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Diocese of Juneau

Serving the Church of Southeast Alaska

February 6, 2009 • Published biweekly www.dioceseoFjuneau.org • Volume 40 number 3

By Cindy Wooden

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he learned “with joy” of the election of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad -- a prelate he has met three times -- as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch-elect Kirill, 62, who had been in charge of ecumenical relations for the Russian Orthodox Church for the past 20 years, was elected patriarch of Moscow Jan. 27 on the first ballot cast by members of the church’s local council.

He will be enthroned Feb. 1 in Moscow as the successor of Patriarch Alexy II, who died in December after more than 18 years as head of the church.

At the end of his Jan. 28 general audience, Pope Benedict prayed that the new patriarch would be filled with “the light of the Holy Spirit for a generous service to the Russian Orthodox Church” and he entrusted the patriarch to “the special protection of the Mother of God.”

Pope Benedict also sent a congratulatory tele-gram Jan. 28 saying, “I ask the Lord to grant you an abundance of wisdom to discern his will, to persevere in loving service of the people entrusted

InsIde

STAFF MEMBER PREPARES TO SHIP POSTCARDS TO BE USED IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST FOCALoretta Fleming prepares to ship boxes of pro-life literature, used in a postcard campaign against the Freedom of Choice Act, at the office of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment in Washington Jan. 26. Staff in the office were shipping boxes of postcards to dioceses and others as part of a national campaign against FOCA. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Rumors aside, FOCA legislation no threat to Catholic health care

By nanCy Frazier o’Brien


WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Inter-net rumors to the contrary, no Cath-olic hospital in the United States is in danger of closing because of the Freedom of Choice Act.

As a matter of fact, the Freedom of Choice Act died with the 110th

Congress and, a week after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, has not been reintro-duced.

But that hasn’t kept misleading e-mails from flying around the Internet, warning of the dire con-sequences if Obama signs FOCA into law and promoting a “FOCA novena” in the days leading up to

Inauguration Day.The Catholic Health Association

“is strongly committed to opposing FOCA and (the board) is unanimous that we would do all we could to oppose it,” said Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla., an elected member of the CHA board of trustees since June 2006.

“But there is no plan to shut down

Please see FOCA page 16

Please see PATRIARCH page 10

Pope, Catholic leaders welcome election of new Russian patriarch

Campaign Invites Inactive Catholics To Reconnect

With Their FaithSee Page 7

A Modern Martyr Championed The Catholic Press

See 1

THe InsIde PAssAGe • February 6, 2009

UsPs 877-080

Publisher: Roger L. Schwietz, OMI, Archbishop of Anchorage, Apostolic Administrator of Juneaueditor: Mrs. Karla Donaghey / staff: A Host of Loyal Volunteers

According to diocesan policy, all Catholics of the Diocese of Juneau are to receive The Inside Passage; please contact your parish to sign up. Others may request to receive The Inside Passage by sending a donation of $30. The Inside Passage is published bi-weekly (except for the months of June, July & August when it is

monthly) by the Diocese of Juneau. Periodical postage paid at Juneau, Alaska.POsTMAsTeR: send address changes to: The Inside Passage, 415 sixth st. #300, Juneau, AK 99801

neWsARE YOU MOVING?

Notify us by calling 907-586-2227 ext 32, mail us your new address with an effective date on it, or email: [email protected]

Please helP us SAVE money! Each address change notice we get from the Post Office costs us 50¢.

Getting to Know Bishop-elect Edward BurnsPhotos and Podcast on the Web

WELCOMING BISHOP-ELECT EDWARD BURNSJANUARY 19, 2009—Prior to meeting with the press, Bishop-elect Burns is greeted by LtoR: Noel Grant, Deacon Charles Rohrbacher, Cece Lihou, Sandy Nolan and Robbie Izzard. (Photos by Brian Wallace)

CATHEDRAL DAILY MASSBishop-elect Burns prepares to celebrate daily Mass with Father Pat Travers at the Cathedral on Jan. 19, 2009. Deacon Gary Horton stands in back while servers Nico Glocke and Miguel Rohrbacher enjoy the moment.

“It is with profound gratitude to our Holy Father for his confidence in me to lead this Diocese and with great humility that I have accepted this challenge.”

—Msgr. Edward Burns

“Pray with Confidence!” Episcopal motto of Bishop-elect Msgr. Burns View a large album of pictures from Bishop-

elect Burns’ visit to Juneau on our diocesan website (www.dioceseofjuneau.org)

Also listen to a podcast of his first homily

given at the Cathedral daily Mass on Jan. 19, 2009. Go to www.juneaucathedral.org. Click on Weekly Homily Podcast and then on 19 Jan 2009

THe InsIde PAssAGe February 6, 2009 •

By John Thavis


VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he lifted the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops in the hope that they would take further steps toward unity, including the recognition of the authority of the pope and of the Second Vatican Council.

The pope, speaking at his general audience Jan. 28, said he was motivated by a desire for church unity when he re-moved the excommunication of Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of St. Pius X, and three other bishops of the breakaway society.

“I undertook this act of paternal mercy because these prelates had repeatedly mani-fested to me their deep pain at the situation in which they had

come to find themselves,” the pope said.

“I hope my gesture is fol-lowed by the hoped-for com-mitment on their part to take the further steps necessary to realize full communion with the church, thus witnessing true fidelity, and true recog-nition of the magisterium and the authority of the pope and of the Second Vatican Council,” he said.

The pope said he consid-ered the restoration of full unity in the church as one of his primary pastoral tasks, one he had emphasized at the inaugural Mass of his pontificate in 2005. This task of maintaining unity, he said, is symbolized by the Gospel account of the miraculous catch of fishes, when the net did not break despite the heavy catch.

It was the pope’s first public comment on the lifting of the excommunications, and the

first time a Vatican official had specifically raised the issue of the teachings of Vatican II. In

his statement Jan. 24 wel-coming the Vatican’s move, Bishop Fellay had professed loyalty to the pope but said the society still has “reser-vations” about the Second Vatican Council.

The four bishops were or-dained against papal orders in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefeb-vre. The Vatican has held on-again, off-again talks with the society since 2000; in 2007 the pope granted wider use of the 1962 form of the Mass, known as the Tridentine rite, which had been another request of the society’s leaders.

Vatican officials said that future talks will touch in part on the future status of the Swiss-based society and

its estimated 500 priests and seminarians.

POPE LOOKS ON DURING GENERAL AUDIENCE AT THE VATICANPope Benedict XVI looks on during his general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican Jan. 28. The pope said he lifted the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops in the hope they would take further steps toward unity. (CNS)

Pope expresses hope for full communion with traditionalist society

German Jews express anger over decree to reinstate Bishop WilliamsonBy MiChael laWTon


COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI’s deci-sion to reinstate Bishop Rich-ard Williamson, the traditional-ist bishop who has minimized the extent and severity of the Holocaust, has been criticized strongly in Germany, where it is illegal to deny that the Nazis exterminated Jews.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany said the decision

was a “slap in the face for the Jewish community.”

Dieter Graumann, vice presi-dent of the council, told a Ger-man newspaper the fact that it was a German pope who had taken this step “is for me par-ticularly bitter.” By reinstating four excommunicated bishops and by opening the possibility for members of the Society of St. Pius X to come back into communion with the Catholic Church, he said, the pope had “brought a clearly anti-Semitic

group back into the lap of the church.”

The council has brought charges against British-born Bishop Williamson, who has claimed that reports about the Holocaust were exaggerated and that no Jews died in Nazi gas chambers. The bishop repeated his position in a Swedish television interview recorded last November but aired Jan. 21.

On Jan. 23, Germany’s public prosecutor opened an

investigation to look into the traditionalist bishop’s state-ments, since the Swedish television interview took place in Germany.

