March 9, 2007 - Issue #5
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Catholic schooling grows
Mat-Su school set to open in August
It’s a long held dream that is finally becoming reality.
Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School will be launched next fall from a storefront in Wasilla, if enrollment progresses as expected. The eight-classroom facility will have the potential to enroll 160 students with no class larger than 20 or smaller than 15.
Dominican Sister Ann Fallon, educational consultant to Archbishop Roger Schwietz, has worked nearly a year with a committee of interested Catholics in the Mat-Su Valley.
"This was their school. I was serving as a facilitator," Sister Fallon said, while adding that parents have been interested in a Mat-Su area school since at least 1990.
The committee’s work culminated in a series of "town hall" meetings Jan. 14-16 at Sacred Heart Parish in Wasilla, Our Lady of the Lake in Big Lake, and St. Michael Parish in Palmer.
At Big Lake, Sister Fallon said, a large group of supporters turned out and one woman announced, "We’ve talked about it long enough. Let’s do it."
That woman then forked over a check for $1,000 and the school fund was off and running.
A little while later, the group discovered a strip mall in Wasilla, which had just lost its last renter. Although the property was up for sale, the owner agreed to lease it instead to the school group.
"It always worries me to incur a terrible debt," Sister Fallon said. "A lease will allow us to prove that people really want a school."
The mall is ideal to renovate for a school, she added.
The middle unit already contains two offices. That area will be used for administration and a small library. The other four units will be converted into two classrooms each and a corridor will be added along the back of the building to connect everything indoors. Each unit contains two restrooms.
The building is close to Sacred Heart Parish, which will make occasional or weekly school Mass possible. The owner has agreed to let the school use a lot next door as a playground, the public library is right around the corner, and the public high school’s swimming pool is also near by.
"It’s incredible. It’s almost like God is saying, ‘Come,’" Sister Fallon said.
Enrollment has already been opened to the Catholic parishes in the area. All faiths will be welcome but Catholic parishioners get the first shot. If a class doesn’t reach 15 students, two classes may be combined. At this point, the door is open to the possibility of running pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade.
Tuition will be approximately $3,600 a year, although the details regarding family plans have yet to be worked out. The school will also adopt uniforms, conform to the same schedule as Mat-Su public schools, and will not offer a lunch program.
"Religion class will be held the first thing each day, every day," Sister Fallon said. "This is a Catholic school."
And how did the group arrive at its name? The committee came up with 16 proposals, developed from suggestions by parishioners at all three parishes. Eventually, the committee voted on five, ranked their preferences 1-5, and turned those suggestions into Archbishop Roger Schwietz.
The archbishop then took them to his consulters, a committee of priest-advisors, and it was unanimous: Our Lady of the Valley is the name of the archdiocese’s newest school.
Other schools under the Archdiocese include St. Mary School in Kodiak, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School and Lumen Christi Junior/Senior High School, both in Anchorage. Holy Rosary Academy also operates in Anchorage with the archbishop’s approval as an independent Catholic school.
Filipino Lent full of passion
Priest recalls homeland practices
There’s a world of difference between Catholic culture in Alaska and the activity that defines the lives of the faithful in the Philippines.
From massive neighborhood prayer walks to superstitious medicine men, faith and culture in the Philippines intertwine in colorful ways.
Father Ben Torreto is one of two Filipino priests on loan to the Anchorage Archdiocese from its sister archdiocese in Cotobato Philippines.
The Cotobato Archdiocese is linked to Anchorage through the global solidarity partnership, which was signed in 2004 by Archbishop Roger Schwietz and Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotobato.
As the global church moves through Lent, Father Torreto took a few moments to tell the Anchor about the differences between his homeland and life in Alaska.
The Archdiocese of Anchorage holds an annual Good Friday Faith Walk, but that pales by comparison to the dramatic public displays of the Passion of Christ in the Philippines."It’s a good tropical climate (in the Philippines), not cold like here," Father Ben Torreto recalled last month. "So we do the Stations of the Cross all around town. Each neighborhood takes care of one station."
The one-upmanship can get pretty intense when it comes to prayer walks, with each neighborhood competing for the best drama and artistry in their particular part of the Stations of the Cross. After completing a station, neighborhood residents then join the crowd and move to the next neighborhood. By the end, a massive energized crowd has culminated at the church.
And what of the tales about people being nailed to crosses during these "cenakolo," or dramatizations of the Passion?
Father Torreto said there are a few documented cases of this by "fanatics," but the church does its best to teach a real sense of God’s forgiveness that doesn’t include self-inflicted punishment.
Medicine is another area of Filipino life where faith and ancient cultural practices weave together. Sometime the combination can challenge efforts to promote social justice and health care for the needy.
Father Torreto is presently parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, which is a little different role than he has in his archdiocese in the Philippines.
Father Torreto speaks excellent English and has an important post back home, where he directs the Social Action Ministry. The agency is similar to Catholic Social Services in the United States and encompasses health ministry.
Although the Philippines has, in theory, socialized medicine for all, Father Torreto said in practice the poor are often turned away because doctors expect compensation on the side.
"If they are poor, they will be told, ‘oh, the doctor is not in today,’ or ‘oh, I’m sorry, he’s busy. Come tomorrow.’"
So the poor, especially those in remote villages with no doctors, often turn to what Father Torreto refers to as "fake doctors," who have their roots in indigenous animistic religion.
