October 31, 2008 - Issue #20
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Editor’s note: The Catholic Anchor sent candidate questionnaires to all Alaskans running for U.S. Senate and U.S. Representative seats. We received responses from five of the eight candidates. These 11 questions touch on social and moral issues, in which the Catholic Church takes a particular interest. For more information about what the church teaches in regards to politics and faithful citizenship, visit the United State’s Conference of Catholic Bishops Web site at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.
The Questions 1. In what ways would your religious beliefs influence your public actions as an elected official? 2. Nearly 38 million Americans live below the federal poverty line, according to the 2007 Census Bureau survey. For a family of four, that is an annual income of $20,614. If elected, what concrete steps will you take to reduce poverty? 3. Do you support Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that resulted in legalized abortion? How would you approach the abortion issue if elected? 4. The number of Americans without health insurance now stands at a record 46.6 million, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. What should be done about this growing problem? 5. Do you support embryonic stem cell research even though human embryos are destroyed in the process? 6. It’s estimated that there are more than 12 million undocumented migrants in the United States. What steps would you support to address this situation? 7. Do you believe same-sex couples should have the right to legally marry? What policies would you support on this issue? 8. There has been a lot of attention placed on the harmful effects of fossil fuels on environment lately. What steps, if any, would you support to encourage clean energy and reduce U.S. dependency on oil? 9. Please explain your view on the death penalty. 10. Our closest neighboring state, Washington, will vote in November on a citizen’s initiative to legalize assisted suicide. If the proposal passes, Washington would be the second state to legalize assisted suicide. Would you support a similar move in Alaska? Why or why not? 11. For too many people, work puts added pressure on family life, rather than strengthening it. How can economic policies enhance – rather than diminish – family life? |
U.S. Senate Candidates
Ted Stevens (Republican)
1. My religious beliefs have had a direct influence on my public actions. My faith is an important source of guidance as I represent Alaska in Washington, D.C., and in my personal life.
2. I have worked to build a diverse economy in Alaska, creating good paying jobs for this generation and opportunity for all Alaskans. I will continue to support programs to enhance education to ensure America produces the next generation of engineers and scientists.
3. I believe decisions about having children should be made by parents and their spiritual advisors. I have generally voted consistent with Alaska state law. I have supported bans on “partial birth abortions” and restrictions on using federal funds for abortion and aid to nations which allow coercive abortions. I have supported parental consent.
4. The key for insuring all Americans is ensuring it is easier and more affordable for businesses of all sizes to provide health benefits. We must also ensure federal programs, like Denali KidCare and Medicare, are more efficient and fully funded to cover those in need.
5. Research using embryonic stem cells, with the appropriate safeguards, will likely play an important role in developing treatments and cures for devastating conditions and diseases. I support this type of research, but oppose human cloning.
6. Ours is a nation of immigrants, but the current situation has put stress on our health and social services. We need enforcement of our borders and policing of employment practices to ensure fair treatment of all workers. I do not support an amnesty program that would circumvent the legal immigration process.
7. I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman and therefore I do not support allowing same sex couples to legally marry. I voted for the Defense of Marriage Act.
8. It is important to encourage alternative energy sources so we do not find ourselves in an energy crisis again. I have worked to harness hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, clean coal, and other energy sources. Congress also passed my amendment to increase fuel economy standards for automobiles. This will do more to reduce carbon emissions then any law in history.
9. I support the death penalty for many violent crimes.
10. I do not support measures to legalize assisted suicide. I support making patients aware of their right to refuse medical care, but not a process that allows medical assistance to terminate life.
11. We must promote policies that promote families. I authored legislation to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to include federal employees and provide paid leave for care of family members. I support eliminating the estate tax so families can pass businesses to children and eliminating tax laws that punish married couples.
Bob Bird (Alaskan Independence)
1. A person’s religion must be an element in their make-up as beings with a spiritual destiny. As such, a properly formed conscience is vital. The Catholic Church’s rich history in these matters will be a vital part of my actions as a U.S. Senator.
2. Family, churches and private charities must be the first to address poverty. Government may have a role, but the “principle of subsidiarity” mandates that local and regional governments should be utilized before national or federal governments. We can meet the needs of the poor by becoming involved with our human and Christian responsibilities.
3. Roe v. Wade is immoral and it is bad constitutional law. The Supreme Court has no authority to interfere in state laws regarding social issues.
A so-called “Human Life Amendment” is not the solution. It admits that the courts have the authority to withdraw protection from our descendants. We need a new political strategy to end abortions:
a) No president need enforce any Supreme Court decision.
b) Congress can exempt the Court from any cases it so chooses by using Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution.
c) States ought to openly defy Roe and deal with abortion as they see fit.
4. Universal health care is utterly unconstitutional. It is impossible to be generous and compassionate with other people’s money.
5. I oppose all stem cell research on constitutional grounds.
6. We need immigration enforcement, not immigration “reform.” The Church’s own teachings admit that every nation has a right to control immigration and to defend its borders. It is absurd to expect citizens to obey the laws of their own country, but not an illegal immigrant.
7. Long before the state, marriage existed as an institution established by God and it is the church that is charged with being its custodian. I oppose government definition of marriage, because it would be admitting that it has the authority to do so.
8. These questions are best left to the free market. Having federal subsidies for “alternative fuels” is one of the reasons food prices have soared: thirty percent of the corn crop is being used to create ethanol as a “clean” alternative. If we enact “carbon taxes” we will be reducing people’s ability to earn an honest livelihood for their families.
9. I oppose a federal death penalty, although I believe that it is perfectly constitutional. These issues are best left to the states.
10. I oppose assisted suicide. The ramifications are that families, eager to relieve themselves from the responsibility of caring for a suffering member, are too easily persuaded to opt for death.
11. Socialism created this added pressure of work. The middle class suffers from a crushing taxation load.
Ted Gianoutsos (No party affiliation)
1. My wife of 45 years, Francoise, and I live our religious beliefs every day. We are lectors at Holy Family Cathedral. I am a 4th degree Knight.
2. We stood up against corruption in Washington, D.C. and paid a very stiff price for being honest civil servants and doing what was right. We gave to our country and founded the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We gave to Alaska and are founding members of the Alaska Sealife Center, the Alaska Veterans Foundation, the Veterans Party of Alaska, and the Anchorage Chapter 904 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. My campaign for U.S. Senate is unique. Please visit my Web site for complete details. I am running as a no-party candidate for only one term for only one purpose — to open ANWR in the most beneficial way for America, for Alaska and for wildlife. As this is worth several trillion dollars, it will do a great deal to reduce poverty in America and Alaska.
3. No unwanted pregnancies equals no abortion. Aside from the relatively uncommon circumstances of rape, and protection of the life of the mother, responsible sexual behavior is the key to no unwanted pregnancies. In today’s social climate of “Sex in the City,” good luck in promoting responsible sexual behavior. Overturning Roe v. Wade will only “outsource” abortions outside the U. S. and create “abortion holidays.”
4. My opening ANWR will provide a great deal of money for health care as well as education, public safety and infrastructure here, in Alaska.
5. This is rapidly becoming a moot question due to advances in medical research.
6. There is no realistic way to seal the borders and coasts of America and Alaska. As long as employers are willing to use undocumented labor, they will keep coming.
7. No. To me a marriage is what Francoise and I have had for the past 45 years.
8. My ANRA – Alaska Natural Resource Act will not only open ANWR in the best way, it will also promote energy conservation, develop alternative energy and reclaim the entire North Slope. Please check my website for more details.
9. It is appropriate only in the most extreme cases.
10. It too is only appropriate in the most extreme cases.
11. Capitalism defines America more than anything else. Americans are free to live the lifestyle they choose. It is up to the individual to balance family life with economic necessities. Upbringing, education and religious guidance equip the individual to make the right choices to put family first before selfish pursuits.