The same day the interview aired, Pope Benedict lifted the excommunication against the four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The Vatican made the decree public Jan. 24.

Reacting to the papal decree, Rabbi Julian-Chaim Soussan

of the German conference of orthodox rabbis said, “The bridges which were built in the past have been brought down.”

Like the Vatican, Germany’s Catholic bishops distanced themselves from Bishop Wil-liamson’s statements on the Holocaust.

They also pointed out that the four traditionalist bishops had made it clear they and the

Please see REINSTATE page 9


Synthesis of Instruction “Dignitas Personae”This is the third and final part of the synthesis of the instruction “Dignitas Personae” that was released December 12, 2008 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on certain bioethical questions. The last issue of The Inside Passage included the Second Part.

* * *Third ParT:

new treatments which involve the manipulation of the embryo or the human

genetic patrimony

Gene therapy

Gene therapy commonly refers to “techniques of ge-netic engineering applied to human beings for therapeutic purposes, that is to say, with the aim of curing genetically based diseases” (n. 25).

Somatic cell gene therapy “seeks to eliminate or reduce genetic defects on the level of somatic cells” (n. 25). Germ line cell therapy aims “at cor-recting genetic defects present in germ line cells with the pur-pose of transmitting the thera-peutic effects to the offspring of the individual” (n. 25). From the ethical point

of view:

Procedures used on somatic cells for strictly therapeutic purposes “are in principle morally licit...Given that gene therapy can involve significant risks for the patient, the ethi-cal principle must be observed according to which, in order to proceed to a therapeutic intervention, it is necessary to establish beforehand that the person being treated will not be exposed to risks to his/her health or physical integrity which are excessive or dis-proportionate to the gravity

of the pathology for which a cure is sought. The informed consent of the patient or his/her legitimate representative is also required” (n. 26). With regard to germ line cell therapy, “the risks connected to any genetic manipulation are considerable and as yet not fully control-lable” and therefore “in the present state of research, it is not morally permissible to act in a way that may cause pos-sible harm to the resulting prog-eny” (n. 26). With regard to the possibility of using techniques of genetic engineering to intro-duce alterations with the pre-sumed aim of improving and strengthening the gene pool, it must be observed that such interventions would promote a “eugenic mentality” and would introduce an “indirect social stigma with regard to people who lack certain qualities, while privileging qualities that happen to be appreciated by a certain culture or society; such qualities do not constitute what is specifically human. This would be in contrast with the fundamental truth of the equal-ity of all human beings which is expressed in the principle of justice, the violation of which, in the long run, would harm peaceful coexistence among individuals... Finally it must also be noted that in the attempt to create a new type of human being one can recognize an ideological element in which man tries to take the place of his Creator” (n. 27).

Human cloning

Human cloning refers to “the asexual or agametic re-production of the entire human organism in order to produce one or more ‘copies’ which, from a genetic perspective, are

substantially identical to the single original” (n. 28). The techniques which have been proposed for accomplishing human cloning are artificial embryo twinning, which “con-sists in the artificial separation of individual cells or groups of cells from the embryo in the earliest stage of develop-ment... which are then trans-ferred into the uterus in order to obtain identical embryos in an artificial manner” (footnote 47) and cell nuclear transfer, which “consists in introduc-ing a nucleus taken from an embryonic or somatic cell into an denucleated oocyte. This is followed by stimulation of the oocyte so that it begins to de-velop as an embryo” (footnote 47). Cloning is proposed for two basic purposes: reproduc-tion, that is, in order to obtain the birth of a baby, and medical therapy or research.

Human cloning is “intrinsi-cally illicit in that...it seeks to give rise to a new human being without a connection to the act of reciprocal self-giv-ing between the spouses and, more radically, without any link to sexuality. This leads to manipulation and abuses gravely injurious to human dignity” (n. 28).

With regard to reproductive cloning, “this would impose on the resulting individual a predetermined genetic identity, subjecting him - as has been stated - to a form of biological slavery, from which it would be difficult to free herself. The fact that someone would arrogate to herself the right to determine arbitrarily the genetic char-acteristics of another person represents a grave offence to the dignity of that person as well as to the fundamental

equality of all people... In the encounter with another person, we meet a human being who owes her existence and her proper characteristics to the love of God, and only the love of husband and wife constitutes a mediation of that love in conformity with the plan of the Creator and heavenly Father” (n. 29). With regard to cloning for medical therapy or research, it must be said that to “create embryos with the intention of destroying them, even with the intention of helping the sick, is completely incompatible with human dignity, because it makes the existence of a human being at the embryonic stage nothing more than a means to be used and destroyed. It is gravely immoral to sacrifice a human life for therapeutic ends” (n. 30). As an alternative to therapeutic cloning some researchers have proposed new techniques which are presented as capable of producing stem cells of an embryonic type without implying the destruc-tion of true human embryos, for example, by altered nuclear transfer (ANT) or oocyte as-sisted reprogramming (OAR). Doubts still remain, however, “regarding the ontological sta-tus of the ‘product’ obtained in this way” (n. 30). The therapeutic use of

stem cells

“Stem cells are undifferenti-ated cells with two basic char-acteristics: a) the prolonged capability of multiplying themselves while maintaining the undifferentiated state; b) the capability of producing transitory progenitor cells from which fully differentiated cells descend, for example, nerve

cells, muscle cells and blood cells. Once it was experimen-tally verified that when stem cells are transplanted into damaged tissue they tend to promote cell growth and the regeneration of the tissue, new prospects opened for regenera-tive medicine, which have been the subject of great interest among researchers throughout the world” (n. 31).

For the ethical evaluation, it is necessary above all to con-sider the methods of obtaining stem cells.

“Methods which do not cause serious harm to the subject from whom the stem cells are taken are to be considered licit. This is generally the case when tissues are taken from: a) an adult organism; b) the blood of the umbilical cord at the time of birth; c) fetuses who have died of natural causes” (n. 32). “The obtaining of stem cells from a living human embryo...invariably causes the death of the embryo and is consequently gravely illicit... In this case, research...is not truly at the ser-vice of humanity. In fact, this research advances through the suppression of human lives that are equal in dignity to the lives of other human individuals and to the lives of the researchers themselves” (n. 32). “The use of embryonic stem cells or dif-ferentiated cells derived from them - even when these are provided by other research-ers through the destruction of embryos or when such cells are commercially available - presents serious problems from the standpoint of cooperation in evil and scandal” (n. 32). Numerous studies, however, have shown that adult stem cells give more positive results

Please see DIGNITAS PERSONAE page 14


Every year in Rome on January 21st, the feast of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, the Holy Father, in the church of Santa Agnese Fuori le Mura (St. Agnes Outside of the Walls) is presented with two lambs, which he blesses. Their wool is then used to weave the pallium, a white band with six black crosses, which is a sign of communion between the Pope and the metropolitan archbishops of the universal Church. It is a beautiful and meaningful custom: the lamb is an image of Christ and in scripture lambs symbolized innocence and purity.

These lambs are blessed on the feast of St. Agnes, whose

name in Latin means, ‘lamb.’ She was an adolescent girl who was martyred in Rome in the 3rd century and who is invoked in the Roman Canon (First Eucharistic Prayer) with the apostles, bishops, deacons and martyrs of the Church of

Rome. We know very little about her except that she was probably only 12 or 13 years old and that she showed great courage when she refused to deny her faith in Jesus despite

the threats made against her. According to tradition, she

defied the will of her unbe-lieving father who had com-manded her to enter into an arranged marriage because she had chosen to dedicate herself to Christ, her spiritual bride-groom and remain a virgin. In the ancient world (as in so many countries and cultures today) a father had an absolute right in law and custom over his daughters. So he dragged Agnes before the magistrate, denounced her as a follower of Christ and demanded that the court force her obey him. Because she was so young and female, the judge thought he could frighten her into complying with her father’s demands by sentencing her to servitude in the public brothel. But despite beatings, attempted rape and death threats, Agnes remained adamant and in the end the authorities had her put to death by the sword.

