Summer scheduleThe Prairie Messenger pub-lishes everysecond weekin July andtakes a three-week vaca-tion in August. Remainingsummer issues will be datedAug. 2 and Aug. 30.

Shared ministrySaskatoon is a leader when

it comes todialoguebetweenCatholics andEvan geli cals.For the pastfive years,

conversations have been taking place be tween the twogroups, and Pastor HarryStrauss of Forest GroveCommunity Church has beenright in the middle of them.“Much is to be gained throughshared ministry,” he says.— page 3

OrdinationsRegina Archbishop DonaldBolen ordained three men tothe priesthood at the end ofJune: Revs. Edward Gibneyand Michael Yaremko forthe Diocese of Saskatoonand Rev. Arpee SacramentoUrquico for theArchdiocese of Regina.— page 6

Church weddingson the declineAn alarming statistic fromthe Vatican’s statistical year-book of the church showeda 71 per cent decline inCanada’s Catholic marriagesfrom 1975 to 2008, morethan double the decline ofweddings in general. — page 7

Joan of ‘art’Joan of Arc was young, illit-erate and had power for lessthan two years. History —seldom interested in womenand usually written by the tri-umphant — should have for-gotten her. But when shedied on a pyre in 1431, sheachieved an immortality in artand literature that surpassesall of her contemporaries —kings, popes, knights, priestsand courtiers.— page 8

Summer filmsCool theatres have some hotfilms for the dog days ofsummer. Gerald Schmitzreviews five worthpaying attention to.— page 9

Vol. 95 No. 9 July 19, 2017CATHOLIC JOURNAL

Single Issue: $1.00

U.S. Catholics set new course for church

Publication Mail Agreement No. 40030139

Poll reveals split, but advocates push for apologyBy Michael SwanThe Catholic Register

TORONTO (CCN) —Canadians are sitting firmly onthe fence when asked whether apapal apology for the sins of theresidential school era would doany good in reconciling indige-

nous Canadians with the immi-grant majority. But AboriginalCatholics are certain an apologyfrom the pope on Canadian soilwould mark a new beginningafter a long, sad history of colo-nization, racism and neglect.

An Angus Reid Institute pollfor the Faith In Canada 150 pro-

ject of the Cardus think-tankfound half of Canadians areambivalent on the subject of apapal apology for residentialschools, saying it would be“somewhat meaningful — itwould make a difference, but sowould a lot of other things.”

Another 29 per cent said an

apology would be “very meaning-ful” and 21 per cent said “notmeaningful at all.”

That kind of result just won’tdo for Aboriginal Catholics likeDeacon Rennie Nahanee, an elderof the Squamish First Nation inBritish Columbia and head ofFirst Nations Ministry for theArchdiocese of Vancouver.

“Certainly to me as an indige-nous person, it would mean alot,” said Nahanee.

Nahanee did not attend a resi-dential school, but his parents andall his older siblings did. Their for-mation inside an institution whosepurpose was to erase nativeCanadian language, culture andtradition shaped his family life andhis entire community. 

Nahanee is well aware of themany apologies offered in Canadaover the last 25 years by individualreligious orders, dioceses, Catholicinstitutions who ran the schools onbehalf of the Gov ern ment ofCanada. But Aboriginal Catholicsneed to hear their church speakwith one voice, Nahanee said.

“So all these apologies comefrom separate areas,” said Nahanee.“Something from the Holy Fatherabout that, spoken to the indige-nous people — and if he shouldcome here — it would mean awhole lot to those who have suf-fered and died, and to those whoare still suffering and living.”

In a 2009 meeting at theVatican, Pope Benedict XVI apol-

— APOLOGY, page 5

By James Buchok

WINNIPEG — Even as one ofthe world’s most powerful people,former U.S. president JimmyCarter regrets he could not reach

those who may have most neededhis help.

“I dealt with things like peaceand human rights but I didn’t havea chance to get directly acquaintedwith people who were in need,”

said Carter, who was in WinnipegJuly 13 for the 34th Jimmy andRosalynn Carter Habitat forHumanity Work Project.

After leaving the White House,the Carters became involved withHabitat for Humanity, buildingaffordable homes for low-incomefamilies. “Habitat gave me thebest opportunity that I had as ahuman being to break down thebarriers between people likemyself, who had almost every-thing I ever wanted, and those whowere in need of a decent home,”Carter said. The Carters haveworked alongside nearly 100,000volunteers in 14 countries to build,renovate and repair more than4,000 homes.

The Work Project took place incities across Canada from July 9 to14 to build 150 homes for Can -ada’s 150th anniversary. At theWinnipeg site, in five days, 1,600volunteers built 15 permanent sin-gle-family dwellings, plus fivemore ready-to-move structures.

— OWNERS, page 15

Carters come to Winnipeg to work

By Carol Zimmermann

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) —From July 1 - 4 the main floor ofthe Hyatt Regency Hotel inOrlando was transformed into ahuge parish hall with places forworship, prayer, discussion, andeven coffee and doughnuts duringthe “Convocation of CatholicLeaders: The Joy of the Gospel inAmerica.”

At the convocation 3,500church leaders — men and womenreligious, bishops and laypeople— gathered to set a new course forthe U.S. Catholic Church.

Following a retreat format,each day started and ended withgroup prayer. Mass was celebrat-ed each day in the hotel ballroom,and there were plenty of sched-uled times for the sacrament ofreconciliation and private prayerin a large room turned into anadoration chapel.

Many of the keynote sessionstook the form of pep talks encour-aging delegates to share their faithboldly with the world at large andwithin their own families andparishes. The numerous breakoutsessions provided the working

aspect of the gathering: closelyexamining what the church isdoing and where it can do more.

More than 155 bishops attend-ed the gathering, sitting with theirdelegations for meals and break-out sessions. Cardinals and bish-ops who spoke at keynote sessionsor in mass homilies encouragedparticipants that this was theirtime, their moment, stressing theurgency to bring God’s message oflove to a divided world.

At the final mass, described asa “Mass of Sending,” CardinalDaniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said the church is calledto achieve great things in the faceof the impossible — to unite peo-ple together by going to theperipheries of society and sharingthe good news of Jesus throughaction rooted in faith.

“Sisters and brothers, we are ina very, very significant time in ourchurch in this country,” saidDiNardo, president of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops,and he urged the delegates to re -ceive God’s grace for the workahead.

— CHURCH, page 15

CNS/Bob RollerCATHOLIC CONVOCATION IN ORLANDO — Young people lifttheir arms in prayer as Catholic musician Matt Maher performs July 3during the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel inAmerica” in Orlando, Fla. Leaders from dioceses and various Catholicorganizations gathered for the July 1 - 4 convocation.

James BuchokHABITAT FOR HUMANITY — Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter(right) and wife Rosalynn were working at the Habitat for Humanitybuild site in Winnipeg July 13.

Reformed churches endorse accord on justificationBy Tom Heneghan

PARIS (RNS) — Amid cere-monies this year marking the 500thanniversary of the Reformation,one of Protestantism’s leadingbranches has officially said it nowagrees with the Vatican on themain issue at the root of its splitfrom the Roman Catholic Churchhalf a millennium ago.

The World Communion ofReformed Churches (WCRC),holding its once-in-seven-yearsworldwide General Council inGermany, signed a declaration July5 endorsing the 1999 Catholic-Lutheran agreement on how Chris -tians might be worthy of salvationin the eyes of God.

The ceremony took place inWittenberg, where in 1517 MartinLuther unveiled the 95 Theses thatlaunched the Reformation andwith it centuries of dispute aboutwhether eternal salvation comesfrom faith alone — the position ofthe new Protestant movement —or if it also requires good works onEarth as Catholics argued.

This decision by the WCRC —representing 80 million members ofCongregational, Presby terian,Reformed, United, Uniting andWaldensian churches — markedanother step in a gradual butremarkable reconciliation on thisissue among Christians who oncefought wars and declared each otherheretics over just such questions.

The World Methodist Councilformally endorsed the Catholic-Lutheran accord, known as theJoint Declaration on the Doctrineof Justification, in 2006. TheAnglican communion is expectedto do the same later this year.

The WCRC “now joyfullyaccepts the invitation to associate”with the Joint Declaration, it said inthe document signed at an ecu-menical prayer service. “We rejoicetogether that the historical doctrinaldifferences on the doctrine of justi-fication no longer divide us.”

The Joint Declaration effec-tively closes the centuries-old“faith versus works” debate bymerging the Lutheran and Catho -lic views on salvation rather thansetting them against each other.

“By grace alone, in faith inChrist’s saving work and notbecause of any merit on our part,”its key passage said, “we areaccepted by God and receive the

Holy Spirit, who renews ourhearts while equipping us andcalling us to good works.”

Historic though it is, the reso-lution of this theological disputewill not soon lead to changes thatpeople in the pews would notice,such as sharing communion be -tween Catholics and Protestants,or mutual recognition of eachother’s ministers.

“While it brings us closer withthe Catholics, Lutherans, Meth od -ists and Anglicans on this particu-lar issue, it does not necessarilyimmediately move us closer inconcrete ways that will be felt in

our member churches,” saidWCRC spokesperson Philip Tanis.

A statement by the Vatican’sPontifical Council for PromotingChristian Unity said the Witten -berg signing ceremony “must beseen as another important mile-stone on the journey toward thefull visible unity of Christians;not yet the end of the road but asignificant stage on the way.”

Pope Francis, who attended anecumenical ceremony in Swedenlast October launching the Lu -therans’ yearlong commemora-tion of the Reformation, sent amessage saying he hoped this lat-

est step would “mark a new stageof fellowship and co-operation inthe service of justice and peace inour human family.”

The process of reconciliationbetween the Vatican, representing1.2 billion Catholics around theworld, and the smaller internationalfederations of the leading Protes -tant denominations has been slow.

Lutheranism and the Reformedmovement, based on the writings ofthe French theologian John Calvin,are two of the main branches ofProtestant Chris ti anity. Luthertaught that eternal salvation isattained by faith alone, while Calvinand other Reformed thinkers put itin the wider context of God’scovenant with humanity. Lutheranshave bishops while most Reformedchurches are less hierarchical.

Dialogue among Protestantand Catholic theologians led to ageneral consensus in the “faithversus works” debate as early asthe 1980s, but it took longer forthe various church hierarchies toreach official agreement.

A second document signed atthe prayer service, called theWittenberg Witness, might bearfruit sooner because it was con-cluded only between the WCRCand the Lutheran World Federa tion.

It stated that nothing theologicalseparated the Reformed andLutheran churches and both sidesshould do their best to promoteunity, from their worldwide institu-tions right down to the local level.

Among ideas for closer co-operation is for the WCRC andLWF to hold joint general assem-blies rather than separate meetings.

By Simon Caldwell

MANCHESTER, England(CNS) — Western governmentsare “spitting in the face” ofAfrican democracy by trying toimpose legal abortion against thewishes of most of the people insuch countries, said a Nigerian-born pro-life campaigner.

Uju Ekeocha, the founder ofCulture of Life Africa, a U.K.-based pro-life group, said wealthynations pumping money into thepromotion and funding of abor-tions in Africa were behaving like“old colonial masters.”

“None of these countries hasasked for this ‘aid’ money,” shetold CNS in a July 10 telephoneinterview.

“In all my work with Africancountries, I don’t know of anywhich is screaming, ‘Come andhelp us, we have this abortion cri-sis,’ ’’ said Ekeocha, a Catholicwho has dual citizenship inBritain and Nigeria. “But a lot ofwestern countries, in this spirit ofcultural supremacy, are still tryingto impose abortion in this way.”

Her views were echoed by Dr.Anthony Cole, chair of the Medi -cal Ethics Alliance, an umbrellagroup for British medical organi-zations that uphold Hippocraticmedicine.

“The real need of women andtheir babies is for safer obstetrics,

especially in developing coun-tries,” said Cole, a Catholic, in aJuly email to CNS. “The constantcall for more contraception and,where that fails, abortion . . .makes no significant contributionto providing safe care duringpregnancy and delivery.

“The real need worldwide isfor trained birth attendants sup-ported by midwives and obstetri-cians,” he said.

Ekeocha, a biomedical scien-tist who has lived in Worcester,England, since 2006, said Afri -cans are using western funds “tobribe politicians.”

Abortion “is against the will ofthe people,” she said. “The pollsshow overwhelmingly that Afri -cans hate abortion, abhor abor-tion, both women and men.

“By ignoring the will of thepeople, this is spitting in the faceof the very type of democracy weare supposed to have in Africancountries,” she said.

Ekeocha spoke as the Britishgovernment co-hosted an interna-tional Family Planning Summit inLondon with the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation and the UNPopulation Fund.

The U.K. Department forInternational Development saidthe July 11 summit aimed to boostglobal commitment to “ensuringwomen and girls have access tofamily planning services.”

West imposing abortion called ‘cultural supremacy’

2 Prairie Messenger INTERNATIONAL NEWS July 19, 2017

Pope approves new path to sainthoodBy Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) —Pope Francis has approved a fourthpathway to possible sainthood —giving one’s life in a heroic act ofloving service to others.

In a new apostolic letter, thepope approved new norms allow-ing for candidates to be consideredfor sainthood because of the heroicway they freely risked their livesand died prematurely because of“an extreme act of charity.”

The document, given motu pro-prio (on his own initiative) wentinto effect the same day of its pub-lication July 11, with the titleMaiorem hac dilectionem, whichcomes from the Gospel accordingto St. John (15:13): “No one hasgreater love than this, to lay downone’s life for one’s friends.”

Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci,secretary of the Vatican Congre -gation for Saints’ Causes, said theaddition is meant “to promote hero-ic Christian testimony, (that hasbeen) up to now without a specificprocess, precisely because it did notcompletely fit within the case ofmartyrdom or heroic virtues.”

For centuries, consideration forthe sainthood process required thata Servant of God heroically lived alife of Christian virtues or had beenmartyred for the faith. The third,less common way, is called anequivalent or equipollent canoniza-tion: when there is evidence ofstrong devotion among the faithfulto a holy man or woman, the popecan waive a lengthy formal canoni-

cal investigation and can authorizetheir veneration as saints.

While these three roads tosainthood remain unchanged,they were not adequate “for inter-preting all possible cases” of holi-ness, the archbishop wrote in theVatican newspaper, L’OsservatoreRomano, July 11.

According to the apostolic let-ter, any causes for beatificationaccording to the new pathway of“offering of life” would have tomeet the following criteria:

� Free and willing offer ofone’s life and a heroic accep-tance, out of love, of a certain andearly death; the heroic act ofcharity and the premature deathare connected.

� Evidence of having lived outthe Christian virtues — at least inan ordinary, and not necessarilyheroic, way — before havingoffered one’s life to others anduntil one’s death.

� Evidence of a reputation forholiness, at least after death.

� A miracle attributed to thecandidate’s intercession is neededfor beatification.

Bartolucci wrote that the newnorms arise from the sainthoodcongregation wanting to look intothe question of whether men andwomen who, “inspired by Christ’sexample, freely and willinglyoffered and sacrificed their life”for others “in a supreme act ofcharity, which was the direct causeof death,” were worthy of beatifi-cation. For example, throughouthistory there have been Christians

who willingly put themselves atrisk and died of infection or dis-ease because of aiding and servingothers, he wrote.

Bartolucci wrote that the newprovisions do nothing to alterchurch doctrine concerning Chris -tian holiness leading to sainthoodand the traditional procedure forbeatification.

CNS/Paul HaringNAVARRO-VALLS DIES —Joaquin Navarro-Valls, whoserved as director of the Vaticanpress office from 1984 - 2006,speaks during a Vatican pressconference in this 2014 file photo.He died July 5.

WCRC/Anna SiggelkowHISTORIC AGREEMENT — Reformed, Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist leaders look on in St. Mary’sCity Church in Wittenberg, Germany, as Rev. Chris Ferguson, World Communion of Reformed Churchesgeneral secretary, signs the declaration expressing Reformed churches’ support for the Catholic-LutheranJoint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Vatican’sPontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (second from left), read a statement from Pope Francis. Itdescribed the ceremony as “an eloquent sign of our commitment to walking together, as brothers and sis-ters in Christ, on a journey from conflict to communion, from division to reconciliation.”

By Michael SwanThe Catholic Register

TORONTO (CCN) — Canada’schurches and their allies are headedback to court to argue U.S. treat-ment of refugees has deterioratedunder President Donald Trump tothe extent that the United States canno longer be considered a safecountry for all refugees.

This will be the second time theCanadian Council of Church es,Amnesty International Canada andthe Canadian Council for Refu -gees — with expert legal counselprovided by the Canadian Asso -ciation of Refugee Lawyers —have taken Canada’s Safe Third

Country Agreement to court. Thethree organizations are bringingtheir suit in the name of a Sal -vadoran woman and her daughterswho were recently turned away atthe Canada-U.S. border.

