Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea speaks during a workshop at Assumption Catholic Church in Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 4, 2012. Fr. Fortea, a priest of the Diocese of Alcala de Henares in Spain, is an exorcist. He is the author of several books including “Interview with an Exorcist.” Currently based in Rome studying for his doctorate in theology, he was in Florida to give talks about exorcism and pastoral care. (CNS photo/Don Burk)

When Fr. José Antonio Fortea Cucurull began his ministry as an exorcist, he was the only one in all of Spain. That was some 15 years ago.

“All of the cases in Spain came to me,” he explained. It is a country of 46 million, and Fr. Fortea’s parish was 20 minutes from Madrid. “Everybody would come.”

Those who suspected demonic activity in their lives visited him  from throughout Spain. He received from eight to 12 people every day, except on Sundays, when he received 20 to 30.

Even at that, in the first year there were just four new cases of demonic possession out of the thousands who came. And those who came already suspected that something was happening. In other words, possession is rare — very unusual.

“With what is seen in the Church with some exorcisms, the faithful know — it’s a reminder to all believers that the power of Christ continues to be present,” Fr. Fortea said.

The Spanish priest will visit the Diocese of Phoenix to give conferences on healing and deliverance. He will give a presentation in English, 7-9 p.m. on May 29 at St. Timothy Parish; in Spanish, 5-10:30 p.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center. The Spanish event will cost $25 and registration is required for both events.

“We are doing what Jesus commanded,” Fr. Fortea said of exorcism. “Evil spirits exist. Therefore, we have to be attentive, we have to be on guard so that we do not fall into temptation.”

Temptation and possession are two of four demonic actions that Fr. Fortea named. Everyone suffers from temptations, which are sometimes strong and other times weak.

“It is simply when the devil draws near to us to inspire a thought that will lead us to temptation,” he said.

Influence is another demonic action. “It is when it is not just a temptation, but rather a much stronger, much more constant influence and not merely a temptation,” Fr. Fortea said.

“When the prayers of the exorcist are said, already the person feels in his body that a demon is around and [through the prayers] is trying to be torn away,” he said. “But the devil does not possess a person in influence.”

In his first year of ministry as an exorcist, Fr. Fortea estimates that he saw 40 people who suffered from such influence. Although it is more frequent than possession, it is still very unusual.

In possession, a demon possesses the body at times. “He has the power of the body to manifest himself through that body and he is inside. The person feels him inside,” Fr. Fortea said. “It is the strongest demonic action over a human being. It is the extraordinary action.”

Fr. Fortea also mentioned infestation, when an evil spirit is in a place, that is, “When the presence is located in a house or a concrete place.”

There are cases in which influence and infestation do not require an exorcist, but with possession, it is always necessary. Sometimes, with infestation, it suffices for a family to gather to pray. Also, the blessing of a priest can expel demons from infested areas. With temptation, you have to resist it.

To fight influence, there are also deliverance groups.

“Lay people also have the power of intercession,” the priest said. “But one is the work of the exorcist and another the work of the lay people in the prayer groups. They are not conflicting works — they are complementary.”

Prayer groups

Lay people have supported the work of Fr. Fortea in his diocese. They teach catechism to those who need exorcism and organize periods of prayer, asking God to help those who suffer attacks from evil spirits.

“So often, the weapon of these prayer groups is the glory of God,” Fr. Fortea said. “They sing, they read the Word of God, they pray the rosary. By glorifying God, they are able to get some of the spirits to diminish and others to flee — just with that, with the glory of God.”

Prayer groups need to be in “full union” with the bishop of the region, the priest said.

Fr. Carlos Gomez, pastor of St. Augustine, said that in the Diocese of Phoenix there are deliverance groups in union with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.

“These groups must be supervised and supported by the pastors,” he said. “The primary authorization is through the priest of the parish. He, in turn, shares with the diocesan delegate.”

This relationship between the groups, the pastor and the bishop is key, Fr. Gomez said. 

He noted that everyone can learn more about demonology, especially from a priest with as much knowledge as Fr. Fortea, who is giving a conference this month.

“Everyone can attend, but it’s better if they go not so much out of curiosity but rather with a desire to learn. Lay people, with the help and authorization of their pastor, can put into practice what they learn,” Fr. Gomez said.

“They must live a life of frequent reception of the sacraments, prayer and sacrifice. They can want or desire to be part of this deliverance ministry, but not all are called to such a delicate ministry,” he added. “The members of the deliverance team are just instruments that God uses. With Jesus Christ, everything is possible. He is the one who delivers and heals.”

Fr. Charlie Goraieb, pastor of St. Timothy, said that sin can be fought through the confessional. But some people need something more in order to be delivered from demonic strength.

He said that Fr. Fortea will present the dynamic between human beings and evil spirits in a profound way — and he will teach how to defend oneself.

“He understands the complete range of spiritual warfare,” Fr. Goraieb said.

Getting involved with ouija boards, witchcraft, Santeria and New Age practices makes one more susceptible to evil spirits.