As I reflect on her story, I’m struck by two things. I was moved by this young woman’s refusal to give-in to the demands being made upon her grounded as she was in her dignity as a beloved daughter of God. Her choice to offer her virginity to Christ was her assertion that she belonged to no-one but God.

Her feast day got me thinking about a modern day Agnes, a Cambodian woman named So-maly Mam. She is the founder of the Somaly Mam Founda-tion, which works to eradicate human trafficking.

Somaly Mam was from a des-perately poor family. At a very young age she was sold into a life of sexual slavery and forced to work in a brothel. She lived there with other young girls and all of them were horribly mistreated: they were beaten, tortured and threatened with death if they tried to escape. In spite of every obstacle, So-maly Mam was able to escape the brothel and has dedicated her life to working to end the modern day slave trade, the trafficking of women and chil-dren into sexual slavery.

The facts about trafficking are simply appalling.• According to the State De-

partment, human traffick-ing is the second-largest organized crime activity in the world, bigger even than drug trafficking and produces profits of $9.5 billion a year.

• 2-4 million young women and children will be sold into prostitution in the next 12 months.

• A million children a year are exploited in the global commercial sexual exploi-tation of children.

• UNICEF reports that con-sequences for exploited children and young women are devastating: rape, torture, forced abortions, starvation, threats to their family members and life-

long physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological injury.

As a victim and a survivor of forced prostitution, Somaly Mam began by helping other women and children to escape from Cambodian brothels, which meant creating safe places for them to live and challenging the indifference and corruption that make this modern day form of slavery possible. But she also worked to help survivors of trafficking

to make a new life for them-selves through job training and micro-finance loans. Over time she has become a leader in the international movement to end this modern version of slavery.

The Vatican and Bishop’s Conferences worldwide have taken a very strong and public

stand in support of women and children who have been traf-ficked or who are threatened by it and have condemned without reservation the com-mercial sexual exploitation of women and children around the world.

Perhaps the pallium, the symbol of unity of the Holy Father with all of the leading bishops throughout the entire Church, might also symbolize for our bishops and for us the resolve of the universal Church to pray and to act in solidar-ity with millions of innocent women and children who are exploited and violated each day in our world

Somaly Mam, speaking of her own mission invites us to join her:

“I’ve committed my life to fighting this horrible scourge on humanity. Seeing innocent young women and children whose lives have been forever scarred leaves no doubt that they need a champion who is willing to invest all their time and energy towards eradicating the shameful practice of human trafficking. I cannot wage this fight alone and call on anyone who cares about the innocent victims to donate their time, money and advocacy to this important cause.”

(For more information about the Somaly Mam Foundation go to: www.somaly.org. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff has written extensively about Somaly Mom and the global commercial exploita-tion of women and children. His columns can be found at: www.nytimes.com.)

Along The Way • Deacon Charles RohrbacherPhone: 907-586-2227 ext. 23 / Email: [email protected]

Human trafficking and a modern day “Agnes”

SOMALY MAMSomaly Mam, a vict im and survivor of forced prostitution, helped other women and children to escape from Cambodian brothels.


Pope Benedict XVI released a message in preparation for the

43rd World Day of Social Communications in Rome on Friday January 23 with this year’s theme being “New Tech-nologies, New Relationships, Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship”.

The Vatican is very keen to step up efforts to use and em-brace new technologies as a way to effectively communicate with not just Catholics, but all people worldwide, and especially

young people - technologies such as the use of Xt3 and social networks and SMS messaging that were successfully adopted during WYD08.

To give practical support to this year’s theme, the Vatican also released details of its own channel on YouTube which will

have papal texts and speeches as well as audio and video. In presenting this information to the international press, Xt3 was, on a number of occasions, used as an example of what can be done by and for young people in helping to provide answers, resource material, interviews and active feedback.

Visit the new video channel at www.youtube.com/vatican and read the Papal Message regard-ing the upcoming World Day of Social Communications.

News BriefsCatholic News Service

Please continue on page 14

PAGE FROM VATICAN’S YOUTUBE VIDEO NEWS CHANNELThe Vatican’s YouTube video news channel features news clips of Pope Benedict XVI and major Vatican events. The channel, www.youtube.com/vatican, was unveiled Jan. 23. (CNS)

43rd World Day of Social Communications

www.youtube.com/vatican

Obama administration gets advice from Catholic social thinkers

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The near collapse of the world’s financial institutions in September 2008 propelled President Barack Obama to the White House, but also will likely constrain what he is able to accomplish on his agenda for change, a George-town University professor said in a presentation at The Catholic University of America. “The Obama administration’s 9/11 has already occurred,” said Jesuit Father John Langan, professor of Catholic social thought at Georgetown. “It both gives and takes away.” He was one of four panelists assessing the new administration in its early days and Catholic social teaching as it relates to domestic and global concerns in a Jan. 29 program. Father Langan said that regardless of what transpires on Capitol Hill and at the White House, the church must continue to advocate for the poor and prod officials to remember the needs of the unemployed and those in danger of losing their homes during debates on how to best to foster an economic recovery. “Simply preserving the institutional structure of the financial community is not enough,” he said.

Cardinal ‘mystified’ at reported federal probe into abuse cases

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles said he is “mystified and puzzled” at reports that a federal prosecutor is in-vestigating whether he and the archdiocese violated a federal law against scheming “to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” The Los Angeles Times and the New York-based Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 29 that U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien is personally involved in the investigation. The similar stories cited anonymous sources who said a grand jury convened by O’Brien is looking into whether Cardinal Mahony and other church leaders committed fraud by inadequately handling cases of priests who sexually abused minors. The U.S. attorney’s office has declined to comment. Two press releases from the archdiocese Jan. 29 questioned the motives of those who released the information anonymously and called for an internal investigation of the leak from the U.S. attorney’s office.


Campaign invites inactive Catholics to reconnect with their faithBy CaTholiC neWs serviCe

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- This Lent and Easter “thousands of inac-tive Catholics” will go to church “and some will be open to an invitation to reconnect with their Catholic faith,” said a Paulist priest who is a leader in evangelization.

Extending that invitation are the Pau-list Fathers through a new nationwide campaign, said Father Frank DeSiano, president of the Washington-based Paulist National Catholic Evangeliza-tion Association.

The campaign, titled “Awakening Faith: Reconnecting With Your Catho-lic Faith,” has its own Web site: www.awakeningfaith.org.

Through the site a number of tools are available for parishes to use to con-nect with inactive Catholics and invite them to participate in parish life. Those tools include invitation fliers, letters, newspaper ads and Web site ads.

According to a news release an-nouncing the campaign, the “heart” of the initiative is a small-group process. Groups meet once a week for six weeks of social interaction as well as conversation based on short essays about spirituality, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God’s mercy, the Mass and the church.

The goal of the meetings is to foster reflection, prayer and sharing in a wel-coming setting, and create “a bridge” to the larger church community.

Citing a 2008 study that showed Sunday Mass attendance is decreas-ing, Father DeSiano said the church is facing “a pastoral challenge” that the Paulists’ campaign is addressing.

He referred to a study titled “Sac-raments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics,” conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington. It found that only 23 percent of adult Catholics in the U.S. attend Mass once a week or more of-ten, and only about 31 percent of adult Catholics are estimated to attend Mass in any given week.

The same study showed that 32 percent of Catholics rarely or never attend Mass, and 24 percent attend only a few times a year.

“As a church proclaiming the sav-ing mission of Jesus Christ, we must face this urgent pastoral challenge directly and find new ways to invite and welcome inactive Catholics,” Father DeSiano, co-author of the campaign, said in a statement.

