November 3, 2006 - Issue #22
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Alaskans step up when waters rise
When heavy rains hit Southcentral Alaska earlier this month, Holy Family Sister Marie Ann Brent opened the doors of St. Francis Xavier Church in Valdez and waited for evacuated families to show up needing shelter and food. In the end, no one came.
"We stood by as a place to house people who were evacuated, but nobody needed our services," parish director Sister Brent said.
While the parish building stayed empty; parishioners and other community members found a more straightforward way of helping their neighbors in need.
"Everybody in town just grabbed people and said ‘stay with us,’ " Sister Brent said. "It was a great response by the folks around here."
As the waters rose in Seward, a similar homegrown response transpired as some families from Old Mill subdivision and other affected areas had to leave their homes for drier ground.
"We didn’t have to open the church as a shelter," said Deacon Walter Corrigan, parish manager for Sacred Heart Parish in Seward. "There really wasn’t much need. We had a couple shelters here in town, but most people didn’t want to leave their homes."
The story was the same in Cordova, according to Oblate Father Tom Killeen, pastor of St. Joseph Parish. No official shelter was set up at St. Joseph’s; instead, local residents opened the doors of their homes for evacuated families in need.
In one case, a parish family in Seward allowed another to stay in their empty bed and breakfast when the waters made it impossible for the displaced family to stay in their own home. In Valdez, Sister Brent said, at least one parish family from the Alpine Woods area was unable to get to their home when parts of the road washed away and found shelter with friends.
When part of Deacon Corrigan’s own driveway washed away, his wife made her way to their son’s house, not the shelters set up around town.
"That’s very important around here," Corrigan said. "You have friends and families that take you in."
Most families were able to return to their relatively unscathed homes once the waters receded.
"We have one family with a lot of mud at the bottom of the house," Deacon Corrigan said. "But the house is built on stilts, it’s built for flooding, and so the mud isn’t actually in the house. Still, it’s a lot to have to shovel."
Catholic Daughters of the Americas take their work seriously but have fun too
Mary Adkins doesn’t normally wear a long purple robe, but on a Saturday morning last month she joined several members from the local Catholic Daughters of the Americas court for a celebration Mass in full regalia.
As regent of the Anchorage group, Adkins was on hand at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to commemorate the 45th anniversary of CDA Court St. Pius X #1866. Founded June 16, 1961, the Anchorage group has a reputation for prayer and public service.
"This is not the YWCA or a knitting class or a group that just gets together for coffee and doughnuts," Father Dan Hebert told the gathering of women to whom he has served as court chaplain for the past 25 years.
"Christ Jesus is the cornerstone," he added. "And in the years I’ve been your chaplain, I’ve seen it."
The local CDA gives time and money to support of a wide range of ministries in Anchorage, serving homeless people, pregnant women, and others who are sick or in need. Organizations they support include Crisis Pregnancy Center, Charlie Elder House, Clare House, St. Francis House, Beans Café and Covenant House.
In addition to social justice work, CDA has also hosted prayer days for women during Lent and they keep their members up to date on state legislative events that pertain to pro-life issues affecting Alaska.
"We do quite a bit for quite a lot of organizations," said longtime CDA member Dorothy Paul. "It’s a wonderful organization and I believe in it."
The Knights of Columbus founded the national Catholic Daughters organization in 1903. Since then it has become an independent group that has the expressed mission to participate in religious, charitable and educational apostolates of the church.
In doing good works, CDA members also forge lifelong friendships filled with prayer, support and plenty of laughter.
"The camaraderie is one of the most wonderful things about it," Adkins said. "Everyone is like-minded in terms of faith and moral issues and it provides a lot of mentorship for some of the younger members."
It also unites older generations of Catholic women with their younger counterparts, Adkins added.
"There is a lot of local connection with older members giving us a sense of continuity from the older days," she said. "It is a tight-knit group."
Before being elected CDA’s national regent in July, Claudia Bosch was the supervisor for the Anchorage court for the past four years.
"The court in Anchorage is dynamite," Bosch said. "They’re so active in their fundraisers and projects and they’ve had strong leadership in legislative issues."
While the national organization still boasts more than 90,000 members and supports a host of national and local charities, the group has struggled in recent years to attract younger women; consequently, their numbers are in decline.
"We are finding, as many fraternal organizations are, that younger people are busy," Bosch said. "Both mother and father are working and they don’t participate in outside activities unless it involves their children."
In Anchorage, Adkins said overall numbers are holding steady at about 120, but members are growing older.
"The biggest thing we’ve heard from the longtime members is that younger women with young families are so involved with their small children and all their activities," she said. "It is hard to get them involved."
Efforts are underway both nationally and locally to try and attract the next wave of members.