Manuel and Berta Murrillo, with the permission of the bishop, coordinate healing and deliverance groups in the Diocese of Phoenix. They have decades of experience with evil spirits and began coordinating “prayer rooms” at Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa under Fr. Goraieb.

“We have a lot of passion for deliverance and healing,” Berta said. On a recent Wednesday, they prayed for 40 people.

Fr. Goraieb said that the devil wants to enslave us to him. “That is his goal. Satan wants to seduce us so that we freely choose evil and, that way, he can bind us to our evil behavior.”

Satan speaks in half-truths and uses things that are good — like love — and distorts them, Fr. Goraieb said.

The place of exorcism

Fr. Fortea did not study exorcism for his own interest, but because his bishop asked him to take on the subject. There are many other ministries, according to Fr. Fortea, that are “more meritorious.”

He mentioned working to help the poor, especially where there is great misery, where people are surrounded by sickness and violence. He also noted catechesis.

“If exorcism were to disappear from the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church would continue to exist, would continue its life,” the priest said, “but if confession were to disappear, for example, that would have a direct, grave repercussion on the life of the Church.”

Jesus left the power of the exorcist to His Church. This power demonstrates that the Word of God is true.

“Exorcism is a gift of Christ. It is a gift, a treasure, but it is not an essential treasure,” Fr. Fortea said. “The sacraments are much more important. So are other ministries, including that of lay people. Catechesis, helping the poor, missions, the idea of faith — these are much more important and essential things.”

The priest said that the action of the devil is the same in the United States as it is in Europe, although there are differences between the cultures. The extraordinary action of the devil has always been something unusual in all periods of history.

“The Church was never centered on exorcism,” Fr. Fortea said. “The power to exorcise has always existed within the Church. But it never was centered on exorcism or on the fight against the devil because the message of Christ is positive. That’s the announcement. It is a positive message.”

Healing and deliverance

Fr. José Fortea, a Spanish priest and expert in demonology, will speak on healing and deliverance this month.

English: 7-9 p.m., May 29 at St. Timothy Parish, 1730 W. Guadalupe Road, Mesa.

Spanish: 5-10:30 p.m. May 30 at the Phoenix Convention Center, 100 N. 3rd St., Phoenix.

Registration is required for both events. The Spanish language event will cost $25.

Info: (602) 354-2380.

Johnson Toe, seen here at Glendale Community College, arrived in Arizona from an Ivory Coast refugee camp eight years ago. He was 12 and unaccompanied. Catholic Charities helped him get acclimated. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

GLENDALE — As a child, Johnson Toe spent 12 hours a day farming okra, rice, tomatoes and peppers on his grandmother’s farm in Liberia.

The Glendale Community College sophomore arrived here as a refugee eight years ago, when he was 12. He’s still figuring things out with the help of Catholic Charities unaccompanied minors program.

“There are so many options,” Toe said, noting that when he arrived he didn’t speak the language. It was hard to get through sixth grade, Toe said.

What made things even more difficult is that Toe arrived alone. Back in Liberia, he barely saw his father and never met his mother. His grandmother raised him and he helped her on the farm and with hunting.

“When you grow up, you do whatever your family does — you do anything you can to help your family,” he said.

Violence in Liberia forced Toe and his cousin into a refugee camp in Ivory Coast when he was 9. Life in the camp was like a little community inside a fence.

Humanitarian workers would bring food, clothing and other items to help refugees get by. There wasn’t any work or school. Yet Toe said it was a drastic improvement from the violence he was fleeing.

Before coming to the United States three years later, a car hit and killed his cousin outside the camp. Once in the Arizona, Catholic Charities got Toe into school and into a foster care home.

Nearly 14,000 children are in need of a home in Arizona — that number includes unaccompanied minors. Catholic Charities’ foster care program helps match children with families, and puts an emphasis on keeping siblings together.

Catholic Charities facilitates adoption for children currently in foster care, with licensing and training and helps set up special homes for children with medical needs and homes for unaccompanied minors.

Karen Resseguie, senior program manager of unaccompanied minors, said parents “are really the heart of our program.”

“They really are the ones that help [unaccompanied minors] adjust, learn English and acclimate to the culture,” she said. “Foster parents are the ones helping them with school, too.”

Pat Bell has been taking in unaccompanied minors through Catholic Charities foster care program for several years. She’s seen here in the Catholic Charities Phoenix office. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

Pat Bell is one of those parents. She got involved with foster care after hearing about “the Lost Boys” of Sudan at her place of worship, St. Mary’s Episcopal.

“I had to do something,” Bell said, noting she’d watched a documentary on the second Sudanese civil war, which took 2.5 million lives from 1983-2005. “This was outrageous.”

Through Catholic Charities, Bell took in some of “the Lost Boys,” the 20,000 displaced and orphaned by the Sudanese conflict.

“It’s the best thing that I’ve ever done,” Bell said of being a foster mother. “You haven’t lived until you’ve given back unconditionally.”

