Browsing articles tagged with " catholic mass"
Thousand to assemble for the longest running Irish Festival in New England
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The Connecticut Irish Festival will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary on June 23 and 24 at the North Haven Fairgrounds, Route 5, 300 Washington Avenue. This event, sponsored by the Irish American Community Center, is the longest running Irish Festival in New England. Each year, thousands assemble to partake in a program featuring the finest in Irish music, dance, and sports while enjoying the camaraderie of those with similar interests.
Cultural offerings will include language and instrumental competitions, as well as genealogy, traditional music presentations, and carving demonstrations. The cultural building will also house area Irish organizations and feature an Irish bread-baking contest.
Children under 16 are free and many family-friendly activities will be featured on both days. Some of the family exhibits include Irish magic shows, free face painting, Irish story time, rides, youth football scrimmage, sheep shearing, and pony rides.
Meanwhile, adults can enjoy some of the best musical acts on the Celtic scene. Seven Nations will headline Saturday evening, while other acts, including Screaming Orphans, McLean Avenue Band, the Mickey Finns, Celtic Cross, Kitchen Party, Mean Carlene, and Tommy Goodwin and Sharon will appear throughout the event. For a full schedule of activities and times, visit the website at www.ctirishfestival.com.
Saturday morning will start with the 10th Annual 5K Road Race to benefit the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association. A .7 mile kids’ fun run at 10:30 am will be followed by the road race and 2 mile fitness walk at 11:00 am. Sign ups for all events begin at 9:00 a.m. The Race Director is Joe Riccio (203) 481-7453. For more information e-mail wssac-ct@juno.com or visit the festival website for online registration.
On Saturday evening, we will hold a Gaelic football exhibition game between two teams comprised of members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Fire Department New York (FDNY). Prior to the game, there will be a “Battle of the Bravest” Tug-o-War tournament among area professional firefighters competing for the “Bill Miller Trophy” and benefiting the Leary Firefighter Foundation, started by television personality Denis Leary.
Sunday’s highlight is the 48th annual New Haven Feis, an Irish dance competition, featuring hundreds of skillful competitors in traditional costumes. The day will start at 8:00 am with a Catholic Mass on the Fairgrounds. An Irish Tea Cottage will offer various delicacies and an assortment of food vendors and merchandise vendors will be available throughout the Festival. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and ends on Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Admission price is $12 per day per adult, while children under 16 are free. All active military personnel with ID card are free. Advance 2-day passes are available for $18; or $10 one day. For general information, contact Jim Martens at 203-467-3638; or email ctirishfestival@gmail.com.
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• Waupun Memorial Day Parade — 9 a.m. Participants should line up at St. Joseph Catholic Church parking lot from 8 to 9 a.m.
• Ripon Memorial Day Parade — 9:30 a.m., Village Green, 400 Watson St.
Mass/Services
• Memorial Mass 9 a.m. at Shrine of Rest Mausoleum Chapel, County Trunk K.
• Boy Scout Troop 777 will host a Walking Rosary at Calvary Cemetery, 686 Fond du Lac Ave., at 8:30 a.m. A Catholic Mass will follow at 9 a.m. at the Mausoleum Chapel.
• American Legion Firing Squad from Abler-Engel Post 454 of Mount Calvary: 7 a.m. St Charles Cemetery, 7:30 a.m. St. Peter Cemetery, 8 a.m. St. John Cemetery, 8:30 a.m. Holy Cross Cemetery, 9 a.m. St. Michael Cemetery, 9:30 a.m. St. John Cemetery, 10 a.m. St. Mary’s Cemetery and 10:30 a.m. Town of Forest Cemetery.
• St. Cloud American Legion Post 478: 8:45 a.m. Forest Cemetery/Union Cemetery, 9 a.m. Armstrong Cemetery, 9:30 a.m. Lyons Cemetery, 10 a.m. St. Joe Cemetery, 10:30 a.m. St. Cloud Auxiliary Essay contest readings at St. Cloud Cemetery, service at 11 a.m.
• Bintzler-Waehler Post 347: 8 a.m. St. Andrew, 8:15 a.m. St. Luke, 8:30 a.m. Emanuel Cemetery, 8:45 a.m. Mount Pleasant, 9 a.m. Brownsville, 9:15 a.m. town of Lomira, 9:30 a.m. Byron Veterans Memorial, 10 a.m. Ebenezer, 10:15 a.m. St. Martin, 10:30 a.m. St. John’s, 10:45 a.m. Salem, 11 a.m. St. Mary, 11:15 a.m. S.A.L. Wreath laying at the Lomira Village Pond.
• Miller-Justman-Guelig Post 270 of Theresa: 10 a.m. St. Paul, 10:15 a.m. at St. Peter, 10:30 a.m. Immanuel River Church, 10:45 Zion, 11 Hockheim, 11:30 a.m. at St. Theresa Memorial Gardens, noon at Union Cemetery and concludes with a ceremony at the Bridge in Theresa.