Nationally, the organization has started several campus-based courts as well as the Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas for girls ages 6-18.
Anchorage may soon have its own Junior CDA.
"We do have a couple members with young daughters who have expressed interest in a Junior Catholic Daughters program," Adkins said. "So we are looking into that."
As Archbishop Roger Schwietz addressed the group of women at their Mass, he thanked them for their service which he said makes Christ present to people.
"You are very determined servants," he said. "In your service, people see him more."
For information about how to join CDA, contact Marcy Adkins at (907) 243-8938.
Hearing Christ’s message
Catholics from around the state gather for prayer, learning and fellowship at Discipleship Days
They came, they prayed, they learned. The Archdiocese of Anchorage’s second annual Discipleship Days conference was held Oct. 19-21 in Anchorage, attracting Catholics from all over Alaska.
The conference moved this year from the Hotel Captain Cook to Lumen Christi High School and featured nationally-known presenters including musician Steve Angrisano and moral theologian Mary Jo Iozzio, as well as plenty of local speakers and facilitators.
New to this year’s Discipleship Days was a youth track designed especially for high school students, for which young people traveled from as far away as Fairbanks and Kodiak.
Participants had the opportunity to attend sessions addressing topics ranging from the Gospel of Luke and Hebrew scripture to stem cell research, social justice, online ministry and faith formation. They also had the opportunity to learn more about archdiocesan programs including fair trade, SALT (Scripture and Leadership Training) and the development of the pastoral plan.
"I think God has to look at a gathering like this and say, ‘it’s working,’ " John Reid told the crowd assembled in the Lumen Christi gym for his Friday morning keynote.
Reid, who made the trip from Bellevue, Wash., to speak at Discipleship Days, is the lead consultant on the Archdiocese of Anchorage’s new pastoral plan, which is currently in its second draft. His keynote addressed the challenges and rewards of stewardship.
"Sometimes following Jesus is not the easiest thing to do," Reid said. He gestured at the fabric-draped cross set up next to the podium and added, "I’m glad that’s a big cross, because we are called to take up big crosses as followers of Jesus."
Reid punctuated his speech with music, movement and audience participation, drawing on members of the St. Patrick Parish praise band to help him lead the crowd in a chorus of Steve Angrisano’s popular song, "Trading My Sorrows," training the crowd to shout back "All the time!" every time he called out, "God is good!" and bringing the room to its feet to participate in "the dance of Christian life." Hands joined, participants moved in small circles around their tables, taking three steps forward — representing faith, hope and love — then two steps back to represent pain and suffering.
Later that morning, Reid conducted a review session for the latest draft of the archdiocesan pastoral plan. Participants gathered around conference tables in a history classroom to hear Reid’s explanation of the plan and offer their feedback.
"When you start to see a plan this way, it can look really linear, but it’s not true," Reid said, pointing to a diagram in the plan that illustrates the principal goal — being one with the mind of Christ — as a circle from which the other goals — stewardship, discipleship and faith formation, among others — radiate.
The important thing for the plan, Reid said, is that its message resonate among the laity.
"If it doesn’t live in some way in people’s hearts and in the parish life, they’re going to say, ‘who cares what the archdiocese is doing?’ " Reid said. "This plan has had support from leadership. It hasn’t had as much support in the pews."
Friday morning’s participants from Anchorage, Kodiak and Alakanuk offered feedback on the plan’s second draft ranging from programs and populations they felt were underrepresented — Holy Spirit Retreat Center, for example — to the unique challenges facing the Anchorage archdiocese — like ministry training in remote areas, something on which Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart Sister Barbara Harrington, parish administrator for St. Mary in Kodiak, said she’d like to see more focus.
"We need the archdiocese to prepare people and to make it accessible to us," Sister Harrington said. "We need the diocese to come to us, to service us. It’s a very, very big problem and need in our rural communities."
Holy Cross parishioner Marcie Sharrock said she felt the plan needed goals to help address the urban-rural divide.
"The people in the parishes in Anchorage never hear the stories … that come out of the villages, except for the newspaper," Sharrock said, adding that she’d like to see the plan work to encourage inter-community contact.
To help bring members of the archdiocese into the discussion, Reid said, the plan has been posted on the archdiocesan Web site for public review and comment. The archdiocese will also draw from the feedback the plan has received in meetings like the one held at Discipleship Days.
Archdiocesan judicial vicar Father Tom Brundage spent his Friday afternoon debunking some of the myths surrounding the sacrament of matrimony.
Father Brundage, who, as the head of the archdiocesan tribunal, is responsible for overseeing annulment proceedings, said the term "annulment" itself, used mostly in the United States, is misleading.