Bell, a school nurse, said she grew up with everything she needed “and many things I wanted.” The children she takes in don’t have the things they need.

“All they wanted was to be safe, to have a pencil and a piece of paper,” she said. “They didn’t want designer clothes — and they thought everything I cooked was delicious! Even my meatloaf!”

Bell describes her house as a mini United Nations and said she’s received more than she’s given as a foster mother. She gives her children much needed structure and love — even through difficult times.

She lays down the rules and makes the kids stick to it. That’s not always easy with unaccompanied minors, who’ve grown accustomed to looking after themselves. Some come from countries “where they don’t have a female telling them what to do,” Bell said.

When she encountered this with some of the Sudanese children, Catholic Charities sent over a native to explain how things work in the United States. Bell couldn’t believe how quickly the agency took care of it.

“The dedication of the staff here is second to none,” she said. “I have no idea how everyone on this staff has it together. I don’t know how they do it.”

Strong support is crucial in the unaccompanied minors program. Cultures collide and often children are coming from war-torn countries.

Things aren’t easy. They certainly weren’t for Toe when he arrived from the Ivory Coast refugee camp. On top of the change in culture, classmates made fun of him for not speaking English and for being black.

Catholic Charities takes care of his medical insurance and other expenses so he can make it on his own when he turns 21. He attends a monthly meeting about saving money, protecting against fraud and other life skills.

Toe played three varsity sports while in high school and likes to help others with physical fitness. He works at the YMCA.

“You don’t have to keep the birds away from the rice,” Toe said of supermarkets. “I didn’t have a family member to help me when I didn’t have money to pay for things. But I had Catholic Charities.”

Catholic Charities Foster Care

To learn more about Catholic Charities foster care program call (602) 943-3843 ext. 51910 of visit their website:

www.catholiccharitiesaz.org/foster

Emily Kodicek’s depiction of the Holy Family won the grand prize at this year’s Marian Shrine Contest at Most Holy Trinity (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

Emily Kodicek, a young Catholic in pre-K, was jumping up and down as she took home the grand prize at this year’s Most Holy Trinity Marian Shrine Contest April 25. Sixth-grader Kira Fischer was the first runner up and Thomas O’Meara was the second runner up.

Monica Blasko, chairperson of the the Marian Shrine contest, confers with judges April 25. Blasko’s mother, Judy McAdams, founded the contest 25 years ago.

Judges recognized many other young Catholics during the contest (listed below).

“This is all about the kids and the Blessed Virgin,” according to Monica Blasko, who coordinated the event. “We’re promoting devotion to her. She leads us to her Son — she leads us to Jesus.”

Blasko’s mother, the late Judy McAdams, started the shrine contest a quarter century ago. McAdams, a member of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, participated in a Marian shrine contest as a child. “I’m a good copy cat,” she wrote when describing the contest.

The shrine contest at Most Holy Trinity fulfills three aims of the sodality, McAdams wrote: to sanctify self, to sanctify neighbor, and to defend the faith.

McAdams asked the Knights of Columbus, who are also devoted to the Blessed Mother, to co-sponsor the contest.

“We really want the kids to think about this as a family,” said Blasko, whose children participated and now help judge the contest. “The kids are so excited to do this. They’re so excited to show off their shrines. They all cheer for each other and their faces light up.”

MOST HOLY TRINITY 25th ANNUAL MARIAN SHRINE CONTEST 2013 WINNERS

See more photos from the contest here

• Grand Prize – Emily Kodicek (Pre-K)
• First Runner Up – Kira Fischer (6)
• Second Runner Up – Thomas O’Meara (K)

Lower Division (Pre-K, kindergarten, first grade)

1. First Place – Emmanuel Alva (K)
2. Second Place – Angel Villa (1)
3. Third Place – Ashling Faaborg (Pre K)

Special Merit

•     Nadia Zielinski (PK)
•     Daniel Florez (PK)
•     Isabelle Mejia (K)
•     Delaney Maioyer (K)
•     Rebecca Gillesbie (1)
•     James Ice (K)
•     Hemen Haily (K)
•     Georgina Chavez (1)

Honorable Mention

•     Renee (no last name on entry) (PK)
•     Tiffany (no last name) (PK)
•     Margorie Auger (PK)
•     Gaby (no last name) (PK)
•     Ava Gonzales (1)
•     Elena Castellanos (1)
•     Dana Hohl (K)
•     Angelina Chavez (K)
•     Emmanuel Ava-Salvador (K)
•     Robert Cadena (PK)
•     Nicholas Mathurin (K)

Middle Division (second, third and fourth grade)

1. First Place – Maren Brownie (4)
2. Second Place – Miguel Esteban Martinez (2)
3. Third Place – Damion Benhan (2)

Special Merit

•     Hannah Thai (4)
•     Demi Thai (2)
•     Juan Pablo (2)
•     Rocio Valdez (3)
•     Adriana Palma (3)
•     Katherine Gil (3)