In 2008, the Canadian Councilof Churches, whose membershipincludes the Canadian Confer -ence of Catholic Bishops, won achallenge to the treatment ofrefugees at Canada’s land bor-ders, but the decision was over-turned on appeal because theorganizations challenging the lawwere not themselves subject tothe Safe Third Country Agree -ment and did not have standingbefore the court.

This time the churches andtheir allies will argue the UnitedStates can no longer be trusted asa partner in the safe and fair han-dling of refugees.

“It is time to raise the issueagain,” said Rev. Dr. KarenHamilton, Canadian Council ofChurches general secretary. “Wehave to say what is right inCanada according to the Charter(of Rights and Freedoms). . . .How can it be that a refugeeapproaches a safe, unguardedborder point in the dead of winterand is turned away?”

The Safe Third Country Agree -ment, in place since 2004, re quiresrefugees to apply for asylum in the

first safe country inwhich they land.By designating theUnited States asafe country forrefugees, Canadadramatically cutthe number of asy-lum cases it mustprocess insideCan ada.

The Canadiangovernment doesnot want to changethe system.

“Similar agree-ments are used bycountries aroundthe world to con-trol pressures onasylum systems.The STCA (SafeThird CountryA g r e e m e n t )remains an impor-tant tool for Can -ada and the U.S. towork to gether onthe or derly han-dling of refugeeclaims made in ourcountries,” Immi -

gration, Refugees and Citi zenshipCanada spokesperson NancyChan told The Catholic Registerin an email.

But Harvard law professorDeborah Anker, founder of theHarvard Immigration and Refu geeClinical Program, questions howanyone could look at the U.S. sys-tem for refugees in its totality andconclude refugees are being treat-ed fairly or that refu gees are notbeing returned to countries wheretheir lives are put at risk.

“There’s a real breakdown ofthe rule of law in this country,”Anker said. “I’m sorry to have tosay that as an American citizen.I’m sorry to have to say it as alawyer. I’m very sorry to say it.There have been some longstand-ing problems that have been tre -mendously exacerbated under thisadministration.”

Long before refugees ever get achance to plead their case for asy-lum in an immigration court, bor-der officers and U.S. immigrationofficials are blocking their path —telling them the United States is notaccepting refugees at this time,pressuring them to withdraw state-ments that they fear the conse-quences of return to their country,Anker said. Executive orders is suedin the early days of the Trump pres-idency have emboldened Home -land Security, Customs and BorderProtection officers and Immigrationand Customs En force ment person-nel to employ aggressive tactics toprevent refu gees from claimingasylum, she said. 

These practices put in questionwhether or not the U.S. is livingup to its obligations as a signatoryto the United Nations 1951 Con -vention on Refugees, said Anker.

“The United States is unlaw-fully turning away some asylumseekers at official ports of entry

and across the southern borderwithout referring them, as re -quired under U.S. law and treatycommitments, to asylum protec-tion screenings or immigrationproceedings,” said a report issuedby the American organizationHuman Rights First in May.

Even if a refugee can get theircase in front of an American im -migration court judge, “immigra-tion courts vary a lot,” said Anker.

At the Scalabrini Fathers’Centre for Migration Studies inNew York, lawyer Don Kerwinagrees there are problems, but hequestions whether Canada’s sys-tem is much better and whetherthe legal challenge will advancethe cause of refugees.

“I’m not sure that, in practice,Canada’s system is substantiallybetter or more generous than theU.S. system,” he said. “I’m alsotorn in the sense that I think thisstrategy is playing into Trump’shands. He wants to scare peopleinto leaving and show them it’spointless to seek asylum in theU.S., when it’s actually not. I feelthis kind of dramatic advocacymay accelerate that trend.”

The Jesuit Refugee Service inCanada has no doubts about theneed to cancel the Safe ThirdCountry Agreement. JRS Canadacountry director Norbert Pichéargues that increases in the num-ber of people walking across theborder over the past winter, risk-ing frostbite and possible death,proves the Safe Third CountryAgreement is endangering lives.

Under the terms of the agree-ment, Canada is obligated tomonitor the fairness and effec-tiveness of the U.S. refugee deter-mination system.

The legal challenge will takeyears to work its way through thecourts, said Hamilton.

Safe Third Country Agreement going to court

Prairie Messenger 3CANADIAN NEWSJuly 19, 2017

Much to be gained through shared Catholic-Evangelical ministryBy Darlene Polachic

SASKATOON — Saskatoon isa leader when it comes to dialoguebetween Catholics and Evan -gelicals. For the past five years,orchestrated conversations havebeen taking place between the twogroups, and Pastor Harry Strausshas been right in the middle ofthem.

Strauss, a pastor at ForestGrove Community Church, hasprepared a small group resourceon the subject entitled Evan geli -cals and Catholics in Dialogue: ASmall Group Discussion Guide. Itis intended to bring Catholics andEvangelicals together in smallgroup settings over seven topicsof conversation.

Strauss says dialogues are al -ready happening internationally,nationally and locally but theguide is aimed at also involvinglay people — Catholics andEvangelicals — in what he calls“living room dialogue.”

“I began working on this pro-ject two years ago,” he says. “Inthe spring of 2016, we field-test-ed it with a small group my wifeJudy and I lead. Our group of 10Evangelicals invited 11 Catholicsto join us and work through theresource.”

The guide has raised interest in

other circles, including a smalllocal group of four Catholics andfour Evangelicals who workedthrough the material. Anothergroup, six Catholics and six Evan -gelicals in their 20s spearheaded bySarah Denis from St. Anne’sCatholic Parish, is also in conversa-tion. Strauss has been involved inthose conversations as well.

“I was at a conference inBritish Columbia recently andmet people there who were inter-ested in the resource,” he says. “Ispoke about the work in Saska -toon and presented the material,and as a result, a number ofgroups in B.C. will be testing it.”

Strauss’s goal is to collect re -sponses to the preliminary guide,make the necessary adjustments,then have the guide available as aresource in 2018.

The guide directs discussion toseven topics. Each begins with anintroductory overview, then offersseven pertinent questions for dis-cussion.

The first topic is “Revelation”— is it Scripture alone, as Evan -gelicals believe, or is it Scriptureplus tradition, as Catholics be lieve?

Another topic addresses “TheChurch,” and explores the differ-ent positions between Catholicsand Evangelicals.

“The understanding of Catho -

lics is that the church was built onPeter, and authority was granted toPeter and those who followed himover the centuries,” Strauss says.“This is radically different fromEvangelicals, who believe our au -thority comes from Scripture.”

Strauss contends the nature ofthe church is probably the mostcritical difference that exists be -tween Catholics and Evangelicals.

The third topic in the guide is“Salvation.”

“Evangelicals have been affect -ed by the influence of BillyGraham and believe that salvationcomes at a specific point in time.Catholics believe it is a more pro-gressive journey.”

The two camps also differ onthe subject of baptism. Catholicsbelieve salvation is effectedthrough baptism; for Evan geli -cals, baptism is largely symbolic.

Another topic of discussion is“The Eucharist,” or communion.“There’s a huge difference in un -derstanding here,” Strauss says.“Catholics believe the elementsbecome the very body and bloodof Christ, whereas Evangelicalssee them more as pointing to thepresence of Christ.”

“The ‘Communion of Saints’is an interesting topic that alwaysgenerates energetic conversation.For Catholics, the potential is in

place for a lively exchange withthe saints who have already goneto heaven. They petition thosesaints (including Mary) to prayfor them. This is foreign toEvangelicals, who believe thecommunion of saints is moreabout fellowship and interactionwith the universal church.”

The final topic in the discus-sion guide is “Missional En gage -ment, or Do We Have SufficientAgreement To Work Together?”

“My answer is yes,” Strausssays. “In light of the secularism thatexists and is growing in societytoday, there is great value in Cath -olics and Evangelicals workingtogether. We’re already doing that inSaskatoon in initiatives like theSaskatoon Marriage Network andAlpha programs, to name just two.”

Strauss is looking for moregroups to test his discussion re -source. Anyone interested cancontact him at strauss.harry@gmail.com. He will provide astudy guide and be available as aresource person, if desired.

Strauss says he created the dis-cussion guide because he saw aneed for something user-friendlythat would be suitable for livingroom dialogue. He hopes theguide will enable the conversa-tions to be multiplied many timesover and lead to more dialogue,

interaction and fellowship. “Dialogue adds understanding

and accesses the gifts residentwithin each tradition,” he says.“We can learn from one another,enrich our fellowship, and live insync with John 17.

“This is a big deal to me. Themerit of working together in mis-sional engagement has alwaysbeen true, but perhaps it is evenmore important today given therampant secularization whichcontinues to marginalize the sig-nificance of God in our society.Much is to be gained throughshared ministry.”

CNS/Christinne Muschi, ReutersSAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT — A man who told police he was fromMauritania is taken into custody Feb. 14 by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officersafter walking across the U.S.-Canada border into Quebec. Canada’s churches andtheir allies are headed back to court to argue U.S. treatment of refugees has deterio-rated under President Donald Trump to the extent that the United States can nolonger be considered a safe country for all refugees.

Darlene PolachicPastor Harry Strauss

By Agnieszka KrawczynskiThe B.C. Catholic

VANCOUVER (CCN) —When you’re a patient about toundergo heart surgery, a smilingface can help make the differencebetween despair and hope.Alexandra Kalewska is one ofthose smiling faces.

Kalewska has greeted manypatients undergoing majorsurgery at St. Paul’s Hospital’scardiac ward, and says the bene-fits of those visits are apparent inreal time.

“To be present for these peo-ple” at their most vulnerable timeis “a beautiful gift,” said the Christthe Redeemer parishioner. “I wantto make sure these people have ahope and a light, to know there arepeople who are there for them.”

The Christ the Redeemerparishioner recently attended apilot event hosted by LifeCanadato train volunteers to visit thesick, lonely, or dying in hospitalor hospice settings.

She has since stopped volun-teering at the cardiac ward butmay soon start reaching out to theill through the St. Anthony’sParish visiting program.

A willing listener or a helpfulhand can go a long way in help-ing people recover from serious

heart operations, including thepost-surgery stress. She recentlyworked with a patient who wasdealing with serious complica-tions after surgery, as well as thetension of frequent family visits.

The visits, the complications,and the “arguments about best carefor the loved one” were exhausting,and the patient confided toKalewska the family drama wasoverwhelming. He wanted to “leavethe hospital and climb in a hole.”

Kalewska, then a health sci-ences student who would delivertea and cookies and play videosabout surgery and post-operationcare, became the light in his life.

“He enjoyed speaking to meand telling me what was on hisheart. It was surprising to me tohear that just being there and lis-tening helped him cope with thisemotional stress.”

Kalewska began visiting himfor conversation regularly andnoticed his joy increasing, whichin turn eased the tense family sit-uation. “Stress affects you post-surgery,” she said. “The hoursyou give could affect someone ina monumental way.”

The will to live has to be nur-tured, she said, recalling a familyfriend who recently died of breastcancer, after which her husbandof 55 years admitted he had lost

his will to live. That’s a tragedyfor anyone, whether healthy or ill.

“I want the sick and elderly tonever (reach the point of) wantingto die. I want to make surenobody goes to that place wherethere is so much darkness.”

Sylvia Fawcus, whose fatherdied of colon cancer in 2006,believes people on their

deathbeds need to know they areloved and cared for.

“People need somebody toreach out. Human interaction canhelp,” said Fawcus.

Like Kalewska, Fawcus hasalso spent time helping the ill. Shebefriended a woman in a wheel-chair who had serious seizuresand difficulty communicating.

Fawcus would take her to the poolfor weekly swimming lessons.

“She was always ready andalways happy when I wouldcome. She started to open upmore and more. She started to getmore comfortable.”

Fawcus would guide herthrough the lesson for a few hoursand help her wash chlorine out ofher hair. “She had a little bit ofsadness, because I don’t think herfamily was here,” but “she didn’thave despair.”

Fawcus hopes visiting and vol-unteer training programs willencourage more people to findways to reach out to the ill anddying, especially since the legal-ization of assisted suicide.

“Just the thought of somebodydespairing so much” that theywould take their own lives out ofloneliness or fear is “such atragedy,” she said.

“If there is anything that canhelp them through those difficulttimes, that is the motive.”

Kalewska agrees. “We can’theal the dying, but we can bringChrist to them through our pres-ence by giving comfort and hopein a difficult time of transition.”

For more information aboutLifeCanada’s Make Time for Lifeprogram, visit https://lifecollec-tive.io/mtfl

Hospital volunteers bring hope to those in despair

4 Prairie Messenger CANADIAN NEWS July 19, 2017

For years of service, health care advocate receives national awardBy Agnieszka KrawczynskiThe B.C. Catholic

VANCOUVER (CCN) — AVancouver woman who foughtfor Catholic health care and thevalues of faith-based institutionsacross the nation has received aprestigious national award.

Susan House has spent dec -ades working to keep Canadianreligious hospitals in the hands oftheir founding congregations,raising awareness of the need forspiritual care in hospitals, anddiscussing ethics and end-of-lifeissues across Canada and in theU.S.

For her many efforts, theCatholic Health Alliance ofCanada (CHAC) has granted herthe Lifetime Achievement Awardfor 2017.

“She is a real leader and has anability to bring people together

around issues and find solutionsand help to get the issuesaddressed,” said CHAC presidentMichael Shea.

“Her leadership at the provin-cial level, her engagement at thenational level, her internationalinvolvement, and her many yearsof dedicated service to Catholichealth care just needed to be rec-ognized.”

House told The B.C. Catholicshe was surprised she was chosento receive the national award.

“I’ve always seen the workthat I’ve done in Catholic healthcare as a group effort. One personcan’t take the credit for the goodwork that’s done.”

Msgr. Bernard Rossi, episco-pal vicar for health care in theArchdiocese of Vancouver, saidHouse has made a tremendousimpact in the last 20 years.

“She made presentations to the

government and to the senate onvarious health care issues overthe years and has been a strongadvocate for the catholicity of ourCatholic institutions.”

House was a key member ofthe Denominational Health Asso -ciation, a non-profit created tonegotiate an agreement with theB.C. government to keep faith-based health care institutions inthe hands of the communitieswho founded them. The agree-ment was signed in 1995.

“The government guaranteescertain autonomy: we have ourown administration, our ownCEOs, our own boards, and weare allowed to abide by our ownprinciples of our faith-based com-munities,” said Rossi.

It was an important win forHouse. “We have freedom of reli-gion in this country and there arepeople who believe that faith hasa role to play in health care,” shesaid. “I honestly believe that 100per cent and I always fought forthat, no matter what faith youwere.”

She was confident the agree-ment would not fail, since theCatholic Church has been in thehealth care business for hundredsof years.

House is also on the SocietyBoard for Providence Residentialand Community Care, was on thesteering committee of the CHAC,defended spiritual care, promotedpalliative care, and collaboratedwith professionals and govern-ments across Canada and in partsof the U.S.

She remembers when theFraser Health Authority cut adozen full-time spiritual care jobsin 2009. “We worked really hardto make the health authority comearound to seeing that they hadbeen misguided in their think-

ing.” In response, the Minister ofHealth’s Spiritual Care Councildeveloped recommendations forspiritual care in B.C. House was amember of that council.

“Looking after a person’sspirit is vital to caring for thewhole person,” she said. “A lotof people equate spiritual carewith religion. One of the thingsI’ve always believed and contin-ue to believe is spiritual carecould involve religion, but itdoesn’t always. There are peo-ple who have no faith who alsoneed their spirits tended to. Youhave to meet people where theyare.”

Rossi said House was well-known at the health minister’s

office and was “highly respectedfor her advocacy in spiritualcare in all hospitals.” She alsogave many educational presenta-tions at various churches aboutethics, health care, and humandignity.

In her acceptance speech,House also recounted a few loss-es, including the closures of someCatholic hospitals and the legal-ization of assisted suicide.

House, a grandmother of four,retired as executive director in2016, the same year she receivedthe Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice,the highest papal award a lay per-son can receive. She continues tovolunteer for the health associa-tion.

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B.C. Catholic/Agnieszka KrawczynskiBRINGING HOPE — Alexandra Kalewska believes hospital volun-teers bring hope to those in despair.

Catholic Health Alliance of CanadaLIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD — Susan House (centre)receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from Dan Lussier (left) andJeremy Stevenson of the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada.

By Deborah Gyapong

OTTAWA (CCN) — YoungCanadians from many faith tradi-tions at the Millennial SummitJune 28 - 30 affirmed the impor-tant role religion has played inCanada and will continue to play.

In an open letter to Canada onthe eve of the 150th birthday ofConfederation July 1, the 75 dele-gates of the summit affirmed therole faith has played in shapingCanada.