Fredrick David Haase (Libertarian)
1. I believe in the separation of church and state. However I look to the Bible and particularly the first Psalm as a guide to most issues.
2. Stop the government from paying interest and eliminate the income tax. This will free up money that is now earning interest so there will be more money to invest in enterprises that will create better paying jobs.
3. I believe strongly in the right to life and that life begins at conception. The government is not the solution and it should endeavor to not be part of the problem. We must protect the separation of church and state. When government takes a position between the people and the laws of God, government is diminishing God. Our enemies say, “convert or you’re dead.” Our government should not say, “break God’s law and you go to jail.”
4. “Universal Health Care” sounds good! I am all for it. How about “Universal Good Health?” Health foods, organic versus chemically treated food. Prevention and health education are the solutions. I do not want a fund endowed by taxes that only a few can draw on and where people other than the doctor and the patient decide the treatment. Let us begin with the Veterans. I propose to staff all VA hospitals with nutritionists, herbalists and other types of alternative treatments specialists. I am leaning to a solution something like this. Create clinics based on the model used to build public television: some government money to start and charity to keep them going.
5. Absolutely not if said stem cells were created for research with intent to kill them.
6. The United States cannot send millions of Mexicans back home. It is a logistic problem that the economy could not handle. The real estate market would be devastated. People cannot buy a new house if some one does not buy or rent their old house. We need their labor, etc. The guest worker program that Kennedy and McCain sponsored was the best start I have seen so far. Fences are not the solution.
7. I do not believe that the government should license marriage. That is the church’s business. It is a matter of separation of church and state with me and the government has no business in this issue.
8. Develop and expand alternative energies. Solar, wind, clean coal to oil, clean shale oil, bio fuels, hydrogen, nuclear, hydro electric and energy from the tides.
9. I am against the death penalty.
10. Absolutely not, because it is murder and the Bible says “Thou shalt not kill.”
11. Less time on the job earning money to pay the bills equals more time with the family.
U.S. House Candidates
Don Young (Republican)
1. I have a strong belief in God, I attend weekly Bible study and am a faithful reader of the Bible. I consider myself to be a man of strong faith.
2. We need to create more jobs in this country; people want to work, they just need jobs. Exploring our God-given resources is a great way to create thousands of jobs and provide for Americans.
3. I am a life-long opponent of abortion.
4. We need to overhaul the system; we can’t just put a patch on a rotten inner tube. Americans need better access to physicians first and foremost. We also need to focus on preventative care.
5. Stem cell research helps save lives. I do not support the cloning of stem cells however.
6. We need to secure the borders and have sharper punishments for those employers that hire illegal immigrants.
7. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and my voting record reflects that.
8. Modern technology allows for very safe and efficient extraction of fossil fuels. I am in favor of alternate energy sources, but fossil fuels run our trucks, cars, planes and trains. I am in favor of exploration with strict environmental regulations.
9. I am in favor of the death penalty.
10. Personally no, but that is a state’s rights issue and would be up to the voters of Alaska.
11. A strong economy aids a strong family. Our focus has to be providing jobs for Americans so that they can adequately feed and care for their families and heat their homes. We must maintain one nation under God.
Candidates who did not respond
Mark Begich (Democrat)
Running for U.S. Senate
Ethan Berkowitz (Democrat)
Running for U.S. Representative
Don R. Wright (AK Independence)
Running for U.S. Representative
Doctor brings Catholic perspective to women’s reproductive health
From the ecological fall-out of the birth control pill to the connection between abortion and breast cancer, Oct. 15 proved to be a wide-ranging discussion for the dozen or so women who gathered at St. Patrick Church in Anchorage to hear Texas OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Martha Garza speak about women’s health issues.
Garza’s presentation was one of several she gave recently to various groups around the Anchorage Archdiocese. Garza — a physician for 19 years — initially traveled to Anchorage to deliver presentations at the Alaska Catholic Family Conference, Oct. 10-12.
On the issue of the birth control pill, Garza explained that the pill contains two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, which are respectively, 5 to 12 times and 5 to 7 times stronger than those naturally produced in a woman’s body.
“If we’re taking any drug that is so potent, there have to be side-effects,” she said.
Garza listed health risks associated with the pill, including dangerous blood clots, liver tumors, increased cholesterol and strokes.
A little-known risk pill is its potential to act as an abortifacient, Garza said. The pill’s ability to cause abortion is only partially explained in small print in the pill’s “Patient Package Insert,” a leaflet that accompanies a prescription and details the drug’s possible side-effects. Garza said few doctors fully disclose those effects to women.
Garza explained that when a woman is on the pill, ovulation can still take place, which means a baby can still be conceived. In these cases, the pill’s hormones make the lining of the uterus uninhabitable for the baby. Deprived of adequate nourishment, blood supply and oxygen, the newly conceived human being dies.
During her talk, Garza recounted treating women in the emergency room who were miscarrying while on the pill. She said patients sometimes ask her why their doctors never told them of this.
Garza also said the pill “ages the cervix,” which makes it difficult for a woman to conceive after she stops taking the pill.
In addition, Garza noted the negative impact the pill has on men’s fertility, as well as the ecological damage produced by birth control pill hormones that are released into the environment.
She said men are suffering “decreased sperm counts” because they absorb these hormones, which are increasingly finding a way into the environment. For the same reason, certain animal species are losing their reproductive ability, she explained.
On abortion, Garza discussed its link to breast cancer. She said that 25 of 31 international epidemiological studies and 11 of 12 U.S. studies have linked abortion to a greater risk of breast cancer.
She also explained that, according to psychologist and researcher David Reardon, abortion is linked to a substantial increase in psychological disturbances, such as flashbacks, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse and eating disorders.
According to the Catholic Catechism, abortion willed either as an end or a means is, “gravely contrary to the moral law.”
Later in her talk, Garza spoke about cervical cancer and a controversial vaccine recently targeted to girls. Cervical cancer causes roughly 4,000 deaths a year and is linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), which is transmitted through sexual contact, Garza said.
Among those at risk for HPV is anyone who has been sexually active, who has multiple partners or whose partner has had multiple partners, she added.
Garza noted that 120 girls and young women have died in connection with taking the recently introduced cervical vaccine. She counseled mothers at the talk to “not allow your daughter to be experimented on.”
Having witnessed the physical and emotional damage that HPV and other STDs cause patients, Garza advised mothers to “warn” their daughters of the risks of becoming sexual active.
“There is no safe sex,” she explained, pointing to a statement made by the Centers for Disease Control over five years ago which concluded that, contrary to popular belief, condoms fail to provide sufficient protection against sexually-transmitted diseases.
During the question-and-answer period, following the talk, Garza addressed the impact of the proposed “Freedom of Choice Act” - legislation being pushed in Congress and which Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has committed to sign into law if he wins the presidential race on Nov. 4.
She noted that the bill would permit the practice of partial-birth abortion and would allow minor girls to easily obtain abortions.
Garza concluded her presentation by addressing the issue of women and spiritual health.
She said that too often, medical professionals are “culprits” for dividing a woman’s spiritual health from her physical health.
“You cannot create that division. It’s the one person,” she said. “With so much of disease, we are not at ease” in the body, and that “dis-ease” can stem from “unresolved anger, lack of forgiveness, abortion, abuse,” she explained.
Garza said she believes it would be useful for doctors to take into account a patient’s spiritual history and not merely settle for “chronic” prescriptions when women need comprehensive healing.
Immigration challenges
Hispanic population faces blessings and challenges
With immigration into the United States slowing due to the economic downturn, and a faltering economy consuming the nation’s attention, national politics has barely touched the once hot topic of immigration reform.
Nevertheless, for millions of Americans and thousands of Alaskans, U.S. policy on immigration remains a key issue. U.S. Catholic bishops also continue to be concerned that the country develop humane solutions to immigration challenges.