"Everybody is born with a natural right to marry once well," Father Brundage said. The annulment process, he continued, is a "trial of rights" to determine whether the marriage in question was that one real marriage. The tribunal does not render the marriage invalid; rather, it finds that the marriage was never valid in the first place.
Canon law, a subject many Catholics find foreign and complicated, is the basis for the tribunal’s decisions. If the church is the Body of Christ, Father Brundage said, canon law is its skeleton.
"Law enables that body to move and to grow and to do what that body needs to do," he said.
While the guidelines regarding matrimony are global, Father Brundage told the near-capacity crowd gathered in a religion classroom, the rite itself is celebrated in many different ways.
"Of all the sacraments in the Catholic Church in which there is flexibility, marriage is by far the most flexible," Father Brundage said. Trends and traditions vary widely from culture to culture, he added, citing as examples the "unity candle" that’s popular in American weddings and the Rosary lasso frequently seen in Latin American ceremonies.
And, he added, as vocations to the priesthood continue to decline, the marriage rite may well change.
"Expect to see what we see in Mexico," Father Brundage said, explaining that it’s not uncommon for multiple couples to be married at the same time. Private weddings demand a priest’s time and south of the border, he said, "you don’t see many."
Alaska has its own cultural difference when it comes to matrimony: it’s the only state in which a member of the laity can be given faculty to perform a marriage. Archbishop Francis Hurley obtained the Vatican’s permission years ago and, Father Brundage said to the best of his knowledge it’s still in place.
Father Brundage spent much of the session discussing attitudes toward marriage.
"I have overheard a number of conversations among men in which I was not sure if they were talking about marriage or a used car," he said.
In the United States, he added, the divorce rate among Catholics is exactly the same as it is among non-Catholics, despite the fact that the Catholic Church is widely recognized as having the best marriage preparation of any religion. The problem, Father Brundage said, usually comes after the wedding.
"We need to do something to support young marriages," he said.
As a parish priest in Milwaukee, Wis., Father Brundage hosted an annual dinner for all the couples in his parish who’d married in the previous year. He always invited a few older married couples, too, to listen to the young husbands and wives talk about the challenges they’d encountered since marrying.
"The older couple would always say, ‘oh, yeah, we went through that too, and here’s how we got by,’ " he said.
The increase in cohabitation, which has become more socially acceptable, presents pastors with a special challenge, according to Father Brundage. More and more frequently, he said, couples arrive to begin their marriage preparation and admit they live together.
The worst thing a priest can do when confronted with a cohabitating couple, according to Father Brundage, is make them feel judged.
"What you’re doing if you do that is giving them a ticket to the nondenominational church down the street," he said.
Because of its stance on premarital sex, the church has often been portrayed by the media as backward or uptight. In fact, Father Brundage said, the church embraces and promotes the importance of a sexual relationship as part of a healthy, loving marriage.
"I think the media would be amazed to find out that the church is actually very positive about sexuality," he said.
At the same time, he added, it’s important that couples understand the church’s teaching on premarital sex and cohabitation and that they be encouraged away from those situations — particularly given the evidence that couples who live together before marriage may actually be more likely to divorce.
"There’s a divorce mentality that’s rampant in our country today," Father Brundage said. "We have to have some standards, we have to have some principles, and if we don’t, then who are we and who are we ministering to?"
The liturgy of the Mass is a little like a theatrical play, and if people don’t know their parts or mumble their lines, it becomes boring, Jesuit Father Ted Kestler of Fairbanks told a group of teens and adults during a presentation Saturday morning.
Actors animate and bring the lines of a play to life, he said.
"The Mass is something like that," Father Kestler added. "It is a ritual text that we want to actualize."
Father Kestler’s audience didn’t mince words when sharing their feelings about Mass.
"It’s boring," one teen said.
"Well if we screw it up, it doesn’t work," Father Kestler responded. "It becomes boring."
One of the most important things in actualizing the liturgy of the Mass is to know your lines, he continued – and to understand what the words actually mean.
"The whole Mass is a dialogue that is meant to go back and forth, back and forth," he said. "If you just stand there like a bump on a log, you see what happens to the dialogue – it breaks down."
Father Kestler focused his talk on several key moments of the Mass and emphasized the importance of knowing what those moments communicate. Boredom, he said, occurs when people don’t understand what’s happening.
Even God has a speaking role in the Mass whenever sacred scripture is read during the liturgy, he said.
"Whoever takes on the reading stands in the place of Jesus," he said. "Who is speaking to us? God is speaking to us."
Father Kestler framed the Mass in terms of its eternal context. It’s not something that is celebrated only on earth in particular Catholic churches across the globe, but is also celebrated around the throne of God, he said.