During Holy Week, an especially solemn time in the Philippines, these fake doctors combine elements of Christianity with their traditional faith.
The "fake doctors" believe evil spirits leave remote areas where they normally live and seek out the population during Holy Week. In response, the doctors head for the forests, hills and caves to uncover what the spirits might have left behind.
"A stone in a forest that shouldn’t be there, a plant growing behind a waterfall where a plant shouldn’t grow – these things are brought back by the fake doctors to make their medicine," Father Torreto explained.
Unlike the U.S., where the bustle of human activity rarely wanes, Lent is different in the Philippines.
The medicine men may be on high alert but life in general slows down during Lent, Father Torreto said. This provides ample time for prayer and reflection. Confessions surge, and Filipinos "who are real food lovers" refrain from their daily snacks.
Even politics and education are dramatically affected by holy days and religious observances.
Although the province where Father Torreto ministers is about 80% Christian and 20% Muslim, the two groups coexist well. In fact, the governor of the province is a Muslim.
The Muslim community has no problem ending school before Holy Week, because during their holy month of Ramadan, the public schools do not count students absent for staying home because they are too weak from Ramadan fasting.
Although there are Islamist rebels within the Philippines, Father Torreto blames those groups and most of the country’s other problems on economics and poverty.
That’s why his Social Action Ministry is also very active in political education.
"Education on governance is very important in our church," he said. "We track the records of candidates, their gospel values, their morals. We make sure they’re not a drug lord or a gambling lord."
For social action to work, the Christian community must be strong, said Father Torreto. Church life in the Philippines is based on the Latin American concept of "communidades eclesiasticas de base" (Christian base communities). Parishes are very large, but within each parish are multitudes of small faith communities. Those small units create strong foundations.
In his new parish at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Anchorage, Father Torreto sees another effort to assist needy people in the Anchorage area. When there is a plea for food or contributions, people respond, he said.
But the challenge, he noticed, is to make the generosity a personal act of love.
"I see people bring an item to the church, then the church takes it to the poor," Father Torreto said. It would be helpful, he added, if there were more interaction between the needy and the donor.
"That’s the way that Jesus ministered to people," he said. "He brought his heart to the people. It’s a way of adding more flesh to our giving."
Bishop says Orthodox-Catholic unity begins with personal friendship
Editor’s note: The interview below is the second installment of a two part series exploring the relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic churches in Alaska. The previous issue of the Anchor contained an interview with Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz. This issue features a discussion with Bishop Nikolai, who became the 18th ruling bishop of the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of Sitka and Alaska in 2002. Bishop Nikolai oversees 170 Orthodox communities across Alaska. The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Describe your history working with the Catholic Church?
The town I grew up in was predominantly a Catholic community, so I’ve been around Catholics my whole life. It was also a Serbian community of which I am ethnically Serbian and the Orthodox were a well-respected group of people there. In Billings (Montana), the Catholics actually came to me and asked that I work for them as assistant principal.
What are some common bonds between Orthodox and Catholic churches?
We all have a common enemy, that’s sin. In our communities (in Alaska) where we have Orthodox and Catholic, the relationships among our people is typically very healthy. Both churches have a great respect for history. The church was one church for a thousand years, so the respect for that traditional church is there. The Catholic Church is probably the only remaining traditional type church left in America, other than us. From that standpoint a lot of the sacraments are the same, we both call our priests father — those are common factors.
What can two local bishops possibly accomplish in the global effort to realize fuller unity between Orthodox and Catholic churches?
I think when my people see pictures of me with Archbishop Schwietz, such as at my instillation in Sitka, that is where it all starts. When the two heads of the church say, well we are going to unify but the local guys don’t even know each other, that’s not going to happen. God willing that union will occur, but it is going to be a slow process. In the mean time we need to have these kinds of working relationships.
Does there need to be greater understanding between Orthodox and Catholic clergy in order to facilitate collaborative efforts between the churches?
If the clergy don’t even know each other and have a common ground, then where are you going? It would be nice to schedule something between our clergy in Alaska, maybe a half a day so these men can get to know each other a little bit. Right now, in the villages where they have a Catholic priest, our men know them and have very workable relationships.
What are the challenges of realizing a fuller unity between the Orthodox and Catholic churches?
It’s historic. There were a lot of atrocities created against the Orthodox by the Western church. The Crusades are a prime example of that but that is history and we learn from history and we know that we can become better by what we go through. If we don’t forgive, then we certainly aren’t preaching the Gospel. I think it is just a matter of realizing that you have common places that you can work on to make our people better, whether they are under the Russian Orthodox or the Roman Catholic.
What aspects of the Catholic Church do you personally appreciate?
I appreciate the organization. It is well organized. In the social aspect, you see things like Covenant House; that is just a wonderful service. Even that general sense of order is much appreciated. The Orthodox Church has that in Orthodox countries but in America it has not been the case so much. I also appreciate the education of the Catholic clergy. They are well educated, that is something we continue to strive to do better."
What’s new for the Orthodox presence in Eklutna Village?
On May 22, we are going to bless and plant a cross out there. We are going to build a residence for the monastics. I have three men who will begin living out there.