With graveside services, wreath-laying ceremonies, a special dedication and historical tour to honor Civil War veterans and parades, the region is formally celebrating Memorial Day weekend. Most events are scheduleld Monday; one is today at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville
CROWN POINT | St. Matthias parish will celebrate a Roman Catholic Mass at 10 a.m. Monday at Historic Maplewood Cemetery.
Those attending the service at 347 Maple Lane are asked to bring a lawn chair and encouraged to stay for the American Legion/Veterans of Foreign Wars program at 11 a.m. Following that, a Memorial Day dedication service and historical tour will honor Crown Point Civil War veterans and launch a preservation and tourism initiative throughout Lake and Porter counties.
The 11:45 ceremony will dedicate 10 new granite headstones recently obtained for city Civil War veterans by the Calumet Region Civil War Preservation Project. Twenty-one new veteran headstones — and two markers for veterans wives — have replaced old worn or broken markers at the cemetery since last Memorial Day.
The ceremony also will launch the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail, an interconnected network of region cemeteries, museums, artifacts and architectural icons related to the war.
A guided tour of the cemetery, including stories of the Civil War veterans buried there, will follow the 30-minute ceremony. To learn more about the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail, visit http://www.southshorecva.com/civilwartrail/C That program is followed by a tribute to Civil War veterans buried in Historic Maplewood Cemetery.
GARY | Gary Patriotic Memorial Association holds its Memorial Day and program, beginning with the parade lineup at 9 a.m. Monday at 13th and Massachusetts Street. The theme is Veterans Now and Then. The program follows at Buffington Park.
GRIFFITH | Griffith observes Memorial Day with a program at 10 a. m. Monday in Central Park at the intersection of Broad and Oak streets. U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., is scheduled to speak.
HAMMOND | VFW Post 802 hosts a Memorial Day ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at Harrison Park at Hohman Avenue and Waltham Street.
The Hammond Mohawks Club’s annual Memorial Day parade begins at 11 a.m. at Gostlin Street and Baltimore Avenue and ends at St. Casimir Catholic Church at Cameron Avenue and Huehn Street. A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at St. Casimir’s war memorial.
HIGHLAND | Highland’s Memorial Day service begins at 10 a.m. Monday at Main Square Park gazebo.
HOBART | Hobart’s Memorial Day service is at 11 a.m. Monday at the Hobart Doughboy Monument at 7th and Main streets. It includes speeches by Mayor Brian Snedecor and Hobart American Legion Post 54 Cmdr. Mike Adams. Hobart veterans organizations will lay a wreath.
LAKE STATION | Lake Station honors its veterans with an 11 a.m. celebration Monday at Veterans Memorial Park off of Putnam and Fairview streets.
LEROY | Presented by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee, Lake County Parks and Recreation Department hosts a Memorial Day service at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Stoney Run County Park, 142nd and Union Street, about seven miles east of Crown Point.
MERRILLVILLE | Three days of services are planned at Calumet Park Cemetery at 7535 Taft St., Merrillville.
A Veterans Memorial Service is set for 1 p.m. today, conducted by the American Legion 1st District.
Four churches have planned services on Monday. Catholic services are conducted at 10 a.m., as is a remembrance by St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church. First Presbyterian Church of Merrillville has its service at 10 as well.
SS Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral has an 11:45 a.m. ceremony on the cemetery grounds.
The Northern Indiana Chapter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Monday in the cemetery’s veterans section. Lake County Sheriff John Buncich will speak.
Merrillville VFW Post 1563 rededicates its Veterans Memorial to fallen comrades at 2 p.m. Monday at the post, 6880 Hendricks St. Dinner and comradeship follow immediately.
MUNSTER | Munster VFW Post 2697 conducts a program at 11:30 am. at Community Veterans Memorial, 9710 Calumet Ave. The Munster High School band will play and there will be a 21-gun salute.
SCHERERVILLE | Memory Lane Memorial Park, 6305 W. U.S. 30 in Schererville, will honor the soldiers of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, living and deceased, in a special Memorial Day service at 10 a.m. An orchestra and a color guard will perform. Special honors will be bestowed upon local families of the fallen.
Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, 8178 Cline Ave., conducts a celebration at noon and includes remarks by the American Legion Post, a performance by the American Legion Color Guard, the Pledge of Allegiance, the tolling of bells and a gun salute.
ST. JOHN | VFW Post 717 has its Memorial Day program at 8:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, 10701 Olcott Ave., following Mass. It includes a gun salute. The VFW Post will repeat that program at 9:45 a.m. following Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Schererville.