Despite its northern latitude, and perhaps even because of it, immigration has a sizable effect on Alaska.
On a national level, the Associated Press reported recently that the tide of immigration — both legal and illegal — has slowed dramatically due to the economic downturn. While 1.8 million came to the U.S. in 2006, only about 500,000 arrived in 2007.
On a statewide level, however, Hispanics have a growing impact on Alaska. A recent television report by KTUU in Anchorage described Hispanic growth locally. Eight years ago, Anchorage had roughly 26,000 Hispanics. By 2008, this number had grown by 53 percent, more rapid growth than that in the general population.
School district superintendent Carol Comeau told KTUU that the district has seen a 97 percent growth in Hispanic students between 1998 and 2007.
The Archdiocese of Anchorage has responded to this trend with Masses offered in Spanish at Holy Family Cathedral and Our Lady of Guadalupe. At Guadalupe, Dominican Sister Lorraine Reaume works in full-time Hispanic ministry and newly arrived Dominican priest Father Dominic DeMaio now works part-time with Hispanics in the archdiocese, including ministering to the sizable Hispanic population at St. Mary Church in Kodiak.
Hispanic immigrants are often drawn to Alaska because of the unique environment for raising a family, said Daniel Esparza, a parishioner and leader of the Hispanic community at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage.
Maria Alcala is another parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe, where more than one third of the parish is Hispanic. An immigrant from Mexico, Alcala moved 20 years ago to California where, she said, “everyone speaks Spanish.” She has since moved north to the 49th state.
Alcala’s husband works in construction and she provides in-home childcare. It wasn’t the job opportunities, however, that brought them to Anchorage.
“It’s a better place to raise a family,” Alcala told the Anchor, speaking through her daughter Fabiola, a 19-year-old student at University of Alaska Anchorage. “There’s more crime (in San Diego) and more room here.”
Esparza said concerns about the family are typical reasons he hears for why people move north.
“It’s a misconception that Hispanics come primarily for work here,” he said. “I hear a lot, ‘it’s a good place to raise a family.’”
It is also easy to get around, said Esparza. Even if public transportation doesn’t get you where you want quickly enough, a cab ride in Anchorage costs far less than in Los Angeles or San Diego because of shorter distances.
Esparza says language is a major hurdle for any immigrant.
“It affects everything,” he said, “especially two things.”
One is education. Although the school district provides bilingual tutors, many students still struggle in a language they are only beginning to master. Then, said Esparza, when they take schoolwork home, their parents can’t help them. This is frustrating in a family-oriented culture.
The other area is health care. Many immigrants have no health insurance, and those fortunate enough to have insurance often don’t understand what their policy will cover, and “can’t understand the nurse or doctor when they arrive at the hospital.”
“People stay at home, they get sicker,” he said.
Despite challenges, many of America’s newcomers are happy to be here, Esparza added.
“We contribute to the economy,” he said. “We’re working families. We’re good people. And we want to be part of this great country.”
Legal immigration has long been a source of population growth in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey, there were 37 million foreign born persons living in the United States or 12.5 percent of the total US population. Mexico-born immigrants accounted for 30.7 percent of those numbers.
Immigration, however, is not without its controversies. With problematic U.S. border controls and more than 12 million undocumented workers living in the United States, the issue of immigration remains contentious.
This controversy hit home in Anchorage last year when an Anchorage assemblyman proposed that during routine traffic stops, people be required to show proof of citizenship. That proposal was criticized as inviting racial profiling, and it went nowhere with the assembly.
U.S. bishops see immigration as a major social justice issue. Major social encyclicals have emphasized the rights of people to migrate to secure work, the dignity of migrants and the need to keep families together.
U.S. bishops have opposed the 700-mile wall being built on the U.S.-Mexico border. They also issued a pastoral letter in 2003 called “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope” in which they outlined a plan for immigration reform.
The bishops also support an earned legalization program, or “path to citizenship,” for the roughly 12 million undocumented workers. Unlike amnesty, this legalization program would take several years and require employment, payment of a fine and any back taxes owed.
The bishops also have emphasized that countries should work together to address the root causes of migration and the inequalities within countries that force workers to flee across borders in the first place.
The bishops propose a restoration of due process for immigrants, which was lost in 1996, and reform to permit families to reunite in a timely manner. Taking their cue from papal writings, the bishops emphasize the dignity of the worker and the cohesiveness of the family as primary values.
Alaska bishops consider possibility of sharing priests between dioceses
Growing shortages affecting rural Catholics, especially in Fairbanks
The Alaska Conference of Catholic Bishops met Oct. 15 in Anchorage to discuss the growing problem of priest shortages in rural Alaska. Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler joined Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz (who is also overseeing the Juneau Diocese until a new bishop is appointed there). Several staff members from the three dioceses also attended the meeting to explore the possibility of sharing priests and other resources among them. On Oct. 17, the Anchor spoke with Archbishop Schwietz about the meeting.
In the Diocese of Fairbanks, there is a growing problem of providing sacraments to the people as the number of priests continues to decrease. Priests are also decreasing somewhat in Juneau as well, so we are all concerned about that.
We wanted to ask if there is much hope of getting an influx of priests from outside. For the past year, Bishop Kettler and I have tried to find possible leads and have not had any luck. There really is a general shortage of priests in dioceses and religious communities.
Given that, the question is: Can we look to ourselves to seek out a more creative solution? We decided to start developing some guiding principles that might help us provide the sacraments and a priestly presence around the state.
First, we want to operate under appropriate ecclesiology, which means we respect the autonomy of each diocese. At the same time, we want to find ways the three Alaska dioceses can cooperate. We also want to look at the needs of the people in terms of a priestly presence. Do we simply want a priest to come, say Mass, hear confessions, maybe anoint a few people and then leave or are we talking about them staying for a longer period of time to build relationships?
We talked about creating sister parishes between the dioceses. We would like to make this more of a pastoral approach rather than just a functional approach. We don’t want to just send a priest over to do a function but we are trying to create bonds.
In the meeting, Bishop Kettler told us that villages often have a sense of being forgotten and being isolated from the larger church. How can we overcome that?
Juneau is equally short on personnel, but they have various resources and there might be ways we can connect them to the Anchorage Archdiocese. Juneau might be able to help us out.
Yes, we would be able to share a little bit more. But there might be ways our parishes can be enriched from the Alaska Native culture in the Bush. They could help us better understand the Natives in our midst, especially here in Anchorage.
I need to call together the priests here to discuss these ideas. Bishop Kettler will meet with his priests and I will go down to Juneau in early November to meet with the priests there. We want to stress that we don’t have a plan yet and we haven’t made any decisions. We are in the process of consulting.
We don’t know exactly what the long-term plan will be. We have to help each other promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. We can also look for religious communities or perhaps dioceses that are getting a number of priests and ask them if they will help us with this plan. Maybe they could loan us priests for a couple years at a time.
We rely a lot on foreign priests here in the Anchorage Archdiocese and we are very thankful for that, but we need to take more responsibility for ourselves.
As bishops, we are convinced of the need to encourage home-grown vocations. We need to figure out how we can create a better atmosphere in which young people can think more seriously about entering the seminary or the convent. That is going to be an important element of this plan.
I don’t know where something like this is being done within the country. A lot of dioceses have sister parishes in South America or Africa but this is kind of a new model, which is also sort of undefined at this time.
We purposely decided not to have a timeline, because we don’t want to push this. We need to talk this over with the priests and reach out to others – pastoral leaders and such. We don’t want to rush into something that perhaps won’t work. This is a major process that will be taking place within the (Alaska Conference of Catholic Bishops) in the coming year, maybe two years.