"We celebrate the same liturgy on earth that is celebrated in heaven," he said. "We are coming together as a family to really praise God."
During the celebration, we encounter the real Christ, Father Kestler said.
"We believe that when we gather together and try to make this text actual that Jesus is here offering himself to the Father," he said.
Following Christ should change the way Catholics live their lives, Diocese of Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler told the Saturday crowd lunching on deli sandwiches in the Lumen Christi gym.
"We are all a part of a lifelong process of following Jesus as disciples," he said.
The bishop reminded his audience that human life is not for self-glorification but for the glory of God and he emphasized that prayer is an integral part of a disciple’s journey.
"All of this is based in prayer – private and communal," Bishop Kettler said. "Disciples recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of life and the destination for which all people strive."
In practicing discipleship, he said, Christians are called to pour their creative talents and energy into the life of the church.
Discipleship Days reflections
"We were created to be like God and we can do more to be like him. We can do little things to help people out like feed the hungry and clothe the naked."
— Mehana Newell of Sacred Heart Parish, Wasilla.
"The thing I remember specifically is the importance of solidarity with everybody in Alaska. We have people in Alaska that don’t have running water, don’t have homeless shelters, don’t have anywhere to go if something happens to them in Bush Alaska. That issue of Bush Alaska and the villages and the seriousness of their problems really stands out."
— Justin Lefevre of St. Mark’s University Parish, Fairbanks
"It’s been a very, very grateful experience. There is a lot of learning we are going to take home to share with our community. This morning I took a workshop on the liturgy year. I learned how to bring it to our family and our home and how to get our kids to understand our customs in our religion.
— Hector Gonzalez, of St. Elizabeth Parish, Altadena, Calif.
"I went to a talk on the Gospel of Luke. I got some very good insight on the Gospel of Luke. I didn’t realize that Luke had the Gospel of Mark and was using the Gospel of Mark and was also using two other sources, Q and L. I learned a lot in that one hour that I didn’t know. It gives you a different perspective on how the Gospels were formed and how they came to be."
— Tim Finley of St. Andrew Parish, Eagle River
St. Pat’s volunteers take their final bow
If you don’t know what "CHAOS" is — Committee Handling Alaska’s Outstanding Spectaculars — then you’ve missed a lot of fun at St. Patrick Parish, where the annual Oktoberfest and St. Patrick’s Day parties are legendary for their raucous entertainment.
Marie Majewske, assisted by her husband Otto, has been the heart and soul of CHAOS for 32 years.
At this year’s Oktoberfest, held Oct. 20 at St. Patrick’s parish hall, the Majewskes were honored with a plaque and standing ovations lauding them for their years of showmanship. And if 85-year-old Marie didn’t get to jump on the Harley that rode out of the parish hall at the end of the show like she wanted to — well, she still had a great evening.
"It felt wonderful," she said about the honor and about all those years of entertainment. "You look out and see all these happy faces and it makes you feel joy."
When the Majewskes first came to Anchorage 32 years ago, with 10 years of community theatre experience in Houston, Texas behind them, St. Patrick Parish was just in its infancy.
Then-pastor Monsignor Francis Murphy found out about their theatrical experience, and a tradition was born. Over the years, Marie said, the performances brought in needed revenue as well as community spirit.
Now, said CHAOS’ ringleader, it’s time for "the younger generation to do their thing."
Mary Jones, a close friend of the Majewskes and fellow CHAOS member, said Marie would "usually write, produce, and run the rehearsals. She would design the costumes and Otto would paint the sets."
"We’d have music, dancing, dramas. We had everything from pirates to nuns that were former call girls," Jones said, laughing.
This year’s Oktoberfest show featured Marie’s final skit. With a nod to the advancing age of many CHAOS members, the skit featured some seniors who’d been dumped at an old-age facility only to become rejuvenated by song and dance.
Imagine several seniors dressed as high school students performing "Standing on the Corner Watching all the Girls Go By." Then, enter Marie to the Tommy Dorsey song "Marie," wearing a bright red dress slit up the side, a feather boa and a big hat, belting out "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in honor of Otto, and "Let Me Entertain You" in honor of over three decades doing just that.
Then, out of nowhere, came the surprise – a large plaque featuring comedy and tragedy masks and a star for each year of showmanship.
"They were completely overwhelmed," Jones said. "They cried."
For the grand finale, said Jones, an older cast member rode out of the parish hall on a Harley hog accompanied by the song "Born to Be Wild."
Did Marie really want to ride along? Well, the veteran performer admitted, "it’s true."
Church leaders hope first Red Mass becomes tradition
Archbishop Roger Schwietz presided over the archdiocese’s first-ever Red Mass, Friday, Oct. 27, in Anchorage. Offered for attorneys, judges and elected officials, a Red Mass is so called because it calls on the Holy Spirit to guide practitioners of law, and because it has been connected to the martyred St. Thomas More.