WHITING | American Legion Whiting Post 80 starts the day with coffee and doughnuts beginning at 9:30 a.m. a the post, 2003 Indianapolis Blvd. The group assembles outside the post at 10:45 for a march to the Veterans Memorial at 119th and Oliver streets. The ceremony includes a gun salute, music by the Whiting High School Band and the laying of a wreath.
The group then returns to the Legion for fellowship.
The Vatican has long been said by those who know it to be a nest of vipers. But recently, the poison has been laid bare for everyone to see as leak after embarrassing leak has revealed an institution at war with itself.
Already this year we’ve read about documents warning of a “death threat” against the Pope, widespread nepotism and corruption, exiled whistle-blowers, gay smear campaigns and embarrassing revelations about the Vatican’s tax affairs. Most of the damaging of the “Vatileaks” were revealed by the reporter Gianluigi Nuzzi in a series of TV programmes and now his new book Sua Santit (Your Holiness).
As ever, lumbering several steps behind, the powers that be at the Holy See last month set out to catch the mole or moles behind the leaks – which they refer to as “criminal acts”. The Pope’s butler has already been nabbed in possession of some of the confidential papers. But few people think he acted alone.
Yesterday, we learnt that an unnamed Italian cardinal is now a suspect. But even if all the leakers are caught, few observers think that there’s an end in sight for the PR disasters that have blighted the reign of 85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI. The stately Vatican Insider website, for its part, blamed an intrusive modern media. “Scandals even graver than this (such as the Calvi case) occurred in the Wotyla papacy, but today the media coverage is multiplied,” it said.
Unloved Benedict might reasonably claim his record is more virtuous than that of his PR-savvy predecessor John Paul II. As Mr Nuzzi noted: “During the papacy of John Paul II paedophilia was not pursued like it has been today. This pope has removed 50 priests. John Paul II covered it up.”
The Vatican Insider failed to note, though, that key scandals – such as the London murder of Roberto “God’s Banker” Calvi , which took place on John Paul II’s watch – continue to taint the Vatican.
Earlier this year, magistrates in Rome lamented publicly that officials at the Holy See were still refusing to co-operate with their attempts to resolve the mystery involving the Vatican bank and what is alleged to be mafia cash.
“It makes me laugh to think that the Vatican is now asking for help from Italian magistrates even though it has never responded to demands asked of it on many events, such as these,” said Mr Nuzzi in an interview with the Micro Mega magazine at the weekend regarding Vatican claims that he had acted illegally.
For Valerio Gigante, a vaticanologist at the Adista religious news website, the church is suffering a moral crisis. “The contradiction at the heart of the church grows greater all the time. It exists for moral reasons but also generates huge amounts of money and is ever more occupied with political and economic power,” he said.
Another Vatican watcher, Robert Mickens of The Tablet, has a simpler take the Holy See’s woes. “It’s arrogance. The people in charge still think the Vatican is above ordinary laws.”
He says last week’s sacking of the Vatican bank chief Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was another example of this. Mr Gotti Tedeschi is believed by many to have fallen foul of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s number two and the Pope’s chief of staff, by insisting on more stringent anti-corruption rules.
The respected financier’s card was probably marked, too, when he last year failed to support the Vatican’s planned €250m rescue package for the bankrupt, scandal-ridden San Raffaele teaching hospital founded by the wheeler-dealing catholic priest Don Luigi Verz.
Observers also point to the Vatican’s decision in April to censure nuns in the US for daring to “disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops” on key social issues. “All these things are symptoms of a bigger problem.
The structure of the Vatican – an absolute monarchy – is no longer suitable for the modern world,” said Mr Mickens. The difficulty the Vatican faces in having to justify medieval attitudes in the era of an inquisitive, 24-hour-a-day digital media is exacerbated by the fact that Benedict and Bertone, are so disliked that they’re unable to paper over the cracks.
The Pope’s overtures to the extremist and anti-Semitic Society of Saint Pius X’s, with which he shares a love of traditional Catholic Mass, is thought to have angered many church figures. But it is Cardinal Bertone who is usually seen as the common denominator in the endless Vatican in-fighting. In consolidating power for himself and in placing close confidantes and cronies in the key positions in the Holy See, Cardinal Bertone, has made many enemies.
The animosity he faces is heightened by his reputation for being mentally unspectacular and for having little diplomatic experience – despite now overseeing the Holy See’s foreign relations.
Last summer, Bertone even received a death threat, which Panorama magazine blamed on his exiling of the difficult priest Vigan to the other side of the Atlantic. In his new book, Mr Nuzzi also refers to the saga of the long-running power-struggle between Bertone and the Italian Bishops Conference, which has been linked to the leaking of documents claiming that Dino Boffo, the editor of the Bishops’ daily paper L’Avvenire, was a “renowned homosexual” and stalker.