Summit aims to strengthen local Catholic schools
Archbishop calls school boards to foster Catholic identity
The most obvious task for Catholic school leaders is to preserve and foster Catholic identity within the schools, Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz said.
“We have to foster a Catholic culture in our schools,” he told education leaders during the second annual Catholic Schools Leadership Summit. “We have to ask ourselves how we are living out our faith — we need to set the highest standards for that in our schools.”
Archbishop Schwietz was one of several speakers during the Oct. 18 summit at Lumen Christi Jr./Sr. High School in Anchorage.
Four Catholic school principals and several dozen school board members attended the meeting with the primary aim to boost the effectiveness of local school boards in the Anchorage Archdiocese.
Keynote speaker George Hieronymus told attendees that school boards should approach their mission with a sense of anticipation. Hieronymus works with a number of non-profit boards in Alaska.
“A board meeting should always be fun, and something that you look forward to,” Hieronymus told those attending the summit. “You are with people that you like, that you respect — and you are working towards something that you are passionate about.”
The second annual summit came on the heels of last year’s gathering when the archdiocese brought all four of its schools together to form the Anchorage Archdiocese Catholic School System.
Adrian Dominican Sister Ann Fallon was appointed as the superintendent of the four schools, a role that Archbishop Schwietz affirmed at the recent gathering.
“I see the superintendent as a resource to the (individual boards) and as a link between my office and particular schools,” Archbishop Schwietz said, adding that, “Catholic schools are a part of our mission of our local church and should strive to be a symbol of our faith.”
Sister Fallon said it was fitting to focus the second meeting on school leadership and major supporters of Catholic education.
“We are all committed towards forming a strong Catholic school system, and we need people that are strongly passionate about what they do,” she said.
Hieronymus told school board members that they play a key role in the sustainability of archdiocesan schools.
“When you choose a board member, make sure that they share your core values.”
Hieronymus led participants in discussions about other key issues such as roles and relationships, fundraising and collaboration, which play a key role in long-term sustainability.
The role of board members, Hieronymus said, is to make tough decisions and make sure that the bottom line matches the goal and focus of the school.
“We can’t have the bobble head board where everyone is agreeing about everything,” he said. “We need to make sure that we are asking the right questions.”
The four schools run by the Anchorage Archdiocese are Lumen Christi Jr./ Sr. High School in Anchorage, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Anchorage, Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School in Wasilla and St. Mary School in Kodiak.
Confirmation brings little Pentecosts for Alaska Catholics
The Holy Spirit is alighting in Anchorage. After months of preparation, Catholic teens from all across the Archdiocese of Anchorage are now receiving the sacrament of confirmation, what the Catholic Catechism calls — after baptism and the Eucharist — the third and final “sacrament of Christian initiation,” the “completion of baptismal grace.”
But “it is more a beginning than an end,” said Matthew Beck, pastoral associate at St. Michael Church in Palmer where he is preparing 11 teens for their confirmation on Nov. 1.
The Catechism, which says that the confirmed — enriched with special strength of the Holy Spirit and more perfectly bound to the church — will be from now on “as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”
Confirmation is one of seven sacraments in the Catholic Church, which are visible avenues of God’s invisible grace. Confirmation originates from Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and inspired them to proclaim the Word of God. In turn, the apostles invoked the Holy Spirit on the baptized of the early church.
In the sacrament of confirmation, the local bishop invokes the Holy Spirit on the confirmand. He lays his hand on the confirmand’s head, anoints his or her forehead with chrism (perfumed oil) and prays, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
While most Catholics are now confirmed in their teen years, there are exceptions — for example, children in danger of death and baptized adults who have not yet received the sacrament. In fact, a group of adult Catholics at the Palmer Correctional Facility were confirmed Oct. 25 in prison.
The Catechism teaches that confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace in the believer, renders their bond with the church more perfect and gives them special strength to spread and defend the faith as true witnesses of Christ.
Valerie Lindeman, one of four catechists preparing teens for confirmation at Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla, said her teens “are coming into maturity and adulthood” in the faith.
At Sacred Heart, preparing for the sacrament of confirmation entails two years of special instruction.
In the first year, high school freshmen take two 10-week courses on the creed and sacred liturgy, explained Lindeman. The next year, they take another set of 10-week courses on Catholic morality and Catholic prayer, which includes Catholic devotions such as eucharistic adoration.
For their studies, each teen receives a Bible and a copy of the Catholic Catechism. Lindeman believes a candidate’s preparation is “well-rounded” by connecting the two. Students learn “what the church teaches and how to live it,” she said.
In addition to classes which meet every week on Sunday, confirmands must attend a religious retreat and an overnight Lenten “lock-in,” during which the youth participate in the Stations of the Cross, prepare a soup supper for the parish and attend a retreat on a Lenten theme.
The teens are saying, “yes” to their faith, explained Lindeman. “They need to prepare for it,” she added.
Choosing to embrace the faith as mature Christians “will be their decision,” she said. “It must be an informed decision,” she added. “They need to be ready to live that commitment.”
Over at St. Michael Church in Palmer, high school juniors to be confirmed meet once a month for a year with their sponsors — in addition to attending regular parish faith formation classes. A sponsor is like a godparent, who spiritually assists the confirmand to confirmation.
And the sponsor is a “representative of the community” who welcomes the teen into the community of mature Christian faith, explained Beck. “It is not a journey they take alone,” he added.
Indeed, according to the Catechism, “catechesis for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the parish community.”
Beck stressed the evangelistic side of the sacrament.
“We want to reach out, draw people into the fold,” he said. “We should be all about evangelizing and welcoming new people into the fold.”
That mission of evangelization is also a duty of the confirmed as well.
They must process the information they have learned and “put words” to their faith in the world, whether “at Palmer High School or Colony High School,” Beck explained. They must demonstrate what it means “to be Catholic in their circle of friends and at work,” he added.
Through that evangelization, Colony High School senior Chelsea Hubbard, 16, was introduced to the Catholic Church this past January. A Catholic acquaintance invited Hubbard — who had been baptized Lutheran — to church. She started coming to Mass each Sunday and praying every day. This eventually inspired her to become Catholic.
“Being confirmed in the church is something I wanted to do,” she said, “so that I was going down the path in the right direction.”
On Nov. 1, after an intense, accelerated preparation, she will receive her first Holy Communion and the sacrament of confirmation.
Hubbard explained that, in turn, she hopes to encourage teenagers who are struggling or whose parents didn’t take them to church.
“I want to be there for others who have gone down the wrong path,” she added. To those who are searching, Hubbard suggests, “Go to Mass and see what’s there.”
Catholic Social Services enabling adoptions
Program has served Alaskans for more than 40 years
Requirements for infant adoption through CSS * Complete intake form, providing general information * Attend a CSS adoption workshop weekend to learn about adoption * Complete an application packet and background checks, submit medical and financial reports and provide references * Participate in an adoption home study, which includes two visits by the home study writer to the parents’ home and individual interviews * Build a family “portfolio” of photographs and information to be presented to the birth parent(s) during the selection process * Meet the birth parent(s) for review of the possible adoption * Meet with the birth parent(s) after being approved * After the birth parent(s) relinquish parental rights, sign the CSS Adoption Home Agreement assuming care of the child until the adoption is finalized – and welcome the child home. (Until the adoption is finalized, CSS maintains guardianship and legal control of the child.) Finalize arrangements to remit fees to CSS * Participate in several post-placement visits by the CSS adoption coordinator * After CSS agrees the adoption should proceed, complete the steps required by the State of Alaska for legal adoption of the child * Once the adoption is finalized, send a copy of the adoption decree to CSS |
Since 1967, Catholic Social Services (CSS) has helped Alaskans navigate the often-confusing world of adoption.
