July 15, 2005 - Issue #14
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Alaskans prepare for
World Youth Day
Question: What is two-stories tall, cruises the autobahn and is packed with pilgrims from the Anchorage Archdiocese?
Answer: Two double-decker buses that will be carrying 148 people to World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 9-23.
The Alaskans will be joined in Cologne by an expected 300,000 other youth from around the world and also Pope Benedict XVI who is returning to his home country on his first foreign trip as pope.
Bob McMorrow, the youth director from St. Benedict Parish in Anchorage who is organizing the trip, thinks that this could be the largest group the archdiocese has ever sent to World Youth Day, a tradition that Pope John Paul II started 19 years ago for Catholics ages 16-30.
The first World Youth Day was held in Rome in 1986. Since then, it has happened every two or three years in major global cities, with John Paul II presiding at each event.
About 80 people from the Anchorage Archdiocese traveled to Toronto, Canada, in 2002 for the most recent World Youth Day.
People under age 18 comprise about half of the 148-member group making final preparations for Cologne. Other travelers are young adults, clergy, parents and Archbishop Roger Schwietz.
McMorrow attributes the large size of the World Youth Day group partly to the two and a half years that the Cologne event has been advertised, and also to an affinity for its European host country.
"People are excited about Germany," he said.
It takes a financial commitment to go on the trip; a minimum payment of $2,800 per person was due last month for the two-week guided pilgrimage through Germany.
Young Alaskans have been baby-sitting, walking neighbors’ dogs, mowing lawns or organizing parish fund-raisers to pay for the trip.
St. Andrew (Eagle River) parishioner Debbe Ebben, 16, has been baby-sitting regularly for about two years to earn part of what it will cost to join 29 other people from her parish at World Youth Day.
Last year, her parish hosted monthly fund-raisers from July through December, including an Octoberfest cookout, bingo night and taco feed.
With enough finances collected to cover half the cost of each traveler who wanted financial aid, the parish stopped raising money before Christmas to spend the next seven months preparing in a more spiritual way for the pilgrimage. They broke into smaller prayer groups to talk about World Youth Day readings and themes.
Why miss out on the final glow of an Alaskan summer for a costly overseas pilgrimage?
Ebben said she’s looking for a "spiritual awakening," and the planning, preparation and commitment it takes to be a World Youth Day pilgrim is a definitive step toward a more mature faith.
She’s also looking forward to being with others who are "really strong in their faith," she said.
The sophomore compared World Youth Day to another pilgrimage she recently learned about, the Muslim Hajj in Mecca, an important tenet of Muslim life.
"It’s appealing to me that I have that experience and that I make a difference showing the world what our Catholic faith is all about," Ebben said.
Sharing the World Youth Day experience with others and stepping up as leaders in the local church’s effort to evangelize is something that Archbishop Schwietz said he hopes young pilgrims will embark on upon their return to Alaska.
"It’s my hope that this experience for these young people … will be part of this whole evangelization thrust of the archdiocese," the archbishop said. "When they come back, they’ll see that they have a role to play in revitalizing our parishes. I think that that will have a wonderful affect on our archdiocese."
The archbishop has attended the last five World Youth Days, beginning with the 1993 event hosted in Denver, and he will be side-by-side young people traveling by bus though Germany next month.
When people are on pilgrimage their pastor should be with them, he said.
The event that so many have come to associate with the late Pope John Paul will be somewhat different this year, and people are wondering what kind of effect Pope Benedict XVI will have on the throngs of young Catholics. "Pope John Paul II had a special charism. Even when he was sick, his presence had some kind of magic to it," Archbishop Schwietz recalled.
In small group encounters with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Archbishop Schwietz said the new pope had a "wonderful presence" that he hopes will come through at World Youth Day.
St. Andrew Parish’s pastoral associate for evangelization, Jerry Finkler, calls World Youth Day the "eighth sacrament" of the Catholic Church.
