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Safe Environment
By JENNY MICHAELSON
CatholicAnchor.org
I know that many Catholics are weary of hearing about sex abuse each time the Catholic Church is mentioned.
Because of this weariness, some Catholics refuse to hear about or believe what many lay people and clergy have been doing to prevent abuse of our most vulnerable.
We know that some priests and bishops have failed our children and families, causing lifelong harm and emotional pain by abusing and/or not stepping in to protect and make victims a priority. more…
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Zenit.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The annual audit of diocesan compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People found a drop in the number of allegations, number of victims and number of offenders reported in 2012.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which gathered data for the report, found “the fewest allegations and victims reported since the data collection for the annual reports began in 2004.”
Most allegations reported last year were from the 70s and 80s, with many of the alleged offenders already deceased or removed from ministry.
StoneBridge Business Partners, which conducts the audits, said law enforcement found six credible cases among 34 allegations of abuse of minors in 2012. Credibility of 15 of the allegations was still under investigation. Law enforcement found 12 allegations to be unfounded or unable to be proven, and one a boundary violation. more…
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 . CatholicAnchor.org
Fairbanks-based Little Flower Ministries aims to launch KQHE 92.7FM, a Catholic radio station with continuous Catholic programming via a full-power FM signal in August, reports the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.
At startup, EWTN, a global Catholic television, radio and news network will provide KQHE with free Catholic programming and news coverage from around the world.
Eventually, the station founders plan to establish local programming as well, the News Miner reported.
Station founders told the News Miner that they hope the station will bring greater communication and unity between the Fairbanks and highway parishes and enable shut-ins and those in nursing homes to hear the Mass on the radio and pray the rosary.
Long-term, the station aims to reach all 47 parishes scattered across the Fairbanks Diocese.
KQHE 92.7 FM will be the third Catholic radio station in Alaska. KNOM in Nome began broadcasting in western Alaska in 1971, and Sacred Heart Radio, KBKO 88.3 FM launched in Kodiak last year.
Little Flower Ministries is operated by the laity with permission of Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler but without funding or material support from the diocese.
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CatholicAnchor.org
Catholic Social Services will host its annual World Refugee Day celebration on Friday, June 21, 4-7 p.m., at Mountain View Lion’s Community Park (Mt. View Drive and Pine Street, Shaw Pavilion). There will be music, dancing, BBQ and children’s activities. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, contact Kristen Borash at 339-0488.
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 Sister Francis Vista CatholicAnchor.org
After three years, Daughter of Charity Sister Frances Vista is stepping down from her post as director of Native Ministry for the Anchorage Archdiocese.
In July Sister Vista will move to California to be closer to her elderly mother and family members.
According to an announcement by the Anchorage Archdiocese, Sister Vista’s next assignment in California will be with the Vincentian Service Corps (similar to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps). She will be working with young adults, “mentoring them as they learn the ropes of living in community, on stipends and being of service to others.”
The Daughters of Charity will be sending another sister to serve the Anchorage Archdiocese. She has not yet been named but will likely arrive in the fall.
Additionally, in May, Daughter of Charity Sister Trinh Kju arrived in Anchorage to replace Sister Katie Kline who concluded a three-year assignment in Alaska where she served the elderly and volunteered with Catholic Social Services.
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CatholicAnchor.org
Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz has assigned two local priests to new assignments beginning this summer.
Father Frank Reitter will be moving on from his post at St. Francis Xavier Church in Valdez, where in 2011 he became the first resident priest in Valdez in 22 years.
Effective June 1, Father Reitter will replace Father Joe Classen as pastor of St. Mary Church in Kodiak.
Father Classen, who had served in Kodiak since July 2011, is taking a break from parish-based ministry after working in that capacity for 10 years. He told the Catholic Anchor that he is taking time off to discern how God might be leading him to serve in other ways.
After eight years of parish work in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Father Classen volunteered to serve in the Anchorage Archdiocese. During two years in Kodiak he helped launch Sacred Heart Radio and hosted a local Catholic radio show. He has also written a number of books on Catholic spirituality.
Back in Valdez, Father Diosdado Esguerra will take over for Father Reitter. Father Esguerra had been serving as pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Dillingham since last September where he also celebrated the sacraments in King Salmon and outlying communities. Circuit priests will fill Father Esguerra’s ministry.
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CatholicAnchor.org
The Midsummer Light Bible Institute at Alaska Pacific University is June 18-21. Cosponsored by the Cardinal Newman Chair of Catholic Theology at APU and the Anchorage Archdiocese, speakers include Dr. Alice Laffey, of College of the Holy Cross and Dr. Mary Kate Birge, CSJ, of St. Mary’s University Emitsburg, Maryland. The event begins with a free lecture June 18 by Dr. Laffey’s titled, “Biblical Interpretation in the 21st Century.” For more email boiscl@alaskapacific.edu.
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 World Youth Day flyer CatholicAnchor.org
Editor’s note: The Alaska Catholic Conference, which consists of Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, Juneau Bishop Edward Burns and Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler sent out this message on June 13.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
It is with great sadness that we, the Bishops of Alaska, share with you the news that the travel company we have used for our World Youth Day Pilgrimage (ITC Tours, Las Vegas, Nev.) announced [June 10] that they intended to file for bankruptcy. This company has made complete arrangements for us and for many other dioceses for six successive World Youth Days (WYD).
As is the practice for pilgrimages, all payment was due 60 days prior to departure. The Alaska Catholic Conference of Bishops, (ACCB) had made those payments on behalf of the participating youth who had paid for this event. Unfortunately, with this pending bankruptcy, none of these funds are available. While we will enter a claim in bankruptcy court, it will take years to see whether we recover anything. more…
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Emotional testimony marks parish hall meeting
CatholicAnchor.org
Nearly 400 Alaskans packed the parish hall of Anchorage’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on May 30. They came to address immigration reform and to speak directly to U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of their hopes and concerns for an equitable path to citizenship for themselves, and members of their families and community.
The event, sponsored by the Catholic Hispanic Ministry, was the culmination of many one-on-one visits with parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the larger Anchorage and Hispanic communities where the issue of immigration reform is of the utmost concern.
Catholic Hispanic Ministry is part of AFACT (Anchorage Faith in Action Congregations Together), created in 2003 to empower and mobilize local faith communities to address pressing issues affecting their community.
To view a video of this event, click here.
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 Screen capture from laskapressclub.com CatholicAnchor.org
Again this year, the Catholic Anchor was awarded in the Alaska Press Club’s statewide journalism competition. Rashae Ophus Johnson won third place in the category of “Best General News Story” for her article, “Alaska bloggers inspired by pope.” Johnson’s article explores how several Alaska Catholics were inspired to launch faith-based blogs in an effort to engage the wider culture in New Evangelization efforts.
The Catholic Anchor competed with secular newspapers across the state of similar circulation. Since 1999, the Catholic Anchor has received dozens of awards from the Alaska Press Club.
Johnson’s story — as is often the case with Catholic Anchor stories — was republished by national news services including Catholic News Agency (an affiliate of EWTN) and the National Catholic Register.
The Alaska Press Club is an independent professional organization that “provides continuing education, recognition and information to reporters across the state.”
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