But despite the political poison and claims by respected observers such as Corriere della Sera’s Massimo Franco that the leadership is suffering a “profound crisis of identity and credibility”, few observers expect any immediate changes at the top.
Earlier this year, an anonymous letter made the headlines for its warning of a death threat against the Pontiff. Intriguingly, it also suggested that relations between Cardinal Bertone and the Pope were falling apart. Not many people believe that. But even it were true, the pair have little choice but to support each other to the bitter end.
Now the question is how low will the Vatican’s reputation sink before that day arrives?
I am a Christian and so is my husband. I am Catholic and Art is protestant. In our 25 years of marriage, we have attended each others’ churches and have learned a great deal about each others’ faiths. Art will tell you he loves to see the power of God’s word shared in a great sermon. (Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”) I love communion, which is central to the Catholic Mass. (John 6:51: “The bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”)
What I also love about the Catholic Church is that it is fearless. It is willing to take a stand, no matter what the world thinks. It does not feel the need to be politically correct and answers only to God.
Ironically, what I love most about the Catholic Church is what another writer, Richard Smith (Public Forum, May 18), despises. I am well educated and love to critically think about cultural issues. Yet, unlike him, I don’t see the Catholic Church as telling me what to do.
I respect it for providing guidance that helps me embrace a culture of life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “A genuine leader is not a seeker of consensus, but a molder of consensus.” The Catholic Church is a genuine leader.
I am sorry for Smith for many reasons. He obviously has much anger toward the Catholic Church. What a great loss for him and the church. I am sorry that he sees his childhood school years so negatively. However, what I am most sorry for him is that when he reads the Bible, “he could not find his church there.” When I read the Bible, I simply see Jesus.
SUSAN BANE
Greenville
On April 15, at a Roman Catholic Mass, 11-year-old Alyssa Walton, a Girl Scout Cadette from Lancaster County, was presented with an “I Live My Faith” medal by the bishop of Harrisburg.
Her mother, Kerri Walton, had been part of a Girl Scout troop at Sacred Heart of Jesus parish when she was a child, and is now co-leader of her daughter’s troop. For Kerri Walton, that April Mass — which marked the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the United States of America — was a melding of two positive influences on her daughter’s life: scouting and the church.
According to The Catholic Witness, the Diocese of Harrisburg’s newspaper, more than 200 Girl Scouts and their families attended the Mass. The lector, cantor and altar-servers were Girl Scouts. Bishop Joseph P. McFadden was the celebrant.
“It was lovely,” said Carolyn Pfeifer, chair of the diocese’s Catholic Committee for Girl Scouts and Camp Fire, in an interview with the Sunday News. “We haven’t had a [diocese-wide] recognition Mass for the Girl Scouts in 25 or 30 years.”
All appeared to be well, locally at least, between the Catholic Church and the Girl Scouts. Which made what came next, on the national level, all the more perplexing to those who are involved in both scouting and the church.
On May 10, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth had launched an inquiry into the Girl Scouts.
The committee is chaired by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., who was McFadden’s predecessor in Harrisburg.
As Rhoades explained in a letter to his fellow bishops, his committee was examining the Girl Scouts’ “possible problematic relationships with other organizations, the issue of problematic programmatic materials and resources, and other matters of concern.”
The reaction to this news was scathing, particularly as it came on the heels of a Vatican crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an association of the leaders of most of the nation’s 57,000 Catholic nuns. The Vatican charged the nuns with “radical feminism” and accused them of focusing too much on social justice issues while remaining silent on issues such as abortion.
The Vatican also rebuked the nuns’ leadership conference for making public statements that challenged the positions of the bishops, “who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.”
The crackdown on the nuns has sparked protests among Catholics in Philadelphia and across the nation, and the Girl Scouts’ inquiry only has added to the angst — and, from some quarters, the ridicule.
“First Nuns and Girl Scouts, Next Dora the Explorer,” quipped a headline on one New York Times column.
“What’s next, kittens and puppy dogs?” asked Sister Maureen Fiedler, a progressive Catholic nun quoted by Reuters.
Kerri Bogda, of Manheim Township, is the Catholic mother of a Daisy Scout, and the great-niece of a Carmelite nun. She said the nuns “probably do a better job of emulating Christ than anybody else” and described them as “the water cutting new canyons.”
She said she wasn’t surprised that the church hierarchy would push back against outspoken nuns, but was “a little surprised” by the Girl Scout inquiry. She views these controversies as separate from her faith and said they wouldn’t have “an impact on how I worship.”
“I almost find it laughable,” said Angel Benfer, of Manheim Township, who is Catholic and the mother of a Brownie Scout. “No female in the Catholic faith right now is thrilled that they actually went after the nuns.”
And, as for the church looking into the Girl Scouts, “I truly don’t understand it,” she said.
Joseph Aponick, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, maintained that the Girl Scouts inquiry and the investigation of the nuns’ leadership conference “have no connection at all. They are isolated actions.”
