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MAY 15, 2008
Crisis at home
The people who make up this great nation of ours continue to shine brightly during times of crisis.
Though 2,500 miles away, local Catholics stepped forward with gusto in response to recent American tragedies such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
Half a world away, even, when 225,000 lives were lost to the 2004 Asian tsunami, Catholics opened their hearts, homes and wallets in compassionate response. No doubt a similar response will be forthcoming in response to last week’s devastation in Myanmar, where a horrific cyclone swept over the Southeast Asian country, leaving tens of thousands dead and an estimated one million homeless.
It is the light of Christ in all of us that compels us to help those in need, to illuminate the lives trapped in the shadows of suffering. We’re called as Christians to show our generosity, solidarity and compassion.
As the heat cranks up for another sizzling Arizona summer, we’re again called upon to respond with the light of Christ to another crisis, this one in our own backyard: the deaths and suffering on the U.S. and Mexican border.
The complex nature of the immigration issue continues to divide communities, with much of the discussion fueled by passionate arguments and heated emotions. On a regular basis we continue to witness in the news pro- and anti-immigration demonstrations and so-called sweeps all over the Valley. A well-publicized battle of wills between Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Sheriff Joe Arpaio shows that even community leaders are not immune to the breakdown in discourse, either.
And on the Internet, where we have the ability to instantly communicate, opinionate and commentate (somewhat) anonymously, the immigration debate can reach the boiling point rapidamente, where oftentimes reason and civility give way to excitement and downright nastiness.
At the same time, many people of good will pose challenging and legitimate questions: Why don’t immigrants come here legally? What about keeping the country safe from terrorists? Why is the Church involved in this issue in the first place?
These are not easy questions, but answers may come through education, discussion and prayer.
Here’s the tragic truth that deserves discussion: In 2005, there were 473 deaths along the U.S.-Mexican border, and of these, a staggering 260 occurred in our own Arizona desert. While the deaths used to be primarily among males, women and children comprise an increasing share of the fatalities.
Also consider the countless families who are divided by a line in the sand, and for those already among the millions of undocumented immigrants here in the United States, their lives will continue to exist in the shadows of society — unless comprehensive immigration legislation can be enacted.
As the Arizona bishops acknowledged in their 2005 pastoral letter on migration titled “You Welcomed Me,” there is a legitimate strain on the border communities, hospitals and local authorities. In the letter, they urge Catholics to reflect upon the causes of migration and to become advocates for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes temporary worker programs, just benefits and a path for family reunification, among other changes.
“We believe, however, that it is possible to find common ground among all those affected by this situation, to respond to fears and misunderstandings, and for Arizona to lead the country to a comprehensive and permanent solution to our broken immigration system,” the letter reads.
As we enter into this deadly season, where desert temperatures soar upwards of 115 degrees, we urge all Catholics to look deeper into the immigration issue through study, time in prayer, and reasoned, even-tempered discussion.
It doesn’t seem right to compare one crisis with another; but a life is a life, and as Catholics we must continue to uphold and defend the sanctity of all human life, whether it be unborn, elderly or as in this case, immigrants caught in a struggle for survival.
If we are to be Christ-like, then we must do what we can to make His light shine forth. Even in the already bright Valley of the Sun.
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APRIL 17, 2008
Hope in Christ
In the days leading up to his first pontifical visit to the United States this week, Americans have been fed a steady diet of news, information and commentary relating to Pope Benedict XVI.
The media coverage is truly a blessing for the Church, as it serves as a means of evangelization, a rallying of the troops and a chance for us Americans to learn more about our pope. It also raises some good questions:
What is the significance of the pope’s visit to the United States? How does he view the Catholic Church in America, and vice versa? What is the significance of his meeting with the American bishops, U.N. delegates and President Bush? And just who is Pope Benedict?
These are important questions that reveal, depending on where you get your news from, an equally interesting set of answers and follow-up questions — which is to be expected from an American culture rich in its diversity and perspectives.