He’s taken young groups to past World Youth Days and said the pilgrimage helps people see they’re "part of a church that’s universal."
St. Benedict’s McMorrow said that the importance of the event may not be immediately apparent, but it might emerge eventually.
"Maybe five or ten years later, there’s still that seed that’s been implanted by that experience," he said. "That’s why we do it, for that hope that there’s that change, that conversion."
A World Youth Day meeting and picnic is planned for 6 p.m. July 29 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Anchorage. The deadline for the pilgrimage has passed but there is a waiting list for people still hoping to go. Call McMorrow, 243-2195, for more information.
Mothers seek a welcoming, accessible local church
Editor’s Note: Second in a two-part series on people with disabilities and the local church. (Click here to read the first story.)
When Father Leo Walsh wanted to make St. Andrew in Eagle River more accessible for his disabled parishioners, he called on an expert for advice.
One Saturday, he toured the building with a 17-year-old member of the parish who had become a paraplegic as a result of an accident.
The idea was to "do whatever she wants," Father Walsh said.
The results included automatic door openers, modifications to an outdoor ramp, a ramp to the sanctuary and a modified ambo for a disabled lector.
But perhaps the most striking recommendation was the placement of wheelchairs during Mass.
"She said, ‘I don’t want to be right up front. I don’t want a whole row of wheelchairs. I want to be by my mom,’ " Father Walsh recalled.
Neither did she want to be sequestered in the back where she couldn’t see anything. So a middle section of pews was modified to include spaces for wheelchairs, not all clumped together, but next to other parishioners.
It would seem to go without saying that churches would do their best to meet the needs of all, regardless of their abilities.
But just as it’s taken society a long time to recognize special needs, the Catholic Church sometimes lags in what Father Walsh described as "everyone having a place at the table."
"Someone has to be motivated," said parishioner Natalie Carey of Anchorage. Usually, this means the parents, especially the mothers, of folks with special needs.
Carey, an elegant 76-year-old who could easily pass for 10 years younger, has been a motivator for more than 30 years. Her son Bryan, the last of her eight children, was born 32 years ago with Down syndrome.
Natalie Carey is unflaggingly positive. She describes "dear Archbishop (Francis) Hurley" who helped found the JOY (Jesus Only You) Community, an archdiocesan-sponsored group of disabled people and their families who meet monthly for Mass, social activities and education.
She remembers fondly the day a very young Bryan served his first Mass at St. Benedict Parish, where she and her husband, Tom, are members.
"(Jesuit) Father (William) Dibb was saying Mass that day, and at the end he introduced Bryan and everyone applauded."
But there’s one area that rouses Carey’s ire. Holy Family Cathedral, the archdiocese’s flagship church, has no handicapped access to bathrooms or the social hall.
"When Pope John II came in 1981, they had to carry handicapped people to the basement where he was going to meet them," she said. "That made me angry."
Hopefully that situation will change soon, said cathedral rector Dominican Father Donald Bramble.
Plans for cathedral renovation and expansion include four phases, "and the top value in phase one is accessibility," Father Bramble said.
Currently, he added, a bathroom in the priests’ house is open during weekend Masses for the elderly or immobile.
Inclusion is a big task, and it seems especially so in the field of youth ministry.
Matthew Beck of St. Michael Parish in Palmer, a member of the archdiocese’s Youth Evangelization Team (YET), said youth ministers try to include everyone; for example, organizers of last month’s Alaska Catholic Youth Conference arranged for a signer for a deaf participant. But youth ministers aren’t as prepared as they might be, he said.
"I’m not particularly trained to deal with people with disabilities," said Beck, who told of an experience at a youth event where a child with special needs disappeared and Beck was left to find him and bring him back.
Budget and time constraints make full inclusion "a huge expectation," the youth minister said. But perhaps, he added, the archdiocese could sponsor an awareness program, similar to the workshops on sexual abuse awareness, that would focus on inclusiveness and special needs.