Honorable Mention

•     Caitlin Devereaux (4)
•     Felicity Rodriguez (4)
•     Owen Kodicek (2)
•     William Feldhake (2)
•     Michael Garcia (3)
•     Kathleen Kuhn (3)
•     Kately Cowan (3)
•     John Miller (3)
•     Sarah Stable (2)
•     Madison Eilva (4)
•     Zareth Tejada (2)
•     Jacob Jendrisak (2)

 UPPER DIVISION (fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth  grade)

1.  First Place – Seamus O’Meara (7)
2. Second Place – Isis Sandoval (6)
3. Third Place – Gabrielle Gaspard (8)

Special Merit

•     Jack Olson (6)
•     Noah Gordan (6)
•     Erick Castellanos (5)
•     Elijah Baldenegn (5)
•     Lauren Kuman (6)
•     Casey McCann (7)

Honorable Mention

•     Miguel Pascual (7)
•     Jackie Areola (7)
•     Khang Tong (7)
•     Branden Gamboa (8)
•     Israel Durante (8)
•     Gabrielle O’         Meara (5)
•     Morgan Stabile (6)
•     Adam Baratta (6)
•     Kaye Arne (5)
•     Vianney Zomaripa (5)
•     Emily Akin (7)
•     Haily Fadden (6)

A statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried during a candlelight vigil at the shrine in Fatima, Portugal, Oct. 12, 2007. Catholic celebrate her Feast Day May 13. (CNS photo/Nacho Doce, Reuters)

The month of May is replete with Marian feast days. On May 31, we celebrate the Blessed Mother’s visitation of Elizabeth. Mary 13 we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima and May 24 we celebrate Mary, Help of Christians. Starting May 1, many of our schools and parishes will participate in May Crownings, during which Catholics honor the Blessed Mother by crowning her with flowers.

“What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §487.  ”At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church.” (§507) Read more from the Catechism here. 

You may also be interested in Pope Francis’ Regina Coeli from April 28:

Before closing this celebration, I would like to entrust to Our Lady the confirmands and all of you. The Virgin Mary teaches us what it means to live in the Holy Spirit and what it means to accept the news of God in our life. She conceived Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit, and every Christian, each one of us, is called to accept the Word of God, to accept Jesus inside of us and then to bring him to everyone. Mary invoked the Holy Spirit with the Apostles in the Upper Room: we too, every time that we come together in prayer, are sustained by the spiritual presence of the Mother of Jesus, in order to receive the gift of the Spirit and to have the strength to witness to Jesus Risen. I say this in a special way to you who have received Confirmation today: may Mary help you to be attentive to what the Lord asks of you, and to live and walk forever with the Holy Spirit!

I would like to extend my affectionate greeting to all the pilgrims present from so many countries. I greet in particular the children who are preparing for Confirmation, the large group led by the Sisters of Charity, the faithful of several Polish parishes and those from Bisignano, as well as the Katholische akademische Verbindung Capitolina.

At this moment, a special moment, I wish to raise a prayer for the many victims caused by the tragic collapse of a factory in Bangladesh. I express my solidarity with and deepest sympathies to the families who are mourning their loved ones, and I address a strong appeal from my heart that the dignity and safety of the worker always be protected.

Now, in the light of Easter, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we turn together to the Mother of the Lord.

Different countries celebrate Mary during May as well. In Japan, Catholics celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Tsuwano on May 3, while the Polish celebrate the Blessed Mother as Queen of Poland on the same day. Maronite Catholics celebrate Our Blessed Mother of Miles May 16 and Peruvians celebrate Our Lady of Cuzco May 23. There are many more.

This month, let us join our Catholic brothers and sisters around the world in asking for the Blessed Mother to draw us ever closer to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Catholic Sun archive photograph of Living Water Retreat Center in 2006.

Living Water Retreat Center in Cornville closed its doors April 28 after more than 30 years of serving the Christian community in Arizona, the center announced on its website.

The center, which was founded by a protestant community, has served the entire Christian family. In 2006, City of the Lord took over operations, but the center continued to serve all Christians.

Through its website, Living Water thanked supporters “for all the love you have shared,” adding, “We would also like to remind you that God gets all the glory for what has happened here for the last 30 years.”

“If you have been healed, had an encounter with God, come to know Jesus personally or had another miracle in your life as a direct result from your visit at Living Water we strongly encourage you to take that blessing from God and pay it forward,” read the statement. “Love others unselfishly, unconditionally, expecting nothing in return. This is how the legacy of Living Waters will live on even after the doors have closed.”

John French, who founded Living Water with his late wife, Barry, placed a major emphasis on hospitality. Through hospitality, he said in an interview with The Catholic Sun in 2006, visitors have more time to listen to God.

“Having an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit is welcomed and where people didn’t have to do everything for themselves” gives visitors more time for spiritual reflection, French said.

The center, which has a half a mile of creek-front property, could host more than 100 visitors and had private rooms for married couples. The kitchen was staffed and serves meals so guests could focus on spiritual growth.