Like all papal visits, the pope’s six-day itinerary would make any travel-hardened executive weary:
He arrives on Tuesday afternoon, but his week shifts into high gear Wednesday when he meets with President Bush and the American bishops later in the afternoon.
Thursday he will celebrate Mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., followed by gatherings with leaders of Catholic education and various religions.
On Friday the pope will address the United Nations in New York before visiting a synagogue, attending an ecumenical meeting, celebrating Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and meeting with thousands of young people at a seminary.
Sunday finds the pope visiting and praying at Ground Zero, concluding his visit by celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium.
Whew.
With an itinerary as diverse and comprehensive as his, is it any wonder that we Americans want to know more about our Holy Father and his mission here in the United States?
The short answer to these and other questions can be summed up in three simple but profound words: “Christ our hope,” the overall theme for his U.S. visit.
“I shall come to the United States as pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition,” the pope said in a videotaped message April 8 from the Vatican.
Surely, there will be great debate and viewpoints assigned to what the pope says and does — or doesn’t say or do — during his visit this week. And that’s OK. But the true foundation for his visit rests in the three words, “Christ our hope,” because Christ is the defining moment in human history and gives fullness to people’s lives, the pope said.
He comes to be with us as the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ, just as the beloved John Paul II did: to spread the Gospel message and sow the seeds of faith for today’s Catholics and for future generations.
Pope Benedict comes to show us that in times of rampant secularism, global injustice, war and economic uncertainty, we must continue to put our hope in Christ.
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MARCH 6, 2008
Finding motivation in
‘Religious Landscape’
Nary a decade into this third millennium and already we are humbled by the late Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, in which he again summoned Catholics to a new evangelization — a rekindling of the passion to be servants of the Word, to rediscover and reignite within us the fire experienced by the Apostles at Pentecost.
It was only seven years ago when the pope laid before the people of God this challenge to respond more effectively to the demands of an ever-diversifying culture while remaining true to the Gospel and Church tradition.
The pope emphasized that “Christ must be presented to all people with confidence. We shall address adults, families, young people, children, without ever hiding the most radical demands of the Gospel message, but taking into account each person’s needs in regard to their sensitivity and language.”
Fast-forward to today — two weeks after the release of a 148-page study titled “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey” — and we are reminded just how important the late pope’s challenge to us remains.
Conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, released Feb. 25, the study showed that roughly 10 percent of all Americans are former Catholics. Almost half of these former Catholics joined Protestant denominations, while about half do not have a religious affiliation and a small percentage chose other faiths, Catholic News Service reported.
Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, told CNS that he wasn’t surprised by the recent report.
He went on to say that the trend of adult Catholics leaving the Church points to the “lack of a more vigorous engagement” with the Church’s diverse membership. “We can’t sit on our laurels,” he said, stressing the need to promote lay leaders, encourage vocations and also think of creative ways to evangelize and reach out to members.
By the grace of God, the Phoenix Diocese has been anything but sedentary.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, today’s local Church leaders have roots in the community going back decades — many spurred to action through their parish, school or involvement in a ministry. Countless were inspired by the 1987 visit of John Paul II to our state, just as they were by the Phoenix Diocese’s Jubilee Year celebrations at the close of the 20th century, and since then have taken up the late pontiff’s challenge of a new evangelization.
These evangelists have embraced the spirit of our missionary Church and have become pillars of the local community. Some go unsung, bringing Christ to those they encounter in their everyday lives at the local parish level with little fanfare.
Others are able to rally support on a more visible level by using their God-given gifts to bring the Church to the masses through television and the Web with such innovative programs like the new CatholicsComeHome.org or the weekly televised Mass.
And in the coming months, several hundred young local Catholics will be eagerly gearing up for a grand pilgrimage with hundreds of thousands of their peers to Sydney, Australia, where they will experience a two-week journey of faith culminating with a Mass and celebration with Pope Benedict XVI.
Now that sounds like “vigorous engagement” to us.
Of course there’s much to be done, as the Pew Research study clearly indicates. All of us need to take up John Paul II’s challenge of a new evangelization. We need to follow the examples of our Church leaders, those who live the faith seven days a week, to spread with confidence the Gospel and not to shirk our role as evangelists.