“It has shaped how we live ourlives; how we relate to our neigh-bours; how we fulfil our socialresponsibilities; and, how weshare a common life together asCanadians,” the letter said.

“We take this opportunitytoday to affirm our hope thatCanada’s next generation of faith-ful leaders will move beyond tol-erance to cultivate a more vibrantexpression of pluralism, foundedin the resolution to live peaceablyin diversity.”

“Such genuine pluralismadmits both public and privateexpressions of faith even whenour beliefs differ from one anoth-er and disagree,” the letter said.“We affirm that we desire a gen-uine respect for the inherent dig-nity of the human person regard-less of what faith or non-religiousbelief they profess.”

The millennials, born between1980 and 2000, representedyoung leaders from Christian,Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and otherreligious traditions. The summitwas part of Cardus’ Faith inCanada 150 project

“I was struck by the generosityof spirit that was present, thateach brought to the table,” saidHannah Marazzi, 24, who was theMillennial Summit’s project leadsince January, and will continueworking out of Cardus’ Ottawaoffices.

“I was also struck by the highdegree of relational presence,”said Marazzi who is originallyfrom Abbotsford, B.C., and amember of the MennoniteBrethren Church. “Individualstook care to share very articulate-ly from their respective traditions

and retained a sense of devotionyet also a posture of openness tothe other delegates.”

“It was quite encouraging tosee,” she said. “That was one ofthe main aims of the summit.”

Delegates attended six semi-nar-style sessions during the sum-mit, each addressing questionsregarding faith and pluralism in aCanadian context and led byCardus’ Cabinet of Canadians, amultifaith group of religious lead-ers chaired by former religiousfreedom ambassador AndrewBennett.

The themes of the sessionscovered questions such as the roleof faith in public life; the impor-tance of religious freedom; andthe nature of true pluralism,Marazzi said.

“When you begin to discusspluralism it becomes necessary toaddress difference,” she said. “Ithink that our delegates did anexcellent job of demonstratingthat you can be honest about howyou are different, and yet bedeeply convinced that the onlyway forward is together.”

“It’s a powerful thing to see aChristian say, ‘I am often writtenoff from an intellectual point ofview when I admit that I havefaith,’ and to see an imam and arabbi her age to step forward andstand in the gap and assist her inthe challenge that they not onlyunderstand but seek to addressalongside her,” she said.

“You don’t want to be in themushy middle,” she said. “Youwant to be honest about the speci-ficity of your faith tradition, but ifthat doesn’t impel you outwardand encourage you to engagewith your neighbour, it becomesdifficult to take hold of the full-ness of what it means to be theCanadian community.”

Daniel Richardsen, 31, a for-mer Anglican who grew up inIndia and Brunei before comingto Canada in 2004, called thesummit “an amazing first steptoward real multifaith dialogue.”

Though Richardsen, who is nowa Catholic, has had lots of experi-ence in ecumenical exchanges withother Christians, this was his first

time in interfaith dialogue.“I think all of us felt a sense of

relief that we didn’t have to con-ceal that part of who we are, andnot be awkward about it,” he said.“We could be ourselves, not try-ing to convert each other.”

“I think we had a commonagreement that faith is essential tohaving a common life together,” he

said. “I was surprised at how gen-uine it was. I anticipated some levelof forced, clichéd kind of enc -ounter. I felt it was genuine and I’mvery happy it happened that way.”

Richardsen was struck bysomething Andrew Bennett saidwhile leading one of the sessionsabout the common solidarityProtestants and Catholics have

with someone wearing a hijab ora turban “because they remind thepublic square about the publicnature of our commitment.”

Richardsen also noted thatwhile many of his contemporarieshave drifted away from religion,those who remain in their respec-tive faiths are much more com-mitted.

Millennial Summit affirms role of faith in Canada

Prairie Messenger 5July 19, 2017 CANADIAN NEWS

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Courtesy of Asad Chishti of Chairs and TablesROLE OF FAITH — Delegates from the Millennial Summit in Ottawa June 28 - 30 affirmed the positiverole religious faith plays in Canada’s common life.

Continued from page 1

ogized to a delegation of nativeleaders under Phil Fontaine, for-mer National Chief of the Assem -bly of First Nations, for the suf-fering of native Canadians inchurch-run residential schools.Fontaine had sought an apologyfrom the pope following oneissued by former prime ministerStephen Harper.

“We were looking for a similarapology from the CatholicChurch, and I was a witness tothat today,” Fontaine said at thetime. Native leaders “heard whatwe came here for.”

“We wanted to hear him (Pope

Benedict) say that he understandsand that he is sorry and that hefeels our suffering — and weheard that very clearly.”

A papal apology on Canadiansoil would hold much more signifi-cance among indigenous Canadiansthan Harper’s 2008 apology onbehalf of Canada, said Nahanee.

“I think they would believe theHoly Father more than they did(former) prime minister Harper,”he said.

There’s much more to the his-tory of Aboriginal Canadians, thechurch and colonization than justresidential schools, said Malaseetelder and former LieutenantGovernor of New Brunswick

Graydon Nicholas.“It didn’t just start a few years

ago,” said Nicholas. “You have togo back to 1490 when the Pope(Alexander VI) divided the worldinto two parts and generouslygave half to the Portuguese andhalf to the Spanish (the 1494Treaty of Tordesillas). There wasa very generous pope. Nobodybothered to ask the indigenouspeople if this was all right.”

Nicholas is amazed someCatholics question the need for apapal apology on Canadian soil toAboriginal Canadians but neverquestioned Pope Benedict XVI’s2010 apology in Ireland for sexu-al and physical abuse by clergyand religious.

“There’s a double standardhere,” Nicholas said. “You can doit for the Irish, but for us it’s,‘What more do they want?’ ”

Residential schools and recon-ciliation between native and non-native Canadians was almost theonly negative in a set of surveyresults that showed mostCanadians view faith as a positivein their communities. Askedwhether local faith-based institu-tions are a boon or a burden, themajority responded positively.

Over half of survey respon-dents rated faith-based social ser-vices “very positive,” comparedwith just six per cent who rankedthem “very negative.”

When it comes to residentialschools, only nine per cent ofCanadians regard church involve-ment as “very positive,” versus 58per cent who say it was “very neg-ative.”

Angus Reid conducted its onlinesurvey June 14 - 19 among 1,504adults. The poll is considered accu-rate to within plus or minus 2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20.

Apology on Canadian soil holds significance

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A Sacred Space in a Busy World

6 Prairie Messenger LOCAL NEWS July 19, 2017

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski

SASKATOON — Years of dis-cernment and journeying in faithculminated in the priestly ordina-tion of Rev. Michael Yaremko andRev. Edward Gibney on the feastof St. Peter and St. Paul, June 29,at the Cathedral of the HolyFamily in Saskatoon. With the dio-cese still awaiting the appointmentof a bishop, Regina ArchbishopDonald Bolen returned to the cityfor the ordination.

Archbishop Murray Chatlain ofKeewatin-Le Pas, Bishop BryanBayda of the Ukrainian CatholicEparchy of Saskatoon, AbbotPeter Novecosky, OSB, of St.Peter’s Abbey in Muenster, andsome 65 priests joined Bolen inblessing Yaremko and Gibney inthe presence of family, friends,and diocesan and parish represen-tatives who filled the cathedral forthe evening celebration.

Rev. Colin Roy, who serves asdiocesan Vocations Director alongwith Rev. Daniel Yasinski, pre-sented the candidates for priest-hood, while rectors of the semi-naries where each man studiedprovided testimony on behalf ofthe candidates.

Rev. Stephen Hero describedhow Yaremko came to St. JosephSeminary in Edmonton with train-ing as a teacher and some fiveyears of formation with theLegionaries of Christ before dis-cerning a call to serve as a dioce-san priest. “His years of previousformation had certainly helped toform a missionary heart in thismature young man, and hebrought gifts of discipline and joy,prayer and charity to our commu-nity,” said Hero.

“Michael completed his Masterof Divinity degree this year inEdmonton, and his ministry at theseminary and at St. John theEvangelist Parish in Edmontonagain showed the maturity of thismissionary disciple of Christ andhis readiness to shepherd, teachand sanctify the people of God asa priest, after the heart of JesusChrist.”

Canon Philip Gillespie of thePontifical Beda College in Romesent a letter in support of Gibney,read by Roy.

“As Ed comes to the end of hisfour years at the Beda College, wethank him most sincerely for thewarm and generous way in whichhe has engaged with and enriched

the life of the college. . . . webelieve that good foundationshave been laid and he has shownample evidence of the talents andthe priestly heart necessary forministry within the diocese,”wrote Gillespie.

“We rely on the help of the

Lord God and our Saviour JesusChrist, and we choose these men,our brothers, for priesthood in thepresbyteral order,” announcedBolen, with the assembly respond-ing, “Thanks be to God,” followedby a round of applause.

In his homily, Bolen reflectedon God as the potter who formsand sculpts our lives, just as heformed and sculpted the lives ofSts. Peter and Paul.

“We hear Paul tell us that weare earthen vessels, we are clayjars,” said Bolen, citing the secondreading from 2 Corinthians. “Asclay jars we are marked by thethings of the earth, by our woundsand brokenness. But by God’sgrace we hold something extraor-dinary within us. This is who thechurch is. This is who we are. Weare fragile, but by God’s grace wecarry a treasure. We live a mys-tery: God living and dying and ris-ing for us, God living and dyingand rising within us.”

Bolen described how when hearrived as bishop of Saskatoon in2010, Gibney was the StateDeputy for the Knights ofColumbus. When Gibney men-tioned in passing that he mightconsider the seminary after histerm was finished, Bolen“remembered that word” andreminded Gibney of it later. Gib -ney’s uncle, Rev. Charles Gibney,had been amentor toB o l e nyears ago,“speak ing aword” thatopened thedoor to thepriesthoodfor him.

O r i g i -nally fromYo r k t o n ,Ya r e m k ocame to thed i o c e s eafter yearsof discern-ment andfaith forma-tion, with“gifts thathad beeng r o w i n g ,that hadbeen test-ed,” notedB o l e n .

“When you got in touch with me,your message had been preceded bya couple of others, saying, ‘There isa fellow who is going to be comingto you about coming to the Dioceseof Saska toon; this is good news,’ ”Bolen recalled.

Bolen urged Yaremko andGibney to trust that God will bethere to support them, as God wasthere for St. Peter and for St. Paul.“Trust God with your own broken-ness, your own woundedness. TrustGod with your poverty. Let Jesusminister to you there, as he minis-tered to Paul and to Peter there, andlet that be a source of compassionas you respond to others in theirwoundedness,” said the archbishop.

The rite of ordination continuedwith Gibney and Yaremko declar-ing their intention to care for theLord’s flock, promising to cele-brate the mysteries of Christ faith-fully, to preach the Gospel and,uniting themselves to Christ, toconsecrate their lives to God forthe salvation of the people. Bothmen then pledged obedience to thelocal bishop.

As a sign of surrender to God,Gibney and Yaremko lay prostrateon the floor in front of the altarwhile the assembly prayed for theintercession of the saints and theoutpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The archbishop then conferredordination by laying his hands onthe head of each man — a gesturerepeated by the many priests pre-sent as a sign of unity and sharedspirit.

After a prayer of consecration,the newly ordained were vestedwith the stole (a sign of priestlyoffice) and the chasuble (theeucharistic vestment). Each newpriest then knelt before the arch-bishop, who anointed their handswith the oil of Sacred Chrism.

A chalice and paten were pre-sented to each new priest, with thewords, “Know what you are doingand imitate the mystery you cele-brate: model your life on the mys-tery of the Lord’s cross.” Yaremkoand Gibney then joined the bish-ops and priests at the altar to cele-brate the eucharist.

The celebration was followedby a reception, with long lines ofthose wishing to congratulate thenew priests and receive their bless-ings.

Bolen ordains Gibney, Yaremko for Saskatoon

Urquico ordained for ReginaBy Frank Flegel

REGINA — There were fewempty spaces in Holy RosaryCathedral the evening of June 30as the archdiocesan faithful turnedout to witness the ordination to thepriesthood of Arpee SacramentoUrquico.

Urquico’s journey to the priest-hood began in the Philippines

where he entered a Dominicanseminary. His cousin, Rev. GerardJoy Montiague, living in PrinceAlbert, convinced him to come toCanada. He recommended Urquicoto the late Regina ArchbishopDaniel Bohan who asked directorof personnel Rev. Danilo Rafael tomeet with Urquico during aplanned visit to Manila.

“I thought he was a good manso Archbishop Bohan asked me tobegin the process of getting himthe necessary papers to come toCanada,” said Rafael.

Urquico arrived in Canada in

June 2013, and entered St.Joseph’s Seminary in Edmonton tocontinue his studies. He spent ayear of internship at St. George’sParish, Assiniboia, and was or -dained to the transitional diaconatein September 2016.

The ordination liturgy was amulti-lingual affair, with readingsin English, French and Tagalog, thenational Filipino language. The

local Filipino choirperformed two Tag -alog hymns duringthe ordination ritual.

The ritual beganwith Deacon BarryWood calling Ur -quico to come for-ward. Rev. JohnKohler of St. Jos -eph’s Seminary pre-sented the candi-date to Arch bishopDonald Bolen andthen testified to hisworthiness to be or -dained priest. Ur -quico then respond-ed to a se ries ofquestions by thearchbishop regard-ing his prepared-ness and de termi -nation to be priest.Urquico’s respons-es were positiveand clear.

In his homily, Bolen had a fewwords of wisdom for the youngpriest and for Christians in gener-al: “You are being given a share inthe Lord’s mission. It is the mis-sion of each Christian in one wayor another to share in the Lord’sown mission,” and he quoted fromthe readings to show how Godshares his mission with everyone.“Jesus entrusts the church with hismission, empowered by the HolySpirit,” said Bolen.

“There is something profound-ly incarnational about priestlyministry,” he continued, and ex -

plained how God came to an utter-ly unprepared Mary and Josephfor this task of having God, theMaster of the world, placed intheir hands.

“God asked them to be them-selves and just do it,” said Bolen.Likewise, he said, each priest hasto deal with the shocking intimacyof God: “Arpee, you will hold thebody and blood of Christ in yourhands, you will baptize in God’sname, you will forgive in God’sname, you will anoint in God’sname. Trust that God will be therefor you as you serve.

“Mary was left holding thebaby, the incarnate word,” saidBolen, “and you are to care forGod’s people. You will hold theLord in your hands and you willbe you with all your gifts and yourfoibles, your blessings, your temp-tations, your struggles, your suc-cesses, your tendencies for sin —they are all going to be theretomorrow morning. But it’s allabout God’s radical embrace of thehuman condition and about God’sradical embrace of you as disciple.

“There is something profound-ly paschal about priestly life, beingbrought from death to life, themystery you will proclaim is cen-tred upon who God is, how Godspeaks to us, what God does andthe mystery of what God willwork in your people and in you.”

Following the ordination areception was held in the cathedralauditorium, where several Filipinotraditional foods were served.

Urquico celebrated his firstmass the next morning in HolyRosary Cathedral, assisted by rec-tor Rev. Lorne Crozon. At the endof mass, Urquico stood in front ofthe congregation and expressed hisjoy at being there and that he wasreally looking forward to serve aspriest in the Regina archdiocese.His obvious pleasure was greetedwith spontaneous, loud and sus-tained applause.

Frank FlegelURQUICO ORDINATION — ArchbishopDonald Bolen congratulates the newly ordainedRev. Arpee Sacramento Urquico at Regina’sHoly Rosary Cathedral June 30.

Tim YaworskiORDINATIONS — Regina Archbishop Donald Bolen confers ordina-tion upon Edward Gibney and Michael Yaremko by laying his handson the head of each man — a gesture repeated by the many priests pre-sent as a sign of unity and shared spirit.

Paul Paproski, OSBBLESSING THE FIELDS — Abbot Peter Novecosky,OSB, blesses the fields at the 95th annual MountCarmel Pilgrimage on July 16. Approximately 500 peo-ple attended the celebration which recognized Rev.Lawrence DeMong, OSB, on his 60th anniversary ofmonastic life.

By Jean Ko Din The Catholic Register

TORONTO (CCN) — A flow-ing white wedding gown is not aneveryday sight along the busystreets of Rome.

So as Megan and Ben Turlandwalked to St. Peter’s Square infull wedding attire for an appoint-ment with the pope, they felt allthe city’s eyes were on them. Itwas May 6, 2015, and they wereabout to join other newlyweds toreceive a papal blessing just fourdays after they had tied the knotin Windsor, Ont. 

“It was a like a sea of white,”said Megan, who estimated therewere about “30 or 40 couples”waiting to greet Pope Francisafter his weekly general audience.“He goes around and talks to eachcouple for a minute or two.”