Susan Bomalaski, executive director of Catholic Social Services in Alaska, said that last year, CSS arranged 16 infant adoptions. She said the adoptions are “open,” meaning the birth mother selects the adoptive family among those who apply, and that the birth family and adoptive family agree to some level of communication.
Bomalaski also said that last year, CSS conducted “a couple hundred” home studies for adoptions and foster care placements of children who, because of neglect or abuse, were in the State’s custody. A home study is a report prepared by a child placement agency to help the court assess the appropriateness of a permanent placement of a child in a home.
As a state licensed, private agency, Catholic Social Services provides child placement, education, counseling, home studies, post-placement services and continued family support for adoptions of infants and children. CSS also provides support and referrals for international adoptions.
According to its mission statement, the Catholic Social Services adoption program “supports the tradition of family life and affirms the belief that every child is a creation of God” who deserves a “permanent, safe and loving home.”
According to Catholic Social Services, its adoption application and home study process takes three to six months. After that, placements generally take one to two years, depending on the preferred gender and ethnicity of the child to be adopted, the number of children available for adoption and the birth mother’s preference for her child.
Catholic Social Services’ fees — due in increments through the adoption process — usually range between $9,650 and $15,650. They include fees for the application, the workshop, home study, portfolio, base placement and final placement.
For those interested in adoption and those who have adopted, CSS is cohosting informational workshops and a resource fair, “Adoption and Beyond” Nov. 14 – 15 at Crosspoint Church, 1920 West Diamond Blvd., #K. For more information about the CSS adoption program or its pregnancy support program, which assists pregnant mothers who choose to parent their child, contact CSS Pregnancy Support and Adoption Services at 276-5590. Also, visit cssalaska.org/pregnancy_adoption.php.
News & Notes
Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great
On Nov. 10, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Pope St. Leo — one of only two popes who hold that additional appellation of honor, “the Great.”
Pope Leo reigned from 440 to 461 and unified and defended the Catholic Church under the one shepherd, Peter’s successor, the pope. On every front, Pope Leo quelled attacks on the church’s unity, including those by heresies, deviations in ecclesiastical practice and even temporal powers.
For instance, Pope Leo censured the practice of Pelangianism, which asserts man does not require God’s grace for salvation, but only good acts of his own.
After Pope Leo investigated a secret Manichaean group in Rome and warned the lay and clergy about the dangers of the heresy, a number of Manichaeans converted. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Manichaeism holds that good and evil are locked in “permanent” conflict.
To combat Priscillianism — like Manichaeism — in Spain, at Pope Leo’s direction, a synod of bishops convened to identify and excommunicate any bishops who were adhering to the false doctrine.
Under Pope Leo, the Council of Chalcedon was convened to condemn the era’s heresies — including Nestorianism, which denies Christ’s single nature is fully divine and fully human. Concurring with Pope Leo’s earlier dogmatic letter that affirmed Christ’s divinity and humanity, the bishops declared, “This is the faith of the Fathers; this is the faith of the apostles; we all believe this; the orthodox believe this; anathema to him who believes otherwise. Peter has spoken through Leo.”
Pope Leo also corrected local modifications in church celebrations such as baptism which some bishops had permitted, and he wrote numerous letters and sermons to bolster the clergy and the lay in their daily observance of the faith. He also built and restored numerous churches.
Finally, Pope Leo even protected the faithful and Catholic culture from marauding invaders. After Attila the Hun invaded and devastated northern Italy, Pope Leo traveled there and secured Attila’s promise to negotiate peace and withdraw. And when the Vandals overtook Rome in 455, Pope Leo convinced them to stop pillaging and to spare the citizens’ lives.
The “great” saint was named “Doctor of the Church” by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754. He is buried beneath an altar dedicated to him at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Prayers for life
In the “40 Days for Life” campaign (Sep. 24 – Nov. 2), local residents are offering prayers and fasts for an end to abortion in America. In addition, during the 40 days, some are providing a prayerful presence and help to expectant moms in need outside Planned Parenthood and the Alaska Women’s Health PC (4001 and 4115 Lake Otis). For more information and to volunteer an hour, contact Christine Kurka at 907-306-3263 or ekurka@mtaonline.net. Also, visit www.40daysforlife.com/anchorage.
Dominican Latin Mass coming
Beginning in December, the Dominican Rite Latin Mass will be celebrated at Holy Family Cathedral every first Saturday at noon.
The Dominican Rite Mass is an ancient form of the Mass, dating back to 1256, when Dominican friars traveling through Europe realized the need for a “unified liturgy,” said Father Vincent Kelber, OP of the cathedral. Prayers are said in Latin, as in the often-called “Tridentine” Mass.
Leading up to the first Mass on Dec. 5, the cathedral’s pastor, Dominican Father Francis Le, will teach a course in Latin to help the faithful prepare for the liturgy. The classes will take place on Wednesdays (6:30 - 8 p.m.), from Nov. 5 to Dec. 3. To register, call the parish office at 276-3455.
See the next edition of the Anchor for a full story on the Dominican Rite Mass at Holy Family Cathedral.
Catholic radio honored nationally
KNOM, an AM radio station in Nome owned by the Diocese of Fairbanks, was named national radio station of the year for the 16th time by the Gabriel Awards, sponsored by the Catholic Academy of Communication Arts Professionals.
The awards, which honor movies, television and radio, “recognize outstanding artistic achievement in a television or radio program or series which entertains and enriches with a true vision of humanity and a true vision of life,” according to the Catholic Academy in a statement announcing the awards.
KNOM’s broadcast day includes news, music and educational and public service programming for listeners in western Alaska.
Joyful noise at AFACT “ChoirFest”
Anchorage Faith and Action - Congregations Together (AFACT) will celebrate five years of congregation-based community organizing at its “ChoirFest” on Nov. 14 (6 – 9 p.m.), at the Lunney Center of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. “ChoirFest” will feature culturally diverse choral, instrumental and dance performances, along with a potluck supper. For more information, contact Brendan Dowd at 297-7727 or btdowd@gmail.com.
Mixing theology and brew
The popular archdiocesan young adult discussion group Theology on Tap has a new name — Theology and Brew — but is still serving up faith-related themes with a kick.
Arthur Roraff, a member of the group’s planning committee, said the Anchorage Archdiocese’s program was based on Theology on Tap of Chicago, which - having spurred numerous chapters around the country and grown “too big” for the Chicago organizers to manage - was recently sold. Roraff explained that Theology on Tap’s new manager - Renew International - is standardizing the format of all the nation’s like-named programs. So for the archdiocesan group to continue its “successful” program in its particular format, the group changed its name.
Roraff said Theology and Brew, which is geared toward young adults in their 20s and 30s, continues to organize monthly talks on social, doctrinal and personal issues that relate to the Catholic Church and which are especially relevant to young adults. Each talk is followed by a question and answer period.
Theology and Brew draws national and local speakers. Most recently, sisters from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville delivered a talk on the “Three Keys to Happiness.” Last year, renowned Catholic philosopher and author Peter Kreeft spoke on hell and the devil. And Bobby Schindler — the brother of Terri Schindler Schiavo, who died in 2005 — spoke about his sister’s plight and the urgent national issue of euthanasia.
The talks, which take place in Wasilla, Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, are free and open to the public. For information about the Wasilla talks, email joeldavidson@hotmail.com. For information about the Anchorage talks, email roraff@gmail.com. For information about talks on the Kenai Peninsula, email viensfamily@yahoo-.com.
Thanksgiving for those in need
On Nov. 24 (3 – 8 p.m.), the Knights of Columbus at St. Patrick Church is teaming with Catholic Social Services to host a traditional Thanksgiving meal for people in need. The dinner will take place at St. Patrick, 2111 Muldoon Road. To volunteer or to donate items, contact Melissa Bartley at 222-7344 or mbartley@cssalaska.org.