St. Francis awards honors faithful heroes
With 36 years of service to the Archdiocese of Anchorage under her belt, Sister Kathleen O’Hara has touched thousands of lives, and yet found herself caught completely off guard by the announcement that she’d won the St. Francis Award.
"It was the last thing from my mind," she said. "I just don’t think of being awarded for something I love doing."
Over the years, Sister O’Hara has assisted with religious education in Cordova and Valdez, served as the principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, the Catholic chaplain at Alaska Regional Hospital and the archdiocesan liaison with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect Life program. She’s also held positions in Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Benedict and Holy Family parishes. Looking back, she said she is grateful for everything she’s experienced in the course of her work.
"I have enjoyed every minute of every day of my vocation," Sister O’Hara said. "I can’t put one over the other. "I have really, really truly enjoyed everyplace I’ve been, everything I’ve done and all the people I’ve come into contact with."
Sister O’Hara is now the director of family life ministry for the archdiocese and works part-time at Providence Horizon House. She said she truly enjoys the things she does to help others.
"I think the most rewarding thing for me is that I guess they energize my life and fill me with the grace to be able to be what I am or who I am," she said. "If it doesn’t fill you with energy and grace … I think that then you’re probably in the wrong place."
Ultimately, Sister O’Hara said, the call to serve others is right there in the Bible for all to see.
"I think our Lord in the scripture is really my model," she said. "It’s doing what Jesus had done in his life. You can read that in scripture."
Soldotna teen embodies the Gospel
Rosemary Houglum is the kind of teenager who seems almost too good to be true — an excellent student, a proud Catholic and a leader to her peers. She also loves animals, children and working with the elderly. She plays soccer, goes fishing, cheers for the Gonzaga University basketball team, and serves on the Soldotna High School prom planning committee.
With that said, she is also humble. When her parents suggested a rare midweek trip to Anchorage, Houglum, 16, didn’t expect it was to attend the St. Francis of Assisi Awards ceremony.
"I was kind of surprised," Rosemary said. "I don’t do it for an award. I just do it to help others."
The best thing about the award, she added, wasn’t the honor itself, but the opportunity to meet so many inspirational people.
"It was amazing to see other role models in the church and all those Catholics there," she said.
Houglum has volunteered extensively in her parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and in her community. She helps teach Vacation Bible School, visits residents at Heritage Place nursing home, lends her musical talents on special occasions (she plays piano and clarinet and sings), and has served a stint as a Salvation Army bell ringer. Two summers ago, she participated in a mission trip to the village of Kaltag to help lead Vacation Bible School, an experience that really had an impact on her.
"It was really inspiring," she said. "It’s a Catholic village and just helping them learn … it’s inspiring to see how they reacted."
Houglum’s mom, Linda, credits a strong family faith for inspiring her daughter’s Christian service. Linda is Catholic and her husband is Lutheran. Rosemary has benefited from that, Linda said.
"Rosemary’s been raised with the knowledge that God loves her and God loves all of us," Linda said. "We’re the hands and feet of the Gospel of Christ. We’re the only Gospel that some people will ever read. She’s been raised with that idea."
And that, according to Rosemary Houglum, is what it all comes down to. "It’s part of my faith," she said. "My faith is important to me and I want to share it with others."
Charity drives Catholic Daughter
Dorothy Paul didn’t get off to a smooth start but she credits a difficult childhood with inspiring her to serve others.
"When I was young I had a hard time," Paul said. "My parents died early. I was by myself when I was 12 years old, and I said, ‘someday I’ll pay the community back.’"
Paul, a parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, has made good on that promise. While many of her peers are long retired, she works part time at the Hotel Captain Cook, volunteers at the Anchorage Visitors’ Center Log Cabin, and is the current president of the board that oversees One More Time — the parish thrift shop.
Paul was nominated for the award by fellow parishioner, Cindy Conway.
"She’s done so much," Conway said. "She sees a need and she does it. I think in her heart she is a kind and generous person. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t call her a good friend."
Conway said Paul is also a Catholic Daughter who organizes the parish bazaar and garage sale. She’s also developed a supportive relationship with local Mormon missionaries who she sometimes recruits to help out around the store. She reaches out to those in need by helping them find jobs at the Captain Cook and organizes canned food drives and holiday baskets.
"She’s famous for the ladies’ hat show luncheon," Conway added. The annual event raises funds to help with parish expenses.
Like all of this year’s recipients, Paul said she was surprised and touched by the honor."I’ve been on cloud nine for days," she said. "I was in shock. I cried. Tears came to my eyes."
Paul’s motivation towards acts of charity is simple.
"I like to do things for people and I love people. If I can help somebody, I’m glad to."
Palmer parishioner shuns the spotlight
Jeanne Jordan is a tireless behind-the-scenes worker and always has been. Last month, however, she was put in the spotlight to recognize her service at St. Michael Parish in Palmer, and the other parishes she has belonged to over the years.
Jordan started young with a stint as a Jesuit Volunteer at Copper Valley School in Glennallen. Today she works to support a variety of programs and charities, including the Bishop’s Attic in Palmer, Bean’s Café, Brother Francis Shelter, St. Francis House, her local fire department, and Joy Community, which she calls one of her "most favorite" involvements.
Like many of this year’s recipients, Jordan said she was surprised by the honor.
"It’s so overwhelming," she said. "When they announced my name I was in shock. I couldn’t move my legs."