Ben, 32, and Megan, 28, hadregistered to join the other newly-weds who would meet the popeand personally offer their mar-riage to the church. Ben plannedto tell the pope about their workas missionaries for the CatholicChristian Outreach (CCO) move-ment in Canada. He wanted totalk about the couple’s testimonyof faith and ask Pope Francis tobless their crucifix which hadtheir marriage vows embeddedwithin. But he froze. 

“He came up and I just gotnervous,” said Ben. “I just said,‘Oh, we brought you a gift.’ ”

He handed over a small bottleof maple syrup and explained itwas a sweet syrup from Canada touse at breakfast. The pope smiled. 

“You can tell that he knewwhat it was,” said Ben. “Then,he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s like the veg-etable in Canada,’ and he said it ina grandfatherly, joking way. . . . Itbecame this pastoral and personalmoment.”

But the meeting was more thanjust an opportunity to shake thehand of a famous figure. It wasthe young couple’s testament tothe Catholic vocation of marriageand to wedding vows that fewerand fewer Catholic couples aremaking. One alarming statisticfrom the Vatican’s statistical year-book of the church showed a 71per cent decline in Canada’s

Catholic marriages from 1975 to2008, more than double thedecline of weddings in general. Inthe U.S., Catholic marriagesdecreased about 54 per cent from1975 to 2010.

Moreover, the church is alsochallenged by a wedding realityfar different from the classic nup-tials of the 1950s and ’60s, withmany couples coming to the altarhaving lived together and perhapsalready with children.

Pope St. John Paul II beganthe tradition of greeting andencouraging newlyweds early inhis pontificate. Almost fourdecades ago he recognized thatsociety was on the cusp of a mar-riage and family crisis. The prac-tice was continued by PopeBenedict XVI and now Francis.

The marriage crisis thatalarmed St. John Paul is evenmore apparent now. In the span ofthree pontificates, there has beena steep worldwide decline inweddings, including a sharp dropin Catholic weddings. 

The Centre for AppliedResearch in the Apostolate(CARA) at Georgetown Uni -versity in Washington, D.C., hasbeen tracking the phenomenonwith the Unites States Conferenceof Catholic Bishops. World datathey collected from the Vatican’sstatistical yearbook and othersources indicate a 33 per centdecrease in Catholic marriagesbetween 1970 and 2015. 

Increasing numbers of youngcouples are choosing to livetogether instead of tying the knot.In Canada, overall marriage ratesfell about 22 per cent from 1981to 2008, according to a 2011Statistics Canada census. In 1961,90 per cent of Canadian house-holds were headed by marriedcouples. In 2011, that figure hadfallen to 67 per cent. 

Rev. Amedeo Nardone doesn’tneed statistics to confirm the phe-nomenon is happening in hisparish. St. Jane Frances inToronto will hold about 12 to 15weddings this summer, saidNardone. But only 14 years ago,the church would host 20 wed-dings per year. He said it hasn’tbeen a steep decline, but there has

been noticeable change. “By number but also in kinds

and backgrounds,” said Nardone.“Quite often, we see mixed mar-riages among Catholics and otherChristians, non-baptized, differ-ent cultures. The majority of themare not attending, they are notchurchgoers. . . . There are morecouples that come and are alreadyliving together in common-lawmarriage.”

Nardone said although manyof these couples are non-church-goers, they have a desire to con-tinue their relationship with thechurch, and that is something tocelebrate.

“I am often tough with them,”he said. “This is the law of thediocese, 12 months (engage-ment), to make them aware ofhow important is the step they areundertaking, to help them get toknow each other, and also to getthem back to the church and theyare made aware that they belongto a community.”

Nardone has been a priest for14 years. He said it is rare todayfor church weddings to be well-prepared with active participationat the mass. However, a part of

the priest’s role is to journey withcouples during their year ofpreparation, he said. 

Although Ben and Megan’sfamilies are not particularly reli-gious, the couple decided early intheir engagement that their wed-ding and marriage would be a tes-timony of their faith. 

“My family doesn’t enter thechurch very often,” said Ben.“This was probably their firsttime in maybe 15 or 20 years. Forthem to just have a positive expe-rience (at church), you feel likeyou’ve been intentional andseized an opportunity to proclaimChrist and show his love to peo-ple in a new way.”

The couple chose to get mar-ried at St. Anne’s Church inWindsor, closer to Megan’s fami-ly rather than Ben’s family inBritish Columbia. Although St.Anne’s isn’t the couple’s homeparish, Megan said she made it apoint to invite the parishioners totheir wedding mass.

“It was really important for usto invite as many people as possi-ble, especially to the mass,” shesaid. “For me, that was reallyimportant because it’s not justtwo of us. We need prayers andsupport not just for that day, butwe continue to need the prayersand support of our friends, familyand community.”

Megan said they wanted to beintentional in all aspects of theirceremony. They were married byRev. Paul Morris, a good friendand spiritual guide who workedwith them in CCO missions.Together with Morris, they prayedand discerned over which read-ings to choose. They were inten-tional in the liturgical songs, theirlectors and their vows. They alsoprayed a novena to St. Josephwith friends and family prior totheir May 2, 2015, wedding. 

“I think, for me, marriage ispersonal between the two of us,but also communal,” said Megan.“The family is the domesticchurch and it’s like the buildingblocks of the larger church so it’simportant that the people that willbe supporting us in our marriageare included.”

However, few people in theirmarriage prep course shared thosesentiments. Maybe 80 or 75 percent of the couples already livedtogether, said Megan, and manywere not practising Catholics, sothe courses were largely gearedtoward those couples.

Rev. Santo Arrigo said thatbecause St. Patrick’s CatholicChurch in downtown Toronto issurrounded by condos in thedowntown core, the parish natural-ly includes many young couples.A majority of them either livetogether or already have a childtogether. However, as pastor, hesaid it is his role to receive thesecouples with a pastoral welcome. 

“The question is if they don’tcome to church, how well do youwelcome them,” said Arrigo. “It’snot to grill them about whythey’re not coming, it’s about see-ing this as an opportunity to bethat welcoming presence . . . thatSt. Patrick’s, or the church, is nota place that is like an ogre.”

Like the rest of the world, theArchdiocese of Toronto, Canada’slargest diocese, has witnessed adecrease in Catholic weddings —down 28 per cent from 2006 to2016. Archdiocese spokespersonNeil MacCarthy said many couplestoday are unfamiliar with thesacramental norms around wed-dings, and it is the role of the priestand the parish to educate them.

“The church isn’t a facility torent. It’s a spiritual home, a placewe hope will be a part of their lifetogether as husband and wife,”said MacCarthy. “That’s why it’simportant for a couple wanting aCatholic marriage to have an activefaith life — to pray together, to beactive in their parish, to have arelationship with their parishpriest, to participate in a solid mar-riage preparation program.”

Despite the trend away frommarriage and, in particular churchweddings, Nardone remains opti-mistic.

“Quite often I meet couples Imarry come back and when I seethem together with children, I feelrefreshed,” said Nardone. “Thathappens quite often and it makesme happy. It gives you a kind ofenergy as a priest.”

Church deals with declining number of weddings

Prairie Messenger 7CANADIAN NEWSJuly 19, 2017

Laura-Anne JensenMARRIAGE VOWS — Megan and Ben Turland got married in May in Windsor, Ont. Four days later theywere in Rome to join other newlyweds who would meet Pope Francis and personally offer their marriage tothe church.

CNS/L’Osservatore RomanoAPPOINTMENT WITH THE POPE — Megan and Ben Turland present Pope Francis with a bottle ofmaple syrup after the pope gave the couple’s wedding a papal blessing.

By Kimberly Winston

CHICAGO (RNS) — She wasyoung, illiterate and had powerfor less than two years. History— seldom interested in womenand usually written by the tri-umphant — should have forgot-ten her.

But when she died on a pyre in1431, she achieved an immortali-ty in art and literature that sur-passes all of her contemporaries— kings, popes, knights, priestsand courtiers.

She, of course, is Joan of Arc,the French teenage country girlwho, through her extreme faith,mystic visions and what must havebeen an astonishing amount ofpersonal charisma, led Frenchtroops to a string of glorious victo-ries against the invading English.She was eventually captured andtried for heresy. Her remains weretossed in a river, like so muchtrash.

While Joan has never entirelydropped out of the public imagina-tion — the first poem about herappeared in 1429 — she is experi-encing a revival. The past year sawa major production of GeorgeBernard Shaw’s Saint Joan inLondon, a new musical based onher life in New York and a filmabout her childhood that premieredat the Cannes Film Festival. Anew, critically acclaimed novel,The Book of Joan, takes her storyinto a sci-fi future.

Now, a new photography showat Loyola University tries to re -capture something of the real Joan— or “Jehanne,” as she signed hername. Called “Searching forJehanne — The Joan of ArcProject,” it features 37 elaboratelyframed photographs by Chicago-based artist Susan Aurinko.

And while scores of creativetypes have crafted all sorts ofideas of Joan (for Shakespeare shewas a witch, for Bertolt Brechtshe was a labour leader, and CBSmade her a contemporary teen in“Joan of Arcadia”), Aurinko hasher own version, drawn fromJoan’s actual words and the placesshe lived, fought and died.

“I was not trying to solve themystery of Joan; I was trying togive it dimension,” Aurinko saidfrom her spacious work-live loftwest of downtown Chicago, herphotographs arranged around her,awaiting their trip to the museum.

“I wanted to allow her to speaknow in a way that makes her a lit-tle more real to people.”

Aurinko hopes her photo -graphs will connect the viewer towhat she considers essentialabout Joan — her faith, herstrength and her sense of her owndestiny.Joan of Arc

Joan was born in the smallFrench village of Domrémy-la-Pucelle in 1412 in the middle ofthe Hundred Years’ War, a clashbetween France and England overthe French throne. Her parentswere farmers and loyal to Charlesof Valois, the French dauphin, orprince.

Joan had her first vision whenshe was 12, claiming SaintsMichael, Catherine and Margarettold her she should drive out theEnglish and see Charles en -throned.

“ ‘Daughter of God, go on, goon, go on! I will be yourhelp. Go on!,’ ” she is sup-posed to have said of hervisions. “When I hear thisvoice, I feel such great joythat I wish I could alwayshear it!”

At 16, she made her wayto Charles’ supporters andconvinced them to give her apair of men’s armour. She cuther hair and led a band of fol-lowers to Charles.

“I was born for this,” shewas reported to say. “I mustbe with the dauphin, even if Ihave to wear my legs downto my knees.”

Joan whispered somethingin Charles’ ear — perhaps aprophesy, perhaps a promise,that he would be king.Whatever she said, it worked.He gave her an army, whichshe led to Orleans and lifted

the English siege.The victory made Joan as

famous as Charles himself. Shesaw him crowned Charles VII in1429.

But in 1430, Joan’s fortunesfell. While defending a town out-side Paris, she was wounded,thrown from her horse and cap-tured by English allies. She wasimprisoned in a tower in Rouenand tried for witchcraft and heresy.

She proved such a match forher prosecutors that Shaw usedsome of her testimony verbatimin his play. Asked if she knew shewas in God’s grace — a trap,since to be certain of grace washeresy — she replied, “If I amnot, may God put me there; and ifI am, may God so keep me.”

They burned her anyway. Shewas 19 years old.

In the late 1800s, transcripts ofJoan’s lengthy trial resurfacedand a push for sainthood under-taken. She was beatified in 1905and canonized in 1920 — and theintervening years saw Joan rebornon the stage, on the page andbeyond.Joan of art

Joan was painted by Rubens,Ingres and Gaugin, written intomusic by Tchaikovsky, LeonardBernstein, Madonna and Cradleof Filth. Martha Graham dancedher, Hedy Lamarr played her onthe screen, and Mark Twain,

Terry Pratchett, Thomas Keneallyand Mary Gordon wrote booksabout her.

Joan entered the politicalrealm, too. During the First WorldWar, her image adorned posters,stamps and war bonds to rallysupport for the Allies, evenbeyond France.

“Joan of Arc saved France,” a1918 U.S. Department of theTreasury poster reads. “Womenof America, save your country:Buy war savings stamps.”

Every French presidential can-didate, from Charles de Gaulle toMarine LePen, has evoked thename of Joan of Arc on the cam-paign trail.

Her image has sold magazines,cans of beans, blocks of cheese,and tickets to the circus. An oldpostcard shows a depiction ofJoan saying, “Remember kids,Joan of Arc says: ‘Please don’tsmoke!’ ”

What about this once obscureteenage girl speaks across cen-turies, crosses boundaries of artand consumerismas well as those offaith, culture andlanguage?

David Clayton,who oversees anew masters insacred art atPontifex Univer -sity, said that as aCatholic, he can-not separate Joanfrom her faith. Hesees it as crucial toher enduring ap -peal among artistslike himself.

“Joan’s storyshows the powerof the grace ofGod,” he said.“There is some-thing immenselyhopeful about thisfigure who isyoung, female andfighting in a man’sworld. It is a storythat speaks to allof us of our ownsalvation story.”

K a t h r y nH a r r i s o nexplored Joan’sallure in Joanof Arc: A LifeTrans figured.Asked whatdrew her — anac claimed nov-elist and mem-oirist to pro-duce a Joanbiography —she said in anemail, “onceI’d heard thatvoice, centuriesold, translatedthrough timeand culture andlanguage, and‘watched’ asshe nimbly out-witted scoresof church doc-tors bent onexecuting her, Iwas in love for-ever.”

Joan’s storyshe concluded,defies expla-

nation. Was she a mystic or afraud? Was she di vinely inspiredor delusional?

“We don’t need narratives thatrationalize human experience somuch as those that enlarge it withthe breath of mystery,” Harrisonwrote in The New York Times.“For as long as we look to heroesfor inspiration, to leaders whosevision lifts them above our limitedperspective, who cherish their val-ues above their earthly lives, thestory of Joan of Arc will remainone we remember, and celebrate.”

Ann Astell,  a professor ofChristian history at the Universityof Notre Dame and the author ofJoan of Arc and SacrificialAuthorship, has studied Joan’spull on artists.

“They see her as someone beau-tiful and inspired, a person ofgenius, but also vulnerable,because of that very giftedness, tomisunderstanding, vilification, trial,and rejection by the public,” Astellsaid in an email. “In her final tri-umph over death, her recognition

as a saint and martyr, they findhope that others will someday rec-ognize the beauty of their own artand the truth of their calling.”Joan of Chicago

Aurinko was blindsided byJoan while on a 2013 Europeanvacation with a friend. Alone withher camera in a tower in France’sChâteau de Chinon, where Joanpetitioned Charles for an army, shewas stirred by the sunlight driftingthrough arrow slits in the wall andthe sudden sound of many foot-steps on the stone stairs.

When she looked, there wasno one. Just her, the light and hercamera.

“It was a photographer’s par-adise,” she said. “I was in heav-en.”

She had no idea of the châ -teau’s association with Joan untilshe hit its gift store and sawbooks about Joan.

“I had been shooting theplaces she walked,” she said. “Itwas remarkable to be in a roomshe slept in, she dreamed in.”

She couldn’t shake the fascina-tion and began searching forimages of Joan on the Internet.

“There were thousands,” shesaid. “I think that is when the pro-ject came to my mind, when Irealized we have no idea what shelooked like.”

Aurinko made three more tripsto France and visited every Joan-related site she could find. Shehired models to portray Joan atdifferent ages in a few of the pho-tos and shot every Joan statue shecame across, trying to evoke anessence of a girl. She pored overJoan’s court testimony and incor-porated her words into the pho-tographs.

Back in the studio, Aurinkolayered the images, superimpos-ing statuary and models on emptystaircases, in church sanctuaries,on castle walls. Everything isbathed in light — Joan said brightlight accompanied the voices inher visions — and steeped in awarm palette of amber, gold,burnt sienna and wheat.

— JOAN, page 12

Medieval mystic maintains hold on artistic imagination

8 Prairie Messenger ARTS & CULTURE July 19, 2017

Creative CommonsJOAN OF ARC — “Joan at the coronation ofCharles VII,” by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in1854, a famous painting often reproduced in workson Joan of Arc.

Courtesy of Susan AurinkoSusan Aurinko

Courtesy of Susan AurinkoA GIRL CAUGHT IN TIME — Artist Susan Aurinko hired models to portray Joanof Arc at different ages in a few of the photos and shot every Joan statue she cameacross, trying to evoke an essence of a girl.

Summer tends not to be a timefor prestige pictures to come out.Still, amid the usual crop of most-ly forgettable formula Hollywoodproduct — another Pirates of theCaribbean, Mummy, Transformers(dreadful), Despicable Me, Resi -dent Evil, Spider-Man: Home -coming (a surprisingly good rein-vention featuring Tom Holland) —there are a few screen gems worththe time to consider.