He said there is plenty of evidence that inactive Catholics are open to an

invitation to return to the church.The reason the campaign is being

launched now, he said, is because large numbers of these Catholics seek out a church during Lent and the Easter sea-son. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is Feb. 25 this year.

Father DeSiano developed the prototype for the campaign when he was pastor at Old St. Mary’s Parish in downtown Chicago, 2002-06.

The campaign’s other co-author, Paulist Father Kenneth Boyack, who is vice president of the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association, talked about the role a parish team has in the campaign.

“Under the direction of the pastor or a parish staff person, a team of four to five people is all that is needed to enable a parish to participate,” he said.

“We need to present a powerful invitation to Catholics,” said Father DeSiano. “We need to provide inactive Catholics with opportunities to recon-nect with the church so that they can discover, in a new way, the life-chang-ing love of Jesus Christ and the rich treasure of their Catholic faith.”

He added, “These pastoral efforts can bring new life to our parishes.”

We are Called to Share Our StoryBy Peggy MaTTson

Juneau, Alaska

I was reminded of the song of the Body of Christ by David Haas as I read a recent article in the Juneau Empire. The article by Jon-Michael Gwinnell added to the funeral eulogy the poignant story of Aidan Neary’s faith journey. The story can be found at: http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/012509/nei_381346341.shtml

The refrain of the song begins, “We come to share our story.” It is in this sharing that we grow in our own Chris-tian walk and can learn from and also nurture others on the journey.

Aidan partici-pated in one the first Relay-For-Life events in Juneau. He wrote up and posted his survivor story on the sharing bulletin board at this community event. He wasn’t afraid to share his cancer story.

I had Aidan in 4th grade CCD class and one of our projects was making ce-ramic bowls for the Glory Hole Empty Bowls fundraiser. Fr. Tony came to our class and we had a blessing of the bowls before we donated them to the Glory Hole. I remember how touched he felt doing something simple like making a ceramic bowl that helped the hungry and homeless in Juneau.

Aidan shared his story; he broke bread and shared his faith with family, friends, church, and community. Thanks Aidan and thanks to the Neary family for shar-ing your stories with us.

AIDAN

Knights of Columbus

The world’s largest Catholic, Family, Fr aternal Service Organization serving parishes

and communities in Southeast Alaska.

Are you interested in becoming a Knight or reactivating your commitment to service? Contact the K of C Council nearest you in Juneau, Ketchikan or Sitka or call your local parish for additional contacts and information.

Movie Reviews available at: www.

usccb.org/movies


Father Joe said mass for the last time at Sacred Heart Parish in HainesHe has been a source of inspiration and joy for us

By helen sTreu

Haines, Alaska

HAINES—December 28, 2008: In his farewell address, he gave us a peak into the memories he will take back to Australia with him: The long ascent and decent of Mt. Ripinski; the breath-taking beauty of the scenery; the trips people took him on; dinner invitations and people cooking his favorite foods; snowmaching, fishing, moose and bear hunting trips. Joe, some people live here their whole lives without experiencing many of these things! As he told the Bishop, he did not find gold in Alaska but he found the people -- and he found us because he was always looking and reaching out with arms wide open.

I asked parishioners for help in writ-ing this tribute to Father Joe. These are some of the responses:

JOHN—I needed him. He was sent here just for me.

HERTZ—I liked his insistence that we have a Nativity Set for the whole community, that it says”Merry Christmas” not “Happy Holidays’ He said, “Stand in the gap for Jesus” He was a sparkplug in our church!

DANIELLE—We miss him al-ready. He made me play the piano, he had a way of making people do things without asking.

LYDIA—He gave me cookies whenever I’d drop off the mail with my dad and when he left he gave me the whole bin of cookies. He al-ways brought jewelry for my sister, Madelene and me and then wanted to know why we weren’t wearing it the next Sunday to church.

JIM—He was a great cook. He had interesting stories about Australia and The Philipines, very personable and outgoing. He had great sermons, interesting historical lessons.

IVANCA AND PATRICK—Come back! If you’re not here within a year, we’re coming for you!

KATHY W.—He was very uplift-ing, not only to the parish, but to the community.

NICOLE—Father Joe was very nice.

RAYNE—He always tied the read-ings to our lives.

HELEN—Out of WWII came a re-

make of a Spanish- American war song called “My Filipino Baby.” Here is my version of it.

“Our Joe”

He’s our Filipino priestHe’s our treasure and our joy

He’s told us many storiesOf when he was a boy

He’s brought us close to JesusWith his words and actions too

He says that he loves usWe know this to be true

He’s headed back ‘down under’Goodbye to snow and ice

Goodbye dark winter morningsGoodbye Northern Lights

Goodbye dear friends you’ve made here

We’ll never forget you, you know

So carry memories of us with you

‘Cause you’ll always be “OUR JOE”

God keep you safe and Bless you greatly.

Father “JOE” AdrianoFr. Joe Adriano began his ministry in the Diocese of Junean July 1, 2007. He served as pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Haines and St. Therese parish in Skagway.

Steelerssteal

back the lead and

win!

P I T T S B U R G H S T E E L E R S POLAMALU POSES WITH FAMILY NEXT TO VINCE LOMBARDI TROPHYPittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu holds son Paisios and stands with wife Theodora, who is holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 1. Father David Bonnar, secretary for parish life and ministerial leadership for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, said in 2006 that Polamalu exudes a gentle, humble spirit. Father Bonnar celebrated Mass for the Steelers prior to the game. (CNS)


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St. Therese of the Child Jesus Secular Carmelite Group

St. Therese of the Child Jesus Secular Car-melite Group held an

annual two-day retreat for its Juneau members on Saturday, January 24 and Sunday, January 25, 2009. Fr. Scott Settimo, the Group’s Spiritual Advisor, led the retreat which which began both days with Morning Prayer and Holy Mass at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was followed by morning and afternoon con-ferences both days. The topic was “St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Influences of her Family.” Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin had nine children, five of whom survived and all of them became nuns. Their youngest child--Therese--be-came known as St. Therese of

the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Their whole lives were centered around God, heaven and the church. The children were taught to love, nurture and care for each other and to provide charity to those less fortunate than they. Each was dedicated from birth to the service of God. They were imbued with a sense of holi-ness that was demonstrated to them by the way their parents lived and explained life to their children.

On Saturday the retreat was held in a Parish Hall classroom and Sunday in a Chancery conference room. For more information about this Carmelite Group, contact Joeanne Mielke, 907-586-9080.

SAINT THERESEC h e e r f u l n e s s a n d transparency, together with an original wisdom and strength, are some of the traits of this young and popular saint of Carmel. Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873 in Aleòcon, France. A few years later the family moved to Lisieux upon the death of the mother when Therese was only four years old.

rest of the Society of St. Pius X accept neither the Second Vatican Council’s decisions nor the church’s teaching on relations with non-Christian religions, as laid out in the Vatican II declaration “Nostra Aetate.” The German bishops expressed the hope that members of the Society of St. Pius X would “ex-press their loyalty (to these teachings) unmistakably and credibly.”

Hans Joachim Meyer, president of the lay Central Council of German Catho-lics, went further, saying: “We have always known it: There’s a close link between the traditionalists’ continued rejection of the results of the Second Vatican Council and their deeply reac-tionary positions, which are opposed to freedom.”

REINSTATE:Continued from page 3

Lenten Regulations

Ash Wednesday, which is February 25th this year, marks the beginning of the

six weeks of Lent. Christ calls us all to join in fasting and prayer as we

prepare for Easter, April 12th.As a foundation for our Lenten Pen-

ance, the church asks us to observe the following penitential practices.

•All Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat and meat prod-ucts. This law obliges everyone who is 14 years of age and older.