Carey said a youth director can be pivotal, and it would be easy, she thinks, to find help.
"Confirmation students can do a one-on-one buddy program with other kids," Carey suggested. Kids love to help, she said, and part of their service projects could involve simply becoming friends with youngsters with special needs, going out for pizza, for ice cream or to a show.
Carey reiterated what several parents who spoke to the Anchor said: People with disabilities and special needs should be visible to the parish.
"It’s a matter of education and exposure," she said.
A wonderful way to educate the parish is to permit special needs youngsters to be altar servers, a position Bryan Carey held for years at St. Benedict, his mother said.
Unfortunately, the Careys’ experience seems to be more the exception than the rule.
Evelyn Moss is a founding member of the JOY Community, and her 32-year-old son David Moss is Bryan Carey’s close friend.
When David Moss, who has Down syndrome, was young, his mother spoke with her pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish about him serving. She said she would help train him, and that he could be given a trial period and if the pastor felt it wasn’t working out she would understand.
But the priest didn’t respond except to eventually tell Moss her son could "vest and march in the Easter procession."
David became an altar server for JOY Community Masses but never for his parish.
More recently, another mother told the Anchor of her son’s experience as a server.
A bright boy with cerebral palsy, he was a little slower than the other servers but received plaudits from parishioners. The priest, however, seemed impatient with the boy, who no longer serves.
Another mother told of taking her disabled son to a priest for altar server training and having the priest meet the boy with the words, "Oh, it’s you," in what sounded to the mother like a disappointed tone.
Those words would sting any parent, but it’s especially tough to be a parent of someone in almost constant need of advocacy, even within one’s own faith community, several mothers said.
Perhaps that’s why a group of moms at St. Andrew Parish call themselves "The Mothers from Hell."
Pastor Father Walsh laughingly said that he’s proud to be an honorary mother from hell and that the name implies all the tenacity and determination parents must muster in fighting for their disabled child.
Lately, the Mothers from Hell and others at St. Andrew have been talking about the possibility of opening a group home for the disabled under the auspices of the parish.
Even though it’s only in the conceptual stages now, the group plans to eventually take it before the pastoral council, and they have strong backing from their pastor.
"If we needed to, I’d put it right on the parish property," Father Walsh said. "The need is pretty obvious."
Across town, Moss, Carey and others in the JOY Community have been thinking about something similar.
Their dream is to have a home for five of their boys of about the same age who are now semi-independent but can’t live alone. Their deep desire is to have a faith-based community, and although they feel it would be possible to handle the funding independent of a church agency, they would like to see the administration of the project handled by an entity like Catholic Social Services.
One model is L’Arche, an international network of faith-based communities founded by Canadian Catholic Jean Vanier for people who have developmental disabilities.
Archbishop Roger Schwietz called it "a good idea" and said he had already discussed it with outgoing Catholic Social Services executive director Yvonne Chase. With Chase leaving at the end of the month, however, the project is on hold.
For Moss, delays are frustrating. Like many of the original moms in the JOY Community, she would like to see action sooner rather than later.
Moss was surprised to hear that St. Andrew parishioners are also thinking of a Catholic group home. Perhaps, she said, this will provide impetus for a quicker solution.
Meanwhile, Father Walsh said one thing should be emphasized: "Everyone has gifts. If we are serious about stewardship, it’s incumbent upon us as a community to discern those gifts."
Or as Jean Vanier put it: "Can we reasonably have a dream of a world ... where people, whatever their race, religion, culture, abilities or disabilities … can find a place and reveal their gifts?"
Homeless families have a new option in CSS’ transitional housing
Catholic Social Services has acquired a new tool in the fight against homelessness: a fourplex that it plans to offer as transitional housing.
The fourplex — actually two duplexes connected by a shared deck — is located in the quiet Government Hill neighborhood just north of downtown Anchorage. It features spacious rooms, a common laundry facility, hardwood floors and a nicely landscaped yard.