But to some Catholic women, including Benfer, the two matters seem to be part of a single narrative.
After sweeping the priest sexual abuse scandals “under the rug for what seemed like a century,” the church now is scrutinizing the nuns and Girl Scouts with a zeal that seems “misogynistic,” Benfer said.
It’s almost as if, she said, the church were saying, ” ‘We had a lot of issues with our priests, so let’s go after the women.’ “
Seizing on whisper-down-the-lane allegations about the Girl Scouts, the church is treating hearsay as if it were heresy, Benfer said.
She said she loves her Catholic faith and the many paths it gives her to God. “I just wish more for the Catholic Church,” Benfer said, ruefully.
Kerri Walton said “it’s a little heartbreaking, almost,” to learn that the church has doubts about what she and other Girl Scout leaders are teaching girls.
Both the Girl Scouts and the Catholic Church emphasize service to others. “The values that we follow are just like the values of the Catholic Church,” Walton said.
Walton said she’s hopeful that by being in Girl Scouts, her daughter will have the self-confidence and integrity to make the right choices as she goes through her teenage years.
And she said she’s never encountered any Girl Scout materials that were inconsistent with her Catholic values.
Aponick, of the Diocese of Harrisburg, said in an email that for several years, “pro-life Catholics around the country have raised concerns that Girl Scouts USA, or local Girl Scout councils, may be allied with Planned Parenthood.”
“The questions keep coming up, so they have to be answered, because so many Catholic parishes have Girl Scout units,” Aponick explained. “It is precisely because so many parishes support Girl Scouts that this question is important.
“By asking the question, we’re not attacking Girl Scouts or women. One committee of the U.S. bishops is asking what messages are being given to the many, many young Catholics who are Girl Scouts across the country. They’re asking a question for clarification, not attacking.”
Aponick said that the Harrisburg diocese has had a “positive working relationship” with the local Girl Scout council for decades.
Jane Ransom, president and CEO of Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, said her concerns about the bishops’ inquiry have been tempered by this “good relationship.”
She said the April 15 Mass celebrated by Bishop McFadden was “just a beautiful day and, I think, symbolic of the relationship we have here with the Harrisburg diocese.”
She also said that Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of GSUSA, who is Catholic, “has been having good talks with the church hierarchy.”
Ransom expressed the hope that the bishops’ inquiry was “something pro forma,” but added, “I guess a part of me says, ‘If they want to investigate campfires and camping and arts and crafts, that’s fine.’ Girl Scouts do nothing, really, but extremely wholesome activities that serve the community.
“I am very, very certain that no one is going to turn up anything other than girls gaining their self-confidence, learning to be leaders and having tons and tons of fun.”
She said the allegation that GSUSA has a relationship with Planned Parenthood — an allegation circulated on the Internet and raised by an Indiana state legislator in February — is false.
And, Ransom said, “we specifically don’t take positions on reproductive health issues.”
The Girl Scouts long have been a target for social conservatives, in part because of their inclusiveness, a principle espoused by their founder, Juliette Gordon Low. Unlike the Boy Scouts of America, they have no policy prohibiting homosexual Scouts. (One Colorado Girl Scout troop made headlines when it accepted a transgender child.)
That inclusiveness, Ransom said, extends to girls of every faith, including Catholicism. “We value every girl.”
She said that GSUSA did a national review of all of the Girl Scouts’ curriculum to “make sure that there was nothing there that was blatantly in contradiction to Catholic teachings.”
And some revisions were made. References to playwright Josefina Lopez, for instance, have been deleted because one of her plays was seen as anti-Catholic.
GSUSA is really “bending over backwards” to be as transparent as possible, to make sure Catholics feel comfortable with the Girl Scouts, Ransom said.
The reason for this is simple: An estimated half-million Catholic girls and women are Girl Scouts.
Robert J. McCarty, executive director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, has been reviewing Girl Scouts’ practices for the past two years, and said he’s been impressed by the “really serious commitment” GSUSA has made to addressing the concerns of Catholics.
“They have been exceptional in their willingness to respond to the critiques,” he said.
McCarty said the federation has looked carefully at the Girl Scouts’ materials, and found a “very few” to be “age-inappropriate” or objectionable. In some cases, he said, they “quoted an author, and if you followed the author’s bio, the author might have views that are contrary to Catholic leadership.”
But “how many degrees of separation do you have to go to be fair?” McCarty asked, rhetorically.
The Girl Scouts “could have been more careful in their development of materials. But I would maintain that none of this was intentionally mean-spirited or anti-Catholic,” McCarty said. “These are well-intentioned people who want the best for our kids.”
He said that because there are so many Catholics involved in Girl Scouts, the church has a role as watchdog.
But, McCarty added, “There’s a difference between being a watchdog and engaging in a witch hunt.”