"Contrary to popular belief, this Mass is not called the Red Mass because we’re praying for the martyrdom of all lawyers," the archbishop joked to the congregation.
While the archbishop’s homily was peppered with wry references to the popular perception of attorneys, it took a serious tone when it came to the importance of spiritual inspiration for practitioners of law.
"In this Mass we pray for guidance — guidance for those who administer the laws of the land," he said. Drawing from the homily delivered by Washington, D.C., Archbishop Donald Wuerl at that city’s annual Red Mass, Archbishop Schwietz added that the celebration highlights "the vital part religion has played in the well-being of the nation.
"It seems to me that the importance of having this Red Mass, hopefully something that will continue to spread throughout the country, is to underline the fact that this distinction between public life and religious life that is meant to be private is really not the kind of decision that is fitting for our country and is not something that is good for the well-being of our citizens," Archbishop Schwietz said. "We need to have laws and the application of laws in our society if it is to be one that is orderly and just. But those laws … must have a basis, and we as a community must reflect upon that basis, and in a civil, civilized and respectful way, share with one another that kind of reflection so that the laws that are made … can be there for the good of all."
The Mass, held at Holy Family Cathedral, attracted about two dozen congregants, mostly Anchorage attorneys and their spouses. Judicial vicar Father Tom Brundage told the congregation he hoped the Red Mass will become an annual event and invited them to help found a St. Thomas More Society in Anchorage.
Palmer mayor John Combs, a member of St. Michael Parish, said he made the trip into Anchorage after hearing about the Red Mass from his wife.
"I’m always looking for guidance and I want to do the right thing, and I want to do it in a way that’s morally right," Combs said. "I think this kind of thing reinforces that. It helps strengthen my own resolve, you know, to do the right thing. I thought it was wonderful."
Priests invite parishioners to pay a visit to their local confessional
About once a month, George Hieronymus gathers his thoughts and heads to downtown Anchorage to confess his sins before a priest at Holy Family Cathedral.
A couple of generations ago, the 63-year-old parishioner might have stood side-by-side with hundreds of fellow Catholics, all waiting to recount their sins and receive forgiveness. More and more, however, studies and firsthand reports indicate that confessionals are increasingly empty and silent.
"That just amazes me," Hieronymus said. "I grew up with the nuns in a Catholic school and the nuns used to preach the seven sacraments constantly."
Thanks to his early religious education, Hieronymus said regular practice of the sacrament of reconciliation (or penance) has bolstered his faith over the years.
"I get the same feelings I get from Mass," he said. " It gives me inner peace and satisfaction."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that reconciliation is the sacrament by which sin is forgiven and the penitent are restored to a full relationship with God and the church.
Despite repeated calls from church leadership for greater use of the sacrament, participation has declined sharply in the past 40 to 50 years.
Boston College historian James O’Toole has extensively studied the confessional practices of U.S. Catholics over the past century. Gleaning information from pastors’ diaries and parish records, O’Toole documented what many Catholics already know firsthand: participation in the sacrament of reconciliation is on the decline.
O’Toole addressed the subject during a conference of theologians and church leaders in 2004 at the Catholic University of America. Since then, he has also contributed to a book about the devotional habits of modern U.S. Catholics.
"Between 1965 and 1975, the numbers of American Catholics going to confession fell through the floor," Catholic News Service quoted O’Toole as saying at the conference. "Historians rarely get to see trends or phenomena begin and end so sharply."
While records from the past indicate that it was not uncommon for priests to hear between 175 to 200 confessions on a Saturday, O’Toole said most priests today report hearing 20 or fewer a week.
Father Richard Tero, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Seward and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Soldotna, said few people confess at his parishes.
"Now if you get two or three people it is a good day," Father Tero said.
One exception seems to be Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, where Dominican Father Paul Scanlon said he and two fellow priests hear about 150 confessions each week. However, Father Scanlon said, many of those are parishioners from other churches throughout the 32,000-member archdiocese.
"Since other parishes don’t offer it as much, people come here," Father Scanlon said. "One parish in this archdiocese only offers confession on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. What is the message there? People get discouraged by that and look elsewhere."
Diminished time slots only partly explain the sacrament’s disuse.
Disagreement regarding church teaching on sexuality, changing views about the nature of social verses personal sin, and a declining number of Catholic youth who receive strong religious education have all contributed to confession’s disuse, according to O’Toole.
Father Tero said priests also need to talk about the sacrament from time to time in their homilies and parents need to stress the importance of the sacrament to their children.