“We must revive in ourselves the burning conviction of Paul,” the pope wrote in his apostolic letter, “who cried out: ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel’ (1 Cor 9:16).”
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FEBRUARY 21, 2008
Food for the soul
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that February is Catholic Press Month — the time of year set aside to reflect on the role Catholic-based media plays in the lives of the Church.
And with only a week left in the month, as is typical of this very deadline-oriented profession, we’re thrilled that we made it in just under the wire.
Catholic media, including national and diocesan newspapers, magazines, television channels, radio stations and Web sites, all play critical roles in sharing in the mission of Jesus Christ by providing news, information, education and a forum for discussion.
But for many Catholics, diocesan newspapers such as The Catholic Sun are most likely the only source of Catholic information they receive on a regular basis.
This newspaper, a member of three major newspaper associations and fully accredited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, reaches hundreds of thousands of Catholics twice each month.
In the long, rich tradition of Catholic journalism, the people who make up the Catholic press take their jobs very seriously. In Catholic newsrooms around the globe there is a constant push not only to live up to the professional standards of timeliness, accuracy and balance expected of all good reporters, but also a soulful yearning to delve deeper into life of the Church and to bring the faith to the masses.
At the risk of coming across as self-serving, Catholic newspapers, particularly at the local level, are an important means of evangelization, a source of news and information, and of helping one another stay connected in the community. It is also a key way for the bishop to reach the faithful on a regular basis in sharing the teachings of Christ and his vision for the local Church.
But as part of this living Church, one made up of imperfect beings with all the blessings of potential and frailty, we sometimes are in need of perspective and guidance from you, those whom we seek to serve.
In that spirit, we encourage you to give us your feedback so that we may be a better part of your faith and information lives. What are some of the features you enjoy? What could we use more of and what should be trimmed? What do you like most about The Catholic Sun? Where can we use improvements?
So while we don’t make a big to-do about the month dedicated to the Catholic press, it is nonetheless a good time to take a step back and see how we’re doing in our mission to serve the faithful. We’d love to hear from you.
How are we doing in our mission to serve you?
Send e-mail to: letters@catholicsun.org
Send mail to: P.O. Box 13549, Phoenix, AZ 85002
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FEBRUARY 7, 2008
A mainstream attitude adjustment
To echo a central message from last month’s local pro-life rally, this has been a good year for the culture of life.
Fewer women are having abortions and mainstream American values and attitudes are changing. The youth of our country, many times unfairly maligned as being too distracted from the here and now, are waking up to the fact that many of their would-be peers were never given a chance at life. These young people now seek to effect change.
Life, it seems, is finding a way to thrive in this era of war and terror.
Across the country, tens of thousands of pro-lifers filled city streets in late January to commemorate the 50 million lives lost since Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision central in legalizing abortion.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, 25,000 people of all ages gathered for the fourth Walk for Life West Coast Jan. 19.
In Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, more than 20,000 young people from around the country, including some from Phoenix, filled the Verizon Center sports arena for the annual Rally for Life and Youth Mass, celebrated by Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl.
Locally, several hundred pro-lifers marched on the state Capitol and rallied at Wesley Bolin Memorial Park, where Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and other right-to-life speakers addressed the gathering of families and supporters.
Rallies calling for the protection of the unborn have been an annual event for longer than the lifetime of many in attendance. It is because of those who march and who are unwilling to be quieted — much to the dismay of those who stand to profit from the abortion-on-demand industry — that the right-to-life cause is on the verge of a sea change.
The annual marches, continued publicity and education efforts of the pro-life community have resulted in a change in attitudes and are responsible for the 62 percent of young adults who disagree with abortion on demand, according to a recent poll by the New York Times, CBS News and MTV. It is because of this changing attitude that the number of abortions in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 30 years, according to pro-life experts. The number of doctors willing to do abortions is on the decrease, too.
And it is because of the pro-life movement that the first federal restriction of an abortion procedure in 30 years, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, was signed in 2003 and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last April.