French said his Christian community’s relationship with City of the Lord began well before the Living Water Retreat Center. Tens of thousands have visited Living Water since it opened.

City of the Lord was founded in 1974 to “live together in the power of the Holy Spirit under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted consecrates the altar at St. Francis Mission in Ak Chin during the April 13 dedication of the new church. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

AK CHIN — The Native American Catholic community had outgrown the old church at St. Francis Mission years ago. On top of being too small, it was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

Community members prepare the altar during the April 13 dedication Mass. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

Now, after Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted dedicated the new church April 13, the community has a comfortable place to worship God and welcome new members. The church now seats 450, nearly nine times as many as the old church. And it has heating and air-conditioning too.

“God makes all things new,” the bishop said in his homily during the dedication Mass. The community began working on a new church in 2004. “Sometimes it takes a long time to make all things new.”

Many worked together to rebuild the church, including non-Catholics. Bonds of friendship have grown, the bishop said.

“They’re worshipping together, week by week,” said Mill Hill Missionary Father Gregory Rice, pastor of St. Francis. “I want to encourage you to keep doing this. Keep coming, keep being joyful and keep on being faithful.”

Fr. Rice said the new church will “for generations be a place for families to come and worship God.”

Flower Ruelas, one of the parish leaders, said the new church is a blessing — as the old church had been. But the old church was too small and on feast days, weddings and funerals far too few could fit inside.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating the Eucharist with a lot more people,” Ruelas said. “We expect a lot of parishioners, who stopped coming because they didn’t fit, will be coming back.”

Deacon Tom Swisher, now retired, began working in the community in 1996. He said it was a challenge to get people to church in July in August without air-conditioning.

“It takes a lot of faith for 150 people to go to Mass with no air-conditioning in the summer,” he said.

Deacon Swisher underscored Bishop Olmsted’s dedication to Native American Catholics since the bishop arrived in the Diocese of Phoenix in 2003. Since the bishop began leading the diocese, more priests have been serving at the missions, providing more Masses and more time for confessions. This outreach built upon what was already in place.

The new and old churches at St. Francis in Ak Chin. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

“It was our mission to help them preserve the Indian culture as much as we possibly could,” he said. “Here they could be Catholic and Indian at the same time.”

The new church will continue in that mission, which is much needed as the bordering the city of Maricopa has expanded. Deacon Swisher said the city’s growth has encroached on the native culture.

Sally Antome has seen how the culture has changed over time. She cared for the old church for years, following in the footsteps of her mother, Juanita Norris, and her sister, Elaina Norris.

“It’s sad about the old church,” she said. “It’s getting old and the floors are giving in. It sags when you walk on it. We needed a new church.”

The new church isn’t finished yet, though. Plans are underway to build a bell tower in the next couple months. It will be a place for Native American Catholics from throughout the diocese to gather.

“It’s our largest church serving Native American Catholics,” said Deacon Jim Trant, parish life coordinator at St. John in Laveen. “It came about thanks to a widespread commitment in the community, Catholic or not.”

Beauty like architecture is one of many ways that God reveals Himself, Bishop Olmsted said in his homily.

“The mountains, the stars, the sun — all beautiful things in creation, especially men and women, in whose image they were created reveal God’s presence,” he said.

It’s no accident that the mission is named after St. Francis, the bishop said. God told St. Francis to “Go rebuild my Church,” which the 13th century Italian saint did.

“The whole living Church needed to be rebuilt, far beyond what he had imagined,” the bishop said. “What God has been doing here [in Ak Chin] is something like this.”

St. Jerome eighth-grader Wanda Deglane won the fifth-eighth-grade competition, while St. Theresa eight-grader Susan Peters took second.

AVONDALE — It took nearly three hours for the winners to be decided at the annual diocesan Spanish-language Spelling Bee April 22 at St. Thomas Aquinas School.

St. Gregory fourth-grader Jack Sullivan won in the first-fourth-grade contest, while Ss. Simon and Jude third-grader Tanner Bonheimer took second. (J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN)

In the end, St. Gregory fourth-grader Jack Sullivan won in the first-fourth-grade contest, while St. Jerome eighth-grader Wanda Deglane took the first place trophy in the fifth-eighth-grade competition.

Tanner Bonheimer, a third-grader at Ss. Simon and Jude, took second among the younger group while longtime spelling bee contestant Susan Peters took second among the older students. In all, 22 students competed, each having won the Spanish-language bee at their respective schools.

The Spanish-language bee is a challenge for students. While sounding words out seems to work better in Spanish, other rules differ from the English language. Take, for example, whether or not to capitalize a month. In Spanish, months are not capitalized. The same is also true for days of the week.

Sullivan said he was “OK” at spelling in English — he took second place in the English-language spelling bee at his school. The first-place winner in the Spanish contest said he said there’s more memorization that takes place in English.

Bonheimer, whose favorite book is “The Gingerbread Baby,” outspelled some older students en route to his second-place finish. He said his parents helped him prepare at home, but his favorite subject is mathematics.