One of the units is for single occupancy, but the other three can accommodate large families — the category of homeless people who are most difficult to get into housing, according to Yvonne Chase, outgoing executive director of Catholic Social Services.
Having immediate access to the larger units will allow Catholic Social Services caseworkers to bypass the waiting lists they now face — waits of three to four months on average, said Chase, who is stepping down at the end of the month to teach at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
"We often have large families coming through Clare House," Chase said, referring to her organization’s shelter for women and women with children. "Those are the families that are the most difficult to find housing for."
The new units will serve the most difficult of the difficult: To qualify, families or individuals must be both homeless and disabled.
Catholic Social Services will utilize the federal definition of "disability," which is very broad, according to Chase. It covers physical and mental impairments, she said.
Because of their extreme situations, tenants will be able to stay at the new units for up to two years, whereas most transitional housing in Anchorage is for three to six months.
The extra time is needed because of the extra challenges disabled homeless face in finding housing, said Lora O’Connor, program manager at Clare House.
People with mobility-impairing disabilities take longer to get around town to check out potential permanent housing, and those with mental disabilities may take longer to find a landlord willing to rent to them, O’Connor said.
Many landlords in Anchorage are refusing to accept federal Section 8 housing vouchers, period, she added.
"When you add extenuating circumstances like a large family or a disability, then the odds of them going out and finding permanent housing in a timely manner is just so limiting," she said.
That’s where transitional housing can be a benefit.
Transitional housing is different from emergency shelter in that the tenants are expected to pay at least part of the rent and are required to be taking steps to acquire permanent housing.
Catholic Social Services caseworkers with the organization’s Beyond Shelter program will assist tenants in looking for work, finding permanent housing and learning what it takes to maintain independent living.
Beyond Shelter’s Home Sweet Home program provides basic financial training such as how to open a checking account or prepare a family budget, she said. "They do the Home Sweet Home class that basically teaches them what the landlords are looking for, and what their rights are," O’Connor said.
The fourplex units will have set monthly rents, and tenants will contribute according to their ability to do so, Chase said. Catholic Social Services has money set aside to subsidize what tenants can’t cover with employment income and other rental assistance such as Section 8 vouchers, she said.
Catholic Social Services acquired the property free and clear thanks to $262,000 in grants from the following sources: Rasmuson Foundation ($173,000), Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority ($50,000) and Alaska Housing Finance Corporation ($37,000), and a donation from Northrim Bank ($2,000). That total was enough to retire the mortgage and set aside funding for rental assistance. Rent income should be adequate to cover ongoing maintenance costs, Chase said.
The previous owner, 4As Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association, obtained the property from the federal government in 1992.
At that time, there was a significant social stigma attached to AIDS, and the medications that now enable HIV-positive patients to live for many years had not yet been introduced.
With the introduction of AZT and other AIDS medicines in the mid-1990s, and the gradual fading of the stigma, people with the virus are increasingly able to continue living with their families and working, said 4As executive director Trevor Storrs.
Consequently, 4As found that it no longer needed the fourplex, he said.
Besides, if someone comes to 4As in need of transitional housing, Storrs knows of a good option in Government Hill, he said.
Growing in faith, finding common ground in prayer beads
Editor’s Note: U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William Harkins Jr. is commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team Sharana in Afghanistan. His firsthand report originally ran in the June 2005 edition of Columbia magazine, published by the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, New Haven, Conn. The article and photo are reprinted courtesy of the author and the Knights of Columbus.
It’s a chilly morning in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, where I am stationed with a U.S. Army unit. Part of my responsibilities is to meet with the village elders. The soldiers and I are almost always invited to drink hot tea, or chai, with the people we meet. No matter how poor the village is, the people always bring us tea and even feed us if we have time.