It was a rare moment in the spotlight for Jordan, who prefers to keep her service activities low-key.
"I’m a real behind-the-scenes person," she said. "I try to just kind of make things run smoothly and get new volunteers, people who don’t get asked too often."
Jordan said she shares the honor with the rest of her parish. She has been attending St. Michael’s for 25 years.
"They’re a wonderful, very loving, giving community," she said. "I feel like I should throw them a party. My husband, too – I’m always getting him involved."
For Jordan, helping others is just a part of day-to-day life.
"I always try to make the world a better place," she said. "I love being involved, and serving the community seems like what I’m called to do. Someone once said, ‘I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.’" Jordan said she tries to live by that quote, as well as one attributed to St. Francis himself:
"Preach the Gospel every day; if necessary, use words."
Jordan, who also lists St. Theresa and Dorothy Day among her role models, said receiving the St. Francis Award has made her stop and think about the impact one person can have. "It’s very humbling," she said. It does call you to be a better person."
Kodiak teen wants to give back
Kodiak resident and St. Mary’s parishioner Maggie Schmitt was nominated for the St. Francis of Assisi Awards last year. This year, the award was the furthest thing from her mind when her parents announced a trip to Anchorage.
"I thought I was just going because I’d been nominated," Schmitt said. "Last year a youth group won … so I do feel honored."
Schmitt is the junior class secretary at Kodiak High School and president of the school’s Postponing Sexual Involvement club. She’s also the public relations officer for Family Careers and Community Leaders of America, and competes with the group in mock job interviews and giving illustrated talks. (Her current topic in that area is how to raise money for clubs while operating under wellness guidelines that now prevent many organizations from selling candy in the schools.) She tutors children after school and has earned the Girl Scouts’ Bronze and Silver Awards — two of the organization’s highest achievements.
Schmitt’s community involvement extends to her parish, where she has been a catechist for St. Mary’s Children’s Liturgy of the Word since she was a freshman in high school. She also volunteered on the acute care floor at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. Schmitt said she volunteers out of a desire to share some of the blessings she’s received.
"I do feel God’s presence in my life," she said.
Schmitt added that she’d like to pursue a career that will allow her to continue helping others.
"My parents gave me life," she said. "God chose me to give life, too. I feel like I give something back. I feel like I want to help people."
Octogenarian: Helping others is ‘a pleasure’
At age 85, Leon Quesnel has a historic connection to Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Kenai. He’s seen the parish grow from a frontier church to a vibrant faith community.
When the original church building, a log cabin erected sometime in the mid-1950s, was donated back to the parish, Quesnel said it was important for him to help supervise moving the cabin to the current Our Lady of the Angels property.
"The work to prepare it and eventually finish it was about two years," Quesnel said. "It was the original Catholic church on the Kenai Peninsula."
Quesnel talks about his service to the community as matter-of-factly as he might discuss a trip to the grocery store. He said his motivation to serve stems from a "desire to help others and the belief that in helping others, this is part of the Lord’s message to us."
Quesnel, who moved to Kenai in the 1960s and helped build the new church in 1968, said he was "totally surprised" by the St. Francis Award.
"(I have an) interest in what my community is doing and being helpful to the community," he said. "It has been a joy and a pleasure to me."
While moving the original church building was the project he describes as most rewarding, Quesnel also has a long record of service with the Knights of Columbus and the Our Lady of the Angels parish council; he volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, serves on a local mental health board and harbor commission, and is part of a group that serves breakfast on Friday mornings to students at Kenai Alternative High School.
"The high school is the alternative high school for kids who cannot handle a normal high school situation," Quesnel said. "Every weekday morning either the Methodist Church or the Catholic Church cooks breakfast for the students. Every Friday morning we go in at seven o’clock and feed breakfast to 30 to 40 students."
Most of Quesnel’s family, which includes five children, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two more on the way, attended the St. Francis Awards ceremony, but Quesnel said even after he’d walked in and seen his children and grandchildren, he didn’t have any idea that he was going to be honored."In helping others," Quesnel said, "this is part of the Lord’s message to us."
Sister shares love
Sister Barbara Scanlon has been in Alaska for nine years, but her nomination came from someone whose life she touched years ago in Boston, Mass. Sister Scanlon was part of a group of doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals who in 1970 formed an organization called Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc., to help the teenagers who flocked to Boston and often found themselves in trouble with drugs and on the wrong side of the law.
"They were treated like criminals," Sister Scanlon said.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters took its name from the Simon and Garfunkel song because, Sister Scanlon said, it was about "bridging where the person was at with general society, and how to make folks on both sides realize that each had gifts."
Sister Scanlon was nominated for the St. Francis of Assisi Award by a woman who was once a teenage runaway and who credits the sister and Bridge Over Troubled Waters with saving her life.
Sister Scanlon moved to Anchorage nine years ago, and soon found herself ministering to the imprisoned.
"I kind of do outreach ministry," Sister Scanlon said. "I had never done prison ministry," she added, but there was a need for it in Anchorage, and it seemed like a good fit.
"When you think about who was the last human being that Jesus spoke to before he died, it was a prisoner. They’re so vulnerable that the Lord, in their vulnerability, hears them."
Sister Scanlon called winning the St. Francis of Assisi Award "unbelievable."
"It never had crossed my mind," she said. "I was astonished, to be honest."