•Good Friday, April 10th (as well as Ash Wednesday) are days of fast and abstinence (one full meal, two lesser meals, no meat, no eating between meals). The law on fasting obliges all persons between the ages of 18 and 59.

Following are some other sug-gested penitential practices of Lent:

•As a way to align yourself with Je-

sus, “fast” from alcoholic beverages, deserts, coffee, television, movies, eating out or some other luxury.

•Focus on one aspect of your life that you would like to change.

•Practice charity in thought, word and deed, using Jesus as your model. Especially remember the hungry and homeless.

•Pray both in private and in com-munion with others. Participate in the Stations of the Cross, read Scripture, pray the rosary, meditate and go to a prayer group of Bible study.

•Participate in the sacramental life of the church, especially Eucharist and reconciliation, perhaps attend daily Mass.


to your patriarchal ministry and to sustain them in fidelity to the Gospel and the great traditions of Russian Orthodoxy.

“May the Almighty also bless your efforts to maintain com-munion among the Orthodox churches and to seek that full-ness of communion which is the goal of Catholic-Orthodox collaboration and dialogue,” the pope wrote.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, who as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Chris-tian Unity met Metropolitan Kirill dozens of times, said: “We are happy to have a pa-triarch with whom we have enjoyed fraternal relations for many years.

“We trust that we will be able to continue the common journey of reconciliation that we have begun,” said the car-dinal, who was planning to fly to Moscow for Patriarch-elect Kirill’s enthronement liturgy.

Cardinal Kasper said he did not want to ignore difficulties remaining between the Catho-lic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, but it was important to underline how committed the two churches are to cooperating “on a social and cultural level to witness to Christian values.”

Still, the cardinal said in a Jan. 28 statement that “the ultimate aim of dialogue is the fulfillment of the will of Jesus Christ, our Lord, which is the full communion of all his disciples.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lom-bardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters Jan. 27 that the Vatican rejoiced with the Rus-sian Orthodox Church over the election of their new leader.

Patriarch-elect Kirill “is a person who is well-known and

esteemed” at the Vatican, he said, adding that “we hope his service will be fruitful and that he will continue to deepen the process of mutual knowledge and collaboration for the good of humanity.”

Catholic Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, head of Moscow’s Archdiocese of the Mother of God, told Vatican Radio Jan. 28 that Russian Catholics felt very positive about the new patriarch.

“A church with this patriarch is good for others as well,” he said. “The relationship we have with Metropolitan Kirill, now patriarch, gives us hope for the continuation of dialogue, of common activities and of the intensification of our prayers for full unity.”

Archbishop Pezzi, who was at the Vatican for his “ad lim-ina” visit to report on the status of his diocese, told Vatican Ra-dio he “would not exclude” the possibility that under the new patriarch finally there could be a personal meeting between the pope and the head of the Rus-sian Orthodox Church.

Despite the strong desire, first of Pope John Paul II and then of Pope Benedict, Patri-arch Alexy repeatedly said that too many problems existed between the churches to make a meeting possible.

A personal encounter be-tween the pope and the pa-triarch “is highly desirable,” Archbishop Pezzi said, and it would mark a step forward in the process toward full communion between the two churches.

In fact, the new leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, which claims more than 150 million members, met Pope Benedict immediately after the pope’s election in 2005, during a visit to Rome to consecrate a Russian Orthodox church in 2006, and for formal talks in

December 2007.The council which elected

the new patriarch is made up of more than 700 bishops, priests, monks and laypeople representing each diocese and foreign mission of the Rus-sian Orthodox Church. The delegates came from more than 60 countries.

Patriarch-elect Kirill was seen as the candidate most open to improving ecumenical relations, especially with the Catholic Church, although he often criticized papal actions taken to re-establish the work of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia.

He had served as the Moscow Patriarchate’s director of exter-nal affairs -- its chief ecumenist

-- since 1989. In that position, he held dozens of meetings with Cardinal Kasper and his predecessors at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Chris-tian Unity as well as with the cardinals and Catholic bishops from around the world.

After the death of Patriarch Alexy, the patriarch-elect was chosen by the Russian Ortho-dox bishops to be the interim head of the church.

Patriarch Alexy’s tenure coincided with the breakup of the Soviet Union, the estab-lishment of democracy, and the long and difficult process of re-establishing the Russian Orthodox Church and religious practice after decades of com-

munist repression.But newfound freedom for

the Russian Orthodox Church also brought the possibility for the Catholic Church to re-establish its structures in Russia and for the Ukrainian Catholic Church to worship freely in Ukraine, a process that led to Orthodox claims that the Catholic Church was trying to expand in traditionally Orthodox territory.

As late as December 2007 Patriarch-elect Kirill publicly called on the Vatican to down-grade the status of the four Catholic dioceses in Russia and reclassify them as “apostolic administrations,” which they were prior to 2002.

He told Russia’s Interfax news agency, “We shall never recognize them and will al-ways dispute the presence of ordinary Catholic dioceses in the territory of Russia and consider it a challenge” to the tradition of church organiza-tion that Catholics and Ortho-dox share.

When the Orthodox or Catholics have communities outside their traditional home-lands, he said, a bishop should be in charge of their pastoral care, but that bishop should be an administrator, not the head of a diocese erected in terri-tory already under the care of another bishop.

Visiting Pope Benedict just a few days after he gave the inter-view, Patriarch-elect Kirill said that despite differences with the Vatican the two churches have permanent, “always-open channels of communication.”

Even while tensions con-tinued over matters of church jurisdiction, Patriarch-elect Kirill and other Orthodox leaders affirmed the need for Catholics and Orthodox to work together to strengthen

POPE GREETS METROPOLITAN KIRILL BEFORE MEETING AT THE VATICAN IN 2007Pope Benedict XVI greets Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Kirill before their meeting at the Vatican in this Dec. 7, 2007, file photo. Metropolitan Kirill, who was in charge of the church’s ecumenical relations for the past 20 years, was elected Jan. 27 as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

PATRIARCH:Continued from page 1

Please see PATRIARCH page 16


Blessed Jacob Gapp, S.M., may well be considered another

patron of the Catholic press as well as a patron of justice and peace advocates. Because the Gestapo condemned him for his unwavering adherence to the Catholic faith and his unabashed denunciation of National Socialism (Nazism), Father Jacob Gapp was guil-lotined by the Nazis in Berlin at the Ploetzensee Prison on August 13, 1943. Pope John Paul II beatified him in1996.

Before entering the Society of Mary in his native Austria, this intrepid Marianist priest had served in the Austrian army in World War I, was wounded and decorated for valor, and suffered as a prisoner of war in northern Italy. This expe-rience taught him to loathe war, selfishness and greed, arrogant pride, political and social injustice. As a young Marianist religious and teacher of religion he was unstinting as a militant advocate for the poor, the needy, and the oppressed.

This action made Father Gapp a serious irritant to the Nazis after they annexed Austria in 1938. For his own safety and for the welfare of the Marianist school where he was teaching in Graz, his superiors moved him from place to place for parish work. The Nazi regime forbade him to teach. Some pupils in the Tyrol told a school inspector in October 1938 that Father Gapp explained to them the Gospel message of brotherly love and

their obligation to love and respect “French-men, Czechs, Jews, and communists alike, as they were all human beings.” He insisted, “God is your God, not Adolf Hitler.”

Realizing that the spoken word and the printed word clearly possessed a power lacking in the sword of militarism, he employed the Catholic press as a weapon of choice. And he read avidly to study the thorny problem of National Socialism and all its ramifications.

Imbued with the message of Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge and the statements of the Austrian bish-ops, Jacob Gapp had formed a lucid and sound judgment about the utter incompatibil-ity of National Socialism and Christianity. In his preach-ing he emphasized this truth fearlessly, and he taught the uncompromising law of love for all people without reference to nationality or religion.