He said he does not know “how many different ways” GSUSA can say it has no relationship with Planned Parenthood for critics to accept this as reality.
He said concerns also have been raised about GSUSA’s membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. At issue is WAGGGS’ embrace of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to ensure that adolescents receive information about sexual health and reproduction.
But McCarty pointed out that the Vatican also has supported some of the U.N. goals — on poverty, for instance — while saying, “very clearly, ‘This doesn’t mean we agree with every stance.’ “
“That’s not good enough for the critics,” said McCarty, asking, “Does every organization have to be in full compliance with Catholic doctrine?”
For engaging in talks with GSUSA, McCarty has been accused by Catholic hard-liners of “whitewashing” the Girl Scouts’ record. He is unfazed by the criticism.
He said the federation — a separately incorporated organization with which most dioceses, including Harrisburg, are affiliated — has chosen to advocate for the Catholic Church, while engaging in “honest, respectful” discussions with the Girl Scouts.
“You can’t win the game if you walk off the field,” he said, urging Catholic Girl Scout leaders to write to him, and to their bishops, to tell of their experiences with scouting.
He and another federation official have met with Bishop Rhoades’ committee. And McCarty said he’s hopeful that the committee will resolve its concerns with the Girl Scouts and that processes and relationships will be established that ensure “communication and accountability at both the local and national levels.”
If not, McCarty said, “what an incredible loss to 500,000 [Catholic] girls and women.”
Contact Sunday News staff writer Suzanne Cassidy at scassidy@lnpnews.com.
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Sheriff Al Cannon called a priests consumption of wine during Mass behind bars a non-issue and chalked up the chaplains ouster to a disconnect on how the alcohol was being used.
The sheriff reinforced Monsignor Ed Loftons ban from the county jail, but said he would allow other priests to use sacramental wine while the topic is reviewed.
Temporarily, that is my policy, Cannon said during a news conference Thursday. Based on a whole host of things, I feel thats ultimately going to be our policy.
But Im withholding final judgment on that until weve had time to really look into that issue a little bit more.
Lofton said he was the target of a ?civil-rights violation when he was booted from the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center this week. One of 86 volunteer chaplains, he demanded to continue using 1 ounce of wine for himself during Mass at the jail, something he has done for 15 years, he said.
Chief Deputy Mitch Lucas said he fired Lofton only after he brought up those legal implications about the prohibition. The sheriff added Thursday that Lofton would not return because of the chaplains lack of confidence in jail leadership.
After a meeting with the sheriff Thursday, Lofton said he was pleased with the outcome. But the former reserve police officer was disappointed that he wouldnt be visiting the jail as he has throughout his 25 years in the priesthood.
I think this is their way of saving face, said Lofton, who once served as a chaplain in North Charleston when Cannon led the police agency there. But I hopefully paved the way for someone else. Hopefully, this issue is finally resolved.
Issues history
Lofton said problems arose in November, when he was called into a jail office and told to replace wine with grape juice because alcohol is considered contraband. Another parishioner was stopped for having a metal chalice, he said.
In months of back-and-forth discussions, Lofton also appealed to the jails second-in-command, a member of St. Theresa the Little Flower Catholic Church in Summerville, which Lofton leads.
Wine is essential in celebrating the Eucharist, Lofton said in pleading with commanders.
Despite the talks, a misunderstanding somehow arose between Lofton and administrators about what the word wine meant in regards to the amount consumed and who drinks it, Cannon said.
Though rank-and-file officers, including one who contacted The Post and Courier Thursday, were aware of Loftons use of wine, the highest commander was not, Cannon contended.
Jail administrators thought Lofton wanted to give wine to inmates, according to Cannon. That, the sheriff said, would not be acceptable.
Things went south, Cannon said, when the hint of legal ramifications came up this week. Lucas promptly told the priest to leave.
Alcohol in general poses an inherent safety and security issue, the sheriff said, and that needs to be balanced with inmates legal rights to worship. But its not clear how to do that, he said.
If cases go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court … to decide what is and what is not required or permissible, Cannon said, I think its expecting a bit much of us down here on a lower level of legal intellect.
Public reaction
The story has sparked an outpouring of support through emails and telephone calls to Loftons church and to the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley also weighed in on the subject after an unrelated news conference Thursday, saying the rules should require some reasonable flexibility.
According to experts and legal opinions, a priests use of wine is widely accepted in jails and prisons nationwide.
Victoria Middleton, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, said the lack of risks posed by wine is apparent in the states policy, which allows it.
It is difficult to believe that this modern facility has a security need for an alcohol restriction that is more stringent, she said. We definitely think this is a constitutional issue.
Paul Rogers, president of the American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association, said problems typically arise when low-level correctional officers turn away priests during contraband checks.