Action thrillers can deliver.I’ve already praised the spydrama Atomic Blonde withCharlize Theron in the title role,which had a high-profile premiereat the South by Southwest festivalin March. It’s releasing on July28. The hottest ticket at that festi-val was Baby Driver, which took

the audience award in the Head -liners section.

Helmed by Brit writer-directorEdgar Wright, Baby Driver nevertakes its foot off the pedal fromthe revved-up opening percussivebeats. Wright memorably recastthe zombie movie with 2004’sShaun of the Dead. Here he re -boots the car-chase crime spreegenre to great effect. Baby (AnselElgort, baby-faced except for twoscars) is the ace getaway driverfor a hardcore bunch of robbersworking for a mastermind crimeboss named Doc (Kevin Spaceyat his most ruthless), who favoursbusiness suits to their underworldstyle. The main gang figures areBuddy (Jon Hamm), his squeezeDarling (Eiza González), and thetrigger-happy Bats (Jamie Foxx).

Baby got into this racket bystealing money and a Mercedesfrom Doc. He needs to do onemore job to square his debt withDoc, who relies on his “devilbehind the wheel.” Baby has tin-nitus as a result of a tragic child-hood accident. He’s always listen-ing to music on an iPod to drownit out. He also carries a small taperecorder to catch sounds he incor-porates into a collection of per-sonal mixtapes. Baby stashes hisshare of the loot under the floor-boards in the apartment he shareswith his foster dad, an elderly deafmute African-American man.

Another heist and Baby startsimagining a different future whenhe meets and falls for Debora(Lily James), a waitress at Bo’sDiner. He even goes straight andbecomes a driver for a pizza jointcalled GoodFellas. But the dreamof escape on the open road isthwarted when Doc decides hestill needs his driver. The choiceis to be “behind the wheel or in awheelchair.” That’s when thegame turns increasingly murder-ous and chases, showdowns andshootouts follow at breakneckspeed.

From start to finish the movie’snarrative pulse is scored to a killersoundtrack, with the Simon andGarfunkel tune “Baby Driver”accompanying the closing credits.

The music, the mayhem and theromance are in perfect sync withthe players. Forget The Fast andthe Furious. This is the year’sfastest ride.

Cinema is a family affair for theCoppolas. The Tribeca festival inApril held a 45th anniversaryscreening of The Godfather Parts Iand II followed by a discussionwith director Francis Ford Coppolaand surviving cast members.Tribeca also presented Paris CanWait by his 81-year-old wife,Eleanor. It’s a pleasing if slightaffair in which a middle-agedwoman, Anne (Diane Lane),whose marriage to movie producerhusband Michael (Alec Baldwin)has become rather stale, finds her-self beguiled if not seduced whenagreeing to a French road trip withMichael’s charming, flirtatiousassociate, Jacques (Arnaud Viard).The locations are as alluring as thegourmet feasts they share (evenmore tantalizing than the food inMichael Winterbottom’s latest, TheTrip to Spain). Yet nothing seriousdevelops.

That is certainly not the casewith the encounter of the sexes indaughter Sophia’s The Beguiled,for which she won the Cannes fes-tival’s best director prize in May.It’s the second adaptation ofThomas Cullinan’s eponymous1966 novel set in 1864 Con fed -erate Virginia as the Civil War

rages. MarthaFarnsworth (NicoleKidman) is the strong-willed headmistress of aSeminary for YoungLadies who, with anoth-er teacher, Edwina(Kirsten Dunst), caresfor five girls of varyingages, isolated from thesavage world of men intheir Gothic sanctuary.That is until one day theyoungest, Amy (OonaLaurence), finds gravelywounded Union soldierCorp. John McBurney(Colin Farrell) while inthe woods gatheringmushrooms. McBurneyis rescued and nursedback to health. MissMartha decides to con-ceal his presence fromConfederate patrols and when sol-diers come knocking.

To my mind the first screenversion of The Beguiled by direc-tor Don Siegel in 1971, starringClint Eastwood as McBurney andGeraldine Page as Martha, standsas a classic. Still, Coppola’s os -tensibly more feminist renderinghas its merits. The women arecertainly beguiled by the malepresence, competing for atten-tions, especially Edwina and theoldest girl, Alicia (Elle Fanning).Jealousies are aroused until anincident causes a change of cir-cumstances. For McBurney andthe women, Christian compassionmixes with female passions andwiles.

Also in the Cannes competi-tion was Korean director Joon-hoBong’s Okja, a Netflix productionavailable online since June 29.(Grumbling about that resulted ina rule change requiring all futurecompetition titles to screen the-atrically in France.)

The movie opens in New Yorkwith a razzle dazzle announce-ment by Mirando Corporation’sLucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton,who was in Bong’s Snowpiercer)of a 10-year competition to raise“super-piglets” in an “eco-friend-ly, natural, non-GMO” way. Theyare sent to 26 farms in 26 coun-tries. Off we go years later to aKorean farm where an orphangirl, Mija (An Seo Hyun), liveswith her grandfather and dotes onher giant hippo-like super-pignamed Okja (a convincing com-

puter-generated creation). Grandad has kept the truth

from her. So she’s shocked whensqueaky-voiced carnival-like TVzoologist Dr. Johnny Wilcox(Jake Gyllenhaal) arrives with acrew to take Okja to Seoul, thenAmerica. Mija isn’t satisfied witha gold piglet keepsake as a substi-tute and runs after Okja. In theensuing wild chase scenes Mijameets masked members of theAnimal Liberation Front led byJay (Paul Dano) and becomespart of their plan to secretly re -cord what really goes on inMirando’s laboratories. Suffice itto say that Mirando is deep intogenetic mutation for profit (thename similarity to Monsanto isn’tcoincidental).

Watch this anti-corporate fablepast the closing credits for a lastscene of the animal liberators.One can enjoy the fantasy whilewondering what kind of twistedworld this is.

Last but definitely not least iswriter-director David Lowery’shaunting A Ghost Story, whichwowed critics at Sundance. Itstars Oscar-winner Casey Affleckas a Dallas musician known onlyas “C,” who lives with his wife,“M” (Rooney Mara), in a houseon the outskirts. Affleck andMara were also in Lowery’s Ain’tThem Bodies Saints, subsequentto which he made last year ’sPete’s Dragon. Made on a muchsmaller, intimate scale, A GhostStory combines elements of thefantastical and the fateful, the

tragic and the supernatural.After C’s untimely death in a

car crash, he rises in spectralform, returning to watch over agrieving M. His presence, invisi-ble to her, appears absurdly sim-ple — a white sheet with cutouteye holes like a Halloween cos-tume. But there’s nothing simpleabout what follows. As C inhabitsthe afterlife — sometimes withother spirits, possessing paranor-mal properties, bearing silent wit-

ness — there are flashbacks to thecouple’s life together, scenes of adistraught M coping with loss,and then life moving on with timepassing as it must. Other charac-ters enter the picture. Especiallymemorable is a noisy scene inwhich one played by WillOldham as Bonnie “Prince” Billydelivers a rambling monologue.

The movie, with its sparedesign and evocative moods (shotin a vintage 4:3 aspect ratio),becomes a profound soulful med-itation on the mortality and mys-tery of the human condition,marked by the passage of liveslived between past and future.Hypnotic and poetic, this storycasts a lingering spell.

Cool theatres have hot films for dog days of summer

Prairie Messenger 9ARTS & CULTUREJuly 19, 2017

Baby DriverParis Can WaitThe Beguiled

OkjaA Ghost Story

Gerald Schmitz

Screenings& Meanings

Focus FeaturesTHE BEGUILED — Nicole Kidman stars in The Beguiled, an atmos-pheric thriller from acclaimed writer/director Sofia Coppola.

CNS/SonyBABY DRIVER — Ansel Elgort and Lily James star in Baby Driver, “the year’s fastest ride,” writes GeraldSchmitz.

Gerald SchmitzA GHOST STORY — A Ghost Story director David Lowery chats with RobertRedford at the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 19, 2017. The movie, with its sparedesign and evocative moods, “becomes a profound soulful meditation on themortality and mystery of the human condition,” writes Gerald Schmitz.

I recently finished watching the Netflix Original seriesBloodline. It was painful to watch. The series tells the storyof the Rayburns, a family who consistently makes destruc-tive choices in their misguided efforts to protect themselves.In essence, Bloodline is a cautionary tale, pointing out thedanger of self-interested and rudderless decision-making.Fortunately, King Solomon, in this week’s readings, modelsfor us a different sort of discernment and helps us reflect onwhat holy decision-making looks like.

We see in Solomon someone who is rooted in his rela-tionship with God. In God, he has a firm foundation. Thissort of rootedness is necessary when we face the some-times disorienting process of making life decisions. Bydefinition, making a decision entails a choice that will leadus, and often those close to us, down a different path. Itmoves us into the unknown and into a place where we

need to place our trust in God as we try to find our waywithin new circumstances. With God as the foundation ofour decision-making, we are assured that we are not alone.

King Solomon also knows that if he seeks God’s will,he will never stray too far from the right path. If we stepback from the narrative of this week’s reading for a bit, werealize that his process of discernment started even earlier.The process started with Solomon’s prayerful awareness ofGod’s desire to give him a gift. For, indeed, following God’swill is a gift. God’s will is not something imposed on us by acapricious deity. Rather, God wills us to be the most fullyalive, the most fully human, and the most fully capable oflove. As the prophet Jeremiah reminds us, God’s plans for usare for peace, and not disaster (Jeremiah 29:11). By seekingGod’s will in our decision-making, we are opening ourselvesup to God’s grace in our lives. We open ourselves up to gift.

Seeing God’s will as a gift is what enables the psalmist to

proclaim his love for the law. The law of God is meant toguide us toward the will of God. As such, it is indeed “betterthan thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Ps 119). The law ismeant to free us and lead us toward the decisions that will bethe most life-giving. This is a rather different way to approachthe law. We often see the moral and ethical guidelines of ourfaith as impositions from a domineering institutional church.But the law, in the scriptural sense, is meant to create the con-

ditions for healthy human community. It is a font of wisdomto help us make holy and life-giving decisions. It is meant tobe a path to communion with God who is infinite love.

A love for the law, however, does not mean that wepark our consciences and intellects at the door. Here again,Solomon provides the template. He asks God for the giftof a wise and discerning mind. And God praises him forthis! He is praised because he is willing to engage the bestof his intellectual capacities to make wise decisions for hispeople. The wisdom of Solomon comes from his willing-ness to root his thinking and discernment in relationship,relationship with God and God’s people.

Perhaps the key difference between Solomon and theRayburns, for example, is that he is willing to choose whatbest for the community. He asks for a gift that will helphim better serve his people. He does not — and the Lordcommends him for this — allow himself to be motivatedpurely by self-interest and self-preservation. The paradox,of course, is that choosing what is best for the communitybenefits the individual as well. This is true in our timestoo. Working to ensure the common good, building socialsafety nets and attending to the needs of those on the mar-gins creates healthier and safer communities for us all.

We may not have the responsibilities of KingSolomon, but we are each called to make decisions, big andsmall, every day of our lives. These decisions will have animpact on the course of history, if only in the humblestsense. We are assured that God is with us in our discern-ment, that God’s will is gift, and that the law of God willsupport us. Our decisions, rooted in relationship with Godand others, will indeed reflect the wisdom of Solomon!

Rootedness in God important for making life decisions

10 Prairie Messenger DEEPENING OUR FAITH July 19, 2017

At all levels of our desires, we long for intimacy with the Divine

Sometimes, while praying thePsalms, I’m caught looking quiteuncomfortably into a mirror reflect-ing back to me my own seemingdishonesty. For example, we praythese words in the Psalms: My soullongs for you in the night. . . . Likea deer that yearns for flowingstreams, so my soul longs for youmy God. . . . For you alone do Ilong! For you alone do I thirst!

If I’m honest I have to admitthat, a lot of times, perhaps mosttimes, my soul longs for a lot ofthings that do not seem of God.How often can I honestly pray: Foryou, God, alone do I long. For youalone do I thirst! In my restlessness,my earthy desires, and naturalinstincts, I long for many things thatdon’t appear very God-focused orheavenly at all. I suspect that’s truefor most of us for good parts of ourlives. Rare is the mystic who cansay those prayers and mean themwith her full heart on any given day.

But human desire is a complexthing. There’s a surface andthere’s a depth, and in every oneof our longings and motivationswe can ask ourselves this: Whatam I really looking for here? Iknow what I want on the surface,here and now, but what am I ulti-mately longing for in this?

This discrepancy, between whatwe’re aware of on the surface andwhat’s sensed only in some dark,inchoate way at a deeper level, iswhat’s captured in a distinctionphilosophers make between what’sexplicit in our awareness and what’simplicit within it. The explicit refersto what we are aware of conscious-ly (“I want this particular thing!”);whereas the implicit refers to theunconscious factors that are also inplay but of which we are un aware.These we only sense, vaguely, insome unconscious part of our soul.

For instance, Karl Rahner, whowas fond of this distinction and whoputs it to good use in his spirituality,offers us this (crass though clear)example of the distinction betweenthe explicit and the implicit withinour motivation and desires. Imaginethis, he says: A man, lonely andrestless and depressed on aSaturday night, goes to a singles’bar, picks up a prostitute and goesto bed with her. On the surface hismotivation and desire are as undis-guised as they are crass. He’s notlonging for God in his bed on thisparticular night. Or is he?

On the surface, of course he’snot. His desire seems purely self-centred and the antithesis of holylonging. But, parsed out to itsdeepest root, his desire is ultimate-ly a longing for divine intimacy,for the bread of life, for heaven.He’s longing for God at the verydepth of his soul and at the verydepth of his motivation, except heisn’t aware of this. Raw desire forimmediate gratification is all he’sconsciously aware of at this time,but this doesn’t change his ulti-

mate motivation, of which this is asymptom. At a deeper level, ofwhich he is not consciously aware,he’s still longing for the bread oflife, for God alone. His soul is stillthat of a deer, longing for clearflowing streams, except that onthis given night another stream ispromising him a more immediatetonic that he can have right now.

Recently I taught a course onthe spirituality of aging and dy ing.Stealing a line from Goethe’spoem “Holy Longing,” I entitledthe course poetically: “Insane forthe Light.” In a term paper, one ofthe students, a woman, reflectingon her own journey toward agingand dying, wrote these words:

“And then last night I began tothink that dying is making love withGod, the consummation after a life-time of flirtations, encounters, meet-ings in the dark, and constant yearn-ing, longing, and sense of lonelinessthat does make one insane for thelight. I reflected on the Song ofSongs and thought that it could bean analogy of how I see dying, notnecessarily as the body’s disintegra-tion and demise, but rather as theentire transition that I was born des-tined to make. I think of my life as alove story with its ups and downslike any love story, but alwaysgoing in the direction of God withthe finality of death being the wed-ding of the love between God and

myself after a lifetime betrothal.”She puts it as well as Rahner

and the philosophers, though herwords are more direct. She too, inanalyzing her desire, points outthere are levels, explicit and im -plicit, conscious and unconscious.

Yes, our lives, with all their ten-sions, restlessness, youthful imma-turities, adult depressions, coldlonely seasons, times of doubt,times of desperation, breakdowns,and occasional irresponsible exu-berance, will surely be marked byflirtations and encounters that seemto exhibit desires that are not forthe bread of life. But, they are, ulti-mately, and one day they will findand know their full consummation.

I Kings 3:5, 7-12Seventeenth Sunday Psalm 119in Ordinary Time Romans 8:28-30July 30, 2017 Matthew 13:44-52

Ron Rolheiser, OMI

In Exile

Rolheiser, theologian, teacher,and award-winning author, ispresident of the Oblate School ofTheology in San Antonio, Texas.He can be contacted through hiswebsite: www.ronrolheiser.com.Now on Facebook: www.face-book.com/ronrolheiser

Rompré is the director of Mission and Ministry at St.Thomas More College in Saskatoon.

Liturgyand LifeGertrude Rompré

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By Mark Pattison

WASHINGTON (CNS) — IfMartin McGuinness and Rev. IanPaisley can wage peace instead ofwar, anyone can, according to TVand movie director Nick Hamm.

Like the Catholic McGuinness,long linked to Sinn Fein and theIrish Republican Army, and thePresbyterian cleric who foundedthe Democratic Unionist Party inNorthern Ireland, Hamm is fromNorthern Ireland. The Protestantfilmmaker, 59, said he sawenough of the Troubles to beat ahasty retreat to Manchester, Eng -land, and then to London when hewas old enough.

But he returned to NorthernIreland to film The Journey, afictionalized telling of howMcGuin ness and Paisley came toa political solution in 2006 tobring decades of Christian-on-Christian sectarian violence to ahalt.

