminar.
The diocese launched
the celebration March 1
CATHOLICS ATTEND MASS AT CATHEDRAL IN
with a thanksgiving Mass
SHANGHAI—Catholics attend Mass at St. Ignatius Cathedral
at St. Ignatius Cathedral
in Shanghai, China, in this photo from March 2007. The
in downtown Shanghai,
Diocese of Shanghai has launched a series of activities
UCA News reported
this year to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of
March 27. Bishop AloyCatholicism to the region. (CNS)
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Shrine of
St. Therese
www.shrineofsainttherese.org
DRAWING - Three
Prizes!
FIRST PLACE: Win a Trip to Mexico
AND 5 Overnights
SECOND PLACE: Overnight in the Little Flower
Retreat cabin
THIRD PLACE: $100 cash.
“Our journey to Rincon de Guayabitos was a
success and our stay at Villas Buena Vida was
wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone.
Karen (Karen Hofstat, the donor) has a neat,
convenient and beautiful place.
Everyone was helpful and knowledgeable-what
a staff. Thanks for everything you did, it was a
great trip.”
Those were the words that Jim and Diane Denies, the
Mexico trip raffle winners last year, shared when they
returned from their outstanding stay in Guayabitos.
With such a positive expression from the Denies, the
Shrine Board decided to once again offer this special
raffle with the proceeds going towards the renovation
fund of the Lodge.
April 4, 2008 • Page 15
So, how would you like to have your
airfare taken care of and stay for 5 days
at the Villas Buena Vida in Rinco de
Guayabitos, a family operated and
owned Villas, located just 45 minutes
north of Puerto Vallarta?
Or, perhaps you will win an overnight
at the Little Flower Retreat cabin for
the second prize winning, or get $100
for third prize win. Through the generous donation from Karen Hofstad
of Peterburg for the Villas stay, and
through the use of Shrine air miles,
the Shrine Board will offer these fine
prizes again.
Tickets are being sold at $25 each.
Last year approximately 220 tickets
were sold. There really is a pretty good
chance to be a winner with those odds.
Tickets can be purchased by contacting the *Shrine Board Members: Roger
Arsua, Chuck Gasparek, Janet Olmstead, Dante Reyes, Virginia Smiley,
Heather Johnson-Smith, Colleen Sullivan, Stacy Toner, or Thomas Fitterer
from the Shrine Office (907)780-6112,
email fitterer@gci.net ) or the Caretakers, Jeanne or Jack Jordan (907)
789-9815.
The drawing will take place on
Memorial Day, May 26th at the Shrine.
You do not need to be present to win.
Britain allows conscience
vote on hybrids after
prelates’ appeals
LONDON (CNS) -- After Easter weekend appeals by
British Catholic leaders, the government agreed to allow
Labor Party legislators to vote according to their consciences
on parts of a bill to legalize the creation of human-animal
embryos for research. During his Easter homily, Cardinal
Keith O’Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland,
accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of seeking to pass
a law that represents a “monstrous attack on human rights,
human dignity and human life.” Cardinal O’Brien claimed
the bill would allow experiments of “Frankenstein proportions” and accused Brown of attempting to drive into law a
range of “hideous practices.” The cardinal added: “Further,
it seems that Labor members of Parliament are not to be
allowed a free vote on this bill and consequently are denied
the right to vote according to their conscience -- a right
which all other political parties have allowed.” However,
Brown announced March 25 that he would allow a free vote
on parts of the bill, which would legalize the creation of
human-animal hybrid embryos for research in the hope of
obtaining cures for a range of illnesses, including Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s diseases.
Chancery Office Phone Extensions
Dial (907) 586-2227
You may also leave a voice mail message.
Monday, May 26,
Memorial Day
Celebration at
the Shrine of St.
Therese
Mark your calendar now
for May 26 to gather at the
Shrine for the annual time of prayer,
Rosary Walk on Good Shepherd
Trail at 11am, 12:30pm Mass at the
Columbarium with celebrant Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz, OMI, a
delicious spaghetti luncheon provided and served by “Bishop Kenny” K
of C Council, and the drawing of the
winning Shrine raffle tickets.