Book sales help refugees
Catholic Social Services will publish a book based on its photographic exhibit, “Expressions of Refugee Youth,” which features refugees resettled by the CSS Refugee Assistance & Immigrations Services program. The coffee-table book – available in time for Christmas – costs $45. For more information, contact Katie Bender at 222-7738 or kbender@cssalaska.org.
Quilting and crafts for babies
Catholic Social Services is seeking submissions for its Quilt, Fiber & Wearable Arts exhibit and auction to benefit Pregnancy Support & Adoption Services. Projects submitted prior to Jan. 9 may be displayed at the First Friday art viewing on Feb. 6 at the Sugarspoon dessert café. The auction takes place Mar. 7 at the ConocoPhillips Atrium. For more information, contact Katie Bender at 222-7738 or kbender@cssalaska.org.
Winter needs for homeless shelter
For the hungry and homeless this winter, Catholic Social Services’ Brother Francis Shelter is seeking donations of non-perishable foods and clothing, particularly socks, undergarments and men’s belts – as well as stackable chairs to accommodate additional guests on the coming colder days. Donations may be delivered to the shelter at 1021 East 3rd Ave. For more information, call 277-1731.
Agape Alaska Toastmasters speak on faith
A new chapter of Toastmasters International has formed in Anchorage for people seeking to hone their “communications and leadership skills” while “sharing their faith.” Agape Alaska Toastmasters will provide a forum for people to practice public speaking, specifically, on faith-related themes. Starting Oct. 24, the group will meet every other Friday (8 – 9 a.m.) at Denny’s Restaurant on the corner of DeBarr and Bragaw. For more information, contact Duane Epton at 229-1654 or duaneepton@gci.net, or Julie Galligan at 250-2500. For more information, visit www.Toastmasters.org.
RELIGIOUS PROFILE:
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
The Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits, was founded with the mission of service to the pope. For more than 400 years, the Jesuits have been a part of the church’s missionary and educational work.
The Jesuits stationed in Alaska are members of the Jesuits’ Oregon Province, which is the largest Jesuit province in the world. The province covers five northwestern states, and according to its website, is one of the “least-churched” areas of the country.
In the Anchorage Archdiocese, Jesuits have long served at the Holy Spirit Center and conducted spiritual retreats. In the Fairbanks Diocese, they have especially assisted Catholics of Native Alaskan heritage.
There are seven Jesuits in Alaska: Father Vincent Beuzer works in the Anchorage Archdiocese at Holy Spirit Center. Other Jesuits, which serve Alaska outside the Anchorage Archdiocese are: Father Paul Cochran, Father Theodore Kestler, Father Charles Peterson, Father Thomas Provinsal, Father Gregg Wood and Father Normand Peppin.
The Jesuits were established in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Basque nobleman and soldier who became a priest. Since then, the group of “footsoldiers of the pope” has grown into one of the largest religious orders of the Catholic Church. Today, there are more than 20,000 Jesuits in 112 nations on six continents.
According to its website, the Oregon Province took roots in the mid-1800s when representatives of the Flathead nation of the Rocky Mountains invited the “Black Robes” into the areas now known as Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington.
The first two Jesuit priests arrived in Alaska around 1886. The Jesuits helped establish parishes, schools and an orphanage. The Sisters of St. Anne and Sisters of St. Ursula assisted in the work.
At the Vatican, Jesuits head the Vatican Observatory and the Vatican Press Office.
In the Last Frontier, Jesuit linguists helped Alaska Natives develop a written language.
The Jesuits “plan to stay in Alaska,” although they are “getting a bit older,” according to Father Paul Cochran, superior of the Brother Joe Prince community that serves the Yupik people of Southwest Alaska.
Vocations information: For information about the Jesuits of the Oregon Province, visit www.nwjesuits.org.
Correction
In the Sept. 19 issue, the Religious Profile on the School Sisters of St. Francis incorrectly listed Sister Joneen Kueler of Milwaukee as the contact for information on vocations to the community. Instead, contact Sister Lee Agnes Hodapp at lahodapp@sssf.org or Sister Patricia Throener at pthroener@sssf.org - or write to 3560 E. 16th St., Fremont, NE 68025-7554. We regret the error.
Local Columns
The real reason to go to church
In the time of my youth, living on our North Dakota ranch, we seldom had visitors from the big city. On one occasion, however, an aunt and uncle called to say they planned to come. So, they called my mother to ask where we lived. I still remember her saying: “Well, we’re 10 miles north of Foxholm and 12 miles west of St. Henry’s.” (the church!)
Whether the relatives even knew where the Church of St. Henry was located, without a GPS, I’m not sure, but, they found us.
It almost seems odd to say this in modern times, but there are still many people today who identify their location by the church at which they worship: St. Philomena’s or St. Patrick’s or Our Lady of Poland. Today, certain geographical areas of cities in Louisiana, for instance, are identified with the title parish – an old Catholic tradition.
What all this tells me is that Catholics have forever loved the church in their neighborhood; it is a place of bonding.
So, why are we talking about all this? We are talking about it because there is a notable church in Rome named the Basilica of the Savior or the Basilica of St. John Lateran. It was originally the ancestral home of the Laterani family who donated it to Fausta, wife of the emperor Constantine, who in turn made a gift of it to the church of Rome around the year 311.
1 Corinthians 9:3c-11,16-17 John 2:13-22 |
There is a prominent inscription on one wall which reads: “Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater, et caput” (The mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world).
What is not often realized by many Catholics is that the Lateran Basilica is the pope’s church. You thought it was St. Peter’s, right?
When the pope decides to celebrate Mass in his own church, he journeys across the city to the Lateran Basilica. I imagine there must be many Roman Catholics who claim this basilica their “parish church.”
We are celebrating the original dedication of the Lateran Basilica on this particular Sunday. In Rome, I’m sure it will be a magnificent celebration, much as the dedication of your own parish church once was.
So, what could all this mean to us?
There seems to be a kind of natural attraction by Catholics to some specific church. It need not be the church of their geographical area. But it will surely be the church where they feel they are welcomed, loved, appreciated and involved. It is well known that Catholics often search for the church that is known for good liturgy, effective preaching, strong social action activities, indeed, even a sense of “hominess.”
Most of all, however, they come to church, not so much for ethnic reasons anymore, but because they are spiritually hungry, and hoping that this may be the church where they will be nourished with Word and with Eucharist. That is why they come to this church, a community where they expect to be nourished with Word and Eucharist, challenged to put their faith into action. I’m not sure whether the folks who call the Lateran Basilica their “parish” expect that sort of challenge. However, I suspect that if they choose to worship at the 10:30 a.m. mass of a Sunday when Pope Benedict XVI is presiding and preaching, they will, without doubt be challenged. Therefore, never underestimate the power of your parish church. If you want to be nourished, go to that place; you will not be disappointed.
The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives and writes in Notre Dame, IN.
Why show mercy?
When I first came to Russia over 14 years ago, I brought with me jeans and shirts, but I did not bring the lady’s nylons as was suggested. I am glad I didn’t.
At the customs check in, they went through my luggage and found the clothes items. No matter what I said, they were convinced I was going to sell these for profit. They could not understand that I brought them as gifts. That I was just going to give them away at a local orphanage. I am so glad I did not have to explain why a priest had lady’s nylons as well.
I have encountered many strange accusations in Russia. I have been accused of buying souls with the soup kitchen we began, of proselytizing with the pro-life work we do and with enticing people to be Catholic by having Alcoholics Anonymous in the church basement.
Corporal works of mercy Give drink to the thirsty; Clothe the naked; Harbour the harbourless; Visit the sick; Ransom the captive; Bury the dead.