Hamm referred to the pair as“an odd couple,” but it was theirsimilarities that broke down thebarriers: “Both were very reli-gious, both were teetotallers, andboth loved their family.”

In Washington to promote TheJourney before its July 7 U.S.premiere, Hamm told CatholicNews Service it should be in -structive to longtime enemies inother regions of the world thatpeace is possible.

Hamm said some audiencesfound it hard to believe that “boththese men were Christian” and thatMcGuinness and Paisley “hatedeach other more than any Jew couldhate any Palestinian, more than anyHindu could hate a Muslim,” yetthey found the way to peace.

Even though the St. Andrews

Agreement was brokered 11 yearsago, “no one seems to be risingthrough the ranks” to succeedeither man on needed peace ini-tiatives around the globe. Paisleydied in 2014, and McGuinnessdied March 21.

“Politicians can take the leadon this,” Hamm said, but it neednot be politicians who get it start-ed. “There are likely thousands ofacts every day between Hinduand Muslim, between Jew andArab, between Protestant andCatholic, pure human kindnessbetween Shia and Sunni, andthese things don’t get recognizedthe way Northern Ireland does.”

The Journey premiered inNorthern Ireland earlier this yearand got a rapturous reception.“Everyone was there, Sinn Fein,DUP, ex-IRA. They loved it.They lived it,” Hamm told CNS.

Of course, timing is every-thing. Now on the docket is theoverture from England’s Tories, orConserv a tive party members, tothe Demo cratic Unionist Party toform a coalition government in

Britain that would allow PrimeMin ister There sa May’s party toremain in power. Talks regardingthe British exit, or “Brexit,” fromthe European Union, remained ina state of suspended animation.

Also a major demonstration ofthe summer “marching season”was nearing in Northern Ireland.Protes tants parade through Catho -lic sections of Belfast and othercities to commemorate long-agoProtestant vic tories over theirCatholic neighbours.

July 12 is the traditional“Orange man’s day,” commemorat-ing the 1690 defeat of the CatholicKing James II by the Prot estantPrince William of Orange thatdefinitively installed Protestantismas the religion of the British monar-chy. “I never did think much ofparade season,” Hamm told CNS.“All that banging on the drums.”

The Brexit situation is stickier,because Northern Ireland voted tostay in the EU. In a worst-case sce-nario, a wall could be erectedbetween Northern Ireland, which isstill part of the United King dom,and the independent Re public of

Ireland to its south. Ob servers sayBrexit will result in passport andcustoms checks, and some kind ofbarrier along the 500-kilometreborder between the two countrieswould be needed.

“The last thing anybody wantsis a wall,” Hamm declared.

And the political piece of it hasits own idiosyncrasies. “If SinnFein decided to take its seats in theHouse of Commons, it would can-cel out (British Prime Minister)Teresa May’s majority,” as theseven Sinn Fein seats would de -prive the Tory-Democratic Union -ist Party coalition of a governingmajority, Hamm said.

But Sinn Fein would neverallow its elected representatives tobe seated, he added, because to doso would, in their view, recognizeEngland’s dominion over NorthernIreland, which Sinn Fein would beloath to admit. Even in TheJourney, McGuin ness (played byColm Meaney) retorts “Alleged -ly!” to Paisley’s (Timothy Spall)description of him as an IRA lead -er. “McGuinness would never ad -mit he was IRA,” Hamm said.

Even bitter enemies can forge peace, says filmmaker

Prairie Messenger 11FEATUREJuly 19, 2017

There’s a difference between faith and belief

The Sufi master quoted above,and my father, who was a Jewishhumanist (as much as he would es -chew the limitations of that label),were both getting at something stillnot widely understood. Belief andfaith, although they may supporteach other, are very different. Be -lief is often a matter of re ceivedwisdom, whereas faith is a deepform of trust. When the two are in -tegrated, one knows through trust-ing and trusts through knowing.

Real faith is certainly not a sta-tic state, nor simply a matter ofupholding a belief system. In fact,beliefs can often be a defenceagainst the trust it takes to moveout of our comfort zones whencalled to soul growth. Faith canalso shake the foundation of solid-ified religious structures, as Jesusdemonstrated in his time, was onesign of a truly free inner journey.As Sam Keen said, “It takes anabnormal amount of trust to gobeyond the culture’s crust.” Andas Alan Watts told us long ago:belief is concerned with holdingon . . . faith is about letting go.

Then there’s maturity. Just aswe are not born with maturity, butgo through a number of develop-mental stages to achieve it, we arenot “born again” into full growth.We can be suddenly lifted out of

the confinement of ego states(“saved!”), yet that doesn’t saveus from having to grow out ofexternalized, literal, dichotomous,class-bound, role-playing, one-dimensional structures and growinto self-aware, symbolic, dialec-tical, universal, synthetic, andmulti-dimensional expressions offaith (see Jim Fowler).

Sam Keen romanticizes thepsycho-spiritual stages involvedas the Child (embedded, depen-dent); the Rebel (able to doubt,resist); the Adult (coping confi-dently, yet conforming); theOutlaw (individuated adventur-er); and the Lover (childlike sageequally responsive to polis, eros,and cosmos).

If all that sounds too theoreti-cal, I refer you to a brilliant satir-ic scene in the movie Ted, whichis about a boy’s teddy bear com-ing to life and becoming morecynically “adult” as the boy ma -tures . . . and doesn’t, due to the“inordinate attachment” to hiscute, cuddly though now foul-mouthed and hedonistic compan-ion. (Google “Ted — alley scene”to see the clip.)

In short, there’s arrested devel-opment all round. One subplot hasa more pathologically regressedcharacter starting to stalk Ted. Thescene takes place in an alley whereTed is trying to dissuade the psy-chopathic loner from making Tedthe object of his obsession. Whenasked if he is alone in the alley,Ted responds with, “You know,you’re never alone when you’rewith Christ. So no, I’m not alone.”And toward the end of the scene,“Thank you for creeping up mynight and Jesus be with you . . . inChrist.”

One comment below the video:“Words cannot express the depthof humour (in) this scene.” I agree,yet will still try. A pre-set Chris -tian “faith” without any semblanceof maturation beyond the echo ofits formula, is profoundly funnywhen heard out of the mouth of ateddy bear acting like a grownup.

Cedric Speyer

Outlooks fromthe Inner Life

“What Christ came to teach was faith.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan“While the old-fashioned religion, or let us say dogmatic religion,

gave out certain directives, the new religion feels that these directiveshave to mature within a person. They have to be part of the characterof the person. Ideas need to grow from within instead of being simplyaccepted from without. You cannot say to somebody to love thy neigh-bour and have that person really and essentially love his neighbour,unless he or she has gone through a certain stage of development.”

— Maurice Speyer (1899 - 1957)

Speyer is a Benedictine Oblateas well as an author, subject mat-ter expert for e-therapy, clinicalconsultant and director ofInnerView Guidance International(IGI). Connect with Cedric onhttps://www.facebook.com/cms94or via cms94@hotmail.com

CNS/IFC FilmsTHE JOURNEY — Rev. Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) and MartinMcGuinness (Colm Meaney) star in a scene from the movie TheJourney, a fictionalized telling of how McGuinness and Paisley came toa political solution in 2006 in Northern Ireland to bring decades ofChristian-on-Christian sectarian violence to a halt.

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By Irene Lo Scerbo

I’ve always been a bit of abirdbrain. I come by it honestly,having been trained in my youthby a sharp-eyed, bird-watchingfather. Even without binoculars,Dad could spot the tiniest fly-catcher — better yet, he could seethe fly in its beak.

And so it was that my little sis-ter and I were taught to amuse our-selves by competing for the high-est red-winged blackbird count asDad’s old Pontiac zipped past ditchafter bird-filled ditch on the longdrive to Twin Lakes Beach.

Swampy cottage country be -came my private wonderland fortwo weeks every summer, andthere I would fill my senses tooverflowing with the eerie, inces-sant humming, the relentlessshrieking, and the frequent explo-sion of wings in the dense, stillair. Soon enough, though, I’dleave behind the intense heat andhumidity of my favourite marshand run to the beach where Dadand my sister and many birdfriends had already found relief inthe cool, clean wide-openness ofthe great grey lake. But that wasthen and this is now.

It’s no longer my father, butmy husband, Tony, who keeps meout of trouble, right here in thecity. He’s got me looking and lis-tening for birds, photographingbirds and writing about birds.Apparently, Somebody Up Thereis intent on helping me complywith Tony’s agenda.

If it flies and has feathers,we’ve had it, got it, or you canbet we’ll soon be getting it. Wantto meet the comical crow who ledme through a honeysuckle bowerbuzzing with bees? Or weep atpictures of Willy the warbler,who once could sing, but now shecan’t? And then laugh because adozen of Willy’s relatives bom-barded our house on the firstanniversary of her fatal collisionwith my office window? And ifyou ask nicely, I’ll tell you a ducktale or two.

Year before last, Tony and Ibecame landlords to a mallardhen. Momma D. hatched 11 fuzzyducklings under our cedar bush,waddled away with them, re -turned last spring, laid another 11

eggs, and six days into her incu-bation period was killed andeaten by the neighbourhood fox.

This spring another feisty duckchose Momma’s old nesting site.Day after day, lovesick Mam’selleMallard and her mate swam inour ditch, cavorted in our pool,and pooped on our deck. Likepoor Momma D. before her, shelost 11 eggs. Perhaps it was thatsame rascally fox who ate them,but at least Mam’selle lived toquack about it. She laid anothernine, mourned after they, too,were destroyed, and grimlyjoined the ranks of the childless.

Both Mam’selle and Monsieurqualify as finalists for the LoScerbo family’s esteemed Back -yard Bird of the Year Award, butthey won’t win. We’ve decided infavour of five soon-to-be-famousfeathered friends (or fiends, ifyou’re counting Tony’s vote).

In early April, as Tony and Iwatched Mam’selle and Monsieurdipping and dunking a few feetfrom our kitchen window, webecame aware of unfamiliar, butindisputable bird action — boldscreeching, plunging, and flapping— overhead, in the trees, and onthe peak of the neighbours’ roof.

For two decades, birds of allspecies managed to share thatroof amicably. Not this year, notsince a pair of raptors blew ontoour street.

One look through my binocu-lars, a quick web search, and Isoon determined who the noisyintruders were and what they wereup to. Merlin falcons: small, com-pact birds of prey; females slightlylarger/heavier than males; bothsexes equally aggressive, but maledoes most of the hunting; a threatto songbirds. I’m no au thority onmedieval magicians, but the nameMerlin was a dead giveaway.Whenever an unsuspecting birdtook to the air, we’d hear a loud ki-ki-kee, a whoosh and a swoop.Bye-bye, tweety birds.

We’re not sure where the mer-lins nested, but for five monthsour neighbours’ rooftop wasalien-occupied territory, stakedout by the merlin clan as its pri-mary mating station, preeningpost, outhouse and lookout tower.To top it off, these nasties estab-lished their home base as a no-flyzone.

Admittedly, some birds did getpast them. One morning Tonylooked on as, after two attemptsto knock a sassy crow out of the

air, Pop Merlin sensed the futilityof his efforts and flew off to tar-get a less agile victim. Yet, judg-ing by the ever-increasing num-ber and variety of bird-bits deco-rating our yard, we deem thatcrow fortunate to have escapedthe powerful, scythe-like talonsand razor sharp beak of itsassailant. (Merlins decapitate andpluck their prey before eating.)

To the best of my recollection,my dad never introduced us girls toa bird so devilish. Thus, not want -ing to waste my newfound knowl-edge about this fascinating species,I emailed my sister a video clip ofPop Merlin pulling apart his fresh-ly caught prey. Afraid she might beoffended by this uncensored act ofviolence, I was pleasantly sur-prised and honoured when shereplied, “You think you could sendyour merlin over here to eat ourstupid grackles?” Those squawk-ing pests were so abundant in herarea that residents would do any-thing to get rid of them.

But how do you tell a falconwhere to go? Tony ignored my sis-ter’s plea and persisted in cleaningout eaves troughs, birdbaths andflowerbeds, whichever locationserved as a dumping ground forthe next stray head or body part.As for me, I bought a new cameraand spent the next month aiming itat Pop and his mate, who wentabout their bloodthirsty businessas if I were invisible.

One July evening, the merlinsput on a suppertime performance Iwon’t forget. Expecting Pop todrop off some fast food for his hun-gry mate, I steadied myself,focused my camera on Mom, whowas doing her feed-me-now-or-I’ll-bite-you dance up on the roof. Outof the blue, Pop swooshed downwith a tasty treat in his talons, butbefore Mom could grab the

unlucky bundle of birdlife, it wasripped to shreds by a hideous hurri-cane of claws, wings and beaks thatspewed fleshy debris in everydirection. I saw three — no, four —no, five merlins — Mom and Popplus three rough and tumble row-dies. The young had fledged.

From that day on, the new kidson the block set about terrorizingthe neighbourhood, continuingtheir reign of carnage until earlyAugust. They then left the breed-ing area to establish territories oftheir own. My sister noticed ayoung merlin in her vicinity. Oneof ours? Perhaps it will feed onthose pesky grackles.

With the young ones gone andfewer mouths to feed, Mom andPop have stopped monopolizingthe bird world as we know it —which may explain why a lonemourning dove recently touched

down on the merlin-stained roof,just long enough to declare peaceand have its picture taken. Thedove’s act of bravery has not beenrepeated.

Our little birdie friends aregradually returning to the garden,the fence and the feeder. Howrefreshing to watch them eke outa slightly more peaceful exis-tence.

Tony and I have entertained astrange array of backyard visitorsof all sizes, plumage and colours,each with its unique beauty andsingular voice — none, quite somagnificent as the prairie mer-lins. I wish Dad were here to bedazzled by their magic, and to becharmed, as we have been, by theantics of our various other swift-winged guests.

But then, I suspect he’s had abird’s-eye view all along.

A backyard flurry of feathers

12 Prairie Messenger FEATURE July 19, 2017

Lo Scerbo lives and writes herlife from Winnipeg, the place shecalls home — for now.

Irene Lo ScerboFLURRY OF FEATHERS — A merlin falcon has “brunch” near IreneLo Scerbo’s yard.

Continued from page 8

“I was moulding my ownJoan,” Aurinko said. “I thought ofher in three ways — Joan the war-rior, Joan the maid, and Joan thechild. It is very important peopleunderstand her sweetness and vul-nerability. She was not this big-shouldered warrior girl. She was achild when she died and was asconfused by those voices as any-one who heard about them.”

Aurinko’s Joan in these im agesis a girl caught in time — butwhich time? There she is cut instone, a medieval maiden; thereshe is cast in bronze, the Victorianideal of a woman at prayer; there

she is depicted by a model as agirl who might have just walkedout of the local high school — ina full coat of mail.

Aurinko had no connection toCatholicism before encounteringJoan. She was raised in the Con -gregational tradition, but convert-ed to Judaism in her 20s.

“Where all this fascination withCatholicism is coming from, Ihave no idea,” she said with alaugh and wave of her hands. “Butit extends beyond Joan. I havealways been interested in spiritual-ity, to people’s relationship to theirhigher power. And Joan, clearly,had a very deep connection withher higher power.”

At the end, Joan just a child

By Kendall Vanderslice©2017 Religion News Service

Bread tells a story of death andresurrection. It is at the heart ofChristian tradition — the stapleof the meal eaten to rememberJesus’ self-sacrifice. So what doesthis mean for the gluten-free?

According to the Vatican, ifyou can’t eat wheat, then theBody of Christ is not for you.Recently the Roman CatholicChurch reaffirmed its stance thatbread used for holy communionmust contain enough gluten that itcan be made without the use ofadditives.

Even as a bread-loving bakerwhose arm is tattooed with twostalks of wheat, I cannot agree.

Materiality matters. The storyof Genesis reveals a God whocarefully crafted the physicalworld, forming the “adam” (humanbeing in Hebrew) out of the“adamah” (soil). From dust wehumans came and back to dust wewill return.

When water hydrates the drydead dust of flour, proteins andstarches in wheat immediatelycome back to life. Enzymes un coilstarches, releasing sugar for theyeast to eat. Glutenin and gliadin,the amino acids that make upgluten, weave together to build apowerful net. Yeasts feast on thesugars in wheat and fill the breadwith the breath of life. As the

acids form bonds, tension buildsbetween the dough’s desire to beboth plastic and elastic. Over thecourse of a few hours, the soupymass begins to strengthen intostretchy dough. This tension cap-tures carbon dioxide gas andallows the dough to grow.

The dough must die in order tobecome bread, giving itself up tothe flames of the oven. But in itsdeath, it has become the staff oflife. The most basic food through-out all of human history.

When Jesus calls himself thebread of life, he means that thestory of bread directly mirrors thestory of his own life. When Jesus

asks his followers to rememberhim in the breaking of bread, heasks them to honour the tensionof the plastic and the elastic. Thetension of following a God ofboth law and abounding grace.