I have been impressed during my time in Paktika with these followers of Muhammad. They don’t just talk their faith, they live it. On one visit, the village chief told me they had only one slow drinking well for the entire village. Each day the women use the stagnant pool under the well to wash clothes, then boil the wash water to drink. I sipped my chai as he told me this and hoped the clothes they had washed before they made the tea that day were not too dirty!
Since I have been in Afghanistan, I have had many conversations with the locals. We often discuss our common beliefs. One such discussion took place with a Muslim elder of a village.
It began with an examination of each other’s prayer beads. His tasbe is a series of 33 plastic beads strung in a loop on twisted threads called the alif. Connecting the beads, the alif symbolizes the name of God, Allah.
My wood-bead rosary with metal links has a wooden crucifix and medals of St. Dominic, St. Padre Pio and a Miraculous Medal attached. Through an interpreter I explain to the elder how I meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary as I pray the rosary. The elder explains how he recites the 99 names of Allah on his beads: Allah the Merciful, Allah the Holy, etc. He does this, he tells me, at the end of the five daily prayers he recites and at other times during the day as he feels called.
We agree that we are both men of God who have been blessed with many gifts, including this gift of new friendship. I smile to myself as I remember that I started carrying my rosary in my pocket only after I became a Knight of Columbus seven years ago, when I joined Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke Council 3607 in Albany, Ga. I am sure part of God’s plan for me back then was to have this conversation with a village elder in Afghanistan in 2005.
Recently, my team and I participated in a celebration of Eid-al-Adha commemorating Abraham’s absolute devotion to God’s will. Muslims believe the son that Abraham almost sacrificed was Ishmael. We know him as Isaac, from the Old Testament story in Genesis. Either way, the story is a powerful example for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. In the end, God provided a ram for the sacrifice, and Abraham proved his devotion to God no matter how trying the circumstances.
Most of the people in Paktika live under conditions I could never have imagined until I arrived here. They have suffered during 25 years of war — from the Soviet invasion to the Taliban rule, then the coalition forces’ liberation and numerous tribal feuds in between. Many of their young men have been killed. Entire villages have been decimated.
They live in mud brick houses in a desert of temperature extremes, both high and low, at 7,500 or more feet above sea level. I have seen their children playing in the snow and ice with no shoes or jackets.
This province has also been enduring a drought for the past eight years that has devastated the agrarian society of Paktika. Undoubtedly, their Muslim faith keeps them going during these tough times. They fully believe in their prayer "God is great," and they count their blessings.
Despite these difficult conditions, the people are thankful to God for the gift of life. Most of us can learn from this example. I sure have.
This deployment could have been a time of isolation from my Catholic faith. Our Savior has not allowed this to happen. I have no regular access to the sacraments or Mass because we are fairly remote and my unit is not large enough to rate a chaplain. There are only a handful of Catholic chaplains in the country, and they are extremely busy. I have made contact with most of them, and they make valiant efforts to head our way. We were blessed with both Protestant and Catholic chaplains on Christmas Day this past year — a very special gift!
To grow in faith out here, I pray my morning and evening prayers, using the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I also pray my rosary regularly. I read many religious books. I brought some of these with me, like the cherished pocket-size copy of The Imitation of Christ my father gave me with his notes in it.
Other books and Catholic magazines such as Columbia are sent to me by my wife and my chapter of Third Order Dominicans. I have my Catholic study Bible and have made progress on my goal to read all of St. Paul’s epistles while I am deployed. I also attend inter-denominational Bible and Christian book study each Sunday evening.
The most important reason for progress on my faith journey is the many prayers that have been offered for my well-being by family, friends, brother Knights and strangers. Though most are offered for the physical safety of our troops, God applies them to our spiritual safety as well. Without this prayer support, it would be easy to fall into the temptation of forgetting my faith in these conditions.