Deglane and Peters narrowly edged out Blake Giles of Pope John XXIII. The three competed against each other for several rounds until Giles was eliminated.

Deglane, daughter of Peruvian immigrants, grew up speaking Spanish.

“Learning two languages is very important, especially for a job,” she said. She’s planning on attending Bourgade Catholic High School next year.

Peters, who’s competed in eight diocesan spelling bees, placed second for the third consecutive year at the Spanish-language bee. She made it to the later rounds in the three English-languages bees in which she competed as well.

“I was really surprised,” Peters said of her finish. She noted that other contestants were native Spanish speakers and she didn’t expect to place second. She plans to attend Xavier College Preparatory next year.

Gosnell, who cut newborns’ spinal cords to kill them, face the death penalty. His clinic, dubbed the “House of Horrors,” was closed after a 2010 raid. The mother died from an overdose of pre-abortion drugs.

“This case illuminates the bizarre pro-abortion politics in our country,” Fr. Goraieb wrote in the April 14 parish bulletin. “Most major media outlets have ignored this news or have made attempts to explain it away.”

The government-run Women’s Medical Society at 38th Street and Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia has gone without inspection for years. Pennsylvania does not allow abortions after 24 weeks.

“What is particularly disturbing for me is the way this case shows how far down the slippery slope society has fallen,” Fr. Goraieb wrote. “Gosnell and nine members of his staff are being charged with murder — infanticide to be more precise — because these children were born alive before he cut their spinal cords. But the distinction between the killing of a child while still in utero and killing that child as soon as it is born is simply a legal fiction.”

Read Fr. Goraieb’s letter

While it is good that Gosnell is being charged with such atrocities, “just how does killing these newly-born children really differ from killing an unborn?” Fr. Goraieb encouraged parishioners to ask pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe “for all of the unborn and for their mothers.”

The Catholic Church teaches that human life must be protected and respected absolutely from the moment of conception (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2270).

“God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes” (Gaudium et Spes, 51 §3).

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in a 2011 statement: “The repeated actions of Dr. Gosnell and his staff were abhorrent and intrinsically evil in their disregard for the lives of the unborn and the welfare of the women who sought their services. The charges filed by the District Attorney’s Office today bear witness to these facts.”

RELATED: Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist, on trial for murder

Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway star in a scene from “Les Miserables,” the big-screen adaptation of the long-running stage show. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (CNS photo/Universal Studios)

Hugh Jackman stars in a scene from the movie “Les Miserables.” John Mulderig of Catholic News Service’s Media Review Office ranked the film as one of the top 10 family films for 2012. (CNS photo/Universal)
“Les Miserables” (2012)
Lavish adaptation of the worldwide musical stage sensation, based on the Victor Hugo novel and directed by Tom Hooper. Inspired by the kindness of a Catholic bishop (Colm Wilkinson), an ex-convict (Hugh Jackman) assumes a new identity and amends his life, becoming a benevolent mayor and factory owner, all the while evading the obsessive pursuit of his former jailer (Russell Crowe). When one of his workers (Anne Hathaway) is unjustly fired and forced into a life of prostitution, he pledges to raise her daughter (Isabelle Allen) as his own. Years pass, and the now-grown lass (Amanda Seyfried) falls for a young revolutionary (Eddie Redmayne) amid violent protests on the barricaded streets of Paris. A positive portrayal of the Catholic faith, with characters calling on God for grace and mercy, and seeking personal redemption while trying to better the lives of others, makes this rousing film especially appealing to mature viewers of faith. Scenes of bloody violence, a prostitution theme, nongraphic nonmarital sexual activity. Spanish titles option. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Universal Studios Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray)

In hindsight, it’s easy to see why “Les Misérables” didn’t win best picture at the Academy Awards this year.

Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, is essentially a pacifist. “The man of mercy,” as his foe eventually calls him, forgives 70 times 7. After his conversion in the first 15 minutes of the film, he relentlessly gives of himself to all he meets.

Jean Valjean doesn’t have a love interest. I take that back. Jean Valjean’s love interest is God, to whom he sings in the closing sequence, “Where you are, let me be.”

Jean Valjean, beaten, persecuted and abused, does not seek revenge. With the life of his persecutor in his hands, he says to him, “You are free, there are no conditions.”

The portrayal of prostitution does not glorify sex outside of marriage. Instead, it’s disturbing insofar as it demonstrates how loveless sex undercuts the dignity of the human person.

This is “Les Misérables.” This is not Hollywood. No wonder the Academy chose the far less provocative “Argo,” in which, essentially, Hollywood itself is the hero.

“Les Misérables” is provocative because Jesus Christ is provocative. Jean Valjean, like Jesus, makes us aware of our own fallen nature. Hollywood seems to lull us into accepting our sinful ways. It’s a miracle “Les Misérables” was nominated at all.