"For a parent to not have a child experience that sacrament, I think is a great sorrow," Father Tero said. "It is really abandoning their parenting as far as their faith is concerned."
According to the catechism, reconciliation is not only a chance to obtain pardon for sin but is an actual encounter with Christ through his apostle, the priest.
The church also teaches that the sacrament is closely tied to Communion. Except in rare exceptions, those aware of committing a mortal sin must not receive Communion if they have not first received sacramental absolution, the catechism teaches.
"We’ve emphasized the Eucharist more since the (Second Vatican) Council," Father Tero said. "Now most people are going to Communion but perhaps some of them need to look at their conscience to see if they’re in a right relationship. There is a balance there and some people might be going to Communion when they shouldn’t be."
While some Catholics cite embarrassment about confessing sins to a priest, Father Scanlon said that shouldn’t deter anyone, especially since there is always the option to confess either face-to-face or anonymously from behind a curtain.
"A priest hears so many confessions you don’t remember what people say," he said. "And a normal priest does his best to blot them out of his memory."
Father Scanlon said he recognizes there is a natural hesitancy to confess one’s private sin, but added that people cannot overcome sin alone, especially in the case of addictions and habitual vices.
"We get a lot of persons who come with addictions," he said. "The big one now is pornography.
"No matter who we are, we need God’s grace," Father Scanlon added. "It is important to realize that this is a healing sacrament and it does forgive all sins, no matter what you’ve done."
Speaking last month to a gathering of Canadian bishops at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said individuals cannot lose sight of their own sin or the healing God freely offers in the sacrament of reconciliation.
"While this sacrament is often considered with indifference, what it effects is precisely the fullness of healing for which we long," Pope Benedict said.
That longing to confess and receive forgiveness is realized through the work of Jesus, acting in his priestly servants, Father Tero said.
"Today people confess to the taxi cab driver or the bartender, but they can’t give absolution," he said. "There is a human need to pour your heart out, so why not confess to Jesus?"
Reconciliation according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
oAfter reaching the age of discretion, each Catholic is obliged to confess serious sin once a year. (1457)
oConfession of everyday faults (venial sins) is strongly recommended. "Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit." (1458)
Want to know the Bible better? Sign up for SALT
There’s a hunger for scripture studies in the local Catholic community — witness the burgeoning number of Bible study classes in parishes.
To help fill that hunger, the archdiocese is introducing a new program in conjunction with Seattle University. SALT – Scripture and Leadership Training – is a three-year, non-credit certificate program offered through the Jesuit university’s School of Theology and Ministry.
SALT is "a proven process of solid Catholic scripture study, tested over a 12 year period in the Archdiocese of Seattle and most recently in the Diocese of Tacoma," according to Peter Zografos, director of the Archdiocese of Anchorage’s Office of Evangelization.
"It’s a three year process with two seasons per year," he said. "Within each season are nine sessions."
The mission of SALT, according to Seattle University’s website, is to "respond to the word of Jesus: You are the salt of the earth." SALT will "help participants grow in understanding through prayer and reflection" and "pursue a critical interpretation of Scripture." It also aims to "form people for prophetic leadership in their faith communities."
Initially, the classes will be offered at two sites in Anchorage – Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and St. Anthony Parish. Sessions at the two parishes will be interchangeable, said Zografos – if you miss the Monday session at Our Lady of Guadalupe, you’re welcome Thursday at St. Anthony.
Similar flexibility will exist at Our Lady of the Lake in Big Lake and Sacred Heart in Wasilla. St. Mary Parish in Kodiak and St. Christopher by the Sea in Unalaska are also planning on hosting the classes.
"Other sites can come on-line as the needs demand," said Zografos, who added that SALT is "affordable, transportable and adaptable to our Alaskan realities."
"What strikes me about it is the combination of leadership training with scripture," said Henrietta Callewaert, parish director at St. Christopher by the Sea. "This is especially important in rural areas," she said, where priests and trained ministers aren’t always available and leaders need to emerge from the congregation. Callewaert said she is discussing presenting the program with the local Methodist minister.
At Our Lady of Guadalupe, parishioner Bill Gee will serve as one of the program facilitators.
"I’ve been studying the Bible all my life," said Gee, who grew up as a Methodist and until his first year of college planned to enter the ministry. Gee later became a Catholic and said he feels that people — especially Catholics — really don’t read the Bible enough.
Gee said the SALT program is important because not only will it get people into scripture, but it will help participants learn, from the experts, how to read scripture.
"If you’re going to read the Bible, how do you know how it should be interpreted?"Gee asked.