Materiality matters becausethe narrative of God’s work in theworld is woven into the touch-able, edible aspects of creation.But part of that narrative is thatright now this world is brokenand separated from its initialintent. This world is one whereallergies are real.

Communion loses the symbol-ic depth of its material makeupwhen taken using gluten-freebread. Of course, unleavenedbread fails to capture the beautyof fermentation too; yet Jesus’lack of yeasted dough is rarelyquestioned. This is because forCatholics and liturgical Protes -tants, the ritual is never merely anact of symbolism.

It is the mystical and the phys-ical communion of Christianswith one another and with God.To Catholics, the process of tran-

substantiation turns the elementsinto the literal body and blood. ToProtestants, the specifics of thesacrament vary; still, most agreethat Jesus is present in the break-ing of the bread.

But just as the physicality ofthe bread and wine can draw acommunity together, it can workpowerfully to divide as well. Tokeep those who cannot eat glutenfrom consuming the Body ofChrist limits them from participat-ing fully in the life of the church.

While those who study thechemistry of bread can appreciatethe symbolic beauty of gluten, thesymbolism means little if Jesus’presence does not actually breakdown the divisions that keepChris tians from joining in com-munion with one another. Jesusblessed and broke the breadbecause of its ability to draw hisfollowers together. And so thetension of gluten could teach us,too, that for the sake of those withallergies, we can look for Jesus’presence even in the absence ofwheat.

Only by resting in the tensionof our differences — our desirefor the plastic and the elastic, forlaw and abounding grace, for tra-dition and the full communion ofsinners and saints — will thechurch continue to grow.

There is no barrier to walkingwith Christ — especially not anallergy to gluten. We must let goof the symbolic beauty of wheatin lieu of the deeper beauty offull, physical communion.

Jesus abides in the breaking ofbread, even among the gluten-free.

Jesus is present, even in the absence of wheat

Prairie Messenger 13FEATUREJuly 19, 2017

Of ‘Dumpus’ dreams and definitions

Once upon a time I had adream in which an anonymousman phoned to pass on a messageto me: “Dumpus Deepshit sendshis greetings.” Dumpus himself,like the invisible caller, neverappeared, but when I awoke Iappreciated his thinking of me,and ever since he came to mindI’ve been captivated by his name.

Meanwhile, other dream-char-acters have been more talkative. Afew have used words I’d neverheard before, words so arcane thatI’ve been forced to define them

(however provisionally) formyself. No doubt readers of the“Kitchen Table” will do better thanI with the samples below, and per-haps make new contributions to thelexicon of our evolving language.

Here, with a tip of the cap toDumpus, are seven words spokenby dream-people. Call these locu-tions sniglets or neologisms, asyou like, but to demonstrate mycurrent comprehension I’ve de -fined each one and used it in asentence. Feel free to invest themwith deeper and higher significa-tions (there’s a Daffy Duck wordfor you — another DD, I see)than I’m presently capable of.

1) Bedeudle: (Yiddish) to con-fuse oneself with Freudian psy-chology. “After her therapy ses-sion, the hen was bedeudled toknow that she suffered from cloa-cal envy.”

2) Succethics: (Latin/MiddleEnglish) the notion that if some-thing works in the short run, itnecessarily works forever. “IfDonald Trump can stop tweetingbuk-buk, he hopes to write abook-buk titled Succethics Can

Work For You Too! bu-KAK.”3) Axolux: (American) a combo

guitar/vacuum-cleaner used bystagehands to clean up messes afterrock concerts. “’Geez,’ said oneguy, ‘I’m sure glad we gots anaxolux to make the job easier.’ ’’

4) Papooster: (Narraganset) apapal nuncio. “The apostolicpapooster visited the provincerecently, with an urgent need tokeep the barnyard hens and citychicks in check.”

5) Euphemister: (Greek/Canadian) a male political repre-sentative (female: euphemiz).“Order in the House! The Speakerrecognizes the euphemister fromShawinigan, because a proof is aproof because it is proven.”

6) Aunjepultjad: (Low Ger -man) the manner of approach of avehicle driven by an aging Men -nonite. “Doa tjemmt aul vada neMennist aunjepultjad (therecomes already again anotherMenno puttering us on).”

7) Pointrillanosoccio: (French/Italian) a meadowlark song. “Hepaused to rest in the shade of apoplar, and from somewhere camethe sound of pointrillanosoccio —only he didn’t know what theword meant, or quite how to pro-nounce it, so he went home andmade something up.”

It’s possible that Dumpus Dwill come again to help clarifythese matters — to unbedeudleus, so to speak. But till then,here’s a buk-buk and cockadoodle— do to us all in our definings.

Vanderslice is the head bakerat Simple Church in Grafton,Mass. She blogs about the inter-section of food, faith and cultureand is writing a book on dinnerchurches and embodied theologyto be published by Eerdmans.

Paul Paproski, OSBOF HOSTS AND HEARTACHE — “Bread tells a story of death and resurrection. It is at the heart ofChristian tradition — the staple of the meal eaten to remember Jesus’ self-sacrifice,” writes KendallVanderslice. “So what does this mean for the gluten-free?”

Lloyd Ratzlaff

Around theKitchen Table

Ratzlaff is a former minister,counsellor, and university lectur-er. He has authored three books ofliterary non-fiction published byThistledown Press, and edited ananthology of seniors’ writingspublished by READ Saskatoon.He has been short-listed for threeSaskatchewan Books Awards, wontwo Saskatchewan Writers’ Guildliterary non-fiction awards, andserved on local, provincial, andnational writing organizationboards.

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Another step to church unityIt is worth noting that a significant ecumenical event

took place this month. Symbolically, it occurred during the500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the splitin the Western church initiated by Martin Luther in 1517.

On July 5 in Wittenberg, Germany, the city whereLuther posted his “95 Theses” that marked the beginningof the Reformation, the World Communion of ReformedChurches signed a declaration endorsing the 1999Catholic-Lutheran agreement on how Christians might beworthy of salvation in the eyes of God.

Five hundred years ago, this sort of theological dis-cussion was very much in the air. If there had beenTwitter or Facebook at the time, a lively discussion byengaged lay Christians would have filled the digitalmedia. Today, the theological discussion around the doc-trine of justification is largely of interest to academics.

Yet, the doctrine of justification has remained an his-torical wedge between Protestants and Catholics.Historical research has shown that many of those differ-

ences were due to misunderstandings and polemics.Now a common agreement has been reached becausechurches have come to new shared insights.

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justificationwas first agreed to by the Pontifical Council forPromoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran WorldFederation on Oct. 31, 1999. It declares that the church-es now share “a common understanding of our justifica-tion by God’s grace through faith in Christ.”

A key passage says: “By grace alone, in faith inChrist’s saving work and not because of any merit onour part, we are accepted by God and receive the HolySpirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us andcalling us to good works.”

The World Methodist Council adopted theDeclaration on July 18, 2006. The World Communion ofReformed Churches has now followed suit and theAnglican communion is expected to do the same laterthis year. The Reformed churches represent an estimated80 million Christians in Congregational, Presbyterian,Reformed, United, Uniting and Waldensian churches

around the world. Lutheranism and the Reformed movement (based on

the writings of the French theologian John Calvin) aretwo of the main branches of Protestant Christianity.Luther taught that eternal salvation is attained by faithalone, while Calvin and other Reformed thinkers put itin the wider context of God’s covenant with humanity.Lutherans have bishops while most Reformed churchesare less hierarchical.

Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the PontificalCouncil for Promoting Christian Unity, commented: “Oneof the crucial issues of dissent between the Reformers andthe authorities of the Catholic Church in the 16th centuryis thus being diffused and overcome, making furthergrowth in spiritual and ecclesial communion between theProtestant and Catholic churches possible.”

Over the past 500 years each church communityevolved its own traditions. Hopefully further dialoguecan clarify what is essential for full unity and what canbe continued to be practised by each one differently. —PWN

14 Prairie Messenger EDITORIALS July 19, 2017

Summer is now at its peak inthe western Canadian Arctic.Around Inuvik the greenery islush and the ditches and openareas of the delta are painted withthe brilliant fuchsia of Fireweedand the crimson of Paintbrush.Fluffy white blossoms of ArcticCotton fill the low lying wet areasand little blue and pink blossomscover the tundra as far as the eyecan see. It would take a masterpainter to conjure a palette withsuch an endless variety of colour.

It is perhaps to mimic nature’sfinery that artists gathered inInuvik during these two weeks inJuly for the annual Great North ernArts Festival. This festival, whichwas first established in 1989, pro-vides artists from across the northan opportunity to come together toshowcase their work in a variety ofstyles and media as well as to learnand teach through daily work-shops.

Northern art is coveted aroundthe world by discerning collectorsand is distinguishable by its useof natural materials, simplicity ofform, and the natural themes thatare often highlighted. Artistsmake use of materials they find intheir local areas which mightinclude bone, antler and horn,leather, fur, stone, natural dyesand fibres and many others as thepossibilities are limited only byan artist’s imagination.

The work is in such demandthat one man recounted the storyof a cruise ship full of touristsarriving in his community for thefirst time. He went down to greetthe passengers dressed in his bestmukluks, parka and fur mitts, allhandmade by his wife. When thevisitors pulled ashore the firstthing he was asked was how muchmoney he wanted for his clothing.

“I wasn’t sure what to do,” he

remarked. “At first, I thought mywife would be mad if I sold it, butthen I realized she could sewmany more parkas for the moneythat was being offered.” He endedhis story by saying he walkedhome in his socks and T-shirt inthe freezing weather and that hiswife was very happy.

While some of the styles ofindigenous art have been evolvingin the culture for many genera-tions, others are more recent andhave been influenced by outsiderswho have come to the communi-ties. In Ulukhaktok (formallyHolman), on Victoria Island, Rev.Henri Tardy, OMI, was looking fora project that would bring econom-ic benefits to his Inuvialuit parish-ioners. He helped establish theHolman Eskimo Co-operative in

1961, and hee n c o u r a g e dp r o s p e c t i v eartists particu-larly in printmaking. Withthe change ofthe communityname theHolman EskimoCo-opera t ivewas renamedthe UlukhaktokArts Centre.

Of course,the arts scene inthe north en -c o m p a s s e smuch morethan paintingand carving.Each night ofthe festivalthere were cele-b r a t i o n smarked by per-formances by dancers and drum-mers sharing the rhythm of thenative music which also reflectsthe organic strains of nature, per-haps best exemplified in the beat-ing of the sealskin drum.

Here again traditional musichas been influenced by the mix-

ing of cultures and the fiddle,which was introduced by whalersand fur traders from Europe, hasbecome a favourite instrumentand square dancing a lively pas-time at community functions.

Our Lady of Victory Church,better known as the “Igloo

Church” has become known inthe area as a good venue for livemusic performances due to ourseating capacity and excellentacoustics, thanks to the domedceiling. It has been our good for-

— NORTHERN, page 15

Artists gather in Inuvik for annual Great Northern Arts Festival

ACE is a common-sense approach to care for elderlyBy Donna Thomson, Montreal

Dr. Samir Sinha is Canada’sguru on aging. We should listencarefully to his ideas because 42per cent of all hospital patients inour country are over 65 and theyaccount for 60 per cent of all hos-pital days. Senior patients con-sume 60 per cent of acute-carebudgets and almost half of allhealth care spending.

Sinha is head of geriatrics atToronto’s Mount Sinai and Uni -versity Health Network Hospitalsand a frequent contributor onissues related to aging on CBC’sThe National Politics of HealthCare Panel.

Sinha is the creator of a uniqueapproach to hospitalization forseniors — one that’s proven toheal older people more quickly

and put them on a safe andhealthy fast track back home. Theapproach, called Acute Care forElders (ACE), is being rapidlyadopted by hospitals acrossCanada and beyond.

Enabling people to age at homeby returning older patients to theirown homes more quickly withfewer complications is the ultimategoal of ACE. Many older patientswill be discharged quickly aftertreatment, but for those admitted,the differences between a tradition-al hospital ward and an ACE unitare striking. ACE units aredesigned to care for frail olderadults and that eases the burden ofcare for families.

Uncluttered hallways offer non-slip, low-glare floors and handrails,as well as occasional padded chairsfor resting. These design featuresencourage patients to maintainstrength and mobility by keepingactive. Large clocks and informa-tion boards help keep people ori-ented. Low beds and easy-accessbathrooms promote mobility andreduce the risk of falls.

Quality sleep is a key element of

the ACE approach. The Queens -way-Carleton Hospital ACE unit inOttawa has elaborated on the modelby creating an overnight HUSHtime (Help Us Support Healing).Lights are dimmed and staff phonesare set to vibrate. Natural care issupported by flexible visiting hoursand family members are welcometo stay over night.

Most importantly, families arerecognized as valued members ofthe treatment team. Nurses invitecalls to check in on a loved oneany time of the day or night. Thiscare has led to patient satisfac-tions rates consistently as high as99 to 100 per cent over the pastyear, especially with more olderpatients able to return home.

Over the next 20 years, thepopulation of Canadians over 65will double and the number ofover 85 will quadruple. The cur-rent hospital treatment modelmakes the frail elderly sicker andmore dependent. There’s an urgentneed for innovative approachesthat lead to better outcomes in pri-mary care for seniors.

ACE is designed to treat elderly

patients in a way that identifies andrespects their abilities and limita-tions, speeds healing and promotessafe discharges home — all goodoutcomes for the whole family.

I asked Sinha what he thoughtwould accelerate the growth ofACE units and the broaderapproach across Canada.

“Transforming our care forolder adults and their familiesbegins within our medical andnursing schools,” he said. “Rightnow in Canada, a rotation in pedi-atrics is required in our training,but geriatrics remains an option.Given our demographics of aging,I believe every graduating physi-cian and nurse should have expe-rience in geriatrics. That wouldhelp change the focus of healthcare to better serve those whoactually use it the most and areamongst the most vulnerablepatients in the system.”

Sinha’s approach to eldercaremakes sense for older adults andfor natural caregivers. We can allget behind it by asking for anACE unit and approach in everyCanadian hospital.

Thomson is a caregiver, authorand activist. She wrote “The FourWalls of My Freedom: LessonsI’ve Learned From a Life ofCaregiving” (2014). www.troy-media.com

Hansen is a Redemptoristpriest and pastor of Our Lady ofVictory Parish, Inuvik. See hiswebsite: www.jonhansenccsr.com

HansenArtists from across Northern Canada showcase their work at the Great Northern ArtsFestival at Inuvik.

Jon Hansen, CSsR

Life InCanadianArctic

Prairie Messenger 15LETTERSJuly 19, 2017

Lifelong subscriber appreciates quality of the PMThe Editor: I will never be able

to adequately express the impor-tance in my life that the PrairieMessenger has been. It regularlyarrived in my home in Bruno whileI was growing up. I received a giftsubscription in 1966 at the time ofour marriage, and have continuedthe subscription ever since. Thepaper followed us around Ontarioas we moved and finally settled inwith us here in Brockville.

My view of the Messenger haschanged over the years. At first Isaw it as a connection with myPrai rie past and with the goodpriests and sisters who were so in -fluential in my early life. Through -

out my adult years I came to realizeit as a valuable resource in my ownin creased un der stand ing of Catholi -cism and in the development of myfaith.

The excellent writers who havecontributed to the Messenger overthe years have been intelligent,not always middle of the road, butalways thought provoking. I haveappreciated being presented witharticles that acknowledged con-flict in our faith, because it let meknow that it was OK for me toconsider issues and realize thatthere are many shades of an argu-ment.

Yes, doctrine is solid, but ap -

proaches and understandings canvary and must always be based inlove, for God and for each other.A friend who is a priest and is alsoa subscriber frequently used mate-rial from the Messenger for hishomilies.

When I read the news that theMes senger will cease to exist nextMay, I felt profound sadness, al -ready. Each and every issue that Iwill receive for the next year willbe read, pondered, shared anddeeply appreciated.

A sincere “thank you” to everyperson who has contributed to thelife of the Prairie Messenger, fromthe first Benedictines who long agoestablished the paper, to all theexcellent writers, editors and tech-nical support people who throughthe years followed the vision andbrought a quality resource to us.May God richly bless each andevery one of you. — JoanneStory, Brockville, Ont.

Read Prairie Messenger cover to coverThe Editor: I am sorry to hear

that the Prairie Messenger willcease publishing next year. It hasbeen an important part of my spir-itual life. I usually read it fromcover to cover. It keeps me abreastof what is happening in the Cath -olic world locally, provincially,nationally and internationally.

Every Sunday morning I read theLiturgy and Life column. Thesereflections by your excellent colum-nists on the scriptures, that I willsoon hear at mass, are very helpfulin better understanding the readings.