Our Blessed Mother has a special place in her heart for her Knights. She has supported me while I use this time to increase my faith, not turn my back on it. I thank God for the opportunity he has given me to share my Christianity, and thank him for leading me to the Knights of Columbus who taught me to carry my rosary. I am sure I will put it to good use again in the future.
Sacred silence is an important part of our liturgy
A complaint that some Catholics have about the post-Vatican II liturgy is that it is noisy, that it does not afford them sufficient (or any) time for silent prayer.
It is true, especially in ecclesial communities that are small and where most people know one another as neighbors. Often there is considerable conversation, greeting or song rehearsal going on before Mass begins. This can truly be a source of distraction to those who simply want a few moments of quiet before or after Mass in order to talk to their God.
There is already an excess of physical and emotional noise in our lives. Of all the places in our world where one ought to be able to experience the silence of the sacred, our churches ought to be foremost.
Having said that, however, we need to add that our liturgy, by its very nature and framework, does include, and demand, certain moments of silence to be kept by the assembly. It is often only in stillness and silence that we are able to hear God’s voice.
Silence, therefore, is an integral part of every liturgy. It is called "sacred," for it is in this sort of silence that we are able to meet our God. What are these moments of silence we are invited to keep in the liturgy?
• At the penitential rite: After the opening greeting at the beginning of Mass, the presider invites each member of the assembly to call to mind our sins and reflect on our need for repentance. We need these few moments not only to put aside the distractions of the world from which we have just come but also to admit our unworthiness to enter God’s presence.
• At the opening prayer: Several times during the Mass, the presider introduces a prayer with the invitation, "Let us pray." He or she then pauses for a few moments so that each of us, individually and as a community, can have the opportunity to collect ourselves, — body, mind and spirit — and add our own intentions to that of the presider. The presider then "collects" all our individual prayers into the one prayer that is then said aloud.
• After the readings and the homily: Once the Scripture lessons, the Gospel or the homily has been proclaimed, we are given a few moments to "let the words sink in," to take in more deeply what we have just heard.
• After the Communion procession: The last of the designated times for silence during Mass is after all have received Communion. As people are receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, we are asked to symbolize our unity as a Christian assembly by standing and singing together the Communion song. When all have received Communion, we have time to make our personal thanksgiving and to reflect on how we will return to the world to bring God’s good news to all whom we may meet.
Having said all this, it is obvious that the liturgy provides us times not only for "private silence" but especially the opportunity to pray together as a Christian assembly in "sacred silence."
Editorial
Citizens can help people of Sudan
There are reasons to be optimistic about the tragedy of Darfur, Sudan, but American Catholics need to take urgent action so the glimmers of hope don’t end up as mere mirages.
Sudan, Africa’s largest country and lately one of its bloodiest, is the site of what some observers are calling a "slow Rwanda."
Eleven years ago the Hutu-led government of Rwanda initiated a 100-day killing spree that left about 800,000 minority Tutsi Rwandans dead.
In the Darfur region in western Sudan, the number of deaths over the past two years or so has climbed to at least 180,000 people and possibly as many as 400,000. The Arab government and its Janjaweed militias have driven another two million black Africans from their homes into makeshift refugee camps. The camps are the safest place to be, but they are by no means safe.
Last summer Congress called the murder and rape of black Sudanese in Darfur genocide, and in September then-Secretary of State Colin Powell followed suit.
But then for many months it seemed as if Darfur had slipped off the Bush administration’s radar. And neither the United Nations, European Union or African Union has used the word genocide to describe what’s happening there.
Currently, the African Union has 3,300 troops on the ground in Darfur, an underdeveloped, inhospitable region that is larger by 20,000 or so square miles than Iraq — where the best trained military in the world has 135,000 troops. And while U.S. forces in Iraq are armed to the teeth and free to engage the enemy, African Union troops in Darfur are limited to monitoring the ongoing violence; they have no authority to intervene.
So what’s there to be hopeful about?