It was especially surprising, she added, since she had put so much time and thought into nominating other people.
"I sent in nominations for each and every category," she said. "I always do. I certainly didn’t nominate myself."
St. Francis himself has always been a role model, Sister Scanlon said.
"For some reason, Francis and I connected," she said, adding that the Prayer of St. Francis has always resonated for her, and that St. Francis "really lived Matthew chapter 25."
Bringing Christ to college
Catholic ministry starts at UAA
Who’s the Filipino priest hanging out near the Subway shop at the University of Alaska Anchorage?
That would be Father Luz Flores, head of the new Catholic campus ministry for the Anchorage Archdiocese.
For the past few weeks, Father Flores has spent several hours each weekday milling about the UAA Student Union Center. He reads, does paperwork and chats with students amidst the bustle of college life.
"When I’m hanging out with them, I just get my place, read and hang with them down by the Subway," he said. "We have chit-chats and then I give them a (club) form. I always have a form," he said with a chuckle.
The goal is to establish a vibrant Catholic club at the university. So far, Father Flores is well on his way.
Last month, Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz swung through the campus to hold an Ash Wednesday Mass for the fledgling Newman Club. They already have 12 students on board along with a faculty advisor. On Feb. 21, the club members left the UAA Mass with unmistakable ash crosses on their foreheads as they mingled back into the college scene.
This is exactly the kind of start Father. Flores wanted.
"This is a full time ministry now," he said. "In the past we had something here part time but now we want to start setting up regular Masses here and weekly or monthly Bible studies."
While new to the college scene, Father Flores said he’s drawing on his past experiences working with young people in seminary and youth seminars. In January, he also attended a national conference for college ministers and directors in California, where he gleaned a few strategies for working with students and college officials.
Future events and programs for the UAA Newman Club will depend on ideas he and students generate together.
For the immediate future, plans are underway to create another campus ministry at the nearby Alaska Pacific University. Soon, Father Flores said he’d like to see Newman Clubs expand outside Anchorage, to wherever smaller satellite campuses are located.
"The idea is to be witnesses of our Catholic faith in the campus without necessarily preaching," he said. "When people see vibrant Catholic students living their faith, it will be a positive witness for the faith. We don’t want this to be just an individual thing but a community of Catholic students and also professors and the staff. Bringing them all together."
Students, faculty or staff who are interested in participating in the Newman Club, either at UAA or elsewhere, can contact Father Flores by phone at (907) 441-5110 or by e-mail at frdodong@yahoo.com.
— Anchor staff
Alaska bishops urge legislators to increase minimum wage
A spokesman for Alaska’s bishops urged the State Legislature to increase the state’s minimum wage to $8 per hour.
"Our faith holds that each person possesses a basic dignity that comes from God as we are created in his image," said Chip Wagner, executive director of the Alaska Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Testifying before the Alaska House Labor and Commerce Committee on Feb. 23, Wagner cited the church’s teaching that human dignity entails "the right to have a share of earthly goods sufficient for oneself and one’s family."
Within the employment context, this doctrine of Catholic social teaching is referred to as a "living wage," Wagner said, while adding that the inherent dignity of all humans requires that each person have the means "to sustain a dignified existence."
Wagner noted that a full-time minimum wage worker in Alaska earns less than $300 a week. In one year that amount to $14,300, or 33 percent below the federal 2007 poverty guideline for an Alaska family of three.
The bishops rejected claims that minimum wage workers are not entitled to a fair wage because they are not worth it.
"Some employers will argue that their workers are teenagers, inferring that they are worth less and don’t need the money because they live with their parents," Wagner stated. "First, let me point out that a majority of low-wage earners are working adults and about 40 percent of workers who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage are sole wage earners in their households. Second, not all teenagers are blessed with living at home with their parents and those that do most likely are trying to save money for school or an apartment. Third, a human being has no less dignity whether they be young or old."
— Anchor staff
Columns
Demonizing each other distracts us from true understanding
In his autobiography, Ernest Gruening says while he was campaigning in Anchorage in 1958 for one of Alaska’s first two U.S. Senate seats, a man said he’d sooner vote for the devil.
That wouldn’t happen today. Acknowledging Satan’s existence has gone out of style. In our yell-radio culture, self-styled "liberals" and "conservatives" are too busy demonizing each other.
In my experience, that same secular culture infects us Catholics as well. From what I see, we Catholics seem bent on dividing ourselves into two mutually exclusive groups. Those labeled "liberals" oppose the war, destruction of the environment, neglect of the poor, sexism, consumerism, etc. On the other hand, self-styled "conservatives" oppose abortion, same-sex marriage and pornography. Both sides exploit AIDS in a political tug-of-war over condoms and abstinence. And both fight for control of the church.
Satan wants us to choose between sexual morality and social justice, but Jesus wants us to embrace both because they’re different applications of the same morality. In corporate boardrooms as well as private bedrooms, he calls us to choose love over selfishness and exploitation.
More than half a century ago, televangelist Archbishop Fulton Sheen compared the church to an arch. The opposition of the left and right sides, he said, forms the arch and makes it strong.
As you read this, mushers are racing for the burled arch at the Iditarod finish line in Nome. One checkpoint, Elim, is named after a checkpoint on the Israelites’ exodus to the Promised Land. For me, we’ll reach the Promised Land when "liberals" and "conservatives" alike use our resources and gifts, not for the gratification of defeating the other side politically or getting the church to endorse our pet political ideology, but for finding Jesus in each other.