Victory

Jean Valjean spent 19 years serving hard labor for stealing a loaf a bread to feed his sister’s son. Javert, played by Russell Crowe and who represents the tyrannical French monarchy, continually tries to strip Valjean of his dignity. “24601,” he calls him — a number, not a person.

Valjean carries papers that identify him as criminal. He can’t get work. He’s spat on and beaten. Children throw rocks at him. There is no room for him anywhere.

Then he meets a bishop — the first sign of mercy and the only likeable character since the film began. The bishop — who we know as a representative of the Apostles — takes Valjean in and dines with his honored guest at his table.

That night, Valjean sneaks away with the bishop’s silver in his satchel. He’s captured and dragged back to the bishop’s house. Valjean had told the guards the bishop had given him the silver.

Shocking the guards and Valjean, the bishop says he did indeed give him the silver, adding, “But my friend you left so early, surely something slipped your mind?”

And then he takes the silver candlesticks from the table and gives them to Valjean. This transforms Valjean, and if we’re paying attention, it transforms us watching. It is Christ’s mercy manifest and it is — shortly after the film began — the pivotal moment in the entire work. Jean Valjean will never be the same. And isn’t that just how God’s mercy works?

“See in this some higher plan,” the bishop tells him after giving over the candlesticks. “You must use this precious silver to become a better man.”

Through the light on the candlestick, Valjean discovers who God created him to be, who God created all of us to be: saints — every last one of us. It is through beatitude that we find true joy.

“My life he claimed for God above,” Valjean sings of the bishop’s mercy. “Another story must begin.”

And so the life of a sinner ends and the life of a saint begins. Valjean tirelessly gives of himself to others throughout the remainder of the film. He cares for a prostitute in her last days, and takes her daughter as his own.

Over and over, Jean Valjean is presented with the opportunity to “get even” with his persecutor, Javert. And over and over he passes it up. He forgives. He loves his enemy. This is heroic mercy.

Valjean learns another man has been caught and will be punished in his name. Will Valjean, who’s created this new life for himself, turn himself in so that this other man might go free?

“If I speak I am condemned. If I stay silent, I am damned.”

Valjean, who once was a slave to the French government, is now a slave to truth. Over and over, he sings, “Who am I?” He’s calling out his true, saintly self, called to be a vessel of God’s mercy.

Revolution

The revolution against a tyrannical French government is a side story to Valjean’s redemption. It seems to be simply the setting for the older Cosette, played by Amanda Seyfried, to fall in love with Marius, played by Eddie Redmayne. Marius is a rich kid who joins the band of revolutionaries.

Valjean risks his life for Marius, his adopted daughter Cosette’s future husband. He gives his life at this point in a seemingly effortless way, so ingrained in his habit of dying to self. It’s as if he isn’t giving his life anymore because he’s already surrendered his life to God. The yoke is light, the burden is easy, with grace from above.

Because of Valjean, Marius survives the battle in which his companions were slaughtered. When Marius sings, “Don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for,” he seems to question the point in the violent resistance altogether.

Shortly before saving Marius, Valjean has his foe, Javert, at the end of a knife. He lets him go, and Javert sings, “The man of mercy comes again.” Later, moments before he kills himself, Javert sings, “Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life.”

And this, this heroic mercy, is the true revolution.

“Les Misérables” — which may as well be called “the sinners” — stands out because it more than any other Oscar-nominated picture demonstrates God’s love and mercy. Jean Valjean inspires us to ask ourselves, “Who am I?” We are called to be saints.

“And remember the truth that once was spoken, to love another person is to see the face of God.”

Migrants in Nogales, Mexico, walk down Calle Reforma, past cemeteries, on their way to “El Comedor,” a food outreach run by the Kino Border Initiative. The Jesuit-run effort seeks to faciliate workable migration. (J.D. Long-Garcia/CATHOLIC SUN)

NOGALES, Mexico — Twenty-four-year-old Danilo Coronado left Guatemala with four companions. Only Coronado and his cousin were left when he arrived at a Jesuit-run outreach for migrants just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The outreach, part of the Kino Border Initiative, served more than 58,000 meals in 2012. The initiative also housed more than 300 vulnerable women and children last year and treated nearly 2,500 for dehydration and blisters, among other ailments.

Many Central Americans don’t make it this far. They cross into Mexico, hop on a train and ride as far north as possible before attempting the trek across the Sonoran Desert and into the United States.

Coronado’s friend, Carlos Umberto Fajardo, was drinking when he fell off a train to his death. Two others were kidnapped.

“There is a deluge of immigrants fleeing violence in their country of origin,” said Jesuit Father Ricardo Machuca of the Kino Border Initiative. “They exist somewhere between life and death.”

Escaping poverty, violence

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador send the highest numbers of immigrants to the United States from Central America, said Erica Dahl-Bredine of Catholic Relief Services. That’s driven largely by poverty and violence.

In El Salvador, half of residents have informal employment, meaning they buy and sell items on the streets for small profits. “They’re not generating a regular paycheck,” Dahl-Bredine said from El Salvador in a phone interview with The Catholic Sun. “Children walk the streets selling gum, pencils, working every day until 9 p.m.”