Rogers said it was well-established legally that priests can consume wine in prisons. If a priest allows it, inmates are permitted to drink a small amount too, he said.
This pops up once a year when administrators focus on their own policies and procedures instead of the law, Rogers said. But there has been Catholic Mass going on for over 150 years in prisons and jails everywhere.
Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or twitter.com/offlede.
By Bernadette A. Parco
Monday, May 28, 2012
CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma has directed the implementation of the Vatican City-sanctioned upgrade of prayers recited during the mass in the next four months.
In a circular dated May 23, 2012, the gradual implementation of the new translation will start next Sunday, June 3, in all masses in the archdiocese.
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The move would be done in phases, according to length and usage of responses, with the Apostles’ Creed to be introduced in the last installment.
Next month, there would be changes to all short responses of the assembly during the introductory rites of the mass, the Gospel, the preface, the Rite of Peace or the part when all mass goers exchange peace greetings and the concluding rites.
There would be a new version of the Confiteor or the recitation of “I confess to Almighty God ….” and the other forms of penitential act.
In July, new versions of Gloria, Sanctus and Memorial exclamations would be introduced. The choir members would also have to sing these new prayers, so lyrics are to be revised.
Upgraded
By August, the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father, and Communion responses would be the upgraded version whether the prayers are recited or sung.
The new Apostles’ Creed, a prayer the starts with “I believe in God…” and the Nicene Creed version would be recited by September.
Palma has directed the clergy, religious and lay people to be prudent in explaining the rationale of the new translation.
Original Latin
In an earlier interview, commission on worship chairman Msgr. Cristobal Garcia said the changes were made so the prayers are closer to the original Latin text of the missal, or prayers recited during the mass.
Some of the translations include the common answer “And also with you,” which would be changed to “and with your spirit.”
Another phrase that will be changed is, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” whose common reply is “It is right to give him praise.”
The reply, after a direct translation from Latin to English is “It is right and just,” or “angay og matarong” in Cebuano text.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 28, 2012.
The last few months have seen a few stories about children managing conflicts with their religious beliefs. There was the story about the Orthodox Jewish day school in Houston that won its regional championship to advance to the boys basketball state semifinals but couldn’t play because the game was scheduled during their Sabbath. There was the story about a school run by the Society of Saint Pius X that forfeited a baseball game rather than compete against a girl, in violation of their beliefs about treating women with respect.
And now we have another story. One of the challenges in covering these issues is that usually we’re dealing with minority religious groups whose views may seem silly to outsiders. Reporters must navigate that issue by respectfully covering both the children who are standing up for their religious values in the face of popular or formal opposition but also respectfully covering the views of those who think the children are wrong.
This story in a local Florida paper called the Daily Commercial was an interesting read. Reporter Theresa Campbell told the story of an Umatilla teenager who said she was forced to choose between her Catholic faith and being a delegate to Florida Girls State, a leadership program for teenaged girls:
“I was shocked. This is basically discrimination,” said Margeaux (Mar-go) Graham, 16, a junior at Umatilla High School, who was told that she would not be allowed to attend Sunday Mass while Girls State is hosted June 15-23 at Florida State University in Tallahassee, even though a Catholic cathedral is across the street from FSU.
Graham’s mother, Mary, offered to make the trip to escort her daughter to church.
“The girls are not allowed to leave our program for any reason,” said Robin Briere, department secretary-treasurer of the American Legion Auxiliary, who noted it would be an insurance liability to allow any of the 300 delegates to leave the premises.
Briere said a non-denominational Sunday service is provided for the delegates.
Though my family is not Catholic, my siblings and I have faced this issue numerous times. We are Lutherans who don’t do non-denominational worship and we believe that Sunday Divine Service is the most important part of our week and takes precedence over other activities. I have had numerous employers who do not understand or respect this. I always try to make it clear before I take a job that this is my religious practice. When my brother was at the Air Force Academy, it was difficult for him to explain to his supervisors that the evangelical Protestant service offered on campus would not satisfy his religious needs, for instance. In a way, I’m surprised we don’t see more stories about this, if my own family’s experience is any indication.
The story gave the perspective of the student according to the student and her religious community:
As a faithful Catholic, Graham said it would be a mortal sin for her not to attend Mass, as it’s her religious and moral obligation to attend Mass every single Sunday.
“Missing Mass is not an option,” added Jackie Smart, director of religious education at St. Mary of the Lakes Catholic Church in Eustis, where Graham is a parishioner.
“If you’re Catholic, you’re obliged to gather with your fellow Catholics on Sundays to celebrate Mass and it’s not something that we can choose not to participate in, if you’re an active Catholic,” Smart said. “If you really believe what our faith teaches, there would be no way to keep you from Mass and that’s the way Margeaux feels…”
When the young woman was told she couldn’t go to Mass, a friend of the family who is commander of the American Legion Post in her hometown proposed allowing a priest to come to Girls State to celebrate Mass for the Catholic delegates. That idea was rejected.