The way the world sees things, those who agree with our politics are angels and those who disagree are demons. But Jesus says when we see things as the world does, we act like Satan, our mutual archenemy. The devil knows that demonizing each other distracts us from demonizing him and makes it easier to tempt us into disregarding church teaching that doesn’t conform to our politics. Yielding to that temptation is like voting for the devil.I see Jesus as our musher. He knows if we turn only right or turn only left, we’ll go around in endless circles. Instead, we need the courage to gee when he says gee and haw when he says haw. That’s how we reach the arch at the finish line and leave the devil behind to scratch at the Farewell Burn.
Jesus is always waiting for the prodigal children to come home
Several years ago an 80-year-old lady was attacked by a mugger on the streets of New York City, a common occurrence. The man snatched her purse, threw her to the sidewalk fracturing her hip and seven ribs. The accident was reported in the New York Times, which tells you immediately that this was no ordinary lady. Indeed, she is well known in New York; her name is Eileen Eagan.
Eileen has an interesting history: She was a close friend of Mother Theresa and Dorothy Day. She is also the founder of Pax Christi U.S.A., an international peace movement. During most of her adult life she has worked for Catholic Relief Services an organization that cares for the poor around the world. You can begin to see then that Eileen Eagan has had some experience with street people.
But get this: When a reporter asked her how she felt about being attacked by a man who, as it turned out, was a homeless drifter with a history of muggings, she said: "Well, he probably was hungry and needed a meal. What could I do but forgive him?" Later on, she even visited the man in jail and had a long talk with him. "Why," the reporter asked. "Well, simply because he’s also a child of God. He was simply hungry," Eileen replied.
Eileen’s tale is one of those classic stories of forgiveness, the kind we read in the Gospel for this Fourth Sunday in Lent, the tale of the Prodigal Son. It is probably one of the most fascinating stories Jesus ever told, fundamentally because it describes a scene which most of us would say is so contradictory to human nature. Why would this elderly, retired father warmly welcome home a son who had selfishly demanded his own freedom to do whatever he chose with his share of the family inheritance? Not only that, but then he has the gall to call home once he wasted everything on "loose living," wondering if he could still be accepted back in the family.
Obviously, the reason why this story of Jesus has traditionally been named "Prodigal" is because the son was "prodigal" with his possessions. In other words, he was reckless, dissolute and profligate.
But an extended interpretation of the word prodigal could be assessed of the father who was willing to throw caution to the winds and give the son whatever he wished. So, in one sense, we have here The Story of the Prodigal Father.
Another interesting question arises, however: Why did Jesus choose the younger son rather than the older to be the prodigal? My hunch is that it may have something to do with Jesus’ sense that youth is a time of inexperience, of independence, brashness and craziness. Age, on the other hand, is a time of predictability, trustworthiness, dependability, et cetera. People of age have usually worked through the indiscretions of youth. We don’t worry so much about them.
I think the assumption one can draw from this story, of course, is that Jesus always seemed to identify with "losers." To his mind, no one is beyond redemption; no one is ever totally without forgiveness if they have the good sense to come home.
With that in mind then, most of Jesus’ stories are about us, about every man and every woman. Perhaps, like the younger son, we all continue to make our mistakes well into old age. Jesus might say: "That’s OK, as long as you remember that your God, like the father in the story, is always at home waiting for you." Alas, growing up seems to take a long time.
Alaska’s Catholics must defend marriage and natural law
April 3rd vote key to upholding 1998 marriage amendment
A mayor in France is fined $4,000 for comments opposing homosexual behavior. Catholic Charities of Boston is forced to close down its adoption services rather than violate its Catholic principles that children should not be placed with people in homosexual relationships. A Swedish pastor is sentenced to a month in prison for preaching against homosexual activity. Around the world, recognition and approval of homosexual activity by the government is being followed by loss of the right to freedom of speech and religion.
In October 2005, the Alaska Supreme Court mandated that employment-related marital benefits, which are extended to the spouses of married public employees, must now be given to the "partners" of public employees who describe themselves as being in a homosexual relationship. This was done despite the clear wording of the marriage amendment in Alaska’s constitution which rules out any consideration of homosexual relationships as being similar to marriage.
This decision is very troubling. In clear defiance of voters and the dictates of the natural moral law, the court ruled that homosexual activity must be considered just like marriage, worthy of the same benefits and encouragement by society. Rather than simply being a tolerated relationship, it has now become a relationship the court wants to protect and promote. Many intended and unintended consequences will follow from this decision if we fail to overturn it.
Should Catholics be concerned about this? Yes, and not just because of the threat to religious freedom that it poses.
By God’s design, the Church is the guardian of Revelation, and the truth about human nature. The latter is called the natural moral law, and is written on the heart of every human. Due to our wounded nature, our understanding of this ingrained truth can be faulty. That’s why the Church is such a beautiful gift to humanity. For over two thousand years she has carefully and lovingly meditated on this law, gradually bringing to fruition the full truth contained therein.
Only though living the truth about human nature can humanity find freedom and joy. The world needs confirmation of this truth and the Catholic faithful are uniquely poised to affirm it. Catholics, like other responsible citizens, must make their voices heard in the public square in order to advance the common good.