Your other columnists from Rev.Ron Rolheiser to Leah Perreault toCedric Speyer, to name a few, areinsightful and inspirational.

I think you have probably wres-tled with this decision long andhard and come to the conclusionyou have. If there was any way tosave the PM, I would certainly bewilling to participate in such anendeavour. If not, I would just liketo say thank you for the many yearsof spiritual formation that I havereceived from this excellent publi-cation — Ken Roberts, Saskatoon

Prairie Messenger is ‘go to’ paper for Christian newsThe Editor: I have been giv-

ing the eucharist to cancer pa -tients at Princess MargaretHospital in Toronto for 15 years.Eight of those years were with aJesuit priest, Rev. Allan Peterkin,who advised me to subscribe to

the Prairie Messenger. It has been my “go to” news-

paper for what has been happen-ing in our Christian churches eversince. I do not know what I willdo without it. It has been mysource of wisdom and joy.

I am going to make a sugges-tion that I hope might contribute toa different decision than to end thepublication of this newspaper. Imyself am willing to pay $75 per

year for a subscription and I won-der how many others would bewilling. I would bet a lot!

Please let me know if youwould consider raising the ratesfor private individuals likemyself to keep this paper going. Itake courses at Regis JesuitCollege here. Perhaps I couldadvertise it there. Hoping for thebest. — Carolyn (Lynn) Smart,TorontoContinued from page 1

None of the homilists or key -note speakers sugarcoated thechallenges for the modern churchand more than once speakerspointed out that Catholics areleaving the church in greater num-bers, particularly young adults,than those joining the church.

But as Auxiliary BishopRobert E. Barron of Los Angelespointed out: “The saints alwaysloved a good fight and we shouldlike a good fight too.”

The bishop, who addressed thecrowd through a video hookupJuly 4, told them it was an “excit-

ing time to be an evangelist” butthat they also should pick up theirgame to evangelize effectively.

Throughout the convocationPope Francis was pointed out as amodel for modern Catholics tofollow in inviting others, especial-ly those on the peripheries, toChrist. Speakers also were quickto quote his 2013 apostolic exhor-tation, Evangelii Gaudium (TheJoy of the Gospel), which lays outa vision of the church dedicated toevangelization — or missionarydiscipleship — in a positive way,with a focus on society’s poorestand most vulnerable, including theaged, unborn and forgotten.

Two homilies during the con-vocation specifically quoted thepope’s admonition in EvangeliiGaudium that Catholics shouldn’tbe “sourpusses” but should reflectjoy.

Washington Cardinal DonaldW. Wuerl acknowledged thatCatholics are not always comfort-able with the idea of evangeliz-ing, but said they need to be will-ing to step out of themselves andtalk with people about their faithas part of an encounter the popespeaks about.

Part of this simply involves lis-tening to people, caring for themand leading them to Jesus, saidspeaker Sister Miriam JamesHeidland, a sister of the Society ofOur Lady of the Most HolyTrinity.

Delegates were repeatedlyencouraged to reach out to theperipheries especially to immi-grants and the poor but also to allmembers of the church’s diversefamily — people of all races,women and young people.

Hosffman Ospino, associateprofessor of theology and reli-gious education at BostonCollege, said it is time for thechurch to start building a “lan-guage of communion” ratherthan dividing the church commu-nity into different groups andindividually responding to thoseneeds.

“It’s the church serving thechurch,” he said. “We all are thechurch.”

Church membership is declining

Continued from page 1

The homes will by occupied by theend of 2017 and early 2018.

Habitat for Humanity Inter -national CEO Jonathan Reckfordmade clear that Habitat does notgive homes away. People living inHabitat homes help build theirown houses, and pay an affordablemortgage geared to their income.Habitat helps low-income workingfamilies break the cycle of povertyby allowing them to move out ofsocial housing, freeing up spacefor those on waiting lists.

The Carters — Jimmy is 92and Rosalynn 89 — came toWinnipeg in hard hats and boots,ready to work. Rosalynn Carterstarted the day saying the futurehome owners are blessed by themany helping hands, “but theblessing is as much ours whowork for you as it is yours.”

Jimmy Carter, a Baptist and adeacon, led a short devotional ser-vice but first invited all to MaranthaBaptist Church in Plains, Georgia,where he teaches Bible classes. “Wehave about 30 members and hun-dreds of visitors who come to hear apolitician teach the Bible, which iskind of a curiosity. You’re all wel-come to come — not all on the sameSunday, but you’re all welcome.

“We have found out after 36

years with Habitat for Humanitythat families that are in need aresometimes underestimated by thoseof us who have, you might say,everything in life. And we get toknow those people and see howhard they work and how worthythey are and we come to realize thatHabitat families were underestimat-ed because, we think, ‘Why don’tthey have a decent home if theyworked as hard as I did?’ But Habi -tat families are just as hard-workingas we are, they’re just as ambitiousas I am, they have family values thesame as mine. Habitat is a mecha-nism by which we can equalize therelationship between us.

“Habitat has expanded greatlymy ability to put my faith intopractice. So don’t forget that every-thing we have in life is given to usby God. We are given talents andability to do anything we want toand God lets us make the decisionabout what kind of person I’mgoing to be, so that gives us a greatresponsibility but also a greatopportunity, and building Habitathomes is an opportunity we have toput into practice whatever ourmoral and ethical values might be.”

According to Habitat for Hu -manity, one in seven households inCanada, including 735,000 chil-dren, “do not have a safe, decentand affordable place to call home.”

Owners help build homes

Continued from page 14

tune to host many music concertshighlighting the talents of bothnorthern artists as well as travel-ling musicians from the south.

Currently one of our own pa -rishioners, Abe Drennan, is re -cording a new music album usingthe church as a studio. Abe’smusic is a modern blend of folkand rock with very positivethemes about life and love so it isa perfect compliment to thechurch and its message of GoodNews. Abe is collaborating on theproject with other northern musi-cians including Yellowknife’s

Greyson Gritt who just won aJuno award for Indigenous MusicAlbum of the Year.

The arts scene in the north trulyis a multi-hued canvas influencedboth by and in reaction to theextremes of nature found here. Aswe read in the canticle of Daniel, Cold and chill, bless the LordDew and rain, bless the LordFrost and chill, bless the LordIce and Snow, bless the LordLight and darkness, bless the Lord

Through the creativity of ourimaginations and the work of ourhands we bless God through thebeauty of our art.

Northern artists bless Godthrough their art’s creativity

LeibnizSymbolshe used for thoughts. Logic was the richer, and calculus was brought to the limitBy Seb Koh

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16 Prairie Messenger INTERNATIONAL NEWS July 19, 2017

Church of England clergy start to abandon robesBy Catherine Pepinster

LONDON (RNS) — Aftercenturies of wearing flowingrobes, cassocks and other vest-ments, Anglican priests can final-ly dress down.

Under canon law, clergy haveto wear traditional robes whenholding communion services,baptisms, weddings or funerals.But following a vote this week ata gathering in York of the GeneralSynod, the Church of England’sruling body, Anglican priests cannow wear lay garments such as asuit instead, so long as theirparochial church council agrees.

The reasons given for thechange included a more informaloutlook in British society as awhole, but there is particular con-cern about young people beingalienated by ornate accoutrements.One member of the Archbishop’sCouncil — the archbishop ofCanterbury’s cabinet — also wantsthe abolition of bishops’ mitres.

Ian Paul, who writes the blogPsephizo wrote: “To most, and Iwould suggest especially theyoung, the sight of bishops inmitres puts them in another world.It is a world of the past, a world ofnostalgia, a world of deference —

and mostly a world which is quitedisconnected from present experi-ence and values.

“It confirms for many the im -pression of a church irrelevant tomodern questions, contained in itsown bubble of self reference. Andin its hierarchical understandingof authority, it is a culture ofwhich contemporary society is be -coming less and less tolerant.”

The issue of young people’schurchgoing is a disputed one forthe Church of England, withmany surveys showing a markeddecline in membership of Chris -tian churches among peoplebelow the age of 25. For someyears now, the average age of achurchgoer has been over 60.

Recently the Diocese of Lon -don launched new programs toget young people involved in theAnglican Church. Its researchshows that there are fewer than2,000 people between the ages of11 and 18 attending services inthe diocese, which has 500churches and serves a populationof 3.6 million people.

Now the diocese says it will tryand attract more by bringing youthadvocates to work with the clergy,recruit special youth ministers andprovide them with specialist train-ing, plant special youth-orientedcongregations, and set up youthmissions fo cused on the gospel.The aim is also, says the diocese,to find a way of “amplifying thevoice of young people.”

Linda Woodhead, one ofBritain’s foremost sociologists ofreligion, said that while fewer chil-dren are socialized into Christianfaith by their parents — and evenof those that are, around 40 percent reject that identity —“younger people are not identify-ing as ‘secular’ either.”

“Many are open-minded aboutreligion, and appreciative of churchbuildings and other aspects ofChris tian heritage but suspicious ofinstitutional religion,” she said.

Woodhead said church initia-tives over many decades aimed atattracting young people, mostly byway of targeted missions and youthwork, have failed spectacularly.

“It’s not inconceivable that newgenerations could be attracted backto Christ i anity,but it will re -quire radicalchange in thenature of thechurch es them-selves ratherthan yet anoth-er recruitmentdrive,” shesaid.

Her re searchhas showed thatthe churches’attitude towardgay people isthe kind of ap -proach that de -ters young peo-ple from tradi-tional institu-tional religion,and for themno amount of

clerical dressing down will changethat.

Laziness, vices prevent seedsof Gospel from taking rootBy Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) —God proposes — not imposes —his Gospel and offer of salvation,putting the responsibility of beingopen to and moved by his mes-sage on the listener, Pope Francissaid.

Jesus doesn’t draw people tohim by conquering them, but bygiving himself, like a sower,spreading “with patience and gen-erosity his word, which isn’t acage or a trap, but a seed that canbear fruit” if people welcome it,the pope said before praying theAngelus July 16.

Speaking to people gathered inSt. Peter ’s Square, the popereflected on the Sunday readingfrom the Gospel of St. Matthew,in which Jesus speaks to thecrowds about the parable of thesower.

The parable, the pope said,speaks more about the soil thanthe sower because the quality ofthe terrain is critical for whether aseed will eventually bear fruit.

In Jesus’ parable, the seed thatfalls on rich soil produces fruit,while seed that falls on hard orrocky ground or among the thornsdoes not.

The pope said the parable islike Jesus taking a “spiritual X-ray” of the different conditions ofthe heart that reveal how receptiveit may or not be to God’s Word.

If a heart is hard and impene-trable, it’s like asphalt or cobble-stones, he said, because the seedof the Gospels “bounces off” anddoesn’t sink in.

A weak, “superficial heart,” islike rocky ground with little soil;a seed may sprout, but the tenderplant is vulnerable to harsh condi-tions because of a lack of roots,

he said.A superficial heart that lacks

depth welcomes the Lord, “wantsto pray, love and give witness, butit does not persevere, it gets tiredout and never takes off.” The rootsof faith can never sink deepbecause there are too many “stonesof laziness” in the way and “love isfickle and fleeting,” the pope said.

A seed tossed among thorns willchoke new growth, he said, and thethorns represent a heart filled with“worldly anxiety and the lure ofriches”; they are “vices that cometo blows with God,” suffocating hispresence, the pope said.

If people spend more time culti-vating “the idols of worldly rich es,living greedily — for themselves,for possession and for power,” hesaid, then “we choke off the growthof God in us.”

People must reflect on theirheart’s condition and, like a gar-dener, reclaim and work their land— their hearts — by eliminatingthe weeds and stones of vices andweaknesses.

It’s better to walk alone, than with a crowd goingin the wrong direction.

— Diane Grant

Kiply YaworskiCONSECRATION TO MARY —Saskatoon diocesan administratorRev. Kevin McGee led a prayerconsecrating Canada to theImmaculate Heart of Mary July 1as part of a national initiative tomark the 150th anniversary ofconfederation. The CanadianConference of Catholic Bishopsinvited dioceses and parishesacross the country to join in theinitiative on the Canada Day week-end. The first time the country as awhole was consecrated to Marywas in 1947 during the NationalMarian Congress in Ottawa. Aspart of the 1954 Marian Year, dur-ing a celebration at the NationalShrine of Our Lady of the Cape,near Trois-Rivières, Que., thecountry was also consecrated tothe Immaculate Heart of Mary.The 2017 prayer concludes: “Maryour Mother, we place our countryCanada in the sanctuary of yourHoly Heart for we know that therewe will find Jesus, who lives andreigns with the Father in the unityof the Holy Spirit, one God.”

CNS/Steven Saphore, ReutersCHINESE NOBEL WINNER LIU DIES — A mem-ber of the Australian Tibetan community places a can-dle near a banner during a candlelight vigil for theChinese Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident LiuXiaobo July 12 outside the Chinese consulate inSydney. Liu, who was recently released from a prisonin China’s northeast, died July 13 at age 61.

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S.politics have become in creasinglycoloured by an apocalyptic worldview, promoted by certain funda-mentalist Christians, that fostershatred, fear and intolerance, said aninfluential Jesuit magazine.

In fact, this world view sharessome similarities with Islamic fun-damentalism since “at heart, thenarrative of terror shapes the worldviews of jihadists and the new cru-saders” and is drawn from well-springs “that are not too far apart,”said La Civilta Cattolica, the Jesuitjournal reviewed by the Vaticanbefore publication.

The article, appearing in the mid-July/August edition and re leasedonline July 13, was written by thejournal’s editor, Jesuit Father An -tonio Spadaro, and Marcelo Fi gue -roa, an evangelical Christian, who isthe director of the Argentine editionof the Vatican newspaper, L’Os -servatore Romano. Written in Ital -ian, an English version was re leasedon www.laciviltacattolica.com

Titled: “Evangelical Funda -mentalism and Catholic Integra -lism: A surprising ecumenism,”the article looks at the growingsimilarities in the rhetoric and

world views adopted by evangeli-cal fundamentalists and some“militant” Catholic hardliners.

More specifically, it also looksat how this rhetoric and mindsethave seeped into U.S. culture andpolitics, including in some elec-toral campaigns and governmentadministrations, such as that ofU.S. President Donald Trump.

One feature of this “ecume nismof hate” is a clear “Manichean”delineation between absolute goodand evil, it said, and a confidentsense of who belongs in which campas could be seen with U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s list of nations inan “axis of evil” and PresidentTrump’s “fight against a wider,generic collective” body of thosewho are “bad” or even “very bad.”

The authors briefly examine theorigins and spread of evangelicalfundamentalist thought and influ-ence in the United States and howgroups or movements become tar-geted as a threat to “the Americanway of life” and demonized.

While in the past those threatsincluded modernist mindsets, thedefence of slaves’ rights, “the hippymovement” as well as communismand feminism, today the enemiesare “migrants and Muslims,” theauthors said.

U.S. fundamentalists criticized

WASHINGTON (CNS) —The Senate Republicans’ latesteffort to overhaul the AffordableCare Act is “unacceptable” andshows little improvement over thelawmakers’ first attempt to reformthe federal health care law, saidthe chair of the U.S. bishops’domestic policy committee.

“On an initial read, we do notsee enough improvement tochange our assessment that theproposal is unacceptable,” saidBishop Frank J. Dewane ofVenice, Florida, chair of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops’Committee on Domestic Justiceand Human Development.

“We recognize the incrementalimprovement in funding the fightagainst opioid addiction, forinstance, but more is needed tohonour our moral obligation to our

brothers and sisters living inpoverty and to ensure that essen-tial protections for the unbornremain in the bill,” he said July 13.

Dewane said the USCCB “is re -viewing carefully the health care billintroduced by Senate leadership.”

Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Kentucky, intro-duced the Senate’s Better CareReconciliation Act. The measureneeds 50 votes to pass.

In his July 13 statement,Dewane referred back to his June27 letter to senators that said anyhealth care reform bill must up holdseveral moral principles: affordabil-ity; access for all; respect for life;and protection of conscience rights.The bishops also have stressed theneed for U.S. health care policy “toimprove real access” to health carefor immigrants.

The U.S. Senate must reject anyhealth care reform bill that will“fundamentally alter the socialsafety net for millions of people,”he said in the June letter. “Re -moving vital coverage for thosemost in need is not the answer toour nation’s health care problems,and doing so will not help us buildtoward the common good.”

Dewane also said in that letterthe U.S. bishops valued the lan-guage in the earlier Senate billthat recognizes “abortion is nothealth care,” and that it at leastpartially succeeded on consciencerights. But he said it had to bestrengthened to fully apply “thelong-standing and widely sup-ported Hyde Amendment protec-tions. Full Hyde protections areessential and must be included inthe final bill.”

Bishop wants improvement in health bill