SALT is taught in two phases over three years. The first phase includes a year of Hebrew Scriptures, focusing on the Pentateuch, Prophets and Psalms, and a year of Christian Scriptures. Phase two is the leadership year, in which participants focus on identifying and practicing leadership gifts and developing ministerial and leadership skills. The program comes with a price tag of $150 per person. The archdiocese will provide a scholarship for each participant to bring the total cost down to $95 per person, which includes a $20 materials fee.
This is the second major program for which the archdiocese and Seattle University have joined forces. The university is currently sending professors to Anchorage to present a three-year Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies program. Approximately 20 people from around the state are taking part in that program.
SALT is currently accepting applications and is slated to begin this month. For further information, contact the Office of Evangelization at (907) 297-7721.
News & Notes
Archdiocese honored by anti-poverty group
The Archdiocese of Anchorage was recognized this fall by the national Catholic Campaign for Human Development for its strong support of the Campaign’s anti-poverty mission and for increasing the annual CCHD appeal by 25.97 percent, according to St. Joseph of Peace Sister Charlotte Davenport, chancellor of the archdiocese. The award honored Archbishop Roger Schwietz, CCHD archdiocesan director Angela Liston and all in the archdiocese who contributed to the Campaign.
"We are deeply grateful to your bishop and all the clergy and faithful of your Archdiocese for expressing their solidarity with poor and low-income people in the United States through their support of the CCHD collection," CCHD executive director Timothy Collins wrote in a letter to Sister Davenport.
In the past year, the national office of CCHD has provided nearly $9 million in support of over 300 community and economic development projects throughout the United States. It remains the nation’s largest private funder of domestic, community-based self-help projects. This year’s national collection will be held the weekend of Nov. 18-19.
Masculinity talk rescheduled
Theology on Tap’s November event, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone: Modern Masculinity and Our Culture," has been postponed. It was originally scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 16. A new date has not yet been set. For more information on Theology on Tap, contact Arthur Roraff at (907) 522-4214.
Pastoral plan online
The current draft of the Archdiocese of Anchorage’s pastoral plan is available for public review at the archdiocesan Web site, www.archdioceseofanchorage.org. Comments on this draft of the proposed plan will be accepted through Nov. 27.
St. Anthony’s bazaar
St. Anthony Parish will hold its Holiday Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4 at St. Anthony Church, 825 S. Klevin Street in Anchorage. The event features handmade crafts and gifts for sale, including religious items. There will also be a gift basket silent auction, white elephant exchanges, food, fun and fellowship. All proceeds will benefit parish outreach ministry. For more information, call the parish office at 333-5544.
Volunteer award
Last month the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association honored Candace Bell with its 2006 Volunteer of the Year Award. Bell, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, provided support for "The Inner Circle: Changing Times," a play performed by Anchorage teens to help educate students in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula about AIDS and HIV.
"Bell went above and beyond by being at the majority of performances, helping move the set and transporting the cast," according to a news release from the organization. "She even served as a driver and chaperone during our three-day trip to the Kenai Peninsula."
Archbishop's Column
Visit to Rome yields opportunities for reflection, communication
"Alaska — it’s cold!"
These were the first words of reaction spoken to me by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI when I introduced myself to him as Archbishop of Anchorage.
I countered: "But it is warm some of the time, too, and I would like to invite you to visit our beautiful land sometime."
"Well, I’ll think about it," he said.
This exchange took place during the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct. 5. I had taken advantage of my trip to Rome for a variety of meetings to attend the general audience, at the end of which the bishops present were given time to meet the pope personally. I wanted to give His Holiness the promise of my prayers and those of the people of our Archdiocese. He was deeply appreciative and asked me to convey to you his apostolic blessing on you and your loved ones, especially the children.
I was struck by how the Pope remains the same gracious and gentle person he was before being elected. His theological brilliance and vast experience is certainly a providential gift to the church today.
One of the meetings I had while in Rome was with an undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The Prefect, Archbishop Stanislaw Ryko, and his assistant happened to be in Australia at the time, making preparations for the next International World Youth Day, to take place there in 2008. I reported on the preparation for our participation in that World Youth Day event which has already begun in the archdiocese and discovered that there may be some small grants available to help us.
I also had some work to do on behalf of the Teens Encounter Christ movement. I have been Episcopal Moderator to the board of this organization of laity for many years. The TEC leadership team had asked me to work with the Pontifical Council for the Laity to forward the process of official recognition by the church, which I did.
We also conduct TEC (which we call "To Encounter Christ") retreats here in the Archdiocese of Anchorage. I have witnessed the positive effects of these retreats on youth over the years and encourage youths and young adults to participate. The next retreat is scheduled for Dec. 27-29. For more information, contact my office.
Another experience I had in Rome gave me further proof of the good that TEC is doing for the church.