The perspective of the program’s leaders is also included. We’re told Briere says religion has never been an issue for the program:
“We are a non-denominational program and intentionally keep religion out of our program out of respect for the 300 girls that come from many different faiths,” she said. “We set aside time on Sunday morning, from our very busy schedule, to allow each girl to honor her faith silently and the girls collectively put a program together to honor all faiths.”
The Sunday service is written and executed by the delegates, she said, adding it’s something that they enjoy doing.
“The majority of our schools in Girls State are Catholic schools that support our program,” Briere said. “And we’ve never at one time had a Catholic school demand that we have a priest come into our program to celebrate Mass during Girls State.”
“I’m just amazed at the uproar over this,” added Briere, who also is Catholic by faith. “It’s not like she’s forced to go to this program and we’re denying her religious rights. … What has surprised me the most, through all of this, was having the Umatilla American Legion commander call and demand that we had to do it.”
Briere said she does not feel less of a Catholic when she misses Mass while being involved in leading Girls State.
At this point, it may have been nice to have an outside expert weigh in to explain the difference in approach between some Catholics and others or why an interfaith program or silent prayer time might be neither sufficient nor allowable for some religious adherents.
The story goes on to explain that Miss Graham “regretfully” declined to be her local auxiliary’s delegate. A portion of her letter announcing that was quoted including what she thinks of the program’s treatment of her religious views. Briere is also given a chance to respond. Here’s how the article ends:
“I respect her religious beliefs, and certainly I share them as we’re the same faith,” Briere said. “The Catholic religion that I know is not that narrow thinking, but I do respect how she feels. I’m not disrespecting her in any way. I just feel bad that she is being put in the position to choose between the two. Unfortunately, because of this, she has lost her opportunity to go to Girl State and that cannot be changed now. She’s out of the program, and it was her choice.”
The teen said she made the decision on her own and that her parents would have been “supportive” of whatever she had chosen to do.
“My daughter is an amazing young teen,” Mary Graham said. “She is standing up for her faith.”
I love all the quotes and the length of them, allowing us to get a real sense of the actual views of the major players in this story. That this comes from a smaller local paper is also worth noting. It’s a great idea for a story, obviously, and includes more information than we expect to see in local reports.
Photo of young woman praying via Shutterstock.
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PORTSMOUTH — Retired Senior Chief Gerald Brown, 83, died Thursday, May 24, 2012, after a battle with mesothelioma.
He was born in Gloversville, N.Y. to Harry and Eva Brown on March 11, 1929. He was known to those who loved him as simply “Brown”. He attended Gloversville High School; after high school he joined the Navy, where he served for 20 years and retired in 1967. Brown was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. Following his retirement from the Navy, Brown taught Machine Tool Processes at the New Hampshire Vocational Technical College for 24 years and retired in 1991 as Professor Emeritus.
Brown married Dolores Singer on Sept. 30, 1950. They were married 62 years and had four children: Gerald Jr. of Middleton, Karen and Bruce Ballard of Windham, Thomas and Lisa Brown of Barrington, and Patricia and Donald Simpson of Manchester. Brown had nine grandchildren: Sarah, Ryan and April Ballard, Patrick and Elissa Simpson, Bryanna and Matthew Simpson, Jason and Jamie Brown, and Michael, Christina and Jeff Stenger; and one great-grandchild, Hannah Rose Stenger of Connecticut. Brown is survived by his brother, Kent; his step-mother, Iva; and two nieces, Kami Race and Trishia Brown.
Brown was an avid hunter, fisherman, wood carver, gardener and yard-sale enthusiast. He was a senior member of the Piscataqua Fish and Game Club. He and his wife spent the past 17 winters at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., and they spent three weeks of every winter in Aruba. Brown and Dolores were members of the St. Catherine’s/Corpus Christi Catholic Parish for the past 48 years.
The family would like to thank Ashley and Heather of Beacon Hospice who provided help, support and knowledge during his time of need. They also wish to thank Dr. Jonathan Eneman and the staff at York Hospital Oncology for their care. Finally, they wish to thank their supportive neighbors who have always been there for them.
SERVICES: Visiting hours will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, 2012, at the Farrell Funeral Home, 684 State Street, Portsmouth, NH. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 31, 2012, at Immaculate Conception Church, 98 Summer Street, Portsmouth. Burial is scheduled with military honors at the New Hampshire State Veteran’s Cemetery in Boscawen, NH, immediately following the Mass.
Donations in memory of Gerald Brown may be made to the New Hampshire Veteran’s Cemetery at www.nhveteranscemetery.org or Beacon Hospice at 95 Brewery Lane, Suite 10, Portsmouth, NH 03081.
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