Spiritual works of mercy Counsel the doubtful; Admonish the sinners; Bear wrongs patiently; Forgive offences willingly; Comfort the afflicted; Pray for the living and the dead. |
The one posture I find most hard to understand is the reality of people not seeing that giving away something is an act of mercy. I understand the Russian saying that there is nothing free in life but cheese in a mousetrap. This, however, reflects certain pessimism about gifts and acts of mercy. The Russian life has not been easy in the past and it is not easy even now for many.
The government is not there to serve the people but seems rather to serve itself. I realize that the most important thing to do now, here in Russia, is to image the Christian life. That, however, can never be a full picture without acts of mercy. The letter of the Gospel has to be written in our flesh.
I dusted off the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and had two large plaques made and hung them in our Mercy Hall in the downstairs of our church. The image of Jesus from Sister Faustina is in the middle and both sides have the acts of mercy. Do you remember them? Have you ever learned them? They are really just summaries of Jesus’ teaching from the Bible on what love looks like in action. If they are actually lived, they represent what we should be about every day of our Christian life. You can’t pick and choose which act of mercy you like. Rather, they are like church teaching — all are necessary.
So here they are for you and for me and for Russia — for without them we have a Christianity that is self-serving, narcissistic, false and has little to do with Jesus who said, “you do this to the least of my brothers, you do it to me.”
The Catholic Encyclopedia says Mercy, as it is here contemplated, is said to be a virtue influencing one’s will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another’s misfortune. Let us all love, act and live mercy. We all need mercy and maybe the best prayer to pray in our world today is, “Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.”
The writer is pastor of Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia. The church is a mission of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Vatican II begins by addressing liturgy
When a major international meeting is called in the Vatican, an agenda is prepared. The initial draft for Vatican II was the work of the Curia (the pope’s cabinet). This group proposed 987 constitutions or decrees for consideration.
While this number seems at first glance to be enormous, most were technical changes to operating procedures within the Vatican. As incredible as it may seem, every one of them were rejected at the initial meeting of the Council. It was the French and German cardinals and bishops who were the leaders in rejecting the proposed agenda.
The German, Joseph Cardinal Frings was highly critical of what was then called the Holy Office; today it is known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In defense of the Holy Office was Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani. The major theological advisor to Cardinal Frings was then Father Joseph Ratzinger — today he is Pope Benedict XVI.
A humorous anecdote that is often told about Cardinal Ottaviani is that one day he hailed a cab in Rome and asked to be taken to the council. The cab driver headed north out of Rome and the cardinal asked where the driver was going. The cardinal noted that he wanted to go to the council. The driver responded that he was taking him to the council. The driver was referring to the Council of Trent that had occurred 400 years earlier.
While the cardinal, at times, is seen as one defending the past, he should be recalled as one who loved the church and wanted to be sure that it did not make mistakes that it would later regret.
When one speaks of change in the church it must be remembered that the church would prefer to use the word development. There should not be some radical break from the past. The church has a 2,000-year history and one must reverence how the Holy Spirit has guided the church during those years.
From the perspective of development, one is trying to discern how a current proposal grows out of history. In many ways Vatican II tried to discover and recover the early history of the church. Thus, it was not radical change but a bringing forward of an ancient tradition.
The Second Vatican Council had a vast array of resources that were not available at the Council of Trent, and during Vatican II the church was not in a defensive position. Because of the tremendous advances that were made in linguistics, archaeology and other sciences, the church was able to rediscover many ancient practices and carry them forward to modern times.
As we move through the documents, I will try to show the linkages from the early church and what the council had intended for the church in the modern world. Whenever change or development occurs, there will be those who try to oppose it and those who try to push it where it was never intended to go. We will resist the extremes and stay within the mainstream of the church.
The first document considered by the Council Fathers was on the liturgy. In many ways this is a strange choice for the first document. Since there are so many opinions regarding what constitutes good liturgy and music, it could have been the cause of major difficulties. Instead, as much of the council leadership rightly perceived, it could also be a cause of great unity. Fortunately the unity is what emerged.
When Catholics over the age of 55 think of the Mass of their youth, it is of course that Latin Mass that was approved after the Council of Trent (1545-65). That became the Mass that the church celebrated for 400 years, and it was assumed that the church had always celebrated Mass in that fashion.
However, one of the goals Blessed John XXIII had set for Vatican II was a return to the sources — to the ancient traditions. As noted above the linguistic and archaeological advances permitted the rediscovery of the ancient tradition.
The first celebrations would have been in Aramaic or Greek, which were the vernacular — the language of the people. The early celebrations would have taken place in people’s homes. The Scriptures that would have been proclaimed would have been the Old Testament, the Letters of St. Paul, and the Gospels as they emerged in the first century of the church.
What we currently refer to as the Roman Canon, or the first Eucharistic prayer, really is not the first. The Roman Canon was the work of Pope Saint Gregory (590-604). What we now refer to as the second Eucharistic prayer was probably written by Hippolytus (d. 236). Blessed John XXIII was not rejecting the Roman Canon; he simply wanted to open the full treasury of prayers for Catholics.
Today, when one considers the Eucharistic prayers for children, reconciliation and those written for World Youth Day in the Philippines, the church’s storehouse of prayers contains 13 different Eucharistic prayers. It is the responsibility of the priest celebrant to select the most appropriate one for each particular celebration of the Mass.
In our next installment, we will consider what the church hoped to accomplish in its revision of the Mass, the sacraments, the liturgy of the hours and its recommendations on appropriate use of music.
Guest Column
Faithful citizenship requires us to protect the unborn
There’s a crucial paragraph in the “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship bulletin insert, which many local parishes have distributed, which is true but apt to be misunderstood:
“As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.”
The footnote in the bulletin insert refers readers to paragraphs 34-39 of the original U.S. bishops’ “Faithful Citizenship” statement.
The original is much clearer: “When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate, or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.” (36)
Now the great intrinsic evil of our day is legalized abortion; nobody ever has to choose between a candidate who advocates legalized abortion and one who advocates legalized racism. Applied to abortion, the first sentence logically implies that the option of voting for a pro-choice-to-kill candidate (or not voting at all) applies only when there is no pro-life candidate available.
In other words, the “may disqualify a candidate” in the summary statement translates to a “must disqualify” in a real-life voting booth, except when every candidate supports abortion. In that case, one may vote to limit the potential for evil among the candidate pool.
The bishops make this distinction explicitly in the original “Faithful Citizenship,” in the words of Pope John Paul II: “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.” (Christifideles Laici, no. 38)
Yet it has now become ordinary for Catholics to secure the election of pro-legal abortion candidates over pro-life candidates. Why then isn’t the imperative not to support intrinsic evil reiterated each time a candidate comparison appears in Catholic publications?
For instance, the statement by Clarke E. Cochran featured in the CNS article “How do health reform plans measure up?” Cochran concludes that neither Obama’s nor McCain’s plan fully meets the criteria set by “Faithful Citizenship.” In context, that is easily misunderstood.
The “Obama proposal is unlikely to provide any protection for unborn children but it is more in line with the bishops’ focus on the needs of the poor, uninsured and vulnerable populations and their call to strengthen Medicaid and Medicare,” Cochran told CNS.
Contrasting the merits of health plans without reference to the moral distinction between legalized murder and insufficiently generous medical insurance is like granting joint custody to parents, one of whom has been convicted of infanticide and another whose greatest demerit has been letting their child’s Kid Care lapse.
God does not command us absolutely to attain the perfect national health insurance program, much less at the expense of legal protection for unborn children. He does absolutely command, “Thou shalt not kill.”
“Thou shalts” may be set aside - one can miss Sunday Mass to care for a sick child - but “Thou shalt nots” may never be set aside. Why? Because while one may endure evil to achieve a good or prevent a worse evil (e.g., voting to limit the evil when all candidates support legalized abortion) one may never do evil even to achieve a good or prevent evils (e.g. vote for a pro-culture of death candidate while a pro-life candidate is available), even if the pro-death candidate is better in all non-essential categories.