In a fateful sermon in his home parish of St. Lawrence at Wattens in the Tyrol on De-cember 11, 1938, this seasoned Marianist priest staunchly defended Pope Pius XI against the attacks of the Nazis, know-ing that his words were being monitored by the Gestapo. He urged the faithful to read Catho-lic literature rather than Nazi propaganda, and to follow the lead of the Catholic press. This bold move forced him to leave his native country and escape to

France. A few months later his anti-Nazi audacity required that he flee Bordeaux and enter Spain, where he assisted in several schools and parishes served by the Mari-anists. But in Spain,

which had Nazi sympathies engendered during its Civil War, even among his fellow Marianists he stood alone and was misunderstood because of his rejection of the Nazi diatribe. Yet his zeal for the cause he so fervently espoused was not diminished.

In the summer of 1942 the beleaguered Father Jacob Gapp visited the British consulate in Valencia to inquire about a visa to England. He also wanted to learn what was really happen-ing in Germany and in Nazi-occupied Europe, especially concerning the Church. The consulate staff gave him a stack of newspapers and magazines. Among them were copies of The Tablet, a weekly journal edited by Catholic laity in London. The Tablet provided reports about the persecution of the Church, internment camps, pastoral letters like that of the Bishop of Calahorra in Spain criticizing the Nazi ideology, and objective reports from the war fronts. Shunning the biased propaganda material, Father Jacob began to distribute The Tablet, returning regularly to the consulate for new copies.

Shadowed by the Nazis over the years, he was arrested through a deceptive trap that

lured him across the border into occupied France, where the Gestapo arrested him and hustled him to prison in Berlin. In January 1943, for two long and intense days he was interro-gated nonstop by the Gestapo. Jacob Gapp welcomed the op-portunity to present his case. The Gestapo interrogators were particularly interested in his visits to the British consulate in Valencia, and in the “sub-versive propaganda against the Fatherland” he had repeatedly collected there and distributed. Calmly and firmly the prisoner explained that The Tablet was not propaganda: “It is a good, Catholic journal. The writing is sound, and I even intended to subscribe.”

Willingly and vigorously the martyr-to-be not only admitted he consistently op-posed the Nazi regime and all it represented, but explained when and why he had done so. He virtually flew in the face of the interrogators. His reasoning and candor stunned the Nazi agents. First and foremost he was a Marianist religious and Catholic priest, conscience-bound to place God before Caesar. Since the Nazis were bent on destroying the Church, he was convinced it was his duty to blaze a trail of resistance and opposition, to educate with truth, and to be a role model of fidelity.

For his honesty and integ-rity Father Jacob Gapp was sentenced to death for treason and guillotined. His body was destroyed because the Gestapo

feared the people would revere him as a martyr. Reportedly Heinrich Himmler, the cunning manipulator of the Nazi lead-ership, expressed the opinion that Germany would win World War II without difficulty if there were a million party members as committed as Jacob Gapp. Even the enemy admired his tenacious and unstinting adher-ence to conviction.

Today we honor Blessed Jacob Gapp as a modern-day champion of the Catholic press, which strives to be a source of truthful reporting. Because he respected the Catholic press as the vehicle the Church employs to reveal the Good News for our day, we are invited to call on him to help us to appreciate and promote a more effective Catholic press -- print and electronic -- with a wider read-ership, and to use the Catholic press as he did for the cause of truth and justice.

As the Church regards St. Francis de Sales as patron of the Catholic press, who intercedes for writers and publishers, we can call on Blessed Jacob Gapp as a patron for readers of the Catholic press. We can request him to assist all who turn to the Catholic press for a reliable source of information. The author: Brother John Samaha has been a Marianist for 60 years. After a variety of assignments in education in the United States and Lebanon, he is now retired at the Marianist Center in Cupertino, California.

naTional CaTholiC Press MonTh - FeBruary

A Modern Martyr Championed The Catholic Press

On Prayer • Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.Marianist Center, 22683 Alcalde Road,Cupertino, CA 95014-3903


Albert Of Jerusalem

Feast Day Sept 25. (c.1149-1214). Born at Castel Gualteri in Parma, Italy of a well-known family, Albert studied theology and law and be-came a Canon Regular at Holy Cross Abby and was named their prior and in 1184 became bishop of Bobbio. He was translated to Vercelli, medi-ated a dispute between Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Clement III, and was Pope Innocent III’s legate to northern Italy. In 1199 he nego-tiated a peace between Parma and Piacenza. He was made Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1205 which was established in 1099 by the crusaders as a Latin kingdom. The Saracens recaptured Jerusalem in 1187 and he was obliged to establish his see at Akka. There, he was the model of a good pastor and peace-maker and took a prominent role in civil and ecclesiastical affairs where he often mediated disputes between the dif-ferent Frankish factions. He united the hermits of Mount Carmel into one community and is best known for composing a rule for St. Brocard, a prior of the hermits living there. This rule is known as The Rule of St. Albert and was the first rule of the Carmelites. He was murdered at Acre September 14, 1214.

Question Corner • Father John Dietzen Catholic News Service

Are we forbidden to call priests father?

My question has to do with the part of the

Gospel that says we should not call anyone on earth father, because we have only one father, in heaven (Mt 23). It also forbids calling some-one rabbi (teacher). Several non-Catholic friends ask me why we call our pastor father, when the Bible says not to. I can see using the title in other ways (father of a family, etc.), but it does seem maybe wrong to use it in a religious way. (Missouri)

First of all, the practice of using the title father is not at all new. It goes back to earliest Christian times and has been in use ever since. For centuries the name was applied more generally to monks than to diocesan priests. And Protestants, of course, abandoned the use gradually after the Reformation in the 16th century.

The reason Christians call their spiri-tual leaders father is simple and natural. Priests, in addition to being, ideally, spiritual life-givers to the people in their care in other ways, are the usual ministers of those sacraments that, in

the name of Christ and his church, give us the new birth and life of grace: baptism, the Eucharist, penance and the rest.

By their continuing pas-toral care, instruction and support, good priests nur-ture the life of God which we share as Christians in a manner parallel to the role

of our natural fathers.For this reason, St. Paul does not

hesitate to call himself the father of his Christian converts. “Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,” he told the Corinthians, “yet you do not have many fathers” (1 Cor 4:15).

He also twice calls Timothy his son because he had brought Timothy’s family to faith in Christ (Phil 2:22 and 1 Tm 1:2).

Understood literally, this section of Matthew would mean we should not call our natural fathers by that name, or call our instructors teachers. The context of that passage makes clear that Jesus was not hung up on the word father or teacher; rather, he was condemning the practice of some leaders of heaping

titles on themselves out of pride and self-importance.

One of the most respected Protestant biblical commentaries remarks about this verse, “If one takes the command literally, the titles doctor and professor, as well as rabbi and father, are forbidden to Christians in addressing their lead-ers” (Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7, on the Gospel of Matthew).

A newspaper I purchased at a supermarket mentioned that the

white cassocks of Pope John Paul II have been cut into small pieces and are for sale. Where can one buy one of these relics? How much do they cost? (New York)

The story is not true. First of all, it is contrary to church law to sell any relics. However the rumor started, there is no foundation to it.(A free brochure in English or Spanish, answering questions Catholics ask about baptism practices and sponsors is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 3315, Peoria, IL 61612.)

(Questions may be sent to Father Dietzen at the same address, or e-mail: [email protected].)

Carmelite Saint of the Month

Father Thomas Visits Tenakee Springs Catholic Community

TENAKEE SPRINGS—Fr. Thomas Weise, rector of the Cathedral parish in Juneau, arrived in Tenakee Springs by ferry on Thursday morning, Jan. 29th to celebrate Mass in St. Francis Chapel later that evening. Mass had not been celebrated in Tenakee since late spring of last year. He plannned to fly back to Juneau the next afternoon for weekend Masses at the Cathedral. Bad weather prevented Fr. Thomas from flying home and the ferry broke down causing him to spend a few extra days in Tenakee which allowed for accomplish-ing a few projects. Putting his woodworking skills to work, he made the tabernacle smaller and relocated it to a more appropriate location on the wall.