Many have heard the saying that you "can’t legislate morality." Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. All positive law is an attempt to legislate someone’s morality. Our country’s founders wisely chose to base our form of government on the natural moral law, "the laws of Nature and Nature’s God" as the Declaration of Independence puts it. Alaska’s founders did as well. We should not fear advancing natural law reasoning as the basis for legislation because, among other reasons, our founders already did so.
The Church has confirmed the natural law that marriage is the union of one man and one woman who, through a mutual personal gift, cooperate with the Creator in the procreation and upbringing of new human life. She points out that homosexual activity violates the nature of the human person and the complementarity of the sexes. It is closed to life. The Church clearly teaches that homosexual unions must not be given the recognition or benefits of marriage, and that Catholics must vigorously oppose efforts to mandate either of these.
This is not to say that a person experiencing same-sex attractions is somehow less than human. The Church teaches us that they must be treated with compassion and respect for their human dignity, but that this respect does not and cannot extend to homosexual behavior.On April 3, there will be a statewide advisory vote election in which all Alaskans will be asked whether the Legislature should place a constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot that would overturn the court’s 2005 decision. A "yes" vote directs the Legislature to pass the proposed amendment, affirming that homosexual relationships must not be given the recognition or benefits of marriage. A "no" vote tells the Legislature to not pass an amendment, thereby allowing the court’s virtual demolition of the marriage amendment to stand. In this circumstance, I believe the duties of a Catholic citizen with a properly formed conscience are clear.
Editorial
Similarly situated?
Is an intimate, homosexual couple "similarly situated" in life to a married man and woman? The Alaska Supreme Court believes so.
In October 2005, the court was so sure about the similarity between the two relationships that they voted 5-0 mandating Alaska and the city of Anchorage to pay the equivalent of spousal benefits to same-sex partners of public employees if they were going to pay spousal benefits to married partners.
Believing the two relationships to be "similarly situated," the court argued that the state constitution mandated benefits for same-sex partners based on the "equal protection" clause.
The court order took effect Jan. 1.
The upcoming statewide advisory vote April 3 is meant to gauge how Alaskans feel about the court’s claim that same-sex partners are "similarly situated" to married men and women.
The most recent data suggest most Alaskans disagree with the court. In 1998, nearly 70 percent of the state approved a constitutional amendment to defined marriage as between one man and one woman. That is now engraved in the state’s constitution.
First, unlike homosexual partnerships, the overwhelming majority of married men and women have the capacity and intent to produce children. Children entail obligations and duties to care for them. With duties come certain parental rights, as well as certain state and federal benefits and tax credits. The decision to offer spousal health benefits for married partners of public employees is a natural extension of this.
Same-sex partnerships, on the other hand, do not have legal status in Alaska, nor do the partners have legal obligations to one another or each other’s children by virtue of their same-sex partnership.
The state argued before the court that they have an interest in promoting stable marriages between men and a women.
It is through these unions that civilization has continued its existence down through the generations. Stable marriages, where mothers and fathers have the means to raise and care for their children, lead to stronger local communities and stronger societies in general. Countless studies confirm the benefits of stable marriages.
By claiming that same-sex partners are "similarly situated" to married couples, the Alaska Supreme Court has, in effect, drawn into question the very nature of human sexuality.
Many opponents of natural law have argued for sexual liberty and the jettisoning of older notions about sexual morality. As a result, we now live in an age rife with casual sex, STDs, legalized abortion, high divorce rates, dead-beat dads and single parent homes.
Many people want to normalize what was once thought to be deviant sexual practices. Equating these practices with the time-honored institution of marriage gives them an air of respectability.
Catholic moral teaching, however, which is based in the natural law, holds that human beings are not mere putty to shape and twist however we please. Rather, we are created to operate in a certain ordered way. In conforming to this high purpose, we flourish. However, when we live outside of nature, we risk broken relationship as well as injury and disease to both body and soul. Societies, too, undermine their own health when they actively promote laws that fall outside the natural order.
When Alaskans amended the constitution, thereby reserving marriage for the relationship between one man and one woman, they acted according to the belief that marriage and the product thereof (children) has a proper context in the natural order of society.
There are plenty of good reasons (based on our shared humanity) to support extending health benefits to non-married people. The Alaska Supreme Court is wrong, however, to claim that one of those reasons is because same-sex partners are "similarly situated" to married couples.
By voting yes on April 3, Alaskans will tell their legislators that they want a chance to reiterate that marriage — along with its rights and responsibilities — is reserved for the union of one man and one woman.
A complete history of legal proceedings leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision can be found on the State of Alaska Web site at www.state.ak.us/drb/sspb/sspb.shtml.
The March 23 issue of the Catholic Anchor will include a statement by the Alaska Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the upcoming advisory vote.