This principle is absolutely essential to forming consciences for faithful citizenship, but it is so little understood that pro-abortion candidates have actually come to rely on the “Catholic” vote to advance a culture of death in America. That is a situation that cries out to Heaven. We need our spiritual leaders to provide some basic moral catechesis, loud and clear and soon.
Editorial
There is ‘hope’ after Super Tuesday
An ancient hope hangs in the air these final hours before America chooses a new president.
There is perhaps no better example of hope springing eternal than in the dynamic of presidential politics. We want to change the world and we long for someone heroic to lead the charge.
Presidential candidates embody a certain type of hope in a very tangible way. Millions cheer and wildly wave signs when candidates tell stories about “a new dawn breaking” or “a bridge to a better tomorrow.” In the most extreme cases we elevate candidates to something akin to a modern-day messiah who can bring lasting justice and peace on the earth.
This desire for a flesh-and-blood leader goes back to ancient times. The Israelites wanted a human king, someone to physically slay the enemy and defend the nation.
Then Jesus came and the disciples had a difficult time accepting that he would not establish an earthly kingdom or reform the political system. They weren’t expecting this kind of messiah. They wanted to “shake up Washington,” so to speak. Jesus had something else in mind.
This is not to say that politics is of little consequence. Politicians do impact our temporal affairs. They can support or reject legislation to defend the poor and vulnerable, to safeguard the unborn, to support the family, to preserve the physical environment.
To that end, we have included, on pages 8-9, a list of candidate responses to 11 questions we sent to every Alaskan running for U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. The Anchor has also provided information about the presidential candidates over the past few months.
We have a duty to study their positions and vote for the person who can best influence the world for good. In reality, however, many of us will wind up voting for the eventual loser.
Is hope then lost?
That depends on what brand we’re talking about.
As Christians, we were never guaranteed political victory or an end to earthly suffering. In fact, church history is colored with the blood of martyrs and filled with suffering saints. In the midst of the worst political climates, these men and women were paragons of hope — albeit a different kind than we see at confetti-filled campaign rallies.
The saints did not ignore politics. In fact, some have been powerful political leaders of their day. The difference is that they knew how to distinguish eternal hope from temporal hope.
This leads to an important point: The greatest hope is that we can become saints and live in union with God. This is a very personal hope and one that can alter the course of our lives. Political spinsters and volatile polls can’t thwart this kind of hope.
Yes, our votes matter but they often fail to achieve their desired end. And even if our guy wins this time around, it might be a different story in four years.
The same cannot be said of Christian hope. When we seek Christ, he has promised to redeem and transform us. Realizing this eternal hope is the most difficult challenge of our lives, but the fruit it bears extends to our families, children, parishes and local communities, no matter which way the political wind blows.
This is the change we’ve actually been waiting for and, yes, it comes way before country.
Letters to the Editor
Leave the judging to God
When I went to Catholic school more than a half century ago, we were taught all human beings were made in the image and likeness of God. That means all of us have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But George Weigel’s October 17 column refers to “the rights of alien terrorists in U.S. custody.” What proof does he have the prisoners are terrorists? Have they been convicted of terrorism or does Weigel take it upon himself to judge who are and are not terrorists? I was taught to leave the judging to God.
Anchorage
Columnist enjoys Vatican II series
I want to take this opportunity to applaud Father Jim Oberle’s promise to provide us with a series of articles on the Second Vatican Council. For those of us who have experienced the “before and after” of it, this will be a good opportunity to review. After all, it’s been over forty years since the Council. We may have forgotten how we got here today.
For the many others who were just youngsters in the sixties, it will be an opportunity to experience through the written word what has happened since the windows were opened by the hard work of Pope John XXIII, the bishops, theologians and others who wished to open the doors and windows of the church to the modern world. I eagerly await the next installment. Congratulations also to the editor and staff at the Anchor for doing a good job. Here at Notre Dame, I await each new issue.
Notre Dame, Indiana
Abortion is a social justice issue
I have some questions, after meeting with Catholic clergy and Catholic teachers, and after reading the Sept. 19 issue of the Catholic Anchor with its numerous articles: “Religion and the U.S. presidency,” “We cannot Ignore our social justice tradition,” “Campaign 2008: Where do the candidates stand”, and “Catholics called to examine candidates stand on abortion.”
Please explain how some Catholics can encourage people to vote for a particular candidate who actively supports abortion. I have heard clergy across this country cite Catholic teaching on social justice to give credence to their support of a political candidate who supports abortion, while at the same time professing their personal belief that abortion is wrong. This is contradictory.
Abortion and social justice go hand in hand as abortion is a social justice issue. How can we select a man to represent us who claims he can fix our financial problems but who allows innocent children to die from abortions.
I can’t justify such action and have peace in my spirit.
Wasilla
Iraq war had nothing to do with terrorism
George Weigel’s Oct.3 column, “CAMPAIGN 2008: Iraq and the war against jihadism,” includes some misconceptions about Islam and about the true meanings of the term Jihad. I’m told that “the fundamental tenet of Catholicism is loving God and one’s neighbors as oneself.” It seems to me loving one’s neighbor includes learning the truth about them.
Jihad is an Arabic term that implies struggle both socially and personally. To true Muslims, Jihad means a struggle to do good, forbid evil and do their best to help others. Jihad could be broken down into social, political, economical and spiritual. The Holy Quran orders Muslims to fight only in self-defense, not to be one of the aggressors:
“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgression.” (Al-Baqarah 2:190)
The Arabic word “Islam” simply means submission, and derives from a word meaning peace. In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God. Allah is the Arabic name for God, which is used by both Arab Muslims and Arab Catholics. Mr. Weigel suggests that Catholic voters ask the presidential candidates “How do you think Iraq ‘fits’ within the global struggle against jihadism today?” This question wrongly implies that somehow the Iraq war had something to do with terrorism and dismisses the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the horrible attacks of 9/11/2001.
Anchorage
Keep politics out of morality
Kenneth Wichorek’s letter is wrong about me and unclear about what he says. In response to my Sept. 5 letter to the editor, Mr. Wichorek states that I “would divorce morality from politics.” I don’t advocate keeping morality out of politics; I do advocate keeping politics out of morality. If we deny pro-choicers communion, shouldn’t we deny communion to supporters of: capital punishment; the unjust war in Iraq, opposed by the pope and the bishops; excruciating torture of our brothers and sisters; and the “school of assassins” at Ft. Benning, Ga., SOA/ WHINSEC, that teaches killing/torture techniques supported by our taxes. (I went there three times to protest these sins!) Should we consider all church teachings on the Fifth Commandment or just the politically fashionable ones?
Mr. Wichorek is unclear when he says, “To reject any important Catholic teaching is to say that it is in error and couldn’t come from Jesus.” What does he mean by “reject” - to overtly and directly oppose that Catholic teaching or to merely ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist? Our Catechism lists almost forty violations of the Fifth Commandment. Mr. Wichorek’s letter cites only one. Is he saying that is the only “important” violation of the Fifth Commandment and we can ignore the others? Or does he believe we must recognize and obey all Catholic teachings on the Fifth Commandment?
I believe in prayer as Mr. Wichorek does. Here’s mine:
May the Holy Spirit guide us to support all life, of the born and the unborn.
Anchorage
Updated policy on Letters to the Editor
The Catholic Anchor welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be limited to 300 words and include the writer’s full name and city of residence. For verification purposes only, we also need contact information for each letter writer, which will not be published. Letters should not disparage the character of any individual but rather stick to the issues at hand and refer to articles, letters and opinion pieces that have been published in the Catholic Anchor. Letters may not endorse a specific political candidate or political party. Letters may be edited for length, taste and clarity. The Anchor does not publish letters that directly challenge clear and established church teaching.