Sunday Scripture ReflectionsBy Carol Crater, SHF

PO Box 3248, Fremont, CA 94539-0324

February 8, 2009 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Job 7:1-4,6-7; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39

Our economy has taken a downturn, and I imag-ine many of us are starting to sound like Job,

lamenting how difficult life is and how unfairly we have been treated after giving however many years of our lives to the corporation and now this, whatever “this” might be. I won’t try to offer words of consola-tion by reminding you that there are many others who have it worse; that’s not much comfort. But I would like to offer something to think about as you try to work your way up from wherever you have landed. We sometimes wonder what effect our sins have on God. When we imagine the great all-powerful God, it’s hard to imagine that our little failings are more annoying than the buzzing of a mosquito on a sum-mer night. But let’s think BIG – Hitler’s holocaust, slavery both ancient and new, wanton disregard for the environment, the destruction of life on a massive scale – what is God’s response to such sins? I can imagine hurt and disappointment, but I can’t imagine God moaning like Job that His life is a drudgery and

there is no hope. What I imagine is that God, rather than flinging lightning bolts to stop the sinful action, sends His community to bring comfort and mercy, and then reworks the plan around whatever we have done that stands in the way. We have the power to sin, but we do not have the power to thwart the plans of God. Now that we have learned something of God from our own experience, let’s turn this around and learn something about our own experience from our reflection on God. Does the economy have the power to thwart our plans? Or do we rant and rave as we must, and then go about reworking our plans around what we have to work with? If the economy can destroy us, we have given the economy too much power.What part of your life is affected by economic distress? What part of your life is not affected by economic distress?

February 15, 2009 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46; Psalm 32; 1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1; Mark 1:40-45

And almost as if we had had it planned, here comes today’s gospel with a great example of

what we reflected upon last week. Jesus is kind and merciful, and when he meets a leper, he is inclined to heal him. All he asks is that the man do as the law requires and show himself to the priest, but tell no one else about what has happened. That would not fit into Jesus’ plan. So the leper, now cleansed of his illness, goes away and tells everyone he meets about what has happened. I mean, you can hardly imagine he would do otherwise, can you? When someone asks, “Hey, aren’t you the leper who was outside the city gates last week?” what’s he supposed to say? So word gets around and Jesus can no longer move freely from town to town, but must stay out in the deserted places, and even there, the crowds find him. What is his response to this betrayal, to this apparent thwarting of his plan? Does he throw in the towel and quit, muttering about the ungrateful lot that has been given to him? I doubt it. I imagine he takes it to prayer while he’s off in those deserted places, and then finds a way to use “the way things are now” in his very plan.

How do you respond when things don’t go your way? with an angry reaction, or with a prayerful response?

Pope Benedict XVI’s Monthly Prayer IntentionsFeBRUARY 2009

• CHURCH PAsTORs. That the Church’s pastors may be ever more docile to the action of the Holy Spirit as they teach and serve the people of God.

• PeACe In AFRICA. Guided by the 2nd Special As-sembly of the African Synod of Bishops, may the local Church find effective ways to promote reconciliation, justice, and peace.

You can access the Apostleship of Prayer page for: • Monthly reflections • Monthly reflections for children • Daily reflections at http://apostleshipof prayer.org/2009.html

“Call Upon Mary”St. Bernard (1090-1153), Abbot of Clairvaux in Burgundy, France, Doctor of

the Church, and great devotee of Mary, reminds us to have recourse always to Mary.

In danger, anguish, or doubt, think of Mary and call upon her.

Let the name of Mary never be far from your lips or heart.

And to obtain the fruit of her prayers, do not forget the example of her life.

Following Mary, you will never lose your way.

Praying to her, you will never sink into despair.

Contemplating Mary, you will never go wrong.

With Mary’s support, you will never fall.

Beneath her protection, you will never fear.

Under her guidance, you will never grow weary.

And with her help, you will reach your heavenly goal.


than embryonic stem cells. Attempts at

hybridization

“Recently animal oocytes have been used for reprogram-ming the nuclei of human somatic cells... in order to extract embryonic stem cells from the resulting embryos without having to use human oocytes” (n. 33).

“From the ethical stand-point, such procedures rep-resent an offense against the dignity of human beings on account of the admixture of human and animal genetic elements capable of disrupt-ing the specific identity of man” (n. 33).

The use of human “biological material”

of illicit origin

For scientific research and for the production of vaccines or other products, cell lines are at times used which are the result of an illicit intervention against the life or physical integrity of a human being.

Experimentation on human embryos “constitutes a crime against their dignity as hu-

man beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person. These forms of experimentation always constitute a grave moral dis-order” (n. 34). With regard to the use of “biological material” of illicit origin by researchers, which has been produced apart from their research center or which has been obtained commercially, the moral requirement “must be safeguarded that there be no complicity in deliberate abortion and that the risk of scandal be avoided. In this regard, the criterion of independence as it has been formulated by some ethics committees is not sufficient. According to this criterion, the use of ‘biological material’ of illicit origin would be ethi-cally permissible provided there is a clear separation between those who, on the one hand, produce, freeze and cause the death of embryos and, on the other, the research-ers involved in scientific experimentation”. It needs to be remembered that the “duty

to refuse to use such ‘biologi-cal material’ springs from the necessity to remove oneself, within the area of one’s own research, from a gravely unjust legal situation and to affirm with clarity the value of human life. Therefore, the above-mentioned criterion of independence is necessary, but may be ethically insuf-ficient” (n. 35). “Of course, within this general picture there exist differing degrees of responsibility. Grave reasons may be morally proportion-ate to justify the use of such ‘biological material’. Thus, for example, danger to the health of children could per-mit parents to use a vaccine which was developed using cell lines of illicit origin, while keeping in mind that everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available. Moreover, in orga-nizations where cell lines of illicit origin are being utilized, the responsibility of those who make the decision to use them is not the same as that of those who have no voice in such a decision” (n. 35).

News BriefsCatholic News Service

DIGNITAS PERSONAE:Continued from page 4

The deeper one’s faith, the greater one’s generosity, cardinal says

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (CNS) -- Noting that churchgo-ers’ generosity to charity has declined in recent decades, U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley told a Catholic donors group that “generosity is related to faith; the greater and deeper our faith, the greater will be our generosity.” In an ad-dress Jan. 29 to a meeting of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, or FADICA, Cardinal Foley, grandmaster of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, recalled his childhood and young adult years when even children commonly tithed a percentage of their allowance or other earnings to their churches and other charities. An advance copy of the text of his speech was released by his Vatican office. “What has happened in the years since the 1950s,” when people like his parents “gave easily,” he asked. He recalled his mother and father donating “at least 10 percent and as much as 20 percent of their income to the church, depriving themselves of new coats or a new car because they knew that the Little Sisters of the Poor or the Dominican sisters who cared for those dying of cancer needed the help much more than either of them needed a new coat.”

Brain death raises questions, from Minnesota to Washington to Vatican

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Don’t talk to Raleane “Rae” Kupferschmidt about brain death. The 66-year-old woman from Lake Elmo, Minn., was declared brain dead nearly a year ago after a massive cerebral hemorrhage. She was removed from a ventilator, following her wishes, and her family took her home to die. But when Kupferschmidt began responding to family members, they rushed her back to the hospital, where she regained what her husband called “98 percent” of her earlier vigor. In late September she experienced another health crisis and went into a coma. Although doctors were not as hasty to term it brain death this time, they offered little hope of her survival -- a pre-diction she defied again in October. “I keep thinking that (God) saved me a second time so I could inspire people and let them know they shouldn’t give up, even when things look hopeless,” she told the Stillwater (Minn.) Gazette in a Jan. 13 interview. Coincidentally, the newspaper’s interview with Kupferschmidt took place the day after the President’s Council on Bioethics issued “Controversies in the Determination of Death,” a 144-page white paper on what the council prefers to call total brain failure.