Roger L. Schwietz, OMI, Archbishop of Anchorage,
Apostolic Administrator of Juneau........................ext. 25
Diocese E-mail address..........................junodio@gci.net
Diocese website......................www.dioceseofjuneau.org
FAX number..................................................... 463-3237
Fr. Pat Travers, Judicial Vicar & Chancellor.............................. ext. 21
Ms. Robbie Izzard, Administrative Support and
Victim’s Assistance Coordinator................................................ ext. 25
Mr. James M. Donaghey, Business Manager............................. ext. 27
Fr. Scott Settimo, OCDS, Dir., Off. of Missions & Ministries.. ext. 29
Deacon Charles Rohrbacher, Diocesan Commissions Coord.... ext. 23
Ms. Denise Grant, Accounting Office........................................ ext. 30
Mrs. Karla Donaghey, The Inside Passage ............................... ext. 32
Mr. Neal Arnold, Information Tech/Maintenance Support........ ext. 34
Deacon Gary Horton, Archives/Special Projects....................... ext. 36
Ms. Alethea Johnson Tribunal Office..............................(907) 247-2755
Sr. Josephine Aloralrea, OSU (Yakutat)..........................(907) 784-3406
Fr. Edmund J. Penisten, Vocations (Ketchikan)..............(907) 225-2571
Sr. Barbara Kelley, OP (Ketchikan)................................(907) 225-2570
Sr. Mary Kay Moran, OP (Ketchikan)............................(907) 225-2570
www.dioceseofjuneau.org
THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Page 16 • April 4, 2008
GAZA:
Continued from page 8
A week after the March airstrikes, I had another chance to
connect with young people in
Gaza because CRS has recently
begun another youth initiative
there. The college-age Gazans
described their options as being
increasingly limited. Mostly,
they’re limited to volunteer
work with organizations like
CRS, or military activity. Often,
in fact, the latter isn’t paid either-though it does provide steady
work, if little future. These
young people have known death
too intimately; it seeps through
their words and thoughts.
What struck me were the
words of two of the students
– a young woman named Amani
from Beit Hanoun (where the
homemade rockets are launched
and the Israeli missiles strike
in response), and a young man
named Sari. Amani said that
the most pressing need in Gaza
was openness: the opportunity
to have a broad discussion about
their society, to challenge ideas
and question everything. Sari
said that Gaza’s youth need
to draw from the strength and
health of their community, with-
out being corrupted by politics.
Right now, they said, it is too
hard for young people to engage each other and the society
around them to build their lives
and act in the world. Like Raed
Issa and Rashid Masharawi and
so many of the other people that
make Gaza Gaza, these young
people want to be creators. I am
proud CRS can help them get
a bit closer to that dream and I
pray that they will make it.
Tom Garofalo is Country Representative for Jerusalem, the
West Bank and Gaza at Catholic Relief Services.
www.crs.org
See you in New York
BANNERS DISPLAY
DURING WEEKLY
AUDIENCE —Pope
Benedict XVI waves as
some of the faithful display
banners regarding his
U.S. trip in April during his
weekly general audience
in St. Peter’s Square
at the Vatican March
26. While Jesus’ death
shows the depths of his
love for humanity, it is his
resurrection that proves
that he is the Son of God,
Pope Benedict said at the
audience. (CNS)
SHANGHAI:
Continued from page 14
A large banner depicting
the 141 churches of the
Shanghai Diocese was displayed during the Mass. The
banner, made by rural Catholics from the Chongming,
Changxin and Hengsha
islands and urban Shanghai
parishioners, represented
the 150,000 Catholics in the
diocese.
During the homily, Father
Thaddeus Ma Daqin introduced the diocese’s 400-year
history, starting with Xu, a
Shanghai native, who was
baptized in 1603 by a Jesuit in Nanjing. Xu became
Shanghai’s first Catholic.
Father Ma said Xu’s father,
wife and son were baptized
in 1606, making them the
first Catholic family in the
area. Two years later, at Xu’s
request, Italian Jesuit Father
Lazare Cattaneo came to
Shanghai from Nanjing,
where he had been based,
to preach the Gospel. Within
two years, he baptized 200
people. The first church
was built near the site of St.
Ignatius Cathedral.
The diocese already has
boosted its evangelization
efforts with several programs. In January, a group
of 80 catechists received
certificates after completing one year of training in
topics such as the Bible,
church dogma and history,
sacraments and liturgy.
More recently, Bishop
Xing held discussions with
diocesan priests about evangelization work at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in May,
when many local and foreign
pilgrims are expected to
visit. The diocese also plans
to distribute pamphlets at the
shrine and have catechists
on hand to evangelize nonCatholic visitors during the
Marian month of May.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his
letter to Chinese Catholics
last year, asked Catholics
worldwide to pray with the
church in China May 24,
the feast of Our Lady Help
of Christians, the title under
which Mary is venerated at
the Sheshan shrine.
In June, the priests will
gather to review their evangelization work and prepare
for a seminar in September.
The diocese also will ordain
new deacons and celebrate
Bishop Jin’s 92nd birthday
in September.
The Diocese of Shanghai
formally was set up in 1946,
when the Chinese Catholic
hierarchy was established.
Letters to the Editor
The Inside Passage accepts letters to
the editor about articles which have
appeared in The Inside Passage, issues
concerning the Diocese of Juneau or
which offer a Catholic perspective on
current events. Letters may be edited
for length. Publication of a letter does
not imply endorsement of its contents
by The Inside Passage or the diocese.
However, the diocese maintains the
right to refuse to run letters contrary to
Church doctrine. Send to:
The Inside Passage, 415 Sixth St., #300,
Juneau, AK 99801