During my time in Rome I stayed at the Pontifical North American College, which is the residence sponsored by U.S. bishops for American seminarians studying theology in Rome while preparing for priesthood. At one point I was talking to one of the seminarians there about the office I was visiting in Rome and why. When I mentioned TEC and my visit to the Council for the Laity he explained, "I know TEC! I have made a TEC retreat and helped with others. In fact, it was on my TEC retreat that my vocation to priesthood was awakened."
This young man reminded me of why I am grateful for TEC and the privilege to be a part of the movement. When one encounters Christ personally, great things happen and true evangelization takes place.
Editorial
Catholics have responsibility to be politically thoughtful, active
As this issue of the Anchor goes to press, Alaskans are preparing to cast their votes for candidates for governor and representatives to the state Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives.
American adults have not only the right but the responsibility to cast informed, thoughtful votes for the candidates they feel will best serve the public interest. It’s that phrase — serve the public interest — that we will keep in mind as our newly elected and re-elected public officials approach the important work which they vied for the privilege to undertake.
Just as we the voters have the responsibility to make informed, thoughtful decisions on Election Day, the representatives we elect have the responsibility to work to serve the needs of all their constituents, and to do their very best to understand just what those needs are.
Elected officials take oaths that vary from place to place but generally involve swearing to uphold the Constitution and faithfully execute the office in question. There is one oath of office in the United States that stands out from the crowd. When the first U.S. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, creating the American judicial system, they decreed that Supreme Court justices would take the following oath still in use today:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the constitution, and laws of the United States. So help me God."
To "do equal right to the poor and to the rich." It seems a straightforward enough promise — to ensure that justice is served regardless of who is involved, to work to make sure the needs of all are represented regardless of resources.
There are no specific provisions for the poor or underrepresented in the oaths of office taken by our elected officials. There is, however, ample opportunity for temptation in our seats of government, as we have recently been reminded.
In the past year, we have heard lobbyist Jack Abramoff admit to conspiracy, fraud and bribing public officials. We’ve watched footage of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raiding the offices of Alaska legislators. We’ve read the sexually explicit instant messages sent by U.S. Rep. Mark Foley to underage congressional pages. While these incidents are not the norm, they are reminders that, while some elected officials are guided by conscience, humility and a desire to serve, others may be motivated by personal desires — the lure of greed, the promise of power — or pressure to toe the party line.
In Juneau and in Washington, D.C., Democratic and Republican legislators are separated by a divide so deep few are willing to cross it, even if by doing so they could bring about positive change for their constituents. Successful bipartisan efforts are, unfortunately, much too rare.
As Catholics, we are called to vote not as Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives, but as people of Christ. Jesuit Father David Hollenbach tells us that Catholicism "is not a single-issue religion." Rarely do we see a candidate who represents a truly Catholic stance on every issue.
At last week’s Red Mass in Anchorage, Archbishop Roger Schwietz told the congregation that there is an important relationship between faith and government, and that we as a community must "reflect upon (the basis of our laws) and in a civil, civilized and respectful way, share with one another that kind of reflection so that the laws that are made … can be there for the good of all."
Our leaders and legislators have the responsibility to work for the common good. But they cannot represent the needs of their constituents unless they know what those needs are. The Internet makes it easier than ever to contact elected officials and let them know what their constituents really think and feel. Our legislators will never be perfect, but we can help them be informed. Like voting, active participation in the political process isn’t just a right — it’s a responsibility.
Letters to the Editor
Letter showed faulty logic
Regarding Geoff Kennedy’s response to the Weigel article in the 9/22/06 Anchor: I found Mr. Kennedy confirmed some of Mr. Weigel’s points and illustrated how one can misread the message of another based on emotional perception of parts versus rational analysis of the whole.
During U.S. history, some claiming to be Christian committed vicious acts against others, sometimes using Bible verses as justification. Thugs using violence to exert control over racial and ethnic minorities, and covert operations intent on destabilizing hostile governments in Central America, existed. Americans of good will—mostly CHRISTIANS—united and stopped this terrorism through public action. Because of our history, dare we not criticize radical Islamists? Where is the Muslim commentary decrying the history of the jihadist burning of churches, the murder and driving out of Christians from ancient homes throughout what became predominantly Muslim lands?
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Eagle River
New editor is a good choice
It gave me great pleasure to discover that the new editor of the Catholic Anchor is a local young woman, Maia Nolan.
Kudos to her for taking on this large task that serves so many! In an enormous faith that embraces many variations of Catholicism throughout the world it is really time to for a young Alaskan woman’s perspective. In Holy Cross Parish we have watched her grow from a young altar girl and awesome choir soprano to a thoughtful and articulate adult. It is no surprise to see such a talented person give back to the Catholic community in such a big way.
Anchorage