Catholic colleges’ spirit of service leads graduates to Peace Corps

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Jesuit-run Georgetown University has created a culture that helps students understand that serving others and being committed to something larger than themselves is important in life, according to one school official. “Service is part of what it means to go to Georgetown. Part of our tradition is engagement with the larger community,” said Kathleen Maas Weigert, ex-ecutive director of the university’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service. So the fact that each year many Georgetown

undergraduate alumni -- along with their counterparts from a number of other Catholic colleges and universities -- volunteer for the Peace Corps should come as no surprise. On Jan. 12 the Peace Corps released its annual list of top volunteer-producing U.S. colleges and universities in 2008. Georgetown University in Washington was the fifth-largest producer of Peace Corps volunteers among private colleges and universities. Of all medium-size colleges and universities, it was the ninth-larg-est producer of volunteers.


Short-notice Reduced

Rates at the Shrine

You are invited to give an email request for short-

notice/reduced rates at the Shrine.

Be sure to specify:• which facility (facilities) you are interested in, • the dates you would be open to or • whether or not the dates can be weekdays or only

weekends, etc.

Let’s see if we can make a deal.. [email protected] or phone 780-6112.

www.dioceseofjuneau.org

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All contributions are appreciated although not all articles and photos will be published.

For particular help you may call: Ms Roberta Izzard, Victim Assistance Coordinator and Safe Environment Coordinator for the Diocese of Juneau. Call: 907-586-2227 ext. 25 or Email: [email protected].

Did you Know?

How Old Does a Child Need to Be in Order to Stay Alone?

Don’t assume that when your child understands what you’re saying, he’s ready to walk out the door by himself. Besides the fact that many states have laws against leaving children of certain ages alone (for example, younger than 12), experts say children shouldn’t be left by themselves until they’re capable of fighting off an abductor or handling a crisis situation. Experts also say children do not have the mental maturity to cross busy streets by themselves until they’re about 10 or 12 years old. (Did you know that pedestrian injuries rank third in child fatalities, behind traffic accidents and drowning?) Finally, parents who are certain their young children would never walk away with a stranger will be shocked to learn that studies show they probably will. Stay alert and vigilant, even if you believe your child is aware of possible dangers from others.

Source: “Know the Rules . . . After-School Safety Tips for Children Who Are Home Alone,” www.missingkids.com.

Lent is less than a month away and now is a good time to think about preparing for this holy season. How are you going to deepen your life of prayer? Discipline your appetites by fasting from food, drink and entertain-ment? Give generously to those in need, both at home and faraway?

every year, millions of Catholics par-ticipate in Operation Rice Bowl (ORB), Catholic Relief Services’ annual Lenten program that starts Ash Wednes-day, Feb. 25th. Go to orb.crs.org for resources, stories, photos, and multimedia.


Letters to the EditorLetters to the editor are accepted about

articles which have appeared in The Inside Passage, issues concerning the Diocese of Juneau or which offer a Catholic perspective on current events. Letters may be edited for length. Publication of a letter does not imply endorsement of its contents by The Inside Passage or the diocese. However, the diocese maintains the right to refuse to run let-ters contrary to Church doctrine. Send to: The Inside Passage, 415 Sixth St., #300, Juneau, AK 99801.

any hospital if it passes,” he added in a Jan. 26 telephone interview. “There’s no sense of ominous danger threatening health care institutions.”

Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO, was equally sure that FOCA poses no threat to Catholic hospitals or to the conscience rights of those who work there.

“I don’t believe that FOCA will pass, although we will con-tinue to monitor all proposed regulations for their potential to help people in this country and for any negative assault on the life issues,” she said.

As introduced in previous congresses, the legislation “has never contained anything that would force Catholic hospitals or Catholic personnel to do

abortions or to participate in them,” she added.

But even in a worst-case scenario, if the most dire pre-dictions were to materialize and a federal law were to man-date that all hospitals provide abortion services, “I want to make it very clear that Catho-lic health care will not close and we will not compromise our principles,” Sister Carol told Catholic News Service Jan. 26.

If necessary, Catholic hos-pitals will take a lesson from “how people have dealt with unjust laws” in American his-tory, “and we would respond in the same way,” she said.

“A very timely example” of that is segregation, which was backed up by U.S. laws and Supreme Court decisions that were unjust, Sister Carol said. “It was a very long and very painful journey to deal with that and now we have an

African-American president,” she added.

Some of the confusion over FOCA might arise from the fact that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a long-scheduled postcard campaign to Congress against the possible legislation just as the false Internet rumors were reaching a peak.

The postcards, which are be-ing made available for Catho-lics to sign at Masses over several weekends in January and February, ask members of Congress to oppose FOCA “or any similar measure, and retain laws against federal funding and promotion of abortion.”

“At this time of serious na-tional challenges, Americans should unite to serve the good of all, born and unborn,” the postcards say.

The FOCA novena e-mails, the source of which has not been identified, have a different

tone entirely.Calling the legislation “the

next sick chapter in the book of abortion,” the e-mails say it will force all hospitals to perform abortions, increase abortions by 100,000 annually and “could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abor-tions in certain situations (rape, Down syndrome babies, etc.) and could even regulate how many children women are al-lowed to have.”

The rumors have spread like wildfire on blogs and Web sites. On the social networking site Facebook, three separate anti-FOCA groups with member-ship totaling nearly 130,000 (as of early Jan. 27) contain misinformation about what the so-far-nonexistent legislation would do.

Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth, Texas, is “brand new as episcopal liaison” to the

Catholic Health Association, a position he got in part because of his background as a medical technologist for three years in a Catholic hospital in Spring-field, Ill., before he began his seminary studies.

“There is nothing definite yet about what is being intro-duced” in Congress, he told CNS Jan. 26. “But CHA is re-ally committed to monitoring any proposed legislation and to upholding the sacredness of life in all our institutions.”

Bishop Vann said the post-card campaign, run by the U.S. bishops’ pro-life office and the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, is getting a good reception from Catholics in his diocese.

“It’s real simple,” he said. “It’s the voice of everyday folks expressing concern about FOCA in whatever form it comes.”

FOCA:Continued from page 1

and defend traditional religious and moral values in Europe and around the world.

In an address to the local council shortly before be-ing elected patriarch, he said Christianity faced challenges from an “aggressive and un-

godly secularism” dominant in Western society, which was being assisted by “attempts by Protestant communities radically to review Christianity and Gospel morality.” Interfax published his remarks.

He also told reporters during a May 2006 visit to Rome, “The Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church must work together to bring to light again the Christian roots

of Europe.”Patriarch-elect Kirill was

born Vladimir Gundyaev Nov. 20, 1946, in what was then Len-ingrad and now is known as St. Petersburg. Ordained in 1969, he began teaching at the Lenin-grad Theological Academy and served as personal secretary to Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad and Minsk, a bishop known for his studies of the Second Vatican Council.

The future patriarch began representing the Russian Or-thodox Church at meetings of the World Council of Churches in 1971 and participated in of-ficial dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Appointed rector of the Len-ingrad Theological Academy in 1975, he was named bishop of Vyborg and assistant bishop of Leningrad in 1976. He was

named an archbishop in 1977 and was transferred to Smo-lensk in 1984.

The Holy Synod of the Rus-sian Orthodox Church named him chairman of the Depart-ment for External Church Re-lations in November 1989 and two years later he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

PATRIARCH:Continued from page 10

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