In Guatemala, there’s a high rate of malnutrition among indigenous communities, Dahl-Bredine said. In El Salvador, clean water is hard to come by.

Arnold Alberto came up from Honduras with a group of eight. Zeta, a Mexican drug gang, kidnapped three of them along the way. Central Americans say just about everyone who takes the train is assaulted in Mazatlan.

The work they do in their home countries isn’t enough to support their family, Alberto said, not to mention covering things like antibiotics for their children.

“We come from poor families. We’re their hope,” he said. “From every poor family, at least one makes the sacrifice to make this journey to provide for the family that stays behind.”

As long as the situation is this dire in Central America, immigrants will continue to migrate north in search of something better, according to Dahl-Bredine. “We’re economically connected,” she added.

“There’s a day-to-day struggle of not knowing what to do next, where they’ll get their next meal,” she said. The children ask themselves before making the journey north: “They may kill me on the way, but what’s my future here?”

“Gang violence is also a factor,” Dahl-Bredine said. “Young people increasingly flee because they are threatened by gangs.”

Generations of immigrants

Eliza Añedes Melendez, a 17-year-old Honduran immigrant, said gangs would force her and other young girls to sell drugs because addicts felt more comfortable buying from younger women. She made it to the Kino Border Initiative outreach with a group of young people in their teens and 20s.

During the first six months of 2012, U.S. immigration enforcement apprehended twice as many unaccompanied minors as it had in any other year. Last April, a record 10,005 children were in the care of the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Fr. Alejandro Solalinde runs a shelter for immigrants in Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, a Mexican town where migrants hitch rides on cargo trains. The Central American immigrants he serves are pulled out of their country by economic need and pushed by social violence.

Generations of families pass through that part of Mexico. Some days, the shelter serves as many as 800 — and as much as 20 percent are minors traveling without their parents.

Fr. Solalinde has seen the trend climb in the last few years, especially among Honduran immigrants. Children as young as 12 attempt the journey.

“Sometimes their parents have already crossed, and they were left with family members,” Fr. Solalinde said in a phone interview with The Catholic Sun. “Mom isn’t here, and they’re with their grandparents or uncles.”

José Raul spent five days on a train. He made the journey to earn money for his wife and daughters in Guatemala. On the train, he saw armed bandits rape an 11-year-old girl.

Women, most of them Catholic, often begin taking birth control pills before heading north because rape is commonplace on the journey, according to Shura Wallin of the Green Valley Samaritans.

The Samaritans patrol the Arizona desert offering humanitarian relief to immigrants. They regularly come across personal items left behind — like pictures, embroidered cloth and backpacks.

“What would the situation be for someone to leave personal items in the desert?” she said. “There are so many people suffering here.”

Hiring a coyote, or smuggler, has gone up from $1,800 to $5,000, some migrants said. You can’t just go with any guide, they said. You need a recommendation.

Some migrants speculated that coyotes had a deal worked out with gangs on the U.S. side of the border. Once they come across, gang members take their money and belongings at gunpoint. And coyotes will abandon groups of migrants at the first sign of border patrol.

Protecting human dignity

Between meals at the Jesuit-run aid center, migrants take a 10-minute walk down Calle Reforma, past a cemetery, to a shelter operated by the Mexican government. There, No More Deaths, an Arizona-based humanitarian effort, provides cell phones to migrants.

They also give migrants survival kits with a powdered drink, a filter and little tubes of chlorine to purify water.

Norma Alicia Elvira, a nurse, treats immigrants for blisters and other ailments at the shelter. She said most migrants arrive by train and she tells them the desert is too dangerous to cross. They don’t listen.

Over the last few years, enforcement efforts have built up the border wall. These efforts have deterred many from crossing — but not all.

Missionary Sister of the Eucharist Engracia Robles of the Kino Border Initiative works with women and children in Nogales, Mexico. She told the story of one woman who, scaling the 25-foot-fence, fell to the other side.

The woman fractured her spine and her group abandoned her. U.S. Border Patrol agents found her the next morning. Others fall to their death.

“The ones that control the border are the Mexican cartels, don’t kid yourself,” said Fr. Solalinde, suggesting bureaucratic corruption. “This isn’t in the hands of Jan Brewer or Joe Arpaio. It’s in the hands of the cartels. It’s a question of money.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has repeatedly called for comprehensive immigration reform to respond to separated families and labor demands. The Church believes the current immigration laws and policies undermine the dignity of immigrants.

“How can a nation claim to believe in Christ and not welcome immigrants?” Fr. Solalinde asked. “No one owns the Earth. There has to be a concern for others. The Gospel must be lived out.”

Kino Border Initiative

The Kino Border Initiative is a binational organization of six organizations from the United States and Mexico: The California Province of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus, the Diocese of Tucson and the Archdiocese of Hermosillo. The initiative seeks to facilitate humane, just, workable migration between the U.S. and Mexico.

www.kinoborderinitiative.org