Building momentum
Though January and its rallies have come and gone, it’s vital for Catholics to keep this exciting momentum moving in the right direction.
There are several opportunities to do this between now and next January.
We encourage everyone to check out “40 Days for Life,” an ecumenical, grassroots effort of prayer and fasting which begins this week for the duration of the Lenten season. Organizers of the first “40 Days” program in October state that hundreds of unborn babies were saved, thanks to the prayers and outreach of the community. More information is available on the Web at www.40daysforlife.com/phoenix.
For motorists who like to share their beliefs and opinions through vanity plates, good news came by way of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week. The Arizona Life Coalition’s “Choose Life” license plate, originally deemed too controversial by the Arizona License Plate Commission, was given the green light after a half decade of legal challenges. When the commission ultimately approves the pro-life license plates, they should go into production soon thereafter. The plate will cost $25, according to the Center for Arizona Policy, with $17 of that amount going to provide resources and services for women facing crisis pregnancies.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t urge you to spread the word about these and other upcoming life-affirming activities to friends, family and even the local media. We’re not going to dwell on the fact that the local paper of record didn’t cover this year’s pro-life rally — though we are puzzled that the information organization devoted two stories to a pro-death rally that same week which attracted a mere 50 to 100 people.
But we can and should hope for better things in the coming year, which, as those dedicated to the life movement can attest, takes time to build in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and a culture that’s been labeled as having a short attention span.
Abortion, as Bishop Olmsted and other pro-live leaders argue, is the single most defining issue of our time. Let’s not let history or God in eternity judge us on our failures. Instead, let us be known for our efforts to build a culture of life.
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JANUARY 3, 2008
Gift giving at its best
It is better to give than to receive, so goes the saying most heard during the weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas Day.
But as we raced to get our shopping done in time for Dec. 25, many found the act of giving — in the modern-day, culturally superficial sense — to be a greater struggle this year: fears of an economic recession, the so-called subprime mortgage crisis and the ensuing credit crunch have had a chilling effect on the way many Arizonans think, live and spend money.
Gift giving should never be a burden that threatens one’s present or future economic stability. Nor should debt be accumulated to finance the latest “must have” object of the season. So what’s really needed here is a rethinking of what it means to give. Or, rather, what we as Catholics are called to give of ourselves every day of the year, not just on Christmas morning, which is to recognize the gifts given to us by God and how we’re mandated to share them with the community.
The gift of Jesus’ birth at Christmas “should stimulate us to announce to all people the presence of God among us,” Pope Benedict XVI said at his weekly Sunday blessing Dec. 23.
Pope Benedict called upon the world’s Catholics to realize the profound miracle of God coming into this world as a baby, and to recognize our obligation and great privilege to be evangelists — that is, to live the Gospel message and help others encounter Jesus Christ, the reason not only for the season, but for the entire existence of the Church.
“Whoever has recognized a great truth, who has found a great joy, should transmit it. He cannot in fact keep it to himself. Gifts so large are never destined for just one person,” the pope said at a Dec. 21 meeting with the Roman Curia.
How can we share this great gift? By committing our time and talents to one another, by living in community, and by being Christ to one another.
We encounter this gift of Christ each and every day in the clergy and religious, teachers and catechists, mothers and fathers, Church workers, missionaries and selfless volunteers — everyone, really, who recognizes the importance of seeking the Truth for the good of the community and salvation, in the face of a culture predicated on individualism, skepticism and relativism.
Start the New Year off right by praying and reflecting on what it means to be an evangelist. What does it mean to be Christ to our neighbor? How can we as Catholics recognize and encounter the living Christ within our community? And how can we put behind us the fears and struggles of yesteryear and make 2008 a year full of hope in Christ’s love?
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DECEMBER 6, 2007
This one is a real page-turner
Suffering from a Black Friday hangover? Rampant commercialism got you down? Or maybe you’re looking for activities to participate in that will keep you and your family in the true spirit of Christmas?
Well look no further than this issue of The Catholic Sun.