Letters to the Editor
Church teaching affirms human sexuality
This is to respond to Chris Wooley’s letter to the editor regarding human sexuality. The writings of John Paul II have deepened our understanding of sex to show how embracing our sexuality can enable us to be truly human as God intended. John Paul points to the language that God inscribed in our bodies – a language of "giftness." To be truly human is to completely give of yourself to the other. The sexual act is the mysterious physical manifestation of this deeper theological reality. Contracepted sex changes the beauty and mystery of this God given sexuality. In Christopher West’s book, "Theology of the Body for Beginners," he quotes John Paul saying, "Our bodies have a nuptial meaning because they’re capable of expressing divine love, ‘that love precisely in which the person becomes a gift and – by means of this gift- fulfills the very meaning of his being and existence’." This view of sex is not the "pollutant and threat to one’s soul" espoused by the writer. It’s difficult to do justice to John Paul’s articulation of our sexuality in a small space. West’s book is a good place to start.In response to the writer’s last claim regarding the Church’s need to "adapt to new realities" in sex as well as in science, it is the role of the Church, not to adapt to culture, but to respond to culture wisely, making sure to preserve the truths it has been entrusted to hand down to all generations.
Palmer, Alaska
Contraception: Another response to Wooley letter
At one time, I shared your feelings about the church’s teaching on contraception. It wasn’t until, under pressure from a friend, I took a Natural Family Planning course with my wife and began to realize how badly U.S. and European culture had influenced my thinking.Before I go further, I am putting my bottom line up front: please study Pope John Paul II’s "Theology of the Body." You will be greatly surprised to discover the treasure in it. Christopher West provides an easily understandable version of it, entitled "Naked Without Shame". For $5 you can get his CD set.In regards to your accusations, first, the church has always insisted that her members apply great caution to the sexual act, for good reason. In the sexual act, there is no human passion more powerful; no passion that pulls in the physical, psychological, and spiritual to the degree that the sexual union does; and no act that more closely replicates the creative love of the Trinity. With this great power comes great responsibility (yes that quote can be found in Spiderman, too). Like a fire in a home, the sexual act has great value within its proper context.The Church has never taught, however, that the sexual act is a pollutant. In fact, throughout history she has fought that heresy. I will concede that she has struggled finding the balance between praising the greatness of the sexual act and preaching the correct use of it. Here too, though, she has had to lead her children through many different cultures and environmental contexts that warranted different approaches. In Pope John Paul II’s "Theology of the Body," the beauty of the sexual act is sung from the rooftops (or at least from the balcony of the Vatican). His work draws from the great depth of millenniums worth of church teaching on sexuality. Included in this is a positive perspective on the male and female difference and why, to the core of our souls, we are male and female. Pope John Paul II shows how the church’s teaching, like no other teaching in the world today, adequately answers questions on human sexuality. The proof is in the pudding. While I could site many statistics, I will close with this one, as it is one you mention, U.S. Catholics who practice contraception experience the same divorce rate as non-Catholics in the US, close to 50 percent. U.S. Catholics who don’t contracept experience a divorce rate of 2 to 5% (source: Kippley, John F. & Sheila K., The Art of Natural Family Planning, 4th ed and the 2002 US Census Bureau). I would prefer to place my marriage in the group with a 95 percent success rate.
Palmer
Donate your organs
April is organ and tissue donor month. When I was a teenager, the doctor discovered that I was born with a narrow aorta. With the help of many people, the anomaly was corrected surgically in 1954. After 30 years, I began to wonder who to thank for the gift of an aorta. The doctor told me the identity of the man was unknown.Recently, I named the unknown man after a friend who was in a difficult marriage — thereby commemorating two people at the same time.In seeking your legacy, be an organ and tissue donor. Contact Alaska Donor Services today at 562-5433. You’re sure to make someone happy for life.
Anchorage
Back same sex benefits
The recent editorial ("Health benefits for same-sex partners" on Feb. 23) was misleading and misguided.
The correct course for Catholics on this issue is to affirm equal pay for equal work. As a faith community, we must take action by voting "No" on this April 3 ballot issue.The Alaska Supreme Court decision to award health care benefits remedied a flawed program. The benefits program is part of a state worker’s overall pay package.Your advice to "discard" the vote is irresponsible. It’s not an option. To encourage readers to support universal health care is a nice gesture, but it misses the point. Here’s the question: Should Alaskans amend the constitution to justify reducing benefits for a group of state workers?As Catholics, we must answer at the ballot box with a resounding "No".
Anchorage
Posters don’t dishonor bodies of those aborted
I want to thank the efforts of the Anchor’s new editor to proclaim and attempt to remain faithful to the magisterial teachings of the church, even if I think the positions taken don’t live up to it.Case in point are the Feb. 23 offerings, which argue that using the image of the horribly mangled and dead bodies of aborted children to shock and horrify the public to its gruesome reality is dishonoring to the dead.By this reasoning we would never gaze at the paintings and crucifixes that depict the horribly mangled and dead Christ.
Displaying an actual body would, I agree, dishonor the dead, who deserve burial with dignity. But the undoubtedly hundreds of human beings, now alive and spared from abortion because someone was shocked by a publicly displayed pro-lifer’s poster, are the one’s who are really dishonored by such advice.The other editorial advocating "comprehensive health care for all Alaskans" is socialism. The editor would do well to read the great Catholic economists Heinrich Pesch and Frederic Bastiat’s positions before encouraging socialism as a Catholic position. Indeed, Pius XI in 1931 stated "No one can be at the same time a sincere Catholic and a true socialist."
Finally, some dioceses have been reluctant to proclaim the pro-life message from the pulpit for fear of losing tax-exempt status. I disagree, but if this be so, encouraging a vote for socialist health care might be interpreted in the same way.
Kenai, Alaska