The world is focused on Africa right now. Some 50 famous rockers and rappers just put on a huge concert to raise awareness and funds for the impoverished and AIDS-ravaged continent. G-8 finance ministers recently agreed to cancel the debts of some of Africa’s poorest countries. Hopefully the London bombings that suspended the full G-8 meeting last week won’t divert this anti-poverty thrust.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have promised more funding for Africa. American and European church leaders recently pledged a renewed focus on fighting poverty. Finally, the U.S. House last month passed the Darfur Accountability Act, increasing pressure on the Sudanese government to make peace with rebel groups.
Alaska Catholics and their counterparts worldwide can build on this momentum.
Here are some points that Catholic Relief Services suggests people share with their elected representatives in Congress and the White House:
• Strongly encourage the African Union to bolster its presence in Darfur, and to expand its mandate to peacekeeping.
• Strongly encourage the U.S. government to increase funding and logistical support for the African Union mission in Darfur.
• Pressure the Sudanese government to give aid groups such as Catholic Relief Services unhindered access to villages and refugee camps.
• Encourage the parties to the recently signed pact between the north and south of Sudan, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, to stick to promises to establish wealth and power sharing.
• Encourage President Bush to appoint a presidential envoy who will focus exclusively on Sudan. Former U.S. Senator Jack Danforth of Missouri had great success as President Bush’s envoy to Sudan. His three-year assignment culminated in January with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that in effect has ended a 21-year civil war. But Danforth stepped down after the agreement was signed in January, and no replacement has been named.
It can be difficult to engage in a problem halfway around the world, especially one so massive as this. But Catholics have an obligation rooted in their faith to help those in need, and every American has a responsibility to engage in the democratic processes so cherished here.
Letters to the Editor
Build an authentic culture
I would like see more stories about alternatives to artificial birth control in the Catholic Anchor — stories that help support and uplift those who choose and support Catholic life on every level. John Paul II encouraged the church to build a counterculture to the modern, individualistic bend on life, an attitude I see developing more and more among many in the Anchorage Archdiocese. He called us to build a culture that encourages and supports the authentic Catholic teachings on every level. What is the Archdiocese of Anchorage doing to promote and teach this culture? What can the lay Catholics do? Begin by knowing your faith, as it is passed on by Jesus and the sacred traditions of the church. People of faith, it’s time to promote a new, authentic Catholic culture in Alaska. My challenge to you: Gather together and begin to "just do it!"
Kelso, Wash.
Why are we being deceived?
I attend daily Mass. I just returned from San Francisco, where I attended St. Anne of the Sunset, Notre Dame des Victories and St. Patrick. I also attended St. Dominic in Benecia and St. Dominic in San Francisco. Not one of these Catholic churches is requiring parishioners to stand after receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. I don’t like to hear untruths told from the pulpit, such as: All Catholic churches in the Lower 48 are changing on Pentecost; I just proved that wrong. Or, that this originated from Vatican II; I’ve kept abreast of Vatican II changes, and I’ve never before heard anything about standing after Communion. Or, the statement that John Paul II and Benedict XVI both advocated this; I stayed up all night listening to Pope Benedict XVI and I’ve been to Pope John Paul’s youth festivals, and never have I heard either of them say this.
Anchorage
Hold president to his promises
Now that the inauguration is over, it is time to get down to serious work. Our president was re-elected on a moral platform and now is the time to hold him accountable for the promises and inferences made during his presidential campaign. He would not have been elected without the Christian vote. Freedom is preserved by eternal vigilance. It is our responsibility as citizens and voters to inform our representatives from the president on down the chain of command to our local representatives. As Christians, we must express our wishes and opinions concerning abortion (84,000 babies are aborted in Florida every year), euthanasia, embryonic-stem-cell research, homosexual marriage, human cloning, war, etc. A chaplain once said that prayer is wonderful, but you have to bring a shovel too. Let’s roll up pour sleeves and start the work that will bring this wonderful nation back to God.
Milton, Fla.