Throughout these 40 pages you’ll find inspiration and food for the soul — from our cover story about how local Catholics are making a difference in their communities by collecting food for the needy, to the family and others on page 13 who strive to keep Christ their primary focus this Advent season.
Then there are the students at schools throughout the diocese who are working on changing the world. For example, St. Louis the King students are collecting socks and other textiles to keep the homeless warm through the winter (page 24), while Xavier Gators are collecting clothes for at-risk women (page 26).
When it comes to selfless hard work and keeping a proper perspective on things, the examples set by these people, your Catholic neighbors, can be uplifting, rewarding and contagious.
With this in mind, don’t miss pages 38 and 39, where we list dozens of upcoming parish events (such as Christmas pageants, confession times, concerts and retreats) in addition to special Mass times. And don’t forget, everyone is invited to this weekend’s diocesanwide celebration honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe (page 18). Look for more events and Mass times in the next edition, as well as on the Web at www.catholicsun.org.
And as we wait for Christmas morning, when God sent His only Son to be among us, it is important for us to reflect upon and be in awe of the hope that Christ gave humanity some 2,000 years ago.
How appropriate, then, that Pope Benedict XVI released a new encyclical late last week, just in time for Advent, that focuses on the necessity of man’s hope in God (“Spe Salvi,” page 7) in the face of suffering, modern-day evils and anything, really, that distracts us from Christ — overdoing it while Christmas shopping included.
We’re privileged to provide you a glimpse into the lives of local Catholics just like you who are making a difference at home and in the community. We hope you’ll find the stories of those featured in this edition to be uplifting, and we encourage you and your family to take advantage of all the opportunities available at your parish, school or elsewhere throughout the diocese.
Merry Christmas.
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NOVEMBER 15, 2007
Grateful by design
Is it really so hard to say thanks that we need a special day devoted to it?
Don’t get us wrong; we enjoy Thanksgiving as much as anyone. Aside from the long weekend and the opportunity to gather with family and friends in mealtime traditions, it’s one of those rare occasions throughout the year where we’re encouraged to let our guards down, celebrate the goodness of one another’s presence and give thanks to God for His blessings.
But one day put aside on the second-to-last Thursday of each November, where the government and many businesses say, “No, don’t come into work. Go home, spend the day eating turkey and be grateful to those in your life” — do we really need this annual reminder?
Remember the 10 lepers healed by Jesus? Only one of the 10 thought enough to return to Christ to say thanks: “One of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him” (Luke 17: 15-16).
Perhaps the other nine weren’t aware of the significance Christ played in giving them renewed life? Or maybe, like what can be all too common in our lives today, it had more to do with “keeping the eye on the prize” and losing sight of those — or the One — who helped them along their journey.
It’s tough relating to the nine lepers who didn’t say thanks. After all, we’d like to think that even the laziest of thank-you note writers among us would be motivated after being on the receiving end of such a profound miracle — not to mention being in the presence of Christ.
Of course, Thanksgiving in the United States was borne out of early events in American history. But gratitude in and of itself is universal. Giving thanks is an attitude that crosses time, cultures and religions. And as Catholics, we give thanks before meals and also each Sunday at Mass, for example.
A recent entry on the Religion Newswriters Web site (www.religion
link.org) provides some insight into what they call “The science of gratitude.” Researchers are finding that those people who regularly give thanks are generally happier than those who don’t. Gratitude not only improves one’s well-being, but also helps build one’s interaction with others.
As scientists are discovering, giving thanks is something that’s hardwired into our systems. Be that as it may, we still need to take the initiative to recognize all for which we should be grateful — those whose shoulders we stand upon today in hopes that those who follow will stand on ours: the parents who raised us, those who protect us at home and abroad, and the clergy and religious who devote their lives to bringing us closer to Christ, to name a few.
Getting back to our original question: Do we need a special day of thanks each year? Well, no, not really. But with the everyday comings and goings — from home to the office and back — and the busyness that fills our lives, it’s nice to have a special day to sit down with our loved ones and share a meal.
But let us not forget that we need not wait till late November each year to give thanks. We can be grateful for each day God gives us.
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